Quimi

Ugh, feel so weird today. Just wanna sleep. Or read. Or both, if that's possible. =.= But I can't quit so close to the end!

So. Characters. Even the MCs could use a little more fleshing out, and as for the rest of them... *sigh* So here I go. Gonna try and answer the questions for today's challenge specifically (the one about where they do and don't fit in seems especially interesting), but don't be surprised when I tangent off the deep end.

Paori: Born in a cave. No, really. Parents ran away moved to Beacon Town to start a new life as miners or something. Not sure of their names yet, but I think they died in an accident (or "accident") a few years back. Paori's an only child, and was taken in by the local temple, which he'd been considering joining anyway. He did feel he'd belong there forever, but events are going to change that, alas. He's fairly comfortable in caves, but I think by the end of the book his belonging will not be a place so much as a person and/or calling. >.> Shh, don't tell. Also, I get the feeling he's not naturally patient. So he'll probably wind up often doing things on his own rather than trying to explain what needs doing to others.... *mwahahas* Oh, and he's 20, and the three most influential people... one or both of his parents, and one or more of the priests who taught him: the head priest Paloma, and the priest that taught him to read/basic lightworks.

Vester: Born in the northern forests, very close to the mountains. 17, and his most influential people are his parents (killed just before the start of the story, very tragic and angsty) and the shaman-like person (aunt? uncle?) who taught him to whistle. Since he's travelled nearly all his life, he's most at home on the road, though the northern lake where his people live are a nice "home base" for short periods of time. Not claustrophobic, but gets antsy with a roof over his head for too long.

Sylver: Born on the coast, just outside a fishing town. (These brothers were not very convenient in coming into the world, I wonder how their parents managed. And what they were thinking.) Vester's parental info applies to him, of course, though I think he was more attached to a different relative at the lake— one who told a lot of interesting stories. His wanderlust is a little less Vester's "gotta keep moving" and more a desire to explore new places. Especially comfortable in the caves where he can squeeze into unlikely crevices that others can't reach. 8.

Flynn: Born in the eastern swamps or whatever I make that area. Really didn't fit in with the way of life there, and the way people tried to utterly ignore the powers of light and sound, even when they clashed accidentally and screwed things up, so he came to the ruined city to learn more about what happened and why, and how it can be fixed. Also a grandparent really instilled in him a passion for history (as well as passing on the ancient writing, which most people don't bother with). A handful of other people came with him, including his wife (second influential person) and their two little ones who were born there, and he's really come into his own as leader/archaeologist. Third influential person was the parent that tried to stop him from wasting his life on the dead past, and thus led him to leave in rebellion.

*sighs* I was hoping to get to Paloma, and Virue, and maybe even a couple other characters, but. Sleep. It beckons. No, it drags me by the collar. Still, I accomplished a few good things here....

I've had trouble writing female characters for a long time, and often prefer writing male MCs. I've dismissed it as a tendency for my female characters to feel too much like Mary Sues, but I think now that this is either inaccurate or lazy, or both. And it seems like I'm creating fewer and fewer female characters lately. (Not that I need an equal gender ratio, but when my reason for making a character male is because female feels too "flimsy"....) So I'm going to go back to the basics, list some of my favorite female characters and heroes, figure out what I love about them, and then..... match it up against my subconscious objections to writing female characters, I guess?

This may wind up with me on the couch, headshrinking myself, but hopefully I won't have to delve too far into the sociopolitical mire. We shall see. (Oh, and there be spoilers ahead, though I'll try to be careful.)

( We'll see just how feminist a blogpost about women can be. Or can't, maybe. )

I could ramble on about stereotypes, and fallacies and expectations, and books I read as a child, but I'm really tired, and I semi-promised not to get into sociopolitical carp. And I'm really tired.