Doing better, love
524 posts
Apottovan - AP Ottovan - Tumblr Blog
If I use a baby for one of my games I will certainly let you know uwu*
A lot of DMS go ‘’can i use your characters for my campaign’’ and I say yes and then hear nothing about it! How are my babies doing? Are they eating well? Are they making friends?? Are they having fun???
I also really like the character “question” of: > Describe their hands. It makes you think about what they go through in a day, routine, you know? It also carries with it a certain softness and romance that I enjoy in character questioners. > A lot can be said from someone’s hands. What they do for work, what their hobbies are, how they hold a knife (like a butcher or a chef), or a pen (like a scholar or a brute), so on and so forth. The hands, like the eyes, are a gateway, and can tell you more at a glance than months of talking. > River’s hands were not soft. They were a gardener’s hands, calloused and rough from years of digging and toil. There was dirt under her nails, which she kept short to prevent their breaking. Dirt always in the lines of her palms, how deep her head line and how short her heart line. There were shallow scratches from thorns in her skin. She always charcoal on her fingertips and down to the side of her right hand from where it rested on a page. She marked everything she touched, though she rarely meant to. Her hands were always cold, but never freezing. River was gentle in everything she did, even when her fingers were wrapped around the handle of an axe or the string of a bow.
So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.) Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.
If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results:
What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)
What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)
What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)
Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory)
What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.)
Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)
Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)
Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)
What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.)
What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.)
I justt found a super cool website! It’s called Darwin Online and it's meant to be the world’s largest resource on Charles Darwin. They’re supported by Cambridge University and supposedly have 230,000 pages of his stuff, works about him, and even a complete collection of all Darwin's publications! From what I understand, it’s all entirely free to access! http://darwin-online.org.uk/
Dont really have a name for this other than Ballerina Bug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So red and frail am I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_yj-VP5DOQ
Amazing what you can do on roll20 if you hate yourself enough
Bob Dylan bong hits. Blowing the smoke past my nostrils...my wavy long hair. I died in Memphis once...back in 1987. Dont get my started on Chattanooga. The ceiling fan circles above me in a shark frenzy motions. I am high and feeling no teeth. ..I swim along, alone on my sofa. That brown beauty has seen some sights along the way. I pitch the book of matches to the beat up wooden floor. Close my eyes and proceed to fantasize of stripping harmonicas...nude.
when hayao miyazaki said that true love was two people inspiring each other to live…recognizing just how hard living is, putting one foot in front of the other every day, how easy it is to lose our passion for it…… that’s the real shit
Love love love love
Star-crossed
i want to be someone else’s safety. even nonromantically. i want to be “hey can i tell you something?” i want to be - i tried something new and i’m a little scared but i wanted to show you. i want to be “i knew i could trust you”. i want to be okay to hold the hand of, always ready to listen, always trying. even if i don’t get it perfect, you know? i just want to be a place other people can relax and be themselves and not worry for a fraction of an instant.
I saw this a billion years ago and made an edit of it, and now its my profile picture! The original is just as cool
A crow lands on one of the warning signs around the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
👍🥚😞🐌🤌
What does that even mean?
I'm so egg sad snail like??
your first column of emojis describes your personality! what’s yours?
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How many ways can I write that I’m sorry or that I’m feeling until you get bored I can tell you that only three and a half people give a shit And itll be true because any number I give will be fabricated How many likes do you get on the daily
At least three and a half Because any number I give you will become meaningless when eight hours sixteen minutes come And the sun is high and the moon is low and you’ve gone to bed or you’ve gone to lunch And anything else fills your mind because in the end these people here dont matter you just want to show yourself that someone, anyone is listening Oh god is anyone listening, really listening?
Will my words stick with you like a Van Gogh will you even know my name like a Van Gogh no one knows how he was feeling, not even Van Gogh
So please tell me that someone in the world is listening because I cant stand the idea of screaming at a wall but at least when I was a kid I was happy singing to stones Why cant it be that way anymore
A nameless painter Who saw the color yellow just a little too brightly And thought that was beautiful
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Feel feel feel What am I feeling I dont want this anymore Childish I’m a child? Because I dont want I dont want
No please I’m tired of wanting I’m tired of not feeling of not knowing of expecting that I have to know that I have to know What do you want to be when you grow up
Anything other than dead on the street with a needle and a ratted blanket Please
Dont let me be my father’s idea of a failure
I just want I just want I just want
What do I want to be when I grow up
I dont have any idea and I dont think I ever will
I just want to be Isnt that ever enough