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Original Story List
I finally composed a list of all my major stories, and the characters in them, so that I could figure out what to write easier when I have an idea and trying to find out who would be best to do it for.
The Spymaster of Jaune
A conspiracy to kill Prince Domaric arises in the land of Jaune, and his guardian, Lierin, doesn't believe in conspiracies. The story covers how she has to learn to believe in them, and realizes that not everything is as it seems.
Characters: Lierin the devout Shield, plus Medion, Cith, and Sade liars and secret agents all; Queen Ysbell, Prince Consort Hesian, Prince Domaric, Crown Princess Ariella; and the other Shields: Gillis, Bianca, Selece, Harlan, and Dantares. The major villain is Talia, along with her nameless and mostly unseen boss.
Subsequent stories will continue to involve most of them, plus the Annyri, leader of the cult that substitutes for religion in Jaune, and other countries, grr argh Jason.
Transient Paths
A lonely aging warrior dies delivering a message, and Kourin and Riole and their unfortunate charge Ayrios get dragged along for the ride. The ride takes them into a parallel mirror universe. Er, yes.
Characters: Kourin and Riole the mercenaries, Ayrios the mage-priest charge; cultural hero Tilmoth both old and young, cultural faux hero Braden young, and the evil mage-priest Gaidas. Also featuring special appearances by Ace and Marin, much older characters of mine.
Prophets and Liars
The prophecy says that there will be born two boys with one soul between them: one possessing ultimate compassion and no logic, and the other possessing ultimate logic and no compassion. Unless they are united into one soul by the girl who has no soul at all, the world will be destroyed -- but who is to say which boy lives and which one dies?
Characters: Honor the Soulless Wonder, and Dyral the Heartless Wonder, and Tam the Brainless Wonder. Also starring Vianyn, Dyral's cousin and fiancee, and Aubonne Big Long Name Goes Here IV, Tam's self-appointed guardian. Chrysan is the name of Dyral's brother, must remember that. Zadaire is the name of the Waterborn chieftain who almost gets them all killed in spite of not wanting to.
Fairy Tales
Everyone knows magic is just a fairy tale. And assassins like Niall kill magic-users to keep it that way. But in spite of the hardcore gritty future sci-fi setting, this story is about the source of magic, and what happens when the balance is forgotten.
Characters: Niall, aka Solid Snake; Delsey, his invisible friend; the unfortunately-named hackers, Claire and Klein, who are married but not necessarily friends; and Tierney, the one who actually leaves the apartment and talks to people. Rachel Melanthe is their employer and a thinly-disguised mage herself (it's okay, though. if they killed her, no more paychecks) and her rival is Caspar Hadane, who has Jirair and Lucine, a pair much like Niall and Delsey -- assassin, and impossible friend.
Arwan the Unfortunate
Arwan isn't actually terribly unfortunate... he's just an asshole. He glides his way through life because he's such a manipulative jerk, but then something unfortunate happens: he falls in love at first encounter with a woman who he later realizes is actually a magic talking sword. Hilarity doesn't really ensue, but oh well.
Characters: Arwan, his Lady, Farranth, and Farranth's owner, the Great Hero Lionel. Also Raelle the rebel girl, Tristan the NINJA, and a ratlike wizard called Redvare. Plus two unnamed evil people, a pathological LIAR talking sword apparently named Wheel, and Alexandrei, who isn't really a villain.
Other Stories
Raine and Destine. Mustn't forget about them, because I think they're shiny.
Gustave flighty spazzy rich dude, Carlotta the fun happy sister, Laurel the walking plot device, and Sebastian the tagalong with Laurel who is actually much more of a character than she is. Generic European Country, Generic 1800s Esque Time Period, faeries and dreamer aristocrats.
Braden, Danae, and Selinna the Mary Sue princess; Farando the strategist, Elcary the gullible berserker, and Rally the blackmailing scout. Plus Tilmoth and some random Toran people.
Dominick the New Guy, Vitale the Sulky Guy, and Gracilia the Businesslike Girl, with Benedict as everybody's favorite father-figure who just happens to be probably criminally insane. Along with Dominick-tachi come the rest of my Chicago people, of whom there are....... many. The most important are in a sort of parallel story -- Jillia, Sasha, Vadim, Marilyn, Theo, and Benedict again, playing the villain this time.
Dayn the diplomatic mercenary (!!) and his pet ice elf, whose name is long-gone into the annals of memory despite me wanting to write for him.
Mostly discarded characters: the twins Ace and Marin, Taysin and Jaylin the brothers and I still do love Sin's story; Salafi. Salafi DESPERATELY needs a story, he's very sad without one. I... don't suppose anyone has a use for a godly-powerful djinn?
Things I've Noticed About My Writing:
--I very rarely have Terribly Attractive main characters. Lir is borderline pretty, Kourin is plain, and Honor is pretty but so terribly creepy nobody notices. Niall and Delsey are normal at best, and Arwan is just a jerk, somewhat good-looking, but you'd see better in the average high school. Raine is pretty in the normal way, Gustave is Handsome but also a putz, Danae is gorgeous but she has to be because that's part of how she makes her living, and Dominick is boyishly good-looking. Jillia is gorgeous, Benedict is handsome, Laurel is stunning, Rachel is sharp, Vianyn and Dyral are both physically perfect, but... they're not the main characters, usually.
--I very rarely make Terribly Powerful main characters. Kourin and Lierin have no magic at all, just sword skill; other main characters with no magic in universes that allow magic are Gustave, Danae, Niall, and Arwan. Meanwhile, Honor and Jillia are both witches, but that's all they have -- Raine has a very odd sort of magic that's useless if she can't move. On the other hand, people like Salafi commonly pop up here who have Vast Power, or people like Gaidas and Ayrios on the SIDES of Kourin's story, and Benedict. They're just not the main focus. The main focus is always on the main character, who is Not Powerful. I wonder if I can make a Terribly Powerful main character?
--My more irritable main characters are almost always gratuitously irritable, like me. They almost NEVER want to be comforted or convinced that things aren't as bad as they look, they just want to be patted and told "Wow, that's rough, poor you." That makes them feel better. Attempts to fix things for them just gets the irritated reaction, "Boy, it's easy from where YOU'RE sitting, isn't it?" Sasha in particular wants to stab people for this.
Of course I also have characters who are honestly irritable and just hate everybody, and I also have characters who are near-impossible to irritate. But there you go.
--I can't think of any particular character trends, except maybe practicality. Is this a weak point of mine -- DO I have trends, like almost all of my female characters are bossy, or almost all of my male characters are pleasant, or what? I notice lots of trends in OTHER people's characters, but I don't see any in my own. That makes me nervous. I'm sure I don't manage to be THAT original THAT consistently.
--I have very few romantic fluffy things. I know, because I wanted to write one for Valentine's Day, and for the life of me I couldn't think of who to write for. I have characters in romantic relationships, but most of them are only half mine, and they're not as easy to get inspired for without actual interaction. The grand total of relationships in actual stories:
Tilmoth/Kourin, with no happiness until post-story
Zadaire/Honor, very very slow in developing on her half
Dyral/Vianyn, very very slow in developing on his half (hey, that missing-the-emotions-from-the-soul thing is crippling in relationships)
Tam-Aubonne, which will never happen due to Bon being dead for many centuries now
Niall/Delsey, not romantic
Klein/Claire, possibly anti-romantic
Arwan/Farranth, she's a SWORD, eww
Destine/Raine, full of confused potential homicide
Gustave/Sebastian, very very slow in developing for both of them, twits
Braden/Danae, doesn't exist until post-story
...nyargh. I have no fluff!
But at least I'm not deficient as a writer anymore. My first character ever, an RP character named Savin (!!), scored a 61 on the Mary Sue Litmus Test. YES! I DID at one point have a Mary Sue! I never wrote about her, but still. I feel enriched.
The Spymaster of Jaune
A conspiracy to kill Prince Domaric arises in the land of Jaune, and his guardian, Lierin, doesn't believe in conspiracies. The story covers how she has to learn to believe in them, and realizes that not everything is as it seems.
Characters: Lierin the devout Shield, plus Medion, Cith, and Sade liars and secret agents all; Queen Ysbell, Prince Consort Hesian, Prince Domaric, Crown Princess Ariella; and the other Shields: Gillis, Bianca, Selece, Harlan, and Dantares. The major villain is Talia, along with her nameless and mostly unseen boss.
Subsequent stories will continue to involve most of them, plus the Annyri, leader of the cult that substitutes for religion in Jaune, and other countries, grr argh Jason.
Transient Paths
A lonely aging warrior dies delivering a message, and Kourin and Riole and their unfortunate charge Ayrios get dragged along for the ride. The ride takes them into a parallel mirror universe. Er, yes.
Characters: Kourin and Riole the mercenaries, Ayrios the mage-priest charge; cultural hero Tilmoth both old and young, cultural faux hero Braden young, and the evil mage-priest Gaidas. Also featuring special appearances by Ace and Marin, much older characters of mine.
Prophets and Liars
The prophecy says that there will be born two boys with one soul between them: one possessing ultimate compassion and no logic, and the other possessing ultimate logic and no compassion. Unless they are united into one soul by the girl who has no soul at all, the world will be destroyed -- but who is to say which boy lives and which one dies?
Characters: Honor the Soulless Wonder, and Dyral the Heartless Wonder, and Tam the Brainless Wonder. Also starring Vianyn, Dyral's cousin and fiancee, and Aubonne Big Long Name Goes Here IV, Tam's self-appointed guardian. Chrysan is the name of Dyral's brother, must remember that. Zadaire is the name of the Waterborn chieftain who almost gets them all killed in spite of not wanting to.
Fairy Tales
Everyone knows magic is just a fairy tale. And assassins like Niall kill magic-users to keep it that way. But in spite of the hardcore gritty future sci-fi setting, this story is about the source of magic, and what happens when the balance is forgotten.
Characters: Niall, aka Solid Snake; Delsey, his invisible friend; the unfortunately-named hackers, Claire and Klein, who are married but not necessarily friends; and Tierney, the one who actually leaves the apartment and talks to people. Rachel Melanthe is their employer and a thinly-disguised mage herself (it's okay, though. if they killed her, no more paychecks) and her rival is Caspar Hadane, who has Jirair and Lucine, a pair much like Niall and Delsey -- assassin, and impossible friend.
Arwan the Unfortunate
Arwan isn't actually terribly unfortunate... he's just an asshole. He glides his way through life because he's such a manipulative jerk, but then something unfortunate happens: he falls in love at first encounter with a woman who he later realizes is actually a magic talking sword. Hilarity doesn't really ensue, but oh well.
Characters: Arwan, his Lady, Farranth, and Farranth's owner, the Great Hero Lionel. Also Raelle the rebel girl, Tristan the NINJA, and a ratlike wizard called Redvare. Plus two unnamed evil people, a pathological LIAR talking sword apparently named Wheel, and Alexandrei, who isn't really a villain.
Other Stories
Raine and Destine. Mustn't forget about them, because I think they're shiny.
Gustave flighty spazzy rich dude, Carlotta the fun happy sister, Laurel the walking plot device, and Sebastian the tagalong with Laurel who is actually much more of a character than she is. Generic European Country, Generic 1800s Esque Time Period, faeries and dreamer aristocrats.
Braden, Danae, and Selinna the Mary Sue princess; Farando the strategist, Elcary the gullible berserker, and Rally the blackmailing scout. Plus Tilmoth and some random Toran people.
Dominick the New Guy, Vitale the Sulky Guy, and Gracilia the Businesslike Girl, with Benedict as everybody's favorite father-figure who just happens to be probably criminally insane. Along with Dominick-tachi come the rest of my Chicago people, of whom there are....... many. The most important are in a sort of parallel story -- Jillia, Sasha, Vadim, Marilyn, Theo, and Benedict again, playing the villain this time.
Dayn the diplomatic mercenary (!!) and his pet ice elf, whose name is long-gone into the annals of memory despite me wanting to write for him.
Mostly discarded characters: the twins Ace and Marin, Taysin and Jaylin the brothers and I still do love Sin's story; Salafi. Salafi DESPERATELY needs a story, he's very sad without one. I... don't suppose anyone has a use for a godly-powerful djinn?
Things I've Noticed About My Writing:
--I very rarely have Terribly Attractive main characters. Lir is borderline pretty, Kourin is plain, and Honor is pretty but so terribly creepy nobody notices. Niall and Delsey are normal at best, and Arwan is just a jerk, somewhat good-looking, but you'd see better in the average high school. Raine is pretty in the normal way, Gustave is Handsome but also a putz, Danae is gorgeous but she has to be because that's part of how she makes her living, and Dominick is boyishly good-looking. Jillia is gorgeous, Benedict is handsome, Laurel is stunning, Rachel is sharp, Vianyn and Dyral are both physically perfect, but... they're not the main characters, usually.
--I very rarely make Terribly Powerful main characters. Kourin and Lierin have no magic at all, just sword skill; other main characters with no magic in universes that allow magic are Gustave, Danae, Niall, and Arwan. Meanwhile, Honor and Jillia are both witches, but that's all they have -- Raine has a very odd sort of magic that's useless if she can't move. On the other hand, people like Salafi commonly pop up here who have Vast Power, or people like Gaidas and Ayrios on the SIDES of Kourin's story, and Benedict. They're just not the main focus. The main focus is always on the main character, who is Not Powerful. I wonder if I can make a Terribly Powerful main character?
--My more irritable main characters are almost always gratuitously irritable, like me. They almost NEVER want to be comforted or convinced that things aren't as bad as they look, they just want to be patted and told "Wow, that's rough, poor you." That makes them feel better. Attempts to fix things for them just gets the irritated reaction, "Boy, it's easy from where YOU'RE sitting, isn't it?" Sasha in particular wants to stab people for this.
Of course I also have characters who are honestly irritable and just hate everybody, and I also have characters who are near-impossible to irritate. But there you go.
--I can't think of any particular character trends, except maybe practicality. Is this a weak point of mine -- DO I have trends, like almost all of my female characters are bossy, or almost all of my male characters are pleasant, or what? I notice lots of trends in OTHER people's characters, but I don't see any in my own. That makes me nervous. I'm sure I don't manage to be THAT original THAT consistently.
--I have very few romantic fluffy things. I know, because I wanted to write one for Valentine's Day, and for the life of me I couldn't think of who to write for. I have characters in romantic relationships, but most of them are only half mine, and they're not as easy to get inspired for without actual interaction. The grand total of relationships in actual stories:
Tilmoth/Kourin, with no happiness until post-story
Zadaire/Honor, very very slow in developing on her half
Dyral/Vianyn, very very slow in developing on his half (hey, that missing-the-emotions-from-the-soul thing is crippling in relationships)
Tam-Aubonne, which will never happen due to Bon being dead for many centuries now
Niall/Delsey, not romantic
Klein/Claire, possibly anti-romantic
Arwan/Farranth, she's a SWORD, eww
Destine/Raine, full of confused potential homicide
Gustave/Sebastian, very very slow in developing for both of them, twits
Braden/Danae, doesn't exist until post-story
...nyargh. I have no fluff!
But at least I'm not deficient as a writer anymore. My first character ever, an RP character named Savin (!!), scored a 61 on the Mary Sue Litmus Test. YES! I DID at one point have a Mary Sue! I never wrote about her, but still. I feel enriched.
no subject
Your plots are so fascinating and self-contained and... plotty. I'm jealous. Mostly I just take my characters from day to day, and if there are themes it's usually either an accident or the result of years of aimless stewing.
no subject
Rachel Melanthe has your first name (we chose Rachel because the character is evil but the name means "lamb" or some such -- it's an in-joke, we had this one lit class where some dumbass insisted that the lamb in the poem didn't represent Jesus, it represented the EVIL OPPRESSION OF WOMEN or something) but who has your last name? Hadane? He's the only one I think has a last name in here... *squints*
no subject
O Great One, I yearn to be thine disciple~ XD Seriously, though -- am impressed, yesIam. ^^ Argjealousarg~~ But in a good way. ^^