@thenudecupcake

Step 1:

Qunari are empowering Saarebas with lyrium so that they can become stronger, open temporary Rifts, slow time down, and use mysterious spells, all through unknown means.

Tevinter is terribly weakened, corrupted, and will not last in the war against the Qunari.

Fen’Harel, now incredibly powerful, is planning to eliminate the corrupted parts of the Qun (good thing), but also to tear down the Veil (not that good, depending on the consequences). He will probably help the Tevinter slaves in rebelling against their masters too.

Titans are awakening. They are enormous beings living deep underground, whose blood has been consumed for millennia by mages and Templars alike, shaping the world as it is today. They also seem able to influence events above ground and they are very angry with the world or at least with the elves. They will probably re-establish their contact/link with the dwarves.

Something is happening in Weisshaupt, the Wardens have gone silent, and a new Blight is most likely coming.

The Evanuris are still locked away, but it’s obvious they will get free soon. They are a bunch of homicidal assholes who will not think twice about conquering Thedas again. They might be also tainted by the Blight, if the theories “Evanuris locked away with the Blight in the Black City” are true.

If Kieran was born, Flemeth/Mythal took the Old God’s soul from him, planning to do something with it. We still don’t know what it is, but it’s unlikely she will stay “dead”. She still has to have her revenge, her “reckoning which will shake the very heavens”.

Either Morrigan or the Inquisitor drank from the Well of Sorrows and the consequences of that act are still unclear, but whatever they are, they are going to suck or at least be mildly disturbing.

Mysterious Dalish elves live in the Tirashan. They are violent, cruel, and worship the Forgotten Ones.

Strange people from the Volca Sea are returning after a long absence, claiming a terrible calamity struck their lands.

We still don’t know what lies beyond the Amaranthine Ocean, but whatever it is, it makes people go insane and suicidal.

Basically Thedas right now:

it’s like this, right

If you see a street musician, you have three options:

Walk past without saying anything

Stop and listen to the music, but don’t give them any money

Stop and listen to the music and if you have the money and liked what they played, you give them money

Nowhere in any of that is the option, “Stop and criticize them to ‘help them improve their performance.’”

If you do that, you are considered an asshole. That’s just how life works.

In the same manner, when you read a fanfiction, you have three options:

Read it, like and/or love it, leave without a word

Read it, dislike and/or hate it, leave without a word

Read it, like and/or loveit, leave a comment

If you don’t like it? You don’t have to comment!

If you did like it but there was an element that wasn’t to your specific taste? Focus on the part you did like when you comment.

If you can’t do that, then walk away. Don’t say anything.

You’re right, you don’t have to leave a positive comment, but I’m not telling you that you have to leave a positive comment. I’m telling you that if you can’t leave one, then don’t leave a comment at all.

If the only way you’re willing to tell someone about the parts of their story that you liked is to also tell them the parts that you did not like and/or actively hate? Then don’t comment. Do. Not. Comment.

Because no matter how long each of those lists are–no matter if the good outweighs the bad or not–the only thing you’ve done is left a sour taste in someone’s mouth.

“ If you did like it but there was an element that wasn’t to your specific taste? Focus on the part you did like when you comment.” How about focusing on both? As a writer you can’t expect to post a fic and hear nothing but praise. Readers will have critiques to offer and this debate of only leaving praise seems silly. Sure beta readers are there to offer the voice of critique however you can’t just constrict that role to just them.

So far in my life, I have posted one (1) fic to ao3. And I’m not a teenager; I am, in @greenbergsays’ words, a grown ass woman. I’m in my thirties. And I have the ability, like most adults, to have normal, regular, constructive conversations about a variety of topics that I am passionate about.

But I’m scared to death you are going to find my story and rip it apart.

Like many of us, I’ve been writing fic in my head since I was an adolescent, and back in the day I used to create fanworks just for myself. I kept my notebook in my underwear drawer, because I was super sneaky and original. But I never shared any of it with anyone.

It took a lot for me to be able to post something I wrote in a place other people could see it, and that was only very recently. I didn’t have it beta-read because I was afraid if I waited that I would lose my nerve; that even the most gentle criticism from a respected friend would crush my admittedly fragile ego.

I’m just starting, and hey, I probably suck! I’m sure there’s lots I could do better! But what I posted was my best effort at the time it went up, and if you or someone like you finds my story and critiques it, I know for a fact I’ll never share anything again. Not because I think I’m a special snowflake, but because what I’m doing is so….personal, and new, and, yes, fragile.

Is that what you want? Do you think that your desire to share your opinion with me is more important than my desire to share my thoughts and stories and work? Forget that what you’re consuming is cost-free; would you email John Green and tell him, personally, that he had a typo on page 187 and that you think Isaac would have been a better character if he had a different kind of cancer? I sure as hell hope not.

By all means, if you have opinions on fan works you’ve seen or read, talk about them! Talk about them, without being mean, in your own blog, or in private with your friends. DO NOT bring it to the creator. They don’t need to know about that stuff, and it’s pretty clear that for the most part they don’t want to.

Color Palettes From Cities Around the World 

Hobbits:

Gandalf: well this raccoon found the ring and has been carrying it around. unfortunately we can’t take it off him or he gets very bite-y. so I figure, the raccoon is the ringbearer now

Elrond: what are those other three raccoons doing here

Legolas: do they… know where they are going

Dernhelm: *sweating nervously* Uh no, sir.

Faramir: ….it just seemed like the right thing to do

Gandalf: he scratched you up real good huh

Trash Panda Hobbits:

me: yeah i know, they’re all primary colors, it’s perfect

thank you for those who made it out in the rain and the cold, who organized and canvassed and took on the onerous task of working with non-voting & conservative friends/family to change their stance if at least just this once. thank you for those who stood in line for hours, who had to travel because your voting place was moved, who had to jump through ridiculous fucking hoops to register, who weren’t inspired but showed up anyway for the disenfranchised and the greater good. thank you as well to everyone who voted early, absentee, and provisional. 

Caramelize, like, a whole ton of onions.

Really, get a whole ass bag of yellow onions, peel, chop, cry, put on a podcast and start stirring those tasty bastards. Delgaze every so often. Do like, 12, 15 onions until they’re a thick, dark brown paste of flavor then spoon them into an ice cube tray and freeze.

So later, when you’re tired and Don’t want fast food again, or it’s 3AM after a meds adjustment and you need curry right the fuck now, or it’s family dinner night and you want to look like an adult, sad, tired, mentally wobbly future you can crack open the freezer, dump a cube or three in the pan with the chicken or curry or stuffing and get all that delicious goodness delivered to your brain without the effort of a hot stove right then.

So next time you have three hours to kill and want to do some self care,

pro tips: 

use butter instead of oil

low heat + lots of time = carmalezation magic

freeze in a large freezer bag squished flat

they shrink in the pan, you’ll only get < ¼ the volume you start with.

2. Personally I love the flavor of onion, esp the caramelized goodness, but can’t fucking stand the texture of onion so I cook them extra long, deglaze with the white wine people kept giving me as housewarming presents despite the fact I don’t drink to get the Fond AKA THE GOOD SHIT off the bottom/destroy the cell structure more, then ran them through the food processor to make… Like apple butter, but with Caramelized Onions.

It’s still really good on sandwiches, esp grilled cheese.  You can also just add it to stock or salad dressings too!

3. You’re 100% right about using butter it works so much better.  I think the browning of the butter adds a lot of flavor that you wouldn’t get with an oil.

4. … I should try this with the duck fat next time.  That’d be baller.

But. I guess I can take it as a sign that maybe I’m not as much of a mess as I think I am.

To make herb butter btw-. Don’t melt the butter just leave it covered out on the counter until it’s really soft (time varies by region) then scoop it into a resealable bowl, add you chopped herbs and mix, then cover and put back in the fridge.