Scully's Identity Crisis

[Gordon Hagglethrump]

You won't know me.... (It's my first contest).

But... you might know someone else I know.

Ask what you will!

[Plink]

Are you really dead?


...really?


Also, did Scully's mom ever suspect what Sage was up to? What other famous paintings has she created? And you, Mister Hagglethrump, what inspired your complicated leveret?

[Vera Silvertooth]

If you had survived longer, what plans did you have for Scully/Gordon?

[Tooley Bostay]

What's your proudest moment in the story?

Are there any character interactions in particular you wish you could have explored?

[Matra Hammer]

Incredible performance for a first contest. If I wore hats they'd tumble from my head in respect. Seriously, well done, and I hope you enjoyed writing in this contest.

1- Tell us how you felt about writing in this chaos known as MO? I wanna hear about your experience.

2- What is the worst book you've ever read? Why?

3- Was the enslaved hare a last-minute inspiration or were you going to use that hook later on?

4- What would it take for Scully to fully go "Woah, Blade is a mess...I'm outta here!"

5- Who is your favorite character so far?

6- Did you have any other applications? Fess up the names if you did.

[Gordon Hagglethrump]

Are you really dead?


...really?


Also, did Scully's mom ever suspect what Sage was up to? What other famous paintings has she created? And you, Mister Hagglethrump, what inspired your complicated leveret?

Scully is dead! Sorry Plink. :-(

Scully's mom knew about Sage's anti-establishment politics (and, before she was married, fully agreed with him), but she didn't know there was any connection to piracy. She reinterpreted what she learned about Sage to make him into a "hero of the everybeast" -- she knew he wanted to topple the established order in Salamandastron, but she  didn't know that this meant, in his mind, a Pirate Kingdom. Sage gave her some very good advice that helped launch her art career after seasons and seasons of going nowhere, and she felt a debt of gratitude to him for that.

The piece which launched her career was called "The Battle of Cheeky Plain", which featured the loathed Scarknuckle dying with an arrow in his heart, shot by none other than Private Aldo Hagglethrump. She painted it on hearing the news of the battle (on Sage's urging), and it was so lauded that it was chosen to greet the soldiers as they returned to the fortress. The depiction also helped launch Aldo into fame, and he swore to his buddies while a bit drunk that he would marry the artist if he ever met her -- an oath she learned about and took him up on.

In addition to several works in the "Atlas" series, which became very popular alongside the Badger Lord's rise, she was probably best known for her turn from military and patriotic-themed pieces to work emphasizing themes of motherhood and child-rearing. Thus, every momma hare who was any momma hare had a copy of one of the paintings in her "Newborn Leveret" series, all of which featured her holding or nursing a newborn Gordon in various cute and adorable poses. Being famous for his adorable baby pictures did not exactly help Gordon's sense of pride when he got older....

As for the inspiration . . . about ten years ago I read Joyce Carol Oates's book "Expensive People", which I got for a dollar at a used book sale and read over one summer in between vacuuming carpets and repairing broken toilets. I don't remember much about the book (I think it was okay, not my favorite really), but it was a novel about a bookish pre-teen who studies at an elite private school and eventually kills one of his parents. I'm betting there are elements of Gordon's character that were unconsciously derived from that, although I don't remember the connections anymore myself.

[Gordon Hagglethrump]

If you had survived longer, what plans did you have for Scully/Gordon?

Good question!

So, the plan was to have the exact scene that happened with Blade... except that instead of killing Scully, Blade was going to make him one of his minions (sort of the role Plink appears to be falling into). At some point, something was either going to make Scully realize Blade's true character, or make him realize that he is effectively a highly disposable prisoner of Blade's despite seeming well treated on the surface (sort of what Ciera wishes Plink would realize), and then Scully was going to have a crisis and turn to Robert to seek forgiveness. But how long would it have taken before Scully realized that? Probably a while....

[Gordon Hagglethrump]

What's your proudest moment in the story?

Are there any character interactions in particular you wish you could have explored?

Hmmm.... proudest moment was the scene where the waverunners are captured by snakes and Scully betrays them. It was the right balance of "in Scully's character" and yet "surprising that Gordon would do such a thing." Also, it brought the fire god into the story, which of course became important later.

Character interactions... I wish that Gordon and Robert had spent more time together. I think that would have helped Gordon's good side out and explored those better aspects of him. Also, Scully and Chak could have revealed to Scully how horrible pirate slavery was... which might have at least started him on questioning the glories of piracy.

[Gordon Hagglethrump]

Incredible performance for a first contest. If I wore hats they'd tumble from my head in respect. Seriously, well done, and I hope you enjoyed writing in this contest.

1- Tell us how you felt about writing in this chaos known as MO? I wanna hear about your experience.

2- What is the worst book you've ever read? Why?

3- Was the enslaved hare a last-minute inspiration or were you going to use that hook later on?

4- What would it take for Scully to fully go "Woah, Blade is a mess...I'm outta here!"

5- Who is your favorite character so far?

6- Did you have any other applications? Fess up the names if you did.

Wow, thank you Matra! I really did enjoy it, and also enjoyed the feedback that you've been giving to authors. It's a really supportive group.

1. So, because I have watched from the sidelines in two contests before (via this author of a past contest that I know), it felt like jumping in and finally understanding from the inside something I'd only understood from the outside before. For example, "Oh, so that's how something can be part of the story [for the authors] but not yet part of the story [for the audience]." Or, "Oh, so that's why it is so urgent that this be reviewed tonight and it can't wait until tomorrow." Or, "Oh, so that's why authors need to communicate so much." It gave me a bit more empathy for this other author because I definitely felt the burden when I was one of the less involved authors -- decisions are made by those who have the time to keep up and participate in making them, and for me it was often a matter of catching up on what the group had decided (and filling in what they were waiting on me for!). Coordinating between posts is very challenging whether you post first or last. The story we read at the end (as long as it sometimes gets...) is a small snippet of a much larger conversation that's taking place. That was really interesting to finally understand.

2. The worst book I ever read... hmm.

Since non-fiction counts in the category of books, the worst book I ever read was Steven Pinker's "The Blank Slate". It was a very interesting and well-written book full of what I thought were really awful, fallacious arguments.

But for fiction... I usually stop reading a fiction book pretty easily if I don't like it, I'm sort of passive-aggressive towards books I don't like... I just neglect to pick them up again. So the 'worst book' category is probably going to be limited to books I had to read and finish for some reason. Which brings me back to high school, and trying to read "The Old man and the Sea". I remember really hating that book.

3. I knew I wanted some bit of conscience to be present as Scully told Blade everything and betrayed Salamandastron. Originally I wanted Frederick Swiftpaw to be in the role, but then realized that wouldn't work practically given the other things Swiftpaw needed to do (which would seem to preclude being quite so messed up) and the fact that now Scully was doing to die. So, I realized we'd never officially said what happened to Old General Hriston, and I put him into that role. But I didn't have plans for that character beyond that scene.

4. Scully could justify a lot of things in his mind including murder and slavery. If he had seen the condition of the slaves, he might have felt mixed up about it, and seeing Salamandastron burn to the ground would be awkward, but the result of that cognitive dissonance might well have been doubling down on his loyalty to Blade rather than doubting Blade. Much like what happened with Fildering's death.

Only seeing Blade betray those who were genuinely loyal to him would be enough for him to doubt Blade. If he'd seen Blade betray someone who was a loyal follower and yet also his own friend, like Plink or Ciera or Sage, then that would turn him against this mythical hero who has suddenly come to life... but nothing short of that, I think.

5. Plink!

6. Yep... I was also Brother Bogdan in the Prisoner category.
..

[Vizon]

Just so you know, I've always been your secret admirer, Scully.  ;)

[Gordon Hagglethrump]

Just you know, I've always been your secret admirer, Scully.  ;)

:wub: