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starflungwaddledee · 2 months

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🕰️🩷🧋and 🥘 for starstuck Dee please and thank you.

[ >>> kirby oc ask meme <<< ]

🕰️ (Clock) - What would a Dreamy Gear version of them look like? What sort of accessories would they have? What kind of role do they play?

well i couldn't resist drawing it once i'd thought about it, so here she is! still pretty recognisable, but i think that large elements of her story and the suspicions surrounding her would be different, due to the fact that waddle dee/bandee is usually the one and only waddle dee. i think she'd still be found in a meteor crater at the edge of town by meta knight, but i think this time he'd bring her to bandee instead of president dedede, mostly due to the clear visual similarities. bandee would take her in instantly, and she'd follow him around the mechanic shop, learning to tinker and serving as his glorified assistant. learns to make really good apple tea instead of being a friendly chatterbox she would be shy and selectively mute, speaking out loud exclusively to bandee. though she still forms relationships with kirby and meta knight, i think that sadly in this world president dedede would frighten her, despite how highly bandee thinks of him 😭 at meta knight's suggestion, after he finds her squinting skyward on the roof at night a few too many times, she makes herself a pocket telescope for looking at stars and surveying the weather. she uses it to give bandee reports, which he discretely passes on to kirby and dedede for their races.

🩷 (Pink Heart) - If they were a Dream Friend, what would their moveset be like? How much HP do they have? Would they be a strong attacker, or would they take on more of a support role?

she would be a support role for sure, but i also can't resist also giving her some specialised abilities... > hp: small health bar, but practically immune to damage. will still die in insta-kill scenarios like lava or crush blocks > basic attack: if bandana waddle dee, meta knight, or king dedede are on the team she'll get a simple swing attack with a toy/training version of their weapon. if at least two are on the team, it's upgraded to an attack with a three-swing combo, and she'll alternate at random between which weapon she pulls > basic support: drawing magic from the environment around her or other allies or enemies present, she can give a wide variety of power effects. i previously said she'd give blustery and i stand by it, because even if there are no other elements around there's always air, but i think she could give the others too. she cannot attack with any of these herself > healing: under CPU control she'll focus on running ahead to pick up heal items, and bring them back. if everybody has full health, she'll actually store the item and bring it out later whenever anyone gets below half health; tdlx bandee style > meteor shower: this is a charge attack that starts with a 3 minute cooldown. after charging, she can use it by jumping in the air and pressing a multi-button combo, to avoid accidental activation. this is a full screen, crash-like attack with a shooting star visual, similar to team meteor. all on screen enemies defeated, and most bosses down to at least 1/3 health. > downed: unfortunately after using the charged attack she will drop her inventory, pass out, and need to be piggy backed for about 5 minutes if you want to keep her on the team (walking over to her will activate a 'piggy back' bar instead of the standard 'revive'). she cannot heal or give buffs during this time, but can be dropped by accident or when attacked, and can take damage that cannot be healed. if she makes it she wakes up at partial health, but returns to being invulnerable while conscious

🧋 and 🥘 both answered here!

#“i won't do any drawings for these” i said. you know like a liar. anyway #steampunk design you could NOT expect me to resist it. ghhuuhh.#this one got really long SORRY AUUGH but do you see my vision of her as a simultaneously really useful & really useless dream friend!!!!#especially love that she runs ahead and picks up all the food items. this is just the cheats way of getting free kisses and we all know it #anyway this was fun! i enjoyed these! i always enjoy thinking about movesets and such and breaking 'the rules' in games #why yes my oc CAN be a special little snowflake with special mechanics what of it. what OF it.#asks #starstruck dee #ask meme

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averlym · 8 months

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"bad decisions, that's alright; look, i'm still alive"

#&juliet #if you saw the old version of this... no you didn't #anyway. &j posting now... made this into what i like to call a public transport wip #in which painting on phone with fingers commences! usually it happens to doodles that get coloured and i want to clean up #idk about the colours here though... that said it's a livable error #smth smth reminders to not feel so scared... many many paths.#be less afraid of messing up? just live life? many many paths #one of my key takeaways from this show was along those lines #sobs.. if that isn't the premise of the musical huh? juliet is so young and has her whole life ahead to live...#still so much ahead of her- so what if she Didn't kill herself?#<holds tightly> many routes. many routes. i am young and have my life yet to be lived.#also this comes from the joint bit near the end where angelique sings to juliet #!! also just realised that the nurse and juliet's hairstyles parallel each other... such a cute detail..#// sometimes the stuff i make is really just because the themes resonate at this specific point in life..#i think it's getting more self-specific! tbh every time i catch myself creating for Myself specifically i go <333

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ginaporterr · 1 year

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RICKY & GINA IN EVERY EPISODE ✿ 1x04: Blocking

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rowanthestrange · 12 days

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I like Martha, I do, but people complaining Ruby hasn’t shown enough character flaws in the first two episodes like if you took “was willing to put up with his shit for way too long grrl” away from Martha she wouldn’t be so flat that she’d disappear if you looked at her side-on.

#posts that will make someone put out a hitjob on me #but like guys #ruby has shown character flaws #if you don’t recognise them as such you might also be ‘a youth’#she’s spacey and easily distracted #she recognises but doesn’t /feel/ danger enough yet #and will get herself into it without a plan #she’s impulsive #she’s clumsy #prone to arguing #makes a decision and just goes ahead with it #getting a bit over-focused on one aspect of herself #very normal typical teenager/youth traits #so relatable that those who share them #and haven’t recognise them as flaws yet #therefore think she’s ‘too perfect’#adorable actually #i think it muddies the matter perhaps for people #that it’s the first time we’ve had such a ‘caring’ one #in a while #who got to express that #and so quickly #a nurturer and protector of children #who will create to make the heartbroken around her feel better #really go out of her way #a huge percentage of people here are rubys #one of those friends #where you got dumped on valentines day #and she took two buses #to get those nice chocolates you said you liked once

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waytooinvested · 1 month

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Me: I've decided to be the kind of person who doesn't over think my fandom participation and just comments on/replies to/generally engages with content and creators. I LOVE it when people do that with my stuff! There are hundreds of posts out there about how much everyone else also loves it when people do that on their stuff! I'll be spreading the joy!

Also me: ohnowhatifI'mbeingreallyannoyingisitweirdthatIjustdidthatmaybethatpersonthinksI'mcreepynowarghistworepliestoomuchit'stoomuchisn'titIshouldprobablybackoffnow

... What the hell brain? 🙄

#This is not about any one interaction in particular #But talking about the first sentiment tonight it did make me ponder the second #I'm going to go ahead and blame the autism for my inability to pick up the unspoken rules about what is the 'right' level of engagement #and where that line exists for most people #On the plus side here on tumblr people can always block me if I get really annoying #Soo that does offer some freedom to just do whatever and hope for the best #to wit if I am really annoying you please feel free to unfollow and/or block me because your blog should be a fun place for you #That said if you share the sentiment of this post even a little bit please know I will always be thrilled by engagement in whatever form #unless it's mean.#But you wouldn't be mean would you?#So come say hi whenever :D

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anotherpapercut · 9 months

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the thing about the myth that Adam and Jamie of the mythbusters hated each other besides it just being kind of childish to think that if 2 people aren't BFFs they must hate each other is that if you watch the show it's very obvious that they don't hate each other?? I mean disregarding the fact that I highly doubt anyone would CHOOSE to work that closely with someone they hate for well over 20 years, they are constantly laughing and joking and having fun together. like 75% of this show is them doing silly stuff and fucking around

anyway. "Adam and Jamie actually hated each other the entire time!"???

#currently watching one of the revisted episodes and adam was peeing on an electric fence to see if hed be shocked #and jamie was like lmfao yeah im not doing that shit you go right ahead #and theyre like smiling and laughing the whole time and adam said 'what if you hold my hand and maybe youll get shocked through me'#or something to that effect #and they both cracked up! you can tell they're having fun together!#sometimes you have a good working relationship with someone but youre just not good friends outside of work #this isnt like. unheard of. in fact ive had many many coworkers like this

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damianosismyking · 7 months

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So you have an au about damen being abusive with laurent ?????

Please let me know more?? Any hcs or thoughts or anything pls

The capri fandom needs some dark aus fr

~🦌🌺

hello my darling!

I've been gone so long that I have no idea when you sent this and I'm deeply sorry for that!

I came up with the idea for an AU in which Damen's abusive way back in 2019/2020 (2021?) and to say I was a different person altogether back then is an understatement. I also haven't re-read the books in a long while so I can't say I recall everything I had imagined for this fic to begin with BUT!, I've got some fuzzy thoughts stored in the back of my mind that may satisfy some of the crave for Dark Damianos (a concept deeply slept on in my honest opinion but with how much people like to hate on him for free, it's best if we keep it sleeping lol).

DISCLAIMER: in my very private opinion, Damen has a natural darkness to his character that I find appealing (or would be appealing if I wasn't a coward) to explore. Those are the lenses through which I approach the abusive patterns he could come to develop in a relationship with an already emotionally/psychologically vulnerable Laurent. And also in my very private opinion, Laurent is a vulnerable character (for all reasons we as a fandom dwelled on to the point of exhaustion, but, most of all, in relation to how he sees and thinks of Damen — in terms not only of admiration but almost adoration, just as he did with his brother).

We all rememeber the scene at the end (?) of PG when Laurent is stepping on Damen's toes by saying bad things regarding his family and how Damen loses his temper and hits Laurent hard enough to draw blood. The guards step in to arrest Damen for hurting the prince and Damen takes full blame for doing it without showing a single bit of remorse whatsoever. Laurent is the one to talk his guards down from arresting Damen by pinning the blame of being assaulted on himself and that is it.

This idea (of an AU that never came to be) was forged mostly on the side of Damen's character that has a tendency to jump believe he is always right in the assessments he makes and proceed to never question the truth behind his own reasoning. And on the side of Laurent's character that always blames himself for every bad thing that has ever happened to him despite his own helplessness, and nurtures an unhealthy need for a role model to hold on to — once his brother, now his lover.

I'm going to leave all my thoughts for this AU bellow the cut, in case some people may find the matter too upsetting to read about. Trigger warnings for domestic, physical and psychological abuse, obviously! Proceed at your own accord and don't come whinning later🫰

so putting two and two together:

Damen is prone to angry outbursts or just violence in general. We see in more than one occasion that it doesn't take much for his 'bad side' to come out, which is a characteristic a lot of aggressors in this very patriarcal society we live in also showcase. And as their universe is ALSO incredibly patriarcal, this would check out.

As aforementioned, one of the most significative intances of Damen's violence is the day (after he had already slept with Laurent, after he admitted to himself he was in love with Laurent) where he he baits into Laurent's provocations and hits him.

Laurent's edge, I personally believe, though attenuated as it may be by the end of the cicle of abuse he endured all the way from his late childhood throughout his adolescence, will continue to be in place. It was wired into him as a survival mechanisms and old habits die hard. Whenever he is overwhelmed or any of his emotions slip from his iron-cast grip, he will likely spit fire and try and hurt whoever is within his reach.

Honeymoon phase being over, let's say the kingdoms were in fact merged (not going to get into any of that). Let's say Damen is the king of Vere as much as Laurent is the king of Akielos. Let's say their troups, their guards, palace servants — they are all unbiased and answer to both Laurent and Damen as their true kings equally.

Let's say Damen and Laurent continue to get at each other's throats. Lets's say they still got plenty to disagree upon and that their personalities continue to make them butt heads. Let's say their grudges, though they have agreed to leave the past be in the past, hold and come up again. An underlying resentment inate to their love. There's a lot of tension that I can see surrounding L/D's relationship. If you don't believe that it's fine, if you don't see it, that's more than okay. But I'm asking you to bear with me here.

They are having a heated argument in their palace about something that wasn't (shouldn't be) personal, but all of a sudden is. Damen says something that offsets a chain reaction in Laurent and he becomes a boy in selfdefense mode resorting to the good old habit of pushing Damen's weak spots just for the pleasure of making him angry and miserable. Damen has had a long day, he is weary, he is fed-up with all the kyroi, all the councelors making demands and telling him how to do his job. Laurent says the wrong thing at the wrong time and a moment later he is on the floor, with his hand on his cheek touching the burning spot where Damen slapped him. He bit his tongue in the impact and he can feel the blood in his mouth which he swallows.

There are no guards that come in this time, because they know better than to step into their king's quarrels. Damen tells himself it was Laurent who pushed him too far, he didn't mean to do it. Laurent agrees — Damen would never have done that if Laurent himself hadn't asked for it. Damen was good. He's only ever been good. He doesn't do anything without a good reason. Laurent is the one who fucks things up and pushes people too far. They make up.

Next time isn't that different. Nerves were high for a thousand different reasons. Laurent maybe got up from the wrong side of the bed. They argue. Damen pisses him off so he goes on to piss him off in return — just to give him a taste of what that feels like. In the back of his mind he remembers what happened last time they argued but he brushes it off as a mistake. Damen wouldn't dare to make the same mistake twice.

Then Damen does. And just like the other time Laurent loses his footing from the strength of the blow. His eyes tear from the pain but they don't fall. Damen is fumming over him, telling him how Laurent pushes him over the edge. Damen, who is such a just, charming, fair king. A much better king than Laurent is, with his head in place at all times in a way Laurent's own never is. If he lost his temper, it was because he was forced into it.

Laurent is the one who went too far again; Damen simply reacted to it. He stands and tells Damen he was wrong for saying the things he said. He shouldn't have. Damen agrees; Laurent shouldn't have. They make up.

Every time Damen is forced to loose his temper with Laurent he get angrier with Laurent and becomes a little wilder. Laurent should not make him keep doing it! He doesn't mean to do it! When the anger subdues, after they make love, in the morning after, Damen shows Laurent the tokens of the love he still has for him — a new mare of an excellent breed for Laurent's private stables, a new imported book he would like for his personal library, a new delicacy their cooks learns to make as sweet as a human can handle just the way Laurent likes it.

Damen is a good lover. Most of the time. If only Laurent stopped bringing out his bad side.

Laurent understands how every time Damen hits him it's his own fault. He tries to stop himself from causing their arguments but he can't. He always ends up saying the wrong thing, he always disappoints Damen somehow and though he can keep his stance straight and his face void, deep down he's terrified he will eventually drive Damen away.

After the loss of his entire family, after the death of Auguste, of living so many years under the sadistic regime of his uncle, Damen is everything Laurent has. And Laurent, warped as he is by nature, tainted and wrong and bad at his very core, doesn't deserve him. He knows he doesn't deserve Damen, who is so honorable, so good a leader, so righteous and mighty. But he wants Damen and he wants him to stay. He wants to be good for him and for Damen to think he is good.

So when the slapping evolves into punching, Laurent searches his own words, his own actions for where the fault lies. And always he finds it. The exact word he said in a meeting with their kiroi and councelors that undermined Damen's authority. The exact moment he stopped to speak with an ill-intentioned courtier who flirted with him and he must have unintentionally flirted back. The provokation implied in a comment he thought was innocuous. And the fact Damen only found more and more of reasons to be dissatisfied with Laurent, despite him becoming evermore self-aware and trying so hard, so much of the time, to please Damen, meant nothing more than the fact that Laurent was a man full of flaws. It wasn't on Damen.

They both agree Damen's assessment and his morals could never be wrong. He is too good and honest a man for that. Laurent is causing all of it.

The oldest members of their guards notice the slow, steady shift. Those that used to compose the old Veretian prince's guard are worried. They whisper among themselves when they see a new bruise blooming in their king's fair skin or hear the shouts coming from inside the royal chambers. But no one dares to raise a voice against king Damianos. Jord or Lazar (or whichever of the prince's guards you like best) goes to Laurent to raise their concerns and ask if everything is all right between him and Exalted. If there is anything Laurent needs. Anything at all. They will stand by him come what will. But Laurent berates them and tells them to keep their noses out of royal business.

Damen is approached by Nikandros and inquired about it when one day Damen unintentionally leaves Laurent with a black eye. Damen finds that is the perfect opportunity to lament about all the ways Laurent has been driving him insane and making him miserable. That he is getting worse with time where Damen had hoped he would have settled and his temperament improved. That years after the events they lived through, he keeps holding Damen accountable for things that should be left in the past. That Damen doesn't blame Laurent for killing Kastor, or torturing him in Vere anymore, so why should Laurent still resent him for Auguste.

Nikandros understands. He feels sorry for Damen, that Laurent makes his life so difficult. He has witnessed their quarrels before, had seen the way Laurent evokes Auguste's name as a dagger to dig into Damen's heart.

Then it becomes common knowledge all around their court: Laurent is as unbearable and hard to reconcile with as he'd ever been, prideful and resentful and cruel. And Damen is the poor man who has to handle him atop a whole kingdom he has to rule. There is no soul in their kingdom that doesn't feel bad for Damen's situation.

What no one seems to notice is that Laurent has taken to flinch whenever Damen lifts his hand. That he tenses when he raises his voice. That he is much more succint and careful with his words whenever Damen is around, because he doesn't want to upset him.

All they notice is Laurent's worsening moods. His renewed bouts of broodiness and anger. That he takes anything and everything out on everyone — the servants, the guards, officials, nobles of the court, the walls and the furniture. Nothing seems to please him anymore. Everything sets off his rage. Which is something else Damen has taken to punish him for, in the privacy of their chambers.

Laurent never cries. Not when Damen tell him how difficult he is, how impossible he makes to love him. Not when he sees the several shades of new and healing bruises all over his body, not when he gulps mouthfuls of his own blood. Laurent hasn't cried since he was thirteen. But he gets more and more hopeless each day that passes and he is proven again no good man could ever truly love him because nothing good and pure remains so in his presence.

Laurent always brings out the worse in people, no matter how he tries to get things right.

But he keeps on trying. Because maybe one day he can. And maybe Damen will see there is good left in him to love even though he makes his life hard and harder every day. And maybe one day Damen will love him easily.

Because all he really wants is to be worth it of Damen's love.

And that's all Damen wants too. He already loves Laurent so much. He would never, ever hurt him again if only Laurent would stop provoking him into it.

#to be COMPLETELY CLEAR #the author doesn't believe a single word the author herself has said in this thing #the author is an avid defender of Lovey-Dovey Lamen #of: Damen treats Laurent like fine porcelain and Laurent basks in it #of: Laurent learns what it means to be truly loved in Damen after so many years of pain #but you ask and you shall receive my loves my children my darlings #Pandemic version of me was in a dark place #captive prince #i'm not going to get into any potential grapey themes regarding L/D in this post sorry not sorry #because though canon would back me up good just writing what i wrote already cost me many more years of life than i'm willing to sacrifice #alright now #dark ficlet-ish #damianos of akielos #dark damen #laurent of vere #and all the other tags idk i don't remember how tumblr goes #i'm begging you to never ask me to write this fic #but if you're brave enough please go ahead take the prompt and run with it #just credit me and etc i think it's more than enough #i ain't gon read it but i'd like to know it was written in case one day dark gabe returns and SHE wants to read it #kinda meta but not really #kinda fic but not really #kinda character study but not really #what is this really? the frankenstein monster probably #any typos are the beauty marks of the text i refuse to read it again to extinguish them

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the-unconquered-queen · 2 months

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NAH FUCK HIM FOR REAL 🤬

But Threep, my hero 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

#playchoices #blades of light and shadow #aerin valleros #also I think it’s funny that if you choose this one he does whoop MC’s ass #but after MC gets up and challenges him to go again and he sees the determination in her gaze he nopes tf out #EVEN THOUGH MC HADN’T MANAGED TO LAND A HIT OR ANYTHING WHILE HE WAS BEATING HER #he really said I’mma quit while I’m ahead #but I’m ngl the ‘let’s fight 😡’ versus ‘mmmm no let’s not 🥱’ is so iconic to me #and Threep just going HAM on his face for MC is so 🥹#throwback to my hc that Aerin has a crooked nose from where MC broke it now adding he still has some scratch mark scars too if u chose this

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lizardinkart · 7 months

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I will literally pay anyone who has read “All The Light We Cannot See” for their thoughts on this show. Because I, for one, was skeptical but ok with it until the very end

And oh boy.

That ending!

#all the light we cannot see #atlwcs #all the light we cannot see show #spoilers ahead #‘what ending’ you may say #they really just said I will sacrifice Etienne for Werner #‘more hopeful ending’ my ass the reason I am rabid about this book is because of how far in they go on both Marie Laure AND Werner #Werner gets crumbs and becomes a little puppy dog #we never get to see him committing horrors #we just hear about it #we see one flashback to a family that died because of him but like???#his WHOLE section where he talks about being on the eastern front #everything that happened to him #everything that he did #we’re just not gonna talk about any of that?#we’re not gonna talk about the dangers of systems of nationalism that brainwash us to commit atrocities?#WE’RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW ANYONE COULD HAVE BEEN A NAZI???#anyway I’m tired I’m not well I need to go lie down #hope this finds the right people lol

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milkweedman · 10 months

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I am sorry you've been harrassed by terfs, but the way you are currently trying to weed them out seems a bit misguided. As in, the vast majority of terfs are in fact ok with big hairy CIS men. The so-called men they are actively hating are trans women/transfem people. So by acting like you proclaiming your love to big hairy dudes is the best terf-repellant you seem to be missing the point at best.

i'd love to actually respond to your concerns or whatever the hell it was that you were trying to convey with this ask, but it has almost no basis in reality so i literally cant.

thats the one statement on how effective i think the banners are that has left my queue so far. which is: i hope it works but also have literally 2 other backup plans already in case it does not. i dont know why youre calling that "acting like [me] proclaiming [my] love to big hairy dudes is the best terf-repellant", because thats wildly off target from what i have actually said at any point. everything else youve said is also pretty much either dead wrong or ignorant, so im getting the feeling that you not reading has been a problem for a while.

(ive also not mentioned terfs this entire time--ive been talking about radfems and using the word radfems. they're not the same thing although there's large overlap. so like. thats strike two for zero reading comprehension, buddy. cause you are literally not talking about the group im talking about and youre also inventing whole new sentences that i didnt say.)

#obviously reading ability does not equal intelligence. more about the wild overconfidence of someone who didnt bother to check if they #even read a statement correctly #i misread things all the time which is why i also dont barge into strangers inboxes to insult THEIR intelligence #because i know theres always a chance im completely wrong and i dont want to be an asshole #anon you could give that a try #like what am i even supposed to say to this ? i dont think its the best terf repellant and have never said that ?#but if you know so much about them go ahead and tell us your suggestions for how to get rid of them #im skeptical that they will make any sense at all but im always open to new ideas #(feels nice to be condescended to doesnt it ? i assume thats why you were condescending to me so im returning the favor <3)#anyway other than this fool thank you all for the supportive asks im glad youre enjoying the banners ! so am i :D #way too soon to tell if theyre working (no radfems yet but i usually get a wave of them every couple months so i wont jump to conclusions)#but just as blog decor theyre already great #there are many many asks though and i dont enjoy when this blog is less fiber craft than other stuff #so im reading each one and appreciating them but please dont be upset that im not responding to them or posting them #i have the first 2 i got in my queue and then i got like 20 more so

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yellowocaballero · 2 years

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Character Work

Got an ask the other day that asked me how I developed a character, and there was no room to go into it on that ask at all, but I did want to note something. As a fic writer I feel pretty unqualified to write on how to create a character, but I do have something specific I want to say that I've been thinking for a while. I'll keep it just to that. I'll also say that I'm talking exclusively about writing, and not how you engage with fandom. It is, in fact, extremely fun to make an endless series of meaningless headcanons for random dudes. I'm just talking about in terms of how you approach the character from a writing perspective. Which is...

Your OC makes a bad character.

I mean your Dungeons and Dragons character. I mean the character you have a character sheet for, the character you've thought about for years, the one that you are extremely fond of and who feels like a real person to you. The character that is the character, and to change them would feel like changing a person.

Characters should feel like real people to the reader, but as the writer you cannot think of them as people. They are plot devices and a function of the story. They don't need to be fleshed out before you start writing. The actual creation of the character should take place in the outlining and drafting process.

I'm not saying you aren't allowed to stop and think about their favorite grilled cheeses or their sign. There's a few lists of good questions to ask yourself about your characters before you start writing them, such as their desires and their home lives, but the list of actual questions you need to answer are short. And you should try to stop there, because otherwise you're going to over-develop your character and it's going to get in the way of the story.

Assuming you're writing a character focused story, the character's journey is the plot's journey. But the character and the plot exist in relationship to each other. I think of them as two interlocking gears - some things in the plot just can't happen because Character A wouldn't do that, but some things need to happen for the plot to work, so Character A needs to be the kind of person who would do that. Both the character and the plot are in service of what the story is about (Theme, moral, message, etc). These three things have to line up, and they can't overpower each other. You shouldn't try and make round pegs fit in square holes. If a character doesn't fit in with what you want the story to be about (if the story's about vanity and your character doesn't care about vanity) then you need to change one of those things. You can bend the entire plot and meaning of the story around the character, but damn you better have a character who makes a really fantastic story.

You need a character that makes a good story. Some characters don't make good stories, and you need to work super hard to create a story that fits them. That's fine - that can create a unique and great story. Your character has to be consistent and work along their own internal logic. That is shit you absolutely have to stop and work out in the outlining process. Your character needs to make decisions that feel right to the reader - really good stories have the character making the worst possible decision, but in a way that makes the reader understand that they couldn't have done anything else and still been that character. And, like, obviously, give your characters faults and have them make mistakes. A character who does not do that cannot carry a plot.

Fic writers struggle with this. Of course you...shouldn't...be me and completely disregard every characterization, but I do think you can run into the same problem with your blorbo as your D&D character.

Your blorbos aren't actual guys.

This feels kind of obvious, but sometimes I think people don't feel that way. We write fanfic because we like the characters, and we'd rather use these characters and this setting than use our own. I see people projecting on these characters a lot. Like, a lot a lot. It gets to the point where an attack on the character feels like a personal attack - where people defend the character as if they're a real person because they ID so much w/the character. We all know this is dumb, but it also makes for some really shitty fic. The writer becomes completely unwilling to bend the character at all. And they don't try to make the character good for a story, because that kind of involves a lot of faults and mistakes that they don't like seeing their blorbos make. I sound dismissive but it's pervasive. The character becomes a character who makes them feel good instead of a well-written function of the story. The story suffers. Which is alright for some stories, but if you're writing a heavily character focused story like a lot of fic, then nothing is really propping up this story or making it engaging.

None of that is how I develop a character but that is what I wanted to say about characters lol (fwiw, how an OC is created for me is: "I need a character in this spot or representing this thing. Yoink!"). Of course I spoke hyperbolically and took a hard stance on all of that, haha, and of course all of this is rule of thumb. I'm sure your OC is wonderful. Just don't get caught up in them, okay? Go write. The best possible OC is an OC who is born from a good story. That's how you get rich and real characters.

#this is also true for worldbuilding.#my writing #my asks #writing #writing advice #kinda obvious if u follow me that I can go ON and ON and ON about what the fuck is up with some of my characters #and I can kinda promise that for every single one none of that was decided ahead of time #long time readers can see my understanding of the character grow and develop and change the more i write them #so you end up with someone super fleshed out and rich #and sometimes you keep on making so many swerves fifteen degrees to the left that you end up with f101 jon #that being said keep the silly HC coming i fucking love that shit #if no chip sw was an Actual Thing at this point i would go back and rewrite all of it #with what i now know of cody #and thats how the story would be decent lol #but I had to write ALLA THAT to actually get cody you know?#and I could NOT have figured that out just by thinking about him #i promise the advice was solicited this time jalksdf

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