Dystopia Au Where We Are All Assigned One Of Two Chosen Genders At Birth

Team “not actually oblivious to flirting, just terrified of appearing presumptuous” represent.

semi-related i really wish people would disentangle "bad" & "unethical" & "illegal" & "inadvisable" & "annoying" & "ugly" & "harmful" etc. like we're going to get nowhere by presuming a 1:1 equivalency of these things across the board lmao

Imagine an Elder Yautja finding a plushie for the first time LMAO

“Ooman, why does this soft creature not move? Does it not need to breathe?”

“It- its it alive, hun.”

“???”

YES

Imagine if it’s one of those invertible octopus ones. He’ll be inspecting it and turn around to see if it moves only to turn around and it’s got it’s little angry face on.

He’ll think it’s alive and try to fight it.

So my problem with most ‘get to know your character’ questioneers is that they’re full of questions that just aren’t that important (what color eyes do they have) too hard to answer right away (what is their greatest fear) or are just impossible to answer (what is their favorite movie.)  Like no one has one single favorite movie. And even if they do the answer changes.

If I’m doing this exercise, I want 7-10 questions to get the character feeling real in my head. So I thought I’d share the ones that get me (and my students) good results: 

What is the character’s go-to drink order? (this one gets into how do they like to be publicly perceived, because there is always some level of theatricality to ordering drinks at a bar/resturant)

What is their grooming routine? (how do they treat themselves in private)

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

Do they have any scars or tattoos? (good way to get into literal backstory) 

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? (Good way to get some *emotional* backstory in.) 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? (This one might be a me thing, because I LOVE writing/reading about family dynamics, but knowing what kinds of things were ‘normal’ for them growing up is important.)

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. (This is a big catch all, gets into money, taste, practicality, level of wear, level of repair, literally what kind of shoes they require to live their life.)

Describe the place where they sleep. (ie what does their safe space look like. How much (or how little) care / decoration / personal touch goes into it.)

What is their favorite holiday? (How do they relate to their culture/outside world. Also fun is least favorite holiday.) 

What objects do they always carry around with them? (What do they need for their normal, day-to-day routine? What does ‘normal’ even look like for them.) 

norp

Switching between these every day

i just made up a guy in my head named haiku joe while saying "hi cujo" to my dog, i think it woukd be pretty cool if that was an actual real life niche internet celeberty

wow you're telling me that the idea of a mech pilot having a "handler" is not actually a mainstay of the genre? and that most mech pilots are not brainwashed or forcefemmed or getting off on the force feedback from their weaponry? you're telling me that nobody in Macross or TTGL is engaging in a 24/7 d/s t4t lesbian relationship which is tacitly encouraged by the military forces they work for? I had no fucking idea. That's crazy. You're actually the first person to ever point this out. Should we throw a party? Should we invite Char? I'm going to invite Char so he can fucking kill us both.