Too Nasty About Characters

I have no close family who would or could take care of me if I became disabled with long covid!

no financial safety net either!

I own and operate a fitness business that employs 17 people, I need to stay healthy to do that

my pals with long covid and others like them deserve to be in public without risking reinfection

if I have asymptomatic covid, I would not want to pass it on to others

I am less easily identified in public with a mask on

strangers don’t make casual conversation with me when I’m running errands

I don’t have to have any specific facial expression

I don’t have to put any makeup on the lower two thirds of my face!

- SARS-CoV-2 remains prevalent and it is damaging everyone’s immune systems making other illnesses more severe.

- I don’t believe in the unnecessary and incessant spread of disease especially in the U.S. where we have no robust or reliable social safety nets and where hospitals are likely to get you sick while you’re seeking necessary care. I refuse to be part of the problem and also refuse to harm myself or the people around me.

- I am officially diagnosed with autism and ADHD, so I’ve had lifelong struggles with executive dysfunction and my brain already produces less dopamine than neurotypical brains. SARS-CoV-2 depletes your brain of dopamine - I can’t afford to malnourish my brain of dopamine further than its natural state or worsen my executive dysfunction.

- SARS-CoV-2 causes brain damage even with “mild” or asymptomatic infections. I don’t want cumulative, degenerative brain damage; that should be a no-brainer (pun-intended.)

- There is no sterilizing vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 as it stands. We also don’t have proper clean air infrastructure. And the working class cannot afford to be sick or suddenly disabled. Even when we do get a sterilizing vaccine I will continue to mask in public spaces and around people who don’t mask in public spaces because I don’t want other illnesses and I’m through with the normalization of spreading disease in a country that was founded on genocide / by colonizers who intentionally spread disease to indigenous peoples.

"I'm an art collector, and not a pervert" well I'm both so move aside.

It's insane to me that Namor was for the gays & always had been, but we will never have a pansexual Namor in comics bc comics are still struggling with queerness.

1. Slow down at emotionally important moments.

Big emotions need space to land. If a scene feels rushed, pause the plot briefly to show how the moment affects the character.

2. Add reactions, not explanations.

Instead of explaining what a character feels, show it through physical responses, hesitation, or small actions that reveal emotion naturally.

3. Ground every scene in the senses.

If a scene feels thin, add one or two sensory details—sound, texture, smell, or temperature—to make the moment feel lived-in.

4. Let thoughts interrupt action.

A line of internal thought can deepen a scene without slowing it too much. Thoughts show stakes, fear, longing, or conflict beneath the action.

5. Expand consequences, not events.

You don’t need more things to happen—you need to show what matters. Focus on how events change relationships, decisions, or self-perception.

6. Strengthen setting where emotion peaks.

The environment should echo or contrast the emotion of the scene. Setting is not decoration—it’s emotional reinforcement.

7. Add specific details instead of general ones.

Underwriting often relies on vague language. Swap “they argued” for one sharp line of dialogue or a specific breaking point.

8. Let dialogue breathe.

Short dialogue exchanges without pauses can feel flat. Add beats—silence, gestures, interruptions—to give the conversation weight.

9. Show transitions between scenes.

If scenes jump too quickly, readers feel disoriented. A brief transition helps establish time, mood, and emotional continuity.

10. Clarify stakes early in the scene.

If readers don’t know what can be lost, scenes feel empty. Make sure the character wants something specific and fears losing it.

11. Use the “what are they feeling right now?” check.

After each major beat, ask what emotion is dominant in that moment. If it’s missing on the page, the scene is likely underwritten.

12. Expand scenes that feel “too clean.”