#and i think i've felt a little stagnant with some of my characters and that was making me a lil unhappy

[tvrningout-a]

i don't have time to finish writing my other hc for helena but pls know i'm vibrating and shaking and rubbing my hands together

[geewintg]

You're trying to write an emotionally-charged scene but doesn't feel emotional enough?

Do you wish your scene feels like this? (the following piece is really important and heavily mentioned to the tips down below but you can skip cause I'll provide specific lines anyway)

"He hated him because he was still hung up over the past. He hated that he changed. He hated that he could no longer despise the boy like he used to for what he did to him.  

Those were the reasons he hated admitting. Because it made him sound petty. And he hated to admit that it affected him more than it should have, that the boy had power over his emotions, over his thoughts, over his feelings.   

He feels vulnerably offered.  

It makes him feel weak.  

He’s weak.  

For a deity, how unacceptable. How pathetic.  

But still, no matter, all the times he spent with him in that little space they made themselves comfortable, no matter how brief, it made him forget about the duties that await him in his pyramid.  

He made him feel normal. 

He was offered cooked meals. He scolded him for offering Collei bland palate. He made him do stuff, with disregards of his status, whenever he chanced upon it. He, for once, felt what it's like to have a home .

And he hated that he could no longer despise him for what he did. Because he unintentionally gave him the things he craved for—normalcy." -Ephemeral Twilight

I was asked before how to make your writing gut-wrenching. And I was left stumped, because I've never really thought of it before. I just let my fingers do the typing. But I gotta help this person somehow, so in doing so, I came up with advices I think might help in order to write in the style you so perfectly desire: (I am by no means expert, but let me know if some of this helped you in starting to write it)

Adding correlation - as someone who describes the environment a lot, I fall too often into descriptive writing -- going too much into detail on the background setting. Fortunately, there's a work around that I found in order for some of your writing to not go to waste: adding correlation. For example: The sun was scorching. It burned his feet as he treaded along the vast empty dunes, cursing it with the same tongue that used to sing praises of its glory. Adding correlation from the background to your character is the first step of breaking the ice of stagnant writing (mostly when you find yourself having nothing to say in the first few paragraphs). You're creating a framework of what goes on in your character's head (which is vital if you want to affect readers through your character's thoughts) while setting the scene to your readers. It also acts like a build up. Another example: The wind bites her skin yet it was numb compared to her heart thrown and left frozen in the winter storm.

Reading emotional materials - by reading any material that conveys the emotion you wanted to write, you're setting yourself in the perfect headspace to imagine and create the scene. As corny as it sounds, you need to feel it. How do you think actors were able to portray their character's emotions so well if not for feeling and experiencing it themselves? It won't work if you're experiencing an emotion contradicting to the emotion you want to portray. So yes, exposing yourself to any media that has conveys the exact vibe you want is a good way.

Repetition - repetition emphasizes. It creates desperation -- "longingness" of something what could have been; of what they truly wanted or what they truly despised. It gives you the opportunity to play around why they specifically felt that way, all the reasons to say, all of the things to convince your reader to feel the same way. Take for example the piece above: "He feels vulnerably offered. || It makes him feel weak. || He’s weak. || For a deity, how unacceptable. How pathetic." To this character, being seen as vulnerable is the worst type of thing, which also stays true to most people. People don't like being seen as weak. It emphasizes it. It's the thing he hated the most because his ego (something related to an emotional-aspect) cannot afford him to. And another example is the obvious, almost gagging (don't cancel me, I wrote the piece lol), repetition of hate: "He hated him because he was still hung up over the past. He hated that he changed. He hated that he could no longer despise the boy like he used to for what he did to him. || Those were the reasons he hated admitting. Because it made him sound petty. And he hated to admit that it affected him more than it should have, that the boy had power over his emotions, over his thoughts, over his feelings. || And he hated that he could no longer despise him for what he did."  Additionally a special mention: "...that the boy had power over his emotions, over his thoughts, over his feelings..." over, over, over... This is also a repetition itself, or what at least I consider it to be. It still creates that emphasis you want to go for.

Contradiction - contradiction and repetition can go hand in hand for a more effective impact. Because in our examples previously mentioned such as "He feels vulnerably offered. || It makes him feel weak. || He’s weak. || For a deity, how unacceptable. How pathetic." this was contradicted because even though he hated to show vulnerability and weakness, it happened. The thing he hated the most happened. And this: "He hated him because he was still hung up over the past. He hated that he changed. He hated that he could no longer despise the boy like he used to for what he did to him. || Those were the reasons he hated admitting." He hated admitting but still ended up admitting it. It's the psychology play of after making your reader believe about one thing, then you crush it at the end -- because it's the same for your character. They believed this thing for so long that they repeatedly told themselves, convinced themselves, gaslit themselves, only for it to tumble down to realization that that belief was wrong. The character's contradiction of their own convictions.

Well, that's all for now. If you find these tips working for you, then congrats. Glad I could help. Tell me if you need more of this stuff in the future, and also feel free to ask me for more advices. I may not be an expert but I did start somewhere and working my way up so I'm willing to offer the stuff I've accumulated in those years of writing.

[oaxleaf]

as promised: s4 retrospective now that the finale is out.

season four is easily the most similar to season one. even the finales are similar. that's good, narratively. it's easy to get carried away with a story, especially one with any level of audience control, so it's reassuring to get confirmation that all of this ties back to the beginning. it also opens up a lot of opportunities for seasons five and six. really, season four is just season one, but arthur knows what the fuck is going on and he and john don't have the most scathing arguments you've ever heard every other episode, and although seasons two and three did a lot of visible character development for the two of them, season four shows the actual result and proof of that development. i know that i predicted a major blow-out between them because only a couple of episodes in i felt they were getting along a little too well. but i was proved wrong! it would have been easy to set up an argument between john and arthur after it's revealed he's lied to him, but i'm glad it didn't happen, and i hope it's not going to, because i do think this was the season that properly established that they are beyond that cycle of vicious arguments.

on individual levels they've also developed a lot. john is, for plot reasons of course, kinda vague through-out the season, but i like that with his increasing humanity he's also gained traits of jealousy and petulance. although with the revelation of his being stuck in dark world, there'll be some real interesting character exploration to do next season. john also got to do a bit more interaction towards the end of this season. i think i've always been partial to arthur because he has more relationship anchors in his life (even if most of them are dead) and i like looking at a character through the lense of how they interact with others. and so far, john's mostly only had arthur to play off of. meanwhile, arthur hitting rock bottom, first in part 26 and then in part 31, really did a lot for him too. him making up with daniel and reaching out to help oscar was heartwarming, i guess, but most importantly it showed how he's determined to actually do something to be a better person and not just wallow in guilt and self-blame. still doesn't change that almost everybody he cares about dies or dissapears, but hey. it's good development.

on a personal level? i'm kinda meh on the season. i was on season one too, so that's not a surprise. it's less to do with the actual writing or narrative and more that i dont care much for fetch-quests or detective stories or, to be honest, plot in general. i like malevolent for it's character aspects. it's my personal indulge to be emotionally punched in the gut by this show. and obviously a story needs to have a plot, and i'm not saying i have issues with the show. just that so far nothing has been able to dethrone season two yet, lol.

let's talk about that finale, then. it's really amazing how kayne dominates with his presence whenever he's there, even if this only, what? like the fourth time? that we see him. i always want to get more kayne, but these occasional doses are really perfect for him. he needs to keep that veneer of mystery and insanity, and he needs to mostly be stagnant in his personality, i think, even if his motivations are unravelled. it's what makes him so entrancing whenever he appears on screen (in ear?). so i hope we don't get too much of him next season, even if he's the one setting up whatever happens next. and speaking of what happens next? an advantage to tying up a lot of old threads this season is that i have very little idea of what season five will be about. jesus fuck am i excited though, though!

[eldritchelfwriter]

A few extra thoughts on the two recent chapters in the shadow lands

I've just posted chapter 9 of Shadowheart Begins and we head to the gauntlet next week. But before that, a few thoughts on these two chapters and what actually happened to Shadowheart, in Grymforge?

(Obviously, don't read this if you haven't caught up on chapter 9)

Well, when ideas started swirling for this fic and I was looking up stuff about Shar I kept thinking to myself - wait is Shar the god of depression? There's so much loss and emptiness and denying yourself all the stuff that is good in life, with Shar. And I just knew, as a core plank of the fic as it came together in my head, that Shadowheart was going to experience a kind of high functioning depression in Act 2, because that's how all the emptiness and loss came across to me. It is left to the reader to decide, however, how much of Shadowheart's experience "behind the walls" is her trying to protect herself from psychic pain, and how much of it is Shar. You just know Shar is loving it either way.

There were some early concepts for these chapters that ended up being cut, more or less playing with what Shar's effects in the shadow lands on Shadowheart could look like. But there's a balance to be had between things happening "because magic" and things happening "because human" (or half-elf really) and I feel it's always best to lean in the "because human" direction, otherwise it makes it harder to empathise with characters I really want you to be invested in. The more Shar was involved, the less autonomy Shadowheart had and I didn't really want that. Hence the scene we ended up getting between Shadowheart and Florwyn is, hopefully very, very raw and human.

Another cut scene, an early draft of Florwyn being injured in Isobel's room, had Isobel cleaning her up while Shadowheart fretted eavesdropping on a conversation between them outside the door. This didn't give me the emotional punch that I wanted though hence it was rewritten into its current form which while I'm sure is not perfect, enabled me to travel further with their relationship in an Act which is often seen as fairly stagnant in terms of relationship progress - which was definitely an outcome I wanted.

Also high up on my list when the fic was coming together was "Tav is so calling Shadowheart out on her bullshit" and it felt good to be able to do that in what was, to me at least, a satisfying way. I always knew that I was going to take full advantage of Tav being able to be far more proactive in writing than they can be in the game, because it makes no sense to me that Tav would not follow up on the kiss between the party and the gauntlet. And if Tav lets themselves kind of just be treated a bit like a doormat in Act 2 by Shadowheart it's just that little bit harder to believe this is all going to end up a healthy relationship between them. I am trying to make their relationship progress seem as authentic as possible for all that they are embedded into a fantastical setting.

I do believe a version of the conversation between Florwyn and Isobel that was in the cut scene that never made it into either chapter PROBABLY happened "off camera" and out of Shadowheart's knowledge though. In that conversation, Florwyn, having been shaken by Shadowheart's reaction to the shadow curse, asks Isobel some questions she perhaps should have asked a long time ago about Shar and Selune and asks if there's any hope for Shadowheart, which Isobel is rather reluctant and non-committal about, telling Florwyn to prepare herself that she may be lost despite the encouraging signs pre-shadow lands.

[twothpaste]

wellll i gotta ask about our boy Bronson wiiith 12, 21, 25??

YEAAA BRONSON!!!! (Putting answers below a readmore because they're long 🕺)

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I assure y'all I'm very normal and not at all unwell regarding All The Shit I Made Up About Bronson. The blundering apocalyptic naval admiral who accidentally got his own fleet destroyed, defected like a coward, and never faced the consequences. Who tried to make amends by serving as the White Ship's captain, but never washed his hands of blood. Dude who has no clue how to navigate grief, 'cause he couldn't face it himself when folks who trusted him died on his watch. So wracked with subconscious guilt he just wants to stuff his head in an amnesiac hole and spend the rest of his days as a humble bumfuck Nowhere blacksmith. Again, normal about Bronson. Nothing to see here.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I love making him lowkey pathetic when push comes to shove. He's a capable leader if things are running according to plan, an easygoing and sensible person generally, people do respect him, etc. But when faced with truly difficult dilemmas, he ends up floundering uselessly. Falls back on old habits, like feigning control over the situation, trying & failing to order people around, throwing up his hands and hoping everything works itself out. There's several situations in TSS where Bronson, despite all his barking bravado, is clearly the least effective team player - and it cracks me up! (Deep down, after a lifetime of shit flyin' disastrously off the handle despite his best efforts, he's painfully aware of how little control he really has… 🥲)

I'm having a hard time thinking of anything I don't like about writing him. He comes off a little stiff & stagnant sometimes I guess (granted I've been writing him at the grizzled & curmudgeonly age of 61 dfgdfhg). Not certain I've managed to convincingly convey the value he brings to his community, since he's often bumbling about, or giving lukewarm advice. In TSS I wanted him as a sort of linchpin, holding the whole operation together with his steady & familiar presence, even though he goofs up a lot? I've def had a lot of moments with him where it's been hard to thread that line, and I'm not sure I pulled it off. But even still, Bronson's never been unfun to handle as a character ❤️

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

When I first played Mother 3 as a clueless little 17 or 18 year old, Bronson was one of the few Tazmilians who really stuck out in my mind. He leaves a pretty strong impression in Chapter 1, huh! Still in high school, I was embarrassingly bad at relating to or connecting with adult characters. But even back then - and definitely now - I think what I liked about him was how flawed he is, how human his writing felt. Dude tries so hard to help find Hinawa, ends up too late, and absolutely blunders like a jackass when it comes time to relay the news. He fucks up royally by throwing Flint in jail, too, but you can tell by the way he talks to Flint that he bears no ill will or animosity. Puts up no protest against the Pigmasks & Tazmily's industrialization, but he's one of the few villagers who remains neighborly as ever toward Lucas. He's really just some guy tryin' his best to do right by his community, handling shit in the only ways he knows how. His failures are so honest, I can't really bring myself to blame him too harshly. Throughout the game he always somehow feels like a trustworthy ally, even when he's just lounging on the beach while the world goes to hell. The most lovably ineffectual Real One ever.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

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96. Breakaway by Grace Reilly--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thoroughly enjoyed BREAKAWAY by Grace Reilly! It was super spicy, fun, had some pretty good character growth, and had impeccable communication between the two MCs. I'm honestly surprised it doesn't have a higher rating.

I think the pacing was pretty good, as well, having the MCs reveal certain aspects of their lives at the seemingly perfect times. While yes, this reminded me of at least two other college hockey romances I've read in the past (ICEBREAKER, THE GRAHAM EFFECT, THE DEAL, to mention a few), it was still fun and super spicy. After all, it's only fitting that it's this spicy when the FMC is an aspiring smutty romance author.

I also like that though there was drama, it was easily dealt with. Some people might like more drawn out drama or bigger conflicts, but I'm a simple woman who enjoys a romance with as little drama as possible.

Overall, I really and truly enjoyed this one. Will definitely be checking out the rest of the series!

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97. The Right Move by Liz Tomforde--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Off the bat, if you're not a fan of slow burns then you might have a hard time reading THE RIGHT MOVE. But because I'm a Mariana Zapata hoe, I love them slow burns and the pay off of all of that building tension.

I immediately knew who would be paired up in this one because book one made it pretty clear and I was here for it. I loved seeing the tension between these two characters, especially when the MMC started to melt his cold demeanour towards the world around him. One of my favourite things about slow burns is that we are forced to get to know these characters first before they start to fall completely into each other. We get to see the build up and the friendship and the trust that grows between the couple.

One of the things I enjoyed reading about in THE RIGHT MOVE was the topic of mental health and how easy it is for people to hide it from the rest of the world. You can be the most famous athlete in the world and still e suffering. It was a strong reminder that not everything is always as it seems.

I took a star off for the brief moments of miscommunications that honestly felt like plot lengtheners. I know no book will ever be perfect with this theme, but since this book was so long, I think characters that communicate will help lower that word count.

Anyway, I still enjoyed the hell out of this. These two characters were so sexy together and I loved how well they reflected each other (when they communicated). Will happily read the next book in the near future!

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98. Cherry Magic! Vol. 5 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ahhhhh. Honestly, just AHHHHH.

I love these two so much. I absolutely cannot. Also, LOVE the side story for his friend and his own love life. This is one of the cutest, kick-my-feet manga series that I've read. The way the anxious MC continues to grow into his confidence and his interest in his love interest is just the best. I love being able to see that progress rather than just having a story where the characters are stagnant.

I love this series so much.

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99. Cherry Magic! Vol. 6 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

That social anxiety hits deep with this one. Sometimes words are so hard to speak in the heat of emotion and these two characters are getting so much better at communicating.

This volume had me feeling all sorts of things. That is all. 😭😭

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100. The Bastard & The Heir by Eden Finley , Saxon James--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Eden Finley & Saxon James are a dangerous duo. Whenever they get together, I know that something magical is gonna happen. This time, that magic comes in THE BASTARD AND THE HEIR. The tension, the smut, the vulnerability--phew.

Also, I'm grateful for the synopsis kind of spoiling one of the big secrets or else this would have been a wholly different experience.

The chemistry between these two characters was palpable. I also enjoyed how the characters have to learn to not judge others without communicating with them. I loved the trope of everyone rooting for the one MC to fail and him proving them all wrong. Love a family drama in my romance books (as long as they're done right).

I don't know what else to say other than it was sexy and adorable and so incredibly heartfelt. This book also carries the message that sometimes you need to really fight for what you want, or else spend the rest of your life living with what-if's and the eternal patience of waiting for something to magically change on its own. Life is short.

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101. The Devil in Blue Jeans by Stacey Kennedy--⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ah, this book was fun for what it was. If I think too much about the story, I'd probably be lowering the rating. But it was a story I needed when I was on the verge of a reading slump. Was it memorable? Not really. Was it a bit silly and over the top? Yes, but it was fun and I'm definitely wanting to read the rest of the series. It honestly read like the Harlequin book that it is.

The friendship was sweet and the romance had some cute moments! Wasn't the biggest fan of the trope at the end and the...sacrificial lamb for the FMC's character growth moment. LOL that was so weird.

My biggest gripe though, and the story itself has absolutely nothing to do with this, was the audiobook narrator. Omg her voicing was GRATING. Especially when she did the voices for the friends. I know people can't help the way they talk, but if it wasn't for the story, I probably would have put this book down.

Anyway, read this for the fun Harlequin vibes. I will say, however, that you should definitely check out the trigger warnings before reading!

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102. My Love Mix Up! Vol. 4 by Wataru Hinekure (writer) , Aruko (Illustrator) , Jan Cash (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

These two are so young and have so much to grow. I'm so excited to see it happen because they're so adorable.

I'm writing a bunch of reviews today and the theme seems to be "communication" and this volume deals heavily with that topic (and how important it can be). I love these two together because they seem to balance each other out. One is slightly immature when it comes to his feelings and the other is...a bit dense. I love them both regardless and I can't wait to see their growth.

Also, we got to learn more about both characters and some of the personality traits are starting to make more sense.

AND the cute friends who I just know are growing closer and closer. Will definitely pick up the next volume soon!

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103. Phoenix Chosen by Ashe Moon--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How absolutely dare you leave us hanging, Ashe Moon? That ending was criminal.

I was both surprised and not surprised by how much I enjoyed this? It reminded me a bit of BRO & THE BEAST mixed with BOUND TO THE BATTLE GOD. It had similar vibes of the former but had the build up and slight length of the latter. The slight slow burn of the two characters falling for each other was refreshing because it wasn't immediate spice city. I liked seeing the characters grow and get closer and build that trust that comes with the sort of connection.

Loved the concept too because I'm a sucker for this alternate worlds/portal magic romances full of road trips and reluctant romance.

Will wait for the next book with bated breaths.

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104. Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There's something about survival romance books that just hook me and don't let me go until the very end. Could this have used a bit of editing? Maybe. Did I still devour the absolute shit out of this beautiful book? Also yes.

I loved this story. I loved it so much. I KNOW I will crave a re-read of this book in the future. It's not a mind-blowing book, but I loved the themes and tropes explored in the story. The connection between the characters was sweet and their love for each other felt palpable by the end of the book.

I realized that I had read another book by Keira Andrews and had completely forgotten and knowing how much I enjoyed that book, I'm not surprised by my enjoyment of this one.

Ugh, I loved this so much.

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105. Wed to the Omega by Ashe Moon--⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ah, this silly and quick read. Was it perfect? Not at all, but I had fun! Reading those into the reviews, I saw that this was Moon's debut and honestly, it kind of makes sense. The romance was a little too quick and that major situation at the end was over a little too quickly, I would have loved to see the romance develop a little more organically.

I did find it a little contradictory how one of the MCs was okay with certain things happening and interfering with his life goals. While I'm happy he was happy, I guess I expected a little more resistance? Especially since his goals were a huge motivator for why he was the way he was.

Overall, this book makes me want to read the rest of the series.

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106. Cherry Magic! Vol. 7 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm always amazed by how quick some of these relationships are, but I also know that time moves at a weird pace on these stories. Regardless, I was so happy and giddy while reading this one and the new steps this couple took!!! I love their love!

Also, these reviews won't be long because I binged these next few volumes and I don't want to give away spoilers!

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107. Cherry Magic! Vol. 8 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved seeing the roles being reversed in this one and seeing the once shy and awkward MC taking on such a caring and loving role. One of the reasons why I like this couple so much is how one brings out the best in the other and the other helps validate the other's feelings.

Although we didn't get to see the second adorable couple-to-be in this volume, we did get to see the main couple pass another important milestone in their relationship! Which also included the exploration of their feelings and the importance of communication.

Love them all so much.

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108. Cherry Magic! Vol. 9 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Volume 9 gave us a big chunk of the second couple's storyline and I love them, too. Especially in how the character growth has made them into better characters. I also love their ability to be vulnerable.

We did get to see the main couple as they explored new potential apartments, which introduces a mild hint into how the rest of the world around the couple will react to them being a gay couple. I've been curious about this throughout the series and it looks like the issue is starting to be brought up here as the couple is reaching the next big step in their relationship.

Onto the next volume!

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109. Cherry Magic! Vol. 10 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Volume 10 is where we truly start to see the main couple face the discrimination against gay couples. It's not overt, but it's enough that it affects certain aspects of their lives. We also see the MC start to question how unfair it is. But we also see the couple overcome that by loving each other and also have an amazing support system of friends and family.

The romance of this volume, plus the familial and friendly love is so heartfelt.

I can't believe I have to wait until the summer for the next volume 😭😭😭

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110. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read March 2024:

This re-read felt like I was reading CROWN OF MIDNIGHT for the first time. The only things I remembered are that conclusion and the heartbreaking decision made against a certain character. I still find it interesting that this was ever labelled YA, but then one of the characters would mention the MC's age and I'd be like, right, she's a 25 year old in an 18 year-old's body.

I read this in 2015 and gave it five stars and while I can understand why, I'm taking one star off that rating because honestly, while it was entertaining, it was...okay? Not horrible, but not a favourite. The whole love triangle thing kind of made me laugh because the power this MC holds. She's leaving a trail of broken hearts behind her and honestly, good for her. She's too young to settle for these boys.

Will continue my re-read!

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Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts?

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Happy reading!

[askinkiskarma]

omg okay i finally had a moment to send my ask but anyway THE LAST CHAPTER!!!! im actually crying i can’t believe the cardigan series is over 😭 IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME honestly ive been going through a rough patch in my personal life but it’s been so nice to escape real life and i can only thank you for that seriously!!! like the blue alien brain rot is real and cardigan has somehow satisfied the brain rot plus the romantic abyss in my life heheeh but anyway the last chapter was sooo good!!! as always, your dialogue was beautiful and poetic and so heart clenching. after many tears, you finally have us a WIN!!! i love how you tied up the loose ends for everyone, each character got their own happy ending which was much deserved. the characters didn’t remain stagnant, they all grew in someway and it’s really amazing how you were able to capture that. i fr don’t even think i have enough vocabulary to go into detail on how well of a job you did. like you wrote a whole fucking book that’s incredible!!! i can’t wait to see what you have in the future and honestly you deserve all the followers and love!!!

bestie, you somehow always brighten up my day, i swear. i am literally crying (again) for what feels like the millionth time today ngl. Ending this series has hit me really hard, and I feel so so empty and sad, but to have this community of people who has been so so supportive means so much.

I can't tell you what it means to be to hear that something I did helped someone through a rough patch, bc that's how i feel about you guys. I've also been struggling a little and your replies and asks are genuinely the things I look forward to the most every day, from the second I open my eyes and go straight to my phone.

I'm so happy you enjoyed the ending, I really wanted to do justice to this whole world and all the characters I have grown to love so much. My sadistic mind felt it was too happy hahahaha, but i think my characters deserved it after everything they went through... and I may or may not be planning some angsty fics already to satisfy my sickness.

I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH and can't wait to continue creating for as long as you guys will still have me xx

[reckless-blossoms]

I like Tumblr more than bsky. People on here make me feel bad about myself sometimes, but I'll try to let that happen less.

It feels more private and like a place where I can share my thoughts deeper. Bluesky is nice but... I feel like it's more... Surface level, for me, right now at least.

Today's thoughts are: I have a very complicated relationship with how others view me.

I think it's because I'm ashamed of how little I've achieved with my life. I am quiet and shy and a college drop-out. Despite everything bad about me, I live a rather cushy comfortable life. People put in way more effort for way less. Not that that means I should just sit back and feel guilty, no, that's fucking dumb, but that I need to do more with my time.

I want to feel alive and like I'm doing something. I'm getting brain-fogged writing this, I did have work today after all, so I will just start to type train of thought without going back and editing things together.

As I started typing this and then stared back I felt like it was kinda whinging, just more and more wishing and whining instead of doing something. But truthfully, it is hard to know where to start. But I have this problem where I set myself up for failure by imagining big plans with stars in my eyes, when I know I should start small...

One small start could be finding a food bank place near me that accepts food. Which sounds like, duh, all of them would. But a lot don't want food. They want money to buy the exact supplies they need. Which makes sense. But... If I were to slide food from work into my bag instead of the trash, who could take that? I consistently struggle with finding places that just accept Food.

I'll figure it out. Might have to reach out to local online things and ask them where to go.

I realized an issue with myself recently. While listening to the audiobook of Unmasking Autism, there came a point where I, the reader, was asked to write down all the times that I truly felt alive.

...I can not think of anything. How terrible is that?

For so long, my existence was spent waiting for things to be better. Waiting to move out from my abusive parent's house. Waiting to start HRT. Waiting for surgery. Waiting for my next paycheck. I need to start living for Now, even if I am not perfectly happy with myself. Or perhaps, it is easier for me to say that now that I pass 100% of the time, even with my long mullet.

But, yeah, living for now. There is no perfect time. I... don't quite know how to Not constantly be distancing myself from my uncomfortable reality. But I know I need to feel uncomfortable more.

But I need something that makes me thrilled, and full of life. It is self-torment, stagnant, to do the uncomfortable without enjoying myself too. I enjoy making art, drawing and writing. The excitement of making up a plot point and realizing how perfectly it fits into my story, it's like clicking together the most difficult puzzle.

I have a weird relationship with my stories. I have this one, my main sci-fi world, that I love so deeply. I love it so deeply that I'm putting it on the shelf, and not fully committing to the novel beyond rough draft chapters because I want to give it attention when I'm ready, when I'm more skilled. I have other ideas and projects to tackle in the meantime, and I must make myself focus on them instead of doting on my Spiral characters.

Returning to the concept of feeling alive... I want to go hunting. It must feel amazing, to go into the forest alone for hours, days even. To challenge the world and for it to challenge you back. To prove yourself, to exist not as some holier than thou naked monkey standing high and mighty above nature but to exist as a part of the food chain and to return home with food for myself and my loved ones. I picture in my head the feeling of biting into meat that I bagged myself, as a hunter rather than a consumer... There's just something there. I imagine a thrill in hunting. It's in the evolutionary history of my species. I must take mind to read different perspectives, during my period of research and saving money for supplies. Basically I plan to read what indigenous people are saying about hunting rather than just what other white people have to say.

I just want to connect with nature more. I've dedicated myself to taking almost-daily walks. I skip on days where I'm out and about for other reasons. But on days where I'd otherwise be inside all day, I walk. I try to keep my eye out. I take pictures of things that catch my eye. I think it'd be cool to just pick a random plant and try to identify it. Maybe re-download iNaturalist and dedicate myself to actually figuring out how it works lmao.

I wonder if I could forage too? My father foraged. It was one of his... Things. He hyperfixated, had fleeting special interests. When it wasn't horrific conspiracy theories that he forced me to listen to, it would be things like natural foraging. I remember, the venison he hunted, paired with the sheep's head mushroom he foraged. Holy fuck, I've never eaten anything more delicious and savory. Though I admit I don't trust myself to correctly identify mushrooms, perhaps I could start with... A plant. Such as the Dandelion. I have eaten those before.

Scrolling back up, what the fuck am I even on about? I am truly all over the place. Anyways. yeah, I care so, so much. But typing about going outside more made me feel better and hopeful.

I can not imagine how damaging social media must be to some people. I am some nobody who's most popular account ever only reached ~300 followers. And even I notice so many strange complexes within myself because of Posting and Online Attention. Probably because I am so online and isolated. I am making more friends in the real world and it feels good. I want to do more. I am so scared and awkward but I go and talk to people at the furbowls anyways and I really really want to connect fully with this local furry community. And yet, I am terrified of Realness. I am utterly horrified and stricken with panic when I engage in spaces that are genuine and expect more from me than just my half-assed masking. But I know that terror is a good thing to feel.

I do not know quite what to do with this blog, I feel... Weird... Because some of my friends follow it... I care so much about how I appear, I feel held back by the preconceived notions and perceptions of myself. And yet I'm so... Weird! I push back and act unlikable on purpose! I embrace being crude and blunt because I don't like to be palatable and easy! I don't want to be lovable, I am not lovable, but I wish to be loved and to love deeply despite that. I think I probably need therapy.

Well! Anyways! What other updates do I have, for the 0 people who read this far?

Well, my tooth fucking broke the other day! Second to last back molar, left side, I was picking at what I thought was a piece of food stuck to it and the shit just tore off. Maybe like... Ehh, 1/5th? 1/4th of an inch? 6 millimeters? I'd post a pic, but it's gross. It's got this yellow streak on it, and part of it is black. No pain yet! Got a dentist appointment set for Tuesday, let's hope it doesn't disintegrate further in the meantime!

Also, I got art of my boy Damian. Look upon it. This was not exactly a commission, but I donated to Packmates Mutual Aid (specifically for community member Owly who needed help with rent while recovering from a workplace injury) and got this in return. I am glad I was able to help by giving money. I've been in their discord with the volunteer role for awhile, but I simply have no relevant skills at the moment. But at least I could chuck the fun-money portion of my latest paycheck to someone who needed it more. And of course, get some of my favorite characters feet out of it as well.

Despite how strange and ramble-y this was, it felt really, really good to get out there. Like, I actually feel my mind a bit clearer after unpacking all of that and thinking about positive steps to take.

[raccoonnutella13]

to preface i wanna say that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and whatnot, this isn't meant to be a rude commentary or anything, i just love this show a lot and analyzing it is a big part of why i post about it so much! i just wanted to give a little input here bc i personally feel as though some of anon's points are missing the bigger picture, and also felt like giving my own interpretation of craignessa. feel free to disagree with me, i don't intend for this to be super deep or anything i just like talking about this sort of thing :)

first off, i get being frustrated with the marketing. companies will always scramble to advertise their Token Couple, especially if it's mlw. however, the actual show creators really do not have any control over how CN chooses to market their show, so it's unfair to blame them in this situation.

it really confused me when people act as though craignessa is "unhealthy" just because wildernessa was mean to craig at one point. it entirely misses the point of craig's character. he chooses who he wants to hang out with; no one is forcing him to be with wildernessa; he feels no obligation to forgive her or justify her actions. this is shown with all of craigs "enemies." also, we see wildernessa develop throughout the series. she's not a stagnant character like so many people want to believe; of course she starts out flawed, but at the end of the day she's just a confused and possibly neurodivergent kid struggling to understand humans. and we see her begin to appreciate others around her, even if it's not outright stated.

and no, wildernessa was not mean to craig because she liked him. she was mean because that is a simple fact of her character that she eventually moves away from.

the argument that craig and wildernessa are an unhealthy couple also feels unfair bc like, they're never seriously involved in a relationship. like, c'mon, they're kids, i don't think they really care if they're dating or not, all they know is they like hanging out with each other. nowhere do they officially say that they're girlfriend-boyfriend, at least when they're kids. and that's the same with all creek kid romances; they're not that deep, just silly kids blushing and holding hands a bit. how can craignessa be "rushed" if it took 4 seasons for them to go from petty bickering to literally just - i don't know - hanging out and looking at each other cutely sometimes? i've seen tv show couples go from trying to kill each other to kissing in way less time and still be a very realistically portrayed relationship (ex: catradora). in comparison craignessa is literally the least rushed ship ever.

i really don't think their relationship is meant to be taken as seriously as others are taking it - like, anon says craig likes wildernessa for "no apparent reason," but isn't that the same with all of his relationships? why should a little kid have a reason to want to be around someone? (this takes me back to how craig chooses the people he surrounds himself with. he literally does not have any reason for being friends with anyone, he just hangs out with whoever he wants to lmao).

basically, this ship is really Not That Deep, and i get if it's not your cup'o tea. i personally think it's cute, and i don't get why others seem so keen on hating it, but that's just me :]

I’m neutral towards VanCraig. I think the concept of a kid who’s main schtick is bringing in various types of kids together and a kid who prefers animals over people is really fascinating. But it never feels truly acknowledged.

Also Cartoon Network videos promoting the ship over JpxManey and KelsxStacks feels like their forcing it which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The fact that Wildernessa was on the CTFG poster spite having a limited presence only adds insult to injury. I can respect the creators not completely knowing what to do with er at first and then finally setting on something for her, the episode Breaking The Ice was pretty good but Puppy Love feels forced and unearned because Craig just likes her for NO APPARENT REASON other than she likes him. I can understand if he feels weird about this but he just flat out says he likes her back. Before someone says J.P and Maney didn’t have a massive build up as critic of my point I think that’s valid, but my counterpoint would be because that was done in the earlier stages of the show. We spent more time with them together than apart which makes up for the slightly rushed beginning of their relationship. A more reasonable comparison to this is Kelstacks, we spent episodes getting to see their dynamic unfold with hints of romance on both parties sprinkled in but not the main focus of said episode. And when we actually see it come to fruition, all the build up feels earned.

We had 2 seasons of Wildernessa being a bitch to Craig, after BTI it seemed like something special would develop but it feels bad because it only happened in 2 episodes. The finale of season 3 and Puppy Love. This unbalanced journey between them is the main reason why I’m not a fan of their relationship.

Unrelated note, theirs a clip of the worst ships consisting of CraigXEileen which seems really odd to me and almost feels like they put that in there just to make Craignessa seem good by comparison.

Marry me platonically, please

[chaosandstardust]

The Umbrella Academy season 3 was really fun! I enjoyed it. Thoughts under the cut. Very slight spoilers, but nothing too big. Kept things vague.

Still had a lot of issues with Victor's character, just different ways. In the first two seasons I really disliked him, and this season I felt he was called out for some of the stuff that happened before, but I'm coming out feeling very 'whatever' towards him now.

As a cis person I can't speak much on the trans storyline and how authentic it feels, but I liked how casual it was. I like how the rest of the family just rolled with it; it was just 'this is how it is, Victor is Victor' and that's that. I'm glad the writers chose to do that rather than hire someone else to play the character, and that Elliot Page chose to stay. I don't know if this was intentional, but the fact that Elliot kept the voice the same rather than deepening it? I found that to be a really cool detail of someone who's clearly in the beginning stages of their transition. I wonder if next season his voice will be deeper?

Diego and Klaus are still my faves, but while Diego actually feels like he's progressing in his character arc, Klaus, at least character wise, is starting to feel stagnant. His powers being explored was fun and interesting, but I hope we can see him actually start to deal with his inner demons in the next season. There's a risk he could potentially become just a characteracture rather than an actual character if they keep just doing what they're doing.

I can't stop imagining the season with Umbrella Ben and Sparrows Ben in the same room and Umbrella Ben just getting annoyed at this dick. ��

Lila and Diego are the best. I will elaborate no further. Their entire storyline had me screaming into my pillow. I would watch an entire show just about them bickering. Lila remains my favourite character. I just want to hug her, but she'd probably stab me (I'd let her).

Luther, I actually enjoyed his storyline this season. He deserves the whole world. And his scenes with Sloane were very sweet, if not a bit cheesy. But sweet.

Five, don't have a lot to say about him. Other than he needs to get his siblings into an group chat so he can communicate with them. 😭

Allison, I've never liked her more. I've always liked her, but I liked her so much more this season. I know what she did was fucked, but it was also so interesting. Watching her get pushed further and further until she broke, and for good reason too. Her grief and rage over what she's lost. I definitely don't think she was a good person this season (that scene with her and Luther was a very low point, and there's no defending that 😬) but you still understand where she's coming from (mostly, again, that scene with her and Luther).

The Sparrows weren't that interesting. I'll admit I was a little worried with how they were going to handle it, but I think they did the right thing. A lot of shows make a mistake of putting in too many characters because they don't know what to do with the ones they still have, and I'm glad that TUA didn't do that. Fei's powers were so cool, though.

Finally, Reginald Hargreaves is insane. 😭

I can't wait for next season.

[guardianspirits13]

I wanna talk about Natsuo Todoroki for a second here.

tw// mentions of abuse, self harm, and suicide

Natsuo visibly has the most emotional trauma out of anyone else in his family (Touya not included), and I really wanna talk about why that is.

For starters, we haven't seen him really smile since he was introduced in chapter 187. He's introduced as having a friendly, easygoing persona and it's easy to imagine this is how most people outside of his family know him. However, every time we see him appear since then, another layer of his trauma is revealed and expanded upon, and it cuts DEEP.

I think the main reason that Natsuo still seems so vulnerable compared to the rest of his family is different than what you'd assume. Fuyumi and Shouto both spend a lot of time around Endeavor, and have been in close proximity to his (relatively recent) decision to atone. They have seen his growth firsthand and come to terms with it. Rei has obviously taken a very different path to healing- not entirely voluntarily- but she has been working with doctors and therapists for years to change and recover and reconnect with herself and her children. Natsuo is off at college, and takes every opportunity he can to avoid Endeavor. He (understandably) wants nothing to do with him, and shows stagnant resistance to his attempts to atone.

The reason why Natsuo can't move on from the past is because his trauma didn't come from Endeavor. It came from Touya.

Now initially we were led to believe that it was simply Touya's untimely death that still bothers Natsuo, and it makes sense seeing how Endeavor drove him to the edge. Losing his best friend and brother as a young kid without parents to support him or any therapist to speak of can absolutely been the source of persistent emotional damage, but the more and more we learn about Touya's situation, the more evident it becomes that Natsuo's trauma is much much deeper than even grief.

Touya, as we know, was driven by an ambition instilled in him by his father and experienced extreme rejection sensitivity when those ambitions were no longer realistic. Touya's relationship with his parents could be described as insecure attachment, a psychological term primarily regarding how kids react and respond to their parents and other close relationships. As he was raised, Touya learned to equate his potential to be a hero with his personal worth and similarly confounded attention with love. The difference being, of course, that love is unconditional, but even attention was being continually directed away from him as a punishment for continuing to train and burn himself so he could once again become worthy in his fathers' eyes.

This is where Natsuo comes in. At first it was assumed that all of the Todoroki children were born out of Endeavor's strong-willed desire to have a child that could surpass All Might, but we learned that this isn't exactly the case. I'd argue that it was narratively poetic on Horikoshi's part once this was expanded upon. Fuyumi was born to support and encourage her brother, and that is the exact role she plays 23 years later, keeping her family together.

Natsuo's case is even more intersting.

It was bad enough if Natsuo was only born for the potential of his quirk, but it's even more sinister that the sole intent behind his birth was to discourage Touya from his ambitions. I'd say it was to replace him, but it was more to promote the idea that Touya was expendable than to raise aonther kid with the same ideals but the potential to actually achieve it, although that was definitely a secondary motivation.

The parallelism in this is how much Natsuo's life revolves around Touya. He was born because of Touya, he looked up to and took care of Touya as a kid, and the absence of Touya in the present continues to drive him and his decisions in life (but more on that later).

I continue to pray that we will eventually get more solid backstory on Natsuo and Touya's relationship as kids and where it cut off, wether on a bad note or not, but there are a few things we know for certain. One, Touya was mentally ill. Yes, he was rejected by his parents but he seems to have been particularly vulnerable to this compared to any of his siblings since he was the first of them and thus relied only on his parents for validation in his early years. He shows early signs of a variety of different mental disorders, particularly BPD, which I have previously written a whole analysis for on its own. Touya is shown self-harming both by the very nature of his quirk and even by very directly ripping his hair out. He was incredibly self-destructive.

This is why it is so much more concerning to me that Natsuo, who was AT LEAST four years younger than him, was his primary source of comfort. Natsuo was too young to have known anything more than 'my big brother is sad that daddy won't train him anymore' and he obviously wasn't equipped in any way to handle Touya's severe mental illness. Touya most definitely needed professional treaatment as his forms of coping were abnormal even for the neglect and rejection that he experienced. Natsuo comforted Touya through breakdown after breakdown, and more than that Touya relied on him and came to him voluntarily for support. Natsuo was the best option he had, and he took full advantage of that. The main source of Natsuo's trauma was Touya's reliance on him.

Not to say at all that this was in any way Touya's fault- he was mentally ill and desperately in need of some form of comfort to keep him sane; it was almost a survival method at this point since neither of his parents really acknowleged him at all anymore. Touya's instability hurt Natsuo more than parental neglect ever did, but it was the neglect that enabled it and striped Touya of the supportive atmosphere he would have needed at this point not only to prevent but to heal from the mental damage he had already suffered.

Natsuo dealt with this for years and you can see how much it hurt him to see Touya in so much pain, not only from Endeavor's rejection but from his own self harm as well. For Natuso to know that his brotherly love would never be the same as having loving parents; would neve be enough- but at least it was something so he continued to love and care about his brother for little in return- is indicative of the kind of character he is.

(Edit: After the events of chapter 302 we know that Natsuo's relationship with Touya wasn't perfect. I will elaborate more on this in a different post, but I just wanted to clarify that although we were shown a very high-tension scene between them, it is implied that this was a regular occurrence that Natsuo was usually more receptive too but tired out of, in addition to Touya's spiraling mental health. It fit with the natrative to show the tension Touya was feeling with his family from all directions, but Natsu and Touya clearly had a stronger relationship up to and before this point, evidenced by their sharing a room and playing together regularly.)

He is incredibly selfless, and it's interesting to note how many of his positive qualities as an adult stem from negative experiences as a kid. He never really felt love from his parents, so he relied on Touya (and likely also Fuyumi) for that as well. If he grew up learning he had to give love in order to recieve it back, it absolutely influenced who he became in the future, a solid example of this being the responsibility he feels to reach out and have a relationship with Shouto and further regrets that he wasn't able to help his abuse in the past either. Another aspect of his character that intruigues me is how gentle he is. Personality-wise he seems about as opposite as he could be from the awkward, stoic, emotionally-stunted person that is Endeavor.

There are a couple of reasons for this, beyond what I've already discussed.

One, he had little to no contact with elements of toxic masculinity growing up, especially not from Endeavor.

Two, most of the influence he did have growing up was from Fuyumi, who is established to have endlessly cared for him since he was a literal baby.

Three, he grew up in a household where almost everyone around him was in much more literal, immediate pain than he was so he developed a very strong sense of empathy that might also have been tied to early survivor's guilt.

Now I have one important distinction to make, and that's the temptation to label him as a 'softboy' or something of the like after seeing him caring for his family and more pointedly, watching him break down in tears during chapter 252. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with men being soft or vulnerable (on the contrary it's actually so so important and relevant that Hori is writing characters like this in a mainstream shounen manga but that's an essay for another time), it is unfair to label him as such based on a moment when his trauma is being exposed.

Because his truama stems from such a young age, there is a blurry line between just being born with more emotional intelligence and the situation he was in fostering those traits. You know, the classic nature/nurture thing. My point being, it's important to tread carefully when discussing the nature of his personality to avoid invalidating his trauma; I have no doubt that he is very strong for having survived these things, and the moments we see of him onscreen are definitely among his most vulnerable.

Another thing that people less familiar with Natsuo's character might assume is that he is hot-headed and argumentative. I thought that at first too- after all, he doesn't seem to shy away from yelling at Endeavor when given the opportunity. However, this doesn't seem to be the case at all.

The first real scene we see him in with Endeavor, the man walks into the room and Natsuo decides he can't handle it and goes to leave. However, Endeavor happens to be blocking the doorway. Endeavor physically stops him and provokes him to his face, asking him to say whatever is on him mind. While Natsuo is notably not confrontational, Endeavor is. I think it's fair to say that he felt at least uneasy at this gesture. Natsuo is very honest with his feelings, and it's obvious that he's pissed at the audacity of Endeavor to be so oblivious to his own son. This is presumably one of the first real interactions they've ever really had, and at this point Natsuo has been dealing with trauma (caused by Endeavor!) on his own for years, and Endeavor seems completely oblivious to his pain and dismmisive to the rest of the family's as well.

Again during the internship arc Natsuo tries to get along with Endeavor and this time he actually gives it a fleeting chance. Tensions are high, however, and the conversation very quickly becomes uncomfortable, at which point he leaves. It is continually implied that Natsuo is uncomfortable being around Endeavor because his very presence brings up painful thoughts and memories of a time when sharing the same space as him was a warning to run and hide. This is later directly confirmed by Natsuo as he says that every time he looks at Endeavor's face he remembers Touya and the pain he was in.

I feel like an important side note is that we have never seen Natsuo outside the context of his family, which is understandable, as the role he plays in the story directly relates to them. However, if you take a look at Shouto, even though his experiences have shaped him to become who he is, he definitely acts differently when Endeavor's not in the vicinity.

Back to Touya's death, it would be very rare that someone would mourn a death for an entire decade without finding closure unless there are other factors preventing it, and uncomfortably this seems to be the same thing for both Natsuo and Endeavor: guilt.

This is getting incredibly long already, but it's important to note that Natsuo probably felt an incredible responsibility to take care of Touya and protect him because of his empathetic nature. His love was never going to be the same as having loving parents. His encouragement was never going to be the same as having support from Endeavor. Even further than then neglect and abandonement, it was not being able to save Touya that really made Natsuo feel worthless.

He seems to try and remedy this inability to save Touya and diminish his guilt by doing everything he can to be better. He reaches out to Shouto to be a better brother, he consistently pushes his limits to entertain Fuyumi's notion of a happy family, and he's working hard towards a degree rhat will allow him to help people like Touya (and Rei) because he failed to do so in the past.

His bio mildly implies that he didn't have much of a direction he was heading in after high school, but Fuyumi's encouragement led him to seek out his current college career. This goes back to Natsuo's 'purpose' in a sense revolving arount Touya, from his birth to his relationship with him to his death, after which he lost his direction. They were always rather inseperable, so naturally their seperation hit Natsuo hard. He lost his direction in life so when Fuyumi encouraged him to rediscover it, he thought of helping people, because that's ultimately what he was born to do.

Thank you so, so much for reading this if you made it to the end! I clearly have a lot of thoughts on this. Let me know what you think about it as well, and hopefully we'll get more info on this soon in the manga :)

[temunitu]

I never liked the 2012 TMNT. Is it just me, or do all the turtles feel so... mean in that show? Like, I noticed when it first came out, but it became even more obvious when I started watching Rise, since the Rise boys are such sweeties. The ‘12 turtles always felt kinda bitter towards each other, and I know siblings fight, I’ve got them myself, but the way they acted made it so I could never get into it.

Long post, sorry @swampyswan! Also sorry, I forgot this was in my drafts.

TL;DR I know some people who still like the show and would rather pin all the flaws on the writers who really didn't do their research, which they're right! The writers... didn't do a good job. At all. But if you want an in depth in-universe analysis, read on!

I've done a lot of analyzing for the show and I think it boils down to: Splinter was very controlling (Rise of the Turtles: he didn't let them into the surface until they were 15, still really reluctant to do so*), he abused them physically (all the times he hit them or beat them up to teach them a lesson?) and emotionally abused them (yelling, gaslighting by using confusing word order), and blatantly favoring Leo over the others (by telling Leo things they all should have known) and creating a toxic environment with his sons (Raph literally says "Splinter always loved you more!" in Riddle of the Ancient Aeons)

The turtles turned out so cold and hateful towards each other because of Splinter's bad parenting. Whether or not he meant it, it still messed them up.

Some may argue Splinter faced a lot of trauma which probably affected the way he acted, which... yes, trauma will affect you. But trauma doesn't excuse him abusing his kids, no matter what he went through.

*some could even argue that 2003 Splinter did the same, but we've seen that the turtles disobeyed Splinter when they were little and went to the surface, which to me implies they weren't afraid of Splinter. In 2012, they asked every year and got the same answer (no) but they didn't even dare disobey him. They were afraid of him. BECAUSE HE HITS THEM.

Each of the turtles had flaws, which is good for writing characters. But they never grew. They just seemed to get worse or stay stagnant. Donnie yelled as much as Raph and verbally abused Mikey as much as Raph, Raph hit Mikey over literally nothing, Mikey was treated like a literal idiot but the writers slapped the label "ADHD" on him to justify it which made it even worse because it was terrible and inaccurate representation, Mikey victimized himself and refused to take responsibility for any of his mess-ups, Leo and Raph clashed because Splinter favored Leo over the others but Leo still didn't see it or address it at all.

They're cold and they feel more like reluctant roommates than a family, and I get that not every family is healthy, but the fact that none of the characters have an epiphany or even grow as people over the course of the show makes it very toxic.

[justanotherblonde]

Hi! I love your A lifetime of moments fic! Im obsessed with explosives, specially with massive destruction bombs lol. Since Dei was in the military, what is his view on nuclear warfare? Oh and since I've seen a lot of hc that he's a lover of the sky and flying, wich i truly believe he is xD, does he likes bomber airplanes, jets and such??

hello! thanks for the Ask! it’s always super awesome to hear from my readers 😁🥰💞

so! the answer to your question is complicated. i think deidara in general would also be totally obsessed with bombs of all kind, and i completely agree that he loves birds, the sky, and flight. i love to write him in flight, living in the moment, totally free (watch this space - i’ve got sth for SasoDei week). but in the lifetime of moments AU (can i call it LoM?? ALoM?? i’ve never had an acronym for my work before, lol...) things are a little different because of what Dei’s been through.

first and foremost, Sas and Dei in ALoM are artists, not ninja serial killers (tho boy howdy is it fun to write them as ninja serial killers - again, watch this space for SasoDei week - i’ve got a really dark serial killer AU). the ALoM AU imagines what would happen if these two were allowed to grow up in a different environment: Sas gets put on psych meds instead of murdering people and turning them into puppets; Dei lives past 19. 

As a kid, Dei was a crazy little pyro. playing with fire turned into burning things, turned into destructive explosions. he came to see it as an art, and took great pleasure in destroying things that he felt had become stagnant or useless. in ALoM, his family is rich, entrenched in the upper classes of the country, but Dei just loathes all the stuffy, pointless, outdated traditions. at seventeen, he created a masterpiece to sum up his feelings: he blew up the carriage house of his grandfather’s mansion. 

his parents sent him to the army as punishment, hoping that this would discipline the rebellion out of him. it didn’t. but it did turn Dei off destruction that takes human life. he got deployed, he saw action. he saw people killing each other and was just... not impressed. you want to talk about something ephemeral? how about a human life? so while teenage Dei was totally obsessed with the fearsome power of nuclear bombs, twenty-something Dei has a different perspective. he leaves the army (yeah, he was ‘politely’ asked to leave for fucking around with the explosives - when he ended up taking his own eye that was the final straw) with what may seem like surprisingly anti-military views. you can see this a little in Art is a Blast, when he places his exploding statues on a war monument.

sometimes i worry about this coming across as OOC, but at the end of the day, ALoM is a story that i’m writing to explore some of my own views, and since it’s longer, the characters end up growing and changing based on the situations i put them through. i like to think of it as giving them a chance 😊 (a chance for what? not sure. it’s definitely not always happy happy...)

oh, but on the note of fighter jets?? for sure, when Dei first joined the army he had this dream of joining the air force. if he hadn’t fucked things up by losing his eye, maybe he would have ended up transferring and becoming a pilot. 

so to conclude, THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTION. i hope this is a satisfying answer!!! 💖💖💖✨✨✨

[mittensmorgul]

Hiya: If there's been conversation about Nick/Lucifer I've missed it, sorry. I can't figure out where they're going with him - there's a reason he's still around, surely, but so far his story seems to be rudderless. Sarah's little monologue suggests that Nick's Lucifer experience is significant going forward. What are your thoughts?

Hello! And sorry it took so long for me to reply to this, but I wanted to approach it from several directions and cover this as completely as possible, so I’m now fortified with cookies and caffeine, and will hopefully do as thorough a job as possible while also demonstrating that I am prepared to fend off any and all wank with this here big stick *waves large stick in the air*. :P

I don’t normally like to use the production side of things to justify the narrative, but in this particular case, I think it’s CRUCIAL to keep in mind when considering anything having to do with Nick. Here’s a few “production specific” bullet points to bear in mind:

Eugenie really enjoys writing this specific character, for whatever twisted reason.

therefore I personally like to imagine the rest of the production staff roll their eyes and let her have him to play with over in a corner, which interestingly enough keeps her from mucking about with the characters we all actually care about

J2 specifically asked to have more time off. That’s why we have a 20 episode season this year (and I think we would’ve had an even shorter season if wayward had been picked up, but their compromise to sign on for even 20 episodes was explicitly to get more time off to spend with their families). Have you wondered also why there’s been a lot more scenes that ONLY had Sam or Dean in them? Why they’ve been separated for a lot of the season? Because one of them has been having nice days off with their family while the other has been filming. In order to have episodes where they’re together, the compromise is that some of the focus go to other characters so they can both have time off still... and sadly, Nick fits the bill for “available for scenes alone.”

Enter cries of “BUT WHAT ABOUT CAS! WHAT ABOUT MARY OR THE WAYWARDS?! WHY NICK?!”

*points everyone back to that first bullet point*

So now that some of that real-world nonsense is out of the way, I really do think that they’ve been actively making the most of this objectively terrible character that most of us have utterly failed to connect to in any way, because he is just so damn terrible.

I personally LOVED Davy’s treatment of him last week, and how Nick’s own story had been paralleled to Sam’s since the beginning of the season. Not for Nick’s sake, but FOR SAM’S.

I wrote some about that here:

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182308756300/love-that-your-nick-tag-says-possibly-murderous

But this week’s episode goes several steps beyond that. Since 5.01, Nick’s entire deal with Lucifer had been predicated on his desire to be reunited with his murdered family. He’d been dismally living in the house where they’d been murdered, with his child’s crib still sitting there, drinking himself to sleep at night, unable to move on past their deaths. It was implied in s14 that he’d even been a suspect in their murders, but he was cleared after having the alibi that he’d been out drinking while they were killed.

And yet, when he thinks back to why he said Yes to Lucifer, he doesn’t remember the promise to be reunited with his wife and son, he remembers Lucifer telling him he was special and chosen. Which I think is really telling:

NICK: I just don’t know what kind of pain would make me allow Lucifer to possess me.CAS: It was your family.NICK: My family? Sarah and Teddy?[CAS nods.]NICK, gasping: No. [NICK flashes back to Sympathy for the Devil (5.01). We see these scenes along with current NICK as he remembers]SARAH/LUCIFER, in flashback: It’s you, Nick. You’re special. You’re chosen. Nick, I need you to say “yes”.NICK, in flashback: Then yes.NICK, now: Oh my god. Who could do that? Who could do that?

Because even his reason for saying yes was this sort of personal aggrandizement of being “special” and “chosen,” even if he’d always framed it as being this revenge quest on behalf of his murdered family. That’s what Sam had been sympathizing with, at any rate-- the fact that they’d both been manipulated into saying yes, and both had these familial/loved ones murdered to force them into participating in this awful cosmic game. But personal grandiosity had NEVER been one of Sam’s motivations for saying yes. He’d felt personally BETRAYED when Lucifer revealed the extent to which his entire life had been nudged into place by demons, you know? He HATED the fact he’d been “chosen” and felt it was more of a curse than something special.

But not Nick. He may have said he wanted justice for his wife and son, but the truth kept coming out of him throughout s14:

He beat his neighbor to death in the exact manner his family was killed, because the neighbor told police he’d seen someone at Nick’s house, and then recanted his statement.

because what he’d seen was a POLICE OFFICER entering and then leaving the house, and he was not prepared to testify against a cop

Nick kills Arty’s priest for refusing to divulge what Arte confessed to him about the man he saw, but learns about the cop from a reporter he interviewed later

Nick then tracks down the retired officer, who tells him he was possessed by the demon Abraxis and had no memory of the murders. The man had been used just as badly as Nick himself, and yet Nick killed him ANYWAY even though he’d been tormented about his part in all of this for more than a decade.

After killing the cop, Nick confesses that he said he just wanted revenge, but that it was a lie, and he liked being evil this way

He pleads with Lucifer to come back to him

He then goes on a rampage to find Abraxas, to ask him (ostensibly) who ordered him to kill his wife. He kills his way through other demons until he discovers where Abraxas is, in a puzzle box trapped by Mary Winchester.

And this is where everything falls apart for him

Once he learns that Lucifer ordered his family killed-- not because he was special, but because he was convenient-- he had one final chance to repent for what he’d done in the name of vengeance. And he failed to take it.

Instead of accepting that all of this was a horrific abuse, and that this was the most justice he or his loved ones could possibly get, and trying to make peace with himself and try to do the best he can with what he now has (including the support of the Winchesters, who are arguably the people on the planet most inclined to sympathize with what Nick has been through), he rejects ALL of that.

He prays to Lucifer, begging for answers that he technically already has. But he just cannot let go of it. It ceased being about justice for his wife and son a long, long time ago. It’s only about him, now.

He’s mad at Lucifer for hurting HIM. He’s mad at the fact his wife and son were murdered, not because it wasn’t fair to THEM, but because they were taken away from HIM. Which is all proven out in how he treats the ghost of his wife in 14.12.

He returns to his home, where he has to break in. He doesn’t have a key anymore, and still, the house is sitting empty and abandoned, where nobody else has wanted to live since. Compare that to the Winchester family house in 1.09. Despite the tragedy there, it’s still inhabited. Life goes on there, and after 1.09, when the ghosts of its past are finally laid to rest, it has a chance for a happy family to live and thrive there again. Nick’s place is just stagnant with the ghost of his dead wife trapped there, wearing a nightgown so similar to Mary Winchester’s.

I thought it was strange that this incarnation of Sarah’s actual ghost had long hair, while the vision of Sarah that Lucifer used in 5.01 to woo Nick in the first place had short hair, and I think it was intentional... making her look like the sad, dark version of Mary Winchester. This was Sarah’s big moment, her chance to finally be released from the misery of being trapped in that house as a ghost... and she failed, because Nick failed HER on every level.

Sarah: My unfinished business isn't just about how I died, Nick. It's you. I was here that night. I saw what he did to you. I... You chose Lucifer. You wanted him. You... You still do.Nick: He chose me, okay.Sarah: You didn't come here to find peace. You came here to find him in the place you became one with him.Nick: No.Sarah: Then show me I'm wrong. Reject Lucifer right now. If you do, I can leave. I can find peace. Reject him, Nick. Please. Please!Nick: I-I can't. I'm sorry.Sarah: You can't. Because you are him. You doomed me to stay in this place forever. You've doomed yourself.

Nick is flim-flam-- on a meta level, on a personal level, on every level. He’d never been seeking her, which is why he bought into Lucifer’s deal. He wanted to be special, and up to the point Lucifer came to him, he’d only felt worthless. That’s what made him useful to Lucifer. He could buy into his own lie that it was about seeing his wife again. He would go along quietly.

This was his one last chance at an easy redemption, and he refused to do it. When faced with the ONE THING he always said he wanted, he turned away, because he’d never wanted it in the first place.

Granted, all of this serves as The Darkest Possible Mirror to the Winchester family, but I think it’s still useful to keep this in mind with what the 300th will be giving us next week. Sam and Dean have been struggling with what happened to their family, and how it resulted in their entire lives lived as a revenge quest and how the entire universe has demanded their involvement in cosmic affairs ever since. And now, they’re also looking for a bit of catharsis. And we have a dark mirror set up to shine an interesting light on that now...

Granted, it makes it really difficult to engage with Nick’s storyline, considering how little interest any of us have in him as a character, compounded by the fact that the character himself is entirely devoid of anything resembling something we can have sympathy for. And honestly, we never cared about him in the first place, and it just feels like beating a dead horse to keep dragging Mark P.’s face up on screen year after year just to demonstrate how irredeemable he is, but *heavy sigh* they do seem to be making the most of these facts despite that.

Honestly, they can do better. Pick a different character for us to spend a bit more time with. I’d love to see more Cas, and more Cas interacting with Sam and Dean individually, or more Mary, or more Jody and Donna and the girls, but this is what we have. So I’ll continue to wish they’d just put him out of our misery and off him once and for all, but sadly I think we’re stuck with him for at least the rest of the season...

There’s several ways I can personally think of that he could become more useful down the line, like the crack spec I wrote last week:

http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/182454196470/solution-1-put-mike-into-nick-2-put-nick-in-the

but maybe a lil less... cracky... if they do something along those lines in canon...

Just how desperate is Nick to feel special again? To feel chosen? Would he take his second choice (Michael over Lucifer), and Dean’s sloppy seconds? How would that even work? What would they do? It may or may not be something in the future, but it’s one theory that’s giving me hope that he has some actual purpose to the narrative, since he’s proven himself absolutely irredeemable at this point. The only way he’s gonna earn redemption at this point is via self-sacrifice. Not even Lucifer could pull that one off... I don’t really have high hopes for Nick...

[aramaura]

You know I came out in high school as asexual. I think it was my senior year 2008. I remember everyone asking me and my women's studies class what does that mean? You aren't attracted to anything? And I'm just like yeah I don't feel sexual attraction towards anything at all. But coming out as asexual was a lot easier than trying to figure out what the f*** my goddamn gender was.

You see, since I was a kid I was always laser focused on male characters. One of the biggest flags was that I was obsessed with being Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke! My father told me that he thought I was a boy trapped in a girl's body. (Mother did not like this and wanted me to look like a girl.) I dressed in a combination of boys and girls clothes growing up, and my wardrobe continues to have this weird amalgamation even to this day.

Back then, my best friend, a little boy who was about 3 years younger than me, and I would always play pretend or with dolls. He was obsessed with being the girls on the shows. And I was obsessed with being the boys. There were many examples. I was Link, he was Zelda. I was Li, and he was Sakura. I was Tenchi, he was Ayeka. I was Heero Yuy or Domon Kaashu, and he was Princess Relena or Rayne. The list went on. The only change was in Sailor Moon. I was fascinated with Sailor Uranus... Both a girl and a guy? I also found out about Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Maker, and Sailor Star Healer. Legit, boys that could transform into girls and back? It felt closer to home. I still want to look like Ashitaka though.

So to this day, I'm confused A.F. about my gender. I'm not particularly attached to being male or female. I refer to myself as Mx. I've essentially resigned myself to considering myself agender. I still feel more comfortable in men's clothes, but I have relaxed on my hatred of women's clothes and I'm allowing myself to wear a skirt sometimes. I think I had internalized misogyny. That and lingering resentment over being forced to look like a girl. (Mother and I always argued over my hair length.)

Then, mom passed away last July. I miss her so much. I love her no matter our disagreements over my gender. But I thought that when she passed away I would be more open with my gender identity. I wasn't. I remained stagnant. I was in mourning.

Earlier this year, January 7th, 2022, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, I'm bald. What hair length? I am going to need to have surgery to remove my breasts. I was talking about this for years, but I wasn't really going to go through with it because elective surgery = expensive a.f. But now it's a necessity. I'm that much closer to looking more androgynous.

And so here's the thing. It was sudden. All at once I suddenly have no hair, I'm slated to lose my breasts after chemo ends, and I feel like it's moving so fast. I know I don't want bottom surgery, I don't want T, but I do want to look androgynous. What does this make me? Am I trans? Am I enby? I don't know. Does my feeling of moving too fast make me less of a member of the LGBT community?

TL;DR?

Asexual, confused, possibly Agender person just wants some advice. And maybe a hug.

[cookinguptales]

feel free to ignore this question if its annoying or too time consuming or whatever, but I've just started uni and I'm doing a creative writing course but I don't think I'm particularly good. You're my favourite fic writer so I thought maybe you could explain your process? Your stories always have a way of making me connect and feel for the characters, but I don't know how to write like that or make people give a shit about whats happening in a story, or feel whatever emotion is relevant.

It’s not an annoying question, but I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to answer… I’ve never had any formal training or writing classes or anything lmao.

For me, I’ll usually think of an event or a concept that I’d like to have happen to the characters. Like, to make up some quick OCs, uhh… A & B. Let’s call them Adelaide and Bianca. To take an oldie but a goodie, Adelaide has a crush on her friend Bianca, but doesn’t want to tell her for Reasons.

Now, that’s a basic scenario. For me, the important step here is to really think about this character’s emotional core. What has their life been like? How does their personality reflect that? How do they deal with problems? What are Adelaide’s Reasons? Make sure your character’s decisions reflect their emotional core rather than the other way around. If you’re just bending a character’s personality to fit the story you want to tell, it’ll come off as a little false. If there’s a particular plot you want to tell, work backward. If you need a character to make a specific decision, think about what would bring them to that decision, and make sure that groundwork is laid in everything else this character says and does.

So I need Adelaide not to confess, which is a plot point I’m imposing on the character. I need to think about why this is a decision she’d make. Well, Adelaide’s parents can be dismissive of her sometimes, and she’s never really excelled in anything she’s tried before. So she’s scared to keep trying because she’s internalized this concept of her own inadequacy. To keep her likable, let’s say that she’s scared to try, but her own hopeless romanticism won’t let her give up.

So you’ve decided on a backstory and an emotional core. Now you have to apply this to the rest of the story. How has this personality affected her relationship with Bianca? Why are they friends and what is their relationship? How does Bianca change Adelaide’s thought process? What decisions will Adelaide make going forward based not only on her own emotional core, but on how the other characters affect that?

Adelaide, because she is too scared to say anything but has a big enough heart that she needs an emotional outlet, writes love letters in a diary that she assumes Bianca will never read. It is a way to indulge in her feelings without the stress of sharing them.

And what about Bianca? You can’t make the mistake of only thinking about the emotional core of your protagonist. That’ll make for a flat story. Bianca has a thirst for knowledge. She’s bright and intense and wants to know everything. This brightness is what attracts Adelaide, as she keeps her own light buried, but that is precisely what causes friction between the two of them. Think about how these two emotional cores might interact. Adelaide hides things, and Bianca is obsessed with uncovering them. Bianca must hate that her friend is closed off from her.

Clearly, Bianca is going to read Adelaide’s diary.

Now, you can make Adelaide a good writer or a bad writer based on your own conception of the character. I’ll say that she’s not the best writer, but that the genuineness of her feelings come through; after all, she thinks no one will read this, so she is able to let loose in this one portion of her life and nowhere else. It’s easy to become fascinated with genuine words like that, and a curious person like Bianca, who feels everything too strongly to hide any of it, will be a goner.

A writes a diary about her feelings for an unnamed person. B reads it because they’re nosy. This is really a very basic story, but you’ve already personalized it by getting into their heads. You don’t need to say what’s going on in both their heads; make sure you’re careful about point of view. Your POV character cannot know what is going on inside the other character’s head, so your narration can’t lay that out. But you know what’s going on in Bianca’s head, so make sure you write her with that in mind, and do your best to lay those clues for the audience through dialogue or body language. (Or Adelaide, if you go with Bianca as POV character.)

Now is when it will be most important to keep your characters’ emotional core in mind. You will have to think about where this basic story will go. What would your A do in this situation? Your B? Because Bianca is curious and attracted to these things, let’s say that she keeps going back to read Adelaide’s diary. She becomes addicted to her words. But she also feels guilt about snooping – gotta keep her likable. The more she reads, the more she becomes concerned about her friend… and the more jealous she becomes of whoever Adelaide’s interested in.

So now they’re in a bind. Adelaide has unrequited love. Bianca is worried about her friend, but knows she can’t say anything without blowing her cover. You can introduce a plot device here, but frankly, their own emotional cores make this situation untenable for long. They’ll explode eventually. Bianca will accidentally mention something in conversation she shouldn’t have known, or Adelaide will say something cryptic that Bianca won’t be able to let go of. Secrets will come out, as they must in fiction, and they will fight. Think about their emotions and their backgrounds to think about how they’ll fight. Offensively? Defensively? Will they shut down or will they cry or will they say things they don’t mean?

Adelaide has low self-esteem, but she still has the capacity to get angry. However, because she’s often so angry with herself, those angers will probably meld together. She’ll yell about Bianca’s invasiveness but that will eventually devolve into anger at herself – it’s what she’s used to, after all – and she’ll say something bitter about the diary being trash or her love letters pointless. Because she’s trash and she’s pointless and nothing will ever come of them.

We have reached the emotional height of our story! (Make sure you have one!) The decisions your characters make now will be the most important ones of the entire story. Because you have raised the emotional level up so high, anything you write now, your readers will feel twice as hard. So it should be good!

Bianca, as we have seen throughout the story, doesn’t always make good decisions. But she genuinely cares about her friend. That’s part of her emotional core, and an important one. She has concern for her, so all these confessions disturb her. And that curiosity has finally been sated. Is it worth it? Think about how this fight will interact with every part of Bianca’s personality. In the end, it will come down to her love for her friend and the awe she felt while reading those letters. That will override any anger or hurt she feels during the fight.

She’ll say that the letters were beautiful. That anyone who wrote them is beautiful, too. That she hates seeing Adelaide angry with herself when she’s such a good person. And whoever is the recipient of those letters is very lucky.

This is what Adelaide needs to hear, but it’s also what Bianca needs to say. When these needs intersect like this, you’ll have an effective love story. It makes the characters seem like they genuinely fit together. If you’re not writing a love story, of course, they don’t really need to come together well. lmao. But make sure you keep their personalities and aims in mind when you show how they don’t come together. Show why they have friction, and show why they’ll never quite come together. Make sure your readers understand why they have such irreconcilable differences; it will make fights, hatred, and rivalries seem more well-founded and less like your characters are dicks. (I mean, unless you want them to be dicks.)

By this point in your story, your characters should be changing. A story where the emotional core of a character doesn’t see any evolution is a stagnant one, and it can be boring. Bianca has changed; she understands her own selfishness and is filled with concern for her friend. She’s also, coincidentally, in love with her and her words and the emotional core she read in those words. This here, though, is when Adelaide changes. Not all the way; no one changes that much in the course of one conversation. (That’s important.) But it can be enough for her to start questioning her own assumptions and maybe lend her a bit of the bravery she always wishes she’d had.

She tells Bianca who the letters were to, and Bianca is relieved, but also finds that a part of her really always knew. And everything after that is really cake.

What I’m trying to say here with this stupidly long example, is that you need to think about your character’s emotions first. You can’t simply have them react to whatever you throw at them. You need to think about what is driving your character at every single part of the story, and you need to know your character’s emotions intimately. It’s worth it to spend a long time thinking about what makes your characters tick. It’ll make everything after that easier.

When it comes to fanfic as opposed to origific, it’s easier in one way and harder in another. You won’t need to come up with the scenario, characters, setting, so you can zero right on in how the characters are feeling. You can jump right in. However, you’ll also need to spend time thinking about the characters dialogue and actions in canon so you can tease out their emotional core. If you can figure out why they made the decisions they did in canon, you can figure out what they’ll do in new situations. You need to start with that character’s, well, character before you can do anything else.

Finally, it can be hard to write emotions. I find that it’s usually not particularly useful if a story just says that a character’s sad. So think about what sadness is and what it inspires. How do people behave when they’re sad? How does it physically feel inside your body, what sort of things does it make you think, what lies at the heart of that feeling? Try to express that in your work. Talk about the lump in your character’s throat, or the way they feel like they’re buried in something intangible. Talk about the decisions they make because they’re sad. (This is also handy because it’s a good way to show the emotions of a non-POV character.)

Try not to go too over-the-top here or to rely too much on cliches. Think about what sadness means to this character, and how they’ve trained themselves to respond to it, and that will help make things feel more genuine. Adelaide responds to sadness by burying it inside her and only letting it out in her notebook. Bianca responds to sadness by externalizing part of it, but burying the rest of it in action. They’re very different responses to the same emotion, and when you write that, you’re showing your readers characterization and the characters’ mental state. One-two punch.

As for how to make it relatable… Well, like what happened with Bianca, readers respond to genuineness. If it feels like a fully-realized character with real emotions, readers will find those emotions relatable even if they don’t feel them themselves. Readers who understand where a character is coming from will accept their decisions, even if they aren’t the same decisions the reader would make. Try to speak to universal experiences and emotions, though. Fear of rejection. The excitement of a new discovery. The longing for something better paired with the wariness that things might just get worse if they change. People will respond to things they’ve felt before, even if the character isn’t feeling them quite the same way. Just gotta keep it in-character for the character in question. Utilize common emotions to make it relatable, but make those emotions specific to your character to make things feel real. We all feel the same things, but we feel them all differently. That’s what makes the world lovely and frustrating.

Anyway, I guess that was a real long way of saying that, to some degree, your characters’ emotions should drive the story instead of the other way around. It will make any story feel more immediate and more believable, and will make readers feel greater kinship with your characters. Again, I’m no professional. But you asked me how I do it and that’s how I do it. So uh, I hope this was helpful.