Present Mic: Aizawa’s Emotional Crutch

Thinking about this line from Cazador and what implies:

I keep thinking about how strange and new must have been for Astarion to finally be surrounded by people who actually listen to him and no one there to punish him for speaking up. 

How it must have felt for him to be able to freely joke around and find that Tav actually laughs at his jokes and even joins in the fun. How new it must have been to be able to express himself and have people who actually listen to him and don't treat him like he is a nuisance, but truly listen to what he has to say. 

I imagine a Tav who just listens, even when he is complaining and whining on purpose, they listen and maybe smile a bit between themselves because they've seen through him, and they never tell him to shut up, they let him vent, they listen to his stories about Cazador, they laugh with him at his jokes. 

No wonder he falls so hard for Tav or becomes very fond of them in a friendship route.

After 200 years where even the Gods didn't care to listen, he has found someone who sits down with him and hears him out.

The Audience’s Eyes

“This wouldn’t have been possible without you!”

sorry I’m a kiibo stan account now lmaoo. The last trial just. He didn’t deserve. Everything bad that could’ve happened to him happened and it’s wronggg

MONDO

i will never not be mad that x6-88 consistently gets so blatantly mischaracterized. if you’ve ever fallen from high up inside the institute on accident, you know he’s one sarcastic bitch when it suits him, and i love him for that. he’s genuinely so funny at times, he just has such a flat tone and expression that it goes right over people’s heads. but he delivers such scathing roasts in such a calm manner that i end up wheezing laughing any time i have him as a companion. but there’s a lot more to him than just being another “patrolling the mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter”-NCR-trooper-level-repetitive no-name courser.

he’s afraid of heights, and certainly doesn’t like flying, which given how extremely he exercises caution, is perfectly in character. he gets jumpy and worries almost constantly, even if he’s outwardly very calm and collected. he’s ignorant with regards to the old world, but he does express his imagination at times, even if it’s 99.9% practically-focused and only really extends to his own experience and the knowledge of the institute. but he has so many traits that aren’t in line with the stiff representation the fandom gives him. he actually has a lot of traits that would get most synths wiped if they were caught displaying them in the institute. i do still think they did him extremely, viciously, disrespectfully dirty in his writing (which is a whole rant of its own), but he still has more characterization than a lot of the fandom gives him credit for.

he’s smooth-talking, calm, and collected upon initial impression, but he’s also awkward and sheepish and embarrassed to admit anything personal to you (even just that he admires you) most of the time once you start getting close to him. he’s also a worry wart, anxious about your approval, ashamed and almost mortified if you choose to scold him for doubting you, and it’s clear that he’s seeking validation specifically from you even if he seems so self assured all the rest of the time, to the point of claiming boredom during combat. he’s this blade-lookalike, terminator type who kicks ass and takes names, but who’s afraid of heights and is prissy about the surface world. he seems to enjoy when you’re a mean vindictive bastard, but not within the institute even when scientists have literally just undermined father and threatened the proper functioning of the institute. he’s so reserved in his praise in front of you during/after libertalia, but as you walk around the institute on your own, you find out from other coursers that he’s been talking about you to them, telling them about you and praising your fighting abilities. and given how many of these coursers say it, it almost seems like he’s been gushing about working with you (at least, in his own way) while you’ve been apart. he’s talked about as the best of the best basically, and since he’s bragging about you, the other coursers think you’re cool. which, obviously you can infer a few things about him from this whole thing: he’s a little bit of a gossip (just a little, plus it’s positive); he’s not only respected, but provides his own opinions to the others and that matters to them, his opinion of you matters to the other resident badasses; once you impress him, he likes you, enough to tell the others about you and your performance in the field.

the bigger shock is that he openly praised you when reporting to justin ayo of all people, which ayo will tell you while also claiming that x6-88 “does not give praise lightly. well done.”

all of these things build a character. he deserved better characterization, better development, better treatment of his character, all of that and more, but the bare bones are there if you’re willing to look.

it just makes me irritable when he gets so poorly characterized by people who claim to like him. i don’t even know x6-88 that well compared to some other characters but i know that much.

A guide to designing wheelchair using characters!

I hope this helps anyone who's trying to design their oc using a wheelchair, it's not a complete guide but I tried my best! deffo do more research if you're writing them as a character

You know, the thing about Taka's FTEs (now that I've had more time musing over them) is that - Taka relies entirely on the assumption that when Hope's Peak uses the word Talent, they mean something that someone is naturally good at without putting forth any effort. As a result, Taka assumes that the other Ultimates are naturally talented and smart and gifted like his grandfather was.

To an extent, with a couple of them, Taka's right. Leon is naturally gifted at baseball. I'd argue that Chihiro is naturally gifted at programming (at least from the discussions in his FTEs). And I think it's likely that Junko is naturally gifted at analysis (but put effort into Despair and Fashionista. Or, at least, chose Fashionista for whatever reason).

But Mondo? Put effort into being a Biker Gang Leader (especially after his brother Daiya died, because he had to be better and prove that he was a good leader despite causing Daiya's death).

Sayaka? She explicitly talks about all of the effort that went into becoming a Pop Sensation (and just how easily that can all slip away from her).

Sakura, too, talks about all of the effort that went into becoming the top Martial Artist, and while you can argue that Hifumi is naturally talented, he goes to great lengths in his FTEs to talk about the effort he's put into spreading the amazingness of fan creation with his school.

So like - Taka is very clearly biased against all of the other Ultimates and says as much, but if he got to know them, he'd find that a good chunk of them are a lot like he is - putting a lot of effort into something they love so that they can be good at it.

And it's ironic that he thinks Makoto is like him. Because Makoto's Ultimate Talent - Luck - is another sort of natural thing that requires no effort. He might be just like Taka in terms of schooling (and all of the others, outside of their Ultimate, are likely the same way), but as far as the function of his Talent...he's just like everyone that Taka by nature does not like. But because Taka likes him, he pretends it's something else.

Idk...it's just interesting to think about, I guess.

Let’s goooooooo

fnv commission for @iamnotaworm of her lovely courier and mr. gannon having a lil drank on top of the sunset sarsparilla factory feat. ED-E :^D

Non-writing activities that actually help your writing

To get better at writing, you have to write. Yes… But what about the times when you genuinely don’t feel like it?

First of all, it’s alright! It’s not the end of the world! You’re not a failed writer if you have a down day. But if you really feel like doing something that pushes your writing along, but isn’t actually writing, here are some things you can do! →

📚 Planning out your next chapter When in doubt, plot it out. Sometimes you might simply be stuck because you don’t have a clear path forward. A simple outline of all the major beats in your next chapter can really put things into perspective.

📚 Writing an impromptu scene Every writer goes off and fantasizes about a scene in their novel that isn’t actually part of the plan. Treat it as if it was a fanfic of your own novel and give it a shot! Writing it as fanfiction takes the pressure off, and might just get your creative juices flowing again.

📚Reading a similar book for research This is a  super helpful and fun way of doing research for your book. Dig out similar books in the genre and get reading. A great way to get book recommendations is to speak to some bookish people and tell them a little bit about the story you’re writing. Often, they can have great recommendations of a similar book vibe that could help you along.

📚 Actually research For whatever type of book you’re writing, you’re going to have to do some research. Whether it’s describing architecture in a fantasy world, or making sure your facts are correct in a historical setting, research is a crucial part of writing. Perhaps if your creative side of the brain isn’t feeling up to it right now, your logical one might be of us and help you gather some facts to make your writing more authentic.

📚 Edit or rewrite previous chapters If you have the need to work on your project, but can't bring yourself to write some more, work with what’s already there. It’s inevitable that some of the chapters you wrote, you aren’t entirely happy with. This might be the time to try something new - open that chapter side by side with a fresh document and rewrite it by changing one integral part of it.

📚 Think on it Yes, we all fantasize about our projects and our characters. But how often do you actually stop and truly think about your story as a whole? How often do you try to figure out that plothole before saying you’ll leave it for later? It might help to meditate for a bit, clear your head of distracting thoughts and focus on the problem in your writing that you need to solve.

drew this helpful diagram for mha fans who don't understand what a character arc is