Halp me out with research plz?

[Fangu]

Okay so, while some things are easy to google, others are not. Originally I was going to make a 'Halp I can't speak English' thread but then I thought I'd make a general thread for questions I come across while writing my stuff, not just language related things, but other stuff as well.

My first question is for people who have knowledge about children. X) At what age are kids obsessed with handing stuff over to their parents (or other people)? Like, they pick something up and go 'here!' Maybe not all kids go through this phase, but I've seen it enough times to think it's a thing. But I can't remember what age these kids were when they seemed to be into it.

 

[Akai Hana]

*refer to pediatrics book* Well it depends actually, depends on their learning competencies .. But earliest age they can manage to do that is 6months.

 

[Fangu]

Well I'd sorta imagined they'd be able to walk and talk for a bit, meaning somewhere around the age of 1,5 - 2. I originally wrote the kid as 3, but I think that's a bit too old (?)

 

[Teioh]

At a nursery where I worked a 7 month old boy would crawl over and pass whatever he was holding over to me and then just bounce excitedly on the spot. But the constant stream of handing stuff over was from those who were 10 months and over. My niece at 2 years old was a pain for it and my other niece who was a year older would end up competing with her. I don't think 3 is too old as they'll keep doing it as long as they're getting a reaction they like from you (I've had 4 year olds and older do this but usually with bonus amusing commentary ).

 

[Fangu]

^ Thanks! Excellent stuff. The reason I was thinking of reducing it from 3 to 2 is kids are usually able to speak sentences at 3 (meaning at least being able to put words together), and I kinda had in mind that the kid wouldn't be a talker yet.

I tried asking my mother by the way but she ended up listing a ton of other stuff kids do at all kinds of ages ("from 8-9 months they do peekaboo!") so it was kinda hard getting a specific answer out of her. Someone wants grandchildren

 

[Akai Hana]

Well I'd sorta imagined they'd be able to walk and talk for a bit

1 year old infant can already do that... walking, talking for a little bit, handing things if being asked..

Are you researching things for your fiction?

 

[Fangu]

Are you researching things for your fiction?

Yep. It's already tagged 'Family' but soon I'm gonna have to tag it 'Kidfic' as well

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Yes, I'd say anywhere from 1-3, although even much older kids will bring you really interesting stuff. Ability to speak ranges widely as well. I've known kids who were talking in full sentences by 18 months or even earlier, and others who weren't interested in stringing more than two words together even by the age of 4.

 

[Fangu]

How about insects, like worms or beetles?

This is getting ridiculously detailed

 

[Geostigma]

My nephew sam didnt really start handing over things until he was 12 or 13 months old.

Niece sarai did it at a reaaally early age maybe like 6-7 months.

Niece sophie started around 10 months old, though now that she's just under a year (birthdays on wednesday!) she developed a few tricks lol. She tends to pretend to want to give something to you and at the last moment quickly snatch her arm back and make a face as if saying "To Late!", and she's perfectly content doing that for hours lol.

 

[Mage]

My son hands me everything he's done with. That includes half-eaten food unless the dog is withing range. My initial answer to the query was around three years old, that's when Josh decided my pockets were for his exclusive use (cue pockets full of stones and pebbles every time we went to the park). He's put worms in my handbag a couple of times too, lucky for me he's grossed out enough by bugs to not want to handle them. I'd say older for creepy crawlies.

 

[Fangu]

[20:28:21] Anne: I need something like... a word for extra. as in "I am one dollar short but three chocolates in plus"
[20:28:23] Anne: in plus
[20:28:25] Anne: in...

halp


Also, is this yarn

 

[Cthulhu]

'Tis.

 

[AvecAloes]

In excess?

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I don't think there's an exact parallel phrase for "short" meaning "too much" or "over the limit" as opposed to "too little" or "under the limit".

"I'm one dollar short but I've got three extra chocolates."

"I'm one dollar short but I'm up three chocolates."

"I'm one dollar short but I'm ahead three chocolates."

"I'm one dollar short but I'm three chocolates better off than I should be."

And so on.

You could say, "I'm one dollar short and I've got three chocolates too many," but that wouldn't carry with it the connotation of having won in the chocolate stakes.

 

[Fangu]

Thanks guys. I ended up using "in abundance". It's not exactly how I pictured it but it better portrays the "sudden and unexpected change of having one dollar less and three chocolates gained".

'Yarn' is such a funny word! I'm saying that knowing that it's 'garn' in Norwegian. I don't know why I find it funny! It must be like when Swedes think 'agurk' is a funny Norwegian word while Norwegians find its Swedish counterpart 'gurka' just as funny. (It's 'cucumber'.)

 

[Fangu]

"Both believe the other to have something they don’t."

Is this a sentence?

 

[Lex]

Yes.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Grammatically it's a sentence, but the meaning is ambiguous. Let's call these two characters Balthier and Fran. The sentence could possibly mean:

Balthier believes Fran has something he doesn't have, and Fran believes Balthier has something she doesn't have.

Or it could mean:

Balthier believes Fran has X, when actually Fran doesn't have X, while Fran simultaneously believes Balthier has Y, when actually Balthier doesn't have Y.

Context would make the meaning clearer. I can't think of an elegant way to phrase this sentence that wouldn't also sound ambiguous, thanks to the limitations of the English pronoun system.

 

[Fangu]

Let's call these two characters Balthier Claire and Fran.

Fixxed

Balthier believes Fran has something he doesn't have, and Fran believes Balthier has something she doesn't have.
(...)
Balthier believes Fran has X, when actually Fran doesn't have X, while Fran simultaneously believes Balthier has Y, when actually Balthier doesn't have Y.

Actually, both of these fit. It's meant to sound a little blurry anyway.

You know what it all means.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Oh, I get it.

 

[Fangu]

So I need feedback on one thing, if you please?

How do you describe slow blinking of eyes/eyelashes? I have this really weird ass sentence most likely typed out in the middle of a conversation with my bf or something. "Long eyelashes flutter slowly in (the middle of) a tight face." Except I presume 'flutter' implies a rapid movement. Also the whole 'in the middle of', it's just not good. The point is to describe a face of someone who has grown thin, and there are slow moving eyelashes. Suggestions?

 

[Octo]

Um, I dunno, you could describe eyelids instead of lashes? and I'd just say 'blinking slowly in a tight face' because the middle isnt needed, people know where eyes are. Just my opinion, and I'm fucking awful at fanfic lol.

 

[Fangu]

Yeah I think it's one of those things where I need to rephrase the whole thing. The point is that this person's face is... reducing to nothing, in a way, the thing standing out the most (because she is described in profile and not from the front) in her face is her eyelashes. Ugh it's hard to explain. I might have to 'reshade' it, maybe focusing on her eyes instead; the problem is I keep repeating shit about her eyes a bit later when she grows fierce.

I'll just remove the middle part and see where I end up. Thanks

Edit: Oh what the hell, for context, have an Ally: Life chapter 10 preview for anyone interested. Eyelashes near the bottom.

Spoiler

They quickly quiet as the object of their conversation marches in through the front door, silver hair bouncing around her birdlike frame, black-spotted ears peaking hard and stubborn towards the ceiling. As they figured she would, she heads straight for the board.

“Are you trying to kill yourself?” the Bangaa named Tarantha speaks up, his voice slurred by the Madhu. The Viera barely flaps one ear to show she has heard, ignoring his glare as her faraway stare travel over the board. A few short moments later she turns to sets her red eyes in their direction.

“You have had your laughs. Tell me where to find the rest of the bills.”

“They were all taken”, Tarantha tries, hoping his words will disguise themselves as truth enough for her to not detect the lie. Her chest expands, her ears hardening. For a few seconds they keep pretend to know nothing, then they regain their senses.

“Ask your bedwarmer”, Tarantha mutters, Fran barely offering him a stare before trotting off. “A Viera with a deathwish, how refreshing!” he yells after her.

Fran halts. “So you have finally reached your conclusion.”

The hunters pause their drinking, slightly crouching in their chairs. “All we’re saying”, Tarantha says, clearing his throat, “is you’ve been working too hard lately. Will you not join us for a round tonight?”

Long eyelashes blink slowly in a tight face. “No.”

“Senility”, one of the hunters whispers as the door slams shut behind her. “She’s clearly forgotten how much she loves to drink.” The others snicker.

 

[Keveh Kins]

Could try something like "She blinked slowly, long eyelashes drifting with the movement"? Or something to that effect, not the best example.