Sagas Among the Arcana: So infused with it

The knight of wands is pulled — passion
The ten of wands is pulled — burden

Look at her, so infused with energy she’ll do anything. She takes pleasure in it.
Wholly inspired by it. Some say she’s sick with masochism, but they’re
simply jealous of her activism, her idealism, her passion prison—
(yes, she’s built herself that prison, just wait till her light dims)
She sees the sun shining every day; still cloudy? She imagines
it anyway. (sometimes, she imagines those heated rays
burning her; sometimes she imagines serpents
slithering up her.) If you need anything
ask her anything. She’s a valiant helper
(never talking of how it burdens her.
Sometimes, she lays flat on rancid,
dusty floors, imagining herself
a carpet at the door. She never
minds being stepped on, she’d
just rather not be torn.
So she becomes worn).
Look at her, so
infused with
energy, she
‘ll do any
thing.
She
tak
es
pl
es
su
re
i
n
i
t.

Look at her, so    infused    with energy she’ll do anything. She takes pleasure in it.
Wholly inspired by it. Some say she’s sick    with masochism   , but they’re
simply jealous of her activism, her idealism, her passion prison—
(yes, she’s built herself    that prison   , just wait till her light dims)
She sees the sun shining every day; still cloudy? She imagines
it anyway. (sometimes, she imagines those heated rays
burning her; sometimes she imagines serpents
slithering up her.) If you need anything
ask her anything. She   ’s    a valiant helper
(never talking of how it burdens her.
Sometimes, she lays flat on    rancid,
dusty floors, imagining herself
a carpet at the door. She never
minds being stepped on, she’d
just rather not be torn.
So she becomes worn).
Look at her,    so
infused with
e     ergy, she
‘ll d   o    any
    thing.
She
tak
es
pl
es
su
re
i
n
i
t.

Letters by Lydia: Crayola Bright Colors

Welcome back to another post!  My parents visited me last weekend, and my mom brought me a pack of Crayola markers (big shoutout to her <3), so I thought I’d do a quick little review! My mom and I share a love for Crayola markers, not only because they’re super cheap and accessible, but also because they’re incredibly vibrant and easy to use.

The set she got me is a set of 10, broadline markers in the “bright colors” selection.  As you can see from the swatches, they’re all super pigmented, some of them even being neon.  Crayola in general has an insane color range, and it’s so nice to be able to get sets like this with colors I’d actually use, as opposed to the typical, flat, basic colors you get from cheaper sets made for kids.

As for what makes these so great, Crayola markers, both the supertips and these broadline ones, are perfect for beginners in lettering, or people who just don’t wanna spend a ton of money.  The tips are flexible enough that you can use them as if they were brush pens, but you can also use them on their sides like highlighters, and with an even amount of pressure to get a consistent line.  Depending on how hard you press, the thickness varies wildly, which is another great quality because it makes them super versatile.  Another positive is that, because they’re inexpensive, you don’t have to feel bad about overusing them, experimenting with them, or not taking great care of them.

There truly aren’t very many downsides to these.  One slight negative is that the ink can be a bit thin and inconsistent–it’s washable, because it’s made for kids, so if you use two colors on top of each other, they’ll probably bleed a little bit.  The ink also might just bleed onto the paper you’re using.  Another strangedownside is that sometimes it can be hard to get the cap on and off, although that might just be this specific set.

Overall, a great set of markers! Thanks mom!

OTM #30: Suit

I think I must be sleep deprived, because I’m at a point where I think a person walking down the street in a suit is a Succession character. It’s coming to that point of the semester, though; everyone is tired and checking out, ready for summer. I’m first and foremost ready for spring, though, something we are apparently in currently yet the nasty wind and flurries has me begging to differ. I think it’s funny how much I allow what I’m watching to imprint on my life; in many ways, making fun of the professionalism in Succession has helped me lower the pressure of professional work settings and interviews. The less seriously I can take things, the easier they will be to overcome, and that’s really motivated me over this semester. Failure is vaguely exciting and moments of stupidity (such as above) bring me a joy that I can’t quite explain – either way, everything is fun when you find a way to make it less serious. I hope you are all powering through the end of the semester!

Chroma #14: Pixel Cowboy

This week, I drew some pixel art for a small video game I designed for a class I’m taking, COMPFOR 121. The premise is basically to avoid the “Sheriff” and the cacti while “wrangling” cows. If the cactus or Sheriff touches you, you lose health. But if you touch the cow, you wrangle it. You have to try to wrangle 10 cows before you lose all your health. I’ve never done pixel art or made a video game before, but it was honestly pretty fun! I always liked the ideas of Cowboys, and I think the colors went really well with the desert scene.

By the way, if you want to play it, you can do so here: Side Scroller Video Game: Pixel Cowboy

Just press the Green Flag icon in the upper right hand corner, and use space and the left/right arrows to move!