Character Development Thread--Discussion

I laughed at the lightbulb comment, good one. :p

even though birds lay those, joseph. you should know this

Edited by Chortleous on Mar 21st 2024 at 4:39:30 AM

Oh yes, I'm told that somewhere out there, a bird lays a lightbulb for every good idea.

...Or maybe it was just every idea.


...Whose idea was this, again?

and dunno about light bulbs but there's a bird that lays ball bearings...

The ball bearing bird has never been seen, has never been heard but it's said to be known to be roaming around for it scatters ball bearings all over the ground...

The Ball Bearing Bird - Frankie Davidson

OH SHIT it's my turn to post SORRY RYUHZA!!!! I'll get to that now!

Between the three of us, I think we might just be able to average out an accurate interpretation of how birds, ideas, and lightbulbs function.

You dare invoke the wrath of my mild restlessness?! For that, I curse you with knowledge! May you forever be afflicted by the memory of these words: I've got part of a post done but it's slow going. Maybe I'll get to it tomorrow!

I drew Lancer again, totally not inspired by the ongoing scene.

sometimes I feel bad for making her life too lonely and depressing (the fortress of solitude thing is not the end of it, if you've been paying attention to her internal dialogue)

I really didn't mean to write that much for David 😅

Still waiting for ~Pyxo at the diner and ~Will De Regio at the brutal fight scene. Will, do you plan on having Bonnie interact with Joseph and Henry, or just one or the other (or neither)? If you let me know ahead of time, I can maybe get a jump on writing for the other one.

I've felt the same way about some of my characters, though more often pertaining to mundanely depressing backstories than their ongoing lives. I guess that's my way of excusing it: it gets better. I've read some stories that are miserable all the way through, and I just don't feel compelled to replicate that.

Lovely drawing again. I've got two-ish sketches in progress that feature the fountain in some form, but I'm also a piss-poor environmental artist, so I'm always glad to defer to others' interpretations.

Jokes you guys: all my ocs are fucked up via backstories one way or another lol.

Also love the Lancer drawing!!!

Edited by Masterofchaos on Mar 27th 2024 at 3:17:59 PM

My characters do seem to typically be the ones out here with the least troubled backstories, despite coming from either Qorisa or a less-than-stellar future. It's not that they haven't experience hardships, but most of them have strong ties to family and community that they can rely on when they need a hand. Koyel has his family and village, Aseyu has her sister and the Suelasa community, the Unicorns have each other... hell, even Western Amalgamated is decent to its own direct employees. (Emphasis on "direct" — Western Amalgamated makes a policy of not prying too deeply into how its numerous contractors and subcontractors treat their workers.)

I'm leaning towards Bonnie not having much to do at the moment. Joseph isn't grievously harmed, and Henry is, in fact, standing down.

As for effed-up backstories for my active characters... They're mostly okay. However, they won't be in about a year in-universe once the man-made horrors of the Great War start being thrown around.

Bonnie, in particular, will be tasked with the unpleasant job of treating massive amounts of body horror.

Adding my voice to the "that's an awesome pic of Lancer" group - and I think you missed the ideal time to reference Blatant Lies when you stated that it has nothing to do with what's happening in story

As to fucked-up backstories, I don't do those so much... but my characters all seem to have a Berserk Button - it's what that button is that varies. No surprises there, since I can definitely relate to having a Berserk Button...

Will post sometime tonight!

Hmm, I don't think I'm getting the layout or image of the chamber beneath the fountain across clearly.

There's not meant to be a direct connection for people between the fountain/lobby and the chamber beneath, that's what the elevator down the hall is for.

Maybe I'll try to do a quick mockup/map to help visualize it when I get the chance. A little busy today though.


Oh, and welcome to the site/threads, ~Oyo Jan!

Oh, cool, a new writer/participant. Welcome, OyoJan

Has Adrienne ever directly mentioned Vern Prescot or his World of Potential out loud? I have quite a plan to cause some mild chaos, but it depends on what Aseyu would know (or not know) already.

Edited by KillerClowns on Mar 31st 2024 at 10:40:13 AM

She has not. Aseyu may be able to piece together that he was one of those oligarchs who got deposed, but Adrienne hasn't ever mentioned how that happened in his case, certainly not the whole 'seismic bomb in the middle of a city' thing you've probably been able to infer from her and Kay's internal dialogue (don't recall if I've detailed it here...).

in any case, it is the definition of a sore subject for her.

Edited by Chortleous on Mar 31st 2024 at 10:02:59 AM

Something terrible has happened in my personal life and I won't be able to post for a while

Take as much time as you need, friend.

Yeah, shit, take as long as you need. :x

You have my deepest sympathies.

Take the time you need, Ryuhza.

And on a more cheery note, welcome, Oyo Jan! Don't be afraid to pick a group and start doing things.

Take as much time as you need, Ryuhza.

Sad to hear that, Ryuhza. Take all the time you need.

Posted. I'll keep at it as I can.

Oh my God, I am so, so sorry. Please, take all the time you need to grieve.