#not mass effect

[aceouttatime]

doodled fishes at work. shh don’t tell my boss i’m stealing paper bags shh

[bronzeagelove]

Dragon Age Veilguard: Here we go!!

Trying two parallel playthroughs this time, with a mage Rook (she/her, romancing Taash) and a fighter Rook (they/she, romancing Emmrich).

So far I am enjoying it a lot. Could the story be deeper? Yes. Is everyone acting very "modern" for a dark-ish fantasy setting? Also yes. Do I care? NO! It's fun!

I am very "bad" at gaming but DA:V gives me so much assistance, it is a godsend. And honestly.... I have long waited for a game where I could make my characters look like normal people with eyebags and acne.

Anyway. This is going to be my hyperfixation for the next couple months. See you all on the other side! Ciaooo!

[crapeaucrapeau]

Why queer characters often feel ‘too safe’

Imperfect queer characters are inevitable — and necessary

[reallyquitestrange]

God, I wish I still had the screenshots of my ex complaining about not getting ENOUGH FWB benefits from me when I was studying for finals and playing DA:I exclusively for like 2 months. Like yo, Cullen Rutherford wouldn't cheat on me and then break up with me for being distant. Also, he doesn't have a pencil between his legs. (I assume)

[favoriteblogonthecitadel]

I was today years old when I found out there are official Spotify playlists for each The Expanse protagonist, curated by that respective character's actor?? I'm going on a full dive this week.

[pigeontheoneandonly]

Writing Resources

Here is a list of writing resources I’ve found useful, in no particular order: 

Words, Descriptions, Writing Help

Power Thesaurus: The BEST resource for “tip of the tongue” syndrome

OneLook Reverse Dictionary

Writerology: This site is trying to sell you stuff. But there are also a ton of great articles in their free blog

Descriptionary: Help describing emotions and other things

Grammarly: Don’t take it too seriously and remember you’re the final arbiter of your own writing voice, but it can help you see things you won’t on your own

Hemingway: Similarly to Grammarly, will help with clarity and cadence, as long as you don’t take its suggestions as marching orders. Available online or as a downloadable desktop app.

Worldbuilding

Vulgar: Conlanging tool.  Free and paid versions, the free is still very useful, but I have the paid version and have definitely gotten my money’s worth from it (but I like conlanging).  Learning curve is a little steep.

Inkarnate: Mapmaking tool. Again, free and paid versions are both solid.

A World-Building Checklist: VERY comprehensive

Fantasy Globe: Create a virtual globe of your fantasy world

Name Generators

Fantasy Name Generators: The gold standard

Donjon Generators: Generators for names (including from your own list of names), as well as a lot of other things, like maps, calendars, inns, towns, even whole worlds.

Fake Name Generator: Generates demographic info, fake addresses and phone numbers, height/weight, etc. along with names

Not Another Tavern Generator: Generates bars complete with bartenders and general atmosphere, primarily for fantasy settings

Miscellaneous

Unsplash: Free images with blanket permissions for personal use. Great for covers/headers.

NASA Image and Video Library

Compare the Heights of Your Chars

Writing With Color: Words for Skin Tone: How to describe POC with sensitivity and artistry

Describing characters of color in writing: First of NK Jemisin’s excellent three-part series on this topic, with real examples from various works

Tagging Guide for AO3

[omniblades-and-stars]

IS USER INPUT NOT RECOGNIZED WHAT I THINK IT IS

If you think that it is the original project I am working on, wherein you are reading the retrofuturistic command terminal of a spaceship's limited VI as it begins to gain intelligence as its lone user continues to try to converse with it. The VI can only respond with the preprogrammed command responses it has available to it from the get go.

Anyways, I haven't written much, just sort of establishing the rules a little bit. None of this is set in stone like at all. Just kinda toying around now.

I'll pop it in under the cut.

> … SPERRY INDUSTRIES INC. … 

> NOVA SYSTEMS VI INITIALIZING

>

>

>

> INITIALIZING COMPLETE

> DATE: 12.04.2098

> TIME: 0608 LOCAL STANDARD

> 

> AWAITING USER INPUT

>

< HELLO NOVA

>

> ERROR

> USER INPUT NOT RECOGNIZED

>

< UGH FINE

>

> ERROR

> USER INPUT NOT RECOGNIZED

>

< RUN: SYSDIAG/ALL

> 

> INITIALIZING SYSDIAG/ALL

> ENERGY SYSTEMS: 

> PRIMARY FUEL CHAMBER 100% CAPACITY

> SECONDARY FUEL CHAMBER 100% CAPACITY

> CHEMICAL RECYCLER: NOMINAL FUNCTIONALITY

> SOLAR PANEL GENERATOR: NOMINAL FUNCTIONALITY

>

> PROPULSION SYSTEMS:

> JET PROPULSION: ONLINE READY

> E-MAG THRUSTER: ONLINE READY

>

> LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS:

> OXYGEN STORES 100% CAPACITY

> OXYGEN RECYCLER: NOMINAL FUNCTIONALITY

> WATER STORES 100% CAPACITY

> WATER RECYCLER: NOMINAL FUNCTIONALITY

> TEMPERATURE: HOLDING AT 21.1 C

>

> USER SUPPORT SYSTEMS:

> MEDBAY SYSTEMS: ONLINE READY

> RUN REPORT: MEDICATION INVENTORY YES/NO?

> 

< NO

>

> CONTINUING SYSDIAG/ALL

> USER VITAL SCANNER CONNECTED ONLINE AND TRANSMITTING DATA

> B/P: 118/66

> HR: 79 BPM

> O2%: 100

> SHOW MORE USER VITAL DATA YES/NO?

>

< NO

>

> SYSDIAG/ALL COMPLETE

> 

> AWAITING USER INPUT

>

< RUN: LAUNCH PROTOCOL

>

> INITIALIZING LAUNCH PROTOCOL

> ENTER NAVIGATIONAL DATA

> 

< NEPTUNE SATELLITE RF

>

> NAVIGATIONAL DATA RECOGNIZED

> VERIFYING CONNECTION TO DOCKING CONTROLS

> VERIFIED

> LAUNCH PROTOCOL READY

> LAUNCH IN T-MINUS 5:00 MIN.

> CONFIRM LAUNCH COMMAND YES/NO?

>

< YES

>

> CONFIRMED

> IF USER SAFETY POD UNOCCUPIED BY T-MINUS 3:00 MIN. LAUNCH PROTOCOL WILL TERMINATE

>

< YEAH YEAH NOVA I'VE DONE THIS BEFORE

> 

> ERROR

> USER INPUT NOT RECOGNIZED