#in og lotmv its because dawn maidens in divinice are the only ones who can destroy the darkness

[isaacathom]

accidentally prompted myself to reconsider the lotmv story, so thats fun

the premise, such that it was, was that Seora was a demigod of light, and had funky light magic. And there was a weird magical darkness that had corrupted the land, and she was one of a whole class of people who keep it at bay. But that 'bay' is pretty politicised, and at some point the whole forced to live with the magical darkness kidnap Seora to make her fix things for them. And then a whole lot of shit happens.

And that's... fine? i guess. but i think it could be better, and part of that is just. telling the big grand politics angle to leave. there was a lot of weird geopolitics happening and we dont need that.

the changes arent unprecedented, since i tried to fix the story earlier too lmao.

what i think id prefer is something a bit more. social?

In a reconsidered lotmv, Seora is still a light demigod, and still has these very specific duties that she's been practically raised for since birth. There's strict duties and hierarchies and so on, things she can and cant do. She has a 'boyfriend', a bodyguard called Roderick, who has absolutely has no interest in but cannot very well reject, because to do so would be stepping out of the social agreement. it would cause problems for them both, but mostly for her. So she's stuck in her job, and in a "relationship".

At some point, she is contacted by Esther, who is a member of a group trying to fix the magic goop problem - a group whose reasonable requests for aid keep being denied. The two start a very careful correspondence, each bound by the norms around them.

An idea comes into focus. Seora would like nothing more than to help them, but the binds of her position stay her hand. She cant do anything. And if she acts out and voices her support, she'll be stripped of whatever "authority" she had while remaining bound.

So, to get Seora into the correct locations, a kidnapping will be staged. The group will kidnap Seora, bring her back to their place, and "force" her to help them. Once she's done what she needs to do, the group will suddenly become amenable to any of the negotiations presented by Seora's people, and they'll return her. She'll not be harmed, her reputation will be preserved, everythings fine.

For the optics, to make it seem that she's unwilling, they'll need to play up some things. She understands this going in. That they'll need to skirt the line for the greater good. She has her part to play.

And what she doesnt reckon with, prior to agreeing to everything, is on falling in love with Esther. And Esther doesn't either.

And that's a problem. Because if Seora starts getting too comfortable, enjoys herself too much, then the whole part of the operation intended to preserve her reputation fails. Because, well, now she looks willing. And that defeats the whole point.

So the two of them are stuck in a complicated dance of the various expectations of them, what they need to do, what roles they have to serve, and what they want.

Because, for Esther, Seora's help is essential. She's the one person that was on board. They need her magical skills. Esther was willing to risk being caught kidnapping her, because the end goal is very important to her. And now she's in love. And that risks the whole fucking thing.

Strictly, this could have all been "present" in the original version of lotmv, but its a slight reframing to be about those expectations and complications. There's still the issue of what exactly Esther's group is, how they fit in/oppose Seora's. In the original, they're different countries. i feel like that still wooorks? two countries who are not on speaking terms, a group within that countries military (?) who feel they have no other choice. there's some little worldbuilding... bits that make things weird, but its workable, i think. maybe? idk

#lotmv #lotmvs kinda weird and maybe it needs to be completely separated from the dawn/dusk maiden thing #there still needs to be a reason that seora is actually useful as an individual to esther's side tho #in og lotmv its because dawn maidens in divinice are the only ones who can destroy the darkness #due to training and a regionality to the demigods #but you could alter it from a weird top-down god thing to like. artifacts held by divinice #or specific training right. young girls raised from a very young age to do these highly specific things #that are difficult to learn without certain materials and stuff #very witcher school of them. and then because theyre so special theyre held so closely by the crown #bc its their advantage! #and it just so happens that this specific skillset would serve to solve a problem the stolisians are having #hence - kidnapping #that mostly works i think? #decouples it from the asavla setting and thats good bc that shits janky