Musical Inspiration Challenge 2! Part 14: The Development

The Development is basically how we set the stage for future stuff. Adventures lead into other adventures, and closing a door on one problem usually results in others cropping up. It’s the nature of the world, and of dramatic structure, that things lead into other things. Until the day when the world rolls up like a scroll, we probably won’t see the end of this sort of thing.

Now, this song itself is a character song. This is a common thing in Japanese animation, and less common elsewhere. Basically, it’s a song designed as if the characters themselves were singing it, almost as if the series were a musical. It’s meant to give us some insight into the character’s minds, and also, to be either tragic or awesome.

I know this isn’t really the place, but here’s an example from a modern movie (and a fantasy one) 

In the case of I’m The One, its about a pair of villains in the web animation series RWBY: Emerald, an illusionist thief, and Mercury an assassin with robot legs.

I grabbed the lyrics below from Metrolyrics, but unfortunately, they didn’t specify when our male singer (representing Mercury) or our female singer (representing Emerald) are singing.

Welcome to the bloodbath jump into the tub
Fist-fight, death-match come and join the club
Kick-start your face with a metal-clad boot
You should give up now your retaliation's moot

I'll run circles round ya I can touch the sky
I' m gonna make ya hurt and I'm gonna make you cry
You want to mess around? Well come on let's go
I got no time to waste let's start the show

I'm the one that your mama said
'Don't mess with them or you'll end up dead
That type they don't follow any rules'

You're looking tall you're looking tough
I'm sorry dude, it's not enough
Your girlfriend's purse won't help you win this duel

The bigger they are then the more that they bleed
The deeper the scars that won't heal
Buckets of pain as they lie there in shame
Knowing how true defeat feels

I'm the one
That was born in a nightmare a murderer's son
got no gun
But I gleam like a blade and I'm harder than iron

I'm the one
Who rose out of filth and was loved by no-one
Delusion
I'll steal til your blind and defeat you from inside your mind

You're still standing up? Well let's go another round
Singin' king of pain and you're gonna get crowned
You like the way I dress? Yeah i know I'm fine
The blood's gonna stain but it won't be mine

Just chill here while I drop into the brush
See you when I land and you're gonna feel the crush
Lay right down and grab a little rest
I guess you didn't know that you were dealing with the best

You shoulda stayed at home today
This fisticuff won't go your way
This confrontation isn't just for school

It might be hard to hear me say
Kicking your ass is child's play
I hope you're not crushed by this ridicule

A slap on the wrist and a kick to the chin
A hint of the flavor of steel
No one to blame it's the end of the game
The humiliation is real

I'm the one
That was ripped from the earth and exposed to the sun
Overrun
By the hate and the beatings defiled by a father

I'm the one
I'll race with your eyes and you'll never outrun
Illusions
Will conquer your mind and will make you fulfill my design

Now, how do we use this as a development? How do we use it, indeed? Well, the beauty of it is that it adds complexity, and since we build an adventure like building a house (with a plan) we can retroactively seed the stuff back throughout the rest of the adventure.

Now, we decided our bad guy relies on fear and grinds the hope out of his charges. This by its nature requires muscle and the ability to deceive. Now, as a guy who specializes in fear, illusion and misdirection isn’t far off, but what if he had say, apprentices or servants? What if he had a daughter? Someone who desperately wanted her father to achieve his dream of reaching their final after life?

An illusionist in her own right perhaps? We can seed her existence throughout the adventure, have her be mentioned, perhaps have her and one of the bad guys greatest warriors (sent as an escort, or a lover) are conveniently not there. Maybe she set up several of the illusions however that vexed their charge, or the heroes themselves. 

You don’t need to be there physically to have a presence, and the idea that Daddy’s little girl might be out there to resurrect him, or carry on his terrible work, is definitely something that might get the players dreading, or seeking her out. Or at least, they might not be surprised if she shows up.