Themes

WIP. c:

Monsters
The major recurring theme in "Dancing Fate" (since the last revised synopsis on 21 Aug 2011) is on monsters. Not literally monsters (and I'm not talking about the demons either!), but about how the characters themselves go corrupt (the term for Chrono's 'conversion'), insane, power-hungry, or blood-thirsty. There's a lot of destruction and insanity roaming around DF.

I didn't plan on making monsters a theme until I had Jillian and Promise refer to infected Charade as a monster. Then I figured, well, Chrono and Frostbite in a way are also monsters. As is... etc etc etc. So I've decided to turn the entire thing into a theme/recurring symbol. I'm rewriting more of the synopsis to fit this theme and make more allusions and symbols to represent it better.

The main three "monsters" of DF are Chrono, Charade, and Frostbite (as well as those infected by Frostbite). Promise could also, to a sense, be viewed as a "monster" for having "created" one - she was, indeed, the one who gave Charade the virus, due to Sophia's request/orders.

Additionally, of the two main morals in DF, one moral I really want to make clear is that insanity can happen to anyone. If you're not watching yourself, or if you become too greedy, or if you let your negative emotions get the best of you - you can turn into something you don't like, something you regret. Sure, you won't be bent on destruction and mass murders as the characters in this book have experienced - but it can still lead you to make poor decisions, some of the worst decisions in your life and it'd be too late to turn back. (The other moral being about solitude, which I'll get back to on later.)

Sapph
words words words. Led to Chrono's corruption (conversion into a power-hungry monster, basically)

Chrono
words words words

Charade
words words words

Frostbite
words words words

Sophia
Sophia's main drive for power was not to become powerful, but to lure out her pet Frostbite and bring him back home. Her desire for this power led her to hire multiple assassins at once to take some life and cause inhuman destruction. She would do absolutely anything to bring Frostbite back to her without fear of repurcussions or moral values - she was, after all, the devil - the ruler of the underworld.

Her desire led her to become a silent/hidden monster - she caused so much indirect destruction and paid those a blind eye. She cared not about the deaths and anguish of the other characters - only if she reached her goal and reclaimed Frostbite... like any and all other monsters would act, just less belligerent.

Towards the end of Dancing Fate, she, like Chrono, Charade, and Glitch, also went insane, knowing that Frostbite was near; she could sense him.

Promise
Promise, to a lesser extent, could also be viewed as a monster - for having trusted Sophia to the point that she'd unleash a monster, a killer into the world. The creator of a "monster" is a monster herself; she realises both of these and commits suicide over it, unable to forgive herself.

Valor, Harken, & Lulu
words words words. In their case, it was more of a thirst for money (which leads to power) that led to their blind, monstrous massacres. They cared for no one and nothing else but themselves.

Solitude
words words words

Chrono
At the very beginning of "Dancing Fate," after Chrono's introduction, one can already hint that a main recurring theme of the story is solitude. Chrono has difficulty re-entering Noir and getting help to save Charade because he is shunned by all its residents for an incident that took place ten years ago with his sister. When his childhood best friend Dante comes to bust him in, a few days later, Dante turns against him. Other than his pet dragon Gallium, who he sent away from the kingdom to protect Charade during his battle with Dante, Chrono had no one else to turn to at this point. He was alone. He had further difficulty making any friendships along the way until he met the mercenary Will.

Will
If the theme of solitude wasn't already obvious with Chrono, it will be after Will's introduction in the fourth phase or so, especially during his conversation with Chrono when Chrono attempts to save his life;

“Why are…”

“You better not be asking me why I’m helping you.”

''“No, you grouch… you saw what- what happened back there. You… why are you alone?”''

“…alone?”

''“You should know… to never be alone in life. ‘else you’d end up screwed. … Like me.”''

The first, third, and final lines being Will. Will was badly injured during his battle with some demons as his nearby allies were taken out and he was left to fend for himself for sometime - and being an archer, he could only effectly attack at a distance, thus having difficulty when he was targeted. When he tells Chrono this after being heavily injured (and dying, if it were not for Chrono jumping in and helping him to the pharmacy), Chrono is left to contemplate those words at times and deny it multiple times, using the fact that he's stayed alive for ten years living on his own as his reasoning. ...until he realises when going corrupt with power how much he loved Charade, which stopped his insanity and eventually drove him to his death when he attempted to save her from her infection.

Before DF takes place, Will lost his mother to a disease as well as his father and all three of his brothers to a war long ago. In DF, Will lost his newest friend Chrono to his infected sister Charade, and his sister in an explosion. He had his own band of mercenary friends, but they were killed off one by one as the story progressed. However, even with all their deaths, Will still had the drive the set out and complete his mission. He even still had the drive to continue living after learning of his fiancee, Mariah's death... until Frostbite came and removed that right, claiming Will's body and destroying his soul, killing him off for good.

His family, comrades, friends - all gone. Will was finally killed off when he had no one left.

Mariah
Before DF took place, Mariah was left at the shelter by her fiance Will when he (a mercenary) was hired to find the cause of the sudden demon invasion and somehow stop it. Mariah's drive for leaving the shelter was to find him; she couldn't bare being alone. With her sheer determination to find her loved one, and armed with a hand-crafted sabre her father made just for her, she was confident that nothing would stop or kill her. Knowing Will was in danger, though she was still confident he knew what he was doing and he'd make it out alive, she refused to live a life of safety and solitude when her fiance was out risking his. Her drive to avoid solitude and help others in need propelled her into the story.
 * ...actually her true motivation for leaving is still a WIP. lol This is just what I've come up with so far.

Alice
Especially after the brutal past she endured with her brother Chrono, who she cared for more than anything in the world, Alice has been a lone wolf from the beginning. Rafael and Dante tended to be the client favourites, and, longing for some action, she joined along with the two in the hunt for the necklace - not because she wanted to accompany them, but because, again, she longed to make use of her fighting prowess.

When Mariah met her, Alice was reluctant to escort her back to Luciville, groaning all the while. She was impatient with her, as she had her own agenda. Mariah was more than eager to help Alice, and she took some major convincing for Alice to allow Mariah to tag along. Though Mariah trusted Alice, Alice never once viewed Mariah as a friend - just as a client... but without the pay. Alice was almost quick to ditch Mariah when she believed to have found her brother and felt nothing when she learned of her death.

Alice finally understood the necessity of company and friendship in life through Morpheus' words towards the end. Once she fully grasped the concept that she's much happier in the company of others - she loses everyone.

Trust
words words words

Dante
words words words. Kingdom > friendship

Rafael
words words words. Unlike Dante, friendship > kingdom

Morpheus & Jillian
words words words

Jillian is what changed Morpheus by the end of Dancing Fate. Because of her, he learned how to become bold and voice himself. He learned to face his fears. He faced his own monster - Harken, his abuser - and even killed him in order to save Jillian. He proved that he'd be an able assassin and carry out his vocation once he was of age. Yet... it was his audacity that led to his death. His determination to stop Jillian from reaching the others had killed him.

Promise
words words words. Blindly trusts Sophia, which led to nearly everyone's death, including her own.

Sapph
"The necklace may represent reality, or desire." (It can represent the extremes you would go to to obtain said desires - like power, money, trust, whatever. Chrono wasn't used to the power Sapph granted him - but the more he used it, the more he got better at it, and the more he desired power. Blood, even.)

Frostbite
Frostbite can represent revenge, power, anger, and destruction due to negative emotions and loss of control. He reinforces the theme on "monsters" and how it can happen to anyone as he infected not only Glitch but Jillian and Will as well. Sophia's hunt for Frostbite (and subsequently Sapph) is what drove the plot and caused masses of deaths.

Love / The final battle between Chrono and Charade
LOVE OVERCOMES ALL!1!!111!!ONE. Chrono's love and will to protect and save Charade freed both him and Charade from their insanity, but also led to his death.