[OOC] The Empress of the Underground

[mamagermany]

Great! I look forward to it. I hope my response was pretty good, considering how much more time it took than usual. Hope it was worth the wait, I mean

[Alfbie]

Sorry that my post took a while. I was having a hard time pinpointing Alexander's reaction. I don't think I quite pinned it right, but ah well.

Your post was fine, no worries there :) I loved the twist at the end when the empress sparked up those flames. Shit's about to get real, haha! And you keep aware of the setting when you write; this is good :)

[mamagermany]

Mmkay I got lots to reply to, I'm working on it. Don't know why my mood has been so unstable lately. Really hope my brain decides to get its shit together real soon, because I'm getting tired of having no inspiration when I have so much to do!

[Alfbie]

*hugs*

It's alright. You'll reply when you reply, and I'll be here, so don't worry :) And good luck!

[mamagermany]

Well, now another fuck up to endure is I shattered my computer screen, so no more touch screen, so that ain't fun. I'll be getting one soon, then.

[Alfbie]

It seems you're having the worse luck!

[mamagermany]

I'm working on accepting that adult life seems to be nothing but one stressor after the other. It seems to be all I can do.

[Alfbie]

I miss the days when the biggest stress in my life was making sure I aced a tough test. I missed believing that not getting a good score on the SATs/ACTs and not getting into a good college would somehow ruin my entire life. Oh, to be so naive! There are too many other things that can (and had) drastically changed the course of my life, and studies had absolutely nothing to do with it. Heh. But they don't teach "real life" in classrooms.

I should stop--I'm being way too cynical. I suppose I'm just being envious :p

Hope your computer gets fixed soon!

[mamagermany]

There's something a little depressing in that. That my life as it's been going lately is something to be envious of. I suppose it's getting better now though. If just only slightly.

It wouldn't be worth it to repair. So I'm getting a new one over Black Friday. I'll do more research this time. Hopefully my next laptop will be hardier.

I had a surprisingly heartbreaking idea for far down the line. I'd love to hear what you think of for the future of these two, but in my head, it's the empress who falls deeply in love with him first. And has to understand that she terrifies him. And alters her appearance to look more human, as best she can.

[Alfbie]

Haha, I mean more envious of folks in general; I have no idea what your life is like. But the envy I speak of is, perhaps, maybe something everyone goes through as they get older...maybe? Haven't you ever thought to some oblivious 16 year old, "I wish I was in your shoes again!"? Probably just me :p But there are certain things I am happy about as a "responsible adult," like not having to answer to my parents on pretty much everything :p

As for your RP idea... I'm a sucker for romantic tragedy. There's the type of romance in which two people fall in love and face outside obstacles together. I prefer the type of romance in which the relationship is the obstacle, that the lovers aren't entirely compatible, that they don't see eye to eye, and they must struggle with this inner conflict in order to be together, if it even works out in the end.

That said, it intrigues me that the empress would fall for Xander first and that he would somehow become someone she would fear. I love that flip-flop, because currently she's the more powerful one right now. Also, her change of attitude would probably rub off on him (consciously or subconsciously), which would help improve his feelings for her. I dig it. Lets see if we can nudge the RP in that direction :)

[mamagermany]

I don't know if I've ever been jealous of someone in high school or anything. Because there are a few things that no matter what's going on in my life, they're constants that I didn't have back then and I'm better off having. Like, no matter how little sleep I'm getting in college, I can consistently wake up later than 5:45, when I had to wake up for all of middle and high school, and I'm better off for that.

Well, we certainly have a setup for a romance where the lovers aren't compatible.
We an sure try to nudge it in that direction, perhaps when the shock for Xander isn't so fresh. What I'm thinking about discovering is, why does the empress fall in love with him? What makes him different than anyone else, or any of the other bearers she's had? What makes her care more about him than anyone else?
I'm asking rhetorically, really. Not looking for an answer right now. Just something I'm thinking about going forward.

[mamagermany]

This might be a good time for us to talk about what these powers of his are. I've got some ideas from other iterations of this RP, do you have any ideas? There's the aspect of his self-healing, and the great potential for him to heal others with it, but there should be a destructive component that he probably just hasn't thought to try and access yet. That's what the leather gauntlets were about.

I got an idea for how to, I dunno, foster some trust between them. Lilith might go off to the front of where this rebellion is going on, slay some of the creatures trying to destroy the walls, and she comes back with some minor injuries and Alexander can offer to try and heal them. It can be a genuine offer or strategic, to gain her trust, that's up to you.

[Alfbie]

Destructive component...meaning he can potentially hurt others and/or himself with his power? If so, I have a rather cliche answer to that. If Alexander wields holy power, and if he is currently surrounded by demons, it could be safe to assume that the same holy powers that can heal himself/other humans can easily kill an unholy creature, a.k.a. a demon. This could be a good reason why Lilith would fear him--he could easily kill her if he knew he could and if he so wanted to.

However, this kinda kills your idea of Alexander healing Lilith...unless he can heal a demon in moderation. Like, a little bit of his power could heal Lilith, but using a lot of it at once could kill her. It would be like the difference between the sunlight warming one's skin and burning the ever-living hell out of it, lol. For Lilith to allow Alexander to heal her, she would have to trust him enough to know that he won't kill her with it. For Alexander to heal Lilith, he would have to have great control over his power and trust her enough to not want to kill her.

This, however, doesn't solve the issue of how to initialize trust between them. Well, already, Alexander has made the connection that his treatment as Lilith's captive is better than what his treatment would have been as a captive in Afghanistan (though that could change, lol). If she continues to treat him with reasonable civility, he'll be less guarded. However, I don't think he could begin to trust Lilith until he learns what she's all about. He'll need to discover what other demons are trying to do (run amok in the world) and that Lilith is trying to stop that. He needs to realize that her cause is actually a good thing. Until then, his focus will be on developing a plan for escape regardless of her kindness.

So, I think it's gonna be a little while before we start to see some real character development between our two characters. Alexander needs to learn what this version of Hell is all about first :)

Hope that helps with ideas? Do you prefer the destructive side of Xander's power to be more original/less cliche? If so, I can scrape together some ideas...

[mamagermany]

I've always thought the power is capable of holding that dual purpose. But you're right, when it comes to the massive amount of control and trust that'd have to be established between them before healing is even on the table.

Alright, I think I got more ideas, especially in terms of plot, because I worry about things stagnating if Alexander is just sitting in a locked room for a while, with Lilith having no reason to interact with him much. Perhaps, not too far down the road, the news that Lilith has captured the bearer breaks out, and the creatures of hell trying to break out assail the fortress in hopes of breaking him out. It could become a struggle over him as a weapon, and then Xander is in the middle, trying to decide what's in his best interest, both for his life and his morals.

Perhaps Xander has to escape before he can learn of Lilith's plans and see the benefits of them, and begin to trust her. That could work.

[Alfbie]

I agree with this. Xander would see the break-in as a means of escape. He would see the creatures that break him free as lost souls, like him. He would try to seek their favor, only to realize that they aren't that great after all. However, I think he should be left in the hands of Lilith for a tiny bit first, just so that he'd have something to compare (life out in the wilds of Hell vs life locked away with Lilith). Plus I think he would need to get to know her a little better first before he escapes and eventually realizes, "She wasn't so bad after all."

I get the impression that you're seeking ideas for the immediate future of the RP? A reason for Lilith to interact with Alexander: I don't think she can force the power out of him. She needs to help him become aware of his power, then somehow teach him how to use it just enough for him to be useful to her. Right now, he can't heal anyone, including himself, at will. He needs control.

That said, what specific power does he have that Lilith needs? She does not need his ability to heal, does she? Is he a key to keep Hell locked tight and needs to mature magically before he can be effective as a "key"? Will he be the only one powerful enough to subdue the masses of Hell and make them stay put, hence the emphasis on the destructive side of his power? I could toss in a few more ideas; I'm just trying to get an idea of what Lilith will be looking for in this guy.

[mamagermany]

I'm super sorry I just haven't been able to reply lately. I've barely been able to reply anywhere lately, between writers block and finals pretty much here, I just haven't had the energy. I haven't forgotten about this and I promise I'll be on it as soon as I have the energy.

[Alfbie]

No problem, it happens! I go through the same thing, so no worries here :)

If there's anything I can do to help you get over that writer's block, let me know!

Otherwise, good luck with finals!

[mamagermany]

FINISHED WITH MY FINALS
seriously I turned in my last final exactly four minutes ago.

[Alfbie]

YUSH! I know that feeling :D How were they?

[mamagermany]

Eeeeeaueuauuuuuaaaaaaaeeeee????
that's about a good representation of how I think they were.
Just bullshitted 3,000 words of Shakespearean tragedy analysis.
hey there how's it going