#character creation is hard

[demikempton]

Demi, I love OC characters and I could talk about them for hours (I create OC for everything, although I haven't shared much yet because I don't feel ready) the thing I like most is knowing the creative process behind it, so… I know maybe it's personal but… I'd love to know how you came up with the character of Phen, how you gave her the personality and background you shared here. Only if you want to share something, no pressure!😊

Hey there 👋🏼

First off, I am always down to talk about my OCs so don't worry 😊

Secondly, I am so bad at tracking the process of creating characters 😅 I do always have a document for a profile that I can keep track of things on. Usually I start off with the name even though names are a whole process themselves and a general look, which is easier when you have customisation. Usually these aren't fixed to start with, for example: Phen didn't originally have freckles, I gave her them when I played the Indigo Disk DLC and that's a small reference early in the story because she wore very full coverage foundation to hide them.

I try start with a bit of a base personality. So in any Pokémon game the protagonist is considered friendly and willing to lend a hand, okay so naturally that worked its way into Phen's personality but it's still a blank slate, so I thought about the personalities my other OCs have to see what would stand out so she wasn't just a copy of another. I'd never had a character who suffered from anxiety so I chose that, and it also worked with the nature of the Indigo Disk plot: they're in a whole new environment so this would cause Phen's anxiety to spike, though she can still function day to day as people with anxiety can. I personally deal with anxiety so I do draw from the personal experience of it in my writing.

Also when developing her personality I do tend to voice out conversations and dialogue in private. I find it a good way to even just work on the cadence of speech, ways they'd say certain things, slang and such. It's also good for personality development because I find it helps figure out how different characters are going to respond to a situation, or how they act with different people.

For the background, I started work on her mum first because that's the only other relative you see, so that'd be important to set up first. After the sequence where the characters talk about their families in the endgame of Scarlet/Violet I did do a lot of thinking about her family life: why did they move to Paldea? Where did they live before? What happened to the dad? Then it was building on her relationships with the Paldean Crew and Team Star. Because she and Mela do art, it makes sense for them to be friends. It just makes sense to be friends with Team Star honestly.

There's actually a lot of moving parts to creating a character but I also overthink things. It also probably sounds dumb but eventually characters do develop their own mindset and it becomes easy to figure out how they'd act and react as a character.

Hope this answered your ask 💖

[tawnysoup]

A new critter!!! I have finally figured out what the Bonster looks like.

They're some kind of frog creature with horns and tusks... or is it fluff?! Hard to tell. Their hat is really a big tail they can cook things in and also WHAP against the ground when they're mad!!!

They're slightly smaller than the other critters. Here's a Fritter for scale:

[lowcallyfruity]

Hey guys 😁😁😁😁😁

[krenenbaker]

Trick or Treat~!

Pairing: Che'nya x Floyd (could be read platonically or romantically)

Summary: It's finally Halloween night, but Floyd is in a bit of a slump. However, the arrival of a curious companion may just make the Halloween party a bit more interesting for him.

Notes: This is my first attempt at something following a prompt - specifically, "Trick or Treat" for the 2023 TWST Rarepair Halloween event. I'm trying to get more comfortable/practiced with writing prose (which is why this wasn't posted on the 30th... oops), and only vaguely ended up following the prompt. I'm fairly happy with how this little piece turned out, though!

Tags: @dove-da-birb, @azulashengrottospiano, @inkybloom-luv, @eynnwwyjth, @officialdaydreamer00 (please let me know if you'd like to be included or excluded from future writing of mine, or only want to be included in specific types of creations)

Floyd wanted to take a break. 

It was Halloween, and all he had done the entire week was work, work, work. Getting costumes ready, decorating, helping with their dorm's presentation, plus cooking and serving at the Lounge, all on top of normal classes? 

Sure, it was fun, especially getting to show off Octavinelle's cool setup, and 'taking care of' those misbehaving visitors. But now? Everything felt draining and boring, and Floyd simply wanted to leave, which sucked because the actual Halloween party had just started!  

Maybe he should just ditch and go back to his dorm; being in a funk when everyone else is having fun around you is not enjoyable.  He slumped down on a bench and unwrapped a sweet he had picked up earlier, before wrapping it up again. Ugh, not even in the mood for that candy he wanted only a few minutes ago. 

As he shoved the sweet back into his pocket and was about to get up from the bench to leave, Floyd heard a rustle behind him. Someone was quietly humming, and… laughing? The sound gradually moved to his side, towards the empty side of the bench.  

“Trick or treat~”

Floyd turned to face the voice. "Listen, man, I'm not in the mood to—” he froze, staring at the figure beside him. “Hang on a second, where's your body!?"

A toothy smile came to the face of the head that currently floated beside Floyd. "Oh, it's here.... or maybe it's there." A pair of hands materialized on either side of this boy's head, followed by the rest of his body. 

“I'm just kidding. Mind if I take a seat? I’d like to rest up before I keep purrowling around and startling people.”

Floyd blinked, then raised an eyebrow. “Uh, go for it.” 

This guy was... weird, and it was hard to tell if he'd be annoying, or interesting. "You don't go here, do ya? At least, I’ve never seen you before. And you’re no ghost, either.”

The cat-like boy shook his head, his jewellery jingling softly. "I'm just passing through for the festivities and collecting treats. Scaring some people, too. That’s loads of fun. And it's always nice to see my friends let loose." 

Floyd had a vague memory surface. "Ohh... you must be that RSA boy who's friends with Sea Turtle and Goldfishie." 

"'Sea Turtle' and 'Goldfishie', hey? Those are good names for my green and red friends. Cats are known for liking fish." He leaned forward, his grin growing. “Artemiy Artemiyevich Pinker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Floyd nodded, “Floyd Leech. It's nice to meet you, too.” He looked curiously at the boy beside him, taking in his shaggy hair, piercings, and impish smile.

"You're not what I expected.” Floyd smiled, "But you seem fun, Catfish. I didn't think Goldfishie would get along with someone so... interesting."

Che'nya's eyes lit up slightly. "Catfish? Heh heh heh, most people call me Che'nya, but I guess that works. And I’ve heard some… interesting stories about you, too."

He stretched his legs out in front of him, leaning back with his arms behind his head as he sighed. "But yeah, I don't think Riddle could shake me if he tried." 

"I'm almost jealous." Floyd tipped his head slightly. "Most of the time, Goldfishie likes to swim away before I can play with him."

Che'nya laughed, "Well, if you're wondering, he 'swam off' that way." He pointed off to the side. “Just don’t be rough with him. I don’t like people mistreating my friends.”

Floyd looked off into the crowd where he had pointed, and let out a small laugh. “Alright, good to know. Maybe I’ll find him later, if I feel like it”, he smiled and sat back. “And Goldfishie’s stronger than he looks, but I guess you’d know that.”

Che’nya nodded, then leaned closer with a mischievous glint in his eye. "You know, I bet we could do something that would really surprise him.” 

Floyd turned slightly towards Che’nya, and flashed a smile. “Yeah, we probably could. I think we should talk more in the future, Catfish. You seem pretty fun.” 

Che’nya grinned, “You seem pretty fun, too.”

"Well,” he stretched his arms above his head. “I think I’m going to go and find some more treats… and play some more tricks tonight. I'll catch you around, Floyd." 

With a haunting giggle echoing in his ears, Floyd watched as the boy beside him faded into nothingness, just the same way he had arrived. 

What a weird guy.

Floyd unwrapped the candy he had pocketed earlier, then popped it into his mouth. Maybe this party was worth staying at after all.

[sams-minerals]

I believe this is the final thing from Undertale that I am going to make. This project began February 15th, 2023 and as of today, January 3rd, 2024, Omega Flowey is finished. He is nearly 5 foot long, and I have to stand on a stepstool to take a pictures of him. I use the pixel art created by idlemidnight as a pattern in order to make him look as accurate as I can to the game. Now that he is finished, he will be hung above my bed. Thank you again, @fwugradiation for your amazing game, it means more to me than I can say.

[queenlucythevaliant]

Okay gang, here's a silly little game. I've assembled six teams of blended Narnia and Tolkien/LotR characters. Here they are:

For bonus points, tell me in the tags where you're going on your road trip, who has what role (driving, snacks, aux) on the road, and what you'll stop off and see along the way

[rumeysawrites]

Me, a writer, Searching through "Dictionary of Medieval Names" for character names fitting for my Medieval or Renaissance-esque fantasy setting, hoping they wouldn't sound too out there for the reader.

The names on "Dictionary of Medieval Names" (names that are documented to have been used by real people) sometimes: English, Scott, Countess, Baron, Yael, Femina, Father, Zwentibold, Admirable, Tallboys, Ketill (kettle), Bastard

Me: Even then, naming was something else.

[marinsawakening]

My most unpopular Zelda opinion is that I sincerely think LOZ is at its worst when it's trying to tell some serious epic fantasy story. Like nobody agrees with me on this but it's a hill I'll die on.

[ovaryacted]

Randomly ranting about AI.

The thing that’s so fucking frustrating to me when it comes to chat ai bots and the amount of people that use those platforms for whatever godamn reason, whether it be to engage with the bots or make them, is that they’ll complain that reading/creating fanfic is cringe or they don’t like reader-inserts or roleplaying with others in fandom spaces. Yet the very bots they’re using are mimicking the same methods they complain about as a base to create spaces for people to interact with characters they like. Where do you think the bots learned to respond like that? Why do you think you have to “train” AI to tailor responses you’re more inclined to like? It’s actively ripping off of your creativity and ideas, even if you don’t write, you are taking control of the scenario you want to reenact, the same things writers do in general.

Some people literally take ideas that you find from fics online, word for word bar for bar, taking from individuals who have the capacity to think with their brains and imagination, and they’ll put it into the damn ai summary, and then put it on a separate platform for others so they can rummage through mediocre responses that lack human emotion and sensuality. Not only are the chat bots a problem, AI being in writing software and platforms too are another thing. AI shouldn’t be anywhere near the arts, because ultimately all it does is copy and mimic other people’s creations under the guise of creating content for consumption. There’s nothing appealing or original or interesting about what AI does, but with how quickly people are getting used to being forced to used AI because it’s being put into everything we use and do, people don’t care enough to do the labor of reading and researching on their own, it’s all through ChatGPT and that’s intentional.

I shouldn’t have to manually turn off AI learning software on my phone or laptop or any device I use, and they make it difficult to do so. I shouldn’t have to code my own damn things just to avoid using it. Like when you really sit down and think about how much AI is in our day to day life especially when you compare the different of the frequency of AI usage from 2 years ago to now, it’s actually ridiculous how we can’t escape it, and it’s only causing more problems.

People’s attention spans are deteriorating, their capacity to come up with original ideas and to be invested in storytelling is going down the drain along with their media literacy. It hurts more than anything cause we really didn’t have to go into this direction in society, but of course rich people are more inclined to make sure everybody on the planet are mindless robots and take whatever mechanical slop is fucking thrown at them while repressing everything that has to deal with creativity and passion and human expression.

The frequency of AI and the fact that it’s literally everywhere and you can’t escape it is a symptom of late stage capitalism and ties to the rise of fascism as the corporations/individuals who create, manage, and distribute these AI systems could care less about the harmful biases that are fed into these systems. They also don’t care about the fact that the data centers that hold this technology need so much water and energy to manage it it’s ruining our ecosystems and speeding up climate change that will have us experience climate disasters like with what’s happening in Los Angeles as it burns.

I pray for the downfall and complete shutdown of all ai chat bot apps and websites. It’s not worth it, and the fact that there’s so many people using it without realizing the damage it’s causing it’s so frustrating.

[dazzelmethat]

Ameebs 10 year redraw 2024 vs 2014.

The character himself is about 18 years old though (middle school). Somehow the name Ameba stuck so I just call him Ame now. Or Ameebs. I have done much research into Chinese names for him, but nothing has stuck. The greek root word amoibē means 'a change,' named for his more unsteady physical form.

[crystallizsch]

stop getting more oc ideas omg im gonna

[astral-schools]

he may be Nothing but hes MY everything.

[h-didanart]

Could you guys imagine if a fell style SAMS au was one of the chillest dimensions? Like, could you imagine the funny potential in an edgy SAMS au just genuinely being a cool place to live at?

[positive-total-drama-takez]

I like to think that, behind the scenes, Noah, Harold, Leonard, Sam, and Cameron would've played DND together. They deserve to be nerds more than just different stereotypical standards

Let them be geeks!!

.

[sweetestberryofthebunch]

Guess who‘s about to restart Act 2 because Mizora and Wyll were bitching and then Shadowheart had some feelings and AND THEN FUCKING GALE cockblocked my Karlach Romance scene so long that it glitched into non existence and she basically friendzoned me in the process :/ I literally finished everything when i realised and decided to look at the Wiki lmao. At least it’s kind of a common thing that happens so it wasn’t my fault. Bye bye five hours of pretty good gameplay, I‘ll see you again when i rush through this a second time…

[colourfulmes]

Colourfulmess’s Headcannons For…

NATEMARE SHARP “We’re back, revamped, the madness never ends!” The demon of your nightmares (quite literally)

Phantom HCs >

Pronouns: He/They

Approx 26 years old

Mare isn’t very cheerful, often feeling displeased by the world around him and not interested in things, making him mysterious and angsty. He’s demanding about most of his words. The only things that would make him smile are those of people suffering. A sadistic bastard.

Though, deep down somewhere behind that mood, he has a soft heart, he just struggles to convey those emotions

He has a liking for spiders!

Loves his horror media, horror games, movies, shows, and anything else

Probably drinks Monster energy

Some of his worst fears include dreadful loneliness and losing control of any situation

Has a habit of talking to himself, sometimes mumbling songs

Mare’s real name is--

Middle sibling out of his other brothers (other NWTB egos)

He’s the older twin between him and Gemstone

Enjoys messing around and playing pranks with Skel (especially trying to ruin Phantom’s day)

A succubus dream demon, who is part siren, often gaining power and energy through making horrific nightmares, not really wanting to use his succubus side (touch starved loser/j)

Siren abilities help him lure in victims, and also give him the power to mimic voices

Though he has powers he much prefers using sharp weapons when he can

He used to have wings…we don’t talk about what happened to them.

.... . .-.. .-.. --- ..--.. / .... . .-.. .-.. --- ..--.. / -.-. .- -. / -.-- --- ..- / .... . .- .-. / -- . ..--..