Open Thread: Oracle Hotline

[mithen]

First: a quick note. Superhero Muses is mirrored on Dreamwidth at superhero_muses.dreamwidth.org! I'm there too as Mithen, so feel free to add either/both accounts if you're shifting over there. I'll keep posting this weekly thread here as well for now--I assume the number of replies will one day drop to zero and then I'll probably shift to DW-only, but until then it's not hard to keep both going.

Character question of the week: What is your most recent POV character’s greatest asset? Still Sami Zayn (bad timing, I just wrapped up a big DCU story and haven't started another yet, so no DCU POV characters!) And his greatest asset is... some people would probably disagree but I think it's his boundless self-confidence. He's an awkward person but he doesn't seem to let that rattle him, he believes very strongly that if you don't appreciate him, well, you're just going to have to learn to.

What are the strengths of the person you've been writing most recently, and how goes that writing? Amazingly enough, I had an entire story get simultaneously jossed and improved by a character suddenly getting a shave (I'd been writing a story where he got a shave, so it was a shock to have him show up without the beard!) Some quick revisions and it's almost ready to go, though!

Comments

[me_ya_ri]

Well, I've been here for a long while so I hope everyone else joins up, too. It'd be fun to have more people over here. :D

Let's see, the most recent POV character is Prince Cyrille from my epic fantasy short story series I've been playing with. His the First Follower of Keanu, my baby demigod.

Prince Cyrille would likely say that his greatest asset is his brain. He's very smart, indeed. But it's really not. His greatest asset is his stubbornness, really. He was born a prince, marked for being an administrator and librarian, and then completely refused to follow that path. He's now off questing all over the world with his warrior soulbond and their friends (and Keanu) even though he's short and slim and can't actually fight to protect himself. And he's having a lovely time of it, too.

Though right now his mind's being turned against him because he's been possessed by the ghost of the High King's (his cousin) lover who committed suicide. So his perceptions are all off and he's not sure what's real and what isn't.

Which is where his stubbornness is coming through and saving him. Much fun to write!

XD Cool to have your story get both jossed and improved at the same time! Have fun finishing it off!

[mithen]

Though right now his mind's being turned against him because he's been possessed by the ghost of the High King's (his cousin) lover who committed suicide. So his perceptions are all off and he's not sure what's real and what isn't.

This sounds really awesome, and I LOVE the idea of a character who thinks one thing is their strength, but it turns out it actually is something quite different...

[prince0froses]

It is time for me to play catch-up, two months out! And since I've written since then, and a scene with a clear POV character, I'll be answering all these with Dorian.

My immediate thought was a very shallow, Dorian-esque answer revolving around his supermodel good looks (and most likely an innuendo regarding -specific- physical assets), his genius with his inborn magics, and his talents with singing and the guitar, I could even see him saying that with a wink and a swagger. And while those are certainly assets, they are not his best. His more honest assets sometimes double as flaws - his willingness to self-sacrifice, for example, is just as much out of self-loathing as it is love for others. I'd suggest...patience is too weak a word, and 'willpower' feels like the wrong sentiment, but the level of emotional endurance it would have taken to weather being bound to a violent, angry voice in his head from his formative years onward and still emerge a good, loving person - whatever label you'd put on that virtue, that is his best asset.

[mithen]

His more honest assets sometimes double as flaws - his willingness to self-sacrifice, for example, is just as much out of self-loathing as it is love for others.

Ooooh, the best assets often do double as flaws, don't they? That's a good way of putting it.

It's funny to think of someone so superficially volatile as Dorian having so much emotional endurance, but the apparent volatility AND the endurance come from a lot of the same sources, don't they? Not just Serathus but also his relationship with his mother...