#Storytelling Depth

[ancientroyalblood]

Weaving Themes into Your Writing: Crafting Meaningful Narratives

Stories are more than a sequence of events; they are a reflection of the human experience. Themes form the backbone of storytelling, providing depth and significance to the narrative. In this exploration of weaving themes into your writing, we will delve into the art of incorporating themes into your stories and why they matter. Themes are the heart and soul of your narrative, and understanding…

[aerequets]

I didn't really think about this before, but in the iconic proposal scene, twilight thinks "until my mission do us part" and yor thinks "until my killing do us part". twilights bit made sense to me bc he planned to eventually end the family, but for Yor I was kinda like "oh endo must have just needed a parallel and yor doesn't have a specific end in mind so he must've just went with 'until my killing do us part' even if it doesn't make as much sense".

but i realized that maybe by "my killing" Yor didn't necessarily mean her job killing people, but rather HERSELF being killed? like was her life prior to the forgers just doing jobs until an inevitable end? cruise arc showed us that she found her new reason (family) to keep going with garden, but before that, was she just like. waiting for the one job that'd end up killing her?

idk maybe this was really obvious but I didn't realize LOL

[shorthaltsjester]

have been thinking about the recent interview about the mighty nein animated series where it was mentioned that the series as a whole would be more of a departure and that vox machina s3 is a similar change versus the more canon retelling they started with in s1 and i’ve seen some negative reactions to it but honestly i’m Psyched to hear that is a change they’ve committed to in their writing and storytelling for the animated series because like. we have the campaigns. and for me the moments in the animation that have fallen the most flat or haven’t felt as fulfilling is when the show has tried to capture the Same Thing as the campaign without having the hundreds of hours of context that supported the moment in the campaign that made it Significant. and it is much much more exciting for me to have a changed story that is changed because it is now. a episodic television show and not a recording of actors playing dnd. like . yes actually Please change the storylines to be storylines and not the whims of game players. yes actually please make a good story in the medium it’s being told in.

[saintofdaggers]

sorry for finding it hot when a cold and detached character gets put through the wringer and loses more and more of their emotional shields until they're an unhinged, seething mess ready to tear something down with their bare hands and unable to control their feelings. I'm right though

[worldwidewandress]

"imagine meeting someone who wanted to learn your past not to punish you but to understand how you needed to be loved"

[aeternallis]

Porsche & Chay's Brotherhood in KinnPorsche the Series

Brotherhood and familial relationships are one of the most prominent themes in KP, as we all know.

And personally, I think one of the most fascinating and important deviations that BOC had chosen to take with their adaptation of the novel is having Porsche and Chay drift apart by the end of the story (despite that ending shot of them both hugging their Mama). By having them drift apart, their respective love stories with Kinn and Kim stands on a firmer note. They basically pulled a P&P 2005, which—although a disheartening thing to see—is one that I think was definitely a good choice, as it fits appropriately with KP’s narrative as a whole.

To provide some context, in the novel, Porsche is aware for the most part of Kim and Chay’s growing bond once it's introduced in the story. He doesn’t know the details, and neither Kim nor Chay are really forthcoming about their relationship to their older brothers (which BOC does keep somewhat in the show), but there is some awareness of it in the latter’s part. For Kinn specifically, it’s even a point of contention once or twice, since in being aware of Kim and Chay’s relationship (and knowing his brother’s personality), inevitably he worries about how their relationship would affect his relationship with Porsche. Like in the show, Porsche is understandably protective of Chay, and doesn’t want him getting involved any more than he has to.

Because of Porsche's awareness from the beginning, this allows for them to grow even closer as brothers near the finale of the story, since they both sympathize with each other’s frustrations of what it's like to be romantically involved with a Theerapanyakul, as well as how their respective relationships are perceived by outsiders.

For example, this exchange (Porsche’s POV) between Athee and the brothers when they run into him in their old house:

It’s made a point in the novel that Porsche and Chay’s relationship with their respective Theerapanyakul both follow the same trajectory (with a few differences, ofc), besides the fact that pretty much Kinn and Kim fell for the same personality traits and characteristics that the Kittisawasd brothers share. Lol

But in all seriousness, because they have a better understanding of each other due to how their respective romantic relationships have influenced them, they’re more in sync with how they make decisions together regarding their own family.

There’s a scene in the book (Porsche's POV) where Porsche accidentally cuts himself on his foot when he confronts Kinn in anger, once he finds out about Korn’s involvement in his parents’ deaths. He marches straight into Kim’s room and intends to take Chay away, but not before Chay helps him bandage up the cut and calms him down.

They share this poignant conversation, specifically about Chay’s relationship to Kim:

It's a very heartfelt exchange, because Porsche understands he has to take into account his own brother's relationship with Kim, that his actions and decisions also affects his little brother, besides the fact that Chay genuinely looks up to Porsche and sees him as his hero. In doing so, he also acknowledges Chay's maturity, and respects him in that regard, thus allowing for them to become a stronger unit together as brothers, one that's infinitely stronger than what the Theerapanyakul brothers have.

But the show—while keeping loyal to the same character dynamics for both relationships—turns this on its head entirely, and makes it so that Porsche is completely unaware of Chay's relationship to Kim. In making it so that Porsche is unaware, not only is he blindsided by how he protects and parents Chay (case in point: episode 14, bar fight scene), Porchay himself deliberately keeps him in the dark.

In turn, you get a somewhat heartbreaking exchange between the two of them, like this scene in episode 12 when Porsche tells Chay that he no longer has to go back to the compound (yknow, like a liar XD):

At first, Chay's line is supposed to come off as comforting for his older brother, but what goes unsaid rings just as loudly if not more than what he actually says to Porsche: "I don't need to know everything, right?" Just as you don't have to know everything and what I've been through recently.

Which brings me back to my original thesis: Porsche and Chay drift apart by the end of the show; BOC sacrifices their strong brotherly bond from the beginning, but in turn elevates both brothers’ romantic relationships to stand stronger within the narrative. We won’t ever get to know how well KimChay’s love story could have stood out against the other two had it followed a similar trajectory to KinnPorsche, but I will say that I’m of the firm opinion that KimChay’s original storyline in the show heavily contributed to Jeff and Barcode’s chemistry with each other.

In the show, Chay’s maturity is highlighted in the fact that perhaps for the first time in his life, he deliberately chooses not to involve Porsche in an aspect of his life, a big part of which no doubt, he probably wouldn’t want or know how to explain to his older brother in the first place. This is further compounded by the fact that it was partly due to Porsche’s absence that Chay had latched onto Kim as he did. Chay is a character who has a deep sense of self, and choosing not to involve Porsche in trying to figure out what to do with Kim superbly demonstrates the emotional complexity of his character, despite his young age.

It’s why it makes perfect sense that in the final episode, these two scenes are back-to-back, highlighting the rift between both brothers: we're shown how Chay is conflicted and sobbing about his feelings in light of Kim sending him the song, yet right after, the audience sees how Porsche has no hesitation in pledging his life to Kinn ("My entire life is all yours"), thereby effectively leaving Chay wide open and ready for the taking to the wolf (Kim).

It's almost sinister, to be quite frank, how BOC really did take that step in breaking the Kittisawasd brothers apart. Welp~

Chay is all too aware of the inevitability of change that will come in his life, including his relationship with his brother, as a result of Porsche's choices to join the mafia. Porsche too is very much aware deep down, hence his subsequent actions of downplaying his reasons and trying to maintain the status quo, aka falling back into the genuine affection he has for Chay, like he does in these two scenes, rather than properly explaining himself:

In both of these scenes, Porsche struggles to maintain eye contact with Chay, because he knows somewhere inside of himself that falling back and reiterating his love for Chay won't change the fact that his choice to stay in the mafia was as entirely selfish as it was selfless. Chay calls him out on the hypocrisy of his behavior, and he questions Porsche directly: "Was it really all for me? If it was really all for me, then why didn't you consider how I feel?"

After the kidnapping incident, both Porsche and Kim have a desire to maintain the status quo with Chay. This is shown by how Porsche falls back to voicing his love out loud to Chay as a way to avoid having to explain himself, and Kim by not sticking around outside the warehouse after he got Chay out, so he also wouldn't have to explain himself.

But whereas Porsche gets to successfully keep that illusion because his younger brother allowed it and gives it to him, Kim doesn't get to have the same. Chay doesn't give Kim the same consideration as he does with his brother, understandably so. Thus, the uncomplicated, free-of-misgivings sort of perception Chay had towards Kim quickly crumbles.

As a direct consequence, in the show, the one whom witnesses Chay's struggles of coming into his own as a result of being dragged into the world of the mafia is not Porsche, but Kim; it's Kim who finds out that Chay bailed on his interview at university, it's Kim who sees Chay rebel and partying and drinking, it's Kim who realizes how much danger Chay is still in, despite being away from the compound and the coup by the minor family.

And finally, per my thesis with my deep dive of the bar fight scene in episode 14, in the end it's Kim who's further drawing Chay in towards the world of the mafia and the underbelly of Bangkok.

Because Kim is the witness to all of these things in regards to Chay's character and his actions post!kidnapping, not only does he learn more about the boy he's fallen in love with, he has a deeper understanding of who Chay is that Porsche doesn't have. That in turn makes their love story much stronger in the show, as opposed to the book, despite their bittersweet ending.

Although deviating away from that crucial point of Porsche and Chay's relationship in the book, it nonetheless fulfills the same aspect in the book that by the end of the first KP story, Chay has somewhat matured due to his relationship with Kim, as well as the trust placed on him by his older brother (careless the trust though may be in the show).

Having Porsche and Chay drift apart by the end of the show illustrates one of KP's strongest, most important themes: Falling in love is a very humbling experience. Having said that, love itself is also a very selfish, self-serving emotion.

[un-pearable]

legitimately anyone who is a self described fan of children’s cartoons over the age of 12 needs to watch Infinity Train. it explicitly bridges the gap between the tone, tropes, and storytelling limitations of Y7 and the level of complexity than we want from it. every single person writing pages long screeds about character development and nuance in shows that are primarily marketed at a younger audience but have significant meaning to older age groups would get so fuckin much out of the themes and story of Infinity Train, which is explicitly a story about those more complex themes.

it gamifies character development as part of it’s core conceit. each season gets more mature as it deals with more complex issues of morality and ethics and it’s still a silly epsiodic show with fun gags. it grows up as the story progresses with each anthologic installment giving you more complex interpersonal relationships and issues. there’s on screen cop murder. cults. incredibly gay coded music duo from the 80s that are the most divorced twenty year olds you’ve ever seen. a story that grows with you.

and you can’t fuckin watch it anywhere bc the animation industry is a puppet at the whims of investors in love with the impossible horizon

Infinity Train is the result of a decade of shows like Adventure Time and Gravity Falls and Steven Universe, of animators and artists’s growing desire to tell stories that grow with kids beyond their designated demographic in the American cultural conscience. and you can’t watch it.

they were going to talk about alzheimers. the thesis of infinity train is that animation is a medium, not a genre. a vehicle for exploring complex topics in a way that live action can’t. it’s a therapy train that traumatizes it’s riders more often than not. they covered everything from divorce’s impact on children to trans-coded identity crisis to the realities of a Lost Boys experience. what it means to be human. they were going to talk about alzheimers

it’s literally a vehicle for character development . it’s the midpoint on the spectrum between children’s media and mature writing. it is everything you seek out of fan fiction being explicit in the text. and you cant watch it bc it being animated means it’s worthless

[willowcrowned]

“Making anyone over the age of 8 watch tcw should be forbidden” okay, but why?

because it’s bad in the way only bad kids shows can be. and then it’s also bad in fifteen other ways

[dumplingcatho]

thinking abt link click this fine day GOD first and probably will be the best donghua i'll watch ever aueghhhhh it's lowkey utena 2.0 for me (i still prefer utena but linkclick is basically on that level) it's just so solid and well crafted and compelling RAHHH

the opening song too???? it didn't take too long to realise!! something had changed in the back of my miiind!! your eyes!!!!! there ain't nowhere left to hide behind!! time no longer flew like it was... when the flash froze everything before... without you.. i don't know if i could take this road.... okay i'll stop there or i WILL type out the whole op

[ankahikoibaat]

pls I can't stop thinking about Zeus in the first sage going "the blood on your hands is something you can't lose, all you can choose is whose" to in the current saga telling Odysseus its his life or the crew's, its okay I'm fine I'm completely not hyperventilating into a paperbag or anything.

[ancientroyalblood]

Character Backstories: Crafting Compelling Origins

In the realm of storytelling, characters are the heart and soul of any narrative. They are the vessels through which readers experience a story’s events, emotions, and transformations. But what lies beneath the surface of these characters, shaping their motivations, fears, and desires? It’s the backstory – the untold history and experiences that have made your characters who they are. In this…

[wayward-wren]

I think modern western society is so fixated on making something that isn't offensive that they take away everything that Might Be, instead of adding things to balance it.

Which results in just taking away more and more of what makes a story good, until it's shallow and empty. But it's not offensive, unless you're a bigot right.

[babybluebanshee]

“Omg is Bluey actually for adults?” “MLP is REALLY for the adult fans!” “Holy shit this is so scary no WAY this is actually for kids!” No no no no no NO. Listen very carefully to the words I am about to say - children’s media can be good. It can be great. It can have an appeal across a wide demographic and emotionally resonate with people. It can even be made with the enjoyability of parents in mind because that’s who’s going to be watching it with the kids. No one is telling you that you can’t enjoy them, or trying to shame you for enjoying a children’s entertainment. But, at the end of the day, it is FOR CHILDREN. That’s who should be at the forefront when these shows are created, and trying to change that makes everything worse. This is how we get people calling Steven Universe Nazi apologia because Steven doesn’t summarily execute the Diamonds. This is how we get MLP toys that no longer have stylable hair because bronies don’t like that they’re not “show accurate”. This is how we get a complete lack of horror media for children that isn’t just trying to sell them plushies. The MINUTE older fans start saying a children’s shows is “really for grown ups”, I cringe because I’ve seen what that leads to. If you wanna enjoy that stuff, fine, no one is stopping you. If people make fun of you to the point you feel you have to justify your enjoyment of something, that’s their problem, not yours. But please don’t forget who these things were made for. Kids have it hard enough as it is, just let them have nuanced, entertaining media that’s made for them first JESUS.

(and no this isn’t some asinine attempt to preach purity politics, to “protect the children” or what the fuck ever, and if you try to accuse me of that, I’ll know you weren’t actually reading what I wrote and also probably block you. I don’t care how people enjoy things, what I care about is them taking over a thing that was not meant for them and proclaiming it was actually theirs all along.)

[inverse-problem]

ultrakill update disrupting my sleep schedule because I can’t stop thinking about this fucking game lmao. kudos to the devs, holy shit

[summonernoctis]

they could have only had brandy and paolo sing those 45 seconds of 'so this is love,' slapped the title descendants 4 on it, and it would have been a 10/10 film for me

[seyraccoon]

it's been a good week since I finished reading golden kamuy, but I can already tell that I'm probably never gonna get over Death of a Wildcat, c. 1940, Vasily Pavlichenko