#commenting resources

[st-fanfic-bookclub]

Comment resources

Receiving comments means so much to fic authors so we’d love to encourage people to leave more. But we appreciate that leaving comments can be a bit daunting or draining, especially on days when we are tired or already stressed. So here are a few resources to hopefully encourage us all to leave more and to make doing so easier.

Archive of Our Own floating comment boxes

There are a couple of versions of these out there and they can be helpful. They are browser extensions that allow you to keep the comment box on the screen whenever you like so that you can easily comment as you read, rather than getting to the end and panicking about what to say.

Here are two different versions:

AO3 Floating Comment Box by ScriptMouse

Floaty Review Box by ravenel ← I use this one and think it’s great - Squid 💕

Feed The Fandom Fest

Have you heard of the @feedthefandomfest bingo cards? Because if you’re participating in these, maybe one of the recs on this blog could be the perfect way to tick off a square on these cards. Or, if you’ve not started one yet, why not pick one to encourage yourself to comment more and have some fun while doing so?

Here are the different cards:

Original Card

For Beginners

Fluff Edition

Angst Edition

Smut Edition

Old Fic Edition

Billy Hargrove Edition

Or put your own together!

I’d also just recommend having a look through the Feed The Fandom Fest blog in general, it’s such a wonderful resource 💖

Additional AO3 Kudos

Here’s some images of additional kudos for when you’re longing to mash that button again but all it greets you with is that mocking red smiley face. These are complete with the html to easily put them in!

AO3 Random Nice Comments

This browser extension will give you a short, nice comment from a list at the press of a button. It may be useful for beginner commenters who want to say something nice but are unsure what.

Comment prompts

If you want to craft your own comments but are unsure what to say, here’s a few starting points:

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think back on the fic? I’m sure the author would love to know

Who was your favourite character in the fic? 

Where are you reading the fic?

Speculate on what could happen after the end of the fic

How did you react emotionally? Did you laugh? Cry? Smile? Scream?

Or there’s the simple but ever loved:

Keyboard smash

String of emojis

‘Loved this!’

Here’s some more lists of prompts:

Good and easy comment ideas by ao3-shenanigans

Some more easy comment suggestions by ao3-shenanigans

Unhinged fic comment ideas by magpie-murder 

Our comment stickers

Here’s a few stickers we made to use in place of comments if you want to leave something but still don’t know what to type out yourself:

html for the above, in order:

<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/yYRJxJ8C/readforbookclub-sticker.png" alt="sticker with stars and text reading: I READ THIS FIC FOR FANFIC BOOK CLUB AND LOVED IT"/>

<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/yxgDFxh9/greatwork-sticker.png" alt="sticker with stars and text reading: I ADORE THIS FIC GREAT WORK"/>

<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/c12gd7Zc/howtheactualheck-sticker.png" alt="sticker with stars and text reading: HOW THE ACTUAL HECK IS THIS SO GOOD?"/>

<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/V6HSrntm/amazingwriting-star-sticker.png" alt="star-shaped sticker with text reading: AMAZING WRITING!"/>

<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/RZzWHMW6/screamingcryingthrowingup-star-sticker.png" alt="star-shaped sticker with text reading: SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP"/>

<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/1XkfMSMd/mayiofferyoumyfirstborn-star-sticker.png" alt="star-shaped sticker with text reading: MAY I OFFER YOU MY FIRSTBORN? OR PERHAPS MY SOUL?"/>

[justleaveacommentfest]

ANNOUNCING THE THEMES FOR THIS SUMMER'S COMMENT FEST!!!

[sugaredrhubarb]

A QUICK GUIDE TO AO3 CUSTOMIZATION FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT CODING

ft adding pink to everything and my secret to writing long comments

note: I originally posted this to twt but if that place burns in a fiery pit I spent too long on this for it to disappear, so I'm putting it here too :)

so many people know way more about this than I do, but this is a step-by-step walkthrough of the changes *I've* made, and hopefully it works as an introduction people can build from for whatever they'd like to do

There are a lot of images in this post! (click to enlarge)

to start, AO3 skins

site skins change how the AO3 website appears when logged in (even on mobile), mine is pink and blue!

I'll have my skin turned off throughout the post so the guides appear as they will for you

to create, edit, and view skins, go to the "skins" tab from the left-hand menu. you can also view public site skins from there or from the button in the preferences.

public site skins are made by other users. i would really encourage previewing and exploring them to become familiar with the possibilities (maybe you just want to use one of them and now you're done!)

to create your own skin

on the skins page, click "create site skin"

if you don't know CSS (same), use the wizard! clicking on the "?" will give more information about each option

I only use the colours section you'll see a link right there for hex codes I use pink as a header colour and bue for accent but lots of people change the background colour and that looks really cool!

submit

The next step is to add CSS from a public skin to your own. I use "ByLine" by Branch. this separates the tag categories and adds spacing to make them easier to read.

here is a before and after using the fic "Landslide" by @roosterbruiser as an example

to see the CSS of a skin, click the title

copy all the text below the CSS heading

in the skin creator/editor press the custom CSS option and paste all the text into the CSS box

you can have both wizard and custom CSS settings, in mine you can see the header and accent colours as well as the CSS

level up: USERSCRIPTS

userscripts are small pieces of code that modify a website. for AO3, this may involve adding shortcuts and buttons or even advanced tagging functions (computer people, I'm so sorry if this is wrong, I'm trying). I use Greasy Fork and Tampermonkey.

This is how I write long and formatted comments!

Greasy Fork is an archive of userscripts and Tampermonkey is a browser extension and userscript manager. You don't need to use these two in particular. please use your common sense when downloading anything or adding permissions to your browser.

Greasy Fork guide on installing fics

Install Tampermonkey on Chrome

there are TONS of user scripts for AO3. This is another good opportunity to explore all the possibilities. there are lots of more complicated options I haven't explored.

scripts for AO3

i use this floaty review box

and this comment formatting

EDIT: if you use chrome you might need to turn on developer mode in your chrome extension manager - you can google "tampermonkey developer mode" and it should explain that :)

to install (once you have Tampermonkey installed):

open the script you want in Greasy Fork and press install

Tampermonkey will open, press install again

clicking the Tampermonkey extension will let you toggle scripts on and off, and opening the dashboard will let you view, edit, and delete scripts

i find i can only have a few turned on at a time before they cancel each other out, but that depends on which ones you're using and someone more savvy might be able to fix that

how to use the floaty review box - write more comments!

there will now be a "floaty review box" button at the top of the work, it will open a floating text box you can move anywhere on the page. highlighting any text and pressing the insert button will paste the text with italics into the box

anything you type in the review box will appear in your comment at the bottom of the page!

if you have also installed the comment formatting script, you'll be able to highlight any text in your comment and use the new buttons above the comment box to format it

thats all ive got! Hopefully this is a good starting point to get familiar with some of the terms and basics for skins and scripts <3

if you want some inspo for how to comment on fics i made a whole fic rec list on twitter based on comments I've left, it's here. i have a masterlist of recs there mostly for darklina/reylo and similar ships.

the tag #reading with ru has cod recs and me talking about books

:)

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Hey, so I'm not gonna answer this question with your username out, because I don't want you getting dogpiled.

But I feel the need to address this because it comes up now and then.

First of all: Thank you for liking my comic and wanting it to come faster! I'm psyched to hear that you like it that much.

And while I fully understand the feeling of "why can't the thing I want just HAPPEN", this is... unfortunately... not a very kind thing to send to an artist. Or a writer. Or any creator.

Not the way it's worded, anyway.

So, let's discuss:

Why can't the comic be weekly again?

Well, if you can understand why THIS is irrational:

Then you can understand why the comic can't be weekly just because you REALLY REALLY want it to be.

Resources like money and time aren't just something that drops into my hands. I'm an adult. I work. I have a life outside of this. I have a dog! I get up at 6am to walk her. I drive to work an hour each way. I try to help my spouse out around the house.

And I daresay, even though I once posted weekly, the quality and length of my comics has gone up quite a bit and it now requires twice the amount of time to make them without burning out.

Look, to make it 100% clear, when I'm pushing the comics to be two weeks apart, this is NOT what is happening:

This magical contraption does not exist. It's not effortless, it's not immediate.

It takes me the full two weeks, if not more, to create these comics.

Yes, they're spaced out quite far apart, but that's how far apart they gotta be in order for me to be able to bring them to you.

And yes, I know the comic is already made. But I am making them at a pace of two per month on Patreon, and just because I post them faster doesn't mean I'll make them faster!

Basically your options are:

Regular updates that are two weeks apart

Semi-regular updates that are sometimes less than two weeks apart, but with multiple month-long hiatuses between them.

I've chosen regular updates. For me AND for you guys.

And man, there are MANY better ways to tell an artist or a creator you love "hey, I can't wait to see more of your content!".

For example:

"Hey, I can't wait to see more of your content!"

You can also try:

"I look forward to every update!"

and

"Every time you put out a new comic, I'm eager to read what comes next!"

It'll go a long way, I promise!

[writers-potion]

Welcome to Writing Tea & Tips!: Tumblr Community𓂃🖊

Heya there, I'm Writer's Potion, your writing neighbor :)

Did you know that Tumblr recently rolled out COMMUNITIES? Well they have, and I simply could not not create a writers' community where we:

Post memes about writing

Rant about our WIPs

Ask/give out advice and tips

Force the little people residing in our heads PAY RENT.

Currently, you can only join a community on an invite-basis, so PLEASE COMMENT BELOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN!

limit: 500 members (looking for 499 more of you!!!)

It’s currently only possible to join and participate in communities using your primary blog. You won’t be able to join, post, or reply using a secondary blog.

If you're wondering what communities are, look here.

[inaconstantstateofchange]

BG3 Narrative Changes Post-Full Release

An update on the project I have been working on over the past weeks, to compile a record of all the narrative changes Larian has made to Baldur's Gate 3 post-Full Release — particularly those changes that have affected characterization. There are many of these changes that are not common knowledge, even among dedicated fans, simply due to the size of the game and the varied narrative pathways one can take.

As stated in my original post, this is a neutral project not meant to be either inherently supportive or critical of said changes, but merely to act as a record and reference for those who would like to be aware of them. Particularly with new fans always entering the fandom, I want them to be able to understand aspects of the story that are no longer present in the game, but might still be referenced and impactful to fandom discussions.

I will continue to update the log as I receive new submissions via the report form, and have the opportunity to verify to the best of my ability that the material in question was truly changed, as opposed to potentially bugged in some playthroughs, etc. If you are aware of any changes that you do not see on the spreadsheet, please submit a report form, as I am only one person, and cannot happen across all of the potential changes – especially with so many unannounced – on my own.

[qnpc1]

dave strider from homestuck icon mask!

(use the red image as a mask and place the black disc over top)

free to use / no credit necessary / example art by hiraethminds

[drgrlfriend]

Comments versus Bookmarks on AO3

A few people seemed appreciative of my post about how to use AO3's Marked for Later feature, so I thought I'd follow up with another tip about comments versus bookmarks. As part of the amazing @justleaveacommentfest I noticed a few people mentioned leaving nice comments in bookmarks, and I thought it might help to have a little info about how comments are different from bookmarks, and why it's better to send a comment if you want to make an author happy or make fandom friends or have an interesting discussion.

Bookmarks *are* viewable by everyone, unless you make them private. If you plan to say anything negative in your bookmark, please make it private. It's not really the flip side, however, that leaving positive statements in your bookmarks will reach the author, though.

Most authors are alerted when they get new comments, either through their dashboard or via email if they choose, or both. Yay! Serotonin boost, and also the ability to reply back and start a conversation! Plus, readers can have great discussions with each *other* in the comments section of a fic! If you're super into a fic you can read comments on the chapter even years later, and sometimes find the author adding additional thoughts or discussing their thought process while writing! It's like DVD extras for fanfic! (Do kids these days know what DVD extras are any more? Damned if I know).

You don't really know, as an author, when someone bookmarks one of your fics. Some authors, particularly when they are feeling low (cough cough) may also look at bookmarks to see if there are nice things there. This would basically just involve clicking on the bookmarks for each of your fics individually to see if there's anything a.) new and b.) nice in them.

This is an act of desperation. It's not really a wise thing to do, as 99% of bookmarks have no comments, or just list the title and author in fear of the fic being deleted some day and not knowing what you're missing. Even worse, if you, as an author, get desperate enough to cruise your bookmarks, you are as likely to see someone say something like "Meh" or "This got boring so I stopped reading at Chapter 5" or "Too many werewolves 3/10" in a werewolf fic than you are to see a nice compliment.

So, if you loved a fic and want to memorialize your love in a bookmark, be an extra super-duper sweetheart and cut and paste that into a comment for the author! Make the AO3 environment enriching for both authors and fellow readers in the comments section, and protect your friendly local author by not providing intermittent positive reinforcement for the negative behavior of scrolling through bookmarks!

I still recommend bookmarking fics. Bookmark those favorite fics you want to come back and read later, or use bookmarks to leave yourself little reminders if they are nice or in private bookmarks if they are not nice. Bookmark good resources, like how to code things in html or how to use AO3 filters most effectively. Find awesome new things to read by looking through the bookmarks of your favorite authors, because if you vibe with someone's writing you may also vibe with their favorite fics to read!

[so-i-did-this-thing]

Hey! Couldn't send a message so asking instead!

You are by far the most fashionable person I follow (I love seeing all the stuff you make and the kitters!) and wanted to ask your advice. I want to start shifting my wardrobe towards a more modern-wizardly type of vibe but I haven't been super successful in pinning down exactly what that is other than sweaters and a half cloak haha.

Do you have any references or rescoures you could point me to in finding how to accomplish this look? Or if you know any good places with patterns for making what I can't find!

Thank you and keep being amazing!

Heya! To me, the "modern wizard" aesthetic = vintage + anachronistic, ostentatious details. But it could mean something else entirely to other folks.

Make a persona - what kind of wizard are you? What would this wizard study? Do they have a familiar? Are they the sort to have adventures, or stay home or in a library? Are they flashy, or do they like more subtle magic?

I'd suggest you start a pinboard of ideas that spark this persona (doesn't even have to be clothing), and then start looking for common design elements. It could be colors, small details like jewelry, nods to "wizardly" knowledge like astronomy or alchemy, etc.

If part of your aesthetic includes vintage and vintage-adjacent clothing, here's some vendors to check out (mix of masc and femme stuff, dunno your vibe):

www.darcyclothing.com

www.cathcartlondon.com

www.spierandmackay.com

bronsonshop.com

taftclothing.com

www.jobearboots.com

www.freddiesofpinewood.co.uk

revivalvintage.co.uk

www.thehouseoffoxy.com

trashydiva.com Have fun!

[royalarchivist]

With over 20 members currently on the QSMP and more on the way, it's almost impossible for a single person to stay up to date on everything that happens, even with help from QSMP's official Twitter recap accounts.

For people who are interested in QSMP's story, characters, and/or streamers but don't have time to watch hundreds of hours worth of VODs, I've created the QSMP VOD Timestamp Archive.

If there's a particular lore moment you missed live and can't find, search for it in the archive!

Timestamps include quotes, notable lore events, and funny interactions. Interesting or important moments from each stream are bolded for emphasis. I'm also adding short summaries for lore-heavy / eventful stream.

I've organized the document so it should be easy to navigate, and you can CTRL + F to search for specific streamers and/or events.

Complete VOD playlists, recaps, and additional resources are also included in the document for people who might be feeling overwhelmed by the amount of QSMP content out there. It's never too late to get into the series!

If you have a streamer you watch consistently, consider writing down important timestamps to help fellow fans! You don’t have to take detailed notes like mine – even one or two timestamps can be a real lifesaver. If you have any helpful timestamps you want added to the list (or even a 1 sentence summary of a particular stream), send it to me via DM so I can add it to the archive.

I am just one person, so unfortunately this archive is by no means comprehensive, but I'm constantly updating things and adding more streams and timestamps to the document. I've been working on this project for a while now, so even though it's not complete, I hope people find it useful!

[ VOD Timestamp Archive ]

[scoopsgf]

before people start posting shit like ‘euphoria needs to be cancelled now’ please remember that this is the death of a human being you’re talking about, so don’t reduce his life or passing to the role he played in a TV show. that’s not what this should be about or the discussion that needs to be had.

[dykedvonte]

love seeing your takes on mouthwashing and how sane they are. everything's so black or white. I like how you acknowledge curlys abuse under jimmy (which I honestly didn't quite notice when I first watched a playthrough. should rewatch w this in mind) and how that very much doesn't "forgive" his inaction towards Anya and Her abuse under jimmy. I think what happens to him despite all his issues (bc he clearly wasn't OK 😊✌🏼) is very much karmic. I really did hurt huh

I hate the take that what happened to him is karmic as becoming disabled and being tortured is like not in any way an equal consequence for not taking more action against Jimmy. It is a consequence as is the whole game for everyone but it’s one that is very much established as being undeserved and extreme as everyone else’s but Jimmy’s fate.

Thank you for liking my takes but I also try to point out that this exact sort of framing of the events and what happened to Curly is bad especially if you are gonna factor in his own abuse into the equation of his inaction/ineffective acts. It’s like “saying yeah he deserved the abuse he was already going through to escalate because he didn’t do enough” which is like not a message the game tries to deliver at all. It’s like the game shows that abusers escalate

Karma and punishment are not concepts that I think should be directly tied to Curly’s fate especially since during the game and even in discussion he takes on too many consequences of someone else’s actions. Like this framing is the direct thing I describe taking the discussion away from Jimmy, P.E and the factors that created the environment in the first place.

[justleaveacommentfest]

INTRODUCING THE OFFICIAL JUST LEAVE A COMMENT FEST BINGO CARD

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO GET A HEAD START ON FRIDAY'S THEME!!! HAVE FUN OUT THERE SKELLY FRIENDS!

POST YOUR BINGOS AND COMPLETED CARDS ON FRIDAY!!!!

[roachemoji]

A “Guide” to working with Artists with Aphantasia

DISCLAIMER: 

I KNOW ARTISTS WITHOUT APHANTASIA ALSO USE REFERENCES

This is not going to be applicable to ALL artists (with OR WITHOUT aphantasia)

I don’t speak for everyone!!!

PLEASE Read the information artists provide you THUROUGHLY

ASK ARTISTS WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION THEY NEED

I’m sorry about the typos I am dyslexic and no one is beta reading this :3c

HERE IS THE OG TWITTER POST

I made this guide out of frustration. I was having a hard time communicating with commissioners how much visual information I needed, and that giving me creative freedom doesn’t, personally, work for me. It all comes down to the why; Aphantasia. 

... I realized a lot of people don’t understand what that is, and how it might affect an artist. 

Note: I am a character artist!!! I do personal commissions!!!! I don’t do commercial work!! This guide is about things that I have found extremely helpful!! This may not work for everyone!!!!!!!!!!! 

So, here is the official written guide to what I, personally, have found helpful when getting commissions:

A healthy dose of both written and visual information is needed, but the percentage of which heavily depends on the type of commission and how familiar I am with the characters. 

- Is it an illustration of a scene between two character? Descriptive information on the scene, the emotions, general vibe, dialogue are more important to the composition - but visual references on each character (and their characteristics), the space, the palette, and any objects would be needed. 

- Is it a reference sheet commission? Descriptive information is no longer as important, and the main focus is on the visuals. Descriptive information would be limited to a brief description of personality, placement of certain markings, and/or the written information on the reference. Visuals would be EVERYTHING - every single aspect of that character would need a reference. 

Google Docs, Google Drives, PDFs, Character pages (Toyhou.se or Refsheet.net) is an easy way to compile both written and visual information in one place! 

What is some good visual information to compile for your characters? 

Physical

Age/Race/height/body type

Skin colour/ scars/ freckles/ skin conditions etc

Eye colour/shape

Nose shape

Hair colour/texture/style/decorations

Any additional details (prosthetics limbs/no limbs!/tattoos/piercings/wings)

Face Claims are extremely helpful - and it’s okay to have more than one!  It’s good to specify which parts of what reference are important to your character

Items

Clothing/Jewelry/Accessories

Weapons

Personal Items

Companions

Here is an example of how I organize my Pinterest boards for my own Ocs:

Appearance: Every single visual reference I would need for their physical appearance. Faceclaims, hair styles/texture/colours, facial hair, body types, hand shapes, nose shapes, lip shapes, eye shapes

Aesthetic: Helpful for illustrations. Palettes and aesthetics that I attribute to these characters. Art styles, symbols, colours, settings, etc...

Outfits: Outfits and accessories. Full outfits or single items, textures, colours, patterns.

NOTE: It’s important to remember that some artists can only work with certain references (ie. drawn references vs photo references). If you’re unsure/your artists hasn’t stated which works best for them - ask!  

I cannot work with drawn references in simplistic styles (anime specifically), and I struggle with using nothing but Final Fantasy screenshots. They’re important when it comes to providing colour or even outfit references - but facial features are much harder for me to translate.

Some artists are okay with things like piccrews and can translate them very well! I can’t.

What is some good visual information to compile for your characters?

Written information can vary from commission to commission; unless the illustration is based off a story, I don’t need a novel to be written about the piece. 

Being dyslexic also makes it a struggle for me to parse through written information - I tend to have to break it down outside of the initial commission submission to fully understand what. I also tend to ask a ton more questions when I’m provided more written information than visual - revisions take time and energy.

It’s important to have visual to accompany your written info; 

( shout out to @moki-dokie​ for letting me use their info as an example!! )

Commission information examples 

DESIGN COMMISSIONS:

Info given:

Outcome: 

Easiest character design commission I have ever done. The information given was so concise that the only revisions were my own suggestions on the design itself. 

---

Info Given:

Outcome:

a TON of written information was given to explain the characters backstory, to further drive my understand of the aesthetic and setting of the world the character lives in. The pinterest board provided had a lot physical references, outfits, aesthetics, and colours.

---

ILLUSTRATION COMMISSIONS:

Info Given:

Outcome:

I had a lot of previous information on both of these characters (I designed the top one myself), but I was provided limited written information for this; Holiday Discord call where Toad (character one) is getting a present from Zalem (character two). Zalem is barely hiding how they feel about Toad who is excited.

 All other information provided was visual; Outfits and room aesthetics. 

We discussed poses in Dms and collaboratively found references.

---

Info Given:

Outcome: 

Absolute favorite example of the PERFECT amount of information given and the PERFECT amount of creative freedom given. 

I was handed character references with all angles as well as their armor + how to simply the armor. Pose + expression references. A general aesthetic + palette to work with. The setting. A doodle to lay out exactly what they were visualizing. 

I have all the information you could need! Now what?

I am very privileged to no longer need to take first come first serve commissions, and it’s given me the ability to really sit back and filter through the commissions that I want to do, and those that I immediately do not consider. 

I think it’s important that,  before commissioning anyone, you should ask yourself a couple important questions:

Does this artist’s style suit what I want?

Does my character suit what this artist usually draws?

Do the references I have provide the right amount of information for the specific artist I want to commission?

Sometimes the answer to these questions are; No.

... and that’s okay?

Unfortunately, not every artist is going to be able to bring your vision to life, or feel happy with the completed piece! 

If you’re someone who has Big Buff Demon Men characters that are drawn in a heavily realistic style - you might not ask an artist who draws smaller, softer characters with squishier shapes and a general aesthetic that doesn’t match your Ocs! 

If you’re someone who has characters and all of their references are in an anime style (including other commissioned work), and you have no realistic face claims... maybe commissioning that semi-realistic artist and not providing them with the references the need to translate your character into a semi-realistic style isn’t a good idea? 

I don’t understand when some people get upset when they commission an artist who clearly doesn’t draw characters that look like theirs and they clearly... don’t translate them as well.  I am making this extremely clear RIGHT NOW before anyone says anything:  Everyone can and SHOULD learn to draw the entire spectrum of humanity. From facial features, hair textures, body types, etc...

But some artists struggle to draw characters with certain aesthetics? Outfits? Accessories? You wouldn’t expect an artist who draws soft pastel art to suddenly translate your extremely rough, hard, and hot character properly?

Now, if all the answers are Yes? 

Read all information provided thoroughly 

Ask questions for clarity

Provide what you can, collaborate on what you can’t

Resources

@anonbeadraws​ post: Reference sheet for your commission references!

JAMIErightmeow’s video: I have APHANTASIA

Aphantasia Dot Com

[genderqueerdykes]

How can i find queer spaces irl? clubs arent really my thing, but its all i can find thats around me

good question!

this one can be tough, as bars/clubs are usually what come up the most readily when searching on google maps and social media. they can and do have days where the atmosphere is calmer but i still don't like being in bars. i think there may be some options for you, depending on your area

i would recommend checking your library if you can, a lot of the time they will advertise queer events if there are any going on in the area. if not they often times have information on local queer organizations. if you are unable to do this, universities usually have good lists of local queer events and spaces. usually people are going to say LGBT (event) so phrasing it that way may help a bit. but regardless universities often have groups that are open to the public so you may be able to find support there, or at least suggestions on where to look

you may have transgender resource or gay or lesbian resource centers in your area. you may have some type of organization that helps local queer folk get in touch with things like HRT, top surgery, drag shows, art/zine nights, when local queer businesses are hosting events and so on. if you use instagram or facebook, they are very good for finding these types of events if you search for lgbt (your area) and "local lgbt events", those kinds of things

you can also try to take a look at if you have a pride parade/event in June, you can try to find the information about who is organizing it and what types of organizations and businesses show up to those kinds of things. you may be able to find local social media pages that post about local queer events. sometimes it's something simple like a queer operated coffee or ice cream shop holding socials with reduced prices, for example. in a lot of places, there are spaces for queer minors who need somewhere to go away from alcohol, drugs, uncomfortable contact with adults, and so on

it can be harder to find spaces for adults that don't involve or contain alcohol which makes it difficult for someone like me who has a lot of trauma with that and bars. however, sometimes you can find small political organizations or even art collectives, who use parts of their buildings as queer hangout and event spaces. it's going to depend heavily on your area, so the best you can do is search for "lgbt events in my area" and "lgbt (your city)", things of that nature, as well as trying to keep an eye out for businesses you see when your'e out and about who have LGBT flags inside or outside. if they have even 1 progress pride flag it's worth asking if they can tell you about other LGBT businesses in your area or if they do any collaborations with other queer places and events

i hope any of that helps or makes sense. some places, people can find queer spaces very easily- in big urban cities in California like San Francisco, for example, has a lot of queer historical locations, political organizations, casual hangout spots, advocacy groups, resource centers, and more. some places may only have one or two spots where they can safely meet, and a lot of people are somewhere in the middle. good luck, i know it's not easy, but i hope you find something that works for you

folks are welcome to contribute any ideas they may have. take care for now!

[ooeygooeyghoul]

How to make a child model in Anam/Ktisis!

Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert in the use of these mods! I'm still very new and learning the ins and outs of them! This method worked for me, and maybe there are better ways to do it, but I'm just explaining how I created my baby Shiun. If you know of a better way, or have any tips and tricks, please feel free to comment or reblog with your advice for the sake of other gpose newbies! :D Link to Ktisis's download page | Link to Anam's download page Guide and Tips/Warnings below the cut! Hope this helps &lt;3

Summon your partner in crime. So first off, I equipped my summoner job stone and summoned my trusty companion, Carbie.

2. Add your Carbie to your actors. Open up Anam and add your carbie to your list of actors, by clicking the plus sign at the top of the menu next to your character's name (remember that with Anam, you can only edit appearances OUTSIDE of gpose). Click on the little button labeled "Carbuncle" to add them.

3. Turn your Carbie into a person. With your Cabie selected, go to the "Import NPC" at the bottom right and pull up the list. Find an NPC that is the same race as your desired character and select it. In this example, I just chose the first au ra NPC I saw in the list. (You can also directly choose your desired race in the customize menu and start from scratch, but I just do it the Import way, lol) ⚠️As far as I've experienced, it's a 50/50 chance on whether or not you can alter the age of your character's actor directly. Every time I've tried this, it breaks the model and never works the way it should. For simplicity's sake, I've always just used my friend Carbie.

4. Change the age of your new actor. Now if you look at the top left of the Anam window, there's a series of dropdowns next to "Race."

What you want is the bottom right menu. Click it and you'll see "Old," "Normal," and "Young." Clicking "Young" will turn your carbie into the child version of the race it's currently disguised as!

5. Customize and boot up gpose! Now you can customize them to be the adorable mini version of your beloved WoL/OC!! The bones are compatible with Ktisis and should be as easy to manipulate and pose as adult models. If you use the Carbie method as I have in this explanation, you can simply hide your main model in the default Gpose menu for pictures.

Some things to keep in mind! ----

⚠️Not every race has a child model. The only races that have child models are:

au ra - male & female

hyur - male & female

elezen - male & female

miqo'te - female only

⚠️It is very likely that the models will break or look a little funky when you first spawn them. They have a very limited number of faces, and a limited number of available hairstyles. If you choose an option the game does not have, it will create some... interesting results. Most other customizations beyond skin color, hair color, and eye color will also likely not work (tail type/length, jaw type, etc.).

Left: invalid face selected --- Right: invalid hairstyle selected

Usually, faces 1 & 2 are the only viable options, and hairstyles 1-5 are okay. (Note: the pictures of the hairstyle icons will NOT match the hairstyle on the model.)

⚠️Clothing is also fairly limited! I'm not sure what dictates what child models can and cannot wear, so as far as I know, it's just a game of trial and error. You'll know immediately if an article of clothing isn't compatible lmaoo. Hats... rarely ever work...

✨Don't forget that you can save your model's data! When your model is customized to your liking, click "Export" at the bottom right of the menu to save the data to Anam. That way, you can load the appearance immediately without rebuilding it every time!

It's a mixed bag of what will and won't work on the model. My best advice is to experiment and play around with it! It took me a little bit to figure all of this out, so hopefully this silly little explanation helps out all the other new gposers out there :)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out and ask! I'll do my best to help! I may edit this as I go to correct things and/or add onto it!