#top free tools for creatives

[sporesgalaxy]

i shouldve played pokemon violet in spanish....

[meelsport]

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Introduction  In Digital Marketing, Staying Ahead is Crucial. As AI continues to reshape the industry, the right AI SEO software can be a momentous change for optimizing online presence. Let us explore the top AI-powered SEO tools of 2024, focusing on the advanced technologies and strategies that drive their success.  Overview of Top AI SEO Tools  Here is a quick snapshot of the best AI SEO…

[antiquatedplumbobs]

The Soddy

A CC Free Prairie Homestead

Lot size: 40x30 Price: §37,341 Lot type: Residential Location: Biscuit's Bastion, Chestnut Ridge

Homesteading and the settlement of the American west has always been a particular interest of mine and recently I've become very interested in sod houses! I toyed with the idea of recreating one in Sims but never had a good world or assets to work with. When I fell into my little building bender a few weeks ago I realized Chestnut Ridge was perfect for it and promptly hyperfixated.

This home is ideal for a couple or small family just trying to make their way in the prairie of Chestnut Ridge. The house can fit up to three sims and a baby or toddler, perhaps a bit snug for our modern standards but perfectly alright for the nineteenth century. Also comes complete with fertile fields, an empty chicken coop, a slightly decrepit horse barn, and a well stocked root cellar.

More info and download under the cut:

This house is heavily inspired by Prairie Homestead in South Dakota. When I started kicking around the idea of this build I started googling for reference photos and discovered this very cool historic site. I tried to match this build to its real life counterpart more than I usually do, as the interior that they have set up for that house was just so fun and unique feeling. The exterior is inspired by it, but sim lot constraints required more creative license. I highly recommend you look at some photos, it really is such an interesting place.

Sod houses, which were constructed by cutting hunks of the top layer of the grasslands (which were held together by the strong roots of the native grasses) were common throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and began to peter out in the early part of the twentieth century. They weren't the most luxurious accommodations, but did have the virtue of being warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Unfortunately as the walls were made from the earth, bugs could be an issue and I've given this lot the creepy crawlies bug challenge for ~realism~. It's also off-the-grid, and has a functional root cellar (meaning I put the fridge down there, have fun in thunderstorms).

This lot is fully playtested (might have been the most I've played in a while actually, I wanted to make sure the crib worked). Please please enjoy this build. I know I always say it but this one is actually my favorite, and making this work with the constraints of Sims 4 terrain tools was quite the undertaking and I'm so pleased with it.

If you use it please tag me in any photos, I love seeing what y'all get up to with my builds!!

Gallery ID: antiqueplumbobs

SFS | Google Drive

@publicvanillabuilds @twentiethcenturysims @maxismatchccworld @mmoutfitters

[godbirdart]

Looking at your recent commissions, those backgrounds are soo pretty!! Do you have any tips for backgrounds? I always struggle with them :>

aAA many many thanks!!

backgrounds can absolutely be a struggle but they don't have to be! they just require a little more creative planning~!

whether it be a commission or a personal drawing, if I'm building an elaborate art piece i focus on establishing the background First.

the background is the stage for your character! planning the background first will make it easier to tailor the character's actions and how they interact with the environment around them.

planning the background first can be the difference between your character standing awkwardly front and center with the setting going on behind them, or actually participating in their environment.

if i'm super stumped for background ideas, i browse stock image sites to get inspiration. sometimes it helps to doodle on an image to generate some ideas - kinda like you're playing with JPEGs like dolls.

that said - while i'm pinpointing WHAT i want to draw, i keep the ideas loose. i don't want to focus on the itty-bitty details until i've got the overall aesthetic and layout in mind, as i might get inspired to add something in later!

THUMBNAILING

if you're planning a big piece it can be helpful to break it down into something bite-sized before you go all in and start lining or painting. these are "thumbnails" - fast little sketches that establish the scene in a way that doesn't consume a lot of time or effort. it's also great as a little perspective exercise as a treat.

here i decided i want to draw a character walking home in a back alley street. with these photo references in mind, i can plan a layout and how the character will act in the scene. is this a candid shot? are they posing cutely? are they looking down at us in a tense way? there are many ideas to be had!

after you've chosen the layout / vibe for your idea, you can scale up your thumbnail to your preferred canvas size and start fleshing out the details. be sure to keep referring to your reference images to get additional ideas, such as storefronts, items, props etc!

3D MODELS

If you're trying to create a unique environment that photo references simply cannot help you visualize, 3D models exist! This gives you that ability to rotate / scale things for better visualization. Clip Studio has a vast catalogue of 3D models to download For Free that you can fiddle around with. i know there are many 3D builder sites out there as well, though i've never made use of them so i'm afraid i cannot recommend any off the top of my head. hell, you can even use the Sims game to design a setting and go from there!

also if anyone is going to come into my house and say 3D models are cheating: they are not. using a 3D model to better grasp an angle or get a better idea for perspective is not cheating. using 3D models to help plan the environment in your art is not cheating. they are no different than brushes; these are tools made to HELP YOU. use them!

PERSPECTIVE

perspective and angles can make a HUGE difference in the art piece. there's nothing wrong with static long shots! if that's what you want to draw, do it!! there's no right and wrong here!

but if you're finding your work to be a little robotic and stiff, slap an angle in there. consider an overhead view. these same techniques are applied to photography and film! nothing wrong with wide shots, but every once in a while it can help to throw in a dutch angle.

if there is one note i'd like to leave off on, it's that your backgrounds do not have to be 100% accurate-to-life to be Good. unless realism is something you're really striving for in your style, don't feel compelled to nitpick every brick and leaf in your art. us artists can tend to over-prune our work until our art looks a little bare and soulless. flaws can give your work character, and that's often a lot more appealing than how accurate the scale ratio between background building A and building B are [again, unless you WANT to go for that realistic look then you can fuss over those details all you like].

i hope this helped a little! MY APOLOGIES FOR MAKING IT SO LONG AH

[cupcakeslushie]

Do you have any tips on for people starting a comic and wanting to post to tumblr? Like pacing ect. Or well any experience you’ve had with your comics? Love your content as well ❤️

If it’s simply for fun, and you’re just trying to gain experience, my biggest advice would be to just START. Don’t worry about it looking perfect. Don’t worry about comparing it to other’s comics. Just try something, and if you find it’s not working, you can always change things up. I have gone through several styles and page layouts since starting. Do I wish those first pages of EW looked just like what I’m doing now? Yes, but if I’d waited around for perfection I would have never started. And I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun creating it! If people like it, that’s great, but your art is for you. If you’re growing and learning and having fun, then you’ve accomplished something!

Now for some less preachy advice 😂…

—If your comic is gonna be hosted on Tumblr specifically, I would say, make sure you keep the 10 image limit in the back of your mind when you’re pacing things. That can definitely cause some headaches down the line. If you don’t plan ahead, and end up hitting it, you’ll have a sudden cut in your flow. This last update I knew it was gonna be long, so while I did plan, but I could’ve planned better.

—Variety is key!!!!!

Composition changes keep your viewers from getting bored. Sometimes I’ll find myself falling back into the bad habit of just doing the simple back and forth with two characters talking straight on, but changing the camera angle, making establishing shots when you change locations, and over the shoulder shots, etc etc…All these will make for a more interesting viewing. You may think a character needs to be in every single panel to make it interesting, but if you have a lot of dialogue, a simple plain shot—either in top of a solid background, or just over something boring, like a glance at the set, etc—this will let people focus on the words rather than splitting their focus.

Variety applies to shading as well—whether you’re using color or black/white. Variety in values are SO important for comics. You’re shoving a ton of information in a limited space, so try to keep your values different for items that are close together….it can make things very confusing and turn your line work into indistinguishable blobs if you shade without this in mind.

(Using this panel as an example….)

The top two panels have a variety of darker values and a halftone background—so the next two with Venus, I kept rather simple. I could’ve colored the buildings behind her, but then, she might’ve gotten lost amidst all the grey. There’s not really any trick or solid rule to this, but once you develop your creative eye, you’ll make these choices without even thinking about it.

A few links to helpful tools (they’re all procreate centered I’m afraid 😅)

Outline brush — a free tutorial for Procreate users. This brush kinda mimics the CPS feature that lets you create panels with a nice black outline. I used this brush very often, and it really gives your panels a professional look. Fair warning, it can be glitchy, but it’s free…

Manero Comic Bubbles and sfx — These brushes are not free, so I would recommend maybe getting in your groove before you try them out. They’re by no means necessary, but I’ve just started using them, and they save me so much time. There’s a HUGE selection of shapes, and they go on with a solid white background, so you don’t have to worry about coloring around your dialogue balloons.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A year in illustration, 2023 edition (part one)

(This is part one; part two is here.)

I am objectively very bad at visual art. I am bad at vision, period – I'm astigmatic, shortsighted, color blind, and often miss visual details others see. I can't even draw a stick-figure. To top things off, I have cataracts in both eyes and my book publishing/touring schedule is so intense that I keep having to reschedule the surgeries. But despite my vast visual deficits, I thoroughly enjoy making collages for this blog.

For many years now – decades – I've been illustrating my blog posts by mixing public domain and Creative Commons art with work that I can make a good fair use case for. As bad as art as I may be, all this practice has paid off. Call it unseemly, but I think I'm turning out some terrific illustrations – not all the time, but often enough.

Last year, I rounded up my best art of the year:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/25/a-year-in-illustration/

And I liked reflecting on the year's art so much, I decided I'd do it again. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some downloadables – freely usable images that I painstakingly cut up with the lasso tool in The Gimp.

The original AD&D hardcover cover art is seared into my psyche. For several years, there were few images I looked at so closely as these. When Hasbro pulled some world-beatingly sleazy stuff with the Open Gaming License, I knew just how to mod Dave Trampier's 'Eve Of Moloch' from the cover of the Players' Handbook. Thankfully, bigger nerds than me have identified all the fonts in the image, making the remix a doddle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/12/beg-forgiveness-ask-permission/#whats-a-copyright-exception

Even though I don't keep logs or collect any analytics, I can say with confidence that "Tiktok's Enshittification" was the most popular thing I published on Pluralistic this year. I mixed some public domain Brother's Grimm art, mixed with a classic caricature of Boss Tweed, and some very cheesy royalty-free/open access influencer graphics. One gingerbread cottage social media trap, coming up:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

To illustrate the idea of overcoming walking-the-plank fear (as a metaphor for writing when it feels like you suck) I mixed public domain stock of a plank, a high building and legs, along with a procedurally generated Matrix "code waterfall" and a vertiginous spiral ganked from a Heinz Bunse photo of a German office lobby.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/

Finding a tasteful way to illustrate a story about Johnson & Johnson losing a court case after it spent a generation tricking women into dusting their vulvas with asbestos-tainted talcum was a challenge. The tulip (featured in many public domain images) was a natural starting point. I mixed it with Jesse Wagstaff's image of a Burning Man dust-storm and Mike Mozart's shelf-shot of a J&J talcum bottle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit

"Google's Chatbot Panic" is about Google's long history of being stampeded into doing stupid things because its competitors are doing them. Once it was Yahoo, now it's Bing. Tenniel's Tweedle Dee and Dum were a good starting point. I mixed in one of several Humpty Dumpty editorial cartoon images from 19th century political coverage that I painstakingly cut out with the lasso tool on a long plane-ride. This is one of my favorite Humpties, I just love the little 19th C businessmen trying to keep him from falling! I finished it off with HAL 9000's glowing red eye, my standard 'this is about AI' image, which I got from Cryteria's CC-licensed SVG.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked

Though I started writing about Luddites in my January, 2022 Locus column, 2023 was the Year of the Luddite, thanks to Brian Merchant's outstanding Blood In the Machine:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/26/enochs-hammer/#thats-fronkonsteen

When it came time to illustrate "Gig Work Is the Opposite of Steampunk," I found a public domain weaver's loft, and put one of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes in the window. Magpie Killjoy's Steampunk Magazine poster, 'Love the Machine, Hate the Factory,' completed the look.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/12/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk/

For the "small, non-profit school" that got used as an excuse to bail out Silicon Valley Bank, I brought back Humpty Dumpty, mixing him with a Hogwartsian castle, a brick wall texture, and an ornate, gilded frame. I love how this one came out. This Humpty was made for the SVB bailout.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/23/small-nonprofit-school/#north-country-school

The RESTRICT Act would have federally banned Tiktok – a proposal that was both technically unworkable and unconstitutional. I found an early 20th century editorial cartoon depicting Uncle Sam behind a fortress wall that was keeping a downtrodden refugee family out of America. I got rid of most of the family, giving the dad a Tiktok logo head, and I put Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes over each cannonmouth. Three Boss Tweed moneybag-head caricatures, adorned with Big Tech logos, rounded it out.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/30/tik-tok-tow/#good-politics-for-electoral-victories

When Flickr took decisive action to purge the copyleft trolls who'd been abusing its platform, I knew I wanted to illustrate this with Lucifer being cast out of heaven, and the very best one of those comes from John Milton, who is conveniently well in the public domain. The Flickr logo suggested a bicolored streaming-light-of-heaven motif that just made it.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/01/pixsynnussija/#pilkunnussija

Old mainframe ads are a great source of stock for a "Computer Says No" image. And Congress being a public building, there are lots of federal (and hence public domain) images of its facade.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/04/cbo-says-no/#wealth-tax

When I wrote about the Clarence Thomas/Harlan Crow bribery scandal, it was easy to find Mr. Kjetil Ree's great image of the Supreme Court building. Thomas being a federal judge, it was easy to find a government photo of his head, but it's impossible to find an image of him in robes at a decent resolution. Luckily, there are tons of other federal judges who've been photographed in their robes! Boss Tweed with the dollar-sign head was a great stand-in for Harlan Crow (no one knows what he looks like anyway). Gilding Thomas's robes was a simple matter of superimposing a gold texture and twiddling with the layers.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow

"Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes" is one of my best titles. This is the post where I introduce the idea of "twiddling" as part of the theory of enshittification, and explain how it relates to "reverse centaurs" – people who assist machines, rather than the other way around. Finding a CC licensed modular synth was much harder than I thought, but I found Stephen Drake's image and stitched it into a mandala. Cutting out the horse's head for the reverse centaur was a lot of work (manes are a huuuuge pain in the ass), but I love how his head sits on the public domain high-viz-wearing warehouse worker's body I cut up (thanks, OSHA!). Seeing as this is an horrors-of-automation story, Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes make an appearance.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Rockefeller's greatest contribution to our culture was inspiring many excellent unflattering caricatures. The IWW's many-fists-turning-into-one-fist image made it easy to have the collective might of workers toppling the original robber-baron.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

I link to this post explaining how to make good Mastodon threads at least once a week, so it's a good thing the graphic turned out so well. Close-cropping the threads from a public domain yarn tangle worked out great. Eugen Rochko's Mastodon logo was and is the only Affero-licensed image ever to appear on Pluralistic.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/16/how-to-make-the-least-worst-mastodon-threads/

I spent hours on the sofa one night painstakingly cutting up and reassembling the cover art from a science fiction pulp. I have a folder full of color-corrected, high-rez scans from an 18th century anatomy textbook, and the cross-section head-and-brain is the best of the lot.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Those old French anatomical drawings are an endless source of delight to me. Take one cross-sectioned noggin, mix in an old PC mainboard, and a vector art illo of a virtuous cycle with some of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes and you've got a great illustration of Google's brain-worms.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/14/googles-ai-hype-circle/

Ireland's privacy regulator is but a plaything in Big Tech's hand, but it's goddamned hard to find an open-access Garda car. I manually dressed some public domain car art in Garda livery, painstakingly tracing it over the panels. The (public domain) baby's knit cap really hides the seams from replacing the baby's head with HAL9000's eye.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

Naked-guy-in-a-barrel bankruptcy images feel like something you can find in an old Collier's or Punch, but I came up snake-eyes and ended up frankensteining a naked body into a barrel for the George Washington crest on the Washington State flag. It came out well, but harvesting the body parts from old muscle-beach photos left George with some really big guns. I tried five different pairs of suspenders here before just drawing in black polyhedrons with little grey dots for rivets.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/03/when-the-tide-goes-out/#passive-income

Illustrating Amazon's dominance over the EU coulda been easy – just stick Amazon 'A's in place of the yellow stars that form a ring on the EU flag. So I decided to riff on Plutarch's Alexander, out of lands to conquer. Rama's statue legs were nice and high-rez. I had my choice of public domain ruin images, though it was harder thank expected to find a good Amazon box as a plinth for those broken-off legs.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

God help me, I could not stop playing with this image of a demon-haunted IoT car. All those reflections! The knife sticking out of the steering wheel, the multiple Munsch 'Scream'ers, etc etc. The more I patchked with it, the better it got, though. This one's a banger.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

To depict a "data-driven dictatorship," I ganked elements of heavily beribboned Russian military dress uniforms, replacing the head with HAL9000's eye. I turned the foreground into the crowds from the Nuremberg rallies and filled the sky with Matrix code waterfall.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/26/dictators-dilemma/#garbage-in-garbage-out-garbage-back-in

The best thing about analogizing DRM to demonic possession is the wealth of medieval artwork to choose from . This one comes from the 11th century 'Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros.' I mixed in the shiny red Tesla (working those reflections!), and a Tesla charger to make my point.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

Yet more dividends from those old French anatomical plates: a flayed skull, a detached jaw, a quack electronic gadget, a Wachowski code waterfall and some HAL 9000 eyes and you've got a truly unsettling image of machine-compelled speech.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

I had no idea this would work out so well, but daaaamn, crossfading between a Wachowski code waterfall and a motherboard behind a roiling thundercloud is dank af.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

Of all the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas self-owns conservative culture warriors fall for, few can rival the "banning junk fees is woke" hustle. Slap a US-flag Punisher logo on and old-time card imprinter, add a GOP logo to a red credit-card blank, and then throw in a rustic barn countertop and you've got a junk-fee extracter fit for the Cracker Barrel.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

Putting the Verizon logo on the Hinderberg was an obvious gambit (even if I did have to mess with the flames a lot), but the cutout of Paul Marcarelli as the 'can you hear me now?' guy, desaturated and contrast-matched, made it sing.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now

Note to self: Tux the Penguin is really easy to source in free/open formats! He looks great with HAL9000 eyes.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/18/openwashing/#you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means

Rockwell's self-portrait image is a classic; that made it a natural for a HAL9000-style remix about AI art. I put a bunch of time into chopping and remixing Rockwell's signature to give it that AI look, and added as many fingers as would fit on each hand.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

(Images: Heinz Bunse, West Midlands Police, Christopher Sessums, CC BY-SA 2.0; Mike Mozart, Jesse Wagstaff, Stephen Drake, Steve Jurvetson, syvwlch, Doc Searls, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaic36/14231376315, Chatham House, CC BY 2.0; Cryteria, CC BY 3.0; Mr. Kjetil Ree, Trevor Parscal, Rama, “Soldiers of Russia” Cultural Center, Russian Airborne Troops Press Service, CC BY-SA 3.0; Raimond Spekking, CC BY 4.0; Drahtlos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Eugen Rochko, Affero; modified)

[spikeeager]

Tutorial: How-To Create Striking Gradient Shapes & Waves for Adobe Illustrator for iPad

In this tutorial, we will explore step-by-step instructions and tips to create striking gradient waves and shapes that can enhance any project, from digital illustration to web design and marketing materials.

Starting off you'll want to open Adobe Illustrator on your iPad, and select 'custom size'.

Create a canvas that measures at 3000 x 3000 points.

Set the colour mode as 'RGB'.

Select the 'Pencil' tool, and then select 'Paint Brush'.

Select 'Calligraphic' brushes, and scroll down until you find the 15 pt. 'Round' brush and select it.

Select the 'Fill' option and set the colour value to none.

Select the 'Stroke' option and set the colour value to a colour of your choosing.

Select the 'Smoothness' option and set it to the maximum value (10).

Draw a wavy line.

Select the 'Stroke' tool and choose a new colour.

Draw another wavy line over the top of the previous.

Select the 'Stroke' tool and choose another new colour.

Draw another wavy line over the top of the previous two.

Select the 'Selection' tool.

Select all of the shapes.

Select the 'Repeat' tool.

Within the 'Repeat' tool, select the 'Blend' option.

Tip: If you have a keyboard connected to your iPad, you can use the keyboard shortcut 'Command+Alt+B' when objects are selected to blend them.

Now our gradient wave shape has been created!

Once the shapes have been blended, you can manipulate the spacing of each shape with the three dots in the middle, each one represents each of the lines.

Move each point around until you feel comfortable with their spacing.

We may want to make some alterations to our shape such as changing the rotation, shape, size, order of lines. Here’s how we can do that.

Select the 'Selection' tool.

Drag and select the shape.

Select the 'Object' tool.

Select the 'Release' option.

Now the objects are unblended they can be altered or manipulated to our liking.

To put our gradient wave back in place, first select the 'Repeat' tool.

Then select the 'Blend' option.

Congratulations on completing the tutorial on creating striking gradient waves and shapes in Adobe Illustrator for iPad! You've taken significant steps in enhancing your design skills, learning how to apply gradients effectively, and bringing your digital artwork to life with vibrant colours and dynamic forms.

Keep Practicing - As with any creative skill, practice is key to mastery. Continue experimenting with different gradient combinations, wave patterns, and shapes. Find new ways to enhance your designs.

The more you practice, the more confident and proficient you will become.

If you're interested in supporting me, or checking out some free eBooks, Wallpapers, and more. Please consider checking out my Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/spikeeager

[jesperweidemann]

Top 5 Writing Applications for Worldbuilding and Complex Story Planning

In the realm of creative writing, particularly when it comes to worldbuilding and complex story planning, having the right tools can make a significant difference. Writers often find themselves juggling multiple characters, intricate plots, and expansive settings. To manage these elements effectively, specialized writing applications have been developed to assist in organizing thoughts, tracking details, and fostering creativity. In this article, we will explore the top five writing applications that are indispensable for worldbuilding and complex story planning.

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1. Obsidian: The Ultimate Tool for Writers

Obsidian is a robust note-taking and knowledge management application that has gained immense popularity among writers for its flexibility and powerful features. Whether you are working on a novel, a series of interconnected stories, or an entire fictional universe, Obsidian provides the tools you need to keep everything organized and easily accessible.

Key Features of Obsidian

Markdown Support: Obsidian uses Markdown, a lightweight markup language, which allows writers to format their notes with ease. This feature is particularly useful for creating structured documents and linking related notes.

Bidirectional Linking: One of Obsidian's standout features is its bidirectional linking capability. This allows writers to create connections between different notes, making it easy to navigate through complex storylines and character relationships.

Graph View: The Graph View in Obsidian provides a visual representation of how your notes are interconnected. This feature is invaluable for worldbuilding, as it helps writers see the big picture and understand how different elements of their story fit together.

Plugins and Customization: Obsidian offers a wide range of plugins that can enhance its functionality. Writers can customize the app to suit their specific needs, whether it's adding a calendar for tracking writing progress or integrating with other tools like Google Drive.

Cross-Platform Sync: With Obsidian, you can sync your notes across multiple devices, ensuring that you have access to your work wherever you go. This is particularly useful for writers who like to jot down ideas on their phone and then expand on them later on their desktop.

Pricing

Personal Use: Free

Commercial Use: $50 per user per year

Add-ons:

Sync: $4 per user per month, billed annually

Publish: $8 per site per month, billed annually

Catalyst: $25+ one-time payment for early access and VIP features

How Obsidian Enhances Worldbuilding and Story Planning

Obsidian's features are designed to support the intricate process of worldbuilding and story planning. The ability to create detailed notes for each character, location, and plot point, and then link them together, allows writers to build a comprehensive and cohesive narrative. The Graph View provides a visual map of the story, making it easier to identify connections and ensure consistency. Additionally, the customization options and plugins available in Obsidian mean that writers can tailor the app to their specific workflow, making it an indispensable tool for any serious writer.

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2. Scrivener: The Writer's Swiss Army Knife

Scrivener is a well-known writing application that has been a favorite among writers for years. It offers a wide range of features designed to help writers organize their work, from drafting to final edits. Scrivener is particularly useful for long-form writing projects, such as novels and screenplays, where managing large amounts of text and research is essential.

Key Features of Scrivener

Project Management: Scrivener allows writers to break their projects into manageable sections, such as chapters or scenes. This makes it easy to navigate through the manuscript and make changes as needed.

Research Integration: Writers can import research materials, such as PDFs, images, and web pages, directly into Scrivener. This keeps all relevant information in one place, making it easy to reference while writing.

Corkboard and Outliner: Scrivener's Corkboard and Outliner views provide visual ways to organize and rearrange sections of the manuscript. This is particularly useful for plotting and structuring complex stories.

Customizable Templates: Scrivener offers a variety of templates for different types of writing projects, from novels to screenplays. Writers can also create their own templates to suit their specific needs.

Export Options: Scrivener supports a wide range of export formats, including Word, PDF, and ePub. This makes it easy to share your work with others or prepare it for publication.

Pricing

macOS: $49

Windows: $45

iOS: $19.99

Bundle (macOS + Windows): $80

How Scrivener Enhances Worldbuilding and Story Planning

Scrivener's project management features are ideal for worldbuilding and story planning. Writers can create separate sections for different aspects of their world, such as characters, settings, and plot points, and then easily navigate between them. The ability to import research materials directly into the project ensures that all relevant information is readily accessible. The Corkboard and Outliner views provide visual ways to organize and rearrange the story, making it easier to see the big picture and ensure consistency. Overall, Scrivener is a powerful tool that can help writers manage the complexities of worldbuilding and story planning.

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3. Campfire: A Comprehensive Worldbuilding Tool

Campfire is a writing application specifically designed for worldbuilding and story planning. It offers a wide range of features that allow writers to create detailed and immersive worlds, from character profiles to interactive maps. Campfire is particularly useful for writers who are working on large-scale projects, such as epic fantasy series or intricate science fiction universes.

Key Features of Campfire

Character Profiles: Campfire allows writers to create detailed profiles for each character, including information on their appearance, personality, and backstory. This helps ensure that characters are well-developed and consistent throughout the story.

Worldbuilding Tools: Campfire offers a variety of tools for worldbuilding, such as interactive maps, timelines, and relationship webs. These features allow writers to create a comprehensive and cohesive world for their story.

Plotting Tools: Campfire's plotting tools help writers outline their story and track the progression of the plot. This is particularly useful for complex stories with multiple plotlines and subplots.

Collaboration Features: Campfire allows writers to collaborate with others on their projects. This is particularly useful for co-authors or writing teams who need to share information and work together on the story.

Customizable Templates: Campfire offers a variety of templates for different aspects of worldbuilding and story planning. Writers can also create their own templates to suit their specific needs.

Pricing

Free Plan: Limited features

Standard Plan: $19 per month or $160 per year

Custom Plan: Prices start at $0.50 per month per module

How Campfire Enhances Worldbuilding and Story Planning

Campfire's features are specifically designed to support the process of worldbuilding and story planning. The ability to create detailed character profiles and interactive maps allows writers to build a rich and immersive world for their story. The plotting tools help writers outline their story and track the progression of the plot, ensuring that all elements of the story are well-organized and consistent. The collaboration features make it easy for co-authors or writing teams to work together on the project. Overall, Campfire is a comprehensive tool that can help writers manage the complexities of worldbuilding and story planning.

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4. Aeon Timeline: A Visual Timeline Tool for Writers

Aeon Timeline is a visual timeline tool that helps writers organize their stories and track the progression of events. It is particularly useful for complex stories with multiple plotlines and characters, as it allows writers to see the big picture and ensure consistency.

Key Features of Aeon Timeline

Visual Timelines: Aeon Timeline allows writers to create visual timelines for their stories, making it easy to see the progression of events and track the relationships between different plotlines.

Character and Event Tracking: Writers can create detailed profiles for each character and event, including information on their relationships and interactions. This helps ensure that all elements of the story are well-organized and consistent.

Customizable Templates: Aeon Timeline offers a variety of templates for different types of writing projects, from novels to screenplays. Writers can also create their own templates to suit their specific needs.

Integration with Other Tools: Aeon Timeline integrates with other writing tools, such as Scrivener and Ulysses, making it easy to import and export information between different applications.

Collaboration Features: Aeon Timeline allows writers to collaborate with others on their projects. This is particularly useful for co-authors or writing teams who need to share information and work together on the story.

Pricing

One-time Purchase: $65 (includes 1 year of free updates)

Additional Year of Updates: $35 per year

How Aeon Timeline Enhances Worldbuilding and Story Planning

Aeon Timeline's visual timeline feature is particularly useful for worldbuilding and story planning. Writers can create detailed timelines for their stories, making it easy to see the progression of events and track the relationships between different plotlines. The character and event tracking features help ensure that all elements of the story are well-organized and consistent. The integration with other writing tools makes it easy to import and export information between different applications, ensuring that all relevant information is readily accessible. Overall, Aeon Timeline is a powerful tool that can help

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5. Plottr: Visual Story Planning Made Simple

Plottr is a visual story planning tool that helps writers outline their stories in a clear and organized manner. It is particularly useful for writers who prefer a visual approach to planning and want to see their story structure at a glance. Plottr's intuitive interface and powerful features make it an excellent choice for both novice and experienced writers.

Key Features of Plottr

Timeline View: Plottr's Timeline View allows writers to create a visual timeline of their story, making it easy to see the sequence of events and how they fit together. This is particularly useful for complex stories with multiple plotlines.

Character and Plot Templates: Plottr offers a variety of templates for character development and plot structure. Writers can use these templates to ensure that their characters are well-rounded and their plots are cohesive.

Drag-and-Drop Interface: Plottr's drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to rearrange scenes and chapters. This allows writers to experiment with different story structures and find the one that works best for their narrative.

Filtering and Tagging: Writers can use tags and filters to organize their scenes, characters, and plot points. This makes it easy to find specific elements of the story and keep track of important details.

Export Options: Plottr allows writers to export their outlines to other writing applications, such as Scrivener and Word. This makes it easy to move from planning to drafting without losing any important information.

Pricing

Annual Plan: $25 per year

Lifetime Plan: $99 one-time payment

How Plottr Enhances Worldbuilding and Story Planning

Plottr's visual approach to story planning makes it an invaluable tool for worldbuilding and complex story planning. The Timeline View allows writers to see the big picture and ensure that their story flows smoothly. The character and plot templates help writers develop well-rounded characters and cohesive plots. The drag-and-drop interface and filtering options make it easy to organize and rearrange story elements, ensuring that nothing gets lost in the process. Overall, Plottr is a powerful and user-friendly tool that can help writers bring their stories to life.

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Each of the applications we’ve explored - Obsidian, Scrivener, Campfire, World Anvil, and Plottr - offers unique features that cater to different aspects of writing. By integrating these tools into your workflow, you can unlock new levels of creativity and efficiency.

Are you ready to take your writing to the next level? Dive into these applications and discover which one resonates with your creative process. And don’t forget to follow us for more insights, tips, and recommendations on the best tools and practices for writers. Your next great story is just a click away!

[genericpuff]

Yo! Humble Bundle has a great deal on art software and resources going on for $30 USD (about $40ish CAD) that comes with a 1 year license for Clip Studio Paint PRO, a license for Paintstorm Studio, AND a license for Realistic Paint! The latter of which I had WAY TOO MUCH FUN drawing in, it's less of a drawing app and more like an interactive relaxation art game because it fuses realistic art tools such as pencils, watercolor, and oil paint with a very interactive UI. Look what I made with it using the charcoal tools! And unlike my art classes in college, no mess! 😭😆 (you can watch the timelapse if you want to see it made in real time, in which i struggle to draw a single nose LMAO)

Soo yeah, this bundle is super worth it especially if you don't have Clip Studio Paint PRO yet and have been wanting to try it. It also comes with some 3D models and other resources for Clip Studio that are pretty handy, but the three pieces of software it comes with are definitely the real value here. It's only available for THREE MORE DAYS !! and as per Humble Bundle tradition, the profits from the bundles goes towards charity - in this case, it's No Kid Hungry, a charity organization that helps provide free school lunches to children in America.

(oh, and in case you're someone who already owns Clip Studio, I can confirm you CAN just give the license key to someone else, which is what I did LMAO)

This isn't a sponsored post or anything btw I just had a blast making charcoal art in it and I'm super hyped to play around with all the other tools it has to offer, it's full of a lot of fun secrets that I'm still unearthing (•̀ᴗ•́)و

[beansprean]

Hii!! Just wanted to ask how you get your poses on characters just flow so naturally? Is it like 2nd nature to you or does it take a really long time to get the poses right and natural? Bcs i've always struggled with that

Just wanted to ask since I really love the way you draw poses and perspective!! (Might be a weird complements but yeah sksnsksosj)

DJGGJHGIG ANON MY LOVE......YOU ARE SO SWEET

its DEF not 2nd nature lol ive been drawing for over 20 yrs now and still struggle with stiffness and line weight and foreshortening on a lot of poses. the best advice i have is to USE REFERENCES!! draw parallel to them, trace a sketch model over them to work off of, cut them up and splice them together to get closer to whats in your head, take photos of yourself, ask your discord friends with diff body types to show you their knees, etc etc etc.

@adorkastock is a FANTASTIC place to find both mundane and dynamic poses. I also recommend fatphotoref.com, publicdomainpictures.net, vishopper.com, line-of-action.com, and referenceangle.com as well as any free use stock photos.

(Protip: on image results on search engines, you can filter by creative licenses! go to the top of the results page; on google its under tools > usage rights, on qwant its under filters > any license, and on duckduckgo its in the 'all licenses' dropdown. u can choose 'creative commons' 'public domain' 'non-commercial' etc. This seems to help filter out AI results lol)

one thing that IS 2nd nature to me and i think helps put a lot of life into my drawings is that my sketch layers are very loosey goosey. when ur doing ur first sketch, dont worry about anatomy or anything, just doodle loose lines that have the shape/feel of what ur lookin for. THEN i worry about references/anatomy etc on a 2nd sketch layer, with my lower layer reminding me where to put emphasis and weight and what type of emotion/expression I was going for etc.

Its a lot harder for me to draw smth good without some kind of foundation, and a sloppy sketch layer gives me that AND lets me get out the idea quick and return to it later, while not feeling pressure to make it perfect! i tend to lose a lot of that whimsy and movement during the inking stage, which im still trying to figure out lol - but i think thats pretty universal? My example here is more cartoony so its less of an issue but you can see it a bit in the bend of the fingers and elbow.

Good luck on your drawing journey!!!! i hope this was helpful or at least interesting lmaoo

[hunnysnoops]

₊˚｡⋆❆ 𝔹𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝔸𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖 ❆⋆｡˚₊

Chapter Three: Get Free

Kenny McCormick x Reader

Sometimes it feels like I've got a war in my mind. I wanna get off, but I keep riding the ride. I never really noticed that I had to decide to play someone's game or live my own life

Also available on Ao3 and Wattpad!

Premise: A blizzard takes the town of South Park by surprise

Warnings: I dunno

MASTERLIST

⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆

You stand at the stainless steel counter, your fingers deftly slicing through a plump tomato. Your eyes are focused intently on the task at hand, a slight furrow of concentration etched between your brows. The fluorescent lights above cast a harsh glow over the food studies classroom, bouncing off the polished surfaces and reflecting in the glass-fronted cabinets filled with an array of kitchen tools.

Around you, the din of your classmates' chatter fills the air. Your group- three obscenely loud boys- are at the counter's far end, their laughter echoing off the tiled walls. They're supposed to be helping you prepare the day's assignment: a simple Caprese salad followed by a homemade pasta dish. Instead, they're tossing flour at each other, their white aprons now streaked with powdery handprints and taking videos of every second of it.

"Hey, how's it going over there?" one of them, Douglas, calls out between bouts of laughter. He's the ringleader, tall and athletic, his messy brunette hair falling into his eyes. He flashes you a grin, one that is equal parts charm and mischief.

Spencer had been the one to coerce you into the group though you didn't have much choice as everyone began to split into partners and you were left in the dust, watching everyone happily rush over to their friends. You were stuck in a group with your ex-boyfriend and his two best friends until the semester ended.

You glance up briefly, offering a small, tight-lipped smile. You give him a little thumbs up and quickly avert your gaze, your cheeks tinged with a faint heat. Interacting with them always leaves you feeling exposed, as if your quiet nature is something to be mocked or dismissed.

"Sweet," Douglas says, already turning back to his friends, who are now cackling while they filmed TikToks with the same repetitive audio.

You sigh inwardly, your grip tightening on the knife handle. It's not that you mind cooking—far from it. You love the precision and creativity it demands, the way ingredients can transform into something beautiful and delicious. But it bothers you how easily your group takes advantage of your introverted nature, assuming you will handle all the work while they waste time. Even though they assumed right.

Your movements are fluid and practiced as you arrange the tomato slices on a plate, layering them with basil leaves and mozzarella. You drizzle olive oil over the top, your eyes scanning the recipe card to ensure you haven't missed a step. The boys' laughter grows louder, a grating background noise that you try to block out.

Next is the pasta. You move to the stove, where a pot of water is already boiling. Carefully, you add a pinch of salt before dropping in the fresh pasta you had kneaded and rolled out earlier, alone, while the boys had debated over an internet phenomenon you didn't quite understand. The dough had been soft and pliant under your hands, a therapeutic contrast to the chaos around you.

There's unspoken tension that rests between you and Spencer, you hated it; the way he chatted mindlessly to his friends about the new girl he was talking to while sitting directly across from you. Though had he not invited you into his group, you wouldn't have one at all. You try not to think about the times you cooked together, laughing and working as a team. Now, he's just another distraction, his carefree laughter blending with the others as if nothing has changed.

As the pasta cooks, you prepare the sauce, your mind drifting to thoughts of how different this class could be if your group were more cooperative. You imagine them working together, each person contributing their strengths. Maybe Spencer could handle the chopping, his energy focused on something productive. The other two, Douglas and Daniel, could assist with the stirring and plating. You could share a sense of accomplishment at the end, sitting down to enjoy the meal you had all created. But most of all, you think of how different it would be if Spencer was still the person you could rely on.

But reality is far less idyllic. When the timer beeps, you drain the pasta and mix it with the creamy tomato sauce you just finished. The rich aroma wafts up, momentarily silencing the chatter behind you. You plate the dish with care, wiping the edges of the plates clean and adding a sprinkle of fresh parsley for presentation points.

You bring a plate and a grading sheet to the front for your teacher, quickly jotting down the names of everyone in your group and retreating back to your kitchen.

The boys amble over, still laughing and shoving each other, barely glancing at the beautifully prepared meal in front of them. "Looks good," Daniel says offhandedly, reaching for a fork. You watch as they dig in, their appreciation for your efforts surface-level at best.

As they eat, you clean up the kitchen area, washing the cutting board and wiping down the counters. The boys are already talking about their plans for the weekend, seemingly oblivious to the time and effort you put into the meal.

You stand at the sink, running a cloth through the soapy water and scrubbing until the debris is cleared from each dish.

Suddenly, a shriek pierces the air, breaking through the usual clamour. You look up to see Douglas staring at the floor with wide eyes. "Fuck!" he exclaims, clearly startled at the tiny creature making its way across the tile.

Spencer huffs a laugh, "Dude, you're such a pussy."

Daniel immediately looks under the table, moving his feet around to try and crush the skittering arachnid. You liked food studies for the class itself, not the people that came with it. Every day felt like you were babysitting three overgrown children and feeding them when they cried.

"Stop that," You move quickly, intercepting Daniel's sneaker as he's about to squash it "How would you like it if someone 3000 times your size tried to kill you?"

Carefully, you approach the spider, your movements slow and deliberate. The spider is small, its delicate legs moving hesitantly over the cold tile. You kneel down, feeling the cool, hard floor against your knees. Your hands, still warm from working through the dirty dishes, are cupped gently around the tiny creature. The spider pauses, sensing the change in temperature, and then crawls onto your palm. You can feel its tiny legs tickling your skin, but you remain steady, lifting it carefully.

You stand up, cradling the spider in your hands as if it were the most precious thing. Without a word, you head towards the door, feeling their eyes on your back. "One sec," you say over your shoulder, your voice calm and measured.

Pushing open the heavy classroom door with your shoulder, you step into the hallway. The fluorescent lights overhead buzz softly, casting a stark glow on the linoleum floors. Each step you take echoes through the empty corridor, the sound bouncing off the lockers that line the walls. You walk briskly but carefully, mindful of the fragile life cradled in your hands.

The school feels different in this moment- quieter, almost serene. You pass by classrooms where students are absorbed in their lessons, their voices a low murmur behind closed doors. The air is cool, a faint draft seeping in from the main entrance at the end of the hall.

Near the exit, Kenny stands by his locker, shuffling through it with furrowed eyebrows, seemingly trying to find something. He's wearing a white long sleeve with a dark T-shirt over top. Kenny casts a quick glance in your direction then realizes it's you and turns his head completely, a smile forming on his face "Hey, what's up?"

You press your lips together, straight-faced. Your apron was still on and held the remnants from the meal you prepared moments before. Whenever you passed him in the halls or at the rink, he never brought up that god-forsaken dinner with your step-dad and though you didn't thank him directly, you were grateful.

"Whatcha got there?" He asks "You smuggling drugs?"

You hold up your cupped hands, revealing the small spider inside. Kenny's eyes flicker to the spider, then back to you, his smile growing wider. Without breaking your stride, you push open the heavy doors, stepping into the crisp winter air, Kenny follows you in tow, abandoning his locker.

"Can I name it?" He asks to which you nod. "Is it a guy or a gal? I guess you can't really tell... how about Ainsley? Yeah? That seems gender neutral."

The world outside is blanketed in snow. The cold bites at your cheeks, making them sting. Snowflakes drift lazily from the sky, their delicate patterns glistening as they catch the light. You walk carefully, mindful of your steps, until you reach a spot where the snow is undisturbed. The ground crunches softly underfoot, the fresh snow giving way to your weight.

Your eyes land on a little alcove in the brick exterior where the snow seems less harsh. Standing in the little nook, Kenny close behind, you open your hands and watch the spider crawl out and wiggle its way up the wall "Bye, Ainsley."

Turning slightly, you see Kenny standing there, his breath forming small clouds in the frosty air. "So what are you doing later?"

"Skating."

"Cool," He mutters "I could've guessed that." 

⋆꙳•❅*°⋆❆.ೃ࿔*:･*❆ ₊⋆

Even with your food studies group driving you up the wall, you could unwind at the rink though today you had the displeasure of not even putting on your skates thanks to off-ice training. The training center is bustling with activity, but you and Craig are in your own world, focused on the rigorous off-ice session Katya has planned. Sweat beads on your forehead as you complete another set of balance drills, your muscles burning from the effort. The cold air of the rink feels distant, replaced by the warmth generated from your exertion.

"Keep it up," Katya calls out, her voice steady and encouraging. "Remember, core tight, movements controlled."

You nod, concentrating on maintaining your balance on the wobbleboard. Across from you, Craig mirrors your efforts, his face set in determined focus.

Just as you're transitioning to the resistance band exercises, your phone buzzes in your bag. You ignore it at first, but it buzzes again, more insistently. Then again and again. Katya notices and gestures for you to check it. "Go ahead, be quick."

You nod, stepping off the balance board and grabbing your phone from your bag. The screen lights up with a call from your mom. A sense of unease washes over you—she usually doesn't call during practice. 

"Hello?"

"Baby, are you okay?" your mom's voice is laced with concern. "You haven't been answering my messages, are you okay? Are you safe?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you guys still have power?"

"What?" You furrow your eyebrows as you look at Katya who seems equally confused.

"Baby, the blizzard, do you have heat? Are you stuck inside?"

Your heart skips a beat "Hang on," You move the phone away from your ear and quickly make your way to the main entrance, Craig and Katya following close behind. Your heart skips a beat. You glance towards the windows of the training center, noticing the thick curtain of snow outside that you hadn't fully registered before. As you approach the doors, a sense of dread fills you. You push against the heavy glass door, but it doesn't budge. The snow has piled up, effectively blocking the exit.

There's shuffling on the other end of the line and you hear Todd's loud voice boom through "WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T PANIC," The volume of his words was ironically not helping to soothe you.

Katya, ever calm and composed, takes charge. "Let's not panic. There should be emergency protocols for situations like this. I'll call the facility manager."

"YOU ARE GOING TO BE JUST FINE, KIDDO," Todd's trembling voice sounds out on the other end, it eventually breaks down into quiet sobs. 

You nod, but the knot in your stomach tightens. "I can't get out," You mutter into your phone, voice distant.

"Oh, baby," Your mom says, her voice filled with fear. "Are you safe? Is there anyone with you?"

Both your mom and Todd began to talk over each other, you couldn't make out what they were saying, it was all too loud and incoherent for your ears. Every time you tried to get a word in, they would speak again and cut you off. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, I gotta go. Love you," You said before abruptly hanging up and shoving your phone into your pocket, dragging your hands down your face. While you loved your mom, you weren't sure you could stand to listen to Todd in the background cry and babble about a situation you would definitely survive. 

As you stand by the door, trying to process the reality of being snowed in, the muffled sounds of the hockey team filter through the hallway. Their practice must have just ended, and within moments, they burst into the corridor, their voices loud and energetic, a stark contrast to your stifled nature.

The team is a whirlwind of motion and noise, their camaraderie evident in their playful shoves and shared laughter. They notice the snow blocking the door and, for a moment, pause to take in the scene. One of the players, Mark, lets out a low whistle. "Well, would you look at that?"

"Are we snowed in?" Stan asks, eyebrows furrowing as he takes off his helmet.

Another player, Liam, chuckles and shakes his head. "Guess we're having a sleepover at the rink tonight, boys!"

There's a ripple of laughter and a few mock groans, but overall, the team seems to take the situation in stride. Some of them reached for their bags to call their parents or text their friends about the situation, but the majority seemed comfortable with the situation aside from the few who had made plans.

To you, this was hell on earth.

This almost felt like some kind of ethereal punishment for a deadly sin you weren't aware you committed. Amidst the light-hearted jokes, you notice Craig's boyfriend, Tweek, reacting differently. His expression is tense, eyes wide with concern. He pushes through the group, his anxiety palpable. "We need to get out of here!" he exclaims, his voice rising above the din.

"Tweek, it's okay," Craig tries to reassure him, stepping forward. "We'll figure it out. We're safe inside."

But Tweek is already at the door, pushing against it with all his might. "No, we can't just stay here! We have to get out!" His efforts are frantic, the panic in his movements echoing fear. 

The other hockey players watch, a mix of amusement and concern on their faces. "Calm down, Tweek," one of them says with a laugh. "We're fine. It's just a little snow."

But Tweek isn't listening. He keeps shoving at the door, his panic growing with each failed attempt. You can see the strain in his muscles, the desperation in his eyes. Craig moves to his side, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "Tweek, stop. You're going to hurt yourself."

Tweek's panic only intensifies. He raises his helmet high above his head and smashes it against the door with a loud, resounding crash. The noise reverberates through the hallway, each impact like a hammer blow to your nerves. "We have to get out!" Tweek screams, his voice breaking with desperation.

His movements become more erratic, his thrashing more violent. He swings the helmet back, and for a heart-stopping moment, it looks like he's going to hit you. You instinctively duck, stumbling backward just in time to avoid the blow. The adrenaline surges through your body, your heart pounding in your chest.

"Tweek, stop it!" Craig yells, his voice strained as he tries to grab hold of him. Tweek's thrashing is wild, his kicks and swings dangerous to anyone close by. "You're going to hurt someone!"

Stan and Jason join in, trying to wrestle Tweek's helmet away from him. "Let me go! We have to get out!" Tweek's voice is raw with panic, his eyes wide and unfocused. His kicks are powerful, each one aimed at the door with the intent to break it down.

You manage to slip away, the fear and chaos driving you to find safety. As you back away, you see Craig finally manage to wrap his arms around Tweek, trying to hold him still. "Tweek, please! Calm down!"

Stan and Jason struggle to restrain Tweek's flailing limbs, their faces tense with the effort. It takes all three of them to subdue him, their combined strength barely enough to contain his panic.

The sight is both heartbreaking and terrifying. Tweek's screams are a raw expression of his fear, each one piercing through the air like a bullet to the skull. "We can't stay here! We have to get out!" His words are a desperate mantra, repeated over and over.

You slip away, your steps quick and unsteady as you make your way back to the training room. The hallway feels like it's closing in on you, the echoes of Tweek's screams still ringing in your ears. Your heart is still racing, your breath coming in short, shallow gasps.

The training room is a welcome refuge from the chaos. You push the door open and step inside, closing it behind you with a shaky breath. The familiar sights and smells of the room offer a small measure of comfort, a stark contrast to the panic outside.

You sink onto the bench, trying to steady your trembling hands. The cold air from the rink seeps through the walls, but you hardly notice. The adrenaline is still coursing through your veins, your mind replaying the chaotic scene over and over.

Maybe this was hell.

Maybe you have hit your head while training and died, your eternal torture was to be trapped in a rink with the hockey team while they slowly developed cabin fever- well, some faster than others. 

You couldn't make sense of how some of the boys on the team had been laughing at Tweak, the whole thing felt shell shocking to you and made you nothing short of uncomfortable. It didn't ease that your phone was still blowing up with notifications from your mom and Todd. 

New Message- FIFA Man

FIFA Man: Hello 👏

FIFA Man: What's up 👆 buttercup 🌼

FIFA Man: Have you frozen already? 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶

FIFA Man: It's oky 😭🙏😱😰😨😓😥

You: I know

FIFA Man: Pls stay calm 😌 and dunt panic 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

You: I'm not

FIFA Man: Awesome 😎sauce 🥫

FIFA Man: Text ur mom 🤰 pls 🙏

FIFA Man: She ❤️ you 🫵

New Message- Mom

Mom: Please be careful 

You: Okay

Mom: Stick with Craig

Mom: He can keep an eye on you

You: I can take care of myself

Mom: I know but it's hard to be alone sometimes

You: Okay

Mom: Stay with Craig pls

You: Okay

Mom: Eat something and stay warm

Mom: I love you

You: Okay

You pull your headphones from your bag, the soft clink of the metal pieces a comforting sound. Your hands are still shaking slightly as you untangle the wires and plug them into your phone. The familiar weight of the headphones settles around your ears. 

Scrolling through your playlist, you search for a song that will help drown out the echoes of Tweek's panic. Finally, you find it- a familiar piece that you often use for practice. The first notes are a balm to your frayed nerves, the melody wrapping around you like a warm blanket.

You stand, taking a deep breath and letting the music guide you. The first few steps are tentative, your movements still shaky from the adrenaline. But as the music flows through you, your body begins to remember the amicable routines. The soft thump of your feet on the mat becomes a grounding rhythm.

It wasn't like you had anything better to do. Your only friend was trying to bring his boyfriend down from a panic attack, you didn't have anyone else to text or call, the best you could do was keep practicing. 

Your arms rise gracefully, fingers tracing patterns in the air as you begin to dance. The music swells, and you lose yourself in the motion. You spin, the world blurring around you, but here, in this moment, you are in control.

The music's tempo picks up, and so do your movements. You leap, feeling the air rush past you, your muscles stretching and contracting in a familiar, comforting pattern. The focus required for each move pushes the fear and anxiety to the back of your mind. Here, in the dance, there is only the present moment.

Your routine takes you across the room, each movement fluid and precise. The tension in your shoulders begins to ease, your breathing becomes more even. 

But as you come out of a turn, something catches your eye. You stop abruptly, your heart skipping a beat. There, just inside the doorway, stands Kenny. He's leaning against the frame, watching you with an expression of quiet admiration. His presence is unexpected, and it startles you out of your reverie.

You pull out your headphones, the sudden silence almost jarring after the music. Your breath comes in quick, shallow gasps, and you can feel your cheeks flushing with a mix of exertion and embarrassment.

"What are you doing?" You ask, eyebrows drawn.

He straightens up, a small smile playing on his lips. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just... wow. You're a really good dancer."

His words catch you off guard, and you feel a rush of warmth at his compliment. You've always known Kenny to be overly warm and friendly, but this feels different, more personal. You look down, suddenly shy, the confidence of your movements evaporating under his gaze.

"I'll leave, you can go back to dancing-

"I'm fine," You snatch your bag from its spot beneath the bench and move past him, trying to keep the contents inside whilst moving and fumbling to zip it up. He turns and watches you walk away. You can feel his sharp blue eyes on the back of your head though you pretend you can't.

You find yourself needing space again, the earlier panic still a tight knot in your chest.  Seeking solitude, you head to the far end of the hallway, where the cold seeps in through the cracks around the door. It's the furthest point from the bustling group of hockey players, offering a much-needed reprieve.

You pull your knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around them for warmth. The chill sinks through your clothes and down into your bones, but the solitude is worth it. You slip your headphones back on.

From your vantage point, you can see the boys on the hockey team gathered together, their faces illuminated by the dim, flickering lights. They're laughing and joking around, their voices a stark contrast to the tension you feel. Their easy camaraderie is just about alien to you, it's a grand display of all of the social connections you can't navigate and don't particularly want to.

Andrew and Brendan are in the center, animatedly recounting some story, their hands gesturing wildly. The others are gathered around them, grinning and chuckling at the tale. Even Tweek, who had been so panicked earlier, seems to have found some measure of calm in the familiar company of his friends.

Despite your best efforts to remain unnoticed, you can't shake the feeling of being watched. Glancing up briefly, you see Kenny, looking over at you. His gaze is steady, curious, and imploring. You quickly look away, pulling your knees closer to your chest and adjusting your headphones, hoping he'll lose interest.

You close your eyes for a moment, letting the music wash over you, the soft melody blending with the distant sounds of laughter. The cold against your back is a sharp contrast to the warmth you see in the group ahead, but for now, it's what you need.

In this quiet corner, you find a fragile balance between trying to disappear completely and actively making yourself as small as possible. 

It was just you repeating 'I'm not here' in your head over and over again until you felt like you were back in your bedroom. 

Kenny catches your eye again. His gaze is warm and concerned, but it's the intensity of his focus that starts to grate on you. You shift uncomfortably, squirming beneath your skin. Why does he keep looking at you like that? It's not fair that he can just stand there, laughing with his friends and casually putting you at such unease. 

His concerned expression, his small smiles, they all feel like a spotlight on your vulnerability, and it irritates you. You're grateful for his kindness, but at this moment, it feels like an intrusion. You don't want to be watched, especially not now, when you're trying to hold yourself together.

Despite the music in your ears, the warmth of your anger pushes through. You bite your lip, trying to keep your frustration in check. Confrontation isn't your style, especially not in a situation like this. Instead, you lower your gaze, focusing on the floor in front of you, hoping he'll take the hint and stop watching.

Minutes pass, the cold pressing in on you, but the warmth of your irritation keeps you from shivering. You keep your eyes averted, trying to lose yourself in the music, but it's hard to shake the feeling of being under scrutiny.

You glance down at your phone, scrolling aimlessly through the same old messages and apps. No new notifications, no one to text or call. The sense of isolation tightens around you, a familiar but not unwelcome companion.

You move slightly, hoping to remain unnoticed, but Kenny spots you. He nudges one of his teammates and points in your direction. The others glance over, curiosity flickering in their eyes. You feel a pang of discomfort, wishing you could blend into the wall behind you.

The power cuts out suddenly, plunging the rink into complete darkness. The hum of lights and machinery is replaced by an eerie silence, broken only by the initial startled exclamations of the boys. Panic sets in quickly among them, their voices rising in a cacophony of fear and confusion.

"Hey, what happened?"

 "Where's the light switch?" 

"I can't see anything!"

"Where's Ryan?"

"IT'S OVER FOR US!" 

The boys' shouts echo off the cold, now pitch-black walls, amplifying their anxiety. You hear them stumbling around, their movements frantic and uncoordinated. Amidst the chaos, the coach's voice rises, trying to regain control.

"Everyone, calm down! Stay where you are! We'll figure this out." Trevor emerges from his office, Katya close behind in a desperate attempt to calm the scrambling teenagers. 

His attempts to soothe the team are met with limited success. The boys' fear has already taken hold, and their nerves are frayed by the unexpected blackout. Their shouts blend into an indistinct roar, making the air feel thick with their collective unease.

You remain where you are, calm and still, a stark contrast to the agitation around you. The darkness doesn't frighten you; it's a familiar companion. You hug your knees tighter, your breathing steady, focusing on the feel of the cold floor beneath you and the muted sounds of the storm outside.

The flash on the smartphones flicks on one by one, flooding the dark corridor with striking light that catches the contours of each and everyone's face. It really looked like you were in a horror movie. Like some creature would scuttle down from the vents overhead and start picking you off. 

You hear the clatter of skates and equipment as the boys scramble in the darkness, their movements chaotic and uncoordinated. Someone bumps into the boards, eliciting a string of curses, while another trips over a stray hockey stick, the thud echoing loudly.

The coach's attempts are met with limited success. The boys' voices overlap, each one trying to be heard over the others. The cacophony is overwhelming, a tempest of fear, confusion, and partial anarchy.

But you remain an island of calm amidst the storm. Seated on the cold floor by the door, you pull out your phone, the faint glow of the screen a small comfort in the darkness. You scroll through your camera roll, it doesn't have much in it aside from pictures of your baking and your dog.

You swipe through pictures of your dog lounging on the couch, playing in the park, cuddling up to you in bed, and napping in a sunbeam. His velvet black fur and soulful eyes pull your mouth into a little smile.

Around you, the boys' panic continues unabated. Some of the boys had put their phones face down so the flash would flood the hall, the beam slicing through the dark, casting erratic shadows on the walls. The light only adds to the confusion, making the shadows dance wildly.

They seemed to care a whole lot more than you did. When the focus was torn from you, you were more than happy.

"That's my stick!" 

"Stop pushing!" 

"Get off my foot, asshole!"

"I fucked your mom." 

"Coach, what do we do?"

Craig stood behind Tweek, arms wrapped around his waist to keep the flailing boy away from the doors while screamed and thrashed even more as everyone was soaked in darkness. 

Stan's voice cuts through the chaos, steady and authoritative. "Guys, seriously, just listen to Coach. We'll be fine."

"Fuck off, Stan!" Another one of the boys yells, throwing his glove at Stan who looks around, more confused than anything else.

Just as the chaos seems to be subsiding, a new commotion erupts. Two of the boys, still on edge from the blackout, start arguing. Their voices rise sharply above the murmur of the group, quickly drawing everyone's attention.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!" one of them shouts.

"Back off, man! It was an accident!" the other retorts.

Before anyone can react, the argument escalates. In the dim light of the scattered phone flashlights, you see them shove each other, their silhouettes clashing. The noise level spikes again as the boys around them try to intervene, shouting and pushing to break up the fight.

"Guys, stop it!" 

"Cut it out, both of you!" 

"World star!"

The coach's voice booms out, authoritative and commanding. "Enough! Break it up! Now!"

Despite the coach's orders, the fight continues to escalate. You can hear the thud of fists meeting flesh, the grunts of exertion, and the scuffling of skates on the concrete floor. The atmosphere is charged with aggression and adrenaline.

You remain seated on the floor, your back against the door, your phone still in hand. The pictures of your dog are a stark contrast to the violence unfolding nearby, but you refuse to let it pull you in. You swipe to another photo, this one of Toothless lying on his back, belly exposed, inviting a rub. The memory makes you smile faintly, a small bubble of calm in the midst of the storm.

Katya, who has been watching the scene unfold, finally steps in. "Hey! Knock it off!" She pushes through the crowd, grabbing one of the boys by the arm and pulling him away with ease despite her small frame. "This isn't helping anyone. No one is going anywhere until the storm is over!"

The coach joins in, pulling the other boy back. "That's enough! Both of you, sit down and cool off. Now!"

Gradually, the fight is broken up. The boys are separated, still glaring at each other, but the physical confrontation has ended. The others backed away, giving the combatants space while muttering amongst themselves.

In the aftermath, the rink feels even colder, the tension palpable. The coach continues to bark orders, trying to restore a sense of order and calm. The boys settle into an uneasy silence, the adrenaline slowly fading.

Kenny approaches cautiously, his figure a shadow against the faint glow of your phone. He sits down beside you, maintaining a respectful distance but close enough that you can feel his presence.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asks, his voice gentle, almost hesitant.

You glance at him briefly, then return your gaze to your phone. "You already are."

Kenny sits next to you in silence, the air around you thick with the weight of unsaid words. The rink remains dark and cold, the boys' voices now a distant hum, but the tension between you and Kenny feels palpable. He inches, as if he wants to speak, but holds back, unsure of how to break the silence.

You continue to scroll through your phone, your attention seemingly absorbed by the photos of Toothless. The light from your screen casts a soft glow on your face, highlighting your calm demeanor. To Kenny, you seem perfectly content in your own world, a stark contrast to his thoughts running rampant.

He sneaks glances at you, hoping to catch a hint of interest or an opening for conversation. His mind races with things he wants to say, compliments about your taste in music, questions about your life, anything to bridge the gap between you. But each time he opens his mouth, the words die in his throat.

Kenny sighs quietly, trying to steady his nerves. He likes you-your quiet demeanour, your calm in the chaos, the way you find solace in the small things. Yet, sitting here beside you, he feels an invisible wall between you two, one he doesn't know how to breach.

You don't seem to notice his internal struggle. Your focus remains on your phone, fingers swiping through photos with an absent-minded grace. Kenny watches you, trying to discern your thoughts, but your expression gives nothing away.

In the dim light, he shifts again, his hand brushing lightly against yours. He pulls back quickly, an apology ready on his lips, but you don't react. The fleeting touch, barely there, feels like a missed opportunity, another moment lost to the silence.

He wants to tell you how much he admires your calmness, and how he finds your presence soothing despite the chaos of the night. He wants to share more about himself and find common ground beyond brownies and shared stillness. But the more he looks at you, the more he feels that you're perfectly content without his words.

He swallows hard, the silence stretching on. The darkness around you seems to amplify the distance between you, making every unspoken word feel heavier. Kenny leans back, resigning himself to the quiet. 

The silence between you and Kenny stretches on, but it's not uncomfortable. In fact, you begin to appreciate that he doesn't try to fill the quiet with conversation. His presence is steady and unobtrusive, a rare quality that makes you feel a sense of ease you hadn't anticipated.

As you sit there, tapping through photos of Toothless, a thought occurs to you. You glance at Kenny out of the corner of your eye, noticing the way he seems content to simply be there, sharing the space with you without any expectations. It's a subtle but meaningful gesture, one that sparks a sense of gratitude.

You reach into your bag, rummaging around until your fingers find a small tin. You open it, revealing a collection of homemade caramels, each one carefully wrapped in wax paper. The sweet, buttery scent wafts up, a comforting aroma that reminds you of the calm moments spent in your kitchen.

Wordlessly, you hold out the tin to Kenny. He looks at you, surprise flickering in his eyes before he smiles. The genuine warmth in his expression makes your heart lighten. 

He looks at you, surprised, but then his expression softens into a warm smile. He takes a piece, unwrapping it carefully and popping it into his mouth.

"Thanks," his voice gentle and appreciative. "I can't believe you make this stuff yourself," he mutters so quietly that you barely catch it. 

You nod. The caramel's sweet aroma mingles with the cold air, creating a moment of shared solace. Kenny's presence feels less like an intrusion now and more like a comforting anchor in the uncertainty of the blackout.

The two of you sit there, enjoying the quiet and the caramel, finding a sense of peace and connection in the midst of the chaos. His willingness to simply be with you, to understand your world without needing to change it or rush to fill the gaps of silence that you sought.

As you both sit there, the shared silence grows deeper and more comfortable. Kenny shifts slightly beside you, then turns his head to look at you. "What are you listening to?" he asks, his voice soft and genuinely curious.

You open your eyes and look at him, your heart pounding a little faster. For a moment, you're unsure. Letting someone into your world, even in this small way, feels daunting. But Kenny has been trying so hard to be there for you, to understand you. His persistence may have been chipping away at you.

You hesitate, staring at him, weighing the risk. Kenny's expression remains open and patient, his eyes encouraging but not pressuring. Taking a deep breath, you make a decision.

Maybe, just this once you would take the chance. 

"Do you want to listen?" you ask quietly, your voice barely above a whisper.

Kenny's face lights up with a genuine smile. "Hell yeah."

With a small nod, you reach up and gently remove one of your headphones, offering it to him. He takes it, his fingers brushing against yours for a brief moment.

Kenny puts the headphones in his ear, and you press play on your phone, restarting the song. The soft, calming melody fills the space between you, creating an intimate bubble of sound. You glance at him, trying to gauge his reaction. His eyes close for a moment as he listens, softly nodding along to the rhythm. "Who is this?"

"Daughter."

"Daughter," he mutters out loud to be sure he remembers "Sweet." 

You nod, feeling a warm sense of satisfaction. Sharing this small piece of your world, there was a little sense of pride that came with the fact he liked your music. 

The soft music envelops you, each note weaving a sense of calm that contrasts starkly with the chaos around you. The hockey team, still restless, starts to settle in for the night. Their earlier laughter and jokes have quieted down, replaced by a more subdued atmosphere. Some of them are sprawled out on the floor, using their jackets as makeshift pillows, while others lean against the walls, whispering in low tones.

"Always wondered what you were listening to," He says absentmindedly "Can you send me this playlist?"

"You don't have my number."

"I think there's a pretty easy solution to this." He was terrified to mess this up. 

His words hang in the hair for a moment and you meet Kenny's eyes, seeing the hopeful yet anxious expression on his face, and your heart softens just the slightest.

You reach into your bag and pull out a pen, holding it in your hand as you hesitate. You press the marker to his skin, pausing for a moment as you feel the weight of the moment. Then, with careful strokes, you begin to write your number on the back of his hand where it rests on his knee.

As you finish, you glance up at Kenny, though he's too busy staring at your handwriting to meet your gaze. "Awesome," He mumbles, staring down at it in awe.

A/N: this chapter felt too slow for me so expect some tweaks in the next one

[writingquestionsanswered]

how to be more creative?

Three Steps to Being More Creative

Step One: Filling Your Creative Well

You can't create something out of nothing. You need not just the right tools and medium, but also knowledge, ideas, and skills to help you know what to do with those tools and that medium.

Ideas come from the data that's already stored in our brains. That data comes from a variety of places: your day-to-day life, your life experiences, what you hear about others' day-to-day lives and experiences, your experiences with the people and places around you, etc. Any little thing your brain absorbs can become an idea.

So, the number one thing you need to do if you want to be more creative is to fill your head with ideas. I like to call this "filling your creative well," because it's all about filling up your brain with a variety of experiences, stories, and experiences so that you have someplace to draw from when you need ideas.

Guide: Filling Your Creative Well will walk you through how to do that.

Step Two: Learn to Take Creative Risks

Another important part of being more creative is learning to take creative risks. By trying a variety of creative endeavors, even if they're not something you think you'll be good at, and by trying new things in current creative endeavors, you can exercise and expand your creativity. For example, grab a friend or family member and head to one of those "paint and sip" places where they guide you through doing a painting. Alternatively, a lot of craft stores offer free and inexpensive classes that teach you how to do different crafts. You could also go on YouTube and learn how to do something you've never tried before, like origami, crocheting, or calligraphy. Even doing things like building and decorating homes in The Sims, decorating homes or your island in Animal Crossing, or any game where you get to exercise creative choice is a good way to try new things and take creative risks. For writing, try doing some writing prompts or participating in a writing challenge, like a six-word story contest or challenge yourself to turn a favorite song into an actual story (just for fun and personal use.) If you've never written fan-fiction before, try that! Or try writing a story in a genre you've always wanted to write but never have before. Even reading a book, watching a TV show or movie, or playing a game in a new genre can help expand your creative horizons.

Step Three: Let Go of a Need for Perfection

One of the biggest enemies of creativity is a feeling that everything you create needs to be perfect, and this is such an unfortunate thing because most things that require creativity are not things you're ever going to do perfect the first time. So if you can't get past this need to be perfect, you'll never be able to exercise and grow your creativity. So, don't be afraid to paint a bad painting, crochet an uneven scarf, fold a lopsided paper crane, or write a bad story. The point isn't to be perfect or even good. The point is to do it, because even bad art is good practice.

And... if you just wanted to know how to be more creative within a story you're writing, all of the above advice still stands. Fill your creative well, take creative risks, and let go of a need for perfection. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[spacechild-glitchypix]

How to position facial features for the Our Life sprites

Idk how many people need this tutorial (especially since I kinda sat on it for like a month...whoops) but I noticed people were starting to make more sprite edits and videos using the in-game sprites and I thought having this tutorial might help for those of you who don't know exactly how to place the expression layers for the sprite.

Part 1: What am I talking about?

Ok so some of you may be reading the post title and thinking "what the hell does that mean?". For those who are unaware, if you decompile OL1 and OL2, you can find the sprites used for the characters in the game. These files are generally in character folders that contain all the bits for each sprite as well as several versions of the sprite itself in different outfits. All these base sprites files look a little like this

You may have noticed the glaringly obvious detail that Qiu here is missing most of their face. That's because there are several seperate images used for their eyebrows, eyes and mouth. The reason they're all seperated like this is to give more creative freedom over expressions than what would be allowed if there were just already a set number of sprites with set expressions

However, if you want to make a spite edit video, that means you have to piece all the expression layers over the sprite and, since the expression layers don't have the same canvas size as the sprite, you have to actually place them on the face yourself. This can lead to stuff like this.

If you're looking at this and thinking it doesn't look quite right, you're correct. This is the issue you're noticing

This is generally what happens when you try placing expression layers by eye, you end up sort of assuming you've got the right spot when you're actually slightly wrong. And this is gif just shows the facial features in the wrong spot vertically

So, I've explained the problem, now how do you fix it? It's simple actually.

Part 2: The actual tutorial part

What you'll need:

The sprites and expression layers you need (this tutorial assumes you already have the game decompiled. If you don't and have no idea how to do so, here's a tutorial for just that)

An editing software that has a tranform tool such as Photopea, Photoshop, GIMP, etc.

Step 1: Open up the sprite you want to use in your image editing software of choice and import in all the expression layers you want to use

Step 2: Open up the transform tool on your editing software. Where this is may vary, on Photopea and Photoshop you can open up either through the shortcut alt+control+t or clicking on edit in the top bar and selecting Free Transform from the menu. If you don't know where the transform tool is in your software, I'd suggest looking it up

(A showcase of where the tranform tool is in Photopea and Photoshop)

(What the transform box should look like

Step 2.5 (This might be photopea specific, idk if other software does this): If your transformation tool box looks like this, cancel out of the tool (using the little x button on the top bar) and then open the transformation tool back up again. Make sure you're not selecting multiple layers and also make sure you didn't open the tool with the transformation controls tick box from the top bar. If none of that works, just delete the layer and grab it from your folder again and try again

Step 3: With the transform tool still open on your desired layer, move the layer so that it snaps against the corner of your canvas. Your image editing software should automatically have layer snapping enabled but, if not, I suggest looking up how to turn it on. If it doesn't have this, the best suggestion I have would just be to make sure the corner of the transform tool's box and the corner of the canvas allign. Zoom in if need be. You then repeat this process for the other expression layers (and any other layers that aren't automatically allighned like the blush layers or the tear layers)

(Notice the red lines that show up when it snaps against the corner)

Step 4: Export your sprite file because that's it, you did it! Now you have a sprite with the layers placed in the right spots! Isn't that great!

...(maybe I should've chosed a happier expression for this...)

Anyways, I hope this helps!

[catgirlforeskin]

what's the top three things you hate about cyberpunk red?

1. Awful combat balance in a game that’s mostly combat. Armor is extremely powerful, is unavoidable, and even the best tools to reduce armor do so at a snail’s pace. This makes anything besides full-auto assault rifles (the most swingy weapon) or rocket launchers feel like shit to use, and using these (especially full-auto ARs) either does nothing or one-shots characters. Because exotic weapons can’t use attachments, you’re almost always better off with a basic AR or assault rifle.

Action economy also sucks, giving free movement in a cover shooter but then making getting in and out of cover just take movement means you virtually always have free cover. And cover might as well be invincible. Look at Twilight: 2000 4e for a game that does tabletop cover shooting fantastic

Status effect weapons and equipment, aka all the interesting items for combat, are useless outside of early play because the DVs never increase while character stats skyrocket on both sides.

2. Promoting style over substance but then lacking both. The game has basically no support for creative or stylish play, especially in combat. Just look at a game like Mythras that both has more tactical depth and extremely stylish and cinematic combat, then look at Cyberpunk. It relies entirely on good player narration and inserted flavor that has no actual connection to the game, like 5e. Honestly it’s the 5e of scifi tabletop, it relies entirely on brand recognition. Subjectively I also just think the art is ugly lol.

3. Jesus Christ the book layout is so bad. There’s so many extremely important rules tucked away in tiny spaces while there’s tons of wasted area. We’d be months into a campaign and then discover something massive because the book just sucks. Imo every game should have a free SRD online or aon style website like Pathfinder 2e has, which also just has great book layouts.

So this was more than three technically teehee but yeah I hate Cyberpunk Red, there are so many better cyberpunk games, including just earlier editions of Cyberpunk if you really want to play their official dumb brand, 2020 is way better in both style and substance!

[nanowrimo]

How to Write a Quality First Draft

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. ProWritingAid, a 2023 NaNo sponsor, helps you turn your rough first draft into a clean, clear, publish-ready manuscript. Today, author Krystal N. Craiker shares some tips on how to make sure your first draft has some good bones to start with:

One question I often hear about National Novel Writing Month is, “Won’t my novel be of terrible quality?”

It’s true that writing 50,000 words in 30 days won’t give you a polished manuscript. And it’s always great to embrace the creative mess of the first draft.

However, there are some tricks to ensure that your first draft has plenty of usable content. These tips are also a great way to move your story along when you get stuck.

1. Have a Plan

Pantsers, this might be hard to hear. But having even a basic outline of your story can ensure you stay on track. You don’t have to sacrifice creativity when you outline. After all, you’re still the author creating a story. 

A detailed outline can even act like your messy first draft. The more work you put into planning, the better your first draft will be. When I spend more time plotting, I spend far less time cutting things from my later drafts.

2. Make Every Scene 3D

Okay, I get it. Not everyone is a plotter. Luckily, there are other things you can do to ensure your first draft is good quality. One is adding enough sensory detail to bring your story to life.

I like to use a 3D method: have at least three of the five senses in every scene. It’s a great trick to improve the flow of your scene. Take a few minutes to immerse yourself in your story and write what your characters are experiencing.

You might change it or move it around in your final draft, but you’ll save yourself time during revisions if you add sensory detail from the beginning. 

3. Reword Your Writing

Sometimes we get stuck after one bad sentence. The imposter syndrome kicks in, and the scene just falls flat. 

Ideally, we completely turn off our inner editor during NaNoWriMo. But when you encounter that one pesky sentence, it’s okay to rewrite it. 

You can use a tool like ProWritingAid’s Rephrase. Just highlight your sentence, click Rephrase, and select a new sentence. Rephrase uses your own words and enhances them. And don’t worry about security and privacy—ProWritingAid never uses your writing to train AI.

4. Embrace the Chaos

Of course, the most important thing about National Novel Writing Month is to embrace the messy creative process. It’s okay not to have a perfect manuscript at the end of the month—no one will. 

Everyone will need to revise, edit, and rewrite after November ends. That’s why NaNoWriMo includes "I Wrote a Novel... Now What?" resources. And when you’re ready to turn your mess into a masterpiece, ProWritingAid will be there to help.

Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and content writer who sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which bring fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

Top photo by No Revisions on Unsplash

[intuitively-her]

Why are you successful?

Pile 1-(6 of wands, Temperance, 3 of wands, The Devil rx, 10 of cups, Death, 2 of cups)

You have the fight inside you to help you push through difficult situations. You're very confident and you have high self-esteem. You can turn glitter into gold. You know how to shift situations to make them go in your favor. You don't let anything block your path. You also don't stay stuck in a rut for long in situations. You can easily break free from things that don't serve you. You've also been through many endings and rebirths. You know how to take your losses and turn them into creations. Someone here could be an artist. You continue to be a loving individual despite the hardships you've faced in the past.

*Angel messages: Keep charging ahead, and don't take no for an answer. Expect miraculous solutions to appear. A happy move to a new home or place of employment is in the works. This movement will usher in new positive energy. New romance is imminent- either with a newcomer, or through reignited passion in your existing relationship. Be open to giving and receiving love.

*channeled song: perfect day by hoku

Pile 2-(Page of cups, Knight of pentacles, The Hanged Man, Ace of pentacles rx, 4 of pentacles, Death, 9 of cups)

You know how to bring your creativity to life! You dream big and think outside of the box. I heard "think big b*tch". You move with a practical mindset. You're efficient with both the inner and outer work you do on yourself. Some of you could be into shadow work. You can throw yourself into any situation and not worry about the outcome-simply because of your trust in the universe. You're a very stable individual. It's impossible to knock you off your throne. Despite that, you still remain humble. You come out on top in situations that once drug you down. You have the drive to make your dreams come true!

*Angel messages: I am the angel of peace. I bring you new tranquility and a smoother road ahead. You are a spiritual teacher. You have the ability to counsel others and help them awaken their spiritual gifts and divine life mission. I am the angel of abundance. You will receive the money that you need, and God is in charge of how that will happen. Have faith.

Pile 3-(Queen of wands, 9 of swords rx, 4 of cups, King of swords rx, The Magician rx, The Empress, 2 of wands rx)

You're a very passionate individual. You put a lot of passion into your creative endeavors. You're very optimistic with what life brings you. You know when to let yourself be vulnerable and ask others for help. I'm getting that this used to be a struggle for some of you. You don't get caught up in illusions. You see the bigger picture in situations. You know how to let loose and not take life so seriously. You can manipulate situations and people to make them work in your favor. You like to throw yourself in uncomfortable situations because you know it aids your growth. You help others recognize untapped skills/abilities they have within. You're a very harmonious individual overall. You like to keep the peace.

*Angel message: It is safe for you to be powerful. You know how to be powerful in a loving way that benefits others as well as yourself.

Pile 4-(7 of swords rx, Ace of cups, Ace of wands, The Magician, The Moon, 4 of wands rx, 3 of cups)

You know how to see past illusions and get to the bottom of the truth. You always make a way to welcome new beginnings into your life. You're very open to making new connections and networking with many different people. You're a powerful creator and an inspiration to many. You're very resourceful as well. Maybe someone here uses divination tools? You're a logical being, and intuitive as well. What's most powerful though, is how you know how to balance your intuition and logic.

*Angel messages: I am the angel of families. A happy change or addition is coming to your family. New psychic and spiritual experiences are changing the way you view the world and yourself. Allow your spiritual gifts to open-through study, prayer, and meditation.