#let’s see if this goes anywhere

[natelia-aldelliz]

Ghost gifts a single tiny ear loop to Soap one day. Says he noticed Soap had pierced ears. That rings keep from handling a gun or a knife properly. He doesn't make eye contact, tries to hide his face, even as he's already wearing his balaclava.

Soap blinks. Ghost has already given him gifts and only behaved that way for the very first one. He doesn't understand. The earring is very simple, but seems to be made of expensive material and not only covered with a thin leaf of gold.

"Didnae it come with another one?" he says, jokingly.

But Ghost flushes, turns his head, and lifts his mask, only enough for Soap to see the glinting of the other earring on his ear. Suddenly he understands that it's not simply a gift. Ghost favoured practicality, but he wanted to give him a ring.

He grabs his hand as it falls back down.

"Simon, what is this?" he asks softly, not daring to be hopeful just yet.

With his other hand, he reaches out to gently turn Simon's head back towards him. His cheeks and his nose are flushed, it makes the warmth of his dark eyes, generally hidden behind a sneer or a bored expression, undeniable.

He looks nervous. Johnny's heart is beating faster. Could it really be...?

"I know", Simon starts then pauses, uncertain. "I know I'm probably not what you thought you'd have, when you were younger" Soap wants to interrupt, to scoff, to protest that Simon is way better than anyone he could have hoped for, but doesn't. He never wants to cut off his love when he's barely starting to open up.

"I know that I'm not easy to be with some days, that I'm not friendly and easy going like you, like someone you'd deserved to be with." he continues, unconsciously pushing his face more into Soap's hand. "But... I love you, more than I thought I could, and I'd like... I'd like to be with you, for as long as you'd have me..."

Johnny's heart is soaring. He has no idea how to react. He'd have to get all the giddiness out first, and the moment doesn't seem appropriate for jumping around and squealing.

"Officially," Simon continues, voice quieter, out of breath. "If you want to."

A gigantic grin splits Johnny's face. All of his limbs are buzzing, he needs to stand up, to run, to explode something. But he's terrified to spook Simon so instead he just squeezes the hand he's holding rhythmically and moves his feet back and forth.

"Baby, are ye asking me tae marry ye?" Johnny says. He's pretty sure his voice is wobbly, but can't really hear it himself as the blood in his ears is louder than the rest.

Simon's eyes do something, what is visible of his face looks like he has an expression on but Johnny can't analyze it now, doesn't dare to see the hope in his eyes, the pleading in his brows.

"I... Yes, I guess I am," the love of his life says finally. "If you want to. You don't have to."

Soap can't keep himself in check any longer. He's making a high pitched noise, jumping up and down where he's seating on the bed, and throws himself at Simon.

"Of course ah fooking want tae!!!"

Simon lets out an excited giggle, swept in Johnny's mood, and tightens his arms around his lover. No, his fiancé.

This is the best day of his life. He just has to deal with this mission tomorrow, and then they can start to plan everything.

[friend-crow]

instructions for alternative tarot meanings and rules

Inspired by @lazywitchling I am hoping I can enlist y'all's help in coming up with a list of alternative tarot card meanings, and perhaps extra instructions (nothing requiring too much effort, please). I will collect these in this separate (nonrebloggable, for version control reasons) post, where contributors will be credited.

Alternative interpretations can be serious or shitpost level, just as long as they aren't completely unrelated to the actual card.

Feel free to include reversed meanings.

Also consider alternative elemental correspondences -- this could be any of the alchemical elements, literary elements, or from the periodic table. I'm sure you can come up with additional types of elements.

Please refer to the linked list before submitting your meanings so that we don't have everyone submitting a version of the magician or something. In instances where multiple meanings are submitted for a card, I will probably add them all (the cards already have multiple meanings, after all), but it would be better to have submissions for more cards, rather than many submissions for a few.

End goal is to collect a full set with which to do silly readings. Maybe if I get motivated I'll try to design some of the cards. I know better than to claim I'll ever get around to all 78.

[mcybree]

“why do i miss gem and the scotts suddenly theyre barely even real”

LITERALLY!! like. that team was held together with scott tape and the sheer force of gem’s personality. i don’t think scott and impulse ever actually even talked the entire time. it only worked because for the first time scott was faced with someone who was bossier than he was. they were awesome i should rewatch secret life

they were actually so fucking funny. All three of them promising to remain loyal and stick together until the very end (bc together they can win this!!) only for gem to hunt scott for sport an episode later was literally so based… their dynamic will always be funnier in my head i think but god it was awesome

[bunnihearted]

lately i've been finding it so so hard to be positive and hopeful. and it's making me so bitter and hateful. i hate it but i dont know what to do about it

[lunarharp]

you can now buy my little orufrey zine i made!

a 36 page, b&w a5 amateur zine made up of orufrey art i've drawn this year so far. alone is £6 + shipping and they can also come with a mini print add-on, a 4x6 photo print for £8.50 total.

the first 6 orders will come with a free official bromide :)

[forcedhesitation]

why should it just be steve who has all the torturous purgatory realm fun?

[fluentisonus]

part of the problem is that a lot of hugo's politics are really well thought out & considered & good but then some of them are like. entirely vibes-based to the point of feeling muddled & inconsistent & even straight up Bad sometimes. which is annoying

[affablyevilshowdown]

Welcome to the Affably Evil Showdown!

Here’s me jumping on the bandwagon ^_^

Do you have a favorite villain who won’t stop smiling? The one that’s unspeakably polite even as they’re actively committing atrocities? Or even the one that doesn’t get a redemption arc so much as a domestication arc? Then have I got a competition for you!

This is the place for your Bill Ciphers and Flowey Undertales.

Rules

Similar tropes like Faux Affably Evil and Lovable Traitor are extremely welcome!

No real people, because once the crimes against humanity become real they stop being fun.

Propaganda is encouraged.

Please nominate as many villains as you want but only one per form and only nominate each character once.

I’m going to include as many characters as physically possible, so please nominate your niche faves!

This bracket was inspired by so many, many competitions, but the ones that gave me enough serotonin to actually start this are: @losersbracketofficial, @autismswagsummit, @classic-lit-couples-showdown, @greekmythssexywoman, and @nichesexymanbloodbath

[bulldagger-bait]

When it comes to hygiene tasks and self care with disability and chronic illness, its pretty much a constant case of: don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.

Basically: it's better to do something, than to do nothing at all.

TLDR: Just because you can't do something "properly" doesn't mean you shouldn't do it at all. Do it half-way. Do it shitty. Do it barely. Do it on a technicality. But do what you can. Just try, because doing something will help you.

If you don't have the energy to scrub your body with a sponge, just rub soap over your skin with your hands.

If you don't have the energy to wash your whole body with soap, just hit the places where sweat accumulates, or where you're smelliest.

If you don't have the energy to wash with soap AT ALL, just sitting in water is better than nothing. It will wash away dirt and oils.

If you can't bathe or shower at all, a warm wash cloth is your new best friend. If that's too much, then try bath wipes. They're a bit bigger than regular wet wipes, and a bit more heavy duty. They're designed to help keep bed ridden patients clean in hospitals.

If you don't have the energy to dry yourself after a bath or a shower, just put on a bathrobe and get into bed. If you don't have the energy to get dressed afterwards, just don't. It can wait until you can.

If you don't have energy to brush your teeth for two minutes, honestly, just a cursory scrub is better than not doing anything.

If you can't brush your teeth twice a day, brush in the evenings. It will help take away the build up of food from the day.

If you don't have the energy to brush AT ALL, honestly, just take a cloth and wipe the plaque off your teeth. Rinse with mouth wash after if you'd like. Something is always better than nothing.

If you can't floss twice a day. Try once. If that's too much, try a few times a week. If that's too much, try setting aside a day once a week as a goal. If you can't keep a schedule, do it when you're able to. Hell, I keep some floss next to my bed so that if I forget and don't have the energy to go get it, I can just reach over.

If you can't iron your clothes, don't bother. Wrinkles are fine. Wear jumpers over wrinkly t-shirts. No one will know, and honestly, most people won't even care. If it's really wrinkly and it's A Big Deal And It Needs To Be Ironed, here's my life hack. Step 1: take a spray bottle, and spritz the item of clothing (while you're wearing it is easiest) until it's lightly damp. Step 2: use a hair-dryer on the clothes until they're dry. It gets rid of creases like nobody's business, it's easier than lugging out the iron and ironing board, and you get to have nice toasty warm clothes afterwards.

If you can't fold your clothes, try just hanging them up. It's less commitment. It's quicker to do. Granted, you need to have the space in order to do this, but it is also good at helping you downsize, and lets you visualise exactly what you have.

If you can't put your clothes away, invest in a couple of laundry baskets, and then just keep your clean clothes in the baskets. You can then separate washed clothes into underwear, pants, and shirts baskets. You can just leave them like that. I'm giving you permission to never fold your laundry again if you can't. Just leave it unfolded. Who's going to care? Something is better than nothing. If you can, try to put those baskets into your closet so that you can keep the clutter out of sight, and give yourself a more restful environment.

If you can't separate your clothing out into different categories and wash them "properly" (whites, warm tones, cool tones, darks, delicates / switching between hot & cold washes / paying attention to laundry instructions on the label) then just don't worry about it. If you cold wash your clothes, colours won't bleed. Maybe gradually over the course of dozens of washes there'll be some changes in hue, but it's really not as high stakes as the One Red Sock In The Whites Turns Them Pink trope makes it out to be.

I've pretty much come to the point in my life where if a piece of clothing can't survive the washer and dryer, then it's just not meant to be. I colour separate my clothes, and if I have the energy/remember I'll take my bras and jumpers out of the washing machine to drip dry. But otherwise, I leave it to the universe.

If you can't separate out your recycling, then don't. If you have a large amount of rubbish you need to get rid of but the idea of separating it out properly is stopping you from doing so, then just don't worry about it. I know it's not ideal, but if you have garbage in your room/house and you need to get rid of it, please just get rid of it. Don't let the problem get bigger and harder to deal with. Don't let "doing something properly" get in the way of keeping your living spaces clean. Please. Give yourself understanding.

If you can't wash your dishes, get paper plates. Obviously, it's not ideal, but it is better that you eat food than skipping meals. It is better that you have a clean kitchen, rather than having dishes piling up and making it harder to look after yourself.

If you can't prepare meals for yourself keep making the tasks easier and easier. If you can't do recipes, then simplify. Use pasta sauce from the jar instead of making it. Eat canned soup. Buy food you can just stick in the oven. If you eat fish fingers and microwave veggies every night, it's better than not eating anything at all. It's better than having to fork out money on take-out. If you need ready-made meals, then get them. If you're literally just eating a raw cauliflower for dinner; 1) I see you, 2) me too, sis, 3) something is better than nothing.

These are the basic things you need to do every day to function as a person. They are your activities of daily living. Brushing your teeth. Bathing or showering. Using the bathroom. Getting dressed. Eating. Drinking. Sleeping. Keeping your environment clean. You don't need to do these things perfectly, but they need to happen in order for you to have a decent quality of life.

And it breaks my heart, because I know that so many disabled people can't do these things every day. I'm not saying this to guilt or judge, I'm saying that these are basic needs; you deserve these things. These things bring dignity. If a disabled person is unable to do these things, it diminishes their quality of life. It robs them of dignity.

If you need help to do these things, Its okay to ask for help. It's okay to need help. But if you can't get that help and you have to do these things by yourself -- or you just plain want to be independent and do it without help-- then don't hold yourself to standards you can't meet.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. Even if it's not perfect. Even if it's not done well. Do what you can.

[theambivalentagender]

Fellow writers/comic artists/people involved in the writing thing in some way:

Do you ever get this problem where you watch a bunch of media produced and set in another country, and then when you go to write all the dialogue starts coming into your head filtered in the accent(s) and manners of speech of that country that are distinctly different from where you've set your work?

I've watched all of Good Omens twice in the past week and now as I'm trying to plan out the next Valley Echoes comic everyone's suddenly got strong British/Scottish accents.

[blackmesajanitor]

Hello? Could've sworn I fixed this thing— Oh..

Hello..? My friend— doctor. My doctor said that.. some kind of "diary" would help me with whatever he thinks I'm going through.. He says it's for the best.

I'm not good at writing, so I finally got around to fixing up this old camera.. I'm not sure if this'll work...

[ Riley is now open for questions! ]

[thevikingwoman]

I had some post 3.4 thoughts and wanted to put them out there

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV | Words: 691 | Read on Ao3

Meryta Khatin & Urianger Augurelt | post 3.4 Rating: G. Friendship, worrying for friends, dealing with everything

Wrong

Meryta sits on a box in the Rising Stones, her hands and her tail curled around her legs. It’s late, but she’s not quite ready to turn in. The last few days have been a whirlwind, too many things happening, too many questions and too few answers. She doesn’t want to be alone, but she’s not sure what to talk about either or with whom, so she’s stuck sitting with her thoughts in silence.

Urianger sits at the table next to the boxes, deep in his own thoughts. He said he’d return to the Waking Sands, but perhaps he’s not ready to be alone either. Her eyes wanders across the room. Most people have left, getting ready for their travels tomorrow. Papalymo is talking with – or at – Yda, though they both seem to be leaving. Meryta bites her lips.

“Meryta,” Urianger says, interrupting her thoughts, “prithee, art thou bothered?”

“I’m worried about Yda.”

Her happiness at seeing her friend again has faded, her gut telling her something is wrong. Yda almost sounded like her usual upbeat self, but only almost. She didn’t know the resistance meant that much to her, and she wonders what it means.

“Mayhaps thou should take thy inquiry to Yda herself.”

She shakes her head.

“I tried, but she didn’t say much.” Something changed in Yda, or maybe she herself changed and can no longer tell. Perhaps it’s just her own worries running ahead of her – after not knowing for so long that Yda – and Papalymo — was alive. Everyone has changed, she supposes.

“We can but wait and see what the fates bring us thenceforth.”

“Even if you did know, would you tell?”

Urianger tenses, his mouth drawn briefly, and then it’s gone.

“Sorry, that was unjust of me. I’m just very worried about my friend. I spend a long time worried about where she was and if she even was alive and now – now I worry more.”

“I see.” Urianger pauses, and looks down, fiddling with his ringbands. “Worrying about friends speaketh well of thy.”

Despite Alphinaud’s and everyone’s optimism at the meeting prior, she feels unsettled and she regrets her words. Thancred is nowhere to be found, even after his supportive words. Something has changed in him too. She can’t help him, not now but perhaps –

“Urianger. I spoke too rashly and – are you okay?”

“Your words were not without their reason. ‘Tis I who should inquire you the same, Meryta.”

She shrugs, then shakes her head. She doesn’t blame him for what he did. It seems to her he sees paths and possibilities others might not. She’d have asked someone if she’d had such a conundrum, but she’d have asked him. Or Alphinaud, perhaps, but she’s not sure he would have picked something sensible to do.

“It’s not the first time I’ve been sent to fight something, or someone.” She knows it’s not exactly what bothers him, or the scope of his unsanctioned bargain, but it’s part of it, and it’s the part she alone can forgive.

Urianger looks up, his gaze hidden behind those goggles of his.

“We oft have besieged thee to take arms against Primals and all manner of threat, but ne’er under deceptions shadow.”

“It would not have worked another way.” She curls her legs up under her. “Your expertise is welcome, Urianger. Don’t hide away completely in the Waking Sands, my friend.”

She doesn’t quite know if they’re friends, but it feels right to say it. They’re not not friends, and too many people, friends and almost friends, have died already. Urianger looked ready to bolt and never look back, and she knows that’s all wrong.

“I thank thee. My work taketh me thither, but I will not hide.”

She smiles, and she wishes she could see his eyes – she does not understand why he hides them beneath those goggles, his face inscrutable. Perhaps that’s the point. She’ll not soon forget those golden eyes of his, and some part of her wants to see them again, close and not across the battlefield.

“I will come visit, then.” She reaches out and pats his arm gently.

“That would please me.”

[unnamed-atlas]

Really disappointed to find out there isn't a community of people writing geowizard fics where he does his exploration missions in fictional settings. We need to start putting that guy in situations. Make him cross the elden ring map in a straight line and somehow come out perfectly fine at the end. I want him crossing Night Vale without using any roads and cutting through the dog park and somehow coming out the other end unscathed. I want that man thrown into a minecraft server like hermitcraft or empires and running around them in the same style as his 'how not to travel' series. I want him choosing a random direction, walking into the countryside, and ending up in rosswood park. I want him playing geoguesser in the adventure time universe and being cracked at it. Do you see my vision.

[ruporas]

wait. wait. wait. ive been staring at ur latest comic for awhile now and i think i've noticed something about the colors? which are amazing, first of all- just gotta get that out there cuz i adore that soft pink and deep green combo

but i just realized that throughout most of the comic u use both in equal parts it seems. to separate bg + fg and such, to highlight characters/objects, etc.

but then when vash gets back to their room, all the walls are that dark green. and, bit by bit, the pink totally falls off. by the end, it's nothing but constant dark green as vash starts to cry

but then wolfwood slams in and he's backed by that soft pink. and suddenly the comic is nothing BUT pink. soft lines and whites and gentle pink tones EVERYWHERE to just. SO tastefully highlight the little details.

LIKE. WAS THIS INTENTIONAL?! i almost wanna guess that it wasn't since all those green panels w vash crying are all closeups focused on his expression so it makes sense to just put the simple green behind it and all attention on him so the pink just isn't Needed

BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE EFFECT IS SO MASTERFUL THAT I WANNA BELIEVE IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INTENTIONAL

HEHE..... first of all, thank you for looking at my comic so closely, THAT'S LIKE... REALLY SWEET and a huge compliment to hear, thank u thank u

and yes, it was intentional, especially more towards the end!!! in general, the colors are meant to serve as a mood indicator, so a balance of them in a scene would just mean a neutral "okay-ness" and have a functional serve to separate background / foreground / subject matter... deep green signifies introspection or incoming sadness (especially on pg5 when vash cries), and pink signifies wolfwood, which, not an emotion but he is happiness, someone that helps vash lose his doubts in a matter of seconds -- which is why those last few pages are just pink white and lines, and the panels are gone for the majority of it. i wanted to show their unity and togetherness!

while vash still has his issues of just Not saying anything about his loneliness, his feelings are alleviated temporarily with wolfwood's presence and he's just grateful that his paranoia didn't become true, and that wolfwood is genuine, true to his word, when he means he'll be following vash/staying with him. even though it's mission-bound, vash would probably still feel guiltily comforted by that fact.

I'M GLAD IT WAS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE IN THIS COMIC because i definitely could've pushed it more... i figured it was a minor thing that not a lot of ppl would care for, but more ppl enjoyed it and noticed the colors than i thought, so i'm glad it worked out!!!

[galaxseacreature]

job interview tomorrow?!?!!!