isaacattwood04

[saturdaysky]

Gale of Minrathous

Dragon Age AU where Gale is a Tevinter magister who accidentally infected himself with red lyrium. He's found a way to halt the lyrification. Mostly.

More tidbits:

Devout Andrastian with a bit of Leliana's "the Maker speaks to me" thing going, except it's "Andraste—so obviously a mage btw, I have 5000 words prepared and ready to go on this topic—sings to me, magic prodigy"

"therefore I am sure to be the one to unlock the secrets of this powerful, strange new lyrium that is singing to m—oh. golly. that went poorly"

joins the inquisition after he emerges from isolation and his former peers have all become Venatori. If his own folly has emptied the sand from his hourglass, why not spend the little time that remains to him serving Andraste's chosen?

0 moral qualms about blood magic except that all participants must be willing. All magic is neutral—its use determines whether it is good or bad

Tara is his possessed cat, who has lived far longer than a cat should, but Gale isn't complaining. who says abominations can't like chin scritches

talks about Minrathous, a lot

would break open the heavens to see the throne of the Maker, just for the experience

Final AU thoughts under the cut!

what the magisterium doesn't want you to see:

the staff that I know, deep in my heart, Gale uses and insists is artistic:

[ri-afan]

Anyone got a story where Amity Park becomes independent without the rest of the USA noticing until some hero stumbles upon (or crash lands in) it?

[weiwei-uplink]

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

A lesson in the lustful female Gayze™: LA RELIGIEUSE / THE NUN (1966), dir. Jacques Rivette

[slobfern]

does anyone have more games that are just like. stories told through a virtual internet? it's a really weird niche medium i love

examples if what i meant made no sense

[kris-mage-fics]

FMK: Shepherds of Haven

Here's the wheel of spinning!

Note 1: I didn't include Mimir or Neon since they're both aroace and it felt wrong to me to put them in the running when "fuck" is an option. Yes, not all aces are sex repulsed, but since I don't know their stance on it, I decided to error on the side of caution.

Note 2: If you land on "A Faceless Lord", you get to pick which one! (Pretend this is me being magnanimous instead of getting tired and not wanting to look up how to spell all their names to add them individually, lol!)

[thepersassiest]

strong - thominewt

the chubby!minho safe haven fic that we all needed <3

When Thomas had awoken in the box and been thrown into life in the Glade, he couldn’t have even dreamed up a life like the one he was living now. The air was fresher, the sun didn't scorch his skin, the food was never scarce, and the constant torture and fight for survival that had previously dominated his life had ceased entirely. Thomas and Minho had been reunited with Newt (blood on the knife - don’t ask.) and the three of them had begun building a future together in their Safe Haven. They hadn’t taken the time to define their relationship, but they didn’t need to. Thomas knew how he felt about his two best friends, and knew that they loved him and each other all the same. Nothing could change that, despite how much their lives had changed in the last year.

One of the most significant changes, however, had been in Minho. Thomas remembered the first time he noticed a change in the older boy’s physique. It had been a quiet morning, the three of them lounging in the sun outside of their small house. Newt had cooked them breakfast, a hearty meal of eggs, bacon, fruit, and fresh bread. Minho had eaten in slight excess, as he often did, but Thomas noticed how his friend’s muscular frame had softened. There was a small, yet undeniable, swell to his belly.

Thomas was beyond ecstatic. He had no trouble remembering how Minho had been around food when they had first arrived at the Safe Haven. How thin and weak the boy had been from months of living in captivity with WCKED. How his appetite was small, and he could often barely keep his food down. Even once he was able to eat, his mental state was so bad that he hardly wanted to. It took their reunion with Newt and months of coaxing to get Minho eating comfortably the way he was now, and Thomas couldn't get enough.

"So handsome." He would often tease, his hand resting on Minho's softened stomach as he leaned in to steal a kiss, never shying away from pointing out the boy’s weight gain. Every chance he got, he would reach out and touch Minho's belly, marveling at the softness. He loved the way it felt under his hands, how it rounded under his palm, and gave a little when he pressed into it. It was a constant, tangible reminder that they were safe, that Minho didn't have to run himself into the ground anymore.

Minho's face would always turn a little red, but Thomas could see the corner of his lips twitch into a smile. "Slim it," he muttered, but there was no bite to his words.

read the full fic on ao3:

inspired by this post:

[frogaroundandfindout]

Nightwing tells Batman he’s going to be a cop and Batman wonders what more he can do as Bruce Wayne (Detective Comics #725)

[illuminesce]

In December of last year, @mabbees and I gave a talk at Nerd Nite Tokyo about a genre of games that have been called "desktop simulators" or "UI games"—essentially, a narrative fiction that takes place entirely within an interface, whether it be a smartphone, an old school Mac, or an imaginary interface in hypnospace.

We called these types of games "Interface Dramas," as in, "telling dramatic stories through the use of interfaces."

We think this should be its own defined genre and should be something games can be tagged as on Steam, just like "point-and-click adventure" games or "story-rich" games.

Check out the transcript of our talk—it goes over what interface dramas have in common with other adjacent genres such as interactive fiction, visual novels, simulation games, and alternate reality games, and what makes them different.

View transcript and slides here.

Games featured in the cover images are:

Terranova

Her Story

SIMULACRA

Hypnospace Outlaw

[iamgonnagetyouback]

Cute, Not Beautiful

"Always the cute one, never the bloom, with cheeks all flushed, brightening a room. I wore the name like a daisy crown, a soft, sweet thing, no need to frown.

But today, in one careless breath, you called me cute, then turned to bless another with "beautiful" — your voice so sure, as if “beautiful” was something pure, and “cute” just an echo, small and light, a playful spark, not warm nor bright.

Now I wonder, just for a while, if I’m more than charm, if I can beguile — or if this “cute” could be why I stand alone with daisy chains in hand."

It never bothered me when I was younger — cute was just a name, a harmless word like a warm nickname from friends. I was the one people called adorable, the one who made everyone laugh. But now… now, it feels different. Cute is a word they use to sideline, to say, “she's sweet, she's safe.” It's the word that says, not her.

And it stung in a way I didn’t expect, hearing my friends say they couldn’t imagine me dating someone. Me, a hopeless romantic through and through, aching to know what it feels like to be adored in that way. Not because they didn’t love me, but because they loved me as a friend, as someone whose hand they held like a sibling. And somehow, that love was supposed to be enough. But it wasn’t.

I’ve always wanted more. I wanted to be the one someone would wait for, the one someone would show up early to school for, just to see my face when I walked in. I wanted to be someone’s reason to be there, to be the heartbeat in someone’s chest, the girl who was worth every anxious moment of waiting. But I never knew what that felt like. I was never the one who caught someone’s eye and held it long enough for them to feel drawn in, spellbound. No one’s first choice, no one’s “beautiful.”

I want to be more than just cute. I want to know what it feels like to be seen as beautiful, to be seen as someone worth missing, someone worth hoping for. Because it hurts. It hurts to feel like something small, something precious but never enough. It’s not that I don’t love who I am; I do. I love the way my friends smile at me, and I love being their comfort. But still, there's this ache, this yearning to be adored in a way that’s different, a way that fills the quiet spaces with warmth and longing.

I want someone to see me — not as just cute, but as someone who could take their breath away.

[katrinahays]

here is a list of books I love that everyone should read.

-The folk of the air series by Holly black (cruel prince, wicked king, etc).

-Six of crows duoligy/king of scars by Leigh Bardugo duoligy.

-Witch haven duoligy by Sasha Payton Smith.

-Nightworld series by L. J. Smith (unfinished series).

-The things she's seen by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina.

-Nimona by N. D. Stevenson.

-Lore by Alexandra Bracken.

-Shamaborn series by Lori M. Lee.

-The secret circle series by L. J. Smith.

-Entertwined by Heather Dixon.

-The Guardians series by William Joyce.

-The Forbidden Game by L. J. Smith.

-King Nyx by Kirsten Bakis

-Any books by Flame Tree (mythology/history!!!).

I love all of these books so much, no matter what people say. if anyone wants to know about them, just lmk!

[doghearted]

my angel farmer 💗

[raurquiz]

#Happybirthday @CobieSmulders #cobiesmulders #actress #mariahill #TheAvengers #CaptainAmerica #TheWinterSoldier #AgeofUltron #InfinityWar #Endgame #SpiderMan #FarFromHome #AgentsofSHIELD #WhatIf #SecretInvasion #HowIMetYourMother #TheLegoMovie #TheIntervention #JackReacher

[teddybearsandspaceships]

From an in-universe/lore perspective I am fascinated by Grian telling Scar to log out so that Grian and Etho could fulfil their shared task. Sure Scar was having a hard time but that was just an unlucky coincidence. Grian the admin - and I don´t remember him mentioning that he´s the admin, he can determine and/or bend the rules, this often in previous seasons - told Scar to leave the server in order to give himself an advantage. (Yes it was also advantageous to Scar, but that seemed to be (?) a side effect.) Scar did, and so did Etho, who Grian did not explicitly tell to do so. Depending on your take on what "logging out" means that seems super interesting.

[thebirchtreesmightbewatchingme]

Alex is writing PGLF fanfic.

I really like this game and have been wanting to do a fanart for ages. It's pridemonth so I took that as a reason to finally do it

[stone-stars]

songs in c3e58: giant egos (timestamps from the ad-free version. does not include the generic combat music. “a wizard’s tournament” is the recap song.)

The Scrappers - 9:49

Spearmint & Tea Leaves - 27:26 and 29:32

Left is Left and Right is Center - 33:14

The Bronze Bastard - 34:42

Snake Skirmish - 35:17

Sea Elves - 35:33

All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web - 35:49

A Fairy Remembers - 43:00

All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web - 45:39

A Haven Away from Home - 49:22

Left is Left and Right is Center - 51:11

A Memory - 53:31

A Fairy Remembers - 55:43

Secret Basement - 1:00:16

All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web - 1:02:42

Shadowfell - 1:06:27

Illsed's Secret - 1:11:18

The Purge - 1:14:34

context for each song + notes under the cut!

The Scrappers - 9:49 - Giant's war map / the giants defrosting

Spearmint & Tea Leaves - 27:26 and 29:32 - Callie addresses the giants while playing a fey lullaby / convinces them to talk

Left is Left and Right is Center - 33:14 - Giants argue about who should rule

The Bronze Bastard - 34:42 - High Ember Lord Charbin's intro (Fire Giant)

Snake Skirmish - 35:17 - Stone Commander Basalt Von Shale's intro (Stone Giant)

Sea Elves - 35:33 - Wavemother Akoralil's intro (Water/Fish Giant)

All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web - 35:49 - Garrosh, Master of Whispers, introduces himself (Cloud Giant)

A Fairy Remembers - 43:00 - Callie tells the giants about the serpents and Oberon's prophecy

All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web - 45:39 - Garrosh suggests that Raedak's election could've been influenced magically by him

A Haven Away from Home - 49:22 - Akoralil takes the giants to the Feywild

Left is Left and Right is Center - 51:11 - Garrosh admits to seeing Aryox's divination room

A Memory - 53:31 - Garrosh tells them about the Archfey in the Feywild during his time

A Fairy Remembers - 55:43 - Garrosh bows to Oberon/Foster

Secret Basement - 1:00:16 - Garrosh talks about Raedak's bloodlust and Havoc

All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web - 1:02:42 - Telling Garrosh about their encounters with Havoc and Gowan's presence

Shadowfell - 1:06:27 - Looking for the source of Havoc's smoke

Illsed's Secret - 1:11:18 - Moving deeper in to the hallway with the mist, moving towards Havoc's source

The Purge - 1:14:34 - Scrawled writing / Gowan in the carvings

Note: Berelain (the hill giant) just gets a generic combat song as her intro.