These Panels Are Still Relevant To This Day Ahem Lmao

I know literally NO ONE asked but here’s a hot take: Lief from Deltora Quest is definitely not white. His actual appearance is never fully described in the books, but we know that Jasmine has brown skin and dark, curly hair. In order for the conclusion of the book to make any sense, we know that Jasmine and Lief probably look fairly similar, at least superficially. Jasmine’s tanned skin could be attributed to the fact that she’s lived in the wilderness her entire life, but somehow I doubt that the Forests of Silence get high sun-exposure, so I find it much more likely that that is her natural (or nearly natural) skin-tone. 

Given this information and knowing Lief’s heritage, I think it’s reasonable to assume that members of the Del tribe likely have a darker skin-tone. You know what that means? Since Barda is also native to Del, none of the three main character of the series have light skin. 

Anyways, this has been a completely uncalled for (but in my opinion necessary) PSA.

some vox machina lady portraits

Game-Changing Sites for Writers

A recent search for a specific type of site to help me build new characters led me down a rabbit hole. Normally, that would make me much less productive, but I have found a treasure trove of websites for writers.

Bring Characters/Places to Life

There are a few different places you can use to create a picture of something entirely new. I love this site for making character pictures as references, instead of stock photos or whatever pops up on Google Images.

thispersondoesnotexist: every time you reload the page, this site generates a headshot of someone who doesn't exist. This is great if you're thinking about a character's personality or age and don't have specifics for their facial features yet.

Night Cafe: this is an AI art generator that takes your text prompt and generates an image for it. I tried it for various scenery, like "forest" or "cottage." It takes a minute for your requested photo to load, but no more than maybe five for the program to finish the picture.

Art Breeder: this website has endless images of people, places, and general things. Users can blend photos to create something new and curious visitors can browse/download those images without creating an account. (But if you do want to make an account to create your own, it's free!)

Find Random Places on Earth

You might prefer to set a story in a real-life environment so you can reference that place's weather, seasons, small-town vibe, or whatever you like. If that's the case, try:

MapCrunch: the homepage generates a new location each day and gives the location/GPS info in the top left of the screen. To see more images from previous days, hit "Gallery" in the top left.

Atlas Obscura: hover over or tap the "Places" tab, then hit "Random Place." A new page will load with a randomly generated location on the planet, provide a Google Maps link, and tell you a little bit about the place.

Random World Cities: this site makes randomly selected lists of global cities. Six appear for each search, although you'll have to look them up to find more information about each place. You can also use the site to have it select countries, US cities or US states too.

Vary Your Wording

Thesauruses are great, but these websites have some pretty cool perspectives on finding just the right words for stories.

Describing Words: tell this website which word you want to stop repeating and it will give you tons of alternative words that mean the same thing. It typically has way more options than other sites I use.

Reverse Dictionary: type what you need a word for in Reverse Dictionary's search box and it will give you tons of words that closely match what you want. It also lists the words in order of relevancy, starting with a word that most accurately describes what you typed. (There's also an option to get definitions for search results!)

Tip of My Tongue: this website is phenomenal. It lets you search for that word you can't quite place by a letter in it, the definition, what it sounds like, or even its scrambled letters. A long list of potential options will appear on the right side of the screen for every search.

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Hope this helps when you need a hand during next writing session 💛

the progression of cr party names is so funny

vox machina: latin. classic euro fantasy. clever meta nod to their profession. better than 'the shits' (affectionate) even though we know deep down that's their truth

the mighty nein: a classic superhero/adventure story team name. a ragtag group of heroes held together by their conviction in saying no to injustice and their belief that there's strength and healing in numbers. also a pun and an inside joke.

bell's hells: literally just a band name. here with their inner demons to fuck shit up for the greater good. pure chaos. starting accidental fires wherever they go. named after their band manager who died like five minutes after helping them book their first gig.

she won't forget

Aussie coach Dean Boxall reacting to his athlete Ariarne Titmus winning the gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle 

the four emotions you can get from a tumblr post are

thanks! I love it

thanks! I hate it

fuck you! I hate it

fuck you! I love it

So, let me guess— you just started a new book, right? And you’re stumped. You have no idea how much an AK47 goes for nowadays. I get ya, cousin. Tough world we live in. A writer’s gotta know, but them NSA hounds are after ya 24/7. I know, cousin, I know. If there was only a way to find out all of this rather edgy information without getting yourself in trouble…

You’re in luck, cousin. I have just the thing for ya.

It’s called Havocscope. It’s got information and prices for all sorts of edgy information. Ever wondered how much cocaine costs by the gram, or how much a kidney sells for, or (worst of all) how much it costs to hire an assassin?

I got your back, cousin. Just head over to Havocscope.

((PS: In case you’re wondering, Havocscope is a database full of information regarding the criminal underworld. The information you will find there has been taken from newspapers and police reports. It’s perfectly legal, no need to worry about the NSA hounds, cousin ;p))

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AITA for prioritizing my work/code over my son?

Context: I am a mercenary, and although I can’t reveal what my name is, a rather successful one. I have built up this career through years and years of hard work, and one of the reasons I became so successful is the fact that I see my word as my bond, and as such, I do not break any promises or contracts. 

Now, I have a family, and for obvious reasons, I didn’t want them involved in my job, so I kept it a secret from them, even my wife. It went well for a few years, but recently, some enemies of mine found out who they were and kidnapped my youngest son, ‘J’. Naturally, as soon as my wife told me what happened, I told her everything, and we went to rescue my son. 

It turns out J was being held hostage, and that they would only let him go if I gave them information about a former client of mine. My wife begged me to submit, but I refused; it would have gone against my code of honor and it would’ve been a massive stain on my reputation, one that I would never recover from. I need this job; it’s one of the only things that keeps me sane, and loosing it was something I couldn’t risk. I told my wife I could save J, and I did, but I wasn’t fast enough to stop his throat from being cut. 

Now my wife is mad at me for prioritizing my word/work over my son’s life. As an ex-soldier herself, I feel like she should be able to understand the need to prioritize the job over human life sometimes, but she won’t hear it. AITA?

Edit: to address some questions, yes, I am sure J survived his cut throat, I called the hospital to confirm it.

Edit #2: again, to address some questions, no, I haven’t been to visit my son in the hospital since. I haven’t seen my wife either, since she’s spending her days with him.

Edit #3: MY WIFE FUCKING SHOT MY EYE OUT