Psychological horror, fantasy styled

So basically I have two protagonists, Olapen and Odaxitar in my novella series The Caged Phoenix. Throughout the story, there are some conversations with a dark octopus entity observing the entire scenario as Olapen is clearly Fighting Down Memory Lane with Odaxitar. Then Misako (Olapen's best friend) had the bright idea (or so it seems) into wandering into Olapen's dream as a Dream Walker...

The problem is I have yet to decide what Odaxitar's role is in the whole story, or whether Olapen is hallucinating... I'm also trying to decide which of Olapen's memories to depict in the story as well. Different locations shall be seen instory as Inn Between the Worlds and some Womb Level scenes ensure

Should I make Odaxitar a dark mentor, a psychological Literal Split Personality or a hallucination? Give me detailed reasons as to why they should be so.

edited 9th Jun '18 7:51:04 PM by sabrina_diamond

Hey, great to see a fellow fantasy writer who borrows from horror. Could you give us a quick rundown of who your two characters are, though? It's a bit tricky to comment on the story without knowing where these guys are coming from.

• Olapen is a half-succubus magician who uses Chaos and white magic in her spells, she's very energetic and easily hyperactive. She dresses in Blue and Orange clothes to represent her own carefree and humourous mentality. She's nearly always smiling.

• Odaxitar is the evil side of Olapen and she's very sardonic, serious and rather raunchy, saying whatever comes to mind. She acts more like a succubus than Olapen and she dresses in red and gold clothing

• Misako is going to be the mediator between the two, and she's rather torn between the two, since Misako is considered Olapen's friend most of all. Her once short hair is now a lot longer

edited 15th Jun '18 6:10:14 AM by sabrina_diamond

I'm finding the Literal Split Personality approach rather promising. It allows for an interesting exploration of the trauma and darker impulses that Olapen might be fighting inside, and having Odaxitar as a manifestation of the thoughts and feelings that she seeks to excise is a very vivid illustration of her internal conflict. The hallucination angle doesn't really play ball if you're going to have Misako interact with Odaxitar, and having her as a dark mentor undercuts the internal struggle aspect of the whole thing.

I second eagleoftheninth when they say the Literal Split Personality concept sounds like the most interesting of the three. Done well, it could lead to a truly horrifying experience as the tension rises up between both characters. And in a true horror fashion, it could devolve into making the reader question who is the real one and who is the copy.

Also, depending on the narrator you choose to tell the story (their reliability, whether the story is told in first or third person, etc), you could add an extra layer of mystery to the story by obscuring certain key details about the characters and/or their actions.

For reference, I'd suggest to check Tomato Surprise and Tomator In The Mirror.

So I was thinking on what aspects Odaxitar could manifest, but I was thinking that repressed memories would be best since it heightens the suspense. Thoughts about that? Also I was thinking of different coloured portals that leads to emotional memories as represented as Genius Loci locations

Edited by sabrina_diamond on Jul 17th 2018 at 10:48:52 PM