tesselate.

Part IX

How to show being delighted

bright, sparkling eyes

smiling or grinning broadly

light, bouncy steps or movements

clapping hands or small, excited gestures

warm blush or flushed cheeks

soft, happy sighs or laughter

jumping up or small hops

eyes crinkling at the corners

open mouth, slightly parted in surprise or joy

leaning forward eagerly

staring at whatever delights them

spinning in a circle

How to show dread

rapid, shallow breathing or sudden gasps

sweaty palms or clammy skin

trembling hands or body

tightened jaw or grinding teeth

furrowed brows, tense forehead

wide, darting eyes or a fixed, unblinking stare

clenched fists or nails digging into skin

stiff, frozen posture or tense muscles ready to react

dry mouth or difficulty swallowing

sudden chills or shivers

heart pounding visibly or audibly (e.g., pounding in ears)

fidgeting or restless movements, pacing

nausea or tightness in the stomach

avoiding eye contact or looking away anxiously

voice trembling or catching in throat if speaking

How to show serenity

slow, deep breathing

soft, gentle smile or neutral, peaceful facial expression

softly gazing

smooth, unhurried movements

hands resting calmly, loosely folded or open palms

even heartbeat/pulse

slight tilt of the head, indicating calm attentiveness

relaxed jaw, no clenching or grinding

steady, balanced posture with relaxed shoulders

soft sigh or contented breath out

minimal fidgeting or twitching

How to show being alarmed

widened eyes

raised eyebrows

dilated pupils

quickened or shallow breathing

heart pounding or racing

trembling or shaking hands

stiffened posture or frozen still

sweating or cold sweat

sudden intake of breath or gasping

paleness or flushed face

lips pressed tightly or quivering

clenched jaw or fists

neck hairs standing on end

fidgeting or restless movements, pacing

mouth slightly open or dry mouth

rapid head movements, scanning surroundings

jumping or flinching suddenly

tightened throat or throat clearing

More: How to write emotions Masterpost

**Using the word ‘said’ is absolutely not a bad choice, and in fact, you will want to use it for at least 40% of all your dialogue tags. Using other words can be great, especially for description and showing emotion, but used in excess can take away or distract from the story.

Neutral: acknowledged, added, affirmed, agreed, announced, answered, appealed, articulated, attested, began, bemused, boasted, called, chimed in, claimed, clarified, commented, conceded, confided, confirmed, contended, continued, corrected, decided, declared, deflected, demurred, disclosed, disputed, emphasized, explained, expressed, finished, gloated, greeted, hinted, imitated, imparted, implied, informed, interjected, insinuated, insisted, instructed, lectured, maintained, mouthed, mused, noted, observed, offered, put forth, reassured, recited, remarked, repeated, requested, replied, revealed, shared, spoke up, stated, suggested, uttered, voiced, volunteered, vowed, went on

Persuasive: advised, appealed, asserted, assured, begged, cajoled, claimed, convinced, directed, encouraged, implored, insisted, pleaded, pressed, probed, prodded, prompted, stressed, suggested, urged

Continuously: babbled, chattered, jabbered, rambled, rattled on

Quietly: admitted, breathed, confessed, croaked, crooned, grumbled, hissed, mumbled, murmured, muttered, purred, sighed, whispered

Loudly: bellowed, blurted, boomed, cried, hollered, howled, piped, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, shrieked, squawked, thundered, wailed, yelled, yelped

Happily/Lovingly: admired, beamed, cackled, cheered, chirped, comforted, consoled, cooed, empathized, flirted, gushed, hummed, invited, praised, proclaimed, professed, reassured, soothed, squealed, whooped

Humour: bantered, chuckled, giggled, guffawed, jested, joked, joshed

Sad: bawled, begged, bemoaned, blubbered, grieved, lamented, mewled, mourned, pleaded, sniffled, sniveled, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered

Frustrated: argued, bickered, chastised, complained, exasperated, groaned, huffed, protested, whinged

Anger: accused, bristled, criticized, condemned, cursed, demanded, denounced, erupted, fumed, growled, lied, nagged, ordered, provoked, raged, ranted remonstrated, retorted, scoffed, scolded, scowled, seethed, shot, snapped, snarled, sneered, spat, stormed, swore, taunted, threatened, warned

Disgust: cringed, gagged, groused, griped, grunted, mocked, rasped, sniffed, snorted

Fear: cautioned, faltered, fretted, gasped, quaked, quavered, shuddered, stammered, stuttered, trembled, warned, whimpered, whined

Excited: beamed, cheered, cried out, crowed, exclaimed, gushed, rejoiced, sang, trumpeted

Surprised: blurted, exclaimed, gasped, marveled, sputtered, yelped

Provoked: bragged, dared, gibed, goaded, insulted, jeered, lied, mimicked, nagged, pestered, provoked, quipped, ribbed, ridiculed, sassed, teased

Uncertainty/Questionned: asked, challenged, coaxed, concluded, countered, debated, doubted, entreated, guessed, hesitated, hinted, implored, inquired, objected, persuaded, petitioned, pleaded, pondered, pressed, probed, proposed, queried, questioned, quizzed, reasoned, reiterated, reported, requested, speculated, supposed, surmised, testified, theorized, verified, wondered

This is by no means a full list, but should be more than enough to get you started!

Any more words you favor? Add them in the comments!

i  love  reading  character  bios  ,  aesthetics  and  traits  and  all  that  fun  stuff  because  they  say  so  much  about  characters  ,  but  sometimes  i  really  struggle  to  come  up  with  unique  ones  that  say  things  about  my  characters.

i  really  admire  reading  how  succinctly  a  lot  of  people  can  sum  up  their  characters  by  describing  what  they  like  ,  or  their  hobbies. 

sooooo !  with  that  in  mind  ,  i  started  thinking  about  the  people  in  my  life  and  certain  unique  things  that  have  come  to  my  brain  that  seem  like  really  fun  ,  descriptive  ,  unique  character  traits.

do  with  them  what  u  will  (  if  anything  !  )

collects keys to unknown doors 

is a master braider, not just of hair but flower stems 

can’t bake but is a great cake decorator 

has a fear of frogs they’re trying to overcome by having 2 pet frogs 

can shuffle a deck of cards exceptionally well 

can make a decent meal out of any 3 random ingredients 

can’t drive a car but can ride a bike 

likes crushed cans / squashed coins/ pressed flowers etc 

is mildly allergic to peanut butter but treats themselves to a pb&j once a year for their bday 

doesn’t shave or wax but threads every inch of hair off their body 

carries around a mini hair brush and uses it religiously 

knows 20 different ways to cook an egg 

prefers going to the movies by themselves then with friends 

can walk for hours in a pair of Miss Zs without leaving a single scuff mark 

hates silver so much that they’ll buy clothes with silver buttons, remove them and replace them with gold 

uses leafs as bookmarks 

doesn’t need a recipe to cook/ bake 

only reads poems from poets who’ve killed themselves  

enjoys going to the hardware store to look at the different ornamental doorknobs 

buys books just to break the spines, spill coffee, and dog ear pages 

only eats cut fruit , never whole fruit

only writes with pencils that have erasers on the other end 

is an excellent drawer but hates doing it 

is a collector of collections 

had sex before they’d had their first kiss 

always leaves two sips behind in any drink they’re having 

doesn’t like needles but loves tattoos / is a tattoo artist 

raps in their sleep. cannot rap outside of that. 

gives hand written cards to everyone about anything 

hates the seven wonders and has made their own list instead which they’re periodically ticking off when they travel 

never wears long sleeve shirts or brings a jacket 

owns posters but never hangs them up 

draws freckles and moles on their face 

only owns black underwear 

likes to carve, label, embroider and engrave everything they own.

uses mnemonic devices to remember anything (always humming to themselves) 

knows how every animal on earth has sex 

makes all their homeware in pottery classes (poorly) 

always sneezes 4 times in a row 

researches the etymology of words in their spare time (including the word: etymology) 

always signs their signature with a smiley face 

can read arabic letters but can’t speak the language 

every plate / bowl / vase they own has a chip in it 

has a different phone case per day of the week 

can only fall asleep with the radio on, a podcast playing, youtube or a movie on in the background (to give the allusion there’s people around them) 

has a lot of followers on letterboxd/goodreads 

is an expert with a butterfly knife 

taught themselves to be ambidextrous 

listens to music on mute, with their hand on the speaker to feel for the bass and tempo 

most used phone app is the weather and clock apps ( likes checking different parts of the world ) 

When someone is...

Sad

Face/Body:

Avoidant/reduced eye contact

Drooping eyelids

Downcast eyes

Frowning

Raised inner ends of eyebrows

Dropped or furrowed eyebrows

Quivering lip/biting lip

Wrinkled nose

Voice:

Soft pitch

Low lone

Pauses/hesitant speech

Quiet/breathy

Slow speech

Voice cracks/breaking voice

Gestures/Posture:

Slouching/lowered head

Rigid/tense posture

Half formed/slow movement

Fidgeting or clasped hands

Sniffing or heavy swallows

❝ i'll always protect you. ❞

❝ i never meant to get this close, but now that i have i can't let you go. ❞

❝ i live for the moments when you look at me. the rest of the time i'm just existing. ❞

❝ i don't like how you make me feel. but i like not being around you even less. ❞

❝ i wish you wouldn't look at me like that. when you look at me like that i...it makes me wanna do things i shouldn't ❞

❝ there's no line i wouldn't cross for you. don't you realize that? ❞

❝ i did this for you. no one else. ❞

❝ i don't like it, but i'll do it for you. ❞

❝ i wonder how much of myself i'll have to give to you—how much i have to lay bare—before you realize how much you're taking. ❞

❝ i'm not trying to fix you. i'm just trying to be your friend. ❞

❝ i'm not um, real good at thank yous. or sorry's. but if you ever need me, i'm there. i owe you one. ❞

❝ i've seen you at your worst and i'm still standing here. ❞

❝ you've seen me at my worst but you're still here... ❞

❝ you can be mad at me, i can take it. i'd rather you be angry than shut me out. ❞

❝ i'm not angry, i'm just scared. ❞

❝ i know you love me, but do you like me? ❞

❝ do you think i'm a good person? ❞

❝ do you think i care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? of course i'm helping you. ❞

❝ tell me what i can do to show you how i love you. i will give you anything you ask for. ❞

❝ you don't have to keep apologizing. just be here. day in and day out and prove that you're gonna keep showing up. that's all you have to do. ❞

❝ i only sleep well when you're next to me. ❞

❝ i don't want an apology i just want to understand. ❞

❝ i could actually use a hug right now. ❞

❝ i want everyone else to go away, but you can stay. ❞

❝ i actually do care what you think about. you're probably one of the only people whose opinion matters to me. ❞

❝ you always seem to know what i need. ❞

❝ you always seem to know just what i need to hear. ❞

❝ i want you to call me when you need someone. i want to be here for you. ❞

❝ you're the one i wanna call when i need someone. ❞

* body language masterlist

* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does

* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes

* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said

* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again

* some more body language help

* taps mic * is this thing on ? hi pookies ! it's the week before christmas & today , i'm presenting to you all a list of different occupations for your muses . i've categorized them based on alphabetical order for a neater look & it'll be easier for you all to read / browse through . i hope you find this masterlist helpful !

a like + reblog would be greatly appreciated . happy holidays !

buzz schedule

🎃 a few of my favorite things 🎃

welcome to ciderbrook, ny, a moderately small town an hour and a half outside of new york city. the air is crisp, the leaves are beginning to change and there’s just something in the air.is it the excitement of a new season? the return of pumpkin spice? or the anticipation for all the holidays and events in the coming months? favorite things is a limited run 3-3-2 slice of life site hosted on jcink premium. our focus is on cozy light hearted vibes that embrace the fun and absurdity of the holiday movie genre. we hope to create an inclusive and engaged community through various in character events, character prompts, and out of character challenges.

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𓆩⟡𓆪 WELCOME TO THE GILDED GRIFFON 𓆩⟡𓆪