#Custom PDF Generator

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Fictional Culture

Fictional culture - an essential piece of worldbuilding in certain genres of fiction—particularly in science fiction and fantasy.

Storytellers develop fictional cultures in a variety of mediums, including film, television, short stories, novels, and video games.

A fictional culture is defined by the customs, languages, values, and symbols of an imaginary world.

How to Create a Fictional Culture

Although there are nearly endless possibilities, consider some of these general writing tips for creating a fictional culture.

Pull inspiration from the real world. Pay attention to the cultural behaviors within your society. Broaden your own cultural perspective by researching the ideas and values of different cultures throughout history. Use real-life cultural examples to inform your fictional world, but be wary of repurposing existing cultures or perpetuating stereotypes.

Build off your main character. Develop the setting of your story based on how it serves the character development of your protagonist. Build a culture that highlights or contradicts your main character’s goals, needs, and fears.

Develop a belief system. Consider the core values, social norms, and taboos of your fictional culture. A central belief system can guide how you create rituals, symbols, and artifacts within your story.

Create a social structure. Develop how the family structures and social hierarchies work within your fictional culture. Decide where your main character falls within the social structure. Monetary systems can change your social structure depending on whether you use a bartering economy or something more complex.

Construct a technological system. Determine how advanced the technology is in your fictional culture. The technology of your story will impact the entertainment, communication, and modes of transportation within your fictional world.

Write a brief history. Expand your culture by writing a brief mythology of your fictional society. Avoid overwriting, and keep your history contained to important information that can impact your story.

Examples of Fictional Cultures

To learn more about how fictional cultures work in fiction, explore the following examples.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954): Tolkien created a wide variety of fictional cultures to inhabit Middle-earth. Each culture has its own language, value system, and history.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932): In his dystopian novel, Aldous Huxley developed a complex and technologically advanced culture with distinct social classes.

Dune by Frank Herbert (1965): Dune is an influential sci-fi novel with several detailed fictional cultures. One of them is the Fremen culture, which revolves around ancient superstitions and a rare commodity known as the Spice Melange.

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (2015): In this award-winning novel, Jemisin created a complex social structure with many "use-castes” that all have a place on an earthquake-ridden planet with one supercontinent.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[racheldrawsthis]

Ngl. the PNG files don’t solve anything. we fans brought the book because we wanted an art book. Now the book is meaningless. If I wanted PNG files, I would have paid for a subscription service.

please remake the book & check the product before you send out dodgy products to ur loyal customers

This has already been addressed in other socials/the official discord server, but us the studio wasn't responsible/involved with the actual physical production of the book; our job was to gather all the art, sketches & write blurbs of text we wanted included in the book and organize it then send the files to them online and the rest of the printing and shipping process was Juniper (the merch company we were collaborating with) and their manufacturer's responsibility, and sadly reproduction would also be their call and we don't have any authority to initiate or overlook that. This was our first time collaborating with Juniper and making a print-based product with them & we didn't receive the final sample from them before they were shipped out so we had no idea about the quality, and we're definitely taking this as a lesson to always make sure to double ask our collaboration partners to send us the sample before they get shipped out + rethink about doing print-based products in the future in general considering our files were inherently small and we couldn't calculate how they'd look on print.

The full 286 page PDF file of the book was the best solution we could offer, and they should be sent out via email to everyone who ordered the art book by this week.

Sorry for the inconvenience and if you wish for a refund or if you had any other inquiries about the book please feel free to contact Juniper themselves! https://junipercreates.com/docs/contact

But again we didn't handle the production and we had no way of overlooking that :(

[p3reflect]

🌕 PRE-ORDERS OPEN! 🦋

P3RE:flect’s shop is open for a full month and will close July 10th 11:59 PM (EDT/GMT-4).

At least 50% of our profit goes to our selected charity: CareForGaza!

For the first 72 hours, everything in the shop will have a 10% discount. Offer ends June 14th @ 11:59 PM (GMT-4).

Be sure to grab a discounted bundle before time’s up!

✨ Bundle Descriptions ✨

The Full Moon Bundle has everything we have to offer!

🌕 https://p3reflect.bigcartel.com/product/full-bundle

☾ The Arcana (87-card tarot deck + magnetic box)

☾ The Compendium (A5 zine)

☾ Tarot Cloth

☾ Risograph Print

☾ Stretch Goal #1 🔓 S.E.E.S. Print

☾ Full Digital Bundle

✧ eligible for all stretch goals

The Half Moon Bundle includes the physical tarot deck and zine! 

🌓 https://p3reflect.bigcartel.com/product/half-bundle

☾ The Arcana (87-card tarot deck + magnetic box)

☾ The Compendium (A5 zine)

☾ Stretch Goal #1 🔓 S.E.E.S. Print

✧ eligible for all stretch goals

The Crescent Moon Bundle includes the physical tarot deck only! 

🌒 https://p3reflect.bigcartel.com/product/deck-only

☾ The Arcana (87-card tarot deck + magnetic box)

☾ Stretch Goal #1 🔓 S.E.E.S. Print

✧ eligible for all stretch goals

The New Moon Bundle includes all of our digital items! 

🌑 https://p3reflect.bigcartel.com/product/digital-bundle

☾ The Arcana (PDF)

☾ The Compendium (PDF)

☾ Bonus PDFs

☾ Digital Merch

✧ ineligible for any stretch goals

Want an extra tarot cloth? Want the PDFs without the digital merch? With the Add-Ons option, you can customize the extras you want alongside your bundle! Visit the page to see more info.

✨ https://p3reflect.bigcartel.com/product/add-ons

Every bundle purchase will count towards RE:flect’s stretch goals!

🌓 Goal #1 unlocks at 50 general orders

🌕 Goal #2 unlocks at 200 general orders (with at least 100 physical decks)

Can we unlock all our goals before we close shop on July 10th?

🔓 UPDATE (June 14): We've unlocked our first Stretch Goal (S.E.E.S. Print) in our first week! Thank you to everyone who's helped us reach this goal!

There's still 3 weeks left before Pre-Orders end, can we reach our next stretch goal at 200 orders?

@all-zine-apps @open-zines @zine-scene @zine-shop-channel @all-zine-apps @open-zines @zinefeed @anizines @zinesubmissions @atozines @eufanzines @fandomzines @zinetown

Reblogs are appreciated! Thank you!

[littlealienproducts]

AI and PDF Crochet Patterns

AI generated images can be great for inspiring projects, but most of the time it's used online to generate revenue for scammers and the like.

Just scrolling through Etsy rn looking for crochet patterns, I've come across several listings (some with false 5 star reviews to boost engagement/trust) where the patterns and images are clearly AI generated and people, unfortunately, have fallen for the listings.

Some of the images might look totally obvious to you, but to the untrained eye they can be convincing.

SOOO, how do you spot AI crochet patterns?

Look at the stitches. Are there pieces that don't seem to stitch into one another? Are the lengths and sizes inconsistent? Some are more obvious than others, but AI fails to replicate consistent textures.

Lighting and saturation. AI images often are vibrant and cartoon-ish. Especially the eyes of projects - usually this is a pretty good giveaway. Additionally, is the image smooth? What's in the background? Does it make sense?

Limited photos on listing. Most legitimate shops are going to have multiple photos of the finished project on the listing - AI is fairly advanced, but not the best at recreating exact images. Does the listing only have one photo? Does it have multiple but with variants between projects (that are meant to be the same)? Are there any videos?

Is it even possible? This can be tricky if you are new to crochet, but as above, take a moment to look at the stitches and the overall shape of the project. Does it look plausable? Especially if they projects say 'no sew'. Additionally, if you have already purchased the pattern - does it tell you how much material you need, and does it make sense? Does it tell you crochet hook size?

Legit photo but AI generated pattern. Sometimes the images are real - but they've been stolen from another creators account and the scam shop has simply asked AI (such as ChatGPT) to write up a crochet pattern. These are less obvious at a glance, but most reputable shops will have social media, consistent themes of crochet projects and reviews with pictures of finished products uploaded by customers.

6. Ok, but what if they use AI but the reviews seem legit? Crochet Baby Duck - this is an AI generated picture and pattern, and while the shop has posted several pictures of the finished project it is clear that it does not match up with the AI generated duck pictured in the listing. The hat, feet, and bill are all different sizes and this is even noted in some of the customer reviews. While this isn't as scammy as straight up using AI generated images/patterns without showing how the finished project looks - it is still taking away from legitimate pattern makers. Being able to design and execute good patterns is a skill, and the prices of legitimate patterns often reflect this. Why does the shop even use AI pictures if they post the real life projects anyway? Cus it drives traffic, and lets be real - the real life plush dolls look no where near as good as the AI images.

This is the same as the walrus - AI generated image and pattern, this is even endoresed by Etsy so you cannot rely on 'Etsy picks' being legitimate as they choose profits over morals.

These patterns are not just limited to Etsy, they are often on Pinterest or websites for 'free' to generate traffic and collect data (asking for your e-mail for the free pattern). Such as this Peacock Crochet IRL figure by u/Echo-o_0 on Reddit.

This is not just limited to crochet, I've seen it in sewing, knitting, and any other PDF downloads that you can purchase or get for free. Unfortunately, it is a simple way for people to make a quick but and face little to no consequences as their store *might* get deleted and even then, they can just start a new one up.

[thebibliosphere]

Cost of inflation aside, the draft2digital upload process is brilliant in comparison to Ingram Spark. It's intuitive, easy to follow, and lets you see the files in real-time instead of making you wait to see your physical proof. I also had a minor problem with something, and customer service got back to me within a few hours, not the literal weeks I've gotten used to with Ingram.

The cover it auto-generated from my ebook files was not the greatest, but if you're on a tight budget or unable to afford separate covers and wanted to do paperback, you could absolutely make it work with a little tweaking.

I had separate covers already because Ingram and Amazon require you to have PDF wraparounds (both different dimensions from each other), and while the Ingram one didn't work (Ingram formatting works literally nowhere, not even on Ingram 🙃), the Amazon wrap worked. There might be a sliiiight issue with the ISBN overlapping, but it was hard to tell on screen. I guess we'll see how it looks when the physical proof copy arrives.

So. Yeah. That was way less of a stressful experience.

And none of my files are being held captive! I can hit cancel at any moment without having to pay $25 to talk to a human to get my files pulled. Incredible... And if you're thinking to yourself, Joy, that sounds like the bare minimum of competency, I need you to know that after years of Ingram Spark, the bar for this kind of thing is so low it's in Hell.

Anyway. I'll post an update on print quality once the proof gets here.

[oldschoolfrp]

Ernie Gygax (Ernest Gary Gygax Jr), oldest son of Gary Gygax, has died. A highly polarizing figure in later life, he contributed to D&D's very early history by playing the character Tenser in home games and receiving credit as a playtester or occasionally coauthor when his father incorporated his ideas into publications. He also ran TSR's Dungeon Hobby Shop in Lake Geneva, WI, introducing many new customers to the game with demo sessions exploring his Hobby Shop Dungeon.

In 2012 he co-founded a new "TSR" with younger brother Luke and a diverse group of contributors including many familiar names from the AD&D days. Their Gygax Magazine produced 6 issues, ending after Gary's widow Gail sued the group for infringing copyrights and using the family name.

A 2015 Kickstarter for a published version of Ernie's Hobby Shop Dungeon titled Marmoreal Tomb went unfulfilled for many years before being turned over to Troll Lord Games for completion.

For many his legacy will be the convoluted, nasty history of "NuTSR" which directly led to a more sharply divided gaming community. These events were documented in detail by those who watched it unfold, including this thorough summary of events on EN World.

According to numerous accounts, Ernie was prominently involved in forming a third "TSR" in 2021 which claimed to be a continuation of the original company and attempted to license the TSR name to others and publish a new version of Star Frontiers. This venture split apart under legal pressure from other former members of the 2nd TSR and from WOTC which claimed IP infringement on the original Star Frontiers game which was still for sale as PDFs. The group also generated a storm of self-inflicted bad publicity through a series of bigoted anti "woke" social media posts and leaked product documents with overtly racist content. In interviews Ernie stood by the group's public positions, claiming their "playing style" was under attack by politically motivated persons. Major conventions quickly rejected the group, and Luke Gygax and many other TSR2 and OSR creators publicly repudiated TSR3's statements and spurious legal claims.

[mostlyghostly42]

worldbuilding websites list

guides/prompts

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions - SFWA 

Dr. Zahir's Ethnographical Questionnaire - FrathWiki 

University of Auntimoany Ethnographical Questionnaire 

Creature-Race creation sheet by Sethian-Motzart on DeviantArt 

Worldbuilding Bible Template – Ellen Brock 

Guide to World Building - Pantheons — Dump Stat Adventures 

Building a Pantheon: How to Choose Your Gods - Tribality 

Making Gods & Pantheons: Worldbuilding Abstract | Red Ragged Fiend 

I invented this world building system for myself, and it's helped me a lot. Posting it here in case it helps somebody else too! (and because mnemonics are rad) : r/worldbuilding 

Simple Ideas for Your Solarpunk Worlds : r/worldbuilding 

50 Worldbuilding Prompts : r/worldbuilding 

A few months ago I posted a not-so-elegant expansion of the 4-elements system, and got tons of truly excellent feedback. Inspired by the exciting discussions from back then, here is version 2.0! CC appreciated :) : r/worldbuilding 

TheCosmicForces-WoWChronicleSample.png (PNG Image, 1350 × 1800 pixels) — Scaled (37%) 

GitHub - honno/classical-elements-expansion: Because the alchemical elements are so last millennia. 

brownlisthumanuniversals.pdf - Google Drive 

Worldbuilding: Fantasy Religion Design Guide – Inkwell Ideas 

Worldbuilding: Clothing and Fashion | HumanVariant 

A Guide to Conworld Architecture : r/worldbuilding 

Medieval Bestiary : Contents/SiteMap 

kosemen-2017-updated-edition-of-book-all-your-yesterdays.pdf 

Political Simulator 

A World Building Checklist | Articles | cru’s D&D Reading Room 

Split City 

Fantasy name generators. Names for all your fantasy characters. 

word processors/graph makers/visualizers

TiddlyWiki — a non-linear personal web notebook 

bibisco: Best Novel Writing Software for Writers 

Preceden Timeline Maker: Create a Timeline in Minutes 

Timetoast timeline maker | Timetoast timelines 

Free online timeline maker 

draw.io 

Parliament Diagrams 

TreeGraph 2 - A phylogenetic tree editor 

Fantasy Calendar - Level up your narrative 

Family Echo - Free Online Family Tree Maker 

Hero Forge Custom Miniatures 

Tennessine 

Courtney’s Picrew Zone 

Ellipsus | Collaborative writing software 

real world inspiration

The Meaning and History of First Names - Behind the Name 

Geologic Time Scale - Major Divisions of Geologic Time Chart 

Geologic Time Scale v. 6.0 - The Geological Society of America - timescl.pdf 

Travel Through Deep Time With This Interactive Earth | Smithsonian 

ChronostratChart2023-09 - ChronostratChart2023-09.pdf 

ics-chart 

International Commission on Stratigraphy 

Home - Nationalclothing.org 

Folk Fashion Tumblr - Traditional Clothing from the world 

Glossary for Medieval Art and Architecture 

Heraldry Links-A Free Learning Resource 

Flags of the World 

Food Timeline: food history research service 

History of invention: A science and technology timeline 

Medieval Bestiary : Animals in the Middle Ages 

Medieval Life 

Medievalists.net - Where the Middle Ages Begin 

Historical World Maps - World History Atlas 

[tragedynoir]

— special delivery: ARCHITECT

a google doc template planner made for those who want a simple, no-fuss experience with digital planning. this two-page template has all the essentials: a calendar with space for events and flexibility to customize with images and text, weekly overview with space for notes and habit tracking as well as daily tasks. save as pdf into your digital notebook, or edit directly in google docs.

what is special delivery?

special delivery is occasional bonus supporter-only content as my way of thanking those who generously support me and help me continue putting out free content! they are not posted on any set or regular schedule.

how does it work?

the most recent special delivery will be accessible via a locked supporter-only ko-fi post to anyone who has supported me on ko-fi recently. for one-time supporters (store purchase or one-time donation), this post will be locked again after 30 days, so please download the content before this happens! for monthly patrons, this post will be accessible for as long as their patronage. when a new special delivery is uploaded, old special delivery content will be put behind a monthly patron-only ko-fi post. only monthly patrons will continue to have access to old special delivery content for as long as their patronage, no matter when they start their patronage. discord server boosters can also gain access to all past special delivery content via a server booster-exclusive channel, for the duration of their support.

how to access?

become a supporter by purchasing something from my store, making a one-time donation or becoming a monthly patron! you will be prompted to create a ko-fi account to access supporter-only content. the source link will lead you to the folder containing all special delivery posts to access and download! alternatively, boost my discord server, and gain access to a server booster-only channel with the links to all past special delivery content. if you have any questions or clarifications, please reach out to me! thank you so much and I hope you enjoy them! ♡

[sticksandsharks]

Hello! I'm a huge fan of Sacred Bodies (despite never having read it!) and I was wondering how much you believe the physical copy may cost in the future? I'm trying to decide if I should wait for the physical release or if I should go ahead and get the PDF now. Also, I'm in the US, so I'm not sure where you're based and how much shipping would be. Thank you for your awesome art and storytelling!!

Hello! I'm in the proofing stage so I don't have a per unit cost figured out yet, but given general printing/paper costs for self-publishing and the price ranges of the other two books I have, I think SCRB will be around £13 - 14 online. I'm based in the UK, so shipping to the US is anywhere between £7 - 9.5 depending on the parcel weight; and because I don't have those final books yet, I don't know what the weight per unit will be to calculate that.

This is not accounting for any additional customs tax or fees that may be incured depending on local laws and regulations. I don't think the USA has any such fees for books, but don't take my word for it-- I am one guy sending out books from my office, so I don't really know much about any of that. 🧍‍♂️💦

[deepdreamnights]

Hey, you know how I said there was nothing ethical about Adobe's approach to AI? Well whaddya know?

Adobe wants your team lead to contact their customer service to not have your private documents scraped!

This isn't the first of Adobe's always-online subscription-based products (which should not have been allowed in the first place) to have sneaky little scraping permissions auto-set to on and hidden away, but this is the first one (I'm aware of) where you have to contact customer service to turn it off for a whole team.

Now, I'm on record for saying I see scraping as fair use, and it is. But there's an aspect of that that is very essential to it being fair use: The material must be A) public facing and B) fixed published work.

All public facing published work is subject to transformative work and academic study, the use of mechanical apparatus to improve/accelerate that process does not change that principle. Its the difference between looking through someone's public instagram posts and reading through their drafts folder and DMs.

But that's not the kind of work that Adobe's interested in. See, they already have access to that work just like everyone else. But the in-progress work that Creative Cloud gives them access to, and the private work that's never published that's stored there isn't in LIAON. They want that advantage.

And that's valuable data. For an example: having a ton of snapshots of images in the process of being completed would be very handy for making an AI that takes incomplete work/sketches and 'finishes' it. That's on top of just being general dataset grist.

But that work is, definitionally, not published. There's no avenue to a fair use argument for scraping it, so they have to ask. And because they know it will be an unpopular ask, they make it a quiet op-out.

This was sinister enough when it was Photoshop, but PDF is mainly used for official documents and forms. That's tax documents, medical records, college applications, insurance documents, business records, legal documents. And because this is a server-side scrape, even if you opt-out, you have no guarantee that anyone you're sending those documents to has done so.

So, in case you weren't keeping score, corps like Adobe, Disney, Universal, Nintendo, etc all have the resources to make generative AI systems entirely with work they 'own' or can otherwise claim rights to, and no copyright argument can stop them because they own the copyrights.

They just don't want you to have access to it as a small creator to compete with them, and if they can expand copyright to cover styles and destroy fanworks they will. Here's a pic Adobe trying to do just that:

If you want to know more about fair use and why it applies in this circumstance, I recommend the Electronic Frontier Foundation over the Copyright Alliance.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

How to Dress your Character

A Guide to Dress Codes

When attending an event, it's essential to understand the dress code—and know when to bend the rules.

White tie: White tie is a formal dress code typically reserved for galas and state dinners. For men, swap your black tie dinner jacket for a single-breasted tailcoat and a wing-collar white shirt with mother of pearl shirt studs. You'll also need a white bowtie and a white vest. If you want to go ultra-traditional, you can lace up your black patent leather shoes with black ribbon. For women, it's time to break out the floor-length ball gown and long gloves.

Black tie: Black tie is a formal dress code common for formal evening events. Traditional black tie for men entails a single- or double-breasted dinner jacket and matching trousers worn with a pleated white dress shirt with a turndown-collar. It's generally fine to veer slightly from the black tuxedo: More creative black tie options include midnight blue tuxedos and white dinner jackets. Finish the look with cufflinks, a black bow tie, a white pocket square, black patent leather shoes, and black dress socks. Cummerbunds (waist coverings) and vests are optional—just don't wear them together. The black tie dress code for women is a little more flexible: You'll want a knee-length to floor-length evening dress. Accessorize with heels or flat dress shoes, a clutch, and minimal jewelry.

Black tie optional: When an invitation says "black tie optional," the expectation is that you'll either wear black-tie attire or something similar but a little more relaxed—like a dark suit or elegant cocktail dress.

Cocktail attire: Cocktail attire, also known as semi-formal attire, is the style of clothing you'll wear to evening events like fundraisers and weddings. Cocktail dress code involves casual suits and dress shirts for men. Stick to wool suits in dark colors in winter; for summertime and outdoor cocktail events, you can wear a light-colored suit in a breathable material like seersucker or linen. Oxfords, loafers, and brogues are acceptable footwear choices. A cocktail dress is fancier than a sundress but more casual than an evening gown. When in doubt, go for the classic little black dress. Not wearing a dress? Go for a dark suit or dressy separates.

Business casual: Business casual doesn’t necessarily mean casual—what it actually means is that you don’t have to wear a suit and tie. Business casual workwear usually includes a collared shirt (button-up or polo shirt) or sweater on top, and dress pants, khakis, chinos, or a pencil skirt on the bottom. You may also wish to add a blazer or sport coat, but you don’t necessarily need a custom-tailored suit jacket. Shoes should be closed-toe and professional, whether you choose boots, heels, flats, loafers, mules, or oxfords.

Dressy casual: Dressy casual, also known as “smart casual,” is an upgraded version of casualwear, generally more suited to job interviews, client meetings, and casual nighttime events. For a dressy casual dress code, break out trendier pieces, like jumpsuits, blazers, and high-end footwear. Instead of T-shirts, opt for button-downs and blouses.

Casual: Casual attire is the least restrictive dress code, but this doesn’t mean you should dress quite as casually as you would at home. Jeans and T-shirts in solid colors are okay, but stay away from graphic tees, flip-flops, and anything ripped or stained. Depending on the season, you may want to wear full-coverage shorts or a casual sundress. Casual dress codes are typical for low-key and outdoor events.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[dailypokemoncrochet]

I really understand your take on sharing amigurumi patterns. I crocheted A LOT about 10 years ago, I crocheted Pokémon plushes, wrote the patterns, and sold both for a bit. But the patterns were just a PDF with plain text telling the reader the stitches for each round with a quick note partway through each piece to advise them when to start stuffing. Free patterns on like Ravelry from 2005-2015 are also like this, it’s my normal. Fast forward to last year. For the first time, I buy a pattern on Etsy. It’s FULL of photos and diagrams and custom fonts and intricate page borders and decorative doodles and excruciating detail, none of which I need. So now like, hooooly shit, if I ever start selling patterns again, do I have to get professional photography setup and a graphic designer??? To make 5 freakin bucks???????? My patterns might just have to remain a trade secret. 😬

Yeah I definitely feel like expectations for patterns have just risen unrealistically. I only freehand so I don't buy patterns or even look at them, but whenever I see people talking about them, there's always so much- neediness? about them. People will complain about FREE patterns if they don't have pictures or explain how to attach things or is formatted differently from what they're used to. FREE PATTERNS. The entitlement and lack of appreciation is just so jarring to me. And then the same group of people will act like they are so generous for throwing a dollar your way for such a pattern, maybe $3 if it just looks nice, maybe even $5 if they like you. Very often you'll see PACKS of patterns, sets of 3 or 5 or 10 or 12, each with, like you said, photos and diagrams and excruciating detail, and that's the only time people will think it's justified to pay up to $10 on them. It makes no sense to me. Personally all I need, and the way I write my patterns is mostly like this Fomantis one I put out years ago with basically just the colors needed, and the actual stitches needed in each row for each part. That's it.

And then when people would tell me they'd gladly pay for my patterns however they were formatted just because they liked the crochet- that is simply not true by and large. Most of the people saying that kind of stuff did not subscribe to my patreon when I had it, and I just made myself miserable putting out slightly more refined versions of my pattern notes. I don't like to think of it as keeping my patterns as a trade secret like you said, but it kind of feels that way sometimes because I just do not want to put any kind of effort into typing up a pattern that people won't even use and will only complain about.

I would want minimum $50 for typing up just one set of notes as is because it took me more than 5hr to crochet the thing and it'd take another hour to type up the rows and I hate it and people just are not here for that, not hearing it at all. "Well it's only for one Pokemon? You already have the notes written can't you just snap a pic and share those? [Some bullshit about potential passive income so the price should be pennies]." You cannot give give an inch or they will demand a mile. So no patterns of any kind at all ever for any reason.

[hellenicrisis]

Does Hellenism have a Holy Book? Or like a Bool with Rules,Customs,Offerings etc?? Kinda like a Bible :>

Hey there, sunshine! ☀️

Hellenic paganism doesn't have one single piece of holy scripture like Abrahamic religions do. Our texts are a little more scattered. We have the Homeric Hymns and the Orphic Hymns, each are a collection of hymns and prayers to the gods. There is also Hesiod's Theogony, an epic 1000+ line poem that details the genealogies of the gods, and also Hesiod's Works and Days, which is more on the subject of morality and farming, but includes good lessons on how to interact with the gods.

You can buy these online in the forms of physical books, but there should also be free pdf versions of them out there, as well as websites that have the entire collection of hymns written out.

As for a text that gives instructions regarding customs and offerings, there isn't one set, singular text that I know of. We learn from historical and archaeological research, from writings like those listed above, and from each other. There are modern books on Hellenic paganism and its practices written by scholars that you could look for. Some are expensive though, and if you do enough digging on the internet yourself, you should be able to come up with some information.

I could teach you a couple basics right now.

1. Be clean when praying

There is a line in Hesiod's Works and Days that reads, "Never pour a libation of sparkling wine to Zeus after dawn with unwashen hands, nor to others of the deathless gods."

This line refers to the custom of washing our hands before giving offerings or libations to the gods. There is a water we make, I think with burnt herbs in it, called khernips that is used to clean our hands. You don't have to use it though (I don't) and simply washing your hands normally works just as well. I believe it also symbolises being generally clean. Being ready for your day and in a good state when presenting yourself to the gods is important, I think.

2. How to pray

Here is a post I found about how to pray in Hellenic paganism. I found it very helpful and I've been pagan for years now, so I think it could help you. (Link)

Also a note, we have a version of "amen" that can be said at the end of prayers, if that sense of closing off makes prayer easier for you. I know it did for me. The word is "khaire", and as I understand it, it means "blessings" or "good wishes". You can say it to someone or to close a prayer.

EDIT: "Khaire" or "khairete" can be used. They both mean "hail" or "farewell" or "blessings". "Khaire" is to address one, and "khairete" is to address a group.

3. Ouranic and chthonic

Quick run down on ouranic and chthonic. Ouranic means celestial, and it is how we refer to gods who live on the surface and in Olympus. These include Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, etc. Chthonic means underground, and it is used to refer to gods who live in the Underworld. These are Hades, Persephone (half the year at least), and Thanatos.

In Ancient times, offerings to ouranic deities were either libations poured to them in a bowl or cup or the smoke of burning food. It is believed that the essence of the food would be carried up to the gods through the smoke. Looking at this in modern day, incense smoke is an excellent offering and we can leave food offerings and libations out on the altar along with a lit candle.

Offerings to chthonic deities usually went in the ground, so that it may be absorbed through the earth and reach the gods in the Underworld that way. Usually libations were poured out on the ground and food offerings buried in a dug hole. If you have a garden or pot plants and your offerings are safe for them then the practice can be replicated that way. I've also seen people use boxes on the altar, putting offerings inside and closing it, symbolising burying it.

Or you can simply treat chthonic deities the same as ouranic deities when giving offerings. Whatever works best for you, but this is what was done traditionally.

4. Read the myths

Read the myths of the gods you wish to worship. You learn a lot and can come to your own conclusions about your worship by learning about their stories and roles in society.

This may all seem like a lot now, and not having one singular piece of decisive scripture can be challenging if you're used to having one, but it does get easier. You'll settle and find your feet. Knowing these things will become second nature, and you will build your own practice based on them. No one's worship looks the same, especially with paganism, and that's as it should be.

Thank you so much for asking, sunshine! So sorry for the long response, but I figured I'd rather leave you with some starting points and things to investigate. Please feel free to send another ask or dm me in future if you have any more questions.

Khaire! ☀️

[counterintuitivecomics]

For the second year in a row, Christmas has been cancelled in the town of Bethlehem in Palestine due to the ongoing Israel/USA genocide. I made this design in solidarity with Palestinians of all religions - it's inspired by Tatreez, the story-telling art of embroidery passed down by generations of Palestinian women.

I used colored pencils to mimic cross-stitch patterns, centered around the beloved 8-pointed star sometimes called the Nijmat Beit Lahem (Star of Bethlehem), or simply Stars (Yaffa), Moons (Ramallah), or Crushed Sugar (Bethlehem). They’re bordered by red Al Jibal or The Mountains motifs from Gaza, to symbolize Palestinians' ancestral connection to their land.

Support Palestinians while they are alive! I ask everyone with money to spare to give to free kitchens in occupied Palestine as well as family survival funds. Here on tumblr @gothhabiba is organizing urgently needed funds for Samar Abu Alwan's family - donations of $75+ get a stunning custom-designed tatreez piece (V: gothhabiba P: paypal.me/Najia, C: $NajiaK, with note 🍓 or "strawberry").

Learn more: Tatreez Traditions, Tirazain Digital Archive, Tatreez Star Motifs (Palestine Studies), Tatreez and Tea, Lina's Thobe, and Palestinian Embroidery Traditional Fallahi Cross-stitch (free PDF)

[charonarp]

Here's a little sneak peak on what to expect on the page talking about the Tu'la region!

(Aka, basically most of the information out of what's likely going to be 2-paged section since there's not a lotta info on Tu'la lol)

Totally not sharing this because I made art I'm proud off .>. (Edit: I just realized there's some information I forgot to put into this, so the final version will have a few more words :p It's just the characteristics on cursed Meif'was - aka people who were cursed into being Meif'was)

I've said it before (somewhere), and I'll say it again. I want this pdf to be as beginner friendly as possible, whether it be for both new players and new DMs.

I won't be adding detailed stuff from specific sources, or be blatantly taking things from copyrighted material and directly placing them in here (I think the closest thing that might be iffy is stuff I've taken from Daggerheart that's intended to help players and DMs create custom societies/communities, but hopefully it's okay since I'm only taking the name and basic descriptions they give rather than the entire card). - This feature can also be applied to existing regions to flesh them out if you want to take things into your own hands and explore regions that have not been explored yet in MCD/DR.

Now, if you read it, I'm sure some people might be a bit upset that there's no homebrewed Meif'wa race made from scratch. Here's the thing...there's a lot or races in D&D 5e (2014), and there's even a "Lineage" rage from Tasha's, which essentially allows you to make your own race.

And to be honest...not much is known about the characteristics of Meif'was outside of them looking and occasionally acting like cats? Besides that, I couldn't really find anything that could help them stand out as their own race.

So, instead of making it a whole thing... I've instead put down a suggestion that, since the players are the creators of their characters, that they should be able to use any race (within reason) to define their character's appearance and function. This will also be applied to the Lu'pine/werewolf race, in some degree.

Personally, I'm someone who tends to view races, or "species" as they're now called since the 2024 version, as a guideline. Simply put, if I want my character to look a little strange or have a unique feature from the norm, I'll take a race that suits it best and change it up.

Take Tieflings for example. Tieflings are depicted to be devil/demon-like, but in most cases, even in D&D's Forgotten Realms, demons and devils can look like a lot of things, and there's even some anthropomorphic entities that are classified as demons/devils. What's stopping you from playing a fox-like character with an infernal heritage? Or someone who looks like a basic human but with infernal traits?

There's also the Owlin race, which is depicted to being an anthropomorphic owl that can be medium or small sized. I'm someone who likes to draw human faces, so what's stopping me from playing a human-looking guy with large bird-like wings?

I want this PDF to encourage creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. I've played with many players and GMs who are way too stiff with their creativity, mainly when it comes to character creation.

Sure, a human is meant to be generic, but what's stopping you from making them be more doll-like thematically? You're not changing the way they function, but you are changing the way they appear and behave. Systematically, this way of creativity is harmless.

There are subraces of all kinds, and all of them can't be covered entirely in official content. Another reason I'm not adding homebrew races or classes into this is not just because of balancing reasons, but because some DMs might not be open to homebrew, or some players might get nervous or uncomfortable with homebrew creations (like I am).

I do plan on making a page that'll be a kind of guide on how to "mix and match" certain things, though mainly in the terms of backgrounds. Did you know that, apparently, you can change your background feature to whatever feature you want if you're not happy with it? I DIDN'T UNTIL EARLIER THIS WEEK!

I'm also adding a few examples of homebrewed rules some games tend to have, since I'm sure some (or most) members of this community are not experienced in D&D 5e on a personal level. (Examples are bonus action healing potion, secret death saves, etc. I will be throwing in a personal rule I made for my games as an option.)

Anyways, enough of me rambling. Here's a closer shot of the Meif'wa guy I made! Was gonna make three to show range, but I got tired and I ended up liking him a lot -w- No name for him though... But I might just keep it that way for fun lol

Hydrate!

[cityof2morrow]

Social Scenes: Lifesyles

Published: 8-07-2023 | Updated: 11-21-2023 (pdf update) *Due to character limits, all gameplay instructions have been moved to the gameplay PDF.

SUMMARY The Social Scenes series explores social gameplay in The Sims 2. Whether you’re a storyteller or casual simmer, these mods will help you better manage the social landscape in your game.

Lifestyles (Version 1) (Simmons 2023) add new levels of personality and social gameplay to Sims 2. Sims will recognize and respond to others based on group membership (or lack thereof).

Assign, randomize, and edit lifestyles for all sims.

Customize behaviors in five categories: Wrath, Theft, Violence, Indiscretion, and Disrespect.

Create designated meeting spots for lifestyle groups to build relationships.

New “Ask About Lifestyle” social.

Devotion and zeal towards lifestyles evolve via age and talk/ask/hang out socials. Attraction/relationships remain unchanged unless your sim becomes too zealous.

Have sims convert others to their lifestyle group.

Non-intrusive, runs mostly in the background.

Unlike Greek house events (University EP), or dates and casual group outings (Nightlife EP), lifestyles aren’t mini-game scenarios. Lifestyle assignments are permanent unless changed by in-game events (i.e. conversion), and groups can have unlimited members. Sims are limited to one lifestyle group at a time.

DETAILS Requires all Eps/SPs. Lifestyles (Version 1) (Simmons, 2023) is a cosmetic edit of G-Rated Religion (Almighty Hat and Larky, 2016) and Religions/Angels & Nurses (Hatch, 2017-2019). Most credit for this mod is due to work by previous modders. My version generalizes in-game text from “religions, deities, tenets, faith, zeal, nun/sister” to “lifestyles, groups, devotion, zeal, friend” a la Sims 4 (2015; 2019; 2022). While explicit religious language is removed, you can still create religions if you wish. This mod includes NPC data which must be removed separately from package files when uninstalling. See notes for uninstallation below. DOWNLOAD (choose one) LIFESTYLES V1 from SFS | from MEGA GAMEPLAY PDF from SFS | from MEGA read about installation, gameplay, troubleshooting, compatibility, uninstallation, and more. READ PICTORIAL (tutorial w/ pics) HERE. CREDITS Thanks: Conflict Reports: @kaylynn-is-typing. Simmers, especially modders with open policies. Sources: G-Rated Religion (Almighty Hat and Larky, 2016), Religions/Angels & Nurses (Hatch, 2017-2019), Sims 4 (EA, 2014-Present).

NOTES Altered Text Lists: Dialog prim string sets (0x0000012D/301), Attributes (0x00000100/256), and MakeActionString prim string sets (0x0000012E/302).