Both of these characters are villains from ‘One Piece’. Specifically, the Dressrosa Arc, which probably means nothing to all of you. Donquixote Doflamingo is the main villain who took over a kingdom, was a weapons dealer, had an illegal drug industry, killed people, framed the previous king for crimes, and simply wants to plunge the world into chaos. Senor Pink is one of his subordinates who follows orders to stop or kill anyone in his leader’s way. It’s heavily implied he’s done the same types of crimes as the other pirates in the group such as stealing and killing. Yet, their backstory has altered the way some fans look at them. (Spoilers ahead!)
Here we are at the start of the War of Nytefall recollections. Not sure what else to call it and my brain isn’t braining as well as it should. Loyalty is what started the series that depicts the vampire civil war of Windemere and introduces readers to Clyde. It would be a more action-oriented, darker humor series than my previous work as well as investigating the balance between monster and human. So, what are the general details?
Clyde is a vampiric thief who has been caught stealing from the Sun God and is in the process of being executed by light magic. The Great Cataclysm strikes at that moment, which buries him for 50 years. He is dug out by his old partner Mab, which brings him back into the world of vampires. Only difference now is that Clyde has been changed into a Dawn Fang, which makes him stronger. He can also turn other vampires into Dawn Fangs. He allies with his old friend Xavier Tempest and the true loyalty of friends are revealed to kick off the Dawn Fang vs Old World Vampire war.
A Dawn Fang is a vampire who has a heartbeat, can eat regular food, doesn’t have to kill when drinking blood, and can walk around in the sunlight. They are faster, stronger, and each one has 3 abilities in a physical/mental/magical system. Most of the vampire characters were originally ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ characters, so I couldn’t pull myself away from that. Some of the abilities acted as doors to more than 3 abilities and there were hints that at least one character had an extra. Either way, the Dawn Fangs are extremely powerful compared to their predecessors and that gave me a lot to work with in battles. I mean, they could really wail on each other and walk off injuries that would kill others.
A key point I kept trying to bring up in promos and on my blog was that the Dawn Fangs also had human emotions and needs. They felt love and friendship and sadness. I tried to make it clear that they weren’t monsters to the core. Clyde’s whole thing was that he’s so powerful and has a rage ability, which makes him question if he will lose his humanity at some point. That’s why he has Dawn Fangs live secretly among humans before they’re discovered. His plan is to prove that they aren’t monsters since they are already there with no incidents. Many of his kind continually prove that they aren’t monsters. That’s why it was frustrating whenever I got comments from people saying ‘I liked your first series, but I don’t like vampires’. War of Nytefallis about vampires, but not with them being the villains terrorizing humans. It’s about the rise of a vampire nation that wishes to live in piece with mortals.
The hardest part of Loyalty was that I had to introduce 13 characters within the main and secondary cast. It was a lot of juggling and struggling to give each one enough to get their purpose across. Some were easier than others like the Vengeance Hounds (Titus, Bob, and Luthor) being a group, Lou the silent butler/bodyguard, and Gregorio the neutral mentor. All of the others needed more solo time for interactions. If not in this book then throughout the series. This is why I had to comb over my outlines to make sure I used everyone or gave a reason for them being either absent or minimized during this specific adventure.
Would I change anything? I would probably tighten up a few character introductions since I couldn’t push anyone back to another volume. All of them needed an opinion on seeing the emergence of a new breed of vampire. Since Clyde could turn Old World vampires into Dawn Fangs, he became a greater threat to those who refused to accept the change. If I introduced a character later, they wouldn’t have a strong opinion because they weren’t there for the reveal and betrayals. Maybe I would drag the drama out a little more over the course of the series too. Guess I got a little impatient on some plotlines because I was juggling a lot.
Some fun questions:
Do you think vampires always have to be monstrous?
What would you do if you were betrayed?
Do you believe Clyde’s dream of Dawn Fangs and mortals living together in peace is realistic?
Maybe it’s primarily a Disney thing, but I’ve noticed a lot of movies where classic villains are given origins. This ends up making them sympathetic characters and explains why they’re bad. It even goes so far as to say they aren’t evil, but either misunderstood or misguided. For a while, it seemed to be going well, but then the trend started to die off with Cruella. Why?
Well, one of the things that seems to work for revamping an established villain is not going for one that could be considered irredeemable. Maleficent is evil, but she does a lot of fantasy punishments that are rather over-the-top. Darth Vader was already established as a fallen hero and died doing something good in ‘Return of the Jedi’. So, showing them as good people who were turned bad by circumstances or cruel treatment can help the audience relate to them. We wouldn’t go that far with their villainous actions, but we can see how they turned.
With Cruella, I saw a lot of people pointing out that her whole goal as a villain was to make clothing out of puppies . . . Yeah, I don’t care how poorly you were treated. There’s no excuse for that type of villainy. People typically don’t relate to anyone who goes on to kill animals or children. In fact, you’re more likely to upset people with the former instead of the latter, so Cruella was a really bad choice. This makes me wonder if there is more these villain origin stories that crop up at times.
I think ‘Joker’ tried to touch on this, but I didn’t see the movie, so I can’t be 100% certain of what I’m about to say. Many people told me that it was about a regular person descending into madness. You end up seeing how someone can turn evil. Not because you want them to be sympathized with or seen as a victim, but for the audience to understand that nobody is born that way. There are events in a person’s life to put them down the path of evil, which we don’t always acknowledge. It’s easier to believe someone is born a villain instead of being made. To think otherwise means accepting that we or someone we know could turn evil, which is unnerving.
A story that examines the psychology behind a villain makes sense to me. It still can be dangerous depending on the character you’re analyzing. Some crimes really don’t come off well if you try to say they did it because of past trauma. Even though that could be true, people won’t take to it very well. That’s because many don’t want to hear excuses for things like cannibalism, rape, puppy killing, etc. So, villains who do some truly horrific acts probably won’t work out with an origin unless you make them somewhat unlikable prior to being a villain. If not unlikable then at least pathetic to the point where the audience won’t mind turning on them.
So, what do other people think of taking established villains and giving them a sympathetic backstory?
So, I’m still toying with the idea of taking a solo trip to upstate New York for the few days between dropping my son off with his mom and school starting. It’s to get away and do some editing/notebook work in isolation. Sort of. I’m leaning towards a place I’ve been to before and have a few friends that I can see for a bit. Beyond that, I’ll probably stay in the hotel room or find a place in nature to get some work done. This still depends a lot on finances, time, and making sure I can find a room.
My questions for other people:
Have you ever gone on a solo trip to do writing or another craft? Was it helpful or at least relaxing?
I’m asking because I’ve never done a solo trip before. The drive is daunting to begin with, but being all alone gets to me as well. Can’t remember the last time I was ever alone somewhere. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever willingly done that. So, it’s a brand new experience. Any insight would be helpful.
Last day of the 23-24 school year was Wednesday and it was crazy to the very end. So much to do before the year ends and summer school begins. You also had goodbyes to those retiring or leaving for a variety of reasons. Honestly, it’s only been 2 days since the ‘break’ started and it feels like I’ve been away from school for months. Can’t figure out why that is.
Well, one reason could be that I had apparently been running on survival mode this entire time. After our last meeting, I hit the park for some Pokemon Go and figured that would wake me up. Instead, I nearly fell asleep on a bench. This was a bad sign, so I got back in my car and drove home ASAP. Thankfully, I wasn’t that far away. My plan was to go right into resting, but my bed had tools and other stuff on it because the cable boxes were being replaced. Probably spent about 2 hours fighting to remain conscious, which is where I made the mistake of having a glass of whiskey. I was fine for a while, but then I had to crawl into bed. Didn’t pass out, but my body definitely decided to let me know that it was being kept together by toothpicks and gum. Feel asleep at some point and felt somewhat human the next morning. Guess I just needed a good slumber.
I’m still running out of steam fairly quickly, but that’s caused by the heat too. I can’t get myself to sleep beyond 6:30 AM, but I did have an appointment on Thursday. Maybe I need a day to force the issue. I’ll try tomorrow since there’s a big Pokemon Go thing going on today that I wanted to be a part of. Figure I needed more sleep before I go into the heat and try my luck. That’ll wear me down, but I don’t think I’ll be out for the same length of time as yesterday. On the other hand, I should try to build up my stamina and heat tolerance since I’m working summer school. Yes, many teachers and TA’s work during the time people think we’re just sipping margaritas on tropical islands. In total, I get 3 weeks of break with summer school being in the middle.
Speaking of vacations, I finally took the big step and reserved a hotel room in Oswego for late August. It’ll be a solo trip where I’ll work on either editing or notebook stuff. I really just want to get away and relax before the next school year begins. Not that I’m going to fully relax. I’m really nervous about this trip because I’ve never done a solo drive for longer than 2 hours before. This will be about 6 hours without counting breaks. I figure I’ll stop a bunch of times, but I don’t know how many stamina will be without someone to talk to. There’s going to be the radio, but singing along won’t be the same. Come to think of it, I’ll be alone in the room too. That means I won’t be speaking to anyone unless I can get together with some friends.
At least I’ll have my characters to keep me company. I’m still trying to decide on if I want to edit a Darwin book or work on notebook stuff. Darwin & the Avenging Elf edits will be done before I pick my son up on Tuesday, so I just have to type those in when I have time. I might be well into Darwin & the Demon Game by that point, so I might as well bring it along. It’s 2 chapters longer, which means I might finish it right before the trip. My laptop isn’t portable, which would mean I’ll be up there working on ‘Phi Beta Files’ and maybe hop over to another idea. Best to play it by ear.
With this being summer break, I don’t have a lot of plans. There’s a big July 4th show coming up, so we’ll go to that. Happens right after a Pokemon Go event, which will make things a bit difficult. Might have to drive to the park for that, go home, and immediately walk back. Besides that event, my son and I aren’t really planning much else. Might be a zoo trip, but that’s going to be tough with the holiday. Weekends are always crazy, but we might have to risk it unless we put the trip off until after school and camp. Nothing else is really going on, which is probably a good thing because I need the down time.
Well, that’s really all I can think of. Finished all of the September posts and I’m tinkering with monster posts for October. Probably need to stop that and hunker down for more editing before Pokemon Go starts around 12. At least, it’s supposed to. This special event is apparently going off with a bunch of hitches. I might get out to the park to find nothing going on or it’s in a different location. Means I just walk around for a bit and then come home for more editing. Nothing wrong with that as long as I get some daily fresh air, sun, and exercise. I’m usually getting over 10,000 steps a day as long as the weather holds and I’m not dragged into a bunch of events. Might as well enjoy it before winter hits and the park is closed by the time I get home from work.
List time!
Finish editing Darwin & the Avenging Elf.
Print out Darwin & the Demon Game.
Pokemon Go for exercise.
Time with son once he is here.
Lego sets when I need a break at night.
Sleep longer.
Hydrate!
Contemplate society’s stance on various emotional states and how they are frowned upon when admitted to by certain groups. (I will not explain.)
I’m still recovering from the end of school year fatigue. It’s like all of the little bits of tiredness that I’d been shoving away since September decided to jump me. So, I don’t have much brain power to do much here. Trying to save it up for tomorrow when I get to make my first summer goal post. Let’s do some questions.
What is your favorite part of the summer?
Got anything exciting planned for this summer?
If you could change one thing about the summer, what would it be BESIDES the heat?
Legends of Windemere 