What Is...

Architecture details from my inspo folder

DUMPING ALL MY ABANDONED GOOD OMEN WIPS BECAUSE I DONT HAVE TIME TO FINISH IT!!!!!!!!!!

KOKAY BYEE

pyro flamenco

I call upon the fan fic writing gods to bless you with the perseverance to finish one of your unfinished drafts. 

May your fingers dance along the letters upon your device with ease, may the devil of distraction stay far from you, and may your work not need much editing.

I pass this blessing upon every fan fic writer out there.

Hello, would you be able to post tips on how to start a pirate au? This is my first time making one.

【 Hi! My tip for any au (or any story, really) is simply research. It’s important to understand the dynamics and realism. So I put together some pirate knowledge for you! I’ll probably make more posts on this soon. I’m thinking pirate terms, ship terms, common weapons, things like that. If you’d be interested, let me know. Hope this helps, and good luck on your story (: 】

The Pirate Life

warnings: violence

✶

↳ Drinks

⇝ portable drinking water was hard to come by so many ships carried an abundance of wine, beer, and rum

⇝ a famous mariner drink is grog (sugar-water, lime juice, and rum) which was known to prevent scurvy

⇝ another is bombo/bumboo (sugar-water, nutmeg, and rum) or rumfustian (water, raw eggs, sherry, gin, beer)

↳ Eye Patches

⇝ not only worn because someone lost an eye

⇝ worn to keep one eye adjusted to darkness

⇝ when fighting/raiding below deck they could switch the eye patch instead of waiting for vision to adjust

↳ Flags

⇝ not all pirate flags were black with a skull and crossbones

⇝ most pirate flags were plainly black or red (completely red flags were known as the most aggressive)

⇝ if there were designs, many adorned hourglasses to represent the inevitability of death

↳ Freetime

⇝ when not working, pirates often played cards or dice (although, gambling was against the rules on some ships), sang, danced, partied, etc.

⇝ stopping at ports was a fairly regular occurrence so they could take a break from the harsh sea to sell goods, repair the ship, and of course find women

↳ Life of Crime

⇝ sure, some people became pirates for the life of crime, but the overwhelming majority were simply sailors who abandoned their jobs due to horrendous working conditions

⇝ pirates were treated far better by their captains than navy men

⇝ there were even periods of time where pirating wasn’t illegal — governments would enlist pirates during wartime to plunder enemy ships. these pirates were labeled ‘privateers’ and legally allowed to operate under ‘letters of marque’ which basically made them military contractors

↳ Longevity

⇝ pirate careers were a few years long tops (even the famous blackbeard only lasted two years)

⇝ many were killed or injured especially because medical facilities were practically nonexistent

↳ Positions

⇝ well-run ships had a clear division of labor

⇝ positions included captain, quartermaster, boatswain, carpenter, cooper, gunner, navigator, etc.

⇝ the captain had absolute command during battle and chose where/when to go somewhere

⇝ the quartermaster oversaw ship operations and divided the loot

⇝ pirates were not as chaotic as media portrays — they were actually quite democratic

⇝ but the illusion of being brutal would be beneficial for plundering as the possibility of surrender was increased

⇝ most pirates were illiterate, but there were quite a few who actually came from higher social classes

↳ Raids

⇝ looting gold/silver was much less common than looting supplies (food, drink, candles, navigational tools, repairing equipment, medicine, etc.)

⇝ most pirates didn’t want to kill people — they would steal the goods and leave the crew (or let the crew join them) especially because the bounties weren’t usually worth it

↳ Rules

⇝ most pirate ships took their rules very seriously, with punishments being severe

⇝ common rules were against lying, stealing amongst themselves, fighting on board, gambling, etc.

⇝ walking the plank was not a common punishment (it actually rarely ever happened) — punishments were usually flogging, dunking, tying to the mast, hanging, marooning, or keelhauling

✶

Famous Pirates to Check Out for Motivation: Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Francis Drake, Calico Jack, William Kidd, Henry Morgan, Mary Read, Bartholomew Roberts, Edward Teach (Blackbeard)

Hey there! Can I request some vampire AU prompts

Of course! I’m not sure if this is exactly what you wanted, so let me know and I’ll adjust. (In every prompt, A is the vampire)

Vampire AU Prompts

Since A is a vampire, they can’t see themselves in the mirror. Every morning, B draws a doodle of A, writes a compliment underneath it and sticks it on the mirror.

A strongly resembles a dead celebrity, so they often dress up as that celebrity and walk around in public to create immortality rumours.

A has only been a vampire for a few years and is trying to continue their normal life. When people ask A how they don’t age, they claim it’s because of their skincare routine. This accidentally causes A to gather a following as a skincare expert.

B is a human who told all their friends that they have a vampire significant other. This, of course, is a lie, so they seek out A and beg them to date them so that B won’t be seen as a liar.

People think that vampires are creatures of the night who wear all black. In reality, they’re doctors who suck illness out of patients.

A accidentally kills a human. Out of panic and guilt, they shapeshift to look like that human and try living their life.

A spent their whole life as a vegan. Now that they’re a vampire, they have to find a solution to not drinking blood.

In the spirit of encouraging people to comment on fanfics while also making it easier to do so, I feel obliged to share a browser extension for ao3 that has quite literally revolutionized the comment game for me.

I present to you: the floating ao3 comment box!

From what I've seen, a big problem for many people is that once you reach the comments at the bottom of a fic, your memory of it miraculously disappears. Anything you wanted to say is stuck ten paragraphs ago, and you barely remember what you thought while reading. This fixes that!

I'll give a little explanation on the features and how it works, but if you want to skip all that, here's the link.

The extension is visible as a small blue box in the upper left corner.

(Side note: The green colouring is not from the extension, that's me.)

If you click on it, you open a comment box window at the bottom of your screen but not at the bottom of the fic. I opened my own fic for demonstrative purposes.

The website also gives explanations on how exactly it functions, but I'll summarize regardless.

insert selection -> if you highlight a sentence in the fic it will be added in italics to the comment box

add to comment box -> once you're done writing your comment, you click this button and the entire thing will automatically copied to the ao3 comment box

delete -> self explanatory

on mulitchapter fics, you will be given the option to either add the comment to just the current chapter or the entire fic

The best part? You can simply close the window the same way you opened it and your progress will automatically be saved. So you can open it, comment on a paragraph, and then close it and keep reading without having the box in your face.

Comments are what keep writers going, and as both a writer and a reader, I think it's such an easy way of showing support and enthusiasm.

THE LAST OF US | 1.01 “When You’re Lost in the Darkness” THE LAST OF US | 1.09 “Look for the Light”

Fantasy Guide to Building A Culture

Culture is defined by a collection of morals, ethics, traditions, customs and behaviours shared by a group of people.

Hierarchy and Social Structures

Within every culture, there is a hierarchy. Hierarchies are an important part of any culture, usually do ingrained that one within the culture wouldn't even question it. Hierarchy can be established either by age, gender or wealth and could even determine roles within their society. Sometimes hierarchy can may be oppressive and rigid whilst other times, ranks can intermingle without trouble. You should consider how these different ranks interact with one another and whether there are any special gestures or acts of deference one must pay to those higher than them. For example, the Khasi people of Meghalaya (Northern India), are strictly matrillineal. Women run the households, inheritance runs through the female line, and the men of the culture typically defer to their mothers and wives. Here are a few questions to consider:

How is a leader determined within the culture as a whole and the family unit?

Is the culture matriarchal? Patriarchal? Or does gender even matter?

How would one recognise the different ranks?

How would one act around somebody higher ranking? How would somebody he expected to act around somebody lower ranking?

Can one move socially? If not, why? If so, how?

Traditions and Customs

Traditions are a staple in any culture. These can be gestures or living life a certain way or to the way a certain person should look. Traditions are a personal detail to culture, they are what make it important. Tradition can dictate how one should keep their home, run their family, take care of their appearance, act in public and even determine relationship. Tradition can also be a double edged sword. Traditions can also be restrictive and allow a culture to push away a former member if they do not adhere to them, eg Traditional expectations of chastity led to thousands of Irish women being imprisoned at the Magdelene Laundries. Customs could be anything from how one treats another, to how they greet someone.

How important is tradition?

What are some rituals your culture undertakes?

What are some traditional values in your world? Does it effect daily life?

Are there any traditions that determine one's status?

Values and Opinions

Values and Opinions are the bread and butter of any culture. This is the way your culture sees the world and how they approach different life hurdles. These may differ with other cultures and be considered odd to outsiders, what one culture may value another may not and what opinion another holds, one may not. There will be historical and traditional reasons to why these values and opinions are held. Cultures usually have a paragon to which they hold their members to, a list of characteristics that they expect one to if not adhere to then aspire to. The Yoruba people value honesty, hard work, courage and integrity. Here are some questions to consider?

How important are these ethics and core values? Could somebody be ostracised for not living up to them?

What are some morals that clash with other cultures?

What does your culture precieved to be right? Or wrong?

What are some opinions that are considered to be taboo in your culture? Why?

Dress Code

For many cultures, the way somebody dresses can be important. History and ethics can effect how one is meant to be dressed such as an expectation of chastity, can impose strict modesty. While other cultures, put more importance on details, the different sorts of clothes worn and when or what colour one might wear. The Palestinian people (من النهر إلى البحر ، قد يكونون أحرارا) denoted different family ties, marriage status and wealth by the embroidery and detailing on their thoub.

Are there traditional clothes for your world? Are they something somebody wears on a daily basis or just on occasion?

Are there any rules around what people can wear?

What would be considered formal dress? Casual dress?

What would happen if somebody wore the wrong clothes to an event?

Language

Language can also be ingrained as part of a Culture. It can be a specific way one speaks or a an entirely different language. For example, in the Southern States of America, one can engage in a sort of double talk, saying something that sounds sweet whilst delivering something pointed. Bless their heart. I have a post on creating your own language here.

Arts, Music and Craft

Many cultures are known for different styles of dance, their artwork and crafts. Art is a great part of culture, a way for people to express themselves and their culture in art form. Dance can be an integral part of culture, such as céilí dance in Ireland or the Polka in the Czech Republic. Handicrafts could also be important in culture, such as knitting in Scottish culture and Hebron glass in Palestine. Music is also close to culture, from traditional kinds of singing such as the White Voice in Ukraine and the playing of certain instruments such as the mvet.

Food and Diet

The way a culture prepares or intakes or treats certain foods are important to a culture. In some cultures, there is a diet yo adhere to, certain foods are completely banned. With Jewish culture, pork is prohibited along with fish such as sturgeon, along with shellfish and certain fowl. Meat must also be prepared in a certain way and animal byproducts such as dairy, must never be created or even eaten around this meat. This is known as kosher. The way one consumes food is also important to culture. In some cultures, only certain people may eat together. Some cultures place important on how food is eaten. In Nigerian culture, the oldest guests are served first usually the men before the women. In Japanese culture, one must say 'itadakimasu' (I recieve) before eating. Culture may also include fasting, periods of time one doesn't intake food for a specific reason.

What are some traditional dishes in your world?

What would be a basic diet for the common man?

What's considered a delicacy?

Is there a societal difference in diet? What are the factors that effect diet between classes?

Is there any influence from other cuisines? If not, why not? If so, to what extent?

What would a typical breakfast contain?

What meals are served during the day?

What's considered a comfort food or drink?

Are there any restrictions on who can eat what or when?

Are there any banned foods?

What stance does your world take on alcohol? Is it legal? Can anybody consume it?

Are there any dining customs? Are traditions?

Is there a difference in formal meals or casual meals? If so, what's involved?

Are there any gestures or actions unacceptable at the dinner table?

How are guests treated at meals? If they are given deference, how so?

I'm so tired of media portraying necromancers as evil emo/goth looking dudes that only wants to bring back people for a nefarious reason.

I really want to see a bubbly ray of sunshine that is always happy. Off putting joyous and easy going, friends with all kids in the village and always playing and encouraging pranks. If something goes wrong they brush it off as just an oops moment. Even when the harmless tree climbing game has a horrendous end.

The broken neck, the crying, the angst of the first encounter dead, nothing of this shake their smile. What do you mean he is gone? It's just a minor wound, using some of his magic and they will be as good as new! Even if the unnatural magic just chain the soul back to a nature bounded body. Even when no heartbeat is listed or warm is felt. Thus sending back to its mother a creature that will root in her arms.

But for them, the necromancer, if this moves it is still in friend shape.