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chara-afton · 3 years ago

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Sideshow [Chapter 1]

There was nothing, just a sense of calm as everything felt empty but peaceful. However, this moment was ruined by the sound of a small but giddy called out ‘Mommy! I love youuu!’

Those simple words brought out a feeling of warmth and belonging as that childish but soft voice continued to call out, repeating like a broken record. Their whole reason of being was with them, wasn’t it? But something was missing, something vital.

The voice echoed out into nothing as it left the warmth behind that was quickly chilling to an icy death grasp as a new voice hit them suddenly and it filled them with a helpless fear ‘Ple-please. . .you don’t have to do this. . .please!’ It felt like they were surrounded with bloodlust and danger all around them and that this begging was all hopeless and anxiety began to bubble up.

Did something terrible happen? Why was this person begging for these people to not do something? Everything was colliding with each other into a sense of panic. Why couldn’t they remember anything? Where were they? Why-

Their mind was cut off as something seemed to grip them, pulling them along like a doll on strings as letters and a cold robotic voice filled their mind and drowned out everything else.

Booting-up sequence engaged.

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Battery Power 98%

◽️◽️

Ocular Functionality 100%

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Auditory Functionality 100%

◽️◽️◽️◽️

Vocal Functionality 100%

◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️

Motion Functionality 100%

◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️

Special Awareness 100%

◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️

Intellectual Functionality 100%

◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️

Command Coding 100%

◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️

Threat Detected 0%

◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️

Boot up sequence is now completed.

ST_DROP is able to engage.

And then Stardrop’s eyes snapped open, vaguely aware of a sound of whooshing air as their mind filled with commands and locations and a map. They were currently in Parts and Service. Why? Were they unwell?

She turned her gaze away from the metal ceiling and sat up and her attention was immediately snapped towards the man in the thread bare chair at the computer as he typed away and his guest profile immediately jumped out to her.

Name: Scott Cawthon

Pronouns: He/Him

Employment Date: August 8th, 2014 - Current

Employee work time: 8 years

Phone number: ***-***-****

Age: 43 years old [1978]

Birthday: June 4th

Children: 6 [*]

He had brown hair and when he noticed she was staring at him, turned from the computer and gave her a wide smile “Hello Stardrop” he said as he stood from his chair and spread his arms out “And welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex!” he said warmly and excitedly before he dropped his arms back to his sides “It’s nice to see you finally finished” he took a few steps towards her till he was right in front of her, pinching her cheeks or arms to get a feel for the plush they used for her “I’m sure all of the kids will love you” he turned his head up towards her and grinned “And I myself am glad to be the person who’ll be showing you around” he said before he took a step away from her.

Stardrop blinked at him slowly as she processed what he was saying to her and smiled back at him “Hello Scott Cawthon, it is nice to meet you” she said as she paused to think upon her voice. It sounded off to her, wrong somehow. But her musings were cut off by Scott who grinned even wider and chuckled,

He clasped his hands towards the front of him “So you already took a peek at my profile?” Stardrop nodded and he lifted his right hand and brushed his hair back “That’s good to know that’s working and it is nice to meet you too” But he turned around and headed back to the chair. He sat in it and turned back to the computer and typed something in it for a moment.

He then leaned back in the chair and turned to her, and his smile was dropped off “Starting today you’re going to be a stand in for Sun and Moon” Stardrop knew immediately who they were: fellow animatronics who worked in the Superstar Daycare Center “You’ll be put back into storage once they come back from their extended maintenance” the silence that followed this was deafening and Stardrop felt like she couldn’t breath.

How long till they come back? Did she only have so much time to enjoy this place? Why did this bother her so much? Her thoughts whirled around in her head as she stared at Scott as she found her voice “how lo-” she began only to be cut off as Scott stood up from his chair and stretched, leaning towards one side then the other and then backwards and groaning as his back popped loudly.

He dropped his arms down to his side before turning on his heels “Follow me” he said before walking towards the lift. He didn’t even glance back to see if she was following or not as he moved at a brisk pace.

Stardrop scrambled up off the chair thing as she spared it a look and decided it looked like a dentist chair or one of those weird hospital beds. Something about it sent a chill down her back. She stood for a moment staring at it as she felt rooted to the spot only to be snapped out of it by Scott clearing his throat. She snapped her head to look at him only to realize he’s on the lift waiting for her.

Stardrop hurried towards him and even stumbled before the lift. She felt so embarrassed, being on for less than thirty minutes and she stumbled like some newly born animal. She turned her head to Scott when she heard him chuckle and motioned for her to get on the lift.

She stood up from the floor and stepped onto the lift and looked at Scott. He was smaller than her by a couple of feet? He turned his head up to look at her and grinned as he pressed a button. The lift started to ascend and Stardrop turned her head up, curiosity eating at her. She may have the layout in her code, but that didn’t mean she knew what it looked like.

However, when the lift had reached the stage floor, absolute dead silence greeted them. Stardrop glanced around and quietly noted to herself the absolute lack of anyone, save for the security and wet floor sign bots. She couldn’t even hear Freddy and the others, were they in their rooms? The map said that they got ‘Green Rooms’

Scott said nothing as he stepped off and started walking in a direction, taking one look behind him to check that Stardrop was still behind him.

Stardrop followed behind him as she turned her head left and right, taking in the bright colors and wondered what it’d be like to wander about with people, the sights, the sounds, maybe even getting something signed by the gang. But she’s an animatronic and thus was to do her duty and be the Daycare’s attendant, even if her job is more teacher like than Sun and Moon’s.

Too soon they arrived at the Superstar Daycare Center. Scott scanned his badge to open the doors. Badges are used to open the doors before the official opening times so to prevent the lights from going out was the automatic answer that she could find in her database.

Scott opened the door and walked in, heading right for the computer and sitting in the plush chair. He didn’t pay any attention to Stardrop walking in after him and looking around the brightly colored room “Oh. . .wow” she muttered, taking this moment to take in the environment she’ll be staying in for who knows how long. The uncertainty of how long she had still sat uncomfortably in her, what if she’s sent back early?

But the tapping on the keyboard brought her back and she turned to look at Scott who was still busy typing something on the computer. He smiled at something on it and leaned back in the chair before he turned his attention to her “Stardrop” he said, the tone making her tap her fingers together nervously.

“Yes?” She asked, already fearing for the worst, he sounded so stern and like she already messed up and- “You and DJ Music Man are currently the only animatronics in the building, we can’t have either one of you getting damaged so don’t go off wandering, got it?” He stated firmly as Stardrop nodded quickly.

“Yes, I understand” She said, watching as he smiled and nodded that she understood before going back to the computer, just what was he typing? “What happened to the others?” She asked nervously, the silence of the Mega Pizzaplex was getting to her.

Scott paused in his typing and for a moment she worried that this question had angered him somehow but instead he opened his mouth “we had a break in a week ago” He clearly sounded miffed by this “They stole a bunch of merch and heavily vandalized the Glamrock Band” Oh. . .why would someone do something like that? “Chica’s voice box was torn out, as was Roxanne’s eyes and Monty not only had his claws removed but was also smashed in half”

Stardrop blinked as the information sank in. Someone had torn apart the crew and it doesn’t sound like he got caught “Was they caught?” She asked, glancing at the posters outside of the Daycare “And what about Freddy?”

“We’re not sure, he’s missing and we have no idea where he is” Scott hummed as he stopped typing and looked at her “It’s why everyone is going to take a little longer to be fixed up since it seemed like someone may have high jacked everyone’s coding, so we’re re-enforcing their codes”

Stardrop was silent for a moment before she slowly asked “Sun and Moon too?” it doesn’t sound like they were heavily damaged and were most likely going to be the first back.

“Yes, them too, but I’d give it maybe a couple of months, possibly even sooner if things go really well” He stretched again, sighing happily as his back made a loud pop that made Stardrop wince “But they have some basic tests to pass before any of them get the Fazbear stamp of approval and get back on stage”

She tilted her head in thought, a whole month at least till the other animatronics came back. Maybe if she did well enough they’d keep her? Unlikely but still a hope “So it’ll just be Music Man and myself till they get back?” She repeated back in the form of a question.

“Not really since they’re getting some stand ins as well sometime this month, just as soon as they’re finished” But Scott flashed her a wide smile “But you’ll have plenty of kids to look after so the time should fly right on by, you might not even notice them” She nodded to what he said, but the idea of being alone here with only one other person to keep company during the night hours felt lonely and the silence of it all bothered her something fierce.

“In an hour you’ll get to meet one of the daycare employees, her name is Honey Ghosthive” He said as he stood up from the chair “You got an hour to familiarize yourself with the daycare” he said before heading towards the door, only to stop “And remember, no wandering, we still haven’t found who had wrecked the others to such an extent” and then he opened the door and closed it behind himself.

Stardrop tapped her fingers against each other nervously. She didn’t want to be mangled and she didn’t want to be thinking of such dark thoughts. So she turned her attention to the daycare itself and began to think. So many places to hide, places she needs to be aware of in case a little one gets stuck or hurt. She took a metaphorical deep breath and rolled up her sleeves before she headed into the tubes.

By the time Honey had walked in, Stardrop had explored almost every inch of the daycare as she hadn’t gone into the back room that was behind the balcony or the employees break room. Instead she was now following the cords of the power generators and muttering angrily, fuming over the possible hazard towards the children.

But the opening of the door had her turning her head to look at Honey and her guest profile being just as easy to read as Scotts was:

Name: Honey Ghosthive

Pronouns: She/Them

Employment Date: October 17th, 2020 - Current

Employee work time: 2 years

Phone Number: ***-***-****

Age: 23 [1999]

Birthday: November 5th

Children: N/A

Honey grinned up at the tall animatronic when she saw it and waved. It looked a lot like Sunny and Moony save for maybe a handful of changes, most of it being color changes and a few design changes. It was a paler yellow than Sunny with a ‘star’ shaped head unlike his sun rays with silver heart shaped lips and cheeks and vibrant blue eyes. Instead of having the crescent moon-like face style like Sunny and Moony, instead of a more round surface, it almost gave it a ‘baby’ like look. It’s pants were a pale blue with silver clouds with a darker blue ‘belt’ of ribbons tied into bows with silver bells in the center of each bow, she even had matching sleeves to go with it. But her shoes were a little different and were more ballerina-like in style and the same dark blue as the bows and ribbons that looped around and connected to the pants bottoms and she could see that the chest buttons were also silver.

“Hello! I’m guessing you’re Stardrop? Wow, they didn’t hold back on making you, you’re lovely.” Honey said as she watched Stardrop blinked at her and she could see the silver they used for her eyelids before perking up and then shrinking in a little into herself, gaze immediately turned to the floor. Wow, she seemed so cute and bashful!

“I. . .uh. . .thank you” Stardrop had muttered. She didn’t think she’d be called lovely, she wasn’t that special, was she? She stayed rooted in the spot she was standing even as she heard Honey walk to the desk and plop down in the chair.

“It’s quite alright!” Honey said as she read over the schedule and other notes Scott and the others had left for her “We have about thirty minutes till the little one’s show up” she said before turning her attention to the tall animatronic and noted that she was shifting in place like she was distracted or nervous “What’s eating at you?”

The sudden question made Stardrop lift her head and stare at the blonde girl with blue eyes. She didn’t answer her for some time, maybe a couple of minutes before she spoke slowly “What if the little one’s don’t like me?”

Honey stared at the animatronic and wondered since when they started programming animatronics with such deep worries like if they were liked enough? It was so advanced it felt like talking to a real person sometimes.

“I think the kids will love you! I mean, you’re new and sweet, so what's not to love?” Honey said, grinning at the worried animatronic “Sure there’s gonna be some who’ll be difficult and want to see Sunny and Moony, but that’s kids for ya”

The more Honey talked, the more easily Stardrop could pick up on a southern accent. But Stardrop smiled and leaned forward “Thank you for that” she said.

Honey reached forward and patted the animatronic on the head “It’s no biggie!” Being this close she could see the finer details, the silver eyebrows and painted on lashes, and even the tiny silver star ‘freckles’

But Stardrop fiddled with her fingers again and asked quietly “When will they get back?” She was scared, what if they do come back? What if they don’t? What if she needs their help?

Honey frowned softly as she watched Stardrop seemingly deflating with her question. Was she worried about them? Scared? “I’m not sure actually. . .I know they’re getting the full look over but that can go quickly or not depending on if they find issues or not, so I can’t say for sure” she said.

“Ah. . .” Stardrop muttered and Honey wanted to hug her and throttle whoever thought it was funny to give animatronics anxiety like this. Honey had opened her mouth to try and comfort Stardrop but stopped when she heard the doors open far too early for it to be customers, an immediate ‘we’re closed’ on her lips.

She turned her head to look and a smile spread across her face, forgetting about the sad animatronic for a moment “Mx Butler! I didn’t know you were coming in today, what’s the occasion?” She asked the tired adult.

Stardrop turned to face the adult with dark brown hair and red eyes who had a tired but kind smile. Their guest profile popped up to Stardrop’s gaze.

Name: Elaine Butler

Pronouns: They/Them

Employment Date: March 3rd, 2019 - Current

Employee work time: 3 years

Phone number: ***-***-****

Age: 23

Birthday: June 6th [1999]

Children: 1 [*]

Elaine gave a tired smile to Honey “Yea, they called me in the fix up Monty’s room now since he’s gone and everyone will be focused here anyways” They moved their hand to place it on the head of the child trying to hide behind them “sadly, I couldn’t find a babysitter on such short notice so I had to bring Hara with me” they said.

Hara peeked out from behind her parent’s leg and looked at the new animatronic before hiding her face, but her guest profile still came up to Stardrop, even if it didn’t have employee times like all of the others. She looked much like her parent, brown hair and red eyes.

Name: Hara Butler

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 6 [2016]

Birthday: September 9th

Elaine watched the animatronic watch their child for a moment before they turned their attention to Honey “So this is the new animatronic?” They saw it turn its head to face them “What is it’s name?” they asked Honey.

Stardrop however gave Elaine a small nervous wave “I’m called Stardrop. . .and it’s nice to meet you Mx. Butler” Stardrop said quietly to Elaine who gave her a long stare before smiling at her warmly.

“Why aren’t you a polite one. . .I think you’ll get along nicely with Freddy and the drop twins” they said, watching as Stardrop tilted her head and so Elaine decided to clarify themself “The drop twins, Sundrop and Moondrop, also known as Sun and Moon, or if you’re like Honey here, then it’s also Sunny and Moony”

Stardrop slowly nodded to what the adult said as it made sense to her. But if she’s here, does that change it? Or not since she’s getting put back into storage as soon as they get back?

Elaine crouched down to Hara “Hey sweetie, why don’t you go say hi to Stardrop?” they suggested softly to their daughter who had at first shook her head and pressed her face in her parents chest, but the sound of Stardrop doing something drew the girls attention over to the animatronic.

Stardrop had crouched down to her level and gave her a little wave. And while it wasn’t the action itself that drew her to the tall and scarily new animatronic but something else entirely. She slowly let go of her parent’s shirt and approached the animatronic even slower. But soon enough she was standing before the animatronic Stardrop, face to face who gave her a warm smile.

“Hey there, you come here often?” Stardrop asked the shy and quiet child who quietly nodded to her question, occasionally peeking up at her through her bangs as Stardrop asked another question “Do you have any favorites?”

Hara nodded quietly as she took a discreet glance at the naptime area as Stadrop hummed “Really? That’s nice, who is it? Is it Freddy?” Stardrop asked with one name as she could tell that dumping all of the names of the various animatronics on this poor child might overwhelm her and scare her off.

Hara shook her head and softly mumbled “No. . .it’s Moondrop” she said as she eyed their shoes and quietly noted that Stardrop’s feet were bigger than her own.

“Oh? What’s Moondrop like?” Stardrop asked the tiny child who thought she was being slick by glancing at the naptime area every so often, but it was cute.

“He’s not loud. . .and he’s nice to cuddle with even if he’s strict.” she mumbled quietly. However, Stardrop said something that made her look up at her, surprise coloring her face.

“Well, how bout we introduce some quieter games till he comes back?” Suggested Stardrop with a bright smile that only grew with Hara’s nodding to the idea.

“Yes please Ms. Star” Hara said a little louder, grasping the hand of the animatronic Stardrop. And poor Stardrop, if she had a heart it’d be melting at such cuteness. Oh, how she wished she could be a mom.

Stardrop gently squeezed her small hand “Alright then, lets figure out what activities we should do.” Stardrop hummed in thought “Do you like stories? We can do a story time if you’d like” and she got an eager nod for the suggestion “Want to help we go through them and find the fun books?” she asked, feeling her heart melt when Hara nodded again eagerly.

As Stardrop stood and lead Hara to the books, Honey and Elaine watched them with smiles. “Wow, I didn’t think Hara would take to Stardrop so quickly.” Honey said, watching as the two poured over a book “Didn’t it take Moondrop a good while before she warmed up to him?”

Elaine chuckled “It took him a week, which was the fastest anyone has gotten close to her save for this moment right here” For Fazbear’s to make an animatronic who could have a shy child like Hara open up to them in under ten minutes was both a wonderful miracle and a dangerous weapon.

“Well, If Hara likes her right off the bat then I don’t think we have anything to fear when it comes to her being popular, hell, the boys might have some competition” smiled Honey who wondered how those two might react to Stardrop, they might even like her too.

“The violent ones are always a concern” Said Elaine who was now starting to stand from sitting on the floor, stretching.

Honey glanced up towards Elaine “So when is Candi coming back?”

“About maybe a month of two after she has her baby” Elaine said as a frown grew on their face “Not sure why she decided to get pregnant when she works here” Elaine said as they watched Strapdrop sat on the floor with crossed legs and Hara sitting in them with a book open as Stardrop began to reading to her.

“And she still has her job at the daycare too” added Honey “Too many screaming kids for me to even consider having one myself” She couldn’t understand why the woman wanted to have a kid while she worked here which had so many screaming kids.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my baby but if I worked here?” Elaine chuckled tiredly “I wouldn’t be having any kids anytime soon”

Honey laughed “I know what you mean” she said with mirth as she glanced at the clock and then her smile dropped and sucked in a gasp “Oh crap, darling, you got ten minutes before we open and we both know how-”

“-How Jim is” they both said at the same time with a chuckle. Elaine gave Honey a smile “Yeah, i know, thanks for the heads up doll, you later” they said before looking over to Stardrop and Hara deep in a book and called out to Hara “See you later pumpkin! Stay safe and have fun!” they said, smiling when Hara looked up at her and waved back.

“I love you zaza!” Hara called back before turning back to the book Stardrop was reading to her about a little girl and three bears.

Seems like a great start to a day.

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's #sideshow #chapter 1 #ocs #own characters #fanimatronics

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chara-afton · 4 years ago

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Redemption and Degeneration Arcs: A Study.

Because I was awakened at five in the morning by a pouncing 65-pound dog I do not own that demanded a 2-mile walk, I got a neat idea which made me start thinking about redemption and degeneration arcs, so here’s a REALLY long post compositing my thoughts on the subject, mostly for personal use.

Redemption Arcs:

Obviously, the best redemption arc in media history is Zuko, so here’s what I learned about making good ones from him.

1. Constant Positive Influence. The roots of a redemption arc should be introduced as early as possible. In fact, the start of redemption is the introduction of a positive influence in the Redeemed’s life. Zuko had Iroh to help him make good decisions, and when Zuko didn’t have Iroh, his forward progress was halted.

2. Goodness Within. A positive influence isn’t there to plant goodness, it’s there to bring out the goodness already within a character, even if it’s hidden. We see Zuko’s goodness in the actions he does unprompted and alone, like when he rescues Aang as the Blue Spirit, or when he doesn’t rob a couple when he sees the woman is pregnant, and later saves an entire village.

3. Struggle. The change shouldn’t be overnight, but it shouldn’t be gradual either. Characters should struggle with the inner conflict of changing and have dramatic ups and downs (because that’s when major breakthroughs can happen). Zuko’s ups and downs are obvious, so another example is when the Beast, in a single moment, lashes out against Belle but saves her from wolves right after. His temper and internal goodness are struggling; it should be an epic battle, not one suffocating the other in its sleep!

4. Redemption is Earned. A struggle is good, but the consequences are even better. Actions are pretty loud, but words must have their place, too. A character should admit to being wrong and confess a desire to be better. Part of that is paying the price of previous actions, and doing the hard work of current good actions. Zuko’s bad deeds always catch up with him, and even when he becomes a member of the Gaang, the others don’t trust him right away; not until he helps Katara get closure, and Sokka save his father, and Aang learn to firebend does he gradually earn his way into their family. But remember, he’s rewarded for his good actions, too (motivation for continued goodness!).

5. Negative Traits and Problems Don’t Disappear. An antagonist doesn’t leave their personality behind when changing their goals, methods, and motivations. Zuko was a pessimist as a child (he’ll never be as good as Azula!), a pessimist as a bad guy (it just keeps blowing up in my face!), and a pessimist as a good guy (I’m never happy). He’s solemn and sulky and never becomes a bubbly optimist like Aang. And that’s because no matter how he changes, he will always have grown up with an abusive father and sister, and he will always have lost the people he loves. The struggle to achieve goodness is awesome, but maintaining it should still be a struggle.

5.1. The Traits That Lead to Downfall Are Transformed Rather Than Lost. One of Zuko’s major problems was pride: he spoke out when he shouldn’t have, he had trouble admitting when he was wrong or had failed. But over time, his pride becomes confidence. Another amazing redemption arc is found in Deep Space Nine. Garak goes from high-ranking Cardassian spy, to exile, to helping the Federation end a destructive war. He’s a minor character, so we don’t get to see the beginning of his character arc, but some negative traits of his are extreme secretiveness and lying; by the end of the show, and after his own requisite flip-flopping struggles, these were not lost but transformed into protectiveness.

6. Confrontation With Good and Bad. To solidify and end a redemption arc, the redeemed character should confront an external negative influence in order to finally put the past behind them. In Zuko’s case, his redemption is finally complete when he wins the Agni Kai against Azula. This is the moment where he faces his final demon and acknowledges his victory over his past. Azula can’t sway him again! But before this battle, another confrontation happens: Zuko humbly, and without expecting anything, asks for Iroh’s forgiveness, and receives it unconditionally. I think this is where we really forgave Zuko, too, which allowed us to celebrate his final victory with him.

Degeneration Arcs:

The absolute best degeneration arc I’ve ever seen is Slaine from Aldnoah.zero, with Michael Corleone from the Godfather as a close second. I’ll be using these guys to illustrate my points. (Side Note: I adore degeneration, if you know of any good ones, let me know.)

1. Source of Degeneration is a Virtue Taken to Extremes. No one starts out as a bad person; there has to be some kind of source for future downfall, one that can be relatable to a certain point before crossing a line into villainousness. In Aldnoah.zero, everything Slaine does is out of loyalty to the princess who saved his life. He kills to protect her, he wages war in her name. Which, you know, would be fine: except she didn’t ask him to do that. The bad choices were still entirely his, built from his too-extreme loyalty.

2. Motivation is Personal. A character needs a goal to motivate their actions - we all know that. But downfalls rarely happen because of a vague cause off in the distance. Causes are hero stuff. Villains take things personally. This is the call-to-action of failure and should connect to the extreme value mentioned before. The most common motivation for degeneration is revenge. Season 2 of Aldnoah.zero shows an epic personal fight between Slaine and the protagonist, Inaho (Side note: an amazing part of the series is that Inaho and Slaine have the same goals and motivations, to protect the princess and take revenge, and this beautiful tension arises from the fact that they go about it differently. Man, I need to rewatch this show). The same is true of Michael Corleone! He’s willing to kill two people and go into hiding because his father was shot. That’s another point: specific motivation should come from their values; Michael values family above everything, just like Slaine values the princess.

3. The Environment Encourages Their Bad Behavior. It’s really hard to have a downward character arc when surrounded by friends and family telling you to do the right thing. But both Slaine and Michael are in the middle of an all-out war. Murder and plotting are all around, are excused and even rewarded, and are valuable to the other characters.

4. Badness Comes Easily. As mentioned before, it’s a character’s values taken to extremes that contribute to the degeneration, and just like the redeemed has goodness in them, a degenerate should be somewhat suited to degeneration, in terms of personality or intelligence. Artemis Fowl is a complicated character with many different arcs, but when he does bad things, it’s because his intelligence makes scheming a simple task for him. When it comes down to it, even though it’s against Michael’s values and he wants the family business to go straight, he’s really good at being the Don because he has intelligence, patience, a bad temper, and excellent self-control. Degeneration should still be an up and down struggle, but it should come much more easily than redemption.

5. Consequences and Success. This really depends on the story you want to tell, but usually the consequences of degeneration should be pushed towards the end of the arc where they finally culminate in complete destruction. This is because constant punishment or failure will prevent future negative actions. If you’re burned, you’re not going to touch the stove again. But you can gradually raise the temperature without noticing until you’re cooked. Slaine is actually winning the war for a long time - he becomes more powerful, more respected, and more successful - until he’s defeated, loses everything, and spends the rest of his life in prison. Degeneration should ironically have positive results…until suddenly it doesn’t, and a character has lost everything, whether they admit they were wrong or not.

6. Suffering. A lack of immediate negative consequences for actions does not eliminate suffering. In fact, suffering is the momentum of degeneration. It can be a force that keeps them on the wrong path. Slaine endures torture to protect his princess, and later he kills his father figure. Michael finds out his brother betrayed him, and later his wife leaves him. The interesting thing here is that they suffer without failing at their greater goal. Another thing is the mix of forced suffering and chosen suffering. They didn’t ask to be tortured or betrayed, but Slaine pulled the trigger himself, and Michael knew his wife was unhappy.

7. Remorse. This again depends on the story, but regret (if not repentance) concludes a degeneration arc, and it is oh so juicy. They don’t have to regret what they did, but they should at least regret that it didn’t work. If a character does not realize they were wrong or does not acknowledge they have failed in some way, then their arc, at least from their perception, never degenerated at all. Just look at this last glimpse we have of Slaine and tell me the pain in his eyes is not so satisfying you can’t even.

That’s it! Bye!

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