Story and Character Discussion

[Yangi]

Well then maybe you were the first. I didn't mean that it's a bad idea, just that I personally don't like it that much to write about. There are quite some People out there who made great stories out of that but I don't think I want to be among them. After all I have to write about something I like writing, right? Not because other People do.

WITCHtastic. I like it! If I finish the Comic about Taranee one day, too, what would that be then? WITCHazing?... WITCHabulous? I think it would be something like that!

[Cole]

I would have been the first on FF, but I'm not sure I would have been the first period, so many other websites could have had such things, but I had never come across them. Yes, absolutely you have to write something you enjoy, if you just write it because its the popular thing or because its what other people expect, you won't like it yourself and as the writer, that's the most important thing. Even for a story you do like writing, if you spend too much time trying to make others happy with it, you won't like it anymore yourself, it becomes more of a chore then anything else.

I've never had a problem with people doing next gens that have nothing to do with WITCH's family, I just don't like how in most of those situations, WITCH isn't in anyway involved. Yeah I get it, new Guardians, time to move on type of thing, but even CHYKN played a part in WITCH's story, so why should WITCH be left out of a story of the people who come after them? I'm not saying they need to have major parts throughput the story or even have a major point period, but I don't think it should be treated as if they never existed as they so often are in such situations.

I just rather enjoy going with their daughters as its a great way to always be able to involve them in some way or another no matter how big or how small. And I just always enjoyed the general feeling of their daughters taking over their old task, a passing of the torch type of thing and its with their own children. It's always been a special feeling type of thing for me.

And if that isn't enough I've had a few dreams of it too, and we both know how much control my dreams have and how much input, inspiration and desire I get from them.

It literally just popped into my head! I wonder if I should patent it? WITCHazing and WITCHabulous are okay words, although I think WITCHtastic is the better of the three.

[Cole]

Here is a question since this is also a character discussion board.

Can you name something for a or any number of characters that you may have planned to do that maybe would have been viewed as a little weird to other people that you ended up not doing?

[Yangi]

Hm... tough question. I sure did but probably not in noticing ist weirdness... Originally, CC was to be the Diva of them all. But I thought it would have been too cliché so I practically switched her character with O-Hanis. I felt it was more original that way and it fitted better to the feel I had for them.
With O-Hani of cause I have to take care she doesn't slide into the absolute bitch everyone hates (including the reader). Jess was also planned as the Ultra annoying fan but I myself got already annoyed on that so I changed her to be more of a shy fan, who is hyper when talking about the person, but super quiet if CC is actually around.
Rukia... well she doesn't know what cold actually means. Of cause theys do have a Little cold weather too, where she grew up, but she doesn't know snow or ice. I thought it might be fun so I left it in the Story. I'm not sure if that counts but I think other people might find that a little strange.

I had some trouble with William and Cornelias new Life as well. I wasn't sure if William should know about his sisters' powers or not. So in the end it turned out he actually knows but he pretends not to know, that way Will feels more safe about her younger brother in times as this. About Cornelia, the life I had planned for her seemed dull and uninteresting... so I changed something. I can't reveal what. It might spoil too much for the Story. You'll find out sooner or later. Also Olivia shouldn't seem too controll-freak like, even though she is one...
I guess it's all about balancing the character trades for one character, as well as all the characters in play together...

The evil side was difficult, too. At first it was just some... vague idea with those organisations. But then I had to Name them, give them faces, stuff like that. I did that about 1-2 weeks ago, so that developement is still new and those characters will probably go through some changes as well, while I write about them in the following parts and chapters.

[Cole]

I think that's a great way to approach in when you say the villains will probably go through some changes while you write about them as that's my favorite way to handle my characters.

It's always good to have a general idea of how your character is before actually using them other wise they are blank all the way and while I can understand some people's points of having your characters completely decided on before writing with them, I prefer to have a core personality trait that does with them throughout everything so that you always know that is them, but also always keep the door open for them to change as I write for them.

Sometimes I just like to write something for the fun of it and throw my characters into it. Sometimes I ended up having nothing from it just that my character could never fit that, but other times I practice on something with my character and I highly enjoy it and feel that it is something that fits my character a great deal and because of that I'm always keeping open the option of changing things about them as I write for them.

[Yangi]

I hadle it the same way. Sometimes I do go in detail of a character before writing the story. But that doesn't mean they're not able to change. In fact most of them do while writing. Often I had something specific planned for a Story and when I finally came to write that part it turned out entirely wrong for the character. Before writing it seemed perfectly fine, but then suddenly you realise it doesn't fit because your character has changed meanwhile OR you have come to know him/her better.

Either way, it's a good Thing for characters to change. In my oppinion that's what keeps the Story alive and what makes it so fun to write at all. And if you think of it: It's only natural. Let's say you've known a Person for your entire life and yet you still can't predict what that person might do if you kick him into the face without warnning. Strange situation but I hope you get the picture Characters of a Story shouldn't be much different or they become predictable and flat.

[Yangi]

Yey another part is up from the first Chapter! And we're even more close to the end of it! Also there's more about Wills life in Heatherfield. Don't worry about the other WITCH characters, they will appear soon enough

It was really hard finding an ending for this part. That's why it got so long. Anyways. I hope you enjoy it. The next is on the line.

[Cole]

Endings are always hard. They can be easy at times especially when you want to do a cliffhanger type of thing, but other then that they are normally difficult to do as you don't want every chapter to end as a cliffhanger as then it gets repetitive.

You have to be able to end things in a way that to the reader it seems like a good place to stop, while also giving off the fact that the story is going to continue all the while being sure not to keep going back to the same type of ending, its hard and sometimes confusing, I'm having issues with it just thinking about it.

[Yangi]

Yeah usually I feel when there's a good time to end the part of the chapter but this time it was really difficult. I didn't want to seperate most of the things. After all it does take me around 1-2 weeks to get another part done aproximately since I don't have much time to spare on that. People might have forgotten waht had happened before or at least in Detail and the start of the next part might be a mess. I guess it works the way it is now but that's how it became so long. I hope it won't scare off from reading it -,-'

I'm just so excited for the next chapter!!! But I still have to write the missing parts. Though they'll be pretty interesting, too. It's fun thinking of the new lifes of the WITCH and soem new villains and stuff! Well. Anyways. I'll take a short break from the Story to get some Pictures done instead.

[Yangi]

So I just changed a tiny thing within the first chapter.
I thought since each chapter has it's own section I don't need to write the name and chapter number all over the place. Instead I left the part number to be first and added a Little subtitle for each part. I thought it might be nicer that way. I'll keep this for the following chapters as well.

[Cole]

So along with the entire chapter having a title, each part has a title as well, like a mini-title?

Could you compare this to something like W.I.T.C.H's arcs? Like how the first arc has a specific title [I've heard a few, like Halloween and The War on Meridian] but each comic also has its own name. So the first arc could be called Quailing Earth and the first part is "Where it all Begins and the second part could almost be like how it'd be a second comic in the first W.I.T.C.H arc titled "United at last." And the actual chapter 2 would be more like the second arc.

Could it be compared to that or did I just really make all of that too confusing?

[Yangi]

Well I guess that might work

[Cole]

There is something that I am rather curious about.

Be it something big or something small, was there something that you did for a specific reason outside of just thinking it was a good idea? Was there a specific reason why you may have done this or done that? Maybe making a reference to something else or basing it off of something specific, anything like that?

[Yangi]

Well my fanfiction was very much influenced by things that fascinated me at the time I wrote it like the whole Atlantis-Myth and the Story of "Secret Garden".
The reason why Kia became a dancer for example somehow resulted form my own Passion for dancing and I somehow wanted to express that. Also I do have an older sister myself. Olivia isn't really like my sister but every now and then I do get inspired by my sister XD (Don't tell her that!!). O-Hani was an issue. I wanted to have a character in the JROCK Team was either "blessed" with cold feet being terribly afraid and insecure about well.. a lot. OR someone who was arrogant, somehow more negative then the others to give the five a Basic conflict. The reason why she turned out Korean was due to my Obsession with korean Pop Music and tv-series I was watching at the time.

So in generell there are a lot of things inspired by my own life. A lots of things that will come in the Story so I can't tell you about it yet, but also in the parts that are already uploaded. I'd have to reread it to work each Thing out. Oh the reason why Taranee and Hay Lin were the very first "old Guardians" to appear in the Story (in the prologue) is because I've liked them the most and felt they didn't get much Attention at the end of the Comics. Oh and the enemies I created for the whole Thing are mostly all inspired by certain Pictures. I do that a lot, serving the Internet or just Deviantart and looking at Pictures and suddenly I have a whole Story for one.
One Thing I always wanted to do is the whole Guardians fight Guardians Thing, like they turn against each other. Be it because of some spell, hypnosis, a puppetear or a dark twin or whaaaatever. I get back to that idea all the time and that doesn't stop with WITCH but also influenced JROCk a great deal but you'll read about it later yourself.

I think Rukia is a bit MY Kind of Taranee, the way I would have designed her. Strong, funny, sweet, powerful. Only difference is she has the power of water and a Little attire stuff. There was a time I thought about making her the leader of the Group but water simply fit for her best or rather water wouldn't have fit for any of the other characters. So there we are again my Trouble with Hay Lin and Taranee in the Comics. I Kind of revived them in Rukia (Taranee) and Jess (Hay Lin). Originally Jess looked VERY much alike Hay Lin but I distanced myself fast from that. Now she is an entirely different Person and besides the look of her in my first drawings, I imagine her a lot more grown up now (in the mind not so much attire). I'm way more happy with it and that way she can fulfill the role of the leader a lot better.

CC became a super star because I needed a reason for the Girls to travel the world without attracting attention. And I guess it's a Little bit of my childhood thinking "yey every Girl wants to be a Superstar" XD

Well the reason for the Tutors and the earth cristal and stronger powers and all kinds of magical upgrate was also a result from the end of the Comics. The stories became lamer with every issue that was released. So with a new Generation I didn't want to make them exactly the way WITCH had been. I gave them more stress, more responsibility. The whole "weight of a legacy" Thing the entire JROCK Story is based on is just my way of making it epic XD Love epic stuff and storytelling with Drama and fun moments and romance, everything together in Balance. Sort of.

[Cole]

In later chapters when you do show such things would there be some type of list for such things are is it more of a let the reader figure it out theirselves type of thing? When it comes to thing like the Atlantis-Myth, Secret Garden and other things like that in that general point. Obviously more personal things to you people won't be able to figure out unless you outright say it yourself.

That's one of the other reasons I like pictures so much. Obviously pictures look great and have very many other reasons to what about them works to the person viewing, but giving off some ideas for it to become something else entirely or give of an inspired idea that can become something specific is another reason I enjoy them so much. Its one of the reasons I normally tend to have a folder of pictures on my computer for such things. Pictures there that are there because of the inspiration for ideas that they gave me. The Guardians VS Guardians things is also something I've always worked a little on and off with on different things. Part of the inspiration for my old War of the Guardians story.

When it comes to Jess, I do remember that old picture of her with Hay Lin like colored hair, but I never felt anything about her had a connection to Hay Lin and if you hadn't mentioned it, I never would have figured it out. Rukia though, honestly I thought there was a chance she made be related to Taranee. Something about her design always gave me the feeling that she might be Taranee's daughter or maybe her niece or some type of relation.

[Yangi]

No I don't expect the Readers to figure out my motives, because they won't be able to. As soon as I started writing on the stories again, you can remind me and I'll make some Kind of a list. However I won't reveal everything and I won't talk about my motives for the chapter that just has been submitted, simply because I think that it Kind of destroys the Magic of a Story. The parts I've already submitted are "old enough" to talk about such things.

Well Jess is also very cheery and energetic but I changed her a lot later on because she had to be different to become the Guardian of the heart. It's true though, that Rukia still has a lot from Taranee. I'm not sure if I'll go onto that Family stuff.

[Cole]

Its something that I've often done with my own things, not just things that I was referencing or things that inspired the idea, but also ideas that I almost used in this specific point instead of what I did. For me its always big as much for the readers as much as myself. Its like a reminder of what helped go with what I did and also what I could have ended up doing. I think its always nice to have that around to know just how different a story really could have been.

I'm curious now as to why you decided Jess needed to change to be the Keeper of the Heart? I really was never sure if you ever would do anything like that with her or even if you initially drew her with Taranee a bit in mind or if it was entirely coincidental.

[Yangi]

When I start on a Story I do have a lot of different Options and paths in mind, but as soon, as I've decided on one, I blend out everything else so stay with that one. Otherwise ditracted or start to doubt my decision. It's fun to think about it later, looking back on the oigins of your Story, but I would never do that with something I'm still writing on like the next parts of JROCK.

When I first designed Jess' character, she was pretty week and flat. I felt she had to become stronger in a sense and gain depth. I can't tell you too much because most of her character traits are yet to be revealed, just like the ones from the other Guardians. The first Chapter/Arc focuses on Kia after all, so the others will get their moments latest in their own chapter.

[Cole]

That is a very fair point and an issue I actually have myself quite often. I do tend to continuously go over things repeatedly and always question myself on the decision that I made. But yet things like that is also an issue the other way around. If I only come up with one idea and if I stick with it, then I question that decision because I never gave myself time to actually consider other options. I just went with the one, so I could be missing out. Its rather difficult for me to find that middle ground where I can feel that I went over a great deal of options that I'm satisfied with and I can chose one without second guessing my choice.

That's actually rather important to me that you make mention of that. For me, Kia and Rukia have been my two favorite characters and things tend to go back and forth on them as to which one I like more. My thought had mostly been that there was more traits for the others, but I assumed that most of the important traits for all of the important character had already been mentioned or shown. But now that I know there is quite a bit more to come, it makes me wonder how my view of them and where I'd rank them on my list of favorites with turn out.

[Yangi]

Just an info: I'm working on the next chapter for "Quailing Earth" where one side from the new "evil" will be shown in Detail. I also worked up and added two new sequences to the older chapters that I'll update before adding the new chapter.

[Cole]

Sweet! Really looking forward to it! Its been so long since it was last updated I almost started to fear that you might have forgotten about it.

[Yangi]

So I've uploaded the edited Version of the chapters now. I still have no idea though, why the font size from "End of chapter 3" is different from the others... I tried to change that but it didn't work. Somehow I can't really change around with font style and size. At least not willingly. I can only change to bolt and italic...

Anyways I ADDED some stuff too. There is a new scene at the very end of "Secrets of Kandrakar" and a new one in "Shadows of L.A.", right after Rukia and O-Hani leave the streets for the Hotel. That was originally very Close to the end of the chapter too.

I've also considered making a Special on how the five Girls "awakened" so to say when their powers awakened and how that went. I had quite some ideas for Specials like that and maybe I'll upload them as some Kind of "Prologue" for each book. That's why I renamed the "Prologue" to "Book 1: Prologue". Not sure if I'll do it that way or if I'll post them seperately as Specials. I'll see about that.

[Cole]

I generally tend to avoid messing with things like font size, but this site can be a little picky in how you go about doing certain things. If you like, I could try and change the font size for to be something you'd prefer?

I'm going to go check it out really soon!

I've talked with you a little bit about Specials for my Rewriters, so I really enjoy the idea for them. But I'm also had that same little crossroads you are in that I'm not sure if they should be their own special thing, or just part of the story. I honestly believe that when it came to W.I.T.C.H they already had the first arc done and felt it would be to random to jus add in "The Year Before" into the mix and so they made it it's own thing. I can't say for certain that is what they did, but its always been my assumption.

[Cole]

I wasn't really sure where else to put this, so I decided I'd put it here.

This is actually a bit of a what-if type of question. We know that in some original versions of a W.I.T.C.H next gen you have the new Guardians being W.I.T.C.H's daughters before you ended up with JROCK.

But out of a great deal of curiosity I wonder in keeping with this same general type of setting that you have for JROCK just with a minor change, like what if they were W.I.T.C.H's daughters? How different if at all would things be for them? Who would be who's daughter?

Is this a type of thing you've ever thought of before yourself? Even knowing what you wanted to do, maybe just wondering about it just for curiosity's sake?

Its something that kinda just started to come to my last night and now I'm just rather curious as to what things would have been like in such a situation.

[Yangi]

I never thought of the JROCK Girls being the daughters of the WITCH Girls. After all I had decided attentively against it before developing their Story. So it was entirely out of the question. Also, as you know I was never a great fan of that WITCH-daughters becoming Guardians Thing. For me it's something very unlikely for each of their Kids to be selected as new Guardians. One of them, maybe two but not all five, not to mention that not each of them strived for children in the first place.
I really like to not think of the Girls as the WITCH's daughters but of cause People are allowed to speculate about those things.

[Cole]

So, I have a question about Zero and his power over electricity.

Is it a power that you plan to be treated in a similar means to Jess's power or do you plan to make them work in completely different ways?

[Yangi]

It's different simply because the source of their magic is different. Like said in the stories, the Guardians magic originated in the elements themselves and their unision whereas the magic spread on earth results from some force equal to wishing. But you should see the difference when Jess uses her power. So Patience dear fellow But interesting question.

[Cole]

Well it was a question that had two general things behind it. One of which was because of things there with Jess and Zero. And the other reason was because of my own things with Kaido. I've been thinking of giving him something extra like electricity or lightning or thunder, whatever your preference, because technically there is a difference between energy and electricity even though at times they are treated in a similar means.

So it was a thing of wondering how you'd be able to distant the powers from each other, so that maybe there could be more options there that might make it easier to try and distant the powers if it was something I ended up doing.

[Yangi]

BIG SURPRISE!!!

Hullo and Hello everyone!!!

I have a huuuge surprise for you all! Not only is the new (very epic) Cover for Quailing Earth as good as finished (YEY!) but also am I working on an official Song for the JROCK Girls! Actually the lyrics and the instrumentals are already done and I'm visiting the Studio with some friends next week to get the singing recorded so OMG I'm so excited!!!

[Cole]

This is something I am really curious to hear and know more about. Are you going to be singing the song, or is it a friend? How about the style, is it rock, classical, pop, what?

I've actually toyed around with something like this for CHAOS. I had a list written down of different lyrics, but I did away with it all. I actually just to be a good singer and my cousin plays the guitar, we were working for a bit on making a band, but ended up not going through with that.