Amanita
Maester
This is a question concerning my story but I think it applies to many others as well. So I'm not going into specific details but ask generally.
In short: Character gets magic he/she isn't supposed to have for some reason and the people around him or her aren't exactly happy. The character has been brought up believing that someone of his social/racial... group isn't supposed to have magic and/or that no one is supposed to have that specific kind of magic at all. Therefore the consequence will be that the character doesn't really belong to the group he used to belong with anymore or at least many people feel that way about it.
The magic itself can be dangerous or helpful depending on its user.
What would be a realistic reaction? Would the character be more likely to be glad about having special abilities and curious about their use. Would he believe that he can use it for good and not understand that the others react to it so negatively?
Or would he be upset about being different in a way the others disapprove of. Would it take him long to accept it, if he managed to do so at all?
In my story it used to be very much the latter, but at the moment, it's tending towards the first option.
In other stories I can think of the Black Magician-trilogy, the Abhorsen trilogy and the Studies-trilogy that all have something along those lines and I have to admit, I liked the reaction of Lirael in Abhorsen best. She is very curious about her abilities and pursues them whenever she can even though she's upset about not being like the others well. The "bullying option” on the other hand has been getting on my nerves lately. I'm also not really happy with the "innocent and good person is bullied because the others don't understand”- option which is a kind of cliché in itself.
And I'm rather tired of all those "woe is me, I don't want any of this”-characters.
Of course, the answer to these questions depends on every specific character. I'd like to know what you like to see in such situations in general though. And I'd also like to know if you think that it's completely unrealistic if a character reacts not only with shock but also with curiosity when discovering that she can use magic that isn't approved of. And would such disregard for tradition make her unlikeable and clichéd once again?
In short: Character gets magic he/she isn't supposed to have for some reason and the people around him or her aren't exactly happy. The character has been brought up believing that someone of his social/racial... group isn't supposed to have magic and/or that no one is supposed to have that specific kind of magic at all. Therefore the consequence will be that the character doesn't really belong to the group he used to belong with anymore or at least many people feel that way about it.
The magic itself can be dangerous or helpful depending on its user.
What would be a realistic reaction? Would the character be more likely to be glad about having special abilities and curious about their use. Would he believe that he can use it for good and not understand that the others react to it so negatively?
Or would he be upset about being different in a way the others disapprove of. Would it take him long to accept it, if he managed to do so at all?
In my story it used to be very much the latter, but at the moment, it's tending towards the first option.
In other stories I can think of the Black Magician-trilogy, the Abhorsen trilogy and the Studies-trilogy that all have something along those lines and I have to admit, I liked the reaction of Lirael in Abhorsen best. She is very curious about her abilities and pursues them whenever she can even though she's upset about not being like the others well. The "bullying option” on the other hand has been getting on my nerves lately. I'm also not really happy with the "innocent and good person is bullied because the others don't understand”- option which is a kind of cliché in itself.
And I'm rather tired of all those "woe is me, I don't want any of this”-characters.
Of course, the answer to these questions depends on every specific character. I'd like to know what you like to see in such situations in general though. And I'd also like to know if you think that it's completely unrealistic if a character reacts not only with shock but also with curiosity when discovering that she can use magic that isn't approved of. And would such disregard for tradition make her unlikeable and clichéd once again?
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