One of my favorite tropes is she/he fell first, but he/she fell harder and one of my favorite things from this trope is when the the one who fell harder has that moment of wait a second . . . and then you see the light bulb turn on over their heads or see their only brain cell finally kicking in.
I'll use polin for this example. Because in my belief their first kiss showcases it well.
We got Penelope, who's been in love way longer than I would've allowed myself, gathering up her Whistledown courage and asking the man she secretly loves to kiss her. She's more casual about this because, in a way, she's used to this feeling.
Meanwhile, we see Colin hesitating because now this is unfamiliar territory to him in terms of his relationship with Penelope. Sure, he's had mistresses in the past when traveling, but those never involved feelings or anything in some sort of permanence. Not like Penelope.
But they still kiss. And then, then you read this one line from Colin's pov.
Now this was a kiss
You know this is the moment Colin's brain shifted. The door has been opened, and he's ready to dive in.
Then the kiss stops. Penelope, has been in love, is flushed, but thanks him like he just did her a simple favor. Meanwhile, Colin, completely reevaluating his defention of friendly feelings, is almost offended by her thanks. He's off kiltered around her now but like hell is he gonna stay away.
he says i hate everyone except you and that is addictive and that is kind of romantic and beautiful because you're young and you're kind of a sarcastic asshole too and you don't like bad boys, per say, but you don't really like good ones either. and you like that you were the exception, it felt like winning.
except life is not a romance book, and he was kind of being honest. he doesn't learn to be nice to your friends. he only tolerates your family. you have to beg him to come with you to birthday parties, he complains the whole time. you want to go on a date but - people are often there, wherever you're going. he's just so angry. about everything, is the thing. in the romance book, doesn't he eventually soften? can't you teach him, through your own sense of whimsy and comfort?
at first - you know introverts often need smaller friend groups, and honestly, you're fine staying at home too. you like the small, tidy life you occupy. you're not going to punish him for his personality type.
except: he really does hate everyone but you. which means he doesn't get along with his therapist. which means he has no one to talk to except for you. which means you take care of him constantly, since he otherwise has no one. which means you sometimes have to apologize for him. which means he keeps you home from seeing your friends because he hates them. you're the single exception.
about a decade from this experience, you'll type into google: how to know if a relationship is codependent.
he wraps an arm around you. i hate everyone except you. these days, you're learning what he's actually confessing is i have very little practice being kind.
Something happened to me that I always talk about. I would say (to the survivors): "Hi, Enzo, I play Numa" and they would say 'Oof, Numa'. And they would give me a hug."
I would say, "But this person doesn't know me, he's not hugging me. He's hugging Numa through me."
And it was very powerful. You saw there what he was leaving. There is something inexplicable about Numa that he left in others, that they feel a weight. They feel an extra gratitude.
There was something very heavy there that you felt, and it left you with that responsibility. You would say: "Ah, look at this person, how special. How they remember him.
What is a person like to be remembered like that? What did he do? What did he leave?"
I’m actually super proud of this piece, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone to do something dynamic & complex with hopefully a somewhat interesting composition, and I really worked hard on it. I’ve been feeling kind of down on my art recently tbh, like I’ve stagnated a bit, and this piece really helped me to experiment a bit more & try out some new brushes & techniques. Can’t wait to experiment & draw more soon! 🩵
Obsessed with the way that Nemesis would steal your money, buy items or boons you might need, destroy doors to rooms where you might get a beneficial boon or item.
And the only way for this to not happen? You have to be better than her at it.
I've bought the items she'll be watching in Charon's shop (she's like "hey!") or run ahead and got into the room I wanted to before she has a chance to, or beat her at her wager. Mel has to be more an asshole towards her than she is towards Mel.
Literally kudos to Supergiant for making an actual nemesis out of Nemesis lmao.