forum If Thoust my Friendeth Cometh to Speaketh of Characters and Beings Madeth up of Shadows

Started November 09, 2018 by @InstaOnly

tune

Yeah, I remember you mentioning some idea on what to do with Night. What ideas did you have? Right now my shadowy creatures are just a bad aftermath of an event.

Night's species is a shade which is basically the aftermath of a demon and a ghost having a baby. Some shades have more demon like features and others have more ghost like. Night takes more after ghost than demon with looks but personality is more like demon.

Ah, that makes sense. My creatures are varied aside from basic appearance and such. Most look like the horse-like creature shown in the sketch I gave a link to, though some do take their own form. They can either seem to be made of shadows and mist or more of tar based on where they are, often in uninhibited woods or dark areas, and may have preferences on what they go after. Personality wise they're all very bitter and dangerous if they happen to catch you alone, as they have grown to be tricksters and carnivores. They are the aftermath of trying to get rid of fear which in the end became them being skilled shifters or illusionists with mist and a strong sense of what one's fear may be. Though rare they do have the potential to become completely passive if they find the person they were the original fear of, some try to bind to someone anyways through different ways such as was Ben's case. They are generally selfish and will not care if the person dies and may even turn against them in some way, though if they are passive they act like a personal guard dog. I swear every time I get to talk about something from my world I ramble.

Its fine I tend to ramble about if to.
Night and Nykidia have a bind. Now a bind in my world means your and another beings souls have split them self in to and half you yours latches on to their soul and theirs latches on to yours. Now not many people bind because they like the idea of owning there own soul. Binding is often done with a human and a spiritual creature like angels, demons, ghosts, and shades. If you have a bind that the spirit than you can fuse where the human 'absorbed' the spiritual creature and they can become one. Most ghosts and shades have inefficient bodies so Binds give them a better body to share. If you fuse than both the spiritual creature and the human are in control at once though one can take full control for a short amount of time. The human can use the spiritual creatures magic and if binded with a ghost or shade there powers get stronger with a physical body because normally they have to use quite a bit of magic to sustain there body.

(Sorry I didn't reply sooner! Whole computer froze and I sorta…. typed a lot… lol)
That's a cool concept! Really creative, I didn't even think of a fuse system where souls are split and shared. Though I don't want to steal your idea and it would contradict a ton of stuff in my world. If souls are split it my world it either makes you incomplete or dead for the most part. Before I go into that I'm going to discuss Ben and Ruth. Ben, though he has a strong will and hard-working, has certain fears or things that cause quick reactions. Ruth used this to their advantage when Ben was split off from a group he was with, using fear mimicry to make him react. Though he reacted in anger rather than fear it still was used to trick Ben into allowing their magic to latch on to his soul, creating a bind despite him not being the one the represented the fear of. This makes it more unstable which can cause several side effects, the main one being Ben having to keep his emotions in check even if he is level-headed for the most part. It also keeps Ruth from having to be loyal to Ben, taking control of his soul and body if they ever felt it's needed (Not very often) and even allowing itself to make alliances with those like Aaron.
Now the soul part so I can explain how they work. Pretty much everyone has a soul that is represented by a flame. The color, whether the flames flicker in jagged motions or softly, and how strong it glows are all determined by the owners personality and health. If a soul is split it often is very small and weak or instead is seen as an item that the owner carries or wears at all times, making them vulnerable if they don't know what they are doing. If one were to know how souls work they could essentially revive themselves with the help of another, the two dead or almost dead souls making a whole in which one gains control of their body with the aftereffect being the presence of another that may or may not be dormant. This is Aaron's situation with Corru, and yes I did just say Aaron was dead at some point. Incomplete souls are often the aftermath of failed revivals of a person or entity, like a character I have named Revi who has a necklace that represents their soul rather than a flame and survives as a ghost. The drawback to this is that the person may not be fully there, such as Revi missing memories of who he is and though still wise may not know why he has knowledge of some things.

That is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool!!!!!
Souls in my world are ever changing and flowing things. Souls are never seen but you know there is such thing as them. Also something I forgot to mention about a bind is that with that they are physically connected some how. If you were binded with a spiritual creature with more of a physical body than you may gain one of there traits and they may gain one of yours. Example someone with a bind with a angel or demon may get a faint halo or small horns where as the angel or demon would get more human like features. With creature that don't have as much of a physical body than they are physical attached to them. The creature can't go to far without the person.
If you have any questions feel free to ask!

What exactly do you mean by attached? As in they can't leave as in they are attached by boundaries, or they are literally attached in some way? Also you have a cool system with the features thing! My characters I tend to base off of color, personality, and maybe a hint or two since I love origin stories and foreshadowing, so I never really came up with anything like that. I think the only thing I may have like that is Revi and Jack, but that's just because two halves of the same soul make a whole…. Yeah, he doesn't have the best of luck.
Anyways, if it is boundaries how do they work? Is there a set distance or do they have to be directly by the person at all times? I have ghosts in my world where basically a lot factors in the something like attachment. I tend to go overboard on details when I'm bored and need something to do. Basically I follow certain criteria. Do they know someone who has some sort of link to ghost or spirits, like Ben? Is there something that might act as a guard and keep them there? Does whatever kept them as a ghost have to be fulfilled in a certain area? An example I have of this Sullen Spirit Shallows, an old town in my world that flooded due to bad funding in the days leading up to a storm, where quite a few spirits are now trapped. I have a ghost creature named Almix that was the mayor's pet, now guarding the town hall where the owner lives as a ghost. They're honestly trying to do the right thing, but they don't realize the effects. Acting as a guardian they keep others from leaving, including keeping the mayor from his family, and does more harm than good by not letting their spirits rest. The worst part is that really ghost fire is the only way to really get rid of another spirit completely, and I just so happen to have two ghosts on my protagonist team… DUN DUn Dun
(Hopefully I didn't bury the questions in this block of text. ;-;)

I'm sorry to say this but for most of the question in here are things I am still trying to figure out myself. I'm not sure if they are literary attached yet. I always have the image of Nights wisp (She doesn't have any legs so has just has a wisp that is long and small kinda like a genie.) Wrapped around Nykidia's waist twice and then she is floating slightly above Nykidia with her hands on her shoulders. I've been meaning to ask other people this but how does that description make you feel? Scared? Uneasy? Happy? Idk I'm just throwing emotions out there.

I feel like it give off a protective vibe. Like if you pull out a knife or even say the wrong thing they'll death glare you if you don't drop it, but at the same time it's sort like she's hiding behind Nykidia if that makes any sense. I feel like it would depend on the person on whether they took it as them being a coward or simply protective in some way. Like, my more optimistic and friendly characters like Riveal, Nicholas, or Quest would probably still try to be friends and may even think it's cool, but my characters that are more closed off or suspicious like Oridone, Aster, or (Especially this guy, he's a bit crazy) this one mask shop owner that thinks the end will come one day would probably take it as protectiveness or hostility. I also have one character that would literally be indifferent about it, they honestly don't care what someone is doing considering they're in the (last)arc where everything just depends on what they do, which is bad since they're really the true villain if you were to look at the big picture in my world…

I'm kinda going for the vibe of protective. She can't necessarily be in front of Nykidia with out it looking weird but I felt this position looked the best in my mind. Do any of you characters take a pose in your mind or is that just my Brain? Who are your most thought about or used characters?

Yeah. Usually I have a character associated with a pose or scene I've made for them, usually their introduction, origins, or fall. Really I could list the rise and fall of each character and what arc their story is in. Like, for example, I often associate Corru with being outcasted or surrounded by flames as that helps me remember why he's bitter and doesn't feel as much pity as others would hearing about someone having a rough time. I associate Aaron with a scene with his brother in which he turns on him or finding how much the world has changed since that shows his breaking point and regret despite still going through with his actions, his motivation being a chance to fix his mistakes that he was promised. Oridone I associate with good posture despite being tired and a smile that often seems bittersweet, and scene wise I remember any losses and betrayals she had considering that's what makes her so secretive yet protective of friends. Revi I've always just seen as cheerful and relaxed, seeming to hold a sense of naivety without his memories while still holding the wisdom, with maybe a determined expression if he needs to protect someone.
As for most used, storywise I often think about Aaron or Oridone since that's where the main conflict is, otherwise I've started thinking a lot about this character I reference to as Player_"Name" as it really helps me create this twist on who the real villain seems to be and who it really is. Ask any questions you may have, considering you at least showed you were thinking of some good answers to mine!

These all sound so cool. You have so many characters. In my main universe I only have 3 well developed characters. I've talked about Night and Nykidia but I want to talk to you a bit about Flyn. Now in my story there are time or magic pockets where technology will not pass a certain part of time. Where most of my story takes place in Chicago. During 1920's to 1930's is where Chicago is stuck is where Nykidia, Night and Flyn lived. Flyn's family was the head of the Mob for generations. Nykidia was living out on the streets and had found Night already. One day when Flyn was out playing he found Nykidia looking through the dumpster. He invited her in and Nykidia met Flyn's father, Marco. Flyn's mother had just died and she had always wanted a daughter so Marco took her in and raised her. Nykidia feels in debt to the family for this even though they inset she is not. Flyn and Nykidia are adoptive siblings. Flyn will be the one to inherit the title of Mob boss after his father dies or retires. Nykidia is very protective of Flyn. Flyn is a very glitzy person but he does not have an ego at all. Any questions before I go into more stuff?

Only one. What do you mean by very glitzy but no ego? As in he acts like he has a big personality but doesn't care for himself that much, that he has a certain fashion sense that doesn't necessarily match up with his personality, or…?

Also I Imagine Night protecting Nykidia with her life and she is surrounded by shadows interlaced with deep purple.
Nykidia I often think of having a huge smile on her face because all she wants to do is protect people and keep them happy. If you get he mad she will often start laughing insanely. She has a problem with her emotions. And she has hurt herself in the past. Flyn is often associated with cards, a small crown or a base ball bat which has the words 'Light's Out' on it. Often Flyn is in front with Nykidia slighly behind him and Night in her position with Nykidia and they are all smiling a evil smile.

He doesn't blow himself out of proportion or brag but he is very much into the wealthy stuff in life. He likes to wear a white fluffy jacket kinda like cruela de vil but a guy version. He like the money, the glitter, the stuff. Being in the Mob taught him that.

I got to go to bed. Goodnight!

Oof. Being in the mob does not have the same perks as being in the rebellion. In my world there's a rebellion, peaceful for now, called Narac that's trying to turn around the absolute monarchy of Caran(Which is why they reversed the kingdom name for their group). Really it's mostly under the radar and stuff only those tied to the king might be able to notice, with a mission occasionally going wrong, but it does leave some effects and has gotten a bad name from some that aren't even in the group(coughAaroncough). Also good night!

I would love to hear more about the rebellion. Is the king a bad king or they just doing it because they think they could do better or something else?

The rebellion is a group aiming to turn the kingdom away from absolute monarchy. The king isn't necessarily bad, but his lineage goes back generations and it's come time for change. One of the first major changes in my story is the death of the queen, which causes the king to fall behind on payments and not pay proper attention to any organizations that may be asking for help. At this point Aster, who is an incomplete soul that's been a victim of this slowly failing system, already knows Ben and with the kingdom showing signs of going downhill fast there's plenty of those willing to join. Oridone has links to the royal family and Narac, allowing the group to know when things might go the best way possible and getting the prince on their side. The prince goes under the radar staying at different places, leaving the kingdom with no heir and uneasy citizens as Narac moves to change things. At the very least they're looking to get a constitutional monarchy, very most have a better system to represent towns and cities that didn't get as much say or attention before. Once again my example is Sullen Spirit Shallows, that flooded and became a literal ghost town they couldn't get proper funding from the king to build levees or any other protection because they were a newer town on the outskirts during this time. So really it's that the group sees it as a time for change, and right now hoping to do it peacefully considering the king's grief might make him step down on his own once he looks to see it their way.

I see.

…
So now what do you want to talk about.

Idk

CHARACTERS! Who's the villain in your story, like the real villain? If you were to take a step back who's the one pulling the strings and causing the worst outcomes whether they mean it or not?

I don't have a villain yet. I was thinking of Them being the villain. Kinda like Artemis Fowl if you know that series.

Them? As in someone people call Them or the group you've been talking about? Also, sorry, I don't know that series.