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canmom · 1 year

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comics and animation have a lot in common, but one interesting difference is that arranging pictures in space rather than time means there's a tradeoff between the amount of drawings you use to show an action, the amount of space each drawing is given, and the amount of pages you cover which determines the 'pacing' of the comic.

if you slice the page up into a lot of tiny boxes to show many stages of a motion like an animation, then each panel has correspondingly less space for background details, and it may affect the aspect ratio of panels. if you give yourself space for a large splash panel, then the pace will slow.

one solution to this problem is to break the convention that a panel is a single 'frame' of action and show multiple images of a character in the same background. Kentaro Miura did this sometimes, and Tradd Moore (on here - @traddmoore) is an expert who uses it frequently (I'll reblog his spiderman comic in a minute). Kamome Shirahama, a genius at creative paneling, also uses it in a couple of places.

a similar trick will have a single background continuous across multiple panels, showing a static 'camera shot' at different times.

the limitation of these methods is that breaking convention makes the panel a little harder to process - you need to make absolutely sure you cue the reader clearly about where to enter the panel. and it requires action that involves a large movement so the drawings don't overlap. so most authors use it as a 'once in a while' thing.

an opposite approach, used in early parts of Superpose by Seosamh and Anka and Goodbye, Eri by Tatsuki Fujimoto, is to go even harder with the cinematic convention and give each panel the aspect ratio and detailed backgrounds of a film camera, taking all the space you need - Superpose opens with about two panels per page which may be very similar to each other, creating a very deliberate sense of pacing. to pull this off you need to be either extremely fast at drawing like Fujimoto, or accept your comic taking a long time to get anywhere - and you also need to be very good at placing the camera in space. you're basically drawing fully rendered storyboards at that point.

one of the interesting difficulties of comic-making is controlling pacing. if you draw many very similar panels it will convey a sense of high concentration and intensity, or a heavy atmosphere, like a long take in a film. much like in prose, if you spend a lot of pictures on something it draws attention to it. so you want to use the 'slow down' sparingly for effect.

as in animation, you're also limited by your own capacity to draw all those pictures, and moreover the space to put them. this is one reason why comics in magazines tend to be sharply limited in page count, and webcomics tend to be very slow compared to other forms of serial fiction. (perhaps manga can make heavier use of pacing tricks by virtue of cheaper printing and endemic overwork. i don't think that's the full story though.) meanwhile, when Transmetropolitan started to experiment with manga-style pacing, apparently it upset fans who felt the story progression was being diluted. when reading Transmet in one go, though, you don't even notice. what works well in an anthology of hundreds of pages may work poorly in a serial.

i think the pace of the reader is often controlled primarily by the text - at least for me I find I sometimes have a tendency to jump very quickly over panels to get to the next bit of the story and have to consciously slow myself down to make sure I don't fail to appreciate the art. so while a series of text-less panels is effective artistically, you might want some words to act as speed bumps. but too much text per picture and your comic becomes exhausting to read, like Subnormality. and you don't want to over-explain what's conveyed perfectly well by the pictures, as many older comics do.

ideally, you use your text, small panels and large panels to create a sense of rhythm. a big splash panel can act as the full stop in a sentence, or a longer take after a series of rapid cuts. negative space is an especially powerful device in the right hands: when you hit a page of Chainsaw Man or Berserk that is almost entirely white after several pages of dense illustration, a character bursting into the void, there's an immediate 'wow' effect before you even process what's happening in the illustration. (i can't seem to find the chainsaw man example i had in mind, so here's one from berserk.)

and on that note, the other thing that comics have that animation doesn't is the impact of being confronted with the whole gestalt page. in the manga I was helping Fall translate when she died, We Are Magical Boys (Bokura wa Mahou Shounen), Fukushima Teppei frequently puts one panel much larger than the others so it dominates the page, usually a close-up or full length character portrait, allowing the cuteness of their unique art style to treasure centre stage. Sandman, which I'm currently rereading, is full of elaborate page compositions, where a drawing might not even be a panel per se, but a visual element. Witch Hat Atelier is full of elaborate borders and clever compositions. just look at this...

how did she come up with that! the absolute madwoman! the right side is relatively standard Atelier (establishing shots, the main cast eagerly stepping out of their panel) but on the left, we have a set of panels falling down from above onto a large splash panel. even though this image is concurrent, the panels invite us to appreciate it in chunks, and the page as a whole has this great visual of the pages of a book, continuing the image of the previous page. (more of this on upcoming post on Atelier)

a character emerging from their panel to overlap others, breaking up the monotony of the grid and adding a sense of depth to the page as a whole, is a reliably appealing motif. also, drawing one panel borderless, so it implicitly continues behind the other panels. large areas of black and white and choices of colour saturation can convey a mood to the page as a whole.

the danger you run is always the loss of clarity. the reader must be able to tell what panels to read in what order without thinking about it. Sandman will sometimes do a double page spread where you're supposed to read across both pages, and this consistently trips me up. Dresden Codak is by an adhd author and her drive to give every page an elaborate layout is very familiar to me, but especially in Hob, it messes with the flow of the comic overall.

so every comic page, every comic, is a fascinating balance of all these factors. how to create a strong, visually interesting composition, control the pacing appropriate to tone, create a thrilling sense of rhythm... all without sacrificing clarity.

not much more to say about this as yet, it's just something I'm thinking about while trying to lay out a page of Ghost Barrier. my tendency is to generally use larger panels, and try to be creative with layouts, but you have to consider not just each page in isolation but how they relate to other pages. so to make the splash panel land, I need to contrast with a denser page immediately beforehand.

the more I make comics the more of a feel I'll get. cool medium!

#comics

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kathy-rah · 2 years

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As someone who is slowly learning how to do digital art alone, I may have some advices to give to those who want to start and don't have time/resources to spend a lot of time trying and testing out drawing processes.

These are some things that I've found useful but Boi, it got me a lot of time to get to it. Of course, this is just what I think can be a good advice for who is a newbie like me, you can try it as a way to start your coloring process but it's not something professional t.t so take it with a bit of salt

First advice I wanna give is to do like I did during this drawing process: while I keep everything on different layers (skin tone / armor / hair /detail / background), don't just start with one layer and then start another one after rendering the first one.

Multiple times I've noticed how the different tones didn't match to each other, or the colors were simply horrible to see next to each other. I've spent a lot of time fixing this type of issues in my old drawing, always deleting the layers (fully rendered) or trying to change the tone with horrible results.

Instead, if you too happen to have this problem, I'd advice you to first coloring everything with the base color. As you see in the video, as first thing I simply filled the lineart with base colors. It's not clear but I assure you I've changed his skin tone multiple times because it didn't match the armor. Same with the mask and the red details.

This is something you can easily do at the beginning to see if the colors match and are nice to see all together in the bigger picture.

It's really something easy and I'm 100% sure they teach you this literally at the beginning of art school but Boi I'm stupid. I only learn when I do things myself t.t

Change colors as much as you want until you've reached your desired tones. Be careful of saturation levels. To make everything more balanced, play with the hue level for every base color you've used. You don't like how the red is in contrast with the blue? Change the red layer' hue/saturation values a bit and you'll find the perfect type of red you need.

After you are happy with the overall results, start with the rendering.

This is something I recommend to do if you still aren't used to the use of tones/saturation.

If you need some examples of the pieces where I struggled, here you go: this one is probably my fav one even now that I draw from pc.

Before:

As you can see there isn't balance in the colors. Fulgrim's skin is too much out of everything and in general there is too much differences between the colors. It just doesn't look harmonious. Then:

I assure you I haven't re-drawn anything here, just fixed the saturation, tones and hue levels (and added a bit more of shadows), yet now everything matches. (i also have changed the color of the lineart in a few places, look at the hair for example).

This might looks obvious to others, but I've spent a lot of time on this piece with the only focus on making those colors look nicely together and with time I've learned from my mistakes.

Another example: the commission I did a few weeks ago. I had to draw an Imperial fist, so you'd expect to see a yellow armor. Considering that I painted the background with red colors, bright yellow would have been quite a shock to see: that's why the base color is not yellow but orange. Same thing the clothes aren't white anymore but a light pink.

On a white background it looks weird for an IF armor, yet this is the result at the end:

Yellow is only for the parts hit by the light, where the shadow are more on the red tones. (don't mind the light blue for now)

Of course, you have to take in consideration many things before changing the hues of the original colors, but I hope this could help c:

#Art tips #For newbies like me #Just in case you're struggling with the colors like used to do #Kind of rambling #Video #My art #Digital art #Long post #Might also be wrong but at least it's a start

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aemiron-main · 10 months

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I adore your artstyle. I feel like I'm never happy with my own cause it looks so boring and unstylized. Got any good tips?

AHHH THANK YOU ANON!! <<333

And believe me, I’ve been in your shoes. Seriously. Even now, I still have 26474885 new things I want to try with my art and things I want to change. But I DO have some tips for you- hopefully theyre good tips!

So, I think one of the key things is looking at other artists and pulling their art apart.

Practice and spending the time actually creating art is important, but I’d argue that spending time analyzing art is equally important. I spend a lot of time looking at art, and then instead of just staring at it, I try and figure out what EXACT elements of it that I want to incorporate into my own work. For example, if I like the way somebody does lineart, and the way another person does their rendering, I’ll try and figure out how they did it & why I like it & try to combine it with the way another artist does rendering or lines/the way I want to do them. I spend a LOT of time pulling at apart, seriously. I send various pieces to my own private discord server channel & literally talk to myself about them and what exactly I like about them and how EXACTLY I want to change my own work. I do probably as much typing as I do drawing when it comes to art.

Also, a good question to ask yourself when you see a piece of art you like is “I like this art, BUT- do I want my art to look like this?”. There’s artists whose styles I ADORE, but I don’t want my art to look like theirs- for example, I love looking at people with super heavily stylized art with only flat colouring & no rendering, but it’s not how I want my art to look & isn’t the type of art that I enjoy creating.

So, being able to pull apart various pieces and go “okay, WHY do I like this piece and DO i want MY art to look like this?” is something that’s definitely helped me.

I also think it’s super important to set actual, solid goals and figure out what you want your art to do.

What I mean when I say “figure out what you want your art to do,” is in terms of “okay, well, do you want everything more flat and visible with less rendering and less volume? or more rendering and more volume? Do you want to focus on design/concept work? Do you want to be able to do complex poses or complex lighting or both? What matters more to you- having a painting with dramatic, heavily contrasting lighting, or having a style where everything is easily visible & not obscured by shadow, or some combination of the two? Do you want to be good at drawing couples? Complex backgrounds? Both? HOW do you want to draw those couples and complex backgrounds? Lots of volume? Minimal volume? Focus on lighting? Focus on lines? Somewhere in between? tc"

Personally, I try and visualize it as a give and take situation/a sliding scale with tradeoffs when it comes to stylization. On one side of my scale, I’ve got super linework-focused, flat colours art that’s more focused on shape and less focused on volume and minimal lighting. On the opposite side, I’ve got super rendered, painterly art with complex lighting. And I’ve been trying to find an ideal combination of the two, and that’s where the tradeoffs I mentioned come in.

My work used to be even MORE linework heavy than it is now/flatter (which is great, just not the direction I wanted to personally keep going), and I had SO much trouble doing painting/rendering and it frustrated me and I couldnt figure out why. But then, I realized I had to make a tradeoff- my complex linework didn’t work well for heavily rendered styles, because the sketches/drawings/lines for paintings on that “super rendered basically no visible linework” side of the art scale are generally meant to be more for function rather than form.

My lines weren’t serving the function they needed to, they weren’t doing the heavy lifting that they needed to, so the rest of the painting would collapse & wouldn’t work and I would get frustrated as all hell when trying to paint.

What I mean when I talk about the lines doing heavy lifting is what I said earlier with the sketches in painterly styles generally being more function over form. I needed to think of my lines as supporting the painting and acting more as a *map* for things like the lighting (see: shadow mapping) & as using fewer lines to make room for more volume (the tradeoff). My lines weren't doing that, I wasn't really thinking about where I was putting them/how I was using them/how they interacted with other elements of the piece (such as the lighting & how that affects the way I do lines).

I also highly highly highly recommend the book/resource "anatomy for sculptors"- you can find a bunch of excerpts from it on pinterest/all over the internet, but it really is a phenomenal resource and a unique resource IMO because it does a really great job of demonstrating the link between the anatomy vs the planes of the face/shapes that make up that anatomy, and bridging the gap between 2D shapes and 3D forms.

Also, just some basic tips that help me in general: -Your areas of detail should also be your areas of high contrast. This sounds more complicated than it actually is, but basically, it doesn't matter how much detail you put in a low-contrast area of a painting, because it won't show up (because it's low contrast). So, keeping your high contrast areas as your detail areas is a good thing to keep in mind, esp when working on more complex paintings. -General proportion "rules". I try and keep in mind some general rough tips like "the eyes should have the width of one eye between them," and "the face should be roughly the sized of a splayed out hand".

-Straights vs curves. I think about the straight lines vs the curved lines a LOT in my art.

-What works for me may not work for you. Different people think differently. What works for other artists may not work for either or us. What works for other artists may work great for you but not for me.

Also, experiment with different brushes. They DO make a difference. No brush will fix a lack of understanding of the fundamentals, but a brush that works for you will make those fundamentals easier to learn/apply. Personally, I draw with a combination of the default photoshop pressure opacity tapered airbrush and one of Ruan Jia's free textured square brushes.

And also, experiment with overlay layers/all those different types of layer. Seriously, that was a gamechanger for me, especially in terms of stylization and giving more of my art that warm feeling/look that it has. My art actually usually starts out very cool toned and I slowly warm it up via colour changes and various yellow (or other colours) overlay/soft light etc layers.

And I don’t say any of this to box you in/overwhelm you, just to give you a list of things I wish I knew sooner.

Also, I think people focus too much on having one consistent style. I 10000% understand needing to have a consistent style for commission purposes, but as far as just developing your art goes. just experiment and figure out what you like and what works best and the style WILL come.

ANYWAY! Hope this helped, I'm like half awake rn so it's not as coherent as I'd like it to be.

#em talks about art #anons

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isaspsp · 2 years

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💋💫Crimson Lips 💫💋

A Lady never leaves a mark.

Unless she wants to ~

Edit: I found the original comment I had along with this piece!!! So under the cut it goes. Enjoy the reding, if you dare.

This piece is fanart for Monochromatic's "Crimson Lips"

I have a lot to say about this piece. Firstly, I have a hard time picking favourites most of the time. I don't have a favourite food. I don't have a favourite color. I don't have a favourite music genre. I don't have a football team. I do have a favourite number! I don't have a favourite author. But I believe that last part has been surely rectified by now. I guess I can say that I've dedicated so luch time to doing fanart for this one author, that they can, indeed, be considered my favourite author. Then we are taken to this piece. One more fanart. Of an ABSURDLY amazing story. It might be the bias that it is from my favourite author, and someone I have the honor to call friend even. (Mono, btw is the author of the books for my two AMVs, so I'm quite the fan) But really, it's an amazingly written story I urge you to read. Reminder that the fic is rated teen, but it deals with sensitive topics.

Now onto the piece: This piece took an ABSURD amount of time. Like. I think it officially topples any of my previous records. But I don't know exacly how long it took. If it were up to me (and it is), I'd say it took like, maybe 6 hours? (It didn't, it was a lot more) I really wonder what sort of trance this piece had over me. I finished it in about 5 days-ish? I made the rough thumbnail on day one; 40% of the frame on day two; finished the frame, sketched the characters and blocked in all of them in day three; Rendered 75% of the characters day four; Finished rendering and other details on the morning of day 5. Today! That might seem reasonable enough. But here's the thing. I worked day 3 and 4 all day solely on this piece. From 8am to 11pm. ALL DAY. AND I DIDNT NOTICE I SPENT ALL DAY WORKING ON THIS ONE PIECE. I didn't even open another drawing's file. If you're familiar with csp's time-lapse feature, know that a two character portrait usually amounts to a 2 minute video. A piece that I'd usually spend 4 hours on, amounts to 2 minutes. This piece has a ten minute time-lapse. So I'd wager that I spent… at least 20 hours on this piece. Which feels so wrong. It's a beautiful piece sure. I love it immensely. But it feels wrong. It doesn't feel like it would need that much time to be completed? It doesn't have a conplex background, it doesn't have challenging Lighting, the characters don't interact directly, there isn't so.e frame perspective going on. So I don't know what made this piece take this long.

Let's gather what could've made this such a long piece.

I didn't rush A SINGLE PART OF THIS PIECE. Which contributes to why It took so long. I ALWAYS rush some part of a piece. Not necessarily in big ways, but maybe a rushed element. In this piece, the only thing I settled for was the border/frame/background. And even then, I say "settled" for because I did put a lot of care in it, but it was okay with it not being perfect.

I'm not THAT used to drawing and consequently painting humans. Or humanoid creatures. The reason why I draw more antro than human is because I'm SO terribly horrible with faces. Now, you don't see all the thrown away sketches from years past. I think a lot of that stemed from me not knowing how I wanted to go about stylizing them. When I started drawing pony, I had a very small pool of inspirations, and I did a shit ton of tracing (much before I ever started posting on the internet), so I didn't have much - or any at all -pressure to find a style. Now it's different. I'm very proud of my art. I've convinced myself that I don't have time for self doubt. This is the one and only hobby I'll not ever allow myself to drop. I've dropped knitting, soap carving, reading, swimming (which I couldn't to much in the first place), but art has been the one consistent hobby I've had. My self doubt will have the rip my heart away before it gets rid of my love for my own art. But then humans. I love my art, but then again, I can dislike my work still. And because my horizons are so much broader than they were when I started, I have so many options… too many options. Humans are difficult to draw because they are so fundamentaly different from all the animals I've drawn. They are us. Humans, there is so much more nuance that you have to capture to make them feel real. It's a hard balance to achieve. There are so so so many ways to stylized humans, from more goofy, to more simple and concise, to graphic to hyper realistic (aka barely any stylization). And again, I' bad at picking favourites. So then come furries, anthros. The nice middle ground of humanoid, but still familiar with the animal bits. And with anthro, you can choose how humanoid they'll be, so they were a good way to ease myself into drawing humans! And it worked. But I fear it might've worked too fast. Or at least too pointedly. Too concentrated in this one piece.

It feels like someone else drew this piece.

I think the best way to analyse your art looking for ways to improve it is by imagining you didn't draw it. It's easier to pick out the weaknesses of something you don't have emotional connection with. After I'm done with analyzing, I can switch back to myself and love a piece for what it is. Again, I need to be proud of my art.

But this piece is almost foreign in quality.

It's supposed to be heavily inspired by the art nouveau movement. I think that is pretty clear, so naturally, it's a far reach from my usual style. I don't thing that the realism is the characters' proportions is a staple of that style, more so the rendering, shape language and background style are what clue you into that style. So I could've done any stylization for the characters and it's work. At least it would've been good enough for me. But then again. Humans are a pain to draw. And making them anywhere other than human would destroy the intent of the original text, so that wanst an option. So I started drawing. I honetsly don't remember most of my sketching process nor decisions. Only by looking at the time-lapse that I see what decisions I took. Again. Foreign. I think the only piece of human art I have similar in style tot his one is those humans portraits I drew of my OCs, Beau and Bishop. But even then, this feels… different. Not to count that the rendering technique is something I, again, have never done before! This was mostly a combination of hard pencils smoothened out my blender brushes. I usually just bland with the painting brushes themselves, so that was a new technique for me. Again foreign.

In conclusion. I don't know if it's a good thing that this piece feels that foreign. But I know I drew this and that I'm proud and completely in love with it, and I hope you all are too 💖

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mc-critical · 3 years

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I was curious since you were just talking about Suleyman sisters. Which one is your favourite and what would you change in their storylines? (Me: I would Sah being in love with Ibrahim and her and Hürrem being enemies, because I truly someone from the imperial family liked Hürrem)

I honestly love all of them. Even though they all share a similar purpose in the narrative on the outset (that is, being antagonists to Hürrem), they have distinct motivations and personalities that always succeed to make them so interesting to analyze.

Despite of that, I have to say that my favourite is Hatice. She's the one who felt most fleshed out, with the widest arrays of personality and relationships and I sympathize with her in nearly every level. While I know that S03 Hatice could turn people off and I could understand why in theory (good flanderization is still flanderization after all and her "Heel Face Turn" could feel underwhelming after Hü's huge E63 victory and it lowkey makes for kind of a soft reset of the show's status-quo, but not only I haven't seen this actually being used in arguments against her, but this is solely a writing problem that didn't even originate from her and wasn't totally fixed until the end.), I felt this was the most logical step in her arc and her development made complete sense, no matter how flanderizing it was and how tragic it ended up being. [poor Hatice :(] I have analyzed her character and why I love her so much as well in more detail here.

The one thing I would change is, again, her spending more time with Osman and Huricihan. The need of having kids was set up as a very important part of her character from the beggining and Osman and Huricihan's birth could've felt as a new wave of hope after the devastating child losses. It felt like they were the start of an entirely new chapter of her life where she could enjoy the company of her kids the way she so wanted to, but the birth of Huricihan and Osman ended up being only the finale of Hatice's worries over her children, a satisfying end to these arcs of hers where she could finally find happiness at last and with this it was over. It wasn't built on at all and this whole angle of Hatice's character was seemingly dropped just like that. While I get that her storyline was very densely packed and they may not have had time, they could've given us a few scenes at the very least, especially in S03B where they would play part in empowering even more Hatice's tragic arc, being a reminder of Ibrahim. Not to mention that Huricihan would've been a much better character if that set-up existed.

I adore Şah Sultan, as well and I actually enjoy her dynamic with Hatice even more than her dynamic with Hürrem, because it tells us much more about who she is. It was so enjoyable to watch these two sisters confront each other on not so few instances, while still loving each other. I love how Şah's ambition contrasts so well with her genuine care for the people she loves (like Hatice and Esmahan) and how her pragmatism could actually get in the way of that care, while we could still see that the two coexist in her regardless. It makes her motivation so interesting to figure out in a way we haven't seen before or after with any other character. Her love for Ibrahim.. while yes, I get that it may seem a little weird, putting so much stuff in their past into another context that could draw the line between "this makes sense" and "how exactly did that happen?", it explains why Şah may have this deep seated resentment to Hatice, it is a nicely used plot-device to drive conflict between them (the conflict set-up in their past that is outside of their clash of ideals and philosophies in the present and near future) and her and Lütfi later. It makes her more interesting, too, because it shows her ability to let go of her feelings when she sees is necessary. Her approach is also very interesting and unique (at least at first) and while I find most of her scenes with Hürrem generic, she was a formidable and effective antagonist. I also find interesting that in rewatch, you do see that out of her and Hatice, it's Şah who is more elitist, interestingly enough. (because while Hatice mostly pulls rank out of ignorance or when she's challanged outright, Şah pulls rank not only in confrontation, but in casual conversations with people around her, as well - E87 is a perfect example of this. She also views the dynasty as something even more valuable that shouldn't ever be touched - her not wanting to fight Mihrimah in the end, even though I'm sure she could've outsmarted her if she truly wanted to, she wanted the most out of anyone in S03B for the dynasty members to have each other's backs and support each other no matter what and she was as ready as Hatice to stand behind what the dynasty represents, but not on a more personal level like Hatice, rather on standing behind its laws and traditions, like Ayşe Hafsa.)

What I would change with her, is that intrigue of hers that succeeded to have Hürrem be exiled for the third time. There's nothing wrong with the intrigue neither writing-wise, nor with Şah's character in it, and I kinda appreciate Hürrem's overspending there as a parallel to Mahidevran's overspending in S02, showing that they're not so different after all in a bunch of cases. But otherwise, the whole thing felt like pointless filler that only repeats some aspect of previous storylines. Yet another harem riot, though not as large in scale, and that almost contrived exile, which served nothing in the end (except for showing how Hürrem has gained a decent network of political allies, but that was shown before the exile, too). I would probably make it a far more complex, but still to the point intrigue, the outcome of which sure wouldn't be another exile for an episode. This also wouldn't have been the ending culmination of Şah's careful plans against Hürrem, either. (Ayaz Pasha's death afterwards was relatively quickly planned in comparison! Like.. c'mon..)

Fatma is my least favourite sister of the sisters, but she certainly has her moments. I love her debut and I love how fun loving she is, I sorta wish we saw even more of that. I actually don't recall a moment where Fatma ever pulled rank on someone in the way Hatice in E26 did and Şah so casually does and if there truly isn't any moment like that, then I love her even more for it. What is even more interesting is how her motivation is a promise made to Mustafa (even though this whole motivation is kinda strange writing-wise, since she's an entirely new character and the devotion to Mustafa could look like something the writers only came up with in the heat of the moment for S04A's bad use of flashbacks and to make yet another antagonist for Hürrem... Fatma could've been next to Mustafa when he was a child in Manisa and she liked him as a child, who knows? That coupled with Mahidevran probably reminding him of Fatma's existence, as well.) and how far she's going to go to fulfill it, even after his death. It all showed a side of hers that is willing to put the dynasty members in intrigue (the way she put Selim and Bayezid against one another and even when she played that game on Mihrimah), an interesting contrast with the other sisters, who would do anything but, at least not so consciously. (I'm referring to Şah's very first scheme against Hürrem, in E85-6) I love how she scolded Mihrimah in E121 and I love how they showed her sorrow for Mustafa's death. (that little scene where she said: "I failed.." was so touching, honestly... It shows how devoted she was to it all) Her relationship with Kara Ahmet is also pretty great.

What I would change with her, is her part in the menopause plot. The episode itself is such a weird and tonal mess, but Fatma there was at her worst and I don't agree with her making fun of Hürrem like this. I get the purpose of the episode and scene, but it still sits wrong with me and since that was our first episode with Fatma, it rendered her a little petty for me when I was first watching. I wouldn't have had Fatma tell it out loud for everyone to hear, I would've probably made her show Hürrem she knew in a confrontation similar to Hürrem and Mahidevran's (hey, a part of their formula could work for once!) between both of them during the entertainment. I would have also given her a little more balanced screentime. In some episodes it was very fine, but in others, it felt like she was more shoved into the background.

About Hürrem having at least one dynasty member to like Hürrem - I agree, it would be a breath of fresh air, to say the least, there should've been this kind of variety. If there is one I would make a friend of Hürrem's (at the most part), that would be Beyhan.

I would have given her more screentime, especially in S01-2, she could be there to advice and support her sisters even more and for them to calm down from the games and intrigues. She wouldn't play such a big role in the story, aside from an arc or two that would be different from working against Hürrem. Her and Hürrem would be usually on good terms, since her emotional maturity would let her understand at least a bit of her side of the story and wouldn't be so quick to accuse her. (as she wasn't when she learned of how Hatice learned about Nigar and Ibrahim) Beyhan can't be fully on board with her, of course, because moments where Hürrem tramples on Hatice's happiness directly or indirectly could put them at odds, but I feel Beyhan's personality and shtick would be the best suited for a friendship with Hürrem of sorts. Since she still wouldn't be part of the throne war, Hürrem would have no reasons to act against her personally, either. (now, S03B could be a problem, but then we could... have her return to her castle permanetly?) It would've been epic if Şah had only her dynamic with Hatice in the story, but I don't think that alone would be enough for the writers, because they sure were searching for someone to replace Ibrahim as a more prominent antagonist until S04's switch of focus and enrichment of storylines.

#magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #muhtesem yuzyil #hatice sultan #sah sultan #beyhan sultan #fatma sultan #ask #librarian-witchling

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dothwrites · 4 years

Note

worried Dean @ Cas: “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

---

It’s a widely accepted tenet in the art department that Castiel Novak is a genius.

Dean first hears rumors of Novak’s skills when he’s a freshman. He doesn’t believe them at first. He suspects they’re overblown by groupies who are too interested in trying to get into Novak’s pants (not that Dean can blame them: with his shock of dark hair, ice-blue eyes, and delicate scrollwork of tattoos spiraling up his arms to disappear under the sleeves of his very tight t-shirts, Novak is a walking wet dream). Then, at the end of his freshman year, he’s busy setting up the annual art show when a piece catches his attention.

At first glance, the painting is deceptively simple. A shadowed figure stands in the center of the canvas, his arms raised up to the sky. Around him are swirls of red, black, and gold, somehow blending into one color in the background. The more Dean looks, the more ambiguity he finds in the painting. Are the swirls of gold lifting the figure up or restraining him? Is the figure fading into the black or breaking free? Is the red coming from him or is he drawing it in? Are his hands raised in supplication or defiance?

Dean loses track of how many minutes he spends staring at the painting, admiring the shading, the color, the symbolism. Transfixed, he reaches out to touch at the rough surface of the painting before he recalls himself and snaps his hand back to his side.

“You can touch it if you want.”

Dean whirls around at the deep voice, his eyes widening when he sees Castiel Novak standing behind him, hands tucked deep into his pockets. Castiel raises a pierced eyebrow at him.

“Seriously. Go ahead.”

Dean shakes his head, aware of Castiel’s reputation. “I can’t...we’re not allowed to disturb the artwork--”

Castiel’s mouth twists and Dean doesn’t know whether he’s angry or deprecatory. “Well, I’m the artist, and I say you can.”

Castiel’s eyes rest heavily on him. Dean swallows, his heart picking up a rhythm that seems attached to the flick of Castiel’s tongue over his lower lip. Hand shaking, he reaches out to brush his fingers over the textured canvas.

“It’s rough,” Castiel says from right behind him (when the hell did he get that close?), “because becoming is always rough.”

And that’s how Dean Winchester decided Castiel Novak was a genius.

---

As school and life continues, Dean admires Castiel Novak from afar.

From what he can tell, Castiel doesn’t have many friends. He has admirers, which he ignores, and he has a few people who hang onto his fame, which he disdains, but actual friends? The only thing keeping Dean from volunteering is the thought that Castiel will turn the same withering look on him.

Castiel haunts the art building and, as Dean continues delving into the Art program at Carver Edlund University, he does the same. Sometimes he’ll pass Castiel on his way to his studio. Castiel always nods at him, but it’s a companionable gesture, the same that you might give to someone at the grocery store. He never stops to chat, doesn’t even remove his earbuds.

And that’s fine. So Dean’s harboring a crush that’s as much intellectual as it is physical. Plenty of people have crushes. It’s fine. It’s not like he’s obsessed. Not like he lurks around just so he can leave at the same time Castiel does. Not like he skulks through the dark halls so he can get a look at Castiel’s new project. That would make him creepy and pathetic, and those are two adjectives which certainly don’t describe Dean Winchester.

After a while, denial doesn’t even taste bad, just a little bitter.

By the end of his sophomore year, Dean’s accustomed to the status quo. He notices the light in the private studio allotted to Castiel (all senior Art majors get their own studios, but Castiel got the nicest of them), but he doesn’t stop on his way to his own (shared) studio. When he arrives, however, he screeches to a halt.

His studio is filled to the brim with snotty freshmen. His personal workplace has been completely commandeered by a freshman with a (barf) man bun. “What the hell?” Dean sputters. He can feel his face turning red with rage. “This is my time.”

Man-Bun pops his gum as he looks at Dean. His eyes are so hazy Dean’s surprised that he’s not deep-throating a bong at that very moment. “Um, guess again? We totally booked the studio for tonight?”

Seething, Dean storms to the schedule and checks. Sure enough, there’s a long list of names on the door for the studio space. “I always have Thursday,” he protests, but it’s an empty sort of rage. “I’m always here for Thursdays.”

Man-Bun shrugs, turning back to his psychedelic smattering of colors. “Not this Thursday, dude.”

Dismissed, Dean gathers his remaining dignity, and leaves. Standing out in the hallway, he reviews his options. He’s kicked out of his regular studio, and he needs to work tonight, otherwise he’ll never get his final project for figure drawing done. Every studio he passes is booked to capacity; clearly the art program is full of procrastinators. In fact, the only studio that has any sort of room...

“No. No. Shit.” Dean weighs the consequences of failing his class versus metaphorically throwing himself into a volcano. Finally, his fear of failure takes over, and he knocks on the door of his last remaining option.

The door swings open, revealing a Castiel who looks significantly more disheveled than normal (though normal Castiel usually looks like he was rode hard and put away wet). A smear of blue paint decorates one cheek while his earbuds dangle from his neck. Dean tries to ignore the spirals of Castiel’s tattoos, especially where they disappear under his shirt (he especially tries to ignore the thoughts of what those tattoos look like underneath Castiel’s shirt). Castiel blinks in surprise.

“Dean. What are you doing here?”

(The fact that Castiel knows Dean’s name comes as a shock. Dean assumed that he was one of the thousands of nameless faces Castiel passes every day.)

“Um, first let me say, it’s totally awesome if you say no, I don’t expect you to say yes, it’s a huge imposition--”

“Dean, you’re rambling.”

“Can i use your studio? Or share it? I wouldn’t ask, but a bunch of douchebags took mine and there are no other spaces open, and I really need to finish this project--”

“Sure. Come on.”

And with that, Castiel steps back and beckons Dean into his studio.

Dean crosses the threshold with something resembling awe. He never imagined, in his wildest dreams, that he would be allowed into Castiel’s inner sanctum. He tries not to gape too obviously as his eyes dart from corner to corner of the room. It looks...like a studio for the most part. Several canvases are hung around the room; if they’re discarded attempts or inspiration, Dean doesn’t know. They could easily function as either. Castiel finally steps in front of him, directing Dean’s attention to one corner of the room.

“Would there be good?”

Dean nods. “Yeah, that’s good.” He pauses, eyes darting nervously around the studio. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

Castiel frowns, like the thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “No, of course not. If you were, I wouldn’t have opened up the door.” With that, he seems to consider the topic of conversation closed, and retreats back a few steps.

He sets up his work and tries to ignore the fact that Castiel Novak is watching him. It’s almost impossible not to feel his eyes; the skin on the back of Dean’s neck prickles in awareness, but he perseveres.

He sets his sketch on the easel before casting a critical eye upon it. He frowns as he notices every imperfection. it’s based off a series of sketches he jotted down in class earlier that day. Dean remembers the careless grace of the model, the way that the fabric had draped artlessly over his waist and shoulders, but he can’t recapture the specific atmosphere of the room, which was what made that particular model striking. Every time he tries to put onto the paper how the room felt, his figures end up wooden and two-dimensional.

“You’re paying too much attention to the form.”

Dean jumps, his charcoal pencil scrawling an ungainly line across the page. Not a huge loss, he was already going to toss this one anyway. He turns around to find Castiel standing directly behind him.

Castiel nods towards his sketchpad. “In your drawings. You’re paying too much attention to the form. That’s why it’s coming out wrong.”

“The form is all there is,” Dean replies, a little peevishly. He knows the sketch sucks, but that doesn’t mean he wants Castiel freaking Novak pointing it out to him.

“The form is one part. But you have the lighting and shading and you have the intention. The intention is...the feel of the room. It’s what remains unsaid and unseen to those who weren’t there. It’s what you’re trying to capture by paying so much attention to the form. Of course, by concentrating too much on the technical, you lose the abstract.”

Castiel flicks over to a new page with a deft flick of his wrist. He plucks the pencil from Dean’s grasp with one hand. With the other, he poses Dean’s hand close to his face. Castiel stares at Dean for a few excruciating seconds before he turns his attention to the empty page.

Dean hardly dares to breathe as Castiel sketches. He’s not sure how he’s going to return to real life, knowing now the tiny crease that knits between Castiel’s brows or how the tip of Castiel’s tongue pokes out of the corner of his mouth. How is he supposed to live, knowing Castiel hums tunelessly as his hand works?

“There.” Castiel flips the sketch to face Dean. In it, Dean finds his own face, rendered in a few lines. It’s rough, certainly, but it’s a close enough likeness. More than that, Castiel’s managed to capture...

“Do I look that scared?” Dean blurts out, before he can stop himself.

Castiel actually laughs, deep and rumbling, from the diaphragm. It’s a lovely sound, one that fills the studio, and one Dean would gladly hear again and again. “You don’t look scared.” He sets the pencil down on the easel and turns fully to face Dean. “Anxious maybe. Hovering on the edge of anticipation.” He steps closer. His chest almost brushes Dean’s, which could be misinterpreted as Castiel not understanding the concept of personal space.

What can’t be misinterpreted is the unsubtle drop of Castiel’s eyes to Dean’s lips.

“I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I’ve really wanted to kiss you for almost a year,” Castiel says, his voice scraped rough around the edges. His eyes drag up to Dean’s, and Dean’s taken aback at the wild glint in them. Castiel steps closer and his clever fingers slip into the spaces between Dean’s fingers. “Please Dean,” Castiel breathes, raw and needy, “please, can I kiss you?”

“Fuck yes,” Dean murmurs, which is all he gets to say before Castiel’s hand cups the back of his head and his lips descend upon Dean’s.

Not that Dean’s bragging, but he’s had quite a few good kisses in his life (and been told that he gives quite a few good kisses). Castiel blows them all out of the water. Dean’s never been kissed so thoroughly before, like Castiel wants to own him, like Castiel’s interested in finding exactly what makes Dean tick. His teeth nip at the swell of Dean’s lower lip while his tongue delicately traces the seam of Dean’s lips. Dean eagerly opens his mouth, moaning into Castiel’s mouth as Castiel’s tongue slips in along his.

Hours or days later, when they part, Dean realizes that while one of his hands is cupping the spur of Castiel’s hip (holy fuck, those hips feel like handles for his hands), his other hand is still holding Castiel’s. It’s certainly the sweetest kiss that’s ever given him a boner.

Castiel laughs, a little breathless. It’s only then Dean realizes he’s a little taller than Castiel. “You do live up to expectations,” he murmurs, and Dean’s not sure whether Castiel’s talking to himself or not.

The words spark a recent memory in Dean, and suddenly nothing is more important than finding out the truth. “You said you wanted to do that for a year?” Castiel nods, his eyes suddenly shifting to the side. “Why?”

“Everyone always goes on about my art. How groundbreaking it is, how I’m a ‘once in a generation talent’.” Castiel uses finger-quotes, which should not be as endearing as Dean finds it. “And it’s nice, but none of them even bother to see my art for what it is. They just see my name attached to it and they lose their shit. But last year...You saw that painting. It didn’t matter to you who made it. You saw it and appreciated it for what it was. And I...I saw you.”

Castiel swallows. For all his suave confidence earlier, he looks oddly vulnerable now. “So, anyway. Yeah. For a year now. Um...” He glances at Dean’s easel. “I guess I’ll leave you alone now. Or if you want privacy, I can go.”

“Or,” Dean says, the pink flush on Castiel’s cheeks giving him all the bravery he’ll ever need. “You could stay.” Castiel’s eyes slice to him, their blue intense and jaw-dropping. Dean grins, a little predatory, like they’re on even ground.

“After all, I’m going to need a model for this sketch.”

#destiel #destiel fanfic #destiel fic #dean winchester #castiel #college au #art school au #artist!cas #artist!dean #nervous!dean #meet cute #dothwrites

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kyogre-blue · 2 years

Text

Spring 2022, anime

The hit list:

1. Skeleton Knight in Another World

Ep 3, dropped. Its crimes are countless. Starts with sexual assault, rendered in loving detail and lingered on. Continues with a rather convoluted and contrived excuse for why the MC is OP. MC is also bland. Continues on with the female lead being stupidly confrontational, and adds on to its sins by going “look how strong she is, she doesn’t need help just like she said!” except you can just smell she’ll need help in a minute because how else will the MC wiggle into her good graces. And she does... with more sexual violence. Good times.

Aside from that, it tries (rather limply) to do a kind of old school vibe with the opening song and the spell title cards. Think like... old super robot anime. That kind of thing. But they can’t really carry it through, and it’s not nearly enough to excuse everything else.

Overall mediocre and run of the mill, but I have better things to spend my time on, even as background noise.

2. The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody

Ep 3, dropped. This one is mostly just too stupid. I’ve seen a few shows with this premise of “the MC was super OP, but he decided to ‘reincarnate’ into the future because reasons and now everyone is amazed by this magic super child who is the hottest shit.” This one is like... whatever, but it is the most mediocre harem focus.

The concepts seem interesting, but I can tell they’ll never get past the stupid way they’re being presented. All this did was remind me of this one Monster High School show where the main girl was a pink-haired vampire with a cool alterego and the MC started to become a vampire too and the second girl was a succubus... it was a much better show. The character designs were also much better than this pathetic mess.

Bonus mention to how much this show cannot handle its own premise. “Typical nobody” but his dad is a super mage and everyone actively refers to him as the son of a great mage, by ep3 he’s announcing himself boldly so everyone will know his name and casually showing overpowered magic... And not even getting into how people from his old era are still around but somehow the magic from back then is treated as a secret lost art.

3. The Dawn of the Witch

Ep 3, ongoing... for now. Though not precisely on its own merits.

This shows is like... it has a fairly good concept, being not an OP protag power fantasy and not being set in a school, with a main cast that has specific backstories and personalities and a setting I at least understand and don’t mind.

But the pacing. The pacing is such a mess. I don’t know if this is an adaptation issue, but you cannot just drop two tragic backstories and a big betrayal in episode 2 and think it’s going to work, on an emotional level.

However, since beginnings are hard, I’m tentatively willing to see how it goes further in.

4. RPG Real Estate

Ep 3, dropped. This one isn’t bad, actually. But it’s just “cute girls doing cute things,” and I am not interested in that. The fantasy setting is nice in theory, but it’s just too off from my tastes.

5. Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs

Ep 1, dropped. Lasted about 10 minutes and then I’m out. I don’t need this moron with an inferiority complex (and the author with presumably the same) wasting my time shitting on a genre made for girls to begin with.

But I will say this: you should have just put the game on auto for the dialogue and looked up a guide for everything else. If you had so much trouble clearing it when it looks turn-based, that’s on you.

6. Love After World Domination

Ep 3, ongoing. I’ve actually read the manga for this. The anime adaptation is pretty good so far. Special mention to the transformation voice announcement and also the way they draw the thighs and asses on the guys.

That aside, it’s just a fluffy rom-com. It’s kind of nice to see such an uncomplicated romance sometimes.

7. SPY x FAMILY

Ep 3, ongoing. Good as expected. God, Anya is so dumb, I love her.

Going forward the two biggest questions will be whether they can keep the pacing from being too slow or too fast, and how they’ll end the season, since the manga is still ongoing. But so far at least I’m pleasantly surprised by how solid the adaptation is.

8. Ascendance of a Bookworm, S3

Ep 3 (ep29), ongoing. Bookworm is still Bookworm in the new season, without too much difference, though they are entering a new arc with more scheme-y political stuff. I enjoy it as a medium engagement show - I pay some attention to what’s going on, but I’m not super into it emotionally. It’s nice and rather different from the isekais we usually get animated.

----

....And that’s about everything new this season that I’m planning to try.

Not much survived, and something else will probably bite the dust in a few more weeks, but for now I’ll go and find something else to marathon while waiting for new eps, haha.

#season overview #now playing #reading isekai

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ahlis-xiv · 3 years

Text

journal 50.4

G’raha sat alone, semi-hunched over a piece of parchment as he worked. Although he did not show it, the drafting he ambitiously began was nothing short of a place between fascinating and downright tediousness. The solution to tempering that nestled within his mind and finding a proper way to convey it into some sort of physicality that others could understand took time and a level of focus that brought him back to his Studium days.

He did not mind the effort, really, yet part of him couldn’t help but feel he could be applying himself to something else...namely figuring out why his dear friend decided to depart in such a hurry without so much as a word.

G’raha sighed, and scratched out part of the formulae he attempted to use as a proper proof. It wasn’t correct or, rather, not good enough, and he knew it: it almost felt like he had to somehow invent a whole new notation and he was second guessing every attempt. That, he knew, was as strong a sign as any that he needed a break.

Abandoning his work for the more welcoming sight above Mor Dhona proper, he took to his usual perch and leaned over the ledge to watch the activity below. Ever since he arrived there—since waking up, really—G’raha found the habit of people-watching a welcome one when it came to clearing his head. It had also been an old habit as well from his time as the Exarch. It was difficult at times to not be reminded of it when he went there to be alone--not that it troubled him, but rather his thoughts inevitably wandered to those he had to let go. To old friends and, naturally, to her.

What would Lyna think, he wondered. Of everything? Despite assurances, both given and told to own self, he knew it was a question not quite answerable. He was unfettered, free—free to live the life he wished. A second chance. Yet something gnawed away at his heart that only grew in the wake of what occurred in Ala Mhigo. And the Warrior of Light was nowhere in sight.

He didn’t wish to admit it, but that this point most of all prickled his thoughts. She had been wounded in the confrontation: not severely but enough to warrant considerable healing, namely for her arms. She berated herself for not properly handling the situation, that it was foolish to not deal with Fandaniel and his summoning there and then somehow. When the dust settled with wounds seen to and mended, she slipped away and out of his reach.

G’raha’s hands clasped together in front of him, fretting as his anxiety swelled. Ahlis said many things in the aftermath at the menagerie; much of which he knew was said in a fury he rarely witnessed. He also knew he ought to not dwell on it, as it was not directed towards him—but it felt personal, watching the anger and the walls that suddenly erected around her, forbidding his approach. Surely she knew, she must’ve known that he cared—that they all cared? G’raha understood what it meant to seek solace, to lick one’s wounds after a poor bout in battle, yet to shut him out? Why?

He huffed a frustrated growl, and pouted to himself. This is not about you, G’raha, his more sensible self spoke in his mind. It did little to help when he knew naught what to do with his...feelings, with no soul to utter them to. For the moment, all he had in certainty, was himself.

Looking above to the darkening sky, stars were beginning to sparkle in the deep blue, the gloom weak and unable to hinder their shine. He hoped that wherever Ahlis was, and however she felt, that her safety was sure and her healing swift.

---

Ahlis suddenly grasped the pillow within her bare arms as a sneeze escaped her nose and immediately regretted it.

“Bless you, dearest,” Aymeric spoke above her, his hands gently working her back’s aches and pains into a soothing massage.

“Augh, no,” she said, voice muffled by soft cotton where she shoved her face into it. The great debate of whether she should lift her head up or not kept her in place, lest she reveal a potentially not-so-graceful mess. “I think I ruined it.”

Wordlessly and only with a soft chuckle of amusement Aymeric rose to retrieve a handkerchief as if reading her mind in her current discomfort. When he returned Ahlis was already sitting up, the pillow still pressed to her face. He did not know how to assure her that there were far worse things that could ruin one’s bedding, but seeing the flushed look upon her face while she cleaned herself as discretely as possible encouraged him to say nothing.

“Are you feeling better?” Aymeric asked, once she seemed satisfied to show herself, the pillow and handkerchief no longer covering her face.

“Yes, thank you,” Ahlis spoke, relief entering her voice. “I am sorry, about this, though.” Her hands still held onto the pillow until he reached for it himself, lightly tossing it aside and back onto the bed.

“It is of no consequence. My home is yours, including the aforementioned pillow.”

That made Ahlis laugh, as he hoped it would, and Aymeric took this moment to join her again, sitting side by side upon the edge of the bed. It was useless however to ignore the wrappings around both her palms and forearms, both of which had been kept out of sight when lying on her stomach. Catching his glancing eyes, Ahlis took that moment to adjust her bandages.

“The pain is mostly gone. Now it’s just itching,” she spoke, more annoyed than in any sort of true discomfort. “New skin takes some getting used to and breaking in, imagine that.”

“May I see it?” Aymeric asked after a moment’s pause, his voice careful in its near-whisper like intensity.

For a second, she hesitated. Unraveling them didn’t hurt much anymore, so when she did reveal the newly healed burns that rested beneath she didn’t hold back in extending her arm in front of him. If only her heart that thumped heavily in her chest agreed! Nerves, however troublesome they proved to be, would do little in assuaging his concern.

“There you are,” Ahlis said with an exuberance she hoped sounded sure and confident. “It’s not so terrible now, aye?”

It was not her intent to fool him, rather, it was better than the ire she felt deep within at how it happened, and better still than to appear caught off-guard or foolish to have been struck at all by such an injury. It had been a mistake, one that could’ve gone even more horribly wrong in an instant if not for…

“Oh, Ahlis...”

Her thoughts stopped, everything stopped. She was helpless as she watched the shock that touched his eyes turn to despair, to pain that flowed into the tenderness that came with his touch as he cradled her wrist to his cheek. There was a knot of scarred tissue just below where his lips met her skin; the first kiss was given there, then another just above it towards her palm.

Such sensations, intensified against her freshly healed wounds, rendered her voice frozen within her throat. It was almost too much; she released a heavy, shaky breath that gave him pause, and Aymeric turned to look upon her so intensely, so painfully, she dared think she might cry herself.

“It’s fine,” she found herself saying, finally, unsure if it truly was after all.

---

Later, long after they had gone to bed, she would wake to see the stars out in the beyond just outside the window, the silhouette of spires cutting across the dark. A rare, clear night in the city. Gripped by the sight, she stole herself away to find a place to write...

Evenings have proven to be the best, and only time, to write clear-headed these days. As if I do not need sleep.

The itching has finally subsided enough to carry on without thinking about it and now I can finally sit for half a bell to write while at the same time not wishing to scratch my skin off. I’ve had lacerations, all manners of bruising and concussive injuries. I’ve even been shot at! But note to self: never get fucking burned like that again.

I’m going to kill that bastard with his own medicine, and I will enjoy it

[there is a drawing here of a figure in a robe with a sword skewering it all the way through, who is also on fire]

The healing has progressed as it will, and I trust Krile and Alphinaud’s hands more than any other—although granted my sourness over it all could have been a little less scathing, I guess.

But what can I say, a lot of bullshite has been happening these days. I’m getting a mite bit enraged that these Ascian arseholes aren’t leaving me alone, and yet I am not entirely surprised. It’s not over until it is over.

gods when will that be never ah ha ha ha

In the meantime I have made good on my own promises to make my own self comfortable as best I can, heal as best I am able, and spending what time I can in Ishgard. The others are probably wondering when I’ll return to the Stones but until G’raha outlines our approach on implementing proper protocol on the tempering solution I honestly don’t want to hear about anything else. Alisaie should be helping, I am sure, as is Alphinaud too I think. It’ll be fine! And fast too.

I mean I would help more too but I don’t have a crazy as all hells academic background as they do seven hells I’d love me a curriculum found in the Studium within those stupid halls and their even stupider “zero involvement” stance on bloody everything

share your goddamn science you twits

I am far more tired than I thought. But! I am also finally able to think about the impending reconnaissance we’re bound to have soon once Thancred and Urianger return.

if something happens with them I swear to ever loving shite I am going to boot them back to the First with my fist

Without my Stupid! Arms! Annoying me!

OH is that little

[the writing stops here with an ink blot, as if the pen was dropped and left there, the smeared and distinct shape of a cat’s paw crossing part of the page]

#my writing #the journals #this got way longer than I thought but I did it!#big thx to em for helping me edit this bless and thank #I enjoyed this even if it was difficult to write #hey I finally got some g'raha writing in AND some kinda fluffy angsty stuff? yeeee #; final fantasy xiv #patch 5.4 #shadowbringers #reading for maint har har

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inadaydream99 · 3 years

Text

The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

Request from @kpopwrld ~ Haechan enemies to lovers

A/N - Thank you for sending in this request! I absolutely loved writing it, although I got extremely carried away (I think this is the longest oneshot I’ve written). I hope you enjoy! 💕

Disclaimer: mentions of alcohol/ drinking, swearing.

You heave a deep, irritated sigh, eyes clenching shut as you try to calm yourself before giving into Donghyuck’s relentless attention seeking.

“What.” You whisper shout, annoyance evident in your tone as you turn around in your seat to face him behind you. His devilish smirk alone is enough to make you see red.

“Can you move your abnormally large head out of the way so I can see the board?” Donghyuck grins, watching in amusement as you roll your eyes and turn away without a single word.

“Asshole.” You mutter under your breath. Now your mind is far too distracted by your hatred towards Hyuck to focus on your work for the rest of the class. Though it’s not long before you hear the bell ring, signalling the end of the school day.

“So I was thinking I might not go to Jaemin’s party tonight.” You overhear Donghyuck tell Renjun. Thought you don’t dare let on that you’re listening in.

“But why? If you don’t go it’ll be shit.” Renjun tries his best to persuade. “And besides, do you know how many girls have approached me today to ask if you’re going? Cause, let me tell you, it’s a lot.” You try to swallow your grimace. The thought of anyone finding Donghyuck even remotely attractive brings a sour taste to your mouth instantly. He’s horrible, walking around like his owns the place. But that’s what happens when you let popularity get to you. And in the social hierarchy of your school, Donghyuck is at the very top.

“Well, the party’ll have to be shit then, cause I’m not gonna go.” He insists, swinging his back pack over one shoulder before walking away. You shyly glance over to Renjun when you hear his defeated sigh, briefly catching him shake his head before following after his friend.

You’re glad to know that Hyuck won’t be attending Jaemin’s party later, then at least you won’t have to worry about him trying to show you up in front of everyone. That is if you do decide to go yourself. You’re not particularly a party person, it’s just not how you’d prefer to spend your time. But once in a while doesn’t hurt.

You’re not even sure why Donghyuck hates you so much in the first place, but you’ve been sworn enemies for as long as you can remember. Your earliest memory being when he pushed you into a puddle of mud when you were in elementary just because you had taken the blue marker and wouldn’t share it with him.

Ever since that day you’ve never been able to get along. He’s always tried to one up you and rub your face in everything. He even stole one of your best friends, and long time crush, Jeno.

“Woah, what’s with the sad face.” Mark playfully nudges you with his elbow.

Everyday is the same routine. Mark would meet you outside of your last class and you’d walk home together. It’s been that way since middle school, and even now as high school seniors, the tradition is still going strong. Well, minus Jeno, he stopped joining you in ninth grade when he became part of Hyucks popular group.

“It’s nothing. Just-”

“Donghyuck?” Mark finishes your sentence, knowing exactly where it was heading. I mean, it’s pretty predictable at this point and Mark’s your best friend, he’s had more than his fair share of listening to you rant about Donghyuck. “So, you going to Jaemin’s party?” He’s quick to divert the conversation.

“I don’t know if I want to... I mean, it’s a populars party.” You mumble, fiddling with your fingers as you walk beside him.

Now, you and Mark are friends with Jaemin. Hence why you’ve been invited. And although you’re well liked by most people, you always feel shy and awkward around the popular crowd.

“Oh come on, I can’t go without my bestie.” Mark shakes your shoulder, watching as you giggle along with him. His laugh is always so infectious, you can’t resist smiling when you’re around him.

“Fine! I’ll go.” You playfully roll your eyes, watching fondly as Mark cheers overdramatically at getting you to give in.

“(Y/N)! Mark!” Jaemin cheerfully greets you as you enter the party. It’s already in full swing, loud music blaring and everyone dancing and talking to each other.

“Nice party.” Mark high fives Jaemin.

“Yeah.” You half heartedly agree, an uneased smile on your face. You can’t help but feel a little on edge, your eyes peering around the room to make sure that Hyuck really hasn’t turned up, just like he told Renjun earlier.

“Looks like we need to get someone here a drink.” Jaemin sends a cheeky grin to Mark, before grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the kitchen.

You come to a sudden halt half way through the crowd. You could have sworn you just heard Donghyuck’s laugh above the rest. It’s so distinctly him that no one else’s laugh could possibly bare a semblance.

“You ok?” Mark takes hold of your shoulders from behind you, mostly to stop himself from crashing into you. Your eyes flicker from searching the room to meet Jaemin’s in front of you, and then onto Mark’s as he peers around you. They both look concerned, but neither of them say anything.

“I’m fine, just- doesn’t matter.” You begin, deciding that explaining the reason for your nervousness is just silly. Jaemin sends you an encouraging smile before leading the way once again until you reach the kitchen.

“Ok, pick your poison.” He chuckles, sending you a challenging smirk.

“I’ll have whatever that mix is.” Mark points to the concoction of brown liquid. It’s evidently a drink that Jaemin had come up with for the party, his devilish smile gives it all away.

“Same.” You nod, still eyeing the drink.

“Good choice.” Jaemin laughs, passing you both a cup before picking up one for himself and holding his towards yours. “Cheers.” You all tap glasses before taking a mouthful.

“There you are!” Mark rushes over to you with a wide, hazy smile on his face. “Come join our game.” He guides you into the next room. You’d lost Mark after your second drink and, since then, hadn’t been able to find him until now.

You enter the room to find a group of people all sitting in a circle, including Jaemin, Jeno and Renjun.

“What’s the game?” You tilt your head in question, confused by the whole setting.

“We’re spinning the bottle to see who has to go in the closet for seven minutes.” Mark informs you as you both join the circle. You watch as Jeno leans into the centre and spins the bottle forcefully.

“(Y/N)!” Jaemin cheers, taking hold of your hand before guiding you towards the closet. “Ok, there’s already someone waiting in there so go on in and have some fun.” He shoots you a wink before shutting the door in your face.

To say you’re a little caught off guard is an understatement and the fact that it’s pitch black doesn’t help at all.

“Oh, sorry.” You jump away after bumping into someone. Obviously you are aware that you’re not alone in the small space, but you hadn’t expected to literally walk into them.

“It’s alright, you can’t see.” The voice is familiar, but you can’t seem to put your finger on it. The voice is low, indicating that is a guy. Maybe it’s someone you share a class with?

“So, how’d you end up in here?” You instantly cringe at your question. Obviously the same way you did, by being chosen by the bottle. “Sorry, that was stupid...” you trail off, letting out an awkward chuckle in an attempt to cover up your embarrassment.

“You’re cute.” The voice admits, this time a lot closer to you. “Is this ok?” You hear half a second before feeling hands gently rest on either side of your waist.

“Yes.” You mutter. “Is this?” You mimick back, reaching out to place your hands onto the guys chest directly in front of you.

“All good.” He responds mere inches from your face now.

Although you can’t see each other you know that you’re attracted to whoever he is. The gentle way he holds you sends a giddy feeling through your body. There’s a connection between you that fizzes to life just from a single touch. An attraction that’s luring you in closer and closer.

You let out a breathy gasp when you feel his hand caress your cheek, drawing you in the direction of his lips.

“Can I?” You can feel his lips ghosting yours, breath mixing and the air hot with anticipation.

“Mhmm.” You sound, already rendered speechless. But that’s all your mystery man needs as confirmation.

Your lips connect in a timid kiss, both of you testing boundaries before anything escalates. But as time goes on, things progressively grow deeper and more passionate.

“Times up!” You break apart when you hear someone banging on the opposite side of the door.

Those seven minutes went by extremely quickly, not that you’re complaining at all. You want to finally find out who you’ve been kissing and the only way to do that is to exit the dark room.

You squint a little when the door first opens, the artificial light blinding you as you step back into the party. Noticing how everyone is watching you in anticipation makes you feel uneased. That is until you finally cast your eyes to your left and see who’s stood beside you.

“This has to be a joke.” You gasp as you lay your eyes on the one and only Donghyuck. He said he wasn’t going to be here tonight...

“I’m glad that’s over. Now pay up.” He darkly snickers, approaching the group of snickering boys. “Nice kissing sweetheart.” He mocks, earning laughter from the rest of the room.

You’ve never felt more embarrassed and hurt in your life. This whole thing was a bet. And although it sounds insane, you think you’re more hurt about the fact that you were kissing Donghyuck and he made you feel a way you’d never felt before... you just want the ground to open up and swallow you.

“Can you believe she fell for it?” His spiteful jokes fall into background noise as you rush out of the room.

“Not cool man.” Mark shoots a glare towards Donghyuck. “And I expected more from you Jaemin. I thought (Y/N) was your friend.” His tone drips with disappointment, filling Jaemin with regret as he watches Mark run off to find you.

Monday morning sees a fresh wave of anxiety hit you. Although it’s been two days since the humiliation at Jaemin’s party, you still can’t bring yourself to get out of bed, let alone consider the idea of going to school.

After you ran off at the party, Mark found you alone outside. It was obvious the whole ordeal had made him sober up and he explained that if he’d known what was going on then he never would have allowed it to happen. After your tears had subsided a little, Mark walked you back home and ever since you’ve been hibernating under your duvet.

As it turns out, Donghyuck had meant for you to overhear his conversation with Renjun about not going to the party because he knew that you were more likely to attend if you thought he wasn’t going to be there. You’d found this out through a series of messages from Jaemin the next day, though you’d still left him on read. You’re not ready to even acknowledge him, let alone consider forgiving him.

“That’s it, out of bed.” Mark barges into your room and throws the covers off of you.

“Mark! How’d you even get in here?” You whine, before stuffing your face into your pillow.

“You mom let me in.” He chuckles at your childish sulking. “You have 5 minutes to get ready otherwise I’m dragging you to school like that.” You lift your head to send him a glare but end up giving in when you see his expression. He’s not joking about and that alone is enough to make you comply.

Walking down the crowed hallway of your school is terrifying. You’re the laughing stock of the whole school. It seems that everyone knows what happened on Friday.

“I need to go.” You tug on Mark’s arm the second you spot Donghyuck at the other end of the hall. He’s stood with his group of friends all listening to him intently as he tells a story. The chorus of laughs that emitt from the group make you feel even more self conscious. If that’s even possible.

“No, you’re not letting this defeat you.” Mark resists your pulling. It was no use anyway, he’s far stronger than you are.

“But I-” your words get caught in your mouth the second you see Donghyuck cast a glance in your direction, his gaze locking on yours.

Everything instantly freezes.

It’s just you and him in your own little world. Your breath hitches in your throat from the way he looks at you so deeply. It’s not harsh or spiteful, in fact he’s looks like he’s remorseful, like he wants to come over to you and make sure you’re ok.

You see, as much as you hate to admit it, since your kiss with him you’ve not been able to think of Donghyuck in the same way. Before he would have made you angry, but now you only feel an ache in your chest, a void that can only be filled by the way he held you that night, or the way his lips fit so perfectly with yours.

You know he felt it too. He must have. Because as much as he likes everyone to believe that he is too cool to feel those sorts of emotions, no one can fake those seven minutes you shared.

“Let’s just get to class.” You’re the first one to break eye contact, your gaze flicking up to meet Mark’s as he stares at you in worry. There’s no way he could have missed the moment between you and Donghyuck, but he doesn’t bring it up. Instead he nods and allows you to pull him in the opposite direction.

Donghyuck continues to watch you as you turn your back and begin walking away with Mark. He never thought he’d see you as anything other than the person he despises the most and yet here he is... wishing he was the one you wanted to go to when you’re hurting.

The hallway is empty when you exit your last class of the day. You’d had to stay behind a couple of minutes to talk to your teacher about the upcoming assignment. Mark was aware of this as you’d informed him at lunch. He’d even said it wasn’t a problem and he’d wait for you, but right now he’s no where in sight. No one is. That is until you hear someone call your name from behind.

“I was hoping to find you.” To your surprise you find Jeno trying to catch up with you.

“Hey.” You smile at him, nervousness bubbling up in your chest just at the thought of having a sustained conversation with him.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re doing ok. After what happened Friday night...” He seems genuinely concerned, his subtle smile indicating that he feels sorry for you.

“I’m fine... or at least I will be once I’ve sorted a few things out.” You lightly laugh in attempt to make the atmosphere a little more lighthearted.

“I’m glad to hear.” Jeno chuckles along. “Do you want a lift home?” He offers sincerely. You’re surprised by his offer considering this is the longest interaction you’ve had in years. But it feels good to know that he’s still as nice as he’s always been.

“Actually I’m meant to be walking with Mark, but I have no idea where he is.” You forrow your brows in confusion.

“He can have a lift too if we find him?” Jeno offers.

“Well then, that sounds great.” You accept, both of you heading out of the school together with wide smiles on your faces as you fall into a comfortable conversation.

As soon as the door closes, Donghyuck steps out into the hallway from his hiding place behind the lockers. He hadn’t intended to evesdrop on you and Jeno. In fact, he’d actually wanted to try and talk to you, but he’d missed his chance by a split second.

And It’s now he realises the sinking feeling in his chest and the desire to make sure Jeno doesn’t beat him to you next time. The only reason he’d stolen Jeno away from being friends with you all those years ago was because he saw the way you looked at him. It make Donghyuck feel jealous, that’s why he did everything he could to ruin your friendship. But it’s now that he realises even that wouldn’t stop you from liking someone. And he can’t keep missing his chance.

“Where were you yesterday?” You playfully hit Mark on the arm as you approach him at his locker.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N), I got stuck in detention. I tried to text you but I got caught and had my phone taken away.” Mark explains through a defeated sigh.

“Why’d you get detention?” You tilt you head in confusion.

“Talking in class, but I was only telling Jaemin to stop talking to me!” Mark throws his hands up defensively, clearly still sensitive over the situation.

“Well, you’re just lucky Jeno offered me a ride home.” You smirk, bursting into laughter at Mark’s surprised expression.

“Wait- you spoke to Jeno!” He feigns shock, playfully mocking you over your crush. Though you don’t get a chance to respond before Mark quickly shushes you and indicates for you to turn around.

“Ah, how nice of you to finally acknowledge me.” Donghyuck’s ever sparkling personality and tormenting smirk graces you.

“What do you want.” You flatly state. You’re already done with this conversation and it’s barely started.

“You could at least try to look happy to see me sweetheart. You couldn’t seem to get enough on Friday and I saw you staring in the hallway yesterday.” He taunts and you want nothing more than to slap the cocky smirk right off his stupidly attractive face.

“Oh don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it too. And besides, I only liked it when I didn’t know it was you.” You spit, shooting daggers at him. You have no idea where this new found confidence has come from but you’re not opposed to it at all. Maybe Donghyuck wearing your patience thin was a good thing because at least now you’re not going to let him get away with his typical bullshit.

Before he has enough time to fire a comeback at you, you’ve already grabbed Mark’s arm and walked away.

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Mark jokes, completely in awe of how you just stood up to Donghyuck like that.

Donghyuck’s jealously is through the roof. He can’t stand watching you and Jeno laughing together in science the way you are. It should be him who you’re looking at with so much affection. If only he hadn’t messed up for the hundredth time that morning.

When you’d stood up to him he was left deflated. Ok, so he’d come across all cocky when he’d really been intending to ask you out. But that’s how you make him. He’s fallen for you hard and he doesn’t know how to get back up. You send him into a spiral of panic and his default setting is to mock and insult you.

“What do you want Hyuck?” You sigh as he approaches you while you are packing your things away. The way you say his name makes his heart skip a beat. And that’s before you’ve even properly looked at him.

“I just wanted to appologise for earlier, and everything actually.” He timidly mumbles.

Had you just heard him right? Have you inhaled too many chemicals in class and are now hallucinating?

“Huh?” You gawk, mouth hanging agape as you stare at Donghyuck in disbelief.

“So... are we cool?” He awkwardly questions, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Are we cool? When have you ever wanted to be cool with me?” You raise your brow at him, arms folded defensively as you persuade yourself that this is some kind of cruel trick on his part.

“I just think it’s time we put everything behind us.” Hyuck nods, forcing a meek smile onto his face. In truth he’s scared of you rejecting him. Not that he’ll ever let you know.

“Oh sure. Yeah, put everything behind us and move on.” You mock. “You know what, I’ll do you one better. Let’s become best friends yeah?” You condescendingly rant. It’s outrageous how he can think you two can suddenly forget all the years of relentless hating each other. The audacity he has is sickening.

“I really mean it (Y/N)...” You pause to look at him for a minute. “I reasied that I’ve always liked you, I’ve just not known how to deal with it. I mean, that kiss was the best I’ve ever had.” Donghyuck confesses, laughing at himself in the process. “But you’re right.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m stupid the even think you’d feel the same...”.

It’s the most vulnerable you’ve ever seen Donghyuck.

“Well... I suppose I can admit that you are a good kisser.” You play coy, failing to hide the smirk that breaks out across your face.

“Only good?” Donghyuck’s face lights up, chuckling in amusement as he becomes increasingly confident once again.

“Fine, you’re great.” You admit, falling shy under his affectionate gaze. You turn your head to the side, trying to hide how flustered Hyuck makes you when his hands settle on your waist. It’s like they were always meant to be there.

“You’re great too.” He gently tucks his finger under your chin to coax your focus back onto him before bringing his lips dangerously close to yours.

You’re the first to lose patience, closing the space between you in desperation. Your lips melting together perfectly, clashing hurriedly, as if you’re both making up for lost time.

“Wanna walk home with me and Mark?” You breathlessly question the instant you pull apart. Donghyuck laughs in amusement as he reaches out to tuck a stray piece of your hair behind your ear.

“I’d love to.” He accepts through a warm smile, interlacing your fingers with his as you finally head out of the classroom.

It’s funny how things turn out. How years of despising each other can really be the result of not knowing how to express feelings. But Donghyuck is finally able to admit that he really has fallen for you. And you really have fallen for him too.

~ Bonus ~

“Finally!” Mark throws his hands in the air the second he sees you walk into the hallway with Donghyuck.

“We didn’t make you wait that long.” You sass back, casting a glance up to Donghyuck when you hear him snicker.

“You kinda did actually, but I understand you had some very important things to discuss...” Mark teases, wiggling his eyebrows at you both before bursting into laughter.

#nct fluff #nct angst #nct x reader #nct oneshot #nct drabbles #nct request #nct fanfiction #nct fanfic #nct 127 fluff #nct dream fluff #nct 2020 #nct haechan #nct donghyuck #kpop fluff #kpop angst #kpop oneshots #kpop x reader #kpop fanfic #kpop drabbles

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alaraxia · 4 years

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Process Breakdown: Starfall

Since I got some positive responses to my question on process stuff I’m gonna do a behind the scenes breakdown for my most recent piece to help people see the process I use and how I problem solve. I didn’t plan to do this initially so I won’t have a ton of process shots but I did save a handful. There’s a few scattered hyperlinks to other pieces I reference too. Just a warning this is mostly train of thought so it’s super verbose.

So base sketches were mostly focused around me defining the shape of the girl since she was the focal point and building the environment around her. Going in the things I knew I wanted were a girl precariously balanced on top of a massive capybara catching a falling star, while surrounded by smaller sleeping capybaras on rocks. I layered out a general forest scene surrounding it but didn’t really commit to much in the sketches. Messed with the angles of the large capybara a few times to make it feel less flat and more 3D in the space, used a lot of reference photos of capybaras and sorta simplified them to what I thought was cute/ what stood out to me as their defining features.

Skipping ahead a solid amount is midway through the initial lineart, with some areas just colored in to define them as separate. Initially this piece was supposed to be in a similar style as my “Stratosphere Dreaming” art, with a single uniform line thickness, bright colors, and no gradient shading at all, but I realized pretty soon after I finished the lineart and started coloring that I had done what I tend to do a lot and made it too complex to pull off successfully in that style so I had to pivot to using gradient shading and other non-cell style techniques (though you can see a lot of those methods still in the coloring of the girl). This caused an even bigger challenge as I was drawing on a large canvas with high DPI in Procreate which resulted in me having a cumulative 50 layers to work with at any given time (hell).

Now once I made that rendering style pivot is when the really hard part began, and why on top of my persistent arm injuries this took me about two months to finally finish.

1.) I had an extremely difficult time trying to figure out the color pallet for the piece. I had an idea of the values and general colors I wanted (you can see some pallets and random base color tests in the image above) but I just couldn’t get them to look right and I became extremely more aggravated as I kept trying new and different things. My biggest mental block was feeling like I was stuck trying to make the initial pallet idea work, but eventually I was able to bump it to a slightly adjacent pallet and it worked far better. Essentially a lot of angry experimenting and testing.

2.) I made the piece too complex for its own good when it came to the foliage and scene. After finding success with a very specific way to render foliage in one of my favorite pieces I started to use it as my standard, but that standard started to show cracks when I had foliage heavy scenes like in my Hollow Knight piece from last year. The rendering style became insanely too time consuming, and incredibly distracting when used in abundance, taking away from the focal point. I knew this but I still attempted to use the same style to render the foreground foliage MULTIPLE times in increasing states of frustration until I stepped back, evaluated it wasn’t working, and tested out a very similar style with the same effect but that I could throw together twice as fast without the aggressive distraction and minuscule details that were irrelevant in the scheme of the art. This frustration in the rendering not working was only exacerbated by the color pallet indecision making a lot of the attempts just look bad both color and style wise.

Due to the limited layers I had to finish rendering out the girl very early and merge her together to free up layer space, and couldn’t keep my lineart layers as separate as I would have liked to allow for quick line color swaps. She ended up being a key point in defining the rest of the color pallet of the piece. The dress shape was indeed inspired by the Lirika Matoshi strawberry dress, but with my own twist.

Once I got a more solid color pallet down the rest started to come a lot easier and I was able to begin filling stuff in and doing general color adjustments to make the backgrounds darker and give it more depth. I don’t have any more process shots beyond the initial color pallet exploration unfortunately, but the last hurdle I hit was at the very end once I was doing final touch ups. I found that with the only light source/ lighter color being the falling star that it washed out a lot of the rest of the pieces and made the details I spend so much time on feel unnoticed. I found though that adding the bright orange stardust specks into the trees, the girls hair, and falling from the star itself gave the last bit of color I think it needed without completely destroying the atmosphere. Originally (you may see it in some of the process shots) there were going to be jars with stars already in them illuminating the bottom of the piece, but after multiple trial and error iterations it just didn’t work out and ended up taking the focal point away from the girl and the star too much so I scrapped it.

Finally once I got everything done I made a copy of the entire art file to save as a backup, then with one of the copies merged all the layers together. Once all merged I made a copy of the fully merged layer, and went and adjusted the entire layer copy using a Gaussian Blur, reduced the opacity of the blurred layer to a super low percent, and put it on top of the original merged layer. This gave it that ethereal sort of feel that is difficult to notice unless you zoom in but really helps soften the piece and make it more dreamlike overall. Then I merged that blur layer down, and turned on about a 3% noise layer on it all to give it a bit of texture.

But that’s enough rambling from me, hope this helps give a bit of background to my process and decision making and it wasn’t just a wall of random musings.

My last piece of advice is if you’re looking to do art professionally, do commissions, or make a lot of pieces in a short period of time I would highly advise against directly copying techniques I use. Because while I’m always working to improve I do only do this as a hobby rn so I have the luxury of being able to invest a lot of time, energy, and details into higher complexity pieces that would take way too long in a professional environment. I can put a lot of time into making a single piece exactly as I want it since I’m not reliant on art as my sole income. As I improve I can make things faster, but it’s still an overall slow process and I just end up moving my quality standards up with any level of improvement anyway. Use stuff I do as inspiration but I cannot stress enough to learn as many shortcuts as possible (I’m still struggling with this myself).

If y’all have any questions about bits feel free to dm, if I do something like this again I’ll try to get better screenshots during the process n try to be less verbose.

#tutorial #behind the scenes #alaraxia process #process breakdown #starfall

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k7l4d4 · 3 years

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Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 6 Part 7

And here we are, the final section of Midnight Striga, episode 6! Everybody Clap Your Hands!!

“Well, well, the piggy came through after all.” A deep voice growled out, cutting through the haze of pain in Eda’s mind. Thudding steps crept closer, before a kick lashed out, catching on Eda’s ribs. “And here I was thinking I’d have to waste my time hunting my target down.” He laughed.

Forcing her head up, Eda squinted at the figure before her. The first thing that came to mind was ‘Dang he is TALL!’ Which was true; her attacker was a hulking figure, easily towering even Eda’s own impressive height. His skin was a dark, almost bloody, red, stretched tight against a chiseled musculature. If Eda had been told he didn’t actually have skin, she’d believe it just due to how defined his physique was. His arms were just slightly too long for his body, hanging just short of his knees, with his legs being highly animalistic, with backwards joints and two pad-like toes. A harsh face stared down at her, eyes marked by prominent tear canals, short-cropped hair, and just plain freaky ears, basically looking like hollowed-out boxes hooked to his skull. He grinned down, carnivorous teeth bared to strike. Eda resisted the urge to shudder.

“I have no clue who you are,” Eda started, covering up her nervousness with a helping of bravado, “But I don’t have time to waste on some muscle-head!” She shouted, casting a trio of fireballs into her opponent’s face, leaping backwards to make distance between them. To her shock, he easily swatted her attack aside, closing the distance in a single leap, his arm swinging down. “GAH!” Eda shouted, pain flaring as her attacker slammed her into the ground.

“Way too slow.” He almost gloated, gazing down inscrutably. Without turning, his arm lashed out, catching King by the throat during his sneak attack. He looked at the struggling demon incredulously. “Did you actually think that would work!?”

“S-Silence peasant!!” King cried, struggling as much as he could in the larger warrior’s grasp. “As the King of Demons, I must act in the defense of my people!” He shouted. The figure blinked, cocking his head in confusion, before bursting into laughter. “What’s so funny!?”

“You!” The enemy laughed. “You, a King of Demons!? That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!!” His chuckles subsided, giving King a side-eyed glance. “Go play with the pig.” He said dismissively, casually chucking King behind him towards a giggling Tibbles. He cracked his neck. “Now, where were we?” He asked, only to blink at Eda disappearing from her previous position. His ears honed in on a sound from the left, prompting him to whirl around to defend, catching the pillar of stone in his fist. “Ha! You think that’s enough to-” Further words were cut off as a bolt of lightning crashed down on him, a pair of thorn-laden vines whipping out to pull his legs out from under him. “GURYAH!!” He screamed, pain rushing through him at the energy surging through his back, mitigated by the surge grounding out through his arm to an extent.

Scowling, he slammed his remaining arm into the ground, holding himself parallel. With a roar, he whipped his torso around, ripping the vines holding his legs out of whatever was anchoring them, slashing them through the environment. Market goers ran in panic, instantly recognizing the danger of the raging warrior before them. With a force of effort, he called on the unique magic of his body, warping his legs into scythes, cleaving through the spells Eda launched from the underbrush during his rotation. With a savage grin, he launched into the air, cackling in glee at the potential challenge.

Groaning, King picked himself out of the rubble he had crashed into, embarrassed at the ease of his dispatch. “That impudent punk just made my list.” He growled. Breathing deep, he allowed his spell to build up some more, perfectly willing to risk blasting his throat to bits to hurt his enemy. His reckless action was cut short by the raucous laughter echoing from his left. Turning sharply, he glared at the sight of Tibbles howling in laughter.

“Ohohohoho!! That was a good one! You, challenge him!? That’s hilarious!” Tibble cackled, uncaring of King’s mounting temper. Tibbles clapped his hands, leering menacingly at the smaller demon. “But I must say, you would most certainly catch a tidy profit if I sold you to recoup my… losses.” He hissed, glancing in anger at the damage done to his stand/shop. “Whether you are alive or dead during the sale is honestly irrelevant, there is a buyer for everything.” He tacked on as an afterthought.

“How dare you contemplate selling your King!!” King shouted, his spell unraveling at his shift in priorities. Marching forth, heedless of Tibbles greater size and menacing attitude, he defiantly pointed at the Pig-like demon’s chest, leaning forward in what was probably meant to be a menacing gesture.

Tibbles blinked, dumbfounded, before his laughter resumed, louder than ever. “You actually are serious!! And here I just thought you were a little twerp with a superiority complex! But no, you’re just crazy! A King? You!? King of what?” Tibbles taunted, looming over King, who was still oblivious to his position. Tibbles pulled out a coin, flipping it in his hand, a mocking girl on his face. “You’re as much a King as this coin is edible.” Catching the coin on its descent, he pointed it at King, a sickening leer on his face. “Money Magic: Loan Shot!” The coin became encased in a golden glow, much to King’s alarm, before firing forth like a rocket, slamming into King and into the background. Chuckling at King’s undignified slump against the tree ahead of him, Tibbles calmly pulled out another coin. “Who knew reading that little book would grant me such a fun toy?” He muttered to himself, relishing the power he now wielded.

“How did a punk like you get access to this kind of Magic!?” King yelped, scrambling to his feet, yanking at the coin sticking to his chest from where it landed. “And why won’t this stupid thing come off!?” He demanded, wincing at the sting his struggles were causing.

Tibbles grinned, relishing the loud-mouthed demon’s discomfort. “Why, I loaned it to you!” He cheerfully explained. “With my Money Magic, I can completely control any form of money, so long as it’s mine, of course! And you can do oh so many wonderful things with money; you can spend it, hoard it, invest it, or even… loan it.” He stated, a bevy of coins floating into the air behind him, encased in golden light. “Speaking of… Money Magic: Loan Rush!” He shouted, his spell crashing into King again, pinning him against the tree. “Loan Pressure!” He commanded, grinning as his coins constricted around King’s body, drawing a harsh cry from the little demon. “Now what was that you said about being King?” He taunted, smirking at King’s pained glare.

“Demon King’s Rocking Roar!” King shouted, his spell ripping through his metallic bonds. Tibbles' eyes widened in shock, before he leapt clear of the blast of solidified sound. “Like I said, I’m the King of Demons!” He screamed, his spell shifting direction to bear down on Tibbles again.

Recovering from his shock at the spell, Tibbles snorted, already prepping another spell. “Well, for a King, you aren’t much of a strategist.” He commented, his coins linking into a chain. “Loan Shackle!” With a flash, his chain whipped forward, catching around King’s leg, slamming him against the ground, tossing him skyward, before pinning him against the ground. “A spell that renders you immobile isn’t very tactically sound. Loan Coiling!” His coin whip crawled across King, tightening around his torso and throat, choking him off. Tibbles waddled over, staring down at the smaller demon in disappointment. “And here I was hoping you’d be interesting enough for me to sell you to Oroboros. A pity.” He shrugged, unconcerned at King’s frantic struggles for air.

“I can’t believe you knew the Conjuring was going to fail.” Amity grumbled, giving a cheekily grinning Luz a weak grin, who merely shrugged. Amity sighed. “Well, at least now we know better for next year.”

“Yeah, it could’ve been worse.” Skara commented, shrugging in disappointed acceptance of the situation. At the questioning looks she received, she explained, “We could’ve ended up accidentally directing the spell into something outside, like a corpse or something. Icky, right?” At her explanation, nods went up around the group. Nobody enjoyed dealing with the risen dead, not even Oracles. Especially not Oracles, actually, as they were usually the ones who got drafted to deal with them, as Selena’s frustrated scowl indicated.

“Yeah, moving corpses are so annoying,” Luz grunted, her nose scrunched up at the thought. She glanced at Amity. “Are you sure you can convince your parents to let Neon and her guards stay?” She asked, pointing a thumb at the group in question, as Neon frantically shoveled the left-over treats into her gullet even as her guards tried to get her to slow down in case she choked, Bo and Cat joining them in convincing the flighty girl, trying to pull her away from the treats manually.

Amity rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I know how to handle my parents. As long as I keep them on the back foot, I can control the flow of the discussion, and browbeat them into agreeing, which they’ll be honor-bound to hold up.” She explained, oblivious to the concerned glances her casual explanation as to how she planned on negotiating with her parents, and of the implications that she had to resort to such measures with her relatives, stirred up.

“Okay.” Luz dubiously agreed, packing up the leftovers for King and Eda. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” Amity assured her, a small grin on her face. “Now, it’s getting late, so I think we should all head to our own homes, don’t you think?” She asked rhetorically, facing the group. At the slightly nervous whispers of her friends, not counting Willow and Gus, Amity added, “And I’ll have my family’s abomination servants accompany you all to your homes to ensure your safety.” This seemed to convince them. And with that, the party ended, the guests bidding their farewells and making last minute plans for the immediate future, Amity personally seeing them all out the door.

With a sigh, she turned to her remaining guests, hopefully to soon be long-term guests under her and her family’s hospitality. She lightly clapped her hands, drawing the attention of Neon and her guards. “Now then. Let’s see if I can convince my family to let you stay here, shall we?” She asked, a pleasant grin on her face, amusement dancing in her eyes.

Eda clicked her tongue, frustrated at the durability of her enemy. “What does it take to keep this muscle-head down?” She muttered, twirling up a pair of spells to catch him between. With a smirk, she launched them, laughing as he smashed into the fireball, only for the ice blast to clip him from the side. Her smirk faded, however, as his arms warped, distended, and stretched, lashing out at her hiding spot from several meters away! Tucking into a roll, she called up one of her owl pillars, launching the writhing, hooty-inspired spell at her persistent foe. The good news, her spells managed to pin his arms. The bad news, he just torqued his body, ripping himself free in moments, crashing into the ground before her. He grinned ferally.

“This is fun!” He exclaimed, his eyes alight with genuine amusement at the brawl. “What’s your name, Witch?” He demanded, eyes narrowing in focus.

Eda blinked. “Wait a minute, you’ve been fighting me… and you don’t even know my name!?” She shouted incredulously, her annoyance rising at the simple nod he gave her. With a growl, Eda dragged her hand down her face. “It’s Eda Clawthorne, also known as Eda the Owl Lady.” She bit out, scowling in anger, hands tight around her staff.

“Eda… Eda…” He mulled over, almost tasting the name. “Ah! Now I remember! You were on the example list!” He exclaimed, a pleased grin crossing his features. “That’s honestly a relief, I really didn’t want to kill a fighter as clever as you. Not many people can give me this good of a warm-up.” He stated, oblivious to the wary shock and indignant anger bubbling inside of Eda. “My name is Menthuthuyoupi, captain of the Chimera Tribe Royal Guard.” He stated, giving a shallow boy.

“Mentuthoo-whatnow?” Eda said blankly, her mind uncomprehending of the bizarre turn this fight had taken.

“Eh, you can just call me Youpi.” He stated with a shrug, unbothered. “Anyway, my orders are to demonstrate to you the difference between you Boiling Islanders and we of Oroboros. Since I’ve already shown that I can shrug off your spells without much hassle, the next part is for me to give you an example of the carnage I can induce when going all out.” He finished, putting a finger into the air in emphasis.

“What are you-?” Eda began, only to stop at what happened next, going pale. In a blur, Youpi whipped his way through the remaining crowds of the Night Market, uncaring of who or what got in his way. With a scream of blood-crazed rage, he bodily ripped his way through each and every witch and demon to cross his path, physically tearing them in half without a care, tossing their mangled corpses to the sides. As he continued to rage, his body pulsed and swelled, shifting and growing in step with his temper and his screams. As he grew, vents opened up along his arms, flames and heat lashing out from the rips in his body, incinerating any poor fools caught in his wake. With a scream of unbridled hate and anger, Youpi leapt into the air, his distorted body twisting around him, before slamming into the ground, an earth-rattling explosion ripping out from his form. Eda dropped to her knees, shaking. The Night Market… was gone. The entire street razed to stone, the bodies of all those in it either gone or seared into the walls as shadowed outlines. She froze, unable to move, as Youpi returned to their spot.

“Well, that was boring.” He lamented, lazily stretching himself out. “But what can I say, carnage and destruction are things I can do pretty easily, especially when my targets don’t fight back. Welp, I’ll be seeing you around, Owl Lady. Try and get rid of that curse of yours, that way we can have a good-old battle to the death.” He casually stated, walking off into the night.

“My, he certainly doesn’t know how to hold back, does he?” Tibbles stated, standing not even four feet from Eda. For some reason, she couldn’t marshal the effort to attack him. Glancing towards Eda, Tibbles let out a taunting tisk. “What’s this? The big bad Owl Lady too scared to move? Well, I suppose it makes sense when confronted with something of that sheer force.” He mocked.

Partially snapping out of her daze, Eda’s arm whipped out, catching the smug demon by the throat. “Where’s King?” She growled, unconcerned for her own safety at the moment.

Tibbles flailed, desperate to move and get away from the angry, and not-at-all-cowed witch before him. “I left him tangled up in my spell back by my shack!” He squealed, desperately grasping at his throat to unblock his airways. “Please! Let me go! I can’t breathe!”

Eda was very tempted to just strangle the little sleaze, but she had bigger things to worry about. With an annoyed sigh, she dropped him, running off for King’s location. Tibbles' eyes narrowed. “You will pay for that indignity, Owl Lady. So swears Tibblet-Tibblie Grimm Hammer III.” He whispered, slinking off after Youpi. The powerful demon genuinely didn’t like Tibbles, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t keep Tibbles from harm, even if only to potentially get a nice fight out of whoever or whatever Tibbles managed to piss off.

Scanning the area, Eda zoomed in on King, eyes widening in panic at his slowing struggles against the coins constricting around his throat and chest. “King!” She shouted, rushing over. With a shout, she slammed her staff across the coins, scattering them. King bolted up, gasping for air, his eyes wide with panic at his near death. “How you feeling buddy?” Eda asked, concern etched across her voice.

“I think I need some more training.” King wheezed out, eyes roving the destruction surrounding them.

“Yeah,” Eda muttered, scanning the ruined market around them. She slung King over her shoulders, noting his lack of protest for the warning sign that it was, and hopped onto Owlbert, taking off before the Coven Guards and Scouts could catch them, “I’m thinking I might need some too.”

With a deep breath, Amity pushed her way into her father’s lab, where he was still tinkering away at his latest project, her mother perched next to him, enjoying some tea, and looking far more composed than before. “Mother, Father.” She stated, calmly announcing her presence.

“Mittens, dear!” Odalia stated cheerily, patting the spot next to her. “Come, come! Your father and I were just discussing what to do about Miss Nostrade and her companions.” She said, a gleam shining in her eyes.

Amity’s own eyes widened, before narrowing in consideration. “I see.” She stated noncommittally. Walking up next to her mother, she sat down next to her, grudgingly accepting the drink she was offered. “I came here to request that we offer refuge for Miss Nostrade and her guards.” She said, gaze level.

“Why, what a wonderful idea!” Odalia cried, eyes bright with amusement. “Your father and I were discussing the exact same thing.” She added, lightly patting her daughter’s head, prompting Amity to flush. “I must say, the idea of that poor girl out there on the streets, unable to procure shelter and reliable food and water, is truly heartbreaking.” She sighed, Amity rolling her eyes at the theatrics. Odalia clapped her hands. “Plus, having such capable fighters around to defend not only their charge, but also our property and persons would most definitely be a fine boon to us!”

Amity growled, frustrated at having been outplayed so rapidly. “Yes, indeed, Mother.” She bit out, causing Odalia and Alador to send her slightly disapproving looks. Forcing herself to calm down, Amity continued in a more even tone. “I will inform them of this development at once.”

“Of course dear, of course! But before you do…” Odalia smirked, flipping the switch for the Panic Room. In a flash, the twins exited, Emira instantly rushing for Amity, and Edric rushed for the bathroom. Odalia chuckled at her youngest child’s borderline profane shouts to be released, even as Emira insisted on holding her forever and never letting go. It was simply adorable!

“Hey guys, I’m home and- WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!?” Luz shouted, dropping the leftovers to the floor. Crashed onto the couch were King and Eda, both battered and bruised with distant gazes. Rushing over, she frantically fussed over the two, pulling out her emergency aid kit, bandaging wounds as needed, applying antibiotics, and even forcing the two to chug some internal cleansing potions for good measure.

“*Cough, hack!* Yeesh, kid, don’t blow your top!” Eda exclaimed, breaking out of her stupor at Luz’s frantic antics. Forcing Luz back, she insisted, “I’m fine, kid. Just had a run-in with some of Oroboros’ goons. Turns out the guy me and King were going to buy from was a sellout and the whole thing was a trap.” She finished glumly, slumping downward.

Luz bit her lip, understanding their frustration. “Did you at least get the potions?” She broached, hoping that it hadn’t been for nothing.

Wordlessly, King pointed to the counter, where a crate of Potions sat, ready to ingest. Luz sighed in relief at that. She turned back to Eda, “So, who was it you fought?”

Eda shrugged, wincing at the motion. “Some red-skinned guy. I can’t remember his name, but I think he was some kind of demon, and he was REALLY strong. Wiped out the entire market in seconds when he got serious.”

Luz whistled. Not many in Oroboros had that much raw, destructive power, not that she knew them all, and even those that did weren’t necessarily the strongest, merely the best at causing chaos in terms of damage. “Yikes. What’s up with King?” She asked, hoping to shift the topic.

Eda snorted. “Apparently that Grimm Hammer guy, who prefers to go by Tibbles for some insane reason, got some magic when he signed up and whipped King’s butt with it. He’s been like that ever since we got back.”

“Training.” King piped up, focusing. He turned to Luz, an intense light burning in his eyes. “I need it. More training. Can you help me?” He asked. Luz gulped, caught off guard by the intensity, but ultimately nodded. King relaxed a tiny bit, staring forward. “Good.” He looked down at his paws, clenching them into fists. “That’s good.”

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girlandgeese · 4 years

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Artist ask thing!

I was tagged by @kourvo and I am a big baby who is afraid to tag even my mutuals so if you see this I WOULD like to read your responses and please DO tag me if you fill it out. :’-)

What is the character you’ve drawn the most (Can be original or fanart) Other people’s Lavellans by about a mile.

What colour do you often use? I like muted and muddy colors. Give me those soft tonal shifts!!

Any colour you are bad at using? Bright and poppy shades. It isn’t in my programming.

When drawing people, where do you start? Jawline, then nose, then eyes, then mouth.

What is a character only your eraser will love? I’ve accepted that I’ll never draw Solas and that this will be why I never climb to the top of the DA art fandom.

Which of your works took the longest time? Almost definitely this one for @teknon who put a lot of faith in me, haha. This is still one of the most ambitious concepts I’ve ever actually completed. 🥺🙏

What techniques do you use when you want to improve in drawing? Eugh... I really haven’t actively tried to improve in a long time. Any of my improvements have been through sheer repetition, like taking on two dozen portrait commissions inevitably makes me better at faces. A lot of times I will burn out, stop drawing for a few months, then be slightly better when I get back at it. It’s a mystery. 💦

What do you think of the art of the person who gave you this ask meme? Their art is so lovely and striking and distinctive!! Extremely strong and emotive portraits. Wonderful use of light and dark values. When I read in their response to this that they don’t often use reference, I was like, “...?? How is this possible?”

What art tools/media are you good with? All my digital work is Procreate + iPad. Whenever I’m traveling I’ll bring a sketchbook (Leuchtturm is the best) and some ink pens.

Art tools/media you are bad at? Pastels, watercolor, charcoal. Messy things.

What do you think about your own art? ... Honestly I’m not a fan, haha. Occasionally I’ll make something that I’m proud of, but the vast majority of the time I’m just frustrated. This probably means I need to make some changes to my approach. But. Y’know. There’s currently a very large gulf between where I am and where I would like to be.

Do you consult references for your drawings? Every time for every thing. You haven’t lived until you’ve got eight tabs open of searches for “old man stern”, “old man angry”, “old man frown”, “old man face downward angry”--

What do you like about your art? I like my line work. I like how I render different planes and edges on a face.

What habits do you have while drawing? Planning to do something quick and then accidentally overworking it.

Are you good at drawing faces facing right? I think so.

How frequently do you draw? Not at all, then a TON for a short period of time. This is maybe my worst habit.

What do you do when you have artist’s block? I wait six months to several years. I do “junk food” art like drawing an easy portrait to build my confidence a bit. Photo/master studies.

What must you have when you draw? I have to have some noise, and my workspace has to be free of clutter. 9/10 times I will make a hot drink to have beside me; 7/10 times I forget about it.

Do you have a lot of stray lines (messy lineart)? Nah. I’m pretty economical.

What is drawing to you? Something I’ve been doing for a long time. A place where I have put most of my skill points but not enough of my attention and dedication.

Your art goal from now on? Make things that are unrecognizably mine. Confront my insecurities. Draw for no audience whatsoever.

Artists you’ve had influence from? See next.

Artists you like? Akihiko Yoshida, John Singer Sargent, John William Waterhouse, Ivan Bilibin, Even Amundsen.

Which is easier to draw, humans or animals? Ha ha. Humans.

Show us an old drawing. This is my favorite one to peddle out.

What is the charm-point of your art? Nice faces that are pleasant to look at. Chiseled cheekbones and numerous elf ears.

What is the first thing you would draw if we’re talking about fantasy? Elves, unsurprisingly. If I were just doodlin’ it would be outfit and armor designs for various adventurer types.

Please draw your most beloved character: I have spent literally 100% of my artistic energy on donation drawings so here is a year-old Lavellan that I still like a lot, to represent Elves as whole.

When thinking of characters is it mostly female? male? or androgynous/no sex? I think it’s a mix, at this point? When I was younger I would only draw girls.

What did you draw yesterday? Donation drawings! Last one was a nice OC. :-)

What is the most fun part to draw? Eyes and brows. Hair is fun to draw but miserable to paint.

What part of other people’s drawings do you notice first? Line work, color theory. Mark-making.

Regarding backgrounds, what is your method of making it easier to draw? Simply do not draw a background.

What colour coordinations do you like? Zorn palette, baybee.

What character did you last draw? Attractive male-presenting OC with long white hair and a nice skin tone.

What part of drawing do you pay most attention to? Line work requires the most active attention. You cannot save a bad drawing with good painting. I have learned this. I may spend more time painting, but it doesn’t ask as much of me mentally.

How do you feel about drawing adult art? At any moment I am ready to sell out and be paid large amounts of money to draw NSFW content.

Do you like criticism from others? When I solicit it and when it’s from someone whose opinions I value. That sounds like “no”, but it’s more that many people don’t give good, actionable criticism. Luckily I am my own harshest critic. 🤡

How many people do you normally draw per artwork? 1/6 of one humanoid.

#ask gg #kind of #thinky thoughts #long post #thank you for tagging me!! this was really fun to think through

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dimespin · 6 years

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Why people like your doodles better than your finished works

Learn from your doodles rather than resent them

I frequently see artists complain that their finished works got less attention than mere sketches, doodles and other smaller or less serious work. Which is frustrating! But almost as often, I can see exactly why the doodle got more attention. I’m going to cover some of these reasons, so you can use that information so you can do more than fume about it.

The doodle is easy to read, the polished work is busy

The polished work is completely drenched in little details that the artist slaved over, but the details create a kind of overall noise that makes everything harder to understand, making the whole image less appealing.

Don’t get too lost in little details, work from larger shapes to small details, use things like a highly readable silhouette, contrast, variance in line width or negative space to keep the image understandable. Pay attention to the composition to guide the eye where you want it.

The doodle is high contrast, the polished work is low contrast

When you do lots of details all equally well lit and easy to see, overall you lose the strong lights and darks that make a work pop. You have to sacrifice some of those details, let them be in shadow or out of focus in the background, to create a more appealing image overall.

You might also be forgetting that without lineart you need to use strong lights and darks, since lineart creates it’s own natural high contrast.

Contrast draws the eye, use that to create focus where you want it.

The doodle is simple to understand, the polished work is highly ambiguous in meaning and message

Many doodles that outstrip the artist’s polished work are jokes. Jokes usually have a specific clear focus and message, the viewer can understand it immediately (if they couldn’t, it wouldn’t be funny). You don’t have to make everything funny, but like a joke, you need to get to the point and give the audience the information they need to “get it.” More details can be present, but the viewer should not be confused about what to look at from the outset. Remember: people will look at and interpret your art in milliseconds. They might give it a longer look but only AFTER that millisecond look.

The initial glance is like the first page of a book. If it wows them they keep looking to understand more, if they are lost and confused, no second chances, they’ve already scrolled away.

You can use things like composition, basic structures of shapes and simple shape symbolism to give viewers the initial information they need to stay interested. Don’t feel like you have to abandon more personal and difficult to parse symbolism, these things can work together to create intrigue.

The doodle is fluid and expressive, the polished work is stiff and dead

The sketch for your polished work needs to be done with spontaneity and fluidity. When you want to really flex your drawing skills and show the world your beautiful realistic human faces, your sublime anatomy, gorgeous textures - it’s easy to forget about the undersketch and jump to rendering as soon as you can, creating a stiff or boring sketch that isn’t worthy of all the time you’re sinking into the minute details.

Practice quick gestures, read up on line of action, and before you make a polished painting, make sure you have a sketch that’s fun to look at even without the detailed rendering. Thumbnailing helps. Studies too. Sometimes you have to do the bad boring sketch, but you can take a few stabs at it.

You can’t make a bad sketch good by painting more details on it, you need to work out the sketch first before moving to the details.

Remember, if you’re going to spend 20 hours painting the thing, you can afford another half hour sketching a few different takes on your idea before digging in.

Lots of doodles, very few polished works

If you mostly post one kind of thing, your audience will be people who like that. Also, you may not have much practice with the techniques you are using in the polished work, while you have become a pro at doodles. You become an expert at what you practice, do more of what you want to be known for, become an expert at it, make it the only thing your audience is there for.

The audience is familiar with the subject of the doodle, unfamiliar with the subject of the polished work

Many artists do doodles of fanart and get fed up that people like that more, but the truth is, they don’t like it “more” they just already know they like it. You can increase the chances of people appreciating your original works by making sure they can understand what’s going on in the illustration without prior knowledge of who these characters are, or simply sticking to it until you have garnered an audience. Just keep at it.

Remember, the creators of the property you made fanart of are themselves artists who were pushing an original idea at one time. You can follow in their footsteps.

The doodle is quirky and unusual, the polished work is stale and samey

This can happen when an artist has an image in their head of what a SERIOUS and PROFESSIONAL painting looks like, usually based on a very narrow subset of artwork, often itself based on the same cargo cult of seriousness.

Try studying works outside your usual stomping grounds. Look to artists that likely inspired your faves (if you’re talking about realistic artists who inspired your favorite concept artists, here’s some likely culprits to get you started on the google search: JC Leyendecker, Alphonse Mucha, Norman Rockwell, James Gurney, Rembrandt), look to artists outside your genre, and look at your doodles and ask yourself what “not serious, just for fun” source of inspiration is making them so fresh and vibrant that your audience is connecting to them so strongly. Study that, respect that fun and try to pull it into your serious work.

The polished work was hard to make and no one cares

Being an artist is hard, and that we keep at it is commendable, but struggling and taking more hours doesn’t make a piece better necessarily.

There are a few things to consider here. First, you need to realize looking to the vague faceless masses of the internet for a fatherly “I’m proud of you, son” moment is always going to be disappointing and painful and attempting to guilt strangers into fulfilling that role for you is awkward and inappropriate. You need artist friends who can recognize your hard work and cheer you on and you need to be your own cheerleader, value your own hard work and practice.

Second, you need to realize torturing yourself doesn’t in and of itself make art better. Hard work is something people love about art, the meaning of someone spending that time, but if I screamed for 8 hours, drew a single line, then posted that, the internet wouldn’t be wrong to be unexcited about it. Rather than blame the viewer, think about two things: how can you make the art itself more appealing while still doing the painting that you’re interested in doing, and how can you do that faster and with less pointless suffering?

It’s okay to be a masochist when it comes to art, many artists are, just make sure you’re spending your time and suffering wisely.

You’re complaining about someone else’s “doodle”

Sketches and cartoons are deceptively hard to make appealing, rather than fume that they are getting more attention, look to them for lessons. What could you learn from them? Could you do it? Maybe you should try. Would make a good exercise.

And never get mad that their drawings are more appealing to the internet than yours, even though they spent less time on their drawing than you did on yours. See above for why time is not important here, but also keep in mind they may have been practicing longer than you or may be more established than you.

Keep working on your art, keep posting, push to be seen, advertise your work, put yourself out there. These things take time but work.

#art advice #Dime talks art

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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February 24th-March 1st, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from February 24th, 2020 to March 1st, 2020. The chat focused on Whispers of the Past by Crona J.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Whispers of the Past by Crona J.~! (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until March 1st, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

FeatheryJustice

So far, first impressions, holy cow the art is amazing.

Ash🦀

1. My favorite part about the beginning was the style. It immediately drew me in how everything was lovingly rendered in color that made me feel like I was seeing the world for the first time. It made me want to paint, too! 2. When we first see the man. Whoo buddy. Whoooooooo buddy. That was... a finely sculpted painting there. I could’ve framed him and hung him on my wall if the artist would let me. WHOOOO BUDDY. 3. My favorite character so far is Martel. I don’t write them often, but I love seeing kids in media, and I love the design of her hair. I know it’s a random thing to make me like her but I just... really like her hairstyle. She’s cute, and I’d guess she’ll be a breath of much-needed light air later in the story. 4. Mystery man and Martel are precious. 5. I point to answer 2 here. That lovingly sculpted chest? My heart was a-flutter I tell you what. 6. The art style is just... SO LOVINGLY RENDERED. The quiet moments of baking bread juxtaposed against a chaotic battle was SO. GOOD. Aaaaaah Could also be that that particular part is my favorite part of making bread so it was extra special aaaaaaah 7-8 I haven’t seen enough of the story to answer these yet! But the art is banging and I can’t wait to read more. Subscribed.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I've read this before and the art and story aren't really my thing. Since critique is allowed I could give art comments if CronaJ would find that kind of thing helpful? But even though I won't be following the story I was still impressed by how much care the author puts into it. Both from looking at their comic and from reading their comments on this discord and on the tap forum it's clear they've put a ton of effort into the art and story, and haven't cut any corner.s And all the panels are so rendered. I wonder how long it takes to draw a page?(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hey everyone! I'm the artist and writer of Whispers of the Past. I want to thank you all for your kind comments and observations so far. It really means a lot to me to hear what others think of this heartfelt project. I know that the story is in the beginning stages right now. But I'm looking to post the end of the first chapter this week, so hopefully a bit more will be revealed soon. Please feel free to ask me questions about anything, or (to answer @Eightfish (Puppeteer)'s question), to offer critiques for how I can improve what I'm doing.(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@FeatheryJustice & @Ash🦀 I'm glad you enjoy the artwork. The painting process is probably what takes me the longest when it comes to pages. In response to @Eightfish (Puppeteer)... It takes me around 30-40 hours per page, and I try to post 2-3 page updates. Obviously, the amount of time spent per page varies depending on several factors, such as: the number of panels, the level of complication of poses, how many characters/background elements there are, and sometimes just whatever weird reason my brain isn't working that day ^^; So for my average 5-7 panel pages, they typically take longer than, say, a full-page spread. @Ash🦀 I'm so happy that the first few pages pulled you in! I spent a lot of time deciding on how I wanted to draw those panels, and what style to use, etc. I actually redrew the first 3 pages at least 5 times before settling on them as they are. And, you can hang and frame the image of our male MC if you want, haha, I actually don't have prints of it, but it is something to consider That particular panel was a one-page spread, so I was able to dedicate a bit more detail to it. Maret is a worthy favorite character. She is too pure and precious, and she just wants to make friends with everybody. Even when the "strange man" is kind of curt and unfriendly to her, she wants to befriend him. Also, I am SO unbelievably glad that you picked up on the juxtaposition in the bread-making scene! Ahhhh! I had a lot of fun with that one

FeatheryJustice

1. The Pacing, I love slow starts to comics because I get to absorb it and learn more. 2. Favourite Moment? Dude trying to climb out the window and failing. That was really funny XD 3. Mysterious dude from the water of course. He has pointed ears, you know something is up. 4. I like Maret and the mysterious man, it seems like a child being like 'this is new and I want to learn more' Also thank you for not writing a grating child character. They sometimes turn up too pure to be real, or too grating because they are too real. Maret at least has that nice balance of a healthy child will not acted spoiled but still want things because child like the scene where she was shoo'ed out of the room. 5. I think we talked about htis a long time ago, but I love the way you draw hands and feet! 6. Nothing so far, not sure where the story will head so I can't answer this. 7. I like the start of the mystery and the slow ramp up. We are just getting comfortable and I'm sure we are going to get rocky soon! 8. Art, from seeing Cronaj spend so much time on it, it's freaking amazing. I can almost feel the characters come to life.

Also on a side note, I want Maret to hear from the Conch shell (As a memey joke) "Under the sea, under the sea" XD

(Mysterious man has red hair, I wouldn't be surprised he turned out to be a mermaid XD Sorry I'm just on slight crack theory mode right now. He didn't sell his voice though)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

When I was first writing and planning this comic, I was a little scared about how slow the start was, but I'm glad that it has been interesting despite the slow nature of the exposition.

2. Favourite Moment? Dude trying to climb out the window and failing. That was really funny XD

@FeatheryJustice Accurate! He's kind of an idiot, and he panics over nothing. For Maret... I actually based her character partially off of my two younger sisters, so that might be a lot of what contributes to her personality and realism. We did talk about hands and feet before! I love drawing hands, because they are so expressive and complex, but hate drawing feet because they are complicated. But I did study from life to draw Maret's feet, because I felt like I would mess it up otherwise ^^;

Hahahaha! I could definitely make an edit of that, tbh.

FeatheryJustice

That would be a funny joke panel if you ever want to do one. XD It's like replace the diaolgue memes XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

And I was partially making a mermaid joke when I had the reference to mermaids in the comic because he is a redhead

Definitely an idea....

I would title the episode "Whispers of the Crack"

FeatheryJustice

OMG YES I would love to see that XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I have a WotP meme folder on my computer already

carcarchu

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? Mystery man pretty 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? i liked the part where maret was listening to the conch for mermaids, had a lovely magical charm to it 3. Who is your favorite character? mystery man 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? not too many interactions so far but maret and the mystery man were cute 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! the sunset scenery had a nice vibe

also i can see why people were saying it reminded them of ruroni kenshin, mystery guy especially with his hair up and on the cover image is reminiscent of kenshin but storywise doesn't remind me of it at all

carcarchu

I have some critiques that i'll cover in case you don't want to see them. SPOILER The anime-ish emotes (the blush and the anger vein) to me clash against the realistic artsyle and detracts from the moments, some more subtlety with them would be appreciated. And Maret doesn't really look like a child to me, her face is very mature so it makes her look older than she is. Moreover the 3 characters that have been introduced thus far have very similar facial features. For maret and agatha they are siblings so it makes sense but the mystery man is (presumably?) not related to them so i'm not sure if that's intentional. In any case more facial diversity would be appreciated going forward (if it's just your style that's fine too). And this is a really small nit-pick but the first panel of chapter 6 has horse hooves with the sfx thump thump thump. In my opinion this sfx should be clip clop clip clop END SPOILER

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@carcarchu Thanks for the notes! I actually had a hard time deciding how to portray blush noticeably in a more realistic style, haha, but I can definitely see why it's jarring. Do you have any tips for how to depict blushing without anime emotes? I would just make it more reddish/pink, but it always looks weird to me (or too unnoticeable). As for Maret... She looks like a child to me? She's six, so she isn't quite a toddler, so I don't know if that changes your perception of her. She actually resembles my youngest sister a great deal, and my youngest sister was 5, almost six, when I designed her. (I just looked through the pages again, and there's maybe one panel that I think she looks slightly older in, so if anything, I'll try to fix that panel.) So yes, obviously Agatha and Maret look very similar, hahaha. They are biological sisters, so that makes sense. There will be at least two more characters introduced that are also related to them (and look fairly similar as well) and one character who will be mentioned who is also related and looks just like Agatha. Other than that, Izrekiel does look somewhat similar, I suppose, but it might also be partially that he canonically has a very feminine face as opposed to other male characters to be introduced later. It could be that and also a bit as a result of my style. I'm not sure. Ahhhh, sound effects! I also struggled with deciding what to do here. I wanted to do something different than "clip clop," mostly for a stupid personal hang-up. (I don't know why, but "clip clop" always looks so comical to me.) But if it helps translate the sound better, I might just have to bite the bullet and change it. Thanks for your feedback! Even if I don't agree with all of it, it does help me to take a closer look at what I've done with some different eyes. (edited)

carcarchu

That's fair! You don't have to accept anything just my thoughts (i hope nothing i said was too harsh) for me thump thump is a dull sound whereas clip clop or clippity clop is a sharper and harsher sound

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

yeah, I think you're right about that

thump is more like a heartbeat

or someone falling on carpet or something

carcarchu

and as for the blush question i think there are ways to depict a similar emotion without relying on the blush itself as a short hand like the softening of the eyes, the shape of the eyebrows, looking down and heck even body language can help with this. expression is more than what is shown on just the face

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Thank you. I always feel like my characters look too stiff, like mannequins. ^^; I'm probably not going to completely redraw any old panels at this point, but I might make a few alterations to these panels to make it more consistent with later panels down the line.

carcarchu

i also noticed that a lot of your panels are the characters looking straight towards the "camera" and i would appreciate more varied angles and perspectives

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Particularly with the first ten pages, that is certainly true

I got that note before, but I didn't redraw every panel, only some which looked particularly bad.

carcarchu

personally i never edit old chapters unless i 1. forgot to draw something important 2. there's a huge typo 3. it's missing a panel

any critique you can just keep in your heart and implement if you choose to do so moving forward

keii'ii (Heart of Keol)

2. I really liked "what if it's mama?" - a lot of hints condensed there: family history, how the topic of deaths/ disappearances are handled around children (either in that family specifically, or in that culture), and also a moment that shows a glimpse of Agatha's sisterly love instead of having the readers assume it.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Really loving the comic so far! Right now, I'm most interested to learn about this family situation. I'm guessing their mother is dead or missing, but what about their father? I suppose his clothes were still in the house so maybe he just went out? Or maybe they're both missing and it was just fairly recent?

Also, the paint-y style of this comic is just incredible

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

https://media.tenor.com/images/878a64d90a1139bcb1e863ee29bfa929/tenor.gif

I'm so happy that you guys picked up on the clues about their mother. It alludes to some pretty plot heavy stuff that very few people have really commented on so far.

eli [a winged tale]

Oooh I’m so excited for your story Cronaj! Here are my answers~ 1) I love the beach scene! Maret with the shell is adorable and you established their relationship right away 2) Fav moment is probably the scene transition to our lad waking up with Agatha going about her day. It’s very peaceful and I’m a sucker for slice of life stuff. 3) Can’t pick just yet~ I like Agatha as a solid protagonist though. 4) More Agatha x mystery man please 5) I loooove the illustration aesthetics. Bold colours! 6) haven’t gotten to the core theme yet I’m sure but first impressions/meeting are always exciting. 7) I’m excited for what is to come. Can’t wait for the call to adventure. 8) Strength is definitely the art - beautiful and bold. Keep up the wonderful work!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@eli [a winged tale] Woah!!! You're the first person I've heard say that they like Agatha! She's mah girl! (And don't you worry, there will definitely be a lot more Agatha x Mystery Man ) Thanks for participating

eli [a winged tale]

she’s a solid sister!

sagaholmgaard

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic? I like how the intro had a nice balance between art and text. Usually if there’s a lot of text on the first page I can get deterred from heading a comic, but here I think it worked really well! And the loverly painting of the ocean sunset also reeled me in and fit really well with the poetic text! 2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)? ”He’s the prettiest man I’ve ever seen!” LOL (and she’s right too…) 3. Who is your favorite character? I like the kid! But I’m excited to learn more about the other characters as the story goes on! 4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most? I liked Agatha and Mystery Man interacting, it felt very natural and I’m curious to see what comes of it. But the dialogue felt pretty strong which I gotta applaud 5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it! The beautiful shot of Mystery Man on the beach of course, lol! I love the way the hair is rendered, it really feels like it’s has weight and is spread out in the sand, if that makes sense? 6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores? It seems like it will explore a lot of interesting themes in the future, such as grief and finding where you belong, so again I’m interested to see what the story brings! I’m sure it’ll be good no matter what :D Overall I like what I’ve read so far! It’s not the type of art style I usually gravitate towards, but I can tell a lot of love is going into rendering and I think we’ll be seeing Crona’s art improve a lot as the story goes on, which is always exciting to see!

RebelVampire

What I like about the beginning of the comic, which also goes for what I like about the art in general, is the attention to detail in the background colors and lighting. I've never seen such a beautifully rendered (what I assume is) a sunset. It really makes everything have this great almost mystical atmosphere to it. In general, though, the art so far is definitely the comic's strength because you can see the sheer passion in every drop of it. My favorite moment so far is when Maret gives Izrekiel some flowers and then drags him off and he's just meekly protesting. It was both cute and comedic and the preciousness hurt my heart. This is also why this is my favorite pair of characters interacting so far. I think the age gap combined with the context of Izrekiel's situation is gonna lead to lots of awkwardness that I look forward to. As for fave character, though, I would have to go with Agatha right now. I don't know what it is about her, but everytime I see her I feel like I'm looking at an old soul. Like maybe someone who still has a lot to learn about the world, but is wise beyond her years in other regards. And it makes her a captivating character for me.

While I'm not sure if this will be an overall theme throughout, I like that the comic starts to deal with the theme of loss and hope. On one side you have Agatha who just kind of accepts loss and deals with it, and then you have Maret who just lives on in hope. And I kind of feel they represent two dynamic sides to the issue about whether its better to cling to hope or just move on and deal and how both can be harmful if not expressed in the correct way. As for overall story content, while we're not that deep in, I do like it starts with a multitude of mysteries cause mysteries are always great for making ppl want answers

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Since Crona said they were good with art critique: The main thing I noticed when I first saw the art was that, though lovingly rendered, the characters' faces and bodies are kind of stiff. They don't really scrunch up their eyes and faces when they emote- it's mostly just the eyebrows (this was especially noticable when Maret was crying, or on the latest page, first panel, where Agatha's face doesn't really match her body language or words). And characters often don't seem to twist their bodies as much as they should. Oh- also the same camera angles of faces and bodies are repeated a lot. Front, 3/4, and profile. It'd be cool to see some shots with foreshortening from above or below the characters. Also the lighting is pretty diffuse- the characters seem to be shaded about the same way, and with the same colors, regardless of the lighting situation. I can still tell where the light is coming from, because there are those strong bright highlights in the direction of the light, but other than the bright highlights everything else seems to be shaded as if there was another light source coming from straight ahead. Also, sometimes characters seem to lose their shadows? Like on this page https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/ch-1-what-the-waves-left-behind-pt-3/viewer?title_no=191366&episode_no=4 where Agatha doesn't cast a shadow on the man, or this page https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/ch-1-what-the-waves-left-behind-pt-8/viewer?title_no=191366&episode_no=10 where they're running.

Those things being said though, I was still very impressed by the sheer amount of effort put into this comic. 100 hours/ update is absolutely insane. And you pay so much attention to the inanimate objects of this world. It makes the story feel grounded. About what someone else said: I agree that the cartoonish blush looks out of place. But I disagree about Maret- I think she does look like a child. 5. Favorite illustration? Definitely Agatha's hands when making dough. Not a critique but just a question: I was confused on the location of the story. Where is this?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Ooof. Finally got a chance to sit down and respond to all these comments. I keep rereading them over and over again, so thank you so much for sharing your thoughts everyone! I've noticed a few themes with what people have commented so far: Maret is most people's favorite character, the panel of Izrekiel on the beach is also very popular, and the theme of loss/grief is apparent to the readers (which I'm very happy about.)

@sagaholmgaard I'm glad that you mentioned the theme of "finding where you belong" too, because it is and will be a very prevalent theme in the comic. And reading your comment about how the dialogue seems natural made my day. I used to worry about how the dialogue came off constantly, and to hear that it's strong is so encouraging.

@RebelVampire As is expected, your comments are very thought-out. The interaction between Izrekiel and Maret after he falls from the window is one of my favorite moments so far as well. I'm happy that Izrekiel's behavior came off as meek in this scene, because that is one of the defining traits of his personality. I'm glad for another Agatha fan! She is such a fun (and difficult) character for me to portray. There are so many layers about her that even I am still discovering. She is definitely an old soul, and he experiences growing up have definitely matured her beyond her years. As I mentioned before, the theme of loss is definitely a major theme of the comic overall. And hope as well, since I think the two are very connected.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Thank you for offering your critiques! Character stiffness is definitely one of my major problems that I'm working at. I definitely see what you mean about Agatha's face in the latest update. Her eyebrows look painted on (pun not intended). I have been looking forward to having some more dynamic poses, especially foreshortening, but I do find it somewhat difficult when most of what the characters are doing so far are standing, sitting, talking, and maybe doing something with their hands. ^^; Hopefully, in the future, when more "action" happens, it will be easier to do this. As for bird's eye or worm's eye shots, I'm not gonna lie, I struggle with them so much. I had two bird's eye panels, and those took so much time, and I still don't know how I feel about them. If you have any tips for exercises, I would be so grateful. (Finding reference isn't always possible.) I also would love some tips/resources on how to get better at lighting. Again, lighting reference isn't always possible for specific panels, so it would help me a lot to learn how light works in general. OOOOOOF! I don't know how I missed the lack of shadow on Izrekiel in that panel. That was 100% a stupid oversight on my part. The scene with Agatha making dough had some of my personal favorite illustrations for a while. :) Also, your question about the location, I'm not entirely sure how to answer it?(edited)

It's a high fantasy story, so the location is entirely fictional.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

The best I can answer that is to say that the story takes place in a country called Shai-Ryam, consisting of four major "districts" in a semi-tropical temperate peninsula called "The Aka Peninsula," named after the native people who originally lived there. As of right now, they are in a city called Gon Atam, a seaside village on the western shore of the Nuata District, near the Ocean of Saturuna. It is a city heavy in trade and with a long history, yet quaint and small due to a disaster several hundred years ago. It is only now being repopulated.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Where do you think Izrekiel comes from, and what is his past history that seems to haunt him? Additionally, how do you think he wound up with amnesia and seemingly abandoned by the sea?

10. How will Izrekiel’s past history affect events of the story? In particular, how will revelations about his past affect his relationship with Agatha and other characters?

11. How do you think Agatha’s life will change from her encounter with Izrekiel? Will it somehow lead her to a more exciting life? If so, will it make her miss her simpler life with her family?

12. What are the biggest questions you have so far and are hoping to see answered over the course of the story? Also, what do you think will happen in the story in general?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Ash🦀

9. Okay, so, here’s my theory. Just a guess. So Izrekiel is from a very war-friendly people up north who need land. Izzy just isn’t all about that life, but feels like he has no choice. Then he gets hurt fighting someone close to him (I’m putting money on brother or cousin who lives on the “wrong” side of things, hurt because he just couldn’t fight them at full strength. And then he realizes he can’t do it, while on the ship bound for new fight zones. His captain gets wind of it and is like “oh no I can’t let Mutiny Happen” so HeS all long ike “either fall in line or get off my ship” and Izzy is like “no I don’t wanna fight anymore heck you guys” and the captain proceeds to yeet him off the ship, leading him to the island, which, unbeknownst to him, is the next target. That’s my guess. Might be wildly off. He might be part mermaid. (Merman? Is mermaid gender neutral?) 10. Izzy or his bros probably killed one of Agatha’s family members, possibly the mom? Possibly violently? Which is why she never told babygirl what’s up. It’s probably going to be remembered in the buds of their relationship, hes going to try to hide it but it’ll come to light and she’s gonna be like “Izzy I hate you” and it’s going to make me cry. 11. She’s going to have a bread making partner in the end. They’re going to have adventures and go back to a domestic bread making existence, I speak it into being now /smacks table That may just be what I want to happen, though, as I very much enjoy bread making and wish others the same simple joy of giving dough a good smacking. 12. IS THE MOTHER REALLY A MERMAID OR WHAT Is Agatha a mermaid Are they like Selkies where they can come onto land a little Is babygirl a mermaid too(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Omg... I love reading these theories. I won't say you're wrong or right, but this is a riot. I'm thoroughly enjoying this.

FeatheryJustice

9. Pulls out my Crack Theory brain Okay, so Iz is actually not a very hot man, but actually a really hot princess, transformed into a man since she was exciled from her country but their rules are to give the exiled a new life so they shape shift them into something else. Iz got shifted into a man, and the lovely wide bare chest was because their top was lost to the ocean like how someone would lose their bathing suit top to the sea. Anyways, knowing nothing about themselves, Iz now lives their life as a man never remembering they were a princess in the first place. Ends Crack Theory 10. Don't know, can't say for now. 11. She could always politely kick him out later, so I can't say for now. XD 12. I want to know if there are monsters in this story or just like different species warring it out.

RT|NitghVision

^ I like this theory

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) Oh! I missed that it was high fantasy. I thought the story was historical fiction. No wonder mystery man has pointed ears. I was so confused- I kept thinking, oh, she looks Polynesian and lives by the ocean. But wait, her name is Agatha and she makes bread? And the houses look Japanese? What culture are her clothes from? The world being completely fictional explains all that. I think I was confused by the real names in a high fantasy story- you don't really see that a lot. Finding the right reference for lighting or pose is impossible for me. I have no tips. The only way I've found is to make my own references. I will sit in front of a window, or take a lamp into a dark room or something, and prop my phone up and take photos of myself in the poses and lighting direction I need. But hey, at least that way I don't have to worry about stealing someone else's work?

(i also like feathery's theory)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@FeatheryJustice Crack theories are best theories.

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) Oh! I had no idea you thought it was historical fiction No wonder you were confused! There's a lot of weird cultural-mixing shenanigans going on in the setting, and it's a bit confusing.

I should try that, for now the lighting has been primarily sunlight, or diffused sunlight (which I don't think I depicted correctly).

RebelVampire

Time to crack story theory. I don't know enough about the world to guess a name to where Izrekiel is from. However, wherever it's from, I get the impression its embroiled in a bloody war that is suffering heavy casualties. I imagine that Izrekiel mightve been in a battle and just wound up in the sea by circumstance - like maybe was taken as a prisoner of war and jumped overboard to escape. Something like that. As for the amnesia, well, Imma chock that up to PTSD cause the brief flashbacks we got don't look pleasant. However, I definitely think someone will come looking for him, and that these someone's will make trouble with the people he's just met - perhaps even forcing them to abandon their home with people in pursuit. And I'm sure as Izrekiel remembers more, others are going to really view him as potentially dangerous and blame him (but then get over it cause he's pretty O_O) Given that, I do think Agatha is gonna leave home because of Izrekiel's past running after them. I do think she's inevitably gonna miss the simpler life. Not to the point she won't rise to the challenge, but to the point that she's gonna be like "wait theres danger out here and i didnt even get a sword from an old man in a cave!" As for biggest questions, right now I'm just kind of hoping to see more of the world cause current world events really are gonna dictate a lot where the story could go.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Dude I was literally googling the names to see what country they were from because I thought they were from some obscure real island with a history of cultural mixing that I hadn't heard about before.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hahaha! Yeah, Agatha is an English name. Maret and Kelan (a character that hasn't been introduced yet) are Irish names. Aalia (another character that isn't introduced yet) is an Arabic name. Kehhasan (another character) is a made-up name. Izrekiel is a made-up name inspired by the biblical names Israel and Ezekiel (although technically it is often spelled in their alphabet as "Isarikieru," which has a particular meaning and pronunciation in an even older—fictional—language). Ryukou (another character), is a real-ish name, based off of the Japanese names "Ryu" and "Kou," which mean "dragon" and "peace/light" respectively. Four other characters have fictional names: Ia, Tammamori, Soro, Ghita (although technically it's a Greek name, that wasn't my inspiration). And of course there are hundreds of side characters with a combination of weird names and name origins.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Deo101 [Millennium]

So! I don't really do so well with answering questions, but I do want to say it's inspiring to me to see just how much WORK is put into this comic. It's really lovely to see so clearly how much you care for it. Just want to give some general words of encouragement, keep it up!

Ash🦀

I’m most looking forward to seeing more of Izzy how the story develops along with your painting. There are so many hints and peeks at the world, and I can’t really guess where it’s going. I feel like I already care for these characters, and I can’t wait to see their journey. I am also not good at encouragement, as generally I’m fueled by spite. But I just wanted to say, keep going! You got this! We believe in you!

eli [a winged tale]

Keep up the good work Cronaj! Your art is beautiful and I can’t wait till we start rolling into act 2!

FeatheryJustice

I'm excited to see what else comes up next!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement everyone! I'm so happy to know that you are enjoying the story so far!

RebelVampire

I'm most looking to learning a bit more about the world structure I think. Since I think current events are really gonna hint at a lot what's going on. As for final words, this is an artistically wonderful comic with a lot of love put in, and I can only imagine how things will improve in the future!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I'm just really looking forward to seeing these characters grow! This is a beautiful comic, and I can't wait to get more of it!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Before the book club ends, I just wanted to pop back in and say thank you to everyone for their participation. Your kindness, insight, and critiques will stay with me for years to come. I'm so happy to have found a supportive community of readers and fellow creators!

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Whispers of the Past this week! Please also give a special thank you to Crona J. for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Whispers of the Past, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366

Crona J.’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cronasonlyfriend

Crona J.’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/cronaj

Crona J.’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/CronajArt

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #whispers of the past #crona j.

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jmgiovine · 4 years

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My Path with the Force

: A Star Wars-fan Chronicle.

by. J.M.Giovine.

A long time ago, back in the 90s, I was 5 and the remastered edition of the Original Trilogy was released on VHS format. Star Wars entered in my life. I remeber those good old days. Since I’m the child of a failed marriage, my father used to pick me up every single weekend to take me for a ride for some father-and-son time, just the two of us, sometimes with my dad’s family as well. Like I said, good old days. Before that, my whole world turned around Batman and Jurassic Park, as well as pretty much every single Disney-animated flick I got my hands into. One of those weekeds, my dad took me to a Toy Store, and my wonder solidified the moment I saw a giant box-set of MicroMachines figures that immediately draw my attention... and eventually became my first merchandise (purchased by my dad as a gift) of the soon-to-be-my favorite franchise, ever.

Fun thing was, I never saw any of the original films, nor played any of the LucasArts videogames released back then. I entered into this fandom as an innocent five-year-old poser, but obviously, my curiosity and wanderlust won’t stop there. Eventually, I’ll turn to acknowledge the franchise from a movie perspective, ironically, almost immediatelly after acquire my most precious set of ships (which I still possess, for the most part). That very same year, my grandmother came one afternoon with several copies of VHS tapes on her bag that she proudly showed to us; the rents of the week. Little I knew, that would be it, the moment I’ll be acquainted with the Original Trilogy for the first time. Fun thing was, my grandmother is a considerably devoted catholic, and an awfully religious person (she’s nuts), but if I ever have to feel grateful about something she did for me, was introducing me to two different worlds I love: Indiana Jones, and Star Wars. She knew the films (at a certain degree), and basically spoiled me Vader was Luke’s father the very moment I pop A New Hope’s into the VHS. But I didn’t care back then, because I was hooked. Somehow, I realized, this was it; “this is the universe I love”.

I still think about it. What was it at first? I mean, I can answer that almost right away with a 6-hour-long explanation why I love this universe, but to be fair, I really wonder what was back in the day in my earliest childhood years, the very essential element that made me fell for it. The space ships? Maybe, that’s probably a reliable esthetic trait that’ll captivate any small child. Perhaps the whole Jedi mythos presented lightly between the three episodes, later explored with a larger detail in further entries and titles from both, the Expanded and New Canon. Which 5-year-old child wouldn’t want to be a Jedi Knight just as Obi Wan, or Luke by the time he showed up in Return of the Jedi (1983), weilding his brand-new green lightsaber in order to defeat Jabba’s band of criminals and guards. We’re getting closer. But I suspect there was more to it. Of course, being a grade-school kid my thoughts never went anywhere further than my visual and spectating admiration for the trilogy. That lasted 2 more years, 2 years of me asking like crazy the whole action figures and vehicles I was so desperate to possess and play with. Hardly I was gifted with some of the merchandise, aside my beloved MicroMachines set, and then, it came 1999...

I can just imagine, for the elder people, what this meant back at the release of The Phantom Menace (1999), although, it kindda happened the same way in 2015; people went nuts and fans all over the world realised it returned. Star Wars was back, but not in the shape of a horrible remasterization in a re-release of a classic film(s), but as a brand new episode. Something that’ll continue the story left behind more almost 20 years ago. Young version of characters we all loved from the first ones, as well as new introductions of characters that, from the distance, looked like they had certain potential. I mean, I just remember Darth Maul being literaly everywhere at stores, promos, banners. The guy everyone thought would be the new face of these new installments, just as Vader was years ago. The rest, well, what can I say? But this ain’t a review. To be completely honest... I liked it. Never watch it at the theater (until the 3D re-release back in 2012), but I immediately bought the VHS. My grandma and aunt actually went to the movies to see it, they hated it.

But obviously, I had my reservations in regards of the newest Star Wars flick, and my hopes to see an actual connection between this “new” vision, and the episodes I’ve learn to love these past couple years. So, you could say, I decided to give it a pass and accept what I was experiencing. Back then, having already 7 years, my judgement towards films wasn’t-let’s say- well defined.To me, if something belongs to what I already know, it was alright, but deep down, I knew something wasn’t right with this newest film, it didn’t feel the same. Was I set to become one of those folks that’ll limit themselves to what was already stablished rather than to accept new ideas and concepts inside a franchise set to expand? Well, thankfully, few years later I’ll understand it was all due to how poorly the film was crafted. Also... yeah, Jar Jar...

But not everything was that bittersweet. I fell in love with the franchise right before seeing Phantom... so by the time, all toy lines (Kenner, particularly) were everywhere from both, this newest episode and the original trilogy line, which endured several years afterwards, before the newest 2004 line. I acquire several other figures, and I was enjoying myself pretty much alright. I couldn’t wait for more, and only two episodes left, my childhood excitement grew exponentially by the realization that, soon, I’ll possess 6 VHS of my favorite saga ever (ha!). Like that, and continously buying as much merchandise as my parents were capable of, 2002 came along. The so-much-expected episode two came, and this was officially my first Star Wars film ever experienced on the big screen. Save your pity, please, I don’t need it.

I was aware, probably for the first time, of the quality decaying this franchise was suffering, probably the moment I saw Hayden Christensen portraying the long-expected-hero Anakin Skywalker. If I ever check a top 10 list of the worst casting choices ever made, this guy would probably be in the first 5 spots, easily. Even the toy-brand seemed... I don’t know, uninspired? Yeah, not much of a big change, but somehow I felt way attracted for the lines of episode 1 than this one. The starships never took my breath away (except for a fully renderized Slave I, the very first Original Trilogy starship brought back for these films), nor the aliens or the newest incursions of Jedi felt innovative or interesting enough. Probably the Clones, but I have to admit, my interest for this army came years later, when Genndy Tartakovsky’s The Clone Wars, as well as the Expanded Universe’s stories were release, in order to fill the gap left by Episode’s 2 need of ending at the very beginning of the long-awaited wars.

Another spark of honesty, I never watched the show on it’s innitial release, in 2003, since I never had cable, ergo, never saw Cartoon Network, even though I really wish I could’ve. My initiation with the short cartoon came a year later, and a year before the heavily anticipated release of Episode 3. The first time I did came around the show was at my highschool tutor’s house. Every day, after my school schedule, my mom sended me every afternoon to my tutor’s place, literaly, on the street behing mine’s. Why here? Easy, after finishing my whole homework (for the next day) we got some spare time before our moms (we were several other kids at the house), and that’s when, located at the livingroom basically identical to my place’s, my tutor’s son was watching some tv. He looked nerdy af, and what was he watching? No more and no less than the show’s second season, episode 19: Anakin VS Asajj Ventress.

After that, my next step was some of the best I’ve had in regards of the franchise: the Original Trilogy DVD release in 2004. Just as my dad did, back in 1997, in 2004 I spend my first Christmas with my dad’s family, and one of my presents (one of my all time favorites) was my very first DVD player, also, packed along the remasterization (one of many, Christ...) for the same format that launched also a brand new toy series better known as the Original Trilogy Collection from Hasbro. I was one step closer to fulfillment, and for the first time I had the Original Trilogy in my power. At the same time, my highschool’s best friend lend me the DVD of Tartakovsky’s series from 2003, recently launched in a compilation of the entire 20 episodes. That’s when I saw the whole show for the first time. Again, aside of my bitterweet experience with Episodes 1 & 2, I felt great passion towards Star Wars, once again.

My first Star Wars game also came in 2004, the same year I first acquire my Game Cube console, that meant I was finally able to buy Rebel Strike: Rogue Squadron 3 and I was pretty much at candy land. I played Rogue Squadron 1, for the Nintendo 64, a while ago, and I was pretty much addicted to the epic arcade game, located at a Peter Piper Pizza near my house. On the videogame background, this was the only thing I needed so far, until I realize of the existance of other games such as Battlefront, Jedi Academy-Outcast, and countless other elder games I never had the chance to play. Probably my official first Star Wars game was the PC exclusive, Dark Forces 2, but I never managed to finish it (I still hadn’t have the chance to, since I’m no longer able to play it), but overall, Roque Squadron 3 was everything I needed, surely I wouldn’t mind experience other stuff, specially when first realizing about the existance of the memorable Knights of the Old Republic, a game I considered for superior gamers back then.

2005 came, the first trailers for Revenge of the Sith were everywhere and dropped every 5 seconds. But that wasn’t just it. I was able to follow the weekly release of the Clone Wars Season 3, that was supposed to end the series right at the very beginning of Episode 3, which it did. My best friend and I saw the series finally together, at his place; pizza, soda and chips, the two of us excited for the finale and, oh boy, we were. With Revenge... it came my first official midnight release, something that’ll take a while to return to my life, mostly after highschool. My entire family and I went to the movie-theater, and it became one of my most beloved experiences in a movie, from my entire life. Back in the day, that movie gave me everything I wanted out of a franchise I followed. Every single plot-detail, every single arc, fanservice (which I didn’t know it was back then), and full circles leading to Episode 4 were there, in all their glory. And, the less I know, it hit me: this was my last Star Wars. Only two episodes at the movie theater, the rest experienced at home-video. Not that I regret anything, but its never easy to let go something so attached to our lives. If I only knew...

Not much to say about the next years. A new decade arrived. I was way past buying and collecting figures or vehicles, and in regards of the films, for some reason, I never acquired the prequels on DVD. Somehow I felt as if I was already complete with my Original Trilogy. I really wanted The Clone Wars series on DVD, but never managed to buy them, either for the lack of money, or I never found them at local stores (even nowadays its extremely difficult and expensive to get). In 2008, The Clone Wars came out... which was already extremely weird, considering some of the characters from the original animated series came back, like Asajj Ventress, and naturaly, since I ended my journey with the saga, I lost my entire interest for Star Wars material furthermore, I ignored it. Therefore, I never saw nor the movie or the newest 3D Animated show, created by Dave Filoni, a name I’ll learn to admire and respect almost a decade after. We’re talking a complete absence of interest for the franchise during a 4 year period until the impossible happened...

George Lucas, after a personal professional defeat, sold his epic and extremely profitable (still) franchise to Disney, now belonging executively speaking to Kathleen Kennedy, who immediately confirmed to the world what we all thought would never come: a brand new episodic installment in the franchise will eventually be made... continuing the events concluded on Episode 6 and completely throwing away everything that happened before the sale, that is, everything considered aside of the films, the former Expanded Universe, being the Clone Wars the only property still considered important and canon inside the newest Disney reign. Suddenly my love came back, just as it is when you’re in a marriage that is merely a dry relationship between to irrelevant individuals and then, out of nowhere, you remember how lucky you are of having that person by your side. But it wasn’t just me, the whole world went bananas, and everyone needed 2015 to arrive, as of now.

And so it did. The Force Awakens came on December of 2015. It quickly became one of the highest grossing films of all time. One of the most succesfull releases ever, Hollywood-speaking. Fans were excited, hopeful and, let’s be honest, fearfull for the upcoming results. We were still harmed for the prequels and we needed Star Wars to be what we loved in the first place. To me, it was, I felt like experiencing Star Wars for the first time in a long while. I felt that excitement, the struggle, the emotion and power I felt when watching my old VHS, back in the 90s. This was the worthy succesor I was expecting. Star Wars was everywhere and, once again, I felt like a five year old. Of course, my curiosity and dissappointment appear once I saw people felt... conflicted by this new episode. Somehow people really didn’t feel like enjoying something so reminiscent of the old-school franchise we all grow up loving, instead, they criticized the fact that “we didn’t got anything new” and the film relay so much on nostalgia and similarities to the original episodes. Of course I never felt that way, at least, not in a negative way.

But that didn’t matter! Hope was still foreseen and Disney also anounced their next installment as a prequel that’ll take place right before A New Hope (1977), and so, the first “A Star Wars Story” was meant to be released on December 2016. Rogue One was a blast, and unlike Force Awakens, it seemed this was what every single fan was expecting. Classic Star Wars, a brand new take on this world that’ll fill a gap left on episode 4 and, what we all agree was the best aspect of the film; a complete tone of war and battles worthy of any great moment in the franchise. People started to believe Disney was actually caring about the franchise future, and the horizon offered a bright looking for the next installments. We had Star Wars literally everywhere, and new films (both, episodic and spin offs) were already scheduled, also, bringin important names in the director’s chair for each one. Me, personally, I liked fine. I understood why people loved it, and I understood why this could easily foreshadow episode 7. Overall, I thought it was an excuse to showcase a pop-corn spectacle, but yeah, a pretty entertaining one, but non of the complexity and creativity from the originals were there, making it a little disposable for my taste. Regardless, I didn’t mind, and I felt as excited and hopeful as I was a year before it.

I guess I wasn’t entirely prepared for what came on 2017; the whole The Last Jedi controversy. Rian Johnson wasn’t that known, except for directing one of the favorite sci-fi flicks from 2012 and two of the best episodes of Breaking Bad. People either hated it, or just liked the film. Me? It’s hard to say but I enjoyed it pretty hard. The next episode got me hooked, invested and intrigued all the way through. At the midnight release, on December, I watched the film with my cousin and my best friend (who just finished watching the whole film-saga, and she became instantly a fan), and the three of us were dazzled all the way through. My realization came when I arrived home that night and found out, all my contacts on Facebook were ranting the hell out of it, specially the elder ones. I was confused and, downright, alone when it came to my joy towards Episode 8. The fandom lost their minds, and the hatred rised considerably againts the new direction given by Disney and Kennedy. Star Wars quickly stopped being what it was before; the saga we all had tons of fun discussing and talk about. Suddenly it became hard to talk about the saga, and the passion seemed to have been drained from it, something that I confirmed when Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) was released.

The second spin-off in the saga became the biggest box office flop for the franchise on that very same year and critics partially seemed to like it. For audiences it was as harmless and inconsequential, pretty much unlike the overall received of Rogue One. But, one thing was for sure; the franchise hype was starting to fade. From my own perspective, I started to lose interesting, but not for the same reason not-pleased fans were, but because I felt the polarization all over the place. Again, Star Wars wasn’t fun anymore.

However, and after the anouncement of Abrams returning to the franchise in order to conclude it, somehow I felt the excitement once again. Slowly, and once 2019 arrived, I slowly started acquiring new Star Wars merchandise, from the LucasArts videogames I wasn’t able to play back in the day, like Republic Commando, Battlefront 2 and Jedi Starfighter. Also, I got my 5 Black Series figures, from 2016 to date, being Ahsoka Tano my first, then Thrawn, General Kenobi, Darth Maul and the Second Sister. The trailers for The Rise of Skywalker were dropped and my hype was real. Also, Disney + would release the very first live action tv series on the saga, with The Mandalorian.

So, somehow, 2019 exploded in Star Wars, and I wasn’t the only one. On November, only a month-away for Episode 9, The Mandalorian made all of us fell in love with the franchise, making us feeling like we were discovering something that we needed and wanted at the same time. Also, people played Jedi Fallen Order, and everyone loved it, unfortunately for me, I haven’t got the chance to do it as well. Nevertheless, my amazement belonged completely to Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, with 8 episodes of aproximately 40 minutes each, and providing wonderful connection between Clone Wars and Rebels, this time, with the whole esthetic scenarios and props from the Original Trilogy, all this before watching the last Episode.

And so, the saga came to a supposed ending, at least, in regards of the Skywalker installments. That was it; no more title cards in the middle of the open space, no more drama between the Skywalker family, no more John Williams. Sigh. Well, for my eyes, I was partially pleased, but I had my issues. Call it an overall excess of expectations, call it non-blinded judgement, but there was something missing, something worthy of the franchise I have loved most of my life. It could’ve been better, for sure, and the commitment from the previous two was lacking. Abrams had the opportunity to go all the way with something memorable (something accomplished by Endgame, for example), but for what it was, it was just good enough. That’s it. My inner child never died, but wasn’t completely baffled or amazed. Serviceable, and that was it.

But that’s not the end, for me. I’m still acquiring the novels and comic books (which I started buying back in 2015), and my collection of figures and merchindise is still growing, slowly. Also, several tv-shows are scheduled to be release in the next years, so, Star Wars isn’t over. I’m still excited to see this franchise expanding, and my devotion hasn’t change a bit. I’m still a fan, despite the ups and downs. I guess when it comes to the Disney domain, I’m glad, considering Lucas didn’t wanted to direct or make any more sequels or spin-offs so, without the company’s purchase, Star Wars might still be a franchise entirely for the geeks, and being pretty much resting nowadays. I’m glad it is back, and I’m glad there’s more to explore, perhaps not as people wished, but there’s no denying, the saga may have concluded, but it is far from being over, or dead, and I’ll be there, experiencing it, consuming it, and being in love with it, pretty much, until I become one with the Force.

#starwars #fan #chronicle #starwarsfan

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