I had an epiphany this morning. · 5:38am Apr 22nd, 2016
When it comes to how I write characters...
Hear me out though...
This came to me today while talking to Bubble - about a new fic I'm working on that stars Fleur - during our commute to work. The way I write Fleur di Lis is the same way I write Pinkie Pie.
Fleur simply has a different way of going about things than Pinkie. She's all about marketing/modeling herself the same way Pinkie is all about mastering all things parties. She's good at it and does it at a crazy high level without really trying. She's all about flirting the way Pinkie is all about entertaining. It's a personal passion, but if anypony points that fact out, they both suddenly become self-conscious about it and start fumbling. Neither like being alone. Both of them are always thinking, even if it seems like they are just reacting.
They are both very physical with a lot of movement that re-enforces their dialogue. Pinkie is bouncy to Fleur's grace. Fleur is 'pose-y' to Pinkie's zanny. But everything they do is part of a subconscious plan that is aimed at making themselves the center of attention to those around them, if only for a few moments.
Fleur, like Pinkie, is meta in a genre savvy way. She KNOWS on some level that she is a caricature, just as much a representation of a concept as a character. She mugs for an invisible camera the same way Pinkie mugs for the 4th wall.
It's weirdly fitting.
EDIT: This is relevant to The Violin Maker's Daughter, because Fleur and her characterization in it, was a big part of what made it successful. I mentioned in a few comments on the fic that that version of Fleur would make another appearance in an upcoming story. I'm working on it now, and trying to further refine that characterization so this fanon version of Arm Candy McModelpants up there stays strong and speaks to my readers. If you were hoping for a squeal or continuation of VMD, I'm sorry to disappoint...but this is me we're talking about here...
Anyway, sorry for any confusion that this post might have triggered.
Stay classy.
-Fuzzy
You know you're not supposed to link stories to blogs unless they're relevant to the story you tagged?
3888091
The Violin Maker's Daughter's main character is Fleur. I thought he was talking about his characterization in particular to that story?
3888158 He doesn't talk about it, nor make a comparison nor mention it directly.
3888160 Have you not read the story? I thought the link was obvious, myself.
3889738 Uh, yeah, I read the story. Thanks for asking. Have you read the blog? Just because Fleur is in the story tagged, it doesn't mean that the blog is directly relevant to it or referring directly to it.
3890007
Sorry for the mix up. It's now fixed, though in my defense, I DID post that at 1:40 AM.
Either way, thanks for reading my story. I hope you liked it. I love The Sweetie Chronicles, btw.
3890007
I did. It was an interesting look at the underlying process that resulted in a striking characterisation that I quite liked and haven't seen elsewhere; like director's commentary. Hence my confusion at your apparent confusion: I honestly don't get what the problem was. Like, was your beef with this post just that its relation to the story wasn't explicitly stated?