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Tag Archives: connor rawleigh

Character Profile Five: Collaboration with WriteFury

12 Thursday May 2016

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics

≈ 58 Comments

Tags

bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, characters, colorblind, connor rawleigh, doctor who, generations, j.r.r. tolkien, loyalties, my novels, novels, star wars, superheroes, the lord of the rings, wow what a lot of bbc stuff around here, writing

Update: Important character trait added to list. I also brought it back to the top because it’s been a while.

Character Profile One

Character Profile Two

Character Profile Three

Recently, WriteFury and I were talking about Type Four in the Character Profiles series which she is currently working on. Basically, Type Four is the fun guys who are always smiling, really fun to be around.

But, while we were talking, I identified a Type Five.

And since she wasn’t familiar with most of the characters I classed as part of the type, she asked me to write this post. So here goes!

These characters are defined mainly by their sheer complexity. They appear to share traits with both Type One and Type Two, and are almost always extremely intelligent.

Like, (almost)ALWAYS-the-brightest-person-in-the-frame intelligent.

They tend to also be perceived as quirky or eccentric, and can be much more emotional than Type Ones, or borderline-sociopathic. Their senses of humor vary between sarcastic, wry, witty, or they may not have an apparent sense of humor. Another trait that they share with Type Ones is situational humor–they may make a wry quip about the mess they’re in.

This may be due to the fact that they’ve had bad things happen to them in the past, and it’s their coping mechanism.

They may be quiet or talk a lot, but you will never get more information out of them than they intend to give you.

They’re very clever, and often pretend to be stupid or use their eccentricity to hide just how dangerous they truly are from their enemies, and sometimes their friends. They’re many-layered, using different “facets” of their personalities as a smoke screen, and often extremely private.

And last but not least, they tend to be extremely dedicated to one or more of the other characters, to the point that they would die for them–but not on the other character’s terms or on their enemies’ terms. Only on their own terms. They will risk everything they hold dear for that one special person. They are also the most likely to do things for the good of other characters without their consent or even knowledge, which makes them more than a little frightening.

This type, along with Type One, is the most likely to punish themselves over things that may or may not have been their fault, in ways that are subtle and not easy for others to notice, whereas Type Two may do dramatic or drastic things (such as attempting suicide, in extreme cases) and Type Four falls into a deep depression.

These are also the hardest characters (along with Type One) to kill. They simply can’t give up, and refuse to die. (Sometimes literally. *gives the Doctor a meaningful look*)

Type Five characters have a strong moral code, often in lieu of following their emotions, because they (sometimes) fear that emotions will lead them in the wrong direction. They tend to be logical, but will sometimes choose non-logical options, especially as they tend to be extremely loyal to their friends–and sometimes not merely their friends, but to their cause.

When a Type Five is a villain, they may still have this strong moral code, but in a corrupted form (I present Count Dooku for your inspection.)

Also, sometimes the line between a Type One and a Type Five may be so blurred that it’s difficult to tell where they should be classed–but if there’s any doubt, your character is probably complex enough to be a Type Five. (Case in point: Horatio Hornblower, who shares most of the traits on the list, only he doesn’t use different layers of his personality to maintain his privacy in quite the same way as most Type Fives.)

Here’s the list of common traits:

Intelligence/Intuitive brilliance

Strong-willed or stubborn

Complexity

Does not trust him/herself to do the right thing much of the time

Planning ahead and/or last minute planning/split-second decisions

Dubious or dangerous history (VERY common!)

Extreme empathy bouncing to near-sociopathy (or one or the other)

Sarcasm/finds things that no one else gets ironic or funny

Self-hate (to an extent)/possible masochism (what? It’s true.)

Uses appearances to make others underestimate them

May make subtle into an art form (see above)

Very private

Logical

Loyal

Can be unscrupulous or ruthless

Rigid moral code (especially the ones who don’t trust “feelings”)

Now for some examples!

Sherlock Holmes

Baker Street’s resident not-a-psychopath,-Anderson, Sherlock Holmes is most definitely a Type Five, wherever he is portrayed. Brilliant and often unfeeling, and holding a soft spot for Watson, Lestrade, Molly Hooper (in the BBC series) and Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock is among the most complex of literary characters. A rare hero, in that he doesn’t hesitate to pull a gun on the bad guys, Sherlock may be “on the side of the angels,” but if you mistake him for one of them, that will be the last mistake you ever make. Sherlock holds himself unflinchingly to his own code, knowing that if he ever steps over the line, that will make him no different from his worst enemies, and he is willing to sacrifice himself for both John (The Reichenbach Fall) and Mary (His Last Vow)–in one case, a physical death (though, again with the planning ahead, that didn’t actually happen) and in the other the death of his good name.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Rigid moral code? Absolutely. Obi-Wan’s code is probably the one thing that defines him most as a character. Take the loyalty and boost it by five hundred percent. Situational humor? Definitely.

While Obi-Wan is less extreme than most of the others on the list, he is absolutely entirely in the details. Subtlety is his other defining trait; sometimes he’s even so subtle that it meshes right into the other related item, using his appearance to fool others into underestimating him.

Obi-Wan is not above using Anakin’s attachment to him to manipulate Anakin for the sake of the greater good (Deception et al.) It would be safe to say that he’d do the same for and to Anakin for Anakin’s sake.

Obi-Wan’s least-Type-Five/most-Type-One characteristic is his extreme selflessness, but again, he’s certainly complex enough to warrant a spot on this list. Extremely empathetic and deeply passionate, Obi-Wan still does not trust his own emotions to guide him, relying on logic and intuition instead. He holds himself to a much higher standard than he does others and is somewhat disillusioned, but his honesty and kindness are strongly endearing. (The reason there are Obi-Wan haters in the world, in my opinion, is because Obi-Wan is so subtle at times that he even fools his fans!)

Merlin

I hate it when this happens...

Another BBC favorite!

Merlin, also known as Emrys (which is, in case you were wondering, the Welsh equivalent of “Ambrose” and means “immortal”), is the protagonist of the BBC show of the same name (rather than having Arthur take the reins, as usual.) Merlin is, like many BBC characters, a very complex character, and might almost have been classed as Type Two or Type Three, except for his darker side. He is friendly, charming, a bit of a dork, and just generally the type of guy you want to have backing you up, but on the flip side he has an inner darkness that, fed by his magic tutor, the dragon Kilgarrah, SPOILERS eventually indirectly leads to the fall of Camelot. END SPOILERS However, under the guidance of mentor Gaius, he builds strong, lasting friendships with Arthur, Gwen, the knights, and fellow servants.

Merlin is brilliant with magic, but he doesn’t act like it. He’s sometimes clumsy but at other times he can be graceful. It’s mainly his ability to fool everyone (including Arthur–again, for Arthur’s own good and at the cost of wanting to tell him desperately about his secret) around him into underestimating him that has him here on this list.

The Doctor

Shut up, you’re adorable.

That is the Tenth Doctor, just to avoid confusion among non-Whovians. 😛

Anyway, the Doctor is the very definition of complex. With thirteen different incarnations, all played by different actors and each with different personalities, he sort of has to be. While all the different personalities tend to revolve around a theme and all involve some version of a few basic traits, each version of the Doctor is still entirely unique. And he tends to use his apparent clumsiness (recurring theme here) into fooling people that he’s stupid or doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s got some pretty toxic guilt over something that I gather is still a spoiler (?!), and definitely does not trust himself.

While he is in an age group comparable to Yoda, it just feels as if he’s been much farther than Yoda has ever traveled and seen more messed-up stuff. While Yoda does the funny-old-guy routine, the Doctor takes a route that is a bit more logical, in my mind; that long lifespan has only gone to make him much more complex, and he’s probably the most experienced person in any field that you’re ever going to find.

He also tends to find jokes in things no one else gets, is brilliant to the extent that it’s possible that he’s the most intelligent of any person on this list, is on par with Steve Rogers at thinking on his feet, has phenomenal situational awareness (um, that has nothing to do with the list, more to do with him being good at split-second tactics), and is both extremely compassionate and utterly unfeeling at times.

And I can’t even begin to list how many times he’s done things for his companions that they would never have allowed him to do, if they knew what he was planning.

Gandalf the Gray, Frodo Baggins, Aragorn, Faramir

gandalffrodoaragornfaramir

Boromir is a Type Two and Merry and Pippin are Type Four. What about the others?

Well, Sam Gamgee might be a type one, but Frodo is a Type Five. Almost everyone underestimates him, and rather than a hidden darkness, he has a hidden majesty–as does Aragorn. Faramir is conflicted (though not in quite the same way as he is in the movies). And Gandalf… well, when you’ve been around for about three thousand years, you’d expect a character to be a bit complex!

Now for my own characters!

Winter and Tairya

Winter has a personality somewhat similar to Merlin’s or the Doctor’s, except without the clumsiness, he is a bit more grim, and people underestimate him more because they don’t know him. However, he also has a sense of humor, is very loyal, especially to his mentor and friends among the Rangers, and has a kinder side that is rarely seen, except by his apprentice Elian. He is the bodyguard of the Princess and sworn to protect her.

Tairya, the woman Winter is sworn to guard, is probably the only villain on this list. Less blatant than most villains and completely without remorse, mercy, or compassion, Tairya is a Type Four gone horribly wrong. She is the archetype of everything any Type Four could slip into becoming. However, she does have a slightly lighter side; a soft spot for her husband and child–but this turns her even more sour when Winter, in an attempt to fulfill his oath in some way despite his failure to save her, kidnaps (or rescues) her son.

Winter and Tairya both appear in my unfinished novel Loyalties and are among my most complex characters ever.

Connor Rawleigh

More in the vein of Master Kenobi than any other character on this list, Connor’s personality is somewhat similar to that of a type two. He’s mild, clever, funny, and a good friend. However, under his mild, kind exterior, hidden so deep that even Connor himself is not aware of it, he has a secret:

Connor is a trained assassin, part of a failed conditioning experiment by a ruthless businessman, and his perceived colorblindness is psychosomatic–in rebelling against the conditioning, he effectively “made himself” colorblind. While he appears to fold to any situation, when he takes a stand it’s quite clear that he’s got some steel in his backbone, probably inherited from ancestors who fought in the American War for Independence. Connor stars in my unfinished novel Colorblind.

Wait… mild-mannered reporter living in a superhero world… Never mind. Connor’s only real “superpower” is the ability to see in the ultraviolet spectrum… which is pretty useless in a fight.

Nothing to see here, DC Comics.

If there’s another character who I missed who you think should be on this list, please tell me about them! I’d love to meet them. 🙂

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Simplifying Villainy

09 Saturday May 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

characters, colorblind, connor rawleigh, novels, villains, writing

Related to, and continuing from, this post.

Sometimes, you can’t even show the villain’s true Intent of Evil, because it’s simply too dark and unpleasant to think about. You know what the villain really means, whether it’s genocide or betrayal or something else entirely, but it’s too horrific to simply come out and bluntly say it. What to do?

You show your characters’ reaction to the potential evil to show how Very Bad it really is. Even when it’s unclear who the villain is, you can still hint at their villainy by having some character have a strong negative reaction to them… (No, Connor, your bad feeling about a certain gentleman is totally unjustified. Honest!)

And sometimes, just showing the reactions and not the event that evoked them can be more impactful than any amount of gruesome detail. (People have very active imaginations.)

When all else fails, in a well-scripted and acted movie, watch the eyes. You can generally guess what a character is thinking. It’s sort of the same thing here. By watching the characters’ reactions, you can guess at the true horror of the villain’s misdeeds.

It’s like that scene where the bad guy shoots someone, but we only see him as he makes the shot, not the grisly results.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

The Brooklyn Project: Situational Humor

05 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, The Brooklyn Project

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

c.s. forester, captain america: the winter soldier, colorblind, connor rawleigh, horatio hornblower, humor, indiana jones, nathaniel "nat" brachevis, star wars, writing, zombies

Oftentimes, you’ll come across a character who is, to quote Chris Evans, “not a funny guy.” At the same time, they clearly do have a sense of humor. And if you’re in an action story, most of the humor won’t be jokes, of the verbal or practical variety. Nine times out of ten, in an action/adventure flick, your hero won’t be the kind to tell or play jokes. Aside from a wry quip, you won’t hear anything “funny” from them.

What’s an author to do?

Humor is a vital tool, not only in keeping a story from getting too dark and intense, but also as a coping mechanism for the characters. Every story needs humor.

However, these not-so-funny characters often exercise their sense of humor in another way. Patricia C. Wrede, the author of the Phantom Menace young reader novelization, referred to it as “battle humor.”

You were right about one thing, Master. The negotiations were short. ~~Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Phantom Menace

A more commonly used word is “sarcasm.”

And what is sarcasm?

Basically, it’s poking fun at a situation. It’s a coping tool.

If they’re shooting at you they’re bad! ~~Steve Rogers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Oftentimes, this sort of snark will take a reader off-guard, but take them off-guard in a good way. Let’s use an example from my work-in-progress “Colorblind”: Connor and Nathaniel are pinned down by the bad guys, in a field. There’s practically no cover, and they will be entirely exposed when the sun comes up. The bad guys are taking pot-shots over their heads in an attempt to get them to jump out early. They are in very deep Trouble, with a capital “T.”

And then, Connor says, “I’m starting to think they just like shooting at dirt.” Nat gives him a rather odd look, to which Connor shrugs and says, “On the other hand, they could be just trying to use up excess ammunition.”

I don’t think it will get a lot of laughs, but that’s Connor for you. His sense of humor is a little off-target.

Nine times out of ten, an action hero won’t crack a joke. He will quip, however. His humor depends on the situation; his humor is really about telling the universe that he doesn’t care what sort of nonsense it drops on his head, he’ll deal with it and own it.

Like a boss.

So, situational humor.

Horatio Hornblower is well-known for this. I can’t think of one particular example at the moment, but a wry aside is something that just happens from time to time.

“Why are they still coming at us?” one grunt shouts in the zombie apocalypse. “I thought they were looking for brains!” (Yeah, this is only the second time I’ve mentioned zombies on this blog. Don’t get used to it.)

Also, if Indiana Jones does differently, please do not notify me. I’d rather not get any spoilers before I’ve seen the movie.

Oh, and late Happy Star Wars day. May the Force be with you–you’re gonna need it.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: A March Hare Fling…?

26 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales from Selay'uu

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo april 2015, captain america, captain america: the winter soldier, colorblind, connor rawleigh, marvel, national novel writing month, novels, selay'uu, sir arthur conan doyle, star wars, writing

Clearly, it is one of those days.

I woke up this morning after a sleepover in heaven. I was actually nice and warm, which is not very usual post-sleepover. And comfortable, which is even less common.

It turns out that at some point while still asleep, I had snuggled up to Steve’s back, and Bucky was tucked close up against mine, and somehow we’d shared all our blankets.

Who knew the Winter Soldier was a closet cuddler?

Anyway, it was heavenly. They both have a slightly-higher-than-usual body temperature, so I was warm. Chaste cuddle pile. It’s a wonderful way to wake up.

Unfortunately, the moment Bucky rolled over and kicked me in the shoulder (without waking up), I knew it was going to be one of those days.

Before I had even finished the thought, Bucky’s kick had rolled me entirely over Steve’s shoulder, which woke him up, and I ended up nose to nose with Captain America. Talk about awkward. Also, did I mention my hair was in his face? Which prompted a rather ill-timed sneeze.

And suddenly Bucky started to snore. Which, normally, our resident supersoldiers do not (in case you didn’t know, snoring tends to be linked to health problems. Like allergies, but more often obesity.) I think Bucky’s irregular way of getting the serum means that it actually prompted an allergy or something… but I’m not a scientist. Anyway, later that morning, we were dealing with a huffy, sulking former Soviet assassin. But we made pancakes!

He got better.

But then things got crazy.

I put on an Owl City CD in while I was working on my Easter dress, and Connor was, apparently, bored while I was trying to figure out his backstory and the one character who’d already been killed off. So, naturally, he started dancing to it, and Obi-Wan joined in with him (when he’s a teenager–especially a slightly-insane one–he’s really… um. I think I should probably just explain what happened.) So, they were trying to do a swing step, but somehow Obi-Wan got a hand tangled up in Connor’s gear harness (I don’t know why, but they were both in combat black as well as tactical gear…) and they ended up in a pile on the floor. Of course Bucky had to join in, trying to teach Steve to dance, but Steve was tripping over all four of their feet. I’m not even sure how that’s possible, but he managed to do it. Gaius was trying to untangle the Jedi and assassin, but at one point he ended up holding both of Obi-Wan’s wrists, and that triggered a panic attack (for reasons that should be pretty obvious–poor lad.) So that led us all on a manhunt through the entire mansion, trying to catch Obi-Wan and bring him back to the land of the living before he could hurt himself or anyone else. I decided to work on the latest story with Obi-Wan to try and get things under control, and then Anakin wandered around. Turns out he’d had a bit too much of the Unicorn Cider from the Camp Nanowrimo Cafe and as a result he was loopy. He was singing the Unicorn Song and insisting that Siri’s middle name was Meredith. Siri was not amused and brained him with the Travelling Shovel of Death. Of course, Anakin wasn’t dead, but then he had to go and pick on Merlin, who turned him purple. Which Padme liked, but Anakin did not.

Anyway, along came Moriarty, who was drunk in the normal way. He was flirting with everything and rambling about flying cheetahs and generally creeping me out, so I whacked him in the kidney with a mop, then bashed him in the head with the Captain’s shield.

Just another one of those days.

It absolutely has to be March.

 

Dawn

03 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales of a Wandering Bard

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

captain america: the winter soldier, colorblind, completed stories, connor rawleigh, marvel, nat brachevis, novels, original work, short stories, spiderman

A short story, involving characters from Colorblind.

Enjoy!


 

Dawn

                Nat was almost startled to see the young reporter-cum-unwilling assassin sitting on the sofa in the living room, staring absentmindedly at the painting of a calm forest glen, as if he hadn’t moved in hours. Sometimes, Connor was so quiet that Nat would forget he had company, only to be abruptly reminded of it as he ran into a rather surprised Connor, a few minutes later. Connor would sit perfectly still for hours at times, and other times look vaguely reproving as Nat bit back a curse on being startled yet again.

The thing was, the younger man wasn’t doing it intentionally. It just happened.

“Hey,” Nat said. Connor looked up, startled out of his thoughts. He smile, an odd, endearing, childlike half-smile.

“Hey.”

“Do you never make a sound?” Nat teased gently. Connor looked surprised for a moment, then a mischievous look crossed his face. Nat knew that look. It was too adorable for how purely wicked it could be.

“Not all of us are as big as you,” Connor told the powerfully built police officer. Nat snorted.

“Not all of us are mice,” he said, grabbing the younger man in a playful headlock. Connor just laughed and remained still. They both knew that if Connor wanted to get out, he could get out, as Nat’s latest still-healing bruises could attest.

“Tired?” Nat asked. Connor shrugged.

“I haven’t actually been tired in a long time,” he said. “It’s almost as if I have too much energy. I was just thinking.”

“Dangerous pastime.”

“Well, if no one did any thinking, we’d all be going nowhere.”

“If you did less thinking, my friend, less of those places we’re going would crash and burn,” Nat teased. Connor ducked under his arm and shoved him off the sofa. Nat sat on the floor for a moment, inwardly smiling at the progress they had made. After a few months in the safehouse, Connor no longer started at sudden sounds, though he still occasionally would lash out violently, if provoked. Also, Connor was becoming less awkward when it came to human interaction.

“It’s been a long year, hasn’t it,” Nat said thoughtfully. Connor snorted.

“It wasn’t even a full year,” he pointed out. Nat shrugged.

“True enough.” They were silent for a while, comfortable in each other’s company.

“Connor, there’s something I should probably tell you…”

Connor, there’s something I should probably tell you…

                “Connor! Connor, wake up!”

“What?” he grumbled. He felt so strange… He blinked. It was dark, except for a small pool of light puddling around their lantern, with a dim aura from an abandoned street light over head. “Wha—How did I get here?”

Nat blinked at him. “You’ve been here for the past five hours, with me. You came here with me.” Connor blinked. Oh. Right.

“I was asleep?”

“Yup. I have no idea how you manage to sleep during a stakeout, but that’s what happened.” Connor rubbed his face.

“How long?”

“About half an hour. Did I ever tell you you’re too precious when you’re sleeping?”

“Please, just shut up.” Connor groaned. “Dreaming from your point of view. Weird.”

“Well, at least we know one thing from that.”

“And what’s that?” Connor sighed, exhaustedly.

“You’re grumpy when you first wake up.” Connor made a face at him. “There’s still hope that you’re not irreparably broken.”

“And I sleep in the middle of a shootout about to happen.” Connor ran a hand through his hair. “It’s cold out here.”

“It’s three a.m. They turn the heating off when decent people aren’t going to be around.” Connor actually laughed.

“Guess we’re not decent people, then… is there any coffee left?”

“You don’t like coffee.”

“True, but the label on the thermos says it keeps things warm for eight hours.” Nat finished pouring out a cup and handed it to Connor, who choked it down, making a face at the taste. He looked at his watch.

“I just remembered. We missed the new year.”

“Apparently that was three hours ago… was I awake for that?”

“Yes, you silly kid, you were. And you didn’t remark on it.”

“Forgive me for being focused on the mark.” Suddenly, Connor straightened up, his eyes lighting, like a wolfhound catching a scent. “It’s time. They’re coming.” Nat stood, behind him. The smaller, slimmer, younger man was entirely focused on their target, a pale, unpretentious shadow in the darkness.

Seconds later, he dashed across the intervening space at a breakneck pace, using one of the men as a springboard to tackle a second. Nat was using his boxing lessons on the third, while Connor had already disabled a fourth. The kid’s methods were unorthodox, but effective, Nat had to admit. “There are more coming in,” Connor said, barely out of breath. Like a shadow, he was there one moment and gone the next, leaving Nat with the kids.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, softly, consoling the little ones whom they had just saved from a fate similar to Connor’s. “It’s going to be okay.”

 

When Connor came back, he was alone, barely disheveled, not dirty, but he was carrying a Taser, which probably wasn’t his. “We’re done here,” he said, quietly rather than tersely. Nat nodded.

“Okay, we’re good to go.” He picked up one child. The other instinctively turned to Connor, who lifted her, staggering slightly under her weight—the little one was almost as tall as he was, and certainly stouter.

“Oh, that reminds me. Connor, there’s something I should probably tell you…”

END


Yup, just two guys being my lovely boys. Gotta love brotherhood, by spirit if not in blood. 😛

If you were wondering about what it was that Nat (aka Police Sergeant Nathaniel Brachevis) was going to tell Connor, it’s involved with the end of the novel, but if you want a spoiler SPOILER ALERT the two of them are going to be recruited for a search/rescue/destroy program, going after the guys who trained Connor as an assassin and caused him to have amnesia in the first place. END SPOILERS Basically, protecting other people with the same ‘condition’ Connor has (he can see some wavelengths of ultraviolet light.) So yes, it’s sort of a superhero/spy/psychological/thriller novel. But if you asked Connor, I’m pretty sure he’d say he’s not a hero, he’s just a person who likes to know other people are going to be safe. He’s kind of complex like that.

This is why I think Connor is one of my personal favorites: He’s a sweet guy, very gentle, with an earnest and charming personality, adorably awkward, too. However, he has this other side; he’s a very deadly assassin without being aware of it. Someone else is trying to pull the strings, but he won’t let that happen, and he suffers from amnesia as a result. (Yup, he is actually the one at fault for having a basically blank memory.) I wouldn’t say he’s broken, unlike SPOILERS FOR THE WINTER SOLDIER Bucky, post-Hydra; Bucky was pulled out and they didn’t leave any of Bucky in the Winter Soldier, at least, as far as that was possible. On the other hand, they left Connor with his human, civilian persona, as a sort of a cover for him. That’s not to say that he isn’t messed up. It’s just more subtle, and possibly even harder to root out than it will be with Bucky.

Actually, believe it or not, the plot of Colorblind was not actually influenced by The Winter Soldier. I started work on Colorblind before Winter Soldier actually came out, before I even really got into the Marvel fandom at all. So maybe Connor’s character was a fraction influenced by Peter Parker, but really, I had no idea about Winter Soldier when I started writing this. I haven’t seen the Bourne movies either so I don’t really have any idea where the parallels lie, if there are any at all.

The idea for Colorblind came when I was thinking about how sometimes being special makes you vulnerable, and I wanted to explore that. Connor’s “superpower” really isn’t all that useful in a fight (though it might be in detective work,) and he was used, as a pawn, as a result of being “special.” Part of the idea was after seeing a particularly noxious shade of orange, and from there it became what if certain colors could drive people insane and turn them into murdering psychopaths? And from there, you can probably see where the plot went. 😉

Bottom line: Connor is an awesome fighter, but with a softer, gentler side, who is willing to fight so that other people don’t have to suffer through what he did. He’s also naive and kind of innocent, and I just find that endearing. Please tell me what you think of my character in the comments–also, if there’s a sort of character development that I seem to be falling short on, I would appreciate the help with that 🙂 I’d love to discuss it.

Also, I found a couple of people who I think look a little like I imagine Connor–they just look innocent 😉 and that’s a big part of Connor’s character. I’d love to know who you, my readers, think looks more like you imagine Connor.

Asa Butterfield

Eddie Redmayne, actor, 27th August 2008 (Photo by Martin Godwin/Getty Images)

I’m not really sure who this is–does anyone know?–but I frankly think he looks more like I’d imagine Connor to look.

 

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