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sexy-rex · 1 year

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Male!reader + Rex, Wolffe, Bly, Fox, Echo and Dogma (with cameo from

Aayla), 3500 words

Reader makes a wish to be young again and his wish is granted. This is a fun exploration of how certain clones could be with a baby

@redheadjustin happy 20th birthday 🥳

You are having a hard day, not in the way that anything in particular has gone wrong, but more in the way that your brain has chosen today to be a complete and utter dick.

You remember a time when things were simpler, not simple, because things had never ever been that, but they had been easier.

You’d known what you’d needed to do and you’d done it. The long-necks had made the games and you’d played them all to perfection. But now it’s you making the strategies and the battleplans and there are real consequences.

You’re tired of the weight of it all, you just want to not think about it for a while, so you walk, and you walk, and you don’t know how long you’ve walked for but when you eventually look up you don’t recognise where you are.

“You lost, dear?” A person, could be a man or woman for all you knew, the way they’re bundled up in the cloak, asks you. “You look like you’re carrying the whole world on your shoulders. C’mon, come over here out of the rain for a bit.”

You think for a moment and then shrug because really it isn’t as if you had anything better to do. You are drenched through and regretting that you’d chosen to leave the barracks in your uniform and not your armour. It’s nice to step out of the rain and there’s a small heat lamp overhead which you warm your hands under.

“Thank you,” you say.

“Not at all, dear, not at all. At lot on your mind I should expect.”

“Hmm,” you reply noncommittal, turning around to look back out at the rain. “I was thinking how nice it would be, to just be young again.”

Your companion chuckles. “Oh yes, if only we could turn back the clock”

“Hmm, if only.” You agree, wishing wholeheartedly for it to be possible, as you continue to watch the rain splash up from the puddles. Your attention is caught suddenly by a movement beside you and you turn your head to look, only to have a handful of dust blown into your face.

You step back coughing and choking. “What was that?”

“Just a little something to help your wish come true.”

“My wish?”

You have no idea what they’re talking about but by now you’re starting to feel strange, like your skin is crawling and shifting.

“What did you do?”

“You wished to be young again, I’ve made your wish come true.”

You stare in shocked dismay and horror as you seem to shrink in your own clothes. Your uniform sleeves becoming too long, and the belt on your waist too loose.

“Make it stop,” you demand but by now you’ve lost some of the depth to your voice. This can’t be happening!

“It can’t be stopped once it starts.”

“What?”

Your companion chuckles and as you watch they seem to slowly merge with the fog that has come up around them. You reach out but your hand closes on nothing.

“Wait? How do I undo this?”

“It’ll undo itself, my dear. In time.”

The voice comes back to you on the breeze and then you’re alone, in the dark and rain, and you’re shrinking by the second.

The panic overtakes you and you don’t want to still be out here in this unknown part of the city if you’re going to continue to get smaller. You have no idea where you are so you turn around and quickly start to go back the way you’d come.

Glancing in a few windows as you rush past, you see that your scar is now gone and your hair is shorter, in the more regulation style from your late cadet days.

Oh kriff, you think, this is really happening.

You start to run.

By the time you’re back at the Barracks, how much time later, you’ve reached at least mid cadet age and you duck and dive, trying not to be seen as you make your way to your quarters.

The relief washes over you when you finally close the door behind you and lean against it for support.

Whatever that cloaked figure had done to you it would wear off! You hold that thought close to you as your exhaustion pushes you towards the bed. You’d be back to normal in the morning.

You hadn’t been at the briefing, which is strange because you’re always the first at the briefings. Maybe you’re sick, Rex thinks as he makes his way to your quarters and knocks on the door.

“Y/n, you in there?”

There’s no response, so he knocks again, and this time he hears a shuffling and a thump and then the sounds of little feet, before there’s a flat palmed hand bashing on the other side of the door.

“Y/n?” He asks uncertainly because this is all very strange and urgently he uses the code he’s been given to unlock the door to your quarters.

There’s a little naked tubie sitting on the floor looking up at him and as he stares the toddler shambles to his feet using his hands to push himself up, and reaches with his small arms for Rex to pick him up.

He’s had a lot of experience with nursery duty on Kamino so it's not as if he’s out of his element here, but he just can’t work out what this tubie is doing here and no sign of you.

“Where’d you come from, little fella?” He asks as he lifts the toddler up and carries him carefully over to the bed.

There’s a bundle of your clothes on the sheets, looking like you’ve just disappeared out of them and Rex frowns again wondering about how strange this situation is.

The tubie sits in the middle of the bed, tugging on his little toes while Rex riffles through some drawers and eventually finds a training shirt that should be suitable to dress the toddler in, with a few minor adjustments.

Once he’s satisfied, he settles the child on his hip, not at all surprised when the tubie snuggles into him, but a little surprised by how calm and comfortable the tubie is with him, almost as if they’ve known each other before now.

Rex turns and makes his way back to the briefing room, making faces at the little tubie the whole way. The others are still waiting and when he walks in they all look up and then have the same identical look of incomprehension on their faces.

The tubie coos and points and struggles to be put down so Rex put him down on his little chubby feet.

“I didn’t find y/n, but I didn’t find him.”

They all watch as the toddler purposefully makes his way to your usual chair and then uses all his strength and skill to lift himself up and sit triumphantly at the briefing table, bashing his little fists on the surface.

“Okay, he’s cute.” Bly says, and they all groan a little because they know how broody Bly is right now and that he’ll get starry eyed about almost every infant thing. It was the curse of being in love it would seem.

“He was just in y/n’s room?” Wolffe asks. “You don’t think he’s y/n’s do you?”

“He’s definitely a tubie.” Fox answers. “Unless y/n stole him from Kamino then it’s doubtful.”

Bly is kneeling down by the tubie and showing him all the cool little things from his utility belt.

“You like that buddy?” He laughs as the tubie picks up his switchblade and Rex takes it quickly off of him.

“Not a suitable toy for a tubie, Bly.” He chastises and Bly looks suitably chastised, looking like he’s making an internal note for future reference.

“What do we do with him?” Fox asks dubiously.

“I guess we look after him till y/n gets back.” Bly eagerly replies. “I can take first watch, I’ve got a free morning.”

“Fine, I’ll take him after you.” Wolffe reluctantly concedes.

“I’m in the senate most of the day but I can take him after my shift finishes.”

The tubie is playing with the lights and buttons on the briefing table and images and graphs keep popping up and enlarging and disappearing again.

“I’ll pick him up from you then Wolffe and drop him off with you Fox.”

With all that agreed they went about their days, leaving Bly with the little tubie.

Bly is as happy as can be as he carries the cooing and chuckling tubie with him to meet Aayla, but the journey takes much longer than expected because every few feet the toddler points at something else and says ‘that’ and then Bly is there for several minutes while the child examines all the colours and texture of the brick wall.

“You’re late,” Aayla quips playfully when he eventually meets her by the fountain, but her whole demeanour changes when sees the tubie. “Oh, how adorable.”

The tubie reaches for her and she takes him and Bly stands there for a moment and smiles at the look of adoration on Aayla’s face. The tubie stares at Aayla with big searching eyes and then tugs on her lekku and she laughs.

“Where did he come from?” She asks once the toddler has had enough of her and is trying to get down to the water of the fountain, reaching with his little grasping fingers.

“Y/n.” He answers with a shrug and the tubie giggles and laughs as Aayla ducks him down towards the water, getting his hands wet before moving him away again.

“Do you want children, Bly?” She asks quietly and as if it’s not an important subject but they both know that’s not true and it’s very important to both of them.

“One day, when the war is over.” He answers honestly.

Wolffe is still reading over data pad reports when he goes to pick up the little tubie from Bly.

“I think he’s hungry,” Bly says as he hands the toddler over, pressing quick kisses to his soft curly hair, before Wolffe walks away with him.

“Are you hungry, little one?” Wolffe asks as the tubie reaches up and touches the scar on his eye. “Ugly, isn’t it?” He mutters. “But don’t you worry, I’m not scary.”

Or, at least, he isn’t scary to this little vod’ika, he couldn’t make any promises to anyone else.

The mess hall isn’t too busy just now and he picks up some food before finding a quiet table. There weren’t many options for a tubie but he thought he could make the soup work.

He settles the toddler on his knee, one arm braced around the child’s torso to keep him safe and steady, while the other hand picks up the spoon.

The child’s eyes dart from him to the spoon and when Wolffe takes too long he moans and shakes his little fists.

“Now, I’ll have none of that.” He warns and the toddler looks at him and pouts but doesn’t put up any more of a fuss.

By the time they are done with the meal, both the tubie and himself are covered in soup and he’s very thankful that he’s wearing armour and could just wash himself down before Sinker and/or Boost see him.

He takes a napkin and clears the child’s face as best he can and the child wriggles and pushes trying to stop him.

“There, all clear again, isn’t that better?” He asks and the tubie giggles at him him before hitting him with the spoon.

Rex isn’t sure what he’ll do with the little tubie, he already has his hands full with his supposedly grown up troopers. Maybe he would deal with both and bring the tubie to the troopers and then he could keep an eye on all of them.

He had to laugh when he sees Wolffe seated at the mess hall table, covered in soup and trying to wrestle a spoon out to the toddlers hand while the toddler laughed and hit him repeatedly on the head with it.

“Having fun, vod?” He asks as he walks up and Wolffe raises an eyebrow at him, before handing the dirty child over.

“He’s all yours, I’m going to clean up.”

Wolffe won’t admit it but he will miss his time with the little tubie.

Rex watches him walk off with a shake of his head and then makes his way to the 501st Barracks. The whole time they’re walking the tubie is trying to grasp handfuls of his short hair and failing, but he seems mesmerised by the blond.

“Do you little it?” He asks. “Y/n likes it too.” He adds conspiratorially and the toddler chuckles and coos like he’s somehow in on the joke.

The Barracks are full of noise and chaos and he tries his best not to see most of what is going on around him. He’d be having a word with Hardcase and Jesse later no matter what.

The tubie clutches on to him and ducks his head into Rex’s neck and he thinks maybe the little one is upset by the noise, so he heads to a quieter part of the room.

Echo is lying on a bottom bunk flicking through a data pad and he glances up at Rex before doing a double take as he spots the tubie.

“What is this?” He asks as he sits up and Rex sits down beside him, bouncing the child on his knee.

“This is our responsibility for the next few hours.”

Echo looks at him with wide eyes and when the tubie reaches over to him, his eyes widen even more and seem to ask if it’s okay. Rex nods and smiles as he hands the tubie over and Echo holds him up under his arms, standing the little chubby feet on his thighs, as they both stare intently at each other.

“Hello, I’m Echo.” He eventually says. “Do you want to hear something interesting about the rules of first contact with a new race?”

Rex scoffs: “Humph, yea, I think he could probably do with a nap.”

Echo glares at him: “It’s actually very interesting, Captain.”

“I’m sure it is, and I’m sure our little charge will love to hear all about it.”

Echo lies back and places the tubie on his chest before picking up the data pad and beginning to read again, softly aloud this time.

Rex doesn’t move from his place on the edge of the bed, but he does lean his forehead against the bunk support and close his eyes.

Listening to Echo read is very soothing to both the little tubie and the Captain.

Echo watches the toddler as he reads, and the toddler watches him in return, and it looks like the only one sleeping right now is Rex.

It’s when he’s finishing up his section that Dogma comes in and throws himself down on the bunk next to Echo, not even looking at him.

“They’re all a bunch of di’kuts,” he whines and Echo nods in both sympathy and empathy.

“Do you want to say hello to my new friend?” Echo asks and Dogma side eyes him before spotting the tubie.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Sure is,”

Echo sits the tubie up on his chest and Dogma comes over instantly, kneeling down on the floor in front of them both to bring himself to the same level as the toddler and the tubie throws himself forward and into Dogma’s arms, wrapping his small arms around Dogma’s neck.

Dogma freezes not knowing what to do but slowly slowly he starts to relax and in a little while he’s sitting crossed legged on the floor cradling the child against his chest and gently rocking back and forth, muttering quietly to the tubie the whole time.

It’s the crash of something falling and the yelling and shouting that breaks their tranquil moment and both the tubie and Dogma recoil from the noise.

Rex is wide wake and on his feet before he even knows where he is or that his name is. He looks at Echo and then Dogma on the floor with the tubie and then he exhales deeply.

“What‘ve they done this time?” He asks tiredly and shakes his head. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to say goodbye to the little one now, Dogma.” He says reluctant to disturb either the toddler or his trooper when they look so peaceful.

Dogma stands up and unlatches the toddlers arms from around his neck.

“It’s okay, Captain.” He says as he quickly walks away. Rex exchanges a look with Echo and Echo nods getting up to go after him.

Fox is just heading into his office when Rex turns up with the tubie on his hip.

“My turn now, hm?” He asks and reaches out for the toddler who goes to him without a moment’s hesitation. “Trusting little thing, aren’t you?”

“Why shouldn’t he be?” Rex asks. “We’re all vode here.”

Fox shrugs slightly and goes into his office, closing your door behind him.

“Okay you,” he says to the child, holding him under his arms dangling him above the ground. “It’s just me and you now so what’re we going to do?”

In response and right on cue, the tubie pees all down the front of his armour.

Fox stands there for a moment that stretches to two and then three, before he laughs.

“Don’t be shy, let me know what you really think of me.”

The toddler kicks his legs happily.

“I’m so glad one of us is happy.” Fox says his tone light and carefree even though he feels the exact opposite.

“C’mon, let’s get you cleaned up.”

His small ‘fresher is just large enough to fit him with the tubie perched on the side of the sink, his chubby legs hanging over the edge and swinging.

First Fox dries himself off and then he turns his attention to the child, filling the basin with just enough warm water to splash and wash the toddler clean.

The little outfit Rex had made for the tubie is wet too so Fox removes it and wraps the tubie up in one of his towels.

The towel is so large the tubie disappears and when Fox flips it down so the child can see the child flips it back up again and before he knew it they were playing a classic game of peekaboo and the tubie is laughing so hard and happily that Fox can’t help laughing too.

“You funny little thing.” He mutters as he picks the child up and goes back into his office. He has a small cot set up in the corner for those nights when he has to work late and it isn’t worth going back to his quarters.

He lies the tubie down on the blanket and then lies down beside him, curling himself around the tubie. The toddler kicks his legs in the air and waves his arms and Fox watches him until his eyes droop closed and then he watches him some more before his eyes droop closed again.

The tubie falls asleep before his does, but only just.

You wake up with someone’s chest snug against your back and someone’s arm draped over your torso. You have no idea where you are but the office does look strangely familiar.

The more your eyes focus, the more awake you become, the more you realise exactly where you are and that it’s Fox who’s spooning you.

You don’t remember much about your previous day, only strange disjointed images and strong feelings of being loved and looked after by your brothers.

The lost feeling you’d had the night before last has now been replaced by a calm understanding of your place in the universe and how loved you are.

Fox shifts and moves behind you, waking up, and you suddenly notice that you’re literally butt naked. You grab the blanket quickly and pull it around you for modesties sake as Fox opens his eyes and stares at you blankly.

“What is the kriff,” he says slowly, “are you going in my bed, y/n? And where the kriff is the tubie?”

“It’s a long and interesting story, Fox. Let me start at the beginning.”

#the clone wars #clone wars #male reader #captain rex #commander bly #commander fox #commander wolffe #clone trooper echo #arc trooper echo #clone trooper dogma #my fic writing #miiine #Mo #tcw #de aged

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hybbart · 2 years

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How do you add so much life to your art! :o it's so good! It inspires me to try harder :D I love your art, the style is so cool. You are very much an inspiration.

Thank youuu, I'm so glad. Honestly I'm super happy people are enjoying this style, I've never intentionally cultivated a particular style before and I'm very please with how it's been going and how my art's improved cause of it even when I draw in my usual style.

Got a little rambly under the cut. TL;DR: It's all about full body emoting and energetic linework.

I don't think I have any big secrets, it's all about putting emotion into every part of the character's body, people are always using their full selves to express themselves, and especially their expressions. It's why I like adding animal ears and limbs. It's another body part that can be used to express, and it's easier to see them as more honest body language since they're associate with animal emotions I think.

The smaller scale, simpler designs, and chunky line art help a lot too, I think. Might just be me but I find it a lot easier to put expression into a picture with easier and simpler line work that can be done in quick strokes. Lines like to keep the energy they were drawn with so the more careful and hesitant the stiffer they come out. (which for me means shorter lines which means smaller scale. That one's a bad habit I need to work past in a way other than just making the lines thicker so I can zoom out more comfortably)

It does mean messier art that's often off-model and sketches that look nicer than cleaned line art, which is the part I'm trying to be better about. Ideally you wanna get to the point where those are intentionally invoked tools and not a by product and I'm not quite there yet... but I like to think I've gotten closer recently.

#ask #I saved this as a draft cause I had to go shopping and forgot to post it sorry

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tired-reader-writer · 2 years

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And finally, he is done!! My brain is fuzzy, help.

The first is his just... day-to-day clothes before he came to live with Shapur, I suppose! I thought I'd have a lot more to say about this. I tried to give him autumnal, warm colours as usual, though fun fact prototype!Kazai's main colour was green.

The next up is what he usually wears after coming to live with Shapur, the sketch next to it is my rough design of what his household staff/attendants would wear, and I... tried? to at least echo the wrapping and styling to theirs even if obviously Kazai's clothes aren't cut like theirs. Funnily enough he sheds a layer here hahaha.

Then comes his wedding attire! SO ORNATE. MUCH GREEN. I had so much fun designing this one even if it gave me a massive headache. The green robe part was shorter at first but that didn't really convey the ceremonial vibes I was gunning for in my eyes, so I elongated it. The white tree was... supposed to be a pine tree but I quickly realized all my attempts of drawing one looked like shit. So I gave up and drew a (hopefully decent) normal tree— which... I'm just gonna retcon and say it was supposed to represent whatever species of tree they planted at their wedding. At first instead of a tree I wanted to have a cat and a wolf, one on each side, but... it looked weird and it didn't work so tree it was. About the thing on his sleeves, the outer blue ring with waves represents the ocean, the triangles the mountains, and then I fucking forgot what the thing in the middle was, I probably had no clue what to put in there but not liking the empty look I just chucked smth random in. Forgive me! (Also I tried to incorporate purple into this!)

Also this is how his marriage bracelet looks (Shapur has a matching one):

All the colours represent the two of them, save for maybe the outermost layer I forgot why I chose that colour there. Reddish pink (Kazai) and teal (Shapur) intertwined, enveloped by purple (Shapur) which is in turn enveloped by yellow (Kazai). Maybe the purple and yellow part would be reversed in Shapur's bracelet.

And then his ceremonial dance attire! Despite looking simpler than the wedding attire this might've given me even more of a headache because... ALL THE TASSELS. THE BORDERS ON THE SLEEVES. THE STAR/SNOWFLAKES. In terms of sheer tediousness this one would win by a landslide 😂😂

The borders on the bodice part were just... I just thought they looked cool, moving onto the sleeves I tried to have little stars in them but I don't know if you can even see them. The dark indigo part is supposed to be the night sky, and the white little things simultaneously stars and snowflakes. The tassels attached to that part, the colours are supposed to represent Northern Lights, because you could see them from the ancient island, it had Polar Days and Polar Nights as well— months where the sun did not set at all or would not rise. The same theme is repeated on the necklace. The symbol on the pendants... Let's just say it's a feeble attempt on drawing a stylized pine tree. If it failed well at least it looks vaguely like a tree? Also tiny little chimes hang from those pendants.

As for the bottom skirt portion of the robe... At first I was just gonna repeat the Northern Lights colours, or maybe just silver, but... I got bored. So I went buckwild with that one, I don't know what it's supposed to represent anymore.

Also that kind of gathered sort of shirt with puffy collars, they're only for ceremonial occasions.

I wanted headwear too, esp for the ceremonial outfits, but by that point my brain was pretty much dead so they don't look... very good... Here they are anyways:

(FUCK I FORGOT TO SHORTEN THE DARK BLUE ONE AAAAAA)

And this is how his tats look:

This was uh, a Rant™! I hope you enjoyed this mess as much as I did.

#arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #heroic legend of arslan #winds of wolfsong #wolfpack au #kazai (oc)#rotten egg's shitty art #the character design sheet saga #next up is Shapur #hopefully you won't give me as big of a headache as your husband?#I should've started with Arslan damn it

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tenelkadjowrites · 2 years

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What I loved about AK especially was how understanding they both were of one another. Such an odd pairing, yet they worked. There was no judgement really. Seonghwa teased Y/N for her "church" outfits, but he still liked them, not only in THAT way, lol but he admired her for not being afraid of being different. And Y/N was supportive and encouraging towards the way Seonghwa presented himself as well.

I really appreciated their dynamic and I'm glad you can see that you've done a great job. (Don't get me started on how many times I read a certain collar scene...)

Yes to everything you said about writing, because that should be a general rule and something writers need to remember. It's not always easy to stick to it and not feel pressure either external and/or internal, but in the end this isn't work, it's a hobby that should mostly bring pleasure.

So true about Seonghwa, see I draw and at this point I'm unable to draw anyone else than HIM. I may attempt to draw another person, but nope, swerving right to Seonghwa. It's a curse I think... but he is very inspiring what can I say.

I finished AITD! I had to read it twice, because originally I stayed up late and stopped reading after the restaurant scene despite not having much words left, but my eyes were about to fall out. 💔 I wanted to pick it up from there the next day, but realized I read everything so quickly I didn't give it enough thought. Anyways, that Blue Hawaii reference, I see you. I started giggling at the Lisa part, lmao. And not him throwing up, noooooo, but points for realism for sure, hahahha. Most importantly I enjoyed the fic, it has ended the way I predicted, I knew Hwa's parents would try to pay Y/N off. It's a shame he was ready to believe them, I can't blame him too much, but it's still sad. The running in the rain to see the love of your life reminds me of that one scene in Bridget Jones's, I don't know if you've seen it.

I'm looking forward to more Hwa content. Are there any AUs in particular you want to explore? Omg this ask is long, I'm shutting up now!

i loved creating the sort of odd couple pairing in AK. it was fun to write and i wanted to make it clear that they both adored one another for how they were even if they looked like a strange pairing in public. the reader never judged hwa for his past, for sleeping with many people and hwa never judged her for the sort of cutesy demeanor and style of dressing. like you said, it was always based off a mutual respect for one another that was really important to me.

writing is truly my one big love. i've written stories, poems and journals since i was a little kid. i can't imagine ever not writing. it is really just my passion and anytime someone enjoys a fic of mine i am really happy that my love of writing shines through.

my basis of AITD was that i really wanted to have a typical "romcom" type finale. i had the finale in place before i even planned the rest of the fic. i wanted to make sure that throughout the fic it was evident hwa was going to struggle with the relationship he had with his parents and that he would be too afraid to fully let go until it reached a boiling point. the entire fic sort of flowed towards the finale of the 3rd act fight, the discussion with his father and the racing towards the restaurant to stop hwa. the fic really built itself around the final act. (which is common with my longer stories, i always seem to figure out the ending first and use that as a lighthouse to craft the rest of the plot.) i am really happy you enjoyed it so much and thanks for taking the time to read it.

i have SO many fics ideas and AUs i want to explore that it overwhelms me. i think my next few fics will just be a lot shorter and simpler, most likely some good old fashioned smut with just a little plot lol. i have a few different ideas for longer fics bouncing around in my head but AITD took 3 months to write so most likely just some shorter fics ahead for now. (i say this but if i get an idea that really captivates me then all bets are off lol.)

thank you again for such a long thoughtful message. <3

#asks

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totheglisteningeasternsea · 3 years

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So I had this cute golden age headcanon:

(this sprung out on me because of that scene in LWW when they are waiting for Aslan and Jadis to finish talking in the tent and Edmund is anxiously ripping grass out)

okay, this turned out very angsty at the beginning, but it’s only at the beginning I swear

The war is over and Narnia has crowned their new Kings and Queens, even if there is a lot of work to do, optimism is high and the Narnians live in a constant state of celebration, they have to make up for 100 years of winter after all.

Everyone was so busy celebrating that no one noticed that each party, King Edmund started to disappear earlier and earlier or when he started to just avoid them completely.

The parties were for the Kings and Queens, but Edmund didn’t feel like he belonged there at all, he felt like an outsider, and no matter how much the others tried to reassure him, he would always be the traitor whose actions had aided the Witch.

But he was a King now, and he had a job to do, which meant that he had to appear regal and collected, that he couldn’t show his anxiety, trauma insecurities or fears.

He was busy doing royal duties all day long, and aside from sparring and his combat lessons, there was no way he could release his frustration.

He was anxious all the time. He couldn’t sit still in meetings. He couldn’t look at the mountains without remembering that horrible castle (the statues in the courtyard didn’t help either). At night, if it was one of the miracle nights in which he managed to fall asleep, he was plagued by nightmares. Every time he spoke at council, he said every word cautiously, and when everyone listened to him intently, like they valued his every breath, it filled him with guilt.

He was a ticking time-bomb of repressed emotions. He didn’t feel like he deserved to be comforted anyways, and without a release, he started to silently collapse.

Lucy was the first one to notice.

The absences at parties, the exhausted demeanor, the tension in his shoulders, the clenching of his fists, and his fingers that never stopped grabbing and tugging at something (his clothes, the couch, the book he was holding, his skin, his other fingers), trembling and moving with so much tense force that they looked like they would snap at any moment.

One late evening they were the only ones in their private sitting room, him “calmly” sitting on the big couch reading and she at the table writing letters. It was only because she was looking that she knew that what looked “calm” wasn’t that at all. For the past hour his fingers hadn’t stopped desperately tugging at his shirt, it was probably stretched by now.

She went to sit beside him and let him grab her hand instead.

He seamlessly held it and started playing with her fingers, his movements instantly becoming less anxious and aggressive and more methodical and grounded. The tension left his face and shoulders too.

It became their thing from then on, specially after a particularly bad day, they would sit together in the couch just relaxing, Edmund carefully playing with her fingers or the hem of her sleeve or the scarf she wore when it was cold.

Susan eventually caught on to what was happening and whenever Lucy couldn’t be there she was.

This led on to something else: Since she had started to keep her hair long, it was long enough to reach his fingers now, and he started playing with it too.

At the beginning he just tugged at it gently then eventually he started passing his fingers through it too as if he were brushing it. (This helped Susan relax too)

One day it was just too much and he needed to just focus on something that wouldn’t make him lose his mind, his fingers felt like they were going to snap from all the anxious tension.

He focused on his sister’s hair. Just playing with it at first, then combing his fingers through it, then trying to arrange it in different shapes, and eventually he attempted to put it into a braid like the ones he sometimes saw Lucy wear. He was so concentrated you could only hear his inconsistent breathing as he tried to calm down.

When he was done it was all crooked, with stray hairs everywhere that started falling apart the moment he let go of it, but the tension had completely left his body and he felt some kind of satisfaction from his accomplishment.

Lucy, who had been looking at them all this time, noticed again and got an idea.

She started to teach him how to braid. At first by sitting next to him and braiding Susan’s hair alongside him, showing him the simpler styles for long hair, and eventually by designating time to show him how she made the more complicated crowns with her shorter hair.

He was a natural at it and a fast learner, his fingers just managed to be gentle and careful yet precise and effective at the same time. He loved every second of it.

Besides being good at it, the brushing of his fingers brought peace and comfort and eventually his sisters would refuse for anyone else to do their hair (including themselves). It was a stress reliever for everyone involved.

Whenever the siblings had an early event, he would get up extra early so he could help them get ready by doing their hair.

At some point the dryads taught him some of their braiding techniques and he learned how to add the freshest flowers into the hairstyle.

Once Peter’s hair was long enough, you could sometimes see the High King walk around with a braid crown instead of his usual golden one.

And if when they went back to England he desperately relied on his skills once more like he had at the beginning to try and feel a sense of calm, well, no one complained.

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chrysanthemumgames · 3 years

Note

Hey Jess! Here's something I was wondering, what do the ROs wardrobes look like?

Hey Andrew!

I swear I've done some version of this somewhere but I cannot find it for the life of me, so I'm gonna do it again!

I did a post way back when about ancient Greek clothing styles, with images and all, so I won't reiterate that. Just keep in mind that of course everything I say is within that general framework and we're golden.

So Hades goes for dark neutrals, specifically black and grey for the most part, with touches of silver or gold occasionally. The fabrics are excellent quality, and sometimes the meanders (border patterns) are tastefully embroidered rather than dyed, but for the most part he sticks to the simple, understated kind of quality. He wears almost no jewelry or other sorts of adornment, save the 'laurel crown' of his office, which is sort of a parody of those, made from obsidian and shaped like dead branches in the traditional U-shape.

Hermes is all about colors! He tends towards shorter chitons, for free and swift movement, and occasionally a chlamys-type cloak. He's also the one most likely to wear boldly-patterned stuff. His trademark colors are red, gold, and silver, but he'll wear pretty much any color depending on the day. His favorite wardrobe touch are silly metal wings he wears on his sandals. Pyri made them for him and he thinks they're super cool. Keeps the ornaments pretty simple unless the occasion calls for fancy. Hermes can do fancy.

Charon prefers blues, and tends towards simpler patterns and water-themed meanders. They also wear a long, light grey himation that they have shaped so it also provides them with a cowl. Like Hades he tends towards longer versions of garments. They're also always carrying a while staff/pole thing. Not a lot of jewelry, but the occasional bracelet or armband, and they do have a silver ear cuff they are particularly fond of.

Pyri loves bright colors, especially ones that go with their whole 'fire' thing. Most of the time they're the simplest dresser, happy to call it good with a short chiton in a solid color or with a basic meander, and only maybe shoes of any kind, but they're always wearing some kind of artistic piece of jewelry, be it an armband, a torc, or something else.

Alekto is usually wearing armor. When she's not, she's the most elaborate dresser in the group by far, and though she alternates between short and long configurations, there's always more than one layer, and embroidery is almost certain to feature, as is at least one piece of statement jewelry (she's particularly fond of dramatic earrings.) She wears a lot of rich, jewel-toned colors, especially greens, which bring out the hint of that color in her eyes.

Hekate's wardrobe ranges from very very simple to very very elaborate, mostly depending on whether she plans to be working on anything volatile that day or not. Her hair color frequently changes, as does her selection of accessories. She favors purple, and regardless of anything else she tends towards the long versions of garments—she likes how it feels when they swish. :)

#ask #characters #wardrobe #andrew-pandrew

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enhypenandpaper · 3 years

Text

we never go out of style | jake sim

pairing: Jake Sim x gn!reader

genre: fluff

warnings: descriptions of body image (jake basically checks the reader out), mentions of a diet (jake’s, not the reader’s)

word count: 1.3k

summary: in desperate need of some new clothes, you invite your best friends Jay and Jake on a shopping spree for fashion advice. the day is a success, and while you walk out of the mall with a new outfit, Jake has something new of his own that he’s not sure he can afford.

The food court was practically empty.

You and your two best friends were sitting at the cleanest table you had ever seen in a mall; the three of you had last period free, so you were able to get here before the usual mob of high schoolers who left countless straw-wrappers, used napkins, and various unidentifiable foods wherever they went.

The three of you were at the mall because your wardrobe was in desperate need of an update. It was a lot simpler when you were younger, natural growth being an automatic reminder to buy new clothes and change things up. As you got older, it was easier to just throw on the same sweatshirt you wore on your first day of eighth grade and call it a day, which is why you needed some extra motivation in the form of the two boys sitting with you.

“Thanks for coming with me today, guys, I feel like I’ve been cycling through the same three outfits for weeks now.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

You playfully swatted Jay on the arm. He was the only person you would accept this kind of criticism from, him being the resident fashionista of your friend group after all, but it didn’t mean you always liked to hear what he had to say.

“Like you’re any better! At least I get dressed before my morning classes.”

“Changing into a different pair of sweatpants doesn’t count as ‘getting dressed,'” Jay shot back.

“Neither does tossing a $300 sweatshirt on and walking out the door,” Jake, who was sitting across from you, pointed out.

Jake’s comment made you laugh and even pulled a little smile out of Jay.

“Okay so no sweatshirts and no sweatpants today, that’s the only rule,” you joked, “but everything else is fair game.”

You reached for the bottle of water you had gotten with your meal. No matter how hard you twisted the cap, it wouldn’t budge, even when you pulled your sleeve down over your palm to help.

“Here,” Jake started, “let me-”

Before Jake could finish, Jay plucked the bottle from your hands and opened it with one twist. You and him were unfazed, Jay reaching for a French fry off of Jake’s tray, you taking a sip of your water.

You met Jake’s eyes, noticing his furrowed brows and parted lips; he looked confused.

“What?” You asked, putting the bottle back down on the table.

Jay was staring at him now too, eyebrows raised.

“It’s nothing,” he shook his head. “Where are we off to first?”

“Y/N! Come over here.”

You made your way over to Jay, his height making it easy to see him over the racks of clothes. You had barely stopped walking before he turned you around and started holding up shirts to your back, trying to figure out your size.

Apparently satisfied with his findings, Jay put three shirts, two pairs of jeans, and a thin leather jacket in your arms before turning back around to browse the accessory stand.

“How do you even know Y/N’s jean size?” Jake asked.

Jay just shrugged but you explained, “we’ve gone shopping together before.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that,” Jake said, his voice small.

You frowned, why did he have the same look on his face as he did whenever he was on a diet for soccer and Heeseung ate ramen in front of him?

You were about to ask him what was wrong when Jay was back in front of you, holding various pieces of jewelry up to you and the clothes, trying to figure out what matched best.

“Jay, am I made of money or something? Slow down!”

“I’ll pay for it. Consider it an investment in walking around with better-dressed friends.”

You opened your mouth to argue but your friend had already dashed off, flagging down a store employee to get you a dressing room.

“Do you want me to hold your stuff while you try these on?” Jake offered.

You smiled at the boy, accepting.

He took your bag from around your wrist, underneath the pile of clothes, and made sure not to graze your skin with his fingers lest he start blushing in front of you.

“Can you grab my phone, too? It’s in my back pocket.”

Jake gulped but did as you asked, his fingers reaching around your waist to grab your phone before slipping it into his own pocket.

You flashed him another smile before walking over to the employee Jay had found, giving Jake a chance to breathe and find a way to bring the heat in his cheeks down before you came back out.

The two boys took a seat right in front of your dressing room. Jay immediately went to scroll through something on his phone but Jake stopped him.

“Do you guys, like, do this often?”

The question caught Jay off guard. Why did Jake care how often you two went shopping? Did he…?

Realizing what was going on here, Jay tried to comfort him.

“It’s not really a regular thing, I think they just like my honesty. You don’t have to worry.”

“Worry? I-I…Why would I be worried? I was just… oh.”

Jay moved his head to follow his friend’s gaze.

Jake’s eyes were locked on you as you stepped out of the dressing room. The sight of you was a little too much for him and he needed to remind himself to breathe.

Your shopping trips with Jay obviously paid off because the jeans he picked fit you perfectly, a little too perfectly, hugging your body and making your legs look long, the rips giving Jake a glimpse of your bare skin. The shirt you were wearing emphasized your sharp collarbones, a simple necklace laying between them and disappearing beneath your shirt. The jacket really pulled it all together, the expensive design making you stand with more confidence than usual; it was impossible to look away from you.

Jake wasn’t used to seeing you in clothes like this. Sure, he always thought you looked incredible, but Jay was known for his fashion sense for a reason. He knew exactly what to do to emphasize the parts of your body that had Jake’s jaw practically on the floor.

“How does it look?” You asked tentatively. You thought you looked good but the awestruck look on Jake’s face was making you nervous. Either he really liked the clothes or had never seen something so horrifying in his life, it was hard to tell.

Jay, however, was smirking, obviously satisfied with his work. You looked cool and confident and everything fit you nicely. The necklace he had picked was a little long for the shirt you were wearing, but he decided it was a job well done anyway.

“Great,” Jake squeaked before clearing his throat. “It looks really good.”

Relieved, you turned away from your two friends to inspect the clothes in the floor-length mirror off to the side.

Jay nudged the boy next to him with his elbow.

“Dude, you’re staring.”

Jake snapped out of it and looked down at his shoes to hide the blush that was apparently going nowhere.

Jay had to keep himself from laughing at his friend, he had never seen Jake so flustered before.

After changing back into your original clothes you walked out to join your friends, all of Jay’s findings in your hands.

“Does it all fit?”

“Yeah, that one top is a little low-cut but-”

“Perfect! I’ll go take care of it,” Jay decided, taking everything from you and practically dashing away, leaving you and Jake alone.

“Are you sure everything looked okay? I mean, I trust Jay, but just because an outfit looks good doesn’t mean it will look good on me, you know?”

“Y/N, you looked really good,” his hand went up to rub the back of his neck. “Well, you always do, but especially in that outfit.”

Now it was your turn to blush.

“Honestly, you even looked kind of intimidating in that jacket.”

You nudged him with your elbow. “Are you saying you’re afraid of me, Sim?” You joked.

Jake just laughed at your words, not sure how to explain that while he wasn’t afraid of you, the feelings he had for you were definitely a little terrifying.

A/N: This is obviously a lot shorter than “join me in the sky” but I hope you guys still enjoy it! I feel like Jake would get really shy around his crush lol and when this idea popped into my head I knew it was the perfect opportunity to write about blushy Jake!

#jake sim #enhypen jake #enhypen #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen fluff #jake #sim jake #sim jaeyun #jake fanfiction #jake scenarios #jake fluff

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undertalethingems · 3 years

Note

You are a wonderful comic artist and storyteller, do you have any tips for someone looking to start a comic?

heh, thank you ^^

It’s kind of funny, but a random blog i had checked out happened to have been asked essentially the same question, so i’ll echo their reply--first of all, don’t jump right into a huge comic right off the bat. you don’t wanna get 40 pages in and realize it’s not for you, get burned out, and limp along until you eventually have to give up. that sucks for everyone. so, try out shorter comic formats first so you get the hang of it and learn what works for you. unexpected guests isn’t the first comic i’ve done--it’s just the most successful because i’ve learned from past projects. mostly what not to do, but hey, that’s important too.

but for any comic, i think the other most important thing is to have a plan. have a plan for your story, have a plan for your art, have a plan for your schedule.

putting the rest under a cut because it got long =u=;

i’ve mentioned this before, but I didn’t have Unexpected Guests fully written when I started drawing it as a comic. but, I had a good idea of where I wanted things to go and knew it’d be a while before I caught up, so I wasn’t too worried about that. As long as i kept working on the story, i wouldn’t run out of material, and i did eventually finish the story well before the comic met any of the parts i may have gotten stuck at. Having a story or script laid out ahead of time keeps you from running out of material or having to come up with something new for every update. it lets you plan out character and plot arcs ahead of time, and if you do end up having to drop the comic for one reason or another, you can at least let your readers know how things were meant to pan out and give them closure. you can always edit things along the way--nothing’s entirely set in stone until you draw it out and post it, and there are definitely things in the comic version that aren’t in the fic, and vice versa. so being flexible is an important skill as well.

planning your art is important too, and comics take a little more of it than a singular work. there’s a lot that affects how a comic looks--not just the art style of the characters, but the actual page layouts too. each panel is a picture unto itself, but it’s part of a whole, and how you shape and position each one can add--or detract--from what’s going on in your page. And then when it comes to actually drawing the thing, keep in mind that you’ll have to stay fairly consistent. is a full-color, fully-shaded style sustainable for you? or will you get burnt out or potentially hurt yourself with a particularly complex style? could you save that for splash pages and use something simpler for the main body of the work, the way manga artists often do? try to go with what will actually help you tell your story--which may not be a complex style because it takes too much out of you to draw.

unexpected guests looks the way it does not because it’s the best art i can possibly do, but because it’s the best i can draw that’s still relatively quick and easy. i don’t worry about getting it to look perfect, because that’s just extra pressure and time and energy i don’t necessarily have the ability to deal with, and i want to tell my story--and i have a lot of story to get through. so that’s what i focus on. having an art style that supports that goal makes a huge difference, and planning for it ahead of time just as much.

Lastly, having a schedule--some kind of structure--has helped me keep up with my comic a lot, and it’s also advice i’ve seen for building a following online. So, having a set date you want to have pages done, and giving yourself enough time before then to meet that date, keeps you on track--and then having a date your fans can look forward to, where you show up consistently in the tags, helps people find you and know you’re actively updating. For a while I could update every week because I had the free time, but after I got a new job, I had to give myself two weeks--and that’s still hard to meet sometimes, even with the art style i use.

Ultimately, what works for you is going to depend on a lot of factors. but taking some time to think about what you want to achieve, and what will realistically work with your schedule and skills, will up your chances of success. Studying comics you like can help you get an idea of what works, and there are a couple books about comics that are often recommended too--’Understanding Comics” and “Making Comics” by Scott McCloud. Both books get into the nitty-gritty of how comics actually work in terms of both art and storytelling, so they might be interesting to you as well as a more general look at comics.

and of course, this is just speaking from my experiences! it may not help you at all, but i hope it gives you something to think about :”D

#undertalethingem chats #art tips with undertalethingems #i'm no expert but i like to think i've maybe learned some stuff that could help other folks =u=;

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painted-crow · 3 years

Note

hey so i'm looking to figure my sorting out. i'm p sure of my secondary but honestly i've gone in circles so many times that i'd believe anything lmao

so i guess to start like. i'm fairly sure i'm an idealist, but with a twist. i care about making the world a better place-- i'm kinda infamous among my friends for being a little TOO outspoken about my opinions. on a small scale, i have strong opinions about a lot of things, but on a larger scale... idk. i don't think any one person can know what an ideal world looks like cause there really is no such thing. there are literally countless variables when it comes to implementing even small systems, countless ways to fuck it up, so i don't think i'd be choosing some grand ideal over the people i love anytime soon.

that being said, i think my idealist streak gets directed into something else most of the time. i'm very focused on understanding myself to a fault. i want to know why i do the things i do, why i believe certain things over others. when it comes to my beliefs about the world, they're strong but take it or leave it, but when it comes to myself they are not a good idea to push. i've ended relationships over not feeling like myself with them or feeling like i'm losing myself or they're pushing me to be someone i'm not. i make strong instant decisions about what the "right" thing to do is when it comes to how it impacts my perception of myself, especially with intimate relationships (i'm a lot less impulsive with things like friends and things i'm less personally involved in). i NEED to know who i am, way more than i care about any one specific person or thing. obviously i love people very deeply and would do just about anything to have both, but if i don't know who i am, if i'm not true to myself, then i have nothing. losing people happens.

the issue is, because i'm prone to doing that and not thinking as much about how it'll impact people, i've been called selfish a lot over my lifetime. recently i've started thinking more about how my actions impact people and their feelings, and i'm feeling a lot more torn. i want to do what i want to do, what i feel is best, but i feel immature for doing it a lot. i've started worrying a lot about being a bad person and hurting people, and i've been thinking about how the "right" way to be is. i went through a phase where i was repressing myself to make the "moral" choice, but i just felt so flat. ultimately i realized that it doesn't really matter how good i am if i have to repress myself to get there, cause then all it is is performance. tldr is i feel super guilty for making "selfish" choices rn, especially as i've gotten more aware of other peoples' feelings.

what i think is probably going on is that i'm an idealist primary with a badger model, but i'm not sure between lion and bird, and i'm still open to badger. pretty sure i'm not a snake.

the section on my secondary's gonna be a lot shorter, sorry this got so long! so i'm p sure i'm a badger secondary. considered lion and snake secondary too. whatever i am, i have a p loud lion model over it. i've always had a gift for making people trust me, for acting. i kinda blend in and become what i need to to both help them and get them off my back so i can do what i need to do. i have a serious passion for helping people with tough love (i like to think of myself as a p good advice giver, since i can both tell people what they need to hear and really get in their shoes and be kind where other people might not). i think i judge myself the least when i can kinda toe that line between pushing boundaries and stepping back-- i track where peoples' boundaries are constantly so i can push them to the limit without stepping over them. i'm very fluid when it comes to presentation in reality, even though i think people actually think of me as kinda controversial. i tend to see people who are ACTUALLY overstepping boundaries as lowkey selfish at times, even though i also really respect them. i like to do things the "right" way as long as i give a shit about them. the catch is, i don't want to blend into the background, and i don't think i do. a partner of mine called me a fox cause he noticed the way i constantly toe that line where i can get people to notice me and still keep them off my back, still make them comfortable. i'm also NOT a planner. people constantly give me shit for only ever feeling things out in the moment, and honestly thinking about the future freaks me out. i don't want to plan how i do shit i'd rather just get in the zone and figure it out from there. tldr i'm pretty sure i'm a badger secondary? but i could be convinced of snake. definitely see elements of both but my gut's telling me badger so take that how you will

anyway! thank you so much for taking the time to answer this, i know it's a lot.

also sorry one thing i forgot to add about my secondary! i think my lion model got so loud because when i do the shifty presentation thing, i have a tendency to lose myself and start perceiving myself as whatever i'm presenting. it's made it really hard to figure out who i actually am and so i started just being as clear about it as possible.

for my primary, i really care a lot about being right. i try to take every side into consideration to make sure i get the best conclusion. i can be super stubborn when it comes to certain things, but i don't want to just... hold to perceptions that are wrong. that being said it's important to me to trust my gut and i take it as a big input. i'm very felt out for most things, don't really have a strong system of how to be. i really wanna be able to trust myself but i just don't. i have a big habit of relying on other people to tell me what to think, which is uh. yeah.

Primary

You're a Bird primary with a Lion model, and you're trying on some Badger ideals. That's one of the easier Sorts I've done, lol! Possibly because your primary and models actually House match mine :p

Your reasoning process screams Bird xD and so does your writing style and just the length of the ask. Birds love self-analysis, it's part of how we make sure our systems stay as close to true as we can make them.

You've got some Lion too, but it's a model. It sounds like your Lion and your Bird have come into conflict before, and like most Birds with Lion models, it bugs the snot out of you when your Lion's intuition (which is important data!) doesn't line up with what your Bird knows.

You've prioritized Bird's conclusions before, but (as with many Birds) you don't entirely trust your own system and you're wondering if your Lion might have been right and you should give its reasoning more weight.

Also, you're consciously deciding that maybe Badgers' way of doing things is more moral than yours, and you're pulling in some of those ideals. That doesn't make you a Badger primary. Birds are notorious for this kind of thing actually 😂

The line between whether some ideals you've pulled into your Bird system vs. what counts as a model is fuzzy. It's up to you really, how important those pieces of Badger are to you.

For me, I think the line might be--is it wired into your sense of self on its own, or does it get filtered through your Bird and Lion? It really sounds like your Lion is a strong part of your sense of self: if you ignore its advice, you feel not totally like yourself. You don't have to feel all your models equally strongly, but thinking of it that way might help.

(It's also hard because Birds often feel like they kind of are their systems, or they are their ability to reason, that's a core part of their identity. ...It's complicated.)

Secondary

You sound really really Snakey. I'm not sure where you're getting Badger, actually!

Badgers are more than the mirroring ability. They also bury themselves in work or community, and it can sometimes look like they're neck deep in so many responsibilities that they couldn't possibly handle any more problems--and then they do have a problem, they do need something, and they stand up and all that stuff they were buried in turns out to be armor and tools.

Snakes, otoh, are improvisational and tend to be very aware of their surroundings. Unlike Badgers, the Snake brand of social shapeshifting involves a lot of keeping track of other people's reactions to what they're doing--trying something and then watching the response, then adjusting, rinse and repeat. You turn yourself into exactly the right person for this situation.

Badger mirroring is usually simpler. You reflect the other person's energy back at them: it's an empathetic response that says we're alike, I accept you, you're safe. A lot of Badgers do this without thinking--it can be hard to turn off.

Snakes also don't go in for prep work as much, it tends to trip them up (Snakes with Badger or Bird models notwithstanding). They're Improvisational secondaries, unlike Bird and Badger which are Built and rely heavily on some form of preparation.

The Lion model sounds legit, but just check for yourself: you might be learning to use Snake's neutral state. Snakes will sometimes drop all their layers of acting and maneuvering and suddenly they're just themselves. Different Snakes have different relationships with neutral state. For some Snakes, it's a relief to drop the mask; for others, it feels vulnerable and they only trust certain people with their full authenticity.

It does sound like you really admire Lion secondaries, though, so you might indeed have a model there! This is just something else you could check on.

Hope that helps!

- Paint

#first post in a while huh folks #gotta remember how to tag...#ravenclaw primary #gryffindor primary model #slytherin secondary #gryffindor secondary model #asks #paint speaks #sortinghatchats

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iluxia · 4 years

Text

Unsolicited writing advice???

A ton of you have commented with such kind and complimentary words about my Naruto fic Hiding in the Leaves and its characterization through the shifting POVs. Thank you all! I’m gratified to hear that you’re enjoying it. Some are asking how I shift perspectives and still manage to keep the characters in line. Actually, a fair number of readers have asked for actual advice, so here we go. This is a lot of writing babble, I hope it makes sense but feel free to drop me an ask if anything is unclear!

(1) I read a lot. I read all the time. Easily a book a day, maybe two days. And when I do, I practice critical reading—or as they say, reading like an editor, so I can pick at techniques other writers use. Writing is an art you learn largely by example. A lot of what I read influences what and how I write, so when I need to change my tone or voice to fit a different character, I usually read something that matches what I want my prose to sound like, on top of using techniques like changing tenses and playing with vocabulary choices.

I recently had the chance to flex these writing muscles because I went from writing two very distinct human voices (Tony Stark & Stephen Strange) to writing an alien voice (Loki). It was fucking hard; those in the Marvel fandom might know what I mean. Tony and Stephen are both human, born and raised in America, with specific life experiences that inform their daily decisions and personalities. Loki, on the other hand, is an alien: raised in Asgard, stolen from Jotunheim, well-traveled throughout the Nine Realms, and moreover raised as a prince. Just stop and think about that. When your characters do not have the same experiences that you do, they’re bound to not have the same earthbound concerns that you do. Anthropomorphizing non-human (or even non-living) beings is an age-old practice, but to be faithful to his character, I tried my best to twist my writing voice into a different shape—a shape that more befits the prince of a realm that is somewhat humanoid but very different from what we know on Earth. And in order to do that, I did four things:

I changed my prose from past to present tense; it sounds more immediate and assertive

I read three books, written in present tense, where the prose mimics what I imagine Loki would sound like in his own head

I made a huge spread of everything about Loki (both canon and my own orginal additions) that would inform his motivations, internal concerns, emotional responses, and decision-making processes

I drowned myself in Loki fanwork

Immersion is key! If you saturate your brain in a specific type of rhetoric or style, that’s what’s likeliest to come out of your productive process at the end. So controlling what you read/watch/listen to will help control your writing style too.

(2) This further breaks down what I just said in the third bullet point above. Before I start writing from a specific character’s perspective, I’ll take the time to brainstorm and build that character from the ground up. This might take a day or two and includes a staggering amount of detail—just as much detail as mine or your life might comprise. Silly little things like favorite colors and foods, hobbies, dislikes. Oftentimes, if you’re a fic writer, this is easier because canon gives it to you. Those amazing wiki-pages exist to make your life easier in this regard. (Bless.) What canon doesn’t give you is where you can dig in. Go deeper. Pin your character down. Think about more serious considerations like emotional triggers, conscious motivations, subconscious motivations, coping and defense mechanisms. When hurt or under stress, are they the type to lash out or curl in? Are they the type to hold on to a grudge, or do they prefer to forgive and forget? Do they get hurt easily or do they have a thick skin? I imagine the character’s relationships in life, I rank them and network them in my head. Who do they run to when they need advice? Who do they like hanging out with when they’re happy? Who annoys them, who inspires them, who scares them, who do they want to be like? Even if these questions aren’t necessarily things you might discuss in your fic, it helps inform this person you’re writing about, so it helps you keep a clearer and more consistent mental picture of them as you go.

But most critical of all, I sit and imagine myself in their shoes and think of how they perceive themselves. That is a major factor when writing, because that’s what their head-voice will sound like. And if the story is written from their perspective, then that means you, writer, are writing in that head-voice!

Here’s a more HITL-specific example (I’ll try not to spoil too much lol):

Sasuke

How he sees himself:

Ordinary; not very impressive as a shinobi, but not absolutely terrible either – just ordinary

Average looking

A slow, impatient learner

Awkward with people, but polite and with good intentions

Emotionally stable

A good reader and listener

How he actually is from someone else’s POV:

Incredibly skilled for his age and level as a shinobi

Actually quite handsome

An intuitive learner, very tenacious and will keep at a task forever until he gets it just right; perfectionist much

Quiet, polite, notices a lot about how others act

Absolutely does not handle emotions well

Selective listener; sometimes only hears what he wants to hear

Rationales:

He’s surrounded by a clan of perfectionists and overachievers who constantly laud his aniki for being a genius while paying him no attention. Of course he thinks he’s ordinary.

No one ever compliments him for his looks in the clan compound, and what he sees in the mirror looks just like a younger version of everyone around him. Of course he thinks he’s average, even though he actually has looks.

Because he’s largely self-taught (except for when Obaa-sama teaches him), he thinks he’s slow. (Ever learned a new skill or maybe even a new language by yourself? I have. I can tell you that my perception of how much time I spent learning ‘basics’ was skewed.) He also holds himself to a higher than normal standard because that’s what gets him positive attention (or attention at all) within his family. Add the fact that Itachi was there blazing through everything before him, and it’s suddenly easy to understand why Sasuke thinks the worst of himself as a student. But he (and Naruto) are actually fast learners—we see this even in canon—and both of them boast high levels of natural intuition, or as I (the neuroscientist) likes to call it, pattern recognition. Some people are naturally better at this than others; there have been extensive tests done to show it. But we also know intuition can be trained, so the more Sasuke works at something, the better he gets, and the faster he learns the next skill—as long as the learning is patterned. Which is why Orochimaru, who has picked up on this trait, walks them through learning each jutsu in a stepwise manner every time.

Sasuke doesn’t have a lot of social interaction outside of his family. The Uchiha clan in this fic is very segregated from the rest of the village, so if you’re not active as a shinobi, you probably don’t get out of the compound much. Interacting with people probably intimidates Sasuke a lot so he feels awkward about it and reverts back to habits of politeness and silence that he was taught from childhood. That doesn’t mean that he’s not paying attention, however; Sasuke is naturally observant and remembers a lot about how people act (and not so much what they say). I have a theory about this related to the Sharingan but I won’t go into too much here because it would be a straight-up spoiler, sorry. :D

He thinks he’s emotionally stable because he doesn’t remember many incidents of severe emotional upheaval in his life. That’s because he hasn’t had them; apart from the whole thing with Itachi, he’s been fairly sheltered his whole life. But he actually doesn’t handle emotions well—something he’s about to find out soon enough—and for the same reason! He hasn’t been exposed to an extensive range of it.

Because he’s largely self-taught, he has confidence in his reading skills. He also remembers all of Obaa-sama’s stories so he thinks he’s a good listener. Well, he is—to an extent. If he wants to listen, he will. If he doesn’t, he’s just as proficient as Naruto at pigheadedness. (I think it’s an Uchiha trait too lmao.)

That was a lot, right? But you can see that if I’m writing from Sasuke’s POV, I have to keep a different set of pointers than if I’m writing from Naruto’s POV about Sasuke. The way I think of it is like changing lenses or shades depending on the light outside.

A few more techniques/guidelines I use:

Stay consistent with vocabulary. Orochimaru is far more verbose than the rest of them, Shikamaru right behind him, and Naruto uses shorter, simpler words. You can even assign particular words to a character, a word only they would use when referring to something. This applies to how your character addresses other people too, i.e. Orochimaru calls them ‘little ones’; Shikamaru calls his dad ‘oyaji’ in front of his peers but ‘otou-san’ in front of his sensei; Naruto is quick to give people nicknames and most of the time it sticks.

Watch the adjectives; different people describe things differently. Orochimaru uses more nuanced words that can mean different things depending on the situation and mood; Naruto thinks in terms of emotions, a lot of how does this make me feel; Sasuke is very visual and notices a lot of colors.

Use speech habits wisely; how your character talks should reflect their life. Just like accents, speech habits can tell a lot about a person. Sasuke always speaks politely because it’s how he’s supposed to talk at home, otherwise there’d be trouble. Naruto grew up in a poorer district and had no one to really teach him how to talk politely, so he’s very casual. Shikamaru cusses at age eleven because his parents and family are incredibly laissez-faire and honest around him, so he thinks it’s acceptable and normal (and he was never reprimanded for it).

Play with your tenses. Writing in past tense sounds and feels very different from writing in present tense. Depending on your character, one or the other might sound more appropriate. There are some expressions and figures of speech that sound fine when written in past tense but awkward when written in present tense, so that will end up inadvertently changing your prose a bit, which can be useful.

Read your work out loud. Cardinal rule of prose-writing. What looks good on paper doesn’t always sound good when read out loud. If you read it and it doesn’t sound like how your character talks, time for a vibe check. You might need to change a few words and move sentences around, or you might need a complete overhaul… an editor (and I mean an editor, not just a beta-reader) can usually help you out.

A note about editors vs beta-readers:

There is a cardinal difference! A beta-reader is usually not professionally trained but should be experienced enough to point out things that aren’t right. In fandom, I’ve found that beta-readers mostly focus on a story’s general feel, flow and readability, sometimes character consistency, sometimes they point out typos and mistakes. An editor goes further than that. I’m fortunate to have Tria (aventria) who has edited my work for, gosh, 14 years now, fuck, we’re old! I call her my editor because when she goes through a piece, she will fix everything and make my draft bleed and I love it. (I actually get a little upset when she doesn’t fix anything, even if that means everything was good.) As an editor, she does a vibe check and looks for typos/errors, yes, but she also critiques the prose extensively. She can rearrange phrases or entire paragraphs for better flow. She will cut out entire scenes or make me rewrite them if they’re that bad. Like a copy editor, she looks at stylistic inconsistencies, grammar errors, and iffy word use. She’ll usually suggest or replace the offending word altogether. She has a lot of freedom with the work and can actually kick a piece to the curb if it’s really that shitty. She also questions plot progression, character development, and the relevance of a scene. (She’s made me cut out many, many scenes.) – That all being said, it’s not easy finding an editor, much less a good one. It also has to be someone you trust to have this much power over your work. It’s worth it, however, and my writing has gotten so much better because of the help.

If you’ve read this far, wow, thanks! You’re also probably thinking, “Shit, she takes this too seriously. It’s just a fic.”

I have… gotten into fights in the past before because of this. I feel strongly about the stuff I write. Just because it’s fanfiction doesn’t mean it isn’t a labor of love. I’m a perfectionist by nature, so that’s why I put so much time and effort into what amounts to ‘just a fic.’ And you know what? At the end of the day, writing it gives me satisfaction and happiness, so I will keep pouring into it as much as I can. It’s just a bonus to hear that other people are enjoying it too. (Yes, I’m one of those weirdos who intensely enjoy reading my own work…)

Aaand the final point:

(3) I double-majored in psychology for undergrad and have by now accumulated thousands of hours of clinical hours spent using the theories and techniques I learned from those classes on real people. I’m also specializing in neuroscience, so a portion of my time is spent in psychiatry. Characterization was actually not one of my writing strengths at first, but I definitely noticed leaps in improvement after my clinical rotation started. People skills are just that: skills which are honed with practice. It’s amazing how much you learn about how people think and what make them tick when you interact with a whole spectrum of examples: from your neurotypical everyday well-adjusted person, to high-functioning neurotics and obsessives, to patients who have suffered complex stroke syndromes, to encephalitic brains burning under septic fevers, to druggies stoned so high they’ve breached the atmosphere, to patients whose brains are growing insidious tumors, to schizophrenics and catatonics and the depressed. My job also allows me the rare opportunity to interact with people from all walks of life. All I need to do if I wanted insight about how life is for soldiers who served in an active warzone, for example, is to hit up Bill at the ICU and ask for stories about Korea and the Gulf and Vietnam. Or if I wanted to know about how to survive the Rwandan genocide, I could sit down with Amida, who survived it as a barely-teenager with her brother and sister in tow while only “losing my innocence and an eye.” Or I could talk to Heather, who is building a life with her husband and two rambunctious children, for a perspective on the daily concerns and delights of a ‘perfectly normal and ordinary’ working mother. (Her words, not mine; Heather is amazing even if she eats the doctor’s lounge out of Tita Annabel’s cookies.) Anyway, you get my point. When I write, I almost always write about people, so it makes sense that a lot of my inspiration comes from people too. A lot of my original characters—and even some that are not—often speak with the voices and inflections of people I know in real life. You probably have people with interesting stories to tell in your life; you just have to work up the courage to ask and take the time to listen. You’d be surprised at what you learn!

A few helpful writing resources: (most of these are classics)

The Elements of Style by Strunk & White

The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren

And more books that helped me get into people’s heads:

Hallucinations by Dr. Oliver Sacks

The Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon

Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon

The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo

Admirable Evasions by Theodore Dalrymple

I hope you got something out of that. Again, feel free to drop me an ask if you have any questions or want to chat!

#fanfic #on writing #fandom: naruto #answers

121 notes · View notes

phynali · 4 years

Note

I don't know if you're apart of the Supernatural fandom, but if you are, could you do a speech analysis for Dean Winchester? Thank you.

I am! I’ve fallen into (back) into SPN hell recently and gotten a ton of feels I did not expect, thank you very damn much. But anyway, yes I am happy to oblige.

Dean’s voice is very distinct, but I can see why it’s hard to grapple with for many writers because very seldom does he say what he means and very often when he does it’s wrapped up in humour or pain. It’s often quippy as a means of deflecting emotion or maintaining a status quo or emotional handle over a situation. He uses commands and charm and pop culture references but he’s a very complex character so sometimes that all disappears and he’s open and vulnerable and raw, and those lines can be hard to draw.

Notes

To understand Dean’s focal speech patterns, we first to recognize that we’ve known Dean for 15 years, and that people’s modes of speaking can and will change over time. We’re gonna focus on things that have stayed more or less consistent over time, and his ‘base’ speech patterns that make his dialogue him. I’ll mostly shy away from different eras but may highlight a few things, and the same goes for who he’s talking to because he’s pretty similar with his only major differences being a function of closeness. He’s not much of a conversational mimic so we don’t have to worry about that.

We’re also gonna state the obvious and contrast the type of conversation he might be having - whether he’s tied up or in danger vs. expressing emotions vs. focused on the job. That’s probably where the meat of this is for people who are interested in these kinds of analyses anyway :)

Also - this is 4200 words so I’m sure there are typos so just acknowledging that up front.

Sentence Style

Let’s start with overall style.

Dean’s speech is generally straightforward (when he’s not being referential) with a low proportion of adjectives and a decent amount of degree modifiers (more on that below). He uses simple sentences with clear statements, though will add clauses to clarify, reference, or add degree fairly frequently.

For example:

”Like you said” is acting here as a way to refer back to a previous conversation. Dean does this more when he’s stating something not about himself/his subjective experience, but stating an absolute (or at least something to be taken as absolute).

Also something to point out about this example: like I said he uses shorter, simpler sentences. While that isn’t always true of course, it definitely it is the case that he doesn’t tend toward long, breathless sentences. Even here he could have said this in one sentence and instead split it into two concrete points. A person could transcribe it differently (”Like you said, we’re family, and we don’t leave family behind.”) but he tends to speak in this manner that implies full stops between these separate statements.

(Later I’m gonna completely contradict myself by talking about his longer statements btw. He tends to use longer sentences in more serious conversations, and includes clauses that qualify the statement).

Declarative I-Statements

Dean uses a ton of declarative sentences starting with I. Like - a lot of people do. But Dean’s iconic quotes are often “I”, and a large proportion of his sentences are declarative sentences in the active voice centring around him, his opinion, or his experience of the world. From “I think he wants us to pick up where he left off - saving people, hunting things, the family business.” to “I think I’m adorable”, Dean likes to tell us what he thinks and what he is.

You can also extend this pattern to other sentences that might start with different words but carry the same thesis “Demons I get - people are crazy.” It could be reworded just as simply as “I get demons - people are crazy.” But if Sam were the one saying it? “People are crazy” seems just as likely (although I’d put my money on “what is wrong with people?” as Sam’s most likely statement if he were trying to get the same sentiment across). Sam would express it as an absolute about the world or a rhetorical question, rather than one focused around his view of the world. Which doesn’t make Sam less self-focused or idiocentric than Dean, but their speech patterns express different modes of seeing the world, and in some ways Dean’s vocal patterns do more to acknowledge that his view of the world is subjective (but also that his subjective view is all he really cares about anyway).

(see all the other gifs here. Think “I’m proud of us” and so many other lines. So many I-statements).

Imperative and Commands

Dean speaks in a lot of commands. Idk what else to tell you. He’s a natural leader and he takes charge of situations, so it’s just kind of a natural facet of his speech.

He does this with humour:

And without (”He asks, you answer! Then you shut your hole” for example).

Telling people what to do isn’t always met kindly, of course:

And although not an imperative sentence, he also is comfortable using speech to demand compliance:

Word Choices

One thing I like to always examine is word choice, contractions, and negation, so let’s dive in to that.

Diction

While Dean doesn’t flower up his language much in terms of verb and noun choice, that isn’t because he has a small vocabulary. I’d wager it’s a choice to being unpretentious because of the world he lives in. He never has any issue pulling out technical or clinical language:

(Also seen here: he tends to be very pithy and flippant, especially when he’s unimpressed with someone or with a situation, or wants to express annoyance and frustration. It’s his first-stop for “I dislike this”.)

We’ve seen him use words like Achilles’ Heel and describe how he made an EMF using technical language, so there’s no hesitancy to drop these terms, but for him it’s a matter of expressing what he wants to in a manner that will be easily understood by the person with whom he’s speaking.

Negation

For how he uses negation - Dean doesn’t say “ain’t” and he seldom said “[x]’s not”. His typical negation is “isn’t”.

(Not “this ain’t the Scooby Gang” and not “it’s not / we’re not the Scooby Gang”. Isn’t. And yes, the line “there ain’t no me if there ain’t no you” bugs the hell out of me for this specific reason. When else have we ever heard him say ain’t? “There is no me if there is no you” is way more in keeping with his usual negation style.)

He also negates using the word Never. “I’ve never had anything this nice.”

Like this. And like this:

This is interesting because it fits into Dean’s pattern (discussed below) of using words (adverbs and swears alike) as ways to modify the intensity of his sentences. A lot of people use qualifiers to create this sense of degree (words like “really” and “very”). While Dean sometimes uses or combines those words with others (”really freakin’ hate this”), he does something that very few people do, which is use the qualifying word ‘never’ to express an absolute quality. Most of us can’t say we’ve never done something. We might say we “didn’t” do something, but we don’t express it as absolute as “never”. Dean does. Dean makes it clear what things simply do not get to be attributed to him or are not to be counted within his sphere of existence.

(He says it under less extreme circumstances too though...)

Contractions

Dean is liberal with his use of contractions and word shortenings. I’d recommend writing his use of words like “freaking” as “freakin’” “nothin’” and so forth. Can’t, not cannot.

Gonna, wanna. You are going to want to = You’re gonna wanna. (Also “you’re gonna have to trust me”. He tells people what they’re gonna have to do a lot).

He uses other shortenings like “y’know” and “’cause” as well, when he’s relaxed at least. Like all of us, if he’s emphasizing those words he’ll enunciate fully, so try to match the contraction use to what you want to emphasize and to the tone you want to convey.

Addressing Others

I wasn’t sure what else to call these (linguists might have some idea), but I’m talking about the use of words like “man” “dude” and “y’know” (and even his “Listen Velma” above). He uses these words like we all do - to ensure the person we’re talking to is clear that we’re addressing them directly, calling them into the conversation. Dean uses ‘dude’ a frequent amount for Sam (and others) but also “Man” at times (especially when annoyed). He uses “brother” for Benny as well in S8 in the same manner.

Conversely, “y’know” tends to come up when he’s being sly or pithy. He doesn’t really use ‘Buddy’ except for strangers (but not like Sam who essentially uses it as a threat) and I can’t recall him saying ‘pal’.

Positive and Negative Words

Some generic positives: awesome, super (often sarcastic)

Some recurrent negatives: ugly, bad, douch-y

“It ends bloody. It ends bad.”

Expressing Emphasis

Look - Dean doesn’t use a lot of adjectives, but he does use a lot of degree modifiers/adverbs. One of those is “just”. “Just do [x].” “Just so you know.” Just.

(Even here, “I just”).

He also does a very neat thing with the word “Uh.” It’s used not to hesitate or equivocate, like most people might use it, but instead to increase attention to what he’s saying. A false-hesitancy which tends to both emphasize and diffuse what he’s saying a bit.

(It’s so neat!)

Swearing

There is absolutely no doubt that Dean is an avid curser. There’s an excellent 4th-wall-bending implication from 3x13 (Ghostfacers) where we see Dean (and Sam) dropping f-bombs and other swears that get bleeped out in the Ghostfacers documentary. Which allows us as the audience to realize they’re swearing all the time, but that the network doesn’t allow that kind of swearing, so we see a watered down version of their dialogue on screen.

Dean says “freaking” a lot, and I feel like we can assume that 9 times out of 10, he’s dropping an f bomb. His favourite exclamation is “son of a bitch”, but when he’s really pissed off, we get a “motherf*cker”. Seasons 4-8 his favourite thing to call people is a douche or douchebag if he looks down on them. In general my advice to authors would be not to hesitate to have Dean swear, but make sure you’re using them right.

While many swears are just exclamations or word replacement (”kicked my ass” instead of “kicked my butt”), a lot of the swearing that Dean does is specifically to increase emphasis to something in his speech. Adding in freaking/f*cking as an intensifier is probably its most common use for him.

For the record, he uses “hell” in a similar fashion. What the hell, how the hell, where the hell - etc. Expressing intense emotions via swears that increase the degree/magnitude/intensity of the statement.

(Oddly enough, although Dean will insult people casually calling them douche, etc, when he’s pressed and angry and aggressive, his insults toward people don’t become vitriolic diatribes. Threats are more common, typically without an upscale in cursing, and so is being pithy to get them mad and distracted.)

Questions, Answers, and Emotions

Okay so one thing I have to address: I kind of setup a strawman in the opening about sentence length. Because sure, Dean uses a lot of shorter and more declarative sentences. But he’s a person, which means that the bulk of his speech is just speech. While all else being equal, he uses more shorter, i-statements, and more commanding language than others, he also has conversations. He’s got a great sense of humour and a bit of an acid tongue, even under pressure, so if you’re not writing him with some some glibness or humour (even when it comes out biting, frustrated or falls completely flat) you’re probably missing something.

And often, he expresses himself in questions. This humour and glibness can come out like: "What are you, the Dog Whisperer now?" in a less strained situation, or it can come out to try to keep his feels under wraps while seeking insight:

Of course it’s not all questions. Sometimes his glibness, including for his own life, comes out in the form of answers:

He’s being serious but totally glib about life and death, having accepted his fate. (Dean accepting his own mortality is kind of also a must, especially post S1 finale).

And sometimes he expresses pain and feeling as questions without any glibness at all:

So to be clear, don’t write him as only ever using short i-declarations. Pepper those in, but remember that if he’s expressing an emotion or a vulnerability (even if he’s covering it with glibness), he’ll be using this roundabout way with questions or with indirect answers that don’t directly state his feelings but still manage to convey what he’s thinking.

Pleading

One more thing I want to touch on in this section: there are (probably surprising to some who aren’t looking) a lot of notes of supplication when he’s talking to others and feeling vulnerable. It’s very easy to think of Dean as someone who’ll never ask, never beg or plead. Because that’s what he wants you to think, because he’s the cool, in charge Han Solo type.

But Dean does ask. He pleads. He pleads to God/Chuck, he pleads to his father, to Sam, to Cass. A major difference between he and Sam is actually the situations in which they’re likely to say “please”. Sam’s likely to use it as a first response (and therefore says it waaaay more) but absolutely refuse to under duress. Dean will never ever use it as a first response, but will fall back and resort to it in the end. We could unpack what that means about their psyche, but we’re here for language.

Not too surprisingly, I’m having a hard time getting the gif search to grant me specific gifs of Dean saying ‘please’, but I can recall some instances. S1 finale, when Azazel is possessing John. First he starts with quips and pissing Azazel off, and then it’s “Don’t you let him hurt me!” and then when that fails, he begs his father to help him.

He pleads in S1 for Sam not to leave, because Sam is all he has left. He pleads with an angelic APB at the opening of S9 for an angel to save Sam. He tells Cass he needs him when Cass his pulverizing his face. “Please, he’s my brother”. Is that what he says to Lilith? Or was the ‘please’ implied there?

Here, instead of single gifs, you should get the full experience of the duress under which Dean will say please:

To God

To his dad

To his dad again

To Bobby

To Sam in an alternate timeline

And when he wants to be left alone the same thing occurs:

To his mother

To Sam

You get the idea. He doesn’t always say please. Sometimes it’s notes of supplication in his voice and sometimes it’s a somewhat desperate “c’mon man” when he doesn’t want to have to ask but he’s at the end of his rope.

(Okay final characterization note for this section - I also think Dean is probably useless against someone who looks up at him with wide sad eyes and says ‘please’ to him. I suspect part of why it’s his final defense is because he himself would be defenseless to that kind of plea from others, because he was hardwired from a young age to look after his infant little brother, and that involves a certain amount of responding to pleading and helplessness).

Pop Culture References

Dean uses a lot of highly referential language. He refers to bands and musicians, films, pop culture, current events and modern history, etc. Despite him not being overly tapped into social media (e.g., not knowing what myspace is in early seasons, among other things), it’s equally clear that he’s tapped into film, TV, music - any means through which he can consume content. This makes sense given how much driving time and downtime his life must have, with time in motels and between jobs to watch and rewatch the same media. Try to pepper in these sorts of references in as ways for Dean to describe what’s going on and relate new experiences to what makes sense to him.

If you’re a non-American writing him, or a very young American, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on music and media that were popular from the 80s and 90s, which will make up the core of Dean’s formative years and therefore references. There’s also evidence he knows a lot of pop culture history though so don’t hesitate to make references to films etc from any decade of the 20th century. He’s also a bit of a sci-fi nerd and we know he reads (including Vonnegut) so literary references are perfectly in order. I would shy away from references to historical fiction, Shakespeare, and instead keep it to genres we know he consumes (including cartoons!).

"You were wasted by a Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel?"

(ps - seriously just look at this post - we’ve got scooby doo and blues brothers and batman and I wasn’t even trying to find pop culture references when I gif searched).

Deeper Emotional Conversations

While I mentioned above that he uses questions and answers to roundabout discuss his feelings, not all chick flick moments can be handled in that manner, and many can’t be handled with glibness at all.

For Dean, directly addressing his deeper negative emotions is difficult, and thus becomes a pained pronouncement. The nuance tends to come through in his face and nonverbal cues so focus on those, but linguistic choices are pretty important here. And this is where directly naming his emotions comes in. Unlike that question/answer section above where his thoughts and feelings are conveyed without directly naming his sentiment, sometimes he is called upon to express his feelings more specifically.

Because let’s be honest, he’s got his A Single Man Tear(TM) and he’s got deep, painful feelings, but he sucks at talking about them.

Let’s create an example that isn’t something that specifically happened in canon, but easily could. So - let’s say that Dean might need to say he’s scared of losing Sam. That would come after some pained discussion and Dean will act like he’s having his teeth pulled, but he will say it. And when he does, it’s either an angry proclamation (”you want me to say it? fine! i’m scared, sam - i’m scared as hell that one day i’ll wake up and you’ll be gone.”) or he cracks himself open completely exposed and vulnerable, and all the air rushes from the room when you see it because his eyes are shining and it’s visceral and real and been sitting right below the surface, suffocated until this moment (”i’m scared, sam,” a crack in his voice, an inhale of breath, and he looks a second from losing it. but it’s dean so he won’t, he’ll hold on by the skin of his teeth with his heart spilling out of his mouth, red with the blood of his own truths. “i’m terrified of losing you.”).

There’s very little in between. There’s almost never any emotionally removed or more clinical discussion of his feelings like you might get with Sam. (”you want me to say i’m scared? of course i’m scared. i’m terrified, dean, but that’s not the point here. the point is -”). Because Dean struggles to accept and avow his painful internal emotional landscape, he struggles to discuss it in a way that’s removed, so it becomes very intense when he does.

What this also means for writing emotional dialogue is that although Dean does not lack insight into his emotions, where they come from, and why he’s feeling the way he is, he’ll very seldom provide you an in depth explanation. This may make him seem less emotionally mature, but really what’s happening is a struggle to put those feelings into words. Discussion of anxiety, insecurity, and trauma are put into boxes he can more easily communicate - fear, anger, violence. Less “I overreacted because I was scared of losing you” and more “I’m fucking terrified of losing you. And yeah, it pisses me off.” Dean doesn’t tend to use explanatory statements (”because”), he tends to present emotions and even concepts outside of emotional discussions as separate statements, and it becomes your job to then connect those statements (as the one he’s talking to, and as the audience).

Like I said near the start, Dean also uses longer sentences when having serious conversations. “As long as I’m around, nothing bad’s gonna happen to you.” Note the first half of that sentence acting as a qualifier (implying something bad could happen, but not when Dean is around, creating the condition upon which the whole sentence and sentiment hangs).

Less Declarative Expression

Dean expresses negative emotions like disappointment and frustration as well, but unlike his more intense/extreme negative emotions (terror, fear of abandonment, deep anger) he very seldom will declare those emotions. While he might use question and answer format, he might also control the conversation with a straightforward expression that saves him from having to say what he’s feeling while still getting it across.

For example, "Well that's great, because without your power, you're basically just a baby in a trench coat." Instead of saying he’s frustrated, he says something that gets to the point of what he’s mad about without saying he’s mad. (This is especially true when what he’s mad about is the situation. Because while these statements are about people, on the balance of things, they’re not really directed at them. Because often he’s frustrated because of something they can’t solve and he knows that).

He’s also liable to not-declare-but-express pent up feelings he’s not ready to unpack in the same manner:

He’s obviously stressed and angry, but he doesn’t want to have to avow that anger and unpack all of where it’s coming from. It’s not the feeling of the emotion he dislikes so much as it is the examination of the underpinning reasons for it, because the dredge it up and unpack it is more painful than to let himself to continue to feel it at this low consistent level while he processes.

Outliers and End Notes

No post can fully capture and analyze 15 years of dialogue. There’s probably a million important elements to Dean’s speech that I missed. I think I want to emphasize a few things before we part.

First - if you really want to write Dean, make sure you write him as charismatic. He uses humor, charm, deflection, questions, commands, and confidence all to control conversations and he does it seamlessly. Despite his rakish nature, he seldom if ever seems to offend people (unless he’s deliberately trying to piss them off) and you should take that into consideration when writing him.

Keeping him fully in character will therefore involve a sort of fluidity about his speech, and those references. He is personable and exceptionally confident. He does not tend to hesitate or apologize (except in a flippant, superficial way, or in very strained emotional conversations and then only to those he loves deeply). His volume and tone are probably as or more important than his words, so consider when he’s saying something with a purr vs. with a snarl vs. shouting vs. having his voice crack into a whisper. He’s incredibly expressive with his face, but not overly gesticular with his hands (though he does gesture, just not in a way that stands out a great deal).

If you want or need him to give some type of confession in what you’re writing, you pretty much have two options. Either expressing his emotions in ways I’ve described here, or giving it the good ol’ S12 monologue where he bares his soul (when he’s inside Mary’s head). That should be reserved only for very extreme circumstances though - circumstances like saving his mother from brainwashing, discussing his hell trauma, or declaring that there’s nothing on heaven or earth he’d put before his little brother. Because in general long speeches aren’t his style.

And if you can, give some thought to what season you’re writing in. Is he still calling everyone and everything douch-y? Is he in the later seasons and more capable of unpacking his emotions directly? Is he in the early seasons where he’s trying to be Han Solo and too damn cool and smooth about everything, even his impending death?

At the end of the day - Dean is a wonderful, complex character and I hope this analysis helps some writers understanding his speech and character better!

#dean winchester #dean meta #spn meta #supernatural meta #supernatural #speech patterns #speech analysis #long post #long post for ts #i don't wanna put it under a cut because no one ever looks at these when i do #also for those who don't know i used to do these for flash characters on my side blog #but have requests now for branching out #i am not a linguist #i just like studying characters and trying to write their dialogue #this post is 4200 words and my goal was under 5k so i win #not-entirely-crazy-just-a-little

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

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October 18: Vague Blog Part Two

I really didn’t accomplish anything this weekend other than a lot of resting, a lot of watching of Project Runway, one walk...and one whole fic. Maybe I needed to do the resting part to manage the writing part.

By which I mean, the Chopped Fic is done. Well, done in draft form. I don’t want to give the word count, obviously, but it’s...a lot for my blocked self to have written in 2 days. I did the math, and all told I probably completed it in something like 5-6 hours, closer to 5. I’ve read through most of it and I do want to do some smoothing of rough edges and style edits and stuff this week, but I’m pretty proud of it! It’s not the fic I initially intended to write or, like, most Chopped fics, the fic I ever thought I would write but it’s a good fic. Imo.

I’m really, really excited to put it out there next week. Along with the Bellarke Halloween fic I hope to finish tomorrow.

And....maybe another Chopped fic? Lol, it’s such a terrible idea. I realize I have plenty of days between now and the deadline and I’ve definitely written Chopped fics in less time but.... work. The grinding down of my spirit every single week. It’s coming for me again.

On the other hand, this other, actually original Chopped idea is like... at first I was really into the aesthetic of it. Then I had this other idea, and at first they seemed roughly equally vague. But then I poked more at the second one and really put my effort toward ironing it out. I thought it wouldn’t work--and then it all popped into place! So obviously I had to write it. The first idea seemed, in comparison, too complicated and too long--with some pretty major problems in terms of plotting. But somehow setting it on the backburner helped my subconscious smooth out all the issues, or at least the biggest of the issues, and now it feels...not completely ready to go, but like it’s squarely in the plausible column, as opposed to ‘uh there’s an idea here but it’s all a great big mess.’ So obviously my original feelings about the aesthetic are coming forward and I’m having some thoughts about specific scenes... It’s awfully tempting.

I’ll try to at least poke at it this week. Maybe without the pressure of it being my only Chopped contribution, I’ll be able to create something without too much...angst. Or I could adapt it into something else, shorter and simpler. Or I could just post it as a Halloween in December fic lol.

#the year 2020 #2020: writing thoughts

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tazrider · 4 years

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Allez, pour ta peine : nombres pairs ! Tous.

Ah la vache... Ca fait beaucoup T_T Here we go!

2. How old are you? Between 20 and 40 but not halfway. Might be a multiple of 7. Or not...

4. What is your zodiac sign? Taurus. Been told it’s very fitting...

6. What’s your lucky number? Don’t have a lucky number but I like 3 (dates back to when I first read The Black Stallion when I was a kid and Alec and Black had the number 3 during their first race XD).

8. Where are you from? France, from where France fists Belgium XD (yep that’s a saying here).

10. What shoe size are you? Fucking way too small for my liking, it’s hell to find shoes my style... (37 or 6.5).

12. What was your last dream about? Something super weird (I always have super fucking weird dreams) but I don’t really remember this one. I don’t keep a log on dreams, seems too much work because it always swings between super weird and nightmares so not like it matters much...

14. Are you psychic in any way? Huh nope and don’t believe in these things.

16. Favorite movie? The Fifth Element, it’s not a great movie but it’s like a Madeleine de Proust and takes me back to simpler times. Also fucking funny, sci-fi and awesome music, what’s not to like?

18. Do you want children? Man, kids make me uncomfortable as hell. I prefer horses XD.

20. Are you religious? Absolutely not. I only believe in science and there’s no room in there for an hypothetical superior force, that’s supposed to be all love and shit and yet lets the world in that state.

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Ah, unless you count speeding tickets as getting in trouble with the law...

24. Baths or showers? Showers.

26. Have you ever been famous? LOL nope and don’t wanna be.

28. What type of music do you like? Ooh tricky question, I have rather eclectic tastes in music. Ranges from ancient music and baroque (I love harpsichord, learned to play the piano when I was younger) to post-hardcore / “hard” music and pretty much everything in between. Discovered lately I don’t mind some bluegrass even. What I don’t like would be a way shorter list... XD I’m less a type of music kind of person and more a how that music makes me feel person, regardless of the type of music and the person/band. That said, I abhor bal musette and mostly of what we call ‘nouvelle chanson française’... In general, I like it dark and tortured.

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 2 and a small one.

32. How big is your house? Tis an appartment and with the new job last year I was able to afford more than just a rabbit hutch! (65m2 yus!).

34. Have you ever fired a gun? Only airsoft and paintball guns, was fun.

36. Favorite clean word? Lately I’ve been saying ‘grave’ a lot, I manage to annoy even myself when I do...

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? I think it was 3 days or perhaps 4 and not even due to insomnia.

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Eh not that I know of lol Pretty sure I’m not the type of person that gets secret admirers.

42. Are you a good judge of character? I think I am most of the time. As an introvert I spend much of my time on the sidelines of social interactions so I watch and analyze people a lot but I’ve been wrong a couple of times (especially if it’s a pretty girl -_-) and that fucking sucked each time...

44. Do you have a strong accent? In French? Nope, I made sure to erase it because I’m a snob like that. In English? Obviously I have a French one (been told it’s cute... -_-).

46. What is your personality type? INTJ, introvert all the way (is that what it’s referring to?) Because if not, I’ve been told by a psychologist I saw as part of something for my job who said I should get diagnosed for ADHD and autism, so...

48. Can you curl your tongue? Yep. Can make a tube with it, can also turn it over but only from one direction.

50. Left or right handed? Right but training the left to not be useless since childhood (you need to have a good feeling of both your hands if you want to be a good horseback rider).

52. Favorite food? Pasta all the way!

54. Are you a clean or messy person? Both. A clean mess XD Seriously, there are still some boxes I haven’t unpacked from moving in last year... My desk at work is a fucking clutter because I manage like 15 projects at the same time and sometimes the files all end up there... But I always end up fed up of the mess and clean everything like a tornado. Especially when I decide I have enough, I can’t do anything else until I cleaned everything.

56. Most used word? Fuck or ‘putain’ and it’s variation ‘putain de merde fait chier’ in French.

58. Do you have much of an ego? I do, it’s big and sometimes misplaced. I try to not let it get in the way though.

60. Do you talk to yourself? Oh yeah, especially when I fucked something up.

62. Are you a good singer? Nope, doesn’t mean I don’t like to sing very off-key when I’m alone...

64. Are you a gossip? No, not really.

66. Do you like long or short hair? In general? Long hair but I don’t care long or short as long as they’re comfortable with it and it suits them.

68. Favorite school subject? Hands down History and geology (wanted to be an archaeologist before I chose geology).

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? I’m a scuba diver (have my first degree, can dive down to 20m). I fucking love it but life happened and I haven’t been able to keep it up :(

72. Are you scared of the dark? No, I kinda like it. Although I don’t need the room to be pitch black to sleep.

74. Are you ticklish? Yeah and since I don’t always control my strength, it can lead to some kind of injuries to the tickler...

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I guess? I taught at the engineering school in geology during my PhD, does that count?

78. Have you ever done drugs? Only weed a couple times. I try to stay clear from anything remotely addictive because I have an obsessive personality.

80. How many piercings do you have? None and not planning on getting some.

82. How fast can you type? Average fast I guess?

84. What color is your hair? Very light brown, bordering on blond (I’ve been told I’m blond and it gets even lighter in the sun...).

86. What are you allergic to? Dust and mold which is just awesome for a horse owner, everyday your nose in hay...

88. What do your parents do? Teachers both. My mother’s a History and Geography teacher which means a childhood spent visiting historical sites during any vacation.

90. What makes you angry? Stupidity, incompetence, injustice to name a few. Currently my neighbors letting the front door bang at any hour when there’s a note asking not to (my bedroom’s right next to that fucking front door)...

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? Nope nope but I thought about names for my future horse(s) XD

94. What are you strengths? Loyal to a fault, up front, smart, persevering. I’m fucking funny too.

96. How did you get your name? My father always wanted to name his daughter that way. I always thought it doesn’t suit me though.

98. Do you have any scars? Oh yeah... Left shoulder, both knees, right ankle, shins, nose, chin, hands (not counting the tip of one finger I nearly lost 2 years ago), right shoulder blade.

100. Color of your room? Plain white, I rent the flat so not redecorating.

#eagle-raider #damn dude that took me like forever...#have fun with all those random info #reminds me of the good ol' times of the Warehouse 13 fandom

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mscompany · 3 years

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The Top 5 Must Play RPGs for Every Video Game Console

The gaming market is monstrous. Right now there are six consoles, three handhelds, and the ever present PC you can buy games for. That's 10 different ways you can get your game on, so if you're someone who doesn't have the ways or means to buy all 10 platforms and every halfway decent game that arrives for any of them, you're probably wondering which way you should go to get the most bang for your buck. I'm a bit of a gamer nerd, and so for you I've collected the top five available games (in the stores now) for each console for each particular genre. Based on reviews, user comments, and my personal experience, these are the best ways to go. This round: RPGs. The Japanese RPG market exploded in the 32-64 bit days, blowing out with a new game seemingly every week. You can blame Square for that one, bringing to the stores amazing game after amazing game, which immediately spurned every other company to release whatever dreck they could muster to keep you pumping money into their pockets. Nowadays there are hundreds of options out there, and the Japanese market isn't the only one around. North American companies have their own answers to the RPG boom and now it's a veritable flood of options. Here are the top five for each option you've got. PlayStation 2 - The PlayStation brand name has been the home of quality RPGs since PS1 first roled out with Suikoden and Final Fantasy games in the mid- 90s. This list was hard because there are so many left off. Dark Cloud 2, Final Fantasy X, the Shin Megami Tensei games and many more deserve recognition, but alas these are also long as hell, so if you had more than 5, when would you ever finish them. You may notice I exclude the PS3, but I can't really offer any PS3 RPGs for you until they've actually been created. We're waiting. 1. Shadow Hearts Covenant - The Shadow Hearts series took on a serious following after this entry, one of the greatest RPG releases of the generation. It's take on the fantasy RPG genre blended into the realms of reality, bleeding over in church and demonology lore. Taking place in the 19th Century and following the legend of a young woman and her unfortunate destiny, it can be enjoyed alone or along with it's predecessors Koudelka and Shadow Hearts (I). 2. Disgaea - This is probably the best strategy RPG released for any console ever. Released by Atlus, a brand name that has grown in and of itself of recent years to the respectability that names like Square and Level 5 now carry with their games, Disgaea is about the young prince of hell and his quest to regain his domain after being awoken. With more than 200 hours of gameplay here, count on playing for days on days. And it's funnier than hell. These are great characters. 3. Suikoden III - The Suikoden series is the cult series. Of course it's slowly sliding out of cult status and into the mainstream with releases occurring every couple of years since this one. The best in the series with the possible exception of Suikoden II, Suikoden III tells the story of a huge cast of characters, all intricately entwined with one another. You play through the tale of their war, but as seen through each characters eyes. Truly epic. 4. Final Fantasy XII - The newest release, released only two weeks before the PlayStation 3's release, this game redefines the epic scope of prior Final Fantasies, literally reaching for the stars. Each character is fully realized and a part of the action, their story an intricate part of the game. There's no fluff here, and the rebuild of the decades old RPG formula was all for the better, working for the complete and total betterment of the game and hopefully the series. 5. DragonQuest VIII - Dragon Quest has always been huge in Japan, but only now did it find the same success here in the US pubg mobile hile. Dragon Quest VIII is the huge (extremely huge) result of Square Enix's jump to full 3D glory in their series. The graphics are incredible, the characters hilarious and deeply involving, and the story arresting. The battles aren't half bad either. And the usual monster catching glory is intact. A long game, it will keep you busy for days. Gamecube (and Wii) - The Gamecube got shorted on the RPG options, much like its big brother the N64. Nintendo lost a lot of their clout with the RPG crowd when Squaresoft jumped ship in the 90s and they're still trying to earn it back...so far to little success. But, the future looks bright, as Square Enix is finally producing games for the Big N, and Nintendo's own work includes more forays into the RPG market. Here's hoping for more, because the Wii is perfect for the format. 1. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The newest Zelda adventure, Twilight Princess, is by far the best reason to own a Nintendo Wii. The game is a masterpiece on almost every level, to the point I'm almost willing to call it the greatest game ever made. We've heard this a lot, that this game is the greatest. That it surpasses what Ocarina accomplished 8 years ago. And as my own favorite game, it's hard to ever put anything above Ocarina in terms of scope, depth, and innovation. No need to go into detail. Read my review of it here for more thoughts on why it's so amazing. 2. Tales of Symphonia - The first really good RPG for the Gamecube, and still one of the only ones really. The newest entry in the hugely popular (in Japan) Tales saga, Symphonia was a huge, fun, well told game. The characters were fun, the battle system is one of the best around, and the action was fully inclusive and crafted a long game. Symphonia was the Gamecube owning RPG fan's one saving grace. 3. Skies of Arcadia Legends - Originally released for the Dreamcast, Skies of Arcadia was given a second life on the Gamecube, again fated to anonymity due to the failure of the console. This is a great game. It tells the story of two sky pirates who must traverse the sky ocean and save the world from a shattering war and so on. You attempt throughout the game to build your pirate rank and build up your ship. It was one of Dreamcast's must have games and the same for Gamecube. Unfortunately so few actually had it, and now it's not exactly easy to find. 4. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - The infamous Wind Waker. Nintendo's foray into cel shading and the horrible foray into ocean mechanics. This game is still amazing. It's Zelda afterall, but it's flawed on more than the basic levels. It's hard to get around. The ocean is huge, and the game is short. But the parts you play, in between sailing around Hyrule are beautiful and incredibly fun. 5. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The Big N rounds out the five with another in house effort. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was a return to the Paper Mario fun they coined in the N64 days, this time around with the RPG elements the game seems to work best with. Incredibly easy yes, but fun as hell at the same time. Xbox (and X360) - The Xbox, not surprisingly saw no Japanese development. Every game listed below was produced in English Speaking countries, mostly Canada actually. The style is noticeably different, but the quality is equally incredible. The strive for realism by Western developers can be seen in each of these entries. Although the lack of humor is equally as prescient. 1. Elderscrolls IV: Oblivion - The Xbox 360 has some serious horsepower. Not only is there room to spare, but the graphic output is insane at time, and what better way to show this off than with an Elderscrolls game. Monstrous, huge worlds in which you can freely roam wherever you want and interact with your environment. This game is huge and intense. Hundreds of hours can be spent just wandering around and completing a main quest. As for getting the rest done. Who knows how long you could spend on there. 2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Star Wars games were starting to get a bad rap for a while, until Bioware arrived with the first full fledged Star Wars RPG. Built on the click and wait action of the D&D ruleset games, KOTOR was a brilliant game that took Star Wars fans back a few thousand years to the height of the Jedi/Sith wars. It also had one of the most surprising and amazing endings in any game..ever. 3. Elderscrolls III: Morrowind - And another Elderscrolls game. This one was equally as huge as its sequel, and had just as amazing graphics for its time. Elderscrolls truly stretches the imagination in terms of open world RPG exploration and making a game that will take a long time to finish. A truly wonderful game. 4. Jade Empire - Set in a fictional ancient China, Jade Empire comes from the makers of Knights of the Old Republic, and while not nearly as large in scope or length, the game utilizes an array of different combat styles and elements that make it sheer fun to play. It's shorter and simpler than the original games from Bioware, but they make up for it with the attention to detail and the battle system upgrades. 5. Fable - Touted as an amazing achievement in world interface, Fable turned out to be a little bit of a letdown. It was smaller, shorter, and less engaging than what was claimed, but it was still a solid, fun game to play. Starting as a bland adventurer you could become either entirely good or entirely evil through the actions committed during a quest. The characters are generic, the quests forgettable, but the options given to play through them all are still fun. The ending however leaves something to be desired, and they could have done with a few more reasons to openly explore. For a sandbox RPG, it was surprisingly linear. Game Boy Advance - Yup, no DS games. I imagine soon, with the release of the new Pokemon game, and the surprising announcement of Dragon Quest IX coming exclusively to the DS, the RPG options there will explode, but for now your best bet in the RPG realm on handhelds is with the Game Boy Advance. Here are a few of the best.

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