#ask for the storyteller

[devilcat210]

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ZERO!!!!! I LOVE YOUU💖

Happy New Year, Mel🍀

I love you too💛

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Character asks!

These are more focused on the background stuff rather than the usual "what would the character do in XY situation" kinds of asks. I've been looking for something like this for quite a while and in the end decided to make my own. Feel free to use, go wild, enjoy

What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?

What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favourite background guy?

What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?

Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?

Do you have any quotes tied to the character, either from the story itself or from another source that fit them?

Have you ever made a moodboard for them?

Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?

Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?

Does the character have other characters connected to them? Do you have a family tree and "offscreen" connections made up for them or do they exist in a vacuum purely for the purpose of the story?

What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?

Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about

[mumblesplash]

after the first few times you'll forget it’s even happening

[abd-illustrates]

Sorry to bother you. I wanted to ask if you were willing to give advice on how to avoid the 'Friends Who Never Hang' tropes? Because I'm hesitant to make more main characters because I'm not sure if I can make their bond close between all of them and you seem to have a grip on the Heartless gang's relationship. Thanks.

I had to google what that trope meant haha - but that's a rlly interesting question!

At least for me and my storytelling preferences, I think my stance would be that there's actually no need to worry about making a close bond between *all* of your main characters at all!

It's a bit hard to articulate, and I'm definitely thinking from more of a manga mindset so bear with me lol -- but trying to make sure that everyone on your main cast all get along with everyone else on the main cast, and feeling the need to give a 'proper' spotlight to every possible combination of characters to convince your audience that 'they really are all friends with a close bond, see how they all hang out!?' Can run the risk of looking like this:

and leave your story feeling bland/stagnant as you kinda slog through unnecessary scenes between characters just for the sake of proving that they do all interact an adequate amount.

Whereas - (again, at least in my experience) - building a group primarily around their ties to your Main-main character(s) like this:

is a method that leaves much more room for you as a writer to both focus on the character that's specifically meant to be at the forefront, while also making it easier to explore which other combos could then actually be fun to give more screen time to in order to *build up* those close bonds, rather than worrying about the end result and just trying to make everybody get along right from the get-go!

(Also! Don't feel like if you start out with a bunch of varied colorful connections that they all have to be turned into bright green friendly bonds by story's end! Making some characters a bit closer over time but still not besties is a-ok! They can unite for a common goal but still get on each others nerves forever! There are no rules! Be cringe, be free!)

[shorthaltsjester]

watching the sdcc panel and i am just very :) about how sweet their answers to “what are some of the micro moments from the game that have stuck with you the most over the years?” are. taliesin saying what the fuck is up with that which was the first like The Party Gets To Know Each Other moments of c3. travis saying asking his wife if he could kiss her in campaign. marisha going way back to the cannonball competition in campaign one. ashley choosing the beauyasha date but also just the silly goat noise matt made. liam adding onto that to compliment matt roleplaying grass so well and then saying his favourite moment was writing a story for laura and reading it to her as caleb for jester. and then matt saying that was his answer, and that his favourite moments of the game are when they find ways to give gifts to each other whether tangible or not. and sam saying his favourite moments have less to do with the story and is more so when he can just. see his friends across the table from him. when marisha perches and when laura and ashley are (badly) drawing dicks and liam saying he loves when sam sneezes and ashley tells him to stop it and just. yeah. they Are an extremely popular online powerhouse, but i’m so happy that they’re also friends building a world together out of gifts to and love for one another.

like i Am so enamoured with the characters and the world of exandria but the moments when you can feel the love that those people have for each other reach out from behind the stained glass of their performances (to steal a metaphor from brennan lee mulligan) are so extremely special and i am endlessly grateful that they decided to share their silly little home game with the world.

[aleksatia]

April Plans 🌷

First off — massive thanks to everyone for the reblogs, comments, likes, and requests. Last month’s activity was honestly insane (in the best way possible) and I’m beyond grateful! 💛💛💛 All of your support really fuels me to keep writing more of those delicious little stories. I always stick to one rule: only write what I���d want to read myself. So! With that in mind, here’s a little peek at what I’ve got planned for April:

🎵 Songfic Game

🌷"Six Days" Series

✅ Posted: Xavier Solo Story (Sequel)

📝 Planned: Rafayel Solo Story (Sequel)

📝 Planned: Sylus Solo Story (Sequel)

💌 Solo stories for Caleb and Zayne haven’t really been requested, so for now I’m not planning to write any (even though I adore them both — especially Caleb). I’m feeling like it’s time to step away from "6 Days" for a bit and explore something new.

✅ Posted: As a continuation–slash–alternative for all the LADs from “6 Days”, you can check this one out. It’s a bit AU, written by request.

🌷"After You, there was nothing" Series

✅ Posted: Sylus Solo Story

✅ Posted: Rafayel Solo Story

✅ Posted: Caleb Solo Story

✅ Posted: Zayne Solo Story

📝 Planned: Xavier Solo Story

🌷"Reader Is Not the MC" a series of mid-length fics (angst/drama)

✨ Written (Unposted): Xavier

🛠️ In Progress: Caleb

📝 Planned: Rafayel (requested)

📝 Planned: Sylus

📝 Planned: Zayne

🌷Your Requests:

📝 Planned: "One Day for You, Years for Him" — angst/drama with time skip

📝 Planned: "Not How We Planned It" — pregnancy trope with high-stakes birth

📝 Planned: "Something That Wears Her Face" (wanderer-mimic)

📝 Planned: What-if: LADs/MC with domestic and aesthetic struggles

📝 Planned: What-if: Energy Drink Overdose

📝 Planned: What-if: Nervous Breakdown at Caleb’s Grave (and of course, he finds you)

Any new requests will be added to my May lineup — I’ve got work and other things going on too 🙃

[mbrainspaz]

It tickles me that among a catalogue of villains subjected to horrific mutilating experiments, many of whom gain super-human healing and strength and most of whom wear revealing leather fetish outfits for no reason, one of the headlining bad guys of Trigun Maximum is a dude in a white zoot suit who plays the Saxophone.

Oh the evil well-dressed musician standing between the guy whose body has been melded to a giant rocket powered bullet and the blue-haired guy with psychic torture powers walking around in a mechanized life support coffin? That's Horn Freak. He's gonna wreck you with the power of jazz.

The sci-fi of the Trigun world with its lost technology, bio-engineered psychic 'plants', native alien fauna, and outlaw gunslingers almost manages to take itself seriously most of the time. You certainly get the sense that there are rules, though it's never too clear exactly what they are. Then there's Horn Freak.

[trentonsimblr]

AN: I've been wanting to do this for awhile. I dressed almost 100 sims but these are the 55 that made the cut! Trentallia wedding fashion loosley mirrors fashion trends of the real world with some twists of my own thrown in. I'm thinking of creating a series of polls to figure out the fan favorite wedding look. stay tuned for that!

[shepscapades]

to the anon that sent me an ask a couple of hours ago about mumbo: what a wonderful question ily. taps my forehead and points at you. very cool. very good Eye

[kithj]

some stories are written precisely to elicit strong emotions from the reader INCLUDING negative ones. some stories and characters are meant to be upsetting, they are meant to challenge you and make you uncomfortable!! when a story makes you feel Big Feelings sometimes you are meant to sit in those feelings and ask yourself why! fiction is a great space to explore these emotions in a safe environment. you, as the reader, are meant to think critically about the art you are enjoying and that includes asking yourself questions like why has the author presented their art in this way and what are they trying to tell me. and then you get to have fun picking it apart and figuring it out and deciding what, exactly, the art means to you.

[gunsatthaphan]

#attaboy.

[devilcat210]

Hi! ^^

Hi (^u^)

[dunmeshistash]

Here to talk and ask questions about something probably nobody cares about but me. It sorta bugs me that they call dungeon rabbits rabbits when they’re clearly hares. Everything from the long forelegs to the haunted eyes reads as hare.

I was wondering if maybe it was just translated as rabbit and if the Japanese name calls it a hare? Google translate tells me there are two different words for rabbit and hare (though there’s only a syllable difference between the two words). I don’t know if Japanese folks actually really use that word and make the distinction though lol, or if the just consider rabbit as an acceptable word for any lagomorph. I suppose hares get called rabbits all the time in English though, too. I just really like hares so I’m sorta frothing at the mouth over this. I can’t speak or read the language, so I can’t check for myself beyond using google translate.

Or maybe Kui meant for them to be rabbits but referenced pics of hares by mistake? Idk.

Hare on the left rabbit on the right (for those who don't know)

I think dungeon rabbits are probably something between a rabbit and a hare, since monsters in dungeon meshi are rarely a 1:1 to real animals. The giant bat is one that gets me the most (cause I love bats) they LOOK 100% like a fruit eating bat but they drink blood.

Dungeon Rabbit description says "they look exactly like adorable bunnies" in the AB, and they are pretty "cute" for a hare I think? (hares are cute too tho) I can at least confirm Kui intended for them to be called Rabbits, their official english name given by Kui is "Rabbit of Dungeon". The jackalope looks more like an actual bunny, so Kui probably knows the difference and it's a purposeful design choice

(I think they look enough like a bunny in the manga but I'm no bunny specialist)

One thing about Dungeon Meshi (ignoring the whole discussion of whats a monster and whats an animal) is that part of why they exist seem to be to scare humans? Like lots of them seem to design themselves (or have been designed to) specifically target humans/inspire fear, like treasure bugs for example and mimics, they disguise themselves as something that will attract humans, Harpies have a distorted human face and breasts, they aren't just normally evolved animals, they are things of nightmares (in some cases)

The dungeon rabbit (and the blood drinking giant bat) to me follow that logic of "must scare humans", the dungeon rabbit is something that from far away you think kinda looks cute but then as you see them closer you realize it's "off" (or you die before you can) so looking kind of like a bunny but with the "stranger" proportions/eyes of a hare makes sense in that context.

All of that said, they're most likely a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so calling them rabbits makes that reference more obvious

edit: answer about the japanese word here (i forgot at first)

[squidthusiast]

What did Cat Pearl do for Cat Marina to paw her head down the ground like that? Was she meowing too loud?XD They're so adorable:'> btw, luv ur art!!!

She committed crimes…

Also glad you enjoy my stuff! <3

[arcadecoconut]

There's a lot of great meta about how Bells Hells never seemed to realise how powerful they became over the course of the campaign, and how this skewed perspective gave them a strange and at times hypocritical relationship to authority. There's also been a lot of discussion about how having a single-focus plot established early in the campaign was detrimental to individual character development, but I don't think I've seen much about how the single-focus plot is directly connected to their ignorance about their own power level. I think one of the key benefits of having various smaller arcs across c1 & c2 was not only that it supported individual character development better, it also gave the parties a sense of their own growing capability and power scale in the greater world. By having distinct arcs with enemies who were overcome and defeated, the PCs have concrete evidence of their own growth. Each arc follows a mini heroes journey too. For the MN, the Lorenzo and Obann arcs both involve PC characters being killed or overtaken early on, setting high stakes and establishing difficulty. Eventually, with persistence and planning, the Nein were able overcome and eventually defeat them. For Vox Machina, it's the Briarwoods, then the Chroma Conclave, then Vecna. At the start of each arc, every mission feels like an impossible task but again with persistence and planning, they conclude each arc in a stronger position - not just on their character sheet, but with concrete in-world elements too - the resources of Whitestone, key allies in powerful government positions, etc. These victories give each party a material sense of their achievement, which is mirrored by their internal acknowledgement, which is so natural it's mostly not explicitly acknowledged unless they're pointing out how they're capable of stepping up and helping more people. Bells Hells, by comparison, got very few distinct arcs. As a result, they never really achieved the same smaller victories to give them a sense of escalating power and agency over the course of the campaign. To be clear, it was possible this could have been achieved anyway, even within the constraints of the moon-plot. Defeating Otohan, defeating or flipping Lilliana, severing the alliance between the Unseelie Court and Ludinus, explicitly winning allies out of The Volition, or the Grim Verity, or Vasselheim and the Judicators - each of these could have been distinct arcs with victory conditions that would have served as markers of Bells Hells growing power. If they'd had concrete mini-goals to achieve along the way to dealing with Ludinus/Predathos, they could have taken time to focus and plan. In this way, we could have gotten larger investment into the world and NPCs. Imagine what it could have done for her personality if the party had to research Otohan’s role in the Apex War! Maybe if they needed to broker peace between the Grim Verity and Vasselheim to unite them against a greater threat, we could have seen Bells Hells establish their own authority in Exandria. Instead, all these potential villains and world building hooks ended up largely ignored or accidentally achieved along the path of some other muddy goal. By not giving the characters this sense of growth, BH and particularly Ashton and Laudna ended up with a very skewed perspective of themselves. They never realise their power grew well above average, putting them in a much more privileged position than the average Exandrian. It’s this skewed perspective - and their resulting attitudes towards various NPCs - which gave many viewers an 'ick' factor about their interactions. I also can't help but juxtapose this with exu: divergence, where the party's relationship to power (both their own and others') has been a core element. Their story has also been conducted over a very short time period in-world, yet their responses show a marked difference in awareness and empathy.

[artist-issues]

I accidentally came across this while I was scrolling through the Star Wars tag

And I just thought how the hell you miss the point of the film so badly?!

Like I really hope this is some really unfunny joke or something. I saved loads of drafts trying to find ways to argue this point but in the end I just couldn’t be bothered wasting my time and deleted them. Chances are I’d be arguing with a brick wall and I don’t have the energy for that. So here I’m giving it to you to get your teeth into if you want

Well. I can/t see who posted it so they can’t defend their position, which I generally frown upon. But just to argue with the idea, not the person:

It sounds like this is the kind of post that’s made from the perspective of somebody who believes just punishment is the highest form of Good that can undo the effects of Bad. When actually, redemption is the highest form of Good that can undo the effects of Bad. Just punishment is just the next-best thing when redemption and forgiveness is impossible.

But here’s the thing—the only way a person can be redeemed is through the forgiveness of the party that has been wronged. And the only person who has a right to demand justice for wrongdoing is the person who, innocent themselves, was wronged.

Luke was uniquely situated to refuse to execute justice on Vader—because he’s his son. If anyone left alive by the end of Episode VI has suffered because of everything Anakin’s done as Vader, it’s Luke.

Orphaned not once, not even twice, but three times if you count the death of Obi Wan.

Homeless.

Separated from his only remaining family for their entire childhood.

His only friends and family have been tormented and endangered since the moment he met them.

He has been tormented and maimed.

The entire legacy he should have inherited, with all the advantages of teachers and learning in safety, are gone.

The whole world he’s growing up in has been shaped by fear from the literal moment of his own birth onward.

…And because of his heritage, he’s got the weight of the responsibility for the fate of the already-basically-ruined galaxy on his shoulders.

So if anyone’s got the right to judge Anakin for his choices, if anyone has the authority morally and legally to “press charges,” it’s Luke. The only person with more claim to that right would be Leia.

The fact that he chooses not to “press charges,” not to avenge, is the whole point of the series, like you said. Luke had the ability and the right to take control of the situation and choose how it ended. That would’ve given him total certainty about the end result. An illusion of “safety-at-last.”

But that’s the whole point of his character. To have the farm boy who’s always rushing off to the horizon and reaching to do more Do More DO MORE—STOP? And put his faith in something other than his own abilities? Give up his control of the situation, with a line that literally references who his father was?

And who was his father? Anakin Skywalker, a young hero who could never stop trying to control outcomes and bring about “certainty” through his own power!

To have Luke Skywalker extend mercy by throwing away control…to the same father who never could make the same choice when it was his time to be the hero?

Master-stroke of storytelling. But even more than that, it’s true. The person who made this comment needs to read A Tale of Two Cities. Or Genesis.

Punishing someone who has done so much wrong that they can never make it right again is justice, and it is good. But having the authority to make that call because you’re the one injured, and choosing to extend forgiveness and open the road to a clean slate for the offender, instead? That’s better.

It’s better because to make that decision heals. Luke can move on from the limb he’ll never grow back and the mom he never met and the aunt, uncle, and masters he’ll never see again. He can do that—it doesn’t have to be a scar on the tissue of his life. Because the way the “case file” of his “wrongs” ended was “I choose not to hold onto that hurt or press charges. I choose to let it go.” And therefore it can no longer hurt him.

Unlike the ravening packs in the French Revolution who wound up killing rich women and children who’d never personally hurt them because once you start deciding that vengeance or not even vengeance but “retributive justice” is the only thing that end your pain, the more the idea of “retributive justice” gets addictive. It promises to heal the hurt but all it really does is narrow your focus onto the hurt until you can’t even see the humans you’re hurting.

Anyway.

Besides, justice was still served. The Emperor was still defeated. The Empire was toppled. And Anakin, whose wrongdoings had already been manifesting punishment in his body and mind and spirit for years, also paid the ultimate price for everything he’d ever done. The truth is, (and Star Wars supports this) Anakin created his own punishment.

Padme died because he chose power over her, and his punishment was to live without her in the knowledge that he killed her. Can you imagine worse punishment for him?

Obi-Wan was Anakin’s longest and oldest friend, who loved and stood by him for most of his life, and he lost not only that friendship, but the trust and camaraderie and even respect of that relationship. And what did it get replaced with? Nothing. Emptiness.

The Jedi Council are gone, and in their place in Anakin’s life going forward? A sadistic old crone who is actively trying to get Vader’s son to kill him despite all his years of loyalty, and flunkies Vader can choke to death. No community.

Plus, he’s in a living nightmare prison of machinery and deformity for twenty years. What exactly could Luke do to him that would’ve been a more satisfying punishment?

This person seems to be making the comment out of a misguided sense of loss of characters like Padme, and suffering to characters like Obi Wan. I don’t think they’re taking the story as a whole. I think they really liked the world of the Prequels and really felt the tragedy of losing that version of the world. That’s my take.