#they made this character in a lab specifically for me and im upset about it

[aquilaofarkham]

"he's my sweet pookie bear" and it's a man covered in blood

[absentmoon]

ok so like IHAVE SO MANY . wheatley glados friendship thoughts. i don't know where to begin honestly??? i haven't played in awhile but i hope this is ok :)

well to start i want to talk about my grievances with how wheatley is treated, by the fandom and the game itself. its fairly popular from what ive seen to insult him for his intelligence; this isn't surprising given that the game is. honestly the number 1 "lets all make fun of wheatley" proponent.

this makes me vicariously uncomfortable!

as a disabled person (im dyslexic + dyscalculic with processing issues and ive been made fun of for my intelligence myself) i don't like it when characters— especially ones who are very vocal about their discomfort with it— being insulted for intelligence. i think its shitty. i don't like how much the game jokes about it. i wouldn't like it even if i did find wheatley to be unintelligent. not much more to say, honestly, other than that? wheatley is shown to have low self esteem and low confidence with himself, even if he tries to deny it. seeing him made fun of and jokes about makes me deeply upset on a real level.

regardless, though— wheatley is, honestly, really clever! i find it odd how the game seems to insist that he isn't; im honestly not sure if im actually meant to read him as intelligent, considering how much his actions in game show that he is. was he deliberately written to be smart? i cant tell because of the. constantly insulting him that happens.

wheatley is shown to be very good at planning. sometimes there are flubs in his plans, but overall he's clever enough to successfully help chell escape the facility. and then promptly took over it, but still! he's a smart little guy, even if he couldn't run the entire aperture labs.

this brings me to glados!

glados canonically doesn't care for wheatley— being designed specifically to weigh her down, as well as the whole taking over her facility thing. but frankly i don't think she fully believes what she says about him either?

"you're not just a regular moron. you were designed to be a moron."

similarly to how she insults chell, i think this is more about saying what will hurt him the most rather than being her true thoughts; while chell did help, wheatley also did the bulk of planning when it came to taking out her primary weapons and even herself. i don't think she'd fully see him as unintelligent— i know she often says he is in game, but it just doesn't fit to me. like. i don't see her fully considering someone a part of taking her down as unintelligent; not to mention how that would be in some ways an insult to her as well.

i have more to say but this is bumming me out and this is my post on my blog so. moving on!

i really do think they could VERY MUCH get along! apologies for not having as much to say here this very much a Vibes Thing B)

they both have bad experiences with the scientists that made them; both were designed to be things and deviate from their purpose; both have a distaste towards birds. that's important because i say it is. frankly, they both definitely need the friendship i think? its a dead facility. theyre functionally immortal. i see them as having a similar sense of humor; wheatley needs a good example of self esteem and confidence, and glados honestly needs something a little less serious around. let the lady have fun sometimes she is working constantly. ok my thumbs are getting stiff so im ending this post now but you guys GET IT RIGHT.. they're genuine friends and they don't insult eachother, its not passive aggressive. at most theres light ribbing but they don't go too far and if they did they'd apologize sincerely because they care about eachother.Thanks

[sage-nebula]

em-exceeds-change-zearu replied to your post:

same mood. I want to see Alan in squishy pokeani 2020 style but after they handled korrina episode...it wasnt bad but it wasn't super impressive either so im just kinda...waves hands

I haven’t seen the Korrina episode yet, so I don’t have any opinions on that specifically. My main feelings have to do with how they ended Alan’s story (and by extension Manon’s), and to a lesser extent how they’re handling Ash now and what I think that could mean for Alan’s return.

I’m sure you’re familiar with my gripes re: Alan’s ending, but to summarize them again here: XYZ044 showed us that Alan was traumatized and depressed to the point of dissociating even when at a table filled with friends and family and having thoughts that sounded a whole lot (to older / experienced viewers) like suicidal ideation as a result of Lysandre’s abuse and manipulation. Ash makes Alan promise to battle him again someday, and while Ash makes that promise with a lot of people, in this particular case the way Ash phrased it and the general anxiety and fear he showed as he phrased it (as well as Alan’s reaction to it) made it sound like he was giving Alan a reason to keep living, something to look forward to. It was really beautiful, and I felt a big, needed step toward the healing and recuperation he was bound to receive at the lab since Sycamore had told him that he was needed there . . .

. . . only for him to take the “start from zero” approach like Ash’s other companions and immediately fuck off into the wilderness in search of Mega Stones again, Manon at his side. This was phrased as him picking up the work he was doing before Lysandre picked him up, but it’s also continuing the work he was doing for Lysandre, in a way, since Lysandre had him going after Mega Stones in addition to collecting Mega Evolution energy. (Notably, the Mega Stone he finds in TSME 1 is Gyaradosite, and we all know who ended up using that.) More importantly than that, though, is that Alan’s trauma seems to be magically gone. He’s magically all better. He’s “starting from zero” (whatever that means) and so he’s all better. He’s not needed at the lab anymore, apparently, nor in Lumiose, despite everything that happened. Nope, it’s fine to have him just fuck off into a cave somewhere. That’s cool.

As you can tell with my tone, that’s not cool for me. XYZ044 set up a beautiful ending for him, but the actual last episode he appears in (I think it’s XYZ046? I can’t remember) throws that out the window. It’s obvious that the writers wanted to wrap up his story in a neat bow while showing Just How Influential Ash is by having Alan copy his words (even though Ash already had a positive influence by giving Alan a reason to look forward to the future ffs), but in doing so they completely disrespected Alan’s character and his story, and to this day I remain salty about it. Given that, I really don’t trust how they’d depict him if he showed up again, particularly considering that I’m absolutely positive they wouldn’t give his battle with Ash the emotional weight it deserves given that they tried to throw that weight out the window immediately after introducing it.

(As a side note, I also remain upset at how he’s traveling with Manon again specifically, and not just because her stans / the shippers were particularly obnoxious back in 2016. I’m upset by it because it’s not good for Manon, either, with regards to her independence as a trainer. Manon became wholly reliant on Alan protecting her, never once attempting to battle herself outside of the time she captured Flabébé (RIP) in TSME 1, and while she did have that heroic moment in TSME 3 where she dragged Alan’s unconscious body off the ice, that still wasn’t an attempt on her part to battle. In fact, while Hari-san did assist Mega Metagross in fending off attacks that were headed toward Manon and Alan, that wasn’t on Manon’s orders. She never told Hari-san to protect her. In TSME 4, when Alan brings up the very real danger he finds himself in as a result of his work, Manon dismisses it and says that it’s fine because he’ll protect her. He tries to argue back by saying that she’s depending on him too much, and she again talks over him and ignores it. The thing is, she does depend on him too much. For someone who claims to want to be a strong trainer, she never trains nor battles and instead just takes cover whenever Alan himself does. Setting aside the very real issues with how Manon consistently overrides Alan’s consent and how that itself is an issue with them traveling together considering that she never apologized for that (because it takes two to fight and Manon crying in TSME 4 doesn’t change the fact that the fight that led to her crying was due to her pushing and pushing and pushing and not taking no for an answer until he snapped), Manon doesn’t ever take responsibilities for herself as a trainer. She depends on Alan to do the battling for her, tells Hari-san to “leave her alone” in a strange place instead of putting him in his pokéball (which leads to him helping Squishy escape / becoming comatose), et cetera. And while it’s not wrong for Alan to protect her given how inexperienced she is (though it is wrong to deny him a choice in whether he will or not by tagging along without his consent), it’s not doing her any favors to continue the habit of depending on him if she truly wants to be a trainer. She needs to learn and grow on her own, and so having her travel with Alan again not only rewards her for overriding his boundaries and consent so many times (see, just keep pushing and cry some and you’ll get what you want in the end!), but it also doesn’t give her the opportunity she needs to stand on her own two feet to grow as a trainer, like she’d have if she resumed her original journey on her own, rather than tagging along on Alan’s. This was a much longer side note than I wanted it to be originally, but I feel it’s all worth saying so I’m saying it anyway.)

All of that aside, though, the way Ash is being handled in the new series gives me another layer of concern, in that I feel like he’s being handled super powerful pokémon with the express purpose of being able to steamroller anything in his path. With the exception of Riolu (who is a literal baby) and arguably Galar Farfetch’d (who is still Stage 1), the new pokémon that Ash has acquired in this series are super powerful from the outset, either because their species as a whole is powerful and they’re in the final form of it (Dragonite) or because they were previously trained up to the final form and he just got to inherit them (Gengar). People are upset that Ash didn’t capture Sobble, but they’re missing the fact that Ash is acquiring pokémon that are going to give him an edge in every battle, presumably to satisfy those in the audience who care about nothing other than to see Ash win. Farfetch’d will undoubtedly become Sirfetch’d (something that gives it a battle edge over Gou’s Kanto Farfetch’d, and you don’t see any Gou fans upset that he got the competitively useless one), and Riolu is bound to become Lucario. Ash is being handed a team that will make it “understandable” when he defeats Leon at the end of the series, in a way that makes it honestly seem that the only reason he is here at all is to placate those who are only interested in the anime to see him win and to help Gou grow as a trainer (since he does have moments of mentoring Gou). 

And if you’re wondering how this relates to Alan . . . I feel like, if Alan comes back, he’ll come back solely to battle and lose to Ash. And while I’m not one of those people that feels that MY FAVE MUST ALWAYS WIN EVER (TSME 3 is my favorite of the TSME episodes and Alan nearly dies in that one), not only do I feel that their promise to battle again won’t be treated as the lifeline it was in XYZ044, but I also feel that Ash would only win in order to make him seem like The Most Powerful Trainer Ever to placate his stans, particularly those that to this day remain bitter about the Kalos League. (Yes, there are still people bitching about it four years later. Unsurprisingly these are usually people who don’t understand basically anything about battling, but I digress.) And considering how much emotional weight was given to their future battle in XYZ044—that it was about giving Alan something to look forward to in the future, a reason to feel like living to that future was worth it—having it reduced down to something to Make Ash Look Cool and Apologize For The Kalos League (which doesn’t need an apology) would be really upsetting to me. It’s not about who wins or loses, but about why the battle is taking place and the emotional significance of it. And I really don’t trust the PokéAni to pull that off.

So with all that said, should Alan come back, I actually don’t want him and Ash to battle yet, and I’d rather Manon be on her own journey elsewhere so that she can gain that much needed independence. But I can’t see them bringing Alan back and not having him and Ash battle, so at the end of it I’m just kind of left like

[mikiruma]

please explain who engie is. i know nothing about tf2 and i would like to know about him + any special kin memories you have regarding him. u have no choice but to infodump.

no choice huh........

(@ future me add a cut here)

engineer's one of the playable characters in tf2, his schtick is building stuff to help others in battle, ie teleporters bringing teammates closer to goals, sentries to deal damage, and dispensers to heal teammates & resupply their ammo. the game calls him a defensive class, but imo the most fun engineer players to watch are the ones who go out of their way to terrorize the other team by playing offensively. (who knew the smallest sentry you could build could also be SO TERRIFYING)

as a character hes pretty neat imo, like a mad scientist but he tinkers more with machines than humans. a lot of his blueprints were actually adapted from ones his grandfather made. the last name 'conagher' carries quite a bit of weight in tf industries (specifically blu but im not abt to step into that territory..) also hes got like what? 14 phds? so hes kind of a menace. o yea he built his robot hand (the gunslinger) too.

also i just think its neat that outside work hes just this quiet old dude who would play u a tune on his guitar and buy u a drink for the hell of it and probably end up being ur best friend after talking for 5 minutes. i think ppl comparing him to a golden retriever arent so far off also important to note hes texas so as you can imagine, hes basically cowboy. he says yeehaw. so much. im sobbing please learn a new word

uhh what else..... canon he works with medic on experiments and stuff (expiration date short, gargoyles & gravel comic, more hopefully) so thats always Super Nice. also since i found the true meaning comic earlier and reread that i got to experience him reading a (VERY team fortress 2) christmas story to pyro (another good character) and god please i know the games abt shooting people but i want more interactions like THAT between the mercs..... just. lay down have some tea

uhh memories!!! uhh hmm well i was a fan of getting the gunslinger to work!! or its first incarnation!!! sure what preceded was... not fun but in the end i had a cool ass robot arm that functioned way better than my original. the *ultimate* upgrade... until i redesigned it later to current game canon. oh on the topic of buildings my sentries were basically my lil buddies!! id have a level 1 keepin me company in my workshop if nobody else was botherin me and its so weird now thinking abt a gun that likes pets but like. gun dog. obv the ones in battle werent like that bc i would be even more upset when they were destroyed but like. i still said hi to them kygjsnd

also if medic and i were staying up way too late workin on somethin id bring tea.. depending on how late it was and what we were doin id maybe wild out and add sugar bc dang it ur not texan if u dont have sweet tea. also i made 2 way teleporters for his lab and my workshop so we could send each other stuff. sometimes the other mercs would send weird shit thru the teleporters. scout sat on one without noticing it and he flipped his shit when he materialized 2 inches from me. good times

*clutches chest* CHRIST that was a lot anyway dont forget to like and subscri

[akalegos]

Could you tell us a little about your characters?

Y E S !

but due to me having at least over a thousand characters I’ll just give a quick summary of the 25 I manage to dig up over 3 sketchbooks.

Y’all can pick and choose which of them interest yall or who you wanna hear more about!

Also because I’m extra, I made sketch icons for the 25 characters, info under the cut

I’ll talk a bit more about my actual Original Characters first, starting with

Aiko! Otherwise known as Echo

- A marked individual in a steampunk world that gets mixed with magic, because I like both of those things

- Echo runs an underground lab that does helps the underground world with replacing body parts, illegal surgeries etc etc

- Even though she marked, which puts a bounty on her head already, she is well respected by the community for not cheating for your money, stealing your cash, or shanking/killing you mid-surgery

- however, Echo does long for adventure and sometimes do get bored in the lab

oh yeah,, Echo like stealing eyeballs, so if you’re low on cash and wouldn’t mind losing an eye, you know who to call!!

Bonus:

Here’s Echo’s boring, undeveloped sidekick!! I don’t like her and I don’t know how to make her better. Yes, she doesn’t have a name.

here’s my god playboy that left “heaven” due to having an early mid-life crisis, I call him God boi cause;

- He goes by many names! 

tbh, he’s probably the closest character I have to being genderfluid/-neutral? I’m not sure,,

- The god has many powers, from lightning to shapeshifting

- The shapeshifting part allows him to change every part of himself, allowing him to change depending on his situation.

- God boyo, or originally Aristide, is obsessed with the idea of perfection. A god should be perfect, if a god is out of line, he is no god. 

- Same goes for him, which means whenever something is wrong with him, it affects him, extremely

However, leaving the land of gods to live among humans aren’t all perks

- Aris isn’t immune to diseases or injuries. In fact, he actually fell down and died on impact when he came to earth, being reborn into another child immediately.

- He doesn’t gain his memories back automatically tho!! He has to have a major shock to the brain in order for him to remember his previous lives

- Sometimes the shock isn’t enough either, when you have a thousand over lives, you won’t remember every single one of them. So forgotten lovers coming back to haunt because your brain hates you? That’s everyday for him!

i just,, i like playing with the concepts of god,,

Up next we got Ayeka Himura! A japanese student going to a neighborhood, but still a pretty good, school living close to poverty due to her father’s constant spending habits and obsession with art supplies. With the household lacking a mother due to wacky shenanigans, Ayeka takes care of her two younger siblings and the house, all while maintaining a very well-paid job and slowly loosing interest in actually studying for a good, honest job.

also she likes birds!!

Yes her design is heavily “based” off Toga but I love her current design too much to change it, h e l p

So like,, I suck at chinese and I made ocs that exclusively spoke in chinese to help with that but I’m still stuck at 40~marks

I forgot his scar but remembered his earring i hate myself

my og chinese kiddo! he was was first to come and I love his design ever since

he radiates fuck you energy except the girl below. He’s neighbors with her and they acknowledge each other existence ever since. he has a dumb cliche crush on her and is a bit protective of her because nothing says having issues than latching onto someone that makes you happy

Only this girl got named!! even tho she was the second character.

Li Shen, yes she doesnt have a surname, is apparently main ho now, according to my old oc chart of my “main” ocs

She’s the group’s resident sweetheart and really does not want you to do stupid shit, stop doing stupid shit. She tutors my son up there ^^ even though he’s actually smart and just refuses to do his work properly. But she still deeply cares for him.

As well as the girl below shdifhd

the last girl of the ching chong trio and the reason I had to switch up my son’s design is this girly over here! Her design was too business-y and formal so I enrolled all of them into college. A rich girl who doesn’t know how to deal with her g a y thoughts. Tried sending Li Shen some flowers once. She didn’t realize attaching her name would be a good idea and son got a good laugh.

i like paranormal stuff so they apparently look into that shit in their spare time. They’re all actually really fun characters to do prompts with I swear!! send some in and I’ll write them

I had a previous concept for son and Li Shen before last girl came and if yall want me to talk about it,,, i found my sketchbook with the old ideas,,

NEXT UP IS MY OLD GIRL ELORA!!

Elora herself used to be a fan character but I pulled her out and wow\

cant fucking believe she used to be straight for Vylad

shes the outgoing, fun adventure type! bit of mommy issues here and there tho,, I don’t want to say too much since I have an entire for her +

her now upgraded bro, Vincent

i really like the name vincent,,

also now he has mommy issues

Ead, the knight who used to have armor

I hate drawing armor 

he also have issues

AND IRIS MY SWEET GIRL IM SO SORRY

she doesnt have that much issues tho

basically I made elora and her bro have mommy issues, I’m sorry in advance if that spoils anything

I, sometimes, post about these 4 over on @eloradiesismydocsname​ and its a gay ol’ time

not that gay tho because uhh,, medieval times,, but I need prompts for a modern au of them and I am happy to talk about their personalities and even go semi in-depth for any of them!!

here we have ghoster.png,, which is her file name cause I didn’t name her,,

A horror enthusiast + film student that goes to a supposedly haunted shack to film her upcoming project with the boys. wacky shenanigans occur and the boys left leaving ghoster here to starve and eventually fall to her death. But because it’s my oc i get to bring her back from the dead, now hungry as ever and will fucking eat you, its not a kink thing, shes just that hungry and angry

tax fraud.png

a robo girl that i created during social studies cause they were talking about taxes and i just went, “what if,, a robo runs on taxes,,, and like,, she haunts you down for not paying your taxes,,” thus she was born! I don’t know what to name her but she is set in the future so-

Time to go future-apocalypse style because I love that setting too and was upset that I didn’t have any ocs in that style. So I created Alex A. ! A cybrog filled with memories of the previous generations as a sad attempt to preserve human life.

He’s accompanied by his sister/cousin idr i didn’t draw an icon for her, didnt like her design. they go on a hunt for food and to return with nothing. She gets to meet this other dude who has a plant arm im pretty sure i based him off someone’s elses oc but i cant remember. The 3 are forgotten. Kinda want to bring them back tho.

Neon! A character set in the future utopia of lazy people, where gamers rise up. its the best I can describe her story without getting too deep. She the new hacker on the block, joining the underground gang of elite hackers. She’s another one of those wacky characters that just has fun. I mean, when you know your way around codes and the world you live in is full of it, would you not take advantage of that?

as for fan characters,, uhh,, i have em

STARTING WITH MY WIFE!

Alexzandra Zara oh my god i forgot to draw her necklace and shirt

anyways,, Alexzandra is one of the more older ocs I have that didnt get a big revamp. Only an au I develop to the point I forgot the actual shows and the original cast are a little different from the source haha what? She’s the emotionally unstable german war veteran, yes the wife thing isn’t mutual, and haha shes only 27~. I cling onto her so much?? She’s hits a lot of “edgy” points but I still love her cause idk,, the story I made for her is something I hold dear cause Alexzandra was one of my first ACTUALLY DEVELOPED CHARACTER. Is it wrong to say I hold her really close to my heart? Is that weird? probably a little cringy sorry haha. I probably project a little into her which might have strengthened my love for her ack. Her story delves more into the depression very unstable needs to talk to someone side and i get scared talking about my wife’s story online so uhh, idk ask me specific questions about her, I’ll be more inclined to talk.

Dr Watts! The spoiled ass dick that stole dst Wilson’s house and yes this is a dst oc, yes im slightly sorry.

He’s just fun?? almost ran a blog with him and a friend’s oc. He’s your typical uptight old science gramps that took advantage of the fact that no one knows his real name that he calls himself a doc. He’s not. I put everything about him up to a 9-10? He’s one of those wacky characters and I love him for it! His story is really wonky tho so might need help solidifying that part 

and from the angry old man to my sweet man that will adopt you even if you’re noisy or call him ginger. Pilot here is a TF2 OC I made to interact with other tf2 OCs cause some of them are fun and i wanna join in :((

He’s the Canadian stereotype, and yes, he adopted scout, that was one of my character notes. 

Like the actual cast of tf2, there’s barely any real story to him. I only gave him a vague I don’t know my past but hey, i fly really really well. He participated in war unlike certain men but he’s still really nice and will only kill you if you hurt his family. Which he doesn’t know so he just considers the cast his family. He keeps mentioning a wife though, pretty sure he doesn’t have one but you do what makes you happy son.

Ai! an oc I HEAVILY revamped oh my god i hate her old vers. So if yall remember my random shouting of missing my og son, Aru. Here’s his bff. cause he barely has any actual friends that give a shit. And I just cant have that. but here’s your yandere revamped into a last minute addition. I actually feel like I did Ai a lot of justice. I don’t want to delve too deep cause I will start making charts. I’ll do that in a separate post if yall are keen

Isamu Aena! a mp100 oc I made by accident cause idk,, I was thinking about lolita fashion and all of a sudden, the actual oc I was going to make turned into a mob psycho oc. She’s one of my few ocs where her sexuality matters (she’s gay yeah) cause it plays a role in her storyline. She went from being “manipulated”/used to Mob’s wingwomen. She spots out things that can help him in the romantic department cause she’s into romance. A student of the school Mob infiltrated and a fantastic tailor, not to mention a pretty decent pyschic. wait where do models get their lolita stuff from,,

im gonna ignore that and move onto Lillian Yi! Who, i swear i did not meant for it, is very close to lloyd. I mean,, none of the ninjas were with him after s3, who you think he’d meet. Lillian is a survivor from the Great Devourour and yes I’m still pissed LEGO stole my backstory for Lillian to use for Harumi. FUCK YOU LEGO, i still love both of em tho,, The event did leave a big scar and it made Lillian job jumping for a bit, ending at Chen’s Noodles in S6~, where ya know,, stuff got better. She was a medalist for gymnastics and continue the activity, even after her parents’ death, to please others. She was already lost at the time so staying in the sport would help, right? Needless to say, after being rejected at a cop academy for youths, or something similar, she gave up for a while but got back into the idea of saving people by using her skills she already had. It helped with the weight and feelings and meeting the green ninja was a very big bonus. Also Lloyd dubbed her the “mysterious stranger” when she refused to speak in fear of her identity, slight shame, and maybe a bit of being star struck. It helped Lloyd too in a sense where he had something to distract him from Zane’s passing.

 Their relationship was eventually formed, strong and almost unbreakable, except for harumi but uhh thats a different story. Throughout the seasons, they stayed close and lloyd was always comforted by Lillian went times get ruff.

Also Lillian is my most light-hearted characters and I think that says a lot

Then there’s Nite “I don’t want to be your dad”. A character that is supposed to be in the ninjago world but barely interacts with the main story and only stays in his self contained plot. He was supposed to get a bf but uhhh idk. He’s the master of shifting and streams that online, taking out small crimes, and is actually really shy and doesn’t like interacting with people.

also haha fortnite

Nora Akino, the sin of despair! its an ad thing, I think. She speaks only in a foreign language that only Odin understands and is either big gay for Ava or Maggi, she can’t pick. And yes she did drink the vial, when TITAN attacks your planet and you accidentally die, how else can you meet your family again? also my grandpa walked in and said she looks like royalty. cool-

she wouldn’t leave my hand for like,, 3 days or something

Petri, a fellow troublemaker at camp campbell’s music camp. She managed to pick the camp because apparently a parent who doesn’t acknowledge your hard work don’t read the fine print! Please let David adopt her,,

LASTLY! Yukimaru Atsuko, hero name; Gummie. She goes by Yuki and is a big dick. She’s a studious student but gets more thrills on the actual battlefield. Living with her uptight grandma and her big bottom energy bro, she has the dom energy thing going. and apparently folks on G+, or the people who comment about her, thinks she’s really pretty, which was oddly a thing back before UA. She’s the dick you can like, not like Bakugou but she will definitely want to fight Bakugou. 

A gum-related quirk is not full of perks when its only your hands. I’d dive more into her like her insecurities and stuff but I’ve been here for probably 3hrs. Sorry anon.

Also I’m so sorry to anyone who reads this all the way through.

[xurkitips]

On Conveying Personality Through Chatroom-style Dialogue

A friend of mine shared screenshots of a roleplay he was having via a Discord server, wherein the style was chatroom/texting based. Each character would have a different style of typing completely unique to their person. Though unfamiliar with all of them, I could see what their personalities were like

Like real human beings, a character very much so has a “voice”. I mean that both in the literal sense, through their manner of speaking and what they say, but also through their self expression, interests, and actions. This carries over into the digital realm in ways we may not even notice. Text messages may not be verbal, no, but there are ways to show inflection.

There are many, many ways to show meaning through text. Here are some that I’ve picked up and utilized with my own characters:

Sentence structure

all lowercase sentences VS Grammatically correct

Lowercase gives off the feeling of someone familiar with others or willing to become familiar. It lacks the tension of formal writing, complete with its capitalization and proper periods ending sentences, and feels very casual and approachable. It may also be a sign of someone who doesn’t care much about perfection, a lazy person, or an easy going individual. Seems like a lot of internet regulars prefer this kind of typing style.

“im dying

‘deafening horrorcore rap’ ok i listen to literal noise and idk what this even is”

Using a properly capitalized and punctuated style is very formal, like one would see in a book, an official email, etc. It’s more serious and stern than lowercase is and may imply an older, more mature person typing...or maybe just someone trapped on their phone at the mercy of autocorrect. 

"I am always happy to see you, even if you are not feeling your best.“

“It's nice here.

Quiet.”

There’s a certain respectful steadiness to it as well. It can be calming to read at times.

Punctuation VS Lack of punctuation

End-stopped lines come with both a pause and a bit of a pointed and direct feeling. It strengthens both lowercase and grammatically correct styles, but in different ways. In conjunction with “proper” writing, it’s less noticeable, merely giving the reader a moment’s pause. In conjunction with lowercase, especially if the one typing isn’t keen on using periods, it can come off as stern, serious, passive-aggressive, or angry.

“whatever.

it's less excruciating than it would be without it.”

Removal of punctuation is a different story. Typically just shown with lowercase, it leaves it with that casual feeling intact, or like one’s sentences are more like quick thoughts or questions. Removing them from grammatically correct sentences does ease off some of the tension, implying someone with a more neutral-positive tone while still being more mature. 

“I’m not terribly good with conversation”

And then there’s the run-on sentences from those who type small novels per response. Usually complete with multiple and’s. It’s a sign of nervousness, enthusiasm, or oftentimes a younger character...

“actually i don't know much about it i just happened to see something online and it's apparently only manufactured overseas exclusively for this one particular shop and they made the original design and initial product i guess”

Oof.

Proper spelling (or lack thereof)

The better the spelling, the more the likelihood of the person being older, calmer, or neutral. There’s also a sense of being well educated or careful about one’s typing. Perhaps a confident air may exude from what they say, too.

“Can you come help me for a moment?”

Those who make a lot of mistakes will simply confuse words for other words, forget apostrophes, or type too fast to notice things missing or in the wrong location. Some just don’t really care enough or are too tired to deal with it. Too much focus and people know what they mean anyway. Probably.

“i laug hso hard hes come runin

he thougt i aws dyin”

It can also happen in very emotional situations, in bouts of laughter, crying, rage, or when one is drowsy, medicated, or sick. It tends to stand out when one’s style is suddenly very, very different and tips others off to something being wrong.

Younger characters, especially kids, also make spelling mistakes all the time depending on their age, whether due to sounding out words or just in a hurry to reply.

Short sentence fragments, single words, and lengthy paragraphs

Sometimes people with rapid-fire thoughts, who are excited, busy, stressed, or angry, will take to quick and short responses (sometimes of many fragments in a row). These show a similar feeling as do lines of poetry. Stacking small fragments on top of one another adds emphasis. The reader has to read them one by one rather than as a straight sentence. On its own, the word or fragment stands out and becomes more important.

"well

yeah thats

what i was tryina do

but i mean”

I’ve seen it used used for storytelling from one person to another in larger chunks of things, quick responses, for poetic value, and in irritation or passive-aggressiveness.

In full sentence conversations sent in short bursts, it’s also allowing the reader pause to read each comment without it feeling like a novella. Though it can also feel like someone is obnoxious, rambling on and on as the notifications keep coming, or has a lot to talk about and keeps thinking of more.

Then there are those who type rather large responses all at once instead of hitting the enter key with every sentence:

"Whoever did it was quite thorough; either the power in that area of the lab was cut while we were distracted or they tampered with the security cameras, because that footage is missing. But, we have some theories now. It had to have been someone with direct access to the laboratory. I hesitate to place blame on any of my coworkers...they're all my trusted companions and friends! And yet...”

It’s concise and a solid, complete story in one spot. Could be someone who loves to talk, could be someone who didn’t want a response before they were done talking. It’s also commonly seen by middle-aged texters who want to say everything they can all at once.

Exclamation points and Question marks

Simple one here. Question mark for a question or confusion, exclamation point for emphasis or an exclamation. But when a person adds multiple to a sentence it can convey more of the person’s feelings; 

“are you okay??”

Here is someone who is very concerned. Multiple question marks can imply things such as worry, stress, disbelief, and shock. There’s a sense of hurry and tension. Perhaps the person on the other end is frightened, easily afraid, or tends to have an overwhelming reaction to things.

“oh!!! it’s nice to see you!!!”

"! 

!!! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Meanwhile, multiple exclamation points convey much more friendlier, happier tones. Often such things as surprise, excitement, happiness, friendliness. Users typing !! as a punctuation (like I tend to do) may do it as an assurance or to show how thrilled they are to talk. Occasionally !!!! is tacked onto an angry statement to be more of a shout, but I see it less and less.

Chatspeak and Internet habits

Shortenings of words have been a regular thing for ages. It’s easy, convenient, and gets the point across quickly. But the internet has taken it to a new extreme, where sentences can be almost entirely compromised of them.

“wtf r u talkin abt?? gdi man idk wuts even happening rn”

A character wanting to be quick to respond, always on the ball, always involved, may be more likely to utilize and understand chatspeak. They’re the social butterfly of the group. It’s also a sign of a long-time internet lurker who’s aware of what the lingo is, and how to use it. A complete lack thereof points toward either an older user or someone who’s unused to social media.

The more memes, the harder someone is trying to fit in. Or maybe they’re easily amused or just absorbed things from their friends without thinking about it. The comedian of the group is going to know the best ways to use them.

Smilies and Emojis

:D D: :DDD // :3 3: >:3 :3c // :o :O O:<

These kinds of smilies have always struck me as the most friendly. Whether used in devious ways or with genuinely heartwarming intentions, the playful, lightheartedness of the user really shines through these. 

"not a bad way to spend a lazy day :D”

“it's also my birthday :3″

It’s got just the right vibe to punctuate a sentence that’ll leave the reader feeling that the person likely means no harm or wants to be friendly, positive, or encouraging. I’ve met a lot of people that use these and turn out to be very kind or considerate people.

:), ;), ((((: and related

A long time positive, friendly smiley. 

"You said you've known them a long time? I think they would understand. :)”

And yet these days I tend to associate it with passive aggressive statements, plotting, slyness, devious behavior, or anger. Older users may be inclined to use :) as a means to show their emotional state, but newer users seem more inclined to do the opposite. The more parentheses there are, the more upset the person, it seems.

“man don’t u love it when the power’s out in the middle of the night it’s just (((: really great thanks (((((:”

Then the ;) smiley comes off more specifically flirty and a bit playful. Doesn’t seem to change much there.

“if i find a good chance 2 hook u up ill do my best ;)”

XD

The bane of my teenage existence. It’s a more old school sign of laughter, rarely seen in today’s world due to falling out of favor and becoming associated with, “LOL Rawr XD Tacos I’m So Randoom,” culture. But time to time you do see it. Mostly with sarcasm but sometimes with genuine intentions.

“xDddddDDD

It was a good joke. XD”

A character using it genuinely comes off more playful, and to me, personally, as an older person who’s genuinely unaware of the associations with the smiley itself trying to show how they laughed without using LOL. 

Letter/Character smilies

Y’know, things like .w. and ._. or owo, where the letters or symbols make a face. These are fairly popular, it seems. I don’t like using them myself, but know a few who do use them.

"I'm sorry that they can be mean qmq”

It’s a different feel from the others. There’s something soft to it, almost a gentleness. When these or Japanese characters are used, there’s more whimsy. It’s cute and almost a bit feminine. It may convey an open person or give the impression that said person is easier to talk to.

Though honestly I can’t see uwu and owo as anything but heavily sarcastic. I’ll be honest with you.

Emojis

The first rule of Xurkitips club is that we don’t talk about Emoji Movie. Just putting that out there riiight now.

Used sparingly by most for fun and for emphasis. Characters may use them to be lighthearted, aesthetically, joke, or to make a conversation more flavorful. The use of emojis may determine a character’s personality; I find that characters who use hand emojis like 👌 are rather laid back, those who use 🙃 do it passive aggressively, and we all know what kind of person uses 🍆.

Then there’s what in common terms known as, “The DudeBro”:

[MFKNSTARBOI]: the thing i never undstood about hair is why people buy shampoo like regular soap not good enough for you LMAO 😂😂😂

[gostones]: .

[BIGDICKTOYOTA69]: what the fuck man

[ahogekun]: do... you not use shampoo

[MFKNSTARBOI]: aaaah you guys got sucked into big shampoo as well 😔

[MFKNSTARBOI]: When it comes to horses 🐎  the stars in the sky ✨ or just man to man no bullshit advice 👬 IM youre guy 😤😂

I think this one speaks for itself.

[pungenday]

@pineapple-millionaire in depth fucking stragner things 2 analysis under the cut

honestly bob's death was so, so cheap. bringing in a brand spankin new character, getting him endeared to the audience by showing he's a genuinely kind, gentle, loving and brave person who could really make joyce happy despite seeming like a bit of a boring guy, and then pointlessly killing him off JUST so the audience is sad - but not too outraged like they would be if it was one of the main cast from the first season. it felt fake. it didnt even spur the plot forward! the shadow monster had already taken joyce's son, there was no need for extra motivation for her to want to kill it. heck, it might have been extra interesting had she not had the extra level of vengeance spurring her on and instead had to worry a little more about the monster's death killing her son. it was literally just done to jerk some tears. im still really gotdam mad

i think billy was intended to be a complex character - probably not intended to be empathized with so much as pitied. he's fucking awful but he seems like he could get a redemption arc in the future. i think he has the potential to be likable if that happens, but only if he's truly remorseful and really tries to make up for all he's done. also yh i agree, along w/ some other context clues the dad's specific use of the f-word in that one scene rly makes me think the writers intend for him to be gay and in the closet (maybe probably also in denial). but like its the tragic 80s so. wont be pretty if he is. im not sure which outcome i hope for

also at least in this season i dont think steve did anything wrong, he's a good guy if a bit emotionally dumb, just wasn't right for nancy. i think nancy was really stressed when she was with him specifically bc he was so good at pretending the whole upside down mess hadn't happened, and she couldnt do that, which stressed her out even more. he was a pretty good boyfriend otherwise? there was also how it played into nancy's character arc - her being w/ him was the pinnacle of her trying to pretend life was normal and nothing had happened, once she let him go she could stop pretending and actually take action against hawkins lab. it was kind of a symbol in that way?

im kinda lukewarm on jonathan. ive never really felt one way or another about him i just really wish they hadnt gotten together in the way they did.

i didnt understand el's reaction to max either but ive been thinking on it. i guess maybe seeing mike smiling w/ someone other than the friends she knew made her think that his life somehow became better when she was gone? and she began to equate max w/ that and resent her for it, turning max into a symbol to direct her anger, when really she was upset that mike had seemingly moved on and become happy even though he thought she was dead. her journey then was kind of like. finding some place that she was needed, where she needed them in return? and she sort of assumed then that mike didnt need her. thats my only theory on that. it shocked me to see it too, especially the snub in the last episode.

mmmmmm lastly - sorry i have too many thoughts on this show - i didnt like the way the arc w/ kali went down. it felt really unresolved, and it was left open whether kali genuinely felt the 'connection' she said she did to el, or if she was just using her for her powers. probably if they have another season we'll see more of her. i kept waiting for her to become relevant again after el went back - even if it was just in the epilogue - and she never did, which was disappointing.