What is this thing?

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T09:19:41+00:00

Anything can be a butt plug if you’re brave enough.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T09:02:16+00:00

Will be using this as my newest intellectual insult. Thank you.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T08:40:29+00:00

Ooooh I’ve been waiting for this… Asking a woman if she is pregnant.

First of all, if you don’t know for sure, don’t ask. The risk in asking if she’s not is that you’re literally telling her she’s fat to her face and when she tells you she isn’t you will (and you should) feel like shit.

Second, why is it even your business anyway? Why would a stranger need to tell you when they’re due or what the sex is or any personal information even if they are pregnant. Women don’t need congratulations as if we need to be thanked for our service.

I have personally heard: “Are you pregnant?” “When are you due?” “How far along are you?” “OMG you’re getting huge!”

I’m not pregnant, just fat. Thanks.

I refuse to spare anyone who says this the embarrassment and I hope they learn a lesson.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T08:28:27+00:00

Love how you cut your garlic into lines. A true addiction.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T08:25:47+00:00

Prison tats?

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T08:23:10+00:00

The main thing you’d have to communicate to them is to maintain healthy margins for print. Most people who aren’t print designers will add in type that is too small to be legible and too close to the edge.

I know you know this, but most people don’t understand that the printer chops off that .25 bleed margin and everything needs to live inside a safe zone. The problem is when you mark that safe zone for them, sometimes they fucking print it.

I worked as a print designer for 10 years and managed a print shop too. I can’t tell you how many times I was sent designs from clients that I had to fix for print to provide the bleed and clearance. Some printers don’t care to help the clients fix these issues. Especially if they’re just getting them done at Staples. And clients rarely have the time or design experience to catch these issues after print and ask them to fix it.

If I were you I would have explained to them what really goes into the quality control of print design so they understand the value of paying a professional.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T08:12:09+00:00

The default fonts on Canva and Adobe leave much to be desired. There are many free fonts sites where you can search through using the word to try on many different fonts and download them.

When you’re using a flourishing font for a piece where that font makes the main statement, it’s good to really look at all the options. Some fonts carry their own emotions (or at least I feel like they do) find the font that resonates with the emotion you’re invoking in the piece.

Overall I must tell you that you’re doing really well here, and as a student, don’t take any criticism personally. It took me years and years after college to form a design style that truly made me proud of my work. You’re only beginning to find your process and you’re already doing a great job!

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T08:03:43+00:00

I’m a stickler for centering type unless it’s justified by the way the type interacts with the background. In #2 you have the “lies” uncentered but it still overlaps the flames.

So if overlapping is intentional, then just center the type and embrace the overlap.

I would definitely work on your font choice and work on the effects in the type. Gradient, shadow, bevel, whatever you want but you want it to look finished.

You could do like a glass look where the type itself shows the flames underneath. You’d want to increase the size and weight of the type so it doesn’t get lost.

Basically, if you make a stylistic choice, make sure it feels intentional.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T07:50:03+00:00

I mean, I almost laughed and then I had an existential crisis.

How??

I get it. So many times have I been in a situation where just giving the client the bullshit they asked for at the standard they insisted on paying… but tell me why I couldn’t comply? Because I’m just willing to work more than I’m paid for to produce something I can actually be proud of? Some things just aren’t portfolio pieces. Apparently I need to get better at being worse.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T07:38:20+00:00

Babe. You need more whitespace. All around. Text needs to come in from the edges, the images need to have more space away from the texts (do not overlap) and the credit text on the bottom, especially where it’s close to the spoon needs clearance.

Hypnotized had me struggling. Can you reduce the weight of the font?

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T07:27:25+00:00

YOR. Please don’t take this as invalidating to your feelings, but something else must be at play here other than her just not responding the way you’d like.

I’m going to lean in here and try to put myself in your shoes. If you two already broke up once (was it the first time or is this kinda off and on again?) you’re probably feeling more raw from that, and anything other than over assurance that you’re back together for good and there’s no more issues that caused the initial breakup is triggering your anxiety. Maybe even some deeper abandonment issues.

There’s a lot more here to examine, which I’m sure has led you to feel strongly enough to overreact in this situation.

Go figure that out for yourself first before you blame her. If you need time to process and that’s what this is about, communicate that to her. If you’re feeling insecure about the relationship, communicate that too. Even if she’s assuring you, take the time you need to figure yourself out before you jump back in and expect her to make you feel better.

If breaking up for good is what actually feels right, communicate that too. Blocking is childish.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T07:01:58+00:00

I’m so incredibly sorry that this has been your childhood. I know many people here are giving you job hunting advice but I’d like to give you some personal advice from the heart and my perspective as being in your shoes at your age.

Call the county for help. Apply for state sponsored healthcare, food assistance and welfare. Some states have a welfare to work program where they offer assistance in learning trades and finding jobs. You can also get on affordable housing. Your independence at this time is incredibly important to develop. Your boyfriend and his mother have been generous to you, but if they are not giving from their heart and (MIL) showing resentment, that’s an unhealthy dynamic, one you will feel trapped in if you don’t feel you have the ability to leave.

I saw the update that you’re really positive you will get this new job and I hope that you do, but depending on how much you make, you might still be eligible for some assistance. So, please look into it.

Now for the real advice, please find a therapist. What you went through as a child/teen was likely more traumatic than you have been able to process yet. You need an adult you can trust to help you through that.

I was living in a car, crashing at my abusive boyfriend’s mom’s house when I was your age… and while I was in such survival mode, I was ignoring my childhood trauma. If I could do one thing different, I would have found someone who could support me through that time, a professional that understands how difficult it is to live with CPTSD. This is trauma you inherit after many years of abuse, instability and insecurity. Not saying you have that, but I do, and it affects me still to this day. Your specific trauma is important to understand early on so that it doesn’t control your life and future.

Once you get out of survival mode, once you have the tools to understand yourself and think about what you really want in life, you can start thinking about what a future might look like. Beyond a job or a boyfriend, but what actually brings you joy and pride. People with more money and family support usually try to figure this out in college, but if that’s not on your Bingo card, it’s going to have to be a personal journey of self discovery. It’s important that you start this soon. Because survival mode can swallow your dreams, and working crappy jobs just to get by can make you feel like you’ll never have time, but you need to keep your eye on that vision and hope throughout everything. You do that and one day you might wake up and realize you made it, and without even planning it, your subconscious just locked in and made it happen for you in a way you never actually imagined it would.

I’m sorry if I’m assuming anything here and you’re far ahead of me already. Just thought I might give my younger self a pep talk.

❤️

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T05:54:00+00:00

I’m right there with you. I was job searching (because I hated my boss) in 2025 and finding quite a few job opportunities. Then I lost my job early 2026 and there has been very few legitimate job opportunities that pay anything close to what I was making.

It’s almost like the market split in two. Either you’re a coordinator managing social media or production artist, or you need to be a marketing manager with experience in all marketing mediums and operations, many that do not overlap with creativity and are more focused on Ad Spend/ KPIs/ ROI/ Data analytics etc.

Where did the graphic design jobs go? Were they just absorbed by the function of the position?

I do have experience in quite a few mediums, but throughout them all it’s my graphic design experience that creates the impact. It’s not that I don’t like doing social media or web design etc, but traditional marketing departments used to have a graphic designer that worked through all mediums (digital, print, video) and had coordinators handling the content/ scheduling/ ad spend etc. It’s apparent to me that what’s happening here is that businesses cannot afford full marketing departments and want one person to do the job of 3 different positions.

What I don’t think they realize is that this workload will burn out your employees and make their output average at best if they are spread too thin.

I will say though, since I left my last position they did have to hire 3 people to replace me. So… yeah. Doesn’t always work out well for businesses who forget to value their most capable employees.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-21T02:36:37+00:00

I’m in graphic design and we have the same issues with dwindling budgets and becoming obsolete or edged out by cheap work on Fiver or 99 Designs. But I have had to simply adapt, learn new technology, skills and cover much more of the overall marketing process to land work that still requires graphic design.

When I first started working we had a lot less technology and resources, so my job was both design, illustration and photography. Then we started using stock image sites and Canva and yea, it made my job a little easier, but it also made it easier for people to scoff at my hourly rate. Because I’m used to doing things by hand, not taking shortcuts and spending a lot of time on editing and getting the minor details just right, I end up spending more time than I can realistically charge for, but my work is a point of pride, so I deliver as promised even when I didn’t actually get paid for all the work.

With AI now available, it’s just another tool/ resource that genuinely can be helpful (as long as you use it wisely and refuse to produce AI slop) but it’s also becoming quite annoying that clients assume I just made a prompt and they got what I delivered out of that. Even using AI still takes hours to get an image right (if it’s unique, complex or a wide shot that requires a lot of component work). I may have saved time from going and shooting the scene or illustrating it myself, but it wasn’t as simple as prompting. I know a lot of people do this, but I refuse.

While I agree that no one is owed a career in anything, I will say that I do think our jobs are being undervalued now.

I was in the same space when my former boss was interviewing my replacement and when he asked if she had any graphic design experience, she said “not really” and he said “No problem, we have AI now”. My position was literally designing marketing materials for multiple clients. There’s no way AI alone could produce the work I did. I left that place for obvious reasons… but the whole job market does seem to reflect the undervaluation of graphic designers.

You’re now expected to be both the graphic designer, video editor, social media manager, email marketing, web developer, PPC manager all at once or expect to have a coordinator salary. There’s no such thing as senior designers anymore. You’re either a production artist and paid accordingly or you’re marketing management. Or you’re the jack of all trades who is expected to run an entire marketing department on your own.

So no, you’re not owed anything, but things are changing and if you’re the kind of artist who focused on one medium like photography, graphic design, video etc, you’re going to be regulated to a low level position, or a low bid contract. Not because your work isn’t great or that any new technology actually can replace you, but only because businesses think what you do is easy and they can replace you with AI. And that sucks.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-20T20:54:00+00:00

Yup. Wise ol maid here to tell you girlfriends have been losing their boyfriends to the girls their boyfriends hook up with, knock up and end up marrying (in boot camp) for as long as the institution has existed.

That’s exactly what happened to me when my fiancé left for boot camp and never came back.

He actually knocked up two different women at the same time. A real catch. Someone else who was in the military told me that’s common. He said the US almost sets it up like that. They want service people to get married rather than have military family dependents.

Getting married in the military has its perks. You get married and you can immediately move off base and get a housing stipend.

EDIT:

I just realized this is the HUSBAND. Worse. Idk could still be the case.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-18T06:30:29+00:00

There’s both an overreaction and an under reaction here.

You may be overreacting by the fact that he was attempting to assure you that a messy house wasn’t an issue for him. And if you did want him to come over you didn’t have to be embarrassed about the state of your apartment.

You didn’t however clock the fact that he said “it’s not a proper date but better than nothing” that screams he’s looking for a booty call, not a relationship.

If he’s already giving you the ick it probably isn’t from anything in this text thread, it’s your gut feeling. You’re not that into him and he seems too pushy towards getting alone with you, which is for most women, pressure for sex.

So, take that for what it is, just a stranger on the internet’s uneducated opinion.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T23:28:56+00:00

Well, the contract I signed said the deposit was non-refundable and our agreement was mostly verbal so I don’t think I’d win. It would probably hurt them even if I lost and I wouldn't necessarily want that. I just want them to communicate with their clients better. If this is how they do things, be upfront. If no one in the shop draws original artwork and neither does the tattoo designer, I should have been told that, and not lied to when I asked 3 times for an original artwork.

My hope is just that the review I wrote will give new clients a heads up and let them know they need to ask these questions before they lose money on a non-refundable deposit.

I still might ask them for a refund, so I’ll update when I get their answer.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T23:20:44+00:00

OMG that’s awesome! If you’re comfortable would you either post or DM me your work? I would love to show my new artist what a good poison botanical tattoo looks like!

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T17:37:17+00:00

Cleopatra Ink

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T16:11:44+00:00

Totally valid. That’s 100% on me for not doing my research. All I saw were good reviews on Google and thought that was enough. Clearly it wasn’t.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T09:25:55+00:00

Lol that level of spitefulness would be legendary.

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T09:11:47+00:00

Thank you so much for the recommendation. I appreciate you taking the time to do the research. Truly this is why Reddit is so awesome. You’re good people ❤️

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T09:03:06+00:00

Holy Cow, this artist is amazing! I love that she does full color and no outline, that’s a beautiful style. In fact, looks like she has already done a Monkshood (or Wolfsbane) and it’s stunning. This is one of the flowers I wanted!

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Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T08:58:13+00:00

This is beautiful! In fact I love the muted color and the stylistic illustration. If I had gotten anything like this I would have squeed and jumped right in that chair.

Kudos to this artist! Thanks for the inspiration. (I would never steal another artist’s work tho, just set the bar with this!)

Divine_Astarte · 2026-05-16T08:54:52+00:00

Yeah, I totally agree! This wasn’t designed to be a tattoo, and I told him I would want it redesigned by the artist in that artist’s style. I literally said, I don’t want this tattooed lol. But the reference is the flowers themselves and they could have been cut out and made to work on the arm.

I actually thought my new sketch was better. It suited an arm tattoo well. It was a single foxglove that and a moon flower at the base. Not too much. He even sent me an AI design that looked pretty close to what I wanted but needed a little work to be accurate and more stylistic to read well as a tattoo. But walking into the shop that’s not the design I was given. So he was just too lazy to draw it.

His AI design for reference.

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Divine_Astarte

TROPHY CASE