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Ideas and Tips

[specialagentartemis]

my petty gripe about anachronism in historical/fantasy/spec-fic worlds is attraction language.

We’ve all heard the “should you use modern queer labels or not” argument but honestly even when people go “true, they wouldn’t use the labels ‘aromantic’ or ‘asexual,’” so often the characters describe their experiences as “I never felt romantic attraction” or “I don’t feel attracted to anyone” in ways that makes me go. You are stilllllll thinking about this in an extraordinarily modern online way. That 19th century steampunk detective man will NOT be angsting about having never felt romantic attraction, he would be angsting about being unable to feel moved by the beauty or charm of a woman, or something. And I do think that “attractiveness” language is different from the identity-level idea of experiencing attraction—Sherlock Holmes does not talk about not experiencing attraction, but when Watson says “What a very attractive woman!” Holmes responds “Is she? I did not observe.” (And then Watson calls him an inhuman automaton and calculating-machine and Holmes calls Watson’s judgement biased). Never swayed by the attractiveness of a man or woman, never desirous of marriage, never charmed by the delights of love, all of these feel like some of the variety of ways that someone in this milieu might describe an ace- or aro-spectrum identity more than “never felt attraction” does. Mostly because, like the terms for aromantic and asexual themselves, nailing down an exclusively attraction-based definition of a-spec identities is a relatively new and extremely post-AVEN thing. And yet in fiction everybody knows to articulate their experience as feeling sexual/romantic attraction. And I always want to go nooo how would THIS character think about it?? Not how you think this character SHOULD think about it, how would THIS person in THIS context articulate their feelings?

[marrogerson]

#I think part of this language conversation should touch on how divisions between romantic and platonic love change with time and cultures#like romantic friendships are a thing we simply Do Not recognize anymore#sworn brotherhood is a relationship dynamic we do not recognize anymore#relationships that fuzz the line between what WE NOW consider romantic and platonic but were in their og context fully platonic--#or at least were defined by and overtly held space for fully platonic expressions--#were completely standard at various points in history#men could share a bed and that was considered platonic#women could write gushing love letters to each other and that was considered platonic#were some people queer-allosexual in this context and able to use these relationships to make space for themselves? absolutely#but ace/aro people had more options for fulfilling relationships than I think we give history credit for#so if we're encouraging writers to examine their ahistoric use of modern definitions of attraction#then IMO we should also be encouraging folks to examine their ahistoric use of modern models of romantic love#ok that's been my messy little addendum

Love these additions by @clovexei !

[darkcomedies]

evoking bertholt brecht’s “the way people cast a play!” quote as a spell against prescriptive, stereotypical, fatalistic typecasting

[darkcomedies]

idk what to tell you except go look at the fishwives

[corviiids]

was talking to a coworker and realised i could not for the life of me remember his name but i was too embarrassed to ask because we've spoken multiple times so mid-conversation i started concocting a plan to nudge the conversation towards the ID photos on our building passes so that i could be like oh my ID photo is awful haha the camera they use to take these has a real talent for making me look as unphotogenic as possible and then he would say oh yes me too haha everyone says that (because they do) and then i would be able to say well let me see yours it can't be as bad as mine! and he would show me his ID because we are coworkers and why wouldn't he and this would allow me to see his building pass which of course would have his name on it and then i would be able to say well yours is perfectly nice it must be me that's the problem! and then we would have a polite chuckle about it and i would have his name without needing to ask for it and he would be none the wiser and all would be well but then before i could execute this fine plan a little voice in my head went "so this is some light yagami bull shit you are about to pull" which was such a violent reality check it shocked me completely out of my embarrassment and i went "hey im so sorry your name has slipped my mind could you remind me" and he did and it was fine.

[lastoneout]

"This is some Light Yagami bull shit you are about to pull" <- Littany against avoiding small embarrassing/awkward moments that don't matter with over the top ass mind games.

[prokopetz]

One of the most frequent requests we got in playtesting Eat God is a bigger Random Quirks table. This is the first of several planned expansions for playtest draft 0.8, previewing the 3xx entries (i.e., 311 through 366 on a d666); contributions from co-writers @ribstongrowback, Ashley Flanagan, and Zach Welhouse.

[nicolae-carpathia]

i feel like 344 should be 333 just for the bit

[prokopetz]

Right now they're just presented in the order in which they happened to be written, but now that you've pointed it out we're 100% doing that.

[helpful-writing-tips]

power signalling

Kneeling.

Ordered to kneel as punishment or as a show of deference.

Shoved physically to the ground by hands on their shoulders, maybe a kick to the back of the knee.

Picking themself up off the ground but only getting as far as hands and knees.

Crawling because they haven't got the strength to stand anymore.

Dropping to their knees from exhaustion or despair.

Personal space.

Casually invading it.

Uninvited touch - from the deeply creepy to something as simple as a firm hand on the shoulder.

Standing too close - especially if taller or otherwise physically stronger.

Conversely, hurrying to get out of someone's way.

Eye contact.

Staring someone down. Who is the first to look away?

Averting eyes for one's social superiors. Trying to de-escalate by avoiding eye contact.

Too frightened or ashamed to look someone in the eye.

Insisting that someone maintain eye contact while you're talking to them. Insisting that someone never look you in the eye.

Singling someone out just by looking at them.

More generally, Attention.

The room falls quiet when they walk in.

Who cuts in, and who gets talked over. Ignoring those who are beneath your attention.

The excited attention given to the object of respect and idolization.

The careful, wary focus given to a potential threat.

Deliberately attending to something else to appear less threatening. Deliberately burying oneself in something else to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Codified status behaviours.

Bowing to one's superiors. Bonus points if there are differentiated kinds of bowing for different status differentials.

Soldiers coming to attention when a superior officer comes.

Saluting. Who greets whom first?

Serving food in a particular order.

Standing up when a respected person enters the room.

Non-verbal threats.

Just resting a hand on a weapon, or perhaps even just near a weapon.

Cracking knuckles or rolling shoulders. Clenched fists. The little come-get-some-then life of the chin.

Stepping from a conversational stance into one that's balance for fight or flight.

Pointing a weapon at someone. Casually brushing aside a weapon.

Conversely, de-escalation and surrender.

Open hands, spread in front of them. Hands above head.

(Raised slowly, transitioning from the simple whoa-calm-down gesture to full on surrender as the situation gets tenser.)

Going still. Slow, careful movements being sure to keep hands where they can be seen. Laying down weapons.

Hands on head. Getting down on the floor. Deliberately making oneself vulnerable to prove non-hostile (or non-resisting) intent.

Alternately, deliberately showing "vulnerability" to demonstrate how little of a threat you consider the other person.

The slouch of villainy. Open posture, casual, relaxed in the face of apparent danger.

Casually putting weapons away or turning one's back, confident that they won't do anything.

Signs of fear.

Flinching. Trembling. Closed defensive posture. Tension. Backing away. Fidgeting. Lip-biting.

Arms hugged close to chest. Or refusing to lower defences. Checking for escape routes. Trying to insist that they don't come any closer.

Offer of or requests for help.

Extending a hand to help someone up off the ground. Reaching out a hand in silent plea.

Do they have to ask for help? Are they willing to accept it? Do they get a choice? Who has plenty and who has to rely on the other's goodwill?

Picking someone up off the ground. Carrying them. (Dropping them?)

Adjusting someone's clothes. Withholding aid.

credit:@just-horrible-things // @whetstonefires suggests:

A character can vastly expand their area of influence by laying a hand on a table, for example. If you're standing on opposite sides of a large table, and one of you puts your hand down, that can symbolically take you up into the other party's personal space in a much subtler and more deniable way than actually getting up in their face.

This can be used equally well to convey affection or threat.

[ozth]

found this three year old draft buried in my files. is it funny? I don't remember

[wispsofwhimsy]

no no you’re on to something don’t leave this in the notes! (tags from @misscrazyfangirl321)

[smallpotatoes-dandelions]

I don't know how to articulate this well, but I really fucking hate the way a lot of thin writers write fat characters. Like how men write women "breasting boobily" there is something so dehumanizing about how fat characters are often written. "He waddled", "he lumbered", the writer of the book I'm reading always mentions this characters "fleshy hand" when he does something with his hand. Like, we already know that he's fat. There is no need to describe everything he does as "doing it fatly".

[sulkybender-retired04042026]

*fishes this absolute treasure from the tags*

[spiritbladed]

something something extremely sexy when magic users resort to physical violence. yeah i have the power of god and anime on my side but i also have THESE HANDS. i cast Punch You In The Face. i take my magic staff through which i channel the vast energies of the elements and the cosmos and i cast Severe Concussion And Skull Fracture. casting time for xenoglossy too long, chose the quicker route of Stab You In The Throat.

[byoldervine]

We’re gonna write poorly on purpose today

Set a ten minute timer and just write whatever comes to mind. Do NOT stop writing during this time. Continuous thought, go

Once you’re done, congratulations! You’ve written a draft. Edit it if you wish, making as many changes as you so desire, even if it turns out to be completely different. Editing it will help teach your brain that you can indeed make it better later

You did it. You wrote something without editing as you went. Great job!

[quietwingsinthesky]

very important for elf characters to freak the fuck out about the aging difference thing and pre-grieve like crazy and scream themself hoarse with denial when they can’t stop death itself and they still look the same as when they met the frail aged body that’s going cold beneath their touch and eventually settle into a numbness that they’ll call acceptance but they never really let anyone get as close as they did in the first century of their life unless they know they’re going to stick around as long as they will

[quietwingsinthesky]

“why are elves so snobby and exclusive and cut-off from everyone else” befriending you means they’ll end up burying you and your children and your grandchildren and they’ll still be young. exactly how many times do you think you could choose to do that. if you live through enough centuries, eventually you run out of days in the year to visit each grave.

[scribeherself]

people will say “they’re only friends” and then show me two people who would crawl through broken glass to hear the other laugh once. two people who have memorized each other’s coffee orders, fears, childhood stories, and emergency contacts. two people who would haunt each other’s houses as ghosts. be serious.

[scribeherself]

Just an FYI—the original intention of this post was to challenge the way people say only friends, as though friendship is somehow lesser than other forms of love. As if being deeply known, cherished, and chosen by another person could ever be a small thing. Normalize profound platonic love. Some of the most fulfilling, transformative, and enduring relationships we will ever have are friendships. 🫶🏼

[error-404-fuck-not-found]

used to think it terribly silly (and kinda funny) when fantasy or sci-fi stories would have people refer to major recent historical events as The Flood or The Incident or The Revolution, and im sure historians fucking hate that because it's not helpful or descriptive, but we sure do be calling it The Pandemic

[error-404-fuck-not-found]

used to think it terribly silly (and kinda funny) when fantasy or sci-fi stories would have people refer to major recent historical events as The Flood or The Incident or The Revolution, and im sure historians fucking hate that because it's not helpful or descriptive, but we sure do be calling it The Pandemic

[cheaphalloweencostume]

the idea that a sex scene in fiction is fundamentally useless/simply for audience titillation UNLESS they’re fucking infodumping exposition while they bone or something is so funny and myopic to me. like, you really genuinely believe for real that there is NOTHING to be gained about your understanding of a story or characters simply from how they approach and engage in sex? really for real?

[cheaphalloweencostume]

i'm not convinced that art only has something to offer us when we personally want to participate in the activities being depicted

[vulpes-aestatis]

Baby sphinx trying to be like mama and waylaying travelers, but all its riddles are completely non-sensical like the ones a 1st grader would tell

[thecactifindahome]

[maluskrow]

[measlyfurball13]

I see Zuko always heralded as the archetypal Perfect Redemption Arc in tumblr media analysis and while I can agree with that sentiment, it's important to realize his trajectory was actually very specific.

Because Zuko started as a good person, before he got the scar.

And Zuko has an extremely stable platform of support for most of the show.

Zuko couldn't have done it without Iroh's unflinching, unwavering belief that he could become a good person again. I've rarely seen any criticism of Iroh aimed at his unconditional support of Zuko- for good reason. It's a selfless act.

Similarly, I've rarely seen any criticism of Zuko saying that he didn't deserve Iroh's support. Maybe a few comments here and there about how ungrateful he is at times, or how he should have "suffered more"(?), but never anything outright saying that Zuko should stay exactly where he is in his misery because he doesn't deserve Iroh's helping hand out of it. And this is for a very specific reason- because A:TLA goes out of it's way to show very early on that Zuko was a good person and can be so again.

So Zuko's arc isn't really even a straight redemption arc. It's a recovery arc wearing a large redemption trenchcoat.

This is an important distinction because a raw, straight redemption arc is often unpalatable to the audience, because it starts with someone who isn't a good person receiving a helping hand out of their misery anyway. A redemption arc starts by looking like someone is forgiving an abuser. It starts by having sympathy for the bad people. It starts by engaging with them and listening to them and empathizing with their struggles.

"But they're a bad person, they don't deserve that kindness!" that's the point.

Certainly not to say that it's the job of the victim to be that understanding, helping hand- of course not. And extending kindness does not mean abandoning moral principles and not holding the person accountable for their actions, a la certain flavors of Harley Quinn-Joker romance nonsense.

But someone has to treat the bad person like they're a person if the bad person is ever going to stand a chance of getting better. Regardless of what the bad person "deserves". The bad person has to accept that help, of course, but there needs to be help (and more importantly, kindness) offered in the first place.

(Oh, and. . . this applies to real people just as much as it does fictional characters.)

[fishing-princess]

I Defeated the Demon Lord but it Turns Out the Demon Army was Largely Unaffected and I Fell Victim to a Flawed Belief in Great Man Theory

[leftcosine]

I Executed The Demon Lord With One Flawless Strike And After A Brief Power Struggle The New Demon Government Is Substantially More Committed To The War Because Of Some Reason I Don't Know

[humanfist]

I Successfully Overthrew The Demon Lord And Instituted Demon Democracy But They Voted For A Commie So The CIA Not Some Fantasy Equivalent The Actual CIA Who Have Known About Magic And Alternate Realms The Whole Damn Time But Won't Just Unisekai Me Launched A Counter Coup And That's When Things Really Went To Shit

[findingfeather]

I Defeated the Demon Lord and Now All the Demons Have Fallen to One Knee and Requested My Regnal Name and I'm Not Prepared for That.