#'i hate [character] she makes every scene worse i wish she didn't exist' without any reasoning behind it

[weregonnaneedabiggerboat]

Thanks for your response! QwQ I didn't think anyone was actually going to read this so this was a nice surprise!!

Anyway, I think you've misunderstood my point—

I was being a little tongue in cheek with the whole "I'm a Jax apologist", he is DEFINITELY a jerk most of the time and VERY socially inept, it's kind of funny at times

I wasn't trying to make him look harmless, hell, I never even said he was! I was only saying that a lot of the people in this fandom villainize him a lot and defend characters like Ragatha and Gangle.

Most videos I see on YouTube discussing him completely strip him of any humanity and character, and reduce him to just an asshole that's there to torment people and that he's going to be the big bloodthirsty villain in the end. This is especially with the "Jax is an NPC" theory but that seems to have died down after episode 4

What I was really trying to get at here is that, in my opinion, we aren't shown any proof on screen that Jax deserves to be treated worse than the other characters. Based off of what we've seen so far, the most innocent characters here are Kinger and Pomni, but even Kinger subtly implies in his conversation with Pomni that he was responsible for his wife's abstraction.

Jax's behaviour isn't innocent, but it's not completely incomprehensible. Thinking about things in his perspective, it gets easier to understand why he acts out in the ways he does. People tend to lose their minds in different ways; Jax is trying his best to ignore the situation he's in all together, and keep thinking that he's making the choice to play this video game, when in the back of his mind he knows he's trapped here just like everyone else.

In regards to breaking Gangle's mask, Ragatha could be exaggerating as most people do when she says "You ALWAYS do this!", she could be referring to how mean Jax is in general. But I also want to bring up that in this scene, Ragatha also immediately went to arguing with Jax instead of trying to help Gangle with her mask. This makes both Gangle and Ragatha have the same habit of focusing more on the punishment than on actually solving anything.

Basically; I don't think it's fair to villainize Jax and excuse Gangle's behaviour, especially after episode 4.

A big part of the reason I hate Gangle is because of the fandom's reception of both characters, and it left me feeling confused and conflicted. I had to go back and watch all 4 episodes to compare the characters again and it certainly was an experience lol

Jax seems to have a weird and dark/twisted sense of humour, and if he existed IRL I would for sure be knocking some sense into him. But his actions don't come from nowhere, and like Goose said, every character has a reason behind the way they act.

I think it boils down to what you personally consider to be offensive and the types of people you can handle. If I were around a "Jax" character, I don't think I would mind it too much, but I definitely would be constantly on edge and bothered around a "Gangle" character, if that makes sense. It's because personally, I know how to banter with types like Jax, but when it comes to people like Gangle, I just can't interact with them very well. (For example, if Jax made that "let's make her a pinata and beat her up" towards me, I'd react with laughter instead of anger/irritation because it's the reaction he's least expecting, and because I don't feel threatened by something that won't happen)

I personally just wish that people would try to find the nuance in between each character, that all of them are neutral in the end and none of them are without sin. Just because I personally don't see Jax's behaviour as "that bad" doesn't mean someone else won't be hurt by it, but the same applies for the terrible things that Gangle has done, in that I personally see that as abuse that's worse than what Jax does. It's more personal, more emotionally charged, and it's not just petty surface level teasing and empty threats.

It's really important to be fair here. The constant black and white of "Jax is a villain, torture him!" and "Gangle is innocent, she did nothing wrong!" is really exhausting to see and sort of takes away from both of their characters if I'm being honest

I hope this makes sense and I promise I'm not trying to be mean, I just have autism lol so I apologize for the monotone way I speak

"In this world, the worst thing you can do is make someone think they're not wanted or loved." — Kinger

[riddlerosehearts]

i miss old early/mid-2010s style confession blogs with cute graphics for every submission so much and i HATE the new resurgence of confession blogs so much i'm not sorry 😭 confession blogs back then used to have rules about what could and couldn't be published and almost all of the new ones allow anything including blatantly hating on other users by name and are just constant pointless discourse generators omg. i keep having to block a new one every time i'm online.

[sincerely-sofie]

🥀

Just curious on how it was while writing your story (since it reached such a character limit lol)

And I was wondering if you had any advice for those who wish to write a story like this? (Not the exact same, just how to write characters interacting lol)

(Referencing this ask game)

🥀 An answer to a question:

It's been difficult— this year's NaNoWriMo didn't go even half as smoothly as last year! Midway through November, I decided to give up on reaching 50k words for the sake of my health. Things shook out in a way that I could take up the challenge again, but by then I had fallen behind on my target word count, and getting back on track was no small task to accomplish. But I've kept at it, and even though I don't like the way this draft is going as I write it, I don't need to. Rough drafts exist to be edited, not to be published! :>

My top pieces of advice when it comes to writing character interacting are to find a way to know how they think, know what they want (and sometimes what they're afraid of) in a given scene, and to give them more depth than the story you're writing explicitly requires.

To write character interactions well, it's important to know how your characters think as well as how they feel. Being aware of what makes them tick is something vital to making them feel like actual people as you write them interacting with others.

In Better the Wool, Narinder is extremely haughty and proud— it's a trait that he's always had, but sank into much deeper after his imprisonment, and defines a lot of his interactions. He looks for ways to boost his ego and will readily belittle others to do that. If you hurt his pride, he'll lash out in response. He always has to get the last word in an argument. He doesn't accept criticism well at all. Egotistical behavior is his bread and butter, and it's largely rooted in shame. He has to act like nothing is his fault, or if it is then it was justified, because it's how he distances himself from his problems. Knowing that makes writing him both in and out of scenes with other characters much easier, and also allows me to recognize that a scene where he strays from his stubborn pride and is undignified and vulnerable will need to have a significant reason for him to behave atypically.

The Lamb, where Narinder is defined by his pride, is defined by her need for control. She is desperate to maintain the peace and unity amongst her followers, and perceives any bump in the status quo as reflecting poorly on her own worthiness as a person. Her need to control people is rooted in a need to keep people around her, as well as herself, safe. She might delegate tasks to others on occasion, but it's a struggle that she only survives out of necessity. Her giving up control of a situation, or even worse, passing it off to someone else entirely, is a choice she would not make lightly, and that's something I keep in mind during every interaction I write for her.

On the subject of knowing what the characters want, knowing what they need in contrast is a great help when writing interactions. Even if Narinder doesn't accept that what he needs is to set his pride down and make amends instead of getting back the Red Crown like he wants, it's always going to be needling away at him in the back of his mind during every interaction he has. This is a method of character development I learned from K. M. Weiland's blog, Helping Writers Become Authors. If you want to learn more about writing a Want vs. a Need, I recommend checking her stuff out!

As for giving characters more depth than your project requires, I like applying this strategy to my OCs the most, but it's relevant in fanfiction as well. I like to think up all sorts of trivia for characters— their favorite food and why they enjoy it (one OC of mine likes brownies with a pretzel crust, but hates brownies without it, because he grew up on his dad's recipe using pretzels and thinks that plain brownies taste bland without it), their thoughts on different concepts like family being the most important thing in one's life (another OC is fundamentally baffled by this idea because her society doesn't have nuclear families and the children in it are raised communally, so it's like asking her if the city she grew up in is the most important thing in her life), etcetera, etcetera. It's a way to get into the characters' heads more and have fun while enriching your understanding of how they perceive and interact with the world around them.

[moltensmusings]

@ladydoe8, I did see your ask and went to respond but made the post private and it has since disappeared into the void of my blog. I have no idea how to find it and I'm not sure if that's because this is a side blog or not.

That said I still wanted to make a response.

Part of my issue with some fights in the grand magic games is how much they lack the feeling of being random. Obviously we get made aware that the king has the ability to pick and choose what fights he wants to see, but in the case of a battle like Wendy vs Cheria, it didn't feel like the king himself actually chose to make it happen and instead Mashima just decided to pit those two against each other because he didn't want Wendy to fight anyone else.

I think maybe the king telling Arcadios that towards the end of the games he wants Yukino to battle Lucy would work and set the audience up to be hyped for the confrontation, only for it to never happen because both of them are forced out of the games for different circumstances.

I like Kagura vs Yukino I just wish it was written in a way that allowed Yukino to show her strength more than giving us an "I'm just better" kagura fight. Yukino should've had one fight before this that took no effort for her to win and didn't result in her using any of the Zodiac keys so that her loss to Kagura would allow us to understand how strong Kagura is without anyone having to whisper it in our ear.

As for Lucy, she should've fought someone else for sure, but not Yukino. I've said before I don't think Raventail should've competed and I stand by that. Whatever group takes their place should've contained the enemy Lucy fights and wins against. I hate the cheating plotline because it requires every single character in universe to be so insanely stupid for it to work at all. It makes the guards seem incompetent at their jobs and brings into question why Lacrimas even exist in the first place if not to keep an eye on mages in the stands and stop foul play. Not to mention there should be a barrior protecting the audience anyway because of how dangerous magic is. Anti-magic exists, you're telling me no anti-magic shields could've been used?

I still would've wanted Lucy fighting Flare, but in a fight that doesn't take place in the arena. Flare comes to either take out or kidnap Lucy under orders from Ivan, and we get a parallel to Phantomlord where this time Lucy holds her own and comes out on top, or at least manages to escape largely unscathed.

I want Lucy to actually be on top of the world before the Naval battle. I want to see her feeling good about herself and actually winning before Minerva gets thrown in because not only will it make Minerva more effective as an antagonist, it'll be actually horrific to watch what happens. Now first note is I would never draw or show the Naval battle with Lucy in a fanservice way because that takes away from the emotion the audience should get from the scene.

For Minerva, the elements are interesting in canon but the execution is BS. I want Minerva to be incredibly good at sticking just enough within the rules to never get Sabertooth penalized while skirting the edges in a way that infuriates her opponents. Instead of wailing into Lucy, she simply keeps her from leaving the bubble until she passes out. The rule as given by the announcers is that all enemies must either say they forfeit or be knocked unconscious, as long as Minerva doesn't kill her they won't intervene. Aquarius would actually care about Lucy in this version and only be forced back into the spirit world when Lucy's lack of oxygen makes her magic far too unstable to maintain a gate. Minerva doesn't kill her enemies. She knows it's a game so why would she kill anyone. But the horror of the scene is what I'd lean into. I think this set up for Minerva would also make her eventual reappearance in Tartaros a bit more terrifying because if she was willing to essentially torture in opponent before becoming a Demon how much worse will she be afterwards.

I think setting up Minerva in this way with her first battle in the games being something that sticks with both the rival guilds and the audience in such a harrowing way is a good idea. It makes her stand out and really sets the tone for her future involvement in the story.

[samble-moved]

i disagree with most of this. i want to address this point by point. i will stick it under a read more, as it will be long.

i don't really get this point. it's selfish and evil for homura to recreate a world where all of her friends are safe and happy? when she's acting on what she thinks madoka herself wants?

you seem to forget that these characters are 13-15 year olds. they are not adults that think through every decision with patience, logic, and consider the implications of those decisions as to how they'll effect the future. they're impulsive and make "bad" decisions because they are children. hell, im 21. i can imagine 14 year old me doing the same stupid shit out of panic and desperation, and it doesn't mean it would be evil.

to go point-by-point

homura's world is fragile

madoka's is also "fragile", which is why people are able to remember madoka, even if not directly, despite her literally being made as if she never existed or had any tangible presence. nobody should remember her in any way whatsoever. even madoka herself said homura remembers her only because of "a miracle", but this does not explain why others remember madoka. it's likely because madoka's world is likely also not 100% stable, as if it was, nobody should remember her at all, besides maybe homura. even if it's only nostalgic feelings around her name (like junko) or remembering her due to being a child (her brother), the fact that they have any idea of her at all proves that the whole "erased from existence" thing isn't 100%.

there's a part of madoka that still remembers

yes. this...isn't new. homura remembers the first world before madoka's wish as well, it seems to be a theme with them remaking the world. homura remembers madoka from before her wish, and remembers about madoka. it's not a shock that madoka would then remember before homura remade the world as well.

i hope she tells homura off and is angry

you seem to not understand madoka's personality. yes, she will and does confront people. that is correct. she isn't some total coward who falters at any and all confrontation, if she thinks what she's doing is right. but the idea that madoka will be enraged at homura is pretty ooc.

remember, homura is still a witch. witches literally are not 100% in control of their actions. for example, oktavia (sayaka) attacks her friends as a witch, and cannot recognize them. this doesn't mean sayaka is evil. homura still has her familiars running around, and her soul gem was never purified. homucifer is almost 100% confirmed to be another form of a witch, despite homura saying she's not a witch. she's more "lucid" than typical, but still likely isn't thinking as clearly as normal.

you also ignore that homura is, 100%, doing what she believes madoka wanted. in the flowerbed scene, madoka says she could never do something like leave all of her friends of family behind. homura believes this fully, unaware that this is a version of madoka that doesn't have her memories, but is the real madoka, nonetheless. she didn't do it because she was bored. she didn't do it to play hero. homura is fully aware that madoka and their friends may hate her, but accepts that if it means they are safe and happy. even though homura herself is very clearly miserable.

homura doesn't feel love/her feelings towards madoka aren't love

she is a deeply traumatized child. that doesn't make every single action she's ever done correct or right, but acting like homura is a grown, mentally healthy adult who's doing these things isn't a good look. she's a child. one with untreated trauma and over two decades of issues that have gone entirely unaddressed.

homura isn't some serial abuser. we never see her hurt madoka, at least not on purpose. she gets frustrated with her, yes, but we never see homura hit her, attack her, etc. she's a child trying to prevent another child from doing things that will lead to a fate worse than death, and has been trying to do it for 12+ years without success. she's not going to be perfect about it. she's going to get frustrated. imagine if you, 14, watch your friend continuously do something that puts them in mortal danger time and time again. even if they're doing it unintentionally, you'll eventually get frustrated and probably snap at times, even if you don't mean it. it doesn't mean homura is evil or abusive or hates madoka. sayaka has moments in the series after becoming depressed of snapping at madoka or seemingly blaming her for things, but nobody calls sayaka bad for this.

wrt madoka being weak

homura, not once, to my memory, ever implies or calls madoka weak or useless. and, to my understanding, all of their friends are at the same level as madoka. it's not that everyone else is super strong, and madoka and only madoka is some weakling.

homura ignores or disregards madoka's wants so homura can be the protector instead

no. for one, again, homura genuinely believes she is following madoka's wishes and doing what she wants. madoka says she can't imagine doing something like leaving homura and their friends, as well as her family, to be all alone forever. madoka doesn't have her memories at this time, but homura has zero way to know this, and thus thinks madoka is telling the whole truth. she is trying to make madoka happy and do what she thinks madoka would have wanted.

and as for "making herself the protector instead", homura is just completing her wish, imo. she is the only girl to never have her wish fully granted until rebellion. remember, it has two parts. 1) go back in time to meet madoka again, and 2) become strong enough to protect madoka. she never gets the latter part granted. she never becomes strong enough to protect madoka, ever, and it's even more impossible post series (how do you protect a god?).

homura is selfish/made a selfish choice/only remade the world to suit her own desires

her selfish desire to...have all of her friends safe, happy, and in healthy environments? a world where they hate her? if she wanted, she could make them all mindless puppets who think she's the greatest person ever, but she doesn't.

besides, selfishness ≠ always evil and selflessness ≠ always good. the extremes of each are bad, but neither are 100% good or evil inherently. like, if you're putting yourself first when going through something, that can be called "selfish", but isn't bad. or you can become so selfless that you believe you don't deserve anything, which isn't good.

how would madoka feel about that?

probably very concerned that homura's "ideal/perfect world" revolves around everyone being happy while homura is friendless and alone, hates herself, and is miserable, stuck with her familiars taunting her as she's still portrayed as some form of witch.

how it affects the world and the loc

it's pretty openly stated that the loc still exists in some capacity (homura took "a small part of it") m, and incubators are used to deal with despair. i doubt millions of magical girls aren't simultaneously witching out because the loc still exists. a system still exists.

homura is gaslighting madoka

that is not what gaslighting means. and if you want to use that as a definition, madoka gaslighted homura by erasing any/all proof of her existence, making homura doubt her memories of madoka being real (as shown in wraith arc and rebellion). sayaka gaslights homura by pretending at first to not know what witches are, and by implying the witch could be someone else. nagisa gaslights mami by pretending to not have a human form. that's an imperfect use of the term.

the idea that homura, fourteen year old and traumatized child, is evil, abusive, all selfish, or unredeemable spits in the face of madoka magica. keep in mind, madoka has forgiven actual war criminals, murderers, etc, but somehow homura is the only one madoka should ever be angry at or find bad. madoka's whole thing is that she is all merciful and all forgiving, and can pretty much understand any circumstance. yet you think she'd be whole heartedly enraged at her friend, who thinks she is following madoka's wishes, who hasn't erased the loc, who made all of their friends have happy and healthy lives, and who's place in this new world is "friendless, miserable person, forever taunted by her own familiars, because she thinks she deserves it, while still a witch, whose whole theme was 'i am evil and useless and selfish, i can't wait to die, i deserve to die'"? i don't understand.

nobody ive seen ever says homura did zero wrong, ever, in a genuine way. she fucks up and does stupid things, because she is a child stuck in horrible situation after horrible situation. and come rebellion, she isn't even a magical girl, but some form of witch. she's not perfect or anything of the sort, and ive never noticed anyone saying she's never done anything wrong in a genuine way.

and re: the tags. it is flat out ignoring canon to say homura wants their friends to die or "let's them die" to scare madoka. she openly, on screen, directly tries to stop mami from fighting charlotte, something homura knows will lead to mami dying, and shows distress when mami dies. she offers a grief seed to sayaka, who rejects it, and then, yes, seems to threaten sayaka. but she also isn't even apparently going to do anything, as she just shines light at sayaka and isn't aiming for her soul gem at all, which she knows is the only way to kill sayaka if she wanted to. she shows sadness when kyoko dies, and only seems to leave because kyoko asks her to.

this is also ignoring that madoka, as she's dying in one timeline, begs homura to go back and prevent her from becoming a magical girl. she says in another she doesn't want to ever become a witch. homura isn't trying to stop her because she hates madoka, likes seeing her weak and shy with low self-esteem, and doesn't want her to become a magical girl bc she's more confident like that — she's following madoka's dying wish.

hope madoka gets mad btw. homuras new reality is fragile, theres still a part of madoka that knows where shes supposed to be and eventually she will remember and break free from homuras idealization of her

and i hope she gets Mad. i hope she tells homura off as the world crumbles. i hope madoka understands that what homura feels isnt love, at least not a healthy kind. i hope madoka understands her own power and fights back against the weak, naive, innocent version of herself that homura clings to. because madoka was never that weak to begin with! she can be very powerful as long as she has confidence and support, yet homura disregards that so she can be the protector instead

madoka made the ultimate self-sacrifice and homura made the ultimate selfish choice, undid everything madoka had done and rewrote the world to suit her own desires. how would madoka feel about that? yes, she tends to be exceptionally kind and forgiving but at this point, its bigger than just madoka herself. its not just about what homura did to her, but how it affects the world and the law of cycles as a whole. madoka said goodbye to everything she knew and loved to fight an endless battle so no one would ever suffer again and homura tore her away from that to essentially gaslight her into being weak and complacent with being in the wrong place. i just think madoka deserves to be angry about it all!!

and homura should finally see madoka for who she really is and understand that she cant control her, that madoka is strong enough to protect herself, the entire universe, and everyone in it. from there, homura can either come to terms with everything and have some major realizations, or reject it all and continue to live in her fantasies of the past while knowing deep down none of it is real