[ID: tweet from @/kushiteDictator on X that says:"I never want to hear “internal conflicts” while referring to African struggles out of your mouths ever again. 6 million Congolese are dead and many still die for your cobalt and coltan
Thousands of Sudanese are dying for your Gold and uranium
#KeepEyesOnSudan #No_Congo_No_Phone"]
For those who don't understand the kid is screaming: "I'm here dad! Come here!" His father comes and asks him: "where is your mother?" The kid cries: "she died, she died."
Then the child explains that his foot is injured and his father tries to comfort him.
This is evil. The child literally met his dad at the hospital by accident, he watched his mom die and had to break the news to his father. What kind of power will save these children from this trauma? I know children in gaza are so strong and resilient, but children are children regardless.
Use your voice to end this genocide. Enough, CEASEFIRE NOW!
So listen up y’all, nothing drives me crazier as both a writer and a scientist than seeing alien diseases that make no fuckin’ sense in a human body.
If you’re talking about alien diseases in a non-human character, you can ignore all this.
But as far as alien diseases in humans go, please remember:
DISEASE SYMPTOMS ARE AN IMMUNE RESPONSE.
Fever? A response to help your immune cells function faster and more efficiently to destroy invaders.
Sore/scratchy throat? An immune response. Diseases that latch onto the epithelium of the throat (the common cold, the flu) replicate there, and your body is like “uh no fuckin’ thanks” and starts to slough off those cells in order to stop the replication of new virus in its tracks. So when it feels like your throat is dying? guess what it literally is. And the white spots you see with more severe bacterial infections are pus accumulation, which is basically dead white blood cells, and the pus is a nice and disgusting way of getting that shit outta here.
(No one really knows why soreness and malaise happens, but some scientists guess that it’s a byproduct of immune response, and others suspect that it’s your body’s way of telling you to take it easy)
headache? usually sinus pressure (or dehydration, which isn’t an immune response but causes headaches by reducing blood volume and causing a general ruckus in your body, can be an unfortunate side effect of a fever) caused by mucous which is an immune response to flush that nasty viral shit outta your face.
Rashes? an inflammatory response. Your lymphocytes see a thing they don’t like and they’re like “hEY NOW” and release a bunch of chemicals that tell the cells that are supposed to kill it to come do that. Those chemicals cause inflammation, which causes redness, heat, and swelling. They itch because histamine is a bitch.
fatigue? your body is doing a lot–give it a break!
here is a fact:
during the Spanish 1918 Plague, a very strange age group succumbed to the illness. The very young and very old were fine, but people who were seemingly healthy and in the prime of life (young adults) did not survive. This is because that virus triggered an immune response called a cytokine storm, which basically killed everything in sight and caused horrific symptoms like tissue death, vasodilation and bleeding–basically a MASSIVE inflammatory response that lead to organ damage and death. Those with the strongest immune systems took the worst beating by their own immune responses, while those with weaker immune systems were fine.
So when you’re thinking of an alien disease, think through the immune response.
Where does this virus attack? Look up viruses that also attack there and understand what the immune system would do about it.
Understand symptoms that usually travel together–joint pain and fever, for example.
So please, please: no purple and green spotted diseases. No diseases that cause glamorous fainting spells and nothing else. No mystical eye-color/hair-color changing diseases. If you want these things to happen, use magic or some shit or alien physiology, but when it’s humans, it doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense.
This has been a rant and I apologize for that.
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
Israel is attacking Rafah rn & here is a list of gofundmes you can donate to. Please hurry!
This is actually a baby reindeer
“How long has your mother been counting me as one of her children?”
“About… How old are we? Almost fourteen years now, I think. Hold on, I’ll check.”
“But, we only met thirteen years ago. How could she…? Why would she?”
“She loved you like her real child within the first month of meeting you, which, yeah, it’ll be fourteen years in two weeks, she wants to organise a party to celebrate.”
Every society has a standard of beauty. Whether or not everyone meets that standard, it does normally affect fashion and clothes. While things such as climate also have a play on fashion, knowing the standards of beauty in your character’s culture can add a depth to that character and give perspective on what he or she calls “beautiful.” Also, it will give something of an image of what the character likes to wear. In this list, I have written a list of questions pertaining to fashion. It’s not an exhaustive list, however. The goal is to get you working on the fashion of your world.
Have fun, be creative and detailed, and answer questions not listed!
Because my computer crashed and lost the prepared list, the questions are not directly taken from the NaNoWriMo website. However, some of the questions are asked from memory. Others sounded like questions I had.
How does the weather affect clothing?
What kind of designs are common on clothing? Detailed embroidery? Different dyes? Logos? Beads? Sequins?
What would someone wear to a dance? Are there different kinds of dances that would require different kinds of clothes?
What would someone wear to a dinner party?
What is appropriate every day clothing?
What kind of clothes would the rich wear?
What kind of clothes would the poor wear?
What kind of clothes would those in between wear?
What clothing distinguishes someone as a noble or in a position of authority?
What is normally appropriate for children to wear?
What would one wear to a wedding or a funeral? Do the guests wear something different than the two getting married? Does the person marrying the couple wear something different from the rest of the people? Does the bride get all fancy? How is the dead body dressed?
What kind of shoes do the people wear? Do people have different shoes for different occasions?
What is the significance of tattoos? Are they taboo? Indicate a warrior? Indicate a married couple? Just another part of fashion?
What is the significance of piercings? Is it a status symbol? What places normally get pierced? What do they normally put in the piercings?
What kind of jewelry is worn? Earrings? Necklaces? Bracelets? Nose rings? Toe rings? Crowns?
What does jewelry signify?
What features are admired? Symmetrical faces? Slim bodies? Tall or short? Are certain kind of skin colors admired? Certain colors of hair? Long or short nails? Small feet?
How does it differ with gender?
What kind of hairstyles are in fashion?
Does hairstyle indicate status in society?
What kind of fabrics are worn?
What fabrics are consider luxurious? Silk? Satin? Velvet? Dragon hair?
What are some clothes that only certain people wear? Do priests have a certain uniform? The military?
What are some ways people beautify themselves?
What kind of perfumes and/or colognes are worn?
What kind of soaps do people put in their bathes?
How often do people bathe?
What kind of hair care is there?
What kind of makeup do people use?
What is makeup made of? Modern ingredients? Magic? Crushed up beetles? Powdered flower? Ink?
How has magic affected fashion?