These posts are cousins to me.
Hand, Hearth, and Home
Pairing(s): Astarion x Male Tav (Main); Past OC x Male Tav Rating: Explicit Length: 319K+ words; Chapters 62/?? [ONGOING]
In their respective, wary calculations, Astarion and Church know that they very well could be the death of each other. Years after losing his childhood friend and first love, Church reminds himself not to get too attached. Sabotaging those plans is Astarion, who just won’t leave him alone — all in the name of using the warlock as a means to an end, of course.
But when Church’s friend unexpectedly returns as a certain guardian in their dreams, it makes his already conflicted, burgeoning feelings far more complicated. And yet, as the trust between him and Astarion grows, Church learns to let go of the past that holds him back from embracing a brighter future — no matter how uncertain it may be here at the vampire spawn’s side.
Start from the beginning!
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Giving personality to a character is an essential part of character development in storytelling, whether you're writing a novel, screenplay, or creating a character for a role-playing game. Here are some steps and considerations to help you give personality to your character:
Understand Their Backstory:
Start by creating a detailed backstory for your character. Where were they born? What were their childhood experiences like? What significant events have shaped their life? Understanding their past can help you determine their motivations, fears, and desires.
2. Define Their Goals and Motivations:
Characters often become more interesting when they have clear goals and motivations. What does your character want? It could be something tangible like a job or a romantic relationship, or it could be an abstract desire like happiness or freedom.
3. Determine Their Strengths and Weaknesses:
No one is perfect, and characters should reflect this. Identify your character's strengths and weaknesses. This can include physical abilities, intellectual skills, and personality traits. Flaws can make characters relatable and three-dimensional.
4. Consider Their Personality Traits:
Think about your character's personality traits. Are they introverted or extroverted? Shy or outgoing? Kind or selfish? Create a list of traits that describe their character. You can use personality frameworks like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Big Five Personality Traits as a starting point.
5. Give Them Quirks and Habits:
Quirks and habits can make a character memorable. Do they have a specific way of speaking, a unique fashion style, or an unusual hobby? These details can help bring your character to life.
6. Explore Their Relationships:
Characters don't exist in isolation. Consider how your character interacts with others. What are their relationships like with family, friends, and enemies? These relationships can reveal a lot about their personality.
7. Show, Don't Tell:
Instead of explicitly telling the audience about your character's personality, show it through their actions, dialogue, and decisions. Let the reader or viewer infer their traits based on their behavior.
8. Create Internal Conflict:
Characters with internal conflicts are often more engaging. What inner struggles does your character face? These can be related to their goals, values, or past experiences.
9. Use Character Arcs:
Consider how your character will change or grow throughout the story. Character development is often about how a character evolves in response to the events and challenges they face.
10. Seek Inspiration:
Draw inspiration from real people, other fictional characters, or even historical figures. Study how people with similar traits and backgrounds behave to inform your character's actions and reactions.
11. Write Dialogue and Inner Monologues:
Writing dialogue and inner monologues from your character's perspective can help you get inside their head and understand their thought processes and emotions.
12. Consider the Setting:
The setting of your story can influence your character's personality. For example, a character who grows up in a war-torn environment may have a different personality than one raised in a peaceful, affluent society.
13. Revise and Refine:
Don't be afraid to revise and refine your character as you write and develop your story. Characters can evolve and change as the narrative unfolds.
Remember that well-developed characters are dynamic and multi-faceted. They should feel like real people with strengths, weaknesses, and complexities. As you write and develop your character, put yourself in their shoes and think about how they would react to various situations. This will help you create a compelling and believable personality for your character.
James: I'm definitely the one in charge in this relationship.
Regulus: Babe, stand up.
James: stands up
Regulus: Sit down.
James: sits down
Regulus: Look over here.
James: looks at him
Regulus: Hm, interesting.
I just know James would have the sexiest morning voice.
Deep, rich and slightly husky.
Also, combined with the fact that James is a giant cuddler so it would be right by Regulus' ear as the first thing he hears in the morning
I just know they fucked about it
Jes & Wylan, introducing their kid: This is our precious Milo
Kaz: You named him after the goat?
Wylan: ..Milo is a goat?
Jesper: ...
Wylan: YOU NAMED OUR SON AFTER A GOAT?
Are you frustrated you can't leave second kudos on AO3? or third kudos? or whatever-who's-counting kudos?
Well, have I got the html for you!
Plop any of these in a comment (by copy&pasting the code) to make an author's day and show your appreciation!
Second kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/tHMjbb6/second-kudos.png" alt="second kudos">
Third kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/52bggQH/third-kudos.png" alt="third kudos">
nth kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/6y7qGtC/nth-kudos.png" alt="nth kudos">
yet another kudos: <img src="https://i.ibb.co/wKtcj0s/yet-another-kudos.png" alt="yet another kudos">
It will look something like this (and will be transparent with white outline on dark backgrounds):
Feel free to spread and use these as much as you like! (and if you have ideas for other variations, let me know ✌️)
Lol I'm on both literally Wincest then Destiel right after
I forgot how much larger the destiel bubble is than the wincest bubble. The Boys announcement had me excited about Jared and Jensen being back onscreen.
I forgot that most people do NOT care about Jared and most people are looking for #destiel moments. Which is fine. But not the side of this hellsite I’m in, that’s for sure lol