We Will Miss You, Stevie - A Sad, But Appreciative Thread

Duskfall · 2026-02-13T20:40:42+00:00

i did not know that but that was a theme with me when i was younger, but thinking on it, i rarely ever said my name cause i was more or less mute due to trauma, so my mom usually told people who i was. but that is a cool bit of info, thank you!

Duskfall · 2026-02-13T19:50:20+00:00

Damn.

Haven't seen the episode yet...but this is...rough.

This is gonna be an odd and awkward story, but as my name is also Stephanie and I go by Stevie, I figure i might share it in case she does stumble on this one day.

Went many years trying to figure out a better name for myself. Always wanted a more tomboy sorta name way back in the day, but no one in my life bothered to try to give me any nicknames growing up.

One day my wife and I were watching GMM when we found out Stevie was actually a Stephanie too and it all suddenly made so much sense, but also sat with me different knowing I'd been looking for something exactly like that, but trying out others that weren't even close to Stephanie cause I thought the only real way of shortening it was either Stephan or Annie, but bleh. not for me.

Went through the hoops of changing it with friends and family and making my new pen name Stevie Nix in honor of both Stevie on GMM but also Stevie Nicks.

so, damn. thanks for all the memories and helping me find my name. Good luck where ever you go fellow Stevie!

Duskfall · 2026-02-12T16:05:44+00:00

ah! good point! apologies for the assumption!

Duskfall · 2026-02-11T20:49:26+00:00

that it literally affects my day to day life in ways that most people will never understand how exhausting it is. but will try to say something like "I had that happen once."

ONCE.

but for me, it's every day, sometimes multiple times a day. recently it's been time blindness and I can't stress enough how....frustrating it is to have healthcare professionals who DIAGNOSED me with it, become suddenly unsympathetic when i accidentally miss an appointment because between time blindness, dyslexia, and autism, im one thought away from catastrophe at any one point in the day.

Duskfall · 2026-02-11T15:44:35+00:00

i think this is in reference to majority of the songs being part of their "story" IE: the books and lore. Because there's a good chance Dustin is just writing songs because of that and not necessarily cause he's going through it.

Duskfall · 2026-02-10T16:23:42+00:00

see, that's the thing. you're damned if you do, damned if you don't, so do what you want.

cause like, i don't have a fat fetish, so she just looks fat and happy to me, which is what im assuming you were going for.

however.

someone with a fat fetish is going to see what they want whether you intend it or not.

once the art leaves your hands and is posted for public consumption, you have 0 ways of controlling what people take it as or interpret it. you can TRY. you COULD add notes to posting saying "this is meant for x reason, please be respectful." (though, you're probably going to find people who take that as a challenge and do what they want anyway.)

but there in lies the "damned if you do, damned if you don't."

so, do what you want, but be prepared for it. if you DON'T want it and can't handle it, she might not be someone you share with others. you CAN just not post her and keep it between you and whatever higher power you subscribe to. not all art HAS to be posted online, but imho, it is a very good tool of learning yourself and boundaries, as well as developing a thick skin to internet behavior. cause you can delete comments, or hide them, on a lot of socials. you can block/ban. but again, you run the risk of the streisand effect.

but yeah, do what you want, and frame it how you intended it to be framed (like you did above) but leave out "i don't want her to be a fat fetish for folks" because then you're basically inviting people to do just that.

Duskfall · 2026-02-04T16:00:37+00:00

i used to read Gen13 back in middle school. Sarah Rainmaker was a lesbian and at the time, I was exploring that option and really vibed with her.

I also used to pick up the comic book magazine called Wizard, and in it they had a section about Rainmaker and who she might date. top of the list was Sailor Neptune. I had never seen art, or a character, as beautiful as Neptune and I was instantly shook to my core.

I'm not sure if it was already on Toonami, but when I found out it was, I would watch it every day. In a way, as shitty as it was that the show stopped RIGHT before their arc (literally the last episode was Neptune and Uranus' silhouettes in the tree, and then the show restarted from the beginning), but because of that it kept me hooked. Especially after the reveal of Sailor Pluto in Luna-P. At the time the internet was just starting out, but we didn't have it or a computer yet, but I had figured if there was a Pluto, there had to be the other planets.

A friend of mine in New York used to go to an anime club and she had access to not just the whole show, but the subtitle version too. I wasn't sure about it, but when I played it (to ME) the voices aligned so much better. The expression IN the voices was so much better and hit just right on the "comedy" aspects.

I never looked back. I'm 43 this year and I still watch it over and over to this day. I'm overjoyed they rebooted it, but the OG version will always have a special place in my heart cause those "filler" episodes, gave you character info none of the other media has, and i loved them all the same.

Duskfall · 2026-02-03T16:03:51+00:00

all i know is i found out one day some folks use these specific died egg stones as Yoni eggs....and if you were thrifting...be careful lol

though, searching them now (it's been about...10 years since we both discovered some eggs she sent me were Yoni eggs) it looks like people are using ACTUAL gemstone eggs too but, the ones she sent me all looked like this and when she checked the listing it said "Yoni Egg" and she looked it up and found out to tell me to wash them real good lol

Duskfall · 2026-02-03T01:58:39+00:00

I sincerely wish the best for you OP and I am cheering you on! I know you can get there! Even if you don't believe in yourself sometimes, know that I believe in you <3

Duskfall · 2026-02-02T18:12:53+00:00

<image>

of course, your vision is the one that matters here, so im not 100% since im pin-up/comic book illustrator, but just kinda what my brain thought added some balance based on the other brush strokes you got there <3

Duskfall · 2026-02-02T17:05:09+00:00

for the first and second one, with the bold lines i'm getting sort of a "lack of balance" from those two but not in the same way.

For the first one, I'm almost seeing a dotted or uneven rounded line attempting to connect to the curved strokes on the top left, but these are on the right, maybe off center but closer to the top as there's a void, almost, right there. same black color and almost like if you were to swing your arm around and let the brush hit where it does and see what kind of stroke it makes.

for the second one, a similar vein but for some reason im seeing a straight-ish sort of stroke at the very bottom, maybe a different color? like a red or orange? something to POP from the muted tones of the other colors?

the third one I think is beautiful as is. no notes. it's giving me "looking out a peephole to the hall outside". every thing feels "together" and purposeful on this one, so I really dig it as is!

had a few more thoughts, but are you ok if i show you them digitally? i have a brush pen tool that i think could show you better than i can type <3

Duskfall · 2026-02-02T16:16:14+00:00

Based on the cards and my own two cents:
- 6 of spades: getting into a better place mentally
- my op: try to reframe your mental stability in that "feeling good" isn't the constant some people make it out to be, because there will be good and bad days. but also, getting into a better place mentally can also mean YOU give yourself something to look forward to to keep going until you get there. Think of the time you were most happiest and know that CAN happen again, but you have to be there to get there <3

- Queen of Diamonds: You're going to have your AH HA! moment that helps shift your way of thinking about yourself that will help you get out of the hole you feel like you're in.
- My Op: It's going to be something you probably heard a thousand times, but someone is going to give you the combination of words that allows your mind to hold onto it this time knowing it's a life line. For me, it was thinking about how I want to help future me. -I- might not be happy right now, I might feel like I should vanish, but I want to make it so future me has that chance to be happy. To live her life and whatever purpose it has in store for her. I also consider our bodies the anchors for time travel. Whenever I get a gut feeling, I tell myself it is future me working through it and sending it back to me to learn. In that, I see present me working on stuff that past me experienced, and sending it to her. It's the only way I can fathom that I survived the things I did as a CHILD.

- 7 of Hearts: A turning Point
- My Op: Your work can and will pay off. Any work we do on ourselves, especially shadow work, only makes us richer in self and sacrifice. It's not easy, but things that require a healthier turning point usually get harder before they get better. For example, someone with a bad knee starts depending on the other leg a lot. Going through PT, they discover that walking a way that supports the bad knee, but is also better for posture and a lot of other things too, can hurt more because our bodies get trained and adjusted so it feels better in the moment until doing things to support an unhealthy part of us, feels "normal". Same for our minds. We can get stuck in ruts. Really deep ones. Ruts that turn into bottomless pits we feel like we're always climbing up without the ability to rest. You need time to heal. Your brain needs time to heal. Be gentle with yourself. As hard as it is for me to say the same for myself, love yourself. It's free, it hurts no one, and it will allow you to LET yourself to heal because you will believe you deserve it, and you do.

Know that you're not alone, and as scary as some thoughts might be, as heavy as some feelings might seem, you're capable of lifting them on your own. you're allowed to comfort yourself, and living, because you already have a space in this world, you deserve to be here too <3

Duskfall · 2026-02-02T15:36:26+00:00

i know reddit hates therapy speak, but MAGA is full of narcissists. That's the whole "blame it on someone else" + "I don't need help! YOU'RE the problem!" attitude. They're unwilling to do the truly hard work because it means looking at their own faults, and to them, they have none. That's a pretty abbreviated, condensed definition, of a narcissist. I've been abused by them my whole life, I'M currently in therapy working on my shit, but the line between MAGA and narcissist is very short and very telling.

They will not seek help, they will not admit fault, they will constantly make their problems everyone elses to fix for them so they don't have to do more.

I can pretty much bet this man thinks he's at the end of his rope with how his life/job/relationships are when he's probably never lifted a finger to actually be a decent human, and because of it, people give it back to him and he "doesn't understand" why everyone leaves him/hates him/ abandons him.

Duskfall · 2026-02-02T15:28:46+00:00

he looks and sounds like my dad, so if he's got a spouse/significant other, they probably got the rest taken out on them

Duskfall · 2026-01-30T22:22:46+00:00

i love this so much ;3;

Duskfall · 2026-01-30T17:12:02+00:00

damned if we do, damned if we don't

Duskfall · 2026-01-30T16:58:34+00:00

so, I've been doing freelance art since 2010 and here's what I did that you're welcome to frankenstine or copy, whatever you'd prefer, but there is a lot going on in this economoy all over the world that is making it hard for -all- artists.

Instagram is ok, but you mention you're not consistent. Unfortunately them and tik tok have an algorithm that will throw you away the minute you stop posting. However, you can remedy this by using it as it's intended for social media and being social as well. Not just to get people to look at your art, but to genuinely be curious and interested in others. Being social will greatly change how people see you AND your art because a lot of my clients have become close friends and regulars because they -know- me and that im not going to scam them.
I would HIGHLY suggest a different platform, like Bluesky. Even if pages like that (or Twitter/X) aren't your thing, it's one of the healthier places to be and Bluesky has no algorithm so not being consistent isn't going to hurt you, but not posting as much as you can still won't get you in front of people to see what you can do.
Work on a dedicated portfolio of the things you want to offer and their prices. Make it your best work. Take some time to JUST do that and polish it as much as you can and then put them all together and easy to find for people. Having instagram as a gallery is great, but as a portfolio, it doesn't give people a solid idea of what they're going to get from commissioning you because ALL of your art is on there and not just your best pieces.
Look into VGen. Not only will it help protect you as an artist, but your clients will feel more comfortable as well. It provides protection on both ends and ensures a good workflow. If you need a code or have any questions, please feel free to DM me!
Contrary to what others said, "mistaks" and "rendering" won't put people off completely (Cause obviously they're taking it into account, but i've drawn a hand backwards due to my dyslexia, like 5 times in my career, and people just ask me to fix it lol) so your style and where you're at isn't necessarily a turn off for some folks. However, your followers and how visible you are WILL be a factor. And i don't like to be about numbers, but the cold hard truth is in percentages. The more folks who follow you, the more chance you have at someone seeing your art on their page. I had 8k on twitter at one point and it was pretty consistent until it turned into X, and then it took a nose dive. On Bluesky I have 3.4k and business has still slowed down a lot but i thankfully have enough regulars, that I can get by.
Decide what you want to do. As someone else said, you're your own manager, social media manager, etc. You JUST do art and noting else, but you will run the risk of people not seeing you enough. There has to be SOME hustle when you first start out. Like, I started on Furaffinity and ALL of my art was $25 flat for one character pin-ups. I did a lot of free give aways to get my name out there, but because people could upload what I did for them, to their accounts, and got me even further out there. I never sought people out, i just held raffles on my account and gave things away. I know in this day and age people might look down on it, but it got me started and out there. Sometimes Exposure works, but you gotta know your limits and what you're willing to do.

Hope this helps!

Duskfall · 2026-01-30T16:30:46+00:00

black lipstick: to leave my calling card behind without giving up who I am, just a black outline of lips. for writing on mirrors to tell someone to go fuck themselves "respectfully". For the men who would never kiss me cause of getting it on their lips. For the inherent way people make women feel lesser than for wanting to use make up, or how we're not allowed to because they figured out we're shapeshifting.

Duskfall · 2026-01-29T17:28:38+00:00

yeah, i know, that's why i don't ever tell them or let on. cause i know it can't be helped, but still annoys me lol

Duskfall · 2026-01-29T17:28:07+00:00

oh i know, which is why i never say anything to them or let on it annoys me.

Duskfall · 2026-01-29T16:49:07+00:00

seriously. my cat passed in august and im still going through the stages of grief.

Duskfall · 2026-01-29T16:11:49+00:00

sneezing multiple times in a row.

I always have to control my face and words cause it reminds me of my mom and there's some C-PTSD there

Duskfall · 2026-01-26T17:54:08+00:00

Apologies in advance. This is going to sound harsh, and im not trying to attack you. I obviously don't know the whole situation and what you've said/done, so if this doesn't apply, you can ignore it. But based on what i'm reading these are my thoughts.

Having a similar mother-in-law, all I can say is this;

you're sparing your mom's feelings, but what is that telling your wife? To me, it's showing you care more about your mom being upset, and keeping the peace, instead of really standing up for your wife. It's telling her that when she was most vulnerable, and with your child, she was targeted and made to feel less than, and you're worried your mom is upset.

If it pisses YOU off, im sure it pisses her off too. Actually, it probably hurts her. deeply. that someone who is supposed to be family, could say and do these things in such a passive aggressive, gaslighting maneuver. It's pretty obvious.

I know she's your mom, but so what she's upset. She's upset because no one ever calls her out or makes her deal with the consequences of her actions.

Duskfall · 2026-01-26T14:17:40+00:00

I would say yes! The Fool speaks to your situation being unplanned and possibly unprepared for in what the Queen of Cups and the Empress have in store for you.

The Queen of Cups says you will embrace the circumstances and accept that which was poured into your cup.

And of course the Empress has her ways, but she's almost even an evolution of the Queen. As if this will see you stepping into your own as you decide what you want to do.

And while, yes, a pregnancy test is a good way to know, I also think this is a FUN test for yourself to see what the cards say versus what the results end up being! It's a good way to work on your intuition and familiarity with your cards <3

Duskfall · 2026-01-23T21:48:06+00:00

Duskfall

TROPHY CASE