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I love it when the same character honorifics are basically used as a barometer for an evolving relationship over the course of a story.

"...Princess" (Derogatory)

"Princess." (You have disproven several of my previous assumptions but I'm still guarded and critical.)

"Princess," (Mildly impressed but still snarky)

"Princess," (I am coming to terms with how much your office has demanded of you and am finally considering you an equal)

"Princess," (I genuinely respect you, your office, and how much you have grown beyond it since we have met.)

"Princess." (Uh oh I've started catching feelings and am now using your title to remind both you and myself of the distance between us.)

"PRINCESS!" (You are in danger and I am now utterly devoted AND DOWN SO BAD.)

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the ‘kind character snapping’ trope has been co-opted by too many people who don’t understand it fundamentally. you can’t have your character actively think of themselves as that kind of person bc that makes it like bragging. ‘you wouldn’t like me when i’m angry 😡’ ’no more mister nice guy 😈’ ’demons run when a good man goes to war 👿’ ’honestly i scare myself sometimes 😰’ WROOOOOONG. those are all threats. first off a truly kind character should be humble and not even consider kindness a thing of theirs. and second off please. if they’re truly gentle they should be ashamed of the very thought of their own wrath and not like openly talk about it. yeah i bet they do scare themselves and others when they finally get pushed too far but like don’t have them say or consciously think that without shame… it should be like a tragic thing that happens to them against their will and not like an alter ego they’ve been gleefully looking for an excuse to slip into

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@bowserkillmybusdriver

Officially licensed 2025 Bowser hat from Japan.

Main Blog | Patreon | Twitter | Bluesky | Small Findings | Source

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characters going “we were lovers once”: eh, it’s okay i guess. it’s nice enough

characters going “we were friends once”: absolutely devastating. one hit knockout i’m gone

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Infinity Train AU where people become Passengers because it's dangerous when someone has both emotional issues AND superpowers

For example, Tulip has tactile telekinesis and Jesse can create portals*

*He can fast travel, but he can't leave the train before his number hits zero

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Zoom In, Don’t Glaze Over: How to Describe Appearance Without Losing the Plot

You’ve met her before. The girl with “flowing ebony hair,” “emerald eyes,” and “lips like rose petals.” Or him, with “chiseled jawlines,” “stormy gray eyes,” and “shoulders like a Greek statue.”

We don’t know them.

We’ve just met their tropes.

Describing physical appearance is one of the trickiest — and most overdone — parts of character writing. It’s tempting to reach for shorthand: hair color, eye color, maybe a quick body scan. But if we want a reader to see someone — to feel the charge in the air when they enter a room — we need to stop writing mannequins and start writing people.

So let’s get granular. Here’s how to write physical appearance in a way that’s textured, meaningful, and deeply character-driven.

1. Hair: It’s About Story, Texture, and Care

Hair says a lot — not just about genetics, but about choices. Does your character tame it? Let it run wild? Is it dyed, greying, braided, buzzed, or piled on top of her head in a hurry?

Good hair description considers:

Texture (fine, coiled, wiry, limp, soft)

Context (windblown, sweat-damp, scorched by bleach)

Emotion (does she twist it when nervous? Is he ashamed of losing it?)

Flat: “Her long brown hair framed her face.”

Better: “Her ponytail was too tight, the kind that whispered of control issues and caffeine-fueled 4 a.m. library shifts.”

You don’t need to romanticise it. You need to make it feel real.

2. Eyes: Less Color, More Connection

We get it: her eyes are violet. Cool. But that doesn’t tell us much.

Instead of focusing solely on eye color, think about:

What the eyes do (do they dart, linger, harden?)

What others feel under them (seen, judged, safe?)

The surrounding features (dark circles, crow’s feet, smudged mascara)

Flat: “His piercing blue eyes locked on hers.”

Better: “His gaze was the kind that looked through you — like it had already weighed your worth and moved on.”

You’re not describing a passport photo. You’re describing what it feels like to be seen by them.

3. Facial Features: Use Contrast and Texture

Faces are not symmetrical ovals with random features. They’re full of tension, softness, age, emotion, and life.

Things to look for:

Asymmetry and character (a crooked nose, a scar)

Expression patterns (smiling without the eyes, habitual frowns)

Evidence of lifestyle (laugh lines, sun spots, stress acne)

Flat: “She had a delicate face.”

Better: “There was something unfinished about her face — as if her cheekbones hadn’t quite agreed on where to settle, and her mouth always seemed on the verge of disagreement.”

Let the face be a map of experience.

4. Bodies: Movement > Measurement

Forget dress sizes and six packs. Think about how bodies occupy space. How do they move? What are they hiding or showing? How do they wear their clothes — or how do the clothes wear them?

Ask:

What do others notice first? (a presence, a posture, a sound?)

How does their body express emotion? (do they go rigid, fold inwards, puff up?)

Flat: “He was tall and muscular.”

Better: “He had the kind of height that made ceilings nervous — but he moved like he was trying not to take up too much space.”

Describing someone’s body isn’t about cataloguing. It’s about showing how they exist in the world.

5. Let Emotion Tint the Lens

Who’s doing the describing? A lover? An enemy? A tired narrator? The emotional lens will shape what’s noticed and how it’s described.

In love: The chipped tooth becomes charming.

In rivalry: The smirk becomes smug.

In mourning: The face becomes blurred with memory.

Same person. Different lens. Different description.

6. Specificity is Your Superpower

Generic description = generic character. One well-chosen detail creates intimacy. Let us feel the scratch of their scarf, the clink of her earrings, the smudge of ink on their fingertips.

Examples:

“He had a habit of adjusting his collar when he lied — always clockwise, always twice.”

“Her nail polish was always chipped, but never accidentally.”

Make the reader feel like they’re the only one close enough to notice.

Describing appearance isn’t just about what your character looks like. It’s about what their appearance says — about how they move through the world, how others see them, and how they see themselves.

Zoom in on the details that matter. Skip the clichés. Let each description carry weight, story, and emotion. Because you’re not building paper dolls. You’re building people.

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I've reached enlightenment

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hey uh new type of ao3 spam comment just dropped. (I know it's spam because the fic they left this comment on . doesn't have chapters. lmfao). Report this kinda comment as spam and don't take it personally it is literally recycled bullshit

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I'm struggling writing a fanfic, I'm not sure if this has been asked before but, do you think it's better to write in past tense or present tense?

I personally think it comes down to the author's choice. As long as you're consistent with it and not hopping from present to past and back again, you'll be fine ❤️

(if you're worried about doing that, find someone who can beta read for you to check and make sure)

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its extremely important to read widely and deeply in a variety of genres. read obscure self published shit that only 4 people have read. read culturally relevant works of literature that have helped shape the canon. read horror. read women's lit. read historical fiction and comedies and nonfiction and hentai and poetry and science fiction and fantasy and mysteries and romance and good things and bad things and things u hate and things you love and things you COULD like if only the author changed x y and z and things which are beautiful but not meant for you.

doing all of this reading will lay a groundwork of rich complexity in your heart. so that you can write really good porn

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Not perfect and not always right but basically:

Is it a screen shot?

Is there a link?

Did you click/read the link?

Was it a real source (AP wire, local news, the original online post - not Fox, not the Sun, not NY Post, etc)?

Did you find any confirmation?

Did it strongly confirm a bias or suspicion?

Did it make you feel angry, smug, disgusted, superior, and/or helpless?

Is it important enough to you that you think it needs to be shared?

Do you have the energy, time, ability to research, confirm, and provide sources, links, and some additional clarifying details?

Generally I have this in mind, not necessarily always and not always observed, and I forget and blah blah. But it's a pretty simple guide to remember, and honestly items 1 and 9 cover me most of the time.

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person in fandom: eeeyikes!!! i hope im writing this character in this short little fanfic right >_< eeekkk what if my takes on my meta are all wrong and everyone will Kill me!!

guy in professional comic industry: okay lets mischaracterize every single character that appears in this comic for 50 or so issues

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The inciting incident.

Concept: stage musical whose lead character can't seem to hear the music and is visibly baffled at the fact that everyone else is dancing – initially as comedy bit, but over the course of the production it gradually becomes apparent that we're looking at a formerly realistic setting which has suddenly begun to operate according to stage musical rules, and we watch as the lead is ostracised from their peers and driven to madness by the fact that they're seemingly the only one who's noticed that anything has changed.

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Correction for Robbie Rotten: You can probably connect Robbie Rotten to Ryu using the 3DVIA web game Nick Jr. Tic Tac Toe which features Sportacus, Dora and Blue from Blue's Clues.

...Huh.

Thank you for the correction!

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Maybe that's why Amity didn't hold back and threw that giant fireball at Belos

You want Amity to be salty at Hunter for what happened in Eclipse Lake, even though that whole story was about how she gets what Hunter is going through and the risk to his life.

I want Amity to be salty at Hunter for knowing her girlfriend was suffering from this horrible secret for two months and he did basically nothing to help Luz with it, letting himself thrive just fine in spite of his secret while allowing Luz to be driven into a suicidal depression. I want Amity to be torn over how she couldn’t have helped Luz because of a secret she didn’t know, but Hunter knew and only he could’ve done it but he squandered the opportunity Amity wanted so badly to be given, for her and especially Luz’s sakes. He failed to be there for the girl who was the first to show him kindness, who saved his life thrice.

And as someone who can relate to Luz turning her miserable life around, it just makes Amity resentful that Hunter never returned the favor when he had two whole months of no problems to do so, that so much of Luz’s pain could’ve been prevented. Hunter is not like Camila, who preserved another secret of Luz’s out of respect for her privacy, but still found a way to ask for advice on how to support Luz over her secret without revealing it, and this leads to Camila actually being able to help Luz resolve her secret within that same day; Camila seeks out this advice ASAP. And while it helps that she’s an actual mother, it also helps that she tried as soon as she got the chance.

We are NOT the same.

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Some improvised weapons are better than nothing. Others were so good that they became military issue across Europe for several centuries!

Anyway, here’s Patreon

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gentle reminder that “gay panic” is not a cutesy way of describing a gay character freaking out over another character or their sexuality. gay panic is a legal defense tactic used in the US until very recently to get homophobes out of facing consequences for killing or assaulting queer people. it is neither cute nor funny.

if you didn’t know this, that’s ok, now you do! proceed accordingly.