#creative community

[msbutterfly5294]

ADHD brain is basically that one Studio C video about channel surfing. . . Nothing makes sense yet everything somehow makes sense .

Someone out there knows exactly what I’m talking about .

[technologyvoid]

CALLOUT POST @ WRITERS

go write for 10 minutes

Edit:

Adding the rest of the post

ID under readmore

[start ID: screenshot of a few reblogs. The first one reads "callout post at artists" in big text, and "go doodle for 10 minutes" in small text. Second reblog reads "callout post at other people who make stuff" in big text, and "go spend 10 minutes on making something. The third reblog reads "It doesn't have to be anything big by the way. Go write a silly incorrect quote. Go draw a low quality doodle. Go create something silly. Do something that makes you happy." /End ID]

[cilil]

The joy of community and creating together is not a commodity

[sips-of-mocha39]

Bringing some sweet and savory critters to life! Meet Chippie, Cinnasnail, and Kweeble! 🍪🐌🥝 Who’s your favorite?

[drsilasaslan]

Cloudy Urban Tangles in Zürich An urban street scene features crisscrossing power lines and a minimalist lamppost, all under a muted gray sky. The mood is somber and reflective, capturing a solitary moment in the city.

[positivelyghostlycomic]

🍀Happy St. Patrick's Day, my wonderful friends! 🍀

Oliver and Cham have discovered the true treasures at the end of the rainbow: popcorn and friendship. 🌈🍿✨ Who needs gold when you have buttery snacks and great company, right? 😄

Here's to finding your own pot of gold today, whether it's laughter, love, or simply a moment of joy. 🌟

Wishing you all a fantastic Sunday and an amazing week ahead!

Much love to each and every one of you! 💖

- G

[hopefulhabit04]

< “ Opia : The Gemini Meadows ” >

< Draft #01 >

<< PART ONE : OUR FIRST TIME >>

< Aarason Cloudmotivator - ACM >

< One Year Before The Celebration of Unity >

The silence screeched louding in my ears. I was certain I couldn’t hear my shallow breaths with how the silence rattled my bones. There was uncertainty in the air, how do I explain my condition to the doctor assisting me? H.O.T talked me through this, he told me to come, there is a great doctor who can help...

I don’t think I trained him, or anyone, for this treatment.

There were voices beyond the door, footsteps that shook the ground, and my hair stood up when I felt them walk by the closed door. I tried to keep my attention on my breathing and on the various objects in the room.

The walls are dark gray with a collection of unusual stains sprayed about. The room’s only use was collecting even dust with the unused and cluttered hygiene and medical products. Stale coffee and invisible aches of people from the past lingered here . To my left, there were posters of maintaining good hygiene, checkups, and a small silver and gold frame of The Great Family, my family. That picture was from last year during the Unity Celebration. My face curled up when I saw myself in the picture, did I really wear that? What a weird phase in my life…

Somehow, the darkness of the colors made the room comfortable with the light hue of the four pillars supporting the four corners of the room. It calmed my nerves until…

Click.

I turned my head to the door, “ Oh H.O.T , I am so glad you returned . ”

His golden amber hair shimmered under the warm lights with his eyes cold, bitten from concern as the concern would spill into mine. Right behind him was the Honored Healer, out of politeness, I stood up but winced at the pain that shocked my spine. H.O.T’s eyes lit up once again as he reached out for me, only receiving a crooked smile and head shakes.

As I took the seat again, the Honored Healer stood next to H.O.T. He had open and graceful green eyes , a light tan the sands of the shore blushed at, thick black locks of hair slicked back reminded me of the night I gave him his honor. He didn’t look any different, and he seemingly didn’t act any different.

His cheeks were kissed with light blush, he fidgeted with the pen attached to his clipboard, he kept his attention on both H.O.T but snuck anxious glances at me. His large hand picked at the pen, the pen's smoothness matched his hand, free of any debris and sharpness.

H.O.T eyed the Honored Healer, “ May I stay in here while you conduct your services ? ”

The Honored Healer cleared his throat and nodded , “ Of course , ” he stepped forward , “ hello , uh. . . ” The Honored Healer’s words struggled to get out of his throat. Despite the severity of the pain, I chuckled and lifted my hand.

“ You can call me Elder Aarason , it’s lovely to meet you again , Mr. . . ? ”

He jumped to shake my hand , “ Mr . Kingsley ! Tanner Kingsley . ” He beamed with a bursting nervous chuckle , “ U-Uh. . . So , what seems to be the issue , Elder Aarason ? ”

A pang of terror overcame me , “ I. . . I have a minor laceration on my back . I need you to help me repair it . ”

“ Repair it ? What are you , some kind of android ? ” Mr. Kingsley jested. My only reply was a darkened brow, which he shook his head, “ My apologies , Elder Aarson . May you turn around please ? ”

With a quick glance and sharp exhale , I carefully moved around and lifted my shirt as best as I could until I felt that burn rush through me. Almost dropping my top, Mr. Kingsley picked up it and lifted where I couldn’t, revealing my laceration.

After a moment of silence, I heard the click of his tongue, “ Ms . Elder Aarson , that does not look like a minor laceration . How did this occur ? ”

I shook my head , “ I had an accident . ”

“ Pretty bad accident . ” he lightly touched the sides of it, therefore making me jolt in surprise, “ S-Sorry. . .” he apologized and put the shirt down.

“ You’re good , Mr. Kingsley . Just. . . Is there a way to stitch it up or something ? ”

I turned my head to see H.O.T. stand close to Mr. Kingsley and me, inspecting the wound himself when he could. I didn’t appreciate the stares of concern, but I suppose it’s required and expected. Mr. Kingsley grabbed his pen and began writing, “ I think a few stitches should do it . How did that happen though ? You. . . You don’t have to share , Elder Aarson . ”

Mr. Kingsley shuffled his feet, tensed his jaw, and his cheeks flushed. For a big and sturdy man, he was adorable. And as much as I wanted to indulge his curiosity, I simply couldn’t.

“ Mayhaps another time , Mr. Kingsley . ”

He slowly nodded then clasped his hands together, the sound in this echo chamber stopped my heart for a moment, “ Alright , Elder Aarason , we can get those stitches done in no time . And perhaps do something about that. . . Unusual bruising around the wound , but I am going to step out and get the things needed for it . I shall return . ”

“ Thank you , ” H.O.T. blurted for me.

“ You’re welcome . ” Mr. Kingsley walked out of the room , the click of the door closing indicted his absence.

I exhaled and leaned back, the excruciating shock pulled me upright again, which caused H.O.T. to put a hand on my shoulder. A small whimper bit at the edges of my mouth, the snarl of agitation and grief marked the singular dimple on the side of my mouth. H.O.T. rubbed his hand along my shoulders.

“ Thank you , H.O.T. ” I sighed, “ I don’t know how he would react if he saw my blood . It was a good idea to help clean me up a bit before he came in . ”

H.O.T. lowered his head, “ No problem , Madam Aarason . And I promise he isn’t always like this , I think he’s just nervous to be in your presence . ”

I shook my head , “ I wish no one did . ”

He patted my shoulder and we waited for the procedure to begin.

< Ended >

[tavyliasin]

Making the Most of Discord - Fandom Server Layout

As I've had more than a few positive reviews of my delightful House of Hopeful Sinners (aside from the fun fake reviews we put together for the post in my pinned advertising the space) I figured I might use the setup to help demonstrate the potential ways to use the features when making your own server.

This is by no means saying "this is the only right and correct way to set up a server" it's more of a "this is how I manage it and it has worked really well for our purposes, feel free to use what we learned from it in your own spaces!"

I'll put different headings below the cut as we go so you can skip to what you need, and a little shameless self promotion right here for our creative focused 18+ NSFW Baldur's Gate 3 Fandom space~ CWs - Screenshots show mention of NSFW topics and titles. There are no details but some of the topics are words that would be on CW lists.

Rules, Ownership, and Mods

Starting out your own server is exciting, and we don't like to sit here and think "we're going to have problems", but it really is best to try and anticipate issues and put rules in place to prevent them. This is really going to vary based on the kind of place you are running, but as long as everything is clear your users can feel confident in the space. Nothing can damage a community more than a disagreement that is blown way out of proportion or an incident that gets out of hand. None of us are immune to mistakes, either, so being prepared is the best first step!

Make Your Rules Clear

Ambiguity in the rules is a very easy stumbling block. Keep your rules nice and clear, as specific as they need to be, and make sure that your moderation team are happy with the rules and how you would like them to be enforced when needed. I strongly recommend using a reaction role bot with your rules post so members agree they have read and understood the rules before entering the main server (more on roles and bots later!)

Choose Your Mods Wisely

Temptation might be to choose mods from friends, and that can be a good way to go! However, even with the best intentions, not everyone is going to mod in the way you would like them to. It can often be better to be a little more selective, and either offer the position to people who have mod experience already or use an application form with some questions that will help see if the mods will uphold your server values the way you prefer.

It can also be helpful to cover different time zones if your server is international, and having enough people will mean that nobody feels pressured or guilty if they need a break for any reason. Remember too that mods are volunteers, if you're the owner then final decisions and responsibility will come down to you in the end.

Age Restriction and User Safety

If you want to host NSFW content you need to be aware of user safety. Your most basic tool here is to set channels as age restricted. This is technically enough to cover you legally as the user has to manually confirm via a popup that they are old enough to view the content.

Personally? I prefer spaces that are explicitly 18+. I ensure this in HOHS by having people specify to a mod what year they were born. People are less likely to lie to someone directly than they are to click away a popup. This said, I do not recommend taking IDs or personal details due to Data Protection laws in various countries (as well as your members' rights to privacy, should they wish it). Verbal confirmation of the year of birth is fine. If you find someone is underage later, you can kick/ban them.

If your space is open to all ages with only some 18+ channels, you may want to verify birth year with users before they get a role to access those channels.

The reason for this is twofold. First, obviously, is safeguarding minors in online spaces. Although we are all well aware that minors access unsuitable content on their own, it shouldn't be encouraged or openly allowed, particularly with socialising with adults. The second reason is that any adult discussing NSFW topics with a known minor - even from an informal educational point of view without any unpleasant behaviour or intention - is very much at risk of ending up on a watch list. I'm very serious on that one. I have friends who have seen entire Discord servers and all their members in real legal trouble and on offender registers because the server knowingly allowed minors to participate in NSFW content channels.

So. Keep all of your members safe, check when you need to, and set up your channels and rules in the way that suits your space.

Categories and Basic Layout

Layout and Category Names

Your top category should be your welcome area if you have one, with your rules and whatever channel you want people to arrive in first at the very top. It can be tempting to put your admin section at the top, but this can make it more awkward to make your server invitations. Each category should also be nice and clear as to what is found there, so members can find the channels they want even when all the categories are collapsed.

This is how I arrange my welcome area, which is several channels which all technically contain rules (Contract Signing is the main rule list which users are directed to manually when we verify their age and give them access - more on that later!) but I personally prefer to make it easier for people to find things separately rather then being overwhelmed in one long channel. Use the layout that works for you!

A lot of servers also prefer to have separate categories for NSFW content, which is a very good way to run things if you want to have specifically separated content for peoples' comfort. You won't see that in the HOHS channels though as we are set up to be NSFW by default, and there is essentially only one pure SFW chat channel.

Naming Channels and Server Maps

I also personally prefer easy channel names. Whilst fun nods to fandom things might be an aesthetic/flavour choice, it may not be as helpful for your members to know where a piece of content or conversation belongs~ Having a map with a brief description of each channel's purpose will also help members to navigate, especially in a larger space.

Whilst it can be nice to use symbols or emojis in your channel names to denote the content (particularly using the 18 symbol for NSFW areas) this might make it a lot harder to link the channels in your server map or for users to link the channel to say "let's move our chat to this channel" when the topic changes, or "there's more on that topic over here". Emojis can work at the end of channel names with less interference, and honestly is something I am considering for aesthetics, though it's a lower priority.

Text Channels, Forum Channels, Voice Channels, and Threads

This is a big one for organisation so I'm going to go over them in sub headings one by one!

Text Channels

These are your bread and butter basic chat channels. They're wonderful for discussions and general chat, but in my opinion their weakness is in content sharing. Things like fan creations can get lost quickly when people respond to them, so you risk either discouraging the chat about a piece of work or losing work in the sea of conversation.

You can, of course, use slow mode in text channels so that users can only post once in each period of time. For extra busy servers, or open public servers, this can be a useful tool in spam prevention too!

Messages can be pinned in text channels which is handy for instructions, references, or other important information, but you are limited to a maximum of 20 pins and they might not be obvious to all users.

There are other ways to refine your text channels. For example, you can select whether people can post images, voice notes, files, and links into a channel. This is very useful if you need to prevent spam in a more important channel, or if you do not want to moderate the use of voice notes (more on those later).

For things like WIPs, some people like to have a slow mode so one new post every 6 hours and contain the discussion on that post to Threads. This can be helpful for some setups and work well, but it may still make older works harder to find so it's better just for more regular progress rather than a library of works.

Threads

Threads are essentially a side conversation within a text channel. They're fantastic for certain purposes like discussing an item that was shared, or containing a long conversation on one topic, and particularly things like discussions on lore and research that people might want to come back to at a later date without having to search through a text channel.

Text channels have a setting for how long threads will remain visible in a channel list.

After this time, threads are still available within the channel from the threads tab, but won't show up in the channel list until there is new activity inside the thread. Below is what threads might look like when active in the channel list - we use them in HOHS for Kink Specific Chat which means that only the people who have joined the threads will see them when they're active, and allows for people to choose which of those in depth conversations they want to be a part of. Informed Consent, really, and I keep a list of links to the threads in the CW list channel so people have an easy reference to find the content they do want to engage with more.

But these could be used for anything you like, from character specific chats to off-topic discussions, and you have the choice in your role setup to allow any members to create/use threads or have them only created by your mod/admin team so you have more control if you don't want a lot of threads popping up that are harder to moderate. This is how our kink specific topics appear in the channel list, but they are only visible here to those who have joined them. Like text channels, users can mute threads at any time and they won't get the white dot of new activity, or users can also leave threads if they want to leave that conversation entirely. Threads can be locked by moderators or put into slow mode too, so you do have options for control where needed.

(I also just want to note that the Feminization topic thread is not in the slightest bit transphobic or problematic, though it is here because not everyone is comfortable with that content and we respect that in this house~ HOHS is a very LGBTQIA+ positive and inclusive space)

Forum Channels

These are my absolute bread and butter for sharing fanfiction, art, and resources. Forums are newer to Discord, so it might take a bit of learning and convincing for more experienced users to get used to them, but trust me on this one; when you have Forums set up they are a much better way to display and discuss creative works.

The reasoning really is that works are searchable, taggable, and people can confidently discuss a work without worrying about clogging a chat channel.

Forum posts can look a lot like threads in the channel list, and have a similar timeout method for how long they stay in the channel list with no new comments/activity in them.

This is an example if how I've arranged the HOHS FanFic "Library" - I have covered the names of most of the fic post titles for other users' privacy and left my own visible as the examples for you. Similarly to Threads, only the posts that a user has interacted with will show up in their channel list, so you don't need to worry about everyone's channel lists being swamped with forum posts that aren't relevant to them.

So here, each of the speech bubble headers is the Forum Channel title. When you're actually in a forum channel you (or any member) can refine how the posts are viewed. Here's some of the art share channels. I have covered the images to protect the works, as I do keep strict rules that art must have a link to the original artwork on a public share by the artist unless the artist is the one posting (ie, no sharing paid patreon only works or things the artist has not made public) so that proper appreciation can be shown to the original.

So this is in "Gallery View" where each post appears as a square with an image preview if there are images. You'll also see tags on the posts - these are a great way to find works and sort through them! You can have up to 20 tags available, and members can apply up to 5 tags to a single post. The tags can then be selected in the gallery menu to show works with that tag on them. This is what I have under "Main Character Art"

You can choose the emojis, and you are able to use your server emojis for these tags too if you like! Unfortunately though this is going to be a tedious part of setting up forum channels, you can't copy them over.

As an example of tag filtering and List View of a Forum, here's the Villain Fic Forum. So again we have those friendly grey boxes to protect the privacy of other members, but I've left my content uncovered for you~

Here you can see I've selected the Haarlep filter, so it is showing works with the Haarlep tag starting with the most recent. List view shows a shorter preview of each piece, and I hovered over the +1 part of the tags on the third post to show you how the extra tags can be seen. The most recent comment is displayed in the preview as well.

So essentially this way people can share their art and fics without worrying they'll get lost. People can also discuss each work in its own post without a long list of threads, and browse older additions based on the tagging system or searching by title in the top bar.

I think that mostly covers forums other than the setup of them which is relatively straightforward - similar to text channels you can use slow mode for both new forum posts and/or comments on forum posts, and the tags can be whatever you want them to be. Just remember you have a maximum of 20 tags for each forum channel and a maximum of 5 per post.

The only other thing is when you are adding tags there might be errors if you have made any other changes to the channel - save those changes with this button before trying to add tags!

Voice Channels

The last area to look at is Voice Channels. These are going to be harder to moderate, so you may want to consider what your community is like and what you want and need from voice channels.

Voice channels come with their own chat channel attached which can be useful for those who don't use a mic, those just dropping by who haven't joined the voice (so you can see here I'm not actively in the VC but I can open the chat window), for sharing images/links that you're discussing in voice, and similar.

Some people prefer to have a separate text channel to chat in alongside voice, which can be better for when you're streaming or running activities, because the attached text chat takes up a part of even the popout window for the voice/streaming/activity.

There are more options like stage channels where you can have a limited number of presenters and the audience are muted. This is great if you want to host talks or specific events and watch parties!

Lots of options so you can age restrict the channels as needed, as well as setting user limits. When a voice channel is active you can also set a status to it. You can choose if members are allowed to do this or only certain roles, but it's a good way to let members know what's going on without joining.

You might need to be cautious with the quality and settings on these if people have difficulty participating with connection quality.

Again, moderation is going to be a concern in a larger or open server, so make sure you have rules established and that members know who to contact in case of issues. But when used well, voice channels can be a lot of fun and even comforting or inspiring for members to get together and play games or work on creative pieces alongside one another. You can even host watch parties with some services.

Roles and Permissions

Roles are going to be the backbone of your member organisation. Beyond the usual Mods and Member roles, you can use them for a number of different organisational and interactive features within your server.

The Order Of Roles

The function of roles will go in the order you have them in your server. This determines where they show up on the member list (it is optional to have roles separate like this), the image that will show up with a member's name who has the role (this is for level 2 and 3 boosted servers), and the colour of a user's name who has the role.

So here even if a Haarlep's Helper Mod had the Swinger of Swords role, their name would be that red tone. Similarly if a user chose both Healer of Souls and Friend of Nature, their name would be Yellow because Healer is the higher ordered colour.

Role Colours

The main thing to remember with Role Colours is to ensure that they are easy to read for people using the default light or dark mode of Discord. Those who pay for Nitro may have more options for background colours, but most members will use the defaults. You will see examples when setting the roles that can help you determine if the colour you have picked will work. The default list are balanced relatively well to have contrast to show up in a readable manner for you, so it's more the custom colours that you might have trouble with.

So that standard dark red is pretty clear on both, but this custom blue is somewhat painful on the dark mode version:

Similarly this pale yellow is perfect on the dark mode, but against the light mode background it's almost invisible.

Commonly Used Roles

Some of the most commonly used roles are for pronouns, so users have an easy way to know how to refer to their friends in chat. Some servers like to assign a colour to these for a quick visible reference. I've used images with them in HOHS

So this is also in the order so that the highest role is the one that appears next to the name (you can only have one image icon unfortunately), and hovering over the image will also show the role name.

This is just one way you can make use of the roles for your members~ I'll go over making it easy for members to choose them a bit lower down but I would like to mention one of my favourite uses of roles:

Optional Pingable Roles

These are some of the more basic alert roles I use - members can opt in, and some of them are able to be pinged (notification tag) by any members. So people can use "@ Beta Reader" to ask for those with the role if they're available to help read and edit a WIP, and the admin/mod roles can alert members to server changes with the Server News Alert role.

One way I really like to make use of these for member engagement is character based pings which are perfect for fandom servers like ours~

These are just a few, I've got them set up for a lot of characters, and allowed anyone to mention the roles. I encourage members to use them for both fics and art, so people with the role know there is new content for their favourite and where to find it. With the bot setup, people can remove their role at any time if they find the notifications overwhelming.

So this is an example where I used them for a fic, tagging the character roles. We do the same when sharing found works and art, which means those looking for the content don't miss their favourites.

Role Permissions

Your roles can all be customised to have global permissions, and each channel can have its own permission overrides where needed too. So for example you might want a role to be able to post images and files in most of the server, but you might not want that role to post them in a specific channel that you want to keep as text only.

It takes a while but properly setting up each channel will give you better control over the content to reduce the moderation work in the long run (ie, you won't need to ask people not to put things in the wrong places).

A Note On Voice Notes

Voice notes are going to be a very personal preference thing. I generally prefer not to use them, because users may not be able to listen to them at the time which makes moderation more difficult too. I have also seen issues arise from the use of voice notes, especially when people post them with no context note of what to expect.

So, personally, I disable voice notes in my server. I have seen them well used in other places, and they can arguably be an accessibility feature, however if you leave voice to text and text to voice enabled then those who need to hear or use voice instead of typing should still be able to interact as they need to.

I would generally advise asking members to leave at least a few words with their voice note, for example "replying to [username]" or "impression of [character]" or "discussion of [topic]" so that people know what to expect when they hit play. It's entirely up to each of us how we run our own spaces, however, so choose the best option for you and your server~

Helpful Bots and Setup

Bots can help you get the most out of your server without too much hard work once they're all set. These are the ones I personally use and recommend for different features, but there are a number of options out there to choose from!

Reaction Roles

If you have roles, this is the easiest way to allow people to choose and assign them for themselves and change them when they wish!

So this is using Carlbot https://carl.gg , which I have renamed "The Archivist" for a theme in our server. There are a lot of functions to Carlbot, but the most commonly used are these reaction roles.

It's relatively easy to set up, but you will need to manually type or copy the emoji code for the reacts you're using for the roles. There are a few other settings you can play with there too, like only allowing those with certain roles to pick up a new role.

It's also a great one to have people confirm they have read your rules to access the main server if you role lock your main channels to the member role.

Starboard

One fun feature that Carl (and some other bots) have is Starboard. This is a way for members to highlight their favourite messages on the server and look back at those moments! You can choose how many star reactions are needed for a post to go there, then they will automatically be sent to your starboard channel. You can also choose whether or not to include NSFW marked channels, so if you want Starboard to be SFW only that is an option. One that I didn't take for HOHS given that we are NSFW by default~

Ticket Bots

This is one of your easiest moderation tools - you can use a bot like https://ticketsbot.net/ which will allow users to raise an issue privately with ease. The command is often /open to bring up a new ticket which mods can then join - it'll show up as a thread for you. It doesn't take too much setup on the dashboard and there are other options, but this can be a lot easier than asking people to DM a mod directly.

Automated Messages

Carl and other bots can send automated messages on a schedule for you. This can also include notifying certain roles, so if you want to have a weekly progress check-in set up for creative communities, or even self care reminders a couple of times per day, that's all very easy to get running and can help you to keep the community ticking over with engagement on a semi-regular basis.

Post Embed Fixing

Meet one of my favourite content bots - Keto (Click here to add it to your server). This one takes site links to Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and others and puts a proper visible or playable version in the server.

This is so useful particularly for TikTok where the standard Discord setup will show you a still image with a play button on it.

You can see here that the bot automatically takes the link and converts it to a playable video (which is a still image here, but you can see the buffering bar on there). As with other bots, I gave it a nickname in the server for flavour and fun~

Good Gods That's A Lot Of Work

I know, right? Setting up a server isn't something you can do overnight, not if you want to have a larger space. Often servers will reorganise as they go, making more space as they find what their needs are, but if you can set up how you want it from the start, that can make things a lot easier so people don't have to adapt and adjust as much to a change.

Any Questions?

I think I covered pretty much everything other than the very basics of server setup, but I am more than happy to help any of you with questions about the setup, use of forums, channel layout, and anything else you need with your Discord organising~

And as always, those who share our values are welcome in my House of Hopeful Sinners~

[twelvemillionwords]

HEY IF YOU LOVE POETRY LOOK AT THIS POST

hi yes, ummmm so I am in need of someone to show and critique my poetry!! I have a poetry account on IG (@eightmillionwords) and I would like to up my game so to speak. So, if you are willing and able, and you have an interest and knowledge of poetry and would like to work with an amateur poet, message me!! send me an ask!!! LMK

What I'm looking for is someone to bounce ideas off, to share poetry with and a love for language. Ofc, this is a two way street and as you help me with my poetry I will be doing my best to help you as well!!

[insidetheerings]

sometimes the act of getting in front a computer and prepping to write is more intimidating than actually getting it out. like i get the horrible sensations of anxiety and imposter syndrome, the guilt of not being able to write faster, and the largest elephant in the room that is worrying about it not being perfection off rip.

and i'm a very much all or nothing person. god forbid i make it around to editing or even proofreading.

i just really miss when i could create and share again without those worries.

[vulpine111]

A quick thing I did earlier last night. I made it with some simple doodles and scraps. I'm not sure what will become of it quite yet.

[msbutterfly5294]

< I Don’t Think It’s Talked About Enough. . . - Creative Edition >

I don’t think it’s talked about enough when a Creative has the itch to create but cannot put anything down . For example , writing . The Creative may know the exact sequence of events to occur in a scene but once the document or paper is ready , nothing comes out .

I don’t think it’s talked about enough that a Creative listening to music is important when creating art or a story . The beat , the lyrics , the vocals , it all connects with the stories . We are most likely daydreaming which characters are doing what based on a song and it guides us to exactly where we need to go .

I don’t think it’s talked about enough that when a Creative presents you their art or story , they trust you with a piece of themself . Some Creatives ( like myself ) have been working on one or more stories for over ten years . We have continued to develop , create , and destroy our stories over and over and over and over and over and over and over again because they aren’t exactly our children. . .

But a part of us . We change thus our stories did .

I don’t think it’s talked about enough when a Creative shows you their work and once a slight uninterested appearance or words are exchanged , we either close the story(ies) , put our sketch books away , and try to conceal it . I think of it as the same feelings of being rejected or even abandoned by those you present it to . These creative endeavors are a literal part of our dedication , our spirit , and when we are told “ we’re being too much ” , “ It’s weird / We’re weird . ” , “ It’s dumb . It’s too complicated . It’s too. . . ”

I think in some cases , it’s suppose to be that way . Humans are complicated , and it’s represented in our creativity .

I don’t think it’s talked about enough that sometimes Creatives grow apathetic of their own work(s) . We stay up late nights writing , drawing , crafting . Our brains don’t stop thinking about how the characters need this or that , how they get to it , why didn’t it work , what happens next , how does this character work or fight with this character ? The plot needs this for the theme , shoot what’s the theme mean in literature , this happens in the world and how does that affect the world , creatures , and characters ? Shoot what was that word again. . . ?

Stopped .

I’m staring at the screen .

Were these stories worth it ?

Was my years of dedication all for nothing ?

Am I even worth it ?

I mean , come on , msbutterfly5294 , you have drawn some awesome pieces for the these stories ! I mean , look at these papers filled with words that blend and make sense , the stories can capture mystery and emotion , descriptions are great ! Why don’t you continue ?

Because. . . It’s a beautiful disease much like love . It infects the entirety of us . I remember the many nights my big brother ( who is my cousin ) came over to show us Legend Of Zelda games and he would tell me all about his stories , lore , world building and characters . That was years ago as a very young teenager to late teens . I don’t fully know when he started his journey , but I know he loves those characters and stories with all his heart .

And by stars , it is beautiful to know someone with that much passion . He inspired me to follow my dreams along with my big sister ( also my cousin ) . She taught me art and resilience , he taught me storytelling and dedication .

I wouldn’t be here today without them .

. . . I don’t think it’s talked about enough. . . That a Creative wouldn’t be here today without those beautiful people who do care and encourage them to keep creating . Keep being passionate . Keep writing . Keep drawing .

Keep being you .

And be proud of it .

[that-leo-writer]

When I stare at the ocean, it feels home. When I look at the sky, it calls me home. There is a place called paradise above it all. Perhaps when I transcend all level of dimensions, I will find it. But for now I can only have faith in one thing. There are pillars holding up the paradise. Thousands and thousands of pillars of beliefs. The longer I live, the further away I go from it. The more I think of it, The farther the dimension of time pulls me away from it. I have never ever thought of stepping a foot in it.

Perhaps, I had some other images of paradise. For me, it was a place where the gods and goddesses, tired from the whims of rules and regulations, dimensions of lies and truth, created a place where no pain existed. Hence, the dimension of sadness wouldn't hold them back from anywhere they wanted to be.

I am just a mere thinker; an imaginer. In the pursuit, I feel myself become an imagination; or perhaps an image. Always skewed, rarely accurate. A model; a partial representation of what life is supposed to be. I am a byproduct of the world, its history, and its choice. How do I even understand the concept of reality when everything is a representation of a scenery I used to draw as a child?

[heartilluminations]

[planvortex70]

< “ Opia : The Gemini Meadows ” >

< Draft #02 >

<< PART ONE : OUR FIRST TIME >>

< Tanner Kingsley - MAT >

< The FastElk Hospital - The City Of Unity >

“ You did it , Doctor . ”

My head leaned back further into my seat, as my feet swirled the chair to face my fellow nurse standing in the office doorway. He must have noticed that the coffee was out in the lodge as he approached with a thermos mug, the sharply sweet bitter scent awakened my senses.

The light in the center of the room casted heavy shadows that contrasted on the light gray walls that were stained with dark brown and blue liquids that reminded us of the previous interactions. Along the wall I faced was a long counter and two big, sinks, the right facet weeping silently into the drain. On the opposite wall I am closest to was a round table, the files of notes and patient information and my half eaten apple laid unbothered . The empty spaces between the tables lay still with impending dread .

“ Just doing my job , Nurse Donavan , ” I grabbed the thermos mug from his hands and took a long sip of it, “ Any other patients for the evening or am I free to go ? ”

Nurse Donavan tapped his watch and scrolled through his list . Donavan was a great and sweet guy, too trusting and pleasing to others. Which was the reasoning I knew he was hiding something from me.

He stopped, closed his watch, and shrugged his shoulders, “ No , Doctor , there is no other patient , you can go . ”

“ Donavan , ” I stood up from the seat and handed him the mug , “ I understand this hospital is severely understaffed and you want me to take care of myself while caring for others . This isn’t the proper way to go about it . I am the only high ranking official in our hospital and I have to finish my procedures before clocking out , even if my shift ends in five minutes . Who is the patient ? ”

“ Wow. . . I didn’t know I was that easy to read , Doctor . ”

I chuckled, “ You aren’t a great liar , I was afraid that your pants would have caught on fire . ” I strolled to the cabinet to pull some blank documents to fill, “ I’ll tell you this , Donavan. . . This will be my last patient of the day , then I can clock out . ” As my body turned to him, with my eyes fixed on his enthusiastic expression, I held out my hand, “ Is that a deal ? ”

Donavan smiled and nodded with force that could snap his neck, “ Yes , Doctor ! Here are the basic records of your patient . ” He placed his notes in my hands, “ Oh ! Guess what , Doctor , this patient is from the Great Family ! ”

I attached the paper to my clipboard and skimmed over the treatment , “ Is that so ? I thought they had their own medic within the Boundary . ”

“ They. . . They do, but uh. . . The patient IS the medic . ”

My eyes stared at my nurse through my eyebrows. Silence filled the space between us which resulted in the room to become stuffy. Out of nervousness, I chuckled with a knot in my throat, “ Am. . . Am I qualified enough to care for the Great Family’s medic ? What resulted in their injuries ? ”

Nurse Donavan had made their way to a sink and had begun washing their hands then rinsed the thermos mug, “ Everything we could get from them is on your sheets , Doctor . ” When he was done, he picked up a small rag and dried off his hands and the mug, “ Don’t worry about being qualified ! They awarded you the certificates and prestige within our medical community , you met with them in the past when they gave you the honor , no ? ”

The muscle in my jaw tightened and the embarrassment swirled my stomach, “ Yes and no . I did meet them but - ”

Two sharp knocks echoed on the door and a tall man entered , “ Uh , Doctor ? May I speak with you ? ”

“ H.O.T ! It’s good to see you , come in . '' With my arms opened to him, he walked in , spotted Nurse Donavan waving ecstatically in the corner , then cleared his throat . My arms fell to my side slowly as I saw his expression darkened at the sight of another in the same room with us .

The City of Opia was envious of our friend, H.O.T., who we used the nickname since his title was a mouthful to say. Honorary Overseer Trader. Not many knew his name, and I knew his real name. However, titles are regarded very highly in this small world so we only called each other as such unless with close family, friends, and lovers. We envied him as he is one citizen out of thousands that can go in and out of the Great Family’s residence beyond the Boundary as he pleased or needed. Many would suffer to see their property.

I’m glad he’s my friend.

“ Nurse Donavan , ” H.O.T held open the door with his foot , “ I need to talk to the Doctor in privacy for a moment . ”

Donovan’s eyes pleaded to me, but the only answer he got was a simple nod and the gesture to exit the room. Donavan nodded then gathered the mug and some papers before he guided himself to the door. H.O.T. locked the door after Donavan’s exit, then his slitted, maroon eyes fixed themselves on me.

“ What do you need help with , H.O.T. ? ” I asked while taking steps to my seat.

“ You have an important patient that I would like you to treat before leaving . They are the medic of the Great Family . ”

“ I was informed , and I was planning on treating them before leaving . It might end with overtime , but I make sure my patients are comfort , safe , and - ”

“ I know , I know. . . ” H.O.T.’s voice trailed off for a moment, “ It’s just. . . The medic is my best friend and their healing needs a special kind of treatment . ”

I raised an eyebrow, “ I’m impressed , H.O.T. . After all these years , I have known you to be a lone wolf . Now , you’re telling me your best friend is the highest honored medic in the land ? What else do I not know about you ? ” I chuckled.

H.O.T wasn’t amused. He continued, “ Doc. . . She is different. . . She will need an alternative treatment compared to the fellow entities you care for . ”

“ How so ? ”

I stood there for a moment after he explained it to me. After a moment to process, the tug of my lip curled up and my forehead scrunched, “ So. . . What do I have to do ? ”

< Ended >