MPL Ep 36 - Author Chat

Additional thoughts I had, working on this episode. 

We all know that a romance is (mostly) about how a couple meets, how they change each other, how their lives are changed, etc., when they're together. A Patron / reader once asked me: "Well, what's so special about poppy? Why does it have to be her, to cause Tora to change?" And this is a question I often ask myself. I don't think, personally, that Poppy "is not like the other girls" (I personally am not a fan of that sentiment). She eats junk food, like many of us. She's lazy, sometimes, like many of us. She's...JUST like the other girls.

However, for Poppy, and in the same vein, for many of us out here in the real world, I do think there will always be that one person, to whom we (as an individual person), are "not like the rest of them". In this case, for Poppy, it's Tora.

But this still begs the question - what's so special about Poppy? 

With many episodes I work on, this is a question I have at the back of my mind. Could someone else take the place of Poppy, in Tora's eyes? To answer this, I turned the question back to myself: could someone else...take the place of my hubby, in my eyes? What about vice-versa?

And I think the answer is - yes, most definitely. I think most of us will understand that there are no absolutes, and no guarantees in life.

The fact is, though, that there was a sequence of events - very long, complex ones - that have lead to where hubby and I are, today, at this very specific point in our relationship. A sequence of events that would unlikely be recreated by anyone else in the same manner (and I say this in the most logical, objective manner, with no sentimentality attached). Likewise, I think, the same logic applies for Poppy and Tora.

So this episode, other than to narrate Balthuman and Tora's story, was also to explore what would happen if you took Poppy OUT of the equation. And as I worked on the episode, the answer couldn't be clearer, to me. Instead of asking what it is that Poppy brings to the table, this episode was all about what it's like, without Poppy. And I think in this episode, we can all see quite clearly what Tora's life is like, and would be like, without Poppy's presence. Dark. Depressing. Gloomy. And so much more.

So going back to my original point - I think, to me, this episode answered the "what's so special about Poppy" question quite clearly. You don't always see what you have when it's around you, and sometimes you need to take that thing away to really grasp what it is you'll be missing out on. 

Anyway, that's just my random post episode musing. Maybe it's not even that deep, after all 🤣Thanks for reading my thoughts, and as always, please add in your own if you have any <3