wherein Liz is a terrible tease

[edenfalling]

Wrote 200 words of "Guardian" this afternoon. I have decided -- authorial fiat is a wonderful thing -- that there will be 4 POV characters, no more no less: Yukiko, Sasuke, Naga, and Iruka. (This is necessary since Yukiko, Naga, and Iruka are in different places doing different but related things, and because it's a lot easier to show Sasuke's internal character progression if I can, y'know, get inside his head.)

...Unless I do something sneaky and add Amane Eiji (don't worry, you don't know him, he's a non-shinobi OC) as a fifth POV character. Oooh. Actually, that would be really interesting, from a structural standpoint. I'd have to tweak my outline around rather drastically to accomodate him, but that could definitely be interesting...

Hmm. *Liz wanders off to ponder variant story structures*

------------------------------------

In other news, I read another 150 pages of Lord of Emperors, which is rapidly picking up speed and drawing elements of the story together. I have a feeling that the climax is going to be a doozy, and very, very painful to probably all the people involved. Which is going to hurt me as well, since I like all of them, even the horrible and venal ones -- they feel real to me, and their goals feel real, and yet there is absolutely no way for anybody to 'win' without trampling over a number of other characters and without large numbers of people ending up very, very dead. We're talking about empires, religion, and wars, here. (And sports. Cannot forget the bizarre, violent things people will do because of allegiances to sports teams -- although chariot-racing factions aren't precisely the same thing, and are probably all the more dangerous for the differences.)

If the book makes me cry, I will be heartbroken and thrilled at the same time. I hope it does. I really hope it does -- it's been too long since I read an ending perfect enough to bring tears.

ETA as of November 27th: It made me cry. Then I went and read The Lions of Al-Rassan and I ended up sniffling again. *shakes fist at Kay* Tigana, however, did not induce actual sniffles, though the bit just before the true end came pretty close. *wanders off to read A Song for Arbonne*

Comments

[icarust.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to say, "Tides" was excellent :) I'm writing too - a KakaRin fic and I know what you mean about writing about Kakashi. But it's rewarding when it does finally come together. Anyway, just wanted to drop a line! Good luck! Maybe we can talk a bit sometime, about writing about Naruto heh... ^_^

[edenfalling]

Thanks -- I'm glad you liked "Tides" and it's nice to 'meet' you. Best of luck with your story!

Guardian: Itachi's iinner self

[(Anonymous)]

Hi I know you posted this a few days ago on the Itachi motives, but I read this interesting book which had something that screamed "Itachi!" to me and I hope you don't mind my sharing. Its from a translated Japanese book which analyzes Japan's relationship with the United States after World War II called "A Place for Apology" by Shu Kishida (just in case you're curious in taking a look).

He has a chapter labeled "Stockholm Syndrome" in which a person is in a schizophrenic state split between an outer and inner state. Stockholm syndrome (made by Kishida, in order to not be charged for plagiarism) starts in early childhood and his relationship with his parents.

"Suppose a child is raised by parents who neither love nor understand him, but instead force their own selfish demands upon him. He does not want to comply with such demands, but doing so would invite parental abandonment, while compliance brings care and protection"

To summarize the rest: the child conflicts with the demands of his parents and family against his own will and his ability to cope. This is rare in a child since they cannot see the reasons for other's decisions. And so, an inner self, composed of his real desires, forms. If it is denied then it is repressed and is invisible to the outside world. Over time, the inner self is disconnected to the outside world and becomes damaged with all sorts of fantasies stewing within. Eventually the repressed inner self breaks through its walls dramatically, sometimes in a manner where the child has gone mad...

Strange, huh? Now this may not explain Itachi's desires and motives, but it does give an inkling as to how it got there. Also I can't help but see that Sakura may have the same thing, but not repressed, luckily. ~_^

You probably don't need suggestions on Itachi anymore, but I thought this may have been interesting to say the least.

BTW, I love how you portray Iruka! He is a combination of stregnth and compassion that not many people seem to see as stregnth. Cheers.

Re: Guardian: Itachi's iinner self

[edenfalling]

Interesting -- I was under the impression that Stockholm syndrome refers to the bonds and sympathies that can form between captives and captors. To use it to describe the relationship between parent and child is certainly... different.

I'm glad you like my Iruka. I'm rather fond of him myself. :-)