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coffeebeanwriting · 1 year

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What makes an interesting and well-written protagonist?

These are opinions and preferences from readers themselves across all different types of genres. You’ll find yourself agreeing and disagreeing with them— but that’s the beauty of art. The thoughts of readers can help to see what different people like and dislike. Here are the answers to this question:

“Someone who is smart but evil and a little bit humane.”

“When they used to be best friends with the protagonist.”

“They have the morally right end goals but the way they achieve those goals are morally wrong.”

“If they directly impact the life of the protagonist. ‘King Bad’ making life tough doesn't count.”

“Absolutely cruel but honest with what they do.”

“When you can actually understand why the antagonist is acting this way.”

“An antagonist that can properly bring out the weakness of the protagonist.”

“If the antagonist’s goals have a good point.”

“Relatable motivation e.g. loss of a loved one.”

“Known as messy and clumsy to the world, but master strategist in evil.”

“An antagonist should have a close or familiar relationship with the main character.”

“They are right. Even if their methods look wrong in the end, their goals and methods are correct.”

“Empathy and when it’s the main character's fault that they turned for the worse (when done correctly).”

“Their weakness and intelligence.”

“Someone relatable, but not always a ‘tragic backstory’ type thing.”

“When they have a good and complex backstory and that is the reason for their actions.”

“A contrast to the protagonist. If the protagonist punches problems, the antagonist should be a thinker.”

“Not being pure evil, like they have some things even they won’t do.”

“In my opinion: goofy antagonists. I love antagonists who aren’t super serious all the time but are still evil.”

“Backstory, connection to the reader.”

“Madness, but the controlled and calculating type.”

“An antagonist that hangs out with the protagonist and reveals themselves later is really cool.”

“Personal things that keep them going, like giving them traits that readers could relate too.”

“CHARACTER ARCS!!! I also love when they have a really unexpected personality.”

“They have to be hot 🧍🏿‍♀️”

“They have a valid reason to do what they do, like a life lost or revenge.”

“Antagonists that are given good or funny reasons to be the way they are.”

“A non cliché backstory.”

“Goals that make you reconsider supporting the protagonist.”

“Having a motive.”

“I personally LOVE when the antagonist is sympathetic and does wrong for the right reasons. And also, relatable antagonists are a really good addition to any story!”

“I find it really interesting when antagonists are just evil just because they feel like it.”

“They feel they are doing the right thing even though they’re misguided.”

“Ones you’re attracted to.”

“They need to succeed where the protagonist fails, or best them in their greatest strength.”

“Strong motivations and not just the desire to rule the world. And also their background.”

“Still has a heart.”

“A very good backstory on why the person has become an antagonist.”

“A connection to the protagonist. Ex. childhood friend, cousin, sibling.”

“Flaws people can relate to.”

“A well written motivation.”

“Him/Her having flaws as all humans, also learning from mistakes”

“Motive and intelligence; I also want the protagonist to be challenged and have to struggle to defeat them.”

“His actions are for his goal and not to train the hero.”

“They need to have a good reason to be the villain.”

“Reliability.”

“They have a reason that’s more righteous than the protagonists.”

“When they feel real. Like not all bad, with sensibilities.”

“Deep backstory.”

“A solid motive.”

“A storyline describing what they went through to have become what they are.”

“Motives people can relate to or sympathize with.”

“They’re still human and have emotions.”

“A thread binding the protagonists together. A twisted reflection of something the heroes wished.”

“One with a unique and interesting motive!”

“Someone who is doing it for their own justice, just on a different stand to the protagonists.”

“Actual motivation! An antagonist with weak reasoning or no reasoning for their actions is :/ “

“His evil laugh.”

“His behavior can be justified when his past is well written.”

“When you can understand their reasoning but not their choices.”

“The more “evil” they are, the more ambiguous their backstory.”

“Humor.”

“Comedic evil personality, traumatic backstory that makes the readers want the hero to save the villain.”

“Positive traits.”

“An antagonist with motivation that makes sense, not one about how tragic their life was.”

“Too much action in everything! Be evil without physically fighting.”

“Reasonable motivations, when you can understand why they do even irredeemable actions.”

“Understanding that villains are human.”

“A strong, non-cliché theme/ideology to their villainy. Evil is much scarier as a force.”

“A sympathetic motivation.”

“An unwillingness to do bad but is forced to anyway.”

“Goals and development / character arc.”

“Flaws and reasoning behind their ‘evil’ plans.”

“When you understand why they behave that way.”

“I think that (depending on the genre) a bad guy that actually holds its own. Meaning that they could be a character without the hero.”

“An antagonist that knows what they want.”

“A well written and valid reason that made them an antagonist, no one is a villain by nature.”

“I’m not one for there being an overall “main antagonist” but I like viciousness.”

“Someone who has an upsetting backstory (not traumatic) but makes you understand them.”

“A good reason/motivation, not just I WANT TO DESTROY THE WORLD!”

“One with problems that even the readers can relate to.”

“Mysterious and not entirely evil, the question of what made him evil. His intentions about a good/bad cause but in a bad way are not revealed until the end.”

“Have some morals, contrary to the usual ruthless types.”

“Chemistry with the protagonist; their banter/quips + how well they play off each other!”

“They have their own traits that are simply human/unrelated to their motives or traumas.”

“This is my opinion, but have the protagonist slowly becoming the antagonist.”

“Mysterious and powerful inner strength.”

“The unpredictability of their next moves!”

“Someone who you can sympathize with, who has a motive to their madness.”

“Character foil with the protagonist! As well as a solid motive.”

“Reflecting/mirroring the protagonist, showing them the road they’re on.”

“Purpose and motive.”

“The villain’s motivation and action makes sense in the story.”

“Mixed feelings about what they are doing.”

“Has a good reason for being bad, back story is explained with no plot holes.”

“Development of the character.”

“Somewhat relatable.”

“Someone you can relate to in some way and someone who has good qualities as well.”

“Traumas he faced and the evil personality he came out to be because of them!”

“A good motive but a bad way of carrying out their goal.”

“A solid backstory/motivation.”

“They have a strong motivation that goes against the protagonist’s interests.”

“Relatability.”

“Clearly telling his point of view and his justification of what he did.”

“The reason behind why they’re the antagonist.”

“This isn’t a must, but something both the antagonist and protagonist want makes a story interesting.”

“That he is likable, because he goes through the same struggles as everyone.”

“A good character that you loved originally slowly goes evil overtime, so you don’t want to hate them.”

“Good natured. Rounded. Readers think the antagonists' errands are forgivable. They like them more than the protagonist.

“They feel justified in their actions/movies.”

“That he has the same complexity as the protagonist, without being pure evil.”

“Competent villains are the best and most frightening. Intelligence plus a nice sense of humor is even better.”

“An antagonist with a backstory, not the weepy cliché kind but an interesting one. A goal they’re for. Maybe someone they care for in a twisted way. Essentially, a three dimensional villain.”

“Personal connection to the hero. I’ll always love the goal of a petty prevent more than world domination.”

“A well-explained backstory.”

“That they always keep you guessing, I’ve found that really intrigues readers.”

“That he has the same complexity as the protagonist, without being pure evil.”

“If it’s a girl, she still gets her period, cramps, has to go to the toilet, etc.”

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the-modern-typewriter · 2 years

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Any advice on how to write enemies-to-lovers relationships? I have these two characters (one is a heroine/ protagonist and the other is an anti-villain/ antagonist) that I imagine to start off as enemies and slowly fall in love, but I am afraid that they’re incompatible/ the chemistry between them won’t work. And I don’t want their relationship to be forced.

I did a post here on writing conflict in a romantic relationship:

Much of what I say there applies to enemies to lovers and is a good way to start thinking about the characters you have.

If you know you are writing enemies to lovers from the start of your story, the way you set up and create the characters is typically different to when you just write characters who aren't intended to get along ever.

Background bits that are relevant when I talk novel advice

For background reading, generally, if writing a novel, I would recommend familiarising yourself with some common story structures such as The Three Act Structure, The Hero's Journey or Savannah Gilbo's romance-specific take on the Seven Point Story Structure.

Also, this thorough guide on character arcs by K.M Weiland.

I feel it's important to throw this in, because I'm ultimately doing a quick tumblr post, so my tips aren't going to do dig super deep. I'm just hoping to get you thinking about your characters/offer perspective and hopefully clarity.

Now onwards, to enemies and lovers...

I personally like to think of enemies-to-lovers romance characters (though, let's be real, also my protagonists and antagonist generally) as a set. They don't have to match, but they are designed to comment on each other - be that through reflecting the worst or best (in a happy romance, they reflect the best) of each other.

E.g. for me they are often narrative foils or mirror characters. This means that the characters contrast in a way that they highlight each other's qualities, be it how they are different (foil) or how they are the same (mirror).

A romance story in particular is often all about answering the question 'why are these two great for each other?' 'Why should they be together?' 'Why is it worth fighting for this love despite all the obstacles in the way?'

In an enemies to lover's story, one reason is often because they have a unique perspective/ability to challenge each other to reassess their own attitudes and stances (see where this is going back to foils and mirrors?) and thus further each other's character arc.

Foil route:

A simple version of this is, 'hero' character must learn to look out for themselves and not just other people, 'villain' character must learn to not just look out for themselves in order to be truly happy. Bam, collide, and somewhere in the middle of these two extremes you have an actual healthy approach to life, which they end up landing on through interacting and learning from each other. Thus, despite being fundamentally different, they both make each other better, happier people, and this is the basis of opposites attract. They complement each other flaws.

The mirror route:

The characters, despite having opposing goals, learn as they interact with each other that they actually have a lot in common, value similar things, and so a bond forms between them because of this as they realise that, oh no, they actually like each other. A lot. The internal conflict of the novel is reconciling their growing fondness for each other with their still separate goals.

This also means that, for me personally at least, the two sides of your enemies/lovers romance need to be somewhat balanced. I.e. your antagonist cannot be unredeemable monster with no valid points to make, and nothing for your protagonist to reasonably attracted to in them. Similarly, your protagonist cannot be always right, completely wholesome or perfect or...what do they have to learn from the antagonist? What do they have in common?

Obviously, add attraction on top of this + specific reasons to be attracted to each other that fit your characters. Like, as many reasons as you can give why yess, these two, the better.

I don't know your characters, so I cannot tell you if they are incompatible or not. So take-away question, do your characters have the potential to support each other and make each other better? If not, then you may have great tension as a protagonist/antagonist dynamic and they may have sizzling antagonistic chemistry, but that does not necessarily mean they should be in a romance together.

#writing talk #enemies to lovers #writing tips #writing advice #hope this helps #writing

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breitzbachbea · 6 months

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Now that you mentioned it I am very intrigued by your human Hetalia au, go on

Thank you very much anon!

So. Basic concept: A world very much the same as ours, but acting mostly hidden from the public eye, are national crime syndicates in every country. Pretty much all are spearheaded by the boss of one noteable family that ensured that position some generations ago (those bosses are the Hetalia nations, ordinary Humans here) and two right hands. The AU is called Like Father Like Son.

Now, these syndicates are very much globally connected and when it comes to each other, act less than actual organized crime organisations in real life and more like monarchies or other types of state conducting diplomacy. Also, as is very unlikely for real life and much more common for royality, the bosses have usually inherited the business and had no option to opt out/felt it was the right thing to do. This is nuanced along the way, but again, stark difference to the volatile infighting and general hierarchies from real life organized crime (where the successor is probably NOT the 17 year old son, but a trusted right hand).

But they are, at the end of the day, gangsters. They fight for their own survival and supreme status within the other criminals in their own country and amongst their peers. (Alexa, play 741 Millionen by Tüsn). They don't represent states or governments or even people. They're in it because power is nice and the sunk-cost fallacy is too great to get out.

But because I am a history nerd, they still reflect certain phases and struggles and ideas about nationhood, like their Hetalia counterparts actually would. And here is where it gets interesting.

The protagonists of the AUs mainseries, called also called Like Father Like Son with the subtitle Sangue cattivo non mente on ao3, are the Irish and the Sicilians. So it's my Hetalia OCs (though I borrowed the Sicilian from a friend) Harry O'Connel and Michele Vento, plus Harry's younger sister Sophie O'Connel, and the Human-from-the-start right hands Paddy O'Neill, Charlie Higgins and Marco & Lorenzo Bontade.

And if you're looking for an Irish villain, where do you look to? England. Always the Brits. 'May the enemies of Ireland never meet a friend'. Which is why Arthur Kirkland, along with his right hands Robert Bailey and Tahir Rashid, serves as antagonist to the Irish in many stories. And of course, this makes it easy to present the fight as underdogs vs powerful evil empire, along the line of actual historical conflict. (I am oversimplifying, but we aren't here to argue details right now and in broad strokes, it IS right). If the reader has an inkling of Irish or British history, they will see the parallels. I, as the author, work it into metaphors by the narrative entity (usually occupying one character's POV, tho not to be confused with the character being the narrator). I work it into the general themes, with characters talking about history or historical/cultural backdrops. And of course, by that the characters themselves draw the parallels and pull on old stereotypes to rage against their enemies. Arthur likes to pull out the old stereotypes of the Irish being a belligerent, backward and unreasonable race when he paints Harry as a troublemaker. Harry will paint Arthur a tyrant who can't stand to see another man free when he feels entitled to his property and life. It's so enticing to believe that you know where to stand, to know where's right on the merits of history and the real world alone.

But as soon as you take a step back, you realize how they merely use something bigger and greater than themselves to fight their petty wars. Paddy and Charlie rail against the English after they've kidnapped Harry, they say Arthur thinks the world should grovel before him because it's his righ as an Englishman. But they're never alluding to anything bigger than themselves; yes, Irish are being kicked down, but it's just them. And sure, they may say an Irishman doesn't give up and that's what the English shall see, but it's the rhetoric of revolution without its goals. There's no British threat to Ireland - no fight they can align themselves with, because Arthur certainly isn't aligned with any either. Truly, if they were so committed to it, they would look with more sympathy to Tahir, whose parents came from Pakistan in the 1970s. They'd appeal to him, see the parallels of history with Ireland and the British Colony of India. But while the English tyranny rhetoric is usually reserved for white Arthur and Robert, at the end of the day, Tahir's also an 'English pedant' and haughty prick to them. And Tahir, similiarly, doesn't have much sympathy for the Irish, seeing them as annoying obstacles to their business dealings. He's in this to give his family a better life, he knows there is nothing grand about their enterprise. They all know that. In quiet moments, amongst themselves, they even express it. The farce they play; that the ideals they want to hold they betray; that they are a cancer on the people and country they love.

And I just. I love that. I love how it still has the themes one can ask in more substantial explorations of Hetalia - the constraints of free will, bearing the sins and burdens of the past, how much you can be an individual and how much you are a role. I love how it makes them true individuals, in the end, how it employs history as something that is interpreted from the witnesses we have to the past and told through our own eyes. How it seemingly creates this parallel to real history, but when one steps back, it shows that it's play pretend and it makes the reader sympathize while also keep its distance at times, enjoying a story that is fundamentally about a lot of people making the wrong decisions and living with the consequences. It's a tragedy, a meta-level of mourning - with none of that hope for a future that any reading of history can have.

Thank you for coming to my Ted-talk. I am currently rewriting the main series, because what is up on AO3 was written by a fourteen to sixteen year old and therefore, isn't very good. However, you can still check out my other writing (and the not very good mainseries) here. I also like to make lots and lots of AUs with the many Human characters and the Hetalia characters where they're not burdened by being organized criminals. You can find my ramblings about many of these AUs on my sideblog @i-centri-degli-universi . You will also find a few written works for some AUs on the ao3 already linked.

Thank you for your attention. I hope you have a grand day, anon, as well as everyone who read through this.

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ich-theosaurus · 25 days

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i like the reading of Lumiere having npd, especially since he's one of the few disney characters to be read as a narcissist who isnt a 100% villian antagonist 100% of the time. especially in this movie/franchise in particular with it's two main (relevant, and still present) villians, atleast one of whom could also potentially be read as such (i've seen it happen before)

oh for sure, NPD rep should span outside of villains because the way people see us is already really bad

i think what people dont understand is the difference between egotism and narcissism, because while gaston and by extension forte are definitely egotistical, i wouldn’t pin them as someone with NPD, because egotists already think they are superior. They dont have any need for improvement because theyre looking at themselves and thinking “nothing to change here!” especially when it comes to gaston.

narcissists on the other hand are, like the myth of narcissus, are looking at a reflection in the water, at a warped view of themselves, obsessing over every detail, not caring how unobtainable it is when they reach their hand into the pond. narcissists will masquerade as egotists to cope with a world that did horrible things to them and called them worthless, and although everyone does things that can be considered narcissistic (everyone calls everyone a narcissist these days) people often mistake self-serving behaviors with self obsessive behaviors, because no matter what anyone says, refusing medical help that can actually work for you isnt self serving.

this is why lumiere having NPD is so fascinating to me because he is undoubtedly a protagonist, he is a complex character and his entire life is dedicated to serving a monarchy directly but he’s still a narcissist. i havent touched the doc in A While because a lot of my time is used just surviving and my lack of insight through grandiose bursts of mania makes it harder (and i dont want them if im honest), but i can say with confidence that most if not all canon material shows how self obsessed he is, how he asserts that hes the best at his job and how all of his opinions are right, but hes still the antithesis to gastons egotism, because he makes an effort, my god does he make an effort to be the best servant he can be. hes capable of compassion, cognitive empathy and love, even when the narcissistic tendencies get in his way.

#lumiere #batb

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euyrdice · 1 year

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hi i saw ur post about villains and asking for advice! i dont rlly write so i apologise for my limited scope but i think its worth considering just very compelling motives or a path to villainy. i personally find a compelling villain like u said is humanised it grounds their villainy in something real and gives actual backing to their motives when done well. the capability for kindness and regular human qualities also makes their capability for evil even more terrifying and in bringing them closer to the audience, even blurs the lines of what separates a villain from regular people that anyone can be like that. regular people, the assumed good may also possess similar qualities within them which brings up interesting questions of what the separation is, and if its arbitrary.

but ofc a good villain doesnt exist alone, i find when a villain is able to reflect off of the protagonist they can be at their best. they actually have something to oppose rather than a faceless city of helpless unrelated citizens. like u said u liked shigaraki right? shigaraki and midoriyas backstories could be mirrors, their mentorship under all for one and all might also act as mirrors. yet they descend dramatically different paths in life. im not rlly going in depth cuz i dont rlly know abt bnha but being able to examine both sides allows both sides to shine

now like villains i think by definition r Villainous. they cause some sort of harm n terror but antagonists dont have to be evil! a hero can be an antagonist in a story about a villain (sorry if this is redundant im sure u alr know this)

this is just a ramble lol sorry!!!

my friend!!!!!!! hello!!!!!! so good to see u lab :-) <3333

im so sorry for this response being quite late i hope u know i wasnt ignoring u!!!! it was my first week back to classes and its been So Much. i wanted to wait to respond until i knew i could do so with full attention bc this was so kind of u! so hello!!!

i think you’re so right!! I’ve been working on a story for my creative writing class and one of my characters is a villain/anti-hero, and i as the writer struggled to figure out how to make them likable, even for me. which doesn’t make for good writing, because a writer should love their characters! but highlighting the human aspect as you suggested will be really helpful i think, especially because that's what i personally am usually so drawn to in any character. and like you said their regular human qualities make them so compelling and terrifying. kindness in villains is always SO interesting i love those slivers of empathy and gentleness esp with how they contrast to everything else. i really love the idea of blurring the lines between what makes them a villain and just like anyone else… i saw a quote while researching that was something along the lines of “the most terrifying villains are the ones we could imagine becoming.”... making the villain as relatable and human as possible i think will be really helpful for me!!

i also love what u said about the qualities being so similar that the separation is questioned, and if it's arbitrary!!! i had to look up what arbitrary meant ngl djfjsdfhfd but thats so so interesting lab!!!! what really makes them a villain? does everyone view of them as a villain? i could also see these questions really rattling the protagonist/heroes view and making them question themselves and their perspective of the world and morality.

good villain doesnt exist alone love that love that. relationships are my favorite part of any art really and i love thinking about the villain in relation to other meaningful characters, most especially the protagonist they are against. ooo the villain reflecting off of the protagonist… i dont think you’re alone in finding thats when they’re at their best! characteristics in the hero that can be found in the villain, just used in different ways or at different extremes or in completely contrasting directions.... hmmmm. are you drawn to more villainous characters in media? i’d love to know which ones you like! i don’t really know a lot of villains tbh… other than in bnha and magneto i rarely pay deep attention to them, which i really should start doing.

ur soo right with the mirroring protag and antag in bnha… shigaraki and midoriya’s paths are so similar it’s heartbreaking and v well done i think. and something that draws me to shigaraki is his backstory, and how tragic it is, and the tragedy in knowing that shigaraki could have been like midoriya if he had met someone like allmight instead of all for one. i think theres something there i can use..

the villain by definition has to be Villianous… so simple but so true and what i think im struggling with. u didnt ask for this dfkjsd but i think i want my protag and villain to be drawn to one another, and maybe like an enemies to friends to teammates thing… but im questioning how i can believable get there when areas in their morals contrast so deeply ect ect wah wah whatever

ALSO DONT APOLOGIZE!!!!!!! AT ALL!!!!!! thank you so much for this. like so so sincerely thank you so much. you didnt have to write this but you went out of your way to help me and i appreciate it so much and it means so much to me. thank you for being so kind to me. i love speaking with u. ALSO SO SORRY I HAVENT SENT THE ASK ABOUT KISE IVE BEEN NOT GREAT LATELY WITH SCHOOL AND STUFF IM REALLY SORRY

also have u ever though about writing? i think you’d be really good at it :)

also you’re like so cool??? like you’re just so in depth and attentive with analysis and i luv talking w u and i just think u’re so cool. u drew me a lovely kise and loona picture, so here is my attempt at izuki because i know u love him. except he’s EVIL here and wearing an evil collar and cape and he hates puns (mwahahaha)…

cannot thank you enough for going out of your way to help me lab :-) means so so much. you're a star and i hope the world is kind to u forever. pls never stop talking with me and i hope its ok for me to randomally pop in your asks and blog and bother u dsjfkhsdf

#THE DRAWING IS SO BAD SORRY IM STILL LEARNING HOW TO DRAW SAD FACE SAD FACE BUT I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING #ALSO I FEEL LIKE I SAID ABSOLTYELY NOTHING OF VALUE BUT UR TOO SMART FOR ME IDK I WAS JUST RAMBLING #ANYWAYS ILY HOW R U??? HOW HAVE U BEEN?#asks #77nanao.lab :)

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raitrolling · 1 year

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There is good reason why that saying about curiosity exists.

Vallis knew that all too well - his curiosity was how he ended up the way he is now. Getting involved with beings beyond his comprehension out of scientific curiosity, only for it to irreversibly change him into a reflection of his own research. He continues to be driven by curiosity as well, a never-ending craving for new knowledge and new experiences gnaws at his mind, a being created and fuelled by a desire to learn. A horrorterror’s desire for consumption and enrichment for all the senses, mixed with a troll’s passion for fulfilling their desires and determination to always see things through, was his understanding of the inherent nature of a hybrid.

Celise should have also known better, any horror aficionado knows that the protagonist’s curiosity often leads to their downfall. They stray off the beaten path, and become obsessive with their new discoveries until it ultimate consumes them, causing the entire plot to spiral out of any character’s control. But, how are they supposed to understand the motivations and the horror factor of an antagonist if they do not perform their own research? They were fascinated by the dark, the twisted, the metaphorical monsters in troll suits who walked this planet and blended in perfectly with society. This obsession with the monstrous and morally bankrupt is what attracted to them to Vallis in the first place, and why they could not temper their curiosity towards him.

But he was growing distant, strange, even more eccentric than that fateful night they first met him in the library. He barely visited the library these nights, and apparently had given up on his big research project he could never seem to shut up about. It perplexed them, but every time they tried to seek out answers they only found themselves even more confused. They always felt a little... Hazy, after visiting him. Like they couldn’t trust their own memories, but they could trust him. And that frustrated them, they knew something was wrong but they didn’t know what.

Tuuya told them that he was getting involved with things much too dangerous that even they needed to step away from it, and that just made Celise even more curious.

They had to march up to the scientist’s hive and demand answers. They needed to know now. Why was he avoiding the library? What happened to his research? Why did their lusus suddenly despise him? Why won’t Tuuya tell them what he’s doing? What is he doing that is supposedly so dangerous? And why why why won’t he ever tell them anything?

Their pulse beat heavily in their head and they felt the room heat up as they became consumed by their rage, but their thoughts dissociated from their emotions. They thought they were being reasonable. Vallis felt like he was trapped.

He simply could not tell them anything, as they would be unable to handle the truth. They could barely handle their own emotions, for starters. He was lucky he could not longer feel pain, given how hard his head hit the wall the Celise had shoved him against.

And with his back against the wall and the teal-blue cusp pinning him in place, fists gripping the collar of his coat and all their strength being used to keep him unable to escape without laying his hands on them, Vallis had a single, curious thought: Could his humming calm them down?

But when his song filed the mind of the lower caste troll and they suddenly slumped against him, their gaze distant and their entire body unresponsive, locked in a state of eerie calmness, he knew once again his curiosity had taken him too far.

#drabble #celise shoket #vallis reyleh #just a lil update thing

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jackelopeofthelake · 1 year

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The reason people are so cruel these days is that they’re captured by the narrative that their way to solve a problem is the only correct way to do it. If you tell them they’re wrong or disagree with them, they interpret it not as that you have a better idea, it is that you are on the side of the problem and their enemy because they think they can’t ever be wrong EVER. At the same time if someone else is wrong these guys will hold it above others and use it to continuously abuse and belittle them long after. Look at how they treated the people during COVID who were skeptic about what was going on. While some of it turned out to be hogwash, other times the skeptics were right about OTHERS, and the harassers still doubled-down and continued to deny they were wrong about some things even to this day because they’ve been told they can’t ever be wrong.

Being wrong is something people should accept and forgive. I will be wrong, you will be wrong, and the people we look up to will be wrong. Why else did the idiom “to error is human” stick around for centuries? Because the element of chance persists that makes even the most educated and tactical of predictions fail, and if you can’t accept that you have flaws and failures to work on then you’re just going to be not only failing in various fields but you’re going to be miserable and hate the world. I can think of many people who waged war on everyone else since ancient times because “the world” or “the system” was at fault.

You may be the protagonist in the life you see out of, but you are the antagonist in someone else’s story. Realize that someone is going to lose, and someone is going to win. The world that IS, is different than the one that SHOULD, and not everyone will be kind to you. You don’t know what’s truly in someone else’s mind, and the fact that people think they know everything about people they don’t even meet is how wars get started.

There was an ad that appeared at the Super Bowl last night that depicted various people at protests screaming and attacking each other, and at the end it says “Jesus Loved His Enemies”. This ad was pushing for the progressive idea of Jesus and him being tolerant, yet this ad was called “fascist” by the people this ad was supposed to reach out to. Do these people really think that fascists are accepting of everyone and LOVE PEOPLE DIFFERENT FROM THEM? I as a history student have read about the horrors of fascism, communism and similar mentalities and they were all horrific and inhumane to their enemies. So why would anyone with common sense call a message of love and unity that’s meant to cater to the values these “progressives” claim to have fascist?

Because it’s a knee jerk reaction to the fact that those attacking this ad had, for 30seconds, to face the fact their actions and attitudes were challenged, and the notion they needed help in being right by a supernatural force is a philosophy they cannot accept, so therefore it MUST be wrong. It MUST be because they don’t like it so no one should either. Those who adhere to this don’t recognize they are attacking reflections of themselves…they are the people they claim everyone else is, and the fact they attack God, Jesus and other deities and religions shows how deep the selfishness runs.

#christianity #Jesus #ad #superbowl #rant

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perpetual-stories · 3 years

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Story Structures for your Next WIP

hello, hello. this post will be mostly for my notes. this is something I need in to be reminded of for my business, but it can also be very useful and beneficial for you guys as well.

everything in life has structure and storytelling is no different, so let’s dive right in :)

First off let’s just review what a story structure is :

a story is the backbone of the story, the skeleton if you will. It hold the entire story together.

the structure in which you choose your story will effectively determine how you create drama and depending on the structure you choose it should help you align your story and sequence it with the conflict, climax, and resolution.

1. Freytag's Pyramid

this first story structure i will be talking about was named after 19th century German novelist and playwright.

it is a five point structure that is based off classical Greek tragedies such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripedes.

Freytag's Pyramid structure consists of:

Introduction: the status quo has been established and an inciting incident occurs.

Rise or rising action: the protagonist will search and try to achieve their goal, heightening the stakes,

Climax: the protagonist can no longer go back, the point of no return if you will.

Return or fall: after the climax of the story, tension builds and the story inevitably heads towards...

Catastrophe: the main character has reached their lowest point and their greatest fears have come into fruition.

this structure is used less and less nowadays in modern storytelling mainly due to readers lack of appetite for tragic narratives.

2. The Hero's Journey

the hero's journey is a very well known and popular form of storytelling.

it is very popular in modern stories such as Star Wars, and movies in the MCU.

although the hero's journey was inspired by Joseph Campbell's concept, a Disney executive Christopher Vogler has created a simplified version:

The Ordinary World: The hero's everyday routine and life is established.

The Call of Adventure: the inciting incident.

Refusal of the Call: the hero / protagonist is hesitant or reluctant to take on the challenges.

Meeting the Mentor: the hero meets someone who will help them and prepare them for the dangers ahead.

Crossing the First Threshold: first steps out of the comfort zone are taken.

Tests, Allie, Enemies: new challenges occur, and maybe new friends or enemies.

Approach to the Inmost Cave: hero approaches goal.

The Ordeal: the hero faces their biggest challenge.

Reward (Seizing the Sword): the hero manages to get ahold of what they were after.

The Road Back: they realize that their goal was not the final hurdle, but may have actually caused a bigger problem than before.

Resurrection: a final challenge, testing them on everything they've learned.

Return with the Elixir: after succeeding they return to their old life.

the hero's journey can be applied to any genre of fiction.

3. Three Act Structure:

this structure splits the story into the 'beginning, middle and end' but with in-depth components for each act.

Act 1: Setup:

exposition: the status quo or the ordinary life is established.

inciting incident: an event sets the whole story into motion.

plot point one: the main character decided to take on the challenge head on and she crosses the threshold and the story is now progressing forward.

Act 2: Confrontation:

rising action: the stakes are clearer and the hero has started to become familiar with the new world and begins to encounter enemies, allies and tests.

midpoint: an event that derails the protagonists mission.

plot point two: the hero is tested and fails, and begins to doubt themselves.

Act 3: Resolution:

pre-climax: the hero must chose between acting or failing.

climax: they fights against the antagonist or danger one last time, but will they succeed?

Denouement: loose ends are tied up and the reader discovers the consequences of the climax, and return to ordinary life.

4. Dan Harmon's Story Circle

it surprised me to know the creator of Rick and Morty had their own variation of Campbell's hero's journey.

the benefit of Harmon's approach is that is focuses on the main character's arc.

it makes sense that he has such a successful structure, after all the show has multiple seasons, five or six seasons? i don't know not a fan of the show.

the character is in their comfort zone: also known as the status quo or ordinary life.

they want something: this is a longing and it can be brought forth by an inciting incident.

the character enters and unfamiliar situation: they must take action and do something new to pursue what they want.

adapt to it: of course there are challenges, there is struggle and begin to succeed.

they get what they want: often a false victory.

a heavy price is paid: a realization of what they wanted isn't what they needed.

back to the good old ways: they return to their familiar situation yet with a new truth.

having changed: was it for the better or worse?

i might actually make a operate post going more in depth about dan harmon's story circle.

5. Fichtean Curve:

the fichtean curve places the main character in a series of obstacles in order to achieve their goal.

this structure encourages writers to write a story packed with tension and mini-crises to keep the reader engaged.

The Rising Action

the story must start with an inciting indecent.

then a series of crisis arise.

there are often four crises.

2. The Climax:

3. Falling Action

this type of story telling structure goes very well with flash-back structured story as well as in theatre.

6. Save the Cat Beat Sheet:

this is another variation of a three act structure created by screenwriter Blake Snyder, and is praised widely by champion storytellers.

Structure for Save the Cat is as follows: (the numbers in the brackets are for the number of pages required, assuming you're writing a 110 page screenplay)

Opening Image [1]: The first shot of the film. If you’re starting a novel, this would be an opening paragraph or scene that sucks readers into the world of your story.

Set-up [1-10]. Establishing the ‘ordinary world’ of your protagonist. What does he want? What is he missing out on?

Theme Stated [5]. During the setup, hint at what your story is really about — the truth that your protagonist will discover by the end.

Catalyst [12]. The inciting incident!

Debate [12-25]. The hero refuses the call to adventure. He tries to avoid the conflict before they are forced into action.

Break into Two [25]. The protagonist makes an active choice and the journey begins in earnest.

B Story [30]. A subplot kicks in. Often romantic in nature, the protagonist’s subplot should serve to highlight the theme.

The Promise of the Premise [30-55]. Often called the ‘fun and games’ stage, this is usually a highly entertaining section where the writer delivers the goods. If you promised an exciting detective story, we’d see the detective in action. If you promised a goofy story of people falling in love, let’s go on some charmingly awkward dates.

Midpoint [55]. A plot twist occurs that ups the stakes and makes the hero’s goal harder to achieve — or makes them focus on a new, more important goal.

Bad Guys Close In [55-75]. The tension ratchets up. The hero’s obstacles become greater, his plan falls apart, and he is on the back foot.

All is Lost [75]. The hero hits rock bottom. He loses everything he’s gained so far, and things are looking bleak. The hero is overpowered by the villain; a mentor dies; our lovebirds have an argument and break up.

Dark Night of the Soul [75-85-ish]. Having just lost everything, the hero shambles around the city in a minor-key musical montage before discovering some “new information” that reveals exactly what he needs to do if he wants to take another crack at success. (This new information is often delivered through the B-Story)

Break into Three [85]. Armed with this new information, our protagonist decides to try once more!

Finale [85-110]. The hero confronts the antagonist or whatever the source of the primary conflict is. The truth that eluded him at the start of the story (established in step three and accentuated by the B Story) is now clear, allowing him to resolve their story.

Final Image [110]. A final moment or scene that crystallizes how the character has changed. It’s a reflection, in some way, of the opening image.

(all information regarding the save the cat beat sheet was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

7. Seven Point Story Structure:

this structure encourages writers to start with the at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point.

this structure is about dramatic changes from beginning to end

The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.

Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.

Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.

Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.

Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.

Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.

Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

(all information regarding the seven point story structure was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

i decided to fit all of them in one post instead of making it a two part post.

i hope you all enjoy this post and feel free to comment or reblog which structure you use the most, or if you have your own you prefer to use! please share with me!

if you find this useful feel free to reblog on instagram and tag me at perpetualstories

Follow my tumblr and instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #original writing #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writersconnection #writersofig #writersofinstagram #writings

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sepublic · 3 years

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Season 2 Teaser for The Owl House?

So for those of you who haven’t caught up; A few days ago, Dana released an exclusive photo of herself on Instagram, with a cryptically-blurred reflection in her window that was all too conveniently-placed;

Now, this COULD just be some game she’s playing, but like; Reverse-image searches have yielded nothing, and it hurts no one to speculate! Thanks to @50shades-of-blue, who had the common sense to remember to flip the reflection, we have something more akin to THIS;

This image bears a decent resemblance to a sequence from the show’s intro, in terms of structuring; We have characters divided and separated by golden bars. This points to Dana’s image being a shot from a new intro for Season 2, either one for an entire season, or a single episode. I say this, because looking at the subject matter… On the very left, we see something vaguely blue, and similar in resemblance to a bile sac;

This could actually be the Titan’s heart, image below for reference;

Not only that, but as Blue’s helpful tracing points out, the other two figures in the ‘slots’ bear a resemblance to Owl Mask and Kikimora, the latter having the fingers of her hand-hair splayed out, and the former appearing to take off their mask.

What little we see of Owl Mask bears a decent-enough resemblance to the Season 2 character that Dana teased, further cementing a connection between the two. Not only that, but we get a glimpse of five (possibly six) colorful symbols above the three character slots, each likely pertaining to the Coven Heads, as shown by Blue’s earlier tracing.

In particular, you can tell the blue symbol has the same distinctive, U-shaped horns of the Healing Head; And the green symbol bears enough resemblance to the Plant Head, with their dark-green bangs covering most of their lighter-green face. Combined with symbols that seem similar to the Construction, Beastkeeping, and Oracle Heads, the exact layout we’ve seen so far coincidentally seems to match the banner layout seen in The First Day;

You have from left to right; The Construction, Plant, Beastkeeping, Bard, and Healing Heads! Now, if you look to the very right of the image, there also seems to be a sixth symbol, a bit lower than the others, with what appears to be a purple coloration; This is likely the Oracle Head, especially since it matches with the aforementioned placement of the banners. Now, exact positioning beside, we also know that there are three more symbols obscured, the ones for the Abominations, Potions, and Illusion Heads. If we go by the pattern established by the rest of the image, with the Heads at either end of the display being placed lower than the rest, and the rest being shown in an up-down pattern… Then it seems we more or less have the vast majority of this mysterious screenshot, with some of it blacked out!

As others such as @preciseprose have suggested, there’s a good chance that this is a screen transition, hence why only a specific corner and portion is obscured; Because if this shot parallels the one seen in the Season 1 intro with Willow, Gus, and Amity, which burns away in the middle to reveal King… Then it makes sense that a similar transition would happen with this show, perhaps obscuring from the outside-in this time as a contrast.

Now, what’s interesting is that this style of shot, once reserved for protagonists and friends/peers of Luz, is now being designated towards lesser-known antagonists associated with the Emperor’s Coven. While this could just be how the Season 2 intro works, with Gus, Willow, and Amity appearing later or earlier, likely closer to Luz; It does make me and others wonder if we’ll get a dedicated intro to the Emperor’s Coven with Belos, front-and-center! I’ve talked at enormous length in the past of Luz and Belos being parallels… And it’d match other Disney TVA shows, such as Gravity Falls, Ducktales, or Amphibia, who had villainous takeovers for their shows’ intros as well!

This could of course allude to an episode with a heavy focus on the members of the Coven System, specifically Belos and his aides Owl Mask and Kikimora, as well as the Head witches of the Covens he appointed and presumably trusts. This is of course all fascinating and has me even MORE intrigued, but also; The placement of the Titan’s heart alongside Owl Mask and Kikimora suggests its treatment as its own character as well… Which, if it’s a giant heart, it presumably represents and operates as a stand-in for the Titan, perhaps the conduit with which Belos even speaks to it (and vice-versa?) through! AKA the Heart represents the Titan, it IS the Titan, which then suggests that this Emperor’s Coven triumvirate consists of the Titan, Owl Mask, and Kikimora…

But that’s not the only consideration! I’ve talked before about character parallels in this show… We have Luz and Amity, Eda and Lilith, Owlbert and Lilith’s palisman. I’ve speculated on King and Kikimora being parallels, and even Hooty and Belos… But that always made me wonder; What about Willow and Gus? Do THEY have parallels, associated with the Coven System and its Emperor? And for a while I entertained Warden Wrath and Owl Mask, but lo and behold; I may be right, at least about one of those two, and also in general about parallels! Because if we compare the placements… We have the Titan and Willow, Owl Mask and Gus, and Amity and Kikimora!

Owl Mask being a parallel to Gus is interesting, because they’re operating as a spy for Belos; And presumably, Illusionists would be great at stealth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Owl Mask used Illusions, albeit to disguise and mask their own presence; A parallel and contrast to Gus, who uses Illusions to create and draw attention and spectacle! Not only that, but it makes me wonder if Owl Mask is also a child prodigy like Gus, if they have issues with being overlooked, and as a contrast to Gus, they’ve embraced this instead of fighting against it…? And Owl Mask is sent to spy on Luz the human, perhaps a parallel to Gus’ own fascination with humans…?

Then we’ve got Willow and the Titan’s heart. Now, this one interests me… And it makes me think about how Willow is presented with a raw, innate strength, and an uncanny ability to cast magic without summoning a circle nor glyph. I’ve talked before about Willow and Belos having parallels, as they both have distinct shots with their eyes glow green; Could this parallel stem more from a connection to the Titan, than anything else? Then as @aguigenae suggested, instead of Luz (or JUST Luz) being able to speak to the Titan… What if it was Willow? It’d re-contextualize her ability to draw onto raw, magical potential through pure emotions… And similarly, a lot of her spells draw power from the Isles itself in the form of plants, and we know the Isles as synonymous with the Titan!

With how Belos seems to draw power and spells from the Isles, albeit with fleshy and stone formations… Perhaps Willow serves as a parallel and foil, creating constructs from the Isles as well, but in the form of plantlife! Her being able to speak to plants might provide a medium to contact the Isles they’re rooted in… And as I said before, Willow has shown an unusual ability with magic not unlike how Belos can cast magic, but through his unique form of spheres and orbs. If Willow is associated with the Titan’s heart, perhaps she could speak to it in a way that Belos can’t- Perhaps they BOTH can speak, and this will lead to a conflict with Belos, who seeks to preserve this ‘privilege’? Keep in mind that it’s Willow who openly defies Belos the most by rallying an entire crowd against him- If she’s the face of the revolution, her being able to speak to the Titan could create further parallels and odds between the two!

Not only that, but… Talking again of Willow and the Titan’s Heart, if the two are parallels; What does this say about the Titan itself? Perhaps like Willow, it’s a being with raw magical power, easily terrifying, and with a connection to nature (as it IS nature in its case). If these characters are dark parallels, then what if the Titan was like Inner Willow, wrathful and fully exploring its dangerous power, having felt harmed and hurt, twisted…

But what if it was also a Willow who never learned to stand up for herself? A powerful, dangerous witch… But with no true self-esteem, no believe in themselves? What if the Titan was like a Dark Willow, and this self-doubt was what allowed Belos to manipulate it? I’ve speculated before that perhaps Belos has managed to sway and influence the Titan into seeing his way as the right way to handle magic… If it was a dark parallel to Willow, perhaps the Titan is hopeless, thinking there’s nothing it can do to oppose Belos, feeling like it’s smarter than him, as a toxic friend with control; Think Anne and Sasha from Amphibia!

We might even get a scene paralleling Willow and Amity’s first appearance, with how Amity condescendingly mocks Willow, albeit with potential, if misguided, good intentions. Perhaps Belos is like this- He’s cruel and manipulative of the Titan, but he also genuinely believes in what he’s doing, that this IS the best for the Isles, and that this is how the Titan should have its magic be utilized and taught. But, in absence of Amity, we see Willow’s true feelings of resentment and anger that have bottled up… So what if the Titan was like that with Belos, except dialed up? What if the Titan hates Belos or wants to see him defeated, but isn’t entirely sure if he’s wrong, either…

So to get into blind speculation, what if- What if the Titan has tried to create a new champion? By going behind Belos’ back and communicating with a new, younger witch, perhaps one that reminds it of Belos before he turned corrupt… What if the Titan is contacting Luz and/or Willow? Hoping to find someone else who will actually speak for them, not just talk over as Belos possibly is doing? Maybe the Titan is trying to foster a new witch, an alternative champion to depose Belos or take over; Or have Belos and Luz/Willow compete, to prove to the Titan who has the best philosophy to magic through their own respective victories?

And if Belos were to find out… Well, I imagine he might do something drastic to the Titan. He has control and access to its heart- Could he torture it in retaliation, perhaps causing quakes across the Isles that echo the Titan’s throes of agony? Would Belos do something drastic to prevent the Titan from helping Luz/Willow, adversely affecting the Boiling Isles in the process? Similarly, if Belos is a toxic friend to the Titan, perhaps there’s symbolism to his castle built around the Titan’s heart… Kudos to @fermented-writers-block for some of these ideas;

Perhaps it could be interpreted as Belos having an iron grip over its heart, or the Titan building up walls around its heart –thanks to Belos’ encouragement- and letting in only Belos…? Alas, Belos is the one who convinces the Titan to hide itself away and let only him in, because only HE cares, only he knows best… And yet, he’s the one who helped build those walls that the Titan hides within. Ultimately, his castle MUST fall- Especially if it’s being used to exploit and manipulate the Titan’s heart in other, literal ways as well…

Finally, let’s talk Amity and Kikimora sharing placements. There is of course the obvious implication of romantic feelings, but also… What if, instead, there was this idea of Belos being like Luz to Amity, for Kiki? For Amity, Luz was an outsider who came out of nowhere and changed her life for the better, helped her stand up for herself- What if Belos was that to Kikimora? What if he was an outsider, a human even (before he changed and decayed) that changed Kikimora’s life forever after he appeared from nowhere… The two starting to a prickly start, before truly caring for each other? As Belos encouraged Kikimora to stand up for herself, eventually culminating in her own life improving(?) as Kiki is now second only to him, the Emperor of the Boiling Isles! It might explain why he seems to trust her so much- The two genuinely care for each other and Kikimora feels like she owes everything to him…

And, to incorporate my own analysis/speculation of Amity; Perhaps Kikimora has placed all of her sense of self-worth into Belos, about how she can help him, because only HE ever made her feel like something! What if as a toxic parallel to Luz and Amity, Kikimora has lowkey become dependent upon Belos- Who, while kind to Kikimora… Kiki still has placed all of her self-esteem not in herself, but in Belos’ approval of her. And while Belos DOES approve and provide support, it’s still dangerously dependent and shows that Kikimora can’t really stand for herself, that she needs someone else as a litmus test to judge her worth as a person.

Finally, we know Amity is the least talented compared to Willow and Gus; Given how we have the literal Titan and Owl Mask, compared to Kikimora, who caves into Luz’s threats… It’s possible Kikimora is the least powerful amongst the Titan and Owl Mask, but has made up for it with raw determination and skill? After all, she presumably cast the magical cage that all of Luz’s efforts wouldn’t have been able to defeat. Perhaps like Amity, Kikimora had to work hard to prove herself, to earn respect; And like Amity in Episode 3, Kikimora feels a desperate need to hold onto that sense of accomplishment and superiority, and can and WILL retaliate viciously when it’s threatened. To Kikimora, she’s dedicated everything into making up for her own shortcomings, just like Amity- So she despises cheaters, or at least people who undermine that work.

(I know what some may be thinking- Isn’t Kikimora a King parallel? Well, these parallels work in multiple ways… Amity parallels Luz, but then so too does Belos, presumably. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amity was both a parallel to Luz AND Kikimora, then.)

And, that’s my general thoughts, analysis, and speculation, all based from this reflection we’ve seen! It’s possible Dana is trolling us, by accident or otherwise, with a videogame screenshot… But hey- It doesn’t hurt anyone if we’re wrong, I say! It’s all in good fun… Besides, if it WAS a teaser from Season 2, and we didn’t give our shot, then we’d all feel like idiots! We may as well take our chance and analyze, because- Just in case…!

#the owl house #the owl house luz #Luz noceda #the owl house belos #emperor belos #the owl house willow #willow park #the owl house gus #augustus porter #the owl house amity #amity blight #the owl house kikimora #the owl house season 2 #speculation #theory #analysis #Dana terrace

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shinylyni · 3 years

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Doing a lot of thinking about Shang-Chi and the thing I'm thinking about most is, why would the Chinese population in Asian countries (mainly speaking about those in Mainland China, since that's where I hear most of the criticism from, though I've also heard people from HK, TW, and other countries also having issues) be so adverse to this movie, yet the Chinese population who live in other countries, especially the Chinese population in Western countries, seem to love the movie or at least appreciate what it means to them culturally?

And I think it's just that: there's a huge cultural disconnect between the Chinese Diaspora population and the Chinese people who live in Asia.

Let's break some of the issues they have with the movie down (warning: movie spoilers ahead):

The main villain of the movie comes from an offensive stereotype against the Chinese - while the original Mandarin or Fu Manchu characters in the comic books are definitely incredibly offensive, Xu Wenwu is basically a completely different character who only shares a title with the Mandarin character from the comics. Disney and Marvel made sure that Xu Wenwu was a multifaceted, complex character who was not a negative racial stereotype. I'm certain anyone who continues to make this argument now either never saw the movie or is just trying to stir up stuff that doesn't actually exist in the context of the movie.

Simu Liu and Awkwafina are ugly, especially if they're supposed to portray the main characters of the film - beauty is incredibly subjective and differs from culture to culture. Simu's features may be attractive in the west (broad shoulders, cut abs, square jawline, slightly tanned, boyish smile), but to those in China, his features are less than desirable (the ideal guy has a more angular face and softer facial features, thinner frame, paler skin, and more stoic expression/less emotive in general). Awkwafina suffers from similar traits: round faced, tanned skin, fuller lips, and a very husky alto voice, when the ideal woman in China would be thinner cheekbones, pale skin, smaller lips, and a higher-pitched, clear girlish voice.

The movie is too Westernized and doesn't accurately portray Chinese culture - it's flat out just not supposed to. Maybe Ta Lo should be more similar to Historical China, but even then Ta Lo is more of a fantastical place with features inspired from Chinese myths and legends. The other stuff? Straight out of what many Chinese Americans experience every day. Many of the people involved with the story, including the directors, writers, and actors, took inspiration from their own lives to create the story and the background for what the characters go through. The film's culture is not supposed to be Chinese culture as you would see it in China, or Hong Kong, or Taiwan, it's a reflection of Chinese American culture, which is related to but still separate from Chinese culture as experienced in those countries.

The movie's themes are antithetical to Chinese values - This one is tricky. Family and respect are both themes that resonate strongly with Chinese culture, and this film plays heavily into exploring what exactly that means to our characters, both for our protagonists (Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing) and our antagonists (Wenwu). But the beauty of this movie is showing the struggle all of them face in reconciling their views and experiences about "family" within themselves, and with each other. The Xu family were all very close until the mother, Ying Li, passed away, a tragedy which tore the family apart. Wenwu harshly trained his son to the point of emotional and physical abuse, while neglecting his daughter, making both of his children distance themselves from him for how he treated them. Shang-Chi and Xialing, however, also have a rocky relationship in the beginning, thanks to Shang-Chi abandoning his sister despite promising to come back for her. Wenwu and Shang-Chi constantly butt heads throughout the movie. But in the end, the siblings make up with each other and support each other, and father and son realize that though they've hurt each other so much, they still love and care about each other and dont actually want to cause more pain, they just dont know how else to reach the other. And is that not how so many families are? A little broken, not perfect, maybe everyone hurting, but in the end you're still trying to do what you can for each other? If that isn't respecting the value of family, then... well, I'm glad you probably have a healthier family life than I did, or many of the people I know did.

TL;DR Chinese people are judging this movie before they even watch it. And if they watch it and still come to these conclusions, well, this movie isn't for you. It's for us, the ABCs you've forgotten about, the bananas you chose to throw out because we weren't authentic enough for you. This is our movie, and sometimes, not everything is about you. But for once, it is about us.

#shang chi #shang chi and the legend of the ten rings #marvel #pyxis #lyni #pyxis rambles #lyni rambles

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jackcinephile · 3 years

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LO Fans: "I love Lore Olympus because it deals with serious themes, like sexual assault, abuse, gaslighting, trauma, and mental health issues!"

Me, who spent my life discovering and obsessing over masterpieces like this:

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to impress me."

Yeah, I never understood that kind of praise. For one thing, people act like LO is groundbreaking for that reason, despite there being countless movies, books, tv shows, comics, and video games that also deal with the same themes. That isn't to say there can't be more stories like this, however. I, for one, am begging for another video game that comes close to the emotional resonance of Silent Hill 2, or for a faithful adaptation of Dracula and/or Phantom of the Opera, or for a horror movie as unsettling as The Howling! But to say any new story that deals with these themes is unique for doing so, is just simply not true. Lore Olympus is no more unique than any of these stories. Also, I don't understand the praise that Lore Olympus is great just by virtue of having these themes in the first place. Just because a story has serious themes, doesn't automatically make it good. Far too often does LO use its themes as a crutch for a plot that is standard issue among romances, as opposed to stories like The Howling, which has a very intriguing, outlandish plot that serves as a catalyst to explore themes of very real and relatable horror. Lore Olympus, without its intense themes, is just another story about the CEO falling in love with his intern. And don't get me wrong, I LOVE those kinds of stories, but Lore Olympus just doesn't really do it for me. And the poorly executed themes just hamper it even further for me.

If it wasn't already apparent, has anyone noticed a pattern between these titles? All but one are horror stories. In my opinion, that is one of the key differences between them and LO: Horror! The themes within, are ones that illicit terror, and the stories reflect that (even Phantom of the Opera--don't listen to anyone who says it's a romance). Starting with Dracula, one of the scenes that horrified me the most in the book was the one where Count Dracula sneaks into Mina's bedroom. The book describes him slitting open his own vein and forcing her to drink his blood. Mina then expresses feelings of violation, much akin to what rape survivors feel. It doesn't pull any punches in its shocking, horrific portrayal, but it never comes off as exploitative. That's because the best horror stories rely on the audience's empathy. In this case, nobody wants to feel violated, so we feel as horrified as the characters do when we read about this grotesque event. And because it is about illiciting fear through empathy, Dracula succeeds where Lore Olympus fails. Lore Olympus, before all else, is a romance. And rape should not be in a romantic story. Especially not when the narrative of LO uses this trauma to validate the relationship between the two leads. I'm not a fan of stories that use trauma to validate a relationship between romantic interests, and I think that partly stems from reading the Phantom of the Opera.

If you ask me, Phantom of the Opera is one if the best books to discuss abuse and gaslighting ever written! Despite misconceptions generated by the popularity of the musical, PotO is very much a horror story with hardly any romance at all. And it's one of the best examples about why using trauma to validate a romance is a very bad idea! You see, all the conflict of the story begins with The Phantom and his trauma. He was born with multiple physical deformities that cause him to look like a living corpse. Because of this, he is despised and rejected by the world in order to escape the hatred of the world, he commissions the construction of the Paris Opera House, complete with intricate catacombs where he can live out the rest of his miserable days. Then one day, a woman named Christine comes to work at the Opera as a chorus girl. She is sad and alone due to her being orphaned, without a friend in the world. She too is emotionally damaged and the Phantom thinks this means she'll understand him. The trouble begins instantly when he claims to be a character from a folktale that Christine's father used to tell her. This is when the manipulation and gaslighting begins. Part of what makes this so effective is how we see it from an outside perspective. The protagonist, Raoul, is in love with Christine and we get to see his confusion and growing concern when he starts realizing Christine is showing signs of an abusive relationship. What makes the relationship even worse is the fact that Christine actually does understand The Phantom. So she doesn't run away not only out of fear, but also compassion. She knows what it's like to feel isolated and dead to the world and The Phantom uses that against her. The more I describe this, the more parallels I begin to see to Hades' and Minthe's relationship. Yes, Minthe abused Hades in much of the same way as The Phantom abused Christine. Notice how Minthe keeps convincing Hades that they're the only people who understand each other, even going so far as to say, "We're the same." The funny thing is, that's exactly what the narrative uses to validate Hades' and Persephone's relationship! It tries to establish that Hades and Persephone relate to each other and they say, several times, "We're the same," to each other. But this is exactly how Hades got stuck in a toxic relationship with Minthe, so why is it suddenly okay now? Relationships that use shared trauma to validate themselves are almost always doomed to become toxic, in one way or another.

So what about the healthy relationship in Phantom of the Opera? Well, it's kinda interesting actually. You see, Christine eventually comes to realize that she needs help, so she turns to the protagonist, Raoul, to get her away from the Phantom. Raoul has an interesting character arc because he starts the novel being pretty immature and kinda selfish. He doesn't really take Christine's feelings into consideration. It's more like a boy chasing his childhood crush (actually that's exactly what happens). However, over the course of the story, as he becomes increasingly concerned with her well-being, he learns to care more about her feelings and her needs. This culminates in the climax, when he's willing to crawl through hell itself for her sake. I bring all this up because I wanted to compare Raoul with Hades as well. Hades is a very consistent character. He doesn't need an arc like Raoul because, from the very beginning, he's willing to put all of Persephone's needs before his, to a fault! That is his entire purpose within the narrative of LO. He exists to serve Persephone. Raoul didn't exist to serve Christine. He had his own journey of growing and maturing. And Christine didn't exist to serve Raoul either. It bothers me that a novel from 1910 has a more well-rounded relationship than a modern comic! Actually, now that I think about it, isn't Persephone's entire character arc supposed to be her learning that she shouldn't exist to serve others? Well, that totally contradicts Hades' role in the story, doesn't it? He exists to serve her! I guess, in the eyes of LO, it's only okay if men serve women, but not for women to serve men. Newsflash: neither is okay.

Now Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) remains, to this day, one of the most terrifying movies I've ever seen! That's all thanks to its brutal depictions of domestic abuse. So Dr. Henry Jekyll believes the solution to enlightening the human race is to separate the good and evil in our souls. He solves this problem by creating a drug to do just that, which transforms him into Edward Hyde, but he becomes addicted and starts terrorizing a woman who was once a former patient of his. I think what makes this so effective, when compared to LO, is one simple factor: Fear. I am terrified of Edward Hyde, but whenever Apollo shows up, I'm just annoyed. That's because Hyde isn't being used to sell an agenda, while Apoll is. Apollo is all about making a statement about toxic masculinity, which always bothered me from the very beginning! Being an abusive cunt who rapes women has nothing to do with masculinity! It doesn't matter if you're masculine or feminine, anyone can be a cunting abusive rapist. If you are a rapist, it's because you're a monster who lacks empathy, not because of masculinity. And if you think masculinity has something to do with a lack of empathy, fuck off! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not about toxic masculinity. It's about how drug addiction can often hurt other people around us just as much, if not moreso, than ourselves. It also doesn't use rape to validate a relationship between characters. I'm sorry, but that is just the laziest storytelling technique. When the antagonist is a rapist OF COURSE the male love interest is going to look better by comparison! But when you take Apollo out of the equation, Hades stops looking like a desirable love interest real fucking quick.

So yeah, I think Hades makes for a bad love interest. That's mostly because he's so much like Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yeah, the one title from the list above that's not a horror, but is no less relevant. The thing is, both Hades and Shinji have a lot in common, such as hating themselves, having a bad relationship with their father, and not caring at all about their own wants and needs. Oh, also Asuka's a better written character than Minthe, but that's a whole other topic. What makes Evangelion work, in my opinion, is that Shinji's whole journey is about learning to love himself, while Hades is portrayed as being perfect the way he is. Hades in LO is like a flawless beacon of virtue, solely because he worships the ground Persephone walks on. But the guy just doesn't care about himself at all! Like I said earlier, Hades guilty of the same self-destructive behaviors as Persephone but he's praised for it, while Persephone is encouraged to look after herself more often. Compare this to Shinji, whose life only gets worse the more he neglects himself. The only time Hades does something beneficial for himself is when he breaks up with Minthe, but immediately after that, he starts devoting every ounce of energy to Persephone! All that matters is her! He doesn't give a single fuck about himself. Sorry, but that's not good qualities in a male love interest. In all fairness, this is a problem with the romance genre as a whole. Most romances give priority to the protagonist (in this case Persephone) while neglecting the love interest (Hades). It's why I have a serious problem with the entire genre.

Now what could Silent Hill 2 have that is in any way relevant to Lore Olympus? Two words: Nightmare Fuel. Personifying trauma as literal demons is one of the smartest ideas anyone's ever had, because speaking from personal experience, that's how it feels. I just don't feel like the trauma experienced by the characters in LO is a waking nightmare like it is in real life. For one, the characters' trauma only pops up when it's convenient for the plot. Like whenever Persephone starts experiencing ptsd, it happens when she's with Hades so we can get a scene with Hades cuddling her. After that, it shows up in a scene to make her look badass by confronting Apollo. No, just no. The Howling did it better too, by making the protagonist's trauma such an inconvenience in her life! I never felt that way in LO. When you uss traumatic encounters to make your character look like a badass, kindly fuck off.

#lore olympus

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snowbits · 3 years

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This is why I wish antis would stop answering the question of defining pro-shipping, lmao.

The fact that you immediately equated it with incest and pedophilia is a reflection of you and your own rhetoric, not the pro-ship community.

I'll give you a hint; the definition is literally aligned with the name.

Pro-shipping is the evolved term originating from statements such as 'ship and let ship' and 'freedom of fiction.'

The origin of pro-shipping came down to quite literally the belief that shipping was not competitive and did not rely on validation or peer input. A canon ship was no 'better' than a ship that was not canon, and you were not a bad person for shipping the antagonist with the protagonist, typically in terms of your average Spike and Buffy dynamic.

Its literally just the belief that you should be allowed the freedom to enjoy your fictional ship and shipping activity without being harassed or without having random people on the internet try to tell you its invalid and disgusting just because they don't like that ship.

(Which is also where the term 'anti' originated, by the way. 'Anti X ship.' Antis evolved from being against the concept of a specific ship to being against X, Y and Z fandom-relative topics. It all evolved from shipping.)

Supernatural is a pretty popular fandom, so let's use that, shall we?

Let's say that I ship Destiel. Let's also say that this is all happening before the finale and the pseudo-confession. Destiel is, at this point, not-canon.

You, the anti, do not like Destiel. You think Dean is 100% no-homo-hetero, and you don't like Castiel.

(This is a key component. Not liking one character involved in the pairing is and was a huge factor in why someone was an anti.)

You see me make a post about liking Destiel, and proceed to angrily reblog it with commentary on why I'm wrong, why the ship isn't valid, and why Dean is straight and Castiel sucks.

Now; the basis of pro-shipping means that you would see that post of mine, scrunch your nose in disgust, and either keep scrolling on or block me. You don't harass me and you don't try to assert that your view is correct and better. Because its not your place to, and because its okay for us to have differing opinions.

Now obviously, parts of the pro-ship community and definition have evolved themselves over the years. Yes, some people now consider pro-shipping to be an umbrella term that encompasses the belief that you don't have a right to dictate how and why a person creates or consumes X type of fiction.

But likewise; the anti community has evolved too. The anti community has created literal lists of people to dox and send death threats to. The anti community wastes real life resources on reporting fictional content; so much so that protective and federal services had to put out statements begging people to stop wasting their time and resources by reporting fanfiction and fanart. The anti community has gotten people fired by doctoring screenshots of their content and pretending like they were real pedophiles.

Every. Single. Community. Can be used for harm.

Every. Single. Community. Has people within it that will cause harm and use the community to benefit their own rhetoric.

If someone says they're 'pro-ship', try to ascertain what they mean by that before you immediately jump to calling them a pedophile or freak. Its highly likely they simply mean that they do not participate in or endorse harassing or policing other people over fictional content.

I am pro-ship, and I define that by meaning that I recognise that I am not the governing voice over what is and isn't okay to ship, and that me not liking X ship does not make X ship invalid.

If I don't like Malex, for example, but you do, guess what I'm going to do if I see you posting about Malex?

Mutter 'ew' to myself and keep on scrolling. Because I might not like them, but you do, and I have no right to tell you that you're wrong or invalid for that. Its a matter of preference and ours happen to be different on that particular ship.

Please, please; be more nuanced with your answers rather than acting like a child and going 'ew puke proship people like pedophilia and incest' because I fucking promise you, if someone answered an ask about antis with 'they dox people and waste federal resources and tell shippers to kill themselves' you'd be in the notes angrily clarifying that 'not all antis...'

(You can also research and validate every single point I've made above. CPS and the FBI both put out statements to clarify how many of their resources are wasted every year because people report fictional content as real abuse. There are multiple documentations of pro-shipping in fandom history, ones that also include its most recent adoptive use pertaining to subjects such as incest, and you can also verify that over the last 5 years multiple people across Tumblr, Twitter and DeviantArt were doxxed, suicide baited and fired because antis took such a disliking to their fictional creations that they took real life action.)

………

listen, i’m not reading all of that angry rant and i’m not going to subscribe to whatever your personal idea of proshipping is.

i’m not an ‘anti’, i don’t harass people about their ships unless they’re causing real life harm. you could call me moderate and actually, this is the first time we’ve talked about discourse on this blog in a while.

but the fact of the matter is that you came into my inbox and sent me, a person who doesn’t really care beyond my own orbit, an angry text wall about your stance on this irrelevant hellsite discourse that made me miserable for at least two years straight.

i’m not a public figure and my opinion doesn’t matter, unfollow me if it’s that hard for you to accept that i don’t like letting people that will support and defend other people’s’ beliefs like that (even if they personally find it distasteful) interact with my blog.

tl;d FUCKING r i really don’t give a shit if your PERSONAL definition of ‘proship’ is more palatable and reasonable than i explained it, if you doxx and threaten people over their beliefs OR support people who ship incest and pedophilia get off my blog

and i will not be answering any more questions on the matter. this is a for-fun blog, not a discussion board or a discourse server. good fucking day.

#dazai.txt #snowstorm speaks #asks #anonymous #discourse #long post #proship tw

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lesser-mook · 3 years

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The difference between a Mary Sue & a well developed character is: Struggle, change, failure, and acknowledging failure. (Flaws)

We, the audience, admire a character more, not for them being better than everyone else since the beginning (or trying once, then immediately mastering in 40seconds what should be a journey); But for how many times they failed, struggled, & changed to be the best in the end.

Even something as flawed personality traits such as impatience (Luke), humanizes a character. For flaws is a subtle way to gradually demonstrate change, even relationships (Han & Luke); It doesn’t just have to be skills & power levels. (Important)

From impatient, to wise. EP4 Luke < EP6 JEDI Luke

Regarding skills, Luke fails twice in the Lightsaber simulation drone training.

Instead of mastering it immediately, he is first advised on what he isn't doing by a mentor, an established Master. (Important detail, the need to be taught by someone who knows more than he)

Then he, Luke, the greenhorn, listens to the advice, adjusts, and succeeds (AFTER failure, after instruction): "acknowledgement of failure & thus change"

Another instance, out of impatience, yet altruism, he charges into a dangerous situation for the sake of his friends.

Was it smart? No. Did it characterize Luke in a major way, yes. He cares about his friends, and while he is hardheaded; He does what he sets his mind to.

He is not perfect, but we can admire his determination.

He manages to tag the superior opponent, provoking them to stop holding back, and similar to (Kylo & Finn) within seconds when the antagonist gets serious, the tide of the duel turns.

GOOD.

Why? Because the villain is the standard the protagonist has to reach, to grind toward, to rise to. If you characterize the villain as weak in the FIRST BATTLE, you destroy not only the tension for your story but also the potential for growth for the protagonist themselves.

Side note:

Even Zuko and Azula (Avatar The Last Airbender) lose at times, their plans thwarted regularly (Vader too), til a certain point. But both of their intimidation factors as obstacles aren’t completely sacrificed for the main character to shine. Individually flawed on their own, but when they’re on screen, the game changes, because he/ & she are a threat. The in-world characters know it, the music changes so that the atmosphere reflects it, and we know it too.

All of that is said to point out that the exact same goes for VADER, but MORE so:

So, Luke loses a hand as a result; Loss, failure. He doesn't close his eyes, & magically muster up the power of plot, and win a fight he should reasonably lose.

A brutal consequence to a decision he made only out of good intentions, to save his friends.

Even the vision of Vader in Dagobah, shows Luke fears something of Vader, his mere stature, even becoming him through defeating him.

More good characterization, and as seen later, equally good foreshadowing.

After some time, he, now a "Jedi", "Returns", AFTER training.

NOW he can compete with his Master Opponent, even turn the tides, it makes sense. We've witnessed the failure, the acknowledgement of said failure, the consequence, the struggle, ergo change.

Now you'll reasonably point out: Technically, we didn’t see his transition into a Jedi.

Yes, however, we've seen him train with 2 different people, both Masters. Failing under both their tutelage, and succeeding after instruction in an instance, showing he has to learn, room to grow, develop.

By that formula & establishment, we can reasonably infer that he's worked for his current status, basic but important to plant these elements beforehand so the time-skip (An entire year) for said new abilities to cement, feels organic.

source

"The best kind of power for a protagonist read, or written; Is power learned, power earned.”

Luke’s evolution is organic, because he's struggled to achieve his level of Mastery. Luke Skywalker is a classic, well developed character.

#character #development #writing #luke skywalker #respect #mark hamill #the mandolorian s2 #return of the jedi #a new hope #the empire strikes back #star wars

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outbythehighwind · 3 years

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Aerith & Tifa: Visual Design

An Analysis of the Final Fantasy VII Heroines [Part 1]

This is the first part of my in-depth analysis on FF7′s heroines, where they are depicted as perfect foils to one another. For those who don’t know, a foil is a character who contrasts with another and simultaneously highlights the qualities of that other character. Foils can range from protagonists & antagonists to, in the case of the FF7 girls, very close friends. In exploring this particular writing technique, I will examine their differences and similarities, friendship, relationships to Cloud and Sephiroth, and their differing but equally important roles as heroines in the overall story. Before starting though, I want to mention one thing: I adore both characters, and Tifa and Aerith are to me the exemplary role models of fictional heroines.

Now let us begin with the first thing we are introduced to: their visual designs. (Note that visual design, like narrative, is a tool that can be purposefully accurate and/or purposefully misleading. This should be kept in mind throughout the entire analysis, for FF7 - to no exaggeration - gets more than the average game's pleasure out of tricking, subverting and astonishing it's audience.) Now, onto our beloved flower girl...

AERITH

Aerith’s visual design, at first glance, is one of a meek and kindly girl. Her long, sleeveless dress, pearl pink in color, elicits an air of grace, of softness and serenity. She appears gentle and pure. These qualities are enhanced by the matching pink ribbon in her hair, which adds an additional purity to the character – one of youthful girliness, evoking a naive separation from the gigantic world around her.

Accompanying the dress and ribbon is a short sleeve crop jacket. And instead of enhancing this grace and naivety, its crimson shade shows quite the opposite. Red is a bold and brazen color. Coupled with the 90’s crop-style of the jacket, it enforces strength and vigilance. The loud (and somewhat rebellious) qualities of her jacket countervail the quiet elements of her dress and ribbon. They are a contrasting balance, as we will soon find out, of Aerith’s personality. She is gentle and pure, but she is no softie. She has complete confidence in herself.

These contrasting qualities are connected in the fact that red and pink are proximate colors. While the dress and jacket themselves are from two different worlds, the colors go together. Moreover, red and pink are the colors that represent love. Mixed together, they create ‘hot pink’ – a color used to communicate playfulness. A beautiful metaphor for both Aerith’s love for all life and her playful, sassy personality.

Moving on to her footwear, we find an even sharper contrast. One would expect that a person who so fashionably marries grace and strength would have stylish footwear to match. Yet here is Aerith with a pair of grimy, commonplace boots. While the dress, jacket and ribbon communicate her nature and personality, these grimy, commonplace boots inform the player of the life she is leading – the life of a girl who has grown up in the slums. These grimy, commonplace boots are the wise and fitting footwear to get by.

Aerith’s boots and hair are the same shade of brown, framing the vibrant personality her outfit presents. In addition to the bright, lively clothing, her hair is a standout feature of her character. And there is another character that shares this feature. Aerith’s trademark bangs share an almost-identical design to Sephiroth’s, an allusion to her in-every-sense enemy foil. Not only do the pair share similarities in their hair, but also in clothing: Sephiroth’s collar parallels Aerith’s jacket; his wrist-cuffs parallel Aerith’s bracelets; his cloak parallels the length of her dress; and his eyes – although mako-induced – are an even deeper green than Cloud’s, in direct match to Aerith’s.

Their bright green eyes further represent their foil-roles in relation to the external plot of FF7 – the plot concerned with the Planet. Aerith’s eyes are green with life, representing her connection with the Planet. Sephiroth, of course, holds a connection too, though his Mako-induced green is not his authentic color, portraying him as the false ‘savior’ he acclaims himself to be, in contrast to the true savior that is Aerith.

To see Aerith and Sephiroth’s designs as directly antithetical to one another, consider their concepts below, with Aerith’s weapon and hair trailing right while Sephiroth’s weapon and hair trails left – like a mirror image. Also, notice Aerith’s bright, vibrant design against Sephiroth’s dark, monochromatic design - a visual display of life and light against darkness. But more on Sephiroth later.

There is no FF7 character with a brighter visual design than Aerith – fittingly, for she is the party’s light. In the remake, her outfit is much the same, if not expanded upon. The jacket reaches her hips rather than waist, and the boots are black, yet about as commonplace as the original brown boots. The notable difference is her dress. The remake fits Aerith in a looser, frilly dress, which actually enhances her grace and creates a more deceptive air of naive youthfulness, much like the longer crop jacket further enhances her boldness.

TIFA

There are two roles incorporated into Tifa’s visual design: Tifa the barkeep; and Tifa the monk (that is, a martial artist of FF-verse). We will begin with the former, the first role introduced when the player meets her in Seventh Heaven.

Tifa’s barkeep design consists of black forearm sleeves matching a black skirt that is held up by suspenders. With her hair tucked behind her left ear, a teardrop earring is visible. Immediately, one gets the sense of warmness and invitation they would associate with a hostess. The skirt and suspenders appeal to the sensuous aspect of the design while the sleeve and earring give off an aura of classiness. Overall, an attraction is formed between Tifa and player – that sense of warmness and invitation drawing the player toward her. This attraction is enhanced by her long, dark hair and warm, wine-hued eyes. Not only is the color of Tifa’s eyes a clever nod to her literal bar-hosting, but it alludes to what her bar-hosting metaphorically symbolizes – a nurturing motherliness accentuated by their warmth. Not only is the player drawn in by the clothing she dons, but Tifa’s natural features are what inaugurates the invitation.

Next is the role of monk. Padded gloves and boots match the dark red shade of Tifa’s eyes, coupling her warmth and hospitality with strength. Strength and its associated qualities – firmness, power, intensity – are usually found in opposition to tenderness. But manifested in these items of clothing that are the same color as the defining embodiment of the latter (Tifa’s eyes), strength and tenderness are bridged together. Tifa is a fighter fueled by compassion. Tifa is a fighter who fights to protect. A matching dark red band ties the ends of her locks together to keep them collected, and on her left elbow and boot are armored guards, enhancing her aura of strength. Finally, she wears an ordinary white tank top for practicality in movement.

Put together with the elements of her bartender design, Tifa’s fighting gear gives her an unconventionally unique appearance: a smash-’em-if-required barkeep; a drink-serving monk. This overall appearance has an appropriate balance between allure and profession. It is attractive without being voluptuous. It is welcoming without hiding the fact that she could easily kick one’s ass if need be. And across her entire visual design, the two roles are in equilibrium. The player is drawn in to her design in the one sense, and then they are let in on what she is physically capable of. In other words, Tifa’s visual design uses its every component to give the player insight on her character. At the same time, however, it purposefully masks a great deal.

Accompanying this ‘smash-’em barkeep, drink-serving monk’ design so centered on conveying its dual-role aspects, are two items that educate the more observant player on Tifa’s circumstances. One of these has already been mentioned and is the classiest element of her design, while the other – which will likely go unnoticed – is the most ordinary. The former, Tifa’s aforementioned earring, is in the shape of a tear, subtly reflecting her past of sorrows and heartache. Yet it is her outfit’s grandest, most expensive item; this past of sorrows and heartache is what enabled her to become strong while remaining compassionate for others. Being a single teardrop on only one ear signifies how Tifa deals with emotions – the emotions she, as her name suggests, locks away in her heart. One drop for herself, the basic remembrance, the fuel, is all she outwardly allows.

Then we have the most ordinary item – a pair of woolly black socks. These socks are so subtle that even the exceptionally observant player might miss them, yet they are the single item that appeals to neither monk nor barkeep. They are distinctly… Tifa – Tifa the ordinary. Every other element is inch-perfect on what it communicates, yet here is a pair of ordinary socks that look as though they were thrown on in a morning’s rush. They give her this every-girl, neighborly quality which the player will be distracted from until the truth comes to light, with Tifa’s centrality and intimacy in the internal plot being revealed – the plot concerned with saving Cloud.

Speaking of literal neighborly vibes and intimacy, it is worth mentioning in brief that certain elements of Tifa’s outfit share similarity with Cloud’s. Both wear two metal guards only on their left side (Tifa on her elbow and boot and Cloud on his shoulder and wrist), a subtle allusion to their being ‘half’-selves on the surface (Cloud with his Zack-delusion and Tifa with her hidden feelings). Cloud too wears an earring in his left ear – a studded one, signifying, like Tifa’s teardrop, a certain brokenness of self. In Advent Children, both wear a black sleeveless vest with a high zip collar, a black cape, black boots (notice that Tifa has now replaced her trademark red) and a wolf symbol (on Cloud’s badge and Tifa’s ring) – a symbol associated specifically with Cloud. I mention these details because of Cloud’s centrality to Tifa’s story and vice versa, which will later be discussed in her role as heroine.

Tifa’s design for the remake is a nice though slight variation that fits in with the more realistic aesthetic. Her skirt has pleated segments, making for more realistic movements during combat, and her abs are toned, further enforcing her strength and perseverance in protecting her loved ones. Her black thigh-highs are an additional element, complimenting her forearm sleeves.

Despite the subtle, throw-‘em-on-in-a-hurry socks being foregone, Tifa’s remake outfit perfectly balances her barkeep and monk roles. The omission of such a neutralizing feature works even better with regard to Tifa’s character, in my opinion, for her true thoughts and feelings will be hidden for much of the game. Thus we are led astray, and the narrative will constantly push us further and further away from her inner emotions hidden beneath these two outward roles.

By visual design alone, and in the narrative that will follow, the player is led to believe Tifa has complete confidence in herself. But appearance of course, like narrative, can be deceiving.

SUMMARY

Straight away, by visual design, we have two heroines who are each a blend of multiple characteristics, yet not fitting a particular trope. They are completely unique in their own right, exemplifying both relatable and admirable traits.

Aerith, who we expect to be the meek and youthfully naive girl at first glance, embodies an undeniable self-confidence that compliments her kindness. Tifa, who looks extremely confident on appearance, has an emotional shyness masked by two bold outward roles. Aerith is the vibrant light who guides outer world adventure; Tifa is the inviting warmth who makes one feel at home. Aerith bridges the attributes of grace and toughness; Tifa balances the qualities of compassion and strength. While both exemplify these heroic traits by their very design, they are - however subtly shown - struggling slum girls.

#my analyses #ff7 1997 #ff7 remake #tifa lockhart #aerith gainsborough #parallels

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nanowrimo · 4 years

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Why One Voice Is Never Enough: Weaving Intersectionality into YA

Humans are complicated and multi-faceted—and so are the best fictional characters who reflect the reality of what it is to be human. Today, writer Rachel Werner shares why it’s important to create intersectionality in the characters you write:

Does my protagonist get to be Black and have clinical depression? Be neuro-divergent and transgender? The default setting for writing diverse stories often presents as a “this or that” scenario, or leaves an author feeling as though certain demographic boxes need to be “checked” to ensure their book is perceived as inclusive “enough.” The fallacy to these mentalities is that neither is an appropriate benchmark to strive for.

Unfortunately, this is where numerous character compositions go hopelessly awry—ultimately undermining story arcs no matter how well they’re crafted. It’s not enough to simply make one’s heroine Asian or disabled, then proceed with the plot. What truly makes characters resonate with readers is complexity, usually achieved via intersectionality.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines intersectionality as the “the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.” It also astutely credits the scholar and a civil rights activist Kimberlé Crenshaw who originated “the idea that when it comes to thinking about how inequalities persist, categories like gender, race, and class are best understood as overlapping and mutually constitutive rather than isolated and distinct.”

Crenshaw’s theory exposes the reality that those within BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and/or different-abled bodied communities rarely connect with a single identifier. Thus, a “White vs. Black” antagonistic premise set in suburbia now falls flat because a narrative should be based on more than blatant friction between teens with different skin colors.

“Representing experiences at the intersection of two or more marginalized identities is so necessary for children's literature. Authors often hear that their stories (and their lived experience) are 'too much,' that a character cannot be both Black and Muslim, or both trans and Latinx, and so on. Authors come up against gatekeepers who want them to sanitize their work and remove an aspect of who the characters are or what the story is in order to make it more palatable and 'marketable' to readers,” explains We Need Diverse Books Communications Manager Alaina Lavoie.

“But readers—kids and teenagers—live these experiences, and very rarely get to see themselves on the page. This could result in them feeling they need to sanitize part of their lives for others; someone might feel they need to be "less disabled" in order to be accepted by the LGBTQ+ community; or that they need to downplay or hide their Blackness to feel at home in Jewish spaces,” Lavoie states. “Books that center the multiply marginalized, such as Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender or Color Me In by Natasha Diaz, might be the very first time that a reader sees that they can show up as their full self, without trying to mask or change who they are in order to be accepted and seen.”

Lavoie’s insight into the current publishing climate is a crucial reminder that within no community does one word ever “fit all.” As a writer, I can personally attest to navigating what, at times, is a grueling creative process. The need for more representation in YA for people of color with mental health issues inspired my short story, “Brown Girl Blues”. Writing from personal experience can provided a feeling of connection for others, plus be cathartic for oneself. I’ve been in clinical treatment for an eating disorder off and on for over two decades. But I never read one book growing up that featured a young woman of color grappling with this sort of illness. Would it have made a difference? Perhaps. I may have felt less isolated or... “crazy,” since I was already coming of age in an environment in which mental health struggles weren’t openly discussed and acknowledged, aside from alcoholism or drug addiction.

The need for more own voices sharing real, lived experiences is one young audiences continue to crave. Challenge yourself to share the stories no writer other than you can tell. One day, a kid might thank you for it.

Rachel Werner is faculty for Hugo House and The Loft Literary Center; a We Need Diverse Books program volunteer; and a book reviewer for Shelf Awareness. She has contributed print, photography and video content to Fabulous Wisconsin, BLK+GRN, BRAVA, Madison Magazine and Entrepreneurial Chef. She is also the founder of The Little BookProject WI, a community arts and nonprofit bi-annual collaboration. A passionate commitment to holistic wellness and sustainable agriculture keeps her a Midwestern girl at heart—and Madison resident.

Top photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash (mural painted by Annabelle Wombacher, Jared Mar, Sierra Ratcliff and Benjamin Cahoon).

#nanowrimo #writing #amwriting #nano prep #intersectionality #intersectional writing #YA #by nano guest #rachel werner #representation

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