#like write the shit that makes the story INTERESTING!!!

[holmsister]

Kinda gets me when people age them down in AUs and stuff because to me those characters wouldn't be half as interesting if Chilchuck, Senshi and Mithrun were the tallman equivalent of in their twenties

#just something about having a lot of history you know #like. chills is divorced or thereabouts. senshi spent like 30 years living in dungeon wilderness. mithrun knows kabru's mom #none of this would be possible if they were 20-somethings #dungeon meshi spoilers #dungeon meshi manga spoilers #somewhat i guess #like. yeah kabru and laios and falin (and marci for an elf) are really young BUT have a lot of life exp #but like. the fact that so much happened to them while they are so young is TRAUMA. its BAD #meanwhile chilchuck had like. a pretty average life for a halffoot his age. maybe even successful from a professional standpoint #senshi didnt have an average life but had the time to accumulate an amount of knowledge no 20something could have #and of course mithruns whole life story is like. slowed down because hes an elf #but even then i think its really important to show that it might take several years to start recuperating from a traumatic event #like its what makes his character such an interesting commentary on disability and depression #when you're 25 bouncing back is easier. when you're 40? 50? showing that theres hope #even when you've lost your whole youth to your pain... thats a whole other thing #sorry i started writing serious commentary in the tags #chills #captain mithrun #senshi #even in senshis character up to a point. he spent more years out of society than in it #and YET! even he manages to find a place. somewhat #like. they are all here to show that life goes on even after horrible or simply sad shit happens to you #they are survivors!!!! thats important

[bonefall]

do you have any tips for writing a low empathy character who isn't evil? Or how to make an interesting apathetic character who's a thoughtless sort of evil? These are two different chatacters btw-

I tried looking up examples and stuff but uh. It's been a bit fruitless.

Honestly it's not too hard! Having low empathy just means we're bad at automatically "connecting" to the feelings of other people. You can come to understand it's not even a character flaw once you uncouple the idea that Empathy = Kindness. And apathy, well, that one's a bit more complicated imo.

Low Empathy

In English, it's just unfortunately super common to conflate Empathy and Compassion. To have compassion is to be aware of the suffering of another person, and ergo, want to help stop it. To be empathetic is to identify with and understand the feelings of another person. These are different things.

For an example in action; imagine a medic with a patient whose shoulder is dislocated, and xey'll need to pop that arm back in place in order for the patient to feel better.

A medic feeling EMPATHY for that patient is having an emotional response to what xey're seeing. Xey might have a tingly "ghost pain" thinking about the injury, and xey might feel guilty xey're going to put them in more agony, but also joy because this patient is going to feel much better in just a moment.

A medic feeling COMPASSION for that patient is thinking about how the shoulder must be causing a lot of pain, and knows xey have the skill to fix it. Xey know from xeir own experience that pain sucks and so it is a bad thing that needs to go away. It will hurt a little more for a moment, but then there will be immediate relief.

This is imo, why a lot of low empathy people are "bad at" comforting people without going to Autism College where they give you the scripts of Shit Neurotypicals Say. We're not trying to be selfish when we end up making "comfort sessions" about ourselves-- that's what we think empathy is, because we don't have a lot of it to really know what you want.

Like, doesn't it make sense to you? "I don't know what you're feeling. Here's a similar situation I've been though. I must know what you're feeling-- does that make you feel better? That you aren't alone? I think that's what empathy is, am I right?"

A LOT of low empathy people go into medical fields, the funeral industry, and disaster relief. We often really do want to help people so seek these fields out, or when we get there, just end up not getting burnt out like our high-empathy peers!

Apathy

As for the apathetic character, honestly, I'd suggest thinking about your story's themes. Villains are very special to me and I always try to handle them with care. What are you trying to say is bad to not care about in your work? How does their apathy play into the story you're trying to tell?

A Captain Planet villain is completely selfish, and exists only to benefit itself by exploiting nature in some way. Then the Planeteers show up and punch it in the face. Boiled down to its barest, most simple essentials; "We have conflicting goals and so I will stop you."

Personally I find total apathy to be something not especially compelling in villains, for that reason. Like, if you really don't care about anything, why bother with the trouble of going against the protag? Motivation is meant to be MOTIVATING.

(also ngl I'm on the Shadow As A Hero sort of bandwagon where I find it much funnier for the simple apathetic cool edgy guy to be the funniest person on your tennis team)

Dungeon Meshi has TWO characters who struggle with apathy, and are both antagonists at some points in the story, but never villains. Shuro and Mithrun. The theme of Dungeon Meshi is the beauty and complexity of life, the value of living, and how our connections to others changes the people we are. Food is a metaphor for bonding, self-care, and understanding.

For Shuro, he begins the story as someone who's both been encouraged to bottle up his emotions for the sake of other people, as well as to not actually consider the emotions of those lower-born than him. He's from a very different place than the other members of his party, and this causes friction as class, culture, and sophisticated, refined, weapons-grade autism clashes.

When the woman he loves is eaten by a dragon, he doesn't stop to tell her brother and """childhood friend""" what he's planning, as if they both wouldn't run in and get hurt. He owns demi-humans. He doesn't consider his own needs or the needs of his rescue team of loyal vassals. As a result, he's too weak to continue, losing a fistfight with one of the main characters, Laios.

After this, he connects with him for the very first time, and reaches out to him by giving him an important magic item. There's even a MASSIVE moment where he outright tells Laios that his ability to be so open (read: not have to mask his autism) is something he envies, breaking through that veil of apathy he wears.

The story Dungeon Meshi is telling here is that it is important to value the needs of yourself and of others. Shuro's apathy towards his own needs in a bid to prove his love weakened him. In acting like he was above his old teammates, he never spoke to them like people to smooth out his issues. He's never even noticed how much his vassals love and care for him.

(and the incredible irony is not lost on me, that Shuro's name is because Laios mispronounced it and was never corrected... while Shuro never noticed that Izutsumi had the unwanted name "Asebi" forced onto her when she was "taken in" and made his slave.)

See how that comes back to the theme? Shuro doesn't exist to just "be some asshole" or act like a villain. He has a full character arc that contributes to the narrative.

For Mithrun? I won't even spoil it. Go read Dungeon Meshi. Watch elf depression. We love a king with strabismus.

Anyway,

If you ever need good personal resources on any stigmatized mental condition, I've found it's usually productive to go into the #Actually (Thing) tag here on Tumblr. You can find people posting about basically anything. I found a lot of really good resources on NPD that way.

#bone babble #bones gives advice #also ngl npd relatable as hell

[the-music-maniac]

Why will I not finish watching Naruto not that anyone asked but I wanna ramble? Because since Sasuke and Naruto ended up in marriages to different people (and from what little I've seen, are pretty horrid fathers and also not very good husbands for that matter), I literally Do Not think Naruto Shippuden has a happy ending. Naruto spent the entire anime chasing after Sasuke desperately. He was willing to give up his dream and die by Sasuke's side. Sasuke has never exhibited a single shred of interest in women. And Naruto is one of the few people that has ever kept his interest. They're arguably the most narratively significant to each other, and before Shippuden the show kept saying over and over they might've been good friends if only if only etc. paralleling the two against each other. I GET that they wanted to make Boruto, but literally it would've made more sense to me for Sasuke to have paid someone to carry his bloodline over believing that fruit basket actually fell for someone other than Naruto. And him marrying Sakura specifically was weird to me because I fully believe she deserves better. Not in an "I hate Sasuke he doesn't deserve her" kind of way but because I like them both and I think they're ill matched. Sakura got character development and I feel like making her get together with a childhood crush that never gave her the time of day before isn't progress, it's a setback.

This story ending doesn't read to me as "I got my best friend back and ended up fulfilling my dream and settling down and getting married with the love of my life". It reads to me as, "I'm in love with my best friend and I got him back, but not in the way I wanted. I settled and married because it was expected of me and sure I love her but it's still not the same." And on Sasuke's end, it reads to me as "I've hurt this person too much to warrant staying in his life for too long, he has given up too much for me already. I settled and married because I need to pass on my bloodline gifts but I don't truly love her". There is nothing worse in my books than missed opportunities, ESPECIALLY not for two people who I believe would have a love story FOR THE AGES. You can say Naruto loves Hinata but I think it pales in comparison to what he feels for Sasuke. And I don't wanna hear any fucking complaints about "wahhh they're not gay" - I don't give a shit about sexuality, this is about how narratively, a love story between these two would be so much more interesting than any of the canon couples. If they were a man and woman they WOULD have been canon. Their love would've been something people write epics about and it DIDN'T. WORK. OUT.

They should've ended up together. Naruto Shippuden doesn't have a happy ending. I'm never going to finish watching it.

#i am. angry #naruto shippuden #naruto #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #narusasu #sasunaru #sasuke x Naruto #naruto x sasuke

[cinamun]

how did you learn to do this shit for yourself and let everything else come second? how did you learn to not compare yourself to what the greats™ are doing (and i want you to know, you are very much The Greatest Storyteller in my mind), and to just put your best work out there? i have a solid story i've been crafting, but when i look at your pictures (and those of others too!), my shit starts looking very rudimentary. i'm just genuinely wondering how you got over that feeling of not being good enough (if you ever felt it at all! because it feels like you came out the gate as the goat ngl lmao).

I'll give you the simple answer: I never compared my story to others. I do this because it makes ME happy and the best part is it makes OTHERS happy too. And let the record reflect (Act 1) I did NOT come out the gate with a following or with more than a few interested folks. My shit started rough!! While I do appreciate the compliment (and thank you friend), its important that you're doing this because it measures up to YOUR standards. it took a long time to get angles right, lighting right, dialogue right etc. I'm sensitive about it. I still ask myself "Is it really a story if its all dialogue?" lol DEADASS!

I also used to be a creative writing major (Fun Fact™). Its just something I always loved to do but couldn't pay the bills with so here I am lol.

You have a solid story, you said you are crafting it which tells me you care about it and you love it. The worst mistake we make is holding our things up to someone else's. Your story is just as dope as mine if you love it. We are our own worst critics friend.

My advice? Do not compare your work to others, do it because you love it and you believe in it. I'm not going to lie, I question my story all the time. That's natural. You will probably always do that which I think is how we switch it up and keep it fresh.

#you will always quit if you think someone else does it better #don't quit friend #ts4 storytelling tips

[jankwritten]

the story doesn't start with the beginning or the end, the story starts with the moments that spark it. the story starts with that idea you had that made you want to sit down and write, the story starts with the moment the characters have that branches out and out, blooms into so many different choices and paths and conversations. it's okay if you don't know how to begin or how to end or even if you don't know what the story wants. just write the moments. follow them and see where they lead.

#this post brought to you by: my fucking writing process #i always try to force myself to write the beginning like i 'should' but then i get BORED and i wanna write the FUN STUFF #so write the fucking fun stuff!!!! #write the moments!!!!! #write when the two protag's eyes catch across the room #write the moment when the main character massively fucks up his entire project and ruins months of work! #write the moment where the hero and the villain run up against one another and in the ensuing fight we learn that they loved one another #like write the shit that makes the story INTERESTING!!! #i PROMISE it will lead you to the plot it will lead you to all the points you need SO Much better #you don't have to start where the story starts. you can start wherever the FUCK you want and then decide later what to do #i always start writing where the conlflict begins #and then if backstory is needed or if there's something that should come first i can make it come first #i can start with nico meeting the weird pale blonde boy and taking him into the woods and then i can go back and add the context #write the moments god dammit #ALSO ALSO ALSO if this advice isn't for you then fuck it!!! this is my advice that i took and it works for me and if it doesn't work for u #then that's totally chill and cool and sexy! now you know one more thing that doesn't work and you're closer to finding the thing that does #it's 3 am so i don't know how coherent this will seem in the morning but By The Gods does it feel so important rn #maybe this is more just a note for myself. write the fucking moments grey.

[lord-squiggletits]

One of my favorite parts of phase 2 (and indeed one of the few moments I resonated with IDW Prowl) was when the neutrals were coming back to Cybertron and Prowl said that he refused to let Autobots be pushed aside and overruled after they were the ones who fought for freedom for 4 million years (the exact wording escapes me atm).

And I mean, that resentment still holds true even once the colonists come on bc like. As much as it's true that Cybertron's culture is fucked up, and as funny as it can be to paint Cybertronians as a bunch of weirdos who consider trying to kill someone as a common greeting not important enough to hold a grudge over.... The colonists POV kind of pissed me off a lot of times, as did the narrative tone/implications that Cybertronians are forever warlike and doomed to die by their own hands bc it just strikes me as an extremely judgemental and unsympathetic way to deal with a huge group of people with massive war PTSD and political/social tensions that were rampant even before the war?

Like, imagine living in a society rife with bigotry and discrimination where you get locked into certain occupations and social strata based on how you were born. The political tension is so bad there's a string of assassinations of politicians and leaders. The whole planet erupts into an outright war that leads (even unintentionally) to famine and chemical/biological warfare that destroys your planet. Both sides of the war are so entrenched in their pre-war sides and resentment for each other that this war lasts 4 million years and you don't even have a home planet any more. Then your home planet gets restored and a bunch of sheltered fucks come home and go "ewww why are you so violent?? You're a bunch of freaks just go live in the wilderness so that our home can belong to The Pure People Who Weren't Stupid And Evil Enough To Be Trapped In War" and then a bunch of colonists from places that know nothing about your history go "lol you people are so weird?? 🤣🤣 I don't get why y'all are fighting can't you just like, stop??? Oh okay you people are just fucked up and evil and stupid then" ((their planets are based on colonialism where their Primes wiped out the native populations btw whereas the Autobots and OP in particular fought to save organics. But that never gets brought up as a point in their favor)) as if the damage of a lifetime of war and a society that was broken even before the war can just magically go away now that the war is over.

Prowl fucking sucks but he was basically the only person that pointed out the injustice of that.

And then from then on out most of the characters from other colonies like Caminus and wherever else are going "i fucking hate you and your conflicts" w/ people like literal-nobody Slide and various Camiens getting to just sit there lecturing Optimus about how Cybertronians are too violent for their own good and how their conflicts are stupid, with only brief sympathetic moments where the Cybertronians get to be recognized as their own ppl who deserve sympathy before going right back to being lambasted.

Like I literally struggled to enjoy the story at multiple points because there was only so much I could take of the characters I knew and loved being raked over coals constantly while barely getting to defend themselves or be defended by the narrative so like. It was just fucking depressing and a little infuriating to read exRID/OP

#squiggposting #and like dont get me wrong barber wasnt trying to make cybertronians the bad guys or whatever #it's just a problem with his writing where like. he has A Message he wants to send #and so he uses the entire story literally just for The Message even if it involves bullshit plotlines #or familiar characters ppl were reading about for the past decade being shit on by OCs made up to fill a new roster #like barber's writing tends to lean way too much on a sort of lecturing tone #without giving proper care towards including moments where characters get to like. fucking express themselves and share their side #sort of like how barber couldnt be bothered to write pyra magna and optimus actually talking to each other during exrid #and instead during OP ongoing pyra is suddenly screaming about how OP is unteachable #even tho she never even tried to teach him bc she and OP never interacted bc i guess barber couldnt be bothered #he just needed someone to lecture OP so fuck making the story make sense or like letting OP get to say anything in defense #this is the infuriating part of barber's writing bc i think he has incredible IDEAS and was in charge of the lore i was most interested in #but most of the time his execution sucks and he's basically just mid with a few brilliant moments occasionally #or like he has a message about the cycle of violence he wants to convey #but his narrative choices trying to convey that theme made his story come off as super unsympathetic to the ppl who suffered #to the point where barber actively kneecapped some scenes that couldve been super fucking intense and emotional #in favor of the characters lecturing each other or some stupid plot to criticize OP #that time in unicron where windblade screamed about how this is their fault and then arcee replied that her planet is build on coloniation #shouldve happened more often than literally the last series of the ocntinuity. like goddamn stfu about your moral superiority #when your own sins are right fhere lol

[puppyeared]

Been LOVING your lil magician folks recently please continue they're beautiful and very cute and cool and also very well-designed!! 🥺❤️

thank you for the kind words !!! im not much of a writer, but i do have some sort of story in mind for them.. theyre bitter rivals who end up as roommates bc of their scatterbrained elderly landlord lol

#idk how much of it im gonna keep or change but thats basically the gist of it ^_^ #i dont know if i could ever write a solid linear story bc im very indecisive and tend to change things a lot so most of what i make ends up #very abstract or nonlinear.. just short drabbles or stuff that can be slotted into a general setting or premise #although i do want to challenge myself to try and write some sort of enemies/rivals to friends because i have a huge weak spot for that #dynamic!! i tend to be a little soft on my characters which i think has to do with me being a conflict avoidant person. so maybe exploring #this kind of dynamic will help me experiment with my sense of storytelling. although i cant promise it will be written well lol #im also thinking of making their story part of a bigger world so kinda like an omnibus?? i have another story in mind i think i can fit int #the same canon and itd be funny if theres like a bunch of wacky going ons between different apartment tenants nichijou style #but we'll see!!! thank you for your interest in these little shits!!!! #my art #myart #my oc #oc #presto #shuffle #house of cards #oc talk #ask #doodles #yapping

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

the doctor isnt neurodivergent or autistic or adhd or nonbinary or genderqueer or asexual. what the doctor is, is Not From Here

#which necessarily of course says something abt their (non)whiteness #(i had all these words in quotation marks first so mentally add those to whiteness too) #but we've them be black for all of 1.5 episode now so #lets see how that develops you know #also i dont think i understand the politics of that part well enough to say much abt it #not that i probably understand the politics of these parts better but #im annoyed enough abt this Thing happening these years. in these 20s i guess. the 'representation' thing #to complain abt it anyway #the dsm isnt real and it isnt gonna fuck you buddy #maybe i'll read some books and then one day i'll write an essay driven by spite and pettiness #i wonder if i can make the thesis statement about the tension between their status of main character #in a 60 year running family adventure show vs this therapy thing we're doing now #like. you cant do that. in terms of like. what story is and does. what a character is and does. it strains #in an interesting way. like im not saying they Shouldnt have done it. im just observing. that you cant do that really. i think #or maybe you can! but i'll find that out #i also dont know shit abt narratology or whatever so. need to read books first. sigh #always have to pause my thoughts to read myself in first its so annoying. esp bc i rarely really do #bc then new thoughts new things to do you cant do EVERYTHING. you can do almost nothing. bane of my existence really #but like you might even be able to say smth interesting here about whether you can call them traumatised at all #remember that article i saw around on tumblr a few years ago i think that was abt like. some scholar in the middle east maybe #saying that ptsd is a western thing bc it necessitates a Post #all of this is western. psychiatry is western. its all stories. how you conceptualise trauma is a story #whos Other is story #where youre from is a story what you stand for is a story who you are is a story #ah. checked the article. dr samah jabr. palestinian. i'll start with her book maybe

[raiiny-bay]

they've come a long way

#i've been meaning to remake the original monster boyz post for sooo long #when i first made that edit they were essentially just dhes & kel in costume #like. i honestly didn't want to write any lore for the mbz for a long time #but the lore practically wrote itself #they sort of just naturally evolved into who they are now #& now that i have lore for them i have so many edits & story stuff i want to do with them that i literally cannot keep up #i have a literal list of shit i wanna make & do w them & i just do not have the time to do any of it!! #it's gonna take me all of next year to get through this list!! #they're like. genuinely my favorite lil guys #i'm glad i joined simblr bc i never would have made them otherwise #i never had any interest in apocalypse stories or even horror for that matter #i mean. i like horror movies but as far as writing goes i was always more of a slice of life kinda person #y'all have opened my eyes to the horrors #(in a good way) #n e way. i do plan on making a few lore/story related posts at some point #i have NOT forgotten about the boys' origin stories. i just don't have tiiiiime #rainyrambles

[inthecompanyofabengaltiger]

man am i over people who've never actually read asoiaf shitting on it lmao

#i had two different posts willfully misinterpreting grrm cross my dash the last couple days #the aragorn tax policy quote isn't shitting on lotr or intended to be taken as a literal 'you must write about kings' tax policies' mandate #it's about how grrm is interested in different themes to tolkein #like the quote goes on to ask if aragorn commits genocide against the orcs after rotk or like what happens there how isthat tension resolve #in lotr it doesn't matter what happens to the orcs after aragorn is crowned because the story is about frodo's journey and not aragorn #and grrm KNOWS that & is literally making the point HIMSELF that asoiaf is more about the politics than lotr is #we see those tensions explored in plots like the wall with jon having to satisfy stannis the watch and the wildlings all at once #it's not an insult - it's just a fucking comparison & explanation. marketing speech more than anything close to anti-lotr hatred. like cmon #and then the second post was talking about how edmure tully is called weak for letting his smallfolk into his castle #and how that proves that george is an idiot who hates kindness and doesn't understand the medieval era #as if the other characters calling edmure weak for that wasn't kind of the entire point of the riverlands destruction arc #and it's not a purposeful contrast between edmure and other lords (specifically robb in his kingly campaign) #anyway it'd be nice if people read and used their brains to think some thoughts about what they read before talking shit. #asoiaf

[flufflecat]

Can someone explain what the narrative stakes are even supposed to be anymore in jjk. All the characters are essentially guaranteed to die, the current cast is comprised almost entirely of characters who showed up 2/3rds into the story and we're supposed to care about them for some reason, and I do not even know what the threat is supposed to be anymore. The apocalypse? Destruction of an amorphous innocent society? Like has ANYTHING been shown of "here's the regular world that apparently needs to be saved" or are we just supposed to assume "this society is just Real Life+, so you're REQUIRED to care if some guy threatens to kill all humanity, because one of those humanities may be... a child" or something. Can you spare two seconds to show anything other than some magic randos fighting, or is it just a superhero story all the time now, minus the fun. Remember when yuuji had friends.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk crit #sorry for like being salty in what will prob be the main tag #I simply do not vibe at ALL with the direction this series has gone in and would love someone to complain about it with ahfkaj #I'd write an entire meta on the narrative flaws but I do not feel like it #seriously though it's chill if people like the story and I'm not trying to cause shit by tagging it #well I'm sort of trying to cause shit #but that shit is 'blease will someone complain with me because I love complaining' #I just don't get it #like oh wow you killed characters off and established stakes! that sets a tone and shows that this is a serious conflict! #oh nvm you've killed everyone just to be gratuitous about it and prove how tooootally realistic your story is #and now there's no reason to care bc why get invested when there's an 80% chance the characters will all die #like. you're just alienating people from caring about the story you're trying to make them care about #idek what kenjaku is supposed to be up to anymore #for all I care he could explode the world and I'd be like whatever there was probably no one interesting left anyway #everything that happens anymore in jjk feels like someone said 'but what if all the nonsense in DBZ... was edgy' #and then thought they did something interesting #wooooahhhh someone did a fight for 70 chapters! so innovative and unique! #someone transformed! what a twist!! #woooahhh you did a nonsense rug-pull and are now lying to us acting like it was intended the whole time! sacre bleu!!! #anyway see my previous complainy post to see why gojos plot specifically is harmful bullshit #but it's a shoooooneeennnnnn #it doesn't neeeeeeeed to be written well or responsibly amiright?! #it just needs to make straight guys on twitter think they're unique for saying 'the real issue with jjk is that some women like it ' #ok I'm done complaining. FOR NOW. #I'm sure I'll think of something else to complain about in two seconds. #fluffle talks

[fefairys]

funniest part of posting all these homestuck book annotation quotes is people being so surprised that hussie like… understands their own story. lmao

#people being in disbelief that they actually said some of the stuff i’m quoting #there is such an attitude that hussie is just some stupid rube who made a good story completely by accident #when no. that shit was on purpose actually #crazy i know #there are definitely some things about it that we’re happy accidents and they sometimes acknowledge these in the notes as well #anyway it is just kind of sad to me #how little faith ppl have in hussie actually knowing what they were doing when they wrote all that? #like idk hussie has their flaws. their many many flaws. but they know how to write an interesting story and they do it on purpose #my biggest gripe with hussie is the way they view readers as their adversaries in a way #readers are meant to be toyed with #they like making readers mad on purpose it’s like a game to them #i just find that annoying #but at the same time i kind of understand? #i know that stuff in our webcomic is gonna make people mad and tbh i’m a little excited to see it #but i didn’t write it for the PURPOSE of making people mad which is what hussie did a lot with homestuck

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Come on, you know you want to, give us the character bingo for Viktor.

don't mind if i doooo

#ask me #okay there's a lot going on here but first things first #viktor has transcended the favorite character tier where I want to protect him or whatever #like yeah he did that shit! I support him but I also don't! the more trouble he gets himself into the happier I'll be! #do you feel me #like one of the things I love most about Viktor is that I feel so much sympathy for the circumstances he's in that are out of his control #but he has so much agency in his own story that everything he's gained and accomplished are because he makes choices #and GETS HIMSELF places #and now the same thing is happening with his BAD choices and I find that just as delightful if not moreso #he is the agent of his own salvation and his own destruction and I will be in the front row seat with popcorn for both or either #so writing him is mostly me studying him under the microscope poking him until he does something untoward it's very fun #I only hesitantly say that Viktor is like me but the Balkan ties and the grumpy-but-kind and obsessive personality #and the strong opinions about a chosen STEM field #are inescapable okay #mommy issues is not circled because I have mommy issues but bc I have convinced myself that Viktor WILL have them #if Nikola Tesla is anything to go by #the jayce-mel-viktor trifecta is ruled by mommy issues and i will stand by that claim #also viktor is more interesting with no therapy - with as little therapy as possible would be my preference #WITH THE EXCEPTION of the lonely genius shit that Singed planted in his head #that is absolutely the lie that Viktor believes that he MUST discard in order to progress as a character and I am excited for it #I genuinely think that Viktor will be happier and more eccentric as [REDACTED] but it won't last #he will hit a VERY LITERAL -if thy right hand offend thee cut it off- situation and then he'll have peace but he won't call it happiness #I can't say that I'd hate anyone who hurt him because that is half of why I'm excited for s2 #but I will probably lose it at any scene where he loses to [REDACTED] for rivalry reasons #I genuinely do want to see Mel completely own his ass as [REDACTED] though like can you imagine the banter #and both of them secretly having fun with it

[0alix0]

that moment when everyone's hyping show for anakin cameo/thrawn/ezra/etc. and you're here only for an old tired fallen jedi and his little ukrainian chihuahua-looking daughter

#filoni you're so fucking boring you know that? #baylan skoll #shin hati #ahsoka series #star wars #anti dave filoni #you could've make it into a beautiful small personal story about surviving trauma #and having the whole galaxy literally hunting you like an animal for 20 years #moving forward and still not wanting to engage with new jedi order #cuz you're far too gone for it and some scars never heal #something that both ahsoka and baylan could both relate to (if the writing is good ofc) #and finding fulfilment in you child/apprentice who you care about deeply #put some really interesting jedi critical thoughts #to finally have some complex dark side characters who's entire motivation for using it could've been just basic desire to SURVIVE #and not depicting them as mustache-twirling villians #BUT NAHHH we need huge stakes (again) & more useless cameos (again) & the world between worlds whatever the hell that even is #and fucking thrawn cuz he's recognizable and will bring you money #anyway fuck filoni i hope ahsoka finally dies cuz i can't take her character seriously anymore #and i hope baylan & shin will go on funny father-daughter adventures together when this shit is done #at least starkiller isn't there......... thank god #KEEP MY BOY'S NAME OTTA YOUR FUCKING MOUTH FILONI #textpost #shitpost

[edwardshundredyearoldspunk]

stumbled across a ballad of songbirds and snakes critique video and I couldn't even watch it because the person so did not get what the book was doing and saying and the comments were complaining about the unnecessary romance when it's super obvious it's not intended to be a romance. suzanne collins is, yet again, ahead of her time because I remember the hate mockingjay got when it came out for killing prim and having katniss vote for new hunger games when those plot points are crucial and are meant to act as a commentary

#tbosbas #thg #i am and forever will be a ballad of songbirds and snakes defender #i firmly think that is suzanne collins' most cleverly crafted hunger games book #everything about it impresses me #the narrators voice being so different from katniss' reveals something about the writing that has me in awe #one criticism the trilogy got was the writing was too simple #and it's easy to assume this is just collins' style #until you read tbosbas and realize oh shit no she's just really good at writing voice #(which if you're a writer you'll know how hard it is to make your own style dissapear when trying to write voice) #also as a writer myself #I'm so tired of the criticism of ''why did she write about snow when she could have written about [insert any fan favorite character]'' #because honestly i can understand if you're not interested in reading about snow #but to act like you're then entitled to a story of your choosing and suzanne collins shouldn't have a say in what she writes?? #god that bothers me #i feel like readers forget that writers don't always write with an audience in mind #and that while you can be displeased about an author you enjoy going in a direction you aren't interested in reading #you don't have a say in how they choose to explore their creativity

[bitchthefuck1]

I will never understand the fanfic impulse to take characters with thee most coo coo bananas codependent/nuanced/toxic/insane relationship and turn them into love interests #1 and #2 in a generic romance novel. like what is even the point anymore

#i don't just mean 'bad' relationships that they're trying to romanticize or sanitize; this happens all the time with 'good' relationships #with some funk or flavor to them where they sand off all of the things that actually make them interesting and compelling #and you're just left with this bland ball of nothing like they're generic couple no. 4 in a clothing ad #like girl why are you even here then?? what was the appeal for you that made you want to write about these people in the first place??? #you've taken all the flavor out??? #it always reminds me of that one screenshot someone took of a tag on a succession fic that was like 'logan is a good dad au' and its like #okay well why are we here then? like that changes so much about the characters and the story (and also like the entire point #the show is making about power and abuse) that you might as well write about literally anyone/anything else bc you're sure as shit #not writing about these characters anymore #and like. there's nothing wrong with enjoying bland or formulaic romance i'm not gonna find you and come to your house #but if that's what you're into then why do you even like these people??? #to be clear i don't mean 'take them and place them neroses and all into a suburban home to watch them chew the wallpaper and #confuse their neighbors' that's completely different