↳ This month’s theme is all about "LOVE CONQUERS ALL"
💌 ADMIN PICKS
Layla: @liveasbutterflies - bon appétit your majesty set: i love this set of yours deb! everything about it is beautiful! it feels it fit those "love beyond time and space and love conquers all" with the way you showed the parallels between the past and the present! and the many techniques you used from blending to overlaying to glitching were all very well done! and the typography is the cherry on top here!!! give me some of your talent deb!!! 💖💖💖✨✨✨
Sam: @deokmis - love scout acts of service set - JP! love the little moments you chose to highlight in this set. he really was one of our acts of service kings. the pink and green contrast is a nice touch as well as the subtle noise. we need more sets like these featuring complications of our green flag male leads so that we can continue to delude ourselves about fictional men that don't exist in real life :D the standard is set too high in the fictional world.
Alexa: @situling - one spring night set - i think this is the second time i've included one of your OSN sets in our creator spotlight, vic! It's really just that all kdrama roads lead back to this show and your gifsets of them for me! i love the coloring, i love the font choices and i love the scenes you chose for this set (some of my faves in the show)! i really just think they will always be the first ones i think of when it comes to love in kdrama and i can always count on your gifs of them to capture that love <3
Sya: @yesdramas my demon set - i love this set so much becca! the colouring, blending, quotes and scenes really shows the painful dynamics between them and it matches the theme for the member creation spotlight this month! the word transition in the 3rd gif diminishing with the fire, that's soo creative of you. such a painful yet impactful set. thanks for sharing your talent here ✨💕
Member Spotlight: @westwoodequestriancenter1
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Hey everyone!! My name is Mia and I own and run Westwood Equestrian Center & Westwood Kennels!! We are known for our top bloodline Borzois that we breed occasionally!! Though we also specialize in showing and training PREs, Barock Pintos & Appaloosa Sport Horses!! Though of course we have some other gorgeous breeds! As well as this Mia shows her dogs in Shutzhund, Conformation & Obidence. Follow along on our Instagram and Tumblr to see some gorgeous horses and dogs!!
VisaG is a digital artist that specializes in character and creature design as well as illustration. You'll find her work nestled into nearly every artbook/zine the community has as she is always willing to jump in and collaborate. VisaG is a longtime member of our community and integral part of our every day life!
We whole heartedly recommend checking out her work:
NB Members - like this post, and we’ll randomly select one of the first 20 users to create a promo post for! You must be a member of the network to be chosen. Please make sure your tumblr IM or askbox is open so that we can contact you.
Andrew Dubach is an ornery Midwestern scamp with a passion for creative endeavours. He is a BFA graduate in visual art with a focus in sculpture and art history. He is a multimedia artist and curator working with multiple art venues in Indiana. He has exhibited paintings, sculptures, and film in various museums and galleries throughout the United States.
This Halloween week the spotlight is on our spooky admin, Tori ( @tory-b )! Click the read more link below to get to know our member!
Spotlight by Mila, @jughead-jones | Graphic by Katie, @betty-cooper
Tori | @tory-b
Name: Tory or Tori
Age: 21 (but only for a few more months!)
Location: Western US
Any other languages aside from English people can contact you in?: I can read basic Japanese and German. I won’t be able to communicate well but I have like some understanding. (I’m just really bad at languages I’m sorry universe, i want to be good at them)
Favourite Riverdale characters and ships?: BUGHEAD! Jughead Jone is my son, I love that boy. But I’m also a big Archie girl you know? Like just in the ‘he is my big dumb son and he just needs to be protected at all costs.’ I’d probably kill for a Jarchie person.
Favourite moments from S1 & S2?: There are so many it makes it hard to choose from you know? But S1: the iconic “hey there, Juliet, nurse off duty” is just like…so cheesy and soft it makes it hard to not just be utterly in love with that big dork. S2: When Archie cuts Jughead’s chains in front of the building, and they have that shot where the chains are falling away and he looks just like a fucking mythical fallen angel. That moment is so powerful between the boys, but it’s also just such a beautiful image on screen. Like Riverdale’s cinematography is eh on the best of days but in that moment like wow just absolutely WOW
What are your hopes for S3?: All my hopes and dreams look like they’re coming true and I could cry. Betty has a therapist! Bughead is investigating! Josie is getting more SCREEN TIME. I really do want more Cheryl/Betty friendship moments but I’m not sure if we’ll get them. I’d also love a Jug/Cheryl friendship moment. Also if we could get our Jarchie kiss.
Other fandoms you’re into?: I was in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom for a little while, and the Voltron fandom for some time after that. I just kind of commit to like one fandom or I’ll be dead.
What are some of your favourite movies/TV?: My other go-to show right now (I’ve been rewatching) is RuPaul’s Drag Race because I’m Reality TV Trash. My favorite movie is tricky. I always tell my mom that I don’t watch many movies because I like that TV can show longer more complex plots than movies.
Favourite books?: Fever 1793 was my favorite growing up and sometimes I’ll still read through and cry like a fucking baby even though I know how it goes. I love historical fiction. BUT my absolute FAVORITE book is Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky.
Favourite bands/musicians?: It is I, your friendly admin hipster who has a lot of vinyl, and my fave bands are Panic! At the Disco, Walk the Moon, and the 1975. Also I listen to an absurd amount of broadway musicals because I’m a theatre nerd through and through.
If you could live in any fictional world which one would you choose and why?: I was gonna say Riverdale but I don’t want to chances of me getting murdered to jump up to an absurd amount. I’m small and meek I’d die like Midge. Maybe the Miraculous Ladybug’s Paris because it’s soft and even if I get turned into a bad guy no one hates me and I get a cool costume.
Favourite food?: Strawberries! Specifically Strawberry Shortcake but anything with strawberries on it.
Favourite season?: Winter or Fall! Spring is amazing but it makes me sneeze because allergies.
Favourite plant?: Sunflowers!
Favourite scent?: Lime! It’s clean and fresh.
Favourite colour?: Pastels. Pink, blue, yellow!
Favourite animal?: Doggos! (I’d say cats but i’m terribly allergic to cats even though I love them).
Are you a night owl, an early bird, or a vampire?: My sleep schedule is garbage. I am a night owl who works early morning shifts and is forced to be an early bird.
Place you want to visit?: I want to visit more of europe, specifically France, see more of England, and very much Japan!
Do you have pets? If you do, tell us a little about them: I do have pets! I’ve got my sweet little Poppy. She’s a rescue mutt who I got on my 13th birthday. She’s probably 11-12 right now but none of us have an idea. She’s so soft and beautiful but she is absolutely a little bitch. I go to college so whenever I come home for holidays, she stares at me like I’ve just utterly offended her and turns away. She’s a Princess who is utterly spoiled.
Tell us a little about yourself?: Oh gosh. I’m not sure what to say in this really. I’m graduating a semester early with a double major in Psychology and Anthropology, which I think is really cool, even though I have no idea what I’m going to do with that frankly. I moved a lot growing up because my mom can’t stay still. I’ve got this skin condition called vitiligo so lots of my body doesn’t have pigment!
Fun or weird fact about you?: I can’t properly scowl. Like bring my eyebrows together. I have no idea why.
Asks for fanfic authors:
How long have you been writing?: Oh gosh. So I’ve been writing in notebooks since I was like 5, but I posted my first ever fanfiction (did you mean that Harry Potter fic I posted that I like to ignore?) when I was 10 or 11? I quit writing publicly from about 12 until…I was like 20?
Which is your favourite of the fics you’ve written?: One Last Chance. It was 12k of really just emotional catharsis. I cried while writing it and it just felt so good to write it. Whenever I read it I just smile because I think ‘wow i can’t believe I’m the person who wrote this’.
Favourite fic/chapter/plot-point/character you’ve ever written?: The plot points in What Happened on Elm Street are my favorite because they’re so twisty and turny!
Which was the hardest to write, and why?: What Happened on Elm Street is very difficult to write for me. It’s super complex and I can only give away a little at a time to keep some of the mystery in it. So I have to think a lot for each word I write.
How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? (examples: Do you draw inspiration from real life? Listen to music? Get inspired by TV/movies?) Do you have an process to your writing?: It’s a combination of everything! It’s real life in some ways, like my college experiences, or with songs, like my oneshot I Hate Love Songs! It all depends. Sometimes it just comes to me, like I’ll be watching a movie and I go ‘yes!’.
Idea that you always wanted to write?: A Zombie Apocalypse AU. SO BADLY. But I don’t think it would be very popular, so I always sort of hang back and don’t write it even though I kind of have the first chapter of a WIP written for it. I just love that kind of angst and fear.
Favourite character to write?: Cheryl fucking Blossom. She is just…I love writing all her wittiness! Also apparently Jughead? Since all of my writing has been through Jughead’s POV lately.
Best comment/review you’ve ever received?: So I received a comment on the first chapter of 101 Ways and it was just “DOGGIES” which made me laugh out loud> I also had someone (her name is Cat, she’s an admin, not sure if you’ve heard of her) tell me she cried into her Taco Bell reading One Last Chance. That was iconic.
Best and worst parts of being a writer?: Best parts are absolutely getting to stretch my creativity. I have a lot of ideas and writing is just such a cathartic thing for me. Writing makes me feel unburdened and free and that means a lot to me. I use my writing to cope with some of my anxiety and depression, because I feel good about words and how well I can manipulate them. Worst: That fear. That constant fear of not being enough. Of not being as good. Of comparison. It comes with fandom culture I think, this need to compare yourself to other people. I don’t ever mean to do it, but I can feel it happening sometimes. I love being able to learn from other writers by reading things and being encouraged to experiment, but perhaps it’s just who I am but I do have a problem with comparison.
Do you have any advice to offer?: Experiment experiment experiment! If you like something in another person’s writing, like a certain style, how they use metaphors, etc, there’s nothing wrong with adopting things you like and evolving you're writing based on what you like to read. It’s so important to keep changing and evolving and the only way you can do that is by trying new things!
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This is the fifteenth instalment of Bughead Family’s Member Spotlight series. Each week, a member’s url is selected through a randomizer and they will be featured in a spotlight post. In order to participate, please join the Bughead Discord (more information found here). Thank you.
Changing Animals’ Lives Through Dairy-Free Treats: Meet Farm Sanctuary Member Melodi Donahue
If the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, Farm Sanctuary Friends of Hilda Club member Melodi Donahue has taken that one step further: She’s changing hearts and minds through the power of delicious, animal-friendly treats. The founder of all-vegan sweets company Obsessive Confection Disorder (OCD), Melodi has a penchant for making the world a better place — one bite at a time.
“Obsessive Confection Disorder is my part-time job, with full-time passion,” she explains. “Everyone knows I only cook for people I love.” For Melodi, business is personal; she uses her talents not only as a way to honor her own personal history, but to help create a more compassionate world for animals as well.
Melodi shares a special moment with her friend Scribbles goat.
“I grew up next door to my grandparents and spent much of my childhood wrapped in an apron in my grandmother’s kitchen,” she recalls. “I watched her put up pickles and jam, make candy, and bake every cookie and cake and bread/roll imaginable. It was like a symphony! The thing I wanted most of all was to be able to make good things for the people I loved.”
Melodi started Obsessive Confection Disorder — the name a playful spin on her own battles with obsessive compulsive disorder — by following a lesson learned from her beloved grandparents.
“My grandparents [went to] meticulous lengths to make sure every element of our food was pure and of the best quality,” she says. “I brought that mindset with me when I formed Obsessive Confection Disorder: Focus on attention to detail and respect the people you feed.” So when an opportunity to reach a new clientele arose, she gave it her all — a decision that would change the course of her life forever.
“When I started my company in 2010, I made dairy-based products exclusively,” Melodi recalls. “I met a buyer at a local co-op who was interested in carrying some of my products. You should never visit someone with an empty plate, so I asked the buyer how many people worked at the store — I wanted to bring enough treats to share. She told me not to worry about it, as most of the staff were vegan. I googled ‘vegan’ and threw up my hands. I found coconut cream in my cupboard and figured out the rest as I went along. The chocolate coconut caramel was a huge hit with the vegans and the store buyer told me I should look into making vegan candy because there was a somewhat untapped market for it. I read everything I could about vegans and their mysterious ways, and what initially began as a science experiment became my entire focus for all the right reasons.”
As she learned about creating delicious animal-friendly alternatives to dairy-based sweets, she realized just how closely her business mission actually aligned with a vegan lifestyle. For Melodi, her confectionery work was a way to honor her family and those she loved — and when she learned about how the animal agriculture industry exploits and separates animal families, she was determined to do her part to help.
In rebranding her company, Melodi knew some clients might question her decision to ditch dairy. But by remaining true to her compassionate values, she says, she gained so much more than she had ever thought possible.
“It was more important to me that my focus be on feeding people without bothering animals,” she says. “They have enough to worry about. It wouldn’t matter how much money my candy made if I couldn’t make it with a clear conscience. Kinder, gentler sweets was the only way to go.”
It was through her animal-friendly confections that Melodi discovered Farm Sanctuary, and she’s since gone on to make an enormous impact on our work to help farm animals.
Melodi offering a treat to Totes goat during a visit with Totes and his best friend Hemingway.
“I learned about Farm Sanctuary when I participated in a local bake sale hosted by [Director of Donor Relations] Sarah Lux, [who] is an impassioned advocate in the calmest way,” she recalls. In getting to know Farm Sanctuary’s staffers and rescued residents, Melodi says that she’s found increased motivation and purpose in her own advocacy — feeling even more inspired to give back in a way that resonates with her values and allows her to experience the sense of healing that her work brings to others.
Like many of the animals she helps through her Farm Sanctuary support, Melodi has experienced her own share of hardships — and meets each challenge with resilience and grace.
“I have a laundry list of maladies that I am pretty forthcoming about,” she explains. “A handful of my diagnoses include multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. MS patients [for example] are sensitive to heat and often experience crippling pain and fatigue” — something, she observes, that directly conflicts with a sweltering caramel kitchen. But she approaches these obstacles with strength and resolve — seeing them not as limitations, but as opportunities to grow and heal the world from the inside out. “Life in general can be a grueling minute-by-minute battle, wrought with challenges that make me want to give up pretty much every day,” she says. “But that is not a viable option, because I have stuff to do. My friend Liz gives me permission to quit for 15 minutes — then I have to get back at it. It almost always works.”
This selfless sense of duty to make the world a little sweeter is what drives Melodi forward each day. But helping others, she says, has also enriched her own life in powerful ways. And in heeding this calling to help farm animals (and the humans who love them), she demonstrates the simple power of putting compassion first.
Melodi shows some love to her friend Peter pig.
While we feel incredibly inspired by Melodi’s journey, she credits the animals of Farm Sanctuary (especially Albert, Waylon, Blossom, Peter, Fernando, Melvin, Oliver, Dawn, Hemingway, Zuri, Totes, Reggie, Lola, Marcia, Joey, and Juanita) as some of her greatest inspirations.
“Every visit to the farm feels like my birthday/Christmas/first day of summer vacation all rolled into one!” she exclaims. “I often bring along family and friends so that they can know how it feels to rub bellies and get nudged and sometimes nibbled a little. I think it’s the only way to help someone understand why we need to change the ways in which we view the part that animals play in this world.
“While the animals are (of course) the heart of the matter, the dedicated staff are why [and] how Farm Sanctuary provides the very best 24/7/365 care for the residents. I am in awe of every single one of them. Any member of the Farm Sanctuary staff can look at a flock of 50+ scurrying chickens and not only tell you each of their names, but the backstories that brought them to Farm Sanctuary. I have met so many people who I have come to respect and admire, and who inspire me to do better.”
Her work is a potent reminder that we each have the power to enact positive change by using our own talents and passions to create a kinder world. Melodi herself offers these tips for those who want to help farm animals:
“In all seriousness, start by googling Farm Sanctuary!” she says. “They’re not scary or judgmental or self-righteous. They lead by example and provide countless resources to help learn more about their mission. Read the rescue stories, look at the pictures, then sub-google Gene Baur and Susie Coston. You’ll learn everything you need to know about compassion and making purposeful and kind choices. Also, read online blogs and follow Farm Sanctuary on all social network platforms [including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube].
“Visit animal sanctuaries: places where animals are rockstar residents, not entertainment. Get close to pigs — they smell like flowers and maple syrup and they (rightfully) expect belly rubs, just like the animals who live in your home. Meet the animals with an open mind.
“Learn as much as possible about how food is produced. Most of us grew up eating meat and drinking milk, etc., without a thought of how it was procured. The systems and practices are more nightmarish and gut-wrenching than anything you can imagine. It’s hard to see but so important to know — but knowing about it is absolutely nothing compared to enduring it. ‘Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.’ —Albert Schweitzer.
“Be kind to yourself while you transition. Cold-turkey anything can be overwhelming, and while the ultimate goal will be a complete plant-based lifestyle, start by doing as little harm as possible. Go to vegan shop-ups and festivals and eat all the good things.”
We are so thankful to call Melodi a beloved member of the Farm Sanctuary family, as she inspires us to appreciate and cultivate all the sweetness that life has to offer!
