#this community has really helped push me to make things and be creative and it's wonderful but yeah

[befuddled-calico-whump]

I may have to enforce a hiatus on myself 😶

I think I'm getting a little too obsessed with getting feedback/interaction and it's impacting my mental health SO I may end up stepping away from tungle for September

Gonna wait and see if this is just a random low period or if it persists first though, cause I like keeping up with everyone's projects on here!

[kianamaiart]

Hey hey! You’ve probably been asked this a lot but what made you want to start creating I Don’t Want To Be A Magical Girl?

Also I drew Akia in my style!

Hope you’re having a great day btw ! :0)

First of all this is so rad!!! I loooove how you drew her

And what made me want to make I Don't Want to be a Magical Girl... It was a lot of things! (im assuming you mean the pilot in general)

The idea started off as a stupid doodle/character design practice. It wasn't gonna be anything more than that. I just felt like drawing a cute character with a gun really hahaha.

It's not a particularly original premise and I didn't plan to do anything more with her (as I do with most of my ocs/designs). But I actually did really like this one and couldn't help but think of little ideas and scenarios with her. Things started ramping up in my brain more when I realized I could attach a personal story and personal experiences to it to make it feel less cliche. That's when I started designing the other characters and coming up with bios and stuff

And then that was gonna be it again. I'd maybe do a comic here and there but there was a combination of things that happened that led to me jumping in and making a pilot.

First of all, I had a two month hiatus coming up so I had so much time. I also decided to step down from my directors position to be a board artist again in the coming season. So I really wanted to get some storyboarding practice in and what better way to do that than with this character I ended up really liking? I also don't have a portfolio and I'd been wanting to make something that's very me rather than my work from an existing show.

I'd offhandedly mentioned to my editor at disney that I wanted to do a board for these characters and she told me she'd help me make an animatic if it ever came to that. I couldn't pass up that opportunity! Now, since it was gonna be an animatic and I didn't want it to just be my scratch, I reached out to a bunch of VA friends to see if they'd be interested and they were!

Then other than having that support, just seeing my friends work on their own personal projects has been really inspiring and made me want to also do my own thing! Me and my friend group had just made a whole video game for our friend as a bday present which was so creatively fulfilling and made me realize like "oh my god we're artists we can literally just make stuff".

In the past I'd been so afraid to share my original work and for similar fears I've never wanted to showrun despite having the opportunity to pitch. While it's flattering to be wanted there was this pressure that felt like "oh you HAVE to make something, you're wasting your talent otherwise." (lol this is ironically the thesis of idwtbamg). And as a qpoc, i'd felt this extra layer of pressure to have to make something perfect on all fronts because if i fail in any capacity, i'm failing my community. it'd just be another another reason for people to say "ah queer media and work centering poc just can't succeed." then on the other end, i can only do and write what i know and feared that other people in my community wouldn't resonate with it or would feel like it's inaccurate to their own experiences.

but that's an exhausting way to feel and i've finally decided for myself that i'm just gonna tell stories that are authentic to me and it will reach whoever it needs to reach~ this realization was kind of the final step i needed to push myself to go all in. and now we're here!

[ivesambrose]

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

More timeless readings here

Services Offered ✨

Client Love 💞

Thank you for the tip mon cher 🌹

To book a personal reading with me message or send me an email with your name and query on ivesambrose@gmail.com

The next chapter of your life indicates a period of discipline, structure and determination. Long term plans or goals instead of short term gratification. I feel previous months of stagnation, struggle and mental turmoil has led to you having the mindset of being rather unfazed towards anything because you have likely realised that regardless of what you 'see' you're in control. You've learnt to trust your intuition and inner guidance over anyone else. You might encounter power struggles in between but this will lead to emotional growth nonetheless.

There is a lot of joy, celebration and new connections to look forward to as well. It might seem like despite the good happening to you and what you've wanted for so long finally being yours, you feel rather defensive. Remember to push through despite past struggles. To fully be in the present and enjoy what you have and what you deserve. For some of you I do see you making really good friends but due to past experiences you're rather guarded towards them. The message I'm getting is that yes, do use discernment when dealing with people. Do establish necessary boundaries. But don't let promising friendships falter due to fears.

You can also expect your dreams to be more within reach, renewal and unexpected help coming through, the path getting clear when you least expect it, healing from mental strain that have remained unspoken.

Lastly, you will experience a balance in giving and receiving. This will be necessary when it comes to your material and spiritual growth.

The next chapter of your life calls for adjustment and change. Drastic ones. If it's causing you some tension know that this area of your life requires that change. You can't expect to step into the next chapter of your life otherwise. I see that this involves your daily routine, health, work, with opportunities of personal growth and recognition in those areas. You may also be stepping into a new role of responsibility that requires self discipline on your part. You will be pushed to focus on your physical health a lot more. So if you feel like you're getting sick often it's a sign to stress less about it and take mindful steps towards it instead. Be it getting a proper check up or holding yourself accountable. You don't have to rush anything however, improvement will happen gradually. Some of you likely just need more movement but not the kind that puts your body on overdrive. There will be rapid progress and sudden opportunities coming your way out of the blue, a lot of communication and even travel. Career wise, it's looking really good! You will also be transitioning away from a very difficult time of your life. You may also have new intellectual pursuits, you'd want to learn new things or will be acquiring a lot of necessary knowledge. you will also find yourself juggling many tasks or projects at once but this will lead to a sort of mastery over your life You'll be feeling rather accomplished.

The next chapter calls for self expression, communication as well as creativity however some challenges or conflicts might arise as you assert your individuality or learn to find your voice in new environments.

You can however, look forward to emotional growth, new beginnings in your emotional life as well creative expressions.

Steady and solid growth when it comes to your finances as well. Something that makes you feel like you don't need to rely on others and you have financial freedom so one less thing to feel anxious about that has possibly been weighing down on you far too much .

Once again, try not to over exhert yourself or you'll end up attaching the experience to something that should come to you rather smoothly. In other words, you really need to drop the mindsets of the people that have been projected onto you and have become your belief systems. It's time to make some of your own without losing sight of what you truly value.

You can also expect more mental clarity and better insights in regards to what to do, where to invest, your life's purpose and what truly brings you joy. But instead of running from it like you did before, you'll embrace it.

You might feel more drawn towards arts, aesthetics, cooking, gardening etc as well.

Having time and proper consideration towards things you earlier didn't have the state of mind for.

[zzencat]

how you can be the light for your person when things are dark ⏳

🍀🌴THE RITUAL: Clear your mind. Time is now patient and still. Close your eyes, inhale deeply, fill your chest up to the fullest, feel the soft air brush up against the ridges of your nose. Breathe out.

When they get too lost, will you lead them back? These may seem like small struggles, but it has a huge impact on your person’s character and how they hold themselves back. (Some piles purposely do not have an “extras” section.)

Choose wisely. Applicable to future lover or spouse.

————————————

1 | “slow down” - chase atlantic

you’ll need to be that person that provides a sense of security for them. You’ll remind them why they do the things that they do and who they’re doing it for, what their purpose is in all of this

You’ll be someone who is extremely reliable, someone they can count on; to do this, you’ll need to be secured yourself, grounded, and discliplined, along with your own goals to chase in this lifetime. i also see you reaching out first to see why they’re struggling.

i also see you reaching out first because this person might show these negative signs subtly or through the bad qualities of leadership (i.e: if they’re a boss who doesn’t usually get mad at employees, but they suddenly do out of stress and having too much work.) your person doesn't want to appear weak and will push their feelings aside to move on. you’ll help them keep in check, just make sure to balance yourself as well. avoid going to extremes like being too hard on yourself or them.

you’re very nurturing and definitely CAN end up helping others more than yourself, so pls make sure to keep yourself in check. your person also needs to know that you’re okay.

i also think your person tends to be one who is assertive or one who could be in a position of command or higher power/authority than others, so they could be burnt out or frustrated

you’ll buy things for them (i.e: walking by a bakery and buying something for your person) or do acts of service. You might even take them out to eat or check up on their health, take them shopping. overall, spending your time with this person and making it known that you’ll be patient and that you’re someone they can open up to, if needed. also lots of earth energy in this pile or connection

as long as you make it clear that you are there for your person, they’ll feel safe and will appreciate it more than you know. (this also gives very heavy secretary vibes- ayyy shout out to the kdrama “what’s wrong with secretary Kim” hahaha)

your person might be discouraged because they start projects or gain things in areas that don’t really benefit them in the long run or won’t have anything to do with their future or alignment. your person is generally a fun, passionate person---it’s their spontaneity, zest for life, easy amusement for things that don’t matter that will get them down. remind them of their purpose and what they strive to be, the people they hope to inspire, and the hearts they want to move. tell them to slow down, to take it easy, and to not to take more pressure than they need.

———————————————

2 | “whips and chains excite me” (??)

one of you in the relationship needs to take care of their health more, hydrate often, and maybe declutter your living spaces a bit. i see that brushing these off could build up into something whack af over time. once on of you declutters your space or finds somewhere comfortable, yet clean and inspiring, it’ll help you declutter your mind as well.

i think your person is a bit of a loner or they’re not one to share their thoughts to anybody, no matter how innovative or creative they are, so communication is definitely important here. encourage them to come out of their shell more or talk to you. you’d be suprised how easy it is, despite a bit of hesitance and depending on how much trust in built in this relationship.

there’s a lotttttt of talking involved. you gotta take this person outside more!!! get them involved with life and all that it has to offer (pressure ‘em to go outside if needed- there is MEGA introvert energy here and it needs to be balanced out)

your person might deal with a lot of indeciveness, procrastination, confusion, and overthinking. they’re very open minded, weird (hopefully in a good way), unconventional, captivating, and naive. there’s a good sense of justice and fairness here. be creative with them and hype them up!! get to know them, be empathetic, EMOTIONALLY SUPPORTIVE, and hear em out.

extra bits n pieces: "stop living in the dark,” “get back into the real world,” def prominent air sign placements, BIG thinker, computer science, nerd, rihanna “s&m” lyrics, unconventional mind, might have adhd or some form of distracted thinking (but in a genius kind of way)

lil teddy note: i’ve never gotten so many major arcana cards in a spread (yo person is a totally different, complex kind of gem)

——————————————

3 | *splashes bucket of water on you*

your person might have prominent fire sign placements and they don’t know where to direct this energy and passion. They’ll need a bit of water energies around them to get them to chill out. they might struggle with ego, but that’s bc they’re scared and everything is unknown to them. it’s almost like this is their soul’s first life and they’re learning to navigate things. i think they can also be a bit too much, like too energetic, excited, or banter-y, maybe too competitive and wanting to win.

this is an odd suggestion but you may have to teach your person to get along with their friends or family (??) they could have difficulties getting along with them so you’ll have to show them how to be a friend. you’ll definitely show them how to express their love, feelings, and be vulnerable. it’s a bit hard, but a lot of these issues are because they have hella unused energy and they’re just excited to use it.

they want to love and be loved, but they don’t know how or where to start. your person also sounds very extroverted or an extrovert who’s very obviously hiding it because their passionate personalities haven’t been received well while growing up.

i also think your person is stubborn, strong willed, and determined. Definitely a guard/protector sort of person. they might be good at sports or physical activities. they seem very self assured but they might be hesitant in making some decisions bc they’ve always been pretty bad at timing (ie: like a corny joke at a bad time, but in a naive and innocent manner). they really have a knack for making their presence known unintentionally.

pile 3, i think yall have the ability to adapt to your person’s quirks, even if you might be shy of them at first. but you’ll help each other become comfortable with each other’s little traits. especially if there are aspects you don’t like of yourself or them with the same issue, you’ll help each other grow to love em and naturally accept yourselves as you are. I don’t think I need to advise you much; like water, you’ll shape and shift into what you’ll naturally become to support your partner. It’s really cute I like this energy

extra bits n pieces: charming, charismatic assholes, fun to be around, attention on them wherever they go, jock and shy nerd vibes, just misunderstood, puppy vibes

[narrators-journal]

Hey hey! If this is something you’re comfortable and willing to do, could you please write something about Senku, Stan, or Xeno helping a reader who has POTS and can be stubborn about their body’s own limit? 😭 This can be all three or just one of them, whatever you feel like writing! The creative freedom is in your hands for that! I greatly enjoy your work and hope you’re doing well ❤️ I hope this isn’t too specific of an ask!

This one intimidated me a bit, ngl. I do not havw POTS, and I don’t want to be offensive to the peope who do, so I tried to keep a symptom list up and just kinda bit the bullet. I hope you enjoy, I hope this doesn’t come off like any of the characters are straight up mean, and I hope this is what you imagined. Ngl, the trio u chose all would kinda call a person who ‘nah I’d win’s their own medical condition kinda dumb, but I tried to not lean into that lol. Which, I know I could’ve done by just choosing one, but I couldn’t think of a scenario, so I went with headcanons, and it only felt fair to give u the whole trio to make up for that. So, y’know, Please enjoy!

SENKU

Senku is shown to have a fair bit of knowledge on illnesses, so he can probably clock a reader with POTS pretty quickly. The fainting, the dizziness, the heart palpitations, he could at least recognize something was wrong with the reader.

On the bright side, he won’t call you an idiot outright for how you take care of yourself, he just might not show a lot of overt sympathy when you run into issues.

That’s not to say he truly doesn’t care, but seeing you refuse help would just make him get sneaky with it.

He’d keep an eye on you for fainting spells, help you with the brain fog or the fatigue, and that’s not something you can stop.

Denying help out of nothing but stubborn refusal will just encourage him. If senku likes you, he’d try to help you however he can, and you are not stopping him.

In a subtle way, he will also help. Keeping notes of things you say or want, a chair nearby for resting, and dealing with the dizziness however he could. That way you can’t deny as much. Plausible deniability, baby~

XENO

Being stubborn about your limitations is NOT going to fly.

Xeno knows pretty well what some of the symptoms of POTS are, and once he figures out you’ve got it, he will make you be more careful.

He can’t, like, physically force you, but say good bye to any physically demanding jobs around the little farm and community.

If you want to do anything strenuous, you better learn to acknowledge your own issues and not risk passing out and hurting yourself.

The biggest difference between him and Senku is Xeno would call you a dumbass for refusing to really accept your symptoms.

Xeno also would keep chairs around and generally keep an eye on you. Stubborn streak or not, you will be made to acknowledge your POTS

STANLEY

Stanley is more direct about it. He will call you an idiot for how hard-headed you are and even let you push yourself to your limit in a ‘what did we learn’ type of moment.

That being said, he’d also keep track of what you said and planned.

He probably wouldn’t note it down, but Stanley would very much be someone who could tell you what your forgetting, or at least help you figure it out.

He’s also great for the fact that he can catch you if you do pass out or nearly do so. He can pick you up if you’ve walked or stood too much, or give you something to at least lean against when you need it.

He’d also probably get Xeno to help, so he’s a bit of a bogo deal for people calling you a dumbass and scolding you for not taking care of yourself right.

But hey, he does it out of genuine care, even if he is a douche about it.

[turtle-taetell]

goodbye Mersmp

Super long message below!! (Funny story!)

and a message to the CCs at the end! <3

This is a piece that means so much to me. 21 months ago the designs for Theo and Faye got released. That day, i drew them! On paper with the supplies I had laying around, in a sketchbook smaller than my hand. At this point I was proud of my art but still very nervous about it. I had no idea how to draw them. I struggled a lot.

The second time I drew it, a year had passed. I felt I had been able to grow a lot as an artist and was excited to show how much I improved, so I redrew it! I loved how the lineart turned out and was so so excited to see the finished piece! But guess what? I hated it. I colored it in and still hate it to the point that I don’t even have the final version saved to my phone. It makes me feel ashamed.

But now, Mersmp has come to a close and the characters I have grown to care about so deeply have gotten their happy ending. So I wanted to give this piece that as well.

And finally, I think I can finally say I did.

I started drawing this final piece as soon as I was able to screenshot their epilogue designs. I was determined to make it right. So I sat down and drew, and drew, and drew, only taking an hour break to have dinner with a friend (don’t be like me). Finally, at 3am, eleven hours later, I was satisfied.

In this final piece are things that show just how tired I was. There are countless freckles on both characters, even under their scales! That’s a lot of dots. But wait… not the smallest. If you zoom in close enough they have pores! Much smaller than their freckles. That’s really a lot of dots! My freckle brush must have really come in clutch, right? WRONG! I dont have a freckle brush! All of this was done with one single smooth brush and I made Every. Single. Dot. Individually. That must have been pretty hard on my stylus, right? ONCE AGAIN WRONG! I don’t have a stylus! All of this was done on Ibis Paint x, a free art program, on an old janky ipad I got for free because it was so broken, all drawn with my finger. Even if I got a stylus, my ipad is too old to connect to any of them, including apple pencils.

The moral of this story is to never give up and not to let your resources limit your creativity. It doesn’t matter what medium you use, just do something to learn and keep pushing to improve. You will get there. Despite everything, you can do it.

And to the Mermp crew: Thank you for everything you have done. Through the story you have told and the community you have built, you have helped myself and others to grow in many ways. I myself learned a lot from Theo, learning that I do in fact go nonverbal at times and that does not mean there is anything wrong, and that I can feel conflicted and unsure about gender and expression. I learned I don’t need to be fixed. Just like I have now learned to look at the first redraw. I may not like it, but it is an expression of who I was at the time. Similar to Cella and Bite. Those characters may not like what they did in the past, but they are able to look back and recognize that it made them who they are today. If I always was proud of my first redraw, I may have never pressed myself to make this third one as beautiful. Thank you for the stories and lessons you have shared with us and allowing us to grow along side you and your characters.

And maybe, one day, a year or so from now, I can return to this and redraw it again, seeing what other things I enjoy in the future and how they may shape me to change.

With love, Turtle.

[sidsledge]

a whole year since i made this sideblog and it's brought me so much joy and such a deep sense of community i really can't say how much i appreciate all of my mutuals and everyone in the hbo war fandom, but specially the creators, artists, writers, gif makers – your work is unbelievable and it makes me so happy to log on here everyday. being in this fandom has gotten me to push my own artistic boundaries and I've finally begun writing, editing and drawing for fandom spaces again (despite previous bad experiences) because everybody here is just wonderful and so full of creativity. not to get emotional on the ww2 sideblog but i can't help it!

im also really proud of some of the things I've written and edited including *all* those stupid ass text posts i make just to share with everyone here (which like, you can definitely see an evolution and improvement there lol). it's clear i love talking about these shows and their characters so thank you all again for listening and engaging in honest rich discussions about it with me – i can't say I've had the opportunity in other fandoms and it's great :)

tl;dr im very happy about today! going from user wiltedprayers with a luz pfp and harry + winnix header to user sidsledge with a nix pfp and a sidsledge header has surely been an interesting journey.

p.s. happy birthday web!

[saturngalore]

the universe of saturngalore pt. 2 🪐

hiii happy simblr anniversary to me! 3 years in this community, can you believe it?! this year was such a weird year for me as there was so many things i wanted to do and i either never did them, didn’t finished them, or they just got drafted and pushed for next year. i always wish that i could’ve done more in regards of edits and hairs but i seriously cant overwork and stress myself over a hobby! i think i will just focus on being creative and helping other black and/or fat simmers the best way i can and that’s it.

honestly, i cant be too mad or upset at myself because i did a lot different and cool things this year that im actually proud of like doing two cc collab with two amazing black free cc creators, finally making and releasing some of the hairs of my dreams, debuting my s-pop girl group (the fates) that been in the basement for like 2 years, successfully downloading ts2, and posting a bit of my nsb 2 legacy gameplay (even tho i stopped posting it 😭). i still hope to post more of my personal gameplay and my sim artists from my “record label” because i spent alot of time this year playing with my nsb2 family and working on my 70s singer, my 60s girl group, my 90s/2000s girl group, and of course i need to work on the comeback for the fates! there’s still a couple more hairs i have drafted that i would love to share with y’all eventually!

seriously tysm to everyone who has supported me and interacted with me over the years! it all really means a lot!! 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾💗💗💗

[shininglightmentalhealthevent]

Welcome to the Shining Light Writing Event!

!Sign-up link!

Schedule and other details / explanation below (Note: This is not for any specific fandom, but writing about a fandom is allowed (hence tags))

!! Warning: This event / blog talks about, references, and deals with many sensitive mental health topics, which may be triggering to some people. Interact at your own risk. Any issues that arise from this point on are on you !!

What is this event? This is an online writing event focused on different types of mental health issues/illnesses/conditions, and how styles of writing can be used to help improve & bring awareness to them!

Who can sign up, & what are you looking for? There will not be applications, instead there are open sign ups that will close once an undecided number of people have filled it out. Anyone who is 16 or older and who writes in any style is welcome to join! Poetry, short story, anything. The word range for a typical style writing piece is 300 to 3,000 words. You can focus on an original character, fandom character, or real person in your life.

When are things happening? The Discord server will open at the end of February, and a PDF of the compiled works will be released Mid-May. See the schedule graphic above for more dates, and the schedule channel in the Discord has even more specific info.

Where is it being held? There is a Discord server, the link to which will be shared in an email.

Who is running it? @th3-dark-abyss is the head mod and organizer of this event! There is a team of five other mods helping, who will be credited as well.

Why is this event a thing anyway? Abyss (that's me) is working on their Girl Scout Gold Award! It's the highest award that a scout their age can earn; it requires 80+ service hours towards a project of their choosing that has a lasting, positive impact on a community. There have been a few hurdles, but I'm pushing through and I'd really love if you applied and/or shared the posts wherever you can!

Some Rules / Guidelines ~ We will be dealing with many sensitive topics that are very real issues. Please be kind and considerate. ~ Participating in this event is for over 16 years old only. If you are younger than 16, your sign up will be deleted immediately. (Under 16s feel free to reblog and interact though, at your own risk.) ~ Discrimination or hate of any kind will not be tolerated. ~ The point of this is to spread awareness through writing, to show how creative writing can help improve mental health and well-being, and to convey different people's unique experiences. It is not to stereotype, villainize, or put issues in boxes. ~ Do not make assumptions or state things as facts when they are not. ~ Do not discount others and their experiences just because you aren't familiar. ~ The askbox is open if you have any other questions or comments!

---

If you are having a mental health crisis and need help, contact 988 (National Mental Health Hotline). Here is a website with some help hotlines if you need to reach out for help. (I am in the US, so this is likely for my area. If this doesn't have one, let me know and I will help you find a line for your area.)

You are not alone ❤️

---

Keep your eyes out for the sign-up form, and please enjoy!!

[chriskotiesen]

Just saw and adored the creativity in your creature design work on my fyp

Do u perhaps have any tips for brainstorming ideas? Currently im just going with moodboards on pinterest but its kinda clogged with ai art...

Thank you!

I can't help you with your Pinterest AI problem, but I have plenty of brainstorming techniques. I wrote about my thought process a bit when I walked through one of my designs last year (click here). In general though, I always start my creatures either by just smashing shapes together, or by building off of a vague concept.

STARTING WITH SHAPES

• Draw some random shapes, then try to find creatures in them. If you don't see anything interesting in a shape right away then you can try adding to it or flipping it around. If that doesn't work, just abandon it and draw another.

• If you want to push your creativity a bit further, immediately discard the first idea you come up with and try to find a second way of interpreting the same shape. That will pretty much always get you something a bit stranger and less like your usual work.

STARTING WITH CONCEPTS

• Come up with a really wild design prompt for a creature and then try to make it work. Something like "eyes on its knees", "three heads but only one limb", or "crustacean with feathers".

• Pick a feature of a real animal that you find interesting and do something with that. Nature has all kinds of beautiful and fascinating stuff that you can borrow! Sometimes creature design to me is just about taking some little things that I find neat (like crab legs, or jellyfish oral arms, or goat eyes) and trying to present them in a way that hopefully makes other people see them as interesting too.

• Also consider strange variations of real features. What if bird wings were jointed differently, or if they had something other than feathers laid out in the same pattern? What if a creature with tusks also grew several rows of teeth at once, like a shark?

• Try formulating a concept around a creature's abilities. What would a supersonic bird look like? Or a bug that communicates via radio waves?

• If you want to get really silly or alien, you can try blending in ideas from non-organic sources. What if a typewriter was an animal and all of its little arms were actual limbs? Can you give an animal wheels in a way that looks evolutionarily plausible?

GENERAL CREATURE DESIGN ADVICE

• Not every creature will come out great, and that's okay. I draw A LOT and the majority of my work doesn't get shared online. But the more things you try, the better the odds that you'll find something good.

• You want to strike a good balance between novelty and relatability. Too normal and it won't be very interesting. Too weird and it won't have any personality. Once you have a vague idea, you can often add or remove features to reach the balance that you want.

• No matter how crazy the overall body plan may be, it's the little details that make something feel natural. Do the joints look like they would bend in a sensible way? How does the texture of its skin vary across its body? Can you imagine what petting it would feel like?

Hope that helps!

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Hi! I'm alive!

I have not been very active or responsive here for months; I've chosen to (/ in some cases had to) prioritize other things of late. But I'm still here! I'll share some of the things I've been up to under the readmore, but I'll start with this:

I'm really sorry to folks whose asks have gone unanswered.

I will try to get through some this month; but I won't manage to get through them all. If you are super in need of an answer, dm or send another ask letting me know and I'll make sure to prioritize yours <3

You can also try searching through my blog for answers; see this post for some of my most-used tags so you can search by topic.

Stuff I've been up to:

This past fall I was over the moon to be invited into several wonderful projects!

Two involved liturgy collections; one won't be out till Advent, but the other thing is A Sanctified Art's "Everything in Between" Lenten worship materials — I wrote a combined Maundy Thursday / Good Friday service for the collection.

The other project was a book coming out in spring 2026 on ministry with disabled youth. I almost couldn't believe it when I got an email inviting me to write a chapter of an anthology that will also hold the writings of real authors I've read! I wrote my chapter on "cripping" youth ministry by:

universalizing access (no more accomodations only for youth who have managed to get a diagnosis — everyone deserves to have their needs met);

integrating "crip genius / disabled wisdom" (drawing especially from Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's writing);

and incorporating what Laverne Cox calls possibility models into lesson plans — for the purposes of youth ministry, this would include figures from scripture, across (Christian & other) history, and into the present who model possibilities beyond the absent or miserable futures society lays out for disabled, BIPOC, queer, and otherwise marginalized persons.

I'm also seeking to.....go back to school!

I'm a scholar at heart and I miss the chance to research and discuss in an academic community. I actually just got my rejection letter from Emory's PhD in religion program last week :(

I'm not surprised — it's an incredibly competitive program and I don't have the experience under my belt that some applicants likely do. Still. Sigh. I have big tangled Feelings about it, but I'll probably save those for my other more personal blog, @a-queer-seminarian. But I just submitted my application for Emory's Candler School of Religion's Doctor of Ministry program! which is a much less intense doctorate than a PhD, made for ministers to complete while continuing their usual work.

Also, its abbreviation is DMin, pronounced Demon. Which I'm sure I'll keep making jokes about long past everyone in my life finds it funny lmao

Finally, I've been working hard at working...less hard.

I've been in Autistic burnout since at least seminary, but still have pushed myself to get a certain amount of things done every month. This past year or so, my bodymind has been teaching me the hard lesson that I just. can't. do that anymore.

I've been trying to practice what I preach, to embrace crip time — for crip time is sabbath time is God's time. And we truly are beloved; we don't need to "produce" a damn thing to earn that love. Part of being in solidarity, of acknowledging our interdependence with God, humans, and the created world, is letting ourselves be cared for. Finding small creative ways to show our care.

In 2024 I finally did things I just "never got around to" before, like trying out new medications (wellbutrin & trazodone my beloved <3) and getting my labs done (turns out my body doesn't make its own folate so now I get it in pill form and I think it's really helped my energy and mood! Aaand I've been going to therapy. And trying to refocus on what matters to me most.

Okay that's enough. How are y'all? Where are you finding community? What sources of hope, wisdom, creativity have you found most helpful in a time such as this?

[blue-ten]

Windows 11 and the Last Straw

Bit of a rant coming up. TL;DR I'm tired of Microsoft, so I'm moving to Linux. After Microsoft's announcement of "Recall" and their plans to further push Copilot as some kind of defining feature of the OS, I'm finally done. I feel like that frog in the boiling water analogy, but I'm noticing the bubbles starting to form and it's time to hop out.

The corporate tech sector recently has been such a disaster full of blind bandwagon hopping (NFTs, ethically dubious "AI" datasets trained on artwork scraped off the net, and creative apps trying to incorporate features that feed off of those datasets). Each and every time it feels like insult to injury toward the arts in general. The out of touch CEOs and tech billionaires behind all this don't understand art, they don't value art, and they never will.

Thankfully, I have a choice. I don't have to let Microsoft feature-creep corporate spyware into my PC. I don't have to let them waste space and CPU cycles on a glorified chatbot that wants me to press the "make art" button. I'm moving to Linux, and I've been inadvertently prepping myself to do it for over a decade now.

I like testing out software: operating systems, web apps, anything really, but especially art programs. Over the years, the open-source community has passionately and tirelessly developed projects like Krita, Inkscape, and Blender into powerhouses that can actually compete in their spaces. All for free, for artists who just want to make things. These are people, real human beings, that care about art and creativity. And every step of the way while Microsoft et al began rotting from the inside, FOSS flourished and only got better. They've more than earned trust from me.

I'm not announcing my move to Linux just to be dramatic and stick it to the man (although it does feel cathartic, haha). I'm going to be using Krita, Inkscape, GIMP, and Blender for all my art once I make the leap, and I'm going to share my experiences here! Maybe it'll help other artists in the long run! I'm honestly excited about it. I worked on the most recent page of Everblue entirely in Krita, and it was a dream how well it worked for me.

Addendum: I'm aware that Microsoft says things like, "Copilot is optional," "Recall is offline, it doesn't upload or harvest your data," "You can turn all these things off." Uh-huh. All that is only true until it isn't. One day Microsoft will take the user's choice away like they've done so many times before. Fool me once, etc.

[abigailmoment]

hello! I’m someone who, shamefully, has been addicted to ai chatting platforms. But I’m really trying to get off them. I want to start writing, but I’ve never really been creative enough to write anything, especially in the creative writing department. I struggle with coming up with a story all on my own, following themes, keeping consistent and characterized characters, etc.

Have you got any tips to help people start writing creatively?

Because I think I want to, and then I don’t even know where to begin. It all feels so foreign. But I really admire the work you do, specifically the characters you write (been a big fan of TLWATOCZ) because they are so unique and true to their original selves!

Thanks so much for reading and considering my ask, because I really want to contribute something to a community instead of doing these unsatisfying roleplays with a fake person :(

I think that's a wonderful thing to want to do and I think the thing I'd recommend most highly is trying to let go of shame.

One of the biggest things that stoppers my creativity, or that makes me push myself to hard to create, is the idea that I should be creating. That I should be creating differently, or more, or more intelligently, or more sensitively. That how I am isn't okay and I need to be or act some way else to be okay.

Wherever you are right now is okay. A lot of people are drawn to AI chatbots because of how they're designed. I don't like them for a bunch of reasons, but they are very compelling. A way to feel a thread of connection in this isolating world without the danger of being hurt by a human. But yeah, they are a stale substitute for actual human connection. I think it's smart and brave of you to want to move more into community.

If I were in your position, I might would start by looking for human roleplay partners. I spent so much of my early writing time making stories with people online and still often do. Try things out, be open to some connections working and some not working. There are a number of discords that have RP prompt servers--I find it very useful to contact someone who I know is already interested in a story I am also interested in.

More than anything else, I would suggest giving yourself patience and understanding and grace. Creation and interacting with people are two of the hardest but also most wonderful things we do in this world. Try to enjoy exploring them.

[luthsthings]

Sims 4 x 10 Years!

Ten years ago today, I booked the day off on my work schedule and played a lot of Sims 4.

I'd been a Simmer since 2000, after one of my kids asked for the game because they'd seen it at a friend's house. I played The Sims, and then Sims 2, and then Sims 3. Sims 3 and my computer didn't get on too well, and I fought it a lot, wanting to play rotationally as a micromanager! When the Sims 4 trailers started coming out, I felt like they'd finally made a version of the game that was really for me, as a micromanaging rotational player who doesn't want to restart for new packs and new worlds, and who likes some quirk and exaggeration.  

So on September 2, 2014, I installed Sims 4. (I'd preordered, of course!) I downloaded trailer Sims from the Gallery (I still have a soft spot for Amber -- in one of my saves, back around 2015, she married Elvis Presley). I giggled at Sims sticking their fingers in their ear while they cooked. I got annoyed by the push-ups. I completely failed at making a roof. A Sim read a book while on the toilet and I was delighted. I took my Willow Creek Sim to visit the bar in Oasis Springs and enjoyed the view there (I like the dinos).

I made a self-Sim and spent lots of time tweaking her face till my husband came into the room, glanced at my monitor, and said, "Hey, that's actually you!" She's still my self-Sim (over on my avatar there). I just update her look now and then as I update my own.

I had a lot of fun, and I found myself using Sims as a new creative outlet in ways I hadn't so much before. I felt creative.

Eventually I confessed to my daughter that I'd actually played with my self-Sim. Here she is as a scientist back in 2015. Once upon a time, in an earlier version of the game, we -- me and my kids -- were playing with "us" in game and I died in a model rocket accident. This was traumatic and I was not supposed to play with "us" anymore. This time I did not die.

And here I am still playing! (But my hair went white.) I've had three-day saves and seven-year saves (RIP that save!). I've played every pack, but there are still base game things I haven't done! Sometimes I get really caught up in too much micromanaging with the game (townies really do often need fixing), then a new pack comes out and I try new things and it's a lot of fun again. It makes me laugh.

I've also made new friends in Sims communities and helped lots of Simmers keep playing the game. I started doing that back in 2014. A lot of the Sims community back then was focusing on what was bad about Sims 4. I was having fun with it, though, and enjoyed helping other people on the Forums who just wanted to do that.

That just kind of... morphed. It turned into some Forums posts gathering scattered info about upcoming packs from the various places SimGurus were saying things (I stopped doing those a couple of years ago -- there are websites gathering that info now, and a lot less places it turns up too). It turned into threads gathering info about mods that got broken in big game patches... and that was way back in 2015! I'm delighted that it turned into a whole thing in the community, with different places providing the info different ways. Getting to know the modding community after starting that has been a lot of fun. I even brushed off my old programming knowledge from high school and took over some mods from a modder I'd gotten to know well. I do like the lack of punch cards in modern programming!

I'm also super thankful to EA and Maxis for inviting me some years ago to be a Game Changer (the program that morphed into the EA Creator Network). I love the connections I have with other creators and storytellers and support people in the EACN, even if I feel really tiny next to the big names with their thousands and thousands of followers (but a quick thank you to my little group of Patrons! I appreciate you a ton!). I am also very appreciative of the gifted packs from EA that I receive as part of the EACN. They've helped make it a little bit easier to volunteer my time to supporting other Simmers, even if I do now have to put disclaimers on gameplay content I post, which sometimes feels a bit silly.

tldr: Happy 10th Birthday, Sims 4! I hope it's a fabulous one.

And now I'm going to grab some lunch, do some chores, then dive back into my current save. Cassandra has two love interests to consider, and that jewel is charging up. Plus she really needs a cat. And some actual income. And some improvements in her spellcasting (my previous save's Cassandra was a Mermaid). And that's not to start on Alexander building some skills before he heads off to uni for Robotics...

Psst... 

Don't forget to mark on your calendar the next anniversary. The Sims franchise will be 25 on February 4, 2025! 

[harryinramshackle]

Oh my god 2025 ummm what the fuck amirite (it's not even for me yet it's over 10pm)

Okay so um hi hey hello. What a year huh (at least for me). So wild I transed my whole gender like damn the she/her to he/him pipeline was so real but ANYWAYS

I already said quite a bit during Christmas here but I would be lying if I said I didn't have a million more things to say. Even more to some certain mutuals/friends that have really been nothing but kind to me. Some old ones, some recent ones, I can't list everyone but I genuinely just appreciate any amount of support and love, big or small.

I've been thinking about whether I should directly say a few things to some mutuals/friends for a while (and I already have to some, but I don't mind repeating myself lol), but I think New Year's is the perfect chance to do so.

Apologies for the tagging in advance SUDISAHFIUHISDE

-

@crystallizsch I have already expressed to you how much I appreciate and grateful I am to you for encouraging me to make this blog, way before we had ever even interacted. I love you a lot buddy, you're absolutely the best<3

@oya-oya-okay OYAAA OYA OYAAA!!! I love you sm my darling friend, your kind words and support have genuinely been some of the biggest reasons I pushed through this year. I know the latter part of this year has been really hard for you, but I want you to know you have my support for whatever you need <3

@viperbunnies YOU HAVE MADE ME SOBBED SM ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR GIFTS. I sometimes go back to see your art of my persona or my oc just to make myself feel a little better. Ty for making me feel part of this amazing community (PS. I still get shroompocalypse war flashbacks/j) <3

@fell-e We have mostly chatted on Discord recently and legit you're one of the funniest and nicest people I've had the pleasure of talking to! I can't wait to interact more in 2025, you're such a nice person to be around <3

@lficanthaveloveiwantpower Hi Nah! We don't interact really one-on-one, but the kind words you've given me have always made me smile. You're one of the biggest reasons I got comfortable with openly self-shipping and sharing my thoughts about my f/os. And don't even let me mention how much joy your art has given me, you're seriously one of the best artists I've had the pleasure of being mutuals with <3

@theolivetree123 I'm a sucker for your ocs I won't even lie they're always so creative and fun! Still remember the time you asked to be mutuals and I just DIE/pos. It really was a pleasant surprise and I look forward to every post you make, whether it's art or just talking about your ocs and dynamics! You're extremely creative you genuinely inspire me a lot <3

@sunnysidesevenup I KNNNNOOOOWWWW we became moots pretty recently but like. You're so cool dude wtf. Legit freaked out when YOU followed ME first. I got cold feet about following you back for a while ahaha.....but I'm so happy I did you're such a fun dude I love your creations so much too (low-key biased towards Tilly...I love him sm and for what...)

@jadelover69 MIMI YOU ARE SO FUN, JUST SOO FUN TO INTERACT WITH YOUR WHOLE ENERGY IS SOOO SDUBHDSJNAGISBSJDH/POS your reblogs always make me giggle, even if it's just you straight up dying <3 Tysm for showing so much love for my creations, it means the absolute world

@summerspook You madman. I can't believe we've been friends for almost 2 years online. You have helped me through so much stuff, sometimes I even felt guilty about it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being one of my bestest friends, talking to you is one of the main things I look forward to every day, I can't express how much appreciate you and our friendship <3

-

OKAY THIS IS ALL FOR NOW there are more of you but I can't articulate my thoughts and feelings the best, but either way I love and appreciate all of you with all my heart.

New Year's has slowly lost its meaning for me (I'm neutral about it) but at least I get to use it to show my application to the people who have been with me this year, mutual or not tbh <3

Also if you wanna say something back but not publically, dms are open for mutuals <3

[superblysubpar]

Good morning lovely superb humans of tumblr 💛

I let a lot of things and/or people push me off of tumblr and make it a not fun space for myself anymore. But I will not let something that brings me a little pocket of peace and joy be smothered or stolen. I miss chatting with everyone about stories, I miss the community, and I miss keyboard smashing along with the rest of you (and pasting unhinged comments and gifs in my reblogs).

So, I'm hoping to be on here much more again as an author, and with that, get back involved in reading & reccing - just chatting with you all about these idiots and the situations we put them in.

I'm starting with these 3 "days" a week - I hope you join in on the fun - whether you do these same days on your own page or you come participate in mine to help motivate me or both!

Feel free to use these same graphics on your own page - I'd just ask that you let everyone know where you got them by linking to this or tagging me 💛 Details on "days" below the cut if you need them!

Work In Progress Wednesday:

the image reads: Help motivate your favorite authors & artists! YOU could be the reason one of your favorite superb stories keeps going.

I'll be posting this graphic every Wednesday with details on how to send me an ask to help motivate work on any of the works in progress as well as question games to help get conversation going about these stories.

Throwback Thursday:

the image reads: Take a moment to reblog a fic or artwork you loved from a bit ago - the artist or author will love the surprise & you may just introduce new people to something superb.

I'll be posting this graphic every Thursday with a list of throwback reblogs I've done - I know others in the fandom started this (forgive me, I can't remember the exact origins, so if someone knows, I'd be happy to tag them and give them credit), and I participated for awhile, and I know I need to keep up with it because it really did shine a light on older fics that don't get circulated enough anymore. And I know, personally, when one of my fics was included in one of these, my engagement for that fic and just in general went up & I became emotional over new people finding and falling in love with something I've created - which is exactly why we reblog!

Superb Sunday:

the image reads: Don't forget to reblog, leave a comment, or send an ask for your favorite stories & artworks. One kind keyboard smash may keep the artists & authors you love going.

I'll be posting this graphic every Sunday along with links to anything I've read and recced that week - I have a massive fic library blog @superbfics where they will all live always, but I know when I used to do lists like this, more people found the fics that deserve so much love. This goes hand in hand with Throwback Thursday in regards to how important those reblogs are - this fandom was already struggling with it when it was far more active, so now, more than ever, you have to help your authors and artists out, please.

If you're still enjoying their work, and you're only leaving a heart, I'm telling you, from personal experience, we are feeling less and less motivation, joy, creative juice to keep going. Art is and never has been a one sided thing. Every artwork has a human who created it, and sure, they created it for themselves, but they also created it with the intent to have a reaction - whether it's a connection to the same feeling or thought, inspiration to create something of their own, a conversation, etc. I promise you, we want to talk to you about our stories. We want to engage with you. We want to hear questions and attempt to read comments that are actually just keyboard smashes. I promise you that even a simple reblog that has a tag with something like "good soup" stays with me and tells me "Okay! They liked that! I should keep going!"