#their weapons are highly sus

[naevisweluvu]

Fontaine, Archon Quest Spoilers (fem reader) "It should be obvious the situation! This - is a mockery to Our Grace!" A citizen yelled, watching your calm face standing on the defendant's podium. You were being sued by none other than the Hydro Archon, Furina, for being an imposter, impersonating the Creater they speak so highly of.

"Ironic, ain't it?" You whispered underneath your breath, a smile on your face regardless as you ignored the citizen's whines and groans, but staring at the eyes of the supposed Archon standing across the room from you.

You giggled softly. "Monsieur Neuvillette, may I have a duel to avoid trial?" You asked the Chief Justice.

"What?! That isn't fair! They're basically admitting to it!"

"Our true Creator would never avoid a trial!"

"Boo! Face your consequences!!"

"ORDER!" Neuvillette shouted and the crowd went silent. He stared at the Champion Duelist, to Lady Furina, and finally, his eyes landed on you. "I have no reason to deny this request. But miss, you do realize if you fail to win this duel, you.." He trailed on as you nodded, cutting him off.

"Yes, I realize what I'm doing." You said, and he exhaled. "Alright, then, the duel between Champion Duelist, Clorinde, and miss [name] will begin."

You walked down, holding your weapon of choice loosely in your arms, and so did Clorinde, with a tighter grip. You nodded to her, with a smirk on your face.

"BEGIN!"

The duel started as usual, avoiding attacks, and the Duelist, obviously, landing a few hits here and there. It was then after a few minutes that she summoned her elemental energy, and you made the act of 'summoning' your owns as well.

8 minutes passed, and the crowd was watching attentively, and you decided you had gotten bored of the back and forth. You let Clorinde slash a huge hit on your back, ripping your shirt enough for the wound to be visible.

The wound leaking gold.

The crowd gasped,

and so did the Duelist,

and so did the Archon and her dragon.

You smiled, making a show of waving your hand and bowing, your back facing now the mentioned representatives of Justice. You bowed, like a magician would after their show.

And then, in a second, when the Duelist came back to her senses and would yell for a medic,

you dissapeared.

Only the traces of your elemental power remained, dissapearing after a few minutes.

The Chief Justice ordered for the crowd to leave, and started an investigation on your case, and where you might have possibly went.

But hell, who's gonna be able to track the almighty Creator?

(It starts to rain uncontrollaby hard after this incident, some people think if the prophecy doesn't drown them, that rain will)

[emcscared-whumps]

WRITING RESOURCES

This post will be updated with new entries Last updated: 01 Aug, 2024 See the Updated Version!

WRITING TIPS & RESOURCES

ASL: Technicques to Write Signed Dialogue

Disability Writing Guides (Another resource post)

Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More Part 1 (Another esource post)

Editing Service (by @concerningwolves)

Emotional Intelligence in Conflict

Ellipsus, the New Collaborative Writing Tool

Difficult Chapters

Drafting: Four Methods for Highly Anxious Individuals

Writing Disability: Overused Tropes

General Writing Resources Post (Collaborative)

Lay or Lie

MS Word Shortcuts Guide

Niel Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling

Platonic Relationship Development

Passive Voice Advice

Publishing

On Punctuating Speech

Scene Transition

Sentence Ending Pointers

YA MacGuffins and Games, A Trope Analysis

Your Readers Don't Know - The Truth of the First 30 Pages

Weirdly Specific but Helpful Character Building Questions

The Writer's Sus Resources Post

The Writer's Workbook

WHUMP

The Anatomy of Kill Blows (Collaborative)

The Biology of Human Survival (Life and Death in Extreme Environments), by Claude A. Piantadosi

Whump Events (A linked Google doc by @whumpsday )

Whump Reference Books (A linked list created by @bump-of-whump )

Whump Resources (A resource post by @a-crumb-of-whump , how to start a whump blog, oc advice, advice on motivation and dealing with discouragement, and games

Iron Comb (Iron combs for processing wood/flax fibre used as a torture device in historical settings)

Mer Whump Bingo by @a-crumb-of-whump

The Whumpy Printing Press is Open for Submissions for Publication of Whumpy Novels!

WOUNDS, INJURIES, & TRAUMA

GSW Recovery - [A] [B] [C]

Malnutrition

Migraines

Passing out from pain

PTSD Dreams

Scar Tissue Info

Sleep Deprivation

Writing Traumatic Injuries Resources (Another resource post)

More Resources for Writing Injuries (Another resource post)

WEAPONS

Gun information

The Safety and Mechanism of a Bolt Action Rifle

Bolt Action Rifle Mechanism (Animated diagram)

Semiautomatic Rifle Mechanism (Animated diagram)

Pump Action Rifle Mechanism (Animated diagram)

CLOTHING

African Women's Fashion (Outfit examples video)

Lady's Clothes Guide

Men's Fashion Guide

Men's Suits Guide

Period Clothing References

Shirt types

Vintage Fashion Clips (Saved for scarf pin :))

MISC

African Hair Care and FAQ

Art Resources and References (Another resource post)

Creating a Chinese Name

Writing Deaf, Mute, or Blind Characters

Place Description Aid...?

Directional Hearing Underwater

Drawing Fat Simple

General Cane Guide

Ideas to Consider when Creating BIPOC Characters

POC Stock Photos

Wheelchair References for Art and Writing (features images)

Whump Community Directory (Tumblr blogs)

Wikipedia Monster Compilation Pages for People (Another resource post)

If there're any broken links, please let me know!

[web-novel-polls]

Best Hater Upper Bracket

Please vote for whoever’s best at being a hater, not who you like the most. If unfamiliar with a character, check out the propaganda below the cut!

(Spoilers Warning)

Su She from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / MDZS

“Stop thinking so highly of yourself. Who told you I cursed Jin Zixuan in order to frame you? Back then, I wasn’t working for Sect Leader at all. I cursed him simply because I wanted to!” ….Su She, “Those as arrogant as him--I’ll kill every single one who comes my way!” - Su She to Wei Wuxian, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, EXR, Chapter 104

No propaganda submitted

Mod Propaganda: Haterism so bad he straight up made a new sect. Cursed Jin Zixun. Has beef with a guy who barely knows he exists. 

Wiki Link

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know 

Submission: Second half of the novel YHJ in particular, hater energy unmatched! Righteous sects? fuck them up. His own sect? on eggshells. His best effort at not murdering someone is to start wiping his weapon with their clothes. General vibe of 'if anything happened to Venerable i'd kill everyone in this room and then myself AND SOMETHING JUST HAPPENED TO VENERABLE'. Anyway get their asses babe <3

[askvectorprime]

Dearest Vector Prime,

What do you know of Cybertronian martial arts? How do they differ from one another? You must have encountered more than a few unique styles and practitioners in your travels.

Dear Jet Judoka,

Ever since the first construction crane robot used its crane boom to deliberately knock over another robot eons ago, martial arts have been an integral part of our history.

You might assume that the warmongering Decepticons were the first to codify these disciplines of pugilism—and indeed, the brutality of their attacks and strategies gave them the edge at the outbreak of war. But the Autobots, who had lived as engineers and laborers, were able to disguise their training: every step, every turn of a wheel, every act of physical labor could be a secret technique, practiced thousands of times per cycle, until they had mastered the perfect move with which to surprise their adversaries.

Under Autobot schools of thought, there are two basic elements of physical combat: “Piston” and “Gear” motion. “Piston” is a direct, linear force: delivered by punches, rocket-powered fists, or other inbuilt ballistics. By contrast, “Gear” is a deflecting, rotational force: swiveling at the waist, or rolling, to create a “transmission” of the opponent’s energy into advantageous movement. In time, this framing came to influence Decepticon disciplines, until both groups were using the same terminology.

As the conflict between Autobot and Decepticon continued, fuelled by an escalating arms race to develop esoteric weaponry and enhancements, some chose to eschew ranged combat and instead specialize in martial arts based around stealth and melee. After sneaking into the enemy’s midst, a single warrior trained in this way could quickly dismantle those unprepared soldiers who relied more on their armament and abilities. Being a direct reaction to the highly technological mindset of both factions, it’s perhaps unsurprising that martial arts came to be spoken of using increasingly spiritual terms. Those trained in Circuit-Su turned inwards towards the personal energy of the spark, which practitioners of Metallikato would learned to channel through their weapons, striving to embody the “Ultimate Warrior” of legend. Meanwhile, followers of Yoketron’s Eightfold Path formed an understanding of self based on eight specifications: SPR-INT-SPD-END-RNK-CRG-FRB-SKL, each a separate aspect of Primus.

Other disciplines were influenced by offworld cultures. Crystalocution was developed by medics and structural engineers, after they observed the way Rock Lords would target their opponent’s fracture lines in hand-to-hand combat, and adapted the technique to focus on joints or brittle crystalline components in Cybertronians. The loose assortment of non-lethal forms commonly termed Diffusion, popular amongst the Autobots, are descended from a pacifist fighting style practiced amongst the Circle of Light.

Although these styles have been broadly recognised and adopted by countless fighters, it mustn’t be understated how deeply individualistic the martial arts can be: even within a single style, no two fighters are alike. An exceptional master may try to pass down their techniques, but the unique talent, ability, and perseverance of each student will inevitably transform these teachings into something new. Take, for example, the Turtler School.

Turtler lived as a hermit on an island, on Earth. Having felt undervalued by the Decepticons, he enjoyed the solitude this lifestyle afforded, living in peace from his Seacons. At some point in the distant future, a young simian Maximal arrived on a flying surfboard, wanting to learn martial arts in order to fight in the “Be(a)st Under The Heavens Tournament”. Turtler reluctantly took him on as a pupil, and over the course of several years, put him through a highly unorthodox training regimen. Some examples of the feats he had the Maximal perform included:

Climbing a mountain to catch a bird

Climbing a mountain again to catch a bird, but this time with Turtler strapped to his back in alt mode

Outrunning and outswimming Cybershark in a race

Painting Turtler's home (this one in particular was very unpopular with his student)

Eventually, the young Maximal proved his purity of heart—which wasn’t actually something Turtler had cared about in the least, as he really had just needed a few chores doing—and asked to learn the secret of Turtler’s ultimate technique, the King Poseidon Wave. Turtler, not quite understanding, assumed that the Maximal was talking about his laser cannon. He fired a shot to demonstrate—and to his surprise, the Maximal copied him, pressing two open palms together, and somehow firing a large energy blast! Before Turtler could even process what had happened, the Maximal hopped onto his surfboard and sailed away on a cloud, forever grateful for the good times he’d had with the old hermit over the years.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep3 - Armand as Unreliable Narrator

I'm seeing a lot of posts defending AMC!Armand against fans thinking he's lying or untrustworthy or something. I've seen people point out valid things like AMC's deliberate twisting / reckless disregard of book canon; to bad takes stemming from shipping wars; to personal preferences & biases.

My reservations against AMC!Armand go all the way back to S1, when we saw those floating bookshelves and sliced pages in Claudia's diary. I've long since been of the suspicion that Armand's not necessarily forcing Louis against his will or anything THAT nefarious; but that he's definitely been taking advantage of Louis' need for someone to help stop him from going off the deep end--and more importantly, that he's been taking more than his fair share of autonomy over things Louis does/doesn't have access to--specifically: information/knowledge.

For me, GABRIELLE'S absence is the most telling red flag. Cuz the writers know good & well that they want S3/TVL; Rolin never shuts up about it. It's not that AMC isn't doing the books so we don't need to expect it to be 1:1--it's that THEY ARE doing the books! They're planting seeds through deliberate misdirection & omission.

Gab's arguably the most important/impactful person in Lestat's life b4 he meets Louis. She's Les' very first fledgling. She's there when Armand kidnaps Nicki; she's there when Alessandra explains the Devil's Road for the first time (a scene AMC was obvs inspired by with Daciana in 2x1); she's there when Les leaves the Theatre; she's everywhere.

And what's more:

Armand hates Gabrielle's GUTS.

Gabrielle's "useless" to Armand, but she was EVERYTHING to Les, and most of his emotional damage & abandonment issues come from her. Armand KNEW to weaponize Magnus' suicide & Gab's lackluster treatment of child!Les as the best way to seduce him!

Armand, like Claudia, is DESPERATE for someone to want & need him as their #1.

Louis is pretty good for this--if only he'd hurry up & get over Lestat (& Claudia) already.

In the book!IWTV/TVA, Armand dumped Louis when Lou gave up on being happy & got way too depressed for Armand to help him anymore. But Armand really wanted Lestat. Cuz Lestat is CLINGY--he doesn't pack & up leave (ie: give up) without a DARN good reason--and it's mighty sus that Armand didn't mention that Les & Gab left him to look for HIS MAKER, MARIUS, cuz Armand didn't know ISH, and doubted Marius was still alive--cuz if he was still alive, why had ARMAND been ABANDONED BY MARIUS for all those centuries, left for dead with the Children of Darkness/Satan? 👀💔

Lestat is a carbon copy of Marius, down to the blonde hair, blue eyes, and red velvet. Armand's Louis' rebound of Lestat, but Lestat's Armand's rebound of Marius.

Louis is not the only vampire who lives in a constant state of denial/delusion, running from his fears. They are both exact opposites of Lestat, who confronts his fears head-on.

I'm becoming increasingly convinced that if Lestat IS asleep in the penthouse, Louis doesn't know--or he doesn't have all the correct info. Cuz Armand's been isolating Louis this whole time in their weird cage/penthouse, with its jail bars and floating bookcases. He is ACTIVELY AGAINST this entire interview; and he encourages any & all contradictory talk of Lestat being "dead"--

--so it makes sense that he wouldn't want Louis to know anything about Gabrielle, as that would be someone who KNOWS Lestat, and would probably know where to find him (IF he's not comatose in the penthouse somewhere).

So for Armand to leave Gab out and make it seem like Mama's Boy Lestat was this cavalier playboy who cared about nothing & no one but himself (as per Louis' words to Daniel) just smacks of a highly slanted angle, that even LOUIS is ignorant of--I don't think AMC!Louis knows anything about Gabrielle's existence whatsoever. 👀 Yes, "Lestat never told me ish!;" but clearly ARMAND never told him the whole story, either. 😬🤫🤐

Then, there's Nickistat....

Plenty of interviews/reviewers already said Armand's petty, so I'm not surprised that the Nicki info doesn't add up. First off, it's a great way to garner sympathy from Louis, and create a connection, and act as an effective stimulus for Louis' own unpleasant experiences being cucked by Lestat. If Armand can convince Louis that Lestat did to Louis what Lestat did to Nicki, it just makes Lestat look worse; legitimizing why Loumand is oh-so-much-better; which they're actively tryna pitch to Daniel.

But it's a risky gamble though, cuz it also puts Armand in the same spot as Antoinette--and we see how that went. 😬💀🔥 Only this time it won't be Armand who ends up in flames, but Louis, if AMC pulls a Merrick.

It helps that "Lestat never told him ish," either, cuz Louis CLEARLY has no idea that Nicki died--AND HOW. Lestat admitted that he & Nicki "parted ways," but if that's all Louis knows, then ofc Armand can tack on that Nicki was abandoned & hung out to dry--that Lestat was giving Armand money through Roget, not NICKI; that the Theatre was Nicki's, NOT Armand's--and neatly omit everything about what really happened: that Nicki was mentally insane, thoroughly hated & resented Lestat by that point, and was eventually tortured & killed BY ARMAND and his coven when THEY couldn't handle him anymore--a la PAUL'S treatment by the DPDLs.

Armand NEEDS to come across as sympathetically as possible; otherwise he loses Louis AND Daniel to this interview--only this time he won't be the one sitting back letting it happen.

For me, Armand's unreliable not cuz cuz I hate him--on the contrary, I've said 1000 times that he's my fave character in TVC; and Assad's doing an excellent job with him so far. But I don't trust him cuz I KNOW HIM--the fandom calls him a GREMLIN for a reason. I know the stunts he pulled in TVL (telling Daniel the Children of Darkness/Satan killed themselves, when in the book Armand killed them all (except for Eleni, Felix, and like 2 others IDER--they're all Rhoshamandes' fledglings IIRC). He's reduced Nicki's role significantly; making him seem like some desperate twink, while not mentioning how Nicki was half mad before Armand chopped his hands off & forced him to kill himself when he couldn't play violin anymore.

Armand is a MENACE in the early books, and he was originally supposed to be a main TVC villain before Anne Rice realized how much she liked him in QotD and toned him TF down--same way she did with Lestat's transition from IWTV to TVL.

THAT'S why Armand is both lovable/likable and also SUS AF. At least for me. I can't speak for other fans, ofc, cuz I know some folks approach Armand from totally different angles.

[soylent-crocodile]

Wolf Dragon (Monster)

(Pride by Nimphradora on FurAffinity)

(Although I didn't use it for art, this is another dragon inspired by Safari's line of dragons. The hook of a wolf dragon is very interesting, and I used it to create a rare social dragon, as well as to provide DMs with access to a culture like that of the Alpha-Beta-Omega hierarchy we once thought wolves had. Feel free to use other Alpha-Beta-Omega tropes, by the way. I also tied them with werewolves, because they are magic Wolves and I love monster ecology.)

CR8 LN Large Dragon (Earth)

Also known as lycanodrachs, or d’rrowg among themselves, wolf dragons are a rarity among dragonkind, as they live and hunt in social groups. These groups follow a strict hierarchy, one resembling that of wolves, but involving regular battles for dominance. These fights are typically ritualized, and it is considered taboo for one wolf dragon to kill another who has surrendered, but they are still loud, violent events. 

Wolf dragons are also highly territorial, and do not accept other large predators- or parties of humanoids- in their air space. Such intruders will, typically, be first approached by a flying wolf dragon who attempts to shout them down. Any who continue their flight afterwards will be attacked by the group with lethal intent. Despite this, those who obey the rules of a wolf dragon pack will find them courteous and wise hosts. Wolf dragon culture heavily values oral tradition, and they consider sharing their stories with guests to be an important aspect of hospitality. 

D’rrowg frequently cohabitate with stag dragons, although stag dragons typically choose not to integrate into wolf dragon packs, finding their violent power struggles and strict code of honor distasteful. Lycanthropes, most often werewolves, will sometimes enter a wolf dragon pack. Such beings are treated as a second class within the pack, but are still welcomed on the hunt and feasts. The real benefit, however, is maintaining their old personality when surrounded by wolf dragons. Wolf dragons hate green dragons, and will gladly sacrifice their life to take one down.

This large wolflike creature has a pair of backwards-facing horns and batlike wings complimenting its lupine features. Misc- CR8 LN Large Dragon (Earth) HD9 Init:+3 Senses: Perception:+21 Scent, Darkvision 60ft, Low-Light Vision Aura: Lycanthropy 60ft Stats- Str:24(+7) Dex:17(+3) Con:20(+5) Int:13(+1) Wis:25(+7) Cha:19(+4) BAB:+9/+3 Space:10ft Reach:5ft Defense- HP:104(9d12+45) AC:22(+3 Dex, -1 Size, +10 Natural) Fort:+11 Ref:+9 Will:+13 CMD:29 Resist: Immunity: Dragon Resistances, Cold Weakness: Special Defenses:  Offense- Bite +15(2d8+11 plus Trip) CMB:+17 (+2 bonus to Trip) Speed:50ft, Fly 60ft (Average) Special Attacks: Breath Weapon (9d6 Cold damage, 60ft Line, Reflex DC for half, useable once every 1d4 rounds) Feats- Combat Casting, Power Attack (-3/+6), Tandem Trip, Flyby Attack, Alertness Skills- Diplomacy +16, Fly +15, Knowledge (Geography) +5, Knowledge (Nature, Religion) +8, Perception +21, Sense Motive +21, Stealth +15, Survival +19 (+4 Racial bonus to Survival checks to track) Spell-like Abilities- (CL9, Concentration +11, +15 for defensive casting and when grappled) Calm Air, Cure Serious Wounds, Moonstruck (DC16) 1/day Special Qualities- Wolf Empathy +13, Tactician Ecology- Environment- Forests, Mountains (Cold) Languages- Draconic, Sylvan Organization- Hunting Party (2-4), Pack (6-8, 1d4 Dire Wolves, 0-1 Werewolf) Treasure- Half Special Abilities- Aura of Lycanthropy (Su)- A lycanthrope within a wolf dragon’s aura of lycanthropy retains its memories and personality when transformed. Additionally, a wolf dragon may issue a psychic command to any lycanthrope within the aura, as with the spell Command or Murderous Command. The lycanthrope gets a DC15 Will save to ignore the command. Tactician (Ex)- As a swift action, a wolf dragon may grant one teamwork feat its possesses to an ally with 30ft who can see or hear it. They benefit from this ability for 10 rounds, and can only be granted one teamwork feat this way from any wolf dragon at a time. Wolf Empathy (Ex)- This ability functions as a druid’s wild empathy, using a wolf dragon's racial HD, but only for wolves.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jay Kuo at The Status Kuo:

In a letter to the Fox Network, Hunter Biden’s attorneys have put the company on notice that it’s about to get its pants sued off for defamation.  Again. Biden’s attorney, Mark Geragos, best known for his successful representation of celebrities, issued the following statement: 

[For the last five years, Fox News has relentlessly attacked Hunter Biden and made him a caricature in order to boost ratings and for its financial gain. The recent indictment of FBI informant Smirnov has exposed the conspiracy of disinformation that has been fueled by Fox, enabled by their paid agents and monetized by the Fox enterprise. We plan on holding them accountable.]

The letter specifically cited the network’s “conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Mr. Biden and paint him in a false light, the unlicensed commercial exploitation of his image, name, and likeness, and the unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of him.” It also stated that Hunter Biden would be suing the network “imminently.” Supporters of the younger Biden cheered, glad to see he was finally taking the gloves off against purveyors of salacious, fake news. Fox is already reeling from other defamation lawsuits, including one it settled with Dominion Voting Systems for nearly $800 million and another by Smartmatic, a voting software company presently seeking $2.7 billion in damages. Not everyone is happy, though. Advisers to the president had been hoping his son would keep a low profile and not put himself back in the news during an election year. They worried that news stories about the lawsuit would resurface the allegations, even if false and defamatory, which would then suck the air out of the news cycle. Such media time might otherwise be focused on Donald Trump’s problems and Joe Biden’s many accomplishments.

[...]

The Burisma bribes lie

There are three main things Fox was fixated upon that have now opened it to possible massive liability. The first is what I call the fake “Burisma bribes.” Fox gleefully amplified the false claims of former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who had conveyed to his handler that he had information that both Joe and Hunter Biden had accepted $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian company, Burisma, on whose board Hunter Biden once served. This false statement was dutifully recorded, as most statements by informants are no matter how wild, in a standard FBI informant form. This was left to gather dust for years until Rudy Giuliani and the FBI, at Bill Barr’s urging, resurfaced and weaponized it along with help from members of Congress.

For its part, Fox made sure that story went wide and was repeated ad nauseam. For months, host Sean Hannity ran nonstop coverage about the alleged bribe, poisoning viewers with actual Russian disinformation. Hannity’s show alone aired at least 85 segments that amplified these false Burisma bribery claims in 2023. Of those 85 segments, 28 were Hannity monologues.  After his indictment and arrest, Smirnov admitted that the story he received had come straight from Russian intelligence. By centering and repeating the fake story, Fox had become a willing Russian disinformation mule, along with many members of Congress. But it never retracted the story or apologized for its role. Instead, it continued to claim that the source, Smirnov, was “highly credible.”

[...]

Nude pics

We all have heard about, but hopefully not personally seen, intimate images of Hunter Biden at parties and in sexual acts with various partners. His lawyers claim that these images were “hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated” from his private accounts, and then aired by Fox in violation of his civil rights and copyright law. They also appeared during congressional hearings as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-MW) infamously used them as visual props. (She’s lucky to be shielded by the Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution, or she could be swept up in a suit as well.) The decision to go after those committing what amounts to “revenge porn” on Hunter Biden, including the Fox Network, is part of a larger legal counteroffensive that began last year, according to sources with NBC News.  As you may recall, the “Hunter Biden Laptop” story emerged as a kind of “October surprise” in 2020. The repair technician who leaked the contents of it to Rudy Giuliani later sued Biden and others for defaming him, claiming he had suffered damage to his reputation because they had claimed the laptop contents were part of a Russian disinformation campaign. 

[...]

The “Trial of Hunter Biden”

In fall of 2021, Fox aired a six-part series called “The Trial of Hunter Biden,” which amounted to a mock trial of what his upcoming trial would look like if he were charged with being a foreign agent or with bribery, none of which has happened.  Biden’s lawyers claim in their demand letter that “the series intentionally manipulates the facts, distorts the truth, narrates happenings out of context, and invents dialogue intended to entertain. Thus, the viewer of the series cannot decipher what is fact and what is fiction,” and it should be removed entirely from all streaming services.

[...]

The reality is, Fox and other right wing media continue to give oxygen to Rep. James Comer, who has yet to end his evidence-free impeachment inquiry. At least now, Fox will be on notice that it could face ongoing liability for failing to retract its false reporting, even while pushing out more lies about Hunter Biden. The network will have to tread more carefully, and ultimately it will have to consider whether it doubles down or backs off. Then there is the actual trial of Hunter Biden which is set to begin this fall. Attention will be on the president’s son at that time anyway, but with this lawsuit, just as with his counterclaims and counteroffensives against those who violated his privacy, Hunter Biden will look like a fighter and not just a victim. With all that has been done and said about him, he has very little to lose but a very large ax to grind. And if the GOP overplays its hand, as it inevitably will, it could create voter sympathy for him, even though it had hoped to paint him as a criminal, drug addicted womanizer. Democrats are often accused of not having enough courage to go on the offensive, of being too reticent to push back against the onslaughts of numerous bad faith actors on the right. Then when they do, there’s a good deal of hand wringing about how this assertiveness might come across to the voters.

Glad to see Hunter Biden fight back against the right-wing smear machine by threatening to sue Fixed News for defaming him.

[sixteenth-days]

Hi! I really want to read your Gemcyt au because I adore your writing (and mcyt aus) but I have never seen a singular minute of Steven Universe so I have no clue about anything related to the gems. Is it possible for you give me a rundown of the basics so I can read it and (slightly) understand what is happening?

for sure!

so gems are inorganic aliens. their true ‘body’ is a gemstone somewhere on their body (if you look at fanart for the gemcyt au, for example, grian’s is over one of his eyes)- this is the only part of them that can actually be permanently hurt or killed (shattered). the rest of their physical form is basically a solid projection that will disappear (‘poof’) back into the gem to heal if it gets too damaged.

there are general abilities most gems share, such as shapeshifting by adjusting their projected form or summoning a weapon out of their gem- newer gems are more likely to lack these abilities. some kinds of gems have type-specific abilities as well, as all gems are made for a specific purpose. for example, lapis lazulis have hydrokinesis, because they’re used to reshape planets for the purposes of the gem empire.

the gem empire is a highly hierarchal interstellar empire that colonizes planets to drain them of their minerals and resources to produce more gems, ultimately destroying all native life. all gems have a specific position and purpose in the empire, and are not allowed to deviate from it. they refer to their home system, where the empire is based, as homeworld.

gems are capable of something called fusion, which is where they basically combine their physical forms and become a new consciousness that embodies the relationship of the component gems. it’s presented as being quite intimate. fusion between different types of gems is prohibited on homeworld.

all gems are non binary on account of being rocks. in SU canon they use she/her by default but in my fic they’re he/him by default cause the gender ratio in third life is so skewed. gems don’t normally have names- they are generally just called by their gem type (pearl, lapis, etc) as their name, but they also have a longer identification number.

i thiiink that’s all the basic information you need to know to understand the fic? if you have any further questions as you read, feel free to ask!

[charleecat-bat]

Silver in my SU/Gem AU

Nickname/s: Moon, Moony, Moo-Moo Gem Location: Forehead Weapon/s: None. (Relies heavily on his abilities) Rarity and Status: Rare High-Class Gem Role on Homeworld: Psychic / Oracle Unique Powers/Abilities: Telekinesis, Levitation, Future Vision.

History:

Moonstones in the homeworld are extremely valued, not for their rarity, but specifically for their tremendtous ability to see into the future of any gem that comes before them. With such a power, it's no wonder they're flocked to and highly valued by every gem alike, even the Diamonds.

Even though it wasn't expected of him, Moonstone did always want to try to see the best and most hopeful of futures... which made his job much harder when all he could see of most gems' futures were what would become of them... part of him would always hope that they could be changed.

With all these negative and dreary futures, he looked further, not towards the possibilities that he possessed to the sight to. To the very world around him. This behaviour was deemed very unusual. And soon this unusual quirky behaviour became very troublesome as Moonstone started to grow a habit of wondering off to explore.

Each time, he would be dragged back with gentle urgency and worry, but the more it happened, the more furious the Diamonds would become with him. He was warned constantly by a close friend he had made, Sugilite, of what could befall him if he continued to run amok and neglect his duties. But it didn't stop him from wanting to explore. He had grown tired of the depressing, weary futures. Tired of the gems constantly rushing to him, flooding him with questions. But after one final time, he left Homeworld... his curiosity had finally gotten him into trouble. One he should've predicted but simply didn't bother to look into his own fate... The Gems above him had decided if Moonstone himself wouldn't stay willingly, they would have to make sure he couldn't move. And in their mind, if he had no physical form. He couldn't leave. So he was poofed, and his gem was put into a machine, powering it and serving his original purpose. To give Gems the information they asked. It was all he could do now. Even if he tried to speak, scream, cry out for help, and be let go. No one could hear him. He was reduced to being nothing but a tool.

Moonstone was trapped. And he would be for centuries. At one point having the constant barrage of gems... and then soon, the colony was abandoned. And he was forgotten. Left to rot in the machine his gem was trapped in.

He lost count of how long he was stuck in that machine, in his own gem, unable to form but it all finally changed when he heard voices. More Gems? He would try to call out desperately, forgetting that he was unlikely to be heard. Thankfully, another gem curiosity had led her towards the machine he was trapped in, a little Amber. And eventually, after finding a way to answer questions and show her a gem was inside. He was released for the first in centuries. Able to take form and walk. He was exhausted, yet so relieved at the same time.

He was free. The panic of a new gem amongst the group was sudden but short-lived, seeing how this Moonstone was anything but an enemy, being ever so thankful for his freedom.

Now, he helps the team, using his insight to guide them and keep them safe.

[warsofasoiaf]

What army do you think is the most overrated in history?

As with all questions about "overrated" and "underrated," the question is, who is doing the rating? Being "overrated" or "underrated" means evaluating someone's judgment, while being "bad" or "good" means evaluating performance. The latter is far easier to evaluate.

Take for example, the Mongols. The Mongols were an exceptionally good army, one of the best in history for a whole host of reasons including their highly exceptional C2 system. But in "The Death that Saved Europe," Cecelia Holland argues that Ogedai Khan's unlikely death was the only thing stopping the Mongols from conquering all of Europe to the Atlantic Ocean, and this just doesn't stand up to scrutiny when evaluating their performance in Hungary and Poland. The Mongols struggled with European stone-walled castles, and moving further into Western Europe would only see the castle density increase. They're still incredibly good, but that's a clear case of overrating.

Or by contrast, take the Red Army in the Winter War. By all conventional metrics, the Red Army was absolutely abysmal in performance - poor tactics, poor leadership, poor equipment. Yet Adolf Hitler thought that they were so garbage that all he would need is a swift kick in the door for the rotten foundation of the Soviet Union to collapse like old scaffolding, and it very clearly did not. Clearly, that was a case of underrating the army. By contrast, modern non-military historians frequently overrate the performance of the Red Army in the Second World War to the point of parody, omitting the exceptionally high levels of unnecessary casualties stemming from poor military performance.

But if I had to pick, I'd either pick the Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein or the current Russian military, which has largely inherited its weakness from the Red Army.

The Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein was considered the 5th strongest army in the world, with a formidable array of tanks, aircraft, and missile defense systems. Using primarily Soviet equipment, it was believed to be by far the most powerful regional hegemon in the region despite it's rather lackluster performance against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. In practice, the officer corps was extremely nepotistic and poorly-trained. The T-72 was shown to be an underperforming tank compared to modern Abrams, the Soviet missile systems proved unable to detect stealth fighters or handle Wild Weasel SEAD missions, and the aircraft were poorly maintained and their pilots even worse. At Medina Ridge and 73 Easting, Saddam's ground forces were poorly organized and sent into complete disarray. Far from being a million strong legion that could enforce its will on the region, it was a hollow, rotten tree trunk about to be struck by lightning.

I've already spoken at length about Russian weakness in the current Russo-Ukrainian War, but it's extremely indicative of systemic weakness when a so-called Great Power army is incapable of performing multi-theater combined arms warfare in the 21st century. This has been a staple of warfare and an overriding design feature of military equipment for decades now. Russia's much-vaunted hypersonic missiles are being intercepted by old Patriot AD systems, turning them into yet another Wunderwaffen. Their technology is not even comparable to last-gen systems and their troops incompetent. For a military that was vaunted as the second-most powerful in the world, its diminished capacity has shown it to be far inferior than numbers would suggest. Its vaunted tank fleet are vulnerable to old anti-tank weapons down to bargain-bin fwoop tubes. Its aircraft can't be stealthy and can't secure airspace even against a vastly inferior airforce. It's sole aircraft carrier is more of a floating environmental disaster whose maintenance log reads like an SCP entry. The T-14 Armata and Su-75 Checkmate are vapor-ware projects established primarily, it seems, to embezzle money for more dachas and yachts. Worst of all, its logistics corps are so deficient that countless Russian soldiers are dying from easily treatable injuries. This was supposed to be the mightiest army in Europe and the military leader of the non-Western world, the lynchpin of the "new multipolar world order," the army that was to defend the Motherland against NATO. It's losing badly to an army that wasn't even ranked in the top 20 by military observers using a combination of legacy Soviet equipment and the stuff that NATO found in the back of the toolshed.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[usafphantom2]

Russia would have deployed Su-57 fighters to attack targets in Ukraine

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 02/29/2024 - 16:00 in Military, War Zones

The Russian Air Force would have recently deployed its newest Su-57 fighter for combat operations, specifically targeting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.

On February 18, 2024, an operation saw a Su-57, accompanied by two Su-35 jets, carry out a missile attack against Ukrainian military installations. The mission originated in the Luhansk region, currently under occupation, where the Su-57, accompanied by its escorts, penetrated Ukrainian airspace to carry out a missile launch, according to the Defence-blog website.

The operation involved the use of a Kh-69 stealth cruise missile designed exclusively for the Su-57. However, due to a malfunction, the missile deviated from the intended trajectory and fell into a field, failing to reach the target. Despite this setback, there were previous cases, specifically on February 7 and 8, in which Kh-69 was successfully used in air strikes. This missile, evolving from the Kh-59MK2, is compatible with several Russian military aircraft.

Some points about the mission are not yet clear. For example, there is a confusion about the type of Kh-59MK2 cruise missiles that would have been used. Strangely, a Su-57 would not normally need to cross Ukraine's airspace to hit targets in Luhansk. That's because the Kh-59MK2 can hit these targets even in the depths of Russia's borders.

Despite the uncertainty, it is known that there was some action in the region in early February. Ukrainian sources confirmed attacks involving Kh-59MK2 on the 7th and 8th. This missile is effective against small and fortified targets, proven by its successful previous use in Syria.

Although the Kh-59MK2 can reach targets up to 300 km away, it is small enough to fit inside the internal weapon compartments of the Su-57. This means that the plane can maintain a low radar profile. The most interesting thing is that no other "fifth generation" jet fighter is known to carry this type of missile internally.

It was also observed that the use of the state-of-the-art Su-57 in the missile attack against Ukraine served a dual purpose, with the intention of producing a military propaganda film. This production aims to demonstrate the feats of the Russian defense sector and is expected to play a significant role in the narrative that will precede the next presidential elections in Russia.

No official image was released of the Su-57 operation in Ukraine.

The Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO codename: Felon), Russia's main fifth-generation multifunctional poacher, represents a significant leap in the country's military aviation capabilities. Developed by Sukhoi, a subsidiary of United Aircraft Corporation, the Su-57 was designed to fulfill aerial and attack superiority functions, boasting advanced stealth technology, supersonic cruising speed and highly integrated avionics.

Despite its advanced capabilities, the development of the Su-57 faced challenges, including delays and excessive costs. However, it progressively advanced to operational status within the Russian Air Force, with the first production model delivered in 2020. The Su-57 is seen as a key component of Russia's future air combat capabilities, intended to challenge fifth-generation Western fighters, such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II.

In addition to its military role, the Su-57 is also positioned as a flagship project that shows Russia's technological prowess and its ability to produce a state-of-the-art stealth fighter that could potentially be offered for export to allied nations, further expanding its influence on global defense markets.

Tags: Military AviationRFSAF - Russian Federation Aerospace Force/Russian Aerospace ForceSukhoi Su-57 FelonWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[quietly-sleeping]

Oct. 16th WIP Wednesday

Absolutely swamped with coursework this past week but here are the last of my owed sentences for WIP Wednesday. I'll be switching to one large post for sentences this coming Wednesday since it seems to be the winning opinion so far on the poll.

Thank you for your comments, here are the sentences the wheel has dictated!

@auburnlaughter @zyrafowe-sny

Here are your sentences for "urban legend sy"

“The Peak Lord of Bai Zhan, a pleasure to meet the lord again.” Su Xiyan stepped ahead of the demon beside her, nodding curtly at the other cultivator. Liu Qingge nodded back, after getting closer Liu Qingge recognized her sword, a finely crafted weapon that had conquered two Immortal Alliance Conferences in a row. The woman was highly respected, and one of the last Liu Qingge would expect to find wandering with two Heavenly Demons.  “So where has A-Yan been to bring back such a high-ranking cultivator?” Tianlang-jun wiggled his eyebrows as he slipped around Su Xiyan to throw an arm around Sha Yan’s shoulders. Sha Yan scowled at the demon but didn’t make a move to shove him off, “I was hunting down rumors of an Iron-Skinned Lizard, I didn’t find it, but I met Liu Qingge.”

@enigma-the-mysterious

Here are your sentences for "immortal au rewrite"

Grover followed his gaze but couldn’t see anything but the gloom. Frowning he turned back to Percy but stopped when he saw something out of the corner of his eye, it was a dog. Not really just a dog, but the dog of the Underworld, Cerberus himself.

@violet-prism-creatively

Here are your sentences for "aline has a bad time"

How long had she been doing this again? She couldn’t remember, she was beginning to struggle to remember anything about her life before she died. Would she eventually forget everything?

[making-arcanum-the-ttrpg]

Sorry for the delay between posts, life is kickin some of our asses. We'll try to get it a tad more frequent soon!

But anyway, we're here to continue introducing the actual features, so now for the actual playable classes!

Martials:

The Adept, designed to be a skill monkey that's capable of high utility in a fight, alongside delivering large single damage hits

The Berserker, designed to be a face tank that directs the enemy's attention to themselves by being the best target and having enough health to manage that

The Elusive, designed to be an Evasion tank that directs enemy's attention to themselves by being a threat, but also being very hard to hit

The Executioner, designed to be a high damage class that is easily hurt or killed (essentially a glass cannon) requiring lots of teamwork to properly manage, and running off of adrenaline from killing opponents

The Martial Artist, designed to be fast, capable of both defending the allied backline while also targeting the opponent's backline, along with being always dangerous in almost every situation due to not needing a weapon

The Vagabond, a backliner damage dealer, focused on firearms and bombarding does with high accuracy attacks, while also providing support by keeping an eye on combatants

The Warrior, a versatile Frontline, capable of taking a decent amount of hits and dishing out good damage and control effects due to being the best at using maneuvers

Half-Casters:

The Devout, a Frontliner capable of taking hits, supplying buffs, and providing healing, while also being able to dish out a decent amount of damage, making them very versatile

The Maker, a support class focused on keeping the party equipped and stocked, being the best at crafting and repairs (sidenote Arcanum has more defined crafting rules), while taking a more defensive role in combat

The Wanderer, a flanker which focuses on stealth and using spells to disrupt foes, with it's unique gimmick of letting you transfer the concentration of a spell to an external source

The Martyr, a terrifying frontliner with unique casting, focused on sacrificing hp to deal better damage, buff themselves, or apply debuffs

The Exorcist, a support class with some decent damage potential, focused on cleansing buffs and debuffs

The Magus, a more selfish, self-sustaining Frontliner, assisting the team by not needing excess assistance from the party

The Shaman, a Frontliner focused on AOE debuffs, weakening foes to keep themselves and allies alive

Casters:

The Mage, a powerful blaster focused on using magic through knowledge, allowing them to control the elements as if they were a part of themselves

The Innate, a caster blessed or cursed with magic, capable of controlling the fundamental forces (such as Gravity, Time, Light/Dark or Magnetism)

The Attuned, a controller focused on nature, capable of stopping foes in their tracks in a myriad of ways

The Priest, a highly versatile caster, whether it be divine blasts, buffs, healing, or whatever else, specialized by whatever they worship

The Creative, a highly variable and unique class that can take a myriad of unique rolls, whether it be setting traps through painting, dancing about the battlefield, blasting your foes with sonic rage, empowering your allies with peppy music, or suing your enemies

The Scion, a caster who has traded a piece of themselves for power, which we currently picture as weakening themselves to use magic out of their league (this one is a bit unclear, and is more subject to change than others)

The Enlightened, a psionic focused caster, gaining power from innate understanding of things others cannot

The Witch, a debuffs focused class, with access to a ridiculous collection of curses, from "you can no longer have kids" to "your hands are always dry and flaky" to "your blood now alights when it touches air"

The Channeler, a rather weaker caster in terms of direct combat, they support themselves and allies by summoning all myriad of spirits, monsters, robots, and whatever else to fight for them

[web-novel-polls]

Best Hater Lower Bracket

Please vote for whoever’s best at being a hater, not who you like the most. If unfamiliar with a character, check out the propaganda below the cut! 

(Spoilers Warning below)

Su She from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / MDZS

“Stop thinking so highly of yourself. Who told you I cursed Jin Zixuan in order to frame you? Back then, I wasn’t working for Sect Leader at all. I cursed him simply because I wanted to!” ….Su She, “Those as arrogant as him--I’ll kill every single one who comes my way!” - Su She to Wei Wuxian, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, EXR, Chapter 104

No propaganda submitted

Mod Propaganda: Haterism so bad he straight up made a new sect. Cursed Jin Zixun. Has beef with a guy who barely knows he exists. 

Wiki Link

Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know 

Submission: Second half of the novel YHJ in particular, hater energy unmatched! Righteous sects? fuck them up. His own sect? on eggshells. His best effort at not murdering someone is to start wiping his weapon with their clothes. General vibe of 'if anything happened to Venerable i'd kill everyone in this room and then myself AND SOMETHING JUST HAPPENED TO VENERABLE'. Anyway get their asses babe <3 

[emmybeearts]

I'M SORRY I REDESIGNED THEM AGAIN!

explanation (and more) under the cut!

So I made their original designs in a spiral notebook back in high school (I'm not sharing those because they're SO bad) and some of the ideas I had were solid but Really unpolished. When I posted the first draft of these 2 I basically just took the highschool design and made it have a little more geometry.

Everyone else I've posted so far used their notebook designs as a springboard to make something I actually like! but i really wanted to release these 2 together and rushed myself and i made something i just could get to look right no matter what I did!

Recent events allowed me more time to think about how to take their personalities, and figure out how I want to visually represent them- changing up shapes to be more aesthetically pleasing and giving them a color palette reminiscent of their G1 designs but still entirely their own!

Blackout is supposed to be a radically emotional individual. The things he loves, he loves with his whole spark. This love manifests itself as fierce defense for his friends and family. Anything he interprets to be a threat to his family will be met with vicious aggression; and as the team's heavy weapons expert, this should make any would-be aggressor rethink their plans. Because of this, he needed to look like both a huggable softie and an immovable wall.

Spaceshot, however, is supposed to be both the compliment and the antithesis of his brother. while he isn't quite on the same level as Shockwave when it comes to 'logic over emotion', Spaceshot prides himself on his ability to think clearly in any situation no matter how stressful. While he does still feel deeply, especially familiar fondness towards his brother and his adoptive sister Obsidian, he believes the extent of Blackout’s emotional outbursts are highly excessive. He is the team's field engineer, responsible for construction and repair of any Decepticon machinery like mobile turrets as well as maintaining the ships engines. Because of this he needed to look strong and battle ready but also intelligent enough to know to avoid a fight.

I kept their combined alt mode of a Chengdu J-20 but it's been painted in the same style as the Sukhoi Su-57 because I wanted the blue to be more incorporated in their design as opposed to looking like an afterthought of designing characters in a black and white notebook. I'm much happier with these new designs but I will probably keep tweaking them here and there! This is the last of the Decepticon character sheets for a minute because I really want to work on the Autobots sheets next, more than some quick sketches I made while sick lol! I cannot wait to have the first pages of Spring Tide go up! I'm starting to see why people have teams for this lol

[planehistoria]

Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback – Russia’s Supermaneuverable Bomber

The Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback is a twin-engine, two-seat, Russian-made fighter bomber. It is a highly advanced and heavily armed aircraft, capable of carrying a large payload of weapons. The Su-34 is equipped with a 30mm aircraft cannon, air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and precision-guided bombs. It has a range of over 5,000 km, making it a formidable long-range combat aircraft. The Su-34 has a top speed of Mach 1.8 and can reach altitudes of up to 15,000 meters. It also features a state-of-the-art avionics suite, which includes an advanced navigation system and an advanced bombing system.  We have a blog website where you can find more information.