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olderthannetfic · 2 years

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Your blog just keeps turning into the place to discuss the discourse of the week lol. To make this an actual ask, how many books do you read? I've personally found my actual book reading dropped off after starting to read fanfiction do you feel the same or?

I have experienced that, but it hasn't been uniformly true in recent years.

Up through high school, I read regular big publisher fiction voraciously. I read many different genres and a lot of books that weren't entirely my thing. Whatever was handy, I read. We're talking the 90s here, so while I lived near a ton of amazing independent bookstores, it wasn't yet a time when you could find literally anything.

In college, my pleasure reading dropped off considerably, especially my reading of fiction. After college, I didn't pick it up again, at least not to the same degree and not for a while. My mother once described the same process in her own life. I think it's common.

I started reading fic at 13 in 1994, so no, my fiction reading did not drop off at once.

Since that time, my fic reading has waxed and waned, usually in relation to whether I'm in any fandoms big enough to have a steady supply of fic. I don't tend to be able to stick to big fandoms for more than 6 months or so (BTS being an exception), and I seldom reread fic, so I don't always have anything to read.

In 2016, I suddenly discovered the world of "m/m romance", which is a niche that tends to be indiepub and selfpub, very fic-like, and primarily produced and consumed by AFABs. My favorite thing is casefic with first time ship, so novel-length m/m genre fiction with plots was catnip. I'm not as into the contemporary romances or series romance (in the 1 ship/book industry sense), but I fucking love the series urban fantasy mysteries +/- historical.

I spent that year reading through the backlog of famous m/m romance authors and read very little else. But, eventually, I ran out of obvious things from recs lists and got distracted by fandom again. Just lately, I've mostly been reading BTS fic when I've read fiction.

Throughout all of this, even in college to some degree, I've read stacks of nonfiction. I do tend to read on subjects I'm specifically researching now rather than just picking up any book that's sitting around.

Basically, I think there is a common experience where bookworms read everything when young but eventually figure out what they like most and stop reading things they don't really care about just because they're there.

Many people who like m/m on AO3 don't know about m/m romance ebooks or translations of danmei novels or scanlations of BL manga or whatever. For them, AO3 is the primary and best source of this type of content. It's only natural that regular books start to look less appealing. Why waste time on something kind of okay when there's something you love right there?

Some people will say that it's all about the familiar characters giving you an easy entry point, and for some people, I'm sure that's true, but I think plenty of people would stop only reading fic if they could reliably and easily find original work that actually caters to them.

To answer your specific question, at any given point in time, I probably have two or three long nonfiction books I'm in the middle of reading, but finishing could take months since these tend to be reference books and weighty academic tomes.

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writerspath · 14 days

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In the Beginning: Five Things I've Learned About Starting Out as a Free Lance Writer

So you decided you want to be a writer. But can't everyone write to some degree? What makes you so special? These are some of the key questions I've had to wrestle with since deciding to throw my hat into the freelance writing market and a crowded market. I come from a background in creative and essay writing and writing is writing, right? Not exactly. Now I must decide not only if this is really what I want but how I will separate myself from the hordes of people calling themselves freelance writers in some way, shape, or form. I'll use this blog to journal my adventures in the written word and share my personal story along the way.

One: There is serious competition out there.

When I started this journey I was thinking I would go on freelance sites like Upworks and Freelancer, get noticed using sample blogs I'd done a part of an internship for a non-profit organization and short stories from my graduate school days, and slowly build my clientele base until I had a small business. Turns out many people had the same idea and while these sites can be useful it's hard to get noticed especially if you don't have credentials already. While Upworks makes you pay extra to see other bids, Freelancer will show you the other bids. Some jobs were getting up to eighty or ninety bids. Since they're global as well you're competing with people from other countries. There is a lot of work out there but there is a lot of people competing for this work.

Two: Learning freelance writing is big money for others.

You could be making six figures in as little as a month. Can you write like a sixth grader then you can make money writing for the brands you love. Sound familiar? I'm naturally a skeptic when it comes to those who promise money upfront and make what are often time-consuming undertakings like learning how to write for a specific audience and what sort of audiences one wants to write for, etc. almost a breeze. I believe a rule of thumb is don't fall for the hype. There are many people and organizations promising big future returns for handing over large sums of money much like gambling. The American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) is one such organization that specializes in teaching copywriting (writing advertising for companies). They seem credible but also charge five hundred for many of the books in their course. My advice, be careful who you sign up with, do your research, and find whatever free material out there that is helpful. AWAI also has a site called the Barefoot Writer that offers many tips for becoming a writer for free.

Three: Be ready for the jargon

White paper? Blog? SEO? I mentioned before I come from a more academic-oriented writing background and freelance writing tends to be geared more for the consumer market. I knew words like narrative, voice, thesis, etc. Just like in any field it's necessary to understand what people mean when they ask "can you create a white paper or me". Just as important is knowing what products you'll advertise to get business in your particular niche, which is my next point. By the way, a white paper is an in-depth report that presents a problem and a solution, a way of persuading people to buy a product in the consumer world. SEO is Search Engine Optimization that, in short, describes ways of making a website easier to find on the internet. Very useful to know. A blog in case you didn't know already is a regularly updated website usually done in a conversational style. I consider them similar to online journals.

Four: Find your niche

What was that? Do you want to write about pet care? Well, that's great. What do you know about pets? Have you actually taken care of pets? Do you have any examples? These are all questions I had to consider as I got further involved in freelance writing. I quickly learned that while being a generalist may get you a job here and there people and businesses will be drawn more by people who specialize in a niche. You could collect antiques or complete a dissertation on jet engine aerodynamics. We each have topics we can write about. You might even pick a niche or two and decide to change them later. I'm currently working in Arts and Culture as aside from writing I also have a background in social psychology.

Five: Get your promotion on.

Finally, number five, and possibly the most important is getting people aware of your brand. You can have the best writing and websites in the known universe but if no one knows who you are then you're not getting any business. Like I mentioned previously, the freelance writing field is crowded as far as I can see and you need a big virtual banner to get the attention you want. Promotion was an area I knew I wasn't strong in so I went to, yes you guessed it, other freelancers who specialize in that area. I have since hired a freelance social media manager from Fivver to revamp the social media websites I started using including Linked In, Contently, and Wordpress. This is an ongoing process even as I write this blog. I did wrestle with the decision at first, but now I'm happy I made the choice. Otherwise, you can end up spending a lot of effort yourself for little results and wondering why no one has noticed you online.

In Conclusion:

Working as a freelance writer is essentially running your own business. It takes a lot of self-motivation, discipline, and confidence and I've found it's tempting to want to do everything yourself. This is your baby after all. Trust yourself and your skills, but there is nothing wrong with acknowledging you need help. There are just some things you're not good at and that's okay. You have to take care of yourself too. You're not much good to clients if you are stressed out, sleep-deprived, and on edge. Once I discovered how much I didn't know and how much competition there is among people who have probably been at it longer than I have, I quickly realized I needed the help of not only those willing to offer training and advice in the field, but to help me promote my little business. The two most important lessons I've taken away so far are to keep looking for opportunities no matter how bleak things may get and to keep writing. I'll update this blog as I go along with topics directly and indirectly related to the writing world.

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the-madwomen · 2 years

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UPDATE: Well, as it turns out, we're not just "Dr. Luna Ludenburg." We're a system. Self-diagnosed, granted, but we have been very certain for the past... Year. We fell out of Tumblr. Not sure why. We're homeless now, which isn't the worst thing we could be in fairness. Still not great, but we have friends to help so that's fine. And yes, one day we will return to VTubing. We would stream now since we have our laptop back, but VTubing in public would be a mistake. The alter specifically writing this is named The Hatter. Hello! Sort of a cross-breed between The Doctor (Doctor Who) and (surprise) The Mad Hatter. Of course, any of our alters calling ourselves mad would be redundant, so I'm simply The Hatter. Hope to be more active on Tumblr, but no promises. Anyhow, the rest is our archived post for our YouTube and Twitch. Do feel free to check those out if you have the time. Toodles!

So... Is she gone?

Or rather, am I gone?

... Well I'm far gone regardless, but you can gather my meaning. Ha ha!

Salutations! My name is Dr. Luna Ludenburg! I am a mad scientist and an interdimensional traveler. I am not this blog's new host, but rather the old host that's been away for what feels like ages. Apparently it has been negative 5 minutes. Ha! Go figure. Time is strange in the multiverse. I've even been in universes where time moves backwards! Unpleasant experience, to say the least. So I have no idea how long I've actually been out for. Hm.

Well in any case, I do want to make some announcements on plans for my future in this dimension, including online. Namely...

I wish to be a VTuber.

Yes yes, I know there's plenty of those on the market, but... I've already made myself a makeshift model on VRoid. I bought a new laptop so I'd able to stream and play games at the same time. I even made a Google Slide presentation (that I am honestly debating whether or not I should even use).

Unfortunately, leaving this dimension left me with some... Unfinished business. Namely, I still have a job at a gas station with some bills to pay as well. Thankfully I had managed to get myself a four day work week, so that leaves at least three days a week to stream. I still need to get some things set up for that, but I can at least give a sales pitch of sorts. Here's what I can offer as a performer.

I am a storyteller by nature, and questions about my life, travels, and even things like fictional works I'd like to make are more than welcome.

I can sing to a semi-decent degree. My travels get in the way of practice, but I hope my voice comes off as endearing rather than irritating.

Unlike many of my peers, I am willing to discuss politics. I am a far left anarchist, with a focus on the politics of art and media of all sorts. I hope this is a useful enough niche and not alienating.

I am, of course, a MAD SCIENTIST. I am sure that this will be evident in my aesthetics, philosophy and even behaviors. And do note I am deliberately hammy about it since I have a deep love for horror and b-movies. I also strive to clear the name of villainy. To be a villain simply means you're ambitious, for better or worse. I hope to show that having ambition doesn't mean one is evil.

As well as a mad scientist, I also have a desire to be an artist. Not necessarily one kind, just in general. Mainly writing I suppose, but I don't like to be tied down. Being a supervillain does mean I have hefty ambitions, a good thing to have as an artist. And the more I learn and the more my channel grows, the more likely achieving such things is possible.

This does risk me being a case of "counting your chickens before they hatch", but I do want to pursue this career. It allows me to do what I desire in my work... As well as be myself. So I hope to not disappoint anyone involved. I certainly don't want to be one of those "VTubers" that just hype themselves up on Twitter but never debut proper. This is a dream I have, one of many... Hopefully it comes true.

Manically yours,

𝒟ℴ𝒸𝓉ℴ𝓇 ℒ𝓊𝓃𝒶 ℒ𝓊𝒹ℯ𝓃𝒷𝓊𝓇ℊ

P. S.

Here is my YouTube channel, at https://youtube.com/user/donutmaster437 like so, with my Twitch account as well. I stream Tuesdays and Wednedays at 11:00 AM PST. Hope to see you there!

#mad scientists #mad scientist #vtuber #b-movie #villain #villancore #new vtuber

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bookcoversalt · 4 years

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A+ youtube video! I feel like this is a dumb question, but what other sources, exercises, etc would you suggest for a writer wanting to get better at, like, everything you do in that video? I feel like I'm just not intelligent when it comes to writing and reading. I slap down whatever seems fun and I'm sure it makes for a bland story full of stupid plot holes and everything you talked about, so how does one get better at dissecting this stuff and...writing/reading intelligently?

Thank you so much!! There’s a tendency to consider analytical people just “smart”, as if the observations they make come naturally to them. But that super isn’t true: being thoughtful and critical about media, like drawing or writing or playing a sport or learning an instrument, is a skill that you pick up by absorbing reference, learning the language of the art form, and then practicing replicating it through your own perspective.

ABSORBING REFERENCE

My two biggest critical inspirations are Lindsay Ellis, a video essayist who covers film and culture, and Film Crit Hulk, a screenwriter and movie critic, and I’ve been consuming their work since I was 15. (I’m 25 now! that’s a wholeass decade.) I've picked up many, may other sources along the way: other video essayists, pop culture commentators, TV critics, spirited roasts of 50 shades of gray, actual “writing craft” books and blog articles, long goodreads reviews of books I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the flaws on, funny booktube reviews, even “anti” posts. I read “how the last season of game of thrones went the fuck off the rails” articles til my eyes bled, not because I cared about game of thrones, but because there was so much good, insightful reporting being done on How And Why A Story Fell Apart.

LEARNING THE LANGUAGE

Not all of this is good or useful. There’s a lot of bad faith or shallow criticism out there. The cinemasins clickbaity style of nitpicking “plot holes” or penalizing a work for the mere presence of tropes without regard for broader artistic intent and cultural context is particularly insidious and should die. The people who think twilight is stupid because it has sparkly vampires are missing the point. A LOT of people critique YA in particular from a place of bitterness or bias or misplaced expectations (and so did I, to some degree, for a long time. I’ve worked really hard to grow out of that, I hope). But the point is to seek out content in this vein-- not what I consumed necessarily (I would not wish that many GOT thinkpieces on anyone), but stuff that interests you. The more of this you mindfully consume and the more perspectives you collect and compare, the more context you’ll have for what’s being discussed and the more you'll naturally start to form your own opinions on it. You will learn, slowly, by osmosis, to pull what strikes a chord with you from the noise.

REPLICATING IT THROUGH YOUR OWN PERSPECTIVE

The cool and fun part is that to some extent, your brain will start doing this on its own. You’ll read a book and you'll just notice more. You’ll call plot twists faster, or be more cognizant of the pacing, or connect dots you might not have otherwise connected. You’ll see the logistic scaffolding in your own work more clearly and you’ll be more aware of choices you’re making subconsciously. You’ll recognize thematic hypocrisy or worldbuilding inconsistencies and have the language to name them.

And you’ll also have the tools to explore your less clear-cut, more emotional reactions to art. And this is the most important but “hardest” part of this: sitting with vague feelings and unformed thoughts trying to suss out what’s at the heart of them and why, using your hard-won critical “training” and your contextual knowledge.

I like to frame them as questions:

Why did the end of [book] feel disjointed? Why didn’t I connect with the main character in [book]? What really resonated with me about the plot of [book]? Why does [character] appeal to me more than [other character]? Why does [book]’s use of [theme] make me uncomfortable?

Sometimes it comes down to just preference or subjective taste, and that’s fine and good to know. But more often than not, you’re reacting to something concrete that can be identified:

The ending of HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS feels disjointed because it comes out of nowhere and has nothing to do with our heroine’s efforts in the larger story. I didn’t connect with the main character in HEARTLESS because within the context of the worldbuilding, her choices didn’t make sense. What really resonated with me about the plot of UPROOTED is its thematic coherency. The Darkling appeals to me more than Mal because the villain romance power fantasy aspect of the series is better fleshed out and ultimately more rewarding to read than the love story of two flawed teenagers. ACOWAR’s use of trauma and recovery makes me uncomfortable because it ceases to be a sincere element of anyone’s arc or characterization and becomes yet another tool to make Rhys look like the best and coolest and wokest fae boyfriend.

Pulled from an old Captain Awkward article, this is something I have in a sticky note on my desktop as sort of a criticism guide:

One of the things we try to do is to push past “I liked it”/”I didn’t like it” as reactions to work. What is it? What is it trying to be? Is it good at being that thing? Was that a good thing to try to be in the first place? Did the artist have a specific agenda? How did it play with audiences at the time? Does it play the same way now? What stereotypes does it reinforce/undermine?

Even if it’s only for your own personal growth rather than intended for an audience, I recommend putting burgeoning critical thoughts or questions you’re trying to “work through” down in writing somewhere: goodreads reviews! tweets! blog posts! spamming your group chat! Even just a private word document. The synthesis of thoughts into written content forces you to identify and choose a specific articulation of your idea(s). If it’s in a pubic or semipublic forum, you’ll also be able to see which of your ideas resonate with other people, and that can (isn’t always, but CAN) be useful information as far as having an external barometer for when you’re onto something.

And then..... you do that a bunch of times in different ways for many years, with a lot of different books and movies and games and whatever else. Like any other skill, you will get better the more you do it. (Again: I have been doing this for ten years now, and it still took me three months to write that video script. Forming nuanced, informed opinions and then articulating them coherently is hard.)

As kind of a footnote tip, seek out peers who have the same goals and feelings, and try to connect with them! Lots of my current internet friends found me back when I was posting on my personal blog about problems i had with THE SELECTION or RED QUEEN and we bonded over having similar opinions and being in similar places in our writing/ reading/ careers. These people now beta read my scripts and posts and help me brainstorm or refine ideas. I strongly believe that creatives (and critics) do their best work and grow the most within a network of support and feedback.

But also, in regards to creative writing in particular, i want to be clear that having fun is the most important thing. I absolutely think creators need analytical skills to improve their craft, but without the enjoyment of doing the thing at the core of it, there is no craft at all. If you have to choose between the "smart” thing and the fun thing, choose the fun thing. Tbh, if you’re worried your work is bland, analysis probably isn’t the solution-- figuring out how to have more fun is the solution. And letting yourself lean into the stuff that’s wild and awesome and so incredibly you that it sets you on fire to write is a skill of its own :)

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lizardgirlie · 4 years

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(Part 1) Hi! I really appreciate your blog! In a nutshell im writing this because I feel like I can't live my life honestly. I'm in university because thats what everyone does but I would've preferred to marry right after high school and start having children but it's difficult to find a man who still views that as a real job (an ex boyfriend once called me lazy). and my parents would never accept me dropping out just to wait to get married. I've been told to try finding a husband in a church

(part 2) but I'm not religious and it feels dishonest to join a church just to find a husband. I hide a lot of this still from my friends as they often make fun of my femininity and imply that I don't have real life goals (and thats from what I show them so I couldn't imagine what i'd get if I was completely honest). I couldn't picture a better future than being a SAHM in a small town. I'm 22 and getting to the point where I don't know how to make that happen as I was born so far from it

(Part 3) I feel like I don't know where this is coming from, my family isn't religious and I was always told to think about my future career. Not that my parents were shaming femininity and pushing me towards any certain career, just that my parents were happy having careers and probably assumed I would too. Anyway it just seems like you figured out how to be confident about owning traditional femininity and found a way to live it. This was so long so even if you only read half of it, thank you

hello dear! sorry it took me a day to get to this, i saw your message yesterday and wanted to sit down at my computer and type out a good response to it rather than trying to do it all on mobile. I, and probably a lot of other women in this community, understand what you’re going through on a very personal level. In modern day, femininity, especially the traditional kind, is completely shamed by almost everyone you meet. You’re called lazy, told you lack ambition, and basically scorned for wanting to take care of your own home and raise your own children. I’ve always found it a bit funny how people think wanting a thriving marriage and children is “lazy”, yet we live in a culture of divorce where nannies and underpaid daycare workers raise our children who end up having behavior problems. It’s very frustrating and oftentimes I want to grab people by the shoulders and shake them to wake them up to this. If you believe a successful marriage, well run home, and well behaved children with good values are something that just happens and not something that takes an astronomical amount of effort and work, don’t be surprised when this culture continues. But you already know that, or you wouldn’t be messaging me and choosing this lifestyle, so I won’t bore you with my ranting :)

I’m going to go through your message in order to make sure I hit everything you asked about!

You and I are the same age. It is extremely normal to feel somewhat lost at this age, and those of us who have figured out what we want feel very out of place among our peers. Especially if what we want goes against the mainstream narrative. If I had it my way, I’d already be married to my boyfriend by now, with a kid on the way or here. You’ve already done the hard part: figuring out your place in the world and what you want from it. The next hard part is finding a partner who has those same values. A lot of people on here really do like to recommend finding a man through church. I’ve never been very religious, I’m only moderately so now, and I didn’t find my boyfriend through church. This advice wasn’t useful to me then and it’s not useful to you now. You’re correct when you say it would feel very dishonest to just join a church to find a husband, and a good man is going to value honesty. Truthfully, there’s no one place you can go to to find a good match. There’s not exactly a group meeting of traditionally minded people in every city or town. But you can be proactive in seeking out a good man. My advice would be to look into potential groups at your university. Conservative political ones, to be more specific. I’d stay away from TPUSA, YAF, etc. though, as these people tend to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. They’re just social liberals who want low taxes. Many TPUSA members readily admit people only go to their events and conferences to hook up, drink, and smoke. Stay away from these types or risk wasting time. Other potential places are book clubs, online (be careful with this one. I can make a post specifically on this topic if you want--just message me), local political clubs not through your university, and in general day to day life. A lot of people have something in common with you: they hide their beliefs and this aspect of themselves for fear of mistreatment. You won’t know until you ask. Despite what you may come to believe from twitter and other social media, this movement is growing. Generation Z is set to be one of the most conservative generations in recent history.

As for dealing with criticism from your friends and parents, this one is extremely tough. I have always had extremely thick skin. I’ve kind of just done my own thing for as long as I can remember and not taken any sh*t from anyone who has something to say about it. This is easier said than done if this kind of thing isn’t naturally in your wheelhouse, which it’s not for most women. I take criticism seriously, but I know who to take it from as well. The people that matter and know what they’re talking about. Not to rag on your friends, but most people who give you a hard time for your choices seldom know what they’re talking about. If you were to take a random poll, most people are not very happy with their lives or their choices. They are easily brainwashed and influenced by the mainstream media/culture. This brainwashing leads to poor choices that make them miserable, which the media then tells them are their own empowering decisions they make for themselves. A good example of this is casual sex and hook up culture. If I were you, I’d work on finding new friends as well. Another thing easier said than done, but to me, it sounds like your friends are projecting their own “wants” (whether it’s what they *actually* want though...that’s a whole different can of worms) onto you and treating you like you’re stupid for wanting something else. Your parents criticism is something to take seriously, but not something to compromise your values over. You say they wouldn’t accept you dropping out, but are you sure about that? Statistically most women who have kids end up wanting to stay home with them. A task thats extraordinarily difficult to do if you have mountains of debt from student loans getting a degree that almost certainly does not matter. You’re the one taking on the debt, you’re the one who should be making that choice. I’m willing to bet if you dropped out and got a decent job they wouldn’t be nearly as angry as you’re thinking. Perhaps writing them a letter expressing your views and why you’re doing what you’re doing could be less intimidating than trying to come into it cold and face to face. You could even approach it from the point of not knowing what career you want to pursue, and therefore don’t want to waste time and money studying something that isn’t going to pan out. I personally only went to college because I was guaranteed to graduate almost entirely debt free (I just graduated with around $2k in total debt). You could even look into a trade. In my opinion, avoiding debt is best. That in mind, it is also a good idea to work and build some wealth of your own to bring into your marriage/relationship.

I hope this helped you and if you have any other questions you can message me! <3

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destroyer-immortalizer-blog · 6 years

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Hello! If you don't mind me asking how do you write Simaris? It's for a story I'm making and I feel that I'm just not doing it... right? I can't even explain how I'm writing him that's how clueless I am

// Hello! It’s no problem at all, I’d be happy to describe my methods for him. But, let me start with: don’t be down on yourself! Simaris is difficult to write for, and it can be tricky to find his voice.

// To save people’s dashes from this thesis paper I’m about to type up, I’ll put the rest under a cut. I’ll have a few general tips as well as my specific Simaris writing methods.

// First, I’d highly recommend going through the wiki of Simaris quotes and first reading, then listening to the audio of his lines. Both initially, and whenever you feel stuck or you’re searching for a tone. It will help you get a better idea of his speech patterns, vocabulary, inflections and tone, all of which can be useful when writing dialogue. Canon lines are also a way to figure out behavioral patterns. It’s a good, objective base to start with.

// Some base dialogue tips for you: he has a bit of a strange, semi-formal way of speaking. He doesn’t speak like a thesaurus, but slang and contractions are not something he indulges in often. He has been known to throw in a sentence that sounds poetic or flourishy to make a point. However, he will typically be straightforward when he speaks.

// You’ll find a few constants with Simaris’s behavior too: he’s very enthusiastic about his work with Sanctuary, and not particularly forgiving to those who get in the way (example, he yells at Tenno who kill Synthesis targets, but praises those who capture them successfully). Simaris talks as if he’s big and important and the king of his own realm - because, to be fair, he kind of is when it comes to Sanctuary. He can be bossy and more often gives commands than makes requests. He’s also very blunt when he speaks - sometimes abrasive and rude. Simaris does not sugarcoat. But, he also rarely outright lies, and usually just withholds information instead.

// He’s also not as openly emotional as say, Ordis would be.However, Simaris does still display emotion; he gushes over his Helios sentinels, and can get frustrated or angry fairly easily. And, however much he insists emotional actions and caring for others are glitches and he is beyond them, Simaris will show up when things get bad, and he will act in defense of those he is shown to have relationships/acquaintanceships with.

// Simaris is, honestly, kind of a jerk if you just take him at face value. But, if you dig deeper than that and analyze some of his dialogue, there are suggestions that he is capable of growth and acting better than he has in the past. I like to capitalize on the underlying traits of Simaris, and think that he actually does care deeply about certain people. But I mostly limit this to people he is known to associate repeatedly with in canon - so basically, Suda and Ordis.

// Also, when you write for Sim, remember that his primary motivation is Sanctuary. It’s his main precept, and if the Sanctuary is at stake, he will usually act in Sanctuary’s interests, much as Ordis would act in the Operator’s interests.

// Once you get a good idea of how canon Simaris behaves, then you can try to extend that to other situations. I’m not sure about the context of your story, so I’ll try to give you an idea of the way I choose to write him, just in case that helps you.I’ll be getting into headcanon territory some of this, so take everything after this point with a grain of salt. If you like it and agree, feel free to apply it to your version; just keep in mind these statements may not be supported by canon.

// If you plan on putting Simaris into a relationship, I would personally say to have him show hesitation and restraint. I do not see Simaris as the type to bust down the door and declare his love for someone. He’s much more likely to pretend he doesn’t have those feelings at all, and once he is forced to acknowledge them, he will be at kind of a loss on how to deal with it. Hopefully, he will have a more emotionally clued-in partner, because he’s going to need it.

// I theorize that his apparent need for control and quick temper when things don’t go to plan originate from an underlying anxiety disorder that was severe when he was human, but repressed when he became a Cephalon. He’s someone with anxiety trying to pretend as though they don’t have anxiety. If you’ve ever known anyone like that, you’ll quickly understand what I mean. He keeps up a facade of control, but as soon as he is challenged to any great degree, his neurotic tendencies will show.

// I think that about covers the bases! The last piece of advice I can leave you with is this: the more you write for Simaris, the more naturally you’ll be able to fall into it. But, do not be afraid to repeatedly revise your parts for him. I had a hard time finding my Simaris voice when I started this blog, and would often have to take longer periods of time than normal to figure out my replies. I still do that, but trust me, where Simaris is concerned, practice and repeated listens of canon dialogue really do help.

// I hope all of this makes sense and is helpful general advice! Please feel free to send more asks about specific points if you want advice on any one aspect of writing Simaris in particular.

#[🔶] Another Null Cephalon | (OOC)#[🔶] Spewing Corrupt Data | (Headcanons)#[🔶] Searching For Answers Tenno? | (Asks)

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