Horses at night
Dec. 20th, 2025 01:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlode posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
little_detailsIf my characters have made camp in a wood for the night while travelling on horseback, what will the horses be doing?
I was sort of picturing them standing dozing together under a tree somewhere nearby -- possibly tied, possibly hobbled, possibly just being a herd together -- but poking around on the Internet suggests that if not shut up in a stable horses are actually quite active by night. (Which messes with the story, as quite apart from anything else nobody is going to be able to hear anything while keeping watch if the horses are busy foraging around!)
I was sort of picturing them standing dozing together under a tree somewhere nearby -- possibly tied, possibly hobbled, possibly just being a herd together -- but poking around on the Internet suggests that if not shut up in a stable horses are actually quite active by night. (Which messes with the story, as quite apart from anything else nobody is going to be able to hear anything while keeping watch if the horses are busy foraging around!)
All the Colors of the Apples
Dec. 16th, 2025 01:33 pmlizvogel posting in little_detailsFor Reasons, I need three colors of apples in my story. I'm looking for a bright, deep red; a strong yellow/gold; and an intense, bold green. (All when ripe, preferably.) Right now I've got good ol' Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith, but I'd like somethng more exciting (and more strongly colored) for at least two of them.
The setting is technically modern-day Illinois, but it's a post-apocalyptic scenario with a lot of supernatural stuff going on, so exotic varieties from other climes would be entirely feasible. I have a character who can be an apple expert if it's a variety so unusual that most USians wouldn't recognize it. Grafting, planting, import/export, and pretty much any other limitations can all be readily hand-waved by the aforementioned supernatural stuff.
TIA, Malus enthusiasts!
The setting is technically modern-day Illinois, but it's a post-apocalyptic scenario with a lot of supernatural stuff going on, so exotic varieties from other climes would be entirely feasible. I have a character who can be an apple expert if it's a variety so unusual that most USians wouldn't recognize it. Grafting, planting, import/export, and pretty much any other limitations can all be readily hand-waved by the aforementioned supernatural stuff.
TIA, Malus enthusiasts!
Dyslexia
Dec. 15th, 2025 05:49 pmelisheva_m posting in little_detailsMy female main character just told someone she's dyslexic. News to me, but that's how my characters roll <3 and it may perhaps help ground something else about her as a secondary consequence of childhood struggles with reading.
I've read a lot but it's all professional overviews and such, not enough from people who actually are. Right now I'm looking for small things I can tuck in which will suggest dyslexia to attentive, aware readers without spelling it out. She is 32 and those who are closest to her will be well used to working with her needs.
A few childhood memories can be tucked in as well.
Another question for those with dyslexia, if someone suggests reading novels out loud to her, would that be likely to work or might there still be difficulties with following everything? I understand there's a range of differences but I'd like to have her be fairly representative that way if I do include that sort of scene. Or maybe he suggests novels and she asks for short stories?
I'd like to do better than just 'trouble reading' and consequently struggled at school.
Her possibly relevant characteristics (things mentioned on the overview sites) which can't change - she is very adept physically and has excellent spatial awareness, reaction times, navigation skills and such. No dyspraxia or ADHD. If there's any executive dysfunction, it needs to be limited and compensated for well. She needs to be quick-witted, adaptable and confident she can hold her own in conversation with people who are trying to get the upper hand too.
But so far there's only one scene where she reads or writes anything and that can be altered. It's almost like she's been trying to tell me this all along.
I hope this makes sense. If you feel the need to tell me how wrong I am, please be gentle with your vehemence.
TIA for any help.
I've read a lot but it's all professional overviews and such, not enough from people who actually are. Right now I'm looking for small things I can tuck in which will suggest dyslexia to attentive, aware readers without spelling it out. She is 32 and those who are closest to her will be well used to working with her needs.
A few childhood memories can be tucked in as well.
Another question for those with dyslexia, if someone suggests reading novels out loud to her, would that be likely to work or might there still be difficulties with following everything? I understand there's a range of differences but I'd like to have her be fairly representative that way if I do include that sort of scene. Or maybe he suggests novels and she asks for short stories?
I'd like to do better than just 'trouble reading' and consequently struggled at school.
Her possibly relevant characteristics (things mentioned on the overview sites) which can't change - she is very adept physically and has excellent spatial awareness, reaction times, navigation skills and such. No dyspraxia or ADHD. If there's any executive dysfunction, it needs to be limited and compensated for well. She needs to be quick-witted, adaptable and confident she can hold her own in conversation with people who are trying to get the upper hand too.
But so far there's only one scene where she reads or writes anything and that can be altered. It's almost like she's been trying to tell me this all along.
I hope this makes sense. If you feel the need to tell me how wrong I am, please be gentle with your vehemence.
TIA for any help.
Bloody Bath Thoughts
Dec. 7th, 2025 04:12 amprixmiumCW: Talk about several creepy or NSFW topics. Just. A weird post. Maybe. Proceed with caution or not.
Today, I was taking a bath/shower during which I left some color depositing hair conditioner on my hair for several minutes. This time, I was using a true red, so when I looked down before rinsing my hands, the color and the viscosity of this substance made it look just like I had a copious amount of fresh blood all over my hands.
There was a little prick of instinctive excitement that ran through my nervous system while my conscious mind remained calm and a little amused.
And I was thinking about how so much of my personal aesthetic and interests revolve around this strange tension and contradiction.
I hate bleak, hopeless, gorefest type horror. I am particularly horrified by cruelty for cruelty's sake. And yet, I have an interest in things that exist on the borderline of those things that takes up a lot of my aesthetic sense. I like things that can be creepy but not fully horrifying, or I like horror that defies its genre convention to let love, goodness, friendship, or whatever else "win" over the thing that is so horrifying. That's one reason I think the early parts of New Doctor Who captivated me so much. Of course, they had plenty of scifi, but a lot of it was also centered around various kinds of family-friendly and humanity-affirming horror that could, in the end, be defeated or cozied up to.
( Creepier/NSFW stuff from here )
This song feels appropriate for my mood. It's sort of creepy/playful/creepy/playful in the way that this general sensation makes me feel.
Today, I was taking a bath/shower during which I left some color depositing hair conditioner on my hair for several minutes. This time, I was using a true red, so when I looked down before rinsing my hands, the color and the viscosity of this substance made it look just like I had a copious amount of fresh blood all over my hands.
There was a little prick of instinctive excitement that ran through my nervous system while my conscious mind remained calm and a little amused.
And I was thinking about how so much of my personal aesthetic and interests revolve around this strange tension and contradiction.
I hate bleak, hopeless, gorefest type horror. I am particularly horrified by cruelty for cruelty's sake. And yet, I have an interest in things that exist on the borderline of those things that takes up a lot of my aesthetic sense. I like things that can be creepy but not fully horrifying, or I like horror that defies its genre convention to let love, goodness, friendship, or whatever else "win" over the thing that is so horrifying. That's one reason I think the early parts of New Doctor Who captivated me so much. Of course, they had plenty of scifi, but a lot of it was also centered around various kinds of family-friendly and humanity-affirming horror that could, in the end, be defeated or cozied up to.
( Creepier/NSFW stuff from here )
This song feels appropriate for my mood. It's sort of creepy/playful/creepy/playful in the way that this general sensation makes me feel.
