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withlovelunette · 1 year

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How to construct character psychology!

– Introduction

Hello hello! :D I’ve been very slow with my writing lately due to uni work (and some unforeseen health issues), but I’d like to still be able to make content and be interactive in the writing community, so I’m here again to share some advice based on my own experiences! One of my favourite things about writing is writing characters, specifically constructing a character’s psychology. I’d like to preface this post by saying that while I’ve had formal classes in psychology, I’m by no means any sort of expert within the field, and I also don’t believe that every aspect of how a character is written needs to be rooted in realism. However, I do want to share some insights that I got from it, and also because I feel like “character psychology” has this very mystified weight to it that makes it seem a lot bigger and intimidating than it needs to be.

So! My goal is just to share some advice on how to break down a character’s psychology and work from there! If you like what you read and would like to read more, I’ve also written a post about creating “complex” characters, which you can find the link to here! Aaand yes I think that’s about all I have to say beforehand, I hope you enjoy :,)

What do I mean when I say psychology?

Before getting into the nitty-gritty, I’d like to start with the basics, just to make sure people are on the same page when reading this post. When I’m talking about psychology here, I’m specifically referring to a character’s cognition, as in how they process information and act on it/make judgments. I’m not necessarily referring to personality in this case (although personality is an aspect of psychology, but I’m more so referring to personality as a consequence of cognition here, rather than as a collage of traits and behaviour).

Another thing I want to clarify is that exactly how much of human behaviour is nurture vs nature is a hotly debated topic that I’m completely under-qualified to take a stance on, but for the sake of this post; I believe both are equally essential aspects of human behaviour, so just keep that in mind! (I’m looking at any behaviourists in the chat rn). That being said; I’m not really comfortable treating psychology as “nature” (as such rhetorics are often used in gender-essentialist and other bigoted ways of thinking), so my main focus will be nurture, since that’s what is most readily observable!

Determining character motivation

If you’re working with very little or bare minimum characterization, my recommendation is to consider; what motivates a person to act? And by this, I’m not referring to the external quest or goal behind the character, but rather, what’s the core of what motivates your character to act at all? Even in grand, epic adventures of good vs evil, where the external goal is as simple as “putting an end to whatever evil the bad guys are doing”, there needs to be a reason a character is specifically on the side that they’re on. Multiple characters can be on the same side, but they might find themselves on that side for vastly different reasons, even when their exterior goals are the same. From there, you’ll want to consider what informs this motivation in particular.

One technique I love to employ, when still figuring out my character, is to have them make some sort of bizarre decision, a decision I’d initially think to be improbable for this particular character, and then try to list off various justifications or variables that would allow for this character to make this particular decision. There’s a couple of reasons for why I do this.

1) It removes some of the pressure to have a perfectly cohesive, perfectly put together and neatly defined character from the get-go. The drafting process isn’t just for plot and story structure’s sake, it’s also there for you to experiment with characters! Having your characters make story altering decisions that possibly challenge or contradict themselves is a great way to make sure that you’re writing active characters as opposed to more passive ones, and I think the first couple of drafts should really be a playground for you to see just how far you can stretch your characters based on their characterisation.

2) It helps me clarify what is and isn’t important in my character’s decision making. I’m a firm believer that most decisions/actions aren’t inherently in or out of character; it just depends on whether or not the readers/viewers can understand the character’s thought process behind their decision, and this ultimately comes down to how well you, as the writer, conveys the character’s priorities when they make decisions. If you’re established that a character acts based on a code of honour, an exterior source to morality and conduct, then the justifications and reasonings they would use to justify murder would likely be very different than a character who acts based on their own convictions. This is also a great way to show character development; by showing how a character’s decisions gradually change as their cognition change as they develop.

3) It allows me to explore nuance and make note of potential contradictions within the character’s way of thinking—which is often the most interesting aspects of a character’s psychology, at least in what I enjoy to write and read. Most real people don’t have perfectly cohesive morals, and most people can’t always act congruently with their morals either, so allow for your characters to make some bizarre decisions! See how far you can stretch their cognition! These decisions don’t have to be canon to the story, but it’s a good way to actually solidify what line of thinking your character makes when faced with difficult and potentially morally indicative choices.

Work your way backwards!

If you already have the overall traits and behavior of your character pinned down, you can always work your way backwards! As a pantser, this is a very common occurrence for me. I have a character with a clear goal and defined characteristics, but they’re completely uninformed so far, as I usually discover the cause of their motivation and characteristics as I write the story. As such, most of my characters don’t have any sort of backstory established until I’m much further into the process, as I discover it as I go along. So here’s some things I look out for in my character writing when creating a backstory after I’ve already established a character.

1) What are some things the character is often drawn towards? Humans are typically very habitual, a lot of us enjoy some sense of familiarity (to varying degrees depending on the person), and taking note of what your character tends to gravitate towards can be a great stepping stone to fleshing out backstory. An example could be a somewhat cold, stoic character who’s incredibly picky with their relationships due to trust issues (pretty common characterization) has a tendency to let their guard down more when around elderly people. Why is that? Maybe they were raised by very old parents, or even grandparents. Maybe it’s a cultural thing to treat elderly with more respect. Maybe it’s a religious thing. Maybe it’s because elderly people have treated them with more kindness in the past, etc. Note that this can be flipped too! Maybe this character feels uneasy around people closer to their own age, or even people who are younger than them.

2) How does your character socialize? The way a character approached social settings can often be very indicative of how they were raised, as that tends to affect how people form attachments (according to attachment theory in psychoanalysis, at least). Are they very sociable? If so, why? Is it because they’re accustomed to being around a lot of people? Maybe they had a very large family, or maybe they had a family that took part in a very active social sphere. Maybe this character just comes off as sociable because they understand the value of social connections. Why’s that? Maybe their family have a political influence, or maybe they have a business they want to sell, etc. Or maybe it’s the complete opposite; maybe this character grew up with little to no family at all, and that’s why they want to make friends and connections. If so, then maybe that affects how they make decisions, leaving them incredibly loyal and somewhat co-dependent. Even the smallest character traits and behaviours can be expanded upon to inform you of how that character was possibly raised, it’s really just about digging into said behaviour!

3) How receptive are they to new experiences or other people’s perspective? This is also somewhat linked to attachment theory, but it doesn’t have to be approached that way! The reason I bring this point up is because I find that a character’s receptiveness is often a good way to gauge their relationship with their parent. For example, a character with very strict, traditionalist parents might adopt that outlook on life because it offers them a sense of stability and security. They weren’t raised to be adaptable or to adjust themselves to new experiences, and thus have a difficult time accepting things outside of their established paradigm. This would suggest that this character likely didn’t rebel much to their parents’ outlooks on things (or if they tried, they failed), since they adopted said outlook for themselves. Another way to write this character (with the same premise) is to have them react in the opposite way; maybe they are super open and receptive because the rigidness of their parents prevented them from ever experiencing anything. Maybe the status quo bored them, or maybe they see their parents as narrow minded. This characterisation suggests that there’s possibly more tension (not necessarily in a negative way) between the character and their parents.

Interplay between morals & behaviour

A character’s morals and behaviour don’t always have to align. Like I mentioned in an earlier point, humans hold a lot of contradictions, and how people cope with those contradictions can vary. However, how do you determine if a contradiction is purposeful rather than a case of out-of-character writing?

Let’s say you have a character who views all animals as sacred, and this is something they were raised with. Suddenly, this character is thrust into a situation in a different world/kingdom/region/etc. where eating animal meat is the only viable food option to survive. They decide to do it, despite their morals directly conflicting with this behaviour.

One way this character might justify this is by thinking “well, my intentions matter most, and my intention was never to hurt animals, so while I feel bad for killing an animal for food, my intentions of doing so respectfully makes this action more acceptable to me.”

But another character in the exact same situation might not be satisfied with such logic. Maybe they see intentions as irrelevant, and only care about the consequences of their actions. If it’s been established beforehand that a character is consequentialist, then this action, paired with the justification above, would feel incredibly out of character, because the logic behind the justification is not intuitive to the reader.

Whether a contradiction feels purposeful or out-of-character ultimately boils down to what information and how much of it you’ve given to the readers, so that they have the information necessary to break down the interplay between the character’s morals and behaviour.

Using other tools (cognitive functions, socionics, enneagram, etc.)

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I’m very interested in various types of typology (mbti probably being the most popular and well known one), and while I consider all forms of typology to fall under pseudo psychology, I often use these tools to help me better understand my own characters better! I personally gravitate towards cognitive functions (which is not the same system as mbti, even though it uses the same letter system) as they help me put into words my character’s cognition, and enneagram, which describes behaviour and motivations that arise from a person’s upbringing and coping mechanisms. There’s other things you can take into consideration as well, like socionics, temperaments, attitudinal psyche, etc!

I’m not suggesting you use these as replacements for developing characters, but they can be great supplements when trying to dig deeper into your character’s psychology! I’d also argue that you get more out of putting these systems into use if you learn about typology and analyse your characters yourself instead of taking a test for them, but I’m also very biased in this regard, since I enjoy analysing my characters myself :,) And there are times where I’ll take a few tests to help solidify my breakdown if I’m having a difficult time labelling my character correctly. Honestly, just have fun with it!!

– Outro

Sorry for yet another lengthy post! And sorry it was a bit later than I’d anticipated, I had a much busier weekend than I thought I’d have, so I kept having to squeeze writing in anytime I had enough spare time to sit down, and then I stumbled across a series of health complications that I’m still trying to sort out. Which, speaking of, thank you so much to everyone who’s been wishing me good luck! I’m still working on figuring out what’s wrong, but I’m making progress!

As usual, my asks and messages are always open, so feel free to shoot me a message about anything! Even if I may be slower with my replies ^^; Thank you for reading! <3

#original post #writing advice #writing tips #psychology #characters

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bettsfic · 2 years

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i feel like i say this all the time, but as your friendly neighborhood creative writing instructor i'd just like to remind you, especially if you’re feeling stuck, that writing is the process of thought, not the product of thought. although cognitively we *can* think a sentence and write it down, or think a sentence and say it out loud, more often we write and speak to conjure the thoughts themselves.

that’s why i believe in the shitty first draft. often, but not always, you have to put all your ideas on a page to even figure out what you’re trying to write, who your characters are, what their lives are about, all the nitty gritty stuff you can’t expect yourself to figure out right away. and then, once all your thoughts are out and they’re right in front of you for you to look at, you write the thing again knowing what’s what. in other words, you have to sketch before you can paint.

if you can accept this, fully internalize the knowledge that you will be writing the thing at least twice, writing that shitty first draft isn’t hard at all. you know you’re mostly going to get it wrong, and that’s okay, because later you’ll get it right.

#writing advice #process

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sunfish999 · 3 months

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The nitty gritty is watering down katara's character so she's just a meek girl ? Your lying If you really think that's the same character. The producers said they would take an axe to the main characters and that's where the show really suffers...also nothing is perfect people like you is why we get stuck with mediocrity

?? I finished episode 5 but what😭 how is katara just a meek girl, i feel like yes she has a little less rage but other than that she shows that shes smart and powerful and her own person? Explain what is watered down i feel like animation usually over-exaggerates facial expressions and voices for the most part, so i’m not surprised that katara has more subtle strength so far, and also the actress has a very kind face, but i think shes still able to show some of that anger. (I havent watched the water master fight yet so maybe thats where you’re talking about, so i cant speak on that)

Idk what taking an axe to the main characters means (like really cutting them apart? Cuz i doubt they would promote a show by saying its gonna be bad but who knows). But i feel like the characters are all pretty accurate with how they carry themselves, of course they’re younger so acting wont be perfect but i think the imperfections are what brings them to life. I know a lot of people hate the writing, i feel like it’s quite similar to the show? (Though its been maybe 3-4 years since i last rewatched it) and some lines especially from something previously animated are gonna sound awkward in real life, which is why generally i believe live actions arent necessary for any animation, though in this case i’m really enjoying just rewatching atla and my childhood be brought to life.

Nothing is perfect: ok i was using perfect mostly because i was very excited about it, of course i know theres things that could be changed to improve it but a lot of those things are impossible (like you cant get an actress thats EXACTLY katara and will make everyone happy, because shes a drawing) but overall, i think the landscapes come close to perfect (i’m just really into fantasy scenes and i think it’s so beautiful and impressive to see things like the omashu supply rail and the air temple come to life. And zuko’s boat looks so awesome and so accurate too.) And i thought the cgi looked slightly silly at first (especially air) but then i realized that we were always seeing drawings of aangs air in the animation which would look even stupider irl so i made my peace pretty quickly.

People like me is why we get stuck with mediocrity… hm. I feel like my opinion probably has nothing to do with what comes out on tv, especially because in this society haters have the real power, and you guys tearing it down are more likely to get it cancelled. I don’t think any production team takes an animated film or show and thinks ‘yea im gonna make this absolutely awful,’ (though i’m really not sure what they were thinking when making the pjo movie, its good as a standalone but they went so off course from the plot…) of course they’re all just trying to fit what they think into the show and express their own opinions, which are ultimately going to be a lot different than some people watching it.

Overall, ok i haven’t watched the og in years, so my memory on comparing each episode of the show to the live action is not going to be at the level of others (which i think boosts the enjoyability 100x over). But as i watch it, i remember tons of parts of the animation, and it makes me super happy that it has the same air as the show, albeit slightly more serious because they can’t fit all the funny filler episodes (if they ever created a live action lost appa episode i would lose it that cannot happen).

Maybe i sounded rude in my original post (i changed it quickly bc it was very angry at first lol) so sorry i know you’re all entitled to your opinion, it’s just i was SO EXCITED and then checked the tag on tumblr only to see that everyone hated it… i always feel inferior to people who really like films etc because i tend to enjoy things that other people hate, (like i really enjoyed the avatar way of water movie even if it was super long, and i know people DESPISED it). So maybe i seem like someone who is satisfied with mediocrity, and maybe i am, i focus mostly on the backgrounds and beauty of movies because im really into art and much less on acting and script (though i can appreciate beautiful characters, i was Blown Away by live action suki and hair down sokka my jaw dropped fr) i agree i am fairly simple to please in terms of this type of thing.

SORRY THIS IS GETTING QUITE LONG IM SURE U WONT READ IT ALL but i hope ur finding joy in life since live action atla is obviously not doing it for u

#avatar the last airbender #atla #JUST MY OPINION #take it all with a grain of salt #im quite bad at wording things sometimes

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eddiezpaghetti · 1 year

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Okay, I’ve noticed a little bit of a pattern I kind of want to talk about. (Bit of a long-winded observation under the cut.)

So I’m new to the Stranger Things fandom. I watched, like, a season and four episodes during the quarantine of 2020, decided it wasn’t really for me, and got pulled back in this year because of Eddie. (I, too, am a gay, nerdy, metalhead loser with a shitty life.)

Eddie was my entry point, and now I like the show as a whole. And I’m very much on the “Byler is going to be canon” train. Like, I’m not even nervous about it and kind of laugh when I see people overcompensating by looking way too deep into nitty gritty details like the triangle on Mike’s shirt. Why are we looking at set design when the story says everything we need to know, right? It’s pretty fucking obvious that’s where the story’s going.

Point is, I’ve spent about as much time looking at Byler stuff as I have looking at Steddie stuff. And I’ve noticed this weird fuckin’ phenomenon that I’ve never seen in any other fandom. And that’s a one-sided ship war.

Sure, I’ve seen a couple of Steddies make some general statements that indirectly hit Byler, like...shall we say the uninformed nonsensically saying that shipping Steddie is more moral than shipping any of the younger characters despite the fact that minors have kissed canonically in the show. Like, yeah, teenagers have crushes. Teenagers get into relationships. Steve and Nancy had a goddamn sex scene when they were still teenagers. If you’re someone who thinks that having an opinion on which teenage characters make the cutest couples makes a person a creep, you need to sit down.

But those Steddies are few and far between. Most of the Steddies I’ve seen love Byler.

And yet, it seems like every other Byler blog I check out is super defensive when it comes to Steddie. And I can’t figure out why. I’ve seen people say things like “Don’t pay any attention to that ask. The person who said it ships Steddie.” I’ve seen memes attacking Steddie shippers because Steddie isn’t canon-compliant enough. I’ve seen so many people outright attack Eddie’s popularity, or pitting him against other characters they like more.

Like... I understand the Mileven-Byler rivalry. I understand the Steddie-HellCheer rivalry. Those ships align with my understanding of ship wars. They’re mutually exclusive unless you like poly ships. That makes sense to me.

I don’t understand the pattern I’ve seen from Byler shippers being angry that Steddie shippers...exist, though. Like, you gotta know we love you guys and your ship, right? I’ve got, like, a sizeable chunk of Byler scenes in my ongoing Steddie fic. I’m just trying to figure out what the anger is about.

Is it that Steddie has the highest number of fics on AO3? Like, is it a numbers game? Is it because Steddie fans like Byler enough that they keep putting it in their Steddie fics and the Byler tag has too many Steddie fics with Byler as a side ship and you feel like they’re encroaching on your territory? Is it just because it’s not canon and it’s a superiority thing because Byler is going to be canon?

Of course, it’s not all Byler shippers, and once again, I’m not saying all Steddie shippers are entirely innocent. It’s just a pattern I’ve observed. Hell, maybe I’ve just been unlucky and I’ve just happened to run into a lot of argumentative Byler shippers. I’m just one person. Part of the scientific method is being able to repeat something and, well, if I get a bunch of replies on this going “What the hell are you talking about?” I’ll know it’s just a coincidence.

But I’m just trying to find out why we’re not friends. Feels like we should be friends.

#stranger things #stranger things ship wars?#steddie #byler #indulge me here I'm just trying to figure it out #as a fan of both

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bigdreamsandwildthings · 2 years

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Review: Foul Lady Fortune (Chloe Gong)

Rating: ★★★★/5

“‘You don’t mean to say that you’re trying to save the whole city from harm. You’ll spend your whole life trying, and you’ll still fail. There is a reason why dui bù qî is dui bù qî. We’re only human. We will never match up to what everything could be.’ Rosalind gave him a little smile, almost looking confused. ‘With enough time -‘ ‘No,’ he insisted. ‘You cannot save the world. You can try to save one thing if you must, but it is enough if that one thing is yourself.’” This was good. It didn’t captivate me quite like These Violent Delights, but it was well written and intriguing. Rosalind Lang has become Lady Fortune, an immortal assassin with nothing to lose. Her weapon of choice: poison, fast-acting and lethal. When a new assignment sees her going undercover, with a fake husband, no less, she is mortified; this is not her strong suit, but she will follow her orders. Her heart, however, has other ideas...as does Orion Hong, the aforementioned fake husband. Part of what drew me in with TVD was the fact that it was an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Without that draw, that familiarity, this one still brought me into its story, but I didn't feel the same magnetism there. However, I absolutely adore Rosalind Lang. She is so nuanced, so interesting, and her dynamic with Orion is truly the best part of this book. They're feisty, they're fiery, they're so much goddamn fun to read about. I have such a clear picture of Orion as this suave, snarky pretty boy with a heart of gold underneath; I loved him in this. The other characters fell a bit more flat, especially Celia and Oliver. Oliver feels like a carbon copy of his brother, and for that matter, so does his relationship with Celia. Celia felt like a shadow more than anything; I guess we didn't get enough time with her for her to make more of an impact. But there is so much there, and it felt a bit like she was just wasted in this book. I did love Phoebe and Silas though. Again, the snark, the humour, is where Chloe really shines in her character development, and these guys exemplify that. The twists and turns in the plot were fun here, but I found myself struggling to remember who was on what side and where we finally fell with it all in the end. I think because Rosalind doesn't have super strong ties to anything, that she chooses what she has to and just accepts it, it makes the perpetual civil war and Japanese influence feel less defined than it could have. Those details sometimes made it hard to lose myself in the story, because I had to go back and remember all of that nitty gritty every time I picked up the book. Overall, though, Chloe's writing is beautiful and evocative. Her characters are wonderful. I did enjoy this, and I will read the sequel.

#booklr #book photography #book picture #book review #foul lady fortune #chloe gong #ya fiction #ya fantasy #ya historical fantasy #bookworm #bibliophile #book lover #book nerd #book aesthetic #book community #my photos #my reviews #mine

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maitarussa · 2 years

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Ok I got one: what specifically is speculative biology?

& to make the question Silmy... Who in Arda might pursue this study, and what do they make of it?

(I know this likely isn't the kind of question you're looking for, I'm sorry. Feel free to ignore, of course, but I'm genuinely curious)

Okay this got a little bit long because I am a nerd and this stuff is so cool to me.

So, speculative biology is basically the study of biology that doesn’t really exist and/or we don’t know whether or not it exists, such as the evolution of creatures on other planets, or in fantasy worlds, or if some event were to happen that changed the way that living things would need to function. It can be to speculate about the future, alternate timelines, fiction, etc.

It’s usually a science fiction concept, where you figure out how exactly your alien creature works and why it works that way. Getting into the nitty gritty details about character/creature design, so that instead of “this looks cool,” it becomes “this is here for this and that reason, and it evolved this way, and has these variations.”

Ultimately you end up creating a sort of guidebook, so the readers can learn about a sci-fi/fantasy creatures as if they’re real, and it adds a level of depth to the world.

I really like doing it in terms of Arda. One of my spec bio projects is my current longform worldbuilding series “Elven Traits and Heredity,” which is about the physical features of Elves and how they are inherited. Another is series on one of my old blogs called “The Nature of the Ainur,” which is just sort of about how the Ainur work in a physical and spiritual sense.

One thing that makes it really neat is to take into account the ways that Arda works— incorporating things like the Song, and the material essence of souls. Basically I like to really latch onto one or two lines from the Histories and other books and go wild with them and what the implications might be for the physical nature of the beings and creatures of Arda. Grounding fantasy into something that— while still fantastical— makes sense in the context of the world.

In terms of your second question, it would probably just end up being similar to how we do it, but with the fictional stories that people create in Middle Earth, or in a more practical sense, to prepare for events or new locations (for example, if Sam were to try to figure out what effect Valinor’s climate and environmental traits would have on Shire-grown plants if he were to bring them over the sea).

But on another note, a lot of my writings like these are framed, like Tolkien’s works, as though they are in-universe texts. The Elven Heredity series might have been written by, say, a Man of Númenor who had met the Elves before, or one of the Dúnedain who lived in Rivendell, and the Nature of the Ainur might have been written by an Elven scholar in Aman. So while this isn’t exactly in-universe speculative biology, it’s more speculative biology about in-universe biology, which for some reason makes my brain hum like a very happy computer.

#answered #speculative biology #I’m pretty sure I’m using the term correctly #but I also might not be because sometimes my brain doesn’t process thoughts super well #if I’m wrong pls correct me very gently and nicely with more clear explanations #anyway this sort of thing is super super fun for me #long post #my headcanons

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vacantgodling · 1 year

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this or that writer’s edition!

thanks @void-botanist for the tag! 💛 i’ll tag @kudzucataclysm @jezifster @henrike-does-writing-sometimes @calicojackofficial & anyone else who’d like to do this!

1.historical or futuristic

a rule of thumb about getting to know me and my writing is i’m not a fan of writing things that are TOTALLY in the realm of our reality. i will write fanfiction and i have (1) story where it’s fully set irl with nothing crazy happening but i’m just not a fan of being historically accurate. i’d rather get inspired by history and make my own shit based off of, or just be generally futuristic or removed from a time that can be recognizable.

2.the opening chapter or closing chapter

this is hard bc i kind of don’t like doing either. however i have written more preemptive endings than beginning sequences and i enjoy being able to tie everything up with a bow based on all that history established in the narrative before.

3.light & fluffy or dark & gritty

if i had to pick i’d pick dark and gritty simply bc extremely light hearted stories do bore me fjfjfjrj. it reminds me of a conversation i had with my religious mother once where i said i think the concept of heaven is boring simply because once you’re totally removed from struggles and hardships it becomes difficult to find the value in happiness and good times. i don’t want people irl to struggle for shit they don’t have to (like food or shelter or safety or whatever) but learning to work towards goals that you want and having roadblocks or hurdles you have to overcome really makes you appreciate when you get there imo. so as irl, i apply the same logic to my storytelling. if there isn’t shit the characters have to overcome then what’s the point of the story lol.

i will say this with the fact that i do enjoy thinking about and talking about characters being happy and fuwa fuwa, and i don’t typically like writing bleak or dire endings, but i think some struggle is important. builds character (literally).

4.animal companion or found family

to keep this answer short i’m just not that attached to animals personally. i think they’re cute and should be preserved and taken care of but i don’t wanna do it so i don’t put them in my stories like that.

5.horror or romance

definitely both but i really like injecting my work with horror. horror romance itself is a great genre lol so like. would rather not pick but i think horror slightly edges out.

6.hard or soft magic system

eugh this is hard bc all magic is good magic to me— however i think soft magic is a bit more flexible which i like. semi-hard magic systems are usually where i’m most comfortable because i like having established overall guidelines for how magic works and who can use it or what it entails but i don’t like getting into the super nitty gritty spell type shit bc that’s more video game land aka practical application. stories are more about the aesthetic and about the vibe so some flexibility is good :)

7.standalone or series

i am incapable of writing stand-alones every time i try it always ends up bigger than i planned. i have some standalones in the works tho that won’t be getting any bigger i know for a fact (they’re contained and i have self restraint occasionally) but i love being able to worldbuild and plan to my hearts content so series is more fun lol.

8.one project at a time or always juggling two+

adhd brain go brrrrrrrrr. tbh i’m usually juggling 10 or more ngl 💀

9.one award winner or one best seller

one award winner only bc if only one of my books was a bestseller idk if i’d ever be satisfied with which one it was and that others weren’t lmao. i think the only story i would be satisfied with being my ONLY best seller would be paramour but that is a pipe dream, this is not the climate for that raunchy mess lol.

10.fantasy or sci-fi

i like scifi but i tend to gravitate away from it bc it tends to require more hard/practical application—as in i feel pressured to have a legitimate reason why shit works as it does bc it’s more technological than fantasy where i can say “shit happens just cuz.” i think a sweet spot for me would be if i can learn how to chill out and do more fantasy-scifi hybrids but i have no clue how to do that yet LMAO.

11.character or setting description

i enjoy both, but i picked setting bc i think with how this question is worded it means characters physical appearance and that’s lower down on my list. i like describing characters emotions and headspace more than what they look like lol.

12.first or final draft

i’ve never gotten to that point but the idea of being so happy with something that i don’t have to FULLY rehaul it is a lovely fantasy.

13.love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs

you can pry romance from my cold dead hands

14.constant sandstorm or rainstorm

i hate precipitation but rain is better fkfjfjfj

#about renjamin

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sunshines-and-rain · 5 months

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When Sol and Avery Met

[At the student clinic]

Avery: *Just settling in with their book. They know that this student clinic is just a glorified nurse’s office. Might as well use this time to study and get even farther ahead in their classes*

Marina: *runs over and pulls Sol with her* ¡¡Oyé!! Avery!! We need assistance!! We require knowledge from you!!

Avery: *facepalms and then points to the sign that reads “Please keep quiet” with a sticky note that says “Marina, that means EMERGENCIES ONLY.”* Marina, you’re going to get me in trouble again if this isn’t an emergency! Who’s the shorty?

Sol: *in his head* 5’6 is a decent height for guys. But she’s super cute. Maybe she doesn’t know what she’s missing out on. *turns around to “stretch” and flex his muscles for Avery with ��D1 Catcher” clearly showing on his letterman’s jacket*

Avery: *clearly unimpressed and they’re kind of on the edge with this show off now. The only other person they know on the baseball team is the person they share shifts with occasionally, but even that person is annoyed with the rest of the team. Judging by Short Stack here, it might be time to deflate egos. Especially if Short Stack is hanging around Marina* Does Short Stack need a brain transplant? Because I’m gonna tell you right now, science hasn’t advanced enough for that.

Sol: *deflates immediately. In his head* I’m definitely feeling that one. Now I’m faced with a challenge: either I can continue to try and win this girl over or I can back off and show how much of a coward I really am. Maybe she’s not really all that worth it? *looks back at her sitting behind the desk.* Even though her voice says she’s a girl, her short haircut, the blues in her hair, her septum piercing, and her figure all say she’s a girl. Looking at her clothes a muscle shirt with nothing underneath and I could’ve sworn I saw cargo pants. Well, whoever she is, she’s definitely nothing like what I grew up with. She’s definitely worth the shot. *out loud while leaning down on the counter* Then I guess I’ll have to go with a heart transplant since a beautiful girl stole mine.

Marina: *before Avery could respond with well-deserved slap to her new Chocolate Labrador Retriever friend, moves Sol back and puts her hands in front of her face* ¡Espérame! Actually I think he might have dyslexia!

Avery: *ever used to Marina putting herself in between and stopped* You know we can’t diagnose him here, right?

Marina: I know! Which is why I sought out the smartest person I know to come up with a plan for him! Who better than my non-binary best friend who goes by they/them pronouns and is definitely not a girl, y si tienes un cerebro puedes mirarle *with each word, the grip on Sol’s wrist got tighter and tighter*

Sol: *wincing from the pain but still trying to prove he can handle it* N-nice to meet you Ah-Avery. Won’t d-d-do it again.

Avery: *relaxed and smiled* As long as she claims you as her friend, you won’t be able to. *went to the computer and typed things out* I’m looking up clinics around the area where they can actually see you. Do you have a primary care physician that you could schedule an appointment with first?

{A/N: I won’t go on with the nitty gritty details of how to get a diagnosis, but this is the start of the MAS trio. Marina, Avery, and Sol. These three became friends and because Avery and Sol are friends with Marina, Sol and Avery hopefully become friends soon. I am learning how to navigate with so many different characters, but it’s nice to know this format is more friendly for my head and I can go with it. I probably should have physical descriptions of them, but yes Sol is a short king who grew up in Catholic school which is why he should come off as ignorant.}

#my writing #my ocs #start #sol #marina #Avery

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4bstr · 1 year

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On Attributes // Dark Idols

I pasted this post from my Substack for convenience, but feel free to subscribe to the newsletter to get them as they release.

This time, we take a stab at what might be the heart of RPGs (Critical Hit?). I also keep refining the format of that newsletter and pitch my first "Being"... One that lurks in the dark.

ABSTRACT

Second entry, I got rid of the Intro, and this time around the thoughts are coming from the creation process of my own game, not from reading notes… Instead of “Reading Notes”, “Abstract” will be the section that encapsulates the design part of the newsletter, wherever it comes from. Done.

There is no center to the intertwined systems that composes an RPG. Although, the “Checks & Saves” are the main ruled interactions players have. Respectively for actions and reactions, they tend to be based on the PCs “Attributes & Skills”. It makes those values critical descriptors of how the character will be acting through the fiction. It’s worth noting that some games don’t do the dichotomy between Attributes (inherent traits with broader scope) and Skills (specific things you learned). I personally use both, but we’ll focus on the former this time around.

I want to talk about it first because… Well, it was one of the first systems I wrestle with, and I still do. Why bother? You might ask, the most famous RPG gets away with weirdly divided characteristics. I have a hard time picturing a person strong (Str), yet frail (Con). Reversely, people skilled with their hands (Dex) don’t necessarily are with the rest of their body (also Dex).

What I want to achieve with Bonaventure, is a game that feels realistic but placed in an unfamiliar setting. The simple act of weighting your stats (defining randomly or not what you’re good at and bad at) should already inform how you’re perceived and how you interact with the world.

I tried to summarize the constraints of a functional set of Attributes:

Evocative, as players should be able to recreate what they picture with them.

Believable (realistic in my case), as it shouldn’t give inconceivable intersection.

Exclusive, “Check & Save” should be easy to associate with a single one of them.

Balanced, each of the Attributes needs to feel equally attractive.

Concise, the set should be as small as possible to avoid mental overload.

Note that it’s impossible to make a set that perfectly answers all constraints. It’s more like a complex balancing act. After several iterations, here’s the solidified list of Attributes I’m using in Bonaventure:

MENTAL - FOCUS

Charisma (Any social impact, whether it’s to bluff or terrorize)

I tend to focus more on the result than the means. The context will impact the test, but I don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of whether the guards are more easily seduced than bribed or scared. Players will try to use their best attributes every time and argue about it.

Intellect (Logic, memory and wisdom)

I wrapped Willpower into the intellectual capabilities because it’s too passive on its own. As for the Intelligence part, it’s often under use because it’s so abstract by nature. Worth mentioning that I don’t have the “that’s how you do magic” patch in my game.

Perception (Sensory functions and reflexes like quick reaction and empathy)

Similar to the above, it doesn’t matter if you detected a facial expression or heard the sound of a dagger slowly drown, a violent fight is going to kick out, and you have an opportunity to act first.

PHYSICAL - ENDURANCE

Dexterity (Hand-eye coordination, using tools with precision)

Weapons are part of the “tools” I mention here. The heavy ones tend to be considered more impactful depending on your strength, but they’re heavy on their own. They can require a specific carrying capability, although the “Hitting” feels more critical than the “Hard.”

Mobility (Athletic capabilities and agility)

You could be very specialized in your training, but muscles develop better when you use them and stretch them altogether.

Constitution (Strength, robustness and balance)

Combining Force and Constitution may feel overpowered as a direct translation of many RPGs. Although, remember that tool/weapon usage is out of the equation. As for constitution, it’s another illustration of a passive Attribute that I don’t want standalone.

Web Animation (≃5 minutes) → Endless SciFi Pop Mashup by 0x00

It feels like the dungeon23 version of animation! But also got me thinking… imagine making a website dedicated to the creation of a collaborative infinite mega-dungeon!

RPG Pdf (≃5 minutes) → Quintessential Dungeon by Will Doyle

One-pagers are like short novels: the rough ideas of the author, before all the subsequent problem-solving through which they become something else. Something deeper, more elegant, but also more distant from the initial concept… Or maybe I just get this feeling because I reread them more since they’re shorter.

I’ll probably analyze more one-page dungeons in the future, but this one seems to capture an era and its tropes so well it can stand on its own.

Video (≃17 minutes) → How to Explain Things Real Good by Nicky Case

It’s been a while I’m following the work of the author (mostly known for the Explorable Explanations).

This video is targeted toward the designers, since explaining really is the only way to put your concept out there.

I want to highlight the 3rd point about causality and flow of information. That isn’t just a trick to pass complex ideas. It’s also a narrative tool, and a key understanding that helps to solve many design problems.

CRAFT

This time around, I extracted the “being” (No I won’t call it a monster because it is… different) from the description of the environment so it’s more reusable. I’m still iterating too fast to share anything concrete on the dungeon generator aspect. It became clear, however, that I needed to split rooms into smaller “features,” so they can be mixed and match remain interesting in each playthrough.

A BEING - DARK IDOL

Dark Idols are barely distinguishable silhouettes that strive in the shadows. Only their two glowing eyes stand out, and they voluntarily narrow them to remain unnoticed for as long as possible. They’re almost ethereal being that sound like drops of water as they move, seemingly “swimming” on any surface with enough shads.

Cast a light on them, and they’ll quickly petrify. Either they’ll try running to safety or target the source. Turning them into statues reveal their appearance: humanoids of various sizes wearing animal masks. If they’re plunged in the dark for double the time they have been exposed to light, they break free from their rocky shell. Destroying the statue is the only way to slay them.

Their main goal is to propagate shadows by removing any light sources. Although, their only option is to use obstacles to get close enough and act on it. They tend to be aggressive and hard to communicate with, but might temporarily side with someone that helps them extinguish lights.

They’re quick when they sprint, but only few of them are reckless. Furthermore, their immaterial form makes them relatively weak. A touch from them starts like a cold breeze, and needs time before it strengthens as a grip. In order to choke their victims, they’ll try to trick them, make them fumble, and drag them toward their kin.

ROOM FEATURES

Light Bearer: A dark place with torches on both ends. Water is dripping from the ceiling. The closest to the middle of the room, the more intense it gets. Dark Idols may be lurking in the shadows.

Catching Fireflies: A dark room only lit by fireflies. Scattered obstacles (columns, trees) occlude the light. Dark Idols may be lurking in the shadows.

Captured Idol: Torches dropped on the ground forming half a circle near a wall. Against it, a statue of a petrified Dark Idol in a defensive stance.

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wintcore · 2 years

Text

Hyper scape characters

#Hyper scape characters Pc#

#Hyper scape characters free#

The new characters are really the only reward worth pursuing, as they do have an impact on your personal experience with the game, albeit one that is pretty insignificant. The emotes and sprays at least allow you to add a bit more of your own personal style to your character, though it’s rare to find opportunities to paint the walls with a cute design or interact with your teammates with silly movements in the midst of a battle royale game that’s as fast-paced as Hyper Scape. None of the weapon or character skins are particularly exciting it’s your standard affair of simple recolor options. Most of Hyper Scape’s in-game rewards are weapon and character skins, emotes and sprays, and new characters–and they’re all kind of meh. You can ignore it, of course, but the battle pass highlights that you’re missing items if you don’t have Prime Gaming, which feels a little predatory.

#Hyper scape characters free#

So, if you want to complete either the free or paid track, you need to drop some cash. It’s got a free track and paid one, which normally would be fine except that nearly half of the items (12 of the 33) on the free track can’t be accessed unless you have Prime Gaming, which requires paying the $13 USD/month for an Amazon Prime subscription. Here’s the thing: I don’t like Hyper Scape’s battle pass. Season 1: The First Principle adds a battle pass, daily and weekly challenges, and tons of new rewards to unlock which are just what a game like Hyper Scape needs–it’s only got one map for its two modes, solo and squads, so there’s just not enough there to keep playing the game every day without an additional incentive. Regardless of where you want to play, Hyper Scape thankfully launches with cross progression support so your account follows you from system to system. So I’m comfortable with saying that the console version of Hyper Scape works.

#Hyper scape characters Pc#

I’ve yet to try the game on PS4, but I didn’t notice a drop in quality when transitioning between PC and Xbox One X. With the start of Season 1, Hyper Scape has also officially been released for Xbox One and PS4. The date also marks the start of the game’s first season, titled The First Principle, which makes several changes to the game and adds new content–all of which is worth taking a look at. As of August 11, Hyper Scape has left beta and officially launched. It’s a pretty substantial contribution to Hyper Scape’s frantic battles and encouragement to fight quickly, not just efficiently.īefore we get into the nitty-gritty of the analysis, though, it’s worth pointing out why we’re reviewing Hyper Scape now when the game’s been playable for a few weeks. If you die, you drop it, but teams that manage to hold onto it for 45 seconds automatically win. Nabbing the crown puts you on everyone’s radar. The game spawns a crown onto the battlefield when the survivable area shrinks to its final size. For one, being the last one alive isn’t the only way to win you can also be crowned the winner. None of which is to say that Hyper Scape doesn’t bring its own sense of style to the battle royale genre. As the match progresses, the battlefield shrinks, increasing the likelihood of firefights breaking out amongst the survivors. Players begin each match by dropping onto a battlefield with nothing to their name, forced to survive by any means necessary–whether that’s searching for the best weapons, hunting and killing enemy players, or avoiding and hiding from fights. If you’ve ever played a battle royale game before, then the goal of Hyper Scape is an old song and dance by this point. I continue to flee but I can hear the quiet thumps of their murderous bounces keeping pace with me. My laughter stops as I turn around and realize, to my horror, that every one of my pursuers has the Ball Hack as well. I quickly slide into it and pick it up, cackling with glee as I transform into a giant ball and bounce away from the squad chasing me. Around another player’s corpse is a Hack pick-up with a circle on it. My pursuers have seen me and are now riddling my backside with bullets as I try to duck and weave among the environmental cover that’s slowly deleting. “Well, crap,” I mutter, as I begin to run.

#Hyper scape characters

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mimzy-writing-online · 3 years

Note

Hello. I had a question regarding your post about blind characters. I have a character in my WIP that must cover their eyes.. but it’s blind. He may need to tell people he is blind to explain why he covers his eyes though. I was wondering how I might write this character without offending. Thank you :)

I think I want to start by explaining the “covering blind eyes” trope and why it has become a harmful trope. I think understanding why it’s hurtful helps everyone learn how to handle it better.

I would guess that the “blind people wear sunglasses” trope comes from Hollywood for the specific reason of 1. wanting to signal to the audience that the character is obviously blind and 2. avoid breaking the suspension of disbelief by preventing the audience from catching the sighted actor look at visual stimuli (because disabled characters are almost always played by able actors).

But this changed the way the public expects to experience blindness. If watching a sighted actor wear sunglasses and say he’s blind is all the exposure to the blind community a person has had, that’s the only model of blindness they’ll recognize. If they meet a blind person in real life who doesn’t wear sunglasses, it’s going to break this built perception and cause an uncomfortable cognitive dissonance.

And then there is the common “cloudy-white blank gaze” that pops up in media. It stems from the fact that cataracts is the most common cause of blindness and the appearance of severe cataracts is a cloudy film in the eyes obscuring the iris and pupil. It can also alter what color a person’s eyes appears to be, making them appear paler and grey in the beginning and then as the cataract advances it becomes more yellow/brown and alters a person’s vision to appear more yellow tinted.

There are lots of other eye conditions that makes the eyes look visibly different. Albinism for instance affects the color and structure of the iris. Eyes might be congenitally misshapen. The muscles might be weak or not work and one or both eyes point significantly outward. Someone who was born blind and experienced no visual stimuli might also have weak muscles around their eyes because they never had a reason to focus their eyes on anything.

And unfortunately humans have the habit of feeling uncomfortable when they meet someone who looks very obviously different from the norm, whether that’s a personal style choice (hair color and style, tattoos, clothing choices) or something they can’t help (a visible disability, skin color, scars).

To the paragraph above, @gothhabiba replied with: “it's very weird & ahistorical to claim that racism or ableism are some kind of natural "human" trait.. like frankly it's apologia”

You’re right, I wasn’t thinking beyond that generalization or assumption.

Perhaps a better way to put it is: I was raised in a society where I was taught from childhood to think that there was only one kind of human being to be. White, cis, straight, abled, conservative. That’s a very western thing and that’s a thing I’m going to constantly be unlearning.

Racism and ableism and homophobia aren’t innate, that’s a western thing that was forced onto the rest of the world by colonialism. And because western media created this idea that the world is white, abled, cis, straight, and Christian-value leaning, it taught people to think that was the norm so that seeing someone different from that archetype would cause a cognitive dissonance, which causes discomfort.

And instead of working past that cognitive dissonance to learn more and realize there’s so much more to life than media taught you, society encourages you to ignore that cognitive dissonance by sticking your head in the sand-- or TV screen.

So combine these two tropes or common beliefs together and you get something a little dangerous: the idea that blind people cover their eyes because they look obviously different and they’re ashamed (or should be ashamed) of that.

And if you’re someone who’s just gone blind or who was born blind and you have little to no contact with the blind community, then this societal belief that you should be ashamed of how your eyes look becomes detrimental to your self-esteem and further builds internalized ableism.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve read or watched a blind character cover their eyes with sunglasses because they were ashamed of how their eyes looked. And I distinctly remember a few times where a sighted friend of the character was trying to convince them to stop wearing sunglasses because there’s nothing wrong with looking different--which is true, but it plays into this fantasy of being the perfect abled ally who saves the blind character from being miserable.

In an ideal world, the character has no reason to believe looking different is a bad thing or diminishes their worth or makes people dislike them. And if they develop this belief, it’s more likely that someone more involved in the disabled community, most likely someone disabled themselves, will set them straight. Or that the character will learn to accept themselves on their own, looks included.

But there are some perfectly valid reasons for any blind person to wear sunglasses. They might have an interest in fashion and sunglasses complete the look they’re going for. They could want to protect their eyes from UV rays while they’re outside. They may experience light sensitivity and sunglasses reduces any discomfort or pain. Those are incredibly common reasons to wear sunglasses whether you’re sighted or blind.

But there are some more complicated situations.

In your words, your character must cover his eyes. You never specified why, so my primary guess is that he has some kind of power that is unpleasant or has devastating affects and the only way to prevent it is to keep his eyes covered. My primary guess stems from this post where an anon and I discussed a retelling of Medusa, a hypothetical blinding of oneself to avoid ever killing anyone ever again, and what I think I would do if I was in that scenario.

So how do you write a blind character who must cover their eyes and avoid some of the complications?

1. Your character must always have the ability to say “fuck off, it’s my business, I don’t have to tell you why I’m blind or why I cover my eyes.”

Most blind people really, really don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of why they’re blind and how they feel about it and what it’s like being blind with a stranger they’ll never see again or a new acquaintance they don’t know well yet. You have exceptions to that rule where sure, educating the public about blindness is a thing you want to do and you’re committed to helping your community, but I still have days where I don’t want to talk about being blind or disclose my medical crap.

And if someone doesn’t respect their right to their privacy or pushes too much, the blind character is allowed to be angry, is allowed to tell them off and complain without anyone else in the situation vilifying them or saying they’re “overreacting” and “should have just disclosed private information because big deal or whatever.” If they are angry, that’s their right, and it’s not unreasonable, it doesn’t make them a bad person.

2. Your character should not be ashamed of being blind or of covering their eyes. It is a part of their life, they’re used to it by now, even if they weren’t in the beginning.

The shame and internalized ableism is something that should be written about, but that’s for an own-voices story with a blind author. I don’t think an abled person will ever be able to understand how much society expects you to hate yourself and your disability because “being disabled is a tragic thing that ruins your life” and how that does affect your mental health, self esteem, your relationships with others, your medical care, and what kind of accommodations you can get.

3. It wouldn’t hurt to have a few sarcastic lines in response to uncomfortable conversations.

Stranger: so what’s with the...

Blind Character: what’s with what?

S: the... you know

BC: you’re gonna have to be a bit more specific

S: Your eyes?

BC: They’re... eyes

S: but you’re...

BC: Blind?

S: uh...

BC: yeah, I’m blind. *walks away*

Or this conversation:

S: *to some other character* so why are his eyes covered?

(author’s note: which, honestly, that’s fucking rude. At least have the guts to ask me yourself)

BC: If I look anyone in the eye they instantly perish.

*awkward silence*

BC: instantly.

Friend: It’s truly tragic

BC: *melancholic* that’s how I lost my sister. *chokes up* She was so young

Or this conversation:

S: Why are you wearing that?

BC: It’s called fashion Karen!

Or this conversation:

S: are you like... blind?

BC: yes?? why wouldn’t I be?? Wait, are you sighted? Are you one of those sighted people? You poor thing! What caused you to gain your sight? Do you have a car? A bike? Were you born sighted? What’s it like to see color? Do you miss not having to see

God, I want a chance to try that last one. I haven’t interacted with a stranger in almost a year. One day...

4. Honestly, it’d also be cool if someone’s reaction to your character covering their eyes was like, “cool sunglasses,” or “cool *insert random character, even one you made up* cosplay,” (which is ten times funnier if this character is a notable figure in modern society like an actor who people might cosplay).

5. You know, if he’s covering his eyes with some kind of blindfold, he should totally have custom blindfolds for his moods. Like, I have a mask that says “suck it up buttercup” and another that says “not today” because sometimes that’s the mood. And sometimes the mood is one of my floral masks, and sometimes the mood is my cat mask.

So, just some thoughts. I hope that helps.

Edit: a commenter said: “op, unless i'm mistaken this kind of reads like anon meant the character ISN'T blind but lies about being blind to explain covering their eyes? it seems like they made a typo on the word "isn't"”

So my original response to the question was based on the assumption that the character is blind. However,

If the character is not blind, then do not under any circumstances have them lie and say they’re blind to escape a mild inconvenience.

It’s better to have the character actually explain the situation or straight up leave the conversation or invent a more ridiculous lie than to perpetuate the very real stereotype and misconception that there are people who fake being blind and therefore it’s okay to discriminate or harass them if you even suspect they’re faking.

Do not under any circumstances perpetuate that stereotype. Do not harass someone because you don’t think they’re blind enough.

#blind character #writeblr #writing community #disabled character #writing tropes #trope talk #blindness tropes #Anonymous

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other-cullen-ficrecs · 3 years

Text

MLM!Cullen Fic Rec List

Inspired by this post. Here is my fic rec list of some of my favorite fics with queer Cullen. Happy Pride :) 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈

Cullen/Dorian

Only True in Fairy Tales by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Dorian is a special forces operative, Bull is his partner, and Cullen is the guy they're sent to rescue. Hijinks ensue. // Words: 110150

Modern AU. Dragonflies_and_Katydids makes me read the weirdest stuff. But their work is always captivating. The more ridiculous set up the better outcome, I promise. This one is both ridiculous and absolutely perfect. And somehow one of the very few modern au fics in which Cullen's lyrium addiction is well transfered without making it literal.

Fashionably Late by tsurai

For the tumblr prompt: Cullen/Dorian Soulmates AU? <3 "Maker’s breath, this is absolutely the worst timing, he thinks distantly." // Words: 1038

This is but a tiny thing but I'm a sucker for a soulmate AU. Would I love it more if it was 150,000 words? Yes. But I'm just greedy.

COLD HANDS, WARM HEART by spicyshimmy, stonelions

Summary: Cullen and Dorian's friendship deepens. Cullen is a romantic. Dorian is literally cold. Cullen is no longer certain what he would consider surprising. Mages and Templars working in perfect cooperation, perhaps. Evil and corruption disappearing into the ground along with the blight, blood magic falling so far out of favor it ceased to be. A united Thedas: that would be a surprise. // Words: 25369

I think this is most recced Cullrian fic and for a good reason. Slow burn, drama, all the delights.

Light In This Darken'd Time Breaks by RamonaDecember

Summary: Cullen wouldn't say he hates mages, not anymore, but he can't see himself ever trusting one again. Dorian is no exception. The mage is off-color, self-important, and all together too much for Cullen to deal with. So why is it that every time Cullen is at his lowest, Dorian seems to be the only person by his side? // Words: 121289

Slow burn with 121289 words, what more do you want?

Cullen/Bull

Jump In by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Cullen is almost terminally awkward, Bull and Dorian are literally brothers (because why not?), and Bull tries really hard to be good. Or: In which Dorian tries to set up his brother and his roommate, if he can avoid killing them for being so clueless. (You might get cavities from reading it. Don't say I didn't warn you.) // Words: 33700

What did I say about Dragonflies_and_Katydids and ridiculous premises? But if you're as delighted with awkward Cullen as am I - enjoy.

Dragons from Stars in an Empty Sky by Midna_Ronoa

Summary: The one in which Bull takes Cullen dragon-hunting. // Words: 10423

Fluff and smut and dragons!

Stuck on the Puzzle by thespectaclesofthor

Summary: Once, back in Kirkwall, Cullen had an arrangement with a member of the city guard that satisfied his needs. But time changed all things, and he despaired of ever finding a similar arrangement again - that was, until he met The Iron Bull. Problem being that Bull seemed to care far more about sorting out the nitty-gritty of such an arrangement than Cullen ever has. // Words: 235586

No fic rec lists that can involve Bullen canot do without Stuck on the Puzzle. If you haven't read it - please give it a try. As far as I'm concerned - the best fic in the fandom. And definately one of the best fics in general. <3

Cullen/Dorian/Bull

Exit Light by Dragonflies_and_Katydids

Summary: In which Cullen is suicidally depressed, Dorian is a high-functioning alcoholic, and Bull just wants them both to be happy, except when he wants to crack their heads together for being emotionally stunted idiots. // Words: 77427

This premise is actually very close to canon, compared to some other stories by the same author recced here. The angst? Delightful. The smut? Delicious. The exploration of issues? Delectable! Cheff kisses all around.

to burn cool and collected by toomanyhometowns

Summary: Dorian hums. "Here is the function of the spell: Upon invocationne, ye caster's spyryt shal sterte to ye form of whomsoever mofte recently achieved releafe by hys hande." He taps the page in punctuation and looks back up. "And then there's a lot of text about the vast joys we may experience together, et cetera, et cetera." // Words: 16121

Ok, this list shows more than anything that my main delight is issues and angst wrapped in with porn. Anyway - cracky premise (body swap!), and angsty, sexy outcome.

Hold by queeniegalore

Summary: Everyone knows Cullen doesn't trust magic. But he trusts Dorian and Bull, so maybe they can make this work. // Words: 6654

Issues? Trauma? Kink? I'm a one trick pony when it comes to recs.

Cullen/Cole

Okay now that we’ve gotten the obvious out, let’s enjoy the trully unexpected enjoyment.

Into The Light (Cole/Cullen Ficlets) by Sinister_Kid

Summary: A series of what I hope are tasteful Cole/Cullen fics that don't exploit or overly sexualize Cole's developing character. Based on a prompt I filled out of boredom in which I imagined the spirit actually hearing someone's pain like a physical noise in his ears that caused discomfort. Explores the option of making Cole more human, with my own original take on how that affects him as a character, and depicts Cole developing romantic feelings for the Commander as he discovers what it means to be human. // Words: 20454

I admit I don't often read Cole shippy fics but this one stays true to the info in the summary and it is careful and tasteful. Also Cullen learning to speak with Cole properly - <333

Cullen/Varric

Verse & Volley Triptych by boycoffin

Summary: POSSIBLE TITLES: This Shit Was Even Weirder: A Surprisingly Not-Doomed Romance In The Shadow of the Apocalypse The Commander and the Rogue already taken, Antivan maritime smut with an elf girl in it How The Hell I Ended Up With That Guy: A Tale for The People Who Keep Asking Me About It In Bars The Short and Curlies that's just terrible Love Among the tropey garbage A Tale of Two Names pretentious and unclear The Penman's Paramour Memoirs of a Moron (That He's Going to Regret Publishing and Will Never Hear The End Of for As Long As He Lives) // Words: 133354

One of the very few fics in which I can not only accept but love 1st person POV. Crack. Slow-burn. Pennames. Lovable OCs. DELICIOUS. Also a fic that made me start this blog, so love all around.

Cullen/Krem

Last but not least, my delightful fave (maybe, possibly, probably) and involving a shameless self-plug because it’s the month of pride.

Swordplay by orphan_account

Summary: The Bull's Chargers are undisciplined, untested, and unprofessional; but Cullen can't stop thinking about their lieutenant. // Words: 3910

I have a soft spot for whoever Krem being shipped with not knowing he's trans at first. But also oblivious, pining Cullen <3

If you have been starving, a creature of bone by missivesfromghosts

Summary: Cullen is content with where he is. He has a life and a purpose. He’s doing the Maker’s work and he’s cut the Chantry’s leash on him. He barely thinks about the fact that he’s trans anymore. The last person who knew he was born anything different, barring his sister Mia, died during the Blight. This works for him. That is, until he starts falling for Krem. // Words: 769

A tiny thing but I have a soft spot for the idea. Also what's better than a ship with trans character? A ship with two trans characters. Keep that in mind for further recs actually.

Sweet, Merciful Andraste by Tainaron

Summary: PWP. Honestly, Cullen should invest in walls and a ceiling that don't have holes if he's going to keep having such loud sex. Pure, unapologetic smut between trans men who love each other. // Words: 4187

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What more do you want from me? Sometimes porn is just porn. Enjoy.

Champions of the Just by Tainaron

Summary: En route to Griffin Wing Keep before the battle of Adamant, Cullen falls prey to an injury that reveals a shameful secret about his trauma with magic. As Cullen struggles with his past, his duty to the Inquisition, and his love life, he becomes increasingly uncertain if he’s the target of an assassination attempt or just his own personal demons. // Words: 67885

Well, I also have some plottier and angstier fics in my rec disposal. This one actually explores the problems Krem and Cullen could encounter in their relationship and all within the canon plot line. Plus bonus points of Cullen actually interacting with other Chargers.

cabbage: a love story by psikeval

Summary: Krem’s grin fades into a quiet smirk, his eyes warm and amused, and Cullen does not forget how to move his legs because he is a grown man, a leader of soldiers, commander of the Inquisition’s army. He breaks the silence by coughing loudly, because he is also an imbecile. // Words: 18932

Creme de la creme of Krem/Cullen fics <3 Fluff, crack, porn <3 This delightful series has it all!

#fic rec #pride month #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #cullen rutherford #bi cullen #cullen/krem #bullen #cullen/bull #culrian #cullen/dorian #culric #cullen/varric #cullen/cole #rec list

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bimbosupreme · 3 years

Text

mephistopheles love post

the equivalent of a mental breakdown tangent is all going under a read more

yes believe it or not that freaky ass literally not even human clown in fgo gets love, and love from who? me and like 3 other people

first off

ok and with that out of the way,

i’m not even familiar with their lore. Reason why i stopped caring about the lore behind faust and mephistopheles is that an interlude happens that shows that mephistopheles is just some homunculi made by some mage nobody named faust. and even then the interlude doesn’t talk about the lore behind the novel, its just you helping mephy kill faust

that being said though i would hope the developers expand on their origins more and potentially even release a “true” mephistopheles (a girl can dream)

So, they’re not even the real deal demon known as Mephistopheles in the first place, and i can hear u going “well that’s lame” and like, no, we just need to redirect our feelings from appreciating a demon to appreciating a homunculi who has a weird characterization in the fate universe

Design tangent:

Fgo was actually my first gacha, and so when I came across this servant I kinda instantly fell in love with their design, I love the colors used in their final ascension and overall appearance. The hat that has horns but they're not quite horns, theyre these weird colorful pointy twisty things, the large garish butterfly ornament on their chest (which isnt ugly at all and somehow works so well with their everything on them) is cool, the tights are so cool to look at, i mean look -- a checkered pattern with golden lining on the shorts portion, the tits out look like yes we get it youre insane, the gloves??? purple and also cool, plus theyve got this gradient thing going on? and the fingers have this line going through them, thats so cool. actually the only other servant that comes close to this in terms of “out there” colorful designs is probably final ascension kama and qsh ( i love them both). Also, mephy has this scissor weapon?? thats so cool lol i dont see any other servant wielding giant scissors (for the love of god give mephy an animation update i need to see them use the scissors while doing flips) and they also have this bomb obsession going on? cant relate, but the bombs designs are so so cool i mean its a fucking centipede -- no idea if centipedes are a thing in the original faust but thats something Ill have to look up at some point. ALSO mephy is wearing heels oh my god anytime people wear heels is an automatic win. No clue whats going on with the hair but its kinda cute (dont question me on that) and it has curls and the hair colors are cool i mean its like a lavender thing with darker purple highlights? i love colorful things and i love people with wacky personalities so. Oh my god their tail how could i forget that its so cute and dumb i almost forgot it was there, like what is that even a whip? i dont.. but its got these little purple tips to them that are kinda cute/cool but more cool because tails are fucking up there alongside heels in terms of cool stuff on characters. and of course their fluffly cape -- again no idea what the designers were going for i mean look its a mess of a design i have no fucking idea what any of it means and i hope they explain it someday because that hair and the butterfly and the tail and the hat and the fluffy garb and a bomb obsession?? and this got the go ahead - yeah lets add that to the game like what

ALSO LETS TALK ABOUT THEIR EYES

appreciate these with me for a second

god.

oh and the blue lipstick and face paint god thats a cool design ugh

they can be normal too or at least as normal as possible i mean they even trimmed their eyebrow here lol but you can see the not so well hidden insanity/goofiness peaking through with the inside of the suit at the bottom being highlighter purple and a green shirt with gold accents underneath the black coat at the front <3, fuckin hate that hairstyle tho bro we gotta get that middle part hairstyle outta hereeeee--

TAKE A DETOUR AND LOOK AT THIS LINK THOUGH THIS IS THE MOST NORMAL AND BEST IVE SEEN THEM IN FANART. THE POTENTIAL IS THERE. WE CAN HAVE NICE THINGS AND THEY LOOK GREAT ITS POSSIBLE. I HAVE TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE FROM THAT DRAWING.

anyways this is me going off all about why i like their design! but we haven’t even touched the nitty gritty of it all. their personality! what personality you may ask? havent they always been some weirdo laughing a lot and saying dumb shit all the time? well yes and no

Characterization:

True to their dumb little clown design mephy also acts like one.

Some servants bond 1 lines are like “fuck off” and some actually talk to you, nah this bastard mephistopheles’ just laughing. and for the second bond line it seems to imply theyre fuckin with you more (showing up and dissapearing and saying ‘afterimage’) so thats nice that theyre actually making some effort to mess with you in a way? some servants take a long time to actually interact with you so this shows theyre not afraid of interacting with you and thats just at bond 2. and of course the third bond line implies they were probably trying to betray you, its stated in more than 1 place that mephistopheles (actually isnt this a caster class thing?) will betray you or attempt to do so. So the third bond line seems to imply that their attempts have been stopped by you and that’s what they say after some failed attempts. So after stopping this freak from doing some shit their next bond line is actually doing a confession! a jester being honest who couldve seen that one coming but theyre 100% not lying, they really arent a demon but a homunculi made by faust

speaking of faust we’re going to backtrack a little into their interlude that i brought up at the start of this post, its one of those dream interludes and it starts with mephy asking you to help him plant bombs for their eventual reuinion/showdown with faust -- in the meantime faust keeps sending golems in an attempt to kill both you and mephy

When you track faust down, it’s shown that faust was your typical mage, inhumane and uncaring. It’s also pointed out that this faust killed innocents, but this typical mage behavior is boring to mephy, and they say that boring typical behavior is why they wanted to kill them

so i really cant blame mephistopheles for being the way they are, being raised by this type of guy, even if mephy was always messed up and wacky from the beginning its no reason for faust to attempt to kill him.

Mephistopheles also shows up in salem, cu alter’s interlude, and of course the knk crossover event, and some other things im most likely forgetting but those 3 are ones that i find notable

anytime they show up theyre actually helpful, in salem mephy points out that the nature of the being responsible for the salem epic of remnant is something alien rather than a typical foreign god, mephy also tells you that time is also being sped up and in their weird way they try to cheer you up by spouting some nonsense at the beginning (guda needed some kind of distraction from the grim events that had just transpired at that point in the story), i cant quite remember what mephy did in the knk event but they were a part of your group and were helpful the whole time, actually @/zeravmeta does an amazing analysis of their role in the knk event as well as some extra character analysis here

mephistopheles is kinda cryptic in a weird way though,

like overall i mean theyre a jester homunculi in appearance so yeah its to be expected but come on i love morally gray characters, despite their supposed betrayal hints scattered around here and there

they have this one line that always gets to me

and this line is said with a completely serious face too

the rare serious mephistopheles face! its kinda grim to see that line, no laughs, no nothing, their voice is kinda serious and monotone too. of course this could be just to get you to lower your guard but its still kinda out there that they have this rarely used portrait and that line, so i like to take it as being said to you when youre by yourself and with sincerity

and at least sei (with her wacky outfit and all lol) seems to get along with mephy and thinks theyre nice woohoo

so at the end of the day you have this guy that laughs a lot and gives mixed signals

and they fuck with you

and will most likely try to kill you more than once but hey thats just another tuesday at chaldea

Before I finish last thing I want to point out is this snippet from the fgo source material book which provides more information on servants, and this specific translated bit under mephistopheles

at the core of it all this homunculi....can be your friend! you just need to not go into despair i guess

of course this entire post is an overanalysis into an underwritten character, quarantine + all online college classes have done this to me, i have a douman icon what did you expect

OH...BEFORE I REALLY SIGN OFF AND FINISH THE POST HEY CLOWN LOVERS CHECK OUT THESE FANARTS AND FANARTISTS...

THE FIRST ONE IS HASENDOW YES THE DOUMAN DESIGNER... <3

i cant believe they drew mephy

twice !

and for those of you on twitter check out @cuz_pb and @L0VEYAMA003

#mephistopheles #fgo #i just go off on the various things i like about this clown #a whole lot lol #this started bc someone asked about my thoughts on mephistopheles well..

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13tinysocks · 3 years

Note

I wanna see some anti fanfic rec plspls

You asked for it. May I present, a creepypasta x reader anti-reading list.

Quick Disclaimer: No author names will be dropped nor fic links or sites they’re on. I dislike these works but I don’t want anybody to be harassed. Don’t go after people, holy shit. These works are only here because of some heavily disturbing content. One of them just makes me super mad because of a few circumstances. These are purely my opinions. I am not writing Jesus nor do I write the cleanest stories out there. Dark topics should be explored in fiction. However, some things just shouldn’t fucking be romanticized. Fanfic is practice, I’m not taking points off for wonky writing.

You’re allowed to like whatever the fuck you want. I’m not shaming you or the authors. I’m talking about media I dislike, which I am completely allowed to do. If your friend or favorite author’s work is in here, maybe don’t send this to them. I get it’s tempting but still, it could be upsetting. Again, don’t fucking harass anybody.

This list is in order of - Pisses me off to FBI open up to whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck.

Content warning for: Rape, miscarriages, abortion, necrophilia, sexism, child grooming, multiple types of abuse, ablism, and meanie head criticism of popular fics. Seriously, this gets exceptionally bad at the final one.

First up in our lineup a pretty popular. It’s the least upsetting and problematic. It’s a various creepypasta x reader mansion fic. This is more of an honorable mention because it’s frustrating to read over being super bad.

Recruited.

Summary: (Y/n) killed an attempted rapist and covered it up years ago. She is recruited into the cpp’s to be considered as a proxy along with two others. Follow her through a journey of no character development into becoming a proxy.

What’s wrong with it?

-Brian literally is a misogynist. He literally hates women.

-(Y/n) is an asshole. Not in an entertaining bad bitch way. No, in an unaware bland way. Points off for being a business major, girl you have no soul and it shows.

-She is treated like the voice of reason who is always morally correct. Thing is, if anyone is neurodivergent or mentally ill and ya’know shows symptoms of it, they’re cRaZy, evil, and an annoyance.

-Yes, people creeping on or getting clingy can be shitty/annoying but sometimes the way (Y/n) acts is completely unjust. It left a bad taste in my mouth because the character felt okay to be shitty to people who weren’t like her.

-The endings are disheartening and make no fucking sense. Cody, who is clingy at worst, gets rejected Jack, who TRIES TO BREAK (Y/N)’S FUCKING LEG, gets with her. Can I get a HELLO??????

-(Y/n) also doesn’t get with Jeff who suddenly turned into her brother character after hundreds of pages of romantic tension. Again, Recruited is not inherently bad but it may be really disappointing to people who are here for 1-2 specific characters.

-Queer bait-y author’s notes and inconstant love interests. Author’s notes would read like “Teehee, maybe I’ll make (Y/n) have Jane and/or Natalie endings……” But that never happens after it’s teased multiple times. I get not wanting to add more to your plate but don’t suggest it if you don’t want to do it or only want to please heterosexual readers.

-They put Tim outside like a dog for being a bad boy.

-Author’s notes and percentages fill in details for the reader that aren’t in the fic. I’m not going to read all of that. Put important information in the fic.

-Lot’s of excessive jealousy. Painfully heteronormative.

What about the good?

Readable. Dramatic like Big Brother. Can be an entertaining read if it’s your thing.

Conclusion

Left a bad taste in my mouth. I feel like the author literally hated half the cast and was annoyed while writing them. When you don’t enjoy writing something it shows. Also, her other work (pandemic! Reader X X-Virus) is super tone-deaf and I don’t recommend that either. Don’t recommend joining this fic’s Discord server either. Won’t get into details but in my and my friend's experience: it’s not a good environment with a lot of playing favorites.

Next up on our list is a grossly popular Eyeless Jack X Reader fic.

My Imaginary Monster

Summary: Immoral monster, Eyeless Jack, sneaking into a 5-year-old girl's room. He gets attached, sticks around through her childhood. Thing is, he gets real creepy. Starts to catch feelings for a 16-year-old he’s watched grow up. He kisses a minor who reciprocates his feelings which is textbook child grooming. Nasty fucker runs away, there’s some drama from that. (Y/n) grows up, comes back to town, and Jack’s a’creepin’.

What’s wrong with it?

-Jack is a literal child groomer.

-Do I need to say more??? Immortal adult kisses a 16 y/o. Gross.

-People in the comments are going gaga for grooming. Are you kidding me, he’s a pedophile.

-The OC’s take up more than half of the ~200 page run time. I couldn’t get attached to any of them even after the supposed significance. Which is fine but they took up so much of the fic that it got boring and annoying incredibly quickly.

What’s good about it?

I enjoyed Ben. He did the right thing and I can respect that. Trans and poluyamourus reprrensentation.

Conclusion:

No child grooming in my fucking lobby. I think the author was trying to paint it in a bad light. But the thing is, you can write a creepy stalker fic without making them a groomer. A lot of people are trying to escape their troubles through fanfic, including those who’ve dealt with sexual abuse. Don’t bring that into x reader spaces. Don’t put readers through that again.

Last and absolutely least we got a Tim X Reader.

BIG TW. FUCKING HUGE TW. MOST OF THE TW’S FROM EARLIER ARE FROM THIS ONE FIC.

Pure Forgiveness.

Summary: (Y/n) is abused by her mom. Her dad killed himself and she’s all (Y/n)’s got in this world. Until Tim comes along and “saves” her. He takes her to the mansion and keeps her as a pet to torture.

I’m going to get into all the nitty-gritty to satisfy your morbid curiosities so you don’t read it.

What’s wrong with it?

-Chapter 1 opens with (Y/n)’s miserable life. Her mom hates her so much she has a fucking torture table for (Y/n).

-There’s an attempted rape in chapter 2.

- She’s taken to the mansion by Tim in chapter 3 because he’s “off his medication” and “acting nicer than normal”. Hi, mentally ill person here, that’s not how it fucking works you ding dong.

-Mental illness is made out to we wholly evil.

-Also tic’s are made out to be scary. As a person with tics, don’t write tics as scary or super weird. Thanks.

-(Y/n) not being able to escape, fight back rapists, and other horrible shit is labeled as weak.

-At one point (Y/n) is dragged through the mansion, beer bottles and used condoms are thrown at her. Girl has to shower off cum.

-(Y/n) is tortured in various ways. Mostly beaten, berated, burned, cut, starved, etc.

-She is drugged and repeatedly raped by Brian and Toby. These rapes are recorded and shown to (Y/n).

-Brian has black hair. Why?

-Toby and Brian give (Y/n) a forced abortion.

-(Y/n) gets raped almost every fucking chapter.

-At one point Jack orally rapes (Y/n) to abort a baby.

-Toby and Brian are necrophiles. They skull fuck a corpse at some point. It is graphically described how they like to have sex with dead bodies.

-Slenderman forcefully impregnates (Y/n) to “keep the (Tim’s) baby safe” whatever the fuck that means.

Why does this happen?

Because Tim wants a kid because his dad raped his mom and his mom was a prostitute. He’s soooo sad guys :(((

Feeling hungry? Here’s some things that are eaten by various characters.

-Hair

-Cum (forced)

-Toby

-Piss

-A miscarried baby

What’s good about it?

Nothing. Fucking nothing. Don’t read it.

Conclusion

If you like this fic you need therapy, I’m not joking. It’s like a car crash and Rob Zombie movie horribly mish-mashed together. It sucks. The comments praise literal abuse and berate (Y/n) for being afraid. Fuck this fic and everything it stands for. It’s shock horror and torture for the sake of it. It makes no fucking sense and it’s harmful. People think this is okay. It’s not.

Thank you to my pals in the server for helping out and finishing some of these where I could not. Especially you Connie, everyone say thank you Connie she got through Pure Forgiveness. Absolute trooper legend. Again, don’t go out of your way to harass these people. I made this list so you can avoid these works because they have the potential to be upsetting. I’m not the police, I can’t force anyone to stop nor do I want to. Author’s are allowed to explore dark topics but some should be done respectfully or not at-fucking-all. I hope these people grow as writers and understand treating some things a certain way isn’t cool. You can enjoy dark fics, I do too, fuck I write them too, but Jesus God, some things are a no from me chief.

#creepypasta x reader #rea talks #anon #reply #tw rape #tw abuse #read what you want #im not demanding the cancelationof these people thats dumb i just hope they grow and change #i read and write dark fic but you have to be aware of some shit dude lol #also jealousy and yandere fics r typically bad #like not every fic i reccomend or write is going to be problem free but theyre tolerable and interresting i think #im deadass when i say dont read the last one it is awful.

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trashcatsnark · 3 years

Note

NGL I love how much you have embraced the silverv stuff here - its so nice to read. I submit for consideration, Rogue notices the tattoo while on the disaster date and both Johnny and V play it off as a joke and holy shit poor rogue stuck in a room with two morons.

Also - V getting dressed for that date and realizing they just MIGHT be a little jealous with a side of some thoughts of "Oh God Johnny Would NEVER Feel That Way About Me Gotta Bury This Deep So He Doesn't Know"

Johnny notices the anxiety but is very dense about the cause.

Oh hell yeah, I have fully embraced it and this ship; I was writing SilverV porn before the game came out, like I knew what my ship for this game was gonna be from the second I saw gifs of

“You’re a dick, Johnny”

“And you’re a cunt, so maybe we’ll fit together after all.”

That banter sealed my fate and I’m fairly sure I had named and created my V then wrote porn of her with Johnny literally a week later. The devil works hard, but my brainrot works harder and faster.

Spoilers!

Okay, so I’ve thought a lot about that date in both a silverv context (and largely how it fits with my V, Aidan and her fic) I’ll try to stay general though.

Firstly, I whole heartedly believe Rogue sees through their bullshit. Not only is she just good at that, but Johnny even states she has MRE’s (?) and can see through people, like her eyes can pick up on signs of lying. And usually, thats not an issue for when V talks to her, but when she asks about Johnny and their relationship with him. Its a mess. And when Rogue asks Johnny about it, its a mess.

And when Rogue notices the tattoo it’s like Oh... I get it . And Johnny is of course like, “hahaha, yeah I thought that’d be so funny, the kid hates it.” But Rogue isn’t stupid, she knows a lovey dovey heart with their names, something that looks like someone doodled it on their third grade notebook about their crush, is not really typical of Johnny’s “joking” She knows that if Johnny is not really the kind of guy to hahahaha its so funny to make it look like we love each other; he’d be more likely to get a dick tattooed on V’s arm if it was just to mess with them. For gods sake, look how many people didn’t pick “the other one” because they were convinced it was gonna be a dick. That’s a Johnny just trying to fuck with someone move. So, she doesn’t buy it, but doesn’t push it...with him.

She asks V about and of course they play it off as “Yeah, Johnny thought it’d be funny, what a fucking asshole, its so fucking dumb, I totally fuckin hate it.”

“So, why not get it removed?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhh, well you see what had happened was, um, I, just uhhhh, never been enough time, I guess yeahhhhhh.”

Cause lets face it, in cyberpunk universe, getting a tattoo removed should be easy. If you can get blades in your arms and can have a completely newly reconstructed body in like an afternoon; you can get a tattoo removed in like twenty minutes. So, V still keeping it, says volumes about how they really feel.

Now, V’s jealousy and the date.

I do absolutely agree that any anxiety or ill feeling V might have up until the date; Johnny is gonna feel, but not realize where it’s coming from. I think if anything, he’s gonna chalk it up to V being anxious about giving him control again and he’s gonna be like worried that maybe V doesn’t trust him as much as they let on.

And I do think a V who has feelings for Johnny, would not be able to help feeling some jealousy regarding Rogue and Johnny. Just because jealousy is natural thing to feel and while you can debate if they were ever a good or healthy couple, you can’t debate they shared very real feelings for one another. And I think a lot of V’s jealousy would come from just how much Johnny seems to first think of/go to Rogue. When he needed to save Alt, first person he turned to, Rogue. When he wanted to bomb Arasaka tower (going by his memory of it and ignoring that the event was probably actually planned by Morgan Blackhand), who’d he go to? Rogue. When he becomes determined to get Smasher, who is he determined to get him with, Rogue. When he first decides to atone for his past mistakes, who’s the first person he wants to make up with, Rogue. When at the rooftop, who does he want to go grab to help him save V, Rogue.

If you got feelings for someone, that’d hurt, I think it’s impossible for that not to spark some jealousy. And V if anything is also mad at themselves for having those feelings, because they like Rogue, she’s a badass, a legend, they respect the hell out of her. And of course they have feelings for Johnny and they wanna help him make shit right and they wanna give him a chance to enjoy himself. But this stupid reptilian part of their brain is screaming but i want to be the first person he goes to, the first person he thinks about, which they know is also stupid cause for fucks sake the man literally lives in their brain, they’re as close as two people can be and literally when Johnny has the power to go to someone for something, he can’t go to V because they’re reduced to sleeping essentially until Johnny hands back the reigns. Yet, feelings aren’t aren’t always, rational, sadly.

And to Johnny’s credit, he probably doesn’t even give it that much thought. Rogue is a badass, someone he cares for, someone he can depend on and someone he hurt really badly. The two people he can and always has been able to depend on the most (other than Alt prior to her death) have been Kerry and Rogue. And, bless his heart, the fuck is Kerry gonna do? Kerry ain’t a merc, Kerry isn’t gonna bust into Arasaka Tower or plant a bomb. Kerry doesn’t have the connection to Smasher. So, of course, Rogue is gonna be his go to. And in terms of making things up to people...he literally cannot really do much to make things up to V, not the way he can for Rogue or Kerry. Cause, when him and V are both conscious, he can’t do much beyond touch and talk to them. Hell, even with Rogue and Kerry, he relies mostly on V to help him do anything. Even with people he can interact with and do something for; V is doing all the nitty gritty work for him. V drives Rogue to the theater, V breaks into the theater, V gets the projector going. V breaks into Kerry’s house, V disables the security. V gets in contact with Nancy. V gets Nancy out of Totentanz in one piece.

Which probably if V actually thought about it critically, does mean he’s going to them and relying on them more than Rogue, but they’d probably dismiss it out of it being for necessity and not because he cares about them and feels he an depend on them.

Anyhow, Johnny would probably love to do some nice gesture to make up for his bender to V, hell they probably were the first person he wanted to make things up since they are his catalyst for changing. But what feasibly can he do for them? Anything he’d want to do with/for them, would just be asking V go do this thing and i’ll also be here. Anything that would put them in public interacting is out, unless they want MaxTac called on V for looking cyberpsychotic. He can’t even do an at home date, because he can’t cook (engram or not) and he can’t buy them anything nice he has no money and also doesn’t technically exist. He could try to do so sneakily while he’s in control...but he’d be using V’s money so they might as well just buy it for themselves. he can play music for them,,. but that doesn’t seem too special and more than a little egotistical to think it’ll make V feel better about what he did... So... all he can really do, is prove he’s worth trusting by being on his best behavior and more importantly do what he can to save V’s life.

Then there’s the date. And as usual, I have some opinions and feelings about a thing. Like, okay, I’ve seen some people (aka Gamer Bros on Twitter) being like, Rogue is Johnny’s girl. Wanting to date either of them is wrong because they like each other. (then you also get the BUT ALT crowd, but rants for another day.) And I can’t help but ask, did we play the same date? Their entire date is about how they’re both desperately clinging to the past. Rogue is trying to reclaim 2013-2023 Rogue and Johnny just wanting for a night to feel like the world and his place in it haven’t been completely rearranged. And it ends with Rogue telling him, she is not that girl anymore, she can’t pretend to be, and frankly she doesn’t want to anymore. She wishes she could be, wishes she was still that tall haired street punk who’d never dream of working with corps or being a fixer, but she’s not. Her and Johnny are no longer the same people who met back in to 2010’s. Doesn’t mean they don’t care about one another and doesn’t mean what feelings they had weren’t real or important; but they’re just not those people anymore. Rogue more so than Johnny since he’s freshly on the course of change.

Something else in regards to the date, that I think is important to talk about and how it relates to silverv and its something I personally have very conflicting feelings about. The fact that Johnny can initiate some physical intimacy with Rogue. See, I have never chosen the option to kiss Rogue during the date and actually did not learn until relatively recently, that if that choice is made it goes a biiit further than a kiss. I have watched the scene now.

And god I have mixed feelingssss. Like, I get it, but I’m not sure I like it. And I know full well, my silverv bias impacts my feelings on the matter, it’s be disingenuous to say otherwise. But I don’t think the ship is purely my reason for having these feelings. But at the end of the day, its all opinions. So, I get from a character perspective that Johnny and Rogue are trying so hard to reclaim their past and what they use to have that they get caught up in trying do what they would do if this was the 2010’s. And Johnny’s relationships as we’ve seen are very physical, sexual chemistry and attraction are major factors in his relationships because he kept things very superficial most of the time. He even says part of the issue with his relationship with Rogue is at the time he didn’t realize he could let her see the true him and still hid behind walls, kept things at a distance. So, the idea that’d they fall back into the old habit of trying to just be physical and ignore their feelings, isn’t out of character.

However, and Johnny even seems to acknowledge this issue when Rogue interrupts it, they’re doing this with V’s body. V...who did not consent to sexual contact. They consented to a date and while one could logic that this would mean everything a date could entail up to and including physical intimacy; I would argue that that is something that would need further conversation to have clear consent. And like again, this might come down to boundaries and personal feelings. Because I go back to the bender and what’s been interesting to me is too see different opinions on it; some people weren’t actually bothered at all by Johnny’s bender in V’s body, some people were bothered by the drugs and alcohol specifically cause their V is straight edge. Me, personally, it was the sexual content and the endangering of V’s life. Like, it was mostly funny and oh yeah, I expected that it’s bad but eh I’ll move on, to me, until he started getting sexual with people in V’s body. Like that to me is not just crossing the line, it’s catapulting over it.

And like I said, Johnny even responds to Rogue’s “this isn’t fair” with “what, you mean it’s not fair to V?” which she says she meant it isn’t fair to Johnny. (Which viscerally upset because you nearly used V’s body for sexual gratification without their consent and you’re worried about Johnny, which tbf Rogue has no way of knowing what V has and hasn’t consented to, so its not on her but that was my knee jerk thought). So, he has some awareness that maybe that was a bad move.

And yeah, it definitely to me and my V would be a very bad move (unless he explicitly talked to them beforehand and got consent). And in general, it made me feel like, dude, you just promised you’d be better and not break V’s trust but again not a day later you’re nearly using them to have sex. It felt like a backslide, which isn’t necessarily unrealistic, cause change and growth is not always linear, people can commit to changing themselves and still fuck up and not get it right; in fact it’s rare for them not to have any sort of backsliding or repeating of mistakes.

Again, I will also give credit that he could have been assuming that given V consented to the date, they assumed or were cool with their being physical intimacy between him and Rogue. He also generally, might not have really planned for it to happen, because I don’t think Johnny plans a lot of anything. It very well might have just sort of happened. Also, V doesn’t clearly communicate if the sexual component was an issue in the bender. All V really seems to have an issue with in game is the very general thing of; he misled them and used them. So, he might have assumed that wasn’t ever an issue. And hell, if you wanna go full meta, the player is technically the one who makes that choice and V is largely an avatar for the player, so that alone could be seen as whether or not V would/does consent.

But, from a story perspective, removing the player choice element. I think how that’s handled would have a huge impact on silverv and where it goes from there.

Because if V and Johnny did talk about consent prior and V did consent while having feelings for Johnny, god I’d have to imagine they’d still feel pretty hurt, but feel it’s irrational to feel that way and have put their own feelings aside because clearly Johnny cares about and wants Rogue and they should ruin what could be his one chance to make things right.

If there like in game was no talk of consent and Johnny ends up kissing and touching on Rogue and V finds out or has memories of it surface,that could be devastating for them. Not only from their own feelings for Johnny, but this since of betrayal and hurt. Was the oil field conversation just a lie? A manipulation? V might feel like they were used; that Johnny never gave a shit about them or how they feel. And Johnny would have to deal with the realization that intentionally or not; he earned back V’s trust just to destroy it again. He fucked up again, he ruined everything again, he got his second chance and destroyed it…. And he doesn’t know how, if he can, or if he should bother trying to ask for a third. In general, I do think, V would come out of the date assuming (naturally so) that Johnny really only has romantic feelings towards Rogue, that they’re just a friend at best, a host to be used at worse. I even in my own universe with my V have them after everything is better, everyones got a body, expects Johnny to start pursing Rogue and trying to swallow their own feelings and be a supportive friend, try to encourage and push him to do it and Johnny’s just like please stop, Rogue is this close to murdering us both.

I was gonna add more funny stuff to this and include a shitposty interaction he has with my V over them dressing up for the date and shit, BUT HOLY FUCK THIS GOT LONG AND SAD????? I’M SO SORRY.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #johnny silverhand #silverv #cyberpunk 2077 spoilers #ieiwi

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