#well...i'm still learning that

[mrbexwrites]

Writing Whispers

Accepting @sarahlizziewrites open tag for this, as an excuse to dive into the archives and see how far I've come.

Rules: find a few paragraphs of writing from as long ago as you can. Re-write them how you would now.

Gently tagging @words-after-midnight @queen-tashie @deanwax @cee-grice and offering up an open invite to balance out the one I took! ;)

I actually have a good comparison project from my very first attempt at writing (and finishing) a novel!) It's from an old high fantasy project that I never did quite get round to finishing, but did attempt to re-write one NaNo a few years back.

2003

From where she crouched on her vantage point, Ylarae could survey the entire grounds of the townhouse she now perched upon. Hidden in the shadows of the stone gargoyles that stood as silent protectors against evil, she watched the Numen Warriors make their rounds as guests at the party stepped outside and mingled with one another, quickly heading back indoors when the colder weather forced them back.  Gaining entry to the townhouse had been surprising easy, despite the many guards that patrolled the perimeter. She had, with ease, scaled the wall that lead into a voluptuous rose garden, a skeletal twining of branches in the dead of winter. Keeping to the shadows, she had slipped silently past two of the Numen guards who stood shivering in their boots, trying to pull their thick woolen cloaks tighter about them. Once past the guards, she grabbed hold of the iron cast gutters and used them to scale the thick grey stone walls of the house.  Inside the house, she could hear the soft cadence of the music intermingled with laughter as it filtered through the open windows. The lady of the house was holding a party and Ylarae was using the distraction of the multitude of guests as a disguise to hide her presence within the grounds. Her footprints in the snow were lost within the steps of the partygoers as some sought nightly congress with masked strangers. The suspicion of who stole the necklace would fall on one of the guests, rather than looking outside.  Ylarae smiled despite herself; this was easier than she thought. All she had to do was break in, steal the necklace and then leave it in the hollow of the Hanging Tree in Byre’s Wood where she would find her fee. Ylarae disliked being used in such a menial task and had asked why Gristle could not do it himself. Each time, he merely laughed, a sound almost akin to a bear’s, and told her that she was the one to retrieve it. Despite her loathing of being used as a common thief, Ylarae found it impossible to refuse Gristle’s orders. Just thinking of the necklace caused her to shift with impatience, longing to get her hands on it, and have this menial task completed.   Shifting her weight to ease the cramp on her legs, Ylarae’s crossbow dug into her back. This once again ignited her ire at being used as a mere burglar. She was a highly skilled assassin, one of the best. She was trained in the shadow arts and the secrets of covert killing. But her most valuable abilities she had inherited from her mother.

2021

Her fingers tingled as she knelt atop one of the stone gargoyles that protected the perimeter wall. Carved out of granite, the stonemasons had imbued the stone with magic to ward off evil and protect those who lived inside.  It was an old magic, and ironic that these sentinels were being used to guard the very people who had scorched the earth and were trying to wipe magic from it.  Ylarae ran a gloved hand over the glyph-marks that had been etched into the creature’s head, rendering it nothing more than stone; the magic dissipated.  “What a shame,” she whispered to herself. “You would have stopped me, there is no doubt.”  She slid to a crouch beside the stone beast, hidden in its shadow as she watched the guards make another loop of the skeletal rose garden. In the summer, it would be a sight to behold; a manicured lawn with knee-height hedge mazes, flower beds and the roses that climbed to reach one another across the gravel path, forming an arch.  Light spilled out of the manor house, casting long shadows across the garden. Laughter, music and the sounds of glasses clinking filled the night air.  Gristle had told her to expect a heavily fortified home, given who lived here, but the party had been unexpected. Normally, she would have slunk back into the shadows, and returned later, but an urge, a need, pushed her onwards.  She surveyed the garden once more; she could balance her way along the wall and climb up into the house, but risk being seen by one of the guards. Or she could loop round the garden, which appeared to be the safer option, despite losing her vantage point.  A few guests would come out of the manor to mingle, have a quick stroll or to seek a quiet corner for congress in the shadows. But they never stayed out long, the cold pulling them back inside the house. A light dusting of snow covered the garden, but with wandering couples and the patrolling guards, any footsteps she left behind would be quickly lost amongst others.  As the guards passed once more, she tried to still her heart that was racing in her chest. Her hands trembled at the urgency to get going. Normally on a night like this, when she would be hunting, a placid calm fell upon her, but not tonight; tonight she was filled with electricity and need.  She dropped from the wall, landing silently on the lawn, only a few snowflakes drifting down behind her. On cat-like reflexes, she ran in a low crouch along the perimeter wall, staying to the shadows.  The shutters that hung from the wall, along with the iron-cast gutters made a simple ladder she used to scale the building.  Balancing on a third floor window ledge, she drew one of her twin blades that she kept in her sleeves, and popped the latch open. Her fingertips burned as she wriggled them under the window frame and slid it open enough for her to climb inside.  The third floor of the manor  was dark, and most likely off limits to the guests downstairs.  She stepped hastily away from the window, pressing her back against the wall; the last thing she wanted was to be outlined in the moonlight and easily visible. She knelt behind a dresser and waited for her eyes to adjust. She slipped off her gloves, feeling her heart pound. A cold sweat formed on her brow, which she wiped away, frowning at the perspiration.  The burning sensation in her fingers traveled further up towards her hands, and she balled them into fists trying to stop the feeling. 

#tag game #I used to worry so much about describing every single detail #but have since learned to show not tell #well...i'm still learning that

[purarupu]

mashle rkgk

#kinda into ames brothers #their dynamic on fanworks are cute #gap moe rayne IS cute #madl brothers as well...but then I learned that they canonically have zero interaction #I'm still trying to catch up with the anime and haven't gotten into mashle manga so I refuse to believe LOL #mashle #orter madl #rayne ames #orter #rayne

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Twin polar bear cubs Kallik and Kallu from the Toledo Zoo.

#zoo animals #unproblematic cute #I'm still learning how to edit out the distortion of heavy acrylic windows #I was quite surprised how well these turned out #these boys are also basically grown now this was last summer #polar bears

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

A-Qing, the little fox.

#better drawn mdzs #mdzs #a-qing #I needed to draw her happy one last time #i also really wanted to try my hand at drawing Hanfu. Clothing is still hard for me but I learned a lot! #the process was 1) get idea from the fox hairpin extra 2) thumbnail 3) look up references 4) accept that this is nearly an impossible task #5) do it anyways. For A-Qing #It has also been a while since the last better drawn mdzs. I've been getting better! B*) #I chickened out of having this be a ‘draw this in your style’ prompt….Perhaps in the future! #I want to improve a little more first I think. Psychically beaming my beloved mutuals to re-kick off DTIYS in my stead #I adore how A-Qing is associated with foxes! She is cleaver and quick to adapt! A trickster in many regards! #There is absolutely more to analyze here but I'm not well versed about Chinese mythology

[sensitiveheartless]

It's now been two years since I began drawing BSD fanart, and I recently went back and discovered that the very first sketch I ever did was of Chuuya! So I thought it would be fun to go through and line up a bunch of my attempts at drawing him — progress over time, and all that :0

#I still have a lot to learn in terms of — well everything honestly #Still!! Progress! #...parts of this could also be seen as 'senhart tries to learn how to draw hats for two years straight' aksfjksjfksd #my art #bsd chuuya #that first Chuuya I sketched is kind of cursed ngl #what was I doing with the eyebrows?? but for the sake of completion I'm keeping it there #anyway! all that aside I really appreciate all of you guys for bearing with me as I learn new stuff and figure out what my art style is #y'all are awesome!

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

#selfie bee #to be honest my stage 2 was just drawing the same picture of Helena Bonham Carter everyday #I still have the folder #friends not only did I drive a BIKE recently I also drove a CAR #all on my own!! （*´▽｀*） #It was very scary and I cried a few times but I did it #in the beginning I had to do a few night shifts in a different city and there was to other way to get there and in the end it was fine #I wonder what other things I am scared of are secretly fine #phonecalls? math?? （●´･△･｀） #I am actually avoiding math right this moment #I've decided to learn how to sew a skirt and did you know that sewing is secretly math #I did not know and now the skirt is very short and the living room is covered in yarn and I have not done any actual sewing yet #but I will do it and maybe its just like driving and you just have to cry a little and then it will be fine #the only truly bad thing that happened while driving is that I got into a thunderstorm one time #and it was night and there were 300 trucks going to opposite way #I tried to focus on the Lizzo song on the radio but I was also crying #if you were a truck driver and you saw a woman 2 months a go at night driving a car crying while singing Juice! Juice! (´；д；`) #I'm fine I hope you didn't also cry #have a nice day friends!! #I hope you're doing well!! ♥ :) #I will now go back to the skirt

[kindledrose]

goofy hermit doodles!! because uhh why not!!

#cubfan135 #zedaph #hermitcraft #hermitcraft fanart #sorry for making zed purple-coded do you still love me /j (it's kind of a magenta. so.) #this was my first time drawing cub (unless you count scraps of doodles from like 2019 that i probably lost a while ago) !! #and as such it was a definite learning process! i could definitely draw him better now i think but this one turned out okay for now #i still feel like i didn't do him justice though.. i'll try again tomorrow #zed on the other hand came out fantastic and then i proceeded to not be able to draw him well ever again (he's from a few days ago) #fun fact i was trying to write a desert duo-centric little story a couple days ago and i randomly put cub in as a placeholder character for #-scar to talk to in a scene and my entire story accidentally became about convex instead. whoopsies #also zed lives in scar's basement. cub does too but he actually pays rent. they don't know about zed so it's funny #scar's house is a theme park. his basement is a hole #it's a whole thing. why am i talking about this? i don't know i'm really tired ok #doodles #reblogs super appreciated as always :D

[little-pup-pip]

Hi, I just found your blog and it's really cool! Would you be able to do a middlespace moodboard that's emo/scene themed? I also like Hello Kitty! It can be feminine or gender neutral! :)

Sure!!

#hello kitty #!!!!! #Emo and scene too! #this was fun!!! #I'm still learning how to do middle space well #but i think it turned out good! #so i hope you like it! #sfw interaction only #moodboard #sfw agere #age regression #agere #agere moodboard #middle regression #emo moodboard #hello kitty moodboard #Scene moodboard #This was my aesthetic in like 2013

[cockworkangels]

frodo painting practice...

#this well and truly is an attempt at things 😭 #elijah wood seems to be another one whose likeness i just don't know how to capture even close #this just means i'm going to have to draw and paint him as many times as it takes to succeed :) #also i'm still trying to learn how to paint this is practice.... #lotr #the lord of the rings #frodo baggins #lotr fanart #frodo baggins fanart #my art #digital art #art practice

[typho-draws]

oh god he can jog now

#art #my art #animation #werecat #werewolf #werecat oc #oc #fred #werewolf oc #still a little choppy but oh well #animating take... two! #also stiffish but whatever i'm learning rn #also sry i know he's not a werewolf but he's a were something so!

[camellcat]

hello timepetals people!! I was curious if doctor who has, like, The definitive "if you like timepetals you are practically obligated to read" tenrose/ninerose/whichever doctor timepetals fic(s)

#like how teen wolf has Airplanes or Because I Trust You for examples #hoping you still Get what I am trying to convey here even if you don't know what those are (and I doubt you do tbf) #like does it have it's own tag it's own little community? #bc thiam airplanes DOES and I've been missing it terribly terribly so but I want that for timepetals #which I'm now realizing is so funny bc thiam airplanes is just a roadtrip fic and dw is literally. well. yeah. HAHAHAHA #honestly tho if not I'd happily just take fic recs bc I've ran out of the stuff I had saved up #timepetals #ninerose #tenrose #doctorrose #the only thing off limits is classic doctors bc I just don't know them (unless it's one of The Fics. then I'll just have to learn huh lol)

[classicslesbianopinions]

the thing about being a disabled grad student is that if you want even half a chance you constantly have to not only reveal but interrogate and explain your softest most vulnerable parts. while people around you act like this is just completely normal and actually that is not the softest most vulnerable part of you and actually you are exactly the same as all of them. so you feel like you are in disguise as exactlythesame while also completely exposed. and you just have to live like that. absolutely insane

#mod felix #general disclaimer that this is my experience and this is how i feel and not necessarily how everyone feels obviously #but . i feel this way . currently #well and i think part of it is that like... people act like the institution isn't actively hostile to like. any marginalized person really #i mean this post is about disability but i'm sure it applies to other people too #and if you read this and say 'this is also how it feels to be x' i see and support you #anyway. posting this here because like... i feel like as a blog with a relatively large (for tumblr) audience like. #i feel the need to be honest and transparent about my experiences in academia #because i know there are people following us who like. want to be in academia or who already are #and like . i really like the program i'm in and i'm learning a lot but it's also a very hard thing to do even if you're totally abled #which like. i'll be honest i think the sort of person who says 'i want to learn ancient greek for the rest of my life' #is unlikely to be totally abled #like i'm not the only disabled person in my program either. and most people i interact with like. #have a base level of understanding about disability #but it's still like... surreal to operate in like. an institution that puts pressure on everyone to act like disability doesn't exist #i feel like there's just like. constant dissonance

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Culture Shock

[First] Prev <–-> Next

#poorly drawn mdzs #mdzs #xiao xingchen #xue yang #a-qing #As I sit here and type out my thoughts I realize that the last panel looks like A-Qing is crushing XY's candy...oops. #she's supposed to be crunching her *own* wrapper for dramatic effect. XY's candy is still in XXC's hand. #Hes still standing there. 180 degrees out of frame. Which is where your heart is! MEANING: XXC is in your heart right now #holding out a little piece of candy that has yet to be taken. #This comic was so close to being on the chopping block. Honestly I'm still not sure I should have kept it in #but I liked this scene a lot*** and tbh the yi-city arc isn't around for much longer. Let them have fun while it lasts. #not to mention I have few opportunities to build up spanish speaking XXC. And we are close to the pay off. #XY is in his 'oh god I need to start learning the basics of this language or I will drown' phases. Lets see how well he does! #***The candy represents so much! It's a symbol of unobtainability! Of comfort and status! Both A-qing and XY crave candy as much as they- #-crave those 'unobtainables'! XY has money to by candy (part of status) but he lacks love and comfort is his life! #So XXC offering them this little piece of candy is more than just a treat! It's a piece of love! #But as sweet as candy is....it cannot last.... #(this also makes the scene where XY disrupts A-Qing's comfort by offering candy very interesting to analyze)

[aromantic-diaries]

On one hand it's only been one whole year since I've started actively identifying as aromantic which is relatively recent but somehow it feels like I've just known my entire life.

To be fair I have always been aromantic considering my lack of crushes or generally being an outsider to romance and I just didn't always have the right words to describe how I felt or when I did I was deep in denial but the feelings were still there. I was aromantic then just as much as I am now, I just actually acknowledge it these days and I talk about it rather than telling myself I just haven't met the right person yet

#personal ramblings #if you couldn't tell i'm basically my own therapist. i know what's going on up there i can trace everything back #one of my few enviable traits is being able to understand myself very very well. still learning but what i know i understand well

[sonictoaster]

The messenger bag I made in 2019 finally started to wear to pieces after four years of faithful service. Time for a new one!

I made the original bag without a pattern, but this time I had something to work with. I took the old bag apart and made a pattern from the pieces.

It took me a while to find the right material. I wasn’t sure what it would look like, I just knew I’d know it when I saw it. I finally found this double-sided Japanese cloth in a shop in Portland.

Once I had the right cloth for the exterior, I found a fun pattern for the interior bag in a local shop. (I always use a lighter material for the interior so it's easier to find things).

The first bag was a struggle—I had no idea what I was doing! I expected the second bag to be difficult as well, but the process went surprisingly smoothly. I got stuck a few times and had to take a day or two to figure out a solution, but the solutions always worked better than I expected!

For instance—in spite of carefully measuring each piece, the outer flap ended up being too small. I ended up constructing a border to extend the edges.

With heavy interfacing and waterproof lining, the walls were very thick and tricky to work with. Having a better sewing machine than last time helped!

Lots of pockets and hooks on the inside—essential.

I found a leather camera strap I haven't used since college and added a couple of decorative wooden buttons a friend gave me and I'd been saving for the right moment. The blue webbing along the sides that support the leather strap are repurposed from the original bag. I like that a little bit of the old bag is worked into the new.

The whole process took... weeks—but I’m so happy with how it all came together!

#long post #pictures i took #stuff i made #i am not a sewing expert #i've been slowly learning and teaching myself to do things with a sewing machine over the last ten years #it's hard and i still struggle #but make no mistake: i am very fucking proud of myself #there are a few small quirks that i didn't get right and annoy me but overall it came out so well #i love it #and i'm glad it's done this project has been eating my brain for like a month

[paperstarbot]

#embroidery #bee #honey bee #handmade #diy #i'm still learning but this kit was easy to follow and i think it came out really well!!! #art