#dashcomm // they're just standing there and talking.

[neornuna]

"That's it. I'm takin' his horn." A buzzsaw revs in the distance.

[quickdeaths]

Ooh it's ask Bryn questions day (on dash, at least)? Don't mind if I do! Questions 2, 9, 11 and 13, please! I'd copy/paste the full questions but the askbox is dumb and won't let me do that -and- say: Hello have you contemplated the Brainrot (TM) today?

Every day is ask Bryn questions on dash day if you want it to be hahaha. And yes, I have Contemplated it! I am always Contemplating it.

is it hard for you to write with characters you don’t know/don’t know well?

Yes, but what constitutes "don't know/well" isn't necessarily what one might think. If you're a canon blog from a series I know, with descriptions about canon divergence, headcanons, and how your portrayal is personalized to you? Perfect. Canon blog with a character I don't know, but there's tons of information on the blog? Great! OC with a robust about page? I offer you my heart, I love OCs. Even just talking to me a bunch in IMs/discord counts. When I'm writing a starter or replying to an ask or something, I don't want to get things wrong, and I also want to have an idea of what kind of relationship the characters might have, or how they might interact. When it comes to information, for me, there can't be too much.

What's hard for me is people who do canon characters with just a link to a fandom wiki like "this is my character," or people have canons I don't know without even that much, or people with OCs that don't have much information on their pages. I don't need to be personally familiar with a character before coming to someone's blog in order to write with them, but if I've combed through your blog and I still don't understand what your character is about or who they are? That's where it gets difficult and has me staring at empty posts trying to think of what to write.

when you look at a new blog, what is it that makes you press the follow button? is it the muse, the aesthetics, the writing–?

A nice aesthetic helps make a blog a bit more memorable for me, even if I am not an aesthetic person, and sometimes the character might catch my interest if I have a canon/canon interaction that I'd like to explore, or if it's a character from something I really like but rarely see on Tumblr, but overall? There are two big things. Firstly is the OOC vibes. Could I potentially talk to this person about ideas? Do I feel like we could get along? Do they seem mostly on the same page as I am in terms of what they're looking for? Does their schedule line up with mine (i.e. I am going to get replies back in usually 2-3 days, am I going to turn around and wait 2-3 months for every reply because they have 80 things in their 1/day queue?)

Secondly, and more importantly, is the writing. I'm a multi-para/novella writer who prefers longer threads with continuity between threads and a general story arc in which, over time, character relationships evolve and some kind of plot unfolds. That's what I primarily write and what I'm most interested in writing. It's hard for me to see myself fitting in with someone who mostly does really short content, or mostly memes/dashcomms, or whatever. I don't have anything against those writers, but it feels very incompatible with how I write.

describe your ideal outcome/endgame for the muse you are currently writing. if you are a multimuse blog: do this for your current favorite muse, or the muse of the last reply you posted.

Oh gosh, I wonder who this is for hahaha. As if you don't already have some idea =p. It's hard to say an endgame (aside from a certain ship which IS endgame) because I don't even think a character's story is finished, but that said, for Shinobu Yaguchi Brainrot Queen, there are some things that I would like for her.

In an ideal world for Shinobu maybe ten years on from her default placements, I'd like to see her having smoothed off some of her edges and mellowed a bit. They'll always be a bit of a sharp, prickly person, but they could stand to be more careful in how they deploy it, so as not to hurt people who don't deserve it. I'd also like to see her form relationships easier, of all kinds, without defaulting to cold indifference or callous cruelty. Maybe hypothetically have a wife I mean who knows

Be nicer to Anzu. Let go of her resentment towards her brother, whether that's reconciling with him or fully pushing his memory out of her head. Reevaluate her relationship to archery such that she can claim ownership of it as a thing she does for herself, not for her family. Recognize their worth as a human being outside of expectations they can fulfill, prizes they can win, things they can tangibly do for people. Broadly, I want Shinobu to stop restricting herself to a narrow slice of human experience that she believes herself suited to and open herself up to more things and also get a wife perhaps.

what themes/motifs do you hope other people notice most about your character?

It's less any one character, and more them in aggregate, but I find so narratively fruitful and fascinating the idea of masks, personas, public vs private selves, how people see themselves vs how they present themselves vs how other people see them, etc. etc. etc. It's a theme that I find very interesting and that I keep coming back to because it feels like it has so many different ways it can be taken or directions it can go.

Curating an online version of one's life that is perfect, and trying (failing) to live up to it offline? That's Percy. Believing one's true self to be lame and boring, and committing to playing a character to not disappoint fans? That's Hana. Not really having a grasp on what one's true self even really is, and chameleonically shifting to try and always be valued? That's Anzu. Being assigned a role and having expectations heaped upon it by people who actively want the fantasy over the real person? That's Shinobu. Using a combination of a branded persona, a unique speaking style, and an easygoing surface attitude to divorce from unpleasant realities? That's Tsubasa. Leaning on a persona for strength and confidence because even if you can't do it, your stagesona can? That's Izumi. Rio with the tension between a serious scientist and a lazy otaku, Maki lying about her talent and her home life, Jason a literal costumed superhero, Maxi who has reinvented himself as a cosmopolitan hipster, Yi-Chun a literal idol. It's not everyone, but it's a theme that so many of them reflect in their own unique ways.

Idk, maybe it's Not That Deep, but I think there are so many interesting character beats at the intersection of those questions. Identity is such a personal starting point with a character, and the tension (both internally and externally) that comes as a result of various identities brushing up against each other is something that I just find super interesting to explore and write about.