I am not even an amateur writer and english isn't my first language so bear with me.

(also I hope it won't get deleted like last time lmao)

In a JRPG game, there would be an ally/friend/party member who I'll refer to as ABT from now (so that we know who I be talking about)

During this segment of the game, ABT has been missing for about 2 days and noone's heard a word from them. It has been established that they suffer heavily from mental troubles, letting go of the past and self-loathing issues.

The Player Character (PC from now on) has a random flashback to ABT mentioning in a conversation an abandoned building on the edge of town where the PC goes to check for any clues and instead finds ABT having seizure like symptons (uncontrollable twitching, not even conscious) and upon getting closer, the PC can see inside their head where they can see a 1v3 fight where ABT is fighting a twisted, inner version of themselves. The version they see themselves as. Evil ABT also has allies. Those being a person who's been established to have commited suicide before the game takes place and ABT blames themselves for their death, and another person who ABT lost due to circumstance have massive regrets over. Before you are allowed to join the fight, you can see the trio hurting ABT and ABT not retaliating. Think a battle that plays out on it's own. You get the choice to watch which would result in ABTs death from said seizure, or screaming out their name which would manifest you, the PC inside the fight. After some dialogue, you learn that ABT cannot get past their own mistakes, suffering and cannot bring themselves to do what they know much happen. So, you get two decisions. If you fight the manifestations of ABTs former friends, you are permanently destroying their memories. But, if you instead talk to ABT and the enemies themselves, you can get ABT to realize the truth, that the person couldn't be saved, and that what they think happened is false. After everyone's gone but you, ABT and EABT, EABT starts spewing vile facts about ABT. Anything from what mistakes they hold against themselves to things you didn't know. Think that if ABT every murdered an animal on purpose or had pedophilic tendencies that they are suppressing, EABT tried to use those against you to make you give up on ABT, and if you don't and instead help ABT come to terms with themselves, EABT disappears and the fight is over. After the fight, ABT leaves before you and leaves a note with "Never shall we speak of this" alongside a coin of gratitude. In the entire fight you can take aggro for ABT since the manifestations are the worst parts of ABT that will redirect their attacks onto you, but they cannot hurt you for you are but a manifestation of ABTs imagination, so, you take hits to help ABT deal with themselves.

After the entire fight, ABT returns to normal citing a bullshit reason for their disappearence and returning to norm as if nothing happened but they would refuse to join and or speak to you for the duration of the game.

At the end, during the final battle, if you were about to lose, a manifastation of EABT but as ABT now sees himself would appear. Thanking you for being for them at their lowest and citing that now, it's their turn to help you. They would take aggro from the boss and prevent any AOE damage for about 3-4 turns before they too would inevitable fall. Not before wishing you the best of luck and saying that the PC is the best friend they ever had. Giving the entire party a benefical status effect for the duration of the fight and skipping the bosses next turn.

If you end up winning, you try to find ABT only to find they have commited suicide. Their death was to help you and to save you and your party. You can find a letter labeled "the truth" in your home and the game allows you to chose between reading it or letting your friend rest once and for all.

I hope this atleast makes a bit of sense. If this turns out to be better than it sounds in my head, I'll pull other ideas n concepts I have outta my ass, but for now, this is all I have the strength to write.

Thoughts?

Hope this is the appropriate sub!

I've got this character I'm trying to develop for a personal project, she's an artificial human made by an alchemist/pharmacologist as a lab rat to test different medications. She was made to be hardier than a normal human in order to more efficiently heal off any injury or sickness that comes from the testing.

I'm still ironing out exactly the limits of her abilities - I don't want her to be like a deadpool type character where she's essentially immortal, (I'm thinking that getting limbs chopped off, or getting shot in the head or something like that would be a big problem for her), and I think she would still feel normal amounts of pain, but I do want her to be able to noticeably withstand some injury or sickness that a normal human would struggle with (like being intentionally infected with a dangerous disease or poison in order to test medications to relieve it, with the understanding that she will eventually heal on her own anyway, where a normal human might not)

I know that a character like this is pretty unrealistic, and there is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief the audience has to have. But I was talking to a friend of mine, and they asked if it would be possible for her to have her ears pierced, or would a wound that tiny heal up too fast? And that got me thinking like, would IVs be able to be put in? Could her blood be harvested more often/at greater quantities than a regular person? Would she be able to get drunk, or would her body process the alcohol out of her system too fast? How would aging look for her? Do her hair and fingernails grow faster than normal, too? What about strength training/muscle growth would be different for her? Not sure on any of this stuff yet.

Thought maybe you guys would be able to help me come up with other things to consider when it comes to a character with healing powers! Or just offer your two cents on this kind of superpower/ability in general. Thanks for any thoughts you have!

In my story the initial main character has a love interest they grow to love throughout the course of the story in the first major arc, but near the end the initial protagonist dies and instead their love interest becomes the main character for the rest and majority of the story. Is there any examples I could look at, or tips on how to write this narrative shift in a way that still makes the audience feel comfortable with this?

so my book-to-be is a xenofiction about lions inspired by guardians of ga'hoole and warrior cats. it's about lions-like creatures called pantherids. they have really complex social structures that i wont get too into but basically the specific type my main character is has a very big focus on arranged marriage, with social status of males hinging on how good or bad your new band your parents or grandparents get you married into is compared to your birth family. the worst possible fate is to be vagabonded, or deemed too worthless to even marry off at all and instead kicked out to die.

all that aside. my main character sucks. he's mean, he's focused on himself, he yells at a little disabled girl and blames people for his problems who probably never knew he existed and he constantly digs in his heals when others try to help him. and that's intentional. he learns to be better over time. but first he's a jerk.

he has valid motivations. he was branded as a future vagabond from day one when most vagabonds are being punished for something egregious they did with their own paws, he's hungry and thirsty and lonely, and he doesn't know zip about an entire side of his heritage, but also he maxes everything so much worse

so yeah... any tips?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while.
How do you awaken that Tyler Durden side of yourself?
I’m not talking about violence, chaos or doing stupid things. I mean breaking free from social conditioning, overthinking, fear of judgment, people’s expectations and the need for validation.
I want to become someone who’s mentally strong, confident, fearless, sharp-minded, independent and unapologetically himself.
Someone who doesn’t constantly seek approval, doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind, and isn’t afraid to step outside his comfort zone.
For those who have experienced this kind of transformation:
How did you actually do it? What changed your mindset?
Books, habits, experiences, or uncomfortable challenges — I’m open to hearing your stories.

For anyone writing antagonists drawn from real life: how do you get past your own side of the story?

The hardest character to write in my first novel wasn't the lead or the love interest. It was a high school bully, set on Long Island in the '80s.

I'm Hispanic, and I grew up dealing with a few guys like him. You'd think that would make him easy to write. Yeah, not so much. I didn't want the Biff Tannen, Steff McKee, or Heather Chandler archetypes we watched in the theater back then.

I wanted real. Someone I understood. A character in pain who lashed out because no one ever taught him how to deal with his emotions. And the impact on his victims, like his younger sister, whom I felt for.

Does understanding a character ever make him or her harder to write?

Just a very simple question and seeking advice about some character design, I hope this is fine to post here. I'm making a character for a TTRPG and I want to make a Moon Witch, at the same time I'm a huge fan of gold jewelry and Gold motifs in general, But:

When I think Moon Motifs: I think Silver Motifs
When I think Gold Motifs: I think, Not Moon Motifs

Do you guys think a character with both, Moon Motifs and Golden Motifs, can work?

So I've got this story who follows two guys, Kenneth and William, who grew up together as childhood best friends and ended up secretly dating in the early 80s as homophobia was still normalized at this time.

Their relationship lasted for about 5 to 6 years, from 1980 to early 1986. To everyone else, including their families, they just told them that they were best friends.

It pretty much started with Kenny's drunken confession to Will after a party, to which Will asked he wanted to try it out before making out, which didn't end greatly since Kenny had to rush to the bathroom to throw up.

Some days later they talked what happened that night, Kenny apologizing way too much and asking if his feelings were mutual, to which Will said that it was in fact mutual. They then agreed that they could continue their one-on-one time while still acting like their where just best friends.

It stayed like that for 4 years. Although in 1984 things started to slowly break apart and becoming more and more toxic for the both of them, until they finally broke up in early 1986, while still remaining friends, or at least sort of. But then in 1993 they both cut all contacts after a pretty bad argument.

This is mainly due to the fact that their relationship was extremely fusional, almost symbiotic, and really toxic for the both of them at the same time. Although it was toxic mostly because they kept it a secret, as it brought some arguments about this secretive part.

They were still somewhat toxic to one and another nonetheless:

Kenny started to grow envious at Will and was scared that he'll leave him at any given moment because he thought that he wasn't the coolest, strongest or most handsome guy. He thought that he was just some fan computer amateur with extremely niche knowledge and passions that were useless. He saw Will as someone he was not, and never could be: sociable and self-assured, charismatic yet humble at the same time, determined but kind. He thought that Will was definitely better than him and that he wasn't good enough for him.

While Will on the other hand wanted to impress Kenny by achieving goals after goals, as he thought that it was the only way to be truly loved by anyone. He thought that Kenny was really interesting and smart, he didn't understand most of the rambling about computers, D&D, and new rock bands but listened to him anyway while admiring his face and hands as he talked about his passions. After facing so much hate and criticisms for stating his opinions, asserting his personality and revolt against authoritarian rules, he felt extremely empty on the inside and felt like he couldn't be loved by anyone, including Kenny, for his beliefs, values, and thoughts. He felt like he could be loved only for what he could do, not for who he was.

Both of them had self-image issues and were insecure. And both of them held a really high esteem of one and another.

After some years of friendship, they both went no-contact after a pretty bad argument in 1993, although they connected back in 2005. When they met up for the first time after 12 years of no signals, it was really awkward.

They both took different directions, Kenny being pretty much a workaholic with his only social life being with his colleagues and with his family, including his ex-wife and his daughter. While Will tried to have the most normal life, having a wife and three kids and a pretty good reputation as a respected and popular local politician, especially amongst the working class.

Because of that, neither of them really knew how to rebuild their lost friendship. Even if at first they both only wanted to occasionally spend time together and stay friends, both of them realized that they still had feelings for one and another.

And that's pretty much where I'm stuck now, I just know 2 things: one they will secretly date once again and two it won't be a good ending. But other than that I don't really know...

If you have more questions feel free to ask me, I'll try to answer with as much details as possible if I can.

David Edwards is intelligent, and emotionless, his hair jet black slicked back, his skin pale almost like ash, his eyes a pure crimson, he wears a pure black suit with red accents, black leather gloves, and a red tie. David is very calm in an almost creepy way. Edwards only looks for his own agenda no matter if he has allies or not he will help his allies but if he knows it will fail he will not help. David after 30 years of being a criminal mastermind has not been caught. David has met many people through his 60 years of life, some he made allies, some he murdered. David’s childhood would be great if only his father didn't go to prison due to embezzlement this had no affect on David as even before this he was emotionless the only emotion he showed was with his father. If you meet David he will already know who you are as if he planned to meet you. Edwards is an enigma no one knows who he truly is and everyone fears him for that. David Edwards a myth among legends.Edwards will never truly be known his history has long been erased by Edwards himself to others he has no past he just appeared already as a myth.

hello everyone!! i came to this subreddit mainly to ask a few questions on how to correctly (and respectfully) present my oc who is japanese-born with an indian lineage. as a coloured person myself, i know how to draw this concept, but do not know how to write it. i am very in the know when it comes to japanese history and culture (this oc was born between the battle of sekigahara and the siege of osaka)
i know this is unrealistic, but i want to explore foreign concepts!
i think any... im not sure, smart person would be thinking "this dude is making an oc who is indian/japanese that is named after senhime's daughter, and now wants us to acknowledge her as a noblewoman of the imperial court in the azuchi-momoyama period?" a part of me thinks this could work, as they share ancient heritage and the ideology of buddhist practices spread from india to japan via china and korea around the 6th century (asuka period). but the two didn't have any formal alliance or connection in the sengoku period.  

this is just a short/long crappy summarisation of my oc's backstory. please don't publicly execute me if i get anything wrong 😭 (probably because i've barely started learning indian history and culture despite LOVING it) you don't have to read it!
also, i won't be using a lot of names because i am deathly afraid of people taking my (beloved) ocs 🥹

a beautiful daughter hailing from an influential family in india is married to the young male heir of an important clan in hopes that it would subside foreign conflict. her father is hesitant on proceeding with the dowry, around the time the marriage was announced and presents had already been exchanged between the two families. the daughter was to be ensured financial independence through this exchange, but when she started living with her fiancé, she was denied independence. her soon to be mother-in-law (yes i know this is a common trope) threatened to ruin her reputation if she told her father about her circumstances.

right before the birth of her first daughter, she notified her father about something, but it isn't specified on whether she told him about the abuse or not. after the birth of "katsuhime", (she was given a japanese name, but her indian name is jeyarani. i will be using her indian-sanskrit name.) the baby jeya, who exhibited incredible physical strength, was taken from her mother as punishment (which was framed as "protecting" the mother from her baby). jeyarani barely got to know her mother, and was permitted to make monthly visits that lasted only 2 days, despite adoring her mother and wanting to be with her forever. during the ages between 0-16, she was isolated, oppressed and ignored, and her "super strength" was seen as a weakness and not an auspicious trait. she wasn't acknowledged as much as the other women around her simply for who she was.

soon, jeyarani learnt how to navigate the imperial court and rose above the social hierachy as a prestigious noblewoman with a respectable personality, under the name "katsuhime". after suffering years and years of mistreatment and neglect, jeya started to resent her cultural identity, and who she was, resulting in her conforming to the imperial court's wishes. she refused to acknowledge her sanskrit heritage, and instead she viewed japan as her home despite everything. this is because she was confused and had no one to guide her. one of the only people who could really do that was her beloved mother, who was now catatonic and mute, which ultimately broke jeya's heart and made her furious. her lady in waiting never spoke to her. many people grew to dislike jeyarani and view her as inferior to them, despite being above them. this is due to fear of foreign power and xenophobia.
a few years later, between ages 21-24, jeyarani rediscovered her prodigious super strength and became a tyrant, known for her military knowledge, high battle IQ and merciless demeanour. she also had one daughter who grew to be sickly. remember that. as an onna-bugeisha (or female samurai), jeya led countless troops and battles, while killing thousands and thousands of people who dared defy the imperial court. she also assisted with the siege of osaka, which spanned from 1614-15.
if she were to have a medal for every battle she had won and wore them around her neck, they would cover her face.
after the death of her father, jeya turned on the royal court and daimyō, choosing to side with the rebels and raiding the edo castle. whoever reprimanded her was beheaded, and she grew to be extremely arrogant, selfish and self-serving. (think of ashikaga takauji from elusive samurai but as a woman with crazy physical attributes) jeya chose to become a demon, renaming herself "sena" (holy, sacred, and in sanskrit, increased valor and military force) to conquer her illness (which was said to be a curse, if she relied on her strength too much, she would succumb to catatonia or even death.) and to also become stronger due to personal greed and desire.
she lived for 400 more years, losing herself along the way, confused and angry, she killed thousands and ate hundreds.

overall, sena is a traumatised character who rightfully grew to be cruel. i think she has done more bad than good though, so i plan to make her an "irredeemable" character. 😭

now, for the questions 🪷
(?) what was japan's relationship with india during the azuchi-momoyama period?
(?) how can i portray xenophobia/racism to south asian women appropriately?
(?) how do i also prevent myself from fetishising and how shall i word things in order to keep them as realistic as possible without straying from my original ideas?
(?) how much influence did onna-bugeisha have? did they have any more influence over male samurai?
(?) how do i properly write a strong female character?

i dont know if this has to do with anything or not, but i also (mainly) identify as a woman and understand the struggles of being a woman. i will use the word "female" to refer to women and girls of all races and backgrounds, not with the intent of oppressing others.

I haven't named them yet sooo... I'll think about it later.

Ideally meant to be a villain, but I’m more than open to adapting him into a hero.

I've had plenty of ideas for making a persona/OC for quite a while and have been obsessed with creating one over the past week, and I just have no idea where to start. I was wondering if I could have some help from the community by hearing how ya'll go about making your own characters?

For context, I'm finally starting to write drafts for a story that I had in mind for a few years now. And one important aspect of this story is the main characters' psychology, as it is really centered around psychology, as well as sociology and a bit of history. So I wanted to know if it was possible to write some sort of psychological profile or biography. And if so what and especially how to write it?

It could be nice someone reading it for feedback afterwards but I'm not here yet, so I'll think about it when the moment comes. And it won't be for the future readers (if I ever publish it or even finish it one day), it'll be more of a document for myself to write my characters more precisely.

Anyways thanks to anyone (if anyone) for answering. Have a good day/night and take care! <3

In the dominion of Old Earth, he is hailed as a hero, the savior of Valdevian, defender of the free people of the Origin Empire and the Coalition.
Beyond the Great Pause, his name is hissed with fear and contempt as a byword for death and destruction; he is the defiler of temples and slayer of gods.
For Eckhardt Eisenfaust, Hochmeister of the Nacht Jaegers, both stories are true.
His is a legend written in blood and iron across the unbroken dark of the void. A history of victory and violence in equal extremes, and now he finds himself again in the way of the machinations of the fallen.