u/Catnip-Cove

I want to ask for other vegetarians advice who use to be vegan. I tried asking in another community but the post was removed for some reason. And I don’t really want to ask it in the vegan or exvegan subreddit because I know I won’t get the advice I’m looking for. I’m hoping the advice here might be a bit more moderate and unbiased.

Long story short, I’ve been vegan for 6 years and vegetarian for a number of years before that. Recently I’ve been feeling so disillusioned with it. So I’ve considered going back to being mostly vegetarian. But I also feel immense waves of guilt knowing what animals go through in agriculture and labs. I feel stuck between hating the way I’m living right now but also hating the idea of contributing to animal suffering.

Has anyone else ever gone from vegan to vegetarian and how did you deal with the feelings around it?

Hiya, I hope this is ok to post here. I’ve not played Fallen London for a while. I created an account a few months back and loved it but hated how grindy it became. I only get an hour a day if I’m lucky, to chill and play games, so I really don’t like games that force you to repeat the same tasks or make you wait huge amounts of time before progressing.

I also don’t have access to a pc or laptop, so I’m looking for recommendations for text based rpgs that can either be played on mobile or browsers. It doesn’t have to be the same themes as FL. Thanks

Basically, I’ve been vegan for 6 years and I’m starting to question it. I don’t want my life style to harm animals. But I struggle so much with the inconvenience, expensive and mostly the social isolation. I don’t know anyone else who’s vegan and I’m tired of being made fun or singled out. I’m also struggling with the constant mental load. Like I can’t just pick up a product in the shops without checking that it’s vegan and cruelty free, which most of the time it isn’t.

I would give it all up and just go back to eating whatever I wanted. BUT. Every time I think about doing it I see pictures in my head of tortured and maimed animals. Pigs being suffocated, cows convulsing, chicks being ground up alive. And I don’t want to be part of that. But I also don’t know how much is vegan propaganda vs reality.

How do you deal with the guilt and the horrors you saw as part of the vegan community?

I’ve been vegan so about 6 years now and I’m really struggling. I’m so tired of bending over backwards, making my life more difficult and expensive for no difference at all. I’m fed up of being singled out, criticised and made fun of by my family, friends and the world at large. I’m exhausted from the knowledge that 95% of the products in the shops cause suffering whilst also being exhausted having to check every single product I pick up.

It’s selfish, but I wish to god that I could just put the blind fold back on, buy whatever I wanted to and eat whatever I wanted to without the constant guilt. I guess I just miss the me that didn’t know and didn’t care. I feel like just giving up. But at the same time I can’t go back to the me that didn’t care because of all the horrible images now in my head from vegan documentaries.

I want to have a better mind set but I’m just struggling right now. Does anyone have any advice of how they got out of this rut?

I only downloaded the game the other day so I’ve been playing the way it wants me too. Breeding new dragons, fusing multiples of the same type to increase the level. I’ve unlocked the Rain Skipper dragons and noticed that they produce 120 gold every 60 mins individually. After a quick google, I found out at a lvl 5 fused Rain Skipper produces 240 gold every 120 mins.

So if you scale up the individual dragons across the two hours for the lvl 5 dragon, the choice is that the unfused dragons will produce 1,200 gold every 2 hours where as the fused dragon will only produce 240 gold, 20% of what you can make with unfused dragons.

So with that knowledge, what is the point in fusing the dragons? Surely it’s better to keep them separate?

I only downloaded Hatch Dragons yesterday and it looks like the current event only has a couple of days left to run. I’ve managed to unlock two Rainskippers but I don’t think I’m going to get all 5 before the event ends, meaning I won’t be able to fully level or bond it. Do they ever bring event dragons back or do you just end up with half finished dragons in your forest?

I’ve been writing for a couple of months purely for my own enjoyment. I’m starting to think about writing a short story and having other people read it. I’ve been doing some research and one thing I’ve noticed is that most stories have a romantic interest, even outside the romance genre.

The problem is I’m asexual. None of my stories have ever included a romantic interest. I don’t know how to write one because I’ve never experienced it and I don’t understand it. Plus, it’s incredibly boring to me.

I’m torn between writing what I enjoy vs writing what I know other people will prefer.

Does a good story need romance? Would you read a completely platonic story?

I’m posting this here in hopes I’ll actually get some help. I’ve tried asking on other writing groups but it keeps getting deleted because I’m new to them. How new writers are supposed to get advice and enter the community if new posts are constantly blocked I’ll never know.

Anyway, I’m trying to pick up my childhood hobby of writing. I don’t have a laptop, so everything I’ve done so far has been on the Notes app on my phone. It’s been fine for the odd small, practice piece. But I’d like to try writing a short story. So I wondered if there was a better app to use? What are people’s favourites or recommendations?

I’m looking for recommendations for animal breeding or genetic games.

Please don’t recommend games that can’t be played on an iPhone. I don’t currently have access to a PC or console!

Looking for some feedback on this piece. It’s not part of a larger piece, just some ideas thrown together to practice a little bit of world building along with intrigue and keeping readers hooked. I know the world doesn’t make a lot of sense with it being such a small piece. But does it give enough intrigue to keep you hooked? Do you want to know what happens next and if not, how can I improve on that?

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Tom ran his hand through the black kitten's fur. Dirt and scabs caught against his fingers and he could feel its bones poking him from just under its skin. It purred and pushed harder against his hand, grateful for the rare attention.
“You hungry?” he whispered, but the words felt sour in his mouth.

“Is that your offering?” A shrill voice came from behind. The kitten startled and Tom jumped, turning to focus on the wiry girl who stood a few feet away. “That’s pathetic!”

His jaw clenched and he felt his body stiffen. “No,” he stammered, then with more force, "You’ve got nothing better.”

The girl laughed, a sickening, cocky giggle that prickled Tom's anger. She lifted a sack from beside her, both arms outstretched for him to see. Whatever the sack contained, it was about the size of a football and wriggled furiously. Tom's stomach lurched, and his mouth felt dry.

“Cost me a pretty sum,” the girl said, “but they’ll pick me for sure,” He didn't want to think about how she'd paid for it. They were lucky to see a coin at all and any valuables they happened to stumble across were immediately confiscated by the Orderlies.

A low bell rang out from the tower above the orphanage. Tom felt its deep thrum rattle in his chest even though they were several streets away. The kitten, which had been watching the girl with wary eyes, took flight at the sound and vanished into the gloom. Another laugh came from the girl as Tom stared into the empty space, his own empty sack clutched in his hand.

“Best get going,” she chimed. “Wouldn’t want to keep the League waiting.” She strode off in the direction of the orphanage where the dining hall would already be filling with other children carrying sacks.

The world suddenly felt very heavy and Tom sighed. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be part of the League anyway. He was glad the kitten had run away. He didn’t want to feel it squirming in his sack.

But the League offered a semblance of life. His breath froze as unwanted memories resurfaced. He could still see the broken bodies in the gutter. Even the Ministry feared them. But without the League there was nothing but an empty belly and a shallow grave.

Perhaps that would be better, Tom thought. He imagined his skinny body curling up next to the black kitten. The peace of falling into a forever sleep together.

The bell rang again, tearing his mind back to reality. Another three booms echoed across the capital. Through the skeletons of high-rises, across the streets covered by decaying trash. The toll seeped its thin fingers into every crevice of the city.

Tom heaved himself to his feet, unable to refuse its call and lumbered towards the orphanage.

I want to redo my house but I always get stuck for inspiration.

I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism and feedback on this piece of writing. It's not part of a larger piece, I mainly just wanted to practice describing a scene and trying to show rather than tell.

The loose plot is that the world has ended, 4 teenagers are trying to survive. One character convinces them to travel to the coast in search of a boat and way to a better place, but upon reaching the coast they realise there's no boats anywhere.

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Arlo sat on the damp sand, his knees pulled up to his chin. A bitter wind howled across the beach, burning his face and hands and seeping into his sodden clothes. With the back of a sand-covered hand, he brushed a piece of dark, greasy hair from his eyes, wincing at the gritty sensation of his skin. He stared out at the grey sea that seemed to stretch on forever. The waves roared against the shore, a tumble of frothy, white beasts attacking and retreating. The sea seemed as angry to see Arlo as he was to see it.

Arlo didn’t know how long they’d been walking. He’d given up counting the long nights a while ago, counting each new blister instead. But even that had failed. He was certain now that his aching feet had become one, giant blister. A mass of sloughing skin and pus shoved into his wet socks and trainers that were too small. The pain and fear of what he might find had prevented him from looking for the last few miles. One problem at a time, he thought. The feet can wait.

He shivered as he scanned the empty beach again. Nothing but dark sand and an angry sea beneath a greying sky heavy with rain clouds.

Go to the coast, Angie had said. It’ll be better there. We’ll find a boat and leave this place for good.

That was the promise that had stowed away inside Arlo’s chest and warmed him like the last ember of a fire. Through the long nights, longer days and the many miles in between, that promise had pushed him forward. Life would be better when they reached the coast.

But there wasn’t a boat. Not a single, fucking one. If the cold and exhaustion hadn’t crumpled his body onto the sand, he was sure he would have throttled her.

Angie stood above him, scanning back and forth repeatedly, as if she could will a boat into existence from sheer determination or desperation. She refused to give up. She refused to be wrong.

“We’ll find one,” she said, her voice barely audible over the wind and the ocean.

“Fucking waste of time” Jonathan growled from beside Arlo. He hauled himself upright and spat his rage at the sea. “I’m going back to that house.” Arlo didn’t bother to watch the older boy retreat up the beach, listening to his heavy footsteps slap against the sand.

That house was a strong word for the place, Arlo thought. At some point, it had been a small, two-room cottage, set back from the road and bordered by a low, rock wall. It must have been homely and quaint a long time ago. But it was little more than rubble when they walked past. The walls were cracked and leaning; the shingled roof was completely missing in places and the whole dwelling was slowly being reclaimed by the surrounding countryside.

“Wait up!” A hurried voice called after Jonathan as Kip bounced to his feet. He was the youngest of the four and still retained the sprightly attitude Jonathan had buried in a deep hole many years ago. The two boys couldn’t have been more different. But wherever one was, the other wasn’t far behind.

“We should go too,” Angie said, and touched Alro’s shoulder as if her words weren’t enough to reach him. He shrugged her off. Her touch felt as uncomfortable as the sand on his face. She didn’t try again, instead following Kip and Jonathan back towards the road.

The waves continued to roar but Arlo could feel his anger fizzling away. His body was sore and his limbs felt like lead. He needed sleep. He needed to dry out his feet. Defeated, he stood with a grunt and limped after the others.

Hey everyone, so I use to be heavily in the RP community when I was a teenager. That was many years ago, I slowly dropped out of it when college and adulting become more time consuming. But 15 yrs on and I’m trying to renter the creative writing space and get back to some of the things I loved. All of the communities I used to be actively involved with seemed to have fizzled out, so I’m just wondering if anyone has any suggestions of sites that are still active?

I’m asking for beginner friendly mainly because I’m rather rusty and want a gentle reintroduction. 😅

Hey everyone, I’ve recently gotten hooked back on my 3ds and was wondering if anyone had any good colony management / town building style games they could recommend? Something similar to Fallout Shelter or Rimworld.

So far I’ve downloaded Of Mice and Sands and that seems pretty fun. But I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Thanks!