#I really need this advice

[thegreygale]

Okay random but very important question: how do you stop yourself from making a character for a campaign that you know isn’t going to happen? Because I have been FIGHTING the urge to make a Candela Obscura character for a while now because I know I don’t have anyone to play with but I have a REALLY GOOD IDEA for a character and their backstory.

#random #seriously help #what is wrong with me #I really need this advice #candela obscura

[the-kipsabian]

saw a take so fucking rancid on twitter i almost deleted the entire app from my phone jesus fucking christ

first of all ao3 is an archive site. this is like going to the library and saying "oh i dont like this" on every piece of media you find that you dislike and thinking they should be stamped with some sort of a marker just cause you didnt like it

you can always click back and leave. fic writers owe you nothing to explain themselves and their creations. if they have mistagged or miscategorized fics, then i understand, however there are report tools for that instead of yelling at the artist tbh

im not saying free works arent necessarily above criticism. but this is just. fucking wild. its common courtesy to just enjoy stuff (or fucking leave if you dont, the back button is free) and if the artist specifically asks for critiques, then give one - constructive that is, shitting all over someones work is not proper criticism, mind you

i just find it fucking wild people are treating art and archive sites as social media these days like this and everything needs to be policed and ~catered to the algorithm~ like. no. ao3 doesnt have an algorithm. you should be able to fucking tell what you like and what you dont like and steer away from that kind of content and let people fucking be with their art. they dont owe you anything (except trigger warnings i'd argue, but i know some people disagree with that as well for some reason), and imagine how much more energy you'd have if you only engaged with things you liked and spent time looking at instead of going to places where you dont enjoy yourself. let alone spending time telling other people you dont enjoy what they enjoy. what a fucking life

#like what the fuck #where is the common courtesy of fandoms these days im just fucking asking. its ridiculous #the back button is free. shutting your fucking mouth is free. constructive criticism when people ask for it is nice but only then #these are fucking basic level fandom engagement things #am i old or are people just this fucking awful now that these guidelines dont exist anymore #im just. ough #sorry i had to get this out. idk as someone who has never left unsolicited advice for anyone and never gotten it back it just #it fucking grinds me that people are like this now. like fucking wow #ive been here for almost two decades soon and i still know how to behave. yall better fucking learn #im gonna go back to video game sorry i really needed to yell for a hot fucking second #if you choose to reblog this dont fucking clown on it okay. god #night is an absolute mess on main

[galoogamelady]

Hi!! I love your work!

Do you have any tips on how to stylize hands?

Thank you <3 I hope you’re feeling better!

I don't have a moodboard of hands I really like but I think it's a good idea to study what details you enjoy on your favorite styles. For example: I really like how in MHA they often don't draw the nailbeds, just the part of the nail where it starts separating from skin. I think it's really tasteful and simple, yet realistic, so sometimes I do this too:

My other example would be to pay attention to details and lack of details. Sometimes this can add to the funny factor too, like when a simplistic cartoony creature has an extremely realistic looking hand. But anyway here's my quick brainfart on the matter:

If you're gonna draw long nails, you better watch some nail videos to learn the ideal shape and weight etc. of them. It's so easy to make them look like dog claws or nasty old crone hands! Sorry, this turned into my personal nail drawing preference lol

I don't have any very smart advice on drawing stylized hands beyond "use real life / 3D reference still" and "practice until it looks ok" :') Pay attention to which way the individual shapes bend. If you don't study real hands and only copy other artists' hands, you might learn a few wrong things (but I guess this applies to most real life studies).

Oh and I'm feeling better now, thank you! ^^

#I have some bad habits like I really need to pay attention when I draw knuckles at some angles #because they get way more rounded than you'd think #I have a long way to go until I can draw hands in a way that I'm 100% happy #personal #art advice #hands

[hypokeimena]

sometimes when total strangers commit the crime of being annoying in my reblogs i DM them or reply @ them before blocking simply due to the autistic need to be understood. BUT i have rules for when i'm allowed to do that.

1. i'm not allowed to do it without running the scenario past a groupchat to make sure i'm justified in annoyance and not simply evil (due to migraine, hangry, etc) 2. i have to make it constructive and helpful feedback, such that they can avoid getting blocked in future interactions. which sometimes makes me feel like i'm some sort of tumblr user manners training wizard. eg:

> CHUMMY INSULTS are only funny if you are already MUTUALS WHO TALK. try upgrading your FRIENDSHIP before attempting this maneuver!

> if you don't wish to ANNOY other USERS, try NOT leaving long, off-topic REBLOGS. such REBLOGS may result in other USERS taking the BLOCK action against you, and/or being targeted by a PISS ON THE POOR attack in future interactions!

> unloading your PERSONAL TRAUMA in a STRANGER'S INBOX unprompted is a BOUNDARY VIOLATION!

many such cases. obviously don't phrase it like this unless your goal is to be insanely condescending. but anyway i recommend doing your best to at least mentally frame your feedback this way if you're going to block the motherfuckers anyway.

#sometimes it's GENUINELY agonizing to just block someone without explaining why and this is something i only do then because: i do know. #like i know this is both insane and rude. however sometimes i can't help myself and i really try very hard not to make it... ad hominem. #but. 'your behavior is inappropriate and i am setting a boundary but also i want you to know why' (<- said by guy who needs to know always) #if nothing else if the advice is constructive you won't hate yourself for losing your temper. #tumblr wizard #<- so i can FIND THE FUCKING POST AGAIN

[nordidia]

bro how do you draw raph

i pray and then hope for the best

#sorry i have #. no good advice i jsut let myself get possessed #how do you spell posessedf #i was working on a little guide with a few tips #i really need to get back on that

[oldkamelle]

Still accepting Ideas? If so, Spy asking advice on Sniper on how to tell Scout that he is his dad.

#tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #tf2 fanart #traditional art #traditional comic #pen doodles #oldart #mercs #(gently holds your hands) anon. what the fuck. /lh #this was such a behemoth of an idea cuz it raises so many questions?? #why would spy suddenly want to tell scout the truth given how he only chose to when scout was two seconds away from dying #(also. cant remember which comic this is but when spys about to drive off after scout begs him to take him as well #he only does so when scout mentions his ma so thats on my mind as well) #hes never shown like he feels the need to yknow #if spy decided to tell scout the truth why would he be asking for advice like wouldnt he want to keep it out of anyone elses business #(which fair enough wouldnt really happen given scout but eeh) #also he already did it good enough besides the cosplaying #and if spy for some reason was gonna ask for advice why would he go to sniper specifically #did i answer any of these questions in this mess? #the answer to that is the same as to 'do i have a good understanding of the characters' or 'do i have storytelling skills' #which is to say no #i also couldnt think of a way to make it funny to try and get away with that so i had to go with the more serious route so #anyway. sincerely hope its good enough anon (thumbs up)

[bogkeep]

idk why there's so much discussion around the ~*morality of traumadumping*~ when it's a VERY solvable social conundrum. all you need to do is ask something like "hey is it ok if i talk about this thing? it's kind of heavy" and respect the answer

#it's both very normal and good to talk to people about stuff that's weighing on you #AND it can be very uncomfortable to have someone unload a lot of really heavy things at you at once without warning #this is not a zero sum game? #????????????? #i guess sometimes the problem is that ppl have a different measure for what counts as 'traumadumping' #i personally associate it w the time i was a volunteer at a summer camp and one of the teens asked me if they could get my advice #and when i was like yeah sure they proceeded to tell me their entire life story which involved several deaths and horrible things #which left me in a very awkward position of Um What Did You Want My Advice For Specifically #but like i was fine!! i was the Responsible Adult who had signed up for this #and they were a teen who needed someone to listen to them!!

[shinyrhinestones]

Is it true that you’re tired once you shift back from your DR?

#i really need to know #just in case yk #shifting #reality shift #shifting realities #desired reality shifting #desired reality #current reality #shift #shifting community #shiftblr #shifting blog #shifters #reality shifting #shifting motivation #shifting antis dni #calling shifters #shifting advice #shifting script #time ratios

[jessepinwheel]

my very serious writing advice for people who are trying to write more morally complex characters is to stop caring about their morality and focus instead on their individual motivations

it’s hard to articulate exactly what I mean, but the essence of it is basically: when a character does a murder, not only do I not care about whether they’re justified in doing so, it’s straight-up irrelevant. a character’s moral standing from some nebulous universal standard has no bearing on the plot or their interactions with other characters and has no use in the story for me as a writer. what does matter is why the character thought they were justified and then if it comes up to other characters, what they think about it.

you can obviously think about your characters’ morality but it’s not your job as a writer to interpret your stories for your readers and tell them how to judge your characters. your readers can see the evidence for themselves and draw their own conclusions. your job is just to understand why a character is motivated to act in a certain way and have it make sense

focusing on character motivations is a much more versatile framework than trying to give them specific personality traits or moral alignments, and frankly more useful to understand why a character would do a certain thing instead of just what they do. that way when something fucked up happens and your character starts acting differently, there’s an actual logical reason for it that isn’t you forcing characters to do things because it’s what’s required to make the plot go

when you write your characters with the understanding that people are not static and they act differently under different circumstances, complexity in character and morality follows naturally.

#honestly I don't think of my stories as being morally complex #like the thought of morality doesn't enter my mind at all #I straight do not care #advice like 'make sure you give your characters some flaws' have always felt very unhelpful to me #traits don't have to be good or bad #they're just traits #whether something is a flaw is heavily context dependent #and trying to build characters from a sum of 'good' and 'bad' just flattens them #this ties back into my other thing about how characterization is a scam #because you can write just about any character by writing a reasonable human person #and just having a good handle on what they want and what they're willing to do to achieve it #that's it #that's all you need #I have a lot of thoughts about this but #at the end of the day #does it really matter if a character is 'right'? #is it not enough to put a character in some situations?

[spikeface]

Based on (x).

#teen wolf #scott mccall #twedit #ok so yeah this edit was sparked by how poorly melissa was explored in s5 #and in general how they dropped her as anything but an occasional prop to tell scott to get back out there after 2x10 #but i hope it's not taken as bashing because that's truly not how i mean it #i feel like both scott and melissa don't know how to talk to each other #not because they don't love each other or want the best for each other #but s1 melissa already starts out not knowing scott's life very well #she's interested and trying to support him and make time for him #but is swamped with work and overwhelmed with being a single parent #and would also desperately like her own life if it's possible #scott is already working to support them and agonizes over costing them anything - money time attention #they start the series already without an equilibrium and it only gets worse as scott becomes a werewolf #i think melissa also has a survivor's mentality of soldiering on #and so that's also the advice scott is getting #even when what they both really need is time to rest and connect #and it just made me so sad that scott's flashback was about being hospitalized #but his mother was there and he was being care for #whereas now #he's back at the hospital #alone #desperately in need of care

[uncanny-tranny]

I've talked before about how the way people treat suicide can be unintentionally devastating to the suicidal person, but I don't think I really ever said how to avoid that.

Speaking about suicide in how selfish it "is" ("think about how you'll transfer your pain to your loved ones!") might seem like a way to put logical sense into the suicidal person, but, honestly? It runs the risk of massively increasing their shame and guilt about being suicidal. Suicide is not inherently a revenge fantasy or a way to "get back" at someone's loved ones, so when the suicidal person is treated like a criminal of a "crime" they haven't even committed yet, you can imagine how unhelpful that can become.

Instead, if you want to point out how cherished your person is, frame their relationships as something they can keep fostering.

"Your cat will miss you :(!!!!" becomes "you and your cat seem close, right? I'm sure it's beautiful having a close friend like that!" and maybe include ways that they and their cat are close and meaningful to each other, tailored to that relationship.

That's only one example, but when you shift the focus away from why that person should repent and feel guilty for being suicidal, you can instead focus on why they would live for that reason. See how you can frame that as a positive? Whatever is keeping that person tethered should never be used as a bludgeon, I think, because then you're taking away why they're living, the positivity of why they are here. Whatever they are here for should be remembered often and honoured.

#mental health #mental health advocacy #mental health support #suicide #suicide tw #(after this i'm going to rant about being told the unhelpful narrative i included above) #when i was younger the thing i was told the most was that suicide would only transfer my pain to others... #...and is that true? maybe. was it helpful? no. #why was that unhelpful? #because i started using that as yet ANOTHER reason to feel guilty and to lash out against myself... #...because that didn't magic away my suicidality like it 'should have'... #...and that was ~obvious~ proof i didn't care enough about my loved ones to keep them out of harms way... #...and it can be really hard not to do that (give advice like that) because if you're not the suocidal person... #...you have the luxury of thinking without the burden they are labouring under... #...you can see 'logically' and make assumptions about what the other person 'needs' #it's just frustrating because i know that people like this want to help but i worry about *how* they are helping... #...in the sense that i want their efforts to actually help their person and bring them closer

[disgruntled-lifeform]

People who sell handspun yarn, how do you manage it when the profit margins are so razor thin?

I'm unable to work and money is tight so I've been considering how I can contribute financially and attempt to save up for the future but boy, things look lean.

If you sell your handspun, I'd love to hear from you either in my DMs or the replies/reblogs/tags because I have to make this work somehow...

#we are a one income household and have next to nothing in savings #chronic pain stops me from being useful in a traditional work enviroment and anxiety is a bitch #I just need to make number go up in some capacity and would really appreciate some guidance #where does one buy commercially dyed combed top from in Canada? #I'm not confident enough yet to dye wool myself without felting it #handspinning #craftblr #wool #yarn #fibre #please reblog #looking for advice #knowledge seeking #chronic pain

[moonviewer]

"I will keep going forward, no matter how hopeless it might seem."

(please do not repost my art and just leave a link to it if you'd like to share instead, thank you!)

#shining nikki #sn nikki #my art #sn #nikkiverse #i drew this for an art contest #but i really drew it because i wanted to say something with its message #and because i needed a reason to paint something to practice my art style #lol #i tried to make it so even those who don't know its context could understand...at least a little bit #i've recently been watching Naoki Saito (an illustration advice youtube channel) and i've been wanting to try out the things i learned ther #this time i wanted to try conveying a concept/message just in 1 image alone #at first it was honestly more difficult than i thought i tried it for days #but nothing worked and when i finally did get the idea that became this drawing it was because i was thinking one night of how #nikki was someone who has failed thousands and thousands of times yet she never gave up #i admired that because i was thinking of how i just keep failing in my goals that night #that was when i thought i wanted to convey that strength that nikki has #that strength that i also wished to have #and that was when the concept just flowed to me like water so easily #isnt it strange that its only when i start to feel like theres something i want to say that i finally find the idea to express it #something so obvious that i don't even realize lol #for context this image is about someone who lived in a world operated by AI where all emotions and creativity are shut down and dominated b #AIs kinda like the current AI crisis in the art community #but this someone believed in a world with vivid color #and the heart that created such an imperfect yet beautiful world before AI dominated it #thats what i wanted to express #thanks for reading if anyone bothers reading my long rants lol :)

[halfbit]

some brief advice for characters with small scars from a head injury (from my specific experience) since i do see people give these types of scars to characters sometimes

mine is like this for reference:

specific info:

i didn't receive in-hospital treatment for it even though i lost consciousness i was kicked by a horse, the metal horseshoe is what did it it was a long time ago (over a decade now)

it doesn't effect me much day to day, it is always visible but it has become less prominent over time. certain expressions (anything eyebrow raising especially) make it very obvious.

it is physically raised and lacks pigment.

sensation wise, it used to itch but i haven't felt that for awhile now. if i pay attention when touching it, there's a slight difference in temperature from the rest of my skin. if i scrape it (even just lightly, like scratching with a fingernail) it feels like its bleeding even when its not.

if i accidentally hit it (i dont like doorways), it is extremely painful, it burns, my vision flashes white and i see stars, and it feels like its bleeding all over again of course. it feels like the irl equivalent of being stunned by an electric arrow. if your character has a scar like this, having them get hit on it in a fight is a good way to make them go down for a bit. the sensation also lingers for a decent amount of time afterwards, depending on how hard the hit was. the lingering feels like a heavy pulsing/throbbing, similar to a strong headache but localized on the scar. personally, it feels like even minor impacts can have a really strong effect still as long as its a pretty direct hit.

so yeah just my personal experience having a scar like this! i like seeing characters with similar scars but it often feels like it was just a cosmetic choice to show that they're tough. it's not something that is super high-impact for me, but it still has its effects, and when you aggravate them you can't really focus on anything else until it goes away.

#writing advice #writeblr #dont really know what to tag this with ngl #i've been meaning to briefly ramble about it for awhile tho #its not like its a big thing but its just something i think about now and then #i imagine its similar for vertical scars? but ofc anyone with different scars is welcome to chime in lol #lowkey this is just an excuse for me to rant about how much it fucking hurts when i accidentally hit it tho #like come on why'd you have to do that <- me to myself #usually on doorways because i am so good at moving through gaps #also yeah i wrote this instead of the story im supposed to be writing #king of procrastination #god i need to do that now tho #i just want to see some tough guy have to bowl over and curse because he accidentally got hit on one of his old scars

[smorgasbort]

It sounds weird considering they're mute and featureless but I really like the character of C4-621. I suppose I should say I like them conceptually, rather than just liking the specific C4-621 self-insert that I play as.

I like this stoic shell of a human being who's gone through so much that at this point they're pretty much only capable of piloting an AC and doing nothing else. They're merely functional.

But they're still a person with thoughts and drives and they still manage to express themself with the sole outlet they have available, the AC they're doomed to pilot. It isn't just a weapon and a lifeline, it's a canvas which Raven uses to design (or regain) their personality.

It's my own personal headcanon, but because of the reasoning above I like to imagine that when I get obsesses over ACs working both functionally and aesthetically and spend longer on colour-schemes that weapons, that's reflected in C4-621 spending hours between missions poring over notebooks and sketchpads and colour palettes.

It helps that on Tumblr I've seen so many people interpret their own personal C4-621s in so many different ways that all feel very personal and unique.

#I also like to think Ayre eventually gives input regarding colour schemes #“Needs more red” #and Walter gives far less frequent but far better advice in that regard #armored core 6 #c4 621 #Raven #Handler Walter #headcanon #I'm really really enjoying this game

[tommarvoloriddlesdiary]

Ron, nodding sagely: If it excites you and scares you at the same time, you should probably just do it.

Harry: Really?

Ron: Yeah!

Harry, taking a deep breath: Alright. I’ll do it. I’ll fuck Tom Riddle.

Ron: What.

Harry, waving goodbye: Thanks for the advice, Ron.

Ron: What.

#tomarry #harrymort #tomarrymort #ron to hermione later: i was just talking about quidditch #what ron doesn't realise is that he needs to take his own advice and apply it to hermione like harry is really on to something #these posts are getting lazier #i shouldn't be allowed near the post maker button #i get my heart monitor strapped on today so let me have this