#btmotley

Lol, I definitely do not have enough fic ideas for all those books, so one it will be - though I appreciate the enthusiasm!!

That would be great. Commentors on YT can be so mean and entitled, though. They are here on tumblr, too, yeah…I just hope it’s a good experience.

that’s kinda the dilemma i face? 

on youtube, you need to develop some kind of persona. even if it’s your honest thoughts, it ought to be entertaining. people enjoy confidence, they enjoy seeing their fighter enter the arena With Logic As Their Blade(tm)... and there is a bit of honesty in that. 

the problem comes when they claim to be “as objective as possible”. there’s both a “taste” and “knowledge” aspect to media criticism, and if someone actually acquires such knowledge, they tend to realize that their preferences are born out of their own context and desires. not “objectivity”. at that point, they can make a good argument WITHOUT relying on that platitude. 

if not funny, i want to be self-aware. i’ve made my script, but i’m trying to figure out how to frame it. i’ve got one-liners in my 1st draft like “it’s a good thing i’m here, cause i’m right about everything, so i’ll tell you how to feel about SU”. this is clearly very tongue-in-cheek, but it kinda taps into a genuine parody of both myself and that kind of youtuber.

i’d enjoy venting my frustrations about the dangerously high youtube room temperature... but can i do that, while making it clear that it’s both directed outwards and inwards, because no one is as “objective” as these people claim to be? and... would it be cathartic to anyone but me? should i take them down a peg by parodying that self-righteous persona, while revealing myself as emotional, biased, and vulnerable (as literally everyone is)? or should i just keep the tone i’m already singing here? 

There’s nothing special about what Lapis did this time. That’s exactly the problem, actually.

What I’m hoping is different this time, is Steven. He’s had a lot of time to learn and grow as a person since Ocean Gem, or even since Alone at Sea. And he’s developing a more nuanced moral view of the world, especially when it comes to Rose Quartz. Even episodes like Rocknaldo show his development.

If he can apply those lessons to Lapis, then he can hold her accountable for the ways she keeps hurting people, even though he understands what’s driving her to do it.

thank you so much to everyone!!! i didn’t ignore all the messages i got, i wanted to answer them properly (esp when i’m not at work or when i’m in the right frame of mind). thank you so much for understanding and all the kind and encouraging words ;; i didn’t want pity since i just wanted to explain (it made me feel a lot better after doing so), but i didn’t expect to get so many messages! thank you again ;; i feel a lot better after getting these messages, talking to friends about my problem, and accepting it as part of life and moving on.... it seems like a small thing, but losing one of the things i can do/have that makes me happy is just...like jumping into a blackhole. ahhahaha

i hope you guys have a great weekend! love you all! <333

(2) ...how could she have such deep feelings about someone she didn't really interact with (probably)? Or maybe, is this grief genuine because the BD being presented is made up of the old Labradorite and a different Lapis that was loyal to Blue and is letting her grieve? Or something else entirely? Any thoughts on that?

My thinking at this point is that current Blue Diamond is not a new fixture.

I doubt just anybody could sidle into the position of Diamond, much less be a total dead ringer for the past Blue (if my theory is correct, outside of number of arms). And even if my theory is right, she’s clearly sure enough in her position that on rare occasions she will actually challenge Yellow.

I don’t think she’s faking her grief at all, and I do think she knew Pink personally and cared about her.

Roughly- I think a lot about the character of Lapis, and, how Lapis is very used to hiding and sneaking around. In particular, there’s been several times now where Garnet has split into Ruby and Sapphire specifically to sneak past an enemy who would identify Garnet in a heartbeat.

So I have the theory that Blue Diamond used very much those same tactics.

Lapis never says exactly why she came to Earth. My hunch is she was hunting Rose- either for revenge, or because something major was not adding up about Pink Diamond. After all, we see Lapis react very strongly to Steven’s shield (that he inherited from Rose) but Lapis also so far has not said a word about Rose Quartz or any of the Diamonds. To me that suggests a topic she’s avoiding in order to not implicate herself.

I think that Blue Diamond often split into her components, secretly- and Lapis would run off to be secret eyes and ears. With her maneuverability, and her unassuming appearance as “merely” a Lapis Lazuli, she could get away with that easily.

But someone would notice if Blue Diamond disappeared. Someone might need to urgently speak with their leader and panic if they couldn’t get hold of her. Yellow Diamond suggests the Diamonds need to be on call constantly and while that’s somewhat of Yellow’s workaholic nature showing, I think there’s a kernel of truth to it as well.

This is where I think the person currently acting as Blue comes in. I think that she was born, in a way, to be a Diamond in effigy.

When Blue disappears, she fills the gap. She acts as Blue Diamond. Seemingly, she can use at least some of Blue’s powers- something I’d wonder if it has anything to do with the idea that Diamonds can be evoked by proxy.

But this is the easy way that her present situation could have come about. Because, again- while we’re not sure why, Lapis was sneaking around alone on Earth. And again, if Lapis was so sure her partner was safe on Homeworld, that’d suggest she left her partner in a safe place.

So... Lapis would disappear, having everything neatly in order to hold over until her return. And then she... actually disappeared, and seemingly, something else befell her partner.

But now why would the double have such a strong relationship with Pink, you might ask? Well, factoring Rose Diamond theory briefly... Rose is fascinated by people. Given the Zoo, it’s fair to assume she always has been.

@btmotley I’ll go ahead and answer this on this blog  because I’m the most active here and maybe others are interested in reading this?

First of all, I use Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 3.

For my brushes, I use a lot of default ones in Photoshop and have an odd collection of ‘traditional’ sets with interesting textures. But I use the same ones for sketching and inking and only varey with the pressure sensitivity most of the time. 

Normal is used for sketches and almost every everyday kinda artwork I do. 

Stylized is used for more ‘comic’ style stuff like my beach kid portraits or that newest Merle comic.

Painting is used for colouring things, backgrounds, clothing and sometimes skin!

My inking style is quite messy. I rarely ever make sketch layers, but I just go and draw and then clean up the sketch by alternating between white and black rather than erase the ‘faulty’ stuff - I like the kind of more natural look that I get from it. I use that the most in my painted pictures. 

Sometimes I also just go at it with pressure sensitivity turned off completely to get a more inked kinda style, so no gradients and just full black. My brush strokes are rather short, I’m trying to improve that. 

Time is really hard for me to pin down, it depends a lot on the setting. Sometimes I’m very fast, taking around 4h for a fully coloured piece, sometimes I’m very slow and have to take breaks! Overall I’d say though, I’m a rather swift artist. Basic character sketches and designs are mostly done in like 30 minutes on a good day! 

"Depends on the reason for fusion"? Really? I don't remember that at all. Do you remember when she said that?