#writing characterization FAIRNESS

[purpleleavesday]

BY THE WAY this is what gumshoe says if you present him mia's profile in stolen turnabout

IT MADE ME GO SO INSANE. AAAAAAGHHHH I LOVE THIS GAME

[pastelshroomsbasement]

Goofy svsss au where qqq is also a transmigrator!!!

[optiwashere]

Huh, I didn't even realize it'd been a year since BG3 came out until I opened tumblr this morning. Kinda wild. I didn't think much of the game's release: I like Larian's games, and I like the BG series. I wasn't ever going to skip the game, but I didn't think I'd play it at launch because I was busy working on a novel in 2023 and not doing well financially.

Thankfully, circumstances left me with a little bit of extra money last year just before launch and it meant I could spend on a video game. I needed a pick-me-up after said 2023 novel failed to go anywhere, and BG3 was right there. Like most CRPGs, I played it in basically every moment of free time that I had and did as much as I possibly could in one playthrough.

It's so odd how these small happenstances can snowball into coming back to fandom, finding some friends I might've never met otherwise, and writing a lot of fanfiction along the way. I'll probably have something more interesting to say/share when it's the 14th, AKA when I sat down and wrote my first fic for this fandom.

Anyways, it's been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to more years to come 💜

[skitskatdacat63]

"To dream the impossible dream, that is my quest." - Prince Fernando of Asturias

+ Seb not getting what he ordered

+ the usual

Hello yes, look! It's baby Renault Fernando, isn't he so cute??? Who wouldn't want to force him into an arranged marriage, like cmon man be real. Here is the progress as usual, as well as his suit without the design, cause I'm pretty proud of it just blank even!

Okay so this is pure Fernando, innocent Fernando, before he had his apirations ripped way from him. Well not fully ripped away tbf, because that's the crux of his character: is it more humiliating to never succeed or to only succeed because someone handed it to you with concessions? I guess that's up for him to decide though ;;;

The thing I love about this drawing and young Fernando in general is how much easier it is to see his and Seb's similarities. Look how similar they look! Seb is just a bit more evil.

I think that's a big part as to why his feelings about Seb are so complicated. He both loves and hates how similar they are. From an egotistical point, he can appreciate and respect the familiar traits in Seb, the hunger, the exuberance, the pride, the ego. But also we hate seeing our own traits in other people, it's almost like turning a mirror on your worst traits and suddenly being able to see yourself from a new perspective. The biggest point here though is that Fernando turns that resentment onto Seb, as a way to clamp down on self hatred.

He becomes more bitter and resentful as he grows older, and loses a lot of his whimsy and joy. So it hurts him to see Seb, who in addition to getting everything he's ever wanted, also retain his whimsy. He, wrongly, just sees it as something that had to happen in order for him to grow up fully. It's more of a survival tactic, it started becoming unbefitting for him to have that level of unfounded confidence. That's the main reason he sees Seb as childish, immature and undeserving. He hasn't fully grown out of his capacity for whimsy and joy, and thus is below Fernando.

Well that was depressing oops! As the chibi art represents, this is probably a painting Seb got sent in the early days of planning their marriage. This is the Fernando who is still prideful, the Fernando who is still confident, the Fernando Seb vaguely remembers meeting his youth. Seeing this definitely pushes him even further towards the marriage(though tbf it's not like he even has a choice either.) Though when the time to actually start courting comes around, Fernando looks very uh different. This is both a joke about how different Fernando was in his first renault stint vs his second. But also I think he does show up very moody and disheveled, as a sort of last chance way to try and turn everyone on Seb's side, including Seb, off from the marriage. However, it's pretty much a done deal by that point.

Seb is uh, definitely confused, but I think he would be drawn to Fernando regardless. Actually, this might make Fernando even more appealing. Seb gets to push him all the time, try to break down his walls and get a glimpse at the real Fernando, if even just for a moment. Seb wishes he had more that just a blurry, vague recollection of Fernando at his peak confidence. Fernando definitely grows into something resembling his past self, after recovering from all the hurt, but there's just something about youthful exuberance that can't really be fully replicated.

Okay so about the quote. I went with Don Quixote this time instead of the typical Napoleon, because I thought it'd be funny. Fernando picks up the book at some point during his youth, and it inspires him a lot. He doesn't really see the satire in it, and comes to really admire Don Quixote's mentality, he's like "wow he never gives up! That's so admirable!" It definitely helps him through dark times to aspire to never give up no matter what. Though later Seb definitely rags on him for not knowing it was satire, and Fernando is like "wh-what do you mean satire?" But he's mentally strong enough atp for it to not cause his whole worldview collapse. About the quote specifically, there's definitely some part of him, even when young, that knows his aspirations are borderline impossible. I wonder if that part of him feels weirdly safe and comforted about the marriage. Yes, it's not ideal, but it's safe and secure. He gets what he wants, and there's no chance of anyone taking it away from him, no matter what.

I think his title would be Prince of Asturias? It was either that or duke, and I think prince fits him bettee(Machiavelli reference?) That title is currently the title for the heir to the Spanish throne. In this time period, it's also commonly used for the heir, but for Fernando it's a bit unsure. Like in real life, he's not directly the offspring, but he's still the most obvious choice for heir. But there's still enough room for Seb and his house to try to vie for the throne themselves, so it makes it all complicated.

[starlaindisguise]

I'm back in the Ninjago building again and currently rewatching all of the show, and so far I've been really impressed with the writing! Like, wowza, writers actually doing interesting things with the characters and giving them full arcs every season, with the lessons somewhat being consistent as they go on? I didn't know that shows did this!

...And then I started Hands of Time and all of that got thrown out of the window

[tickfleato]

theres this like. Novel length rutipad fic that i read last year in a fit of desperation (only time i read fanfiction) and i cant. Say i liked it exactly. it was extremely flawed in many ways. i dont relaly want to recommend it. but it did live in my head rent free for a while and one of the things i liked most about it is that it did not have a happy ending. not every story should have one and this one was one of those so i appreciate that it didnt

[getvalentined]

WIP WEDNESDAY!

Zack and Sephiroth in the upcoming chapter of Smoke and Mirrors.

[ourstarsystem]

i think beastars would've worked way better if the desire to eat the meat of herbivores by hunting them down and killing them wasn't inherent to all carnivores and wasn't this like... weird uncontrollable urge. as a story that muses on what would happen if an animal society with parallels to ours existed, its an interesting concept but it falls apart -really- fast when people attempt to compare it to the racial dynamics of our reality (the author heavily advises against this, but I think it's a significant issue if people continue to think of it this way regardless of her intent). and it also falls apart when considering something like harm reduction and rehabilitation. with the latter point i would chalk that up to an issue of execution and lack of understanding on the author's part

god this post is so much longer than I thought it'd be uhhh

carnivores viewing herbivores as a potential food source is something that's considered inherent to being a carnivore. Not the craving for meat or adequate sustenance, but viewing another sentient living being as food which i think is a significant difference. It's treated as a matter of fact within the text and isn't disputed in any real way. In fact, a lot of the really ... "questionable" (understatement) societal dynamics are presented as like. just being the way things are with characters accepting it without any real heavy objection to it in some instances (there is a specific story in beast complex I'm thinking about right now). Haven't even touched upon the gender bioessentialism but maybe I'll get to that in another post

There's a strange sort of Both Ways dynamic between carnivores and herbivores where herbivores have the significant disadvantage in physical strength but outnumber carnivores by a large margin. Herbivores are also significantly more represented in some career prospects while carnivores have to follow social rules to be as non-threatening as possible. (As a note female carnivores are presented as straight up not being as dangerous or aggressive as the male ones. and while there are ones that predated on herbivores they're portrayed as mentally unwell or manipulative, or in some cases their predation has a twinge of sexuality to it... male carnivores generally are portrayed with a bout maliciousness in their predator instincts until they receive treatment and "go back to normal")

Let me summarize what I think wouldve been far more interesting to consider: how punitive justice doesn't work to prevent crime and doesn't stop people from repeating crimes, how people who lack resources are driven to desperation and how that can enable them to commit violent acts, how oppression isn't born out of fear of the oppressed group but rather a means of seeking domination over the oppressed group.

I really hesitate to put carnivores in the role of an oppressed group and with what i can gather from beastars I'm starting to think that was avoided on purpose, but I'd have to reread it in order to give a better analysis

I think it'd be interesting overall if the issue was that carnivores aren't getting enough sustenance and in turn are quite malnourished. Maybe they didn't eat meat of herbivores but instead the meat of non-sentient fish, but that was viewed as a slippery slope that leads to eating herbivores. Stuff like synthetic meat or anything resembling meat (and like the manga, stuff like bugs not counting) was banned. So even though fish meat would be a worthwhile option to consider, it is still illegal due to moral views despite the illegality causing far more damage to society as a whole. This could Still be like, not ideal in a story sense I feel like but as beastars exist right now it's much more concerning

I've read the entire manga and yes I know fish meat was considered a solution at the end but the whole thing was so fuckin flimsy that it felt like a bandaid solution to the problems that were portrayed in the beginning

[mx-yip-yip-hooary]

i am trapped in a eternal dilemma (i want to write a fic but also don't want to mess up the incredibly complex characterizations of the characters)

[smallblueandloud]

i mean also. okay. this episode was extremely sweet. i love me a good time travel episode, i really loved the pelia moments, i like that they're paralleling city on the edge of forever, and i especially loved the little moment with the kid at the end.

but godDAMN these people are terrible at recreating kirk's voice. i know that the tone of SNW is extremely different from the tone of TOS, and also that kirk is the #1 sufferer of Mischaracterized By Pop Culture that star trek HAS.

but genuinely, still, there was nothing in that episode that made me think "damn, oh my god, that's jim!" he didn't talk like kirk, he didn't snark the way that kirk does, and he didn't even do the shoulder-grab that shatner does every time he kisses someone. i know that he's from an alternate timeline, that he's younger, that TOS had straight-up awkward dialogue and this show has better writers. but like. he doesn't feel like kirk and it made it very hard for this episode to land

[patrice-bergerons]

If you are going to character bash in your fic, right, you can at least do it in an in-character way? Like if you detest a character so much that you want to make the hate you feel an integral part of the story, chances are they are a woman have done *some* sketchy things, so you can focus on why those specific character flaws make them unpleasant or whatever without having to go AND SHE WAS A MANIPULATIVE BITCH WHO ONLY THOUGHT OF HERSELF AND HATED EVERYBODY AND WAS TOTALLY INSANE when none of those things jibe with who miss blorbo is in canon.

[orcelito]

I always find it kind of funny what some other ppl consider "slow burn". Like I've been reading a fic that the writer repeatedly said was slow burn, but some 40k words in and they've had their first kiss...

I'm not complaining, but that just doesn't feel like that slow of a burn to me lmao. But Then Again, this is coming from the person who writes some of the slowest of burns... not the slowest, mind you, but like. In discacc, I'm pretty sure their first kiss happened around... what, 400k words in? Something like that. And they hadn't even officially Met (in person) until like some 70k words in.

And Then there's ITNL. Currently 74k words, and Wolfwood hasn't even officially entered the story yet.

We're in for the long haul, y'all :]

[vieaccorde]

stormbringer manga is so close that i am kind of losing my mind with excitement......... i think it's time for yet another reread of stormbringer and 15, tbh. seeing verlaine in hoshikawa's gorgeous artstyle brings me SO MUCH JOY, i need him!!

[dolphintattoo]

man it is so sad that there’s so much kiara hate in the anti-jiara tag. i wanted to commiserate a bit but you guys hate my girl so much :(

[danmeichael]

My guy I am on a roleplay journey trying to find scummies to RP with, it's very hard.

anon i hope this doesn't feel like a lecture but i want to give you a good response that will hopefully be helpful.

i know it's intimidating to share something about yourself that you're scared someone might reject you for, but roleplaying with someone takes trust and communication. how much trust and communication are you establishing with people by asking them on anon if they want to roleplay with you?

they have no idea who you are, and they can't contact you in any way except an extremely public forum with no way to be sure if you'd even see their response.

you are in a relationship with your rp partner. they need to know they can count on you to listen, communicate, and collaborate with them. they also need to know if you're compatible in terms of taste and writing style! some people just don't mesh well as rp partners, and that's nobody's fault but it happens and its important to know!

if you already have some scum villain fandom friends, have you asked them in dms if they'd want to rp? have you told them what you'd like to rp specifically? have you made a public post inviting people to rp with you in the appropriate tags? so, so many writers also rp because it's fun to play toys and to collaborate with someone, you might be surprised!

but to find that out, you have to ask. you have to be brave and honest if you want to reap the rewards (playing toys) just like in any other relationship.

[youngpettyqueen]

I havent like. disliked s5 of Voyager but I have found it to be lacklustre in that I think many episodes are decent but not particularly memorable, with a few gems to be found (Bride of Chaotica!, Dark Frontier, as examples) but Warhead so far has been not only a top favourite of this season but probably a top favourite of this entire series