state of the darf · 8:17pm Jan 6th, 2021
hello all. it feels pertinent to provide a last update some time after our most recent crisis, so here is that.
firstly, and we feel extra stupid saying this as a 'writer', we have no idea how to express our gratitude in words. the sheer generosity and kindness of the folks in the community is overwhelming, and it makes us want to do something special to show our gratitude for all the kind souls who were able to help us out during our time of crisis.
secondly, where we're at now, while not necessarily in the 'crisis' zone, is part of a monthly up-and-down that seems to go along with the intermittency of our assistance cheques. we always manage to get through the start of the month okay, suffer in the middle, and then bounce up and down according to the proximity of our next assistance.
for that reason, we've decided to leave our ko-fi open and to advertise that we're still accepting donations to help between commissions. currently our bank balance is $4.67, and that has to last us until our next disability payment on January 20th. we have at least one job we intend to finish up before then, but the whole 'not knowing where your next meal is gonna come from/if you'll have enough money to buy food when you wake up' is really not a rad scene.
to anyone who helped us previously, we are contemplating starting up a little mini-story series based off incidental requests too small or fluffy for commissions. we experimented a bit with this format by writing a prompt response for someone who helped us out already, and we'd be interested in exploring it further. essentially, a short-story collection inspired by or directly requested by folks who have helped us out. little ideas we can grow into cute stories or just small scenarios that are fun to tell. we know that the point of accepting 'donations' is not to work off those donations, but this is how our brain works and we would be a lot happier in the long run feeling like we 'earned' something.
as for anyone else interested, we are still accepting commissions, though as previously advertised, our workflow/deadline mastery is not as elevated as it has been previously, mostly due to the horror/lack of safety in our current living situation making it difficult to sit down and write. if you've got an idea you'd like realized and don't mind waiting a few months for it to come to fruition, send us a message here or anywhere else.
big thank you again to everyone who supported, and those people who signal boosted, and just passerby, because the kind words meant a lot too.
look for our next published story some time this week or the next: a youthful, energetic threesome with a larger-than-life mare called 'Miss Estate'.
love you all.
Are you able to donate blood plasma? I make hundreds of extra dollars per month doing that and it really helps me out. You just have to lie about any gay sex you’ve had
Thank you for updating! The "shipping" comment-story you did for me was delightful.
5430115
thank you for the thank you. hopefully this question is okay to ask, but could you explain a bit more what you mean when you say 'shipping'? we are obviously familiar with the term, having floated around in fanfiction for a long time, but we're really interested to know what exactly it is in a 'shipping' story that gets the 'ship-gears' turning. or paddles, uh, rowing... whatever. maybe the metaphor doesn't work. :x
5430158
Okay, forgive me if this is too pedantic and a-b-c'ing you too much. Let me know if I hit on the topic you want clarification on.
It's short for relationshipping, the act of placing characters in a relationship. Usually the apostrophe is left off, as you've done here and as I did in the previous comment thread, which leaves it open to interpretation for pun purposes.
Usually when people say "shipping", they mean romantic. Friendshipping is specified. "Shipping" as such is usually not platonic or one-sided, again unless specified. All kinds of different things set the 'ship sailing. If you go over to Archive of Our Own, for example, with more fandoms than you can shake a stick at and robust use of tagging, you'll see hundreds of ways people like their 'ships for fiction purposes.
For short, though, if I or someone just generally says, "I ship Rarity with Pinkie Pie," (for example), it means it's shorthand for pairing them romantically and usually eventually sexually. That's without specification. After that people get more specific, adding descriptors to their shipping.
A shipping story can be anything from pining for each other pre-relationship to anything along a relationship timeline. Personally, for 'shipping, I like stories where ponies kiss at the end. But explicit clop can also be shipping.
I like it with the apostrophe, but it's one of those words, like d*mn, where the meaningful apostrophe has been lost over the years. In books from the 1920s you'll see 'd*mn.
Did I talk too much? Did I get anywhere near what you were asking?
Thanks for the update, darf. Good to hear from you again.
5429981 Seen you around before. Can't recall that I ever read any of your stories. Don't think I will.
Keep on doing what you need to do darf. Good luck!
5431241
OK? What does my comment have to do with my stories? I’m just trying to help them make some extra money so they’re in a less precarious financial situation
5431249 Because I'm annoyed with the one off. Really just know you by name... maybe I should check out your stories. Tangents. Get that you are busy. We all are busy!
Can't tell someone how to get extra cash with giving some more detail. I understand this the internet age and you can look up things. I've done this when I was healthy, long ago. Detail wise for darf anyone else reading is that you are not getting paid for your blood. Not in the states though because of legal reasons. But you can get paid for you time which gets around those walls.
The whole don't ask don't tell about the gay sex thing tonged in cheek is true. The company you go to is going to need documentation of who you are and medical history. They need to make sure you are clean. The company is going to make sure you are not a "risk for bad stuff" or they won't give you money or in this case today because to avoid money laundering charges - debit cards. It's weird because they will try to talk you into giving blood but not paying you for you time. Even if you pass all the checks, they still might scam you. Walk away then and find someplace else.
In my area they are kinda cheap - 25 to 50 bucks US. You millage may vary.
5431378
If by one offs you mean my shitfics, then yeah, they’re crap. Occasionally I write good shit though.
- MLP: FiM
- Drama
- Slice of Life
- Tragedy
You're drenched in sweat and ennui. She's fighting the enemy, and you're fighting depression. Stuck forever in a nowhere town, you try to rise above inertia, but you only end up feeling useless. You're always feeling that way.I understand what you’re saying about trying to give more details so that a depressed person doesn’t need to waste spoons figuring it out themselves, but I simply don’t know what the situation is going to be for them thousands of miles away in Canada. I just know here in the states for example, I’m going to be making more than $500 this month from donating blood plasma which is nothing to sneeze at.
I'm glad you're feeling a bit better, darf. It's always good to see you around over here in horsewriting land. Please don't worry about not writing as much as you could've; comparing yourself to your theoretical capability always leaves the real you coming up short, especially when your jerk brain decides to withhold your endorphins from you (which you made fair and square). In a boring universe like this where we can only experience time in one direction, the only thing we can do is take it one step at a time and remember to forgive ourselves, too.
P.S. If I catch you feeling weird about not being able to articulate intense personal emotions as a writer again, I'm gonna throw hands. Text is a limited medium, dammit! >:(
5431423 500 bucks is good. Took a look at your story list and it's also impressive. Your points stand except for the recent stories one's look more like crack than shit. Cracks are where the shit comes from. But shit flows better off the tongue (saying the word). Yet tongues are better for cracks. Honestly I don't have a point at the tip of my tongue because there is a spoon hanging from my nose and the tongue would knock it away.
Hopefully thee antics here are positive enough for them. Err darf that it.