life hack from art school: instead of saying you cant draw something or that you dont like something about your art, just say the element “wasn’t working”

had to change a pose because it was too difficult to draw? it “didn’t work” compositionally!

feel like something is off about the background? it doesn’t suck, it’s just not working for the piece!

art is all about finding ways to convey an idea or emotion in a VERY subjective way, so thinking about it in terms of “working/not working for this piece” instead of “good/bad” is very helpful for me personally. it’s a small step you can take towards having a healthy outlook on your work!

this is a brilliant description on it's own, but @madamescarlette 's tags??????? they have slayed me??????

#faith has just dragged her hands across her face and gotten up off the bathroom floor#charity has just taken deep breaths after sending something serious but necessary#hope has had her face on the steering wheel of her parked car for the past ten minutes#and finally stands up to go in even though it's hard

Welcome, trainers, to Pokémon Echo - a set of fan regions designed to call back to (or echo) the canon core series regions across eight generations.

Here, we offer roleplay, of a kind both specific and limitless. Specifically, this is set up as single-verse roleplay, in a D&D inspired way that makes your opportunities within that verse limitless. Upon creating a character, you will be dropped into an original setting with only your own self-determined goal to chase after. Here, we offer you guilt-free, unashamed wish fulfillment in an exciting new and fresh Pokémon setting.

In these original settings, you will find the same Pokémon you know and love and hundreds of new NPCs from all walks of life living in a full fledged world - and you are invited to interact with it as you please. Do you want to do the traditional gym challenge, seeking the championship? Maybe you just want, for the first time since Gen6, to have a completely full Pokédex. Maybe you really want to examine in depth the details of breeding Pokémon in peace. Long time fans can no doubt think of many possible goals.

Long time Pokémon fans are an obvious demographic, but really all you need is an interest and a willingness to learn; our friendly mods are here to help you not only design characters, but find your way into this new world. No matter what level of experience you have with Pokémon, there is a place for you here and a journey to be had.

Interested in more details? Check our our FAQ (on Tumblr // on GoogleDocs) or stop by our ask with questions or to request an invite to our Discord Server.

So I have a million projects to do, but my hyperfixating brain wants 1 thing and that is to bring everyone on a Pokémon adventure full of limitless possibility. The only region up is Gen1 because they’re being designed in order, but we’re accepting applications and there’s a ton to do already. Hop in my ask, or in the @pokemonecho ask for details!

I can finally share my contribution to the @shieldandking zine! I’ve been sitting on this for I think 9 months now! Poor Gilgamesh is not paid nearly enough to deal with these two idiots. 

I’m sorry I’ve been gone. Here’s me trying to find my way back. In November I got an ADHD diagnosis that was 30 years overdue. I’ve been unpacking thoughts on ADHD, rejection sensitivity and friendship fails.

Oh sweetheart. I know that feeling intimately, and I wish I could give you a hug and share a cup of tea with you. You are not alone, for whatever comfort that offers.

I also got my diagnosis last year, also 30+ years overdue. There’s a YouTube channel called “How To ADHD” that I’ve found really helpful, as well as various tumblr peeps. @thebibliosphere has some great advice, and a really cute dog.

You’re not alone, and we’re not going to abandon you.

Hello friend. Welcome to the world of Adult ADHD diagnosis and the whirlwind of resentment, anger, joy and hopefully relief it entails.

Welcome to Crystal Legends, a Final Fantasy themed roleplay hosted over on the crystallegends proboard forum with a very chill Discord available either on joining the forum or on request.

Crystal Legends is an original magic and magitek setting - the traditional Final Fantasy / swords and sorcery meets magic-powered-technology in a way that’s reminiscent of FFIX amongst others. There are multiple well fleshed out locations just waiting for inhabitants. The setting is lore rich and the options for activities range from multiple types of sandbox style individual and group roleplay to minigames including chocobo racing, crafting, D&D inspired combat systems as well as group events. Want to check it out? Click here for the rules and a masterlist of lore and available activities.

Life comes before rp, so there are no penalties for slow or even times of no activity unless you miss checking in for the yearly census, but there are ample incentives to be active from an extra gil stipend to potential random items.

Muns are allowed to have up to five characters per account, and two may be OCs taken out of the FFXIV races - all adjusted to fit the setting.

We’re a small, friendly group, many of us already in the Tumblr rpc, but we’re ready to expand our borders so come check us out. If you have questions, either pop into my ask over on @ladykf-writes or go into the guest board on the forum and one of our mods or members will answer you!

Hope to see you there.

If you want: 

Then this might just be for you.

Instant good mood

I didn’t even need the volume for this mood raiser

Green explotion

My face is having uncontrollable spasms. Great. It hurts really, really, really bad.

I think part of why I have trouble explaining pain to the doctor is when they ask about the pain scale I always think “Well, if someone threw me down a flight of stairs right now or punched me a few times, it would definitely hurt a lot more” so I end up saying a low number. I was reading an article that said that “10” is the most commonly reported number and that is baffling to me. When I woke up from surgery with an 8" incision in my body and I could hardly even speak, I was in the most horrific pain of my life but I said “6” because I thought “Well, if you hit me in the stomach, it would be worse.”

I searched and searched for the post this graphic was from, and the OP deactivated, but I kept the graphic, because my BFF does the same thing, uses her imagination to come up with the worst pain she can imagine and pegs her “10″ there, and so is like, well, I’m conscious, so this must be a 5, and then the doctors don’t take her seriously. (And she then does things like driving herself to the hospital while in the process of giving birth. Probably should have called an ambulance for that one!)

So I found this and sent it to her. Because this is what they want to know: how badly is this pain affecting you? Not on a scale of “nothing” to “how I’d imagine it’d feel if bears were eating my still-living guts while I was on fire”. 

I hate reposting stuff, but I’ll never find that post again and OP is deactivated, so, here’s a repost. I can delete this later, i just wanted to get it to you and I can’t embed images in a chat or an ask. 

This is possibly why it took several weeks to diagnose my fractured spine.

Pain Scale transcription:

10 - I am in bed and I can’t move due to my pain. I need someone to take me to the emergency room because of my pain.

9 - My pain is all that I can think about. I can barely move or talk because of my pain.

8 - My pain is so severe that it is difficult to think of anything else. Talking and listening are difficult.

7 - I am in pain all the time. It keeps me from doing most activities.

6 - I think about my pain all of the time. I give up many activities because of my pain.

5 - I think about my pain most of the time. I cannot do some of the activities I need to do each day because of the pain.

4 - I am constantly aware of my pain but can continue most activities.

3 - My pain bothers me but I can ignore it most of the time.

2 - I have a low level of pain. I am aware of my pain only when I pay attention to it.

1 - My pain is hardly noticeable.

0 - I have no pain.

It’s also really important to get this kind of scale to people who have chronic pain, because chronic pain drastically lowers your perception of how “bad” any kind of pain actually is, and yet something like this pain scale is extremely user friendly. 

For example, if someone asked me how much pain I’m in at any given time, I’d say hardly any, and yet I’m apparently at a chronic 2.5, and it only goes up from there depending on the day. 

There’s also a similarly useful “Fatigue Scale”

I haven’t been below a 5 on this scale for 4 years 

Here’s the fatigue scale

Fatigue scale image desc:

10: can barely move; can’t talk

9: can barely move; can talk

8: can move, but can’t do much more than watch TV

7: can watch TV and play a game on my phone simultaneously

6: can do work on my computer lying in bed

5: can get around the house, but definitely couldn’t go out

4: can run a light errand

3: can get in my 10,000 steps, making my fitbit happy

2: can do three or more activities in a single day

1: going clubbing!

See also the Mental Health Pain Scale by Graceful Patient:

Mental Health Pain Scale transcription:

MILD

1 - Everything is a-okay! There is absolutely nothing wrong. You’re probably cuddling a fluffy kitten right now. Enjoy!

2 - You’re a bit frustrated or disappointed, but you’re easily distracted and cheered up with a little effort.

3 - Things are bothering you, but you’re coping. You might be overtired or hungry. The emotional equivalent of a headache.

MODERATE

4 - Today is a bad day (or a few bad days). You still have the skills to get through it, but be gentle with yourself. Use self-care strategies.

5 - Your mental health is starting to impact on your everyday life. Easy things are becoming difficult. You should talk to your doctor.

6 - You can’t do things the way you usually do them due to your mental health. Impulsive and compulsive thoughts may be hard to cope with.

SEVERE

7 - You’re avoiding things that make you more distressed, but that will make it worse. You should definitely seek help. This is serious.

8 - You can’t hide your struggles any more. You may have issues sleeping, eating, having fun, socialising, and work/study. Your mental health is affecting almost all parts of your life.

9 - You’re at a critical point. You aren’t functioning any more. You need urgent help. You may be a risk to yourself or others if left untreated.

10 - The worst mental and emotional distress possible. You can no longer care for yourself. You can’t imagine things getting any worse. Contact a crisis line immediately.

These are so important! SO SO IMPORTANT SHARE THIS AND SAVE IT TO SHOW YOUR DOCTORS!

This is the first time I’ve seen the fatigue scale, and HOLY MOLY that’s a revelation!!! These should be on all hospital and doctor office walls.

I’ve never seen the mental health one! or the fatigue one! I printed out the pain one and gave it to my GP. 

This is a nice video showing an blind/invisible stitch, which is quite useful for repairing tears or finishing something (ex. cushion).

Also, that extra step for putting back the seam is really nice.

2021 FF7 Secret Santa Sign-Ups Open

Hey there friends and fans of the FF7 Franchise! It’s time to kick off our annual holiday Exchange~

2021 has been kind of hectic, and we know the holidays will continue to be hectic, so we have a nice fluffy schedule that will give you a whole month to make your gifts.

Just like usual! I hope everyone’s excited! Sign up now over on ao3!!

Schedule:

Sign ups are open from OCT 15 until NOV 10

Prompts will be sent out NOV 13

Gifts due DEC 18

Gifts revealed DEC 25

@ff7central @ffviirarepairweek @ffvii--agszc

Daily reblog!

every day i am percieved™️

There is a reason for this though!

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” these stories are only “easy” to read in the sense that the effort we put into them is rewarded in a timely manner. which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start rewarding the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

Fanfic, as a genre, has been uniquely helpful and accessible to many neurodivergent readers who would otherwise struggle to immerse themselves in stories. I’m glad so many of you have found a way to love and enjoy reading again! The important thing is that you are spending time inside stories you love–the way those stories are published or presented to the world is just one detail. The fact that you find joy in the process of reading (or listening!) to stories–that is what matters.

I feel understood 🥰

a bunch of people have reblogged this with the default “i feel called out” reaction….and i know when we say that we mean it tongue-in-cheek….but this comment sorta blew my mind & shifted my perspective up and to the left a little thank you♥

The Serotonin is stored in the Ao3

@deadcatwithaflamethrower

Yo, bring it on.

Or how to write believable bar and nightclub scenes. I often find myself helping friends with their WIPs and often it as a bartender, I find myself having to correct them on bar and mixology terminology. So here's my quick guide to keeping your lingo on the straight and narrow.

Terminology

Equipment

Alcoholic Drinks

Cocktails and Drinks

My Top 10 Bartending Rules and Responsibilities

Episode Ardyn Informational Loading Screens

Today’s team consists of artist @thevirtualcanvas and writer @queenhomeslice. Read “Battle-Weary Fingers” here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34410769

Summary: Gladiolus and Iris Amicitia meet up after six months apart, during the World of Ruin and Noct's disappearance. Gladio lets Iris braid his hair as he talks about the rough emotions he's been feeling.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warnings: None

Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Iris Amicitia

Other tags: brother/sister relationship, canon-typical violence, world of ruin, familial relationship, emotional Gladiolus Amicitia

A younger Ardyn and Aera standing my the beach. I wanted to put them both in a mesh between ancient Roman and early Final Fantasy clothes. And of course I am giving Ardyn White Mage robes.  The darn flowers in the foreground took *forever* and I am still not happy with them, but I needed to get this one out before it drove me mad.