#because i can't help myself tbh

[danpuff-ao3]

Today I was walking down memory lane on a friend server, back to when I was writing Contempt, and...I remember how hard of a time I had with it, but really seeing how much I'd fretted over it...wow! Makes me feel all the more accomplished, that I overcame all of the stress and insecurity and various other upsets. I'll share a few snippets I found!

Maybe I'd've been less stressed had I started at a decent time...(never did finish that Daddy wip LOL.)

I also really thought people were going to hate it.

I have insomnia so if I say I'm sleep deprived I must have been pretty dang sleep deprived.

Wow, I was really overthinking it, wasn't I? 😂

Inspo!

Time crunch!

Me looking on the bright side, per usual.

Aaaaand...

Funny I wasn't even halfway done by this point

Also...

Anyway this is all embarrassing and idk why I'm sharing but...😂 It's a fun look back. And maybe it will be good for other creators who are prone to pulling their hair out over a work. You're not alone! Also: shoutout to my friends for witnessing my multiple meltdowns. I don't know how I'd've finished that fic without their love and support.

#danpuff stuff #writerly woes #really embarrassing why am i posting this #because i can't help myself tbh #contempt

[crescentfool]

I noticed you're a Ryomina!!! How did you get into it? And do you have any good fanfics/doujinshi you can advice me to read? ANYTHING on Ryomina actually? I'm dying for anything about them!!! Thanks!!

yes!!! it's me!!! i'm ryomina fan (one of many)!!! thank you for visiting my askbox, i'll do my best to answer all of the questions because it always makes me happy to see that ryomina sparks joy for people! :D

...this got really long because i like linking to things, so i'm putting it under a read more (IM VERY NORMAL ABOUT THEM)

how did i get into it? i got into persona 3 around august 2021 through the movies- at the time my only experience with the persona series was with P5R / P5S / P5D. p3 was the one that interested me the most (i thought minato was very pretty + i caught wind that the themes of the game were very resonant with people). i picked the movies over the game because i'm a guy who plays games at a snails pace, haha.

admittedly, i did latch onto ryomina because of the scenes in the third and fourth movie (i have mentioned in the tags of this art i drew how much i felt like i was exploding and blasting off to the moon watching it).

but what really dug me into the ryomina hole (and what has kept me there) was thinking about how much ryoji encapsulates the themes of p3- and how interconnected his fate is with minato. i wrote some musings about their dynamic here, if you're interested!

tl;dr: what if we were both boys and we were mirror images of each other and i inherited your kindness and looks but god doomed our narrative even though we're soulmates

on ryomina fanworks recommendations:

regarding fics: i'm going to assume that you've probably read the fics that have the highest kudo ratings on them, so i won't really be listing those.

a personal favorite fic that i always hold close to my heart is Eurydice's Vow by crescentmoontea, which explores the idea of ryomina in p5r's third semester. this was the first fic i read about ryomina and it made me tear up lots...

i also think a lot about I Alone Await You by Nail_gun, literally scrumptious writing that captures the ryomina dynamic so so well. actually check out Nail_gun's other ryomina fics while you're at it too!

other fun fic i'm fond of: can't get my mind out of those memories (what were they?) by foxmulder_whereartthou. ryoji being homeless lives rent free in my head and it's all because of this fic. there's a bunch of other fun ryominas from the same author too (i still need to read them)

BkZa555 also has some fun AU scenarios if you're into that too, notably with Zagreus (P5-Setting, Ryoji focus) and The Definition of Insanity (TIME LOOP fuckery!), but they're currently ongoing.

these were some ones that came to my mind first- as i have the strongest recollection reading them. admittedly i haven't really been reading fic this year, so i don't have many recommendations from fic that came out this year. but if you're so inclined to let ryomina consume your soul, i definitely recommend giving the newer works in the ryomina tag a look-see and see if it strikes your fancy!

as a side note, i do have a few ryomina fics that i've bookmarked on my ao3 here, though i have to say that i'm not sure how well they hold up in terms of like... what i would seek out of a fic these days. but they made past me happy so i bookmarked them, LOL. it's kind of outdated (my collection of fic recs has my old username *disintegrates*).

regarding doujinshi: i have not read all the ryomina doujinshi available, but as a starting point, please take a look at this list from pandora-scans from livejournal!

notably, this is where you can find the strawberry-chan say good bye doujin- which features a small and cute comic from shuji sogabe (the p3/p4 manga artist), as well as other artists. the existence of this doujinshi is the funniest thing to me because it's like "HEY if you're wondering what the volume 8 cover is really gay it's because sogabe contributed to a ryomina doujin." this fact makes my head spin (positive). it explains a lot about the manga.

regarding persona side material:

i know you didn't ask for these but i thought that i mine as well list these too, since i feel that the side materials have some fun expansions on ryoji and minato's interactions. i haven't... watched/read all of these but, hey, i like to share these things!

for comic anthologies for the persona series (some of which have ryoji!). if you're interested in reading them, here's a scanlation index from maboroshi-no on tumblr. i don't think this is a comprehensive list, but i think it will be a great starting point!

for some translations of the persona 3 drama cds, check out imaginary-numbers on dreamwidth! ryoji and minato interactions can specifically be found in the persona 3 character drama cd vol. 1, and for the audio + english subs, you can watch this video on youtube:

and ohh the musical. ryoji singing and dancing gives me so much joy. i haven't watched the musical in it's entirety (only fragments), but here are some links that may be of interest to you:

Ao no Kakusei (The Blue Awakening), Sakuya version - playlist for the first p3 musical, translated by Phoenix Maiika.

Ao no Kakusei (The Blue Awakening), Kotone version - playlist for the femc version!! also translated by Phoenix Maiika on YouTube.

Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade (English Subtitles) - playlist by rumio!

P3 Weird Musical DVD & Soundtrack Booklet Scans by rumio_k - twitter thread that links to these funsies, if you don't have twitter, here's the publicly shared drive link.

god. these sure are a lot of links, huh? i hope you enjoy them- pick and choose whatever sounds most appealing! (if this overwhelmed you im sorry GKLHLDH i just like being very comprehensive in my answers about things so i got carried away).

and as a reminder, you (and anyone else reading) are always welcome to browse my tags/archive and reblog things from there anytime! i have... nearly 300 ryomina posts which, while mostly consists of art, has a few fics, meta, hcs, gifs, memes, and whatnot scattered about.

or browse the minato and ryoji tags too! there's.. nearly 1k minato. and 500 ish ryoji. and they're going to keep on growing because i can't stop being obsessed with archiving these things. god help me i am so deep in this hole called ryomina hell and now you're here too. welcome aboard!

there's always going to be a lot of fun ways to enjoy rotating ryomina around in one's brain, i think- they're a pairing with such fun symbolic imagery that is So Deep (to me) but ALSO they're immensely hilarious and weird guys (affectionate). so i love to share these things in hopes that it gives you joy too! they are the most couple ever (to me) (i'm biased)

thank you again for the ask! i hope it can satiate your need for more ryomina, and be a nice aide in exploring the p3 fanspace :)

#ohhh do i even main tag this #fuck it we ball i'll tag it #lizzy askbox #persona 3 #ryomina #ryoji mochizuki #minato arisato #i'm in a bit of a hiatus in terms of like.. looking at new ryomina stuff outside of fan art so i haven't seen Everything #but i would like to get back to it when i can be more cognizant and present to appreciate them #the grind to being a ryomina encyclopedia never stops! #my files and links are all messy i can hardly keep track of all the ryomina things... maybe i just need to make a neocities- #like cat's souyo archive (cat is an inspiration to me) #but FUCK man ryomina is so good. thank you for the follow and sending me this ask #i'm very sorry about the excessive length i can't help myself i'm very dedicated to wanting to know lots of things about them #i had a lot of fun answering this! #times like this make me want to return to like. my fic recommendation collection.. i gotta rehaul that stuff tbh #maybe after i've seen all the ryomina stuff i can make a ryomina iceberg based on what i've seen peple talk about (or not talk about) #it'll be a long while though. i feel like i've hardly scratched the surface even though i wouldn't call myself a casual enjoyer #ANYWAY BYE. no one ever apologize to me about being excessive because I AM very excessive and repetitive. LOL. have a good morning? evening

[soundlessdragon]

Exercised 1 (one) time and am bedridden

#tbh may not be from the exercise lol #but I can't think of any bad foods I ate to cause this #anyway I've only had appetite for watermelon today and still ended up throwing it up 💔 #my husband and roommates are being angels and helping with kiddos so I can catch as much horizontal time and toilet time as I need #i hope that whatever is going on my baby is still okay :( #10ish weeks #it was light exercise because I knew better than to push myself since it's been a while #genuinely looking forward to when I can push myself again and get some gains. maybe in 1 year...

[yeehawbvby]

Um. A fee I didn't know I was being charged for from the service I order meds from just came out of my bank account and now I have negative money

Anyone wanna pay me to write or doodle things for them?? ;;w;; My Ko-fi is in my pinned post if so.

Just let me know exactly what you want (and who you are, so I can contact you here! Or you can DM me letting me know which request was yours) and I'll get right to it. I don't have a commission sheet or anything so just give what you can and I'll do my best to make it worth it.

I'd really appreciate any help I can get right now from those of you who can spare it!!

#when i asked for money for my volo microorganism it felt silly and i was half joking. this is serious though and i feel rly bad about it tbh #i don't mean to beg but like. PLEASE consider #seriously ANY little bit helps #just. god. #been in a depressive episode for months. can't get a job. my health is worsening. i can't eat because my throat muscles no longer work #can barely sleep lately which is making it harder to apply for jobs and stuff. just had to have my partner pay over 1k in car repairs that #were necessary but i couldn't afford myself. still have to do christmas shit. still have to schedule my wisdom tooth surgery. #this feels terrible. everything is going so wrong lately. not to bring on the pity party but like holy shit lmao #i'm in shambles lately and idk how much the overdraft fees will be but just knowing I might be fucked is already tolling on me so hard #shut up crisa

[dredshirtroberts]

yeah guys idk I'm just thinking maybe the lightheadedness and desire to sit down about halfway through putting away groceries my whole life might not have just been a reaction to the way my parents were when i was a kid and the accompanying anxiety and sudden flurry of movement, but also possibly maybe i have a Health Thing about this...

#thank god i finally scheduled that doctor's appointment #Jan 15 cannot come quickly enough tbh #like i've streamlined getting shit put away and i hurry as soon as the wooziness starts hitting because i know i'm on borrowed time #and that's when the trauma reaction kicks in of ''i can't stop halfway through i'll be in trouble'' anxiety #because i *enjoy* putting away groceries and organizing the kitchen #i just also can't without a lot of assistance and plenty of spoons and time to prepare myself physically and mentally beforehand #this post brought to you by i had this realization doing the groceries and now i'm having like a lot of thoughts about it #i can't do it all in one go ever and i have never been able to without someone else handling about half of it #no matter how much i get or of what i can only get about half put away before time's up and i gotta sit down #it's why so much of my food was non-perishable when i was on my own #cause i'd get the cold things put away because they *had* to be #and then i couldn't physically do any more - especially if the groceries that week were more cold than non-perishable #but like yeah if i had to stop or take a break in putting away the groceries (despite also having gone to the grocery store #and walked around the whole store and grabbed items AND carried the heavy things into the house because i was the heavy lifter #AND i was in sports and had probably either just done a lot of exercise or was still in recovery from the day before/earlier that day) #i got fussed at for not helping out #so that's fucked up and fuck my mom actually she sucks #ugh

[slippery-minghus]

oh no. i feel like if i do not consume an entire load of bread in the very near future i will simply cease to exist.

#very uh. very worried about my finances right now #like. i'm fine. i have some savings. but i also just got to put something into my savings for the first time in a VERY long time and now #now i immediately have to take it out #and i'm getting stressed out about buying groceries #because if i dip into my savings here what about there? where is the line? #and i owe so much to taxes but i can't exactly afford getting less of my pay...... #my last paycheck was $0.66 more than my rent #my insurance is refusing to reimburse the last of my electrolysis visits from last year and like #i'm SO over the fight but that's $120. that i really actually kinda need? #and i'm starting to get that funny in the head feeling about wondering how i'm going to feed myself #i still feel so much shame about that funeral i went to years ago and my only thought during the reception after was about #how there was just so much food and i could actually eat my fill #i have leftovers for dinner tonight and it's fine but.... making a lovely vegan dish wasn't the best choice tbh #i feel like if i don't have a large helping of bread and meat i'm going to go insane #and it really REALLY doesn't help that i've apparently lost the ability to eat in the mornings #so i'm at quite a significant fuel deficit and it's stacking #but no matter how hungry i am in the morning the concept of processing solid food is just repulsive and daunting #eating a clif bar at 9am would take literally all of my spoons for the day #i was looking at protein shakes since i can handles *drinking* breakfast #but the cheapest one that meets my dietary requirements is $35 for a 12pack #and i'm uh. i'm worrying over spending $10 on produce this week #personal #and nevermind that i don't have the spoons to even GO shopping (: #(on an aside i switched back to my regular melatonin gummies last night and i Actually Slept. so hopefully that will continue and help some) #i just want to curl up in a ball on the floor and have someone gently place a roll of bread and hunk of cheese next to me in my enclosure #also it's photophobia season and i still feel like i haven't recovered from saturday #got too much sunlight and was nauseaus for half the day #my body feels so bad

[new-lorien-artist]

.

#i don't like how this past year has been me getting really anxious because of my health #because it really put me on edge deciding whether i want to draw and finish my projects #or do my schoolwork and finish college #because i haven't been able to imagine myself anywhere past graduation and my health situation hasn't helped matters #i could be overreacting and i'm actually fine and this is a temporary pain issue #because i'm continuously denied getting my pain checked out due to expenses and the like #everything is too expensive #who knows maybe i'll live past graduation and i can continue my art as usual #but i'm panicking more over the pain daily and feel like stopping my classes and just draw draw draw #i'm more concerned about making fanart tbh because i have so many ll wips #and i sincerely want to give back to the fandom more than ever #but a dead artist can't contribute #neither can a living artist who is in too much pain to work #still thinking about posting my wips and ideas and maybe they'll inspire some other people here #ideas and concepts will get lost in translation but it's better than nothing #... i wish we had more artists here #maybe i won't feel this way if that was the case #ernest talks #i really don't meant to death scare anyone reading this i could be overreacting over my own health #it just ties real closely to how worried i get about the fandom in general and how much time i dedicate making projects for the community #so i'm just.. scared i guess #how would people know when a blog largely on hiatus is permanently inactive? will i let people know in time if something happens to me?

[kyouka-supremacy]

Tries to buy something from Ama/zon (tears hair) (vomits blood) (breaks all their bones) (faints to the ground) (starts convulsing) (drops dead)

#I don't know how people buy stuff on Ama/zon on regular basis tbh. #This is like the second time in my whole life I've resorted to buying from it and... I just can't. #I find it so unethical on every front it seriously made me feel sick and needing to throw up #I just wanted to buy a present for my birthday is that too much to ask. #Yet I've been meaning to buy it the whole day and I just ////// c a n t //////. Like I seriously can't I'm not strong enough #Last time it was a present for a friend so I didn't feel that guilty since it wasn't destined to me. But now it's? Phisically painful? #I guess it doesn't help that I'm just not used to buying things for myself outside groceries in general ;;;;;; #Like I never feel the need for a treat the Tumblr posts talk about I just. Buy food and necessities. I'm a boring person okay #Tbh I feel like I'll really end up with no present this time around because I don't know. I really don't think I will make up my mind #Sorry needed to vent I've been stuck on this the whole day #random rambles #Does anyone have any tip on how to stop feeling guilty for buying something for myself once a year? #Then again who am I trying to fool. It's Ama/zon. We're all conscious of the problems that come with it. I SHOULD feel guilty #Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

[chaotictomtom]

honestly still so upset the blood donation situation. makes me sit on the floor and sulk for an hour each time i think abt it

#france finally allowed gay ppl to donate blood BUT with a 6 months abstinence #but my main obstacle at the time (didn't have bf + is considered woman at the eyes of the law 🖕) was because i weighted way less than 50kg #i was heartbroken when i hit 18 and got slapped in the face with the info that i couldn't donate my blood #thing i wanted to do since i was a kid when my big bro did it #it was the only thing that kinda helped getting out of my ed tbh 😵‍💫 didn't. really worked sadly #i did gain some weight finally living with bf alone us two! but 50 is the bare minimum and you can't still give everything in your blood #then i got on t and was so happy realising i was gaining some weight (+weight restribution made me less dysphoric and ed got better) #but lol i still can't donate blood!!! cos' i'm on t now!!!!! looool fuck my baka life fr #😔😔😔😔 like the sole goal that helped me go through ed and not literally starve myself at some point in my life #smh #mibbe one day? i hope i'll be able if i change my id to m ??? mibbe this will bypass the hrt parameter. idk. head in hands #true fucking head in hands moment #ive reached more than 55 i could give everything from my blood augh :((( ppl are in need wtf man #sORRY ranting in da tags im just. :( i hate remembering this that's all. #will play some video games now waiting to get some cheezborgir........ keeping da brain busy

[lesbianuhaulindustrialcomplex]

I did something recently that hurt my mom's feelings and the world has come to a fucking halt about it. Everyone keeps reaching out to me to be like "hey you hurt your mom's feelings idk if you know" even though she and I have extensively talked about it and I've given multiple genuine apologies because she keeps going to everyone who will still talk to her in our family (not very many people) and complaining about me and I'm just like. Genuinely I am very remorseful that I hurt my mother but like. Where the fuck was all this energy when she was hurting her fucking children for 30+ years?

#i technically uninvited her to something #the situation is that i planned a whole birthday party for myself and then BECAUSE MY MOM PICKED A HUGE FIGHT WITH ALL OF HER SIBLINGS #like 75% of the people i invited (my aunts and uncles and cousins) canceled on me #so i canceled my birthday party but asked my brother sister and my brothers wife to still come over that night #they were only coming to see my apartment for the first time. our plan was to get kind of drunk and loud and do karaoke on my couch #my mom has seen my apartment dozens of times #ive invited my parents over for multiple casual dinners. they HATE driving to my area bc its too busy #my mom HATES loud chitchat and music and bad singing and staying up late. #all things we did that night! #and if i were confident i could extend a polite invitation that would have been turned down for inclusion's sake then i would have done that #but i fucking didnt invite her! because she would have said yes! and then she would have been policing the event and my behavior all night! #BECAUSE SHE IS A DIAGNOSED NARCISSIST WHO DOESN'T HAVE THE SKILLS TO PREVENT THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR #and i know she can't really help it. i know her life was so fucking hard. but she made MY life hard. she STILL makes my life hard. #i just wanted one fucking night to have fun with people that love me. just one fucking night! and she tried her VERY best to ruin that #even without an invite #and tbh in some ways she really succeeded in ruining it. half the fucking time was spent talking about her and how to handle this situation #and if this is a precursor to her gettting fucking worse again and going back to inpatient #im just fucking tired of it man

[simmysunset]

i have so many ideas i want to make come to life with the sims, and i just feel like they're all impossible because i know what i want, i just don't know how to put any of it together. so my ideas are just collecting dust in my head and they're no use there. i just want to work on them and share them with people but i can't.

#i just need to rant tbh #i'm really upset #i just want some way to tell my stories through visuals and written word #and i don't know how to make that happen #i can't make cc #i can't make poses #i can't make animations #i can barely even make sets to put my sims into #i feel like a shitty storyteller because i don't have any of these things to help me #i rely on what other people have made #and i don't want to have to rely on other people #the only person i have 100% of the time is myself #i want to be able to do it #i just can't #and i hate it

[yohankang]

Honey, this might be very rude. But like what is your job. I want to save you from the that hell hole bro.

Please do not misunderstand nor feel pressured to answer.

I just hope it gets better.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

i'm an office manager which means that i'm responsible for all the paperwork (all invoices go through me), calls and emails. and i act like an assistant to basically everyone in our office. including shit like booking flights and hotels and taking care of everyone's cars and insurances etc. buying office supplies, taking care of how our office looks, making tea & coffee for guests, booking rooms, making sure our management signs the papers on time etc. etc. etc.

doesn't sound that bad but the 'acting like an assistant' is tricky. because i get like 20 daily requests from people to take care of something asap. like, paying a fine, calling some place to ask about something, scheduling a meeting, making changes in booking, registering a car etc.

now it's extra stressful bc i'm organizing a christmas party for 120+ people and it's not easy when you need to book hotels for 30 people, book a restaurant, decide on a menu, confirm attendance etc. and your guests are dickheads who don't care if you have to change their reservation 4 times in 3 days.

#and there is no one who can replace me when it's needed. like when i took a week off it took me another 2 weeks to catch up with work #because some things are easy but it would take weeks of training to thoroughly prepare someone to do my job #and no one has time for this because they have their own jobs and duties #but despite this my coworkers help me as much as they can :') and they really support me #there's only one department full of shitheads and 90% of my problems originate there lmao most of the company hates them #tbh most of my problems would be solved if they just hired another person and split the work between us but #it's always been one person so 🤡 #and sometimes it gets really calm and i don't have anything to do for a few hours. it's been months since something like that happened but #it happened a few times in the past lol #answered #i really can't quit this job because it pays well (i mean for a person with no degree). and out of obligation. #i need to finish my degree because now there's no way i would find something that could pay my rent 😭 #but i promised myself i won't stay here for longer than 2 years unless they offer me a different position #but until then you have to listen to my complaining every day agkdgjdfj sorry

[non-un-topo]

Seems like I'm having another pain flare-up, this time so much worse than the last :(

#i don't know what i'm gonna do about school this year. at this point i definitely can't carry a bag #can't even carry just my ass around without being in so much pain. and i can't fit anything in a fanny pack #i've been stretching and trying to work out my muscles veeeery slowly. because if i don't i'll injure myself again #..........maybe i should just say fuck it and finally see a doctor. #but nooo. if you're afab and you see a doctor for pain it's gonna be two things: #'oh it's your period of course!' 'oh it's not your period? then have you tried yoga? drinking water?' #i swear to god it's always like that #partner thinks i might have fibro and i'm not completely unconvinced #my entire middle-upper back and ribs and sternum are just killing me. can't stand up straight or slouch without pain #stretching doesn't seem to be doing anything to help but i'm going to keep trying #can't tell if this is just because i'm 26 and not active at all or if i have some other serious underlying condition #though if i've been in pain every single day for at least the last 11 years it's probably p fucking serious. #i just want to cry. everything aches like when you have a fever or the flu #i'm also feeling SO nauseous this morning like holy shit #someone might have to physically drag me to the doctor tbh #medical trauma wee hoo!!!

[androideql]

nothing like trying to write after n shots of vodka

#android talking #how much is n #yes #i actually really enjoy writing in these conditions because #this scene sounds so rad to me now but who knows what i'm gonna find tomorrow #probably a lot of fucking typos tbh #listen i just really love stress free creative efforts ok? #but i have such high standards for myself most of the time that i can't help but stress #i really cant help it #my ability to quickly write a good chunck of text was judged super harshly for 6+ years that shit just stays with you #anyway #delete later #probably

[bill-gates-hate-blog]

definitely not my best work but i can forgive myself after being away from my drawing tablet for so long

#right now the point of me doing art is to learn things #like where the brushes that do what i need them to do are located #and how i should be doing my shading #also it's heavily apparent that i don't put much effort into backgrounds #ugh but i don't wannaaaa #me and every tumblr artist tbh #i took a lot of pictures for inspiration on my trip to erie #i should really paint those and get some practice #i'm torn between wanting to use this really graphical cel-shaded style and the more painterly style that i taught myself #and then accidentally defaulted to #and the old way i did art #because i taught myself i never took formal art classes #was really inefficient #so right now i'm trying to be more efficient about my art #especially if i plan on doing more of these #one of my irl friends who went to art school has lapped me several times over in regards to art quality #so despite my clear and obvious disadvantage i can't help but feel a little competetive #so if you're reading this hi loren i will find you

[barbieaiden]

hii do you have a process when you’re making ocs? you genuinely seem like you’re having a lot of fun and it makes me wanna make ocs too, but i can never decide what kind of environment i wanna put them in and then i get stuck with a bunch of half baked dynamics if that makes sense 😭

making ocs and stuff is such a process for me, sometimes i get attached to them right off the bat but a lot of the time i don't. i'm a 'figure it out as i go' type of person so the process is kind of just me like writing and thinking about it obsessively for like. months-years lmao

but i think the major difference between ocs that i scrapped after a little while vs ocs that i've had for years now and actually have fun with is that those ocs and the world they're in have some kind of connection to me kind of?? like, obviously all my characters have personality traits and stuff in common with me, but they also are all built on tropes i like or just straight up characters/books/games/movies/tv shows i like, or they'll have arcs and stuff that i can relate to, or their stories are about something i find interesting. like, my first project that i actually grew attached to and have worked on for years was about pirates and magic, and i like pirates and magic, and then i made one of the characters my favorite type of character so like. how could i not get attached to him and the world

but again a lot of the things really have just come with time for me, i actually think i put down my sam and aiden project for a few months at some point because i found their dynamic kind of boring and then i picked it back up when i knew what i wanted to do with them

#sorry this is such a ramble and very much just my personal experience idk if there's anything helpful here lmao #for me i could and still can't really force an attachment to my projects tbh it just kind of. happens #like when i try to force myself to make a new project just because i want to it usually doesn't work #i need a strong idea for something in it and even then i might not end up liking it #ask