#photoshop just can't handle it anymore

[freckleslikestars]

Vala being Vala in Stargate SG-1 9.01 Avalon pt. 1

[anonymous-dentist]

Playing fast and loose with the rules here, but: an Ordem Paranormal AU (kind of.)

-

So, okay, here's the thing: Roier really doesn't believe in ghosts anymore. Ghosts aren't real, demons certainly aren't real, none of it is!

What is real is Instagram, and so that's what he does best: Instagram.

But the thing is- the thing is! Roier doesn't believe in ghosts, but he's pretty sure his bosses do, because all he does at work is photoshop cheap-looking graphics together and post 'Paranormal Safety Tips'.

"Some people may not realize that they're getting involved with the supernatural," Mr. Veríssimo says, "It's important to make sure that they're at least somewhat protected."

Which is fine and all, but also. Ghosts aren't real. Neither are demons- demons especially aren't real.

But Roier does his job, and he does it quite happily. It's decent pay, especially considering he's been in Brazil for just under a month now and this was the only place to actually respond to his job application. He gets to work from home. He gets one free coffee at a local cafe once a month.

That's right. Roier is the first ever social media manager for the Ordo Realitas, and he's doing a great job at it.

...But also. Ghosts aren't real. Neither are demons. Hell isn't real, and neither is the Devil. Blood is blood, and it doesn't breathe.

(Usually.)

-

Roier's neighbors like to argue all day and throw things and cause immense destruction towards themselves and their property, so Roier usually ends up spending at least one afternoon a week at the nearest library doing his job and watching YouTube videos.

He likes the library. It's quiet-ish, and it's across the street from this really good restaurant that makes Mexican food that almost tastes like the genuine article.

He especially likes the librarian: the one with the scars and the freaky vibes. He doesn't blink a lot, and Roier isn't sure he's ever seen this guy breathe, but that's fine. He always saves a table near an outlet for Roier and his laptop, and he doesn't question the absolutely freakish shit Roier has to make for his company's Instagram page.

Like today's 'Paranormal Safety Tip': 'If you find yourself face-to-face with a restless spirit, it's important to remain calm. Loud noises startle spirits, so stay quiet and back away slowly. Chances are, you'll get out of the situation unharmed. Once in a safe location, call the Ordo Realitas, and we'll send an agent out to handle the spirit for you!'

The text is the second photo out of two on the post. The first photo is going to be a MS-Paint sketch of a pissed-looking cartoon ghost holding a shotgun and shouting, in a white speech bubble, "I'm going to shoot you!!! >:("

Roier doesn't have a mouse, so he draws using his trackpad, and the librarian watches from over Roier's shoulder and only laughs a little.

"Shut up," Roier huffs. "It's art!"

"It is," the librarian agrees. "But that isn't what ghosts look like."

Roier turns around to glare at him. "What, and you know?"

The librarian nods.

Roier turns back around. Everybody's a critic...

"Don't you have a job to be doing?" he taunts.

"Normally, yeah, but nobody else is here," the librarian responds. "It's just us."

He pulls out the chair opposite Roier and sits, arms crossed across his chest. This close together, Roier notices that some of the scars on the librarian's arms almost seem to make patterns: triangles, spirals... words? Huh.

Whatever, that isn't any of Roier's business. So what if his favorite librarian is a shady guy? So is Roier! He can't judge.

But, looking up from his laptop (and from the librarian's very nice arms), Roier notices that there really isn't anybody else in the library. He hadn't even noticed how quiet it had gotten, he was so caught up in his masterpiece drawing. All of the usual patrons- the old man reading the newspaper, the mother and her children in the corner, the students arguing over their latest project- are all missing. So are all of the other librarians.

"Huh," Roier smartly says.

He looks back at his laptop, and then he starts scrolling down through the Instagram page. He's sure that he's written something up about sudden disappearances...

"I was honestly surprised to find you over here," the librarian continues. "I figured you would have gone where everybody else did."

Roier shakes his head. "Nah, I'm here. I've got shit to do, man. Important shit."

The librarian nods. "Instagram."

Roier looks up from his laptop and points a finger at the librarian.

"Work," he corrects, waggling his finger just a little. "I'm doing work."

"You're drawing shitty ghosts and posting them on Instagram."

"And I'm getting paid for it. I'll fucking take this over my old job."

"Really? What was your old job?"

Roier thinks back to Mexico and the weeks leading up to his wedding. Sitting outside of his soon-to-be husband's window at night with binoculars, following him around town, slashing his tires so he wouldn't leave to go to the bar when Roier had a game night planned between them.

"Surveillance," he quickly says. "Like, cameras and shit. It was boring, though. Lots of waiting."

"Sounds fun, honestly." The librarian shrugs; his leg bounces under the table hard enough to shake it, nervous. "I could handle that."

"What, is librarian-ing that boring?"

"No, but it's a lot more socializing than you'd think. It can be a bit... much sometimes."

Roier nods sympathetically. He's more of an introvert than a lot of people think he is, especially now after... after everything.

He frowns as he reaches the bottom of the Instagram. Nope, nothing about weird group disappearances.

...It's probably fine?

Roier cranes his neck to try and look over the librarian's shoulder.

"Where is everybody?" he asks.

The librarian shrugs. "I was on my break. I came out of the break room, and everyone was gone."

He turns his head to try and follow Roier's gaze.

"Sometimes we do community events," he continues, "but I don't think that there was one scheduled for today."

"Huh," Roier says, a perfect echo of when he had last said it. "That's kinda weird, right?"

"...Yeah."

They both sit there in silence for a moment before the librarian awkwardly clears his throat and turns his head to the side.

"Should we... look for them?" he asks.

Every single post that Roier has done for the Ordo Realitas has ended with him telling the public to call the Ordo when they're experiencing something paranormal in nature. So... should he call them?

But also. He's the Ordo Realitas. He's the guy who goes through all of the dms the Ordo gets on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook... everywhere!

Besides! Ghosts aren't real! Neither are demons.

So Roier pushes back his chair and stands.

"Come on," he tells the librarian, hurriedly packing his laptop away in his bag and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I bet they just went outside. We probably missed a fire alarm or something."

"We would've heard a fire alarm," the librarian huffs.

But he stands, anyway, and he joins Roier as he starts making his way through the library.

It isn't a huge library, is the thing. It's small. Its shelves are short enough for Roier to easily be able to see over the tops of them. There's only one main room, and then there's the break room that the librarian seems to believe is also completely empty. There is one set of main doors at the front of the main room, and then there are a few windows along the walls.

As Roier and the librarian pass through the shelves and make it into the open area in the middle of the room- where the circulation desk is, Roier notices a weird chill in the air that he swears wasn't there a minute ago.

"Huh," says the librarian, looking down at their feet, "maybe there was a fire, after all."

Roier looks down, too. His nose wrinkles. This, he remembers posting about.

A thin layer of smoke covers the floor, not quite enough to reach halfway up Roier's shoes. It's cold, of course it's cold. It isn't even smoke, really. It's freaky mist... stuff.

Roier's hand tightens around the strap of his bag: white knuckles and stinging palm. Not again...

The librarian swings a foot through the mist absently; the mist kicks up briefly, but it settles back down almost immediately.

What did that post say, again? God, Roier needs a rubber bracelet saying, 'WWMVD?': What Would Mr. Veríssimo do?

Roier has met Mr. Veríssimo only twice, and he had a gun in his hands both times.

Roier does not have a gun now.

...But, really, are guns even necessary? It's just mist, right?

Only just a little freaked out, Roier shuffles a step closer to the librarian.

"Maybe we should get out of here," the librarian says, reading Roier's goddamn mind. "I mean. If there is a fire, we definitely need to leave."

Roier nods in agreement. "Yes. Definitely."

Neither of them move.

Roier jumps and bumps into the librarian as a book falls from a shelf on the other side of the room.

The librarian grabs him by the arm and stabilizes him, not letting go.

They both look in the direction of the fallen book.

"Dude," says Roier, "I think your library is haunted."

"We're in Brazil," the librarian responds. "I think every building is haunted here."

Roier nods. Makes sense. Ghosts aren't real, but Brazil is probably haunted as shit. That's why the Ordo Realitas is based here and not in, like, Paraguay. Or something.

They stare at the book some more. The mist reaches towards it like a needy baby, but it doesn't quite make it.

"You're a librarian," Roier says, "you should go pick that up."

The librarian shakily sighs, "Yeah. I should, shouldn't I?"

He sucks in a breath, lets it out slowly. Straightens his shoulders. Marches towards the book, pulling Roier along with him; Roier doesn't fight too much. He doesn't want to be alone right now, either.

They get to the book.

The librarian looks down at it.

Slowly, he bends down. He picks the book up with one hand.

And then he immediately drops the book and skitters back a few steps, bumping into Roier's chest and almost knocking them both over.

Panicked-sounding, the librarian wheezes, "It's hot!"

"It's a book!" Roier argues. "It can't be hot!"

The librarian shakes his head rapidly. "It's hot. It's warm. Like you."

Through all the terror in Roier's heart, he manages a faint blush.

"Are you really calling me hot right now?" he asks.

The librarian looks back at him with a very unhappy expression: wide eyes, unblinking.

"The book was breathing," he wheezes. "Dude, we need to go."

Breathing books... that's new.

Oh, no. That's new. That means that Mr. Veríssimo doesn't know about it yet. That means that it isn't on the Instagram yet. That means that it's Roier's job as social media manager to get it on the Instagram.

Nose wrinkling in disgust, Roier shakes the librarian off of him and crouches down next to the book. He pulls out his phone with shaking hands, opens the camera app. Takes a picture of the book's cover- a children's book: Learn Shapes With Bippi.

"Oh my God, you really are an Instagram guy," the libarian flatly says.

Roier waves him off with a 'Shush!'.

He grabs the book's cover by the corner with his thumb and pointer finger, and it takes everything for him to keep holding it because hooooly shit, it's breathing. It's warm and it's breathing and Roier swears there's a heartbeat, he swears!

"This sucks," he declares. "One more picture, and we're out of here."

He flips the cover over, ready to take a picture of just the title page, but he doesn't even finish reading the title again before dropping his phone and screaming and falling back onto his ass and scrambling backwards like an upside-down spider because oh God what the fuckOh GodWhatTheFuck-

"What the fuck?" the librarian screeches. "Alan?"

The face inside of the book lets out a moaned, pained breath. It blinks slowly, the page it's on trembling with the exertion. Its eyes are open and blank and staring and red and staring at Roier and- and its mouth! It's open and gaping and black and entirely too deep-seeming for the front page of a children's book. No nose, but two nostrils right in the middle of the page opening and closing with every ragged breath the face takes in. No skin, just the faintest indentation of a human face's internal musculature. No bones, just muscles, just muscles-

"'Alan'?" Roier gasps. His back bumps against the librarian's legs; the librarian pulls him up by the back of his shirt and tries to push him behind him. Yeah, no, Roier is the professional here. He's... he's the professional!

The librarian shakily nods. "Children's librarian. He's new. He's-"

"He's a fucking book!" Roier shouts. "What the fuck? Is this normal?"

"What? No! Of course it isn't normal!"

"Well! I don't know Alan! This could be normal! Who knows?"

"I know!" the librarian exclaims. He's still looking at the book. "Why is he a book!"

"How should I know?"

"You're the ghost guy!"

"Ghosts aren't real!"

The face groans and gurgles. The book it's in shakes, and it shakes so hard that it starts to move.

It starts to move right towards Roier and the librarian.

Roier grabs the librarian by his sleeve and starts tugging him away. Fuck his phone, fuck his phone! Mr. Veríssimo can just get him a new one! It's only fair! What the fuck!

"Cell... bit..." the face rasps.

The librarian grimaces.

"What the fuck is a 'Cellbit'?" Roier asks.

"Me," the librarian responds.

"Nice," Roier comments. "Stop looking at it. Let's go!"

But the librarian- Cellbit- doesn't budge, even with all of Roier's pulling.

"But... it's Alan," Cellbit insists. "He's a book. Is-" (He looks around the library, turning more and more pale with every passing second.) "-is everybody a book now?"

"Um," says Roier, looking around with him.

Now that he's looking, he can see that every single book on every single shelf around them is quivering in the same way the Alan Book is. There's a faint droning buzz around them that Roier is starting to think is actually hundreds of thousands of moaning, groaning, dying book faces.

He's going to be sick.

"This wasn't on the Instagram," is all he says before grabbing Cellbit firmly by the wrist and pulling him with all his strength away from the shelves. This time, Cellbit goes along with him even after jerking his wrist out of Roier's hold.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Cellbit shouts as they run. "People don't just become books!"

"I know that!" Roier replies. "This is fucked up, man!"

Another book falls from a shelf and starts wiggling towards them. And then another, and another, and another, and Roier knows that each one has a face inside. Every single one was a person ten minutes ago, but now. Now they're faces. In books. Flesh books. With heartbeats. And lungs.

Roier jumps over a fallen book. He glances down as he does so and gasps as he watches the cover fly open by itself and as the face on the title page snaps upwards and tries biting him with teeth that weren't there two seconds ago.

"They have teeth?" he cries. "Ew!!"

"They're book faces!" Cellbit huffs. "Why wouldn't they have teeth?"

"Fuck this. Fuck this!"

They make it out into the open area and the circulation desk. But the entire library around them is shaking and moaning and screaming- oh, the screaming!

Hundreds of books litter the floor slowly inching their ways towards Roier and Cellbit. They're all screaming as they drag themselves across the rough carpet.

Oh, God. The kids. Every person in this library except for the two of them are books. Including the kids.

"Doors," Cellbit wheezes, nodding towards the library doors.

Roier nods. "Doors."

They look at each other briefly before nodding in sync and taking off for the doors. Books fall all around them, tumbling to the floor and crawling after them with garbled screams and moans of pain.

"I'm trying to think," Cellbit breathes.

"Well, don't! Just run!" Roier snaps.

Cellbit ignores him and continues: "I wasn't holding a book. You weren't holding a book. We're fine. Alan was re-shelving the kids' section. He's a book."

He dodges to the side as a book lunges at him from its shelf.

"Okay?" Roier asks. "And?"

"And I bet everybody else touched a book!"

"We touched books!"

"But these ones are- fuck!" Cellbit swears and kicks a book that was trying to bite him away. "They're trying to bite us!"

Something sparks in Roier's brain.

"Werebooks?" he demands. "Really?"

Cellbit throws his hands up in the air. "I don't know! It's just a theory!"

Roier rolls his eyes, but he doesn't argue. Werebooks, sure. Those can be real. (Not ghosts, though. Or demonds.)

He and Cellbit get to the door.

They push the door open.

They run outside and wince at the sunlight blasting them right in the eyes.

But there are still books behind them. Roier can hear them.

Fuck! WWMVD?

The Ordo Realitas hunts the paranormal, Roier thinks. That's what everybody else does. But he's just a social media manager! He doesn't do that kind of stuff!

But if he doesn't stop all of those books from leaving the library, then God only knows how many of them would do... werebook things. They're disgusting. They're inhuman. They're monstrous. They're a danger to the world, and Roier has to stop them.

But how do you kill a bunch of books?

For whatever reason, his mind takes him back to the night after his wedding. Natalan stands in front of him with a lighter held to their marriage certificate, smiling as Roier struggles against his ropes to try and save their marriage from quite literally going up into flames.

"Fire," he gasps, suddenly back in the moment.

He spins to look at Cellbit, but Cellbit already seems on it. His hands are already searching his pockets desperately, and he's swearing under his breath.

Roier looks around the street desperately. There's the restaurant across the street. There are cars on the road. Tourists taking photos. Dogs. Cats.

An old man lighting a cigarette on the corner.

Roier grins and charges towards the old man.

"Sorry!" he shouts, swiping the lighter from him and ignoring the shouts (and the angry old man) following him as he runs back to the library.

Cellbit immediately reaches for the lighter. "Let me. It's my library."

But Roier ducks away and flicks the lighter open himself.

"And it's my job," he says. "Stand back."

He stares at the lighter's tiny little flame nervously, and then he looks at the doors to the library.

When he moved to Brazil a month ago, he didn't think he would be committing arson. But, well. Life isn't always what you expect it to be.

Roier takes a running start, and then he throws the lighter into the library. It hits the carpet, and the flames spread, well, like wildfire. (Thank God, the building is old...)

The books all scream in agony as they're burned, but Roier doesn't really give a shit. Fuck them, they're evil. Creepy-ass books...

He kicks the library's doors shut, and he walks back to Cellbit and the very angry old man.

Panting, Roier leans against a telephone pole. His bag is somehow still on his shoulder, but his phone is still inside.

He looks at Cellbit.

"Can I borrow your phone?" he asks. "I need to call my boss."

Cellbit doesn't look away from the library. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it with his thumbprint, and holds it out for Roier to take.

Roier puts in the Ordo's number and puts the phone to his ear. He listens to the dial tone, and he smiles as he hears the secretary's voice.

"Can you give me Mr. Veríssimo?" Roier asks her. "He's gonna want to hear this."

[rainbowsky]

Anonymous asked: this is why we can’t have nice things.. [redacted]

Speaking of 'this is why we can't have nice things', Anon...

I've closed my inbox to anonymous asks.

Congratulations Anon. After four and a half years of taking anonymous questions from people, yours was the proverbial final straw that broke the horse's back, or whatever that saying is.

Copious swearing under the cut. Prepare yourself for the sound of branches cracking and breaking in the storm.

I can't even begin to imagine why you'd think that is something I would want to see. What the actual fuck? Did it not occur to you that that might be extremely homophobic and distressing for me to see?

I don't know what part of "I don't want to hear any more of this" people don't understand but FFS, I just can't do this anymore.

I'm not here to explain, coddle, comfort or commiserate over hateful statements and badly photoshopped BS toxics are sharing on Twitter, nor am I here to compensate for people's unwillingness to curate their online experience. If I wanted to deal with Twitter BS, I'd be on Twitter.

I'm not here to be a social crutch, either. If a reader has a question about something someone posts on Twitter, they should ask them. They shouldn't come to my blog and send me an anonymous message asking me what someone else meant!

I cannot believe the sheer volume of both of these kinds of asks I get.

THERE IS A REASON I AM NOT ON TWITTER

I take curating my online experience extremely seriously, and I purposely block and avoid all of the worst toxic shit. Especially Twitter, which is a raging cesspool. What point is there in me doing all of that if I can't avoid it anyway because people bring it to my inbox?!?

At the risk of putting my foot in my mouth like WWX, I have to ask, "Who raised you people?"

This all strikes me as really basic stuff, here. Take a few seconds before you send an ask, and reflect!!

Is this something that belongs on another platform? Is there a really good reason why I'm bringing it to this platform?

Is this something rainbowsky wants to hear about?

Is this something rainbowsky has repeatedly, repeatedly told people not to fucking send?

Is this something I should be handling myself by simply blocking and ignoring the person who posted it? Do I really want to play the role of spreading toxic, fucked up lies and garbage farther and wider than where I found it?

Is rainbowsky the right person to ask about this, or should I be asking the person who posted it?

Do I really need to be anonymous for this? Why can't I message rainbowsky privately, or reply in the comments of a post? Why do I want to hide my identity for this simple question or comment? How does being anonymous impact any relationship building or community building that could be happening?

Have I considered rainbowsky's feelings and experience in all of this?

If I haven't taken some basic steps to make this a collaborative, positive, community building experience for rainbowsky, why should he want to post my ask on his blog?

From now on if somebody has a question for me they can damn well do it off Anon. If you don't want me to publish your name say so in your ask and I will respect your wishes, but I will know who you are and you will be accountable to me for what you send. End of fucking story.

Sorry for the bitchiness, please don't take it too personally. I am just really at the end of my tether. My life is stressful enough as it is without having to deal with stuff like this.

[emhm]

Was curious, do you have like a price range in mind for how much Solar's parts (or any of their parts) cost or is it just kinda up to interpretation? Idk I just always wondered how expensive it was 'cause I was like well considering all the sensors and other robotics in it it prob gets pretty pricey to buy. Although maybe the price isn't as high 'cause it seems to be a common thing added to robots, so maybe high demand drives the price down

Totally fine if you don't have an answer btw, I was just curious if you had anything specific in mind when writing about Solar buying it (well, KC buying it with Solar's money technically)

Wow... yeah I think I want to keep that fuzzy. I can maybe give you a range of what's more expensive and what isn't, sort of? Because the DCA is an older model and I don't have a good sense as to whether that would make the parts harder to get, or if Fazbear would make sure they stayed in small batch production. [Likely] Also if it would mean that the parts themselves were simpler/cheaper to make because they're less sophisticated? We know from TSAMS that Sun and Moon have much smaller hard drives then Earth at least. And specifically for EMHM; the blue-screening/crash and restart that happens when things get too intense is a function of the old software. They have plenty of case sensors but too many of them going off at once is overwhelming. It's like trying to play a video, download something, and simultaneously use photoshop on a 5000x3000 pixel image while using Win95 on a really old laptop. They can't always handle it. They're also not getting regular software updates anymore unless Moon is the one doing it. Eclipse's are particularly vulnerable to viruses and crashing because they often don't take good care of themselves. [Self-loathing, self-destructive behavior. Hence why Lunar/Monty was able to give Eclipse a malware virus while he was still in Sun.] But the actual dicks and sleeves would be modular for other types of anamatronic frames. It's just whatever will physically fit in the crotch area. And the sleeves are the cheapest because it doesn't have a rocker mechanism to make it move out of the torso and lock in place or a panel to slide over it when it's not being used. It's just a big bundle of wires, a valve like a sprinkler hose for oil to seep out from the reservoir bottle and a tiny card for the motherboard. Things like rays are probably cheap, just static parts. Endo arms and legs are more expensive because they're specific to the model type. Spines, feet, necks and skyhooks would be VERY pricey because it has to bear their whole weight. [Good metal] The worst things to replace would be the hands and the head. [Lots of complex sensors and moving parts.] Solar's cock purchase in particular was difficult mostly because he hadn't clocked a lot of hours on that first check and he was really stressing that it needed to be perfect for Moon. Also he's not working directly with kids like Sun and Moon [less liability] AND he's a new employee. He doesn't get paid as much as them and he's not getting as many hours just working the theater. It opens after the Daycare and closes before it too. He's just late coming back sometimes because the space is a mess [small kitchen + the seating area to clean and a lot of carpet to vacuum.]

[freebooter4ever]

There's a whole bunch of things wrong with the new computer - it isn't much more powerful than the old and can't handle the latest version of photoshop. Files that used to have 300+ layers just can't be opened anymore whereas my old computer opens it fine. This new photoshop version can barely handle THREE layers. Three. I can't begin to describe how fucking discouraging this all is. I think tomorrow i will call adobe and cry until they give me a damn 2017 installer. This isn't an issue with zbrush. The latest zbrush is fine because its an actual fucking quality program. Fuck photoshop -__- if anyone has suggestions for alternative programs with pencil like sketch capabilities, i might actually consider switching.

AnYwAY have this quick doodle of geno, at least he's beautiful even if computers suck.

edit: illustrator friend to the rescue - he says switch to 2021, which i think is still an option. so guess im trying that tomorrow. god damn it i hate subscription models i hate bloated software that adds bullshit to justify the monthly expense, i hate it all :(

[tsukioreo]

I heard you were having some troubles with devices breaking for you and so you’ve opted to doing commissions? I’m unable to pay for a big commission but I was wondering if you have a patron so I could support you there? I’d love to be able to support you but as I said I currently am unable to pay a large sum for a commission sadly, though I would love to one day as your art is magnificent. Thank you and have a nice day! <3

Oh wow that's like... so damn adorable and sweet ?? I don't have a patreon sadly tho I have a ko-fi ( https://ko-fi.com/tsukioreo ) but it's just for donation so please don't worry about it, my laptop and phone are not related to my art, not completely so I feel kinda not legitimate to ask help about it...

Tho I'm taking the opportunity to rant about my current situation cause it's just blowing my mind and I am so super exhausted on a daily because of it.

I have (well had now yeay -_-) a lenovo legion laptop which was my everyday useful, very good for staying at anytime with my rabbit in the living room and playing some games here and there, photoshop, the basic. Tho I had a crack on the top lid and because of that I was scared to close it and decided to repair that issue since the cracked appeared to get bigger. I gave it to a repair shop ( just remindind that I live in Japan so shops with english speakers is a bit rare, I speak japanese tho for some technical issues I prefer to be able to understand everything fully and since no one speaks french, english is somewhat possible to find ). They gave me a diagnostic with so many problems in the laptop : a fan which was broken, the lid, another crack in a screw hole or whatever that was and the hinges which had to be changed. The shop has good review so I didn't question it and I got pics so yeah alright I accept to repair it for 55.000yen, which is a lot of money considering it's more than half of my salary. But I want to repair it, my mom gifted me this computer and I love it. After I got a call from the shop that the replacement pieces have arrived I gave the machine and I was told that I could get it back the same day or the next. I didn't have any news the next day so I decided to call and on the phone "Oh yeah, thanks for calling, well bad news your computer isn't responding anymore" well great my computer worked absolutely fine, never had any issue. They said that probably the fan they installed fried my motherboard so it's just... dead. The repair service killed my laptop.

To make it even better, the day I gave my laptop to them, the same night I noticed my phone back camera had ceased to work... How great right. In Japan, it's like COMMON to use QR code to order at the restaurant etc so I absolutely need it. It's an iPhone, and it's not under warranty so I can't go through Apple or it'll cost way too much in here, I decided to go to an electronic shop, with again a lot of good reviews, to handle it. They don't speak english but we understand each other well enough. I was told that the new camera would arrive in 2-3 days and here I am a week later still waiting. They also scared me by saying that there is a risk the screen would crack while opening the device and if it happens I'd have to pay extra 30.000yen for the new screen, dude isn't it your job to repair things without breaking those further ?? What is going on, is it so normal what the hell.

So for the laptop we decided that they would order a computer (used one) to replace mine, almost identical except for the CPU, and that they'd refund me 10.000yen of the price I paid, which isn't so bad and actually I don't have much choice. But still they need so many days, it's been like what, 4 days the other laptop got delivered and I got a call about the keyboard cause japanese keyboards don't have as much symbols as french ones and I need those to write in my language.. And that'd take another 2 days to just change the keyboard.

I am just soooo tired of the situation, especially cause I am finally going to vacation with my SO next week and they don't make the problem they created a priority... and the phone shop keeping to say everytime I ask for news on the phone "yeah it will arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow" for a week now...

So sorry for the rant but I am so damn stressed, it has nothing to do with you guys and I am so happy to have your support, honestly it's my only fuel right now. I haven't drawn for a week and getting that commission helped a lot, tho messages and love will always remain the best.

I appreciate all of you, thank you always

❤️

[wastelandhell]

do you have any tips or tutorials for making clothing mods? i want to put in custom clothes so bad but all of the loverslab tuts arent very helpful

I'd love to help you, but I don't really know any tutorials, I kinda figured everything out by fumbling around. If you're just looking into making mashups I have this guide, but it is /very/ much a wip and may not be very clear.

The best way to get into modding is by digging through game files and other mods, get an idea for how the game handles textures and material files so you can make your own. Once you understand how to format a mod and what types of files you need it kinda 'clicks' how to make a mod.

I found learning to convert outfits from one body to another a very good introduction to making outfits, it teaches you the basics of using outfit studio to manipulate meshes and add animation weights. This is the guide I reference.

99% of what I do is look at vanilla assets and ask myself 'how can I copy this?' You can also find a mod similar to what you want to make and poke through their files.

Here is an ask I've answered before with useful links.

Getting custom outfits in the game is more complex than I could answer in an ask, but I can give you a very brief run down. This not a guide.

If you're looking to import outfits from other games you need to get them in a format you can open in blender. from here you can export them as an obj, or straight to a nif with pynifly. In theory you can attach materials and add weight here but I prefer to use outfit studio.

Convert the textures to what the game is expecting, if you're porting from new games you'll have to do some editing to get them to work with fo4s old diffuse, normal, spec (specular on red channel/gloss on green) system. This is different depending on what game you're ripping from, I just use my best judgment. I use photoshop to edit textures and icestorms toolbox to convert them to dds. Set the files up, copy a vanilla material with similar properties to what you want, and point it to the new textures.

Getting a custom outfit in game is a lot like converting an outfit from one body to another. Import the obj file into outfit studio and attach the material file you created to it for the textures to appear. Open a reference mesh, and just like converting outfits you will use the tools to make it match the body shape and add animation weights, and export it as a nif.

Original custom outfits are a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Making the model is the bulk of the work, and is not specific to fo4. You can follow any 3d modelling guide for game dev/real time for this. This will take a long-ass time, and if you have no experience in 3D it will be a massive learning curve. It took me probably 6 months of noodling before I started making anything worthwhile. My first mods sucked. My mods now are still pretty rough.

I watched a few of the flipped normals tutorials to get familiar with blender. Blender is not the easiest to use, but it's free and you can find tutorials for nearly everything. Any time I need to do anything I look up a tutorial for it.

You will be making 2 models, your high poly with all of your details, and a low poly that will actually appear in game. If you open any of the vanilla assets you will see that they are very low poly, all of the tiny details come from the normal maps that you bake from your high poly model.

Basic asset creation for a game is hipoly > retopology > unwrap > bake > texture. For clothing I started all my hipolys in marvelous designer, then cleaned them up and retopo in blender.

Marvelous designer is great if you have a background in textiles, if you know how to draft your own patterns or work from commercial ones you can easily put together realistic outfits. It is also stupid expensive, but it has a free trial. I don't have this anymore because I can't justify paying $400 a year for a program I use maybe once a month.

I use Retopoflow 3 to retopologize my models in blender to make my low polys, its technically paid but it is free on their github. I unwrap in blender and use UVPackmaster 2 to pack islands, it is a paid addon but if you do a lot of modelling it is worth it. Most people use zbrush for all this but that is notorious for being difficult to use and is beyond my skill set.

I bake maps and do textures in substance painter. If you've used photoshop before you'll pick up substance quickly. I work in the default pbr shader and convert to fo4's weird shader after, so that I can use all the smart materials made for modern shaders. Substance painter is expensive but so worth it if you find you enjoy making models. Don't get it through adobe unless you need the creative cloud space or assets it comes with, its cheaper on steam and you get to keep it forever.

Then I edit the textures in photoshop, convert them with icestorms toolbox, put everything in its proper place in the file structure, and start the 'fun' process of weighting everything in outfit studio and making the plugin. I hate this part. I wish I could just paint textures all day.

I'm hoping to make an accessory for valentines day and I'll try and keep records of the process to put together a sort of...not really a guide but to at least show how I make a custom asset and get it in game, from concept to plugin.

Sorry this is so vague but making mods is a big topic and hard to condense to an ask. If you have any more specific question please send them my way, I may be more helpful.

[diariesofapisces]

I Can't Stop Rotting.

I am really depressed. Yesterday made me feel like I have no one. If I was literally about to kill I don't know who I would reach out to. I don't trust people to be there for me. I am too scared that they will leave me and never come back. Maybe that's what pushes them away, or makes me push them away. It's a brutal toxic circle. I am a cyclone of destruction. Well, at least I was before I went on meds. Shit only hits the fan when I feel trapped. I need to feel that no matter my situation, it will always get better. I don't have an amazing family support system and I have friends but I have asked for too much already. The only person left is me. I rot away because I don't know how to stimulate myself. I have bad emotional episodes because I don't have ways to snap myself out of them. I used to use weed, food, money, friends, and fantasies about him to get back into reality. I don't want to live that way anymore. It's destructive and I don't have access to any of those things a lot of the time. That's kinda what happened yesterday. I was in a bad crying episode all day and I couldn't find a way to snap out of it. That's why I want weed because it seems like that is the only way right now. I feel like I've been doing so well sober. I would only use weed to snap out of rotting episodes but what if they made it worse. If I rely on weed and then I don't have it I will have a mental breakdown. I just got to a point where I am fine without it. Yesterday I was looking more towards getting out of the house than I was looking to smoke weed. These episodes might get worse and I don't know how to handle it. Weed dimmed the passion and motivation in my life and I don't ever want to be in that place again. I have to admit that I am a lot less motivated when I smoke weed. I just have to value being sober enough to smoke when the time is right. I have gone two months without owning weed and it's kinda a record for me. I also think if I smoke I'll rot more. I am rotting because I am super depressed and don't have a reason to live. I desperately need to find things to do that don't take things away from me. They have to be free and not destructive. I am really enjoying digital things right now. Like this blog or making collages in Photoshop. Maybe I should start practicing graphic design. I could make my own magazine for fun or take a free graphic design course. I could also research connections for my club or my career. I just need something to keep me out of bed. Even though it feels like this is the worst I have ever been I know the problem and I can see a solution arising and that is progress. I am kinda over the feeling that I need this man to survive. I do still think about him going to sleep and staying asleep but that's more about having nothing better to think about. I am getting better at accepting that no contact is the best option for me. At least until I truly don't care about him. The difference between my other attempts and now is that I actually don't want him in my life. The other times I was trying to prove something and I was trying to bait him back into my life. That of course didn't fucking work. I am different because I am no longer desperate for him, I am more desperate to move the fuck on. I am more desperate to find love and passion in my life to fill the paint hole he left behind.

[smollandkindaannoyed]

I dont know if anyone wants to hear about my intern at a highschool but I am going to tell you about it anyway.

So I am studying to become an art teacher and like I am focusing my intern on a first year class right now. Before I start venting about this class I do want to say it is a nice class, they are in general sweet kids but omg last lesson I got way to close to punching a kid.

So the lesson begins and the class in split in two right now, one doing a photoshop assignment and one doing a drawing one. The photoshop group goes to the computer room and like within less then a minute a girl comes back going "I can't find photoshop on the computer and the guys don't want to help me." And the teacher I am interning at was still explaining something to the other group so I go and help her and like after fixing it just ask the guys next to her why they wouldnt help her, dude just goes "I am to sigma to help her." And omg that is where it started for me because no, please no, why do these 14 years old kids have to be talking about the stupid wolf-pack theory that was disproven ages ago. But like I leave this be for now, do ask wether he was a Andrew Tate fan (because lets be honest from who else would they have learned this shit) and sadly yes, luckly not anymore. Did go "you know for what he was/is in prison right?" But like i left it be in this group.

Went back to the drawing group, because I am good in drawing and suck at photoshop, and I am just walking around. Checking if everyone is doing well and suddenly I hear someone say they have the N-word pass. I would like to say this class is 99% white and I am also white, in the group of boys this conversation was being held there was one boy who isnt. And I am annoyingly woke and confrontatiable, so of course for some reason I have to go and mingle with this shit. And like I do stop this convo just going like "You are white, an N-word pass is not a thing and will not make you be able to say it."

So I probably didnt change their minds but at least I ended that conversation with some grace. And then I hear that same group also talk about the god damn SIGMA MALE BULLSHIT! And like I can handle 14 year old boys talk about stupid wolf-pack theory bullshit once a day and like I said I will start a conversation when I feel like needed. So I just ask how these kids even know about the whole sigma male mindset and stuff, ANDREW TATE WHO THE FUCK ELSE! And like I just went "You know the whole alpha male stuff is based on a science expirement that was disproven by multiple other scientist (also I know they are probably called different but not sure) and like that Andrew Tate legit is being questioned for human trafficing."

And then these kids found out that this was the shit that would make me mad. And then other kids of this class where catching on I was getting mad. So this kid that usually is nice to me is just on his phone constantly so I ask if he is not going to use it to look for pictures to use he could give the phone to me. Instead of doing that he puts on De Kabout Dans (a fucking dutch children song and also absolute club classic cause every dutch/belgium person under 30 knows it from their childhood) on and then just puts the phone in his pocket. AND LIKE WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! I CANT TOUCH THE KID! And like calling their actual teacher just felt like showing them I couldnt handle them.

And like I got him to turn it off but when that was finished some other kid was drawing on her desk. And like I dont care that much, I do it a lot, but the school doesnt allow it so she had to clean it. Asked her to do it, she starts doing it with a piece of paper and just smudges it all over the desk instead. And like their is a sink on the classroom so I just ask her to get a sponge with some water on it and just clean it, of course 'she doesnt know where they are' while I legit pointed at them and she has been in this classroom longer then I have been. So well 'you could clean it for me right' and omg I am so annoyed by these kids because I got her to clean it but only after asking her to do it like 5 times.

So ye my "omg I am going to punch a kid"-stories of my interning at a highschool :)

[durolenz]

Customized Beer Labels: How Brewers Can Make Their Products Stand Out

Beer is a popular drink around the world. Whether you're enjoying it with friends or just relaxing on your own, there are many reasons to enjoy your favorite brews. One of the best ways to enjoy them is by pairing them with good food and great company. 

To catch the attention of customers, your beer labels must stand out from the crowd. Great beer labels can make or break an independent brewery. Custom Beer Labels come in all shapes and sizes, so there's no doubt that you'll be able to find one that suits your needs perfectly!

Enhance your brand with beer labels.

Beer labels can be used to showcase your brand and promote events, new beers, or other products. Custom Beer Labels are a great way to set yourself apart from competitors. They can also show off the unique story of your brewery or business.

You can choose from various designs that fit in with the aesthetic of your brewery. If you have an established logo or design style, it may also make sense to stick with that look on your beer labels. You might also want to create something that stands out from similar products in stores by using bright colours or an unusual shape for the label itself.

Boost visibility with bold colours and designs.

Your beer should stand out from the rest of the pack, so don't be afraid to use bold colours and designs on your beer bottles. A simple design that is easy to read, remember and relate to your brand is ideal for making products stand out.

Beer bottle labels go beyond the bottle.

Beer labels can go beyond the bottle. They're not just for bottles anymore. Customized beer labels can be used on cans, kegs, glasses and other bar supplies, merchandise, and even tap handles. You may find that your customers are more likely to buy your beer if they see their name on it!

But before we get into how you can use customized beer labels for all of these purposes, let's take a look at how you can get started with customizing your own beer label designs in Photoshop or Illustrator.

It allows you to add personalization to your beer.

Custom beer labels are a great way to add a personal touch to your brew, whether it's for a special occasion or just because you want to. 

Or, if you're trying to impress your boss with an innovative marketing campaign, personalised beer labels can be used as promotional materials at events or conferences.

They can help improve customer recognition and brand awareness by making product labelling more memorable; they make it easier for customers who have seen one of your products before but don't remember which one it was (this is especially helpful when selling multiple items), and they increase sales by increasing purchase intent (customers will feel more inclined to buy something if their own name is on it).

Conclusion

Just remember that you can't go wrong with a custom beer label. Whether you choose to stick with a traditional look or try out some more adventurous designs, these labels will help your beer stand out from the crowd and let customers know that their favorite brew is in good hands. 

With so many reasons why, these labels are beneficial for small breweries, it's no wonder so many owners are turning towards them when it comes time to package their drinks!

[greyvvardenfell]

photoshop keeps ctd and even google isn’t helping so fuck it, i’m out. it’s been doing this for days and i’m sick of saving quite literally every 15 seconds ~just in case~ it decides to fuck me over. i lost hours worth of work over the weekend and it was hard enough to get going on that piece that losing it sapped all my Art Spoons. i guess it’s fine because i didn’t want to keep supporting adobe anyway (any more than my job already forces me to) but >:[

all this is to say that i’m giving krita a try (so i don’t lose all my old psd files and also yay free open source software)

[tau1tvec]

Hi how do you take such high quality screenshots? everything you post looks so crisp

Thanks!

Honestly there's a lotta things you could do to get crisper images, but it also depends when and where it is you're having trouble getting them to look their crispiest. However if your pics look fine in Photoshop, but look horrible once you've posted them, it's as simple as remembering to refer to tumblr's photo post dimensions. The pixel width doesn't matter a lot anymore, so you don't have to resize your pics down to an itty bitty 540, but the pixel height can't be too long, which is why I'll usually add a little extra width to my pics to make a long one seem "shorter", if that makes sense...

Now if your shots look crappy even in PS, a little sharpening will go a long way, I use the reduce noise option on pics, and the smart sharpen option on GIFS. When sharpening any image, don't do it until you've resized your image first.

Finally, the bigger your screenshots are, the better they will look overall, especially if you're doing a lot of editing and cropping. More pixels = more detail, at least to me, so you won't lose a lotta quality when a screenshot is cropped or sized down. When you're posting a long pic, keep this in mind, I usually screenshot mine in 2300 pixel width.

Now if you don't use a 2k or 4k monitor, you can use a plethora of programs to get bigger shots, DSR is what I use mainly, so if you've got a GPU that supports it, you can change your screen resolution in game to one higher than your monitor allows, if for a brief time, bc I wouldn't recommend playing your game like this.

There's also hotsampling programs out there, but I think a lotta simmers tend to prefer SRWE, which I'm personally not familiar with, so here's a tutorial on how to use it with The Sims 4.

HOT GIRL TIP:

Don't do anything your computer shouldn't be doing, if your GPU can't handle taking 4k pictures, just don't do it, it isn't worth it. The GPU market is dry as a desert rn, don't push the one you've got to the limit, and end up having to wait MONTHS to replace it, even taking screens at 2100 px will render perfectly decent shots, and honestly unless I'm taking long ones, I just keep mine at my native 1920 x 1080.

[sirfrogsworth]

Toxicity in Photography

I am continually amazed by how garbage the online photography community is. There is a website called PetaPixel that does a lot of fluffy photography stories. And I sometimes play this game where I will find the most innocuous, light hearted posts and see how many comments it takes before someone is just... the worst.

Today I read a story about a Buddhist monk photographer. He was cool and took cool pictures of his temple.

It took... ONE COMMENT!

It's a symptom of a greater toxic problem.

These types always seem to have a terrible understanding of humor. I have this theory that when a group of people collectively have a bad sense of humor, that can catalyze toxicity. (See: Right Wing comedy)

There was a joke about everything needing 2 memory card slots and it was started maybe 5-6 years ago. It wasn't funny even back then. But people still make this same joke in comments to this day and act like they are the first ones to ever tell that joke.

"Does it have 2 card slots?"

*in their head* "Oh boy, I'm going to get so many laughy face reactions from that one!"

Narrator: They did not get laughy faces.

I haven't been able to figure out exactly why the online photography community is so toxic. I'm involved with a few other artistic communities, and while every group of size has its share of problems, I haven't seen anything this persistent and pervasive. Usually, with a little searching, I'm able to find a chill group of people that is positive and supportive about the artform. I mean, there are plenty of photoshopper groups (like photoshop battles on reddit) that are lots of fun and don't have these issues.

I was really hoping things would mellow out as photography became more accessible and more diverse groups started joining in. But the community has made very little progress since I've been a part of it. And they have done their damndest to make those diverse groups feel unwelcome.

It is still male dominated, so that never helps. And women are often ostracized and told they are too sensitive to handle the rough and tumble world of... making art. (Seriously, some think being a pro photographer is akin to being in 'Nam.' (Okay, maybe wedding photography is that traumatic, but still.))

They all think constructive criticism has to hurt your soul for some reason. "If you can't handle a few harsh comments, you'll never survive running a business!" Then they'll often reference a photography mentor they had that was super mean to them and that's the only reason they are any good and have survived in "the business."

Again... it's art.

Whiplash should not be your guideline for teaching others.

The thick skin mentality is a fallacy. Some of the best artists have also been the most sensitive. And that sensitivity can be a big part of why their art is so beautiful.

I wouldn't be surprised if women photographers pretend to be men just so they can get information they need without hassle. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to learn photography without interacting with these communities and asking questions when you get stuck.

And there are a ton of old school gatekeepers that think you shouldn't be allowed to use things like autofocus. It's too easy, apparently. "You don't even need a photographer anymore! The camera does all the work!"

They hate when technological innovations make anything easier. I mean, I think it's great when I have one less thing to think about and can focus more on the artistic aspects. But also, when technology advances, it usually opens up a new genre that is just as complicated but in a different way. A genre that wouldn't have been possible without that innovation.

Like macro focus stacking. It's essentially microscopic photography that takes anywhere from dozens to hundreds of images and uses special software to combine them so everything is in focus. So if you take a picture of an ant, you may only get a single eye in focus with one shot. It's too small and the depth of field at that size is razor thin. There is just no way to bypass the physics and get the entire ant in focus with a single image. So if you want the entire ant's body in focus, you have to do stacking of many photos. It's super duper complicated and was only made possible by highly accurate autofocus systems.

The easy thing created a new complicated thing.

But they are unwilling to learn new things at this point, so they just grumble. I swear, some of these dudes would go back to metering using the position of the sun if they could.

And if you never developed your own photos, you just can't understand what 'real' photography is. And god forbid a teenager takes cool pictures on Instagram with their smartphone instead of a 'real' camera.

EVERYTHING HAS TO BE REEEALLLL.

Oh, and if your photos don't look good SOOC... they're garbage.

That is "straight out of camera" for the uninitiated. The idea is that you took the photo so perfectly, that no post processing is needed. This makes your photos more REAL and authentic. You are such a photo master that you don't need Photoshop or Lightroom.

Which is nonsense.

First of all, the entire idea of RAW photos is that they are to be edited. They capture oodles of information and it is your job to go through that information and pick what aspects are important to making a pretty picture.

But the other dirty little secret of SOOC... you are basically letting the robot inside your camera edit the photos for you.

You're letting an algorithm define what your photos look like instead of adjusting those variables yourself.

Robot photos seem *less* authentic if you ask me.

(Actually it's fine and there are plenty of people who do this well. But hopefully you understand the point I was making.)

People should be allowed to create their art however they are inspired. SOOC is perfectly fine if you like the way the robot does things and account for that accordingly. But so is using a smartphone and Instagram filters. I've seen plenty of amazing shots done that way. Just as I have seen amazing shots done with $40,000 Hasselblad medium format cameras.

The beauty of art is that there are so many paths available to take the same journey. And no path is wrong.

I just wish these photographers would find their chill.

My best guess is that these folks have overdeveloped hyper egos. Something about the artform just attracts egomaniacs.

They are always better than everyone else and no one could ever live up to their standards and also they know exactly the perfect gear to buy and if you choose anything else you're an idiot.

Outside of communities with ingrained bigotry, photography is one of my least favorite groups to participate in. Just seems to be full of know-it-all party poopers who are never satisfied with anything.

That's why I like finding photographers I like and admire on a more individual basis. I just bypass the community and interact with cool people more directly. Either in their comments or sometimes I'll shoot them direct messages and compliment them that way.

I just don't have the energy to brave the forums and Facebook groups anymore.

[alkalinefrog]

hey, so, I had an art related question... if all of this is too much, feel free to ignore it.

the backstory is that I've had the same laptop since early high school but recently I had a birthday (I'm 28 now). my parents got me an HP laptop, and my friend got me a tablet, which she bought off of an online friend for $30. the problem is that I haven't had new technology like... ever? none that was actually mine anyway, and certainly nothing that could handle me using it for art.

and this is especially a problem when it comes to the tablet. my friend helped me get firealpaca onto the laptop, and get the tablet set up with the right drivers, aaaaand... I cannot make one line that looks good using it. I've been using pen and paper for so long and I have a really light touch, and it feels like I have to jam the pen down to get it to register, at which point I might as well have not set the pen sensitivity to anything at all because the thickest line is the only kind I can make?? any lighter and it won't show up on the screen at all. like I can ctrl+z and it doesn't even go back a step, the line didn't get drawn. there's like a 20% chance that any line I try to put down won't actually register. and tbh this isn't really what I had wanted... it's a huion tablet, which is the brand I wanted, but I was gonna buy myself one where you can see what you're drawing on the screen of the tablet itself. not just due to coordination issues, I think I could get used to that part, but because I feel like I wouldn't be having this specific problem with getting things to register. every single line I make looks like crap with this tablet, it makes me feel like I might as well be drawing with my feet, and I've been fidgeting with settings, and it doesn't seem like anything helps. I also still don't have a mouse for the laptop yet, so I can't click and drag anything very well because it has a trackpad, so messing with sliders is already aggravating.

I feel so lost and overwhelmed, and like if I buy anything else, I'm just going to end up with more unusable stuff because *I'm* probably the problem. I just don't know anything, and trying is mentally fatiguing me so quickly... my brain knows what I want my art to look like, and my hands can do it with a real pen. I just have absolutely no clue how to make this machine produce anything.

so I guess my questions are stuff like, what equipment do you use? are there tablets that will register a light touch or am I really going to have to be this heavy handed in order to work with one? what resolution/canvas size do you usually work on? any recommendations for what program to use?

overall, I'd really like to get myself something that feels more intuitive than the tablet... honestly, I was finding some success drawing with just my finger on the touch screen of my phone at one point. there were still a lot of problems with that, but the nail in the coffin was that my phone's memory space filled up and I had to get rid of the drawing app to make it functional again (it's an iphone, which is why). maybe I should just get an ipad or something...? though, one more thing on the mountain of potential options is the last thing my crumbling ADHD brain needs. I've been taking a break from art in general because I've still maintained my 40-hours-a-week work schedule through the whole pandemic... I do 10 hour shifts and work overnight, so I technically have free time since I only work 4 days a week, but the type of work I do leaves me with no energy at all. so I've been in an art slump and I've been wanting to get out of it, but this is just making art feel impossible, even though the whole reason why I've always wished I could draw digitally is so that I can color digitally. I had been drawing things in pen and scanning them to color in photoshop, but cleanup takes so long that I literally can't produce finished work anymore. I'm out of options that aren't prohibitively labor intensive and frustrating.

this was probably way too much information, but if you have any advice I'd be really grateful.

Huh, well first off HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUDE!! Congrats on the sweet new tech (even if it's been a bit frustrating) and well-deserved celebration!

From the sounds of it I think the main issue is probably your tablet (this is pure speculation on my end though, so you know, grain of salt and all). You're right in that you shouldn't have to fight against your equipment. I have a really light touch too and I've never had the same issue. I personally don't have any experience with huion tablets, but if you're having trouble getting your lines to register then it might have been worn down by the previous user. It's not so much about buying a monitor (the screen one) vs. tablet so much as getting working equipment.

An iPad is a great alternative!! I've played around with the apple pencil and procreate and it's a super intuitive program with (obviously) super easy set up! You get the drawing on the screen AND really nice pen pressure. I'm really happy seeing it opening up new doors for more people to get into digital art!

In terms of your current laptop/tablet situation:

My set up rn is pretty pricey ngl; I have a PC desktop computer with a 16 inch Wacom Cintiq. Getting started in digital art doesn't mean you have to drop a bag on a ton of equipment right from the get go though! If you're looking for a safe small investment, I'd recommend getting a Wacom Bamboo pen tablet!

This lil' baby right here is what I started with!! I think cost-wise it floats around 70ish bucks, but that's exponentially more affordable than buying a huge monitor. One of my friends who's also a pro artist uses a similar small tablet because it works great! That's an alternative that might be worth looking into.

You can also get free trials on other drawing programs (clip studio paint is a great one!) To test and see if it's a software issue with firealpaca.

You could also try checking online forums to see if anyone else is running into similar issues, or watch some YouTube videos of people reviewing different tablets. I know this might be even more overwhelming, so I'd try and narrow the scope to focus on one thing at a time.

My best advice right now would actually be to get a mouse, or any other accessories you need. I've also been in your shoes where I was completely overwhelmed, and I can say that checking off all the small easy things makes a HUGE difference! It makes you feel more in control of the situation, and even if you're still having trouble with digital art you can at least get more comfortable using your laptop in the mean time.

You got this dude!! I believe in you!!

EDIT:

Thanks @wooliebirds!

[mimisempai]

In wine, there is truth

Summary:

Loki challenges Thor that Mobius is worthy of holding Mjolnir... Result of the challenge: A drunk Mobius and a shovel talk from Thor... Don’t you say, in wine there is truth...?

Notes:

Someone asked me on Tumblr how I thought Mobius could be if he was drunk + me messing with photoshop to put Mjolnir in Mobius' hands = this crazy little story :p

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33165526

1575 words - Rating G

"Mobius! Mobius! Mobius!"

What am I doing here? Damn Loki!

Thor's friends chanted his name, Loki looked at him with a malicious smile and Thor with a worried look.

And he, Mobius, had his hand on the handle of Mjolnir just because Loki could not help challenging his brother.

"Whoever is worthy of the hammer shall have the power!"

Thor said this in the grandiloquent tone that was his at times, twirling his hammer at the end of his hand as if it were a simple carpentry tool.

Loki stepped forward and said to him with a defiant smile, "I know someone who is worthy." He pulled Mobius in front of him.

Mobius immediately replied, "No, no, not at all."

Loki had taken on a serious look and said softly, "But I'm sure you do."

Under the cheers, Mobius inwardly pestering, closed his eyes, grabbed the handle and pulled, about to put all his strength into it, knowing that he would never be able to lift it.

Suddenly the cheering had died down and instead he heard only gasps.

He opened an eye to see that he had lifted Mjolnir four inches above the ground.

He lifted his arm again, and soon he had the hammer in the air and the gasps turned into shouts of joy and laughter.

He saw Thor smile, but saw his smile widen when he put the hammer down.

Loki simply said as he clenched his fist, "I knew it, I knew it."

Thor stood up and walked towards him. Mobius could not help but gulp as his presence was so imposing. Loki sensed his distress and moved closer to him with a protective attitude.

But Thor's face widened with a big smile, "Mobius! My friend! My brother! Let's celebrate with some good wine! Let's all celebrate! My future brother-in-law is worthy of the hammer!"

He put one arm around Mobius and the other around Loki and led them to the banquet hall.

**********

Much later Loki supported a very drunk Mobius to enter their suite in Asgard. It was the first time he had seen his lover drunk and the experience was entertaining to say the least.

Mobius was trying to lift Loki's tunic, his movements unsteady due to the alcohol.

"Why are you wearing so much clothing?" Mobius whined.

Loki had to restrain himself from laughing, "You want to take them off me?"

Mobius slowly nodded, "But I can't do it then, I'll just lift them up and take you there."

"You're barely able to stand, love," Loki replied, trying to drag a staggering Mobius toward the living room, " First of all I'm going to give you something to keep you from feeling sick after all the mead you've ingested."

"I don't feel sick," Mobius complained, letting Loki push him back to the couch.

"Right now, you're not. But wait, in a few hours you're going to hate everything."

"Not you," said Mobius, pouting, "I could never hate you.  I love you."

Loki smiled fondly as he gently ran his fingers through Mobius' hair, "So do I, but I'm still going to get you some water."

Loki went to get a glass of water, returned quickly, and got Mobius to drink, who was sitting on the couch, or rather slumped over.

He sat down next to him and asked, "Did you at least have fun?"

"Yeah, Thor's great, and so are his friends Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Vals- uh V-Volstagg." said Mobius, stuttering from the alcohol "They're all really really really cooool."

"I wonder if I should be mad at my brother for getting you drunk like that or be jealous of the fact that you love Thor and his friends."

Mobius put his arms around his neck and sat astride Loki and began to kiss him all over, "Noooo, don't be jealous sweetheart, you know I only love you, only you."

"Okay, okay," Loki chuckled. He definitely loved Mobius under the influence of alcohol.

Mobius continued, and while nibbling on Loki's ear, he whispered to him, "They are cool, but you are super cool, you are my super cool boyfriend.

"Really?" replied Loki, amused.

"Mmhmm. But Thor is cool too, and do you know why?"

"Clearly not. Enlighten me love?" Loki couldn't help the little twinge of jealousy. They had reconciled and Loki, thanks to Mobius and his constant support had managed to get past the old grudges, but every now and then it came back to bite him.

Mobius, who seemed to have perceived his change in mood despite his inebriation, kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "Don't sulk... he's cool because he said I was his brother-in-law."

"Oh... Oh." realized Loki, who then gulped as he wondered what Mobius would remember the next day.

"So I was wondering..." continued Mobius, "...when my future husband was going to take me to bed."

Loki choked, and as he lifted Mobius up and took him to their room, he wondered if he would like Mobius to remember or forget.

Then he whispered into Mobius' ear, "I'm taking you to bed to sleep, like I told you, you're too drunk to do anything, and I'd rather you remember that tomorrow if we do anything."

They arrived in the room and Loki put Mobius gently on the bed.

Once on the bed, Mobius immediately began to undress, throwing his clothes everywhere and Loki watched him with amusement.

Once almost naked, wearing only his briefs, Mobius held out his hands to Loki with an adorable pout, "Come join me sweetheart."

"Yeah I'm coming but we're not going to do anything.", Loki said, stripping off his clothes as Mobius did before, sliding in next to him and covering them up.

"Don't you want me?" Mobius whimpered with puppy dog eyes that Loki had never seen before and that made him want to send his virtue flying, but he held his ground and reassured his lover anyway.

"Of course I want it. I still want you love, but not while you're drunk. Tomorrow, when you're sober, I promise I'll show you how much I want you."

Mobius pouted and then smiled, snuggling up to Loki, his head resting on Loki's chest, "I still want you too..." then after a time of silence he whispered, clearly falling asleep, "my future husband."

Loki whose heart leapt in his chest, placed a kiss on Mobius hair, an loving smile on his face and said with a tight throat, "If you ask me, I will say yes."

**********

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The loud knocks on the door echoed throughout their apartment, even rattling the glass on the nightstand.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Loki growled, pulling away from Mobius.

Mobius whimpered, clinging to him. Loki kissed him on the forehead and whispered, "Go back to sleep. I'll see what it is and be right back."

Loki just pulled on a shirt over his boxers, not bothering to button it, he suspected who the person knocking on the door was and had no desire to make any effort.

He opened the door and as his doubt was confirmed, he sighed, "Thor.

Thor opened his mouth but Loki stopped him with one hand, "Mobius is still sleeping. So you're going to calm down and speak softly, okay?"

Thor nodded and said, "Little brother, we need to have a serious talk.

"Oh?"

Loki beckoned him in and they sat down face to face in the living room.

Loki waited for Thor to start talking.

He cleared his throat, "Loki. Mobius is a good person. Even Mjolnir has acknowledged him. So I'm here to tell you that if you ever hurt him in any way, physically or emotionally, so help me gods, I will bring down lightning on you. And before you get offended, I gave him the same speech about you last night. I told him that if he ever hurt my little brother, there was no timeline where he could hide, I would find him. Don't ruin what's between you. It's precious, even me, your idiot big brother can see how much you adore each other."

Loki, embarrassed, asked him a little abruptly, "Are you finished?" then, softening, he added, "Thank you. You may not believe it, but I really have changed, or rather, thanks to Mobius, I am finally who I want to be. So I promise you that I will do anything to preserve that."

"I'm sure you will." said Thor as he stood up and pulled Loki into one of his skeleton-crushing, breath-stopping brotherly embraces.

Then Thor whispered to him in a tone that was meant to be threatening, "Lightning...my lightning...on you" before turning away and leaving, closing the door behind him.

Loki walked back into the room, grinning.

"Who was that?" asked Mobius, sitting against the headboard and watching Loki join him.

"Thor. He came to give me a, what would you call, a shovel talk?"

"Huh?...I remember him giving me one last night, but is it an Asgardian tradition to give one to your brother?"

Loki chuckled and put his arm around Mobius' chest, "No, but my brother knows my propensity for messing up my relationships so..."

Mobius reached over and took his chin, "Not anymore sweetheart, not anymore." then pressed a tender kiss to Loki's mouth.

He then followed the line of Loki's jaw, then his cheek, to his ear where he whispered, "I remember everything I said last night... my future husband."

________

Series of Oneshot : Together, for all time, always

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

Good fucking lord these anons you've been getting...I always enjoy seeing you on my dash but tbh now scrolling down, I couldn't wait for it to be over lol (nothing against you though obviously!) Can't believe they sent even more. This is why I usually don't keep up with fandom spaces; it's all fun and games when you're with fellow fans, but the second you get negativity (and sadly, it's kind of inevitable), it becomes soul-sucking. It's not that I can't handle people thinking differently than me, but I watch figure skating for fun and leisure; so I want my experience with it to be like that (well, as much as this hell sport can allow obviously haha) Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm sending this ask, just felt like sharing some thoughts. I try to curate my online spaces as well as I can and I'm happy I found your blog. I love your positivity, spirit and your level-headedness. Hope you're feeling good. Go watch some LGC to cleanse your soul!

Thank you for this message. It's much appreciated! ❤️

I am sorry I put negativity on the dash. But now I learned how to use the "readmore" line in the Tumblr App as well. So next time to be able to skip will be easier!

Fandom spaces are a thing of their own. It's very important to know the own boundaries and also to see to take a step back when it gets too much. My boundary with that anon is definitely reached. The fun should be the focus, if it's not fun anymore it's time to leave.

I am curating my spaces a lot too and tbf I seldomly get anon's like this, but well that can happen when you have anon ask open. Tbh it's just recently that I received so many asks in my inbox, usually I would only receive a handful in half a year. Since the Olympics I receive asks almost daily.

Sometimes I think I am here far too long. 6+ years doing this blog an being a lot deeper in the fandom has taught me many lessons - good and bad ones. But also I never learned as much about different cultures and upbringing and met so many different ppl from different countries. I learned a lot about the technical side of the sport, but also scoring. And I also found fun in photography, making fanarts and creating edits with photoshop. And I just still love skating so sooo much. As much as this fandom can be tiring, it's also beautiful and fun. And as long as my feeling towards skating and fandom is mostly fun I will keep going. 😊

This got way out of topic, sorry 😅