#just making fun of the list itself

[fitzrove]

How many have you read?

The IDC estimates that most people will only read 2 books out of the 25 listed below. Reblog this and tag with how many titles you've read.

1 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

2 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

3 I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

4 Emmy - Ruth Boswell

5 The Wild Swans - HC Andersen

6 Phantom - Susan Kay

7 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

8 Maskerade - Terry Pratchett

9 Die Österreichisch-Ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild, Vol. 6: Ungarn - Rudolf Crown Prince of Austria

10 You & Your Cat. The Ultimate Guide to Cats, their Health, Care and Behaviour - David Taylor

11 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

12 The Phantom of Manhattan - Frederick Forsyth

13 Ulysses - James Joyce

14 The Epic of Gilgamesh

15 A Journey in the East - Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria

16 Tenshi no Hitsugi: Ave Maria (Angel's Coffin) - You Higuri

17 My Sister The Vampire: Fangtastic! - Sienna Mercer

18 Love and Death in Vienna: The Story of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Mary Vetsera - Bunny Paine-Clemes

19 Flights of Angels - Fitz Rove

20 The Magician's Nephew - CS Lewis

21 Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-century Europe - Hayden White

22 Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

23 Future Documentation Chapter One, Limited Edition - Máté Kamarás (little booklet)

24 Otavan ISO Musiikkitietosanakirja: Hakemisto (I use this as a mouse pad)

25 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

[widowshill]

joyful posting time. i genuinely love love the way everyone in the dark shadows fandom has their arc and the characters and/or actors they cherish and just post crazy about their special guys. it's so much fun to me to see every time. yeah that's my mutual's guy from the soap opera.

[magentagalaxies]

me a few weeks ago: "i should make a google docs version of my buddy cole timeline so i can have it on hand when i interview people for the doc"

a few weeks later

i have a 54-page google doc with each point on my buddy cole timeline in chronological order as well as thorough details of each event and how it contributed to the overall evolution of buddy cole, baseline interview questions for each point, screenshots of interviews and reviews for each project buddy cole appeared in over the past several decades, and dedicated pages for several of the queer writers and performers scott referenced in interviews over the years, along with a list of every time buddy cole swears on camera. i am printing this document out and putting it into a binder that's never leaving my side throughout the rest of production. the binder has its own theme song

[risingshards]

Writeblr challenge: Cynical Sunday!

I've seen this a lot and I bet you have too; when a publisher puts out a blurb for a scifi/fantasy/what have you book that basically just describes one bit of representation, a vague description of a pairing trope, and then maybe something that barely has to do with the genre. I've seen it in book reviews and recommendations as well, where you take a book into a quick phrase that overall is a really cynical way to describe rep and doesn't explain anything about the story. Something like:

PANSEXUAL ALCHEMISTS. ENEMIES TO MURDERERS TO RESURRECTED LOVERS. THREE UNIVERSES EACH WITH A SPACE STATION. NEED I SAY MORE? 😏

Another example is the cynical "just use the comps as the pitch line even on the official book descriptions and metadata" type, like so:

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF MEETS JURASSIC PARK 3 BUT WITH REP.

So I dare ya to make one of your own because the cynical-ness of this feels like it could be goofed on, especially the big publisher blurb style where they tell you so little about your book's actual plot or characters or anything. It can be your WIP or just something absurd you make up for this, whatever you wanna do! The less plot and character in your blurb the better!

See also this post for the vibe.

I'mma try it with Rising Shards.

LESBIAN MEET CUTE IN MONSTER GIRL SCHOOL. ENOUGH SAID. 😏

So yeah something like that!

Thank you to @blind-the-winds for the motivation to finally post this and @indy-gray for the name!

Also tagging (No pressure if you're not feeling it! Just including people who liked/reblogged/replied to the first post): @rileythefool, @alesseia, @ladyarjuna, @yors-truly, @whole-buncha-snakess, @werehamburglar, @acertainmoshke, @kreetn, @cosmiccoincidence, @whileyoureinschoolidothisallday, @emberoops

[cozymochi]

this has been ongoing for a while between me and another homie to watch every mainline film in the disney animated canon (this doesnt include pixar i kinda always end up having to specifying that), and a homie at work who sorta saw their way into our conversation was like “omg i should do that too that sounds so fun!”

i dont think blud realizes how taxing and genuinely difficult of a challenge that is once u actually try it 😫

it aint the same beast as watching ur favorites on repeat,,,,,,

we got 3 films left……….. (this isn’t chronological)

[itwoodbeprefect]

inspired by my own 9-1-1 / bad buddy post, here's a bad buddy / starsky & hutch sequel about cutting ties with your past, polluting the ocean, throwing small shiny rectangular objects, etc. 🌊

[lemonys-place]

I don't get the infighting tbh genuinely idc what term someone comes across to describe their sfw regression as long as it is indeed sfw. who cares. we are all regressing and it is all sfw. maybe kill the part of you that cringes idk age regression is already heavily stigmatized the last thing we need is to bully each other.

[kit-o-nine-tales]

List of DAO mods *I* have installed

 This is a giant list of mods I’ve got installed for Dragon Age origins, including links and my thoughts. Let me save you time when looking for things. It’s the least I can do for the fandom as someone who can’t contribute via creating mods, or fanart. (I write fanfic, but it doesn’t feel like much) This is also to help me achieve some degree of organization, as I am a mess and my memory is garbage.

General improvements (if you don’t wanna go ham (like I did lol), these are the basic essentials)

True colors REDUX - makes the vanilla tints less grey, very nice

Dragon Age Origins Unofficial Remaster - updates textures and makes things so much prettier (True Colors Redux is also included as part of this)

(Dalishious’ mods in general are great go look at them.)

Qwinn’s Ultimate DAO fixpack - this one. If you install nothing else, install this one. it fixes so many things that were left broken in the final release of the game.

Real Pigment - a skin tint fix - no more patchy skin, plus darker skin tones look so much better.

Universal dye kit - change your armor colors! it’s fun!

HQ Eyebrow stubble and scalp hair replacers

Boob patches be gone - removes those extra lines on the boobies of the standard mage robe, because they were silly looking

Neutral female armor - no more boob plate on the medium and heavy armor (also included in the unofficial remaster)

Goblet De-Gobbler - fixes common glitches with the Joining chalice

SJC’s vanilla face textures replacement - more detailed replacements for the default complexions (UOR has it’s own vanilla face texture replacers as well.)

Cosmetic mods - for all your chargen needs

Hairs

Look! Hair! - I’ve installed a ton of hairs from risibisi. Though not all of them (there are. so many. it’s awesome)

Tucked hair by tmp7704

Hairstyle day parts 1 & 2

DAO anto hairstyles

Elven hairstyles

Beautiful people hair ren (a chargen for it)

additional hairs for DA by boodrl

jenya’s random hairstyles (note, a few of these are bugged, check the posts tab)

Character creation expansion plus da2 eye tints

Miikocc hairs

AH00B Hairs

LOTC Hairstyles

Witcher 2 for DA

Raptures Witcher (just the aesthetics file, chargen here)

LHK’s mini hairpack

More hairstyles

Simpliciaty hairs

Hair tweaks and additions

elf hairs by dalishous

Anto Curls

Parisa Hair

KH blogspot

Fluffy bob for origin’s elves

Skins/face textures

Barnzi face textures

Ferelden models: KH textures + the face textures from face and eye textures (I am not using the eyes)

 Fairy face

Alice complexion

Rose complexion

FBD skins

Anna complexion

Another complexion

Pretty skins

Vitligo skins

Face textures

Blackmoon’s Human Female face textures (I renamed them to be additions, not replacements)

KH creator files (includes hair, skins, etc - but you’ll need to do some manual chargen file editing due to some incompatible quotation marks used within the provided chargen files. Overlaps with the FM files.) 

A new freckled skin texture for females

Warden complexions with eyebrows 

Lipstick - mole and freckles textures 

SJC’s skins

Dr. DJ’s bandit emporium - cool scars for your wardens (check the posts tab for how to extract the chargenmorph file)

New skins DAO by Vlissa 

Warpaint skins 

New textures by MissB 

Face texture beta 

Gizmodian faceworks

Dimitri skin texture

Jeane eyes_eyelashes and complexion

Chargen package - more cool scars in this one

Planes traveler appearance package

Tints

SJC’s skin tones

Dalishious Skin Tints

Pineappletree’s vibrant colors

Colorful hair

Colorful hair - highlighted

SJC’s hair colors

Big Brown Eyes

Bright Tattoo Tints

CC extra tints and tones

Simple hair spectrum

Lovely tints

Colorful makeup

SJC’s Lip Colours

Eyeshdow Collection

Lipstick collection

Blush collection

Sun’s Tints

Presets that add things (like longer eyelashes, or unique eye textures)

LOTC’s female eyelashes

Bidelle’s Cosmetics (though tbh, I haven’t actually used any of these ones in game yet)

Six presets with heterochromia - these are fun.

LOTC’s eye textures

PNangel eyes to headmorphs (pretty sure my Jean Grey Warden’s green eyes came from one of these ones)

NPC Morphs

DA2 Elves triple mix (with original skin tint Merrill) - makes the elves in DAO look more they do in DA2. Requires some files from elf update, but not all of them. the mod description tells you which ones.

Brown Merrill Continuity fix - puts Merrill in her DA2 robes and fixes the skin-tone contrast. requires loincloth fashion. Also offers another Merrill morph.

Isabella variation - means to make Isabella look like she does in DA2, but a few years younger (I might try to find an alternative tho, I feel like her skin tone is a bit too light)

Qunari update - makes the Qunari look more like they do in the later games

Ferelden racelift - adds some diversity to Ferelden (I don’t use all the morphs in here - it looks weird with elf update installed bc of how the elf eye texture size changes but the morphs from this mod don’t change to fit the larger eyes. But. Still a nice addition)

Ser Gilmore morph with light proportion tweaks - small changes that make him look a little less...off

Unique face textures for companions DAO edition - give them friends of yours some unique skin textures! they deserve them! (I use Alistair, Wynne, Oghren, Loghain (though I almost never recruit him) and Leliana)

Alkolnoix Morrigan - a nice Morrigan morph that gives her darker skin, befitting her implied Chasind parentage

Tranquil 2.0 - gives the tranquil the brand that the game says is supposed to be there

Sten of the Beresaad - for a more unique Sten look to go with Qunari update

Visibly elf-blooded - Ignore the “magic dna” bs that erases biracial elf-blooded characters, and give Alistair, Slim Couldry, Goldanna, some background npcs, and (optionally) Leliana some elven ears. Has a version that uses the unique companion face textures mod, which sealed the deal for me.

Window of the Soul - Eyes Replacement - the eye retexture I’m currently using. (Though there’s another one I’ve been eying. haha.)

Retcon armors/future game imports/retextures

Grey Wardens of Ferelden (w/ Dalishious’ retexture) - make them wardens wear their uniforms! We’re supposed to be an order! All official-like and stuff.

Duncan Outfit - a unique but still GWOF matchy look for Duncan.

Hooded enchanter mesh - replacement meshes for f!Human and f!Elf chasind and tevinter robes (I’m just using the chasind ones from this, skipping the UOR retextures.)

Improved mabari for DAO - a less weird looking dog mesh

Retcon light armor texture rehaul - make the light armors look like they do in the later games

I’m not using this anymore, since the retextures from the UOR accomplish what I wanted this mod for while blending in with DAO better: making the light armors more unisex.)

Loincloth fashion - adds armors from future games, added via console command

Keeper and Merrill outfit fixes - another DA2 Merrill outfit retexture (with skin-tinting) and the option to make Merrill’s robe appear on female characters who try to wear the male-exclusive “keeper’s robe” from Loincloth fashion.

Kirkwall exports - same as LCF, adds armors from future games. Some overlap between the two.

The guardians of Cadash Thaig - again, as above

Dalish armor replacement - makes the dalish armor look like it does in DA2 (no more bare midriff on women wearing dalish armor!!!)

Seamfix and high resolution textures - a DA2 dalish armor retexture

Robes of the wild - HD retexture of Morrigan’s robes with hood

I’m just using the hood from this, after manually removing the robe files. (It doesn’t perfectly match color-wise, but I’m satisfied. For now - if anyone wants to know which files to keep so you can have the hood on its own, just ask.)

Practical Morrigan robes - a really neat looking Morrigan robe retexture, and the one I’m using now.

Dwarves are not mages - get them mage robes off of King Endrin and Lord Harrrowmont

Crow Assassin’s Armor for Zevran - gives him unique armor based off of TWoT2 concept art

Apostate clothing file - three DA2 ports

Dalish Keeper Robes - redresses Marethari, Zathrian, Lanaya, and Velanna.

Gameplay altering stuff

Awakening in the OC + expanded integration - add stuff and spells and skills from DA:A to the base game

The Winter Forge - change how items look! rename them! change their stats, their item tier! copy stats from one item to another!

(I play with the cheatmode bc I am a dirty cheater and I am not ashamed of this. But you don’t have to do it that way.)

Open lock spells - let your mages bust open some treasure chests. you know they’re dying to.

Spell School Divine - some healing spells, some offensive spells, some companion buffing spells (I don’t use these spells often, but I do have them installed)

Arcane Warrior plus - more spells for your arcane warrior

Arcane Warrior weapons drawn casting - no more putting your sword down to cast 

(NOTE: this might have broken paralysis glyphs for me. Or maybe it was something else. I don’t use that spell too much though, so I haven’t bothered trying to fix it/figure out what did it)

Dragon Age Class and Specialization pack - adds a bunch of specializations, some weapon mastery skills, and two new magic classes: warlock and ritualist

I can’t remember what the game was like before I installed this one lol

Chantry Monk specialization 

Want your mage to be able to PUNCH PEOPLE? this is the place to go.

Half-Wraith specialization - now rogues can teleport. if you want.

Emerald Knight specialization - your warrior can summon a wolf!

Seeker of Truth specialization - your warrior can heal? (haven’t used this one too much) 

Wild Keeper specialization - your mage can turn enemies into squirrels!

Knight specialization - your warrior gets a bonus reduction to fatigue, and more companion buffs

Lich specialization - your mage can summon a fuckton of skeletons (from dead enemies) also, transform into an arcane horror

Beastmaster specialization - your mage can summon wolves and sylvans and stuff

Wild mage specialization - you ever wanna just... cast something and not know what’s going to happen? here ya go

Necromancer specialization - more skeleton raising antics

Paladin specialization - magical two-handed talents for warriors? (haven’t used this much yet)

Death Knight specialization - more magic talents for warriors (also haven’t used much yet)

Grenadier specialization -  bombs!!! no crafting needed!! (for rogues)

Extended dog talents - more talents for dog, your bestest buddy

Extra Dog slot - bring dog everywhere! without taking up a companion slot.

Full Combatant Dog - gives dog more talents

No Helmet Hack  - hide them ugly things

(Note: if you have a bunch of mod-companions, it can sometimes make your helmets disappear permanently. So... leave some companions’ helmets visible.)

Tower Guard Rogue + Tower of Ishal companion options - no longer must you suffer the indignities of leaving locked treasure chests behind in the tower of Ishal!

Higher Level Cap and More specialization slots - go up to level 70. You know you want to (if you have as many bonus dungeons installed as I do, anyway)

All shapeshifting from mouse - learn all the Fade shapeshifting skills when you talk to that first mouse (it makes Lost in Dreams less back-tracky, but without skipping it entirely)

Teleport - A spell that lets you teleport around (check the posts tab for install advice)

Ancient blood magic rewritten - more blood magic spells! (check posts tab for advice on how it works)

Qwinn no Wynne - leave Wynne behind during ABC without killing her! (I got bored of seeing her Fade nightmare every time)

Complete bi overhaul - idc what bioware says, Morrigan is not straight.

This conflicts with Qwinn’s, but if you install this as an override and Qwinn’s as a dazip, it doesn’t break anything (so far - haven’t finished a play-through with it yet myself)

Also looks like it might conflict with the epilogue slides from Karma’s Origins companions.

Polygamey - date everyone at once (Note: does not work on mod-created companions)

Reverse Blood sacrifice - steal the blood of your enemies, not your friends

Non-circle mage origins - Want to be a mage but tired of the magi origin? Here ya go. (Some conflicts with other dialogue altering mods (CBO, Qwinn’s... for example) - I’m only using it for a very specific play-through, then will be moving it to my back-up folder. Gave it load priority rather than deleting anything.)

New starting Robe for Dalish Mage - a nice companion to the above mod. Gives you several options to choose from , though you’ll need to download the mod that gives you the outfit you want separately.)

Story mods (mods that just add fluff, basically)

General

Clan Sabrae says Goodbye - a longer, heartrending farewell scene for the end of the Dalish origin

Be more elfy; Dalish dialogue overhaul - allows for a more knowledgeable Dalish warden, fixes the lethallan/lethallin mix up in the beginning, and also gives you bisexual Tamlen - be sure to give it load priority over CBO.)

Talk elfy to Me - gives you the ability to select a more dalish voice set using clips from DAI

Dance party - you and your companions can dance at camp (and at the Gnarled noble tavern)

CmessaZ7′s hugs - Human noble can hug mom or dad, F!mahariel can hug Tamlen

but this conflicts with Be more Elfy, so I’m not using it anymore for Tamlen, sadly. Even though I really want to give him a hug

The Human noble hugs conflict with the Cousland keepsakes mod further down this list

Hugs for Tabris - Tabris can hug their dad, Shianni, and Soris

The rescue at ishal - cutscene of dragon-Flemeth coming to rescue PC and Alistair

Non-transphobic sex-workers - bc transphobia isn’t cool, y’all

Lady Aeducan the non-warden - changes it so that the middle aeducan is a woman when talked about in Orzammar, if not chosen as the warden (instead of defaulting to being a man)

Satina in the sky - apparently, Thedas has two moons (according to extended canon.) this adds a second moon (will conflict with the unofficial remaster, either delete that moon, or make sure this one is alphabetically placed last for load priority)

More hairs for kids and diversified children - makes the kids less clone-y. Best applied to a fresh game. Some conflicts with DA2 elves triple mix morphs. (I think the UOR has this or something similar; I’m not using the morphs from the UOR)

The children’s closet - makes it so the kids aren’t all wearing the same two outfits. Requires this. (included in the UOR)

Daveth and Jory in the fade - puts them in the Warden’s fade dream instead of the randos. requires GWoF

Let Me Live - an NPC Rescue Mod - I haven’t played through with this yet, but it’s like a dream come true. I can finally save Nial! ❤️❤️❤️ And Nelaros!

Romance add-ons

General

Dahlialynn’s Sleep til dawn - cuddle with your LI in your tent! Compatible with karma’s and Ser Gilmore

Origin romances

Farewell, Ser Gilmore - give Ser Gilmore a hug or kiss goodbye

A flower from Tamlen - Tamlen (my beloved!) finds a flower and gives it to the Dalish warden (if romance flag active) 

Kissing Tamlen - allows a Dalish Warden to remember a past kiss with Tamlen, and you get a free ring!

Alistair

Alistair nights: Moonlit bath - E rated bathtime with Alistair

Alistair’s Magical kiss - a private kiss with Alistair

Alistair’s visible kiss - better camera angles for the regular kissing scene

Alistair’s funeral - if Alistair makes the sacrifice, a romanced warden can kiss him goodbye 

The Proposal - Alistair asks for PC’s hand in marriage if engaged

Dahlialynn’s Alistair epilogues: The royal wedding - marry Alistair!

Funeral kiss - if a PC romanced Alistair and made the ultimate sacrifice, he kisses her body at the funeral. 

Dahlialynn’s Alistair’s nightmare - A Sleep til dawn add-on 

Alistair Romance Eavesdropping - adds in-camp cutscenes for some of the Alistair-centric companion banters

Alistair Romance Appetite - a playful scene involving food

Alistair Romance attraction - even the wildlife adores him

Alistair romance: the steamy bits - another E-rated bath with Alistair mod

Alistair romance: hot water - you guessed it! another e-rated bath with Alistair (a popular theme. This one is the prettiest, imo)

Zevran

Intrigues of an Antivan Crow - adds a bunch of romance scenes, some e-rated

Leliana

Leliana stories - much like the above intrigues, adds additional romance scenes for Leliana. Made by the same person.

Companion mods (mods that add more recruit-able companions)

Ser Gilmore companion NPC - Ser Gilmore from the Human noble origin miraculously survives the fall of Cousland castle! And he wants to help you kill darkspawn and get revenge on Arl Howe.

Lealion - a mage who was at Ostagar can join you in Lothering (she has like, no dialogue, but hey, more mages)

Saarebas Qunari mage companion - a qunari mage can join you at lake Calenhad (requires Qunari update) he has a little more dialogue than Lealion, but still, nothing compared to Gilmore. But again; more mages!

MerAnne’s Dwarf Companions - adds a bunch of dwarves you can recruit (you can even choose their genders) more content than Lealion & Saarebas, but slightly less than Gilmore I think. Haven’t played the mod with a dwarf warden yet, I think they get more dialogue

Karma’s Origins Companions - the one, the only.

recruit (& heal) Tamlen (MY BELOVED), Jowan (poor lil meow meow), Soris, Leske, Gorim (Thank FUCK, Lady Aeducan no longer has to get dumped), Cullen (eww), and original characters Adela and Ox. make sure to check the readme.

There are some aspects of it I’m iffy about, but I’m just so grateful for Tamlen that it could literally punch me in the face every time I start the game and I’d just ignore it.

Quests and Legends - I haven’t actually played this one yet, but I will soon. It has a compatibility patch with Karma’s. I think it adds one new companion?

Return to the Korcari wilds - hilariously 2009 music choices, adds two companions. Karma has a compatibility patch for it. More content than Lealion, less than Ser Gilmore or Karma’s

Dark times - adds three companions, three specializations, and has a karma’s patch.

It’s... also not the best. really goes in on the elf-racism, among other things. ppl rave about it, but I wasn’t that impressed tbh. the megaupload download link in the comments is safe, at least, it was when I used it.

The bloodworks - adds one new companion (two actually, but you have to choose between the templars or the blood mages - I have literally never gone with the templars), not much dialogue. Also a bunch of quests, a spell line, a warrior talent line, and allows you to make an absurd amount of money. has a karma’s patch. Ties in with Dark times a little, along with Ser Gilmore

Bonus dungeons/quests

Pints and Quarts Tavern - a tavern near Redcliffe with a bunch of people who need help with things. some misogynistic story beats in the final quest. Not very lore-compliant either.

Hilltop under siege - a village under attack from darkspawn. a little silly, kind of non-lore compliant

King Calenhad’s tomb - freaky tomb emerges from Lake Calenhad. Not lore compliant, and the trap rooms are straight up maliciously designed

Ancient Elven ruins - somebody stole the family heirlooms of a dwarven house, they disappeared into this place. Not lore compliant, I think. Ties in with one of the P&Q quests

Spiders and Knives - adds a few balanced quests and rewards to Lothering, plus another party storage chest (warning, the rogue dagger reward is bugged and might remove the coup de grace skill when unequipped)

Alley of Murders - there’s an alley, and there have been murders. People praise this one a lot, but I’m eh about it. made by the same people as the Bloodworks

infested grounds - a nobleman has a dragon problem on his property (he deserves it, tbh) by the same person as P&Q

Swamp tower adventure - there’s a swamp, there’s a tower, and there are beasties. Also by the same person as P&Q

Inverness keep - apparently, some nobleman died and left his estate to the wardens. You can get skill books here, store stuff, get alcoholic gifts for Oghren, and actually do something with those silver goblets, silver bowls, and the vases you find. (plus silk carpets, and the painting gifts, if you’re not giving them to Sten)

Innodil’s Pocket Plane - god mode storage you can access from anywhere 

Tombs of the Undead - this is a good one. Three tombs, different difficulty levels, pretty lore compliant, the codex entries are well written. It almost feels like it could have been part of the game to begin with

Temple of Vulak - a temple full of demons. bit of a tough one.

Utilities - console command scripts and stuff

Enable console commands

Make console commands visible

Chargenmorph compiler - a must to make all those hairs and stuff play nice with each other

Change your hero hair and face anywhere - want to change what your warden looks like midway through the game? start a new game with the desired appearance (or use the toolset, idk how to yet though), then use this tool to switch it in

additem with console improved - add any items using their id codes

Console- add points - add talent,skill, specialization, and attribute points via console and use through the regular level up menu (for ppl who have played so many times that they no longer care about cheating lol)

item set descriptions - adds a codex entry that describes the base game item set stats

VFX weapons file - alters the visual effects on weapons to be a lil less dramatic (I think there are other mods that do this, I might try some of them out as well. Eventually)

Fade shroud unghost - makes fade shroud not turn your mage into a ghost (I actually don’t mind this vfx, but I wanted cleaner screenshots for my one Warden. I’ll probably remove it once that warden is done)

Madd gift guide - tells you who the gifts are for (I pm have it memorized at this point, but still.)

DAO- Modmanager - an alternative way to install mods (also capable of installing overrides)

DAmodder - another mod manager, dazip files only

Flycam - allows you to detach the camera from your character and look around. Great for screenshots, requires console commands.

Item mods - just adds items, armor, etc. Or alters the stats of existing items

(an important note about some of these: some have to be unchecked from the installed content menu if you want them to become available in a new game - they appear directly in player inventory after being checked on, but smthn about how the game handles inventory means they won’t appear in the inventory of a fresh file unless checked on after the game has started. I’ll mark these with a *)

*Adamantium battlemage regalia -  uses Legion of the dead armor design. Way overpowered armor and weapons for an arcane warrior

Improved companion items - gives the companion’s exclusive items better stats so you don’t feel like you have to replace them later in the game (I always felt bad for taking away their keepsake items) It also applies to the Warden’s oath (I actually use it now instead of throwing it storage!) and Sten’s sword Asala

Dirth’enna Ensalin armor set - an armor set for arcane warriors that you only receive if you send the tapped spirit to its final rest. Not as overpowered as the other one, overwrites one of the UDK tints

*Wings of Velvet - some pretty mage robes + a staff, and optional jewelry.

City elf ring - with stats - adds a stat boost to Tabris’ wedding ring item, so it can be worn for sentimental value and be useful

Improved ancient elven armor - increases the stats and tier of the ancient elven armor set

The Phoenix Armory for females - some pretty armor and weapons for women (i like sexy armor when it’s my choice to have it be that way; not when it’s the default)

instruments of the warden mage - some griffon-y weapons for mage wardens.

Mahariel’s heirloom - gives Mahariel’s heirloom amulet a unique icon and great stats, so they can sentimentally wear it through the entire game

Cousland family mementos - sentimental items for your Cousland

has a conflict with the Human noble hugs, for some reason.

Alistair’s mother’s amulet - makes his amulet into a wear-able item for him (requires console commands to spawn)

Jar of bees - HAHAHAHAHAHA I can throw bees at people

*Wing of Lilith - robes that use the desire demon skirt/sleeves. UDK compatible

*Warden commander armor - the Warden’s Keep DLC armor but with a helmet, shields, swords, and higher stats (I have it bc Dark Times changed the appearance of the DLC armor into something ugly and generic for some reason?)

RL’s swan song - adds a vendor to the Pearl who sells a ton of stuff (Don’t install all the items, it will probably bork your game. Just pick the ones you like)

RL’s Fashion Bazaar - no merchant for this one, just console commands.

Arcane armor and weapon sets - more stuff for Arcane warriors. Buy from Bodahn

Alistair’s rose (as reward) - adds a wear-able commemorative amulet to your inventory when Alistair gives you the rose

Inquisition Mage Armor - the one I use with the Dalish mage starting robes.

Hahahaha that’s all..... for now. When I add more things (or try out the stuff I haven’t used yet) I’ll reblog with updates.

[spacedustmantis]

:/

[love-fireflysong]

Welp, finally got to play Until Dawn: Rush of Blood last night, and honesty guys? It was such a fun game holy shit. Only took me a little over 2 hours to beat the game, and I totally would have started over and hunted for my missing trophies (cause I have a problem lol) and ‘skittles’ if it wasn’t for the fact that I can only use the vr headset for ~3 hours before it gives me a headache 😢

As expected though, game was chock full of all sorts of ud easter eggs and every time I entered an area of a level and recognized exactly where in the game I was supposed to be or I recognized character models that were being reused I got super giggly. Like you wouldn’t believe the amount of times I blew kisses when ever the psycho entered the scene to try and scare/terrorize me...even when Psycho!Josh was being a complete dick and kept killing me like ten times with his stupid axe as all those Matt’s in clown masks kept throwing molotovs at me lol.

Speaking of Josh, you even kinda sorta play as him maybe? Cause when I looked down to see if I even had a body or if I was just a pair of floating arms with guns, I was 100% wearing Josh’s overalls. Which is interesting, cause during the moments after levels when I’m sitting in a chair in the sanitorium I don’t have a body at all so they really didn’t need to go through all that work imo.

And obviously, they reused character models as previously hinted at by clown mask wearing Matt’s throwing molotov cocktails at me. Got to see all the boys in fact! Whether they were Chris, Cabin!Mike, Sanitorium!Mike, Matt, Regular!Josh, Psycho!Josh, and even Fiddler hilariously enough, they just coming at me in all forms. From wearing clown or pig masks to just being plain ass zombies, they were intent on killing me let me tell you. Sadly, though none of the girls made an appearance 😔 (which is a shame cause I totally think would have loved multiple Ashley’s in a clown mask of her own trying to stab me with scissors, it’s what she would have deserved imo) They didn’t even make little cameo’s as body’s on hooks in the mines like the rest of the guys did for some reason. Closest I got to seeing any of the girls was in the second level, and that’s just because a portion of it has all the doll’s that Josh set up in the dollhouse so I kept seeing their respective dolls over and over again.

The only girls that made any sort of appearance were Hannah and Beth (mostly Hannah obvs lol), and that was mostly for jump scare and horror reasons due to being dead and all. Though for some reason Hannah was wearing a bow in her hair?

(Like don’t get me wrong, even being totally dead and decaying she is rocking that hair bow let’s be real. It’s just such an odd choice, and I have no idea why they felt the need to add that to the character model?)

But seriously, if any of you ever have a chance to play this, I really REALLY suggest you give it a go. It’s a super short game but was so fucking fun oh my god.

Cannot wait to give it another run through tonight!

[eggmeralda]

spent an hour making a list related to That Fandom, followed by an hour listening to the haunting vibe playlist, followed by an hour reading the fanfic we wrote about my band and crying actual tears bc it's the peak of comedy, followed by an hour thinking about all the things I've ever created that will never be seen by anyone either bc I don't know how to show them to people or bc people just think they're bad but either way I'll never know the true answer, and now it's 10.30pm and I've basically experienced the full spectrum of emotions: autism, existential crisis, silly, and the feeling of being unseen

[bogleech]

Going to put all this in its own post too by popular request: here's how you make your own website with no understanding of HTML code at all, no software, no backend, absolutely nothing but a text file and image files! First get website server space of your own, like at NEOCITIES. The free version has enough room to host a whole fan page, your art, a simple comic series, whatever! The link I've provided goes to a silly comic that will tell you how to save the page as an html file and make it into a page for your own site. The bare minimum of all you need to do with it is JUST THIS:

Change the titles, text, and image url's to whatever you want them to be, upload your image files and the html file together to your free website (or the same subfolder in that website), and now you have a webpage with those pictures on it. That's it!!!!! .....But if you want to change some more super basic things about it, here's additional tips from the same terrible little guy:

That last code by itself is: <meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=001.html"> Change "001.html" to wherever you want that link to take people. THIS IS THE REASON WHY when you go to bogleech.com/pokemon/ you are taken instantly to the newest Pokemon review, because the /pokemon/ directory of my website has an "index.html" page with this single line of code. Every pokemon review has its own permanent link, but I change that single line in the index file so it points to the newest page whenever I need it to! While I catered these instructions to updating a webcomic, you can use the same template to make blog type posts, articles or just image galleries. Anything you want! You can delete the navigational links entirely, you can make your site's index.html into a simple list of text links OR fun little image links to your different content, whatever! Your website can be nothing but a big ugly deep fried JPEG of goku with a recipe for potato salad on it, no other content ever, who cares! We did that kind of nonsense all the time in the 1990's and thought it was the pinnacle of comedy!! Maybe it still can be?!?! Or maybe you just want a place to put some artwork and thoughts of yours that doesn't come with the same baggage as big social media? Make a webpage this way and it will look the same in any browser, any operating system for years and years to come, because it's the same kind of basic raw code most of the internet depends upon!

[hazelrose3637]

A Semi-Rant About "Barbie"

My mom, sister, and cousin all really love Barbie (2023), and I wanted to love it, too. I was ready for a feminist movie that was really fun.

Well, it was fun. But it also felt meh. Like, they introduced lots of cool concepts, but then didn't go anywhere with them:

-breaking stereotypes

-equality is not "eye for an eye" or "you need to suffer, too" (in regards to patriarchy and "matriarchy")

-generational bonding, especially between mother and daughter

-capitalism

I was also bummed that they didn't include other characters in the Barbie-verse, like Stacey, Kelly, Teresa, or Nikki. (I'm glad there were WOC in the movie, but why couldn't any of them be Teresa or Nikki?)

And then hearing other critiques about it, like the indigenous people comment and how that was tasteless.... Yeah, it was. I'm not gonna defend the director on that. Especially when it was super easy to solve the Barbie/Ken patriarchy conflict and, you know, there's still genocide going on today.

And the "savior" comment from the daughter? Extra yikes.

But then other blogs are saying how the message is so good, but... idk I didn't get that from the movie. I know what it was trying to say, but again, it got lost in the execution. The daughter just embraces Barbie-ness without any character development. She just goes from "Barbie is a fascist" to "okay, this is cute."

And I get Ken is mistreated by Barbie, but the movie made him almost an incel. He tried to force a kiss on Barbie more than once, she makes it clear she's not in love with him but he still pursues her... If they wanted to explore how women and men treat each other, don't make Ken a creep that ignores the word "no."

And why were the corporate guys there? They provide two and a half minutes of conflict, and that's it. The rest of the time, they're a running joke, and a boring one at that.

It has good music ("I'm Just Ken" is a bop), and the visuals are good. But the movie fell flat, like it slowed to a stop right before the finish line. It acted like it was telling a deep and important story, but it was shallow.

Sorry to anyone who loves the film. I really wanted to give "Barbie" a chance. But the cool toy clothes and dances just can't save the half-hearted message.

More ranting in the tags.

[vauxxy]

SETTLE DOWN!

luke castellan x reader

★ “for crying out loud, settle down!”

ABOUT - you hate his guts. he hates yours. but you’d by lying if you said you didn’t want to make out with him until his lips start bleeding. and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like that idea.

WARNINGS - sexual references, sexual comments, enemies to lovers, steamy makeout scenes, no explicit smut. both luke and reader are very horny and very mean sooo two red flags lol

A/N - please don’t make fun of my english/australian vocabulary. i know americans don’t use the word ‘fit’ but LET ME LIVE IN PEACE!!!let me know if you’d fancy a part 2 <3

WC - 3.7k words

it’s hard to recall when exactly your distaste towards luke castellan first developed.

maybe it started off as rude comments and shoved shoulders, or simply the act of tripping over each other's shoes, paired with a few nasty glances. either way, you hated his guts.

this sentiment was obviously returned by luke, who was eager to constantly egg you on and rile you up. maybe he found it amusing- watching the ever so calm and collected eldest daughter of the hypnos cabin going absolutely ballistic whenever luke did something slightly annoying. he loved the way her mature and gentle persona shattered as soon as he provoked her.

it was rather strange how quickly they let their masks slip, letting themselves shout foul obscenities at each other as soon as a conflict arose between the two of them. it was like being near each other was the primary catalyst for their arguments and squabbles- not the actual contents of the disagreement itself, but the players involved.

curiously, luke’s terrible attitude was never extended to anyone other than you. around everyone else at camp half-blood, luke was the perfect gentleman. warm and welcoming to anyone who happened to walk past him, a great swordsman, well-kept, respectful and polite, the list goes on. he was perfect. but as soon as his eyes met yours, his entire body shifted. he became something colder, something ravenous- something hungry. he was out for blood, he just didn’t understand why.

you were slumped over a picnic table near the cabins, tiredly observing all handful of half-blood kids from various cabins making friendship bracelets.

it was dark out, the moon and the embers of the nearby fire acting as the sole providers of light for the camp that night.

truthfully, you didn’t want to be there. you would rather be in bed, coddled up between your sheets for hours before heading down to the infirmary to help out the younger kids with their sleeping troubles. maybe afterwards you could go down to the theatre and join in on a few songs with the apollo kids, or even practice sparring with clarisse.

whatever it was, you didn’t want to be there. not with luke castellan’s eyes studying your every move. you didn’t need to lift your head to know he was looking at you- you could feel it. the arrogance was radiating off him and you could smell his pride from across the picnic table. your nose easily picked up on notes of wet grass, a neutral deodorant, pure spite, and vanilla candles.

after what seemed like an eternity, you eventually shot your head up to meet luke’s unwavering gaze.

“someone’s sleepy.” he smirked, his voice calm and cold. he looked satisfied; content with watching you slowly rise in anger as he began to coddle you and patronise your every move.

you ran a hand through your hair, fixing the messy state it was in after laying down for so long. “i’m not sleepy, just bored.” you retorted, letting your hands hold up your head as you stared deeply into his eyes, not breaking eye contact.

luke played along, refusing to blink as he picked up on the competitive gesture. “bored, huh?” he mused, shooting you a cocky grin as he leaned forward over the table. “you’re never satisfied, are you, princess?”

you rolled your eyes, letting your pupils meet the back of your head as you stifled a groan. you slowly covered one side of your face in your hand, hiding your pink cheeks as a result of his use of the nickname ‘princess’.

“don’t you have a loser convention to get to?” you asked, referring to the cabin councillors meeting that he was supposed to be at.

luke shrugged, looking to his side as he watched a young demeter boy making a bracelet. “got cancelled. now i get to look at your pretty little face for an hour straight.”

“i’m going to bed.” you grumbled, standing up from the picnic table, an unfinished friendship bracelet left discarded. you walked away, hearing little to no protests from the rest of the table.

luke’s eyes met the bracelet you left behind, studying it for a moment. the colours were cute and the beads were placed strategically along the string, creating an interesting and visually pleasing combination of textures and shapes. luke’s hand wandered over to the bracelet, quickly snatching it before securely tying it and stuffing it in his pocket.

luke wasn’t sure why he stole the bracelet. maybe he thought he could taunt you with it, or maybe he could just wear it for shits and gigs. it was a pretty bracelet- why wouldn’t he want to wear it?

a week passed by, and it was time for capture the flag.

luke had consistently come out of the games a champion, securing his place as the best swordsman at camp half-blood whenever possible.

you were tired of it. you promised yourself that when the opportunity arose, you would beat him to it. you would earn the praise he revived so effortlessly.

your determination to win capture the flag was also partially encouraged by the events of the previous tuesday.

you, luke, and a few other older demi-gods were forced to monitor the younger campers on a trip to the nearby lake. simple, right? wrong.

things went south fast when luke ‘accidentally’ nudged your shoulder a bit too hard, forcing you to fall into the lake. luckily, you were a strong enough swimmer and were able to get back on land safely.

“sorry about that, y/n. maybe next time you should keep out of the way?” he leaned in close, whispering in your ear.

luke smirked lightly as his dry hand rubbed the soaking wet and now transparent fabric covering your shoulder. his lips softly grazed your neck as you released yourself from his grip, shooting him a dirty look.

“you should watch your step, castellan. things like this happen to anyone.”

luke scoffed, looking you up and down as he took in the sight of your shivering body. “do they now?” he asked, his head turning to follow your figure as you walked past him.

as you walked away, luke couldn’t help but study your body as it became revealed by the fabric of the camp t-shirt sticking to your skin. how could he not admire the way he could see the vague outline of a lacy black bra underneath your top? or the way your wet hair was framing your angry little face? how you stared him down as your friend offered you a towel.

if you weren’t so acutely aware of how your figure was on full display, you would’ve pushed him in as well- but you were way too infuriated to even get close to him at this point… as well as the fact you didn’t think you could handle the idea of him taking off your shirt in front of you, all wet as his hair let water droplets roll down his torso.

maybe you could handle hitting him with a baseball bat a few times, but the idea of his face all beaten and bloodied was strangely appetising as well.

in all fairness, luke’s actions were not unprovoked. it’s not like you didn’t also tease him and fuck around with his temper.

for example, the very day before the incident at the lake, you had used your abilities as a daughter of hypnos to put him to sleep… for 19 hours, causing him to miss out on camp activities and lose hours of valuable training time.

you felt pure bliss watching him as he stepped out of the hermes cabin, confused and disoriented as hoards of campers instantly surrounded him.

“are you okay luke?”

“i heard you were in a coma!”

“we thought you were a goner,”

luke blocked out the concerned comments of his peers as soon as he caught you gazing over at him from the deck of the hypnos cabin.

with that ‘i got you good’ smirk plastered across your face, luke knew he had to get you back. getting to see your semi-exposed and cold, shuddering body in the process of doing so was only a bonus.

he felt a high from getting to see what he caused. what he did to you. it made him hungry for more. how else could he anger you? get you to show him more? how could you return the favour? would you? he didn’t know if you realised the effect you had on him- but he was going to do anything in his power for you to feel it too.

but those incidents were nothing compared to what was about to go down.

2 hours into capture the flag, and you had managed to fool and scare off enough members of the blue team, causing many individual members to go off track. those hours practising sword fighting with clarisse were definitely worth it.

you leaned against a nearby tree, closing your eyes for a moment as you fiddled with your sword. lost in thought, you heard something coming. more specifically, someone. you didn’t even have to open your eyes to know who it was.

“oh, hey castellan. isn’t it past your bedtime?” you asked, rubbing your eyes open as you lazily swung your sword back and forth.

luke scoffed, taking a step towards you. “i think i like you better when you’re drenched in lake water.” he smirked, looking into your eyes without breaking contact. he couldn’t look away. it wasn’t even because he wanted to intimidate you; he simply couldn’t stand to have you exit his field of vision. not right now, at least.

you look a step backwards, getting into position as you use your shield to protect yourself. “are you gonna try to maim me or what?”

luke took another step forward, mirroring your stance as he took the defensive. “and hurt your pretty little body? i’d rather die.”

you turned red, your mouth agape as you processed what he had said. “excuse me?” you spat, your voice breathy as your eyes widened.

“you heard me,” he smiled innocently, deceiving you before beginning to attack. you blocked every move, pacing around the area as you swung your sword at him. “you’re such a fucking prick!” you grumbled, trying to catch your breath as you struggled to mark him with your blade.

“language, princess.” he scolded, still smiling at you as he continued his attempts at disarming you.

that was the moment when you realised something.

you can play dirty.

not with your sleep-themed party tricks or your weak little fists, but with the power of unpredictability. the element of surprise.

you let him get closer to you, pretending to settle down before him. luke chuckled at the sight of your loosened grip on your shield and increasingly tired eyes, noticing the way your footsteps shuffled backwards and forwards.

“someone’s getting tired-“ his cocky sentiment was quickly cut off by the feeling of your hands tightly gripping his arm- his shock only furthering as your teeth dug into the soft skin on his wrist.

he instantly dropped his shield, his sword still held firmly in his other hand. you quickly released him from your bite, taking a step forwards as you put your weight on his shield. “ow- what the fuck?!” he stammered, looking up at you with red cheeks and a bleeding hand.

you were stumped. you hadn’t thought further than getting rid of his shield. “i didn’t mean to break skin to be honest. sorry.” you shrugged, picking up his shield and throwing it far away while he was still frozen in shock.

luke continued looking at you, silent as he became overwhelmed by the feeling of a ruthless war finally coming to an end within his mind.

obviously, he found you attractive. you were a pretty girl. sure, a lot of girls at camp half-blood were pretty. but for some odd reason, he thought you were much prettier. the type of pretty girl that deserved to be called cute nicknames every day and covered in gentle kisses every night. he wanted to kiss you softly, hold you tightly, say you looked gorgeous, make you tacky beaded bracelets that were the same colour as your eyes. he wanted to make you feel loved.

but he also thought you were a brat. always teasing him and only him. driving him insane with targeted comments and insults. purposefully making him look stupid in front of the younger campers and even patronising him for it. luke wanted to put you in your place. he wanted nothing more than to push you onto his bed in the dead of night, marking you as his. he yearned to hear your strained voice whimpering his name as he towered over you. he wanted to exchange knowing glances and pretend nothing had changed, despite the images of your hands gripping his bedsheets as you let out stifled moans etched into his mind.

luke often wondered how the two could overlap. how the fuck could these two perceptions of this one girl coexist? but luke didn’t wonder how it was possible to think about anymore, he didn’t care about that. now, he wondered if it was possible to act on both of his separate desires for her. he wondered if she even wanted him as much as he wanted her- if she wanted him at all.

“hey, i said i was sorry for making you bleed!” you called out, snapping him out of it.

“stop sulking! what, do you want me to kiss it better or something?”

luke blinked for the first time in what felt like centuries, shrugging as he let a sly smile creepy onto his face. “oh, im not sulking.” he insisted as he stepped closer towards the shorter girl.

he extended his wrist out towards you, a deep and bleeding bite mark engraved into the skin. “you gonna kiss it better, or…?”

you turned red, shaking your head. “i was just joking, castellan.” you murmured coldly, trying to avoid his gaze.

he kept his hand extended towards you, temping you to just take it and kiss it to get him to leave. “fucking loser…” you grumbled, holding his hand in yours as you gave his wrist a soft kiss.

“there, better?” you scoffed before luke’s hands began to tightly grip your wrist, spinning you gently onto your back as he pushed you to the ground, hovering over you. luckily, you still had your sword in your hand. you quickly moved it in front of you, holding the blade close to his neck.

“be careful, princess” he cooed, his sword digging into the dirt ground, standing upright in is position as the skin of your right thigh pressed against the blade. his hands gripped your shoulder and waist, keeping you bound to the floor as you began to squirm under his grip. “ugh, are you kidding me?!” you huffed, your face red from the feeling of intimacy between the two of you arising.

luke was basking in it, relishing the moment as he became almost addicted to the feeling of your skin against his. he let out a hitched breath, his eyes trailing down her frame as he finally realised just how close they were. the vulnerable yet stubborn look in her eyes set off a switch in him. you watched him curiously as he suddenly became a flustered mess, quickly scrambling off of you and standing up.

you lifted your back off the ground, using your hands to rid yourself of the dirt that had accumulated on your shirt.

“are you gonna explain whatever the fuck just happened, luke?” you asked, calling out to him from your spot on the ground.

he rolled his eyes, turning around to face you. “shit, y/n- are you fucking stupid?” he questioned, his voice reeking of irritation and frustration. you furrowed your brows, standing up as you approached him, sword and shield in hand. “oh, alright. forgive me for wondering why the dickhead who threw me into a lake a few days ago was pinning me to the ground in the middle of capture the flag for no reason?” i explained, seething as i pushed him back by the shoulders.

“what the fuck is your problem?” you asked again, letting yourself back him up against a nearby tree.

the game didn’t matter to you anymore. what mattered was getting to the bottom of why this prick was fucking around with you. sure, you liked how it felt being pushed against the ground. you liked the feeling of his blade pressing against your thigh. but you liked the boy more than his actions. you hated yourself for it, of course. this was the dude who’s been teasing you about and pushing you around for 3 summers straight- so why the fuck did you think he was the fittest guy you had ever laid your eyes on?

why did you want him to run his hands through your hair? suck on your neck till it went purple? why on earth did you spend countless nights dreaming about him holding you close as he slept next to you?

you were the eldest hypnos daughter at camp half-blood. you could’ve changed your dream easily; came up with literally any other fantasy at the drop of a hat- but you didn’t. you let it continue. because as much as you hated to admit it, you liked him. you wanted him bad. every last inch of him.

luke let your words echo through his mind for a bit. ‘what is my problem?’ he thought, his expression blank as he stared at you. “i don’t know, y/n! maybe my problem is you?” he said, his voice strained, yet still snarky and somewhat dramatic.

you rolled your eyes again, stepping forward. you kept your hands on his shoulders, pressing him further against the tree he was pinned against. “i’m your problem?!” you asked angrily, holding your sword against his neck once more.

“yes! you make me feel fucking weak.” luke confessed, gripping your wrist tightly as he pushed your hand away in order to create some space between his neck and the sword. “i can’t control myself around you.” he exclaimed, pushing his hand against yours as you retracted the blade from his neck.

“you bring out the worst in me, and i hate you for that.” you arched your brows, leaning forward. “that sounds like a you problem.” you quipped, defeatedly pushing the top of the blade of your sword into the ground as you let your newly free hand grip his chin- forcing him to look down at you.

luke’s hand wandered over to your face, his thumb softly grazing your bottom lip as you tilted his chin downwards, letting him look you in the eyes.

“don’t act like you don’t get exactly what i mean, princess.” he cooed, his voice low as his fingers traced over your lips and cheekbones, his other hand gently caressing your jawline as his fingertips wrapped around your neck.

you grumbled, standing on your toes to reach his height. “you’re a prick.” you scoffed, your eyes fluttering closed as you eagerly kissed him on the lips, his cheeks turning red as he mirrored your movements. he let his hands run through you hair, his other hand resting on your waist as he turned you around- pushing you against the tree now.

his hands ravenously scattered across your delicate frame, trying to feel every curve and dent on your face, back and waist. you pressed your body against his as his hands travelled across your form, closing any and all distance between the two.

after a few straight minutes of violently making out, you pulled away for air, staring into his eyes as your lower lip trembled in shock. you both tried to steady your breathing, lost in each other's eyes as your heartbeats returned back to normal.

“i’ll kiss you again if you turn around and let us win.” you said quickly, the offer seemingly the first thing you could think to say.

luke stayed quiet for a moment, before bursting out into hesitant laughter. “i mean, that’s a pretty good offer…” he said softly, letting his fingers trace your facial features as he studied the colour of your eyes.

“sure.” he said, a little smile on his face as you both leaned in again, the kiss a lot more passionate this time around. you held a clump of his hair in your hand, lightly pulling on on it as luke’s fingers jumped between gripping your neck and shoulders- the other hand running up and down your waist and hips.

you felt his knee hit the bark of the tree, slightly bent as it lightly pressed against the inside of your thigh. that’s when your hands began to grip the back of his shirt, your lips gliding down to the side of his neck. quiet moans escaped luke’s lips, only encouraging you to keep going. he moved his hand downwards, tracing circles into your hips as he moved his other arm hand upwards, cupping the space on the side of your breast with his thumb, lightly rubbing your ribcage.

the moment was only increasing in intensity- before luke was cut off my the sounds of someone calling his name. he quickly pulled away, leaving a gentle kiss on your lips before stepping back.

“right, time to hold up my end of the deal.” he chirped up, leaving one more needy kiss on your forehead.

“oh, by the way-“ he paused, before quickly pulling the bracelet you made the week before out of his pocket. “did you want this back, princess? or can i have it?” he asked cheerfully, his voice low as he looked over you.

“keep it.” you said hastily, your cheeks a vibrant shade of red. luke nodded, giving you one final kiss on the lips as he put the bracelet on the same wrist you had bitten earlier. he gave you a subtle wink and a smile, before jogging away- leaving you frozen in place.

you could hear him talking to his friend from a distance, noting on how he lied to effortlessly- saving your arse over a few kisses.

needless to say, the red team won capture the flag. but luke couldn’t bring himself to care about losing. how could he care about anything other than y/n and her hands and her smile and her eyes? her witty comments and remarks? the way she tilted her head up to look up at him? the way his face fits perfectly in her palm? how could he care about anything else ever again?

[astronicht]

Okay I'm almost done with Fellowship, here's an incomplete list of shit I noticed and thought was buck fucking wild on my first ever read-thru: medieval edition.

In literally the second line of the book, Tolkien implies that Bilbo Baggins wrote a story which was preserved alongside the in-universe version of the Mabinogion (aka the best-known collection of Welsh myths; I promise this is batshit). This is because The Hobbit has been preserved, in Tolkien's AU version of our world, in a "selection of the Red Book of Westmarch" (Prologue, Concerning Hobbits). If you're a medievalist and you see something called "The Red Book of" or "The Black Book of" etc it's a Thing. In this case, a cheeky reference to the Red Book of Hergest (Llyfr Coch Hergest). There are a few Red Books, but only Hergest has stories).

not a medieval thing but i did not expect one common theory among hobbits for the death of Frodo's parents to be A RUMORED MURDER-SUICIDE.

At the beginning of the book a few hobbits report seeing a moving elm tree up on the moors, heading west (thru or past the Shire). I mentioned this in another post, but another rule: if you see an elm tree, that's a Girl Tree. In Norse creation myth, the first people were carved from driftwood by the gods. Their names were Askr (Ash, as in the tree), the first man, and Embla (debated, but likely elm tree), the first woman. A lot of ppl have I think guessed that that was an ent-wife, but like. Literally that was a GIRL. TREE.

Medieval thing: I used to read the runes on the covers of The Hobbit and LOTR for fun when I worked in a bookshop. There's a mix of Old Norse (viking) and Old English runes in use, but all the ones I've noticed so far are real and readable if you know runes.

Tom Bombadil makes perfect sense if you once spent months of your life researching the early medieval art of galdor, which was the use of poems or songs to do a form of word-magic, often incorporating gibberish. If you think maybe Tolkien did not base the entirety of Fellowship so far around learning and using galdor and thus the power of words and stories, that is fine I cannot force you. He did personally translate "galdor" in Beowulf as "spell" (spell, amusingly, used to mean "story"). And also he named an elf Galdor. Like he very much did name an elf Galdor.

Tom Bombadil in fact does galdor from the moment we meet him. He arrives and fights the evil galdor (song) of the willow tree ("old gray willow-man, he's a mighty singer"), which is singing the hobbits to sleep and possibly eating them, with a galdor (song) of his own. Then he wanders off still singing, incorporating gibberish. I think it was at this point that I started clawing my face.

THEN Tom Bombadil makes perfect sense if you've read the description of the scop's songs in Beowulf (Beowulf again, but hey, Tolkien did famously a. translate it b. write a fanfiction about it called Sellic Spell where he gave Beowulf an arguably homoerotic Best Friend). The scop (pronounched shop) is a poet who sings about deeds on earth, but also by profession must know how to sing the song or tell the story of how the cosmos itself came to be. The wise-singer who knows the deep lore of the early universe is a standard trope in Old English literature, not just Beowulf! Anyway Tom Bombadil takes everyone home and tells them THE ENTIRE STORY OF ALL THE AGES OF THE EARTH BACKWARDS UNTIL JUST BEFORE THE MOMENT OF CREATION, THE BIG BANG ITSELF and then Frodo Baggins falls asleep.

Tom Bombadil knows about plate tectonics

This is sort of a lie, Tom Bombadil describes the oceans of old being in a different place, which works as a standard visual of Old English creation, which being Christian followed vaguely Genesis lines, and vaguely Christian Genesis involves a lot of water. TOLKIEN knew about plate tectonics though.

Actually I just checked whether Tolkien knew about plate tectonics because I know the advent of plate tectonics theory took forever bc people HATED it and Alfred Wegener suffered for like 50 years. So! actually while Tolkien was writing LOTR, the scientific community was literally still not sure plate tectonics existed. Tom Bombadil knew tho.

Remember that next time you (a geologist) are forced to look at the Middle Earth map.

I'm not even done with Tom Bombadil but I'm stopping here tonight. Plate tectonics got me. There's a great early (but almost high!) medieval treatise on cosmology and also volcanoes and i wonder if tolkien read it. oh my god. i'm going to bed.

edit: part II

[sparky-is-spiders]

Hopelessly charmed by the idea of like. Jon just has Shit Taste in men. Like his taste in women? Questionable. His primary type seems to be "could kill him dead" and sometimes that goes well (Georgie) and sometimes it doesn't (Gertrude) but with men? Terrible. Godawful. You give him a set of men's dating profiles and he will always pick the worst available option without fail. Has a 70-30 split on older authority figures vs guys who want to "fix" him (who invariably get mad when he fails to be fixed). Every goddamned time. Best case scenario the relationship blows up in like three months in a way that catches everyone else in the blast radius (Martin) worst case scenario they're obsessively codependent and having some hot-and-cold affair that blows up two and a half years later and everyone around them gets stuck wading through the fallout (Elias). To be clear (since I'm approaching from goofy comedy angle) these aren't abusive relationships they're just. Bad. The kind of thing you see on r/relationships where it's so obvious they're going to break up tomorrow over the reddit comments they'll split over an entirely unrelated argument next week (not that I can imagine Jon posting on reddit tbh).

Also yes yes most of this IS because I love judgemental outsider PoVs. What of it?

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