Sick on the couch today doodling redesigns and thinking about Bernie from the Archie Sonic comics.
I feel like Bernie never really got her own character story like Jules did, which feels like a waste. We know she was top of her class in school, was a soldier on important missions, and is later only ever shown as a housewife.
So I thought the contrast between what we get in the flashbacks with how she's characterized (or lack thereof) in the present could be interesting. Like she was ambitious in her youth, and wanted to break gender stereotypes. She kept getting told she should be more traditional, that she's better suited to being a wife and a mom, but she continues.
Later, after she's a very successful officer in spite of the nay-sayers, she wants to have a family. Now people are telling her she's wasting her career if she "throws it away" to be "just" a wife and mom.
Frustrated by people telling her what's best for her, she eventually decides for herself that she wants to be with her loved ones. I picture this culminating with her deciding to marry Jules.
(Of course it almost immediately gets ripped apart by circumstances out of her control.)
Even after everything she goes through, she has no regrets, because she made the decision. I want to frame her character story as people pushing "career woman" vs. "stay home mom" lifestyles on her, when there is no correct choice except the one she decided was right for her.
If I could give Sally a more concentrated character arc, it would've been her evaluation of the old Acorn traditions she fought to preserve, versus a new way of doing things. I think Sally sees Kingdom Acorn as its people and its values, while Max sees it as a physical place and its history.
This is a comic that regularly has King Max and Queen Alicia remind Sally of what her expected, passive role is. As soon as his son shows up, Max throws the crown at him despite being completely unqualified. Sally's autonomy and qualifications are regularly dismissed and discouraged.
There's a clear divide in the politics of the kids who grew up in Knothole versus the old folks from Mobotropolis. Maybe not all traditions should be brought back as they rebuild.
While Sally is grappling with her frustration, I think it'd be nice if there was a character she could talk to that's already dealt with the stifling old traditions, even if for one scene. She's looking for advice on what the "strong" thing to do is in this situation, but Bernie says the strongest thing she can do is not let anyone tell her who or what she is.
I think the typical "girl power" message would pick the more badass role, but in-context that alone isn't what Sally needs to be free. Bernie could be a good foil to Alicia. Alicia who passively entered her significant political role, versus Bernie who actively walked away from it.
Do you know the story behind the Tower of Frozen Waves? We’ve climbed up 98 floors of the Tower of Frozen Waves. What’s that frozen thing in the back? Going up to the top of the tower, we can see its secret, the frozen solid Sea Fairy. Someday we can meet the frozen Sea Fairy who yearns to the moon, right?
