Evolution of a Story

[DarkPhoenix]

Many people wonder where When Cliques Collide came from, what the inspiration for it was. The truth is, this story has been in the works for several years.

Back in middle school, I wrote a lot of fan fiction under the pen name Snaps. One series that I wrote featured two characters, Sketches and Preston. They ended up having a child named Charise, and Sketches's sister had a child named Ophelia. I started a spin-off series focusing on Charise. It told about her adventures with her cousin Ophelia, and two boys-- Jeff and Nathaniel. Three other characters were bad guys Lissie and Grant, and their sidekick, S. S was a bad guy turned good who fell for Charise.

After hitting a dead end with the story, I decided to use some of the characters in a story about an art school. In it, Charise was a popular student with many male admirers. She was part of a band called Sitara. S, the shy quiet guy, had a crush on her. Charise's friend, Tacita, had a crush on S. Charise was seeing a young man, Jeff, who was a medical student. Sheridon and Gideon, a young gay couple, were also characters in there, as was a shy computer expert named Cyrus Cloud.

In high school, I was an unpopular bookworm, very nerdy, and most of my friends were gamers. I was disgusted by how the popular people acted. My way of dealing with and making fun of things was to draw a little comic strip about my thoughts and experiences. This comic strip was about a high school news team, comprised of members of various cliques. This was the beginning of When Cliques Collide.

In the comic, the characters were very different from their story versions. Ophelia, who was called Raven in the comic, was more stereotypically goth, with black lipstick, piercings, short shaggy black hair, and a bad attitude towards everyone except the nerd character Jane (who became Emily). The jock character, who became AJ, was pretty much the same, except he was single throughout the whole comic. The character that became Tiffani was a skinny, airheaded cheerleader with oversized pigtails. Cassie, who became Angela, was a goofy, airheaded groupie who had a major crush on AJ and hated Tiffani.

A few years ago, I decided to put the comic into story format. However, I felt that there were a few characters that needed to be there, for purpose of exposition.

I decided to bring Charise and S into the story. I realized that they needed a teacher in charge of the group, so I decided to create the character of Ms. Gibson. This character was heavily based on a teacher I had in high school who had signed my memory book with a message that included these words: "Make me famous."

I decided to bring back the character Cyrus Cloud, but change the character a great deal. In fact, Cy is based on a close friend of mine from middle and high school.

Dunstan was created when I decided that S needed a rival for Charise's affections. While Dunstan started off as just being a general jerk, during various rewrites, I made him more like a few guys who I'd had bad experiences with (he is based on several guys, but his physical appearance is very heavily based on one of the guys; originally, he was going to look more like S, but with lots of puffy, curly black hair).

The characters of Mae, Louie, and LB are based off of a close friend's pet iguanas, who have the same names. LB's appearance is very similar to how I intended Dunstan to look. Louie's appearance is essentially meant to be a male version of me (small in-joke; also, Emily's appearance is heavily based on how I look after leaving my hair in a braid all day).

It took me a while to get myself to even write the first chapter because I had very little motivation to do so. However, after the death of Gina Graham, the woman who Ms. Gibson is based on, I decided to write the story, as a sort of monument to her. After all, she asked me to make her famous, right?

Thus, When Cliques Collide was born. At first, Tiffani was going to be a skinny cheerleader, but I read two things that heavily affected my decisions. The first was something in a book, mentioning how at a high school, a girl was kicked off of the pep squad for being a certain weight (despite it being a healthy weight, they considered her to be "fat" compared to the other members). The second was an article about a sorority kicking out a large portion of its members, based on how they looked.

So, the official word on who is based on who:
Ms. Gibson: High school English teacher I had
Emily: Me, in high school
Ophelia: Partially me now, partially who I would like to be, and mostly a friend of mine from middle and high school
AJ: Figment of my imagination
Tiffani: Figment of my imagination
Angela: People from TV shows and movies set in the 50s
Dunstan: One of my exes, as well as a few guys I was in failed semi-relationships with
Charise: A very, very idealized version of myself (purposely Mary Sue-ish)
Cyrus "Cy" Cloud: A friend of mine from middle and high school
Samuel "S" Verona: A few friends of mine
Sheridon and Gideon: Figments of my imagination
Tacita: Former friend of mine
Cassandra Verona: The character Nanami from the anime "Revolutionary Girl Utena"

[DarkPhoenix]

Readers of "When Cliques Collide" frequently comment on the relationships between various characters and how realistic they are. Thus, I decided to make the topic of my next "musing" monologue about the various relationships in this story.

From the very beginning of the story, it becomes clear that relationships are a major theme of the story, as we are greeted with a description of a teacher and her former student discussing their lives and opinions. This continues, as we are introduced to the rest of the cast and their intertwined worlds.

Charise is, at first glance, perfect. Attractive, reasonably well-dressed, and, as we learn later, the daughter of two celebrities. Despite this, she seems fairly down to earth, even naive at times. She shares a home with her friends S (who has had a crush on her for years, which she is oblivious to) and Gideon and Sheridon (a gay couple who she has known for years). When we first meet her, she even mentions several other people who are important to her, such as her friend Tacita (a flirtatious hairdresser who acts as a big sister to S) and her grandmother (whom she was named in honor of). AJ even flirts with her early on, and he goes looking for her, leading to him becoming a member of the Clique News Crash team. Despite this cheerful facade, we are soon introduced to the less pleasant aspects of Charise's life. Her parents divorced when she was extremely young, for as of yet unknown reasons, and she has a very bad relationship with her mother. Charise is also shown as being involved with Dunstan, a much older man, who she met when she was fourteen. Charise seems oblivious to the kind of person he really is, choosing to instead see only the good in him. Thus, Charise wears rose-colored glasses, seeing only the good in the world, while choosing to ignore the aspects that she chooses to deal with.

Samuel "S" Verona has led an even rougher life than Charise has, and yet, he remains a kind, optimistic man who, despite Charise's failure to acknowledge his feelings for her, continues to worship her, willing to be her friend, at the very least, as long as it means being close to her. But perhaps one could see this mindless adoration as being S's way of channeling all of the love and kindness that he's unable to give to his family. S's father, a highly religious man, didn't show his son much in the way of kindness. His mother was overworked, not to mention browbeaten by her husband, making it hard for her to find time for S. Most of S's siblings left the household, either by being disowned, sent to boarding school, or through suicide. His only remaining sibling was his adopted sister, Cassandra, who became extremely clingy and overly affectionate in response to all of these things. When S and Cassandra were transferred over to public school, S met Charise and fell for her instantly. But was it really love, or just pleasure at being able to express affection for someone who wasn't in the family? Most people, if raised in the environment that S had been born into, would not survive long. But S lived and flourished, and he grew into a reasonably normal young man who managed to make many friends, including Ophelia Foley, Charise's younger cousin. Overall, it can be said that S is an example of surviving against the odds and becoming a better person, rather than giving in to failure.

[DarkPhoenix]

I find it hard to discuss either Emily or Ophelia without bringing up the other. Many people have sent me messages via e-mail, IM, and PM, asking if Emily and Ophelia are supposed to be a couple, as Ophelia is always so protective of Emily, they're shown hanging out together, etc. The short answer is simple: no, they are not a couple. The long answer is a bit more complex: Ophelia and Emily are, for lack of better description, a combination of balance partners (people you meet along the way who help you create balance in your life) and twin soulmates (very close friends with whom one has strong bonds). At first glance, Ophelia and Emily seem to have very little in common; Ophelia is a rebellious artist with a quick temper, while Emily is very quiet, studious, and timid. As the story progresses, we see that they are flip sides of the same coin-- while they are both intelligent women who care deeply about those close to them, Ophelia has a tendency to keep her emotions bottled up until she can't take anymore, while Emily is, overall, more open about her emotions. Ophelia, however, tends to be more open about her opinions of others, while Emily keeps them to herself most of the time. Their traits balance out, making them yin and yang.

Emily is shown to be very close to her twin brother AJ, despite the fact that they seem to have little in common. She is even shown giving him relationship advice and teasing him about his crush on Ophelia. At the beginning of the story, she is shown to be close friends with Maya, an obsessively studious classmate, and we see a hint of Emily's desire to live a balanced life, as she tries to convince her friend to relax and have fun, rather than study. Emily is also shown to treat the rest of the Clique News Crash members in a generally kind manner, even Tiffani, who treats her discourteoously several times. She does not seem to hold grudges and is overall a kind person, albeit a bit passive.

Ophelia, on the other hand, is more assertive, often to the point of being aggressive. We first see her in art class, reacting to LB, another classmate, saying insulting things about Emily. At this point in time, Ophelia and Emily do not know each other well, except perhaps in passing (Ophelia knows enough about Emily to know that she's a good student who doesn't brag about getting high scores). We see that Ophelia stands up for an unpopular student, refusing to let LB insult someone who isn't even there to defend herself. Thus, Ophelia is shown to have strong personal beliefs that aren't always popular with her peers. However, her strength and determination cause AJ to develop a crush on her, and cause Emily to befriend and deeply respect her. Ophelia is shown to have a friendly relationship with her older cousin, Charise, despite the fact that they are very different people. She is also shown to be on reasonably good terms with S (very good terms indeed, considering that she knows his life story). Ophelia's two closest friends, Mae and Cy, are another example of opposites. Mae is a hot-headed rebel with strong opinions (most of which involve inactivity and thinking poorly of non-alternative people). She and Ophelia often quarrel, as Mae disagrees with Ophelia's beliefs and actions. However, they seem to be very close, epitomizing the "best friend and worst enemy" line from the movie "Heathers." Cy, on the other hand, is shown to be very kind, affectionate, and good-humored towards Ophelia. She is apparently the person who Ophelia goes to when she needs to talk about life and problems (as Ophelia apparently spoke, to great lengths, about Emily to her). She in unfailingly in a good mood, knowing when to crack a joke when a situation gets too tense. Indeed, it can be said that the two people who Ophelia is closest to emotionally are Emily and Cy.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulmates

[DarkPhoenix]

Cyrus "Cy" Cloud. Much can be said about this character, but I will try to sum everything up as well as possible. Cy is connected to a lot of the characters-- Ophelia, Mae, Charise, Emily, etc. In all of these cases, we have seen Cy treating these people with kindness.

In the instance of Mae, Cy is quite possibly the only person who she opens up to. It is revealed that Mae told Cy about her feelings for Ophelia long before she ever told Ophelia herself. Cy isn't shown to be as close to Mae as she is to Cy, but they do have a somewhat close friendship.

Emily and Cy have a good start to their friendship. They hit it off immediately, and Cy made it clear that Ophelia spoke a great deal about Emily. Cy makes it clear to Ophelia that she approves of Emily, both as a person and as a friend. After Emily gets beaten up in class, Cy goes to visit Emily. A very nice start to friendship indeed!

We don't know much with regards to Charise and Cy's connections. We are told that Cy lives with Charise's family. This occurred after Cy's family kicked her out when they revealed her secret. Cy is a combination housekeeper/unofficial adopted child to the family, and even if Cy and Charise aren't friends, they are at least on speaking terms.

The person who Cy is shown to have the closest relationship with is Ophelia. They are revealed to be very close friends, very affectionate and frequently sharing secrets that they don't reveal to others. Cy and Ophelia became friends almost immediately after meeting. In fact, it is revealed (through flashbacks and a few chapter marker pictures) that Cy and Ophelia went to a school dance together. Ophelia reveals to Mae that she has feelings for Cy. Does Cy feel the same? Well... that's a rather easy question to answer. (Hint: Look at some of the chapter marker shots, including the ones I put in the photo section of this site.)

[DarkPhoenix]

Angela and Dunstan. Wow, what a weird pairing there, eh? But let's examine this a bit more closely, shall we?

Dunstan. Rich guy, used to getting everything he wants. Plus, he likes 'em young. Reaaaaaal young. And he's manipulative as hell, using any method possible to get what he wants, including-- you guessed it-- cute young girls. He's got a girlfriend (Charise), but he's still going after girls on the side. He's apparently got Angela on call 24/7, not to mention he was shown making a pass at nerdy Valo. Ophelia clearly hates him now, but did she always feel this way? Flashbacks have shown that she thought he was attractive when she was much younger. Hm. This guy should be stopped at all costs, and preferably locked away from anything female.

Angela. Queen of passive-aggressive manipulation. She is clearly not stupid-- she makes a reference to a work by Joyce Carol Oates and is able to influence people in subtle ways (for instance, telling Charise that S has been spending a lot of time with a girl wearing glasses-- true, because he's been working on the play with Emily-- but leading Charise to think the girl is actually Valo). We've seen her go from innocent-seeming and old-fashioned in clothes and behavior to downright sneaky and manipulative... and just a tad bit evil.

Yeah, they deserve each other. They'll make each other nice and miserable.

[DarkPhoenix]

Ophelia and Cy. Wow.

While planning the story, for a long time, I considered leaving Ophelia single, since no one seemed capable of understanding her. Then, it finally hit me-- Ophelia tends to be very unconventional, in many ways. Who in the story would be properly capable of understanding why she does as she does? Cy!

Once I came to this conclusion, then came a more difficult task: figuring out how people would react to this. For a long time, I was unsure of whether or not to go forward with the Ophelia/Cy pairing. When Cy was received favorably by readers, I decided to go ahead with it, but slowly... show Cy and Ophelia interacting as close friends for a good while before actually making them a couple. For a good while, I was tempted to do a Grissom/Sara type thing and say that they were actually seeing each other for quite some time. However, I decided it would be better to see them just starting out their "couplehood." Also, for some time, I had my S2C avatar as an adult Ophelia and adult Cy looking into each other's eyes... romantic!

Overall, I think that they are a rarity in the story, in that they're a couple that is more or less "balanced," for lack of better word. In most of the pairings in the story, we have one person who has more "pull" over the other one, or, in other words, one "dominant" and one "submissive." (Charise > S, Dunstan > anyone, etc.)

[DarkPhoenix]

It's undeniable that this story contains a great deal of drama and very serious moments. However, a great deal of the truly "dark" issues of the story are implied or briefly mentioned, rather than discussed in detail, and yet, these underlying issues, when examined, are often the cause of many of the problems in the story.

Bad families
Several of the characters in the story are shown to have families that are less than desireable, as they are lacking in something essential or even downright toxic.

Cy Cloud was essentially disowned by her family because they disapproved of her lifestyle. Charise's mother Julianna often tries to push her opinions and choices onto her daughter. Valo's mother and stepfamily insults many aspects of her lifestyle and try to force a more "traditional" lifestyle onto her, despite it clearly being less than fitting for her. S's father dominated his family, enforcing very conservative views and treating his wife like a second-class citizen.

However, not all of the characters are in bad families. Charise's father took Cy in when she was kicked out by her real family, and Charise seems to get along well with her father. Ophelia and her parents seem to get along reasonably well, and they are shown to know their daughter well enough to realize that she wouldn't accept being made over.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse
The main person guilty of this is Tacita, who apparently has a history of underaged drinking. However, underaged drinking has been committed by other characters. AJ, for instance, was shown drinking at a party, and it was suggested that this was once a regular thing for him. In the same chapter, several characters are implied to be smoking a joint.

Self-Hatred and How It's Expressed
I've often felt that those in my story most likely to have eating disorders or be self-multilators are those who have trouble expressing their anger, the people who internalize their anger and only allow themselves to express it when they can take no more.

Tiffani, for instance, is shown to self-medicate using food. This most likely stems from a desire to rebel against her family's emphasis on looking like the ideal represented by the media, as well as the whole cheerleading squad situation. Eating (and, in once instance, getting her hair cut short) is her way of keeping herself from losing her temper.