3 May 2023 Notes

POINT stands for Pluses, Opportunities, Issues, and New Thinking. Came from a Great Courses I got on creative thinking.

Some notes, real quick. 

Next Hanako scene is the ruin of Tsurui and the jorogumo encounter. Does NOT end in violence; jorogumo will either be a recurring villain or a token-evil teammate. Or both. Not sure yet.

Other story idea–Someone from our world winds up in a fantasy one somehow, and because our world has no magic, he/she is impervious to it. Probably been done to death, but I had fun imagining a handful of scenes and figuring out how to make it work. Don’t know that I’ll do anything with it, though.

Also–Theoptosi–Greek style Ragnarok? Or just throwing Zeus out of power? Somewhere in between? Do I start it before 2020 and have Covid be a part of it? …Seems a bit much. I know MC doesn’t want to replace Zeus… What forces him into action?

For Majesty:

What is Roland doing out of fear? Ideas I had yesterday:

A wall that collapses?

A death-machine that goes out of control?

Rather than denying getting a king, what if he brings one in? Shifts main antagonist for the book to that king, instead of him, but still…

Why would Moira oppose this? Is it the idea, or just Roland’s specific choice of king/queen? Is it the current ruler of Moira’s homeland?

P–Tie-in to existing characters; more backstory.

O–Backstory; deep trauma between Moira and current queen; multiple possible resolutions.

I–Not tied to Charles (minor); Why would we need Ferghus?; What kind of threat does our “Cleopatra” pose? How do fear and courage tie into this?

NT–Does the “allied” country actively attack/invade? What if Roland became a turncoat out of fear–either of Cleopatra and/or Dark Conqueror–doesn’t just have to be DC.

I–How effective is Ferghus at truly eliminating the threat if he dies right after? WOuldn’t that just invite them to come back?

What if Roland, trying to make his machine/prepare his defenses, set off a volcano?

P: Closer to original idea; easy, big thing for Ferghus to stop by sacrificing himself.

O: Delve into options for magic or tech; easier than Cleopatra route to give Roland a redemption arc.

I: HOW!? What would they be doing that could set it off?

NT: Mining (Balrog-style); something that shakes the earth for miles… Like what? Testing explosives? Wrong feel to it…

1 May 2023 Notes

I did not sleep well last night. And it is late. What to write?

Not in the right mindset for Hanako/Majesty. Is there another story I could do simple worldbuilding for?

Is there a joke or pun I was thinking of I could leverage? Oh, shoot–I had a cool random daydream earlier at work today. What was it?

I think it involved calling someone out on their lack of trust…No! It was about a fae who made a real friendship with a mortal man… and then broke that trust in a couple different ways.

May have been a fae debt, which was paid in full, partially because the fae didn’t understand the severity of what he’d asked the friend to do, and partially from lack of follow-up. Why does the fae need this help? WHat’s at stake?

Probably takes some inspiration from Changeling: the Lost. Had some armor-piercing dialogue… What was it?

29 April 2023 Notes

No main story for this date; I only brainstormed.

I am wiped. I did get the major assignment for my marketing class finished, though.

So where do I go today, then? It’s late and I want to keep this short… What else do I know or can I see about the Goddess of Battle story?

As I thought about it more, the idea of a modern fantasy take on the world when Kyra wakes up might not be so bad. Fit the aesthetic I first pictured her as… but I’m not sure.

jDon’t really have time to consider how the world evolved during her timeskip, though. Do I want to write about beating the demon lord in the first place? What did happen? Did they manage to knock him unconscious? Did they kill him, but his death wasn’t supposed to be permanent for some reason? …I like that. Did Kyra steal that ability from him somehow?

Who else was in the party? Kyra was a fighter/melee type; Fera was the cleric/healer priestess type; was there a prince? …Not likely. Probably a rogue–might even be Fera’s love interest–and a tank. Big knight/paladin type…

Decided I’m going to count my brainstorming today as my writing. So I’ll keep at it a little bit longer. Kyra was definitely not the leader; that was probably Fera, or maybe her and the paladin both. I’m thinking the paladin is surprisingly easy going, and soft-spoken. The sturdy, supportive type.

The rogue, though… What kind of rogue is he? Explicitly Robin Hood-y, or does he (try to) play everything off as for his own benefit? Considering the risks involved with facing this demon king, if he were truly selfish I don’t think he’d be there, but I don’t want him to just be a standard rogue, either. Hmm… Is he actually a cop with a roguish skill set? I’ll have to ponder that idea more…

What bits about the past, of Kyra’s mortal life pre-sealing, are actually relevant to the story? Defeating the demon king, of course, and losing her family. Does her dynamic with the other party members affect the present timeline at all? Or Kyra’s choices here? I’ll have to think on that…

28 April 2023 Notes

Been a rough week; I may split up notes and main entries into two separate days for a while. Also, it’s interesting how much has already shifted from the thoughts I present here below. A lot can happen in a week, I suppose…

I’d like to consolidate things for this story, so I’d like to figure out a beginning. Random thought before I do; could Roland’s foolish action be trying to force Ferghus somehow? Or do something to him? How would that interact with Charles’ goals and accomplishments? More on that later, perhaps….

What I have so far:

Attack on Elliot’s homeland; death of his parents alluded to. Charles’ mother, as a guard, may leave some final words with him, too.

How do they know their parents are dead? I want to make it clear to the readers, at least. And I lack Hoid’s tongue-in-cheek meta mention, like he uses in Tress of the Emerald Sea. Do they hide for a day or two and say their bodies on display on the way out? Kinda dark, especially compared to the rest of Book 1…

Anyway, got on a ship fleeing. Are they disguised as civilians? Journey with 1-2 other ships; cornered by Jasper. Other ship, trying to get away, cripples the ship Elliott and Charles are on; in retaliation, Jasper focuses fire on the, destroys the ship.

What if, instead of moving to Moira’s ship, Jasper gives her the refugee ship? It’d have a bunch of displaced people w/ nowhere to go, and could be the beginnings of a pirate crew. If so, why are they spending so long in Bethany’s homeland? There’s a disconnect, there.

What if Moira came specifically to speak w/ Ferghus, and it’s the bureaucratic red tape–represented by Roland–that gets in the way? There’s a thought. Why, though? And what happens as a result?

Also, what if crew gets mad at the way Moira treats Elliott, and one attacks her, and she reveals herself as a dragon by blocking w/ her wings? Also, what if dragons can’t wear armor for some reason? …No, don’t like that. But items above a certain density might not “morph”... Kinda like Animorphs, once they started being able to morph with clothes.

I’ll want to plan out the intro better, so for now, the naval battle (rough outline) and Jasper handing the ship off to Moira. Or the crew. Or something.

27 April 2023 Notes

Alright, so I was typing in Hanako stuff today. (See here for what I was typing in at the time.) Where do I go from here? What happens to connect the father bit to Chiaki?

Keep the father bit short. (What is his name? This’d be a good place for him to naturally introduce himself…) The point is info on yokai–what would he know?

- -Mostly oni

-2 massive, bestial ushi-oni

I don’t need to showcase everything with this company; it’s a small splinter off the main army, after all. Who’s their commander, though? Would the father know/recognize them? How early into the attack did he and his daughter get out? Probably pretty early, since they made it that far before they got caught.

Are there ranks for oni? They have variance; how does that play into their battle formations? The twin sets fight in pairs; bigger/stronger ones might order whole gangs. They thrive on chaos… Hmm.

Does the father comment on everyone else? ANything I can think of for him to say on the subject sounds forced or unnatural, especially since he’s only just arrived, and they’re giving him a place to live and food to eat. …That’s it! He doesn’t but it does push him to more directly express his gratitude, since that’s all he can do for her.

…Why didn’t she quiz him about the yokai army back in the oni scouts scene? …He was obviously still scared of her then, and if she thought she could find out more clues in the area–or had already agreed to check in with Keiko–that would be enough.

26 April 2023 Notes

It… hasn’t been my best week so far. Still, pushing through!

So I have a couple options. I think I’ll try out my latest story idea first, though; if I have extra time later, I can have another writing session. I hope I do… [Spoiler: I did not.]

The idea is to keep/maintain the seal on the demon king, someone has to go in with him. Instead of the priestess person who stereotypically would, it’s a fighter-type woman. (Or maybe a battle mage? I dunno.) When the seal is undone a century or more later, it isn’t the demon king, but the warrior woman who steps out.

What is she like? What tech do we have to work with? What does she find when she steps out?

In my initial imaginings yesterday, she used guns. Twin pistols, even. Why? Did they lose that tech in the intervening years? I don’t really like that idea.

Is the new world post-apocalyptic? If so, what happened? Since the demon king’s dead and all…

I don’t really want to go from high fantasy/medieval to modern day, either. Hmm…

Let’s have Kyra be a swordswoman/barbarian. Twin blades? Ooh, no, let’s go twin axes, w/ some brawler mixed in. She’s actually the older sister of… No, just good friends with the priestess. She does have personal beef with the demon lord; he killed someone important to her (husband and child, I’m thinking). Don’t know how personal his involvement in their deaths was…

She gets some demon lord powers for spending so long trapped with him.

Connected Entry

22 April 2023 Notes

I am feeling strangely morose and depressed. Especially since I just went to the temple; that’s supposed to (and generally does) help. Too much time alone in my thoughts on the drive? Reflecting on all my mistakes? Or perhaps just hyper-fixating on my loneliness for a bit…

Anyway. I’ll do my best to work through it. Where am I at? What should I do?

How does the father respond to everyone else’s fear of Hanako? What is his reaction? He has more reason than most to have a visceral reaction, since he’s witnessed first-hand what a rampaging oni is capable of. Yeah, I’d say he’s freaked out, but he’s also starting to trust her.

Connected Entry

21 April 2023 Notes

Had the idea that the yokai army has already destroyed a town between new Chizu and Nanmoku, and that’s where the father-daughter pair comes from. Also, that’s who the oni were chasing, not Chizu.

How does that change things? Makes initial convo w/ Keiko more urgent. K probably asks H to visit Chiaki, rather than it happening on H’s initiative. Is that an issue? …Should be fine.

What might the father say to H?Will he trust her? Do the other people in the area yet?

Daiki and Fumito–What are they like? How would they react to the ruined village? Are there any yokai lingering? Stragglers, or perhaps scavengers unaffiliated w/the army?

Potential yokai around ruined village:

Jorogumo–Could be really fun

Okuri inu–”Sounding off dog”--ferocious. Pounces on and eats those who trip/stumble. Focused on travlers.

Not here, but if disease comes up a Korōri encounter could be interesting.

Tsuchigumo–More spidery, more ambitious [than Jorogumo]. Uses all manner of illusions.

Kotengu–More of a pack/flock yokai

Where are the father and his daughter? Are they in the medical area, getting checked over? They’d be close to Chiaki, if so. Are the by the mess tent? That’d give more opportunities for us to see how the rest of the town reacts to her.

Connected Entry