Like Bell's thread I will answer questions you have for me and Revel here. I will not answer personal questions, so please only ask about the characters or the story.
1. Did you take voting personal?
2. Can I ask about personnel?
3. Personally, do you answer a lot of questions?
Quote from: Bellona Littlebrush on January 06, 2010, 12:24:21 AM
1. Did you take voting personal?
2. Can I ask about personnel?
3. Personally, do you answer a lot of questions?
No...
No? Yes? Who?
Not yet!
1. You are stuck in an elevator with Revel. What happens?
2. What is Revel's favorite flavor of ice cream?
3. What is Revel's opinion on bugs?
Quote from: Rath the Whirlwind on January 06, 2010, 01:05:40 AM
1. You are stuck in an elevator with Revel. What happens?
2. What is Revel's favorite flavor of ice cream?
3. What is Revel's opinion on bugs?
I hope I have my jacket with me so I can pick her up without being scratched. I'd hug her and hold her while we wait for the elevator to be fixed. When we get rescued I'd ask for bandaids and chicken.
Vole! ;D Maybe hopscotch because it looks like her.
The crunchier they are, the better. Worms and grubs are too soft and squishy but grassphoppers and crickets are her favorite though she says she needs to dial it down in her diet if she keeps hearing them in her stomach. Moths are okay but butterflies are cheapskates. Spiders scare her.
1. If Revel had died, what sort of death post would you have written?
2. Is there a choice or decision Revel made during the story that could have taken her character in a different direction if she had made it differently?
3. If Venril had survived, would Revel have continued to chase him?
Nallmian: Congratulations, Revel! *Hugs tightly, then dashes off* Have fun birthing the next litter!
Quote from: Venril on January 06, 2010, 01:33:07 AM
1. If Revel had died, what sort of death post would you have written?
2. Is there a choice or decision Revel made during the story that could have taken her character in a different direction if she had made it differently?
3. If Venril had survived, would Revel have continued to chase him?
Nallmian: Congratulations, Revel! *Hugs tightly, then dashes off* Have fun birthing the next litter!
I don't know about after she had her kits, but the death I had planned for her before they were born was really horrible. Revel would be so torn about Venril ignoring her and going after Eliza that she breaks down and tells herself she has to do whatever it takes to be pretty again, and get rid of what is making her ugly - her belly. So she was going to get a knife and try to cut the "fat" out, but not be able to follow through because of the pain. She would just lie there until someone came to try to rescue her... or Bellona finds her and finishes the job. I'm glad this didn't happen because if Bellona did kill Revel the rest of the way she would surely also make sure the kits are dead, and then no one would like Bellona enough to vote for her in the end.
In Week 2 after chasing Birch. Revel decided it didn't matter if woodlanders were sentient because once they die they're just meat. And killing wasn't the moral dilemma she was facing, so that was still okay. If there had been another nice woodlander to talk to, maybe Revel would have decided differently and had more of a change throughout the story. But with Su gone and Bellona so mean there wasn't enough reason to continue with that idea so I tied it up right then and there. If Su had survived longer and learned about Revel's eating habits, it would have been very interesting and fun to write. Even though Week 1 was two weeks long, having those discussions too early in the story didn't seem like a good idea, so they never happened at all.
Revel would have kept chasing Venril as seen in the missing scenes thread where she steals Birch's tail. :D She was going to give up on him after she learned where baby stoats come from and probably get into a big fight with him about it.
Any particular thing that lit the spark in your mind for Revel's concept? Piece of music, photograph, line of dialogue from a movie, something your friend said to you, even a character from another story? something like that.
1. Would Revel, Venril, and Fergly be able to make it through a family reunion without killing each other?
2. Did Revel break down and eat someone during the boat home, or did she manage to supress her cannibalistic
urges?
3. Am I allowed to guess your identity via PM?
One thing I enjoyed about your posts is that you managed to squeeze Birch or Greenfang into most of them, and you were the first person to use Greenfang. I'd just like to extend a "thanks" for promoting us. May your kits have many fine meals consisting of the flesh of others. ;)
Quote from: Revel on January 06, 2010, 02:05:47 AM
If there had been another nice woodlander to talk to, maybe Revel would have decided differently and had more of a change throughout the story. But with Su gone and Bellona so mean there wasn't enough reason to continue with that idea so I tied it up right then and there. If Su had survived longer and learned about Revel's eating habits, it would have been very interesting and fun to write. Even though Week 1 was two weeks long, having those discussions too early in the story didn't seem like a good idea, so they never happened at all.
Luv you too, Revvie. :D
That was just the thing. It was a fun relationship to write but hard not to give too much away in that first week. I would have liked to cure you of your cannibalistic ways. Either that or see you through to delivery safely and then kitnap the babes because i could have done soooo much of a better job raising them then you :P
Oh and just so you know we're taking great care of Zubble in Dark Forest. He's in good paws. tee hee
and oh yeah i should ask a question, ummm when you came up with the idea for the character was Revvie always going to be that feral or were the heightened senses a result of the pregnancy?
Quote from: Sparrowhawk on January 06, 2010, 11:29:31 AM
Any particular thing that lit the spark in your mind for Revel's concept? Piece of music, photograph, line of dialogue from a movie, something your friend said to you, even a character from another story? something like that.
Quote from: Suellyn on January 06, 2010, 12:00:06 PMand oh yeah i should ask a question, ummm when you came up with the idea for the character was Revvie always going to be that feral or were the heightened senses a result of the pregnancy?
Hmmm I don't remember. I didn't think about her very much before I started writing her application. I knew I wanted to make a very canon vermin character. Revel is not very smart, kind of homely and lives on the run from woodlanders. I wanted to make a housewife sort of character as well. The idea to merge the two became Revel. As feral as she is she's still very good at cooking and cleaning.
The feral idea came about when I decided to make her pregnant which I did because you never see pregnant vermin in the books except for Veil's mom. It was also an excuse to make her more like a housewife because she was going to be a mother as well. I don't know where the feral idea came from but it must have snuck in somehow. I didn't set out to make Revel a cannibal and I didn't want her to eat vermin at all. A friend suggested I make her think of woodlanders as being non sentient like birds and fish. There was a big idea Damask had that we never used where he convinces Revel not to eat him because he's imaginary. ;D My friend also suggested that I read the beginning of Jack London's White Fang to get a feel for writing a pregnant animal. It helped and you can see the resemblance when Revel is being wistful (that's a word I got from the book) and keeps trying to find a nice safe place for her kits, even though she doesn't know for sure that's what she's looking for. That chapter was so short though. :(
I decided to make Revel's eating woodlanders a product of her pregnancy (cravings) and beliefs, but her hieghtened senses were not part of that. When we came up with the Fritterik I knew I had to work in a small side story about some of them escaping the caves and getting into the forest before, because it fit so well to explain why Revel was different.
The last thing is that when I was talking about Revel being pregnant in the contestant forums Tara flipped out. :D She said all the judges thought she was just fat. That's when I decided that Revel talking to her stomach in her application was because she was just a little crazy and not because she knew she was having kits. It helped that Revel doesn't have a very long memory and that stoats use delayed implantation which means the kits don't even start growing for almost a year after mating. Poor Revvie was so confused about why she was getting fat! She didn't remember doing anything with another stoat at all! :P
Awww and thank you Su. I hope he's not being too much of a bully! Is Yikker-Vikvichip behaving herself as well?
Quote from: Jarrtail on January 06, 2010, 11:40:02 AM
1. Would Revel, Venril, and Fergly be able to make it through a family reunion without killing each other?
2. Did Revel break down and eat someone during the boat home, or did she manage to supress her cannibalistic
urges?
3. Am I allowed to guess your identity via PM?
You're welcome and thank you, Jarrtail! ;)
Revel might want to kill Fergly but Venril would put a stop to it I bet. So long as there are no make up hugs they would get along after that.
Quote from: Venril on January 06, 2010, 01:33:07 AMNallmian: Congratulations, Revel! *Hugs tightly, then dashes off* Have fun birthing the next litter!
Revel: YOU BIG NAGGER-NUGGER, COME BACK HERE AN' BE A FATHER IF YOU'RE GONNA GO AROUND DOIN' THAT TO INNOCENT STOATMAIDS!
ahem. ;D Back to Jarrtail's questions...
I like to think that Revel got used to hantz and brkich enough to enjoy Kirby's cooking on this journey. It helps that she doesn't have six stomachs to feed anymore.
You can try to guess in PM but I don't know if I can tell you if you're right or not.
She tol' me I could! (http://redventure.swifthost.net/wiki/index.php5?title=Revel) **scurries away**
*blinks*
I could have sworn you were me.
I thought I was. :-\
Good thing you weren't. We got into this fanfiction buisness 'cause we couldn't make it into the contest, darn it!
And so we're all revealed! I think it's fun to note that all three of us Top 3 were associated with Operation: Sandstorm. Me'n Inny as first and second place, and Ubby as administrator. Huzzah for the reunion!
Oh, hey! you favorited the fanfic version! :D
Someone had to! ;)
My epilogue is done! I'm just going to let it sit in the contestant's forum for a few hours so Bellona and Damask (and anyone else who wants!) can check it for errors. Look for it tonight!
:twitch: It's not right, getting it up so early...
I would've held out longer, if I'd known you weren't ready yet...
After the first scene, it may help to listen to this song while you read: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01706/
It's the song I listened to while I wrote Revel's first few posts, and is undoubtedly the happiest, most stress-reducing, dance-stupidly-for-no-reason-inspiring piece of music I've ever heard. To put it another way: if you were telepathic, this is what you would hear if you listened to Revel's thoughts!
Wow, Revel. That was...amazing. Very heartwarming. I always did like Flinky, and I suppose he could do much worse.
I certainly look forward to roleplaying with you in the future.
Which Flinky are we talking about here? There was a canon 'Flinky' I know, so I just wondered if it was that one.
Read the epilogue.
Quote from: Jarrtail on January 29, 2010, 11:31:38 AM
Wow, Revel. That was...amazing. Very heartwarming. I always did like Flinky, and I suppose he could do much worse.
Aye... he could have ended up with Eliza! :evil:
Thank you, Jarry!
Spoilers!!Can you spot Slipback, Juppa (she's a freeby), Halfchop, Burrad, Redd, and Plumnose too?
This was actually my plan all along should Revel live. At first I wanted her to lose her tailtip in some kind of predator bird attack, but that would require that she be naked in some snow... so I had her tail get crinked as early as possible, so the nickname would stick long before anyone realized what was up. :D
In Loamhedge, Crinktail also says to Raga Bol, "Fibbers are villains!" and she's the best cook in the vermin gang.
There were also cannibal rats in Loamhedge(the book). I wonder if revel/crinktail decided to settle at the Darrat camp after the escape from Redwall abbey. Also, I never thought of the possibility of Crinktail being Flinky's 'mate' in more ways then one.
Quote from: Revel on January 29, 2010, 07:22:01 PM
Quote from: Jarrtail on January 29, 2010, 11:31:38 AM
Wow, Revel. That was...amazing. Very heartwarming. I always did like Flinky, and I suppose he could do much worse.
Aye... he could have ended up with Eliza! :evil:
Psht. As if he'd even have a
chance.
She does have a thing for bards, let me tell you. ^.-
Mmm, yes. What's not to love about a guy who'll create works of art in order to immortalize your beauty for years to come?
His smell.
The Shaping of a Helpless Joy -- by Saxon Shore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJdGWuc8e10&)
Revel was always supposed to be the most stoatliest stoat ever. As evinced by this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqypt3HnPng), they are some crazy critters. My only conclusion is that stoats do this for fun, because they are happy and playful. Also, fast. Like a Ferrari getting bugs on the windscreen:
Quote...and her energy felt boosted with each accidental bee she inhaled.
The title of this post is supposed to reflect how content with life Revel is, as well as allude to her being a new character and thus being "shaped". The Saxon Shore song was rather fitting, although when I actually wrote this post, I was listening to Mario Kart 64 remixes (Day's End (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01706/) and Dream Racing (http://doulifee.com//Storage/OC_Removed/Mario_Kart_64_Dream_Racing_Oc_ReMoved.mp3)) to get into the mood better.
The writing style here was heavily inspired by A. R. Lloyd's
Kine saga.
Bruscus may have been Revel's long-lost brother. I don't really know.
With a Sure and Hopeful Smile -- from Riccardo Cocciante's song "Echoes" (http://www.lyricsmania.com/echoes_lyrics_riccardo_cocciante.html)
The song speaks of innocence lost through becoming an adult - unknowingly, also mirror's Revel's personal journey which starts when she meets Nivard in this post. I really only chose the lyrics because I wanted "happy sounding" titles, and it's one of my favourite Cocciante songs.
Nivard's "Feh" was a nod to the most love-to-hate character on the Vulpine Imperium, Drengull.
Then I Close My Eyes -- by David Gilmour (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed3zYu5BHCs)
Partly chosen for a lark to make people think Revel was the death, partly chosen because it has a hill-billy feeling to it that fit perfectly with Revel's blind, budding love for Nivard.
"With stoat" is a small reference to the cartoon version of
The Animals of Farthing Wood; in the second or third season, Weasel goes about proclaiming herself to be "with weasel".
With a Wonder and a Wild Desire -- by Flogging Molly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH16k8IGvUE&)
Again, chose the name for the happy sounding words. I don't actually like the song that much. (Which is not to say I don't like any of their songs; I particularly like "Whistles the Wind"...) But this time, the words fit a little better, on account of Revel's wondering at the beauty of life, and her wild desire to, well, eat Birch.
One part we never got to put in that stemmed from this is Birch being all paranoid that she was turning into a stoat from Revel's biting her. At some point, some NPC was supposed to rub ash into Birch's tail-tip to make her freak out, but it just didn't have any place in the story proper - much like the scene in which Revel tries to get her kits to eat Birch.
A Hidden Sun That Burns and Burns -- by The Barenaked Ladies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4-K951FaaY&)
Hm. The live version has different lyrics. This was chosen for two reasons - one, Revel's kits were her "hidden sun" of sorts: "Inside ourselves a hidden sun that burns and burns, and never does any harm to anyone." 'Cos, technically, they haven't done any harm.
The first line in the album version goes, "Suddenly, things become unsound"; this was in reference to Revel realising she was pregnant. Her whole little world just started changing right then.
Quote"You 'ave to... to look past - to smell past - what you know is there," she explained. "Just like listenin' to trees. Cedars rattle dif'rent than pines, so if you ignore their sounds, y'can hear where a cypress or a fir is growin'."
This part was somewhat inspired by... Naruto. XD The bit where Kakashi is training the main characters and explains, "You have to look beneath the beneath" or something like that.
Trpcic is the last name of the lady who was in charge of costume designs in Joss Whedon's
Firefly.
Melodies of Life, Love's Lost Refrain -- from Final Fantasy IX (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye7BGnlTZmQ)
Again with the multiple meanings! First there's the life in Revel's belly, which Damask sings to sleep with his lovely music... and then there's the story of Revel and Fergly, summed up rather nicely in the lyrics here:
Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why
We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbyeand a little further in Damask's poetry:
Your father's been gone, for twenty long nights
I know that you're pining for his voice.
He'd banish these fears, and laugh 'way your tears,
Together we'd revel in his joys.I'm Learning To Be Brave In My Beautiful Mistakes -- from Pink's Crystal Ball (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G53XAUy_JA)
This one doesn't
quite fit... The idea of Revel saving Damask and Tishka (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHwBs0cCWUc&) from the fighting... Her getting brave despite the first outbreak of true fighting she's almost been part of... Originally, Revel wasn't supposed to kill Tishka, I don't think. It's a nice line, and sort of fits a little, but not enough for me to be happy with it. Dah.
Just Another Perfect Day -- from Miriam Stockley's Perfect Day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB4kotNbNm8)
This song closes out the cartoon versions of Beatrix Potter's stories.* It's haunting and beautiful, with very Revel-ish lyrics, especially:
On the wild and misty hillside
Fear is nature's warning
Hunger here is never far awayThe title is meant to be ironic, of course.
And, no, Nivard did not do what most seem to think he did. I did plan on Nivard and Revel being more cuddly after this - either a small scene with them cuddling (just cuddling) on the cot when Venril comes in, or just the tiniest little reference of Revel rubbing some scars on the back of her neck later - but as the cuddling scene got cut, I was content to let people think what they liked about the end here. But, really, Nivard just choked/suffocated her into unconciousness and, with her lying there for later, went to get food before anything else.
Get yer minds out of the gutters! :P
* On that note, Revel's catchphrase, "A fine trouble" is based off the way characters speak in Beatrix Potter's stories.
And The Sky May Look Blue -- from Pink Floyd's The Thin Ice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_7bLRXZ8Q)
Because it's the only song I know of that had "happy" words while still being a little creepy (the sky
may look blue...), that was about babies, and it just so happens to kinda tie in with the "Echoes" title from way in Week 1.
Now I Feel Like I'm The Flower -- from Vienna Teng's The Tower (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCTd8AgWnG4&)
Ever since "I'm Learning To Be Brave..." I've had this in mind for Revel: for her happiness to be slowly squashed and stamped on, until there was simply no where else for her to go but back up. I don't know if I did this little arc right or not, but that was the idea. This song rather reflects Revel's situation a bit.
On the one paw, she feels like a flower - something beautiful. She's rising again, after all the garbage thrown at her in the past few chapters. On the other paw, the full line of verse is, "Now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow." - her struggles are not yet over, and she's still got a bit more to dip before she reaches the bottom. (In truth, I don't think Revel really starts her journey back to happiness until her epilogue; the next chapter has her finding Venril's corpse, and then there's that battle, then Yikker dies in her arms from the plague, then Bellona says the most hurtful thing ever
right after Revel got done burying her child next to Rath, then she finds out about Zubble, then...)
Once Warm -- N/A
For once, I could not find anything to fit for a title here. I tried and tried to think of something happy-sounding, or just plain weird like any post-rock song title... in the end, I just picked two simple words to describe Venril's corpse.
I don't think there's anything else hidden here, except Revel's last words to Venril: "I didn't mean it... I mean it, Venril, 'm sorry, 'm sorry..."
Which were inspired somewhat by the Pink song, Please Don't Leave Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wmgBG0_lZk) - "
But baby, I don't mean it. I mean it. I'm sorry." - The same song also rather sums up Venril and Revel's relationship.
Until Then, She'll Live in Wonder -- from David Gilmour's A Pocket Full of Stones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUpmFYvCWUc)
In the original, it's "He'll", but obviously that wouldn't work.
You can see by the lyrics here (http://www.uulyrics.com/music/david-gilmour/song-a-pocketful-of-stones/) that the character in the song is pretty selfish. But the tone and music says there must be a darker reason for it. In this chapter, Revel is so emotionally beaten that she just goes mute completely for several weeks, withdrawing into her own little world, not caring about anyone else anymore. Which is even more sad considering that, until Bell talked to her, Revel was just about done turning into a creature capable of empathy.
It's all very sad.
Fergly's name was based off the weird kid in Diary of a Wimpy Kid (http://www.wimpykid.com/). He had such lines as "Wanna see my 'secret freckle'?" and "May I peek at your scab?" I suppose this is my way of making Revel's original mate a creepy creep.
Day's End -- (see Mario Kart 64 songs)
QuoteThat pang in her gut was no bad cricket, no squirming infants waiting to breathe; it was a hunger for something more than food, and the hurt when it was not fed was more painful than anything. She had never realized the pain was there until it had gone.
I mentioned in the TED forums that I like seeing little philosphical ideas in stories, without them taking over the story and bashing you over the head with Messages. For Revel, the philosphical idea ended up being that of Sehnsucht (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sehnsucht). The idea didn't really come around until "Once Warm", when Adriak was monologuing at her, but glimpses of it in Revel's story could be seen as far back as her application - although until Adriak came about with his explanation, it was manifesting as simply a stoat's natural instinct to find someplace safe and warm to give birth.
Links missing from the following parts, because my internet died so I can't find them to put them in. Google stuff!The scene with Little Rath during the storm is based off Vienna Teng's "Lullaby for a Stormy Night".
Months ago, in fact. I've been waiting ages to write it for real. There is actually a bit of fan-art for the scene that was done up by a friend when I first explained it to her, but I have to ask permission before putting it up.
The scene with Birch talking to Ara has the line, "So I says to Maple, I says... I'll finish this later." - This was actually Birch's idea, when I asked her for a bit of dialogue. Turns out it's from The Great Gatsby! The actual name suggested by Birch was "Mabel" (as it is in the book), but I couldn't resist another tree. Much to her delight.
During Flinky's speech, he mentions "Braggin' an' Sorrow" - punes on the duo Bragoon and Saro from
Loamhedge.
When Burrad throws a fish head at Flinky he says, "Gerron wivvit, you spoony bard!" I had to do this because I'm so mad at Damask for not ever having someone call him a spoony bard in the story.
The
Loamhedge characters that show up are: Juppa and her mate Slipback (before he loses his backfur due to what I can only presume is mange, hence Revel's curse at him), Halfchop, Flinky, Burrad, and the little fox in the last part is Little Redd. And, of course, Crinktail. Thank you, Jacques, for letting
some vermin be awesome and survive beyond the book's ending.
And thanks everyone who didn't vote for Revvie to die, otherwise a lot of this nifty stuff would have never come to fruition. ^^ Yer all adorable!
As for Revel's life in-between the first three scenes and the part where her kits grow up... You can still be part of that over at Stories of Southsward! (http://www.southsward.org) Where I will be RPing her indefinitely!
Y'know, I do believe that this is the first time someone's played a canon character in a contest. And you didn't mess up her personality at all, which is good, because then I would have to kill you. I quite liked the Vermin Gang.