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Palette swapped our Nevermore duo

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"No Mud No Lotus" The most important part of being a writer is actually getting the words down on the page. For a couple of years now I’ve been ‘meaning to write’ but have always gotten bogged down with the planning stage and refused to produce any drafts until they were perfect. As such I’ve barely written anything. I’m getting really sick of being paralysed by my own trepidation; so while I’m sorry to be clogging the internet with my garbage short stories and fanfiction and whatever, I really need to get these brainworms out of my system. Please remember the block button in such trying times. My work will not have proper grammar, consistent characterisation, an understandable chronology, and references to only things I think are enjoyable.

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HEROINE SEEKER: JOURNEY

I tried to smash together different ‘Heroine’s Journeys’ into one thing that isn’t so obsessed with gender roles. In my opinion the Hero’s Journey is more an External Journey, while the concept of the Heroine’s Journey is more a Spiritual Journey. For an extra challenge to your writing try and combine the External and Internal Journey lol. Others have totally done this already but I wanted to jump in on the bandwagon.

♥️ACT ONE

- SHIFT FROM X TO Y

Heroine begins to distance herself from anything deemed X. Often it can be portrayed as a mentor figure or a traditionally passive role in society. The X Mentor will be a representation of everything the heroine hates about herself. The X Mentor may also be perfect, causing the heroine to reject her similar traits out of feelings of inferiority.

"During stage one, the heroine rejects the X in favor of the Y. She may still be tied to the X, but she increasingly resents that attachment."

- IDENTIFICATION WITH Y

The heroine begins to identify with external Y values. This can be portrayed as a Y Mentor or a traditionally Y role in society. The father will be a representation of freedom from the mother figure. The father would praise the heroine for her strength, but also ridicule her for her X. The heroine will leave her X values behind completely and embrace the new Y values instead.

"This stage involves an Identification with the External Y Of Society, but not one’s inner personal Y. Rather, it is the outer hierarchical Y whose driving force is power. An individual in a hierarchical society is driven to seek control over themselves and others in an inhuman desire for perfection“.

- EYE OF STORM

Heroine triumphs for a short period of time. However, this victory serves as a false calm. This stage can be moved around throughout the journey.

"In the true Heroine’s Journey, the heroine may experience momentary but not sustained success because those around her do not want to be led by a her for long, or the people around her begin to undermine her, or after the crisis passes she is left trying to fill multiple roles that inconsistent or impossible for a single person to fulfill."

= Shift of identification in calm before storm. The growing sensation one is different from the society they were born in, and their new experiences leaning into and exploring their own eccentricities

♥️ACT TWO

- ROAD OF TRIALS

Similar to the Hero's Journey, the heroine faces obstacles that lead character development. These tasks will be related to gaining success, achieving higher status, and empowerment. The heroine also struggles with inner conflict. These tasks will be related to conquering preconceived notions of dependency, affection, and inferiority.

"By stage two, the heroine has faced great trials and emerged victorious. She feels the thrill of success, and her confidence is bolstered by the applause of others. She has built an impressive, Y reputation“.

- ILLUSORY BOON OF SUCCESS

The heroine will overcome the obstacles that she faced. Upon experiencing success, the heroine will realize she has betrayed her own values in order to achieve the goal. The heroine will feel limited in her new life.

"She has achieved everything she set out to do, but it has come at great sacrifice to her soul. Her relationship with her inner world is estranged. She feels oppressed but doesn’t understand the source of her victimization."

- ALL IS LOSS

The heroine realizes that her newly learned Y skills cannot help her and she cannot fall back on her old ways either. The situation around her gets worse and she has no choice but to accept defeat.

= Trials, illusions, losses of baby teeth. Others begin to notice they are different, and external forces react (negatively or positively) on the ‘deviant’ behaviours. The Heroine gains something but also loses something. Either way they possess different standing in their internal world, as well as different standing in their external society. Shenanigans ensue.

♥️ACT THREE

- DESCENT WITH GODDESS

Crisis falls upon the heroine and the new Y traits she has learned fail. The crisis can be death in the family, mental or physical disablement, or loss of self-identity. Here the heroine must reconcile with her original self. The heroine meets with a goddess figure, who represents all the positive values of X she has left behind. After this meeting, she is inspired to return to X.

- YEARNING

The heroine wants to reconnect with her original self and may try to rekindle a bond between herself and the mother or X Mentor. She may also try to go back to her previous style of living. However, the heroine will discover that she is not able to return to the old lifestyle she once lived. However, the heroine will see her old values and traits from a different perspective.

- REBIRTH OF TRUTH

Due to the support she has gotten, the heroine finds courage and hope again. She fully understands her place in the world and how she will face her doubts.

= A conversation with a fellow prisoner or even warden in the pit of the cocoon. The transformation reaches its peak and the strain of metamorphosis ‘breaks’ the Heroine. They are no longer who they once were, but the new self is so alien and the heroine herself is such a fresh swath of nerves, they don’t know how to react to themselves. A new figure, human or inhuman and physical or spiritual, resembling the old society they once knew comes into their setting. This new figure’s reaction helps shape how the Heroine reacts to her own transformation.

♥️ACT FOUR

- RECONCILIATION

Another crisis falls upon the heroine and she must look inward and understand the Y part of her identity. She will recognize that there are positives and negatives to her new found facets.

"The next stage involves Healing the Unrelated or Wounded Aspects of her New Nature as the heroine takes back her negative projections on the outsiders in her life. This involves identifying the parts of herself that have ignored her health and feelings, refused to accept her limits, told her to tough it out, and never let her rest. It also involves becoming aware of the positive aspects of her outsider nature that supports her desire to bring her images into fruition, helps her to speak her truth and own her authority."

- UNION OF OUTSIDER AND INSIDER

In the final stage, the heroine fully accepts and understands both sides of her dual nature. She will find balance between both sides and actively work towards keeping that balance.

"The heroine must become a full human being. This demands that she learn the art of balance and have the patience for the slow, subtle integration of the old and new aspects of her nature."

- RETURN OF A NEW WORLD

The heroine sees the world as it truly is. She understands herself better and this will change the way she lives her life from then on. This change is more behavioural and internally driven than physically.

= Reconciliation, union of dichotomies, sharpening of adult teeth. The Heroine grows into her transformation, this time not gaining succour from others’ positive/neutral observation of her metamorphosis, but from her own new experiences with her finalised form. Usually gained through some form of personal success and over a period of rest, the Heroine now feels more at home in her skin and her new standing both inside of and outside of her societies.