rayneartx

[rayneartx]

Character Study for Aster Knox

Greetings! This post is right on the heels of my first one because my week 2 update for buildspace is sorely overdue. But better late than never, right?

And so, I decided that my idea's "toy" or the physical/digital manifestation of my idea would be a character study of my brat of a main character, Aster Knox. For context, please see my post about the premise of her story. As of the moment, this is a work in progress, but I hope it is enough to give you a glimpse of her character so far. I'll try to get the finished piece out in a few days, so I'll post it then-- if my ADHD ass lets me.

======== "Alane"

“This is utterly mind-numbing.” Aster muttered, “Note to self: always bring a second book in case of dopey teachers”

While making his rounds earlier, Mr. D’Arcy had confiscated her copy of Hercule Poirot's Christmas about half an hour ago. “Really kiddo? Reading at the Christmas party? Go enjoy yourself– and challenge Hamish to a dance-off while you’re at it.” 

It wasn’t that Aster hated this particular school party, per say– other than shaking her head at the fact it was intended for Christmas, which was still a month away. She found that she didn’t really mind the crowds or the blaring Jingle Bell rock tune that seemed to be the only thing on the school’s playlist. 

It was that her only friend was constantly being borrowed for group photos and chatted up by classmates and his photography club cohort. 'H-Hold on Aster, this'll only take a sec. Be back in a giff!' 

Back in a giff my arse, she thought, you've been gone for a good fifteen minutes now. 

Aster sighed, Hamish was the one who lured her into coming in the first place, with the evil idea of spiking the drink dispenser at some point during the evening. She surreptitiously sipped her red cup of Lucozade– another thing she discovered she didn’t actually despise– as she leaned against a banister where the shadows concealed her better. She sulked as she watched her friend get roped into doing some stupid dance trend with his posse. Feeling an ache arise from somewhere deep within her chest, she downed a huge swig of Lucozade in hopes it would tamp it down. 

It didn't.

Caught up in her thoughts of self-pity, Aster hadn't noticed a figure approaching her. "Didn't expect you to be here," Bri remarked dryly.

Aster scoffed, "So I am, what's it to you?" Bri rolled her eyes, "You're taking up space if you're just here to stand in a corner. Where's blondie?" 

"Over there, dancing his tits off" Aster gestured vaguely to her left without making eye contact. 

Bri looked aghast, "You really are crass on purpose, aren't you?" 

Aster shrugged, "So says you,"

"No book?"

"Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy Esquire kidnapped Agatha Christie earlier." Aster grumbled.

"You ask one simple question," Bri sighed, shaking her head. She eyed her for a moment, taking in her slumped posture. “There’s only an hour left to kill. Then you can escape or climb up a tree or wherever the hell it is you run off to these days.”

Aster shot her a menacing glare. “Raffle your donut, four eyes.”

“Arsehole”  Bri muttered, and with that she turned on her heel, but not before casting Aster a glance she couldn’t quite place. Aster watched her retreat back into the crowd; sometimes she didn’t know what to make of Bri, at times she’d seem almost considerate in one moment, but then would act all condescending in the next. 

Terrible mood swings were what she settled on.

Aster tipped her head back and downed the last of the Lucozade before slamming the cup down on the nearby table. With one last look in Hamish’s direction, she pushed off the banister and set off toward the hallway.

She needed to find someplace where she could kill time.

=======

Rattle. Locked.

Rattle. Locked too.

Rattle. OH FOR F-

Aster cursed the responsible custodians under her breath. She knew it was routine for them to finish cleaning the classrooms by six: Nonetheless, she was hoping for at least one classroom to have been left open on accident. She had the sense of mind to refrain from lamenting out loud at the last second. 

Making a mental note to borrow a lock picker’s guide book from Mrs. Abercrombie, Aster rattled another door knob. “Ahah!” she said, finally able to turn a knob. She creaked it open slightly, inwardly cringing at the noise, and peeked inside.

Although it was quite dark, it wasn’t hard to make out bookshelves across the room and pothos hanging from it like ribbon streamers. Aster felt her heart sink in an instant. It was Mr. Deirdre’s classroom.

She double-checked the sign of the room number above her and cursed out loud this time. After a moment’s hesitation and some internal debate, she went inside. Once ensconced, Aster took a breather to admire the familiar space. While she despised her English teacher, she couldn’t say the same about his choice of decor. Before Mr. Miller’s abrupt departure halfway through the year, the classroom was akin to an office space: All white and tactless, devoid of any personal touch, save for a picture of his Maltese on his desk. Aster suspected that he considered the bookshelves that came with the classroom were sufficient enough decor, hence why he saw no need to decorate himself.

Since he left, Mr. Deirdre had turned the barren classroom unrecognizable. Aster had never seen so many rattan furnishings in one place: lamps, horizontal drawers, paper organizers, geometric wall flowers, and several plant holders. Although Aster was more familiar with flowers, she was able to recognize some of the plants as monsteras and fiddle-leaf figs. A foreign addition of Mr. Deirdre's was deciding to make the back corners of the classroom into a sort of reading nook for group work. However, the English teacher's choice of rugs and throw pillows left much to be desired, as the ornate designs looked something out of your gran's sitting room. Nonetheless, they added to the cozy aesthetic of the room. Aster's favorite touch of the room however were the fairy lights that decorated the edges of the bookshelves. 

Not that she'd ever admit it. Of course.

She crossed the room over to the bookshelf by the window. Unable to resist, she bent down and switched on the fairy lights. In an instant, the classroom was engulfed in a warm, soft glow. Combined with the rapidly darkening sunset, Aster used what little light was left to peruse the books in front of her. She was quite sad to realize that she'd already read most of the books here– bar the Sci-fi section, which didn't interest her at all– as she'd pilfered them before back when Mr. Miller was still their teacher. She didn't see any reason to ask him for permission anyway, seeing as they never once She doubted he'd notice even if at least ten were missing from the same shelf.

As she thumbed through the titles, an orange spine with an upside-down dog that she'd never seen before caught her attention. Aster plucked it out and held it up to the window, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", it read. Aster inspected the state of it: Definitely second hand, the front cover was creased severely and the pages were yellowing, but overall it appeared to be a well-loved copy. She grinned, it must have been one of the new books that came from the donations that the school received last week.

Like a kid on Christmas morning, Aster took the book with her and waddled over to the reading nook. She was only planning on sticking around for a bit, then she'd head back to check in on Hamish. It wasn't as if Mr. Prissypants was ever going to find out his classroom had been broken into anyway, she reasoned. Setting her satchel down beside her, she flicked open the overhead lamp and started fluffing up the throw pillows. Once satisfied with their arrangement– intended for maximum cushiony comfort–  Aster set an alarm for twenty minutes and settled in for a nice read.

==========

Three missed alarms later and Aster was finishing up on the fourth chapter. Talk about a classic Goldilocks story.  ==========

And that's where I'll leave you for now. Spoiler alert: Someone gets caught trying to escape the party. ( ͡º ꒳ ͡º)

[rayneartx]

Hello there! This is the start of my downward spiral into the writer's abyss. I've joined season 5 of buildspace, and here is my idea slide for week 1's update.

Here is an info dump of what I have in mind for the book so far:

The story revolves around the relationship of a bookish, stubborn twelve-year-old girl, Aster Knox, and her equally stubborn, old-fashioned English teacher, Mr. Deirdre. Before you jump to conclusions- it's not that kind of story! The story takes place in modern-day Scotland somewhere in Glasgow, but definitely in a small town setting. (think of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls)

Originally, I'd planned on a graphic novel form, but then it'd take me a decade to finish the story. So I ultimately decided on a mix: mainly composed of prose but intertwined with a few comic-style pages (for a picture is worth a thousand words). I haven't come across any book that has a similar structure to what I've described, so I'm definitely excited to see how it'll work out. If you know a book that follows a similar format I'd love to know!

The book is supposed to jump between the present and past, with flashbacks of Aster and Deirdre's relationship from bickering student and teacher to still bickering but adopted kid and inexperienced father. I haven't yet nailed down their respective backstories other than knowing Aster has gone through numerous foster families before the storyline begins.

So far, the hardest part of this venture has been thinking of the main conflict, as most of what I thought of comes across as too cliche or just plain unrealistic. Right now, I'm thinking of a character vs character sort of conflict, where Aster and Mr. Deirdre's relationship in the present is just as strained as it was in the past because of their inability to be vulnerable around each other. This will of course stem from their own respective attachment issues. Additionally, I'm thinking of incorporating fantasy elements in the story as well, though I can't say too much without spoiling a major plot point.

In a nutshell: Harry and Snape but make it a found family C =

At the moment, this is all just a big blob of vagueness in my head, which I'm hoping will mold itself as I begin to actually write this story.

And so, in the words of the demon Crowley and Mr. Gaiman,

"Wait and see~"