helioscenic

[helioscenic]

So with the demo out I’m finally allowed to share with y’all one of the projects I’ve been working on! I’m doing the art for a visual novel game called “The King is Dead” I have a ton more work to do, but if you’re interested you can find the free demo on steam.

#made by others #fave

[helioscenic]

helpful sites for writers

i have a little collection of websites i tend to use for coming up with ideas, naming people or places, keeping clear visuals or logistics, writing basics about places i've never been to, and so on. i tend to do a lot of research, but sometimes you just need quick references, right? so i thought i'd share some of them!

Behind the Name; good for name meanings but also just random name ideas, regardless of meanings.

Fantasy Name Generator; this link goes to the town name generator, which i use most, but there are lots of silly/fun/good inspo generators on there!

Age Calculator; for remembering how old characters are in Y month in Z year. i use this constantly.

Height Comparison; i love this for the height visuals; does character A come up to character B's shoulder? are they a head taller? what does that look like, height-wise? the chart feature is great!

Child Development Guide; what can a (neurotypical, average) 5-year-old do at that age? this is a super handy quickguide for that, with the obviously huge caveat that children develop at different paces and this is not comprehensive or accurate for every child ever. i like it as a starting point, though!

Weather Spark; good for average temperatures and weather checking!

Green's Dictionary of Slang; good for looking up "would x say this?" or "what does this phrase mean in this context?" i love the timeline because it shows when the phrase was historically in use. this is english only, though; i dig a little harder for resources like this in other languages.

#writeblr #writing advice

[helioscenic]

Wait a minute if elves take a hundred years to grow up that has some weird implications.

So… if we say a human comes of age in fantasy worlds at 16, that means it takes an elf 6.25 years to age one human year. If we say the age of maturity is 18 that’s 5.55 years.

So then… okay with people that live a long time have to see their human friends die and probably see them like pets yeah that’s been explored to death. But what about a human just seeing their friend not grow up?

An elf toddler and a human toddler become friends at a playdate. At the time the human is two and the elf is 13. Emotionally the elf is just a little older than the human. But then the human grows up. He grows up and as he grows up his friend doesn’t. Not much, anyways.

She’s still sucking her thumb and throwing tantrums the entire time that he grows up. When he reaches the age where he’d choose a trade or go to an academy he’s earning extra money by babysitting her. During his initiation into adulthood on his 18th birthday she’s there with her parents holding a stuffed animal. Later that afternoon he sees her being shown some colorful flashcards with letters of the elvish alphabet on it by her father.

The human gets older. He learns how to fight, he goes from town to town getting work. At some point he joins the army. Every time he visits his hometown he has at least one more scar and by the time he’s 30 and the elf girl is mentally seven by human standards she starts to understand that something is wrong. Even after he settles down to be a home maker for the local blacksmith something feels wrong.

And she watches him grow old. When she’s in her 80s she babysits his grandchildren for extra cash after school, coming over in her school robes and ruffling his hair. She doesn’t remember why she became friends with this human or when but a strange sense of jealousy fills her heart.

Now she realizes it. She realizes it too late, on the day her friend learns that he is dying. The first day of her 100th year and the start of his last. Humans’ lifetimes may only last for the childhood of an elf if they’re lucky, but they learn so fast. They do so much. They cram their days full of love and hate and learning and wonder.

He knew this was coming. He knew all of this decades before she did, because elves are slow. Not stupid, certainly not stupid, but very very slow. She holds her old friend’s hand as he lays down on his bed. A man that has led such an ordinary life but feels so extraordinary to her. Because he has always, always been there and now he just won’t. Because in her eyes he became so wise so fast and now he’s just gonna be gone.

On an elf’s 100th birthday they are allowed to choose a new name for themselves. It can be important, or not. Usually it will follow them until the end of time. She stands in front of her family’s elders and is asked what name she will be called from now on.

She names herself after him.

#fave #favefavefavefabe

[helioscenic]

#day & knight wip #art

[helioscenic]

#inspiration #fave #tropes

[helioscenic]

#aesthetic #art #revelry & ruin wip

[helioscenic]

Dear creatives going through an artistic crisis: there is a significant chance that what you really need is one (1) delicious treat and an hour long nap. Maybe also a shower.

I know it sounds insane but I was just there and it fucking works.

#writeblr

[helioscenic]

My God, What Have I Done? is a god-tier trope tbh

There’s just something about watching a character come to the realization that they’ve just said and/or done something terrible, and it works no matter how they realize it. Whether the realization is immediate or delayed, sudden or gradual, it all demonstrates the character’s shock.

I especially love it when the realization triggers a physical reaction - things like the character collapsing in shock or hastily backing away from another character. But it can be just as effective when the character freezes in place, unable to come to grips with having done something that completely contradicts their morals.

It’s just a really really good trope.

#tropes #writeblr #inspiration #ch: alistair rooney #ch: alistair

[helioscenic]

i’ll always be so moved and inspired by brienne of tarth, always. brienne, who knows she’ll never be seen as beautiful, who fits no one’s idea of a lady or of a knight, who will never be respected as either. who has been belittled and outcast her entire life and seldom shown the gentleness she deserves. she has every reason to become as embittered as jaime or sandor and resent the world for what it has done to her, and yet she doesn’t. she continues to believe in goodness and continues to have hope. she stays honorable and gentle and holds onto her tender heart no matter how many times it is hurt. brienne is the epitome of the resilience of the human spirit, a reminder that true strength is knowing that love and beauty and kindness exists no matter how much you have suffered, and that you can bring that light into the world yourself every single moment. she’s so strong and i’ll always love her for it

#character of all time #inspiration

[helioscenic]

✨🔪🥀✨

#art #aesthetic #fave

[helioscenic]

found out apparently if you want to consume content of your own original characters and stories you usually have to make that content? fucked up if true

#writeblr

[helioscenic]

shapeshifting attempts

#aesthetic #inspiration

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#setting inspiration #aesthetic

[helioscenic]

btw i highly recommend dropping to your knees with a forlorn expression every time something mildly inconveniences you

#character inspiration

[helioscenic]

fascinated by how "dislocate" seems to be a word used almost exclusively to refer to the misalignment of bodies, or parts of the body, from their proper place. it's distinctly anatomical. you don't say "i dislocated my keys" for instance, even though that's technically a correct and coherent sentence.

[helioscenic]

“Small Knife with Sheath” The Ottoman Empire, 18th century. Material: steel, silver, bone, horn, mother-of-pearl, enamel

#aesthetic #inspiration

[helioscenic]

I’m far less interested in fiction where it’s like “This power/ability/prophecy is gender specific but trans inclusive” and for more interested in fiction that just… doesn’t do that