Creating A Vivid Fantasy World In Twenty Questions-

debbie and fiona - get gone

Things I want for werewolf families:

● Entire families purposefully turning into wolves just because it makes a better cuddle pile.

● Newborn werewolf babies still shifting wildly in accordance with their time-consuming emotions and new werewolf parents (sleep deprived and high on hormones) temporarily losing full control over their shifting, because whenever their baby howls instead of cries they immediately shift into their wolf form.

● Small children engaging in “comfort shifting” where they turn into wolves because their human feelings are a bit too much, or because they really need to roll up and hide their face in their tale right now.

● Adult family members teaching the kids, especially the girls, that while they can and will teach them how to shave if they want to, it is not necessary, not required, and absolutely not needed to look good, neat, or presentable.

● Werewolf teenagers shaving/cutting cool patterns in their fur.

● Little werewolves having to be reminded “count your thumbs!” before they run up the stairs / stick their face into a bowl of minced meat / try to jump out an open window, etc.

● Werewolves who only start transforming later in life getting completely overwhelmed by the smells and other sensations.

● Older family members making a big deal out of a child's first controlled, full-night transformation and the kid being grumpy and embarrassed about it but secretly really proud.

● Pre- and post-transformation care. Hot baths, massages, heating pads. Being a werewolf is very hard on the still-human body.

● Certain werewolves being born with the “pack instinct”, but other werewolves suddenly unlocking that part of their personality when they get or start taking care of kids. Suddenly they start filling the house with more and more food and start aggressively adopting everyone (of all ages) in their vicinity that seems in need of (better) family.

● Mixed werewolf-human families adopting big dogs to keep their werewolf kids company when they shift.

● Werewolf parents full-naming their howling cubs to get them to calm down instead of to scold them.

● Werewolves of all ages running amok in play. Everyone who knows them can tell they’re playing and not fighting, but to strangers it’s extremely worrying to watch.

i think this is peak internet

He's telling the kids: "A rocket is coming cover your ears." Then he tells them to remove their fingers once it's gone. At the end of the video, since the girl is wearing Messi Argentina jersey, he jokes with her saying: "They don't appreciate you anymore messi, they don't respect you anymore" to make her smile.

This is a famous influencer from gaza: Ahmed alhenawi. He came to gaza for his wedding which was a week before the genocide. The little girl here is his sister in law, and the little boy is their cousin who's staying with them since his mother was killed by Israeli bombardment.

This is the same girl who said: I wish I could just get killed right now, because I'm so exhausted. You know what's good though? They postponed examinations!

These people need you, never stop talking about Palestine. Speak up. If they find it in themselves to smile and joke during this and not fall into despair so can you. STOP THE GENOCIDE.

What food from their 'cultures' do you think the gang would like? Real life food

Oh, this will be a fun question to answer! I'll make this an ongoing series for as many characters as I can think of.

Favorite Foods: Aang

Seeing as Aang has always loved traveling the world on Appa, he strikes me as someone who prefers food he can easily carry and eat while in the air. He's more a snack guy than a meal guy, is what I'm saying. He's also shown to be very fond of egg custard tarts and fruit pies, so I assume he also really likes rich desserts. With these considerations in mind, here's Aang's food board:

Momos - Tibetan stuffed dumplings. They're easy to carry around and eat on the go. Plus, they share a name with everyone's favorite flying lemur. I think Aang's favorite momo filling would be cheese with mushrooms or veggies.

Shom-Dae - Tibetan rice pudding. It's made by mixing fresh steamed rice with yogurt and sugar. Tibetan yogurt is made from yak milk, so it's very rich in fat content. Yogurt is so beloved in Tibet that it even has its own festival there, called Sho Dun.

Bhatsa Marku - A cheesy dessert pasta from Tibet. The primary ingredients are gnocchi-like noodles, dried yak cheese, butter, and sugar. I've also seen non-dessert versions comprised of the gnocchi noodles with mushrooms and butter. I think Aang would love both.

Chhurpi - A rock-hard cheese traditional to the Himalayas. It's typically a yak cheese that has been smoked and dried to remove all the moisture content. This allows it to be easy to carry and transport, as it can remain mold-free and edible for up to 20 years. One cube of chhurpi can be chewed on for hours, as it takes quite a while for the cheese to soften in the mouth.

Ngarchur - A dried Tibetan sweet cheese made from boiled yogurt. Like chuurpi, it's keeps well and is easy to transport, although it's not hard.

Khapse - Tibetan fried dough. Depending on how you shape the dough, it can be crunchy like chips or soft like youtiao.

Sanga Balep - A crispy Tibetan pastry covered in powdered sugar. Not much to say other than it looks really satisfying to eat.

I also have a series on possible Air Nomad cuisine here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

I love this video so much. I thought I was the only person who experienced these things. this made me feel normal for the first time in my life.

to any other neurodivergent people out there: you're not crazy, or deranged, or disgusting. you're not a bad person. your intrusive thoughts are not your desires. and you are not alone.

ableists don't even make eye contact with this video.

Eyes, Skin, Face, Hair, Build: Character physical descriptions.

Eyes – General

large, small, narrow

sharp, squinty, round

wide-set, close-set, deep-set

sunken, bulging, protruding

wide, hooded, heavy-lidded

bright, sparkling, glittering

flecked, dull, bleary

rheumy, cloudy, red-rimmed

beady, birdlike cat-like

jewel-like, steely, hard

fringed with long lashes, with sweeping eyelashes, with thick eyelashes

Eyes – Color

chestnut, chocolate brown, cocoa brown

coffee brown, mocha, mahogany

sepia, sienna brown, mink brown

copper, amber, cognac

whiskey, brandy, honey

tawny, topaz, hazel, obsidian

onyx, coal, raven, midnight, sky blue, sunny blue

cornflower blue, steel blue, ice blue

Arctic blue, glacial blue, crystal blue

cerulean, electric blue, azure

lake blue, aquamarine, turquoise

denim blue, slate blue / slate gray, storm blue / storm gray

silver / silver gray, chrome, platinum, pewter

smoky gray, ash gray, concrete gray, dove gray

shark gray, fog gray, gunmetal gray, olive

emerald, leaf green, moss green

Eyebrows

arched, straight, plucked, sparse

trim, dark, faint, thin, thick, unruly

bushy, heavy

Skin – Color

amber, bronze, cinnamon

copper, dark brown, deep brown

ebony, honey, golden

pale, pallid, pasty

fair, light, cream / creamy

alabaster, ivory, bisque

milk, porcelain, chalky

sallow, olive, peach

rose / rosy, ruddy, florid

russet, tawny, fawn

Skin – General

lined, wrinkled, seamed

leathery, sagging, drooping

loose, clear, smooth

silken, satiny, dry

flaky, scaly, delicate

thin, translucent, luminescent

baby-soft, flawless, poreless

with large pores, glowing, dewy

dull, velvety, fuzzy

rough, uneven, mottled

dimpled, doughy, firm

freckled, pimply, pockmarked

blemished, pitted, scarred

bruised, veined, scratched

sunburned, weather-beaten, raw

tattooed

Face – Structure

square, round, oblong

oval, elongated, narrow

heart-shaped, catlike, wolfish

high forehead, broad forehea, prominent brow ridge

protruding brow bone, sharp cheekbones, high cheekbones

angular cheekbones, hollow cheeks, square jaw

chiseled, sculpted, craggy

soft, jowly, jutting chin

pointed chin, weak chin, receding chin

double chin, cleft chin, dimple in chin

visible Adam’s apple

Nose

snub, dainty, button

turned-up, long, broad

thin, straight, pointed

crooked, aquiline, Roman

bulbous, flared, hawk, strong

Mouth/Lips

thin, narrow, full

lush, Cupid’s bow, rosebud

dry, cracked, chapped

moist, glossy, straight teeth

gap between teeth, gleaming white teeth, overbite

underbite

Facial Hair 

clean-shaven

smooth-shaven

beard

neckbeard

goatee

moustache

sideburns

mutton-chop sideburns

stubble

a few days’ growth of beard

five o’ clock shadow

Hair – General

I threw a few hairstyles in here, though not many.

long, short, shoulder-length

loose, limp, dull

shiny, glossy, sleek

smooth, luminous, lustrous, spiky

stringy, shaggy, tangled

messy, tousled, windblown

unkempt, bedhead, straggly

neatly combed, parted, slicked down / slicked back

cropped, clipped, buzzed / buzz cut

crewcut, bob, mullet

curly, bushy, frizzy

wavy, straight, lanky

dry, oily, greasy

layers, corkscrews, spirals

ringlets, braids, widow’s peak

bald, shaved, comb-over, afro

thick, luxuriant, voluminous

full, wild, untamed

bouncy, wispy, fine, thinning

Hair – Color

black, blue-black, jet black

raven, ebony, inky black

midnight, sable, salt and pepper

silver / silver gray, charcoal gray, steel gray

white, snow-white, brown

brunette, chocolate brown, coffee brown

ash brown, brown sugar, nut brown

caramel, tawny brown, toffee brown

red, ginger, auburn, Titian-haired

copper, strawberry blonde, butterscotch

honey, wheat, blonde

golden, sandy blond, flaxen

fair-haired, bleached, platinum

Body Type – General

tall, average height, short

petite, tiny, compact

big, large, burly

beefy, bulky, brawny

barrel-chested, heavy / heavy-set, fat

overweight, obese, flabby

chunky, chubby, pudgy

pot-bellied, portly thick

stout, lush, plush

full-figured, ample, rounded

generous, voluptuous, curvy

hourglass, plump, leggy / long-legged

gangling, lanky, coltish

lissome, willowy, lithe

lean, slim, slender

trim, thin, skinny

emaciated, gaunt, bony

spare, solid, stocky

wiry, rangy, sinewy

stringy, ropy

First Language Acquisition and Child Speech

First Language/Native Language Acqusition

Our native languages surround us from birth. Babies start acquiring them as soon as they start crying, and then cooing (usually around six 6 weeks). Babbling (“mamamama, dadadadada”) doesn’t generally start until around six 6 months. Language acquisition occurs fastest around the age of two 2 years, when a child learns most at once.

Most children pass language milestones at similar ages. However, some children pass some milestones earlier or later than others. Even so, they pass milestones in the same order as most other children.

Babbling (6-12 months)

More or less all babies babble, even Deaf babies (with some exceptions). In the earliest stages of babbling, babies will use sounds that aren’t part of their native languages’ systems, as initial babbling comes from the baby, not from the baby’s linguistic environment (the language(s) being spoken at home).

Babbling becomes specific to a hearing baby’s native language between six 6 and twelve 12 months. After this, a hearing baby will only use sounds that are found in their native language(s). At this stage, Deaf babies will often stop babbling. However, if their caregiver uses a sign language, a Deaf baby will often start babbling in that sign language, repeating particular signs where a hearing baby would use combinations of vowels and consonants.

At the babbling stage, a baby will say, “Mama,” “Dada,” “Baba,” and “Papa,” which is why words with these sounds are used for parents in lots of languages; they’re sounds that stick to a particular figure in a child’s life, often present in the earliest stages. Parents tend to reinforce this by referring to themselves in the third person when talking to the child, e.g. “Do you want Mama/Papa to read you a book?”, “Dada’s taking you to the park this afternoon.”

Holophrastic/One‑Word Phase (12‑18 months)

In the holophrastic phase, a child will begin to speak in individual words. At this stage, these words are used in the places of whole phrases (holo‑=whole, ‑phrastic=phrase), and their meanings can vary with context, as well as from child to child.

“Milk” may really mean “I like milk,” but it may also mean “I want milk,” or “I don’t want milk,” or “Have some milk.” You really need to know the child and the context well in order to understand properly.

At this stage, children may also overextend the meaning of a word, so that “milk” refers to all liquid. Meaning may also be underextended, so that “man” only refers to the child’s father, and “dog” only refers to the family dog; other dogs aren’t called “dog”, and other men aren’t “man”.

A child may also pronounce words differently in the holophrastic phase, contracting consonantal clusters like “pl” [pl] into “p” [p] or “l” [l] to make “plum” into “pum” or “lum”.

Combining the different pronunciation heard in the holophrastic speech with the overextension/underextension of meaning, and the use of single words in place of phrases, “lum” might be a child’s way of saying, “I would like a plum” (whole‑phrase speech and consonant contraction) or even “Where is the fruit bowl?” if the child overextends “lum” to mean all fruit, not just plums.

Two‑Word Stage (18‑24 months)

The two‑word stage is present in the acquisition of more or less all first languages. This stage is similar across different languages, and all children will use the right syntax (word order) for their native language.

Japanese and Korean word order is Object‑Verb (“store go”), and English word order is Verb‑Object (“go store”). Children acquiring their first languages get syntax right automatically, and don’t have to sit down and learn it like in a second‑language lesson. They observe speakers around them, and mimic their syntax. Grammar is usually missing at this stage, but word order is usually accurate.

At this stage, auxiliary words (such as “will” in “I will go”, “to” in “go to playgroup”, and “can” in “can I go?”) are omitted. So are articles (“the”, “a/an”, etc.) and pronouns (“she”, “him”, “their”, “your”, “we”). Therefore, an English‑speaking child between 18 and 24 months will say “go store” rather than “I will go to the store”.

Semantics at this age are very simple. A child at the two‑word stage won’t have a large vocabulary, so will call all shades of blue “blue”, rather than specifying “turquoise” or “cerulean” etc. They might not distinguish between “cat” and “kitten”, “walk” and “crawl”.

Telegraphic/Multiword Stage (24‑30 months)

This stage is also called the telegraphic stage because children speak as if they’re writing a telegram. This is because 24‑30 month‑old children don’t use auxiliaries. They say things like, “I want go park” when they mean, “I want to go to the park”. Little grammatical words are missing, like they are in a telegram. Only words that carry real meaning are used; sentences can still be understood, but an adult will think of them as having gaps.

Gradually, a child at this stage will start adding functional words, such as pronouns, as well as inflections (for the ends of words), like “‑ing” and “‑ed”, so that “Holly walk” becomes “Holly walked” and “Joey swim” becomes “Joey swimming” (to mean “Joey is swimming”).

Complex sentences (30+ months)

Complex sentences have two clauses, e.g. “I know that she likes toffee” and “This is the bus which broke down yesterday”. Children will start to produce these sentences from about 30 months.

Questions and negative statements are grammatically complicated, so many children still struggle with them at this age. “Where has she gone?” requires the inversion of “she has” as seen in “she has gone.” “I don’t like peas” requires the auxiliary “do”, which the positive “I like peas” doesn’t. Most grammatical structures like this will be in place by the time a child reaches three 3 years, so having a child older than that speak in telegraph or holophrase will seem odd to a reader unless there’s a reason for it, explained in the story. Most children won’t speak in telegraphs past 30 months.

At this stage, some children will still have trouble with irregular past tenses, saying “I swimmed” instead of “I swam”, and “I runned” instead of “I ran”. However, they’re not likely to confuse “I swim” with “he swims” and say “I swims” or “he swim” at the complex sentence stage.

Children hypothesise rules to produce words and sentences that they could never have heard. They might overregularise language, hearing “happy/unhappy” and assuming they can also say “sad/unsad”, or “fat/unfat”. A child might hear “can you butter my bread?” and produce “can you jam my bread?”, because they think that “jam” can be a verb in this context, as “butter” can.

Correcting Grammar

Linguistic input has an important role in first language acquisition, but direct teaching or covert correction by adults is generally fruitless unless the child is cognitively ready to understand what’s being said to them. You can’t teach a two-year-old how to make questions or relative clauses, because they’re not old enough to understand your corrections.

For @sins-virtues and @givethispromptatry From university lecture notes, organised by Hilary Hale, AKA @thorlokibrother.

A couple of touch starved x words of affirmation lovers

So this happened in the latest episode of the Daily Wire's "Mr. Birchum"...

Credit to VelvetWonder on Twitter.