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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Characters The OC Revolution | NEW! 2Q 2024 Challenge Is Up: Friendship

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by OCDatabaseSock, Sep 28, 2012.

  1. Theodore Hawkwood

    Theodore Hawkwood Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jun 17, 2014
    This sounds like a lot of fun, I look forward to contributing as well.
     
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  2. Space_Wolf

    Space_Wolf Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 13, 2007
    I am pleased! I will start re-posting some of my old stories when I get the chance to do so. They were truncated, but I have back-ups for most of them. I look forward to see what you come up with. And a big thanks to Earlybird and Kahara for doing this.
     
    Kahara likes this.
  3. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Hello! Greetings from your new OC thread leaders, otherwise known as the users earlybird-obi-wan and Kahara. Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome. :D


    Current plans and requests for feedback

    Answers can be as short or long as you wish, and any additional comments or suggestions are welcome. Feel free to brainstorm things that you want to see here. We’re very interested in getting people involved with this thread again.



    Challenges

    We’d like to have some challenges that are non-competitive and have no due dates, things that are just for inspiration and fun. Earlybird has provided one for this week.

    However, we know many of you like competition. Currently, we’re planning to have a competition challenge on alternate months. The challenge will start on the first and end on the 14th of the month; all votes will be due to the OC Database sock by the end of the succeeding week. These challenges will follow the pattern of the ones that were already used on this thread.

    Comments on this and what people would like in a challenge are welcome!

    For reference, here are the challenge rules for this thread as they stand.

    Reoccurring Challenge Rules

    Just so we're all clear how all of these challenges are going to work:


      1. For your response to be accepted for voting, it must be OC-driven. This means that it features only OCs or any canon characters that appear only play a minor role.
      2. You may write your responses in any era (Before/Saga/Beyond). We are not, at this time, accepting responses from Non-Star Wars fanficion. I believe there is a NSWFF OC thread somewhere.
      3. Do not post your challenge responses or links to them in this thread. Instead, PM them to the OCDatabaseSock. When time for voting comes the thread hosts will post a list of links to stories that were entered into the challenge.
      4. Each challenge will have a deadline. In order to be qualified for voting, your story link must be PMed to the sock by that deadline. If you are late, we will still share it with the thread, but it is ineligible for voting.
      5. The voting period will usually be about a week long. Each challenge will specify this length. Votes should be PMed to the sock within that period to count.
      6. You cannot vote for yourself. Also, please don't just vote for your friends. Read everyone's responses and chose the winner after you have read through them all. Let's be fair to everyone.
      7. The winner of each challenge gets to set the theme for the next challenge. The winner should PM the sock with their challenge idea after each challenge finishes.


    Discussion Questions

    Thumper09 left us a great list of questions for OC writers, so we’ll be using some of those to encourage discussion. We’ve also got some ideas of our own. If there’s a topic that you’d like to see more in-depth questions about, PM the sock – or come up with a post and plunk it in the thread. As always, you’re all welcome to post relevant questions for people to talk about here.



    Workshops

    If anyone wants to write up and post a workshop on OC writing, we will cheer you on. It’s not something that either of us feel we have the time to invest in right now. Anyone who wants to can go for it.



    The Brock Institute for Questionable Science

    This feature was named after two of the least reassuring researchers in the Star Wars Galaxy, Lanoree Brock (please bring forward your disturbing clone monster, Lanoree – actually, put it back) and her brother Dalien (stay where you are and keep your doomsday machine, Dale.)

    As part of the process of getting this thread rolling again, we’d like to try some new things. Experimental things. This is where we will post possible future activities for the thread, so that everyone can take a look and say things like:

    “This is an abomination. Kill it with fire.”

    “It might work better with these changes.”

    “Mwahahaha! It’s perfect. Fly, my Kowakian lizard-monkeys, fly!”



    Here is your just-for-fun challenge:

    “You are my lady.”

    Incorporate the phrase into an OC-centered story any way you want. There is no due date and we won’t select a winner. We’ll index them here if you PM the sock.
     
  4. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    New discussion questions:

    1. List the choices (not circumstances) that led this character to his/her current predicament.

    2. List the circumstances over which this character has no control.


    Pick 1-3 of your original characters and tell us what you think. These look like some interesting questions to help examine how much your OC's are shaped by their environment and how they in turn have influenced their own lives. Nature/nurture, choice and destiny, all that good stuff. ;)

    (Thanks to Thumper09 for providing such an intriguing list of potential questions.)
     
  5. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    A minor change to the discussion questions:

    1. Before getting into how/why their choices or outside influences have led to a character's situation: just where are they currently? (Pick any time in the story that seems interesting, or where you left off writing last time.) Is their situation good, bad, so-so, or unspeakable?

    2. List the choices (not circumstances) that led this character to his/her current predicament.

    3. List the circumstances over which this character has no control.



    There! That first step might make it easier to answer. Having tried them out, I found these questions were even more complicated than I thought. Way to pick the tough ones right out of the starting gate. [face_blush] (Kahara)
     
  6. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Ok, I'll give it a go. My characters are Raissa Baiard and Doran Blayne from "Everyone Comes to Doran's Place."

    Raissa
    1. Raissa is Vice-Prefect of the Imperial garrison on Merkesh. She's investigating the murder of the Prefect and the subsequent disappearance of a cache of Jedi artifacts. Displease by her lack of progress, the Sector authorities sent the amoral and misogynistic Moff Cassius to take over the investigation. Raissa clashes with him because of her gender and because of her firm sense of honor.
    2. Raissa chose to enter the Imperial Academy, so she can "serve and protect," despite their hostility towards women. She also refuses to give in to the local culture of corruption and acts according to her moral compass. These choices put her at odds with superiors and colleagues. She chooses to be friendly with Doran. Raissa makes the right choices for the right reasons, but still suffers for them.
    3. She can't control Moff Cassius and his men, nor can she control the fact that a pair of Jedi have come to Merkesh looking for the artifacts. She can't control the political climate-- the fact that she works for the Emperor, the fear and hatred of the Jedi.

    Doran
    1. Doran Blayne is the owner of the Cafe Alderaan. Though his motto is "I stick my neck out for no one," he agreed to help small time con, Pter Lorr, hide one of the missing artifacts, a holocron. Lorr is arrested by the Imperials, and Doran is left to deal with the Jedi who are looking for the holocron. Things are complicated by the fact that Doran is actually a Padawans in hiding and one of the Jedi is his former lover, Alyse, who left him in the lurch.
    2. Doran chose to get involved with Alyse, and chose to react with bitterness, abandoning his Jedi training, when she leaves. He chooses to help Lorr, despite his supposed cynicism. He chooses not to immediately give the holocron to the Jedi.
    3. He can't control the presence of Moff Cassius, the identity of the Jedi, or the fact that the Empire is hunting Jedi.
     
    Kahara likes this.
  7. Viridian-Maiden

    Viridian-Maiden Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2013
    Hi everyone!

    I'm not usually very social on any boards, but recent bouts of block due to...well...feeling like nobody cared what I was writing/other general life kind of things have me hoping that if I become more active overall I will also be able to get back into my story. I admit that I'd like to be the brilliant, quiet author who suddenly pops up to post an update before once again silenty retreating...but on the other hand I've been thinking about joining a writing circle anyway and this is basically that it would seem. Also, I doubt they would appreciate my SW fic as much as you, and certainly not as much as me... :-Blol.

    I have to say, the OC group is probably the perfect place for me, because I'm actually not that well-versed in EU profic and I love the freedom and unbounded imaginative possibilities that obviously come with OCs.

    I guess I'll start by saying (am I allowed to or is this advertising?) that my OC is Katya Starstar, a Naboo palace attendant who was born on Alderaan and once served as a handmaiden to Amidala. I won't say more unless I add to discussion questions. But at some point there may also be some pieces centered around Nhala, another OC from Legacy. Nhala's fun for me to think about because even though she's a fairly minor character in Legacy, she's also from an original species.

    So here I am. Greetings! Where do I get started joining in?
     
    Kahara likes this.
  8. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    Raissa Baiard, I enjoyed reading those answers. Very concise insight into their choices, especially. :)

    Viridian-Maiden, welcome! :) Earlybird-obi-wan and I are both new at running the thread but as far as I know giving a brief intro to your OC's was perfectly fine.

    Me too. I adore parts of the EU, but the last time I was well-read on all of it happened back in the Bantam era. ;)

    Re: getting started

    There's no requirement to only answer specific prompts or anything like that. You can try starting an OC-related conversation. Or suggesting projects. We're looking for activities (challenges and such) that members want to do. There's also the recent set of discussion questions if you prefer to go with that.
     
  9. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Viridian-Maiden welcome[face_dancing] I would like to see a short story with your OC's
     
    Kahara likes this.
  10. Mando-Man

    Mando-Man Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2008
    Alright I guess I'll give it a go as well. My OC is Tyran Numeck from my Children of Mandalore series.

    TYRAN NUMECK:

    1: Tyran is a former Mandalorian Supercommando who fought in the Yuuzhan Vong war and has since moved to Kuat with his wife and infant son to take a job as the personal bodyguard of a local government intelligence agency. Ten years later he has become so focused on providing his family with a lavish lifestyle he has inadvertently distanced himself from his wife and son and now has to face the prospect of losing them.

    2: Tyran chose to relocate his family to Kuat because his income as a bounty hunter and general mercenary just wasn't providing them with enough credits to survive in the way he wanted them to, despite his stellar reputation. He willingly chose to spend more time away from his family in order to take longer shifts that granted higher payouts.

    3: Tyran can't control when and where the enemies of his employer are going to attack and thus feels the need to be ever present with his employer so he doesn't lose the source of his massive income.
     
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  11. Viridian-Maiden

    Viridian-Maiden Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2013
    Thank you. And I assume you mean a different, shorter story than the one they originally come from (just the very beginning of which is up already)?

    I will see what I can do. [face_good_luck]
     
    Mando-Man likes this.
  12. taramidala

    taramidala Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 18, 1999
    Ohhh, I'll play!

    But I'm going to avoid telling you my character's name for now because:
    1. The fic which features him heavily isn't finished, and I'm not currently posting it.
    2. He is first introduced in another fic that I'm writing, and to reveal his name would be a bit of an internal spoiler when I get around to posting.
    Please forgive these writer quirks. :)

    1. My character grew up exiled from his homeworld because his father was a cruel tyrant who was overthrown; so while he is technically a prince, he has no designs on absolute power. He is an academic, is the associate director of the planetary archives, he is currently pursuing a fellowship in his field. He recently rekindled a friendship with a woman he met 10 years prior, and that friendship has turned to love. They have made a home together, and he dreams for a permanent future with her. He has met her family and they seem to approve, save for his lady's younger brother who is protective on her behalf because of his family history.

    2. He chose to leave his homeworld to explore the galaxy and end up a scholar. He chose to accept an offer of friendship from the woman he knew, and he chose to make it flourish. He chose to follow his heart and let that friendship blossom into something more, and chooses to live a life of happiness.

    3. He cannot control the initial opposition of his lover's brother. He cannot control those on his homeworld who would see him reclaim his father's "glory" by force, or those who would have him lead by continuing to prove he is nothing like his sire.
     
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  13. Mando-Man

    Mando-Man Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2008
    taramidala

    Interesting character. Can't wait to find out more about him ;)
     
  14. taramidala

    taramidala Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 18, 1999
  15. K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku

    K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2000
    Ok, so I'll jump in. T'lor Kaden and K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku are both featured in Bits and Pieces. In addition, T'lor has a long history with the Ultra-Stressed Jedi Students. K'Tai comes from another Force tradition almost exlusively made up of healers, the Tal'shari, and is nominally T'lor's padawan while studying at the Jedi Temple as part of her Tal'shari training.

    T'lor Kaden
    1. T'lor is a Shadow assigned to a deep-cover mission shortly after the end of the Ultra-Stressed Jedi Students to infiltrate and dismantle a criminal network involved in the trafficking of Force-sensitives. She has just returned to the Temple after a particularly disturbing interrogation that has taken her dangerously close to the Dark side. She wakes up to discover that in her distressed state she has not reverted back from her cover identity, Laren. While fixing that situation, her best friend, who knows nothing of her years-long mission at this point, Rani Veko, shows up at her door.
    2. T'lor has chosen to keep exactly how far toward the Dark side she is going in her interrogation techniques from those who could help her manage the effects of treading that line so closely for fear that she will be pulled off the investigation. This choice in particular leads to her increasing isolation and disillusionment with the Order.
    3. Rani and T'lor share a bond in the Force that rivals that of some Master/Padawan pairings and neither can shield completely from the other. T'lor can't control whether or not Rani will find out about mission or its effects on her. T'lor also can't control what Rani will do with the knowledge.

    K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku
    1. K'Tai is currently recuperating in the Halls of Healing in the Temple after Obi-Wan's bone-headed refusal to seek help with their developing life-bond resulted in her capture, torture, and near-death at the hands of the leader of the group T'lor has been tracking for over six years by this point.
    2. K'Tai chose to honor Obi-Wan's insistance that they not tell Qui-Gon or T'lor what was happening and then chose to leave the Temple in a compromised state leading to her capture.
    3. K'Tai can't control the suffering of the other prisoners she is forced to endure as part of her torture during her captivity. She also can't control the struggle the life-bond poses for Obi-Wan and the Order in general.
     
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  16. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    New Challenge (August 2014) The OC’s Want a Vacation!

    Write about your overworked original characters on a vacation.

    Alternately, send your peacefully-living, relaxed OC’s on a vacation. It’ll make things interesting for them. ;)



    Due dates:

    PM your story link to the sock by August 14. Votes will be due on August 21.




    Reoccurring Challenge Rules
    Just so we're all clear how all of these challenges are going to work:


    1. For your response to be accepted for voting, it must be OC-driven. This means that it features only OCs or any canon characters that appear only play a minor role.

    2. You may write your responses in any era (Before/Saga/Beyond). We are not, at this time, accepting responses from Non-Star Wars fanficion. I believe there is a NSWFF OC thread somewhere.

    3. Do not post your challenge responses or links to them in this thread. Instead, PM them to the OCDatabaseSock. When time for voting comes the thread hosts will post a list of links to stories that were entered into the challenge.

    4. Each challenge will have a deadline. In order to be qualified for voting, your story link must be PMed to the sock by that deadline. If you are late, we will still share it with the thread, but it is ineligible for voting.

    5. The voting period will usually be about a week long. Each challenge will specify this length. Votes should be PMed to the sock within that period to count.

    6. You cannot vote for yourself. Also, please don't just vote for your friends. Read everyone's responses and chose the winner after you have read through them all. Let's be fair to everyone.

    7. The winner of each challenge gets to set the theme for the next challenge. The winner should PM the sock with their challenge idea after each challenge finishes.
     
  17. Findswoman

    Findswoman Fanfic and Pancakes and Waffles Mod (in Pink) star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Feb 27, 2014
    Oh gee, I was planning a response to the previous discussion question just as this newest challenge post appeared. Hope it's OK to jump in all the same—I've been greatly enjoying this thread so far.

    So nice to see your OCs here, K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku! One thing I've wondered: are T'lor and K'Tai both human, or near-human, something else? Is the Force tradition of the Tal'shari associated with a particular different species (or near-human type), or does it have members from many species, as does the Jedi Order?

    I'll add some of mine to the mix, too. My current fanfiction project, The Book of Gand, is made up almost entirely (but not completely) of OCs who belong to the Gand species. Like Viridian-Maiden (welcome, by the way!), I love the leeway and freedom OCs offer. One very important OC has yet to appear, but for now I'll introduce my protagonists' parents:

    Fengor Ng'xvi-Ta'al-Lhúd is a high-ranking Gand findsman and member of one of the chief councils of ruetsavii (q.v. on the Wook). As the scion of a renowned line of findsmen dating back several hundred years to the time of the legendary findsman Trynfor the Mad, he also has the peculiar honor of being the Guardian of Trynfor's Vault, the ceremonial protector of a mysterious treasure entrusted by Trynfor long ago to one of his (Fengor's) ancestors.

    1. Thus Fengor's current position is quite high up in the Gand hierarchy. But it is a position he knows will not last forever. He is apprehensive about the prophesied appearance in his lineage of the Uncanny One—the prodigiously talented non-firstborn who will reveal Trynfor's treasure to all of Gand and thus make his position of Guardian moot. And the younger of Fengor's two sons has shown evidence of a prodigiously strong connection to the Mists...

    2. Fengor's apprehension about this state of affairs is of course a choice; he is a proud sort. As a result of that apprehension—combined with his own jealousy—he chooses to respond to his younger son's talents with suspicion and disbelief, even to ignore him and act harshly toward him, even though in the past he has chosen to show pride and approval toward his elder son's accomplishments.

    3. Fengor of course can't control either his son's mystical talents or the sudden and unexpected manifestations of those talents, even when they happen at inconvenient times.

    * * *

    Otila Khassvani is Fengor's wife and the chief archivist at Gand's foremost findsman temple. She is sort of the Gand findswoman equivalent of a Jedi Consular, using her mystical talents mainly in the realm of research and scholarship. She is levelheaded, patient, and optimistic (as anyone married to the cantankerous and irritable Fengor needs to be).

    1. As chief archivist, her current position in her culture is pretty respectable. Even if she's not quite as high up as her husband, she feels more secure in her position than he does in his, because hers isn't affected by any ancient prophecies. At the beginning of the story, she is greatly concerned about the loss of a valuable artifact from the temple archives, but she is also optimistic that it will be found.

    2. Unlike Fengor, she chooses to be supportive and encouraging toward their younger son in developing his findsman talents. But there may be times later in the story where she has to choose between her support of her son and her duty and love toward her husband.

    3. The loss of the archival artifact was out of her control, and ultimately she has only limited control over her husband's behavior toward their son.
     
  18. K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku

    K'Tai qel Letta-Tanku Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2000
    T'lor is human and came to the Temple at a young age like most Jedi. I'll readily admit that her backstory pre-Temple isn't very developed. K'Tai is near-human. She appears physically human, but her people tend to have extrasensory abilities (along the lines of the Betazoid from Star Trek). The Tal'shari split off from the Jedi early on and are mostly made up of K'Tai's people, but they are not closed to outsiders. The key is that they do not draw on either Light or Dark side, but on both simultaneously. It is a particular quirk that is rare among Force-users, but fairly common among her people. It is also why they are almost exclusively healers - their tradition is built around restoring and maintaining balance or Unity. It also is a source of conflict between her and the Jedi, especially once Anakin comes on the scene.
     
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  19. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    I know it's the holiday season. [face_dancing] There are 4 days to go for the challenge.
     
    Mando-Man likes this.
  20. Mando-Man

    Mando-Man Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2008
    I hope you get plenty of entries for the challenge this month.
     
  21. OCDatabaseSock

    OCDatabaseSock Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 2004
    Apologies for the late announcement, everyone. We have a winner for the challenge:

    Respite by Mando-Man. Mando-Man, you get to choose the next challenge topic.

    Unfortunately, there was zero participation other than Mando-Man's challenge entry. (Note: Although it was the only one in competition, I would like to note that it was an excellent story. Check it out if you haven't. -- Kahara) We understand that most fanfic writers here are working on various projects and have to struggle for writing time. Please let the sock know or comment if you have suggestions for how we can make challenges more interesting or more adaptable to everyone's schedules.
     
  22. Mando-Man

    Mando-Man Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 1, 2008
    A de facto win is still a win so I'll take it :D

    OK so I guess I'll start thinking about an idea for the next challenge.
     
  23. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Congrats, Mando-Man!

    Sorry I couldn't participate in this challenge; it fell during my daughter's 2 week break between summer and fall sessions of school. (She goes to a school for autistic and other special needs kids, so it runs year-round). We were at Disney World for part of the time, too. :D Hopefully, I'll be able to get in on the next challenge.

    Has anyone done art or used an avatar maker to create your OC? If so, do you post the pictures with your story or somewhere else? I used the Azalea's Dolls avatar maker that was mentioned in another thread to make Princess Clarys, and I have a sketch of Raissa from way back when (and one of Doran, too, though I'm not quite happy with it.) and I was wondering what the best place to post them would be.
     
  24. Kahara

    Kahara FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2001
    There will most likely be a longer competition period next time. So don't worry about it if you didn't have time this round.

    Raissa Baiard, I love using avatar makers for character portraits. Meant to comment on that when it was floating around the other threads. Some OC's lend themselves to it better than others, but it's fun. :D Not all of them work perfectly, and I do not know what ads they may carry if your computer is different, but I like a lot of the ones on DollDivine (http://www.dolldivine.com/) which links to a fantastic array of avatar creating/dressup games. The one for The Tudors is one of the better ones for human characters, since it has a variety realistic hairstyles/skin tones/facial features/clothing. And this one has some fascinating options for dressy clothing: (http://www.dolldivine.com/erte-elegance-art-deco-fashion.php).

    On that note, does anyone have avatar images of their OC's that they would like to share here? (One or two pictures, preferably, for the sake of not overloading the page. ;))
     
  25. taramidala

    taramidala Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 18, 1999
    Raissa Baiard, I don't think I will post my Azalea Doll's avatars when I post my OC stories because I've found that I'm picky about how they look in the sense that they're not exactly how I envision them. Obviously, of course, but I'd much rather let the readers take what few details I give and come up with an image themselves.

    That said, here are a couple of mine. Names redacted because the fic hasn't been posted yet. ;)

    A New Republic-era Jedi Master:
    [​IMG]

    An NR Jedi and husband:
    [​IMG]