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harriedoll · 2 years ago

Text

𖹭 Silly Girls 𖹭

part 1

"Louis teve uma surpresa ao tentar buscar suas filhas mais cedo na escola. Acontece que as garotas não estavam na sala de aula, sequer haviam ido a aula. Louis nunca iria esperar encontrar duas princesinhas fodendo em casa."

Obs:

𖹭 Minha primeira one aqui, sejam gentis por favor!

𖹭 Fiz essa planejando uma parte 2 então me falem o que acharam.

tags: gêmeas tomlinson-styles cis girls • desuso de camisinha • incesto entre irmãs e pai • palavras de baixo calão como: bucetinha, cacete, pau, grelinho, melzinho

Se algo citado acima te incomoda, não leia e pule por favor.

Wordcount: 3039

𖹭 Boa leitura!

𖹭

Os olhos de Louis estavam vidrados no porta-retrato em cima de sua mesa. Na foto, duas garotas sorriam largo para a câmera, que estava sendo segurada pelo mesmo. Harry e Harper Tomlinson. As duas filhas e preciosidades do homem.

Adolescentes nem sempre são fáceis de lidar e controlar, mas Louis tem filhas exemplares. Desde pequenas, sempre foram muito obedientes ao pai também muito estudiosas, se dedicando ao máximo aos estudos e a família, mesmo que sempre tenha sido apenas os três.

Família é tudo. O que foi algo explicado desde a infância, quando a mãe das garotas as largou com o pai para fugir com um amante. Desde então, Louis se esforçou ao máximo para proteger suas filhas e trabalhar para poder dar a melhor vida a elas.

Ele parece tão calmo apenas ao pensar nas meninas. É uma forma de pensar em coisas boas e tentar se distrair da confusão do trabalho.

Mas a calma de Louis se vai no mesmo momento que David, um de seus funcionários, pigarreia o lembrando que ele ainda está ali esperando uma reposta. O corpo da homem tensiona totalmente ao receber o olhar, agora frio, do homem.

- Eles querem uma reposta. O que digo, sr. Tomlinson? - O homem pergunta mais uma vez, o que parece triplicar a raiva de Louis.

Ele não consegue entender como conseguiu contratar funcionários tão incompetentes, capazes de perder na entrega uma encomenda de quase um milhão de libras avaliados em pedras preciosas.

- Resposta? Que tipo de resposta você quer que eu dê, seu imbecil? Quem quer uma reposta sou eu! - O tom de Louis é alto, a raiva corre por seu corpo, fazendo seu sangue pegar fogo. - Sua única função era rastrear a porra da encomenda e garantir que ela chegasse aos clientes. Você foi designado apenas para isso!

Isso é péssimo em maneiras que Louis não consegue formular no momento. Quebra de contratos, perda de mercadoria. Ele sente que poderia quebrar a cara de David. Esse, que não move ao menos um dedo, sabendo que o ataque ainda não acabou.

- Você vai descobrir qual resposta dar a eles, por bem ou por mal. Você tem até o fim do dia para localizar aquelas jóias e entregar para os Warren. - O dedo de Louis foi apontado em direção ao homem. Seu aviso final. - Ou então, a reposta que eu vou te dar não vai ser nada agradável.

Foi a última coisa que Louis disse que antes de pegar suas coisas e sair da sala. Todos os presentes no corredor estavam o olhando, com certeza já estavam cientes da confusão causada por David e ouviram toda a gritaria. Ninguém seria louco de dizer uma palavra. Nem mesmo a secretária, querendo saber se deveria ou não desmarcar os compromissos do dia ao ver o chefe carregando a bolsa e o paletó com ele para o elevador.

Louis se sentia tão cansado. Os problemas surgiam cada vez mais, sem nenhuma solução seguida. Tudo que ele precisava eram férias, o que com certeza não era possível.

Mas talvez um dia relaxante ao lado de suas filhas poderia o ajudar a tirar o estresse do corpo. pelo menos por algumas horas.

Por fim, ele decide buscar as garotas mais cedo na escola para passarem o dia juntos.

Mas obviamente o dia poderia piorar.

Louis encarava confuso a secretária enquanto caminhava em sua direção voltando da sala de aula sem suas filhas.

- Senhor Tomlinson, as garotas não estão em aula. Pelo que chequei com o porteiro e também com os outros professores, elas não vieram hoje. - A mulher o informou, tentando passar de forma calma. A raiva de Louis estava estampada em seu rosto.

Ele se lembrava muito bem de ter visto as garotas arrumadas na hora do café antes de sair de casa. Isso poderia significar várias coisas. Ele estava confuso. Suas filhas nunca foram de matar aula.

- Claro. Me esqueci que elas tinham uma consulta médica hoje. Me perdoe pela confusão. - Apesar de gentil, seu tom foi seco. Ele já não estava de bom humor. E não queria acreditar que suas garotinhas estavam matando aula.

Seus dedos foram ágeis em pegar o celular e discar o número de Harper, e em seguida o de Harry. Os dois caíram na caixa postal.

Mas ele ainda poderia dar um voto de confiança a suas filhas. Afinal, elas nunca fizeram isso. Com certeza tinham um bom motivo.

Era isso que o homem pensava ao que estacionava o carro em frente sua casa, alguns minutos depois. Os dois carros, presente de dezessete anos das garotas, estavam estacionados na garagem.

Ele se deparou com total silencio ao entrar na casa.

Talvez suas filhas estivessem apenas muito cansadas. Talvez tenham ficado para fazer um trabalho. Talvez. A cabeça de Louis tentava criar varias desculpas para o comportamento de suas filhas.

Seu semblante confuso foi ficando cada vez mais serio ao que ele terminava de subir as escadas. Agora, no corredor do segundo andar, ele conseguia ouvir perfeitamente barulho vindo do quarto das garotas.

Gemidos.

O homem reconheceu no mesmo instante a voz de Harper. Ele podia sentir seu sangue ferver. O primeiro pensamento a correr por sua cabeça foi que a garota tinha algum garoto em sua casa. Ele não queria acreditar.

Seus passos foram ágeis até o final do corredor. A porta estava aberta pela metade, ele conseguia ver com clareza o que se passava em cima da cama de Harper.

Nada poderia ter preparado Louis para aquela cena. Harper não estava com um garoto. Era uma garota. Especificamente Harry, sua outra filha.

A cabeça de Louis agora rodava com a cena. Ele não sabia o que pensar ou dizer, mas seus olhos não conseguiam desviar da imagem de Harry sobre o corpo da irmã. Suas pernas estavam cruzadas e o homem conseguia ouvir entre os gemidos o barulho molhado das bucetas se esfregando.

Harper estava deitada na cama, seus fios lisos espalhados pelo travesseiro. Ela ainda vestia seu sutiã, diferente de Harry, que estava completamente desnuda em cima da irmã. Seus peitinhos balançavam rapidamente junto com os cachos em seu cabelo ao que ela se forçava contra a buceta da irmã, totalmente desesperada por prazer. Ambas soltavam gemidos finos, fazendo todos os sentidos de Louis entrarem em pane.

Sua primeira reação foi empurrar a porta com força, fazendo com que a maçaneta batesse na parede e enfim fizesse as garotas percebessem que estavam sendo observadas.

Harry soltou um grito agudo, se desvencilhando do corpo da irmã e prontamente enrolando o seu no edredom que estava em cima da cama. Harper fez o mesmo, sem conseguir tirar seus olhos da figura do pai na entrada no quarto.

As duas garotas tinham um olhar assustado, sem conseguir soltar uma palavra que fosse. A situação estava feia. Realmente feia.

- Eu gostaria de receber uma explicação. Agora mesmo. - O homem finamente disse. Sua voz era firme e grossa. Ele podia observar suas duas filhas encolhidas na cama, como duas cachorrinhas indefesas e amedrontadas. Mesmo com o pedido do pai, elas não foram capaz de dizer algo. Isso nunca acontecia. Ver Louis bravo -principalmente com suas garotinhas perfeitas- dentro daquela casa era totalmente raro.

- Eu estou esperando por uma reposta. - Ele se aproximou aos poucos da cama, seu olhar duro era dividido entre as duas garotas. Ele iria mentir ao dizer que não estava se divertindo pelo menos um pouco com a situação. Era complicado dizer. A cabeça de Louis rodava em pensamentos diferentes. - Quando eu cheguei vocês não estavam tendo problemas em ser barulhentas, não é? Quando o papai sai, as gatinhas fazem a festa, hum? Não sabia que estava criando duas vagabundas. - As palavras saíram da boca de Louis antes que ele pudesse pensar. Agora, seu tom era cínico.

Harper olhava para seu pai com os olhos marejados. Ela se sentia totalmente envergonhada por terem sido pegas no pulo. Ao contrário de Harry, que agora não encarava apenas o rosto do pai. Louis tinha a expressão séria, mostrando o quão irritado estava com a situação. Mas, para a surpresa das gêmeas, o volume marcado na calça do pai revelava outra coisa.

Ela poderia se livrar de um castigo e ainda tomar proveito da situação.

- Papai... - A garota começou, se aproximando lentamente do pai. O edredom caiu em seu ombro direito com o movimento, deixando seu peito a mostra novamente. Os olhos de Louis grudaram ali imediatamente. - Não fala assim com as suas garotinhas... - Ela desviou seu olhar para a irmã, a esticando a mão para que ela pudesse se aproximar - Nós estávamos apenas nos divertindo...

Harry estava totalmente se jogando para cima do mais velho. Seus olhinhos verdes brilhavam em direção ao seu pai, que a olhava com certa dúvida, mas também admiração. Harry sempre fora a mais exibida das gêmeas. Sempre falando pela dupla, sempre querendo mais atenção. Não era de se admirar que ela estivesse no controle da situação. Harper apenas seguia o que sua irmã falava.

- O papai também pode brincar... Nós prometemos ser boazinhas, não é Harper? - Ela se virou para a irmã, que prontamente acenou com a cabeça ao que também se aproximava do pai. Agora Louis tinha suas duas garotinhas ajoelhadas em sua frente na cama. Ele podia ver seus olhinhos em expectativa, esperando por qualquer ação do mais velho.

Ele poderia parar com aquela cena maluca ou então jogar tudo para o alto e foder suas duas filhas em cima da cama de uma delas.

A segunda opção parecia muito mais interessante.

Antes mesmo que Harry pudesse tocar o mais velho sob a calça social, o homem puxou o cabelo das duas, as afastando de seu corpo. - Acha que vai ser fácil assim tocar no papai? Se vocês se comportarem, talvez eu deixe... - Suas mãos guiaram a cabeça de suas filhas, fazendo com que seus rostos se encontrassem. - Não mandei pararem.

O corpo das duas garotas pegava fogo. Quando decidiram faltar aula para poder relaxarem um pouco, não pensaram que poderiam ser pegar por nenhum segundo. Ou que então seu pai acabaria participando.

Harry foi rápida em colar seus lábios nos da irmã em um beijo gostoso. Louis não sabia se queria participar ou então assistir as duas se beijando como se não houvesse amanhã. Os lábios gordinhos de Harper eram sugados com vontade por Harry, que mantinha o controle. O aperto das mãos de Louis no cabelo das garotas fazia suas cabeças arderem, mas as duas soltavam gemidos baixinhos por estarem gostando tanto de terem o papai as ajudando e guiando.

Louis sentia seu pau latejar dentro da calça. Ele senti que poderia chorar de tanta excitação ao observar suas garotinhas.

Lentamente o homem se afastou das duas, levando suas mãos diretamente para a fivela de seu cinto. Ele precisava de um alívio naquele mesmo momento.

Harper virou seu olhar para o pai, querendo o observar e o chamar para que voltasse a toca-la. Ela observou o exato momento em que ele abaixou a calça junto com a cueca, liberando o cacete duro. Sua glande brilhava devido ao pré-gozo que escorria. Ela sentia sua boca salivar tamanha vontade de tomar seu papai em sua boca.

Louis se livrou da calça, ficando apenas com a camisa social. Sua mão tomou seu pau pela base, o masturbando em movimentos lentos. Barulhos de satisfação saiam de sua boca ao que finalmente recebia um alívio. Ele deu um sorriso de canto ao perceber o olhar de Harper vidrado no cacete molhado. - Você quer, princesa? Se fizerem um show bem gostoso para o papai posso pensar em foder a sua boquinha depois. - Ele se aconchegou na poltrona ao lado da cama, relaxando seu corpo no estofado enquanto ainda movimentava sua mão em seu pau.

Louis queria sentar e observar suas filhas se comendo enquanto batia uma. Seus olhos estavam presos nas duas figuras na cama. Harry tinha as duas mãos no rosto da irmã, ela a segurava como se fosse seu bem mais precioso. Louis se sentiu um idiota por nunca ter percebido o que estava acontecendo bem debaixo de seu nariz. Obviamente aquilo já estava rolando a algum tempo.

Harry desceu suas mãos para as costas da irmã. Seus dedinhos foram ágeis em desfazer o fecho do sutiã para enfim a deixar totalmente nua. Seus olhos brilharam ao contemplar os peitos com os bicos durinho a sua frente. Harper, percebendo as intenções da garota, se deitou em na cama e a puxou. A boca de Harry rapidamente se prende ao redor de um dos peitos da irmã, ela chupa seu mamilo como se fosse a coisa mais gostosa que sua boca poderia provar. Seus dedos apertam o biquinho do outro peito, fazendo com que Harper solte um gemido baixo. A dor é mínima e ela sente todo seu corpo pegar fogo com a irmã mamando em seus peitinhos.

- Mhm.... Hazzy, por favor. Eu quero mais. - Sua voz é baixa, mas o pedido é ouvido por Harry e também por Louis, que aperta seus dedos com mais força em sua glande ao ver a filha suplicando pela outra. A coxa de Harry estava entre as pernas de Harper, ele podia ver a segunda esfregando sua buceta ali. Desesperada por mais toques.

- Vamos, Harry... Sei que você sempre cuida tão bem da sua irmãzinha... Não vai fazer feio agora na frente do papai, não é? - Louis se dirigiu a Harry, sabendo que seria Harry a controlar o momento das duas. Aquilo havia sido uma ordem direta e Harry prontamente obedeceu. Sua boquinha se desprendeu do peito da irmã, um único fio de saliva ainda os ligava. Seus lábios traçaram um trilha de beijos pela pele branquinha da irmã, que arrepiava a cada toque. Harry sabia que, apesar de estar totalmente molhada, Harper ainda estava nervosa por causa da presença do pai. Era seu dever como irmã (apenas alguns minutos) mais velha fazer a irmã relaxar e aproveitar o momento. Seu papai prestava atenção, e com certeza ela seria recompensada depois.

A boca de Harry parou na pélvis da garota. Ela levantou seu olhar para poder observar o rostinho de Harper.

- Relaxa, irmãzinha... Não é como se eu não soubesse que você gosta de plateia... - Ela soltou em um tom irônico e podia ver as bochechas da irmã ficando vermelhas ao que ela virava o rosto para observar a reação do pai. Esse que tinha o maxilar travado, o sangue pegando fogo apenas de imaginar qualquer outra pessoa assistindo suas garotinhas. Mas ele decidiu não interromper, teria sua oportunidade depois. Ele queria ver observar as duas.

Harper teve suas pernas separadas pelas mãos de Harry. Assim ela podia ter a visão da bucetinha molhada da irmã, ela estava implorando por algum toque.

Os dedos longos de Harry tocaram os lábios da buceta, a deixando totalmente exposta. Sua boca grudou no grelinho, fazendo Harper gemer alto. Não tinha nada que Harper gostava mais do que receber uma oral da irmã e Harry sabia bem disso.

Harry dividia sua atenção entre sugar o clitóris com força e passear com sua língua até a entradinha, apenas forçando. Ela conseguia deslizar sem dificuldade, Harper estava ficando cada vez mais a vontade com seu papai a observando e sua buceta estava completamente melada.

- Hazzy... Porra, assim. Come a minha bucetinha, hum... - Suas palavras eram perdidas no meio de murmúrios. A esse ponto ela já estava rebolando na boca da irmã, que a devorava com vontade.

- Eu amo tanto te comer assim, Harper... Princesa, amo sentir o seu gostinho assim.... - Harry devolveu, agora levando dois de seus dedos até a entradinha da irmã. Sua boca voltou a chupar o grelinho inchado ao mesmo instante que enfiava seus dedos. Harper tentava se empurrar mais contra os dedos, agora totalmente perdida em sua bolha de prazer. Ela queria tanto gozar.

Afinal, elas haviam sido interrompidas.

Agora os dedos de Harry se moviam rapidamente, ela fodia a irmã enquanto a chupava tão gostoso. O melzinho de Harper escorria para sua boca. Ela sabia que a irmã iria gozar.

- Vamos, irmãzinha. Vem para mim, mostra para o papai como você é tão boazinha para mim. - Seus dedos se curvaram dentro da bucetinha apertada, fazendo Harper empurrar o quadril para cima. Isso fez com que os dedos de Harry fossem ainda mais fundo.

Harper estava perdida em sua própria bolha de prazer. Ela se esfregava contra a boca da irmã, suas mãos apertavam seus próprios peitinhos. Ela iria explodir.

- Hazzy, Hazzy! Eu vou gozar. Por favor... Hazzy! - O corpo da garota tremia em cima do colchão. Ela estava tão, tão perto. Foi um grande choque quando ouviu uma simples palavra saindo dos lábios do pai.

- Harry, pare. - A ordem foi obedecida rapidamente, Harry tirou os dedos da irmã, mesmo com os protestos e lamúrias. Harper estava jogada na cama, seu corpinho totalmente mole devido ao estado de prazer e frustração. Ela queria chorar. Na realidade, lágrimas ralas saíam de seus olhinhos verdes. Sua irmã a observava, sem poder fazer nada para a ajudar. Não seria louca de desobedecer o pai.

Louis estava se divertindo, de certa forma. Ao mesmo tempo que suas filhas eram duas cadelinhas desesperadas, não fariam nada sem a aprovação do papai.

Ele se levantou da poltrona, caminhando em direção da cama. Os olhos das duas garotas estavam vidrados no pau grosso e duro, vazando pre-gozo. Louis também iria expldodir de tesão.

Ele parou na beira da cama, levando seus dedos para tocar o queixo de Harry.

- Muito bom, meu amor. Cuidou direitinho da sua irmãzinha... Papai está orgulhoso de você, hum? - Ele disse com um sorrisinho pendendo de seus lábios.

Oh, ele tinha tantos planos para acabar com suas filhas.

Sua atenção agora estava em Harper, a garota ainda estava jogada na cama, frustrada mais uma vez por ser interrompida. Suas perninhas abertas revelavam a buceta vermelhinha e sensível para o papai, que não perdeu a chance de acertar um tapa em seu grelinho.

- S�� vai gozar no pau do papai, amor. Não precisa me olhar assim... Você também foi tão boazinha, eu não sabia que minha princesinha podia ser uma putinha tão desesperada assim. - Seus dedos rodearam a entradinha da garota, ele enfiou somente a pontinha para a ver tremer mais uma vez na cama.

- Vez do papai brincar.

parte 2.

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alpaca-clouds · 8 months ago

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Why do people struggle so much with understanding pacing?

Okay, let me talk about my pet peeve when it comes to writing in any medium. Pacing.

People, who know me for long, will know that this has been the thing I have been complaining about since I was like 12. And there is a good reason for it.

See, when I learned to write, there was this guy who I greatly admired as an author. And after bugging him for a while (look folks, the internet was a very different place from what it is now) he did give me some recommendations on books on writing. And a lot of them went deeply into his pet peeve, which - you guessed it - was pacing as well.

And thus, I learned early on about story structure, and pacing, and how to pace out a story in a way grips the audience. This material I read went onto different techniques for different mediums, into how different cultures had a different ways of dealing with this, and so on, and so forth.

Some of my main take aways were, that a lot of very long stories struggled massively with pacing, and that a ton of people also very miscalculated their ability to handle characters in terms of pacing - because characters and pacing are two things that are very, very heavily connected.

I also learned something else, though: That a lot of western writing advice did not understand anything about pacing outside of the idea that stories were supposed to have three acts - or maybe five - and ideally from a certain fateful day in the early 2000s on, would follow the "save the cat" formular. (Mind you, I do not hate "Save the Cat", however, this formular has been created for movies. It works at times somewhat well for books, too. But it definitely does not for for pretty much anything serialized, because that is not what it was developed for.)

And I also learned another thing: Most people do not understand pacing either, because pacing is not a thing that is ever taught in normal school (like most things that are about creative writing are not). So, while some people might have a gut feeling that the pacing of something might be off, they rarely can actually say why. And this is only worsened by the fact that today's tiktok addicted society is so used to consuming ultra condensed media, that they will perceive anything less condenses than 1 minute tiktok videos as "too slow and boring".

So, please allow me - the guy who kinda hyperfixated on this specific writing skill - to talk about pacing. And this will be in the following points:

What is pacing actually?

How do characters relate to pacing?

Pacing, Streaming and the supposed "filler episode".

Pacing and Fantasy

Pacing in Action vs anything else

Pacing in books vs visual media

What Is Pacing actually?

Okay, I think one of the main issues when it comes to understanding pacing is, that a lot of people see pacing on a on a spectrum that goes from "I am bored" to "I can't follow the plot anymore". But that actually does not always have to do with the pacing - obviously.

Technically pacing is the speed in which the plot moves. Or, to make it more quantifiable: "How many plot points (beats) are covered per either time (in any timed medium) or per page (in anything you read)". Which makes sense at the first glance - but does actually often not line up with the subjective perception of this. Becau se here is the thing: No, fight scenes are not automatically fast paces. A lot of modern action movies have super slow paced - in terms of story pacing - action scenes. Because yes, during those action sequences a lot of STUFF happens, but nothing of it actually is in any way related to the plot.

Look, I freaking adore the Fast & Furious movies. But you could literally edit those movies down to like 45 minutes each and not lose a single plot beat. But of course, nobody would watch those movies - because yes, me and everyone else who adored those movies, is there to watch them lunch cars into space and see stuff blow up. I don't much care about the characters or the plot.

This is by the way also the kinda point that me and other people talk about, when we are unimpressed by "oh, but sex scenes don't add anything to the plot", while the same people would often not make the same argument about action scenes - even though there is a ton of movies and shows where the action scenes really do not add anything to the plot. A lot of people just do not perceive action sequences as slow pacing, because even if nothing that happens on the screen actually adds anything to the plot or moves it forward, it is undeniable, that STUFF is happening. So basically monkey brain will go: "Hehe, things go boom!"

Don't get me wrong: there absolutely are stories in which the action is moving the plot. Mad Max Fury Road is a great example. The movie is also about 60% action - but the action scenes actually add to the plot.

Meanwhile nothing tells you as much about how unimportant some of the MCU action scenes are, than the fact, that they are often done by a completely different team and will be done apart from the rest of the movie.

But yes, traditionally the idea was, that towards the "finale" of a piece of media, a lot more plot beats would happen over a shorter amount of time. You will see that also in a lot of beat sheets. There are more beats that need to happen in the third act of a story - if we go by three act structure. And often there is actually even more plot developments, as usually in a finale all the "plotlines" will kinda finish up in the end. So even plotlines where not a lot has happened to this point - this shows especially in serialized works both in TV shows and stuff like manga or comics - the important plot points will then often happen close to the finale, because it feels more "right".

In older serialized media - especially TV shows prior to streaming - you also had the same thing hold true towards the finale of a "story arc". In a lot of older shows, you would usually see a structure that looked like this.

The "rise" here technically has less to do with more stuff happening in later arcs or seasons - and more with the threat-level rising, and the convulutedness of a story. lol

But yeah, the take-away from this part should be: No, action does not equal fast pacing. There can be action-heavy shows with super slow narrative pacing - but it will to many not feel this way, because at least action is interesting to watch. Which also might be an explanation to why people are a lot worse in seeing the issue with action-scenes that are not adding anything in visual media, but might actually notice it in written stories. Because in books action scenes do not feel "fast paced" in the same way they feel in movies, where the often faster editing and the amount of motion on screen will create this effect.

Oh, and on the other side: Of course there can be slow paced plots that will leave you having problems following. At times, because they are badly written (aka: the media does not give you all the information you need) - and at times, because a piece of media might expect you to know a certain bit of information that you do not know. I can definitely think of a variety of scifi media, that just expects you to know stuff about computer stuff or space, and will not explain it to you. Which might make you need longer time to take plot developments in, and then leaves you reeling.

Another thing however that is also important is: If the pacing stays actually the same throughout a piece of media - rather than accelarating towards the finale (or finales if there are multiple) - it actually will feel wrong in some way. Often people (even I, who hyperfixates on this specific thing) struggle to point at it at first. But yes, this very much is an issue that also can happen. You want the pacing to accelerate towards certain points in the plot - and then slow down. If you had an important point, you want a few slower scenes/episodes/chapters afterwards, to allow the audience to somewhat absorb all the new things you presented them with.

How do characters relate to pacing?

Alright, now we come to the dicey part - specifically, because a lot of people (which includes narratologists, creative writing professors, and people professionally writing) actually kinda do not fully agree on this. So, fair warning: This is how I think.

A character arc in many cases absolutely is a part of the plot. Most media we consume these days are character driven, so the characters are absolutely centrally connected to the plot and the plot mainly exists to have the character move from point A to point B. Or, to make it more basic: To have a character realize that their WANT is not their NEED.

Sure, those characters will usually also accomplish something plot-related. But them accomplishing them is more often than not heavily connected to them fulfilling their character arc. (Please note: characters having a want but having to realize a need is something that is core of western storytelling. However, given that it makes for interesting character arcs, a lot of Asian media these days also will use this as a central driver for character development.)

In some pieces of media, the character arcs are way more heavily tied into the beats of the main plot, than in other. In adventure, action, and related a lot of fantasy and scifi, there is most of the time a character arc happening parallel to the main plot beats. Meanwhile often enough in more down to earth drama and romance, plot beats and character development beats are heavily interwoven. This is not a hard and fast rule - there absolutely is fantasy where the character arc is the plot arc, just as there is romance where the development does not play as heavily into the main plot - but you can generally observe it.

However, no matter how strongly the character development beats line up with plot beats, you cannot deny one thing: character beats are beats that also add to the pacing - even if they technically do not move the main plot forward. So, for example, if you have an episode in a show or a chapter in a book, where important beats happens in terms of a characters development (for example: they realize something important about themselves), this does not necessarily slow the pacing down - even if no actual plot beats happen.

What the fuck is a plot beat? What is a character beat?

This part of the essay was originally not included, but the people reading over it said I should include this.

If we say, that Pacing is basically the description of "Plot Beats per Time" or rather "Plot Beats and/or Character Beats per Time", then we also need to say, what exactly a Plot Beat is. I will fully admit, that this is one of those things in which I forget that this is not a thing taught in school.

I mentioned "Save the Cat" before. "Save the Cat" is a book about writing movies and specifically about pacing out a movie in a way that it is captivating. It mainly focuses on action, but you can absolutely use it for most other genres. And this comes with a so called "beat sheet", a collection of the main story beats that happen, showing when they are going to happen. It looks like this:

Basically a Beat is a scene, in which the plot (or a character arc) is moved forward by a bit. Basically anything that reveals something to the main characters, anything where the basic assumptions about the plot change, anything like that.

Examples for Plot Beats would be:

Character learns about something going on

Characters find out something important about the plot

Someone (either protagonist or antagonist) gets killed or injured

Characters get a new power or item that is important to the plot

Romance goes forward or a reason for the romance to happen is found

Characters find a hint for something they want to reach

And examples of Character Beats would be:

Character learns something about themselves

Character makes a decision for themselves

Characters realizes feelings about something or someone

Character overcomes trauma

And mind you, because I cannot fit this anywhere else: If you read these you might realize, why Musicals are basically a cheat for very fast pacing. Because you can put an entire character arc into a 4 minute song. This is why musical animated shows like Steven Universe or My Little Pony managed to pull some insanely paced episodes, like the Empire City episodes for SU, and the episode in which the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally got their Cutie Marks. Musicals are insane when it comes to this.

And something that you have to realize: While for movies and books certain Beat Sheets (Save the Cat is not the only one) work rather well, those Beat Sheets usually do not work well for Shows. And currently we are living in a time, where this becomes very noticable - because a lot of modern shows are written and aired as basically 4-8 hour movies, using often just the "Save the Cat" beat sheet (if you have read Save the Cat, you will see it EVERYWHERE, because it is so frequently used in western media), but... obviously, Save the Cat is made for something that has 2 hours, and as such a lot of modern media feels strangely slow and stretched out.

Pacing, Streaming, and the supposed "filler episode"

(Yes, this needed to be the gif for this. Because no filler episode has lodged itself quite as strong into my brain as this one.)

So, let me talk about the issue in modern media. Because oh boy.

As I said: I hyperfixated on this specific writing skill forever - and as such I was annoyed by "filler episodes" in TV shows. To explain for the youngest people (not that I am assuming a lot of those are on this hellsite lol): "Filler" was the name given to material that did not move the plot forward at all. So a "filler episode" was an episode, that was just there to fill the episode slot for the week, while no plot was happening. I am not fully sure whether the term originated with anime - but at least back in the early 2000s, before Shonen-Anime were done as 12-26 seasons that then allowed the manga to get ahead in between, "filler" was also the name used for those story arcs that the anime people made up for shows like Naruto, One Piece or Dragonball, that were not in the manga - and hence obviously also never added to any overarching narrative.

And what can I say: We did not appreciate the filler episode enough. Because this related very much to the last part: While filler episodes did indeed not add to the plot and usually by definition did not the character development, they actually still added something often enough.

They allowed the audience to get to know the characters a bit better and get a better feeling for the character relationships - and those episodes take out a bit of speed, which is actually important.

As said before: The pacing should not be even throughout an entire piece of media. In a TV series after an episode that was especially tense and pushed the plot or characters forward a lot, there should be ideally at least one or two episodes that move forward slower or even not at all. This allows the viewer to sit with the new developments for a bit - and of course the characters to have a moment to breathe and process whatever happened to them.

There is also the fact that those episodes usually give the audience a better understanding for the characters - and if you have an audience who at this point ideally care about some the characters, this will even be more successful.

And as I said. Back in ye olden days, a lot of people - me included - complained so much about Filler. But we were wrong. Fillers are amazing, as long as they do not overtake the whole show.

Pacing and Fantasy

Okay, let's talk about a thing, that is somewhat funny. A lot of fantasy - specifically written fantasy media - often has a pacing problem. And this problem comes from the Worldbuilding. Others forms of fantasy media (other than games - though pacing in games is whole different matter) have this too at times, but it tends to be worst in books.

Basically, when you are a fantasy worldbuilder, you have this whole world. And this leaves you with two problems.

a) You are afraid that people will not be able to follow the plot if you not give them a lot of information about this world and how it differs from ours.

b) Well, you build this entire world. And the people should KNOW.

So, a lot of fantasy media basically regularly will stop to explain to the reader or audience, whatever is happening right now. Some writers manage somewhat naturally put this in. Maybe they have a character that does not know a lot about for example magic or dragons, and they can ask questions and act as an audience stand-in. But even in cases, where the worldbuilding is somewhat brought in naturally (which by far is not all of them - because people usually do not naturally talk about stuff they both know, or think a lot about something they find naturally) those "explanation" pieces will make the plot come to a screeching halt.

So, the more worldbuilding you explain, the slower your pacing is.

And of course, pacing is not a reliable thing to keep people reading, and pacing will not always turn people off. But you know how people complain about how slow Lord of the Rings is? This is because of course, every time that Tolkien describes a piece of landscape over multiple pages, there is no plot happening on those pages. And while I personally think some of those descriptions are darn stunning, it is one of those things many people will not like.

However, this makes it a bit complicated. Because yes, worldbuilding explanations will slow down the pacing to a degree that can be problematic. But if you explain too little worldbuilding, people might struggle to follow the story. Which again is the most common problem if the pacing is "too fast" as well. Basically, people do not properly follow the plot and will struggle to understand what is happening and why.

But the opposite is true as well. I have read way too many fantasy books, where after the first 100 pages, I know a lot about the city the plot is set in, or about the magic system, but sadly have so far not been privy to any information what the plot is about, what the characters try to archive, or even who actually the characters are. And that, yeah... Is probably the most common reason why I put aside a variety of fantasy books in the past.

Pacing in Action-media vs anything else

Okay, let me talk about one other thing. See, the word "pacing" is at times used in some other context: In visual media, pacing will be used for the editing of what we see. Basically the amount of cuts that happen within a scene. Or, in a comic, the distribution of panels is also seen as a pacing element.

And anyone who heard people complain about how at times confusing the editing in action movies is, you know that this at times can get too much.

Still, in visual media action scenes feel usually fast - because the characters are moving around rather fast. In a visual piece of media, action scenes are often thrilling, because the characters are in constant danger of dying, and because a lot of stuff is happening. This often works better in visual media, than in written pieces. While it absolutely is possible to write thrilling action scenes, a lot of writers struggle with this, because they tend to overdescribe and that takes the speed out of the prose. But generally speaking, a couple of punches thrown - something that in a movie takes about 10 seconds - will in book easily end up in 200-500 words, which you will not read quite as fast. A bit more about that later.

And then there is the issue with the action scenes, that even is true for visual medial, is that they often really do not have any important plotbeats. Sure, if the characters have their final battle, that is a plot point. But in a lot of action media - especially TV shows - there are a lot of scenes included that really do not add anything, but just are there because folks love watching action scenes.

This goes so far, that people will think a show or movie with a lot of action scene will just be seen as "good fast pacing", even though if the actual pacing in terms of plot beats being spaced out is rather bad. As a good example I will once more nod at the Fast & Furious and the Mission Impossible movies, that often have horrid pacing and very confusing plots - but they do not feel really like it, because the movies are like 60% action scenes, and hence they do not feel like it when you watch them.

It can work at times. I spoke about my love of the F&F movies. Can I tell you a lot of the characters? Nope, but the action scenes are fun to watch!

But this also tends to mean, that in a badly paced movie or show, that is badly paced because the action scenes not adding any plot beats, everything tends to fall apart when the action scenes do not work. And often enough action scenes will still be prioritized over everything else in many of those pieces of media, making things fall apart easily.

Pacing in books vs visual media

I have hinted at this now multiple times: Written media is generally a bit harder to pace than visual media, because of the things you can and cannot control. While a writer in a book has full control over the scenario, a director of a show or movie had actually influence the timeflow of the things happening on screen. As a writer meanwhile you absolutely have no influence on the speed in which your reader will read.

Sure, you can somewhat influence it. Shorter sentences are easier read. An general lower reading level will allow people to read quicker. So simpler words, shorter words, shorter sentences will make parts appear quicker. You can use this for example in action scenes to have a bit more of this breathless feeling that an action scene on screen might have. Use short sentences. Do not link sentences up. Quick hits. Quick impressions. It can work - but it needs some training. Not to say it is fucking hard.

Generally speaking to my experience when you write a single novel, the "Save the Cat" Beat Sheet actually works rather well, if you are the kind of writer who is fairly good at planning things out. If I actually try, I will usually manage to plan out a story and predict fairly well how many words a chapter will have. So yes, for books I can very much use "Save the Cat" and it will work.

However, some things simply work a lot better when you have visual parts going on - but there are other things you can do better when you do not have the visual stuff. For example: A writer can do much more when it comes to motivation and introspection of characters. Yes, this slows down the pacing - but it is something that writing has basically over any form of media that is not a musical. (In a Musical you can characters do introspection through songs. Musicals are the ultimate way of cheating. I love them!)

Something I feel so many writers struggle with in terms of books is actually putting in a clear goal for the character from the beginning. Again: I have put too many books aside where I reached page 100 and did not yet have any goal for the main character.

That goal you give them does not necessarily need to be their final goal. Again: A lot of western storytelling deals with the incongruent nature of a characters "needs" (aka something that would actually help them) with the character's "wants" (aka what they think they would need). But at the very least the plot needs something that it can head towards from the very beginning - a hook to capture the reader.

There might be readers that are absolutely fine with just reading an exercise in worldbuilding - but you cannot expect them to be.

#writing advice #writing #media criticism #fandom meta #media analysis #writing community #writing tips #writing resources #pacing #storytelling #narrative #story structure #streaming #long post

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vicky82gargoylesfan · 3 months ago

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Thunderbirds Rewatch 9th Week Part 2

@thunderversary-rewatch-party

The Perils of Penelope

What's is the best ship name for Lady Penelope and Virgil? Pengil, Virlope, Pen & Tank ect. Even though I absolutely love Penelope and Gordon in TAG and do secretly ship Penelope and Virgil in TOS.

Lady Penelope is contacted by Sir Jeremy Hodge that his colleague Professor Borender has gone missing and have to find him but finding him puts there lives at risk too.

This episode takes place before the episode Sun Probe as the rocket launches.

Lady Penelope goes to visit Jeremy Hodge, he apparently helped build the IR. They meet at a restaurant, but some Shady guy is watching them.

They gets drinks but then Parker shoots the glass Penelope was holding and Parker says it was drugged. That was a good shot. Apparently the waiter put the drinks down and the shady guy put something in her drink.

In the car Jeremy Hodge tells her that Professor Borender has gone missing, he got on the monorail but never got off at Anderbad.

I find it strange that ITV/BBC (whenever these edits were first done) has allowed for Lady Penelope to smoke but then cut everyone else out smoking. I know that Jeff, Scott, Virgil and Tin Tin smoked, but can't remember if Alan, Gordon and John did.

Lol Lady Penelope is contacting the Tracy's in her nightdress.

Wow, they are actually taking Module 6.

Finally Gordon is involved in a mission.

As they take off Gordon and Alan are looking at a Map!!!! Is the GPS not working then.

Lady Penelope and Jeremy go to the archives to look for details on this crest that was on the matchbox they found but they get locked in the room by the Shady guy (who was in disguise) and the room is filling up with gas.

Funniest quote ever "Open this door at once, We're British"

Luckily Parker saves the day again.

They get on the train, Parker drives in Fab 1 to Anderbad. they ask the waiter if he saw the professor but he denies seeing him .

Lol, Alan is still looking at the map.

The waiter gets knocked out by the shady guy and thrown off the train.

He gets up and try's to get to the road, staggering but then he trips over a rock and and he doesn't get up again so Parker doesn't see him. The waiter isn't seen again.

Meanwhile Scott returns from a mission,

Oh wait, he wasn't on a mission he was on holiday!!!! Where did he go? Why did he take TB1? Where did he even park/hide TB1?????

Lady Penelope wakes up to find someone outside her door and gets her gun out.

She wakes up Sir Jeremy and they go investigate (still holding her gun) they go to the Luggage room and the Shady Guy dressed as the waiter is looking at Penelope's luggage. They think it's the guy from the archives so Penny asks Parker if he recognises him and he does.

The train is at the tunnel and the shady guy gets his gun out, which is hiding in the casserole/pie dish.

Then there is a power failure in the tunnel and the Shady Guy takes Lady Penelope and Jeremy away. The brothers find out about the power failure and that Penny and Jeremey weren't on the train so they go find them.

In the tunnel the Shady Guy takes them to his hideout and apparently he has power controls of the train, that's how he kidnapped the Professor, he wants the water to fuel formular.

Virgil and Gordon go search for Lady Penelope, Alan stays behind, probably looking at the map on how to get home.

Lady Penelope is tied up onto a ladder and is lowered to where the next train could hit her.

Erm why you crying Tin Tin?? Alan is fine, just being very impatient.

Virgil and Gordon arrive. I just love this shot of serious Gordon.

Gordon has a gun fight with the Shady Guy, The Shady guy even kills his accomplice, who tries stops the train.

Gordon shoots the gun out of the Shady Guy's hand (I assume he's still alive), Virgil saves Lady Penelope.

This is the moment I shipped these two.

I recently listened to audio story, Operation Asteroids there is small Virgil/Penelope moment in it. Virgil finds out that Hood has got Lady Penelope and Virgil says, "if you hurt her, I'll" but then is cut off by the Hood and a few minutes later, The Hood does threatens to hurt her. So maybe there could be something between them.

Meanwhile while Tin Tin is still crying, (I don't know what Scott is doing, he looks like he's taking a piss) They are worried that they haven't come out of the tunnel yet and Alan will go find them, but then Virgil, Gordon, Lady Penelope and the other 2 arrive back safely.

Back in Paris, Sir Jeremy, Lady Penelope and Alan are in Paris and Alan is annoyed that he can't go where Gordon and Virgil went because he's too young (In the 1960s the legal age for drinking and clubbing ect was 21, it was changed to 18 a few years later).

Then Tin Tin arrives and of course Alan is really happy.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds 1965 #thunderversary #thunderversary rewatch

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