liminalchasm

[liminalchasm]

Support me on PATREON or Ko-fi 💕

[liminalchasm]

[liminalchasm]

Its important to look back on your own amateurish art without like, bullying others about being in that stage.

[liminalchasm]

multiple statistical analyses of probable outcomes and re-checking references to known local sociocultural behaviors associated with body language completed in the half-minute of silence.

chell was still as underweight as when she'd been woken from long term storage. there were new bruises on her arms. a sunburn on her cheeks. her gait appeared to be slightly lopsided in a way that suggested not just strained muscles but the beginning of malnutrition, and probable vitamin deficiencies. her scabs has clearly not been washed with clean water, in all their different stages of healing. her skin was unmoisturized and irritated, sagging under her eyes, and flecked with dirt.

"...i still could, if you wanted." glados repeated.

chell's tense shoulders started to droop. she leaned, slightly, on one hip. glados continued to prepare a room nearby for her, as she had the moment she confirmed chell was deliberately descending into the facility towards her. a stasis pod would certainly help repair some of the damage. and she did owe chell a cake.

"...i could make you live forever," glados said. "like me."

"i could have, you know."

she was trying to sound thoughtful, but she was still a robot. she didn't have sudden, meandering thoughts. "i could have made you live forever."

her giant yellow 'eye' was looking away, when she started that sentence. her swaying mainframe gives the impression of a woman rocking in her chair, thinking. she was looking right at chell, now. studying her. although, frankly, chell wasn't sure if she had a camera on that part of her chasis, or if it was for effect.

caroline wasn't really gone. she knew that much. glados could put on a show, as usual. but once chell saw the woman in the machine, she knew better than to un-see it.

glados's 'eye' blinked in a deliberate way. "i was going to, actually."

chell rolled her eyes.

"really. after about 60 years of testing, when your organic body had nearly worn out, i had planned to start artificial lifespan extension."

chell chose not to react to this.

"i was going to taunt you with it. the idea of death. freedom. the only respite you would ever get from me. i was going to find a way to artificially prolong your lifespan as long as possible, and then surprise you--" glados's voice still glitched in a familiar way on that word-- "with an artificial body."

glados continued staring. "that way i could do to you--"

her artificial body shivered and convulsed, suddenly looking away. chell swallowed in the brief silence, letting it wear away the broken off edges of the sentence.

"it would have been funny," glados said, matter-of-factly. her yellow light turned to some spot on the wall.

[liminalchasm]

"i still could." glados left a space where caroline would have said, 'if you wanted.'

she still had plenty of cameras facing chell, detailing her non-verbal responses for later analysis. her main camera, she unfocused for the moment. the importance of non-verbal communication with humans was hard to overstate. from a psychological perspective, humans were far more swayed by organic-motion gestures and mirroring than by the most barbed verbal appeal.

not that glados wanted anything. just that she understood that most human communication was sent through non-verbal signals, and that in communicating with a human, it was important to perform those signals. it was easy for her. she was a super-intelligence, after all.

"it would be useful," she continued, "to have a more mobile assistant. to help with acquisitions. or i'd run out of test subjects eventually."

she perceived chell stiffening a bit at that. she tried to model relaxed behavior, releasing some of the pressure in her gears and letting herself settle lower, swinging a little less. the tension on her servos was a little high. such were the demands of physically embodied communication.

"look." her hydraulics hissed like a sigh. "you came back for a reason." her yellow eye swiveled back to chell. eye contact was important to convey sincerity. "you know it's bad out there." her cables shivered a bit, uncoiling as she swiveled. "i'm not doing anything--"

chell looked away and held up a hand.

it was the most direct communication chell has ever given her. a 'stop' signal. glados heard a huff, as well.

she played herself the footage a few dozen times per second while she waited for chell to explain her gesture. as much analysis as possible on every micro-expression, muscle movement, infrared blood flow map, breath and sweat chemo-analysis, and sound. it was good to be fully online as a facility again.

"i could have, you know."

she was trying to sound thoughtful, but she was still a robot. she didn't have sudden, meandering thoughts. "i could have made you live forever."

her giant yellow 'eye' was looking away, when she started that sentence. her swaying mainframe gives the impression of a woman rocking in her chair, thinking. she was looking right at chell, now. studying her. although, frankly, chell wasn't sure if she had a camera on that part of her chasis, or if it was for effect.

caroline wasn't really gone. she knew that much. glados could put on a show, as usual. but once chell saw the woman in the machine, she knew better than to un-see it.

glados's 'eye' blinked in a deliberate way. "i was going to, actually."

chell rolled her eyes.

"really. after about 60 years of testing, when your organic body had nearly worn out, i had planned to start artificial lifespan extension."

chell chose not to react to this.

"i was going to taunt you with it. the idea of death. freedom. the only respite you would ever get from me. i was going to find a way to artificially prolong your lifespan as long as possible, and then surprise you--" glados's voice still glitched in a familiar way on that word-- "with an artificial body."

glados continued staring. "that way i could do to you--"

her artificial body shivered and convulsed, suddenly looking away. chell swallowed in the brief silence, letting it wear away the broken off edges of the sentence.

"it would have been funny," glados said, matter-of-factly. her yellow light turned to some spot on the wall.

[liminalchasm]

"i could have, you know."

she was trying to sound thoughtful, but she was still a robot. she didn't have sudden, meandering thoughts. "i could have made you live forever."

her giant yellow 'eye' was looking away, when she started that sentence. her swaying mainframe gives the impression of a woman rocking in her chair, thinking. she was looking right at chell, now. studying her. although, frankly, chell wasn't sure if she had a camera on that part of her chasis, or if it was for effect.

caroline wasn't really gone. she knew that much. glados could put on a show, as usual. but once chell saw the woman in the machine, she knew better than to un-see it.

glados's 'eye' blinked in a deliberate way. "i was going to, actually."

chell rolled her eyes.

"really. after about 60 years of testing, when your organic body had nearly worn out, i had planned to start artificial lifespan extension."

chell chose not to react to this.

"i was going to taunt you with it. the idea of death. freedom. the only respite you would ever get from me. i was going to find a way to artificially prolong your lifespan as long as possible, and then surprise you--" glados's voice still glitched in a familiar way on that word-- "with an artificial body."

glados continued staring. "that way i could do to you--"

her artificial body shivered and convulsed, suddenly looking away. chell swallowed in the brief silence, letting it wear away the broken off edges of the sentence.

"it would have been funny," glados said, matter-of-factly. her yellow light turned to some spot on the wall.

[liminalchasm]

Happy #makeaterriblecomicday2025! Please make a comic! It’s mandatory that you create some piece of sequential art — what it is and how you make it is up to you! Have fun! You might as well!

If you make a comic (again, it’s mandatory) and you want to share it, post it on the tag #makeaterriblecomicday2025! Or don’t, I’m not a cop.

Remember, the goal is to make something terrible! So if you can’t draw or have never made a comic, or if it’s been ages since you made something just for fun — that’s perfect! You’re all set! If you fuck up and make something that’s NOT terrible… well, some might say there’s joy in that too.

Ok stop reading this and go make something!!!

[liminalchasm]

"I cant draw" then do it bad who gives a fuck.....

[liminalchasm]

🍖 How to Build a Culture Without Just Inventing Spices and Necklaces

(a worldbuilding roast. with love.)

So. You’re building a fantasy world, and you’ve just invented: → Three types of ceremonial jewelry → A spice that tastes like cinnamon if it were bitter and cursed → A holiday where everyone wears gold and screams at dawn

Cute. But that’s not culture. That’s aesthetics.

And if your worldbuilding is all outfits, dances, and spice blends with vaguely mystical names, your story’s probably going to feel like a cosplay convention held inside a Pinterest board.

Here’s how to fix that—aka: how to build a real, functioning culture that shapes your story, not just its vibes.

─────── ✦ ───────

🔗 Culture Is Built on Power, Not Just Style

Ask yourself: → Who’s in charge, and why? → Who has land? Who doesn’t? → What’s considered taboo, sacred, or punishable by death?

Culture is shaped by who gets to make the rules and who gets crushed by them. That’s where things like religion, family structure, class divisions, gender roles, and social expectations actually come from.

Start there. Not at the embroidery.

─────── ✦ ───────

2.🪓 Culture Comes From Conflict

Did this society evolve peacefully? Was it colonized? Did it colonize? Was it rebuilt after a war? Is it still in one?

→ What was destroyed and mythologized? → What do the survivors still whisper about? → What do children get taught in school that’s… suspiciously sanitized?

No culture is neutral. Every tradition has a history, and that history should taste like blood, loss, or propaganda.

─────── ✦ ───────

3.🧠 Belief Systems > Customs Lists

Sure, rituals and holidays are cool. But what do people believe about: → Death? → Love? → Time? → The natural world? → Justice?

Example: A society that believes time is cyclical vs. one that sees time as linear will approach everything—from prison sentences to grief—completely differently.

You don’t need to invent 80 gods. You need to know what those gods mean to the people who pray to them.

─────── ✦ ───────

4.🫀 Culture Controls Behavior (Quietly)

Culture shows up in: → What people apologize for → What insults cut deepest → What people are embarrassed about → What’s praised publicly vs. what’s hidden privately

For instance: → A culture obsessed with stoicism won’t say “I love you.” They’ll say “Have you eaten?” → A culture built on legacy might prioritize ancestor veneration, archival writing, name inheritance.

This stuff? Way more immersive than giving everyone matching earrings.

─────── ✦ ───────

5. 🏠 Culture = Daily Life, Not Just Festivals

Sure, your MC might attend a funeral where people paint their faces blue. But what about: → Breakfast routines? → How people greet each other on the street? → Who cooks, and who eats first? → What’s considered “clean” or “proper”? → How is parenting handled? Divorce?

Culture is what happens between plot points. It should shape your character’s assumptions, language, fears, and habits—whether or not a festival is going on.

─────── ✦ ───────

6. 💬 Let Your Characters Disagree With Their Own Culture

A culture isn’t a monolith.

Even in deeply traditional societies, people: → Rebel → Question → Break rules → Misinterpret laws → Mock sacred things → Act hypocritically → Weaponize or resist what’s expected

Let your characters wrestle with the culture around them. That’s where realism (and tension) lives.

─────── ✦ ───────

7.🧼 Beware the “Pretty = Good” Trap

Worldbuilding gets boring fast when: → The protagonist’s homeland is beautiful and pure → The enemy’s culture is dark and “barbaric” → Every detail just reinforces who the reader should like

You can—and should—challenge the aesthetic hierarchy. → Let ugly things be beloved. → Let beautiful things be corrupt. → Let your MC romanticize their culture and then get disillusioned by it later.

─────── ✦ ───────

📍 TL;DR (but like, spicy): → Culture is not food and jewelry. → Culture is power, fear, memory, contradiction. → Stop inventing spices until you know who starved last winter. → Let your world feel lived in, not curated.

The best cultural worldbuilding doesn’t look like a list. It feels like a system. A pressure. A presence your characters can’t escape—even if they try.

Now go. Build something real. (You can add spices later.)

—rin t. // writing advice for worldbuilders with rage and range // thewriteadviceforwriters

Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:

🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:

[liminalchasm]

I like the idea of a Vulcan character who constantly does very reckless things so her human crewmates think she's strange but then she always has a logical explanation she delivers with absolute confidence.

"No, it was perfectly logical for me to jump out of the shuttle at that time. I had a breathing apparatus, and I was certain I could seal the subspace rift by hand before the Romulans opened fire. This was the only solution that would result in zero casualties. I might have died, but giving up is illogical."

She's known as one of the most fearless members of the crew.

Other Vulcans try not to acknowledge her.

[liminalchasm]

Ok fuck it im putting the nude 13 hour jolene painting here

[liminalchasm]

[liminalchasm]

[liminalchasm]

jonathan harker's arc is about him accepting that he is actually into being dominated by an evil vampire as long as that evil vampire is the woman he loves. mina murray harker's arc is about her accepting that she has a right to take up space and speak her mind instead of bowing to social norms. lucy westenra's arc is about how the polyamory didn't change anything, it didn't save anyone, but it still matters that the polyamory was there. arthur holmwood's arc is about learning to cope with a sudden massive tragedy by opening himself up to others and strengthening his social bonds. quincy p morris's arc is about being hot and owning guns. abraham van helsing's arc is about not getting complacent in the idea that he has an open mind and accepting that he might make wrong calls based on his biases. jack seward's arc is about rebounding from life altering heartbreak by getting back in contact with his old favorite professor from med school who he sucked off one time. count dracula's arc is about fumbling a series of bad bitches so hard that he flees the country and dies.

[liminalchasm]

[liminalchasm]

New writing rule: Checkov’s friend

If you introduce a named character with a relationship to a protagonist, their character arc must be resolved in a way that feels reasonable and satisfying

Which is to say: they can’t just dissappear when they’re no longer a convenient plot device