I was basically sitting there pitching ideas in my head for one story idea I had, when I came across an idea that I thought would be good on its own. The ideas I was pitching for was for a horror story and I was thinking of not naming the victims, just calling them all "him" or "her," etc. And then I thought "Hey, it'd be cool for there to be this whole group of people who just drop there real names and go by pronouns!" Thus came that idea. And I made a list of the 'names' I planned to use, and then picked my favourites. I started writing, but everything was just coming randomly and after a while, even though I liked what had happened up until then, I have no real idea where I'm going with this. I'll list the characters and the information that I've come up with so far for them below, then some stuff about what's happened so far. By the way, all of them have to wear their hair short, except for a few that I'll mention:
He- the leader and the first one of Them(that's what the 'gang' is referred to, and also the title of the novel I think). He had been left in the cellar that they all now live in when he was 3 or so, and would've died if Somebody hadn't come along. He's not all that social, and for some reason seems to favour Who. He's always leaving the cellar, although a lot of the time, his reasons aren't as necessary as when others are sent for missions. He could wear his hair any way because of course he sets the ground rules but he wears it fairly short(kind of shaggy, but he doesn't keep it past his chin or anything). He's in his early 30's. Has a strange power- He can take two of his fingers and press them against somebody and they feel a searing pain if he wants them to.
Nothing: Has a special power. (Actually, I think they all do but this is one of the one's I know so far), Nothing can freeze something specific in time. Such as when a girl fell into their cellar and Nothing froze only her in time until she was on the ground, so for her it would be like suddenly she's not falling but rather on the ground in a cellar. Nothing and Girl got to go on some sort of mission above ground.
Anyone- No specifics really. Basically only was mentioned when helping with rigging ropes across the cellar hatch to avoid an intrusion.
Somebody- The one who came to He's rescue. Not many other details.
Who- Has the ability to speak to the dead. Not a necromancer, though. Insists that all dead things aren't really technically dead, they still have thoughts and everything, only they can't move or talk or do anything about it. Allowed to keep long, almost-sandy coloured hair, because of He favouring Who, so clearly a girl. Youngest at 14. Been there for 6 years. Who's really bizarre and loves dead things. He often gets her things such as dead fieldmice or squirrels, which are like her own dolls. Maybe the reason she likes them is because she wants them to still be happy and know that someone understands them, because of her power, so "they're not actually dead."
It- Same as Anyone.
That- Same as Anyone(+It)
The Boy- Young, but not so much as Who. Could be considered friends with Who. Has a strange power that he can't exactly foresee events, but can sense them coming, even if he doesn't realize it. He likes to sit on a short, wooden stool in one of the darker corners. Enjoys torturing, which he'll usually accompany Who in doing.
Girl- Not too much known. Despite of course being a girl, she still must follow the general haircut rule of chin-length as the limit.
Finally, there's Shadow: Narrator of the story. Not actually named, but since they go unnoticed, one of Them mistook them as their shadow, and it became a name. Nobody ever notices Shadow. Shadow constantly slips out when others go on missions, and otherwise just usually stands in the corner, observing. I came up with Shadow because I've always thought, "If the story's in 3rd person, who's this person telling it, this person who saw the story happening?" So I thought of having my story in 1st person, but barely because Shadow would rarely use "I" because he/she's really just watching and telling the story.
Up until now, Shadow notice The Boy rocking on his stool, and knew that something was going to happen that day that was drastic. He came rushing down the cellar door ladder very loudly(unusual for him) and said that Overheads(what they refer to the people who live normal lives Above-ground as) were coming. They did, and one got caught in the rigging as the others ran away. The one left was lowered down and He used his power on her to try to get her to show him her ability if she knew it. She apparently didn't, tried to psyche him out, then was taken by The Boy and Who to be tortured. Basically it. Please, I know this was long and most people probably left the
To the person who answered, I know it gets confusing and suggestions for helping that would be appreciated. I was considering capitalizing them completely, because, especially at the beginning of a sentence, they're easily mistaken for regular words. My other thing I was considering was making the names be in italics, because I don't like the idea of having all those capitals. Thoughts or other suggestions? My aim with naming them like this was because I thought it would be kind of interesting to not have actual names at all.
He- the leader and the first one of Them(that's what the 'gang' is referred to, and also the title of the novel I think). He had been left in the cellar that they all now live in when he was 3 or so, and would've died if Somebody hadn't come along. He's not all that social, and for some reason seems to favour Who. He's always leaving the cellar, although a lot of the time, his reasons aren't as necessary as when others are sent for missions. He could wear his hair any way because of course he sets the ground rules but he wears it fairly short(kind of shaggy, but he doesn't keep it past his chin or anything). He's in his early 30's. Has a strange power- He can take two of his fingers and press them against somebody and they feel a searing pain if he wants them to.
Nothing: Has a special power. (Actually, I think they all do but this is one of the one's I know so far), Nothing can freeze something specific in time. Such as when a girl fell into their cellar and Nothing froze only her in time until she was on the ground, so for her it would be like suddenly she's not falling but rather on the ground in a cellar. Nothing and Girl got to go on some sort of mission above ground.
Anyone- No specifics really. Basically only was mentioned when helping with rigging ropes across the cellar hatch to avoid an intrusion.
Somebody- The one who came to He's rescue. Not many other details.
Who- Has the ability to speak to the dead. Not a necromancer, though. Insists that all dead things aren't really technically dead, they still have thoughts and everything, only they can't move or talk or do anything about it. Allowed to keep long, almost-sandy coloured hair, because of He favouring Who, so clearly a girl. Youngest at 14. Been there for 6 years. Who's really bizarre and loves dead things. He often gets her things such as dead fieldmice or squirrels, which are like her own dolls. Maybe the reason she likes them is because she wants them to still be happy and know that someone understands them, because of her power, so "they're not actually dead."
It- Same as Anyone.
That- Same as Anyone(+It)
The Boy- Young, but not so much as Who. Could be considered friends with Who. Has a strange power that he can't exactly foresee events, but can sense them coming, even if he doesn't realize it. He likes to sit on a short, wooden stool in one of the darker corners. Enjoys torturing, which he'll usually accompany Who in doing.
Girl- Not too much known. Despite of course being a girl, she still must follow the general haircut rule of chin-length as the limit.
Finally, there's Shadow: Narrator of the story. Not actually named, but since they go unnoticed, one of Them mistook them as their shadow, and it became a name. Nobody ever notices Shadow. Shadow constantly slips out when others go on missions, and otherwise just usually stands in the corner, observing. I came up with Shadow because I've always thought, "If the story's in 3rd person, who's this person telling it, this person who saw the story happening?" So I thought of having my story in 1st person, but barely because Shadow would rarely use "I" because he/she's really just watching and telling the story.
Up until now, Shadow notice The Boy rocking on his stool, and knew that something was going to happen that day that was drastic. He came rushing down the cellar door ladder very loudly(unusual for him) and said that Overheads(what they refer to the people who live normal lives Above-ground as) were coming. They did, and one got caught in the rigging as the others ran away. The one left was lowered down and He used his power on her to try to get her to show him her ability if she knew it. She apparently didn't, tried to psyche him out, then was taken by The Boy and Who to be tortured. Basically it. Please, I know this was long and most people probably left the
To the person who answered, I know it gets confusing and suggestions for helping that would be appreciated. I was considering capitalizing them completely, because, especially at the beginning of a sentence, they're easily mistaken for regular words. My other thing I was considering was making the names be in italics, because I don't like the idea of having all those capitals. Thoughts or other suggestions? My aim with naming them like this was because I thought it would be kind of interesting to not have actual names at all.