Entertain me!

[brigdh]

A meme I saw on threewalls's LJ ages ago and which I thought was interesting:

1. Comment to this post with the name of a character that I have written in fic.

2. I will comment telling you the following:
a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her.
b. One of his/her best traits
c. One of his/her worst traits
d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character
e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character
f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future (which may be more optimistic than realistic, but rousing old muses does sometimes gets work written)

Comments

[chiasmus.livejournal.com]

Alec

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee, I knew someone would ask for him.

a. I don't think there was really a specific moment when I decided I liked Alec; I liked his introduction scene and then just kept liking him more and more as I read along. He really is in some ways the character most suited to my particular likes that I've seen anywhere (bitter, funny cynicism + intelligence + a specific sort of suicdial intent, the desire to do something or be something that is so strong one is willing to destroy oneself to get it = Brigdh is really happy).

b. He is, I think, both smarter and kinder than he wants to be.

c. Hahahaha. Um. Just one? Really self-centered.

d. Oh, he's so hard. Really hard. Mainly because he is WAY MORE wittier than I am, so when I'm writing his dialouge I have to think and think and groan and think and think and rewrite and think to come up with something that sounds spur-of-the-moment and cool.

e. I'm rather fond of 'And In Possession So', because I'd been meaning to write something involving knives and blood for ages, and I like the way it turned out.

f. I'm sure I will, and probably soon, but I don't have any stories in the process of being written at the moment.

[keelieinblack.livejournal.com]

Hisoka! (If you don't mind, that is; I know you've already written quite a lot about him at reflections_2 and other places.)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

But of course I want to talk about Hisoka!

a. I think the moment I first really fell for Hisoka was at the end of the Nagasaki arc- first, that he's so genuinely surprised when Tsuzuki shows up, and then so shortly afterward when he shows such reserves of courage and stubbornness. How can you not love him there, really? He remains so snarky and short-tempered and self-aware (he seems so calm knowing that's the bait in the trap!) in the face of torture, the revelation of his rape and death, and possible soon second death, but something like Tsuzuki's rescue attempt is what he finds shocking.

b. I love his refusal to give up. Which, of course, proves to be problematic in the probably-never-to-be-finished GenSouKai Arc when he becomes obsessed with getting power, but that stubbornness has driven him so far. And is part of the reason why I'm more of an OTP for this series than most others; that drive of Hisoka's is such an interesting contrast to Tsuzuki's refusal to use his power or advantages.

c. There's definitely some sort of self-hatred going on there, beneath the surface, along with body images issues; that, I think, is part of what creates his tendency to let the usually-good traits like stubbornness go overboard and be turned into problems.

d. Fairly easy. His thought-patterns are different enough from my own that he's not my default narrator for YnM, but there's no specific habit or tendency of his that makes it so. I think it might be that he wants to be more unemotional and comment on the scenery less than I prefer, but though he takes a bit more effort to write what I want to convey in his voice, I wouldn't call him hard.

e. Glancing back over my stories, I think I particularly like "Hisoka doesn't know how to be anything other than what they've made of him, and he's furious at them, at himself, at the whole world." or "People were cruel and greedy on the inside; Hisoka knew about the ugly, selfish things everyone felt but wouldn't admit. The world wasn't kind. It didn't even allow for kindness. But Tsuzuki believed in romance.", both from the Surcease of Pain drabble set.

f. Oh, certainly. I don't have anything started right now, though. (Hmmm, maybe I should write that YnM/Swordspoint crossover I joked about once! I even half have a way to do it, except I'm not sure why modern Japanese shinigami would be in Riverside, even if there were ghosts involved.)

[veleda-k.livejournal.com]

I'm gibbering here because all of "a"? Makes me go yes. That scene in the Nagasaki arc may be the Hisoka moment for me.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I know, right? It's just so awesome and lovely.

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

f1. They're on vacation
f2. They're pursuing a Japanese spirit
f3. They're pursuing a rogue Shokan Division agent who's gone off the reservation

There, I'm helping. ;-)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee!

Well, at least other people don't think I'm entirely insane for wanting to cross over those two series.

[threewalls]

Tsuzuki.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

a. I didn't fall in love with Tsuzuki through any moment in canon (though, of course, there are plenty that I do find endearing), but rather through writing him; at first I liked him simply because Hisoka did. It wasn't until I had used him as a narrator in several stories that I began to like him for himself.

b. He puts everyone before his own needs. Everyone. And yes, a great deal of that has to do with self-hatred, with guilt, with a low self-esteem, with masochistic tendencies, etc, but I do think he has a core of kindness and generosity, and a willingness to reach out to people or help them simply because they're there, and he can. I think a great deal of selfish behavior that's common in most people simply wouldn't even occur to him, because he helps people. That just what you do, right?

c. His coping mechanisms need some serious work. I have a lot of sympathy for him, because I think he's stuck in a terrible position from which he simply has no good choices. I can't remember if it's actually stated in canon, but it seems to me to be heavily implied that Tsuzuki has never been given the option to move on like most people; he's a shinigami because Enma wants something of him. To accept the power he has would be to alter himself into something he has never wanted to be (because demon-power may or may not come with losing his morality, but even if he could, in a sense, keep his humanity, a creature like he would be might be feared or respected or admired, but it wouldn't be liked, and that seems to be what Tsuzuki wants). The whole slob-sweet tooth-puppy dog thing seems to be clearly a temporary balancing act, but since the fall to both sides would be so horrible for him, I can't hold it against him for clinging to it.

d. Easy. I do have to pause sometimes to be sure I'm staying in his voice, but I like the way he thinks, and he tends to be my default narrator for YnM stories. One thing I find difficult about writing Tsuzuki is that there's an extreme of his behavior and an extreme of my personal behavior where the two are quite similar, and so I have to stay on my guard that I'm always writing something he would do and not something I would do.

e. I really adore the Tsuzuki in 'Thy Faithfulness in Destruction' though I also have a particularly love for the AU version of him in the little bits and pieces of that Bedouin story I have scattered around.

f. Yep. And, most likely, it will be the same story as the next one I write Hisoka in, but as I said, I don't have any YnM stories started right now.

[veleda-k.livejournal.com]

though I also have a particularly love for the AU version of him in the little bits and pieces of that Bedouin story I have scattered around.

I would like to take this moment to say that I love that story more than is healthy.

I am making many random, rambling comments. For this I apologize.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm glad!

And don't apologize; random comments make my day. Plus, yours are far too short to count as rambling.

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

I do think he has a core of kindness and generosity, and a willingness to reach out to people or help them simply because they're there, and he can.

Oh, yes. It's the reason I have patience with him in the end.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yep. It does redeem a lot.

[b-hallward.livejournal.com]

Richard. Okay, I'm getting predicable.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

But predictable in a way I like!

a. Oh, Richard. Like Alec, I think I liked him from his very first scene- the moment it becomes obvious that he's not running away because he killed someone in front of dozens of witnesses, but because it would be just so boring to stay at the party and be complimented and make small talk and blah blah blah. And I adore the way he handles Alec, since he seems both very good at it and very cautious; it reminds me of something holding a glass object with sharp edges.

b. I adore the way he handles the power he has as an extremely talented and popular swordsman. He seems to know just what advantages he wants from that position, and to be competent at using those, while deflecting the unwanted ones. Which would require a self-knowledge way beyond me or most people, I suspect.

c. It is my interpretation that Richard is way the fuck more insane than Alec is. Now, it's much more subtle, I agree, and he is perfectly in control of himself and his interactions with reality. But I always get the sense from him that he has no real concept of morality. But which I mean- I think he knows that other people consider it rude to commit murder. And he knows when doing so will cause him more trouble than it's worth. But, to me, there always this sense that he has no more guilt over killing someone than I would have over wearing white after Labor Day: it's a rule I'm willing to abide so that other people don't make a fuss, but not one that is personally important to me. I feel like Alec does have a personal morality; it's just that he often gets off on flaunting it. But while Richard might not feel compelled toward murder and torture, I don't feel like he has the internal sense of those things being fundamentally wrong that a normal person would have.

d. Very easy. I think I find Richard the easiest to write of all my favorite characters; he's aware and interested in his surroundings and in other people so that I can write lots of description, while his dialogue and thought-processings are usually fairly simply stated.

e. I'm very fond of 'Smoke and Gold and Breathing', because I think there's a delicacy to that story that seems to fit Richard so well. Although, glancing back through my stories, I notice that I have pages and pages of Richard thinking about Alec, and almost none of the reverse. Clearly I need to fix that.

f. I'm sure I will, but I don't have any Swordspoint stories started right now.

[p-zeitgeist.livejournal.com]

I'm late, and other people have already asked about the guys I'd ask about. (All of the gratification, none of the work!)

I wanted to chime in here, though, to say that I completely agree with you on point c. He's a sociopath with pretty manners, and it always surprises me that more readers don't seem to notice that.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you agree. For a while I was wondering if I was the only person who had come away from the book with that impression.

[b-hallward.livejournal.com]

and I adore the way he handles Alec, since he seems both very good at it and very cautious; it reminds me of something holding a glass object with sharp edges

Oh, man, you just nailed what I love most about Alec/Richard from Richard POV. That quality just slays me.

almost none of the reverse. Clearly I need to fix that.

That is something I would love to read.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

And I'd probably quite enjoy writing it. Now if I could just find some free time...

[gamera.livejournal.com]

Sanzo.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Heh, and I was starting to wonder if anyone was going to ask about Saiyuki.

a. Now Sanzo is a character where I have a very specific moment when I fell head-over-heels in love with him. Usually my favorite characters tend to slowly grow in my affection, or I'll notice a few traits I like in them and become more fond of them as I find out more about them. But Sanzo? When he gives that 'the gods save no one' speech in Volume Four, right there, the second I read those words, I knew he was mine. I think that speech literally made me gasp out loud, I found it so awesome.

b. Sanzo's another one of those characters who would kill himself before he'd let someone tell him what to do. He has his values- and though he'd never put it that way- he won't let anyone convince him into something other than what he thinks is the right thing to do. Which is awesome.

c. He's so short-tempered. Actually, a lot of my favorite characters are, which is strange, because it's something I have little patience with in real life. I wonder if I find it perversely interesting in the fictional version, or if it just happens to often be linked with traits I do like, such as stubbornness and cynicism.

d. A little on the difficult side. He's a very taciturn character, so I have trouble getting him to say enough to narrate a story while still sounding like himself. Much easier to have someone else do all the work of the narration and just have Sanzo snap a few lines of dialogue when necessary.

e. I like "Nothing is permanent; they're fools to forget that, to waste so much effort on fulfilling desires. Still. It was their choice to make. Their path to walk, now." a lot, which is from 'We Are Pain and What Cures Pain, Both', but I'm also really fond of this exchange between Gojyo and Sanzo: "If you really wanted, I could find you someplace else to go."

"I don't need your help." Xiao Chen turns away, putting her back against the wall, but Kinjal presses into her anyway.

"Then stay. See if I care."

"I will.", but it's from 'What Power', which is an AU, and so maybe it doesn't count.

f. Definitely! But I bet a Swordspoint story will come first.

[veleda-k.livejournal.com]

Making yet another little comment. Now that I've finished The Years of Rice and Salt, I realize that "What Power" feels very similiar. It's not just the reincarnation aspect. I'd have to read the story again to get a better idea of what I mean. (And won't that be a terribly tragic chore. Woe is me.)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Really? That's so cool that you'd say that, since I think I wrote 'What Power' before I read The Years of Rice and Salt (um, I think. I'd have to go digging back through various journal entries to be sure). But I'm glad you think so, since I do so love that book, and I'd love to think I wrote something similar.

goku.

[gen50.livejournal.com]

someone said sanzo already.

Re: goku.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her.

Goku is another character who I didn't really fall in love with until after I'd written him. I always liked him in the manga, but I tend to be attracted to characters who have a great deal of obvious angst, which Goku clearly doesn't. But once I'd written him, he has this clear-eyed, simple (not in the stupid way, in the force-of-nature or rules-of-physics way) view on things that's really appealing.

b. One of his/her best traits

There is that simplicity I was just talking about. I'm fascinated by how he is simultaneously capable of deep insights and reading people's true natures, and getting into food fights with Gojyo. There's a real balance to that which is endlessly complex.

Or maybe it just appears that way to those of us who aren't zen masters. *grins*

c. One of his/her worst traits

Hmmm. Goku is actually a pretty well-rounded character, really. He's a bit gullible and prone to being naive, I suppose.

d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character

Fairly easy. Goku does have a distinct way of speaking that I do try not to capture, but he's not the hardest of the Saiyuki bunch by a long rate.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character

I like, "In the end, Goku wanted to, and so he did." from 'Hungry', and really, the whole line that drabble's from.

f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future

I'm sure I will. I still need to finish that Seven Sins/Seven Virtues thing I was writing, first of all!

[solo.livejournal.com]

I was going to say Hisoka (predictable, much?) but somebody got in there ahead of me. I love reading what you say about Hisoka. And now I want to watch all the episodes again. :-)
(Still don't have a Hisoka icon, so my default will have to do.)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hey, predictability is good. At least when it lets me talk about characters I like. *grins* And thank you!

[ranalore.livejournal.com]

Goku.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

*gestures you upward at gen50's comment*

[ranalore.livejournal.com]

These are the things that happen when several of us comment at once. *G*

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Hee, no worries. I just wanted to make sure you saw the reply.

[ranalore.livejournal.com]

I did. I love that monkey so much. *G*

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Gojyo.

Also, HI. (http://mistressrenet.livejournal.com/195932.html)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

a. What initially prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her.
Gojyo is another one that I had to write before I really fell in love with him. And even then, I wrote Kenren first, but they strike me as fairly similar (more so than Hakkai and Tenpou, for instance) and writing Kenren made me want to try Gojyo.

b. One of his/her best traits
He's very soft-hearted, in some ways. Gojyo seems to have an impulse to pick up strays, feed kittens, flirt with shy girls- that sort of thing. Not that he's always well-intentioned, but he does seem to often try to cheer people up for the sake of seeing them happy.

c. One of his/her worst traits
Gojyo can be really sleazy. And he can use that to be cruel; partly as a way of protecting himself, keeping himself from opening up to or caring about someone who might leave, or hurt him, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing to do.


d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character
Very easy, and in truth it's one of the reasons I like. Gojyo and I (in person, at least), have a very similar rhythm to how we speak, and so his dialouge and narration come quickly to me, and I have a great time writing him.

e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character
I like, "If he ever actually tried to make Sanzo stop calling him an idiot, Gojyo wouldn't have time to do anything else, so he grins, easy and sure to piss Sanzo off." from We Are Pain and What Cures Pain, Both.

f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future
I don't have any Saiyuki stories planned right now, but I'm sure I will write one, and that Gojyo will be in it.