oh no

[snowstories]

My biggest tip for fanfic writers is this: if you get a character's mannerisms and speech pattern down, you can make them do pretty much whatever you want and it'll feel in character.

Logic: Characters, just like real people, are mallable. There is typically very little that's so truly, heinously out of character that you absolutely cannot make it work under any circumstance. In addition, most fans are also willing to accept characterization stretches if it makes the fic work. Yeah, we all know the villain and the hero wouldn't cuddle for warmth in canon. But if they did do that, how would they do it?

What counts is often not so much 'would the character do this?' and more 'if the character did do this, how would they do it?' If you get 'how' part right, your readers will probably be willing to buy the rest, because it will still feel like their favourite character. But if it doesn't feel like the character anymore, why are they even reading the fic?

Worry less about whether a character would do something, and more about how they'd sound while doing it.

[mossbear-minese]

I don't remember where I saw this piece of advice so I can't credit it, unfortunately

But it was along the lines of "instead of asking whether something is out of character, ask 'what would it take for this character to do this'"

Which I think fits really nicely with this advice of making the actual action itself also feel in character

[luna-azzurra]

[writerswritecompany]

[ifbuteverythought]

amandaonwriting:

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA) - Resource for Crime Writers

SOURCE

[saucefactory-deactivated2019103]

REBLOGGING THIS FOR ABSOLUTELY LEGAL AND NON-CREEPY REASONS

[itsbansheebitch]

As someone who took a forensics class, I would just like to clarify, we usually don’t use string to map this out (although that is an option). We use a standard equation to measure different drops, splatters, and patterns. This would be done with some simple math & a ruler.

[chxrry-bombs]

5 Tiny Writing Tips That Aren’t Talked About Enough (but work for me)

These are some lowkey underrated tips I’ve seen floating around writing communities — the kind that don’t get flashy attention but seriously changed how I write.

1. Put “he/she/they” at the start of the sentence less often.

Try switching up your sentence rhythm. Instead of

“She walked to the window,”

try

“The window creaked open under her touch.”

Keeps it fresh and stops the paragraph from sounding like a checklist.

2. Don’t describe everything — describe what matters.

Instead of listing every detail in a room, pick 2–3 objects that say something.

“A half-drunk mug of tea and a knife on the table”

sets a way stronger tone than

“There was a wooden table, two chairs, and a shelf.”

3. Use beats instead of dialogue tags sometimes.

Instead of:

"I'm fine," she said.

Try:

"I'm fine." She wiped her hands on her skirt.

It helps shows emotion, and movement.

4. Write your first draft like no one will ever read it.

No pressure. No perfection. Just vibes. The point of draft one is to exist. Let it be messy and weird — future you will thank you for at least something to edit.

5. When stuck, ask: “What’s the most fun thing that could happen next?”

Not logical. Not realistic. FUN. It doesn’t have to stay — but chasing excitement can blast through writer’s block and give you ideas you actually want to write.

What’s a tip that unexpectedly helped with your writing? Let me know!! 🍒

[snowlattes]

🍁 eat well in autumn, now sleepy time for winter ❄️

[aptlydapper]

i am So Proud

yes, she has curly hair, im hoping real-life cinderella will let me see her soon ;-;

[aptlydapper]

Tfw u need to draw water and give up on the first stroke

[jomeimei421]

never forget that the reds and blues have canonically sung happy birthday to wash

[jomeimei421]

I emerged from college essays in a stupor and drew this please like and subscribe

[jomeimei421]

Alternatively:

[daylighteclipsed]

Connor’s such a cool character. I know, I know; he’s the fandom fave cause he’s cute and his actor’s cute and whatever. But I genuinely just love the concept of his character and story??

He’s an android designed to hunt other androids, his own people. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s the only one of his kind.

He’s specifically designed to hunt deviants, but we discover later that he himself was also designed to deviate, which creates a fascinating internal conflict.

He’s programmed with more free will than the other androids. Until they deviate, Kara and Markus must obey their masters’ commands, but Connor can choose to ignore and disobey orders. He can even choose to put things before his mission, like saving people’s lives. 

His toxic relationship with Amanda, who’s like his boss and mother figure rolled into one. She offers him praise and reassurance, and he wants to make her proud, but she doesn’t approve of him developing close relationships with other people, and disobedience is punishable by death/shut down, a fear Connor shouldn’t have if he’s truly a machine.

His complicated relationship with Hank, who’s also supposed to be his boss/superior and (who I see as) his father figure. Hank’s no angel, but he encourages Connor’s humanity and freedom and genuinely cares about Connor as a person if you choose to build a relationship with him. Hank’s like the opposite of Amanda, the better parent to Amanda’s bad, who introduces Connor to true loyalty and care. 

His breaking through his programming happens more gradually and subtly than it does for Kara and Markus. It’s a process instead of one hard and fast decision, and it’s really cool to watch.

Despite being incredibly intelligent, he’s kind of naive. He trusts Amanda blindly and is hurt when he realizes she–and by extension Cyberlife–were manipulating him and planning to replace him whether he obeyed them or not. 

He’s the only playable protagonist that can go hero or villain. Markus can be violent instead of pacifist, but his cause, android liberation, is still good. Connor can either aid the cause or destroy it and everyone he’d otherwise care about.

I love like every trope used regarding his internal conflict: the Kamski test; Lucy telling him he’s lost; Markus reaching out to him; the evil clone symbolizing his machine half; Connor holding Hank over the side of the building or vise-versa with the “It’s time to decide who you are” theme; Amanda trying to regain control of him at the end; I’m a sucker for all of it.

Connor’s happy ending is the only one that’s bittersweet. Because he’s carrying a lot of guilt about his past actions and the destruction of Jericho. He probably isn’t 100% accepted by the other androids or feels comfortable around them. Though Markus accepts him and Kara seems to forgive him, so things will get better.

It’s also uncertain whether he’s truly free from Amanda/Cyberlife. He escapes the program, but it’s still there. It’s still inside him, (which is pretty symbolic if you consider Amanda an abuser like I do. I almost wonder if he’d experience symptoms of PTSD and psychological abuse.)

His cute appearance and unassuming nature is meant to mask the fact that he is in fact a lethal weapon and terrifying, and it works so well that even fans of the game are taken in.

Also he fights crime and solves mysteries and that’s cool Connor’s cool yeehaw

[cownnor]

this is connor and north before they go blow up cyberlife

[saltysalmonella]

JUST SOME THOUGHTS! I don’t really like the “go from the top up” advice on drapery/clothes - if you’re having difficulty try it like this!

YES I see the typo… I’m so sorry folks… I was in a frenzied rush to make this…… and I’m too lazy to fix it……

| My Twitter | | Ko-Fi |

[magickitt]

Say you were made to be mine

inspired by Nanimok’s fic (linked)

[kadeart]

Hawks and Tokoyami 

[prokopetz]

Level 1: Enemies to lovers

Level 2: Enemies to lovers to awkward exes who can’t avoid running into each other because they’re in intersecting lines of work

Level 3: Enemies to lovers, except they never actually stop being enemies, and frankly everyone’s getting a little concerned

Level 4: Enemies to lovers, but from the perspective of someone who’s only peripherally involved with the central drama and struggles mightily to keep track of who’s killing and/or fucking whom

Level 5: Enemies to co-defendants

[pippinstook]

Ok, so, as most know hobbits LOVE mushrooms, but what if they love ALL mushrooms, even the poisonous ones. What if a hobbit’s body is able to handle more of the poison and it doesn’t affect them at all. And they love it!

[pippinstook]

And then they nearly give Aragorn a heart-attack when they’re heading to Rivendell. 

Pippin, just being pippin: Look, MUSHROoms!!

The other three, running at full speed: MUSHROOMS!

Aragorn, who is a skilled ranger who knows every plant, tree, and flower to survive: No those are poisonous!

Frodo, who’s mouth is stuffed full: No they’re not. We eat these all the time back in the shire.

Merry, speaking with his mouth full, spitting mushroom everywhere: Yeah, they’re definitely not poisonous. Do you want one?

Aragorn, now having an existential crisis: No, n-no. I’m good.

Sam, mumbling under his breath: Well I wasn’t gonna share anyways.

[enide-s-dear]

@penny-anna this seems like your kind of hobbit lore

[elidyce]

… OKAY NO WAIT THIS IS IMPORTANT

What if that’s the reason Sam and Frodo survived in Mordor? 

What if all those references to noxious fumes and tainted water and everything were completely literal? They avoided eating anything made there, but they had to keep drinking and breathing. 

What if part of Mordor’s defenses was that it’s literally poisonous to any creature not specifically bred to live in those conditions? What if Faramir was so careful about warning them about drinking the water because he knew it was fatal? What if Sauron’s general lack of concern about shit going down inside his own borders (aside from treachery, which apparently happened a lot) was knowing that any Mortal Man or Elf or Whatever that wandered in was gonna be stone dead in a few days, and his desire to catch any infiltrators on the borders was to keep them alive long enough for questioning?

And then these two hobbits who have spent their entire lives merrily ingesting enough poisonous fungi for breakfast to give Shelob a stomach-ache trot into Mordor and drink the poisonous waters and breath the poisonous fumes and scratch themselves on the poisonous thorns and feel mildly unwell.

Years later Sam gets a pained note from Faramir asking him how the hell he and Frodo survived when all the water is tainted with arsenic according to the survivors of the exploratory party and Sam writes back confused ‘What’s arsenic, it tasted bad and a bit metallic, that’s all I know honestly’ and Faramir goes to rant at Aragorn about how bizarre this is and is really confused when Aragorn goes into full-on flashbacks of watching those four tiny dumbasses STUFFING DEATH CAPS INTO THEIR MOUTHS LIKE GODDAMN CANDY. 

[pippinstook]

Oooooo, I like that!! And it would make sense after Boromir went on and on about how impossible it was to be able to breathe in Mordor.

[susiephone]

my favorite, oddly specific trope is when both the hero and the villain know each other’s secret identities and they wind up bumping into each other when they’re in civilian mode, but they can’t throw down (even though they both REALLY want to) because surprise! they have a mutual friend. so they’re just sitting across from each other at the dinner table awkwardly avoiding eye contact and desperately trying to dodge Oblivious Friend’s questions about what they did over the weekend because they can’t very well sit there and be like “oh yeah this weekend was fun, i went to the movies and then i threw a truck at this asshole’s head” or “not great, there was an issue at the bank and before i could make off with the money, THIS asshole threw a truck at my head”

[69420angrycrabs]

bonus points if their mutual friend mistakes their awkwardness for attraction and keeps trying to set them up

[gaylettucewoman]

more bonus points if it actually fucking WORKS