That1Cellist

Would any of you be interested if I put together a list of my favorite fictional characters? I've been considering doing that for a little while, and I'm curious to see if anyone has interest in seeing that.

Okay, I know we have pfp shenanigans going on right now... but I couldn't resist the urge to change mine. Sorry if there is any confusion.

Music Recommendation: Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Sixteen Tons". An older song that I quite like.

I've noticed a trend with the writers I hang around on The Shard. We like creating and caring about the characters we write, but for some reason, I notice a theme that seems to connect these different people and the worlds they create. The writers of The 17th Shard love to give their characters trauma. It's actually quite peculiar how many posts and SUs I see that essentially boil down to, "hehe my character is in pain.". This is fine, but sometimes I think we conflate trauma with good writing. Just because a character's family died in a house fire and then their love interest got tortured or turned out to be evil does not mean that they are a well written character. Obviously, there are plenty of well-written characters with very sad backstories (Paul Atreides, "Maniac" Magee, Kaladin, and others that I can't think of right now, although some are better than others) But, some of my favorite characters are those who don't have tragic backstories and have no moral grayness to them. It's not the lack of tragedy that endears me to them, it's the characters themselves. The characters who do the right things, and feel emotions deeply. These characters have great empathy, and can be so wonderful in a time where it feels as though most media needs everything moral to be ambiguous. Some fantastic characters like this are Edward Tulane, Kenzo Tenma, and, of course, Samwise Gamgee. (Again, there are many more, they just happen to be slipping my mind right now)

So, when you're writing something, you don't have to make it too complicated. Your characters' lives don't have to be filled with tragedy and sadness. They don't have to be morally gray or have deep trauma. 
More tragedy ≠ better writing.

Thanks for reading! What do you think?

Thanks for the follow!

I really like social deduction games. They're a lot of fun, even if I don't think I'm very good at them. There's something so alluring about the deduction, mystery, and strategy.

Music recommendation: Tokyo Ghoul OST: Wanderers
I haven't seen the show this song is from, and I think the lyrics kinda sound like a love song, but I don't care about that too much. Mostly, I just like how it sounds.

I've also recently discovered the joys of Power Point 2019. It's fantastic. Google Slides doesn't hold a candle to the stuff I can do on there. Morph is the most wonderful looking slide transition I have ever seen. I also may or may not be now subscribed to at least one YouTube channel dedicated to power point.

Also, my mental state is definitely stable, and I definitely wasn't flailing all around last night trying to sleep because I was feeling super anxious and couldn't get comfortable. I also definitely had an excellent evening yesterday in which nothing went wrong.

But, other than that, I had a good Sunday.
Thank you all.

Hey guys. I'm not entirely sure what kind of mood it is that I'm in, but I can't say it's a particularly pleasant one.

Music recommendation: "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" From Sesame Street (I know that's a strange thing to recommend, but trust me, it's a pretty, sweet little song)

I have fall break coming up, which is really nice to look forward to. However, school has been somewhat overwhelming recently, and the amount of sleep I've been getting is less than ideal. My emotions have also been kind of turbulent beyond just those factors, so it's been a bit rough.

But, anyway, thank you everyone for taking the time to read this SU, and I hope you have a good rest of your day!

Oh, hey. I forgot you're back.

Everyone, I finally figured out the notifications, so I can now see what you guys are up to again! (I'm not technologically ignorant I swear) 

Music recommendation: Death Note OST: Taikutsu (It's short, but it's quite interesting)

All-State auditions for orchestra are coming up pretty quickly, but I haven't had much time to practice for them. Hopefully it will be okay, but I wouldn't be surprised to be disappointed. It's a bit strange to think about, the notion that I may well be one of the best young cellists in the state. It's actually jarring, considering that doesn't really fit in my mental perception of myself.

I've acquired multiple new obsessions over the months, which has been quite enjoyable. I also read another parenting book, and since my classes this year consist mostly of development and behavior classes, I'm slowly getting a better picture of how people work. Or, perhaps it's just that my social skills have improved.

Anyway, thank you for reading my status update, and I hope you all have a pleasant day.

Happy Birthday to thee

Oh no.

Humans, I think I was flirting on accident.

Help I think I have done an awkward thing but maybe it was actually okay but I don’t know so now I’m way overthinking 

gahhhhhhh

I found a poem that I think I'd like to share. (Spoilered for length)

Oh no...

I forgot that you left.

This is saddening.

We miss you, muffin cat!

Oh hey Mr. Calano are you still active on here very much?