#psa I guess

[flarefighters-fr]

Sigh. Tapping the "if you sold a dragon you have no more rights to them" sign again, pointing out to everyone that when you sell a dragon they're no longer yours. If you don't like the fact people change them, simply don't sell dragons you don't wanna see get changed.

[j3lly-fish]

Just a side note to the whole AI thing happening in the simblr community: It's a much bigger problem than you think.

In case you don't remember the whole cryptocurrency bullshit that happened years ago, by now you know that generative AI has the same outcome.

It uses a TON of power to make a single image.

Now I'm not saying your lil fake sim blogs full of AI generated family photos are what's causing the planet to die faster, but I'm also saying it is.

If you think I'm being dramatic, think about how many AI images you come across nowadays, there's at least millions being generated on a daily basis.

AI isn't just an ethically wrong way to 'make' art or create content for the sims (which unfriendly reminder, is trained off of real non-consenting artists), it's also just another unfortunate overdose of power usage that is now exhausting the power grids. You are feeding the much bigger machine at hand, which are the companies investing money into allowing AI to prosper.

So yeah, I'm going to judge those on here who get lazy and use AI to make swatches on their cc, or decide to make a whole blog of generated in-game screenshots because they couldn't load up their game and wait 10 minutes.

"There's bigger problems in the world right now", well congrats, you're actively partaking in them.

[tombstonesmile]

I'm just posting this since so many people seem to have overlooked the fact that Tal was referred to as "they" in this caption.

[goblinwithartsupplies]

[calictii]

i have to say this while i remember. but the whole "You have to reach out whenever you feel depressed" thing.

yesterday after 3 hours of sleep i woke up like i had been hit by a rock in my head. laying in a hotel room next to my 2 best friends. Who i know for a fact. love and care about me so much. But i instead laid there having a breakdown for 4 hours until they woke up. (where i said nothing to them)

i was so convinced that i had nobody at all to talk to that i Just didn't. i ran lists in my brain and i all waved it away "it's too early. i can't be quiet enough." i panicked and deleted instagram even.

and one of my friends. Spent A long time texting me. Repeatedly. Like a full day. until i responded.

So talk to people. talk to your friends. Just send random messages about you're day if you've no ideas. because that person Probably Just won't when they need to. even if logically they know to.

[iplaywithstring]

What it can be like to live with mild ME/CFS (individual experiences will vary)

chronic fatigue - this one may seem obvious but remember that fatigue isn't the same as tiredness. It's heavy, bone deep, and makes even simple tasks difficult

muscle weakness - going up stairs, lifting a glass of water and even speaking can be difficult. Sometimes I can't open the fridge.

Dysautonomia - my autonomic nervous system is messed up. It means low blood pressure, dizzy spells, poor temperature regulation, and orhtostatic intolerance (which leads to horrible nausea)

Brain fog - words disappear from my vocabulary. I forget what I was talking about in the middle of a sentence. I can't follow a conversation or a tv show. Reading comprehension is non-existent (all of this is great while being a master's student).

Short term memory issues - possibly related to brain fog, but a separate thing because I don't realize the memory issues are happening until someone points it out. Great when my kid tells me something and not only do I forget the information, but have no memory of having the conversation.

Flu-like symptoms - chills, nausea, weakness, muscle and joint aches. Do I have a virus or did I do too much? Who knows. Constant fear I'm going to be Actually Sick and not realize it because I always just assume it's a bad day.

Inability to work full time - I tried this, it did not go well, even with a pretty low activity job. I am not sure if I'll ever be able to work full time because mental activity has the same effects as physical activity.

Unrefreshing sleep - It doesn't matter if I sleep for 3 hours or 8, I'll likely feel the same when I wake up. Monitoring my heart rate variability (HRV, a good measure of energy levels taking into account CNS function) has shown that sometimes I even have less energy when I wake up. Joy.

So maybe this is a bit of a rant, but it's also a reminder that even a mild form of this illness (I'm so lucky to be mild!) is life-altering and has an effect on pretty much every thing I do.

I have privilege - thanks to my partner we are financially stable if I don't work, I have access to medical care and if I'm unable to take care of things, I have support. I am happy and I have been able to create a life that feels good and fulfilling even while I manage my symptoms.

I got sick in 2010, after a viral infection - no idea what virus but I had a pretty high fever and felt miserable for a few days. Not sick enough to go to the hospital, but enough that I knew I was sick. It's moving into winter in the northern hemisphere, where viral infections tend to rise.

Take care of yourself and the people around you. Get your covid and seasonal flu vaccines. Stay home if you're sick, wear a mask in public. I don't want you to get sick like I am.

[themotherofhorses]

Hi

I've spent several days weighing upon this absolutely difficult and painful decision. I spoke to my two closest mutuals, to make sure I was making the correct choice. I think I am.

I'm done with writing. As Marie Kondo might say, "this one does not spark joy."

I know what you might be thinking. "Vic, you said you were updating this weekend!" I did. But then, every time I opened up my doc to edit that LOHHNM chapter, I kept thinking about that one anon. I know I shouldn't, but hearing someone say, " [other fanfic author] would definitely write Last of Her House No More/ His Handmaid's Tales better. They would do what you can't," fucking hurts. I know, I know, I know. But my confidence is gone, as embarrassing as that might sound. I've rewritten this damn chapter *three* times because I feel so shitty writing/editing it.

At this point, I just don't want to write anymore.

So i'm not going to pressure myself into doing so. Not right now, anyways. Maybe I'll return in the future, once I regain my spark/motivation/desire. Any writing I do, it will be centered around my OCs; perhaps I'll find more growth during this time.

(I have this totally adorable story in the works, actually. It's an original work and I'm CRAZY for it).

In the meantime, my fanfics will remain posted. My blog will always be open if there is anyone that rereads my writing. I'll still be active too! I'll reblog, comment, answer any dms, etc. I might be done with writing, but definitely not with my sweet moots.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for joining me on this short journey of mine. I'm happy so many liked all my silly stories. I'm truly sorry it has to end like this, and I'm truly sorry that I'm letting so many people down, but I need to put my mental health first. I love y'all. I so truly fucking do.

To all the other HOTD fanfic writers out there, I wish you all the luck in the world <3 so many talented individuals out there. I know this fandom will NEVER lack creativity and good-fucking-food hehe.

Until I get all my little braincells together to write something, I bid you adieu.

[elaphaemourra]

HEY DISCORD, WHAT THE FUCK

AY YO ANYONE WHO DOESN'T WANT THEIR DISCORD TO LOOK LIKE GODDAM FACEBOOK MESSENGER, DON'T UPDATE. BECAUSE IT CAN'T BE ROLLED BACK.

I fucking hate this. Disgusting. Hey discord, HEY. HEY DISCORD. GIVE ME A TOGGLE AT LEAST. BECAUSE THIS FUCKING SUCKS.

[bardandbear]

Okay, so trying to prepare for whatever the hell spoilergeddon is allegedly happening for DAV from the 19th onwards... anyone know someone who is at this event? Can we get details on what is being spoiled - like be specific. Is this an early game plot spoiler, is it a Rook background spoiler, is it a major plot spoiler - my feelings about each of these differ wildly. Set some expectations so people can make an informed choice?

[irukasenseii]

I have been a little MIA this week and that's because I've been prepping for a little mini vacation this weekend. I'm leaving tomorrow early afternoon and coming back late Sunday and might not be bringing my laptop with me so anything I do post is gonna be mobile.

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

all hamlet fans:

read r&g are dead if you havent (but i am assuming most people are aware of that one)

read fortinbras it’s not as good as ragad but it bangs

watch haider

[lonelysheepling]

Advice for artists and non-artists but mainly just artists

You know how you do a thing for so long that it’s becomes super mundane and insignificant to you, like when you’re sewing something you just do a basic stitch and struggle to tie a standard knot at the end. But you don’t do this often enough for it to stand out to you. You’re an artist, hey maybe even a professional one, and you’ve been doing your art a certain way for a long time. You use pose references and look up environment pictures to reference. But you still draw shoes without a reference or you draw clothes without any detailed folds.

At various points in my art journey I tried using tutorials, resources, and step by step guides for drawing certain things, be that nature brushes, drawing noses front-on, etc. and my skills at the time were kinda basic so I could never really pull off the tutorials in a way that satisfied me. I then went years just improving on broad areas like perspective and posing, focusing more on the overall composition than the minor details. But one day, years later, I got bored and decided to look up how to draw clothing folds

On the left of the green line is some previous work, on the right was two pieces I drew after I heavily referenced cloth physics

Ignore the shading, lighting, colors, etc. the stuff on the right definitely has way better flow than the stuff on the left. Now it wasn’t like a “wow I used a reference and now I’m a master” situation, there was an adjustment period with some less than stellar examples

But when I created those first 2 folds it was like a fucking switch was flicked in my head and I’ve been improving ever since. I am immensely grateful that I just happened to go looking for reference photos because holy shit something as simple as improving my clothing folds massively boosted my confidence in my work. Something I’ve noticed after I followed tutorials is that during the adjustment period, while the first couple of pieces are very reminiscent of the source tutorial, they start to get a little too far off and I stop referencing the tutorial and start doing my own thing (for better or for worse), but there’s then a period afterwards where I go back (maybe after re-watching the original tutorial) and develop it more into my own style.

Here’s a graph to better explain my thought process

Here’s another gun to the head reminder to use references. Recently I was drawing shoes for a character and I have a pretty consistent method of drawing shoes (consistent, not good).

But I wanted it to look more rugged so I looked up an image of a hiking boot and guess at what point in this timelapse that the reference was pulled up

I had for years tried using tutorials and reference photos but the process never really clicked for me. But over the years I have improved my technical skills and I believe that those improvements and all that practice made it way easier for me to understand and replicate tutorials, i understand now how the specifics of certain things like shading and depth work, picking up new skills that are still in the area I work in became way easier. But Im obviously still finding areas in my art by random chance that I can improve on. Because I don’t think about those parts anymore, they’re in the background of my design process.

This is where my advice to non-artists comes in. Look up tutorials. For anything. You know earlier when I mentioned sewing? Look up a guide on stitching, I just learned today what a surgeons knot is despite having been hand stitching for years. You don’t know what you don’t know, you don’t seek out improvement when you don’t perceive the need to improve. Trust me, there’s always areas to improve but you are going to have to stretch your mind at some point to recognize them. Everybody talks about how you should use tutorials and use references and all that, but I don’t think many people are going to research tutorials for things they don’t feel like they need improvement in.

. Anyway that’s the end of my monthly psa

If something in this post confused you feel free to send me like an ask or a brick through my window with a note attached to it, I’m not picky.

[sanctus-ingenium]

psst, re: your tags about clicking the url just taking you back to the blog view - if you click the white space in the post header (ie, to the right of the url) it takes you to the original post the way clicking the url /used/ to. so the functionality's still there! but i agree it's a dumb and completely unintuitive change and i hate how they decided to just futz with the interface for no reason when the old way worked fine??

thanks to everyone who reached out to explain. i'm still like. baffled why they did this but at least now i get it.. and i fail to see why this is in any way more intuitive, like staff claims

oh well!

[artgroves]

Hey! Super weird question, I just got this comment on one of my fics & assumed it was a bot because of the phrasing & the fact that it’s an angst fic, but then someone said this was your AO3 URL, and this is very rambly but I guess I wanted to ask if you left this comment? And if not, I guess to give a head’s up in case you got hacked 😅

it’s on this Check, Please! fic. I also thought it was weird bc there’s no link to a profile right, so it’s probably a guest account using your username. But anyway yeah hi sorry this is a weird message to phrase!

Thank you so much for letting me know about this.

No, it's not me, but I didn't get hacked as it's not signed in. It's not the first time it's happened - it's either a bot or a troll and they're even left comments on my own works on AO3.

I've reported it, but I am not able to link to the comment to report it, only to the fic - if you're able to report it then please do so. I suspect the other comment is also spam as it's worded similarly :(

[ghostofaboy]

So, um, I love being tagged in people's fics cos it's a great way to share stuff. Mostly cos Tumblr's tags work when they feel like it.

But, can people please not tag me for an step-dad or uncle Pedro character stuff? It's very triggering for me and even though it's usually f!reader stuff I still can't read it.

[mingos]

if you're mutuals only and unfollow me on one blog no hard feelings i guess but i beg you to please either explain or unfollow my other because i don't have the social wherewithal to know what that's supposed to mean and how i am & am not allowed to interact with you now.