I Imagine Elves Would Think That Humans Are Pretty Masculine No Matter Their Gender Like The Way We Think

Day 31: Bonus Day

Cape

“Your suit must include a cape,” cut the Designer dryly. “If you’re a Hero, you have to wear a cape.”

Hero squirmed uncomfortably:

“But- didn’t the Edna Mode School of Thought say-”

The end of this sentence died on their lips as Designer glared at them, waving dangerously with their scissors gliding in their hand:

“I know what they say. Do you fly?”

“N-no?”

“Then most of the risks are averted. All clothes have dangers, if you put it like that. You can trip on a scarf or on new shoes too.”

“But capes do nothing.”

“Excuse me? The propaganda has come too far!”

Designer rubbed their forehead:

“Look, if you’re cut from help and backup, trust me, you’ll be grateful for the extra fabric. You can carry things or a person with it. You can rip it apart for bandages. It can be used as a shock blanket or a way to protect anonymity. ”

“I-I didn’t think about that-”

“Exactly.”

Designer stepped forward and poked at their forehead:

“So you’re gonna walk out to the world with your shiny new suit, you’re going to heroically cover a citizen in need with your crazy useful cape, and you’re going to look damn good doing it. Understood?”

“Y-Yes, Designer.”

"Don't be ungrateful to the Cape and its wonders. Or it will end you."

*

Aaand that makes 10 snippets. Thanks for the event @augusnippets, it's been fun !

Back to the Hero x Villain Masterlist

Whump/Horror Masterlist

A restaurant named You're Not Supposed To Be Here, where the whole point is that the vibes are unnerving. The lighting is weird, the whole place has a faint scent that's not a bad smell, but it's certainly not food smell and you can't quite identify what the hell it is. The music is weirdly janky and you can't quite tell what's wrong with it, the vocals aren't exactly garbled but sung in a language you swear you've never heard anywhere and couldn't name if you tried. Only hiring staff who have anxiety and they're 100% permitted to show how much your presence here stresses them out.

This

But I actually went back to the other WIP.

I have so many WIPs, I don't really have to stop writing. I just never know which one to start with.

Does anybody else ever get writing fatigue from your current WIP, so you just... start another one to refresh yourself?

Cause I just did.

Again.

I need help.

"immortality sucks because all your friends die" all your friends die anyway. those we do not mourn are those who mourn us.

"immortality sucks because you forget who you are" we always forget who we are. do you remember who you were at four years of age? who you were at fourteen? "who i am" is a shadow cast on the wall.

"immortality sucks because" skill issue. skill issue. skill issue. give me your liver

hi, a lot of you need a perspective reset

the average human lifespan globally is 70+ years

taking the threshold of adulthood as 18, you are likely to spend at least 52 years as a fully grown adult

at the age of 30 you have lived less than one quarter of your adult life (12/52 years)

'middle age' is typically considered to be between 45-65

it is extremely common to switch careers, start new relationships, emigrate, go to college for the first or second time, or make other life-changing decisions in middle age

it's wild that I even have to spell it out, but older adults (60+) still have social lives and hobbies and interests.

you can still date when you get old. you can still fuck. you can still learn new skills, be fashionable, be competitive. you can still gossip, you can still travel, you can still read. you can still transition. you can still come out.

young doesn't mean peaked. you're inexperienced in your 20s! you're still learning and practicing! you're developing social skills and muscle memory that will last decades!

there are a million things to do in the world, and they don't vanish overnight because an imaginary number gets too big

𝐀𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭

written after, as distinguished from subscript

Writing extreme emotions

How to convey specific feelings in an in-character way

—Body language

How do they behave? Are they jumping around and cheering, or do they quietly shake their fist in rage as they stare through the other people? Depending on the character, one can mean a lot more than another. For example, a quiet, shy character getting worked up means a lot more to the audience because we get to see a new side to them

—Breathing

Obviously everyone breathes. But irregular breathing patterns (especially when they’re noticed by someone who’s not the MC) can tell a lot about what their reaction is. Are they losing their breath from laughing to the point where they begin to laugh and cry? Or is the world spinning around them as they begin to hyperventilate, going lightheaded and feeling overwhelmed?

—How they interact with their location

Are they throwing things, staring straight through all of the beautiful scenery, or are the bright colors blinding them? The more public and busy the location is, the less they may feel inclined to really act out, or maybe part of it is that they’re so emotional that they don’t care. Just try to keep the setting in mind for any dramatic, emotional scenes.

—Other people’s reactions

Consider how much the outburst is out-of-character when thinking about reactions. Do people run to console the anti-hero when they break down into tears, or do they stand there awkwardly not knowing what to do? Or, does this happen so often that others know exactly what to say and do, or are they so tired that they stand in the corner, defeated?

—Remember to stay in character

If you want this scene to stand out, you need to remember the characters themselves. Everybody gets emotional and breaks down, and when you can make it true to the character, you will make it real to the audience

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞

to waxe night, to grow towards night

Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden forever.”

— Alfred Lord Tennyson