I think, this is a very difficult situation to parse for a lot of people.

Because you can't know what goes on inside a person's head, you can't know the kinds of thoughts that led them to do as they did. I think we can't really tell whether or not the outrage that is now shown is in parts performative, genuine, manipulative or conflicted.

But we do know the facts. We do know who spoke up when, who collaborated with Wilbur, who supported Shubble initially, etc. Why these people spoke up when they did, we don't know, but it doesn't really matter, I think.

What this fandom needs to learn more than anything is that these content creators are not your friends. And treating their outrage now - when it is safe to be outraged - as a sign that you should continue thinking of them in such a manner, is dangerous.

This fandom is full of teenagers and young people for whom, I think, it must be difficult to parse that their favourite content creators might be disingenuously trying to save their own image through a dunk on Wilbur right now.

We don't know if they are, but we need to be aware of that possibility! We can't give content creators in that space carte blanche to be "one of the good ones".

ADHD & Organization

Future ADHD

YR fanfic pet peeves (and corrections): latin america edition

so. i was originally going to post this in january as a kind of "new year, new opportunity to learn about simon's hispanic heritage" kind of a thing, but life got busy, and then my computer died and i lost my original list, so i've had to reconstruct this from memory as best as i could. there may be some stuff missing, so perhaps i'll just keep adding to this post as missing/new points come to mind.

disclaimer 1: if you've included any of the points made here on any fanfic of yours, please don't take this as a call-out. this isn't intended to shame anyone, but rather as an educational opportunity. it's very rare that a latin american nationality that is not mexican or colombian or puerto rican is showcased in an international show, especially outside of the US, and it's given me such joy to have all of you lovely folks make the effort to be open to and research and understand the idiosyncrasies of simon's (and omar's) heritage because the rest of latin america tends to go overlooked in most other fandoms. so i don't intend to scold anyone with this. we can't all know everything about every other culture-- lord knows i don't know everything about sweden, but i want to be respectful to the country and its people and that is why i heavily research anything i don't know and ask people who do know when my research doesn't quite cover it and am open to corrections when even that falls short. i expect most of you come to write about simon's family background in good faith and also want to be respectful to his family's culture, and so i thought i might make things a bit easier for you all by putting the most common errors/misunderstandings i've seen in one handy post. but once again, it's not a call-out, i don't get offended by these things, and i'm in no way implying, if you've done any of these things in fic or in life, that you are a bad person. i understand people make mistakes when they don't know things.

disclaimer 2: i am not venezuelan myself. i was born and raised in the same general region of latin america, though, and i have venezuelan friends and have worked with venezuelan people and have visited venezuela. generally speaking, i feel their culture is very similar to mine (though our spanish is much closer to spanglish than theirs is, haha xD) and feel a deep kinship with them. but of course, i'm no native, and if you're venezuelan and catch anything here that you feel is incorrect, feel free to point it out and i'll add a correction in your name.

warning: this is very long. christ almighty. DX if you can't make it to the end, tl;dr-- feel free to ask if you have any questions or if anything isn't clear. my ask box/messages are always open.

1- "mijo." this is the only one that legit has caused me to click out of several fics/chapters, at least in the beginning, but i've learned to grin and bear it by now. it's not so much that it's wrong, per se, but rather it's more of a location issue. "mijo" is, to my ears, very much a mexican (or, if you stretch it, northern triangle) slang. it IS used sparingly in other countries, but rarely used unironically. instead, if you hear the term used in the caribbean region of latin america (which my country is part of, as is a large part of venezuela), it's almost always used… let's say sarcastically. for example, if your grown-ass adult friend is being a dumbass and doing something reckless, you might call out "oiga, mijo, se va a romper el cuello" ("hey, mijo, you're going to break your neck"). basically, it's a way of calling someone immature like a child. it doesn't have to be ENTIRELY unaffectionate (kinda like the way someone might call their significant other "idiot" or "dummy" but mean it endearingly. in fact, in colombia it's way more common for spouses to call each other "mijo/a" than it is for them to call their children that), but you can also use it with complete strangers-- like if someone cuts sharply into your lane while you're driving, you might yell at them "oiga, mijo, a donde le enseñaron a manejar, en un potrero?!" ("hey, mijo, where did you learn how to drive, in a horse paddock?!"). but even in these sarcastic/neggy cases, it's rare. and EVEN RARER to hear a mother call her children "mijo" or "mija" in this region. it's just not a thing. so when i read it in fanfic, it immediately takes me out of the story because it's so weird to me that linda would sound mexican-- it's a very distinctive accent, which carmen gloria 1000000% does not have. (plus, "mijo" in spanish is a type of birdseed. so it gave me a chuckle the first few times i read it in a fic because i always have that brief second of confusion where i go "why is linda calling simon birdseed?" before it clicks. xD i'm a dork.) it's much more likely that linda would just say "hijo" or "mi hijo," instead.

1b- the way you decide on whether to use "hijo" or "mi hijo" is important because "mi hijo" can sound overly formal in the modern context especially, much like it would in english. in fact, you can use the english version of it, "son" vs "my son" to guide you on which of the two to use. like for example, if linda were to say directly to simon "i love you, my son," she would sound oddly old-timey and anachronistic, so you would just use "son" ("hijo") in that case. whereas if she's talking about simon with someone else, for example saying "i told my son to be here on time," you'd be perfectly okay to use "mi hijo" in that sentence in spanish. it's very transferable in that case.

2- speaking of non-transferable, though, you can't use "cariño" in all instances you would use "sweetheart" or "sweetie." it really depends on the grammatical construction, and it can be tricky to get it right, but it depends on whether you're using it as a direct address or as an object. for example, if you're using it in place of someone's name-- say, a mother telling her child "te quiero, cariño" ("i love you, sweetheart/sweetie") is perfectly fine, because in that case, she could also say "te quiero, hijo" ("i love you, son") or "te quiero, simon" ("i love you, simon"). but if, say, simon says to wille "you're my sweetheart," you would not use "cariño" there; you'd go instead with some syrupy way to say "boyfriend," like "eres mi novio" or "eres mi enamorado" or even "eres mi amor," and if sara tells felice "you're a sweetheart," that would also not involve "cariño" at all. in addition, "cariño" is also very rarely used in plural; if linda is using a term of endearment for both her kids, or for a group of teens her kids' age, she would use a different term of endearment altogether: "hola, mis amores" ("hi, my loves"), "hola, bebés" ("hi, babies") or "hola, mis tesoros" ("hi, my treasures") among some examples. one exception is when you say "cariños míos" ("my sweethearts"), but very rarely the plural by itself. in fact, "cariño" is often slang for gift or present, especially in the diminutive-- for example, if you go to someone's celebratory party for some occassion (birthdays, graduations, baby showers, heck even christmas), you might hand them a small gift and go "te traje un cariñito" ("i brought you a small present"), and if it's more than one gift, or you're bringing gifts for several people, then you'd say "unos cariños" or "unos cariñitos" in the plural.

3- simon's skin is tan, not tanned. this… doesn't personally bug me as much because it's more of an english grammar issue, but i know people who might actually feel very offended if you get this one wrong with respect to them. "tan" is a color; a light shade of brown. "tanned" implies the original color of your skin has darkened with the sun. now, i'm sure simon can tan (lucky goat, says she whose skin burns even while indoors), but about 95% of the time "tanned" is used in YR fanfiction, it's used as a descriptor of the color of simon's skin as we see it on the show. that would imply his skin used to be lighter at some indeterminate before-time and has been darkened by the sun. this is incorrect; that is the natural color of simon's skin. so stick to "tan skin" instead (not tan PERSON, mind you. his SKIN is tan, he is not). and i would gently suggest that if you take away any single thing from this post, make it ESPECIALLY this point, as someone more sensitive than me might interpret this error as some kind of retroactive whitewashing. and i don't want anyone here to get in trouble for simply not knowing.

4- pabellón criollo is one dish, yes, but it's four different FOODS. it's not something a newbie would be able to make off of a recipe (i don't know how to make it and i've been eating it all my life), and it's not something that's likely to be taught in just one day. also, if you're bringing it to a dinner or a potluck, you're bringing four separate food containers, not just one.

4b- also, venezuelan food, for the most part, is not particularly spicy. you CAN make it spicy if you want, but traditionally, it is not. it's flavorful, maybe even saucy depending on the dish, but rarely spicy. i know the joke of white people being unable to handle spice is funny, but there's also plenty of us hispanic people who are equally terrible at it, because there's different levels of spice in the food from different regions of latin america. besides, as a friend of mine perfectly put: we are living in the 21st century now. if you can eat mild mexican food, you should be able to handle traditional venezuelan food just fine. and i'm pretty sure there's mexican food in sweden. plus, wille would probably be more used to international food-- not only does he have the means, but having traditional meals in foreign countries is kind of part of the job.

5- while i'm at it: simon is definitely half venezuelan. this is canon as of S2. there is no other place in the world where that dish is called pabellón. please keep that in mind when you're writing and researching.

5b- this, along with several of the points above, is important because it's a bit of diaspora trauma that whenever we venture outside of latin america and people learn we're latino, they immediately assume we're mexican, or that our culture and traditions are the same as those of mexican people. it happens often, and it's incredibly annoying. not that there's anything wrong with mexico or mexican people-- they're lovely, and their traditions and culture and food are fantastic-- but we are not them, and treating us like we are is reductive. the rest of latin america can be very different and incredibly diverse, and it can be dispiriting when people treat us like we're all the same. so that is why it is important when writing about simon, his family or his venezuelan roots, that you take care to actually research things as they are in venezuela, and not just pick the low-hanging fruit of latino facts you might've learned through pop cultural osmosis, which eight times out of ten will be mexican-only because most hispanic people in the US are mexican and the US exports its media all over the world. i've learned to just roll my eyes at it by now, but some people might actually feel offended or hurt, and i'm sure nobody here intends for that to happen.

6- although simon speaks spanish, neither he nor sara nor his mother nor any aspect of his mother's culture is spanish. "spanish" is what people from spain call themselves. people from spanish-speaking latin american countries are not spanish; we are hispanic, or latino/a/e. "latinx" is… let's call it controversial, at least outside of the US. most people born and raised in latin america don't like it; i personally don't get offended if people use it, but i don't use the term myself. also, you can say "latin food" or "latin music," but we usually don't refer to PEOPLE as latin, but rather latino/a/e. if in doubt, just use latin american or hispanic. they're also conveniently gender neutral.

EDIT: @andthatisnotfake also brought up a very important point: "if you spell it latinx, it makes it harder for screen readers to read (or so I've been told) and some people depend on those, so there's another reason to avoid it." (the unpronounceability of that term is at least part of the reason why hispanic people who live in latin america don't like it.)

6b- never use "the latino/a" on its own to refer to people. "latino/a/e" is an adjective, not a noun, so you would say "the latino boy" or "the latino man" but never just "the latino." kinda like it would be weird to point out the one japanese man in a room as "the japanese." there are some nationality/ethnic terms that just don't work as nouns in english.

7- spanish is not simon's one native language-- or at least not any more than swedish is. he grew up in a mixed-race household, speaking two different languages. it's pointless to call spanish his native language when comparing it to swedish. both are his native languages. also, while we're at this, wille is probably at least bilingual (i'm assuming he can speak at least english), although he only has one native language. it's hardly a competition between the two boys as to who's more of a polyglot.

7b- simon wouldn't take classes on the spanish language-- like to learn how to SPEAK the language-- since spanish is one of his native languages. he wouldn't take them at hillerska, nor in university, nor elsewhere. he wouldn't be allowed. you're literally not allowed to take classes on your native language, nor get credit for said classes. trust me, those would've been an easy extra 24 credits for me in college if that was a thing.

EDIT: have been made aware (thanks, @rightsogetthis and @plantbasedfish!) that at least in sweden and in finland one IS allowed to take classes of your non-swedish/finnish native language, in certain circumstances. i have to say, i'd be pissed if i were taking my french classes alongside a french native speaker, but hey, the system's the system, i guess. ;) so i've struck this one out.

8- dear god please don't use google translate for your spanish translations. listen, i'm not judging-- i do it with other languages, too, when i'm in a pinch. but google translate is literally The Worst (tm) so i always try to either check with someone, or stick to the stuff i already know is correct. seriously, you don't want to know the kinds of crazy stuff GT can spit out that people actually put out in the real world; some of them are quite hilarious. if you're unsure, my ask box/messages are always open and i looooove helping people with this kind of thing, hispanic language and cultural stuff. i know it seems like i'm hardly around, but i do check my messages. don't be shy, even if it's something really small.

PS: while i'm talking pet peeves, malin is wille's bodyguard, not his butler. she's nice enough to attend to him at hillerska because there's no other palace staff around and she's literally stationed outside his door, but she wouldn't do that in the actual palace. there's other staff for that. she wouldn't even guard him at the palace, i don't think, because the royal palaces in sweden are guarded by the royal guard, not SÄPO. if anything, malin might spend the time while wille is in the palace grounds at a gatehouse (like in YR 2x03 and onwards) or at some kind of security office in the palace, and then get called whenever wille needs to go anywhere. she wouldn't be giving wille messages from the queen or walking guests to wille's room or anything like that. that's not her job. (sorry, i had to get that off my chest, lol.)

Venezuela traditional clothes!!

(read below for extra information)

Here's a small simplified guide to Venezuelan traditional clothing

1- Region de los llanos: the first set of clothes (left to right) are known as the face of Venezuela but technically they originate from the "Region de los llanos".

The first 2 outfits are called liqui liqui, they're the national outfit of Venezuela and can be worn both by men and women.

traditionally they're very simple and light colored but nowadays they come in many different forms. The other 2 dresses have no name but are known as "falda llanera" or "traje típico de joropo" and are used to dance!

They can be any color and often have flower patterns on them.

2- Region capital: this is the region were the capital is situated. The men here wear liqui liquis or simple outfits (like the one I drew).

The women's clothing is named "Dama antoñona", there's different versions of this costume but they're all rather European looking

Historically they used to be worn by high ranking rich women but nowadays they're more of a carnival thing

Region Zuliana: once again, the men wear rather simple looking clothes or a version of the liqui liqui. The women wear "mantas guajiras"

Originally the manta guajira was only the Wayuu peoples's traditional wear, a native American group found in the guajira (land shared between Colombia and Venezuela), but with time the clothing started being worn by the zulians as well.

4- Region andina: this region is the coldest in Venezuela. Men wear a sort of poncho called "Ruana" the women's clothes have no name.

The dress that I drew in the middle is sometimes used to dance, here's an example

I've mainly seen it worn by kids tho xd

A few extra things:

-There's more regions but this 4 are the most important ones/the ones that inspired the rest. The Last 2 clothes are an example

-although I gave all the Chibis cowboy hats, we have multiple different types. Those are the most popular ones but if you need a reference for hats feel free to ask lol

-i didn't draw shoes. We do have traditional shoes but I was too tired to draw them. Once again if anyone needs a reference for them ask

-this one is kinda of a no duh, but majority of this clothes aren't worn every day and are only used for patriotism, dances or festivals.

if someone who knows literally nothing about opera whatsoever were interested in checking one out..... what would you recommend

Operas are wonderful and I am happy for that someone.

Picking an opera:

I personally think you can't really go wrong with the big Mozart operas (Don Giovanni, Nozze di Figaro, Zauberflöte, Entführung aus dem Serail). But maybe the person loves Russian literature and would prefer to see Pikovaya Dama. Or maybe they're already interested in baroque music and would love an opera by Gluck or Händel. Or maybe they know some famous tunes from Carmen or La Traviata and would like to hear those in context. Or they like a play or novel that happens to have been adapted into an opera.

If they have absolutely no point of reference I'd recommend digging around in operablr a bit and seeing if anything speaks to them, most of the popular operas and eras have their fans here.

Where to see it:

If it's an option, I would recommend going to the nearest opera house and seeing any famous and popular opera they're playing, ideally a few different ones.

If not, there are a lot of recordings online. There's operavision on youtube, medici.tv and other paid subscriptions, some of them offering free trials, and free broadcasts from various opera houses and TV stations. @princesssarisa and/or @leporellian had a good post of online resources some time ago, I can't find it right now.

Or just join tumblr user Antony @malcolm-f-tucker's opera streams every week! They're fun!

How to see it:

When you've picked an opera to see, I recommend reading a plot summary and maybe also some comments on the production in advance. Operas are often staged in a way that assumes you already know what happens, especially the most famous and popular ones. Or just go and let it wash over you, that's what I did as a student and it's why I still have no idea what happens in half the operas I've seen. Very enjoyable in its own way.

No but seriously what to see:

Karajan's Don Giovanni from 1987 (no subtitles)

Or this Don Giovanni from 2017 (French subtitles, this is not the 2017 DG that everyone loves): Part 1, Part 2

Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice from 2023 (Italian subtitles)

Bizet's Carmen on ARTE (has English subtitles)

Rossini's La Cenerentola (literally cinderella; has English subtitles)

(I tried to represent some diverse eras and styles but it's still me lol)

I want to see your lineart layer so badly??? How do you make line art work with the color so well? When I draw it feels sometimes like the line art is fighting against the color but when I see your art I get the opposite of that. Your lineart and colors are working together beautifully. How????

Hii, sorry for the late reply T^T it just took me sometime to organize this lol I know you only asked to see my lineart layer but I also wanted to show how I color it too.. I hope you don't mind!

Ngl lineart is my less favorite part when I'm drawing, it just takes me so loooong orz it makes the coloring easier tho so I usually do it for commissions!

I don't think my lines are good so I just render above it to make it look better, if I'm drawing to myself I just clean up my sketch and go for the coloring/rendering which are my fav parts.

I'm not a professional or anything so this is the only tip I can give you lol it's what worked for me at least o<< I hope this is helpful..

Link for the auto action: Auto Line Color

How did you progress your Pokémon art? I’m looking to get back into drawing myself and I’ve always loved Pokémon 😁

That's awesome that you're looking to get back into drawing!

In general, I can have a very hard time staying motivating with my art. I was never a person who consistently made a lot of art for myself (as opposed to assignments for school), and I struggled with completing personal projects I started.

When I had the idea to start In-Progress Pokemon, I was able to stay motivated by (1) working on something that I enjoyed and was passionate about (2) having a very clear goal for myself and (3) involving my followers and creating a sense of community. When I started this blog, the IPP I did were based on requests from followers, which inspired and compelled me to keep going. I didn't want to let people down and it was motivating to know people were looking forward to my work.

I also found (and still find) it motivating to redo old artwork and compare them, to see how far I've grown as an artist. I find it hard to force art, so when I'm lacking general motivation or don't have much time, I usually turn to an art redo to get me working again.

There are many, many art tutorials out there that can help you if you get stuck with a certain technique or want to improve in a concentrated area. I wish you the best luck on your artistic journey!

Gallavich AU List

Gallavich AUs

Canon divergent AU High school AU Famous AU Celebrity AU Jury duty AU Medieval Ukrainian AU Magic AU Fem Gallavich AU Gods AU Cruise AU

Work: Artist AU Coworkers AU Bartender AU Trapeze artist AU Physical therapy AU Massage therapy AU Musician AU Motocross AU Body Painter AU Chefs AU Office AU Print shop AU 'Medieval Times' experience AU Photographer AU Teacher AU Doctor AU Escape room AU Hockey AU Athlete AU Pilot AU Blogger AU Trucker AU Movie AU Personal trainer AU

Inspired by other media: Game show AU Big Brother AU Call Of Duty AU Scandal AU Tiktok AU Hunger games AU Lumatere chronicles AU

Meet Cute / Meet Ugly: Dog meet cute AU Ugly train meet cute AU

Mickey: Artist Mickey Bartender Mickey Graphic designer Mickey Actor Mickey Musician Mickey Chef Mickey Care giver Mickey non-binary Mickey Teacher Mickey Doctor Mickey

Ian: EMT Ian Bartender Ian Veteran Ian Actor Ian Musician Ian Model Ian Healer Ian Witch Ian Knight Ian Photographer Ian Chef Ian Teacher Ian Doctor Ian Referee Ian Author Ian

Honorary mention is this beautiful tag - AU shenanigans with Nosho @creepkinginc thank you for being my partner in crime

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how much I wish we were taught in school how to interact with people online (and just how to use the internet in general) and then I remembered that I can type.

So, without further ado, I present…

How to Argue with People on the Internet

A (sort of) comprehensive guide on discussing everything from world peace to your blorbos

Forewordwarning: This is a long (but hopefully useful and entertaining) post. You have been warned.

SECTION I: The Decision

I have read SO many posts that essentially say “want to stop getting annoyed and fighting strangers? Just don’t! Simply do not!” and if that works for you? Fantastic! That is commendable and I salute you for it and I’m only a little bit jealous. (Okay, maybe more than a little bit jealous.) But if you’re like me—an absolute yapper, that is— you will likely find yourself in quite a few situations where you simply must yap. The urge is too strong. The stupidity of this collection of pixels on your screen that may or may not be the vessel for another human somewhere in the world is too much and you just have to tell them so. I understand. I will not tell you to hold back. I will, however, advise that before engaging with any individuals, you follow a few simple steps that I like to call “RAT”— otherwise known as Rest, Analyze, and Type.

Let’s say, for a moment, that you’ve just run into a comment hating on your favorite character in your favorite TV show. Yes, that one. You want to reply—but wait—you’ve just remembered to use RAT first! You intelligent human, you.

First, you REST. You take a moment to bookmark the comment (whether mentally or literally is up to you) and you step away from your phone (or you do what I do and look at that one youtube video of a parrot asking Alexa to fart 939472 times, you know the one) and you wait. Is this comment something you’re willing to take time out of your day to handle? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with deciding that it is, in fact, worth it— but it’s important to consider it first. You won’t ever have time to talk about the things you’re actually passionate about if you reply to every comment that bothers you. (Trust me— I’ve been there.)

Now, if you’ve decided to continue, reopen the comment and ANALYZE. This can mean many different things depending on the situation: is this comment generated by an AI? Is this person expressing a genuine opinion, or are they a troll? Have other people argued with them? If so, how did they respond? These are all important questions to ask, but it’s okay if you don’t know the answers to all of them. Just get the best information you can; you can always come back to this step later.

Finally, it’s time to TYPE. Let those words fly, friend! You tell ‘em!

SECTION II: Debating vs Fighting

So, you’ve RATted it up, and now you’ve decided it’s time to yap. But how to go about this? Should you be aggressive? Appeal to the enemy? What to do? Don’t worry, I’ve got another acronym for you! It’s time to take MOUSE into account: Motive, Openness, Understanding, Success, and Education.

First, think about your own MOTIVE. What do you want to accomplish? Do you want to change the other person’s mind? Are you unconcerned with changing their mind, instead going in with the intention to change the minds of others who might be reading through the conversation? Do you not care about changing anyone’s mind and simply want to discuss the topic at hand? All of these are valid, but they’re all very different. Deciding what your goal is prior to replying is one of the most important things about debating, whether it’s over the internet or face-to-face.

Once you’ve got that cleared up, it’s time to consider your OPENNESS and UNDERSTANDING. How open are you to potentially having your mind changed? Can you see a piece of truth in the other side of the argument? Do you understand where the commenter is coming from, or are they just being ridiculous? It’s okay to have opinions you aren’t open to changing on a whim— everyone has core beliefs that shape who they are as people. But sometimes looking at the other side through a lens of open-mindedness and a desire to understand is the most effective thing you can do. Give it a try— the worst thing that happens is the other person being just as bad as you thought they were.

Next, it’s time to address SUCCESS. What would succeeding look like here? This is similar to MOTIVE, but now we’re looking at the potential completion of the debate. What is the outcome you’re striving for?

Finally, EDUCATION. Is this a fact-based topic you want to educate people about, or is it purely opinion-driven? Either is fine, but if it’s fact-based, you should brush up on the facts of the situation— you don’t want to be caught in a lie and potentially humiliated, I hope. Also, misinformation on the internet is a huge issue. But mostly the humiliation thing.

Section III: Tips and Tricks

My last acronym contains an assortment of tips and tricks for internet usage and communication: Consent, Anonymity, Privacy, Yapping, Blocking, Apps, Reason, and Ability (CAPYBARA).

One of the most important things in life and on the internet is CONSENT. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to ask permission to voice your opinions— just that you should take into consideration the actual, living person on the other side of the screen. (Unless you’re arguing with an AI, in which case I suppose it probably doesn’t care much one way or the other). Ask before you DM people unless they state that their DMs are open. If someone blocks you, DO NOT make another account to harass them (yes, even if they’re really terrible). Consent online may look different than it does in real life, but it still follows the same ground rule: when in doubt, ASK.

ANONYMITY is another important thing to consider when you’re surfing among the virtual tides. Remember that even if someone displays their real name and picture on a website, you still don’t know them. They could be someone entirely different from the persona they’ve put up on the internet, and that’s okay. We all act differently depending on the situations and settings we’re in, and that’s dialed waaaay up when social media allows us to literally customize ourselves into what we want other people to see. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat people as if they’re real, but it does mean that you should take everything with a grain of salt— especially if someone is being an absolute jerk.

Okay, PRIVACY is the one section in here that anyone under a certain age probably did learn in class— along with its annoying younger cousin, PIRACY (you wouldn’t steal a CAR, would you?) You probably know by now that you shouldn’t share personal data online, so I won’t go into this one too much in this post. There are a billion textbooks about it, and as important as it is, it’s not something I’m really qualified to cover. Just don’t do anything stupid and you should be fine.

YAPPING— everyone’s favorite thing to do on the internet! For the most part, this is a reminder that you should have fun. If you feel like you can’t yap about your interests in the space you’re in, maybe you should relocate— whether that’s to a different app, a different blog, or even just to a different comment section is up to you. You should feel free to voice your opinions and talk about the things you love (within reason—don’t get yourself on an FBI watchlist—but you get the idea).

BLOCKING is one of the most underrated features on many social media apps. There is absolutely nothing wrong with blocking someone and moving on. It doesn’t make you a coward; it makes you someone who values your own time and safety. You are never obligated to argue with someone just because they said so. And—this is one of my favorite internet secrets—you can block people you agree with. If someone’s posts are well-meaning and useful, but they upset you or make you uncomfortable? You can still block them, or mute/restrict them if the app you’re using allows it. You are not a bad person for not wanting to see things that upset you in your day-to-day life. You can support good causes without reading about tragedies every morning. Digging yourself into a depressive hole isn’t going to help anything. Please, please use the block button. It’s there for a reason.

APPS are another variable you should consider when catering your online experience. For instance, you can make a nuanced post on Tumblr and more realistically expect reasonable replies because you aren’t confined to a tiny amount of characters. Trying to express the same point on Twitter, however, likely risks people getting extremely angry at you due to the nature of the app not allowing nuanced conversations. That’s not to say Tumblr is necessarily superior— just that they’re different areas with different setups. The reason Twitter is so no-nuance a lot of the time isn’t just due to the people— the app is deliberately set up so that users can’t make multiple points in one post. This also attracts people who don’t want to have nuanced conversations, which feeds the cycle. This is an (extremely oversimplified) explanation of why most social media apps feel so separate from each other, even if you follow all the same people. You should know your audience—but you should also know your stage.

It’s important to have a certain amount of REASON and common sense when you’re talking to someone about the skrunkly little guys in your favorite movie. It’s not that you can’t be passionate—I once essentially made an entire powerpoint presentation about why I think my opinion about a fictional cat person is the correct one—but you need to remember that not everything is the same level of seriousness. Expressing an opinion about whether Team Rocket are actually villains is not the same thing as expressing an opinion about the upcoming US election. (Though I think Team Rocket could potentially do an okay job, to be honest. Meowth 2024?) You can 100% have intense, long discussions about fictional characters, but it’s never worth genuinely harming your own mental health or attacking someone else because of an opinion that ultimately doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s okay to agree to disagree.

Lastly, remember that a lot of this is not intuitive. Your ABILITY to make smart decisions online is a skill that takes time to develop (as is evidenced by 99% of past me’s Twitter posts) and it’s important to give yourself grace. As much as the internet hates to admit it, we all make mistakes. Just own up to those mistakes and move on. It’s okay to delete a post you made because you don’t agree with it anymore. It’s okay to come back to an argument and apologize for going too far. It’s okay to not be perfect. Accept the consequences of your own actions and move forward.

hey, i looove your blog! i want to read more italian authors, do you have any recs? 💖 i’m particularly interested in poetry but anything will do!! have a nice day 💖💖💖

Hi dear! Of course I have some recs! I'm currently re-reading Il Barone Rampante (The Baron in the Trees) from Italo Calvino, which is part of the "I Nostri Antenati" (Our Ancestors) trilogy. Then OF COURSE my beloved Elena Ferrante, Oriana Fallaci, Alessandro Baricco, Giacomo Leopardi, Elsa Morante, Luigi Pirandello, Stefania Auci (you can also find the show I Leoni di Sicilia - The Lions of Sicily on Disney+, which is based on her most know novel. But I haven't seen it yet, so I have no idea if it's a good adaptation lol), Michela Murgia, Cesare Pavese, Grazia Deledda, Primo Levi, Giovanni Verga, Ugo Foscolo, Niccolò Ammaniti. Also, special mention to Elisabetta Gnone and Elisabetta Dami my two of favorite children's book authors🫀

Hello! List five things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox of the last ten people who liked or reblogged something from you.

sure!

1) @senhiv @senavin

2) my mutuals

3) my interests (most dominant interest is lotf atm)

4) helping others and listen to then talk about anything really

5) my cat & drawing/being creative

(also being alone and able to be myself)

feel free to message me or send asks to me at any time if you are interested in knowing more about me, wanting to talk to me to yap rant or vent. I genuinely don’t mind🧡 /pos

btw I usually don’t do these sort of chains but I thought this one is a cute little one

Tired of feeling bad about everything so I made this flowchart

guess who HAHAHHAHAHA (sorry for takinh so long)

wip but uhh i wanna ask if theres anything wrong with it!!!

WOAHHHH WAAAHHHH THANK YOUU

dw about how long it takes, take ur time!! tbh i take a billion years to finish art so ur good!

uhh i dont think theres anything wrong with it? but also im gonna use this chance to send the original picrews i made of them and an unfinished card redraw of her

hol up why was my phone dying in this screenshot??? also ignore the weird way i was coloring it

Had another question about tourettes but thought it might be interesting to share the answer so decided to send this one as an ask instead of a comment!

Can new tics pop up randomly? It's been like.... Four or five days at least since I've had my antipsychotics (longest I've gone without since I got them in like 2019) and today I've had a ton of random movements and vocalizations that ranged from "extremely compelled to do this" to "couldn't stop it if I tried" but a lot of them are unfamiliar, not even ones I've seen others do, just like my brain is firing wrong and making me act fucking weird. It's so obnoxious!!!

Also... If they're tics will I be stuck with them during episodes or can tics go away and not come back (with different tics in their place, presumably)? There's been loud ones and mine haven't been loud before yesterday. It's embarrassing and I hate how much attention it attracts even just at home with my partner.

Yes, new tics can pop up at any time and can be anything! One of my weirdest and most annoying tics is an imitated hiccup of sorts that occasionally triggers actual hiccups.

Tics can also go away and not come back. Essentially, tics can wax and wane in severity, quantity, and type.

Everything you've described here are very common phenomenon in Tourette Syndrome and other tic disorders.

Hi Space!! I saw your post about Obsidian, and I think it would be perfect for my worldbuilding notes. (for novels + D&D things). Do you have any advice about how to get started with a worldbuilding/story vault? Especially how to make it look as nice and aesthetic as your notes? I opened Obsidian for the first time just now and I immediately felt lowkey overwhelmed by the possibilities.

You also mentioned plug-ins? How do those work? Do you have any you consider essential for yourself?

Sorry if these are silly questions, but I'm very curious about this, and I want to give it a shot! Thanks for answering, and for telling me about this super cool-looking app!

~ Morri🗡 (@memento-morri-writes)

Hi Morri!

not silly questions at all! i'm more than happy to chat about obsidian for literal hours

The key here is do not do everything at once. As you build, what you think you need, and what you actually need, will change. The best way, I’ve found, to build any kind of vault in Obsidian is organically. Put in a small bit of information, play with it, then put in some more.

I fully expect no-one to do this, because I did not, and ended up refactoring my entire process multiple times, because I am an idiot who thinks common sense does not apply to me.

I wrote a post for anon here that covers some bits about plugins (which i will be making a post about soon, it’s in progress!), and such, but I’ll repeat here one of my main points, which is that there are as many ways to organise Obsidian as there are people. It is overwhelming, because there is so much freedom. I spent a long time switching through themes and organisation methods, before realising that I had to grow my own process that worked for me.

I base mine on a (very very) bastardised version of Johnny Decimal. Top level folders for large categories, with subfolders if needed.

and now a cut! because this did, in fact, get long

making a worldbuilding/story vault

For a worldbuilding/story vault, I’d recommend starting with the very very basics of your information:

a folder for meta information, like images, pdfs, other files, any templates you make. just to keep that stuff out of the way

a folder for research

a folder or folders for characters and setting

a folder for the actual writing

within those, it depends on what you’re working on how you want to organise. I have the following in my ‘world’ folder for the Valloroth vault:

and my D&D vault looks like this:

I like big categories and i cannot lie. I like this method because it makes sense for my brain, and I know where to look for things. however, don’t feel beholden to any organisation you set up if it’s not working. try it, find the friction points, try something different to ease the friction points.

the best and worst thing about Obsidian is that you can do whatever you want. so if it’s not working - change it! it’s your vault!

for the aesthetic

i am the kind of person who knows just enough css to be a danger to myself and others, and I like tinkering. it took me a couple years to get my vaults looking the way they do, but the quickest way to get a pretty vault is to look at community themes!

For d&d, the go-to MVP of themes is ITS Theme. It has a lot of options, a really good set of explainer docs, and the dev is a pretty active member in the discord community. (hi SlR if you ever read this! love your work!)

My main vault uses the typewriter theme, with custom colour accents, custom fonts, and also a bunch of CSS snippets. Valloroth is entirely custom on top of vanilla obsidian, and i’m scared to look at the code because it’s over a year old now, and I haven’t really updated it and I am not a dev TT_TT

many of my prettifying tweaks are bits of CSS I’ve collected from lurking in discord over the past few years, or stolen from other themes.

but if you’re not a nerd with too much free time like me, hop into the community themes under ‘appearance’ in settings, and play around until you find one you like. and then, if you’re a nerd with too much free time like me, there’ll be like one or two things in that theme you want to change, and before you know it you’re neck deep in w3schools trying to figure out which selector you need to target when you should be asleep.

i’m always happy to chat/share CSS bits and pieces, if you/others are interested!

aaaand this post is long enough, so i hope that’s been helpful. I hope you have fun playing around with Obsidian, whether you end up using it or not

Starfield Digipick Tips

count the gaps in the outer ring first before you start. if the number is even, count the inner ring before proceeding. if there are an ODD number of gaps, you must use a 3 piece digipick for that ring. if there are an EVEN number of gaps, you must use at least one 2 piece digipick, unless the number of gaps is greater than 4, in which case there are several options.

if the number of gaps is DIVISIBLE BY THREE, then you will probably have to use at least one or more of the 3 piece digipicks.