BTS: Metanoia

Hello and good evening, dear readers!

First things first – I’ve successfully completed the Sweet Sixteen Challenge! *throws confetti everywhere* I was supposed to post the sixteenth challenge tomorrow, actually. However, since my family’s going up to Baguio and I actually can’t bring my laptop, I posted it today. And hey – there’s even a download link! (Arzen’s PL also has a link, so you might as well check it out~)

But for this post, we’ll be discussing the five-part challenge that I had posted a week/s ago entitled Metanoia. What exactly does the word mean?

credits to: other-wordly @ tumblr!

As shown, Metanoia is a word of Green origin that means what the picture says above. But the thing I want to put emphasis on is the phrase a journey of changing.

See, the whole structure of Metanoia (if you’ve read every part) always begins with a bolded header which states the current location of that particular ‘chapter’ and the year when it takes place. It spans from 2009 – 2014, right? This is the meaning behind it.

Arianne Maxwell has been my Original Character since the year 2009 – so I’ve been stuck with her since I was in sixth grade. Although I only started taking her development seriously around 2010, 2009 was when I really created the thought of her – except, she had no back story, nothing really definite. She was a skeleton character back then, and I was just around the process of creation.

For the first part of Metanoia, it introduces not Arianne Maxwell, but Arianne Callaghan.

My very first version of A (let’s stick with that) was having her as a college student. Though initially unsure which course she was taking up, I made it seem like she was aiming to be a forensic scientist once older. Compared to the current version of A, she’s quite different – she’s younger, much more open, and way more irritable. However, she was pretty damn static, that first version.

Other characters featured are Madeline Silvetti, Blake Williams, and Luke Donner.

Madeline Silvetti was based on an OC who belongs to a good friend of mine.

Blake Williams was a much saner, more human version of Beyond Birthday.

Luke Donner was the definitely more normal version of L Lawliet.

…if you might have noticed, the two bases of Blake and Luke are characters from Death Note. *laughs* That’s because my love for Death Note really started during the year 2009. I had gotten into the show around half into the year, and it just exploded from then on.

Now, we move on to version two!

Here, A is much more…mature.

In contrast to V1, this woman is more serious, definitely on the bitter side even though she loves sweets – I mean you’d expect for her to be sweet because of her love for sweets… (You tried, Russie.)

In this version, A’s life is going a bit downhill. Her work is more hectic, she’s now living with a friend who now bartends at one of Tokyo’s numerous bars, and she’s furious at her lover, whose location is now unknown to her.

At this point, I have to say that Death Note was taking a massive hit on my creativity. I wanted to experiment with every aspect of the universe, and my interest regarding police-slash-detective work was really, really growing. V2 takes on the role of Eraldo Coil, which was known to be one of L’s many aliases. Although stuck in a heavy job, she hasn’t really found herself just yet. This was the phase wherein A continuously dyed and streaked her hair various shades of green, from the lightest to the most vivid. She grew attached to sweets and was frequently seen with a lollipop day and night, having a small stash of it from the office to her bedroom.

Where this came from was very, very obvious.

A’s lover was L himself, L in the flesh.

In the reality of Death Note where V2 existed, L had defeated Kira and continued to work. He eventually met A and they had gotten together, and the two had moved in with each other.

At that chapter, A was still furious after he had caught him with someone else, and moved to Jean Onix’s own apartment. The fate of their relationship from that point is decided – she’s calling it quits and wants to move on from the trouble of it all.

Jean Onix is an OC from another friend of mine, who was actually my writing partner for the past few years. *laughs* It’s mostly thanks to her that I was able to develop A throughout the years – so I pretty much owe it to her.

Now, part three.

This…this was the version I was most embarrassed of. *facepalms* During that time in my life, I was heavily immersed within the vampire-focused novels, from the House of Night to Vampire Academy. Even Twilight had affected my creative muse.

Here, A’s a vampire who can manipulate all four elements. Once more, she’s on the hunt for her ‘mate’, who had seemingly abandoned her after a large fight. In her frustration and loneliness, she adopts Erica Mae and raises her as her own daughter while training with Sarah Nakamura and Daniel Hemmingway, who are vampires as well.

Over at this chapter, V3 wants to find her mate and officially end it with him, just like how V2 wanted to end it with L. She asks the help of Daniel, whose abilities as a tracker help greatly. Sarah, on the other hand, was a long time friend who stayed there to help her transition into the new life.

Moving on to part four!

After the tragedy which was V3, I decided to completely renew A’s character. I did endless character sheets and researched about names and backgrounds until I decided that this A would now be half-German, half-English. At this point, her back story is almost the same with the current A’s, except for some tweaks here and there to make it seem more realistic.

Here, V4 meets up with Linda St. John, her very first friend from the Wammy Orphanage. Linda, who was known as an artist, is now a painter and a skilled photographer who travels around the world in search of beauty. I decided to turn her into a vegetarianism advocate who aims to stop animal cruelty, and A finds her there in the heart of Japan.

V4 is twenty-three at this chapter, a detective and much calmer compared to the past versions. At that point, she’s terribly work-oriented and works from day to night, going home to sleep, eat and change before repeating the same cycle. At the office, she’s known as the Ice Queen, as she doesn’t particularly get along with that much people in her work place.

Seeing Linda – Lynette – was a breath of fresh air. Even though V4 had cut all ties with her past, she held a soft spot for her first friend, the one she considered as her sister. Lynette was the one who helped V4 with her first crush, who helped her adjust to the orphanage…V4 loved Lynette.

After years, she finally sees her again and manages a smile.

Finally, part five!

A is sharp; she’s sarcastic but stubborn yet so, so loving and determined. Her past has haunted her and she guards her heart from people in case they get too close, not wanting to lose those she loves like how she had lost the others. At this point, she’s finally content. A is now a Team Lead and works well with certain members of the police force, recovering from alcoholism and trying to sort out her life and balance it accordingly.

There to help her is Matt. Through Matt, A was able to learn how to open up without the fear of abandonment, and is able to show her true colors every once in a while. She loves him deeply and they’ve been together for roughly three years, and she might be convinced that he truly is the one for her. *laughs*

At this point, A is at her best. She’s working and cooperating, figuring out cases with her teammates and figuring murders and being proud of her members who do drug busts and scans. A has a mad love for coffee and tends to do overtimes, yet limits these just so she can spend time with Matt, who lives with her in their cozy home.

She considers Touta Matsuda as her mentor and looks up to him. Samuel Peters is like an irritating brother, and Macmillan Thomas is a new yet strong asset to the squad. Of all the five versions, she’s the most realistic in my eyes and the best so far.

Metanoia was more of a personal kind of reflection for me. Through revisiting my old writings, I was able to witness how much I’ve grown as a writer and how my OC was developed pretty damn well for the past years.

A is a blessing – she’s really my character, an entirely new kind compared to my others. Amidst all the shiz and halts in terms of growth, I’m surprised that I’ve managed to make it with her this far. Thanks to the various influences, most especially Death Note, I've created a character who I can let shine on her own.

That concludes the night’s Behind the Scenes post! So long until next time, and goodnight. ^_^