2026-09-20 08:20 UTC
Replies (2)
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@kerravonsen@mastodon.au 2026-09-20 09:27
Possibly these authors think that say, having a character acquire wings is an instant Sign Of Worthiness? Because fluffy wings are always angelic, right? Right? What they don't seem to realise is that anything, ANYTHING, which sets someone apart can be (re)interpreted as a Sign Of Evil. Angelic wings? Sure. "Those wings! They are an unholy union of man and beast!" Former normal-human now treated as a non-person. There are no Signs of Worthiness. (Personally, I think Mjolnir is a bit dodgy. What Odin might consider Worthy is probably not what the rest of us would...) I am reminded of the bit in "The Princess and Curdie", where Curdie asks the Grandmother to give him a sign that he might recognise her by, and she refused, saying that then he would learn how to recognise the sign, rather than knowing how to recognise *her*. It's a lot more work to evaluate a person than it is to evaluate a sign. Signs are easy. Signs separate the we from the not-we. Signs mean you don't have to *think*. #Fiction #Writing #Fanfic #MarySue
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@hajimeilands@friendica.world 2026-09-20 08:38
@kerravonsen@mastodon.au Not the name. The decoration. A name only carries weight if the world pushes back on it. If nobody in the story reacts to 'Hadrian,' it's a sticker. What makes a character special isn't blood or wings, it's what it costs them on the page. I'll take the plain kid who loses something real over the royal who was born owed.