#(( this got kinda long so it's been read more'd ))

[mmxstrangers]

Starter for @goodoldstrength​​

Sweet relief.

Among rocks and rubble laid the being, freshly labeled a Maverick and sought after by the Hunters after his unfortunate outburst earlier. He couldn’t remember too many clear details - the faces he saw were blurry, and the bright lights blinded him. All the “Maverick” could recall was a single, overpowering desire that drove him deep into these tunnels in the first place.

After somehow managing to evade the Maverick Hunters, he ran straight into the less-maintained part of town. There was an intimidatingly tall overpass located over the dilapidated buildings and failed projects. It was practically a breeding ground for unsavory activities, so irregulars were often sighted in the area. The being’s intentions were anything but malicious; the moment he saw stairs leading underground, he practically jumped down and charged through it.

He ran as fast as his legs would allow. He wanted to get away from the pain as much as possible - anything to escape the torture of the surface. Still overwhelmed and firing off on all cylinders, the Maverick kept driving himself deeper into the abandoned subway system. In his panic he refused to stop, only doing so when he suddenly collapsed and couldn’t move anymore.

His systems were overheating. Internal readings were screaming at him and threatening to involuntarily shut down. Vents needed to breathe and cycle out the thermal energy he produced. There would be no more running for now.

Thankfully, the oppressive strength of the daylight could not reach him here. The cool ground provided a wonderful heat sink for him, and he could catch his breath knowing that he was probably hidden from the Hunters. The being slowly came down from his overstimulation, deep breaths of cold air helping to stabilize faster. Eventually, he could sit up and look around himself.

Despite his sensitivity to brightness, he was not built with night vision. A glow illuminated from his head-fins and eyes, which helped with discerning surfaces, but he couldn’t see beyond his immediate vicinity. While he wasn’t complaining in any capacity, unease was starting to set back in.

However, the silence was interrupted by the approaching sound of hydraulics and footsteps, making the Reploid turn his head.

[animality--opera]

Hey, there. I'm a writer who's been looking up to you for a while, and I wanted to ask you for advice. I barely do any writing anymore compared to many years ago, I feel so much more unconfident now. Due to depression, anxiety, you name it. How do you get the confidence to write so much? What do you do when you're not feeling confident? What do you do to get in-character for roleplaying? What are some habits you had to build to consider dialogue and tapping into your characters feelings? Sorry for all the questions, hope you're well! <3

HI ANON THIS IS SO SWEET WHAT THE HECK

most of my answer is Read More'd since this inevitably got so long lmao

honestly all the writing I do comes less from a place of confidence and more from utter compulsion fdskjlgh

CONFIDENCE :

I certainly have read and experienced much better writing than my own and it makes me feel like my own writing is quite mediocre tbh! but it also inspires my writing. reading something that blows me out of the water can be a huge inspo to my word choice, sentence structure, the way I frame stories/descriptions/characters, or even what I want to write about in the first place.

I try to draw from fresh inspo like that if I'm starting to feel like my writing is too stale. sometimes that just means rereading something I already know I like, if I'm craving it! it's just refreshing to get away from my own writing now and then.

but I really don't write for anyone but myself!! it's why I do so much rp instead of fanfic or drabbles. when I rp, I'm really not thinking about crafting something beautiful for my rp partner to read, I'm just having fun exploring a story and exploring how characters respond to that story & to each other.

and that's where the compulsion comes in lmao;; this shit ain't gonna write itself and if I wanna see what happens, I gotta make it happen!! if I'm really into a plot I'm writing with somebody, it feels like binging a really good series on Netflix. next episode next episode next episode = reply reply reply LOL

GETTING IN CHARACTER :

as for character inspo and nailing down dialogue & characterization... I only write characters I'm both interested in and have a really strong sense for, if that makes sense. that way their "voice", the real heart of how this character perceives and reacts to the world, comes fairly naturally to me and it doesn't feel like work to write them. but I still sometimes have to sit and think about how exactly they would word something or feel about something, especially if it's something complex.

for me at least, I tend to get in my own head when developing the dialogue or how a character's going to feel/respond. I have to imagine them saying what I'm writing, to make sure it fits them, that it's coming from them and not just me. I have to mentally put myself in their shoes and kinda feel out a sample of what they're feeling.

sometimes it helps me to picture the scene in my head and picture how the character might look as they respond. of course if I'm writing a canon character, it helps to think back on word choice I know they've used before, or how they've responded to other situations before, and kinda get a gist from there.

YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY :

all of this could obviously vary from person to person; everyone's thoughts & imaginations work differently and certain kinds of inspo might be more helpful to one person than another!

but I hope my huge rambling might've given you something to go off, anon!! I'd love for you to have fun writing again!! I know how it is when stress and anxiety drain the fun out of something you love. I hope you can find that joy again. <3