Character Development Thread--Discussion

Not anything important, but there's a site called refsheet that helps you organize your characters! Charahub did that too but it shut down in March, sadly.

I bring this up because I made one for the NCH a while back in case anyone wants more info that I didn't cover, or get to cover in the thread!. Also reccomending this site for everyone who wants to keep track of their characters in their stories.

Now back on the thread.

@Ryuhza and @Pyxo: We need you for Hummingbird!

Edited by Masterofchaos on Apr 16th 2019 at 3:29:57 PM

I should be able to work on writing tonight. May take a bit of time though.

this place needs me here

Quick note, in case the Shout-Out didn't make it clear — if Aynara really does have an intuitive grasp of game theory, she should be able to follow it to easily figure out what Oseru is implying: the smartest thing to do with an alien species is to exterminate it without hesitation or mercy, and that if the Mayatans are not genocidal, they are Too Dumb to Live and humanity should wipe them out before they get savvy.

I'd like to have something to indicate when Alexa's voice is deep and monstrous. I used bold text this time around, but I'm honestly not sure about that. I hesitate to use text effects too much though because that will get my forum privileges revoked. I'd still like to have an indicator of when her voice has changed though.

@Killer Clowns: Aynara is not so happy that Oseru wants to kill the rest of the Mayatans, but ignoring the planned genocide (for the moment), Aynara is flattered that Oseru thinks that Aynara specifically is dangerous enough to be worth killing. Aynara might just decide to start showing off for Oseru, which probably won't be good for the health of either of them or anyone else in the vicinity.

Besides, there's already a xenophobic species that started a war with the galactic alliance for the same reasons spouted by Oseru, and the xenophobes are slowly losing that war — what's one more individual with that attitude?

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@Masterofchaos: I keep forgetting to ask — was Maya born deaf or did she lose her hearing?

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@Will De Regio: Akane is not the kind of character looking to acquire others' souls (whether through recruitment, deals, or other means), right?

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 16th 2019 at 8:01:23 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

Maya was born deaf and mute!

In that case, if Shale ever touches Maya, that means hearing is on the list of senses novel to Maya (the rest are Bizarre Alien Senses).

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@Mroh: I think bold works fine, but that's just my opinion. Now, question — does Alexa's rumbly voice include infrasound, or just bass? Viporises have a very specific instinctive reaction to infrasound at close range, whereas bass without infrasound has a chance of provoking an entirely different reaction that can't truly be called an instinct because it has its roots in something that would take a long time to explain.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 16th 2019 at 9:04:15 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

It's a bit difficult to explain. I mean, it's definitely not infrasound. I personally imagine it to be a mixture of her normal feminine melodic voice with a deep rumbly undertone. Her voice isn't so deep as to sound completely masculine, so I don't personally think it's bass. I'm sorry if I'm making it more confusing for you, that just kind of how I imagine it to sound like.

Actually, I think I understand — I was already imagining the words being on a different wavelength from a rumbling undercurrent, mostly because a) I already have a species of aliens with a double set of vocal cords in one voice box and b) how else would Alexa's voice be recognizable as still being hers? So I guess I was asking about the rumbling undercurrent...

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 16th 2019 at 9:29:16 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-MfVCkNq-k&list=PLuP7Y52AfNHc5nmS2rdQcQnO7cd8uKisc&index=13&t=0s

Okay, so I think her voice would sound like this one but a with a feminine note to it. Skip to 42 seconds in to hear it.

Huh. A) I've seen that episode. B) Dr. Lazarus's voice is rather disappointing compared to what I was imagining.

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

I know, I'm not the best at explaining it. Basically, her voice sounds monstrous but she sounds like a female monster, not a male one. Sometimes I feel like the English language isn't the best language for conveying ideas.

I think I've figured out what exactly it is about Dr. Lazarus's voice that I don't like about using as a frame of reference. It's too... gentle. How about this rendition of The Tempest, when Ariel is berating Prospero's marooners? Is this voice more like it? (I've already bookmarked the video to start at 17:00)

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 17th 2019 at 8:51:07 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

All right, there's that. If any of you forest folks have any issues with what happened in that post, please, bring them up and we can suss it out.

I'll get to the Joseph aftermath when I've got time/energy (when I feel like it, mom!). The campground aftermath is up to you, barring any concerns that would lead to anything being majorly adjusted.

Younger!Joseph is in a transitional period right now that might last for two/three posts before I reinstate him properly. May help further unravel what's been going on under the surface.

Why yes it is almost 5 am, why do you ask?

Edited by Ryuhza on Apr 17th 2019 at 4:55:32 AM

this place needs me here

So, the changes I've talked about are about to arrive. I've switched jobs again. One of the companies I've talked about earlier finally made me a job offer (or was it me accepting my previous company's offer too early? Doesn't matter now), and I'm a UK-based software development company remote employee starting next Tuesday.

That means there's a lengthy post coming up from me tomorrow.

Spiral out, keep going.

Ho ho ho, seriously? Trying to wipe the memories of a telepath? Who can see the attempt coming before it happens? While she's also holding a gem? Who's been fighting a mind-controller who also has a habit of locking memories? Joseph — or whoever's apparently possessing him — really Didn't Think This Through!

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 17th 2019 at 9:23:56 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

That's kind of why the Rootland Joseph appeared in the first place — brought into place as a buffer to mask the other mind's intentions, albeit with uncontrollable thoughts of his own. I know I didn't write a Rootland portion this post, mostly because it would just be an extension of the last post — an isolated conciousness trying not to lose it.

It's a bit loosey goosey because—to be candid—I didn't expect Joseph to encounter both a mind reader and extraordinary problem solving gems so quickly when I brought him and his scenario into the thread, and I've been scrambling for ways to maintain or invent relevant drama ever since.

I hope this doesn't seem like a cheat. There is some shortsightedness in the move, I was just hoping it wouldn't be immediately undone, 'cause that basically nips any lingering problems for my characters in the bud, and I'm left with not much.

Edited by Ryuhza on Apr 17th 2019 at 1:03:57 AM

this place needs me here

Huh, I can tell. That's one of the reasons why I deliberately left it up in the air whether or not Mequoql's attempted protection worked. Here's a tidbit of info that might help prolong the drama: Masterofchaos private-messaged me a spoiler-laden quirk of how the gems operate, so if you ask for or already have the same information, Joseph(?) will have an advantage over Mequoql if he figures out [REDACTED] before she does and somehow manages to trick her into making more teleports under the gems' power than him.

You know the No-Nonsense Nemesis trope? The Web of Friendship's native story has it in effect for both the good guys and the bad guys.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 17th 2019 at 2:07:59 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

The thing is, by what I thought I'd established earlier—Mequoql's attempts to read his mind returning the thoughts of Rootland Joseph instead—Mequoql should not have anticipated his thoughts except by his outward actions. That's why I haven't written them explicitly before now, and now is for the sake of allowing the readers/writers to understand what he was doing with the gems.

It's a bit of a narrative contrivance, but I don't know how else to maintain a plot with the powers at play here. My characters just aren't at the level to feasibly resist the combination of godlike wishing gems and mind reading.

this place needs me here

So, when the signal from the Rootlands was cut off, I initially thought it was because the character in the driver's seat was trying to hide the character in the Rootlands. And now you're saying the character in the Rootlands was supposed to be used as a shield for the other guy's thoughts... Oops.

If I were to fix this Plot Hole without changing Mequoql's hot pursuit, I could have her follow Henry's Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap! thoughts^quote: The result felt like watching a stranger. A stranger pretending to be his friend. instead. Or if you really want Mequoql to be caught flat-footed and we come up with a satisfactory reason for it, we can take the plot in that direction.

Also, are you seriously saying that whoever's driving Joseph's body around right now is just devious enough to snag the gem, but not devious, paranoid or imaginative enough to use the gem the way Mequoql or any of her siblings (evil brother included) would use them? That's genuinely disappointing.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 17th 2019 at 5:19:52 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

It's a bit of both, actually. The one in the driver's seat was initially using Rootland Joseph as a shield, providing a limited sensory input for him to respond to, hoping that the thought would seem reasonably enough like it could be his own. But once Mequoql grew suspicious and began trying to talk to Rootland Joseph directly, the one in the driver's seat shuffled him away before too much could be pieced together of his identity, and by extension the situation at hand. There was a small tell from the one in the driver's seat any time he moved Rootland Joseph around, involving bowing his head and closing his eyes for a moment.

If Mequoql follows Henry's line of thought, would that set her up to know what to defend herself/the group against? Especially in a moment's time? The idea is that Henry reached his conclusion in the very moment before the gems were used, otherwise he would have spoken up himself.

If I'm honest, I'm a little against the high-speed chase because I don't think that the one in the driver's seat would really stand a chance against Mequoql and the Web of Friendship with all their resources. His primary goal of the moment is to make a clean (in the immediate sense) break, which is why he is so keen on unpersoning himself and his host.

I'm not entirely sure how the Mayatans would use the gems, but again, the one in the driver's seat is focused on his immediate goal, perhaps shortsightedly so. The idea of erasing memories is just the first one that came, thanks in part to the talk of his own 'lost' memories, and the pressure of potentially being found out was growing too great for him to wait for a better one.

Edited by Ryuhza on Apr 17th 2019 at 5:56:50 AM

this place needs me here

If the Joseph emergency were the only emergency, I'd be inclined to agree that the one in the driver's seat wouldn't stand much of a chance against Mequoql and the Web of Friendship with all their resources. But as it is, you seem to be forgetting that there are multiple emergencies (including an offscreen one involving a Screwy Squirrel pulling a prank/raid back at headquarters) pulling at the Web's collective attention, and their resources are accordingly scattered. For example, Morpho can't join in the hot pursuit because he needs to stay behind just in case Mael tries to take advantage of the left-behind-group's moment of disorientation.

Thought always moves faster than muscle, and it doesn't take any muscle for Mequoql to raise her mental shields into a generalized defense when she doesn't know what to expect.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 17th 2019 at 7:07:29 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

The other thing I've been trying to avoid is a direct conflict between gem users. That to me is a game of checkmates, only prolonged by characters severely underestimating what the gems can do. Even if he escapes Mequoql, his apprehending is inevitable as long as the gems are in play. My initial plan had not-Joseph losing possession of his fairly quickly, because, unless there are more serious drawbacks than the first time side effects, they're just too powerful for me to write around.

this place needs me here

There are other drawbacks to using the gems than the first-time side effects and you need to ask Masterofchaos to private-message the data to you. It's not my secret to tell.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Apr 17th 2019 at 7:55:49 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

Oh no, I hope i didn't introduce something too complicated...

Also, holy shit, Carol and Bonnie really are a couple? My agenda worked!

Edited by Masterofchaos on Apr 17th 2019 at 11:13:09 AM