In my mind, I like to think that SandWings can't handle cold very well, living in the desert with the hot sun bearing down on them, and at night they burrow in sand tunnels or little huts, wrapped with little shawls and blankets during the cold desert nights.
+ my headcanon for IceWings too, where they shed their horns seasonally, and grow out a "winter coat".
hence, Qibli snuggling up at night in the winter, when it is super duper duper cold.
Another JMA Files update. This time I am showcasing Winter and Tsunami's C-rank conversation.
I imagine something like this happened very shortly after Winter learned about his shared bedroom situation, with similar results.
TRANSCRIPT:
Winter: "Pardon? I was informed that you are the one in charge here?"
Winter: "Hello? Seawing?"
Tsunami: "YES! WHAT IS IT?"
Tsunami: "Ah! You’re, uh… Winter, from the Jade Winglet, right?"
Winter: "Yes, I am PRINCE Winter and I would like to file a complaint. Urgently."
Tsunami: "Yeah? Shoot."
Winter: "Well, a rogue Sandwing seems to have invaded my sleeping quarters."
Tsunami: "Oh? That doesn't sound good. Did they do anything?"
Winter: "Where do I even begin!?! I cannot get it to leave me in peace! The noises that come out of it while it sleeps are unbearable, and the ones during the day are even WORSE somehow! And yesterday that barbarian devoured my toiletries."
Tsunami: "Oh, that sounds… Hey, wait a minute! This isn't about a rogue Sandwing! You're talking about your clawmate, aren't you? Nice try, but he's supposed to be there!"
Winter: "Yes, that’s the problem I’m complaining about! The arrangement is thoroughly unreasonable! I request an immediate change!"
Winter: "See, I believe there was a sort of mistake. I am an Icewing Prince, I really ought to have my own accommodations. Away from the common masses and any disgracious, sand-based reprobates therein. Could you arrange that for me?"
Tsunami: "Let me think about this for a moment."
Tsunami: "Hmm, well, … considering that… and…"
Tsunami: "No."
Winter: "P-pardon me?"
Tsunami: "The rules of this school were clearly laid out before your queen signed the agreement, Winter. They are not negotiable. We're breaking down walls here, and the clawmate system is a part of that."
Winter: "What is this condescending tone you direct at me!?? You may be Seawing royalty, but your impertinence defies my understanding!"
Tsunami: "Oh, you didn’t understand it? Let me spin it into a few different phrases for you, so you can pick the one you like best."
Tsunami: "NOOOO WAAAAY!"
Tsunami: "NAW! NADA! NEGATIVE!"
Tsunami: "YOUR REQUEST IS SUMMARILY DENIED!"
Tsunami: "THE SANDWING STAYS WHERE HE IS!"
Tsunami: "YOU BETTER GET COMFY!"
Tsunami: "CAUSE YOU’LL BE BESTIES IN NO TIME!"
Tsunami: "And sorry about the, what, brushes? We'll have those replaced, probably."
Tsunami: "Now, I hope that helped resolve the issue for you. If you have any other problems, let me know!"
Winter: "What… What an uncouth rube! Unbelievable!"
Winter: "Great. Now I have to file a complaint about my filing of a complaint."
💀 Making Your Villain Make Sense (Without Making Them Right™)
("because if I see one more war criminal with a sad diary entry get a redemption arc, I’m gonna throw my laptop.")
Here’s the thing: your villain doesn’t need to be redeemable. But they do need to make sense.
And I mean sense beyond "they’re evil and they monologue about it."
Or “they have a tragic past, so now they do murder <3.”
Or “they were right all along, the hero just couldn’t see it 🥺.”
Let’s fix that.
─────── ✦ ───────
🧠 STEP ONE: BUILD A LOGIC SYSTEM THAT ISN’T OURS
Your villain shouldn’t just be wrong, they should have their own internal system that works for them. Morally flawed? Absolutely. But coherent.
Ask yourself:
What do they value more than anything? (Power? Order? Loyalty? Vengeance?)
What do they believe about the world, and how did they get there?
What fear drives them? What future do they think they’re trying to prevent?
The villain doesn’t need to know they’re wrong. But you should.
Make their logic airtight. even if it’s awful. Give them cause and effect.
─────── ✦ ───────
👿 STEP TWO: STOP GIVING THEM THE BETTER IDEOLOGY
Listen. I love a “morally gray” moment as much as anyone. But if your villain is making all the good points and the hero’s just like “no because that’s mean,” your arc is upside down.
If your villain is critiquing injustice, oppression, or inequality, make sure their methods are the problem, not their entire worldview.
✖︎ WRONG:
Villain: “The ruling class is corrupt.”
Hero: “That’s not nice.”
✔︎ RIGHT:
Villain: “The ruling class is corrupt, so I’m burning the city and everyone in it.”
Hero: “So you’re just… committing genocide now?”
Your villain can touch a real issue. Just don’t let them be the only one talking about it, or solving it with horror movie logic.
─────── ✦ ───────
🔪 STEP THREE: GIVE THEM POWER THAT COSTS THEM
The best villains lose things too. They’re not just untouchable horror dolls in sexy coats. They make bad choices and pay for them. That’s where the drama lives.
Examples:
They isolate themselves.
They sacrifice people they love.
They get what they want, and it destroys them.
They know they’re the monster, and choose it anyway.
If your villain can kill a dozen people and feel nothing, that’s not scary. That’s boring.
Let them bleed. Let them regret it. Let them double down anyway.
─────── ✦ ───────
🧱 STEP FOUR: MAKE THEM PART OF THE WORLD, NOT OUTSIDE IT
Villains shouldn’t feel like they were patched in from another genre. They should be part of the world’s logic, culture, class system, history. They should reflect something about the setting.
Villains that slap:
The advisor who upheld the regime until they decided they deserved to rule.
The noble who’s using war to reclaim stolen legacy.
The ex-hero who thinks the system can’t be saved, only reset.
The priest who truly believes the gods demand blood.
They’re not just evil, they’re a product of the same world the hero is trying to save.
─────── ✦ ───────
👁 STEP FIVE: SHOW US THEIR SELF-JUSTIFICATION
You don’t need a tragic backstory™. But you do need to show us why they think they’re right. Not just with exposition, through action.
Let us watch them:
Protect someone.
Choose their goal over safety.
Justify the unjustifiable to a character who loves them.
Refuse to change, even when given a chance.
A villain who looks into the mirror and goes “Yes. I’m correct.” is 1000x scarier than one who sobs into a journal and says “I’m so broken 🥺.”
─────── ✦ ───────
🧨 BONUS ROUND: DON’T MAKE THEM A HATRED MEGAPHONE
Especially if you’re writing marginalized characters: don’t let your villain become a mouthpiece for slurs, abuse, or extremism just to make them “evil enough.” That’s lazy. And harmful.
You don’t need real-world hate speech to build a dark character. You need power, consequence, and intent.
─────── ✦ ───────
TL;DR:
Good villains don’t need to be right. They need to be real.
Not a vibe. Not a sad boy in a trench coat. Not a trauma monologue and then a sword fight.
They need logic. They need cost. They need to scare you because you get them, and still want them to lose.
Make them dangerous. Not relatable.
Make them whole. Not wholesome.
Make them make sense.
—rin t.
// thewriteadviceforwriters
// villain critic. final boss consultant. licensed chaos goblin
P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:
✦ A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages ✦If you're unsure whether your opening is ✨doing enough✨ to hook re
I really enjoyed the new winglet! After a few years break Tui's writing actually improved a lot. Jasper is an incredibly interesting and unique character, unlike the last book's point of view, and his relationship with Ruby is great; I also loved reading about all the glimpses of everyday life in the Sky Kingdom! Especially seeing dragonets of destiny's imprisonment from a different side. I think it's really interesting how despite being enchanted to be Ruby, she is still seen as Tourmaline by Jasper. Overall, him remembering habits and quirks instead of faces is such a great detail to point on him knowing he lives Tourmaline. As well as the fact that Ruby's personality barely changed aside from fearing Scarlet! I always thought we didn't get enough of Ruby's personality outside of why she hates Peril and that she's a better queen than her predecessor. Also, Ruby loving dragonflies? I bet she was very excited to meet Cricket in that The Dangerous Gift scene. Another thing I wonder about is the secret passage tunnel in Jasper's apartment. I hope it'll be important in arc 4. Oh, and that scene from Dragonslayer! Turns out we've already met Jasper in the series, even though it was a couple of sentences that give us no clue it was him.
As for the downsides, there were some inconsistensies like Jasper being forbidden from having children but pretending his partner died in war to save his egg...? And Scarlet recognizes the said egg as Ruby's after all...? I wonder why she didn't punish Jasper.
In conclusion: great winglet. It was very enjoyable and it's nice to get more SkyWing lore. And getting a new one in 10 years (!!!) was wonderful as well!
I have NO idea why i didnt post ts here back in august when i made it but here it is
(maybe i was tryna wait till i had a FINISHED and FULLY inbetweened animation) (little did i know id procrastinate on it 😂😂✌🏾) (dw chat im still working on it)
yo also why the FUCK did bro's head stop making sense halfway through its like i was tryna do everything to NOT draw the other eye🥹🥹💔
imma fix it tho it doesnt seem too catastrophic. okay goodbye chat enjoy the animation
drew this an entire WEEK ago as a redraw for smth im OBLIGATED to redraw every yr (no im GENUINELY being held hostage broccoli to the mouth and if i dont do it its GENUINELY wraps for me bro 😂😂✌🏾) (must have been the wind)
(ok so anyways the drawing BENEATH this msg was drawn on dec 18 2024 and the drawing beneath THAT drawing was drawn on dec 5th 2023)
(hopefully i actually improved) (also the quality is straight BUNS in both of them bc tumblr cant handle the grainy effect ) (holy YAP okay here r the older drawings) (ok last one, i LOVE how the newest one turned out btw i love scruffy looking characters)(bro i JUST realized that i could have js yapped in the tags .... aight im lazy so im not gonna fix it)
