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witchthewriter · 1 year

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, human reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

inspired by @angelltheninth (check out their work, it’s amazing!)

a/n: All characters are aged up and over the age of 18. Let me know if you want me to do more characters in the Avatar preferences xx

Warning: this is sfw, but I accidentally have a few sexual innuendos...

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ

𝑺𝑭𝑾🌿

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: Not in an established relationship, but both of you are interested in one another. You had made your way to Pandora because you’re a journalist excited to write about this new world. You didn’t think romance would be in the cards, but here you are, completely head over heels.

𝐉𝐚𝐤𝐞

・Understands your curiosity, as he felt the same way

・He isn’t as defensive as other Na’vi would be

・Lets you touch and feel his fangs, tail and ears.

・On instinct, his ears flicker, like cats’ do when they sense something is near

・You wouldn’t be ready for his tail though. Being up close to it - god it would be massive. His actual tail is smooth, just like his body. But at the end, it has a different texture, it’s a bit fuzzier.

・What really interested you was the queue. It was connected from the back of his head and ended in tendril like forms.

・Eywa didn’t intend on humans coming to Pandora, but because there are similarities between humans and Na’vi, when you touched it, it felt like a small shock throughout your body

・You yelped when it happened, and Jake laughed so much he snorted

・In this situation, Jake would definitely be laying down on his back, swatting you playfully with his tail

・No matter your height, it’s nothing compared to Jake’s. His long legs are stretched out, and that’s when you become fascinated with his feet

・” You’re feet are HUGE!?”

・A lot of comparisons: putting hands against each other, measuring how much distance there is between your heights etc

𝐍𝐞𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐢

・She would see your curiosity as a positive thing as her features are strongly related to her spirituality. Her pointed ears, fangs and tail were specially created by Eywa so that she could experience her world in the most intense way

・Swats your hand away at first, but then realises she likes the feel of your hands

・You touch her apprehensively, not wanting to cross any boundaries

・But once Neytiri sees that you’re trying to be respectful, she would answer your questions before you even voice them

・You don’t prod or poke, but gently feel and caress

・Scrunches her nose when you stare at her fangs

“I wish I had fangs-” you blurted out.

“You have features that are most beautiful,” Neytiri replies, moving the hair out of your eyes

・She laughs when you start chasing her, trying to catch her tail

“Skxawng!” She shrieks joyfully, turning around to grab ahold of you.

・Collapsing on the ground, she turns her head to look at you, and holds your cheek in her hand “beautiful,” she whispers.

𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐦

・After giving his consent, Neteyam would smirk at the way your eyes narrow and light up. Especially at his queue and how the tendrils reach for something to latch onto

“I wonder why Eywa chose to make you blue. You could have been purple, or maybe even green...”

He chuckles and shakes his head, “what?”

・Thinks it’s funny and playfully bites your finger when you prod his fangs

・Is a bit defensive/protective of his tail though, and you would have to ask his consent to play with it

・Starts to purr when you touch him. He starts doing it within seconds. You don’t say anything about it until he coughs, trying to disguise it

・Scares you by suddenly moving his tail. You were so focused on being respectful that it made you jump. It made you laugh though, but sparked a million more questions about how tails work -

“So you can control it? What does it feel like? Is it considered another limb? Can you pick things up with it? Is it for balance?”

・Does his best to answer your questions but he has to think deeply about it because it’s natural to him.

・Tries to explain things by using your body as an example (but his sentence trails off because he gets lost in thought while staring at your body...)

𝐋𝐨'𝐚𝐤

・Is a bit shocked at your curiosity. These parts of him seem so normal, it’s your body that looks weird to him

・Mimics you when you start prodding and poking at different parts of his body

・While you trace his ears, he moves your hair to do the same.

“So round-” he murmurs.

“So blue,” you retort.

・Smirks, but is also deeply blushing whenever you mutter “wow”

・A lot of tail swishing when you’re looking at his fangs. He’s in a mixed mindset - embarrassment, excitement, eagerness ...

・When you’re doing this investigation, you get him from standing to sitting (because he’s so tall). You grab onto his arm and pull him downward, so you’re eye to eye

・ You cock your head from side to side, looking at his facial features. Your fingers run from his forehead over his nose and down to his chin

・And Lo’ak is doing ALL HE CAN not to kiss you

・Your sitting in between his legs, one hand is on your hip while you admire his other one

“Your hand is nearly the size of my skull.”

・The interaction turns from playful to intimate. And you’re trying not to focus on Lo’ak’s roaming hand...

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alexiethymia · 1 year

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he makes her feel selfless and she makes him feel selfish

attempt at a meta or rather more incoherent gushing about these two

I love the contrast of the above scene, how Vash is joyous, all-smiling. While Meryl is wrecked, in tears. Most often, it seems that’s how they also remember each other.

Meryl likes to remember Vash happy and at peace. Vash remembers Meryl while she’s solemn and also a bit vulnerable. In a way, they inspire emotion in each other that’s hard for them to express. Vash has had a lot of sadness in his life, but while he will always wear a smile, I think he finds it harder to let himself be genuinely happy than to cry. Meanwhile, Meryl hates to cry. She hates to let down her guard and appear as if she can’t take care of herself, but with Vash, she really can’t help herself.

I ship WildeHopps (another goofy tall character hiding sadness with a smirk and a straight-laced, determined shorty. even their eyecolors are the same!) and I remember that there was a thing in the fandom about foxes that they can’t help but shout when they see their mate, and I don’t know how accurate the translations are, but even when they reunite again, Vash can’t help but shout out ‘Meryl!’ in happiness (seriously despite how surprised he was, he could’t help his smile. and he only called out meryl despite milly also being there, like rude, vash, if milly wasn’t such a sweetheart and loved you both to bits, but anyway, I digress…)

I really loved the fistbump (*cough indirect kiss cough*) scene so much because in asmuch as it was Vash comforting Meryl, it was also about him taking comfort in Meryl, which when we remember from his waterworks when Marlon called him out on it, he previously found really hard to do.

On Meryl’s side, we actually see that she has the same values as Vash. I love the Little Arcadia chapter/episode so much for this reason. Grandpa’s speech to Meryl about following your own path and your connection to your parents, resonated with her, but we as the readers also know that it’s something that would have also resonated with Vash. She wanted to resolve the conflict without anyone losing their life, and at first couldn’t understand why something like land would be more important than life. But push comes to shove, when she sees the resolve of someone to protect something, she puts her life on the line anyway. We even see traces of it in the anime with how she also shoots non-lethal shots, and that one time when she saved Vash, she shot the light to fall on the person instead of shooting the person. That sort of pacifism is present in her and Milly although they may not be as obvious about it as Vash, which is why despite himself, Vash finds himself growing closer to the girls and considering them as among his most important people despite the fact that he knew them only recently compared to the people from Home and Marlon. Even Milly’s principles regarding family bonds would also be something that would resonate with Vash, and it’s important that he was there in the shadows because I think that was the turning point in how he started to consider them his friends. So in a lot of ways, despite Meryl not wanting him to, I think Vash truly sees the vulnerability that she tries to hide. And I find it so believable and endearing that he would be drawn to her because of that similarity and connection between them.

they both inspire hope in each other

When I say that Vash inspires Meryl to be selfless, it’s in the way she will risk everything just so she can be there for Vash, to overcome fear and her own human limitations, just so she can hold him close. Vash (and through his connections with others like Luida) inspires in Meryl hope for a better world. At the same time, I always got the feeling that the type of love that Meryl felt was something she would be content to keep on giving to this person who always kept on giving to others, even when there was a chance that she would never get it back or have it returned. I imagine that she would have been fine with that as long as Vash felt that he was unconditionally loved.

When I say, Meryl makes Vash feel selfish, it is within the context that selfish for Vash is already a normal level or base desire of wanting to be happy in other people. I remember Legato’s observation of Vash, that he considered himself as having utterly no value in this world. Of course a person like that would be fine with dying!

But this person who considers himself worthless, eventually makes a promise like this.

Vash must know that there’s a high likelihood he’ll die. Someone as self-sacrificial as him wouldn’t want anyone, much less a person he cares deeply for, to be hurt by him. And yet he makes this ‘selfish’ request of Meryl anyways. And it matters so, so much that he does. Because it shows that he can consider himself as someone who can make another person happy. It’s a promise to her, as well as to himself, that he won’t let himself simply die. He wouldn’t anyway because of how much he values Rem, but with this promise, it feels like his wanting to live is finally something he wants to do for himself, and not just as a continuation of Rem’s memory. Like with the fistbump scene, this promise was as much for him as for Meryl. I know he still would have fought to live and to protect humans, but at the same time, in the wake of Wolfwood’s death, I also felt that he would have been at peace should he have died trying. So this promise was to tether himself (to her). It’s something to keep him fighting to live now that he knows there’s someone out there waiting for him, by his own actions at that. More than that or simply put, it’s just a simple thing of allowing himself to want something or someone.

And this is how Meryl inspires hope in him. All this time he’s loved humans, but it always felt like he was living beside them and not with them. He doesn’t know what it is with Meryl, maybe her sheer stubbornness, but somehow she ends up representing that hope, that possibility of finally living together with humans (with her). In contrast to Meryl’s hope, it’s a very simple and humane one. To have someone care for him, to have someone wait for him, to have someone to come home to, to have someone who loves him. And it’s funny that it seems that Meryl expects nothing in return for her overwhelming love for Vash, because Vash actually meets her halfway. He’s the one to initiate the kiss. He’s the one to make the promise and have her promise. Finally, he’s taking the chance of his happiness into his own hands and doing something about it. I just, I really can’t with them. No wonder I ended up being vashmeryl trash.

#vashmeryl #trigun #trimax #trigun maximum #vash the stampede #meryl stryfe #have this messy attempt at a #trigun meta #ships #I really cannot with them #it’s all about the self-loathing and the self-worth #and having someone see you and be seen #who says you have to love yourself first before you can love someone?#it’s also possible that being unconditionally loved allows you to finally love yourself #it’s the subtlety #listen the best ships #the ships you end up thinking about at 3am in the morning #are those ships who don’t even kiss #who say I love you without saying I love you #think #fullmetal alchemist #‘I can’t lose you too.’#‘Give me half of yours and I’ll give you half of mine!’#nightrow knew what he was doing when he did that indirect kiss #‘wait for me’#this is long but that’s only because I have a lot of feelings about them

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hayatheauthor · 9 months

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Compelling Storyline

I'll warn you, this is a long one. I kind of took 'comprehensive guide' a little too seriously.

You have a fantastic concept burning at the edges of your imagination, a collection of characters whispering their stories to you, and a world just waiting to be explored. But how do you weave all these elements into a story that grips readers and refuses to let go? The answer lies in effective plot planning.

A well-crafted plot isn't just a sequence of events; it's a carefully orchestrated symphony that takes readers on an unforgettable ride. Whether you're an experienced writer or someone trying to start their first book, here are my personal steps to crafting a compelling storyline with good plot planning.

Step 1: Idea Generation and Conceptualization

Every great story begins with a spark of inspiration. It's that moment when an idea ignites in your mind and beckons you to explore its potential. The journey from a fleeting thought to a fully-fledged concept is an exhilarating one, and it all starts with idea generation and conceptualization.

Techniques for Idea Generation

Mind Mapping

Grab a piece of paper or use a digital tool to create a mind map. Write your central idea in the middle and branch out with related concepts, characters, themes, and settings. Mind mapping can help you visualize the connections and possibilities within your idea.

Bullet journalling

Bullet journalling is my personal favourite way to generate ideas for your WIP. Get a piece of paper or open a Word/Docs document and create three different sections: world, characters, and plot. Now add facts to each of those sections that you've come up with so far.

You can even go a step ahead and create more detailed sections, for example, you could do this for your different characters or different places in your world. Usually, one bullet point leads to the next and once you have an idea of everything you've already established you'll naturally start adding more to it.

Blurting

Talk to someone about your WIP, or pretend that you're talking to someone and write down everything that comes to mind. You can even use AI tools like ChatGPT and ask it to hold a conversation with you about your WIP. Tell it to ask you questions along the way, this will get the wheels turning and even help fill plot holes.

Prompts and Challenges

Explore writing prompts or challenges to spark your creativity. Websites, books, or even random word generators can provide the nudge you need to generate fresh ideas.

Refining Your Concept

Once you have a collection of ideas, it's time to refine and shape them into a cohesive concept.

Identify Themes

What themes or messages do you want to convey through your story? Is it a tale of redemption, the power of friendship, or the consequences of ambition? Pinpointing your core themes will guide your storytelling and also give you a clear image of the end goal.

Find Your Angle

Consider what makes your idea unique. How can you approach a familiar concept from a fresh perspective? For example, if you're doing a classic murder mystery, what makes your book different from others? Take some time to look up titles similar to your WIP and find any repetitive themes/patterns.

Maybe most murder mysteries end with the partner being the killer, or maybe the fantasy books written in the same mythology as your WIP's all involve a war. Knowing what is currently a popular trend in the market can give you a clear idea of where you can be different from comparable titles. This is especially important for genres like horror and romance.

Develop a Premise

Your premise is the foundation of your story. It's the "what if?" question that drives your narrative. For instance, "What if an ordinary high school student discovers they have the ability to control time?" You need to have a solid premise before you even think about writing your story.

Step 2: Character Development and Motivation

Characters are the beating heart of your story, and crafting them with depth and authenticity is key to creating a narrative that truly captivates. Your characters often leave more of a lasting impact on your readers than the plot itself.

Think of it this way: a good plot will get you readers, but memorable characters will get you fans. Some of the largest communities in the book space all run on the readers' fondness for certain characters rather than the story itself. Yes, your story and the way you tell it is very important, but nobody wants to listen to the story of a boring person.

Bringing Characters to Life

Personal Histories

Delve into your characters' pasts. What experiences shaped them into who they are today? A traumatic childhood or a life-changing event can influence their motivations and behaviours. Maybe your antagonist has a soft spot for single parents because their mother was the only person who cared for them. Maybe the love interest seems like a sunshine character because they feel the need to always seem put-together and perfect.

Physical Traits

This might sound obvious enough, after all a character's appearance is the first thing people think of when visualising, however, many authors fail to have a clear image of their character's physical traits which can lead to inconsistent or boring descriptions. Sure, your protagonist can have bushy hair and brown eyes, but what else?

Think about their body type, height, fashion sense, the way they carry themselves, walk, and sound. Do they have a random mole at the back of their neck? Do they always smell like a certain perfume because their dead father gifted it to them? It's important for you to have a clear image of who you're writing.

Strengths and Flaws

Just like real people, characters have strengths and weaknesses. These traits affect their decisions and interactions. A courageous hero might also struggle with recklessness, adding complexity to their personality. It's easy to create 2D characters by using tropes or shallow descriptions 'an all-powerful villain' 'the chosen one who trained their whole life and is perfect', but 3D characters are what will actually catch your readers' attention.

There's a reason why people often love the grey characters, the anti-heroes or anti-villains. Those who have complex personalities that make them seem human. This makes us empathise with the characters, and as a writer, it also helps you think of your characters as real people with flaws and problems.

Motivations: The Why Behind the What

Goals and Desires

What do your characters want? Their goals drive the plot forward. A detective's desire to solve a mystery or a scientist's quest for a groundbreaking discovery sets the narrative in motion. Why is your protagonist doing what they are doing?

You could simply give yourself a generic answer like 'they want to save the people' or 'they're a good person' but this can lead to confusion in the long run. If as the writer you yourself can't understand your character's goals it will get very hard to showcase them to your readers. Try to pick apart each character and genuinely consider why they are the way they are.

Inner Conflicts

Characters often grapple with inner turmoil – the clash between their desires, values, and fears. This inner conflict adds layers of intrigue and reliability. Maybe your protagonist realises the antagonist's qualms with the government are actually valid and suffers from moral conflicts as they contemplate whether or not they are the 'good guy'. Inner conflict adds dimension to your characters which in turn makes it easier for your readers to empathise with them.

Step 3: Outlining the Key Plot Points

Now that you have a clear idea of what you want to write and who you want to write it with, it's time to consider the how. You have a story, but how do you want to tell it? Break down the key plot points that shape your narrative, creating a roadmap that guides your characters through their trials and triumphs.

The Building Blocks of Plot

The Inciting Incident

The spark that ignites your story. It's the moment when your protagonist's world is disrupted, setting them on a path of change. For example, in "The Hunger Games," Katniss Everdeen's sister being chosen for the Games is the inciting incident that propels her into the arena.

This can be a little harder to recognise in genres outside of SFF and horror. For a thriller novel, this moment could be the moment your protagonist uncovers a sketchy detail in their relative's death. In romance, it could be the moment your protagonist is introduced to the love interest.

Turning Points

These are pivotal moments that shift the course of your narrative. They introduce new challenges, reveal secrets, or force characters to make crucial decisions. Think of them as the gears that keep your story machine turning. It's important to have some sort of turning point in your story to keep things interesting.

Maybe the character your protagonist was suspecting throughout the first half of the book ends up having a solid alibi, or a seemingly innocent character suddenly seems sketchy.

The Climax

The peak of tension and conflict. It's the moment your characters face their biggest challenge and must make their ultimate choice. In "The Lord of the Rings," the climactic battle at Mount Doom decides the fate of Middle-earth. In a murder mystery, this can be the moment the real killer is unveiled, or in a rom-com, it could be when the love interest moves to a new city to follow the protagonist.

Falling Action and Resolution

As your story winds down, the falling action ties up loose ends and provides closure. Readers witness the aftermath of the climax, and the characters' arcs find resolution. This is the bit where you make sure you aren't leaving any plot holes behind. Remember that random character your protagonist suspected at the start of the book? What's their alibi, why did they suddenly get out of the picture?

Structuring Plot Points

Introduction of Stakes

Introduce what your characters stand to gain or lose early on. This creates a sense of urgency that propels them forward. What if your protagonist fails to complete their missions? What if the detective never unveils the killer's identity? What if your protagonist doesn't win over the love interest? Show your readers the worst possible outcome early on so they know why they should be rooting for your protagonist.

This doesn't necessarily have to be something big or scary. In Harry Potter, many of us wanted Harry to stay at Hogwarts because his life with the Dursleys was cruel and he deserved happiness. That was a small yet significant stake that made the readers empathetic and silently root for Harry.

Foreshadowing and Setup

Plant seeds of future events throughout your story. Foreshadowing builds anticipation and adds depth, making later plot developments more satisfying. I have written a lot of blogs that either cover or briefly mention foreshadowing so I'm going to keep this point a little short.

Foreshadowing helps your readers slowly piece everything together and have that 'I knew it!' or 'how did I not see this coming?' moment. It might also encourage them to turn back and reread your work to focus on the little hints you left throughout the book. Foreshadowing is especially important in murder mysteries.

Step 4: Subplots and Secondary Storylines

Subplots and secondary storylines are the secret ingredients that transform a good story into an unforgettable masterpiece. They add layers of intrigue, provide character development opportunities, and keep readers eagerly turning pages. If you're confused about what is a subplot and how to create one you can visit my previous blog that focuses on this topic.

The Role of Subplots

Enriching Character Arcs

Subplots allow secondary characters to shine. They can showcase different facets of your characters' personalities, revealing their strengths, weaknesses, growth, and relationships.

Theme Reinforcement

Subplots can explore and reinforce your story's themes from various angles. For instance, a romantic subplot can underscore the theme of love and sacrifice, in turn making your protagonist’s heroic death at the end of the novel seem more impactful. We all know Pepper’s reaction to Tony’s death in End Game made the moment more emotional.

While creating subplots and considering which one might be relevant to your book you should think of how this subplot would impact your end goal and whether it would help emotionally connect with your readers.

Parallel Journeys

Subplots can create parallel journeys that mirror or contrast with the main plot. This dynamic adds depth and resonance to your storytelling. Maybe the antagonist’s assistant has a similar backstory to your protagonist but while the protagonist was rescued by the government they were taken in by the antagonist. As the two geniuses face each other your protagonist can’t help but consider whether they would still be fighting for the ‘good’ side had their roles been switched.

Balancing The Main Plot and Subplots

Interconnectedness

Subplots shouldn't feel disconnected from the main plot. Instead, they should interact and influence each other, creating a harmonious narrative flow. Your subplot could help bring a satisfactory end to a certain arc of your story, or it could sow the roots for the important climactic moment of your book.

Pacing and Tension

Strategically introduce subplots to maintain pacing and tension. They can provide moments of relief or heightened drama, enhancing the overall reading experience.

Character Integration

Ensure that characters involved in subplots maintain relevance to the main plot. Their actions and decisions should contribute to the overarching story, even as they pursue their own paths. You should also think about whether or not your character is overshadowing the protagonist. In Harry Potter there were several characters such as Ginny, Luna and Neville with subplots and backstories of their own, however, they never overshadowed Harry’s tale.

Step 5: Crafting Scenes and Sequences

Welcome to the realm where the magic truly comes to life – crafting scenes that resonate, captivate, and propel your story forward. Scenes are the building blocks of your narrative, each one a window into your characters' world and emotions. They help infuse your story with tension, emotion, and unforgettable moments.

Again, this is a topic I’ve covered separately in another blog so I won’t go into too much detail here.

Scene Structure and Elements

Objective and Conflict

Every scene should have a purpose – a clear objective that drives the characters. Introduce conflict that challenges their goals and motivations, creating tension that keeps readers engaged.

Emotion and Stakes

Characters' emotions are the heartbeats of scenes. Amplify emotions by highlighting what's at stake for the characters. Whether it's a heated argument or a tender moment, emotions draw readers in.

Sequences: Crafting a Flow

Cause and Effect

Scenes connect through cause and effect. Each scene's outcome sets the stage for the next, creating a seamless flow that propels the narrative. A character's choice in one scene can reverberate and shape subsequent events.

Rising Action

Craft sequences with escalating tension. The stakes should intensify, drawing characters deeper into challenges and dilemmas. This creates a sense of anticipation that keeps readers eagerly turning pages.

Step 6: Mapping the Journey: Creating a Visual Plot Outline

Visualising your plot, characters, and world can be very hard sometimes. Let's be honest, words can only do so much and if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to show your readers you can end up going down a path of 'telling' them everything. This can take away from the point of your story and end up boring your readers. If you find it hard to visualise where you're going with your book, here are some tips that can help.

Visual Tools for Plot Planning

Timelines and Flowcharts

Create a timeline that outlines the sequence of major events, from inciting incidents to resolution. Flowcharts visually depict the interconnectedness of plot points, making it easy to track the evolution of your story. You can also cut out or add bits depending on how far along you are. This will also help you keep track of what scene/development should be introduced when and why.

Index Cards or Post-Its

Write down key scenes, plot developments, and character arcs on individual index cards or sticky notes. Arrange and rearrange them on a board or wall to visualize the narrative's flow. You can also do this if you're confused about the climax of your novel by adding different ideas to the post-its and putting them alongside the rest of the book's plot to see what things would look like from a reader's perspective.

Infusing Creativity

Playlists

Curate a playlist that captures the mood and emotions of your story. Music has the power to transport you to the heart of your narrative, helping you channel the right atmosphere while plotting. You can listen to this playlist every time you sit down to write WIP. With time, this will also help you overcome writer’s block since you can put on this playlist every time you struggle to get into the right writing mindset.

Moodboards/Pinterest Boards

Create a visual feast by collecting images, aesthetics, and visuals that embody your story's essence. Platforms like Pinterest allow you to craft moodboards that serve as visual touchstones. I would recommend creating a separate pinboard for every character so you can get a clear idea of their vibe and appearance. You can even refer to these every time you're writing about or from the perspective of a new character.

Step 7: Flexibility and Adaptability

As you embark on your writing journey, remember that stories have a life of their own. Embracing flexibility and adaptability is your compass through uncharted territories.

Allow characters to surprise you, let plots pivot, and themes emerge. Balancing structure with spontaneity ensures a dynamic narrative that resonates deeply. Listen to your characters, explore ethical complexities, and evolve alongside your story.

By staying open to the unexpected, you infuse your writing with authenticity and richness. Your plot outline is a guide, but your characters and themes have the power to shape the course. Embrace the unpredictable, and watch your story flourish beyond your imagination.

I hope this blog on A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Compelling Storyline will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and publishing tips for authors every Monday and Thursday! And don’t forget to head over to my TikTok and Instagram profiles @hayatheauthor to learn more about my WIP and writing journey!

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raayllum · 5 months

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Been thinking recently about the idea in fandom that boils down to, usually, "the Character that Changes the most being deemed 'the most complex'" and that character development (i.e. character change) being held up as The Golden Standard of a Good Character and...

I fundamentally disagree, but first, a little bit more explanation about what I mean

Very often shows and movies, when being recommended on tumblr, are sold on the basis of having enjoyable/in-depth characters. Often times this also means conflating enjoyable with likeable, but that's a discussion post for another day. And even more often, it means there are characters who are seen as Deep because of how radically they change over the course of a story.

Lots of times, this falls into two camps:

Characters change radically, but early on in the story, and remain largely the same past that point of change (think anytime in a first season) until the end of the story

People recommending shows based on characters having traditional redemption arcs (enemy or bully to friend / good guy / love interest)

Now, I'm not saying that 1) character change can't be deep or 2) that character growth is bad. Neither of those things are true, even subjectively. What I am saying is that 1) character change / a character changing is not the same as automatically being a good, interesting, or well written character and 2) character growth is not the be-all-end-all of character writing. Yes, there can be problems with characters be overly stagnant, but typically that's only an issue if 1) a work is serialized and concerned with character development and they don't change at all, 2) a character never adjusts (rightly or wrongly) according to their mistakes, or 3) all of the above but they're a main character.

However, assuming that Character A has to be radically different at the beginning of a story in terms of their personality/values/etc. as they are at the end of the story is just... not how it works, necessarily. This is, I think, one of the reasons why antagonists who get redemption arcs tend to be more popular than heroes who had good values the whole time, because there's more opportunity to point and go "look, they've changed! they act on and have basic compassion now!" Which, fair enough, but again: other types of characters are fine too.

Particularly for characters fandom tends to have the hardest time with: paragons.

Paragons are characters who are usually the central hero, pretty morally if not entirely moral upstanding, and because they already start out in a place of "always doing the right thing," they rarely radically change by the end of the story. Instead, paragons are used to progress theme/messaging and inspire other characters around them to change (a good example might be Buddy from the Christmas movie Elf and to a lesser extent - as he's more transformative as a character - Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who's there to return childhood to his friends as an ideal and carry on Air Nomad values).

And for TDP, that's Ezran.

He's the youngest in the main cast and by far the most measured. While Callum and Rayla are off fighting, he keeps a level head. He assumes responsiblity largely without guilt, holds other people accountable most often without being cruel, he's kind and deeply compassionate, he shows regular empathy for his enemies even when he has to treat them like enemies, he loves his father but does not idealize him, he is king without craving power, he's trusting and honest and while he has his flaws (overly optimistic, his passivity, sometimes struggles to consider other people's emotions, naivety, etc), they - as of yet - are not overly connected to his sense of morality (which is a distinct difference compared to the rest of the main cast).

Now, TDP is less concerned with the theme of Childhood compared to something like ATLA, but Ezran being a child (again, in a way the rest of the cast is not) is also very important. Ezran, and Callum to a lesser extent, is the embodiment of the concept that children aren't born with hatred in their hearts; it's learned, or earned, through experience, society, and suffering. And as Ezran spells out for us in 4x03, he has suffered and been hurt - and he believes in breaking the cycle and believing in hope for a better future anyway.

Ezran's steadfast reflection of the series' core theme of "true strength - to break the cycle - is found in vulnerability, in forgiveness, in love" in both word and action does make him the closest thing to a paragon in the series. He's the one who finds the egg; he's the one who forgives Rayla and Soren; he's the one who still tries to help Claudia; he's the peacemaker, the literal bridge between peoples and species in spite of witnessing so many of their worst crimes/actions.

In both arcs, there tended to be a trio of characters who rapidly change, and a trio of characters who are more, comparatively, stagnated. Early S1 Rayla, Callum, and Soren are radically different in a ton of ways than they are even at the beginning of S3, but especially by the end. On the other hand, Viren - post 1x03 at least - Claudia and Ezran are far more consistent in arc 1; their circumstances change, but their viewpoints and realities and choices are largely the same from season to season - they just keep doubling down. This doesn't mean they don't change at all, but they don't radically transform - they just become more of what they already are.

I'd say that in arc 2, things have switched up, with Callum, Rayla, and Viren being the three who are radically transformed (thus far) with Soren, Claudia, and Ezran still being in the more stagnated corner. (For more notes on Claudia and Ezran's shared passivity, check out this pre-S4 meta.)

Ezran starts out the series as a good hearted, slightly mischevious little boy who loves his family and believes that people can be good. The point of the series is not to change these parts of him. It's to demonstrate the difficulties - losing both his parents, taking on the kingship, struggling to make the right choices, keeping his friends together, caring about peace and sentiment in a world that increasingly does not - of maintaining those positive traits, again, in a world that is determined to test those ideals and attributes.

Ezran is not here to be transformed by the storm, the same way his friends and some of his companions are. He is here to demonstrate the strength and necessity in weathering the storm so that the world cannot make you cold, or uncaring, or violent, even when those paths and emotions would be much easier to go down.

Good character development isn't about changing your character; it's about changing your audience's understanding and perspective of your character. Sometimes that means the character is also changing simultaneously, but that's far from a requirement for a character to be interesting. Like most things in writing, what it really boils down to is execution.

And I could go on about why I think people gravitate towards characters who start off evil (often part of imperialist empires or older, institutionally backed systems) and learn that the evil was wrong actually (and sometimes not even that) but that's a meta for another day, and this one is long enough.

TLDR; Ezran, like a few other characters in the show - antagonists and protagonists alike - is not meant to be a radically transformative, even though he very much has grown and changed. Instead, he's meant to exemplify the importance of not losing your sense of self in an increasingly cruel or difficult world, and what parts we should arguably try our best to hold onto as well.

#writing advice #tdp #as an example #analysis series #analysis #tdp ezran #ezran #the dragon prince #writeblr #i've always preferred paragons / non traditional redemption arcs so my preferences are #very opposed to general tumblr's but not at all surprising #also don't think i need to spell out why paragons would be particularly compelling for ND / autistic folks

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thehomelybrewster · 9 days

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1d8 "Free" Fantasy RPGs To Replace 5e At Your Table

D&D 5e sure is a roleplaying game, and it's one that I have enjoyed a lot. However, that doesn't mean that I'd recommend it automatically for other people. This has many reasons, which I won't elaborate here. It has also shaped the perception of TTRPGs significantly thanks to its market dominance, and not in a good way.

5e has a reputation for being an expensive, complex game, and 5e players fear that other RPGs might just be the same. That it's too much of a hassle and too much of a financial burden to switch systems.

So, to help 5e players pick out a different system, I've made this handy 1d8 rolling table to help them pick a fantasy TTRPG with a combat component that they can try instead!

Let's now go through these eight nine RPGs and see what's up with them, right below the "Keep reading" section!

I'll be listing some metrics like the page count for the rulebook(s), the core resolution mechanic, how complex the game is in terms of character creation & combat, and how well-supported the game is by their publisher and the community-at-large.

1. Cairn

Author: Yochai Gal

Release Year: 2020

Cost: Free PDF, printed copies cost between $3 to $10 depending on the print quality.

Page Count: 24

Website: https://cairnrpg.com/

Resolution Mechanic: 1d20 Roll Under system for ability checks/saving throws, attacks hit automatically, "fiction-first".

Action Economy: Movement + one action per round.

Characters: Random character creation, class-less and level-less, advancement based on "Scars" (suffering damage that reduces your HP exactly to 0)

Setting: Implied. Low-magic European-style fantasy; mysterious woodlands.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Hit Protection and Ability damage instead of HP, Slot-Based Inventory.

Degree of Support: Very high. Available in fifteen languages (e.g. Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and German); full rules text is under CC-BY-SA 4.0; multiple published third-party adventures & supplements available; some official bonus material (e.g. bestiary, magic items/relics, and spells) is available for free on the website.

Addendum: An expanded 2nd Edition is currently on Kickstarter (ends April 26th 2024); Cairn is legitimately easy to learn, however the Hit Protection system and the connected Scars system is a very different abstraction to health and advancement compared to 5e.

2. Cloud Empress

Author: worlds by watt

Release Year: 2023

Cost: Free PDF of the rulebook and the creator-written sample adventure "Last Voyage of the Bean Barge", $20 for the print edition of the rulebook, $12 for PDF supplements, $25 for print + PDF supplements; free solo rules also available as PDF only.

Page Count: 60

Website: https://cloudempress.com/

Resolution Mechanic: d100 Roll Under system for stat checks/saving throws, critical successes or failures on doubles (11, 22, 33, etc.), 5e-style advantage/disadvantage, attacks generally hit automatically.

Action Economy: Two actions per round with no free movement.

Characters: Semi-random character creation, four classes ("jobs"), no rules for character advancement in the ruleset.

Setting: Specific. "Ecological science fantasy" heavily inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind"; costly magic, giant insects, dangerous mushrooms; only human player characters.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Damage points culminate in Wounds; Wounds and Stress as ways to track your character's physical and mental state; slot-based inventory system.

Degree of Support: Low-ish. Several official supplements exist, however third-party material is very sparse. May improve due to the recent establishment of a Cloud Empress Creators Fund, has a simple 3rd party license system.

Addendum: A supplement, "Cloud Empress: Life & Death" is currently on Kickstarter (ends April 26th 2024, yes, the same day as Cairn 2e) and as a disclaimer I even backed that current Kickstarter; Cloud Empress is built on the engine of the sci-fi horror RPG "Mothership"; clearly built for one-shots and short campaigns; has a wonderful resting system that encourages roleplay between players.

3. Iron Halberd

Author: level2janitor

Release Year: 2023

Cost: Free PDF of the rules; no print option available.

Page Count: 60

Website: https://level2janitor.itch.io/iron-halberd

Resolution Mechanic: 1d20 + Bonus Roll Over system against difficulty or armor rating, however most non-combat-related actions follow a fiction first approach without dice rolls.

Action Economy: Movement + one action per round.

Characters: Semi-random character creation, class-less but there are four different "gear kits" that nudge your character towards certain archetypes, levelling up with XP.

Setting: Essentially non-existant. General European fantasy with magic, gods may or may not exist/shape the world, various fantastic ancestries included.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Includes rules for building strongholds and maintaining warbands; slot-based inventory with a durability mechanic.

Degree of Support: None. The game is intended to be relatively compatible with other OSR content and the creator suggests using adventures made for the D&D retroclone Old-School Essentials if you wanna use pre-published ones. An official introductory adventure, "Sea-Spray Bay", is apparently in the works. No 3rd party license available, as far as I know.

Addendum: One thing about Iron Halberd I like especially is how it uses random tables for generating equipment. Most of the equipment is listed in a numerical order by category, and the various gear kits include references on different rolling formulas for those equipment categories. For example someone taking the "soldier's kit" rolls twice on the d20 Weapons table and takes their preferred pick, while someone taking the "sage's kit" only rolls a d4 on that table.

4. Mausritter

Author: Isaac Williams

Release Year: 2020

Cost: Free PDF of the ruleset available; box set with the rules and several goodies including an adventure costs $55; additional box set + PDFs containing eleven official adventures costs $55 (or $20 digital-only).

Page Count: 48

Website: https://mausritter.com/

Resolution Mechanic: 1d20 Roll Under system, 5e-style advantage/disadvantage, attacks always hit.

Action Economy: Movement + one action per round.

Characters: Random character creation, class-less, levelling up with XP.

Setting: Vaguely specific. You play as mice and everything is related to mouse-size; cats are the equivalents of devils or dragons; humans exist as a setting background but may or may not be present in a campaign.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Includes rules for recruiting warbands; slot-based inventory with a durability mechanic.

Degree of Support: Very high. Several official supplements exist, as well as loads of content, be it adventures or supplements, made by other creators. Available in seven languages (all of them however are European). Has a simple 3rd party license system.

Addendum: Mausritter uses the phrase "adventure site" instead of dungeons. On the website a free adventure site generator is available, as is a digital tool that can be used to generate your own item cards for the slot-based inventory system.

5. Maze Rats

Author: Ben Milton

Release Year: 2017

Cost: $4.99 for the PDF, no print option regularly available.

Page Count: 32

Website: https://questingbeast.substack.com/

Resolution Mechanic: 2d6 + Bonus Roll Over system; advantage system that uses 3d6 drop the lowest + Bonus.

Action Economy: Movement + one action per round.

Characters: Semi-random character creation, class-less but instead there are character features (e.g. spell slots or attack bonuses), levelling up with XP.

Setting: Essentially non-existant. Magic is very irregular (s. the section below), but otherwise it implies a vaguely European fantasy setting.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Spells are randomly generated each adventuring day and spell effects are negotiated between the GM and the spellcasting player; includes several fantastic d66 tables that can be used to randomly generate worlds.

Degree of Support: Decent. The rule text is licensed under CC BY 4.0 and unofficial translations are available. Some third-party content has been made specifically for the game.

Addendum: The only purchase-only game on this list. However "unofficial" distribution of the PDF is very common. Also this is the oldest game on the list. Ben "Questing Beast" Milton is a prolific OSR blogger and runs a YouTube channel on the OSR. Great dude.

6. Sherwood - A Game of Outlaws & Arcana

Author: Richard Ruane

Release Year: 2022

Cost: Free quickstart PDF titled "Sherwood - A Quickstart of Outlaws" available; digital rulebook costs $7.50 and the print edition (including PDF) costs $15.

Page Count: 25 (Quickstart), 32 (Rulebook)

Website: https://www.r-rook.studio/

Resolution Mechanic: 2d6 + Bonus Roll Over system for skill checks (including attacks), 2d6 Roll Under system for saving throws; advantage & disadvantage system that involves rolling 3d6 and using the higher/lower of the two results; almost all rolls are player-facing

Action Economy: "Conversational", assumption of movement + action.

Characters: Largely choice-based character creation. Combine two (of six) background abilities with the benefits of seven different careers. Big focus on interpersonal relationships during character creation. Limited character advancement takes place during downtime.

Setting: Specific. Takes place in a fantastical version of 13th century England, with fey and magic coexisting with outlaws and crusaders.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: The group of outlaws possesses two shared resources (Resources and Legend) that can be spent to gain certain benefits; spellcasting is divided into two categories: arcane talents and sorcerous rites, with the former being immediate and the later taking significant time; slot-based inventory.

Degree of Support: None. No further publications exist for the game and while it is published under the CC-BY 4.0 license, no third-party content exists as far as I know. It does include a guide on how to convert D&D and Troika (N)PCs into Sherwood characters, as well as three adventure seeds (one in the Quickstart, two in the rules), which is at least something.

Addendum: Might just be the game on this list that encourages the most roleplaying; the character sheet is sadly very provisional-feeling and the Quickstart feels outdated compared to the finalized rulebook.

7. The Electrum Archive

Author: Emiel Boven

Release Year: 2022

Cost: Free Rules PDF available, zines cost $12 as digital PDFs or $24 as print + PDF combos; the first zine contains the entire contents of the Free Rules PDF

Page Count: 26 (Free Rules), 72 (Issue 01)

Website: https://www.electrumarchive.com/

Resolution Mechanic: 1d10 Roll Under system, attacks always hit.

Action Economy: Movement + one action per round.

Characters: Largely choice-based; three archetypes roughly corresponding to fighters/rangers (Vagabonds), rogues (Fixers), and spellcasters (Warlocks); player characters are presumed to be human; levelling up with XP.

Setting: Specific. Mechanics heavily tie into the lore; humanity has abundant access to minerals but requires a rare substance known as Ink to operate certain pieces of tech (like guns) and cast spells but cannot produce Ink themselves; spirits of various sorts can be foes, targets of worship, or sources of power.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Uses a spellcasting system for the Warlock archetype that's heavily based on the one used in Maze Rats, as in it uses randomly-generated spells whose effects are negotiated between the player and the GM; slot-based inventory with a durability mechanic.

Degree of Support: Minimal. The game consists out of the free rules and (soon) two zines; a third party license exists but content produced under it is very rare.

Addendum: I need to disclaim that I recently backed the Kickstarter campaign for the second zine for this game; the free rules feature wrong page numbers in its table of contents which is unfortunate; The Electrum Archive uses incredibly simple stats for NPCs which makes creating new ones based on other games rather simple.

8. Shadowdark RPG

Author: Kelsey Dionne

Release Year: 2023

Cost: Free player and game master quickstarts exist as PDFs and are available in print for $19, the core rules cost $28 in PDF form and $57 in a print + PDF bundle

Page Count: 68 (Player Quickstart Guide), 68 (Game Master Quickstart Guide), 332 (Core Rules)

Website: https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/

Resolution Mechanic: 1d20 + Bonus Roll Over system, 5e-style advantage/disadvantage, natural 1s are critical failures and natural 20s are critical successes.

Action Economy: Movement + one action per round.

Characters: Largely choice-based; players have a fantasy ancestry and a class; levelling up with XP; class progression largely random.

Setting: Vague. General (dark) western fantasy conventions apply; alignment is a force in this universe and a sample pantheon is provided; the most potent enemies in the rules are named individuals that fit classic TTRPG monster types; illustrations and lore snippets have recurring motifs.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: The key mechanic of Shadowdark is how the game handles light, namely that light sources are tracked in real time (i.e. a normal torch lasts 1 hour), which increases tension; slot-based inventory; has a 0th-level character creation option using an eliminationist "Gauntlet".

Degree of Support: Fantastic. Several official supplements and offically sanctioned digital tools exist; lots of third-party content available under a generous third-party license.

Addendum: Definitely the most similar game to 5e on this list besides the next entry; very robust mechanically and the Core Rules features extensive lists of magic items, monsters, and spells; also for early play giving your players only access to the quickstart is a totally valid choice; and finally, before Dionne made Shadowdark, she made 5e adventures for years and it shows (affectionate).

9. Pathfinder

Authors: Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Mark Seifter

Release Year: 2019 (initial release), 2023 (remaster)

Cost: Free and comprehensive SRD available via the platform Archives of Nethys, free "Pathfinder Primer" abridged rulebook available via the Pathfinder Nexus (powered by Demiplane), Core books are priced $20 for PDFs and $30/$60 for print as a softcover/hardcover; a Beginner Box set with shortened soft-cover rules costs $45

Page Count: 464 (Player Core), 336 (GM Core), 376 (Monster Core), 160 (Combined Beginner Box Softcovers)

Website: https://paizo.com/pathfinder

Resolution Mechanic: 1d20 + Bonus Roll Over system, 5e-style advantage/disadvantage, four degrees of success based on result compared to target number.

Action Economy: Three action points per round; various actions may require more than one point; every character can use one reaction per round of combat.

Characters: Choice-based; players first pick an ancestry and a background and a class (the ABCs) and then tend to have meaningful choices after each level-up; levelling up with XP.

Setting: Important. Golarion, the game's setting, is a world that has been long in development and it shows; powerful magic and influential gods; very clear notions of what the societies of the various peoples of the world are like and how they should behave.

Other Noteworthy Mechanics: Balance between character classes and reliable combat challenge calculations are an important design goal; weight-based inventory system; archetype system for "multiclassing".

Degree of Support: Fantastic. Loads of content gets regularly produced by the game's publisher Paizo; the Pathfinder Infinite program (similar to D&D's Dungeon Master's Guild) provides lots of lore-compliant third-party content; uses the ORC third-party license for content produced outside of the Pathfinder Infinite program. Translations into other languages available but Paizo does not provide a comprehensive list of available languages (only German and French confirmed after brief personal research).

Addendum: The most popular and commercially successful of the listed games; but also by far the most complicated, though it is easier to GM for specificallty than 5e; also I dislike how certain feats create situations where fairly mundane actions get mechanics through these feats instead of being things you can generally do; anyway the reason why it's a 9 on a 1d8 table is because if you wanted to try out Pathfinder 2e you already would have and because while Paizo is better than WotC it's still a flawed big company.

...

So this was an exhausting little project. I hope you found this helpful and I hope you give at least one of these games a shot! A follow-up to this post is not out of the cards, but I don't plan on one.

Before we go, have this poll about which of these systems you're most looking forward to try! Shame it can only be open for one week...

#thehomelybrewster #dnd 5e #dnd #indie ttrpg #tabletop roleplaying #ttrpg community #Cairn #Cloud Empress #Iron Halberd #Mausritter #Maze Rats #Dungeons and Dragons #Sherwood #The Electrum Archive #shadowdark #pathfinder

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delphinus-dancer · 6 months

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A deep dive into a swan lake and flipping the (metaphorical, sadly) bird:

A Mihaly-centric view of JD 2024 story mode

(because they’re my favorite and I’ve thought about this way too much over the past few days weeks) Spoilers for JD 24 in the almost-essay under the cut, including some images!

Starting off with Mihaly’s first appearance in the story mode in Canned Heat, it seems like not too much time has passed since the end of jd23- Sara seems to be at the same party, Jack still at the tower, etc. (how Brezziana got to the beach that fast and had a workout class is something I’m going to guess was preplanned before everything went down).

We can assume this would be the first time Mihaly’s come back to their room since then (which makes the idea of Wanderlust FaceTiming everyone like 5 minutes after they left even funnier). Of course there’s the shot of Mihaly ripping the poster off the wall, which probably puts their feelings into words better than anything else within an E10 rating. <Side note: I don’t know much on lore but does the setting mean there’s a chance they’re from Eternyx? Both maps started in dark crowd/nighttime so wasn’t sure if confirmed or not>

While Sara has the spot pretty much clinched for a Night Swan’s foil, Mihaly is a really close second. This shot literally puts it into perspective- Mihaly’s color scheme has as many color elements of Master Panda’s (shirt/jacket/foot wraps) as it does Night Swan’s (hair-that-perfectly-matches-the-poster/ gold of headphones and glasses/pants). Their dance style also overlaps moreso with hers than the other dancers, with the precision and technique of their moves, from the footwork and leaps of Rather Be to the dramatic powerful motions of their Swan Lake part. It’s pretty obvious who the song is directed to, and what makes the song so interesting compared to their last story mode one is how loose it feels. This is unlike their usual technical style because of the connection to Night Swan with the control demanded of certain moves that they’ve presumably mastered- maybe they were fueled by a desire to achieve her success. Regardless, the song and emotion fueled, less ‘perfect’ dance lets Mihaly basically flip the bird at Night Swan’s corrupted idea of perfection. Either way, it culminates in them achieving a new high in their training with channeling their ‘true’ inspiration of the (master) panda. Although they retain most of their same costume after sort of becoming a furry?, a noticeable change is that the black leggings are understandably switched to something looser- but to the navy color of master panda instead of Mihaly’s black.

What’s also interesting is that the specific point Night Swan interrupts Mihaly’s song isn’t at the beginning like Brezziana/Sara/Jack’s or the very end like Wanderlust, but at the climax of their journey for the song. Not only does this imply that she may have been watching the entire time but choose to interfere later, but she is also the only character to see the Panda form before Swan Lake.

As Night Swan basically invades Mihaly’s //mind/headspace/flowspace?/no idea on the lore// they initially try to fight her off, but unlike Brezziana in her map, don’t fight until the end. Although Mihaly themselves wasn’t being corrupted like the background coaches in Brezziana’s map, they still let themselves, in a sense, lose a more internal battle to Night Swan as they leave the metaphorical and literal height of their understanding and power in the Flow and come back to the real world.

This then takes us straight into Swan Lake, which is really interesting for the Night Swan/Mihaly interactions and how they compare to the other dancers. Although from a format standpoint it makes sense for the movements in the bridge to be different, there are more differences too.

A big one that I only realized once I watched Majesty again is how the other swan soldiers/minions were turned back- and that was mainly by doing the same moves to ultimately come together and bring the dancers back. Here it’s the opposite for effectiveness- what causes Wanderlust and Brezziana to fail is that they think that’s how to stop Sara. Sara matches the moves in a way that <well> matches, if not surpasses the power that they put in. As a result of meeting them head on and assuming control, Sarah actively corrupts the two of them. She makes motions to bring in the smoke, and both of them also are stationary/surrendering as their color drains.

When it gets to Mihaly, the dynamic with Sara changes completely. While Sara starts off watching with the same expression as when the others challenged her, it shifts as she realizes she can’t emulate what Mihaly does, with the movements almost like Night Swan’s-dramatic and slower. It comes to a head when Mihaly channels the panda again and visibly knocks Sara back, so she’s unable to push any of the smoke towards them.

Sara’s expression also becomes noticeably softer for the rest of Mihaly’s part, and she doesn’t reassert that dominance/control she had earlier- with dancing or the smoke. See how she looks almost pensive in the photos above/below, especially compared to the earlier parts.

Speaking of the smoke, this is the key part about Night Swan seeing the panda earlier. She knows it exists and how to force it off after the earlier song, and as Sara is incapacitated/distracted, she presumably sends down the smoke that starts attacking Mihaly in Panda form.

This attack is why despite having a chance to get through to Sara, Mihaly still ends up failing as they return to normal. However, they are the only character to be so dynamic in their active corruption. Not only does Mihaly manage to send a signal out to Jack, which was a display of power never seen from them previously, but they also do it as they are actively losing their color and control. Unlike the other dances, Mihaly still moves as they lose control, possibly having the strength to continue to fight had they not realized that Night Swan was attacking alongside Sara.

Although the signal is in the shape of a pawprint, its underlying meaning is more than just a plot device to send Jack on a wild goose chase (pun intended that I couldn’t pass up). With the way it opens to form a window into the location from such a distance, it almost seems to be a step away from a full fledged portal. With the sudden appearance of a new power, it’s also an interesting parallel to Night Swan, who here uses powers to create a unique form of control that wasn’t seen in the previous game and who regularly uses portals with her magic.

Another note is the lights that appear for each of the dancers in the upper left corner during the song as they take on Sara. While Brezziana and Wanderlust’s fade out a few moves before they fall, Mihaly’s still goes strong even as they completely turn grey, as seen the the photos above. This could be a possible indication to them having a more stable power than the other dancers, or a form of magic more comparable/competitive with Night Swan’s. Also to note about the lights: looking on the floor during the song, the diamonds flash 3 colors: hot pink (Night Swan), a deep green (Sara, especially while corrupted- her original outfit but darker), and a teal (the exact same color as Mihaly’s flow energy). Like everything else, this is a stretch, but it could possibly mean that Night Swan’s control and magic background could have stemmed from a pure form of flow like Mihaly practices.

This could also be a factor in why they retain the most of their original outfit in the corrupted design- possibly a form of resistance like they displayed during swan lake or general flow magic? Notice that while they have significant changes to their robe/face/accessories, their feather motifs are much less pronounced than the others, simply appearing as marks on the robe that can be mistaken for stripes, rather than overt feathers like Wanderlust/Sara or Sara/Brezziana’s feather tights. Unlike the others, Mihaly keeps their leggings exactly the same (which were notably lost in the panda form, as mentioned earlier), and interestingly enough, their wraps. I initially thought that Night Swan would have changed that to something like ballet slippers with ribbons, so I think it’s really interesting that they are the only dancer who had any details remain exactly the same, especially one that had unique opportunities to be changed.

Going off of that, since they were the last to turn and have (some?) control over their outfit and (some?) magic that may be similar to Night Swan, I could see them being the first/easiest coach for Jack or someone else to turn back when he (hopefully) takes on the coaches.

One last note is the number of maps per story mode coach at this point. Counting Stronger /Survivor, and Treasure/Lose Yourself (hopefully coming soon after that ending!), that seems to be setting a trend for the other coaches to potentially have an additional map as well. If so, maybe that would be one where Mihaly could individually be freed, or a chance for them to further explore their rapidly developing powers (maybe in a confrontation with Night Swan?? a girl can dream).

And there y’all have it! Thank you for somehow reading to the end!! Happy dancing!!

this took forever oh my god

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hopeyarts · 14 days

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THE SHARED TRAIT BETWEEN ANNA AND ASHA (CHARACTER ANALYSIS)

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Before I begin, this post was inspired by the YouTuber Aldone and the recent upload of Why Anna Is A Good Character

Let’s begin!

While both characters share the same ‘quirkiness’, they also share the concept of persistence. At least for the start of their respective movies. But persistence can go either down a good path or a bad path.

Anna’s is the good path. Why? Because she not only reaches for her goals in every way possible, but she also REACHES OUT to people in need. That person would be her sister, Elsa. Anna recognized that her sister is afraid of her own abilities, afraid of hurting anyone, and is afraid of experiencing that pain again or causing pain to others. That last part sounds very familiar to another character. Who is that?

It’s King Magnifico. At this point, you can easily compare Elsa and Magnifico in terms of traumatic behavior. Elsa tries to keep her abilities in check and even refuses to use them in hopes of keeping her sister and her kingdom safe. King Magnifico on the other hand uses his abilities to protect his people and his kingdom. They do these things to provide a safe place AND so that others won’t experience pain like they have. It’s clear to connect the dots there.

Anna learns about Elsa’s abilities and that she’s worried that something bad will happen if she uses them. When Anna finally knows, she REACHES OUT. She doesn’t demonize her, she doesn’t betray her, and she certainly doesn’t neglect her. She becomes determined to not only rekindle her family connection to Elsa, but she also tries to help Elsa see that she’s not a bad person, and that she’s not alone. That it’s okay to feel that way and that she’ll help Elsa no matter what. Listen to ‘For the First Time In Forever Reprise’ and you’ll see what I mean. She even says that Elsa doesn’t have to be afraid, and that even if she is, they can face the problem together. Because Anna RECOGNIZES the reason why Elsa did what she did and felt what she felt. She locked herself away so that she couldn’t hurt anyone. She kept her gloves on to limit the chance of another incident. And even after all these years of shutting the door on Anna, she still accepts Elsa’s fears and decides to comfort and understand her.

youtube

Now to bring my focus onto Asha; her’s is the bad path. Compared to Anna, she went through the same little scenario where she learns about the reasons and motivations PLUS the trauma behind King Magnifico’s actions. He kept his kingdom safe with his magic to prevent another homeland under destruction. THAT’S his motive, and I hate how Disney just threw it out in the second half of the movie.

Asha learns all of this during her interview. When Asha understandably questions Magnifico’s ways with the wishes, he snaps at her and later that night Asha runs off into the woods (I will get back to the snapping part later on). Like okay, I understand why Asha felt that way. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. What I do want to talk about is how she KNOWS this information and decides to do nothing about it. Now am I saying that it is her obligation to make sure that a literal grown man is comforted and treasured and reassured? No, most certainly not. That’d be Queen Amaya’s job as his wife. What Asha should’ve done, however, is acknowledge his views and perspective and not run with just her own. She practically just took what he told her, then when she’s told that most of the wishes won’t ever be granted— she paints Magnifico as a bad person for doing so despite his reasons and motives (I will not be going into who was right or wrong, because that’s a messy topic).

King Magnifico isn’t a bad person. Does this make Asha the bad person then? No. It just makes her heavily naive and a little ignorant of someone else’s perspective. Really, people in the movie just didn’t explain things well enough to her so she had to go with her own views. If Asha took a peek into a different lens, the story would’ve gone differently in a positive way. And, of course, I cannot blame Asha for whatever the hell happened with Magnifico. Those are his actions. I repeat: No one is responsible for someone else’s actions, *unless you are directly and SURELY threatened*. Yes, someone’s actions can be influenced by another’s, but as long as it is not FORCING then it is not the other person’s fault for your own actions.

I’m saying this because I know there are Asha fans (like myself, though really just for the concept of her intended character and her designs. Not really sure on the movie Asha.), who really love her. And I just want to reassure you guys that she is not a bad person. In my eyes, she was just misguided and naive. Deadass whenever she asked a question, they were never answered. For example- the questions she asked the animals before ‘I’m A Star’ played. They didn’t even answer them. They played it off and she helplessly joined in on the dancing because oohh I’m a star. Back to the post.

Would it surprise you if I said that Asha did ATTEMPT to reach out? Probably not in the way that you’re thinking because it’s only subtle. Asha tries to paint a better picture of the wish granting system during her interview. She’s freaking out because she knows that Magnifico is holding most people’s best parts of their hearts forever, including her grandfather’s. She continues to try to reason with Magnifico that the people are good yadda yadda, but then Magnifico abruptly lashes out at her almost threateningly, even with a streak of magic escaping his hand for a moment there. That shuts her up. She’s scared and all hope to reason with him is thrown out the window in her eyes. Her attempt to reach our falters.

But THAT is similar to Anna. Anna attempts to reach out too at the beginning of her movie when she grabbed Elsa’s glove and her sister is walking away. Anna tries to reason with Elsa, just like Asha to Magnifico, but is then abruptly lashed out on by Elsa who creates ice shards pointed towards the crowd. Of course, it was either an accident or an instinct, but this is comparable to Magnifico snapping at Asha. Anna was scared too, and she hushed up as well.

And even after Anna was lashed out on, she STILL decides to stay persistent and CONTINUES to reach out and reason with Elsa. She does this again and again, failing most times until the ending. And she never gives up. Asha tried to reach out once, then gives up on that plan after she is lashed out at during her interview. That’s when she decides to trash that plan and makes a new one based on her own views. She decides to not take Magnifico’s perspective into consideration.

Hopefully that makes sense. Also, I’m not saying to apply any of this into real life. If someone does happen to get hella pissed off at you, make your own decision on what to do. These are Disney characters under different circumstances, and generally more safer considering they’re family friendly movies. So if you want to distance yourself away from someone who gets like that, good for you. Do what you think is best for yourself. Stay safe and happy. 💖

All in all, Anna shows true persistence to help others. No matter what opinions that other person had (Elsa), she strived to reassure and take her views into consideration throughout the film. She used her persistence to help Elsa and to succeed in her goals. Asha also wants to help others, and she shows persistence at the beginning of her movie. But it falls flat after the first 20 minutes where she decides to dedicate that persistence to only her goals.

I get that both movies have different storylines and values, but take away what Disney wanted to put out with Wish and focus in on the movie like it is its own world. Realistically, Asha could’ve done better. I do think that if Wish was about the same values as Frozen, Asha would’ve taken the ‘good’ path aka what Anna did. So really…

I blame all of this on the writing and the executive decisions. Asha is a great concept of a character that was written poorly and is only supported by the narrative of the plot, not by itself. You can’t expect a character to succeed as one if you have to tweak up a story to make it supportive of that character. It’s like Asha won by mere luck and bias of the narrators (Disney itself). A character has to have layers in order to support themselves and not have to rely on who is telling the story. The character has to be three-dimensional by the end of their story if you want them to be worthy of success in the eyes of the audience.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! 💖 I love both characters in my own way. Aight goodnight!

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survivalove · 6 months

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Thinking about why I like Kataang so much

so a lot of my posts/asks lately have been about things I dislike so I decided to balance it out by talking about something I actually do like! ofc I immediately thought of kataang and started thing about why i like them so much compared to other couples in media I watched growing up.

first thing is, I don’t actually like romance in visual media. I much prefer it in books but having to actually watch it gives me the ick idk why. also when i first watched atla I was like 5, so the romance really had no appeal to me and I was super focused on katara and the other girls on the show because they were girls! i would completely block out the boys and all the ship scenes for years after that because my attitude to romance never really changed.

right up until I was about 11/12 and became aware of romance from hearing people my age start to talk about crushes, boyfriends/girlfriends, kissing etc. suddenly I had entered this phase in real life where romance was suddenly relevant among my peers and this made me start paying attention when it played out in the shows I was watching like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc. this also included ATLA as my dad and I would rewatch it together on DVD throughout the year.

as I watched with my katara blinders, like I always do, for the first time I started to notice the boys in the show, particularly aang, (yes I finally started focusing on the main character after 6 years 😭) and certain interactions katara had with him that I never noticed before.

*dramatic pause*

and the way I consumed media would never be the same.

jk, but really tho.

fast forward to now, and I’ve recently started watching anime after consuming a bunch of western media my whole life from cartoons and disney shows to contemporary literature and Y/A movies/TV shows. and one thing that stands out to me with kataang compared to most of the romance i see in shonen animes (one of atla’s biggest inspiration as a TV show) is the way katara and aang develop in a way that is realistic, yet too good to be true.

let me elaborate:

starting from the very first episode, katara and aang have that classic meet-cute interaction. the music is playing, their eyes are widening, aang’s acting like he’s never seen a girl before and katara is impressed by literally every single thing he does. this is pretty much how every ship is set up, anime or otherwise, and kanna basically spells out their imminent connection when she sends katara and sokka off and sokka even explicitly says the word boyfriend seconds before that. obviously, these two characters are gonna get together at some point and it’s just a matter of when.

this is where it gets more than that:

the more katara and aang spend time together, the more they start to get on each other’s nerves.

I’m sure everyone’s had a crush at some point, where you see someone for the first time and go “oh they’re so cute” and you feel the butterflies blah blah. you either fantasize about them for a while and move on, or you pursue the crush and start to actively make moves to get to know them better.

and as you get to know them, you notice some things about them that kinda piss you off. the way they pick their nose, the way they bounce their knee, the way they chew. it’s always something. it can even affect friendships because that’s life. we are humans, not concepts. no one is perfect, there is nobody on this planet that you will 100% agree with or like about them. it just doesn’t work like that. and for some relationships, there is that one irritating thing about them that breaks the camel’s back and it doesn’t work out. you learn what annoys you and move on to the next relationship. or you have the lucky ones who actually stay together and the relationship continues to blossom as you get to know each other better.

similarly, kataang in the beginning are completely enamored with the other. until they’re not. throughout season 1, we see katara becoming more and more disillusioned with aang going from “aang’s so brave. he’s the avatar!” to realizing he’s just a boy with insecurities and flaws just like her. some of which get on her nerves BAD. similarly, aang goes from trying to impress katara and going along with every single plan she has, to disagreeing with her and even getting annoyed by her as the seasons go on.

despite this, it doesn’t stop that thing they have for each other from growing and flourishing. that is the magic part. watching two characters fall in love as they continue to annoy and irritate each other more and more. the more katara and aang butt heads throughout the seasons, the more and more unambiguous their romantic interactions become.

aang bluntly telling katara she’s not funny like he didn’t just ask her to dance with him in a candlelit cave in front of dozens of people a few days ago? katara constantly getting annoyed at aang’s antics to turn around and ask him for his opinion on the way she looks or kiss him on the cheek? right.

this is what makes them stand out from other fictional couples I’ve seen, where the girl and guy’s opinion on the other never changes significantly from that first interaction they have. one person, usually the girl because of course, worships the ground our main character walks on, meanwhile he seems to barely notice her apart from that first scene where she looked pretty and his jaw dropped or something. and even if they do interact a lot, their dynamic hardly evolves from that initial setup. they never get upset with each other or at the least, visibly annoyed. their dynamic is static, stagnant, mostly affected by major events in the plot rather than personal characteristics and minor misgivings the characters may have.

there’s no juice. it’s stale. and for me, very unrealistic.

I was watching this video about writing couples in media and one comment stood out to me in particular:

What you said about charm is so true. Entertaining chemistry to watch ≠ chemistry that pairs people together. A lot of sitcoms try to pair opposites romantically or as best friends, because opposites are good for comedy and conflict, but I find myself not understanding why they’re so into each other.

instantly i was reminded of the way people call kataang vanilla/boring, in favor of pairings that are far less similar. and while katara and aang do fight a lot, fundamentally they are very similar which is why they are so believable and realistic. I love watching them slowly become disillusioned with the idealized version of each other they had in the first episode to seeing all the ways they manage to piss each other off, and still being drawn by that initial mutual attraction.

katara learns the hard way that aang isn’t the infallible savior from her grandma’s stories, but she never stops believing in him. aang comes to discover katara’s flaws and conflicting opinions, but he still encourages her belief in hope, affirms her as a waterbender/healer and yes still calls her beautiful every chance he gets.

and what I love about this, is, it gives them reasons to fall in love that go beyond the superficial reasons that drew them towards each other in the first place.

they don’t fall in love with each other in spite of those little minor flaws, but because of them.

katara doesn’t love aang because he’s the avatar. she loves him because he is the goofy fun boy that allowed her to be a kid while taking up this heavy responsibility. aang doesn’t love katara because she’s beautiful. he falls in love witnessing those moments of her being determined, speak up for herself and others, and even going to great lengths to inspire hope in everyone she meets.

#atla #kataang #katara #aang #whoa this is long #my bad #too tired to add pics lol

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dreamchaserguild · 6 months

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We recently backed a project on Kickstarter and I wanted to ramble about that.

(This is not paid promotion and I have no association with the team making this project. This is just me gushing about something I think is cool.)

I grew up playing Heroscape. This game was my childhood. If you don't know what Heroscape is, here you go:

It was a simple tactical minis tabletop battle game where you make a team of different heroes with their own unique abilities. But what really sold this game was the landscape you could build yourself.

I used to have a table that sat out on our front porch that was filled with Herocape stuff as I constructed and deconstructed and reconstructed my maps.

And I didn't just have the starter set you see above. (Above is actually several starter sets. You don't get quite that many pieces from one box. I'm guessing it's three starter sets since there are six ruins, and Heroscape only came with two.) No. I had the ice set, the volcano set, the castle set, a Marvel set. The second starter set with swampy environment.

Heroscape was an amazing part of my childhood. Then Hasbro let it die.

They tried to revive it in the form of Arena of the Planeswalkers, a knock-off with a flat cardboard battlefield. But it got cancelled after two expansions. They're going to try again, but I have no faith that they'll stick with the Heroscape revival.

Which brings us to SOURCE.

SOURCE is a hex system made by indie-developers who themselves were Heroscape fans and inspired by Heroscape. Rather than connecting at the sides like Heroscape, the SOURCE tiles are held together by edges as you can see here. (I sure hope they don't mind me lifting the images from their kickstarter.)

A disadvantage to this is that you lose some of the modularity in being able to build in any shape you want. The advantage though is that it allows for terrain to easily be added and removed throughout gameplay.

(They're also working on special grip mats for those who just really want to build in any shape they want without being confined to shapes of the edges.)

And in my opinion, the detail looks way better than Heroscape ever did. Just compare the lava tiles above to Heroscape's:

There's no contest.

The SOURCE hexes aren't just the same thing in different colors. They're actual works of art.

And I'm not saying this to put Heroscape down. Like I said, it was my childhood and was fantastic for its time.

The game on the Kickstarter, Timestrike, is very similar to Heroscape. But with so much more stacked onto Heroscape's foundation.

Characters have move, range, attack and defense like Heroscape. You have the six-sided dice where three sides are swords and two are shields. Only now there is a special lucky sword and a lucky shield. These aren't relevant for most characters, but some characters will have abilities where they'll gain some bonus on lucky rolls.

If that's not enough, there's also a Contest mechanic where you can push another player's figure. This is great if someone is on a ledge and you want to cause them fall damage, or if you just want to steal the high ground from them to increase your attack.

You can also mine materials, build roads with the materials you mined, and go fishing for buffs. (Literally. You can stand near water and try to fish. If you succeed, you take a card from the fishing deck.)

There are wild monsters you can try to tame. There are even large figures you can mount and ride. See this guy:

That's a base on his back for you to place a smaller miniature on and ride him around!

The game is centered around not just beating each other, but also fighting a boss called a Sentience with space for three figures on its back.

(Note: the Gorilla Brute is not part of this first set, and will likely come with a future expansion.)

The sentience takes full advantage of the destructible terrain, leveling any space he lands on.

And they're tossing in solo and co-op rules for people who don't want to fight each other and just want to fight the boss alone, or to team up to fight the boss.

Oh! And it comes with STACKABLE WALLS!

That's a small thing, but it's a cool thing. (Okay, this is technically a stretch goal for $200,000 that they haven't put on the official Kickstarter, but $200K feels likely to me.)

The creators also seem genuinely committed to making this a reality and keeping it going for a long time, with talk of several expansions in the pipeline, introducing more playable characters, more rideable Brutes, and more bosses which will each have their own abilities and their own solo/co-op modes.

And possibly boats.

That's a picture of a prototype boat that can fit three figures and will NOT be included in this Kickstarter. But it is planned for a future expansion.

I don't know if the boats will come to fruition. I don't know if they'll look like that when they are released or if they'll look completely different by then since that would be a long way off.

But I appreciate knowing that there are plans to make this a long-term investment. I'm not worried that the creators will give up on SOURCE and Timestrike like Hasbro did Heroscape and Arena of the Planeswalkers.

And it's not just Timestrike. The SOURCE terrain can be purchased on its own and the SOURCE system is intended to be used for a variety of games by different creators. And it's already naturally compatible with Heroscape, Arena of the Planeswalkers, Battletech and other hex-based games.

I am incredibly excited and hopeful for the future of this project!

Here's the Kickstarter for anyone who wants to see more of this.

And here's a video review going over the Timestrike rules and how it plays:

youtube

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wherevenusholdssomeofficespace · 11 months

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It sort of irritates me when people act like Doof is such a great dad. When canon explicitly tells us the opposite.

I don't mean to say Doof doesn't care, he does. Very much so. But just caring doesn't make him a good dad. It just makes him a decent person. Vanessa loves him very much. But love isn't the only thing needed to be a good parent.

I see people cite the Mary McGuffin doll, and him spending years tracking it down as proof of him being a good dad. And it does tell us (and Vanessa) he cares, but it also tells us how out of touch he is with Vanessa's actual wants and needs. Vanessa is 16. She doesn't really want the doll anymore. The doll only has meaning to her because of the effort he put into it. Proof he has actually listened to something she was saying even if it was nearly 10 years ago. Doof has set the bar that low that Vanessa feels so attached to this one gift. In Vanessa's own words he is a substandard dad. She is biased, due to the way he embarasses her, but she's not wrong as often he can't even be bothered to actually listen to her.

He took her to Tokyo instead of Paris for his own interests. He tried to erase Vanessa's memory in order to make himself look better to her. He compared her (or rather Candace's) fashion sense to a clown. He set up a little girl's party when she was 16 and didn't even know she considered herself to be punk.

He tries, oh does he try. But without listening to Vanessa he can't actually do anything for her. His few successes are often facillitated by Perry who does. This lack of listening is at the center of the finale, where it almost causes him to lose her completely. When he finally listens he can finally start connecting with her, and not only that he realizes other things about the way he's been living. And this is something Vanessa, his 16 yr old daughter is telling him. Vanessa is being her dad's therapist and that's not necessarily fair to her.

And in Milo Murphy's Law when he moves in with the Murphys he continues to cross boundaries and not listen to people (particularly the household's teenage girl), acting in many ways more like an overgrown child than a parent himself. And in Vanessa's appearance she's still cleaning up after him and playing couple's therapist with him and Perry.

And don't even get me started on how Doof treats Norm, who recognizes Doof as his father only for Doof to constantly belittle him and refuse to treat him like a son. (Not unlike his own parents). Doof does seem to care for Norm, but that doesn't mean the other stuff he does doesn't exist.

This is especially egregious since PnF and MML have lots of great parents. Lawrence knows about and sometimes goes along with his boys shenanigans and often inspires them. He and Candace may not always be on the same page, but he makes and effort to include her, to try and spend time with her. In regards to Mary McGuffin, Lawrence may have not known Candace still cared about her doll, but he gave her more money than he made off of it to try and make it up to her when he realized that she did.

Martin is someone Milo admires, taught him how to deal with Murphy's Law, who left to give Milo his moment in Athledecamathalon and has otherwise offered his full support to Milo and dedicated time to spend with him. We see less of his interactions with Sara, but he's aparently the one who got her into Dr. Zone, and he understands Murphy's Law can be hard on her too and makes efforts to stay away from her when she needs space. He knows when to cheer his kids on and when to step back.

Dave Grant, Beppo Brown, Richard Chase and Roman Carter are all among the many father characters who seem to have a more healthy relationship with their kids than Doof. Not to mention the grandfathers. None of these parents are necessarily perfect but they are good parents.

I love Doof. He's a great character and a loving father. But he's not a great parent and that's part of what makes him a good character. Makes his interactions with his family fun. The functional dysfunction of it all. He's not simply a good or bad parent. But he's certainly not great.

#heinz doofenshmirtz #phineas and ferb #pnf #milo murphy's law #mml

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codenamesazanka · 2 months

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There was that joke in the fandom about Horikoshi looking through fanfics to see what theories to make canon like the "Dabi being Touya" or "the UA traitor" (even tho most of those were just stuff hinted at in the canon before hand). Since we're doing the whole "sharing memories" bit, the one fanfic trope he can definitely throw in the manga right now is the "Spinner tells Shigaraki he used to have a tail that got cut off by bullies"

Is that a popular trope? Enough to be a thing Horikoshi would pick up on. I don't think it's anywhere near the same level as 'Dabi is the lost Todoroki son' and 'UA Traitor is _____'… but it would be interesting if Spinner Tail Trauma is made canon.

Though at this late stage, I don't know if I want it, to be honest! If it's a memory, it's angst fuel to develop characters other than Spinner - guy wouldn't even be there for it. It would a real iffy choice to show something deeply personal and traumatic that happened to Spinner, something so unjust, without Spinner there—and really only for the benefit of the contrived connection between Shigaraki and Deku.

I guess because Spinner is still unaccounted for, he can still show up so it doesn't have to be just a memory, but. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. HeroAca resolutions are less about the victims and what they're owed, and more about how cool and merciful the Heroes are for saving them. This would be that, but even more so, and infinitely worse.

Plus, it would make the heteromorph riot mini-arc even more of a mess. Not to say there's levels of suffering that can be compared, but in-universe and in story, Shoji is kinda framed as having been worst off - his parents weren't heteromorphic like him, he got bashed in the face with a rake and was heavily scarred for life after he saved a girl from drowning, then he even has to wear a mask to prevent people from thinking he's resentful for being the victim of a hate crime. All that, but he came out of it with a strong and golden moral core, ready to be a great and inspirational Hero who protects the status quo.

Shoji's positioned as being in the right: here was a kid who suffered terribly, but he still managed to overcome the odds and be a Good Person, who thought deeply about the Right Way to end discrimination and is putting it into action (which is being a model minority). So what's everyone else's excuse?

Meanwhile, Spinner's backstory is that he only gets sprayed with pesticides, succumbs to being a NEET hikikomori, and goes running off to join terrorists without a single original thought in his head. For the narrative to work, he needs to be the selfish, hypocritical loser who didn't try hard enough to overcome his hardships that were comparatively mild.

If Spinner was revealed to have a tail cut off by bullies, the bnha balance of heteromorphic good and evil would collapse. A young boy's classmates mutilates him as the apex of heteromorphobic bullying, and the victim was left to languish as a high school dropout shut-in? That's not something that can be fixed by waiting out generations (just wait for the adults to die! their mindset would go with them—oh, but the perpetrators are the new generation…) or having the victim change their behavior (there's just no excuse for chopping off a child's body part). That reveals something much darker in the fabric of society that Heroes' plucky 'work-harder! plus ultra!' optimism are unequiped to handle.

At the very least, it's something that "Stop holding a grudge" and "Sorry for not realizing earlier" (as the rando hero tells the PLF guy in Chapter 373) and "Shine bright until your torments feel ashamed" are utterly insufficient and unconvincing in resolving. Not quite as inspirational, you know?

I'm sorry anon! I know you were asking as a joke, offering a fun idea. And I do like it! I'm still not opposed to Spinner having that canon backstory if the writing around it was to suddenly radically change the story and expand it by 300 more chapters to fix everything. I still love the idea that Spinner had a tail. I just took it too seriously and overthought it. My apologies. Thanks for the ask.

#Spinner #Iguchi Shuuichu #nalslastworkingbraincell #ask #asked #answered #anon #anonymous

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quibbs126 · 9 months

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Alright, this kid has been fully finished since like, Monday, I’ve just been too lazy to post him, but now I’m gonna post him, this is Black Choco Cookie

As you can see, this is yet another darklico kid. I’m sorry. But he’ll be the last one I do; I already semi had plans for him when I made Licorice Cream, it’s just that I decided to just do Licorice Cream. But then the night prior to making him, I was thinking about ideas for him and just drew this the next morning

The only other darklico kid thing I plan to do is redesign Gancao, since her look really doesn’t match her name, and it bothers me. Either that or her name changes. But fundamentally she’ll still be the same character

Anyways back to Black Choco, so with his name, he’s dark chocolate like his father. His name is just Black Choco because while he’s chocolate, he supposed to have this smell of licorice about him

Maybe he’s these chocolate licorice brownie cookies I found online that one time. But his name is still Black Choco

Anyways, let’s get into his design

So you’ll notice he looks very similar to Dark Choco except for the eyes. Well that’s because he’s the third one of these, and frankly I feel like the girls look enough like Licorice, so might as well have one of the kids be the Dark Choco clone like Dark Choco is to his own father. I think the fact he’s the third of these I’ve made is the only reason I allow him to look mostly like one parent and be the clone

But I finally gave one of them Licorice’s yellow eyes, so that’s good. I’ve been wanting one of them to have the yellow eyes and white eye lines since Gancao, it just didn’t work with her or Licorice Cream. Though I changed up the yellow slightly so that it’d work better with the white

I based Black Choco’s look off of the young design of Dark Choco in the artbook, since his sisters all look like they live in the Dark Cacao Kingdom too (the three are all supposed to exist in the same universe as siblings), and he’s supposed to want to be a fighter like his dad. Also with the brown it makes him look like the cookies I showed above. That wasn’t the intention but I like that

I think the way his hair looks was supposed to be inspired by how Licorice’s hair, like specifically in how it’s parted or something, but looking at it again I can’t really see that

I just realized the drawing I have of Black Choco here is with his gradient. I wasn’t sure if I should give him one; I did it so he’d look at least a little closer to Licorice, but I wasn’t sure it worked well. Ah well, I suppose you tell me

Anyways, so let’s get into his character

So Black Choco is a shy and a bit anxious kid, as well as someone who gets spooked easily, as shown in one of the sketches. He’s also generally quiet and soft spoken, not very capable of loud noises. But despite his timid nature, he’s a good kid who just wants to help people

He greatly admires his father, Dark Choco, and wants to be like him, which is part of the reason he wants to be a warrior. Thankfully for Black Choco, I imagine Dark Choco to be more openly affectionate than Dark Cacao was, so Black Choco isn’t gonna grow up with those same parental issues. But unfortunately, Black Choco isn’t as great with a sword and fighting, especially since he tends to accidentally drop his sword. But he does want to learn, and he tries hard to overcome this

Despite this however, he does know magic, and he’s actually very skilled at it, far more than he is at fighting. However, he chooses instead to become a warrior. Perhaps in the future, he learns to try and do both, combining his skills and becoming a warrior that uses both sword fighting skills and magic, becoming a real powerhouse

Now, as for his connection to his siblings, I’m not sure, as some of it depends on his age compared to them. I want to make Black Choco Licorice Cream’s twin, probably since I imagined Black Choco as a child and I drew Licorice Cream as one too, but also I don’t think I can really do that since Licorice Cream herself has a particularly unique origin, one that Black Choco doesn’t necessarily fit in to. Not only that, but I think I drew Licorice Cream as a child because I couldn’t figure out what to do for her other than her origin and possible connection to dark magic and the Strawberry Jam Sword. She’s technically supposed to be the older than Gancao, and I imagine Black Choco to be a child. But at the same time, I can really see Black Choco and Licorice Cream as a twin duo, and I like that concept, especially since personality wise, they’re pretty different, Licorice Cream being an extrovert while Black Choco is the introvert, for example. But it just doesn’t work with what Licorice Cream actually is

*sigh* I think I’m gonna need to do a redesign with all three of them, putting them on the same canvas and figuring out definitively what order they’re in and their ages relative to one another. Though Black Choco I don’t see changing much, he’s fine as he is

I suppose for now, Black Choco is the youngest of the three

But in any case, I think that’s it for Black Choco. To be honest, I feel like sometimes, I put too much into these characters and should just try to keep them simple, which is sort of what I tried to do with Black Choco here

But in any case, I hope you like him

#the darklico kids are a mess I need to untangle #but I like Black Choco #and the other two it’s just they’re inconsistent between the three #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run oc #black choco cookie #fankid #fanchild #darklico #dark choco cookie #licorice cookie #almost forgot that bit #my ocs #my art

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angelthefirst1 · 6 months

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Rick's story from season 1 and Beth's missing filming spoilers from season 5. Are they the same? The answer is Yes!

Looking back at the old filming spoilers from season 5 was a great reminder to me, that much funny business went on during filming at the time.

Many fans were EXTREMELY, even obsessively invested in finding out spoilers for season 5. The huge uptick in interest for spoilers was in large part because of what happened at the end of season 4.

We saw Daryl lose the girl that he (let's be honest) fell in love with.

The ship wars began and both those that loved Beth and Daryl, and those that hated them (the darkness) were obsessed with finding out what was going to happen.

Many fans spent hours at the filing locations just to catch a glimpse of who was there and what was happening.

You can read about the unseen Beth filming spoilers here. And all credit to @bethgreeneishopeunseen for the original sources and archives of these spoilers.

Now we don't know exactly what went on and what was really filmed or not but, I remember following the filming spoilers during that time and then seeing what eventuated onto our screens. Mostly what we saw onscreen matched the filming spoilers extremely accurately.

Except for these spoilers revolving around Beth. So it's really odd overall, and I do think the fans who wrote about these spoilers were actually correct in what they saw filmed, but it was never designed to be seen in season 5.

Looking back at Rick's story and knowing now how they repeat everything, even down to the smallest detail...

It inspired me to look again into Rick from season 1 and how those missing spoilers, and Beth footage could be connected to Rick's season 1 story.

It makes more sense now, than it ever did back then.

So I will go through and compare Rick season 1, to the missing filming spoilers to see if they fit together.

I was quite surprised by what I found...

Firstly, we obviously saw this scene repeated already. 👇

After the hospital, Rick makes his way home on a red bicycle, which he leaves out the front of his house before running into the house, to see if his family is there.

The first missing footage of interest to me, that lines up with Rick's season 1 story, are the houses that Beth was supposedly seen filming at.

The white house and the brick house next door to each other...

Almost all the season 5 characters were seen filming at these locations and 15 eye witnesses say they saw Beth, but no one was able to get a photo as she was hidden as best as possible, and rushed inside very quickly.

If they are repeating Rick's story, which they are, then it's no surprise they picked a house that's visually similar to Rick's own home from season 1. The pillars, the steps, the incline up to the house, the front porch, the window and door placement, and the railings. This is Ricks house. But it's got more Brick.

Beth's brick house made me laugh here, because brick is a combination of Beth and Rick, sorry 😂 anyway...

Rick leaves the red bike out the front of the house, but at Beth's brick house there is the red car with the Sheriff star on the wheel left out the front.

After Rick realises his family is gone, he gets hit in the head by Duane, and Morgan takes him to a neighbors house.

Beth's missing spoilers said that both the two neighboring houses were used in the filming and as i have said in past posts, there will be a convergence of signs when Beth (Jesus) returns. You can read more about how the convergence works here

They are converging Rick's story and all the imagery around it, and that is what is shown in the missing spoilers, everything we saw from season 1 together. Let me explain more below.

I found it interesting there is the visual similarity to the interiors of Beth's houses and the house that Morgan takes Rick to.

Rick wakes in a room with floral wallpaper and decorative hanging light fixtures and white trim.

Now, the black and white picture above, is actually the interior of Beth's White House. Floral wall paper and hanging light fixtures with white trim.

The other house with brick (Beth's brick house), its interior has a very similar paint colour and similar floorboards to the neighboring house Morgan takes Rick to.

While Beth's white house exterior, matches Rick's white exterior house.

So we see two houses in the missing spoilers that combined show the two houses Rick went to in season 1, his own white house and a neighbors house.

But the missing spoilers show one more house was filmed at, and that was this house 👇

A yellow house 🏠 💛 with black roof and black trim.

It's funny because the first picture in this collage below, is the exterior of the neighbors house that Morgan takes Rick to.

Both yellow with black.

This is not a coincidence...

Outside the yellow house is bike and a red car! Convergence, inversion, infinity.

Now, what's even funnier is the spoilers' state that the male seen walking with Tara, was playing the role of a character named "Andrew" Rick/Andrew.

The houses do seem to be repeating Rick's story, and this made me sure the spoilers are actually correct.

But there's more to look at.

Once Rick recovers in the yellow house, he goes back to the police station he worked at to get weapons.

Now I can't help but realise that when Rick was in the hospital, we saw the combination of a hospital plus police officers (Rick and Shane) just like Grady.

Rick goes back to his old police station (aka Grady). Does that mean Beth will go back to Grady? Who knows, but there are other missing spoilers from the hospital that indicated she might have.

Once Rick gets weapons from the station, he drives off in a police car.

One of the spoilers also said Beth was seen driving away from Grady in a police car. Rick was leaving the police station to find his family. Was Beth doing the same? or does she go back to get medical attention or weapons?

Now continuing on with Ricks story, he eventually ends up in Atlanta (Grady for Beth), where he leaves Merle on the roof.

We know Merle cuts his own hand off and goes missing. Daryl was absent at the time and when he found out he was furious and devastated.

I believe this scenario will be repeated with Beth. Merle becomes Beth disappearing with her arm in a cast. You could say her cast, 'hand-cuffs' the wrist.

What if Beth has her cast removed and Daryl finds it, questioning who removed it, and that leads him to try and track Beth down, even if he still thinks she is dead.

Merle steals a van in season 1, and they lose track of him, we don't see or hear about him for a very long time.

We see Rick find his family back at the quarry camp and Lori asks Rick if he wants his wedding ring back, he says yes, and she gives it to him.

Now, follow me here for a second.

What I just talked about above regarding Merle, his hand, him going missing, and the Lori and Rick's reunion with wedding rings, is a convergence of the signs of season 1, all summed up with these behind the scenes photos or clues, that Norman posted at the time of the missing filming spoilers.

The bloody hand with what looks like cut marks where Merle cut his hand off, and the combination of marriage and wedding ring symbolism. Nicotero and Norman are 'brother's'...

Now back in season one Lori takes her wedding ring off when she sleeps with Shane, because she thinks Rick is dead (till death do us part)

While Daryl finds only Merle's hand in season one, it seems these hints about the missing spoilers point to Daryl finding Beth's cast but losing the love of his life. Divorced.

Knowing how they repeat everything, and how Daryl takes Merle's hand when he finds it (same as taking someones hand in marriage), eventually he will ask Beth to marry him, but I think that will be later on not immediately.

We know Merle shows up again around the time when Andrea does, this is interesting to me because, next year we are going to see Rick (Daryl's brother) back in The one's who live, and we will get season two of Daryl Dixon -The book of Carol, which is really the book of Beth.

Andrea/Merle + Beth/Rick showing up at around the same time. hmm.

The last thing I want to discuss is the retirement home missing filming spoilers...

Beth was apparently seen filming at what was thought to be a retirement home.

Now, was it definitely a retirement home? We can't be sure, but it really would make sense, why?

Because Rick went to a "retirement home" in season 1.

Now, to start with Rick doesn't know it's a retirement home, he goes there to trade people. Glenn who was taken, for one of their group.

This is Rick's version of Grady.

Rick in order to get Glenn back, Rick is willing to shoot the place up in a gun fight if he has to.

Now you will notice at Beth's houses, the red car and the brick house have undergone a massive shoot out, with bullet holes everywhere. Was someone trying to get Beth back and did shoot the place up? I would say yes!

The leader of the other group in season 1, wants Rick's guns and wants the trade to include the guns as well as his man.

Rick declines, saying the guns are his. So the leader threatens to feed Glenn to his ferocious dogs, he says to Rick "I'm going to chop up your boy, feed him to my dogs, three of the evilest, nastiest, meanest bitches you ever saw. Picked em up from Satan at a yard sale".

Now the filming spoilers also indicate that a dog was filming at Beth's houses. A Rottweiler named Ozzy, and his doghouse is located in the yard (yard sale) of the Brick house.

The owner of Ozzy said the dog had two scenes in season 5, but he was never seen onscreen.

And a sign placed out the front of the brick house said "Beware of dog".

Now the dogs in Rick's story were not really very scary...

The leader of the group gave a very long-winded, over the top, scary caution about how dangerous his dogs were.

In the missing filming spoilers, the sign with 'Beware the dog" seems to have 'the dog' crossed out. Kind of removing the warning, like it's not a threat.

But If Ozzy did indeed have a part in these missing scenes, which it looks like he did. Then the low key warning on the sign, combined with the over the top warning from season one about how mean the dogs were, when they actually weren't.

Points to Ozzy being extremely vicious.

There's actually a lot more i could add, but this is way to long already.

The overall point of looking back at this, is to show the missing spoilers are all too similar to Rick's story to be a coincidence.

We will eventually see them, and it seems to be right around the corner.

One last thing, the episode where Rick gets a reunion with his family is in 103, and it's called, Tell it to the frogs.

Frogs is another way of talking about the french or french people. Linking a big reunion to France...

#team delusional #team defiance #team beth lives #bethyl #beth greene #beth is alive #beth is coming #beth greene lives #twd #td

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river-person · 6 days

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ok you guys are the first to hear about this (only other places is on my instagram account and my friends 💀) but im starting my own little hms series . im working on a story line and a song right now, bandlab is actual shit and only allows 8 drum patterns so i have to make 3 different projects for it and im working on the first part right now. dont know a lot about music theory but i am learning and i have the autism version of a sharingan so itll be quick because its actually kind of easy.

this is Soul. shes the body, the host, so i want them to look most like ME. she is but a shell and a vessel, a mask to heart and mind, but she can think and feel and want just the same as they can, but it is not their. thing?? idk. ive never done a self portrait before because. im going to be honest i dont really like me. im doing this so i can connect with myself better.

i want to keep their voice very raw as it is coming from my physical vocal chords, so it will sound the most like MINE compared to heart and mind.

for her character, i want to tie in the PHYSICAL things i do to them as stuff they ‘enjoy’?? if that makes sense. ice skating, exercising, eating, skateboarding, sleeping etc etc. if i get drums ever thats gonna be *their* instrument because a song (well. the stuff i make. and in my opinion) cant really exist without drums. its like the backbone to it. its what i start out with before i make everything else. and it can literally shape the entire sound.

i know im going to have Heart’s main instrument be lyre (which i will somehow fit in), but im debating on whether i want Mind’s to be MIDIs or (electric) guitar. i might want to give heart a more acoustic sound, and mind a more synthesized, robotic sound (mostly because of the mind electric by miracle musical. and because honestly, i really love the way chonny did his mind’s voice.) anyways im going to talk about heart and mind when i have their character designs. i really hope chonny doesnt mind people doing stuff like this 😭 hes one of my biggest inspirations, and just. a lot of his stuff keeps me motivated. life is short and i want to do as much as i can with myself, figure out all the things i can do, and just. create. if i died tomorrow, what would i have to show for myself?

a lot of this might be borderline copying mr jash. and im terrified of doing that . will figure more of this out l8er

#hms #river person #chonny jash inspired #chonny jash #tally hall #the bidding #art

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a-river-of-stars · 11 months

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Gundam Wing: the Winner women, utterly unessential to the narrative.

Written in response to https://www.tumblr.com/ikuzeminna/718480468058718208. I didn’t want to add this to @ikuzeminna’s post in case it wasn’t welcome. Hopefully this doesn’t kick any hornets’ nests... 😳

Since we’re talking about women being used for manpain and to further men’s storylines, I think the women of the Winner Family deserve an entire post of their own. While I don’t blame Quatre for this at all--he’s a character ffs, he certainly doesn’t get to control how the writers choose to write other characters!--it does seem to me that the women in Quatre’s family only exist to further the stories of the men connected to them.

First, there’s Quatre’s mother Quaterine. She seems nice enough, and I’m sure fandom could build up a solid character for her, but the simple fact is that she’s never given the chance to be an actual character in the source material. She serves no purpose in the story other than to deliver us a male protagonist; then, task completed, she promptly dies and never even rates a mention in the original tv series. You can’t even say she dies for Quatre’s manpain because in the original series he never thinks about her so he CAN feel manpain about her. She is never brought up at all. Thus, unlike Relena choosing to carry on her father’s legacy or Wufei choosing to carry on Meilan’s, and regardless of the alleged similarities between Quaterine and Quatre, Quatre isn’t motivated to carry on Quaterine’s legacy. She doesn’t inspire him. Think of it this way: Quatre could have actually been born from a donor egg in a test tube (as he was told happened) and the story would have turned out the same. Quaterine could have just as easily never existed--and in the original tv series she basically didn’t. Like Meilan, Quaterine only appears in Episode Zero, where the only one who thinks about her as a person is Quatre’s father Zayeed. Even then Zayeed seems to get more emotional mileage from his relationship with Quatre than from the dead wife to whom Quatre is compared.

The same is true of Quatre’s 29 sisters. They are less characters of their own than they are an informed trait of Quatre’s (much like having a character say “X is very smart” but then never actually showing X saying or doing anything smart). Only one of Quatre’s sisters ever appears or is given a name in the text. You could cut the mention of the other 28 sisters and it would have zero effect on how the story plays out. Irea, the only sister that matters in the slightest, exists strictly to further Quatre’s story: to help heal him up physically and mentally, to transport him to the male character (Zayeed) that is Actually Important™ to Quatre’s story, and then to get hurt/seemingly killed so Quatre can have his big meltdown over her injuries and over Zayeed’s death (but really mostly over Zayeed’s death). Such a glorious role.

Note also that Quatre has seemingly never even met any of his sisters. Quatre doesn’t know who Irea is until the conversation with Zayeed. It’s very telling that Zayeed keeps only his male heir on the same colony with him and sends all of his daughters away. Zayeed’s desk has exactly ONE photo on it, featuring only ONE child: the child he actually gets to see on a regular basis rather than all the ones he sent away to live on other colonies. I would like to think that the absence of Quatre’s sisters is a result of Zayeed removing them from his presence because his daughters all painfully remind him of his dear dead wife, but the original text doesn’t support that conclusion. Rather, in the text Zayeed only ever thinks of QUATRE as being similar to Quaterine (calling both Quatre and Quaterine “the strongest and most noble of all” in Episode Zero).

While it’s possible that FT may have changed the dynamics, the original source material from the 1990s is stunningly dismissive of the women in the Winner family. Perhaps this is meant to illustrate the sexism inherent in the culture of Quatre’s family. If that is the case, no one in the family itself seems to have a problem with it. No outside scrutiny is given by any other character, either. The only explicit criticism of sexist tendencies in the Winner Family is leveled against Quatre by Heero; ironically, it comes when Quatre is commenting on how he feels women must look down on men for only being able to resolve their problems through violence. Heero’s responding accusation that Quatre doesn’t believe women enjoy violence is a very bizarre way to suggest that Heero is the feminist in this situation and that Quatre is the sexist. While Quatre’s comment does perhaps point to a certain idealization of women--to Quatre putting women on a pedestal of perfection rather than seeing them as potentially problematic humans like himself--it seems that criticism might be more usefully aimed at the wider culture that allows 28 women to go unnamed and functionally banished from their home for the crime of not being born male. Frankly, since that culture (or possibly just Zayeed) deprived Quatre of the opportunity to interact with all those women, it’s not necessarily a surprise that all Quatre has to go on are idealizations.

#gundam wing #mobile suit gundam wing #new mobile report gundam wing #feminism #sexism #sexism in media #quatre raberba winner #zayeed winner

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will80sbyers · 11 months

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1) Mike & Will in season 1

In the first season Mike's focus is not on Will alone, the focus of the narrative and the focus of the camera is on his reactions to Will's fate and are enough to show that these two characters will have ( in the future ) more relevance to each other compared to the others but from observing Mike's reactions they are not that much different from the other Party members, they add a level of drama by having the moment in which he finds out that Will's body was found in the quarry be more sad and heartbreaking for Mike when they focus on him believing that El betrayed his trust and he not only thinks he lost one of his best friends in the whole world but also that he's being lied to about something this much important from one of the new friends he made- by this point he considers El to be one of his friends too and that's exactly what he says to her after he goes back home and she's in his house again, he takes her in anyway even feeling betrayed and tells her he did think of her as a friend and he now feels like he lost two people... Not only one!

But then she finds a way to have his trust back by making him listen to Will singing on the radio and this not only brings him back hope to see his best friend again but also gives him back a friend and makes him feel grateful towards her...

When Will is finally back home he's shown to be worried about his wellbeing and the camera focuses on him when Will starts coughing but the reactions Mike has are the same reactions Lucas has in the first seasons towards Will and even Dustin, all of them cry for him, all of them risk their own well-being for Will and decide to go into the woods and they are really happy to have Will back at the end of the season and eager to talk with him and play d&d again etc...

Mike is being established as the leader of the group in season 1 so he's the one that has the most focus on for who gets the group to start this- he's the one that inspires them to go out to search for another party member because as Will said, Mike is the heart and he wouldn't have left any of them to just be missing without him and the others going to at least TRY to find them!

Mike is the leader but I do believe the focus on him is also because the writers intended to connect Will to him later on, either because it was already planned that Will would be one of his love interests or just because they knew Will was intended to be gay and had already decided Mike was gonna be the one Will fell for eventually... I'm inclined to believe they did want to slowly build them as a future couple in a crescendo and started to place some small foreshadowing in the framing in particular and with the focus on Mike's heartbreak-

At this point of the story I don't think Mike was aware of having any sort of romantic feelings for Will, he was still his first friend and his best friend and he would have done anything for him and to have him back safe but it would have been the same for any other party member because they purposefully place the whole storyline about Mike jumping from the cliff for Dustin's safety right after he told him they were all his best friends in the middle of the season so that it was clear to the audience which type of character Mike has in general and why he does deserve to be the leader and to be considered the heart, they show just how much Mike's character cares about all of his friends and how compassionate and kind he can be!

They start to create a window into mike's heart and show how big it is, how he's capable of loving and being loyal to so many people at the same time and I do believe we see that after season 1 even after he starts feeling insecure about himself and that starts to make him falter a little and become a bit more self concerned because of that, his focus shifts too much into keeping El in his life to the point he slowly loses himself in the process and becomes lost, Will is the one that brings him back to himself regularly

#byler #mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things #el hopper byers #bi mike wheeler #mike's posts day 1

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