theeldritchdarling

[theeldritchdarling]

Labels are supposed to conform to you, not the other way around. Labels should feel freeing, not limiting.

[theeldritchdarling]

There is no magic right person who has the power to change your identity. Any feelings you've ever developed are part of who you are already, and it's still your choice how you want to deal with those feelings and if you want to act on them or not.

[theeldritchdarling]

[theeldritchdarling]

As , the United States, potentially heads into another forever war I can only think of this quote.

[theeldritchdarling]

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.

[theeldritchdarling]

🍖 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:

[theeldritchdarling]

[theeldritchdarling]

Hello internet user whose entire concept of feminism comes from tiktok. In front of you are three ancient myths about women. You have five minutes to figure out which one of them was made up in the 1970s. If you choose wrong, you will be ripped to pieces by Maenads.

[theeldritchdarling]

Reblog if your art project has not, does not, and never will make use of generative ai at any point in your creative process.

[theeldritchdarling]

You don't have to give romance a chance. You don't have to give individual people a chance romantically.

[theeldritchdarling]

Happy Pride Month !!

There is no authority who decides who can use what label, you don't need anyone's permission to use a label you find useful.

[theeldritchdarling]

All Tomorrows/Killer Folk AU: OC Mental Health Disorders and Symptoms

WARNING: This post mentions several different mental health disorders, their symptoms, and the rather unhealthy self-medicating and coping practices of my All Tomorrows/Killer Folk oc. Reader discretion is advised.

Because I’ve given Ursula so much trauma, I figured that she would have at least a few mental health issues. This does not make light of these issues and I recognize how debilitating many of these can be without proper treatment. This is done primarily as a character study and understanding of how my character interacts with the world.

Schizoaffective Disorder - Bipolar Type: Developed this in their late teens and has been doing their best to manage the symptoms. Ursula’s primary symptoms are

1. Severe auditory hallucinations

2. Manic and depressive episodes (ranges from a few hours to a few days)

3. Difficulties with time management and personal care (will deteriorate without aid or proper medication)

Multiple Anxiety Disorders, most of which she had dealt with since she was a child

1. Selective Mutism - Has dealt with this since the murder of her family and has learned Hunter’s Sign, a modified variant of sign language that focuses on hand/arm and ear movements, to communicate

2.Panic Disorders - Primarily panic attacks and continuous night terrors. Mostly manageable, but the night terrors continue.

3. Separation Anxiety Disorder - Was much worse when she was younger, but has learned to cope with it.

This also manifests as physical issues such as ear pulling, hair/skin pulling (to the point of balding or scarring), and constant rocking and humming to self-regulate.

Ursula doesn’t have the best methods for coping. Her primary method is with catriss smokes. Catriss is functionally a cross between catnip and marijuana. A major relaxant with fairly addictive properties (sense of euphoria and calm). A risk of taking in large doses is death or near death experiences (functions such as heartbeat and breathing risk being slowed or stopped completely with overdose).

By inhaling it, the user is able to relax. Ursula uses it to reduce the effects of her Anxiety Disorders and is able to minimize her mania and hallucinations. It doesn’t remove them, but it does keep them near manageable. (Smokes as either cigarettes or hookah)

Will also turn to emotional eating and alcohol consumption (fruits or breads) to reduce stress. Does okay with managing her mental disorders and consumptions so long as she is able to minimize outside stressors. Relies on her pack mates to help keep her organized and maintain balance.

[theeldritchdarling]

All Tomorrows/Killer Folk AU: OC design inspirations

Some facts about Ursula’s design -

Xer fur color and marking are loosely inspired by those of bobcats and red foxes (Xer ear tufts are from the bobcat and xer arm/leg markings are from the fox)

Xer facial markings are also based on jitsu r masks and their markings

Xer outfit is meant to be a cross between Plains, Mountain, and Accurst fashions:

1. Plains is meant to be inspired by Western (1803-1912) and Victorian (1867-1901) Fashion. Hence, the inspiration for xer pants, military boots, and hat.

2. Mountains is meant to be a loose mix of Minoan and Peruvian/Andean fashion (ie: the poncho tunic with deep v-neck).

3. Accurst, at least in my head, is a cross between Romani/Roma and Mesoamerican fashions. The only semblance now is her bone jewelry and pendant (bones, along with volcanic glass, are the most common sources for jewelry).

[theeldritchdarling]

Still spreading this propaganda far and wide, black cats are Aspec!!

Aspecs and black cats (TW/CW: Mentions of rape and mainstream cultural cruelty)

Being aspec is a lot like being a black cat.

We’ve both been villanized by mainstream culture. Black cats are considered the evil cat. (Companion of witches - equally villainized by society) And a good chunk of aspec rep is villains who don’t understand love or only understand the surface level stuff. We’re both considered wrong because we show affection differently than others. Aspecs with romantic, sexual, and even platonic affection varies greatly compared to allos. And, cats often aren’t that affectionate unless they initiate it. (Honestly. Mood.) people also want to get rid of us. Aspects - “corrective” rape. Black cats make up a good majority in shelters and are often run over of killed because of the negative associations.

But we’re also like black cats because we’re keen. Aspecs have an incredible understanding of how societal expectations and culture is harmful to itself and how complicated attraction can actually be. And black cats are very keen with the emotions of others.

What I’m trying to say is here’s my cat:

I call them Aza (short for Azael) and they are my baby. I’m also claiming black cats as an aspec symbol starting now.

[theeldritchdarling]

Me

Oriented aroace label is so dear to me. Aroace and a secret third thing which I don't actually understand the nature of but I know it's there and it's important

[theeldritchdarling]

Friendly PSA to fellow writers who love STEM:

Do your best to combat the spread of misinformation and anti-intellectualism by making sure the terminology you use is true to what their definition actually is. For example, "the Scientific Method" is not a religious ideology, yet I've noticed a common misconception (as well as a dogwhistle for many far-right/alt-right individuals, including those in positions of power or influence) is people saying that scientists "absolutely refuse to accept anything that doesn't fit within the scientific method" (looking at you @kmt7878)

What this fails to address is that the Scientific Method isn't something you just call upon to dismiss anything that doesn't fit within a given worldview; it's not a religious dogma. It's a step-by-step method to determine the what/when/where/how of a phenomemon. As a refresher, the steps of Scientific Method is:

Ask an initial question pertinent to the phenomenon

Look up background information on the phenomenon to see if it's been previously researched/discussed

Formulate two hypotheses, one null and one alternative

Design and conduct an experiment to study the phenomenon based around your hypotheses (this can be repeated ad nauseam as necessary)

Draw a conclusion based on your findings

Form a discussion on the implications of your findings, as well as potential for improvement on your own experiment(s) and potential errors/flaws conducted on your part

Publish your findings so that others may have the chance to repeat the process in order to filter out human error via peer review.

If, for instance, you then try and say that a society rigorously adheres to science and following the scientific method, you cannot then say that "they dismiss anything that doesn't fit within the scientific method". Literally everything fits within the scientific method, that's the point of it in the first place, to properly analyze everything around us. Trying to then say that people that supposedly follow the scientific method are thus susceptible to having themselves to being blinded about the world around them is thus unrealistic at best and, at worst, is actively trying to discourage one from thinking critically.

In short, if you're gonna use scientific terminology, actually use it correctly. Otherwise, you're doing a terrible disservice and disrespecting the hard work and diligence put in by those who've done their best to bring understanding of the world around us, by pushing false narratives that serve the interest of anti-intellectuals.

((my major is in Public Health, which, among other things, involves making sure the general population is properly educated and not at risk of being manipulated by academic dishonesty of the sciences. this post is meant to educate, especially for the benefit of @kmn7878 who decided to block me after valid criticism of their works was brought up to them while failing to properly focus on what the criticisms were actually addressing.))

[theeldritchdarling]

Pride Month: Aspec Ocs - Personalities and Facts

Return of my Aspec Ocs (plus one more w/o a picture b/c I don’t have any of them) with added characteristics

@morteraphan (All Tomorrows AU: The Areia Project)

Ursula (5’2”/157.5 cm) - Reserved, Patient, Astute, and Pragmatic; 4th and youngest pup of a liter of 4. Born to freak show circus performers, she and her siblings were meant to be display items for people to gawk and stare at. She doesn’t learn about her Aspec ID until she’s much older and has a journey of separating her ID from the cultural norms of her time. (She’s infertile, which is considered functionally Aro and Ace by her society)

@tmtnova (Starfish Lovers: Tourist Trap AU)

Cassiopeia Nu (6’0”/182.88 cm) - Witty, sarcastic, shrewd, and stubborn; Learned her ID at a young age and uses it as a badge of honor and protection against her sperm donor. An unfortunate product of SA and filled with guilt as a result. Refuses to meet her birth mother as she believes that SHE is the cause of the pain and suffering she had to endure from her sperm donor. (The man whose sperm was used to create her doesn’t deserve the title of parent)

@tmtnova (Starfish Lovers)

Clara-Marie (5’3”/160 cm) - Sardonic, pragmatic, blunt, and logical; Kearned her ID at a young age and was lucky enough to have a loving and supportive family. Half-grimalkin medic who lost her family in the Waywall fleet’s destruction. In a poly-platonic QPR with her three partners,Layla, Sonja, and Atticus. Has an Adopted son, Charles-Ambrose.(Someone on YouTube compared her to Dr. House and I find that hilarious)

@artsy-hobbitses (Humanformers AU: Ties that Bind)

Catseye (5’9”/175.3 cm) - Inquisitive, outspoken, eager, energetic; Learned their ID early (what happens when your brain is able to wirelessly connect to the internet) and DEFINITELY didn’t have any misunderstandings (totally knows that Invading Denmark is a joke). Genetic experiment/utility created by the Quintessons for analysis of Earth and its people and retrieval of the matrix. Doesn’t believe themselves to be human or that they should be considered as such. (Little to no moral compass; only understands that certain actions are okay in one place and not another)

Selena Esteves (5’5”/ 165.1 cm) - Sarcastic, methodical, Anxious, and sympathetic; The twin sister of Camilo Esteves and the daughter of now dead American soldiers. Lives with her group home foster family in the Tenderloin District of SF. IDs as Angled Aroace (Partnering and Sex/Romance Favorable) and just recently married her longtime friend and fellow runaway, Nathaniel, Nath, Lancaster.