Monthly Archives: February 2009
The Care, Feeding and Ultimate Destruction of NPC’s
1. Who are the NPCs / supporting cast members in your character’s life? (if you don’t have any, feel free to invent some now!)
There is Lizette, Dr. Srinder Chaudry, Angus McLeod, who started out as an NPC and was taken over by a friend. the Khatib brothers, who are just horrible jerks. The most notable one as of late was Fanny’s daughter, Jocelyn. We had not really intended for her to be a full-blown character on her own, but she sort of piped up and made everyone take note of her.
2. How much detail do you put into them?
Usually there is quite a bit of detail. However, sometimes it’s just the rudimentary information where I need someone else in the room or in the scene. I find it amazing that people don’t use NPCs more. No character is an island, and not having NPC’s, or other characters to flesh out your fiction just seems rather counterproductive.
3. Do you choose PBs for your NPCs?
Yes, sometimes. For Angus and for Jocelyn they sort of chose their own PB’S. I knew what I had for the description, and then all of a sudden, Pb’s of that description just sort of popped up. Rachel Castro as a young Jocelyn and then later in her life, she is supposedly the spit and image of her mother, so we got some very, VERY early Monica Bellucci pictures. Ibrahim I used a Bollywood actor whom I had not seen before. Aisha’s father, Moustafa, I chose Egyptian actor, Omar Sharif.
4. Do they ever have their own stories / speaking roles?
Oh, most definitely! Jocelyn started out as a baby in a crib. She became the absolute rose in her Papa’s eyes. Then there was this Demon…and he picked up the baby and she just started cooing and gurgling at him and her father and then it all just sort of started exploding on the page! *g*
5. What roles do the NPCs play in storylines involving your character?
They are usually servants or just again, people I need in a scene. I tend to be picky about my characters, and the NPC’s just sort of serve as my “expendable crewmembers” which I can do terrible things to and drop kick them in and out of scenes on an as needed basis.
6. Has an NPC or supporting cast member ever stolen the show and become one of your main characters?
Angus, as I mentioned, was picked up by a friend of mine that I worked with. He later put him back down again and I took him over.
7. Have you ever killed off an NPC to support a plot or storyline? How did it work out?
Yes. I killed off Ibrahim Khatib, who was the brother of Aisha, one of my characters. I knew I was going to kill him off from the beginning. He was just far too nasty an individual to let run around for too long. It was even Aisha who blew Ibrahim’s brains out in a firefight in the streets of Amsterdam. Never mind that she did it in order to save the man who kidnapped her in the first place, it really ended up being a rather good plot device because it left at least a couple of people in the storyline, including Aisha herself, wondering why the hell she had done it. That bit on its own was what got the screenplay that is based on that story some interest. We shall see what happens. In my opinion, you have to be willing to strew some bodies of minor or even major characters here and there in your fiction in order for it to be effective. Don’t be afraid to stab a few of them to death, shoot them, throw them under a train or poison them with your pen. It’s kind of fun really.
Bonus points:
Write a ficlet about one of your characters as told from the POV of one of their NPCs/supporting cast members.
From the aforementioned story / screenplay:
Ibrahim sipped his Turkish coffee and glanced half heartedly at the issue of the Times before him. He was far more interested in keeping a watchful glance at the fellow Lebanese, Algerians and even Egyptians that sat in the dimly lit Amsterdam khawi that was frequented by Arab men, and students that wanted to appear trendy if not sympathetic to Arab culture. By the time he was drinking his second cup of coffee, he caught sight of a man who matched the description that his father, Mustafa had given him. He was not an Arab, at least not fully, not with eyes like those. They were green, and lacked something in their depths. Still, the Stranger spoke flawless Arabic, and by his accent, he had spent time in the Alexandrian region of Egypt. The lilting drawl of the higher class dialect of the language was indicative of the region. Such markers, Ibrahim noted, were unmistakable. Continue reading
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– #271 – Talk about a time you were sick
The days and weeks just after my husband’s return were all but a blur to me. There was so much to be done. Caroline, who had never known her father, would now as an adult have to come to grips with the fact that he was no longer to be counted among the dead. I admit, in those days, I hardly slept, and I barely remembered to eat. Even Hsu, who had been with me the night before we had discovered Sebastien’s return, thought my neglecting of things such as food, drink and especially sleep was indeed somewhat worrisome. In my excitement, I had succeeded in exhausting myself. I had excitedly kept pushing for every experience until I had no more reserves of strength left at my disposal. When I could eat, I was unable to keep food down, and every limb in my body ached. Continue reading
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What is in a name?
Names? I have quite a number of them. and if you were to put them all in a line you would get Frances Moira McKay Faelyn Nic Gan Ceanach de Rochefort.
I was named Frances for it’s Gaelic meaning of ‘freedom’. In Scotland where I was born, the sentiment of freedom was something that beat strong in the heart of every decent son or daughter born of that land. My mother’s first name for me was a wish, a prayer and a hope that we could all remain free. Moira, I was named for my Grandmother – her name having two meanings, one meaning of the name is ‘bitter’ – the other being ‘great’. No matter that Christianity’s own Goddess, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the derivative of that name, together or separate, it has held true for me. I am not embittered, but I have tasted life’s bitter fruits as well as great Power.
The Clan McKay, called Mac Aoidh in Gaelic, meaning the ‘Son of Aodh.’ or ‘Son of Fire’ , were originally descended of the Picts – with clear and direct ties to the Sidhe, who are my Ancestors and whose blood I carry in my veins. Our motto is ‘Manu forti’ , ‘With a strong hand,’ and by the fourteenth century,the McKay’s were most numerous in the Nothermost regions of Scotland, our family lands stretched from Cape Wrath along the north coast to Caithness. Over time we lost the whole of those lands to Clan Sutherland. This was long after I myself had left the shores of Scotland for the Fortunate Island and my husband’s lands in France. The ties to my family there long since having dissipated into the mists of time.
The name Faelyn, however, was given to me when I was but a wee lass. It was a name that my foster mother, Morgienne had to claim for me from the Unseelie, for my father, Gan Ceanach, was none to keen to acknowledge the liaison between himself and my mother. With the threat of being forsworn in front of all the Unseelie Court, he relented at last, and the name was mine. The name Faelyn itself means, “Beautiful Fae”. Only those closest to me ever use that name, though some, such as Hsu, never have used it. Sebastien will only use that name when speaking to me, and I suppose that this is appropriate, all things considered. Gan Ceanach means ‘Love Talker’, which is the name of my Sidhe father. Nic Gan Ceanach, simply means ‘Daughter of Gan Ceanach’, and tells those among the Sidhe whose daughter I am; not that my father and I have ever had much to say to each other.
The Noble House of my husband’s ancestors was founded before the year 876 when the Merovingian Kings were supplanted by those of the Carolingians by the Pope. The Houses of Rochefort and of Rochechouart are the oldest families of French nobility. The name originally from the Old French, roche, meaning ‘rocky outcrop’, and indeed, the de Rochefort lands are surrounded by beautiful mountains on nearly all sides. Suffice it to say that within my husband’s veins runs blood that is more pure than that of the Kings of France. His line is from the Noblesse Ancienne – the Ancient Nobles, and the Noblesse d’Epee – the Nobles of the Sword and back even further, some have speculated to even before Vercingetorix, who was defeated by Julius Caesar. The members of his family, from the earliest times, have been an integral part of the history of France and have served as soldiers, politicians, officials and artists. The family mottoes are “Ante mare undae” or “L’esprit surpasse la matière”.(“Spirit surpasses Matter”.) and my personal favourite, “Avant que la mer fût au monde, Rochechouart portait les ondes” (“Before the sea was in the world, the Rochechouart carried the waves”). If anything could be said to sum up the sense of self-importance that every de Rochefort and Rochechouart I have ever met has in full measure, it would be these words. I would say that I have also embraced this as well.
Muse: Fanny Fae / Faelyn
Fandom: Original Character / Folklore / Mythology
Word Count: 659
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OOC: Munday Thoughts
What are you besides a writer/role-player? Also, how much of your everyday life involves writing in some form? Does it interfere with your other obligations?
Most of my life has some form of writing in it. I am a Mom, an herbalist, a Priestess, a consultant, an independent researcher in Egyptology, which makes me an incredible history geek, and I am an associate producer in film (yes, I actually am listed on the professional side of the IMDB). When I am online I am pretty much available to people – except for those times when I’m not. To be honest, writing and RP for me has given me some of my closest and most meaningful friendships and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. But writing and RP isn’t the only reason why I love these people for who they are. They are just down to Earth good people. All of this has also taught me alot about human nature and that most everyone wants the same things in life. Our characters may have different end results in their respective lives, but not unlike the people we meet in the day to day parts of life, in general each of us only wants to feel safe, secure, loved, abundant, and see their goals come to fruition. It shouldn’t be too much to ask. Continue reading
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– One True Love or Too Many?
No doubt I have already talked about this on a number of occasions. I have considered the love of my life to be my husband, Sebastien. That is no secret. I of course, did not come to him a virgin, but as far as he was concerned, such a thing was not of major import anyway. To be fair, I am not by any means the only woman that he has ever had, nor am I his first wife . He is French after all.
Continue reading
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Protected: ROTM – 09.7 – D. Questionnaire – Strange questions for muses.
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Protected: OOC: State of the Writer and Muse
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