#but now I also add a bit of projection to that. sprinkle it in like salt- | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

prairiefirewitch · 1 year

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I’m hagging out a day early because I’m headed out of town for a couple of days, but I was not about to miss this month’s hag party. I love making infusions and have managed to turn infused witch things into my full time job, so this is my strawberry jam. Strawberry vanilla hibiscus infused mead, specifically.

I try to make at least 2 batches of mead a year; one at Yule to be shared at Midsommar, and the other made at Midsommar to be shared at Yule. It’s a nice way for me to slow down and apply patience (I’ve got zero) to a project, and eventually reap the delicious benefits of waiting for the mead to mature. And it’s very sweet to taste the labors of summer in the middle of winter, and then to taste the warm spices of winter in summer. It’s alcohol-fueled time travel.

This mead is my favorite of all the batches I’ve made, so I made 3 gallons instead of the usual 1 gallon batches I make.

Mead is incredibly easy to make; once you toss everything together, it’s just a waiting game. Here’s the down and dirty but there are many good recipes online if you want something more complex. Sanitizing your equipment is the most important step and you can use San-star from a homebrew supplier, or make your own with a gallon of cool water and about an ounce of household bleach. Everything you use here needs to be sanitized.

You need all this stuff to make a gallon:

2.5 - 3 lbs honey

1/2 pack sweet or dry yeast mead (I used champagne yeast because I like it bone dry)

1 gallon spring or purified water

2 cups berries

Vanilla bean, split and scraped

10 raisins

1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

You’ll also want a gallon sized glass carboy, a big funnel, a large cooking pot, a small cooking pot, an airlock, a sieve, a rubber stopper that fits your carboy, and a big spoon to stir with.

Put your honey in your large pot and add about half a gallon of water. Warm it on low just until the honey dissolves. Watch the heat, honey scorches quickly. While it warms, put your clean chopped strawberries into the small pot with about 2 cups of water. Bring it to a low simmer and use a potato masher or an immersion blender to make a purée. Add your hibiscus flowers, heat for a few minutes to let them soften and turn off the heat. When it’s just barely warm, use your sieve to filter out the seeds and flowers.

Once your honey water cools to about 100 degrees, pour it into your clean carboy. Add the other half gallon of water, and your sieved strawberry purée. Top up with additional water if needed, leaving about 3 inches of head room. Add your vanilla beans and raisins. Raisins provide nutrients for the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast on top, but be sure your mixture is 90 degrees or cooler or your yeast will die.

Pop your rubber stopper into the carboy and insert the water filled airlock. Now you wait. Let it ferment for 2 weeks. Most of the activity will have stopped.

Now you need to filter the mead into a second carboy. If you don’t have one, use a sanitized pot or bucket while you wash your carboy for the secondary fermentation. You want to pour or siphon slowly and carefully, using a fine mesh strainer, so you leave most of the settled yeast and bits of strawberry out. Once it’s carefully filtered, add it back to the carboy, put the stopper and airlock back in. Now wait for a long time. This mead should be ready to drink in 6 months, but it’ll be a bit rough and unrefined. You can bottle it at this point, which is what I do, but lots of people just let it age in the carboy. I like heavy duty swing top glass bottles, but wine bottles work too.

If you’re patient, save a few bottles to age for a full year. This is when your mead becomes a nectar fit for gods, with all the roughness gone, and the delicate honey flavor gets complex. Keep your bottles in a cool dark place.

Thank you @msgraveyarddirt for hosting!

#hagging out #mead #hail dionysus #Midsommar

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meimi-haneoka · 7 months

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Cosmos - Akiho/Kaito one-shot

Once upon a time, when chapter 48 had definitively broken the cage to my admiration and support for the YunaAki pairing, I couldn't help but start imagining their future together.

And one of the first headcanons that came up to me was this one. Not in depth like you can see developed here, but the setting was definitely this one. An intimacy that didn't require for them to necessarily "jump on eachother". And for personal reasons, I needed to reclaim this headcanon so badly, write it down and release it to the world. Just because of that, I can already feel like this little thing spilled here will be one of my favorite writings.

I'm pretty sure this one, at more than 1600 words, is categorized as a fully fledged fic, right?

Now, this is another quite romantic one, but I managed to sneak in a tiny bit of delicious angst towards the end, just cause it's so much their element and I can't stand over-sugary stuff myself. I can't believe I also made actual research for this one. Get ready for some cosmic magic under the cut ✨

Genre: fluff, romance, a sprinkle of angst. Akiho is 17 years old. They haven't found a cure for Kaito yet, but! She has disclosed her true name to him. Snippet: "Akiho-san...do you know the origin of your name?" "...My name?" "Your true one."

All the curtains were closed tightly. The spacious living room was completely immersed in the darkness, except for a couple of scented candles on the ground, faintly illuminating the floor. Any hindrance out of the way. A generous number of soft cushions of all sizes was arranged on the floor, on top of a large camping mattress, right between the two candles.

Akiho threw herself enthusiastically on the pile of cushions, while Kaito lay down in a slower motion.

"....Ready?" Kaito whispered with a soft smile, while the girl next to him nodded excitedly, azure eyes shining in the dark.

One press on a button of the remote controller, and the whole ceiling turned into a sparkling planetarium.

Akiho gasped. "Oh my god....this is amazing!" She instinctively brought her hands to her face, covering partly her mouth while her voice was choking with emotion, a quirk that even at 17 years old she couldn't drop yet.

The starry vault rotated slowly, while some stars twinkled, giving a quite realistic effect to the scenery. Every now and then, a shooting star would appear randomly, inviting to make a wish.

Kaito looked to the side to check the reaction of the girl, pleased with himself. The star projector had been his present for Akiho's 17th birthday, but between study, book repairs and moving out to another country, they hadn't found a moment of quiet to put it in function. That perfect moment finally came this evening of December.

Of course he bought the most expensive model out there, and this one could even add sound effects to the experience, which he had set on sea waves through the remote control. The idea was "we're lying down on a deserted beach at night, in the early summer", instead of the chilling winter they were actually in.

"Kaito-san..." - Akiho moved her finger up in the air, "what constellation is that one?"

He had vaguely studied astronomy as part of his magic education, but he had forgotten a lot of it...for a moment he was tempted to use a magic spell, but then decided against it, not wanting to irritate the girl beside him. She always reprimanded him whenever he lazily tried to use his magic for the most mundane things. They hadn't found a cure for him yet, so she wanted him to keep the use of magic at the minimum, to avoid affecting his health. Therefore, he pulled himself up and went next to the star projector, changing the little disc with a different one.

The projection changed to a similar starry vault complete with the constellations map, and plopping down next to her, he said with a smile "Akiho-san, that seems to be Virgo!".

"Really?! That's my zodiac sign!!" Her brows furrowed for a moment, then "Indeed, with a bit of imagination that could look like a maiden...without a head". Kaito chuckled. "Wait, where's Pisces?"

Kaito checked the constellation map on his phone (which he had downloaded precisely for this occasion), and after a moment he indicated it, pointing his finger towards the ceiling. "Over there."

"....That one?! Oh....that looks more like a flower with two stems than actually two fishes, doesn't it?" she blurted out, laughing playfully.

"...Akiho-san..." Kaito couldn't help but chuckle again, reveling in the cheerfulness of his beloved. Nothing could send tingles to his heart like the sound of her laughter.

"Akiho-san...do you know the origin of your name?" "...My name?" "Your true one."

Akiho stared at him with curiosity, cheeks tinted slightly with a pink hue. The topic of their true names was usually off-limits. They didn't make a rule for it, but being both very well acquainted with the customs of the magic world, the unspoken agreement was to never bring them up...unless it was something serious.

"I was named after a flower, right?"

"Of course...but do you know why cosmos flowers were named that way?"

The girl stared at him, thinking for a moment about the question. She realized she never actually thought about why cosmos flowers bore that name. So, she shook her head slightly.

"Back in the 17th century, Spanish priests found the flowers in Mexico and cultivated them in their mission gardens."

He looked away from her, turning his gaze towards the starry sky.

"Originally, Kosmos is a Greek word that means 'order' or 'harmonious arrangement'. The priests were fascinated by those flowers' orderly arranged petals, they found them...." He paused.

"...Breathtakingly beautiful. And perfect." His eyes were now twinkling, still fixed on the firmament over their heads. "Just like the universe, the cosmos. So, they named those flowers after it."

Akiho's heartbeat quickened, and if she knew the man next to her well enough, his heart was doing just the same. They had spent enough time together for her to understand all too well what he was trying to say.

Kaito felt Akiho's hand searching for his, and they intertwined them silently.

"Thank you...I didn't know all of that. I've always thought that cosmos flowers were pretty, yes, but not particularly remarkable or unique... It is nice to know that the right people could see the true beauty and worth in them."

As if replying to her, she felt him squeezing her hand.

After a moment of silence, Akiho's right index finger moved up in the air once again. "Wait, what about that one? What is its name? It's big, but the stars don't look particularly bright"

"Hmm...Aquarius, apparently. This one would be basically impossible to see by naked eye, from an urban area."

Akiho made a face once again. "The water-bearer, hmmm... I can see his legs but...these constellations all seem to be missing their heads!", she blurted out, feigning annoyance.

Kaito couldn't hold it in, and burst out laughing, causing her to do the same.

Yes, she was just perfect the way she was.

☆゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜★

Kaito groggily opened his eyes in the dim light of the candles, ceiling still covered with stars. The clock of the living room showed it was 2 am.

Clinging onto his right arm, Akiho was soundly asleep next to him. Consciousness rapidly washed over him, remembering what happened.

Akiho's exploration of the starry vault had gone on for more than an hour, but at some point her remarks and answers had become more and more absentminded, till he realized she had actually fallen asleep. Smiling tenderly at her slumbering form, he was ready to pull himself up to go pick up a blanket for her, and eventually arrange some cushions for himself farther away from the camping mattress (he didn't want to wake her up, but didn't want to leave her sleeping alone in the living room either), but he had quickly realized with dismay that she had turned on the side and literally latched onto his right arm.

He had frozen right there and then. He didn't want to wake her up, but he had started to overthink as usual - this is not appropriate, we shouldn't sleep together, what if-- The result was that the stress made him incredibly sleepy, and after a few minutes of ruminations, Morpheus had taken a hold of him too.

Now that he was fully awake, he mentally scolded himself for falling asleep, and proceeded to do what he didn't have the heart to do before: slowly, slowly, he tried to disentangle his arm from Akiho's grip. When he managed to slip away, he rose to go pick that blanket up, because he couldn't risk for Akiho to catch a cold due to his imprudence.

"Where are you going?"

Her tone made him stop in his tracks immediately. Turning around, what he saw made his heart drop.

Akiho was propped on her elbow, staring in his direction but not quite focused on him. She was clearly still half asleep, but what ripped Kaito's heart apart was her expression, halfway between a scowl and wanting to break into tears.

It didn't take him long to understand why she had that expression. Even after 4 years, the trauma he had caused to her resurfaced sometimes in her dreams, upsetting her when she woke up.

"I'm just going to get a blanket.....I'm not going anywhere." he answered, while painfully making sure to emphasize the last part.

Akiho blinked her eyes twice, awareness coming back to her. Her expression slowly turned into one of realization, then she looked briefly to her side, panicking. "Oh my god, I'm sorry...I didn't fall asleep on you, did I? ...I didn't want to bother you-"

"You've never bothered me once, Akiho-san."

The girl stared at him, misty-eyed. His expression was kind, but tinged with guilt. His figure against the starry ceiling reminded her of that fateful night, when he fought his stubborness and the monsters inside his head to go back to her.

The girl casted her eyes down and to the side, pink hue emerging on her cheeks once again. "Then...once you took that blanket...could you...could you get back here next to me?" she said softly, finding the courage to look up once again.

Kaito had already understood long time ago that he was done for. He knew that no matter how much he tried, he would've never been able to refuse anything to those blue eyes of hers. Especially if he wanted it himself, in the first place.

They stared at eachother for a moment, before Kaito breathed out the air he was unwittingly holding and said with a smile "I'd be happy to, Akiho-san."

Akiho beamed at him, sure more than ever that there wasn't any place on this Earth or in the entire cosmos where she could've felt safer, other than next to him.

#akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #yunaaki #akiyuna #kaito x akiho #cosmos & crystals #spilled words #ccsakura #clear card arc #future fic #alright you need a LOT of imagination to recognize what the constellations are named after #lmao #I stand with Akiho #now if you excuse me I'll go buy a star projector #kaito is the usual smart guy unable to spell clearly his feelings #but compared to before we've grown a lot here #also a tiiiiiiiny bit of angst #what's their relationship status?#eeeeh kinda unclear they do lots of stuff couples do but they're not official yet

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masterqwertster · 9 months

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Been thinking about it, so:

Bells Hells C1 Class Swap AU and the Spark of Rau'shan

The fun of AUs is at times taking the paths canon didn't...

Also this is really long so I put it under the cut.

So! Bells Hells still makes the trip through the Shattered Teeth, meets Evontra'vir, gets sent after the Spark, successfully retrieves it, goes back to Whitestone for the Quintessence Array.

Things go a little different in that when talking dunamancy with Allura, she does recognize the Echo Knight powers as such, though obviously different since Ashton's come in different forms. And still takes a look at the half-beacon brain and titan shard.

The big change though, comes later that night, when Fearne brings the group together to declare that she can't take the Spark, despite everyone else pushing for her to do it.

See, Fearne's power, her fire, comes from the Moonweaver in this AU, a Prime Deity who stood against the Primordial Titans, helping destroy and seal them. When Fearne held the Spark, she could feel Rau'shan's dislike for the gods, for those who serve them. So she knows the Spark won't accept her as its vessel.

Fearne also points out that this disqualifies Orym for the Spark as well, seeing as the little paladin is also devoted to a goddess.

Ashton volunteers themself in the ensuing silence of realization and states an unwillingness to back down unless someone else truly wants to have their life changed like that. No volunteering someone else for it anymore. He also points out that someone has to take it, otherwise Ludinus Da'leth is going to send someone to collect it for him, and that would be really fucking bad.

Imogen, as the first person to volunteer Fearne, thinking she had the perfect solution to bestowing the Spark, looks around to everyone else, hoping someone will step up and stop Ashton's bad idea.

No dice.

Chetney thinks Fire Titan powers would be cool as shit... but doesn't want to be constantly risking burning his carving projects to ash. ...And secretly worries that his limited time left among the living would leave the group in lurch on such an amazing (and likely necessary) power. If trying to take it doesn't make his old ticker give out.

Laudna won't take it on the grounds that she's kind of a mushroom colony and fire would burn her out. She doesn't want to burn, to die (again). (Yes, Delilah would still like it. Especially as All Minds Burn's influence is pushing her out and breaking her tether)

Laudna's rejection helps Imogen not want the Spark. She doesn't want things that will hurt Laudna or put distance between them. (Even if Imogen is starting to long for a power she doesn't have to worry about disappearing if they stop all this Moon Bullshit)

And while FCG is willing to try, they don't actually want it. ...And he has some concerns about his constructed nature meaning that trying to add a great power like the Spark to him without making adjustments to his built-in parameters might just overload his power-core and explode him. Or cause a critical (literal) meltdown.

So by default and desire, it's agreed that Ashton gets the Spark.

Now, because they have lots of warnings that this could kill Ashton and yet they're trying it anyways, things become a planning session for "What can we do to give Ashton the best odds of surviving this?"

Which is actually quite a bit given their party composition, as:

Paladin (Level 8 or less) Orym has:

Bless: 1st Level. 1 minute Concentration. Component of A Sprinkling of Holy Water. +1d4 to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. I would guess they didn't try this in canon since Ashton's Probability Matrix didn't help and is basically the same thing. Though whether that failure was because it was Ashton's thing or just no boosts to Saving Throws in general… only Matt knows. Also, the Component being holy water... it might evaporate and negate the spell depending on if the holy water needs to touch the targets rather than be in the caster's hands

Cure Wounds: 1st Level. Restore 1d8+Your Spellcasting Modifier HP, +1d8 per level cast above 1st. Raw healing with the drawback of burning the caster

Heroism: 1st Level. 1 minute Concentration. At the start of its turn, the target gains Temporary HP equal to your Spellcasting Modifier. Kind of functions like Fearne's canon Aura of Life in that it would bounce Ashton up with each turn, though with Temp HP instead of the real deal. But that does provide time for real healing

Warding Bond: 2nd Level. Components of 2 Platinum Rings worth 50 gp each that must be worn by you and the target for the duration. +1 to AC and Saving Throws, and Resistance to all Damage. Drawback of taking equal damage yourself when the target does. Lasts for 1 hour, until you drop, or you and the target are separated by more than 60 feet. Or the spell is cast again on you or the target, or voluntarily ended by you as an Action. This could definitely help keep Ashton up, though there is a risk of Orym going down as well. And the Platinum Ring Components get tricky if the wrong arm/hand crumbles off of Ashton

Lay on Hands: Paladin healing pool of 5×Your Paladin Level HP that can be parceled out via touch with an Action. This can be used to either help keep Orym up for Warding Bond or just on Ashton in general. Though best not combined with Heroism or Bless since they're touch-based and touch burns, forcing a Concentration Check

Cleric (Level 11) Fearne has:

Aura of Life: 4th level. 10 minutes Concentration. Any ally in 30 foot radius regains 1 HP at the start of their turn if they are at 0. Fearne's canon MVP for keeping Ashton up

Aura of Vitality: 3rd Level. 1 minute Concentration. Restore 2d6 HP to one creature in a 30 foot radius of you with a Bonus Action. FCG's canon MVP for pumping extra health into Ashton. Also, since it's a Bonus Action to pump healing with this, it leaves room for a Spell Action to do even more healing

Beacon of Hope: 3rd Level. 1 minute Concentration. Affected creatures regain max HP possible from healing. Runs support for everyone else healing if Heroism is used to cover the role of Aura of Life

Bless: Possible boost to Saving Throws

Cure Wounds: Raw healing with the drawback of burning the caster

Death Ward: 4th Level. Drop to 1 HP instead of 0 from Damage the first time. Negates instant death effects that don't deal Damage. One Get Out of Jail Free card, though less useful with an Up Every Turn spell going on

Heal: 6th Level. Restore 70 HP. Good for one big burst of healing.

Healing Word: 1st Level. Bonus Action. Restore 1d4+Your Spellcasting Modifier HP, +1d4 per level cast above 1st. Raw healing without touch, so no threat to maintaining Concentration while throwing on more healing, but doesn't jive with Aura of Vitality Bonus Action healing

Druid (Level 11) Laudna has:

Aura of Vitality: Bonus Action for decent healing as long as Concentration is maintained

Cure Wounds: Raw healing with the drawback of burning the caster

Goodberry?: 1st Level. Component of A Sprig of Mistletoe. Produces 10 berries, eating one restores 1 HP and enough nourishment for 1 day. I think the berry would burn like the potion did, but it is potential to pop Ashton back up.

Heal: Good for one big burst of healing

Healing Word: Raw healing without touch, so no threat to Concentration, but is also a Bonus Action vs Aura of Vitality

Ranger (Level 8 or less) Imogen has:

Cure Wounds: Raw healing with the drawback of burning the caster

Goodberry?: potential to restore 1 HP in a pinch

Bard (Level 7 or 8)/Artificer (Level 3 or 4) FCG has:

Cure Wounds: Raw healing with the drawback of burning the caster

Healing Word: Raw healing without touch

Heroism: Temporary HP to bounce Ashton up every round

Boldness Elixir?: Alchemist Artificer's get Experimental Elixir, which allows for the random creation of one of six mini-potions. Boldness works like Bless, plus 1d4 to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws for 1 minute. Best to take that before they start absorbing the Spark, otherwise evaporation. If it works at all

Honestly, the only ones who can't contribute any healing or help? Ashton and Chetney (which also says something about the healing game of Vox Machina. It's likely part of how they managed so well without their cleric Pike most of the time). So really, having Ashton or Chetney take the Spark gives them the best odds for keeping the absorber up.

Bells Hells meets with Percy and Allura the next day and declare their intent for the insane and a need to delay the Moon Scouting Mission for another day. So hey, you've got more prep time for these awesome plans you've come up with!

It's stupid and crazy... and the only option they've really got at this time, unfortunately. And well... Percy and Allura have seen crazy and stupid work, so might as well let them try. While hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

Percy takes them all down to the Ziggurat as both a place of power to help the ritual and somewhere mostly isolated to keep the damage away from his people and city. Allura throws up the Magic Shield Bubble.

Bells Hells readies their spells, throws down what they can beforehand, and get Ashton hooked up in the Quintessence Array (in their skivvies to spare what's left of their clothes after the lava bath).

The ritual begins, with Ashton expanding and breaking and burning like canon.

Except when they fail a Save and explode, Ashton tries to Echo out of the explosion. Though instead of creating a single Echo to uselessly swap places with, Ashton accidentally splits themself into three bodies, three vessels, for the powers he contains:

A burning efreeti-like fire genasi Ashton, Vessel of the Spark of Rau'shan. Basically what Ashton would be like if he were still soft with canon!Fearne's Demi-titan style and a general fire genasi aesthetic layered over it.

A hulking, more Elemental earth genasi Ashton, Vessel of the Shard of Ka'Mort. Ashton's canon Demi-titan Form. Maybe a little bigger and more jagged. Also, the glass in their head is dark, no firework lights, though still an opal brain under there.

And a galaxy-winged aasimar Ashton, Vessel of Dunamancy. Basically what Ashton would have been without the Shard of Ka'Mort but still influenced by his half-beacon brain. Also, the gold scars and glass are still there, which looks odd on "human" flesh, but does help Bells Hells know that these are all Ashton.

The three Ashton Vessels are also connected by tethers of power, similar in appearance to a Twinned Witch Bolt, though with dunamantic flavoring as the Dunamancy Ashton is putting them out to the Titan Twins.

It is not, however, a Witch Bolt, but rather Ashton's will keeping the two Titan Fragments from running wild and attacking and/or exploding while also trying to draw them all back together into one being. But the Fragments have a bit of will of their own that latched on to similar sentiments in Ashton and are resisting him. Duna-Ashton is holding the Titan Vessels still for now, but that's not going to last and they still have to finish the absorption process/ritual.

So Bells Hells (who loaded up healing and support spells) has to protect Duna-Ashton from the Titan Vessels for the remainder of the minute (might be most of the minute, might be only a few Rounds) or the Titan Vessels will break free and try to escape the Magic Shield Bubble to go out into the world to instigate the Elemental Chaos that the titans ruled over before. Keeping Duna-Ashton up isn't easy as the Titan Vessels are pretty strong and HP heavy while Duna-Ashton does sort of try to fight and protect Bells Hells too while not being super buff. On the plus side, there's no range on the Will Tethers and there's a chance each Round that Duna-Ashton can Stun one or both of the Titan Vessels (I'm thinking WIS Save for the Vessels or Contested WIS Checks, Disadvantage for the Titan Vessel if Duna-Ashton is focused on only stilling one of them instead of both).

Eventually the absorption ritual ends and out of an immense cloud of steam emerges Ashton's new volcano Demi-titan Form (no rejection this time as there's no one else to really take it anyways). Basically his canon Demi-titan Form except that the jade is darkened and the amethyst turned to citrine as pointed out could happen with all that heat in this cool post, with lava fissures across them and the gold glowing hot. Also maybe bump the height up another foot or two for the colossus of two Titan Fragments.

Nobody can believe that fucking worked. What the hell have they just helped bring into existence?

Anyways, once Allura is reassured that Ashton isn't about to explode again to much more disastrous effect, she brings the Magic Shield Bubble down so Ashton and Bells Hells can go experiment with his new form a bit on the backside of the Ziggurat. (Ashton thinks they could have forced their way out of the bubble if they had to, but that would have been bad and dangerous) Mostly it's playing with Earth Glide and a few really basic fire spells as taught by Professor Fearne Calloway with assistance from TA Laudna. Ashton even pops off an Echo of his new form, which is just as capable of moving through earth as him (he doesn't mention bringing out the Echo felt like he might split into pieces again. He's sure that'll go away with time, right?).

Eventually, the Demi-titan Form ends, reverting Ashton back to his normal form, including coloring, with volcanic replacements for anything that broke off with still glowing lava veins and maybe a few random citrine crystals among the amethyst of their hair, or a citrine streak or undercut could be cool too. And hot sunny day beating down on a rock heat from his skin.`

Exhausted but generally satisfied with the outcome, Bells Hells totters off for bed.

But that night, either the Moonweaver or Nana Morri contacts Fearne and beckons her to return to Ligament Manor to receive the power of her heritage, just as her friend has.

So Fearne brings it up the next morning, setting off a debate of More Power vs Do the Mission. Which ends in her favor because Nana Morri can fuck with time so they don't loose any and might actually gain some (104 years from Fearne's perspective vs 6 years from her parents' perspective. Fearne is 112, Ollie thought she was 14 when reunited, 14-6=8 years with her parents, 112-8= 104 years with Nana), Laudna would like more time to get into her All Minds Burn shit, and Ashton fesses up about their Echo ability feeling unstable while hoping a bit more time will let everything settle right. Also, it's a training opportunity in general. Time to heal, time to focus, time to ponder and think. A moment to fucking breathe that they haven't really had since Bassuras the first time around.

Allura agrees to cart them to and from the Fey Realm (and gather information on an Archfey for the Arcana Pansophical on the side) given time shouldn't be an issue of more than one more day's worth of delay (which isn't great, but hopefully shouldn't be catastrophic).

They arrive, Morri agrees to make the Manor their training/general retreat, and sends Fearne on her way to talk with Birdie.

So hey, Fearne's got the blood of a minor archfey/fey lord in her veins. Plus she was raised by an Archfey. That has to count for something, right? I'm thinking either Fearne gets some fey or Bearer of the Lightless Flame('s kid) type of personal upgrade, or Birdie stole something powerful from Zathuda (besides the Moontide Crown that Ira still has) or Morri has a weapon/tool that Fearne is now ready for that requires some fraction of inherited power/ability from one like Zathuda.

(Honestly, I would have loved for Fearne to get cool fey stuff for her upgrades, really explore that background, and let Ashton keep all the titan stuff that fits into their background in canon. So I'm doing it here)

Nana helps Orym set up some cool (likely quite dangerous because it's Nana Morri) training stuff for Bells Hells. Probably with a focus on stealth and teamwork given the mission ahead of them where they will be sneaking and relying on each other more than ever.

Chetney makes his deal with Morri.

Ashton's shit does settle down in the couple of days Bells Hells takes there (it's only a few hours in Exandria since 104:6=17.3:1). Though there's probably some close calls at first, maybe even an Ashton Vessels rematch. His Echo patterns are slightly different now. There's (Perfect Copy) Volcano Genasi with Swords, (Mirrored Damage) Earth Genasi with Hammer, (No Damage) Fire Genasi with Pistols, and (Same Damage) Hishari Aasimar with Spear/Glaive. And the Demi-titan Form Echoes are Volcano Titan, Earth Titan, Fire Titan, and Lava Titan. Difference between Volcano and Lava is: Volcano is solid rock with lava veins, Lava is all liquid rock and goopy.

Laudna... might have trouble with connecting to All Minds Burn? Cross-dimensional communication can be tricky at the best of times. But if cut off from the hive, she does get to work on cultivating the psychic abilities it grants without a thousand other voices in her head by using her own strain of it.

Not entirely sure if Orym makes his deal here. Paladin is definitely less Just a Guy than Fighter, even if some of his levels are also in Inquisitive Rogue. On the other hand: Baby Dunamantic Volcano Titan, Baby Archfey of Fire, Exaltant Ruidusborn, Undead Member of a Psychic Fungal Hivemind, Old Man Werewolf, and Ancient Murderbot vs Halfling with a Little Faith Magic (Mostly Smite). Though I will say: Insightful Fighting's Sneak Attack without Advantage+Smite would absolutely wreck house. Sneak Attack+Smite on a Crit? Devastating.

So I think any further decision on Orym's deal is going to have to wait until we see what Orym actually got from his canon deal: spells/abilities(warlock level?) or a free Call Nana card (or like, a general immortality for the group).

And of course, there's room for inter-party drama during their break/training montage.

Then it's back to Exandria for the Moon Scouting Mission!

#MQ AU machine #bells hells c1 class swap au #ashton greymoore #fearne calloway #laudna #imogen temult #orym of the air ashari #chetney pock o'pea #fcg

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teecupangel · 1 year

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I'm looking at all the "Desmond's sad familial situation" posts here and... Let's fix it a bit, shall we? I mean, insomuch as it's possible in AC 'verse. Potential parental figures for Desmond (cause Isu bullshit, Sage bullshit, time travel shenenigans, etc): Hades, Aita, Sigurd, Hytham, Machiavelli, Shay Cormac

Me at seeing Hades and Aita on the list: ……… yeeaaahhh, they’d probably be better fathers than William Miles.

So let’s tackle each one and see how we can set them up:

Hades:

Hades in AC Odyssey is a dick BUT he does love Persephone. (Persephone though… that’s another story). So, in this setup, let’s say Desmond is Hades and Persephone’s child. Now, they’re commonly known to have two children: Zagreus and Melinoë.

Zagreus would be fun because there are records that state he isn’t Hades’ son but Zeus’ (Tinia) (Melinoë too but that’s because the Orphics believe that Zeus and Hades are the same god). And his death was orchestrated by Hera (Juno) where he was torn to pieces but Athena (Minerva) managed to save his heart which he gave to Zeus. From that heart, Dionysus was born. A little bit of AC Isu-ness sprinkled in this story and we will have an easy “Desmond is actually the Sage of Zagreus” setup instead. Juno had Zagreus killed because Tinia was planning to have Zagreus join them as part of the Capitoline Triad and Juno assumed she was going to be kicked out, not realizing that Tinia’s plan was for him to step down and let Zagreus take over his projects. Minerva (his aunt/half-sister) managed to save his ‘heart’, putting him in a prototype version of the ‘Mead’ and that’s how she changed course in terms of preparing for the Solar Flare. In this scenario, we can also add that Desmond’s main three ancestors (and Edward as well since he died before his grandson was born) were the Sages of Zagreus.

For Melinoë, there are a lot of similarities between her and Hecate. In this setup, Desmond was reborn as Melinoë and she’s Hades and Persephone’s daughter. To make it more interesting, Hades isn’t sure if she’s really his daughter as there are rumors that she might be Zeus’ daughter instead. Because of this, Hades is distant but gives her anything she wants. Persephone doesn’t like her and ignores her so the one person who is actually her usual companion is Hecate. This will setup a more ‘caring aunt that may have an agenda of her own’ Hecate and Desmond/Melinoë relationship.

Another child that is supposed Hades’ (and Persephone’s according to the Orphics) is Macaria. Not much is known to Macaria other than she’s associated with ‘blessed death’ so this is the setup where Hades will be the doting father to her either because he’s sure she’s his daughter or maybe because she looks a lot like Persephone. She can have whatever she wants and can do whatever she wants as long as she does not leave the Underworld.

Regardless of which child Desmond is reborn as, the main plot could probably be: leave the Underworld to find his ancestors who should be in Elysium, maybe pretend to be visiting dear sweet mother.

Aita:

We’re basing this on the idea of him being Aita and Juno’s biological son which we have covered here.

For all the less than savory (to put it mildly) things Juno and Aita have done, they still loved their son as much as an Isu can love their offspring because he’s a product of their love.

So they would definitely spoil him and, really, the only real problem they have with their son is that he tends to be nice to the slaves.

All the while, Desmond is so, so confused by what’s happening and he’s trying to pretend to be a dutiful son because he doesn’t want Juno and Aita to realize something is wrong but this also means that he’s kinda, sorta, enjoying all the affection? It’s a really, really strange complicated feeling, that’s for damn sure.

Sigurd:

Desmond is Sigurd and Randvi’s son that was born after Sigurd left to raid the lands east of their home. He’s really Sigurd’s son and no one disputes that. He would grow up being cared for and loved by the clan, especially Eivor who is both just happy to be with her nephew and also wants Desmond to not feel the loneliness she felt when her parents died.

Then Sigurd returned from his 2-year voyage and he starts spoiling him to make up for the 2 years he had been gone. Desmond both loved and is embarrassed by the attention. He keeps staring at Basim and Hytham because ‘hidden blades! Holy shit, hidden blades! What the fuck!!!’ and everyone assumed that he’s fascinated by them.

Insert a bit of Basim being fatherly with Desmond because he reminds him of his son (and yes, we can overly complicate this and add more soap opera level drama by making Desmond be Fenrir’s Sage as well if you like)

Desmond growing up in Ravensthorpe and being a regular visitor to the Hidden One bureau which will give us big brother!Hytham moments.

Of course, this is Sigurd, and Dag and Basim exist so this will also have Dag telling Sigurd that Eivor is trying to replace him as Desmond’s parent (which is bullshit) and Basim is also being a bit creepy with him because what better way to take his vengeance than to make Sigurd (who he believes is Odin) feel the same pain of losing a cherished son?

Hytham:

Soooo… my EivorxHytham heart wants to make Desmond their child but a more reasonable/believable idea would be that Desmond was born after Eivor left for Vinland for Odin knows why (seriously, fuck you, last chapter) and Desmond’s mother is… let’s say an NPC we’re going to kill during childbirth. XD

This would be more about Desmond growing up as the son of a mentor (red flag right there) and having him compare Hytham to William Miles a lot. Hytham being a single father would also force him to take care of Desmond as much as he can but he will have the support of his acolytes and Assassins.

Desmond would grow up in Ravensthorpe during the changing time in England. But, more importantly, he will grow up in an environment so similar to the Farm but different in all the right ways as well.

If you want to add Eivor in this, Desmond could end up going to Vinland, not to find Eivor but to go to the Grand Temple. Maybe have Eivor see him and go “Hytham?” and they start to become close the longer Desmond stays in Vinland.

Machiavelli:

Well, according to the internet, he did have a lot of children and it seems like none of them are mentioned in his Wikipedia page? I had to get their names from this site

Since Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini in 1502 (no month), the earliest Desmond could be born is on late 1502 (December 21, 1502 perhaps? Hahahaha).

This would mean Desmond would be born during Borgia rule in Roma and be stuck in Firenze which… okay, he understands he can’t do anything to help since he’s a goddamn baby but still… he wants to be with Ezio.

Machiavelli would be strict, especially with Desmond who will be his oldest son. He would also know something is strange about him, especially once Desmond shows his skills even at such a young age.

Also, making Desmond be born around 1502~1503 means he would be too young to accompany Ezio in Constantinople which gives us the excuse of making this Machiavelli-centric instead of, well, Desmond running away as soon as he can to be with Ezio because he’s dumb like that. XD

Shay:

…. We have the perfect storm to make this the angstiest fic we can make by ensuring Desmond is born after Shay becomes a Templar. To be more specific, Desmond is born around the same time as Arno.

And the day Shay kills Charles Dorian, Arno, and Élise had another playmate: Desmond (who just wanted to relax near the tables full of food but Élise is a persistent little girl and Desmond doesn’t really want to be mean to a girl)

Desmond grew up thinking Shay is a wandering Assassin. He definitely looked the part. So when he learned that Shay is actually a Templar, he’s torn. He loves him as a father but, at the same time, he knows that Shay believes in the Templar cause and… He can’t. He just… he can’t.

So runs away once more.

To Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Of course, there’s a lot of eyes on him, thinking this may be a trap or that he’s planning something but Ratonhnhaké:ton accept him. There’s something about him that just… makes Ratonhnhaké:ton trust him.

So, in this scenario, Desmond does have a happy childhood with Shay but he still chooses to be with Ratonhnhaké:ton because, well, Shay being a Templar is a red flag.

Then Ratonhnhaké:ton received a letter from the Parisian Brotherhood requesting his aid because Shay Cormac has taken over the Parisian Rites after the death of its two last Grand Masters.

Desmond joins Ratonhnhaké:ton because he can’t leave Ratonhnhaké:ton’s side and ends up meeting Arno has been become a Master Assassin and have returned from his self-imposed exile after the death of the love of his life.

And Arno remembers Desmond being the child they played with when his father was killed. He and Arno are around the same age so they get paired up for missions a lot and this ends up making things more complicated when Arno later finds out that Desmond is Shay Cormac’s son, the son of the man who killed his father.

Then there’s Shay who thinks Desmond has been misled by the Assasins and is trying to get him back.

Add in the drama and the slap on the face on Shay’s part once he realized that Desmond is loyal to the man who killed Haytham Kenway.

And we have… one of the most convoluted soap opera drama level fic idea… at the moment...

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script-a-world · 6 months

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Submitted via Google Form:

What would incentive a city to completely redesign their whole city and make all similar use buildings with the same layout and connect all the buildings together. What I mean by similar use is office buildings vs residental buildings vs public buildings. Of course individuals owning specific units/floors can do whatever contruction they want. I'm talking about something the size of Manhattan. Could they possibly do it in sections? Especially since people are living and working there. Start with new land taken from reclamation or the wilderness? Perhaps it would take 100 years from the first new building to the very last one? Then there's the problem of perhaps historical buildings - perhaps those might be exceptions that won't get connected? Or what happens if for whatever reason the project just stops half way. I mean 100 years is a whole long time. Governments that allowed it back then could totally have changed.

Utuabzu: You should look into Kowloon Walled City. While it no longer exists, and was vastly smaller, it was probably the nearest equivalent to what you want here. But something that should be obvious from even a brief skim of wikipedia is that Kowloon Walled City developed the way it did because of some specific circumstances. It was without any formal government and thus acted as a refuge for displaced people from China and various criminals and social outcasts from Hong Kong, and its physical area was firmly constrained, forcing any new construction to be inwards and upwards, rather than outwards. You should consider why your community is being built like this. Is their physical area constrained by geography or politics? Is there some cultural reason?

Another thing you should consider is the psychological and social impact that a monotonous urban environment will have on the people living in it. There's a reason everyone hates the repetitive grey concrete blocks that were built in postwar Eastern Europe and as public housing in much of the west. They lack any visual interest, and this has negative psychological effects on the people living in and around them, and the uniformity makes it difficult for people to form any sort of attachment to the space. Which is a major reason why these buildings tend to look so dingy now. Nobody gives enough of a damn to clean or maintain them.

Conversely, add a bit of visual interest via ornamentation and a more human scale, and people start to like the place, and are more likely to care for it. Look at the historic cores of older cities across the world, and the amount of effort and resources people are willing to expend to maintain them. People like pretty things and pretty places, especially ones that feel distinct. They help to form local identities - we are people from this place - which help to create a sense of community and shared responsibility for them.

Now, if you want a dingy dystopian megacity, look to big public housing projects from the 50s to about the 80s or 90s in the US and Western Europe, and cheaply built Soviet apartments, and sprinkle in some Kowloon for flavour. You can make a place pretty believably unpleasant by looking at real world examples. But if you want this to be a pleasant place, you need to consider the way the built environment is going to make people feel.

Feral: In addition Utuabzu’s examples, I would look to the Boulevards of Paris, which include construction across regime changes.

I’d also like to point out, if it’s not on your mind already for this world, but an official “state architecture” is heavily associated with fascism and other forms of totalitarianism. Back in 2020, there was a huge kerfuffle in the American architectural world when Trump signed an Executive Order limiting the styles of architecture federal buildings were allowed to be constructed in with for this very reason.

#google submitted #architecture

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yukidragon · 2 years

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hiya! i wanted to ask, do you have sauce’s old art saved, or is there an archive somewhere? from what i’ve read, they had a twitter that’s been privated/locked (?) but i see people post art that looks like it was drawn by sauce ;w; also i’m sorry if this was already asked, i feel like i sent in this ask before but can’t remember,,

i love and appreciate all your work btw!! i hope you have an amazing day <3

Awwww! Thank you so much! That makes me really happy to hear. I hope you have an amazing day too! 💖

I’m afraid there’s no archive set up as of yet, just pictures fans managed to save and pass around amongst themselves. Sauce did mention that they wanted to create an archive on the patreon before they closed their twitter. I don’t know if that’s still happening or not, but I imagine that’s taking a backseat to their personal recovery and making progress on their various projects. They have a lot on their plate right now, so it’s understandable that it might take a while.

I have quite a lot of old art saved myself, and I use some of the pieces here in my posts occasionally, with Sauce’s consent so long as I credit them. They’re really such a nice person. That’s why whenever I share some of their art, I like I plug the SnaccPop Studios Patreon and remind everyone not to repost any of the privately posted content elsewhere.

You can see a lot of Sauce’s art peppered around my blog, particularly in posts I’ve labeled as Headcanon Ramblings. Sometimes it really helps to illustrate my points, you know? Maybe I should add a Sauce-y tag sometime.

Sadly, I can’t show any of the NSFW art over here without heavy censoring. Tumblr might say they’ll allow non-erotic nudity again, but I suspect all it’ll take is one floppy ding-a-ling, some “female presenting” nips, or something a bit too spicy and suggestive and my blog will be taken out with an extinction level event.

I mean look at this. This is such a fun picture and all you get to see over here is Jack’s face. Sure I could show the man’s nips since he’s not “female presenting” but with the level of spice sprinkled in this picture, I’d rather not risk it. Such a shame. Not that I can complain about seeing a face like that. This clown is having a really good time and it shows. Sauce does great work with expressions don’t they?

You know, this picture actually looks pretty exploitable cropped like this. It looks like a good teaser illustration for some spicy writing. It seems like an awful shame not to do anything with this idea, don’t you think?

Alice might not be a part of the full picture Sauce drew, but I’m totally going to imply it with a little bit of writing. I hope you all enjoy this impromptu snippet of Adults Only spicy fun times between Jack and my version of his sunshine~!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

...

Jack moaned as he tipped his head back. His clothes were in disarray, his shirt rolled up close to his collarbone, his pants and underwear dangling off one of his legs, with the rest of his signature outfit nowhere in sight. His flushed skin glistened with sweat and bore countless pink patches that marked where Alice claimed him as hers with her mouth.

That same mouth was wrapped around him now, showing Jack love in a way that he had only dreamed about before. He lost count of how many fantasies he had about Alice going down on him, but no fantasy could ever hope to compare the real thing.

Alice had started with kisses that fluttered along his length delicately, but just as the teasing started to get too much, she switched to using her tongue. She tasted him thoroughly, making sure not a single inch was left untouched before she took the tip into her mouth.

“Oh Alice…,” Jack moaned before biting his lower lip. “Your mouth feels so good… so warm…”

Alice let out a low hum, and the vibration of her voice made him twitch a bit. She repeated the sound again, longer this time as she sucked on him, and she was gratified to see his eyes roll upward.

Jack was so big, bigger than anything Alice was used to. A part of her worried she might not be able to handle all of him without choking, but she was determined to try. She focused on relaxing her jaw as she dipped down as far she could before she had to draw back for a breath, taking him just a little bit further each time.

Jack twined his fingers through his sunshine’s fair hair as he watched Alice adoringly. “You’re doing so good…” She gazed up at him through nearly white lashes, and the way her blue eyes burned with desire that was only for him sent a jolt of heat directly into his core. “God… You look so beautiful like this. I love you so much.”

Alice wanted to respond in kind, but words were impossible for her at the moment, so she traced a heart on his inner thigh with her finger instead. Jack murmured her name in return, his rich voice dissolving into another moan as she teased him with gentle suction. She couldn’t get enough of his sweet words or all the adorable noises she coaxed out of him. It made her all the more determined to please and tease him.

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Ask #My Writing #Sauce-y Art

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chayscribbles · 2 years

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chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ december 2022

posting this one a little early as i'll be posting my writing year in review post on the 31st!

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 11 936

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist (or, The WIP Formerly Known As "Secret Space WIP")

proudest accomplishment: idk i feel like this has been one of my best writing months in a while. i just feel it in my heart of hearts

books read: Discordia by Kristyn Merbeth

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

so i've been pretty MIA these past few weeks :/ i just started a new full time job which is quite physical and while i am enjoying it immensely, i'm usually tired at the end of the day to come on writeblr.

BUT somehow i've still been finding time to write! lots of fun things are happening in the chaynematic universe.

i've also been drawing quite a bit too! i'm really challenging myself to draw out of my comfort zone (which really just means drawing backgrounds that are more than a shape or a gradient, welp). currently working on a piece for my new wip which is... taking way longer than i would like 😅

reading comments: Discordia (which is the final book in this space opera trilogy i've been reading over the last few months) was good, not great, and the ending felt a little anticlimatic, but i can understand why it ended the way it did. a solid 4/5 stars because i still had a good time. anyways if you like Chay Stories, i recommend this trilogy! it's far from perfect and a little rough around the edge but it's still fun and enjoyable and hits all the right elements i personally love! (sibling drama in space! funky alien tech! bisexuals, plural!!!!!)

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

i tend to work on this one when i don't have the brainpower to think too much, as a lot of it is just polishing or expanding on things that are already written.

i did add some new scenes that i hope will add more meat to the story. one is a phone call Azami witnesses between her father and some other politician, which is meant to add some political backdrop to the conflict between the planets. the other is a scene where Azami tries to run away before being placed on the expedition, but gets caught by her brother Ansel, as i wanted Azami to be more active in trying to shape her fate from the very get-go, and also give her and Ansel more scenes together. i haven't quite finished the latter one yet though because i haven't had the braincells to write any completely new scenes for this wip lately.

i also really reworked an exposition-heavy chapter where Petra gets the rundown of the expedition, and the scene right before they leave when they're given a tour of the ship to make it less clunky, sprinkling description of the ship into the team's actions as they get settled in instead of throwing a big wall of description at you.

so as of now a good chunk of act 1 is already rewritten!

however i do think in the second half of the month the steam for AR (which was all momentum from finishing AR3) has cooled down a bit and my mind has shifted elsewhere. which brings me to my next section...

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft... 0.5?)

in case you missed it: i have a new wip !!! (technically it's not new because i've been secretly working on it sporadically since spring, but it's new to most of you.) i'm having a ball writing about these awful gay women doing crime in space!!! i really missed that New WIP High haha. i feel like a kid in a sandbox.

i realized partway through the first act that the way i was writing AR wouldn't work for GH. because it's a heist i'll have to plan thigns more than i did with AR... but having a too-detailed outline feels too restricting. so instead i'm attempting to fast draft this thing so i can get a fuller picture of where i'm going, but still be able to plants this draft which seems to be the way that works best for me. (probably because you can't spell plantsing without plants.)

except that i'm really bad at not getting caught up in details while drafting, especially when writing dialogue-- these guys always end up talking and talking way more than i intend lmao. so i'm calling this more of a draft 0.5, where some parts will be more detailed but others will... not. i've pretty much skipped all description or non-essential worldbuilding. that's a problem for Future Chay.

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

this is from gemini heist chapter 4, where Leo is trying to convince Illiana to help them, and Euna and Gabi are... not exactly helping.

Illiana’s chest tightened. She took a deep breath. “How do I even know I can trust you? You’re a criminal, aren’t you? Why wouldn’t you take the money and leave once I’ve given you what you want?”

Leo leaned back in her chair. “I’m an honest criminal, Heir,” she began.

The shorter, chubbier of the two minions spoke for the first time, muttering under her breath, “I’m pretty sure ‘honest criminal’ is an oxymoron, actually.”

The taller, muscular one reached over and gave the short one a little smack on the arm. “I don’t think the Captain appreciates you calling her a moron, Gabi,” she scolded.

Leo’s overall expression didn’t change, but Illiana didn’t miss the exasperation briefly flashing through her eyes.

Leo, to Euna and Gabi: i have total faith in you guys

Leo, to herself: there's like a 30% chance they both die

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @chaylattes @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer

#chayscribbles writing update #wip andromeda trilogy #wip andromeda rogue #wip gemini heist

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esoteric-chaos · 1 year

Text

Creativity and Motivation Powder - For Foggy Minds

Here is a powder I crafted to help me with my low points with brain fog due to my chronic illness to make me feel a bit more inspired and able to use my outlets like hobbies more effectively for coping. I hope this is also able to help someone else in a rut.

Items

Rosemary - Creativity, memory boosting

Lavender - Relaxation, peace of mind

Sage - Memory boosting

Allspice - Determination, prosperity

Frankincense - Concentration

Mortar and pestle

(Alternative) Small electric grinder

Jar to keep powder in

Instructions

Cleanse items

Speak your intentions into the herbs and direct them to what their job will be

Grind them together

You have the option here to say whatever blessing or chant you’d like to use while you are grinding the herbs to add extra oomph

Place items in chosen container

Ta da you are finished! I normally place mine on Apollon's altar for a blessing as he helps me with my health related issues. This is completely optional though as not everyone works with the divine.

Now the fun part about powders is you can wear them like a body powder, use them in candle spells, sprinkle in your room (be weary when you live with pets) and use them in baths.

I hope this helped somebody as this has kept my creative projects going and helped me in my foggiest of days.

Want to check out my other posts? Take a look at my Masterpost

#spoonie #spoonie magic #spoonie witch #chronic illness magic #low energy witchcraft #creativity #creativity magic #powder #witchcraft powder #powder recipe #witchcraft powder recipe

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laundrybiscuits · 2 years

Text

Recent come alive in the neon light snippets have been gathered up, given a spit-shine, and dumped on AO3 as a new chapter! Also I added about 1500 words of sex scene, as promised.

I will now take this opportunity to talk a little bit about voice, because I can, and because this fic has been sort of my way of working through these thoughts in practical application. Warning that if you read below the cut, you may not be able to stop noticing all the ways I don’t manage to follow my own guidelines. I sure can’t!

Steve’s voice is actually quite challenging for me, and I don’t think I’m all that consistent with it. The trick is giving him sentences that have a short rhythmic arc and don’t rely on a lot of abstract imagery, adverbs, or beautiful-sounding individual words. A really good Steve voice should be raw and punchy, and it should leave a lot unsaid: there should be space between the lines. He’s not the kind of guy to worry a thought to death, chasing down all its logical conclusions. Instead, he operates on a very visceral level, because he inhabits his body very fully. When he says things, it’s not necessarily because he’s chewed them over and really thought them through. Saying something is part of his process of thinking it, which is why he’ll throw in really decisive phrases when he reaches a conclusion.

(Sample Steve line pulled from S4E1: “Maybe you need to listen to yourself. Ever think about that? I listened. Look at me. Boom, back in business.”)

Both Steve and Eddie repeat concepts/phrases sometimes when they talk, but Steve is more likely to say things slightly differently on repetition because he’s iterating, it’s an active process. Eddie is more likely to repeat things exactly the same way, because it has a more dramatic effect and adds to the intensity. He keeps a much tighter rein on what he says; his default defense is to clam up rather than babble.

Eddie’s voice is challenging for me in a different way because I struggle to keep it from just being…my voice. He and I have a lot in common, linguistically speaking, although I suspect he should have a bit more influence from Wayne than he canonically does; he definitely strikes me as someone who’ll pick up phrasings and pronunciations like a magpie, sprinkled in among the chaotic mix of small-town Midwestern and the fucking weird things you say when you grow up spending more time with SF/F novels than people. Take it from me, a person who grew up amongst the cornfields and also had a teenage tendency to say undersocialized shit like “insisted on the matter, in fact.” (I also started as a DM when I was about 15, which Does Something to the way you talk. Can’t explain it, it just is what it is.)

It shakes out as a kind of acrolect-mesolect hybrid. He’s got an extensive vocabulary and a knack for bardic cadence, but his fast-and-dirty communication style is unpolished and deliberately casual. He likes what language can do, and he revels in his mastery of it. That doesn’t mean composing poetic eddas, it means he says stuff like “super jealous as hell” which has a very pleasing internal rhyme and a nice little rhythm to the stresses.

Even when he’s just talking one-on-one, he does all these cool things with the literal sound of his voice that just don’t translate well to the page. (“That Ste-e-eve Harrington…was actually? A good dude.” HOW DO YOU TRANSCRIBE THAT EFFECTIVELY)

I could keep going, especially about the way that Eddie tends to pace his speech like he’s delivering oratory rather than having a conversation, but this has been 500+ words already and I have other things to do with my day.

Obviously these are personal interpretations and YMMV, and also I’m not taking into account things like the fact that JQ is not actually from the midwestern USA. So take it all with a hefty grain of salt.

Plus, when it comes right down to it, I honestly do not trust the writers to have put anywhere near this much thought into individual character voices, but…it’s fandom’s job to create coherence, sometimes whole-cloth. We spackle over plot holes, we tie up loose ends, we bend over backwards to make things make sense. It’s what we do!

#steddie #stranger things fic #fic: come alive in the neon light #stranger things meta #ST meta for TS

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p3rry-pi3 · 10 months

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I am so sorry for the people who followed me I completely forgot abt this acc

But anyway

I made a lil’ thing.

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TW!!!!! I mention lots of violence, lots of cussing, lots of mentions on injections, i trauma dump for a bit (I think), uh, uh, uh, yeah. That’s it. Lmk if I needa add more.

It’s complicated but I was wondering what it’d be like if my sona was a miguel variant!

He looks a lot different each drawing I make of him due to me playing around with styles so keep that in mind that consistency is nonexistent to me.

I hope this reaches the right ppl lol

I was a little nervous to show this to such a big fandom but then I remembered this is tumblr! I can do whatever, be cringe, and survive!!!

So here’s this, it’s all gonna be under the cut cause I took this as an advantage to geek out lol (a blessing and a curse)

Okay! So! His face, right.

Facial features.

This face. I did a lil’ sheet of him with and without glasses. He looks scared but bare in mind this is technically my sona and if you know me almost all of them I make are in this constant state of anxiety, and this is my way of projecting. So shhh.

In contrast to Miguel’s heightened sense due to the injects, Perry’s senses are erratic. This man’s vision gets worse TENFOLD. I’m already blind as is irl (that’s sarcasm) and the injections being unpredictable due to this dude’s like. Whatever, it makes it WORSE. Also the overstimulation is BAD with him.

As a reference to Miguel’s slicked back hair, he has his hair behind his ears. It’s a habit he does and will often fidget with his hair by constantly tucking it behind his hair and he refuses to tie it up.

Build/suit

This man is somewhat chubby but all that action will definitely muscle him out. Here’s him in the suit btw.

I think he would wear clothes overlapping the suit but because it’s like holographic and emits SO MUCH HEAT, he can’t do it during summer.

Cause imagine how hot that thing is!!!

I’ve seen the speculations that miguel could be very well naked underneath that suit, and I’ve seen how it’s like a running joke, like sure, it’s funny

BUT IMAGINE WEARING THAT THIMG EVERYWHERE WITH NO A/C!!! NO FANS!!! I imagine it being just as bad as wearing fursuit during summer (not coming from experience, but I see the struggle)

It must be super hot! I don’t know how but it LOOKS like that thing just RADIATES heat.

But no, my sona isn’t naked.

Venom

And the little fangs ref is from me being half asleep and dreaming while being awake somehow, and I guess I drew that??? Who knows.

He has natural fangs but the injections 100% make them more pronounced.

I’m not gonna overpower him and make his venom more dangerous but I’d say in addition to paralyzing his opponents, it also causes skin irritation.

Just picture it.

You’re can’t move and have to wait it off, but, your skin starts itching. It gets itchier and starts to burn BUT YOU CAN’T SCRATCH IT!!!

So you’re just laying there like “AAAAAAAA” cause then you’re worried it’ll blister, (it won’t), and you can’t check cause you can’t move!!!!!

I’m an evil genius I know 🤓

Being bit by him would be the equivalent of having to use your teeth cause no matter how many times you scratch that one part of your hands as a kid (even as now) it wouldn’t stop itching!

Character personality/arc/dev

This part was trickier. I didn’t know if I wanted to make him completely different from canon or make him similar but not too similar. It was hard.

So I focused on small traits I knew I wanted him to have.

And I think I went bonkers.

Uh yeah. I told you the art style changes quite a bit.

I think this man would love to see Miguel’s year but not long enough to figure out all the futuristic stuff. He’d be an iPad peepaw 😞

Also I’m half Samoan myself irl, so I wanted to sprinkle in that Samoan rep in this. I see little to none in most of the media I explore around, and it makes me a bit sad but if there’s like an explanation lmk.

I know there’s some Polynesian rep in the community, just not as much as I like, so here I am adding to that in pride of my own culture. (I’m still doing research on it as someone who isn’t all that connect to my heritage so it’s not good rep but bare with me, I’m getting there. As these reference pages evolve so will the rep.)

I like making a lot of these sonas so I might remake this one in particular.

I figured I’d give him a more animated character while keeping miguel’s stoicism and attitude, so here’s the characteristics I did wanna give him.

Moody. Has mood swings due to various reasons but for Miguel’s character’s sake we’ll leave it vague.

Constant state of worry and paranoia. I have been showing signs of paranoia so I’m not pulling this one out of my ass, but I do see miguel showing signs of it during high stress. It’s a headcanon I have, but I’d imagine what years of being aware of the fact there’s more people like you in a whole strand of endless possibilities, and one of them is where you’re a fictional character and being conscious of that 4th wall, it can cause you to think some stuff.

Opinionated. That’s. That’s it.

Sassy. He’s so zesty and for what lmao.

Smartass and witty. I imagine him having huge yelling matches with miguel if they were to ever meet, but in the end would get along like an old married couple. Would miguel even remotely like him? No. Not even close. This man would HATE my sona. My sona would hate him back, but as someone who’s had yelling matches with other people he’d prolly be like “damn. I can respect that.” But wouldn’t DARE to tell miguel.

Intelligent. Yeah, he would’ve been better off being an art student or a lawyer, but because of the whole canon event he had, he’s stuck as spider-man. His civilian wear is a lot more cozy in duality to him being spider-man.

Forgetful. I imagine him going to the shop and just going “shock! I forgot to change!” And he’s already almost done with his grocery list in his spider-man suit so the people there are just like, “OMG SOIDERMAN WHAT R YOU DOING HERE???”

So uh, there’s that. One last thing I’d like to add is that I may or may not have studied Miguel’s character just for his personality and to take inspo.

Doodle time!!!!!1111!!1!!11!!1!1

I made doodles here.

So.

Yeah.

I think it’s clear I don’t take him seriously lol

I also think this man would have bad nightmares since I do (fun fact! I don’t dream. It’s constant nightmares) and because of that this man would 100% sleep with a nightlight and some background noises of crowds talking bc nostalgia is the best medicine.

But it gets awkward at other people’s houses and he’s afraid to ask so he ends up staying up all night in pure terror of his nightmares. His nightmares are enhanced due to his senses. (For me, it’s imagination and having a constant active mind, but since this is my sona and I don’t have an arc for him, it’s gonna be bc of the injections.)

I think he’d be just as gay and trans as me.

Being in a big multiverse, I think he’d learn quickly that life is just too short to live while being worried of the norm and what others think.

There’s two different types of social anxiety (<- sarcasm) and he has both.

Also here’s some other doodles of his face I did

Sometimes I like drawing them completely crazy, off the deep end, scared, or just having some loves :3

My sona would be very touch starved so he isn’t used to stuff like hugs and will often become flustered! It’s cute imo but gawd damn!!! Someone cuddle this boy and tell him he’s alright

LYLA!!!!!

His lyla would prolly be named lyla too. I think she’d just be a bit of a prototype.

But perry loves her like best friend. his lyla would be the lesbian in the dynamic while perry doesn’t care what gender you are, just please don’t use his coffee mug or mess with his pile of endless papers.

I also think he’s chose her own outfits and hair styles so while sure I’ll have her in pigtails to give movie lyla’s playfulness and duality a moment recognition. But you’ll also see her in black hairstyles with actual hair texture as her avatar varies cause I made her black for 1) practice and 2) just cause. Okay? Okay. (keep in mind i’m HORRIED with fashion. So I have no idea what I’m talking abt with her character design. You’ll have to learn with me and realize that I’m pretty much clueless on how the color wheel works, so be patient plz. I take constructive criticism tho btw.)

I think his lyla would be bossier and a lot more chatty. She’d sit there and rant about whatever information asked for and because he has ADHD this lyla would involuntarily speak like she has it too, but wouldn’t really show signs of it. If she were humanized i think she’d prolly have autism more than she would ADHD but because he works under conditions he prefers, he might make her a little all over the place cause I myself rlly hate routine and familiarity is hard for me to let go of in a certain way, so I think lyla would indirectly be made to where only he knows what works and what doesn’t with the important stuff

If miguel were to ever switch lylas he’d go crazy with this one. This lyla would stare at miguel like he’s speaking some other language since my sona would probably start with some bestie banter before getting into business so if miguel were to just start barking orders at her she’d be like “Uhm. Excuse me? 🧍” she’d put him in his place as she does with my sona but at the end of the day she’s still an AI so it doesn’t get so bad to where she can’t function and can’t get work done.

She would prolly have to remind my sona the time and other stuff like that cause if the forgetful factor but considering she has social skills my sona does, she’d prolly end up talking about something else entirely but at the end of the conversation she’d always remind him.

My sona would 100% giver her a stupid nickname like “android” or for shits and giggles a more human name “Andrea” and wouldn’t tell lyla abt it, but secretly whenever he’s talking abt lyla to civilians and family he’d refer her as “Andrea” for laughs but since it’s not in lyla’s code SHE’D HAVE NO IDEA!!!

I know it’s canon that lyla is canonically a small bit sentimental and somewhat secretly crushes on miguel in the comics (correct me if I’m wrong) but I’m p sure that happens and to that I say, she wouldn’t even remotely like my sona in that way, I see these two more as siblings in this universe than I do with the originals, so these two variants are seen as siblings and often times act like so!

Universe headcanons

I think what would separate the two from each other is my sona’s world would be a lot closer to what the 90’s kids thing we’d have in modern day society much rather what 2099 would have.

Like if you were to ask a kid from 1995 or something about what they think would happen and they said “flying phones” then so be it, bam it exists now lol

That’s just an example.

So it’s like what the 60s-90s predicted, or tried to, but a lot more realistic and the economy is better by 6%. Which isn’t a lot, but by today’s standards, it might as well be.

I like to think that his universe is WAAAAAAYYYY more diverse.

A lot more necessary items would be more available.

I also think my sona would be from the capital of oregon, Salem, much rather New York just because oregon has a special place in my heart.

This man’s civilian life is boring.

Before he was spider-man, I’d imagine him as an art guy. When he had time for it and used it as a job.

He’d probably be an artist with a psychologist degree. Which, yes, far from each other, but he uses it to the best of his ability to combine the two things.

Transportation would be funky, as flying cars would technically exist, but man would it make traveling easier.

Money would work the same way since I don’t really know how to make systems that would work out for the futuristic shit 2099 would offer, at first glance it seems a lot of it costs a lot, so I’d imagine it being a struggle.

And in any case, this also means my sona’s lyla isn’t his! This man stole got it from his brother.

My sona had two brothers as a reference to my own brothers, but for purposes of staying true to Miguel’s character (which I have not been doing well at doing) he’ll have to stick to having 1 that’s consistently mentioned. Which brother? I have decided to keep that vague.

End.

In conclusion: I just needed to rant abt this character and have been anxious to post abt him since this means a number of things and because I saw a bunch of other people come up with this idea many times before, but I really wanted to make this a thing since it’s been in my head nonstop.

Admittedly I thought abt this idea before I saw everyone else’s ideas, but after seeing them all I was super scared to post my version, but after some consideration i figured I’d just take down the post no problem if it comes down to it.

I don’t really like miguel as a person (this is not miguel hate/slander in any way), but man, he’s a great character. Like, sure. He’s an asshole with too much of an ego to save himself, which I’ve noticed is a running joke in the fandom.

But after seeing the script, I’ve noticed that this man is just misunderstood. Miguel is nothing more than an antagonistic hero who has nothing better to do than do what he views as right.

What he did is unforgivable, but it makes sense.

I will forever stay by Miles’ side of the whole plot, but it made sense why miguel would go to this extent. (Not saying he’s in the right. Miguel really isn’t and his cut and dry reasoning to why he does shit ARE NOT valid reasons as it’s completely unreliable, but if I were in his shoes and trying super hard not to fuck shit up, I’d PANIC.)

His biggest flaw is getting too caught up into the past and using his trauma as a reason for everything he considers logical, just to get by and help others the way he needs that help. The way he thinks is help for everyone, or the way he thinks is best TOO help.

Using trauma bonding (which is implied) to then “help” others to “not make the same mistake”, being so fixated on it to the point you can tell he hasn’t had human contact in any normal way for a while.

This also may explain the touch starve and touch adverse headcanons going around the miguel tag.

In a way, I admired miguel in that sense. He was like me, just if he was a bit grumpier.

He acted how I used to, and his shame was just as matched as it was with trauma.

And I felt that.

So, I decided to make a sona based off him. I promise I’ll make a more original one, but for now have this miguel rip-off.

While I hate miguel, I also respect his character as a whole.

(And because of the arguments of opinion and mischaracterization, no. This isn’t canon, this is my interpretation. And no, I will not demonize him just because I hate him. I honestly think he deserves just as much good as miles does, but miles needs a lot more attention as of recent events.)

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lavalampstealer · 1 year

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Uh I oh HI uh people keep tagging me in games /pos

TY @agent-calivide for the Song Game (is that what its called)! I don’t use Spotify so I cannot do the shuffle thing sadly 😔 however- I will sprinkle my wildly inconsistent music on you nonetheless

I will say, I have had really bad brainrot for the past few months, so these all have a TSP or IEYTD tie-in :]

1. This Side of Paradise - Coyote Theory If I were to make an animation of this it would have a winged person running towards the edge of cliff, besting their wings and nearly taking off. Once the drums drop out and the chorus starts, they’re in open air and soaring on an updraft. Once the drums return they’re back on the ground, nighttime this time, running to take off again with the starlight around them, but this time they’re more sure and take off easier. They can do loops in the air and truly soar. During the guitar solo part, they’re skimming the tops of trees and slowly going back towards the ground to do a half running half flying landing and they end up tumbling over and looking up at the moon, smile on their face. I plan to do this sometime, once I figure out how to draw/animate wings, like for a future college project or wip to add to my (albeit empty) portfolio.

2. rises the moon - Liana Flores ok so I’ve had major brainrot for my fic despite it pretty much existing as just a concept in my head and this song. this song is so. its so Handler comforting Phoenix because they are Not Okay after Death Engine

3. RISK, RISK, RISK! - Jhariah No consistency here, but this one is a) a banger and b) reminds me so much of Juniper. Him wanting a change, wanting more, gambling everything he has just to get just a little bit more and “put more behind [his] name”

4. The Lamp Is Low - Laurindo Almeida this is just so Yellow core to me I can’t explain it. Him with a glass of iced scotch in a cozy armchair reading a book with only a nearby lamp as lighting. Also he can’t sit normally /silly

5. Bleached - Video Days good god I’ve listened to this on repeat so many times. So many fictitious scenarios. It just screams Comfort Fic™️, it’s what I put on when I work on Down to Earth

6. Left Bank Two - The Noveltones I’ve accidentally left this on loop while doing homework. Also this is so Sheen core you cant change my mind. no thoughts going on in that head. Paint smears everywhere, little trails down hallways and smudges on door handles and whatnot

7. Notion - The Rare Occasions something about Phoenix looking back on their life and how they don’t just fear death; it’s a game. A window. If they die, oh well, at least they’re guaranteed to go out in a blaze of glory (“I see a window, a limit, to live it, or not at all”). Also them struggling with the weight of being The Phoenix when all they wanted to do was be a secret agent. secret (“Sure it’s a calming notion, perpetual in motion, but it’s not what you signed up for”)

8. Nuestra Canción - Monsieur Periné oh thank god one without a meaning /j its just such an upbeat and silly song !! :] v Cyan core to me, they’re silly like that. Like them and Yellow being on an upbeat walk when they find a flower field and drag him into it. dancing together all goofy bc they have 4 left feet between the two, just having a true day off. no stress. no worry. free from the pressure and able to just be light for a day. Things might not get better, but its the moment that counts

9. Debt Collector - Jhariah GOD I know it doesn’t really fit Cyan but this is such a Phoenix song. Like I see a lot with some kind of criminal background or something from before the EOD, and this just seems like Phoenix running from their past and memories. I will admit, I need to work on Cyan’s backstory, all I have so far is that they were a beginner car mechanic and chronic tinkerer

10. Whose Eye Is It Anyway??? - Jhariah ok this one started as a Phoenix song but now this is just so Broken Juniper to me. Him surviving Rising Phoenix and not even ranting or cursing or pleading with Phoenix, it’s just him venting about how it’s an eye for an eye and he got what he deserved but he didn’t deserve it. “This path of heart attacks is paved with folks who only gave their enemies what they had coming. I don’t know if it’s worth it // I’m reeling from all of the pain, I feel it making me insane” and, “Is it a knife or a lie? Is it in your back? Is it all I need? Is it all I have? Bring me the peace that I need so desperately?” yeah. I could go on but. this would be an essay and I am eepy

Keeping it going!! /nf @purple-to-my-tangerine and @eyesofrhodochrosite hiii hope yall dont mind the pings :]

#tag game #honorable mention: My Way by Frank Sinatra is so. so Cyan during Death Engine

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magic-is-something-we-create · 1 year

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In 'The Millennium Saga' what is the world like? Are there differing belief systems? What are the politics? Are there people with magical biology or only humans that inhabit the world? The WIP summary interests me.

Hi!! Thank you so much for dropping by and being interested!! And for your patience - I don't use tumblr on the weekends, so sorry for the delay!!

Fair warning, this may be a much heftier answer than anticipated (worldbuilding is my most beloved aspect of fantasy writing), so apologies in advance if it's A Lot to take in 😅

Quick answer/TL;DR/don't want to dig through worldbuilding tags and other posts:

The world is built to be a bit of a kitchen sink when it comes to fantasy, with the express purpose to host not just The Millennium Saga, but also Whispers and several other projects that are currently on the backburner. The core of it is basically that every thousand years, the Goddesses of the world either add a new magic/species/landmass (aka a Growth) or remove an existing one (aka a Decay), historically in an ABAB pattern. This is how almost all of the things existing in the world came to be or come to an end.

This, combined with the fact that the Goddesses were able to be contacted until relatively recently, forms the basis for pretty much every belief system, though there's still a lot of variation between them. [I've talked about said variations a few times in the worldbuilding tag for WBW, but I gave up on maintaining a specific tagging system for those posts a long time ago, so they might be hard to find.]

It also informs politics, as magic is considered a gift from the Goddesses and a sign of favor, so civilizations and peoples who have access to magic are favored heavily over others in everything political. This is especially true for, say, Goblins, who have no magic at all (and have thus had to adapt with hyper-advanced technology instead).

Speaking of, there are a lot of different kinds of people, and humans are a pretty small minority! [If you want more specifics on that, I did a series of posts outlining the basics of each of the groups and their designs a while back.]

The Millennium Saga is narrated almost exclusively by Ehlves, with a couple human narrators sprinkled in for one-offs and interludes when relevant. For all intents and purposes, Ehlves are functionally just humans with a longer livespan, more sensitive hearing, immunity from altitude sickness, and an innate magic called Elementalism. (There's more nuances, especially in how they look, but those are the Big Important Differences when it comes to physical ability.)

I'd be happy to go into more detail if you'd like, but I'll stop myself there for now!! Thank you again for asking about it :D

#a&a #ehlverse #<- thats the world tag if the link doesnt work!!#and the tag for those posts about the different peoples is #pote #talking with: arigalefantasynovels

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rosielav · 2 years

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Good morning podcast people.

Currently on episode 23 of Wolf359. I like that I have to actually listen now, or I'll miss things, but I hate [redacted]. Everything about [redacted] I dislike and even hate. I don't like miscommunication as a plot device. I don't like 'will they won't they' but nto romantic like, betrayal, as a plot device. So currently... I'm not liking a big chunk of the episodes, like I'm actively having to *not* stop my podcast player. I really love the voice acting, the sound design, and I love a Sci fi horror. I just don't like *exactly* how they're going about it. But I'm sure there's still time for things to get 'better'.

I tried The Silt Verses, and I can't get into it. A bit too.... Hmmm... Self-serious? Like, it wants to be taken seriously from the very first episode, and it's like.... Forceful, in a way. Like 'this isn't what should be happening but you need to know this is serious so we' re gonna make it serious even tho I'd rather talk about this other thing'. So, not gonna force it upon myself :)

I think I may be a bit inundated with drama/horror podcasts, so if anyone sees this, and can recommend a good comedy or at least dramedy/other combo, I'd be very interested to know!!

My favorite comedy/dramedy/'other genre but also humorous' podcasts:

TAZ (Balance) - please don't recommend me APs, I am full to the brim with ttrpg stuff. The energy of TAZ Balance is specifically what I'd love to get from something else (improv, prof. comedians being funny but also serious when needed, etc)

WTNV - every episode has at least one joke in it, at least one witty statement or opinion from Cecil, but it isn't a comedy podcast. It's surreal, and awe-inspiring, and heartbreaking, and heartwarming, depending on the episode. But you will always get one chuckle, laugh, or at least smirk, in every episode.

Mission to Zyxx - improvised Star Trek-style Sci fi adventure. It is at its core a comedy podcast, relying on the improv skills of its VAs to accomplish its goal. But it has also made me cry. It has also made me think. It's one of those things that starts off so silly, and ends silly too, but somewhere in between there's a serious moment or two, and it takes it from pure comedy to a combination genre.

The Amelia Project - my favorite example of this kind of dramedy genre, and my new favorite podcast in general. It takes the 'one person is the main person who you hear talking they have some sort of position that requires them to talk often and to different people, and it is their actual job' trope (is that even a trope) that I love from WTNV, adds the macabre twist of faking deaths, and sprinkles in just enough gory realism to keep it safely confined in the dramedy catagory and not just simply very well done comedy. This is the podcast I find hardest to describe, so I'd just recommend you listen to the trailer, and maybe the first few episodes, and go from there. I'm seriously considering relistening to it from the beginning, but I do just have to many other podcasts to listen to.

SO ANYWAYS, tl;dr - I would love some comedy/dramedy podcast recommendations, as I could very much use some levity in my listening :) thank you in advance!

#podcast recommendation #the amelia project #Wtnv #Mission to Zyxx #Dramedy #Comedy recommendation #I must laugh #I got bad news today so I'd love some cheering up

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frogsandfries · 2 years

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As I'm finally gluing down the last

Of my end pages, I have a final decision to make while I wait for the snaps for this sketchbook. I need to decide if I want to cut the rest of the cards, or if I should wait until whenever I may potentially begin working in this sketchbook. Then, do I glue the pockets of cards into the sketchbook?

I think, no matter how bad a decision it is, I've already decided. I think, given the number of completed sketchbooks I already have waiting to be used, I don't know when or if I'll use this sketchbook. It might as well be completely complete, ready to theoretically sell or gift. So I'm going to cut the remaining seven hundred-someodd cards and fold some pockets for them and once I'm done with the end pages, I can glue in the card pockets. Then when I get the snaps, I can place the initial snaps on some straps and strap up the book for stability.

The concertina dos-a-dos was actually, honestly, a really crap idea. I didn't realize how unstable it would be with the empty sliders. I don't know if adding the waterfall cards will make it more or less stable, but next time, if there was to be a next time, I think it would be better to wait to add the sliders, definitely until after the construction of the book, but maybe as I needed to fill them. I wanted to stagger them to keep them from adding too-too much bulk, but it definitely worked against the stability.

Another kind of negative that I'm seeing is that there are like, country miles of blank space. I don't always need the blank space in my thumbnail/linework sketchbooks. I think I'm definitely adding washi to the pulls, just to visually clarify what you're supposed to pull on, because right now, with no cards and no visual indication, I'll try to pull one tab when it's the other tab. Some of the cards get pushed instead of pulled because I thought that would add some interest. I'm going to be purchasing some books off stickers over the next few months, so maybe I'll also sprinkle in some stickers to fill just a bit of space. I've also thought some pages are basically begging for another slider, or maybe just more frames glued or taped directly in. Or maybe just added straight to the page, I'm not picky and I'm sure as heck not going to say no.

However, I do have a bit of a problem. Every time I make a new thumbnail sketchbook, I get a little paranoid about what if this is too many frames and I never get to use it? Luckily, this sketchbook comes in for sections, so I can just use one section, switch to another sketchbook and switch back. The same with my face-to-face sketchbook. I could use one portion earlier and one portion later. I still can't figure out how to decorate that plastic aida and I still haven't gotten my muster up to finish that pineapple sketchbook, even though I've given myself permission to only do the body of the pineapple on the plastic, not into the signatures. It's the leaves tripping me up a bit. But once that's done, and once I decide what to do with the plastic aida, that's four or five sketchbooks just hanging around while I work through the two that I'm working in, and I still have to keep coloring and keep releasing strips every other week. I've only filled one sketchbook so far.........but I keep making more because it's really satisfying.

Then I'm coming up with this piano hinge waterfall book for the finished art, just to try to further motivate myself and feel like I'm moving through the project and producing art. I'm going to buy some really thin washi tapes for the spine and black paper to mount the sliders on. I'm not sure how I want to do each signature because I don't want this book to look bloated, so any experimentation will have to wait until I have the materials in hand. Because I'm going for a size custom to the finished waterfall cards, there is going to be tremendously less blank page real estate. The black paper is really just for presentation, to set off the colored art. Then, when the book is complete, I was thinking about weaving onto the pins for a bit of cohesivity.

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