#this applies to myself as well

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

#writeblr #warm up #this is longer than i wanted i really considered removing that part about myself and what i went thru #but i think it really fucking bothers me that EVERY time i talk about being an artist #ppl assume i just like. had the skill and ability to drop everything and pay for grad school. #like sir i grew up poor. my house wasn't a safe space. i gave up a FREE RIDE TO LAW SCHOOL. for THIS. bc i chose it. #was it fucking hard? was i choosing the hard thing?? yes. #but we need to stop seeing artists as lazy layabouts that can ''afford'' to just ''sit around and create'' #when MANY - if not MOST - of us are NOT like that. we have to work our fucking ASSES off. hard work. long and hard work #part of valuing artists is recognizing the amount we sacrifice to make our art. bc it doesn't just #like HAPPEN to us. also btw it rarely has anything to do with true talent. #speaking as someone with a chronic condition i hate when ppl are like u have it easy. like actively as i'm writing this my hands r #ACTIVELY hurting me. i haven't been posting bc my left hand was curled in a claw for the last week #this isn't fucking luck. after a certain point it's not even TALENT. it's dedication & sacrifice. #''u get to flounce around and do nothing with ur life'' is a narrative that is a direct result of capitalism #imagine if we said that about literally any other profession. #''oh so u give up 10 yrs of ur life to be a doctor? u sacrifice having a social life and u get SUPER in debt? #u need to work countless hours and it will often be thankless? well i wish i was that lucky'' #we should be applying that logic to landlords ONLY #''oh ur mom and dad gave u the money to buy a house? and all u did was paint it white and rent it? huh.''

[astraltrickster]

This post is your reminder that you are not obligated to blog about current events.

Things are bad. Really bad. Do not let people guilt trip you into tormenting yourself even further over the fact that things are bad. Doomscrolling is not activism.

If you're just on tumblr to blorbopost or reblog pretty pictures, you are not harming people by inaction.

You are not a bad person for not dedicating every aspect of your life and leisure space to whatever disgusting mask-off attack on human life and dignity some government has decided to enact.

Take action where you can, but don't confuse doomscrolling and digital self harm for action.

If you need to lose yourself in blorboposting, go for it.

If you need to log off for the day, whether it's to take irl action or to protect what little sanity any of us have left over the past 7 years, then by all means, do.

Morale is important. Hope is important. Small joys keep us from burning out completely in times like this. Do not let any "if you don't reblog this I'm judging you" guilt trip convince you otherwise.

#serious tag #current events #im gonna be offline for the day working on making doll clothes #this is why i keep my blogging and my activism as separate as i can #and only talk about the dynamics of big irl issues as they apply to hobby spaces most of the time - #because i know myself well enough to know that i WILL fall victim to the doomscrolling cycle #it's happened before and im not going there again

[cynical-crypt]

reminder to writers/self

its ok to write shitty poems its ok to write shitty song lyrics its ok to write shitty stories its ok to be unoriginal its ok to reuse a line from something else you wrote its ok to reference other works its ok to be proud of shitty writing its ok to be proud of great writing its ok to be proud in general its ok to not use overcomplicated intricate wording in writing its ok to write about dumb shit its ok to write about fictional events its ok to write something awesome but have one weak line you cant really fix its ok to write something terrible but have one amazing line that doesn't fit its ok to write about emotions you don't really grasp its ok to write

#needed to tell myself this stuff because i seldom write bangers and it was getting me down #poetry #poems #poets #writers #writing #songwriting #songwriter #lyricism #lyrics #fanfic #fanfiction #positive affirmations #<-- not from a fp perspective but just in general. tell yourself its ok #writers block #im more of a visual artist myself so all of this applies to those mediums as well #proship safe #gotta throw all these stupid tags in here because i know this bothers other people too

[candynyams]

my favorite part abt sexting is when my partner start horny wordvomiting, like throwing every keyword from like 5 different kinks into their messages because the Big Horny is making their brain melt

like its genuinely so hot seeing their messages get all raw like that, pulling from everything that makes them horny even if it barely makes sense cuz they're feeling so good and just want more

#sighhh #this applies to myself as well- thinking abt the thoughts i got off to and just giggling cuz #the less it makes sense the hornier ik i was #it's genuinely endearing i love it #mlm nsft #nblm nsft #nblnb nsft #nblw nsft #t4t nsft #gay nsft #nyamaha #nyamathoughts

[ravinoforre]

Michael and Leaf Pokemon but they've suddenly been isekai'd to Sylvarant oops

The template @frayed-symphony, @ciryze and I collectively put together.

...also uh 👉👈

there's this

#the stats aren't super specific tbh #i just kinda based them off of Genis and Colette from my various saves at that point and just tweaking where i felt like it #and i know this template was more or less made for ToS OCs but since i don't have any... #...and uh.. may as well admit that this specific scenario is something i've thought about for well over a decade by this point... #uuagh just allow me to indulge in my bullshit for a moment #this applies to myself too btw #like it's perfectly ok to do stuff like this right #so why does *this* feel scarier than me posting any other kind of art? #whatever don't think about it #it's there now and it was fun to make and it took far too long to not dump it /somewhere/ for the public to gawk at #still too nervous to put this on my twitter right now though god fuck #maybe after a sleep i'm exhausted #ok proper tags time #trainer michael #trainer leaf #pokemon xd #pokemon frlg #tales of symphonia #ravinoforre

[tradingjack]

having fun with colors for once :P

thanks @creepycoffins for the awesome dtiys :D

#creepycoffinsdtiys #trigun #millions knives #vash the stampede #i haven't drawn nearly enough knives. posted him even less #him and vash are so fun to draw :P ik they have the same face but it's like. fun to experiment with how different i can make them look yk #also admittedly. did most of this at work during downtime so if it looks funky..... my bad #the lighting isn't the greatest aight?? it's night shift and there's no windows but they do dim the lights #i did do the limited coloring i did at home lol. wasnt gon bring more art supplies to work #trying to get back into the swing of things with my drawing. i got myself a huion display for my birthday this year! #on top of my traditional i wanna do more animated stuff #primarily animated bc honestly i don't really wanna learn digital painting or whatever. im not interested in that and i like my harsh style #i'd also like to do more original work. i think last year was literally just trigun fanart lmfaoo #we'll see how things turn out ig #i'm not really holding myself to doing anything bc i don't see that turning out well. i am applying myself to more fan projects at the leas #tho those i'm applying more as a writer lmfao #well anyway. enough about me. i actually really like the drawing this was based off of! i didn't include the full body designs #and tbh vash's design is almost entirely cut out just cuz how the pose worked out :( #so i would highly suggest checking out the original art by the person i tagged! #and their other art's pretty banging as well :D

[ohworm-writes]

Task Force 141 but instead of being in the military or the SAS they all work at a firehouse together and it's called Station 141. Send tweet.

#Guys I'm so fucking normal please believe me #I'm just really obsessed with the career of firefighters #I did this with Schlatt let me apply this to every hyperfixation I have please I'm begging you #IT WORKS SO WELL FOR THEM THOUGH! #FUCK! #I'm not crazy please believe me #I could talk about this for hours or days or weeks or months or years at a time please just give me a chance #You should totally send me asks about this tee hee #I'm basically plunging myself into this fandom by making this post so hiiiiiiiii *twirling hair and kicking my feet* #I write fanfiction too (x reader strictly) so you guys should totally send me requests #task force 141 #tf 141 #tf141 #captain john price #john price #johnathan price #ghost #simon riley #simon ghost riley #soap #john mactavish #johnny mactavish #john soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish #gaz #kyle gaz garrick #price #captain price #john price x reader #captain price x reader

[chrollohearttags]

and lemme touch y’all’s hand when I say this…when I say you are not special, I mean that. Meaning I don’t write or reblog with ur feelings in mind. This is my blog where every insane, intrusive and inappropriate thought can come spewing out at any given moment. Where my stories are a love letter to myself and the other blk women I write for. I am not a machine meant to constantly pump fics out for your enjoyment. I am a regular girl who uses this as my lil safe space of the hellscape we call the internet. Some of y’all got the game fucked up in thinking that being a writer is who we are and not just something we do. If you don’t like the way I or someone else uses this space, then leave the same way you came. I suffer from ADHD burnout horribly and I may go for days at a time without posting actual work bc my brain is in a fog and I can’t focus. When it begins to feel like a chore, I back out for a few days and if that’s not acceptable, then I truly don’t know what to tell you. Not apologizing for that shit.

#this includes commissioned work as well #I paid for a piece of my own on my birthday and I honestly have to say I felt as if I got robbed for the quality of work #so I will never feel bad for taking longer to flesh out a better story esp when it’s being paid for #regardless of if that person paid $5 or $25 #and in general #I will take as long as I need to make the best fic possible #but I won’t burn myself out to do so #sorry not sorry #cherry chats 🍒 #had to get this off my chest #and don’t come under my rb’s commenting stupid shit either #if sum don’t apply let it fly

[heartmis]

LIGHTHOUSE™ OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH (2022-)

#i love making myself cry #our flag means death #ofmdedit #ofmd #blackbonnet #stede bonnet #blackbeard #rhys darby #taika waititi #tvedit #cinematv #dailylgbtq #the words apply so well to stede & ed even tho the priest was marrying mary & stede lmao 😭😭😭 #*diana

[ichangemyusertoomuch]

~ Bruno is Orange - Hop Along

~ Gore warning

Jack Harkness and Angelo Colasanto

#jack harkness #torchwood #lyric posting #angelo colasanto #captain jack harkness #:D #i made this myself #i also made the next few lines #but the image count got to more then 10 and so wouldn't fit all on tumblr #but the lines go: I'd thank you just the same #if you didn't tell #my mother says that i will surely go to hell #please be a good man. please say you won't tell #✨✨✨✨✨ #... #yeah #it also applies really well because Angelo told the butcher and town about Jack #that's the scenes i used for the lyrics anyways #alright I'm done here #hope this was cool :) #I can't listen to this song without thinking of these two #hands down the best episode in Miracle Day #ok bye

[threefuckencrowsinatrenchcoat]

Hi ppl who are nosy and want to know ur grades so they can judge how smart u are are annoying as fuck

#this is ab a guy from my math class who just texted me #I’ve never even spoken to him before he just asked what I’m averaging in that class #I didn’t tell him cuz I’m honestly not doing as well as I want to be and it’s a super competitive class #and so he starts asking ab all my extracurriculars #and the programs I’m applying to #and I’ve been so stressed over this because I don’t even know myself #so I don’t want some random fucking stranger interrogating me #and he goes ‘most people in the class are failing’ cuz only one person is averaging 100 #‘the smartest guy in the class is only averaging 98’ well clearly he’s not the smartest but also 98 is amazing and I wish I had that #I’m going to punch him when I see him tmr get the hell out of my dms bro #vent post #mathblr #mathematics #math #grades #school #high school #irritating

[ivycrowned]

Astarion: *rolling dice sound* Hm. That looks worth checking out.

me: *blind as a bat, had a menu open, frantically searching* WHAT DO YOUR ELF EYES SEE?

#mun talk #baldur's gate 3 #i actually did say this outloud #i was memeing #then i realized how well it applied #and giggled to myself about it

[madohomurat]

its important to analyze why you feel comfortable or uncomfortable sometimes. if you actually sit back and think about these things you can often uncover prejudices that you subconsciously hold on to.

for example, a someone might say they "get bad vibes from lesbians" and leave it at that. if they sat down and thought about why they feel that way, they would likely uncover that these "bad vibes" are actually their own lesbiphobic ideas projected onto other people.

you see the same kind of phenomenon when a white person says they "get bad vibes" from a group of POC. being vague about how and why you feel the way that you do because deep down youre afraid of realizing that you are the intolerant asshole instead of the innocent victim you act like you are.

#cy texts #lesbiphobia #racism #xenophobia #you can apply this comfort or discomfort surrounding labels as well #when i was just a baby gay i was hesitant to call myself a lesbian because i felt it was a 'dirty word' #but one day i decided to actually confront that feeling and think about why i felt that way. i realized i was harboring lesbiphobic ideas #if i never bothered to try and analyze my line of thinking i might still hold on to those same ideas #even if it was internalized lesbiphobia it was still just as shitty

[skibasyndrome]

okay sometimes.... sometimes I'm not the brightest..... I spent so much time these past days trying to rack my brain to find some plausible reason for why Wille would be at a club and it not be a huge deal for this one shot I'm working on and I was like "oh I need to make it exclusive but also not /too/ exclusive" and "do I need to explain how they vet the place?" and many many many more pointless thoughts because uh.

I forgot that that mf literally went to a normal-ass club and got into a fight there. In the first episode. I forgot the whole-ass fucking starting point of the entire show.......

#insights into my writing brain I guess lololololol #the answer was right there and it is: well. it happens in canon and also. it is that way because I say so. #dsfjsjkdhafsdkfasdhfk facepalm facepalm facepalm #simon.out. #I'm also vaguely aware that “because I say so” is a perfectly good reason for anything in fic #but I also like to not let those kinds of rules apply to myself because I gotta make my life more difficult in any way I can apparently lma #shoutout to waybeforeourtime's poll and the option “the friends who took the prince of sweden to a club” because uh. I really hadn't though #about that event in too long

[mattodore]

scrapped pose from theo's birthday edit

little koala 🐨

#river dipping #theodore doe #matthias evanoff #echthroi #a burning house to live in #ts4 #blender #...that's just my general tag for pics of their sims but this is them in blender so it feels weird to use that... oh well lmfao #i'm waiting for sim ripper to load one of the outfits i need for this pose i wanna make so. i'm just in blender spinning mattodore around #i could start working on the pose now and apply the armature later but i'll just wait #ignore theo's weird knees btw........... it's just blender the pose looked fine in game when i tested it originally #do NOT ignore matthias's pancake ass tho! for some reason these slacks just do that to his ass. it's sooo criminal!! he has a bubble butt!! #anyway... theo is like. openly sobbing but his face is literally buried in matthias's shoulder so you can't see his expression #he's so wounded here... i mean obviously since this was originally gonna be in the edit but........ :/ #yk that bit from the caption on the edit where theo gets flashbacks and describes the breeze and the looming darkness..... #and then to have matthias see it all... like that recognition of a part of theo's self that he doesn't even turn his own face toward... ugh #he needed that comfort yk... and he needed to be held. at every age. #UGHHHHH okay okay i'm letting myself get emotional here let's go back to thinking abt matthias's pancake ass in these pics haha funny #insert that screenshot of roman texting ''i am going to kill myself'' to gerri