Quote from Jeanette on May 6th, 2017, 10:47am:Note:
This is the problem I see for us writers: When we introduce a few characters at a time, those characters can grow and develop into someone we can relate to. Take Maribelle for example. She is introduced as a spoiled rich girl who suddenly lost everything. While that foundation has not changed, we see her grow and develop as a character. Danielle, being the exception, is the only character I introduced who has not developed and has not contributed much to the story. Jason, Wilma and company, on the other side of the spectrum, were all introduced at once. We rarely see them outside the tractor trailer because they were not developed. As is, we can't relate to them.
I wrote about the people living in the abandoned train station to show where Jade is coming from. I did not intend on them joining us and ending up like Jason, Wilma and company: characters who do nothing to the story.
Packing heirlooms, as trivial as it is in this setting, does help the characters and therefore the story because the items that a character holds dear tell us more about the character. And the fact Moro is doing this says something about her: While Moro does not truly understand humans, this act shows that there is at least this human attribute that she does understand.
Jeanette Isabelle
I doubt it takes the story out of context but in the end, when the group arrives to Charlton, I see a caravan of vehicles of people with them. An “Exodus to Charlton” as a promised land to save them from what is out there.
In this there will be some characters in the dark.
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Jason’s group consists of 3 sub groups:
The Leaders: Jason, “wife” Wilma, Roz, Karol and (may have been mentioned or not) Korin. They make the decisions for the group as to what they do, going into town or not, mining or not, rescuing others or not. They have their own beds they share in the sleeper compartment of the tractor. The women are related to each other, Jason is not. And all of them are looking for lost relatives that were captured or killed by the slavers years ago, more than 5 years ago. Because of the time past, Fernando thinks this is a waste of time to look for them and they should cut their losses. Even if they find them as wessens and were converted back to humans, due to the wessen process final step, their memories have been erased, making them just a shell of who they are and not remember anything of their past. This is done so a person turned into a wessen does not try to escape and go back to their pat.
The problem with the leaders of this group is their hidden agenda of charging for the rescue and in a way, having a set up of semi-slavery or indentured servitude within the trailer. Though “earning one’s keep” within the group is one thing, they take it a step further.
The Girl-Boys Group (aka Pretty Boys, which you helped name and define; excellent work by the way): Robin, Dakota, Madison, Francis and Jordan – teenboys who were introduced into the homosexual/gay lifestyle and forced to become “Fem-Boys” (the males who are the female in the in the homosexual relationship). They, like the others, were rescued from various whore houses and situations.
http://www.hondosackett.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1428938728/1750#1750 The Girls: similar to the Girl-Boys, 12 who have been rescued from the whore houses they were in. Only one that is has been defined was “
Lisa,” she was the one having sex with “
Bruno” the dog at Lacey’s Whore House. She and three others within the group were the ones Lacey was hunting for when they were found and recently released by Lacey and her men by a rouse Fernando created, thus rescuing them even more. This creates the situation that, at least 4 of the girls and the dogs, cannot stay in the area or be captured again. Lacey think they are going to do hard time in Jastrey’s prison and will try to make a deal for them later on. So for them, they have to leave the area or be forced to return to Lacey’s Whore House. The other girls are in similar situations but do not belong to Lacey but she could take them and return them to their place of ill-repute for a reward.
But in being rescued, they and the Girl-Boys have to do some sort of work for Jason and his women.
The one thing not pointed it out is their double tractor trailer. It is too big and too clean for them to have bought it outright from anyone. Though it happened over ten years ago, it was stolen from a Lab Town that no longer exists. With a lot of work done to it, including a new paint job back then, they converted it from a rolling lab to a rolling 2 story house and foundry/factory for material processing. Since it was stolen from a Lab Town, no one pays no mind to it, but it has had several raids attempted to take it. If they did not defend it harshly, they would have lost it years ago. So within that tractor trailer is a massive weapons cache. Thus for protection, they roll with the caravans and convoys and are pretty much now left alone.
There is a hidden problem here if you did not catch it. Lisa and Macey were friends at Lacey’s whore house, and Lisa was going to introduce Macey to having sex with Bruno if she had not left with Fernando when she did. Since Lisa was at the whore house at the time Macey left, her (and her friends’) rescue had to have happened very recently. Question is: Could this have been the start of the Purge or was the Purge started for another reason, or both? We would have to go far back to Ruth/Joanna’s family and Tony/Zoey/Karl’s rescue to find out as there was something one of the slavers said before being confronted by Hondo.
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The Wessens are pretty simple to explain: slaves of work, entertainment and sex. The ones with the group want to leave the situation they are in for a better place where they can be accepted. Even with, the possible cure to turn them into humans, they will only retain the programming they were given during the Wessen Conversion process as their memories were erased. So turning Teri back into a human, she will always be Teri in her mind because that is all she knows. The same applies to the others.
Don’t know if you picked it up, but it explains things like the some of the Mooks that inhabit the highways – Hondo explained in one of his posts of those individuals who for some reason failed in the wessen process to become a creature somewhere in between with a feral animal’s brain. They are nothing more than wild monkeys on the road who have become foul and vicious in their deeds to survive in the wild. All they understand is based on behavior. For example: mess with one of Mister Jamerson's Giant Mutant Chickens, and either they will be killed by the giant mutant chickens or by Mister Jamerson's shot gun. In either case, they stay away from Mister Jamerson and his Giant Mutant Chickens.
The current Wessen’s load on the group are: Karl, Tonya, Zoey, Teri, La La, Li Li, and Marvin. Tiny might be added to the group thogh I’m trying to hold off on that for now. Teri, La La and Li Li are Sex Kittens and only know a bit more than just bending over and giving up some tail on command because their masters taught them more. Teri though a willing sex-kitten for Maribelle, became a living doll for Maribelle. La La and Li Li were taught the basics of keeping house and preparing a meal (not necessarily cooking, but cutting up vegetables and things). Teri learned through Maribelle how to take care of her things (washing and cleaning, etc.) But that is all they know. Karl, Marvin, Tiny and even Tonya were brought up for sport (Fight town) and as the Masters’ protector. Thus they learned how to drive vehicles, use firearms, and the art of making deals and making sure they are kept (like getting paid by a gambling loser). Zoey was undergoing her training.
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This is how the story is evolving. Characters will be added, some temporary, others permanently. Some will be active, others semi-active, and some left in the dark. This is why Fernando is saying what he says about Moro bringing people into the group. It is her choice, but in that choice, there will be consequences to deal with. But as rescuers, it is a job they have to do. Whether Moro wants to do this job or not is on her, but for Jeanette this is an obligation she has to go through no matter what. Jeanette is the rescuer, not Moro. Moro has a choice to pick and choose, Jeanette does not have a choice and has to do it for all or none at all.
I find no problems with this, as this is just juggling of characters while the story evolves. Let’s say if the group ends up bringing in a caravan of over 25 vehicles with over 150 people in it to Charlton of various trades and reasons, some of those characters will have an active role in the story, many others will not. This is not a problem. No problem at all.