Midsummer-Ween

Aug 12, 2026 .. Butter-Fly (Digimon OP)

Don't let my title mislead you, I did not in fact go to Midsummer Scream (though, if you're reading this at this time, you should probably already know this xD). But! It was something planned -- Until, of course, tickets sold out lol No matter, midsummerween will still go on! We still ended up taking a trip out that way, but instead went to the antique market, curios warehouse, vintage collections place known as Wunderkammer! I learned of it through a YouTuber I enjoy going to it, and what really stood out was... everything! Seeing all the spooky, quirky things for sale, and the imaginative set ups that the curators of each space had crafted - it was so cool and unlike anything I'd seen before! And it was perfectly "Summerween". So, when Midsummer Scream fell through, we ended up going to the Wunderkammer, and it did not disappoint!

I only wish anyone or anything had mentioned that it wasn't air conditioned....

I have worn a pseudo-grunge style Halloween-y outfit for it, which, of course, included a long sleeve plaid overshirt. I wore it for about ten minutes before I realized that was Not happening unless I planned on passing out lol. That aside, wow! It was so cool, almost like a museum with some of the odd antiques it had there. The area was really nice, too. It was in Long Beach sort of, in a part of it filled with large shipping machinery. Those large cranes and barges, and trains, all complete with equally massive shipping containers. A little uncanny. I've always found those things a little uncanny, though. Something about them feels really alien and .... dystopic? Not in a dramatic, terminally online way, but in a genre way. They look like something that would be crafted solely for a movie based in an apocalyptic, inconceivable future. I look at them and think about clanging, shrieking sounds, something metallic, of course, but also living with breath. shudders

In an entirely different vibe, we also went to the beach. Can't forget about the summer part of Summerween! I was in love with the side of the beach that faced nearby cliffs. Wow. Another powerful force, but this time one that fills me with energy instead of dread. Pure, nature.

I couldn't choose a favorite part of the trip, really. I probably couldn't really choose a favorite part of the WunderKammer, either, really, but I'll go with the Video Store there, just because of how much fun we had in it haha

August Is Here

Aug 1, 2026 .. Tastes Like Tangerine - Waterparks

It's August 1st! Happy Odaiba day hehe

You know, I meant to make a blog post here at least once during Artfight, but ah.... Well, I ended up being pretty busy. With Artfight. I think this is the first year in a while where something didn't majorly explode in our life during Artfight month. Of course that doesn't mean it wasn't stressful in other ways. But, I did have more time to draw! I was also able to mostly stick to my self-imposed work schedule of just doing YCHs (gummy shark specifically). Speaking of, the final count of gummy shark YCHs I'd done in July this year is:.... 153! Wow! That's kind of a lot. And you know what, a lot of them were pretty off-base, too! On top of the 48 pieces I did for Artfight, I guess it makes sense that I'd be a little sore, physically. Crazy enough, we also had time to go out a lot in July, too. Not anything major, just enough to get away from The Screens.

So, all-in-all, I'd say July was pretty good for a July. I'm still kind of in "Artfight" mode, too. I don't know what to do without refreshing the AF page or drawing attacks and revenges in the morning to a calming playlist. As of picking back up writing this blog (it's now the 12th, but I'll keep the date as it is on opening), I'm feeling rather somberly nostalgic. For the event, and how pleasant the morning-afternoon schedule was. Ah! I know it would be improbable, but I am one of those who wishes Artfight lasted just a little bit longer. Of course, I also understand that despite this being a common sentiment, there is a bit of irony, considering it feels like most people stopped playing after the first week. Ah, but I won't linger on that sort of note.

I'm really happy with the art I was able to make this year! It makes me want to draw more for myself and my characters with the same fervor. But finding time for that sort of thing is another story altogether. I suppose it's more like, justifying the time as opposed to finding it, but, you know. Semantics. It's not easy lol

Anyway, it's nice to have a reminder of how much I do enjoy drawing. And how worth it it all is when someone is really really happy over the art I've made for them! And how crushing it is when someone doesn't seem that interested lol but I don't need a reminder of that, really. Whew, I'll probably delete that last part. I should focus on the positives more, in general. What can you do, though, it's a process.

Art! It's fun, it's cathartic, it's amazing seeing a thought come to life in a visual way like that. From my own hands and from others, I love to see that life.

Thoughts On: ArtFight

June 21, 2026 .. John the Revelator - Depeche Mode

Oh boy, he has thoughts on Artfight.

Three teams huh? Pretty cool. I don't really get why some people seem really bent out of shape about it. It's fine to be disappointed in the theming choices, but every year I'm surprised by how much people care about this sort of thing. Or seemingly care. In truth, I don't think they care that much, but want to feel righteous in their feelings, and just saying "aw :(" doesn't quite cut it these days. I don't want this to turn into me belaboring upon how detrimental social media is when it comes to expression of opinions, or how we interact with our feelings, internally and externally, though.

Well, first off, I'm Team Mystery, haha. Second, when I'd heard someone else mention the idea of more than two themes, I scoffed at thought. Not because I thought it was stupid or pointless or nonsensical, but because the first thing that I thought of was: "That would be a nightmare for the ArtFight staff to manage." I still stand by this thought, btw, but also the longer I thought on this, the longer I realized: oh god that's exactly what they're going to do. It made sense, I'd heard other people saying part of why they weren't doing voting this year was because it would "spoil the surprise they have in mind for the 10 year anniversary." Which made no sense until the idea of three (or more) teams was introduced to me. I remember Kells, Seth, and I spending a good chunk of that afternoon, roughly a week before the official reveal, bouncing theoretical team ideas off each other. Some serious, some less so. None of them were even close to "Comedy", "Tragedy", and "Mystery", btw.

Speaking of the Artfight Staff, I'm not one to pass judgement on others whose shoes I'm not in, but even I have to admit that the whole thing with the rules was a huge mess. When it comes to "DNIs", well, there's a reason why I don't personally use one. I'm honestly quite neutral on them, though, so I didn't really care when they allowed them temporarily lol. What I do wish is that they would have just picked one and stuck with it. They were never going to please everyone or quell the arguing once that box was open. As for the other rules, for the most part, I feel as if they were just poorly worded and thus misunderstood. The subsequent rewordings were marginally better, but I truly feel like the staff could benefit from doing a few extra passes over their community posts and how they sound before sending them out into the world lol.

While it doesn't apply to me, when it comes to things that are disallowed to be depicted on-site, I find the line being drawn at "school shooters fictional or otherwise" extremely funny. Not in a "haha" way, but a "wait really?" way. It's their site, they can draw that line wherever they'd like, but I feel like there are other dark-OC-archetypes that I would have thought they should ban before getting there. Just you wait, one of these entries is going to be me going on my soapbox about how there's nothing theoretically wrong with making edgy, dark OCs, but how so few people know how to write them.

Anyway, ArtFight is coming up so so soon oh my god, I'm starting to get the pre-ArtFight anxiety. I'm so nervous bro! I also have several refs started and none of them finished, so! It's fine, I'm sure I won't procrastinate on them until it's nearly July -- Oh my god is it really less than 10 days away??

Thoughts On?

June 20, 2026 .. All Apologies - Nirvana

My first blog post! yay!

Anyone who knows me personally knows I love to yap. If you only know me from social media, though, this may come as a surprise, as, on there, I pretty much post art quietly and make myself scarce. I can ostensibly go long spans without saying anything much at all outside of art posts. I'll be honest: Social Media scares me. It has for a long time. There's very little about it that doesn't scare me, the thousands of eyes on you at any given time, the scrutiny of bigoted strangers who will say or do something damaging and then never show up again, consequence free for those who know how to skirt just under the myopic eyes of the Panopticon. People who hold grudges against me scouring over every post I make with malintent, hoping for something to mock to their friends, or looking for anything that will bolster any conspiracy theories they may have about me. All the while feeling ironically invisible, desperate for validation that what I create is good enough to stand beside that of my peers. Eugh. What a downer way to start this. The thing is, I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.

Anyway, I'm using this more personal space as a way to just. Talk. I can't say I'll be wholly open the way I am in person, but, I'm already feeling more comfortable with speaking my thoughts here. I consider myself an extrovert, and honestly, what I did like about Social Media was how easy it was to make friends and speak to people. Form communities and join in on conversations without feeling like an intruder. Well, that's how it used to feel. Regardless, I like to yap. And that's what I plan on doing here.

Consider this an introduction to the blog! Things could change format-wise, I could get skittish and delete some entries, or edit them ("George Lucas" them, if you will). Anything could happen. This is where I'll put my thoughts on anything.