inkypumpkinwells

[inkypumpkinwells]

Today in phrases I expect to retain: “rotten architecture but wonderful gargoyles” (George Orwell criticizing Dickens’ overarching plots while praising his scene-by-scene writing and eye for detail).

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I like to think that, since werewolves are said to transform under the light of the full moon, vampire spawn turn on the night of a new moon. It doesn’t matter when they are bitten, their captor will take their lifeless body and hide it away, away from the light and away from anyone who might seek to end their hunts before they even begin; and when the new moon arises, well, some would describe the scene akin to a rapture of sorts. The night is at its darkest, not a sliver of moonlight to be shed, and suddenly the lifeless live again. A hoard of new vampire spawn flood the streets, the forests, anywhere they get even the faintest whiff of fresh blood, and they are hungry.

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The Shikome is the broad stroke term for any number of Kijo, Kijo being the term for female Oni. With garish toothy smiles, long gnarled fingers and often misshapen bodies these yoki are quite the sight to behold. Despite their lack of beauty, by human standards, they have a great passion for cosmetics and are commonly seen donning makeup and wearing elaborate kimonos.

However their fixation with beauty should not be misinterpreted, this Kijo of the underworld are quite dangerous.

A little something to keep the trend of ushering in the Holiday spirit. While not particularly Halloween-y in nature I do think Yokai, or some, are a good blend of folkloric entity and the holiday.

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Tony Hoagland, from “Peaceful Transition”, What Narcissism Means to Me

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Winter Greenery OC Questions.

A little list of OC questions based on the folklore of winter greenery in Northern Europe. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all symbolic meanings, but rather just a small selection for entertainment, rather than educational, purposes.

Fir: Endurance and Hope.

Is your OC generally optimistic about the future?  Or do they tend to prepare for the worst, whilst hoping for the best? Or do they even take a generally pessimistic view of the way things will likely unfold?

Does your OC actively attempt to nurture or inspire hope in others – even when things look particularly dire? Or are they inclined to be more blunt with their assessment of a situation?

Would your OC ever fight for a lost cause on principle?  Or would they give up – or even change allegiance – in order to ensure the best outcome for themselves?

What is an example of something (or someone) to which your OC has been stubbornly loyal, through thick and thin?  Was it worth it in the end?  Could it ever have been?

How many setbacks can (or will) your OC endure before they give up on a course of action?  Or alternatively, how many times can they be let down or betrayed before they turn their back upon another person?

Holly: Protection and Luck.

Is your OC protective of those to whom they are close?  Are they ever somewhat over-protective?  Or do they prefer to let people suffer the consequences of their mistakes?  Perhaps because they see this as a useful life lesson?

Does your OC carry a lucky charm of some sort?  What makes them think it’s lucky?  Or do they not believe in luck, yet find themselves unable to part with it all the same?

Has your OC ever taken on a burden or suffered harm to protect another from suffering its consequences?  Did the person in question realise that they had done so?  What was their motivation when doing this?

What does your OC believe to be the luckiest event in their life?  Is this an accurate assessment?  Or was there actually more than simply luck at play?

Does your OC believe that they were historically let down by those who should have protected them?  If so then what has been the impact of this upon them?  If not then have they always been kept safe by others?  Has anyone ever sacrificed themselves to protect them?

Ivy: Fidelity and Loyalty.

Has your OC ever been unfaithful in a relationship?  Could they ever be tempted by the physical charms of another?  Or have they ever been surprised by how little they are tempted by others, at least once they embraced their current lover?

What inspires loyalty in your OC?  Will they follow someone purely based upon duty or rank? Or are there certain qualities towards which they are drawn?  Or perhaps there ways by which another person must prove themselves before earning their loyalty?

Has another person ever offered to leave their spouse or lover for your OC?  What was it about them that this person found so hard to resist? How did they feel about it at the time? 

Does your OC feel any abiding connection to their place of birth?  Has this ever been challenged by conflicting loyalties?  How are they viewed by those currently living in their society of origin?

Does your OC remain steadfastly loyal to those who have helped them on their journey?  Or are they quick to dispense with those who are no longer of use to them?

Mistletoe: Peace and Friendship.

Who was your OC’s first friend?  What drew them to each other?  Were they expecting to get along? Or was it a surprise to them both?

Does your OC find it easy to make friends?   What barriers are there to them doing so?  Has this changed over time?

Do other people experience your OC as having a “peaceful” energy? Or are they inclined to restlessness - or even fractiousness?  Do others find them relaxing company?

To what extent does your OC believe in the perfectibility of mankind?  Do they believe that they are playing a part, no matter how small, in ushering in a new utopian age of co-operation and peace?  Or do they consider that people are intrinsically flawed and that the best that can be hoped for is a series of trade-offs between conflicting values?

Who is your OCs most unlikely friend? What made their friendship so unexpected?

Pine: Healing and Longevity.

What is the worst physical injury or illness that your OC has ever suffered?  How long did it take them to recover?  Does it still have an impact upon them now?

What is the worst emotional or spiritual wound that your OC has ever suffered?  What was the long-term impact of this experience? What helped them to move on from it (if they ever have)?

Does your OC make a good patient?  Or are they resistant to being given medical treatment - or even agreeing to rest?

Does your OC expect to live a long and fruitful life?  Or do they consider themselves to already be living on borrowed time?

Does your OC believe it is better to burn out than to fade away?  Or do they perhaps pretend to believe this, when actually they would be quite happy to retire peacefully one day?

Birch: Rebirth and Regeneration.

Has your OC ever experienced something that changed them irrevocably?  If so, then how do they view the person they were before?

Does your OC believe that sometimes a person needs to hit rock bottom before they can begin to rebuild their life?  Has this ever been their personal experience?  Or would they rather spare someone suffering, even if it meant they failed to learn from their mistakes over and over again?

Does your OC recover quickly from injuries?  Or has it got harder for them to keep bouncing back as they’ve got older?  If so, is this something they would ever admit?

Has your OC ever made a heroic or unexpected comeback from a dire situation?  What helped them to do so?

Has your OC ever been part of a wider cultural or spiritual renaissance?  Perhaps following the defeat of an occupying force?  Or the rediscovery of long-lost wisdom?  Or even a reinterpretation of existing traditions?

[inkypumpkinwells]

You know in fiction when someone’s magic powers are triggered by them being angry and their wise mentor says they have to learn how to control their anger, well that’s bullshit because the aim actually should be to separate the anger from the power so you can experience the full range of emotion without blowing stuff up and also blow stuff up while feeling chillaxed

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"constantly changing and shifting architectural landscape" really is one of my favourite settings for a story because it encompasses two similar but distinct niches of existential horror

[inkypumpkinwells]

"constantly changing and shifting architectural landscape" really is one of my favourite settings for a story because it encompasses two similar but distinct niches of existential horror

[inkypumpkinwells]

I'm loving Dungeon Meshi's mix of quasi-probable magical biological realism and "It's magic fuck you."

Red dragons swallow their prey whole and use the undigestible remains as fuel for their fire breath, which is lit by creating a spark with their tongue. Living armors are colonies of mollusks who expand and contract to mimic muscle movement. Actually "man-eating" plants is a misnomer, they catch small animals with a filament that retracts when touched and they use their decomposing prey as compost.

These mushrooms can turn you into a gnome. It's magic fuck you.

[inkypumpkinwells]

whoever keeps shooting rusty chains with hooks at me from the darkness STOP

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If any part of your plan involves the words "nobody could be that stupid", please be prepared to be proven wrong at any minute at a moment's notice. Pay in mind that the person determined to prove you wrong may already be aware of this assumption, and is already approaching your current location at an alarming speed.

[inkypumpkinwells]

[inkypumpkinwells]

girl 1: u look so beautiful in this light

girl 2: blushes

girl 3: (bad at hiding that shes immortal) i swear that mountain is shorter than the last time i saw it

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"So you collect ghosts?"

"Not intentionally. Ghosts are just drawn to me. I'm a ghost sponge. A ghost magnet. When I'm hired to check out a haunted house, I walk in and take all the ghosts with me when I leave. And if it turns out there's a demon the ghosts eat 'em. It's a very efficient system."

"...Say that last part again."

"The ghosts eat the demons. Like a pack of hyenas taking down a wildebeest. I've seen the ghost of a 90-year-old Ukrainian babushka tear apart a demon with her teeth."

[inkypumpkinwells]

Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

[inkypumpkinwells]

S'mores boy >:)

[inkypumpkinwells]

How to show emotions

Part V

How to show grief

a vacant look

slack facial expressions

shaky hands

trembling lips

swallowing

struggling to breathe

tears rolling down their cheeks

How to show fondness

smiling with their mouth and their eyes

softening their features

cannot keep their eyes off of the object of their fondness

sometimes pouting the lips a bit

reaching out, wanting to touch them

How to show envy

narrowing their eyes

rolling their eyes

raising their eyebrows

grinding their teeth

tightening jaw

chin poking out

pouting their lips

forced smiling

crossing arms

shifting their gaze

clenching their fists

tensing their muscles

then becoming restless/fidgeting

swallowing hard

stiffening

holding their breath

blinking rapidly

exhaling sharply

How to show regret

scrubbing a hand over the face

sighing heavily

downturned mouth

slightly bending over

shoulders hanging low

hands falling to the sides

a pained expression

heavy eyes

staring down at their feet

Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV

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