oil and water

★
art blog(derogatory)
Cosmic Funnies
d e v o n
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
trying on a metaphor
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
hello vonnie
One Nice Bug Per Day

tannertan36
Stranger Things
Game of Thrones Daily

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祝日 / Permanent Vacation
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
h

Love Begins
occasionally subtle

Discoholic 🪩
$LAYYYTER

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@emmayame
oil and water
Pumpkin
🎃Happy Halloween from Kadara!🎃
Awesome Sites and Links for Writers
Just about every writer out there has several go-to websites that they use when it comes to their writing. Be it for creativity, writer’s block, to put you in the mood or general writing help. These are mine and I listed them in hopes that you’ll find something that you’ll like or find something useful. I’ve also included some websites that sounded interesting, but I haven’t tried out yet.
Spelling & Grammar
Grammar Girl – Grammar Girl’s famous Quick and Dirty Tips (delivered via blog or podcast) will help you keep your creative writing error free.
The Owl – is Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) it's a great resource for grammar guides, style tips and other information that can help with your writing, especially academics.
Tip of My Tongue — have you ever had trouble of thinking of a specific word that you can’t remember what it is? Well, this site will help you narrow down your thoughts and find that word you’ve been looking for. It can be extremely frustrating when you have to stop writing because you get a stuck on a word, so this should help cut that down.
Free Rice – is a great way to test your vocabulary knowledge. What’s even better about this site is that with every correct answer, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. So, please disable your adblock since they use the ads on the site to generate the money to buy the rice.
HyperGrammar – the University of Ottawa offers up a one-stop guide for proper spelling, structure, and punctuation on this site.
AutoCrit – the AutoCrit Editing Wizard can check writing for grammar errors, clichés and other no-no’s. It also provides a number of other writing resources as well.
Writer’s Digest – learn how to improve your writing, find an agent, and even get published with the help of the varied blogs on this site.
Syntaxis – it allows you to test your knowledge of grammar with a ten-question quiz. The questions change every time you take the quiz so users are sure to be challenged each time around. It definitely helps writers know if there’s something that they need to brush up on.
Word Frequency Counter – this counter allows you to count the frequency usage of each word in your text.
EditMinion – is a free robotic copy editor that helps you to refine your writing by finding common mistakes.
Proofreading for Common Errors – this is a simple tutorial on proofreading your writing by Indiana University.
BBC – has a section for helping you with your skills, especially in writing, from grammar to spelling, to reading, to listening and to speaking.
Tools
Copyscape – is a free service that you can use to learn if anyone has plagiarized your work. It’s pretty useful for those that want to check for fanfiction plagiarism.
Plagium – is another a copy detection system, that provides a very similar service to Copyscape and uses Yahoo! rather than Google to perform its searches. Just keep in mind that searches for simple text up to 25,000 characters remains free of charge, but any larger requires credits to be purchase.
Write or Die – is an application for Windows, Mac and Linux which aims to eliminate writer’s block by providing consequences for procrastination.
Written? Kitten! – is just like Write or Die, but it’s a kinder version. They use positive reinforcement, so every time you reach a goal they reward you with an adorable picture of a kitten.
Fast Fingers – offers you an easy way to improve your typing skills. It’s puts you through a quick typing game that tests your typing speed and improves it at the same time. It’s also a great way for writers to warm up.
Information & Data
RefDesk – it has an enormous collection of reference materials, searchable databases and other great resources that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s great to use when you need to find something and check your facts.
Bib Me – it makes it easy to create citations, build bibliographies and acknowledge other people’s work. This is definitely something that academics will love. It’s basically a bibliography generator that automatically fills in a works cited page in MLA, APA, Chicago or Turbian formats.
Internet Public Library – this online library is full of resources that are free for anyone to use, from newspaper and magazine articles to special collections.
The Library of Congress – if you’re looking for primary documents and information, the Library of Congress is a great place to start. It has millions of items in its archives, many of which are accessible right from the website.
Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names – is the most accurate list of popular names from 1879 to the present. If your character is from America and you need a name for them, this gives you a accurate list of names, just pick the state or decade that your character is from.
WebMD – is a handy medical database loaded with information. It’s not a substitute for a doctor, but can give you a lot of good information on diseases, symptoms, treatments, etc.
Google Scholar - is an online, freely accessible search engine that lets users look for both physical and digital copies of articles. It searches a wide variety of sources, including academic publishers, universities, and preprint depositories and so on. While Google Scholar does search for print and online scholarly information, it is important to understand that the resource is not a database.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac – this classic almanac offers yearly information on astronomical events, weather conditions and forecasts, recipes, and gardening tips.
State Health Facts – Kaiser Family Foundation provides this database, full of health facts on a state-by-state basis that address everything from medicare to women’s health.
U.S. Census Bureau – you can learn more about the trends and demographics of America with information drawn from the Census Bureau’s online site.
Wikipedia – this shouldn’t be used as your sole source, but it can be a great way to get basic information and find out where to look for additional references.
Finding Data on the Internet – a great website that list links that can tell you where you can find the inflation rate, crime statistics, and other data.
Word References
RhymeZone – whether you’re writing poetry, songs, or something else entirely, you can get help rhyming words with this site.
Acronym Finder – with more than 565,000 human-edited entries, Acronym Finder is the world’s largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initials.
Symbols.com – is a unique online encyclopedia that contains everything about symbols, signs, flags and glyphs arranged by categories such as culture, country, religion, and more.
OneLook Reverse Dictionary – is a dictionary that lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be a few words, a sentence, a question, or even just a single word.
The Alternative Dictionaries – is a site that you can look up slang words in all types of languages, including Egyptian Arabic, Cherokee, Cantonese, Norwegian and many, many others.
Online Etymology Dictionary – it gives you the history and derivation of any word. Etymologies are not definitions; they’re explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.
MediLexicon – is a comprehensive dictionary of medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health care abbreviations and acronyms.
Merriam Webster Online – the online version of the classic dictionary also provides a thesaurus and a medical dictionary.
Multilingual Dictionary – it translate whatever you need from 30 different languages with this easy-to-use site.
Writing Software
Open Office – why pay for Microsoft products when you can create free documents with Open Office? This open source software provides similar tools to the Microsoft Office Suite, including spreadsheets, a word processor, the ability to create multimedia presentations, and more.
LibreOffice – is a free and open source office suite. It was forked from OpenOffice.org in 2010, which was an open-sourced version of the earlier StarOffice. The LibreOffice suite comprises programs to do word processing, spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams and drawings, maintain databases, and compose math formula.
Scrivener – is not a free program, but it’s certainly a very popular one. It's great for organizing research, planning drafts, and writing novels, articles, short stories, and even screenplays.
OmmWriter – is for Mac OS X, a free simple text processor that gives you a distraction free environment. So you can focus only on your writing without being tempted or distracted by other programs on your computer. They are currently working on a Windows version of their software as well, so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested.
FocusWriter – is another free distraction-free writing application that keeps your writing space simple and clean without sacrificing functionality. It includes a daily goal tracker—work count and time spent writing—spell checking, real-time feedback on variables like word and page count, and tabbed document browsing. The great thing about this is that it's available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Q10 – is a free portable distraction-free writing tool for Windows. The interface includes nothing but a tiny bar at the bottom that displays the character, word, and page count—you can toggle the bar off for a totally distraction free workspace.
Evernote – is a free app for your smartphone and computer that stores everything you could possibly imagine losing track of, like a boarding pass, receipt, article you want to read, to do list, or even a simple typed note. The app works brilliantly, keeping everything in sync between your computer, smartphone, or tablet. It’s definitely a useful app for writers when you have ideas on the go.
Storybook – this open source software can make it easier to manage your plotlines, characters, data, and other critical information while penning a novel.
ScriptBuddy – is a full-fledged screenplay software program. It handles the proper screenplay format automatically, so you can concentrate on your story. It is easy to use and the basic version is free.
TheSage – is a free application, which is a comprehensive English dictionary and thesaurus that provides a number of useful and in some cases unusual search tools.
Sigil – is ideal for e-book authors because it's a free EPUB editor with a stack of essential features.
YWriter5 – is a free word processor and is designed for Windows XP, Vista and beyond. It's a small but very comprehensive tool which helps you to plan your novel. It breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create. You can set up deadlines, for instance, and the program’s Work Schedule report will let you know how much you’ll have to do, each day, to finish on time. You can even enter your characters, locations and items and freely organize them into scenes. This definitely sounds like it’ll be useful for NaNoWriMo writers.
Kingsoft Office (WPS Office) – is an office suite for Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS and Android OS. The basic version is free to use, but a fully featured professional-grade version is also available. This software allows users to view, create and share office documents that are fully compatible with dozens of document formats, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel. In other words, the format is similar to a Microsoft Word document (.DOC or .DOCX file) and supports formatted text, images, and advanced page formatting. Kingsoft Writer documents can be converted to Microsoft Word *.doc files in the software.
Creativity, Fun & Miscellaneous
National Novel Writing Month – is one of the most well-known writing challenges in the writing community, National Novel Writing Month pushes you to write 50,000 words in 30 days (for the whole month of November).
WritingFix – a fun site that creates writing prompts on the spot. The site currently has several options—prompts for right-brained people, for left-brained people, for kids—and is working to add prompts on classic literature, music and more.
Creative Writing Prompts – the site is exactly what it says. They have 100+ and more, of prompts that you can choose from.
My Fonts – is the world’s largest collection of fonts. You can even upload an image containing a font that you like, and this tells you what it is.
Story Starters – this website offers over one trillion randomly generated story starters for creative writers.
The Gutenberg Project – this site is perfect for those who like to read and/or have an ereader. There’s over 33,000 ebooks you can download for free.
The Imagination Prompt Generator – click through the prompts to generate different ideas in response to questions like “Is there a God?” and “If your tears could speak to you, what would they say?”
The Phrase Finder – this handy site helps you hunt down famous phrases, along with their origins. It also offers a phrase thesaurus that can help you create headlines, lyrics, and much more.
Storybird – this site allows you to write a picture book. They provided the gorgeous artwork and you create the story for it, or just read the stories that others have created.
Language Is a Virus – the automatic prompt generator on this site can provide writers with an endless number of creative writing prompts. Other resources include writing exercises and information on dozens of different authors.
Background Noise/Music
SimplyNoise – a free white noise sounds that you can use to drown out everything around you and help you focus on your writing.
Rainy Mood – from the same founders of Simply Noise, this website offers the pleasant sound of rain and thunderstorms. There's a slide volume control, which you can increase the intensity of the noise (gentle shower to heavy storm), thunder mode (often, few, rare), oscillation button, and a sleep timer.
Coffitivity – a site that provides three background noises: Morning Murmur (a gentle hum), Lunchtime Lounge (bustling chatter), and University Undertones (campus cafe). A pause button is provided whenever you need a bladder break, and a sliding volume control to give you the freedom to find the perfect level for your needs and moods. It’s also available as an android app, iOS app, and for Mac desktop.
Rainy Cafe – it provides background chatter in coffee shops (similar to Coffitivity) AND the sound of rain (similar to Simply Rain). There’s also individual volume and on/off control for each sound category.
MyNoise: Online Fire Noise Generator – If you love the sound of fire crackling in a fireplace, this is the site for you.
8tracks – is an internet radio website and everyone can listen for free. Unlike other music oriented social network such as Pandora or Spotify, 8tracks doesn’t have commercial interruption. Users create free accounts and can either browse the site and listen to other user-created mixes, and/or they can create their own mixes. It’s a perfect place to listen to other writer’s playlist, share yours or find music for specific characters or moods.
Quiet mornings are the best.
Vacation
🍹🏖️☀️
We asked Reyes about his relationship with fellow smuggler Zia.
REYES VIDAL | Mass Effect: Andromeda
Your code name — “Shena.” What’s it mean?
It’s the angaran word for “mouth.” I’m good with words.
Writing Tag Game
Tagged by the most wonderful people: @mordinette and @lonyn. Thank you so much <3
How many works do you have on AO3?
5
What’s your total AO3 word count?
40,604 words
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
1. Element of surprise (MEA, Reyes Vidal / Female Ryder): 62
2. Binary star (ME, Garrus / Female Shepard): 56
3. Coffee with sugar (MEA, Reyes Vidal / Female Ryder): 49
4. Puzzle pieces (MEA, Reyes Vidal / Female Ryder): 40
5. Non-verbal communication (MEA, Reyes Vidal / Female Ryder): 40
Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
Always! I don’t get them often, so when I do, it’s like a little Christmas for me :) And it IS an awesome way to meet lovely people and make new friends!
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
None yet, but Puzzle pieces are certainly heading that way!
What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
Probably, it’s Coffee with sugar that gets the prize - for now.
Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?
Nope. Though I don’t exclude that possibility in the future!
Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Not yet, thankfully!
Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
I am certainly going to! But I’ll need to get brave enough first :D
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Hopefully not!
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Nope - though I am thinking about translating my works into my native language.
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not quite, but my amazing friend @artsyblacksheep used to give me tons of inspiration and ideas, which came very close to co-writing, really!
What’s your all-time favorite ship?
Female Shepard / Garrus AND Reyes / Female Ryder. If I have to choose I’ll burst, so please don’t make me :)
What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
I have started a Detroit: Become Human story which I really cherish, but I am afraid I won’t have the time to finish it.
What are your writing strengths?
Sometimes I can do decent descriptions (I think), and rather good dialogues.
What are your writing weaknesses?
Not being a native English speaker. Honestly, that’s the root of ALL my writing problems.
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
It’s cool if it’s a language that I know, but it can a bit problematic if it isn’t. Still, if it’s something romantic being said ... and in Spanish... not knowing it that well is not a problem :D
What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Harry Potter - though those fics have never seen the light of day.
What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?
At the moment, and if we choose from the finished ones, it’s probably Non-verbal communication.
Seems like everyone I know has already participated - I am super late to this party! *shuffles awkwardly into a dark corner*
On Commenting
I used to be one of those readers who just left Kudos on fics and very, VERY rarely commented.
Then, because of some of the posts I’ve seen here (and on Twitter), I started trying to at least leave a heart, or other, emoji comment on chapter updates for fics I subscribe to; sometimes using gifs, occasionally leaving longer comments, and commenting on one-shots.
I’m still mostly at that point but, thinking about those posts more, I am starting to try to leave comments on multi-chapter fics as I go (struggling, but trying); even if some of the chapter comments I leave are “just heart emojis,” when my spoons are low or I have no words (I’m not usually good with words). The feedback from writers has been, honestly, both heartwarming & heartbreaking.
Fanfic writers, of every caliber, are sharing a gift with us every time they post. And they are so appreciative of, what feels to me like, tiny crumbs of feedback. It blows my mind a little.
I mean, long comments filled with “I loved x” or “that phrasing there was so amazing” or “so and so tied back to y chapters and xyz and I can’t believe…” have got to be even better to receive, so if you can do that… please do.
But I’ve seen, firsthand, that even tiny, consistent, comments can make a big impact on someone’s day.
So toss a heart to your writers.
If you’re reading on your phone/tablet, emojis are on your keyboard. If you’re on a PC, you can insert a ♥ heart by holding down the Alt button and the 3 on the NumPad, on a Mac it’s Option and 2661. Or you can keep a tab open to Emojipedia and their thousands of emojis.
The Other Side
6/?
Now that he’s left the realm of the living, Nihlus might not be able to mentor Shepard like he was supposed to, but he can still help her… from the other side.
A Mass Effect ghost story
Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Female Shepard & ghost!Nihlus Kryik
Big, big thanks to the wonderful @tristinaifor beta reading. <3
**
Chapter 6: Shore Leave
Shepard watched the Citadel’s glimmering lights through the skycar’s windows as Garrus flew them past the crowded commercial and residential districts of the ward. Eventually, the buildings began to thin out, with more and more green space popping up between them, and few minutes later they touched down by a lovely little plaza with a fountain in the middle and a row of well-kept exotic trees on each side.
While Garrus shut off the engine, Shepard climbed out of the cab and looked around. This late in the night cycle, the place was nearly deserted, but the surrounding buildings’ glass facade still sparkled under the artificial light. Together with the greenery, it was quite a pleasant picture. It wasn’t exactly an upscale neighborhood, but it was nice.
“How long have you lived here?” she asked when Garrus joined her by the side of the car.
Garrus waved an inviting hand at the building across the plaza, and they set out on the short trek to its metal doors.
“We moved to the Citadel from Palaven when I was six,” he said. “I went to school here and spent my school breaks back on Palaven. Left for bootcamp at fifteen.”
Shepard nodded, her gaze sliding from the bubbling water in the fountain to the silvery leaves scattered on the ground under the thick canopies of the trees, and tried to imagine him as a young boy.
“I came back to join C-Sec the same year my father retired and he and my mother moved back to Palaven,” he went on. “He wanted to sell the place and I needed somewhere to live, so we made a deal. That was… hm. About seven years ago.”
They stopped as they arrived at the door and Garrus pushed a button on an input panel that was mounted on the wall to the right. The screen lit up, he entered a series of numbers, and waited for the door to open.
Yet, it didn’t.
Read the rest on AO3
Preliminary sketch for my favourite scene from Six of Crows! It’s the first time it’s crystal clear how much Inej means to Kaz 🖤
The Other Side
5/?
Now that he’s left the realm of the living, Nihlus might not be able to mentor Shepard like he was supposed to, but he can still help her… from the other side.
A Mass Effect ghost story
Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Female Shepard & ghost!Nihlus Kryik
Big, big thanks to the wonderful @tristinai for beta reading. <3
**
Chapter 5: Horizon
Shepard stood in the main battery with one hip braced against the metal railing, and listened to Garrus as he talked about Omega, Archangel, and the team he’d put together to defend the helpless from the worst scum of the galaxy.
She remembered the bodies she’d seen lying on the floor at their hideout, laid out in neat rows and carefully covered in tarp. Back there, they’d been faceless casualties of a war she’d only seen the end result of. Now, they became real people with names and skills and unique personalities.
Garrus raged about the traitor whose betrayal had ended their lives, and Shepard finally understood what Nihlus had meant about Garrus’s state of mind.
Guilt and anger were a dangerous combination. They could lead to decisions you could never take back. And yet, she got it. If this had happened to her people… If she’d been just an hour late and had found Garrus’s lifeless body in a pool of blood on the floor, his corpse added to the rest of his team’s… she would feel the same. She, too, would want to tear the galaxy apart until she found the person who had sold them out.
“Do you know where Sidonis is now?” she asked.
Garrus shook his head. “Not yet. But I’ll find out. And when I do, he’ll pay for what he did.”
Shepard nodded, and pushed away from the railing. “Let me know when you have a lead.”
**
Read the rest on AO3
Uppercase planner September illustration~
WIP Whenever
I was tagged by @crackinglamb, thank you! :)
I've just finished chapter 5 of The Other Side (a Mass Effect ghost story), so I have something new to post. Here's a little snippet:
*
Shopping with Garrus was a whole lot of fun.
First, they checked out an inter-species clothing store for some new civvies, and took turns making jokes about each other’s color and fashion choices until the sales clerk politely asked them to leave.
Next, they picked through the new weapons and mods at the shops on the Presidium Commons, arguing for hours about the merits and drawbacks of each. They had a small meal at a café, and afterwards, they visited Rodam Expeditions, and watched with amusement as the clerk described the services their company offered as he enthusiastically roleplayed a shatha hunt with an imaginary gun.
They bought a few things, had them sent to the Normandy, and when they had had enough of all the stores, Garrus took Shepard to a cozy little bar in Bachjret Ward.
They got their drinks and slid into a booth, and tried to have a conversation over the pulsing music.
“This was nice,” Shepard said, leaning close to Garrus. “I really needed it. Thanks for letting me tag along.”
He looked at her with those mesmerizingly blue eyes, and nodded. “Of course. I had a good time, too.”
She smiled, and glanced around. The place was on the smaller side, with a few booths along the walls and a long, curving bar in the middle, dimly lit by a row of rainbow-colored lights. There was no dedicated space to dance, which happened to be a good thing, given Shepard’s penchant to make a beeline to the dance floor and start bopping and flailing her arms around when she’d had a few too many drinks. That was not a pretty sight.
*
Not beta read yet, but hopefully soon, and then I can post it on AO3.
I'll tag: @tristinai, @emmayame, @dispatchwithlove, @katschy, @ripley95, @barbex, @squigglysquidd, @wafflesrock16, @ejunkiet, @blueboxness, @sorchacahill, and anybody else who'd like to do this!
YES!
WIP Whenever
I got tagged by one of my all-time favorite authors, the amazing @mordinette! Thank you so much <3
I am currently working on Chapter 6 of Puzzle Pieces - my f!reyder fic that I have started eons ago and am determined to finish now, because those two deserve a complete story and the most disgustingly sweet happy ending :D
***
“I’m fine, SAM.”
Helped along by the wind, the words carried outward and shattered against the pale rock face, coming back to her in a weak, broken echo.
The first time she’d been here, she hadn’t noticed the peculiar acoustics of the place — probably because the steady hum of an idling shuttle had been too loud for her to be able to pick up on more subtle sounds.
“My analysis suggests otherwise, Amelia. You are currently exhibiting several symptoms of high stress levels,” the AI contradicted mildly, a note of genuine concern seeping into his synthesized speech. “It is advisable to seek professional assistance. May I once again offer to establish a comm link with Doctor T’Perro?”
Ryder let out a tired exhale.
“Thank you, but nothing has changed since the last time you asked.”
***
Since I’ve been absent from tumblr for so long, I’m not sure who I can tag, but if you see this and would like to share your wip, consider yourself tagged by me :)
Me: Maybe I should romance someone else this time
Reyes: You look like you’re waiting for someone
Me:
This fanart based on this post https://herhighness-thequeenofhearts.tumblr.com/post/165288375203/kasumi-nice-armor-garrus-looks-good-on-you
Special thanks for @herhigness-thequeenofhearts for recommending.
Hello everyone, how are you doing now? Sorry for leaving in a while , I have my fight against depression and narcissistic abuse for years . Now I am back and drill to draw some ME fanart, please drop me some recommendations and post in my inbox to help inspiring me.
I just know that @garrus has deactivate her account, I really miss her, I hope she’s doing well and wish her the best.