MPL Ep 14 - Extra thoughts on Poppy

I’m more refreshed now after getting some rest, and guys, I have so much to say about this episode and Poppy's character development, so I decided to make another post for this. This is something I’ve talked about many times before, and will never get tired of talking about 😂. I’ve posted about this before, and I LOVED the discussion it sparked. I unfortunately can’t remember which post it is now, but if anyone ever finds it, feel free to share the link here <3 

Without even going into society's expectations of how a ‘strong’ woman should behave in today's world, Poppy is hands-down the hardest character to write, for me. To begin with, I'm a bit more of a 'masculine' kind of person. So it's hard enough, putting myself in her shoes as a soft and feminine female. And because Poppy is a character who treads many fine lines (very precariously 😂), I'm always very careful with how these things are balanced, and how I craft out the choices she makes, her decision making process, her thought patterns, etc. 

I’ve always known that I want her to be 'cute, compassionate, and airy', as a counterpoint to Tora’s 'stoic, macho and aggressive', and none of that has changed. This sometimes leads to readers concluding that she’s just a ‘dumb' girl. But she really isn't. So the challenge, for me, is how I can portray all of her very subtle personality traits to the readers, without having to spell it out for them. 

And also, having her interact with Tora this early on makes it even more challenging because of how easily - on the surface - Tora overpowers her with his size, and his domineering nature. But the different undercurrents of their relationship are there, to anyone who would just look a little deeper. Fortunately (for me!), many of you guys have already observed how Poppy has her own way with Tora, which to me, is hugely relieving to know. Someone even pointed out that between Poppy and Tora, 'the one who leads' is constantly shifting back and forth and, just, YES. THANK YOU ❤️

So this episode was a great opportunity for me to show how, because of her physique and personality (soft, gentle, kind etc.), she exerts her influence in different ways, compared to someone physically bigger and more aggressive than her, like Erdene or even Tora. And how her brand of smarts and wits, manifests differently from someone who has, say, a physical or social advantage over her. 

Also, re Poppy and Erdene - SO MUCH YES. To women supporting each other, and wholesome, uplifting friendships. 

It actually killed me that in the early episodes, I had to portray those women (the counter lady, Julri’s intern etc.), in such a negative light. Obviously in the real world, no one has a perfect moral compass, and none of that stuff is ever cut and dried. And every author, I guess, has their own writing pet peeves, and this way of portraying women is something I’ll always try to avoid if I can. Unfortunately because I only had a very small window (1-3 episodes) at the beginning to lay out the foundation for Tora’s relationship with the kind of women he attracts, and possibly the kind of women he is typically surrounded by, I had to do that in the quickest and clearest way possible, so that bit with those women was a bit of a necessary evil. In any case, I’m glad that at this point of the story, the perspective has now shifted back to Poppy’s world, where all of that wholesome goodness is taking place 🥰