Writing: Tips for Creating Better Characters

Hello, everyone! 

Today I'm going to be trying my best to give you some advice on writing better characters––a task which I feel wholly unprepared for, but I'm going to give it my best shot. So, here are some tips and tricks for creating characters that have helped me in the past. Obviously, what worked for me won't work for everyone, but hopefully, you'll take away at least one thing that was useful. Enjoy!

Tips

1. Identify Several Personality Traits

I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but I find that many characters I have read have a sort of cookie-cutter personality, or their author seemed to only have one or two traits in mind when they created them.

For example, an author might decided that the defining character trait is that their character is a "strong, independent woman." All right, that's a good start, but if that's all you know about her, you'll probably end up with someone who sounds like every female heroine from today's YA dystopian novels--looking at you Divergent.

Another common single-trait personality I see is the "sarcastic" character. Okay, once again, a good start. Admittedly, having a flat character that makes zippy comebacks can work for a side character or for a short time in fan fiction, but a main character is going to need a lot more than sarcasm to make them relatable.

A good solution I've found for this problem is making a list of personality traits for your character. You might not wind up using them all, but it gives you something to work off of when you start drafting. Below, I've provided an example from when I was working on my first draft of The Rose's Flame.

Rose –– Character Traits  

1. African-American appearance with voluminous black curls.   

2. Right handed  

3. Illiterate  

4. Slightly spoiled (side-effect of being a princess)  

5. Kind-hearted  

6. Superstitious  

7. Polite

I may have only wound up using 1, 2, 5,  6, & 7, but I still had a baseline for what Rose was going to be like. However, lists like this can only get you so far. 

2. Describe Your Character

How someone looks and dresses can tell you a lot about them. Other times, you can use their outward appearance to trick the reader into thinking they are different than they actually are. Write out a detailed description of your character to really cement in your mind who you are working with. Here are examples from The Rose's Flame and Pieces of Silver. 

     "Rose was a slightly taller than average young woman with unblemished brown skin. Wild black curls hung untamed past her shoulder blades. Intelligent brown eyes peeked out from beneath shrewd, well-sculpted brows. Her figure was certainly nothing to scoff at, for she was certainly well endowed. Her white floral day gown flowed around her elegantly." –– The Rose's Flame (Cut Scenes), pg. 32.  

This description never made the final cut because that story is told from a first person POV, but just knowing how she looks and dresses and the fact that she is a princess gave me a good idea about how Rose would move and hold herself in a scene. 

Here's a description of Hornagal from Circle of Dragons: 

     "It was at least twenty feet long. Its massive, slightly ragged wings were tucked to its sides. The firelight flickered off its tarnished golden scales, giving them the illusion of being on fire. It had wavy, black horns––half Kelise’s height––and glistening white fangs as long as her forearm. Intelligent purple eyes peered at her reverently from under heavy ridges. Its skin seemed to hang loosely from its neck; this and the tarnished scales gave Kelise the impression that it was ancient." –– Circle of Dragons and Riders: Pieces of Silver, pg. 8-9. 

Now, this description is ripped right from the scene where Kelise, the main character, first meets Hornagal. Adding these kinds of descriptions give readers a strong mental image of your character.

Character Description No-Nos

It is very possible to go overboard on descriptions, especially when you're an amateur (like me). Try to stick to details that would be readily observable in real life, such as what color their hair is, what they are wearing, and so on. Don't try to psychoanalyze their personality upon their introduction, this can technically be done in a good way, but it can easily come across very amateurish.

Another amateur move in character description is describing your main character (in painful detail) within the first two pages of your novel (or first couple paragraphs of your short story). I love describing characters, so I was definitely guilty of this during the first few years of my career. I always wanted to describe my characters down to the smallest detail right away (even though the character in question was usually telling the story from a first person POV) *cringe.* So, yeah, don't do that or readers and publishers will label you as an amateur.

A really big no-no that I discovered I was guilty of recently, and was thoroughly embarrassed that I had been doing it for so long is equating a character of color's skin to a food/drink item (such as chocolate, coffee, nuts, honey, etc.) An individual in one of my writing classes called this "fetishizing people of color," and I agree with them. Thinking of a person in this manner is very disrespectful and should be avoided at all costs. 

3. What's They're General Disposition

Most people have somewhat of a default mood, and that is true for fictional characters too. Keeping your character's general disposition in mind will help you determine such things as their default facial expression (does your character have a resting bitch face?) and their typical body language (do they stand with their arms crossed? do they tend to fidget?)

Characters can also have a disposition that is multiple feelings at once. Nurse, the main character in Young L, for example, has a generally anxious disposition; therefore, he tends to fidget with things, shuffle from foot to foot, note where exits are, and so on. Noting things like that will make your character seem more real and believable.

4. Write a Small Scene About Your Character 

Once you have an idea of some personality traits and what your character looks like, write a 
small scene where they are behaving a way that is typical of them. Here's a small example of this from
Pieces of Silver:

     "Silver stepped up to Gracell, towering over her. Her bloodless lips thinned to an almost nonexistent line. Gracell did her best not to look intimidated. 

     'I will not tolerate insubordination, Silver!' Gracell said, prodding the taller woman in the chest. 

     Silver leaned in close to her face. 'What are you going to do about it? Poke me with your little sword?'

     With that, Silver turned on her heels and started to stride from the room. 

     Gracell let out a huff, her face flushed angrily. 'I ought to report your actions to Venom!' She shouted. 

     Silver faltered in her step for a moment. Then she said, 'You can do that if you like. Just don’t come crying to me if something happens to your precious fledgling.' Silver slammed the door behind her." –– Circle of Dragons and Riders: Pieces of Silver, pg. 39-40.

This scene tells me a lot about how Silver typically behaves. She is tall and threatening-looking, so she will often use these traits to intimidate her opponent during an argument. She doesn't act phased when Gracell calls her out, but shows there are chinks in her armor of non-chalance when Gracell threatens to tell Silver's dragon that Silver disobeyed an order from a superior (the order being to leave the new rider, Kelise, alone).

In case you need some ideas, here are some prompts:

Is your character a healer? Write a scene where they are healing someone; how they act when doing that can help you establish their personality in other scenarios.

Are they a leader? Write a scene where they are making a speech to a council or crowd. This could give you a better idea of how they take charge and what kind of leadership style they have.

Are they shy/awkward? Write a scene where they are talking to a their crush or a stranger. That could give you an idea of how they act under stress.

Got any scenes like this that have worked for you? Let me know in the comments!

5. Consider They're Opinions of Other Characters

People act differently around different people, and the same goes for characters. Think about which other characters your character is cordial with, who they enjoy the company of, who they can't stand, who they miiiight have romantic feelings for, etc. Keeping these opinions in mind will help you know who would be good for team-ups and who your character could never work with.

Character dynamics are everything. For example, if you don't think the your main character has the chemistry they need with another character, trust your gut. I've read several romantic plot lines where the main characters just don't have any sort of chemistry, and this can ruin the whole story, even if the romance isn't the main focus.

I've had this issue with a CoD character named Skyler. He's loosely based off my sister, Blue, and she wanted him to find love. I happened to agree that he could use a love interest, so I humored her. I don't want to spoil to much about that plot line, but I tried him with two different female characters. One didn't have any romantic chemistry with him, so I cut that plot. The other character was so minor that there was no possible future for that relationship; additionally, I wound up cutting the novel she appeared in from the series entirely because the book only served to resolve an unnecessary plot element. Eventually, I tried him out with a character that I hadn't even intended to give a love interest, and she turned out to be the perfect match.

6. What Are Their Priorities

Who or what is most important to your character? Is it family or the greater good? Money or power? Knowing your character's priorities will help guide you in deciding what paths they will take. Sticking with your character's priorities will help you make their actions believable.

The authors I most often see having issues with this are fan fiction writers. This is completely understandable; in my experience, it's really hard to write from the perspective of characters that are not your own. In your original work, a characters priorities can be whatever you want, but when someone else created the character, you have to work within their guidelines (for the most part anyway).

A example in fan fiction I have seen most often is how important romantic relationships are for a character (looking at you, L fan girls). There is nothing wrong with adding a romance plot with a main character into your fan fiction, but keep the canon character's priorities in mind. For example, if you're inserting L into a romantic scenario, keep in mind that his work holds much higher priority than interpersonal/romantic relationships and write accordingly. Changing a canon characters priorities too much can compromise their believability and the quality of your story.

7. What Are Some Random Facts About Them

Knowing random facts about your character add so much depth to them! You may not use any of the fun facts you come up with, but they are super fun and useful to know. For example, is your character afraid of bugs? How many languages do they speak? Do they like peanut butter? Which is their dominant hand? What's they're favorite color? Do they like or hate their job? You never know when these details might come in handy.

Aside from being useful, fun facts are just fun, and it adds another layer of reality to your character. If you ever get famous (or even just become dear to a few dedicated readers), your fans can enjoy digging up all sorts of fun facts and little details about your character.

I've been working on my Circle of Dragons series for seven years now, and I could literally make a weekly Youtube series of fun facts about my characters. Some that have proven useful (or comedic) for me include: that Kelise doesn't like refried beans or Reese's; Charlie speaks and writes six languages (German, Drakonish, English, Hebrew, Latin, and Greek); and Silver is super squeamish around blood. I could go on, but you get the point.

8. Research, Research, Research! 

I cannot stress enough how important research is for writers. I know when I first heard this advice I thought, "Ugh, I don't need to do research. I know all sorts of stuff. Research is boring school stuff." I was very very wrong. If you're like me and have a tendency to create characters who have experienced things you haven't, do your research! Don't just make up crap and hope it's close enough to reality. Even if you are what you do specialize or have experience what your character has, still research the topic, because knowledge makes your writing more realistic, and you can vary your character's experience slightly from your own (since everyone experiences and learns things differently). If you're character is a doctor and you're not, learn about medicine (particularly whatever medical conditions they are diagnosing/treating). If you're character has PTSD and you don't (or even if you do), learn as much as you can about that condition.

Use at least somewhat reputable sources is you can. Wikipedia can be helpful sometimes, but don't make it your go-to source of knowledge. If you're researching certain medical conditions, Mayo Clinic and WebMD can be very helpful. Multiple sources are also helpful. Even just looking up pictures of tapestries or ceiling murals to give you ideas for yours can be helpful research! Basically, do not underestimate the usefulness of research!

Conclusion

So, I hope these tips will help you in some way. This is in no way an exhaustive list. And if you're still having trouble, don't give up hope! Writing characters can be super hard, but the pay-off is totally worth it! If you have any specific character writing issues you're struggling with, feel free to PM me or leave a comment, and I'll try to help if I can.

Happy writing everyone! 

Reviews: CARL by Hussein Traboulsi

Hello everyone! 

Today, I will be telling you why YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD READ the webcomic CARL by Hussein Traboulsi. This

What's So Great About It

CARL follows the story of a robot psychiatrist, named CARL, who becomes sentient. He works with patients, interacts hilariously with his "younger siblings," and protects his friends and family from people who might want to hurt them. Besides CARL, the delightful cast if populated by CARL's no-nonsense "father" Dr. Alda, his adorably geeky brother Two (he's my favorite), his grumpy sister Oreo, and––later on––friendly the human scientist Vicki and the quirky engineer Larry.

The premise may make CARL sound a little campy––and it is good, campy fun a lot of the time––it is sooooooooo much more than that. This webcomic put me through the emotional ringer both times I've read it. There were times I laughed hysterically, times I screamed at the characters for doing stupid things, times I couldn't help but say "Awww" because of the wholesomeness, and times where I bawled my eyes out. It has everything!

Most of the first season's story follows the exploits of CARL, Dr. Alda, and Two as they try to stop Alda's arch-rival, Dr. Vauss, from stealing the CARL project for himself.

CARL and Two also have to find acceptance in the world of humans when their sentience becomes known to the world. The season will have you griping the edge of your seat in anticipation for what happens next!

Where Can You Find it?

CARL was first published in November 2017 and is available on WEBTOON. (I will also provide a link to it.) It updates every Monday and Tuesday, but is currently on hiatus until September.

Don't let that stop you though! While it may not update for a while, there are 150 strips for you catch up on. If that sounds intimidating, it's not as bad as it sounds. I managed to binge it all in three days, and it was a magical use of those days.

Please, check out CARL for yourself here: CARL by Hussein Traboulsi

Story Time: How I Became a Writer

Hello everyone! 

Today, I wanted to tell you the story of how I came to fancy myself a writer. I really can thank my dad for getting me started. My dad started reading Harry Potter to my sister and I when we were about three, and that bore in us a passion for made-up stories.

Stories with Blue

Throughout our elementary school years, my sister––we'll call her Blue––and I would improvise stories together aloud. It started out with inserting ourselves into Hogwarts, then we made up families and had them go on misadventures together, then there were love stories. I always had to be the boy Blue's character fell in love with because she was the main character in our stories 90% of the time. Other stories included colonial America stories, the origins of my Kelisia & Skyr novel (I was actually the main character in that one! I was still the male love interest though...). You name it, we did a story about it.

Those were good times; I miss those days.

Enter Eragon

Blue and I were homeschooled growing up, so we often had most of the day to play and imagine on our own. My favorite pastime in those years was reading. I kind of skipped a couple stages of reading development; I went from The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar to Bailey School Kids chapter books without ever touching Curious George and other books of that level. My next jump was from Bailey School Kids straight to Christopher Paolini's Eragon...when I was nine. Yeah, I was that kid.

Eragon opened my eyes to a side of fantasy that I didn't know existed. Sure, my dad had read us Lord of the Rings (when I was 5...not sure what he was thinking on that one), but I never understood otherworldly fantasy until I read Eragon. I had never realized how amazingly cool dragons were, or that people could bond with them and become friends.

That day, I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a DRAGON RIDER!

Well, no, not really––I knew that dragon riders don't exist. But I dreamed of it and drew a picture of myself and my two best friends at the time as dragon riders and gave us made up names. I also drew two other dragons and riders to be friends with us. I lost those pictures soon after and completely forgot they existed.

*These aren't actually the original drawings;
those are lost forever. 

*These are the second iteration
from when I was 12.

*I know these are bad.
I was 12 and couldn't draw. 

Three years later, I rediscovered them in a box under my bedside table. That's when my creative gears started to turn. I started imagining scenarios of these characters interacting with each other, and eventually, I started writing them down with the intention of maybe creating a short story or two.

One year and 100 pages later, I had the first draft of my Circle of Dragons on my hands. It was complete and total crap, so I started rewriting the stories and making them more cohesively into a novel.

Six years later, that 100 page draft has been separated into four different novels (in varying stages of completion). The first 8 page story alone became the basis for the (currently) 200ish page Pieces of Silver.

In December of my freshman year of college, I discovered Wattpad. A friend who also liked to write had told me about it years earlier, but I finally decided to look it up. I thought it was really cool, so I started putting some stuff up on it. I didn't really want to put Circle of Dragons on there because it was my life's work. However, I got interested in fan fiction and Death Note around the same time; so, I started writing Young L: the Triebome Murder Case, which was my first attempt at fan fiction.

Then I took a poetry class and a creative writing class during the next couple semesters, so I had some actual original material I was okay with putting up on Wattpad. I also wrote a couple articles for The Nerd Daily, but I fell away from that pretty fast.

Conclusion

So, yeah, that pretty much brings me to where I am today. I'm taking a lighter load next semester, so I'm hoping to get a lot of writing and editing done. Hopefully, I'll be able to send Pieces of Silver off pretty soon after I graduate, but we'll have to see if life throws me any curveballs.

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading!

My Character Profile: Oliver Brann from The Rose's Flame

Hello everyone! 

*Picture by Jayspeed

Today I will be talking about a character who is near-and-dear to my heart. Oliver Brann is the secondary protagonist of my most popular Wattpad story, The Rose's Flame. He is the "cursed" prince to whom Rose Kijani is betrothed. His profile will contain details from the Wattpad story and those unique to the novelization I am working on. (Don't worry, I'll try not to spoil anything too important from the novel.)

Profile

Name: Oliver Brann

Nicknames: The Goblin Prince, The Cursed Prince, Invalid, Monster

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Ethnicity: Enchanter (meaning "one from the kingdom of Enchantment"), appears caucasian, his name has ties to our Norwegian. (Since Oliver is not really from our world, his ethnicity isn't that easy for me to explain.) 

Age: 18

Date of Birth: July 19th

Height: 5', 6-7'' (depending on who you ask)

Weight: 115lbs.

Why I Love Him

Every time I write about Oliver, I fall in love with him all over again. He is one of those people who cannot stand to be unkind of anyone. His attendant, Mr. Rodenfield (called Sir Nathan in the Wattpad version), taught him to be polite and patient to everyone, no matter how rude or awful they are.

Oliver is meek and humble, but more than capable of taking charge if the need arises (and those he is commanding will give him the time of day). His disabilities and constant illness do not stop him from  trying to be the best fiancé he can be to Rose, and eventually, being becoming the great king he was always meant to be.

My Favorite Oliver Moments/Quotes (Spoilers ahead! Please, consider reading The Rose's Flame and coming back to this bit. If you already have, thank you! If you don't care about spoilers, just keep on reading.)

1. "Would you believe me if I told you that I have never seen a rose before, except in drawings." [Rose said.]     Oliver's eyes widened in shock. "Never? But your name is Rose!" (Chapter 3, "Devising a Plan").  

2.  Just then, I [Rose] noticed a beautiful red rose, brighter than the flowers around it, blooming by my foot. I plucked the rose from the garden bed and offered it to Oliver. "I know I sound hypocritical. It is just...I suppose I have begun to grow accustomed to your appearance."      Oliver took the flower with a smile brighter than the brilliant sun. The sun soaked into my skin, making me feel warmer than I had since my arrival in Enchantment. (Chapter 4, "Lunching in the Rose Garden").  

3. (Okay, this one is kind of cheating because it's more of a Rose moment, but I still love it.) Sir Nathan helped Oliver sit up, and I quickly ducked out of the room, feeling heat rise in my cheeks. As it turned out, Oliver was not wearing a shirt. This in and of itself should not have embarrassed me, for I had certainly seen young men without their shirts before. The reason for my embarrassment lay in that, upon catching a glimpse of his scarred chest, I had felt a surge of attraction. Surely I was not starting to find myself attracted to the awkward, disfigured prince? (Chapter 5, "Meeting Mallow").  

4. Oliver shuffled over to a dusty stone bench that had weathered the years and sat down wearily. I sat down next to him, taking his hand and stroking it with my thumb. Oliver hesitantly leaned on my shoulder before continuing his tale. (Chapter 7, "Walking in the Past").  

5. He reached up and slowly removed his mask, revealing his scars in all their glory. His hair was pulled back in a queue today, revealing his lazy left eye which was usually concealed. I do not think I had ever seen eyes a more brilliant hazel [...]    Oliver looked down at the mask in his hand. He stood there, staring, for a tense several minutes. The muscles in his face visibly twitching as he tried to decide what kind of man he would be. Finally, he dropped his hand to his side.      The porcelain mask shattered as the wedding bells began to ring. (Chapter 8, "Wedding Day"). 

Conclusion

So, yeah, that's my favorite things about Oliver Brann. If you have any questions about The Rose's Flame, drop them in the comments. Thank you for reading! 

Story Time: My Testimony

Hello everyone! 

This will be a bit more of a serious post today. I will be talking about my experience with autism and anxiety, as well as how I came to have faith in God and Jesus Christ.

My Story

Imagine you are ten years old, sitting with your family in a small, family-owned pizza place called Dominic’s the day before Halloween. You are eating a delicious cheese pizza and watching a TV in the corner of the room. The Simpsons is on; it’s a Halloween special. 

This is the setting for the day anxiety disorder hijacked my life. 

In the episode, Homer is attending a school board meeting or something. When he walks into the school, he realizes it is freezing in the building. He happens to walk past a thermostat, and he cranks it up to maximum, hoping no one will notice. 

In the basement of the school, an old janitor is sitting by an old-fashioned furnace. Suddenly, the furnace flares up like hell’s inferno. The janitor opens the grate to see what’s going on, and he is lit on fire. 

He runs around the building until he finds the conference room full of people. He screams for help, but the moderator says, “Just a moment.” Homer answers a question or something, and the camera turns back to the burning janitor. 

The janitor is now a red, skeleton zombie. He swears and oath of vengeance against the people there for allowing him to be burned to death. 

At this moment, I screamed and burst into tears. That image caused something to snap in my brain. From that moment on fear was my near-constant emotion. 

It started with just a fear of fire––okay, that makes sense, I’d seen a guy get killed on TV with fire; so I was scared of fire. That was followed by fears of poisonous spiders, carbon monoxide poisoning, murderers, rapists, paranormal monsters, and dozens of other illogical things. 

The worst one was the fear that I couldn’t explain; fear of absolutely nothing. Often, I would be overwhelmed by an uncertain feeling of fear. I didn’t understand where these fears were coming from, but I felt there was nothing I could do to control them.

During this time, I started to question my faith. I was raised in a Christian household on Biblical principles and morals. I believed that God was real, but I didn’t understand why God wouldn’t take my fears away. More than anything, I was afraid of dying and going to Hell, because that’s what I knew I deserved.

My fears ravaged unchecked for about three years. Paranoia and anxiety were pretty much my constant state of mind. Almost every night I would lay huddled in my bed consumed by spells of waking terror. My family and I didn’t understand what was going on, but we feared that I was driving myself insane. 

One day, God stepped in and changed my entire life. I was confiding in my dad about whatever fear was keeping me awake at the time, and he shared a Bible verse he had read that day. The verse was John 8:44: “He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” 

A feeling of otherworldly peace descended upon me. My fears were Satan and his demons lying to me. I didn’t have to listen. Believe it or not, telling Satan to get the hell out of your head actually alleviates fear, most of the time. 

During first semester of college (ironically, right around Halloween), I had a bit of a resurgence in my fears. It is pretty normal for me to have small resurgences from time to time, usually when I’m drifting too far from God. I was also extremely stressed first semester because I took seven classes instead of the normal four. 

Some of my professors grew concerned about me and recommended that I go to the counseling center. Upon talking to a counselor there, I told them that I suspected that I might have autism spectrum disorder during my senior year of high school, the only year I attend public school. I thought this because I observed the behaviors of autistic students there and realizing I possessed many of them. 

I asked them if there was a way for me to find out. The counselor I spoke to referred me to Cathi, a social worker who works with autistic students on campus. Upon speaking to with me, Cathi could pretty much tell that I did indeed have high-functioning autism (also known as Asperger’s Syndrome); she also believed that I had anxiety disorder. 

Honestly, I didn’t believe her about the anxiety at first, until I looked up the symptoms. Chronic, irrational fears and paranoia are common symptoms of anxiety disorder. I could not believe it. There was a logical reason for my having these ridiculous fears all my life, and there were other people who had the same problem! 

I got my conditions officially diagnosed later that year, and I have since joined a support group for college students with autism, become a vocal advocate for acceptance, and learned to love myself a lot more since I understand my brain now. 

My most recent challenge involving my mental health was during my the first semester of my sophomore year of college. I moved in with one of my aunts because she lived close to my college, and she offered cheap rent for a bedroom and my own bathroom. 

I have learned throughout my life, that I am horrible with transitions. Starting a new school year and adjusting to living in a new environment was not kind on my anxiety. It got so bad that I started having panic attacks. I was constantly dreading my next bad day, which made it hard to function even on my good days. 

Cathi suggested I think about anxiety medication. My dad was dead-set against it because he had heard and seen so many bad things about psychological medications. Eventually, after a family session with Cathi, my parents hesitantly agreed to let me try it. My doctor initially tried to prescribe my Prozac, but my dad said, "Hell no." 

After discussion with my doctor and my father, I was prescribed Lexipro, and that stuff has been a God-send. I didn't know a world existed where your mind didn't race all the time and over-think every little detail of your environment. I can now go for walks around my campus without constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure I'm not been followed and go grocery shopping on my own without almost having a panic attack. These may seem like small victories, but even the small victories have a big impact in the course of one's life. 

Conclusion

I wouldn't be here today without God's intervention and the loving support of my parents and therapist. I highly recommend anyone who is struggling with fears or feelings they don't understand seeks out a therapist and a loving person you can confide your troubles in. 

Thank you for reading! 

Review: RWBY Volume 6 Soundtrack

Hello everyone! 

The soundtrack for the sixth season of my absolute favorite show, Roosterteeth's hit web series RWBY, dropped on iTunes the other day, and I am so stoked to review it for you today. Note: I will only be addressing the songs with lyrics; I will not be addressing the score.

The soundtrack is written and performed by Jeff Williams, with vocals by his magical daughter Casey Lee Williams and guest appearance by returning artist Lamar Hall and RWBY newbies Adrienne Cowan, the Hitpoints, Kairi, and Heavenview. The album features eight new songs, one acoustic cover of the Volume 4 song, "Armed and Ready," and two remix versions of Volume 5 songs, "The Triumph" and "Path to Isolation." Below, I will rank the songs in order of how much I like them (at least at the moment, I'm sure my rankings will change over time). Afterwards, I will discuss a little bit about each song. These are just my opinions; any differing opinions are also valid.

Rankings

1. Nevermore

I feel like this song should go next to Lionize in the order of the soundtrack (even though it doesn't). It basically picks up where Lionize left off, but from Blake and Yang's perspective. It's a song about two powerful women freeing themselves of the man that has caused them so much pain. I also appreciate that the lyrics acknowledge that Adam wasn't always evil, but rather was consumed by hate and spite. Even though I think Adam was a rotten, abusive piece of crap, it is a good reminder that he wasn't always that way.

2. Lionize

I have a penchant for the villain songs, and this piece about Adam is no different. It shows viewers how Adam thinks, gives us a glimpse into his life before Volume 1, and shows what led to his eventual downfall.

3. Indomitable

I think this song is beautiful. The lyrics enchanting, and Casey's vocals are haunting. It is a beautiful tribute to late show creator Monty Oum, and I loved the song's use in (I believe––it's been a few months) Volume 6, Episode 13 "Our Way," when Ruby uses her silver eyes.

4. One Thing

I love this song and all it represents. Neo is a very intriguing character to me, especially since she is mute. This song, in essence, gives her a voice. Though, it doesn't reveal much about her past, other than she had a different name before joining forces with Roman Torchwick. It does call into question how easily she allied with Cinder though, since she was pretty dead set on murder in this song.

5. Miracle

This song reminds me a lot of Volume 5's "Triumph," but a little more interesting. I like its reference to prayer, even though RWBY has really no true religious leanings. I mean, there are gods in the show, but I don't think they can really be considered that since they are arrogant pieces of garbage. "Miracle" continues RWBY's theme of holding onto hope even when there seems to be none.

6. Path to Isolation (Heavenview Remix)

I usually hate the synthesizer-filled remixes that Jeff Williams tags onto the ends of RWBY soundtracks, but this one really works. I'm not overly fond of the original version of this song, because I feel like it just addresses things that have already been beaten to death about Weiss's past; also, it sounds very similar to every other Weiss song in Williams's collection. Adding synthesizer and significantly slowing down the lyrics really breathes new life into a rather dull song.

7. Forever Fall

This song is cute. I didn't think it was really anything special, but it was a nice bit of closure for Jaune and his feeling for the late Pyrrha. Admittedly, the scene it was played in did almost have me in tear though.

8. Rising

Musically, "Rising" is a nice song; lyrically, it is rather lacking. There is very little tie-back to the volume it is the theme for, unlike the other volumes' themes. It is probably my least favorite of the RWBY themes to date. Maybe information revealed in future volumes will make me like it more, but for now it is just kinda meh.

9. Big Metal Shoe

There's nothing really wrong with this song, it's just not really my cup of tea. The abundant fairy tale reference within it feel more forced that usual. Also, I was not a fan of Caroline Cordovan, on whom this song is based. Like "Rising," it's kind of meh to me.

10. The Triumph (Kairi Remix)

The synthesizer put into to this song neither added to or took away from this song. Like "Rising," "The Triumph" is kinda meh, so it's good, just not my cup of tea.

11. Armed and Ready Acoustic

This song was a mistake, in my opinion. I like "Armed and Ready," but I do not think the fast-paced, in-your-face lyrics go well with a backing track played mainly on the ukulele. The violin sounds nice, but the ukulele just sounds ridiculous and painful.

Conclusion

So, those are my thoughts on the RWBY Volume 6 soundtrack. What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!

Character Profile: L from Death Note

Hello everyone! 

Today I will be talking about one of my favorite fictional characters of all time: L Lawliet, the world's greatest detective from the manga/anime/movie/etc. series Death Note!

L's first true anime appearance

Profile

Alias: L

True Names: L Lawliet

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Ethnicity: 1/4 Japanese, 1/4 English, 1/4 Russia, 1/4 French or Italian.

Date of Birth: October 31, 1979 (manga), 1982 (anime)

Age: 22 (Death Note: Another Note––the prequel novel), 24-25 (every other version).

Height: 5' 10, 1/2' (Only an inch and a half taller than the caucasian average, which most people seem to forget. Sorry, bit of a pet-peeve of mine. Fan fiction writers constantly call him tall; he's not that tall, considering he's 3/4 caucasian.)

Weight: 110lbs.

Actors Ranked 
(This list only includes actors I have watched. The full list available on the Death Note Wiki.)

Kappei Yamaguchi: the original Japanese voice actor in the anime. I watched the English dub, so I don't have much to say about him, but I wanted to note him since he's the original voice actor.

Alessandro Juliani: voiced L in the English dubs of the anime and three of the Japanese movies: Death Note (2006), Death Note II: the Last Name, and L Change the WorLd.

Juliani's best moments: His inclusion of the line, "Yes, that would be dark" in response to Misa saying, "I couldn't live in a world without Light." Bonus: the line, "This is my first time babysitting; I don't think it's going very well" from L Change the WorLd dub.

Kenichi Matsuyama: played L in the three Japanese live action movies listed above. He also did the Japanese voice of Gelus in the original anime.

Best moments: He has so many; I don't know which to pick! Let's say how cute and friendly he is in behind-the-scenes videos, because I mostly watch his movies dubbed. Because of this, what I think of as his best lines are actually Juliani's. In the behind-the-scenes videos, Matsuyama is always bowing to people in an adorable way and is cute with his child co-stars from L Change the WorLd.

Kento Yamazaki: portrayed L in the Japanese TV drama. His is probably my favorite interpretation of L. I was wary about the changes the drama made, but they actually worked. Yamazaki plays L much more trickster-like and has a sadistic streak that his other incarnations lack, which makes him much more obviously "slightly evil."

Best moments: probably when he purposely directs Light into a wall while directing him through the Yotsuba headquarters. Another option would be his serious conversation with Near while they put together a puzzle.

Jarrod Spector: provides L's singing voice on the English demo album for Death Note: the Musical.

Best moments: Spector's duets with Jeremy Jordan's Light are phenomenal. Spector hits high notes that give me chills.

Best Literary Moments 

L has a few hilarious moments that never made the transition from page to screen because they are from spin-off novels or one-shots. So, here are a couple of my favorite L moments that never got adapted.

L Change the WorLd (novelization): L and his companions, Agent Suruga and Maki, are trying to sneaking through government check-points, and they do this by disguising as a family on a road trip. This entire scene is hilarious, but the highlight is that L wears a feminine wig and lipstick and continually weirds out Suruga by calling him "honey" repeatedly. I often find this scene popping into my head randomly, and I crack up every time.

Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Case: L makes one in-person appearance to Naomi Misora in this novel, and it is probably one of the funniest scenes he's been featured in. According to the novel, Naomi is the one who introduces him to the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. L does some research on his own but decides he needs to see it in person at least once.

He approaches Naomi outside a subway station and tries to give her a hug. Because she has no idea who he is, she defends herself and sends him flying down a flight of stairs. I was laughing for five straight minutes when I first read this.

Best Fan Fictions Featuring the L

Some of the best incarnations of L I have seen actually come from fan fictions I have read on Wattpad. To honor these writers awesome work, check out these fantastic stories!

Death Note: Game Over (An AU fanfiction) by Thrudi –– follows the story of how Death Note could have ended if the Shinigami King decided to bring L back to life to finish the Kira Case. Thrudi also has a couple clever one-shots that you should check out if you like Game Over. Link to "Game Over"

Highlight: This story contains the best scene of psychological torture I have every read.

Bean by LxNaomi –– shows what Death Note could be like if L had a little son named Bean. Link to "Bean"

Highlight: Bean's origin was done really tastefully (which is unusual), and Bean is so freaking cute!

L's Sister (Death Note Fan-Fic) by pokenaruto58 –– this was the story that got me reading Death Note fan fiction in the first place. Inserts the author's OC, Clare Lawliet, into the Death Note story with humorous results. Link to "L's Sister"

Highlight: Clare asks L what like-liking someone means, and L chokes on a glass of water he was drinking.

Wammy's House by Bladrinito –– this story is set in an alternate universe were Near, Mello, and Matt help L and Naomi Misora solve the Los Angeles BB Murder Case. Link to "Wammy's House"

Highlight: Mello and Matt's endless shenanigans.

At the Heart of Justice by LxNaomi –– Yes, LxNaomi has two entries on this list. This one is an alternate universe where the Kira Case never happens, and L hires Naomi to work with him personally and act as his eyes in the field. I usually try to avoid romance fan fictions (because there are far too many R-rated ones), but this one is a good rated romance. Link to "At the Heart of Justice"

Highlight: Contains the most awesome and intense stabbing scene I have ever read.

Conclusion

That's my character profile and favorite moments for L Lawliet. Let me know what your favorite L moments are in the comments. Thank you for reading!