#I also don't want ppl to be confused

[mermaidslabyrinth]

hi 👋

i have a question! what inspires you when crafting an oc? i, for example, cannot write an oc without them being practically a self insert. (skill issue, i know) i was reading your oc’s facts and he seems very interesting and feels like he could actually belong to the hotd universe. so i was wondering what is your creative process in writing him. <3

First off if this sounds long winded, doesn’t fully make sense, or you have more thoughts/questions let me know. Putting a read more because I wrote a bit.

I’d like to thank you for reading my facts. It would be easy to say they were a breeze but that document is many months of additions of ideas that came at random times and subtractions of things that didn’t work.

I did a lot of self inserts in my life. They were just me but with different hair or eye color. And they got with the character I was smitten with at the time. A lot of the time they didn’t make sense and were rather shallow in development but I had fun. Self inserts are the first step to figure out what you like and not like about creating a character. They all helped with my creativity.

So, I’m going to be honest and say Rhagerys is the first character I put actual time into. I mean come this April it’ll be a year since he was created. And I’m still working on him and helping him feel somewhat real. It’s a lot of work and thinking. And I’d be lying if I said he didn’t have a few things I personally like or do. For example I have a stuffed bear that I cherish, so I decided to give Rhagerys a stuffed dragon he cherishes. It’s the small things like that helps me build on giving him some depth. (Because then it’s like well why does he have a stuffed dragon? And I made a little fact on why. If needed I could write a little story on how he got it). I'm left handed so I made Rhagerys only be able to write with his left hand.

My creative process when it comes to writing Rhagerys I always start with, and this is my process, a simple word or phrase or a thought. One night I was getting ready for bed and it was a full moon and I thought “What would it be like for Rhagerys to ride Starsong during a full moon?” And I wrote a little snippet of him asking Daemon to let him do so the next full moon. That he would be good and listen to everything Daemon told him during that month leading up to it.

I definitely want to expand on it sometime but the important thing right now is that I wrote it down and it exists. So, no matter how small the thought is (ex. A 215 Drabble about Daemon snoring) to something lengthy but not ready to be part of the story (ex. A 1.3k about Rhagerys trying to avoid Jace’s name day celebration). Write it down. You won’t regret it. You may not use it but you can draw from it or see it as a practice in writing.

I have so many snippets I’ve lost count. I have a full outline, categorized in years with bullet points, of my story as well. From beginning to end. I’m happy I have them because I can go back to them and expand or change certain parts. If I didn’t write them down, I’d forget them and they’d be lost forever. Will I ever get to them? Idk. But they’re there sitting and waiting if I do.

So, if I had to pin down my creative process it would be that I write down any thought, no matter how small (I have a folder full of literal 1-5 sentences or a line of dialogue that I’d like to build around). To a straight up outline of a plot bunny that may be hopping around in my head.

Like right now a plot that wouldn't leave my mind until I wrote it down is a long part of my story and it all started with me wondering “What if Rhagerys rejected his father one night and fought back? How would Daemon handle that boldness?” Well, it turns out that it’s a week worth of manipulation tactics on Daemon’s part.

I wrote down a day by day outline of what I wanted to happen in the mentioned plot above. Just detailed enough of what I was going for. It’s a slow process getting it written out. I’ve been working on it since December.

I have very few full chapters written. The handful I do is because I put all my other pieces I was working on to the side. What I learned by writing those few chapters is that I do so much better in small writing increments. A full length chapter drains me (I have an 11.8k that I adore but it was such work). However, a 5k at most is much more doable for me. I learned that I am capable of writing lengthy chapters but it felt like all my creativity went into writing and perfecting such a hefty task that I didn’t feel like writing for a while. And I didn’t like that feeling because I had so many ideas I wanted to write down.

Also to help flesh Rhagerys out more, for the past month I’ve been filling out OC questions. It helps immensely on figuring what makes Rhagerys tick. Get inside his mind. There were questions I would start answer and realize that doesn’t sound like Rhagerys so I’d delete and really thought on it. From frivolous answers about the position he sleeps to deep ones like does he even like himself. The questionnaires are a big help in me figuring out my character and getting his personality believable.

As well as all those “Your OC Does What?” posts that I have been bombarded the dash with these past 3 nights (apologies to whoever follows me). Those have helped me write down little ideas no matter how random they may seem. They help me in understanding Rhagerys more.

I would say my creative process is, that no matter what, is I never stop wondering. I never stop playing a scenario in my head. From basic moments (Rhagerys at breakfast and he eats a piece of moldy bread) to moments that drastically effect him (him being 15, very drunk in Pentos, and Daemon takes advantage of that). My mind is always trying to create where Rhagerys can come alive, even for just a couple pages worth.

Creating anything takes time. Practice. Patience. And understanding that what you create is for you first and foremost. If other people like it, that's wonderful. If it's just you marveling at what you've done, that's just as wonderful. You put your heart and soul into something and whether you share it with the world is completely up to you.

If you chose to, like I did (and that took almost 9 months of me building up the courage), you'll be amazed at how many people out there are so willing to listen/read/see what you created. To see them say "Omg, I love your OC." It's a great feeling and something I do hope you get to experience. Because there is always that one person out there who is waiting for character just like the one you created.

Also, as a bonus, you meet and interact with so many great people. Letting others see Rhagerys, read about him and his story (I was so terrified about that because it is not a normal one) is one of the best decisions I have ever made while being on this website. I was scared at first. But now I'm practically shouting from the rooftop "Look at my boy!" I will always feel indebted to the four people who started the ball rolling for me. @emilykaldwen. @ewanmitchellcrumbs. @selfproclaimedunicorn. @murmel-malt. They helped me feel comfortable enough with myself to feel safe and let Rhagerys become part of the ever growing HotD OC world. (Sorry to tag you guys but I need to give you credit)

When you're ready to shout from the rooftops for people to look at your OC, I'll be one of them. I'm rooting for you. I do hope this helped. If you, or anyone reading this, want to reach out and just randomly chat about OCs, or whatever, I'll always listen and chat right back. Thank you for reaching out.

[sodafrog13]

younger butch (idiot)/older femme (into that) is like S tier combo to me

also some little things that i liked + alt sweetheart thoughts under the cut:

[multifandombullshitbabes]

(i hope this goes without saying that literally headcanon what you want: i'm criticizing the people who talk shit and can't accept other's people's headcanons. that's who i think is boring and annoying. there's complexity in Mizu's character in a lot of ways. I really cannot see how this headcanon is erasing any part of her identity. Please do feel free to correct me on this.)

I feel like ppl who hate on ppl who hc mizu as genderfluid are 1) boring, and 2) annoying. But most of all, they always use that dialogue between her n mikio, where she says she had to be one to enact her revenge.

Mizu is a person who is in an extremely sexist country, also being targeted for being mixed. In a way, being a boy was necessary. I also think that Mizu has found some comfort in being a man, in living like one. He prefers, in some ways, how a man is treated and is very comfortable being one not only out of necessity, but also because he likes it.

Now, just because he likes being a man, doesn't mean she also doesn't love being a woman. During the mikio arc, we all saw she was comfortable being a woman, she liked some parts of it even: being someone who deserves protection, who doesn't know how to throw a knife or fight for her life, who takes care of horses n cooks not just for herself; for her, being a woman means not doing what she has to as a man, which is fight for herself and enact revenge and live alone n all that.

At the same time, they're not totally a woman, nor a man. Because Mizu is not only about their gender, either man or woman: Mizu is a person who revels in both being masculine n feminine, but if they had the choice they would be both. They're part of both worlds (male n female) of edo Japan, and just as much as both worlds bring them immense amounts of pain, there's also a great deal of euphoria that they both give Mizu, and a mix of both is what gives them total peace.

I always think abt how effortlessly Mizu fought with mikio, since she was completely unrestrained and free there: both of her worlds were colliding and she fought in a way we dont rly see any other time in the series. Not only cuz she wasn't wearing her binder, but because all of her truth was revealed at the time, n she didn't have to hide any part of her then.

So yh anyways. Mizu genderfluid. And bisexual. And polyamorous.

[chaos-potat]

I still find it funny how a pr*shipper called me an anti as if it was a negative thing to dislike ships that are problematic, y'all know the "pro" in "proship" stands for problematic, right? <-(probably a false statement but that's how I've heard it)

I'm not usually a hater but like, they came to my post (one where I said "I take shipping rise April with the turtles as inc*st since she's depicted as their sister and is even referred to as family by Karai") and told me that I'm crazy for saying that shipping people who call each other family makes me sick???

My brother in Christ, it wasn't a debate, it was a boundary, and you're added to my blocklist

[lord-of-tomatoes]

Haven't drawn mexico in a while I kinda missed him

[ohfiendangelical]

my goal when i write is to under-elaborate. i want my audience confused. disoriented, even. i want it to be impossible to tell whether the prose narration is the all-knowing voice of god or simply zero's warped perspective. why did he say that. why did he do that. why is he like that. the answer will never be clear

[snowstories]

It's pretty fun for me to play Zelda games in a manner mostly isolated from fandom opinions. Like don't get me wrong I've absorbed a lot of LOZ spoilers, headcanons, interpretations etc. via osmosis, I am not playing these games blind. But regardless of how many spoilers and fanart/fanfic I've seen going through the AO3 tag after playing BOTW was still an Experience because it made me realize that the way I interpret both Link as a character and the game as a whole is apparently completely counter to the majority fandom opinion. Something I was blissfully oblivious to while playing the game.

[doberrrman]

I have this feeling that I have unofficial beef with my neighbor...

[vilevampire]

someday in this fandom I'll get dragged into drama over controversial ship opinions and when that happens I want you all to remember me fondly because frankly I will drop dead on the spot

[opalsiren]

i keep seeing ppl on social media travelling and living in different countries with big groups of friends and think 'i wish i could do that' then i had a dream i was in spain with a huge group of ppl from school living there and in the dream was like 'oh i would NOT actually enjoy this in reality' lol

[mosspapi]

What the fuck even is attraction it's all such bullshit actually. Like bro I can barely tell the difference between happy and sad on a good day, how the FUCK do you expect me to tell the difference between "I like this person as a friend," "I like this person romantically," "I like this person sexually," "I like this person aesthetically," etc.??? I literally don't even know what half of those feel like and at this point I'm convinced they're all made up and everyone is just pretending to feel them. Is romantic attraction just friendship but more? Is it different?? How do you know? I personally think it's all bullshit and should be abolished.

[clemencetaught]

gender ( meta one. )

Since it’s pride month, I’m finally going to write out a meta for something I meant to actually talk about like last year:

So on his profile, it says that Patrick is nonbinary, but closeted and therefore uses only he/him pronouns. Just as his feelings on his sexuality and how open he is about expressing it has been a complicated mess, you could say it’s a very similar scenario with his gender identity. Although in this case, his gender identity is one of those things where he knows he could explore a bit more freely but he just?? doesn’t feel quite ready if that makes any sense??

That being said, he’s definitely not cisgender and while he doesn’t identify with feminine pronouns, I don’t think he’s quite comfortable with using they/them pronouns (yet)….if he had to pick a identification though, it’d probably be demiboy (he/they) and that’s thanks to felicity:

Basically, her calling him a gentleman helped him become more comfortable with both his masculinity and his deviance from it. While he inspires to be a ‘gentleman’ ( or at least embody the good traits of it ), it doesn’t necessarily have to fall under the umbrella of traditional masculinity and so while she was alive, he did explore some forms of androgynous dressing….that phase of experimenting he shut down though when she passed away as she had been the only person he confided in about it.

tldr; he’s non*binary & closeted, but if he had to pick a gender identify as he’s picking ‘gentleman’ - ie. he’ll use he/him pronouns but aside from ‘gentleman’, he’s more comfortable with gender neutral terms like ‘person’ or ‘partner’

[lord-squiggletits]

I actually do think that only reading MTMTE/LL robs people of a lot of good/interesting stories to enjoy in IDW1 and there's actually a huge problem in this part of the fandom where people act as if MTMTE/LL are the only comics in IDW1 that matter (or even exist). It's very frustrating.

[makanioverlord]

replaces my pink icon for another 

bye roxy I love u still but gordi is also very cute n pink and I’ve had the same icon for like 5 yrs now LOL

[angeltism]

school is pissing me offffff really bad and i am getting overwhelmed reaaaal bad too

[lilyimmsim]

ughhhh it is so frustrating having friends who don't respect boundaries and are constantly in your relationship oh my goodness i want to scream