arilsama azayos

i look too deep or not deep enough. writer, explorer, and blanket collector. be kind. she/her

[beautiful-basque-country]

In Basque we don’t say policeman, we say ertzain, which means “border keeper”.

In Basque we don’t say kitchen, we say sukalde, which means “beside the fire”.

In Basque we don’t say relationship, we say harreman, which means “take and give”.

In Basque we don’t say electricity, we say argindar, which means “strength of light”.

In Basque we don’t say nurse, we say erizain, which means “carer of the sick”.

In Basque we don’t say desert, we say basamortu, which means “dead forest”.

In Basque we don’t say beach, we say hondartz, which means “lots of sand”.

In Basque we don’t pen, we say bolaluma which means “ball feather”.

In Basque we don’t say cancer, we say minbizi, which means “living pain”.

In Basque we don’t say curiosity, we say jakinmin, which means “pain for knowing”.

In Basque we don’t say boat, we say itsasontzi, which means “sea container”.

In Basque we don’t say shoes, we say oinetakoak, which means “the ones of the feet”.

In Basque weu don’t say sandwich, we say otarteko, which means “the one between bread”.

[writersblockbecomesunblocked]

How To End Your Story

The Circle Ending- A story that does a full circle and comes back to the beginning

The Moral Ending- An ending where you learn a lesson and see the character develop

The Surprise Ending- A big plot twist last minute

The Reflection Ending- The Character looks back on their past achievements and experiences

The Emotional Ending- Leave your readers feeling sad, bittersweet, or happy

The Cliff Hanger Ending- End on something that will leave your readers at the edge of their seat

The Humor Ending- Finish in a funny or humorous way

The Question Ending- Make the reader wonder what will happen next

The Image Ending- Show, don’t tell

The Dialogue Ending- Finish with a quote from one of your characters

[infinitelyblankpage]

Where is the Death Ending? I got me one of those

[sagamemes]

negative soulmate aus for all you angsts. aka when being together with your soulmate, or having one at all, comes with a cost

only a soulmate can see your scars

you can’t touch your soulmate. you can try, but you physically can not bring any part of yourself closer than an inch away from them. you can be close, but never quite there.

once you’ve met your soulmate, your timer gets a new number it’s counting down to. this is the last time you’ll ever see your soulmate. only you can see your own number.

bonus: you just asked your soulmate for their number, and you realise your numbers don’t match

you have a timer that shows you for how long you have to live. this number changes and mostly estimates based on conscious or unconscious decisions a few minutes after making the decision: driving to visit your grandparents might make the number go to just hours but deciding on the road that no, you have enough fuel to not stop at the gas station you usually stop by makes it go to thirty years. you can’t see the number when you are within 10 metres of your soulmate, so your future is always unknown when you’re with them—and so is theirs.

once you’ve touched your soulmate for the first time, something as small as a poke or a brush of finger is enough to make you feel warm and happy and energised. the negative side effect? you need to be touched by them because being without even a small touch for long enough can and will kill you.

every time you tell a lie, your soulmate gets a painful tally mark scar on their body

you are immortal until the moment you meet your soulmate

[soft-butch-cassidy]

I was getting pretty fed up with links and generators with very general and overused weapons and superpowers and what have you for characters so:

Here is a page for premodern weapons, broken down into a ton of subcategories, with the weapon’s region of origin. 

Here is a page of medieval weapons.

Here is a page of just about every conceived superpower.

Here is a page for legendary creatures and their regions of origin.

Here are some gemstones.

Here is a bunch of Greek legends, including monsters, gods, nymphs, heroes, and so on. 

Here is a website with a ton of (legally attained, don’t worry) information about the black market.

Here is a website with information about forensic science and cases of death. Discretion advised. 

Here is every religion in the world. 

Here is every language in the world.

Here are methods of torture. Discretion advised.

Here are descriptions of the various methods used for the death penalty. Discretion advised.

Here are poisonous plants.

Here are plants in general.

Feel free to add more to this!

[el-oh-her]

Plaaaaaaaants

[disloyalorder]

baby dragons that sleep in your fireplace and roll about in the soot and the ash trying to get comfortable on burning logs, screeching loudly whenever people walk by or when more logs need to be added to its roost and not stopping until content again

baby dragons with wings that are disproportionate to their bodies until older but nonetheless stubbornly trying to pick themselves up off the ground by running and aggressively flapping and managing to only get a few feet off the ground for a few seconds before crash landing

baby dragons that haven’t been exposed to priceless things such as gems and gold pieces and instead infatuate themselves with other unusual shiny things — like silverware, brass clocks, instruments, and pots and pans

baby dragons who get cold in the winter and crawl up into their caretaker’s clothing (almost always while said clothing is being worn) and curl up as tight as possible and begin to make sounds similar to content purring as they sleep

[stepchildofthesun]

baby dragons making whiny hungry bird noises until they’re fed

baby dragons being afraid of the family cat for a while until after a few days the cat wanders up to the sleeping pile of scales and fire and curling around them for a nap in the sunshine

baby dragons stealing the shiny car keys and chewing on them

baby dragons gently nibbling on the jewelry of their favorite people- and not so gently with people they don’t like

[life-of-an-average-freak]

baby dragons blowing tiny puffs of smoke out their noses when they snore

baby dragons using the cat’s scratching post

baby dragons wearing tiny saddles with knight-in-shining-armour action figures riding on their backs

baby dragons roasting mini marshmallows mid-air when you toss them before eating them

baby dragons hiding on top of bookshelves and cabinets when they don’t want to go to the vet

[goldsleeps]

baby dragons having to be trained to shed the soot and ash from the fireplace before climbing into bed w/ their owner (If you scratch them at the base of the spine just above the tail their scales rustle and vibrate)

baby dragons having to learn a proper hoard size, collecting everything they can (silverware, trinkets) until they have enough items and enough quality items to be picky and choosy, ending up with a main hoard and ‘spills’ of subpar items that are cast aside, piles of outgrown and inferior treasures

baby dragons on shoulders wrapping their tails around their owners arms for comfort and curiosity, isosceles tip tapping with interest at knuckles and figures to see what’s going on

baby dragons winding around ankles like cats

baby dragons hypnotizing birds, lizards, mice, other small animals, playing with them and play-hunting

baby dragons playing with fire, blowing gently on candles to make them flicker and then huffing them out, attempting to relight them, bringing small items to toast and light aflame (its considered wise to let them play with fire to learn discipline and how it works before they can produce it at will)

baby dragons using their claws and teeth on scratching posts and wood furniture, but also scratching their scales against rough surfaces, abrading treetrunks and scratching against table corners

baby dragons purring and rumbling and it sounding almost like metal grinding

baby dragons swallowing stones to help digestion and grind up food, baby dragons spitting out little owl pellets of fur and bone cause they cant pass them yet

baby dragons curling up with each other and getting tangled up and their spikes and scales hooked together while sleeping

baby dragons <3

[owldork1998]

@nyodrite highly relevant and very important

[forageables]

a list of quirks for characters to make them a little more interesting

doesn’t like to wear shoes

always has a piece of sugarfree gum in their mouth

has a collection of cartoon dvds

walks everywhere they go

only wears pastel colors

won’t go anywhere without three hairbands on their wrist

refuses to wear any shoes except red converse

has a crippling fear of something mundane like mushrooms

has a dream notebook filled with every dream they can remember

has a really loud sneeze and goes into sneeze fits

only wears vintage clothing

has damaged hair from messing with it too much

super good at advanced math but can’t do addition for shit

believes in the supernatural, like ghosts

likes to go on midnight shopping trips and run through stores

gets too emotionally attached

loves dogs and has three of them

has hallucinations, but not scary ones

works at a fast food establishment in their free time

always carries a musical instrument with them

always carries a sketchbook with them

likes to name inanimate objects

strictly against drug use

excessively polite

excessively indecisive

can recite the first 200 digits of pi

can only play clocks by coldplay on the piano and plays it 24/7

gets itchy skin when anxious

has to move things around in a certain pattern before going to sleep

worries that if they do one thing wrong they’ll die

obsessed with puzzles

obsessed with rpg videogames

texts with one thumb

always has red painted nails

an amazing runner with super toned legs

has a beautiful voice

has restless legs, especially at night

has terrible performance anxiety

doesn’t like to turn assignments in because they’re afraid they’ll fail

loves science but is really bad at it

can/can’t make friends easily

likes to lie in fields and stare at the stars

believes that wishes can come true

falls deeply in love

bruises super easily

beautiful/horrible handwriting

ambidextrous

only likes nintendo games

only drinks sparkling water

doesn’t watch tv/listen to music

goes to concerts every week

likes slam poetry

likes to study in coffee shops/libraries

doesn’t understand politics but tries nonetheless

wears the same sweatshirt every day

collects sweatshirts

works three part time jobs

crazy intelligent but super shy

likes to memorize phone numbers instead of writing them down

loves to calculate probability

gets homesick very easily

wants to leave home very badly

trips a lot

can’t dance but tries anyway

brushes their teeth seven times a day

incredibly honest to a sometimes brash extent

only draws with mechanical pencils

only writes with pens

collects pens from hotels

wants to believe in heaven but can’t

watches a ton of anime

makes people cute nicknames

makes people origami

uses origami as a coping mechanism

owns a ton of t-shirts from hot topic, but has never been inside

makes all their own food

vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian

eats rice krispies every morning

does everything “for the aesthetic”

watches kids shows

goes to a private school

short term memory loss

loves disney movies

makes lists of random things in their free time

only eats foods with a spoon

only likes to wear skirts

never has their hair down

dyes their hair every two weeks

likes to collect pokemon cards

gets obsessed with games really easily

gives up too easily

gets their heart broken too often

has a mysterious disease

has a big social media following

tries too hard to be popular

likes to draw everything and everyone

can eat a whole lemon

listens to “edgy” music all the time

[skypevevo]

Visit Original Link

[mujna]

This was recorded by the Portsmouth Sinfonia in an experiment where all the members of the orchestra would swap instruments with each other and attempt to play them to the best of their ability.

[portmantaur-deactivated20240523]

favorite things about this

literally all the brass starts to get the hang of it and then the crescendos happen and everyone is like FUCK FUCK FUCK??? FUCK. JUST. BLOW RLY HARD.

the strings are lazy but also the same. like u can tell a lot of the ppl w/ the stringed instruments may already basically know how to play stringed instruments. like there’s definitely a section at the beginning where you hear a good portion going “oh yeah this is like. a smaller/bigger version of what i do.”

all you hear of any woodwinds is just “pffffttt??? pFFFTTTT???? PFFFFFTTTT I SAID PFFFFTTTT!!!!!” bc woodwinds are fucking HARD and you hear after like the first crescendo half of them just give up. they give up. they’re done. fuck this it tastes weird and my lips hurt.

that trumpet. that person is fucking TRYING man they fucking GOT this. they may not have figured out notes but they figured out LOUD and they GOT this.

[johncougar-deactivated20200128]

I JUST DIED

[mickeys-coming-back-bitches]

I SEARCHED THIS POST FOR AGES OH MY GOD

[thesushiowl]

[thisuzerwillselfdestruct]

@teaplusvodka

[fountainfinity]

things people do in real world dialogue:

• laugh at their own jokes

• don’t finish/say complete sentences

• interrupt a line of thought with a sudden new one

• say ‘uh’ between words when unsure

• accidentally blend multiple words together, and may start the sentence over again

• repeat filler words such as ‘like’ ‘literally’ ‘really’ ‘anyways’ and ‘i think’

• begin and/or end sentences with phrases such as ‘eh’ and ‘you know’, and may make those phrases into question form to get another’s input

• repeat words/phrases when in an excited state

• words fizzle out upon realizing no one is listening

• repeat themselves when others don’t understand what they’re saying, as well as to get their point across

• reply nonverbally such as hand gestures, facial expressions, random noises, movement, and even silence

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Excellent sticky note for dialogue writing in fiction. 

[americanphancakes]

All of this. I get a lot of compliments on my dialogue and this list pretty much covers what I do (but some of it, I didn’t even realize I did, lol). I highly recommend reading your dialogue aloud (or imagining it in realtime like a movie scene) to see if it feels natural, which is what I do when editing.

[strawberrieninja]

This is my favorite thing in writing!! 

[shannaraisles]

Writing Challenge Prompt List

scrosciare - the action of rain pouring down or of waves hitting rocks and cliffs

aspectabund - letting emotion show easily through the face or eyes

pyrrhic - won at too great a cost

rubatosis - the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat

trepverter - a witty response or comeback you think of only after it’s too late to use

hiraeth - a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past

resfeber - thrill felt before an adventure

apricity - the warmth of the sun in the winter

messaline - soft lightweight silk with a satin weave

psithurism - the sound of wind rustling leaves

lapidoso - full of stones, said of roads or of the bottom of a river

liberosis - the desire to care less about things

cafune - the act of running your fingers through the hair of someone you love

ignipotent - presiding over fire

balter - to dance gracelessly, but with enjoyment

verklempt - completely and utterly overcome with emotion -

cruore - it literally means “flowing blood”

marcid - incredibly exhausted

temerate - to break a bond or promise

sweven - a dream

petrichor - the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a long period of dry weather

basorexia - the overwhelming desire to kiss

whelve - to bury something deep, to hide

meriggiare - to rest at noon, more likely in a shady spot outdoors

ansare - to hardly breathe, to be out of breath

arcuate - arched; bow-shaped

morituro - of someone who is next or destined to die

noceur - one who stays up late

selcouth - unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet wonderful

astral - of or relating to the stars­

[stimman3000]

.

[callmebliss]

Me when the tweezers come out: What… Me when the thing: NO! Me when the other thing: [breathless screaming]

[catchymemes]

[normal-horoscopes]

The Signs and Empire:

Aries: An empire of fire and salt water. Fertile island fortresses patrolled by many-armed stone sentinels wielding golden flamberges. Rivers of fire spilling into the sea.

Taurus: An empire of honey and snow. Castles that stand as decadent art. Colossal ghostly spirit foxes watch over forests of cherry trees.

Gemini: An empire of rain and silk. Glittering iridescent cloaks and wide brimmed straw masks. The aqueducts flow ever deeper into the mountains.

Cancer: An empire of time and woodlands. Citadels of fossilized lumber strong as any metal. Old rusted weapons jut from the grass like weeds.

Leo: An empire of roses and bridges. Subtle stonework hewn rough by ages of wear. Stone blossoms wilting as the season passes.

Virgo: An empire of tombs and amber. The spires of the great necropolis are visible over the labyrinth walls, as kongamato patrol the skies.

Libra: An empire of sand and glass. The libraries of a thousand cities stolen, collected in the grand archives. A library of libraries. 

Scorpio: An empire of blood and stars. Nothing is left of this great people, but their decedents know their history well. Spilling blood on the great story-stones that dot the overgrowth brings whispers of the past. 

Ophiuchus: An empire of wind and hooves. Steeds like a thunderstorm, heavy and dark. Leaving only nursing trees and pillars to the dead in their wake.

Sagittarius: A landless empire of wanderers. Cloaks of feathers and ritual smoke. Comfortable boots and hospitality, though they are the guests.

Capricorn: An empire of stories and loss. Ruins buried under ice, unseen for generations.

Aquarius: An empire of brass and coal. The corpses of war machines that now dot the landscape. Rusted green in the autumn rains. 

Pisces: A sunken empire. Pillars of shining black salt break the waves, the deeper recesses of the grand palace lie sodden and unexplored.

[joannalannister]

We’re celebrating my birthday with an ASOIAF Art Giveaway! This is the fourth year we’ve had an art giveaway for my birthday. I have a lot of fun hosting them, and I hope everyone who participates has fun too!

PRIZE: Commissioned ASOIAF art by chillyravenart of two characters from ASOIAF, subject to certain restrictions.

You can see some examples of @chillyravenart​‘s beautiful artwork on her tumblr and on her deviantart. If you would like to reblog the examples of her art featured above, you can find them here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

RULES:

You must reblog this post to enter, and you must be following me. (I will check!) New followers are welcome, but don’t just follow me for the giveaway, that’s rude.

Likes count as an additional entry.

You get 1 like + 1 reblog = 2 chances to win.

No giveaway blogs.

The giveaway closes on my birthday, October 14! You have until 9pm PT on October 14th to reblog this post, at which time a winner will be chosen via a random number generator.  

The winner must have their askbox open, and they must respond within 3 days, or a new winner will be chosen.

Read the detailed rules & restrictions.

Thank you all so much for following me, and good luck!

[businessinsider]

The ultimate guide to traveling around the world, from how to pack your suitcase to how much you’ll be paying for a beer

Planning to travel to another country, even for a vacation, takes a lot of work.

We compiled the ultimate guide to traveling around the world, which can help you in every step of the vacation-planning process.

From applying for visas for your trips and finding an affordable flight to navigating the subway system, these 10 graphics have you covered.

[genderoftheday]

[massivelimestonecube]

today’s the day

[babyanimalgifs]

In case u needed something to make ur day better

[despazito]

CHICKEN DIVERSITY MASTERPOST