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petorahs · 6 months

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Hello! Just wanted to say I'm a huge fan of the way you draw Wrioney, so very tender and cute 🥺 Your artstyle is overall quite nice to look at as well!

Also, seeing how the dynamic you set up for them in your art is somewhat different to how they interact canonically, I was curious if you could share how you felt ab them after 4.1? Did their "bickering" discourage or inspire you with new, fresh ideas?

hey there! thanks so much for liking my art of them :") it means a lot! and also thanks for wanting to know my opinion of the ship itself and not just the art, too! warms my heart.

short answer: the 4.1 archon quest did leave a bad taste in my mouth, yes, but i got over it and realized wow. i love wrioney so much and i would rather have this than any other cookie cutter "perfect/wholesome" dynamic

long answer/explanation under cut!

first off, pre-4.1 wrioney's setup was just too good for me to pass up and hit all my fav points. cat (chat noir) + dog (cerberus) dynamic??? criminal x prison warden???? wriothesley's tareme eyes to lyney's upturned ones? cute! not to mention i liked how their color palette matched more than the other popular ships. they seemed like they were made for eachother. we also had 0 crumbs for wrio's personality at that point so i assumed he'd be the serious to lyn's playful flirt.

shipping in this game to me has always been a bit on the shallower side, and thats fine! some of these characters never get to "grow" with dynamic character arcs really and remain "static" to have their profiles make sense when you pull for them. they can never be directly antagonistic to the player and have to be "redeemed" in some way. 76++ characters and not all of them get time in the spotlight, either. thats fine too.

that all changed when fontaine came out. and even more when 4.1 did.

wriothesley's personality was a joy. i love morally dubious and fun characters like him, the kinds that dont really fit into a "box" or trope!! genshin's good at making characters like that, just as they are good at the tropey ones. i also didnt mind that he canonically isnt above torturing, too. heck, i mean i love kamisato ayato who is basically what the game sets up as the male version of arlecchino + diluc burning an abyss mage and kazuha's tongue branding comment were one of my favorite moments. i thought wrio being cruel was very much in line for a prison warden. it made sense. what didn't make sense was the way the game needed to show this.

i loved lyney the moment i saw him in the travail trailer. his thing with his family another one of the best things to come out of genshin. fucked up orphans and found family who are villains? actually so good. but because they are what the game wants us to see as "unequivocable villains", they also get... disrespected in the story a lot?

the way i saw it, the game wanted us to see wrio as the "cool/badass hero!!!! wow your grace you're actually so kind for not killing them!!! see guys he just looks cruel and antagonistic but he's actually so morally good!!!also here's like 3 cutscenes of wrio looking cool ^_^" while lyney's treated like an "overemotional kid" really rubbed me off the wrong way. everything else was fine. i just got tired of the game insisting that the fatui are so bad no matter what and the rest are ""good"" when their whole thing in fontaine was doing away with the black and white morality. the devs seek to promote greyness but they cant even write that right?

what wrio did to them truly probably wasnt even the worst lyney and his siblings have been through, i know this for a fact. honestly wrio could have killed freminet and it'd have been like. reasonable for him. but he's a big softie who has a thing for lyney i think which is why he thought a lot about them not coming to physical harm.

but after once again accepting that midhoyo just wastes a lot of potential and reconciling the dynamic of past wrioney i had in mind (also uh. writing a fic of them for closure when i've never done anything of the sort before)... i realized theyre the best thing ever actually

enemies to lovers isnt always my cup of tea, but for context i shipped shuake before this so i feel like that primed me for this genshin ship in a way LMAO.. i actually must thank wrio for showing this new side of lyney, the viciously overprotective of his family side that i thought would never be shown, only alluded to. its mesmerizing.

and the thought that lyney, mr. masks and fake-smiles-that-dont-reach-his-eyes wouldnt bother to keep up pretenses with wriothesley anymore since he coaxed that darker side of him effortlessly? really nice.

even traveler who lyney notoriously charms and flirts with gets the mask immediately after the confrontation at the duke's office, the second lyney recharges with his siblings by his side. the beautiful thing about lyney's character is that he is always fake.

but with the duke? i wouldn't be so sure. maybe his real side, claws and bared teeth, comes to light with him and him only.

and that... goes back to the "character going through dynamic arcs" thing i mentioned in the beginning that genshin lacked. now i may be reaching for crumbs here, but i'm pretty sure this ship is the closest thing we'd get for lyney ever going through a character arc. wrio too. when i say they were "made for eachother" i think i realized that it's because they both have parallel backstories. i wont spoil too much for wrio's stories and voicelines, but it's safe to say wrio also has trouble with trusting others easily. something him and lyney can relate on lol. not to mention the orphan thing... ok i wont say more.

i love that their personalities clash so catastrophically. i love that i can never predict what genshin will do next with them. this all makes shipping them so fun. i have literally never had as much fun with shipping for this game since.... ever! really. as the game evolves, the character writing and by extension their interactions with eachother do too. and i'd say it's an improvement. i'm hopeful for the future :]

@untildarknesscomes

#ans #aishi.txt #the way wrioney will probably never meet again in canon but here i am... hehe-ing in the mic #theyre in love guys i swear. here is my ppt presentation on why #SIMILARLY GUYS... the yuri of clorivia being so exes to complicated past to everything??? the way its depicted and not just subtext anymore #I THINK FONTAINE SHIPS JUST HIT SO DIFF #love them #anyway #yea the wholesome ships are so good too i mean. i am a cylou-er and thomatonation representative #but this... i dont think genshin has ever done something as close to this. idk. its good to me #blows kiss. genshin shuake u will always be famous

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scrixels · 4 years

Photo

1100. Palette

Had a go at making my own lil palette!

#pixel art #looping gif #palette #this was way harder than drawing ;~;#colours are so hard #esp trying to make a set thatll work for multiple things #and i like my art to match! thats why i use set palettes for my daily things!#gonna keep tweaking this as i draw things so hopefully i can use it regularly :D

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muwur · 4 years

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hello can I request tendou, kogane, ushijima, and lev reacting to their s/o who really liked painting on their hands, like some kind of pattern or fruits 👉👈

painted hands

♡ drabbles ♡ for ushijima, tendou, koganegawa & lev

❧ gn reader

✎ 1.6k words

a/n: hello lov, ty for the request! sry it took so long to dish it out ;c i made them into short drabbles/scenarios rather than hc’s, ik u didnt specify but hope thats oki!

have a wonderful day! <3

requests: open

ushijima

Ushijima woke up to sunlight peeking through the crack of the blinds. He sat up and stretched his arms upwards, blinking away lingering remnants of sleep from his eyes. The side of your bed was empty; only crumpled sheets and a pillow still marked by the indent of your head remained. Curious, he got up, making his way downstairs and into the kitchen, where he found you sitting at the dining table, paintbrush in hand. His eyes softened as he approached you and placed a palm on your shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

The sound of his deep voice coupled with the warmth of his firm hand made you jump in your seat, jostling you from your thoughts. The brush in your hand painted a streak of red across your fist, overlapping another painted strawberry.

“Ushi, don’t sneak up on me!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

You turned to face him, a slight pout on your lips. Raising your hand, you showed him the many painted strawberries adorning your skin.

“I felt like painting something and eating strawberries, so here,” you explained as your lips curved upward into a small smile. “Luckily, a little water’s enough to get rid of this streak I made here...”

You snatched a table napkin and dipped a corner into your cup of paintwater. Carefully, you dabbed at the red mark, moving upwards to slowly rub it off your skin. Ushijima focused on the intense care and concentration in your gaze, admiring the way your brows furrowed slightly and eyelashes kissed the tops of your cheeks as you blinked.

“There! I’m done,” you grinned as you revealed your completed work. “What do you think?”

He stared at the painted hand you held before him for several seconds before he brought it closer with his own hand and placed a soft kiss to it.

“I like it. It looks nice, like you.”

Embarrassment started to settle in as he lowered your hand from his face, only to be replaced by amused huffs of laughter. Covering your mouth to stifle your giggles, you pointed at Ushijima’s mouth, now peppered with small, faint, red blobs of wet paint.

“Y-You got a little s-something on your face...!” you managed to blurt out despite your chuckles. You snapped a quick picture of his blotched, confused face then continued to type away on your phone before setting it back down on the table.

His brows furrowed in response. “Aren’t you going to show me?”

“Nah. But Tendou will!”

tendou

“You’re sure taking your sweet time.”

You rolled your eyes playfully at his comment, continuing to stroke the paintbrush along the back of his hand.

“Hey, I’m just making sure it looks nice. You’re the one who asked me to do this,” you reminded him.

He smirked through closed eyes, leaning back against the bed frame slowly. “I thought it’d look cute for the upcoming game and I can show it off to my team~ I didn’t realize how long it took, though.”

The bed creaked as he shifted. “Can I stretch my legs out, though? I’m losing circulation, babe.”

You paused your work to move over, allowing him to uncross his legs and spread them along the mattress. He took the opportunity to hook one over your lap. You had to refrain from rolling your eyes once more.

Dipping the tip of your brush in your palette, you positioned his hand on top of his thigh and resumed painting on his skin. You moved carefully, making sure to form the shapes you wanted. You took another brush, one with a smaller tip, and created several criss-crossing lines. Meawhile, Tendou hummed contentedly.

“You’ve been listening and singing to nothing but that song for the past two weeks,” you groaned. “It was catchy first, but now it’s just too much, bro.”

“How else am I gonna pass the time? I’m likewise getting a tad tired so why don’t you hurry up, hm?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m almost there. Be patient.”

Another 5 minutes of his increasingly loud (and annoying) humming passed by before you set down your brush on the nightstand.

“Done! You can open your eyes now.”

“Finally!” he exclaimed, eyelids fluttering open. His red eyes glittered with excitement when he brought his hand to his face, examining the brown circles and criss-crossed tan triangles that adorned his skin. A upward curl graced his lips as his eyes traveled from his hand to your expectant gaze.

“Chocolate ice cream cones?” he questioned with amusement.

“Your favorite treat!” you retorted.

He chuckled. “Actually,” he said as he leaned forward, using his other hand to guide your head in close for a peck to the forehead.

“You’re my favorite treat.”

koganegawa

“Y/n!” you heard your boyfriend call. He was bounding up the grassy hill towards your spot in the shade, a paper bag in his right hand. When he reached you, he set down the bag and leaned down to give you a quick kiss on your head, taking a seat next to you, cross legged. He leaned into your shoulder, peering down at your hands and the paintbrush in them.

“Ooh, what’re you painting?” he asked, unable to make out where you were going with the few splotches on the back of your hand. He held your hand up closer to his face, squinting. “Yellow circles?”

“Yes, but noo,” you answered, snatching your hand back and hiding it from view. Teasingly, you added, “You’ll see~ It’s a surprise. Don’t look until I’m done.”

“Whaat? Why can’t I know?” Koganegawa complained, leaning closer in an attempt to grab your hand back. In seconds, he managed to topple you both over the picnic blanket. Squirming underneath his weight, you retaliated by pushing his face back and stretching your arm out of reach.

“Because you can’t!” you shouted between laughs. Successfully shoving Koganegawa off, you staggered onto your feet and dashed behind the nearby tree for safety.

“Aw, c’mon, just tell me, pleeasseeee,” he pleaded as he got onto his knees.

“No.”

Silence followed for several seconds before he sighed in defeat. “Fine. But eat with me while the food’s still warm. I’m starving!”

Two rice bowls, a large lemonade, and several sneak attacks from Koganegawa later, you waved a hand over your boyfriend’s eyes. He was laying down on the blanket, arms behind his head as he stared at the sunlight-freckled green leaves overhead.

“Okay, dummy, you can see it now,” you joked.

He sat up and took your outstretched palm, turning it over. His eyes widened at the sight of yellow chicks with familiar, brown tufts on their heads. Unable to resist gawking at their cuteness, he gaped at your work.

“This is so cute, y/n! What are these brown little hair thingies, though?”

You rolled your eyes and raised your hand to play with a strand of his own brown little hair thingy. “I based these baby chicks off you!”

His mouth formed an “o” as realization sunk in. “Huh. Do I really look like this?” he asked, holding up your hand next to his face for you to compare.

“Hmmm,” you rubbed your chin in fake thought, looking back and forth between your painting and your boyfriend’s curious expression. “Yes. You’re a bit cuter, though.”

“N-No, you...”

lev

You couldn’t help but feel touched when you noticed the childish wonder in Lev’s eyes as he watched you paint small mangoes across your hand. Dipping your brush into the green paint, you finished off your final fruit with two leaves. You spent several seconds blowing on the paint, forcing your piece to dry faster, then offered your hand to your boyfriend.

Before you could ask him what he thought, however, he was already showering you with compliments.

“Woah, y/n, how are you so talented? This looks even better than those pineapples you did last time, and those were really good! I love this, uh, this gradient -- is that what they call it -- you put here with the orange and yellow! You should do avocados next!”

You huffed with amusement. “Thanks, Lev. I didn’t know you were so into fruit. Or art. Or fruit art.”

He shrugged, smiling. “I just like to see you do what you do best. Other than being the best partner, it’s painting these little fruits on your hand!”

A knock was heard on the door and a voice called out, “Lyovochka? I made some snacks and tea for you and y/n.”

The door cracked open to reveal Alisa’s bright eyes and radiant smile. Once her gaze fell upon the paint bottles at your side, it shifted over to your hand, blotched with an array of yellow, orange, and green.

“Oh, y/n, I didn’t know you liked painting! May I see?” she asked excitedly, opening the door slightly wider.

“Of course,” you answered, extending your hand out for her to look.

She stepped inside and gently took your hand to observe the painted fruits. “It’s adorable, I love it!” she swooned. “After snacks, could you paint some for us, too? Or teach us?”

“Having oranges on my hand as I spike the ball does sound kinda cool...” Lev thought aloud.

“Heh, only if you don’t miss,” you said jokingly, pinching one of his cheeks playfully. “But I’d be happy to!”

And thus you found yourselves huddled together in the living room, fruit sandos and paintbrushes in hand as you three attempted to feed and paint on each other. Though it ended up a bit messy in more ways than one, Lev was content with his misshapen, orange oblongs and Alisa in love with her pink-orange peaches. None of you hesitated to show off your matching fruit hands to anybody you came across for the next two days.

#haikyuu x reader #ushijima x reader #tendou x reader #koganegawa x reader #lev x reader #haikyuu x reader drabbles #haikyuu x reader scenario #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #tendou satori x reader #koganegawa kanji x reader #lev haiba x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader fluff #requests

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pushesbuttons-blog · 7 years

Text

Creedy Rambles-

So this is just gonna be a new thing I do on occasion when I can’t focus on drafts or messages, where I’m going to talk about stuff related to TSP, fandoms, tumblr and roleplaying in general. I’ll be tagging these specifically, and they’ll all be under a read more. So if you don’t want to see them, just blacklist the tag.

REGARDING OC’s:

THIS IS NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE OR THEIR CHARACTER, SIMPLY IT IS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO WANT TO IMPROVE AND EDUCATE PEOPLE ON WHAT IS ORIGINAL IN A CHARACTER AND WHAT ISN’T- BASED OFF OF HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE DO IT.

Before I start in I’ll quickly identify what an OC is-

OC or Original Character, is a person or entity developed entirely with the creative mind of one person and does not stem from an existing copyright/franchise.

Essentially- it is a being that you made up. You made up their personality, backstory, appearance- all of it. Yes, you probably got inspiration from other places or characters, but it is still your own character. They can be set in a specific game/movie/book or any franchise, or you can make up your own world for them.

Now unfortunately on Tumblr, Oc’s face A LOT of criticism and backlash. Not necessarily because Oc’s are bad.. but because of the stereotype that they’re bad.

And even worse, this stereotype is often very true, in the sense that- people do NOT understand how to make a character.

People make a character, but its not really original. Because it conforms to ALL the stereotypes that other people’s OC’s have. Thus negating its originality in the first-place. Making it ironically an UNoriginal character.

And it kills me, because those Oc’s ruin it for the GOOD Oc’s out there.

I’ve been on Tumblr for only around 2-ish years and I’ve seen HUNDREDS of Oc’s. Some AMAZING and others horrid.

And It hurts me that the good Oc’s aren’t given a chance because of the negative association with stereotypical ‘bad’ oc’s.

Now I bet you’re asking- ‘Creedy, what are some of the things people do that make BAD Oc’s? Surely it can’t be that bad, that people on tumblr sometimes won’t even consider writing with them, right?’

Sadly, that is completely correct.

Disclaimer: Sometimes people won’t write with your OC simply because they don’t like them, and thats THEIR problem. Not yours.

So let me give a quick rundown and reasoning as to what people do that give Oc’s (GENERALLY) a bad name-

1. Mary Sue / Gary Stu

Okay, we’ve all heard these ones. But if you haven’t- A Mary Sue is basically a stereotypical OC with NO FLAWS. She’s often described as ‘smart, pretty, honest, kind, and amazing at everything she does’.. okay.

That is already a HUGE red flag.

And even moreso- the only ‘flaw’ these characters will sometimes have is ‘clumsiness’ or some other attribute that doesn’t directly negatively effect the character’s personality, and is usually used as a trope to get that character closer to what they want... which is NOT what a flaw is supposed to do.

And if you think that your character is somehow unique in spite of all this- the FIRST instance of a Mary Sue goes as far back as 1973. In a Star Trek Fanfiction

Mary Sue stories—the adventures of the youngest and smartest ever person to graduate from the academy and ever get a commission at such a tender age. Usually characterized by unprecedented skill in everything from art to zoology, including karate and arm-wrestling. This character can also be found burrowing her way into the good graces/heart/mind of one of the Big Three [Kirk, Spock, and McCoy], if not all three at once. She saves the day by her wit and ability, and, if we are lucky, has the good grace to die at the end, being grieved by the entire ship.[7]

If your character matches this description, I’m sorry but- they are NOT original. If they’re good at basically everything with no flaws (especially at a younger than normal age) that character is by all means considered a Mary Sue. A Gary Stu just being the male counterpart.

How to fix this:

Now there IS a line in the sand. Your character can be young and good at things, nothing wrong with that. But make sure you add in some flaws such as- ‘unintelligent, rude, brash, liar, insecure, boring, cruel’. And make it so that there are things they hate in the world, and people that hate them. Mary Sues are also often depicted with everyone liking them, but as we all know that is simply not realistic. Create enemies or rivals for your character- or Hell, even someone they just plain dislike.

2. DO NOT COME UP WITH EVERYTHING ON THE SPOT

This^^^ Is important

Do not force your ideas. Do not try and just pull a character out of your ass, because then that character will be shit.

Take your time, no pressure.

You do not have to come up with their favorite color immediately- or even finish their backstory.

Somedays you may like an idea but later on you might realize it was stupid or unfitting, and vice versa.

Be patient and pace yourself

But lets say you’ve already kinda rushed it with your character, no biggie.

How to fix it:

Again, take your time. Don’t immediately go deleting everything you dislike about your character. Put it on the backburner and give it time to boil, slowly but surely- it will come to you.

3. Do not LIST things.

Unfortunately I’m also guilty of this one, as is most Tumblr rpers.

When you make an about page for your character- listing the name, age, birth. Thats okay. But why do it that way when you can show off your writing skills a bit?

And don’t make giant random pointless lists of likes and dislikes. Place them in relevant categories.

How to fix it:

Instead of doing the following:

Likes: Swords, rock, fighting, snow.

Do this:

Aya lives outcast in the snowy tundra nearly 20 miles from the nearest city, but it suits her just fine. The harsh snow is actually quite comforting and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. Additionally she has a fiery passion for sword-play, and practices as often as she can in her own private training room. The adrenaline of fighting keeps her fit and on her toes, and it drives her to do the best she possibly can each day. Aya also has a great taste in music, hard rock to be specific. She enjoys rocking out to AC/DC while battling her training dummy.

Is it a bit long and drawn out? Maybe, but it’ll give that person a better idea on how you write and how descriptive you are. Its not a cookie-cutter sort of process anymore.

4. No Eye-bleeding color schemes.

Dear sweet baby Jesus.

Look, sometimes it works. But a good 99.9% of the time- using every color of the rainbow WILL NOT WORK.

When you do that, it looks like someone crushed the color out of every sharpie that exists and dumped it on your character.

Its not pretty or cute or creative, because everyone has done it and it hurts to look at. Especially if you choose NEON OVER BLACK. You will burn someone’s eyes out, don’t do that.

Here is a basic read-up on Color Theory and some beautiful Color Palettes, to give you an idea.

How to fix it:

Now look, rainbow coloring in itself isn’t bad. But instead of just choosing the brightest colors you can find. Go to google and search for a color palette and use that. A good chunk of canon characters generally have a set of 5-6 colors in the same moodset that they stick to.

Also tacking on this: generally make your character’s clothing simple. Don’t add too many crazy patterns or random hats and glasses and wings and tails just.. unless you can justify it in their backstory properly- stick to a standard set of clothing and then maybe tack on a maximum of 3 accessories. A bracelet, a fancy hairtie and glasses.. okay done! Simple but cute!

5. Do not base that character entirely on a character that already exists (especially if you intend them to be in the same fandom)

It does not take skill or originality to take Elmo and turn him blue and then call him ‘Omle’

That is not an ‘original’ character and its not ‘inspired’ off of Elmo- yet I see people do this all the time.

Now look, this one is hit or miss. Sometimes it works and its cool, but most of the time it doesn’t. Especially if they’re in the same franchise.

Inspiration =/= Copying

How to fix it:

Unfortunately if you’ve done this you may need to make drastic changes with your character. But that doesn’t mean you HAVE to take away everything, you can just add new stuff. A change of clothes, skin color, eye color, maybe body shape, swap out some personality traits and boom- you’ve already got something more original than what you’ve started with!

6. Simple, my God.. simple

Meet Simplicity, no- they’re not an OC. But they’re gonna be your new best friend.

Simplicity is what you need. No over amount of accessories, powers, positive OR negative personality traits. Just a nice SIMPLE amount.

How to fix this:

Again if you’re not comfortable putting your character through drastic changes. Then this won’t be for you. Try and limit yourself with a set number of general stuff about your character. Like top five positive traits, and top five negative traits. Okay-

Compassionate, Goofy, Hilarious, Bubbly, Kind

Airheaded, nervous, panicky, oblivious, naive.

Notice how all of these traits generally have something in common or similar to the ones next to them? That is what a character is supposed to be like. Different enough to be their own thing, but similar enough to still ‘blend’ with that character. They OVERLAP each other.

7. I...I’m not sure what to call this one?

But basically- if your character is lets say.. ‘the sonic oc’. Make sure they look as though they’re from the sonic universe, but also doesn’t look too similar to a character already in that universe.

ALSO DO NOT USE BASES.

Any art you do will be SO MUCH BETTER and IMPROVE YOU SO MUCH MORE than ANY base you use.

Bases are actually proven to make your art skills WORSE.

Here is a POSE sight used to help artists draw, this is better to use.

Disclaimer: Using bases as references is fine. Do not copy it pose-per-pose. But maybe you just want to get a general idea of that character so you look at a base- thats fine. But do not copy it.

How to fix it:

Again you may need to redesign your character if this is the case.

Can’t draw? Thats alright, a detailed description can generally be enough for an OC. And even if you feel like your art sucks, practice makes perfect. I promise you.

8. Fit the personality with the appearance.

A character in a dark hood with circles under his eyes that look soul-crushing probably won’t have the personality of a six year old girl.

When you make a character who has a sad or depressive general mood or personality, match that with colors and clothing articles. Like blue or fluffy sweaters.

Think of the emotions in Pixar’s Inside Out. Their appearance directly correlates to their personality and the emotion they give off. That is what makes them good characters.

How to fix it:

Again, a redesign might be in order.

9. Long V.s Short Backstories

Alright so theres a huge doublestandard on Tumblr that I CANNOT STAND.

On one hand- people reprimand you if your backstory is too short. Alright, fair enough. Its their life story, I’m supposed to make it long and specific right?

WRONG!!!!!!

Because then people will get lazy and not even bother to read your character’s backstory because apparently 7 pages is ‘too much’.

How to fix this:

So, what do?

You make both.

You make a small summary of your character with something like ‘Very brief history’ and then you expand upon it under the summary with a title like ‘detailed/specific history.’ At least that way people can’t piss on you for your story being too short or too long.

10. The stereotypical ‘Tragic backstory’

Okay. I’m guilt of this. I’m SEVERELY guilty of this.

However, a tragic backstory isn’t bad.. as long as there is reason behind it.

When you have a character- having sad or horrible things happen in their life is good. Otherwise they’d just be another Mary Sue. But you don’t want to completely make your character miserable unless they call for it.

Lets say your character is blind- it makes sense that they could’ve had a tragic accident that blinded them.

But if your character was bruised or beaten for...seemingly no reason and it had no effect on them personality wise.. why is it there? What was the point in throwing it into their story?

A smiley, bubbly character who is constantly happy and has nothing wrong with them is not going to have ‘Macbeth’ as their backstory. And vice versa.

How to fix this:

Add happier or brighter moments in their life, intervals where things weren’t so bad. Role models, hobbies and when they learned them. Things like that.

On the other end (if they’re too happy) Add some sad parts. Struggles they’ve had, confrontations they won’t forget etc. etc.

11. Research.

I’m not saying you have to write a book report, but looking up on google about real-world locations, how certain jobs and processes (such as being arrested, giving birth, whatever is relevant to the character/your thread) will do you some good in an rp. And you might learn something!

And this is not meant to offend anyone.

Alright. Now I want to say that yeah- you can get away with some of this stuff. I list things, sometimes my characters are over the top, or their color scheme isn’t great. And people still think the character is good.

But it IS highlighting the things literally EVERYONE ELSE HAS DONE, therefore making these tropes unoriginal and making your character unoriginal. This is meant to give tips on how to make your character more original.

Do you have to change it if you don’t want to? No.

Is your character so awful it’ll make me vomit if you don’t follow these rules? No.

But if you want to improve upon your creativity, these steps will do nothing but HELP you in the long run. I promise!

#[ 📌 :: ＯＯＣ: ͨʳᵉᵉᵈʸ ʳᵃᵐᵇˡᵉˢ ]#[ 📌 :: ＯＯＣ: ºᵘᵗ ºf ᵇᵘᵗᵗºⁿˢ ]#((These are my own personal opinions and experiences))#((Although there is joking it is not purposefully poking fun at anyone))#((But it irritates me when bad Oc's make it worse for good Oc's..))#((I will also not judge your character if they have anything considered 'unoriginal' in the oc world. No character is perfect))

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seocompanysurrey · 5 years

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Affordable, Stat-Based Retail Strategy For Your Agency’s Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

Retail clients are battling tough economics offline and tough competitors online. They need every bit of help your agency can give them.

I was heartened when 75 percent of the 1,400+ respondents to the Moz State of Local SEO Industry Report 2019 shared that they contribute to offline strategy recommendations either frequently or at least some of the time. I can’t think of a market where good and relatively inexpensive experiments are more needed than in embattled retail. The ripple effect of a single new idea, offered up generously, can spread out to encompass new revenue streams for the client and new levels of retention for your agency.

And that’s why win-win seemed written all over three statistics from a 2018 Yes Marketing retail survey when I read it because they speak to motivating about one quarter to half of 1,000 polled customers without going to any extreme expense. Take a look:

I highly recommend downloading Yes Marketing’s complete survey which is chock-full of great data, but today, let’s look at just three valuable stats from it to come up with an actionable strategy you can gift your offline retail clients at your next meeting.

Getting it right: A little market near me

For the past 16 years, I’ve been observing the local business scene with a combination of professional scrutiny and personal regard. I’m inspired by businesses that open and thrive and am saddened by those that open and close.

Right now, I’m especially intrigued by a very small, independently-owned grocery store which set up shop last year in what I’ll lovingly describe as a rural, half-a-horse town not far from me. This locale has a single main street with less than 20 businesses on it, but I’m predicting the shop’s ultimate success based on several factors. A strong one is that the community is flanked by several much larger towns with lots of through traffic and the market is several miles from any competitor. But other factors which match point-for-point with the data in the Yes Marketing survey make me feel especially confident that this small business is going to “get it right”.

Encourage your retail clients to explore the following tips.

1) The store is visually appealing

43–58 percent of Yes Marketing’s surveyed retail customers say they’d be motivated to shop with a retailer who has cool product displays, murals, etc. Retail shoppers of all ages are seeking appealing experiences.

At the market near me, there are many things going on in its favor. The building is historic on the outside and full of natural light on this inside, and the staff sets up creative displays, such as all of the ingredients you need to make a hearty winter soup gathered up on a vintage table. The Instagram crowd can have selfie fun here, and more mature customers will appreciate the aesthetic simplicity of this uncluttered, human-scale shopping experience.

For your retail clients, it won’t break the bank to become more visually appealing. Design cues are everywhere!

Share these suggestions with a worthy client:

Basic cleanliness is the starting point

This is an old survey, but I think we’re safe to say that at least 45 percent of retail customers are still put off by dirty premises — especially restrooms. Janitorial duties are already built into the budget of most businesses and only need to be accomplished properly. I continuously notice how many reviewers proclaim the word “clean” when a business deserves it.

Inspiration is affordable

Whatever employees are already being paid is the cost of engaging them to lend their creativity to creating merchandise displays that draw attention and/or solve problems. My hearty winter soup example is one idea (complete with boxed broth, pasta, veggies, bowls, and cookware).

For your retail client? It might be everything a consumer needs to recover from a cold (medicine, citrus fruit, electric blanket, herbal tea, tissue, a paperback, a sympathetic stuffed animal, etc.). Or everything one needs to winterize a car, take a trip to a beach, build a beautiful window box, or pamper a pet. Retailers can inexpensively encourage the hidden artistic talents in staff.

Feeling stuck? The Internet is full of free retail display tips, design magazines cost a few bucks, and your clients’ cable bills already cover a subscription to channels like HGTV and the DIY network that trade on style. A client who knows that interior designers are all using grey-and-white palettes and that one TV ad after another features women wearing denim blue with aspen yellow right now is well on their way to catching customers’ eyes.

Aspiring artists live near your client and need work

The national average cost to have a large wall mural professionally painted is about $8,000, with much less expensive options available. Some retailers even hold contests surrounding logo design, and an artist near your client may work quite inexpensively if they are trying to build up their portfolio. I can’t predict how long the Instagram mural trend will last, but wall art has been a crowd-pleaser since Paleolithic times. Any shopper who stops to snap a photo of themselves has been brought in close proximity to your front door.

I pulled this word cloud out of the reviews of the little grocery store:

While your clients’ industries and aesthetics will vary, tell them they can aim for a similar, positive response from at least 49 percent of their customers with a little more care put into the shopping environment.

2) The store offers additional services beyond the sale of products

19–40 percent of survey respondents are influenced by value-adds. Doubtless, you’ve seen the TV commercials in which banks double as coffee houses to appeal to the young, and small hardware chains emphasize staff expertise over loneliness in a warehouse. That’s what this is all about, and it can be done at a smaller scale, without overly-strapping your retail clients.

At the market near me, reviews like this are coming in:

The market has worked out a very economic arrangement with a massage therapist, who can build up their clientele out of the deal, so it’s a win for everybody.

For your retail clients, sharing these examples could inspire appealing added services:

A small pet food chain is offering health consults in addition to selling merchandise.

Even small clothing boutiques can provide personal styling sessions.

I know of a particular auto parts store where salespeople show you how to change windshield wipers and headlight bulbs for free and it brings our household back almost every time..

It’s common for shops like toy stores to have kids’ birthday clubs, but sophisticated businesses offer loyalty programs, too

I wrote about offering shipping last year as an additional service with self-evident value in this age of convenience.

The cost of these efforts is either the salary of an employee, nominal or free.

3) The store hosts local events

20–36 percent of customers feel the appeal of retailers becoming destinations for things to learn and do. Coincidentally, this corresponds with two of the tasks Google dubbed micro-moments a couple of years back, and while not everyone loves that terminology, we can at least agree that large numbers of people use the Internet to discover local resources.

At the market near me, they’re doing open-mic readings, and this is a trend in many cities to which Google Calendar attests:

For your clients, the last two words of that event description are key. When there’s a local wish to build community, retail businesses can lend the space and the stage. This can look like:

Any type of class, like these ones that teach how to operate an appliance or machinery, how to re-skill at something like wilderness survival, or how to cook/make things.

Any type of event, like the open mic night I’ve cited, above, or celebrations, or appearances by well-known locals such as authors, or ongoing club meetups.

Any type of special appeal, like this recycling deal gifting participants $20 off new jeans if they donate their old ones, or housing a drop-off point for light bulbs, batteries or charitable giving, or hosting the kick-off of a neighborhood cleanup with some added benefit to participants like a breakfast or discount.

Again, costs here can be quite modest and you’ll be bringing the community together under the banner of your business.

Putting it in writing

The last item on the budget for any of these ventures is whatever it costs to publicize it. For sure, your client will want:

A homepage announcement and/or one or more blog posts

Google Posts, Q&A, photos and related features

Social mentions

If the concept is large enough (or the community is small) some outreach to local news in hopes of a write-up and inclusion of local/social calendars

Link building would be great if the client can afford a reasonable investment in your services, where necessary

And, of course, be sure your client’s local business listings are accurate so that newcomers aren’t getting lost on their way to finding the cool new offering

Getting the word out about events, features, and other desirable attributes don’t have to be exorbitant, but it will put the finishing touch on ensuring a community knows the business is ready to offer the desired experience.

Seeing opportunity

Sometimes, you’ll find yourself in a client meeting and things will be a bit flat. Maybe the client has been disengaged from your contract lately, or sales have been leveling out for lack of new ideas. That’s the perfect time to put something fresh on the table, demonstrating that you’re thinking about the client’s whole picture beyond CTR and citations.

One thing that I find to be an inspiring practice for agencies is to do an audit of competitors’ reviews looking for “holes” In many communities, shopping is really dull and reviews reflect that, with few shoppers feeling genuinely excited by a particular vertical’s local offerings. Your client could be the one to change that, with a little extra attention from you.

Every possibility won’t be the perfect match for every business, but if you can help the company see a new opportunity, the few minutes spent brainstorming could benefit you both.

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whitelabelseoreseller · 5 years