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Claudia de lioncourt

Happy father day to this little dad killer!

Commission based on leyendecker painting

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Random atla shot redraw ft. Jet and Sokka🌾🌊

relearning how to draw pains me, but i have to learn it so i could make more ATLA fanarts😞

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My art style looks a bit different here because its a lighting study! This one is very challenging and hard to draw but it was pretty fun to do and it only took me 3 hours!

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Random ATLA screenshot ft. Sokka and a gang of enemy birds🐧🌊

Not really a fan of this one because I didn't capture his exasperated face and the bad attempt at drawing a bg🥲 (First day of school ended and instead of studying i drew this XD)

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Another random ATLA screenshot redraw ft. Lee Junior 🌾⚔️

I like this shot alot because he looks constipated (reposted to correct something)

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Random ATLA screenshot ft. Best boy Aang and Appa💐☁️

drawing the flower crown and Appa's braids gave me a headache XD (another repost, this version is filtered)

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Whose shadow is better? 🐱 or 🐸

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“It’s a pretty great view, huh?”

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Pros of re-reading your own fic

a good time;

Has exactly the tropes you like and the characterization you want to read;

Gratification: yes you did finish a thing and yes you did do good;

just a very fun time all around.

Cons of re-reading your own fic:

Is that another TYpO

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Toph and Zuko’s field trip continues, but is it life-changing? No one is sure.

I love how earlier this year I was like “I’m bad at dumb comics” and now I keep making them. Thanks, Toph. You are an inspiration.

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Ellie by Eugenia Savchenko

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Avoid... When Writing Female Characters

One of the most common asks I receive revolves around female characters. Oftentimes, it's a writer who wants to know what I think of their character because they've gotten backlash from said character. And while initially, I wanted to make this post about how to CORRECTLY write female characters in recognition of these struggles, I just can't because there's no exact "right" way to write a gender.

But with that being said, there are many wrong ways to write them. Remember that these are all my opinions; if you disagree with anything, that's completely fine!

So, let's begin!

1. Filler For Diversity

Sometimes, you just have to include characters of different genders with the idea of adding diversity in mind. And while that's not the sincerest reason for including them, it's not a terrible one either.

However, if you're dealing out these characters as fillers with little personality, screen time, and/or importance just to claim that you're inclusive, the truth is, you're really not. As much as I appreciate the thought, it doesn't really make a story diverse.

2. Soft and Cute

I watch anime, so I can most definitely assure you that the "soft, cute, and innocent girl" trope is quite popular among this media. And to be frank, it annoys me to death.

If you're creating a cute female character to attract guy readers or to make other female readers swoon at how adorable she is; please don't. Not only are these characters inaccurate, but they often have VERY little dimension and/or personality. It's hard to read knowing their lacking purpose in the story.

3. Overly, Unnecessarily Tough

Let's talk about the direct opposite, now! As much as I love a good, tough, female character, sometimes I see the same issues with this trope as the one I mentioned above.

And that problem is a lack of depth.

Being tough is not a whole personality set. And honestly? It can get boring and annoying fast. Your character doesn't need to be tough to be strong.

4. Toxicity DOES NOT Mean Power

Out of all of my asks regarding female characters, most of them are probably asking about the toxic ones.

I see a lot of readers having this misconception that toxicity (for females), equals power and/or dominance when it couldn't be further from the truth. Toxicity is not something that should be empowered, and definitely not something that should be encouraged, no matter the gender.

5. Forgetting Personality

Sometimes, there seems to be nothing really wrong with the character, but they're just boring. And this brings me to point 5: women have personality too.

I think that some writers forget that females can be funny, they can be sarcastic, and they can be relaxed. Strength doesn't always have to be defined physically; it can also be seen through personality.

6. STOP OVERSEXUALIZING

This speaks for itself, guys. Stop sexualizing girls for no reason. When a female character is introduced, the first line I see should NOT be something about her "voluptuous chest".

7. Forgetting Development

This one isn't the biggest deal for me, but it adds on to number 5. Once in a while, I'll see a really intriguing character, only for the author to completely abandon developing her. And if it's an important character, that's just such a huge loss.

8. Introducing Them Purely as a Love Interest

When I see female characters, I naturally expect them to be a love interest because that's, y'know, their most common role. And I understand, sometimes it's necessary. But with that being said, I do think that we should stop restricting girls to the roles of love interests.

Sometimes, they can just be friends with each other and remain at that.

But what do you guys think? I'd love to know!

Happy writing~

3hks ^^

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Subplot Romance

Over the years I've created some twitter threads on writing and history and I've decided it's a good time to start compiling and sharing them on this Tumblr. I'm going to tag them "writing".

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Here's what I've learned about writing subplot romance. (People who write genre romance probably already know this stuff. It's those of us who are mainly leavening romantic subplots into fantasy novels that need this info).

1. Romance = fundamentally character-driven. All internal conflict & internal growth. (Can these two trust each other? Will their character flaws drive them apart?) The more study you put into creating characters and building character arcs, the better your romantic writing.

A romance arc is not the SAME as a character arc, but it 100% NEEDS solid character work undergirding it.

2. Romance needs two ingredients: a compelling reason for the characters to be TOGETHER, & a compelling reason for them to be APART. This forms the conflict in the romance so do not skimp on either.

Eg, a common mistake in male-penned stories: female lead has no compelling reason to want male lead. "He's a good-looking warrior dedicated to winning her throne!" Yeah nah, she's literally surrounded by good-looking warriors dedicated to winning her throne, why's he different?

3. Romance needs chemistry = a believable spark of attraction. Something that blew my mind when I realised it: romantic chemistry =/= sexual chemistry. Sexual chemistry (purely physical attraction) is simply PART of romantic chemistry.

Romantic chemistry is a good deal broader. (Read/watch some good romances to see how chemistry is built by different storytellers. One fave of mine is the Romola Garai EMMA. Peerless friends-to-lovers chemistry. Watch the actors' body language; the way they gravitate to each other; the way their faces light up)

Chemistry tip A: if the driver behind sexual chemistry is lust, the driver behind romantic chemistry is trust. Protag needs/wants someone to trust. It's the way you play with trust/distrust that will create romantic tension.

eg: love interest holds protag's hand. With sexual chemistry, protag simply feels a jolt at the contact. With romantic chemistry, protag feels comforted and trustful - then betrayed when it turns out LI is tracking her pulse to see if she's lying to him (see: MISS SHARP 😇)

Chemistry tip B: if protag is falling for someone, that person should occupy their mind. LI should be mentioned/thought of each scene, even when absent. When present: LI consistently provokes unaccustomed emotion - either positive or negative, depending.

Chemistry tip C: make the characters their best/most lovable/most iconic selves when with each other. Quirkiness, smarts, hilarity. Make these the most fun character scenes in the book & the audience will ship them. Passionately.

4. Build romantic chemistry/attraction through escalating moments of trust and tension. If aiming for happily-ever-after(HEA)/for-now(HFN), then the overall arc is towards greater trust, but you need those moments of tension to give the big payoff scenes appropriate catharsis.

OTOH, if you're writing a tragic/backstabby romance, you need the trust/comfort moments in order to sell the big tragedy/betrayal.

5. Trust, comfort, & happiness are POWERFUL. This is what genre romance thrives upon. Even in dark/spiky stories, the most surprising thing in the story can be the moment when the LI DOESN'T betray the protag. That too can be wildly cathartic. Use it.

6. Just as character-driven skills help you with romance, so if you master romantic writing, you'll be better able to write ALL types of relationship - platonic, friendly, hostile.

OK that's all so far. Two book recs: ROMANCING THE BEAT by Gwen Hayes & THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY by Gail Carriger teach you the rules/expectations of genre romance so you'll know what the rules are for a happy romance subplot & how to break them for a tragic version.

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A hot take for you this morning:

The conviction has been growing upon me for several years that whole segments of Western media are steadily losing the ability to write for & about women. Female characters, female-led stories, and romantic literacy are all getting worse.

I grew up largely free of TV/movies, and for a long time prided myself on reading no book younger than 50 years old (yeah, I was insufferable). I've since sought to change that. That's why I believe I have the authority to say this: I see a really stark contrast between how it is now and how it used to be.

Compared to today, male authors like Shakespeare, Trollope, and even Tolkien had active empathy & respect for their female characters. They centred whole narratives around believable women. And they wrote unabashed romances.

That's largely gone now.

Compare western media to kdrama. Kdrama usually centres male protagonists in a way it doesn't centre female characters. But it also centres romance - HIGHLY sophisticated & detailed romance.

Watching kdrama cemented my suspicions, because it feels like the first storytelling I've found since the 1800s to treat romance with dignity and respect, & above all as something worthy of male attention. That is SO RARE these days.

I don't think something needs to get male attention in order to be worthy, but as any woman will tell you, if something DOESN'T get male attention, it's viewed as trivial and contemptible if its existence is noted at all.

It's true that more women than ever are writing stories about women, including romances. The problem is, this seems to have resulted in women's stories getting shoved into a ghetto; either YA or romance or the dreaded "chick flick"

As this genre divide developed between stories for men and stories for women, it seems like too many male storytellers took it as a license to care even less about writing for & about women.

Ahem, Popular Urban Fantasy Author Who Lists His Female Characters' Bust Size Without Fail.

Please note, I know many good and sincere men who want to do better. I see you and I'm so grateful for your efforts. But if you've mostly been reading "blokey" stories - and I know the appeal of stories about & for oneself - you haven't been given the tools you need.

The final straw seems to be the rise of vocal, self-consciously chauvinist online fandoms which rubbish media they see as being too feminine and loudly demand increasingly chauvinist storytelling. These people DO have an impact. Shows they bless get renewed season after season. Media they curse is lucky to survive. I mention no names. But we've all seen them shape public discourse.

What it all adds up to is this: if I want believable writing about women, in a lot of ways I'm better off reading a man from 1850 than a man from 2020. And that's pretty messed up.

How is this going to change? On a cultural level, I don't know. But I want to shout out to the fellow author who read my mixed review of his book, reached out to me for a detailed critique, and listened for an hour as I talked. You, sir, are one of the real ones.

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No, Arcane is not "how to do female characters" or "strong female characters."

This might come as a surprise to you so you might wanna brace yourself when you hear that *leans in to whisper in your ear* there is no one right way to write female characters any more than there's a right way to be a woman.

Arcane is a modern day Alien where chuds can point at it and say, "Hey, I'm not sexist because I like this and it has girls."

Because sexism is always that simple, amirite?