junegirl06
Current fixations: Noel the Mortal Fate, Angels of Death(My AoD obsession will never die)
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Latest Posts by junegirl06
autistic folks when their routine gets disrupted, and they don't get alone time when they're supposed to get alone time
New Listener's Guide to The Magnus Archives
Or, How To Stop Worrying And Learn To Love The Scares
A lot of people seem to be getting into TMA lately so I thought I’d offer some basic advice for anyone curious about it.
Useful Resources
A full list of transcripts
Content warnings
Note: The creators have straight up stated that they’re not gonna include sexual violence or explicit pet deaths.
Character guide for keeping track of names
So what exactly is The Magnus Archives?
Fundamentally, it’s a horror anthology podcast. The central conceit is that our protagonist is an archivist and each episode he makes an audio recording of a written statement that someone has made about their encounter with the paranormal. This format means that the particular flavour of horror can vary wildly from episode to episode.
But what about The Plot?
It may not seem like it at first but there’s a lot going on. Don’t worry about it though, you don’t have to keep meticulous notes to understand things. The characters spend plenty of time trying to figure things out and you can just take that journey with them. However, if you’re into cork-boards and red string, then absolutely, this is a great podcast for that. But you’re not gonna have a worse experience if you just want to sit back and get spooked.
And Jonathan Sims?
That would be our protagonist, his voice actor, and the show’s writer. Yes, it gets confusing at times. It’s not set in stone but people often use Jon, John, Jonathan or the archivist to refer to the character while Jonny refers to the real person.
New Episodes?
Nope, it was planned to run for 5 seasons and then it ended. However, there is a prequel/sequel/”sidequel” in the form of The Magnus Protocol.
VOLUME 1: CHAPTER 1
((Part 2 here since tumblr only allows 30 images per post!!)
Compilation of Mysterious Papyrus Things
Random Strange Facts:
Papyrus is the only character to speak without an asterisk
Papyrus’s dialogue shakes on a consistent basis when no one else’s does
Papyrus is described as “forgettable,” something only mentioned elsewhere in context with Goner Kid and Gaster
Papyrus seems to be able to see what the player is looking at when he calls them (”THAT BAG OF DOG FOOD LOOKS FAMILIAR…”)
Papyrus seems to know that MTT has eyes before MTT becomes MTT Ex
Papyrus has a total of 2184 lines in the game—more than any other character, and almost as much as the narrator of the game, which is at 2418 lines. The next closest character is Undyne, with 1268 total lines.
Similar wording is used to describe Papyrus as it is to describe Gaster. (It’s rude to talk about someone who’s listening)
Papyrus’s theme, “Nyeh heh heh/Bonetrousle,” is used in all of the trailers of the game
Papyrus and Sans break the 4th wall in the stream greenlight trailer, which shocks Toriel
Papyrus flies/breaks the laws of physics casually and seemingly on a regular basis
Papyrus is one of the few characters that refers to gameplay mechanics (“PRESS [C] ON THE KEYBOARD FOR DATING HUD!” “HOLD UP LONGER TO JUMP HIGHER, JEEZ!”)
Papyrus says himself that he knows nothing about his hands because he always keeps his gloves on.
There is nothing, nothing known about his past before his showing up to Snowdin. By the end of the game and after some research, you can basically know more about Gaster and Sans than you do about Papyrus, despite him having the most dialogue in the game besides the narrator.
Papyrus has such control over his magic in his fight, that he can make his attacks do zero damage because he refuses to kill the human.
You are healed to full HP right before the Papyrus fight, as well as immediately after if you are captured.
Papyrus doesn’t seem to realize that Frisk is a kid, despite Frisk wearing a striped shirt, which is a common indicator for childhood in monster society. (is he unfamiliar with common monster culture, for some reason?)
Sans reads Papyrus bed time stories on a regular basis, but Papyrus himself never seems to sleep
The Undertale Q&A that Toby Fox did for Undertale’s anniversary revolves around Papyrus
His defense raises in the spare phase of his fight, unlike every other monster. He seems to be able to manipulate his own stats.
Relationships:
The two 4th wall breaking characters (Flowey and the Annoying Dog) seem to have a special interest in Papyrus
Annoying Dog:
Steals bone attacks on two separate occasions (Papyrus fight and aborted Genocide hangout, in which the “special attack” is hinted to be Gaster Blasters)
Steals bones in general on two occasions (Under Papyrus’s sink and during the hangout with Undyne)
Eats Papyrus’s lasagna
Snuggles with Papyrus
Flowey:
Says Papyrus started a “Flowey Fan Club”
Says Papyrus took a long time to get boring on his repeated runs
Asks Papyrus to call Frisk before the True lab, gather everyone together before the True Ending, and probably leave a note in Alphys’ trash can
Flowey is the only one who knows Papyrus’s favorite food, which is dinosaur oatmeal (no, it’s not spaghetti. Papyrus has never eaten it.)
When Flowey attacks the group during the True Pacifist fight, he binds everyone with two vines, except Papyrus–who he binds with four.
Sans (overlooking the bounteous brotherly goodness of the two):
Papyrus lies to him on a consistent basis
This is to probably humor Sans about his level of knowledge?
Papyrus still expects Sans to know more about Papyrus than Papyrus does himself?
Papyrus acts negatively towards Sans’s puns, but then turns around and makes the most (and arguably best) puns in the game out of anyone
Personality:
Doesn’t outwardly acknowledge criticism
According to Sans, he is trash-talked a lot
May have self-worth issues
Extremely blasé about his own death
Doesn’t seem to have friends, despite working very hard to get them
He phrases things in really strange ways. (”UNMANDATE IT SAFER”)
Papyrus staunchly refuses to really hurt people, despite it being very likely that he could be just as hard or harder of a fight than Sans
He has a strong and unshakeable belief that people can change (does he know this from personal experience?)
He hates Grillby’s and Hotland
He is an amazing artist
He considers himself a great chef, even if he doesn’t necessarily eat what he cooks
Quotes:
“DEADLY SPIKES, PRECARIOUS BRIDGES! TRULY THE PILLARS OF YOUTH!”
[when dying] “ALAS, POOR PAPYRUS. [this is quoting Shakespeare while he’s dying] WELL, AT LEAST I HAVE MY HEAD!”
“I WOULD NEVER TAKE A VACATION FOR ANY REASON!”
Undyne: “Papyrus… doesn’t know how to sleep??”
“I WANT TO MEET DEATH!”
“YOU CAN SEE YOUR REFLECTION IN A PUDDLE, BUT… DON’T LET A BODY OF WATER DETERMINE YOUR SELF WORTH!”
“IT’S MY LEAST FAVORITE NIGHTMARE!” – referring to Hotland lasers and conveyors
“A MYSTERIOUS SCIENCE HOUSE. […] LABORADOR-Y?” When talking about Alphys’s lab with Sans present.
“A LAB?? MY BROTHER WOULD LOVE THAT!” –when talking about Alphys’s lab without Sans present.
“ICE CREAM? THANKS, BUT I LIVE IN SNOWDIN! THERE’S ICE CREAM ALL OVER THE GROUND!” –when talking about ice cream when Sans is present.
“I TRIED TO CAPTURE YOU… WHERE’S MY ICE CREAM.” –when talking about ice cream without Sans present.
“STOP LOOKING IN MY EMPTY MAIL BOX. THAT’S MY EMPTINESS, NOT YOURS.”
“I AM A PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY.”
“HOTLAND! I KNOW IT LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. WHICH, SINCE I’M ALWAYS WEARING GLOVES… I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT!”
“WELL, IF YOU WANT TO GET SOMEONE TO OPEN UP, YOU SHOULD ENGAGE THEM IN COMBAT! HUM HUM HUM…” – before the Shyren encounter. This is one of the few times where Papyrus actually gives you something helpful, but how does he know?
Links for additional reading/theories(most links to @batter-sempai, @papyrus-knows, and @queenofdragons6 posts and reblogs): Optimism does not make Papyrus naive Papyrus casually breaking laws of physics Strange music (or lack of) in Papyrus’s room Brutal kind of guy screenshots Some disturbing connections Some suspicious screenshots Part 3 of a sans theory where the writer realizes Papyrus is ridiculously mysterious Chara and Papyrus similarities–they’re always smiling! Phone call and 4th wall suspicions Papyrus surprising cynicism Sans and Papyrus dynamic speculation Vague Gaster and Papyrus connection Papyrus’s skewed views on what is safe for kids… possible backstory connection? Another compilation of sketchy Papyrus-y things Insomnia and nightmares More on music and rooms Papyrus creeped out by echo flowers Papyrus and Annoying Dog interactions (there are a surprising amount) Sans and Papyrus dynamic speculation 2 Papyrus: treated like a child Papyrus: nasty words with a huge grin The fodder for many an amnesiac theory Papyrus is literally the skeleton in the closet Papyrus battle mechanics and minor Flowey connections The dude is lonely Theory: is Papyrus Gaster? More Papyrus fighting skill plus reality breaking phone call He’s a gentleman Papyrus doesn’t sleep Undertale Q&A/Papyrus’s favorite food Reference–How many lines each character has in the game Debunking Stupid Papyrus 1 – he knows what death is Debunking Stupid Papyrus 2 – the sink height. Strange, but workable Debunking Stupid Papyrus 3 – “solving” the horoscope Debunking Stupid Papyrus 4 – the lab Debunking Stupid Papyrus 5 – pet rock Debunking Stupid Papyrus 6 – spaghetti
if you've never engaged with a creative art on a regular basis you need to understand that it requires concerted effort to get into "the groove" to make something and every second that it takes to get into that groove causes physical pain, but the only thing worse than doing it is not doing it.
i love it when characters are codependent. i love it when losing someone feels like losing a limb. i love it when two people "complete" each other so wholly and terribly that one can barely function without the other. i love it when the fear of losing the only person who understands them is so all-consuming they'll destroy anything to stay together, including themselves.
This is gonna be so harsh but- Actually it isn't going to be harsh at all I thought this through a lot. It was gonna be harsh at first but ahn fuck it I'll still say it. Damn it really seems like everyone in Haruka's case was a bit negligent.
Like I'm still curious how he even got near the second kid to be honest since the details were scarce on that but this is mostly gushing about how good that video was and how it wrapped up mostly everything about this case.
Me reading the report on Haruka,
Born in 1997, in Nagaoka, Niigata. From an early age Haruka Sakurai developed more slowly than his peers. His overprotective parents would not accept that their child had developmental delays, and did not provide him with an educational environment suited to his needs. The gap in developmental achievements between him and his peers kept widening, so much so that when Haruka 15 years old, he could still not adequately read kanji.
It was around that time that his parents simply gave up, and they shift from overprotective to disinterest. From then forth, his parents acted as if Haruka did not exist. Haruka tried to regain his parents' attention by causing problems and disturbances, but his parents' attention was never directed at him again.
"Tell me, why are you drifting away from me? Tell me, why do you say it’s my fault?"
"Why is it breaking? Tell me why? Please don’t change."
Haruka starts to kill animals in secret from around that time. He killed insects, he killed mice, he killed stray cats and dogs.
"It’s fine, it’s all my fault right? It’s enough, I am a “disappointment”."
"You praised me by saying “You’re crazy.” Thank you, I’ll do my best. How many more times do I have to do this so I can be human?"
He felt relieved that there was life in the world that was inferior to him. Haruka's actions soon escalate, and he starts to kill pet dogs and cats as well.
The following day, as he witness the tormented screams of the people who had suddenly lost a life they so cherished, he has a deep emotional reaction where he feels for the very first time that he is indeed connected to the world. The neighborhood increased its security soon afterwards, and Haruka's unsophisticated crime soon came to light.
The police detained and questioned him harshly. Haruka experiences a heightened sense of excitement with all of this interest and attention directed at himself.
Haruka Metamorphosis of the Weak 2:55s,
"It felt so strange warden...! Warden-san, you forgave me so, so much, it felt like a whole lot of people had accepted me! Ahh... It was the first time I've ever felt something like that!"
When he saw the faces of his parents, who were called in for him and him alone, that heightened excitement reached a fever pitch, and he fainted.
The day he was released, Haruka committed murder. The victim was a small child, clearly much less powerful than himself. It was the day of the fireworks festival. He targeted the child who had strayed away from her parents.
Haruka weeps, as he clumsily hides the body,
"This child's life was probably much more valuable than my own." "A future much brighter than mine was probably awaiting this child."
Haruka Metamorphosis of the Weak 2:30s
"It is. I felt uneasy about it this whole time... Someone as worthless as me having killed someone to gain attention, and a person who surely had more worth and more of a future than me, at that..."
"Why did I end up like this?"
"Why was I born like this? Why does it hurt so much?"
Haruka cried, night after night after that, and repented.
He thinks about the future of the child he murdered, and claws at his chest. When he comes to, he was strangling the neck of a second child.
I really love the implication here that he wasn't cognizant of his attack on the second child.
When he comes to, he was strangling the neck of a second child.
As well as the report just saying he strangled the other kid. Yes this kid is still a victim but he was not murdered like the other girl. Milgram has been making it a note since the trial three commencement to not call anything outside of murder, murder. Something I really love with how ambiguity has been used over the course of the series to claim anything outside of murder can be murder if stretched far enough.
Not specifying murder with the attack of the second child like with the case of Shidou and Amane in contrast to Haruka and Mahiru's cases to me highlights that the second incident did not escalate to murder. Because if it did they would have added clarification which Milgram has been great at doing in other cases. So this is more than likely just assault and not even attempted murder because as the report states Haruka was not cognizant when he was doing this.
Outside of that- I'm about to say some shit that sounds like victim blaming but hear me out all the way it's not that I swear.
The first incident was also a byproduct of parental negligence. Certainly the report tries to blame the child for wandering off from her parents. Like ahn well she wandered off but like she was with another child and her parents brought her there to the event. I mean it is the responsibility of the parent(s) or guardian(s) to watch the child when at a crowded public event venue where one is not sure of the intentions of all parties present.
I'm sorry I feel bad for her parents and this truly was a traumatizing and life destroying event them losing their child. However, my father wouldn't let me as a child walk around a fireworks show alone or with friends without him like a little ways away. This was contributed to by gun issues in the US but at the same time, the size of crowds at those sort of events, and how easy it is to lose a child at big events or in crowds. Yeah no he was not letting go of my hand when I was seven to high school actually.
Hell Haruka's mom does that and we have documented proof of his parents negligence now.
However, I'm once again proposing that possibly the neighborhood Haruka grew up in/around was simply so gated and peaceful residents could not comprehend, imagine, or even anticipate anything like this happening within it.
Making this less willful negligence on the girls parents part and back on Haruka's parents.
Because they knew their child was just released for killing animals. Of course at this point Haruka was a grown man he was in his twenties. One could be excused for believing what he did was now beyond his parents control. However he was still to his own admission with no information claiming the contrary provided by Milgram in the report,
Q.07 Tell us your family structure.
Haruka: My father and my mother and me.
A dependent of and living with his parents. To take it further despite being an adult when taken to be questioned by the police- The authorities called his parents in. Even if Haruka was lying about still living with his family which I highly doubt. His parents were both called in, made aware of his behavior, and still continued to do nothing to intervene or seek help for him.
Furthermore, they neglected to warn anyone of the risk he posed to others in their community animal or person. Then the authorities released Haruka and instead of even attempting to better supervise him his parents to Milgram's admission continued on as though he did not exist,
Haruka tried to regain his parents' attention by causing problems and disturbances, but his parents' attention was never directed at him again.
This allowed him to just go out completely unsupervised by his parents or restrained by the law which led to a child's death. Now I'm not gonna blame the authorities they more than likely kept Haruka for as long as they could considering the severity of his crime. They even reprimanded him for his actions and informed his immediate family and guardians of his behavior. At best probably went,
"Sir and madam we are releasing your son back into your care after this horrendous incident please move forward with getting him proper help and treatment as not to repeat this."
The Sakurai parents in response to this information and possible reasonable request. No he can just wander outside alone still actually. He's a disappointment he'll never get it-
"Then what should have I done instead?! Tell me! Tell me so even I can understand!"/"I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!! Making you waste your life on someone like me...!!"
Let's speak on his parents real quick.
Anyone else remember when the mom was just getting blamed for this and no one wanted to even take a crack at the internalized bigotry and ableism parents (and people in general) carry in them when it comes developmental delays and disorders.
It was just abuse and neglect not anyone going,
Let's discuss how parents in particular behave as though having any mental health difficulties or diagnoses is a death sentence. How they behave as personally ashamed that their child is experiencing these setbacks. As well as on some level have internalized that their children having these issues reflects poorly on them genetically and as parents.
How Haruka's parents felt this way so much about what Haruka having these delays and possible diagnoses would mean about them as parents/people and for Haruka and his future that they decided like a lot of parents do they were just not gonna think about it. No instead they were just going to pretend everything was fine, there was no problem, their son was fine and did not need any extra help or accommodations. He was just like every other child because he had to be because if he wasn't what did that mean about them.
If Haruka doesn't catch up that's a personal failing not something they could have prevented because he's fine, he just needs a little extra at home attention, he isn't having those sorts of serious problems. He's not a weakling he doesn't have weaknesses or delays when it comes to his growth and education. He's a good kid.
Love that they added this line to allude to the fact it was definitely his parents being like that,
His overprotective parents would not accept that their child had developmental delays, and did not provide him with an educational environment suited to his needs.
Like I love that they note they were overprotective at first here.
That the series even implies that it was Haruka's parents' overprotectiveness and possibly fear of having their kid labeled as one of those kids that led to them not getting him accommodations that would have allowed for him to thrive. Because that is usually what causes that. Many people who are ruining their kids futures due to deeply rooted and unchecked ableism think they're helping them. They do not get up and think I'm about to ruin my kids life for no reason.
They get up and they think what many people think,
"Oh no if it's that then my kid will get bullied, my kid won't be able to get a job, my kid will have to carry this stigmatizing label on them for the rest of their lives. I'm not going to do that to my kid. Because I know how people who are different get treated. We can just figure it out in the home. If I put in a little more work the problem should fix itself. They're just a little behind it's not that big of an issue. They just move at their own pace we can work through it at home."
People who think this way truly believe that they are making their child's life easier by having them be in the same classes as everyone else their age, that their making sure that their kids don't stand out negatively for being different, or actively being shown getting treated different.
Leading to the kid seeing that they can't keep up with their peers, falling behind, and internalizing that they were just born wrong. All the while the parents who know there's a problem but don't want to put a name to that or admit that become more and more frustrated going,
"If you just apply yourself then you can get this. I know that you're smarter than this. Are you really trying. You can do x just fine so why can't you do y? Are you just being lazy? Or do you just act like you don't know to get this extra attention from me. We've been over this a million times. It's not that difficult."
Then they just go cold they just distance themselves entirely. Because they begin to associate the child being bad at school as another form of attention seeking behavior and believe that if they stop coddling them like they have been up until that point they'll figure it out. Because the world isn't going to be easy on them so better to be tough now.
Also this all definitely puts a new spin on that trial one question and answer.
Q.14 What’s an event that’s stuck in your memory?
Haruka: Fireworks
Haruka cried, night after night after that, and repented. He thinks about the future of the child he murdered, and claws at his chest.
"I was wrong. Yes, it was me."
This also explains why Weakness was like that. He wasn't saying yes it was me to get more attention he was admitting that the reason this girl was missing or found dead was because of him. Something that only makes sense now given the tidbit about him hiding the body. He was literally confessing.
Haruka weeps, as he clumsily hides the body,
Just all around really good stuff in this report. That wraps everything up so well.
Personally I hope that no one begins to do a disservice to Haruka's characterization by fixating on one singular thing.
Such as the murder, parental neglect, the possible diagnoses and mental health struggles he had etc. Because fixating on that is no different than what his parents did. Fixating on the label of the issue more than the person with it. Doing this ignores that Haruka as a character was someone committed to changing for the better. So for once in his life he could do something to benefit the people in his life who he cared about and were there for him.
He constantly worked in order to not be a disappointment and died trying his best to repent and at least be useful to one person before he left this world. Regardless of if he was being used or not. He recognized that what he did was wrong. The report illustrates this again and again.
It highlights how he was tormented by his own actions,
Haruka weeps, as he clumsily hides the body, "This child's life was probably much more valuable than my own." "A future much brighter than mine was probably awaiting this child." "Why did I end up like this?" Haruka cried, night after night after that, and repented. He thinks about the future of the child he murdered, and claws at his chest. When he comes to, he was strangling the neck of a second child.
It showcases how he wasn't fully cognizant that he was repeating this pattern with the second child and his music videos display that as well. Going further to imply by not labeling this as a murder that once he recognizes what he was doing he stops himself.
Something alluding to in the series by the fact that Haruka states he's afraid to be near children. A fear more than likely brought about by the fact he did this with no awareness of it.
Haruka's First Voice Drama 4:25s
"A-Amane." What's wrong? "I-I'm not good with them. Children at that age. A-Amane is a good girl but she brings back b-bad memories." Are you alright? You're looking pale, you know?
That he warns people not to get close to him because bad things happen to those that get close to him,
Haruka's First Voice Drama 4:44s
"I shouldn't be too i-involved with people in the first place. Even with all the prisoners they might misunderstand. It's no good." Why is that? Just do as you please. The bonds we share with other people are the very thing that shows our human nature, that's what I believe. "It's something I can't even tell you, prison guard!" Even to me? "You shouldn't get so close to me. Bringing misfortune to people is the only thing I'm naturally good at."
The only thing I'm naturally good at./When he comes to, he was strangling the neck of a second child.
Haruka's First Voice Drama 5:15s
"The more you know about me, I'm sure I'll bring misfortune onto you as well, prison guard." Haruka. "Because! Because... Ah, I'm sorry... for just talking by myself." Continue. "It's happen sometimes. I... I... Even though I try to be normal, everything gets ruined. You, everyone, if you knew me... If you knew everything that I did... I'm gonna be abandoned, that's bound to happen."
Because I'm a selfish killer.
Doing that would ignore that Haruka consistently did things within Milgram to try to mitigate and work on the issues he's constantly faced throughout his life.
Focusing on just one thing ignores everything we saw Haruka's character try to do over the years that he was in Milgram and Milgram went on. Something that he died continuing to attempt to do. It ignores the fact that Haruka didn't think his actions or the murder was right.
It ignores the fact that he came here admitting fully he was wrong and was told actually no you're wrong about being wrong what you did here was okay.
Haruka Metamorphosis of the Weak 2:30s
"It is. I felt uneasy about it this whole time... Someone as worthless as me having killed someone to gain attention, and a person who surely had more worth and more of a future than me, at that..." ... "But it turns out that I did nothing wrong after all! It wasn't wrong of me to kill her. There was never anything for me to worry about...!" Oh...? "It felt so strange warden...! Warden-san, you forgave me so, so much, it felt like a whole lot of people had accepted me! Ahh... It was the first time I've ever felt something like that!"
To reduce all of that characterization down to mental health struggles, neglect, or one single issue at all is to miss what makes Haruka a great character entirely.
He is all of his flaws and successes.
Yet beyond all that in his dying moments he was someone who was trying his best to do right by someone and prove to the people that gave up on him that he wasn't a failure and he could be useful. He was a character that died crying out for a mother who abandoned him saying,
"I changed……I'm……useful now……Mommy."
Even if the only way he could be costed him his life.
Still none of that negates the fact that he was and will always be a murderer. That cut a child's life short. All of those things can be true at once. Because for a character to come of as human to be compelling is to hold space for the fact that like people they will be flawed, they will be pitiable, they will be undeniably wrong in some areas and justified in others and they won't be forever.
People will grow to like or hate them in equal measure and find reasons to justify those feelings just like with any person in real life. Yet at the end of the day beyond like and dislike, hate and ok- There's a complicated characterization there waiting to be appreciated for everything it is not just what's easy to enjoy or dislike about it.
I do have thoughts on how the situation between Mu and Haruka is being discussed.
I believe it's a bit disingenuous to behave as though Mu didn't know Haruka was getting worse and I just want to lay out why it is I feel that way. To be frank it simply doesn't align with anything we heard from Mu in her second voice drama or the things she was displayed as saying and doing within the Portal Timeline. As I am a petty individual I would say it's a stretch of canon to say she did anything other than what she said she'd do.
Which was nothing but support Haruka in his choice as his friend,
Mu Queen B 13:16
"Isn't it exactly because he's my friend? isn't friendship about letting your friends do the stuff they want?"
Though let's go a bit further back for a second how do we know that Mu was aware Haruka was planning to do something that would end his life? Well because she told us and she told us a good while ago in fact,
Mu Queen B 12:36s,
"Ah, but if you don't forgive me Haruka-kun will die. So, I think it'd be best not to do that." ...! [bell tolls] So you've heard about that nonsense too? "Mhm. Haruka-kun told me."
Literally her saying that last thing should be the nail in the coffin for presenting this situation as something Mu wasn't aware of. Because she was told by Haruka himself that if she was voted Guilty he would do lethal harm to himself. This is the first reason why I believe anyone behaving as though there is any chance Mu did not know Haruka planned to do this is either acting dishonestly or simply has not been paying attention.
Well, Gunsli maybe she knew he planned to harm himself but she didn't know how he was going to do it. Haruka didn't even know himself yet he was still trying to figure it out. That's fair. However, Mu still could have told the other prisoners that Haruka planned to do harm to himself just to be safe if she didn't want him to do that or just told him she didn't want him to do that. I guess that's neither here or there though.
Let's just keep walking down this-
Wow; I literally can't even say this is a road, bridge or anything someone is meant to walk on... What the fuck is this? Alright. This imaginary pathway certain people insist on telling those around them really exists despite it not aligning with anything that has occurred thus far. Yeah, I'll believe for a second this is the case and Mu just didn't know even though Haruka told her he would end his life if she was guilty and she would be the first to know if she was guilty.
Not even touching on the landmine of how Haruka would find out she was guilty to begin with. It was possibly when they were restrained after the verdicts but he implies he knew earlier than that when they're talking in the timeline on his birthday in 2023.
Still forgetting all of that maybe Mu didn't know how Haruka would do it.
She still knew he had the intent to harm himself and what her verdict was to her own admission. Then did nothing to even try to dissuade him from harming himself over the course of the portal timeline,
Trial Three Website Voice Lines
2: "You said you’d forgive me. You told me that you would forgive me! Just changing what you think on a whim, you really are the worst." 4: "What are you going to do about this? Haruka-kun died. Hey, guard. You knew this would happen, right?""
"Ah, but if you don't forgive me Haruka-kun will die. So, I think it'd be best not to do that."
The first time she brought him food she even stated that he had to eat it properly meaning she recognized he was not eating and persisted in telling people she had it handled anyway and that he was fine,
23/06/22 (Haruka’s Birthday)
Mu: Haruka-kun, I brought your food. Are you still alive? Has any mould started growing? Haruka: ……ah, thank you very much. Mu-san. Sorry, um…… I…… Mu: You shouldn’t just lock yourself in your room all day. You have to eat your food properly. Hm, well…… I do understand why you’re feeling down. It feels bad. The atmosphere recently Haruka: Um, I’m totally fine…… Just a bit, I’m thinking, about how to do it. What to do, what to do, to…… fulfil my promise. For Mu-san’s sake……
So, even the fact that he was not eating properly was something she knew long before any of the other prisoners or even us as the audience knew.
Hell, in this timeline Haruka brings up that he's thinking about how to do it. How to end his own life to keep his promise to her and she says nothing to dissuade him from it. While knowing full and well what he's talking about because again she told us he told her.
"Mhm. Haruka-kun told me."
These are the facts from her own mouth.
This is the sequence of events. I do not believe this is a difficult set of circumstances to follow or look into but they are easy things for people to purposely misconstrue. In a way that I can only consider to be an attempt to make Mu sound more considerate than her actions and own words display her as being.
Hell I know for certain that some overzealous individual is going to get in their feelings and go,
"Well Jackalope said in the trial three commencement notice that Mu has trouble putting her emotions into words. He said 'She doesn’t know where or what her feelings are. She just lacks the skills to put them into words, but a human such as she, is quite complicated.'. Maybe this means Mu really did care about Haruka and just didn't know the proper way to express that or how to handle the situation."
One I'm not arguing against that.
I am however arguing what does that have to do with Haruka dying and the words she did say throughout the entire time he was slowly wasting away in his cell from starvation? Like I don't care about how she's feeling about it now when all is said and done. Because while Haruka was starving himself she was having people praise her for bringing him food she knew he wasn't eating?
Because again the first time she brought the food to him she verbally noted he was not eating properly. So the timeline and again Mu's own statements portray that she was aware Haruka was not eating from the onset.
Yet, continued to tell people things such as,
"I’ve been bringing all his meals to him so he should be fine. Isn’t that great of me?" - [Milgram Portal Timeline-23/07/05 (Mu’s Birthday)] "I’ve been taking his food to him like this every day. Isn’t that great of me?" - [Milgram Portal Timeline- 24/06/22 (Haruka’s Birthday)]
However a lot of people want to spin it as though Mu went through something just as tragic as what Yuno went through.
That she spent months trying to do right by someone and help them get better just to have them die.
It's a pretty easy story to want to spin for Mu's character. Especially when the parties telling it have a vested interest in ignoring certain information. Simply because they want to see the best in someone to validate themselves regardless of how that someone has consistently behaved.
Even her saying you have to eat has been twisted around to say she was telling him to eat so she was really trying to help him and tell him not to do this through saying that. This was her showing concern for Haruka. When what it is- Is definitive proof that while no one else knew Haruka wasn't eating until they found him starved to death or near starved to death Mu did know.
How could she not have known.
She was bringing him food everyday. She saw him every day. Starvation isn't something that can go unnoticed. People will literally lose weight. They will get thinner. There's no way to starve gracefully. Heck it's not even that difficult to tell when someone isn't eating their food.
Definitely not in Mu's case because again it is something she noted he was not doing on June 22, 2023,
"You have to eat your food properly."
Mu Kusunoki to Haruka Sakurai on June 23, 2023 far long before he starved to death.
Now logistically what could she have done? It's not like she could have forced him to eat. What could she have done outside of saying hey you should eat properly?
Well you see there's this thing called an intervention. There's this thing called telling people there's a problem. There's this thing called when multiple people give someone the opportunity to tell them that something is going wrong and another person needs help far beyond what they can provide doing that.
Something Mu was given chances to do but decided to instead assure people that Haruka was fine and she was taking him his food every day. Stating and implying to them that he's being taken care of and eating properly through her statements. Because she's showing them the food, the plates, and saying this is what she's doing.
Why would they not believe her?
Now there's discussions around the fact that anyone within Milgram could have taken some time to go into Haruka's cell and check on them their selves. However, that takes us back to Mu as well because Futa and Shidou asked Mu if Haruka was alright because she was going there every day and they may not have wanted to barge into Haruka's space. This is just a polite thing to do. Since Mu assured them that he was in fact fine and look he's eating see I just took him this then possibly showed them an eaten plate of food-
What the fuck were they supposed to do? Go,
"LIAR- He's starving himself in there isn't he?!"
Shove Mu to the ground barge into Haruka's room and go,
"Haruka we're here to save you this is an intervention. You will have three meals a day like the rest of us and water. Then we will walk daily and start you on communications counseling because this isn't healthy physically or mentally. Kajiyama grab his legs we're taking him to the dining hall."
And force fed him like Curly is Mouthwashing. No, that would be wild. Just believe her. The fuck why would they not believe her? Fuck I would have believed her too. Like okay I believe you that's your friend. The fuck you gotta lie for. If you say you're taking him food then I believe you and I have other things to do but if this continues I'll go in there to check myself eventually.
At the end of the day she knew Haruka wasn't eating she noted that. All to then not get anyone to intervene or help in any way. In fact she assured people time and time again even after Haruka was probably dead that he was fine.
23/07/05 (Mu’s Birthday)
Futa: Oi, you. Is he ok? He’s not even left his room lately. Mu: You mean Haruka-kun? Hmm. Yeah, probably. I’ve been bringing all his meals to him so he should be fine. Isn’t that great of me? Futa: Hah? Who the hell says that sort of thing about themself. ……ah, no, well, right now I understand a bit. When you’re feeling down, it’s nice to have someone who relies on you and accepts you. The rest of us can’t really understand you from where we’re standing. But well, if you’re Haruka’s “salvation” then I guess it really is great. Mu: Salvation……? I don’t know what you mean. Futa-kun, you don’t sound like yourself. Did you hit your head or something? Oh, wait, you actually did, didn’t you. Ahaha. Ah, putting that aside though, did you know it’s my birthday today?
24/06/22 (Haruka’s Birthday)
Shidou: ……I’m worried about Sakurai-kun. I haven’t seen him around in a while. You’ve been talking with him, right? Mu: He’s fine. Here, look. I’ve been taking his food to him like this every day. Isn’t that great of me? Shidou: Yes, very. I’m sorry I’ve been leaving it to you to look after him. Usually, that would be the job of us adults, and yet we’re leaving you with the burden. Mu: Don’t worry about it. After all, me and Haruka-kun are friends.
Something that goes straight back to what Mu said she would do in regards to Haruka threatening his own life. Again it's not Mu's fault he's dead I don't consider suicide murder and neither does Milgram. Haruka choose to take himself out and that's a choice I've gotta respect. Nobody forced him to make that threat or follow through on it.
Yet no one stopped him either. Milgram, Es, the audience or Mu. None of those things stopped him from doing that or even attempted to.
Mu's defenders can't have their cake and eat it too. They can't say it's the audience fault for not voting Mu innocent and stopping Haruka because Mu didn't stop Haruka either.
Like Mu said,
Mu Queen B 13:05s
You know about it and you're not trying to stop him? Haruka, that is?
"Why would I?"
"Haruka-kun says that's what he wants, so there's nothing I can do, right?" But you're calling him your friend.
Yeah Mu, you're right. That's what Haruka wanted to attach his life to and die for. Nothing we could've done about it. Es didn't make him threaten himself. The audience didn't either. We should just respect the choices he made to get himself to that conclusion.
Heck at least he got to choose how he went out. That's more than Shidou and Mahiru got.
The last timeline we see with him even supports this,
24/04/19 (Futa’s Birthday)
Futa: ––Hey, are you really ok with this? If you come with me, there’s a chance you can be saved too…… Haruka. Haruka: Yeah…… I’ve made my mind up. I have, something, that I have to do. Futa: Ah, is that right…… Haruka, you know, you’re an idiot. There’s no way…… that will save you…… Haruka: Yeah, thank you. I’m glad you came to talk to me, Futa. Um, thank you, for being so kind. Really. But, I’m sorry. This is all I’m able to do……
All those times she brought food and she never offered him a way out of that promise. She never said this is how you can get out of this. This is how you can move forward with me too. You're life doesn't have to end here. No the person who did that? Who was it again?
Was it the person that brought meals there everyday. That people are trying to jump through hoops to say couldn't notice someone starving right in front of them. Even though that someone was a person she'd been attached to at the hip prior. She could notice when he wasn't making eye contact or distracted by something,
22/06/22 (Haruka’s Birthday)
Mu: What’s wrong, Haruka-kun? Did something happen? You shouldn’t look away like that when you’re together with me. Haruka: Ah, s-sorry, Mu-san. Um…… No, it’s nothing. I just, suddenly got a feeling. That something is about to happen. Mu: Isn’t that because it’s your birthday? Or perhaps it’s a sign the guard is about to wake up again soon? Fufufu, I bet they’ll be really surprised at a lot of things. Haruka: That, might be true. But, I want the the guard to see. ……the new, me…….
But not a change in his weight. She's not observant enough to recognize the signs of starvation. Even though she went there every day with food. Alright, sure I believe you.
You know I'm not even mad at Mu because Haruka is dead. I'm mad at Mu because Haruka died for someone who no matter how much I comb through the facts did not give one fuck about him. To the point that the last notable thing Haruka did was not thank Mu for being kind to him didn't even thank her for that once if we're being honest but someone else.
Who even while going through the shit he did and saying he didn't have the luxury to bother being concerned about him. Was the first to ask if he was okay. Was the first to check in with the person he saw as being closest to Haruka to just check if he was alright. Then when the situation persisted went in there himself to check on his own birthday.
Just to be meet with what exactly. I was curious about what Futa saw that made him seem so panicked. Curious about how Haruka had done it. But now we know he went in there and saw a shell of person thin, starved, on the brink of death. Probably not too different from how Mikoto's trial three art looks at this point.
And he pleaded with Haruka to just leave be saved some other way. Like damn sure Amane's religion makes him vegan but at least he's eating. It's something I really can't let go it's not murder of course. Mu didn't kill Haruka with her barehands she didn't even kill him at all. But it's just the idea of going to same place every day with the thing that could save someone's life and knowing they're not taking it. All while again and again assuring people it's fine I'm taking him the thing.
"Isn’t that great of me?"
My nonexistent kingdom for some DYNAMICS VARIETY (aka me finally drawing something else for Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week)
When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful.
Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends.
Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them.
Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger.
Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made.
i don’t want characters with healthy coping mechanisms, actually. i want them to yearn and weep and suffer and have their brutal worldviews informed and/ or altered exclusively by their unyielding love for like. one other person. sorry
Do you guys want to see something dumb I made at 1AM last night
Keep reading
sometimes it's not even enemies to lovers. sometimes you get handed the leash of a snarling, barking dog against your will and realize with dawning horror that you are now responsible for teaching it not to bite
I love a character raised to be a weapon as much as the next guy. But what really gets me is a character raised to be a shield. Who can’t fathom being needed—or even being wanted— beyond keeping others safe. Who believe they are alive only to insure someone doesn’t die. no matter the cost. Characters who self-sacrifice not because they think they deserve it, but because no one else does deserve it, and it’s their job to protect.
Characters who’ve been told that’s why your important. Your worth something because this other person/ thing is important, and you are here solely to keep them safe.
Bonus points if it’s not a legitimate job they’ve been given. Maybe at one point it was, but now that they are free from it, they haven’t given up that mentality. No one is forcing or asking them to do this, but they need to. They need to in order to be deserving.
Girl stuck in stupidly large basement with a guy with anger management issues
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: Extra Stories of Psychics (Light Novels)
Chapter Masterlist
Written by: Hinata Shou (ひなたしょう)
Translated by: Corredor1230 – Juan Pablo Corredor
>>> Translation Complete <<<
Extra Stories of Psychics Volume 1
Chapter 1: Try to guess the ESP cards!
Saiki Kusuo’s Interlude No. 1
Chapter 2: Get them back! The Lost Memories
Saiki Kusuo’s Interlude No. 2
Chapter 3: All you can eat! Hinoki Ramen
Saiki Kusuo’s Interlude No. 3
Chapter 4: Tell us! The Black Wings
Saiki Kusuo’s Interlude No. 4
Chapter 5: Avoid it! The Worst Ending
Extra Stories of Psychics Volume 2
Chapter 1: The Disaster of Toritsuka Reita (This chapter was translated by @uten4!)
Intermission Guest Chapter 1: That person right now
Chapter 2: The Disastrous Life of Teruhashi Kokomi
Intermission Guest Chapter 2: The Detective’s Melancholy
Chapter 3: The Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuko
Intermission Guest Chapter 3: The Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuo — The Regular Person
Chapter 4: The Disastrous Life of Saiki Kusuo
Character flaws
Just gonna go on a tangent about this for a second, because like
Part 1: Why they don't work and never have
The number one piece of advice people get about writing is to give their characters flaws. Your characters can't be too perfect. Flaws will make them interesting, dynamic, compelling, more real! Flawed characters make for a perfect story! But then someone will ask how to give their characters flaws, and the response is almost invariably something along the lines of
"Just don't make them perfect. Give them a scar or a disability or something."
This is some of the worst writing advice I've ever heard, right up there with "NEVER use adjectives ever" and "Nahh, you don't need to make backups of your work, it'll totally be fine and nothing bad will happen." It's also the single most common piece of writing advice I've come across. This is bad advice.
Because like… Scars aren't a personality flaw. Disabilities especially are not a personality flaw. Both these things have their uses in writing characters, but they aren't flaws. Honestly it's a little shocking that people think it's okay to outright say they think a disability is a character flaw to begin with, because like. Excuse me?
The next problem with this is that, even if these were somehow character flaws, most people don't want to make literally all their characters scarred and disabled. That's like saying that good characters are required to have blonde hair and bushy eyebrows. A character or two with those traits isn't an issue, but telling someone all their characters need one or both of these two traits? That's incredibly limiting.
Lastly, it encourages people to think up a character and then tack on the 'flaws' after. It's why we ended up with an era of perfectly smart perfectly beautiful perfectly skilled characters that had a disproportionate amount of angst about some tiny barely noticeable scar on their back. It's how we get characters that are 'clumsy' (in no way that actually matters to the story), or who have the sole flaw of being too perfect.
People made characters they liked, and they liked them exactly that way. Then afterwards, they had to tack on some 'flaw' they didn't actually want to be part of the character. So they of course make that 'flaw' as small and unimportant as possible. To go back to the "all characters must be blonde with bushy eyebrows" comparison, it's the writer trying to work around this unwanted restriction by giving everyone rainbow hair dye and eyebrow trimmers.
So, how do we fix that?
Part 2: How to fix that
… Or one way, anyway. There are infinite ways to solve this problem, most of which start by completely throwing out the standard scar/disability advice. Everyone has their own way to write characters. But just saying "idk, everyone is different, there are lots of ways" is ridiculously unhelpful. So, here's one way to do it that I really like to use personally. You can use it too, if you want.
instead of a flaw, I like to give my characters an Unshakeable Trait.
What is an unshakeable trait? It's the term I like to use for something that will always be true about a character. Something core to them, something that will never leave them for as long as they live. It is, most importantly, not a flaw.
Let's come up with a quick character as an example. Meet Alaric, who always keeps his word. Anything Alaric says he will do, he will do it.
This is Alaric's greatest strength.
Alaric says he will save all the orphans from the burning orphanage. People doubt him, but he does it. He said he was going to do it, so there was nothing that could stop him from doing it.
Alaric says he will catch the thieves hiding in the mountains. Many have tried and failed to do this, but Alaric says he can do it. And thus, Alaric does it.
Alaric says he will move a mountain? He wouldn't say it unless he could and would make it true. We've seen him do amazing things before. We don't know how yet, but we know that mountain is about to move.
One day, Alaric says he will slay the dragon. We know, for certain, that nothing will stop him from slaying that dragon.
… Not even if it turns out the dragon wasn't really bothering anyone.
… Not even if something goes wrong and Alaric ends up without the important tools he'd prepared for this task.
… Not even if the battle is likely to kill his entire party. Not even if killing the dragon will only make way for more dangerous monsters to move in. Not even if his friends beg and plead with him, Alaric you must stop, this is a death sentence to us all!
Alaric said he would do this, and he will.
Because this isn't just Alaric's greatest strength. It's also his greatest weakness.
The hearts of the readers are heavy as they realize what is about to unfold, but they are not surprised. By now they know Alaric and they know who he is. They know the dragon will die, no matter the consequences.
In the battle, the entire town and all the people who once lived in it is burned to the ground. Every last one of Alaric's friends die in battle. When the dragon falls, only Alaric is left alive.
… And that makes for a really interesting story! Gosh darn! That's way more fun than a story where some cool guy just always solves everyone's problems all the time! And now that we've seen the terrible consequences of Alaric's actions, we can take it even further! How exactly does Alaric react to what he's done?
Is he unable to cope with his terrible mistake, and twists himself into something awful trying to justify his actions?
Does he plead with the ashes, begging the charred town for forgiveness he cannot have?
Does he vow to take back what he's done? Drive himself to madness in pursuit of an unobtainable goal, every action an even greater mistake than the last?
Does he grow, and change his ways? Because he absolutely can do that. An unshakeable trait is always there deep down inside a character, but it is possible for them to learn to overcome it. It will be a battle they'll fight every day for the rest of their lives, and it is a battle they will not always win, but it is possible. Filled with regret, there may be a day where Alaric says he will do something… and then consciously makes an incredible effort to avoid doing it, because he realized it would be a mistake. Today, he was able to overcome his weakness. That trait isn't going anywhere though, and tomorrow is still unsure.
That is my favorite way to write a flawed character.
The most fun part is, this unshakeable trait can be anything. It can be that they always finish things very quickly. It can be that they love their friends more than anything else in the universe. It can be that they're always multitasking. It can be their child-like wonder, or their scientific mind, or even something as silly as their love of sweet potatoes. When made central to their character and taken to extremes, absolutely anything can function as this dual greatest strength and greatest weakness.
That being said, this is again just one way to do it. To say this is the only way to write a flawed character brings us back to "but they must all be blonde and have bushy eyebrows." And sometimes? Sometimes you don't even want to write a flawed character. Sometimes you want an invincible Superman, and if that's what you want then go for it!
This is one place you could start if you're feeling lost or unsure, but at the end of the day it's just a tool in your pocket. It's up to you to choose your favorite tools for the job.
Writing should be fun! Write what you love. Write what interests you, most of all.
I need to know: how you think bill would be in chat if he ever got the priviledge to get a phone or use a PC?What social networks would he use?
Types in all caps at all times. Punctuation optional. If someone asks him to turn off caps he instead doubles the font size. He can do this even on sites/apps that don't allow you to change the size. He won't say how.
Considering this is 2013? He's probably a pioneer in spreading misinformation and bullshit on twitter. He's one of those "MANIFEST LOVE and $$$ get your DREAM JOB through the POWER of the LAW OF ATTRACTION" cultish New Age grifters making money off a website selling self help PDFs. He's building an internet cult.
Anyone who knows him IRL gets to hear him laughing about how stupid his followers are. However it sounds like he kind of buys some of his own New Age BS to a degree that worries people.
He gets in stupid drama and then spends all night digging up something to cancel his opponent over and sic his followers on them, not because he thinks he's justified, but sheerly for the thrill of the hunt. It makes him feel powerful. His twitter has been banned four times. People run webpages dedicated to documenting his heinous bullshit. He reads them regularly.
He's waiting til 2014 when bitcoin prices drop to like $50, buying as much as he can, spending six years waiting, and selling them in 2020 for like $69,000. He runs a blog telling people to buy crypto. He can actually foresee when the prices are going to peak and fall. He doesn't share this info. He makes bank himself and gleefully ruins everyone else's finances with no regrets. (He would encourage Mabel to buy and tell her exactly what day to sell.) (He would not tell Dipper when to sell.)
He hangs out in doomsday prepper forums so that he can make up new conspiracies and see if he can make everyone even more paranoid.
He's got a youtube channel that's a mix of all of the above BS. New Age self-help buy-crypto buy-gold our-universe-isn't-real access-the-higher-planes doomsday conspiracy mishmash. You can imagine the viewers he attracts. He disdains them all and tries to make them worse on purpose. Never shows his face, every video is a slideshow of psychedelic & pseudo-religious art (mostly stolen) with a voiceover and mystical-sounding music.
Mabel gets him on tumblr, because if Mabel has any social media of course it'd be 2013 tumblr, and probably a deviantart. She's posting her art and really badly photoshopped gif edits of her favorite cartoons and musicians, and generally acts like a normal person online.
Bill's tumblr is completely divorced from all his other horrible online activity. All he posts is cryptic rhyming couplets and terrible local photos of things that fascinate him. The photos could be anything from a car with a really sweet flaming paint job to a stunningly beautiful double rainbow over pine-covered mountains to a literal pile of dog shit because he thought it was interesting how it was drying out unevenly. Once he gets investigated for arson because he posted a picture of the house in flames within three hours of the crime. (He was, in fact, guilty, but he wheedled an alibi out of friends before they knew what he was being investigated for.)
He has like eight followers. The only content he reblogs is Eye of Providence images and pyramid images, which he tags #LITERALLY ME and thinks he's hilarious for; and also every single thing Mabel posts without exception until the end of time.
Help why did I immediately think Ray when I saw this-
(The full cover slapped tho)
Writing Advice For Fanfics or Novels
Hello, my dears! As requested by @ilay-snt I thought I’d share my writing process with you all! I’m going to split this post into two sections of general advice and then how I personally construct a story.
Disclaimer: I’m no professional by any means. I’m basing this solely off two creative writing classes I took in college and what I find to be personally helpful so if it doesn’t work for you, that’s totally fine! Everyone writes differently!
General Advice:
1. First and most importantly: You Have to Write for Yourself.
Write the story that you want to read. Not only will it keep you motivated to keep going but it frees you to try whatever you want without being worried how it will be received by others. As long as you’re happy with your work, that’s all that matters. Your audience will find you.
(Hello audience! *waves excitedly*)
2. Write Everday
This one might sound a little daunting, but it doesn’t need to be a lot or necessarily “everyday”. It’s just a way to consistently practice, to help you find your author voice, and create a habit.
Writing everyday could be a poem or a paragraph or a whole chapter! It’s whatever you choose to make it just as long as you get something down. It doesn’t necessarily even need to be good. You can always go back and edit, but if you only write when inspiration strikes, you might never sit down to do it in the first place. Practice finding your way through the words to get at what you want, rather than waiting for the words to come to you.
If you’re REALLY really stuck. Then might I suggest you-.
3. Get Feedback
As a chronic second-guesser, I can’t tell you how helpful it is to have someone read your story and help structure the plot. I’ve had a lot of instances where something I’d been struggling with for days was resolved by getting coffee with a friend and having them look at it with new eyes.
Get yourself a beta reader or just someone who has good taste whose opinion you trust to help you work out problems. Two heads are often better than one!
4. Analyze media you admire
A lot of people like to limit it to reading authors you love and looking at the way they create stories, which is very helpful, but don’t neglect other forms of storytelling like movies and TV shows or even videogames! Think about what you like from your favorite things and why you like them.
As an example, one of my favorite pieces of media is the Mass Effect Trilogy. Mostly because it subverts the narrative of the Lone Hero archetype present in other franchises like Halo and Assassins Creed. The protagonist Shepard relies on their teammates abilities and support throughout the game to complete missions and eventually save the universe. Similarly, I like stories where there’s a cast of interesting and diverse characters surrounding the main protagonist who are essential to the plot.
Go dig through your own favorites and figure out what kind of characters you like, tropes you enjoy, and overarching themes that speak to you. From these, you can draw inspiration for your own stories and figure out what you want to write.
4. Take Breaks and Be Present
Writing doesn’t happen in a vacuum! If you feel like your inspiration is running dry or you’re in the middle of a block, go out and do things you enjoy or, better yet, try new things!
Be fully present in the moment and look at the world around you as if for the first time, talk to people you run into, or draw from your friends/family for inspiration. There’s a whole world of possibility out there just waiting to be written down or reinterpreted. Don’t be afraid to take breaks and have fun! Writing should never become a chore!
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s dig into my own personal process:
My Writing Process
1. Everything Begins with the Outline
When I have an idea for a story, I try to do a rough outline first of the big plot points: the beginning, the middle, and the end, then fill in as much as I can in between.
My chapter outlines are never very well defined up until I reach the point where I sit down to write. It’s only then I begin to flesh out what I want to do. I take everything from the previous chapter and what I know is coming up to shape what needs to happen in the moment. I work better with flexibility so I can wander off the path a little rather than rushing from point A to point B.
2. After the Outline, The Character Sheets
Character sheets are probably the most important part of my writing. I like to give my characters as much agency as possible and allow them to steer the story rather than the story steering them. Unfortunately, the only way to accomplish this is to know them inside and out.
Most of my character sheets start with the basics: what does this character want more than anything, what do they actually need, and what do they fear. From there, I can identify their goals for the story and for each chapter, their personality traits, their likes and dislikes, how they respond to conflict, etc.
When I’m writing, the character sheets are my own personal holy book. If I can’t make them move around the scene anymore, a quick look at that will normally get me back on track.
3. Structuring Each Chapter
Normally, I have a goal in mind (or several) I want to reach. Whether it’s progressing the plot or just one character’s arc, I allow those goals to drive the action, then set the characters loose like rats in a maze.
Often, I try to think “what can go wrong here?” and then how that character would react to the set backs or interact with each other based on that.
In a few cases, the characters just do what they want and then entirely new scenes develop I didn’t plot out beforehand from following after that instinct.
On the whole, I allow the characters A LOT of free will to shape the story while holding up the basic structure for them to work within and I’ve found it really makes the story come to life.
4. The Point of It All
Generally, everyone I’ve met who’s a writer has something to say and the story is the medium for that. The most important thing when I’m writing and I’m buried neck deep in the twists and turns of the plot is to not forget why exactly I’m writing it in the first place. So I have a little manifesto of sorts at the top of my outline, only a couple sentences at most, that strips the entire story down to the one central idea I’m trying to convey or an overarching theme.
For example, if I had to sum up the central idea of House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Great book by the way, can’t recommend it enough) it’s that true family accepts you for who you are and can come from unexpected places. Also, it’s essential to stand up to unjust systems in defense of others.
I try to find my own my own theme like this to keep in sight for my story. So I don’t veer too far from the purpose of it.
Anyway, that’s my advice for any other writers who are starting out, hope this was helpful in some way! All of you have a good day! 💖💖
Messaging people for the first time is so hard. What am I supposed to say? Like, "You seem really odd and your blog intrigues me. Do you want to have philosophical conversations or perhaps talk about fictional characters?" What! Whatever. I will just follow you back and stare at your blog with my big beautiful brown eyes.
When your Character...
Gets into: A Fight ⚜ ...Another Fight ⚜ ...Yet Another Fight
Hates Someone ⚜ Kisses Someone ⚜ Falls in Love
Calls Someone they Love ⚜ Dies / Cheats Death ⚜ Drowns
is...
A Child ⚜ Interacting with a Baby/Child ⚜ A Genius ⚜ A Lawyer
Beautiful ⚜ Dangerous ⚜ Drunk ⚜ Injured ⚜ Shy
needs...
A Magical Item ⚜ An Aphrodisiac ⚜ A Fictional Poison
To be Killed Off ⚜ To Become Likable ⚜ To Clean a Wound
To Find the Right Word, but Can't ⚜ To Say No ⚜ A Drink
loves...
Astronomy ⚜ Baking ⚜ Cooking ⚜ Cocktails ⚜ Food ⚜ Oils
Dancing ⚜ Fashion ⚜ Gems ⚜ Mythology ⚜ Numbers
Roses ⚜ Sweets ⚜ To Fight ⚜ Wine ⚜ Wine-Tasting ⚜ Yoga
has/experiences...
Allergies ⚜ Amnesia ⚜ Bereavement ⚜ Bites & Stings ⚜ Bruises
Caffeine ⚜ CO Poisoning ⚜ Color Blindness ⚜ Food Poisoning
Injuries ⚜ Jet Lag ⚜ Mutism ⚜ Pain ⚜ Poisoning
More Pain & Violence ⚜ Viruses ⚜ Wounds
[these are just quick references. more research may be needed to write your story...]
When violent characters are gentle and tender & when gentle characters are violent and unhinged
Just recently played through Homicipher - it was a good game. The whole mechanic of slowly piecing together the language was really fun, and the characters are simple- but pretty cool and interesting for having dialogue hindered by a language barrier and seemingly broken speech even when largely deciphered. Mr. Gap is probably my favorite at the moment.
Though I think it says a lot about me that I immediately thought of Zack when I saw Mr. Machete- and the fact that I’m now rapidly thinking of crossover scenarios…
If they did meet- to Mr. Machete, Zack would just be a smol human, an oddly respectable one that can stab and yell funny. And Ray would just be an even smaller human. Really boring though. Shame the funny man doesn’t seem to let him stab her.
Mr Crawling would immediately make it his goal to make Ray genuinely smile/have fun as soon as he sees the dead corpse energy she exudes. But he quickly realizes that that might not be as daunting as as task he originally assumed to be as Ray is morbid as all hell, and all he needs to do is trail her for a bit before she sees something in this horrid haunted place that piques her interest and he encourages her to have fun with it. (Zack watches with a disgusted look in the corner as Ray teaches Mr. Crawling to sew dolls with her)
Of course Ray would be the one actively making an effort to understand the language - and Zack would probably reluctantly pick up a few words here and there if only from the fact that he’s forced to overhear Ray and Mr. Crawling chatting it up all the time.
Zack would hate Mr. Gap specifically with all his heart- I can feel it in my bones.
