Day 1 - Tender

Day 1 - Tender

When I go to sleep at night Eight legged dreams arise Cobwebs in my eyes Never, never gonna wake up -- "8 Legged Dreams" by Unlike Pluto

Oops, partied too hard on Halloween 💀 Technically in this household, Halloween goes on till Nov 1st for us so this still counts lol

MyungJin's dressed as a Moon Bun (men's costume). Bidan felt it was appropriate to be a sexy nun for the irony. And Vance just really likes pink and any excuse to wear heels :)

Stay tuned for Ismaire's companion piece =u=)/

Day 7 - Happy Birthday

The heat of the combat test had worn off, and left the two thoroughly punished teens leaning against each other as they waited for results, or dismissal, or... anything. In the brief lull, Darr finally mumbled what he'd been debating over all day - no one else would say it to the boarding school's cold-hearted queen bee, so he should.

"... Happy Birthday, Cee."

Cecilia startled faintly against Darr's back. He felt her crane her neck toward him, taking some pride in the fact that it probably ached to do so.

"You remembered." It was hard to tell if she was glad or annoyed.

"Sure."

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" She elbowed him - right in the ribs where she'd clawed into him earlier. "Got in trouble so Dr. W would put you in this test with me."

"Nobody should be alone with Sr. Rayos on their birthday." He shrugged against her.

Her uncomfortable pause said enough. Even she didn't want to be tested against Vidal Rayos, the school's hulking disciplinarian, and her only choice of opponent if another student hadn't gotten himself in hot water just in time.

"God, you're stupid. But... thanks."

Day 15 - Let's Party

Giuliano loves any excuse to flex his foxfire... especially when the party crasher is pretty and feisty.

Proof of life that ismaire and I didn’t just suddenly drop off the grid. Real life and job took priority so our sketchember prompts have taken a big pause 😮‍💨

In the meantime please allow us to share the shenanigans of our family. Featuring Trevor, the middle child tuxie, and Cereza, our 1yr old rescue from Idaho. They’re navigating around the Sticky Paws (check them out at the Jackson Galaxy shop), which is mildly successful 😅

DTIYS of an illustration by Kazuya Minekura. Needed a subject that I wanted to experiment with workflow and brushes. Plus, meditating over old fandom is so therapeutic.

TL;DR: Life is short. Just go ahead and write your story and draw your art. If you want to do something with your art, know that it won't be easy but it's possible as long as you keep learning, make good connections, and don't stop.

(Reflection of current art journey under read more)

This is of one of my favorite illustrations by Kazuya Minekura. If there's one big, major influence in my art journey, it's the creator of Gensomaden Saiyuki. I was maybe in 5th grade when I discovered the manga, which coincided with me seeing the anime on cable. A retelling of a Chinese folktale with a Japanese perspective: this was so appealing to me from harmonizing different cultures into one story, to beautiful men getting mixed with supernatural horror. This may as well have been my queer awakening then.

There was so much to be introspective about while drawing this… like how 6th grade me couldn't comprehend why people treated gay/queer as different from straight, my love for Asian folklore and mythology, and this burning desire to draw anything and everything. It only seemed appropriate that I'd gravitate towards Minekura as an art idol. And despite people's criticism for it, this is a foundation that I have no regrets in.

I remembered how much I wanted to emulate Minekura when I was younger. It's such a striking style! Unfortunately, my art journey has seen a lot of stop-and-go to the point I couldn't comprehend the progress made. There have been times where I just resented my art because I felt directionless with my creativity. Thanks to Ismaire and some art friends, though, I'm actually happy lately to see how much my "art style" evolved to where it is today.

[***]

While I was finishing up the rendering, I couldn't help wondering how Ms. Minekura had been doing since I last read Saiyuki Reload Vol. 4. Was she even still around? What about her other works, like Wild Adapter? I knew that she had a blog, but whenever I took a look at it in the past, the updates were sporadic then that it may as well have been a dead blog.

Then, after one more bout of curiosity, I came across her twitter/X profile.

It was both relieving and energizing to see so many works that I didn't know she had drawn then! I was so happy to see she seems to be thriving with her works, but I was surprised to see that she was still contending with many health problems. I had to pause in my scrolling through her profile at one point. How she could sound so positive and cheerful while she's dealing with Cushing's syndrome now? Last I heard anything major, she was about to undergo surgery for a tumor on her jaw -- and I only found out about that update through an online fan news years back o-o;;

I can't assume too much about Minekura's personal life, but with what she was willing to share with her fans online, I have a more nuanced respect for her as an adult creator.

It's so reassuring to see a creator like Minekura continue growing her creativity. I only hope to aspire to her level of good attitude despite IRL hurdles, while having the means to share such a prolific world for everyone else to enjoy.