Okay, so in light of recent events regarding the loss of my job. I've come to a decision. I'm going to start focusing on original content. Instead of just fanart.
Now, this doesn't mean I'm gonna stop fanart altogether. I still love drawing my favourite characters. And my fav franchises, but ultimately, I wanna self-publish my own comic book and maybe make a living of it.
I have two stories I'm working on.
One is called:
"Returning to our Roots," a cyberpunk furry story following Debbie, a goth albino rabbit girl, trying to survive an increasingly hostile world. She's trying to keep her friends and herself safe from a local string of dissappearances. But everything comes to a head when a secret of the world is revealed that will shatter what anyone; corpo, anthro, or human knew about all they hold dear.
The other:
"Purgatory has a queen." An origin and life story of my demonsona and their quest not to rule all of hell or raze hevean. But rather carving herself her own little demented paradise in the Void.
I'll try to keep everyone updated on the projects. When the first few pages for either are ready, I'll post them here. Eventually, I'll try to get a patreon or Ko-fi going so you guys can support. But for now. This is just the awareness post.
Also, P.S. @moociaoafterdark My friend, i'm sorry to @ u, but I don't know if you will see this otherwise. Only because I'm not putting Warhammer40k in the tags.
Daily reminder to myself that:
I don't need to write for anyone but myself.
My personal writing has no deadlines. I'm not falling behind anyone, because I'm not in competition.
There is nothing to prove.
Originality is not the end-all be-all. If someone else has explored the same idea as you before, that doesn't make my version any less valuable or meaningful.
I can write what I want.
There is no reason to hold back anything on the page. No reason for shame or hiding or preemptive self-judgement. I have no audience unless I choose to let them in.
The "quality" of my work does not determine my value as an artist or a person.
I don't need to write like anyone else
Not everyone will understand and that's okay.
IT DOESN"T NEED TO BE PERFECT
Or even "complete"
In fact, let go of the idea of perfection entirely.
Writing should be for joy, growth, and expression.
Sincere question to any other writers: what's some advice you have about not comparing yourself to other writers? I've kind of just written in my own bubble for most of my life and a lot of my work has never seen the light of day because I'm still in the phase of my journey where the idea of sharing my writing makes me incredibly anxious. Being on this site and seeing how many other people are writing such good stuff, especially in the same fandoms as me, makes that feeling worse. I guess I'm afraid of not being good enough, original enough, or creative enough to "keep up" with other people and make something worthwhile. And that makes me not want to write, and I hate that feeling. This is just something I really want to work on within myself, because it can be overwhelming, and is holding me back a lot.
Just a personal post, with a dash of Astarion because this is my life now
So I've gone my whole life denying myself writing fanfiction (despite being a writer since forever) because of the powerful internalized autistic fear of being "cringe". But after playing BG3 I just can't do it anymore. Astarion as a character just inspires me too much and I have so many scenes I want to write that in my mind, its criminal weren't included in the game. Honestly, once I gave myself that permission, I've written more this past month than I had in the past six months of my original story. It's been so fun and rewarding and has taught me a lot about what mental hang-ups I still have as a writer, even when it comes to work I know I'll never share. I'm basically just novelizing the story of my Tav and Astarion now, and it's so much fun. I'm sure a lot of my ideas have been done a million other times by other people, but this is my version, and I'm reminding myself that there's value in that. I'm still learning that it's okay to be self-indulgent and "cringe" sometimes. I just want to see the characters I love be happy and get the treatment they deserve, even if I have to write it myself. I'm being creative and it makes me happy, so maybe that's what matters? It's freaking me out now to even post this, but I'm really trying to learn how to express myself honestly again after so long masking and being so concerned with appeasing others. The fear of judgement or "doing something wrong" is hard to get over. Maybe someone else relates.
I used to write about people around me. In Bahasa, of course. Here are they. The next one is in progress so please wait if you will.
Anda, The Series (1) | (2) | (3) | (4)
“Maybe in a perfect world. But the world wasn’t perfect it was cruel. And maybe that’s why he left; someone so perfect can’t survive in a cruel world.”
- my novel
When I first saw a broken little bird by the side of the road
Abandoned, hurt, alone in the world
Of course I felt pity, that’s only natural
So I decided to take that poor lost chick in
I’d be the one who’d save it
When no one else in the world would
I raised that chick
Fed it, cared for it, guided it through life
I gave love to that chick
If that little bird pecks me
I know it doesn’t mean it
But it still hurts
It can’t help it
Since it has never known how to be loved
It is only natural
The pain is worth it
For it is nothing
Compared to the pain that chick has known
It is worth it
And I know the chick is grateful
For all my efforts
The little bird sometimes
Shows me love too
But really, an Ave’s love is incompatible with me
A bird cannot give me anything
A bird cannot understand me
A bird’s song is devoid of meaning to my ears
But I am the one who must care for you
For, there is no one else
In the entire world who would
And I know you know this
And I know you are grateful to me
I know you love me
And if one day you can sing a love song to the whole world
That should be enough.
But
The world is not ready for you
You are not ready for the world
The beasts out there will tear you apart
You know this, you know
The other animals are cruel
I am the only one who will be kind to you
You do know that, right?
You are nothing without me
A lost bird who can’t possibly survive
Without me guiding you
What do I want from you?
Something you can’t give me
But a “thank you for saving me” will do
Your Gratitude
Your Devotion
Your Love
My struggle is all worth it
In the end
Because I am the one who saved you.
...Ah, I see. We are both such innocent sinners.
As you grow
Surely you must become restless
In this gilded cage that you flew into and I locked
For you need freedom
But I sought to bind you
With caring and loving words
I stifled your tune
The same tune that I had worked to convince you
Was beautiful
I gave myself
Meaning, purpose, reason
Because you were not enough
At the end of the day
An Ave’s love is incompatible with me
Perhaps all I really wanted
Was for you to be able to go and sing your song
To those who can appreciate it
But I was never a selfless person either.
I won’t pretend my wishes were ever pure
Certainly not as pure as you
But even so, I wish you nothing but happiness in the future.
Please, go and sing a song of love to the whole world.
I reach out my hand to grasp something ethereal
My body disappears and I am flying in the sky
I am in a dream
I open my eyes and feel your happiness
Though I must eventually fall back to earth
I will fly away again soon
If I want to forget everything at once
I close my eyes
I reach out
I fall towards the sun
I melt into the sky
My face copies your smile
I can only see color in your sky
It explodes and swirls around me
And gently whispers secrets only to me
And when the sun is setting
I will reflect your tear-filled eyes
I feel and see so vividly
Everything else seems pale and bleak
I realize this is the most alive I’ve ever been
Cycling through joy, grief, and rage
And starbursts of color surrounding me
Am I flying or sinking?
I only know I never want to come back to earth.
The curtains are drawn
The window has been tightly latched
The lock, tightly chained
No, no, it was a forbidden door
No, no, the key has been thrown away
In darkness, the child slumbers
There is something ancient she is unaware of
No, no, you must not think of it
No, no, you must not speak its name
At bedtime, yes, close your eyes
Follow this precisely
You will not be found
Yes, yes, listen to me
Yes, yes, do exactly as I say
As your footsteps echo on the stairwell
Did you feel it stir?
Tread carefully
So as not to wake it
Step in all the right places, and it will not hear you
But if it smells your fear it will all be over
No, no, you must not fear it
No, no, you must not give it form
One step, two steps, do not be careless
Three steps, four steps, do not trip up
One mistake is all it takes
No, no, it is a forbidden movement
No, no, it is a forbidden thought
Take one step forward and fall back three
You flail and struggle to grasp on to something, anything
But you blink just once and everything has disappeared
Yes, yes, goodbye to your innocence
Yes, yes, goodbye to the things you love
All paths lead here
It is unavoidable
No matter how you hide you will find yourself at this door eventually
No, no, do not let it smell you
No, no, do not let it taste you
You try to hide
But there is nowhere to go
There is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing to be afraid of
But you are afraid
And it is awake.