A curious holiday since I don’t believe anyone from the future has ever come to celebrate it. Still, it does make me thing about the use of time travel in stories. If it’s the core mechanic from the start then I’m fine with. My issue comes from series that throw time travel in to either solve the on-going problem or change the status quo in order to keep things going. After watching ‘Eureka’, I’m definitely reminded of the latter, which made the last two series a little rough at first. ‘Endgame’ is another one that used time travel to solve the issue, but I’m not here to list things that I feel used it badly.
Instead, I’d like to know who everyone’s favorite time traveler is. Here’s mine:
Prince of Persia
Specifically, the Prince from the games and not the movie. I always liked how the games utilized the concepts of rewinding, fast-forwarding, and freezing time. This brought a new dimension to the acrobatic side of the game. This gave you a few extra chances to try again if you mistimed a wall run into a jump towards a bar, which you swung around in order to catch a tree that you slid down until you backflipped onto a ledge . . . All while dang bats were trying to bite you. A fun challenge that the time manipulation worked with very well through all 3 games.
There was a day where the temperature was 40 F, but the wind chill brought it down to 17 F. I didn’t realize how bad that would be, so I still went out to the park for 20 minutes. It didn’t go well even with gloves, hat, and a jacket. My hands were numb by the time I was done with Pokemon and back in my car. I would have gone home earlier, but an accident after I got to the park resulted in my way home being blocked. Had to wait for the cops to create a path before I decided to waste gas in traffic. I’m glad this weekend is better for when I go out in the afternoon, but I won’t be staying any longer than I have to. Finish the Pokemon research, get the shinies I want, and scamper back home.
Progress was made in terms of writing. Not only getting a bunch of February posts set up, but with Darwin & the Demon Game. I got halfway through chapter 15, which I’ll definitely finish today. That leaves 2 more chapters and I might be able to finish 16 tomorrow. I’m sneaking in a few pages on the nights I don’t have my son, so it’s still feasible that I’ll finish the hand edits before holiday break. That means I’ll be typing things in during the break and printing out the last of the finished books in time for 2025. If things go well, I’ll be able to start writing Darwin & the Joy Path by the summer or even Memorial Day.
Mentally, I had a rough go of the week. Had body temp issue Monday night, so I woke up groggy and off. This led to a general feeling of not wishing I existed. Posted about it on Facebook and found that people had their own definitions of this. I made it clear that it wasn’t me saying I wish I was dead or in a rut. I was simply emotionally exhausted from things and wished to ‘not exist’ for a bit to recover. This doesn’t make a lot of sense because it’s not a coherent, clear thought. Maybe it’s just like wanting my psyche to get defragged like those old computers, but with me not aware of things. I’ve gotten a little better since then. Still drained and plan on using this weekend to edit until the Pokemon events that run from 2-5. That time gives me the morning and evening, which usually allows for most of a chapter. Not sure how that will go when I start writing things that are fresh, but we’ll see.
Now, the highlight of my week was rather silly. So, I try to order some snacks from a place in Oswego, NY called SNAX Enterprises LLC. They get various chips, cookies, sodas, and candy from other countries. Shipping/handling is pricey since it’s food, but I really enjoy what I get. Anyway, I made an order for stuff while on my lunch break. Later on, I went on Instagram and saw they posted a video where they were showing an order being put together. I watched it thinking it was funny how all of those things were what I ordered a few hours ago . . . Then, the guy said ‘Thank you, Charles’. It’s such a silly thing, but that really made my day and gave me the boost I needed for a crazy Friday.
I’m still working on holiday presents too. Got a secret Santa gift and two more things for my son to get. It’s rough spending this money when I had to spend around $1,100 on the new laptop and had car repairs before that. The snacks were a purchase I was holding off on, but figured I should get myself something that wasn’t a necessity. It’s rough spending money on things when you aren’t making as much as you used to. I know there’s the ‘live within your means’ crowd, but that gets difficult when you find that you can’t get anything fun. All food needs to be on sale, any entertainment things go to my son, and I have to suffer a pang of guilt whenever I spend money on myself. Heck, I spent 5 minutes debating on if I should buy a bag of pretzels to use as snacks this week. That can’t be psychologically healthy.
With all of that in mind, I’m going to stop after the final 3 presents if I even get 2 more for my son. I’ve already picked up 5, which includes the $40 worth of Pokecoins. Maybe just one more and going to see a movie that comes out during the break will be it. I mean, I really only have one more item in mind that I know he could use. Anybody else have trouble with present shopping? Stupid question there.
This coming week is going to be similar to the previous one. There are appointments every day, except Wednesday because my son has his Winter Concert. The weather is to be cold and rainy, so not much outdoor time unless we hit the mall. Plan on doing that Tuesday evening. I’ll get some editing done since 4 of the 5 appointments are for my son, so I end up in the waiting room. Can get 1-2 pages done at least in that time unless I’m called into the session. This means I have a better shot of finishing Darwin & the Demon Game before the break. I’ll probably take some evenings to post more for February since I have 12 days to cover. Guess it will be a busy week.
Goals?
Get to chapter 17 of Darwin & the Demon Game at least.
Finish holiday shopping. (Edit: Actually just did this when I checked two things and saw they were already at less than 10 in stock.)
Help son study for two tests when he is here.
Play Pokemon Go when I need to relax and weather permits.
Do a few February posts if possible.
Watch more ‘Arcane’.
Have fun at work where we celebrate one student’s birthday and end the week with a field trip. Try very hard to not let fatigue and one of the many diseases going around knock me out for a day.
This sounds like a stupid question because the answer should be obvious. A hero is defined by their reputation, which is created through words and actions. If they aren’t acting like a hero, they won’t be seen as one. So, why ask the question?
The reason is because I’ve seen a lot of stories where the hero will stop being heroic, but still be treated as such. The consistency is broken by them no longer following their established morality path. It can happen if triggered in the story, but I’m talking more about weird blips of bad behavior. For example, the noble hero who refuses to kill will take a life without a second thought or remorse. Then, the story goes on as if that didn’t happen. It breaks the character’s reputation with the audience even if the in-world fans aren’t phased. It can tarnish the entire book because that character no longer stands for what they claim to.
Let me make it clear that I mean reputation in the same story and not a reimagining or retelling of a character who has been around for decades. That does open the door for some flexibility because you can show how they developed their moral code (Man of Steel) or have them be ground into the dirt by years of fighting a brutal fight (Batman vs. Superman). This is still a challenge though because fans hate change and will pounce on such things without seeing if there’s a reason for it. The lose and rebuilding of a reputation can be a storyline, but it’s one where the readers need to be willing to face the darkness.
Fantasy is an interesting genre with reputation too. You have great heroes spoken of in legends who are either adventurers or war heroes. This ends up creating the idea that certain actions we can’t do in our world are allowed. Killing is the big thing, especially of monsters. Imagine a person running around our world slaughtering lions. . . Well, we do have people doing that and they’re called a poacher. That’s mostly because we see lions as part of our environment and dragons as cool, but not necessary to an ecosystem. So, the world rules and perspective helps give some flexibility to heroes getting away with certain actions.
Another part of the reputation questions is rationalization. Not only for the character to do so, but the readers. Sure, a hero can totally give a clear explanation for why they let a town burn down. It doesn’t mean they’re right since positive reputations don’t mean a person is infallible. A reader might still go along with it though depending on their own thoughts on the characters. The common example I use is when Luke Callindor in Beginning of a Heroran into a mouthy asshole. He was already established as a noble, if not immature, hero who won’t kill on a whim. Yet, people wanted him to murder this guy. I’m sure I’d have gotten backlash if I had him to do it too, but that would make more sense since it was out-of-character. The desire to see even slightly bad people get severe punishments is a major factor on hero reputation in the eyes of readers. Maybe it’s a little bit of wish fulfillment because they would love to kill those they don’t like and get away with it.
Going back to the title question, the reputation of a hero is incredibly important both in and out of the story. I would so more so with outside because the audience needs to enjoy the hero to keep going in a story. Consistency is crucial to establishing and maintaining a strong reputation too. Not easy to do because an author is human and might do something for the story without realizing it wouldn’t be what the characters would do. At least we have editing for that though. Still, authors really should consider the reputation of their heroes when actions are taken. It would bring a stronger dimension to their overall growth and stability.
As I said on Monday, some people can get confused on what a hero should do for fame or infamy. They think full on murder is noble while refusing to steal from the needy is a sign of weakness. Let’s look at a few examples to get an idea of how to go in either direction:
Someone has accidentally bumped into you and caused you to spill your drink:
Fame– Ask for an apology and move on even if you don’t get one.
Infamy– Carve out their liver with the broken glass and mail it to their parents.
A well-known thief, who has never hurt anyone, trips and gets his leg impaled on a fence stake while trying to get away.
Fame– Get them down, bandage their wound, and restrain them for capture.
Infamy– Get popcorn and a chair to watch them bleed to death while live-streaming it for YouTube hits.
A gang kidnaps your loved ones.
Fame– Rescue them and use the same amount of force, if not a little more, than what they are packing. Only knock out and bind those who surrender.
Infamy– Kidnap the loved ones of the kidnappers, offer a trade, and then kill them with their families to avoid vengeance after the swap.
An old lady tried to cross the road at a red light, but it turned green and now she’s holding up traffic.
Fame– Swoop in to safely carry her to correct side of the road.
Infamy– Fireball grandma!
The new fiancée of your former flame is gloating that he had sex with your open-relationship girlfriend in order to get you to fight him.
Fame– Ignore him, but look for an opportunity to give him some non-lethal humility.
Infamy– Butcher him in cold-blood and leave his corpse in the open for your friends and family to see.
The orphanage is on fire!
Fame– Save everyone inside and put out the flames.
Infamy– Save everyone inside, put out the flames, and kill whoever you think is responsible for the fire.
Your significant other cheated on you.
Fame– Suffer a broken heart and work towards finding the strength to move on without them.
Infamy– Kill their lover, mind control them into still loving you, cheat on them multiple times, and frame them for the initial murder.
After a long adventure, you come to the evil villain who has done horrible things for power and wealth. There is no forgiveness.
Fame– Kill them in battle and return to a peaceful life.
Infamy– Nothing because the hero just killed you and returned to a peaceful life . . . That or you killed the villain to take their place.
This is one of the earlier War of Nytefall: Ravenousteasers. This is an all action scene, which made it difficult to find a good cliffhanger/stopping point that wasn’t a sudden jerk. Have fun.
The meme is a little extreme, but it gets the point across. Thought I made a post about this long ago, but it looks like I’ve merely mentioned this in passing. People seem to get this wrong either by accident or on purpose. Guess there’s the mentality that any attention is good attention, but the truth is:
Fame and infamy are NOT the same thing.
Fame is when you are well-known and respected. Your deeds are good and you are seen in a positive light. There is a little gray here, but only because people will use fame for good and bad today. I’ve seen people say Beyoncé is famous and she is. I’ve also seen people say Jeffrey Dahmer is famous . . . Kind of. He’s definitely well-known. Though, he wasn’t a good person or known for good things.
That is why I think the word ‘infamy’ exists and should be used more often. It differentiates the good from the bad. Infamy is when a person is well-known, but they are either feared or hated. They did bad and horrible things, which is why they don’t get respect or positive attention. We tend to think of only high-level monsters being in this category, but it can be on a smaller scale. For example, bullies in high school would be infamous. The kids who are popular for helping others would be famous.
I feel this relates to writing in two ways:
The first is in regards to characters and how they act. I’ve run into a lot of readers who demand that a hero commit slaughter and murder for the slightest issue. All solutions are solved by killing regardless of character personality. For example, a handful wanted Luke Callindor to kill a man who was verbally goading him into a fight. Just flat out murder this asshole as if there wouldn’t be consequences. They still considered him a hero, but he would be a weak one if he simply walked away. Authors do this too where they have a hero who speaks of being a pillar of good, but will kill at every opportunity. If it isn’t done for hypocritical irony, it’s just sloppy characterization. The act of taking a life shouldn’t be so easily committed, especially by heroes who depend on their reputation. Would you go to a hero for help with a minor issue if you’ve seen them murder jaywalkers and litterers?
The second is the author themselves who might go along with ‘all attention is good attention’. Now, a negative review can drive people away, but not as much as an author publicly attacking the reader. Some will undermine other authors who they see as potential rivals and threats. In the eyes of an infamous author, they are in a battle to maintain their seat and audience. Others let their fame go to their heads and feel that they can get away with anything, so they will start attacking various groups they don’t like for a variety of reasons. They justify all of their actions as either a way to solidify their fame or a benefit, which really turns their reputation into one of infamy. Most readers won’t witness these interactions though and this can cause an author to grow bolder and bolder until their antics can no longer be hidden. This is when you get people trying to decide on if they should separate the art from the artist.
So, fame and infamy are basically the opposite sides of the same coin. It’s fairly easy to slip from the former into the latter, but harder to get back. I’d say it falls into the same category as trust. You would need to earn forgiveness and work hard to make up for whatever put you into the infamy category. Even then, it isn’t up to the person to determine their reputation, but those around them. This makes the two categories more difficult to both define and achieve. Maybe it’s best to simply not be known and stay in obscurity?
Legends of Windemere 