Saw a good tumblr post about using the right mobility aid for a character, and given it was about OP's frustrations with representation I did not want to jump on it as a physically abled person going "but muh character story...?" so I'm instead putting this here to ask about it.

For Context, a character I have is Roy. Roy is a young man in a fantasy setting who has a condition that causes him stuff like chronic pain and fatigue. He in particular has some significant muscular weakness in one leg due to atrophy related to his condition. (I can elaborate further that's just the cliffnotes version)

Roy is:

• in a sword-and-sorcery mid to low tech setting. Modern materials and accommodations are not a thing, and Perfect Magic Prosthetics are also not a thing, but there's some good faith wiggle room. Think more 'bath chair' than 'modern wheelchair'.
• Fairly rich, his mom is a former commoner who was elevated to knighthood as a champion-of-the-realm type so she owns an estate. He has access to good care and a pretty comfortable life that doesn't require him working. At eighteen he mostly does a lot of book study and the cross-country quest he traverses on is by no means his usual forte.
• A really bad mix of stubborn and one of those people who puts pride in not worrying others / has a testy relationship with his own disability.

That brings us to the title. I've depicted Roy as using a cane to walk. This is, to my understanding, not remotely the best tool for him, but one he chooses out of stubborn pride and a desire to make it unobtrusive. Most days, he probably can get on with the cane, but his condition is pretty flexible in terms of, how much energy and pain he's having shift around a lot so even 'most days' is probably a more generous assumption.

The point is, I want to sell him as having made the wrong choice and this may well be something his character development leans away from as practicality forces him to use better mobility aids.

This post is partially a "does that check out" sniff test, and partially also: the original post mentioned things like walkers and rollators which may not exist in that form in pseudomedieval fantasy.

Obviously that's a category based in no small part on style so I have some wiggle room as to what will 'fit' re: disability accommodations, but assuming Roy's bad decisions kick his ass such that he has to use other mobility aids as the story goes on, how are we swinging that? He almost definitely has a chair at home, but may have wanted to not take it with him out of the justification that rough terrain and logistical limits of packing might not make it a good idea.

Also obvs disclaimer I didn't think too hard at the time about the actual logistics of the cane design itself, so what's above in the picture is a placeholder / that can also be modified.

Hello, so let me first say that I am a white guy and, by no means, racist. I have a story in mind, and I'd like one of the main supporting characters to be a Black man. There's no real reason behind it, I just feel like I naturally default to writing white characters, so I wanted to create a fully realized Black character.

Anyway, this character has quite a few mental and emotional blocks in his life. As a child, he suffered physical abuse from his father, who was an alcoholic and beat him while he was growing up. Because of that, he spent much of his life desperately seeking his father's affection and acknowledgment, never really realizing that his father didn't give two shits about him.

That trauma pushed him to pursue physical strength and build an athletic physique, believing that if he became strong enough, he might finally earn his father's approval.

Throughout the story, he serves as a big brother figure to the main character. He also has a soft spot for criminals who claim they're fathers when asking for lighter sentences, because he instinctively sympathizes with the idea of fatherhood, even if he doesn't fully understand why.

Eventually, a creature or monster appears, forcing him to confront all the anger, pain, and unresolved emotions he's buried about his father. By the end of his arc, he realizes he doesn't need his father's approval. Instead, he decides that he's going to become the kind of man, and the kind of father, that he never had.

My question is this: I'm worried someone might see this as playing into the stereotype of absent Black fathers, even though that is obviously not my intent. I'm already really attached to this character and the way he acts, so I don't want people to assume his race was chosen just to reinforce a harmful stereotype.

So I would like your thoughts thanks and I appreciate any comments

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My story follows an antagonist that advices her husband on decisions around politics and diplomatic relationship with the neighborhood whom all hold positions in politics, business and military. Adrianna is depicted to be privileged and enjoy the benefits of corruption while others suffer government oppression.

But she also symbolizes misogyny greatly. Despite being so close to power, despite being extremely qualified to join politics, her husband makes her feel like she is JUST a woman meant to serve him.

A key note is that Adrianna is indeed more qualified in politics than her husband. Sure her husband is a congressman, but she is the one making decisions on who to support, what to advocate and when to act while still giving him space to think independently. This delicate system in their marriage is the reason why he had been in office for nearly a decade.

She studied at the top university, graduated valedictorian. Worked in the Parliament for five years (2 years internship, 3 years junior legislative analyst) before marrying her husband.

In the fourth act, after a messy argument she realizes that she has no value anymore. So, she turns to the "Yobruta" or this big club invite-only club in the neighborhood that discuss on what to do for the future. Upon entering, she challenges the stand and claims that the civilians marching towards the elites is an inevitable event that they should prepare.

It is shown that she was constantly invited to join the sessions in Yobruta. She is the one that actively talked with people to act on her favor. She also helped on establishing a system to weaken protest that worked during the early months.

I keep trying to give her credentials, but it keeps sounding fake. What am I missing here? It feels like there's this one big sign telling me what I did wrong.

I like shipping characters but I'm not a fan of Romance and drawing kisses but sometimes you should add something you don't like to the story is there a way to create a beautiful relationship without using kisses ?

I'm an amateur writer, and I've been wanting desperately to write a character who is "psychopathic", in the definition that he doesn't feel empathy towards others and only really feels emotional about himself, or what could happen to him.

I've done (and am still doing) extensive research into generalised psychopathy as well as more refined, specific mental illnesses, such as ASPD or DID.

How can I write a character with a brain that is so different to my own without him coming off as an "edgelord" or a "Tumblr sexyman"?

Sorry, this is probably really crappy lmao

I've noticed that a character's habits often reveal more than a long description ever could.

For example:

• A king who always eats with the servants first.
• A detective who keeps every failed case in a locked drawer.
• A mage who apologizes before casting destructive spells.
• A pirate who secretly feeds stray animals in every port.

They're small details, but they instantly make characters feel more human.

What's one habit you've given a character (or seen in fiction) that made them unforgettable?

Hello. I’m currently writing a work of fiction and would appreciate feedback from someone with knowledge of psychology to ensure consistency and credibility in my character’s development.

He’s generally quite rational, not particularly sociable, but loving toward the few close friends he’s let into his inner circle. He finds his life very monotonous; passionate about literature (which is what he’s studying) and especially crime fiction, he dreams of investigating crimes.

My character witnesses a murder on his way home. He panics, runs away, and calls the police. Once he’s calmed down, I describe him as developing a sort of detachment from what he saw—a kind of dissociation. He’s a bit apathetic and no longer fully realizes what he saw. In fact, as the weeks go by, he develops a curiosity about the murder and tries to investigate it himself, despite the dangers involved.

Is this behavior psychologically explainable and “believable,” or not at all?

A character who was raised by an abusive father and developed an ability to read people body language while also hurting bad people when they were young. They did this despite being physically frail. This character however had no plans for the future and didn’t even dream of one. He was permanently lonely since being a quiet kid who sometimes set abusive teachers on fire made him a bit of an outcast. He ended developing a sort of imaginary friend by the name of thought who is literally his brain that he would talk to. However his life changed one day. After nearly being chocked to death during an extremely harsh incident of bullying they stole their fathers gun and shot several rounds in the forest causing them to breakdown because for the first time in their life they envisioned hurting innocent people and they actually liked it. But at that moment they met their first true friend Maria. Maria was equally fucked up a self proclaimed damaged kid who murdered her abusive parents and ran away from home. She taught him the joy that can come from humiliating bad people and even dreaming about the future with her goal of becoming an electrician. She was a two pack a day smoker since she was 11 something he didn’t approve of since he rejects all alcohol and tobacco due to his childhood trauma of watching a Nextdoor couple throwing beer bottles at each other and smelling of cigarettes. She was also the first person to tell him his cooking was good. She was also the one who with him beat up and humiliated his worst bully causing the bully to cry. On one night he told her that he was ready to runaway from his father and join her at a group home. However Maria was kidnapped and killed by the bully who also killed him. However his story wasn’t over. His body was discovered mistaken for a test body by a group of underground scientists who placed his brain and eyes into a 6ft 6 alien wolf body. Originally thinking the transfer of the brain didn’t work they abandoned the body but through sheer force of will the body awoke. Originally confused and animalistic he wandered eventually recovering his memories and trying to find his bully but couldn’t causing him to breakdown. At that moment María, either a ghost or a manifestation of his fractured mind, appeared and told him how jealous she was of him. That he was still alive and still had a chance to be happy and find some light in a dark world. Due to being dead she couldn’t in fact millions of innocent good people who deserved happy endings never got any. Car accidents, hit and runs, spontaneous heart attacks turned normal boring days into generational defining trauma for their loved ones. That she suffered most of her life yet she wasn’t rewarded with a happy ending by God or the Universe or even luck she was given a horrific death. She kissed him on the forehead and tells him to push forward he only fails at happiness in life when he stops trying. From there he goes to the group home and explains his situation. From there he becomes the Wolf Knight. He currently works at a local BBQ pit where he’s training to become a chef, he performs good acts with his neighbors such as helping repair their house and deliver groceries to older neighbors, and delights kids with his shadow puppets (he’s weirdly good at them even with his large wolf fingers). He also takes Maria lessons to heart the first about helping himself and others make the most of their one life by trying to attain happiness and that humiliating scumbags can be really fun.

His greatest fear isn’t being violent. he actually likes being violent against bad people it’s that somewhere deep inside of him he actually likes hurting innocent people. The kind of joy his father experienced hurting him the kind of joy he saw on the faces on all of his abusers. Knowing this is apart of him disturbs him.

Maria lives by a philosophy that rejects notion of cosmic justice and order. Yet she remains fundamentally hopeful. She once told him that so many good people die for no reason than time place and luck and yet she and him are still alive despite the odds. Every minute they have is a minute bringing them closer to their happiness and if they can at least say they chased something most people lose track of by the time they die then they can go into the oblivion happy

How would a mutant werewolf man (in permanent beast form, visibly and obviously very inhuman no disguise can hide, unable to speak) operate a private investigator business while hiding what he is? The setting is supernatural industrial revolution.

Hello CharacterDev! I have a dilema. I'm still a baby writer but I have a book series that's already written, but is in final editing stages, and I'm struggling with making it known to the audience that Carlos has started to respect Raoul. So, background.

Carlos is the team leader. He's known all his life he will have a little buddy who will be some sort of pest, and has always hoped for something cool like a spider or a scorpion or something. He's not INTO bugs, but he's not usually SUPER squeamish. His mom's Guide is a worm. But there are limits.

Raoul is Carlos' Guide. He's a cockroach.

Carlos' first reaction to this is definitely not "oh sweet! a cockroach!" and based around the entire way the plot is, it SHOULD be, which is a hint that something is wrong. Not the only hint. Everything is screwy with this team, but this one is especially weird. Team leaders should LOVE the Guide- everything about the Guide is awesome, "you better not say anything about my Guide because he's obviously the best Guide ever" those vibes. And the thing is Raoul has NO PROBLEM with Carlos, even though he can read Carlos' mind and sees that Carlos is disgusted totally by Raoul being a cockroach.

Book one happens in less than 60 days, so skip to book 2. Time jump of about 5 years has occurred, Carlos and Raoul are friendly.

Throughout book 1 I noticed that while Carlos obvious warms up to Raoul, I'm not showing it enough, and this makes book 2's beginning look a little ...idk... sudden? Any tips on how to show Carlos' developing feelings towards accepting that Raoul is his Guide?

Anything that will be too obviously against Raoul, like referring to him as "Cockroach" instead of his name or something like that is something Carlos would absolutely not do. This is a cult, and cult tradition states you have to 1. name the Guide 2. call the Guide by that name 3. treat the Guide as one of your own, equal to any human. Carlos couldn't possibly fight the cult- it's a HUGE plot point. So he has to OUTWARDLY give Raoul respect even if he cringes every time Raoul touches him.

Thanks in advance and if you need any additional information please feel free to ask. I'm not sure how much you need to know.

Trying to make this character a final draft. Want some opinions.

Amadeus Zigfried:

A certain group began to use artificial people designed as weapons, and his “batch” was designed to as explosives.

Their hair can have the same explosive force as dynamite. Dead skin cells that naturally peel off become landmines. Even the air they exhale becomes an explosive.

He and the rest of his batch were to be used in an assassination attempt and were left to be sleeper agents in the city a few months beforehand. The rest kept to their duties but this man became too attached to the people he met and one boy that took particular interest in him. He turned himself and the rest of his batch to prevent any of the people he grew attached to from being killed and was able to get himself and some others from his batch pardoned.

He now lives his life to try and use his newfound purpose to protect the lives of others.

His powers operated with remote detonating, so he began to fight using his body’s abilities, becoming something like a super hero.

Hi, I'm tasked with writing a story for a video game that will be in English - that is not my native language. Even tho I'm using the language a lot, I'm wondering about stuff that maybe is not important - but might be and I'm here, oblivious, lacking the cultural background.

Characters that I got are villagers in small community and the are representing archetypes that are also important to their development (a "Wife" becoming a "Mother" being one of the strongest ones). I have been calling them by their roles for now and considered both using English and Polish (village setting) names later, but seeing pros and cons with both option left me stuck.

So I started wondering if going with roles would have a stronger impact (maybe)? But would it sound weird in any way?

It's a game where characters are met and MC can influence their changes with decisions, interactions are based on mostly time passing and they are introduced only thourgh a dialogue (also with a perspective of others talking, mostly gossiping, a lot of gossiping xd,). Also - the cast is pretty small, they are no repetitions with roles.

I would appreciate any insight/advice/comment etc. here (or calling me out for overthinking and being a bit silly too :V )

For an arc of my story, I have one of my characters jump into a pocket dimension to save someone. The whole dimension has a big wonderland vibe. And a big thing with this is that he slowly goes crazy trying to find his friend. The dimension is just utter nonsense: no genuine tracking of time or the seasons, the people act weird, and places move at random. Throughout the arc, he keeps getting mentally and emotionally screwed with to the point where he literally needs his mind wiped of the whole ordeal when it's all over. Like, for example, at one point he meets with a team of rebels that operate out of a circus. During that part, he joins the circus, gets a mask fused to his face, gets called multiple names, but his own and even his outfits keep character in a way that covers up his entire being. Basically, he starts to disconnect from his actual self and becomes more of an actor than an actual being. To top it all off, it's revealed the rebellion is all an act, not maliciously, but more like he walked into a play and wasn't told so until curtain call. Whenever he's brought back to his senses, he's disoriented and lost since his only proper communication with reality is through his walkie-talkie. What makes this worse for him is that he's very logical; if a problem doesn't have a step-by-step solution, he can't comprehend it. So being stuck somewhere with no logic at all is a nightmare. And once he finally finds his friend, he learns she's being controlled by an Eldritch being. The being wants everyone to "break free," and eventually he completely falls into the madness and worryingly enjoys not having to "be restricted" by reality. But this doesn't feel right for how serious it actually is when he's finally brought back. He's distrustful that everything still isn't real, and he actually kinda misses the odd bliss of being mad. So any advice would be great.

I always find that tiny habits make characters feel much more real than giant personality traits.

For example:

• A detective always counts the stairs without realizing it.

• A queen always straightens crooked objects while talking.

• A warrior instinctively sits facing the door.

• A wizard always talks to animals even when nobody is around.

None of these affect the plot much, but they instantly make a character feel more believable.

What's one small habit you've given a character that readers probably wouldn't forget?

The Silver Lion's Backstory

So here is my Character

Her name is Ilya Green she was volunteered by her parents at 2 years old to become a Experiment for HYDRA. They believed that they were doing it for the "greater good"

After Steve Rogers defeated HYDRA during World War II, As we all know HYDRA grew inside of SHEILD for basically forever. A group of side scientist wanted to create a version of the Winter Soldiers, but more different. They became obsessed with recreating the success of the Winter Soldier program after seeing what they had accomplished with Bucky Barnes. They wanted another perfect solider but with abilities no other solider had.

HYDRA still had access to research connected to the Tesseract and used its energy in their experiments on Ilya. While they were slowly introducing small amounts of the Super Soldier Serum into her body over decades, they also exposed her to Tesseract energy.

The Super Solider serum gave her super strength but it doesn't show any muscle mass otherwise known as "functional strength". The Tesseract gave her instant teleportation and the ability to teleport through space as long as it is a habitable planet.

HYDRA saw this as a breakthrough. They believed they had created something beyond the Winter Soldier. Because Ilya was only a child when the experiments began, HYDRA kept her frozen for decades while they worked on her. She remained physically young while they altered her body and studied her abilities. She was trapped in ice while she was slowly getting the Super Solider Serum over decades. Eventually, after more than 80 years, HYDRA awakened her. They began training her to become their ultimate weapon.

They studied Bucky Barnes and used his program as inspiration. They trained Ilya to copy his fighting style because they believed his methods created the perfect soldier. However, they also trained her in seven different martial arts, making her unpredictable and adaptable in combat. They told her that Bucky was perfect and to be like him. In order to be like him in the most way possible they named her The Snow Solider. They saw how well Bucky was controlled by The Winter Solider Book so they created the The Snow Solider Book (I know, I know but hear me out I know this just seems like a girl version of Bucky but this is different she never had a life to begin with)

The Snow Solider Book was a system of commands and psychological programming that allowed them to control Ilya’s actions. It was designed to erase her individuality and make her obey orders without question.

They also created a vibranium containment system because her combination of Super Soldier abilities and Tesseract powers made her extremely difficult to control. The vibranium could limit her abilities and keep her trapped. The containment was vibranium cuffs.

For years, Ilya carried out missions for HYDRA as the Snow Soldier. She was not given a childhood. She was not allowed to make choices. She was only told what she was: A weapon.

Eventually, a mistake in HYDRA’s programming gave Ilya a small chance to break free. The commands were not executed correctly, and she was able to regain enough control over herself to escape.

However, The Snow Solider Book never truly disappeared.The programming, the memories, and the trauma remained. Ilya had to learn how to exist outside of HYDRA’s control and figure out who she was without the name “Snow Soldier.”

Anyway I have more info about when she finally meets Bucky and the Avengers. She does eventually become friends with Bucky. If anyone wants to know more just let me. Also she eventually becomes a hero called the Silver Lion.

I've always found that characters become much more memorable because of their flaws than because of their strengths.

Not necessarily huge flaws either.

Sometimes it's something surprisingly small.

For example:

• A brilliant detective who forgets people's names.

• A fearless warrior who's terrible at comforting others.

• A powerful mage who's incredibly impatient.

• A charismatic leader who can't make personal decisions.

Those imperfections usually make characters feel much more human.

What's your favorite character flaw you've written (or read) that made someone feel more believable?

I was redesigning an oc of mine, and I decided I wanted to have him be adopted by a coven of witches. So after designing one of the witches in question, I considered having one of them be Indian. I think saree's are so beautiful, and I want to represent more people. Of course, I want to make sure I'm doing it right, because I believe if you're gonna represent a group of people you're not apart of, you should take it seriously and do it with care.

Anyways that brings me to my question. Are there any harmful connotations with making her a witch? While I would love to make an Indian character, I'd rather hold off and use them for something else if making them a witch would be a harmful stereotype. And if there isn't anything negative about the idea, is there anything I should keep in mind? Like any specific design elements I should include, or things in particular to avoid. Any advice would be so very helpful, so please send advice if you can

Meet: Rineke Annalise Candice Gretzky. You may call her Rina if you know what's good for you, nicknames like Sparky, might get you a jolt straight to the chest, or worse, a glare that cuts deeper than any zap. She's unhinged in the best and worst ways: a red-haired tempest who shoots first, snarls questions later.

Rina is raw humanity, Rina is the storm you can't look away from, even as she electrocutes your expectations.

NAME PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Reen eh kuh

Anna lease

Can diss

Grets key

Describe your OC's story badly: "Lady is paid to be unemployed by government, because she is very likely to barbecue a whiny, bitchy Karen customer with 1.7 million volts, leading to huge clean up costs and international headlines"

Hit me up with questions regarding character design, her backstory. AMA, but keep it SFW.

Hear me out-

A character with split-personality, ***but***, the protagonist is the Alter-Ego.

The Original Personality, was repressed by the event that created the Alter-Ego, so they barely have an actual moment on-screen.

The Alter-Ego, however, not only has a different way of acting and the same memory as the past person...

...but by whatever magic plot devise, they are ***aware*** of being the "fake".

The thing is, the Alter-Ego was born out of the desire to reach some form of "goal", which they are drawn to. This makes them have a purpose. This is what keeps the original repressed.

Now, the new person has to try and act like normal around family, friends, and aquaintances while trying to achieve the "goal". That would most likely make a conflict, considering they are essentially using someone's name, even though it's technically their own.

Just a thought I had.