042 - Board Meeting

Pacing Through Sentence Length in Writing

You ever notice how a scene can feel like it’s dragging or speeding up based solely on the length of the sentences? Sentence length isn't just a technical detail—it’s a pacing tool. When used right, it can control the speed and tension of your story. Here’s how:

Short Sentences = Speed, Tension, Impact

Short, snappy sentences are like quick breaths, instantly pulling the reader’s attention. They mimic fast action, nervous energy, or urgent thoughts. They create momentum. Think of action scenes or emotional moments—often, less is more.

Example: The door slammed shut. His heart raced. She was gone.

In just three sentences, you feel the urgency, the chaos, and the emotional weight of the moment. It’s all about breaking up the narrative with these quick hits to keep the reader on edge.

Long Sentences = Build-up, Reflection, Depth

On the flip side, long sentences slow things down, adding complexity, reflection, or tension. They’re great for moments of introspection, world-building, or setting a scene in rich detail. These sentences create a flow, pulling the reader into the character’s headspace or the atmosphere of the moment.

Example: The wind howled through the narrow alley, carrying the distant sounds of a city that never seemed to sleep, never seemed to rest, and in that eternal hum, he wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever find peace here or if, like everyone else who tried to escape the shadows, he would simply become another part of the city’s endless noise.

Here, the length of the sentence mimics the complexity of the thoughts—heavy, reflective, almost hypnotic. It builds tension not with action but with an overwhelming feeling of being stuck or trapped in thought.

Combining Both = Dynamic Flow

The real magic happens when you mix short and long sentences. This creates a rhythm—suddenly, a break in the flow, a quick shock, and then back to a longer, more drawn-out moment. It reflects real life: quick bursts of action or emotion followed by moments of pause or thought.

Example: He reached for the door. It was locked. His heart pounded, each beat a reminder of how badly he needed this. There were no other options. There was no way out. The key could be anywhere. And he could not afford to wait any longer.

TL;DR:

Long sentences = build tension, create depth, set mood. Short sentences = ramp up urgency, show action, make an impact. Mastering this flow is a game-changer for pacing!

Let's be honest in this whole transmigrating situation, the one who got the shortest end of the deal isn't krs! Cale. Like, sure, he was forced into a series of sucky things, but he still gets something out of it.

You know who's the one that doesn't benefit whatsoever from Kim Rok Soo's deal?

The original, unknowing, 18-year-old, Cale Henituse.

Did the now Kim Rok Soo realize he had killed an innocent 18-year-old boy the moment he regressed?

I'm writing a reaction fic with an alive tboah!Cale, but tboah!Cale is not the original Cale, and sometimes I can't help but think about the truest victim that everybody has forgotten: Cale Henituse, the boy whose entire existence was erased the moment 40-year-old Cale regressed.

Can you imagine? One day, you went to bed like normal, and then your body suddenly ceased to be yours.

Apparently, your depressed "older self" - who had already lived his life but was now stealing yours - not only decided to kill you in the name of the "Greater Good", he was also too much of a coward to stay.

Your "older self" (and your murderer) had made a deal with a God and would be fucking off to another world very soon.

You were left to come to terms with 3 things:

A stranger will be taking over your body in your stead (and you know they don't have a choice in this either, but still, you hate-)

You will die. No, more like you will get deleted (and no one will even remember that you had once lived)

You do not get any say in any of this. (You never did, and now, you never will.)

(And to think that in another world, you would have grown up to become him.)

(In the end, Cale Henituse dies hating himself.)

It keeps me up at night sometimes.

Magical items and cursed artefacts that are currently being used for something else than their intended purpose.

The cape of Infinite Wisdom, that gives you all the knowledge of the universe but unfortunately renders you incapable of doing anything else than stand there processing it, aware of everything everywhere all at once, which drowns out being aware of your surroundings. People use it to trap runaways and wild horses to capture them without injuring the target.

The Wrestling Machination, that was far too efficient in folding up flesh-and-blood human opponents, which was locked up for centuries before being stolen - presumably for horrifying uses. It was later found in secret use in a nearby laundromat, which uses it to neatly fold up clothing.

Potion of Shapeshifting, But Only Once. Not useful for intended purposes, but has more than once been concotioned and used by people who were utterly sick of human life and would rather spend the rest of their lives being a seagull.

The cursed amulet of No Woman Will Want To Fuck You, originally crafted as a wizard college prank, currently worn as the daily signature accessory of an astonishingly beautiful and unfathomably gay man, to ward off unwanted female attention.

The entirely scientific Circle Diagram, explaining the principles behind TCF Paradigm of Misunderstandings(TM)

🧐

TBOAH Headcanon

I updated my taglist with links to the more noteworthy theories.*

*…that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re good. they just got a lot of notes.

Here’s are the links for mobile users:

Undertale:

A CHARActer Analysis (bring snacks)

Don’t GOAT Breaking My Heart

The Soul in the Machine

Where is Frisk Post-Pacifist?

Deltarune:

Meta

Kris, Frisk, and Chara are Nonbinary (and why it matters)

Weak Points

On Susie’s Very Cool Gender

Frisk-Kris Parallels

Ralsei Parallels 

Deltarune’s message isn’t that escapism is a bad thing 

Taking a Closer Look at “Tea Theory”

Deeplore:

A More Compassionate View: The Red Soul is Here to Help

Deltarune’s Timeline May Have Been Reset Before

Two Characters Control the Save/Load Screen

The Red Soul Turned Yellow and Saved Kris on its Own

Who is the Narrator Talking to When They Say “You”?

Things that Support Chara being the Narrator in Deltarune

Super Forbidden Acid Lake Dialogue I Intend to be Annoying About 

How to Hack the Susie Plush Into Your Game (pre-bug fix) 

Why There May Be More Types of Boss Monsters 

Kris Has a Trusting Nature (And May Trust Us) 

Let’s Talk about Papyrus! 

We Don’t Know Where Asriel Is 

Susie May Be from a Human Community

Ralsei’s Astral Projection Habit - It’s Not About Us. It’s About Susie.

Things that indicate Noelle may return to the Dark Worlds

Ralsei’s Prophecy has ties to Gaster

Taking a Meandering Look at the New Green Room

Kris and Susie may have been friends in the past (and had a falling out) 

What age was Kris adopted by the Dreemurrs?

Friendship Propaganda:

Kris and Susie

Kris Grew To Care About Susie (Chapter 1)

Kris Cares About Susie Outside of Our Influence (Chapter 2)

Kris May Have Considered Susie a Friend Before Chapter 1 (Halloween Pencil)

Kris Deliberately Gives Susie Space

Kris wasn’t afraid of Susie even before she joined the team

Kris wants to spend time with Susie

Susie is still a little insecure about her friendship with Kris

Susie might have wanted to be friends with Kris since before Chapter 1

Susie is putting a lot of effort into connecting with Kris

Kris and Susie are both choosing to be friends and there’s nothing we can do about it

Kris and Susie may have been friends in the past (and had a falling out)

Ralsei

Ralsei’s Not Afraid to Get Mad at Susie (which is good)

Susie’s friendship with Ralsei changed over Chapter 2

Kris Considers Ralsei a Friend

Noelle and Kris

Why Noelle values her friendship with Kris

Noelle is an incredible friend and reaches out to Kris constantly

Noelle has been saving Kris (on both routes)

Kris was likely sincere when they said they were friends with Noelle

Noelle and Kris are supportive of each other’s relationship with Susie

Both Kris and Noelle enjoy reconnecting

 Susie and Noelle

Noelle is NOT “Unhealthily Obsessed” with Susie (A Cranky Post)

The Susie and Noelle Friendship Propaganda Post

Noelle is genuinely interested in Susie as a person

Yes, there is evidence Susie has a crush on Noelle

Misc Warm Fuzzies

Alphys Might Be Trying to Look Out for Susie.

Things that indicate Undyne might bond with Susie

The Reason Kris Refuses to Give Spamton the Soul

 Susie Has the Biggest Heart on the Team

Susie was not in a good place at the beginning of Ch 1.

I think we should try taking a closer look at where she came from to understand what her state of mind was back then.

Susie isn’t from Hometown.

Wherever she was from, she was not treated well.

And, upon coming to Hometown…things weren’t much better.

In Hometown, Susie is

Chronically underfed

Likely homeless

Hated by most of her classmates

Close to being expelled and losing her last tether to a normal life

Susie was at the very, very end of her rope at the beginning of Chapter 1.

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I'm loving how there's like, no tags 💀😭😭🤣

Life imitating art.

Ralsei’s Astral Projection habit - it’s not about us.

It’s about Susie.

Twice now, Ralsei pulls Kris aside and asks them to think about what Susie’s doing.

People have theorized this is to “get alone time away from the Player”, but I think he actually does this because he’s trying to communicate something about Susie to Kris.

“Astral Projection”?

Both Kris and Ralsei act like they’re viewing/have viewed Susie’s scenes.

In Chapter 2, Ralsei is alright with Kris not viewing Susie’s scene if they’re not interested.

 If doing the Snowgrave route, Kris will skip Susie’s scene by themself, and Ralsei, after initially being flustered, will say, “As long as Susie’s happy”.

So that’s why - what?

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Some old notes on three-point lighting 💡