I actually DID pick up a fic from over a year ago and restart it. I’m so proud. I might even finish it this time. It’s a Pokemon fic because… well that’s just been my jam for a while now.
As a side note: Pokemon has been one of my longest running hyper-fixations, but I think that’s just because of the length and breadth of the content.
I suppose that means I’ll need to keep an eye out for other mega franchises in the future. It’s nice to have something enduring. XD
I hope all of you are doing well.
Since I know a lot of people out there struggle with a variety of illnesses, it’s good to keep in mind that this time of year you should be gentle with yourself. (April in particular is actually one of the harshest months for anyone dealing with depression, for example.)
It’s a slog. It will get better.
That may be completely unrelated to what any of y’all are going through, but I remember hearing it from an expert years ago and it was genuinely eye opening… and a good reminder to take a couple vacation or personal days in the Spring.
Happy weekend!
Ooooh gosh… I have many favorites… haha… and I don’t tend to veer toward a specific type. I’m a big fan of umbreon. Defensively, it’s fantastic and I find myself using it to tank quite often. I try to branch out and make use of the regional options so I’m not ALWAYS rerunning the same ones, but when I’m not setting parameters its one of my staples.
Re: Things falling apart… I’m sorry. I don’t know the situation, but I can definitely relate to feeling overwhelmed by…honestly…despair. Distractions are great and so is being kind to yourself. And yay work opportunities! I hope they’re good ones. :)
Your Dreamwidth can develop on your own schedule. It’s okay if it takes months, years, whatever. Everyone’s process is a bit different. Most artists have a broader portfolio of work than their “commercial” portfolio. The only stuff that runs on a schedule is the stuff that’s for sale. Would you bat a lash if someone told you an artist/writer/creator your really adored spent decades assembling a particular piece you loved? Whatever the medium?
It can be really hard to take yourself out of the commercial mindset. We’re so used to it, not just as a means of sale, but we’re used to homework and deadlines, and timed tasks. But this stuff? It doesn’t necessarily have to be timed and you can lean into your natural ebb and flow. And we all have them to varying degrees.
Right now, I feel like I’m just beginning to come out of a long hibernation. At some point, I’ll burrow again. So, keep doing what makes you feel good and definitely keep us posted on how your projects come along. :)
speaking of doodles~
Amazing!
I just meant in general, regardless of game use. Meganium and Galvantula are among my favourites but aren’t great for a serious teams (I use them anyways <3).
More of, “I wished my schedule allowed me to dive into this more” + anxieties/hopes to finding safe places to be stupid about new favourite things. Also a way to keep better eye on challenges and events. Not a great feeling when something rare you are into had an event and you completely missed it lol.
I have no interest nor energy to update anything I’m on for a daily nor weekly bases. Despite the fact I compulsively doodle nearly every day and thus technically have “content” that could be shared. But no thank you. (If anything to start, I’d just be posting old work on Dreamwidth. Have to continue spreading my love of DinoRun to absolutely nobody lol)
Thank you kindly for your thoughts and well wishes.
The “in-general” list is much longer…and is constantly being added to because I will develop some random attachment for whatever reason…but it does also include Umbreon! (Best eveelution IMO)…
It can be rough finding time for things you enjoy, not just time, but energy too–especially when you’re busy.
Personally, I am terrible at keeping up with special events, but I think that part of what I love about fandom is that it can be done on my time. If I’m craving something, I can make or search content related to it and see what’s out there. I know that’s much tougher when it’s rare.
Finding outlets and safe spaces to do that is important. There are some really solid communities and forums out there, so I’m sure it can be done. What are the new favorite things (if you want to share, no requirement to do so, as I know so folks like to keep some things for themselves).
I don’t think I could post art on a regular schedule either, no matter how much I draw. I just don’t think I’d enjoy making it into “work.”
I really really love the drawing btw. :)
Yes my full list of favourites are at least 50 monsters if not 100 long.
In general fandom stuff on my own time, yes. It only took me over a decade to write the first fics for a stupid dinosaur game. No regrets there. But in reading your response a thought came to me to where some of my personal hypocrisy comes from? That pressure knowing how a lot of people will just not engage with something if they don’t think they will get attention. Why people keep sticking to places like reddit instead of helping other sites grow.
The latest brain worm to grab me was what I was complaining about last week (or the week before?). The 2 musical animated series based in hell. The people who attack those for liking it and even fellow fans attacking each other for not liking things the right way. Usually I can roll with this but right now its at a particular pitchfork, fires with bandwagon stage. Obviously the smart answer is “wait to post and play after the trolls and purity police move onto something else” but that’s not how special interests work lol.
I’m glad!
Mood. Sometimes you just wanna jam on your favorite things.
It’s frustrating when you feel like you can’t engage without wading into contentious territory. It’s like walking into a room where everyone is mad at everyone else and you really were just there to have fun.
But I don’t think it’s a hypocrisy thing. I think it’s actually just that… we want both engagement and to see those smaller sites grow. People seek out forums and communities to connect, so it can be really tough to get excited about jumping into a community that is still not quite developed.
At the same time, when the “dominant” communal spaces become less welcoming or not as fun, it can be frustrating to not have alternatives, even if you ARE getting the engagement there.
And I don’t think anything about that is unreasonable or at odds on its own. It’s more like, sometimes you’re going to be more motivated by craving the engagement and you’ll be less okay trading that to achieve your other aim of growing a new community. Other times, you’re going to feel really invested in the community growth and it’s going to be hard not to feel let down when others aren’t on board because maybe they’re still seeking engagement.
Idk. This all makes sense in my head…in as much as anything else does. XD
Heck, and I love critique. I love being aware of what it takes to create the craft and calling out trash. But there is so much misinformation that people wield like a weapon happily.
Well, I don’t mind not getting (direct) engagement. My issue is people not seeing enough activity to feel its warrant enough to join. Enough people do it and it becomes self-fulfilled fate.
There is a particular community on reddit I love deeply but the idea of everyone migrating to a different platform was largely spoken of as if it was an act of betrayal. As if reddit itself was the entire reason the community was as it is instead of everyone who acts within it. I occasionally check in on it, but haven’t been logged on for… I have no idea at this point hhhh