#i dont find it that valuable

[filibusterfrog]

what is your favorite and least favorite art advice?

sorry, boring answer but i think its completely dependent on context, almost all good-faith art advice, even 'just practice' can be valuable in the right situation. I dont like people talking in absolutes or stuff delivered in a way that seems condescending. There are no technical tips that come to mind when discussing favourite/least favourite advice, its all about delivery

[lurkiestvoid]

Headline 14h ago - Meta announces removal of fact checking

Headline 10h ago - Rump hints at economic war to annex Canada

Headline 9h ago - women can now be referred to as 'household objects' under new Meta guidelines

Headline 8h ago - Rump hints at military force to annex Greenland, Panama Canal

Headline 7h ago - Biden bans medical debt from affecting credit score

Headline 6h ago - Rump again alludes to WW3 if Israel isn't chilled out by Jan 20

Headline 5h ago - Rump says Gulf of Mexico to be renamed Gulf of America

Headline 4h ago - Rump team admits Jack Smith found evidence of vast criminal conspiracy

Headline 3h ago - Rump judge temporarily delays release of Jack Smith's Special Council Report

Ah, it begins again with gusto.

If y'all also memory-holed 2016-2021 like the rest of us, be prepared for the face-melting speed at which Shit Starts Happening in the coming weeks now that the election has been certified, and yes even before he's sworn in, whether or not he's allowed to do whatever it is.

No, it will not slow down, stop, or get better. It will keep getting faster, more, and worse.

It will be A Lot, just to even keep track of it all. Just like last time.

I do not have the energy for it, but if no one has already, there should be a good handful of blogs + mods prepared and dedicated just to covering as many headlines/stories as possible. It would be Important and possibly Dangerous Work. And even though I recognize it needs doing, I also recognize it is far outside my ability to reliably provide.

[minophus]

minophus my icon do you have any ferryman or mirage sketches in the works i’ve been itching without you update ngl ur one of my fave artists …

I'm sorryyyy I don't have any...I started on a Mirage the other night but got cold+tired and stopped.

[dallonwrites]

bestie how the fuck do you start writing again when you haven't written in years bc you're so paralyzed with Fear of Writing Badly mixed with How Do I Get Started and also WHAT do I write about HELP

I WANT to write but every part of it is. so. DAUNTING

Ohhh bestie I have BEEN there. Whenever I take breaks from writing I find myself scared that I'll have just….forgotten to write?? I think the fear of "bad writing" is amplified when you don't write for a while, however long, because you have to like hype yourself up to go back to writing and it's like what if I do all that and then I just can't do it? Returning to writing, especially after a long time, for me has taken a lot of mental work, trying to understand what will make writing fun and healthy for me. A lot of it, honestly, is easier said than done, but also it's mental work you'll keep doing after you start writing again and as you write, and for me it's easier to process my relationship with writing when I am actually writing.

A big part of that mental work for me, and something I think is so valuable, is to reconsider what "bad" writing is and give yourself permission to write it. Sometimes you will think your writing sucks, happens to all of us, but that isn't all it has to be. Like yeah, I'll think something I wrote sucks, but I still wrote it. I can revisit it and work on it and maybe I'll turn it into something I'm happy with. And even if I don't, I still wrote it, I learned from it. Writing does not need to be "good" by whatever standard we're holding it up to for it to have value. And you can delete it! Nobody has to see it! Also you can have fun writing something and still think it's not your best. I've written a lot of "bad" scenes that I had fun with because the scene was entertaining to me! I love when writing turns out how I like it, or I write a banger prose line, but equally I found it helpful to give myself permission to not worry about that all the time and just focus on my interest/enjoyment in what I'm writing, regardless of the "quality". Again, easier said than done, but something I've found easier the more I write, because you'll have bad writing days but you'll also have writing days that are so good

I know a lot of people see writing as a skill that they want to improve, and like I agree it feels really good to see your writing grow, but writing is so much more than the skill and the craft and the theory. There is no objective "perfection" to reach with writing like we are not Sims with levelled skills LOL. Writing is art and creativity and it should be fun and fulfilling. And IMO, the more you focus on what makes writing fun, you will grow and "improve" as a writer a lot quicker and in a way that is a lot more enjoyable than if you treat writing like some icy quest for perfection. You also get to decide what "good" writing is for you/your story. Some of my stories are more prose focused and I'll play more with language, imagery etc. Others are more about the plot and just having fun imagining this scene. Sometimes it's a mix of both. What is "good" writing depends on the writer, story, genre, etc. There is no one way to write.

I'm rambling a lot because I'm just really passionate about this and I cannot express enough how easier writing got, including all the difficult and ugly and frustrating parts, when I gave space to prioritise my enjoyment and fun. People love to romanticise the idea of the "struggling" writer. I see stuff on here and I'm like you guys….writing should be fun. Like yeah sometimes it's hard and we should talk about that but like, you Need to make sure you are having fun. Anyway I'm going to try not to ramble and bullet point some things that helped me:

Make Writing Fun: Lol! Literally whatever makes writing fun. Sometimes I just write super indulgent scenes and the fun of that sets me up to work on my projects. When I work on my projects I try to find what in each scene I'm going to enjoy the most, and focus on that to help me write the rest. I make playlists, moodboards, memes, art etc for my story because it's fun, and it helps me be engaged with my story outside of writing it. Just, have fun.

On productivity: some people will benefit from setting clear goals and running towards them. Some people don't. For me it depends on my headspace. I don't think productivity is a bad thing, it can feel good, but productivity should not be the only reason you write. And the most productive writing process is whichever one makes writing enjoyable for you, because that's how you'll get words on the page

On that note, please be wary of anyone online who who treats the writing advice they share as Fact. I'm not saying every writing teacher out there does...but some of them market it that way! And creators do not have an authority on writing just because they have a platform however big. There are some AMAZING content creators out there who talk about writing, and I have found them motivating, but like just let yourself be picky about who you listen to/engage with. I say this because I consumed some very Strict writing advice when I was younger and it literally contributed to my years long slump so like...I'm picky now LOL

About goals: Personally, gentle goals are what help me get back into writing. Maybe just write for 20 minutes, or write every day for a couple days. When I do word count goals, I base them on how I feel that day, and recently I don't make a word count, I'll transfer it to the next session but smaller. So if I try to write 500 words but can't I'll say okay, lets try 250 next time. Goals can be a great motivator and way to feel achieved, and maybe bigger goals will help you, but you're also allowed to adjust them as you go to make it easier

On finding new ideas, having been there before, you don't need a fully fleshed out idea to start writing. My longest break I came back to writing with...one character and a backstory? If you have stories/characters already you can revisit them, either build on what you have or completely change it. Or if you don't have that, if there's a piece of media you like you can take that concept and play around with it in your own way, or you can even just write fanfic until you have your own idea (if you want your own idea, fanfic is cool too!) You can even just find a cool pic on pinterest and play around with describing it, writing about it, seeing if you can get anything from that. Ideas are everywhere and they can be tiny, and I think if you have that want to write you Will find your story eventually. All writers have had the Idea struggle, but I think the more you engage with writing and think about what concepts and stories interest you already, the more you'll like train yourself to get ideas

That was very long and maybe a lot but like, I am very passionate about this! I've been in writing "slumps" where I didn't know if I would write again, I've started writing again with no ideas, and in those times all I had was the fact I knew I wanted to write. There are a lot of reasons why we end up having long breaks from writing and it is totally normal, sometimes beneficial for us, and we should never give ourselves a hard time for not writing for however long. But also remember that you can always come back. Every one of us has the capacity to create, whatever that looks like, and you can make it as self indulgent and self serving as you want.

[marurumai]

i put my favs together and tried to decipher what they all have in common. its been weeks and i cant see anything.

we could have pink characters but aoi, ena, chu² and ctommy dont fit... loud characters? but aya isnt really loud so i dont think so. high schoolers? theres no school for aoi nor tommy. lesbians? i literally dont know. what is it. what.

[ourladyoftheflytrap]

Cats are amazing. I look forward to a future where I don't have any dogs in my house but I never imagine being catless again

[that-tall-queer-bassist]

i want some fluffy goats. I have contacts who own fluffy goats, and also studied their health and care. i could make my own yarn. or just... sell the mohair.

i want fluffy goat friends

... i cannot afford fluffy goat friends atm.

[lucysweatslove]

I got my new car today!!! I haven’t actually driven it yet. Because new things are scary for me and it takes me a little while to get used to something like driving a new car, I wanted to drive it around my parents’ a little before going in a busy road. Rob said it has “responsive break” and i wanna get that “feel” down before I’m in heavy traffic. I like it though and am very grateful and excited!!

Being at my parents’ hasn’t been too triggering this time around. Usually there are some kind of comments about my body or what I’m eating, but we have such a short turn around this year that thankfully it hasn’t been too bad…

Did have to listen to my mom talk about this guy who has multiple myeloma (my mom has a precursor to MM) and apparently is in “full remission” using an antiviral but it came back because he got the covid vaccine…. Tried to explain why that’s probably not true actually but you know… I think she just desperately wants there to be simple/easier answers to the cancer she might develop, which I get, but I also feel like this is how misinformation takes roots.

(We don’t have a perfect system here in the US by far, but we aren’t lagging behind in the cancer treatment realm…. If antivirals worked to cure MM, there would be research on it… and people would do it… contrary to popular belief, Big Pharma isn’t pushing ineffective expensive drugs to steal your money and keep you sick…drugs are ridiculously expensive, but it’s not malicious… insurance companies are far more malicious for refusing coverage than the pharma companies imo)

Also listening to some people talk about pot shop workers (specifically managerial roles) not deserving to be paid a certain amount, all the gender critical bs, like yall, I don’t like government regulations in general and I have my views on how we attempt legislating morality and why it doesn’t work, but like…… when you use that argument to justify why people who “don’t have any education and just know drugs” (not a real quote just a paraphase) don’t deserve to be paid a certain amount, AND you don’t use it to say that like, gov shouldn’t restrict access to health care like abortions and gender affirming care… that’s not “government shouldn’t legislate morality,” that’s “government should legislate the morality I agree with” which is… the same thing you’re complaining about the “other side” doing.

Especially the gender stuff. It takes very little actual energy to use somebody’s preferred, correct pronouns. Affirming care literally saves lives. When you spend a lot of energy and time lobbying against these things, it really just tells me how uncomfortable you are with the idea that somebody could have a different life experience than you. The only person who should be spending that much time and energy caring about those things… should be the person themselves. Partners or family ofc should care too, but in a “how do we support this person so they can live a fulfilling life” way, not in a “i can’t handle anybody having a different lived experience than me” kind of way.

And also if you’re gonna complain about federal spending and budgets, can you at least acknowledge the ridiculous defense budget? Even if your viewpoint is “I don’t know how we can realistically and safely scale that back,” just like… recognize how little the government actually spends on programs like VA health care in relation to the massive defense budget. We rank third in the world for per capita military spending… I’m not saying you need answers on how to solve anything, but if you’re gonna criticize the drops in the bucket, acknowledging that they are in fact drops in the bucket comparatively would be nice.

[gilbirda]

love when people panic and change their url on a whim and/or delete their blog and break my links in a resources post (sarcasm)

[nycteres]

my most hateful opinion is that other spanish lang speakers need to shut the fuck up about how there isnt a need for a gender neutral option in spanish bc "plural masculine can be used as a neutral!"

are u fucking listening to yourself you clown

[cowchickenbeefpork]

god i really wish i knew how to write write beforehand because now I'm like super fucking overwhelmed by having to write this outline for a story idea I've had since like age 12 ( though its evolved and changed with me over the years) I don't wanna ever fucking scrap it but writing down all I have for it in my second attempt for its outline as I try to put in every new addition to the characters conflict worldbuilding plot shit like that I have for it feels so daunting and idk how to categorize it well ( like jfc I have 11k words I have to edit and add or cut I wanna bit the palms of my hands so badly) chat what should I do how do I stop getting so fucking scared to edit and organize shit

[anti-gravity-insanity]

Everyone feel very bad for me, I was in possession of the world’s ugliest (most beautiful) mechanical pencil for approximately 3 glorious weeks before my whole pencil case decided to fall out of the van I think it’s somewhere near Carlsbad caverns and I will miss him forever

[who-the-fuck-knows-blog]

This One is About Izzy Again, Mostly, Sorry

so like, we do clearly know that Edward is much worse off this season than he used to be, even as Blackbeard. Is behaving worse and treating everyone around him worse. I think most of us already figured that, after this, it’s most likely Izzy knew something was different; Blackbeard maimed others, but never him. I guess, to me, it gives a bit more of a picture of what Edward was like before [Stede] as Blackbeard. He could be violent and cruel, but cared, to some extent, about his crew (at least those in the higher ranks/those with history with him), which we already know he used to feel responsible for every one that died due to his plans.

what this gives us is a Blackbeard who devised cunning plans, worked to ensure his crew survived, but also shunned emotional expression/emotional connections.

I guess, this is all to say, when Izzy wanted Blackbeard back, he wanted the man before Stede who did the necessary pirate things (raiding, etc) but maintained an atmosphere on the ship that was at least somewhat crew-conscious. Blackbeard, before, would have at least cared about the crew enough not to endanger them too recklessly (note: this is also Blackbeard before he got despondent, in saving Stede, he apparently did recklessly endanger them, according to Izzy, but even then he still cared that it happened. He still held himself responsible for their lives.) The Blackbeard that Izzy wanted back, that Izzy respected, that Izzy served, was a man who cared for the lives and safety of his crew. But this Blackbeard, doesn’t care. He’s doing the opposite of caring. He’s actively endangering them and terrorizing them.

It can be argued that Izzy’s outburst on deck when Edward is holding a gun to his own head and looming over the crew is a multitude of things. From the least charitable (and to me, makes the least sense)— he wants to maintain Blackbeard’s image, and Blackbeard is seeming really iffy and ruining his reputation on deck in front of the whole crew — to more charitable interpretations — Izzy is worried about either the crew’s safety from Blackbeard, or Edward’s safety from himself — and is redirecting all the attention to himself before things get more out of hand. I’d say he also is just at the end of his rope and what he’s willing to deal with from Blackbeard, and Blackbeard knows it, that’s why he “retired” Izzy. Izzy openly opposed him in front of the crew, and also brought up the one thing Edward has been working so hard to avoid (at least publicly) thinking about or acknowledging.

There’s gonna be so much more Izzy this season and so much more understanding of his motives, probably, so I don’t want to get too ahead of myself assigning any particular one yet, but I do think if we go by his role in the mutiny against Edward, he decided he cares about this crew enough to prevent Edward from destroying them.

It could be argued he reached this point earlier, either before or during the scene where the crew actively comforts him when he assumed no one else cared, and that his standing up to Blackbeard initially was his first actual act of mutiny and was also then a measure to protect the crew, but that’s less obvious to me, because he could have still been trying to protect Edward from himself at that point.

[gibbearish]

are we really back to "oh you support (blank)? name ten people who (do/are) that right now or else youre lying for allyship points and everything you have to say should be disregarded". i thought we left that back in like. 2012 misogynist nerdbro culture

[lord-squiggletits]

I know gender fuckery is the name of the game with alien robots and people are allowed to headcanon and AU whatever they want, but there are some choices to genderbend certain characters that do really fucking annoy me not gonna lie

[fitzrove]

studying for an exam and haunted by this.....