Latest Posts by dabriaanderlaine - Page 5

something I don’t see people bring up a lot when talking about worldbuilding, especially when you’re creating cities, is wind. prevailing winds in many places in the northern hemisphere blow from west -> east, and because industrial production tended to take place in the centre of cities, workers would live downwind of factories while the wealthier classes would live on the other side, away from air pollutants, which is why a lot of cities have a poor east-end and a rich west-end, a spatial configuration that persists in many places that are now post-industrial

and in general the built environment has a durability to it that persists far past the historical moments that produce those configurations. this means that the stated aims of a city via a vis city planning are frequently at odds with the physical layout of the city itself. so if you want to create a city that feels like it has a long history to it, working through its earlier stages of production can help with decisions you make about its layout, and also allow for weird spatial contradictions in a city that has to constantly fight against its own physical history

Falcata Fighter It looks so sci-fi to me, but the falcata actually an ancient Iberian peninsula sword. https://www.archangelsteel.com/swords/falcata-fighter-sword

What happened in Portugal in 1974 needs to happen in Russia.

Today, April 25th, is the 48th anniversary of the 1974 Portuguese Revolution. A group of junior and middle ranking officers in the Portuguese military overthrew a fascist dictatorship which had been in power over 40 years.

The Estado Novo régime came to power in the same era as Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco. However it had been less heavy handed than those other dictatorships; its first and longest lasting leader, António Salazar, was a fervent Catholic who was turned off by the “paganism” of his fellow pre-war dictators and ruled accordingly. Still there were secret police, limits on free speech and the press, and no genuinely fair elections.

By the mid 1970s, Portugal was the last European country to have a colonial empire. A non-stop series of wars in the colonies had taken a large toll on the country. Younger and more clear-thinking officers decided that a change in the country was long overdue.

BBC History Extra describes what happened.

In March 1974, General António de Spínola was dismissed from his position as deputy minister of the armed forces.

He had written a book in which he suggested that the Portuguese colonial wars should come to an end. He was critical of the current Portuguese regime, something that was regarded as heretical by Portugal’s right-wing establishment.

The Armed Forces Movement (MFA) was soon formed by dissident and low- ranking officers who supported Spínola. Captains within the armed forces were also unhappy with a law which would grant privileges to conscripted officers, to the resentment of professionally trained officers. The armed forces’ support for the government was rapidly deteriorating.

Just before midnight on 24 April, Portugal’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest – ‘E Depois do Adeus’ (And After The Farewell) – was played by the radio station Emissores Associados de Lisboa, as had been arranged by the rebels. This was the first of two secret signals that the army was waiting for.

Tanks entered the centre of Lisbon in the early hours of 25 April and soon the airport, television and radio centres were taken over, as well as the Salazar Bridge over the river Tagus. Prime Minister Marcello Caetano, along with other ministers, had taken refuge in the Carmo barracks, which housed the National Republican Guard, and these were stormed by troops, armed with machine guns. With little resistance, Caetano surrendered to Spínola.

[ … ]

Radio appeals by the revolutionaries asked people to stay inside, but many flooded the streets and joined in, supporting the troops. By the time the sun had risen on 26 April, the MFA was in charge and promised to hold democratic elections for a national assembly as soon as they could.

In 2014 for the 40th anniversary, NBC News did a piece on it.

Portugal Honors April 25 Revolution, the World’s Coolest Coup

They took less than 24 hours to bring down Europe’s longest-lived dictatorship and signal the end of the last colonial empire in Africa.

“It was a coup like no other,” recalled Swiss journalist Werner Herzog, who reported on the revolution.

“The atmosphere was more like a party,” he joked at a conference on Wednesday. “None of us had ever heard of an army intervening to bring democracy, surely it’s normally the other way round.”

It certainly did turn out to be cool. By June of 1976 Portugal had drafted a constitution, elected a parliament, and installed a president – all peacefully and democratically. In just 26 months, Portugal had gone from a fascist dictatorship to a fully functioning Western liberal democracy. And it’s still doing fine today.

Portugal is one of the most stable and resilient truly democratic countries on the planet. It’s amazing what a success story it has been. It is proof that a difficult history doesn’t have to be a drag on a country’s present and future.

As for Russia, we can only hope that there are middle ranking officers currently plotting to remove their own fascist régime. They do have a much more difficult job than their Portuguese counterparts in 1974. The Estado Novo régime was fascism lite while Putin is a lot more like the hardcore Nazis of the late 1930s in Germany.

Anyway, the BBC excerpt above alluded to “the first of two secret signals” which were played on Lisbon radio stations to give the go-ahead for the revolution. The second was more important and is now a revered patriotic song in Portugal. Grândola, Vila Morena had been banned on radio by the government. So when it was played just after midnight on Rádio Renascença on April 25th, everyone involved knew there was no turning back.

could you tell us of your religious journey? i've never had any real religious beliefs, but i've been trying to explore and it's hard to know where to start, so i was wondering if you had anything you could share that could help. maybe even some blogs you could point me to?

hey anon! i just got back from work so sorry if my thoughts are jumbled, but this is a great question!!

so like a lot of folks around here, i was raised catholic before i became pagan. i considered myself agnostic for a while after getting confirmed, but after about a year and a half, i had to reckon with that because of apollo reaching out to me! it was a crazy feeling, i jokingly say he was "tugging on my sleeve" for a while till i got the picture haha.

after that i just kinda ambled through religion for a while, cuz i was like 15 and didn't really know what i was doing, and just kept tacking gods onto the list of gods i wanted to worship, though i didn't really do anything for them. see, when i'm not in my dorm, i've got to practice in secret (still do), so i was sort of limited in what i (thought) i could do (until i started learning more about devotional activities and whatnot).

i'm not sure what made me stick specifically with the hellenic pantheon, but that's what i did for about 4 years. it took nearly 3 of those 4 years before i actually started researching the gods, the ancient cult they received, and ancient practices, so that's when my religious practice really started to finally take shape. i saw what others were doing and tried to work it into my practice in a way that worked for me, so i began doing morning prayers and weekly libations. it's important to make sure that you do these in a way that works for you instead of just parroting someone else! there are tons of academic books you can read about ancient greek life and religion, which a lot of blogs on here have links for. if you can't find any by just scrolling through the hellenic polytheism tag, i have a google drive of my own that i can hook you up with.

then, last july-ish, i became interested in learning more about the ancient gods of the place where most of my family came from, so i began researching the pre-roman gods of the iberian peninsula (specifically the area that later became portugal). from there, learning about them turned into wanting to connect to them, and after a year of on-and-off learning i'm finally beginning to do that! it's been a much more delicate process, because there's little surviving information on these gods, so it's been a big puzzle game of piecing together what information i have with practices from other areas and faiths to fill the gaps.

for as long as i've been a pagan, i've always been sort of an ominist, though i didn't know there was a word for it for a while. so it's really been a matter of putting out feelers about what i want to do, and what gods i want to include in my practice, and seeing what works (and being okay with something not working!). so my biggest advice is really just to stay open minded, and see what interests you instead of feeling a need to do things like everybody else.

this turned into quite the ramble lol but i hope this answered your question!! if you have any other questions, feel free to reach out again!

Celtiberian Roots

I thought for my first personal post, going back my ancient historical roots would be apropriate, so hereby I present you:

Celtiberian deities

The Celtiberian were one of the many barbarian people and cultures that lived in the Iberian peninsula (aka. Spain and Portugal today) before the Romans conquered them.

As the name may suggest, they were a mix between the Celts that inhabited the North-West and the Iberians, on the Eastern part of the peninsula. They lived in the middle area, and had their own settlements, culture, societies and religion.

Today I did a little bit of research on their known deities, since, being from that area, I thought it would interesting to explore the ancient gods of my land, get to know them and… who knows? Maybe bring them back to memory from the depths of Roman erasure, and give them live again.

Here are the more detailed ones:

• Ariconā - goddess of tribal protection and dogs

• Banda (Bandis) - goddess of the entrance to the Otherworld, water protection

• Besenclā (Besenclae) - a community and house protector

• Cernunnos - horned God or God of fertility, life, animals, wealth and the underworld

• Corvā - war and defense goddess

• Dēvās Nemucelaecās - celestial goddesses

• Epona - godess of horses and passing/ride through the afterlife

• Erbina - a goddess of wild animals, hunting, and domestic security

• Harācos - agricultural and prosperity god

• Icconā - healing and medicine goddess

• Laneana (Laneanis) - a goddess of springs and floods

• Lidā - land and fertility goddess

• Limia - goddess of the Lima river

• Matres Termegiste - a triad of mother goddesses

• Moricilos - a god of winds, sky, and battle

• Nabia (Navia) - versatile goddess

• Neton - a war god

• Nimedos - a military protection god

• Reva (Reua) - personification of water flows

• Senaecos - a primordial god

• Sūliās - goddesses associated with medicine and springs

• Tarbucelis - war god

• Togotis - a god of community protection, war, and oaths

• Turculā - a boar goddess

• Vaelicos - a god of wolves and wild animals

Here I leave some useful links to some websites (some in English, some in Spanish) with the little information that is available about Celts, Celtiberians and their cultures and deities

https://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/iberian.html

http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/la-religin-cltica-en-la-pennsula-ibrica-0/html/001186c0-82b2-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Celtic_deities

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celta

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celt%C3%ADberos

~ Enthrelle 🧙🏻‍♀️

Its really funny and weird how, of all the european pagan mythologies, greek is the one white ppl know the most of by far.

Like, of course it makes sense, greco-romans were hailed as the peak of civilization by white european elites at least like, twice in history, but it’s still really wild like. We’ll know the names of every olympian and what exactly their deal is, know like 20 different random greek monsters who only appeared in like One Story,

but then u ask abt the british isles, site of a people who would eventually colonize the fucking world, and its like “uhhhhhh theres morrigan? Also some fairies. Is morrigan a fairy? I think there were some tree worshippers. Some dudes put blue paint on their body and had big shields i think?” and a book’s gonna claim there was an irish potato god and you’re going to believe them bcs you’ll be so wrapped up in the potato famine thing that you’ll forget potatos were IMPORTED FROM THE ANDES MOUNTAINS.

And then like folks will be familiar with like 4 norse gods maybe 5, know some words like asgard and ragnarok, but ask them who fenrir is and theyll be like “Is he important?”

Also if you ask them about germanic mythos they will draw a fucking blank bcs even tho the general public are familiar with at least a few germanic mythos things, we completely stripped out the germanic origins from them when we called them generic “fairy tales.” Same for france and the iberian penninsula i think. Also dont ask me which fairy tales come from where bcs i am a prime example of this, i do not fucking know, i just vaguely remember that they came from certain places and then spread from there.

Oh And absolutely FORGET about anything east of germany fucking forget about it. The slavic regions have a rich mythos and even ppl who are pretty knowledgable abt the stuff i said above won’t know shit about it, case in point, me! Go ahead! I know a bunch abt celtic stuff and norse stuff and a lill bit of german stuff, but ask me to bring up ONE slavic story! The only thing my brain is cookin up is that one about the lindwurm, and even that one i cant remember if its actually slavic!

Now Think abt how many white people claim heritage from places in europe that arent greece and italy. Think about how little those same ppl know abt their ancestor’s prechristian stories and beliefs. Im hispanic i know like one thing abt pre-christian spain and its that they had a funny word for fairies (i don’t even remember the name!), just as an example. Like isnt that fucking insane? You’d think a buncha colonizing douches competing with each other to take over the world would put a bit more effort into educating ppl abt the ancestral stories that set these guys apart from each other, but no, not really. And like dont get me wrong its not like this doesnt make sense. It does. The roman empire and later christianity overtook like all these myriad cultures years before colonialism and white supremacy was even a pipe dream, to say nothing about the internal strife that happened in the iberian peninsula and the british isles.

But at the same time, in recent years there’s been massive pushes to recover this lost culture (especially in those british isles places that arent england), and even with this effort, so much is unknown to a fuckton of people who, i repeat, claim heritage from these places. (In fact, one of those efforts probably set us back bcs it got caught up in bullshit ideology and mysticism and grabbed stuff from totally different people to support a bullshit point. Looking at you, nazis.) and it’s just kind of insane. Overall this is just a peak example to me of the hollowness and artificiality of the concept of whiteness. The master race can’t even remember their own ancestors, and ancient history had to be wiped away or made generic in order to support the notion that these people have something in common, and thus, something setting them apart from everyone else.

Subplots 101

Subplots are an essential part of storytelling that can add depth and complexity to your book's overall narrative. This post covers a step-by-step guide to making subplots, general tips, and some examples of subplots in YA books.

Step-by-step guide to making a new subplot

Identify a secondary character

Consider a secondary character in your story who is not directly involved in the main plot. This could be a friend or family member of the protagonist, or a peripheral character who has a unique perspective on the world of the story.

Create a conflict

Think about a conflict or challenge that this character could face, which could be related to their personal life or a separate issue in the story. This conflict should be something that the character needs to overcome or resolve.

Connect the subplot to the main plot

Consider how this subplot could connect to the main plot. This could involve having the main character help the secondary character with their conflict, or having the subplot reveal important information that impacts the main plot.

Develop the subplot

Once you have established the groundwork for the subplot, develop it in detail, including the character's motivations, the obstacles they face, and the resolution to the conflict.

General tips for a good subplot:

Make sure your subplots are related to the main plot

Subplots should be tied to the main plot in some way, either by affecting the main character or providing additional context for the story.

Develop separate character arcs

Your subplots should have their own character arcs that tie in with the main character's arc. This allows for additional character development and can help create a more immersive world.

Use subplots to reveal new information

Subplots can be a great way to reveal new information about the world or characters that might not be relevant to the main plot. This can help make the world feel more alive and fleshed out.

Keep subplots contained

Subplots should not take over the main plot. They should be contained and serve to enhance the main plot rather than distract from it.

Examples of subplots:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Harry and Draco's rivalry

Hermione's fight for the rights of house-elves

the mystery surrounding the Death Eaters.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The main plot of The Hunger Games is Katniss's fight to survive in the games. However, there are several subplots that tie into the main plot, such as her complicated relationship with Peeta and her struggle to reconcile her feelings for him with her need to survive.

Remember, subplots should enhance and support the main plot of your story, adding depth and complexity to the overall narrative. I'd recommend having 2-3 subplots of varying depth, depending on how important they are to the story, but obviously that's entirely up to you.

How to create internal conflict in your characters

Developing internal conflict in book characters is essential to creating well-rounded and compelling characters that readers can relate to and empathize with. Here are some tips to help you create internal conflict in your book characters:

Give your characters a goal

Every character needs a goal, and their internal conflict should stem from the obstacles they face while trying to achieve that goal. When a character has a clear goal, it helps to create tension and conflict within themselves.

Create a backstory

A character's backstory can be a powerful tool in creating internal conflict. Explore their past experiences and how they have shaped the character's current beliefs and values. This can help to create internal conflict by highlighting contradictions or inconsistencies in the character's beliefs or behaviors.

Use a character's flaws

A character's flaws can create internal conflict by causing them to question their own judgment or struggle with their sense of self-worth. Consider giving your characters a flaw or two, and show how these flaws cause them to make mistakes or struggle with their decisions.

Show conflicting emotions

A character can experience conflicting emotions, such as feeling both love and hate towards another character, or wanting to do what is right but being held back by fear. By showing these conflicting emotions, you can create internal conflict within the character.

Use external events

External events can also create internal conflict in characters. For example, a character who has always believed in following the rules may be forced to break them to save someone they love. This can create an internal conflict within the character as they struggle with the consequences of their actions.

By using these techniques, you can create complex and engaging characters that readers will be invested in. Remember that internal conflict can be just as important as external conflict in creating a compelling story. And as always, our tips are just suggestions! Hope this helps you with your writing :)

Color synonyms cheat-sheet

Here’s my ultimate list of synonyms for every colour that you can use in your descriptive writing! Save this post to find them easy later.

Red

scarlet

vermillion

ruby

blood

wine

cerise

crimson

cherry

maroon

coral

rust

sanguine

blush

burgundy

Blue

azure

cobalt

sapphire

cerulean

marine

navy

indigo

teal

denim

ocean

lapis

sky

turquoise

Yellow

amber

gold

lemon

sand

saffron

ivory

dandelion

honey

butterscotch

mustard

canary

flaxen

maize

Green

olive

emerald

grassy

verdant

sage

lime

pine

juniper

chartreuse

seafoam

moss

fern

jade

forest

Black

jet

obsidian

onyx

raven

charcoal

ink

shadowed

dark

midnight

grease

void

White

pearl

alabaster

egg shell

cotton

snow

ivory

frost

bone

powder

light

chiffon

cream

ashen

Orange

amber

tangerine

marigold

clay

apricot

peach

sandstone

honey

bronze

fire

ochre

titian

auburn

Purple & Pink

lavender

plum

lilac

violet

magenta

mauve

orchid

blush

fuschia

salmon

grape

mulberry

periwinkle

iris

Brown

chestnut

hazel

ginger

sepia

mahogany

cedar

cinnamon

beige

bronze

auburn

coffee

walnut

wood

umber

tawny

How different is your second draft from the third draft?

Not much. First to second there's often proper construction work. Second to third draft we're in the territory of "I showed the mss to some friends and I need to fix that thing Janice didn't get in Chapter 5, and the goof that Bill pointed out in Chapter 7 and I probably need to write a new beginning to Chapter 11 because I'm confusing absolutely everyone...."

the fact that none of the night at the museum movies were rated over 50% by critics is a reminder that some ppl don’t know how to have fun. the first two movies were flawless. a night watch guard has to babysit museum displays that come to life, complete w old school villains and endless historical crossovers? incredible concept, incredible execution

Does this story need to be written down? Is it not enough to have it simply live in my head?

Fantasy Guide to A Great House (19th-20th Century) - Anatomy of the House

When we think of the Victorians, the grand old Gilded Age or the Edwardians, we all think of those big mansions and manors where some of our favourite stories take place. But what did a great house look like?

Layout

All great houses are different and some, being built in different eras, may adhere to different styles. But the layout of certain rooms usually stayed somewhat the same.

The highest floors including the attic were reserved the children's rooms/nursery and the servants quarters.

The next floor would be reserved for bedrooms. On the first/ground floor, there will be the dining room, drawing room, library etc.

The basement/cellar would be where the kitchens and other food related rooms would be. Servants halls and boot rooms may also be down here too along scullery, where sometimes a maid would clean.

Rooms used by Servants

Boot Room: The Boot Room is where the valets, ladies maids, hallboys and sometimes footmen clean off shoes and certain items of clothing.

Kitchen: The Kitchen was usually either in the basement or the first floor of the house, connected to a garden where the house's vegetables were grown.

Butler's Pantry: A butler's pantry was where the serving items are stored. This is where the silver is cleaned, stored and counted. The butler would keep the wine log and other account books here. The butler and footmen would use this room.

Pantry: The Pantry would be connected to the kitchen. It is a room where the kitchens stock (food and beverages) would be kept.

Larder: The larder was cool area in the kitchen or a room connected to it where food is stored. Raw meat was often left here before cooking but pastry, milk, cooked meat, bread and butter can also be stored here.

Servants Hall: The Servant's Hall was where the staff ate their meals and spent their down time. They would write letters, take tea, sew and darn clothes. The servants Hall would usually have a fireplace, a large table for meals, be where the servant's cutlery and plates would be kept and where the bell board hung. (these bells were the way servants where summoned)

Wine Cellar: The wine cellar was where the wine was melt, usually in the basement. Only the butler would be permitted down there and everything would be catalogued by him too.

Butler's/Housekeeper's sitting rooms: In some houses, both the butler and the housekeeper had sitting rooms/offices downstairs. This was were they held meetings with staff, took their tea and dealt with accounts.

Scullery: The scullery was were the cleaning equipment was cleaned and stored. The scullery may even also double as a bedroom for the scullery maid.

Servery: The Servery connected to the dinning room. It was where the wine was left before the butler carried it out to be served. Some of the food would be delivered here to be carried out as well.

Servant's Sleeping Quarters: All servants excepting perhaps the kitchen maid and outside staff slept in the attics. Men and unmarried women would be kept at seperate sides of the house with the interconnecting doors locked and bolted every night by the butler and housekeeper. If the quarters were small, some servants may have to share rooms. Servants' bathrooms and washrooms would also be up there, supplied with hot water from the kitchens.

Rooms used by the Family

Dining room: The dining room was where the family ate their breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was also where the gentlemen took their after dinner drink before joking the ladies in the drawing room.

Drawing room: The Drawing Room was sort of a living/sitting room. It was mainly used in the evenings after dinner where the ladies would take their tea and coffee before being joined by the men. It could also be used for tea by the ladies during the day. The drawing room was seen as more of a women's room but any of the family could use it. The drawing room was a formal room but could also be used for more casual activities.

Library: The library is of course where the books are kept. The family would use this room for writing letters, reading, doing business with tenants and taking tea in the afternoons.

Bedrooms: The bedrooms would take up most of the upper floors. The unmarried women would sleep in one wing with bachelors at the furthest wing away. Married couples often had adjoining rooms with their own bedrooms in each and equipped with a boudoir or a sitting room.

Nursery: Was where the children slept, usually all together until old enough to move into bedrooms. They would be attended to be nannies and nursemaids round the clock.

Study: The study was a sort of home office where family could do paperwork, chill and write letters.

Dressing room: Dressing Rooms where usually attached to bedrooms where the family would be dressed and their clothes would be stored. The valets and ladies maids would have control of the room.

Hall: The hall was where large parties would gather for dancing or music or to be greeted before parties.

Furnishings and Decor

Most of these Great Houses were inherited which means, they came with a lot of other people's crap. Ornaments from anniversaries, paintings bought on holiday, furniture picked out by newly weds, all of it comes with the house. So most of the time everything seems rather cluttered.

As for Servant's Quarters, most of the furnishings may have been donated by the family as gifts. Most servants' halls would have a portrait of the sovereign or sometimes a religious figure to install a sense of morality into them.

And a disaster for the discussion of non-anime TV shows in fandom.

"Cool-down episodes" aren't filler.

The Emotion Thesaurus: Amazement

Hello everyone! This post will discuss the emotion amazement.

This section is taken from the Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

Amazement

Definition: overwhelming astonishment or wonder

Physical Signals:

widening of the eyes

a slack mouth

becoming suddenly still

sucking in a quick breath

a hand covering one's mouth

stiffening posture

giving a small yelp

rapid blinking followed by open staring

flinching or starting, the body jumping slightly

taking a step back

a slow, disbelieving shake of the head

voicing wonder: I can't believe it! or Look at that!

pulling out a cell phone to record the event

glancing to see if others are experiencing the same thing

pressing a hand to one's chest, fingers splayed out

leaning in

moving closer

reaching out or touching

eyebrows raising

lips parting

a wide smile

spontaneous laughter

pressing palms to cheeks

fanning oneself

repeating the same things over and over

squealing dramatically

Internal Sensations:

a heart that seems to freeze, then pound

rushing blood

rising body tempreture

tingling skin

stalled breaths

adrenaline spikes

Mental Responses:

momentarily forgetting all else

wanting to share the experience with others

giddiness

disorientation

euphoria

an inability to find words

Cues of Acture of Long-Term Amazement:

a racing heartbeat

shortness of breath

knees going weak

feeling overwhelmed as if the room is closing in

collapsing

May Escalate To: Curiosity, Disbelief, Excitement

Cues of Suppressed Amazement:

holding oneself tightly (self-hugging)

walking in jerky, self-contained strides

clamping the hands to the chest

looking down or away to hide one's expression

eyes widening a bit before control is asserted

mouth snapping shut

a stony expression

taking a seat to hide emotion

making excuses if reaction is noticed

stuttering, stammering

CREATE A CHARACTER (HIGH FANTASY):

(Feel free to use as many or as few of the prompts to create your character!)

Name: the first letter of your character's name using the day you were born (1-31)

1A, 2B, 3C, 4D, 5E, 6F, 7G, 8H, 9I, 10J, 11K, 12L, 13M, 14N, 15O, 16P, 17Q, 18R, 19S, 20T, 21U, 22V, 23W, 24X, 25Y, 26Z, 27Á, 28Ë, 29Í, 30Ö, 31Û

Hair Colour: your character's hair colour using the month you were born (1-12)

1 red, 2 orange, 3 yellow, 4 green, 5 blue, 6 purple, 7 black, 8 white, 9 blond, 10 brown, 11 grey, 12 multicoloured

Species: your character's species using the month you were born (1-12)

1 sorcerer, 2 witch/wizard, 3 fairy, 4 pixy, 5 merperson, 6 dwarf, 7 angel, 8 demon, 9 jinn, 10 werewolf, 11 elf, 12 spirit

Features: one of your character's main physical features using the the last digit of the year you were born (0-9)

0 scars, 1 tattoos, 2 piercings, 3 freckles, 4 glasses, 5 birthmark/beauty marks, 6 different coloured eyes, 7 curly hair, 8 jewlery, 9 you chose

Weapon: your character's weapon of choice using the last digit of your age (0-9)

0 dagger, 1 batons, 2 staff, 3 war hammer, 4 spear, 5 mace, 6 shield, 7 axe, 8 bow and arrow, 9 sword

Supernatural Ability: your character's supernatural ability using the month you were born (1-12)

1 telepathy, 2 invisibility, 3 shapeshifting 4, mind control, 5 telekinesis, 6 illusionist, 7 teleportation, 8 flight, 9 hypnosis, 10 prophecy, 11 invisibility, 12 time travel

Role: your character's role using the last digit of the year you were born (0-9)

1 protagonist, 2 antagonist, 3 deuteragonist, 4  romantic interest, 5 confidant, 6 foil, 7 the caregiver, 8 the joker, 9 confidant

Occupation: your character's occupation using the day you were born (1-31)

1 smuggler, 2 knight, 3 animal handler, 4 barmaid, 5 pirate, 6 dancer, 7 painter, 8 musician/bard, 9 assassin, 10 gladiator, 11 farmer, 12 hunter, 13 prince/princess, 14 ranger, 15 thief, 16 explorer, 17 alchemist, 18 healer, 19 highwayman, 20 herbalist, 21 sailor, 22 swordsman, 23 writer/playwright, 24 actor, 25 executioner, 26 emperor/empress, 27 astrologer, 28 diviner, 29 guardsman, 30 historian, 31 messenger

(Inspired by: @creativepromptsforwriting)

mages in glass houses shouldn't throw fireballs.

Clark Kent is a mild mannered reporter. Kal-El is the hero Superman who saves the world every other week. These are 2 separate people, but everybody thinks they are the same person because Clark looks like Kal-El with glasses.

I don't 'write' my characters, I just watch them do stupid shit and write up the incident report.

How to keep making ttrpgs? I just made my first one+ a couple game jam entries and i feel like i hit a rock , all i have is a vague idea, what do i do?

aw well i'm so happy you made a bunch of games and want to keep making them!

there are multiple answers to this, but mine is: take a break! i had on-and-off ttrpg burnout last year, and forcing it never helps. so i used that burnout time to get into a new hobby i've been meaning to try for forever: fighting games! now i go back and forth between writing my games and getting better at guilty gear! i'm even trying to learn a new type of controller?? it's real fun. on top of that, seeing other types of game formats is a great way to get new ideas!

and some days i just chill with my partner and my pet reptiles. REST is so important. not as a way to work more in the future, but just for its own sake.

the ttrpg design flow will be back soon enough. after HEXFALL and Caltrop Core, i was like 'idk what other kind of games i wanna make. have i done everything i can do here?' but sure enough, i got the idea for EMERGE8, an entirely new SRD, then got the idea for TANK!, Decadent Salvo, and more.

tl;dr don't force it. take a break and your brain will be itching to give you fresh new ideas soon enough!

Sometimes it feels like the writers of Bee and PuppyCat saw one of those unhinged Tumblr posts that are like "autistic people always say exactly what they mean, so if everyone everywhere was autistic we'd all communicate perfectly and there would be no misunderstandings", and they were like "okay, let's unpack that".

I wish other authors thought like this

hi mr gaiman! how are you? i've been meaning to ask this question ever since i've heard the first queen song in go, and i can't handle my curiosity anymore. did crowley ever got to meet freddie mercury? like actual, face to face, meeting him. and if he didn't, does he regret not seeing him while he was alive?

That's one for fanfiction, not for me to answer.

Hi Neil, as someone who wants to write and can't bring themselves to write, despite loving writing and wanting to write; how do you write? Is there a magical way to make yourself write? Or is the truth more honest and genuine: that writing is the way to write?

I have half a novel, a deep desire to write, and an inability to make my fingers type the words.

How do I circumvent this? Or, as I suspect, is there truly no shortcut?

There's no shortcut. You polish a chair with your bottom, get through the backache and the bad days and you write it, one word at a time.

19 points

Writer Bingo

What’s your final score? 👀

Dragon Age Inquisition Tarot, full set: 4/4

Dragon Age Inquisition tarot, HQ: 9/10

Dragon Age Inquisition Tarot, HQ: 1/10