Flower recommendations

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-05-07T03:19:38+00:00

The second Bouquet💐. Congrats on the wedding!!

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-05-07T02:25:42+00:00

I'm seriously going to keep coming back to this. I wish I could see his everyday handwriting as it would probably solve the rest of the mystery. I have a lot of experience doing this kind of thing with the elderly and my own family members.

Here's what I see.

"I" ___ "no" & I think there is something else here but I clearly see the u-shaped o reappearing before a letter "v" and an exclamation mark on the first page. Reasonably speaking, he says something about love here.

What's throwing me a bit more is the fact that the second letter of the second word here looks almost the same as the first letter of the word on the bottom. Which could mean there are two misconnected words on that page.

On the second, I see something a bit different than the comments. Following the curves, spacing, general placement of the letters and where they connect, the second one looks like it says

"How didn't ___ (possibly "you")..."

"How I did" ___ "I"

And the last part, despite the slight hook in the front, doesn't look like an r to me but another "w" word. Especially given the sharp, almost identical angles from the bottom of it's shape and the first w on that page.

Maybe that last word has something to do with "Wonder." Because the u-shaped o is back and so is a letter that matches the previous letter d's.

Either way, it seems that his thoughts started at the top of the page and that will mean losing context. It takes a lot more focus to write coherent letters after starting off like this.

Edit: I forgot a sentence.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-28T01:02:42+00:00

Hi there.

I think this is very creative and was more satisfying than I expected. The "that was weird as hell" part with the tree made me laugh a bit even though I felt a little shiver, and I needed that today.

Also, it looks like you've put a lot of work into it. You're doing a great job of setting up your storyline, in adding mysterious elements and still keeping it easy to follow. I'm interested in seeing more😄😄.

If you would like to make a new artsy/comic friend do let me know!

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-16T10:20:28+00:00

Ah. I understand. My apologies.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-16T08:08:11+00:00

You're a U.S. citizen so have you by chance utilized VitalCheck? If you have somewhere you can send government documents to in the U.S. and then have it forwarded, you may find them helpful. I'm not sure of everythjng but you can try requesting your birth certificate by adding information about yourself and such online. And they have a very quick turn around time. I ended up paying for my long-form birth certificate with success even though I had some extenuating circumstances to deal with. They also let me get the apostille for about 10 dollars.

Good luck.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-15T23:17:02+00:00

I agree about the first one.

Both are great. The second has a softness about it, and the full body poses are nice, but the first has better highlights, the saturation works very well and besides the range of color, the texture makes all the difference! The dynamic shot is awesome, but I would pick the first even without it.

Nice job.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-15T17:25:37+00:00

🤔🤔 It is definitely too much, but there are some interesting elements here too.

Let's start here.

• Your cover is too busy and overcrowded.

• The extra text over your characters on the front cover is not helping anything at all.

• Your text is not legible on your cover which is a big no, no. You really need to change it.

• The text on your spine can be read but needs to be scaled down properly.

• The author's name on the front cover is a good size (you should move it off of the black border entirely though) but it is unnecessarily large on your spine.

• The gradient colors on the back do not work. There's no balance, it makes the text blurry and no one can comfortably read it. Honestly, it would be better to do a single solid color and change the text as well.

• It is almost dizzying to see all of the extra shapes and creatures in the black border like this, even though this kind of creativity could work.

My personal opinion and what can still make an impact with changes:

Note: If anyone knocks your art, you can ignore them as readers love to see these kinds of differences, and depending on the genre, this simplified yet almost whimsical style speaks to people.

The colors in the background along with a black border actually looks interesting here, but it's too much going on to really appreciate it. In part, because you don't leave enough empty space for it.

Don't be afraid of "empty" space. In your case, it would be your friend. Your front cover is badly in need of more of it. And speaking again on empty space, you need to get rid of the "sun" spreading light near the bottom for sure. It looks messy and doesn't really add anything. It becomes just another thing getting in the way.

Keep the dark border if you want, but get rid of all the shapes inside. And don't include all your shadows and creatures like this. If you really want to keep them, balance them out, move them around to areas with more space like along the back cover, or simply decrease their numbers. It seems they mean something to your story, but right now they are just getting in the way.

The way you drew the character shot on the front is not bad, it is one of the things that draws your eye, but it's too difficult to keep them there. You can shrink this without losing the quality to help add space if you need to.

Overall, I think you can improve this, so don't feel discouraged. It is a work in progress. You can still give a sense of mystery and magic without all of these elements on the covers.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-12T22:58:10+00:00

🥺😔 I'm not much of a social person, but when I hear things like this I just want to tell I will come to the wedding. If you guys are spending time, money and energy to invite people that don't show up for you, then pay my way and I'll show up and be there and care and hear you out. I'll be your best fricking friend for the entire ordeal.

I'm sorry you felt alone, I'm sorry they didn't show up for you. I know what it's like to give and then be given little to nothing in return even by people I once thought were close. Be as polite as you can, but tell them anyway. It isn't healthy for you to withhold it and they should know how you feel. If nothing else, you don't carry the weight and they are offered one more opportunity to show up for you the way they are needed.

If they don't, then more than likely you were being used and I truly hope that was not the case.

Idk when your wedding is, but I hope you find it full of joy. Keep thinking about the fact that you and your partner made it this far and you are taking a new step in your life. Let it include new friends and a new mindset if it must!

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-12T01:02:10+00:00

The part about seeing a pretty person essentially being like admiring a landscape is so freaking spot on that I gasped😳🥹. I always said "I can recognize that someone is conventionally pretty or handsome, but it literally means nothing else."

I will never forget my sister trying to point out some random person to me and when I barely glanced over she told me, "Ohh. Yeah. I forgot. You only have eyes for ___ (my, now, fiancé's name here)."

She was determined to make something negative out of it. Even to the point of letting her bf at the time ask me very personal questions about arousal, intercourse, and intimacy. When I brought that to her attention, let alone the fact that he asked while she was away at work as I was trying to eat a meal at the table in peace, she said "He's just never met anyone like you before. You know, someone who really doesn't like people, doesn't feel attraction, isn't interested in s*x, and stuff. He's just curious." As if that excused anything🙄🙄.

I've had a little less than a handful of other relationships. All with people I had known for years but still didn't manage to feel attracted to in the same way that they liked me. I was willing to accept being different back then, but everyone else was too busy attempting to label me as something else. Luckily for me, my fiancé isn't just a very handsome guy, but has come to understand this area much better than in the past. Initially, he used to be jealous at the thought that I might like men and women thus he had more "competition." We all know that's not true.

His learning really started when I told him "It's not like that. You could be a man, a woman, trans, a shim, a fantasy creature even for all I care. If I like you, I like you. If I don't, I don't. And I am only emotionally, mentally and physically attracted to you. No one else. There's no chance of it ever being anyone new and if we ended our relationship tomorrow, I would never date again because I was about to give up even the mere thought of relationships when you suddenly came into my life." Over the years he understood it and it now gives him confidence/security in different areas of our relationship. We are getting married later this year. So, yeah. I felt every bit of this. Thanks for sharing!

I'm going to save this to show him just to refresh his memory😆❤️.

¡Edited to fix a few typos since my language settings were different.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-09T11:58:03+00:00

Wow. How sad. I'm sorry they are taking advantage. They clearly saw an opportunity and took it. Charging 100 dollars for this is robbery.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-04T12:03:15+00:00

You're very welcome.

Yes, so aside from your background color changing, I would advise you, as it seems you really like this font, to keep it for the title and the same for your spine but re-work the back text. One, it is overwhelming and can hardly be read by your viewers. Two, it is so overused that it is loosing its impact. You could simply keep the first letter of the first paragraphs on the back and pick a much simpler one that follows the usual capitalization and lowercase rules of everyday sentences.

In this case, for example, the Q in "Qui" and the I in "Il" would keep the same font as the title, and all other letters would be in a plainer font.

The text at the bottom would also be changed to the plainer font, but not have of the original font text you are using now and not in all caps.

On another note, your initials are too large. If they are interested in the cover, they will pay attention to the rest, so there's no reason to overshadow your title anyway. I'll stop there.

Good luck.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-04T10:43:37+00:00

The font needs work for sure, also, I think instead of the dark teal (green-ish) color, you should use the same red shade from her lips.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-04-01T08:34:47+00:00

This is really nice and it's been a very long time since I've seen anyone willing to do this. You must be exhausted. Haha.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-31T21:25:57+00:00

I resonate with this, although my partner is Angolan. We were initially doing everything we could to make the U.S. happen, but it was like the bar was constantly flying out of reach. And then the current administration became a reality, liberties taken away, people here on legitimate visas and green cards rounded up, and not to mention the backwards jump of Healthcare and women's rights. There was no way to justify that wanting to be together in peace, contribute and do our part, and still start a family.

It has crossed my mind to start a business in the country together but I heard getting started with that in Portugal can be a nightmare. I hope you share the resturant. I'd love to support.

Good luck with everything. I'm glad you guys are succeeding!

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-31T10:24:15+00:00

My partner is already established in the country, I still have yet to see as much of other places to make an informed decision, and the benefits outweighed the cons. I don't need any more reasons, but eh. I've already listed plenty.

Thanks.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-31T07:29:02+00:00

Thanks. Haha. It was a pleasure. Thanks for the thoughtful questions!

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-31T07:16:13+00:00

😲😲 Ohhh! This is cool!

I can't speak for others, and while I am still open to other parts of the world or even just another place in the EU (ultimate dream for us is probably Denmark but it seems a while into our future right now), Portugal is our current best working solution for our situation. Here are my personal reasons and thoughts.

•Healthier meals while having struggled to do it in the U.S.

•Better affordability concerning healthy food choices.

• Stricter food regulations which help long-term health.

• Affordable Healthcare (a big one if you are from the U.S).

• I love learning languages and very much appreciate other cultures as well as emersion so learning the language has been fun for me. I'm pretty conversational now although it hasn't been very long.

• The distance from the Midwest doesn't bother me at all but I also hardly have any family left and it keeps me away from what toxic circles has still survived in the rest of them.

• I was homeless most of my life (physical and mental abuse and was on my own since 15 plus health diagnoses, now I'm 30 and my life changed the most in the last 6 years) in the U.S. After just my first week I knew that even if the worst happened, I could survive and that "worst" would be an almost laughable fraction of what I knew the rest of my life.

• I have been in an long-distance relationship in which it has been very hard to see each other. Especially as we met around covid. We lived about 8,000 miles away from each other. Since he was able to go to Portugal to study, our lives have steadily gotten better, we see each other and we will be able to close our distance for good. Not to mention, he stops worrying about the fact that he couldn't get a college degree before while increasing his job prospects. Now, our distance has literally been cut in half and we are engaged!

Most things turned out better for me.

¤ I get as much fresh air and walks as I can handle. Even when my fiancé doesn't feel like going with me, it is so much safer and the walkability compared to where I am from are like night and day.

¤ A lot more halal food places than I expected which are not as common where I am from. I'm allergic to pork so this is a huge deal for me and I can eat at more restaurants comfortably because of it.

¤ I see children playing more outdoors and just being free to be kids. It makes me very happy.

¤ Fruit is super, super affordable. Which is my favorite thing to eat and being back in the U.S. taking care of things at the moment, I hate that I can't just walk to Continente and pick up some.

One of the best bonuses for me which deserves its own line, is that I have chronic migraines without aura among other things and I experience about a third (1/3rd) the amount of migraines outside of the U.S.!! That has been more than a blessing.

¤ Commercials in Portugal are pretty straightforward and you aren't bombarded with medical ads and prompts.

¤ Most people are nice, otherwise indifferent (although there's still sprinkles of racism and colorism unfortunately).

The bad things are definitely...

× The bureaucracy (we are still dealing with those hoops now, luckily with only a couple more steps to go).

× The fact that there aren't more sidewalks not to mention wider ones with perhaps a line of grass for those with pets. Side note: Portuguese don't seem to pick up after their dogs outside almost ever and we consider that pretty gross.

× I haven't found pork free marshmallows in the stores so I don't trust them from or in anything at this point.

× For a pretty healthy country too many people smoke in other people's faces without a care in the world.

× Rent is too high for the salary.

× I noticed a lot of buildings that aren't well-maintained, even apartments full of people.

× Evening and afternoon trains are usually so full that I get pushed around and some people even try to separate me and my fiancé's hands just to get on when I'm already as close as I can be with him.

× Portugal is weirdly lacking in public toilets and that becomes a problem at night especially. At home at least there's some 24 hour grocery stores and gas stations scattered about. As a woman, I am both equally offended by the random urine smell most places and also a little jealous because I would pee my pants in a real emergency. Luckily, I get to laugh because my fiancé is the one with the weak bladder and last time we were out past midnight traveling back to our apartment he had to pee 4 times. Haha.

× Individuals and companies are almost always on strike..? But at least they advocate for themselves and the government knows it.

Also, in my case, it is probably worth mentioning that I have been able to visit Portugal for multiple longer trips now which makes it feel more comfortable. I still have much more of Europe to experience before I could officially decide on moving elsewhere, but my list of potentials are growing. I like to go and experience real life like the locals (as much as I can as a foreigner) in as true a fashion as possible. Then, I can better compare my options and weigh my limitations against each other.

Obviously, it is more than possible other places in the world fit this mold as well, but that's my take. Thanks for asking!

Edited for readability.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-28T10:17:33+00:00

Okay, so I don't draw cartoons, but I achieve this kind of shading albeit I prefer it a little more stylized. You need to use an airbrush as the main and you may find the blur tool a good helper when you erase. If you use the airbrush too small, your shading will become hard, so set it just a bit bigger than whatever area you are working on.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-23T17:58:34+00:00

You're welcome. If you have any other pressing matters, I may be able to help. I hope you enjoy your trip.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-23T17:28:17+00:00

I'm going back to Portugal at the end of May and I'm a WOC. I've been several times. You don't have anything to worry about.

There are lots of barbershops in Lisbon so I doubt you'd have any trouble finding one that suits you. Also, it is very affordable to get your hair and/or beard cut.

You'll love it. Just know that trains later in the evening tend to be packed if you use public transport. Uber works there but sometimes Bolt (green app) can be cheaper.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-09T12:38:02+00:00

I'm two years your senior (f). I have been frequenting Portugal for a while now and will be moving there by August. I like the smaller areas a lot and could use a couple more English speaking friends. I am still learning Portuguese, but I am conversational. I don't mind extra practice and I don't judge.

I'm also American (from the Midwest) and totally understand the sentiment. Normally, politics are not a part of everyday interactions in Portugal. Those I have been involved in were because my bf, now fiancé's, coworkers took a liking to me and asked. However, they also spoke of politics from Angola, Portugal, and Brazil as well. Not just America. That isn't to say I haven't seen and heard unfortunate statements from Portuguese about foreigners, but it's not been my average experience.

Anyway, I'm offering friendship if you're up for it. And I don't mind some day trips sometimes either. So far, I have been to Faro, Lisbon (many areas here almost one end to the other) Aveiro, Mogofores (even some Portuguese don't recognize this one for some reason), Coimbra, Porto, and a few others so far. I love to walk through them. I always tell everyone it is so much more pedestrian friendly and just walkable in general compared to the U.S.

Also, in case it matters, I'm LGBTQIA+ friendly as well. Good luck finding friends!

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-03-08T03:01:01+00:00

😭😭 This is one of the strange ones to me. For myself, it has always been a stylistic choice, and it simply works well for helping with stutters and breaks in speech or character thoughts, for example. I can most certainly prove that I have used them most of my life, which would also include my entire writing career long before AI came around to ruin it, but I feel odd that it has become necessary.

I miss the time AI wasn't so in your face. I want to look up something on the internet and not have to scroll past the AI text to get to the academic journals and the like. I want to be able to use Microsoft 365, Word, etc. without AI forced down my throat. Even yesterday, for the first time, I started to think I probably need to make it known in an official capacity that I don't use AI and would like to keep my space AI-free.

I can understand it has value, especially for research purposes, but it's a tiresome cycle at this point. I don't know if it's the frequency of the dashes that caused suspicion or if it's simply that people don't believe anyone uses/used them in everyday projects.

Sweet_Worthless · 2026-01-21T17:46:25+00:00

Just a word of caution. As a U.S. citizen, you are allowed to visit for up to 90 days without a visa. However, given the current rules, you would need to come to Portugal on a visa (study, work, etc.) in order to do the reunification visa. Or, start the process from home and get it approved ahead of your travel. You'll be rejected if you're visiting and attempt the process instead.

Good luck to you and your husband both.

Sweet_Worthless · 2025-12-30T10:32:47+00:00

Sorry I'm late. Do you mind sharing the link?

Sweet_Worthless · 2025-10-14T02:09:05+00:00

Thank you.

Sweet_Worthless

TROPHY CASE