So My Husband Is Back On His Medieval Warfare And Tactics Special Interest Lately, And He Was Telling

Ephlisa Yun—She of Little Faith. She who would see a promise unsworn.

My lvl 20 Oathbreaker for a one-shot!

kids remind me, often, of the things i've taught myself out of.

i have a big dog. he looks like a deer. he is taller than most young children. while we were on a trail the other day, a boy coming our direction saw us and froze. he took a step back and said: "i'm feeling nervous. your - your dog is kind of big."

goblin and i both stopped walking immediately. "he is kind of a big dog," i admitted. "he's called a greyhound. they are gentle but they are pretty tall, which is kind of scary, you're right. their legs are so long because they are made for running fast. i am sorry we scared you. would you like us to stand still while you move past us, or would you feel more safe in your body if we move and you stay still?'

"oh. i didn't know that about - greyhounds. i think i ... i want to stay still," he said. at this point, his adult had caught up to us. "i'm nervous about the dog," he told her, "so i'm - i'm gonna stay still." she didn't argue. she didn't make fun of him. she just smiled at him and at me and held his hand while goblin and i, with as wide of a berth as we could make, crept our way through.

behind us, i heard him exhale a deep breath and kind of laugh - "he was really big, huh? she said it's because greyhounds have to go fast."

"he was big," she said. "i understand why that could have made you a little scared."

"yeah. next time i - next time do you think i could maybe ask to touch him? when - i mean, next time, maybe, if i'm not nervous."

later, going to a work event, in the big city, i stood outside, trembling. my social anxiety as a caught bird in my chest. i took a deep breath and turned to my coworker. she's not even really my friend yet. i told her: "i feel nervous about this. i am not used to meeting new people, ever since covid."

she laughed, but not in a mean way. she said she was nervous too. she reached her hand out and held mine, and we both took another deep breath and walked in like that, interlinked. a few people asked us - together? - and i told the truth: i feel nervous, and she's helping. over and over i watched people relax too, admitting i feel really kind of shy lately actually, thank you for saying that.

the next time i go to an event, and i feel a little scared, i ask right away: wanna hold hands? this feels a little dangerous. i hesitate less. i don't hide it as much. i watch for other people who are also nervous and say - it's kinda hard, huh?

i know, logically, i'm not good at asking for help. but i am also not good at noticing when i need help. i've trained myself out of asking completely, but i've also trained myself to never accept my own fears or excuses. i have trained myself to tamp down every anxiety and just-push-through. i don't know what i'm protecting myself from - just that i never think to admit it to anyone.

but every person on earth occasionally needs comfort. every person on earth occasionally needs connection. many of us were taught independence is the same thing as never needing anything.

each of us should have had an adult who heard - i feel nervous and held our hand and asked us how we could be helped to feel safe. no judgement, and no chiding. many of us did not. many of us were punished for the ways that we seemed "weak".

but here is something: i am an adult now. and i get nervous a lot, actually. and if you are an adult and you are feeling a little nervous - come talk to me. we can hold hands and figure out what will help us feel safe in our bodies. and maybe, next time, if we're brave, we can pet the dog that's passing.

well then. shall we? my dear consort, eternal.

How I Outline My Characters

Intro

Hey guys! Today I’m going to be talking about how I outline and build my characters. I used to be so uninspired when I was building characters, because to me it just felt like I was filling in blanks, and I couldn’t really connect to the character. So I just decided to take a bare-bones character profile (specifically Reedsy’s, which I highly recommend) and cut and add things as I saw fit. I want to stress that it’s in no way comprehensive–in fact, I’m always adding new things–but it does cover quite a bit, and so far, it’s worked well for me!

1. Identity and appearance

This section involves all the fundamental parts of a character. First, I begin with names: the character’s name in English (or in another language, if applicable) and their nickname(s). Then, I go through all the details of birth, location, age, etc. etc. Next, I dive into nationality and heritage, the languages the character understands, and their gender and pronouns (I know there’s a difference between the two, I just group them together because it’s easier to keep track of). Finally, I go into all the statistics of appearance and health, along with a description of what they look like in the text!

2. Personality and psychology

In the second section of my character profile, I nail down the basic personality and psychology of the character. “General” includes their normal temperament, preferences, moral compass, and more. The second subsection delves into “plot-significant” elements of the character’s mind, such as the heart’s desire, weaknesses, insecurities, and fears. “Classifications,” the third subsection, is just about categorizations like zodiac signs and personality types. Last is a list of miscellaneous “favorites” of the character. I pay a lot of attention to the first two parts of this section, as they are essential for me to figure out the story!

3. Communication and mannerisms

Next, I delve into the communications and mannerisms of the character, whether that’s vocal, physical, or emotional. Most of this is pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll just elaborate on a few. A swear word can tell you a lot about a character, surprisingly enough–whether it’s religious or not, whether the character whispers it or yells it, etc.

Under the “physical” subsection, “gestures” refers to the level of gesturing that a character does, as well as what kind of gestures they make–e.g. big and sweeping gestures, or small and confined ones? In the “emotions” subsection, "humor” refers to what the character finds funny, e.g. dark humor. “Smile” refers to what the character’s smile looks like, which can be very telling. For example, do they have a close-lipped smile or a wide, toothy grin? Do they have both but show one of them more often, and if so, why?

4. Social media and related

Here, I decide what social media platforms the character would use if they had them, and if so, what type of content they would post. This is a fun character exercise and it can be taken further by actually creating social media profiles for your characters on certain websites!

I also make a miniature playlist of what songs I think they would listen to, specifically songs that would be on their all-time most played Spotify playlist. Making playlists is one of my favorite ways to flesh out characters!

5. Backstory

Probably the most important part of the profile plot-wise, “Backstory” covers the entire background of a character–their childhood, memories, aspirations, abstract details, and everything to do with the past and what their life and mind was like prior to the story. Under “Description,” I simply write out a longer summary of the character’s backstory.

6. Family

Here, I just build the character’s family, noting their names, ages, birth/death, history, their relationship with the character, etc. This is pretty self-explanatory. After going into immediate family, I mention extended family. Both can reveal insights into the character–are they closer to one side of their family than to the other? Why? Is there any conflict that may be shown between the character and their family in the story?

7. Relationships

This section is all about relationships; familial, platonic or romantic. This helps me figure out the dynamics between characters. I also include a “Perception” section, which allows me to view the character from multiple angles. If this character is involved in romance, I note what qualities they want in a relationship or in their ideal partner(s).

8. Story elements

Finally, I figure out the current situation of the character: where are they right now and where do they want to be? What’s their goal? What motivates them? These questions let me build a plot. Lastly, I plan out their character arc–how they change and develop during the course of the story.

aww, they got married <3

I've already seen some artists and writers saying they will stop drawing Technoblade and not write about him now to respect him.

Don't.

This is how you not forget people. We, the community, are Technoblade's legacy. We are here to make sure he is never forgotten and to show our love for him.

Of course you should take a break when it's too much right now. But please don't stop drawing fanart of him. Don't stop writing about C!Technoblade. Don't stop writing sbi stories like passerine. (Unless the other sbi-members say they will uncomfortable about this now)

I am sure Technoblade loved this about us, he liked the fanart you all drew of him, his characters, his friends. I am sure he loved knowing what awesome stories people wrote about the Blood God who never dies.

We are the voices and we are here to make sure this legend will be remembered.

The Ring of Brass endures.

Keep reading

Father son bonding time :3

a gang of scoundrels!

Emergency cleaning: Unfuck your whole house in the shortest time possible

So, your landlord/parents/home inspector/favorite movie star is dropping by, and your place is a disaster. You don’t have much time to clean it up. You’re in emergency mode. Let’s get started.

Don’t panic. Panic leads to fear, fear leads to procrastination, procrastination leads to the dark side. You can do this, but you have to stay calm.

Unlike maintenance cleaning, we’re not looking to completely unfuck one space at a time. Instead, we want to decrease the overall mess in stages, spread evenly across the whole area that we’re concerned about. If you think your home is at Level 10 filth, we want to bring the whole thing down to a Level 9, and then down from there. One really clean spot in an otherwise messy home is not going to be helpful here.

Get prepared. You’ll want to shut the computer down (or turn the modem off if you need your computer to play music). Trust me. Get your music going. Gather up trash bags, your vacuum and mop, some rags or paper towel, sponges, and other cleaning supplies. Use what you have on hand. Don’t get distracted running to the store and spending an hour browsing cleaning supplies. A multi-purpose cleaning concentrate or a jug of vinegar will be just fine.

Breaks are very important. Depending on your time constraints, work in 20/10s (20 minutes working, 10-minute break) or 45/15s. But take breaks because otherwise you’re marathoning, and marathon cleaning is no one’s friend. Keep hydrated, don’t forget to eat, and check in with yourself frequently to make sure you’re physically doing OK.

Make your bed. This will be your home base if you get overwhelmed or need somewhere clear to take a break.

Start with the garbage. Going from room to room, throw out anything that is obvious trash. Once you fill a bag, take it out. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Move on to dishes. Gather the dishes from all over your house and bring them to the kitchen. If you can, start them soaking in a sink of hot, soapy water or start loading the dishwasher. After the dishes are all in one place, spend one 20/10 getting started getting them under control.

Now it’s time for your flat surfaces. Countertops, tables, dresser tops, etc. Clear them off and wipe them down. Don’t get distracted in too much sorting and organizing. We’re in crisis mode here. There will be time to get in-depth once this is all done. The same applies to cabinets and closets. Unless you have reason to believe people will be opening closed doors, leave these alone for now.

Attack the floordrobe and shoe pile. Get your clothes either put away or in the hamper. Start a load of laundry if you need to, but keep in mind that laundry and dishes have three steps: wash, dry, and put it away, goddammit!

Get random stuff up off the floors. If something is trash-worthy, throw it away now rather than just move it around a bunch of times. Otherwise, put stuff where it belongs.

Take another 20/10 or 45/15 to catch up on more dishes, if needed.

Head into the bathroom. Pour some cleaner in the toilet bowl, fill the sink with hot water and cleaner, and either spray the tub and shower with cleaner, or fill the tub up with some hot water and add cleaner and let it soak. Put everything away that’s out and shouldn’t be, clean the mirror, counters, and toilet seat. Sweep or dry mop the floor. Wipe down the sink and tub/shower, and give the toilet bowl a scrub. Mop the floor.

Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Vacuum everything you can, and sweep everything you can’t.

Walk outside of your house (don’t lock yourself out, please). Walk back in and see what catches your eye first. Go and deal with that.

If you’re being inspected or your landlord is coming in for repairs, spend time on whatever area they’ll be focusing on.

Give the whole place one more once-over and pay attention to anything you’ve missed so far.

It’s an old trick, but if your place is a little funky-smelling, put a pan of water on the stove on low heat and add some citrus or cinnamon or vanilla. Don’t leave it unattended or forget about it.

Take a shower, put on something clean, and eat something.

You can do this. It’s overwhelming, yes, but it is not impossible. You just need to do it. You have a list. You have directions. You have a whole bunch of Internet strangers who have been there before and who are cheering you on. You can do this, but you need to get started.

Why are you still here? GO. START. NOW.