#type: characterisation

[taiey]

Oh, he's always like that. He'll say things that go along with anyone who's standing nearby and might attack him. He was in the group when Flame and Wemmbu first blew up spawn, saying generally supportive things. When Pangi was desperately trying to argue Mane and Wemmbu down from blowing up Mapicc's castle over the Flame fight, SB was there and just going along with it. When Derapchu and Pangi decided to kill Kaboodle with the Karma/Shaun shulker he went along with it, didn't warn or attack her, and then afterwards said he wasn't comfortable teaming with Derapchu and helped/got her help killing Manepear. When Kaboodle threatened Midmysticx about Mane's months-ago hit, he said supportive things and then afterwards went to Mid and offered to help.

I've always thought of it as he's just kind of a coward.

sb saying to chungpire that he wants atlas dead but warning zam that hannah is after her? I don’t understand this guy and i don’t think i ever will

[prokopetz]

Today's aesthetic: YA media where being a monster or having gross super powers or whatnot initially appears to be a blunt allegory for having some very specific flavour of neurodivergence, like literally a textbook presentation, but as it goes on it becomes increasingly obvious that the writer doesn't realise this.

[bodhrancomedy]

I'm bored with "smart guy characterisation being he wins effortlessly at chess". Chess should have more potential for characterisation.

"I think you're losing there."

"Nah, he's playing right into my hands."

"... you have one rook, a bishop, and seven pawns. He's lost one knight. What are you gonna do? Charge and turn 'em all into queens?"

"Let him whittle down the king's defences, republicanize the pawns, overthrow the monarchy, negotiate peace with this packet of smoky bacon crisps, and begin a glorious age of democratic rule by will of the common people."

"That's not how it works."

"Kinda did for Russia."

[srslylini]

Arcane Season 2 is like that popular fanfic you open that has a cool concept and a nice idea but something about it (the writing) feels so off (the characters) that even though you read it to the end you sit there wondering what the fuck that was and why it's so popular

[writerthreads]

Super detailed character profile chart

Character Name:

First Name:

Last Name:

Nickname (if any):

Basic Information:

Age:

Gender:

Date of Birth:

Place of Birth:

Nationality:

Physical Appearance:

Height:

Weight:

Build:

Hair Color:

Eye Color:

Scars or distinguishing marks:

Personality Traits:

Positive Traits:

Negative Traits:

Background and History:

Family Background:

Parents:

Siblings (if any):

Childhood:

Education:

School/College/University:

Major/Area of Study:

Favorite Subjects:

Least Favorite Subjects:

Career/Profession:

Current Occupation:

Previous Jobs (if any):

Career Goals:

Hobbies and Interests:

Hobbies:

Interests:

Relationships:

Marital Status:

Romantic Relationships (if any):

Friendships:

Closest Friends:

Relationship dynamics:

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Goals and Ambitions:

Short-term Goals:

Long-term Goals:

Fears and Insecurities:

Common Fears:

Insecurities:

Quirks and Habits:

Quirks:

Habits:

Beliefs and Values:

Religious or Spiritual Beliefs:

Moral Code:

Political Views:

Favorites:

Favorite Foods:

Favorite Books:

Favorite Movies/TV Shows:

Favorite Music:

Favorite Color:

Dislikes:

Disliked Foods:

Disliked Activities:

Pet Peeves:

Miscellaneous:

Talents or Skills:

Secrets (if any):

Motivations:

What drives the character forward?

What are their ultimate aspirations?

Character Arc:

How does the character change or evolve throughout the story?

Feel free to adapt and expand upon this template!

[masochist-marmot]

Mydei and saving face

Although I have my issues with the storytelling and underutilization of the visual medium in these past patches of HSR, we Phaidei fans have been eating well. I want to focus on this moment in particular:

(This post turned into a light linguistic analysis, so I apologise in advance. Disclaimer: The observations only apply to the English localisation since I can't speak for the other languages.)

I love it that they let us into Mydei's head for a while by giving him a bunch of dialogue choices that he can't bring himself to say. He can see that his friend is hurt, he's got enough insight to know why his friend is hurt, and yet he can't address any of that directly. He wants to offer Phainon a chance to talk about the failed trial and is contemplating various approaches, which I'll lay out here.

(1) "How's your recovery coming along, my friend?" (2) "Winning and losing are all part of a warrior's life. Don't let it get to you." (3) "Why don't you take a bath to recharge, buddy?" (4) "Keep your chin up. You have greater things to achieve." (5) "Want to grab a drink with me, pal?" (6) "If you're up for it, let's have a talk."

In terms of pragmatic linguistics, asking Phainon to talk about his recent failure is a face-threatening act. It threatens both his positive face (the desire to be admired and approved of, ie. to be seen as tough and capable) and his negative face (the desire for autonomy, ie. not be forced to talk about something difficult). Mydei is trying to navigate this minefield by finding words that alleviate the threat (aka. save face).

Words like "friend", "buddy" and "pal" can be used to enhance the hearer's positive face (specifically the desire to connect and belong) by emphasising their social closeness to the speaker. Mydei is thinking about using these to soften the face-threatening act of directly asking about Phainon's recovery or asking him to do something (ie. have a bath or grab a drink). Phrases like "why don't you" and "if you're up for it" are also attempts to save the hearer's negative face by forming the request as a suggestion and throwing the ball in Phainon's court. Options 2 and 4 are the most direct and thus threatening, but even they do attempt to enhance Phainon's positive face by defining him as a warrior and expressing faith in his future accomplishments.

The problem is that Mydei's got immense trouble with vulnerability. He has to protect his own positive face, that being the image of a tough Kremnoan prince who bathes in the blood of his enemies. So in the end he can only resort to his usual banter, making an observation and leaving the choice of talking or not talking entirely up to Phainon (hence protecting his negative face). Instead of using friendly but hollow terms of address like "pal", he opts for the semi-sarcastic word "Deliverer", which is ironically probably better at emphasising their shared bond despite its intended bite. Although the utterance "I see you still alive and kicking" threatens Phainon's positive face by implying a chance that he might not have made it, Mydei does manage to break the ice and Phainon eventually opens up to him.

TLDR; This single moment is an incredibly powerful moment of characterisation, and it's achieved through dialogue options, not even dialogue itself. Sometimes less yapping drives the point home much better than paragraphs of exposition. God I wish they were consistent with it.

[whimsical-mistakes]

i hate it when pandora is made out to be super mature and someone who 'wouldn't hurt a fly'. like no. the woman literally blew herself up, she is not responsible.

anyways here is how i interpret her

she has really bad grades but shes extremely smart. unlike regulus, pandora only really pays attention if the topic interests her. she doesn't care about the draught of living death but she does care about amortentia so in the exam, despite not remembering actually writing anything down or taking notes, she can list every trait and ingredient of it but then when there a question about living draught her mind goes fully blank.

and honestly i think she knows that grades aren't everything and what some silly test on paper shows nothing about her actual skills (and i think she would've ingrained that in luna too)

she is not a ravenclaw. im sorry but i dont think that pandora fits within that house. as we know, ravenclaws like to seek knowledge but i dont think pandora does - i think she loves the unknown (likely due to being a seer and having the curse of knowing too much) and she will only seek out knowledge only if she has to

she is a slytherin that doesnt intentionaly break the rules like barty. she just doesnt understand why there are so many stupid rules in place when there are way better ways she could get things done.

she is NOT a planner - if you ask her to do something she'll just shrug and give you the most ominous response known to man

she knew remus was a werewolf. - she has 0 evidence to back this theory like at all. she just had a feeling.

she has zero sense of danger.

'regulus i think your being paranoid. how could me going outside for a late night walk to investigate the loud howling on a full moon be dangerous? you cant die at hogwarts'

she purposefully messes with barty by pretending that she saw something about his future and making him believe it. and he falls for it every. single. time.

'barty!' 'what' 'be careful on your way to care of magical creatures.' 'what why?' 'PROMISE ME BARTY' 'dora. did you see something' *slow nodding*

barty was paranoid for the rest of the day

she has 5 bajillion hobbies (sewing, baking, juggling ect.)

everyone in the friendgroup is slightly afraid of her - they all feel like shes capable of things that no one should be capable of

she steals potion ingredients from slughorn and lets the marauders get the blame

(which they take because at this point they cant even remember what they did and didn't do)

she took care of magical creature

evan and pandoras parents are split.

evan lives with his dad, dads shiny new wife and little brother (i am gonna go into depth about this household in my evan characterisation)

their mum managed to get out and took pandora with her - mr. rosier pays them money to act like they don''t exist and that's exactly what they do

her mum is a healer who works super hard and is often exhausted but is kind and lets pandora explore the things she wants

evan and pandora were separated when they were four and couldn't get back in contact but when they went to hogwarts they immediately rekindled their relationship

pandora is increadibly emotionally intelligent and loves observing people and theyre mannerisms - she sees how tense dorcas gets whenever anyone talks badly about gryffindors and how regulus sneaks glaces at the gryffindor table when nobodys looking, she even noticed wolfstar first

but she will take all of this to her grave.

she doesnt feel the need to share it like gossip or even to confront the people its about. she just enjoys knowing and allowing the world to unfold around her.

she has a little box of things that she collects that she just loves

she can read taro and loves watching people reactions to each card

she also loves being a absolute menace and making up the most random shit for people

'aahh yes this card mean you shall be blessed with the spirit of a pelican and the vitality of a platypus' 'ooooh- wait what?' 'shhhh let the cards speak to you'

in history of magic, her and regulus' favorite thing to do is write little flirty notes and put them in the bags of people that they ships bag as if theyre from eachother - this is how rosekiller finally confessed confirmed.

she LOVES matching hair with evan

shes super protective over regulus

not one person in the school hates her. they just don't.

edit:

when it comes to her moral compass - i dont think its very strong. thats not to say she cant tell the difference but i think her empathy gets in the way of her being able to decide if something is right or wrong. i think that when her friends joined the deatheater she was heartbroken but she couldn't just cut them off the way dorcas could because she could see why they did despite her thinking it was a horrible thing to do - i think thats why she never joined the order, she stayed neutral but still showed her view through the quibbler (supporting the order). i think she knew there was the chance she would have to go up against barty, evan or reg and she knew that she would never be able to.

(i hope i didnt offend anyone with the intro or my opinions - at the end of the day its a fandom and theres no 'set' traits of the characters)

i am gonna continue to add to this when i have another headcannon to add xx

tags with no pressure (my fav blogs)

@crescenthistory @unconventional-lawnchair @thatdammchickennugget @fear-less @adalitas-coffeebreak-corner @g1rld1ary @rainydayathogwarts @sun-kissy

[eleu22]

please do dissect ghost!!

Ghost vs Simon

i would be absolutely delighted to !!!

ghost being… well ghost is a character who has been dissected from hell and back. I see so many people arguing about how to correctly characterise him and im here to tell you, you’re all wrong, only my opinion is correct (jk)

ok but in all seriousness - ghost is an incredibly interesting character and i think to do him justice we need to start at the beginning.

ghost had (as you all probably know) a rough upbringing. from his semi-absent abusive father to his mothers drug addiction, it was in no sense of the word an easy life. I think (poetically) simon was born a fire, he has from day 1 had to fend for himself, that’s all he knows.

ghost is two people, ghost and simon, both within one.

i think the way people tend to look at ghost is usually one of two things, one, that simon died in that coffin and ghost was born and the other is that, ghost is the cold blooded killer, simon the humanity within him.

and i don’t disagree with either

well not entirely,

i think yes, simon is the humanity within ghost

and though we only see this in glimpses- it is there, like when in the alone mission he told Soap stupid jokes to stop him from freaking out or when he as a sign of trust revealed his face to his team

i think simon is the human within ghost, who desires connection, love, camaraderie and life as much as we all do

but i don’t think ghost is this separate side to him, the killer we see in the games, i dont think simons dead either (even if that is what ghost himself thinks) i think the cold nature of ghost is the leash

and humanity isn’t kind, simon is the one who desires vengance, hes the one who dug his way out of that coffin- not ghost, hes the one who refuses to die- that innate, human, primal desire to survive.

like a caged animal backed into a corner, a corner he’s been in his whole life

i dont think ghost or simon in any sense enjoys what he does- it’s made clear through his voice-lines in multiplayer

but i think this quote sums it up quite well

ghost is simply the muzzle simon wears, the mask to cover the shaking dog inside of him.

because ghost knows this better than anyone, humans are animals and with desire comes blood

and simon will cut you if he has to, he will dig himself out of that coffin

again

and again

because simon simply refuses to die

but that’s what makes him such a good soldier, an unrelenting, loyal, dog. but no matter who it is, if you hit, he will bite.

[cherrybombb8]

While I do love the (main) characterisation of Barty Crouch Jr in this fandom (he livens things up for sure) I had a different way of thinking of him.

First of all, I always thought he'd be a ravenclaw (some fics do have ravenclaw Barty which I loveee) that boy got 12 owls, he was a proper nerd.

In most fics (that I have read at least) Barty is a bit of a 'crazy guy' who is doing everything he can to piss off his dad. While I think this is accurate, I think this happened a lot later - not during his Hogwarts years.

The way I picture Barty is a golden boy - perfect grades, prefect, never gets in trouble, friendly, his teachers like him. However, even though he does all of this, he's still not good enough for his father. I think Barty would spend most of his teenage years trying to live up to his dad's expectations - its only when he leaves school and goes into the world that he realises he doesn't need to do this.

I think that that is when Barty would of flipped out. I mean, at the trial, Crouch Senior is in shock - he never expected this of his own son. Sirius even says in gof "he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time" - if Barty had been a rebellious nutcase at school, Sirius would probably not have had such doubts of Barty's guilt.

I like the storyline of Barty being a quiet, studious ravenclaw at school - following in his father's footsteps - and only when leaving school does he realise that his father doesn't see him, will never truly see him, so Barty falls in with the death eaters. To quietly, but surely, do the absolute worst betrayal he could think of - become the very thing Crouch Senior is fighting against.

Just. Thoughts?? I think this would make his character very interesting, but I've never really seen him portrayed that way. (Any fic recs??) I mean, even in atyd he's a total dick who's attacking muggleborns. I really think Barty would be a star student who turns sour when it's least expected.

[st4r-t3ars]

Woman Up

[penandpaperdreams]

Are your characters too “perfect”? Struggling to give them negative traits?

I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of making my protagonists and side characters too “perfect” before. It’s an easy mistake to make, but it can lead to your characters feeling one-dimensional if you’re too afraid to make them seem morally grey.

Here’s a very simple method:

1. Take a character’s main positive trait. Let’s take Hermione Granger, for example - her intelligence is a defining aspect of her character.

2. Exaggerate it into a negative trait. In the instance of Hermione Granger, she can come across to the other characters as a know-it-all. She’s not always portrayed as perfect for her intelligence, which is what makes her character more interesting.

Using this method, we have a number of options for negative traits for an intelligent character - patronising, arrogant, smug - to name a few.

I use the Fatal Attraction theory for this, which suggests that we fall out of love with someone for the same reason we were initially attracted to them. So, if you grew to like someone because you liked how strong and dominant they are, you may become tired of that down the line when their behaviour is controlling.

I’ve illustrated a few examples for how to exaggerate common positive traits into negative ones in the image above, but I have a few more examples to share so you really get the idea:

1. Comic relief / funny - can’t be serious, humour as a coping mechanism

2. Dark and mysterious - emotionally distant

3. Creative - aloof

4. Loyal - neglects own needs, willing to hurt for those they love

5. Compassionate / empathetic - overstepping boundaries

6. Honesty - overly blunt

7. Responsible - too serious

8. Humility - lack of self-belief

9. Trusting - easy to manipulate, overshares personal information

10. Perceptive - rude

11. Flirtatious - inappropriate

12. Organised - controlling, “neat freak”

13. Easygoing - lack of care about serious matters

14. Flamboyant - can be too much for some

15. Spontaneous - puts self in danger

Of course, you don’t have to do this. You can just have a character be spiritual and creative without making them out-of-touch and aloof. It’s completely up to you!

Using a method such as this, even if you only apply it subtly, adds a touch of realism to your writing by making your characters feel more well-rounded. It means that their negative aspects are truly coming from a part of them, rather than selected at random and mashed together from a list online.

[monaetheworldsdestroyer]

the thing about me is i am fully aware that Erik is not nearly as pathetic in canon as i write him but yet here i am imagining scenarios where he's throwing up from anxiety and afraid to ask his boyfriend for a hug because He Probably Secretly Hates Him and Would Throw Rocks At Him for that. it may not be a canonically accurate characterisation but it is one i made up in my head and enjoy

[prokopetz]

Variations on "they would not fucking say that":

They would not fucking say that (the classic)

They might fucking say it, but they wouldn't say it like that

They'd say it if it ever occurred to them, but there's no fucking way they'd figure it out on their own

They might think it, but good fucking luck getting them to admit it

They might say it, but – and this is key – they'd be intensely fucking weird about it

[marrowwrites]

Water coded characters but instead of being the calm, soft, healing one they're like an ocean; relentless and terrifying, always dragging things back into the heart of them and never surrendering it, like a rip, poisonous to any who intake to much of them, prone to tempest and storm.

Fire coded characters but instead of being erratic, emotional, 'fiery' and destructive they are like a hearth; a low constant heat, warm and inviting, nurturing to those around them, a focal point for family and gathering together, providing clarity and light and guidance in darkness, slowly but surely burning themself out in sacrifice for the comfort of those around them.

[honourablejester]

There is something about Fallen London that is so charming, in such a weird, creepy, fantasy-horror sort of way.

I’m attending an illegal spider fighting ring underneath a pub down the docks, and obviously I have the option to bet on the contenders. Of which there are four, described thusly:

Bet on Millie, the Moloch Street Mangler. A gargantuan beast, half the height of a man and twice as hairy. She lumbers into the ring on seven bristling legs. The eighth is a mere stump, capped with a steel hook.

Bet on Florence, the Stackside Spinner. The local champion, Florence, is a fleet-footed Wolfstack bruiser who ensnares her victims in ropes of sticky silk.

Bet on Daphne, The Graveside Creeper. Raised on the blood of tomb-colonists, Daphne is slow and ponderous and bandaged, but supposedly impossible to kill.

Bet on Alonzo, Scourge of the Marshes. He doesn't look like much. If a beer-mug fell on him, that would probably be it for the night. But they say his venom can burn holes in lead.

And I just … Those are four characters immediately sketched in about as many sentences. They’re spiders, we’re in a weird-as-hell victorian cosmic horror game, but they’re so clearly and perfectly and immediately sketched.

And obviously I’m betting on Daphne, and will continue to bet on Daphne, whether she wins or not, because as far as characters go, I will always put my money on the slow, battered, beat-to-shit old girl who’s hanging on by sheer grit but who might still know a few things that younger, fitter, more ostensibly dangerous contenders might not. Heh.

Here’s for the Graveside Creeper! I’m rooting for you, girl!