#then ofc it’s more than just a visual description but like

[19burstraat]

Ok we all know guild me, build me exists due to my artistic abilities being very lacking in the visual arts, so rather than drawing the crows in the komedie brute, I had to write kaz in. however I had ideas for the others that I couldn't get into a fic, so I've put em down here

Kaz: (description ripped from guild me, build me):

a heavy black cape, sewn with stolen chains and jewels so that it jingled upon every movement (...) It was marked up and slit here and there, on the edges and at the collar, to give the impression of crow’s feathers, and it was made of some kind of shiny, velvety fabric that had the oily shine of crow’s plumage. The gloves were the same material, thinner and more embroidered than Kaz would have ever entertained, and the cane was a plain, inaccurate copy– (...) the mask; a silver crow’s head (...) crooked over the eyes and nose, almost like a Kaelish plague mask. But it left the mouth unblocked; of course it did. Dirtyhands needed to talk.

Inej:

Light and flimsy dark (doesn't have to be black; could be blue or grey) fabric for the veil and cloak. Has an element of spiderwebby fraying to it which is a nod to her being... Well, a spider lmao. But also meant to look ghostly and insubstantial, can sometimes see a metal shiny suggestion of knives underneath it. The veil can be parted just down the side of her face, so you can occasionally see a bit of her face, but never the whole thing. Would not be a practical costume to climb or spy in; too long and bothersome, the same way Kaz's Dirtyhands cloak would not be practical to pickpocket in. Sometimes productions get her a few cheap sheath knives.

Jesper:

Rabbit head mask, short cloak in some batshit colour like green or pink, lined w rabbit's fur and threaded with gambling chips, 'lucky' rabbits feet, coins, and stray bullets. Adornments tied on loosely so they swing everywhere when he moves. This way there's also a real risk of the Kaz and Jesper actors getting tangled together if they interact, which is not symbolic, just funny. This is our get-along Komedie Brute costume :) (we are stuck)

Wylan:

A once-fine red cloak with a high ruffly collar-- now tattered and singed and gone to seed. Little bits of wiring or string or pouches of powders etc sewn into it; sneakily embroidered with the Van Eck laurel around the edges. Mask, while elaborate and matching with the cloak, only covers the top half of his face, as if he's not quite as all-in as the others. For similar reasons, the cloak is half-length.

Matthias:

Wolf's head mask ofc, white fur cape a lot longer and more substantial than Jesper's, with heavy furring around the neck (made to bulk out the actor if they're not the right stature, which most will not be). Likely they also weight his boots to make his tread sound more imposing. Possibly a wig if they can afford one, since Druskelle are known for the long hair.

Nina:

Porcelain-doll Venetian style mask (you know the ones!) with a single black tear-- referential both to that bit in CK when they identified themselves that way in the crowd of Mister Crimsons, and the Queen of Mourning thing. Mask is covered with a very light veil, and she wears a long heavy silk cloak with a bit of a hint of a kefta, but not enough to get the Komedie Brute in shit from Ravkan Grisha lmao. Entrance usually heralded with a blue corpselight.

I imagine dependent on the production and the costumier they could look great and beautifully elaborate, or they could look cheap and shit lmao.

Bonus: I got bored and made a mock-up of a page of a Komedie play. I edited over the first folio for this, yes. Sorry to the Big W.S.

#right I think this is all right now. finally #fuckass blue site so glitchy it posts my shit early. #six of crows #soc duology #my fics #my post #grishaverse

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

hi bestie do u have any ff writing advice ?? ur flow and imagery and STYLE is so so good i love it. how do u come up with such good ideas??

hi ! first of all thank you SOOOOOO much that means sm to me it genuinely makes me so happy to know that you enjoy my writing. !!

speaking of writing..it took me a while to figure out a system i was comfortable with. i'm a little all over the place in general and that translates a lot in my drafts ESPECIALLY LMFAOO if you caught one glance at my drafts it's mostly just a prompt of a few sentences and w spelling mistakes in every word cus i write them down so fast so as not to forget them LMFAOOO. but it really works for me !

i know a lot of people say it but it really works, literally just write ! it doesn't have to come out as a full beautifully crafted piece immediately, just write down anything you can and polish it up all you want later ! forcing inspiration to come to you almost always has the opposite effect, for me anyways !

for flow, i think i like to mostly write dialogue between characters out first and then write my descriptions and actions around that ! i always get more excited about writing dialogue more than descriptions (not that those can't be fun ofc !)

oh , this might help for imagery ! and idk if you've noticed but the structure of a lot of my writing is heavily based on animes and manga. like the set ups and punchlines. (massive nerd ik) like if you read some of my one shot's like this one, this one (probably one of my fav fics i've done btw) or my first born series FBRC, (especially this part) (this part was actually the one i was most excited to write, and it's heavily based off of kobayashi's dragon maid's actual good and not weird moments and soundtrack, listening to music also helps me out a lot too!)

i try to model my speech to what i think an anime episode of the scenario i thought about would look like. visualizing my writing helps me write a lot as well, if that helps ! a little fun fact for you, fujimoto's writing has influenced a lot of the way i describe situations in fics, since i really like the sorta 'childish' descriptions over super fancy ones (cus i can't write those, but i don't really like them veerry much, but a lot of them are enjoyable to read!!) i find it very endearing and it's one of the reasons why i enjoy writing childhood friends to lovers so much. it's this sorta simplistic level of thinkin that kids have if that makes sense and it works out really well if you wanna write fluffy pieces if that makes sense

some examples ! :

"he drags you around a little too hard but it's to show you something he knows you'd like and you repay him by being patient with him and letting him drag you around to his hearts content. he let’s you use the crayons he’d just denied another classmate seconds ago and when it’s really early in the morning and you’re still sleepy unlike your more energetic friend, he waits for you. sitting with you in the reading corner quietly commenting on a little bit of everything in the book you’re sharing until you’re awake enough to start the day because katsuki wanted you to be together through anything no matter what, starting the day without you was simply unimaginable."

"despite his quieter presence he always seemed to stand out to you. his bag is big enough to carry everything he needs without having to shove anything inside or leaving it half opened. he wipes his mouth with a tissue after he's done eating his lunch alone and his handwriting is pretty. his lashes are long and he's pretty."

"you hated it when people said that because the shoto you knew wasn't like that. he knew people talked about him and he hated being associated with his father. he likes the caramel you sneak in for him at school and you like the way his eyes light up when he guesses the flavour of fruit candies you make him taste. the shoto you know that ties your shoes for you and shares his umbrella with you, the one who half heartedly stomps into wet puddles with you, the one with the pretty lashes and pretty smile and pretty handwriting isn't like that."

there are a lot of other examples (im OBSESSED with this trope can you tell.) i like these sorts of simplistic childish ways of love. tiny little specks of affection that make the heart so much fonder in such little big ways..if that makes sense :>

i dunno if im just very..special, but since i have a lot of oc's and scenarios constantly flowing in my brain, most of my ideas just tend to be what i dreamed about the night before, or what i daydreamed about LMAOO. even random things that happened to me at school sorta go from "oh it would be funny if this happened to [insert character]" and then they snowball into more and more thorough ideas !

and of course as cheesy as it is the most important part is to have fun ! i cannot stress enough how important it is to be in the mindset when you're writing. it's like when people say to force yourself to draw so you don't 'lose it.' and i do think it can work to jog inspiration, but i believe that as long as you enjoy it, you'll never truly lose it. so i say, write when you feel like it and don't write if you don't, it can truly be very draining. but it's all up to what feels better for you !

anyways, i hope my insane ramblings helped you out a little bit, and have fun writing !!

much luv xxx

#cash's recs ! #cash speaks <3 #cash is rambling ! #cash tips ! #writing #creative writing #inspiration #writing inspo #writing inspiration #cash responds :p #hope this helps #<333 !! #me after saying “if that makes sense” after every sentence #:P

[courtney-deserved-better]

I just finished slippery slopes and oh my god that was an incredible experience!! I was honestly a little hesitant going in because of the change in elimination order, but the way you developed on the characters and worked it into the story was mwah chefs KISS absolutely one of my favorite fics I’ve ever read.

But I wanted to ask, you made designs for the Mudaliar sisters, but have you made any art for Carlos’ design we can see? I’d love to see what he looks like to you

thank you, im so glad you liked it!! in full honestly my original plan was not to change the elimination order (except for swapping noah and heather ofc) but after alejandro and courtney's friendship developed (which was also not part of the original plan) i was like "i cannot in good conscience allow duncan to get further in the game than courtney. or cody for that matter" and im very pleased with how that worked out!

i haven't made any art for carlos bc i have a bit of a hard time visualizing him tbh 😅 what description i did include in slippery slopes was "The lean build, the green flannel, the straight brown hair pulled back into a short ponytail." i imagine carlos to be less muscular in his upper body than his brothers because he's a soccer player and has hair darker than either of them pulled back into a ponytail. i saw it as short when i wrote slippery slopes but honestly now i see it as like mid-rib length i simply think that dude has long hair 😂 i like to think he dresses a bit more casually than his brothers too and his color palate is like a sage and forest green

#slippery slopes #ask #anon

[oceansssblue]

~ [MAGICAL CREATURES SERIES] – THE BAD BATCH AU (N4)

Pt2. "THE SMELL OF FIRE" HUNTER/PHOENIX!OFC

THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE HAPPENING IN THE SMALL MOON PLACED ON THE EDGES OF THE GALAXY WITH THE UNKOWN REGIONS. THEIR PEOPLE ARE RESERVED AND SECRETIVE; TRYING TO APPEAR NORMAL, THOUGH HUNTER HEAVILY SUSPECTS THEY AREN'T. HIS NOSE EASILY PICKS UP THE SMELL OF ASH AND FIRE.

WARNINGS (PT2): CHARACTERS BOUND WITH ROPE, SLIGHT DESCRIPTION OF SCARS. WE'VE GOT MOSTLY MYSTERY/TENSION AND FLUFF 💖

Link for part 1 here:

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Omega had the heart of an adventurer. It was the reason why she had bonded with Phee so fast; always looking forward to hear her interesting stories from her trips across the galaxy. The eccentric woman had told her about a few of her close calls as well. That hadn't detered Omega's dream of following her steps, of becoming some sort of explorer; yet she hadn't really visualized herself on a situation like this.

Omega had been dragged through the trees; the strange humanoid natives closing in on both of her sides. When they finally made a stop, she was pushed down to sit on the silvery ground; and even without understanding their language, the blonde girl had perfectly understood she wasn't supposed to move or resist. Scared, she tried to remain calm while the stranger with the orange eyes took a seat in the sand, in front of her. The old man played with it; fingers gently caressing the silver grains in an almost delicate, reverant way.

It was the native woman standing behind him, long arms crossed in front of her bare chest and posture fierce and self-assured, who talked to her first.

"Safe" she told her, inmediately surprising Omega with basic. "Kids true".

Omega took some seconds to try to decypher what she was trying to say. She then realized the humanoid was telling her that she had nothing to fear for now; that they had just taken her apart and away from the Batch because they believed children were more propense to being honest, easier to read.

She felt her own body slightly relaxing; and nodded in understanding. She was inmensely grateful these people spoke basic, even if with weird accents and shortened sentences.

Once the language barrier had been left behind, Omega spent the next couple of minutes answering the man's questions; explaining the circumstances that had taken them there and how the Marauder had been damaged beyond quick repairs. The orange-eyed humanoid smiled brightly with the knowledge that they had just stumbled on their small moon on pure casuality; while the red-haired woman seemed to hold some waryness still, though she accepted her explanation quietly.

The conversation extended over a little less than half an hour; the blonde girl doing her best at answering to their inquiries. The humanoid with the orange eyes had presented himself as Egan, his people's spiritual guide; while he revealed the woman's name as Alinta, the tribe's first warrior. Omega quickly pointed out each of his brother's abilities and roles; both set of burning eyes watching her closely as if trying to memorise their names in their head.

"Stay us" the old man conceeded. "Fly fix".

Omega beamed and nodded. She still felt justifiedly nervous in their presence –was there really a way to get used to their physical appearance?–, but a heavy weight had been lifted of her shoulders. They weren't going to die. They weren't in inmediate danger. These people seemed pacific, at least as long as they followed their requests; and they had not only allowed them to carry on with their lifes, but offered them a place with their tribe until Tech found a way to finish the ship's repairs. Their fate had changed drastically in mere minutes, and she was glad for the new direction of the tide.

Egan and Alinta guided her back to where they had left the rest of the Batch behind. Omega smiled brightly upon seeing them, quickly running towards them and speaking at a hundred miles per second.

"It's okay. I've just answered some questions. They do speak basic. A basic basic" she nervously chuckled, adrenaline dropping and making her feel jittery. "They have offered us to stay with their tribe until we fix the Marauder".

Echo frowned, glancing at his brothers with the corners of his eyes.

"I don't know if that's the best idea. They might say that now, but we don't really know their intentions. They could be fooling us. I don't trust them".

Hunter watched the red-haired woman smirk. While some of the other natives worked on his brother's bindings, she walked straightly towards him; not a word to be said. He tensed, feeling the energy inside of her buzzing, now that she was close to him; his muscles jumping involuntarily at the feeling of her long nails –almost claws– grazing the skin of his wrists.

"I disagree" Tech answered, gently caressing his own rope-marks now that he had been finally freed. "I believe they would have already killed us if they wanted; and considering we know nothing of this bioma, specially in terms of what is edible or not, I think accepting their help would be the most intelligent road to take".

Hunter was finally released as well; he straightened his posture, quickly beckoning Omega to his side. The native woman stepped back from him, the cut out rope still in her hands. He could still feel the lingering warmth of her fingers; smell the fire off her skin. It was a scent she shared with the rest of her tribe; though it was stronger in her, burning brighter. Calling him.

Tech politely greeted the humanoid with the orange eyes, who Omega quickly presented as the tribe's spiritual guide. The mysterious woman in front of her was introduced to them as Alinta, their warrior leader. Hunter's eyes didn't leave her neon red ones the whole time.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Hunter hadn't shut the eye once throughout the whole night. He didn't trust these people; didn't have any reasons why to. They didn't either, so the clone understood the curious, carefull tip-toing around them; and the equally cautious stares of the redhead. Hunter could get why she had been introduced as the tribe's finest warrior. She was always extremely aware of her surroundings; in an intent, silent way that somehow reminded him of Crosshair.

Alinta –and everyone else, by that matter– was a complete mystery to him. Hunter studied the natives; and how they all seemed to move around Egan and her. While the humanoids definitively treated the first one with respect and held them in high regard... It was different with the woman with the red eyes. Hunter could specially identify this differences in the eyes of the children; always widening in her presence, filled with pure admiration, beaming smiles whenever they got the chance to talk to her. As if it were a privilege. Adults tended to gently nod towards her; a discrete bow that left the perceptive clone wondering. Was it just her status as a warrior that justified all that?

On the third day on the small moon –which Egan had revealed it's name to be Aodh–, Alinta spoke to him for the first time. She had been watching him for a few minutes; expression pensive as if in thought. She slowly walked towards him and took a seat besides him on the ground; back coming to rest in the tree behind them and merely leaving an inch between the two.

"You no sleep" she pointed out, firmly.

Not a question; but Hunter answered it anyway.

"I don't" he confirmed. He kept his eyes ahead, on the black-water pond where Omega was playing with other teens like her. "I'm not going to leave my family without protection during the night".

Alinta's lips tugged upwards into a faint smile. The human wasn't scared of throwing the warning straight at her, even if in very obvious numeric disadvantage. He wasn't afraid of offending her. She liked that. She was often treated with so much awe and reverence she sometimes missed someone disagreeing with her, calling her out on her mistakes and even fighting with her.

Hunter didn't need to fight her, though.

"Your family is safe" she answered, her voice as matter-of-fact as Tech's. "Always one of us up. Always us protecting".

Hunter hummed. Yeah, he had studied the rotations between them; someone always keeping watch during the night. He still didn't know what they had to be wary of.

"And who's going to protect me from you?"

Hunter's chocolate eyes turned to her red one's; and he almost shivered unconsciously when a dark, amused smile slowly showed up in the woman's face.

"No people can protect from me" she almost singed, basic sounding foreign in her accent and pronuntiation, tinted with the entonation of her mother tongue. "But I no want hurt you".

Hunter stared. Alinta was straightly telling him that she believed there wasn't a way from him –from anyone– to fight against her. To face her. And she was saying it with a smile on her face. Her small fangs, sharp claws, black markings and bright red eyes only made the comment seem like a threat.

But it wasn't. Maybe a warning, for Hunter to consider it too; that she could destroy them. That she could kill them. She just didn't want to.

Alinta stood up and looked down at him. She was always so confident; always so fierce. She felt powerful.

"If you no sleep the night, sleep now, Hunter" her red eyes flickered over his tired features and smirked teasingly. "You no look so good".

The clone could barely mask his surprise at her remark. A tingling sensation creeped up her spine at her first use of his name. He was too stunned by her cheeky, amicable pun to answer her.

Alinta chuckled and elegantly walked away.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Hunter followed the woman's advice. His brother's were wide awake to protect each other and warn him if things went south during the day; so he nodded off here and there, closing his eyes and resting against a tree, or properly sleeping a few hours in in the wooden cabin Egan had assigned for them. It wasn't the comfiest of beds –barely a layered mix of furs on top of another imperfect squared piece of wood–, but Hunter was used to a soldier's life, where his body needed to find rest wherever he could, under hazard conditions.

He kept studying Alinta; and her people. As days passed by and the Batch got used to their weird new plant-base diet and cleansing themselves on the ponds, the clone sargent slowly grew used to their new situation. The aaodhi people reciprocated; slowly integrating them further in their games and conversations –the minority that spoke basic, at least– and opening to them. They were still secretive and they were still holding back something –Hunter just knew–; but they seemed to be good people, just living their quiet life on their small moon lost in the Unkown Regions.

Hunter started to discover layers on Alinta's character too. She had a strong personality; always cool and collected, a dangerous smirk ready to be shown and a carefull glint shining in her red eyes. But it all seemed to melt in the presence of the kids of her tribe. Under their admiring glances and innocent smiles, Alinta turned unusually soft; and something about such unexpected gentleness tugged at Hunter's heart.

Besides the children, the native woman only seemed to share that same softness with one other person; her father. With him, Alinta didn't stand firmly like the warrior she was; but her whole body relaxed towards him, smile turning warmer and vulnerability showing for once. Hunter didn't need to know their story to see she adored him; though he often wondered what had happened there.

Alinta's father must have had experienced something traumatic. He wasn't invalid; but anyone could see that, even in good days, too much movement was torture to him. On bad days he was barely able to take a step forward without wincing in pain; muscles clenching and teeth grinding against each other, bravely trying to cope silently with it. His grey skin –usually smooth in his species– was dry and shrivelled; old scars travelling up his legs to finish on his abdomen, with the exception of smaller deep lines carved on one elbow and the shoulder of the same side. Even if they weren't new, they still looked angry and painful. Whatever had happened, it had affected his nerves; leaving him with a chronic condition that the man tried to cover up as well as he could –perhaps for the sake of his girl–.

Hunter had more than once catched Alinta's red eyes swimming in guilt and raw heartache. She was always there to help him, offering a hand whenever he needed, insisting until he finally ushered her off with a honest little smile. She often watched his unstable walk off with a opened expresion of resigned distress; face suddenly innocent and younger and eyes looking almost lost as she looked at him.

Hunter hadn't ask their story, no; but he had deduced she was somehow partly responsible of his scars, of his present pain. He knew his father didn't blaim her, as well; it had probaby been some sort of accident, if the clone had to guess. He wondered if it had to do anything with a fire. That would explain the scars; though Hunter was terribly confused as to why everyone still smelled like that.

END OF PART 2.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

PART 3 HERE:

LET ME KNOW IF U WANT TO BE TAGGED!

Back to magical creatures series:

Back to my general masterlist:

As always, reblogs are appreciated! Let me know what you think 🥰💖

Xx,

Sky.

#hunter #hunter tbb #sargent hunter #hunter bad batch #hunter x oc #hunter x you #hunter x reader #tbb hunter #tbb au #omega tbb #tbb omega #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #sw tbb #tbb #star wars tbb #tbb echo #the bad batch #clone trooper wrecker #clone au #clones #clone wars #clone force 99 #clone troopers #magical creatures #shape shifter #mystery #romance #fluff #short story

[evansbby]

Why do you think most of us are reading your super depraved fics girl 😂 ?? Ofc there’s amazing plot and it’s so well written but yk

I’m sorry but doing it to fan fiction is 100% better than porn like you really feel like you’re living the thing because you’re so into the writing and story and idk how to explain but the dialogue when it’s written and you imagine it in your head it’s far more satisfying than actors saying it and also it’s great because you could imagine everything in your way so it’s perfect AND you work on your imagination 😂

personally I prefer to consume the content of an amazing writer than the porn industry wich personnaly I found problematic

Hehehe EXACTLYYY

Like with porn, they just give away too much and it’s never as nice as it is in your head when you imagine fanfiction, bc with fanfiction you can imagine exactly what you want. And written words and phrases can be soooo much hotter.

Tbh the only time I find visual porn super exciting is when people send me twitter porn links with descriptions like “this is poyt Steve punishing omega” or “this is Ari doing whatever” likeeee THE WRITTEN WORDS ALWAYS MAKE IT HOTTER

#anon

[raspberry--fool]

SORRY THERES A LOT BUT (u obvi dont have to do them all): 7, 20, 22, 23, 24, 56, 60, 74, 77!!!! <333333

YAYYY and yeah no i’m gonna do them all 🤠

7. How do you choose which POV to write from? i’m a multi-pov girl and like. every time a story starts with only one pov i promise myself it’s gonna stay that way and every time within a few days of planning i’ve added like 2 more people. so like. cyrelius went from cyrus pov to cyrus and aurelius pov to cyrus, aurelius and rita pov. idk how i decide tho………generally the story idea just comes like that

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc? yes. very very many. but especially themes – they’re all (with the exception of anya’s diner and the herodotus one) about revolution. like, always. everything is about revolution. it’s ridiculous (and i love it). also they’re always about love ofc <3

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc) hmmm i’m not sure actually. nothing super dark i think. the darkest i go is cyrelius and even that is still about hope. like even if a story starts really dark and depressing it slowly gets more and more hopeful. also my writing style often has a quite light-hearted tone so

23. Best writing advice for other writers? if you’re struggling with plot, give yourself a visual representation of it. as in write out the main things you need to happen, put them in order, and figure out how to get from one to the other. it’s good if you have separate little boxes for plot points that you can move around. it also helps to be aware of where everything is happening. anyways this method literally saved my life it’s the reason i managed to get the full, detailed plot of sst from scratch. use milanote.com. you’ll thank me later :D

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you? hmm i’m not sure. if someone criticises my writing style, by telling me it’s too pretentious or long-winded or descriptive, i tend to just ignore it because i pride myself on my prose tbh and idgaf if it’s too convoluted. like above all i need my writing to sound nice. i don’t like it to be simple

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on? i just said this but my prose!! i’m good at descriptions :] also, my themes & motifs, especially in cyrelius, are pretty cool imo

60. Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like? i don’t think so? i’ve only posted a fic on ao3 once and very briefly (and it was unfinished) so

74. You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it? lots of vivid, atmospheric description and everyone talks like they go to a british boarding school in the 1920s agdhfjfj. also a good dose of dialogue that doesn’t take the plot anywhere

77. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from [Fanfic Name] story/chapter? ‘they cannot kill us, cyrus, no more than a drop of water could kill the sun.’ OUGHHH but also just for you i’ll post andrea’s first appearance in sst (i love this opening sm):

idiot (affectionate) also:

ANDREA WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS

local rebellious teen acts girlboss but is actually cringefail 7 dead 94 injured

#my writing #writing #sst #andrea polilles

[starberry-skies]

Hello! Sorry to bother you, but you are the only blog I know who makes IDs outside of their own stuff so I figured you were the best person to ask. Do you have by any chance ressources to learn how to make and practice them? I want to start using them but I'm not a native speaker and I'm kinda struggling ^^'

Thank you and have a nice day!

oh ofc!! if u want, i have some good posts in the #image descriptions tag on my blog, but i'll link some stuff here too :D

Why and how, basics

Quick tips and tricks

Describing comics

Describing videos

Image Description Guidelines

and a couple of my own tips !!

a great rule of thumb is, "the more time someone would look at an image, the longer + more detailed the description should be". This means, if it's a little doodle or a meme, u don't have to spend hoursss describing every little thing (ie, the clothes ppl are wearing, the lighting, that typa thing -- unlessss it's like,, part of the joke/meme. does that make sense ?) this post by mothfishing [hyperlinked] explains it SO much better than i ever could

on that note, a short/""bad"" id is always better than none at all!! don't worry too much abt the quality, or else you'll get stuck in a loop of fixing and editing and the description will never be published (or is that just me lol)

an absolute lifesaver for me was using a text-to-speech/screen reader to read my descriptions back to me ! especially if it were a longer piece, i would write an id, turn on the screenreader + close my eyes, then see if i missed anything important + if i needed to rephrase anything.

for practicing:

if you see an image w/ a description, try to write one yourself for that image. then just check between those ! it's bound to be different, but how? try to figure out which fits the image better, then adapt !

whenever i'm bored/have nothing to do, i try to describe things in the room. this is mostly just a fun little game to keep my brain busy, but it's also helpful in building skills !

if i can, i like to read out my description to a friend/family member if they're around. i ask them to imagine what i describe, then i show them the image to see if it matches. getting other people's input is always v v helpful... and speaking of....

the people's accessibility discord server!!!!!! i cannot emphasize enough how cool and nice everyone is there !!!!! u can ask for help describing something, ask ppl to double check ur work, or just send an image for ppl to describe!! literally everyone there is just so wonderful and helpful :3 here's an invite link!

little things that i learned:

the screenreader on my phone reads quotes without pause. so it would read "a sentence just like this" as if the quotes weren't there. so i picked up the habit of putting a comma before the quote to break the sentence up. so saying "this" sounds much more different then saying, "this".

(desktop only i think) it's much better for a screen reader to read line breaks (holding shift and enter) than just paragraph breaks (just enter). with paragraph breaks, the person using the screen reader would have to tap on each new paragraph to read it, which can be a hassle. with line breaks, the screen reader just reads the next bit automatically, but the ID is still visually broken up.

save stuff to ur drafts to look over later !

for text-heavy images, use a OCR/image-to-text extractor. just put the image in and copy the text it spits out, maybe looking over it to make sure there aren't any mistakes. this definitely removes a lot of the burden of copying text painstakingly by hand yk

i'm sure there must be more i'm forgetting, so if any of my followers want to leave any more tips in the notes i'd greatly appreciate it :D

#image descriptions #ask #just-an-octopus #fantasticcc url btw !! i used smth similar a while back ^__^

[baconcolacan]

Saw the reply u made to another anon bout Finnigand and Morales and I was genuinely curious about if you do have official designs for them.

Doesn’t necessarily have to be drawn or sketched ofc, but just curious if they do have a canonical description for them or are they just blobs of fan predicted imagery

Or to put it in simpler words- how do you specifically portray the two? What did you imagine when representing them in the fanfic?

Tell you the truth? Nope, Finn and Morales have no official designs, neither do any of the ocs that inhabit the world alongside the main guys and characters.

Let me tell you my reasoning for this: Regimen is an EDDSWORLD fanfiction. It's supposed to be ALL ABOUT established characters that I'm borrowing and am placing into certain scenarios. I love OCs, I have a lot of them, but in fanworks like fanfiction I personally never make them as coherent as the main characters that I borrowed, as it would take focus away from the characters I'm using for my story. I can flesh them out, I give them distinct personalities, but descriptions of what they look like will never be something I would write in fanfiction, because to me that doesn't really matter all that much, what matters is who they are, why they are here, and why they are interacting with the main character. Thats why I keep saying that any visual interpretations of these characters from readers is a-okay with me. OCs in my fanfictions are part of the world building, they're as much the world as they are individual characters. This only really applies to fanfiction for me, because like I said, it's fanfiction for a media that I am a fan of, so of course I would give more attention to the main characters than OCs I made myself. If it were my original work, you better believe I would draw and put an excruciating amount of detail into my OCs hahaha.

#asks #anonymous #regimen ao3 #BTW #there's nothing wrong with detailing OCs in pieces of fanfiction #this is just my personal style of writing when it comes to fanworks #This is just the type of writer I am when dealing with media not my own #The background soldiers are mostly amalgamations of soldiers I've met irl #so even if I wanted to they're all mishmashed together in my head

[thisonesatellite]

H, I, K 💜

Hello lovely, thank you for your ask! 💖💖💖 Here we go!

H. How would you describe your style?

What a great question--- and harder to answer than i thought.

Minimalist, i think is the most apt description. i tend to write in as few words as possible. My polishing process is usually me taking things out and pruning everything down to the necessary words and no more. (A quality that absolutely does not translate to my ask answers, as you can see. Those are all kinds of verbose. 🤣)

Other than that, i guess--- heavily rooted in realism. Yes, even when i build my own worlds. Especially when i build my own worlds. And i don't mean just research, of which i do a lot. For example my dialogue is not only what i think human beings from whichever background would say, i spend a ridiculous amount of time on making sure it's in character for each protagonist, specifically. i find dialogue the most powerful weapon to use for character definition and exposition, and it must ring real and true. (Same ofc goes for the worlds i build, down to "where would they get their power /food /clothes /medical supplies", etc., and for fight scenes, which i endlessly visualize in my head to make sure every weapon and blow lands with the correct hand in the correct place and so on.)

i drive myself nuts over these things. Maybe that's my writing style. Insane with a side of connection and a large helping of plot. 🤣

I. Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

YES. Although i refuse to feel guilty about it. i sometimes write Happy Endings that will rot all your teeth and possibly your brain. Some fics require them. i will on occasion put my main protagonists Through Some Things and then i make up for it by shamelessly piling on saccharine until everyone is in a post-sugar coma.

Same goes for reading. Sometimes i go back to one of my comfort fics and skip to the Good Part and reread just that portion, for Reasons.

Because some days you need the Happy more than others, and that's OK. 💖

K. What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

Ooooooooooooh--- good question! First and foremost i have to say that i am not really an angst writer. My characters frequently go through some Things (as mentioned earlier), and i seem to have my own special brand of fluffy darkness, but i have an odd relationship with angsty fics. i don't like angst for angst's sake. i personally don't like it when characters get put through the wringer just to see the damage. i need angst to be rooted in realism (ah, there's the realism again), and i need the reason for the angst to be plausible--- within the character arc and within the world of a story. Well-executed angst, however, is freaking catnip.

My angstiest idea is actually a fic called everybody knows, and it's the last fic i wrote for my first fandom. In it the main character is a con artist, who loses control of his own con and develops Feelings for his mark, and of course that cannot go well. There's some brutal reckoning once the jig is up, and some painful rebuilding of trust, but there is also the most epically flufferific happy ending that has ever been candy coated and dipped in sugar. (Along with countless plot twists and a bunch of action because apparently i cannot help myself. 🤣)

.

OK. Whew. That was probably more than you bargained for, but apparently i cannot answer things briefly.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for these questions! 💕💕💕

#ask game #tag game #asked and answered #thisonesatellite

[murfpersonalblog]

TVL & VC Thoughts: Storyboarding

Because I have insomnia, I was up all night thinking about the rumors that Sam's contract was signed for 5 seasons. It makes me both nervous and hopeful, cuz Lestat features in way more than just 5 VC books. So if there's only 5 seasons locked in (hopefully NOT counting IWTV being split into 2, meaning Sam only has 3 other seasons), I'm wondering what these 3-ish other seasons would cover? 🤔 Hour-long episodes are enough to condense SOME of the books into 7/8-ep seasons, but not others.

TVL & QotD are ofc the bigguns, that COULD be condensed into one season, but SHOULD get their own individual ones, IMO.

ToTBT - urgh. I already said I hate this book. NGL I hope they condense this into 2 episodes MAX, as filler. Raglan was basically a monster-of-the-week. We do NOT need to be sitting here watching Lestat re-learn how to poop & pee. And ffs get rid of David, he literally just got in the way; let that dude retire! Having Ciprien come back'd be a cool feature/crossover, but I really don't need Lestat out here traumatizing more black people, thanks. 😒

MTD - yoooo.... What do you even DO with this? XD Like, I can't imagine having a whole frikkin season of Lestat's Inferno, but without Memnoch you lose ALL context behind Lestat's coma, his missing eyeball, Armand's suicide attempt, Louis' suicide attempt, and Lestat's course correction as a character. 😈 It was the fallout post-Memnoch that is so important to Lestat's story; but TBH I can honestly see the bulk of MTD itself condensed into 2 filler episodes tops.

Merrick - IMO this needs to be integrated into IWTV2 as part of Louis' storyline, not Lestat's. Even though it's here that he (officially) wakes from the coma (post-TVA--which IMO deserves its own spinoff season; we need more Assad if they don't cover Armand's backstory in IWTV2).

Blackwood Farm - NGL I want a whole dang season of BwF. 😅 IMO it's the craziest VC book, we NEED to see these people on screen. We'd get that Merrick Mayfair feature, too--but if they do her dirty here like AR, Imma be FURIOUS.

Blood Canticle - 💩 TRASH!!!!! 💩

Prince Lestat & RoA & BC: TBH I think these should all be merged into one season, as they all deal with Rhoshamandes. If QotD sets up Amel early, AND includes MEKARE, then PL should get right to the action. RoA was padded with a LOT of straight descriptions, which can EASILY be condensed on screen with visuals--that's the book that needed to be illustrated! RoA really doesn't need its own season; we just need to see Rhosh established as the Big Bad in PL & RoA, and get Amel's backstory. (I HOPE they'll keep the aliens in, but AR was obviously using bird-feathered/winged extraterrestrials as the secular answer to Christianity's angels, so I'm fine either way. I'll be sad if they cut them all out entirely and Amel's JUST a (human) ghost). As for BC, it wasn't a long book at all; it just had a lot of BIG, iconic moments. I DEMAND to see Chateau Era Loustat domestic tooth-rotting fluff on my effing screen, ISTG. 🙏 This is the series finale--it deserves to give Loustat E V E R Y T H I N G; from the lowest lows to the greatest highs. I need Prince Consort Louis bossed up. 🤴🏾 I need Lestat having a mental breakdown just like Louis did when Daniel was tearing him to shreds in Ep7. I need Armand screaming, crying, throwing up. I need the WEDDING(S). I need the BALLROOM. I will sue.

Naturally, I could be waaaaay off on all of this. U_U

#the vampire chronicles #the vampire lestat #loustat #must see tv

[mayordoi]

Welcome!

hi, you can call me mayor or delia. i'm an aroace artist who really likes kagamine rin and robin fire emblem. this account is where i post art i make :) while i wanna keep it focused on that, i might expand to making text posts on random thoughts and will still answer any asks that come my way!

things of note

Art tag -> #mayor doidles

instagram

my artfol (this is just for portfolio documentation/only has my favorites with proper descriptions, so it’s not up to date and i’m not active on there)

smash prose server info

google drive link to access lineart files for some of my pieces to use as coloring pages! currently a work in progress :)

my "main" blog (which appears in notifs when i like a post or follow someone) is @dois-funnyzone. that account is where i just reblog things. even though it appears as my main, please don't follow that one in favor of this one!!

i don't take comissions

reposting my art is permitted as long as you fully credit me 🙏🏻 you can reblog and all that ofc

personal use is okay!! :D for things like pfps, just credit me somewhere

some more detailed things about me below the cut :]

what i draw

i draw a lot of fanart of whatever interests me! so please don't follow me if you only want to see fanart from one thing haha,, though the most consistent subject i draw is vocaloid (mainly the mascot characters and how they appear in different songs) and fe awakening (mainly robin, of either gender). i also have ocs that i might occassionally subject you to. oc masterpost coming eventually hopefully TwT by the way, all art of my oc can be found in the #mayors ocs tag~

here's some things i generally like as well, though no guarantee i'll be mass producing art for it like the other stuff i mentioned

☆vocaloid (favorite characters are probably rin, miku, una, meiko, and kaito. favorite producers are utsu-p, ghost, and pinocchiop. casual enjoyer of kikuo, nyanyannya, vane, and kairiki bear) ☆fire emblem (even though it's probably the weakest game i've played, i really like fe awakening, even past it featuring robin lol. i have played and enjoyed all the modern titles!) ☆super smash bros (heavily intertwined with my enjoyment of fe. i really like the crossover stuff about it and used to write fic about it (unpublished)!! i may occasionally draw some of the characters from that cross over here. be warned though that what i tag as "smash bros" is wildly inconsistent across my page TwT) ☆jojo (favorite parts are 4, 5, and 7!! johnny and josuke are my favorite protagonists) ☆shining/love nikki (don't play LN anymore but shining nikki is one of the only tolerable gachas ive played lol! i love the fashion and might sometimes draw suits from the games or outfits i've made) ☆persona (suuuper casual though, only played 4 and 5) ☆rhythm heaven (i just think it's neat!! also fever's soundtrack rocks my world) ☆stardew valley (cool farming game yeah) ☆animal crossing (though i have much to criticize about NH, i really like using it for background inspo lol)

haha sorry for the ramble. but yeah i draw a lot of stuff pertaining to the things i like, some more than others. all art of that nature can be found in the #fanart tag.

supplies and brushes!

in case you're curious about the things i use to make my art, here it is. i like making both traditional art and digital art depending on how i feel.

traditional supplies

paper - i almost always draw in sketchbooks. for full colored pieces, i'm fond of strathmore's visual journal sketchbooks (the ones i'm using atm are mixed media). for on-the-go sketches and doodles, i use a notebook with dotted paper, nothing fancy. sketching - i like using a red grading pencil (essentially a waxy colored pencil with an erasing) for sketching since markers and paint blend into it which means less erasing. i also use a regular mechanical pencil or gel pen for concept sketches or doodles. inking - there's a lot of inking tools i like! i like using staedtler pigment liners for simple lines and hatching, as well as tombow brush pens for quick line weight. markers - my primary coloring tool. while they're not perfect, i primarily use ohuhus; they're great if you're starting out since they're quite cheap! i also use a grab-bag of other marker brands like tombow or copics, but those are my mains. colored pencils - prismacolors, baybee!! i mainly use these for lineart and additional shading and texture. paint - also far from perfect, but i use the himi jelly gouache for paintings even though i'm kinda ass at it. i also used to use a very crusty windsor & newton watercolor kit. as for brushes, idk i inherited most of mine and they work fine.

digital stuff

program - i use procreate on an ipad to draw digitally. i know it's basic but it gets the job done for me default brushes i like - among the brushes that come with procreate, the ones i like are: HB pencil (sketching), 6B pencil (sketching), technical pen (inking), gel pen (inking), honeyeater (vintage), and campagnia (vintage). would like to make a detailed brush list eventually TwT brush packs i like - i download a lot of brushes, but these packs are ones i absolutely swear by. all are free! jingsketch basics is a must-get for anyone that likes digital painting. i use "soft chalk" to render. rusty rakes is a set of textured line brushes i love to use to add extra hatched textures to my paintings. mainly rely on rr dark. i also use a halftone brush to add texture to my art, but unfortunately i cannot find it or the author! will update when i do~

anyway

thank you for reading. this post might get updated in the future when i think of more stuff to add or change. i def wanna update my meet the artist thing cuz that is oooold!!

bye bye!!

last updated: 3/3/2024

#artists on tumblr #intro post #meet the artist #not art

[stayxlix]

I've been saving off the deep end to read once I had a break between exams

BRUH THAT STORYYYYYYY!! Pls don't mind my analysis and play-by-play reactions😩

You're writing style is so good I love the descriptions and how you manage to make everything so vivid. District 7's description was so on point, I really like how I could visualize it.... The tavern, the roads, the forests, the people...

"Cold rings on his fingers pressed into bare skin" goodbye I'd fold so fast✋✋✋ like yes he's a stranger but BRO

"He hesitantly brought his thumb up to run it over your bottom lip," I- 😀

I'm barely 2k into this story and already feeling a scream creeping up my throat.

"Without another word or giving you the chance to respond, he turned to go." Now excuse me dear sir✋ Get your outer district ass back here👹

How are you gonna make out w/ me then just dip💀 survival ig but STILL

"....so many eyes on you, permanently associating you with your father and his regime," SO WELL WRITTEN UGH CHEF'S KISS

I love the mc (main character) so much. They've won my favour so fast, uncharacteristically so. This is the kind of 'y/n' that we need to see more often! The change, the hero.

"A life with him certainly wouldn't involve tight corsets and suffocating lies." How are we so sure about the latter sweetie👀

But mc is better than me I'd probably be going there (district 7) every night in hopes of seeing him. But the chances are low considering he was on the run😔 Rational thinking ftw I guess?

"He had probably already forgotten about you." NAURRR😭 (I could never be this mature... To admit this to myself in such a situation? Nope)

"...followed by the glass walls of the hall shattering to pieces around you." Ok THIS PART IN THE STORY✋ Loveeee the build up of tension. I feel like I'm there omg.

"six..seven..maybe eight figures dressed in all black with bandana...." OOOH👀👀👀 !!! STRAY KISS WOO

"a group of your father's guards run up and make contact with the boys, tossing a couple of them their own guns."😨 HUH? OMG WHAT???? Betrayal of the century purrr😻

"The boy who had kissed you in the alley two weeks ago." GOODBYE CBFNFNFBFV

I should've seen this coming butt I'm FLABBERGASTED

Let's goooo😩😩✋ Also thank you for making it brown hair Felix, like THANK YOU😋 (btw this ask is so long sorryyyy)

"You swear you saw the faintest hint of a smirk... " OFFICIALLY HOLLERING RN AARGHHHH

No bc I hope he kidnaps mc😘 and Jisoo ofc😻 let's go live in the trenches 😋

NO the guards ruined it😒 Can they duck off istg

"Were you protecting him? " Dgfhgkhmkdxnh

"You mouthed "go" and if you had blinked you would have missed the nod he gave you in return." I need a minute🤒 A longgggg minute to process this

"Why would the boys risk their lives to send a message? " THIS IS SUCH AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF SKZ HELP

Like that's LITERALLY THEM

"As far as he knew, you were just like the rest of them." Bro this story is INTENSE

On that more I will be leaving for now, I need to eat and process this story before continuing it is so bloody good

Again, I'm so sorry for how long this is

omg so i just want to start by saying that from the bottom of my heart i am so touched by this. i seriously think i re-read it at least 7 times and i can’t even begin to express how much it means to me that you took the time out of your day to go through and immerse yourself into the story the way you did.😭💕 the play-by-play literally had me giggling to myself like a CHILD lmao you’re actually so funny like i wish i could hire you to narrate my life.😂

this is the first/only fic i’ve ever written and you complimented some of the parts i was most insecure about without even knowing it and i just. thank you.🥹💕 like your comment about the mc i could actually cry. and it’s always nice to find another dark hair felix stan because as much as i love the blonde (and i really do) i just couldn’t imagine him any other way here.

please don’t ever feel the need to apologize for how much you write this is what i LIVE for and it gives me so much motivation to continue the story. you could write an entire novel and i would happily sit down and read every single word.😊 i hope you got something good to eat (and that your exams went well) and i hope the rest of your day/night has been just as good as this made mine.💕💕💕

#alex answers asks♡ #otde.

[recapitulation]

(conductor anon) delighted you're keen to hear my thoughts! i'm not sure which movement is my favourite, i think on the whole it is probably 2 as well (really aptly named i think!)? but i really like the first movement, and i love the ending (and ofc 4 is timelessly breathtaking). hard to pick tbh! currently i am really enjoying chung myung-whun's interpretation of it, though i occasionally wish his 4th was a tad faster (even if it is appropriately dramatic) and brought out the harp a bit more!

(2/2) but i rly like his opening, which has a v nice good tempo in the radio france orchestra recording (down also to the brilliant trumpetist!). i'm a cello player (mvt 2 has a lovely cello bit), but i'll say mahler 5 has truly opened my eyes to the trumpet. i'd love to learn to play it tho i'm not sure i have the lung capacity for wind instruments. anyway thank you for being so kind! i am also in love with you. you make me want to think more about mahler and learn more about the french horn :)

//

HIIIII sorry about the three thousand year response time I wanted to really listen to the chung myung whun radio france recording!! also I will put a linkie down below for anyone else curious

[Wait I just got done typing this whole thing and I realized you were talking abt mahler 5 for the whole ask and not mahler 2. I was like hmmmm did I really say mahler 2 mvmt 2 was my favorite that's not true?? and i realized wait holy shit... I misinterpreted the first part of your ask 😭😭 so this is totally not the right recording ANDBDJS]

[Video Description: a filmed orchestral performance of Myung Whun Chung conducting Mahler 2 with the Radio France Philharmonic. /End Description]

I really agree with you that what he did with the opening was really striking! The initial cello "punch" is much less punchy which is really interesting! As I was listening to this I was thinking hmmmm what is the best cello part in mahler 2... I agree w you that movement 2 has a lot of good cello bits!! But I have to say the very beginning is so nice and satisfying for me 🐦🍒 and the recapitulation of course 😇

Also I love his whole conducting demeanor... he is so solemn, like you can REALLY tell that he respects the piece and is giving it an appropriate amount of weight!!

I really enjoyed the horn players ^^ I thought the very high notes were especially clear and delicate!! I will be honest the piccolo made me wince on more than one occasion . but like it's a live recording and there are so many moving parts to get right so I get it

Also his face at the beginning of the third movement after the big timpani moment was so funny. Like is that disapproval?? Did the timpani player mess up?? It sounded good to me 😭

I understand not liking a slower movement 4!! But I have to say I reeeeeeally like a slow mvmt 4... cannot say I have found one that is too slow for me yet. I liked the blending and the brass chorale was soooooo gentle and sweet and drawn out 💕🐝💕🐝💕🐝💕🐝💕🐝

OKAY I'm going to stop putting my mahler 2 stream of consciousness here 💗🐛 thank you for sending in the specific reccomendation I don't often listen to recordings on YouTube which is a shame bc there's a lot to be gained visually I think!!

I definitely agree w you that mahler 5 opened my eyes to trumpet!! And also cello to be honest, I love love the sound of the really high cello bits trading back and forth w other strings in the 4th movement. I would encourage you to try trumpet if you think you'd enjoy it!! Breath support is a skill to be learned not necessarily something you just have or don't have!

Thank you for chatting abt mahler with meeeee 💌🍞💌🍞💌🍞💌🍞 mwah mwah mwah mwah

#answered #mahler #conductor anon #cant remember if i actually tagged your other asks or not 🤔

[doberbutts]

I adore the Culture novels by Iain M Banks, and they might fit your preference for speculative fiction with dark elements, but they do definitely contain Content. They're only in book form, at least, so you wouldn't have to worry about adaptations with visuals.

A nice place to start if you enjoy board games is The Player of Games, or you could start out with the first novel Consider Phlebas, if you can get past the gross-out opening.

(If uteruses wig you out, avoid Excession, at least at first. I am wigged out by those themes but found it ok and indeed it's one of my fave books evar, but mileages vary.)

Have you read/seen anything recently that you recommend? After I catch up with Star Trek and poke through transreads dot org, I'm open to new shiny things.

Yes thankfully the only time a book has really gotten to me was King's Dragon, which opens with several chapters of a character in a forced marriage being beaten and raped by her husband every day (dw she kills him and runs away) and I finally had to put the book down when it began describing a brutal and horrific human sacrifice of a human boy/young teen who was clearly autistic (nonverbal, "strange child might be a changeling can't talk to humans but loves animals especially birds", named LACKING, sacrificed because he was a "true innocent") that went on for literally two chapters and I was so disgusted by the end of poor Lacking's death that I had to stop reading entirely. The opening chapters were hard enough to deal with and that sort of thing doesn't usually trigger me (bc she wasn't flailing/screaming), but the descriptions of Lacking's screams and flailing as he was torn to pieces and set on fire... no. I just couldn't.

I was also probably about 13 when I read this so it's possible I could stomach reading it now, but... I really don't want to. I'm no stranger to dark fantasy but that was far more visceral and dark than I could stomach. The series is highly rated, but I couldn't even get halfway through the first book, and I've never put down any other book no matter how much I disliked it.

As far as recent reads? I'm still going through the Witcher books but it's slow going because I never have any time. They are good fun though.

Tamora Pierce's Tempests and Slaughter I've literally owned since it came out and still haven't fully read because I suck lmao and Numair's my favorite character of her Tortall universe so what does that exactly say about me. I do recommend literally any of Pierce's books but keep in mind, some of these books are a bit dated at this point and she was not as knowledgeable about certain things as she is now. That being said, they're great books with strong female protagonists (except for Briar's books and the new Numair series ofc) that discuss some darker elements here and there.

In Viriconium I read in college for my world-building class so not necessarily recent, but it's a nice dark fantasy collection that has grime on the world you can feel.

I do enjoy the Court of Thorns and Roses series but also have to caution, there is a lot of drama surrounding the author and also she kind of sucks at representation. It's been getting better slowly but... only after several fans really pressured her into it. I really like old fairytales/high fae stuff so I'm enjoying it regardless but it certainly is something to keep in mind. I haven't read the most recent book (A Court of Silver Flames) yet but I own and have read the rest. It's on my list to buy later.

Another few that aren't particularly recent: Chris Wooding and Charles de Lint. I've liked all of their stuff but most specifically the Haunting of Alaizabel Cray (Wooding) and Yarrow (de Lint) with close seconds being Storm Thief (Wooding) and Forests of the Heart (de Lint). The Firekeeper series from Jane Lindskold is again a huge favorite of mine that I keep returning to. Juliet Marillier's Child of the Light Isle series (specifically Foxmask). Mel Odom's The Rover and The Destruction of the Books.

Oldies but goodies, and free besides: Applegate's Animorphs series and the Pinis' Elfquest (comic!) series are or at least were both offered free on their websites in entirety and I was very taken with them as a kid.

I've been meaning to get through the remainder of the Redwall books as I've only read the one specifically titled Redwall. I did like specific Pern books though, same as with Maas, there's a lot of drama surrounding Anne McCaffery and, well... let's just say scores of the fandom breathed a sigh of relief when she died. Yeah. It's that bad. Also Pern got really weird the more she wrote of it so be warned.

[erdarielthewhumper]

Another OC question, slightly meta this time, if/when ever you feel like it: What were some of the inspirations / influences for creating your OCs? How have their personalities, backstories, and present lives evolved since their original conception?

Oh boy, lemme think... this is gonna get long, so again, everything is under the cut!

Well, Meldie was originally a D&D character, but the campaign kinda fell apart after like 3 sessions bc we couldn't find the time to play. Basics of the character are relatively same; game mechanically the character was a wood elf fighter and kind of aiming for a fairly good balance between dex and strength, but focused on dex a bit more. The basic gear, so sword (game mechanically a rapier, visually a sidesword, but in fic game mechanics doesn't matter), a shield (round metal thing, like a rotella), and a metal breastplate, are all also kind of what i picked as my starter gear in the game. I never really came up with an alignment for her because my group pretty much ignored aligments as a mechanic (the DM didn't like them that much, and tbh I sort of agree, they can be useful but they can also be very awkward to deal with), though I suppose she matches the description of true neutral more closely than anything else. Her backstory is also pretty much the same as what I wrote for the game. The world ofc is different, tho, bc I can't just steal my DM's world for my writing, you know?

As for changes/evolving... well, I think one thing is that Meldie as I write her is somewhat less social and more kind of gruff loner than she was in the game. Which I suppose is fundamentally a practical matter; you can make loners work in D&D, but then you need to go out of your way to figure out a reason for the character to stick with the party, so it's easier to just make the character a bit more social and team player, you know? Whereas in writing, I don't really like juggling big casts of characters, I'm better at writing stuff where the amount of characters that get a lot of focus is pretty small, so it's easier for me if Meldie's a loner because it means I don't have to come up with so many characters, at least not to the same level of detail, as I'd have to if she was a more social person

***

When it comes to Anthony and Elias (and yes, they were always a pair from the moment I made them up; I think I wrote like one fic of Anthony alone before he knew Elias, back in the day, but they were always meant to be together), this is gonna sound strange, but the inspiration behind them was largely space/scifi themed filk music, which I was listening to a lot back in the day. Neither of them are directly based on any specific song (although there are elements I drew from some songs that I still remember, but we'd be here all day if I tried listing all of them), but the characters and the vibe of the world are both something I kind of took inspiration for from filk. It's actually the reason why Elias sings and plays the guitar as a hobby, I threw that in there as a little private nod to what inspired the setting and the characters.

And this is more a setting-thing, but another thing I took inspiration from in the worldbuilding was a couple of tumblr posts I've seen around that make up folklore and stuff for a future scifi universe, like the idea that even in a far-future world where FTL space travel is a thing, there'll still be stories of spirits and gods and ghost ships, there'll still be superstitions and seemingly pointless little rituals people do for luck, things people avoid doing because it's supposedly bad luck. So it doesn't usually come up a lot in the stories, but it's kind of there, this little sprinkle of superstition. I doubt I'll ever actually confirm whether any of those beliefs are true in the setting or not, though, because confirming it would spoil the fun.

Anyway, back to the characters... I don't think Anthony and Elias have ever changed, so much as my idea of who they are has solidified and become more clear over time, espeically once I managed to make up vague outlines for what the places/cultures they came from were like. But I wouldn't really say they've evolved as such, they're still more or less the same as they were then, I just understand what they are better now

#answered ask #herbs-and-poultices #my ocs #anthony #elias #meldie

[glitchbirds]

1 3 10 for horror asks

<3 1: top 3 favorite subgenres -WELL. i find it hard to really determine what i think the main horror subgenres to chose from even Are because i feel like you can make a nigh-infinite number of different subgenres or sub-subgenres- like, do i consider "splatstick" its own thing or just a subset of a splatter film? or of horror comedy? are zombie films just a type of monster movie, or are they their own separate thing? etc etc broadly speaking, i feel like i like most types of horror, i clearly like slashers a lot, and i love a lot of psychological stuff; and i do really like horror comedy when its done well (a lot of modern horror comedy in particular is very mediocre to me, feels like theres more and more of a tendency towards either lowbrow edgy offensive dudebro comedy OR annoyingly self-aware fourth wall breaking w/o an understanding of how to use metahumor appropriately... the latter also creeping into a lot of modern slasher films, even if theyre not strictly horror-comedy). i love found footage and a lot of highly experimental surreal stuff, though both feel more like descriptions of styles than genre (but then, film noir has more or less escaped the confines of "only referring to visual style and not actually a distinct genre", at least depending on who you ask, so why cant "found footage"?) and i really have become more and more fascinated with exploitation films this last year, which is itself a ridiculously broad "genre" whose definition seems to change depending on who's describing it at any given moment, and which definitely crosses over heavily with horror... idk! i think my top 3 would roughly be exploitation horror, psychological, and slashers, but its up for debate 3: top 3 favorite decades -love this one because ive been thinking about this exact question a Lot lately. most of the horror movies ive seen have been from the 80s but i think my favorite decade overall is the 70s, its that perfect sweet spot just before a lot of common horror tropes became horror tropes and thus before a lot of stuff began to be repeated to death; a lot of my favorites are from the 70s (halloween, tcm, lets scare jessica to death, hausu, death bed, carrie, jaws, magic, alien... etc); and idk i just love the style of a lot of 70s films. even a really mediocre 70s movie can usually be partially saved by looking nice enough or having a good enough vibe to carry me through the runtime. the past few weeks ive been making more of a conscious effort to watch 50s/60s movies as well, including ones that i dont hear talked about that often (if at all) and ive been having a great time with that. i think next year im going to try to focus more of my attention on that general 50s-late 70s horror time frame and watch as much as i can from then, good and bad. and pre-50s films too, ofc (short answer: 70s favorite, 80s second place, maybe 60s third place?) 10: favorite final girl(s)

-laurie strode is obviously taking the top spot <3 love her. off the top of my head theres not a lot of other traditional final girls who come to mind, aside from sidney prescott; i do LIKE final girls like nancy from elm street or stretch from tcm2 but i dont consider them favorites. most of my favorite horror characters (at least non-killer ones) arent from slasher movies, so im a bit more reluctant to give them the final girl status. and ash williams. obviously

#txt #julianbashir #asks