#honestly I've been plenty more happy since dropping that mindset and now I am so much more comfortable when making content

[youredreamingofroo]

Do you help small simblrs get noticed by sharing their posts? I’m smaller blog and I really wished that larger blogs would share everyone’s content. Do you only share larger simblrs posts? You seem to get much interaction with posts too.

listen min vän, I've seen this anon ask go around, and I'm certain you know what my answer is gonna be.

For a short answer, I reblog whatever I want, my intent when reblogging is to reblog content I enjoy- simple as that- but I also reblog to show my mutuals/followers content that I believe was made by someone who is passionate about their work and is proud of what they make, I don't want to reblog content that feels washed and was made for the sole purpose of like farming :/

For a long answer:

First of all, I don't consider myself a "big blog", maybe a medium sized blog, internet-logic has rotted my brain to believe that below a million followers is small so take that as you will (im healing from this mindset tho lmao), but I'm frankly not as big as some people on this platform/simblr (which doesn't matter, all our content is phenomenal regardless, 0 followers or 10k followers), I don't know what gave you that impression 😭 I only recently hit 150 followers and just recently started to get a lot of interactions, which was surprising, but moreso Im just glad more people get to see Roo 😵‍💫 So again, I say I do not feel as tho I am a big blog :P Second of all, I reblog whatever content I enjoy, sometimes it's sims, sometimes its not, and when I reblog it, yes I do have the intent of sharing it to my mootys and followers so that it can be seen, but the intent is showing off work that people are passionate about, if you blatantly care about likes or reblogs or follows, it WILL show up in your work, it will be obvious, and more often than not, your content will not be as ingestible as content from someone who literally lives and breaths on making characters and showing their lore. I also don't reblog every post I see, not because I don't think it's "good enough," but because I don't want to swarm my blog with tens of hundreds of posts, be it sims or not. I see SOO many simblr posts where I'm like damn I wanna reblog this but I don't know what to say, or I dont have anything to say (which I should specify that this does NOT lower the quality of the post by all means), at which point I feel bad for reblogging and not having anything to say- I'm also... not legally required to reblog every post I see, my mutuals make phenomenal posts, doesn't mean I need to reblog their stuff, if they are upset because I didn't reblog their work, then that's just someone who cares about likes/reblogs and I don't like those kinda ppl 🤷‍♂️ U should be on simblr to enjoy and share your work, not to get some useless internet points on a post. Lastly, which kind of ties into the last one, I don't only share larger posts, if anything, I find myself more prone to reblog smaller posts (smaller is subjective but usually anywhere from 0-20 notes) just because it means that less people have seen it, and thus I'm opening the eyes of my mutuals/followers to the beauty of this smaller blog's post.

To conclude this essay of a post, I personally recommend getting the hell outta that mindset, because I used to have that mindset when I started and, at least to me, I could see that mindset show through my work. I've recycled this mindset into "I don't wanna post because I want likes and reblogs, I wanna post because I want people to perceive my brainrot in real time", what I mean by that is that I just want to post just to share my stupid characters, which usually is Roo. The likes/reblogs mindset is and can be super unhealthy for you, and again, I recommend getting out of it, recycle it into something less taxing on the mind.

also I just wanna say that if I reblogged EVERY post I liked/saw, I would have over 20,000 posts and I just KNOW everybody would be annoyed as piss if I reblogged stuff at that frequency (since in order for me to achieve that number, I'd have to reblog like, 100-500 posts every 12 hours 💀)

[philologer-mosaic]

Hey! Fellow writer here! I was curious as to how you learn to write characters and /keep/ them in character without it being overly stereotypical or stiff? I've read your work and I'd love to learn from you ;^;

Hi! Glad to meet you, and wow, I am so flattered to be asked this. Happy to help out a fellow writer, and I’m always down for rambling about writing-related stuff! I’m not sure how helpful some of this will turn out to be, but here goes.

I’m not sure if you’re asking about characterisation in general including crafting OCs or specifically about writing canon characters, and a lot of this advice will be relevant to both, but I will say this straight off: I’ve seen a fair amount of quibbling about how fanfiction won’t teach you how to worldbuild and maybe that’s true, but there is nothing like writing fanfiction for teaching yourself how to craft character voices. Especially when your source material is a movie/ TV show/ whatever definition RWBY falls under. So: rewatch! Pay attention to all the little details. What turns of phrase do they use? How do they stand, how do they move? What’s their usual emotional range? Pick a line they speak, think about what descriptors you’d use to get across their tone of voice or their emotional state if you were writing the scene in a fic. When you’re writing new dialogue for them, try to hear it in the actor’s voice (if that’s a way your imagination works; some people don’t have great auditory imaginations. Mine can be kind of hit and miss!).

Rest of this advice is going under a cut, because this got looong!

With canon characters: start from what you know, then extrapolate. Especially with characters we don’t see all that much of, boil them down to a handful of personality traits/ ways-they-present-themself first, then consider what might underly them. And in reverse: take the things we know about their status and backstory, consider what that implies about them as a person.

So, Clover: I think I boiled him down to ‘confident, friendly, professional’, and what’s underlying ‘confidence’ is really obviously his semblance: he’s never had to hesitate about anything, he always knows he can rely on himself. So in his internal monologue, he’s not going to second-guess his decisions. He calls Qrow out on deflecting compliments, so he’s good at reading people and also wants to help them; I assume that applies more broadly than just to Qrow. He’s leader of Ironwood’s flagship team of Specialists, and semblance or not I made the assumption he didn’t get there without working for it [that is an assumption, though! People less inclined to think well of Clover will make a different assumption, in-universe as well as out, and how he responds to that is also something to consider], so he’s got to be smart, dedicated, a good tactician, a good leader. And building from that: he’s smart and perceptive but we know he’s also loyal to the bitter end (very bitter); what sort of personality can we project that reconciles those two, what sort of person would respond like that? What I went with is that he trusts the system because he understands enough pieces of how/why it works that he trusts the bits he doesn’t understand are also created with the best interests of the people at heart. (Even when that’s really not true.) So then that’s a consistent philosophy-like thing that underlies a lot of how I write him: he understands the reasons for a lot of why things are how they are and then assumes the best of all the rest.

– This looks like a lot, now I’ve written it out. I thought all this out while working on the early chapters but I never put it some of it into words really. In coming up with the plot or story idea you’ll have made plenty of these assumptions and extrapolations already. Take a second look at them; take them further, find places to link them together or pit them against each other.

And remember, these are your interpretations. There’s not a right or wrong way to flesh these out. Work with semi-canon stuff like the mangas or discard it as you wish; follow fanon or argue with it or throw it out entirely. I interpreted Yang as ‘normal outgoing teenage girl in a non-homophobic world’ and wrote her as having dated people from Signal before she got to Beacon; the other day I came across a tumblr post interpreting her as “a rural lesbian”, by which standard she definitely didn’t have any romantic experience before canon; they’re both entirely plausible takes! Where we don’t know stuff for sure, slot in whatever your story needs, or whatever you think seems interesting. I settled on Clover’s backstory for Soldier, Spy mostly by going ‘ok, what’s an interesting way to contrast him with Qrow?’ And in some of my other fic ideas, he’s different.

Limited third person perspective (or first person, if you can pull if off) is the best for dropping in characterisation smoothly. Though I’m probably biased because I love it so much. Omniscient third person POV is when the narration’s impartial and uninvolved, and skips between person A’s thoughts and person B’s thoughts and pure description of what’s happening, objectively speaking; limited third person is – when the camera’s always over one person’s shoulder in a given scene. It’s less close in than first person, but we get the POV character’s thoughts and no others, we only see/notice what they notice and pay attention to, descriptions are coloured by the way the POV character thinks about the world. I don’t want to be setting you homework, but, a neat writing exercise, if you want it: pick an object, place or person, and consider how two different characters would see it differently. Write those two descriptions. For fun, pick something that at least one of the characters is going to really look down on or dislike parts of! (Qrow’s snark is so much fun.)

This is cynical, but: people lie to themselves a lot. When you put yourself into a character’s head, they’re going to be telling themself a narrative in which what they’re doing is the best thing to do and makes them a good person. (With a few exceptions, the big ones being depression- and anxiety-brain, which instead do their best to convince you you’re the worst.) Get your characters to justify themselves to you.

Goals, motivations, priorities. It feels like a massive oversight to write about how to characters and leave that one out, but honestly I can’t think of anything I can say here that hasn’t been covered better by tons of other writing advice. [Incidentally: https://www.writersdigest.com/ . Subscribe to their email newsletter, it’s free, they will try to get you to buy their how-to courses but there’s no need to, the website has all kinds of articles about the craft and details of writing and the newsletter will send you all the new ones plus curated picks of what’s already there. And also: https://springhole.net/writing/index.html . There’s some stuff specific to fanfic in there, and also general writing advice.] Just: keep it in mind.

Related to that, but a separate thing and one that I haven’t seen other writing advice talk about so much: how does the character try to achieve their goals? What are their skills and resources? And more than that, what’s their preferred approach? In the simplest terms. It’s a matter of mindset, and what options they see as available to them. So the things I would keep in mind for this are: Who’s got social skills/ is good at thinking in social terms, and who isn’t/doesn’t? (Not just interpersonally speaking. James “not really concerned about my reputation” Ironwood is a good example of a character who always thinks in terms of hard power over soft power; even when public opinion is an important strategic consideration he only thinks about it in the broadest and most simplified strokes.) Who would rather work within the system, and who prefers to do an end-run around it? (That doesn’t have to correlate with who’s actually got power, though obviously there are trends. I’m writing Clover as tending to take charge even when he officially shouldn’t because he’s more concerned with solving the problem than with rank, and that’s a case of circumventing the system, it’s one of the things he’s got in common with Qrow.) Who’s more analytical about their approach and what they’re trying to do (which means their failure mode is overthinking and decision paralysis) and who reacts with their gut instinct (which means their failure mode is getting in over their head)?

… I could talk about this one at length. There’s a whole framework I use to categorise characters in this way (I came across it in, of all things, the flavourtext of a supplement to an RPG no one’s ever heard of and it just stuck with me, and I’ve made it my own in the years since) and I could go into all sorts of detail about how it works/ what it means. But I think this is enough to be getting on with, on that topic. If you want to know more, send me another ask? But no one else talks about this thing in writing advice, it might be completely orthogonal to the writing process of anyone but me.

So! Related to the topic of characters’ skillsets, a really great tip I can’t remember where I picked up: how do you write someone who’s smarter/wittier/better at tactics than you? Spend minutes or hours turning something over in your head that the character is going to come up with in seconds. The great advantage of writing: it’s so much easier to be eloquent when you’ve got time to think. [If you had asked me this question in person you would have got ‘i don’t know?’ and then half an hour later I would have thought of half of this stuff and kicked myself. A week and change later, you’re getting the other half too :p ]

And lastly: you said you were worried about your writing getting “overly stereotypical”. And my immediate response to that was stereotypes bad, yes, but archetypes great. The difference being: stereotypes are lazy and offensive writing that let ‘membership of a social category’ stand in for ‘actual characterisation’ and if you’re asking for advice on characterisation you’re obviously too thoughtful to commit them; archetypes are pre-made sketched-out personalities that you can take as your own and flesh out into your own thing. Tropes are tools. No one ever said ‘They were roommates? Ugh, how unoriginal’. By the same token, ‘lone wolf who pretends he’s fine and doesn’t dare trust anyone no matter how much he secretly wants to’ is a fantastic trope that exists for good reason, the CRWBY used it for good reason, and when we found out Qrow’s semblance I went yes please I will have some of all that angst and then laughed at myself because when it comes to fictional characters I have A Type. I’m pretty sure I’ve never written the exact scenario ‘pushes themself way too hard and passes out, wakes up in unexpected safety and immediately condemns themself for not sticking it out longer’ before the opening of Soldier, Spy, but I know I’ve come up with plenty of things that were like it, and if they’d made it to a state of publication you’d be able to see that.

It’s like artists using references. Just because they looked up how to draw that hand and that pose doesn’t mean the final product’s not their own. There’s no reason not to start with your ideas of the character (no matter how ‘stereotypical’ they feel) or a collection of traits you’ve grabbed from other characters that seem like they’d fit – or, for OCs, an MBTI type or a roleplaying class/background combo or one of these or some other personality type you feel like you can find your way around the basics of – and just take it from there. When you start writing/outlining/daydreaming-about-ideas you’ll run into scenarios/setups you can’t copy across from but you can see what responses might come up, and that’s how the template becomes your own unique iteration of it.

… Because really all writing advice does come down to: just write. In your head or on the page, try things out, see what works, see how it goes. I’ve been doing this a long time; most of it never made it to words on a page, let alone to the internet at large. Read across genres, read things people write about themselves and how they live and think and feel, and just – go for it.

I hope this helps! Once again, I was really glad to be asked; feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of this, or about anything else you want advice about. I wish you all the best in your future writing!

[bornofdragonstone]

So I've never shipped Steve and Natasha before, nor have I ever really understood this ship. But you know what - I do believe that you have started to convert me. They really do have a special connection, don't they?

Omg, I’m so sorry I didn’t see this until now! But I am ALWAYS happy to have shared my love for a ship/fandom/character and the fact you sent this is really heartwarming, so thank you very much.

And I really do feel as though romanogers is quite an overlooked relationship in the mcu by several fandom members so I get why you missed their connection with it being such a large fandom.

And this is kinda like an essay on why I ship romanogers, that you totally don’t have to read, so I’m going to put it under a cut!

(This is a huge ass expatiation, so be warned)

I think the reason a lot of us ship Steve with Natasha is because Natasha has always - and continues to - struggle with seeing the light inside herself. She is the notorious Black Widow, several characters have struggled connecting with her and that has kind of made her, I feel, stick in a mindset and opinion of herself that isn’t true.

I love her bond with Tony, the banter, the playfullness. But one thing that has always stuck with me is the fact he has said more than once that she can’t be trusted and that she will always be who she is - a double agent. The very reason Bruce/Natasha was so overly rejected by the fandom was because she openly called herself a monster, opened herself up to him and seemingly all of her character went completely out of the window.

It wasn’t in character, no matter how many times people want to say ‘seeds were planted in the first avengers’ (if that’s true the same can be said for Steve/Nat as they fought together, had each-other’s backs and had a good connection that seemed to say they knew what the other was thinking - let alone Clint/Natasha which they openly promoted - like they are with Natasha/Steve for Infinity War), it isn’t Natasha’s character to put herself into a position to feel vulnerable when there’s no cause to. And to have Bruce, kind of reject her advances, but kind of give in, but not tell her she isn’t a monster, that her past doesn’t define her, really left me feeling sick in my gut.

Another thing with Natasha’s character is she is constantly looking for approval and loyalty from someone, anyone - she thought she had that with shield, she thought she had that with Fury (someone who is a father figure of sorts to her) but she later found out she wasn’t clued in on his plans in CATWS because “I didn’t know who to trust?” ouch.

I am honestly not bashing these characters, I love them, but you can not doubt that the things they say, the way they ‘handle’ forming relationships/trust with her is honestly disheartening and so sad considering her backstory.

Then you have Steve, who is in my opinion, the embodiment of everything good and noble and heroic in the MCU. I can only imagine that’s how Natasha probably viewed him. They exactly didn’t hit it off. But they had a playful relationship entering CATWS, she not only went out of her way to flirt with him, play with him and see how he would react but she also spent the better part of the movie trying to see if he had “anyone special” and went on to try and find that ‘perfect’ someone for him.

Scarlett has said Nat sees versions of herself in Steve, but she wants happiness for him (isn’t that what love is supposed to be?) something she doesn’t think she deserves (which is why I feel she thought she could settle with another ‘monster’). So Natasha has this kind of vision she wants for him, but she goes about it in a very Natasha esque way and that’s why, I feel Steve shrugged it off at first and thought she was trying to annoy him.

Then they go through quite a lot of traumatic things together - being hunted by people they thought they could trust, having buildings dropped on them and having to learn to trust each-other. Through this, Steve is kind of made to see that Natasha is deeply conflicted about her past and her place in the world, when he sees this he sees she isn’t just that flirty double-agent and that she is a woman who has gone through some deep shit that left her quite isolated and mistrusted/misconstrued by the world.

And in a moment of vulnerability, she chose to open up to him. In a second, he sees how vulnerable she is and he quotes herself to her (something that shocked and amazed her because she obviously didn’t think he picked up on those serious moments) and she is made to feel a part of something, a small piece of something - since the rug that kept her up since the red room had been pulled from underneath her.

That is the scene that made me turn my head and think ‘oh’. Because to have the human embodiment of everything that is good in the world tell you “I trust you” and “I finally get you” to the girl who feels she is the human embodiment of everything that is bad is such a big deal, especially because it is Nat.

From there on out it was a relationship I believed in, even just as friends. But then I saw the look in her eye when she said “call that nurse, Sharon.. she’s nice” and the look in Steve’s eye when he pushed her towards Bruce because he thought they “both deserve a win” and it made me convinced there’s more to what they feel for each-other even if they don’t understand/know it themselves. 

Then lets speak of how they never leave each-others side (except briefly during the mess that is Civil War but even then she ends up going against her head and follows her heart by siding with him). Tony leaves the avengers, so does Thor at the end of Age of Ultron - as does Clint. Steve also has a conversation with Tony saying he doesn’t think he will have a family and stability because that isn’t who he is anymore - he says this in the same movie Natasha says she is infertile and can’t have that kind of life either yet he still says (even as Tony and Thor and Clint leave to lead the lives they thankfully get to live) “I’m home”.

Who does he go to the scene after? Natasha. And she is already upset and in a emotional place as her best friend has left the avengers, as have her other friends and the guy she ‘adores’ (ugh, no thank-you) but Steve is still there, he continues to stay because they, somewhere along the way, became each-other’s home. The avengers was their home, but even Nat says to Steve “Stay home, please”.

These are two people who have been let down by friends, family, enemies and have lost a hell of a lot. They fight in sync, never leave the other’s side, want what’s best for the other and throw in flirting “there’s plenty of room on the jet” & “I bet you look terrible in them (bikini’s) now”. Everyone loves (the shippers who ship Steve with two certain guys - which I get) to brand Steve and Natasha as a brotp and with everything I have explained I honestly don’t get it. I don’t get why they made br*tasha a thing or why they made romanogers the embodiment of everything you would want in a partner/relationship whilst paring her with a guy who is the complete opposite (though I love Bruce individually).

I could go on all day, you’re probably like “wow girl, I was just trying to say I appreciated how you introduced me to something” but these are some feelings I have had on the pairing for a while.

I’m also bummed that Chris Evans (who ships romanogers) and Scarlett Jo said there is no time for romance in Infinity War even with all the promo content and images we are getting of them always being by each-others side after being underground together for three years (and nothing happened? I honestly don’t believe it). 

But I am honestly just happy with the pair and how great they are for each-other. Any fellow shippers should just hold onto that, no one can take their bond away. If there’s no romance, there’s always an open ending we could potentially get. And they may have no romantic scenes but they are compatible (given all I said, their differences and all), never leave each-other and could have hints to be something more or could even have a statement of them being together but no actual romantic scenes as there is gonna be 60+ story-arcs to tie together.

But I wouldn’t go anywhere or lose hope. And I would wholeheartedly still believe in the pair.