You Know That Guy Who Never Showers?

No, of course you don’t because almost every damn character out there is the typical run-of-the-mill buff, sexy guy who wears black/red outfits, has a really cool katana, and uses fire… Alright, so not all characters are like that, but I know of a lot that fit perfectly into, “List of Top Clichés, The.” Now, I admit, I fall into this category with some of my characters as well, but I really do try for creativity and uniqueness. Now, take for example my beloved character Ares (who my first ever character, and boy was he clichéd);

(Hybrid) Ares is the definition of suave. He stands just over six feet tall with long flowing black hair and chiseled muscles. He likes to wear casual clothing because his power supplements a natural armor. He is most usually seen wearing a dark red, silky t-shirt that exposes his ripping biceps. It fits nice and tight for the joy of the many ladies he meets on his travels. He also wears a set of black leather pants accompanied by black combat boots. The most unusual feature that sets Ares apart from normal mean is his beautiful angel-like wings. The long, crimson red feathers are all almost a foot long. The wings stretch almost half a foot above his head and extend all the way to his lower calves. His skin is tanned giving him an even better look as well. His eyes are also very sheik; they are an odd silver, smoky color and whenever he gazes upon something, it feels like they are able to look into the thought of the subject.

Ugh! Now, I really do love Ares, I have used him for over three years now, but he is full of clichés. Let’s start off right- he is of course of human/dragon, duh. I thought that was a given. We then move on- Yep, very smooth and sexy, par for the course. Just over six feet…what a perfect height. Chiseled muscles…ewww, tempting. A dark red shirt and black pants you say? Well, I just described that up there! Black combat boots?! No way! Never would have guessed…combat boots. Angelic wings?! But of course. With long, crimson feathers? Fancy! Tanned? Even more appealing. And to top it off, we have the classical silver eyes, couldn’t do without…

That’s right, Ares is terrible when it comes to being unique, but you must forgive me, for I didn’t know this at the time of his conception. I have since found the error in my ways, and would like to show you another character that is a bit more, comical and distinctive;

Ringer- Such a funny thing is luck. Clyde had a sort of ironic luck; he always seemed to get himself into trouble, but he always came away unscathed. He was one of the most peculiar men you might ever happen to meet, but he had a certain air or contentment. As long as you could get past the black ring around his eye, thus the name Ringer, you might actually enjoy his company…or make his life a living hell, whichever happened to be your fancy. Such was the destiny of the lowly Pirate-tormented by the oddity of his luck, and the cruelness of his crew, he was doomed to live a life of not caring, and being made fun of, but as long as he was happy, that’s all that truly mattered. Such was the black ink-ring around his right eye. After falling asleep in the nest as he usually did, his crew mates decided to line his favorite telescope with a think, tar-like ink. With a blast of a whistle, he was abruptly woken and yelled at for not keeping his eyes at sea. He then naturally picked up his scope and slammed it to his eye to make sure as to not get in trouble again.

From that day on his nick-name was Ringer, and to this day, he hasn’t figured out the reason why his alias is such. He simply goes on about his business and doesn’t think much more of it than possibly being glad that they even gave him a nickname.

Such is my newly beloved pirate named Ringer. Now, first off I would like to point out that pirates are not used near enough in a duel setting. It seems they may always remain synonymous for battling the ninja in the many polls that once littered GameFAQs, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have a special place in my heart. Now, first off you can see that Ringer has a defining feature that may make him an outcast or laughing stock- the dark black ring around his eye. Now, in a duel setting you may be able to use this as a distraction of sorts, but to do so you must first lure you opponent into noticing it. Secondly, Ringer lends to more uncommon attacks and counters because of his unusual luck. Instead of purposely dodging a knife or sword, you can describe a situation between him falling into something and it takes the blunt of the attack instead of the beloved Pirate. This will help in that ever-sought after category of creativity, and if you know how to play your cards right, you can give your readers a good laugh or two while they browse through your posts, thus making it more appealing to others.

For now, we shall only look at how the physical aspects of a character can change the very nature of the duel itself. In my next blog I plan to address the different personalities of each character and how they can be a very cunning adversary, or a very boring foe in terms of your writing.

Corbow6