Can People With Harry Potter Urls Just Not Fucking Follow Me

So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.)  Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results: 

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.) 

Btw, that idea that privilege makes you morally evil and suffering makes you morally good is just repackaged versions of the Christian concepts of the evils of luxury and the holiness of martyrdom. Hope this helps!

btw if you are friends with someone and you have the kind of dynamic where you can tease each other you also need to be nice. just so we're all aware. you also have to be nice with your words on top of it. like with your words. use your words. you should tell them with your words when you like something about them. if you are scared of being too sincere or vulnerable that is not an excuse to not be nice to someone. also you should work on that. ok are we all on the same page

hi, a lot of you need a perspective reset

the average human lifespan globally is 70+ years

taking the threshold of adulthood as 18, you are likely to spend at least 52 years as a fully grown adult

at the age of 30 you have lived less than one quarter of your adult life (12/52 years)

'middle age' is typically considered to be between 45-65

it is extremely common to switch careers, start new relationships, emigrate, go to college for the first or second time, or make other life-changing decisions in middle age

it's wild that I even have to spell it out, but older adults (60+) still have social lives and hobbies and interests.

you can still date when you get old. you can still fuck. you can still learn new skills, fashionable, be competitive. you can still gossip, you can still travel, you can still read. you can still transition. you can still come out.

young doesn't mean peaked. you're inexperienced in your 20s! you're still learning and practicing! you're developing social skills and muscle memory that will last decades!

there are a million things to do in the world, and they don't vanish overnight because an imaginary number gets too big

Sorry to be posting about KOSA again, I dislike getting involved in politics, but as a queer minor on the internet this is the one time i will.

I had a theory a while back that i considered withholding because it’s honestly really upsetting to think about. Realizing that it could even be a possibility hurt, and i’m sorry if it hurts you too.

I’ll keep it short. What if the governors who are trying to pass these bills know that cutting LGBTQ+ kids from information WILL encourage them to commit suicide, and they’re doing it to cleanse the “filth”? They’d have to find a roundabout way to end LGBTQ+’s future because they can’t just outright kill them.

I don’t know if it’s true, but it feels like it’d be pretty on-brand. Nevertheless, encouraging minors to off themselves in any way is RANCID, and even if they are trying to protect kids this is a shitty way to do that.

So how do we ACTUALLY keep minors safe on the internet?

TEACH THEM SHIT. Talk to them about how grooming happens, how to avoid getting into dangerous or illegal situations, how to be FUCKING KIND and MINDFUL, both because people are inclined to retaliate against rude comments even if they’re from children and because it’s just good to know how to be polite.

Wiping LGBTQ+ off the internet isn’t going to protect kids from a made-up threat of queer people brainwashing them into being gay. LGBTQ+ media isn’t going to make them gay either, because we grew up watching content with typical straight relationships and we still know who we are.

You know what i’ve seen firsthand? A little boy pretending to be trans like his big sibling. But that was okay, because at the end of the day he knew who he was.

Why do they think kids have no sense of their identity, and the notion that people can change their gender will immediately make them trans too? What significant damage will that do? Minors aren’t really allowed to get gender changing surgery besides puberty blockers so they can’t worry about kids “destroying” their bodies, and if they’re a functioning member of society then I don’t see the problem?? Maybe capitalism would benefit from accessible gender affirming care. Just sayin. More cash being circulated is better than a bunch of dead bodies :/

Ok, loves, so we've all got the message that joking about suicide is bad for your mental health. Now we need to get on "joking that the planet/all of humanity has no future is bad for societal health/encouraging resistance to bad shit."

Team “not actually oblivious to flirting, just terrified of appearing presumptuous” represent.

The trans girl you have a crush on is literally never going to get the hint, you gotta fucking tell her, now, go do it.

The Dragon Girl is Fat. She spends her day Sleeping on her Hoard of Feathers. They are worth Nothing and yet she is Cozy. The Knights of the Realm stop by her cave to Nap with her. They tell her Bedtime Stories about their Adventures and she Cooks their Food with her Fiery Breath. The Dragon Girl is Fat and she is Beloved for that.

Go my courier