#storytell

[corpish]

in recognition of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21

[prokopetz]

My controversial game design opinion is that "environmental storytelling" should be actually, tangibly present within the game's environments. Hitting the player with a paragraph of lore every time they click on a random item in their inventory is not environmental storytelling – it's just hiding an epistolary novel in your game's UI.

[basketcasemp3]

downsizing seasons from 22 episodes to 13 to 8. describing miniseries as "8 hour movies". loudly declaring that shows with 20+ episodes per season cannot truly be good. complaining that "it couldve been a movie". complaining about filler episodes. complaining about bottle episodes. complaining about episodes that prioritize character over plot. fr i think y'all just dont like television

[s-soulwriter]

Things Real People Do in Dialogue (For Your Next Story)

Okay, let’s be real—dialogue can make or break a scene. You want your characters to sound natural, like actual humans talking, not robots reading a script. So, how do you write dialogue that feels real without it turning into a mess of awkward pauses and “ums”? Here’s a little cheat sheet of what real people actually do when they talk (and you can totally steal these for your next story):

1. People Interrupt Each Other All the Time In real conversations, nobody waits for the perfect moment to speak. We interrupt, cut each other off, and finish each other's sentences. Throw in some overlaps or interruptions in your dialogue to make it feel more dynamic and less like a rehearsed play.

2. They Don’t Always Say What They Mean Real people are masters of dodging. They’ll say one thing but mean something totally different (hello, passive-aggressive banter). Or they’ll just avoid the question entirely. Let your characters be vague, sarcastic, or just plain evasive sometimes—it makes their conversations feel more layered.

3. People Trail Off... We don’t always finish our sentences. Sometimes we just... stop talking because we assume the other person gets what we’re trying to say. Use that in your dialogue! Let a sentence trail off into nothing. It adds realism and shows the comfort (or awkwardness) between characters.

4. Repeating Words Is Normal In real life, people repeat words when they’re excited, nervous, or trying to make a point. It’s not a sign of bad writing—it’s how we talk. Let your characters get a little repetitive now and then. It adds a rhythm to their speech that feels more genuine.

5. Fillers Are Your Friends People say "um," "uh," "like," "you know," all the time. Not every character needs to sound polished or poetic. Sprinkle in some filler words where it makes sense, especially if the character is nervous or thinking on their feet.

6. Not Everyone Speaks in Complete Sentences Sometimes, people just throw out fragments instead of complete sentences, especially when emotions are high. Short, choppy dialogue can convey tension or excitement. Instead of saying “I really think we need to talk about this,” try “We need to talk. Now.”

7. Body Language Is Part of the Conversation Real people don’t just communicate with words; they use facial expressions, gestures, and body language. When your characters are talking, think about what they’re doing—are they fidgeting? Smiling? Crossing their arms? Those little actions can add a lot of subtext to the dialogue without needing extra words.

8. Awkward Silences Are Golden People don’t talk non-stop. Sometimes, they stop mid-conversation to think, or because things just got weird. Don’t be afraid to add a beat of awkward silence, a long pause, or a meaningful look between characters. It can say more than words.

9. People Talk Over Themselves When They're Nervous When we’re anxious, we tend to talk too fast, go back to rephrase what we just said, or add unnecessary details. If your character’s nervous, let them ramble a bit or correct themselves. It’s a great way to show their internal state through dialogue.

10. Inside Jokes and Shared History Real people have history. Sometimes they reference something that happened off-page, or they share an inside joke only they get. This makes your dialogue feel lived-in and shows that your characters have a life beyond the scene. Throw in a callback to something earlier, or a joke only two characters understand.

11. No One Explains Everything People leave stuff out. We assume the person we’re talking to knows what we’re talking about, so we skip over background details. Instead of having your character explain everything for the reader’s benefit, let some things go unsaid. It’ll feel more natural—and trust your reader to keep up!

12. Characters Have Different Voices Real people don’t all talk the same way. Your characters shouldn’t either! Pay attention to their unique quirks—does one character use slang? Does another speak more formally? Maybe someone’s always cutting people off while another is super polite. Give them different voices and patterns of speech so their dialogue feels authentic to them.

13. People Change the Subject In real life, conversations don’t always stay on track. People get sidetracked, jump to random topics, or avoid certain subjects altogether. If your characters are uncomfortable or trying to dodge a question, let them awkwardly change the subject or ramble to fill the space.

14. Reactions Aren’t Always Immediate People don’t always respond right away. They pause, they think, they hesitate. Sometimes they don’t know what to say, and that delay can speak volumes. Give your characters a moment to process before they respond—it’ll make the conversation feel more natural.

Important note: Please don’t use all of these tips in one dialogue at once.

[beardedmrbean]

[zevarcollan]

[kleefkruid]

Oskars ancient Greek curse is that every day he wakes up convinced that this time he can totally walk on the drying rack

[life-in-toontown]

Sure it’s soulless and only exists to be a lazy cashgrab but at least now it’s a REAL movie unlike that toddler cartoon /s

[podargus-strigoides]

every image of a tawny frogmouth is perfection. i've never seen a single picture of a tawny that dissapoints.

[side-sidecast]

dog time AKA the only reason i've been managing not to overwork myself

[heedra]

talking to preschoolers is awesome bc they have not fully differentiated stories into 'true stories' and 'imaginary stories' yet so you will tell them about something that happened you once (coyote came out of a bush right in front of you and got startled) and they will tell you about how one time their house was full of coyotes in every room 'including five in the garage' and they're not even like, aware i think of the idea that they are technically 'lying'. they are simply telling stories about coyotes bc its time to tell stories about coyotes.

[misdeliriosmentales]

Metáforas de la vida diaria: gingivitis y el amor.

Hace unos meses me perforé debajo del labio inferior, me gustaba el toque que le daba a mi rostro y que nadie que conociera la tuviera (porque tener algo distintivo nos infla el ego y nos hace sentir especiales). El problema empezó cuando empezó a rozar mis encías, con el tiempo comenzaron a sangrar cada vez más, a hincharse, oler mal e incluso perdí parte de la misma. Hasta no llegar a ese punto no me la saqué, y los problemas siguieron hasta que decidí ir a la dentista a hacerme una limpieza profunda que no me hiciera sentir que tenía un banco de sangre podrida en la boca. Menos mal que no besé a nadie.

Llegué a casa con la dentadura limpiecita y sintiéndome en paz por fin, las encías volvieron a sentirse parte de mí y no como un parásito invasor que me incitaba a rascarme con una navaja (resistí el impulso). Aun así y aunque de afuera no se notaba, me dio tristeza haberme quedado sin la mitad de mi encía inferior, y también miedo de que cuando sea vieja se me fueran a caer los dientes de abajo más fácil. Bueno, no sé si funciona así. La cuestión es, que en ese momento me puse a pensar, ¿por qué no me saqué el piercing antes? podría haberme ahorrado muchos problemas, malos olores, incomodidades y la pregunta rondante en mi cabeza de si mi boca olería a mierda o no.

Y la respuesta es: porque me hacía sentir bien conmigo, especial, y aunque en el interior me estaba destruyendo se veía bien en mi boca. Como mi ex.

Sabía que era lo correcto dejarlo ir y sin embargo lo mantuve conmigo hasta que me quitó una parte de mí, y fue cuando por fin me lo saqué de encima que dejó de sentirse como un invasor de mi paz. La dentista (ahora hablando de nuevo de mi gingivitis, claro) me dijo que la razón por la cual la condición empeoraba es porque la gente -yo incluida-, al ver sangrar cierta parte de la encía, deciden mejor no cepillarla, no tocarla por miedo a que se torne peor; y eso terminaba generando el efecto contrario. La sangre queda acumulada y se pudre dentro generando infecciones por la creencia de que si se lidia con la parte fea, las cosas se ponen peor. Y ahí, con toda la boca y mitad de la cara llena de sangre y una luz blanca encima mío encandilándome se me ocurrió que la gingivitis es como el mal amor.

Lo que no se toca por miedo, se pudre adentro tuyo.

[futuretrain]

all stories are about time loops, except for time loops, which are about grief

[elexuscal]

Danny Phantom, The Show:

geeky kid gets super powers from his parents' weird inventions! now he has to fight a rogue gallery of ghosts... but uh-oh! he still has to keep his grades up, deal with his embarrassing parents, and navigate girl troubles! rap theme song!

Danny Phantom, the Fandom, After 19 Years of Fermentation:

a child dies. but not quite. the inherent tension between life and death. the obsession of the dead for faded remnants of the living. warped green shadows on the walls of a dark laboratory. having to hide your true nature from those who should be your greatest allies. the fear of the monster you could become if you let yourself. being a ghost as a metaphor for the trans experience. a cold breath on the back of your neck in the dead of the night. rap theme song!

[emptyjunior]

Enough random notes that have a written story on them as environmental storytelling, explore the space, get crazier with it.

You move into a house and aw cute, it has the kids height on the walls but you notice there's a three foot difference in height between measurements, you check the date, they're a month apart. The final measurement is on the ceiling. It's dated two days ago.

You're part of a recovery team that have finally found a stranded ship, they were found too late and have all passed a long time ago. They all died of starvation. You enter their storeroom, it's filled with food. In the dining hall you find the tables laden with perfectly fine looking breads, cakes, cured meats, jams, candies. Your medic says all the people sitting at the table didn't eat a Thing.

You wake up in an apocalypse. You can't find anyone at all as you wander the streets but you do hear faint music playing from somewhere. You stumble into a supermarket, to see all the aisles still full, except for the shelf that was full of ear plugs, which look to be the only thing that was looted.

Like there's light, sound, props. Having a street where every house is decimated except for One. Landing on a planet known for having No Water and a plant is growing and you don't know where it could have possibly gotten moisture from but you can't find the citizens Anywhere.

I'm sorry, I'm just kinda over the "graffiti on the wall to show the bad guy is around". That's not environmental storytelling that's just normal story. Show me I'm in the villains territory by the rain suddenly cutting out above me as I'm driving, even though it's meant to be raining all night. I park the car and step out, and realise the constellations are Wrong, until I see they're Not constellations, they're the blinking lights of a massive ship-

I Will stop now because everytime I go to write a sentence it devolves into another prompt but I'm just saying we have a Lot of senses, engage them, show me the Environment in environmental storytelling.