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Character Development: Speech

Finding your character’s voice is one of the most important things you can do to make your character more fully developed. It can often be the thing that sets your character apart and makes the reader easily able to identify them. Creating your character’s voice breathes life into them.

What to think about:

Formal or informal

Can be shown with:

sentence structure/complexity (shorter vs. longer sentences, number of clauses, etc.) 

contractions (e.g. y’all versus you guys, I am vs. I’m)

word choice (simple or advanced; more poetic vs. more practical, blunt vs. subtle)

word order/syntax (can indicate dialect and/or formality)

Things to ask yourself:

- If my character speaks formally/informally, is there a reason?

- Does it indicate their status?

- Or is it a rejection of their status? (e.g. does your highborn character prefer to speak informally because they hate their position in life, or does your lower class character speak more formally to make themselves appear higher class?)

- Is the way they speak normal for their society? In other words, if your character is, say, an alien from a highly formal culture, they won’t think of themselves as speaking abnormally. But if they visit another, less cultured planet, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.

Catchphrases

When done well, this can be amazing. When done awfully, it makes the reader sigh and roll their eyes in exasperation. So, be careful not to overdo it!

Catchphrases can include:

slang (e.g. wicked, if your character is from Boston, like Faith Lehane from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer)

exclamations/swears (”Hell’s bells!” - Harry Dresden, “Zoinks!” - Shaggy, “Holy ___, Batman!” - Robin at various times)

automatic responses (such as in response to how they are, e.g. “Five by five.” - Faith Lehane, or in response to a question they don’t want to answer, e.g. “Spoilers!” - River Song)

greetings/goodbyes (”Hello, sweetie.” - River Song, “What’s up, Doc?” - Bugs Bunny)

introducing themselves ( “The name’s Bond. James Bond.” - James Bond, “Trust me. I’m the Doctor.” - the Doctor, “Denny Crane,” said repeatedly by Denny Crane)

an explanation/repeat phrase of some other classification (”Dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a ________.” - Bones, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” - Mission Impossible, “Live long and prosper.” - Spock, “Same thing we do every night, Pinky! Try to take over the world!” - the Brain)

A lot of times, these catchphrases can become inside jokes, and merely referencing them is enough (think: “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” or “Holy _______, Batman!”).

But sometimes, it can feel a little forced (like Miss Martian’s constant use of “Hello, Megan!” all the time in Young Justice). You want to use these catchphrases sparingly, and when they make sense. While you and I might say “fudge” or another such exclamation any time we trip, the reader does not want to read that twenty times in the same chapter because your character is a klutz. This is the art of writing, not the hyperrealism of writing. You want it to mean something, so use it only when needed.

Things to ask yourself:

- Does this character really need a catchphrase? How will this help establish character?

- Does the catchphrase come from the type of place they live or things they do? For instance, Harry Dresden is a wizard, so when he swears he says, “Hell’s bells,” which reminds us of his job and difference from those around him. This wouldn’t be the same if he simply said, “Dang it,” any time he swore.

- Is there a reason they have a catchphrase? Is it deliberate or unconscious on their part?

- Is there a way you can flip the catchphrase and use it to signal a shift in the story or an unexpected twist (e.g. signifying that somehow your character as switched bodies with another person, like Faith from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer; alternatively, that something isn’t right with the character, because of certain events, and they’re not saying their usual catchphrase)?

Verbal Tics*

Verbal tics are sounds that are not really words, more like filler, that get used almost unconsciously in everyday speech. Words like “ehm,” “uh,” and so on are all verbal tics. (Various internet sites assure me that throat clearing and sniffing can also be included here, but I leave that up to you.) For this section, however, I am also including words, but only those words that are filler. I am also including alterations to the text that represent how someone is speaking.

Now, I know that in any writing guide you read, they want you to NOT, NOT, NOT use regular tics like these in dialogue. It’s annoying, repetitive, annoying, serves no purpose, annoying, and so on. In a sense, they are very much right. Don’t use verbal tics for every character! But using them to distinguish one character (or a couple, in different ways) can work very well if done right.

Verbal tics can be:

words (examples: “You don’t wanna mess with us, see, ‘cause we’re dangerous, see,” or “So, I went to the mall yesterday, and there was this dress, so I bought it, so…” or even “Like, I’m not even sure what Vanessa was, like, wearing at that party last night?”)

filler sounds (e.g. “eh,” “um,” “uh,” “er,” “hrrgh,” “urk,” and so on)

messing with the letters and format of the sentence (e.g. dragging out the letter, making every word separated for a slow speaker, running words together to indicate speed, etc.)

Examples of verbal tics (this is a section in which examples are very helpful, so here you go):

Damian Wayne, the current Robin at DC Comics: uses the distinctive sound “tt” in his appearances to express his emotions, even - tt - other comic series that he guest-stars in

Asmodeus from the Redwall series: drawsss out the letter ssss becaussse he isss a ssssnake

The Flash, at various points in DC Comics: speakswithallthewordstogetherbecausehe’stalkingsofast!!!

Canada, from the Hetalia anime: ending every sentence like a true Canadian, eh?

Things to ask yourself:

- What purpose would a verbal tic have for my character? Do they really need one?

- Is the verbal tic connected to an emotion, or is it involuntary? (Generally, in real life, it is involuntary, but once again, this is art, and so it can have meaning, if you so choose!) What emotion might it be connected to?

- Are they aware of it? Are they embarrassed by it? Do people make fun of them for it?

- Is it part of their dialect/culture?

- Is it a recent thing or have they always done it?

- Where is the balance between making it seem like a realistic tic and annoying my reader with the repetitiveness?

*I am not referring to any medical diagnoses here, although if you want to go right ahead and use medically diagnosed tics for a character, please feel free to! However, this section does not deal with those, as I am not an expert, although I understand there might be some confusion due to the terminology I have used. Please let me know if there is a different term I should be using instead, as I couldn’t find one anywhere. Thanks!

Ways of addressing others

The way that your character addresses other characters says a lot about how they view and respect those around them, in addition to their personality. In addition, if you establish a character addresses others in a certain way (say, by last name only), then when they break this pattern, the reader knows it is important.

Different ways of addressing others:

nicknames (either a shortening of someone’s name, even if it’s not usually shortened, or a name reflecting some characteristic of theirs - e.g. “Jane” to “Janie,” or “Shorty,” or Tony Stark’s brand of nicknames, like “Capsicle” or “Rock of Ages”)

titles (similar to nicknames, but more formal - e.g. a character referring to people by their rank, job, familial relations, etc.)

last name only 

full name only (never shortened, includes first, last, and middle names)

no nicknames (never refers to a character by anything other than what’s printed on their birth certificate, can be combined with others on these lists, especially the previous two)

familial referencing (e.g. Aragorn, son of Arathorn)

insults (ranging from harmless to aggressive, can be combined with the first one on this list, not always swears)

by physical/personal characteristics [epithets]** (e.g. by gender, hair color, eye color, traits - for instance, “boy,” “you, redhead!” or “the only one of you with any spine”)

** This one tends to work best in stories set in older times or in sci-fi/fantasy. Epithets can be insults, but the epithets I am thinking of are more Homeric in nature.

Things to ask yourself:

- Is there a reason behind my character’s decision to address people in this way? Does it indicate a lack of trust? A need to crack jokes?

- What does this say about my character’s background? Is this the normal way to address people where they come from? Is it abnormal to do so in the place they are now?

- Does my character evolve from speaking this way? Do they start speaking in a different way, either deliberately or unconsciously? Why?

Accents

Accents are tricky. There are several different ways to write accents (I’m currently working on a post that explains them further), but basically no matter how you write an accent, there are a few things you can do to portray the accent.

slang (e.g. barbie = barbecue in Australian slang)

word order/syntax (e.g. “I’m after going to Mary’s” = “I just went down to Mary’s” in Hiberno-English)

contractions (I’ve versus I have, or y’all versus ye vs youse vs you and so on)

idioms (words or phrases that do not have equivalents in other dialects/languages/places)

diction (words meaning different things, like “chips” in American English and in British English)

verbs (e.g. “ain’t,” “be,” “runnin,” or mixing up tenses)

Keep in mind:

- be RESPECTFUL of whatever accent you’re trying to portray, especially if it’s not your accent

- don’t overdo the accent because it might end up sounding stereotypical (and that is not respectful - see above)

- you should get a feel for the accent you’re trying to write. Listen to the music, read something in that accent, watch/listen people talk in the accent until you hear the rhythm and way people with that accent talk. 

Things to ask yourself:

- Is the way I am portraying this accent as accurate as it is within my power to make it? (In other words, have I done my research?)

- How does my character feel about their accent? Are they in a place where their accent is normal? Are they in a place where they stand out because of their accent?

- Continuing on that thought, how noticeable is their accent? Is it the equivalent of someone from, say, Boston going somewhere else in Massachusetts, or the equivalent of that person from Boston going to California, or the equivalent of that same person going to London? Each one becomes more and more noticeable the farther the person goes from their home.

- Has my character made an attempt to hide their accent? Deliberately intensify it? Or do they just not care?

- Does it get stronger or weaker based on their emotional state?

Emotion

The emotions your character normally expresses when they’re speaking say a lot about their general emotional state. In addition, if there is a change in their emotional state, readers will be able to know that just from the way they talk (though context and body language are always useful!)

You can show emotion in speech through:

speed (if they’re easily excited, they might talk fast! and with a lot of exclamation points! But if they’re sad a lot…well, they might talk a bit more slowly and take their time…kind of like Eeyore.)

word choice (is it generally positive? negative? Or somewhere in between?)

reactions to other characters’ dialogue (are they generally patient and wait for the other person to finish? Or do they jump in because they’re so excited about something the other person has said?)

volume (are they loud? Quiet? Are they normally quiet but get loud when they’re angry? Or vice versa?)

understandability (not necessarily stuttering or stumbling over words, but can be; are their procession of thoughts/logic easy to understand? Is their conclusion sensible? Are they understanding others easily or do they need clarification? For instance, if your character is easily excited, maybe their dialogue comes in a jumble of words that is hard to understand. Maybe they’re so angry they’re not listening to anything the other person is saying, and their dialogue reflects that.)

punctuation/capitalization (are they unsure of themselves and what they’re saying a lot, so they use a lot of question marks like this? Are they aggressive in their emotions and so THEY SHOUT LIKE THIS!!! Are they…kind of thoughtful and take the time to…express themselves correctly…or are they - well - I mean are they - like - the kind of people who - you know, backtrack and correct themselves a lot?)***

***Again, you want to be careful not to overdo this, as it can get annoying AND lose the effect it has on the reader. If one of your characters SHOUTS. EVERYTHING. THEY. SAY. THEN WHEN SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT HAPPENS TO THE CHARACTER AND THEY GET VERY EMOTIONAL AND SHOUT, IT’S LOST A TON OF EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON THE READER. Like the end of that sentence. Did it make a big impact on you? It should - it was the entire point of the sentence. But it was lost amidst all of the other capitalized words. The same thing goes for any type of repeated punctuation/capitalization for a character - you want to make sure it counts.

Things to ask yourself:

- Why does my character express this emotion generally? 

- What does it say about their outlook on life?

- What does that say about how they view other people?

- Does their dialogue rely on these techniques too much when trying to show their emotions? How can I combine these with their body language?

Focus/Fixations

This is a pretty simple one. Focus can be organization of thoughts - basically, what idea(s) can they or want to focus on. A character that is very focused might be a practical person who is focused on the here and now, and their plans for whatever situation they’re in. A character that is less focused might be someone who thinks of several things at once, which reflects in their dialogue. 

Fixations are the things that their minds keep coming back to. So for example, if a character is worried about how they did on a test, throughout the story their dialogue might keep returning to that subject or referencing it. For instance: “Hey, when do you think we’re getting that test back?” or “Wow, this is pretty hard. Almost as hard as that test we took.” You want to make it less obvious than this, of course! (A good example is Anya from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer and her obsession with making money.)

Ways to show focus/fixation:

number of ideas/topics in their dialogue at a time

relevance of topics to the present

relevance of topics to the past/future

how they react to people who do not share their focus/fixation (e.g. a focused person finds it annoying when a person who is not focused keeps interrupting them, or a person who is less focused finds it annoying that a person who is focused is paying too much attention to one thing) 

Things to ask yourself:

- How focused are they when talking?

- Do they think of a million things at once, or just one at a time? 

- What are some short-term fixations they might have? Some long-term?

- Why might they be focused/not focused? Why might they have these fixations? What do these fixations say about their character?

- Do the focus/fixations change over time? How? Why? Does it reflect a change in their character?

- Am I making my character too focused/fixated on something? Is it detracting from or adding to the story or the character arc?

How others see them vs. how they see themselves

This one is probably the broadest one on the list. There aren’t specific things you can do to get this across (it’s more of a general thing), but it’s a cycle that you should keep in mind.

Your character sees themselves in a certain way. For instance, they might think of themselves as helpful, or kind. 

The way that they see themselves can influence why they do things (e.g. if they see themselves as a person who doesn’t go on adventures, like Bilbo Baggins, they will refuse to go on an adventure.)

The actions that they take influences how other characters see them, but the other characters do not necessarily see your character’s perception of themselves (e.g. in the Hobbit, Bilbo sees himself as helpful and averting war by giving the Arkenstone to the Elves. He thinks he is being a good friend. However, Thorin sees it as a betrayal and thinks Bilbo is disloyal and not a good friend. Both of them at the time of their actions think they are right.)

How other characters see your character influences how they treat your character (e.g. Because Thorin thinks Bilbo has betrayed him, he threatens Bilbo and rejects him as a friend. Bilbo escapes with his life, but only through the help of the other dwarves. Again, to each character, their own actions are justified and so their dialogue reflects their belief that they are right. So, when they talk to each other, both of them think that they are right and the other is wrong, and you can see this in their dialogue.)

How they treat your character influences how your character sees and reacts to these people, and can influence your character’s perception of themselves (e.g. Because Thorin rejected Bilbo and called him a traitor, Bilbo is bewildered and believes for a time that Thorin cannot be saved, and he feels like he failed).

The cycle continues.

All of this is reflected in their dialogue to each other.

Knowing how each of your characters see each other and themselves will influence their dialogue and reactions to each other. Characters can misunderstand each other, underestimate someone, or help someone feel better about themselves, just to name a few things. 

Things to ask yourself:

- How does my character see themselves? Why? Are they one hundred percent correct?

- How do other characters see my character? Why? Are they one hundred percent correct?

- Does my character have any idea of other people’s perceptions of them? If so, do they care? Is my character correct about what they think other people think about them?

- Will my character’s perspective of themselves/other people change? Why and how? Will other characters’ perspectives of my characters change? Why and how?

- How do all these reactions to each other influence the story?

Hope this helped! Let me know if there are any questions.

- Riona

🚨 Urgent Appeal: Help Us Escape the War 🚨

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Coming into a fandom late

Reporter: What’s your name?

Hong Kong Protestor: Lee Chun Hei! I won’t commit suicide!

Police: 

How to make a character's death sadder

 Don’t have them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life. Many people don’t even think of this as sad (note that this can still work if you have enough of the other factors).

 Leave one of their major goals unfinished. The more enthusiastic they are about completing the goal, the sadder.

 Give them strong relationships with other characters.

 Make them fight against whatever is causing their death. Their ultimate loss is sadder if they struggle.

 Kill them in the middle of their character arc.

 Don’t describe their funeral in detail. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that long descriptions of funerals kill the sadness.

I feel like zyx and shen yuan could have interesting conversations about the weird things people sometimes say to them and in reality its the flirting theyre missing.

more like, the two of them would notice the weird things that happened to each other, but zero self-awareness

(let's say they'd have these interactions in modern au with all mxtx cast kicking around city neighborhood/college/local hangout/etc)

(it's gotta be college bc zyx is a fucking nerd, and they met in a general education course. and then they kept taking courses that overlapped each other's majors as out-of-major requirements for funsies)

(let's throw sqh in there too bc it's not like he notices mobei-jun's anything beyond angery)

(lucky for you, anon, i had some ideas rattling in my head)

mainly zyx and sy chill during lunch or after classes, under a tree next to one of the sequestered coffee shops on campus. it's their bi-weekly bitch session:

zyx, while laying in the dirt w coffee next to her head "dude why are the guys in the seminar so fckin sweaty"

sy, scrolling through phone "who?"

"take your pick; the guy that prob runs a campus fight club, or... huh. they both look like that."

"... liu qingge? that's just his face. i think i accidentally stepped on his pen once when i was trying to give it back, and he's never forgiven me since."

zyx shrugs. made sense - it explained the nearly murderous stare he had every time something fell off of sy's desk in lqg's vicinity (can't help it with those ridiculously tiny lecture seat/desks), and lqg picks the stuff up and thrusts them back at sy like he'd rather that motion stab sy instead.

"who's the other one?"

"uh, i think that freshman - bing something - always looks like i coughed in his face or some shit."

"oh, luo binghe. he's a nice guy; looks like what???"

"ok, he looks at you like he thinks your organs would fetch a premium on the black market"

"joke's on him - the black market would pay to never touch my organs"

"just don't follow him into an alleyway. either of them."

the two of them eventually get up and walk to the library to meet sqh, who is working with a classmate that's friends with the over-eager freshman luo binghe.

sy and zyx are sitting aside, waiting for sqh to squirm through his project. his partner, mobei-jun ('as his year calls him for some sport-ball reason, wtf' thinks zyx) is trying to set their work on fire through glares alone. he keeps pulling the papers from sqh, treating their poor (but sometimes deserving) friend like a non-entity. zero respect for personal space.

and instead of staying on his side of the friendship line, lbh spends a good ten minutes boring holes into zyx's head via his stare, and then saunters over to (...start a fight?) incongruously ask sy about last week's lecture. sy's sweating bc he was too busy getting into a twitter war over his latest trashfire webnovel obsession - he knows jack shit about last lecture.

zyx is about to speak up to help out (she was playing on her 3ds but at least she took notes and looked at the board), and lbh turns his eerie not-glare glare with 'i will kill you, sweetie' smile and she just decides to let sy waffle.

not her fucking fight.

=

sometimes zyx can convince the wimp wonder duo sy and sqh to gym w her:

zyx "it'll at least stop your posture from regressing into a crustacean"

sqh "i'm dying"

sy "i can sue her... i don't know for what, but i have a family lawyer..." *wheeze*

murderface lqg walks by while zyx is trying to help the boys with their form. "that's wrong," he barks at them

before zyx could "mcfucking excuse you mate; they're trying" sy, irate and near death snaps back "oh? what would you know?"

without asking, lqg steps up and immediately hands-on starts correcting sy. zyx looks and sees he's not completely out his own ass (nor should he be, with delts like that; and he seems to respect leg day) and she turns to focus on sqh.

when she looks back, sy is actually doing the lift properly, lqg spotting and saying words of ... encouragement? in that curt, no-nonsense way of his.

"you're not completely hopeless," lqg comments. "come back on monday. i'll teach you more."

sy, face down like a limp noodle "buy me dinner first if you're going to do me like this"

lqg looks like he's about to blow a blood vessel from anger. "... fine!" and stomps away.

zyx and sqh stare at him stomping away. both pairs of eyes look down at that supremely tight ass of his, and then look at each other. ('nice,' they both think).

eventually "... does anyone find it unfair that the richest asshole between us three is the one that gets free dinner?" sqh complains.

=

or the time that zyx is helping sy with an intro to programming assignment at the mech engineering dept computer lab:

sy, shifting around and losing focus every few minutes

zyx, losing patience, trying to do some homework at the same time "bro we'll leave when you finish. i'm not helping you this weekend - i have my own shit to procrastinate"

"how tf you work in here? everyone's so distracting!"

for the nth time, the printer near their corner goes off. the owner of the print bounces over to grab the paper, and turns to yell at his teammates

"okay guys! this one's the final CAD drawing! probably!"

zyx, unable to hold a grimace back. "fucking wei wuxian," she grumbles.

sy rolls his eyes. "that guy's been printing his crap for the last hour."

"i was hoping that he'd meet his team at usual fucking time and we'd get some peace and quiet in the lab, for once," she says, almost carving her derivations into her notebook with how strongly she's writing. "if i didn't already commit years, blood, sweat, and tears to this degree, i'd change majors to never take a class with him again."

"... i think he heard you," sy says awkwardly.

a hand, clutching a paper of 2d cross-sections, taps down next to zyx's workspace. "yunxun! hey, didn't see you working there!"

zyx's dead fish stare "... mhm. hi."

"is that the controls homework? i have mine, too - let's go over it in a bit! can't believe i got marked down one for the last homework -"

zyx is trying not to seethe. is this motherfucker mocking her? she got marked down three. he fucking saw that, with how nosy he was and sitting behind her in the lecture hall.

fuck. off.

wwx's still talking "did you finish the designs for mechanical design yet (zyx: "my team is iterating on it")? prof's given us hints with some of the load cases - i can help you out so you don't waste your time-"

"-thanks, but i already have the relevant load cases for my team's design."

(sy thinks that zyx's teeth might break if she grits them any tighter)

"oh! well, there's this torsion analysis that everyone keeps missing -"

"we chose a different design so we could ignore that case."

wwx laughs. "haha, i bet you're the one that thought of the new design, just to cheat past that!"

zyx "... hey, i'm sorry - i need to help my friend out with his work -"

wwx walks away cheerfully. "yeah, ok, see ya yunxun! we can check the controls homework in class!"

sy "... he seems nice."

zyx "i want him dead."

=

zyx and sy sometimes dicking around in the music dept and using their practice rooms (because sy got them kicked out of the library with his loud rant on the latest sin committed by the subject of his hate-reading):

sy "when was the last time you had lessons?"

zyx "shut up rich boy - i have the right to play shitty anime covers whenever i want"

a knock on the door.

zyx "ah, fuck, it's that pretty boy"

"oh, pretty boy, huh?" sy teases

"pretty boy, derogatory" and she opens the door. "can i help you?"

said pretty boy is glaring into the room, a violin and bow in hand. "... if not practicing, you should not occupy the rooms."

zyx "yeah, we're done." goes to pack up, sy getting up and moving past the guy

as zyx leaves, the guy stops her with a curt 'hm'.

"for the piece i'm practicing - it requires an accompanist." the guy flicks his judgmental stare between zyx and the piano she was messing around with for the last hour.

"ah - I... sorry; your timing was good, i'm actually late for class." and she grabs sy and leaves before the guy can call her back.

sy starts wheezing when they exit the music building. "you?! accompany what? you haven't played since middle school orchestra!" he cackles. "'hey, i can't actually play formally, my guy', just say that!"

"shut the fuck up!" zyx drags him further from the building "look, that fucker keeps getting on my case since three weeks ago - my dance group was practicing nearby and we were 'uncouth and too loud', and i'll be damned if i let that uptight fuckwad sneer at me for being a weeb pianist"

"so if we want to keep hanging out here, like we've been for the past two years -"

"i will dig out every excuse i got. bitch has to sleep sometime. or just buy a piano for your apartment. for me."

"... no, i think this is funnier."

"fuck you, man"

Liushen week day 3 prompt: AU

The AU here is not only that LQG dies but the fact that he got to spend his life with SQQ in the first place ayyyy

Dont Skip,,please help my sons !!🇵🇸🍉

Hello! I am motaz from Gaza.

My house was destroyed and I lost my job and everything we had in this country. I feel great pain writing for you, as I have to start this campaign to save myself and my people from this human disaster. We live in harsh conditions, and we only have hope after being displaced several times from our home. Now, we are fighting for the most basic necessities to survive - drinking food and water.. Imagine with me that you wake up every day and don't know how to get a meal for your kids. Imagine the anxiety that grips you as you try so hard to protect your family from hunger and thirst. This is our daily reality. Your donation, no matter how small, can have a great impact. It can provide us with a meal, a clean water bottle, or a moment of safety under these difficult conditions. Every donation brings with it a ray of hope, alleviates our suffering and gives us strength to face a new day. Please donate and support the resilience of the Gazan people, especially citizens in the north of the Gaza Strip, and share this campaign with your friends and families. Together, we can make a difference and help my family get through this ordeal. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and support. My warm greetings. Motaz

I want to save the lives of my family and escape death.

I hope you will help by donating and reblog

🆘🆘

Every 1110 kr= 100$

gofundme.com

Donate to Defend my brother's family from genocide in gaza, organized by Mohamed Jadalhaq

My name is Mohamed Jadalhaq, and I currently reside in Sweden. I am … Mohamed Jadalhaq needs your support for Defend my brother's family fro

After reading a whole lot of danmeis by several different authors, I find the difference mindsets on morality by three of the most popular ones sort of funny :

MXTX: actions have consequences and when ppl have power those consequences might be terrible even if the intentions are good. Still staying true in one’s heart is important. Also, fuck mob mentality, social media and peer pressure, and celeb internet culture. Anonymous masses are vultures and they can both be terrible on their own or easily manipulated and weaponized. (this last part is really the metaphoric message of the novels, not a reference to any lead actor’s scandals…which makes the whole irl thing even more ironic…and yes I know I’m using it wrong but if Alanis Morisette can, so can I).

Meatbun: Okay, the protagonist is scum. Not just regular scum. Psychotic Genocidal Totalitarian scum (also very into BDSM). Do you think he’s bad in the first chapters? Oh he gets worse. Do you feel like stabbing him yet? Good! Only he is the biggest victim of them all and he is now horrified with his actions and bc actions matter regardless of personal excuses, he’s gonna suffer with that knowledge forever. Suffer along as the lead pines, despairs and crawls on his path of redemption and neither you nor the characters will ever truly emotionally recover. Conclusion: If you honestly repent then there is a chance at redemption no matter the crime (how very catholic).

Priest: Be Gay, Do Crimes, Have Fun Storming the Castle!, Murder Parties for all! No need to feel bad, or sorry. Just find a kindred ruthless bf, stir shit up and then retire together into a little cottage somewhere. The world is chaos, do what yo gotta do to survive, don’t sweat it. The ends justify the means. Morality is optional, a strong sense of patriotism is advised (“ For the Greater Good/ The greater good”), being utterly devoted to your loved one is mandatory tho!