Crappy chapter title, but who has time to think of a good one?
Anyway, hello! It's been a very very long time, I know (believe me, I do). Unfortunately, my explanation is rather poor (let's just say while the first half of my 18-hour semester wasn't so bad, the second half kicked my ass rather thoroughly) so all I can do is beg your forgiveness(es?).
I'd like to say things will be back to normal, but sadly that's not the case. I haven't had any time at all to work on Vulpine up until very recently. But it's summer vacation now, and things look smooth (for the moment). I still need to work on my outlining of future chapters, and then once that's done, the ol' buffer has to be reconstructed so this sort of thing doesn't happen for the remainder of Vulpine's run (however long that is, haha). I wish I could give you all some sort of timestable for this, but I really have no clue, sadly. It almost certainly won't be next Sunday, I can tell you that. There's still quite a bit for me to do, and although I'll work like a maniac this week (really!) it'll take some time.
Anyway, I figured I would (finally) post the Trick chapter, now that it's all done and stuff, since it was supposed to appear promptly after Riven's and that just never happened (damn you, 18-hr semester!). Mostly I just wanted to prove that I was indeed alive and still working on Vulpine. So, yeah. Guess I did that.
(Trick really needs to learn not to be nice to people, because everyone she's nice to has something horrible happen to them, haha. She's harder on herself than she prolly should be, but then she was planning everyone's dead, so it's justified, I think. :P)
There's only one review to respond to, so lemme do that and then I'll get out of here and get back to work. ;)
@Lynxeye: Yep, no superpowers here. The Tempers are something I've tried working in throughout the story in little pieces (we see them in the beginning as Sprite's musing over them, and then the Temper of each character is always scattered throughout their chapters in a variety of ways) but this is the first time it's really been explained, which pleased me greatly! One thing about the foxes that makes my life easier is that their mythology isn't overly-complicated or clear. In fact, it's pretty cloudy about most things! They believe the stars are spirits, but don't really know what that entails, they believe the sun & moon were foxes that have their own little story (that is rather long and stuff) but they aren't overly reverent about them, they believe in the Tempers (which are the most complicated thing of the whole bunch) but that doesn't enter their lives on a regular basis, and while they have some idea of what the Sky is like (a reverse of our world, basically; everything blue is water and the clouds are little pieces of land just floating around in the great cosmic soup; everything on the earth came from the Sky in one way or another) it's not too detailed or well-understood - because foxes, although clever, aren't too good on the whole metaphysical nature of the universe, haha. I'm rambling a bit, but I'm glad that while the introduction of the Tempers & some other religious things has given us a bit of insight into their culture, it's not too overwhelming or ridiculous. They're very removed from spirituality in most aspects of their life, and I think that shines through pretty well, most of the time.
And that's that. Again, super-duper sorry for the wait. I hope there's at least a few people still sticking around, but I understand why many of you might have flown the coop after three months (three whole months!). Hopefully the next wait won't be so long.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
23: Tempers
There was an earlier chapter entitled "Tempers" (the one where our four MCs got together & also Riven and Sprite fought a bit) but I renamed it to "Viewpoints" because 23 is all about the Tempers too, haha. When Vulpine's finished, I prolly should go back and edit some of the titles, 'cause they suck. Usually I don't title a chapter until it's done, since then I generally have some sort of main idea to pull from, but half the time the chapter is just too unfocused/busy to latch onto any one binding thread in particular. Definitely something to work on if Vulpine goes through revisions.
Anyway, another week has come and gone! Trick's chapter is all that remains to us now (although of course saying that I was planning on pausing everything soon has kicked my brain into Vulpine-gear again, so the plot-chartering bit is coming along well, haha) until the pause is over. Sadly, that means it'll be a long time until we figure out just what Sage intends to chat about with Sprite in private (hint, it's about his sneaky goings-on after she ran off, haha. Also backstory juiciness). Hopefully the wait won't be too awful!
I don't think there's too much I need to go over for this chapter - but I do kinda want to ramble about the characters some more, so I think I will. Skip over this bit if it bores you!
Basically one of the things I'm enjoying about Vulpine thus far is that the mix of POVs means that we get a lot of foxes who are on different levels of the morality scale. It also means we get to play around with their developmental arcs quite a bit. One of the things that bugs me with fiction is how quickly characters tend to change their core beliefs. Like, oh, the minion is shown kindness (like a MC gives him a cupcake or something dumb) and he's suddenly good! The Big Bad's sexy villainess feels a moment of passion for the hero, and decides to change alignments! Bob is a bit of a racist, but one encounter with the race/being that he hates totally converts him! Julian doesn't understand The Power Of Love until he sees some sexy young thing walking around, and then he's suddenly all over it (once the Big Misunderstandings and Awkward Sexual Tension have played out, of course). That's probably why my stories tend to run long - characters need time to develop. They need more than one scene to make them change their entire belief system/core feelings/etc. One scene should not be enough to shake up their foundations so badly that they'e someone completely new in a few chapters. It takes multiple scenes to create real change, multiple stagings and impacts to nudge a character down a differing path - and even then, they're going to stumble. They're going to falter. They're going to make a big of progress, then suffer some sort of setback and fall back to where they were. They're going to mess up. So many authors seem to skip that idea, and it really bothers me. Yes, Riven started out as a twat - and today, I would still consider him to be one. He's pigheaded, he's stuck in his ways, he's reluctant to alter his viewpoints to suit others, especially those he does not respect - and he does not really respect anyone. Yes, he cares about Sprite - but he also thinks she's a bit of an idiot (and he's not exactly wrong). Yes, he does have his moments of doubt, but those aren't going to suddenly propel him into Down-With-The-Skulk declarations. Yes, he does have some nagging feeling that he might not be quite good enough to come home, and that he doesn't really want to die, but he's not going to suddenly spring onto Faun and Trick's side. It just doesn't happen that way for real people, and it shouldn't happen for characters, either. You don't just wake up and become a different person - not with some great catalyst, and usually with more than one...and even then, it might not be permanent. You might continue to doubt your decisions, or cling to your old beliefs and just re-purpose them so they fit your new feelings. That's natural, and characterization should feel natural, above all else. Riven will not become a cuddly teddybear just because he has a lil gal to pal around with.
Faun and Trick are good examples of this, too. Faun was introduced as a feeble mouse unable to speak up for/defend himself. It was the slow grind of being beaten-down and punished that shaped him into someone resentful and standoffish - but that's not where his characterization has ended. He still thinks he's a good little dude. He still wants to make an impact, like anyone else. He's tried being selfless, like when he signed on to help Trick; the main idea of their little rebellion is that they might die, but in doing so they will help spark change for others. That's a pretty good idea - but of course, his current plan is just to kill everyone he doesn't like, and scrape by. He doesn't see anything wrong with something like that; in his mind, it's perfectly justified, as a result of all his experiences, not just one or two. Whether that will remain constant, we will have to see; after all, Trick's completely rejected his idea, and Sprite would if she ever heard about it. We don't know what Grint will think (will he be on board and help, or turn Faun away?), or the other foxes Faun might need to recruit to make his plan a reality. We don't know whether their feelings will turn his mind one way or the other - but they will turn somehow, because no matter how Faun's plan turns out, it will impact his reality and his relationship to every other character (alive or dead). He'll continue growing and changing. (On a side note, what I like about him is that his arc is not the typical tiny-bullied-character-finds-inner-strength-and-saves-everyone thing. Like Lynxeye mentioned in her review, his viewpoint is pretty twisted. He hasn't really become a better fox through struggle and suffering; he's become worse. If we had a morality scale of the group, he would be pushed decently far to the 'Bad' side, because not only does his plan hinge on murdering at least five foxes that have gotten in his way, but it also poses an extreme danger to even the ones he likes. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting such a dramatic shift from him when things started out, but I've liked where they've gone.)
Heck, let's throw a Trick paragraph in there too. She started out as the most mysterious of the group, I think; her feelings aren't all that clear even to herself. She would like to be a cold manipulator, but she has moments of compassion. Out of all of them, her arc seems the most zig-zaggy. She helps Faun only to twist a favor out of him, then turns him in to Riven as soon as it benefits her - but follows up that heartless act by coming back to save Faun at the last moment. She bonds with Holly and Mote (and later Iole), but plans on tearing down the Skulk, which would leave the three of them adrift in a sea of uncertainty, without any obvious purpose/safety. She manipulates and twists everyone for her own purposes (she's lied to all the other POV characters more than once), which aren't even good purposes; she just wants to end the Skulk once and for all. Part of this arises out of feelings for her own family, as the Skulk destroyed it, but part of it is selfishness and bitterness, which she acknowledges. She thinks of Tamber as a heartless manipulator, when she herself practices many of the same strategies. She's threatened Sprite (the only character who is mostly innocent), and it is uncertain whether she would go through with her threat or not (if she and Faun were certain to die at Musk's paws, would she get her final revenge on Riven by turning Sprite in, with the knowledge that Musk would hunt both solitaires down? Or is her deal with Riven merely a bluff?). All in all, she is really not a heroic character (her main mission is to kill even more foxes than Faun, and her worry about who is caught in the crossfire is considerably less) but she does have those she fears for and wants to protect, which is in itself heroic. She weaves back and forth between these two feelings, and is willfully ignoring the fact that they clash; if she and Faun do manage to shake things up in the Skulk, good foxes will die, and at least one of the foxes she is close to will probably be among them, just because of the chaos that will ensue. It's yet to be seen which of the two factors will manage to outweigh the others, in the end - and one event is not large enough to tip the scales one way or the other. It's the culmination of events/scenes that will determine Trick's ultimate fate.
Sadly, Sprite doesn't get her own babble, because she is a lot simpler than the other three. She has a much smaller character arc than the other three, which stems more from trying to find her place in the world, both with reconciling her own personal beliefs with an unfamiliar society's, and figuring out the lengths by which she can trust others, and herself. Provided Sprite survives everything that is going to happen, and barring any wham epiphanies or whatever (ick, no), she will probably change the least - hopefully becoming wiser and more open-minded, but not much else. Her role is more to encourage change in others, rather than herself (although she is by no means perfect, the silly thing) through showing them a viewpoint they have not before seen (and lecturing them, although hopefully I've done a decent enough job of pointing out the flaws and gaps in her logic...and her lectures haven't been so effective with Riven anyway, haha), and being exposed to new ones in return. She has basic questions about the world that she wants answered, and the answers she finds will change her (if they are found at all) but if such a change were to occur, it would not be as large a one as Riven/Faun/Trick have already undergone or are working towards.
This was really long (but I did warn you I would ramble!), so sorry! I just like over-analysising things. Especially silly things about foxes planning to murder each other all the time. Vulpine has been a pretty fun exercise in subverting typical character arcs/messing with a variety of viewpoints/morality spheres (I don't think that's a thing but it should be), and I've enjoyed it.
Anyway, reviews!
@Lynxeye: I've already gone on a bit about your review's main point, but I think it's a good one! Faun is a far cry from the ideal poor-bullied-hero, and his transformation has been an interesting one, at least for me. He's in anti-hero territory right now, I think, and if he goes through with his plan, it could push him into outright anti-villain mode (as it would not be as squeaky-clean as he would like to believe, not to mention that setting up your enemies to be eaten by dogs or whatever is pretty horrible). I think his desire to protect the other runts stems not only from his identification with them (as they've been victimized as much as he has...although, he really wishes some of them would grow a backbone), but also as a sort of pacifier to his conscience; after all, he's not really a bad person if he makes sure that only the bad guys get killed. Getting innocents caught up in everything would be a strict no-no, but douches like Riven and Reyes? Totally inbounds. And thanks for the good-luck-wishes!
@Doge person: Thanks!
@Bookworm: Great to see you again! That's what happens when you miss a few chapters, haha. Crazy shenanigans. I don't really like the size that Vulpine is getting to - but at least stuff is always evolving, right? There's not really too much filler floating around, as all the relationships have a purpose and the characters are changing as they go. It's just a bit of a sprawling plot. Trimming things like this down is something I really need to get better at, but I'll count it as a bit of a triumph if Vulpine ends at least 70k shorter than Shattered. :P
I think that's all for now! Sorry about my wandering, again...things like that happen when I stay up late, since I'm not used to it anymore (darn it, college!). Cheers, and I'll see you all again next Sunday. :)
Anyway, another week has come and gone! Trick's chapter is all that remains to us now (although of course saying that I was planning on pausing everything soon has kicked my brain into Vulpine-gear again, so the plot-chartering bit is coming along well, haha) until the pause is over. Sadly, that means it'll be a long time until we figure out just what Sage intends to chat about with Sprite in private (hint, it's about his sneaky goings-on after she ran off, haha. Also backstory juiciness). Hopefully the wait won't be too awful!
I don't think there's too much I need to go over for this chapter - but I do kinda want to ramble about the characters some more, so I think I will. Skip over this bit if it bores you!
Basically one of the things I'm enjoying about Vulpine thus far is that the mix of POVs means that we get a lot of foxes who are on different levels of the morality scale. It also means we get to play around with their developmental arcs quite a bit. One of the things that bugs me with fiction is how quickly characters tend to change their core beliefs. Like, oh, the minion is shown kindness (like a MC gives him a cupcake or something dumb) and he's suddenly good! The Big Bad's sexy villainess feels a moment of passion for the hero, and decides to change alignments! Bob is a bit of a racist, but one encounter with the race/being that he hates totally converts him! Julian doesn't understand The Power Of Love until he sees some sexy young thing walking around, and then he's suddenly all over it (once the Big Misunderstandings and Awkward Sexual Tension have played out, of course). That's probably why my stories tend to run long - characters need time to develop. They need more than one scene to make them change their entire belief system/core feelings/etc. One scene should not be enough to shake up their foundations so badly that they'e someone completely new in a few chapters. It takes multiple scenes to create real change, multiple stagings and impacts to nudge a character down a differing path - and even then, they're going to stumble. They're going to falter. They're going to make a big of progress, then suffer some sort of setback and fall back to where they were. They're going to mess up. So many authors seem to skip that idea, and it really bothers me. Yes, Riven started out as a twat - and today, I would still consider him to be one. He's pigheaded, he's stuck in his ways, he's reluctant to alter his viewpoints to suit others, especially those he does not respect - and he does not really respect anyone. Yes, he cares about Sprite - but he also thinks she's a bit of an idiot (and he's not exactly wrong). Yes, he does have his moments of doubt, but those aren't going to suddenly propel him into Down-With-The-Skulk declarations. Yes, he does have some nagging feeling that he might not be quite good enough to come home, and that he doesn't really want to die, but he's not going to suddenly spring onto Faun and Trick's side. It just doesn't happen that way for real people, and it shouldn't happen for characters, either. You don't just wake up and become a different person - not with some great catalyst, and usually with more than one...and even then, it might not be permanent. You might continue to doubt your decisions, or cling to your old beliefs and just re-purpose them so they fit your new feelings. That's natural, and characterization should feel natural, above all else. Riven will not become a cuddly teddybear just because he has a lil gal to pal around with.
Faun and Trick are good examples of this, too. Faun was introduced as a feeble mouse unable to speak up for/defend himself. It was the slow grind of being beaten-down and punished that shaped him into someone resentful and standoffish - but that's not where his characterization has ended. He still thinks he's a good little dude. He still wants to make an impact, like anyone else. He's tried being selfless, like when he signed on to help Trick; the main idea of their little rebellion is that they might die, but in doing so they will help spark change for others. That's a pretty good idea - but of course, his current plan is just to kill everyone he doesn't like, and scrape by. He doesn't see anything wrong with something like that; in his mind, it's perfectly justified, as a result of all his experiences, not just one or two. Whether that will remain constant, we will have to see; after all, Trick's completely rejected his idea, and Sprite would if she ever heard about it. We don't know what Grint will think (will he be on board and help, or turn Faun away?), or the other foxes Faun might need to recruit to make his plan a reality. We don't know whether their feelings will turn his mind one way or the other - but they will turn somehow, because no matter how Faun's plan turns out, it will impact his reality and his relationship to every other character (alive or dead). He'll continue growing and changing. (On a side note, what I like about him is that his arc is not the typical tiny-bullied-character-finds-inner-strength-and-saves-everyone thing. Like Lynxeye mentioned in her review, his viewpoint is pretty twisted. He hasn't really become a better fox through struggle and suffering; he's become worse. If we had a morality scale of the group, he would be pushed decently far to the 'Bad' side, because not only does his plan hinge on murdering at least five foxes that have gotten in his way, but it also poses an extreme danger to even the ones he likes. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting such a dramatic shift from him when things started out, but I've liked where they've gone.)
Heck, let's throw a Trick paragraph in there too. She started out as the most mysterious of the group, I think; her feelings aren't all that clear even to herself. She would like to be a cold manipulator, but she has moments of compassion. Out of all of them, her arc seems the most zig-zaggy. She helps Faun only to twist a favor out of him, then turns him in to Riven as soon as it benefits her - but follows up that heartless act by coming back to save Faun at the last moment. She bonds with Holly and Mote (and later Iole), but plans on tearing down the Skulk, which would leave the three of them adrift in a sea of uncertainty, without any obvious purpose/safety. She manipulates and twists everyone for her own purposes (she's lied to all the other POV characters more than once), which aren't even good purposes; she just wants to end the Skulk once and for all. Part of this arises out of feelings for her own family, as the Skulk destroyed it, but part of it is selfishness and bitterness, which she acknowledges. She thinks of Tamber as a heartless manipulator, when she herself practices many of the same strategies. She's threatened Sprite (the only character who is mostly innocent), and it is uncertain whether she would go through with her threat or not (if she and Faun were certain to die at Musk's paws, would she get her final revenge on Riven by turning Sprite in, with the knowledge that Musk would hunt both solitaires down? Or is her deal with Riven merely a bluff?). All in all, she is really not a heroic character (her main mission is to kill even more foxes than Faun, and her worry about who is caught in the crossfire is considerably less) but she does have those she fears for and wants to protect, which is in itself heroic. She weaves back and forth between these two feelings, and is willfully ignoring the fact that they clash; if she and Faun do manage to shake things up in the Skulk, good foxes will die, and at least one of the foxes she is close to will probably be among them, just because of the chaos that will ensue. It's yet to be seen which of the two factors will manage to outweigh the others, in the end - and one event is not large enough to tip the scales one way or the other. It's the culmination of events/scenes that will determine Trick's ultimate fate.
Sadly, Sprite doesn't get her own babble, because she is a lot simpler than the other three. She has a much smaller character arc than the other three, which stems more from trying to find her place in the world, both with reconciling her own personal beliefs with an unfamiliar society's, and figuring out the lengths by which she can trust others, and herself. Provided Sprite survives everything that is going to happen, and barring any wham epiphanies or whatever (ick, no), she will probably change the least - hopefully becoming wiser and more open-minded, but not much else. Her role is more to encourage change in others, rather than herself (although she is by no means perfect, the silly thing) through showing them a viewpoint they have not before seen (and lecturing them, although hopefully I've done a decent enough job of pointing out the flaws and gaps in her logic...and her lectures haven't been so effective with Riven anyway, haha), and being exposed to new ones in return. She has basic questions about the world that she wants answered, and the answers she finds will change her (if they are found at all) but if such a change were to occur, it would not be as large a one as Riven/Faun/Trick have already undergone or are working towards.
This was really long (but I did warn you I would ramble!), so sorry! I just like over-analysising things. Especially silly things about foxes planning to murder each other all the time. Vulpine has been a pretty fun exercise in subverting typical character arcs/messing with a variety of viewpoints/morality spheres (I don't think that's a thing but it should be), and I've enjoyed it.
Anyway, reviews!
@Lynxeye: I've already gone on a bit about your review's main point, but I think it's a good one! Faun is a far cry from the ideal poor-bullied-hero, and his transformation has been an interesting one, at least for me. He's in anti-hero territory right now, I think, and if he goes through with his plan, it could push him into outright anti-villain mode (as it would not be as squeaky-clean as he would like to believe, not to mention that setting up your enemies to be eaten by dogs or whatever is pretty horrible). I think his desire to protect the other runts stems not only from his identification with them (as they've been victimized as much as he has...although, he really wishes some of them would grow a backbone), but also as a sort of pacifier to his conscience; after all, he's not really a bad person if he makes sure that only the bad guys get killed. Getting innocents caught up in everything would be a strict no-no, but douches like Riven and Reyes? Totally inbounds. And thanks for the good-luck-wishes!
@Doge person: Thanks!
@Bookworm: Great to see you again! That's what happens when you miss a few chapters, haha. Crazy shenanigans. I don't really like the size that Vulpine is getting to - but at least stuff is always evolving, right? There's not really too much filler floating around, as all the relationships have a purpose and the characters are changing as they go. It's just a bit of a sprawling plot. Trimming things like this down is something I really need to get better at, but I'll count it as a bit of a triumph if Vulpine ends at least 70k shorter than Shattered. :P
I think that's all for now! Sorry about my wandering, again...things like that happen when I stay up late, since I'm not used to it anymore (darn it, college!). Cheers, and I'll see you all again next Sunday. :)
Sunday, February 16, 2014
22: Trail
Hey, homies! Again, sorry for the delay with the last chapter. Busy busy week, and things aren't going to get much better...which leads to my main point:
Vulpine's going to be paused for awhile. How long, I'm not sure, but it might stretch into a month, perhaps a bit more. We'll just have to see. The reasons for this are many:
I'm not sure how long this will take; it would be nice if I could get everything done in a month, but that depends on NORTH going well + me having time to plot things out + me writing 4 Vulpine chapters in addition to everything else. It might be a bit longer than that; at this point, I have no real way of knowing. For now, the plan is to post Riven's chapter, then Trick's, so we can kinda start fresh with Sprite again once things get underway.
If you dig Vulpine and don't want to forget about it, I'd recommend adding it to your alerts or something, if you can. Otherwise, just keep your eyes here. This blog will probably be pretty static unless I post some updates (like "yo just finished the draft" or "wrote Sprite's chap" or that kinda thing) or other stuff (maybe NORTH's prologue, since I don't think I'm going to be changing that even when I revise) but when I get close to being finished, you guys will definitely know.
I might change the day updates are posted, since Sunday has proven really hard for me to remember, for some reason. Maybe Saturdays, since those are my lazy days - or Monday, since I know I'll be awake at a decent time. I'm not sure yet, I'll have to decide. Uh, anyway, this is getting pretty long, so I'll do the 2 review responses and then get out of here, haha.
@Lynxeye: Sage having a secret league of assassins would pretty much make him the coolest old geezer ever. Sadly, he's just been doing who-knows-what in the tunnels (he's not going to tell anyone but Sprite what he's been up to, so it'll probably be a long time until we know exactly what it is - but then again, it's not hugely exciting). I think the problem with prey fairies is that you have to clap to show you believe, and foxes don't have hands. Tough luck, Sprite, tough luck.
@Swyfte: Hopefully it doesn't get that long, but that's why I'm planning to take off for a bit! We have to finish this cycle, and then the next one will probably be in this "middle" phase as well, but hopefully the one after it will help move us into the late phase of things. As I'm sure you all know, I have a weakness when it comes to writing way too much for way too little. I think the POVs are part of the problem, since although the timeline is fluid, I can't pick and choose who to switch to - and to be honest, they are not all weighed equally, especially since some of them are more or less active at certain times than others. Lesson learned, I suppose! The nice thing about NORTH is that other than the Prologue, it's all in one character's head - and she's very much involved in pretty much everything that happens, 'cause she's a bit of a dick. :)
Anyway, I think that's all for now. See you next Sunday!
Vulpine's going to be paused for awhile. How long, I'm not sure, but it might stretch into a month, perhaps a bit more. We'll just have to see. The reasons for this are many:
- I basically have no chapter-buffer. NaNo ate up four chapters, and since then I haven't managed to stay very far ahead, culminating in this current week, wherein I haven't even completely done the chapter that will be posted this coming Sunday (Riven's). The reason for my current slowness is that I'm taking 18 hours this semester, and while that was easy enough for the first few weeks of school, a lot of different projects are coming to a head right now. That, plus my volunteering activities, plus my roommmate's habit of going to bed ridiculously early, means I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to writing. Ideally, I'd like to work up to at least being 3 chapters ahead when I start posting updates again.
- NORTH has been calling to me somethin' fierce. NORTH was my NaNo project, and it went brilliantly - 117k when all was said and done - but that was only half of the first draft. As soon as November was over I stopped working on it, but lately I've been having all sorts of ideas and working out all the plot lumps that had me hung up before. I really want to complete the first draft, and have for awhile now, but I simply wasn't far enough ahead on Vulpine to allow it to be viable. Originally I had wanted to build up another 4-chapter buffer so I could take some time off, but it's proven to be unfeasible at this point in time. If things go well, finishing the draft should take about a month's time. During this time, I'll also be working on the point below.
- Vulpine needs a bit more plotting. While I have the overall arc down pretty solidly, separating everything that needs to be done into the right POVs (or figuring out how to work around these limits, like characters witnessing things that don't directly involve them) is still a bit of a problem. I need to do some long-term separating to ensure things don't start sprawling too big, and move us into the last phase of training and all that good stuff. This isn't hard, necessarily, it's just difficult to do while I'm trying to push a chapter a week at the same time.
- This is by no means the biggest point, but it's still worth mentioning: Vulpine is not getting a lot of reviews. Normally I'd be pretty unbothered by this, since it's not pitching itself to a big fandom like any of my fics, but in this case it's a bit annoying because the readership/review ratio is pretty skewed. Vulpine's as much of an experiment as anything, and every bit of feedback helps, but it's been a bit lacking. What this means is that it's a bit weird to write, since although I do get some people's views on the characters, I'm in the dark about most other responses. Like, the reviews I receive regarding Faun are pretty divided, but I have no way of knowing whether that's true for everyone at large, or just the 3-4 people that consistently review. That sort of thing. NORTH isn't in the same basket because I won't be posting it anywhere until it's been completed & revised & probably revised again, if I post it at all, so reviews won't really impact my process too much. Again, this isn't a huge factor in my decision, but it would be lying to omit it entirely, I think.
I'm not sure how long this will take; it would be nice if I could get everything done in a month, but that depends on NORTH going well + me having time to plot things out + me writing 4 Vulpine chapters in addition to everything else. It might be a bit longer than that; at this point, I have no real way of knowing. For now, the plan is to post Riven's chapter, then Trick's, so we can kinda start fresh with Sprite again once things get underway.
If you dig Vulpine and don't want to forget about it, I'd recommend adding it to your alerts or something, if you can. Otherwise, just keep your eyes here. This blog will probably be pretty static unless I post some updates (like "yo just finished the draft" or "wrote Sprite's chap" or that kinda thing) or other stuff (maybe NORTH's prologue, since I don't think I'm going to be changing that even when I revise) but when I get close to being finished, you guys will definitely know.
I might change the day updates are posted, since Sunday has proven really hard for me to remember, for some reason. Maybe Saturdays, since those are my lazy days - or Monday, since I know I'll be awake at a decent time. I'm not sure yet, I'll have to decide. Uh, anyway, this is getting pretty long, so I'll do the 2 review responses and then get out of here, haha.
@Lynxeye: Sage having a secret league of assassins would pretty much make him the coolest old geezer ever. Sadly, he's just been doing who-knows-what in the tunnels (he's not going to tell anyone but Sprite what he's been up to, so it'll probably be a long time until we know exactly what it is - but then again, it's not hugely exciting). I think the problem with prey fairies is that you have to clap to show you believe, and foxes don't have hands. Tough luck, Sprite, tough luck.
@Swyfte: Hopefully it doesn't get that long, but that's why I'm planning to take off for a bit! We have to finish this cycle, and then the next one will probably be in this "middle" phase as well, but hopefully the one after it will help move us into the late phase of things. As I'm sure you all know, I have a weakness when it comes to writing way too much for way too little. I think the POVs are part of the problem, since although the timeline is fluid, I can't pick and choose who to switch to - and to be honest, they are not all weighed equally, especially since some of them are more or less active at certain times than others. Lesson learned, I suppose! The nice thing about NORTH is that other than the Prologue, it's all in one character's head - and she's very much involved in pretty much everything that happens, 'cause she's a bit of a dick. :)
Anyway, I think that's all for now. See you next Sunday!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
21: Problems
Kinda a bland title this week, I don't really like it - but it goes along with the econ idea of "THE" economic problem: unlimited wants, and scarce resources. It would be nice to live in Sprite's imaginary world where everyone has enough to eat and room to breathe, but unfortunately, that doesn't exist.
It was nice to update on time for once, too, even if it took me forever to wake up and do it this morning. xD
@Pain: The puppy comparison is pretty apt. I don't think Trick really has any intention on following through with her threat if she and Faun fail and Riven is not the cause. Shouting Sprite's name would be pointless, in that case. But if Riven did dare cross them...well, Trick has the best insurance possible. It was refreshing to write him as something other than a lowbrow thug, too. :)
@Lynxeye: Yep! I think another running theme in Vulpine is hypocrisy; we'll see some of it in Faun's chapter, from Sprite, but it's a lighter sort (she'll be angry about Sage risking himself to do a few things, when all she ever does is run off into one danger or another, haha). Trick claims to be above the influence of selfishness and the like, but she's just as manipulative as Tamber. Riven says all weak foxes are doomed to die, while ignoring his own failings. Faun's determined to overthrow the Skulk and shape it into something better, by killing off everyone he doesn't like. And they're all pretty much blind to these faults in particular, even if they're capable of acknowledging others. Quite the cast we've got here, eh?
Anyway, that's all for now. Seeya next Sunday!
It was nice to update on time for once, too, even if it took me forever to wake up and do it this morning. xD
@Pain: The puppy comparison is pretty apt. I don't think Trick really has any intention on following through with her threat if she and Faun fail and Riven is not the cause. Shouting Sprite's name would be pointless, in that case. But if Riven did dare cross them...well, Trick has the best insurance possible. It was refreshing to write him as something other than a lowbrow thug, too. :)
@Lynxeye: Yep! I think another running theme in Vulpine is hypocrisy; we'll see some of it in Faun's chapter, from Sprite, but it's a lighter sort (she'll be angry about Sage risking himself to do a few things, when all she ever does is run off into one danger or another, haha). Trick claims to be above the influence of selfishness and the like, but she's just as manipulative as Tamber. Riven says all weak foxes are doomed to die, while ignoring his own failings. Faun's determined to overthrow the Skulk and shape it into something better, by killing off everyone he doesn't like. And they're all pretty much blind to these faults in particular, even if they're capable of acknowledging others. Quite the cast we've got here, eh?
Anyway, that's all for now. Seeya next Sunday!
Monday, January 27, 2014
20: Lies
Hey, chums! Just posted 20: Lies, for those of you who keep an eye on the blog and such. Sorry for the delay, Sunday was really busy (I have so much work this semester ;;). I don't really like the chapter title, but it does sum up Vulpine as a whole pretty well, haha. The Reynard lies to the Skulk and the Skulk lies to the kits and the kits all lie to each other. Lovely.
@Lynxeye: Hah, yes. The four of them don't really get along. Sprite/Trick don't seem like good friends, Trick/Faun's partnership is shaky at best, and Sprite is only tolerating Riven (at least initially) because he seems sad and hurt and pitiful. Not the best basis for lasting relationships, but we'll see if they manage to get any better with time. At least Riven's being almost unselfish for once, though. That's progress, even though he's still a big stinky pighead. :)
@Pain: Well, her first deal helped keep Faun and Koulder out of trouble, at least for a little while! Really, everyone in the story is wheeling-and-dealing (even Trick, who earlier told Riven she wouldn't out of disdain) which means that their plans all kinda pile up on each other in a crazy mess. Faun and Sprite both think they're going to reform the Skulk (with violence and pacifism, respectively), while Trick wants to tear it down and is holding Riven's life over Sprite's head (and vice versa). It's the sort of thing that can't sustain itself for too long, and it'll be interesting to see where it all ends up! I'm excite. :3
@Rivens1Fan: Woo, a new person (I think?)! I can't promise anything as far as Riven goes, since he's a bit of a stinker (to put it mildly). Hope springs eternal, though!
I think that's all for the moment, since I have to dash off to class. See you next Sunday!
@Lynxeye: Hah, yes. The four of them don't really get along. Sprite/Trick don't seem like good friends, Trick/Faun's partnership is shaky at best, and Sprite is only tolerating Riven (at least initially) because he seems sad and hurt and pitiful. Not the best basis for lasting relationships, but we'll see if they manage to get any better with time. At least Riven's being almost unselfish for once, though. That's progress, even though he's still a big stinky pighead. :)
@Pain: Well, her first deal helped keep Faun and Koulder out of trouble, at least for a little while! Really, everyone in the story is wheeling-and-dealing (even Trick, who earlier told Riven she wouldn't out of disdain) which means that their plans all kinda pile up on each other in a crazy mess. Faun and Sprite both think they're going to reform the Skulk (with violence and pacifism, respectively), while Trick wants to tear it down and is holding Riven's life over Sprite's head (and vice versa). It's the sort of thing that can't sustain itself for too long, and it'll be interesting to see where it all ends up! I'm excite. :3
@Rivens1Fan: Woo, a new person (I think?)! I can't promise anything as far as Riven goes, since he's a bit of a stinker (to put it mildly). Hope springs eternal, though!
I think that's all for the moment, since I have to dash off to class. See you next Sunday!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
19: Tempers
Note to self: For next project, make update-day during the week, so you're a) awake at a reasonable time b) not lazied out of your mind.
Anyway, there's our new chapter (I always think it's kinda funny to see how the hits for the chapters spike when I update a bit late, which is pretty much always; usually they hop quite a bit. You guys must be camping out, haha). It was nice to bring the Tempers up again. I like the idea of them, but unfortunately they can't be thrust into things too prominently without getting in the way. That's one of the things I'm struggling with in NORTH, actually. I have a ton of world-building things I'd like to express, but some of them aren't relevant to the plot, or can't take up as much time as I would like, even though I could babble on about them forever. Pan and Lorelei fall into this category too, I think, at least in this story. Obvs if I ever decide to write theirs (it's sad when you're writing fanfiction for your own story, but then again that's pretty much what the super editions are for the Erins, eh?) for fun, then I can go on as much as I would like, eheh.
I feel like I had a lot more to rattle on about in the Shattered/Chilled days?? I can't think of too much to say at the moment, though. Aside from the world-building things, Vulpine doesn't have much room for rambling. It has been a good learning experience, though. While Shattered showed how utterly delightful a ton of POVs can be, and Chilled showed me that fixed timelines with multiple POVs is absolutely horrible never again nooo, Vulpine has thus far signified that if you insist on multiple POVs, if you have them stuck on a set schedule of appearance, you'll waste a lot of time writing one in order to help nudge another one along. Kinda unfortunate, really. I'd have to say out of the tree, Shattered proved the most workable, in that even though we had a set schedule (Silverstar/other/Silverstar/other), there was still plenty of flexibility, since 'other' could really be anybody, and all those chapters helped to tie in other plotlines or viewpoints that were both fun to write and helpful to the overall arc, I think. Shattered probably had too many to be easily followable (I think it was like 16?) but if I had structured the story as Sprite/other/Sprite/other, I think that would have been just as feasible. I did consider that for a time, but because of one of the major themes/motifs (those Tempers, again!), I couldn't favor any one POV over the others.
So, there's my rambling for the post, I guess. Someday I'll get that balance just right. ;)
@Swyfte: It wasn't really a huge cliffhanger, since Riven was our POV and we already knew he was bleeding, haha. Unless you were just in suspense over how he'd handle meeting the two lil runts who got in his way early on, in which case I hope I didn't disappoint! Hunt-the-runts is fun to say, but I'm sure it secretly hurts poor little Feo and the others deep down. Or right on the surface. It's not very nice. :(
@Pain: Vulpine is a pretty morbid story, really! That's expected from the premise, I guess, but I'm still a bit surprised sometimes by how dark the characters occasionally get - especially Faun who, as you pointed out, basically has nothing to live for (in his mind, at least) and is embarking on what by all appearances is a mission that will probably get him killed. I think he's a nice contrast to Sprite, who is upbeat and perky despite everything horrible that's happened to her - but even she has plenty of self-doubt and uncertainty, especially when it comes to the world at large, the poor thing. At least no one's really died yet, right (backstories and maulings notwithstanding)?
@Lynxeye: Aww, thanks (even though I would argue I'm not a fanfiction author at this point, or at least not only one, xD). As I've said many (many many) times (thanks to my love of rambling), characters are absolutely the most important thing to me when it comes to writing, and playing with both the audiences' expectations of what a 'good' or a character 'worthy' of a POV is (Faun and Riven, respectively) as well as my own inclinations for certain tropes/arcs is a ton of fun. One of my favorite things so far is that all four POV characters come from very different places/viewpoints (solitaire, son of the Reynard, golden boy of the Skulk, orphaned outsider) and have different goals (although as we've seen, some of them are beginning to converge) with both creates conflict and also, almost paradoxically, creates the opportunity for new connections and relationships. It is hella, hella fun, although finding a way to keep it as neat as possible is pretty challenging, especially when trying to figure out just how the POVs will butt heads on issues, and how they'll fall into line with each other on others (not to mention where all their endgames are). So far so good, though! No regrets.
That's all for now, I think. See you next Sunday (should I just start saying 'Sunday night' or 'Monday?')!
Anyway, there's our new chapter (I always think it's kinda funny to see how the hits for the chapters spike when I update a bit late, which is pretty much always; usually they hop quite a bit. You guys must be camping out, haha). It was nice to bring the Tempers up again. I like the idea of them, but unfortunately they can't be thrust into things too prominently without getting in the way. That's one of the things I'm struggling with in NORTH, actually. I have a ton of world-building things I'd like to express, but some of them aren't relevant to the plot, or can't take up as much time as I would like, even though I could babble on about them forever. Pan and Lorelei fall into this category too, I think, at least in this story. Obvs if I ever decide to write theirs (it's sad when you're writing fanfiction for your own story, but then again that's pretty much what the super editions are for the Erins, eh?) for fun, then I can go on as much as I would like, eheh.
I feel like I had a lot more to rattle on about in the Shattered/Chilled days?? I can't think of too much to say at the moment, though. Aside from the world-building things, Vulpine doesn't have much room for rambling. It has been a good learning experience, though. While Shattered showed how utterly delightful a ton of POVs can be, and Chilled showed me that fixed timelines with multiple POVs is absolutely horrible never again nooo, Vulpine has thus far signified that if you insist on multiple POVs, if you have them stuck on a set schedule of appearance, you'll waste a lot of time writing one in order to help nudge another one along. Kinda unfortunate, really. I'd have to say out of the tree, Shattered proved the most workable, in that even though we had a set schedule (Silverstar/other/Silverstar/other), there was still plenty of flexibility, since 'other' could really be anybody, and all those chapters helped to tie in other plotlines or viewpoints that were both fun to write and helpful to the overall arc, I think. Shattered probably had too many to be easily followable (I think it was like 16?) but if I had structured the story as Sprite/other/Sprite/other, I think that would have been just as feasible. I did consider that for a time, but because of one of the major themes/motifs (those Tempers, again!), I couldn't favor any one POV over the others.
So, there's my rambling for the post, I guess. Someday I'll get that balance just right. ;)
@Swyfte: It wasn't really a huge cliffhanger, since Riven was our POV and we already knew he was bleeding, haha. Unless you were just in suspense over how he'd handle meeting the two lil runts who got in his way early on, in which case I hope I didn't disappoint! Hunt-the-runts is fun to say, but I'm sure it secretly hurts poor little Feo and the others deep down. Or right on the surface. It's not very nice. :(
@Pain: Vulpine is a pretty morbid story, really! That's expected from the premise, I guess, but I'm still a bit surprised sometimes by how dark the characters occasionally get - especially Faun who, as you pointed out, basically has nothing to live for (in his mind, at least) and is embarking on what by all appearances is a mission that will probably get him killed. I think he's a nice contrast to Sprite, who is upbeat and perky despite everything horrible that's happened to her - but even she has plenty of self-doubt and uncertainty, especially when it comes to the world at large, the poor thing. At least no one's really died yet, right (backstories and maulings notwithstanding)?
@Lynxeye: Aww, thanks (even though I would argue I'm not a fanfiction author at this point, or at least not only one, xD). As I've said many (many many) times (thanks to my love of rambling), characters are absolutely the most important thing to me when it comes to writing, and playing with both the audiences' expectations of what a 'good' or a character 'worthy' of a POV is (Faun and Riven, respectively) as well as my own inclinations for certain tropes/arcs is a ton of fun. One of my favorite things so far is that all four POV characters come from very different places/viewpoints (solitaire, son of the Reynard, golden boy of the Skulk, orphaned outsider) and have different goals (although as we've seen, some of them are beginning to converge) with both creates conflict and also, almost paradoxically, creates the opportunity for new connections and relationships. It is hella, hella fun, although finding a way to keep it as neat as possible is pretty challenging, especially when trying to figure out just how the POVs will butt heads on issues, and how they'll fall into line with each other on others (not to mention where all their endgames are). So far so good, though! No regrets.
That's all for now, I think. See you next Sunday (should I just start saying 'Sunday night' or 'Monday?')!
Monday, January 13, 2014
18: Ground
Just realized I hadn't already done this, haha. Sorry! I uploaded the chapter kinda late last night and then went to bed early since classes have started up for me again. Boo. I'm taking a lot of hours, so hopefully it won't be too stressful (and I'll have time for the important things ;)).
Anyway, as promised, a 'cool' character reunion, and other fun things. And a semi-cliffhanger, I guess, but considering who our next POV is (and the condition we last saw him in) it shouldn't be too suspenseful. :P
@Swyfte: To be honest, I'm not sure if we will ever hear the whole story, at least not from Sage! It's quite long, and since his style of story-telling often skips over a great deal of dialogue, we would be missing a lot!
If I may ramble about the Pan/Lorelei thing for a moment, their story actually came from a (complicated and confusing) dream I had months and months ago. Most of the details (two foxes, where they came from, magic flowers, sun/moon etc.) came straight from the dream itself, and worked out nicely, but obviously it was the sort of tale that would not work as a decent plot on its own - at least not with a bit of context. The dream helped me get thinking about my old foxy characters (Sage & Sprite again) and after a few good shower-thinking sessions, Vulpine was born! I do think it would be fun to make it a story in itself someday, but it's such an out-there kinda thing (since it's in the spirit of a folktale, but would be a full-on story instead of just a side note) I'm pretty sure no one would actually want to read it, haha. Ah well. It is a fun thing to slip into the main storyline now and then, and I might end up just writing it in my free time and hoarding it for myself. :P
Anyway, back on track: Are you sure I have nice days? Holly's brush with death was planned from the beginning, after all, and so are a number of others. Really, I think every day would be a mean one, since each one brings us closer and closer to the endgame bloodbath (and all the misfortunes along the way). But if you want to pretend I'm good and fuzzy on the inside, that's okay too. :D
@Lynxeye: You know me too well, haha. Certain circumstances might force my hand earlier than I would like, or not - it just depends on how a few things in the story pivot. We'll figure everything out eventually, though - and this story definitely won't take two years to get to the end. xD
@Pain: Sprite's mostly upset because not only was Trap her father (despite the rather horrible things he did, she and her brothers always assumed he had some reason for them, and there is that blood bond that's difficult to shake; accepting that Trap was just nuts/abusive would imply that those traits might be lurking in Sprite herself, and she's probably no ready to admit that yet), but also because Sage never told her what he had done. Everything Sage does is to protect her - but Sprite does not exactly welcome this, as she has that age-old I-can-take-care-of-myself streak running through her, along with the I-should-handle-my-own-problems-so-others-don't-have-to thing. She sees Sage keeping the truth from her for so long as a breach of trust; it's actually one of many, as she now knows he has been keeping a lot more from her, if he somehow knows Musk and other things he shouldn't. It probably doesn't help that they come from entirely different points of view; Sage is old and crotchety and cynical and remembers the dangers of his youth all too well, whereas Sprite is endlessly curious and starry-eyed and thinks everything can be better if you just belieeeve. They don't share much common ground, and while that was fine and dandy when she was younger, now that Sprite is nearly an adult, they need to figure out a new arrangement before they end up biting each other's heads off.
Bit of a ramble there too, but ah well. Thanks for tagging along, guys, and I'll see you next Sunday! :)
Anyway, as promised, a 'cool' character reunion, and other fun things. And a semi-cliffhanger, I guess, but considering who our next POV is (and the condition we last saw him in) it shouldn't be too suspenseful. :P
@Swyfte: To be honest, I'm not sure if we will ever hear the whole story, at least not from Sage! It's quite long, and since his style of story-telling often skips over a great deal of dialogue, we would be missing a lot!
If I may ramble about the Pan/Lorelei thing for a moment, their story actually came from a (complicated and confusing) dream I had months and months ago. Most of the details (two foxes, where they came from, magic flowers, sun/moon etc.) came straight from the dream itself, and worked out nicely, but obviously it was the sort of tale that would not work as a decent plot on its own - at least not with a bit of context. The dream helped me get thinking about my old foxy characters (Sage & Sprite again) and after a few good shower-thinking sessions, Vulpine was born! I do think it would be fun to make it a story in itself someday, but it's such an out-there kinda thing (since it's in the spirit of a folktale, but would be a full-on story instead of just a side note) I'm pretty sure no one would actually want to read it, haha. Ah well. It is a fun thing to slip into the main storyline now and then, and I might end up just writing it in my free time and hoarding it for myself. :P
Anyway, back on track: Are you sure I have nice days? Holly's brush with death was planned from the beginning, after all, and so are a number of others. Really, I think every day would be a mean one, since each one brings us closer and closer to the endgame bloodbath (and all the misfortunes along the way). But if you want to pretend I'm good and fuzzy on the inside, that's okay too. :D
@Lynxeye: You know me too well, haha. Certain circumstances might force my hand earlier than I would like, or not - it just depends on how a few things in the story pivot. We'll figure everything out eventually, though - and this story definitely won't take two years to get to the end. xD
@Pain: Sprite's mostly upset because not only was Trap her father (despite the rather horrible things he did, she and her brothers always assumed he had some reason for them, and there is that blood bond that's difficult to shake; accepting that Trap was just nuts/abusive would imply that those traits might be lurking in Sprite herself, and she's probably no ready to admit that yet), but also because Sage never told her what he had done. Everything Sage does is to protect her - but Sprite does not exactly welcome this, as she has that age-old I-can-take-care-of-myself streak running through her, along with the I-should-handle-my-own-problems-so-others-don't-have-to thing. She sees Sage keeping the truth from her for so long as a breach of trust; it's actually one of many, as she now knows he has been keeping a lot more from her, if he somehow knows Musk and other things he shouldn't. It probably doesn't help that they come from entirely different points of view; Sage is old and crotchety and cynical and remembers the dangers of his youth all too well, whereas Sprite is endlessly curious and starry-eyed and thinks everything can be better if you just belieeeve. They don't share much common ground, and while that was fine and dandy when she was younger, now that Sprite is nearly an adult, they need to figure out a new arrangement before they end up biting each other's heads off.
Bit of a ramble there too, but ah well. Thanks for tagging along, guys, and I'll see you next Sunday! :)
Saturday, January 4, 2014
17: Turn
Vulpine Bios
Title of the last post should have been 16, not 17. My bad, haha. At least this update was timely!
It was nice to bring our "warm" POVs together again. Next chapter will see a reunion of the "cool" ones, to keep everything in balance, as it should be. It's been awhile since all 4 POVs had something to do with each other (the whole ambush thing - although Trick and Sprite still have not met!), so this should be fun. Befitting a "turn," really.
One thing I do like is how the characters - mostly the warm ones, but occasionally the cool ones too - always hope for stuff. They outline these perfect, idealistic scenarios in their mind - Sprite finding Koulder again and taking him home to Sage, for example, or (on the flip side) Riven killing Koulder in front of everyone to prove his strength and revel in the glory of it all - and honestly believe they have a chance of coming true. They never do, of course - what a boring story that would be, if everyone just got exactly what they wanted (although it would almost work, the way this one's set up, since Sprite and Riven's perfect worlds would definitely butt heads :P) - but something about crushing those dreams and watching them make new ones to cope with it is just really satisfying.
But maybe I'm just a monster, haha.
@Swyfte: "Turned" mean? I'm surprised you think I was ever nice! Besides, the story's entire premise is "lots of cute cuddly things are set up to kill each other." Can't have a story like that without a blackened heart, now can we? :)
@Pain: Is FaunxTrick a ship now? I would say CoolTempershipping, but of course we don't even know what the Tempers really are yet, do we? They were briefly mentioned in Sprite's first chapter (months ago! That's hard to believe, isn't it?) but haven't been brought up since, I don't think. But I'm getting side-tracked. Considering Faun & Trick's only interactions thus far have been her extracting a favor out of him and then turning around to try and use that favor to kill him, they have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to not-dislike each other. xD
That's all for now, I s'pose. See you next Sunday!
Title of the last post should have been 16, not 17. My bad, haha. At least this update was timely!
It was nice to bring our "warm" POVs together again. Next chapter will see a reunion of the "cool" ones, to keep everything in balance, as it should be. It's been awhile since all 4 POVs had something to do with each other (the whole ambush thing - although Trick and Sprite still have not met!), so this should be fun. Befitting a "turn," really.
One thing I do like is how the characters - mostly the warm ones, but occasionally the cool ones too - always hope for stuff. They outline these perfect, idealistic scenarios in their mind - Sprite finding Koulder again and taking him home to Sage, for example, or (on the flip side) Riven killing Koulder in front of everyone to prove his strength and revel in the glory of it all - and honestly believe they have a chance of coming true. They never do, of course - what a boring story that would be, if everyone just got exactly what they wanted (although it would almost work, the way this one's set up, since Sprite and Riven's perfect worlds would definitely butt heads :P) - but something about crushing those dreams and watching them make new ones to cope with it is just really satisfying.
But maybe I'm just a monster, haha.
@Swyfte: "Turned" mean? I'm surprised you think I was ever nice! Besides, the story's entire premise is "lots of cute cuddly things are set up to kill each other." Can't have a story like that without a blackened heart, now can we? :)
@Pain: Is FaunxTrick a ship now? I would say CoolTempershipping, but of course we don't even know what the Tempers really are yet, do we? They were briefly mentioned in Sprite's first chapter (months ago! That's hard to believe, isn't it?) but haven't been brought up since, I don't think. But I'm getting side-tracked. Considering Faun & Trick's only interactions thus far have been her extracting a favor out of him and then turning around to try and use that favor to kill him, they have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to not-dislike each other. xD
That's all for now, I s'pose. See you next Sunday!
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
16: Ice
Late update again, by a little bit. I am really unproductive while on vacation. v_v
Fun chapter to post, though, and it ends another POV section (our fourth, sheesh!). During these past four chapters, things have gone downhill for just about everyone; Sprite's being plagued by nightmares that won't go away, Faun has become isolated and embittered, Riven's been beaten down (although who really feels bad for him at this point), and Trick's been forced to watch her best friend be maimed (and she's been blamed for turning Holly in). None of them are having a good time, not at all - and that is absolutely perfect, because it is precisely this sort of thing that promotes change. :)
@Pain: Hah, glad I was right about you being the guest (although it wasn't hard to narrow it down, since my reviewers are a pretty regular crowd xD). Reyes definitely has the same cockiness as Riven, but he's more practical; no need to get his paws dirty when he has Koulder to do it for him! Definitely not someone you want to cross. Same goes for Musk; I think he was a nice contrast to Toma in Riven's chapter. Toma sees the problems in Faun and wants to correct them, not for the sake of winning but for the sake of helping one of his trainees; Musk can see the issues in his own ranks pretty well, but he's too focused on the winners to really care about what happens to those who fall through the cracks, as Riven has. Also, Toma prolly wouldn't ever tell his trainees about him burying them. :P
@Bookworm: Riven's not exactly sympathetic, even in his sorry condition. He still has a pretty bad outlook on life; we'll have to see whether his musings about Faun near the end of the chapter actually amount to anything, in the end (or whether he realizes Faun is not exactly as put-together as he thinks, haha).
@Lynxeye: Fooling's what I do. :D I've prolly said it before, but I'll say it again: Riven's really fun to write for, simply because you do not get many honest-to-goodness douches when it comes to POVs. Usually they're the poor sweet beaten underdogs (Faun, at least initially), or the outsiders looking in (hello, Sprite), or characters with ulterior motives or plans that the narrative couldn't otherwise showcase (yo, Trick), but douchey "jock" types are very rarely on that list (we don't even really have a close approximation of that character type in Shattered, oddly enough). Very fun, although I do enjoy him getting his just desserts. More fun times ahead, too. c:
Again, happy New Year to you all. Hopefully 2014 will be grand. :D
See you next Sunday, maybe.
Fun chapter to post, though, and it ends another POV section (our fourth, sheesh!). During these past four chapters, things have gone downhill for just about everyone; Sprite's being plagued by nightmares that won't go away, Faun has become isolated and embittered, Riven's been beaten down (although who really feels bad for him at this point), and Trick's been forced to watch her best friend be maimed (and she's been blamed for turning Holly in). None of them are having a good time, not at all - and that is absolutely perfect, because it is precisely this sort of thing that promotes change. :)
@Pain: Hah, glad I was right about you being the guest (although it wasn't hard to narrow it down, since my reviewers are a pretty regular crowd xD). Reyes definitely has the same cockiness as Riven, but he's more practical; no need to get his paws dirty when he has Koulder to do it for him! Definitely not someone you want to cross. Same goes for Musk; I think he was a nice contrast to Toma in Riven's chapter. Toma sees the problems in Faun and wants to correct them, not for the sake of winning but for the sake of helping one of his trainees; Musk can see the issues in his own ranks pretty well, but he's too focused on the winners to really care about what happens to those who fall through the cracks, as Riven has. Also, Toma prolly wouldn't ever tell his trainees about him burying them. :P
@Bookworm: Riven's not exactly sympathetic, even in his sorry condition. He still has a pretty bad outlook on life; we'll have to see whether his musings about Faun near the end of the chapter actually amount to anything, in the end (or whether he realizes Faun is not exactly as put-together as he thinks, haha).
@Lynxeye: Fooling's what I do. :D I've prolly said it before, but I'll say it again: Riven's really fun to write for, simply because you do not get many honest-to-goodness douches when it comes to POVs. Usually they're the poor sweet beaten underdogs (Faun, at least initially), or the outsiders looking in (hello, Sprite), or characters with ulterior motives or plans that the narrative couldn't otherwise showcase (yo, Trick), but douchey "jock" types are very rarely on that list (we don't even really have a close approximation of that character type in Shattered, oddly enough). Very fun, although I do enjoy him getting his just desserts. More fun times ahead, too. c:
Again, happy New Year to you all. Hopefully 2014 will be grand. :D
See you next Sunday, maybe.
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