Realm Of The Muse - 1.82 - Mun Prompt
Does your muse have an ego? Talk about how that makes writing them harder or easier, and the things that they are egotistical about, if any. If your muse doesn’t have an ego, discuss things you wish they did have more of an ego about.
Of all my muses (eyes Ainia, Aphrodite, Kalas, Kira and Kell, balefully), Cody Jean is the least egotistical. She was raised in a very small community, in extremely poor conditions. Her grandmother was from a very backwards, superstitious, uneducated and extremely religious culture where women were taught to be ashamed of their sexuality and conditioned to never try to be as successful or strong as a man.
At a young age, her grandmother died (a topic for another prompt) and Cody Jean was shuttled from one foster home to the next. If the state stopped paying her foster parents for some reason, they just dumped her. This is how she came to be in the hands of Calvert and his rogue Watchers.
While I haven't fully delved into this three year period, it's important to understand what a delicate and pivitol stage of intellectual, psychological and emotional development this was. She was fourteen, going in, seventeen when she is freed. The gruesome and painful medical tests and experiments did their own damage. But the psychological torture done by the Watchers, that is what has created the kernal of rage in her that Hsu is able to see and tap into. She was also robbed of the educational and social development so important to adolescents at this stage. She didn't socialize with her peers, or learn appropriate interaction with peers or authority figures. Believe me, the Watcher lab was not a benign or nice place. The children were subjected to painful and disgusting experimentation by people who believed that they were "unclean", "unholy" and abominations to nature. Cody was the eldest, and she not only took the brunt of this torture, but she also acted as a surrogate mother to children who were later murdered. She suffers from highly suppressed PTSD and some survivor's guilt.
But she is a basically strong girl, so she isn't an emo wreck. In her country background there is the practical streak of getting on with it, that what cannot be cured must be endured. In some ways, she is becoming like Hsu, in creating a wall around herself that others cannot get into, one that protects the deepest hurts and fears. She can be a fun, outgoing teen, while keeping the darkness firmly locked. Only bits and pieces can be seen, and most people don't care or notice enough to even question or recognize the inner workings of her mind. Right now, she is operating (almost desperately) from the teenager side of herself, wanting to fit in with peers and experience normal teen activities. But she can't, because there is always going to be a disconnect there because of who and what she is, and what she's been through. What she needs is more quiet and less activity, so she can find some peace.
But her ego is fairly good, which is one of the things that Hsu sees in her that will make her strong in the end. She will have periods of adjustment, and she will have some sleep disturbance issues, and other things that will show the level of extreme stress that she has dealt with. But I think that she will likely pour herself into training and learning self defense, as well as how to handle a sword, and that will give her some self confidence and a sense of achievement. I think she also needs to find something either artistic or educational that she can succeed with, something that she has an aptitude for, that will give her an outlet as well as a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Cody has issues, as anyone would in her situation, but she has strength that will carry her through. She needs some successes, and a lot of guidance, so that her ego becomes more solid and to undo some of the damage done to it. The Watchers consider her to be a success of their experiments, but I think that Cody and Hsu will likely turn it around to become a weapon against the Watchers, in the end. Her ego will be boosted with every goal she can reach and every reinforcement that she can get from her "family" around her.
Of all my muses (eyes Ainia, Aphrodite, Kalas, Kira and Kell, balefully), Cody Jean is the least egotistical. She was raised in a very small community, in extremely poor conditions. Her grandmother was from a very backwards, superstitious, uneducated and extremely religious culture where women were taught to be ashamed of their sexuality and conditioned to never try to be as successful or strong as a man.
At a young age, her grandmother died (a topic for another prompt) and Cody Jean was shuttled from one foster home to the next. If the state stopped paying her foster parents for some reason, they just dumped her. This is how she came to be in the hands of Calvert and his rogue Watchers.
While I haven't fully delved into this three year period, it's important to understand what a delicate and pivitol stage of intellectual, psychological and emotional development this was. She was fourteen, going in, seventeen when she is freed. The gruesome and painful medical tests and experiments did their own damage. But the psychological torture done by the Watchers, that is what has created the kernal of rage in her that Hsu is able to see and tap into. She was also robbed of the educational and social development so important to adolescents at this stage. She didn't socialize with her peers, or learn appropriate interaction with peers or authority figures. Believe me, the Watcher lab was not a benign or nice place. The children were subjected to painful and disgusting experimentation by people who believed that they were "unclean", "unholy" and abominations to nature. Cody was the eldest, and she not only took the brunt of this torture, but she also acted as a surrogate mother to children who were later murdered. She suffers from highly suppressed PTSD and some survivor's guilt.
But she is a basically strong girl, so she isn't an emo wreck. In her country background there is the practical streak of getting on with it, that what cannot be cured must be endured. In some ways, she is becoming like Hsu, in creating a wall around herself that others cannot get into, one that protects the deepest hurts and fears. She can be a fun, outgoing teen, while keeping the darkness firmly locked. Only bits and pieces can be seen, and most people don't care or notice enough to even question or recognize the inner workings of her mind. Right now, she is operating (almost desperately) from the teenager side of herself, wanting to fit in with peers and experience normal teen activities. But she can't, because there is always going to be a disconnect there because of who and what she is, and what she's been through. What she needs is more quiet and less activity, so she can find some peace.
But her ego is fairly good, which is one of the things that Hsu sees in her that will make her strong in the end. She will have periods of adjustment, and she will have some sleep disturbance issues, and other things that will show the level of extreme stress that she has dealt with. But I think that she will likely pour herself into training and learning self defense, as well as how to handle a sword, and that will give her some self confidence and a sense of achievement. I think she also needs to find something either artistic or educational that she can succeed with, something that she has an aptitude for, that will give her an outlet as well as a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Cody has issues, as anyone would in her situation, but she has strength that will carry her through. She needs some successes, and a lot of guidance, so that her ego becomes more solid and to undo some of the damage done to it. The Watchers consider her to be a success of their experiments, but I think that Cody and Hsu will likely turn it around to become a weapon against the Watchers, in the end. Her ego will be boosted with every goal she can reach and every reinforcement that she can get from her "family" around her.