#Very cool to be asked for advice!!

[ijustdontlikepeople]

hi annie. i just love your mood boards so much and i have a question, how do you get your mood boards to be one whole picture? is there a program or an app that you use? i find it so cool!

Hi! Thank you so much!!

I’ve used a couple of apps over the last free years. I started with photoshop express which was pretty user friendly if you’re just getting into them and it’s free! Now, I mostly use PicsArt. I started with the free version but treated myself to gold version at the beginning of the year. It’s pretty user friendly too, just a lot more bells and whistles. I’d recommend either program for moodboards.

[katyspersonal]

Imagine trying to rick-roll Aldia by getting him to watch a short life-hack (like on how to make a popcorn ball) video all the way through but he keeps pausing it to monologue deeply about every single part of the video

Look... I assume it is supposed to be said as that 'haha isn't he so silly and quirky like that, imagine being this way, who would EVER be so unbearable x)' vibe, but this describes EXACTLY how I am watching TV or Youtube videos with others. It describes why I can't watch movies and shows all that much anymore. Heck, it describes why I have not been able to read books for a very long while now!

Because every goddamn sentence is SO thought-provoking for me that I have to pause to THINK about it, down to the lowest of philosophical depths, to REALLY analyse it from every angle, and only then I am satisfied and can move on. And before I've noticed, a 20 minutes episode took me over an hour to complete, or half of a day passed and I didn't even make it through 10 pages. I know how it is, I can attest from my own experience that Aldia must be not very happy about this trait himself, and I can tell this is why as much as I love him I'd never get along with him in reality; we both prefer to talk rather than to listen. xD He is only "better" because we meet him at a very far point in his history but back in his human times I am telling you, that man NEVER stopped yapping. Don't have ADHD and Autism at the same time, kids.

^ Everyone when he walks in on his staff to monologue smh

[kordbot]

the one thing that no one told me about college is that there are people who like you

[unopenablebox]

i love TAing. some parts of it are stressful but running office hours and just getting to talk through a concept with the students until we've identified the source of their confusion and successfully resolved it is so satisfying and fun.

[morhath]

had an absolutely amazing moment earlier today when I walked into a bookstore and started looking at the (expansive!) SFF section, and the proprietor sidled up to me like, "oh? you like scifi? I have an entire section of scifi by women authors if you follow me to this tiny cave" and then I didn't even get cask of amontilladoed! instead I bought seven books (and got an eighth one for free)

[dream-sans-mogai]

Anyway, because I'm considered a bigger creator within the mogai community and I have a responsibility to address things given my bigger audience-

Please remember that Tumblr, especially LGBT Tumblr concerning discourse and intracommunity issues, is a hyper niche, reactive, violent, sensitive community with next to zero basis in reality at large and you should not take any of its opinions as absolute fact. Especially the mogai community's opinions.

A lot of people on mogai Tumblr talk big game with very clearly fake the-whole-bus-clapped stories about the real world concerning acceptance towards mspec monos, Neopronouns and Xenogenders and it's my job as an adult and guiding voice to remind people these experiences may happen but rarely do and you absolutely should not just tell random people you use purr/purrs pronouns or your a bi gaybian or you identify as Chronosian or other things like that because it's really fucking dangerous even in hyper progressive places like new york, cali and Detroit. It can be deadly in many many small towns, including ones in progressive states. Especially dangerous in non accepting states.

I don't say this to burst your bubble or ruin your hopeful world view but many stories of acceptance are fake, even if some are true, most of the community is underage and just cause your teacher may approve of your Soniccharic identity, doesn't mean they won't tell your transphobic parents. It's scary and dangerous out here for trans and gay people rn and I won't be one of the idiots who tell you to run and frolic with your Xenogender pins Infront of increasingly hostile transphobes. I want the younger gen z trans people to survive and I won't lie to you about the reality of the battle we all are staring down concerning project 2025.

Most of the people telling these stories live in progressive states and do not tell you about the failed times or exaggerate the acceptance they supposedly received. I'm telling you from the mouth of someone who grew up in a tiny town in South Ohio with less than 1,000 people, it's still just as dangerous as it was 10 years ago. I still get followed in my home town. I still get stares in my home town. My actual home town, a place I grew up in where people knew me as the gnc dyke for a good while in my last 2 years of school. Do not spread this shit around to everyone. Nex didn't think they would become a victim, Brianna didn't think she would be one of the unlucky ones, plenty of those we've lost did not think they would die in hate crimes. I almost died in two of the hate crimes I've experienced.

You need to be really fucking careful and although I love than Neopronouns and Xenogenders are becoming more accepted by the larger LGBT community, you need to be very very VERY careful about what you do, what you wear and who you tell what because word spreads fast in suburbia and hate spreads faster. You do not want to be wearing a pin the day some white cishet magat decides he's tired of the "pedophiles" and chooses you as the first victim because you were the first he saw. Don't hide who you are but Be. Fucking. Careful.

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

The Poisons We Drink

YA urban fantasy

a girl who brews powerful potions is coerced into making potions to interfere with D.C.’s most influential politicians in an attempt to stop a dangerous Witcher Registration Act from passing, and will do anything to protect her sister after their mother is killed

bi MC, nonbinary love interest

arc from netgalley

[yours-the-author]

Hello. I don't mean this in a bad way but I saw in your post with the idea for right hand man and reginald you were struggling to make a baseball bat so I will give you the very useful guide. :)

Oh, wow! For some reason, I never thought of making the actual bat part first and then doing the handle; I always approached it as doing the entire thing as a single shape, instead of making it into separate shapes. I think I might try this out next time I need to have RHM wield his weapon. Thanks!

[idontknowiknow]

got a little notif that my main blog is 11 years old and id just like to give a blanket apology for every lousy thing that I've ever posted and thank everyone who saw me being embarrassing on the internet over the years for apparently not holding it against me too hard

[punch-love]

ive been having trouble making time to sit down and write anything concrete recently because of my adhd so i tried what you said in one of the ask prompts you answered where you write a tagline and title at the top of the doc and just go it til you lose steam and oh my god. i was able to bang out 2k words in about an hour or so. im pretty disorganized with my writing especially bc i like to write/brainstorm in my journal and then type it up so ive been kind of stalling for the last month but this has completely changed the game for me. i know youve also mentioned using sticky notes before but i want to know if you have any other things you do youd like to share!

I'm happy to hear it worked for you man! I also have ADHD, so I know how hard it can be to make time and write down something concrete. I don't usually find writing tips or tricks that work for my brain, so it's very cool that I was able to help someone else write with my own methods.

I think I mentioned this one before, but whenever I get in a writing jam, and I'm not sure how to continue something, or I feel stuck, I pull up a random word generator and generate words to use as "mini" prompts. It adds some organic stimulus, while also giving you a chance to look at the scene you're trying to write from a different angle. It's kind of cool how many times I've used this thing and the words it generated worked so well thematically for my project.

I also found that when writing starts to become a chore putting it on my daily to-do list helps because, in comparison to my other "bigger" chores, I am more likely to do something creative because it feels easier to my brain (even if my brain thought it was too hard to do like, ten minutes ago)

I also find that writing kind of a free form draft at the bottom of the document that sums up the emotional beats of the work or next part of the work (especially if you've already started said project) really helps me as a reference point if I kind of get lost directionally.

Peter actually needs Wade’s help. They team up. Wade learns about morality and surprises Peter a little. The no kill rule is set (?) they clap off into the sunset. 

This is a summary I wrote about the next bit for one of my long projects that I tacked on at the very bottom of the project so if I'm ever writing and forget where I'm going, I can look at it, but it's not distracting me or anything. It's also not, like, a big summary - you can't actually get any plot details from this, it's just sort of a vague roadmap of the points you haven't covered yet.

I can't really think of any other specific writing tips right now, but hopefully one of those might be useful to you! Congratulations again on writing. It's so hard to get something from the brain and onto the page, but the hardest part is definitely over. I think the last piece of advice is that it's better to write a shitty rough draft than no draft at all. I always get lost in over-editing even if I've only written, like, a paragraph and have to force myself to word vomit before I reward myself with nitpicky editing.

[tuiyla]

I wanted to ask you this because you just posted about being asexual. I know this is probably a stupid or obvious question but I can't ask anyone else. Can you be demisexual and a lesbian?

I'm definitely a lesbian but I've always only felt sexual attraction to people I have a connection with. I don't know if that makes sense or if it's even a real thing.

Thanks xxx

Hey Anon! It's not stupid at all, please don't feel like it is. Personally it took me a long time to figure stuff out because sometimes people separate the ace(/aro) spectrum so strictly from everything else and act like there's no place for other identities to coexist with them. But what if I'm also lesbian/gay/bi/whatever else, what then? You absolutely can be a demisexual lesbian and it's very much a real thing in which you're not alone.

That'd pretty much be the exact definition of demisexuality. Sexual attraction comes after you form a connection. And if you feel like lesbian is a good label to combine that demisexuality with then congrats on the identity! Idk if that could potentially sound sarcastic but it's 100% genuine. Being demisexual is a little different than how most of the world experiences sexuality, sure, but it's very real and very valid.

[hyah-lian]

Ahhh, I'm sorry blood sugar stuff is keeping you awake. :( Roolie's on standby with glucose tablets since I imagine it's the low side that's bothering you. But if it isn't, the nurse boys have insulin lol.

Anyway, I'm half insane with exhaustion so sorry if this is too personal of a post but hiii insomnia buddy <3

Aaaa ty ; u ;

It was the low side! Havin a rebound from a high earlier, my pump likes to overcorrect (my endo team n I are trying to figure out the right adjustments still) lol I ate like half a sleeve of oreos and was all good

I love the lads on standby with all the options lol

Sry I flaked out on you before answering but I feel ya on the half loopy exhaustion ❤ I hope u can get/have gotten some rest

[phantomrose96]

Okay I have a story.

So my birthday is this Sunday (May 26th). My mom ordered some presents for me but one of them (an Etsy purchase) was seemingly stuck in transit and might not make it on time. I tell my mom all good, no worries. She gets in contact with the seller. After a long delay in response they get back with "Right we'll fix it!" It ships, tracking label and everything, good to go! ETA May 22nd (yesterday.)

During the work day I check the tracking and it says it's been delivered in/at mailbox! I double check with my mom "hey, is it mailbox size?" because if not, I don't want it sitting at the front door where anyone walking by could snag it.

She says "it's definitely NOT mailbox size." Okay. I text my neighbors in the building "Anyone seen a package delivered? It's a birthday gift from my mom and I wanna make sure it gets inside!" Success! Floor 2 David (not to be confused with Floor 1 David) had brought it inside. Inform my mom. All good!

I stop by home briefly around 4pm, because yesterday was hot-hot and I just installed my window A/C that morning in the living room, and according to my cat cam my stupid cat hasn't spent a single second in the climate controlled living room and is, instead, voluntarily baking herself elsewhere so I'm like "great" and hop on my bike to go home (10 minute ride) to check on her.

I get in the building door. Patches is crying from the top floor because she heard me. I maneuver my bike in the front hall. The ugliest fucking 6-foot-tall cat tree(?)/totem(?)/statue(?) I've seen in my entire life is just. Standing there.

My first thought is "What the fuck is that." My second thought is "Oh fuck that is for me." I look around at the floor in case there's perhaps anything else that might, in fact, be the gift.

No. Me and Cat Pole.

It's taller than me. I turn it around to face me and its face is painted and this is, in fact, uglier than it looked from the back.

Um.

Patches is crying. So I just haul it up to my level. MAYBE it was supposed to come with twine that I wrap around it (and hide its face from the world) for Patches to scratch. Maybe this is a prank. Maybe this is an inside joke, because when my mom moved into her current house the neighborhood gifted her some ugly-as-hell totem that apparently, by tradition, each newest-comer to the neighborhood is required to have and display in their window so maybe this is a very good riff on that.

Patches rubs against it. She's not afraid of this horrid facsimile of her kind.

Great.

Meanwhile SHE'S fine and the condo is a little toasty but totally liveable so I'm like "Good, cool, you're not baking. You're having a good time. Enjoy your new sister, I guess, I'll see you later."

I go back to work because this is a problem for later me.

After work, after my run, after whatever, I get home and it's like 8:00pm and Patches is so happy to see me and the totem pole is still just. There.

I text my friends like "so a bday gift is here from my mom and it's the Biggest Ugliest cat pole I've seen in my life. Is this a bit? Did my mom go 'that's so ugly haha! send!' Maybe she genuinely found it cute. How do I navigate this." My friend Sarah has the good advice to maybe text my mom neutrally like "Got the cat pole!" and feel the waters whether my mom is like "Isn't it ugly? 😂" or "Hope Patches likes it! 🥰"

My mom goes to bed early so I don't do any of that yet. Problem for tomorrow me.

This morning, Patches wakes me up for breakfast. I get her situated and I'm staring at the fucking Cat Pole again. I wonder if my Mom's been wondering all night what I thought of it.

I take a picture. I text her.

Okay.

I get on call with my mom. I ask for clarity that the ungodly horrid thing is NOT my birthday gift and is in fact a mix-up from the seller who sent me this instead of my actual gift. She's wheezing between words. She thinks I'm being too charitable for the amount of Absolute Fucking Ugly this is. I have to gently talk her out of using the word "monstrosity" while messaging the seller asking what the hell happened here.

I tell her I need to apologize for harming her dignity with Floor 2 David, who thinks this fucking thing is my mom's idea of a great birthday gift for her to-be-28-year-old daughter.

My heart goes out to the poor soul who did actually order this cat totem and is lacking it on this lovely day.

[plaid-maniac]

If you ever get the urge to make a game or a mod of a game: DON’T

[heyitslapis]

what fucking makes me want o rip my hair out when it comes to the security guy at work is that i'll even try to COMMUNICATE WITH HIM!!!!! (i know for people like us communication can be difficult & we often need specific clear wording and even then we have layers to peel back) When i cant tell if he's being sarcastic, i'll ask him genuinely, because as ive told him multiple times before the way he says things it literally cannot be interpreted as a joke (even neurotypicals at work have agreed with me in front of him) and always seems like he's being serious. i tell him this all the time and he acts like its fucking funny that im genuinely mad about the fact that he wont communicate back with me. Verbatim i have told him on multiple occasions "i genuinely cant tell when youre being sarcastic or making a joke because your tone is so flat and your face is so serious and deadpan and usually people will laugh or crack a smile a few seconds after the joke but you just stand there not expressing anything, even after i ask if its a joke because i genuinely cant tell"

YET HE CONTINUES TO FUCKING DO IT and then has the fucking GALL to laugh at me or call me gullible or naive when IM LITERALLY TRYING TO COMMUNICATE!!! bitch how tf am i supposed to know whats a joke and whats real when you act like im asking a fucking statue every time you say a lie or joke

[dandyshucks]

just wanted to say that i think the sketches you post r really cool and you have the kind of grasp of human anatomy i could only have in my dreams

WAUGH THANK YOU SO MUCH ???

THIS IS SO KIND !!! i really appreciate this !! so much !!

i do want to say though that YOU TOO can grasp human anatomy the amount I do - I honestly feel like half the time my drawings only come out lookin nice due to luck LOL I feel like I've got no clue what I'm doing most of the time FDSJKL

more helpful answer though is that it's just a lot of time and practice (DON'T SHY AWAY AT THE WORD PRACTICE, BEAR WITH ME HERE) and most importantly finding things you enjoy drawing !!! for me it's been a lot of fictional characters over the years (both OCs and pre-existing media characters) - if you find smth you love drawing then ur going to want to draw a lot of it, which is how you improve !!

if i can make one recommendation, i'd say go watch wrestling - it has improved my art a noticeable amount in a short time !! you can find AEW clips on youtube for free (and livestreams for free though less legally lmao) and you can find so many action shots around the internet to use as reference. it's super helpful for learning anatomy and how the human body MOVES !! ALSO learn to draw fat bodies, i swear to god that's taught me way more way faster than drawing skinny bodies ever did - once you learn about body fat placement, you're off to the races :]

draw things you enjoy!! stretch your skills!! i could give more advice but you didn't actually ask for any so i'll clamber down off my soapbox now, but !!! please trust me that you can learn !! i have often felt discouraged about my art but lately i've been seeing how much is possible when you just try things !!