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he’s boogieing

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Traditional Chinese architectures via 雪花建筑

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More Dialogue Prompts

“You expect me to walk home with you dressed like that.”

“Pickles make anything better. Anything.”

“Please don’t tell me you got arrested again.”

“Sometimes you need to make your sarcasm a little more clear.”

“I wouldn’t do that even if you paid me a million dollars.”

“I must have been an awful person in my past life.”

“You look hot in plaid.”

“Don’t move. I think this room is bugged.”

“It’s positive.”

“I don’t hate you. It’s just that if you were on fire I wouldn’t piss on you to save your life, is all.”

“Oh, God. That’s your “I did something bad” face.“

“This. Never. Happened.”

“Can you please be happy for me for five minutes?”

“Innocent until proven guilty.”

“You’re going to regret this.”

“Frankly, my dear, I do give a damn.”

“Prison was made for people like you.”

“I am the stupidest person alive.”

“You know we can’t do this. I’m your boss, for crying out loud.”

“She has your cheekbones.”

“That wasn’t my fault. That’s on you.”

“Time travel isn’t as it’s portrayed in the movies.”

“Surprise! I’m dumping you!”

“Walk out this door and we’re through.”

“We’re not alone.”

“Swear to me that this meant nothing to you.”

“His last words were a blessing and a curse. Literally.”

“You carry that damn blanket everywhere.”

“For the hundredth time, I am not your babysitter.”

“Old age seems to get the better of us.”

“I wish I could forget I ever met you.”

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forest spirits

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The gorgeous art of dawnpu

d'artiste Matte Painting

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Words to describe someone's voice

adenoidal: if someone’s voice is adenoidal, some of the sound seems to come through their nose

appealing: an appealing look, voice etc shows that you want help, approval, or agreement

breathy: with loud breathing noises

brittle: if you speak in a brittle voice, you sound as if you are about to cry

croaky: if someone’s voice sounds croaky, they speak in a low rough voice that sounds as if they have a sore throat

dead: if someone’s eyes are dead, or if their voice is dead, they feel or show no emotion

disembodied: a disembodied voice comes from someone who you cannot see

flat: spoken in a voice that does not go up and down. This word is often used for describing the speech of people from a particular region.

fruity: a fruity voice or laugh is deep and strong in a pleasant way

grating: a grating voice, laugh, or sound is unpleasant and annoying

gravelly: a gravelly voice sounds low and rough

gruff: a gruff voice has a rough low sound

guttural: a guttural sound is deep and made at the back of your throat

high-pitched: a high-pitched voice or sound is very high

hoarse: someone who is hoarse or has a hoarse voice speaks in a low rough voice, usually because their throat is sore

honeyed: honeyed words or a honeyed voice sound very nice but you cannot trust the person who is speaking

husky: a husky voice is deep and sounds hoarse (=as if you have a sore throat), often in an attractive way

low adjective: a low voice or sound is quiet and difficult to hear

low adverb: in a deep voice, or with a deep sound

matter-of-fact: used about someone’s behaviour or voice

modulated: a modulated voice is controlled and pleasant to listen to

monotonous: a monotonous sound or voice is boring and unpleasant because it does not change in loudness or become higher or lower

nasal: someone with a nasal voice sounds as if they are speaking through their nose

orotund: an orotund voice is loud and clear

penetrating: a penetrating voice or sound is so high or loud that it makes you slightly uncomfortable

plummy: a plummy voice or way of speaking is considered to be typical of an English person of a high social class. This word shows that you dislike people who speak like this.

quietly: in a quiet voice

raucous: a raucous voice or noise is loud and sounds rough

ringing: a ringing sound or voice is very loud and clear

rough: a rough voice is not soft and is unpleasant to listen to

shrill: a shrill noise or voice is very loud, high, and unpleasant

silvery: a silvery voice or sound is clear, light, and pleasant

singsong: if you speak in a singsong voice, your voice rises and falls in a musical way

small: a small voice or sound is quiet

smoky: a smoky voice or smoky eyes are sexually attractive in a slightly mysterious way

softly spoken: someone who is softly spoken has a quiet gentle voice

sotto voce adjective, adverb: in a very quiet voice

stentorian: a stentorian voice sounds very loud and severe

strangled: a strangled sound is one that someone stops before they finish making it

strangulated: strangled

strident: a strident voice or sound is loud and unpleasant

taut: used about something such as a voice or expression that shows someone is nervous or angry

thick: if your voice is thick with an emotion, it sounds less clear than usual because of the emotion

thickly: with a low voice that comes mostly from your throat

thin: a thin voice or sound is high and unpleasant to listen to

throaty: a throaty sound is low and seems to come from deep in your throat

tight: a tight voice or expression shows that you are nervous or annoyed

toneless: a toneless voice does not express any emotion

tremulous: if something such as your voice or smile is tremulous, it is not steady, for example because you are afraid or excited

wheezy: a wheezy noise sounds as if it is made by someone who has difficulty breathing

wobbly: if your voice is wobbly, it goes up and down, usually because you are frightened, not confident, or are going to cry

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In his head, Gil never saw himself as part of the fay

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I hereby propose: the dark spring aesthetic

bright green budding trees against a backdrop of heavy storm clouds; daffodils dripping with rainwater

songbirds singing before the sun has fully risen

cherry blossom petals fallen on asphalt, crushed by footprints and tire tracks

opening the window on a sunny afternoon expecting warmth but instead being met by a cold thawing stillness

impossibly purple crocuses, a deep saturated violet

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Medical Facts Ref of Things Authors Botch Up a Lot

Hospitals are not magical / They do not operate like a Pokémon center in the games.

Doctors are not magicians. They can mess up, there are wounds they cannot treat, complications can arise during treatment, there might not be enough doctors available at any given time depending on how busy the hospital is, and, depending on the location, a doctor can refuse.

Hospital visits, depending on the location, can take a very long time just to get the paperwork through, it’s not as simple as “Call an ambulance, hospital guys come, take injured guy, injured guy is in bed, injured guy leaves a few days later all better.”

Bullet wounds are seriously deadly.

There is only one place you can get shot and not be in immediate life threatening danger or extreme horrific pain: the buttocks.

Other locations that won’t kill you in the first few minutes are: arms, feet.

If the bullet hits an artery, you are dead in less than a minute, period. If it hits you in the neck, you are dead in even less than that, period. Head: Dead in an instant. Heart: Probably going to be around a minute but far more painful than getting hit in the head.

If a bullet pierces a lung, you will drown in your own blood, not die as quickly as piercing the heart but still quickly enough that a person who has been shot in the lung needs immediate surgery, as immediate as possible, or they die.

People rarely come out of comas in real life.

If someone is unconscious for more than, say, a week or two, they are in a coma and the doctors will be slowly giving up. A month or more, it’s a persistent vegetative state and the doctors will be telling the relatives, “Okay, so do you want us to keep them on life support or should we pull the plug? Your call.” But nicer.

Concussions are very very serious, as well as any head injury.

The symptoms of a concussion are typically nausea, dizziness, possible vomiting, and drowsiness. If the person with the concussion goes to sleep, there is a chance they may not wake up, so typically you should try to keep them awake.

Concussions cannot be solved with a bandaid. More serious concussions require a visit to the hospital.

If you are hit in the head with a rock, you will bleed and at best, just get a very large bruise, at likely you’ll get a concussion. Same goes for bricks. And having large things fall on top of you.

If you are in a building when it explodes, the chances of you being coherent enough to talk or even alive are very very low.

If you are near a grenade blast, you are probably dead.

If you don’t eat for more than ten days, or don’t drink for more than three days, you are dead.

If you are hit with a blunt object hard enough, you can rupture your organs and die of massive internal bleeding.

Most of this only applies to when they are human: As nations they would be more durable, either in not getting very injured in the first place or healing quickly.

But I have seen where, in a human AU, they do things that just aren’t possible in the real world. They’d be totally acceptable in the nationverse but not when they’re supposed to be just a person. I’ve also seen the inverse and it’s really confusing when it’s stated, “Nations can’t die,” and then the author goes and kills them off for good with no explanation of how.

One last thing that is very important:

Going into shock can kill you.

Shock is a medical emergency in which the organs and tissues of the body are not receiving an adequate flow of blood. This deprives the organs and tissues of oxygen (carried in the blood) and allows the buildup of waste products. Shock can result in serious damage or even death.

(Medical dictionary definition.)

If you state that a character is ‘in shock’ and describe them as ‘blank, hollow, unmoving, cold’ or any of the common things I see, that is what is happening to said character’s body. Typically this is after whatever character has either experienced something horribly traumatic, or been hit by a car, or something.

The best thing for someone not medically trained, which in a human au none of the character are unless you state otherwise, to do would be to keep them warm / cover them with a blanket and rush them to the nearest location of medical care.

and from an anon (you seemed to have a 2nd part but it never sent):

Prior to the 20th century, a scratch could easily get infected, which would result in a fever, and a fever or common cold could easily kill you. In addition, if you are shot in the chest, it WILL cause life threatening damage, whether it goes through your heart, lungs, or just bounces off (and shatters) your ribs. This is not solved with one hospital visit. Do your injury research.

another anon:

Don’t prettify death. Death isn’t pretty, no matter how you go. Even if you go IN YOUR SLEEP, there is still the “final release” of your bowels, which most fanfiction (and fiction in general, movies, tv shows, etc) leave out. Plus, most people that die violently in any way will have their eyes some degree of open. And the effect is more glassy, particularly if they are WIDE OPEN, rather than ‘clouded over’ or ‘foggy’.

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Woods For Campfires

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Things I love about the “villain turns good” trope:

Ex-villains graduating to “weird uncle” status.

Ex-villains and hero(es) turning the events of previous battles into bizarre inside jokes.

Ex-villains embracing the power of friendship and love.

Ex-villains putting up walls and keeping to themselves until the heroes teach them what it means to trust someone.

Ex-villains messing up and being forgiven because redemption is a process, not an endgame.

Ex-villains being shy and uncertain about their new place as a hero.

Bonus: Ex-villains hiding behind their hero friends during moments of shyness and uncertainty.

Ex-villains being tempted back to the dark side only to realize how much their newfound friendships mean to them.

Ex-villains pretending to return to the dark side, and using their villain cred to be a mole/saboteur on the heroes’ behalf.

Ex-villains taking the same skills and character traits that made them effective villains and using them for good.

Ex-villains defeating current villains by being better at those skills and traits than they are.

Ex-villains being rejected by almost everyone except the very few willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Ex-villains being ferociously protective of those few.

Ex-villains convincing old allies and friends to follow them to the light side.

Ex-villains helping their hero friends through guilt and self-doubt by reminding them that your mistakes don’t make you and it’s never too late to turn things around.

Ex-villains receiving unconditional trust and affection from someone small and innocent, and having no idea what they’re supposed to do with that.

Ex-villains reuniting with heroic loved ones that they don’t have to fight against anymore.

Ex-villains looking around at their new friends and their new home and having to sit down and ride out a sudden wave of powerful emotion because they can’t remember the last time they felt content.

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What to Avoid in Dystopian Fiction

Anonymous said: So I’m writing in a dystopian future, are there any clichés which I should avoid?

I love dystopian literature. Here are just some things I don’t love. This is my opinion, you may disagree, that’s cool too.

Also: you don’t necessarily have to even avoid these things- just make them work in a way that makes sense.

This awkward teenager who can barely complete a simple task must single-handedly control an entire revolution and overthrow an extremely powerful government.

The protagonist appears to be nothing special but for some reason the world is in dire need of them

Unrealistic endings: the main character has been tortured four times, lost everyone they’ve ever loved, had their home destroyed, and never even finished high school… but their life is complete and full of laughter and happiness since the evil regime has fallen.

The government is the main part of what is wrong with society/the main conflict

Having no reason for the motives of characters/evil governments, or the reason just being that they were seeking power/control

The 1%

Revolution of oppressed vs. the government

Love triangles

Can these things all work? Yes. Should you take extra caution when trying to make them work? Yes.

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Elves

How tall, on average, are elves? >How much variation in height is there?

What do elves look like? >What skin colors can they have? >>Is it just the same as human colors, or can they be purple or green? >What hair colors can elves have naturally? >>What eye colors can they have? >What would be the best way to describe their facial features? >>Harsh? >>Angular? >>Soft? >Can humans mimic the appearance of elves using makeup and costume prosthetics easily, or are the two species too different?

Do elves tend to be more chaotic or more lawfully aligned?

Do elves have a strict social hierarchy? >What is the hierarchy?

Are elves naturally skilled at anything? >Archery? >Magic? >Toy making?

Are elves naturally athletic? >Are elves naturally dexterous?

What are elves’ relations with other species/races? Are elves able to breed with other species/races? >How do they treat the resulting offspring?

Can elves touch and use iron, and alloys with iron, or does it hurt them?

Are elves capable of lying?

How much sleep do elves need?

What do elves eat? >Can humans eat this as well or would it be bad for them?

How quickly can elves heal?

And of course, make sure to flesh out their culture, government, and homelands.

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prompt 525

Words associated with ships

compass

horizon

windlass

anchor

mooring

capsize

becalmed

starboard

marooned

anchor

hull

ballast

crow’s nest

port shore dock

dinghy

nautical

knot

tack

adrift

bilge

parley

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@WorstMuse is a relic of the human race