Drabble: Empty

[levitatethis]

Title:   Empty
Prompt #171: Outsider POV
Author:  levitatethis
Rated: PG
Word Count: 100
Character: Alvarez, OC
Warning: Nothing
A/N:   I think this is actually the first time I've actually nailed 100 words for this comm without going way over.

His eyes suggest an exorcised soul.

Instinct, empathy, stops you from looking away and playing pretend. Instead

Comments

[cmk418]

Very nice. I like how the thoughts of the OC say one thing and the body language (the closing of the hand that wants to reach out) says something completely different. I can definitely see Miguel bringing that out in people.

[levitatethis]

Thank you! Without getting into the issue of inserting myself in a character, the OC's reaction to Alvarez is similar to my own -- there are times I felt for him, rooted for him...and times he freaked me out, made me cringe. I wanted the OC to show that conflicting reaction a rather conflicted character.

[mswriter07]

Spot on! He's one of my favorite OZ characters and you caught his hopelessness just so without it making us readers want to cry and reach out and hug him ourselves.

[levitatethis]

Thank you! He's a pretty fascinating character and I liked that the prompt offered a way of looking at him from a distance...it allowed me to bring in those conflicting aspects of his personality...the toughness and the hopelessness.

[trillingstar]

Congrats on hitting 100 *g*

I like this. The outsider POV is clean and sharp, and I like that your narrator doesn't look away and then DOES, if that makes sense. Like they fill up on him and it settles, and then they can look away.

[levitatethis]

Thanks! What can I say, "Oz" tends to bring out the wordiness in me.

I liked approaching a character I knew from an outsider's perspective. The altered pov gave me a new appreciation for approaching a character like Alvarez, pulled in by him, moved by his (perceived) plight, then getting a little too much of him, to the point where it almost turns sickly.

[ozsaur]

Your description of Alvarez is spot on. So vivid! This is exactly what I was looking for when I came up with this challenge. A perfect snapshot of Alvarez, so intense.

[levitatethis]

Thank you! I've never really written him before (despite liking the character) but given my own "all over the place" reaction to him (depending on the storyline), this challenge felt like the perfect fit to try and convey how an outsider might look at him. I'm so glad this feels truthful to who he is.