#Although minimally

[reimahowaido]

SO UMMM

I have to. I have to say this. I may regret this later, but The co-incidents They’re just Too close Alright fellas Here’s a thing So.... My grandpa, the closest elder relative I had passed away this Monday. He had a sudden health complication that I won’t go deeper into, bless his soul though, he was a chill dude who took me bird watching and fishing as a kid &  shared an interest in history But yes, he did unfortunately pass recently Now here’s the thing His birthdate was the same as Elizabeth II’s, he was some years younger though, but the date was the same And guess what Guess freaking what There’s some strange connection here He has mentioned the shared birthdate before, and here it is again You guys. This is so wild to me

[canisalbus]

What do you think would have happened if (somehow, idk how but somehow) Machete rose to the rank of pope?

To be perfectly honest? I think most realistically he would've ruled maybe six months at best and then keeled over from stress and exhaustion.

[rowenabean]

Inspired by finding Yet Another streaming service, I'm curious to know how many entertainment streaming services you have at any given time? I would include anything that you pay for in order to get exclusive content or a smoother/more usable experience eg include Patreons if you're in it for the content but if you're not using any extra content and just there to support the artist that's a you do you situation

(This is a repost because I forgot about zero)

For the record I would pay a one off for the content in question but am just not eager to sign up to something else that I'll probably forget to turn off that's not my jam

[mothfables]

In Which Wars Picks a Fight With an Apple Tree (& Loses)

“Remind me again why we’re going to every tree?” Wars’ voice is slightly strained as he trails behind Legend, hefting the heavy basket in his arms.

“Because-“ Legend pauses to twist a particularly stubborn apple from its’ stem. “Because I don’t want my apples to rot while I’m not around, and Ravio can only do so much on his own. Besides, it’s not every tree.” One more twist and the apple comes free. He turns to drop it into the basket, shooting the other hero a smug grin. “Just most of them.” Warriors splutters.

The two of them have been out here for a few hours now; after Ravio had mentioned how he’d been worried about finishing the harvest in time Legend had all-but leapt up and made a beeline for the back door. Warriors had followed after him curiously only to find a basket the size of his torso shoved in his arms and told to ‘keep up.’ The other hero had apparently decided to start right this minute and marched straight for the nearest fruit-ladened tree, Wars stumbling after him.

They had to have gone through at least a quarter to a third of the orchard by now, Warriors guesses. Legend has a lot of trees, but not that many. (Part of him suspects the other is going slow on purpose.) Then again, the Captain doesn’t know much about apples, or the care and harvesting thereof. There wasn’t really much of an opportunity, in the city.

He shifts the basket in his arms so it’s more secure before speaking again. “What are you planning to do after this? Surely you’re not keeping all of these.” His voice comes out sharper than intended and he winces. Shit, he’d slipped into what Wind called his ‘knight voice’ for a second there. He sneaks a glance at his brother, who doesn’t seem to have noticed, having moved to the next branch to start working at the apples there.

Legend hums before answering. “Well, yeah, some of ‘em we’ll keep, some we’ll be selling next market day. The rest we’ll bake or turn into cider or something.” He comes back to dump an armful of fruit into the basket. “None of it will be wasted, if that’s what you’re worryin’ about. Even the overripe ones; those get put out for the deer an’ anything else that wants any.”

Wars can’t help but smile at the accent slipping into his brother’s voice, like warm honey over cool mint. It’s something the Veteran tends to keep tight under wraps, to match his voice to the front he puts up for the world. The fact that it’s making an appearance now, and the other is making no move to correct it, shows that he feels comfortable and safe enough to let his walls down- even if it’s just a little.

Following Legend as he moves to the next tree, Warriors takes the time to look around them. Trees heavy with fruit surround them, branches hanging low from the weight. Some are bare, however, and he remembers Legend saying how he’d had to work to bring it back from practically nothing, him and his uncle, before the man died and Legend was left to continue on his own. Even now, to his untrained eye, Warriors can see there’s still much work to be done. But that doesn’t erase all the progress that has been made.

Things continue in this vein for a while, the two of them chatting amiably and occasionally sniping at each other in friendly banter. At one point, Legend sends Wars back to the house to grab another basket when the first becomes too full. Wars complains but does as he’s told, grinning as Legend playfully gripes about him ‘growing soft from all that city-livin’; what, the big, strong Captain can’t carry a single basket?’

Warriors shoots back that he ‘may not be the Rancher, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done my fair share of heavy lifting!’ Legend cackles. Wars finds himself beaming at the sound, his chest growing warm and full.

He’s so caught up in their banter that he forgets to watch his step; his foot catches in something- a hole or divot in the ground- and he stumbles straight into the low-hanging branches of a nearby tree. The basket tumbles from his hands, apples scattering everywhere as he tries to catch himself. He only succeeds in tangling himself further before his head meets the trunk with a resounding thwack!

Wars slumps against it, dazed, before yelping as he’s bombarded by what feels like at least half a dozen small projectiles from above. He holds up his arms in an attempt to shield his already aching head but it’s over as quickly as it started.

He hears what he thinks must be Legend yelling but his ears are ringing too badly to make out any individual words. Then there are hands on him, pulling him away from the tree and supporting him as he stumbles. Wars presses a hand over his eyes, dizzy.

He blinks and he’s sitting on the porch, Legend next to him. The other hero is fussing, pressing a gentle hand to his head and leaning closer to check his eyes. A scowl fixes itself on his face when he sees Wars looking at him and he removes his hand to cross his arms.

“Y’back with me, city boy? Or do I have t’go an’ call Time or Rulie out here?”

Warriors can’t help it- he laughs. Legend blinks, caught off-guard, before his scowl deepens. That only makes him laugh harder before a spike of pain lances through his skull and he has to stop to press the heels of his palms into his eyes, hissing.

“Serves you right,” his brother grumbles. Even still, he’s gentle as he pulls Wars’ hands down to check his head again. “I think you might have a minor concussion. With how hard you hit that tree I’m surprised it’s not any worse. ‘specially since y’got rained on with apples right after.”

“That’s what those were?!”

Now it’s Legend’s turn to snort at the flabbergasted look on Wars’ face. He leans back, done with his examination. “Sure was. Gotta say, the look on yer face makes me wish I had Wind’s pictobox or somethin’. It was priceless.” He shoots him a smirk.

Wars pouts, but any (admittedly minor) affect it might have had is ruined by his stomach growling. He glances down at it in surprise. It hadn’t been that long since he’d last eaten, had it? ...No, they’ve been out here for hours, that’s right. Damn.

Legend sighs and reaches for something out of his sight. Wars blinks and suddenly there’s an apple being waved in his face. He follows the arm it’s attached to and sees his brother scowling at him, a singular brow raised.

“C’mon, I’m not sitting around here all day.” Legend looks suddenly unsure. “Um. I don’t- know if it’s okay to eat with a concussion but no one ever said not to, so-”

Warriors huffs a laugh and takes the apple, watching Legend deflate with relief. “I’m pretty sure you have to be careful with more serious concussions. If it’s minor like you said, I’ll just have to watch not to hit my head again and drink plenty of water.” He pauses, thinking. “At least, I think that’s right.” ...Listen, he may have learned concussion symptoms and care by necessity in the war, but it’s been a few years and people don’t usually make it a habit of keeping his skills in that department sharp. There’s a reason there’s more than one healer in their party.

Legend’s other eyebrow rises to join the first. Wars coughs and glances away, raising the apple to his mouth and taking a bite.

His own eyebrows shoot up and he finds himself making a delighted sound at the taste. He’d forgotten how good fresh-picked fruit tastes. (No, the stuff from the Champion’s slate doesn’t count. Something about the way it saves things just doesn’t do the flavour right-) Suddenly he’s torn between devouring it on the spot and savouring every bite.

“Lege, I think I love you,” he declares, taking another bite.

The veteran makes exaggerated gagging noises. “C-c’mon, it’s jus’ an apple. I’m not- it’s not even a fuckin’- pie or anythin’.” Wars simply chews louder, swooning dramatically. “Gross.” But he’s smiling, violet eyes bright, and Warriors beams back at him.

In a few more bites he finishes his treat and is left looking down at his empty hands with a forlorn expression. Legend sighs and hands him another apple.

“What’s got you so excited ‘bout these anyway? I thought for sure you’d get like this abou’- I dunno, that dumb fancy food nobles eat or somethin’.”

Warriors ignores the fact that Legend absolutely knows what ‘dumb fancy food’ is, well aware the veteran has been forced by Fable to attend several events in his own era, and simply hums, tapping his feet happily. “Nah, I’ve never really been a fan,” he says eventually, watching Legend’s ear flick in surprise. “It’s just- fresh stuff like this is- was hard to come by, during the war. And then after, when we were focused on rebuilding and everything, it was just as hard. Maybe harder, depending on where you were in the city.” Second apple finished, he wipes his hands on his pants and leans back to soak up the sun. “Especially since a lot of it would spoil by the time it got out to us. So it was always nice, getting something fresh, y’know?”

He sneaks a glance at his brother. Legend is quiet, his gaze unexpectedly thoughtful. Warriors doesn’t mind. He knows his brothers, knows they see the gleaming city, the fancy clothes, the posh people, and think ‘rich, cultured, used to fine things.’ And sure, he’s a little bit of all of those (being the Hero and a highly-respected Captain during a major war you played a huge hand in admittedly has its’ perks), but the truth is he’s always preferred the simpler things.

That’s one reason he loves spending time with his brothers, staying with them in their homes; he gets to see the world like they do, if only a little bit: their comforts and habits, their favourite places and people and foods. They’re all so far from the pomp and rigidness of court life back in his own era, and he loves every minute of it.

He smiles, expression fond, and leans over to knock his shoulder against the vet’s.

“So,” he starts, causing the other to startle, “you said something earlier about baking some of the apples? What do you usually make?”

Just like that, it’s like a switch has been flipped. Purple eyes light up again, and Wars watches as his brother visibly brightens, hands beginning to wave and gesture as he speaks.

“We make a bunch o’ things! It depends on the apples and what you wanna make; there’s a bunch of desserts and dinner stuff an’ drinks an’ all kinds of things! Rav likes apple butter so we usually make at least one or two tubs of that. But we also make pies, tarts, cobblers, stuffed apples... We brew a bunch of cider, too, that’s really good when it gets colder. I think Wind an’ Hyrule would really like the candied apples Ravi makes- ooh, and Time would prolly like apple chips-”

Warriors listened to his brother talk, his expression happy and open. His head still hurts a little, but it’s easy to push back and focus on this- a happy brother by his side, a sunny porch, and a whole bucket of fresh, delicious apples. He rests his weight back on his hands and closes his eyes, determined to enjoy it.

[crossbackpoke-check]

Substance, Shadow, and Spirit [remixed, abridged] by Tao Yuanming

[karokawwo]

ok now what if i told you i wanted to redesign hellebore, sash-*falls dead*

[milkweedman]

[image description: an ask by @arbrehoux​ that says “Hi! I’m just getting into spinning, and I wanted to ask how to finish off the yarn once you’ve spun all you want. I’ve tried googling it, but every website I look at skips straight from the actual spinning to soaking. I’m using a drop spindle, if that’s relevant.” end image description]

soaking usually IS the way to finish yarn ! i'll give you the best step by step i can though (and for future reference, this applies to pretty much every single spinning method, so you can do this with yarns spun on a spinning wheel, a supported spindle, a drop spindle, a navajo spindle, a charkha wheel, or whatever else you might encounter. it's all yarn, so it can all be finished the same way.)

step 0: if you plan on plying your yarn, do it before finishing. you don't need to finish singles if you plan to ply them. finishing relaxes the yarn, so if you finish a singles and then ply it, it will end up being somewhat limp unless you overply it (which makes yarn less elastic and more rough) but if you spun a singles and want it to remain a singles, never to be plied, then you can certainly finish it as a singles.

step 1: remove the yarn from your spindle (or bobbin, or whatever it is on) and wrap it around something as it comes off. a niddy noddy is great for this, but not necessary. you can wrap your yarn around a big hardcover book or the back of a chair, or whatever. when taking yarn off a drop spindle, i usually just toss the spindle on the ground and let it roll around as I wind the yarn off. if you’re worried about it catching on something, put the drop spindle in a box or mixing bowl instead and let it roll around in there.

[image description: a somewhat blurry closeup of a tattooed man’s hands. in his right hand he’s holding a hardcover book. in his left he’s wrapping yarn around the book lengthwise. a red line has been drawn in to show the path of the yarn as he winds. end image description]

step 2: tie your yarn off. you can use the messy looking ends of the yarn if you wish, or another piece of yarn or string. just tie a simple knot around the hank. you want at least two knots, but if you're really worried about it tangling, you can do more. the purpose of tying your yarn off is to stop it from tangling in the next steps, to make it easier to work with when you wind it into a ball or cake later, and to keep it looking tidy.

[image description: a closeup of the yarn on the book from the previous image. a knot has been tied around all the strands of yarn on that side. there is a red arrow pointing to the knot. end image description]

step 2.5: if you want to know your yardage or meterage, this is the time to do so. first, count how many strands you have. second, measure how many inches or centimeters it takes to span the entire length of the book (so, front, back, and the width of both the top and bottom). In this case I think it was 8 strands and 24 inches for the whole book. that means the whole yarn is 192 inches (8x24=192) and the yardage is 5.3 (192/36=5.3). same steps if it’s centimeters and meters, of course. also, if you’re thinking “wow, I have to measure whatever i’m winding my yarn on every time ? that sounds annoying”, then you’re seeing why niddy noddys are so helpful and you should get or make one. my niddy noddy takes 2 yards to span it, meaning whenever i wind yarn on, after counting it i can just multiply my result by 2 and know how many yards i have (if i have 100 strands and i know each strand spans 2 yards, that means my whole skein is 200 yards. so much simpler.)

step 3: soak your yarn. or just get it wet. i usually run my yarn under the tap for a few seconds to make sure it is fully wet, but you can also put it in a bowl with some water and make sure it's fully submerged. leave it there for a few minutes.

step 3.5: if your yarn isn't very soft and you want it to be softer, you can add conditioner (just like, the normal stuff you use for your hair) to the bowl before you put the yarn in to soak. if you're softening it this way, leave it in the bowl of water for at least an hour, or even overnight. when you take it out, rinse it briefly. this step is only necessary if you want your yarn softer.

step 4 (optional): go outside and snap your yarn like a whip a few times. this evens out twist and flicks a lot of the water off, so it will dry faster too. if your yarn has some spots that are really undertwisted or overtwisted or both, this is a good way to help reduce that and make more evenly plied.

step 5: let your yarn dry completely. in the summer i hang my yarn over the clothesline, and in the winter i usually put it over a heating vent. doesn't matter how you do it. remember that wool in particular can feel dry even when it has a fair amount of water in it, so don't grab it the second it feels dry--give it a while longer to actually dry.

you should notice that your yarn looks different now that it's dry. if it's wool, it's likely puffed up some (to varying degrees depending on the breed of animal it came from, as well as whether it was roving or a batt or a rolag or whatever else, and also depending on how you spun it. it's a cool thing to pay attention to.)

step 6: skein your yarn. pick up the hank and drape it over your thumb or hand or whatever. the vast majority of yarns will twist a little in one direction when you do this, from residual twist. some yarns will twist a lot, others only barely. note the direction that it twists in--to the left or to the right. put your other thumb at the other end of the hank, and start twisting one thumb in the opposite direction that your hank twisted in. i usually twist with one thumb until i can't easily twist it anymore, and then twist with the other thumb. your nice loop should now look kind of like a piece of rope, with your thumbs still hooked into each end.

[image description: the first image shows the yarn hooked over each thumb, with two twists in the middle. the second image shows that same yarn, which now has so much twist it looks like rope. his thumbs are still hooked into each end. end image description]

you now want to find the center point of your ‘rope’ and fold it there. your ‘rope’ should kind of snap into place, looking like a much larger version of a 2 ply yarn. it’s nice and stable like this, and can be transported or stored easily (plus it’s pretty !). the last step is to take one of the loops you had your thumb in and push it through the other loop. this stops it from unraveling.

btw: the reason we twist it the opposite direction that it wants to turn is the same reason we ply in the opposite direction that we spin. if you spin Z and ply Z your yarn isn’t going to be structurally sound, and it’ll look pretty bad, too. when it comes to skeining you’re not adding any structural stability to the actual yarn, but the looks still matter--if your Z plied yarn is twisted Z while skeining, your skein will be limp and lifeless and not very pretty. if it’s twisted S, it’ll be nice and balanced and neat looking. it’s purely an aesthetics thing, but it also only takes half a second to figure out, so why not do it ?

and you’re done ! your yarn is now finished and skeined, and you know the yardage/meterage. you can label it with all relevant info if you want (for example: 4 ounces shetland roving, 2 ply, 350 yards, light worsted weight, finished august 2022, spun on a wheel)

[rohirric-hunter]

Everyone has been so mean to Corunir and Golodir lately and I loaded up RangerCamp so I could just hang out and watch them vibe and chill and have a nice time.

Then I spawned in 12 bandit chiefs and for some reason they all had the ice spike spell which instantly crashed my game.

[sparring-spirals]

Still reeling from that episode - but involving any member of vox machina for laudnas resurrection seems so risky. Like even hand waving Keyleth not resurrecting Will (one of her own people) for obvious sweet backstory angst, why would she help keep the vessel of Deliah Briarwood “active”? That’s a huge threat. Hopefully etheross comes through with someone.

I think its hard to say what a VM would do here, as an NPC or as past PCs (because expectation and perception absolutely differs depending on which of the two we're thinking about). I will say that, having a powerful NPC be maybe able to Do A Thing, and running the risk of said NPC having personal past conflicts or agendas or opinions that might interfere or collide with your ask- is a pretty standard thing to account for, when dealing with a high powered NPC. I guess the main difference here is that we know, precisely and intimately, about a potential reason for the NPC's face to go cold, and for them to give a kind but final "No." But from the Bells point of view? As PC's looking at an NPC? Its as dangerous as any other option, really.

Now out of universe, IMO, there's a whole cluster of storytelling and character and narrative balance things to contend with if they go that route, not going to pretend otherwise. I think it'll be tricky to balance, and I don't envy Matt or the cast for needing to thread that needle if they choose it.

Anyway, I've got my personal preferences, as I'm sure everyone does, but I assume a lot of it will come down to execution. Fingers crossed for good news for Laudna, either way.

[vinyls-and-valentines]

Ah, yes, the two stances on canon: "you're fucking dead to me" and "wanna make out sloppy style in the parking lot?"

[joanofarc]

tv goodbyes, steven cheslik-demeyer (1987).

i hate to watch other people have to leave other people

[drewsaturday]

obviously different people say different things and you can support something existing while still complaining about things not being to your taste as long as you don't comment it on actual creationssss

but sometimes it does get mentally chaotic seeing posts saying you should be allowed to write whatever you want and bad art is okay etc etc and then i scroll down a little more to see people having incredibly high expectations for things that people make for fun and for free in fandom spaces and it's like...

i think there is a gap between seeing our tumblr peers tm as people and creatives having fun, but ourselves as consumers expecting perfect content. you are demanding perfection from those same people you claim to want to support.

???

[yourqueenb]

I’m honestly really glad that they paywalled interactions with Luke and Ruby this week because I’m just not feeling them, I’m sorry y’all

[comediakaidanovsky]

been thinking a lot about mjf and pennies lately

[queer-book-character-tournament]

I understand what you’re trying to do with quality control, but it is starting to feel weird when you clearly have characters who a significant minority are voting up as queer and you’re questioning if the characters are queer enough.

I know that characters and people are two different cases, and I can quietly remove myself here, but I’m having a lot of fun when I’m not being ambushed with more arbitrary standards about what queer can and can’t look like, so I wanted to try an ask first.

I understand not wanting a character who isn’t explicitly queer to win, but it’s honestly upsetting to have my dash keep being interrupted with rules lawyering about what counts as queer and what doesn’t. Do you think you could maybe make note of the possible issues and just discuss them together if they win instead of discussing it every time another character turns up “questionable”? I’m otherwise really enjoying your tournament

I mean that is what I’m trying to do? Like there’s only two characters so far (out of 204 in the competition) who have been brought up after the polls went live, and like … four total posts I’ve made about it tops? Five, I guess, including this one. One asking for clarification on the question being asked in the first place, one kind of agreeing to that because again I haven’t read, and then one for each character saying it’s just something we will come back to as needed because there was some push back and I don’t really want to debate it before it’s even an actual issue as I can’t do anything during the first round anyway since it's already up. I don’t want the people pointing it out to feel ignored and for it to evolve into a discourse in the notes because it goes unaddressed. So I answered them on the second character same as the first to say let’s come back to this if it progresses past round one.

I’m questioning not if they’re “queer enough” though. We've got a wide variety of character from all over the gender/sexuality/romantic orientation spectrum. I'm not trying to gatekeep what counts as queerness. But when I do ask for quality control I am asking if it’s even canon at all that they are queer inside the text of the book. Not 'queer enough', just are they queer in canon, point blank. The rules did state canon is a requirement, but I can’t read every book submitted to check that. Sometimes I’ll know things aren’t correct, like in the ship tournament someone submitted Sam/Frodo (which is an example of what I mean. It’s not that they “aren’t queer enough” it’s that they just straight up are not stated to be queer, as much as we as fans might enjoy the idea that they are and there might be some subtext we can take from their devotion, it’s not in the pages so it does not count), but if I don’t know I have to pitch it towards you guys. And I let A Lot of characters in, so I won’t know a lot of them. For these two characters in particular I can’t make a judgement call on my own as I haven’t read the book, which is why it's getting talked about. (Although again, as I said, I'm really not trying to debate their eligibility at this time. If they win it'll be something to bring up before round two, but as of now we aren't debating it) I put up a list ahead of the polls of the characters submitted that I had already thinned out a bit with characters I knew didn't qualify and passed the question off to my followers to try and get all of that out of the way before the actual competition starts to avoid things like this, (because as you said, now that the competition is started people are voting for them, because people like these characters, so it's obviously not ideal for a debate to be breaking out now after it's up about their eligibility in the competition) but the polls are obvi getting more attention than a long list so I’m getting some new questions now.

I want everyone to be having fun, and i'm sorry if this is detracting from that for you, but again when it's characters I don't know that people are bringing up I have to actually ask about it or else it doesn't really seem fair