6 Tips For Writing An Underdog Character

things people do after having a nightmare that isn’t crying

struggle to catch their breath

grab onto whatever’s close enough to ground themselves in reality

become nauseous / vomit

shake uncontrollably

sweat buckets

get a headache

things people do to combat having nightmares if they occur commonly

sleep near other people so they can hear the idle sounds of them completing tasks

move to a different sleeping spot than where they had the nightmare

leave tvs / radios / phones on with noise

just not sleep (if you want to go the insomnia route)

sleep during the day in bright rooms

things people with insomnia do

first, obviously, their ability to remember things and their coordination will go out the window

its likely they’ll become irritable or overly emotional

their body will start to ache, shake, and weaken

hallucinate if it’s been long enough

it becomes incredibly easy for them to get sick (and they probably will)

add your own in reblogs/comments!

BUILD A CHARACTER (Masterpost)

>Naming

Websites:

- NameChef - Name Generator - Reedsy Generator - Fake Name Generator - Fantasy Name Generator - Baby Names - Baby Center

Lists:

- Long Names List by @leafvy - Giant Name List by @serifsystem - Dark Academia Inspired Names by @victoriahazelnut - Dark Academia Inspired Names part II by @victoriahazelnut - Modern Names Similar to Constellations by @victoriahazelnut

>Personality

Websites:

- Personality Generator - Random Character Traits Generator by @lucalicatteart - Random Zodiac Sign Generator - Zodiac Generator

Lists:

- 638 Personality Traits - Character Traits List with Examples - 800 Character Traits: The Ultimate List (+ How to Develop a Good Character Step-by-Step) - The Signs in a Relationship by @neo-wonderland - Character Flaws by @madswritess - A List of Character Quirks by @psychidion - Victorian Detective by @iamacuteapplepie - Little Quirks for Future Reference by @elvenwinters - Things your Character Might be Afraid of by @rpmemesbyarat - Masterlist of Characters’ Deepest Fears by @bailey-writes

>Backstory

Websites:

- Kassoon Backstory Generator - Character Biography Generator - How to Write Compelling Character Backstories: Step-by-Step Guide - Childhood Memory Generator

Lists:

-  33 Life Events For Your Character’s Backstory by @creativerogues - Important Life Events - Past Traumas by @blackacre13

>Goals & Motives

Websites:

- Character Goal Generator - Character Motivation Generator - Motive Generator

>Secrets

Websites:

- Secret Generator

Lists:

- 300 Secrets for your Character by @crissverahelps - What Secret does your Character Keep? - 150 secrets/plots by @sunshineandtearph

>Appearence

Websites:

- Appearence Generator - Portrait and Figure Drawing References

Lists:

- Appearence Adjectives - Adjectives to Describe People 

HEELLPPPP LMAAOOO WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ABOMINATION

Show him the fruits

Story Structures for your Next WIP

hello, hello. this post will be mostly for my notes. this is something I need in to be reminded of for my business, but it can also be very useful and beneficial for you guys as well.

everything in life has structure and storytelling is no different, so let’s dive right in :)

First off let’s just review what a story structure is :

a story is the backbone of the story, the skeleton if you will. It hold the entire story together.

the structure in which you choose your story will effectively determine how you create drama and depending on the structure you choose it should help you align your story and sequence it with the conflict, climax, and resolution.

1. Freytag's Pyramid

this first story structure i will be talking about was named after 19th century German novelist and playwright.

it is a five point structure that is based off classical Greek tragedies such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripedes.

Freytag's Pyramid structure consists of:

Introduction: the status quo has been established and an inciting incident occurs.

Rise or rising action: the protagonist will search and try to achieve their goal, heightening the stakes,

Climax: the protagonist can no longer go back, the point of no return if you will.

Return or fall: after the climax of the story, tension builds and the story inevitably heads towards...

Catastrophe: the main character has reached their lowest point and their greatest fears have come into fruition.

this structure is used less and less nowadays in modern storytelling mainly due to readers lack of appetite for tragic narratives.

2. The Hero's Journey

the hero's journey is a very well known and popular form of storytelling.

it is very popular in modern stories such as Star Wars, and movies in the MCU.

although the hero's journey was inspired by Joseph Campbell's concept, a Disney executive Christopher Vogler has created a simplified version:

The Ordinary World: The hero's everyday routine and life is established.

The Call of Adventure: the inciting incident.

Refusal of the Call: the hero / protagonist is hesitant or reluctant to take on the challenges.

Meeting the Mentor: the hero meets someone who will help them and prepare them for the dangers ahead.

Crossing the First Threshold: first steps out of the comfort zone are taken.

Tests, Allie, Enemies: new challenges occur, and maybe new friends or enemies.

Approach to the Inmost Cave: hero approaches goal.

The Ordeal: the hero faces their biggest challenge.

Reward (Seizing the Sword): the hero manages to get ahold of what they were after.

The Road Back: they realize that their goal was not the final hurdle, but may have actually caused a bigger problem than before.

Resurrection: a final challenge, testing them on everything they've learned.

Return with the Elixir: after succeeding they return to their old life.

the hero's journey can be applied to any genre of fiction.

3. Three Act Structure:

this structure splits the story into the 'beginning, middle and end' but with in-depth components for each act.

Act 1: Setup:

exposition: the status quo or the ordinary life is established.

inciting incident: an event sets the whole story into motion.

plot point one: the main character decided to take on the challenge head on and she crosses the threshold and the story is now progressing forward.

Act 2: Confrontation:

rising action: the stakes are clearer and the hero has started to become familiar with the new world and begins to encounter enemies, allies and tests.

midpoint: an event that derails the protagonists mission.

plot point two: the hero is tested and fails, and begins to doubt themselves.

Act 3: Resolution:

pre-climax: the hero must chose between acting or failing.

climax: they fights against the antagonist or danger one last time, but will they succeed?

Denouement: loose ends are tied up and the reader discovers the consequences of the climax, and return to ordinary life.

4. Dan Harmon's Story Circle

it surprised me to know the creator of Rick and Morty had their own variation of Campbell's hero's journey.

the benefit of Harmon's approach is that is focuses on the main character's arc.

it makes sense that he has such a successful structure, after all the show has multiple seasons, five or six seasons? i don't know not a fan of the show.

the character is in their comfort zone: also known as the status quo or ordinary life.

they want something: this is a longing and it can be brought forth by an inciting incident.

the character enters and unfamiliar situation: they must take action and do something new to pursue what they want.

adapt to it: of course there are challenges, there is struggle and begin to succeed.

they get what they want: often a false victory.

a heavy price is paid: a realization of what they wanted isn't what they needed.

back to the good old ways: they return to their familiar situation yet with a new truth.

having changed: was it for the better or worse?

i might actually make a operate post going more in depth about dan harmon's story circle.

5. Fichtean Curve:

the fichtean curve places the main character in a series of obstacles in order to achieve their goal.

this structure encourages writers to write a story packed with tension and mini-crises to keep the reader engaged.

The Rising Action

the story must start with an inciting indecent.

then a series of crisis arise.

there are often four crises.

2. The Climax:

3. Falling Action

this type of story telling structure goes very well with flash-back structured story as well as in theatre.

6. Save the Cat Beat Sheet:

this is another variation of a three act structure created by screenwriter Blake Snyder, and is praised widely by champion storytellers.

Structure for Save the Cat is as follows: (the numbers in the brackets are for the number of pages required, assuming you're writing a 110 page screenplay)

Opening Image [1]: The first shot of the film. If you’re starting a novel, this would be an opening paragraph or scene that sucks readers into the world of your story.

Set-up [1-10]. Establishing the ‘ordinary world’ of your protagonist. What does he want? What is he missing out on?

Theme Stated [5]. During the setup, hint at what your story is really about — the truth that your protagonist will discover by the end.

Catalyst [12]. The inciting incident!

Debate [12-25]. The hero refuses the call to adventure. He tries to avoid the conflict before they are forced into action.

Break into Two [25]. The protagonist makes an active choice and the journey begins in earnest.

B Story [30]. A subplot kicks in. Often romantic in nature, the protagonist’s subplot should serve to highlight the theme.

The Promise of the Premise [30-55]. Often called the ‘fun and games’ stage, this is usually a highly entertaining section where the writer delivers the goods. If you promised an exciting detective story, we’d see the detective in action. If you promised a goofy story of people falling in love, let’s go on some charmingly awkward dates.

Midpoint [55]. A plot twist occurs that ups the stakes and makes the hero’s goal harder to achieve — or makes them focus on a new, more important goal.

Bad Guys Close In [55-75]. The tension ratchets up. The hero’s obstacles become greater, his plan falls apart, and he is on the back foot.

All is Lost [75]. The hero hits rock bottom. He loses everything he’s gained so far, and things are looking bleak. The hero is overpowered by the villain; a mentor dies; our lovebirds have an argument and break up.

Dark Night of the Soul [75-85-ish]. Having just lost everything, the hero shambles around the city in a minor-key musical montage before discovering some “new information” that reveals exactly what he needs to do if he wants to take another crack at success. (This new information is often delivered through the B-Story)

Break into Three [85]. Armed with this new information, our protagonist decides to try once more!

Finale [85-110]. The hero confronts the antagonist or whatever the source of the primary conflict is. The truth that eluded him at the start of the story (established in step three and accentuated by the B Story) is now clear, allowing him to resolve their story.

Final Image [110]. A final moment or scene that crystallizes how the character has changed. It’s a reflection, in some way, of the opening image.

(all information regarding the save the cat beat sheet was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

7. Seven Point Story Structure:

this structure encourages writers to start with the at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point.

this structure is about dramatic changes from beginning to end

The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.

Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.

Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.

Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.

Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.

Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.

Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

(all information regarding the seven point story structure was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

i decided to fit all of them in one post instead of making it a two part post.

i hope you all enjoy this post and feel free to comment or reblog which structure you use the most, or if you have your own you prefer to use! please share with me!

if you find this useful feel free to reblog on instagram and tag me at perpetualstories

Follow my tumblr and instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

The Soo Trio & Earth Abilities

Let's talk about Earth Abilities for a moment, shall we?

It's been a long-standing debate in the fandom whether Cale has more Abilities than just 2. Of course now it’s at least 3, since he got Embrace from Lee Soo Hyuk. However, just like how the area where Cale and the others live was never called “the whole world”, merely “the two Continents” implies that there might be more continents in that world, Kim Rok Soo had never been stated to have “2 abilities”. Instead, he was called a “Multiple Ability User”.

It was especially worth noticing when OG Cale!Kim Rok Soo was talking with Choi Jung Soo about it. He said he was getting hang of his new Abilities, but Choi Jung Soo warned him that Kim Rok Soo was a “multiple Ability User” and that his Abilities were hard to master.

Furthermore, it appears that Abilities evolve over time, as in the beginning of the cataclysm, most people seemed to have only 1 Ability per person – Park Jin Tae was an unusual case, and thus kept it a secret.

What form Abilities take highly depends on the person’s personality and interest. For example, there was person at Kim Rok Soo’s shelter who used to be a music major, and her ability allowed her to project her voice for others to hear from far away.

Kim Rok Soo’s first Ability was Record. Which fits his personality of someone who has excellent memory and is able to process all information to his advantage. His second Ability, gained after years of working for the Company, was Instant. Yet again, it fits with how desperately he wished to rush in and save his team. He’s also someone who breaks the rules to achieve his goals no matter what it takes, so no wonder his Ability allowed him to transcend time itself.

Unlike Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo, who tragically died quite young, Kim Rok Soo lived to his late 30’s. He had time to develop more Abilities afterwards. I don’t have valid theories about what his third Ability could potentially be. I suspect it was probably something passive, such as “Perseverance” or something. Perhaps it’s an Ability that allows him to stay conscious for as long as he needs to in order to accomplish something. It’s a wild shot, but it’s as good of a guess as any. There haven’t been any clear hints about that yet. Perhaps I’m wrong, and it’s all just red herring – maybe Kim Rok Soo just had 2 Abilities all along and that was it.

Let’s talk about Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo for a moment, shall we?

Lee Soo Hyuk is a fascinating case. He’s clearly someone special. He doesn’t seem to be a Single-Lifer – because he naturally reincarnated after his death. And yet, even Monsters recognize he is someone unusual. He is a natural-born hero: he has the charisma, the skills, and the ideals of one. And his first unnamed Ability was incredibly strong – it allowed him to cut through anything. The power was described to be eerily silent, cutting through the air itself.

...And that Ability previously belonged to Choi Jung Gun, aka. Nelan Barrow, the first Dragon Slayer.

Why the heck Choi Jung Gun decided to hand this ability to Lee Soo Hyuk is a mystery. He doesn't exactly strike me as a generous type. I’m very curious to learn about that story in the future. For now, I just assume Choi Jung Gun saw potential in Lee Soo Hyuk (there was implication that he’s able to see some ‘Threads of Fate’ during his meeting with Cale in the Sloth Test) and decided he should have it due some circumstances.

After getting that Ability, Lee Soo Hyuk developed Embrace. We know Embrace came second, because he did not use it in the Sealed God’s Test, despite going against an Unranked Monster and giving his all. It was also a very peculiar and unusual Ability – it was even able to seal a God!! That is no small issue, Lee Soo Hyuk’s Abilities are all busted!!! No wonder he was such a big deal in Korea.

And finally, we get to Choi Jung Soo. He’s the one I really wanted to talk about from the start.

You see, we all forget that Kim Rok Soo was not expected to be the successor of Lee Soo Hyuk. In fact, everyone in the Company expected it to be Choi Jung Soo. Considering how incredibly skilled Kim Rok Soo was, that’s quite a big deal.

Choi Jung Soo gave Choi Han his Miru Ability – his own variation of it being the White Miru – but looking at Lee Soo Hyuk and Kim Rok Soo, it becomes obvious that he must have had another Ability.

And that’s where chapters 580 & 581 come in.

Cale meets Choi Jung Soo and is incredibly happy to see him. Choi Jung Soo is naturally wary of the person who has Rank 1 Monsters such as the Dark Tiger following him. Cale then thinks this:

“‘He’s wary of me again.’ He could tell that Choi Jung Soo was quite wary of him. That was why Choi Jung Soo was focusing his gaze on him instead of the monster Alberu or Choi Han who had a sword on his side. Cale could tell that Choi Jung Soo's ‘intuition’ was still there after seeing Choi Jung Soo be wary when he was trying to speak as warmly as possible.”

Choi Jung Soo, on the other hand, thinks this:

“The fact that such a person had recognized him through foresight was shocking, and it was weird that he was being so friendly. He also found something weird about himself as well. ‘...I don’t feel any wariness toward him.’ Choi Jung Soo had been quite tense since the world became like this. It was because he was weak. This world was now one where the weak could be preyed upon by the strong at any moment. But for some odd reason, he didn't feel any wariness toward this man named Kim Rok Soo even after hearing how strong he is. Choi Jung Soo found that the current situation was even more chaotic as he had never felt this way before.”

Choi Jung Soo feels wary NOT because he’s distrustful towards Cale. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. He’s wary BECAUSE he’s not feeling distrustful, and finds that very strange!

Don’t you see what this is??

This is, yet again, foreshadowing, my friends! Choi Jung Soo has an ‘Intuition’ Ability!!

It makes a lot of sense! His first Ability wasn’t the White Miru – because when Choi Han starts training him, he doesn’t have that yet. Choi Jung Soo recognizes Choi Han’s style as familiar, but not the Ability itself. It should have been a dead giveaway if Choi Jung Soo used the same-looking dragon power.

Park Jin Tae had a similar Ability, which allowed him to recognize individual’s strength based on the pressure they gave off. I think Choi Jung Soo’s Ability has less to do with strength, and more with intent. Especially because he thinks this regarding Choi Han:

“Choi Jung Soo realized something at that moment. They had said that Choi Han was the strongest person in the group. ‘But why-’ For some very weird reason... ‘Do I have even less wariness toward this person than even Kim Rok Soo?’ Choi Han was standing there with a stoic expression, but it did not seem threatening at all to Choi Jung Soo. It didn't seem to be because Choi Han was younger than Choi Jung Soo. ‘What is going on?’ Cale continued to speak as Choi Jung Soo became even more confused while looking at Cale and Choi Han.”

Choi Jung Soo feels completely safe with Cale and Choi Han, which confuses him extremely. Those individuals are the strongest, and yet, he feels absolutely no ill intent from them.

That is no mystical connection, or Choi Jung Soo recognizing Choi Han as his family... That is not at all what is going on here. Choi Jung Soo’s logic dictates that he should feel wariness towards the two strongest individuals, and yet his Ability is telling him: “Those two are Completely Safe. You can Trust Them.” Because both Cale and Choi Han love him already as family, even though he doesn’t know them. That must have been very confusing.

I am very looking forward to Choi Jung Soo reuniting with Cale and Choi Han in the Murim world later. I am very sure we will learn more about his Intuition Ability there. I’m convinced such an Ability would be very useful for recognizing allies and forming a rebel group to fight against the Hunters.

Do not underestimate the subtle powers. After all, Cale’s Record was able to change the fate of multiple worlds so far.

So, there you have it! All known Abilities of the Soos:

Lee Soo Hyuk: “Slashing” Ability (received from CJG), Embrace (given to Cale)

Kim Rok Soo: Record, Instant, possible third Ability

Choi Jung Soo: “Intuition” Ability, White Miru

HOLD ON-

Is this an actual reason kids wanted to travel around the world with Cale??? Is this the culprit??

Because if that's so this is fucking adorable

When i first read the novel and in the future chapters On, Hong and Raon were telling Cale that they want to travel everywhere together i just went "Aw that's sweet, yeah sure" not questioning much of it because, well, Cale didn't either. And I'm a very trustful person, who didn't thought about our narrator being a lying little shit back then.

So rereading the novel now and seeing this gives me literal butterflies!

Just think about it.

Children, who never saw much of the world, whose thoughts before been only about survival, wanted to travel everywhere together and see everything, but not for themselves.

They thought that will make Cale happy.

On, Hong and Raon obviously love Cale a lot, he is literally their parent and the first ever person to show them warmth or care.

So it is understandable that they want to show this love to him in return and I'm like :,) MAN, i love this story so much ueue

Writing Tips Master Post

Edit: Some posts may be deleted

Character writing/development:

Character Arcs

Making Character Profiles

Character Development

Comic Relief Arc

Internal Conflict

Character Voices

Creating Distinct Characters

Creating Likeable Characters

Writing Strong Female Characters

Writing POC Characters

Building Tension

Writing Grumpy x Sunshine Tropes

Plot devices/development:

Intrigue in Storytelling

Enemies to Lovers

Alternatives to Killing Characters

Worldbuilding

Misdirection

Consider Before Killing Characters

Foreshadowing

Narrative:

Emphasising the Stakes

Avoid Info-Dumping

Writing Without Dialogue

1st vs. 2nd vs. 3rd Perspective

Fight Scenes (+ More)

Transitions

Pacing

Writing Prologues

Dialogue Tips

Writing War

Writing Cheating

Worldbuilding:

Worldbuilding: Questions to Consider

Creating Laws/Rules in Fantasy Worlds

Book writing:

Connected vs. Stand-Alone Series

A & B Stories

Writer resources:

Writing YouTube Channels, Podcasts, & Blogs

Online Writing Resources

Outlining/Writing/Editing Software

Writer help:

Losing Passion/Burnout

Overcoming Writer's Block

Fantasy terms:

How To Name Fantasy Races (Step-by-Step)

Naming Elemental Races

Naming Fire-Related Races

How To Name Fantasy Places

Ask games:

Character Ask Game #1

Character Ask Game #2

Character Ask Game #3

Miscellaneous:

1000 Follower Post

2000 Follower Poll

Writing Fantasy

Sites to Help with Writing

1 - [ https://www.yourdictionary.com ] I use this site for the thesaurus, It helps to find synonyms for words so you don't repeat "said" a thousand times in your book.

2 - [ https://milanote.com ] This one is very helpful for organising your ideas with story boards, though it's partially free it has a paid version where you can get even more features. I use the free version.

3 - [ https://inkarnate.com ] This site is very popular to create maps, and for good reason. It's free version gives you all the features necessary to create maps, but the paid version gives you extra features. I use the free version.

4 - [ https://www.behindthename.com ] I use this one for names. It has a database of endless names alongside their country of origin and meaning. Very useful, though I use it to make sure the names I come up with don't end the wrong way.

5 - [ https://www.pinterest.com ] Do I even need to explain? Ideas? Here. Visualisation? Here. Everything you'll ever need? Here.

6 - [ https://quillbot.com ] Heard of it from a beloved friend. This site is useful for tone checks, grammar checks, and more. I only use it to edit.

7 - [ Google Docs ] I only use this one for writing, its free and perfectly usable.

8 - [ https://www.artbreeder.com ] This one is essential for character creation. It has many features that allows you to visualise and create portraits for your characters.

Bonus:

I use [ https://tabletopaudio.com ] for background noise while writing, because i cant focus in silence.

That's all, I hope this proves useful :)

You know, when I see fictional characters who repress all their emotions, they're usually aloof and very blunt about keeping people at a distance, sometimes to an edgy degree—but what I don't see nearly enough are the emotionally repressed characters who are just…mellow.

Think about it. In real life, the person that's bottling up all their emotions is not the one that's brooding in the corner and snaps at you for trying to befriend them. More often than not, it's that friendly person in your circle who makes easy conversation with you, laughs with you, and listens and gives advice whenever you're upset. But you never see them upset, in fact they seem to have endless patience for you and everything around them—and so you call them their friend, you trust them. And only after months of telling them all your secrets do you realize…

…they've never actually told you anything about themselves.

Spoilers for Cales past and a ss of a few paragraphs of chapter 695

Cale hates when people sacrifice themselves. He hates when they push themselves too hard, especially for him.

Because that’s what happened with Lee Soo Hyuk and Choi Jung Soo, isn’t it?

Cale was supposed to die. They sacrificed themselves for him, and he lived, and now he gets visibly upset when people try to do things that are similar.

What does he think about when he sees people work themselves till they faint? It’s stupid. Not just because it’s not healthy, but because it’s sacrificial. He hates martyrs. He hates it when they’re his friends.

Cale has a weird complex, right? Sacrificing himself left and right, fainting, but not allowing anyone else to do the same? Hypocrite, right?

(Chapter 695)

This is weird, isn’t it? This complete lack of awareness is concerning! It’s almost as if he’s oblivious to the fact that he does the same thing all of the time!

To everyone else, yes, this situation with the crown Prince fainting after using all of his mana is a perfect parallel to Cale using his ancient powers too much and going into a coma.

But Cale doesn’t see his actions in the same light! He really isn’t trying to sacrifice himself 90% of the time! The collateral damage (fainting, bleeding, pain) is usually not part of his prediction, and if it is, it’s more than he expected.

His intentions and thoughts are always about keeping his friends safe, and he’s okay with coughing up a bit of blood to do that! Just a bit, maybe enough that it will look scary but it won’t hurt him in the long run and that’s okay.

If he faints? It wasn’t planned, so it’s not really sacrifice. Maybe a little but he’s selfish enough already, it’s the least he can do, honestly.

When Cale puts himself in danger it’s for selfish reasons. Self-declared selfishness, but that’s how he sees it.

Cale doesn’t sacrifice himself. Everything he does is because he chose to! He chose to. If it doesn’t hurt too bad, he doesn’t consider it as doing much at all. The level of pain he experiences in every situation is his way of determining how much he’s ‘accomplished against his will’ (sacrificed).

Not only that but there are circumstances he must be in to even consider it of consequence to other people. If it doesn’t happen while someone’s in danger, it doesn’t really matter, does it? He doesn’t understand why someone would be asking about his well-being. He doesn’t plan to let anything that happens affect his plans, so there’s no reason for them to worry.

If he’s not on a battlefield, all of the effort he puts in?

(ancient powers) (strengthening his friends) (being in pain and pushing through it) (planning and strategizing) (so, so much more)

It doesn’t count. He is familiar with meticulously and extensively optimizing his time, because as KRS, monsters attack indiscriminately. Being prepared and working hard to be strong is nothing when compared to the battle soon to come, therefore, it doesn’t count as “work.” It’s what is expected. It is the basic standard for what is required to survive.

Where everyone sees Cale working nonstop for weeks and months and years, it’s a normal weekend for him. Those days outside of battle don’t count. He worked like that for 15 years, so much stress is easy for him.

But- why doesn’t he recognize that he pushes himself until he faints? There’s a threshold that he passes where he faints, but he still keeps crossing it?

Well, because he’s the protagonist and- often, our only source of information for what happens in this world- narratively, he tends to stay awake and only faints when the battle is coming to a close, or has just closed. If the battle ends, his presence isn’t of vital importance, so it’s fine if he was unconscious for a little bit. Other times it’s involuntary and a result of his body’s terrible condition or outside forces.

He doesn’t recognize his fainting as sacrificial because as long as the battle ends on a good note and he’s still able to think and plan relatively soon after he wakes up, he hasn’t sacrificed much other than time. He also has Vitality of the Heart, which lets him feel rejuvenated after a ‘nap.’

You see, Cale Henituse is interesting. He doesn’t know how to distinguish being selfish and selfless because being selfless is, in itself, an act of selfishness. When Cale (from the perspective of his friends) ruins his health and runs from battle to battle without resting or thinking about his friends concern— it’s pretty selfish of him.

While everyone else considers him selfless, he thinks of himself as doing the “obvious” amount of work and being selfish too. That much work is expected of him, so it isn’t selfless. It’s all for his own gain, because when everything is over, he’ll be the one going away to slack off in a forest. Ha!He’s seven steps ahead of everyone (and on the verge of collapse).

How trashy.

So to answer the question? Cale doesn’t notice his own sacrifices because he feels that:

1) his intentions remain solely selfish, so fainting and coughing up blood is just something he needs to do to get closer towards his goal.

2) anything that occurs outside of battle does not count as sacrifice because it does not affect how his plans will pan out, and everything he does is just a normal amount of work for him.

3) fainting is not on his list of to-dos, it happens without his consent- constantly- and it is very annoying because it’s an unpredictable variable, but thankfully it happens when the battle is almost over/already over so it’s not really fainting. It’s like taking a nap! Involuntarily, but at least it’s sort of convenient.

4) being overly selfless is selfish, and selfish = bad, so Cale is a Bad Person and Complete Trash. Look at Cale, selfishly wanting his friends and his homeland to be safe so that he can retire. Bastard!

So, turns out his inability to realize the irony of his statements is because of the traumatizing 16 years of mental conditioning where pushing himself over the edge is normal and expected, spurred on by his socially isolated past that led to a lack of empathy and emotional awareness, and his two closest friends sacrificing themselves for him after his ability couldn’t predict the situation accurately enough.

Wow, it was the trauma all along…

€<><><><><>o

{>>>O=

^^^ my attempts at fish

Anyway, here is a compilation of my favorite Cale moments :D find it under the cut :3 they’re angsty :v spoilers ofc

Chapter 258 ^

Chapter 259 ^

Chapter 303 ^

Chapter 420 ^

Chapter 560 ^

Chapter 584 ^

Chapter 656 ^