Tessah confrontation (spoilerpost.)

Hey everyone,

Time for another update! I just finished writing the Tessah confrontation. Don’t worry, it’s not a physical fight. It’s a clash of words, a battle of ideals.

Tessah is, in many ways, the opposite of the main character. She’s all about rules, order, and law, while the MC is the rule breaker. Naturally, when these two collide, things get heated.

I wrote the whole confrontation, read through it… and honestly, I didn’t like it. It felt too long. And the biggest sin in any entertainment medium, whether writing, animation, or characters, is being boring. Good or bad is one thing, but boring kills it.

And it was boring.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know my style: I prefer fast pacing. I want the story to move, to keep you engaged. So, I streamlined the dialogue.

For example:
In the old version, Tessa appears, senses the MC’s dislike, and the MC lists out every single reason why he hates her. Every detail, every point, one after another. And then after every point, Tessah goes, “Yeah, that’s justified.” This not only dragged on forever but also made Tessa look like a villain.

But Tessa is not a villain. Never was. She’s an adversary, yes, her ideals clash with the MC’s, but she isn’t the bad guy. Think of it like the lion and the gazelle. They’re enemies by nature, not by personal choice. Tessah follows her duty, her pact.

So, in the new version, the MC still dislikes her, but instead of spelling out every detail, it’s condensed:

• Tessa: “Why do you dislike me?”

• MC: Short explanation.

• Tessa: “I see. That makes sense.”

And instead of apologizing for her actions, Tessah says something like: “I’m sorry you suffered. But it was my duty, my burden, and I was bound to the pact.”

She regrets that the MC suffered, but not what she did. In her eyes, she acted correctly. That nuance is important.

The choice is still yours:

• The MC can reject her completely, cutting contact and seeing her as an enemy.

• Or, at least for now, accept her presence.

This is important because Tessah is a major character. If you played Chapter 10 and visited the museum in the High Order Tower, you probably remember Tessa’s pearl. You already know she’s different from the other Primordials. That’s a big secret I’m slowly unfolding. In Chapter 12, we’ll dig deeper into that.

And yes, you’ll also notice in the preview art that Tessa appears in Nael’s realm, which looks a little different now. Why? Who knows, well I do, but I'm not ruining it through a spoiler. You’ll find out in Chapter 12.

As always, I tell myself I’ll make smaller chapters, but they keep getting bigger. Not on purpose, just because I want each one to feel complete, with a buildup, highlight, turning point, and payoff. So, Chapter 12 and the halfchapter will take some time, but I think it’s shaping up to be awesome.

Also, I just watched Alien 2, and wow, what a great movie. You know I love Alien 1, especially the first half with the atmosphere and buildup, it’s so damn good. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the second one, but I was surprised. It’s very different, but it still has that great atmosphere and story building.

Of course, the visuals don’t really hold up anymore, but come on, the movie is like 40 years old at this point. And it’s still really good.

Newt, for example, is such a well-written character. Writing good child characters is insanely hard, and so many movies fail at it. Like Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Tom Cruise’s daughter in that movie was just unbearable. Constant screaming, constant trouble. Which, yeah, works in-universe since she’s his daughter and he has to protect her, but for the viewer it’s just annoying, because she isn't our daughter, there is no connection.

Newt doesn’t fall into that trap at all. She’s still a child, she still needs protection, but she’s not useless. She survived on her own in that mining colony, she knows her way around, and her size even becomes an advantage in some situations, like crawling through tight spaces helping the marines direct the way. She feels like a real kid, but one that actually adds to the story. (it also helps that we see ellen meet newt, so we see the build up of the relationsship not like in war of the worlds were we just have to assume it's there.) That’s so rare.

Honestly, Alien as a whole has such well-written characters. Ripley in the first movie is such a strong female lead. Not perfect—because perfect characters are boring—but strong, logical, flawed, believable. Hollywood today could learn a lot from how those characters were written.

Alien 2 definitely had a few goofy moments though. Like the alien queen taking the elevator. I couldn’t stop giggling, just imagining her waiting patiently while the elevator music plays. But honestly, that just made it more fun.

So yeah, Alien 1 = awesome. Alien 2 = awesome. Next up is Alien 3. This one’s directed by David Fincher, and considering he made Seven (which is one of my all-time favorite movies), I’ve got high hopes. Fingers crossed it’s as good as the first two. I’ll let you know once I watch it.

Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you’ll enjoy what’s coming.
Take care of yourself
Berki