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septembercfawkes · 2 years

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Turning Relationship Arcs into Plotlines

Most stories will feature a relationship arc as a key plotline. But in order for a relationship to be a plotline, it not only needs an arc, it needs a plot.

Showcasing an amusing friendship or a fiery rivalry, or throwing in a love triangle or family feud here and there doesn't make it a plotline any more than having an entertaining protagonist doing random things makes a plotline.

You can have ideas for a riveting relationship, but if it isn't arcing because of the story, it's probably just cleverly disguised "plot" filler.

We usually don't want a protagonist without an arc doing random things. That's not really the protagonist's story.

The same is true with relationships.

Now, real quick, not all relationships in a story will need a plot--that would be near impossible, overdramatic, and would read as soap opera.

This is one of the reasons why there is a difference between a relationship arc and a relationship plotline.

Recently I did an article on the four basic relationship arcs. For convenience here is a quick recap:

Positive Change Relationship Arc:

The characters start distant--they may be strangers or downright enemies--and grow closer in love and respect. Ex. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Mulder and Scully, Sulley and Boo

Positive Steadfast Relationship Arc:

The characters start close--already having some love and respect for each other--and have their relationship tested through the obstacles of the plot. Ultimately, they stand by one another at the end; often their love and respect grow by degree. Ex. Frodo and Sam, Harry and Dumbledore (in book 7), Peter Parker and Mary Jane (depending on the rendition)

Negative Change Relationship Arc:

The characters start close with love and respect and are ultimately pulled apart and become distant, as strangers or enemies. They grow in dislike or disrespect for each other. Ex. Anakin and Obi-wan (in Revenge of the Sith), Mike and Will (Stranger Things seasons 1 - 4), Katniss and Gale (in The Hunger Games).

Negative Steadfast Relationship Arc:

The characters start distant--as strangers or enemies--and might be pushed together through the plot, but ultimately won't stand by one another at the end. In the end, they are strangers or enemies. Often their dislike and disrespect will grow by degree. Ex. Winston and Julia in 1984, Angier and Borden in The Prestige, Estella and the Baronness in Cruella

These are just basic relationship arcs and there is room for variations, so don't panic if yours doesn't fit any description perfectly. However, it should, more or less, be able to fit into one of them, which can be useful to get started.

Now we need to take some time to address plotlines, because how much you develop your relationship plotline will depend on how prominent it is. And the more prominent, the more it needs to be on the page. So hang with me as we cover some bases.

Relationship Plots for A Stories, B Stories, C Stories & More

Usually a relationship plotline is a key plotline, but where it fits in priority isn't the same for every story or even every genre.

Most stories, specifically long stories (a novel as opposed to a short story), will have at least three kinds of plotlines. The most popular combo is this: the protagonist's external journey, the protagonist's internal journey, and the protagonist's relationship journey (with the Influence Character). This is a great combo, because it has a broad conflict (the external journey), a deeply personal conflict (the internal journey), and something that fits between those (the relationship journey)--giving the story clear dimension.

However, with that said, you can create other combos as well. For example, sometimes there is a world/society plotline, and no internal journey. So while a relationship plotline is key to most stories, I'm not gonna say it's key for every single story (despite what some say in the community).

If you are reading this article, you obviously want to learn more about writing relationship plotlines. At this point, it's a good idea for us to take our usual pit stop and talk a little bit about terminology in the writing industry.

Some in the industry actually lump together the protagonist's internal and external journey and call the weave the "A Story," or the primary plot.

With this in mind, often the relationship plotline is considered the "B Story, " meaning it's the secondary plot that unfolds, more or less, alongside the A Story.

Some people in the community use the term "B Story" synonymously with "relationship plotline." In truth, not all B Stories are relationship plotlines, and not all relationship plotlines are B Stories. That's just what is most common.

In some narratives, the relationship journey is the A Story--the main plotline. This happens when the story is primarily about a relationship. The most obvious examples of this would come from the romance genre. Pride and Prejudice is primarily about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's relationship journey.

But this doesn't mean you have to write a romance novel to write a relationship A Story. In The Prestige, the whole story is driven by Angier and Borden trying to undo or outdo each other. The A Story is a relationship plotline about a negative relationship.

So there are a lot of options in regard to plotlines.

But whether the relationship journey is the A Story, B Story, C Story, or what have you, it still needs to have an arc and plot to be a Story. It's just that the less prominent the plotline, the less you need to develop it and show it on the page.

In contrast to a romance, The X-Files is more about the external journey and the internal journeys of each of the leads, than it is about Mulder and Scully's relationship. That doesn't mean their relationship journey isn't impactful (far from it). But less of that plotline makes up screen time . . . with the relationship arc stretched out over nearly a decade. If it had been the A Story, it wouldn't have been The X-Files, and it wouldn't have survived as perhaps the slowest burn in television.

Whether your characters' relationship journey is the A Story, B Story, C Story, or what have you, that's ultimately what we want: something impactful.

So let's dig into plot. . . .

Some of the problems that can come up with relationship plotlines stem from the writer not understanding that even though this journey appears quite different than the external or internal journeys, it still follows basic principles.

But if you don't write romance, this may be difficult to wrap your head around . . . because there are almost no resources to teach you how to do it!

People will mention relationship plotlines, but they'll be vague or general about it--or say it has to be a romance or that it must be a positive change relationship arc. It doesn't. But for this reason, this plotline has often felt vague to me, personally. If I'm not writing romance--what am I supposed to be doing here? And how?

Let's start with the basics and feed the relationship journey into them.

I already did a long and lengthy series on the principles of plot, so I won't be repeating the details of each element (nor will I be going through every element for this). This means if you are confused or need more information, you should look through the series, starting here.

Keep your relationship arc in mind as we go through the pieces, and soon it will become clearer and clearer how to write a relationship plot.

The Goal in Relationship Plots

Plot starts with a goal. This is because a goal provides context for plot. Until there is a goal, what happens doesn't really matter, since no one is trying to get anywhere. And the audience can't measure whether what happens is progress or a setback.

We know characters should have external, measurable goals. And even if they have abstract wants, they should manifest in concrete goals.

Not all characters keep the same goals for the whole story. In fact, some characters will have a different goal for each act (I'm looking at you, Star Wars IV: A New Hope). And some will have both an overarching goal and act-level goals inside it.

This can be applied to relationship plotlines. In fact, it's highly likely the relationship goal will change through the story (and often on the act level).

At the most basic, abstract level, there are only three goals your characters can have in a relationship, and they may not be the same as the other person's.

The 3 Basic Relationship Goals:

1. Draw closer and/or get along with this person 2. Push away and/or cause dysfunction with this person 3. Maintain the relationship as is

Worth noting is that the last one will likely turn into one of the other two, because something will disrupt "normal," and the character will either be trying to draw closer or push away in order to get "normal" back.

At this point, some of you may already be confused. My characters want to get along to get the plot goal, but they also hate each other and want to push each other away! you may be thinking.

Don't panic.

The relationship plotline is usually intimately woven with the external and internal plotlines.

Remember what I said earlier? It fits below the external plotline and above the internal plotline.

This means what happens externally will trickle down and complicate the relationship, while what happens internally will bubble up and complicate the relationship.

This is one of the reasons the relationship plotline can feel tricky and vague, especially if it's not the A Story.

Just focus on the relationship itself. Does the character want to draw closer to this person? Or does she want to be distant from this person? Or does she want to keep things the way they already are?

Relationship Goal Examples (Basic):

Elizabeth judges Mr. Darcy unfavorably--she wants to be distant from him through more than half the book. Scully wants to get to know Mulder, despite his poor reputation in the FBI. Sulley is afraid of Boo. He wants to send her away from him and Monstropolis. Sam wants to follow, be near, and support Frodo. Peter wants to be in a relationship with Mary Jane. Will hopes to maintain a close bond with Mike . . . and maybe draw even closer. While attracted to Julia, Winston thinks she's a spy and hates her (this one is a little more complicated, and that's okay). Estella wants to work for and be like the Baroness.

Notice that the other person in the relationship may not have the same want. . . .

Mr. Darcy falls for and wants to marry Elizabeth. Frodo doesn't want Sam to bear his burdens, so tries to create distance. Mike isn't interested in maintaining a relationship with Will and is blind to Will's efforts (also a little more complicated) Julia wants to be involved with Winston (which changes his relationship goal).

And sometimes the participants do have the same wants. . . .

Mary Jane wants to be close to Peter. Despite being suspicious Scully is there to spy on him, Mulder is ultimately fine with opening up to her--after all, his purpose in life is to reveal the truth. Angier and Borden are trying to push the other further away by outdoing each other and creating more dysfunction. Gale and Katniss would prefer to be close (though at some parts, Katniss is only interested in maintenance)

As you can already see at the basic level, things aren't always simple, and again, wants can change, but we are just getting some basics down to build from.

You'll also notice that while the goals will play into how the relationship arcs on the page, they aren't determined by the relationship arc. Strangers can want to get close. Enemies may want to mend their ways. Friends may want to draw close or part ways. And each person may want something different.

The basic goals are the characters' desires. And the arc is what happens in reality.

Just as with external plotline goals, it's helpful if we get more concrete and specific. This will make the plotline stronger and allow the audience to better measure progress. So, consider, what does "success" in this relationship look like to the character? Darcy wedding Elizabeth? Boo being thrown back to where she came from? Mike accepting Will's gift and playing D&D with him? Winston and Julia having a secret rendezvous? Keeping Sam away from the Ring? Angier besting Borden in magic? Scully making sure Mulder makes it back in one piece to D.C. (and vice versa)?

It's important to realize that what success looks like may be influenced by the external and/or internal journeys. The external journey informs Scully what success in her relationship with Mulder looks like. It determines what Sulley's goal is for Boo. The internal journey informs Will what success looks like with Mike. It determines why Frodo wants to keep Sam away from the Ring.

So, look at each participant in the relationship--do they want to grow closer or apart? (Or maintain?) What does "success" look like in this relationship, to each participant?

The Antagonistic Force in Relationship Plots

The antagonistic force is a form of opposition. I emphasize "opposition" because the antagonistic force is something in the way of the goal.

We know what the characters want. And we know what success looks like.

What is keeping the characters from simply getting that? (Or, in some cases, maintaining that?)

That's the antagonistic force. And just like the goal, it doesn't need to be one thing, and it doesn't need to be the same thing throughout the whole relationship plotline. If you think of the antagonistic force as the obstacle in the way of or resistance to getting the goal, you'll have both a broader and more accurate understanding of what an antagonistic force really is. Or likely, forces.

For relationships, the antagonistic forces can come from several places.

The 3 Sources for Relationship Antagonists:

1. External: What's happening externally may trickle down and get in the way of the relationship goal. For example, two characters may wish to live their lives separately (or may even be enemies), but external circumstances force them together. This is common in the enemies to friends/lovers arc. In these situations, often there is a shared external plotline goal that the characters have to work together to achieve.

In contrast, you may have two characters who want to be close, but external forces are pulling them apart. In 1984, Winston and Julia want to be together in Acts II and III, but the Party wants them separated. You can see a similar thing in Romeo & Juliet.

And just as a note, even if the characters have different relationship goals, you can still have external antagonistic forces--it just gets a little more complex.

2. Within the Relationship: Antagonistic forces may come from the relationship itself. The characters may have opposing goals or methodologies or worldviews or mannerisms that clash.

Sam wants to be near Frodo. But Frodo tries to lose Sam. (Opposing goals.) Sam wants to ditch Smeagol, but Frodo wants to use him as a guide. (Opposing methods.) Untempted by and unexperienced with the Ring, Sam doesn't share compassion for Smeagol. Frodo, who suffers from both, pities him. (Opposing worldviews.)

Neither character is necessarily "good" or "bad" (though you can do that if you want). They're just different, and this creates obstacles.

It's usually very common for the protagonist and Influence Character to have opposing methodologies.

3. Internal: One or both participants may have internal struggles, flaws, or misbeliefs that bubble up into the relationship plotline.

In Sherlock, Sherlock's inability to be socially sensitive causes problems in all of his relationships. In Pride and Prejudice, it's pride and prejudice that often cause problems. Frodo's personal struggle with the Ring creates friction with Sam.

One familiar trope is that one character feels undeserving or unworthy of the other character, because of how he views himself--Edward does this sort of thing in Twilight.

Weaving All Three

Remember, just as the external and internal journeys influence each other, so do they influence the relationship plotline. When we weave three different plotlines, it can get complicated. Or perhaps more accurately said, complex.

For example, in The Hunger Games, one may argue that the antagonistic forces that ultimately drive Katniss and Gale apart come from all three places. The external plotline pulls them apart by not only creating literal distance, but emotional distance, as Katniss has to leave District 12 and pretend to be in love with Peeta.

Their relationship pulls them apart because they have different worldviews and methodologies. Gale wants to incite a revolution and overthrow the Capitol, whatever the cost. Katniss wants to survive and keep her loved ones safe.

In the internal sense, Katniss has so much going on inside her, that she doesn't have the time or wherewithal to focus on her relationship with Gale. And Gale is moving closer and closer to the anti-theme.

With that said, please don't give yourself "paralysis by analysis." You don't need to overthink the relationship plotline. The point is that you need antagonistic forces to create a relationship plotline. Those forces can come from any of those three places, or a combination of them. So if you need more (or don't have any), those are the areas to go looking. This can be especially helpful when both participants want the same "success" for the relationship--you'll need to look at external or internal obstacles.

It's Complicated

Certain setups are more complex, or at least more uncommon, than others. And I just want to acknowledge and illustrate that, so we don't get stuck thinking everything in writing needs to fit a specific mold.

In The Prestige, the A Story is a negative arc relationship between Angier and Borden. They don't want to be pals. Angier's goal is to undo Borden and best him in magic. This is informed by Angier's internal journey of obsessive revenge (also a negative arc). But Borden is also the antagonist--because he doesn't want to be undone and have his life ruined, and so fights back. They are the main obstacles for each other.

This is an atypical situation, but you'll see it has the same parts: a relationship goal and an antagonist, and of course, a relationship arc.

As Brandon Sanderson likes to say, as writers, we want to be chefs, not cooks. We want to understand the parts, and be able to arrange them in different ways to create the story we want--not follow the same recipe every time. The Prestige is a great example of that, in regard to relationship plotlines.

The Relationship Antagonist Simplified

For most stories, the antagonist will work like this:

If the character wants to draw closer, the antagonistic force is what's keeping them apart. If the character wants to grow apart, the antagonistic force is what's pushing them closer. If the character wants to maintain, then the antagonistic force is what's disrupting normal. * Sometimes the antagonistic force is the other person in the relationship.

IMPORTANT: Beware of Weak Antagonistic Forces!

We've all seen relationship plotlines that made us roll our eyes, or worse, want to scratch out the writer's eyes. This is most obvious in sequels. It usually happens like this:

In the first installment, the writers create a positive change relationship arc, where the participants become best friends, found family, or significant others--and we all let out a satisfying sigh.

In the second installment, the writers don't know how else to arc a relationship, so they try to undo and redo what they already did.

It usually fails.

Other times the writers understand on some level they need to create a positive steadfast relationship arc, but don't know how to really do that, so they put together one that has about as much depth and emotion as a cardboard cut-out.

And finally, there is the relationship "plotline" that could be easily resolved by something that the characters seem too stupid to do, such as make a simple phone call.

These situations stem from the same problem: weak or unbelievable(derogatory) antagonistic forces.

If Sulley and Boo overcame all the adversity of Monsters Inc. and then we did a follow-up where they had an argument about bedtime, and we used that as a driving force to pull them apart (so we can push them back together again), it'd be stupid. The audience already watched them survive way worse. They know their bond is stronger than that.

Now, if the argument about bedtime was really subtext for deeper issues and those are going to be the driving force, and the issues are going to manifest in a lot of different ways, then maybe something like that would work.

Otherwise? The audience doesn't buy it.

The antagonist needs to be a real, powerful threat. If the characters already have a strong relationship that has been through the wringer, what could believably fray that? (And the answer can't be a simple misunderstanding.) It needs to be greater than what they've already overcome. Or, it needs to be different and just as difficult. Or, it needs to be long-lasting but still as significant. Look at the different places antagonistic forces can come from--that might help you find something you hadn't considered before. Or maybe, you need a combination of antagonistic forces to create a worthy threat.

Often(like I touched on above), rather than think of one thing or one moment that is causing problems in the relationship, it's better to find something abstract that manifests in different concrete ways. For example, in Pride and Prejudice, both pride and prejudice are abstract concepts, but they manifest concretely in different ways throughout the story to create problems. The issue isn't so much that the ladies have no one to dance with, and that Mr. Darcy should be dancing with one. The real underlying issue is the pride Mr. Darcy seems to have.

Whatever the story, it's helpful to remember that the antagonistic force should be big enough to test the characters' commitments to the relationship goal (which will lead them to either change the goal or hold steadfast to it). This can be particularly important for positive steadfast relationships. Sulley and Boo arguing about bedtime isn't a "test." It's a disagreement.

The Conflict in Relationship Plots

The relationship goal and the antagonistic force lead to conflict. These characters hate each other and want to be apart, but the external antagonist locks them together. . . . and when they finally decide they want to be together, the external antagonist yanks them apart. Or maybe one person wants to draw close and the other wants to push away. Or maybe they both want to be together, but one is crippled by a sense of unworthiness.

There are a lot of directions you can go with this, but I think you get the idea.

There shouldn't be an easy, foreseeable way to fix these situations--because the antagonist should be a real threat (see above). So we get conflict.

The more the characters want the relationship goal and the stronger the antagonist, the bigger the struggle. And struggle is often what creates a powerful arc. As the characters face worthy opposition in conflict, we illustrate how bad they want the relationship goal. We confront them with difficult situations--choices--that require sacrifice of one kind or another. How devoted are they to their relationship goal? What costs are they willing to pay? Is he willing to risk drowning to follow Frodo? Is she willing to sacrifice her career reputation and give up personal dreams to get her FBI partner back safely? Is he willing to risk torture and brainwashing at the hands of the Party to be with Julia?

How the characters choose to address the conflict will usually create the arc in the plotline. Ultimately, nothing stops Sam from helping Frodo--this leads to their positive relationship arc. We know, Sam is in it 100%. On the other hand, Katniss won't agree that sacrificing innocent people like Prim is worth a victory for the self, so she ends her relationship with Gale. This leads to their negative relationship arc. Notice, however, this doesn't mean Katniss is a "bad" person by any means. It simply illustrates that upholding the thematic argument means more to her than this relationship.

And never forget that other plotlines weave in. An external plotline victory may mean sacrificing a relationship goal. Or it may mean succeeding in the relationship enables success in the external goal. And internal victory may mean success or failure in a relationship goal. There are so many different combinations, I fear listing them may create more confusion rather than clarity.

But just to show how this can be done in an atypical way, in The Prestige, the relationship goal is to undo, best, and push away the other magician, who is resisting and fighting back (as the antagonist). This leads to powerful conflict. What is the character willing to do to succeed? Angier is ultimately willing to frame his enemy, get him hanged, steal away his daughter, and kill "himself" a hundred times to possibly succeed in this negative relationship arc. But he fails in an internal way: He's so obsessed with revenge, so unwilling to change internally, that he failed as a human being and missed out on developing new meaningful relationships. (. . . and this all starts to bleed into the want vs. need concept . . . . and I think I'll save that for another day, in regards to relationships (I promised not to get confusing)).

The point is the conflict creates struggles that show what the characters are willing or unwilling to do for the relationship goal, and their choices will ultimately arc the relationship in the plotline.

The Consequences in Relationship Plots

In order for there to be a strong plotline, there need to be consequences to the conflicts' outcomes. Otherwise, it's just conflict for the sake of conflict.

Now, with that said, conflict for the sake of conflict can sometimes work in relationships for things like banter and disagreements. Those can be effective and fun, but remember, they aren't what make up a strong relationship plotline. Don't confuse banter or disagreements as the sum of a relationship plotline. It may be part of a plotline--the banter may stem from antagonistic forces within the relationship that the characters need to overcome--but it's not the plotline itself. In order to be part of the plotline, it needs to have significant consequences, like any good conflict should have.

Plot isn't just random stuff strung together. It has a sense of cause and effect.

So, what do the characters have to gain (and/or lose) in overcoming the conflict? What do they have to lose (and/or gain) in being overcome by the conflict?

If we are strictly focused on the relationship plotline, this may seem rather simple, as it is often the relationship or relationship goal itself. If Elizabeth overcomes the obstacles between her and Mr. Darcy, they can get married. If she doesn't, she won't be with the person she loves. If Sherlock and John can work through their differences and struggles, they can be best friends. If Katniss and Gale can't, they will become strangers. If Angier succeeds, he successfully punishes Borden.

But ideally, the consequences will bleed into other plotlines. If Harry's relationship with Dumbledore is ruined, Harry won't continue to hunt for Horcruxes. In Death Note, if Light succeeds in besting L, he can continue his plans of exacting justice and creating a new world, where he is the leader.

Commonly, the relationship characters need to work together to reach the external goal. In Moana, Moana and Maui ultimately need each other to right the world--neither can do it alone. Frodo and Sam's relationship needs to work to bring the Ring to Mount Doom. Mulder can't succeed in uncovering the truth of government conspiracy and experimentation without Scully by his side.

And of course, it can bleed into the internal plotline. Once Winston betrays Julia, it means that the Party has successfully brainwashed him--he is no longer a free-thinker but part of mass psychosis.

Not only will the relationship likely affect the consequences of other plotlines, but the other plotlines will likely bring consequences into the relationship.

Just make sure the consequences are there, and that they are significant. They need to be important enough to shift the direction of the story. This will help the audience know why this relationship matters. And as a reminder . . .

Stakes = potential consequences (projecting cause and effect into the future)

Ramifications = actual consequences

Conflict in relationships without any outcomes isn't really a story.

A relationship plotline is meant to be a Story.

We'll delve more into relationship plots next time.

The 4 Basic Types of Relationship Arcs

The Primary Principles of Plot: Goal, Antagonist, Conflict, Consequences

Writing the Influence Character

What is a B Story? 6 Key Qualities of B Stories

Writing Relationships Readers can't Resist

How Plotlines Add Dimension

#Writing Tips #Writing tips and tricks #writeblr #nanowrimo #fanfic #writing reference #writing help

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novlr · 11 days

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Hello! Do you have any advice for indecisiveness when creating characters? I don't have much trouble with creating conflict, but figuring out my characters is difficult. I'm working on a character-driven story, and I have an internal conflict, I'm just not sure how the story will manifest. The worst part is I can't even find advice online because all character advice is about character development, making your characters complex, etc.... My problem is I don't know what my character is doing. I'm talking about their occupation. Student? Corporate job? Architect? Artist? My conflict is good to go but now I'm stuck here...

As a writer, creating characters who are believable and relatable is one of the most crucial aspects of storytelling. However, many writers struggle with indecisiveness when it comes to creating their characters, especially when it comes to their occupations and how their stories will manifest.

You get to mould your characters into whatever form you like, but it’s easy to suffer from choice paralysis when you’re confronted with the entirety of human experience, both real and imagined. The good news is, if you already know your story conflict, then you can actually narrow down and be a bit more targeted in how you go about creating characters.

Start with the basics

When creating a character, it’s essential to start with the basics. This includes their name, age, gender, physical appearance, and personality traits. These fundamental elements will serve as the foundation for your character and help you build upon them as you develop their story. Come up with these by asking yourself a series of questions with your story conflict and theme firmly in your mind.

Name: Choose a name that fits your character’s personality and background. Consider their age, culture, and the time period in which your story takes place. And don’t be afraid to use a random name generator or even a placeholder—there’s always a chance to change your mind in the editing phases.

Age: Determine your character’s age by how it influences their behaviour, beliefs, and experiences. Would an older or a younger characters respond to their conflict differently? And which better suites the story you want to tell?

Gender: Decide on your character’s gender and how it shapes their identity and interactions with others. Will your story’s conflict play out differently if your character’s gender expression were reversed, or if they were non-binary?

Physical appearance: Describe your character’s physical features, such as their height, weight, hair colour, and any distinguishing characteristics. Unfortunately there’s no easy way to do that. You just have to use your imagination and commit.

Personality traits: Identify your character’s key personality traits, such as their strengths, weaknesses, fears, and desires. These should relate to your character’s goal and conflict in some way.

Explore their background

Once you have a basic understanding of your character, it’s time to delve into their background. This includes their family history, upbringing, education, and any significant life events that have shaped who they are. Their background can feed directly into the conflict, as it can be a great source of pressure for how your plot develops.

Family history: Explore your character’s relationships with their family members, or how not having a family unit around them affects them as a person. Consider how their family dynamics have influenced their beliefs, values, and behaviours and how this can feed into their internal and external conflicts.

Upbringing: Determine where your character grew up and how their environment has shaped their worldview. Did they have a happy childhood, or did they face challenges and adversity? Did this affect their career choices?

Education: Decide on your character’s level of education and how it has impacted their career opportunities and whether it feeds into their internal conflict.

Significant life events: Identify any pivotal moments in your character’s life that have had a lasting impact on their personality and behaviour. Do they have any direct or indirect relationship with your story’s conflict and theme?

Determine their occupation

One of the most challenging aspects of creating characters is deciding on their occupation. This is especially true for writers who are working on character-driven stories and have a clear internal conflict but are unsure how the story will take shape. So how can we make that easier?

Consider their skills and interests: What is your character naturally good at? What do they enjoy doing? Their occupation should align with their skills and interests.

Think about their personality: How does your character’s personality influence their career choices? Are they ambitious and driven, or are they more laid-back and content with a simple life?

Explore their background: How has your character’s upbringing and education influenced their career path? Did they follow in their family’s footsteps, or did they forge their own path? Did they overcome adversity to reach where they are now, or were they barred from certain opportunities because of an educational, physical, or social handicap?

Consider the story’s themes: How does your character’s occupation tie into the overall themes and message of your story? Can their job serve as a metaphor or symbol for something deeper?

Connect the dots

Once you have a clear understanding of your character’s basics, background, and occupation, it’s time to connect the dots and see how these elements influence their internal conflict and the conflict and theme of the overall story.

Identify the internal conflict: What is your character struggling with internally? Is it a moral dilemma, a personal struggle, or a conflict between their desires and responsibilities?

Explore how their background influences the conflict: How has your character’s upbringing, family history, and significant life events contributed to their internal conflict?

Consider how their occupation ties into the conflict: Does your character’s job create additional challenges or pressures that exacerbate their internal conflict?

Think about how the conflict will manifest in the story: How will your character’s internal struggle play out in the plot? Will they face external challenges that force them to confront their internal conflict?

In summary

Creating compelling characters is a crucial aspect of storytelling, but it can be challenging for writers who struggle with indecisiveness. By starting with the basics, exploring your character’s background, determining their occupation, and connecting the dots between these elements and both their internal and the story conflict, you’ll be well on your way to creating characters that will bring your stories to life.

Remember, character creation is a process, and it’s okay to take your time and explore different options until you find what works best for your story. Don’t be afraid to experiment and make changes as you go along. With practice and persistence, you’ll become more confident in your ability to create compelling characters that resonate with readers

#writeblr #creative writing #writing community #writers of tumblr #writing asks

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vikkirosko · 7 months

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Hihihihi :DDD

Can I request Phoenix and Miles adopting a male teen reader with a punk/gothic style? It can be seperate ofc

(because I lack a father figure in life)

Here's the background info about our spunky reader.

The reader is around 13-15 years old in foster care, he is always forced to move in with different foster houses, no matter how much he tries to prove that they can be worth something (oop abandonment issues 😜)

Basically, his parents left him in the dump when he was an infant, leading up to their arrest and losing their parental rights. Nobody in his biological family wanted to take him, thus turning him in for foster care.

The reader is the definition of a typical teen, he dyed his hair, skateboards around the streets, spray painting murals and street art with kids around his age (legally ofc).

The reader's personality really fits the whole 'Don't judge a book by its cover' thing. He's a sweet and laid back kid, often running around the streets and helping the locals with their errands. He can be cunning, compulsive, and sarcastic at times, often having witty banters with the local kids in his age.

The reader is doing his usual errands when he witnesses the murder first hand, thus turning him into a key witness to the case. And now we meet both Nick and Edgey.

They both find it surprising that he's actually very cooperative and polite in contrast to his looks.

While gathering his testimony and his background info, they learn about the reader's past and current situation.

They then started to develop a father and son relationship throughout the trial, answering the reader's questions about their work, the reader rambling on about their current interest, and even helping the reader in his homework.

After the trial concludes and fast forward to a few months later, they have a little surprise for the reader and they pull out the adoption papers.

(Yes you can adopt a child in foster care if the biological parents' rights gets terminated by the court.)

Also sorry if it's too specific Kdhdndhsk-

Platonic headcanons Don't judge a book by its cover

⚖️ Phoenix Wright x teen male!Reader 🚲

You met Phoenix during one of the investigations. You were a teenager who was problematic in the eyes of society. That's what the police thought when you told them you witnessed a murder. They didn't believe you, thinking you were trying to interfere with the investigation, but Phoenix believed you. He knew from his own experience that it was not worth judging people by their appearance, so looking at a teenager with dyed hair, in a black leather jacket and with a skateboard, he was sure that you could really help him get to the truth and protect his client

You were talking in his office and then he found out that your appearance and your character were very different. Behind the gloomy exterior was a nice guy, polite and ready to help with the investigation. You tried to tell as much as possible of what you remembered and agreed to stay in the office until the investigation was completed. Phoenix was afraid that the real killer might try to get rid of you, because you were a key witness. He offered to call your parents, but you said it wasn't necessary. You openly told him that you lived with a foster family and that they didn't care where you were if you didn't cause them problems

Phoenix sincerely sympathized with you and did not understand how it was possible to treat you like this. During the time that he conducted his investigation, you seemed to him a good child. You chatted a lot, he helped you with homework as much as he could, you talked about art, because as it turned out, it was interesting for both of you, and Maya joked that you looked like you were father and son. This confused Phoenix, but the very thought did not repel him

After the completion of the trial, Phoenix continued to communicate with you. You saw each other often and he cared about you much more than your foster parents. A few months later, he called you to his office and said that there was something important that he had to tell you. After that, he took out the adoption documents. All these few months he has been preparing everything so that he can adopt you. When you found out about it, you couldn't hold back the tears. You were happy that a real father would appear in your life who really cares about you and who loves you

⚖️ Miles Edgeworth x teen male!Reader 🚘

Prosecutor Edgeworth has always taken his job seriously. That's why when he found out that there was a witness to the murder who saw everything that happened, he decided to talk to this witness himself. He was surprised when he saw a teenager with dyed hair, a black leather jacket, pierced ears, leather bracelets with spikes on his hands and a skateboard. You were the witness

At first he thought it would be a problem to get information from you, but it turned out not to be so. You didn't hide anything and were ready to help the investigation. Miles also took a responsible approach to finding out more about you, because he could not ignore the fact that you could lie and be associated with the killer. But it wasn't like that. You were an orphan with a difficult past and an equally difficult present. That's why you preferred to be in the police station or the prosecutor's office than in your temporary home

He didn't mind you being in his office. You didn't cause him any problems, you could talk peacefully, you were a smart and polite guy, he even helped you do your homework and explained topics that you didn't understand when he had free time. Several times he took you to a cafe so that you could eat properly. He acted like he was your father. You didn't have a father figure in your life, but Edgeworth handled that role well

After the completion of the trial, the prosecutor continued to spend time with you. The police are already used to seeing you, because you often came to Edgeworth. A few months later, when you came to him, a surprise was waiting for you. Adoption documents. Edgeworth wanted to adopt you, if of course you didn't mind. He wanted to become the same person for you as his father was for him. He wanted to give you a good life and a loving family that you deserved more than anyone else

#Ace Attorney #Ace Attorney x Reader #Ace Attorney headcanons #Phoenix Wright #Phoenix Wright x Reader #Miles Edgeworth #Miles Edgeworth x Reader

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amageish · 7 months

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Spider-Man 2 Post-Credit Spoilers

Time for some more signature Amageish overthinking!

Sooooooooooooo.

How about that Cindy Moon appearance, huh?

From this Gizmodo article, we do have a bit of insight into the decision to have her appear where they mention the challenge of making a Cindy unique to the GamerVerse specifically - though it's obvious they are keeping their cards close to their chest here as well.

io9: Along with giving Miles a promotion, you’ve introduced Cindy Moon, aka Silk, into your universe. Of all the Spider-heroes, I don’t think anyone was expecting her. What made her so appealing over someone like Eddie or Gwen Stacy? Arfmann: Cindy’s always been a really compelling character in the comics who, similar to [SM1's] Martin Li, hasn’t really gotten a ton of exposure outside of the immediate fanbase. There’s something really exciting about taking a character who we love, who not everybody’s had a chance to meet, and exposing her to a wider audience. Morris: I’m so excited to see what we do with Cindy. Arfmann: Exactly. That was the real drive with her, and figuring out who Insomniac’s Cindy Moon is a really exciting challenge. And we also have this interesting complication that [Cindy’s dad] Albert is dating [Miles’ mom] Rio, and we’re thrilled to explore how that creates a new iteration of this character that folks already love.

So this confirms that they will be changing stuff too! This is going to be a unique take on her, but they are also self-aware that this will be plenty of people's introduction to the character.

The main question on my mind is a pretty basic one: Does Cindy Moon need to be shoved into a bunker for 7-10 years in order to be recognizably Cindy Moon? Her father is already in the game, so we know the "parents are missing" story is probably off the table, but does she need to still spend all that time in isolation to be Cindy?

In the comics, her time in the bunker is credited in-text with being a source of so many of her defining character traits.

It is something that separates her experiences from Peter and the other Spider-heroes.

It's something that fills her with a drive to prove herself and is the experience that made her such a talented martial artist.

It informs her understanding of modern technology and the level of pop culture awareness she has - the former of which helped her develop her uniquely positive relationship with J Jonah Jameson.

And, lastly, the time she had in isolation is credited with causing her to develop her anxiety disorder and communication challenges.

So, with all that in mind, it feels like Cindy does have to be put into a bunker, right? As it's such a core part of her backstory?

Well, no. Maybe this will be a hot take, but I honestly don't think she does.

While I do think everything I've listed here is a key aspect of Cindy Moon as a character, I don't think they need to lock her in a vault for 7-10 years in order to explain why a Korean-American woman in New York city has anxiety or practices martial arts or feels a need to work twice as hard to have her accomplishments recognized. These are all very relatable experiences that do not require a fantastical superhero origin story to justify them.

Honestly, with how emotion-forward the Insomniac Spider-Man games are already, I think her being a woman who has had a depressive episode recently which she describes as having felt like being trapped would work just as well as literally having had her be trapped by a supervillain. I would not be surprised if the ability to tell a story about anxiety and depression was a factor in them selecting Cindy as the next playable character as well - the potential for a Silk game that incorporates actual mindfulness and grounding techniques into the gameplay is really high IMHO.

I also think that the final scene kind of supports the idea too? Cindy has no lines, but she does have a silent awkward wave. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but her introduction makes me think she already has social anxiety - so unless she's already been in the bunker and we'll get a story about how she escaped, then I think she will probably jut be getting powers and moving forward from there.

Anyway, that's a lot of thoughts brought about by like 5 seconds of Cindy waving. I'm just really eager to see where things go from here and am hoping we'll get a DLC trailer or a Silk expandalone announced sometimes soon...

(PS: Having Peter already be in a committed relationship with MJ and Miles, who is also already in a relationship with Hailey, being in a psuedo-sibling relationship with Cindy is an excellent way of desexualizing the Cindy + Spider-Men relationship. I have no fears about Insomniac stumbling on that particular hurdle.)

(I do, however, have fears that I will be seeing unironic speculation about pheromones in reddit threads for the next 2 years until whenever Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2 or Silk: Cindy Moon is announced... but that probably cannot be changed, unfortunately.)

#spider man 2 spoilers #cindy moon #silk

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fictionadventurer · 1 year

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Ages ago, I talked about a portal fantasy idea I had, titled Lily Between Worlds. The premise was that a girl fell into a portal fantasy world, but didn't fall into any adventures. She just had to settle into ordinary life there and wait for a portal to open up to take her home. Except no portal ever showed up, and it's not likely one ever will. She's getting older, and the family she's staying with can't support her forever. So she has to consider settling down--namely, marriage. Which is a huge deal because starting an adult life here means she's giving up on any chance of going home. Plus trying to find someone to marry when you're literally from different worlds is difficult.

It never moved much beyond that initial premise, because I couldn't develop the world or the characters. But it's been coming to mind again, and I have some ideas for worldbuilding that would offer some more detailed plot possibilities, and I want to talk about it before I lose it completely.

The first breakthrough came with the idea that I could adapt an idea from my Lost Library universe as the basis of the worldbuilding. Centuries ago, some calamity caused large hunks of land to break off and float in the sky. This broke up societies and left the people on these landmasses isolated from each other for a long time, and they're only recently coming back into contact with each other. It's useful for Lily's story, because we can say the calamity that fractured their world also opened up fissures to other worlds, and some people here are aware that people sometimes fall through from our Earth.

The other key idea is that this world is dangerous. The calamity that broke the world also caused a population explosion of various chimera-ish beasts, many of which attack humans. Society is built around the fact that we need to be able to protect people from these beasts. Women and children need to be protected, because the monsters go after the weak. Men are expendable and need to defend women and children--but women also need battle skills because it's dumb not to know how to defend yourself. There is also a lot of competition over resources--I'm not sure what, but maybe one of them is the same energy that caused the fracturing and can be used to power technologies. Things have settled down in recent centuries and they've come to a level of civilization (I'm thinking Regency-ish) where you can have classes and trades not totally devoted to survival--but those survival skills are still highly valuable.

Lily is not adventurous. She's a very quiet artistic type who heard about all the dangers of this world and decided she was never going to step outside alone. She's spent the last few years in the household of a scholar who's fascinated with Earth. He's got a few kids several years younger than her, and she settled in among the children, focusing on learning the language and the basics of this world. But now she's come of age and has to enter the adult world. Even though she's been in this world for years, we still get the portal fantasy sense of discovery because she's learning all the details of the culture surrounding courtship and adult responsibilities. This is a domestic fantasy, focused on the interpersonal relationships and the culture of this specific place. No world-changing quests, just characters interacting. At most, a few monster attacks to liven things up.

The story would focus on Lily's attempt to find a husband. She works with a young matchmaker-in-training (who thinks she's from some distant floating island rather than another world) to find good candidates. It's tough because Lily has no family ties here and outsiders are suspect. She's got a lot of the feminine skills this society values, but has zero combat ability--a major handicap when a good wife has to be able to protect the children from monsters. This world values beauty, social status, and strength. Lily's got the first and needs a husband who can provide the other two (and is willing to overlook her lack).

We can use the suitors to explore different facets of this world and Lily's personality. A good partner needs to be similar enough that they can connect, but different enough to draw Lily out of her comfort zone; he needs to draw out her good qualities without reinforcing her flaws. She could interact with a lot of different men, but four types are coming to the forefront as potential husband material.

The scholar: A young man who works with the scholar who houses Lily. Fascinated by Earth, knows Lily's true history. He and Lily casually get along, but don't quite gel. (He treats her a bit like a science experiment, for one thing). He doesn't have much strength to protect Lily, but he's got a decent status (enough that his family would want him to marry better than Lily). He would be the safe choice, allowing Lily to more-or-less remain the same woman she is now.

The warrior: An ideal catch by this world's standards. Very high status, excellent combat ability. Already has several heroic achievements. Socially awkward enough to need the help of a matchmaker to attract a wife. He and Lily share almost no interests, but her dynamic with him would force her to confront her own prejudices about this world--just because he's a fighter, it doesn't mean he's brainless or has no feelings. Could really draw Lily outside her comfort zone, but maybe too much so.

The explorer: A man who has spent the last several years exploring far-flung floating isles and has only recently returned home--to a lot of rumors and distrust. He's got strength, but almost no status; he's scandalous to this neighborhood. Lily likes his travel stories, and he believes her tale of being from another world--he's seen portals before. They get along well enough, but he's as adventurous as Lily is cautious. He says he wants to settle down, but he's not the type to be happy with an ordinary life. A life with him would be either a life here under the cloud of scandal, or a life of dangerous travel. But he would draw out Lily's adventurous side and introduce her (and us) to more details of this world.

The artist: A man who's working on some project for a high-status person in the neighborhood. He and Lily connect most on a personal level, sharing a love of art. He's got a middling sort of status, and is a weakling. Perhaps he's disabled from some monster attack; it would explain why he'd been allowed to take up a sedentary (and frivolous) trade (though if that's the case and she *doesn't* choose him, it could look like we're reinforcing this society's idea that he doesn't deserve to marry). He would be sort of like the male version of Lily; they would connect very easily, but he wouldn't push her to grow.

At the moment, the explorer is most compelling as endgame, though I can see potential in the warrior and artist as well. The interactions with all four can shape her character. There'd also be subplots of other monster attacks and political/social conflicts happening in the background of this courtship.

I'd probably have to end the story with Lily and her chosen guy teaming up to defeat some kind of dangerous beast--showing that Lily has developed the courage to face this world's dangers and has found a partner capable of facing them with her.

If anyone's read all that--decent ideas, or too many holes? Interesting or the dullest thing you've ever heard? I'm treating this as a worldbuilding game for the moment, so you can play along if you like.

#adventures in writing #lily between worlds #spun this together in a few hours today and it may fade just as quickly but for now i like it #one thing i didn't have space to mention was the whole 'danger from monsters' thing came from #thinking it'd be fun to have a society where fashion works on bird rules #men wear bright colors especially to draw in the ladies #women wear neutrals and drab colors #dull green or blue at most (which pains lily's artistic senses)#so then i develop a world where it makes sense for the women to blend in and for the men to paint bright targets on themselves #whether it makes sense or not is anybody's guess

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flennwr-sure-im-high · 1 day

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hot take no one asked for: atyd is way too canon compliant for the marauders fandom

ok first of all i'd like to clear up some things. i know many people love it, it's a very very important part of the marauders fandom and it's very well written. no hate to enjoyers OR mskingbean89 (whom i respect very much, thank u). the wolfstar is definitely GOLDEN and the jily is adorable. this is a very personal view that i have been thinking about, and felt like sharing. also note that i dropped the fic and only got up till, like, fifth or sixth year

there are multiple things which id like to list from the fic that makes me not like it very much as a person with a lot of marauders hcs that are very much not canon compliant, and that feel like the author is writing from a very 'just entered the fandom cuz of wolfstar lol' understanding. again, absolutely NO hate intended, and ik the writing does NOT indicate how much the person understands about the fandom. also, understanding doesn't matter!! everyone who's part of the fandom is part of the fandom, and that's that.

keep in mind that these are things that I PERSONALLY hc. nothing is canon here in the marauders era fandom and if it is, it smells terrible and as such, everyone will have different ideas

also, while i'm at it, i'd like to compliment some things rq. remus portrayal and character development - PEAK. beautifully written. explanation and portrayal of mary (who's character i didn't really understand before reading atyd) - AMAZING. the relationship between the black brothers also made me cry (THE LETTER SCENE?!?!?! YALL KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABT). also grant is my bbg

here's the list:

hufflepuff dorcas (who also dated pete???) (i hc her to be slytherin and also part of the skittles)

no dorlene (a ship that's basically slightly less popular lesbian wolfstar in terms of how many ppl add dorlene to their stories (a lot))

shy marlene (whereas marlene is usually depicted as very bombastic and explosive and also very much gay). actually i liked this portrayal of marlene which was very well written and also adorable but... idk i don't see marlene as a shy girl

no evan rosier/pandora rosier/(slytherin) dorcas? only barty and regulus (so basically, no slytherin skittles/royal court/pantheon)

on that note, obviously-mean reg? (as in, instead of quietly sneering at people like many of us hc him, he outright shames ppl for being gay) (also i didn't mention barty cuz we all know barty's a little shit)

very toxic sirius (who ignored reg just bc he was sorted into slytherin, who fwb with remus and acted like it was normal and straight (guys fwb w a guy as a giy id bery much not straight), who didn't do much but fuck girls and cheat on them, who was outwardly jealous and mean to christopher, who acted weird and badmouthed grant after learning he and rem used to be tgt)

sirius hating pete (although this makes sense and is a common viewpoint of the harry potter fandom especially that pete is annoying or unlikeable, it feels rly rly cruel and makes sirius even more unlikeable imo cuz WHAT did bbg do to u he's js a kid he hasn't killed no one yet?)

all of these points show that mskingbean89 doesn't seem to pay much attention to characters (or more specifically, the fanon interpretations of characters) other than wolfstar and jily. many of these are key hcs that can be found in 75% of marauders content at least (example, dorlene) and the hcs they have seem straight out of hp (the books). ONE MORE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE AT THE BACK: THERE IS NO ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM WITH THIS. i just personally don't see much of the content i love of the marauders characters (although ik that isn't the point of atyd, as it is wolfstar-centric)

ok that's all i got ty if u read this. pls do let me know ur opinion abt atyd! its def one of the pillars of the marauders era which many people use as canon and i don't mean to offend anyone in any way w this post. just an opinion

#marauders era #atyd #atyd marauders #atyd fandom #all the young dudes #wolfstar #im so so so sorry

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blytheblog · 11 months

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Star Wars Jedi Survivor is a masterpiece. ♥️

!Warning: spoilers ahead!

I finally played this game. I'm happy because I managed to avoid any sort of spoiler before playing this game (since I had exams, I couldn't play it before), so I thoroughly enjoyed it (while for JFO I got spoiled the ending so I couldn't feel very fulfilled with it) .

What can I say about this game? I have no words. I'm speechless.

Let's start with the fact that I loved the first game, I fell in love with Cal, BD1 and the entire Mantis crew. I loved their dynamics, their stories and everything. So I had high hopes for this new game. And they managed to take those expectations and go even beyond them.

To me, it felt more of an interactive movie than a game itself. The graphics were amazing (even if there were few issues with frame rates, although they didn't prevent the overall enjoyment of the game in general).

The story and the characters were so well-written: the final betrayal of Bode, the death of Cere, another appearance of Vader and this time we could fight him (I honestly didn't expect that we would find Vader again), the final battles, the story between Cal and Merrin taken to a new step. I loved it all.

Also all those new skills and stances we could apprehend were amazing; the fact that we started with the abilities already learned from the first game and then developed new ones here was so on point, because it felt like we were growing even more with Cal, discovering new sides of himself and his connection with the Force.

One thing I adored with all my heart was Cal's darkness towards the end of the game, because as we know all Jedi go through a fight within themselves with the dark side. And feeling all those sentiments of hatred and rage with Cal, and embracing the dark side as an actual ability in the game was phenomenal. I low-key wished we could unlock a force choke ability (since towards the end of the game Cal was almost force choking that commander if it wasn't for Merrin). I really hope for the third game we will have something like this, because it would be so freaking cool.

Speaking of third game, the plot points for the next game are very promising. There's this fight within Cal with his dark side, his relationship with Merrin, and then there's the thing with Kata. And there's the Hidden Path too. It'll be interesting to see where they'll go from here, but it all seems very promising and I can't wait for it all.

Exploration was on point as the first game, although the planets to fully explore are just a couple (Koboh and Jedha), with one actually not being that new (Jedha was just another sand planet 🙃). Nonetheless, it was exciting discovering new characters and new boss fights while exploring, it was thrilling.

Also, I loved how in this game they added so many friendly interactions with animals: petting boglings and nekkos has become an obsession of mine 🥲😍

Also, the rumors were nice. It gave you the chance to explore even more places and meet new random characters along the way, and that gives a sort of authenticity to the game in my opinion .

Another things I absolutely loved in this game: the freaking SOUNDTRACK. Guys, seriously, the music had a ton of impact, especially in the final cutscenes: Cere's death with Cal beside her, the final fight with Boss, the trip through the Abyss. Seriously, kudos to the composers, because music is so meaningful to me in a movie, or in this case a game: the right music can do magic, but the wrong music would kill the mood in a second. I have been listening to the soundtrack album a lot, no kidding.

Cameron Monaghan is an incredible actor, that's nothing new (especially if you've watched his roles in Shameless or Gotham, which I LOVED); so I could basically feel what Cal felt, his acting was top tier *chef kiss*.

Having said so, there were more pros than cons while playing this game (the cons being as already said just some small issues with frame rates, nothing really big).

I will definitely be playing this game more and more times, and probably won't ever get tired of it. The new game + with the red lightsaber? YES SIR.

Thanks Respawn for gifting us this beautiful piece of Star Wars story.

#star wars jedi: survivor #star wars #jedi survivor spoilers #cal kestis #cameron monaghan #jedi survivor #bd 1 #nightsister merrin #cere junda #greez dritus #mantis

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xdibstinkx · 1 month

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Okay so me and my fiancée have had our own Invader Zim AU going for 3 years now, it's a mix of our OCS and canon characters but a lot of their personalities we have changed to make them unique to our universe and our world! We call it the RoseGold universe

My fiancée doesn't have a Tumblr but she's been desperate to post our characters and stories somewheres so we're gonna make her one tonight! For now I'll post some OC intros and some basic lore

Our AU can be NSFW and 18+ sometimes, but I will always give a warning and tag the post properly. The 18+ moments are all mostly lore based

CW FOR BLOOD, MENTIONS OF SELF HARM (not detailed)

Almighty Tallest Golden

Belonging to my amazing fiancée Holly, she is the Irken ruler in our AU

She is a defective Irken with semi-rare genetics like fluffy antennas and almost blindingly bright yellow eyes

Fashionista! She loves to design her own dresses and clothes

She's soft and gentle, but can be very murderous and revenge hungry. Low-key a dictator but a sweet dictator

During her elite training, she met Miyuki. The two started a secret love affair; they would sneak out of their bases in the middle of the night and go to degenerate space clubs

Miyuki became a Tallest before Golden, she had vowed to Golden that they would be the first gay irkens to rule Irk together and prove that their race doesn't need to be all about destroying planets and training young smeets to be killers

Red and Purple were like um nope lol and had planned for Miyuki's death so they would become Tallest before Golden

In the AU Red and Purple don't die from the Florpus, but end up being demoted and banished from the Irken Armada, so Golden becomes Tallest

Has an appointment therapist, Tenn, who has an unhealthy and unprofessional love for Golden but Golden only sees them as really close work friends

Here's some art I've made of Golden! Also the bottom two are commission pieces by zimdial on Instagram!

Royal Scientist Roze

Belonging to me, Roze is Golden's lover and the Royal Scientist!

She is also a defective Irken, she has emotional outbursts frequently and has a history of self harm (due to the trauma of being an invader + bad past relationship)

She's quiet and keeps to herself, awkward and bitchy, but behind closed doors she is the sweetest kittem

Very work oriented, takes her job very seriously as it took her forever to work her way up in the hierarchy

Her and Golden first fell in love while waiting on an emergency waiting room on the Armada together. Roze was training to be a scientist and Golden was still in elite training, this was during Golden and Miyukis relationship but they didn't exchange words until years later

Roze previously was engaged to her lab partner, Lilac. Their relationship was sloppy and not healthy, but they had to keep their lives a secret. They ended in flames, and later Roze gets her revenge on Lilac

Wasn't promoted to Royal Scientist until after Golden had come into power. Roze was assigned to give weekly debriefs on research and potential biological and chemical breakthroughs + hazards. They were always messy, Roze became so nervous from Golden's soft yet glaring eyes

Their relationship started one day in Golden's secret greenhouse. She grew all sorts of space flowers from all over the galaxy, and had invited Roze there for a 'research meeting'. Roze felt like she was going to be killed, until Golden leaned all the way down into her and admitted to how much she respects Roze. She asked her out on a date, same time same location in a few days

Because Tenn is an appointment therapist for the Almighty Tallest, she was also appointed to the Royal Scientist. Tenn developed an unhealthy and unprofessional relationship with Roze as well, but Roze didn't reciprocate and never actually liked her.

Some Roze art I've made! I don't draw her a lot, but I should

Here's just some RozeGold stuff :)

#invader zim #iz #invader zim oc #iz ocs #iz oc art #invader zim au #invader zim art #almighty tallest golden #royal scientist roze #my art #my ocs #my oc art

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thousandyearphantombunker · 2 years

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TFP au where Miko's host family are the Darby-Esquivels- I have a lot of issues with the logic in TFP surrounding miko- inorder to be an exchange student she'd need consistently high grades and while the show tries to make it sound like mikos host family is neglectful and they basically don't exist- that's nonsensical why would anyone volunteer to be a host family and then not hang out with the kid? You don't get paid anything so it can't be about money! it really is about developing a relationship with the exchange student during the duration of the program. In this au, jack and raf are half-brothers, jack's dad divorced his mom and Raf's dad is dead, we get some actual backstory on miko, also here miko cares about her grades- cause if she started failing she'd be forced to drop the exchange program- this also subverts some expectations cause in this au I want miko to actually be punk! And I want to give Jack a bit more oomph, Raf would be heavily rewritten (he stays a shy hacker boy who becomes friends with Bee and Ratchet but can we give him something to work with outside of that?)

Also Silas and MECH and dark energeon aren't dropped from the story- MECH and Silas as villains where genuinely more interesting than the omega keys and artifact crap we got, I'd go as far to say Silas is more interesting than Megatron and after all the stuff we see with starscream being an actually competent scary villain that was also comedic it angered me to see him become so flanderized- so here we take a cyberverse route but do it a bit differently and Unicron stays a major threat (I'm taking some inspiration from armada so in this au sideways replaces arachnid but instead of starscream getting redeemed- well let's say he still doesn't get a happy ending) I changed arachnid out for sideways cause she made little sense in universe.

Raf doesn't understand bumblebee in this and there's at least one story where they have to find alternative means of communication- let be actually be disabled by his lack of a voice box

I'm probably never going to write this but I'd like to see other people add to this au with there own ideas, let's get freaking insane and do the stuff tfp didn't have the balls to do! kill Bulkhead and let him get actual character development so it hurts, give Dreadwing a redemption arc, lets give arcee her time to shine, let's get some gay shit with Knockout and Breakdown let's fucking go!

edit: I was thinking about what problems I have with most human characters in transformers is that they 1 aren't as interesting as the bots are, I understand they want the characters to be relatable but sometimes they make them into flat characters borderline harem protagonist, another problem is a problem more commonly found in YA books- when a 16 year old middle class scrawny white girl with no combat training or superpowers or anything can successfully fight off a room full of vampire fbi agents with no injuries or losses, so my goal is to make the kids badass but in a more believable way, so they aren't just damsels in distress either

like I know jack was chosen because he's suppose to be like a young Orion pax and whatever but like it never felt right to me, they could have drawn the parallels clearer, we can also make Miko's badassery and cool moments more emotionally satisfying and make them feel more...deserved idk how to explain my problems with the humans in transformers too well.

Also can we make this the ultimate found family au? And bringing back some inspiration from transformers animated for Bulkhead- not exactly mind you but I love the idea of miko showing bulkhead something cool/creative for a hobby like how sari showed him art, and in RID15 apparently raf and bee liked watching cowboy movies together so now I'm just imagining pure fluff with these ideas I'm trying to come up with some fun ideas for jack and arcee- I usually don't like fluff but I like seeing friends being friends- it's adorable

More on miko, in this au she'd be the master of malicious compliance and finding loopholes, she's scared of failing and cares about her grades as stated above, but she also has early onset senioritis so she finds her ways, she rarely actually breaks rules or skips out, so she works smarter not harder, she's still got some major flaws, she's got a secret case of overconfidence, she's cynical (I think her parents would be loving but super controlling and never gave her privacy so she became sneaky to get away from them, she might have become a lone wolf in school maybe people thought she was scary or something maybe she tried having friends but her parents scared them away I like the idea that mikos super outgoing but in a way that scares people or she struggles with deeper connections outside of surface level, more on Jack, I'm taking some spiderman inspiration- like the rest of the fanbase I shall torture him for fun, give him some hidden rage, a guilt complex, constantly stress over June Raf and Miko, and here he's going to be a senior, he still lives with June and pays her rent but it's always a little bit extra even though she says he doesn't have to, he remembers the time when his parents first divorced and when Raf's dad got sick in this so he worries about cash a lot and maybe has some depression, he's working out what he wants to do with his life and all around is trying to act stupidly responsible and mature to cope, raf is still a dorky lil baby but he's got a surprisingly dark and unsurprisingly gross sense of humor and is more interested in biology than computers at the start, but starts picking up on stuff real fast, he and bumblebee work on alternative means of communication together(one day the bots can't translate what he's saying so after that they start practicing sign or Morse code or something!) Idk just tell me random stuff that bothered you tfp and RID15 or ideas you guys have that could make this au interesting

#transformers prime #tfp breakdown #tfp jack #tfp starscream #tfp megatron #ratchet tfp #tfp miko #tfp raf #tfp au

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sandwormrp · 1 month

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Opening Day: May 10th

Happy May! We're not far from opening day now! *kazoo noises*

You're probably wondering if I have more gifs up my sleeve. The better question would be how many times can I write *kazoo noises*

If you want to be tagged on opening day, leave a like/comment/emoji

This is a premium rated 3/3/3 community-driven site, we require all members, characters, and faces to be 18+ years of age.

We support writers in all shapes and sizes. We're LGBTQ+ friendly, and will have plenty of nsfw themes included, though it's optional. Those who aren't interested in writing mature content are more than welcome here!

Here's some of the guidebook rules;

► Site Culture

Our vision is to be a relaxed-paced site where characters progress and develop at their own pace. We're all human at the end of the day. Family, work, and life, in general, will sometimes take over. As a whole the site is more receptive to new members who make an effort to socialize, build connections, and basically show they are intending to stick around.

Joining a new group is always nerve-wracking, it can be terrifying to share! Showing an interest will bring that back around to you. We'll also do our best to make you feel appreciated, welcomed, and included here.

Do want to stress; when we say relaxed paced we mean it. Some members will take this very literally. Patience is a must for this site. Try to look for members which suit your pace of writing better.

You can check out the 'posting frequency' roles on profiles and introductions, members can change them according to what fits them best. Life gets in the way sometimes and we respect that the site can't always be a priority for people.

► Player Conduct

All we ask is that you take the initiative to participate if you want to find new characters to write with and try to stay in touch in our chat. We believe you get out of roleplay whatever you put into it.

We’re all here for our love of writing. Do your part in out-of-character chats to keep the community happy and healthy. You and your needs are important and valid! Speak up when you need help. We want everyone to have a good time. Just keep in mind this is a hobby for us all, staff included.

We expect you to be 18+ and able to manage your own relationships/plots with other writers. Show interest in others, ask questions, and you'll get the same in return!

Plenty to do to garner interest, like putting time into creating a relatable character that can also tie into others stories, contacting other writers on discord with interest in their characters will make others want to plot with you more, throwing out a couple of open threads will set the bait for others to bite, and so on.

Communication is key!

► Character Conduct Godmod / Power Play / Metaplaying

It's frowned upon to handle another character without the players consent, especially when it comes to fights. We highly recommend communicating beforehand with your writing partner. This is to give you an idea of where you both want the thread to go, and keep an open line of communication on what you're comfortable with as the thread progresses. This should be done with every new writer you work with. You'll find that you can get comfortable with some writers and no longer need to check in to do things. Starting with consent and communication first will make for happy players and awesome threads all round!

This also needs to be taken into consideration for characters vs environment. Be it creatures or NPC enemies. Make it as realistic as you can. No character/house/ship etc should be stronger/better than the lore's canons. One or two characters aren't going to easily take down a team of trained enemies, or against other characters, so make the struggle really happen! Show weakness, find alternative solutions. Your character doesn't need to win every battle, making them imperfect will bring about a more balanced storyline and development for them! Try to give your character a personal mission of their own and some flaws for them to overcome. Give them weak points, quirks, hobbies, pet peeves. Make them as realistic as you can so that they're interesting to play with.

Metaplaying refers to using player knowledge your character wouldn't have otherwise known. Sometimes events, secret messages, missions and general plots might take an unexpected turn for your character. Very much like life in general, it isn't always going to go to plan, so try to roll with it! We're big on finding another way around the problem, so you can totally do that too.

► Site Activity

No activity checks! Stick around as long as you like. Come and go when you please. No pressure to write. Go at your pace.

We'll try to keep the board organized; meaning any in-character threads will be routinely archived after three months without a reply. Fear not! Can ask for them to be moved back in #moderation on Discord.

Be sure to do at least a monthly bump of any requests you may want to keep active. There's no strict guidelines of when you can or cannot bump. Once a week is our rule of thumb, but if it's over or under - we won't hold it against you.

► Kanly Formal feud or vendetta under the rules of the Great Convention carried on according to the strictest limitations.

Kanly is a form of legalized warfare between two or more houses, so long as it does not claim lives of non-house civilians. Kanly is recognized by the Emperor and the Landsraad, and when so, the two houses can go at each other within the boundaries described above. In the lore, the appearance was that the Harkonnens wiping the Atreides out with a straight up surprise attack, with overwhelming numbers (and at great cost). As far as the rest of the Imperium is concerned, it was a brutal (but acceptable) war of Kanly. Build up allies with other people. Establish some in-character enemies. There are no heroes or good guys in this story. Your houses gains are another houses losses. We operate under the assumption that no house has clean hands - no matter how noble or just they appear. As always, make sure communication with others is a priority and that everyone's on board. If win/loss outcomes cannot be decided amongst yourselves, staff can roll a dice for you to help determine outcomes.

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#jessica atreides #lady jessica #rebecca ferguson #reverend mother #dune #dune roleplay #dune rp #18+ roleplay #jcink #canon #original character #coming soon

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