#Using the existing characters I created

[astearisms]

fionna and cake drawings before and after watching the episodes so far. it’s nostalgic and somehow cathartic and poignant and relatable and—it just started

[qiu-yan]

imagine the following scenario: one day, the MXTX protagonists + love interests find out, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are fictional characters; that they were created to star in a romance-genre web serialization centered around their relationship.

in this kind of situation, i feel like all of the MXTX protagonists would experience some level of existential crisis.....except for luo binghe.

fo luo binghe, the reveal would be twofold. first, there would be the PIDW reveal: that luo binghe was originally to be the protagonist of the webnovel PIDW, and that his fate changed when one of the novel's anti-fans, peerless cucumber, transmigrated into the body of shen qingqiu and derailed the entire plot.

second, there would be the SVSSS reveal: that, in reality, all of the above was actually the plot of another novel - the scum villain's self-saving system - and that said novel is not concerned with any of luo binghe's feats or conquests or the like, but rather is about the romance between shen qingqiu (shen yuan) and luo binghe. and that, rather than being the protagonist, luo binghe is instead the male lead to shen qingqiu's protagonist.

except literally both of these reveals are massive Ws for luo binghe?? first, for the PIDW reveal, luo binghe finds out why shen qingqiu pushed him into the abyss - not because shen qingqiu hated him, but rather because the system literally forced shen qingqiu to do so upon threat of death. furthermore, luo binghe learns shen qingqiu's real identity: someone who read about luo binghe from an alternate universe and came to love him, someone who loved luo binghe across dimensions so much that, upon seeing that luo binghe's story was to end with zero true emotional fulfillment, rejected this ending so vociferously that he ended up changing luo binghe's entire fate.

and then, the SVSSS reveal: this entire universe only exists because MXTX wanted to tell the story of the romance between shen qingqiu and luo binghe. from the beginning, shen qingqiu and luo binghe were fated to end up together. and, if shen qingqiu is the protagonist, that means luo binghe was literally created to love him.

absolute ego boost. massive W. every other MXTX character would be experiencing the existential crisis to end all existential crises, but not our luo binghe. nothing but victories for him.

[bovivinator]

Re-listened to TAZ Balance recently and I’m still in awe that Griffin McElroy somehow managed to introduce a “long-lost twin of protagonist who had selective amnesia about them” character so late in the story, so successfully that she not only featured in some of the most thrilling and emotional moments of the series, but immediately became wildly popular and caused most of the fanbase to spontaneously develop crushes on her

[tvckerwash]

thinking about how ~the arcane~ in s2 which definitely wasn't just a rebrand of the void with targonian stuff thrown in for some reason was dealt with and getting mad about it again because the roots of a poisoned tree short story exists.

some mysterious magic related corruption of unknown origin spontaneously appearing deep underground that's affecting zaun environmentally? check. a powerful magic entity showing up to warn those who discovered it of its danger? check. the narrator recalling icathia, a lost city that became a dead wasteland after being consumed by the void, meaning that could be zaun and piltover's future if they don't come together to address the issue? check. boom, plot point achieved with no multiverse, no time loops, no demonization of hextech sending an anti science message, and no ripoff age of ultron final battle necessary since they could tie it all back to shimmer which was pretty obviously connected to the void.

[fluffydeoxys]

OC stuff is dangerous wdym you just think about that guy and you feel things. You made that thing and it’s come such a long way like they’ve grown and fleshed out and you’re proud of them. And there’s an indescribable feeling of pride and tenderness and passion and fondness. That ☝️thingie is My Thing and I love them

[sleepyvib-es]

rick bringing percy and annabeth back in cameos just to consistently shit on their characters is enough to ruin my mood for at least a week

[kasieli]

Chapter five of A Reign of Shadows is out which you can read here ft. my fave sassy demon Cassia and the appointed babysitter Finn

[valtsv]

sorry if you’ve read this before and i just haven’t seen you post about it, but the book “hell followed with us” by andrew joseph white seems right up your alley

i need some kind of faq with a section where i explain that i consider andrew joseph white to be a poor writer except when it comes to describing excesses of body horror and gore because people keep suggesting hell followed with us to me and i'm sorry but his books are not good. aside from the vivid descriptions mentioned above they're incredibly devoid of compelling narratives, fleshed out characters or immersive worldbuilding. the guy can come up with some amazing concepts for a story, but his ability to execute them is consistently disappointing. i'm glad he's making money and having fun pursuing his creative passions but his stuff just does not appeal to me at all and frankly makes a hater out of me.

[class-of-classics-blog]

MY HEADCANON FOR PARENTS NAMES:

Snow White: Bianca White ( Bianca means "white" and Whites are probably one of the most obsessed families with their story, every single Snow White had a name with meaning relative to the fairy tails,)

Evil Queen: Eris Queen (I can't remember did I read a fic where she was called Eris but I think that the name of the goddess of discord really suits her)

Sleeping Beauty: Rosalin Beauty (pretty standard name)

Cinderella: Ophelia Ella ( a sweet name for a sweet girl)

Red Riding Hood: Scarlett Hood (one more standard name)

Big Bad Wolf: Aiden Wolf (close friends call him Andy :) )

Dark Fairy: Darcy Thorn ( oh the irony of being the dark fairy with dark name and yet cover yourself in light)

Candy Witch: Cinnamon Witch (I also didn't come up with this name myself. I saw someone use it for her a really long time ago but I can't remember who. If the person who came up with this name sees this, you deserve a reward, the name is perfect. But I hc that she goes by her nickname: Candy. Why? Because it's such a cute nickname)

Pinocchio: Oak Wood (I think that every family name has something to do with trees or wood. Oak sounds like a perfect name for someone sweet, young and cheerful and later as an adult calm and wise)

Goldilocks: Dolly Locks ( I just think that its a cute name and she kinda remind me of Dolly)

Huntsman: Archer Huntsman (Okay, so, Huntsmans are bad at naming their kids, like REALLY BAD. Hunter we are counting on you to break that cycle)

King Charming: Dashing Charming (I read one fanfic were he is named Dashing and i think that name suits him, i myself couldn't come up with the more fitting name)

Queen Charming: Grace Charming (I also read that one in a fanfic and i think it fits her, somehow whenever i think of Charmings Dashing and Grace are the first name that come to my mind)

Rapunzel: Cressida O'Hair (I first just like the name but then i found out the Cressida means "golden" so it goes well with Rapunzel story)

Pied Piper: Devin Piper ( It means "bard" or "poet", the perfect name for a musician. Also, Piper is really a cool name, too bad it is already his last name)

Mad Hatter: Maddox Hatter (I just like silly names for Wonderlandians, especially Mad Hatter)

Queen of Hearts: Victoria Hearts ( okeey, it's not a very Wonderlandian name but neither is Elizabeth and Vicy is a cute nikename)

Cheshire Cat: Lorelai Cheshire (I didn't want to go for the obvious one Chatrine, like, I get it, she's a cat, She literally named her daughter Kitty, or maybe Katrine Kitty for short, BUT THEN I REMEMBER THAT TOLERAI EXISTED which is literally the same name just different first latter and I already gotten attached to Lorelai, so, umm if you all could just do me the favour and pretend that these are TOTALLY different names I would be very thankful)

Alice Wonderland: Amilia Wonderland ( Also would her last name be Wonderland or Liddell? Bonus cute nickname Amy)

White Rabbit: Castor Blanc ( At first i just liked the name but don't you think that "dutiful" is a perfect for White Rabbit)

White Swan: Elenor Swan ( It means "shining light" and to be honest with that destiny she's going to need some light in her life)

Black Swan: Callisto VonBart (What would be the last name of The Black Swan? VonBart?BlackSwan? I put VonBart because I found an OC of Odille on Pinterest and her last name was VonBart. I don't know)

Frog Prince: Hanry Croakington ( i reafuse to belive that he named his son after himself. Nuh-uh. He named Hopper after his father or maybe his grandfather)

Robin Hood: Wren Hood ( Listen, Listen, maybe they just have a thing with the birds?)

Maid Marian: Pandora Charming ( I don't think that there is a destiny stricly for Maid Marian. I think thats just a princess from Charming family or from nobel family, that's why i gave her last name Chaming. Last name changed after the wedding)

Beauty: Primrose Beauty ( Ah, Beauties and their roses)

Beast: Damian Beast (like it)

Fairy Godmother: Beatrice Goodfairy ("blessed one" mmm... too bad you can't bless yourself)

Jack Beanstalk: Jasper Beanstalk (nice)

Snow Queen: Isolde Winter (perfect for ice queen)

Snow King: Nikolai Winter (took his wife's last name, couldn't think of his own that's not arleady taken)

BONUS: PRINCES CHARMING

The Good King: David Charming (i think that only the main Charming follow that logic with names where all siblings have names with the same first latter)

Cinderella's prince Charming: Louis Charming (he's a nice boy)

Snow White's prince Charming: Cassian Charming (I just like it)

Sleeping Beauty's prince Charing: Liam Charming (don't ask)

[ruuari]

if you ship characters together, you're probably used to shipping characters who aren't "canon confirmed" to be together. you probably have gay ships. ask yourself why the stretch of your imagination doesn't include trans characters

because clearly the realm outside "canon confirmed" is possible for you. ask yourself why you're able to see beyond straight as default but not cis as default

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

Why did the stage musical adaptation make Jack Kelly an artist?

Well, you can thank or blame Harvey Fierstein.

When tasked with re-writing Newsies for the stage, Fierstein decided that he "wanted to make at least one cogent argument defending print media." The object of argument that he landed on? The political cartoon.

I'll let him speak for himself:

Throughout history the political cartoon has kept the record of our follies and triumphs. They have leveled the mighty and motivated the seemingly powerless... Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate. (...) Here was the argument I could put forth in a family musical about the newsboy strike of 1899. I turned the hero of Newsies into an untrained artist who chronicles his world with sketches, and those sketches become the rallying cry for political and social change. - Harvey Fierstein, Reimagining the Story of Newsies, 2012.

From the above article, the change from cowboy to artist had nothing at all to do with Jack Kelly himself, or even about polishing the plot of Newsies. The change was made in an attempt to convey a new message to a new audience. I suppose this message is articulated by Pulitzer in the final five minutes of the second act:

Newsies stage musical script, page 46.

Was this addition of the political cartoon necessary? I'd say it wasn't. Was it effective in what it set out to do? I guess that depends on the impression that it's left on its audience.

Either way, I'd encourage y'all to give Harvey Fierstein's full confession/argument/defense/explanation a read.

---

@old-timmy - I found the source for you! :)

[cluescorner]

The most important thing about a Megatron ship is that it cannot end well.

[wombywoo]

Hi, Womby!

Firstly, I wanted to tell you how much I adore Vincent and Quinn!

And if you feel comfortable answering this:

how did you create them?

Did you design them first and then develop their personalities and backstories? Or the other way around?

Every time I try to create original characters, they end up being shallow caricatures of characters I like but without real depth or actual personalities :/

Thanks so much for the kind words about my boys 🥰

As for the question--I kind of just...thought of them as concepts at first. Like, I had a vision of a vampire/human dynamic and projected some of my ideal characteristics onto them, tweaked a few early concepts into something more compelling, and just...went with it. They weren't even their true selves, especially in the beginning, but as I kept fantasizing about the idea, they developed more in my mind. I think it was sitting down and drawing them for the first time that solidified them as Characters for me. And once I had that, I was able to explore their backstories/personalities as if they were suddenly Real Boys. Currently, it's really easy for me to invent and share details about them, because I just know them now. It's less thinking about it in terms of 'this is my original character and I want them to do XYZ things' and more 'this is a person that exists of their own accord and I want to share their story'. I'm their caretaker and I let them decide things for me (I'm realizing now this all might sound crazy asdfghjkk I swear it's like they've taken over my brain 😅) But yeah--I think it's actually the best part of creating characters in the first place--to reach that stage where you feel like they exist outside of your own mind--they live and act and feel, I'm just the one pulling a few strings~

[il3x]

outside of fandom an "OC" is any little guy whose primary purpose is to be rotated in the mind of their creator. when your character lives within your original story they're your character, not your OC. that fellow is employed!

[tariah23]

🗿

[nightphoebe]

Sometimes you're getting ready for bed and the urge to write purple prose Warhammer 40k fanfiction slaps you in the face so hard you stay awake until 1:30 writing.

And by writing, I mean researching because in all my years of 40k experience, it never occurred to me that Games Workshop just do not give a fuck about the details of space travel. Like, there's a galactic map but its very broad strokes and it seems like, in every edition, important landmarks just move around.

Beyond that, there are very beautiful drawings of fuck off massive star ships that have no interior schematics at all. Where do people go in these things? What parts are for what?

The answer is it literally does not matter because they are only there to give background for how you got to Fuckedupplanetland IV where you will be engaging in land combat with enemy flavor of the week.

I don't blame them for this necessarily. Armies on ground maps are what they're selling. This isn't X-Wing. But like, I've played Fantasy Flight's Rogue Trader and it never occurred to me that for all that game takes place in space, there's very little... space travel to it.

There have been a lot of hand waving reasons for the inconsistencies in universe. Warp travel is so fucked up and weird that the people mapping the galaxy can only really guess where they and major landmarks are. But the fact that I could only find one example of space coordinates and they used fucking compass directions is boggling. Yeah, you've got segmentums and sectors but those are vast, vast sections of the galaxy. Ostensibly, there are subsectors, but those are never represented on a single map. How do the people in this universe ever get where they're trying to go in their monstrous city ships that are as full of fog of war as any battlefield because no one knows where anything is in them?

I don't know. I'm probably frustrated because I spent four hours scouring books, Lexicanum, Reddit, and any other sundry sources I could find only for the answer to end up being "I dunno, make shit up." I could have done that at the beginning of this ride. I'm a fanfic writer. Making up characters and scenarios and dialogue is what I do. But I find the 'make shit up' approach kills my emersion faster than anything else when it comes to things that should be technical knowledge in a universe.

Four hours, all for a single paragraph where an Astropath sends a distress call with fucking coordinates in it and I still had to fudge it.

I love being a writer.