#all I do is ramble now smh

[g0g0at]

// malevolent part 43 spoilers

I’ve been thinking how John is visible through the mask… but it seems even with the mask, some characters still can’t see him?

Daniel might have just. Not been looking, but I feel like it’d be hard to miss an entire person just appearing behind Arthur. The witch could see him, and he could see himself… seems even with the mask, only those linked to the supernatural can see him.

I’m also curious if the masks from episode 40 were the same. I would assume they would be, but everyone was surprised by KiY jumping out of Larson and Noel would have absolutely said something if he could see John through the mask, so most likely not.

I wonder if that was arranged on purpose… I was under the impression that KiY pulled some strings to get that weird shell creature on the grand vizier. And in an effort to hide that, from cult members, they swapped the masks around. Or maybe only John can see the shell creature regardless…

I’m reading this back and realising I’m contradicting myself. Eh it’s just a ramble

[chocolate-cream-soldier]

Current Mood:

(while watching a theory/review video for agatha all along epi.7)

[quinns-art-box]

rarepair week day 2: running away/death

i’ve drawn so much cute fluffy art of them (definitely more to come in the future) so i wanted to give them something more thematic and sad!! they make me go a little bananas ok…… the tragedy of it all…….

@dr-rarepair-week-blog

[pastelaspirations]

So, u h.

H O W. HOW, I ASK. ALL I DO IS POST ART ONCE IN A BLUE MOON AND MAKE REALLY CURSED REBLOGS. LIKE, I'M SO VERY GLAD YOU'RE HERE, BUT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW OR WHY YOU'RE HERE-

I also like. Make really angsty, ungodly long fanfics that I do absolutely nothing to promote on this dumpster fire of a blog, but that's besides the point- ANYWAY. HAVE SOME REALLY SKETCHY DOODLES THAT I DID TO THANK YA MAD LADS ;_;

Thank ya, thank ya, you absolute mad lads. I will uh... continue to do what I do. Thank you for joining the ride, even though it's less of a ride and more that I found an abandoned theme park ride and decided to ride it as a prolonged death wish and you inexplicably strapped yourself in next to me with the moldy seatbelt-

[thebigqueer]

it should actually be illegal for professors to assign you work before winter break ends.

[arolesbianism]

I think its so important for everyone to learn to like characters because of their negative traits instead of in spite of them. Like there is so much joy and whimsy to be experienced once you get to a place where hating smth abt a character inevitably leads to loving them dearly because of that same trait

[stormbreaker-290]

Oghhhhhhh I need to sleep,,,,, but my brain is so full of things,,,,,,,,,,, ouhhhhh I wanna draw,,,,,,,,,,, but I am wayyyy too damn eepy to draw,,,,,,,,,hudhshusjshdsj

[lazaruspiss]

yeah its kinda depressing that every fandom seems to have some anti shipper niche but its also so fuckin funny sometimes. like im just remembering that rick and morty exists and holy shit was that a show that contained Sensitive Subjects portrayed only for crass amusement and self gratification. and even that show has anti shippers. (adding a cut for those who dont wanna listen to my sleep deprived rambled retellings of my rick & morty memories)

hey do yall know what the pilot was about. bc the og r&m pilot was a back to the future parody where morty has to suck off rick in order for him to have big brain power. like the og r&m has uncensored underage incest blowjobs. also the actual final show has an episode where a character proposes a "multi generational sandwich" 3way. yeah yeah but portraying incest is problematic. do u hear urself. incest doesnt even make the top 10 as far as ricks crimes against humanity go. how do yall live like that

[artekai]

Hello. I miss HZD Kai :(

[truffulacore]

I was like so ready to put my 3 lads in weehawken and then like days before it began I had a massive Moment and died and then came back but now I cannot bring myself to actually join so like. ruth dreampop and carlin are just there on the list but I guess they haven't spoken to a single person yet skfhskfj

[evintide]

so. i’ve admittedly hit a wall on revising stuff for totk and whatnot at the moment. redesign stuff for botw verse isn’t super drastic either, if anything it’s become updating her appearance to align more with my Fade hc at this point. i’ve grown very attached to her magic arm too and i’m leaning towards keeping it that way. but instead of it being linked to totk stuff she’ll have lost it as a means of other sacrifice -- probably due to teleporting around too much or during some attempt to link the realms again. consequences meeting her foolhardy actions and all that jazz.

i’ve also decided to keep the original botw verse i cooked up as an au. of an au. LMAO.

i’m not sure anyone would want to fiddle around with the idea of the totk hand having been Midna’s post sequel release but. idk. i still love it. and esp given, uhm. certain things that totk changed in terms of storyline i believe it fits more into timing of. stuff.

for now though unless specified i’ll have Midna’s botw au presence (and arm) have a much less defined origin. apologies for lack of actual rp posts and just rambling a lot instead. i’ll hopefully have stuff ironed out more within the coming week, though i’d like to jump back into writing before that!

[eggmeralda]

"I do not control the hyperfixation" really hits when the hyperfixation is like the last thing you want to think about constantly but yet. you are still thinking about it

[captainshyguy]

i’ve been watching the great british bake of 2019 with my mum and it cracked my brain open like an egg so i will be insane for like a week probably heads up lol

[snow-and-saltea]

mhmm!! i've talked w reo about this in the milfs gc (ignore the name), lemme reiterate my thoughts about it here:

it's less about "he would not fucking do that" and more about "what would it take for him to fucking do that, and how do i build a reasonable case and situation in which he WOULD do that?"

this is going to be a bit tangential, so please bear with me for a bit:

i have a problem with people stereotyping or leaning too hard on archetypal depictions of the characters, because 1) it feels superficial and surface level, i am not learning anything new from your point of view 2) sometimes the point of the text or media is that we are in a convenient vantage point where we are able to see multiple facets of the same character. for example, the way one character interacts with a stranger is different than how they interact with their friend, or loved one, or enemy or rival, and so we are given the opportunity to have a clearer and fuller picture of that character looks like as a whole.

my problem with stereotyping in writing is that it is often oversimplified and also not contextual. sure, someone is commonly known as the asshole of the fandom, but are they doing it for no reason? a character's asshole-ishness is still an EXPRESSION of their personality, which means they have certain ways of thinking, judging, feeling, and perceiving the world that comes out in asshole-y ways. this is what i mean by stereotyping. when we stereotype, we often take out the part of the equation where we have to ask ourselves: wait, why did they do this? what was their thought process? did they have a goal in doing this? and instead we fall back on common known traits of the character (perhaps their fanon interpretation) and as a result the character doesn't come across as "alive" as they could've been.

(this doesn't mean that the writer still can't make them an asshole though; as long as you show your work in explaining their thought processes in a believable, convincing and human way [ie. prone to cognitive biases and errors in judgement], you can take that and use it as plot hooks in your story!)

people are still people no matter their personalities, which means EVERY person has the capacity and opportunity to experience ANY emotion. so when you lean too hard on either spectrum of temperament or trait, you risk writing the character in a way that isn't contextual (too generic and broad), too flat (scripted and impersonal) or too boring (predictable and not the point of transformative works like fanfic for me***). they can experience different feelings and no one is above feeling any sort of emotion!! we are not so infallible!! but they ARE limited to the confines of their personality, psychological maturity and reasoning ability in which they are able to express and process that emotion.

***this is a personal opinion only, my word means nothing in the grand scheme of things, people write for their own reasons. i'm just explaining what would be most compelling for me to read and write, and why, as it's inline with the spirit of this post talking about the complexity of writing characters that seemingly "betray" their fundamental traits.

taking op's point further, yes, i agree! i much more like the question of "what would it take / how would it be done" in order to verify if a character is acting inline with their characterization.

something i talked to reo for a bit in the milfs gc (again, ignore the name) is a comparison between two genshin characters, alhaitham and kaveh. i used them as comparison because they are, in my opinion, characters that are most widely misunderstood and misinterpreted. (although it's not always in a bad way, sometimes the misinterpretations are funny as hell or it's for a Bit so i'm like, hell yeah man!!)

specifically, i talked about their attitudes towards interpersonal problems. to illustrate it better for people who don't play genshin (good for your health honestly <33), i'm going to list a few traits in these characters so that you can see my point more clearly, and show how they might** manifest as both flaws and strengths.

**keep in mind the 'might'. it doesn't mean that all listed qualities are present or happened in canon, i'm just taking things further and listing all the possibilities. these may vary from character to character, because some characters do have these traits but the narrative or story forces them to confront it earlier on, and as a result they appear more balanced as a person.

alhaitham

- intellectual rigor / critical / independent > strengths: impervious to appeals to emotion such as emotional blackmailing and guilt-tripping. can only be persuaded with sound and logical arguments, and if someone is speaking through reasonable practical experience. prioritizes personal judgment rather than thinking or acting on behalf of other people (in most cases except kaveh), not as likely to be roped into mob mentality attitudes because he doesn't take others' opinion of him to judge his own character. reluctant leader; he is good at making plans and placing the right people at the right place, but dislikes the workload that comes with being competent, which means he prefers to do important but in-the-background work, where he is most effective with the least amount of unnecessary attention. principled and consistent in actions and belief. > weaknesses: insensitivity in a "it is what it is" way, private about his true feelings (that are not just logical judgements of right and wrong; true or false) that obstructs in making healthy and intimate relationships of expressing vulnerabilities. individualistic approach that makes one prone to selfishness or self-centered thinking. doesn't rely on others but himself and therefore doesn't ever truly allow people the opportunity to understand him better by seeing him when he's vulnerable.

kaveh

- selfless / moral / optimistic > strengths: warm and open attitude that enables easier access to making connections and relationships with other people. fearlessness in standing by other people and loyal. makes people feel welcome and have their presence affirmed. sees the "point" in other people's words, even if they are badly presented, and takes initiative in giving people courtesy and grace with his good faith an unconditional acceptance. a good listener and skillful at perspective-taking. feels for other people's pain. principled at all costs. > weaknesses: fuzzy emotional boundaries; not knowing what problems and feelings are yours and what problems and feelings are others that you've chosen to undertake to "solve" or help with. susceptible to getting carried away by other people's emotional intensity, rendering his own standing difficult. inflexible ideals and stubbornness (due to him placing specific importance over a select morals and virtues, judges other people who don't share the same virtues). messy personal life due to carrying out impractical ideals. narrow understanding of how to live a good and moral life that doesn't account for people of various personalities and temperaments. chronic guilt.

for a thought exercise, i asked myself this: what situation would make alhaitham, someone so impervious to other people's petty interpersonal conflicts that he does not usually involve himself in, be emotionally invested in making efforts to rebuild harmony and be the one to take the leap of faith (instead of deciding that someone else's life and happiness is not his responsibility)? what situation would make kaveh, someone so empathetic to people's grievances, be closed off to someone's ask for help and make him say no and walk away?

that's where context comes in! you can look back at the character's history and relationships and see the outliers in their pattern of open and trusting/closed off and energy-saving distance. maybe you remember that alhaitham, despite not wanting to trouble himself with interpersonal relationships and is staunchly against "coddling" someone for their own mistakes, extends a hand to kaveh to become his roommate. maybe you remember that kaveh, someone who is usually patient and optimistic with people to see the best in them, blows up at alhaitham for his perceived egotistical faults.

those "anomalies" seemingly look like they contradict each other to the outside, but the way the characters make it make "sense" in their head is also something interesting to note. although kaveh is tolerant and idealistic, it also means that he is judgemental of critical people and so-called "realists" who dim his light. although alhaitham is lukewarm and analytical, his calm demeanour and distance from strong emotions allows him to see through emotional outbursts and still not give up on them, rather than doing the sensible thing and leaving someone who wants to be left alone (ironically making him skilled at reading the people he cares for).

by asking why, why do they do that, why do they think that way, why do they have that belief and where does it come from, we can come to investigate the small contradictions and biases in the character's personalities, and in turn start to build a context or basis for the character who would usually not do that, do that!

i'm sorry if this is very rambly!! these are just my 2 cents on the things i've observed and figure out my own solution to. as always, you're free to disregard what works and doesn't in order to find your Own way to write. good luck to everyone trying to get over the "would he fucking do that" obstacle!!!

Expanding a thought from a conversation this morning:

In general, I think "Is X out-of-character?" is not a terribly useful question for a writer. It shuts down possibility, and interesting directions you could take a character.

A better question, I believe, is "What would it take for Character to do X?" What extremity would she find herself in, where X starts to look like a good idea? What loyalties or fears leave him with X as his only option? THAT'S where a potentially interesting story lies.

In practice, I find that you can often justify much more from a character than you initially dreamed you could: some of my best stories come from "What might drive Character to do [thing he would never do]?" As long as you make it clear to the reader what the hell pushed your character to this point, you've got the seed of a compelling story on your hands.

[doyelikehaggis]

My head is jumping from fandom to fandom at the moment and I have no idea how to choose one to write for.

[carsickcrow]

man. missing my childhood build-a-bears now. i haven’t seen them since i moved when i was 11. they’re probably in a box somewhere but i just don’t know where and i have been missing them ever since i moved. hopper and barksy i miss you… i loved them so much i would dress them up and i would tie their ears into stylish hair-dos. hopper was a bunny and barksy was a dog, of course. frankly genius names idk if i came up with them by myself or what but. yeah great names. i named my brother’s build a bear dog spot because he didn’t have any spots. truly spectacular ironic humor from 5 year old me. anyway. happy i got this horse guy. i really love build-a-bears and also all stuffed animals but i miss my girls!!! they were my good friends for years and they’ve just been abandoned for so long :(