#these are from 1-4 years ago i think?? most of my older drawings are in ms paint but I dont think i want to show those >.<
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Over the years i drew so many nejiten drawings but i never posted until now T.T I don't know if anyone is interested in it so i will just dump random things i can find here ahsgwhahsh
The first 2 drawings are from a comic I never posted.. the third is a family concept art, the fourth one is just a doodle, and the fifth one is from another comic!! Maybe I will post them one of these days... if i find the confidence ahsgdhs
Also!! I am not sure if ppl will see this post but I have had this question for a very long time: is it rude to draw art of a fanfiction ( T_T)? Over the years I have read a lot of nejiten stories and I've drawn scenes and even full comics of some but I never posted them because I wasn't sure if it would be rude to the author.. Usually I would ask for permission but some of these stories were written even before I was born (￣д￣;) so I doubt the author would see my message.. Plz let me know!!!
#nejiten#neji x tenten#one day i will muster the confidence to post my full Nejiten portfolio...#these are from 1-4 years ago i think?? most of my older drawings are in ms paint but I dont think i want to show those >.<
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Splatoon was the first Nintendo game to push me out of my comfort zone of single player games, and with the closure of it's servers I wanted to draw a tribute to a game that really means a lot to me.
Some long rambles about the game under the cut.
When I first played the Global Testfire I was 15, and the only mutliplayer games I played were with friends in the same room.
Splatoon was also the first shooter I ever picked up, as I always liked bright colours over more realistic graphics in my games, and back then the only shooters I knew about were Halo(and that was only really a name to me!) and the CoD games.
Any worries I had about being bad quickly vanished as the sheer vibe of chaotic fun the game had, particularly when no one had played it before, got rid of any worries, and all I remember is having fun. And choosing to play as the guy instead of the girl for the first time, solely becuase I wanted a ponytail like in real life(I would continue to use the guy through the series as a tradition, a contrast to what I saw most people online doing).
When the game came out I binged the single player, and vividly remember the first time I fought DJ Octavio, and the first time I heard Calamari Inkantation. If ever a game was to convince me that a song could irreversibly change your life, it was Splatoon. Because to teenage me, in that moment, with Calamari Inkantation playing in the background while I fought an octupus DJ, it did.
It gave me terminal brainworms for this series. And here I am, 8 yrs later. Older and more tired, been through some shit, had some good times, tried, succeeded and failed in things throughout the years.
I've always been grateful that they made the decision for the player character from 1 to return, everytime they've shown up it's felt a bit like seeing an old friend, especially since as the games time skips have always had them close to my age(which probably helped my attachement back in the first game). So hi Three, can't believe we both probably pay taxes now.
I have the original two Inkling Amiibos, in a collection that is slowly building, I'm still attached to Marie, and yes I was on her team for the Final Splatfest.
I cried when it was over, just like I did in 2's Final Fest(I was team chaos, two for two baby!) and will probably do so for 3's as well. Something about this series just makes me super attached to it's world and characters.
So booyah Splatoon, my final online game of yours was well and truly years ago, but I replayed story mode to share you with a friend recently, and I think I'll refight Octavio tonight in honour of the good times.
You encouraged me to try out games I wouldn't have otherwise(hello Overwatch and Deep Rock Galactic), and outlasted one of the other major games of my teenage years(...Overwatch 1 I miss you). So thank you for that.
I'll miss Squid Jump, Inkstrike, the og kit for the NZap 89(why does it's new one not vibe with me ;-;), the Squid Sister's broadcasts and the more saturated colours. At least I can always return to the Plaza in 3, and that Spyke isn't dead like I was concerned he was when 3 released, and see the Squid Sisters perform during Splatfests again.
I have so much more to say in my heart about you but no more ways to word it.
You've been a fantastic game, and will always be a treasured experience that I am grateful to have been a apart of from the very beginning.
Now bring back Moray Towers in 3 damn it! It's in 2 but I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY FAVOURITE STAGE IF IT"S NOT IN 4.
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tagged by @aleng-neng. What are my fave top 9 shows in no particular order. (All of these I have at 10/10.)
I'll only pick recent shows, as they're the ones I have listed on MyDramaList and thus have a ranking for. XD
This means it's mostly bls and cdramas.
1. Moonlight Chicken.
One of my feelgood shows, even though it's still new. It feels comfortable and adult and grounded, with a bunch of amazing actors who are clearly comfortable with each other.
As an 'older queer' it resonates with me a lot and I didn't dislike a single thing about it.
2. The Blood of Youth.
A really fun show with gorgeous, engaging characters and the right mix of beautiful scenery, beautiful people, and creative storytelling that I like. Sprinkle in some excellent fight scenes and a bunch of my favourite actors and I'm sold!
3. Old Fashion Cupcake.
I talked about mature stories earlier and this is another one of those. I could see myself in the main lead just a bit too much for me not to love this.
Nozue recognizes that he's maybe stuck in a rut and complacent when he doesn't have to be. And, maybe, that handsome junior at the firm could help him get out of it (and make him recognize he's not straight).
4. KinnPorsche.
Look, I know it has its issues. I know. And I know people have an issue with some of the fandom. I get it and for the most part I agree.
However, this was the first BL in a long time that I had the urge to write fic for. I enjoyed the complexity of the universe and the characters that much. (Even if some of it didn't make sense. but that's half the fun!)
And that's why I like it. It got my brain involved. (And I just adore Tankhun, okay.)
5. Word of Honor.
Years ago I watched a few cdramas and then...somehow forgot about them? (I don't know how I did that.) However, back in 2019 I got back into them and eventually stumbled upon The Untamed. 'This is the pinnacle of cdrama for me and my tastes!' I thought.
But then Word of Honor showed up.
Look, everything about this show is stunning. The story, the characters, the setting, the clear and unadulterated love between the two main characters. Everything and everyone is beautiful and I've never gone through a cdrama as fast as I did this one.
It's beautiful in ever sense of the word. And so, so queer. Don't believe me? Just search 'word of honor cdrama' in the gif section on tumblr and marvel at the art.
6. A Tale of Thousand Stars.
This is not the first Thai BL I watched, but it almost feels like it? Because ATOTS is the first one I remember going crazy about (and it set me on the road to basically loving everything EarthMix are in together). I was super invested and wanted to draw art and everything.
It's just such a nice, soft, romantic story and the characters are so fun. This is probably the one I've rewatched the most.
7. Semantic Error.
As you can tell, I generally like stories that feel far away from home. I like magic and fantasy and settings that aren't typical. However, this is one of the few exceptions.
I think it's the characters and their journey and the perfect execution of tropes that would have felt stale in any other show.
It's a fun story with excellent characters and I get why it's so popular.
8. Mysterious Lotus Casebook.
Technically, I can't say this show is 10/10 yet because it still has a bunch of episodes to go. However, I can tell it's going to get close at least. (And will probably get to 10.)
I keep comparing it to a perfect blend of The Blood of Youth and A League of Nobleman, in that it's a fantasy world with a master swordsman who's dying (and begrudgingly adopts a cute puppy who loves him) and a bunch of cases that need solving (to unravel the overarching plot).
It's so much fun and the settings + characters are so beautiful.
(And I may or may not heavily ship the loyal, eager puppy with the stoic, lying dying man who tries to push him away (and literally abandon him) in an attempt to keep him safe (from harm and heartache).) The hurt/comfort and love against all odds is strong in this one!
He gave up his lifelong dream to protect a man who's been lying to him ever since they met and whom is at that point a wanted fugitive!! Because he trusts and loves him so.
Also, it has a bunch of very handsome and gorgeous actors/characters in it, whom I love (and who suffer beautifully).
9. ???
I only have 8 shows that I've given 10/10 to (or a prospective 10/10, lol), so I'll just leave you with some other recommended shows that came close!
Bad Buddy
Between Us
Choco Milk Shake
Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms
My Only 12%
Ancient Love Poetry
That's it! I invested way too much effort into this, but...it was fun?
Sorry for clogging up your timelines with this, though!
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Two things
Any tips for line work?
Any tips for drawing eyes?
You’ve got a killer style for that and I struggle for things like that, so was wondering what you do for that and have any advice for a young artist? Also Steve is gender goals and me and him have the same haircut which makes me happy. Comics with an older queer character are nice, makes me happy to see someone like me get to get older like that :]
This ended up really long, sorry...
"Style" is really just an amalgamation of every decision an artist makes. When you're starting to learn, your brain is processing a LOT on the technical and fundamental side. In time, these will become tools for you to use as you please.
Your style is in you already, I assure you. It's the clothes you love, your favorite color, the season that makes you comfy... Art is a form of communication, and the first person you have to learn to communicate with is yourself. It's a lifelong process of growth, self love, and personal expression. It's nothing to rush!
these are from 2011, 2016, and 2023!
(13, 18, and 25 years old)
You can see how my skills have evolved, but my tastes are rather much the same. I've still got an absolute ton to learn.
When it comes to lineart, if you find yourself regularly struggling with "losing energy from the sketch", then making your lineart thicker might be a solution; thicker lines are a lot more forgiving!
This is a common issue many artists struggle with. It happens because the sketch has multiple lines, so the brain gets to choose which one it likes most. When you do lineart that choice isn't up to the brain, so it's not tricking itself to seeing all its favorite lines anymore.
Lineart can also help you define depth. Generally speaking, thicker lines tend to be on closer objects, and further away objects have thinner lines. You'll also lose more and more detail (and sometimes edges) the further away an object gets.
It can also define light in your lines. solid blacks can block out entire sections of shadow. Another option is hatching, and another is stippling. It doesn't have to define light, though, many styles define their light through various other shading methods.
My biggest tip for lineart is to practice "line confidence." fill a sketchbook page with lines that span the entire length of the page, evenly distanced, as straight as you can, without lifting the pen. Do this every day. Fill a page with ellipses, fill a page with circles. Do this every day. Eventually, you'll learn to 1: draw with your entire arm, which will save you a lot of quite literal pain in the future, and 2: you'll be able to draw the right line the first time more often, which will save you time and frustration!
I didn't have an example offhand so I did this to show what I mean, but I highly suggest doing this on paper in ink and not on the computer, if you can.
When it comes to eyes, definitely look lots to real people, and also pay attention to how artists stylize them! There's generally 4 main things to keep in mind:
1: the top lid. This one is major for defining the expression, so it changes a lot depending on context.
2: the bottom lid! this one doesn't move nearly as much.
Each lid has a vertex, and changing where the relative high and low points are on them between characters can change a lot about what the eyes are saying.
3: the sclera (whites of the eyes), iris (color of the eyes), and pupil (the hole we see out of)! These change an absolute TON based on style.
4: the eyelid!
and here's me just moving each of the elements around! it changes a lot about what the eye is saying as you change each element, play around with them! try not to always go with your first choices.
There's a lot more to eyes than this, and a lot more to lineart as well... but I hope this is something of a starting point! Getting better about art is about learning to think and study everything you see. I genuinely see the world differently than I did 10 years ago, and I'm much happier for it (and a much better artist!)
And when it comes to writing stories about queer characters who get to be older and still happy, I hope to someday see you making stories that bring someone the same sense of comfort you had reading my work. I hope it someday becomes normalized, mundane even. And I know it starts with people like you deciding it's important! We're here, we've always been here, and we're not going anywhere.
Best of luck on your artistic journey, I wish you a long lifetime of growing closer to yourself through your art.
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BLOODBORNE LORE Q+A PART 7: CAINHURST RAID, CARYLL AND THE RUNES, LEAVING BYRGENWERTH
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6 (start of lore dump)
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my new adhd medication is working too good.
BLOCK #LONG POST/ TO NOT SEE THESE HUGE POSTS
i will post pure speculation in italics and important nouns in bold. these are created with the intent to be enjoyed by fans and non-fans.
translation source
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from the jump i'm going to add an editor's note that from this point on the timeline is muddled, confusing, vague and occasionally contradictory. people have moved heaven and earth trying to make sense of the inconsistencies, but the truth of the matter is that bloodborne suffered the fromsoft late game curse and was chopped up beyond recognition at the 11th hour for whatever internal development reason. whats interesting to me is the stuff they chose to keep that's complete and utter chaff. there are extremely rare items that do literally nothing but sit in your inventory, or quests that are completely pointless. enemies appear where they "shouldn't" and it difficult to tell if they are trying to impart some kind of information or if we're just getting dragon-assed in lost izalith again. its very odd and i think thats what draws people back again and again. such as....me......
i can give you overviews of these events in the approximate order that they happened but there is no guarantee that they happened exactly in this order or in this fashion.
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from this point on, there will be a distinct delineation between "old hunters" and "hunters". old hunters are from the time of byrgenwerth and have survived into the modern day as a result of old blood injections or can be summoned from the hunter's nightmare using the old hunter bell. a distinct characteristic of old hunters is that they no longer dream (the bell description reads: "The old hunters, who have long passed from the dream[...]"). notable old hunters include: gascoigne, alfred, djura, ludwig, gehrman, and maria.
regular ass hunters are new on the scene and usually belong to a recently established institution such as the healing church, school of mensis, or the choir. or they might just be common schlubs who joined the hunt as part of the neighborhood watch. [points at the camera] that's you. eventually. not yet.
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as perfect proof of what i'm talking about with regards to contradictory timelines and being chopped to bits: an unknown time ago, martyr logarius and a band of executioners traveled to cainhurst castle and slaughtered the inhabitants, the dreaded vilebloods. the inciting incident (or so says alfred, a heavily biased source as hes the only executioner in the game, uh, with lines anyway) was an unknown scholar who "betrayed his fellows at Byrgenwerth and brought forbidden blood back with him to Cainhurst Castle". the blood "threaten[s] the purity of the Church's blood healing" although it's not explained how or what the fuck they're talking about. according to alfred, logarius stayed behind to prevent the undying and unkillable queen from regaining power.
i do not know when this takes place. cainhurst royals were "long-time imbibers of blood" who already had a system to deal with the beast plague, implying they doing blood before blood was cool. but eventually ludwig uses the executioner uniform as the basis for his church hunters and it features the modern edition of the hunter's mark (as opposed to the older versions that you can see in this concept art and in chalice dungeons), so it had to be during or before ludwig's time. there are runes associated with both parties that were discovered by a byrgenwerth scholar, so it at least happened during or after their lifetime.
so its kind of vaguely around this time even though they talk about it like it happened 1000 years ago. since this is one of the least comprehensible story-lines of the game, we won't worry about it too much right now.
i need an image to break this up so check out the most fucked up, non-snake related map in the game:
for a company known for its cohesive maps, this is a fucking insane series of choices. i understand annalise needs to be trapped but what the fuck is this room. why is it up here. why is it magic. why is it like a hoarders nest full of the same 4 statues found literally everywhere on this map. this truly is the most mysterious game.
everyone and their mother has a completely baseless and improbable theory about who the culprit was or if there even WAS a rat at byrgenwerth- so of course so do i. let me work my way over there.
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whether due to an ideological difference or the whole fishing hamlet genocide thing, laurence and several of the hunters left byrgenwerth with the intent of researching "the old blood" from the labyrinth. the miraculous healing powers were too enticing for laurence to ignore, but willem was steadfast in his belief that humanity was not yet ready to reckon with whatever it was that was happening here - at least, not without elevating themselves to the same level as those in the "cosmos". his distaste for use of the blood is mentioned off-hand in the rune workshop tool description.
caryll runes side note for newbies: caryll runes are a gameplay mechanic that give you buffs you can switch in and out by using an iron brand on your consciousness. the runes themselves are transcriptions of "the inhuman utterings of the Great Ones". all but a handful of the runes were discovered/transcribed by runesmith caryll and some were explicitly secret ones.
almost nothing is known about caryll except they were a student of byrgenwerth. the workshop tool named for them is found on a dead hunter tied to a chair as the reward for the witch of hemwick fight. people will try to tell you that this schmuck is caryll but that's fucking stupid. caryll was not a hunter and there's no reason why caryll would have the means or motive to pilfer their own tool from the hunter's dream. i dont know why this guy has it. maybe hes just an asshole and stole it from the dream to be a dick. who knows. hes just griefing us lol
all three translations agree that caryll runes "do not rely" on using blood, so its significant when they DO start using blood in the runes. one could read this as indication of caryll's transition from byrgenwerth to the healing church to follow laurence over willem. nearly all of the covenant related runes and the runes relating to oedon are bleeding or "contain a nuance of Blood", as it says in the corruption rune used by the vilebloods.
the executioners have a rune too, "radiance", which is unusual for its description specifying that caryll had already discovered the rune by the time the executioners adopted it as their own. there is no mention of this on the "corruption" page, nor on the remaining covenant runes discovered by caryll.
if cainhurst were to alert their subjects of the already well-known beast plague caused by the miraculous healing blood, the church's newly established grasp on the populace would crumble. if cainhurst could keep the beasts in check, why couldn't they? they already did, after all, in the labyrinth. with the vilebloods gone (or at least, dealt with), the church has unilateral control of the ministration process to the point where alfred, an old hunter, does not understand it in the least. i wonder if a certain byrgenwerth educated runesmith was invited to castle cainhurst or traveled on their own, only to discover during the runemaking process that the "old blood" from the labyrinth and the blood in the veins of the royals were one and the same.
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"eyes on the inside" is a cutesy way of describing "insight", but the byrgenwerth system for deriving said insight necessitated the gruesome acts at the fishing village to obtain an eye-ridden cord, or at the very least, the parasitic creatures and slugs aligned to the arcane found in the village and bodies of the fishing village. willem hoped the cord would elevate his mind, and by extension himself, into a great one.
if we do some reading between the lines on the description for the "spark hunter badge", the description of "a style of inquiry that [...] closely followed the methodology of Byrgenwerth" is almost certainly "expose yourself to it" or "use living specimens" based on, well, everything and their protegees do. its not clear if willem ever actually got the cord; it only says he "sought" it. but he did, at least take part in and shape the byrgenwerth focus of learning away from blood and toward developing eyes on the inside. by putting slugs in your fucking head.
someone on reddit pointed out that the brainsucker enemies are kos parasites living inside the stitched up skulls of...people? pthumerians? i would argue pthumerians due to the fact that these enemies replace the generic pthumerian enemies in a chalice dungeon much later.
we can talk about byrgenwerth's results and fate later. because next time, the healing church is established.
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i cannot believe how long this shit is. kudos if you read it i guess. if nothing else it gets this out of my head, forever.
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Lisa's Story
Part 4 (sorta)
Lisa is my character from the homebrew ttrpg Outside Us Nothing (it's great, go check it out!). I would describe her as a giant tentacle monster with a heart of gold who lives in the vents of her space ship. I've written a couple little ficlets about her over the course of the game (part 1, part 2, part 3) but there was a moment in our out of session roleplay chats that really made me want to draw it.
So, context, Lisa briefly reunited with Gwen, her long lost sibling, who has not had an easy life since they ran away from home, and ended up joining a cult. The conversation didn't go super great and the cult group mind thing tried to enslave her crew and ended up killing one of the aspects of the PC that Lisa is in love with. So, between sessions, they had this moment where they comforted each other in the ship's airlock and I was thinking that Lisa would definitely want to capture the moment in a picture, which led me to make this:
(The last time I took any sort of art class was 20+ years ago, so I'm amazed by how well this turned out)
So anyway, Lisa's dealing with some angst and drama right now, so here's a little bit of lore to drop with this:
On the wall in the common area that is proudly labeled "Lisa's Garden", scattered amongst her orchids are dozens of photographs: posed and candid shots of her crewmates and passengers, both past and present; planets and nebulae and star clusters; star ships and stations; cool mushrooms she's found around the ship. You might notice that she's notably absent from most shots. The only exceptions are three framed photos, displayed separate from the rest.
You saw one on the way into the common room: a group photo of the current crew that she insisted on taking and displaying under the stenciled name of the ship so that it is the first thing any visitor sees.
The other two, she keeps next to the pulsating mass of flesh, eyes and tentacles - the little bit of her that she doesn't hide in the vents.
One photo is another Freetraveler crew. A tall Terre man with dark skin, very clearly a born Freetraveler had his arm is slung over the shoulders of a Bawalang, whose bright patterns on their chitinous exterior were very obviously the inspiration for some of Lisa's tattoos. Slightly apart from the rest is a grumpy looking Harrisi, feathers ruffled in agitation as if he'd rather be elsewhere. At the center is a short Terre woman, planet-born with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she's smiling widely as she grapples with a trio of juvenile Teuth, trying desperately to get them to hold still long enough for the photo. One is slung across her shoulders, trying to gnaw on her braided hair; another sits in her arms, cuddling affectionately as she peers curiously at the camera; the third is hiding behind her legs, clinging and almost terrified.
The other photo is the same woman, a bit older, laughing and scrunching her eyes shut as three adolescent Teuth attempt to shove birthday cake into her mouth. The ruined cake reads "happy birthday mom!"
Then one day, after the incident with the Teuth on the space whale, another framed photo appears: a figure seated at the edge of the open airlock, wrapped in tentacles, silhouetted by a nebula in the distance.
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I was tagged by alemanriq (a lot of time ago...I'm revising my drafts. Thanks tho, Ale! ♥)
Tag the person who tagged you and let them know when you’ve finished. (I'm not doing this, tagging people gives me anxiety)
Answer the questions/tasks and then tag 20 people and let them know they’ve been tagged
1. How tall are you? 1.58 m
2. What color and style is your hair? Dark brown and straight
3. Which color are your eyes? Dark brown, almost black
4. Do you wear glasses or contacts? I used to wear glasses but I never got used to them so I dropped them, didn't need them that much.
5. Do you wear braces? I should but I'm not.
6. What’s your fashion style? I like formal attire or close to formal: coats, boots, shirts and jeans, maybe a sweater but a thin one. Dresses in summer.
7. What is your name? Mariana, but I prefer to be called Mari
8. When were you born? 21st December 1990
9. How old are you? 32
10. Where are you from/live now? Perú
11. Do you have any siblings and what are their names? Older brother
12. What school/college do you go to? Graduated at the supposedly best uni in Perú but not actually.
13. What kind of student are you? In uni I was a bad a student, like a bit bellow average. In high school I was a very good student most of my life.
14. Do you even like school? I loathed high school. I liked most of my uni years, more because of friends, less because of learning.
15. What are your favorite subjects? Literature, art, music, language, english, french, biology, art history.
16. What are your favourite tv shows? Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are amazing shows. As for anime, my fave are Yu Yu Hakusho, HunterxHunter 2011, Akatsuki no Yona, Re:Zero, Digimon tamers/02 and those are all I can remember right now.
17. What are your favourite movies? I adore Pride and Prejudice (basic I know), but in general I tend to adore horror movies more like Midsommar, Hereditary and zombie movies in general.
18. What are your favorite books? Dracula, uh... polemyc I know but I will always say HP series and ...I can't remember any other one rn tbh.
19. What is your favourite pass time? Playing videogames but also organizing stuff and fixing stuff around the house
20. Do you have any regrets? Majoring in graphic design.
21. What’s your dream job? character designer...and if I learn how to draw/shade/color better: illustrator.
22. Would you like to get married one day and where? I did get married, I think the places were nice. It was a beautiful church with a gothic design and the reception was in a house on the country side. The house had a vintage colonial style and it was pretty elegant, the garden with the pool looked nice and the decor me and husband chose was top notch.
23. Would you like to have kids one day and how many? I don't earn enough money to have kids but if I got money I would have 2 kids.
24. Are you a girly girl, a regular girl, or more of a tomboy? I was a regular one most of my life? Kinda like comfy type and no make-up. Now I'm girly, I want all the pink and all the make up!
25. Do you like shopping? Just the right amount of time but yeah.
27. What is the most scariest nightmare you’ve ever had? Some guys entered my family home and killed everyone. I even remember feeling the bullet in my stomach and the blood coming out of me before I woke up.
28. Do you have enemies? I have no enemies.
29. Who are your best friends? I'm not so sure, I'm insecure in this field. I used to think I had 3, but idk anymore.
30. Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend and what is their name? Husband and he doesn't like his info to be disclosed so I won't name him.
31. What is the biggest lie you have ever told anyone? I'm not a good liar.
32. Do you believe in miracles? Yes
Put your music on shuffle and write down 30 songs that come up without skipping. (How about just 5)
1. Almost Home - mxmtoon
2. That's What I like - Bruno Mars
3. Golden Time Lover - Sukima Switch
4. Helena - My Chemical Romance
5. This is Love - Utada Hikaru
This is the part where you tag 20 people! As for me, if you read this you are tagged! You can tag me if u fill this btw, my anxiety only goes one way.
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Books I read in 2023
Heeeeeeeeey Tumblr, I'm alive! Warning for very long post.
Given how little I ended up drawing during the back half of the year, I want to do a different kind of summary to close out 2023. And, since I already posted my thoughts on almost every movie I watched on Letterboxd (https://letterboxd.com/NotThatCrypto in case you're interested), I wanted to share the books I read during the last 365 days.
For 2023, I wanted to read at least a book per month, with a secondary goal of reading two per month. I ended up with 16 total reads. Not quite two per month, but probably the most I've ever read in terms of different books in a year (If we don't count that time I got obsessed with fanfics and read what must have been the equivalent of 20 novels in like five months a few years ago.)
Anyways, let's get started.
1: Tress of The Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson is my favorite writer, and this year he and his team delivered the Year of Sanderson kickstarter, which ended up including 4 novels he wrote in secret during the pandemic. Tress is the first of these novels.
I found this to be a delightful story. Sanderson really flexed his style muscles for this book. It's probably his most beautiful in terms of prose and rhetorical figure usage. You can really tell he wanted to make a novel *for* his wife.
It gave me the vibes of older fantasy tales, while still retaining much of what I love about the Cosmere and Brandon's books in general. I do wish some things were a little more unpredictable, as the twists were a bit too clear right from the very early chapters, and would have liked to be more surprised. I'd probably rank it among my top 5 fave books by him, specific spot undecided.
4.75 stars out of 5
2: I'm Not Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
I started reading the John Cleaver trilogy last year, this is book 2. On the one hand, I think I preferred the atmosphere and pacing from the first one. On the other hand, Wells managed to dive so much deeper into John's psyche here, and that really carries the whole book. There's also some concepts that I felt could have been expanded more upon, but guessed that would be done in the last book (We'll get to it later) Overall, some improvements over the first, and some things that felt weaker to me.
3.75 stars out of 5
3: Queer: A Graphic History by Meg John Barker and Julia Scheele
Read this because I was dealing with some personal stuff earlier in the year. It's a graphic novel that details some of the more theorical and philosophical aspects to queerness and sexuality throughout the years. Found it to be really well explained but at the same time, brief. It serves as a really good jumping-off point to get into the subject, which I want to do in the future. Scheele's illustrations are awesome and really help to highlight and simplify the most important information.
4 stars out of 5
4, 5 & 6: Percy Jackson and The Titan's Curse, Percy Jackson and The Battle of the Labyrinth, and Percy Jackson and The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Like with the John Cleaver series, I started reading Percy Jackson last year, after a friend of mine really recommended it, and wanted to read them before the show premiered. I read these in succession, so I'll list them together.
Titan's Curse was really good, probably the most emotionally complex Percy Jackson book, and I'd probably rank it second or third amongst the five.
Battle of The Labyrinth is probably my least favorite from the whole series, as it felt repetitive and at times like it dragged on for too long.
Last Olympian however, was super enjoyable for me, even though it did also repeat some actions sequences in terms of structure. Would rank it highly as well.
As a whole, I found the Percy Jackson series to be a blast, and it scratched my greek fascination itch. Percy is a really well realized character, and I adored reading from his perspective.
I do wish I had read these books a bit younger though, as I obviously encountered some stuff that left me wanting more as a result of the target audience. Not at all faults of the books, but good to point out.
Titan's Curse: 4.5 stars out of 5
BotL: 3.5 stars out of 5
The Last Olympian: 4.25 stars out of 5
7: The Binding by Bridget Collins
One of my most dissapointing reads. Its characters never clicked for me, and I found the book to be too tropey and like it didn't do enough with the premise or its magic system. It left me feeling frustrated, especially after I'd heard some really fantastic things about it.
I will award some points for the writing style though. It was very beautiful, and was what made me power through, other than my curiosity.
2 stars out of 5
8: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
While I think it is quite easy to see where the story is going right from the start, I think the journey to get there is super compelling. I like Haig's style, and only wish this one had been slightly longer so it could dive more deeply into each of the protagonist's possible lives. Some really cool imagery too.
Enjoyed it, and want something similar that explores the things that this one didn't.
3.5 stars out of 5
9: The Alpha's Son by Penny Jessup
Cool queer love story that also happens to involve werewolves. I honestly think the shapeshifter aspect of the story is undercooked. The relationship between the two main characters is interesting but I also think sometimes it develops too quickly.
Action is definitely not this book's strong suit, and given how much the third act focuses on it, it feels a little underwhelming. However, the style and characters are good enough that I am interested in reading the sequel, which came out a few weeks ago.
3 stars out of 5
10: The Frugal Wizard's Guide to Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
Back to Sanderson. Book two of The Year of Sanderson was an incredibly dissapointing one for me. I think this is the book of Sanderson's that I've liked the least. The humor never clicked, and I found the protagonist to be quite unlikeable. The illustrations for this one felt very disconnected from what I was reading too. Sefawynn was really cool though, best part of the book. The writing felt too dry, and while the tech seemed interesting at first, at the end I felt there was a more compelling story to be told with it.
2 stars out of 5
11: The Werewolf's Guide to Life by Bob Powers & Ritch Duncan
Funny that I read two books with "Guide" in the title right after the other. Read this as research for some personal stuff. Really cool book, written as if werewolves were real, basically functioning as lore and instructions if you were to turn into one. No real story here, other than the few examples of "real life cases" they share. Fun writing style, with interesting ideas about the genre.
4 stars out of 5
12: Yumi and The Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Third year of Sanderson book, and back to the Cosmere. I adored this one. I think Sanderson wears his influences on his sleeve a bit too much here, but that also made me love the book all the more.
Both Yumi and Painter are extremely interesting as characters. I also think Sanderson really captured the feeling of mystery with the worldbuilding and plot that his best works do. The imagery it sprung to my head was really beatiful, and the gorgeous illustrations by Aliya Chen are breathtaking.
Uses a bunch of really evocative and interesting concepts, and in superb ways. I do wish some of the secondary characters were more fleshed out, and I feel like the ending is a bit too tidy.
This is a story I really wish there was more of, but Sanderson has said he has no plans to revisit these specific characters. I hope at least the world is explored further, cause that was such a great setting. Had a blast with Yumi. So glad Brandon got so much better at writing romance with this and Tress.
4.5 stars out of 5
13: This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Okay, this one was very interesting. I'd heard about it before it blew up on socials, but I have to admit that that was what made me dip into it.
While I liked a lot of the concepts and the general structure of the book, I was not a fan of the authors' writing styles. They just moved too quick, and I felt they spent too much time describing certain aspects when others drew my attention more.
Red and Blue's relationship doesn't feel organic to me, and given that it is the main driving force of the story, I found it disappointing. I also found some descriptions to be more confusing than poetic.
While in concept this is a mighty interesting read, I think some things fall apart when put in practice.
3.5 stars out of 5
14: I Don't Want to Kill You by Dan Wells
Finale of the John Cleaver trilogy.
I feel like it starts off a lot stronger than how it ends, but still really liked it. I think I prefer it to the second one as well, but can't help but feel that it didn't manage to recapture a lot of the powerful ambiance of the first installment.
Well's prose also read much sharper and refined here, and John is a fully realized character. It's very uncomfortable to be in his mind, and yet I couldn't help but keep going.
Glad there is more after this, as I do think that these characters and world can be explored further. Excited to see where it goes. Also very curious to read more of Dan's work, as his way of thinking interests me a lot as it is so different from mine.
4 stars out of 5
15: Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
Quick read that my students (a whole different story for another day) chose for their reading assignments so that they could practice their English. I adore the movie and was excited to read the source material along with them.
Really liked it! We read a lovely illustrated edition. The story's scope feels just the right size, and Dahl's writing style is a real blast. I do think the last two or three chapters are too quick, and would have liked to see a stronger conclusion to the story.
4 stars out of 5
16: The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson
Final year of Sanderson book, and also final book I finished this year. Appropriate that it's number 16.
This book has me a bit conflicted. Sanderson jumping so far into the future of the timeline, but doing so with a character we are very familiar with feels risky to me. I think it reveals a lot of things that changed my expectations for Stormlight.
As for the story itself, the book takes a bit to get started. It's first act felt a little frustrating to me. That really seemed to change once the second act started. It's a lot more engaging and exciting. Sunlit is the most standard Sanderson novel out of all the secret projects. That's not a bad thing necesarilly, but I do think the other two Cosmere focused ones felt a lot more exciting and innovative as a result.
Nomad as a character felt a bit muddy. It almost felt like reading three people at once, something that sometimes happens to Sanderson when characters are viewed through other POV's, except this time it happened within Nomad's own. Auxiliary rules though.
Worldbuilding is probably the best and most enticing part of Sunlit. I also think the ending was very cool and I really wanted to continue even after the end.
3.75 stars out of 5
And that's it!
I read a lot of Sanderson this year, but I also managed to read a bunch of books that had been on my TBR for a long time. I was excited to delve into some genres I'd not read much of before. I'm also glad to have read books that might have not been my cup of tea, that always helps to make better sense of my tastes and to train my skills too.
As for next year, I *might* continue reading more of Riordan's work, as well as checking out what's next for John Cleaver, BUT I want to go back to The Wheel of Time first, I'll probably dedicate January and February to that.
I want to get into some more epic fantasy series, so First Law, Farseer, and Malazan are all on my radar, but I will probably choose only two of those. Discworld has also been popping into my head recently, doubt I'll dive too deep into it for now though. Might keep going with Gentleman Bastards too, I love Lies of Locke Lamora.
I want to read more sci-fi as well, been thinking of going for The Expanse or Murderbot.
Wind and Truth comes out in December, so I want to read as much non-Sanderson before then, we'll see how it goes.
I'm going to try to reach the 2 books a month mark, but won't make any promises, as a lot of things are in flux in life right now.
I am open to suggestions for books if anyone has any! Would love to hear ya'll's thoughts on that and the post in general. xoxo!
#text post#artists on tumblr#2023 summary#books#cosmere#brandon sanderson#percy jackson#john cleaver
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15 Question, 15 People
Thanks for the tag @martsonmars ! I love this kind of stuff. But first…
Fifteen people??? Ok. I can do this. I tried to do a quick check to see if any of you have done it already, but I also didn’t try too hard: @ic3-que3n @onepintobean @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @thewholelemon @alexalexinii @palimpsessed @skeedelvee @youarenevertooold @agni-ashes @cutestkilla @iamamythologicalcreature @ileadacharmedlife @bookish-bogwitch @theimpossibledemon @whogaveyoupermission
1. Are you named after anyone?
Nope! My mom wanted a name that sounded good in both English and Spanish. She looked at a map for inspiration and saw the Sierra Madre Occidental range in Mexico and the Sierra Nevada range in California and went "aha!"
Sierra has never been a super popular name, at least not spelled my way, and she'd never heard it before, so it was perfect! Imagine her dismay when a few years later we discovered another Sierra, one year older, living a couple streets over in our tiny neighborhood. I also went to high school with one other Sierra. The mid-nineties was "Sierra's" time to shine, apparently.
2. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday
3. Do you have kids?
Nope
4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
I’ve recently realized I don’t use it as often as I think I do, but I think it’s still pretty often.
5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?
I think it’s their expression, particularly if they are smiling or not. If they are, what kind of smile is it? Is it telling me they don’t want to be here/don’t want to be talking to me? If they aren’t, do they look upset/frustrated or just busy or distracted?
6. What’s your eye color?
I think I’ve settled on grey. It changes drastically depending on what I’m wearing. Sometimes I look and they’re super blue. Other times I’m like wow those are so obviously green. Most of the time I’m like “wtf is this color?” My mom used to say they were “blue, like the ocean,” but I think we need to specify that it’s the ocean during a storm. A little grey, a little green, a little blue. Depends on which ocean and which storm.
7. Scary movie or happy endings?
Happy endings! I like some scary movies, but really I’m all about a happy ending.
8. Any special talents?
Ummmmm…. Mr. Brilla says my special talent is dropping stuff I had a solid hold on a second ago.
9. Where were you born?
Texas
10. What are your hobbies?
I’m a hobby collector. I try stuff and drop them all the time. I lean toward crafty or creative hobbies, like embroidery and cross stitch, sewing, drawing, writing, painting minis. I also love to dance (social and ballroom— partner dances) and sing (by myself in the car/shower…), and read.
11. Do you have any pets?
A chihuahua mix (mostly chihuahua) named Dulce!
12. What sports do you play/have you played?
I played soccer for 2 seasons when I was 7 because I liked being on a team and wearing a uniform, but I hated practice and games and, you know, playing soccer. I also tried gymnastics for a day and cried. I’ve never been a sports kid.
I do social dancing now, which still ain’t competitive, but it could be, ya know?
13. How tall are you?
5’2”
14. Favorite subject at school?
(American) schools try really hard to make interesting stuff really boring and hard. I think my favorite was Spanish because I already knew quite a bit and already loved the language and was very good at it from the start. It was easy and I got to learn more about something I already loved.
If school were better, I would have loved more subjects because I love learning, in general. I find history and social studies and cultural studies all absolutely fascinating. I also find sciences really interesting, as well, but the classes were so rough in school that they were never a favorite subject. Math had its moments, too, but again… not always the greatest teachers or curriculum. I love reading and was very good at essays, so English/lit were ok, but the books were soooo hit or miss for me.
15. Dream job?
My dream job would be part-time teaching a high school Computer Science class (and would throw in Spanish I, too!) and part-time software engineer at some sort of “tech-for-good” company working in something worthwhile and/or cool.
#tag game#15 questions#such mundane questions#but talking about oneself is so satisfying#someone is definitley attempting to use this for social engineering#and yet here I am doing it anyway
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🥶
More hunger games au! Ned and Cat’s interview pre the quarter quell games
“Now I know you have an obvious ally in a person that’s not from your own district. Catelyn, would you come down here again?”
Catelyn gives the interviewer a quick smile before with ease making her way down the stairs again. It doesn’t seem to be an issue despite her long skirt. Flowing blue and sea green that ends in white tulle that’s like foam. She carries the colours of a wave and moves with the elegance of one.
Donella gives up her seat, makes a quick bow towards the audience and instead walks towards where the other victors are standing. They give her a lukewarm applause, more interested in Catelyn. For a short second Ned feels sorry for that she has to be in Cat’s shadow, he’ll have to apologise for it afterwards.
Catelyn takes the chair with ease and her hand finds Ned’s before he has time to think of it. His world is crumbling around him, but at least there’s the familiar feeling of her cool hand in his. He looks at her and loves her. She’ll win, she has to.
“Hello, my darling ally” Catelyn says, a soft smile on her lips.
She’s so good at that. Smiling even as there’s rage and grief behind her eyes. He can feel it, she’s squeezing his hand harder than usually.
“Hello, wife.”
With her free hand she begins arranging her skirts around her, only then he notices that there’s several layers. Her stylist spared no expenses, it seems. Though who can blame him, she’s gorgeous. And every inch a winner with her red hair braided into a crown around her head.
“How long is it this alliance has lived now?” asks the interviewer.
“We met 27 years ago, the year after Cat’s game. And we have been married for almost 24 of those” Ned says. “In a few weeks our 24th wedding anniversary would have been.”
The games had been the beginning of their time together and the games would be the end.
The interviewer sighs, but smiles.
“Don’t we all remember the news of Catelyn Tully from District 4 marrying Ned Stark from District 9?”
“I certainly remember it” Catelyn says.
It draws a laugh from both the interviewer and the audience.
Ned remembers it as clear as if it had been the previous day. She was so beautiful. She’s always beautiful, but it seems that day was special.
“We’ve never seen you in a game together before, but considering how long you’ve stuck together for I imagine you’re quite the team.”
“I suppose that’ll be our strength in the arena” Ned says.
They’ve never fought together before, but if they could manage five children between the ages of a few months and eleven years while also being mentors then they could do the hunger games. In the end it would lead to the end of at least one of them, but they could survive for a while.
“Though we’re not the only ones with close ties to other tributes” he adds.
He glances at where the victors that have already been interviewed stand. From 1 all the way up to 9, his own. There’s Cat and her uncle, as well as the Lannister twins. While they’re all friends, or at least aquatinted with each other, not all of them have family ties. He knows every face standing there. Most he watched win, he’s among the older ones. Donella, Brynden and Robert are the exceptions.
“No lovers from different districts there, this love is unique” the interviewer insists.
As sweet as it is to think of Cat as his lover it makes them sound like as young as when they met. As if he isn’t almost 50.
“I don’t think it is, I think it’s very normal.”
Apart from what they went through in their youth, apart from all the games they mentored it was normal. Years ago they agreed to make it that way so that’s what it has been. When she came to 9 with Robb they decided that they wanted him to not live with their fears, that he would have a very ordinary life. In hindsight it was easy to see that they were foolish to think that would happen, but it feels good to know they tried.
“Just like any young girl I laid my eyes on a cute boy and ended up falling in love” Cat says, and there’s something very soft in her expression then. “And now I have a husband that’s upset with me every morning because I steal all the blankets in my sleep. This despite that he throws them off himself because he’s too warm.”
It doesn’t seem to matter how many blankets they keep in the bed, they always end up with her while he gets none.
“The life of a victor isn’t as glamorous as they want you to think” he says dryly.
That earns him a laugh. He hates their laughter, it sounds strange. It sounds as fake as everything else about them.
“Of course it’s a tragedy to all of us that these years must come to an end now.”
Ned wants to say something. He knows Catelyn feels the same, her hand is squeezing his very tightly. Though they can’t do a thing, can’t say a thing. Because the consequences are not theirs to bear, it will fall on their children. Every punishment will be inflicted upon them.
“We had 27 years together. They were 27 good years” Catelyn says in a low voice. “It could have been worse.”
It isn’t true, several of those years were far from good. It has been so very dark at times that it feels like a wonder that they’re still alive. Even with the kids. Ever since the games it’s been a long tunnel. Sometimes there’s a window that lets in some sunlight, then the darkness returns.
A single tear runs down her cheek. Perfectly executed.
“I only worry for our children. Our youngest is only twelve, not nearly old enough to be on his own.”
#2023 snippets#nedcat hunger games au#i guess this is a spoiler but yeah the way i planned it they were both reaped#so now you know!
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15 people, 15 questions
Tagged by @streetcornertwoam (thanks!)
1. Are you named after anyone?
Not a specific person, my parents chose for me and my brother two names of Latin origins, mine from the Roman gens Valeria, after the verb "valere", meaning "to be strong". So how often do you think about the Roman Empire?
2. When was the last time you cried?
I don't cry very often these days, but on July 28 the final episode of Good Omens s2 got me sobbing, unexpectedly, because a couple of years ago I indeed had a "final fifteen" moment (minus the kiss and the hope for a s3), and I swear to god it was so identical, down to certain choices of words, that for several minutes after the ending I had to double check to make sure that I had actually seen it on screen and was not allucinating.
3. Do you have kids?
Nope, and I don't think I will, I don't feel like I could manage that amount of responsibility.
4. What sports do you play/have played?
I used to swim a lot, but now I only hike. Not the athletic type at all!
5. Do you use sarcasm?
Yes, way too often, but I try to restrain myself because it's very easy to hurt someone with sarcasm and the older I get the less willing I am to contribute to the general harshness of human relations. If I met someone who really deserves it, though, I will not hesitate to peel their skin off their face.
6. What's the first thing you notice about people?
Voice. 90% of my initial reaction to any new person is dictated by how much I like their voice.
7. What’s your eye color?
Hazel.
8. Scary movies or happy endings?
Both, as long as they are well written. I strongly believe that fear and hope are both core parts of the human experience, and when they are well translated into fiction I enjoy them equally.
9. Any talents?
Does overthinking counts? For real though, it's a pain in everyday life, but it's a useful trait to have overdeveloped in academic research since it makes you quite the analyst.
10. Where were you born?
Italy, in the happy town of Montefiascone, one of our many "wine cities", but grew up in a little village near Orvieto, another one of our many "wine cities", connected to both Montefiascone and Orvieto via the Alta Tuscia Wine Road. If you are catching a theme, well... cheers!
11. What are your hobbies?
Too many for my non-existent free time. I play the piano and used to sing in a choir that unfortunately doesn't exist anymore (but I still do my voice excercise every now and then); I like sewing my own clothes; I like gardening; I got back into drawing after a solid decade spent not picking up a pencil (thanks to Good Omens); I love reading books and generally consuming fiction, but since this last part overlaps with my job I don't know if it counts as hobby anymore...
12. Do you have any pets?
I have currently 7 cats, most of them were abandoned nearby by shitty people who saw a stretch of countryside and just dropped them (which left some of them with several traumas, like refusing to eat alone for fear that while they're eating we will vanish). Depending on the time of the year, we take care of the unofficial colony that regularly assembles around our house (even more cats, hedgehogs, some badgers, stray dogs - but the dogs we have to report for everyone's safety, including theirs).
13. How tall are you?
Barely 5'1, I could easily play a hobbit in a Tolkien-based show without the vfx team even noticing, I am one of those unfortunate souls who watch the upper shelf in their kitchen with the same longing and desire with which normal people watch the Moon.
14. Favorite subject in school?
My absolute favorites were Literature, Physics and Technical drawing (you can still easily lure me into any trap by dangling a goniometer in front of me).
15. Dream job?
The one I am so lucky to have right now, and that I'm trying to make permanent (which is the hardest part). I am currently a researcher in the field of Comparative Literature with a specialization in Literary Theory, which may sound like something that one would make up in a tumblr bio, but it's actually a thing (unfortunately does not involve formulating theories about stories or characters, it's about looking at a chunk of literary history and trying to understand why certain genres, themes or writing practices rise and fall). I hope I can keep doing this, because I honestly love it, even if the chances are slim.
I don't know who to tag since my social anxiety extends to "oh god I cannot possibly bother those people just because they sometimes like my posts", so I will borrow the Italian tradition of the pending coffee and will leave a pending tag:
@
if you see this and would like to do it, consider yourself tagged!
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LOVE AND WAR CHAPTER 1
goodnight robicheaux x oc
summary: addie and goody haven’t seen each other for years. what will happen when they see each other again? will their love re-kindle?
The second I heard a knock at my door I had a bad feeling in my stomach. I don’t know why, but I did.
“Who is it?” I called out as my hand grazed my pistol that was sitting on my bedside table.
“The name’s Faraday. Joshua Faraday. Sam Chisolm sent me.”
“God damn,” I laughed to myself in pure shock. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Sam. I walked over to open up the door. The man was a little under 6ft, he was probably give or take 4 years older than I was. I gave him a small smile as I held my hand out to shake his. He responded and tipped his hat to me.
“So how did you meet Chisolm? You seem to be a hell of a lot younger than he is.” Faraday asked as we trotted our horses to the “meeting spot”.
“For the record I’m 32 so not that much younger if you ask me. About seven or so years ago I knew a fella named Goodnight. Him and Sam were friends so I knew him.”
“Goodnight Robicheaux?” He asked in disbelief.
“Yes sir, we were um… good friends but my Daddy wasn’t a huge fan of me and him being together if you know what I mean.” It was true, I was in love with Goody but my Daddy hated him so much he made us move states. But he’s been dead for five years now and I live on my own. I wish I could go back and tell him I wasn’t leaving. Faraday didn’t respond, all he did was let out a little chuckle as we stopped at this huge tree. There were a few people scattered around the tree. I hopped off my horse as I ran up to Sam and gave him a hug. He groaned as our bodies collided and held me tight.
“Goody’s here,” he whispered in my ear as he pulled away from me. I saw him. He was leaning up against the tree, cigarette in hand.
“Who’s the lady?” I asked as I tried to forget Goody was a yard away from me.
“That’s Emma. We work for her,”
I smiled kindly as I walked over and shook her hand.
“How are you?” I asked.
“Glad to see another woman,” She laughed in content as we shook hands. I let go of her hand and walked up to Goody.
“Hey,” I greeted quietly. His head shot up so fast you’d think he’d heard a ghost. I couldn’t quite read his facial expression as he took a long draw of his cigarette, never breaking eye contact with me. I was horrified, I know that sounds stupid. I didn’t have a reason to be horrified of him, when I told him I had to leave he was nothing but kind and understanding. I’ll never forget what he said to me that day. “maybe someday we’ll see each other again and we can start over,”. I still loved him, I never touched any other man since him. It sounds pathetic but I couldn’t. I guess I held onto the hope that someday we’d see each other again.
“How’s your Daddy?” Goodnight asked in a smart-ass tone.
“Dead, heart attack,” I responded with a light laugh. Sure I liked my father but I’m not the most forgiving person on planet earth. I certainly wasn’t gonna forgive him for taking love away from me. Goody stood up tall and started walking towards his horse as he walked by he made sure to get as close to me as possible. I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke.
“It’s good to see you Addie,” He smiled as he put a kind hand on my shoulder before he continued to make his way over to his horse. I sighed as I wiped the sweat that gathered onto my forehead. This was gonna be a long trip.
“Who’s that?” I called out as I pointed in the general direction of a man I’ve never seen before.
“Billy Rocks he’s with me,” Goody responded as he put his hat back on his head. I walked up to Faraday as he was having a conversation with Sam.
“Oh good we gotta mexican,” Faraday said sarcastically as he walked up to the poor guy.
“Ole muchacho,”
“Faraday stop being an ass,” I criticized as I walked past him, grabbing the hat off of his head in the process.
“What a merry band we are.” Goody commented as we trotted on our horses down a dusty path. He went on to give everyone a stereotype such as a “texican” and so on. But there’s one thing he said that stuck with me.
“This is not gonna end well.”
#goodnight robicheaux x oc#goodnight robicheaux#the magnificent seven#billy rocks#sam chisolm#joshua faraday#ethan hawke#chris pratt#denzel washington#fanfic
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Hii lookie! Even though I only made like 4 fully rendered pieces this year, I'm happy with what I've done this year!
(For months where I dont't have fully rendered finished pieces I put in the next closest thing I have that month.)
Ramble under the cut where I try to go over each month
General overview:
Funny thing I've noticed is how often I used cool tones this year bc my older art (that ive never shown from like 2 years ago) was characterized by warm tones
Even though I work through fully rendered pieces super slowly and barely come out of the year with any, I'm super proud of my progress this year! I've learnt and grown a lot as an artist and have also realized my potential. With that though also comes my fear of not being able to top what I've done, which I'm trying to work on! My issue is I tend to produce a lot of art when feeling highly inspired by a media, and right now I don't exactly feel the same kind of spontaneous and passionate inspiration as I did during the year. I'm definitely dealing with some sort of mental block right now when it comes to digital art and I'm hoping to get through that soon because I miss the process of making something I love through drawing!!
January:
honestly thought the boatem piece was done last year so I was surprised to find it in my January files! This piece was kind of a turning point for my art as it was my first more complex pieces (i had not previously done a piece w more than 1 character in it really). It was a lot of work and I was very nervous about it but I'm quite proud of what I was able to do!
Late january is also when i started sketching out the ethubs piece actually (i work slow)!
February:
I didn't actually do a ton of art this month, as I tend to take a break and slow down right after finishing a piece. At this point I was very keen on doing pose studies traditionally. I posted some of these and most of them were desert duo.
This month i started to really figure out my dnd character Ethe's main design as our campaign was starting. So, i did a portrait of her for that. The rest of February was working on ethubs and studying how to paint grass and clouds and just sketching here and there. I think desert duo brain rot was strongest this month
March:
March was also a mix of pose studies and random sketches and FINALLY FINISHING ETHUBS. I was also doing some art for dnd ^_^
April:
I finished the dragonborn npc centered dnd piece this month, and also began sketching out the cleo piece. In between working on cleo I did some joe art including an animatic featuring the wordle boarder and the sketch for biblically accurate joe :D
May:
Pretty much anytime i had procreate open in may I was working on Cleo. This is the most ambitious art project I have taken on and I wasn't sure if I was able to make it how I wanted, so I was kind of slow and on and off with it. I ended up putting it down towards the end of the month and did some more personal illustrations
June:
Big month for my dnd blorbos tbh! I introduced a sister for Ethe and was working on her design and their interactions. I also got a bigger sketchbook this month and did a bunch of traditional studies. I finished the flats for cleo this month and took a break so most of the art I did were sketches
July:
I was in the home stretch for cleo and with the help of my friends telling me to finish it i finally pushed through and finished it. I couldnt be happier w the results!! it's one of my proudest pieces this year and I put in so much work for it. But after I finished it i took a huge break from mcyt art and focused on dnd art yet again.
August:
My work for the multidimensional big bang started this month!! I worked out the character design early august and had a sketch for the full piece by the end of the month. In the meantime I was actually working on a cat painting I never posted... maybe I'll post it in an end of year art dump
September:
This month was all about the big bang piece. I had so much fun doing it and am super proud of the finished product. Im especially happy with the composition and inclusion of the background characters!!
October:
Again. Major break from making full pieces after finishing a huge one last month. I think I spent more of my creative energy elsewhere like my writing. Also school started again and I had moved apartments and there was a lot of irl stuff preventing me from drawing. I did try to do traditional studies if I could
November:
Kind of a dead month for drawing. Super busy w school, chugging my way through Ethe's ref sheet i started months ago.
December:
Literally haven't drawn anything new besides a new years illustration for greeting cards. I picked up crocheting again and have been spending a lot of creative energy on that instead, but to keep my drawing going I've been doing more figure studies in my sketch book i guess!
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1, 8, and 18 for the asks~!
1: Favorite color to work with
Never really thought about it before! I don’t think I actually have a specific color (maybe greens or reds, but I’m not sure those aren’t just often-used as opposed to well-liked), but the eyestrain, bright yellow/red/teal/blue palette definitely fits the bill, it’s Very fun to use. Gold’s fun to render, too.
8: Show some art from 1-2 years ago
Boye. 1-2 years is a large time frame. I’m taking it to mean anything between one and two years ago, which pretty much lands everything in 2021. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be pieces I actually still like or an accurate representation of that year, I’ll choose the first, as I wouldn’t consider most of it terribly interesting.
Feb 18 - one of my very few lineless pieces, for a person I engaged in frequent art trades with
Sep 4 - yeah we sure are gonna skip seven months, here’s one of the first times I used a non-black color for shading/lineart: a beloved older OC, mosa :]
Sep 28 - A cropped screenshot from a time I tried pixel art again. Surprisingly, it wasn’t connected to any media or world of mine, I just had an idea for an animation (...that did become the basis for a lesser fictional world). Unfortunately the file’s autosave was overwritten and it wasn’t finished, so a couple screenshots and a video of my progress are all that remain of it
18: How long have I been drawing? When did I begin to call myself an artist?
Funny thing is I was just wondering about that. I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil, I've had long phases of experimenting with clay and origami and pipe cleaners, five years ago I made an art folder for school that was so filled by my various drawings and doodles it's now two inches thick (I carried it around with me everywhere, no matter the circumstance), four years ago I added pixel art to the menagerie, and yet I only actually considered myself an artist two years ago. That was when I was gifted an old art tablet, and thus began what I've previously described as a personal renaissance, as I was allowed access to tools I never used before, diversified and improved, forgot everything I thought I knew about art to learn it again. Fun times.
#peridots-art#peridots-asks#sorry for taking Forever (see: a few hours) on this but that was fast. thanks nox#uhh. (>)? not too much of one but it's kinda a wall of text and images#long post#i had. made the mistake of trying to transfer 2126 image/video/gif files from my computer to a usb in hopes it would free up space. it did#do that but it took the better part of an hour so i couldn't get the drawings for number 8 rip#edit. i wrote that as it was going on i was being optimistic it took just over two hours#despite the blunt tone here (can't figure out how to turn it off) the ask was appreciated and i found the questions interesting!#anyway the time is currently My Mother Would Be Mad If She Knew I Was Up This Late o clock so I'm just going to post this and then disappea#ok i'll add (>) actually. keep forgetting about the creature tags#dragons#original-character-chaos
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I posted 8,712 times in 2022
That's 3,868 more posts than 2021!
574 posts created (7%)
8,138 posts reblogged (93%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@applejee
@thevastnessof
@bitimdrake
@thisbethewitchman
@unpretty
I tagged 5,631 of my posts in 2022
Only 35% of my posts had no tags
#dc - 2,068 posts
#batfam - 884 posts
#sage talks - 588 posts
#cats - 543 posts
#superfam - 296 posts
#animals - 242 posts
#timkon - 195 posts
#art - 186 posts
#ofmd - 175 posts
#yj - 156 posts
Longest Tag: 138 characters
#very adorable but also when i worked at a florist ~6 years ago roses were like $4 a stem so i think he might need several paychecks lol 😭
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
just reestablishing once again that colin wilkes is incredibly important to me. no I don't care that he's showed up in like three and a half comics ever. he's a perfect character. he's my discord icon.
189 notes - Posted August 23, 2022
#4
star sapphire batman is my male power fantasy<3
236 notes - Posted May 25, 2022
#3
normal ways to carry a guy
245 notes - Posted May 2, 2022
#2
ages and ages ago I saw @scarletbirbs mention wanting to see a kara+steph+cassie trinity teamup and I thought it was a really fun idea!! I wanted to draw them a little older and with new costumes :)
(steph is cranky about kara and cassie abusing their tall people privileges 😔)
600 notes - Posted May 4, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
Superman (2011) #40
okay somebody posted the second page on reddit with zero context so I had to go hunt it down and honestly all I got from reading the first half of the issue is that bruce is very used to seeing clark naked
796 notes - Posted August 2, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#your tumblr year in review#posts the most belated fucking year in review of all time skfnfld i forgot 😭😭😭
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Hey S.T changing it up tonight. How about some questions instead (while I think of a new prompt)
1) Top 6 Favorite Wrestlers
2) Top 6 Hated/Dislike Wrestlers
3) When did you start watching wrestling?
4) What promotions do you watch?
5) First wrestling match you remember watching
6) Ever been to any wrestling shows/events?
7) Favorite Wrestling Story Line
8) Least Favorite Wrestling Story Line
9) 1st fanfiction you ever wrote
10) What do you love most about wrestling?
I can’t wait to read your answers 💜💚
Sorry in advance, I got a little carried away. So you don't have to read through all my rambling if you don't want to. These were fun questions, though, thanks for asking!
1) Top 6 Favorite Wrestlers
I feel like I need to give some background information, so prepare for a long answer to this.
1. Cash Wheeler/ FTR: Who would've guessed, huh? Cash's my favorite, across all categories. Honestly, he is criminally underrated. Have you seen him in the ring? He is ridiculously fast! And very precise! I love that when Dax is in the ring, he moves around like a hunter circling his prey. Everything seems very calculated, very planned. I like that. What I enjoy even more though, is when he tags in Cash and the whole pace changes. He's like a pitbull off the fucking leash. I genuinely feel like ya'll are sleeping on the man.
And FTR made me fall in love with wrestling again, with a style of wrestling I hadn't appreciated before. They always say they have no fancy moves, and it might be true, but their storytelling in the ring is unmatched for me.
On a very personal note, I have to thank these two little shitheads because they have helped me conquer my depression to some degree. For years, I have been struggling, losing all interest in things I've usually enjoyed, like drawing, writing/reading, and generally being creative. I just went to work, then went home and stayed in bed for the rest of the day/night.
It's funny to me that two guys who don't even know that I exist have helped me through some of the darkest times of my life and brought some joy back. I owe them more than I could ever tell. (And yes, I shed a tear while I wrote this). So if any of you ever says something negative about these two, go kindly fuck yourself.
[From here on, answers will get shorter]
2. Kenny Omega: God, I just love this man. I can't really describe what it is, but there is something poetic in the way he moves. There's just a certain grace about him that demands my attention when he's in the ring. Plus I love his geeky side. We actually have the same taste when it comes to Anime, so I like him even more.
3. Christian Cage: In my early teens, 20 years ago, I had a major crush on Christian. Over the years, the crush turned into general admiration, and he still brings a smile to my face everytime I see him. I've always enjoyed his work as a heel, and can't wait for him to turn again.
4. MJF: Maxwell is a star in the making. I mean, he already is one, but imagine him in 10 years. It's gonna be magical. His dedication to his in-ring persona is unmatched and he can turn shit to gold. Personally, I thought the whole campaign against Mox was a stupid storyline, but I enjoyed it because it was MJF. That's how good he is.
5. Scott Hall: I always say he was my first wrestling crush, but he wasn't really. I was 6 years old, he was like 30 years older, I certainly didn't crush on him. My brother owned an original Game Boy and had this WWF game called either RAW or Kind of the Ring. When he didn't play, I'd always snatch the Game Boy and played. And I always played as Razor Ramon. Later, when I saw him on TV, I immediately knew this was my guy. God, he was soooooo cool.
6. CM Punk: I loved him in WWE. The Pipe bomb will always be one of the best wrestling moments I have ever witnessed. And Punk is the reason, I started watching AEW. My brother tried to talk me into it for quite some time, but I always turned him down saying I was done with wrestling. Then, last year, he tried one last time and told me Punk would come back. I couldn't say no to that, and when he really walked out, I smiled like an idiot at the TV. Then, the start was a bit rough, because he didn't feel like 'My Punk' in the beginning, but I love his recent work.
2) Top 6 Hated/Disliked Wrestlers
1. Shawn Michaels: Hear me out, I don't hate the man because Dax hates him. I've hated Michaels way before I knew Dax existed. I just never liked him. Plus, the Sweet Chin Music is the worst finisher of all time. Yes, I know wrestling is fake, but don't make it that obvious. You really want to make me believe that your opponent is so beat down that he doesn't hear you stomp your goddamn foot 3293 times for 10 minutes straight?! Like he doesn't have a clue what might happen next?! It's a goddamn kick that happens many times in a match, but because you stomped like a little toddler whose mama didn't buy him candy, it'll end a match? Yeah, right.
2. Darby Allin: Hate is a strong word, but I just don't get him. When I started watching, I thought I'd love this guy because aesthetically, his style is my cup of tea. He was a let-down for me though. Plus, I hate the Coffin Drop as finisher.
3. Hulk Hogan: Just a douche in general.
4. Sammy Guevara: I don't dislike him, I am just very indifferent to him. Which I don't understand myself, his matches are good. I just can't warm up to him.
5. Charlotte Flair: same as Sammy.
6. Kelly Kelly: I am talking about young Kelly Kelly that got handed everything on a silver plate while not being all that good. I have no idea what she is doing now, and I honestly don't care.
3) When did you start watching wrestling?
As with a lot of things I have come to love, it was actually my older brother introducing me. I might have been 5 when I really started to get interested in the whole idea of wrestling, then it was part of my life until my mid-twenties when I stopped watching altogether. It was just recently that I started watching AEW (watched all the older Dynamite episode later) and fell in love with it again.
4) What promotions do you watch?
Right now, it's just AEW. I have fallen out of love with WWE years ago. When there was a way to watch here in Germany, I enjoyed Lucha Underground, TNA for some time, and I loved WCW back in the day.
5) First wrestling match you remember watching
Undertaker vs Undertaker, Summerslam 94. Because my brother loved The Undertaker, and he watched that match about 2374375 times.
6) Ever been to any wrestling shows/events?
I have been to two WWE shows here in Germany, maybe in 2004, 2005? And there also was a TNA Show close to where I live. But other than that, sadly no. I have made my peace with the fact that I will (most likely) NEVER see FTR live (just typing it actually breaks my heart)
7) Favorite Wrestling Story Line
Hmmm, honestly, about anything that includes CM Punk or MJF. I am a sucker for good promos, and these two ALWAYS deliver. So I am going with their feud against each other. MJF is just killing it, and I love how he blurrs the links between show and reality.
8) Least Favorite Wrestling Story Line
This was a tough one. And then I remembered it: There was this absolute shitty storyline with Kane and Lita...where he forced her into marriage? Then, at some point, she was okay with it...then 'pregnant' and then lost the kid? That was the most fucked up shit I have ever seen happening in a wrestling ring.
9) 1st fanfiction you ever wrote
In general, a one shot for the Anime 'Bleach'. In my high school years. I'm pretty sure it sucked.
Wrestling wise? The Cash Wheeler one shot 'Weirdo' that I wrote in March this year.
I actually didn't write a whole lot when I was younger, because I never got any feedback on it and thought no one liked it.
So I am more than happy to get some opinions here on tumblr. Although, in my adult mind, I probably would write some of it anyway. Like I would write Meant To Be, even if no one read it. I'd just do it for myself.
10) What do you love most about wrestling?
To me, wrestling is like dancing combined with drama class. There are (at least) two bodies moving together in order to tell you a story. In between, someone holds a monologue, explaining his intentions, thoughts, goals. More dancing. Dialogue. More violent dancing.
Honestly, I can't explain it. It's just, if it's good wrestling, it makes you feel. This year, I have seen the best match I'll probably ever witness. FTR vs Briscoes. Never ever have I felt a match like I felt this one. The four men had me wrapped around their fingers. I rewatched it every day for 4 weeks and was still amazed by it. It's a feeling I can't explain, and it's what I like most about wrestling.
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