The Star of the Show -- Exploring impact characters in storytelling

Camelia is a shy and quirky, but sweet Labrador Retriever who works for (and eventually is placed in charge of) a privately-owned library.  Always friendly, and with just a hint of deviancy, Camelia is there to help when needed, and eager to share her knowledge and talents with others.

Irene is an energetic squirrel whose love of music is only matched by her ability to perform it herself.  Mischievous, and a little rebellious, but always there when her bandmates and those she cares about needs her, Irene is an endless source of positive energy, eager to bring out the best in everyone around her -- in her own unique way, at least.

Despite how different these two are, they share one common trait.

If you’ve followed their respective stories, you probably guessed that they’re able to change their size.  I’ve always enjoyed size and power, and what someone can do with that gift, and Camelia and Irene both express that fantasy and desire in differing, but enjoyable, ways.  But that’s not the trait I want to focus on today.

Outside of a brief what-if story I’ve shared in the past, both Camelia and Irene have never been the main characters or protagonists of their stories.  Rather, they’ve served as impact characters.  There are people much smarter than I am that can give you a more analytical explanation, but for the purpose of this essay, I’ll keep things simple: Camelia and Irene help to empower and drive their main characters forward through their own conflicts, but for the most part, aren’t the stars of the show -- at least, not in the traditional sense.

It’s tempting to think that Fields of Gold’s Labrador as its main star, since she appears prominently throughout several chapters, and her actions and decisions ultimately drive things forward.  But if you look closely, you’ll know this isn’t really Camelia’s story -- it’s Hunter’s.  

Hunter, the husky lead, is a young man struggling to find his purpose in life, and instead of trying to find that answer in his studies and through the bonds he shares with his friends, he retreats into his own fantasy world to satisfy his baser urges.  Camelia serves as the catalyst to make those fantasies of his reality, but also to help him realize his own dream -- to study size-shifters and help decipher their many mysteries, as well as help society at large learn to accept them, rather than fear them.

Conversely, in Jazz At Night, as playful and imposing as Irene can be, the band is the main focus, with Seymour as its lead.  Seymour has abandoned his passion for music and writing scores, seeing practice as more of a pointless chore than a means for improvement.  In his own words, he stopped enjoying music “when it started feeling like work.”  Irene assists Seymour in finding that passion again, by not focusing so much on trying to appease others and instead enjoy creating music for its own sake.  Granted, things take a terrifying turn for the worse later that night, forcing Irene to bail him out in the only way she knows how (hint: she gets really big), but Seymour was on the verge of that breakthrough well before things well to hell.  Surviving a near-death experience is enough to push him over the edge and make that breakthrough.

Without Camelia, Hunter would still be slacking off and spending more time pretending to be loomed over by giants.  And without Irene, Seymour would grow more disillusioned as a guitar player (assuming he didn’t end up dead first).  Both of their lives would stagnate or become worse without their respective shifters to guide them through their struggles.  This is the importance of an impact character -- they help drive the main cast forward, to change for the better.  Marcie serves the same role for K in Monsters Don’t Cry, by allowing K to see there’s more to life than mere subsistence and servitude, and that it wasn’t wrong to allow yourself to feel, to hurt, or to love.

This is where things get interesting when Dogs Chase Squirrels comes into the picture, because for this story, not one, but two impact characters are going to share the spotlight at the same time.  This presents a new challenge -- how Camelia and Irene will become their own leads, while serving to help change the other as their relationship begins to grow.

The approach for how is simple enough - dedicating a chapter to only one character at a time, with the other serving the role of impact character.  As the first chapter of Dogs Chase Squirrels will pick up right where Jazz At Night left off, it only makes sense to have Irene be the focal point, where she’ll get to meet Camelia for the first time, and discover that she’s a shifter as well.  As we move forward, the perspective will change and we’ll see Camelia’s thoughts as she goes through own daily routines, and Irene will serve as the impact character there.

The real challenge is pulling that balance off -- and for this to work, I’ll need to figure out what the two gain from each other as they begin to fall in love.

In other words, what does Irene offer that Camelia lacks or needs in her life?  And what can Camelia offer to Irene in turn?

I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling a few things, but I can share what I feel is a good starting point.

For Camelia, she’s become a bit of a workaholic, focusing more on keeping Forrester Library up and running than seeking outside pursuits.  Camelia has become the library itself, and anything that she feels would interrupt that process would be unnecessary or intrusive.  Irene could be that escape she needs -- if only she can allow herself that opportunity to step away from her responsibilities in a healthy manner.

Irene, on the other hand, has always wanted to find someone just like her -- someone who grew up with the same fantasies, and the same struggles, and she feels she may have found that in Camelia; Irene, however, may not realize what she enjoys isn’t necessarily the same as what Camelia enjoys.  What makes this challenging is that Camelia pursues the relationship first, which only fuels that desire for companionship -- and may result in pushing the Labrador down a path she may not be comfortable with.

The trials and tribulations both of them will share will make up the crux of the main plot, and making sure that they continue to grow without forgetting the importance they share in their significant other’s life will be the true challenge.  And as always, I’m eager to dive in, but a bit nervous that I’ll be able to pull it off.

Some of that challenge also resides in how their personalities as well.  I already know how Camelia acts -- shy and quiet, but passionate about what she enjoys, and always eager to express herself as long as she feels comfortable doing so.  Irene, however, is trickier.  I know how she acts, and will react to stimuli, both positive and negative, but I’ve yet to really dive into Irene as a character all her own, and making sure she stays cute and spunky while still giving her those moments for emotional growth will be the focus.  I’m still figuring out all the minor details, but I think you’ll like what I have in store.

There are two other points to consider too -- the first being that we’re dealing with not one, but two size-shifting ladies, and how that dynamic will play into their relationship, as well as how they interact with the outside world (who are still rather wary about giants in general).  Would Camelia and Irene debate who would be the “big” one in the relationship?  Would they take turns?  Or would one prefer to be taller than the other?  I don’t have the answer for that one -- yet.

The second being that Dogs Chase Squirrels at its core, an LGBTQ+ story.  How far do I want to explore that side of Camelia and Irene’s relationship?  There’s no doubt they’ll have strong feelings for one another, and for the most part, there won’t be much in terms of opposition towards that.  But that doesn’t mean I’m against exploring that; sad as it is to say, not everyone is okay with a lesbian romance blooming in the public eye.  Again, I’ll have to decide how deep I want to go with that side of things.  That’ll be a discussion for another time, though.

I’m slowly progressing towards getting the first chapter out, and I’ll be shooting for a February 1st debut for everyone.  Chapters 1-3 will be free for everyone, posted publicly both here and on FurAffinity.  Chapters 4 and onward will be exclusive to Patreon.  I do hope you’ll stick around for what’s to come, I’m really looking forward to giving this serial a shot!

I may have one more point I want to focus on next Saturday, but we’ll see whether I can find the time to write my thoughts down.  This week will be a bit hectic, so I won’t make any promises.  Just know that things are progressing, and you won’t have to wait too much longer. :)