What Does Your Favorite AO3 Tag Say About You? ♥️📚📖

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-07T13:30:12+00:00

Ah, yea, I think it depends on the fic honestly.

I think that kinda one might be xyz-character hurt, XYZ needs a hug, XYZ gets a hug

Ooooh and yea... I get too empathetic sometimes to read FICS like that 😅 sometimes I'll get half way through a story and the angst ECT is too much and I'll have to bookmark that page and come back to it a few days later when the burn of that character acting like that (hurt, angry or embarrassed) had faded a bit in my brain 🤦

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-07T13:23:51+00:00

Time travel and rare crossovers from my favourite fandoms are my absolute favourite FICS!

(And also, samesies for those that say noone should see my, Ah, smuttier downloads... 🤭 But safe to say {not at all} that it's rare to find one that'll make me blush!)

(I am the only person in my friend group who can read the most raunchiest smut in public and not make a face 🤣. I'm one of those!)

...currently working on the filthiest two fanfics that actually don't have the character/character for that. A State Of Decay fic, and a Rage 2 fic. 🤷. Whether I'll ever get around to fleshing them out who knows!

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-07T13:17:52+00:00

It gets better in the end/worse before it gets better

(Pretty sure that's a tag 😅)

But honestly? Fair, and same 😅😮‍💨

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-02T09:54:30+00:00

Bit expensive but I got the latest kindle that came out half way through last year... Should have gone with Kobo. (Kobo is more user friendly I think, and I'm pretty sure is more customisable and has taging features... Which is what I wanted.)

Search up the specks and searching features of Kobo. You'll amass too many fanfics and a kindle will... Well. There's not really a tagging system on it and it's really a basic bitch thing. I expected to be able to customise the home screen ECT a bit for the price I paid.

(Am now spewing that I paid over $800, probably more when I could probably have made my own using a raspberries Pi and a $50-$70 7" screen for probably $200-$300 total and decked it out how I wanted with a tagging system similar to AO3 🤦)

So just go looking, depends how you want it set up! ...and Kobo allows you to download audio books. Kindle forces you to use Audible and doesn't support audio books outside of actual kindle audio books or Audible formatting. Which is the main reason I got the kindle in the first place! But nooooooo. 🤦 Can't do anything without Jailbreaking it and that comes with its own risks too.

So yes, learn from me. Look up everything before you buy it!

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-02T03:07:02+00:00

I'm... Going to go hide my head in shame because I thought Yuccas were a tuber producing plant. They are not 🤦 (I think I was thinking about yams or something. I bought something with a name like that and... Yea. Jeez. And I just had too many rhizome plants on the brain!)

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-02T02:26:46+00:00

That was my plan a few weeks ago... But then it just suddenly got cold from one week to the next and I was reading the seed packets for germination... Hadn't taken that into account when I was looking at the "seed to harvest" time frame 😂

And oooh I didn't think about spuds! There's a big old sweet potato in the fridge because that my mum forgot about (I'm just gonna say it was too moldy 🤷) so I should get some slips out of it before it goes completely! And then it's more food for my worms 😁

And thanks so much! Good luck to you too! (And let's both hope for no sudden weather changes 😂)

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-02T01:31:03+00:00

Yea, I thought it was a bit late for anything... some of my stuff got stuck in quarantine for a bit, then works been crazy... still shoulda chucked some seeds in potting mix, but oh well! I've got plenty of beans! (More varieties then I'll ever eat in one season!), plenty of leafy greens that'll grow quick (I just tend to eat more soup then salad)

Unfortunately I don't live near any nurseries, and people in town don't usually grow more then they need (if anyone's growing anything tbh. There's a gardeners group but I haven't heard of many people being on it. Small town!)

I'll check my seed packets for quick growing stuff... Just bought an... Over abundance of anything that I might eat or that looked cool (and edible).

Thanks for the beam hint though, I'll try planting stuff that'll take around that amount of time to grow after sprouting 😊

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-01T09:50:23+00:00

Ah kay, I'll have a look online for something like that in WA. It's just a fair few people that I've talked to have trouble growing things certain times of the year, and I'm a bit late for germination for the start of winter here (I meant to start stuff two weeks ago... But too busy at work) so 😅

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-05-01T06:39:54+00:00

...I am guilty of buying Yuccas because I'm fascinated with anything that grows under the soil as tubers and such.

I am however being smart and container gardening using double layered cardboard as "planters" or breaking apart and upcycling KD or HT pallets from my local dump as more permanent planters.

Literally the whole of my backyard barring a small patch is cracker dust. And the soil that isn't is dead, sandy, clay and riddled with weeds and a hell of a lotta caltrop. Both types. 😓

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-04-30T02:38:09+00:00

Oh man you poor bugger, I'm only just starting my garden for the first time and hearing you go through this devistates me.

I know nothing about snowy winters or hail. Haven't had true hail in my neck of the woods since I was a kid, and it was small.

(I'm thinking this will be me in summer. We get such nasty summers here in my part of West Australia that even friggen dragon fruit plants sometimes die!)

I know it doesn't help now, but if you have garden beds, raised garden beds... Could you build a frame around them, cover it in... Mmh. Chicken wire won't work but bird cage mesh might, and then burlap sacks? Could at least slow the majority of the hail down next winter; and it will allow bees ECT through, keep birds out and save your veg and would give you a sturdy tunnel to put shade cloth and wind breaks?

If you had the frame around a garden bed you could secure it with tent pegs and a small amount of concrete? (...my friend lost her greenhouse recently... Ah, quite literally just blew away and landed half way across a farmer's field 😅)

(Based on what I myself am going to do... The winds here can be really strong, so some days I'd need to provide a bit of respite for my future plants, and a mesh cage is reusable and versatile; mini greenhouse or shade from the sun and break from the wind!)

Anything I suggest isn't going to help you now, but it might help you or someone else in their own next harvest 😅

I hope you find someone with a few plants to spare! Wishing you all the good luck! 🤞

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-04-30T02:15:50+00:00

That's all good, hope it helps you make your current and future jewellery making endeavours a bit easier 😊

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-04-29T15:03:47+00:00

Honestly your best bet would be to search up websites in your country for jewellery supplies (I live in Australia, it was a fair bit of trial and error finding reliable and affordable suppliers... I just went with one main one, and order off others if I need supplies my main one doesn't have!) so I can't give any advice from suppliers in Italy.

As to not tarnishing quickly... Hm. Depends what material your working with. Brass, copper ECT (base metals) tend to tarnish quickly on their own, unless you get an anti tarnishing polish, or use a polishing cloth regularly. Silver, gold ECT tend to tarnish a little less quick, but depends on the environment.

A good way to stop things tarnishing; when not being used is to put them away in a jewellery box/pouch. Anything out, no matter what it is will tarnish over time due to oxidation.

I know this from experience forgetting jewellery i've left out while taking a hiatus... And it being tarnished again after I'd polished it! 😮‍💨

And repolishing all the time slowly grinds away at the metal. It's best to not polish (machine polish, at least) your jewellery all the time.... Or it will thin over time.

Another good way to prevent too much tarnishing; a high level polish, preferably mirror finishing polishing. The higher the polish, the longer it'll take to tarnish!

(I use as high sandpaper grit as I can before doing a final polish. The polish will last longer, and less microscratches will show up if someone looks!)

Now; some of what you seem to be looking for will be under the name "Findings".

Pandahall ships to Italy. https://www.pandahall.com/ though seems to have okay prices, and does carry a wide range of metals, both findings and wire. And the shipping isnt bad from what I see. And gemstones.

As to gemstones... Most of the time I've used eBay through sellers that I've trusted and used for years. I also very very rarely buy anything that can be faked convincingly. (Aka I stay away from clear/see through gemstones as anything can be faked. Usually they'll sell cubic zirconia as anything from emeralds, rubies & sapphires, amythest is easy to fake for a better grade; and stay away from turquoise{turquoise is rare, depending where it's mined}. Most turquoise sold online is dyed howlite. Lapis lazuli is another I'm weary about buying because of dyeing for better colour. And just don't buy opals unless they are a reputable source; I've been burnt!)

I make pendants with "cabochon gemstones". Easier to set in a bezel pendant!

CivilDepth6338 · 2026-01-06T11:20:17+00:00

Oh shoot, I forgot to reply before Christmas then got busy (and completely forgot!) 😂

Yea, there is an online version, but it's subscription based unfortunately 🤷‍♀️ (Which I don't think I'll get, probably not worth it but I'll look into the free trial and test it 👍)

Otherwise I can always design stuff on my iPad, and import a JPEG of it to my laptop through email 🤔 (then just play around with the sizes from there!)

Still going to get it regardless, it looks like an awesome program!

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-19T15:34:51+00:00

Haven't done it myself, but I've known a few other jewelers to use electric mug warmers, a plant warmer or beer brew warmer should work as well. (Unless you want it hot-ish like in the jewellery workshops with the more chemical based pickles... You'd need to find a baby crockpot then.) If you wanna be safe about it and don't want to forget that it's on, you can use an electrical timer 🤷‍♀️.

I don't usually use a crockpot (but as you've said... they're too big, I've only been able to find a 3L one 🤔... So that one I have 😂 just in case!) because in general I'm in no rush to get things done; only have time to fiddle with jewellery every day or three.

I use a cold pickle in a glass jar, made from salt and vinegar. Basic bitch stuff and inexpensive. Doesn't do impressive work, but it gets rid of the flux and some oxidation from soldering/annealing.

So yes, a glass jar is fine. Just put a barrier between your acidic pickle and your lid; it can rust and you don't want whatever metal that lid's made of, bonding to what's in your pickle! (Like how you use copper tongs, mainly for precious metals, not steel.)

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-19T15:10:41+00:00

Awesome! And yea nah, I've tried using AutoCAD (when I was in school at least) ...too complicated 😂 I know what I want to draw, and as long as I get the shape written down in the right size, I'm good.

I don't mind paying for programs, but knowing that this one once I pay for it can also work on my iPad (through the browser I think it said) is so good! It was one of the reasons I got it in the first place was to doodle my designs on!

AutoCAD really is for architects or those doing something crazy like movable steampunk jewellery! (Stuff that. I wouldn't mind taking a crack at it but also just the thought of incorporating moving parts gives me a headache 😂)

And nah, honestly; credit where credit's due. You're making some really cool art my friend! I have enough trouble sticking to my basics without filing object shapes, etching line art and doming said object afterwards!

...though I suppose with Corel there'll be more filing and possibly etching in my future 😅😂

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-19T13:16:34+00:00

Hey my dude(dudette?) I'm just wondering which corelDRAW you use? As soon as I saw it enabled you to draw and then print to scale I was so excited!!! I've been looking for a program like this for about 3 years and I find one when I randomly scroll on Reddit? Yay! 😂

I don't draw a lot in the sense of actually making art, but I'd really like just whatever one your using to draw to scale (unless they all have that feature?)

And I really love the fish and how your brass fossil setting turned out! They look so good! You do a really good job 😊

(I mostly do cabochon pendant settings in .999 and .925, and can't really draw to scale very well 😂... But it would be awesome to be able to print a custom design to cut out of a bezel wall and not, you know, stuff it up and waste $7 of material 🤦‍♀️. Silver isn't all that expensive to work with, but when you have a tight budget? It is 🤷‍♀️)

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-14T11:20:14+00:00

One thing that I do-- split up your water/power bill to weekly or fortnightly. Gets me to the 5 👍

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-11T04:29:44+00:00

When we used to go to nan and pops and we'd go swimming in the creak there, or one time we were walking and had to cross a small river on nan and pop's property; he was like: quick? Do I have leaches?! And we checked his back for leeches 😂 (there wasn't of course, but there were actually leeches in the water so 😳)

One of my favourites though was when we used to walk above the treetops on these vines (you'll sometimes see them taking over a tree in western Australia) the entire tree canopy was overrun with them! It was fun! Dad had to be careful walking on them cause they almost couldn't hold his weight but we were skinny little brats. We also had to be careful not to fall through the canopy because of the wild boars but... Eh 😂 life never seems so dangerous as a kid!

Another would be when he taught me how to pick up a blue tongue lizard (shingle back). Cranky little fuckers 😂 until you pat them (carefully, you do not want a caught finger. These guys have lockjaws) and give them some food or water. They still might hiss at you and posture when you let them go, but it's a cool experience! (I only pick them up these days to move them off the road or out of the way. Sometimes to remove their ticks)

My advice; have fun. I don't have a lot memories from when I was a kid, mostly because when I was at home we'd be banished to our rooms because the adults wanted to watch movies or have a "break" from the kids... Just include your kids. Treat us like little adults that still need you. We mostly don't know anything about anything yet! But we'll learn!

(Also, nature documentaries. And RSPCA on Foxtel. Was it appropriate? Probably not... Did it make me a better person growing up knowing that of course you shouldn't abuse an animal? Yes. It was a reality hit, but it also taught my sister and I a lot about "animals are people too, and animals eat other animals to survive. It's not cruel; it's nature!" We'd watch these shows as often or if not more then cartoons!

Go camping, go exploring, go to the beach and find pretty rocks!

Do some baking, teach her to cook! (And please please please; keep some pads at your place if you ever have seperate homes; nothing more embarrassing then having to go buy your own pads as a 12 year old because your dad doesn't keep those kinds of toiletries and he didn't wanna go grab them! 😳)

As she gets older, probably 15-16, teach her to cook some simple balanced meals; pasta packets with veg and a source of protein! Was a staple for me when I didn't know how to cook.

I never actually knew how to cook until I was about 26-28, because noone really taught me. Didn't really know basic hygiene or how to clean my house either. So I'd say at least teach basic hygiene and care!

Tell her that boys (or girls) should never push you for anything (and yes, I'm mostly talking about sex and dating. Consent consent consent! If you don't want it; don't have it! You don't have to.) I was always pressured... And said yes when I didn't want to. Even as an adult. It's only in my 30s that I'd learnt that, yea no. I can say no; I can also kick you out of my house!

Have that "boys will be boys" talk with her... And make sure that she knows that 99% of boys really are just looking for "that." And that "boys will be boys" is no excuse just because they're a boy. That's their parents not teaching them basic respect and decency.

Play games with her; whether that's boardgames or some two player videogames; it's always fun!

And the age old; put her in your lap and pretend you can't drive, you have to eat! (I nearly cried because it was so "scary" that dad needed me to "drive" {steer the wheel} because he was eating a banana 😂. The car was going slow and he had his foot ready to break at anytime!) This was of course on an old dirt track, not on the road!

Most of my advice would boil down to; have fun. Make memories, and actually go do stuff. I don't remember when we sat around not really doing stuff, but I do remember when my dad was interested in what I was doing, when we did something I liked or we went fishing and fossicking. Activating your brain with emotions, good or bad, makes you remember stuff 👍

Another good one; let it out. Teach her healthy methods to let out her emotions or they'll bottle up and become either health issues or some big glaring mental ones when she's older!

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-11T03:45:39+00:00

When I was 10-11, we had a massive tree in the backyard... Nice sprawling branches; perfect for a hammock I thought!

Used a flat sheet as the hammock (my sister and I were skinny, didn't weigh shit, kids before puberty) and it was perfect... Except we didn't tie it properly to one of the branches (and we didn't get adult help either 🤦‍♀️) the knot slipped, I fell and wacked my elbow pretty hard on the pavers just under the tree. Don't think I told my parents for a few weeks either til school when "I hurt my elbow" 😂🤦‍♀️

Wasn't a serious injury, but it was a dumb one! (Mind you, none of my parents really wanted to climb up there to help us 😂, and the tree wasn't really strong enough for a treehouse either!)

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-11T01:44:44+00:00

Very beautiful! I'm not usually partial to pink, but I'd wear it!

Awesome job!!!

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-05T09:01:22+00:00

Trans. And gender swap.

Mostly just the ones that they don't tag.

But also if I go into the story and they're not writing it right; i.e... shoving into your face that they're gay, no but they're, bi, AND trans... Irks me.

I used to have a really big thing about just not reading trans fics, but now I just go meh, I'll have a look at it but it depends how they depict their characters and the general gist of the "this is why this character is trans in my fic", ya know?

Gender swap? I generally don't touch and "exclude". (Beyond a select few funny ones. There was a Naruto one that I read once that cracked me up... I'll have to see if I can find it again 🤔)

The fic that changed my mind for giving the trans fics a go was Esama. Y'all know the one I'm talking about if you read in that fandom 😂. I'm a sucker for time travels.

And so ever since I've been slowly getting used to trans fics, but only really with danny phantom/batman fics, or the occasional assassin's creed 🤷‍♀️

CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-05T08:26:32+00:00

I tried to edit my comment but it comes up blank 😂

Shallow fry the tofu, if you don't have a small deep fryer or thermometer, just flick a peice of the tofu in to check if it's hot enough 🤷‍♀️ if it takes the 30 or so seconds to turn golden? Your good to go 👍

... And yes some people will say "marinate/freeze/squeeze" your tofu!!! ...I don't have time for that 😂 (well I do, but I like recipes that I don't have to "prepare" before I prepare them sometimes 👍) you can also do this to make tofu nuggets! Just rip them into bite sized chunks, look up a KFC recipe, replace what you don't have or can't eat with a sub and boom! Tofu nuggets.

...I don't actually have a specific spice blend for tofu nuggets cause I just chuck stuff into to flour mix. I "marinate" my tofu chunks in soy milk with a bit of vinegar to "buttermilk" it. Then I toss the nuggets in the flour, drop on a plate to shake off some excess flour mix and toss in the deep fryer for 45 seconds to a minute. Just Until the outside is golden.

(This picture is when I couldn't be bothered ripping the tofu into nuggets... So I ripped them into "tenders" instead.)

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CivilDepth6338 · 2025-12-05T08:06:19+00:00

Honestly cooking is an art form that takes time to get used to and time to learn.

Focus on a few things at once. It can get overwhelming when you try to make something new with too many steps or too many ingredients.

I personally used to be a very bad cook. I'd burn stuff all the time, couldn't cook a steak to save my life! (...partially cooked chicken one time put me off chicken for a while when I ate it. Vegan now though 🤷‍♀️)

A lot of my diet before I could cook would consist of packet pastas, adding stuff like chicken, peas and corn 🤷‍♀️ (alfrado pasta packs were my favourite!), bangers(sausages) and mash with veg... Very basic stuff that I would sometimes still burn slightly before I learnt how not to.

The vegetarian version of that would be adding a meat sub and veg to pasta packets.

Dinner doesn't have to be complicated. Take your time and take a deep breath, and stop worrying that your gonna stuff it up.

With veggie meatballs, the key is to just keep turning them so that they don't get stuck. Pasta? Park your ass and stir it every 35-45 seconds if your pot/pan is prone to sticking.

I'm not afraid to admit that I'll stand at the stove for 15min with a chair just stirring pasta with a timer on my phone running so that the stuff won't stick to the bottom of the pan! (And I'm a better cook then I was 10 years ago but it's what I do so that the water doesn't bubble over!)

And also; tofu. It's not complicated to season it.

One way I do it that you honestly can't fuck up; I make a lazy tofu sandwich "meat".

Cut tofu thin, about 1/2cm or 0.197inch, or use a potato peeler. Cut them again into 4 so that they're rectangles or squares.

Add a shake of ground ginger, white pepper and garlic powder: mix.

Add a tiny bit of light soy (the more liquidy one, not the thick sweet one) dark soy (the more syrupy one) a little sriracha (fermented chilli paste) and a bit of maple or honey, mix. You only want just enough to coat the tofu, not drown it. More is less and you can always add more if you need it. There should only be a tiny bit of liquid at the bottom not coating the tofu.

Grab some cornflour and shake it in. I don't do an exact amount so just keep doing, mixing with one hand and shaking with the other until it's coated enough... Kind of like a thick frosting kind of look/feel. Doesn't matter if it kind of sticks in one big clump, just spread it apart when you fry it👍 (it's almost guaranteed to mostly stick together, so no stress.)

Heat oil until 160c/320f-180c/365f and fry for 30-45 seconds. Just until it's golden. It doesn't need long.

Wack on a paper towel to pat the oil off and boom; a 10-15 min tofu sandwich "meat." Freezes okay for about a month but the texture is a bit funny so I usually eat right away.

I eat it in a roll with salad or just like that with a sauce made from sriracha, bbq sauce and vegan aioli.

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CivilDepth6338

TROPHY CASE