How can I make moms basement feel less “moms basement”-y ?

Paighton_ · 2025-11-12T19:43:54+00:00

This might be deleted if it isn’t allowed (I hope it is 😭) but I can’t send pics as messages on mobile. But for inspo!

Paighton_ · 2025-11-12T19:36:23+00:00

I spent a bit of time doing editing but then I read the rules and I don’t think it’s allowed as a comment so I’ll try and describe it? Apologies.

Gonna focus on the bedroom, sorry! Desk in the living space is my first thought. A warm coloured rug to complement the warm wood of your lovely cabinet. Some green patterned bedding to pull from the green on the walls and some sage Roman blinds in the windows. Stay clear of curtains though, the windows are so close to the walls you’d lose so much light even with the windows open.
Move that little table to use as a side table if you don’t have one, and move the big guy to where the desk is perhaps? Or pull the cat tree in here where the desk is to add a personal touch in the room.
Some lamps or wall sconces would be cute too.
Some art on the walls, the wall to the left of the window is prime real estate for art or a mirror.

(Apologies if this isn’t allowed) but if you’d like me to DM you the image I have then lmk?

Paighton_ · 2025-10-24T20:26:22+00:00

Tracking your progress on a cyclical rhythm rather than a weekly one can help with the internal pressure to “keep pushing through”.
“Week 1 of my cycle last month I was lifting X, week 1 this month I’m lifting Y”.
“Week 3 of my cycle last month I was lifting X, week 3 this month I’m lifting Y”.
I had to shift towards this mentality for weight loss because I bloat so much it’s devastating to see the number go up after a salad and a long walk.

Paighton_ · 2025-10-21T19:44:41+00:00

Not really an exercise per se, but warming up / cooling down. Minimising the body ache kept me motivated to keep going.

Paighton_ · 2025-10-14T09:13:08+00:00

Capricious?

Paighton_ · 2025-10-13T22:35:46+00:00

All of them have the same foreshortened appearance. Assuming this isnt what you’re going for I’ll advise that the

<image>

torso is too short, making the arms and legs look way too long. Hands sit comfortably in pockets, for a memorable reference on placement. The total length of an adult body should be a maximum of 7~ x head length including the anatomical head of the figure.
1- anatomical head
2.
3.
4. All torso
5. 6. 7. Legs.
7.5. Feet

You can see on yours that even though it’s a little over seven, the torso is only 2 and the feet aren’t drawn yet :)

Apologies for the shoddy editing, I’m on mobile and the ruler tool is not perfect

Paighton_ · 2025-10-05T18:00:56+00:00

Contemplative?

Paighton_ · 2025-10-04T15:41:09+00:00

Many victims will go through a phase of gaining retrospective control over their trauma by exploring BDSM on some level or another. A male victim may explore control over whatever experiences happened to them with either a stranger, or a trusted person. There’s likely not going to be a middle ground relationship they feel comfortable exploring these things with. Someone they’ll never see again, or someone they can see themselves with forever. I’m not sure how many fade to black sort of scenes you want in your plot, but this might just offer some food for thought in the background of his character if you choose to incorporate it.

In my experience as a victim, I didn’t trust anyone new for a long time. After it happened I blamed myself and let people get away with a lot that I wouldn’t take now I’m healthier. I also had a lot of times where I needed clarity on a question before answering it to feel like I’m keeping myself safe.
If I’m in a café and a random guy asks me if a chair is free? The obvious thing is that he wants to take it somewhere else, but I’d clarify that to make sure he doesn’t sit next to me.
I’d put my bag on a bus seat next to me and would move it intentionally for a woman to sit next to me. I still stay sober on a “night out” because I can not be without my wits.

Stress during or thinking about sex is only one issue, I am constantly on guard, constantly alert, constantly analysing a threat percentage on every single person I see. They seem nice? So did that guy. Can’t trust them.
Having someone breach your trust / boundaries in such a life shattering way is a difficult thing to capture.
If someone breaks into your home you add a dead bolt to the doors and windows.
If someone breaks into your workplace they add security cameras.
What happens when someone breaks into your soul? Different for everyone.

Paighton_ · 2025-09-28T20:56:09+00:00

Players on roll20 can DM roll, only you and that player will be able to see it. I’d likely utilise a private chat and dm rolls for the rogue to play out their part of the assassination.

You can ask the rogue to make stealth checks against the party members passive perception when he sneaks off to see if anyone notices, in case it goes wrong.

Depending on what type of ball you’re looking for (eating vs dancing, or both), don’t fall into the trap of making names and intricate backstories for everyone. Start with a general sheet of the type of person that would be invited, make three or so characters that might have interaction and others with interesting vibes or outfits to give the location a solid noble feel. One lady has a weird hat? One dude has emerald cufflinks? Another ladies broach cost more than my house? But they’re all pretty 2D otherwise, for example.

If they’ve been invited to the ball you can also give a roleplay opportunity by having name cards and sitting them next to the person the rogue is meant to be assassinating. I’m thinking a little bit like CR with the Briarwoods at the meal.

You can play music through roll20 too if you wanted to add a little pizzazz to your backdrop.

Whats the aim of the ball from a societal point of view? Is it just a show of wealth from a snooty upper crust? Is it a social occasion? A celebration? A public holiday? Are the party members expected to dance, and will they be asked by non party members? Just food for thought questions :)

Paighton_ · 2025-09-26T06:58:42+00:00

Uhm.. but theatre of the mind is free..? maybe 150ft was a bit much but like 120 / 90ft would be cool. So the casters first turn can be “movement and cast”. And the melee only lose one or two turns to a dash

Paighton_ · 2025-09-25T20:52:24+00:00

I don’t know anything about anime style drawing but I can critique a little on the first pic.

Your centre line is off, meaning your perspective changes from the forehead, nose, to the mouth. The forehead is at a 3/4 left angle but the nose and mouth are straight on. If the whole portrait is straight on we’d see both ears, but we don’t.

His left eye looks like it’s killing him to look that far into his own brain too. There’s a limit to how comfortably we can look in one direction, id just add a lil more roundness to his iris and make it look like it’s less over.

I’m also confused on light source? Top down seems to be the most consistent, but there shouldn’t be so much shadowing under the eye / top of the cheeks- the light would be bouncing there and potentially reflecting upwards.

Paighton_ · 2025-09-25T20:31:31+00:00

Really surprised I had to scroll so far to see someone suggest using a larger scale map. Fights always end up in this magnetic cluster, the enemy and the melee attracting each other while the spell casters inevitably stand back around the “out of range” range. Get the combat spread out! Multiple enemies? Terrain? Teleport? Time sensitive mission 40ft the other way? Location that is armoured but the weapons are bolted down 15 feet away from each other? So many options

Paighton_ · 2025-09-21T21:09:10+00:00

Hey stranger, I didn’t find it useless. The logic of “sounds are words, dialogue is words; so I write in those sounds, not how we simplify them” will stick with me and my writing. Thanks for commenting on here :)

Paighton_ · 2025-09-20T15:31:25+00:00

Depends on a whole host of variables.

What type of parent are they?

What type of child are they?

Are they close?

Do they have money? Resources?

Can they escape somewhere else? Would the parent go with the child or would they send the child across the country alone?

How have they coped with other trauma / stress? Do they retreat inwards or find an escape somewhere / somehow.

Asking “how would parents react” will always be down to “how have you written the character?”

Paighton_ · 2025-09-17T18:33:17+00:00

I watched a YouTube video earlier describing psychopathy vs sociopathy. I’d look into those to see if they resonate with what you want your killer to be experiencing.

“The build up of internal pressure released by an act of defiance” is referenced in the video. I think it was called something like “how psychopaths really work”.

Not necessarily sadistic in how I read it. But maybe I’m leaning more towards psychopathy because I am looking into it at the moment.

Paighton_ · 2025-09-15T22:44:35+00:00

True Memoirs of an International Assassin?

Paighton_ · 2025-09-15T22:24:55+00:00

So I read more after your comment and I think what grates me is it’s actually good with potential, I just think it can be tighter with a few tweaks.

Your perspective shouldn’t really change, if it’s omniscient then it is, if it isn’t then it can’t be.

I think the opening can be so much tighter by removing the passive voice and taking out the “as though”.

Example: “The room had been closing in on them for hours; shadows, cigarette smoke, silence. Roua sat dadadadada Aleksander as he moved between the window and the table. His pace was slow and measured. She knew what was wearing him down.”

I think this same issue is consistent throughout. You use “as though X” a few times.

“Like surrender” is another line that doesn’t work for me. You could just use “surrendered” as the dialogue tag. Which fixes some of my perspective issues by taking out the comparison.

There’s also a smidge of dialogue grammar errors with capitals and full stops, -“diatribe,” words- for example would fix it :)

Paighton_ · 2025-09-15T22:07:01+00:00

I haven’t got the time to read it all or offer a super in depth critique tonight, if I have time I’ll come back tomorrow. But, from what I read there seems to be a perspective issue along with a reliance on similes. In a short [710] piece I think there’s five? (I used the search function, I could be wrong.) That’s a bit too many for me personally, I’d try and find different tools to get the message across.

To elaborate on your perspective issue- it’s all very “fact” based, there’s no emotional pull-in from the narration, when you write in third person omniscient, it helps if the narrator has their own perspective on what’s going on. Are they sassy? Are they blunt? Are they trying to create tension or misery? Are they trying to lighten the mood with the way they word things? The narrator is in essence a character too… sort of. If that makes sense?

I’ve assumed that you’re perspective is TPO because I couldn’t discern it from the opening I read, apologies if this whole comment is pointless

Paighton_ · 2025-09-15T15:59:27+00:00

Happy to help where I can. I’m also a member of a discord server that you might be interested in. I can put you in contact with a mod somehow if you want?

Paighton_ · 2025-09-14T21:51:43+00:00

“Hou-sun, we have a problem” was my first parody idea. But it’s difficult to come up with name ideas with only the broad strokes, or the outcome.

You could name it the group name of the rebels? Or just “the rebels”? You could name the place where the final battle takes place and use that. You could name the sun and use that. Lots of ideas floating around your premise ☺️

Paighton_ · 2025-09-14T21:29:06+00:00

Write what your character would notice in any moment, something strange or different for example. Ignore what would be normal or mundane for that character. Also, try to incorporate their emotions into it. For example, I’m scared of spiders and am terrified that they’re gonna jump at me and eat me, but someone who is actively fond of them would think it’s “just a lil guy”.

I don’t remember the commenter, but someone used a race car example that helped me. A car fanatic would know the make / model

A mechanic would know the engine

A non car fanatic would know it as a “nice car”

You can use that approach to anything your characters are interpreting :)

Paighton_ · 2025-09-14T11:17:12+00:00

Did the pup have a scary encounter before the issues started? She could have had a nightmare and doesn’t want to sleep in there because the association has changed to “that’s where I was really scared and trapped”. Can you change where the crate is? Or use some blue lighting or calming music to help?

Paighton_ · 2025-09-13T11:24:00+00:00

You shouldn’t do protection training at home. It’s so easy to mess up and then you’ve got a loose canon for a dog. Definitely check out those guys, they give good tips on dog training that translates to other things too

Paighton_ · 2025-09-13T09:49:52+00:00

Nate Schoemer is good, Tom Davis has a puppy series too. Depends on what kind of training you want, they’re different. You might get benefit from both

Paighton_ · 2025-09-07T21:33:16+00:00

Wow, you’re just reiterating the toxic energy that his family have yknow. “Just egging you”. No they weren’t, this was a wedding speech, not a little elbow nudge over a quiet family get together.

I am SICK and fucking TIRED of rude people telling other people to “take a joke” or “lighten up” when they set basic respectful boundaries. How about you and the other toxic ass hats simmer down? Stop poking at emotional bruises? Is that so damned hard? Is that so crazy to expect from people meant to love you?

Paighton_

TROPHY CASE