#hope this helps! :)

[butterflyscribbles]

Personal monkey snoot tips and tricks for interested parties!🧡💜

[cheeeryos]

two of my favorites of all time are out of the dark day, into the brighter night (pre-relationship) and quod ore sumpsimus, domine (post-relationship) both by york

followers, any additions? your own fics? other faves?

just in general to search on ao3, you can filter for the "St. Agnes Sleepovers (Raven Cycle)" tag, or else look up "st. agnes" in the "search within results" bar under raven cycle fic results

Anyone have any fic recs with Ronan sleeping on the floor of St. Agnes or just hanging out there because it seems to be their thing. Doesn't even have to be the main focus

[romance-evil-aro]

"can i identify as aro even if-" you can do whatever you want forever👍

[saszor]

hi!!! sorry if this is dumb, big fan of your how to draw burns tutorial ^w^ i was wondering if you had any tips for drawing chemical burns?? i've had a few minor chemical burns myself but i can't figure out how to consistently draw extensive chemical scarring :<

Hi! I've answered a very similar question somewhere in the comments to that post so I'll copy it here;

acidic burns tend to be much more severe and result in a lot more tissue loss than from a thermal burn of similar severity. So features like missing noses, eyes, ears, etc. are more common because it's corrosive. Skin also tends to be tighter and more shiny in acid burns than in thermal ones, but I don't know much about non-acidic burns unfortunately.

That'd generally be the biggest difference for acid burns vs thermal burns from what I've noticed. Here are some examples of how a chemical burn could (!) look like on the face area;

But as I said, I don't know much about other kinds of chemical burns and there might be stuff about alkaline ones that's completely different from anything I said here, so keep that in mind if that's what you're planning to draw

[bynineb]

i really love your cavern of dreams illustrations! how did you get such a good texture on them? did you use an overlay or is it just baked into the brushes?

thank you! here's the process using paint.net, although i'm sure most any image editor can accomplish it

first, i start with a flat, digitally colored render.

then i add noise to give texture to the otherwise boring flat colors

next, i add a soft blur to make the outlines and noise less harsh. these two imperfections combined help give the illusion that it's been scanned and printed onto a piece of paper

finally, some color correction to make it pop!!!

[theriverbeyond]

how exactly is John lying (/about what) and is that the worst part of him and how explicit is it in the books? i often dont understand general/fandom characterizations of fictional characters and HtN is definitely not the book I paid the most attention in, so I just wanna see if I missed something wholly obvious

So John is a Lying Liar Who Lies, and I think the most damming evidence for the sheer enormity of it all is this bit in HtN, page 482:

Many of the things John says are like, him reflecting or discussing things only he has memory of, with no one left to dispute his version of events, and it's clear that he has long ago lost the "objective truth" of his own history--some of this is likely the side effect of being alive for ten thousand years, but a lot of it is probably due to the fact that he doesn't want anyone to know what actually happened. HtN p. 158:

John is talking to Harrow here, but to Me, he is also reassuring himself. He KNOWS that people would judge him for his actions, and alters the stories he tells accordingly. Nobody has to know. It happened, and he can't undo it, and they wouldn't understand. He's motivated to lie, he's capable of lying, and he himself has stated that he believes that there is no difference between the truth, and the truth he tells himself. Because he's God.

Anyway. re: "how explicit is it", a lot of the times where we know for sure John is telling an untruth, he isn't directly lying per say, but rather misrepresenting events to such an insidious extent that it is functionally the same as lying. Here is a short and incomplete list:

All the times Harrow begged him to protect her from G1deon the First, and John was like sorry I can't do that, when in fact JOHN was the one who ordered G1deon to attack Harrow

Changing the names of all his friends and not telling them what their previous names or personalities were (and if he didn't tell them that, it's very reasonable he may have kept other things from them as well)

Saying that the House of the First was killed by "rising sea levels" and a "massive nuclear fission chain reaction" when the Earth actually died because John initiated a nuclear standoff, and then set off a nuke. like yeah what he said was technically the truth, but it also served to paint an extremely different picture when compared to what we learn in NtN

In NtN, in the dream, John tells Harrow about the time he killed all those cops, and he mentions that when it happened he was like "I swear to God, I didn't know what I was doing" "I freaked out, it was an accident", "I made a mistake". and then like half a page later he tells Harrow "Come on love. Guys like me don't have accidents"

Saying he ate peanuts "discreetly", and "the once"

"is this the worst part of him" I think that is up to you, I really like the layers this adds to the story. So much of NtN is literally just John telling Harrow/the reader a story, and we know he misrepresents events and tells untruths and is motivated to protect his own image and no longer sees a difference between the truth and the truth he tells himself. So it's like... we are getting all this info about what happened pre-appocalypse/resurrection, but how much of it is REAL? How much of it is reliable? How much of it would match the story if anyone else was alive to tell their side? It is so interesting to me. It's like a hefty peanut butter filled kong, to me.

[boredth]

Can I ask, how do you get that speckled texture on your art pieces? (Example: the visual texture you see on John’s shoulder in you most recent vampire piece.)

I’ve seen it in various online works for year—I really just wish I knew if it was a layer effect or a certain type of brush?!

I like it because it adds texture to pieces that would otherwise be kind of flat and it is just driving me damn crazy not knowing what it’s called/where it originates in programs (effects vs brushes vs some kind of other visual texture).

(Another popular effect I *just* learned the name for after years is chromatic aberration! It was such a relief to have a theme for it—because knowing what they’re called if the first step to me figuring out how they work!)

Hi! I believe it's called grain / noise. I’m on Photoshop and here are two methods I typically use to add that grainy texture: 1. Using a noise layer - Make a new layer on top of everything (fill with 50% grey, set to Overlay) > Add noise filter (3%) > Add gaussian blur (0.2px). Check this out for more detailed steps. I used this method for that piece!

2. Using texture images - Find a texture image you like > set the image to Multiply, Overlay, Soft light or Hard light (depends on your image) > Adjust opacity and brightness accordingly.

[linterteatime]

Hiii I love your art style soo much its so pretty!! This has probably been asked before but I'd love to know how you go about choosing colours/ making colour palettes because thats something I personally struggle with doing <3

Hiiiii thank you! Okay so usually when i choose my own colours i just pick whatever i feel like looks nice so i don't really have a good explanation for that (yet) lmao, but! i also do this that i think works pretty well too:

which is basically just messing around with the layer filters/Blending Modes of the art programs until i get something that looks nice, not necessarily using the same ones i used here, but any that might work, also sometimes i choose whatever colours (not colour picking) and then do this same process to make them look better :P

[housecow]

Omg! Congrats on 50lbs in 10 months! What's your secret? It feels like my partner has stuffed me practically every day since we met in Oct 2023, and I've only gained like 20-25lbs. I need to start seeing numbers like yours and fast! (P.S. Love your blog!❤️)

honestly, the majority of that weight gained came from december-january 2023/2024–i averaged about ~2k steps per day and managed at least 5k calories a day very often. i gained 20lbs in those two months.

the key seems to be inactivity. you can eat as much as you like but if you’re still moving around and putting those calories to use, you’re not gonna see significant gains… that being said—you’re playing with fire here and it’s NOT the healthiest way to gain. i could barely walk to class the next semester after gaining that way. enjoy your slow gain!! manage your mobility!! 20-25lbs is still quite a lot and you should be proud!!

also though. wg shakes :3 heavy cream, melted ice cream, mass gainer if you’d like, chocolate syrup, peanut butter or nutella, and cake mix. my go-to is usually just heavy cream, cake mix, ice cream, and chocolate milk. :))

[greg-montgomery]

try not to cum challenge: level impossible 😫

[letitbehurt]

Whumpee losing their voice to screaming, unable to answer Whumper or beg them to stop. The only sounds they can make now are quiet gasps and high, broken whimpers.

[ao3-shenanigans]

I didn't know you were an English tutor, that's pretty cool! When you were critiquing others works, what kinds of critiques would you make? I often find myself struggling to give critiques outside of basic grammar corrections and sentence structures. I'd like to give more in-depth critiques and suggestions when beta reading, but don't really know where to start.

Hi! Good question!

It is important to note that I primarily helped with academic papers.

When I tutored, I often would ask the student what they were looking for in a critique first and foremost.

Aside from grammar, I’d look for fluid, clear and easy to follow writing. Being able to understand the text is the most important.

After that, if the student wishes, we’d be looking for knit-picking things such as words used too often or too frequently with the intent to get rid of “crutch words”.

Sometimes, if the overall pice isn’t working and it feels like trying to cram it into something it’s not, then the only way to fix things is to go back and rework the outline and be willing to scrap things. This is not a fun thing to do, but it it works.

Additionally it’s rather important to make sure the paper complies with the rubric. As a beta reader, it’s good to know the goals your author has in mind, from there you can asses and be in conversation with the author as to how well the chapter met those goals and come up with ideas to better meet them if possible

[skullsemi]

How do you draw beaks?? I love your art!

Thank you, anon!! And honestly, I have no idea–I mean, some idea I do, I'm just still trying to improve myself on that

I'm not sure how I would do a tutorial this time BUT HEY here's a few basic tips that may help out!

Also: Really draw it, draw that weird angle, pick a fav bird and fill a page with them. The key to learn is really observing, understanding and of course drawing a lot

It'll help you get it way more than just sticking to the same beak expression

As I always say, these can kinda teach you how to learn to draw anything, divide it by shapes and see how each thing work!

I don't really think there's a right way to do it, so it's up to you!

[badassindistress]

do you perhaps have a pattern for that gentleman's corset? asking for a friend

Hi!

Unfortunately, I do not have a pattern to give you, but I do have a way for you/your friend to draft your own.

(If you really do just want a ready pattern, I'm pretty sure my #binding stays or #flattening stays tags include some etsy shops that have binders with corsetry methods)

I'm presuming you are here because that 5 year old post of the binder with elizabethan stays method is going around again (left). I've also since made a pair of stays that flatten nicely as well (right).

The left pattern was drafted with the free Custom Corset Pattern Generator from elizabethancostume.net. You just input a little extra breathing room in the waist and the bust measurement you can comfortably squish your chest down to.

However, that was many years ago and I have since had more success using a Mariah Pattie's circular drafting technique. It has so much less measuring and math and it gave me a better fit.

Here's my post on that technique, along with her video.

And here's my post amending that to a binder instead of stays.

In short, all you need is:

a large piece of paper

a string

a pen

a measuring tape and

the measurement of your waist circumference

the measurement of your chest bound down circumference

the measurement of the vertical distance between your waist and chest.

You draw out the pattern following the video + my explanation post (this takes me about 30 minutes vs the hour or two for drafting the usual way). Then I make it longer with a cm or two at the bottom and at least 3 cm on top. One change I've made since that post was to pinch out a little dart at the arms to make it lie smoother under clothes. One day I'm going to experiment with adding straps to this design, but today is not that day.

I kept mine quite low, because I wanted a 18th century round chested look, but with straps and longer stays you could probably go flatter (depending on how much you have to flatten of course).

This is what it looks like under a waistcoat tailored according to a menswear manual:

i'll also drop here the posts of other people who've I've talked about their binders using corsetry and tailoring methods: horsehair canvas summer binder, there's another one about how convenient ribbons are for easy adjustment but i can't find it (EDIT: found it!)

Good luck and do let me know if you've advanced this research any further!

[valtsv]

hi hello! i recall you talking about how you used to have an unhealthy dependence on attention you got from the internet a while ago, and was wondering if you had any tips on how to help with that? i recently found myself sorta relying too much on the affirmation i get from Numbers Going Up and i wanna nip it in the bud before it becomes a Thing. thank you! ^^

i found that the best way to curb the addiction was to wean myself off it bit by bit. start with something small and achievable, like setting a time limit for how long you spend online in one sitting (set a timer to help you if necessary), or setting aside specific free periods in the day when you can check your notifications or whatever, then gradually limit it further until you've reached a point you're comfortable with. you'll find that the more you stick to the goals you've set for yourself, the more it'll start to feel like a reward and substitute for the affirmation you get from number go up (and you'll start to pay more attention to how you spend your limited time and what are the best ways to do so).

place your phone or laptop or whatever device you use for social media out of sight while doing other activities, so that you have to make the conscious effort to seek them out (and thus consider whether you really want to do it) (if i'm trying to concentrate on something, for example, i'll put my phone in a drawer or in my bag/pocket, and make sure i can't hear or see any notification messages). if you feel you can, turn off or temporarily mute your notifications - that works wonders for me.

use the free time you've created for yourself to seek out things you've always wanted to do but never felt like you had the time for. read the book you've been putting off, write something, draw something, get into that crafting hobby, or go for a walk and feed some birds at the pond, go out and challenge yourself to take a photo of something eyecatching to share with your friends, go to a cafe, meet up with a friend, try out that recipe you saved because you thought it sounded nice, look into social groups, events and clubs that cater to your interests/hobbies in your local area - even make use of the time you'd normally spend on social media to do something else online, like wikipedia deep diving, watching a show, or replying to that person you forgot to get back to.

above all, don't beat yourself up along the way. take each day as it comes and each relapse as motivation to keep pushing forwards and make it a little longer between the next one. don't blame yourself for what you can't change (the past) but try to focus on what you can (the future).

[gunsatthaphan]

GMMTV Outing 2024 out of context (not that it would make more sense with context) - part 1