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#I've been in a creative rut for months
blazingstaro · 6 months
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Hey gang! DotS:MMM update!
I will preface: the comic is still live and shall continue at an irregular schedule until I can pull myself together and get back into the flow
Frankly I have not felt up to drawing and forcing myself into a grind. I need to pace myself and not feel like this is an obligation. I started feeling like I had to make pages to keep up the pace and not disappoint, but that started to really ebb at my enjoyment of making this comic
This is my hobby, and not my job. Nobody pays me to make these. I make this because I like it and want to tell a story. Something I have to constantly remind myself, despite the pressure of disappointing my readers with my inconsistency. These days I draw in bursts and end up losing my stamina because I become emotionally overwhelmed
My energy is still fickle. I'm bombarded with overwhelming negativity at home from various sources, including personal stress and depression caused by my current life situation. What I make to decompress shouldn't be a stresser either
I'll continue to chip away at finishing these pages for DotS:MMM Part One, but it will be at my own pace. I'll post again once I feel ready and satisfied enough with how many pages I have in hand. Deadlines stress me out and kill my motivation to draw. Again it makes me feel obligated to do this stuff, to make it instead of just being something I enjoy and have fun with
Also Orpheus decided to worm his way in, so now I have to rewrite some scripts to as well fix a tremendous continuity error that Orpheus has come in to correct. This man makes me rewrite everything, I swear omg
You'll see what I mean in later parts of DotS:MMM
Thank you guys as always for your patience! 💖
Additionally for you all, my Tumblr lovelies, I'll continue to answer asks! Might be able to squeeze in a sketch or two as I go, but goodness I have to constantly train myself to draw for fun and not treat it like work. Tumblr has been helping with that a lot
My previous following several years ago on dA used to pressure me into keeping up with my own content and would punish me with hateful comments if I didn't post art of their fave OC of mine often enough (yes my OWN oc, not a fan character), and UGHGHGH MAN. HEAVEN FORBID I posted a new design without some sort of specific ritual first, just up and dropped a new character like "hi hello this is bleebo blorbie my new baby blorbo kthx bye". They'd throw a fit over that too. Not everyone of course, but it was a lot of people
I was bullied by fans of my own original content 😭 you see why I do fan stuff these days
It wasn't even remotely done, didn't even have a comic or story; people lusted over my own designs. I felt like I had to finish a story that never wanted to be told just to make ends meet, to appease the unappeasable, and burnt myself out entirely on the series to where I had to scrap the whole thing.
Thankfully that's not the case anymore, with my current following being great and sweet, but on rare occasions a rare impatient reader will show themselves on dA specifically
I appreciate you guys being so chill and kind to me throughout this year 😭 Tumblr gang I've always loved y'all. I haven't felt at home on a site in so long
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karofsky · 1 year
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I finished all my cleaning + house things today (which had backed up SO much; like weeks worth of stuff) and got things ready for this weekend so now I can just chill and work on these last couple commissions and do NaNo the next two days. Rad
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love-islike-abomb · 2 months
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Mexico
Roman reigns x Mystic (OC)
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"Yo-ho, Mexico! Far to the south where the cactus grow! Take me away from the ice and the snow! Let's go to Mexico!"
(a/n: you know the photo Paul posted of him saying "when the tribal chief summons you" it gave me an idea so here we are. I actually started this a while ago but I've been in a creative rut so it took me longer then I thought it would)
Warnings: fluff, smut, errors I may have missed, its also LONG!!
Word count: 1.4k
Tag list: @acknowledge-reigns @reignsangel444 @mzv11 @marchm-langdon @mandeelemons @pittieprincess22 @queengreenarrowmia89 @romanreignshairdresser @weirdgirl16355
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The winter months in Canada are so harsh! A 20° day is a heatwave here! It was so cold that when I threw boiling water in the air it turned to ice almost instantly. Some people had some fun with it and put food coloring in the water before throwing it while it did make for a bit of fun I wanted somewhere warm.
"you look deep in thought Mystic. What's on your mind" Paul asked.
"I'm just missing my husband that's all" I said with a half smile.
"well he's called me resently and he's bought you a plane ticket" Paul smiled.
"wait what? To where?" I asked.
"Mexico City" Paul smiled "your flight leaves in 3 hours so pack your bags and I'll take you to the airport"
I hadn't seen my husband in 3 months and I had a surprise for him. Paul was the only person I'd told because I had to tell someone "you haven't told him have you?" I asked.
"your secret is safe with me" Paul smiled "but i know he'll be over the moon"
"you think so?" I said, trying to hide the worry in my voice. We had talked about kids but never really got into detail about it. I was afraid Paul was just trying to soothe my nerves.
"mystic, he's always wanted kids. There's no need for you to worry" Paul smiled.
I took what he said at face value. I was worried but we've been married for 2 years now and I'm pretty sure he wasn't going anywhere "alright I'll go get packed" I said with a soft smile, walking away from paul to Roman and i's room. I grabbed my suitcase out of the closet and packed my bikini, several pairs of shorts, shirts, panties, bras, pajamas, and flip flops. I grabbed the pregnancy test I took and wrapped it in tissue paper and put it in the front of my suitcase. I zipped up my suitcase and walked out to Paul "come on mystic, I'll drive you to the airport" paul smiled, grabbing my suitcase.
"paul I'm pregnant not an invilet" I laughed "im perfectly capable of rolling my own bags"
"my tribal chief has told me that I take care of his wife while she's traveling to him. Im just doing what I'm told" he smiled.
I shook my head and smiled "I truly did marry an amazing man!"
At the airport
Sitting on his private jet I wondered how he was gonna react. I didn't have much time to think on it because my phone rang and he was on Skype. I answered and saw his gorgeous smile "hey babe!" I smiled.
"hi babygirl!" He smiled "I see Paul has taken you to the airport. I can't wait to see you! I was planning on taking you to the ruins of Tenochtitlan!" He smiled.
"I would love that! You know if it wasn't for the indigenous a lot of things people use every day wouldn't exist. Things like rubber wouldnt exist and we wouldn't have tires or those expensive shoes we wear wouldn't have their rubber souls. Mouthwash wouldn't exist, syringes, baby bottles and baby formula, the cultivation of corn, snow goggles, birth control, oral and topical pain killers, cable suspension bridges and many othes! None of those things would exist and we really should appreciate them more!"
"I agree! Also quinine!" He smiled.
"you've done your research! The first ever anti malarial drug!" I smiled.
"flight 21 now boarding for Mexico City!" The announcer said over the intercom.
"that's me babe! I'll see you soon!" I smiled "I love you"
"I love you to baby girl" he smiled back.
"you're a very lucky woman!" An older woman next to me said "he's a very handsome man!"
"he's my everything!" I smiled back, getting up to board the plane.
I handed my ticket to the stewardess "oh Mrs Anoa'i your on a private plane!" She smiled.
"he never disappoints" I smiled.
10 hours later in Mexico city
The flight here was uneventful and when I arrived I couldnt get off the plane fast enough. I knew he'd be at the airport waiting for me. I grabbed my carry on and headed off the plane. The the fight attendant opened the door he was standing at the bottom of the stairs with a smile on his face. I ran down the stairs and leapt into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist "hey baby" he smiled giving me a kiss "I missed you"
"i missed you to!" I smiled back as he set my feet back on the ground.
"We'll go to Tenochtitlan tomorrow!" He smiled "i have something planned for tonight" he said with a smirk. I knew what that meant. I wasn't gonna know my own name. the mere thought of him taking me all over the hotel room- "mystic? Are you ok baby? You look kinda pale"
"yeah I'm fine. I'm just a little queasy. I have a surprise for you" I smiled
"oh what's that's?" He asked.
I took a deep breath and reached into the front of my bag and took out the pregnancy test i'd taken before handing it to him.
"what's this?" He asked.
"what does it look like" I smiled nervously.
"are you pregnant?" He smiled.
"yes" I smiled back.
"baby why are you shaking?" He asked.
"I'm scared" I said "I'm scared that you'll leave now that you know"
He put his hand under my chin, gently moving my gaze to meet his "baby i don't know why you'd think I'd leave just because you're pregnant. I know we've vaguely talked about kids but you have nothing to worry about!" He smiled and I felt my body relax. I leaned into him, feeling his strong arms wrapping around me, realizing I was safe in his arms.
"come on let's get back to the hotel" he smiled. I'm sure you're tired"
"I am but I want my husband!" I said with a smirk.
"oh yeah?" He said licking his lips "I'll take you all over our hotel room!"
At the hotel
"fuck baby girl!" He growled "that mouth feels so good!"
I felt him twitch in my mouth and I knew he was close. I felt him pull me off him, my mouth making a popping noise "face down ass up baby!"
I happily obeyed, shaking my ass when I was on all 4s. I felt him tease me with the tip, sliding it through my wet folds "Roman please!" I whined.
"so impatient!" He said finally sliding himself inside me, both of us moaning out in pleasure. I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or not but feeling him inside me for the first time in 3 months activated a part of me I didn't know was there. I moved my hips against his, fucking myself on his hardened flesh "oh fuck baby girl! That's it! Fuck yourself on my cock!" The sound of his hand connecting to my ass rang out and he ran his hand up the curve of my back and into my hair before grabbing a handful and pulling me back, thrusting into me, His hips snapping against mine. He pulled me so I was on my knees and reached his hand around to grab my throat "i'm gonna take you all over This hotel room! You'd like that wouldn't you? You wanna be my little whore?" He growled in my ear.
I bit my lip "yes daddy!" I groaned.
"say it to me!" He growled.
"please use me!" I groaned.
"that's my good girl!" He growled.
"fuck baby! The way that pussy is gripping me I think you're close! Be a good girl and cum on my cock!" He growled. Fuck his dirty talk always got me. "Fuck! Yesss!" I groaned.
"that's it baby! Let it go!" He groaned into my ear "uhn fuck! That's it milk my cock! Milk it dry! Uhn I'm gonna fill that pussy!"
His thrusts became sloppy and eratic, his hot cum coating my walls. A few last sloppy thrusts and he stilled inside me, both of us trying to catch our breath. He slowly pulled out of me and collapsed on the bed and I followed him, snuggling into him "I love you" I smiled.
He smiled back "I love you to baby girl"
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crescencestudio · 4 months
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2023: A Year of Connection
Hi everyone!
As I told you last month, this month's "devlog" will be more like an end-of-year recap. For those of you who have known me a while, you'll know that I get ~in my feels~ and Very Nostalgic at the end of the year. And this year is no exception to that.
Looking back on this year, I realize I did much more than I thought I did. The year was filled with so many waves of uncertainty, burnout, and ruts, that I felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything in the moment. Now that the year has actually wrapped up, I can see that was Once Again my imposter syndrome whispering words of sweet nothings into my ears.
In fact, this year, I find that I did Way More than what I did last year. Crazy, considering how busy I remember 2022 being. Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?
Writing
If there is one thing this bitch did, it's fucking write LFMASODIJ. For all my complaining this year of routes taking too long, getting creative ruts, etc., I still wrote (what I consider) a Very Good amount. While I may not have hit my writing goals that I had set out, I still ended up writing around 255k words in total this year. Most of this being for Alaris, and some of it being for my dissertation (LOL) and other side games, like Intertwine and Jam Games.
This number also doesn't include deleted passages, edited passages, etc., so the amount I've spent writing, reviewing, etc. was Significant this year. Here's to hoping that momentum continues into next year and finishing the rest of Alaris!
Side Games
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Something completely unexpected, but that I'll forever be grateful for, was my decision(s) to join game jams this year. It all started with Otojam, a visual novel jam I'd wanted to join for a WHILE.
Intertwine was, without a doubt, one of my most memorable moments from this year. The friends I made/grew closer to during that jam. The people I connected with because of Intertwine. The people I got to work with. Everything about the experience surpassed my expectations, and Van and Summer 2023 will always hold a very special place in my heart because of it. Thank you to everyone who enjoyed that game. It was my first full game I ever released, and I couldn't have been more nervous about it (no literally. I wasn't sleeping and I was nauseous for a week before release).
Knowing there was no "revision" afterwards that I could hide behind or promise that there would be a "better"/"enhanced" version made the release terrifying. But the reception you all gave to it and support from so many friends made me feel so connected and grateful for the community.
The other three side projects were... well, Unexpected. LOL. Before these jams, I'd never wanted to work in team settings, mostly because I have Mad Imposter Syndrome, and I've always imagined I'd be dead weight in any given game dev team. My skills on writing, art, and/or coding alone aren't "exemplary" enough for me to think I, well, deserve to be on a team. But when a couple of short jams were being held by a friend, and teams were being made filled with other friends, I thought maybe I could help, even if it's just to QA/playtest. But I've walked away from each of these experiences learning so much from other talented people and with very dear friends.
Each of these side games truly tested my chops in terms of writing, narrative design, and coding. But I'm glad I challenged myself to take part in each of these experiences because I've walked away with so much more than I would've expected.
Alaris
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My Heart. My Soul. And at times, My Worst Enemy.
As much as I may have talked about how I Wasn't making progress on this baby. I, in fact, made A LOT of progress:
Art: 15 CGs, Updated Sprites, Kickstarter Artwork
Commissions: 20 BGs, Complete GUI, Personality/Affection Indicators, Editing, Voice Acted Lines, Complete OST (8 Tracks!)
Writing: Three Finished Routes
Shipped Kickstarter Merchandise
I'm going to be Real with you all. I'm not in the mood to recap everything for Alaris in the way I did with everything else LAFKMSDFOIJWOEI. Main reason being, I do that Every Month, and at this point, I would feel like I'm repeating myself for no reason. But let me tell you, when the Enhanced Demo comes out, you will see what I'm talking about with progress made. And I'm excited for the next year when I start getting to show things off (read: Demo Release and Route Beta Releases) now that assets have really come together ^^
I will say, thank you for sticking with this project for so long. It's easy to get bogged down in development when a project like this is as big as it is. It's just as easy to think that no one will care about this by the time I release, or people will start losing their patience with me as development goes on. So I'm forever grateful for how kind, supportive, and patient you all are, especially this year <3
Connections: The True Theme of 2023
If you've made it this far, I'm extremely impressed with you. And to reward you, I'll give you a moment of honesty and vulnerability which, to be frank, I Don't Do as a person and especially with my dev persona LMFAOO ((Before I do, let it be known, CW: mention of death, grief, alcoholism, chronic illness, suicidal thoughts))
Something I don't talk about much is that for all of 2022 and most of 2023, I was not in a good place mentally. At the beginning of 2022, I lost three very important people in my life back-to-back (I'm not exaggerating when I say back-to-back it was within 2 weeks, three separate deaths lol). That, on its own, was hard to deal with. But on top of that, I soon found myself having to cope/help with a family member's chronic illness and another family member's mental health (read: alcoholism, suicidality).
While this isn't a particularly unique situation, it was one that I found myself struggling with pretty severely on top of a pretty demanding work life. And it was a situation I found myself in until about midway through this year. Things have lightened up. I navigate a new life with some pretty severe triggers, and without the presence of some of my most loved ones. But overall, I at least feel like I can breathe and function, which is a state I didn't feel like I could exist in for over a year (and started to believe I may never exist in again).
Because of this new room in my life, I was able to connect with people again, in a more genuine way. I've grown closer to a lot of dev friends, to the point I consider some of them genuine close friends. And IRL, I've been able to reconnect with some of my dearest loved ones. The main reason I bring all of this up is because this year, I felt unbelievably connected to people, whether that was dev friends in the community, people who support my games, and IRL people.
And sometimes, when you interact with people solely online, it's easy to think they don't care as much about you as you do for them. But this has been disproven to me time and time again this year. And I've found myself in a state of appreciation for so many of the people I've been blessed to meet and befriend <3 I felt this especially so during some of the game jams, with the Secret Santa gift exchange, and with my recent Holiday Tree.
So thank you for everyone who has let me take up some space in their life. You literally Do Not Know how much it means to me and impacts me. This year, while I started it in a state of slightly hopelessness and numbness, I find myself ending it with gratitude and connection.
I hope the rest of this year (the very few couple of days we have left LOL) treats everyone well. I'm excited for how we get to start 2024 and what we'll get to experience together <3 Thank you again for the memories and support, love you all very dearly ^^
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thegloomygremlin · 5 days
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Baby's first Dimension 20 fan art! I had the "All pulp! No juice!" chant stuck in my head for a week, and the only way to make it stop was to stitch it. My stupid little TikTok about it went off the rails, and when the people asked for an Honor the Cock pattern, who am I to say no?
I've only been a Dimension 20 fan for about a year, but I love it, and the other Dropout shows, so much 🥹 I'm watching Starstruck right now & really need to make one for "the ball is rolling up hill!" so that might be coming soon! I've been in a creative rut for a few months, and these silly little cross stitches have been so much fun from start to finish (as is evidenced by the ridiculous dice photoshoot I had this morning).
These cross stitch patterns are 100% free, please share them & stitch them! If you really want to pay for them, please instead donate to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (that's the charity they donated the profits form the mini auction to!). All Pulp is beginner friendly, Honor is more advanced beginner because of the backstitch.
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fishedeyelenz · 2 months
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ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE BLACK CHRISTMAS FANDOM
Hello everyone who's been following my writing and art and OC's!! Your support has warmed my heart, and got me through some thought times. Thank you very much for sticking by me, commenting, sending me kudos and asks regarding Dilf Billy and my oc-verse I made around him!
However... I have come to realize I have made Billy, at least the older 45-50 year old version of him my own. Very much my own. I think there's a discrepancy between my characterization of him, and how he is portrayed in the movie/novel/commentary. Another thing is that I love him too much. I want to make him my own, not an interpretation of a pre-existing character...
So that's exactly what I am going to do! I'm taking him and making him an OC. Currently I am in the process if changing up his backstory to make him distinct from Billy Lenz, though the Dilf version we see in Rats in the shadows and partially in So give me coffee and tv will stay similar.
My goal is to create a group of ocs consisting of the character formerly known as Billy, Camille, Bean and other side characters who will exist in a story about an ex serial killer father. I'm still early in the rework, but I feel like I don't have change too much.
What this means I will effectively be distancing myself at least partially from the Black Christmas fandom, at least in terms of my content creation though these past few months I have been in a rut given college preoccupying most of my time. I still love Black Christmas, it will remain one of my favorite movies forever. I cherish the friends I made and the experiences I had, but I want to move on to more original creations, uninhibited by primary existing source materials.
I will still interact with fan works in terms of reblogging art and writing , and I will most likely draw more of Billy Lenz and the other characters from the movie in the future. Anything regarding Camille, Bean, "dilf Billy" though, will be something divorced from Black Christmas, entirely its own thing, though obviously inspired by it.
Will I return to writing for Black Christmas? At this point I am uncertain. I have a WIP of a priest!au thing for Dilf Billy, which if I ever get around to finishing I would post under the pretense that it's a Black Christmas fanwork. However, I am not sure if I will finish it, given that I don't really have the time, and at the moment motivation to really work on it. Another story idea exists too, one which would better fit into the Black Christmas ethos with is very dark tone and heavy subject matter (while still remaining a smut work) which I would gladly have exist as a fanwork.... But once again I am lacking the time and want to do it. It would be a very big project, all things considered.
So what now? I will keep all my Billy Lenz/Dilf Billy content up on my blog, my AO3 will stay intact (though I will forward this announcement onto there), and I won't change my tags on Dilf Billy related posts. Moving forward, though, everything created for my oc inspired by Billy Lenz/Dilf Billy Lenz will be tagged as that. I need to come up with a new name for him first...
I will also make a post regarding how the plot of Rits/Sgmcatv would have went if I'd finished them, to give you guys some sort of conclusion. Though the new oc story with Bean, Camille and the new Billy oc in it will very closely follow Rits original storyline. Most of the events of Rits are canon still in regards to Camille's and Bean's backstory, with of course some caveats (no Brahms, Camille and "Billy" meet differently etc.). But the large majority of the plot points and story beats are the same.
I will be happy to answer any further questions, as my inbox is open. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone, but I've felt the need to move on, to elevate this story. I hope I can be forgiven. Now I bid farewell to this part of my life and creative era, and look forward to the new.
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flawseer · 6 months
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Reconciliation
I've been in a bit of a rut lately, creative spark just won't come out right. So in an attempt to get out of that, I'm posting some personal vent art here. It's a little rough, unpolished, missing a lot of context, so I don't expect many people will get much out of it. But it's something that's been on my mind, so here it is anyway.
I've also been working on a bigger picture, on and off, for the last couple months. Who knows when that will finally be complete?
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khytal · 2 months
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I've been struggling to finish a piece for over a month now (the wolfwood one. if anyone remembers from the beginning of the year) and as much as I really want to see it done and share it, I'm super demotivated with how wildly rampant generative ai is right now
there are other reasons for my recent (nearly 6 months long) creative rut but that's a pretty big one :(
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nordic-language-love · 9 months
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Right, time to drag myself kicking and screaming out of this rut I've got myself into
My diet's been awful, I've barely been exercising, I've hardly studied languages, I've not been keeping on top of the housework at all and I've been saying "I'm gonna sort it out and get my life together tomorrow" for like. a month now. It's time. I'm not particularly motivated and lord knows I don't want to do the housework now, but! I'm not going to get anywhere by waiting for that magical spark of inspiration. So here's my to-do list, posting on main because I need the accountability:
Pick up all clothes off my bedroom floor and tidy them away
Laundry
Wash up
Rinse out the queue of bottles in the kitchen and put them in recycling
Clean out the fridge
Clear everything off my table and wipe it down
Wipe down kitchen surfaces
Vacuum
Clean the toilet
Hang up laundry to dry
Make a workout plan
Make a meal plan
Make a flat cleaning schedule for the next 2 months
Make a comprehensive list of ongoing projects (languages, creative projects etc)
This shit won't even take me that long honestly, I just fucking hate doing dishes and for some reason getting the vacuum out and putting it away takes up so much executive function. But once I've got this done and a plan to stay on top of things, I'll feel a lot better.
Throw me a like to cheer me on!
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olderthannetfic · 11 months
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With all this talk about AI, the one perspective that appears missing from the discussion is that of someone who actually uses AI writing tools in production of their fanfic. So here I am, stepping in to provide my (anonymous) two cents.
I've been using a generative AI program especially made for creative writers for several months now. Initially, I had a lot of the same reservations I'm hearing form others, but I was curious about the tech and wanted to try it for myself. I quickly discovered that it's insanely useful, and I truly believe it has improved my writing. 
I also believe these tools will become commonplace among creative writers in the near future. In fact, I've heard that generative AI is coming to a writing software near you (MS Word to be exact), and I suspect that that once more people have actually tried it, use of AI will begin to seem no more remarkable than the use of spelling or grammar checkers does now. 
In the meantime, as you can see, I am staying anon, and there is absolutely no way I would tag my fanfic as AI assisted given the current environment. People are very quick to make assumptions about what a statement like that means, and are all too hasty in reaching for their pitchforks.
As far as I can tell, the main concern seems to be that Ao3 will be flooded with 'bad' fanfic as a result of AI use. But 'bad' fanfic has been a thing for as long as I've been in fandom (decades, at this point), and in my experience, human beings are perfectly capable of writing poorly without any help from machines. Readers are, as always, advised to curate their own reading experience. The 'back' button works the same as it always did, and someone's possible use of AI changes nothing about that. 
But the general assumption that AI input automatically leads to 'bad' writing seems rather short-sighted. Yes, obviously if someone were to go to ChatGPT and tell it to write them a fanfic in 'x' fandon about 'x' pairing, the output would be bland, generic and probably a bit rambling. AIs are not great storytellers; they can't maintain narrative logic. 
If this hypothetical person then copy-pasted the unedited output directly onto Ao3 and called it a story, the result would most likely qualify as 'bad' fanfic. Whether it would be worse than a story the same person might have written on their own is debatable. Our hypothetical protagonist obviously decided that the output was good enough as it was, and chose to post it without bothering to edit, which suggests (at least to me) that they would have similar standards about a story they'd written without an AI.
Since the above seems to be the scenario everyone has in mind when talking about "AI fic," I would like to point out that what I just described is not the only way to use AI in one's writing. My own use is more akin to using an online thesaurus; a very powerful thesaurus that can make suggestions for things like phrasings, descriptions, dialogue, and so on. The key there is that it makes suggestions. 
My AI assistant is smart enough to 'read' the scene I'm working on and tailor its suggestions to the mood, style and context of what I'm writing. But it's still my story. The AI doesn't write it for me. I'm the one who sifts through those suggestions, takes the bits that work, and shapes them into useful text. Sometimes the AI comes up with amazing things. I wasn't kidding when I said it's improved my writing - and my rewriting. It knocks me out of those mental ruts we writers tend to get into, coming up with descriptions and turns of phrase that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. 
But it's still just a tool, and at the end of the day, I'm still the writer. The words that end up on the page do so because I chose them. Those writerly choices are what make the story mine, regardless of where the words might have originated from. And whether they came from my brain or the AI, they are still subject to the same standards of rewriting, editing and proofing.
So no, I don't think I'm going to be tagging my fic with an AI disclosure statement any time soon. Not until the current moral panic dies down to the point where people don't read that and automatically assume it means 'copy-pasted from ChatGPT.' And for anyone who's curious about AI... I suggest you try it for yourself. Play around a little and find out what it's about before making judgments. I think you'll find it's a tool like any other - and just like any tool, it can be used well or it can be used badly. That's entirely in the hands of the human being using it - which is one thing that hasn't changed, and never should.
--
Yeah, I fail to see any major issue with more sucky fanfic getting posted. That's just the default for big fic archives.
The actual problem problems we're seeing are with paid markets with open submissions that get flooded beyond what staff can handle and big corporations replacing humans they already try not to pay.
The main potential issue I see with other uses of AI is that it may end up with samey suggestions, but it's hard to know how much that's 1. a thing and 2. an actual issue when writing genre stuff that often sounds samey on purpose and where that's a desirable characteristic.
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oonajaeadira · 4 months
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State of the WIP Address
I've been struggling with my creativity lately--not that it's not there, but that I'm stuck in a fear-rut and not using my time wisely. I often feel badly that I'm not keeping to my own prescribed schedules and then it just sits heavy on my mind and makes me less limber.
What I really need is just to give myself permission to let go of what I think others need and focus on what I need.
So what I need to do--not what I WANT to do--is realize I can't be writing or reading fic for the next couple of weeks. My priority is to get my show in working order. I've been doing the avoiding thing again and that just makes me waste a bunch of time getting nothing done.
One thing at a time.
Once the show's where it needs to be, I can get back to writing.
And then, in order not to overwhelm myself, I'm gonna concentrate on just writing one thing until it's done and posting it. Then I can have some downtime and read as much fic as I want until I need to write again...and then I will focus on one thing again.
After this show, I have nothing lined up for months. There will be plenty of time to indulge.
I need to stop feeling bad about not hitting self-imposed deadlines. That just stalls everything in its tracks. Theater, writing, reading--I do these things because I LIKE to do them. They're FUN. They are not obligations.
Thank you for allowing me to unclog my drain in public like this. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get on with this four-day weekend and have some fun building my show!!!!
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steddielations · 4 months
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I gotta say, I've only been into ST for around 5 months, but for most of that time, I used to only read top Eddie fics (usually dom) since it was so popular and the dynamics seemed to fit well for them. I did tend to avoid stuff that made their bed preferences distort their actual personality because it felt like I was reading about different people with their bodies, though overall, I was pretty set on the dynamics I chose to read. But then I read a super in character bottom Eddie fic on a whim that blasted my 3rd eye wide open and I was like OH. ok, I get it. Definitely need more of THAT. I was a bit sad to see how few there were in comparison, but I devoured everything I could find. Something about Dom Steve with Eddie was scratching my brain just right. Steve's huge capacity for love and taking care of others combined with independent Eddie, who craves love but has a hard time with trust, and then finally lets his guard down enough to allow himself be cared for like?? SO GOOD. Which is why it made me so happy to see the sub Eddie event on my dash, I genuinely got so excited about the influx of new creations to look forward to. I haven't created anything in this fandom yet, been in a bit of a creative rut tbh, but this is the first time in a while I've been tempted to contribute something. I dont want to commit until I know for sure what I'm going to do, but I wanted to at least show some support and appreciation for the event itself and thank everyone involved for organizing it!
Ahhhhh please this is so sweet! We appreciate it!! Glad you’re excited for the event and can’t wait to see if you make something for it!!
Also yeah that’s what scratches my brain about sub Eddie and dom Steve too 😵‍💫 also bestie brother please share with the class what fic opened your third eye, I need to devour it if I haven’t already!!
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polarisbibliotheque · 8 months
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So like, less of a suggestion and more of a question - I recently found your works and have just been blown away by the details (like, seriously, you're on the top of my favorite writers list) and just how... perfect you craft everything? I genuinely inspire to be like you, but the problem is that I've hit a rut - I'm super unsatisfied with my writing, and whenever I try to get back into the writing zone, I just fall flat. Is there any advice you could give on how to improve one's writing? What would be your tips and tricks at getting into that writing zone?
(Do apologize me taking SO LONG to answer, but I had some health emergencies the last couple of weeks and ended up in the hospital – I’m doing better now, chilling at home and trying to recover. My doctor is 90% sure I have Crohn’s Disease and I’m having many ups and downs trying to find a proper treatment that I seem to respond to. BUT…)
…I hope you are aware of how much you made me smile, blush and almost indulge into my teary eyes upon reading this. Hahahaha seriously, thank you SO much!! I can’t even thank you enough, I’m just in pure awe that another being in this big ol’ world we live in thinks so highly of my writing!!
I mean, not even I think that highly of my writing. Notice a pattern? ;)
One thing I learned being an artist – not only writing, I also draw, play the piano, write music on my free time/when inspiration hits, everything creative, I’m there, doing it – is that we’re never really satisfied with our work. We will always think we could’ve done something better, and we’re definitely going to be pretty “meh” about a lot of things we do – even when other people think it’s a masterpiece.
And that is good! We’ll always strive to perfect our skills! You just have to remember to appreciate the work you do even when you’re not completely satisfied with it. You will get to where you want to – but then, you’ll wish to improve even more! And that is awesome!
But hey, I do have some tips and tricks on improving and getting into that writing vibe!
For the people getting to the party now, my main tip on improving is here, in the first part of the answer for this ask! Now, now…
(long post below, as expected YEE BEEN WARNED!)
Regarding improving:
Read. A. Lot. Hahaha I know that’s quite an obvious one, but it’s really important. Personally, I think reading mindlessly just to fill a quota of “I read 25 books a month” doesn’t work. It works when you absorb it – when you allow yourself to plunge into the world of the book you’re reading, feeling the characters, the emotions, the settings… That helps you build your “mental library” so to speak! And sometimes you’ll find things and expressions you like that you might use both on your daily speech and while writing – for instance, I have this awful thing of saying “there’s a lack of wings to my words” whenever I’m speechless, because of Homer’s Odyssey. I freaking LOVE that book, I loved that expression, I use it all the time, and it has definitely bled into my writing.
WRITE! A LOT! Write bad stuff, good stuff, short 2 pages thing-ys that you go “hey that’s a good idea!” but you’ll never actually turn into a full story, random scenes, fanfiction, stupid fanfiction, serious fanfiction, self-indulgent stories, stories for your family, stories for yourself, stories for whoever wants to read or not, dreams that could be great stories… The point is to write. It’s much like drawing or playing the piano: if you don’t practice, you won’t get better and you won’t develop your style. The more you practice, the better you get! So don’t be afraid to write bad stuff, cringy stuff, or ridiculous stuff – or even stuff you thought would be awesome and turns out bad, or stuff you think will never turn into anything that turn amazing! One way or another, you’ll be refining your craft!
Identify what you like on writers you admire. I started noticing that while reading The Silmarillion. The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book since I read it for the first time when I was 15, but I didn’t pick up The Silmarillion until I was around 22 – and by then, I started underlining with a light pencil all the phrases I liked most, something my mom did on her old books when she was around my age. I then started taking a look at what I liked about Tolkien’s writing so much – and in other books too: what kind of phrases seemed to resonate more with my soul. Which ones brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. And then I notice I tend more to the unconventional ways of describing things.
For instance, instead of going like “she was beautiful, with pale skin under raven dark hair, blue eyes shining on her fair face” I tend to go for the unconventional, sort of eerie, not so much taken for granted kind of describing “her beauty glowed like the first pale star to glisten in the evening sky, under a deep sea of dark, velvety hair, making her eyes twinkle like sapphires with a smart look while carrying the light she kept in her soul”. If I had to, the second one would be how I’d describe Arwen or Lúthien, giving them that ethereal otherworldly beauty they have. It's also the one that evokes more feelings inside of me rather than just a mental image.
That’s why I try to describe some things in a different light. When I’m writing, I want people to feel something – but how can you describe that feeling of joy when you hug someone you love and the whole world fades for a minute? That’s when I go for the “his heart bled with gold while his hands never wanted to let them go. For a minute, time seemed to stop and there was nothing else but his heartbeat intertwining with theirs, beating as the same song – even if theirs was more melodic while his was more melancholic. It was that kind of tune that made his lungs not remember how to breathe and his eyes pour – while his lips reflected all the gold that cascaded from his heart.” It’s a quick (rather ridiculous) example, but I do think about some things: how when I feel like that, I tend to have a hard time breathing and I do cry, but it’s because I want to smile so much I cannot contain it. Then I try to describe those feelings with metaphors and poetic stuff because I’m a melodramatic bitch.
Jokes aside, it’s because I like that sort of writing that has that beauty behind it – or more of a melancholic approach. It’s what resonates the most with me and I adopted it, even if sometimes it feels too… Abstract. I like that ability of people piecing the abstractness together and having their own interpretation – and that’s what makes people have different feelings while reading the same thing.
Is this for everyone? Absolutely not. I bet some people despise all that poeticness I like to put on words to lace them like a painting, you know? So, the more you re-read the things you like, you’ll start identifying what resonates with you and you can apply that to your own writing!
And that doesn’t mean you’ll have to be locked on that writing style as well. I’m currently trying to finish a book (I hope someday I can publish it) which is a cyberpunk style story, with lots of inspiration from Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner, John Wick (yes, Keanu Reeves sends his regards) and all that poetic writing doesn’t quite fit there. I’m using more of a direct approach, but there’s a lot of existentialism and reflecting on overcoming grief, trauma, owning your own life and contemplating one’s own mortality – and that’s where that poetic, metaphoric, melancholic, bittersweet characteristic of my writing style comes into play. And then everyone starts cursing and shooting each other again :)
Having a style doesn’t mean getting stuck in it – it means knowing when and where to use it!
Now regarding getting into the writing zone:
I freaking ADORE music and it helps me A TON while I’m writing. It’s like setting the mood. I’m trying to be sexy, or mysterious, or having that vampire-y vibe? Depeche Mode playlist it is. Fight scenes? Metal and Electronic. I need to freaking focus and get to work without thinking too much about the music (or start dancing like crazy whenever a song I love comes in and there I am, dancing and singing in my room at 3 a.m)? Piano playlists – classic, modern, everything and anything, as long as it is piano.
Playing music that goes with what I’m writing also helps. For my cyberpunk book, for instance, I put on the Cyberpunk 2077 OST playlist/radio on, or I search for “Cyberpunk Ambience/Playlist” on Youtube and let it roll while I write. For my King Arthur stories (yes, still working on them), I put on Celtic music compilations, Enya, Loreena McKennitt or the piano playlists. For my vampire stories, be the medieval or the near-future one, dark piano, Dark Wave, etc. Perhaps searching for that one playlist that has to do with your story setting and listening to it for some time might get you in the zone!
I also usually write deep in the night. Because I’m a spawn of Dracula. After everyone at home has gone to sleep, I make myself some hot tea, sit on my computer, start listening to music and write. That’s because I know I won’t be interrupted, and I can do just that. Sometimes, I start writing at 1 a.m, other times earlier, other times later. Try to notice when your ideas seem to flow better and when you get more into the zone – but please, don’t be unhealthy as I am and go to sleep at a decent hour. I’m not an example here with my sleeping schedule hahahaha
Cringy moment: when I’m stuck, I act the last scene I wrote as one of my characters in the shower and, usually, ideas start to come in (and I have to get off the shower). Hahahaha now that’s just a weird one, but I have NO idea why, my best ideas arise in the shower. Water has a weird effect on me, so sometimes I just stand there with warm water pouring over my head and, lo and behold, I’m exiting the shower in a hurry because I just got my writer mood back HAHAHA so maybe some very mundane activity – like cooking, taking the trash out, cleaning the room – might be where your writer brain will come to life. You never know.
Needless to say, I talk to myself a lot, sometimes as if I’m talking to the characters. That is a very bad coping mechanism I developed when I was being bullied at school – I used to pretend Dante was with me when I was alone or something had happened and I needed someone by my side, so nowadays I have a very easy time writing this man. I started doing that with some of my characters, and that goes for repeating lines or part of the stories I’m writing to see if I can get un-stuck. It’s not the greatest of things, but it works. My neighbors might think I’m crazy, though xD
When I’m completely unmotivated or I keep staring at the blank page without being able to write, I try to immerse myself in what I’m writing about. So, if I’m stuck on my cyberpunk book, I watch some Cyberpunk 2077 let’s plays, I re-watch the Edgerunners anime, I re-watch Blade Runner, I re-read some parts of Do Androids Dream of Electrical Sheep? or I, Robot, I listen to Blade Runner’s soundtrack, I even try to play Cyberpunk 2077 (while praying not to get motion sickness or not having my pc exploding from overworking). If I’m stuck on my King Arthur works, then I re-watch the 2004 movie (may the gods bless Ioan Gruffudd and his wonderful Lancelot and Mads Mikkelsen as my beloved Tristan), re-read the 3 books on the Chronicles of Arthur series, listen to some Celtic music, research Arthurian stories for hours on the internet, search for my encyclopedias at home to see if they have something on King Arthur, read obscure translated manuscripts from ancient times on it … So, immersing yourself on reading, researching, listening to music, watching movies, playing videogames, listening to stories, watching series, reading mangas, watching anime, documentaries, going to the movies, basically doing anything that has to do with the theme you’re writing, may get you in the mood. Next time you sit down to write, it might flow wonderfully!
I don’t force myself to write, though. If I do, I usually can’t write a single decent word and I’ll hate it. If things aren’t flowing – and this I learned with my mom, who also draws – I leave it for a while and go do something else. Maybe I’ll have some warm tea, or watch a completely unrelated movie, or read my current book, or talk to my parrot in the kitchen, play some piano, draw a little, or just take a good nap. My mom says it refreshes the head and the eyes, and when you come back to it, you’ll be a lot more inclined to find things that weren’t working and let those creative juices flow.
I also have a very weird search history and I’m not ashamed of it. All writers do, and it’s better to have a weird search history than not knowing what you’re talking about, honestly. And sometimes, researching takes a lot more time than writing and might get you motivated – time spent learning is never wasted. Even if you’re learning what kind of dates grow in Greece and are offered to Apollo (bless his heart).
Sometimes, I write something completely unrelated, with a very different theme, and stupidly goofy – and that gets me back to the writing vibes. Sometimes there’s just this need of writing something for the sake of writing, and you just want something foolish to make you smile like a goof. It’s valid and it might be your ticket out of writing-rut-land.
Now some little uncalled for advices:
I spent too long being self-conscious and too serious about it. If it’s not your style, don’t force it. Some people need structure, other people thrive in chaos – know what’s your style and go for it. I hate planning novels, for example. But I will outline the main points of the story and the ending – the rest, well, the characters have to show me whatever else they’re doing, and I have to go with it. Sometimes there are huge arcs I didn’t plan as a main point of the story, but they pop up in the middle of it and they are important – I like leaving that room for impromptu writing/creating. So, find out how it works for you, not how it works for everyone else.
You don’t have to create masterpieces right at the first time you’re writing. Take my King Arthur thing-y for example. I wrote the full story when I was 15. When I was in college, I decided to re-write it. And then, when I was at work, I decided to re-write the re-write. And now, I just took all my files, read them, thought about it all, outlined a whole new story and decided to write anew. Not re-write, but take all that work and write as if I had never written anything before – in the original file, the main characters were 15 years old and in school, now they have their jobs at Universities and work on the secret society that is now a lot more fleshed out and built with loads of new characters around (including a new one I created yesterday after months not thinking about it).
If I hadn’t written the Twilight-sort of embarrassing thing when I was 15, I wouldn’t have this whole universe, characters and story to build upon nowadays. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was a good idea – and I’ll keep working on it until I’m happy with it. It’s been 13 years I’m working on it now, maybe when it reaches its 15th anniversary, I’ll be able to finally let it see the light of day!
Don’t listen to the “NEVER DO THIS!!” advices. Seriously. Writing is a form of art – and, as in all art, there isn’t a right or wrong. By all means, see what people are saying it’s bad and you should never do – I watch and read those advices so I can learn to be better too! – but don’t take it to heart. As Captain Barbossa would say, it’s more of a guideline than rules set in stone. Sometimes, something people say you should NEVER EVER do is something that works perfectly fine for you and your style of writing. Learn to make up your own mind: learn new things, listen to advices, but absorb those that resonate with you and leave those that don’t. That’s how you create your own opinion about things and how you find your writing style!
One fun thing to point out on this as an example: me, my mom, my sister and my dad ADORE reading. My sister loves Jane Austen, my mom is a super fan of Dostoyevsky and Russian literature, while my dad lives for Isaac Asimov and all things sci-fi. I love sci-fi, my mom can’t stand it. I read Dante’s Inferno in a week and my mom couldn’t get past the first verses. My sister can’t read poetry at all and is terribly bored by Lord of the Rings. My dad read my Chronicles of Arthur books and even told me to buy the complete the series. Me and my sister enjoyed Khaled Hosseini’s books a lot, but my mom never felt like reading them.
All of this to say: it’s not a matter of who’s more intellectual than the other, it’s a matter of who likes which kind of literature and writing styles. Some people are more comfortable with one way of writing or a certain kind of literature and can’t stand others – and that’s ok. Writing is pretty much the same. THERE ARE NO FIXED RULES! BE A REBEL!
If it helps you: character sheets. Around 8 years ago – or more – I searched and searched online for the character sheet that could help me the best. I had never done it before and thought it was quite useless, until I downloaded one and started filling the infos on my main characters of my Arthurian sort of story. Lo and behold, they became SO MUCH BETTER and that’s when I started rewriting everything: I understood all characters a LOT better and made better decisions when writing them. It doesn’t work for everyone, though, but it’s a lot of fun for me. Currently, I don’t use it much because I now know what are the main things I need for my characters to seem alive, but it’s always nice to have a reference when you’re writing.
My cyberpunk story, for instance, it has A BUNCH of characters with scars, different hair colours, different eye colours, the way they dress, birthmarks, cyber-implants, cyber-prothesis, dressing styles… And sometimes I get lost in it. So it’s nice keeping a character sheet when I go like “wait, she has burn marks on the left arm or the right arm…?”
And keeping a file on worldbuilding might be helpful as well. I noticed that writing my cyberpunk thing. The first thing I wrote was a huge file explaining the city, the factions, the districts, people’s styles, who are the viruses, the sub-types of viruses, the political parties, the police and secret police, the difference between artificials and organics, how does access to the world works, what is the Ocularis system, the most important corporations, their names, their owners… And all those things will probably never appear on this story.
But I felt a HUGE difference. Instead of info-dumping right at the beginning to make the reader understand how the world is built and how it works, I started it right at an important point in the story. No one knows anything about how things work, but, as the characters speak to each other, they talk about so many things that the reader catches things and pieces together how all things are organized.
Don’t try to explain everything. Tying with I said before, if you have a very good idea of how things work, how the characters relate to each other, how they react and how they think, you won’t need to info-dump. I usually think I’m seeing my characters going about their day and that is ALL I’m describing: what they are saying, feeling, thinking and doing. If I feel something is missing for people to fully understand, then I add something quite minimal to help. But I don’t overexplain: people are intelligent and they can piece things together.
Don’t go full Marvel movies and explain everything as if no one can understand unless you say it. Go Nolan and try to make people understand with images, feelings, glances, metaphors and such. It’s very effective in writing! (Don’t get me wrong, I do like Marvel movies, but they have become those kinds of movies that require little mental effort because literally everything will be explained in a huge monologue or through dialogue. You don’t always need dialogues – and if you say “oh that’s too ambiguous and people won’t be certain about it” that’s the beauty of art: it’s always up to interpretation)
Having someone to read and give you feedback might be very helpful too. I have a few friends every now and then I send some of my stories so they’ll read and give me an honest feedback. I try to listen to their opinions and refine my work – but if I think they critique doesn’t make sense, I thank them anyway and keep on doing my thing. Like I said, know when to take what makes sense and when let go of something that doesn’t. Also: feedback is NOT a personal attack. DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART. See it always as something you may need to improve – and you’ll improve quicker.
At the end of the day, writing is art. And all art is relative.
Your art will be great to some and horrible to others – and that’s ok! Again, learn to NOT make it personal (the critiques, I mean, because art is always personal and that’s wonderful, I think).
And repeat after me: you will not please everyone. The point is to make yourself proud. You’ll find your people along the way.
Do it because you love. Do it because it comes from your heart, from your soul. The world has become so filled with content, mindlessly created by artificial intelligence so we will keep consuming, that things have lost so much of their soul.
To make art, to write, is to have soul. If you have that heart, that passion in your work, it will show – and people will follow. When you sit to write, don’t make it a chore, don’t make it an aesthetic tiktok post, don’t follow the routine of this or that famous artist – do what you have to do and let your heart flow. Do it for you.
I think that’s the main advice I can give. Don’t do content to post on social media and look good, do your art. Push your boundaries, test new things, write in ways you never did before, but do your thing.
When everyone is doing the same thing over and over again, you’ll realize your words will stand out by doing what you want to do.
Again thanks for attending my TED Talk xD
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crescencestudio · 9 months
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Devlog #33 | 07.26.23
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Hi everyone!
It's only been a month (per usual) since the last devlog. But it feels like so long ago! Very weird that last devlog I hadn't even released Intertwine yet. But here we are, back with another one!
Before we get into things, I want to extend the biggest thank you to everyone who has played and supported intertwine!
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if you havent played yet, here it is. this is me on my knees asking because i am quite proud of it and what our team accomplished in two months!
in the almost month it's been out, we stand at almost 15k total plays and 200+ reviews which is so crazy to me. i never would've expected that kind of reception for our little game and when i say it has been so motivating for alaris!!! u dont even know!!!
thank you again for all the kind words---i know you are all Sick of me talking about it but i don't know how else to express my gratitude <3 it means so much to me ;_;
I wanted to make sure I inserted an official section for it in the Devlog just to really thank you all for the support. But with that, I shall get into the updates!
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But not before a quick belated happy birthday to Fenir!
Writing
I posted it earlier this week, but I HAVE!!! THE MOST EXCITING NEWS!!! At least for me.
I FINISHED DRUK'S FIRST DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We all know how long this has been in the making. I've been talking about his route for what feels like an eternity. Evidently, it's Very Normal to experience burnout, struggles with motivation, creative ruts, etc. etc. at this point in development. The initial and final stages of development are easier because your motivation is up. In the beginning, it's like Wow!! This is Fun!! And towards the end, it's like Wow!!! I actually Fckn Made It!!!!
And so the middle part of development, aka the stage I just entered with Druk's route, is the slog.
Now that I've overcome that initial hurdle, while I'm not near the end of development, I do feel like I will have a better handle of progress on the following routes since I have a better set of expectations and tools on how to get through this stage (compared to when I initially started Druk's route, and I was like what are all these Feelings?? Why am I Struggling so much??).
That being said, WE ARE OVER HALFWAY DONE WITH THE SCRIPT! It currently stands at 200k words including the demo, and with how each of the routes have been shaping up, we have about 150k left to go. Wow!!!!! It is crazy to know I've written that much for Alaris, and this feels like such an exciting milestone to know that I'm over halfway there for the script!
We also have just about wrapped up Fenir's developmental edits, so that makes Kayn and Fenir's foundational versions of their routes done (all that would be left at this point is line tweaking and/or revisions based on beta feedback)!! Overall, this was a really exciting month for writing updates, and I'm so happy to feel back on track with Alaris development <3 I also finished my dissertation proposal in case anyone is keeping track of that HEEHOO
Art
Most of my attention for art was (un?)fortunately on Intertwine this month AGAIN. I really had anticipated being able to dive right into Alaris and irl work this month after Otojam ended. But the reception to Intertwine made it so I needed to dedicate some time to "marketing" artwork aka the artwork I like to make when reaching certain milestones of support (e.g., 1k downloads, etc.). Obviously these aren't necessary, but I like to show my thanks and appreciation in some way, and the artwork is what feels best conveys my gratitude.
Because we hit milestones relatively quickly, I ended up having to make those pieces faster than I anticipated prior to release. So I spent the first half of this month mostly on intertwine "promotional/apprecation" artwork. Near the tail end of this month though, I've prioritized Alaris artwork and have made progress on both the Kickstarter physical rewards and some CG sketches!
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sneaky peeky of pretty mermay Aisa
Vui continues to hit it out of the park with the backgrounds. Most of them are spoilers at this point. But I do have one that isn't too bad of a spoiler! And because you all have been so supportive and patient with me, I show hehe
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vui and his bg mastery: a preview of the dragon springs
The demo mentions dragon springs (I..... think......... LMAO), and here is a preview of what those dragon springs can look like. Wonder what the context will be in which we visit them, teehee! I'm in love with the way Vui brings the fantasy world of Alaris to life. I am so grateful for him ^^
Market Research
My wrist was feeling ~delicate~ this month due to Otojam crunch and then post-release pieces. So I don't have any actual art pieces to showcase this month for market research. I did play Otojam games and started Cupid Parasite (ryuki and allan my beloveds). But crescence's wrist needs to relax LOL. So no art pieces more than necessary for this month!
I will send some love to my besties over at Ravenstar Games though! If you haven't heard, they have a game currently in development called Lost in Limbo. It looks sick as hell, and the team is unbelievable talented and hardworking. This month to celebrate Barbie, they were able to sneak this promotional piece in, even while working on their Master's ((Do you see...... a familiar group of people..... heh))
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Alaris x Lost in Limbo x Barbie the collaboration of the century
That's all from me for now. Thank you again for all the support and love on Intertwine! I've truly cherished all the fanwork, reviews, kind messages, etc.
That being said, while it was a bit of a struggle getting back returning to the Alaris world initially (I was literally like what.... was the plot of this again... LMAOsazodujf), it's been so rewarding to return to my OG gang. The intertwine release and return to Alaris work has also been strangely sentimental since it's reminded me how far I've come in the two years I've been in this dev Thang. As always thank you for your continued support (and for supporting Alaris since it's inception when I was a Wee Dev), and I look forward to bringing you more updates in the future <3
See you all next month, and stay safe!
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While scrolling down, looking for some analysis for Trey, I've read that you're in a mental rut. I grew even more worried when I saw it was posted just last Thursday! I truly hope you're feeling better, and I want you to know that you're awesome, you'll get through this, and the best is still yet to come, that you're great just the way you are, and there are people that love and care for you. You're doing great
[Referencing this post! You can also find some Trey analysis in this masterlist!]
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WAHHH, I'M SO SORRY 😭 I meant to respond to this ask way sooner, but it must have gotten lost in my drafts (which is pushing like 400+ now 💦, a mix of creative writing and responses to asks like this!)
Anyways!! I hope that you were able to find the analyses you were looking for! And, of course, thank you very much for checking in on me, I super appreciate it ^^ I've been feeling really energized to write lately; now it just comes down to scrounging up the time to sit down and hammer out the rest of my Rollo at the Writing Desk requests and half-finished super long fics that I've been working on for the last few months... OTL The Little Mermaid retelling, a Phantom Thief AU, R*llo fistfighting M*lleus...
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love3velyn · 1 month
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Spring Reset 🌷💌🌿🧸
Hello everyone! The past few months have been difficult since I moved to university. I've been feeling so run down and not myself recently but spring is a time for new beginnings! I'm back home for the easter holidays so I'm looking forward to spending the next few weeks relaxing and taking things slowly. I wanted to share a few ways I plan to spend some time on myself and reset for spring!
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Spend time in nature
Spring is such a beautiful time, with daffodils appearing and trees blossoming. With the weather warming up it is the perfect time to take a gentle walk or ride your bike. Even spending time in a park or your garden can make all the difference on your mood.
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Reading
I find getting involved in a story is such a lovely way to unwind from daily stresses. Recently I've been reading the Once Upon a Broken Heart series and I've been loving it so far! I also enjoy reading self-help books to get out of a rut and feel motivated again. Atomic Habits has been my current read and it's helping me plan new routines.
Set/check in on goals
Take this time off to reflect on how the year has been going so far, have you been keeping up with your New Year's resolutions? if not don't worry it's the perfect time to set new goals. It's never too late! Taking time out to slow down and reflect can be so helpful to realign yourself with who you want to be. I like journaling prompts and watching goal-setting videos on YouTube to help guide and motivate me!
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Create a vision board
Following on from the last suggestion, creating a vision board is a lovely way to check your goals and create a vision of your dream life. I think it's such a fun and creative way to motivate yourself! I like to use Canva and Pinterest for my vision boards and I will look for quotes or pictures that I feel represent how I want my year to go. I find being very intentional about what you include makes them more meaningful. This year I am trying to make one for each season.
Plan quality time with family and friends
Since moving to university I have treasured time with my friends and family even more. This easter I am making time for my loved ones and catching up with old friends. Some of my favourite plans are watching a film/series together, playing board games or going on a walk. Taking time away from screens to properly catch up can be so important to show how much you care. If you are far away from friends or family arranging a call, sending a letter or playing a game online can be just as thoughtful! I would recommend Stardew Valley to anyone looking for a cosy spring game to play with friends.
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Re-arrange/ decorate your room
A spring clean can be a lovely way to refresh your environment and feel motivated again. Life can be so busy that we forget to take care of our environment too. Taking out some time to declutter or rearrange your space can be so nice and give a new sense of energy to your room without having to spend lots of money.
Reset my sleep routine
I have some bad sleeping habits I've picked up over the school year so each night I am gradually pushing forward when I go to sleep and when I wake up by half an hour to gently get back to sleeping at a reasonable time.
Take time for yourself
It's important to remember that a holiday is there for a reason! It is so important to have time to relax and do whatever you enjoy, whether having a lay-in, a movie night or playing video games! Not everything you do needs to be productive and having downtime can bring so many benefits like reducing stress and making you more productive when you start working again.
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I hope this post could give you some ideas for your own spring reset and I hope you have a lovely easter!
Love, Evelyn x
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