|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 10:05 pm
erikakaiser As much as I love to write, I am unfortunately a painful procrastinator. On top of that, my motivation and inspiration to write comes in short bursts, which can be extremely irritating at times. Hey, that's me as well. I'll get maybe a page down and then totally lose what I was working for. It's definitely not a good thing that my muse lives in the attic, and therefor has access to his bedroom stright through the ceiling of the computer room. Makes for a hasty retreat. My favorite form of abuse or torture...is currently a draw between physically slicing someone open, or making painful memories resurface and cause the character to go into fits. "Convulse" is my favorite word, after all, in all forms. And "staunch"; as in "to staunch the bleeding"... xd
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 11:06 pm
Humm .. my characters get physically wounded, but I tend to go for the mental and emotional type of hurt more. Well, and leaving Jory at the edge of death. For some odd reason I like having characters passed out and completely vulnerable. Jory's my favorite, much to his charign. He is one of my best fighters, but he gets targeted because he is a group leader, and every now and then he just has horrible luck.
Other characters have teased him over this. Jory tends to get annoyed by it due to the truth behind it.
Right now I'm horribly procrastinating as well. I was going to write today ... really I was!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 10:49 am
Hello everyone! *bounces*
I'm Sugar, although I occasionally go by the name "Flare".
I'll be 15 in mid-December, and I've been abusing characters for roughly two years now.
My first story, I actually started abusing myself. It was a romance, and the antagonist fell for me when he arrived at the door of my Valentine's Day party. Very cliche.
My other, soon-to-be-abused, characters are already in the other support group. Feel free to go and introduce yourself, and you might want to explain to them what's going on.
My hobbies include writing and webpage design.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 8:33 pm
Emotional torment is nice and all, but I've begun to shy away from it since it can evolve into an angst problem, as I learned in Deana's fanfic "Tears of a Soul". If the character's going to angst every few paragraphs, he could at least come up with new things to say while he's angsting.That is also my current fear for Vitae's story. It centers so much around what he's gone through in his past and in his present that I'm afraid it will drown out the feeble plot I currently have... Still, emotional torment is fun, especially when a character simply doesn't know how to deal with the emotions he's feeling. It's like when my main character from another story dies. Everybody is really upset, but they start to get on with their lives after awhile. The exception is the character's fiancee, a young king, who at the time of her death (or should I say "murder") is trying to make negotiations with a warring nation, and thus pushes away his grief so he can deal with it later. Once he gets home, however, he becomes nearly useless; he just lays in bed all day sobbing so hard he can scarcely move otherwise. It's beautiful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 9:51 pm
Raincrow Emotional torment is nice and all, but I've begun to shy away from it since it can evolve into an angst problem, as I learned in Deana's fanfic "Tears of a Soul". If the character's going to angst every few paragraphs, he could at least come up with new things to say while he's angsting.That is also my current fear for Vitae's story. It centers so much around what he's gone through in his past and in his present that I'm afraid it will drown out the feeble plot I currently have... Still, emotional torment is fun, especially when a character simply doesn't know how to deal with the emotions he's feeling. It's like when my main character from another story dies. Everybody is really upset, but they start to get on with their lives after awhile. The exception is the character's fiancee, a young king, who at the time of her death (or should I say "murder") is trying to make negotiations with a warring nation, and thus pushes away his grief so he can deal with it later. Once he gets home, however, he becomes nearly useless; he just lays in bed all day sobbing so hard he can scarcely move otherwise. It's beautiful. If done properly though, I think angst can work out alright. Some of my characters have pretty horrible pasts, but they are just that, their pasts. Every now and then they come up but for the most part my characters tend to focus on present challenges instead. Jory had an absolutely horrible life as a human and he's been 'broken' if you will once. However he's recovered and for the most part he pushes it aside. He has a base to run and a job to do. He doesn't have time to be angsty. Every now and then he just breaks down though. It's always quiet, but every now and then he does weep, just because he needs to vent. Thing is, he hates doing it and considers it a sign of weakness. biggrin Thistle is my best example of someone with an angsty past who doesn't show it. She heard her parents and brother being killed by vampires and she was sent away to live in an orphanage because of it. She still has nighmares about it, but other than that she acts extremely normal, and she's pretty cheerful overall. For some odd reason she seems to like vampires though. She's securely attached herself to Vyka, as well as another vampire named James in the story. James looks somewhat like her brother though, so that makes sense in it's own way. She's fun because she makes people forget they're angsty for a while.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 12:56 am
I love the name James! For me, it's like J.K. Rowling's references to the number twelve. My grandfather's name was James, my darling werewolf! brother's middle name is James, I have an Uncle James, a Cousin James, my main character's brother is named Peregrine James Arenna (Wandering Userper of the Violet Rose sweatdrop ), and I intend to name my firstborn son Sairius James. Now that I've got that off my chest...
I'm trying to rein in the urge to make Vitae super-angsty. Still, with all the crud he's gone through, it's hard to make him as emotion-proof as I originally intended him to be. In my mind I can almost see him slowly breaking down... There's only one character who understands him, who is unfortunately a woman. (NO ROMANCE!!! >< I am fighting the Vitae/Sabine ideas with all my might!) She's the only one who ever has the guts to ask him anything about himself, though I think one of the other girls will try towards the end... Anyway, Sabine is the only one who asks him things or shows interest in his thoughts or feelings, so he opens up to her very easily. I'm trying to keep his crying limited to a single scene, though, where he finally breaks down after he's been rescued from Nathan...(this, of course, is all stuff he'll never talk about himself, even in the ACA room...) *it is 2:39am and Raincrow is rambling*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 1:10 am
:nods: Yeah .. Jory breaks down exactly once, after he gets trapped in an illusion and sees his patrol killed and his becoming a vampire by force over again. It had been two and a half centuries since then, and it was extremely painful. Despite that, the woman he loved was still alive and he finds himself missing her and everyone else who had made up his life very much.
This is shortly before Jory gets a new love interest (finally!) and for the first time since then actually realizes that he is capable of having a romance in his life. For the most part he just cuts himself off from that type of relationship entirely. He rationalizes that he doesn't have time, or that they're too risky, and that they're just not realistic. He gets teased about this by a couple of other characters but never takes it seriously.
I can't wait to hook him up, because I've been rooting for the pairing for a looong time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 8:10 am
Vitae breaks down after being kidnapped by a former companion, being emotionally and pysically abused (let every reader decide for himself if he was actually molested), having his emotions stolen, or rather controlled, being forced to think and act in ways he would never dare to even consider, then made to fight his allies. It all goes along with his fear of losing control or losing his humanity. (Oh, wait...he does cry at the very end, but that's only because his soul is injured and he cries without realizing it. Actually, he asks Ciora, "Why am I crying?")
Strider eventually gets a girlfriend, in the most unlikely person...or maybe the most likely? Throughout the entire plot-mapping of Midwinter's Despair (translation: while I was roelplaying the plot of this story with my co...) it seemed that whenever Eva de la Mer turned around, she ran into Strider. And mages_shade said, "Wouldn't it be funny if those two got together...?" They hated each other for awhile, because Eva inadvertantly insulted Strider for being of a certain nationality, and Strider was getting all pissed off just because Eva was there, and then suddenly they're in love. Funny how that happens. Then years later there's this scene where Strider is sweeping the floor of the HQ kitchen while talking to some other guy, and all of the sudden this guy asks Strider where he got such a nice gold ring. And Strider says, "Oh. It's just my wedding ring." Turns out, he and Eva got married a year or two after they met and never told anybody. whee
Vitae isn't capable of love. I just have to keep telling myself that. He can't handle it. He's meant to be alone. Dunno why. Just makes it easier to maintain his character that way, to maintain what small iota of selfishness he posesses. He does kiss Yinda, but that was completely meaningless, and intended to somehow inconspicuously hide her from the passing guards... Slash fans would say there's something between Vitae and Nathan, but, er...<< They were supposed to be straight... Sabine is probably in love with him, but I have to keep telling myself that she's only interested in the current status of his health. (She's, in a sense, his doctor.)
Don't ask why your local long-winded abuser is currently avoiding romance like the plague.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 2:00 pm
In Abomination Jory breaks character and ends up crying in the arms of a former enemy. He's pushed far too far though. He's been captured by enemies, blinded, weakened and tortured for over a month, with nothing but the prospect of a horrible death in front of him. His allies believe he is dead and he knows there's no way out. It's right after his eyes heal enough that he can see, and he realizes that there's something seriously wrong with him. His healing abilities aren't working properly and his night vision isn't working like it should. He doesn't know what's going on and he's terrified. Other than the former enemy, Cathryn, the only one who knows where he is is Blaire. Blaire is a vampire slayer and he specifically hates Jory quite passionately. Blaire just goes completely evil ... he scares me actually because when Blaire is enraged he can and will do anything. Not someone you want as an enemy... (I'm insanely proud of the scene, despite the fact that it is quite evil.. sweatdrop )
Humm.. I've got a couple of characters I just don't see as ever getting together with someone. Zachary for one, and Gabriel for another. Humm .. probably Kannath as well. It's not that Zachary's not capable, but I think he's meant to be an eternal bachelor and he's just not interested in romance. Gabe .. he's too isolated. Plus he antagonises too many people. Other than his fledgelings he doesn't have contact with other vampires, and he's too much of a gentleman to take advantage of any feelings they might have for him. Kannath is .. Kannath. :shrugs:
Characters who are strictly platonic are fun at times. I think you need a couple of them because not everyone falls madly and gets hooked up. Certainly, that's not how it happens in real life.
Avoiding romance altogether though .. that seems a bit odd.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 2:36 pm
That's exactly why I'm avoiding romance; doing so is odd. All my life, so-and-so hooks up with so-and-so; this-person likes this-person, but this-person is really in love with this-person, and this-person hates this-person so it'll never work out. I am soooo tired of it all... After all the mush I've written over the years, I just want to write about a character who absolutely will not fall in love.
Come to think, I have another story kind of like that... A girl in a city of Elves, companion to a Dark Elf, three Wood Elves, and a Mountain Elf (whom she originally fears), and keeping each and every relationship with them platonic because she has an intended back home... stressed THAT was just plain cruel. << But what was more cruel was when one of the Elves followed her home and insisted on living at the HQ with her and her friends, inculing her intended...oi vey.
Platonic friendships are fun, especially when it comes to male characters. But I always need to throw in a scene for the slashers, to make them do a double-take and go, "Waaaait a minute...^.^" Vitae and Nathan were supposed to end up as platonic friends, but those two...eesh, they just want to write their own slash! So I severely separated them. I can't see how they'll ever be close after what I do to them... But, who knows. If Nathan can overcome his guilt, it'll be no problem, since Vitae doesn't really have a problem with getting over stuff and letting go...eventually.
...No. They'll never be friends...*is very depressed now because of what she's done* I'll just have to make Nathan and Jericho like brothers then! ^__^ Except...Jericho doesn't even think twice about trying to kill Nathan...*whimpers* Human relations are so messed up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 4:53 pm
Ah. I wish that I had the writing abilities to actually get a lot of the ideas from my head down, but I seemingly don't. I know what I have to do to fix that, too. I've heard it so many times before. ' Lower your standards '. But I can't seem to. I'm far to perfectionistic. I gotta kill that habit.
Anyway. I find romance to be quite hard, and yet fun to do at the same time. I personally, being quite a romantic myself, can whip it out rather easily, it just never works the way I want it to. I always find it frusterating when I have a plan for certain characters and they go and ruin it by killing each other. sweatdrop In one of my stories, ( the one in which Ruana is the star ), I had two characters who were intentionally meant to get together, but as the story went on, they ended up haitng each other, and then one of them killed the other. I was quite sad. But happy at the same time, because as the characters grew, I began liking one over the other. So maybe it was a touch intentional. Just a touch.
I find that having every character being romantic can be corny, and having none is just not realistic. It just doesn't work that way. People fall in love, whether they want to or not. Then I have purely platonic characters, such as Ruana, who I doubt will ever fall truly in love, but instead they love everybody equally.
It's a very odd balance that's very hard to keep, now that I think about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:44 pm
I swear characters have a way of getting themselves into new trouble almost as much as they enjoy wreaking a merry havoc with your intended plot.
Jory, Vyka and Thistle all did drastically different things than I'd intended them to. Jory was my planned villain, until I learned of his past and what his true motivations were, and Thistle was just randomly introduced and ran around the plot making her own contributions. Vyka ... he was intended to be a minor character, and someone who dropped in once as background then disappeared. He turned out getting himself deeply entangled with the plot and ultimately being one of the three biggest characters.
With shared characters, romance seems kind of inevitable. Especially if you write for long enough. Humm .. I haven't paired that many off though all in all, I don't think.. *tics them off on her fingers* Jory and Myra, Scott and Delilah, Cathryn and Blaire, Iris and Kit, umm .. Vyka and Serena, and Iria and ninja someone, eventually. Actually Jory was paired with Kate but that was a flashback so it doesn't seem to count for as much. None of the relationships were at first planned, but they came up and they worked extremely well.
Of course, of these relationships, two ended when one of the two died (Vyka & Serena, Jory and Kate), and one is a horribly abusive relationship which is eventually abandoned after one of them finally snaps (Scott and Delilah). Meghan and Matt would have paired up eventually, if Matt hadn't been killed. Those two would have been fun to watch as a couple.
smile Every now and then I manage a relationship that works. Myra and Jory have one of the more touching ones, because Myra falls hopelessly for him but doesn't think she has a shot so she lets it sit, untouched for quite a while before she finally fesses up and realizes that he feels the same way.
James is one of my favorite platonic characters. It's not that he's incapable of love, he just has no real idea how to go about it. sweatdrop It's rather endearing actually.
..... and I just used like a dozen names that none of you recognize. Sorry! sweatdrop
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:33 pm
Well, I guess I'm not so much avoiding romance as nipping it in the bud. I think that's how I would put it. Perhaps Ciora has a thing for Vitae, but he would never notice, and something in his brain would probably break at the concept of anybody loving him anyway. I do not want Sabine to like Vitae, because it would be too easy for him to "like" her back, and he's supposed to be incapable of love. That, and I can't quite get down just how often Sabine and Ciora switch places. (They look the same and may or may not switch off to travel with the party. The party does know the difference between the two, though.) Nathan is a smart-mouth would-be charmer, if Yinda didn't keep screwing up his chances at getting a girl. Jericho is somewhere between a womanizer and a ladies' man. Wenches want him. Leste is the nonromantic who would end up bashing somebody over the head if they ever went starry-eyed. Yinda is, to all intents and purposes, fully platonic; she looks to just about everyone as an older sibling, though she feels the need to "look out for" Vitae. She may actually refer to Jericho as "bro" from time to time...*thinking occurs*
I just have to keep everyone from falling for Vitae.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:35 pm
Terradi, you use the name Delilah! I was just thinking this morning of how nobody wants to use that name because of the Delilah in the Bible. I think that's really neat. I really like the name Delilah.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:12 am
Raincrow Terradi, you use the name Delilah! I was just thinking this morning of how nobody wants to use that name because of the Delilah in the Bible. I think that's really neat. I really like the name Delilah. It was just too ironic to resist. My Delilah is an Egyptian vampire woman who is both utterly destructive and on a quest for revenge. Her ultimate aim is to destroy a slayer family line down to the last, with torture and mayhem along the way. Her original name is Nefer-ka, which means beautiful soul. Her love who eventually leaves her is Scott, who just puts up with tremendous amounts of abuse in hopes that Delilah will one day change back to the sweet girl he fell in love with. He gives up on her before that happens though. Delilah's sidekick and buddy is Charity, who is perhaps more cruel, and is a bit of a slut. She enjoys abusing men with a few rare exceptions ... for the most part she uses them then kills them. Charity runs a vampire base and ultimately is out to cause as much chaos as possible and promote her own ends in whatever way she can. ^^ My younger sister chose out the name Delilah. She designed the look and I made Delilah's personality and brought her into a story.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
