#but it might also create equally big problems when it turns out the protag's parents are also making plot-relevant decisions | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

the-sage-libriomancer · 11 months ago

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sometimes i get so obsessed with imagining how stories would've changed if the parent(s) survived. it always completely upsets the story's foundation and sometimes even invalidates the whole entire plot, but a lot of times it also brings up a lot of additional problems that are really fun to chew on in a what-if scenario.

#it's also a great opportunity to make cookie cutter “dead parents” into 3-dimensional people #like sure things would have turned out better for the orphaned protag if their loving parents were both around #but it might also create equally big problems when it turns out the protag's parents are also making plot-relevant decisions #that maybe don't work out in the protag's favor #what happens if the protag and parents have a clash of values?#what happens if the parents (despite trying their best) still fuck up their kid?#if one parent is supposed to be a foil to the protag then how does their survival affect that symbolism?#“what if this flat dead character lived” aus involve a lot of hard and boring work so i understand why no one ever writes them #but like. i can't stop thinking ab the implications of such a story #what happens when the saintly dead parent characters survive to become flawed and human #sage speaketh #trope talk

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