#solstice ng

So Sol is one of four protagonists for my original story Mutiny. Out of the four ey're probably the most interesting at first glance because ey aren't new to The Eye like the rest of the protagonists. Writing em is a lot of fun too since ey have a lot of secrets to keep from both the other main characters and the reader.

One of Mutiny's main themes is expectations and specifically how harmful they can be. Each character struggles with a different kind of expectation (each partially based on my own struggles, because every writer knows you've got to pull from your own experiences) and Sol's type is mostly familial expectations.

As the second child of the current King and Queen of Aries Sol doesn't have as many expectations as eir older brother but ey are still expected to contribute both to the family and eir country. The problem really lies in Sol's lackluster leadership and strategy skills, something critical in politics. Being headstrong and impulsive has led em to plenty of mistakes and earning a very critical eye from eir Mother who often reminds em how lucky everyone is ey are "just the spare."

Another thing that makes Sol different from the other characters of Mutiny is how ey actively seek out more responsibility. Ey strive to prove themself capable of leading in hopes of gaining eir families' approval. Everyone in eir family is important or talented on some level except em. This "black sheep" sort of feeling ey struggle with and general insecurities lead em to take on more than ey can chew and in general be extremely reckless.

Eir arc is essentially about learning ey have worth inherently rather than having to earn it and that they are good enough as ey are.

Something else about Sol that's particularly fun to write about is eir speaking patterns. Because of eir upbringing, Sol is used to having to hide when eir uncomfortable or stressed- so when ey feel these things it's obvious because ey sort of put on this... formal front. For instance:

Stressed: “Apologies,” Sol says, forcing eir fists to relax and eir expression to fall flat. Setting eir shoulders back and making sure eir posture is straight ey meet Kenny’s gaze dead-on, despite the crawling sensation that crawls up eir spine. “It’s… not ideal, but we knew that would happen eventually. We’ll just have to choose carefully.”

Not Stressed: Scowling, Sol rolls eir eyes. “It’s the last chance to find new recruits, you know that as well as I do, Kenny.”

(Keep in mind those snippets are from a first draft so if they're a bit of a mess that's why)

In general, eir speech is more formal than most of Mutiny's cast, since Aries is an extremely formal country (especially among the nobles/rich/royals). It's a fun challenge to try and write in a way that's still casual enough to not be overly strange while still expressing Sol's roots. When writing so many main characters and perspectives it's important all of them have a unique voice. Dion who spends most of his time in poorer areas and skips school a lot can't sound the same as Sol who's spent eir entire childhood being trained in etiquette and politics in a formal setting.

Another interesting thing about Sol that I only discovered while writing the first draft is that despite not being very close to eir actual siblings ey act a lot like an older sibling to the other protagonists (who are all younger than em). I think eir desire for more responsibility as well as their wish of getting closer to eir family/siblings probably plays a part in this. For examples:

Dion: Sol opens eir mouth again before closing it, as if unsure of what to say. Eventually, ey open eir mouth again, seeming more sure of emselves as ey say, “You know it gets easier, being here. Obviously everyone wants to leave but-” ey rub the back of their neck and look away. “All I’m saying is that it’s not so bad; it could be worse.”

Vega: Should I even be holding them like this? It feels like it’s making it worse. Ey didn’t let go for fear that once ey did Vega would somehow manage to hurt themself, but guilt sat heavy in eir chest the longer it went on. Why did I even try to help? Sure they were crying but… that was probably better than whatever this is. Vega was fighting like they thought they were dying; maybe they did.

“Vega,” Sol tried again, not bothering to keep their voice quiet now. If Dion and Sabrina hadn’t woken up already they probably weren’t going to. “Vega, it’s alright. Calm down.”

Sabrina: “I can talk to her if you want,” Sol offers. If ey were being honest ey planned on doing it either way. Sabrina’s input only determined whether Sol would be telling Coral about this conversation or not. It makes something ugly stir in Sol’s stomach, hearing about someone ey roughly consider a friend going through what Coral has put Sabrina through; convinced her of. Sol wouldn’t stand for it whether ey knew Sabrina personally or not but now eir heart has a stake in the issue as well and ey can’t help but be angry on Sabrina’s behalf. Someone has to be, considering she can’t even seem to recognize that she wasn’t the one in the wrong.

Sol, to me, is kinda the definition of a person who is always trying eir best to do the right thing but just isn't very sure of emself, particularly when it comes to more emotional issues. A lot of eir interactions are based on my own struggles emotionally and I've played with the idea of Sol being autistic with low empathy (because mood).

Anyways, Sol is a very special character to me who I've spent the last three years or so developing. It's hard to comprehend that when I first thought of Mutiny ey were just a background character and now ey're one of the main characters with major stakes in taking down The Eye.