#me getting to talk about infrans!!!

[raayllum]

I know you like to analyze thematically in TDP a lot and you write top down the same way, so I’m curious, what are some of the themes/motifs in your upcoming novels? and do any of them coincide with TDP?

(GASP you get a gold star oh my god thank you!! and i will try to not make this too Long but i'm very excited!!)

Basic premise for ppl who have never heard of my novels before:

Latest generation of a reincarnated group of chosen ones have to grow up in a world of increasing violence and political instability that they're supposed to fix while also facing their own choices and demons. The main character, Ally, starts off as an 'unchosen one' — she lost her powers as a young child and has been trying to get them back, which kinda makes her resent her chosen one friends just as much as she loves them. The other two co-leads are her twin sister, a former child soldier with death powers she doesn't want, and her friend / one sided rival, a draconic-powered prodigy looking for redemption and to escape her past.

The funny thing is that when I was writing out my series (2014-2017 has all the pieces we currently have, though things have ofc been finessed since then) only ATLA existed as an inspiration point, which was, "How do you always know the Avatar is going to be a good person (and what if you didn't? What if they weren't)?" + "what if there was more than one running around?"

The rest was all from my head. There's a mystical magical heart broken into pieces. A continent divided in two with a long history of war. Characters anchored to the idea of Autonomy who then go through a loss of powers arc (hi Callum s2) and then brainwashing/possession arc (hi arc 2 Callum) that was probably by far the funniest coincidence. Circles and cycles and children and choices. The fact that these all just also found their way into TDP shows just how much it feels like the show was Made For Me in the best way creatively, and one of the reasons I think I've found TDP so personally rewarding to analyze—happy coincidences all around.

There's other coming-of-age themes of course that are shared between the two—grief, identity, friendship—but being prose I get to lean more into religious and political worldbuilding in much more detail.

I think my novel(s) are also more grey and angsty (especially later on) than TDP was at the start, too. A good chunk of my protagonists don't have any moral reservations about assassinations or killing/torturing people push come to shove while also still wanting and trying to be Good People, but that just makes the ethical dilemmas more interesting to explore. That said, everything is ultimately more Hopepunk, I just prefer to never pull punches on the way there

Motifs I like to use:

a tarot inspired in-universe version of chess for foreshadowing purposes

stage motif (who are you when you're performing for everyone around you / constantly fronting?)

birds / ravens

wolves

knives

eyes / the ouroboros (snake eating its own tail)

Themes: gods vs monsters (vs humanity), complex family and friend dynamics, living vs survival, grief and cycles, loss of sense of self, idolization and scapegoating as two sides of dehumanization, etc.

I also wanted to have unique power sets (Moon is one of my favourites with leaning into shadow magic and being able to make things temporarily out of moonlight, or Life not just being all fuzzy plants and animals and showing more of the well, brutality of being alive).

People have said my main protag is basically if Claudia and Rayla were the same person and yeah that's a fair assessment, Unfortunately for her.

I feel like I blabbed enough here but if you want more info on writing things from a top-down approach / what it's like to build from theme first I'd love to talk about it more in relation to TDP (and also my books, mayhaps!)

[alvoskia]

I want to know why were the Infran powers that were chosen? (Life, Death, Water, the Moon, Fire, Knowledge, Time, and Blood) Also I think it’s cool that some contrast each other like life & death and fire & water. But some don’t like there’s moon but no sun? 🤔 Also why are there 8 Infran but only 7 protagonists?

There were a few different reasons that went into selecting the ones I wanted! I can't go into all of them because some would be spoilers for much later on in uh, the Series, but I'll tell you what I can and what I remember from when I was picking 'em (everything was like solidified by 2016 so it's been a while, as you can imagine)

I knew I didn't want something that was just elemental, hence moving away from more than just Water / Fire and like. I was also drawn to wanting to build concepts for unique power sets; I feel like so often 'nature' powers is just "person A can control plants and that's about it," so building the Infran of Life's powers off the idea of Connection was a lot more freeing to me, allowing for some cool stuff you maybe wouldn't necessarily expect to be on the table.

I also kind of developed stuff in the ideas of contrarian pairs to a degree (Life vs Death, Time erodes Knowledge, Moon vs Fire/Sun, Water vs Blood in terms of family dynamics, etc).

For example, I knew my main two characters -- Ally and Jamie, otherwise known as the twins -- were going to be Life and Death respectively, reflecting the way they're both very different and very similar simultaneously, but often have an argumentative and difficult time with each other in spite of how much they love each other.

Your question about Moon with no Sun is actually a long-ranging debate in-universe, as Infrans have had different names (I imagine there's been some Infrans of the Sun > Fire for example) in different periods in time / cultures / and languages. I'd imagine one of my northern peoples would call the Infran of Death the Infran of Mercy, for example, instead

And the Infran we're 'missing' from the main cast is the Infran of Blood. I won't say too much more (though his character tag is kicking around here for admittedly minimal perusal) but here's our first real mention of him from the story! (This is 14 pages in so it's not too spoilery, y'know?). He's currently a lot older than the rest of his Infran generation by close to 20 years, but we get into why later

“Since George and I just have dreams,” Rayan continued, scanning the next page. “That means—” “About four of us should have counsel for an even split?” Counsel was coveted, more sought after than dream memories because it was more direct. You could actually talk to your past lives rather than just deciphering cryptic clues from glimpses of eras gone by.  Rayan nodded. “Three of us,” he corrected. Because they were seven out of eight. Right.  Nobody knew what Glothic of Kilvoskia had; he’d left before the Order could Claim or train him. Maybe he was so twisted his past lives were ghosts, his dreams nightmares he revelled in. It was horrible, but she couldn’t quite tamp down the pang of envy that well—he had something. Anything.

[alvoskia]

i haven't talked about them a lot on here yet in terms of dynamic but Flames and George really do have one of my favourites. something about two similar (fun loving) yet very different (she's driven, he's more avoidant) people who are also both Black trans kids who love each other dearly always gets to me. A couple of snippets, accordingly:

“I hope your enthusiasm means you’re going to help with cleanup,” said Dearborn, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.   “Of course.” Flames shot George a grin. “Me and Georgie are on dishes.”

by the oaken dresser Flames had pushed up against one wall, and she hefted over her easel with a blank canvas onto the art side. “Alright Georgie,” she said, dusting off her hands and picking up a paintbrush. “What’d you see in your dreams this time?”

They made their way from the forest to what looked like the main road by midday, Flames trailing near the back with George, talking quietly.

Flames watched George take the second head wrap to cover his hair—his hair was more coily than Jossef’s, and a little longer—and then sit back, relaxed. “You should also oil your hair,” she told him. “You know it helps.”  George shrugged, now eyeing the card game with interest. “It takes too long.” Flames did her happy stim, bobbing her head to let all of her curls bounce. “You get how that’s ironic, right?”  “Yes, I’m a terrible Infran of Time."