China Nightingale @china-nightingale - Tumblr Blog

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cozyhobbit07

Matt and Alex hitting the stressed spider stance.

china-nightingale

Is it a mating ritual? 👀

clown-guitar

wow i cant wait to buy the jurgen leitner book based on hit series Don’t Read The Jurgen Leitner Book

#the magnus archives #I can’t believe I have no one to talk to about this #it’s the best thing they’ve done

crunchbuttsteak

imnotrevealingmyname

You can only reblog this on the 3st of January

oldfaeriiess

The Fears

Pixel art for The Magnus Archives :｡･:*:･ﾟ’★ please don’t repost or edit ｡･:*:･ﾟ’★ Available on redbubble and as cross stitch patterns on kofi!!

donuts-multifandom-hellhole

Something that I get chills about is the fact that the oldest story told made by the oldest civilization opens with "In those days, in those distant days, in those ancient nights."

This confirms that there is a civilization older than the Sumerians that we have yet to find

Some people get existential dread from this

Me? I think it's fucking awesome it shows just how much of this world we have yet to discover and that is just fascinating

sleepymccoy

@makaeru peer review cos this made me check when the Sumerians happened and I forget how recent history is for every other continent. 7000 - 8000 years ago just isn't that long when you're in Australia, and the amount of detailed history we have access to here is wonderful and should be recognised more internationally

Source (non Aboriginal)

And a quote I picked out from a longer interview with an Aboriginal local elder about the area where he touched on the history

Source (the rest of the interview is really interesting and all transcribed, have a look if you're curious)

chaotic-archaeologist

This is part of my Ancient Civilizations class that I teach, which does a whole week about Australia and the Torres Strait Islands because I was sick of never seeing them represented in USAmerican history contexts. With the help of @micewithknives and @acearchaeologist I've learned so many incredible things about Australia's past and it's been incredibly rewarding to share them with students.

aggressivelybicaptainamerica

My favorite fact about Aboriginal oral history is the fact that we pretty recently discovered that the Aboriginal myth of the 7 Sisters, an origin story for the Pleiades star cluster, accurately reflects a point TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO when two stars in the constellation got close enough together to no longer be distinguishable by the naked eye.

The story? 6 sisters running from something that took their 7th sister.

jinkohhh

as a gilgar gunditj woman, i was not expecting to see my culture on my dash.

thank you for spreading our words and treating our culture with respect.

megpie71

Boosting signal.

justgot1

Echoes from the ancient human past, wonderful.

meret118

Their oral history also contains stories about hunting prehistoric megafauna too. Native Australians are the oldest existing culture on earth, which is even more amazing considering how hard the british tried to wipe it out.

Budji Bim volcano.

capricorn-0mnikorn

I actually looked up the story of The Seven Sisters / Pleiades on Wikipedia, the other day, 'cause I woke up from a dream that mentioned how ancient that story was. And I wanted to check how much of that was invented in-dream, and how much I was remembering something I learned while I was awake.

According to that article, some astronomers think that story is not ten thousand years old; they believe it to be a Hundred Thousand years old.

wizardnuke

fake relationship but its a king and his concubine that was once an amazing soldier but he couldn’t go up the ranks for whatever reason so the king was like listen. hear me out. you can be my strategy dude. u just gotta be okay w walking around shirtless a lot. and soldier dude is like man that’s an UPSIDE and yknow they end up falling in love

aethersea

some idiot advisor: I can’t believe his majesty lets his boytoy attend these council meetings, it’s an insult to the noble institutions that uphold our nation, it’s an outrage—

a somewhat smarter advisor: you’re just mad bc he pointed out how dumb your naval attack strategy and no one laughed when you made a mean joke about him

fieldbears

Boytoy has gone from a top fighter who was well respected but in constant danger to wearing silks and eating grapes on daises. That fucked up rotator cuff was the best thing to ever happen to him

mzminola

Bonus points: at least half the other concubines are experts in assorted fields, the monarch brings them to relevant meetings to both play up a reputation for frivolity, and make sure at least one person there doesn’t have an outside agenda.

aethersea

my harem?

did you mean: my chief strategic advisors

kitten-kin

The kingdom is an absolute monarchy but the harem has become a secret meritocracy. The nobles and official advisors kind of side-eye His Majesty because wow some of these consorts must have like…really good personalities. Kings of the past have had their own specific tastes of course; size, shape, age, color, et cetera. More than one ruler has interviewed consorts feet first and Ardwin the Adventurous’s obsession - God rest him - with snuffling armpits like a sow rooting for mushrooms is well known despite never being alluded to in polite company.

The worst part of it is that the new king takes at least part of his harem with him everywhere and it’s so embarrassing. The Counselors of War have never once met with His Divine Majesty without that hulking battle-scarred consort interrupting with muttered growls or scornful snorts. And the Ministers of Finance all flinch at the sight of that fox-faced one, rumored to have been rescued from the gallows because His Augustness took a fancy to his eyes or some such nonsense. General petition days are even worse, with practically the entire harem drifting in and out of the Grand Hall in turns, insouciant and smug like granary cats who know they’ve been given full run of the courtyards and barns.

It’s absolutely infuriating that the kingdom has never before known such a period of peace and prosperity under this ridiculous monarch.

absolutely-esme

It has not yet occurred to anyone that, perhaps, his highness has a competence kink.

It will, eventually, and at least a few people are going to be embarrassed it didn’t occur to them sooner.

“Well, you won’t be catching the king’s eye,” becomes an entirely different sort of insult than foreigners tend to assume.

lastoneout

This website is too mobile focused these days. Reblog and tell me what your desktop/laptop background is.

lastoneout

Girl help people in the notes are calling me rich and privileged for owning a computer.

times-chu

Guys if your definition of wealth is "owning a computer" then I'm sorry but you're not ready for the revolution. Listen, when the lord of the land makes his subjects stand in the open rain, their enemy is not the man who wore a hat.

daroaringknight

another fire ass line from a random ass tumblr post lets go

#reblogging for prosperity

wisteria-lodge

So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.) Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results:

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory)

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.)

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.)

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.)

#writing #character questions #character building

vvitchllng

Brennan really said here is an absolute nightmare of a prison industrial complex perpetuated by a guy who has coined himself the Strife Emperor, bent on using people who disagreed with him or his agenda (or simply people he and his underlings needed to make an example of) to the absolute limit of their “usefulness” to further his goals and supplement the war he was waging elsewhere. It is a devastatingly brutal place that allows for those given a modicum of privilege and power to turn around and enact vicious cruelty on the ones seen as beneath them, designed intentionally to destroy their ability to hope or dream of a better future and it has been this way for years and years.

It was brought down by creatures considered so small and weak as to be insignificant, who, by working together for as long as it took, found the cracks in the foundations and brought down a seemingly impenetrable stone fortress.

*looks directly at the camera* Which Could Mean Nothing.

homunculus-argument

A knight is to a highwayman as a sheepdog is to a wolf - a noble protector of the innocent and helpless, only thanks to a master that feeds him. Vaguely knowing somewhere deep down, that were he just as hungry, as desperate as the wolf, he would prey on them just the same.

crunchbuttsteak

imnotrevealingmyname

You can only reblog this on the 3st of January

abbaswift

not to be a number nerd on main but 2025 (45^2) will be the only square year most of us ever experience. the last one was 1936 and the next one will be 2116

motherfucker-unlimited

writing-prompt-s

Couples receive “parent points”, which they can use to purchase their children. Most parents wait for a few thousand, but you chose to buy the cheaper, 100 point child.

caffeinewitchcraft

Shane knows what it’s like to be a 100 point child. He knows how it feels to see potential parents–potential families–come through the facilities doors, faces bright with excitement. He knows how it feels to see them reading the little plaques on the nursery doors, scanning the lists there for the right bits of knowledge and etiquette and grace that they want their baby to have.

He knows how it feels to see their faces pinch outside the window before they hurry to the next room.

Shane grew up in a 100 point nursery. They had torn, ratty, books and no teachers, and when snack time came, the tray was pushed through a slat in the door. They were called “unruly” and “damaged” and “stupid.” A lot of the other kids threw tantrums and broke furniture (and sometimes other kids). A lot of the other kids went quiet after the first few years when they realized they’d never be adopted until they were old enough (or pretty enough) to be useful. A lot of the kids cried and didn’t stop until they got taken away or were aged out.

Shane’s grown up a lot since aging out. He put himself through school, got himself a job, shed his 100 points like the torn clothes he’d left the facility in. He’s powerful now, successful, and he’s grown out of the twisted nose, big ears, and gap-toothed smile that had made him one of the less attractive 100 point babies. Or maybe he’s grown into them. Who’s to say?

It’s taken him a long time to get enough Parent Points to do what he wants. Being a man is, for once, somewhat hindering as most of society equates “parental” with “maternal.” He’s lost count of how many social workers have politely hid expressions of surprise when he told them he wanted to adopt stag, that he’s willing to take the classes, get the grades, make the oaths to get even one Parent Point.

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