Some Disassembly Required, part 3

I'd like to be able to say that the addition of Taylor to the mythology was some kind of master plan, considering what an important character she turned out to be. You know, that I decided to create someone to represent the ideal relationship as I see it for Bethany/me. Or that I tried to create perhaps the nicest, sweetest girl with the biggest possible heart as some sort of commentary on what I felt was missing from my life. Or even that I needed to introduce someone who could act as a stablizing force for the wilder Frost girls. But none of that was true. I was bored one afternoon and figured I'd expand a bit. I figured while Bethany was something of a loner, that Brandy at least would have a best friend who would visit from time to time.

At first that's all I knew about Taylor: she was Brandy's best friend. Sometimes the voice doesn't suggest itself right away, and instead grows out of the details. Somewhat subconsciously I used Erin as a model for Taylor, and started to insert some backstory that she was a troubled, abused girl, who nevertheless always saw the good in people and would go to tremendous lengths to try to help anyone in need. Whereas Erin was consumed by her demons, I decided that Taylor would be a survivor. And out of that she became probably the strongest of the group that would eventually be known as the New Hampshire Girls. I also knew that she and Brandy were lifelong friends, beginning before Kindergarten. Both Brandy and Taylor worked as waitresses, went to college, and also performed at a local strip club a couple times a week. And I knew that Taylor had a major crush on Bethany. From those humble beginnings I knew I had enough seeds to run with these three characters for a long while.

After the mistake that almost pulled the plug on this whole continuity, it was necessary to change the names of the three of them. Thus, Brandy and Taylor reverted to their "real" names of Jillian and Emily, and the false names were revealed to be their stage names. Bethany, however, always concerned about her privacy, assumed the name of Penny Lane, which was also taken straight out of Almost Famous. I didn't reveal Beth's "real" name for another six months, around the same time that her alcoholism became something of public record. That is to say, I needed a character defect that would get me out of a tight spot, and that was the best way to go. It really did add a lot of depth to her character.

Around the same time as the name change, Beth and Taylor became a couple. I found something irresistible in the idea of Taylor having had a crush on Beth for almost ten years and having it finally pay off for her. And they stayed together the entire time since, far outlasting any real life relationship I've ever had. They haven't really had any major hiccups either, so somehow I reigned in my pot-stirring troublemaking plotlines in favor of watching this ideal relationship blossom into something special. Sometimes I'm just really sentimental that way.

Of course, you'd think I'd stop at three characters, especially since I had to write posts and have chats as all three at alternate times to keep the universe spinning around, but ..... oh ho ho no. I had another idea.

We'll get to her next time.