Luna King

Hello!

While I tried doodling here and there in my youth, I didn't formally start learning art until I was 27 years old. 27! I had lived as long as Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, and Kurt Cobain had for their entire lives, creative output and all, and here I was like a newborn deer scrambling to get my footing in art!

I started this because it was a bit of a rough spot for me. I left my job as an engineer and had just started my PhD program, which was effectively a full-time job making just enough to cover groceries and my share of the rent, but not much else. Everything else - games, books (thank you public library), even taking a taxi - was considered extraneous. While I had commissioned art several times before then, suddenly I couldn't justify the cost. There were many artists out there whose art I adored and wanted to support, and I had lots of characters and things I wanted to see made real!

So, I picked up my pencil and an old sketchbook and I started drawing. Home late from class? I would cool down with some doodle practice. In the lab on a sunday waiting for an experiment to finish? That was a golden 30 minute window to draw. It was rough. Rougher than rough. Even though I had tried drawing before, I had no concept of anatomy, posing, layout, composition, color(!), or style. Yes, I would get frustrated ("why doesn't it look on the page like it looks in my head? Q~Q"), but I learned that 1) artists are very supportive, and my friends were happy to give advice and feedback as I grew, and 2) visualizing and creativity are a practiced skill! It takes time, but Idk if I can live without doing art. Its fun and I love the high you get when you look at something and go "I made that!!!" Even my old, rough art...sure I cringe at it, but its fun to revisit. Its something I made,

So why am I yelling about all this (again)? Because for some reason, here more so than the site with an actual ai bot built in, here right on tumblr I somehow end up seeing more ai generated crap everywhere. Maybe its a factor of community size. Or people in my niche just wanting more "content" to wallop their scallops too (I do get lots of hypno community stuff on my dash). Its disheartening and frankly just gross.

"But I wanted to create something to share with the community!" Pick up a pencil. Make a shitty photoshop meme. Write it out as a story. It's what weve been doing for literally decades now.

"But I tried art and it seems hard or I cant do it because xyz!" Look, Im a dumb bitch who never thought she had a creative bone in her body. If I can do it, so can you. And if art isn't for you? See the previous answer above. Or as we say in science, vide supra.

And also this has worked as a honeypot for ai dorks to block lol. To fundamentally misunderstand what it means to create and enjoy creating is sad, and I hope someday they will realize the joy of playing in the sandbox, building something from nothing. You cant get that satisfaction, that joy, that catharsis from a computer generating it for you

Call your Senators and pressure them to vote to OPPOSE HR 7147 emergency funding bill which passed the House on Thursday. This bill will give ICE 10 billion to continue and expand their operations. This is the most important thing you can do to support us right now. This is especially true if you have a Democratic senator. They need to get 7 dems to flip to pass. This is being brought upon us because we are unapologetic Blue State. This is politically motivated. Please impress on your senators that they must hold the line.

Support the economic boycotts that Ice Out MN general strike started yesterday. There are a bunch of petitions/letters to various companies that support ICE and allow them to continue to terrorize us. Please sign the petition and demand they stand with Minnesota against ICE. Letter to Hilton Letter to Target Letter to Enterprise Letter to Home Depot Letter to D.R. Horton (construction company)

Art tips have arrived <3

1. Sketch from real life, this means sitting down and taking 20 minutes to sketch what’s on your desk or the view outside your window. Work loosely and inaccurately at first but then slowly start to focus more on the details.

2. Learn to see the shapes that build up an object or creature. Work on something that is small and relatively simple like a cube or cylinder at first and then slowly work up to animal legs, planes of the face, or human anatomy.

3. I highly recommend adding diversity to your work! try and include a variety of styles, body types, races, features and cultures! This can ONLY improve your art as you’re learning how to work with different shapes and colors. The only thing to consider with this tip, is that if you are going to depict real people or cultures (whether directly or indirectly) you need to research and make sure you’re doing so in a respectful way!

4. If you like a certain creators artwork and you want your art to look like theirs find a small part of their art and try to fit it into your own style, for example, the way that the show arcane shades the eyes, or the way that into the spiderverse uses small dots and lines to add texture.

5. TRACE TRACE TRACE! trace 3d models, photos you’ve taken, reference images. it’s totally fine to trace as long as you’re being legal and professional about it by this I mean DONT TRACE OTHER ARTISTS WORK unless you have permission! You are free to trace my work and even use it as a reference image or a compositional reference if you’d like!

6. Draw for yourself and no one else! Take the time to create projects or pieces simply bc you want to. Don’t let people pressure you into sharing your work if you don’t want to, and remember that your creative work has inherent value no matter how ‘good’ it is.

7. Art can be so many different things and it is a tool that you can manipulate to your liking. If you’re unhappy with how your art looks, try drawing something in the opposite of how you usually draw it. If your current style has highly stylized features, see what happens if you try and draw the features smaller.

8. Don’t throw out your earliest art! You’ll wanna look back on all your progress! I still have my first sketchbook ever and boy howdy is it such a jump from then to now. It’s quite encouraging to look through how much you’ve improved!

I’ve seen a lot of writing on aftercare for subs, but never seen anything about Dom drop or the kind of aftercare that D-types need. Consequently, many people assume that aftercare is only necessary for subs, and many people don’t know what kind of aftercare to ask for or provide.

It’s natural to feel guilty when you’re inflicting pain or cruelty to someone you care about. And like with everybody, a lack of adequate aftercare can be discouraging or even dangerous. Here’s some aftercare talking points I tend to like hearing from my subs that you can use as jumping off points:

Reassure your Dom that everything they said and did during the scene was wanted and consensual. Go over and discuss anything that ended up being less than pleasurable or any sore spots that they hit if not.

If the scene went smoothly, reassure them that you are capable of saying no and/or using your safe word. Reassure them that despite roleplaying a loss of control, you know that you still were able to consent during your scene.

Reassure your Dom that you aren’t actually scared of them; and reassure them that you don’t feel like you’re being taken advantage of, nor do you think that they will.

Reassure your Dom that you trust them, you know that they are a responsible dominant, and that you don’t feel afraid that they will abuse their power over you.

Reassure your Dom that they are a good person, and that they are not evil or bad for exercising restrained and consensual cruelty during a scene.

Reassure your Dom that they don’t need to feel guilty for enjoying themselves when they are dominant with you, and that you enjoy your scenes with them as much as they do.

And some other things to keep in mind regarding aftercare as a whole....

Make sure you end the conversation/evening properly. Even if the Dom doesn’t experience Dom drop immediately, it’s very easy for Doms to feel used or like pleasure machines if they feel like they’ve been left hanging.

^^ Especially if you’re sexting or doing BDSM long distance! Do not stop responding without giving closure and reassuring your Dom that you’re okay! If you disappear without saying anything, it’s very possible that your Dom will get anxious and worry that they’ve upset or hurt you.

Check in later. Aftercare doesn’t always have to take place immediately after a scene, especially if they felt like they didn’t need much aftercare afterwards or you’ve had an informal scene and decided to skip it. Dom drop can still settle in a while after a scene has ended, so don’t ever assume you’re automatically on the same page and that care won’t be needed.

Make sure to always offer regardless. Nobody should ever have to ask for aftercare! Don’t assume that your Dom is okay and needs nothing just because they’re in control during your scenes.

And finally, Doms: don’t be afraid to ask for reassurance on the specific points you worry about! Subs can’t read your mind, and they can’t always know if the aftercare they’re giving is enough unless you tell them. You will not lose your submissive’s respect by asking for aftercare as long if they are committed to engaging in conscientious kink.

As someone who likes to be a hypnotist and who likes to be hypnotised, I can tell you that knowing how hypnosis works is not just interesting for hypnotists. Knowledge of hypnosis can also make you a better hypnotic subject.

If you think hypnosis is something you passively undergo, you're wrong. It's your subconscious, your mind doing all of the work. The hypnotist tells you what to feel or imagine, but that doesn't mean you have no say in it. Your mind may refuse to cooperate if you don't understand what to do, or if you really don't want it, because it's still you, no matter how deeply hypnotised. And if you get to know how this process works, you can teach your mind to refine the suggestions and only comply when you think it's appropriate.

When you're hypnotised, it's difficult to think clearly about whether what the hypnotist is telling is actually a good idea, and the hypnotist is using techniques that are designed to get you to just follow along. It may seem impossible to resist, but really it isn't. It's your imagination, you doing all the work. The hypnotist is just sitting there, talking. That kinda breaks the hot illusion that this hypnotist is bending you to their will, I know, and I was disappointed about that too at first.

There is this strange doublethink quality to being hypnotised, it's difficult to describe. When a hypnotist says "Your hands are stuck now, you can not move them at all" some people feel like they really are stuck, while others feel like it's not working and they can still move, when in reality it's both. It's a weird feeling, but it's very useful to become aware of it.

There is a moment, just after a hypnotic trigger, that's magical. Your brain is still processing: "Was that my trigger? Did they really say that? What am I supposed to do again?" It's the same as when the hypnotist asks you to wake up from hypnosis. This is why some people don't wake up when the hypnotist tells them to, because they expect it to happen automatically, when in reality it's up to them to open their eyes. Pay attention to that magical moment, because that's when you can just say: "Nah, not now."

If you can say "Not now", does that mean you'll never be hypnotised again? On the contrary. Responding to the suggestions of the hypnotist, vividly imagining what they tell you to imagine, is an active skill. Practising this skill means becoming better at recognising suggestions and responding to them quickly and intensely. Practise makes perfect and a hypnotist can teach you to become better at responding to suggestion. Or you can practise by yourself, by listening to a file and waking yourself up, or refusing the suggestions, for example.

So, is hypnosis dangerous at all, if you can just refuse? I think the danger of hypnosis lies in ignorance only. An unskilled hypnotist can place a command that doesn't work as intended because they didn't think all the wording through, or a command that gets triggered unintentionally. So this danger can be avoided if you know how to refuse a suggestion. And with experience, you can learn how to adjust suggestions yourself, either to make them work better, or not at all.

If you know how to recognise suggestions and how hypnosis feels, you can never be caught off-guard by an evil hypnotist trying sneaky covert techniques on you. You know how to wake up and how to refuse. Again, danger averted.

The only real danger lies in the moments when you can't make it stop, like if you're new to hypnosis, or if you've been hypnotised so many times that you just can't think straight anymore. In those moments, it's the responsibility of the hypnotist to take care of you, just like it's the responsibility of a Dominant to take care of their partner when they're in subspace. It's wise to negotiate with your partner about these situations before letting it come this far.

There is a grey area called amnesia; hypnosis can be used to forget things. It can be lots of fun to forget certain things for a while, but if you can't remember that you consented to what's happening, things can get iffy. And nonconsensual amnesia can be really unpleasant and difficult to fix. So I recommend you really think about that and negotiate with your partner before trying amnesia.

learn self-hypnosis Trance is trance, wether you're being hypnotized by someone else, by a video or audio-file or just by yourself, it's still teaching you what it's like to follow suggestions, to go deeper or to wake up. Practicing these skills will make you better at going into trance in the future, which many hypnotists appreciate. Not everyone likes a tough nut to crack.

You can even give yourself suggestions that will improve your confidence and safety as a subject, for example, suggestions that remind you of your safeword, that help you to speak up if you need something (like going to the bathroom), even when hypnotised, or that help you recognise and refuse unwelcome suggestions. I sometimes do some self-trancing when I want to make sure there are no lingering effects after I've used a hypnosis file online.

learn more about inductions and suggestions Once you know something about the technique, you can more easily recognize suggestions, and therefore decide whether you want to accept them or not, and why. When you know something about inductions, you can figure out which ones will work for you and which ones will not, and which ones you just don't like. Once you know something about what hypno play could entail, you can make an informed decision about what you want from that, and you can more effectively communicate with your partner about your wishes and your limits.

ask your hypnotist to tell you about their experience and where they learned to do hypnosis Get to know them. Not just whether they have any experience at all, but you also want to know whether they are just a hypnotherapist who wants to have some fun in their free time, or a mind-control dom who wants to teach you new things, or a spiritual person who wants to help you grow. Make sure you want the same things. Get to know each other. And don't hesitate to conclude that this is not the hypnotist for you. I know, it's hard to find a kinky hypnotist. But really, you're better off not having play, than having things go awry.

ask the hypnotist to include safety mechanism in their suggestions The hypnotist can remind you of your safeword and your ability to say it anytime, no matter how deeply hypnotised, or reassure you that hey never want you to feel pressured to do anything. They can also include limits to their suggestions: only when I ask you, only when you feel safe, until the end of this session. Such limits could prevent unwanted or lingering effects.

If someone tries to hypnotise you before you've done the getting to know each other part, or before they've negotiated with you about what they should and shouldn't do with you, don't go into trance. Bite your tingue, squeeze your hand, whatever you need to stop yourself from going into trance. This is a really unpleasant situation, and a totally dick move. Walk away. Don't answer their message. Or get angry, that's totally justified.

Here's some more advice pulled from my class for people who like to be hypnotised that I teach at Charmed:

Hypno is a skill you can practice and get better at like playing the piano. It's unhelpful to get frustrated because you can't do it perfectly from the get go. Here's some things you can practice as a beginner:

Just going in trance and noticing what that feels like for you

Using your safeword/waking yourself up

Resisting/adjusting suggestions

My advice is to take time with a practice partner to work on these things first without getting into hot hypno fantasies. Much like starting out with rope, practice the basics first.

Here are some ways you can practice active cooperation during a hypno scene to help you get better at following suggestions and feeling hypnotised:

When the hypnotist says "you're feeling soo… <example>" try it. Imagine what that feels like. Use your internal dialogue to help hypnotise you. Just repeat some of the hypnotist's words in your head or out loud "Soo deep…" Maybe your inner dialogue can make it into a mantra. Some people find this really hot and that can be a motivator to do it more, and to feel the effects more.

Practice responding and adjusting a trigger. Triggers are inside your head, they are yours to give to other people to use (or not). You decide what the trigger makes you do or feel and who gets to use it.

Play along. It’s ok to fake it till you make it, because that’ll build neural pathways to help suggestions work better in the future.

Practice saying no. Sometimes you don't want to a do a thing right now. A trusted play partner is a very good person to practice this important skill with. It's also good practice for them to say "ok, thank you for stopping when you need to. Let's do something else." Maybe it's helpful to take turns practicing this.

Figure out, through practice, which modalities work for you. Do you react strongly to sexy hypnotist voices? You might have a preference for auditory stuff. Do you dream vivid images when in trance? You might be a visually oriented person. Or do you have trouble with visuals? That's valid. It's helpful to know these things about yourself so you can tell hypnotists about it.

Install safeties and contingencies in your head. If you're not yet comfortable doing this through self-hypnosis, you can enlist the help of a hypnotist friend. "I will only go into trance when I feel safe and comfortable doing so" or "Whenever I'm uncomfortable or in need of assistance, I will easily and automatically use my safeword" or "whenever a suggestion would make me uncomfortable or move me to a headspace I don't want to go, I'll find it easy to just ignore the suggestion".

If you're a person who spontaneously forgets what happened in trance, you can learn to remember it through practice. If you're a person who has never experienced hypnotic amnesia and it's something you'd like to try, there are ways to practice and figure out how to make it work for you.

The Unconscious Mind is just a metaphor, a way to help us understand how the human mind works. It's not a separate entity in your brain, your unconscious decisions/actions are your decisions/actions. Understanding your subconscious reactions helps you understand yourself, and you can work together with the unconscious part of you to keep you safe and improve yourself.

Because hypnosis is happening inside your mind, you are the one most able to protect and advocate for yourself. Sometimes you are the only person who knows that something is off, so you need to tell your partner about it, or they simply do not know. So practice communicating your needs during a kink scene, constant communication is really helpful. A sigh of "this feels so good…" can be just as useful to your partner as "wait, hold on, I need something".