#and i'm not always perfect on this

[heroes-fading]

I was wondering if you had any advice for how to stay true to the essence of the characters when writing an au. thank you in advance!

well first off thank you for thinking of me to ask <3 means a lot, and what a good question!

i'm not sure i always hit the mark on this 100% of the time, but part of what i try to do when i'm stuck is

literally just picture the character saying or doing the thing. pay attention to how you feel about it. does it feel like something they'd do? something they'd say? when you do a gut check, does it make you cringe or go "ok...plausible..."

figure out the guts of that character -- their biggest fears, the things that make them happiest, their quirks, the thing that makes them That character and differentiates them from other people

something that i do a far bit when writing dialogue is referencing transcripts. there's a few sites that do tlou transcripts, i use this one a fair bit but it's moderately annoying because it doesn't tell you WHICH character says what but maybe that's part of building that recognition, too

being immersed in fandom content can also do this! rewatches, rewatching certain scenes, even gifs -- what motions does a character tend to do? what kind of energy does the actor bring that might reveal a bit about their interpretation of a character?

with an au specifically -- there's a Lot that impacts characters and the reasons they are the way they are. past traumas, past experiences, whatever is just so baked into a character that it reflects their worldview and how they see everything. obviously in an au you're changing some things up. they might not have the same background. you may not be writing a zombie apocolypse. what is going to reflect and kind of refract those experiences to form that character in a similar shape that's a different experience that could have a similar emotional resonance

OR why is that character different because of a different experience. maybe they went to therapy or endured something less traumatic and are a little softer around the edges. are they still them underneath it? does it still sound like them, feel like them? otherwise, that story might be a better fit for original fiction and building your own playground, might not even need those lil characters as building blocks. are they plugging into the narrative, or is the narrative built around who they are?

anyway! i hope this is helpful! more than anything, it's a weird gut feeling. i don't always get it right but the best thing is just being able to be like...yeah...sounds like them huh <3

oh and have fun!

[mod2amaryllis]

i love being married to a straight guy. this morning we were parallel chilling and i glance at his computer and he's watching a drill fight tournament. as in, guys attaching drills to the same rod and turning them on until one breaks. to find the strongest drill. jose noticed me staring and rolled out of the way so i could see the screen. he knew every drill brand and told me their quality and price. i watched the whole thing without comment. the violence was enchanting. i never would have found this. he's a vector to an entirely alien, often beautiful, world.

[stuckinapril]

lived my whole life in guilt bc i thought i was responsible for people's feelings. newly realizing that other people are responsible for their feelings and reactions, even if they make it seem like i'm the problem. a lot of the time it really has to do w them and their own emotional regulation. i can't keep thinking i'm not allowed to have space bc of other people's insecurities. like i literally refuse to dim myself. other people are responsible for their feelings just as i'm responsible for mine.

[little-pup-pip]

Cosy day in!!

[thevioletcaptain]

i genuinely don't care how good a piece of ai generated art or writing looks on the surface. i don't care if it emulates brush strokes and metaphor in a way indistinguishable from those created by a person.

it is not the product of thoughtful creation. it offers no insights into the creator's life or viewpoint. it has no connection to a moment in time or a place or an attitude. it has no perspective. it has no value.

it's empty, it's hollow, and it exists only to generate clicks (and by extension, ad revenue.)

it's just another revolting symptom of the disease that is late stage capitalism, and it fucking sucks.

[ineed-to-sleep]

Yeah I would like to have uhhhhh whatever the hell these two have got going on

[latelierderiot]

thank you @samuelroukin for your vision 🙏

[commsroom]

beach day!! ☀️ (by @quibbs)

[rosalie-starfall]

The Not Ready For Prime Time Players

Saturday Night / Saturday Night Live October 11th 1975

[hyakunana]

I hate the sewers . jpg

[asukachii]

In the summer-like colors running down my cheeks

The words that curse you are stuck in the back of my throat

"Will we meet again?"

[black and white version]

(I don’t like putting watermarks so, PLEASE, if you want to post these gifs somewhere GIVE CREDITS! Also, don’t use them in edits/videos. Thanks~)

[cametotheshowinsd]

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? (2024) written & directed by Taylor Swift

So tell me everything is not about me …but what if it is?

[canisalbus]

I made them out of clay to turn into pins or something but just as I was about to finish, Maschete CRACKED

Kinda on brand for the poor guy

I’ll fix him soon lol

.

[wodimewoahtime]

hey till...... don't you have just a little too much tsundere "i'm not gay" yaoi protag power???? why are you attracting these guys like a hamster to the shredder

[sgtpeppers]

David Angus and Ian Hart as Brian Epstein and John Lennon in The Hours and Times (1991)

"Maybe we torment each other."

[deoidesign]

when your main characters start dating after years of writing so they finally get to be like this