#it really pushes you to experiment and play around and just have fun with art!

[sunnibits]

decided to join in on @quezify’s eggtober again this year as a little art warmup and I actually ended up really enjoying it!! it’s obviously way outside of my usual comfort zone so I’m very happy that I was able to create an end result that I’m proud of :)

#eggtober gives me SO much joy I’m so happy it’s happening again #I did two eggs last year and really enjoyed them so I thought it would be fun to try again and I was right! #I experimented with some new things and I really think I made some great progress from last years attempts :) #eggtober #eggtober2023 #my art #art #‘warmup’ my ass lmao. I spent at least an hour on this. #felt rlly good tho #v fun I highly recommend trying to make an Egg even if you think it’s way outside of ur abilities!! #it really pushes you to experiment and play around and just have fun with art!

[knifedog-machina]

Dogs As Narrative, Through The Lens Of Abuse Recovery

J: so I got into the Archetropers’ Guild discord server, saw a prompt, and immediately started writing answers because wow talking about myself is fun, I need to do that more? definitely a more informal essay than the last one, I really just copied it from discord!

Content Warning: mentions of past abuse, but it’s pretty vague and has a hopeful swing to it!

I identify with dogs, as a dog, in the metaphorical sense of like - a dog as shorthand for a beloved tool? Being a bad actor's attack dog, being used and abused, biting the hand that fed and hit you. Dogs in the way they're used in vent art, as a metaphor for loving and trusting the wrong person.

But I also identify with dogs as beloved companions, as sweet and loyal and playful and loved. I know people who adore their dogs even if they came from horrible circumstances and have bad habits from abuse, and like - it's a narrative identity for me, something that ties together very different parts of my life, the before and after.

Like, yeah okay, I'm a dog. I unquestioningly love and trust people I care about. Of course an abuser took advantage of me, I didn't know better, and she promised to love me but she wouldn't even comfort me when I was scared of the rain. But also, there are way more people in the world who love me and want me to be happy, and that's good to remember as I recover and heal and grow! Calling myself a dog means accepting the way I adore people as a neutral to positive trait, instead of becoming a paranoid mess who refuses to be vulnerable again.

I don't know how much it's a species thing, because whenever I try to picture myself as a dog it's more like the shadow of a dog, pricked ears and bushy tail and all black, no detailing. I feel Wrong about picturing myself as a more realistic dog, instead of an artistic rendering of a black dog - like for dog photography to Resonate with me, it cannot be someone's candid pics of their pet German shepherd rolling around, it has to have some kind of message intended for use, otherwise it's like. That's a normal dog! I do not identify with you, normal dog, you're very cute but that's it. You’re unrelated to my life narrative!

And I don't generally feel the need to introduce myself to people as a dog when new people hear about me, because that feels like it's more personal? like hey, I’m a dog, you wanna know why? It's The Traumas! I’m open enough about it, but I don’t want to be pushed into thinking about it, and sometimes alterhuman spaces grill you about the origin of your identity too much for my comfort? I’m talking about it now because I want to, not because I’m being pressured into sharing.

I say all that, but I do really like cultivating my doggish traits, because they're kind of just things I like already - exercise, chewing and biting as a stim, play-fighting, getting scritched, curling up in a little ball to sleep. And sometimes I like giving myself phantom ears or tail or fangs for the expressiveness of them. I feel perfectly complete without them, but I like having them sometimes! They're fun!

And I don’t know if it just has to be an archetrope? I can describe it in other ways! Poppy (@aestherians) coined a term on rair website, here, about something being an alterhuman simile if you relate to it so strongly because it reflects your lived experiences, and I think I could call dogs my simile just as naturally as calling them my archetrope. It's a useful word and I haven't seen it around much!

#jude talks #personal essay #archetrope #alterhuman simile #alterhuman #fictive

[clambuoyance]

I really like your style. Was it intentionally designed, or did you just sort of fall into it over time?

I wouldnt say I intentionally designed it, as in I haven't sat down and Engineered a specific style, and instead it was more of me finding what I liked and wanted to incorporate into my style.

You could probably trace my style back to its influences. I used to draw really round shapes (I still do but like they were just ovals and circles...I guess i just like that shape) until I started watching How to Draw Anime tutorials in middleschool T-T (shoutout to Mark Crilley lol)

But when I first joined social media back in 2016, I found all these crazy artists with really unique styles that really influenced me. I was drawn towards artists like star_bite/prince_canary and rawrgyle/grassflu who have very dynamic expressions and character poses :0 (also they ended up working on a Batman and Superman project respectively and how wild is it that my icons from forever ago now work on projects aligned with my current interests!!!) And as you get exposed to different artists you get exposed to the many ways you can Draw things and along with your natural affinities towards certain things (such as me being attracted to Bright and Bold colors and Shaped styles) you kind of naturally build a style.

And part of that is also just having fun Trying things out? Sometimes I wouldnt even try to emulate their style as much as I tried to just...do what they were doing? As in making my ocs and putting them in fun poses, and doing color palette trends and such etc.

I hope that helped! If you're curious I can break down some of my style checkpoints over the years. As you can see there was still some major anime influence in my style back then when I first joined social media around 2015/2016

Around that time, I also discovered the fandom around the Cartoons popular at the time, so I drifted away from anime and drew things like gravity falls/steven universe/otgw etc etc so it got Rounder I guess. I really liked how stylized characters looked and got obsessed with Shape Language and assigning characters distinct Shapes (box vs triangle vs circle etc). I also read a lot of webcomics and stuff like that so those played a part I guess

And then around 2019 I saw more artists drawing anime fanart with really sharp angles, which was completely different but so cool to look at so I tried to incorporate more angles into my art. I still had that very cartoony style but tried to push the Sharpness a tad bit more if you can tell. (I think the name of the artist I liked was jeluto?)

I think around this time I also focused a lot more on color as well and did a lot of paintings then and whenever I did more Painterly stuff I tended to switch Styles into something Less Cartoony T-T

Then by 2020, I revamped my ocs, actually tried to break down and study my own style and how I would draw them, and my style kinda fell into a mix of round vs sharp edges I guess. I tried to give myself Rules which I would follow when stylizing a character to keep it more consistent and intentional.

Then in 2021 some of that Fun Part of stylizing characters into something more Cartoony kind of took a backseat as I focused more on Pose Work and Body Expression instead which I think helped a lot :0

And here's some recent stuff from the past year! Still very cartoony, but less so than 2016 I'd say, and still using really bold colors!! Still love my Soft Vs Hard angles B]

And overall have stronger pose work :) I'm sure my style will evolve as I learn more and experiment more, because one thing I want to focus on is backgrounds and environments :0

#clam answers #art tip #art tips #style talk #idk

[vixfern]

I submitted this to FrownyAlfred already, but I’d love to see Bruce playing piano, and or snippets of him teaching each of the kids and bonding with them over it. Extra kudos if it ends up focusing on him and Damian, and/or Damian absolutely LOVING piano/music

I cranked this out in one night because I LOVE this so much!! I myself play the piano and it has always been a love of mine.

I hope this is what you wanted and I had so much fun writing this. Please let me know if you enjoy!!

Ever since he was young, Bruce loved the piano. He would listen to his father dance his fingers along the ivory keys, playing melodies that his mother would sing along to. His mother would occasionally play, but only on rare occasions, and she’d play slow, classical tunes that would carry though the manor like a bird singing its song through the air.

He was entranced with the instrument. It held all his good memories and made him remember why he still pushes on. He played along with his mother every spare chance he could get. After his parents passed, he stopped. He hated it. He hated the sound of it and the look of it. He couldn’t stand to go to restaurants where they had live piano performances and he never listened to music with piano.

It became a curse. It followed him around everywhere. He couldn’t escape. It suffocated him.

Until one night when he had a particularly rough patrol. A child was trapped in an alleyway, her parents nowhere to be found. The look in her eyes terrified him, it shook him to his core because he knew that look. He wore it himself once before.

She had better luck than he did, with her parents frantically searching for her, in hysterics. Once she was safe with her loved ones, he turned without letting them give a simple thanks. He couldn’t bear it. He went back home and started up to his room before pausing in front of a doorway. One he hasn’t even glanced at for years.

The grand piano stood, gleaming in the trickling moonlight. His mind rushed to the thought of that little girl and he went and sat at the bench. All he did was stare at it, not bearing to put his hands on it to tarnish the lasting memories that were made on this instrument.

Inevitably he did, his fingers trembling with every note and chord he played. But it was beautiful. He was so entranced with his music he didn’t even notice his butler and long time friend standing outside the door, wiping tears from his eyes.

He played throughout the night, putting every single emotion he ever felt into his song. Hurt. Betrayal. Sadness. Fear. Love. It flew through his fingertips into the keys and a feeling of a weight being lifted off of him surged through.

He played every night after that. Every aching patrol, mediocre day, or wonderful experience was shown through his music. He tried teaching all of the children he took in over the years, but most of them liked to listen more than play.

Dick was really good, but preferred to hum along to whatever song Bruce played. Jason preferred to stay away from it, but Bruce could hear him plucking away when he thought no one could hear. Stephanie just never got the hang of it, too frustrated that she just liked to hang out while he played. Tim didn’t even want to try. He would much rather just talk with Bruce or play the drums. Duke was more of a guitar kind of kid, preferring to strum along to the tunes. Cass liked it, but ultimately took up the violin.

He was disappointed, but understood it wasn’t what everyone would like. He just wanted to share his personal feelings and experiences through art and to try to have some sort of intimate connection with his kids.

When Damian came into his life, the small child was a ball of fury. He didn’t even attempt to show or teach him the piano. But after all that time for Damian to calm down and become the boy he is, he asked Bruce about the piano. He had seen it before while wandering through the halls, and wondered why it was there.

It was then that Bruce took him to the grand piano and sat him down. He showed him the notes and played songs for him. They would go and practice every day and Damian was in love with it. The times Damian spent at the piano were some of the only times Bruce would see him calm and carefree.

After months of practicing, Damian started playing on his own, finding pieces and playing all day to master them. After he finished his first piece he called Bruce in and played it for him. Bruce was paralyzed in place. A tear rolled down his cheek as the song went on, and could only look at his son with admiration and adoration. As Damian finished the song, he let the notes ring and turned to his father. Bruce paused before whispering to him.

“You play just like my mother.”

#batman #dc #batfam #batfamily #dc comics #fanfic #damian wayne #Bruce Wayne #dcu #dick grayson #jason todd #stephanie brown #tim drake #cassandra cain #duke thomas #dc robin #red hood #red robin #nightwing #black bat #the signal #signal #dc spoiler

[itsclydebitches]

Tonight I came across a post (that won't hit my blog until July because I queued it) about how it's unfortunate that "fun" has supposedly become a requirement of video games, given that this severely limits how they can function as works of art. We don't limit other mediums by insisting that they only produce positive emotions and experiences in the recipient, so why would video games be any different just because they're (more) interactive?

This post isn't actually about video games, but rather how that argument got me thinking about RWBY and the recent resurgence of this "Why are you still here if you hate the show?" question. Now, setting aside the acknowledgment that 99.9% of people asking that are merely trolling behind their faux-concern—they have no actual interest in hearing a RWDE poster's reasons for sticking around, they simply want a way to say, "Get out" with plausible deniability—but if we treat this question seriously, I think that post on video games may offer some insight. I have numerous reasons for keeping active in the RWBY/RWDE fandom (initial love of the show, intellectual exercises, the community we've made, etc.) but there is also some level of investment in what would traditionally be framed as non-positive emotions. RWBY can make me feel very frustrated... similar to how playing Pathalogic makes me frustrated. Many of its plot-lines make me angry... the same way numerous video games' discriminatory writing can make me angry. RWBY's community, at times, feels like an insult-laden battlefield... but I've been doing PvP in WoW since it came out, so that's familiar too.

There are so many times when I've enjoyed engaging with a piece of media even when I really didn't enjoy it. Perhaps a better way of putting it would be that I found something worthwhile in the experience, even if I couldn't label that as "fun" or "happiness" or "satisfaction." Sometimes sitting with negative emotions is a good thing. Yes, you can take that too far just like you can take any behavior to an extreme, which is where the continual demands to "watch another show" highlight those posters' willful ignorance. We're already watching other shows. Reading other books. Playing other games. Engaging with a huge, diverse variety of art. Those who gain their own enjoyment from targeting strangers online (and isn't that a significant aspect to all this) want to make it sound like RWDE posters haven't touched a single piece of art other than RWBY in ten years and if they just found something they enjoyed without reservations then they'd drop RWBY like a hot potato. But I'm already watching numerous shows that I love unconditionally and have nothing substantial to critique; shows that have me internally kicking my feet and twirling my hair because they're just sooooooo good. I have that! RWBY is a different experience. It scratches a very specific itch of "I once adored this thing and now it's disappointing, but I want to see it through to its end and unpacking the ways in which it fails is a fascinating, cathartic mental exercise." I can't get that from anything else—not right now, anyway—so why would I want to give up this unique experience to fill my time solely with art that only makes me feel Generically Good? Art I have little to say about because it already feels #perfect to my mind? Sure, I could analyze a show's positives and sing its praises (which I often do), but at a certain point you run of out ways to say, "I like it." There's a reason why transformative fandom is built around the gaps in media: missing scenes, plot holes, retcons, failures, missed opportunities, horrible disappointments. Transformation comes more easily when you're already inclined to change the canon in the first place.

Idk, I feel like there's also an element of purity culture here where there's this push to make people think they must only engage with art that aligns precisely with their moral stance, produces only positive emotions, and invites nothing but praise. If the art makes you feel bad in any way than it is bad and you have a duty to remove yourself from it post-haste just ignore that we wanted you gone the whole time. Frankly, I think we humans can handle a bit more complexity than that? Obviously, as said, you wouldn't want to make Art You're Upset With the be-all and end-all of your media engagement, and this certainly isn't a call for anyone to engage with triggers unless they're inclined to do so, but a story you're primarily here to critique, or—yes—even a bit of hate watching can be "fun" in a non-traditionally fun away. Just because the art hasn't made you grin and pump your fist in triumphant doesn't mean it's not worth interacting with as art.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[hexfloog]

2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024

Can you believe there's barely 10 days left to the year?? Because I can't! Time to lay my feelings bare again!!!

So I definitely slowed down quite a bit compared to 2022, but I still made enough to fill the template and, in spite of everything else, lots of life development things happened these last 365 days that I think makes 2023 one of my best years in recent memory :)

I have less to say about the art this time. The drop in quantity checks out when I stop to reflect on just how much time I spent on each one. I definitely don't have as many sketchy works to show off this time either (probably in no small part due to the fact that I've also slowed down on Detco) - and that's probably owed to having spent most of my art effort this year drawing for other people, be it commissions or fan projects, and I already know that I'm more inclined to take risks when I have just myself to please. It's not a bad thing, that's just how it is.

I suppose my one observation of this year's body of work is that the vast majority of it is quite ambitious. Real pushing-my-comfort-zone stuff, but it's more of a polished brand of risk rather than the kind you get sketching ideas on the spot. Some examples:

February - both a collab and a thing that became a fan cel intended as an autograph piece at a con

April - simultaneously a gift and a very personal piece

June - silly comic (anything humorous is automatically out of my comfort zone)

August - community project + comic page redraw that really tested my ability to find a new style to play with

September - made to become tangible merch (it did)

October - redraw of my very first digital piece

November* - character design from text description only and formal reference sheet commission (my first ever)

December* - digital watercolor + fake children's paperback cover

*active WIP, not yet complete

It's not that much (really, it's average output for me) but I will take my wins where I can get them, especially since this is pretty much the scope of my art projects this year. Didn't really have much time or energy to write, or make more models, or scan more cards, because... ya girl was too busy getting a promotion/raise, moving out, enjoying the best con experience of her life (so far), volunteering, meeting lots of new people, dating again, having general fun, eating good food, trying new things, finishing a monthly art challenge for once, playing creative romhacks, waking up to new career opportunities, etc. etc. etc! It feels like so much happened this year!!

I tend to be harsh on myself and often feel like my life is not going anywhere, but this year really made me feel like I'm finally gaining some momentum again. And like... I don't expect (or want) to live life in the fast lane or anything, but stagnating isn't good, either, and with every passing year I have to ask myself with a little more sincerity what my future looks like.

So all that said, thanks very much for sticking around and suffering me another year <333 Who knows what 2024 will bring!! But for the first time in a while, I think I am looking to it with more than just a resigned "meh" and I hope the same for anyone reading this, too.

#personal #summary of art #summary of art 2023 #2023 summary of art #queue

[snapscube]

I started playing Dragon Quest 11 the other day, but it's not really gripping me, without major spoilers at what point did the story really get interesting to you?

You really gotta just like take it at face value for the first bit and appreciate the world and atmosphere for what it is, there are definitely some very engaging story beats down the road and it overall paints a great picture, but if you're spending the first few hours waiting for it to grip you by having a particularly innovative or unexpected story, you're realllyyy not gonna get that. You gotta focus on the bigger picture and mainly just relax, it's gonna be an adventure and it's gonna happen solely for the sake of having an adventure, if you're down for that.

Here are some things I would encourage you to pay closer attention to for the first part of the game and see if you can get behind it as you push forward:

The music. Though 11 has an issue with repetitive tracks as a whole, the music in and of itself (especially if you're using the symphonic soundtrack and/or the alternate overworld music, which I IMPLORE you to do if you're not) is very beautiful and does a great job of setting the tone out the gate.

The ART DIRECTION. God this is such a big appeal of these games. Everything from the character designs to the environmental design and the overall vibe of the world itself. It's the kind of feeling that will absolutely suck you in if you allow it to. I've only played like 1 and of third of the whole series and I already feel almost nostalgic for the way this world makes me feel.

Explore! A lot! Search around for treasure and items and talk to NPCs! And...

Engage with fights as much as you can bear as you explore! The combat is very well tuned and satisfying, and only gets even more so as you level up. But if you're not engaging with a healthy amount of combat you're gonna hit one or two walls that will make you feel like you have to grind, which sucks, and grinding is REALLY not necessary for this game as long as you just pace yourself well and don't run past too many enemies in your main path.

Please appreciate how incredible the monsters are

Eventually you'll meet a whole cast of lovable characters that will just feel like your fuckin... pals!!! Your buds!! They're so fun to hang out with! And then that really kinda brings the whole experience together!

Keep at it and I do hope that you end up appreciating it as much as I did! At the end of the day though, it's all down to taste so don't stress :)

[lesserkey]

you have an excellent eye for stylish and fashionable designs. you make really good use of bold, limited palettes. you're able to set mood effectively in a way that conveys gravity of character! i think there are specific strengths you could bolster, but your personal style also has a lot of ways you could expand on elements you don't do as often - detail shots or landscape, playing with zoom, exploring more diversity of anatomy, or exaggerated action and foreshortening and stuff. you make some really cool art, and i like it for what it is, and there's nothing wrong with sticking to what you like of course, i just you've got the skills to make a broad array of expression shine!

Hello anon! I really wanted to thank you so much for your kind message. I think the biggest thing I appreciated is the helpful direction you also gave me. It makes me happy that people can see I can push the strengths of my style more and it’s definitely something I want to work on! I did want to share that I actually… used to do a lot more background work. A lot of the pieces are from 2020 and I experimented a /lot/ to really push myself. I lost the drive after I started my full time job so I never had the same energy or time like I used to back at the end of 2020 but I wanted to keep trying.

This is old work but I thought it would be fun to share, just to show that I really do want to revisit this stuff and even redraw some of them too!

Diversity in anatomy is another thing I’m working towards slowly improving! Did you know I actually couldn’t draw aged characters or even cis male characters well? Bloodborne really helped me out with that and I want to return back to playing around with it. I did actually buy the dungeon meshi daydream hour that was recently released to study and see how the mangaka approached diverse body types. It’s extremely inspirational to me. The design I’m working on for Agares is me pushing to draw a cis female body type differently as well as in age! Caesnig is the other character I wanted to push with working on in terms of body type and face since his was a goal of mine to reach that I want to continue developing as well!

I hope to return back to experimenting when I can because I know I can do it! It comes down to finding the inspiration that kickstarts it and the energy as well. I really do appreciate what you told me today and even the ways I can further push my work and what would really make it shine. It made me so motivated to try again and work at it ❤️

#goetiatxt

[the5n00k]

Tips on drawing scratch? Sounds like a weird ask but I cant figure out how his body bends. Is he a pillow sorta shape or how? I love ur art btw!!!

Anon you are completely valid it took me like six months to get his look just right (and even then he's still wildly off model lol) but I'll tell you how I do it! (Pillow/flour sack shape is a good way to describe him, especially when bending or laying flat) Just a disclaimer, I highly recommend you search up his model sheets and rules because I tend to gloss over and bend a few of them but if you're planning on drawing him more stylized, here's the rules I follow:

1: As with all characters I draw I start with a circle sketch, it's not necessary but it helps when drawing multiple characters to keep them around the same size in comparison with each other.

2: colored line art sucks, especially with this character because you have to make sure that if he has any overlapping parts with another character (say Molly has her arm around him or something), they're on separate layers which makes coloring a NIGHTMARE. I have no advice for that other than play around with it until it looks right to you

3: coloring can either be really fun and satisfying or a pain in the ass, again it's trial and error for what looks right to you

4: some more dynamic poses and fluid actions are super fun and what I get complimented on the most! Breaking the model sheet to push your expressions more is super fun once you get the hang of it, just try drawing a bunch of random squiggles and shapes and try to draw Scratch over them, it's a super fun exercise!

Like I said before I'm not the judge or end-all when it comes to drawing scratch so just have fun with it! Experiment! Maybe study how some other artists draw him! I know I greatly admire some of the ways some artists I know and even some crew members and storyboard artists draw him so definitely start looking at fanart for inspiration. Hope this helps, I'm not a very good teacher!

#the ghost and molly mcgee #tgamm #ask me things #scratch mcgee #art tutorial #i guess #if you have any other questions my dms are open #i could probably go more in detail there but this post is already mucho texto

[missamyrisa2]

Miss amy what do you think about the ai tickle art stuff?

Mostly the same as I do about tickle text AI. It's incredible to see and if that helps someone find the comfort they seek in their tickle fetish, good for them~! For me, I have the sort of mind where I recognize patterns really quickly. Reverse engineering is kind of my thing, so when I'm looking at things like AI generated tickle talk I can't help but see the strings behind the scenes. I played around with some sessions and they're fun to start and try to throw things at it and see where it all goes but there's a very certain heartbeat in all of it that takes me out of the scenario ~ if that makes sense. It's the same with AI art. I can't not recognize that it's imagery of people nonspecifically laughing or looking desperate pounded together with imagery we associate with tickling. Gossssh I'm getting all philosophical and up my own navel here but tickling is soooo ~human~ it's just something to me that feels so vibrant and alive with spiritual sparklies all around. A tickle machine is still so tickly in theory to me because it's facilitating ~or rather forcing~ that hugely human experience. You just need that random imperfection y'know? Perfection to me is boring. That's why I write teases & stories in a single push and only go back to edit any misspellings or huge grammatical mistakes, and why I only write when the idea hits instead of cranking this these out like a factory. What was I talking about?

Oh yes ~~~ the little tingle you feel in the back of your head crawling up to you forehead while you play with AI generated tickle content, unknowing that a Purplish Villain has decloaked behind you and is milking your ticklyyy thoughts in this content creation to feed her wicked machine ~ which is currently compiling right behind youuu ~ pitttttyyy you're so distracted ~ you don't even notice the mind probe until it's toooo late and those ribbony long arms snatch you from your chair. A smirking robotic face looking remarkably like the tickler you were just bashfully generating looks you up and down as scanners begin gliding all over your body.

"Hmmm ~ mmmhmmm~ yeahhh that's what I thoughtt~" she muses, watching in contempt as the beams converge on your royal area and chimes start dinging happily. "Very naughty." Her purple dress swishes and sashays to the side as she spins, giggling and activating the machine to move full force. "You wanna be naughty? Let's seee how you do with an overload of those lovely scenarios you've crafted while I just go ahead and milk you of everything you've got." The sneering villainess leans in close and presses her plush lips to your ear. "And I'm gonna add your mind's ticklish thoughts to my collective, to my army of machines." She kisses and coos, as the machine spins up with a surge and begins deploying the feathery and buzzy tools from your dreams to your hot spots, the very tickles you had moments ago been inflicting on fictional characters. "Here's how the purple giggle bitch thanks her milkeeees~" With a tap of a button two extraction devices join the mix ~ a fluffy band slides around your head ~ and a silky probe drifts down to your royal area as machine hands strip away your clothing~ and with a smug look, hands on her hips ~ she watches intently as you are drained of your tickle ideas, your energy, and your royal essence through all those writhing giggles while she feeds her collective of wicked machinery~<3

[maleyanderecafe]

Line 88 (Visual Novel)

Created by: Hatoge

Genre: Horror/BL

I was pretty happy to see Hatoge participate in this year's #yanjam because their last year's submission, Mistrick was very fun to play. Line 88 is a kinetic novel, meaning there are no choices, but it was still a good experience. It was pretty laggy from my experience due to the repeating backgrounds and effects, though maybe it's just my computer having some problems. If you like their games, you can view more at @hatogedev.

The story starts with Nao riding the bus to work, at least until the person next to him starts to talk to him. As it turns out, it was one of his high school friends, Siren who seems to have recognized him. Siren starts chatting away at him, asking about his work and even asking for his number. The lights in the bus start to flicker, and Nao and Siren are left alone in an empty bus. Nao seems a bit freaked out, while Siren plays it cool, stating that everyone had probably gone to the front to complain to the bus driver. The two of then walk to the front in the never ending bus and as they walk, they talk about various things. Siren remains cheerful while Nao seems nervous about talking to him, worried about the fact that they seem to be going nowhere fast. The bus changes around them- they see something flicker in the distance, and plants start to grow in the seats around them. They talk about the past, how Siren would hang out with Nao and how hurt he felt when Nao moved away suddenly without a word. Nao tells Siren that he was afraid that Siren would throw him away and that he would get too attached, while Siren was afraid that he had come on too strongly to Nao. Nao was afraid that Siren would get bored of him and didn't want to be alone so pushed him away. Siren offers to hang out with Nao after they get out- inviting them to karaoke. Nao seems hesitant, but Siren tries to comfort him by telling him that his girlfriend used to be afraid of singing as well, and that he will introduce the both of them. Siren even tells Nao the reason that he was on the bus was to go meet her. They end up finally reaching the front door, however, it seems locked and the two are trapped. As they walk around trying to find a way out, Siren becomes exhausted and sleeps in one of the benches.

While sleeping, Nao ends up talking to the thing that was flickering in front of the two while walking in the bus. Nao talks about how he left Siren behind for his own good that he was afraid of him finding out about his true self (namely what is going on in the bus). He seems to have really wanted to leave together, that he liked Siren because he always was there for him, but once he found out about his girlfriend, knew that he would choose her over him. Nao leaves the bus, warning that if the thing hurt Siren, he would cause it a fate worse than death. He promises that he will bring back food for it, namely Siren's girlfriend and that they will never be alone again.

First of all, I really love the art style. I'm a big fan of Hatoge's general art style, but I'm also a big nerd for the more sketchy types as well! I think it really adds to the whole atmosphere (and I bet it makes it a lot easier to make too haha). I think I did mention this before but I'm more partial to the cartoony style of Mistrick which is the same style they used in this game since it makes the characters more identifiable and have more life.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if it was intended, but I did think that Siren was going to be the yandere in this. His name is sort of strange (invocative of Sirens that sing to draw their prey in), the fact that he's a lot more persistent when interacting with Nao and the fact that he seems pretty nonchalant about the situation despite it being strange. Of course all that goes out of the window when Siren mentions that he has a girlfriend leaving only Nao to be the yandere. Nao for the most part seems nervous about going near Siren and is nervous about what is going on in the bus. From what it seems like in the end, Nao's nervousness was what causes the bus to become what it is, with him initially going to let go of Siren until he heard about his girlfriend. Nao it seems is a reluctant yandere since he initially pushes away Siren because he doesn't want to get too attached to him and his fear of abandonment and when Siren persists, he becomes (re) attached to him. It is interesting to see this kind reversal near the end when Nao keeps Siren and gets rid of his girlfriend, seeing as it seemed like he would have let him go had he not mentioned his girlfriend. I am curious how Nao exactly got this beast or ability or if it was something that he was born with, but it does add to the horror aspect of the story. Now that they are all stuck together, I wonder what kind of adventures they may have with each other.

Anyways, Line 88 is a very good game. I do kind of wish it wasn't as laggy, but other than that, I very much enjoyed it. It was simple and I didn't expect the yandere turn at the end. If you like hatoge's games like Mistrick or Misfiction or you like more horroresque yanderes, this game is something you should play.

#Line 88 #male yandere #yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #visual novel #completed

[ego-osbourne]

how do you deal with art/writer's block?

You deal?

No but genuinely uhhhh good question. Funny thing was just a few days ago I came off of one of my most debilitating art blocks yet. Usually, my blocks work like this: when I am art blocked, I will write. When I am writers blocked, I will draw. My art blocks usually don’t last more than three days. My writers blocks can last a couple months.

(More explanation below)

It really sucks, though, when both blocks strike at the same time. My most recent one, as I mentioned, was just terrible. It lasted a little over a week (which I know isn’t a very long time, but it’s much longer than what I’m used to!) and I spent every day trying to get out of that slump. I tried to force myself to finish some WIPS (Miraak ref sheet, Dagon lineart shading piece), made a new character + ship (Harwith and Ghorbash), and pushed my way through an animatic. A lot of the week was simply spent playing God of War in my free time though, lol.

For me, art block is just a lot of padding and waiting it out. But I think something that really helped me this go around was realizing that I didn’t have to work on projects necessarily. I tend to enjoy 99% of all my art once it’s finished, so it was hard to figure out what was a project and what was a “just for fun” piece. Once I worked that out, I just drew some things that made me happy: a new Ego design, and some light experimentation with my favorite cannibal lad. That gave me a lot of inspiration to work on a whole new animatic, which was.. very strange, but very eye-opening! From there I’ve tried to get a good grasp on what I consider projects vs pleasure pieces.

In short: I think 70% of the process is just waiting it out. It’s miserable and I feel so sluggish during those days, but it’s all I can really do. Hammering out some WIP pieces kept the hand steady for when I would climb out of my hole, but it’s not something that I’ve ever been able to force to end. I don’t have much advice, but I do have experience, so maybe even a new perspective would help assist other artists in learning about and exploring their own art block? Idk, just some food for thought.

#ego osbourne #my art #ask box #anon asks #persona #alter egos

[bookwyrminspiration]

what’s kotlc and is it better than the great library? i read the latter and it was fun, perhaps not the height of literature but fun

OKAY! Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger is a long, ongoing middle-grade fantasy series following Sophie Foster, a 12-year-old high school senior who can read thoughts following a bump to the head at age 5--or so she thinks, until she's approached by a cute stranger who reveals she's really an elf who's been hidden away.

She's whisked away to a secret, supposedly perfect world of elves, goblins, ogres, and more. Sophie wants nothing more than to be normal, and tries to fit in--go to school, play with friends, etc.--but all her abnormalities have followed her from the human world. She's still weird, and it turns out it might be the result of bigger forces working behind the scenes. Forces she needs to uncover to learn who and what she truly is--but there's no taking it back, and plunging into the underbelly of her supposedly "perfect" new world opens a seemingly never-ending rabbit hole to try and understand and save it from itself. Full of rebellions, corruption, mysterious notes, stuffed animals, a large cast of characters, and so. many. sparkles. there's a lot going on for Sophie to discover

I think tgl and kotlc are hard to directly compare. tgl has a lot of explicit found family, fast-paced action, and is, like you said, just genuinely fun to read. it's quick, speaks to booklovers, and embraces a variety of different moral stances in a way that distinctly characterizes everyone. but it does falter in terms of consistency, and there are several contradicting details throughout it. kotlc is more structurally sound, but it is meant for a younger audience--which is not to say it's bad, but that it does impact reading. There are some cliches, such as experiment children, excessively powerful ocs, a love triangle, etc. It also has a fairly developed and explored world on several fronts, though there are some gaps. It does, however, want for diversity and representation. There are few non-white characters, few disabled characters, and no acknowledgement of queerness so far--though given recent releases it's possible that last part will change.

While kotlc is a special interest of mine and I'm quite attached to it, I don't necessarily recommend it to people outside the middle-grade age range. It's a solid series despite its flaws, but that doesn't mean you'll be head over heels; if you read it, I think it would be similar to how tgl was fun but not the height of literature. It's enjoyable and there are a wealth of characters to get attached to, compelling plotlines/character pasts, but unless you really click it'll just be a solid, time-filling read.

The series has also had a rough few years recently; the author has a lot going on in her personal life--which is totally fine, it just means there are long waiting periods currently. And not everyone thinks its worth it, because the story is going an unexpected direction and there are some creative choices made not everyone likes (too much focus on the love triangle, deposing the main character, butchering character arcs last minute, etc.).

All this to say kotlc has radically altered the course of my life and is an incredibly dear series to me, and I will be keeping up with it and blogging about it until the end of time with anyone who wants to join, but it's also not my favorite series I've ever read, if that distinction makes sense. If you do want some simple, if long, reading--go for it! We're always excited to have new people around and would love to have you. There's actually a pretty consistent, if small, fandom and a lot of art, fic, and other things to explore. But we'd also all understand without any pushing if it's not for you.

That was longer than I meant it to be, but if you have any further questions please do ask :)--and again, this is my view on it! Just my opinions and assessments

#kotlc #quil's queries #jitteryhands #the series summary I gave is really vague because we're 9 and a half books in so there's a LOT more going on #that I can't say without spoiling #let's just say things escalate #anyway #have you ever reread a book/series you LOVED as a kid and you're just like hmm. I get why I loved this at the time #but now I'll need a little more. not because it was bad. but because i've grown #kotlc is one of those series i think

[bicycle4two]

short fic starring jason and his little mouse from built to love, but broken now

find more ficlets of this couple here

College Days

College.

You’ve never really given it much thought. You’d been editing videos since high school, have made a decent income from it, and never really thought of pursuing anything else. It also helps that although your parents never really cared for you, at least not in the ways that you needed, they had left you enough money to be able to manage on your own for a few years, even with the hefty hospital bills.

So, further education has never been on your mind, didn’t seem like a priority with how your life has been going so far.

But Jason, surprisingly, wanted to go, brought it up over dinner one night before he went out for patrol.

“What do you think about English Lit, mouse?” He had asked as he pushed his food around with his fork.

“Like, as a subject?”

“Well, yeah, like, what do you think if I take it up when the new term starts at Gotham U?”

“I, really, Jason? You want to go?”

“I always liked reading, books, discussing them with Alfred. So, I figured, why not?”

“But do you need to go to college for that? You can, like, sign up for a book club at the library or something.”

There’s a light blush on Jason’s cheeks and he tries to hide it with his hand, tries to play it off. He’s embarrassed. “It’s not just books. I liked school.”

“Well, then sure. I think English Lit is a good course for you to take up.”

“Why don’t you go with me?”

“I, I can’t afford the tuition, Jason.” Now you were playing around with your food, finding it easier to look at than Jason. You could see that he was excited, that this is something he wanted for the both of you.

“So, apply for a scholarship. Hell, we have money. It’s no big deal.”

“No, you have money.”

“Mouse. If you want to go, I’ll make sure it happens.”

So, college. It’s an interesting idea. You think that more than teaching you things that you can learn on the internet anyway, it’s the experience that you want to have. High school was rough, but you think that being on the same campus as Jason might be interesting. You’d at least have a friend to have lunch with.

It’s just, do you really want to take up math again? It seems like it’s an unavoidable subject, that all courses have to at least have the basic units. Algebra and Statistics. And you think, is going back to school really worth it?

“I can help you. You’re not going in this alone.” Jason laughs in that airy chuckle like way of his, more like an amused puff of air, when he sees you sort through different course pamphlets. Rather than ranking them by genuine interest, you were tossing out the courses that required more than two math units, the minimum.

“You’ll have other things to worry about, Jason. You’ll have your own classes, patrol, you can’t just drop everything and tutor me.”

“This is supposed to be fun, mouse.”

“I just don’t want to fail.”

“You’re not going to,” Jason says confidently. He’s been getting more and more comfortable with the idea of going back to school by the day. He’s looked up past syllabuses online, looked into forums where students discussed the best teachers for each subject. “But even if you do, it’s alright. We’re there to learn. It’s not like you’re gunning for a desk job after, right? You’re settled here. Just choose something that’s interesting.”

“I did always want to try art.”

“There you go! And look, only two units of math!”

“Ugh. You better make time for me in your schedule. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

“I’ll always have time for you.”

...

a/n: inspired by the fact that jason loves books and i genuinely think (and i’m pretty sure i’ve seen discussions about it somewhere with actual proof) that jason’s a nerd and did enjoy school

also i’m just projecting my own frustrations with going back to school and math here. i’ve graduated years ago but still stick to the fact that if i didn’t have to take math ever again, i’d go back.

#ficlet #oneshot #jason todd one shot #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #arkhamverse #arkham knight #arkham knight jason todd #short fic

[nyahkmenrah]

Plural nation, I feel like sharing my experiences as a fictive that formed in childhood. This will be a bit long so I’ll put it under the cut. And NATM nation, idk if this will interest you but if you want to know what being a fictive of Ahkmenrah is like, feel free to read :).

For a little background, I’m one of the oldest alters we know of. There’s a few before me, but I was among the first 5. I split sometime shortly after the release of the 2nd movie so in 2009. The body would have been 7ish. Prior to that, the first movie we didn’t catch in cinemas, but we did have it (totally legally) on a USB that we watched religiously. So NATM was very much a childhood movie for the whole system.

My first memory is sometime after the movie was released and we saw it in cinemas, we’d gotten some of the happy meal toys. I so vaguely remember holding the Octavius on the squirrel toy, the way it felt and the smell of the McDonald’s playground. I pushed it down the slide, watched it go flying off the end (rip Octavius I just fucking launched you). Later that day I remember taking our sisters toy, the Easter island head one and sitting at the coffee table with it.

The next thing I remember clearly is climbing on a rope climbing frame and drinking a juice box with some cousins (I eventually found actual pictures of this in a photo album, we unknowingly caught one of my first proper fronts on camera). I was definitely a kid back then, I’d split in the mind and body of a child and I acted accordingly.

But those two early memories I have, I didn’t actually know who I was yet. I hadn’t really realised that I wasn’t in my own body and world yet. I was just focused on being a kid I suppose, I’d been pulled to the front to play, to have fun and distract from everything else going on at the time. But I remember the moment I realised who I was so, so clearly.

I was sitting in front of our old, boxy TV in purple winter pyjamas, watching the first movie again. And when on screen pulled the wraps off my face and start talking, something just clicked. That’s me, that guy on TV, that’s me. I remember being really confused, but I was still in a kids body and it was late at night so I guess we were just too tired to really react much. But I went to bed that night suddenly aware that I was too short, and too young, not a boy in this body, my eyes were the wrong colour, my skin was the wrong shade etc.

No joke only a few weeks later, the host went on a school camp. That camp is significant because it’s what influenced our headspace. The host had so much fun and loved that camp so much the brain basically copied the layout and made a proper headspace with it. THAT was when I actually got to interact with the other alters we had at the time, got to see myself in the right body internally and kind of pieced together why I was here and what had happened.

I’m the one that would front whenever the others were too stressed or tired. I was a protector in a way, I stopped us from getting too overwhelmed by coming to the front to play or isolate depending on what we needed at the time. I started to become a very prominent system member as we got to be an older kid. I was the one who got us obsessed with Hello Kitty and bought the history books home from the school library, I was the one who’d always suggest NATM as the sleepover movie, I was the one who helped pick the dining room decor when we moved (it’s ancient Egyptian art obviously). I was subconsciously trying to make the environment around me more familiar to me, more fun and relaxing by doing things I enjoyed.

Exomemories started to develop as we got into the preteen years I’d say. I was suddenly recalling things that happened to my character in an almost first person way. The same way you recall an event that happened in your childhood. It’s distant, you know it happened but you can’t picture it well. The more the host (and I) explored fandom spaces and the third movie had come out by then, the more I started to remember. I think us being older and able to have more complex brain functions paired with the hyperfixating on my source was what kicked off the brain forming exomemories. But it was around this time I started to really realise that I’m not real.

I am, Ahkmenrah the introject is. But Ahkmenrah the character, isn’t. Ahkmenrah is a pharaoh that isn’t real, made for the movie franchise. He’s fictional and yet, I’m him. All these people I remember and care for, they’re fictional too. I’m just a brain function with the personality of the fictional pharaoh, and I’ll never see my friends and family again because they’re now even real. That whole identity crisis kind of fucked me up for a bit. And the oncoming gender fuckery didn’t help either. I always knew I was bodily male and fronting in an AFAB body, but the realisation that I didn’t really mind it is what gave me an oh shit moment. In the end I just settled on demiboy adjacent, but that was a whole trip to go through.

By the teenage years, I’d grown up, the body had grown up and the host was becoming aware of the system. The co host was the first one to talk to them, but I was close behind. It was an odd feeling, I was talking to this person I’ve shared a body with for years. Someone who’s talked to me under the assumption I was just a daydream they were having for years. We know practically everything about each other but we’re just now formally meeting. My role had kind of shifted by now, I more held onto childhood memories and interests. But I’ve always been a rather frequent fronter, so I was one of the alters who helped the host explore the system as a whole more during the system awakening.

And then finally, as an adult in a now adult body who understands plurality and why I’m here the way I am, I can honestly say that I don’t mind being a fictive. Yes it has its downsides, the identity issues, the exotrauma, the not matching the body etc. but I was put here for a reason. As a child, the host saw my character and thought ‘they can help me. I can trust them’. And I split to help, to have fun and handle stress by unwinding and having alone time. I’m here because I was seen as someone who was strong enough to get through something difficult and I made out out the other side. I care for the system, they’re my family, my lovers, my friends. And I know that if they were to meet my sourcemates, all of them would get along with each other amazingly.

I have two found families, my sourcemates and my system. Being fictive isn’t so bad, because at the end of the day I’m here because a child looked at me and thought ‘he can help me’. And I did, I’m glad the host trusted me to help them.

#oh boy this is a ramble #endo safe #fictive blog #introject blog #introject #fictive #plural things #plural blog #just system things #multiple system #system blog #system #multiplicity #osdd #alters #plural system

[scorpiongrassfield]

You Aren't Sure What's Wrong

Start | Prev

Eventually, Pat looks back up from their journal. 

“Okay. Ignoring all that. How did hanging out with Theo go?” 

You try to school your face into something that doesn’t scream “I accidentally made him relive his drowning”. 

“It went well. He gave me a tour of his house and talked a bit about his family. And we played video games together, which was fun. And he showed me his art studio which was pretty cool. And he taught me some stuff about tarot,” you say. 

Pat raises an eyebrow. “Uh huh. And what happened to give you that ‘I’m trying not to look guilty’ face?” 

Damn it. 

“You haven’t already guessed?” you say with a sigh. You push the bowl back to them. 

They pull it a little closer and smush their spoon around in it without taking a bite. “Knowing you I certainly can. But I’m not going to make you feel guilty about a guess.” 

Your shoulders rise toward your ears. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”  

Pat just stares you down. 

“Okay. I kind of. Accidentally. Made Theo relive his drowning a little bit. But not all the way! I stopped it before he completely drowned!” 

People in the smoothie shop may or may not be staring at you for your outburst. You aren’t sure you care.

Pat continues to look at you for a long silent moment. Then they sigh, their shoulders drooping, their usually good posture slouching. 

“Okay. Look, kid. I’m going to try not to make you feel more guilty about this than you already do, because I know that’s a dick move. But. I am sometimes a dick, so that won’t be easy,” they admit. 

You wonder, not for the first time, where Pat learned to communicate like this from. 

“The thing is. From my perspective. This is something that you’ve done over and over and over again. You are very bad at not making ghosts relive their deaths when you’re asking them questions. However. From your point of view, this is the first time you’ve ever had something like this happen. And even on my end, you’ve only got a couple years’ worth of experience at it, and it's not like we’re constantly dealing with ghosts. I was bad at it too, at first because it’s tricky. Getting the information you need to help them without pushing them over the edge,” they sigh again. 

You get the feeling that rather than talking to you, they’re trying to talk themself out of being upset with you. 

“Anyway, good job on not completely drowning him. That’s progress at least. Try not to do it again, if you can help it,” they say, a little helplessly. 

“Okay. I’ll try my best,” you say. And you will. You don’t ever want to cause something like that again. 

“You said it went well otherwise?” Pat asks after taking a sip of their smoothie. You can practically see them steering the conversation into less emotionally charged waters. 

You shrug. “I think so. I get the feeling he was really lonely before he died. And I don’t think he ever got along with his family very well, even before they cut him off,” you say. You rub at your face a bit as you think. “He seems to be indirectly aware of his own death, somehow. I don’t think he’s really a lost ghost.” 

“That’s interesting. I wonder what he wants, then,” Pat muses. They sip at their drink thoughtfully. 

“What do you mean?” you ask. You don’t quite follow. 

“Well… If he’s not lost, and he’s not trapped, which I don’t think he is, since he’s not confined to the area around the creek, then he must want something. That’s how ghosts work.” 

“Right,” you remember now. 

Pat finishes the granola bowl while the two of you think it over. 

“If I had to bet, and I did try to confirm this before, I’d say that the reason he’s still around is so he can feed his cat,” Pat says. 

They have a point there. Poor Concrete wouldn’t fare well without Theo there to feet it. 

“We’ll still need to talk to him about it, though. Won’t do him any good if we fix one attachment but leave another stuck, y’know,” they say, standing up and stretching. 

“You done?” they say, gesturing to your cup. You feel a little guilty about nodding, but while your cup is still half full, you are done with it. 

You throw it out for yourself instead of handing it to Pat, like they were offering. 

They give you a flat look, but don’t comment. 

“Let’s get to the other stuff on our itinerary, then,” Pat says after tossing their own trash out. 

“What’s next?” you ask as you follow them out the door. 

“I would say it’s research time… But, unfortunately for us our collection of reliable sources went up in smoke. And the other collection of reliable sources that we know of is unfortunately in the possession of someone we aren’t on speaking terms with. So. No research for us right now. Until I can figure out if there are any other collections of paranormal books that aren’t complete bullshit,” Pat says with an edge of forced cheerfulness. They unlock the doors to the car and get in.

You follow suit. 

“So it’s not research time. What will we do instead?” you ask, ignoring Pat’s strange and ever-shifting mood. 

“Well. We’ve got three things we can do. We can go look where Theo died again, there’s some things I want to check… Or we could go bug Theo about what his lingering attachments to the world are. Or, and this one would take quite a bit of a long drive, we can go find Theo’s actual grave and see what it has to tell us,” Pat says, laying it all out for you. 

“You don’t care which one we do first?” you ask, buckling your seatbelt. 

Pat seems to be reminded to do the same. They also put on their sunglasses. 

“I don’t think the order matters, except that if we do the last one it will take all day, and if we do one of the other ones, we might have time to do both of them,” they explain. “We can’t get going until we decide though, so let’s pick.” 

Next

#choose your own adventure #interactive fiction #writeblr #original writing