#though I'm still trying to get used to this new stylus

[kitocrystal]

Oh dear, I was dead for 3 entire weeks.

[rubberduckyrye]

Getting my playlists sorted for the big Move to....... my iphone......

Ick!!!

[elizabethplaid]

fridge, drinking water, and other daily notes - july 16, 2024

I think my fridge is dying. The freezer hasn't been freezing as well as it should. I just opened it to get an ice pack, and the popsicle tubes I had in the door are liquid. (Just a few days ago, they were frozen.)

We have a chest freezer, so we can save everything. But it sucks that we'll need to make another big purchase this year. Considering we got nearly 15 years out of our fridge, that's not terrible. We got our over-the-stove microwave around that same time, and it croaked a couple months ago. (So microwave, new-used car, now a fridge.)

Somewhat related, I've had trouble using the new water bottles I got last month. I need my water to be really cold, to trick myself into drinking it. Our reverse-osmosis water comes out of the tap as room-temperature. The new bottles are insulated, thus I can't just fill 'em and stick 'em in the fridge like my previous one. Filling a cup leaves it with a weird taste (from the fridge-air?), like what happens with our ice cubes. But if it's a closed bottle, the taste isn't affected. I'll try to find a small pitcher to fill, so it's somewhat sealed.

I'm also wondering if the aluminum and plastic of the bottle and cap-spout-straw are affecting the taste? I washed 'em first, but maybe I need to do it again. I'm fussy and sensitive, so the planets have to align just right to "trick" my brain into liking plain water.

Weather is still warm but not enough to use the AC. My sinuses and throat are dry from sitting in front of fans, so my throat has been sore on-and-off for the last month or so. =========

I think I need to tell my librarian friend that I can't attend her wedding. It's 2 months away, but I don't think my condition will change enough by then. It's not going to be worth it to push myself in a big crowd of strangers.

Even though anxiety and sensory stuff has bothered me a lot this year, I'm very glad that I'm no longer stressing about needing to be "productive". I've already figured out phone-friend's birthday gift. The xmas gifts I wanted to stitch... I plan to be friends with these folks for a long time. If it's not this year, I can stitch things another year. Or just whenever I feel like stitching.

My hands are too sensitive for me to concentrate on any crafts. Typing and using a mouse are fatiguing after extended use. I had to switch which stylus I used on my phone, because the texture bothered me. Sometimes I wrap baby blankets around my hands, so I'm still touching or holding something tolerable.

Sometimes I miss my hobbies. But I'd rather be avoiding them due to sensory issues, instead of disinterest (from depression) like I've had in recent years. It's currently both in many cases, like dolls and embroidery. Knitting was one hobby I recovered, though I can't give it attention currently. =======

My short term priorities are things like taking care of myself during this warmer weather. Making sure I'm hydrated; encouraging myself to take naps; finding things to entertain my brain, even when my body doesn't agree. (EG on the last one: playing music instead of a podcast or video when I'm tired. Requires less attention but still keeps my sense of hearing entertained.)

Any chores I can chip away at are like bonus achievements. Warm weather suppresses my appetite, so I'm adapting to eat non-heated and hydrating things (eg fruit jello cups, peanut butter sandwiches). I've talked about these things before. Just repeating it now to comfort myself, reminding myself I'm handling all of these stressors well. I will keep repeating, so I don't forget.

[whimsical-westbrook]

Okay yep yeah mhm okay I have woken up twice now to this being real. I'm going to make an intro post to get used to writing with a stylus and without thumbs.

Hello, my name is Lily Westbrook. Hopefully. I don't know how this works. I definitely still go by she/her.

I used to live in Eterna City. I wanted to meet my first ever pokemon buddy, so I went into Eterna Forest last night. Something happened, and I think someone had my phone while I was out?

If I take a photo maybe y'all will believe me, but I'm a Buizel now. Hold on, maybe I ca

[An image is attached.]

[Image ID: A poorly angled selfie of a Buizel, wearing a flower accessory. The Eterna Forest's Old Chateau can be seen in the background.]

n add a photo oh gods why did it put it in the middle like that I'm not fixing that

I still don't know why all my writing is orange. Is it because I'm a pokemon now? Is my phone playing pranks on me is that a thing that can happen

UPDATE: Turns out I'm a girl buizel and this was the best worst thing to ever happen to me. I still don't know if anyone in Eterna City will be able to figure out what happened to me, or if they'll even believe me, but I just. I'm so happy, guys.

Double UPDATE: I kinda feel like how I feel about life is going to keep drifting away from the tone of my original intro post but like. It feels weird to make a new one so I'mma just... leave it like that I think. For now. Important note: I'm no longer in Eterna, but headed to live in Goldenrod.

Triple UPDATE: I was able to figure out why my text was getting orange'd, and also was told that it was messing with some people's ability to read things I wrote, so I was able to apply that fix to the text. Though uhhh. I'm still leaving that mess in there. It's funny to me.

//OOC under the cut

//Hello! This is Astra (she/they) from my main (NSFW) @astralikacastle. This is a character I've had in my head for a long time, though my kinda fucked up brain doesn't quite know where to take it after the prologue.

//But basically, forever in my head I've had 'what if someone got turned into a pokemon and they had to deal with that and how it made them feel about gender' and now it's here. =3

//I do prommy to try to keep this blog as SFW as possible, though where the line between Mildly Suggestive and NSFW lies isn't always the same for everyone (especially with how Tumblr's been treatin' trans folk lately) so I'm not making guarantees, just promises to try.

//I should like. Keep track of Lily's 'inventory' huh

Lily's old human clothes

Buizel-sized Ballgown

Comm-Everstone Choker (See Below) (Worn)

Phone (obviously)

Book about Legendaries for Studying

Flexi-grip phone tripod

Poffins and berries

Trans flag bandana (Worn)

Hoopa-Ring-Alike Bracelets (Worn)

Thigh-highs (didn't decide on a pattern for these oops) (Worn)

Lily-flower pin (Worn)

Pink Ribbon (Worn under above pin)

Sunglasses! B3

Sylvie (Sylveon Plush)

Toki (Togekiss Plush)

Blahåj (Blahåj)

6" Buizel Plush!

JigglypuffPikachu Hybrid Plush!?

Large pink bag (where plush friends live) w/ Waterproofing

Waterproof Backpack (Where non-plush non-worn items live)

Wheely-Cart (Where everything rides on) w/ Floaty

Weighted Blanket

Keychains (Mew, Meloetta, Hoopa, Victini, Celebi, Darkrai, lotus)

Box o' Buizelnip (Lovingly referred to as Bui-Weed)

Always kept in Lily's room at Gen's home:

Figurine of Lily and Gen

Buizel-sized Piano

//And her moveset!

Protect

Agility

Water Gun

Surf

Baton Pass

Rain Dance

Aqua Jet

Aqua Ring [Glitch?]

Thief

Minimize [Glitch!]

ABILITY: Rattled

//What is the Comm-Everstone?

The Comm-Everstone is an Everstone, small enough to act as the 'gem' of a choker, and enchanted by Laplace to duplicate the effects of a sci-fi Translator. The stone translates Lily's buizel-chitter Poke-Speech and emits an ethereal voice that repeats her words in Human Speech. Whichever voice the listener best understands is brought to the forefront of their perception, preventing any 'cross-talk' from obscuring her words. Notably, it is still quite obvious to the listener that these words are being translated, and not simply Imparting Understanding. (Though, it being magic may be a little unsettling, still.)

[goombasa]

Star Fox and the Wish for Potential

I really wish that we got more Star Fox games.

Don't get me wrong, Nintendo's done some of their other franchises much dirtier than Star Fox, with the absolute astounding gaps between entries in franchises like Metroid or F-Zero have proven, and yet Star Fox is probably the series that bothers me the most, because most of the time, it doesn't feel like Nintendo particularly cares about the potential of its world or its characters or the stories that could be told with a group of mercenaries that wander the solar system… most of the time, Star Fox as a series for them is a tech demo series for them.

Don't get me wrong, there's something to be said for that. The original Star Fox was essentially the perfect example of how far you could push the Super Nintendo and still have a viable, playable game with its use of polygons, Star Fox 64 pushed the series further with its branching path system and showed off just how much rumble could enhance the experience of a game, Star Fox Command is basically one of the examples I think of when I think of a game that uses a system's central gimmick to its absolute extreme since basically the ENTIRE game is stylus driven, and of course, poor Star Fox Zero was the last bastion of trying, desperately, to show folks that the Wii U was cool.

There is something to be said for having a particular series that you like to use to show off the potential of your hardware or control schemes (which makes it all the stranger that Star Fox missed out on the Wii, when its control scheme would probably have worked really well with a rail shooter), but it's often to the detriment of everything else. If there isn't a gimmick or new hardware or new tech to pair it with, it often feels like the series just doesn't matter to Nintendo that much, and the narrative and characters feel like they suffer for it. I'm not saying that Star Fox's story is some sort of underrated masterpiece, but I'm the sort of person who just gets real annoyed when potential goes unexplored.

There is so much that could be done with the world of Star Fox with the premise that it has, and yet most of the time, it feels like Nintendo's only ever interested in telling the same story. Both Star Fox 64 and Zero are retellings of the original game's story, and while the other games do follow an actual flowing story, that was sort of thrown out the door with Command and it's multiple endings, all of which are pretty unsatisfying, and pretty much all of them were confirmed noncanon anyway, which led to Nintendo just rebooting the whole thing.

Well, I say Nintendo, but all things considered, Nintendo's never really developed any of the Star Fox games in-house. They have a lot of say in what does and doesn't get into the game, obviously, but the main developers for the games are almost always third party developers, though usually ones that are pretty close to Nintendo. We've had Argonaut Software, Rare, Namco, Q-Games, and Platinum Games. The only one that had no other studios involved, or at least none that are listed, is 64, which was only done by Nintendo EAD. This is one of those series that Nintendo seems to hand out to other developers rather than work on in house because I don't think a lot of their top devs have a lot of interest in the series. And it's just frustrating, as the game jumping about from developer to developer doesn't help its consistency much, which leads to a lot of divisive opinions on each game. Most of them (Rare exclused, as they basically slapped Starfox on top of an original IP they were working on at the time) really only know Star Fox as a rail shooter series and Nintendo probably doesn't give them a wide breath to experiment beyond that.

But imagine if we had a game that took more advantage of the fact that our main characters were mercenaries. There doesn't have to be a huge, grand-scale problem for them to solve. We've seen that so much already in the series, most of it related to Venom and the sort of monsters that spawn from there. A game where you fly around, explore the lylat system, still have shooting sections, but are attempting to take on jobs for various groups, assisting folks who are still recovering from all the combat that was happening before, there's a lot of potential there, and you wouldn't even have to abandon the rail-shooting or dog-fighting gameplay that has been the pillar of the series.

At the same time, I'm one of those freaks who thinks it's good to see a series step away from its comfort zone now and then. I actually enjoyed the ideas behind the on-foot missions in Star Fox Assault, and actually really liked the idea of a Star Fox Musou game that was rumored to be a pitch after Hyrule Warriors blew up. What I want is to see something that pushes the boundaries of the series and tries something familiar yet unique, like how Nintendo reinvents Mario just a little bit with each Entry, or how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have given Zelda a bit of a fresh identity, or how Dread has completely revitalized Metroid as a series (though again, the primary developer on that game was MercurySteam, with assistance from Nintendo EPD). I would love to see that level of passion devoted to a Star Fox game in the future, one that doesn't have to be reliant on a gimmick or new tech in order to justify is existence. I just want a Star Fox game that helps define what Star Fox is, or what it can be, so many years after the original. I want a game that doesn't retread well trodden ground with its story and breaks away from series tradition, just a little bit, maybe let the characters breathe just a bit more, or at least give a bit more justification to your wingmen.

This post has been a lot more rambly than I meant it to be, but I generally have a hard time organizing my thoughts when I start getting onto a topic like this. A lot of what I write is stream of consciousness and I just hope that something legible pops out, so I apologize if I've failed here, it just bums me out that the latest Star Fox game was Zero, which would have been a pretty mediocre game even without the tacked on gyro controls, which came out ten years after the last fully original Star Fox game, Command, which in and of itself had tons of issues, not least of which being its branching storyline gimmick, and now it just feels like we're not going to see another new one any time soon, and that makes me quite sad.

Then again, I could be surprised when whatever Nintendo's new system is going to be. I mean, we got a brand new F-Zero game late last year in F-Zero 99 after almost twenty years of nothing for that series, so anything is possible. I just worry that it will continue to repeat the pattern and try once against o start fresh with the same story we've had three times now, when what the series needs it some sort of push in a fresher direction. Trying to play it safe with a basic rail shooter wouldn't be the best idea with this series at this point.

My fingers are crossed, and I'm absolutely hoping for something unexpected for the series in the future. Preferably sooner than later, but hey, I'm decently patient. Until then, there's always musing with other fans on what could be.

[6okuto]

🍙 for @satorisoup from my fruits basket :3

Long Post. but i (Rlly) summarized the questions for viewing ease 🫡

1) life & school

i Am nervous about school hbdfhbg i’m a sociology major!! ^^ love soc but i switched to honours so i have to keep my gpa up, and most of my classes this year are really reading/writing/presentation heavy.. plus i'm trying a full course load for the first time so doing my thesis next yr will be easier, but i'm already easily stressed and burnt out.. lol.. ;; it's probably fine though

life’s getting busy.. and i’m not sure my cosplay will get here in time for my con but it’s ok tbh! the good outweighs the bad for those things. i wish i had money for the con outside my grants/loans but LOL that's life 

2) celebrating my birthday with keiji :3

tmi maybe. i haven’t had a great birthday since i was 15/16 to be honest FBHBDJ i'm so burnt out and depressed in dec that the past few years i haven’t done anything at all LOL but hearing this,, keiji makes it his mission to give me a good one ^^ ! 

he takes the day off and makes sure the day is just for us! practices making heart shaped pancakes and cooks breakfast.. i walk in on him in the kitchen super focused and accidentally scare him LOL he wanted it to be a surprise but it’s ok!! i watch and talk while i wait

it’s usually cold so i don't go anywhere ;; but we still have fun!! it’s nothing crazy,, we just talk, put on a show while we work on a puzzle or bake… play some co-op games.. order dinner.. yeagh

if it isn’t awful outside, we might make a little snowman or snow angels at the park nearby :]

he gets birthday gifts separate from his christmas ones.. since they're so close my birthday’s kinda overshadowed & i tell people to get one gift or none but keiji refuses!! he writes a long heartfelt letter, commissions art of us & our cat, and buys custom matching necklaces + little crochet accessories + ribbon 🙂‍↕️ (also macarons. i rock w macarons.)

3) favourite aki scene :3

his morning routine changed my life. they didn’t have to do that (not in the manga) but they did… my beautiful domestic soft morning dreams… it’s so Aki… and then i think about how he’d include u in his routine when ur together the way he does with denji and power… ouh..

4) art app + ur new stylus :0

looks down and kicks rocks. krita user over here. not that anything’s wrong with krita. i just feel lame when i see brushes i want because of course they’re never for krita. but it’s cool! how's ur new pen!! bro sometimes krita’s pressure sensitivity doesn’t work on start-up and i didn’t realize i could just restart the window settings . i kept reinstalling it. it’s fine but Wow i was miserable for so long (Months. like a stupid poopoo head)

5) Secret Art Opinions.

olivia wilde nodding gif. smoking duck gif. no one knows what i know no one’s seen what i’ve seen. BEAUTIFUL!! PERF!! i love his smile and jewelry (🤯) and hair and EVERYTHING!! your art style is SOO lovely cutieful lene!! and a 17 layer max seems nonsensical?! HELP.. how big is your canvas.. what app are you using bc isn't there ones made for what u want to try.. I believe in U!! no matter what i’m sure it will turn out awesome!!! he would be so flattered. his lips would wobble and he'd gasp/whine and hug and kiss u like WHAT!! FOR HIM..?..!!! yeah.

6) akaashi and i’s song :00

wanna say i will by mitski but that’s gonna be in every self-ship playlist of mine. maybe home by reese lansangan.. hesitate to say it’s Our Song but it’s a good one!!

My bones are safe / And my heart can rest / Knowing it belongs to you / My world is changed / And it's cradled by / The comfort that is you

7) monster lover post + ones i like

i wish i had good specific hear me out's but i don’t consume a lot of media with them so the ones i can think of are super basic and boring… i’d need a list in front of me so i could smash or pass. (if u have any in mind let me kneow.) but

the teacher from the girl from the other side. Like it’s my fault. doting adoptive self-sacrificial father figure DON’T TALK TO ME. also i must mention tokoyami. + shirou from BNA if he counts

tai lung from kung fu panda just once. the plague doctor (scp-049) obviously

probably some transformers. i like bumblebee 🩷 THE PACIFIC RIM JAEGERS . gipsy danger of course. striker eureka of course. gipsy avenger & november ajax & valor omega (Sorry.). azure defiant omgg PILIPPINS! 🇵🇭🇵🇭

i can usually get behind a “hear me out” if it isn’t like.. super slimey(?) or spikey. they could all hurt me but anything Very sharp/spikey i’m like nooo owwww ouchie nooo..

8) JJK since hell started on earth (+ lenoso!)

I Have been keeping up. unfortunate for my happiness. but Dear God. finding that out two hours after a comm and on FORTNITE is CRAZY? I’m so sorry. I get it. there’s like 3 vids and 6 pics of me crying. …did u at least win the fortnite match. i thank god every day my main thing is HQ because i just watch guys play volleyball. the manga.. a bit exciting.. hoping for an Ok outcome… maybe if gege has love and megan thee stallion in his heart

9) demon slayer opinions (+ genya specifically)

i watched the first season of kny but dropped it after hebfhsbjb nothing against it, just not rlly my cup of tea!! but i know quite a few deaths and the manga ending.. i don’t have a fave demon though.. i liked tanjiro + giyuu + sabito (predictable x3). also fond of rengoku (predictable) and mitsuri/obanai (predictable). Is akaza awesome and beautiful. i don't rlly know genya but i’ve seen him and his brother!! I will like him In Ur honour!!! ur friend reporting u for an edit is crazyehsbfjhb STAY STRONG… GENYA! i’m sure he’s fantastic!!

10) bnha + izuku thoughts!

Who’s calling izuku ugly. ☹️ i get u btw Like it’s my fault i’m always fond of the main characters and want the best for them. i don’t usually read stuff for him bUT i fr see the appeal, and he can be soo super interesting/fun to write and read about!! AND HE’S NOT UGLY!! ☹️ he’s very cutieful handsome. grown up deku… vivid and beautiful in my mind… 

11) favourite food, drink, etc. :3

rice . LOL i don’t think i have a favourite food but i love pinoy chicken dishes! my mom's adobo + caldereta + niligang manok. also been eating chorizo de cebu lately.. yummay..

sweet drinks.. frappes & taro boba… i need to expand my palette but y'know. and my fav soda is crush

i said this but i Love Macarons. you give me a plate of macarons i’m inhaling that shit like kirby. also sapin sapin and cheesecake! a great cake in general is so yummayyy

big hazelnut creme chocolate fan. I Love hazelnut chocolate. started when i was a child with kinder eggs and purdys chocolate hedgehogs and here i am

fav cereal is kellogg's krave. obvious chocolate fan here

SUSHI VIBES IS SO INTERESTING i’m pretty sure i’ve never had a piece. like ever. i do like fish… do u have any fave sushi.. i doubt i’ll be trying any soon but for future reference!!

12) anything and everything else ^_^ (mammon + mlp ment.)

Lene i have stuff to talk about at all times and will overshare every time

YAGH! mammon is the avatar of greed and 2nd eldest brother of 7 in Obey Me: One Master To Rule Them All. i actually didn’t like him at first (I’m sorry.) but he grew on me real bad. it’s serious. he's very tsundere which is Not my type but. something happened. He's a softie.. he cares about you and everyone So Much.. he's very empathetic and emotionally intelligent even if he struggles with being vulnerable.. he can generally control his emotions better /gets angry less than his brothers… he gets teased/mistreated a lot.. he loves money and hates working but he loves U even more So Of Course He’d do/give up Anything 4 U.. he's insecure and has called himself worthless on his own Which Devastated Me So Bad i love this guy so much Let’s All Just. oh man.

i Did like MLP. i stopped watching at some point but i want to go back and watch it all.. predictably obsessed with princess cadance and shining armor. I wanted to be her and I wanted him. Predictably. i cried over BBBFF when i was little btw /pos but hm.. my fav show was gravity falls maybe. so good.

we finally fixed what was wrong with the water in the one bathroom in the house that has a bath tub. exciting because i’ve never taken a bath… want to see what it’s like… perhaps use a bath bomb 🤔..

don’t think i’ve processed we’re going to have another person living with us. wow

been thinking about p5 akira a lot. my stupid beautiful loser sopping wet cat idiot handsome prince guy. Do u think 13 year old me would be surprised i still like him or that my bff likes goro or that i ship akeshu. i have 150 ss's from the p5 vn. and when i say he's written like my version of akaashi keiji.. hah......

might deactivate at some point tbh. saying this because i don't think people will read this far so it's like a little secret convo but i feel like i've overstayed my time / don't rlly fit anywhere bshdjsd i'll click delete account and just Stare for a while. like at some point u think about it so much it's like.. girl stop clinging on and just do it. but i don't want to lose my stuff so it won't happen until i put it all somewhere else. which won't be soon because i'm lazy as shit so. that's life i guess. 🤷🏻‍♀️ def won't until i finish my event.. will see if i can at least make it to my blog anni if not my birthday 🤔 would probably come back at some point anyway. also my users... can't lose 6okuto r u joking...

been rocking with pleasure delayer by between friends & rock-paper-scissors by katzenjammer lately.

broken 3 nails this week and may unfortunately break a 4th. my stupid baka life. might just cut the rest and restart... they were all Even. 1/2 cm long bro.. why does this happen to me...

excited to call and ask about my joke bear plate in a few days. i'm 100% sure i didn't do an even number of coats for everything and it'll look wonky in places, but i think that's part of the appeal. the nia 6okuto joke bear brand

thank u for joining and asking lene!! 🙆🏻‍♀️🩷🩷 i like 2 talk so do not worry. would u like some q's back.. a similar amount.. less.. more.. let me kneow. meow

[lotusprotocol]

dreamcatcher devlog: november 2023

(messy concept art sketch for one of the story pages)

it's time for the first proper devlog post on this blog! this is my first time writing something like this, so hopefully i'll do it fine. without further ado, here's what happened in november:

i did some work on music at the start of the month and made some progress on a few tracks; here's the tutorial music:

i also decided to redo the movement mechanics, since i wasn't satisfied with what i had before. i ended up finishing them, and i'm still working on tweaking everything until it feels just right.

on the 12th, i opened up a discord server for dreamcatcher! i'd actually created the server months ago, but was finally ready to share it this month.

if you're interested in joining for more updates, asking questions, or just to hang out, here's the link (also in pinned post): https://discord.gg/umPNp5QTCu

a few days later, i remembered that krita existed and decided to try it out. it's been a good upgrade from the app i used to use (autodesk sketchbook), and i'm still learning as i use it.

to be honest, not much happened for about a week and a half. i was off for thanksgiving break and struggled to find motivation even though i had so much free time.

once i finally felt like making progress again, i finished up the menu animations! once i learned about tweens, they weren't very hard to implement. here's a video showcasing them:

i also downloaded audacity so i could make sound effects, and i've been learning to use that as well.

to finish off the month, i made a github repo for the game and set up github desktop! now i don't have to worry about making backups, and i can also use github's issues and projects features to help with development. also i get so much satisfaction when i commit a new change, so that's been really helping with staying motivated.

that's all for november! i think i've made some good progress this month, and i would like to keep this pace into this month. speaking of which, here's some things i plan on doing in december:

i'll be hosting playtester applications this month! they'll open on the 15th, and close on the 22nd (both are in utc time). you'll be able to find the form in the discord server, but i also might post it here as well.

i want to get as much of the core game mechanics done as possible, such as level transitions, save data, the notebook, etc. i think i'll mainly be focusing on level design for the first few months of next year, and i want to be prepared for that.

i'm buying a stylus and smudgeguard this month, so hopefully that'll improve my drawing process. i've been using my finger to draw for years now, and i'm excited to have those tools to help.

there's plenty more that i'll be doing this month, but this post is getting pretty long, and the rest aren't as significant. if you want to keep up with progress, please consider following this blog, or joining the discord server!

and if you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! it means a lot to me <3

that's all for this month, cya!

[remitiras]

Finally got to try my new phone!! Just tried sketching something on the notes app while I backed up all my apps on my old phone. I'm so gonna enjoy the s pen. And even though this phone is huge, it's surprisingly not bothering me as much as I expected.

Why didn't I buy this phone a year ago. I wanted a stylus phone for years. Why did I even buy that garbage in the first place XD

Still getting used to the phone and setting it up, like I cannot for the life of me figure out how to mute the keyboard, but I also slept for two hours in the past 24 hours so that probably doesn't help.

[bunningchaos]

Heya burning how are you doing?

Hihiii! •̀.̫•́✧

Burning, that's new. Autocorrect sure is funni, pahaha!

Anyways, I'm alright! Although alittle stumped on drawings. But I do have various ideas and WIP's... that is far from completion-

Hopefully you and everyone else is doing alright! ☆

Slight rant under the cut

All in all.. in more details,

Motivation wise, it's been a constant up and down. One moment I gain a idea to work on, then the next, when I attempt picking up the stylus. My hand ends up, feeling so heavy.

Of course I'm not gonna give up, drawing is my favourite thing to do plus it's fun.

But other than motivation, there's also worries. Specifically on whether or not my art is even.. quote on quote, 'good'. My friends say it's nice, but I'm mildly doubtful. Not implying they're liars though, it's really just the fact that I can't personally see much of a improvement in my own artwork.

Perhaps I need to give myself more time and confidence?

Alternatively, I could try to focus more on a artstyle or shading style that I might like more? Not that it's been stable, considering I've been constantly changing it (The brush I use and such)

Or maybe a small break to drabble in story writing.. short stories? Or lore-drop text wise, for my current existing characters?- Albeit temporarily to get my mind off the insecurities in regards to drawing

Who knows.

Chances are, I'll still draw once the flow of motivation hits, ahah!

I will still answer Asks though, even silly ones. So feel free to mess around, just, don't take jokes too far

[cherrypikkins]

hello! I found you through one of your art tutorials and absolutely loved it, it's really inspired me to try it. I was just wondering, not being familiar with digital art, what set up/ app/ tools do you use (or recommend)? do I need a fancy tablet? thank you :)

I'm so glad to hear it! I hope wherever your drawing journey takes you, that you will keep having fun along the way :)

I am always glad to show my setup!

Let's start with the hardware!

Nowadays, I use a Wacom Cintiq 16, which I purchased this year for around $800 CAD.

This device very much on the fancy side but as someone who has done digital art for 20+ years, it has helped me complete my works in a much shorter amount of time. The Cintiq surface allows me to draw directly on the screen.

Before that, I used a tablet - the Wacom Intuos v4 S, which I received as a gift from my Dad. It held up for 10+ years and was still working excellently when I gave it away for my Mom to use. :) In 2009 I believe it was priced around $250 CAD.

The surface was a lot more matte when I purchased it and has since gotten shinier from all the abrasion and usage and skin contact. I remember it had a protective transparent sheet which I tore off on the first day of use. LOL

My desktop PC is i7 processor @ 3.20 GHz with Windows 10 64bit, 16gb, with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card. Monitor is 24". Notably I use my PC for other activities such as gaming.

Now let's talk about drawing programs!

My software of choice is PaintToolSai v2! It is very lightweight and has a smaller toolset compared to Photoshop or Clip Studio.

I favor it because I feel that it has a better response to pen input, which helps create higher quality lines. It is very stable and performs very well - I don't think I've ever had any crashes while using v2, which is still in development. The smaller price point helps. The current price is 5500JPY, which should be around $50 CAD these days? The price was lower when I purchased it years and years back, and I was able to upgrade to v2 without any additional cost.

As for what I recommend for a beginner? I admit, it's a little hard for me to say - the landscape of digital painting has changed so much over the past ten years that so many new tools and software have come out while I was still using Sai and my Intuos!

But if you start shopping around, there are some things that may factor into your decision. Please note that I will be speaking as someone who uses mainly desktop systems and tablets for digital art.

Price: The price of a good-quality drawing tablet can range from the $100s to the $1000s. If you are a beginner, you may not experience the benefits of a professional-standard tablet right away, so it's ok to start small! For software, there are quite a few free options to get you started, such as Medibang or Krita. If you have an iPad, Procreate is available on the store for $9.99, though you may need to invest in a stylus.

System Specs: If you have a laptop or a PC, be sure to double check your specs to make sure it can support the hardware and software of your choice! The requirements are less stringent than gaming, so at least i3 with 8gb RAM will work! You will also need to make sure you have enough storage space to hold large files. I've read that the sweet spot for storage is 128GB. If you are a beginner, you probably won't hit the limit in a short amount of time - just be aware that file sizes for digital art can reach 100s of MB depending on size and complexity.

Pressure Sensitivity: This is a measure of how sensitive your tablet is to pressure changes so that you can vary between solid/translucent and thin/thick lines as you are drawing. The recommendation for newcomers is 1,024 levels. Any less, and the experience may be lacking and the results less than satisfying.

Display Size: Tablet size can vary! Wacom Tablets in particular come in Small, Medium and Large. Make sure it can fit on your working space! I've had no problems creating art work using the smallest size, though it has caused a bit of wrist strain.

A monitor/display screen of at least HD quality with a resolution of at least 300dp is recommended! Screen size will also affect your experience. So, similar with gaming, consider what might be most comfortable for you!

Learning Curve: If you are drawing on a screenless tablet for the first time, then it may take some time to get used to the feeling of drawing the tablet surface while keeping your eyes on the monitor. Don't be discouraged if you're not getting the same results as you would using pen and paper! It will definitely feel different, but with time and practice you will gradually get accustomed to it.

Each software comes with its own toolset - some larger than others! For complex programs like Clip Studio and Photoshop, the number of features and the level of customization available can be overwhelming! That said, most software programs for digital art come with a standard set of basic tools, such as Brush, Select, Straight Line, Erase, Zoom, Copy + Paste, Undo etc. So it is perfectly feasible to get started using a complex program, familiarize yourself with the basics, and try some of the more advanced features once you get confident.

(Meanwhile, I am terrified of Clip Studio's seemingly endless features whenever I open it and usually find myself running back to Sai for safety lolol)

Public Opinion: Take caution when watching Youtube reviews, as artists (especially popular ones) are known to accept company sponsorships. Ask around if you can, take a look at the best, worst, and average customer reviews, and check out a public discussion like Reddit where opinions may differ! Take note of the good and bad experiences. And, where invited, ask artists like or not-like me. :)

I should note this far that I'm not sponsored by anyone or anything. ;;;; I swear on my Mom I'm not a Wacom plant. (That said I will gladly continue to sing my praises of PaintToolSai for free. It is an excellent program and please consider supporting the smaller devs!)

That's it! ...I think? I'm almost certain that there are at least one or two things that I've neglected to mention, but so far, those are the points I can think of, so I hope you find it useful. :)

Each digital art journey is different, and so your mileage may vary with the factors above! I do hope that as you get started with creating stuff digitally, that you have a fun and enjoyable experience.

I also invite other people to share their opinions, agreements, and disagreements to the points above! Especially if there is anything important that I may have missed. I hope this is helpful and thank you again everyone for your positive comments on my tutorials. :')

[thewollfgang]

I have almost reached the middle of the sketchbook I'm using exclusively for Astarion. A lot of pages are just down right embarrassingly bad and I'm still trying to find the right style (I'm leaning more towards realistic(?), at least on paper, I think). Weirdly enough, I haven't done much digitally despite the frustration I feel when I try reaching for an undo button on my sketchbook. XD I'll be focusing on digital next though so I can color without worrying that doing so would ruin the drawing.

It's been raining (finally) nonstop for a few days now and it's put me in a very artistic mood. Nothing like sketching and hearing real rain instead of the recordings they use as the background noise in the scary story comps I listen to. I would love to sit on my porch with my sketchbook if I wasn't afraid of getting sick again. The aesthetic isn't worth it lol.

Game wise, I have robbed almost everyone in the tower, just because, and have done the trials in the gauntlet. The most frustrating was the Faith Leap Trial, especially when I realized the answer was right there on the floor. I got hella spooked when I thought it wasn't going to give me a choice on whether I wanted to go to Shadowfell or not after I accidently clicked on the portal. I'd like to think I'm not missing anything but I will do my usual wandering before entering, just in case.

there is something truly awful at the way tumblr formats asks so i read this message yesterday but had to wait till I got on my computer to format a proper response.

Every time you mention drawing Astarion I go and make a few drawings myself. I got a new phone with a little stylus thingy and I really adore the way the notes app handles the digital pencil too. It feels really authentic but I can still hit the undo button XD so we are in a similar boat! Astarion has one of those faces that I feel like I have to draw a few dozen times to get the hang of, plus i get annoyed with his hair and how swoopy it is so i just doodle a bunch of squiggles and call it good.

I've been sick the last few days so I haven't done much besides lay around and drink lots of Sprite and Gatorade. God bless antibiotics for real. I have been playing bg3, but not on my main game, but on two other multiplayer games I have with my friends. It's interesting to play different versions of Act 1 and make different choices. (Somehow, I'm romancing Astarion in all three????) I cheated just a little with the Leap of Faith trial cause you can hit the O key and put yourself in tactical mode and see the path XD cheap, I know, but I aint bovvered.

In my main game I am still overwhelmed with Act 3, but I managed to get a few things done, but STILL have not found Orin in her other disguises, but I did find a bunch of very sus toys in a creepy dude's basement. So there's that. I think the desire to explore everything is a detriment to me in this Act since it's simply so large and there's so much to do. I need to take it in little chunks and small quests at a time. I'll get there! .......Eventually!

[upthenorthmountain]

One nice thing about drawing the same character over and over is that it lets you see your progress. I feel like I’ve made a fair amount!

When I drew that first picture in September 2014 I was 32 years old. I’d always wanted to be able to draw, but just never got round to it or knew how to get started. Like a lot of people, fandom is what inspired me and gave me the push I needed. It’s the most amazing feeling to be able to draw now, to be able to get down what’s in my head, to make things I love and am proud of. I know I still have a lot to learn but that’s where the fun is!

If you’re one of those people always thinking ‘wow I wish I could draw’, here is how I did it:

I worked through the book You Can Draw in 30 Days by Mark Kistler, which a friend recommended to me (if I'd known then about the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards I'd have used that too, but I didn't. It's good though)

I filled up a couple of sketchbooks with terrible drawings, mainly figure studies from quickposes.com and bad drawings of my blorbos

Finally thought I had something good enough to post, posted it, received so much support and love that I carried on, and I honestly cannot thank all of you enough for that

Kept drawing and drawing, making myself do the things that were hard or that I thought were above my skill level (harsh truth: you will never get better at the hands if you don't draw the hands)

After a little while I thought 'I wonder if I can use my iPad as a drawing tablet', and started using the Procreate app (then about £4, now about £10 I think, still a flipping bargain), first with my finger, then with a stylus that came with my iPad case, then with a slightly better stylus I bought on eBay, then two years ago I got a better iPad and could have a Pencil which is AMAZING

I have also recently taken two Procreate courses on Domestika which taught me a lot of things about drawing in general and Procreate in particular and I should probably have sought this information out sooner! They were Atmospheric Scenes in Procreate: Paint with Color and Light by Ramona Wultschner, and Female Character Portraits in Procreate, by Natalia Dias, and I would recommend them both

And I kept drawing a whole bunch and my friends were super encouraging so I just kept going and didn't stop

I have tips! Things I've learnt along the way

If you use Procreate, look up and learn about clipping masks, alpha lock, streamline, liquify, Gaussian blur

Don't worry too much about brushes, I mainly just use the hard and soft airbrushes and two versions of round marker (one with low streamline for sketching and one with high streamline for line art). I have a spotty one for freckles and that's about it really for what I use 99% of the time. People will try and sell you brushes by making you think you'll be able to draw like them if you have the right brushes but you won't and you don't want to draw like them anyway, you want to draw like YOU

Use more layers than you think you'll need, you can always merge them later

You will suck at first. You will suck so bad you will want to cry. But you have to be terrible, it's the only way to get to not terrible. The only way you STAY terrible is if you give up

Just when everything seems awful and everything you draw is crap and you don't ever want to draw again, that is when you must KEEP GOING and PUSH THROUGH because you are about to level up. Persevere just a little bit longer and soon you will be staring at your own hands thinking 'HOW'

Drawing is a learnt skill. There is no such thing as Talent, just people who've spent longer learning and practicing than you have. Eight years ago I couldn't reverse park my car, either, and then I got a new job where it was really handy to be able to reverse park in the car park and now I'm really good at it. You can improve at anything if you're willing to put in the time! GROWTH MINDSET!!

[moinsbienquekaworu]

OKAY SO. I was asked for my aurebesh thoughts and I shall deliver! @zeawesomebirdie this is for YOU <3

Here's what the standard version of the aurebesh (I used it like you'd use the word alphabet because well, it's alphabet but in SW speak) looks like, rewritten by me but faithful to the most widely accepted version that I know of.

Now, this is all fine and good for computer fonts, since you're at best typing them with a keyboard. But to actually write, with a pen or stylus? Extremely inconvenient. Try to write that A cleanly but in one try. That's just not easy to write: the diagonals, the two different parts, it's just not made to be written.

I can hear you think "it doesn't need to be written though does it, who still writes on paper in the GFFA?" and fair, but. But. 1) some people just like Doing It Like They Used To in Ye Olden Days and there must be a thriving community of calligraphy enthusiasts making their own paper and writing in ink. 2) if WE can have apple pencils they can have styluses, if only to draw, and a natural extension of that is writing little notes. 3) and most important I think, but often disregarded, it's easier to learn a new writing system if you make your hand go through the motions. Obviously there are exceptions and obviously you can still learn by just seeing but actually going through the motion and gesture? That really helps a majority of people. Source: I took japanese and russian classes, and therefore had to learn both the japanese writing system and the russian cyrillic alphabet, and yes, putting in the effort to copy the symbols again and again with a pen in your hand works much better than trying to remember it from having seen it, and it was the same for a lot of other people in my classes.

(Obviously the aurebesh was developped hastily by people who wanted to make it a font before anything else AND who are most likely american, which is a country where they don't teach you cursive anymore apparently, so that influences things)

All of this to say, I think since the fun of being a fan is filling in the holes of canon and having fun with your stuff, I tried thinking of what a more realistic aurebesh would be like.

From my deep dive on wookieepedia a while back, I learnt that a few actual alphabets of our world exists in the GFFA, like Tionese is written using Greek and Sith markings are Hebrew letters, + our roman alphabet is called High Galactic, but is a very fancy thing most people don't use. So, the aurebesh is the standard writing system of galactic basic, which means it's probably very widespread. I imagine that people actually do learn to write with some kind of stylus, just to get you to remember quicker and because either you have access to the equivalent of an apple pencil, you can find a ballpoint pen somewhere, or you have an outside with dirt/sand and some kind of pointy stick thing. That means we need a more writing-friendly version of the aurebesh (not even a cursive version, just an easier block letter version, I'm still brainstorming that one because god this was NOT made to be cursive but my love of cursive is powering me through)

So here's how I write the aurebesh!

Purple are letters I've rewritten but without real changes, and blue are actual changes, ranging from "yeah I could tell what this was" (p, o, v) to "I think you need to know that it's this letter to be able to tell" (a, g, eo). I'm pretty proud of that A honestly! Generally, I rounded out things that could be rounded out, made simpler things that didn't need to be complicated to be understood, and reduced the number of strokes necessary, because needing to lift your pencil and come back for a second stroke is a huge time loss. You might also be able to tell that I took japanese for 4 years in my squares: the TH looks like a 日, the W like a ロ, the K like a コ, and the H is basically a 三 because I like to work smarter not harder and I love japanese. I made the V into a normal Y from our alphabet, and I still get I and L mixed up a lot of the time, but here it is. And YES I forgot the numbers but uuuh tbh I always forget them so yeah haha. Might do a few sentence samples just for fun + to show what it looks like when I write it VS my normal handwriting (because I'm a handwriting amateur)

Another note: I hate with all the fibers of my being the "reverse the letter and that marks it as a capital" because it is incredibly clunky and inconvenient. Nobody does it like that and it's stupid. I think making them bigger/smaller like the computer font version of cyrillic is the way to go honestly, like Д for capital and д for lowercase. I don't have the words to explain why but you should not mirror a letter and make it a capital that is bad and wrong and it clearly was thrown in there last minute when people asked. Either everything is capitals or the lowercase is smaller but please no mirroring T-T

If you have anything to contribute I am BEGGING please come tell me. If you have cursive aurebesh ideas I will ask for your hand in marriage right here and there. When I told my best friend about this they said "oh my god this is like Tolkien why are you thinking about how the people of the galaxy would use their alphabet what is wrong with you (affectionate)" and yeah.

(Also ALSO bonus aurebesh fonts I like, apart from the standard one: the Aurebesh Droid, Rodian, Cantina, and Typewriter. )

[elizabethplaid]

I'm camping in my room today, listening to music on my laptop and typing this post on my phone. I'll save the details of sensory woes for below the cut, as it's more for my reference.

Since waking in the late morning, I've mostly lost my appetite. (Ate breakfast and meds fine around 5am, then slept again after 6:30.) I pushed myself to eat a jello fruit cup, then had another little snack. I should have an early dinner to make up for the lack of lunch. I'm not avoiding food, but I lack interest. Dad says he's not too worried as long as I keep eating.

Watching more Dimension 20 Fantasy Highschool. I've pushed myself to read webcomics, too.

My heart feels a little fatigued today, in an emotional sense. Just an inkling of discouragement. I'm guessing that's the feeling beneath the surface, but I haven't looked closely.

To discuss today's sensory stuff: I can hold the phone and stylus with the sides of my fingers, sparing my tender fingertips. Fabric is sometimes annoying, sometimes a comfort, depending on the article. (Pajamas and blankets are too much for my legs, but baby blankets are nice on my hands.)

Again, disinterested in food but not avoiding yet. Craving starches and sweets, though I'm trying to remember the different food groups.

Pop tarts, crackers, cookies, trail mix (nuts and dried fruit), jello fruit cups. With the fridge situation, I can't have my usual cereal and milk. I've avoided the bananas ever since that last one had a weird licorice aftertaste. The next bunch we bought has turned bad and been chucked.

That's reminds me of the bright side of fridge woes: cleaning out forgotten items. Two cartons of eggs, cream cheese, old jars of pickles and cherries, etc.

I talked dad out of getting the "french door" style of fridge and asked for another side-by-side. Difference is that the former has a freezer drawer at the bottom and the fridge is 2 doors that open into a single space. The latter is top-to-bottom doors, with one side opening to a freezer and the other to the fridge.

I forget about food if it's not in my sight line. I also don't like bending over a lot, especially if I'm just browsing the freezer. Our current style works fine. If we weren't buying it brand new, like if someone gave us their old one, I would put up with a different style. But brand new? Might as well get what we like.

=====

I'll continue to do daily updates, as best I can. It's wearing on me, but I still have a positive outlook. And life is good to me, that I can take the time and space to care for myself.

[elstreem]

Aroace colors Inkling I made in Procreate for practice!

I've been trying to figure it out so I'm not making any good art to upload yet. This is the first thing I made that looks ok, and it's still pretty rough compared to what I usually do.

My experience working with an ipad below because wow that got long.

My dad got me an Ipad to replace my 2014 Samsung Galaxy because it's getting some battery issues but uh...I haven't used an Apple product in forever. It's been two weeks and using an ipad still feels like someone sawed off my hand and stapled it back on :') I think it's a combination of having to learn to use new hardware and software, but it's been so tough trying to make digital art on this thing.

I wish I could use Medibang since it's what I'm most used to, but for some reason the pen I'm using won't register pressure with Medibang, so I have to use Procreate. I changed the pressure settings to work with Procreate, but it's still weird and hardly works the way I want it to, so I'm not sure if it's something with the 3rd party pen I'm using, or something else. We did order a paperlike screen so hopefully that fixes some issues for me. I never had to use one for my Galaxy even though it had a glossy screen cover, but its stylus and the pen for Ipads have different tips and it's not easy using the pen to draw.

I had an easier time working with my wacom and CSP, but then again CSP and Medibang have similar layouts so it's not too difficult to adjust. Procreate is nice, but it's so different from what I'm used to that it feels like I'm arguing with someone just using its basic functions lol. I found the default brushes so difficult to use, too. My dumb monkey brain isn't flexible enough for this thing.

Kind of a rant, but it's just me complaining and it's a matter of my getting used to it. I did manage to make this, so hopefully I can consider Procreate as my next tool, But in the meantime, I still have my Galaxy and Medibang on it, so that's still where I'm mainly working. I reserve CSP for really big digital works or more complicated paintings since...it's a hassle setting up my pc and wacom tablet lol.

[halestrom]

😄 for leather, ✏️ for won’t say I’m in love, 🎲 for alllllllllll of themmmmm

😄 What part are you most excited to write?

baassssiclly the fic is gonna end with john fucking rodney while rodney is wearing his season 4 leather jacket and nothing else so that's gonna be fun lol.

✏️ Have you deleted any scenes or strayed from your initial plan?

I just deleted like 3k! Not because the scene wasn't good, but because its the Moment in the fic. The oh moment and i liked the one i wrote, but it wasn't the vibe i had had in my head for the last 60k i had written and it was stalling me from writing the rest of it. so i scrapped the whole thing and rewrote it and i like this one a lot better.honestly. might rewrite it again because its The Moment I've had in my head and i want it to be perfect.

🎲 Scroll wildly through your WIP doc and post a snippet from where you land when you stop!

I Won't Say I'm In Love:

“Hmm,” Radek said. “So, there is no one?” Evan shrugged. “As far as I know there isn’t. Unless you wanna know who I’m fucking.” “No, do not have the time to listen to that list again,” Radek said, shaking his head. “Hey!” Evan said, slightly offended even though it was true. “Hi!” Evan looked up as David appeared in the doorway, looking between Radek and Evan. “Oh, you weren’t saying hi?” David asked, even as he walked over and kissed Radek hello. “Well, it could double as a hello,” Evan said, tapping his stylus against his tablet. “Mostly I was just being insulted.” “I called him a slut,” Radek said, beaming at David.

Slowburn

His phone rang again and he checked it, seeing the same number. He ignored it, but after a second thought added Rodney’s name to his contact list. The phone rang again, and this time John picked it up. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please hang up and try again,” John said in the same voice he had once used on CO’s he didn’t like. “Bullshit,” Rodney muttered. “Look! I know I’ve been a bit of a dick lately but there’s a good reas—” John hung up

Leather+John

John pulled back from Rodney and sneezed, shaking his head to clear it only to sneeze, and keep on sneezing until he started to get frustrated. He was aware of Rodney hovering, hands fluttering in the air and holding something it took John a moment to realize was a tissue. He took it and blew his nose, shaking his head as something still tickled his nose. He finally managed to clear it and breathed in, smelling something new. “Cologne?” he asked, hearing how stuffy he sounded. Rodney took a few, hasty, steps back. “Yeah, new one,” he said. “I uh…take it that it doesn’t work for you?” John waved for Rodney to come closer and leaned in to kiss him again, only to sneeze when Rodney got closer and he backed up, shaking his head. “Ah, Jesus. What is that? Pepper spray?” he asked, rubbing both hands over his face as he tried to stop himself from sneezing again, but it was a lost cause. “Smoke Show. It’s supposed to have notes of pink peppercorn,” Rodney said, rubbing the side of his neck, looking at John before shaking his head and walking into the bathroom, the shower starting up a second later.

One More Lonely Soul

“Is this urgent?” he asked, interrupting Bates. He dropped his hand to look at his new Senior NCO and then at Ford, a kid entirely too young to be an XO in his opinion, but John was still too new to question anything, even if he had a thousand questions. Bates opened his mouth, closed it and glared. “I would think considering the past week you would find the security of this base to be quite urgent.” “I think the only thing the past week has shown us is that any preconceived notion anyone had should be kicked out the door,” John replied before he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Look, Sgt. None of you want me in this position, and I’m not gonna Monday morning quarterback Colonel Sumners decisions regarding chain of command, but, and no offense here Lt. Ford, but, I don’t think he is quite ready to be in Command. Right?” “No argument here,” Ford said quickly, looking over at Bates and back at John.