#for reference

[richardnyxon]

Simple Sabotage Field Manual - U.S. Office of Strategic Services - 1944

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184

So anyways with the rapid rise of fascism I feel it’s a good time to point out that it’s perfectly legal to follow unjust orders slowly, badly, or inefficiently

[rosesinspirationandreference]

🍀 21 Plot Twist Ideas 🍀

Stuck on your WIP? Unsure of how a scene should go? Feel as though your story is lacking substance? Enduring with the frustrations of writer’s block?

Why not try throwing in a plot twist?

A messenger brings bad news

Something important is stolen

Someone vanishes without a trace

An important item is damaged

Protagonist recognizes a face in the crowd

Someone seems to intentionally fail

Protagonist finds an item thought lost

A charitable act has a harmful result

A cruel act has a beneficial outcome

Someone unexpectedly returns the favour

A raging storm moves across town

A gift makes a character the target of a murderer

A fallen enemy makes one last attack

Only one character in danger can be saved

An enemy saves the life of Protagonist’s friend

A will from a long-lost relative appears

A secret rival seeks to replace Protagonist

A thief makes Protagonist their next target

An obscure law suddenly becomes important

Strangers mistake Protagonist for a fugitive

A tool breaks when needed most

[vorestarr]

what Sceleritas Fel says about each of the companions if the urge compels you to kill them:

Astarion: "He is so afraid. So, so afraid. Of everyone, besides you, who he ought to fear most."

Gale: "He thinks he might end the world. But you and I could do far worse."

Karlach: "She thinks she is finally away from the monsters. Poor fool."

Lae'zel: "She came all the way to this world, just to die here."

Shadowheart: "The gods fight over her, but is she truly that special?"

Wyll: "He has his own devil, just as you have me. Aren't you a foul pair?"

Wyll (if he's been turned into a devil): "He is an insult to the name of devils, posing as a monster with that sickly good heart."

and then, later, when you're arguing not to kill them:

Astarion: "You like him for more than his looks, but he will never believe that. Why not make him a pretty corpse?"

Gale: "He would forget his god for you. But you won't for him, of that I know."

Karlach: "She's as good as dead anyway. She won't be saved by the power of love. Not yours."

Lae'zel: "She is only using you. Don't you know that?"

Shadowheart: "She was starting to trust you. The only one she ever has. Pity it's coming to an end."

Wyll: "He adores you so blindly. Like a pup. Don't you find it sickening?"

[vee-lociraptor]

diversity win! the gayest person you know is aroace!

[dunmeshistash]

Dungeon Meshi - Types of Magic (Kabru the Lubricant User)

[420technoblazeit]

i haven't seen anyone post it on here but one of the senior environment artists for arcane posted an interactive 360 model of jayce and viktor's lab in its base state in season 1 if you need a reference for it

[hocuscroakus]

Okay as annoying as it is for people to constantly make fun of ulysses for talking too much..

A feature length yap sesh is crazy

[starzknight]

Mdzs character line up

[inchidentally]

Sorry new landoscar fan here, I kept seeing the notion that Oscar was Lando’s fan for years, but I can’t seem to find any info about that?

ofc babe ! I store a lot of it in this tag but I think a little roundup post is probably due - heads up this is not in chrono order bc a lot of it is referenced from recent content:

2015 and Oscar making the big move to the UK to join Ricky Flynn and his fanboying of Lando begins

tiktok compilation of Oscar revealing his chronic Lando content consumption well before they were teammates

compilation from twitter of Oscar's decided bias toward not only liking Lando content but also searching his tag and finding posts that sometimes had barely a few likes (and this was just going back to 2017)

Oscar knowing when Lando's maiden podium was (and Lando calling him a nerd)

the 2020 hornet tweets because Oscar watched the stream of Lando battling 2 hornets in his house x x

Alpine Oscar 'interviewing' Lando and Alex on Sky in 2022 and the quote from Lando that he hasn't raced Oscar "yet" and Oscar well basically staring at Lando

2021 Oscar citing Lando's social media inspiring him to use humor as a way to open up to the public more (added landoscar angst here bc the hate and abuse he received after alpinegate seriously made him clam up and between that and him being fairly in awe of Lando, meant that Lando himself didn't rly get to know Oscar's humor until fairly late 2023 - like, no one should underestimate how Oscar entered F1 properly and got to know one of his favorite drivers all while being universally despised and painted as a villain/cold/evil - how much could have been different if one team had simply kept their mouths shut until verifying that tweet first esp when Oscar was already a shared reserve driver w McLaren anyway !!!!)

the beloved Oscar and Max F at Renault Academy lore

this post I made is a mess but the anecdotes he can only know from Lando's or Max's streams streams or Quadrant videos: Lando making stickers and selling them at school; Lando's snoring lore could be because of the thin shared walls but also Max has def brought it up before; he definitely already knew the story of Lando falling from a window trying to break into his own house; and the fact that we got Max reacting to Oscar referencing Max's outrage at Lando forgetting his birthday

it's a bit too scattered to compile but trust and believe Oscar has been a carlando girlie from day one - def the bromance but idk I feel like he's read a fic or twenty

watching Lando's career when asked about his idols coming up

and backing that up, him in 2019 saying the same thing

EDIT: his mum Nicole saying he would choose Lando as his ideal teammate going into F1 because the expectations of him wouldn't be too high since everyone knows how good Lando is

pulling out the it's Friday theeeen Lando meme

being so addicted to Lando content by 2020 that he actually fanboyed about the LN4 admin interacting w him

EDIT: he then followed it up by creating a sort of ship name for himself and Lando ???

EDIT: Lando's kart and the number 481 !!

EDIT: how could I forget Oscar submitting this old photo of Lando to a meme page in 2023 but he literally had that photo somewhere saved

EDIT: how could I forget the hornets saga ??

and ofc K's beloved Oscar primer has a lot of context about all of this more fleshed out!

I think that's everything but if anyone notices I've forgotten anything lmk !!

[missedmilemarkers]

Missed Mile Markers:

Welcome to Missed Mile Markers! 🌿📸

Hello and welcome,

I’m thrilled you’ve found your way here! I’m a quirky, humorous, and enthusiastic photographer, capturing the beauty of Colorado’s parks and wildlife. Originally, I come from a background in internet security and technology—specializing in DevOps, infrastructure, and optimization—and I dabble in programming. But here’s where things get interesting: I’m also colorblind.

The Beauty of Seeing Differently

Being colorblind is at the core of how I experience and share the world through photography. I don’t edit my photos, and here’s why: if I were to edit them for my eyes, they just wouldn’t look right to most people. The warmth, the balance—it would all be off! My goal is to capture moments that stand out in my mind’s eye. If it catches my attention, then I figure for those who see color as it truly is, you’ll often be treated to something exquisite. Seeing differently means seeing something truly unique.

Here are some examples as how things look to me.

Here are edited photos that begin to depict how I observe the world. The bottom one is the normal photo which is unedited. The top 2 photographs are edited to so you can begin to understand how I see the world.

That is a big difference, or so I am told.....

No Formal Training, Just Passion

I have no formal photography training. Everything I know comes from reading, learning, and then simply getting out there and experimenting—like that classic advice, "always shoot into the sun"… just kidding, never shoot into the sun, unless you want to! 😄

A Lesson in Color: Unedited, Unfiltered

Take these two photos, for instance—both unedited, taken at the same time with the same settings, yet the difference in colors amazes me every time.

The difference in the above photos are slight positional differences, and slight variation in time (maybe seconds). However the only difference I see is the one on the left looks darker....

The variations remind me why I prefer not to edit my photos. To me, there’s beauty in capturing a scene as it is, without my colorblindness adjusting the reality of it.

Other Works:

Youtube Channel:

Video Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/videomilemarkers

Interested in My Work?

I do sell my photographs, and in most cases, I’m more than happy to allow them to be used in creative works. If that’s something you’re interested in, just shoot me a DM—I’d love to chat more!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy seeing the world through my eyes.

~ MissedMileMarkers

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Randall Mackey

[jewish-joy]

when a goyishe student says something in Judaism class that is so bad, that every Jew in the class lets out an audible noise

[vorestarr]

ascended astarion and vampire spouses

so I've been reading the dnd 2e manual "Van Richten's Guide to Vampires" for fic/game inspiration, and there's this really interesting chapter on vampire brides and grooms. after reading it, it's very clear to me that Astarion didn't turn Tav into a typical spawn, but into a vampire spouse, which are two very different rituals with very different outcomes.

the typical vampire spawn creation process is exactly what Astarion describes happening to him: a painful death, a painful rebirth into undeath, fighting his way out of his own coffin, and Cazador's complete control over him. this is described pretty clearly in the guide to vampires:

According to most related tales, a vampire can create another simply by killing a mortal either with its life-energy draining power (draining all the character's experience leveIs) or by exhausting the mortal of his or her blood supply. If the victim's body is not properly destroyed, it arises as a vampire, under the control of the creature who killed it, on the second night following the burial. [...] Most vampires remember the instant of their death and the nature of their killer, and understand immediately their new nature. Certainly their new hunger gives them a good idea of what they have become. They must immediately free themselves from their grave. either by breaking it open from within or by assuming gaseous form and diffusing out.

so that's definitely what happened to Astarion, but that's not what happens to Tav. after ascended Astarion turns Tav into a vampire, they can ask him what happened, and he describes the following:

Astarion: You are so beautiful... And you will be beautiful forever. Thank you for trusting me. Player: What exactly happened? Astarion: You were drained dry, and at the height of your delirium, I granted you one drop of my own blood. Things will be a touch different for you than they were for me when I was a spawn. I'm imbibed with unfathomable new talents. I am fairly certain I can extend Mephistopheles' blessings unto you. Player: Does that mean I need not fear the sun? Astarion: You need not fear anything. You will be stronger, swifter, sharper, but you won't be different. You were already perfect before. It's hard to improve.

for reference, this is how the guide to vampires describes the ritual for vampire spouses:

To actually create the bride, the vampire bestows what is known as the "Dark Kiss". lt samples the blood of its mortal paramour—once, twice, thrice—draining her almost to the point of death. This process causes the subject no pain; in fact, it has been described as the most euphoric, ecstatic experience, in comparison to which all ether pleasures fade into insignificance. Just as the subject is about to slip into the terminal coma from which there is no awakening, the vampire opens a gash in its own flesh—often in its throat—and holds the subject's mouth to the wound, As the burning draught that is the vampire’s blood gushes into the subject's mouth, the primitive feeding instinct is triggered, and she sucks hungrily at the wound, enraptured. With the first taste of the blood, the subject is possessed of great and frenzied strength (Str 18, if the character’s Str isn't already higher), and will use it to prevent the vampire from separating her from the fountain of wonder that is its bleeding wound. lt is at this point that the creator-vampire's strength is most sorely tested. He is weakened by his own blood loss, and also by his own rapture as the "victim" of a dark kiss. Overcoming the sudden loss of strength and the inclinations of lust, the vampire must pull her away from its own throat, hopefully without harming her, before she has overfed. Should the subject be allowed to feed for too long (more than 2 rounds), she is driven totally and incurably insane, and will die in agony within 24 hours. Once the subject has stopped feeding, she falls into a coma that lasts minutes or hours (2dl2 turns), at the end of which time she dies. Several (1 d3) hours later, she arises as a Fledgling vampire—and her creator's bride.

this to me sounds like what Astarion describes. he drains Tav almost dry, and at the very last moment, gives them a single drop of his blood. (also interesting reading this guide, the single drop avoids the problem of the vampire spouse being driven ravenous with hunger for the vampire creator's blood and attacking them. did Astarion know this and give them one drop on purpose to avoid that and Tav potentially being driven mad by it? or was he being selfish and this is just a nice but unanticipated outcome?)

i kept reading and there's a lot more interesting information about vampire spouses, but the most interesting thing I found related to the game was this:

Although there are some folk tales that describe the bride of a vampire as its slave, in much the same way that offspring are slaves, a bride is free-willed from the moment of her creation. The creator vampire does have great influence over the bride. however although this control is totally nonmagical. When a vampire is created in the traditional manner—that is, when a victim's life energy is completely drained away—the new fledgling instinctively understands much about the vampiric way of unlife, and about its own strengths, weaknesses* and needs. Not so the bride.

so basically, the vampire spouse is not tied to the vampire creator in the same way as a spawn (i.e., not able to be fully controlled) but is still extremely reliant on the vampire creator to teach them how to live as a vampire. the guide goes on to describe that some vampire creators may lie to their vampire spouse about the control or powers they have, in order to exert more control over them.

interestingly, if you ask Astarion if he can compel you the way Cazador compelled him, he doesn't give a straight answer, he just says this:

Player: Cazador could compel you - can you compel me? Astarion: Why would I need to? You're going to be wonderfully obedient.

to me, all of this says that Astarion was telling the truth when he told Tav that they would be different from him as a spawn, and also in emphasizing that they are not a spawn but a consort. he didn't create a spawn, he created a vampire spouse. he married Tav, and because of this Tav also retains their free will.

of course, Astarion doesn't say this. if he knows, he withholds this information in much the way that this guide describes, as a way for the creator to maintain more control over their spouse. but still, extremely interesting implications for the ascended Astarion romance, imo.

other interesting facts about vampire spouses from the guide to vampires:

the married couple has telepathic communication that can span miles -- so Tav and Astarion can potentially have a telepathic bond even after the tadpoles are gone. (another note, this communication has to be consensual both ways for it to work, so you can't just dig around someone's mind if they don't want it.)

the vampire creator is extremely jealous and possessive. (yeah lol)

their life forces are linked, so one suffering a great deal is felt by the other.

the bond can be broken, but the ritual to do so has to be initiated by the creator. to break it, they both spill their blood on the ground and allow it to mix. this dissolves all aspects of the bond (i.e., telepathy and linked life forces), but the spouse stays a vampire.

[frankenbirdz]

a gf oc + a bunch of doods muahahahaha

[avoskorm]

Also since I'm a firm believer in sharing resources, have fun with these codex entry bases I made.

Go nuts, be free. Create those weird and wonderful fake codex entries.

For added authenticity, the font used in game for codexes is called Astoria.