Latest Posts by chickabot - Page 7
Wait what’s a buildings fire evacuation plan if you aren’t supposed to use the elevator to get down
do you think haunting is requited?
In the right stories, the house and the haunting are the same. It's requited in the same way self-love is requited. Or perhaps more accurately, self-hate
I luckily haven't had to deal with much chronic pain or hand pain yet, especially with regards to baking (crochet is another story). That said, these look like some pretty solid tips! There's also some in the comments section.
ruin my life baby
(dont use in pfps/banners/edits pls)
mundane scenes are important.
This might be some unconventional writing advice, but it's important and I don't see it being talked about enough. It boils down to this:
Not every scene you write has to be essential to drive your plot forward. Your story doesn't have to be at high stakes at all times to be considered interesting either.
Don't take this the wrong way — every scene has to be crucial to your story. Not important. Crucial. Your audience should leave each scene with a new piece of information.
But even though it is important that your story isn't filled to the brim with filler scenes that don't contribute to anything, it is more than okay, and advised, to include scenes in which your characters simply... exist. Scenes in which they breathe, or bond with each other. Scenes that give your audience a chance to emotionally connect with your characters. To fall in love with a relationship. To build that emotional connection between human and character that will make the emotional impact hit that much harder.
Perhaps it isn't necessary to show your characters at work, signing papers at a desk (unless they get fired, or a dragon sets the place on fire), but it might very well be necessary for your characters to invite a couple friends over, make some pancakes, and crack a couple jokes! The scene itself might not contribute too much to the overall plot in your story, but it helps bring life into it.
Giving your audience a glimpse into your characters lives is important. Not only does it help them connect, but it's a way for your audience to start caring more deeply about your characters, as well as the relationships between them.
Your story cannot simply be ACTION ACTION ACTION.
Yes, it is super important that the things you write contribute to the plot and that filler is kept at bay, but your plot is only half of it. If a scene is rendered useless in terms of plot development, but contributes to characterization, worldbuilding or exposition, it is not useless and you don't necessarily have to cut it.
It’s about balance. Each scene has to serve a purpose, but there are multiple purposes to be served. So let your characters breathe, even for just a second.
There needs to be down time. Otherwise the emotional impact you're trying to bring upon your audience might not come into play, because your audience haven't spent enough time with your characters to care deeply about them.
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.
가뮤 by 然 先生@yun_ooyun
rb to have a very gay 2022
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.
reposting so hopefully people will see it
what’s in a kiss?
Scar loses his first life to Grian with a kiss to the knuckles.
He gets played at his own game – he’d be the first to admit it. Grian asks for a life, to test out the transfer system he says, with a smile and a wrinkle of his nose and the edge of a flirt to his voice, and holds out a hand. And, well, Scar’s a showman at heart. Always has been. Always will be.
And Grian’s always been able to play him like a fiddle, when he puts the effort in.
Scar takes the proffered hand like a gentleman, bows low over it with a smirk and a bit of theatre. He kisses a life into Grian’s scarred knuckles with panache, with a flourish, like a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat. Like a promise.
When Grian runs off with it, laughing and teasing and gleeful with fledgeling chaos, Scar mourns half for the loss of the life and half for a kiss unreturned. He ignores the kernel of ice that sets itself to seed at the centre of his heart.
–
He gives his second to Bdubs, from half a server away – a kiss blown into the open air, imbued with a mission as it leaves his palm. He feels it, as it catches the currents of the wind and is dragged away, a homing missile with a purpose. Etho watches him, eyes narrow, and Scar smiles and promises him it’s been done.
He feels it, too, when it reaches its mark. A phantom of stubble brushes against his lips, the ghost of a warm cheek pressed to his mouth. His chest feels a little colder than it did before.
–
The third goes to Cleo, a thumb brushing her hair back from her temple, his lips touched to the papery skin there. She tenses beneath the touch, lips peeled back, teeth bared– and then shudders, relaxes, as the kiss presses a life back into her. When she blinks, her eyes open the pale yellow of buttercups and dandelions, and the lines of tension are gone from the corners of her mouth.
Her skin is cold beneath his lips as he pulls away, the transfer complete. The space between his third and fourth ribs is only a few degrees warmer.
–
Joel gets the fourth, both of Scar’s hands curled over the solidity of his shoulders and lips pressed firmly to his forehead. Scar gets a mouthful of hair, half of it hastily dyed over red with bleach and box dye. He can smell the ammonia of it, and leans back before it can make his eyes water. The warmth trickles out of him in slow degrees.
–
And then it’s Grian again.
Grian, stood in front of him with eyes like rubies, and a mouth twisted into something hard, something half-cruel. There’s a crossbow in one of his hands, a bloody-edged axe in the other. His gaze keeps sliding sideways, to that monstrosity of an obsidian cage, like he can’t quite bring himself to meet Scar’s stare.
Scar reaches out with both hands, and then hesitates. Lets one fall back to his side. He catches Grian’s chin with one knuckle, and tilts it upwards, careful, so careful. Until Grian’s eyes – tired, defiant, calculating – are forced back to his face once more.
“Last one I’ve got to give,” Scar says, with a lopsided smile, and leans in.
Grian’s lips are warm beneath his, dry and bitten-chapped, and there’s people watching, and Scar doesn’t care. The rubies turn to liquid gold between one slow flutter of lashes and the next, and red blooms across Grian’s cheeks instead. It’s chaste enough as kisses go, but Scar holds it just a second too long to play it off as a joke, and he can’t find it in his cold and aching heart to regret that.
He pulls away and Grian blinks, dazed, flushed pink beneath his freckles. “Take better care of it this time, you hear me?” murmurs Scar, into the space between them, like a secret.
Like a plea.
He doesn’t wait to see if Grian nods before he steps back, turns on his heel, and turns his back on the last life he has to spare. His ribs ache, cold metal against teeth. His heart stutters beneath the ice, as best it can.
–
The sixth life burns out of him, too hot and too fast for him to scream. When he wakes up in his own bed, he doesn’t feel cold any more.
He doesn’t feel much of anything at all.
look on my works, ye mighty, and despair
reasons.
who will arrange my great escape?
[ inspired by this post ]
he's got a bus, he's got a bike 🎵
[this took me weeks pls rb]
tubbs
id: a pencil drawing of c!tubbo, shown from the shoulders up. he looks confused. end id.