Moonreacher Concepts

You have probably seen on my previous post that I have started a new story, Moonreacher. I am here to share my ideas and introduce my cast! All of it is currently conceptual, so everything here is subject to change, but I'm really happy with what I have so far!

World-Building

The main thing I wanted to focus on before delving too deeply into the plot was the magic system. I was inspired partly by the Grishaverse series, but also by the Avatar: The Last Airbender world. I felt like people in this world should be able to manipulate different elements, but not just the water, ground, fire, and air of ATLA. I wanted to expand upon it, past the typical "elements" that a lot of stories go for. My ultimate decision was that elements like air, water, electricity, etc. would be considered "easy" elements to manipulate, whereas things like light, magnetism, and organic materials would be more difficult. There would even be rare elements that not a lot of people could get a handle on.

This is an important part of the magic system to consider, that the element manipulation is not particularly unique to each person like in the Grishaverse or ATLA. There was a point in evolution where humans simply developed the ability to manipulate the world around them. I consider the magic system to operate like skills or hobbies. Some people like to use some elements more, and are better at using some more than others. Theoretically, a particularly talented individual could use any and all of the elements. I have decided that I want most people to have a specific affinity for an element, however. So most commonly, people will have an affinity for elements like the air, water, fire, etc., but I've been thinking a lot about how the manipulation of elements is taught, and so those are the most common (and easiest ones) to teach, so it makes sense for those affinities to also be common. I'm also thinking about the progression of learning, so things like electricity and fire are connected to a degree; to manipulate fire, you should also be able to create a spark to make that fire. 

I want to expand on the concept of organic manipulation. This includes not only plants and such, but also blood, flesh, and bone. Now again, I must specify that having an affinity for these things doesn't force someone into a medical field, and they really don't have to use them at all. It might just be easy for them to manipulate it. They still require a medical degree to go into the medical field, and not all doctors need to be expert manipulators of organics to get by. It simply would give them a leg up and an additional tool in their proverbial belt. Something special, though, that I want to do with this is mutations (still debating if this is the best word for it): the ability of a doctor/organic professional to apply an extravagant body modification to a person. This could be anywhere from long ears to wings to hooves. Logistically, this would be super expensive, so only the most rich could afford it, but I see it as a sort of fun body mod in this world like piercings or tattoos: completely optional and for someone's own enjoyment.

Another thing I wanted to consider in this world is the power of genetics. Do two parents with affinities for fire have a greater chance of having a child with a draw towards fire as well? I suppose I'll answer that with another question: do two athletic parents have a greater chance of having an athletic child? The answer, much like in our own world, comes down to the age old question of nature versus nurture. A child with athletic parents is likely to follow their lifestyle, whether it's because they assume that's just what people do or because the parents are good at teaching their hobbies. So too would fire-wielding parents know how to teach their kid to control fire when they have such a good grasp on it themselves. A teacher has many students to look after and pass information to, but parents can spend one-on-one time with their kid, mentoring them in any given element manipulation style. But is it genetic? Not likely. Twins separated at birth have the same spread of affinity randomness as the rest of the population.

On the topic of genetics, I want to discuss another fun thing about this world I have come up with, and that's the concept of this evolutionary change being marked by a gradual change in hair colors. Blonde hair, over time, became gold for some people; auburn became bloody red, even then becoming pink; black became blue or green. Over time, the spectrum of hair colors blossomed, and you can at this point look over a crowd and see every color of the rainbow. It's just normal in this world. 

At least to some. I have some ideas about religious groups and stuff that believe differently and will all bleach their hair white in protest, but I haven't nailed those down quite yet. I do have some ideas for religious groups, but this is simply a very extremist group who reject the elemental manipulation and the hair colors along with it, as science has proven the two happened from the mutation of the same gene. They reject both on principle.

But that's all I'm willing to say for now... ;)

Cast

The main part of this story will focus on friendship and sisterhood. I, of course, was inspired by The Cheetah Girls for how they all come together. The story will revolve around a group of five girls. Two will be the traditional Galleria and Chanel "childhood besties" who started this whole thing. The other two will be the Dorinda, brought on for their skills and mutual interests. And the last one, the titular "Moonreacher" will be the Aquanetta, the one who moves to town and joins the group. I think this will be effective for storytelling so that, as the new person is indoctrinated, she will learn about the dynamics within this group and how the vigilante group operates. 

I feel I should clarify that the local law enforcement doesn't like this vigilante group because they operate outside of the law (why would they not?) and call them "The Reachers" because they are overreaching past what's acceptable. So while I won't necessarily have them go by these names, their affinities will give them a "-reacher" title for their respective books. 

So this one will have a focus on the new girl in town who has an affinity towards light manipulation. It tends to be a cool sort of light that gives "moon" vibes, hence my working title of Moonreacher. Her whole family can manipulate light (see earlier discussion), as they find it useful. She moves from a very small, remote town with her parents and brother to a big city because her brother has received a scholarship to a special school where he gets further affinity training. This is where I'm trying my hardest to deviate from the My Hero Academia world, as I don't necessarily want it to be heroic training, but perhaps more like knights, learning how to use their specialized weapons to protect their community. Anyway, this girl doesn't really get along with her brother, and as such, doesn't want to use any element manipulation because she doesn't want to be like him, all egotistical and full of himself. But she gets brought into this group by chance and finds that ignoring her power and abilities could be dangerous, as it leaves her mostly defenseless. She's embarrassed, but like any good sisterhood story, the girls take her in and help her reach her potential. I only have nicknames for the girls (for planning purposes) and a general vibe about them, but I have decided to call her Baby Pink. This is due to her newbie status of the group and bare minimum training when it comes to elemental manipulation, as well as her pale pink hair. For each of them, I have created a collage to show off their style and vibes:

However, this is a story about two girls: the new girl and the leader of the group. I have taken to calling her Magenta for her hair (that's a theme you'll begin to notice). She has a tendency to micromanage, but that makes her very good at what she does: getting everyone on track. Despite this, she is a bit reluctant to be in the whole vigilante scene. She's only doing it because her best friend wants to, and who is she to make her do it alone? I consider Magenta one of the main characters, not only because she's the de facto leader that everyone turns to, but because she has a very very rare affinity: the ability to manipulate time. This is one of those super rare ones I mentioned earlier. How could she let her friend get in danger by herself when she can just swoop in and create a time dilation bubble? (I'll need to make a completely separate post about how she does it) But that doesn't change the fact that all she wants from life is to be normal. Sure, she's a bookworm and discovered this ability from an old unused textbook in her school library, but she would have liked nothing more than to keep it on the down low. Now everyone in town has an eye on her, and she doesn't like it. It makes her anxiety go haywire, and she worries every day about being caught. That isn't to say she doesn't use time to do her bidding, though. She often feels like there's not enough time in the day, so she slows time around herself to get through her homework or books to still have time to shop, sew, hang out with friends, and do her vigilante duties. She would love to develop it further, but she can't seek out answers while trying to hide. Overall, she's a very conflicted character, and I love her for that. Her past plays a major part in the story, so I can't get too far into it. If I am able to write this book, her book would most likely be next: Timereacher. 

I mentioned that Magenta got into the vigilante business for her best friend, and this is her: Bluejay. She ultimately gives me blue vibes, but I named her this for her wings. With an affinity for air and wind, wings were the only logical option for a body mod. (and for this same reason will one day have a book named Skyreacher) She is from one of these majorly rich families that was able to pay for the modification. Quite frankly, there are more than a few teens going around in this area with mods. The city has a very prestigious boarding school, so those who can afford that can generally also afford the mods. But despite being well off, Bluejay has a very strong sense of justice, and hates to see people suffer. The laws in this world state that if you have a mod that helps your mobility, you're allowed to use it. So she's the only one of The Reachers who isn't going outside the law. It's easy for her to help someone out by flying in to save them if she's not going to face any repercussions. Will that create some tension between her and her bestie? Who can say? But she always wants to see the good in the world. And when someone as kind and loving as Bluejay asks you to do something, you generally do it.

Where I see Magenta and Bluejay as the goody-goodies of the group, the next two are the complete opposites. I actually consider Plum to be the opposite side of the same coin as Magenta. Where Magenta is born into being unique, Plum has to fight tooth and nail to get there. Her affinity for electricity is one of the most common affinities out there, and she hates how bland it is. She keeps trying her hand at every manipulation style she can find, but nothing clicks. Everyone can manipulate electricity! How boring is that? She might be slightly better, might find it easier, but there are still so many people who are exactly the same. So she does everything in her power to make herself stand out. But how can she with one of the old, boring hair colors? Purple hair dye, it is! But don't tell anyone she cares that much. She's trying to cultivate an image for herself. That includes going to the hottest parties, talking with the coolest people, and getting into every sort of trouble for fun. She's exactly the vigilante type: willing to say no to authority. 

The last and most prickly of the bunch is Plum's friend: Goldie. Curiously enough, she's also the one who brought them all together. The book will most likely not show how they all got together, but one day, the school was having an event. Maybe a pep rally, maybe a field trip. But either way, there is an emergency of some sort, and everyone is evacuated. It comes down to these four who stay behind to help the stragglers. "But why Plum and Goldie?" you may ask. Well, Goldie was recently the victim of assault, and because of this, never wants anyone to feel helpless like she did. A lot of people talk about the difference between "The world is cruel, so I have to be cruel to get by" versus "The world is cruel, so I won't be" mentalities, and I think Goldie falls squarely into the latter. She tried her best for so long to live up to so many expectations and put on that "perfect girl" facade, but couldn't help falling in more ways than one. She received no help for her family and is becoming a vigilante to build a better world and spite them. So she dragged Plum into saving her fellow students that day and ran into Magenta and Bluejay who had the same thought. And you know what? They worked pretty well together. Were they immediately friends? No, of course not. They were from different crowds entirely. But they couldn't fight that itch to help, and as it turned out, they were better as a team. So now they work together. And it's all because Goldie, who never got along with anyone, imagines a better world. 

I truly love my girls so much, and I hope you do too! I have a lot of ideas for how I want this story to go down, and I'm hoping to post more in the future about it. But if you were curious, these are the pictures that I initially found that sparked the story. All pictures used in this post were found on Pinterest!

(yes, I know the Goldie picture is AI, and it saddens me deeply to use it, but I have to admit it inspired me)