gotosleep_idiot | A BRAND-NEW MEME!

First, I read everything that's been posted that day. Everything, keeping in mind that he can't see the private things. Then I put on something from his FST; usually this, usually on repeat. I end up blocking it out after a while, which makes repeat kind of pointless, but that's just how I roll.

THE ACTUAL WRITING PROCESS: This can take forever. Squall basically has five steps.
1) Figure out what to say.
2) Write it down.
3) Go back and take out all the unnecessary words.
4) Cut it down further.
5) Add ellipsis.

Of course, most of that happens mentally, but you get the idea. And logs just make the whole thing more complicated.

... Oh, I also flood people's inboxes by editing the shit out of things. \o/

The things that go through my head as I sit and stare at a post that I can tag with this freaky creeper.

Example post: "I love my cat. But it won't stop trying to kill my pet bird."

1) What is the most unhelpful thing he could say? "Kill them both! HAHA!"
2) What is the creepiest thing he can say? "Kill and EAT them both!"
3) Can he come up with some sort of insane angle actually relevant to the topic? "I love cats, too. WITH KETCHUP."
4) Abuse the shit out of the "small" tag and CAPSLOCK KEY.
5) Add a "Heh heh", "Ha ha", "WUH HUH HUH" or any combination to the tag.
6) PS: HE'S DEATH, BITCHES. DEATH.

Submit! =^______________^=

... *just DIES* XD

Yeah, uh. Neither of these links aren't safe for work. At all. JUST SO YOU KNOW.

Anyway. I watch this. Repeatedly. Sometimes this.

... That's pretty much it.

One of the big problems with writing Pandora is, she's still relatively quiet and insular. So, usually, for her to reply to a post, it either has to involve someone she's gotten to know at least decently well, or have something that really resonates with her. Sometimes, if I think an interaction might be fun, I'll nudge her in that direction.

Once I start writing...

1) I've got to read the post through once, normally.
2) Then I try to put myself in her shoes. I try to think how she'd respond, with a limited base of social knowledge and given her history of reading so much formal material. This can be really hard at times, but also a lot of fun, as writing out a first reaction to, aay, listening to rock music, can be a blast.
3) I'll usually listen to a clip of something Heather Hogan's done, so I hear her voice. She's the VA behind Colette from Tales of Symphonia and Phantom Girl from Legion of Super Heroes, and is the voice I hear for Pandora.
4) I don't usually listen to music while I'm writing, though I'll sometimes listen to a track to help me visualize how I want something to go. Sometimes the tracks are closely related, other times it's random stuff from my playlist that prompts a visual(the current baking thread, I'm listening to a lot of Jimmy Buffett, even though it makes not a lot of sense.
5) Since a lot of my writing is done in first person, I tend to write from a third person limited perspective, usually trying to bring elements of that character's speech into the narration. Even outside of dialogue, I try to avoid using contractions.
6) I usually MISS this step when I'm posting after long work shifts but I usually try at least a quick read-through to make sure I haven't missed anything obvious. I'm not a great first draft writer, so at least some revision takes place.
7) Sit back and worry that my character looks like an idiot. =p

Her responses are usually some of the most intelligent and well thought out that I see, so I think you can stop worrying about the 7th step. ^_^

First, I go into a bar. Usually one that's real packed, full of those skinny skanks in the tube tops who really need to eat a sandwich before I can hear their bones clicking together while they grind. Then, I hit on the female bartender, just to annoy the crap out of her and make her get the bouncer to throw me out of the bar. But I sneak back in, right? I beat up a few guys, chug their drinks, then GTFO.

Next, I go to Main and 17th. There's an alley there with a really solid brick wall and the whole place smells like vomit. From there, I scream like a lunatic who just escaped from a Ken Kesey novel, and bash my head into the wall until blood blurs my vision. By then, either a mugger or a cop shows up. If it's a mugger, I arrest him and take him down to the station. If it's a cop, then I mug 'em!

Okay, so I either have an award from doing a good deed, or some copper's wallet, but either way I have money now. So I go buy a bag of black licorice, some eyeliner, and a shotgun. Then I wait on top of a two story building until sunrise.

Every Tuesday morning, a bus full of the mentally impaired drives by to go to the local YMCA. So I jump from the building onto the carefully placed trampoline at the base, flip, land, do a barrel roll, then I shoot the fuck out of that bus. The cops come to arrest me, the same ol', same ol'. The bus driver calls a repair crew. The ambulance was waiting around the corner. This happens EVERY TUESDAY. The city lets it go since it keeps taxes low, WalMarts hiring, and the common man happy.

I get thrown in the back of a police vehicle for the dramatic effect, but they veer off course and drop me off at the capital building. The governor is waiting for me. He shakes my hand, pats me on the shoulder, and says, "Good work, son." I tell him we need to stop acting like I'm a boy and tell his wife what really happened that Easter. He gets angry, throws a paper weight at my head, I dodge, flip a table, then dive out the nearest window where Pedro is waiting with the getaway car.

Two gas station burritos and a hooker named Sal later, I'm home. I crack my knuckles and sit down at Cerebro to see if any mutants appeared while I was gone. None. As usual. Damn me for being the only one on this earth with the X Gene. So after a good wizz on the electric fence and a change of clothes, I sit down at my laptop, turn on the Madonna, and tag you mofos.

Writing as Batgirl's a lot easier than Pandora.

1) Imagine Batgirl's voice from the show.
2) Read posts.
3) In four out of five cases, remove all brain-mouth filtration.
4) In three quarters of those, try to sound slightly air-headed.
5) Every now and then, TRY and demonstrate that the character's not just about the LULZ.

1) Sit up straight
2) Turn on some very thoughtful, optimistic, or instrumental music
3) Hug a pillow
4) Think like a Christian (hardest step EVAR)
5) Think happy thoughts like everything in this world happens for a reason and is going to be all right
6) Remind myself to use as little contractions as possible. She only uses them when the phrase would sound awkward otherwise
7) Replace smaller words with bigger ones
8) OPTIMISM
9) Fangirl with Straya
10) Hope she sounds as amazing, respectable, adorable, caring, kind, and as diplomatic as she's supposed to

9) Fangirl with Straya

....until 8am in the morning LMAO. 8[ I AM SO SORRY. ~~Or kinda not.~~

8am in the morning. That is the kind of redundancy I can get behind.

It's also how you can tell I'm completely fuckin' brain fried. FFFFF. And it's actually 9am as I respond to this. PUTTIN' IN THE OVERTIME TODAY, YO.

Writing for Sunstreaker is like writing for a seventeen year old blonde daddy's girl who wants everything, can't have any of it, swears like a sailor, fights like a man and is trapped in the body of a giant alien robot with anger management issues, a superiority complex and laser guided missiles.

He wants you to know that you all suck. ALL OF YOU. Yes, even YOU. ALL OF HUMANITY NEEDS TO DIE IN A FUCKING FIRE. RIGHT NOW. His life is like Grand Theft Auto with all the good cheats on and the ability to throw cars instead of steal them. And just as with any of the GTA games, just like any immature gamer, his first thought in any situation is one two things:

1) Can I destroy it?
2) Can I take a sweet jump off of it?

Hunter is the voice of reason in all of this. Whatever Sunstreaker thinks is probably wrong, and he will try to say so. He will also try to offer a less violent alternative, to which Sunstreaker will respond with belittling comments and demands for the exact opposite.

It's like writing for a jock and a nerd who have been joined at the hip.

Their FST has a lot of hard hitting music on it and if I put one on repeat and crank it high, it's usually this song right here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzCFRU7wUWE) Because they are Pretty Handsome. Awkward.

"PS: STILL THE PRETTIEST, ASSHOLES."

/PRETTIER

Not with that hair. You look like someone took porcupine roadkill and super glued it to your SKULL.

And yet, the fangirls still love me.

1) Listen to a slightly different version of this song (which is NSFW) that I can't seem to find on youtube.
2) Find an angle; something he can use to twist the situation to his advantage.
3) Always consider exactly how much information he's giving out.
4) Remember that arrogance is fine. Idiocy is not.
5) Don't get too distracted by his pretty icons.
6) Twist the situation. Twist it. TWIST IT HARD.
7) Most importantly, remember that HE HAS NO HEART.

When it comes to Roxas, of course, most of these are completely thrown out the window. 8D;

Pft, pretty icons indeed. X3

BUT I AGREE WITH THIS. /hur

ffff his icons. Just. Why so pretty, Axel?

...I just thought of that question in Joker's voice. *dies* Nomura's fault too!

XDDD

"Why. So. PRETTY, Axel?"

XD;;;

Thought process for posts and tags is as follows:

"How would I write this/respond to this as MYSELF...if I were a twenty foot tall male alien robot with the ability to transform into an ambulance and few million years of veteran war experience behind me."

Yeah. Srsly.

Aside from the occasional clip from the cartoon to make sure I can hear his exact tone of voice in my head clearly while I'm typing, that is it.

... I turn on Toy Box's "I am a Superstar". I wish I was joking. Then I just try to be as obnoxious and flamboyant as I can.

I wish there were more to it, I really do.

Oh man. Writing Prime comes so naturally it's not funny. I mostly just go "this would be interesting/funny/IC/he'd react to this" and then start writing. My audial imagination is pretty good, so I just try to wrangle up his voice and then I plonk down and start writing.

Like Straya, "how would I respond if I was ten years older and a thirty foot tall male fire truck alien robot and less of a completely terrible spazz," is pretty much it

whereas with this punk, it's "how would I respond if I was fifteen again and a boy."

I play characters that are easy :/a

Xigbutts is a little different. The things that usually start his posts are hideous conversations with people over aim. Example - his post about farts the other day was the result of a conversation with Kas. I compared ninjas to farts (silent but deadly) and boom, I had a Xigbar post.

If I'm intentionally posting with him, to get IC I just start thinking about internet jokes and math, and that does the job. Reading the KH2 manga also helps.

FOR GIYGAS: I just. Try to unfilter my brain and let myself write ANYTHING while trying to stay somewhat on topic. It's really damned easy yet hard to keep the intelligence behind sheer madness. Listening to the Eight Melodies actually makes it worse unless it's a certain version.

FOR SAIX: I either look at cutscenes or... watch Samurai Champloo in English. Sounds weird, but it actually really helps since the character Jin has the same voice actor and is sort of a similar character, just without the temper.

FOR WRECK-GAR: I have rewatched "Garbage in, Garbage out" SO MANY TIMES aaaaaugh. But I seriously rewatch it a lot to pick up every single little mannerism possible, right down to trying to figure out what Wreck-Gar was thinking in every word or action... or if he just wasn't. He's only in two episodes, but he leaves a pretty big impact. I usually listen to really perky songs, too.

FOR KYD WYKKYD: Listening to music helps. I tend to try to rewatch the very few episodes he's in, as well as anything related to the HIVE FIVE and Brother Blood in order to get a good understanding of how he'd react/feel about certain characters so I can get his motivation down.

FOR NATHAN WALLACE: I listen to A LOT OF REPO LMFAO. I don't rewatch it very often, but listening helps. Watching his mannerism is also highly amusing, actually. I try to also keep in mind of DOIN' IT WRONG (playing out his mannerisms as if they're DID) and DOIN' IT RIGHT. As far as lyrical writing go, I do actually base off his "songs" off of other actual songs. Loosely, though.

~~BECAUSE I GOTTA TAG EVERY LAST MEME.~~ It's been a few years since I last played the kid, but he's fairly easy to get back into.

- I share some of his personality traits (both good and bad, maybe).
- I went back to Suikosource (http://suikosource.com/) and some of the manga for tidbits of important history and trivial info. I'd like to play the game again, but I'm working with the memory of it.;
- Playing him on another game also helps keep him in character. I think.

When writing for him:

- It's awesome that he can churn out a wordy journal entry from time to time, just because he can sort of keep track of things that way. I need to do another one just for the fun of it.
- He can interact with almost anyone unless they terribly intimidate/scare him. He tries to keep connections open because he knows there's a lot of conflict going on (at home and in Nautilus), but it's another story if he's successful in maintaining things as they are. He's such a nice kid bwah. Needs more awesome.
- Yes, he does stammer from time to time, but the process of becoming use to the situation has lessened this. It'll come back only if he's really shaken up.
- Um...stuff.

HEY I HAVE FORTY MINUTES WATCH ME WASTE THEM.

Wow this is... hard? I don't really think about this. It REALLY depends on the s

Prowl:
      - For my initial getting into character at the beginning I just watched a LOT of TF:A. And then later a LOT of Fistful of Energon, Five Servos of Doom, and Endgame: Part II (bawwww).
      - In general? Breathe. Deep long yoga breaths, slowly. I've sometimes even DONE yoga. Go for a walk.
      - Go "What would Buddha do? If Buddha were also a ninja and a motorcycle." If this is young Prowl, ask "What would my brother do, if he were a ninja motorcycle?"
      - Read TF Wiki a lot.
      - Read zen koans.

Vexen
      - Listen to Weird Science by Oingo Bingo.
      - Try to get as cranky as possible. Take everything extremely personally.
      - Say things in my Vexen voice.
      - Read articles about biology on Wiki.
      - Drink iced coffee. Really.

Aaron
      - I really have to re-think my process for him becuase I feel like I've been losing his original voice; his original self was actually a rule breaking doof, but he doesn't take kindly to people breaking HIS rules...? And both he and I have been exhausted lately.
      - ... post as myself, if I were an arrogant, self-centered kleptomaniac...?

Mare
      - Every post, try to figure out how to express something without SAYING it. If all else fails, write it in text, but be as LAZY AS POSSIBLE with the text.
      - Think like I did in high school, only with a bit more zen temperament instead of my grumpiness.
      - Be deathly afraid of getting angry. Due to chardev, this is less important.

Cyrus
      - Is a lot more concrete than Aaron or Mare - I listen to Enya, Azam Ali, the Album Leaf, and other weird hippie surreal music.
      - Read religious texts, riddles, and zen koans.
      - Get myself into a really weird state of mind, sort of halfway between sleeping and waking. Think about everything at an angle. Try to say everything as cryptically as possible.

In general I try to think about motivation; what does my character want in this situation? How is he/she going to get it? Where are they going?

I figured it would be fun to actually analyze my own writing process and write down all the stuff I usually do automatically/unconsciously. Then I went, 'Hey, why not have everyone share?'

Anyway, um, I definitely feel you as far as losing the original voice goes. I've been having serious problems with Larry of all characters, mostly due to my own emotional aljdsflkajsdfj lately. That was actually another reason I posted this; to get ideas from other people. Hopefully you got some ideas? :D?

All characters:

1) "How would they react?"
2) Write!
3) Re-read in character's voice - if it sounds good, you're golden!
4) Fin.

Honestly, it comes really naturally to me. I just sort of sit down and write.

For Alexander... fffff I don't even know. He's one of those characters that I can write while drunk, hungover, hanging upside-down while scarfing down bottles of sleeping medication and still be in character about it. Back when I first started writing him, though, I watched Fight Club. A lot. Like, almost every night before I started writing his scenes. Or I'd have it playin in the background while writing. Because much of his background was inspired by the book and the movie.

Additionally, he's very musically inclined, so I listen to a lot of older shit. He's always been drawn to Across The Universe by The Beatles (which is on his FST. It's funny because he got attached to the song before I ever even heard it myself; I just knew the lyrics). Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and then other stuff like Led Zeppelin, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Sneaker Pimps, VAST, Soundgarden, and The Cure. There are some Nine Inch Nails songs (much as I hate to admit it) that were heavily inspired from him--namely Closer (Precursor) and Ripe With Decay (the instrumental which actually inspired an entire story arc).

To add to the fact that he's musically inclined, Alexander would not have existed if I hadn't been listening to The Best Things by Filter at the time I was writing what was supposed to be his death scene.

I tend to watch other gritty films as well, such as Se7en, or whatever is available to get me into the mood of the reality that he's from.

But really, most of the time I just shut my brain off and write. He's probably the most natural character for me to get creative with at this time.

LOL FELL ASLEEP WHILE WRITING THIS. Anyway.

Probably my weakest, as far as writing process goes. I tend to over think things, which really only works for Icy. Hothead requires a certain distance from logic, and Random is a complete separation from it. However, it all has to make sense to some part of him. Which is ... odd.

Anyway, basic process to respond to something (which is far easier than coming up with something solo for him) goes like this:

1) Decide whether or not he considers it worthy of responding to, and what each face has to say on the subject.
2) Figure out which one has the most to say, and make that one dominant. Alternately, switch between faces mid-response, starting with whichever feeling was strongest.
3) Hurl in something completely ridiculous, if I haven't been overusing Random lately.

I'll also listen to something on his FST, usually this. (Yet again, NSFW.)

Larry is usually the easiest for me to write. I just turn off my brain and go, using the very first emotional response and exaggerating it as much as possible.

Lately, writing him has been difficult, to the point where I've considered dropping him. That's obviously not something I want to do, so I've been trying to figure out some way to get back into his character. Whiiiich is one of the main reasons I posted this meme. SECRET OUT. \o/

My first meeeeeeeme!

I, uh. Not really sure. It's the same process for every character--I rewatch/replay/reread whatever canon the character comes from, get their voice, the tone, the inflection, the word choice and sentence patterns stuck in my head, and then as long as the writing matches that, I'm good to go. I also select a FST for the character, usually one to five songs, that I listen to on repeat.

Oh, and research/understand better any knowledge the character would have. Tony, why are you so beyond my smart, argh. Yay for wiki?

And I pace. I pace a ~~fucking~~ lot.

Plastic Man
-Try to be somewhat hyper. Playing with action figures and geeking out with Nikki for a bit usually helps.
-Rewatching episodes is fun, but I don't actually do it too often.
-I read comics with Plas from time to time; mostly the Kyle Baker run, but a little of JLA stuff here and there.
-Mostly, I just write and reread until it seems like something he'd say. It helps that Tom Kenny has such a distinct voice.

Paradox
- Cheshire Cat + College Professor. That's a pretty good summation of Paradox's voice.
-Occasional canon review; I'd do more, but I still can't find the season finale episode(s).
- I try and research whatever topic is being discussed. Yeah, I've gone through everything from chemistry to politics to physics to philosophy. But I love research, so it works out pretty nicely.

Fury
- I own his comic and have a digital copy. I reread it constantly.
- Research a ton on Elizabethan culture, customs, history, etc.

GLaDOS
- I found the Portal script. It is indispensible.
- Activate my cynical bitchy side. Snark a lot. Mock people. Yeah, I kinda love it. ^^;
- Listening to voice clips helps; again, GLaDOS has a very distinct voice, and if I can imagine her saying it, then I'm good to go!
- Still Alive is pretty much constantly on my playlist.

If there isn't a script I can get online for things my character has said, I frickin' write one. And it is a bitch to do that. I try and make sure I have every instance of spoken word that character has said, and if I can't do that, at least get the important things written down and saved. And constantly look back to that document. Some characters just don't use certain words, so I try and keep in mind which ones they would or wouldn't.

Music helps a lot. It's nice if the lyrics match the character, but I usually focus more on the type of music, since when I'm writing I have a tendency to not listen to the words. Since I'm... writing. ...More words. Like for Graham here, big band music is pretty much all I can listen to for him. Or... for some reason P!nk. I don't know why.

For America, well, he can't read other people's emotions too well, and doesn't seem to understand things unless explained. And even then, he might not get it. ...Which ... isn't that hard for me to write. orz

For Sho, uh, well it requires constant research for math terms. Like, whoa. I'm not even going to have math classes in college, so I need to go out and borrow math books from the library on occasion. Plus Wikipedia and my old math notebooks. :| Although I still have problems with definite integrals and Riemann sums.

V's pretty easy to write for. I have a couple of quote sites bookmarked for when he needs a good line on any given topic, run with the alliteration ~~although it's getting out of hand~~ and turn a blind eye to any tl;dr when he's talking. (Once in a while I'll break out old philosophy notes just to be sure I'm not misrepresenting whatever he's going on about.)

Other than that... well, when I'm stuck, I'll play Disturbed, primarily I'm Alive. (Indestructible and Enemy also have their places. ;)) Oh! And rereading/listening to This Vicious Cabaret helps.

It starts in the very beginning with heavy canon review and with a little "character interview" I've gotten from years of doing theater and acting classes. I don't have the questions with me currently, but they basically encompass the living environment, sense of style, language, ideals and beliefs, sense of beauty, and such. It helps me delve into the mindset of the character, and try to figure out why they would respond or write something on the network. Then, since music drives me as it seems to do with others here, I pull together music that has inspired the character for me, or seems to describe them, so I can listen to that playlist while I'm writing. That's about it...

Samus: In the start she was difficult for me, as I had only played the Prime series. However, going back and playing all the originals completely reset who she was in my mind. That's why you might have noticed she's changed a lot during when she was first here. I think my only quirks for her is that she doesn't believe in any sort of religion, therefore I need to write things other than "Oh my God!" which is surprisingly hard. Also, she calls this place a "dimension" not a "world," as others do.

Lara: One of the easiest to get into the mindset of, although probably different from the way others perceive her. Early in her canon life, she was basically a sex kitten, but recently she has changed into a more innocent scholar. I like to follow and keep that, since I am actually pretty opposed to her being objectified. I guess a quirk for her is she never swears, and she's confused when she's flirted with.

Jericho: I find it hard to get Jericho, because he doesn't talk. I did a lot of canon review for him from the New Teen Titans comics, but I know this is a different entity, so it gives me new options and characteristics for him. Still, I try to be true to the few episodes of Animated he was in. No real quirks from him, although he finds it hard to try and hate anybody.

Cassie: My latest, so I'm still a little sketchy with her. She's a very deep person, and has a lot of issues, but I haven't really found a way to get that out yet.

It goes for any of my characters, really, but...I do a lot of live theatre, and actually speaking what I want my characters to say, making the facial expressions, all that... It gets really awkward when I’m working on tags in the library at school....

For each of them, though:

Larxene: Actually fairly easy to slide into. I can normally shove myself right into her moods, and go from there. Flirty one moment, bitchy the next. All depends on how the other characters start in on her. It’s basic human language, we all do it. When you want something, for example, you tend to flirt a bit more, suck up a bit more. Manipulate. When Larxene gets pissy, I tend to look at the tag she’s received, debate the worst and best things she could say, and go from there, depending on what way I want to throw the conversation.

Sally: I listen to a TON of music. I’m a bit timid by nature, so it’s normally not all that hard to slip into what Sally’s feeling or thinking. From there, it can sometimes be a bit of a challenge while figuring out how she would say something. The walk is easy, the talk not so much.

When I want to song-post with Sally, I shove iTunes on shuffle until I find a melody that suits the mood I want, and then recreate the lyrics from there. Sometimes it comes out as the same tune, most times it doesn’t. If I’m not liking the way the song’s coming out, I start the search for a different song. Sometimes the song comes easily, other times it doesn’t. Eventually, I’ll find what I need for it.

Wendy: I revert back to my regular self, plus English-English and what-would-a-proper-little-girl-do-in-this-situation. I tend to listen to whatever is on iTunes at the time, which depends on what musical has currently taken over my headspace. Music really doesn’t have much to do with anything when it comes to Wendy or Larxene, though occasionally I do have to realize that my Wendy tags are coming out all wrong because, oh look, Legal Assassin popped up, which gets Shilo-muse going, which gets me distracted altogether...

Yeah I try not to listen to Repo! when tagging with Wendy...

For any of them, it’s feeling the character. Who I’m playing at what moment might actually depend on my mood as well, since I tend to let the character’s mood sway my mood further. If you’re gonna play the character, you’ve gotta be the character.

...long story short, I do a whole lot of nothing.

A BRAND-NEW MEME!

SQUALL LEONHART

LANDIS

no subject

PYRAMID HEAD

PANDORA

no subject

JINX

no subject

SUBARU

no subject

no subject

no subject

Sunstreaker and Hunter

no subject

no subject

no subject

AXEL

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Ratchet

no subject

PRIME

NEKU

XIGBAR

no subject

Thomas

no subject

no subject

no subject

ALEXANDER.

BLITZWING

LARRY BUTZ

TONY EFFIN' STARK

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject