my favourite word is Plethora

i write on here occasionally! call me al or alle

[zenodotus-cdxx]

Hey folks! This is my writing blog! Please send me prompts, I do original stuff, both prose and poetry, as well as fanfic for TAZ, TMA, TPP, and pretty much anything else I reblog on main. All the stuff I write will be under #the library, and my original work will be under #handwritten tomes.

[bleachblondephil]

so, what did 2025 hold for dan and phil?

[wisteria-lodge]

So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.)  Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results: 

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.) 

[seventhstar]

there are three kinds of fanfic:

i can fix it

i can make it worse

horny

[lierdumoa]

4. completely original novel with original characters that just happen to look like and have the same names as the characters in this piece of popular media, but otherwise have completely different personalities and backstories.

[zenodotus-cdxx]

@purplefuzzball07 👀

[powersimon]

The carrier of carriers. A tribute to Terry Pratchett

[ambassadorquark]

roll a d20 for a stupid trait to incorporate into your next d&d character

illiterate

speaks in a ridiculous accent

your setting’s equivalent of a scientologist

libertarian

takes every possible opportunity to talk about their dad

morally opposed to masturbation

writes fanfic about campaign relevant figures of your choice

insecure about their height

does nude sketches of their party members, entirely from imagination

investigates or attempts to identify things exclusively by licking them

sexually attracted exclusively to a weird thing of the player’s choice

divorced

takes every possible opportunity to talk about their mom

their primary weapon or arcane focus can talk, but is extremely annoying

avoids swearing at all costs

embarrassingly sex positive

their backstory is an elaborate lie they came up with to sound cooler

collects whatever the player decides is their slain enemies’ funniest body part

enthusiastically eats things like bugs and rats

flips a coin to make decisions, no matter how important

[emiko-matsui]

the fantasy high cast saw this and they all rolled a five

[sphyrne]

some disc doodles

[fandomsandfeminism]

Ok, this is a little niche, but I have a theory for all you Discworld fans. Why doesnt Carrot have a beard?

A few facts to start with:

1. All Dwarves have beards.

2. Carrot is, culturally, a dwarf. He sees himself as a dwarf and other dwarfs accept him as such. (He's just a very tall dwarf.)

So why would Carrot NOT have a beard, if all Dwarves have beards and Carrot is a dwarf? Would he choose to shave? Why? He wouldnt, right? Is there some reason he CANT grow a beard?

Another fact to remember about Disc Dwarfs:

All Dwarves are raised as men. Regardless of their biological sex and whether they are XX or XY, they are men, they use he/him pronouns, etc. (The fact that some dwarves have begun to identify and present as women is very recent in Disc history after all, and not all XX dwarves identify or present as women)

So, follow me here- the Dwarves in the mountain find a human baby. Regardless of that baby's biological sex, they would be raised as a dwarf boy/man, yeah?

So.... may I present the theory- the reason that Carrot, a dwarf man, has no beard is because, you following, he is biologically an XX human. The fact that he cant grow a beard doesnt make him less of a dwarf man than the fact that he is 6+ feet tall.

[berry-muffin]

it’s been too long since i did anything discworld

and a couple of smooches i didn’t want to lineart:

[theharrowharkening]

thank you! for context, i'm basing my tech off myoelectric prosthesis, but it's set in the future so motor control and movement are nearly uninhibited. however, it's definitely not perfect and still impacts the character's lives. - Would it ever be realistic for a large corporation to mass-produce "one size fits all" prosthetics? I'm assuming there would be major drawbacks but would it be a plausible solution under capitalism to an increased need for prosthetics? Or do you think in the future prosthetics will still need to be individually fitted? - Would it be better for active amputees in the military to have one limb attachment that stays on nearly permanently, or switch between a variety of different specialized attachments in different situations? - What would be the side effects of an adult wearing a permanent prosthesis long-term? Say for years, decades? (if wearing something permanently isn't plausible, i can def change that.) - What are some things in fiction about amputees you wish you could see that aren't usually represented? - Also, do you know of any amputee sensitivity readers? (transradial amputees if possible!) I'd love to run certain chapters by someone at some point (and again, 100% willing to pay).

thank you so much for your time! sorry this is really long

Sorry this took so long, I had finals this week!

Regarding “one-size-fits-all” prosthetics:

I would say that sockets (the part of the prosthesis that goes over the person’s residual limb) do need to be custom. Everyone’s limbs are different sizes and shapes, and what works for one person might not work for another. Even if the socket is roughly the right shape, if there’s a little too much or too little pressure in one spot, that can cause major issues like ulcers over time.

As far as other parts of the prosthesis go, like hands or hooks for prosthetic arms and feet for prosthetic legs, those actually are already mass-produced! Prosthetists will decide what type, size, etc components are right for a given patient and then attach them to a custom socket to assemble a full prosthesis. The mass-produced components still aren’t one-size-fits-all though, because you want to make sure someone’s prosthetic foot is the same size as their good foot, for example.

I could maybe see all mass-produced components with osseointegration (no socket, there’s a piece that attaches directly to the bone and sticks out of the end of the limb, and then the rest of the prosthesis attaches to that), since there’s no socket, but I don’t know much about that.

One permanent attachment or several more specialized ones:

a lot of real amputees have multiple prostheses for different tasks! Someone might have one leg for normal day-to-day use and one for running, or a myoelectric arm and then a body-powered arm with a hook for more heavy-duty activity. I’ve even seen special prosthetic arms for gymnastics! Having multiple tends to work well today, since myoelectric technology isn’t perfect and some things are still easier without it, but if the technology is advanced enough that motor control is almost perfect, that might not be as necessary.

One thing I would keep in mind is the durability of the devices. If there’s a lot of delicate electrical parts, it might not work as well in the water, and also might not hold up as well to a lot of heavy use or chemical exposure. In that case, it might still be a good idea to have a less-advanced, more durable prosthesis they can switch to when needed.

long-term effects of wearing a prosthesis permanently

If the prostheses in this world still have sockets, I definitely would not recommend leaving them on 24/7!!! It’s really important to keep the liner/socks/inside of the socket/whatever’s against your skin clean, so you don’t get any skin irritation or infections from sweat, bacteria, etc building up inside the socket, and you can’t do that if you’re not taking the prosthesis off. It’s also super important to keep an eye on your skin and check for things like irritation and blisters so they can be treated before they get bad. A little irritation that goes unnoticed and keeps getting exposed to sweat and bacteria in a dark socket without air can develop into a really nasty ulcer!

People’s limbs also change over time! Especially if they had a traumatic/acquired amputation (basically, weren’t born missing their limb), there’s a lot of swelling at first, and then also a ton of atrophy especially over the first year. A socket that initially fit well almost definitely won’t still fit right 5-10 years later. Hell, sometimes people’s limbs change day-to-day. There are times I have a lot of pizza for dinner and then have to wear one sock instead of two in my prosthesis the next day, because my leg swelled up a little. You need to be able to adjust for those little changes.

It also just doesn’t sound comfortable? Sockets can get pretty hot and sweaty, and it’s nice to have some air on your limb at the end of the day.

I don’t know too much about osseointegrated prostheses, but as I understand it, the part that attaches directly to the bone stays attached permanently, but the rest of the prosthesis can detach from that. There wouldn’t be the same concerns about skin and the socket, and the main issue I can think of with keeping the prosthesis attached full-time would be that sleeping with a big metal leg on doesn’t sound the most comfortable? But I don’t know.

Things I’d like to see:

congenital amputees! limb loss not being presented as inherently this big tragedy! amputee jokes! So much media about amputees is about traumatic amputation and how it’s this huge horrible devastating tragedy (and how Inspirational the amputee is for Overcoming it), and it definitely can be a tragedy for some people, but it’s not for everyone, and I’m over here like “I was born without my foot? It’s just part of my life?”

cool scifi prostheses where someone has actually thought about how they work behind “this would be cool!”

a lot of scifi prostheses are either perfect replicas of human limbs (think Luke Skywalker) or just weapons (think of all the bad guys with sword arms, I think they show up in both Shang Chi and Black Panther? don’t quote me on that though, I haven’t seen either movie recently), and I’d like to see something a bit more realistic

you’re already doing great at this one!

different genre and technology level, but if you want an example of something that handled amputee representation well, How to Train Your Dragon is fantastic! Its amputees are just people (and dragons), and prosthetics are just normal parts of their lives

Sensitivity readers:

sorry, I don’t know any, transradial or otherwise

Don’t worry about the length -- as you can see, I like to talk about this stuff! And let me know if you have any more questions!

[woodsjpeg]

he is half of my soul as the poets say

[alibonbonn]

Don’t forget to brush out your hair before getting armed to the teeth.

[duhovaavila]

crying

[sinkko]

☀️In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun. ☀️

[eggchef]

tsoa patrochilles for miso birthday =]

[kidovna]

‘I’m going to be the first.’ He took my palm and held it to his. ‘Swear it.’

Achilles and Patroclus from The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller

[pebblesun]

a little bit of TSOA x Hades fanart! ♥ i finally finished that book after like 5 years of owning it and Hades just amplified all of what i feel lol