#tumblr is a great space for artistic posting and building characters with aesthetics and writing

[amurr-reha]

“Navigation is hard, it’s not intuitive.” - I keep hearing this.

If any twitter friends have questions, I would love to answer any to try and help make using Tumblr easier for you, if you choose to use it. It’s honestly very simple and has a ton of creative features.

                                       (More below!)

A big big big thing I want to stress - Tumblr is NOT a quick consumable metric chasing website, it’s not built to be. I would recommend Instagram if you want to chase metrics and consume media versus focus on the artistic or RP building atmosphere of it.

Don’t worry about the “layout” so hard. If you want to make one, there’s free layouts out there but it’s a legacy thing, so I wouldn’t make a priority. Unless you give someone your NAME@tumblr link versus tumblr.com/NAME link, they’ll never really see it (you’ll never see it). Focus on that later.

Asks: A built in CuriousCat/Telloynm

Messages: DMs

Conversing/Interacting:

Lovenotes in tags (People write comments in them along with the actual proper tagging when reblogging - not required but it makes people’s days and will inspire them to do the same for yours/others)

Commenting (self explanatory - comment on an image and we can reply back)

Re-blog commenting (If you make a text post, we can reblog and add our own text to it - can make it a back and forth chain but I wouldn't recommend unless it’s RP or questions or intellectual debate)

                  (Hey look, I don't have a 280 chara limit)               (This baby can fit so much text customization)

Asks: a great feature to ask questions or submit reblogged writing prompts for RP. Comes with Anon feature (togglable).

Reblogging is exposure. Likes are personal and do not populate on dashboards like on Twitter. People can still access them from your page but odds are they aren’t going to do that. You can make your Likes private for only you to see if you wanted as well.

You can upload an array of things from Text, Photos, Quotes, Music, etc. as shown on the easy access post bar at the top of your dashboard.

Tumblr has an Archive function, so if you want to search everything you tagged with XYZ, it will show you everything you uploaded with that tag. No blackhole like Twitter.

Already mentioned but don’t censor tags. They aren’t used as weapons here. You don’t get punished for using the full words, it’s for the protection of others to use the correct terminology when tagging so they can add it to their Blocked/Muted Words list.

Yes you can post nsfw here again.

Posting text - if you highlight your word/sentence, a bar will pop up with some text customizations. You can also use keyboard functions CTRL B/CTRL I. To undo it, click on the icon again so it goes from (on) blue to (off) black.

Omg what’s that? An EDIT button? We can edit our posts after posting.

All in all - click the post photo button, upload photo, write caption, tag and post. That’s literally it. 

If not getting 100+ likes instantly honestly and truly bothers you (that's called social media addiction btw lmao), go to Instagram. Best wishes my friends - may the blue bird rise and fly with it’s one remaining wing again  ♡ 

#its extremely easy lol #we just get complacent in current ways #anyways most of twitter people will go to insta for the metrics #give it time if you want to learn tumblr #everything takes time #have patience and keep an open mind willing to learn #ffxiv twitter refugees #ffxiv twitter #tumblr is a great space for artistic posting and building characters with aesthetics and writing

[maxparkhurst]

How did you create your characters? What was your process?

TMI Tuesday:  How did you create your characters? What was your process?

// <offers out a chair> You’re going to want to sit for this. It’s going to be a LONG story. For those who’re looking for a short answer: I’m actually in the middle of creating these two. Edits and tweaks are always being made to make them appear real and true. And it’s thanks to everyone on here and in-game that they’ve progressed so much. 

Now for the long version. 

<buckles seat belt> 

Evolving as an Author:

Maxinora and Augustine Parkhurst are a culmination of ideas inspired by a myriad of things. The process of creating them isn’t linear. It has a lot of pit falls, unexpected twists and turns, and a ton of hills. To understand how we got the current versions of these two, we need to go back a couple years ago. 

It’s the summer of 2012. In efforts to get me off of his account, my Dad gifted me my own. This was when I made my first ever serious roleplay character- a hunter named Evelon Holmwood. Well, at the time I spelled it like Evavllyn but...Yeah. We’re going to gloss over that fact. Now, Eve was my pride and joy for the last several years. I played this character nonstop, refusing to play or write about anyone else. In retrospect, I used this character more as therapy than anything of creative merit. 

Eve’s story was basic at best. But I got better with story-telling the older I got. Unfortunately, her story got so convoluted that I had hard time salvaging anything from it. Now, you’re probably asking: How does this relate to Max? Fear not. I’m getting there. It was around this existential crisis that a mutual friend of my boyfriend and I convinced us to leave WoW and hop on SWTOR. My boyfriend was more than eager to make the switch but I was skeptical. Leaving WoW meant leaving Eve. And was I ready for that? 

He assured me I was and helped me make a character on SWTOR. This was the first iteration of Max. A bounty hunter from Nar’Shadda named Maxinora Fenrik. My intentions was to make her a lowkey copy of Eve. At this time, I wasn’t very confident in my writing abilities and liked to stay in my lane. But, the more I roleplayed this character the more she took on a life of her own. She evolved past Eve and exceeded my expectations. Playing a new character bolstered my confidence and while I no longer play SWTOR -due to OOC reasons- I still have fond memories with this character. I enjoyed this character so much that I reused several components of her design when making Max. Some which include her name and being blind in one eye. 

I flipped between the MMOs when Legion dropped. Expenses started to pile up and between the two subscriptions I didn’t have the time to play both. In the end, WoW won my affection and I made a Blood Elf because I had friends on Horde Side. Rorien Hawkthorne was her name. A drunk artist and master assassin. She’d be the second iteration of Max. She had an older sister complex, an affinity for being melancholy, and it was my first experience with playing a character who could kept secrets- or tried to at least. Another new character under the belt and I was feeling a little more confident in my story telling abilities. I’d probably would’ve kept playing that character if not for OOC drama happening in a guild I was in. The fallout had me jump back to the Alliance where I indulged in creature comforts. It was back to Eve. 

Tumblr made an entrance in my life around then as I ventured forth with a refreshed look on my hunter. I salvaged what I could and made a half-decent story. A lot of her misadventures are still posted up on her blog @evelonholmwood​ On the side I made the third iteration of Max. A fire mage and blacksmith combo by the name of Rowan Celwick with her younger brother Thomas Celwick.  They were just two orphaned kids trying to make a life in Stormwind. Rowan was an arcane drop-out and blacksmith wannabe and Thomas...Was...Well? Thomas? A glorified side-piece? A way to garner pity for Rowan. I didn’t place a lot of emphasis on them or their characters. My main focus was Eve. But these two would be the underlying foundation of Max and Auggie’s characters. 

I eventually took a hiatus from WoW and focused on more personal writing. The details are boring so I’ll gloss over it by saying that creating a character completely from scratch was the final push in the right direction for me. Fast forward several months to a year aaaaaand BOOM! Pandemic. 

Writing is an escape for me. It’s one of my best coping mechanisms during trying times. And when nothing else works, I over indulge in some Warcraft. So, I resubbed. There was hesitance when re-entering the RP scene. I didn’t leave Eve’s story off on an convenient note. For lack of better phrasing, I wrote myself into a hole I couldn’t get out of. So, with the help of my boyfriend, I decided it was time to give Eve her happy ending and shelf her for good. 

Which put me in a dilemma! Who was I going to RP? Well, you remember the Celwicks? They became my newest project. 

The Creative Process: 

I knew the Celwick story was weak and read much like a middle-school fanfiction. Revising was a must. But there were integral pieces to their story which I enjoyed: 

Familial Sacrifice 

Juxtaposing concepts

Intertwined Fates

These were themes I could work with and evolve. Keeping these in mind, I started to deconstruct the Celwick story line. They were no longer Gilnean but Kul’tiran. This prompted a name change from Celwick to Parkhurst. And I won’t lie, I like the sound of Parkhurst better than Celwick. Thomas became Augustine and Rowan became Maxinora (Mainly because I actually HAD the name Maxinora and not Rowan). The little changes got me hyped for the characters. 

Next, I started to trim away the unnecessary details that bogged down the narrative. Things that either didn’t fit or made the timeline too convoluted were replaced. Pyromancy was a great example. The age I wanted Max to be wouldn’t yield to her understanding of Pyromancy. At least, not to the level I WANTED it to be. SO, I turned it into lament’s magic. Alchemy. (I also always wanted to play an alchemist since watching FMA) 

A girl with two professions seemed excessive as well. I had to look at why I wanted her to be both an Alchemist and a Blacksmith. The answer was simple. I just liked the juxtaposition of an intelligent woman being rough and tumble. Which made me ask: Was Blacksmithing necessary to achieve that imagine? The answer was no. To pay respect to her previous iteration, I made their parents blacksmiths. It also let me keep themes of fire in her concept. The change in profession brought on a change in her appearance. I made her a little more slender to fit with the alchemist appeal. 

Max’s aesthetic was brought on by my previous characters.  Rorien inspired more internal facets of Max while Fenrik inspired outward appearances. Max’s auburn was strictly a decision made on the fact that I had one too many character’s with black hair. There wasn’t any other reason for it. 

Designing Max was easy. The real challenge was with Augustine. Up until that point, all I had to go on for his character was Tommy Celwick and...Well. There wasn’t a lot there. He wasn’t much more than a poorly used trope and I considered doing away with him all together. But I realized that I REALLY liked the trope and I liked what he did for Max’s character.  So, I buckled down and made myself think through all the reasons why Thomas Celwick -AKA Augustine Parkhust- needed to exist. 

I decided that I needed him in order to present themes in Max’s story. He was the foil to her character. Cynic older sister? Meet optimistic brother. He also appealed to not only the three themes listed above, but also the newest one I wanted to explore: two sides of the same coin. Max and Augustine are simultaneously the same, having similar traumas, and yet different. If for nothing else, Augustine could help propel Max in the right direction. Be her moral compass, you know? With a bit of half-assing here and there, I managed to get a decent character out of Augustine. Took the cliche nerdy brother idea, physical design and all, and ran with it. Shortly after I  made their Tumblr account. In no way did I expect this BOY to take on a life of his own. Like, Auggie knocked on my brain’s door and was like, “Yeah. No. I’m not a side character. Give me my own story...” 

Which will bring me into my final point! 

The Characters Write Their Own Story: 

I’ve never been able to sit down and plan a story. My mind doesn’t work in such a structured fashion. It wanders and explores. When I’m creating, I’m watching. Watching the scenes play out before my eyes as these characters take what I’ve given them and grow into something almost independent of me. The basic pieces of Max and Auggie’s back story, along with character design, were purposeful. Yes. But everything that came after was THEM.

It’s cliche, I know, but I can’t describe this experience any other way. These two grew outside of my influence and now dominate a space in my brain. They talk, work, and interact without me. I mean...Not REALLY. But...It feels like that. It feels I’m watching through a keyhole and just recording what I see as their story plays out. 

I guess a better analogy is me being the director. I’m watching the movie in the stands as two actors improv. On good days, I’m in control and rework scenes until I’m satisfied with the results. Try this. Move here. Say this. On bad days, I don’t see anything. My actors went home. The lights are off. Show’s cancelled for the day. These days make me sad...But they’re worth it because on the BEST days...The best days Max and Auggie run the whole show, and I am watching through the keyhole as their story unfolds little by little. 

It’s truly magical. 

The last part of their creation was the voice. Character voice, for me, is like building muscle. You need to work out. Start small and work your way up in weight. Every little piece I wrote made their voices stronger; and that’s including asks and threads. Interacting with other characters helped to flesh them out as people. And while it was hard and intimidating at first, it’s started to become easier. 

Wrap-Up

My method is messy and untrained. I don’t claim to have any secrets. My knowledge of writing is mediocre at best. But I’m having fun. And that’s were the real magic of any character comes in. Fun. Because if you aren’t writing about something that sparks your soul- either with love, happiness, hatred, etc- then it’s nothing more than a forced, hollow husk. Writing is meant to evoke emotion. At least in mind. And want to express complex emotions and share them. In a perfect world? My characters -any of my characters- resonates with someone. They become the escape someone needed. That’s the ultimate goal. 

It’s thanks to all of you that Max and Auggie have come this far. It’s from their interactions with others that they’ve managed to evolve into something incredible- especially Augustine. He just kept shining brighter and brighter until I felt obligated to make him an in-game character. So, you all are just as much a part in the creative process as me. Thank you! 

And a special thanks to my boyfriend for always being a sound board for my rambling ass <3 

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK, ANON! Sorry I posted an essay...<3 

[deeafrotailmisstress]

Wildstar feelings

I know some people who followed me before my Wildstar craze started are probably confused as to why I’m super choked up saying “Dee you barely got over a year on this game” but I’m gonna explain why this week has gotten Dee down in the dumps.

Rewind to January 2018 and this is when my WoW passion started to fade away. I’m not going to get into details but I will say I do not blame any of my friends or anyone on this site for me losing interest, it was because of a few main reasons. If you really want to know why, just shoot me an ask. And do not get me wrong, I will always love the characters that I’ve come to know through the people I’ve RPed with in WoW. I still do on discord! It’s just that logging on and actually doing any activities or questing in a game whose story felt like everybody in the fandom equally hated started to feel like a chore, like something tedious and just got me feeling a bit...let down? But again, WoW always holds a special place in my heart, especially when it is the birthplace of my favorite loveable bean ever Jaz.

Now later on in January Dee thinks “Exam break periods. I’ve done revision. I’m too stressed. I need an escape.” Wouldn’t you know it, at this exact moment, a Wildstar fanart piece for Fantastic Enterprises popped up on my dashboard on tumblr. Dee thought “...huh. I really should give Wildstar another try!” Because I did try it in 2017, but I just ended up falling out of it due to rising pressures from college.

Anywho, back to the main point of how I got into my passion for the game. Well…really it was just the overall aesthetic! It had that perfect blend of Sci-fi, Western, Cartoony, Adventure comedy cookiness that is just the best example for what my favorite aesthetic is, it really really reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy. And if you are a good friend of Dee’s, you’d know that GoG is one of my favorite things to gush about ever. And then there were those fun journals and datacubes you could read and listen to while you were gaming which just SUPER immerses you in the story! And then there were the plots…

Oh.

My.

God.

The plots.

It was...nothing I had ever seen like in ANY MMO game. Just the sheer SCOPE and DETAIL hardworking dedicated fans would put into it, like I cannot emphasize enough how floored I was! You could honestly zoom in your camera and find the most miniscule details down to the number of pens on a table surface! I had never felt so inspired or just...immersed in an environment ever, I wanted to try RPing in it right away!

But then the one that bought it for me hook line and sinker, were the characters. Just the great community of people I’ve found on tumblr that had dedicated PAGES of stories and asks and headcanons and artwork of developed rounded and /human/ characters (I know it doesn’t fit for y’know non-human OCs but bare with me); like okay I know it sounds silly when I say this cuz the OCs were obviously characters set in a wonderful fantasy environment, they still felt like people you could put your hand through the screen and shake hands with for real because they were just that dimensional and developed with just a whole lot of depth to them. And I know I sound silly using that example BUT GOSHDAMNIT I’m already crying up writing this paragraph so you’re gonna deal!

Honestly I would create an honorable mentions list but that would take too much space so I’m putting it at the bottom, because I cannot emphasize how much fun I spent with Wildstar /just/ going through blogs and liking all the character based content. And for the first time I didn’t even flippin care if I came off stalker-ish because honestly they were just that enjoyable to read for me. If I had to give a general shoutout I would give it to @fantasticfriends and everybody there, just for making me feel welcomed with open arms and welcoming my dumb durpy ocs, because I was an awkward introverted bean who didn’t really know how to express just how much I appreciated their content. Everybody there expressed themselves with a mature friendly attitude, freely shared creative stories and world building with dedication that I will even dare say rivels the actual devs of the game. I mean all you have to do is check out their website to catch just a smidge of the hard work the officers put into their craft and guild!

But. This is already long enough, Dee shall wrap it up with a conclusion paragraph or two so bare with me again. Here’s the main idea; Dee was going through a harder time. And when I needed it most Wildstar was there for me. My friends who I played and drawed and wrote with on Wildstar were there for me. To see this chapter of our creating our stories has left me nothing short but disappointed and just downright miserable.

And what is worse, the cherry on top of this shit sandwich, is I can’t even give it a proper goodbye. College has seriously already given me so much work that I have had no time to freely draw or write stories as much as I was able to during the summer. It doesn’t only make me sad, it frustrates me. I have that inspiration, the motivation, the idea, the capability, ALL those things artists complain about not having when wanting to do a big piece for a special occasion, I want to do SOMETHING ANYTHING to send it off and I can’t even have time to log on and take screenshots of my lovely OCs and plots before they are gone in who knows how long.

But. I’m sure you’ve seen my previous post on the matter so you get the idea of the optimistic side I’m facing it with too.

So. Here’s a notice for you Wildstar peeps out there who still want to continue their stories and Nexus creativity:

If you need an enthusiastic awkward nerd whose always up for drawing you a chibi and lending an ear to whatever ideas and stories you have for this wonderful game, I’m right here. I will ride it out with you guys. And I will be supporting whatever you wanna explore about this game even after it ends.

Goodbye Wildstar.

Thank you for what you have provided for millions everywhere.

Dee. <3

#dee writes #prob last thing I will post on the subject #thank you Nexus for actually making me invest in Jazz even more than Jaz nowadays #it really means a lot #dee usually never likes human characters #but here we are #*sigh* #I'm gonna go have cereal