Innocence Astray

Sunday, 6th of July 2008

Quickie again! Sorry for the long absence, but I had some huge exams this period, and I was ill for a while before. Anyway, I'm not about to get in a full-on rant about the few pieces I'm uploading today. They can each be found in the Recent Art section. One of them (namely 'Mine forever') will be modified in the near future, though.

And, for some other news... Stephanie @ Immortal Kiss made me her July Artist of the Month! Squee! *tackles Stephanie and hugs her tightly* Thank you so much, hun!

Funny thing is... This award came for July... I opened Innocence Astray one year ago at the very end of July. *is proud* I can't believe the site's going to be one year old soon...

This update also brings brings two new brilliant affiliates who have some pretty damn awesome fanart. Everyone, go check out Josh @ Kissing Daylight (do check out his manips), and an older friend, Antoinette @ Degreenify(do check out her work).

Saturday, 29th of May 2008

A very quick update today!

After much pushing and nagging from Marilyne *glares right* and Linda *glares left*, I have finally decided to get my body parts into gear and actually update this site. However, as I've mentioned, the update will be short, seeing as I can barely distinguish the keys from exhaustion. It seems that real life and school think that being downright bitches is the way to go. Hmph!

Art: I won't say a word about each piece this time. Comments can be found on my LJ if anybody's interested. Everything that's been newly made is in the 'Recent Art section.
Site: Getting into full rant mode seems unavoidable in this case... *sigh*

As you well see, the site has a new layout! Yes, I know, I know... About bloody time.

Also, Marilyne @ Shadow of the Day made me her May SOTM!

Thanks again, love! *huggles oh-so-tightly and whacks you upside the head for forcing me to update* You'll ruin my Queen of Procrastination rep that way!

Nearly done... All you need to do now is check out Erin Nicole's new site, Dearly Devoted, and go say hello to my wonderful new affiliate, Sam @ Fragile.

Done now. Huggles to: Stephanie | Marilyne | [erin nicole] | Matthew and Sam. *squishes everyone*

Saturday, 19th of April 2008

Quick update today, folks, so I'll cut to the chase righ now...

Art news: Four wallpapers, two of which I hate with a passion. Two got sent to the 'Supernatural' category, one goes to 'Harry Potter' in 'Movies' and the other goes to 'Random Celebrities'

Our Solemn Hour: This piece here is one of the ones I hate. It's a simple piece featuring Anette Ozlon from the band Nightwish. I've recently been listening a lot to this band and I really felt the need to make a wallpaper for the lead singer. Too bad it turned out a disaster *sigh* Oh well...

Blood Bound: This piece here is the Harry Potter one. It's quite random, based on a slash fanfic which won't be linked here. Reason: it's my own story and I have no interest of mixing the art on this site directly with what I write. Besides... Many are rather apprehensive when it comes to the subject.

Destiny Shall End: This is one of my most pathetic attempts at making a wallpaper. I hate it and deeply so and it's most likely going to be torn apart and remade in the near future. Anyway, the basic idea for this is captured in the text. What really annoyed me though was the fact that my lack of practice is rather evident and the whole composition is a bit chaotic, if not all around disastrous. We have Heaven to Ruby's left, which sadly got lost in the textures, but a hint of it is showing... Mostly because Ruby seems to be such a great leader by taking the boys to Hell(she did suggest they kill a virgin, and murder is a sin and all that...) Sam's already halfway to hell what with his blood and all that jazz, it being the main reason why the gateway to Hell is half covered by him and Dean's already heading there, which is why he's looking down that path, rather than looking the other way.

The Magical Ring: The fact revealed about Ruby in episode 3x09 got me thinking for a while. It kept nagging at the back of my head, bouncing around and screaming for attention and -after apparently having killed my other muse- I decided to finally get on with it and make a wallpaper on the witchcraft theme. Hence the present piece.

Personally I find it quite random and totally out of order, but I guess that's to be expected when you're out of practice *sighs* Oh well... The text is the Wiccan Rede and I thought it fit the whole idea of Ruby being a witch and I sort of used it *grins sheepishly*

Okay, I'll be shutting up now. I'm a little too confused about what to say about the wallpapers and I don't want to end up saying something weird that would probably scar everyone for life.

Site news:

I've been made site of the month by Sam @ Fragile!!! Thank you so much, hun! *hugs really tightly*

I'd also like to thank everyone for the lovely Easter gifts! They'll be sorted in the gifts section sometime later, though, as now I don't have the necessary time to add them.

And now for the excessive hugging part. Thank you: Marilyne | Matthew | Stephanie | Veronica | Kawthar and Sam! *squishy group hug*

Saturday, 22nd of March 2008

Hi, everyone! Long time, no see... or update, as the case may be, so before I start rambling as my usual self, I'd just like to say that I'm sorry! *quickly ducks for cover*

Right... Well, I probably could find lots of reasons for not updating, but the main one is that my Muse sort of up and left without a forwarding notice... Well... at least my art muse did, 'cause I've been writing like crazy these past couple of months. Needless to say, though, that there's not much to upload on the art part, but heh... Real life also played quite a part in my absence. It's been a hectic couple of months what with school and everything, though it all paid off. I am proud to announce that I passed my Cambridge examination with a B and that I finished well with my first term in school... All I need now is to survive my second semester *crosses fingers*

Art news:

Two meesly wallpapers is all I could squeeze in. I'm deeply, deeply ashamed of myself for that...

Redemption: This wallpaper has it's base on Sam's(non-romantic) relationship with Ruby. I made wanted it to show how the darkness in Sam(left-lower corner) is raging after Dean's demise and how Sammy finds his center with Ruby's help. After being comforted by the demoness, Sam's inner beast slowly recedes, becoming tamer and less known, yet it's still there, hence why it's more faded than the previous depiction(right-upper corner).

The text though, shows Ruby's ulterior motive for grounding him. She sees him as a way to redeem herself and possibly enter Heaven.

Bloodlust: Recently I've been writing and working a lot with vampire fics and novels so it was only natural that I should feel the need to make a vampire-themed wallpaper. This piece is quite meaningless and chaotic though, as I couldn't quite pull myself together and do a little better with it. *sighs* I guess that's what you get from not working for a long time. Text can explain the piece rather well though, so I'm not going to bore you with another of my never-ending rants. *relieved sighs in the background*

I also managed three awards during the time I've been missing, but I'm only going to mention one of them which was gained from the AFA: Awards Ceremony 2008 for one of my Harry Potter wallpapers: Panther.

The other awards can be found on the 'Art Awards' page.

Site news:

I am proud to announce that I have a new affiliate: Chirs aka Galathea @ Salt'n Burn. Do check out her site. It's bloody awesome! And the artwork... *looks at Chris' wallpapers and drools heavily over the keyboard*

Friday, 28th of December 2007

Hi guys! Sorry for the very long absence. I had mid-terms and exams and I simply couldn't find the time to update the site. But here I am... with my last update this year... Obviously this update comes with a new layout(finally! I was tired of my last one...) and some new art. Still, before I start, I'd like to officially announce that I'm shifting through obsessions again... I became a Harry Potter fan five years ago when mom bought me the first book. After reading them all, I slowly drifted away from the fandom until recently while I was in Bucharest for my Cambridge exam. The last book(Romanian version speaking) appeared the exact same day when I had my exam so, in order to... make me relax a bit, my parents got me the last installment of the series. Needless to say that after reading it I fell back into the old obsession and now I have 4 HP wallpapers to present, along with 2 SPN ones. I'll get to the point without further ramblings now...

Worth it: This is a Bela and Dean wallpaper, people! My first and probably my last. It's quite loosely based on Bela's words in 'Bad Day at Black Rock' and it shows her tempting Dean to enjoy what little time he has left. The flames in the middle stand for Hell(obviously the place they're headed for at the moment) and we have a clock around them for the 'sooner or later' part. Please note that I did not intend to ship the pair, although it sort of seems that way ;)

Darkness Within: I'm a bit at a loss when it comes to this piece. It'll possibly, probably, most definitely be remade in the near future, but I'll get on with the explain now. This is my first 'solo' piece of Ruby, which is a miracle seeing as all my latest pieces featured her along with Sam. Anyway, we have Hell at the end of the corridor on the right side of the image. As you can see, the corridor is a bit tilted, showing the fact that Ruby is pushing that possibility away, though her arm is more blended with the image there, showing the fact that Hell is a part of her and that things will remain that way for a long while to come. On the other part of the image, we have a few clouds and a little bright light standing for Heaven. Now, while Heaven definitely stands straight, Ruby's arm is not as blended with the image, showing that she's rejected by it, thus creating a battle of wills. It's either tilt aside with Hell, or do your best to cling to Heaven.

Chaotic: This wallpaper here features Draco Malfoy and the chaotic life he has ahead of him. All of those who've read the book know that Draco's future is blury at best from the whole Voldemort & Co. fiasco. We have the dark mark up in a corner which symbolizes his obligation of joining Voldie, a long corridor which stands for Hogwarts and the continuation of his education and we have a bunch of jumbled images which symbolize the unknown. I'm a little thrown off balance by this image myself, but meh... That's chaos for ya...

Light: I'm really not sure about this one, truth be told... I was reading a lot of fanfiction and the majority of the stories featured Draco fighting on the good side so there came me with the wallpaper. Light is symbolized by the light textures used to surround both Draco and Harry, as well as the bright-igh part in the middle of the wallpaper. Other than that... I'm at a loss...

Panther: I know many of you will disagree with the theme of this piece, as well as with the following one. A friend of mine convinced me to read a slash fic based on Harry and Draco and, even though I though it will most definitely suck out of hell, I was stunned. The story was beautifully written and it inspired me to make a wallpaper based on it. It's not graphic so no worries for those who want to view. Now... The explanation is quite clear in the text, but reading the fic might enlighten you on certain aspects. You may find the link to the author's profile in the 'Movie' section, underneath the wallpaper's thumbnail, as well as the story's name.

Invincible: Again, like the previous piece, this is based on another slash fic by the same author. It's not graphic and I know for sure that I'll never read, nor write, nor make any such wallpapers, so those who are interested, you know there's nothing to worry about on my part. Again, the text is inspired by the emotions conveyed in the story so it'll be futile for me to explain exactly how this piece came to be.

I'd like to thank everybody for the amazing Birthday and Christmas gifts they gave me over the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I've exceeded my time to spend at the computer so they'll have to be added to the site on my next update which will probably be sometime in the middle of January. So... to conclude with, I'd like to give very big hugs to: Matthew | Omri | Marilyne | Linda | edziak | Stephanie | SJ | Jesika | Veronica | maribel | Lady Manson | Chris | Kawthar | Ariel | kya-lee | Rachel | amy | Lyri | Ehlwyen .

Again, thank you all for the sweet tags and for the gifts! You have no idea how much you've brightened my days *squishygropuhug*

Saturday, 1st of December 2007

Hi, guys! I know it's been a while since my last update, but school really got in the way. I'm in the middle of my midterms and my CAE exam as we speak so I haven't had the time to actually change the layout as I originally planned, but I did manage to round up 3 Supernatural wallpapers ;D

Bound: This piece revolves around Sam's agreement to let Ruby drop by now and again because she holds him in line with the promise of saving Dean. The glass orb holds Dean's deal with the Crossroads Demon and symbolizes how easily she could either break the pact, or destroy Sam's hopes of ever getting his brother out of the deal. Time is looming behind Sam, practically pushing him to accept Ruby's help. He's desperate, and he needs all the help he can get, from anybody willing to lend a hand. There's also the chance that Ruby -with her demonic lies and empty words- could lead him to hell, hence the doorway to the "inferno" behind her.

In the midst: Basically the main idea of this piece is how Sam and Ruby work together, despite not trusting each other, hence why Ruby is facing away from Sam and why Sammy leans away from her, yet they're sticking close together. They're both hunted by hell(see flames all around and hellhound looking towards them), and still, they are fighting against time and odds to save Dean who gave up on trying to save himself, which is why he's walking willingly towards the long tunnel symbolizing eternity alone.

Beg & Plead: As I've recently been stressing over Kripke's new character Ruby, and her relationship with Sam, it only came natural for me to focus yet another piece over this relationship. This particular piece focuses on Sam's desperate need to save Dean, which in turn forces him to beg Ruby for her help, asking for a bit of compassion from her and a promise of saving the one person that means the world to Sammy.

I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out, especially given the fact that the original idea was nowhere near where it got. The wallpaper was supposed to focus strictly on Ruby, but my muse wouldn't have it that way *shrugs* Blame her!

Other than that, artwise speaking, I just have one art award which can be found in the 'Art Awards category'.

Site speaking, I don't have any major updates, except for a very awesome gift from Ariel @ Veronica Mars Files. Thanks hun! *hughug*

Also, after giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to take down some of my older wallpapers on my next update. There are pieces I'm not satisfied with and which have no point in taking up space around here, hence the buh-bye process that's awaiting them. Anyone interested in some of the older pieces, grab 'em now 'cause next time they're gone.

Now for the last part of my update, and the very air-depriving one: the hugs part! I owe huge thanks and squishy hugs to: Marilyne | Matthew | kya-lee | Jesika | Ben | Ariel | Linda | Kawthar | Lyri and Antoinette. *hughug* Y'all made my days with your tags, guys! Thanks!

Monday, 6th of November 2007

Hi, y'all! I'm just dropping by for a quick update because I'm a bit caught up with school so I'll cut the chat and get to the point.

Art news

WANTED! Muse missing, wanted more alive than dead! Anybody who sees my muse, feel free to contact me. Possibly kidnapped by my school life!

Sadly, it's true. I've lost my muse :( I'm waiting for her to return like I know she will. Meanwhile, I've got two new wallpapers and I've twitched one of my previous ones. Sooo...

Fall: While other people need to cut down on coffee or sweets or things like that, I need to cut down on reading spoilers about SPN... Ahem... This piece was inspired by the strange relationship Sam and Ruby have and what they have in common. They're both wanted by hell, for one thing. Sam needs to be the leader of some demon army(or was, because I'm yet to be sure on that) and Ruby needs to die because she's like a thorn in the side for a lot of demons. Still, despite the pressure, they both keep on fighting, Sam against time to save Dean, and Ruby's giving a hand.

No strings attached: I'm at a loss when it comes to what exactly inspired this promo wallpaper. I s'pose it has something to do with the girls having their own agenda and working independently, hence the text :) Other than that, I'm utterly, completely, surely at a loss.

Meant something(twitched): Basically it's just a minor twitch. As Sayjay suggested, the left part of the wallpaper seemed empty so I moved the clock that was overlaping Heaven behind Dean. It's nothing major, like I said.

Site news: I'm proud to announce that Innocence Astray has received the SOTM award from Antoinette @ Degreenify. Thank you, sweetie! The award is awesome and it totally came as a pleasant shock for me! *squishy-hug*

I'd also like to thank everybody for the awesome Halloween gifts! You guys totally ROCK! They're all added to the Gifts section.

I'm also adding five new affies today so be sure to go check them out! They're great!

Sunday, 21st of October 2007

Hi, guys! I know, i know... I haven't updated in what seems like ages, but school's been a real *inserts censored word* lately. I'm neck-deep in tutoring, classes and bitchy teachers :( Before I get on with my rambling, I want to wish everybody a Happy Halloween!(a little early, yes, but who knows when I'll update again). Now... down to business...

Site news: Well, I obviously have a new layout. I felt the need to change things a little and since I've been neglecting Dean recently, I decided to make the new layout featuring him... and I certainly know a few people who'll agree with me on the matter ;)

I'm also adding two new affiliates today and I ask you all to go visit their websites seeing as they're awesome!

I also owe big hugs(I seem to offer those a lot, don't I?) to Erin Nicole and to Linda for the beautiful Halloween gifts. Thankeees! *hughug*

Art news:

You're probably already guessing the section they fall under... *chours of 'Supernatural' in the background*. Yep! That's right! I've mentioned last time that I wasn't satisfied with my last pieces and that I might modify them in the near future... Well the shocker is that I actually managed to do so for at least one of the pieces.

It ends(remake)- I wasn't satisfied with the images and the message sent by this wallpaper so I added a few new pics and changed the order for some others. Hopefully this will get the point across more clearly than the previous version. You can find both versions on the site if you're interested, though.

Let go(remake)- I made this piece before starting school and I've been meaning to modify it ever since. Now, with a lot of pushing and guiding from Sayjay, I've managed to get my butt into gear and actually twitch it. So a big hug and a very big 'thanks' goes to her :)

Meant something- This is more like half a piece since it was clearly inspired by the layout header. It's Dean-centric and focuses on the deal and the fact that he can't enter Heaven when his time is up due to the deal he made to bring Sam back from the dead. I wanted to also show that he doesn't regret the deal because it gave meaning to his life, even though he longs for the peace Heaven could offer after death.

I've also got a few awards to add to the 'Art awards' section. 'I Failed'-Art of the month Shattered Dreams, 'Prank wars'- Bronze at Ashes of Dreams and 'Are you watching'- Honour at Spin the Bottle .

And now for the excessive hugging part... I owe big hugs to all who tagged me since my last update: Marilyne | Omri | Jesika | Matthew | Ariel | Justin | Linda | Lyri | [erin nicole] | Amy and Rachel. You ROCK! *squishy-hug*

Monday, 8th of October 2007

'ello everybody! Missed me?*chours of 'oh, no! Not her again' in the background*

Well... What can I say? School's been murder recently and I had my first pop quiz today in French no less :( but what's worse when it comes to it is that the constant activity totally knocked me off my game in terms of inspiration and such matters. Bright side though? Season three of Supernatural has finally started! *throws confetti* I am so excited about the new epsiodes!

Moving to art now... I must warn you that I'm not entirely satisfied with my wallpapers so I may modify them sometime in the near future so long as school, mom and tutoring won't get in the way. Riight... They both fall under the 'Supernatural' section again ;)

It ends was inspired by galathea's Shreds wallpaper. I made this one for the 'Can't do this alone' challenge over at Buffy Forums, focusing on the episode 'Heart'. I wanted it to show Madison's desire to put an end to the monster that she'd become. The shreds stand for her claws when she's changed while the gun underneath symbolizes the fact that she wants to stop hurting people.

Not for me is based on '3x01 The Magnificent Seven'. In this piece I wanted to show Sam's determination to get his brother out of the deal, although the general focus was intended to be around the eldest Winchester. While Sam looks at his sibling with a serious face and without any sign of weakness, Dean looks back a little wary because in the past he'd made a promise not to allow anything bad to happen to Sam and we all know how well that turned out. He's also afraid that if Sam indeed succeeds to break the pact, it would cost him his life, hence why the hound is looking at Sammy instead of Dean.(And for the record... This wallpaper turned out nothing like I wanted it to. For starters the hound was supposed to be dark gray but I somehow managed to make it white. I'm still trying to figure out how I pulled that one off *shrugs*)

I'm adding four new great affies today! Please go check them all out seeing as they're...well... great!

Monday, 24th of September 2007

Hey guys! I'm back and it's a day early too! Obviously a lot has changed since my last update, so I'm gonna... well... update y'all on what's happened ;)

First off, I'm proud to announce that 'Innocence Astray' is now hosted by Sayjay @ left-unspoken.net, so I pretty much owe her a very big 'THANK YOU!'. Changing the host was like a whole new beginning for IA with all the uploading and the nagging SJ with teaching me a little about codes, hence the new layout which was also designed by my host(why am i sensing that this doesn't come as a shocker? lol).

Artwise, I've got three new wallpapers and two new sets(icons and banners section), all of which feature Supernatural or the cast of the show(again, what a shocker, right?).

Let go was inspired by the ELAC episode and some random fanfic I read at some point.

Promise is based on '1x14 Nightmare'. It revolves around Dean's promise to his brother at the end of the show, that nothing bad would happen to him as long as his big brother's around to protect him. Also a major factor in this piece is the ultimate trust you can read on Sam's expression.

I failed is the complementary piece to 'Promise. This is a first for me since I've never done any complementary pieces before this. It basically shows Dean's feeling of failiure because he promised Sammy that nothing bad would happen to him on his watch, but Sam ended up dead in the end.

Innocence Astray has also been selected 'Art of the Week'(17th-23rd of September) over at Don't Fade Away. Thanks, Matt!

I also received four awards for 'All that really matters'-Silver at Memory of Trees, 'Sinner'- Gold at Lost Visions, 'I failed'- Honour at Misguided and for 'Stay dead'- 1st place at My Active Chip Awards.

And last, yet certainly not least, I've got four new affiliates. Please take the time to check them out. Pweeettyyy pweeease with sugar lumps on top ;)

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