#writer roman

[anxiouslyfred]

Arguing with Characters

For @aro-sides-week Free Day

Summary: Roman is writing a story and struggling with a character who’s identity he doesn’t believe he can write properly. Perhaps through going with it he’ll learn something about himself on the way

Warnings: a few sex mentions

/\/\

Roman was writing but the characters weren't behaving. Well, really they were behaving too well and becoming too fully formed for where he thought his skill was at.

One character in particular was trying to turn every scene to making her have an identity that he really doubted being able to accurately portray. Asexual, probably Aromantic as well, and truthfully he barely knew anything about the identities. How could people tell when they didn't feel something other than in situations where they're being pressured to feel it? Do scenes like that have to be included?

Actually Roman's biggest argument with the character now insisting she was ace was that it contradicted scenes he remembered writing and without going back to read a few thousand words of his own writing and probably putting himself off the entire story he couldn't know how easily they could be changed. That wasn't reasoning that was working against the characters in his head and he'd known it wouldn't from the start.

“You're glaring at your laptop again. Is someone writing a fanfiction that offends you? Can I write a worse one?” Remus commented, wandering past and shoving Roman lightly, but enough he clung to his laptop to avoid dropping it.

“I'm arguing with a character. Do we know anyone Ace or Aro? Can I change Amanda to make her so without destroying the story I've written so far?” He grumbled, looking over to his brother who at the first question clicked and pointed to himself.

Remus just grinned, “I'm ace so that's a start and sure you can. The scenes that would contradict her being either make little sense with how she'd really be feeling anyway. If you swap it from getting embarrassed over a crush to upset over her identity being ignored the argument stays but doesn't cause issues with her family right after moving out.”

“Since when are you ace? Weren't you thirsting over, goodness, who was it last week? That emo kid?” Roman side-eyed him for a moment before looking back at the screen. “And are there videos or do you mind getting interrogated so I can know enough not to write Amanda completely cluelessly?”

Remus waved a hand, pulling things out of the cabinets behind Roman and licking random packaging. “Since ages. I just think sex is juicy to talk about, not actually doing anything, that's dull. Talking to me ain't gonna help you write a traumatised kid who is as likely aroace through trauma as she is to naturally be that way. Ecosia it so the great googlepire can't control the results.”

That day Roman nodded and returned to just writing what was in his head, minus a few arguments over if how Amanda should act. He could trust his character for now at least.

/\/\

“So you've started treating your characters as people. Will I get yelled at for saying I think Greg and Harrison used to have tons of kinky sex but broke up when Harry tried to make the role play full time?” Remus was lounging on Roman's bed when he got in one afternoon, flicking through the notebook that held his novel project.

Roman just rolled his eyes, going to snatch the book back. “No, they're meant to be exes and I don't care what you headcanon for their past.” He sighed, flicking to the next blank page to carry on writing something since the book was out.

“Well it's obvious Greg is going for exhibitionism with Luke so he's gotta be kinky already.” Remus coaxed, only to get a pillow thrown at him. “Just saying what I'm seeing.”

“You're seeing wrong and those guys aren't even getting together. Now hush. Amanda needs to actually get an apology already.” Roman focused up on what he'd been writing recently, scanning the last page.

Remus cackled, pushing the pillow under himself. “From hating to write the girl to constantly having her involved in everything is quite the turn around, Rospeare. You projecting over there?”

“Course not! She's just the most interesting person to describe.” he protested, but paused, glancing to the page. “Cause I am just writing about people, aren't I? Not some label or minority but people whomever the world sees them as.”

For some reason the words sent Remus into triumphant cackles. “He finally realises it! People are people are people, fictional, acted or real, people are people.”

He'd heard the word people so many times it had lost all meaning so decided to ignore his brother and just write for a while. Besides Amanda was re-framing his own memories and how he'd thought about crushes before now and it was becoming fascinating to write about, even just when she was spending time with her siblings, thankfully less unpredictable than his own.

/\/\

Editing was a surprise to Roman. He'd never finished writing a story that he was sure had a reasonable plot of such length and he'd been excited to start typing it up.

Now he was just disturbed, reading over the next scenes he had to write up and edit, just wishing he could tear the pages up and completely rewrite them. Loosing any of his writing was loathsome so he settled for just ignoring the pages.

How could he have ever believed that Amanda would have a crush, let alone one on someone barely mentioned at all? It boggled his mind before he remembered the time he'd had a mental battle before accepting that his character was aroace. Roman almost wondered if part of his fight against letting himself write that was to avoid the self-reflection Amanda had brought with her.

After all, now he saw himself in Amanda more than any other character that had turned up in the story, including the actors that were friends with a few of his main characters.

“Me and Amanda match.” He murmured to himself, deciding to just note that there would be an argument between the main group during this scene in the plot he'd been compiling. He could sketch for a while instead, and perhaps see what his characters might actually look like.

“Yeah, I love your little blue dress number. Pretty sure I was meant to be the one to make it though.” Remus agreed, suddenly leaning through his door. “Or wasn't that what you meant about matching?”

Roman rolled his eyes, “No, I meant we're both aro. The ace part is yet to be decided but I doubt I'm aroace.”

“Fun. You're stealing my colour and refusing to look even a little remorseful of it. Pick something with a red flag instead.” Remus teased, throwing some fabric up so it fell draped over him.

For a moment all Roman could see was green and grey as he floundered in confusion at the sudden covering, before reaching to tug it off. “Favourite colours are not the way we chose our identities Remus!” He protested before realising the fabric in his hands was an aro flag, put together by various fabrics he'd been saving for unknown projects. “You? How did you figure this out before me?” He blinked after a moment, only to realise his brother had vanished again.

Looking to the sketch of a face that clearly screamed itself to be Amanda, Roman smiled. “Yeah, we match and I think I love you for making me realise that.”

[writes-what-she-knows]

Artist Sides

- they all use some form of art to Express Themselves

- they all have reasons for what they do (or don't do)

- roman is a writer

- you were expecting actor, weren't you

- well, yes, he is that, but also he writes

- roman writes for himself, he writes stories he can find himself in, he writes plays where he can relate to the characters, he writes to find himself in the work

- he writes stories that parallel things happening to him so that he can make a decision he feels is right after testing things out

- roman has notebooks and notebooks full of half baked ideas, and countless word documents with just bits and pieces of scenes on them to be edited later

- he writes for himself, but he posts them online and shows his friends in the hopes that they'll find something for them there too

- logan writes music

- he also draws, but that's more of a thing he only does when he's stressed or super bored or has an idea, music is an often thing

- he took piano lessons when he was little and loved it

- in middle and high school he was in band and choir, he wanted to be in orchestra too, but he didn't have that many electives and the orchestra teacher was rude so he didn't take it

- he plays a lot of instruments, nobody knows how he learned that many

- piano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, saxophone, guitar, drums, it goes on and on

- he'll sit in the middle of a crowded room with his headphones in, just writing lyrics or note progressions in a sketchbook

- he usually writes all the pieces separately, like lyrics then this instrument then that instrument, rather than all at the same time, but when he puts it together it's beautiful

- thinks his voice is crap (it's not) so he makes roman sing his songs sometimes

- he writes the music to convey his feelings, because they confuse him

- music is the only way he knows how to understand them

- virgil does photography

- he takes photos of things that convey an emotion (usually his emotions)

- sometimes it's more obvious, like a happy picnic in the summer or a funeral

- sometimes it's less obvious, like a flower with the tips of its petals just barely wilted for stress, or a thunderstorm over an ocean for when he feels like something bad might happen, or a photo if a texture that reminds him of something

- the others have all gotten really good at finding the meaning in his photos and reacting as such

- hes really hesitant to show his photos to anyone he knows in person, but he posts them all online and people love them

- he takes photos at first because he thinks it's cool how things can show emotion like that, its still that but it's more now

- he takes pictures because he knows the others can understand him through his camera when he's too anxious to admit to his feelings

- he takes pictures so the others can understand him better, and so he can understand himself better

- patton does art, but he doesn't draw, just uses paints and pastels and things

- sometimes it's an image, more often than not it's just colors, though

- he loves watercolors and acrylics and chalk the most

- not a fan of oil based mediums, because they don't cooperate with him, but sometimes still uses them

- uses color combinations to show feelings or messages

- he likes to experiment with different ways to get texture, and salt on watercolor is one of his favorites

- pattons art has been known to be found in random places because he paints all over the place, at tables, lying on the floor, etc.

- he panics when he can't find his art and then remembers oh yeah it's under the couch so nobody steps on it

- he loves showing the others because they help him figure out what his colors mean

- blue and green together is calm, pink and purple together is love, orange and red together are angry, etc.

- he paints because it puts his feelings on paper without using hard words

- their art all works really well together

- roman will write a play, and logan will add music

- virgil will do photography for whenever logan finally shows his music to the world (i.e. music videos, cover art, etc.)

- virgil and pattons art inspires roman to write new things

- logans music inspires patton, and sometimes he gets virgil to write lyrics in calligraphy before he watercolors

- they all just work so well together and ugh