Writing has
been hard again, largely due to life, and it will continue to be hard as I try
to shuffle my schedule around so that I can get 3-4 30 minutes or more sessions
per week. So, no new chapter this week,
but I'm hopeful for next week. Anyway, minor spoilers below. You have been warned.
So, let's
have a character spotlight on the star of this little story. Minava Gren.
Minava, or Mina as I call her, comes from both a sad and a happy place
for me. See, I never had a sister, but a
while back I met a little girl who became something of an analogue for me, as
the little sister I never had. She was a
bit naive, but kind, accepting, and felt that it was dumb to hurt people when
there was no reason. She was also a bit
uncertain about how to accept some of the broader concepts of the world. For example, she loved to help those who were
downtrodden, but didn't necessarily know how to feel about moral ambiguity. That's the happy place, because she was like
Mina. A very compassionate, accepting
soul. The sad place comes from how she
pushed me away because of her own issues later in life.
That is a
good way to sum up Mina. I toned down
the naïveté just a tad, but kept most of the other traits. Mina is a very compassionate girl who is
always trying to help others. She's very
loyal to family, even if they're not her own, and accepts people from all walks
of life, even nal-vey or neeg who are generally considered second rate citizens. This all comes from the girl I knew. Her lack of understanding also translated,
because Mina can't always accept things that appear on the surface to be bad,
even if they're for a good cause or a cause that at least isn't as bad as it
appears. It's easy for her to treat
Denad as a villain because of how selfish his actions are in hunting down
mermaids, however there is confusion in regards to someone like, say,
Nazon. You can't exactly root for Nazon
to go down because he doesn't want to fight.
His main goal was to runaway, so he's not a clear cut villain. In the end, she fought him because it was do
or die, but there was confusion.
In fact,
bravado and confusion I think make up the more interesting traits of Mina. The bravado I took a bit from myself and from
someone else close to me, because Mina isn't afraid to stand her ground for
what she believes, she's very strong willed, and tries to keep a strong face
on, even when she's not happy. Her
confidence isn't false, but it isn't as concrete as Aeon or Vincent's. Largely, that's because she has confusion and
tragedy in her past. While Mina is
accepting of all walks of life, liches used to terrify her. So, when she met Aeon, who acted to protect
her, she wasn't sure how to feel. The
same thing applied to Nazon. While it may have
been clear what she needed to do in order to survive, the "villain"
of that story wasn't exactly easy for her to hate. Same with Rudra, who was more than prepared
to kill her, but wasn't doing it out of spite or malice. He was bored and trying to protect his
territory. Trying to find her path is
going to be a big part of Mina's growth.
It's
difficult for me to pin down why Mina looks the way she looks. I've always liked the emerald haired maidens
of anime and, since this is a fantasy world and I make the rules, I figured why
not. I also liked the somewhat short
trait, as it makes her unintimidating and gives her room to grow. She's smaller than Celine or Daryl and less
developed physically, despite being of similar age. That's really the biggest basis for her
appearance. I did take basic design from
the girl I spoke of earlier, but that was so basic it almost doesn't matter.
Mina is
largely more mature, but also somewhat immature, compared to Celine or
Daryl. Because of the tragedy in her
past, Mina had to grow up quickly and without a meaningful father figure. She loves Kano, but he's not a replacement for her
father. Due to this, she often acts with
concern and with maturity in trying to keep the girls together and do what's
right. By that same token, because of
her history traveling in a caravan, she misses the thrill of adventure that
came with such travels. She yearns for
stories from those who pass through the tavern and whenever an adventure
presents itself to her, she is giddy with excitement, even if the adventure is
something as small as speaking with a traveler.
However, this can lead to her being a little reckless, as she tries to
balance that maturity and desire to prevent similar tragedies to the one she
faced, with the giddy thrill of a quest.
Mina's
magic comes from her persona. Because of
her free spirit, she is more in tune with air.
More will be revealed about her magic and personality as the story goes
on.
The one
trait I wish I could have emphasized more with Mina is her tomboyish
nature. She's not really interested in
boys and is in many ways just as tough as them.
Celine is arguably the more aggressive of the two, but Mina knows how to
fight to an extent, which I haven't really had a chance to showcase since
Denad's battle. I wanted her to not be
helpless, but not be overpowered either.
Kano
taught her how to handle drunk or rude customers at the tavern, so she and
Celine know how to brawl to a small extent.
In that
vein of thought, I also tried to stay away from overt sexual tension with
Mina. Partly because she's a tomboy,
partly because I've never been a 14 year old girl and thusly have no frame of
reference. There is some tension with
the other characters, but Mina I didn't see the need or any reason to approach
it. She does understand the birds and
the bees, as she knows enough to blush whenever she sees displays of affection,
but isn't a bubbling pot of hormones.
Closing out the tomboy discussion, I did want Mina to be a little
cute. With her giddiness and her moments
of laughing or carrying on, I wanted her to be cute, even if she was a
tomboy. Mina is still a girl after all
and should be a little feminine. I just
hope I'm not going into parody, as I don't have as much experience writing for
women, despite my love of them as protagonists.
On the
whole, I'm very proud of Mina and her development. While perhaps not perfect, she acts as both a
fully fleshed out character, and as an analogue for exposition, along with
Celine and Daryl. Each has some knowledge
of the world which they can share or question freely, spreading the need to
explain out amongst the three and thus not making any of them seem brainless or
stupid. Likewise, Mina has avoided the
Mary Sue kiss of death for her many flaws, such as her crippling fear of
liches, her tendency to be confused about moral ambiguity, and a heaping
helping of doubt, on herself and others.
If
stoicism, detachment, and necessity characterized Aeon, I'd say compassion,
curiosity, and growth characterize Mina.
While the lich is fully formed with some minor wrinkles to be ironed
out, at least in terms of his personal journey, Mina is still forming. She's still growing and trying to understand
who she is, what she wants to do, who she wants to be, etc. That's kind of why this turned into her
story. Her growth and her
development. Because she is in this
fantastical world and trying to find her place in it. Who she wants to believe in, who she wants to
stand alongside, and who she herself wants to be.
I've got Mina's
journey planned out to a large degree, lord knows if we'll ever get there, but
I'm still looking forward to the ride.
The next two chapters are focused on some of the traits I've talked
about here, so I wonder if anyone will make the meaningful connections...well,
time will tell, I suppose.
Again, not
sure if that's confusing, enlightening, or whatever, but it is at least getting
me to write about and thinking on my book and that's kind of important. Leaving it for too long will only create a disconnect
between writer and story, which is why I want to update at least once a week on
this blog. It keeps that disconnect to a
minimum.
Seriously,
I'm almost done with this latest chapter.
Just need to iron out a few teeny tiny wrinkles. Then...well...stay tuned.
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