Naem (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistytpednaem) wrote2011-01-17 08:13 pm
mistytpednaem) wrote2011-01-17 08:13 pm
Entry tags:
In which I waste my life analysing a fictional character
So here is that post, as promised.
I take some sort of sick "pride" in being able to write more-or-less-subtly creepy dialogue. As much as I make fun of myself for it, it really is one of the most fun parts of writing Shelly: seeing how far I can go with his murderousness without making him into an outright psychopath.
But that's the easy part. That's where I can always fall back on canon for inspiration. No, the tricky part about writing him is how he relates to people on a personal level. I can pull three categories of difficulty out of my ass now, from easier to hardest:
1. The people he literally treats as family - i.e., possible successors: To use two examples that most of my f-list will be familiar with... Ron on GMSN, who Shelly thinks of as a son, pretty much (they have seriously hugged each other before you guys oh my God) and Adrian from one person's wonderful fanfiction, who he heavily sympathises with. These relationships are natural and understandable, since they are so closely related to his work.
2. His furry little soft spots - i.e., shut up, animals totally count as friends: Again, as seen on GMSN... Pess. Their interactions, in particular, are just indescribably sweet (and boy, do I miss them). Outside of that, I can easily see him having a fondness for cats and dogs - for a man who has doubtlessly been exposed to the lowest of the low, it must be refreshing to be around sincere living beings who don't want to kill each other for the pettiest reasons (just, you know, instinct. But that's different).
3. The "how the fuck did this friendship happen?" - i.e., "... why are you hugging me": This category is where I fear I fail. Invariably. While I can't say that I'm making him OOC in every single case, I do always worry that I'm doing something wrong. You do have to take into account that these almost always happen in an RP environment, after some character development - and if even the smallest event can make a huge difference, then what do you say of a gradual build-up of events, like Kay and Shelly's interactions in Route 29?
So, where does the difficulty lie?
Well... I see Shelly as the kind of person who, thanks to his job, has always made an effort to distance himself from people - even his relations with his clients are purely professional. So, I keep wondering... Am I making his walls come down too easily? Granted, I do have him usually react with self-doubt (among the lines of "what am I doing I am not supposed to do this oh lord I want to go back home where is my normal life"), but is that really an excuse?
In canon, we see his demeanour sitting on a fine line between cold and warm. In fact, he seems much more dismissive not only when he is testifying (and thus not hiding who he is), but also when he's posing as a butler. Not that he isn't cold when in "business mode" - "'sup Mr. Lawyer your girlfriend is looking hungry lol" - but his lines in the epilogue, his wishes of well-being for (presumably) Phoenix, are sincere. Plus, Shoe doesn't seem to ever be scared of him, and that's got to mean something, right?!
I'm pretty sure that I only have so much trouble with this because I care a lot about people, so... But on the other hand, I don't kill people for a living and I have relative ease putting myself in Shelly's place when justifying his actions, as wrong and twisted as his perspective is.
... I forgot where I was going with this, if I intended to go anywhere at all. Your thoughts?
My apologies if this is hardly coherent, I might be coming down with something.
I take some sort of sick "pride" in being able to write more-or-less-subtly creepy dialogue. As much as I make fun of myself for it, it really is one of the most fun parts of writing Shelly: seeing how far I can go with his murderousness without making him into an outright psychopath.
| (20:08) Shelly de Killer: | ... You are a very lucky man, Mr. Butz. |
|---|---|
| (20:08) Larry Butz: | Why? |
| (20:08) Shelly de Killer: | With... everything that you do... |
| (20:09) Shelly de Killer: | ... I am surprised that you have yet to incur the wrath of anyone in the darker side of society. |
| (20:09) Larry Butz: | ...I thought assassins were pretty dark. 8/ |
| (20:12) Shelly de Killer: | Well, I do not kill for pleasure. Otherwise... |
| (20:13) Larry Butz: | ...W-WHAT |
| (20:15) Shelly de Killer: | So, yes. You are a very lucky man. |
| (20:15) Larry Butz: | ...;O; |
| (20:15) Shelly de Killer: | You seem uncomfortable. |
But that's the easy part. That's where I can always fall back on canon for inspiration. No, the tricky part about writing him is how he relates to people on a personal level. I can pull three categories of difficulty out of my ass now, from easier to hardest:
1. The people he literally treats as family - i.e., possible successors: To use two examples that most of my f-list will be familiar with... Ron on GMSN, who Shelly thinks of as a son, pretty much (they have seriously hugged each other before you guys oh my God) and Adrian from one person's wonderful fanfiction, who he heavily sympathises with. These relationships are natural and understandable, since they are so closely related to his work.
2. His furry little soft spots - i.e., shut up, animals totally count as friends: Again, as seen on GMSN... Pess. Their interactions, in particular, are just indescribably sweet (and boy, do I miss them). Outside of that, I can easily see him having a fondness for cats and dogs - for a man who has doubtlessly been exposed to the lowest of the low, it must be refreshing to be around sincere living beings who don't want to kill each other for the pettiest reasons (just, you know, instinct. But that's different).
3. The "how the fuck did this friendship happen?" - i.e., "... why are you hugging me": This category is where I fear I fail. Invariably. While I can't say that I'm making him OOC in every single case, I do always worry that I'm doing something wrong. You do have to take into account that these almost always happen in an RP environment, after some character development - and if even the smallest event can make a huge difference, then what do you say of a gradual build-up of events, like Kay and Shelly's interactions in Route 29?
So, where does the difficulty lie?
Well... I see Shelly as the kind of person who, thanks to his job, has always made an effort to distance himself from people - even his relations with his clients are purely professional. So, I keep wondering... Am I making his walls come down too easily? Granted, I do have him usually react with self-doubt (among the lines of "what am I doing I am not supposed to do this oh lord I want to go back home where is my normal life"), but is that really an excuse?
In canon, we see his demeanour sitting on a fine line between cold and warm. In fact, he seems much more dismissive not only when he is testifying (and thus not hiding who he is), but also when he's posing as a butler. Not that he isn't cold when in "business mode" - "'sup Mr. Lawyer your girlfriend is looking hungry lol" - but his lines in the epilogue, his wishes of well-being for (presumably) Phoenix, are sincere. Plus, Shoe doesn't seem to ever be scared of him, and that's got to mean something, right?!
I'm pretty sure that I only have so much trouble with this because I care a lot about people, so... But on the other hand, I don't kill people for a living and I have relative ease putting myself in Shelly's place when justifying his actions, as wrong and twisted as his perspective is.
... I forgot where I was going with this, if I intended to go anywhere at all. Your thoughts?
My apologies if this is hardly coherent, I might be coming down with something.
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Hmmmm.
I think you've got a strong hold on Shelly's character, personally. I like how you can make him this creepy ass assassin who still has a human side to him. He's not flatly one or the other, you make him very 3-dimensional.
Anyway, I agree on your point about him and relationships. (Including the animals thing - it just makes sense!) Taking things too fast isn't IC for him. I can only see him making friends with someone if it happened over a long period of time. (And that someone wasn't going to betray or be afraid of him, either...) I can see it happening with Kay a little easier than some since she has a habit of making friends with almost everybody in the universe...but obviously it'd take longer for most people.
My thoughts, anyway. ;;
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And yeah, the conversations he has with people who are afraid of him aren't usually very conducive to friendship. Usually.
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The self-doubt can be a good thing though! It means you're being careful and taking this all seriously. :3 It's only bad when it's so strong that it keeps you from doing things. That happens to me, so I know how that goes...though it's partly because I'm just naturally stupidly insecure.
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Your Shelly is the best ever ;_; SERIOUSLY. SO AWESOME
and semi-related but
You know I actually think Maya would have talked to DeKiller after she calmed down.
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THIS IS THE MOST COHERENT COMMENT I CAN MUSTER
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sup
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... HAVE YOU READ THIS FIC (http://withpractice-ff.livejournal.com/15760.html?view=73872)?
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did you read that other fic where he offered her poison
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http://www.idletheme.com/objection/viewstory.php?sid=951
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N-Now you've sent me on another de Killer fic-reading binge, sob.