Character Spotlight 4: Celine

Before we get started with this week's character spotlight, I just want people to know that progress is being made.  This next chapter has a good 2-4 very emotional and difficult to write and get right segments.  They're slowing me down.  That and the fact the chapter is longer than others.  I usually try to cut off my chapters around page 20 and just break them into new ones for the sake of editing, but this one...it deserves to remain uncut.  It's important.  I should have it done by friday/sunday and then editing/revising can begin.  I still hope to get it out by the end of March, but we'll see.

Now, let's take a look at the second most prominent female character in this series.  Mina's best friend, Celine.

Character Spotlight 4: Celine

            Today, we're looking at Celine Gren, Mina's adopted sister.  I'd like to say that Celine was inspired by a number of women in my life, predominately a friend I had many years back who, while younger than me, felt like a bit of an older sister figure.  She was scary at times, but dangerously pragmatic and very loving of a friend we held in common who helped inspire Mina for me.  However, that's what helped spark the personality.  Other things are a bit different.

            Appearance wise, I wanted to give Celine something of a cleaner ganguro look from Japanese culture because, while they see it as trashy sometimes, I see it as something free spirited and different.  That's the largest reason for her skin being tanned, despite the vast majority of other humans introduced having white skin.  Her skin color does play into several events in the future, but for now it's best to just think of it as, she has a strong tan.  I wanted her to be a little older and more developed physically than Mina to hammer home the big sister connection.  I liked the idea of the blonde, curlyish hair, which also played into the ganguro image, but before I go on, I want to just say something about hair.  I find, in most stories of fiction, it is pretty boring to have people with the same basic palette of hair, usually blond, black, brown, an occasional red head or grey/white for the elderly.  If you're trying to place it in OUR world, I guess that makes sense, but I always loved the idea in anime that hair could be any color.  It could be symbolic.  It could just be fun.  So that's why Celine's hair is blond, Mina's is green, and Daryl's is purple.

            Now, more on Celine.  Celine is very much a tom boy because she never had the chance to really be a girl prior to meeting Kano and Mina.  Her life was consumed with toil, fear, and the struggle for survival.  However, this has also made her very strong, both in a physical sense, as she is the most fit of the 3 girls and the most capable in a fist fight, as well as in the emotional sense, as Celine is able to deal with crises easily and focus on priorities.  She was never really taught the idea of shame and grew up without personal space restrictions, so she is very much a touchy person, however her emotional moments are a more recent development.    If Celine has one major weakness, it comes down to Mina, whom she views as friend, sister, and savior.  That'll be explained more in detail later.  She is overprotective of the little girl and quick to anger if anyone hurts, insults, or even touches Mina in a way she finds inappropriate.  This has led to friction with Kinana.  However, Celine isn't meant to be like a doting mother or what have you.  She understands Mina is strong and largely does not hover.  But she is also prone to knee jerk reactions and those over protective feelings are one of them.  When not being driven to action by others, Celine tends to be very laid back, but not to the point of negligence.  She doesn't let things get out of control if she can help it.  I'd say that of the three girls, she could easily be called the leader.  Mina is the heart, keeping them together, Daryl is the brain, always thinking and learning, and Celine is the arms and legs, keeping everyone moving forward and doing what needs to be done.

            Celine was an interesting character to write because originally she was slated to JUST be the big sister/tom boy stereotype.  Daryl was going to take the role that Celine eventually filled.  That is, the role of the bigot.  Celine is very suspicious by nature, due to the harshness of her life prior to meeting Mina and Kano.  This leads her to having certain preconceived notions about others, some of which are justified, others are not.  She does not trust Aeon at first sight, both because of what he did to Mina and because of his appearance.  While Mina is trusting to a fault, Celine is a bit more reserved and will only give trust when it is deserved.  That said, Celine despises any and all neeg.  This comes from her being imprisoned as a slave at one of their foundries from as far back as she can remember.  She both fears and hates them.  This made her and Yuka's dynamic interesting, because Yuka was very much like General Robert E. Lee from the civil war in my opinion.  She was aware of the corruption of her people, but rather than being resigned to shame, she tried to work through it out of a mix of pride for her home, Acacia, and because she was different from those who'd hurt Celine.  And this was a key part of Celine in that she COULD open up and get over her bigotry to an extent.  Maybe not perfectly, as she'll always be uncomfortable around most neeg, just as a knee jerk reaction, but it was, in my opinion, important both thematically and for character growth.  It was also important for her to have this bigotry because it helped to humanize her.  Not just from the standard of, "everyone has their prejudices" but the neeg were also an issue of fear, rage, and shock, which would override the normally pragmatic girl who could best be described as the leader.  Fear is very humanizing and all the girls have their fears, as I think is fair in a world of giant dragons, underground monsters, and extradimensional demons.

            On that note, Celine is also the first character in our story to be introduced with visible scarring as well as emotional scarring.  I can't really spoil the significance of the scars on her ears, but they are very much like wearing shackles or collars for slaves.  They are symbols of past oppression and tender spots.  Her habit of rubbing them is to remind her that she is still free.

            Celine has a natural affinity for apocra.  This is largely due to her having had to travel the land alone with no human companions in the past, more on that later, but it helps her stand out just a little from Daryl or Mina.  Daryl tends to be wary or afraid and while Mina is accepting, the apocra are never as at ease or welcoming around her as they are around Celine.  To this end, Celine is most fond of Dakon and Echidna at Acacia, as they are a nal-vey and an apocra called an omnar and all their children are apocra.  This has not had a huge chance to shine in the past, though in Gollia, Celine talks about her travels and her befriending of a few apocra, but I hope that it will be more prominent in the future.

            Celine has respect for both Yuka and Deminos and since she is the oldest of the girls and closest to these two in age, are probably the closest out of them as friends.  Celine also has an affinity for Nerise, though not as overt as Daryl's or Mina's.  While Celine does trust Kinana, there is visible tension due to Kinana's teasing of Mina.  Celine has probably had the least contact with Gadius, Vincent, and Aeon himself.  She is neither fond of them, nor does she hate them.  She merely lacks the experience.  Kano is the closest thing Celine has to a father and she respects him in her heart, even if her words can be a bit crude or harsh.  He is probably the second most important person in the world to her, for taking her in and giving her a place to stay.

            Celine is usually billed as the sardonic one, because she is somewhat cynical due to her upbringing, and is more often than not going to be rude or crack a joke than the others.  This isn't because she's actively mean but rather because she doesn't know any other way to act.  Despite this appearance, Celine is at times very playful, as evidenced by her and Mina's early morning shenanigans.  However, she has had to grow up before her time so often doesn't engage in such play.

            Daryl and Celine butt heads frequently.  This is due to their difference in upbringing, with Celine having a harsh life that has made her tough, but bitter, and Daryl having a soft life, making her somewhat of an elitist and a snob.  Despite these differences, they come together over Mina and became friends because of their connection to her.  Celine recognizes Daryl's power, but also won't hesitate to call her out.  She does not tiptoe around the issues, so to speak, and is very matter of fact, which clashes with Daryl's more literary and educated background.  The two, even if they fight, are very much the best of friends and would do anything for one another...though, they might never be able to admit that.

            When creating the girls, Mina, Celine, and Daryl, the original plan was to have each sort of apprentice under Aeon's main lieutenants to varying degrees of success.  Celine was meant to go with Yuka/Dakon, however that focus shifted.  I took Celine in a more dynamic direction, in my opinion, as she wasn't as welcoming of Yuka or as accepting of Aeon.  Celine is the character with the most visible scars, emotionally and physically, running counter to both Mina and Daryl, as Mina had hidden scarring and Daryl had no scarring whatsoever.  She also became the voice of pragmatism amongst the girls, balancing Mina's impulsiveness and general acceptance of others and Daryl's more analytical and often misinformed/fearful approach.  She had courage as well as common sense.  What was probably the hardest in terms of writing for Celine were her angry/outburst moments, because it's important to make the audience know that she feels justified in her actions and her feelings, even if, from a purely logical standpoint, she shouldn't be.  I wanted Celine to be a character for whom growth would come in unexpected ways.  I think the ways Mina and Daryl are growing is obvious, to an extent, but I wanted Celine's growth to be more under the surface.  More willing to let go of Mina and put aside her prejudices for the sake of others.

            The best way to close it out is that if Mina is the main character whose growth we pay attention to, Celine is the one whose growth is happening in the background(though there are moments when it is front and center, like the current chapters.)