Zevean - Zet

It’s not even funny how relatable this is.

Unbothered

Lol it's me

How to Make Your Characters Almost Cry

Tears are powerful, but do you know what's more impactful? The struggle to hold them back. This post is for all your hard-hearted stoic characters who'd never shed a tear before another, and aims to help you make them breakdown realistically.

The Physical Signs of Holding Back Tears

Heavy Eyelids, Heavy Heart Your character's eyelids feel weighted, as if the tears themselves are dragging them down. Their vision blurs—not quite enough to spill over, but enough to remind them of the dam threatening to break.

The Involuntary Sniffle They sniffle, not because their nose is running, but because their body is desperately trying to regulate itself, to suppress the wave of emotion threatening to take over.

Burning Eyes Their eyes sting from the effort of restraint, from the battle between pride and vulnerability. If they try too hard to hold back, the whites of their eyes start turning red, a telltale sign of the tears they've refused to let go.

The Trembling Lips Like a child struggling not to cry, their lips quiver. The shame of it fuels their determination to stay composed, leading them to clench their fists, grip their sleeves, or dig their nails into the nearest surface—anything to regain control.

The Fear of Blinking Closing their eyes means surrender. The second their lashes meet, the memories, the pain, the heartbreak will surge forward, and the tears will follow. So they force themselves to keep staring—at the floor, at a blank wall, at anything that won’t remind them of why they’re breaking.

The Coping Mechanisms: Pretending It’s Fine

A Steady Gaze & A Deep Breath To mask the turmoil, they focus on a neutral object, inhale slowly, and steel themselves. If they can get through this one breath, they can get through the next.

Turning Away to Swipe at Their Eyes When they do need to wipe their eyes, they do it quickly, casually, as if brushing off a speck of dust rather than wiping away the proof of their emotions.

Masking the Pain with a Different Emotion Anger, sarcasm, even laughter—any strong emotion can serve as a shield. A snappy response, a bitter chuckle, a sharp inhale—each is a carefully chosen defence against vulnerability.

Why This Matters

Letting your character fight their tears instead of immediately breaking down makes the scene hit harder. It shows their internal struggle, their resistance, and their need to stay composed even when they’re crumbling.

This is written based off of personal experience as someone who goes through this cycle a lot (emotional vulnerability who?) and some inspo from other books/articles

“Nobody dies a virgin, life fucks us all…”

-A wise person

Mensaje sin filtros - Cuberol

Luego, cómo no, llegan los mensajes de: "ay qué pena que cerró el foro" "yo estaba pensando entrar pero al final no" "era un foro lindo" ... y el resto de frases para este tipo de casos. Todas enfocadas a hablar de rol, pero lo de rolear pues... eso ya es otra historia.

No importa la temática, los años en línea que tenga para dar mayor seguridad o el entusiasmo y amor que pongan los admins o los players al foro: si no hay una comunidad grande nadie entra.

¿Lo mejor? Pues que no importa si el foro está lleno de rolers que muchos catalogan de tóxicos, intensitos o cualquier otra palabra despectiva. Incluso si en él rolea esa persona con la que acaban de discutir: aquí lo que cuenta es tener algo de que hablar además del post de rol que hayan puesto ese mes. Más no, que tienen vida.

Aquí un servidor sigue roleando con cuatro gatos más, manteniendo las ganas y demostrando que sí existe excepciones a esta regla. Eso sí, me gustaría que alguien más la incumpliera =P