SparkleNinja

Hey guys, I almost forgot to mention but I'm participating in Artfight again this year! There's a little over a week left but I do believe they're extending it; I'm currently catching up on some revenges but always do my best to attack back, so come fight me if you wanna! (ง •̀ V•́)ง

artfight.net/~gogglebeast

(Artfight is a once-yearly event for artists that's like a super fun cross between weaponized gift art and impromptu art trades; post characters, draw stuff for others to earn points for your team (or just for fun), and get retaliated with art back at you! I've learned and grown so much as an artist by participating, it's honestly a blast. <3)

Hey everybody, long time no see! I'm sorry for completely disappearing for *checks watch, begins sweating* ...a ridiculously substantial amount of time; in truth, a whole lot has happened over the past year, and while I always prefer to dwell on the positive and am doing my best to slowly emerge from hermit mode, I feel like folks deserve to know why I vanished without a trace from most places online. (I never really know how to share negative happenings because I genuinely don't want folks to worry nor particularly want attention for them, but by the same token I feel really guilty if I'm not around for (valid!) reasons without people knowing why- so here we go, for the curious!)

Since you last saw me:

• We did finally get moved out of Mold House and the majority of our stuff decontaminated, though it took two months and some change of hotel hopping before we had a place we could actually move into. _{I'm, uh, kinda still unpacking. Don't tell anyone!}
• Right after moving, my only grandmother, who we were all very close to, passed away. It wasn't sudden by any means, but it was still hard. Love you Gramma.
• Being a fool, I managed to give myself a legitimate concussion over some cat toys, which took over a good month to fully heal from. Apparently head injuries are no laughing matter!
  
• Hit some major seasonal depression over the holidays; it's always been a rough time, but the first holiday without Gramma made it especially so.
• (Actually in truth, I rarely talk about mental health issues, but since it's apparently honesty hour I've been dealing with depression and anxiety for a long time; I'm tired of losing months of my life at a time to it, and am looking into getting the help and treatment I need to be Better <3)
  
• My kitty Ama also passed away in early March after a long battle with renal failure. He lived a year past what the vet expected, and I will always be eternally grateful for that time; he's been my best buddy and emotional support for 11 great years, so not having him around definitely hit hard for a good while.
  
• Been dealing with a frustrating health issue for the past few months where everything I ate made me feel terrible, constantly; things are going better after eating only turkey and the same four veggies every day for a month (( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ);;), but the gastro doc can't see me for yet another month and I would really like to get this resolved!
  

Whoof, that sure is a big ball of negativity! No wonder I've been absent and exhausted for so many months (and again, I'm really sorry for that)- I've barely drawn much in that span of time, either, though I am finally starting to climb out of it. On a positive note during all that time, I did get some very much needed good vibes when my awesomest buddy Sarahs came out to visit me a few months back, which was a super lot of fun and helped a lot (<3); and recently I was able to meet the voice actor for one of my favorite characters ever (Starscream from Transformers Prime), got a hug and even an in-character voice recording, so that was pretty cool too! I also figured out some normal food I can finally eat again (!!) and am ridiculously stoked there; I am incredibly food motivated, so being able to eat some french toast sticks once in a while is an enormous mood boost. Here's to hoping things continue to improve and look up, and that I'll have the energy to be around and a bit more social, too! _{(My ability to socialize is usually the first thing to go when things are going on or I'm not feeling great, even with friends, which is a shame because I genuinely love interacting with all of you- so, I'm looking forward to hopefully being around more, even if I'm slow to get started. I wanna make more art and share it!)}

As an aside: I still haven't forgotten the Artfight revenges I owe from last year's event as well as some other things, though I really didn't intend to take this long to finish them- it's been a real rollercoaster, and I'm sorry to all those I left waiting. That being said, I'm gonna do my best to get them finished hopefully before or during this year's fight; I'm not sure how much I'll be able to participate, but it's always been good in getting me back into art and boosting my mood, so I'd sure like to try!

_{I've been putting off making this journal for ages because I reaaally don't like being negative, but y'all deserve to know where I went- thank you to everyone for being patient with me and for reading, and I hope all has been well for you- hopefully I'll have some more fun things to share soon!}

-about my characters/stories/whatevers!

I realized recently that I don't actually share that much when it comes to character and story info, which is kind of a problem in terms of people understanding or being invested in what's going on; clearly this is something I need to work on!

It is, however, a great opportunity to ask, based on whatever tidbits you HAVE been able to glean, what people think is going on with X or what Y is about or like |Da

SERIOUSLY I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR even if it winds up being wildly off-base, that's definitely okay!! _{You can even ask it anon over on my tumblr if you're feeling shy!}

PLS HUMOR ME FRIENDS I would love this very much, and also it gives me ideas on what I could be talking about next!

After so many years, I finally have a sub again- you know what that means!

Time to figure out dA's overly complicated customization features and try my hand at CSS, aw yeah ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

(my page is very much under construction right now is what I'm trying to say, I am so sorry for the mess friends)
_{Though I DID start updating my gallery folders a bit as well and adding descriptions; feels good for a spur-of-the-moment 2am project!}

THOUGH ALSO sorry for the delay on the ~Spotlighter Mystery Project~; don't worry, I haven't forgotten! I just have a decent amount I want to get ready before then, and have been a bit busier and distracted-er than anticipated. |'Da We're getting there though!!

Anyway, how is everybody?

Hi there friends, long time no talk to! I realize I am generally very quiet around these parts, which makes it hard to get to know me; I'd like to try and improve upon that, because I'd rather not be a total mystery and I know I'd love to get to know some of you. <3

The past half a year has been, admittedly, very chaotic- between some really ugly and stressful legal baloney from my mom's horrible trashcan of an ex, to some critical illness in the family, some highly stressful financial issues and more- and that's on top of some ongoing, chronic health issues I've been dealing with for the better part of the past several years and am still trying to resolve. Jeez, no wonder I haven't been around very much!

But things have begun to shift and look brighter, and while there's still some stressful things going on I feel like I'm starting to be able to breathe again; slowly but surely we're getting back on track, and I'm eager to try and keep this momentum going and get my art and socialization going again, too.

I'd really love to get this place tidied up and looking snazzy, and get my username changed too- I've been trying for ages to think of something I'm happy with and that better represents 'me'. Still working on that!

PS: If you like Spotlighters, keep your eyes peeled, because I may have something planned pretty soon here ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)