#characters

[thepenultimateword]

I’ve had my theories but I’ve actually wondered this for a while. It’s even more on my mind since I’ve started writing a series where I’ll be using names and in some instances I would prefer to give names. I’m curious how other people feel on the matter when it’s become known that if you want views you shouldn’t name your characters.

[madcat-world]

My Friend - victor cloux

[stingrayextraordinaire]

Character Moodboards // Jane Foster

Magic is just science we don’t understand yet.

[cinemagal]

“CHAPTER 8 - PAPA” STRANGER THINGS SEASON 4 (2022)

[cloudofbutterflies]

So I finally made a uquiz to see how fandom would see you if you were a fictional character.

[confusedwithglitter]

[hvacinth]

i love you character who’s trying to do better but cannot outrun your fate, i love you hope in spite of all proof of doom, i love you despaired attempts at making it right, i love you blind trust even as you know a knife in the back is awaiting, i love you love that doesn’t mean anything when faced with greater forces, i love you slow descend into madness at the unfairness of it all, i love you pure heart not strong enough to withstand tainting, i love you justified anger

[spiced-wine-fic]

[debbie-sketch]

Fairy nap

[frayro-called-frey]

your honor, in my defense, the queer-coded villain was really funny and also the best character.

[redtallin]

A commissioned ref sheet for a very badass astral elf necromancer! I love working on these ref sheets so much

[madcat-world]

Night Mother - Mona Finden

[moonlitinks]

ways you can further develop your main character

give them a misbelief

no characters have a personality when the plot starts. all of them have backstories, a past, and a mindset that they grew up with!

basically, a misbelief is the wrong mindset that they grew up with, and is also a belief that will be restructured by the end of your novel.

this not only shows character growth and development as their mind is "restructured" or they learn their life lesson, but also drives the internal plot of your story, which differs from the external (or action) plot that most people seem to read.

+ this gives readers a deeper insight to your character!

give them a goal

every character has a goal, or something they want in their lives. having them strive for it would essentially drive your plot, and may also help you dig deeper into your character's motivations!

this goal doesn't always need to be achieved, or may be impossible to (for example, someone wanting to meet a loved one who turns out to be dead; they may have not reached their goal, but it took them on a journey)

this goal should also be concrete if possible! vague ones like "they want to be happy," isn't very helpful. what do they think will make them happy?

(side note: wanting everything to be the way that it is can also be a goal, cause they're striving to make things go back to the way they were!)

more notes / explanations here! most of these notes in this post are taken from story genius by lisa cron, and i thought they might help. please take all this information with a grain of salt, and maybe use it in a way that'll work best for you! <3

buy me a kofi | insta | main

[lamaery]

I was just scribbling tonight and suddenly was overwhelmed with the desire to draw their smug little faces...

[cinemagal]

Lewis Pullman as Bob TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022)

[theatrum-tenebrarum]

Misunderstanding Lucifer from the Sandman series and why Gwendoline Christie is the right choice (an art historian and occultist's opinion)

I am writing this post as I'm absolutely baffled by the issues people seem to have with the portrayal of the character of Lucifer in the Sandman series. For some reason people find it problematic that the fallen angel is played by Gwendoline Christie, a powerful and androgynous-looking woman, but there is seemingly no problem with Lucifer being played by a black-haired man in the nightclub business (Tom Ellis in the Netflix series 'Lucifer'). Don't get me wrong, Tom Ellis is entertaining and wonderful to watch, but that particular version of Lucifer is neither canon when it comes to the comics nor does it have anything to do with the actual angel Lucifer.

Angels are genderless beings and they have always been portrayed as androgynous in the history of art. Multiple literary sources, including grimoires (books with supposed instructions on how to summon these beings and many others), state that angelic beings as well as demons are able to change their appearance. Many of those forms they might take aren't even humanoid and they can choose not to show any physical form at all. They aren't corporeal beings, the fact that they do take on any resemblance of a physical form is just so humans can understand them better. That's why we've been painting them as human-like ever since the early times of human civilization. What we make to be similar to us is what makes it comprehensible. Portraying beings from other dimensions/realms as human-like but with androgynous features is a way to show they don't belong in the physical dimension, as gender is likely a non-existent concept in other realms of existence. Androgyny of mythical beings, therefore, emphasizes the fact they are different than physical beings such as humans.

Therefore, when portraying an angelic being in art, or in any type of media, making them androgynous is making way for their essence to come through. In a way, the same applies to the way elves are portrayed as ethereal and androgynous since they don't have to be corporeal beings at all, at least when it comes to folklore. I know this opinion might not be understandable to others or it might sound controversial, but I believe that not portraying an angelic being as androgynous and not showing any signs of their divine origin (these include mannerisms that emphasize their etheriality for example, a cadence in their voice that is different etc.) is a huge missed opportunity that might rob these interesting mythical beings of what they are. Not making angels feel like angels beats the point of having an angel character (in a movie, series or video game for example) in the first place.

This is why Gwendoline Christie is the right choice. At a height of 6′ 3″ (1.91 m), captivatingly pale. androgynous with a powerful specific sort of grace and presence - a perfect 'vessel' for the Morning Star. What's more, she understands the importance, complexity, grandeur and the mythical dimension of the figure of Lucifer, as well as the whole 'spirituality' of the Sandman universe which is rather evident from her approach to this role and the interviews she has given so far. I might go so far to say that, even though the Sandman series isn't even out yet (though there is some footage available already), the casting of Gwendoline as Lucifer feels right just as the casting of Lee Pace as Thranduil in the Hobbit felt right and I consider the character of Thranduil to be the best portrayal of a humanoid mythical being on TV. Lee felt like an elven king, moved like an elven king, spoke like an elven king and radiated an energy of the dimension the elven king might have come from (I'm talking about the folkloric 'Otherworld' where elves supposedly live). I feel the same might apply to Gwendoline and Lucifer.

As an occultist, art historian, anthropologist and someone who is rather fond of the figure of Lucifer, I am looking forward to seeing how Gwendoline interprets him. Finally, we might get something completely different from a frequently portrayed 'demonic' side/version of this important mythical character. We might just see the Light Bringer who has not forgotten his divine origin.

- Heidi (@theatrum-tenebrarum)

Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer (The Sandman series on Netflix, out 5th August 2022)