#at least in my experience ymmv

[evegwood]

I'm looking forward to Thought Bubble! It's been a while since I went so I'm wondering if anything's changed about the event, there's four halls now?

honestly i think the vibes are as great as always, i don't think much has changed but in a good way! this is the first year with four halls (there's only been three the last few years that it's been in harrogate) but there'll also be two entrances to help funnel people through

i'm going to assume this second ask is also from you so i can just combine them into one post:

Got any tips for visiting and browsing through Thought Bubble? I'm morbidly curious about the after party at the nearby pub they're advertising but also getting cold feet about it.

if you're crazy like me, i highly recommend going through the exhibitor list beforehand and browsing people's websites/shops to see if there's anyone you definitely definitely want to check out. when i attended as a visitor for the first time i did this and it really helped structure my weekend bc i wasn't just wandering aimlessly, i had people i Wanted to stop and see.

but also give every table a look! you never know what you're going to find, a really nondescript table or unexpected comic could be totally up your alley so don't just beeline for the most eye-catching tables.

i've seen several people do this over the years and it's so smart; use that map that they give you at the entrance and circle tables you want to come back to! it's totally normal for folks to do a "shopping list" circle of the con and then come back to buy stuff later, but that's easier to do when you actually know what table you're looking for. make a note of why you're going back to that table too to jog your memory.

i hate the afterparty lmfao it sucks i never go

[mamawasatesttube]

not to be a bitch but like. i can never take "ohhhh kon is soOOoOoo sad about tim/ber uwaahhhh he's in love with tim but it's unrequited waaahhhh" angst seriously because like... i get it, the only thing you know about kon is that he's the other half of a popular m/m tim ship, but uh. rebirth kon is living an existential fucking nightmare. i think he's got way bigger fish to fry than whether the tim who only kind of remembers him at all is dating some other guy lmao

[secrettreestuffidk]

anyways as we head back into the holiday season, its time to share what I learned last year:

its actually pretty fucking cathartic to Ruin Christmas.

if someones being an ass, try bursting into tears and blubber about how youre trying to get along but they’re just being so *cruel*

and then leave early

[egophiliac]

Hello! Sorry to bother but do you have any digital art tips? I’m quite new to it and any tips, tricks or advice would be helpful! Your coloring style is very beautiful and I love it a lot!

thank you! 💚💚💚 sorry this is a bit late, hopefully there's still something helpful in it!

(also, it got pretty long, sorry!)

I think the biggest thing is to just take things slow -- digital art feels different than drawing traditionally, and it's SUPER easy to get overwhelmed by the billions of cool features that the digital world offers. (I say, as someone who spends a lot of time downloading cool brushes and textures...and then never using them ever.) there is a ton of really cool stuff you can do digitally, but because there's so much, I think it's really important to take time to figure out what is and isn't working for you. spend some time doodling without any intent to do a finished piece, figure out how you like to hold (or not hold) your tablet, what keyboard shortcuts you end up using a lot (and therefore might want to map to your pen/tablet buttons for quicker use)...that kind of thing!

everyone's workflow and preferred program and style are different, so it's hard to give hard-and-fast general advice. but the things that I think of as the essentials for learning digital art programs, and what I think of as a good order to focus on learning them in (although YMMV, especially depending on what kind of art you're doing):

brush customization (e.g. flow, opacity, softness)

layers and layer masks

selections and transformations (e.g. scale, rotate, flip horizontal/vertical, skew) (skew is underrated and I will die on that hill)

blending modes (e.g. multiply, screen)

adjustments/adjustment layers (e.g. hue/saturation, curves)

and I think most stuff after that is gravy! often very good gravy though! but yeah, as overall advice I recommend just taking things one little bit at a time, spending some time just drawing and messing around with each feature and what you can do with it. whether or not you end up incorporating any of it into your workflow, it's always good to try things out and just see how they feel! :D

and just so there is at least a little more concrete helpfulness in here, here's a few more specific things that I think are super important to keep in mind!

use! your! tablet/pen buttons! I mentioned this earlier, but they are extremely useful for keyboard shortcuts that you use often! most programs will also let you create new shortcuts for other things -- personally, I use the magic wand tool to fill in big color blocks a lot, so I made shortcuts for 'expand selection' and 'fill' and then mapped them to my tablet buttons.

flop your work horizontally often! when you're working on something, you get used to the way it looks, so seeing it mirrored is a quick way to see it with fresh eyes! in my experience, it often feels like this:

(a common thing is to find that everything is sort of 'leaning' too much one way, which is where skew really comes in handy!) (seriously, I love skew, it is my savior)

if you're working with color, keep a hue/saturation adjustment layer (or a layer filled with black or white and set to Color) on top and toggle it on occasionally to check your values! a lot of people who know a lot more about color than me (and are better at putting it into words) have written about why values are so important, so all I'll say is that the rule of thumb is that your image should still be readable in greyscale:

there are some exceptions and grey areas (do ho ho), but it's a good general rule to keep in mind! (some programs also have a colorblind mode, so you can check to see how your work will look to someone with colorblindness!)

and finally, here's some digital art programs I recommend, if you're still looking for a good one!

free: krita, FireAlpaca

paid: ClipStudio, Procreate (iOS/iPad only)

[jaegermonstrous]

So I've got Thoughts on Worf. Disclaimer, these are all heavily informed by own experiences and background, ymmv. Also disclaimer, I haven't gotten around to watching PIC yet. It's on my list, but I'm not there yet. But anyway.

So, Worf in TNG is pretty much our biggest exposure to the Klingon culture so far, and he's pretty consistent with the other Klingons we see. He's a big and tough warrior guy with the Stoic Warrior Thing going on. He's constantly getting his ass handed to him to show the audience the bad guys of the week are Serious Business. He's a pretty awful father, but we have no reason to believe other Klingons are much better. He's apparently got enough of a soft/personable side that he dates Deanna Troi for a bit [no shade to the actors here, but the logic behind that pairing has never worked for me, or at least the writers never did enough legwork to make it believable to my ace and autistic self]. But mostly, he's a Big Stoic Warrior Man from a culture of Big Stoic Warrior Men.

But Worf in DS9 is much less isolated from other Klingons, and it's here where - to me - he becomes incredibly interesting as an example of someone trying to reconnect with their heritage as an adult, especially someone who's either felt pressured to perform their culture "correctly" to an outsider [Federation] standard, or who's never had significant contact with the huge diversity of their culture and kind of internalized the idea that "this is how you perform my culture correctly" from a very limited amount of sources, and therefore become kind of an asshole about it when people [other Klingons] don't do or be as you expect them to.

From the doylist perspective we can just say "well, the DS9 writers really diversified the Klingons," but I find the watsonian perspective far more interesting; here you have Worf, the first and [so far] only Klingon serving in Starfleet, who was removed from his culture as a young child and raised by Humans [no shade to the Rozhenkos here, I think they did their best to raise Worf with an awareness of his origins]. He's been aware most of his life of being the only Klingon in a room full of Humans and other Federation species, most of whom have Expectations of what Meeting A Real Klingon would be like. So Worf, with his mostly second-hand knowledge of Klingon culture and a huge wall of Expectations surrounding him at every turn, becomes what he thinks of as The Ideal Klingon. He's stoic, he's gruff, he barely ever cracks a smile, and when you put him in the room with a bunch of diverse DS9 Klingons, he comes across as a caricature.

Let's look at some of the DS9 Klingons, and I think you'll see what I mean.

First up - Kaga, the Klingon chef. I personally love Kaga, and I wish we had gotten to see more of him. He's our first real indicator that Klingons in DS9 are Built Different. He's cheerful, he doesn't dress in a warrior's armor, he plays that Klingon accordion thing and sings to his patrons. He's a glimpse of what Klingons outside the military are probably like. I love that the DS9 writers did this, showcasing that Klingons [like so many of the non-Humans we get in DS9] are just people.

Next, we have Kor, the Dahar Master. Again, I adore Kor. In some ways he's a throwback to TOS Klingons, who were conniving, and mocking, and just generally Untrustworthy and would 100% stab you in the back if they thought it would get them what they wanted. But he's also a fantastic example of a DS9 Klingon. Kor is old, and tired, and kind of a drunk, and beginning to lose touch with his abilities and reality. But he's also clever, and cunning, and you can really see the intelligence and the ferocity that made him so formidable to Kirk and the TOS crew back in the day. And he's also charming and kind of a sweetheart, and he genuinely loves Dax like family. He's well-rounded in a way we don't get to see Worf be for a while. And even when we contrast Kor with Kang and Koloth, two other Klingons from the same era who align more with the TNG Stoic Warrior Man stereotype, you can see where their characters are much fuller. They have a history and a familiarity with each other and with Dax that really shines through. I mean, they swore blood oaths with a Trill. Yeah, Dax had to work really hard to be accepted by the Klingons, but once Curzon crossed that line, Kang, Koloth, and Kor were ride or die for Dax.

Third - General Martok. Martok is IMO the best foil to Worf, and sort of an example of who Worf might be someday [again, I haven't seen Worf in PIC yet]. And I really love Martok as someone who's very like Worf in a lot of ways, but also highlights how Worf has really made himself into a caricature of what Being A Klingon is all about. Yeah, Martok is big and tough and stoic, but you also see in the prison camp and later how that's not all of what Martok is. He has faith in and respect for his fellow prisoners in the camp, even the Romulans [who you'd think would be the last people a Klingon would ever trust or respect]. He's a Wife Guy, which I just adore. He's got a sharp sense of humor, he's got trauma from being held as a prisoner of the Dominion for so long, he's friends with Local Twink Julian Bashir.

Martok is also the one who talks Worf down from being such a hardline asshole. When Alexander comes aboard the Rotarran, it's Martok who helps them start to build a better relationship. When it looks like the Worf-Dax wedding is off, it's Martok who encourages Worf to soften his stance [yes, it's also implied Dax is pressured into apologizing to Sirella, but that's another post for another day]. Martok is the example of being a Stoic Warrior Man while also being a rounded person.

This isn't to say Worf doesn't grow on his own, but a lot of his growth happens in DS9 in ways that [to me] read as someone who's really only engaged in their culture in a vacuum or in an abstract way, and now he's hanging out with other Klingons, he's Making Friends with other Klingons, and he has the space [and is actively encouraged by other Klingon characters] to soften his stance and be a little more rounded.

I could also talk about Dax here, and her interactions with Klingon culture and how those affect Worf, but I think I'm done for now.

[august--and-everything-after]

So there have been a lot of times in my life (anywhere from a few days to months at a time) where I've felt too tired and unenergized to do anything. We could discuss this with respect to my depression but that's not what this post is about.

I tend to ramble, so the tl'dr is this: doing nothing often makes you more tired. The more you do in a day*, the more you are telling your body "hey we need energy to do this" and the more your body responds by providing that energy.

(*obviously up to a point, this whole post is meant only in relation to typical day-to-day life and YMMV with how much activity is a good amount for you – but I promise you it's not "no activity")

My rambling is under the cut tho for people who want to read more.

On some level it makes me mad that it works this way, but in my experience doing nothing generally makes me more tired, or at least keeps me in the cycle of apathy and inactivity. I might think of it as "resting" to have a day where I sleep in and loaf around and play video games the whole time, but at the end of the day I feel just as lethargic and unmotivated as I did before because this isn't resting, it's rotting.

What actually helps me is doing stuff. I tend to have more energy when I've done different things throughout the day, moved around, had different kinds of inputs and outputs. If I'm exhausted when I wake up and I spend the day doing nothing, I'll stay that way. But by and large, if I wake up exhausted and, for instance, drag myself thru the process of making a slightly more complicated breakfast (I'm talking just like an omelet or scrambled eggs vs crackers and cream cheese level of effort), and I maybe tackle some small chores, and do a bit of light stretching, and do a crossword puzzle or a craft, and play video games, and spend some time just chilling, and I mix these activities up so I'm not doing the same thing for hours and hours at a time then I feel way better by the end of the day.

Psychologically, we know that lack of stimulation is bad for your brain – it slows everything down, makes you feel depressed, etc. – and an adequate level of stimulation is necessary to feel good and energized and happy. (I mean good stimulation, not scrolling instagram all day type stimulation, but that's another post by itself).

My best guess as to what's happening physiologically is that your body adjusts how much energy it makes based on how much demand there is. We all know that you eat food and your body uses it for energy, but here's what's happening at the cellular level (highly simplified, the details are completely irrelevant here): your body breaks the food down into different molecules of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, etc., and then uses those molecules to make a different molecule called ATP. This molecule is vitally important to how your body functions because it's what makes so many different cellular processes work, including things like muscle contractions and nerve impulses. You can probably see how not having enough of that molecule going around can really slow you down and make you feel fatigued and foggy-headed.

Generally, biological organisms don't like wasting energy for no reason, and it takes energy to make energy. When your body "makes" energy, it's making the energy stored in different molecules into a form that is usable by your body. If there's a low demand for energy, your body won't waste the energy that it already has making more, since it's not being used. The stored energy can stay in storage. When you get more active tho, that activity signals to your body that there IS a need for energy, so it gets to work making more of that stored energy available, and then you're off to the races.

Huge caveat that I've not done additional research for this post, this is based on my education and personal knowledge, I'm not a doctor and this shouldn't be taken as medical advice, etc.

Feel free to hit me up with questions or comments about anything I said here, or general observations about my rambling wordiness and lack of flow lol

[theriverbeyond]

how quick did u start seeing changes on t? also as someone who is. Not a fan of needles how did/do you deal with injecting yourself?

Internally: immediately. possibility placebo, but I think hormonally T does impact uh, "arousal" immediately, and "arousal" is not something exclusively reserved for Being Horny. It's also like, mood and energy and such things. YMMMV

Physically: pretty quickly honestly, my voice dropped really fast (one of my only big "hm i dont like this" moments) and I had to start shaving my face at 2 months. I think I am a bit of an outlier in this respect though, and it largely depends on your genetics.

I am not sure how much I can help with needle phobia, I have never had a signifigant problem with needles. Injecting myself the first time vs just getting stabbed was kind of intimidating but I have learned how to do more difficult things over youtube before, and planned parenthood's video tutorials are very helpful.

The good thing is injection/needle anxiety is incredibly common, and lots of people with needle anxiety still need to self inject (i.e. diabetics), so there IS a lot of advice/help/devices out there if you are in that "physically able to inject yourself but it is still scary" zone.

They make auto injector attachments that help you inject (they're not actually 100% automatic but they usually hide the needle so you dont see it at least), and there's also a special perscription type of T (XYOSTED, iirc it is more expensive/harder to get) that comes in pre-fulled syringes, but you still have to hold it against your body and press a button to make it inject. For whatever it is worth, in my experience, I actually had MORE pain with subcutaneous injections (tiny needle), because the skin/fat is where it hurt the most, wheras with intramuscular injections (BIG needle) it goes past the skin/fat really quickly and into muscle which just isn't as sensitive. YMMV

They also make like, "prickle pads" I think? I've never used them but they help disperse the feeling of the poke. I think there are other tricks out there too, like numbing the area with ice or similar.

If you definitely can't do needles there is the option of gel (depending on your insurance or financial status), or having someone else inject it for you, be that a nurse or friend/family member.

[coochiekrab]

if i may be toy animal autism in your ask box for a moment. that looks like safari ltd’s bobcat which isnt bad but i know collectA and papo both have eurasian lynx figures that both look pretty good imo. i also checked the toyanimalwiki (yes. i know) and collectA also has a fairly nice fallow deer buck. ymmv of course. unfortunately collectA/papo dont really show up in US retail stores (at least in my experience) so your best bet (if you have any actual interest in getting them) are online toy stores, or resellers, though i just looked up those figures on ebay and ppl are wayyy overcharging for them

A fucking Wizard just showed up in my inbox

[alacants]

HELLO………. thinking about your tennis omegaverse posts on this fine evening. i find your opinions on this Objectively Correct (our opinions are the same 😚) and reallyyyy want to hesr more of your thoughts on this au if you so desire 🤲

HELLO ANON gosh clearly you are an opinion haver of taste and distinction. :') 

i posted a wideish cast and idk if there's anyone that you're most interested in hearing about so. going to cover some broad ground here.

(eta that was a lie this ended up exactly where you would expect it to end up, at length. this is me warning you.)

for obvious reasons what is speaking to me most at the moment is NOVANDY. two betas who just want to help each other but for various reasons are unable to do so. no i want to be the one to support you!! something a little tragicomic about it, which is suited to novandy. 

meanwhile cultural commentary about sporting success is about what you think it would be. (disproportionate number of alphas at the top of the top, betas perform best in team sports etc.) which ALSO means that from day one novak has been like. pretty sure i was meant to be an alpha. im gonna make it happen.

andy: (long sigh) ok. sure, novak.  novak: you don't believe me. but im gonna. :)

beta → alpha novak is fun because the trans themes are there whether you want them to be or not. "oh ha ha some fun jokes at the expense of his new-age health bullshit" and then suddenly you're face down in a river of discourse about whether novak is Really an alpha now and if he is is it cheating and if he's not is he faking it. (ymmv, understandably, on how enjoyable it is to read about this.)

this is obviously the meatiest and most interesting part of this universe so equally obviously i have devoted most of my thoughts and opinions to the juankiferru of it all. (i warned you!!!)

start at DAVIS CUP 2000. building off thoughts about alex/juanki in the tags here but obVIOUSLY the dc 00 final is all about, like, celebratory locker room shenanigans with botticelli angel 20 year old omega radiating the glow of victory. possibly a group event.* possibly just alex corretja high on winning and pheromones. what's important is that the upshot is:

juanki: and now this is my ALPHA and he's going to MATE me and– alex corretja: ok back to my string of beautiful model girlfriends :) you can totally call me any time you want a hand tho luv you hermano <3

*this is the point at which i realized i've been conflating omegaverse with the bear/monette iskryne series, or more accurately with the fanfiction i've read in this au setting. well. i guess this has some fusion elements now just go with it and NO i am NOT spinning out an entirely separate au in my head–

meanwhile nadarrero… nadarrero are the way they are because in the year of our lord 2004 with juanki dropping from peak to rock bottom (which. plenty of discourse about that in the context of secondary gender lmfao) and struggling with health and confidence, he not only loses his singles spot but his replacement 18 year rafa nadal is acting all SOLICITOUS and trying to CODDLE him because he's a fragile omega after all!!! i'll carry that for you. do you need to sit down. is it heat onset fatigue. don't strain yourself. he's trying to be NICE he's just. a dumb kid who needs to unlearn some things. many fun experiences in his very near future.

come to think of it… i think in this universe the first swipe of bad luck is not chicken pox and is in fact related to secondary gender somehow. heat gone wrong, medication reaction, chronic onset fatigue, something. still, ultimately, just shitty, shitty luck. but the kind of shitty luck that generates Discourse. 🙃

anyway so that's why juanki wants rafa dead. that and also the likelihood that at least one dc tie included further locker room shenanigans.

the outcome of all of the above is that juanki is Not going to make any of those mistakes again and doubles down on going it alone. he has suppressants and blockers and he's just fine thanks!!! and when he's not fine he's got a friend, a beta friend thank you very much, who's super helpful and has never treated him differently because of his secondary gender and really genuinely believes he's going to crack the top ten again. what unanticipated side effects could possibly result from letting someone into every crevice of your life and relying on them during your most emotionally vulnerable moments. who. could. have. predicted. this.

meanwhile david ferrer was raised right and reads widely and has had it impressed upon him at length that you do Not assume anything about what an omega can or can't do and wants or doesn't want. you listen to what they say and take them at their word! i mean cmon juan carlos was WORLD NUMBER ONE and ROLAND GARROS CHAMPION so like… secondary gender is the least relevant thing going on here. he's SO talented and special and modest and helpful and kind and he deserves to be respected and appreciated and loved and [cut for unimaginable length]

as it happens what this particular omega says he wants is a helping hand when he's injured yet again/wiped out with side effects from heat medication/tired of alphas talking shit. ferru can totally do that. i can bring you things. i can make you a calm space. i can keep people off your back. Whatever You Want. because doing services and being reliable feels good and doing services and being reliable for juan carlos feels e s p e c i a l l y good. this dynamic does not have a lot to do with omegaverse specifically. 

what this particular omega has NOT said he wants… i have already talked about this a little bit here but we all have our unexamined blind spots and juanki's is that despite his very legitimate grievances about secondary gender in sport when it comes to secondary gender in his personal life what he is deep in his heart of hearts hoping is that his special person will just suddenly out of the blue start manifesting alpha traits and mate him and knot him and fuck him into next week hurray happy ending. :)

(juan carlos he might not be able to do the first two things but he will absolutely do the last IF YOU ASK HIM TO in fact he would be VERY HAPPY to do so since what is that if not another act of service. 🙃)

(hey you know who did NOT have any compunctions about asking for things from their friend best beta ferru. feliciano lopez london 2012 lol rest in pieces juanki.)

anyway so here we are at like. auckland 09.* uh-oh somebody's fucked up their suppressants. heat oncoming??? a weak version maybe. juanki's as prepared as he can be. he's got himself a little makeshift nest. and then... he invites ferru to take a look at it. in what would be an unmistakable invitation if ferru were in fact an alpha. but since HE'S NOT:

ferru: wow that looks really nice i hope you'll be comfortable :) i'll be right outside if you need anything ok? juanki: juanki: juanki: i guess this means i've been REJECTED, AGAIN, and he doesn't LOVE me and (cut to undetermined # of years of the goriest pining you can imagine.)

*what happened irl at auckland 09 (i think it was 09… 08??) was that they both got super sick lmao. as to why someone with such a careful history of controlling their heat medication would fuck up now, after ten years on tour… what a fascinating question.

undetermined bc this pathetic misunderstanding is so pathetic that it could easily be resolved at any point. but also 1) many real life events (dc 2009, london 2012, valencia 2012, ferrufest 2019) that could be entertainingly seasoned and 2) i kind of enjoy the thought of deus ex machina ALEX CORRETJA showing up at some exho, basically this event, and referencing Good Times At The Davis Cup (including the two years he captained lmao you better believe that juanki's farewell tie in oviedo was colorful) like hahaha is that what we're doing again?? havin some fun??? :DDD

ferru: oh… is this an alpha/omega thing... ok well have fun and be safe... :) ← that smile took Effort alex: whoa whoa where are you going bro you're not gonna LEAVE our friend HANGING are you?? juanki: it's fine. let's not make this uncomfortable for anyone. ferru: haha... i mean... i'm not uncomfortable... i know it's different for you that's all... i respect that. you guys do what you need, i'll get out of the way. :) alex (who is no fool): ????? bro the last time we did this he was ASKING FOR YOU???? ferru: ferru: ferru: (bluescreen)

like i said. pathetic-pathetic misunderstanding, yall are all in your FORTIES. cue excruciating conversation along the lines of juanki like, but if you wanted me then why didn't you take me :( and ferru like, i mean… you never said you… wanted me to?????

and then all of juan carlos' dreams come true at the age of thirty- or forty-something. congrats i guess.

…christ i am so sorry. it's the disease i have. uh ok other very brief classic armada notes: f.verdasco is also an alpha and he and rafa have had more than one pissy little territory scuffle, all of which fernando lost. feli lopez is, of course, an omega. and he's having a great time thanks.

anon if you were here for the kids i'm so fucking sorry that was 1600 words and zero were about them. carlos trying with the power of his mind to waft tempting omega pheromones across half of europe remains incredibly funny to me. also i posted like three separate jannik takes and i still haven't settled on one! they all seem the most reasonable to me while i'm thinking about them. if this is what you were looking for feel free to provide more direction and i will share whatever thoughts i have. instead of. whatever the hell this was.

[infinitemachine]

Post-OGL Debacle D&D 5e Alternatives Round Up

After Wizards of the Coast screwed the pooch by trying to rescind the OGL several designers, youtubers, and TTRPG streamers decided to make their own D&D-adjacent games. Let's have a look at them! (These are not reviews, and I have not played or read many of these. Just an overview of the field for future reference. Please let me know if I've skipped any entries I should have included.)

Tales of the Valiant by Kobold Press is to D&D 5e as Pathfinder 1e was to D&D 3.5. It's basically the same experience as D&D, updated and tweaked, but recognizably still the same game. Like Paizo back in the day, Kobold Press is a highly rated third party D&D publisher, and this has a good chance of getting continued development and support. If you like 2014 5e but want some quality of life updates and don't want to support Wizards of the Coast, this is a great option for you. On the other hand, if you have the 2014 5e books and just want to keep playing them...no one's stopping you, and this may feel redundant. It's already available.

Draw Steel by MCDM is the RPG from Matthew Colville's company, announced very quickly after the OGL dooblydoo. This is not a 5e or D&D clone, but a new cinematic heroic fantasy RPG. While D&D is kind of locked into supporting several different directions and styles, Draw Steel purposefully eschews "zero-to-hero" character development and dungeon crawling. The characters start as powerful, competent heroes. If that's the style of play you want, this could be a good option! If you're interested in a steeper leveling experience or OSR rat-catching, maybe it's not the one? Draw Steel is still in development.

Daggerheart by Darrington Press is Critical Role's long-form fantasy RPG. Like Draw Steel, it is not a 5e clone, but an entirely new fantasy RPG system. Unlike Draw Steel (from what I've seen, correct me if I'm wrong) Daggerheart does not appear to require/support tactical miniature combat, so if that's your jam in D&D (and, honestly it kind of *is* for me) this may not scratch that itch. I wasn't really impressed with Candela Obscura, Darrington Press' previous RPG, but I'm still willing to give this a fair look when it's finished (if only to understand what's going on when the Critical Role team inevitably play it on stream). Daggerheart is still in development.

DC20 by The Dungeon Coach. Of the RPGs on this list this probably has my least favorite title, if only because it's based on a pun which itself requires knowledge of D&D mechanics to understand. I've heard the rules described as "5e and Pathfinder 2e's lovechild". The game itself seems to be a collection of often interesting homebrew rules; it's as if the author looked at each part of D&D, took it out, thought of something they liked better (maybe from PF2?), and replaced it with that. That means it could be a good game to try if you like D&D but want something a bit "more", or could be good resource for homebrew ideas to plug into your own "actual D&D" game. Available now.

Nimble by Nimble Co, like DC20, is an attempt to take the 5e rules and improve and streamline them, in a fairly modular way that would be easy to cross-pollinate into existing D&D games (according to the KS page, it's fully compatible with existing 5e adventure modules, monster books, and supplements). This one does seem a little more polished than DC20, at least in terms of production values. But ultimately, like DC20, whether you want to play the game as-is or how helpful as a resource it will be will depend on how much you like the adjustments to base-5e that they've made -- YMMV. Still in development.

Vagabond by Land of the Blind is an RPG by youtuber Indestructoboy (aka Taron Pounds). It appears to be more generally "D&D"-like rather than specifically 5e-like, if that makes sense. As such, it does advertise some compatibility with previous D&D editions, as well some more modern rules design ideas cross-pollinated from elsewhere (e.g., the monsters don't roll for attacks!). Like both DC20 and especially Nimble, it boasts a streamlined experience, particularly during combat. It's still in development.

[pen-and-umbra]

Abt CC, I think it made ASG work tho.The battle flashback says it all, with Gen and Seph bickering and Seph getting irritated and Angeal acting like a mother hen…that's the wholesome friendship right there packed into a single scene. It's clear throughout the game what kind of dynamics the trio had. 

YMMV. Crisis Core is a mixed bag for me. It got some things right; it got some things amiss. It managed to pull off convincing dynamics between Zack and Sephiroth, for example; they share sufficient screen time, and you can see the rapport and a kind of endearment between a junior and a senior colleague, which later organically flows into FFVII Rebirth. But when it comes to ASG friendship…not so much, given the lack of trio shared screen time and the fact that at least one of the characters communicates almost exclusively by rehashing the same poetry lines.  

Also YMMV, but in my perspective, the friendship between Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis did not feel genuinely balanced and harmonious. To me, it came off as if Sephiroth had always felt like a third wheel in the back of his mind, which was also fueled by his already present history of being left behind. Angeal and Genesis share a common past and an already established enduring bond; Angeal and Genesis are physiologically compatible for a blood transfusion, while Sephiroth is never given an explanation as to why he was rejected as a donor, or even properly acknowledged for attempting to be one; Genesis appears to desert with no parting word, then chooses to come open with Angeal but not Sephiroth; finally, the two of them disappear together, for the lack of a better word. Perhaps in some way, to Sephiroth, it felt like the two of them were more tight-knit, more closely bonded with each other than with him. It's just there in the way he quickly concludes that Angeal "abandoned" ShinRA as well, or in the way he never responds directly to Zack's question about whether the three of them were close. His response is ambiguous at best, as if he is unsure of it himself lately. Then there's a battle flashback that implies that, while Genesis was friendly, there was always a hint of jealousy and an attempt to instill rivalry over the hero title.

The most recent episode of First Soldier adds to this perspective. Most importantly, it demonstrates that Angeal, and Genesis by extension, had no idea what ShinRA was about until misfortune struck them directly following Genesis ailment. Or, in the case of Genesis, what it meant to be a ShinRA hero — a lie-filled campaign at best and a tool for murder at worst. It appears that Sephiroth never opened up about it. Or he did, but wasn't really HEARD — because in FS he blatantly talks about his take on the role ShinRA had forced onto him in front of Bachman and Angeal, but his words don't appear to be taken seriously. Either scenario calls ASG closeness into question, whether due to Sephiroth's tendency to keep his experiences private (he never comes clean about Rosen's death, letting Glenn project whatever motives on him) or on the part of A&G. It could easily be both. Young!Angeal's behavior in the most recent FS was bordering on overbearing in some instances, such as making rather ill-mannered statements about things he knew nothing about, namely Sephiroth's relationship with his former teammates. I'm sure Angeal's prodding over a recent and unhealed wound did not add to Sephiroth's sense of emotional security and caused just as much stress to Sephiroth as Sephiroth's crabbiness did to Angeal.

It all just makes you wonder.

[carolinagirl80]

Off topic,

but every time I see someone say that Jensen scares me or Jensen is scary or intimidating or anything like that. And the reason is that he looks “grumpy” I have to laugh. I met him and the cast multiple times and on multiple different occasions and let me tell you Jensen isn’t intimidating at all nor is he actually grumpy. Usually when Jensen is grumpy it’s a facade used for giggles, he isn’t actually being grumpy. Misha Actually gets grumpy sometimes and is more intimidating that the J2M. Jensen is the least intimidating one outbox the three and is the silliest one

Ah yes, the grumpy squirrel 🐿️

His inner Dean comes out because I think he thinks that’s what people expect. He has also said that Dean is just an exaggerated version of his personality, but I think that really, he’s just a nice guy with a little grumpy squirrel mixed in.

My experience was that he was sweet and polite when I met him….and actually a little shy.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Jared, but I know he is the absolute sweetest by all accounts that I’ve heard.

Misha acts like you are beneath him and are wasting his time. That was my experience, others have had similar experiences, ymmv, not trying to start a fight here. Some people think he’s super nice. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[power-chords]

hiya ,, ive been in on the fence abt ketamine therapy for a while,, and recently ive been leaning towards trying it since my current medication feels almost useless.. what are your thoughts with your experience? thanks :)

Hey there! So, with the obvious caveat that I know nothing about your mental health or medical history and as with all psychiatric medications YMMV and you should discuss your options with your doctor, DO IT NOW DO IT YESTERDAY DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT $200. I spent almost the entirety of my preteen to young adult years on SSRIs that were ineffective at best and miserable at worst, because at the time – late nineties, early 2000s – all shrinks really had to go on was the monoamine hypothesis, at least with respect to the clinical umbrella symptoms of depression and anxiety. Ketamine exerts its antidepressant effect via a different receptor pathway in the brain, and for me the results were dramatic and almost instantaneous. Overnight, I went from an exhausted, anhedonic shell of myself to ME again. In my own experience with bipolar depression following a severe manic episode, it’s a magic bullet. A miracle drug. Given its efficacy, safety, and tolerability I wouldn’t be surprised if it edges out antidepressants as a first-line treatment within the next 10-15 years.

The only real downside, unfortunately, is the cost. My insurance provider would not cover the infusions (although some do provided you exhaust other chemical options first, or will pay for the troches/nasal spray in lieu of IV), and to maximize your chances of a strong therapeutic response the recommended schedule is four initial infusions within a two-week period followed by “booster” sessions as frequently as monthly to as infrequently as once every six months. The total damage for me this first round is $2,475 ($550 per infusion with a $275 preliminary consult), and that’s in NYC at one of the most above-board, reputable clinics in the city, with a licensed MD overseeing the entire process start to finish. There are definitely cheaper routes available, I just can’t speak to them personally. If you have any questions/concerns about the procedure itself, I’d be happy to address them to the best of my ability!

[cobaltsoulsearcher]

Little things I’ve found that make the tough gender days better

I experience some gender fluidity, so this post includes stuff for going either direction and does not assume gender or AGAB. That said, these are me things. YMMV

1. In sight, in mind

This is probably most helpful to genderfluid and closeted folks. I like to keep what little make-up I have just out of reach, so when I use it to affirm my gender I get to be purposeful about it and it doesn’t bother me to see it when (as is more common to me) it would bother me to. You can do this with a lot of things, including deadname stuff—taking it out and mentally reminding yourself “This is a performance and I am valid even though these things are seen as mine” with the gender you are assumed to be and saving some sacred/joyful space for items associated with your true gender.

2. Use your personal associations

Gender is, of course, a social construct. Which means we all have been exposed to and construct it a bit differently. Just cause one thing is generally considered girly or masculine doesn’t mean it is for you, and you can abuse this to your full power! For instance, in my culture braids are considered feminine. However, with my face shape and undercut, pulling my hair back tightly makes me seem more masculine (at least to me!). Likewise, I’ve had friends who got gender euphoria from stud vs dangly earrings, pronouncing things different ways, etc, etc.

3. Lazy wear is generally considered gender neutral

Aka another vote for the dysphoria hoodie, oversized t-shirt, etc. It doesn’t tend to ring on others radars and can be used for most all self-comforting activities!

4. Cosplay can be drag, or affirming, and that’s up to you

You know all your blorbos who are mostly normal? Like who wear t shirts and mini skirts, or button ups and vests, and other stuff not hard to come across? When it gets really rough, you can dress like them. This can either be affirming (I’m dressed like Blorbo!!) or, and I use this often, on those really shitty days you can’t even figure out your own gender or what to do with it, you’re dressed up as someone else—embrace the drag!

5. Sometimes pointlessly gendered stuff is actually hella useful.

You know, those workout videos who say hot girl summer or manly muscles every 15 seconds. Those songs that just don’t stop with the pronouns. Those weirdly labeled garden gloves. If they exist anyway and aren’t harming folk, why not use them for small bits of gender affirmation?

[copperbadge]

We recently got into a discussion of producing audiobooks for small press, indy, and/or selfpub authors on another post, but we had strayed pretty far from the original post, and @genedoucette very kindly gave permission for me to slice his comment off the end of that post and put it into a new one.

genedoucette

I have been very, very lucky when it comes to audiobooks, so I'm hesitant to offer advice without adding a huge YMMV caveat at the top. For most of my self-published novels, I used ACX and paid a narrator out-of-pocket (rather than 50-50 proceeds split), which just means I'm paying an agreed-upon X dollars per finished hour, prior to making any money off f the audio editon. Every book I did this with paid for itself, sometimes within the first two or three months, sometimes longer. (YMMV: I did a lot of this during what I would call the audiobook bubble, when demand was higher than supply.) I had another novel series--Tandemstar--that I brought to an audiobook company, who brought it to their distributor, who agreed to pay for the production costs of the book and to pay me a (small) advance. To date, the royalties from that series have not made up the cost of the advance, but the good news was that none of the production costs came from my pocket and the advance meant I did make something out of the deal. The rule-of-thumb I always heard was, don't expect books that haven't sold well to sell any better as audiobooks. But my experience, with ACX/Audible, is this: about 50% of my monthly earning come from audio sales. How long is the book in question (word count), and what is the genre? Because it is absolutely possible to get a not-terrible narrator at a not-terrible cost on ACX. If it's a low word count book with a decent sales record, I'd 100% do it. If it's a high word count book with few sales, maybe not.

Thanks so much for this! I am admittedly always suspicious of Amazon writ large, but it's not like I've never partnered with them before, and often for indy authors they're one of a very few games in town.

50% of sales via audio impresses me a lot -- I'm not really in the industry so my sense of scale may be off but my eyebrows went up at that. And looking at ACX, a split-profits model would be appealing. I'm more interested in providing the reader with more options than I am with making royalties, so I don't mind low payout, but I also don't want to exploit a narrator if I can avoid it.

I doubt I'm selling near the level you are, but it's pretty consistent, at least -- for the last literary novel I published in 2021, and for the four genre romances published in the past year-and-change, it's generally 200-250 copies (epub and paperback) in the first 6 months, and about 40 per year after that. None of them are over 100K words -- the first of the romance novels, the one I'd be most likely to have done as an audiobook to trial, is around 50K, and the other books are all between 60K and 90K or so.

There's some fine print I'm not nuts about -- exclusivity to Amazon/Audible/iTunes for example -- but I can see why it's a necessary business model for them. There's not a ton of clarity on cost per hour for a book, but it looks like for a flat fee it starts around $250 per finished hour? So I'd probably be looking at minimum $1K out of pocket, which is probably roughly (I haven't done the math) royalties per book for a full year. It could be fun to give it a swing regardless, although reading the ACX site made me realize I'd actually have to give notes and feedback to a reader which sounds nervewracking.

It looks like the readers for ACX are repped by SAG-AFTRA, which means that for now I have time to consider while the strike is going on. (Obviously not all of them are union but if it's an entertainment format where the union is involved, I don't want to cross the picket.) And the ACX site is pretty comprehensive in terms of figuring out how it all works, so if I did want to source a narrator elsewhere and perhaps not distribute exclusively through ACX, I now have a grounding from which to research other options too.

Sorry, a lot of this is just me thinking aloud, but I truly do appreciate the info and also something to bounce off of in terms of considering it. And I appreciate the opportunity to share it with my readership too, thank you!

[4th-make-quail]

Big Bang anon here! I was just looking for some challenging event to participate this winter, and wanted to know your opinion because you have a lot of fandom experience! And YES I also noticed that a lot of Big Bang challenges currently are like "minimum word count is 5k words", and no shade to mods but that's not a challenge skdjdhdjl

Do you have a favorite fandom event type? Care to share your best fandom event experience?

Good morning nonny! Ahhh I see, okay I getcha!! There are quite a few longer word count fandom exchanges if you're into those, but the winter ones are already well in progress iirc!

One good place to check for events like this is fandom calendar on dreamwidth - people advertise their stuff on there regularly (no need to make a dw account to look at it either).

If you want a longer event, I have a few friends who do the three longer minimum word count exchanges and they have fun, so here they are;

- Fic in a Box (fiab): a fanwork exchange with a large minimum gifting requirement and several unique features - this one is complicated, so check out the comm link! Unfortunately this one is well and truly over now, but it's there for next year - schedule is around August to September!

- Five Figure Fandom Exchange (fffx or fandom 5k): a multifandom gift exchange for fanfic of 10,000+ words, and for comics of least 10 pages or at least 40 panels. Currently ongoing, but there are pinch hits in need of picking up! Deadline is January 18th, so if you can write a pinch hit fandom, you could try that!

- High Adrenaline (previously Heart Attack): two weeks to write 10k (or draw a 25-panel, 10-page comic) and one week to edit. Noms open in January!

Completing all three of these makes you eligible for Triple Crown, which is a prize raffle for all three of these 10k exchanges.

For the next few months, most people will be doing Yuletide which I've talked about a bit here before, but it has a 1000 word minimum so might be of less interest to you if you wanted a challenge. Pinch hits for yuletide are being posted here this year, but there aren't any available rn, and as yuletide is for rare fandoms, ymmv as to how possible this is for you anyway.

The next thing I will personally be participating in is Candy Hearts, which is a valentines day themed low word count (300 words) exchange, schedule usually starting with noms in December. This replaces chocolate box which used to run at the same time, and it's really fun!

Others I usually do regularly:

- Seasons of Drabbles: new to me but very fun, has a new round every season! For strict drabbles specifically, currently in its autumn round so there will be a winter one to come I imagine!

- Goreswap: an exchange for gore etc, with genre type tags to pick. Schedule starts with noms in January usually! Not one I've done, but I have friends who love it and do it every year.

- Phoenix Down Exchange: my own full Final Fantasy franchise exchange, set to start noms in Feb as last year

- Rarepair Exchange: as it sounds, for rarepairs! Check the comm for definition of minimum fics required to be eligible. Usually starts around April

- Rare Male Slash Exchange: as rarepair ex above, but for m/m ships only and again with specific minimum fic number eligibility. This is older than rpe, but as it tends to run on a similar schedule (noms in May last year) I've not done it for the last two years

- Relationshipping: for incest ships! The last round was July to August, but it conflicted with other fan stuff for me so I didn't do this for a bit as well. Run by some very good people

Some others I know about from my exchange crew participing but have never personally done: kids come first (underage themed), consent issues (dub/noncon themed), trauma exchange (as the name suggests), trick or treat (complicated, I think halloween theme?? Unsure), nonconathon (dub/noncon, but with very fun freeform tags to pick and nominate), and then there are usually a hell of a lot of flash exchanges around as well, which run on quick turnarounds - you could try joining the Exchanges After Dark discord server, which is an 18+ nsfw server for exchanges. It's very big and has a channel for every exchange, so the best thing to do is mute them all apart from what ur interested in ime! It also has a fandomcalendar rss feed channel which could be relevant if u wanna see what's coming up!

As for your second question, my favourite fandom event experience is probably Unconventional Fanworks Exchange, which is unfortunately didn't run last year and I'm not sure if it will again 😭😭 its an exchange for, well, unconventional fanwork mediums, and I've had so much fun challenging myself in the two rounds I've participated in! They had things like newspaper articles, in universe academic documents, blueprints, paper dolls, all sorts! I'm hoping someone might take it over tbh, if the mod can't run it again.

Also, this year I did Small Web September for the first time and had sooo much fun! It's for working on any smallweb projects you might have; personal sites, neocities, coding etc. and it had a really great vibe, plus it was super fun seeing everyone's smallweb projects! Very inspiring!!

This ended up very long, but as u can see I am very passionate about these things! I run my entire fannish calendar around exchanges mixed with event weeks and I find it very rewarding - I'm always happy to introduce anyone to exchanges and talk through how to participate etc. so anyone can ask me about this at any time!