Actually successfully resuming a fic. Also working on playing with drawing style. :)

but that’s not how special interests work

Mood. Sometimes you just wanna jam on your favorite things.

It's frustrating when you feel like you can't engage without wading into contentious territory. It's like walking into a room where everyone is mad at everyone else and you really were just there to have fun.

But I don't think it's a hypocrisy thing. I think it's actually just that... we want both engagement and to see those smaller sites grow. People seek out forums and communities to connect, so it can be really tough to get excited about jumping into a community that is still not quite developed.

At the same time, when the "dominant" communal spaces become less welcoming or not as fun, it can be frustrating to not have alternatives, even if you ARE getting the engagement there.

And I don't think anything about that is unreasonable or at odds on its own. It's more like, sometimes you're going to be more motivated by craving the engagement and you'll be less okay trading that to achieve your other aim of growing a new community. Other times, you're going to feel really invested in the community growth and it's going to be hard not to feel let down when others aren't on board because maybe they're still seeking engagement.

Idk. This all makes sense in my head...in as much as anything else does. XD

The "in-general" list is much longer...and is constantly being added to because I will develop some random attachment for whatever reason...but it does also include Umbreon! (Best eveelution IMO)...

It can be rough finding time for things you enjoy, not just time, but energy too--especially when you're busy.

Personally, I am terrible at keeping up with special events, but I think that part of what I love about fandom is that it can be done on my time. If I'm craving something, I can make or search content related to it and see what's out there. I know that's much tougher when it's rare.

Finding outlets and safe spaces to do that is important. There are some really solid communities and forums out there, so I'm sure it can be done. What are the new favorite things (if you want to share, no requirement to do so, as I know so folks like to keep some things for themselves).

I don't think I could post art on a regular schedule either, no matter how much I draw. I just don't think I'd enjoy making it into "work."

I really really love the drawing btw. :)

Amazing!

Ooooh gosh... I have many favorites... haha... and I don't tend to veer toward a specific type. I'm a big fan of umbreon. Defensively, it's fantastic and I find myself using it to tank quite often. I try to branch out and make use of the regional options so I'm not ALWAYS rerunning the same ones, but when I'm not setting parameters its one of my staples.

Re: Things falling apart... I'm sorry. I don't know the situation, but I can definitely relate to feeling overwhelmed by...honestly...despair. Distractions are great and so is being kind to yourself. And yay work opportunities! I hope they're good ones. :)

Your Dreamwidth can develop on your own schedule. It's okay if it takes months, years, whatever. Everyone's process is a bit different. Most artists have a broader portfolio of work than their "commercial" portfolio. The only stuff that runs on a schedule is the stuff that's for sale. Would you bat a lash if someone told you an artist/writer/creator your really adored spent decades assembling a particular piece you loved? Whatever the medium?

It can be really hard to take yourself out of the commercial mindset. We're so used to it, not just as a means of sale, but we're used to homework and deadlines, and timed tasks. But this stuff? It doesn't necessarily have to be timed and you can lean into your natural ebb and flow. And we all have them to varying degrees.

Right now, I feel like I'm just beginning to come out of a long hibernation. At some point, I'll burrow again. So, keep doing what makes you feel good and definitely keep us posted on how your projects come along. :)

Yeah, taking a critical eye to what sells--even things that I think are masterful--is a great way to realize that a lot of those things are also not nearly as refined as the standard I'm holding myself to. Not all comics are smooth or hyper detailed. Their lines aren't always 100% PERFECT (whatever that means for fictional characters portrayed in a style that isn't even pretending to be close to realism) and yet... they're great.

They're also laden with shortcuts, sensible shortcuts that sane people implemented for efficiency.

Simple, non-detailed backgrounds are an example. It took me far too long to realize I did not need to draw and redraw the same chair in the room I envisioned this conversation taking place. I didn't even need to draw the room. But, just as I am wordy I am...whatever the drawing equivalent is. It's taken me a long time to learn to be "concise."

Suddenly, it's become a lot easier to progress as I've learned. But it's been a very conscious effort. Lots of letting go of things too.

I suspect this is true. I can think of no other reason and honestly it does not endear the digital medium to me in the least. However, for sharing and playing with color (and not making a mess) digital can be very nice... I think. I'll let you know if/when I find that wretched stylus.

I do it with drawing too. I've been doing a lot of sketches geared toward playing with expressions lately. Somewhere along the way, I became convinced I needed to draw things in some undefined "right way" (not life drawing, purely comic) and that's been interesting.

Unwinding it has been fun, though.

I am jealous of your powers. Overthinking is my special skill, but often it results in just not being able to get something done...or only being able to blitz through it (minimal edits to avoid getting trapped) which leaves me something far less refined than the amount of thought I dumped into it would suggest.

Ahaha! I AM TIRED actually...

But, that aside, I actually have a couple fics I am hoping to start on this weekend... one of them is more like a restart for the umpteenth time.

I'm trying to allow myself to be a bit more "ridiculous" when it comes to storytelling... to not worry if something is too goofy or over the top. It's a weird thing to worry about, especially in fanfic, and yet I feel like it's relatively common.

I've also been toying with drawing, but my attempts to transfer anything to digital have been largely thwarted by a missing stylus so.... >_<

Ah well. At least it's not my primary medium.

How is everyone else doing?

A good distraction can be priceless. There are some great stim toys on craft sites. People make them as jewelry, gadgets, what have you. :)

I honestly may take advantage of this Finish What You Started challenge because I DO have some fics I've been wanting to get back to eventually.

I'm still on a Pokemon kick, but I'm becoming more and more obsessed with Dungeon Meshi so I may start exploring the fandom for that soon. It has a strong set of characters. No writing this weekend, but plenty of R&R which I badly needed. :)

I'm eyeing a run through of Pokemon Crystal because I am still on that kick. XD

My husband just picked up the Demo for Unicorn Overlord and to be honest it looks pretty good, so I'm tempted to also give that one a try. The pacing is nice and snappy and the game play seems straightforward enough. The story is a pretty standard hero's journey, which isn't high praise but certainly doesn't count against it.

Who doesn't enjoy the occasional boxed-mac-and-cheesesque storyline?

Not late at all! I hope things are improving.

And I hope Tumblr has not yet given into the darkness...

Health can be...fun... I'm sorry to hear yours seems to be particularly... in it right now.

I've only heard of one of those fandoms. I'll need to explore some more. :)

Noooo! Tumblr! Not you too!

Anxiety is brutal when amped and it can take a long while to recover from being emotionally maxed out on top of things. That is genuinely okay, just in case it helps to hear it. (I have to remind myself often enough.)

I am apparently cycling between “too dead to function, much less write more than a few sentences” → “writing a fill for a prompt in one sitting in a feverish daze” → “struggling to typocheck and post because too tired” and back to the start. That’s… not ideal.

^
This is such a mood.

I wrote an entire fic in one sitting as a primer, and now I'm stuck halfway through another, but brainstorming maniacally.

Am very intrigued by this "Finish What You Started" event, despite not generally being a big events type. (I don't dislike them, they just don't always align with my energy and therefore they're not as useful to me much of the time. )

This weekend was a bit more busy, but in a pleasant way, as we got to see some loved ones and we're making progress on acclimating a couple of adopted cats. :)

The brief snippets of gameplay I got to experience weren't half bad. It's not one I would necessarily discourage other people from trying and I might even recommend looking into it depending on what I knew about their tastes.

Objectively, I don't think what I experienced (limited as it was) was a bad game. I think it was a frustratingly paced intro to a game with potential. How much potential, I don't know. I've heard mixed things.

You'll have to let me know what you think if you give it a play through.

I don't feel like I played it enough to give it a full or fair assessment, so this is just "at first glance":

The biggest issue I had with it was getting a firehose of gameplay tutorials only to be provided very little opportunity for gameplay. I felt like I was frequently darting from cut scene to cut scene, and while I love story this was so start and stop as to be frustrating. The pacing was just...off.

I also admittedly didn't care for the brief glimpses of characterization that I got, especially the "every adult character is a completely miserable human being" which was just draining. The protagonist not getting much characterization is less an issue because player characters are often blank slate. It really was overwhelmingly the side cast, and most were NPCs.

It is possible that I will pick this game up again at some point and completely fall in love with it. The art style is beautiful and there is a quality to it of playing through an anime. Maybe if I liked the story more or any of the characters had grabbed me I'd be more excited. Sometimes it's just about timing, you know?

I got about45 minutes into Persona 5 Royal (so almost through the intro!), but I don't think I'll be going much further with that one. I'm still playing Platinum otherwise, and debating a Fire Emblem run soon, just because it's been a little while.