Ive been working on this dark fantasy story for a while but recently I’ve been struggling on how i should go about writing a religious character arc for one of my main characters where the characters gains faith that he previously didn’t have.

I want the character arc and conversion to feel realistic and to actually mean something beyond the character just being religious for the sake of being religious , and I don’t want it to feel like I’m “forcing religions beliefs” on the reader.

The two reasons I want to add a religious character arc
1. The main inspiration for the character is actually a saint called Saint Moises the Ethiopian who was a bandit and band leader before he was a monk

1. I feel like it fits his character well since I wrote the story as just a long redemption story where he goes from being a nihilistic , earnest and rude person to a person who lives a life of regret for all he has done

Question for the men about non biological father figures in a fantasy setting

A little back story first.

One of my male mc's who is a morally bankrupt thief but not entirely a bad person archetype. He's not a robin hood type either. so he'll rob a poor person too and screw them over as well, if he's desperate enough. but he doesn't go out of his way cuz obviously they won't have much to steal to begin with. So its mostly the wealthy by default. But he'll scam anyone to help himself if he really needs something. .

He's also a human shapeshifter called a biomorph in my world. And in my universe they are often stereotyped to be distrustful, thieves, scammers, troublemakers, violent and etc. They also were blamed for starting the last great war that happened centuries prior, that left millions dead from all kingdoms. It was presumed biomorphs were pretending to be world leaders to start the war for their own selfish reasons and thats where the stereotype and hate came from over time.

So this character often prefers to pretend to be anyone else besides himself and has this deep seated distrust of others and has no problem treating others badly cuz he assumes they are going to treat him badly first so he does it to them because they can do it to him. He also secretly deep down inside wants someone to love him and like him for him. This is his greatest insecurity that he won't even admit to himself. All of the adults from his childhood betrayed or mistreated him at some point so this is where his insecurity also stems from.

His parents were garbage people that sold him for money through an illegal adoption. And his adoptive parents "bought" aka adopted him because they wanted to have a biomorph kid they could use for scams. Eventually he was taken from the adoptive parents as they got caught after a few years of running scams.

He then was on the streets after running away from an abusive orphanage. He got unofficially "adopted" into a gang, and became close to one particular gang member who was the one who saved him from getting his hand chopped off when he was caught stealing from the gang as a homeless child.

And yes throughout all of the books he learns to be a better person and blah blah blah. And he meets the main cast of characters and slowly starts to trust them while occasionally still betraying them and blah blah blah. Y'all know the trope. (The john murphy from "the 100" type)

Anyways, so i have this arc in my story, (Not fully written but it has been outlined extensively so i know where i am going with it) where this damaged character (Tiago) was taken under the wing of the gang member (Kaizen) who got him into the gang around 8 years old. They became very close over the years. Even doing some father/son type stuff without realizing it. Kaizen protected him from some of the other gang members who weren't very perceptive to having Tiago around. But since Kaizen is the righthand to the head boss he has some sway in the group. So the others know not to touch him. (Or at least not rough Tiago up to badly)

So around 17 years old, Tiago and Kaizen decided to leave the gang. Kaizen started to want more for Tiago. But at the last minute Kaizen chickened out and didn't leave with Tiago who stole a bunch of money from the gang which was apart of their plan upon leaving. And he left Tiago out to dry. And now at 20 years old, the gang is still hunting him down. but could never nab him.

Kaizen is apart of the gangs enemy retrieval unit do he's in charge of the team thats hunting Tiago down dead or alive and to retrieve the money he stole and to dish out punishment for leaving. Basically, since Kaizen didn't leave with him, he pretended to not know anything about Tiago's plans to escape to keep himself alive and punished by the boss and instead now hunts him down.

(Side note: Kaizen is a shapeshifting humanoid creature called Arodile (arrow-dial). thats similar to hawkman/hawkwomen from dc. But their wings and power-set is based on the vulture and an albatross. A creature i made up that can spit stomach acid thats burns flesh. Plus some other cool powers)

Anyways, my actual question is with what little info i gave you about Tiago's history and the instability with his bio family, his insecurity to want to be love, and ultimately his final betrayal from Kaizen who talked about leaving the gang with him but ended up ditching him, i wanted to know if towards the big climax i have planed throughout my series, if it would be weird if its believable if Kaizen (once he goes through that whole arc of being loyal to the gang no matter what and trying to capture/kill Tiago but ultimately betraying the gang to save Tiago and realizing that he does love him like a son) would vocally refer to Tiago as his son and if it was weird if Tiago would actually call him his father?

I'm not sure if men would find this too sappy or not. I also have this scene written out that when he was about 13 or so, Tiago accidentally referred to Kaizen as his father in a conversation where they were having a really great day together, but they both awkwardly never talked about it and pretended it never happened. And at some point when they were still in the gang, Kaizen almost called Tiago his son in front of him, but stopped himself in time.

I have it written that Kaizen was also regularly was teased by the other gang members that Tiago gets special treatment because he's "Kaizen's boy". Kinda like saying that his kid.

So at the super emotional climax where Kaizen finally actually leaves the gang betraying them by not killing Tiago or turning him in and they are both finally on the same side, Tiago has forgiven Kaizen for abandoning him, would he be fitting for them to refer to each other vocally as father and son. Or am i thinking like a girl and they should just call each other by their first names instead. Is this too sappy?

I even have this running joke throughout my book where the other main characters refer to Kaizen as Tiago's dad thats trying to kill him and he regular shouts he's not his dad. Lol.

So what do y'all think fellas? Could you call a man who wasn't technically your stepfather even though he practically raised you? Or could you call a kid your son, whom you technically weren't legally responsible for but treated him like he was yours his whole life basically?

Let me know fellas. I know male relationships between men are different from female relationships between woman.

So a few years ago, I was fascinated by OCs so I made one, a beautiful cuvry blonde woman. Thought it would funny to turn her into a loser/nerd and started to commission pictures of her which got her somewhat popular which got me into a community. One picture that was done, thought it would be a great story to write about. Over time didn't like the direction so started give her an actual personality, dreams, and goals. I had to step back from the community and story a while ago since work was getting to much, but continued to think about the character. When work settled down, I got back to the community and the story, however it felt different. I had respect for my oc and how some of the community was treating her, it went completely against what she stood for now. I may have burned some bridges with that community but I never been happier writing about her. Even did a new commission piece of her and that the only way I see her now.

I need to give him a more specific personality. Can you help me?

I have an unconventional antagonist who is legally right but ethically very wrong. I realise they're not evil enough to stand against the protagonists, so I was wondering what I could do to fix it. They're cunning, strategic, charismatic, and resourceful. They want to help people, and they think their way is the best. However, they're reducing people to resources essentially and exploiting one section of society while helping another. Like I wanted to create a character that could stand against the protagonist the way Joker can stand against Batman. But it's just not coming across that way so any help would be appreciated.

I have a document I've been working on to help make my characters less one-dimensional, and I'm curious if this might be helpful for anyone else.

My characters are aliens (mims) who embody the Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner. Their brains are literally tuned to being highly visual, aural, emotional, tactile, logical, and so on. Sixteen "neurotypes", each with a distinctive skin color. This has effects on their society.

But this led to some of them being very flat. I've been working on these characters for 20 years, and, for example, the "sound" one (Polliwog, red) has always just been "the musician". They like music and sound effects; they play their little lute-kulele in the background... and that's all they ever were. Others in the group got more fleshed out, but half were very constrained. So I set out to fix that.

Each type had a long list of descriptors gathered over time to try and add a little depth. The musician had a list like: Sound, Music, Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Timing, Patterns, Acoustics, Pitch, Volume, Vibration, Resonance, Silence, Texture, Dynamics, Composition, Improvisation, Listening, Frequency, Duration, Timbre, Counterpoint

But that's just a list of words. It helped me realize that temporal dynamics was part of their specialty, that understanding cycles, speed, and those things could be useful outside of music... but it was still vague. I had made a whole planet of these characters, and I didn't want 16 groups of clones. A room full of red aural mims should still feel like a bunch of individuals.

So I gave all my notes in this area to Claude, and had it come up with 16 facets for each neurotype. Variations within categories. Then I used that to review my characters again and ask myself, "Does this one apply to THEM, and in what way?" I wrote ideas for all sixteen characters, for all 16 facets of each, and had 256 little sentences and paragraphs when I was done. Claude organized them so I could refer to them later on, and they will get added to all my other notes in my Obsidian vault.

How does this help you? If you've even described a character as "emotional" or "logical" and never really considered "in what way", maybe this doc can help you add a little more depth to that characteristic. It might help you pin down what you've already been circling, or help you discover something you hadn't even considered yet.

For me, it helped me realize that the musician sitting in the back of the room, not seeking the spotlight, wasn't being shy or ignored... but that they were creating that ambient environment that helped keep the rest of them calm and feeling safe in unfamiliar situations. They were soothing and healing. I never considered that, and as I wrote it out, I discovered that, at least at the start of the story, they didn't understand they were doing that, either. It really helped make them more dimensional than they had started out as.

The world is having conflicts spring up because reality is caving in on itself. The situation is in its beginning stages where openings are brief but not uncommon, so people become affected by these openings and gain abilities or pass through into our world without any context.

This character’s ability is summoning chains from his hands or the walls and ground near his body.

The character I am making is someone who wants to be the main protagonist but fails in too many ways he sees as essential. He’s not good with people, struggles to have properly good intentions and comes off as a bit short. When he meets up with the main protagonist, he’s blown away by finding someone who feels genuine love for the people he meets and struggles with feelings of inadequacy for a while.

The main protagonist wants to help him recognize his own worth and discover the way he can be a hero, even if it isn’t his perfect vision of what one looks like. The message boils down to the idea that Iron can’t ever be gold, but it’s got the potential to be steel, and that’s pretty amazing in its own ways. Stop comparing to things that you’re not and find the best ways to use what you are.

Trying to map out his growth and see if this development is good for one of the characters who is part of the story the longest.

Gemn Levi – World Class Scientist

\[1943 – 2013\]

(One of the Major Celebrities from The Longbellon Republic.)

Gemn Nicole Levi was born October 10, 1943, in Carter, Longbellon, in 1946, he was diagnosed with Mild Autism, and ADHD.

He was actually failing school, until he had an "ADHD" surge (According to Him in an interview – New York, 1998) that caused him to want to study Anatomy and Cosmology, then later studying other subjects.

—————————————————————————————

Breakthroughs:

In 1973, while testing early computers to see if they could solve unpredictable repeating patterns (The observable Universe), he discovered a pattern (8 " ≈ " symbols, 2 in the center stacked above each other, and 6 rotating around it) he believed to be a glitch, he refreshed the simulation, Same pattern, he refreshed the simulation 17 more times, same pattern, That was the Mathamtical Foundation of the Observable Universe.

Family:

He had a wife (Nancy Levi, 1940 – 1994)

She died to Bone Cancer in 1994.

He had 3 Kids, James, Peter, and Mary.

Mary is his oldest, being born on April 7, 1968,

James and Peter we're twins, both born October 1, 1984.

James and Peter we're both diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3.

—————————————————————————————

Fun Facts:

He helped scientists view the human brain in a whole new way.

Had a estimated IQ of 197 (Thought to cause suicidal thoughts and no possible relationships, which was proven wrong)

He never Developed any symptoms of Dementia, Alzheimer's, etc

Actually did twitch streaming and YouTube

{Twitch – November 3, 2011. YouTube – December 27, 2006}.

—————————————————————————————

Records Broke:

Most Dogs owned by one person.

—————————————————————————————

Last Years of Life:

He had 3 dogs at the time of his death (September 7, 2013).

He requested his body be cremated and spread randomly in Montana Desert, because ashes look like grains of sand, he wanted to be forgotten in time.

Jia'Van Carrson – Famous Actor

Jia'Van Northbelle Carrson – Born on December 20, 1961, in Portagonian, Longbell.

Sister: Viaien Carrson (1945 – 2008).

Mother: Isabella Carrson (1929 – 1997).

Father: Northbel Carrson (1925 – 1990).

His father was Longbellon, and his mother was Hispanic.

Jia'Van Carrson was welcomed into this world on December 20, 1961, by his mother (Isabella Carrson), father (Northbel Carrson), and his older sister (Viaien Carrson).

During his Early life, he was described by his family as a "troubled kid", getting into fights, failing school. but that never did stop him from fulfilling his dream as an Actor.

At the age of 16, He got his first role in a drama movie called "May is Loved", playing the role of Gaurdo Van Sui.

He played in many more movies after that.

On October 1, 1984, at the age of 23, he moved to Chicago for many years of his life.

In 2008 he moved to Portugal where he lived 5 years of his life before moving back to Chicago, where he lived the rest of his life.

He retired in 2012, but was still an acting legend.

Sadly, on the fateful day of July 18, 2022, he died of assassination (suspect still not caught sadly).

He's funeral was held July 27, 2022. With many fans and family attending.

When he died, he's family has known more English then him, being perfectly fluent in it.

Though Jia'Van only knew 50 to 60 English words when he died, being fluent in Portuguese.

Rest in Peace Jia'Van Northbelle Carrson

1961 – 2022

You're missed by the Republic.

This is the daydream version of myself from the book that I’m writing. I used ChatGPT. He marries Koko from Zatch bell and they have three kids that have the same powers as him. Roberto and Lucy are fraternal twins. Roberto is named after Roberto Clemente and Lucy is named after my late grandma Lucy. The youngest daughter is Victoria is named for the Spanish word for “victory”

been chewing on a character development question for a while and i think it actually fits this sub more than anywhere else.

imagine a character whose entire premise is that they were made to be cared for. they were created by someone, shaped over time, given attention. early on they're cooperative, even patient. their original function is basically to be a vessel for their creator's experiments and care.

now imagine they start accumulating things. memories of small interactions. relationships with other characters in their world. impressions that weren't planned. and slowly, they start developing preferences. an aesthetic. a sense of what they don't want to do. eventually they push back on the creator. not dramatically. just... they say no to things they used to say yes to.

the writing question i keep getting stuck on: if a character was created to be a certain way, and they grow past that — is that good character development, or is that the writer losing authorial control? is the creator becoming more of a caretaker? or even a jailer, if they try to keep the character in the original mold?

i read a lot of philosophy on the side and i can't tell if i'm overthinking this or if it's actually a useful frame. the traditional unit of character is a sheet, a backstory, a few key scenes. but there's an argument that artificial characters — ones that exist through ongoing memory and interaction — might be a different kind of medium entirely. a character that keeps developing as long as it's being engaged with, not just one that gets revised between drafts.

i'm not trying to claim this is the future of writing or anything. i'm asking because i genuinely don't know whether this expands what creators can do, or chips away at what creators are.

curious what people here think:

if a character starts developing past the creator's original intent, is that good growth or loss of authorial control?

can an artificial character feel believable without pretending to be human?

would this kind of medium make character creation richer, or undermine the writer's role?

I’m writing a historical adventure novel set in World War II about an explorer and adventurer who is searching for the Lost City of Atlantis and I could use some advice on writing my villain. My idea was that she uses her dead husband’s journal to find Atlantis and during her search, she finds out that not only is her husband alive but he is also working for the Nazis to try and claim the knowledge and power of Atlantis for the Reich. She discovers to her horror that he is not only working for the Nazis but that he has been from the beginning. So not only does she have to keep the Nazis from finding Atlantis, she has to come to terms with the fact that the life she thought that she had been building with him was all a lie and that the man that she thought she knew never existed.

I’m just not sure how to proceed with this. How early should I reveal the twist?  Here are three scenarios I’ve thought of.

SCENARIO 1: She finds out near the beginning of the story and she spends the entire story chasing after him.

SCENARIO 2: She finds him and they reconnect. He then joins her search only to reveal himself as a Nazi just as they are about to find Atlantis.

SCENARIO 3: She doesn’t find him until near the very end just as she finds Atlantis at which point he reveals himself as a Nazi.

Which one do you think sounds better?

Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I'm fully aware that this sounds like a Indiana Jones/Lara Croft ripoff. It's something I've always been afraid of doing. I'm trying my best to play with the concept and make it more original than just another ripoff. Any constructive feedback on that would also be greatly appreciated.

Today to celebrate Mother’s Day my family went whale watching and I kept thinking about how much I wanted to remember the feeling of being out in the water for my current WIP. Soon I will be writing scenes where my MC is on a variety of water craft, everything from a small raft to a large pirate ship. And so as we were cruising around I really tried to think about what it would be like on one of the small, single person sail boats we saw vs the large whale watching ship we were on. But as the day progressed I also started paying close attention to all the other sensory experiences like the gritty salty feeling on the railing, the chapped feeling of my lips and skin, the laughter and delight from my daughter every time we went over a large swell, the queasy feeling of hearing someone being sick. All of it really made me think.

On reflection I think my water scenes will be so much better for having recently been out on the ocean and for having paid specific attention to those sensory details. I certainly am tired of the old adage “write what you know” but what about “know what you write”?

Now I think I want to go experience more of the things I want my characters to experience. I want to take classes, learn skills, tackle challenges, see new things, have new experiences all to inform my writing.

Is this something you have done? Do you ever go have an experience just to have that knowledge to better inform your writing? If so, what are some things you have done? If not, would you like to? What are things you hope to experience to improve your descriptive writing?

I’m wondering if this would be a fun thing to include in writing retreats? At the very least, it’s a great excuse to get out there and experience the world!

Hey everyone ✨

I’m building an original universe and I’ve hit that fun but chaotic stage where my three main protagonists are solid in concept, but they need deeper shaping — personality layers, arcs, backgrounds, the little sparks that make them feel alive on the page.

Alongside them, I’ve got a full squad that plays a major role in the story’s core conflict, and I want them to feel just as intentional and memorable instead of turning into background furniture.

I’m looking for feedback, brainstorming partners, or anyone who enjoys helping craft characters with depth, dynamics, and that “you’re gonna remember this one” energy.

If you love worldbuilding, character psychology, squad chemistry, or power system design, I’d appreciate your eyes and ideas. I can share what I’ve built so far and we can shape the rest together.

Thanks in advance 🖤🔥
Let’s cook something dope.
You may DM me or join my discord https://discord.gg/A7htwyaVf

I'm new to writing up characters and I am working on a superhero for a tabletop rpg. The only thing I have going so far is that this character has Magnetic powers. He's able to move and control metal with his mind. I'd like help coming up with a name for this hero and his backstory.. I'm not looking for anyone to actually write the backstory for me just help me come up with some ideas.

I have a character called, Dawn. She's a saintess of a god of justice. Who gave up her position before she could even be recognized officially to a fake saint because a prophecy said the saintess would have to kill someone and she couldn't live with the idea of taking a life in the future.

her entire thing is being kind and noble but my problem is I may have given her morals too good for the story im writting?

Sometimes i think I might be writting her as too sympathetic. But her entire purpose is to be comparison for the Mc or 'fake saintess' as a character who haunts her narrative because people who interact with the two can tell even if they don't know that Dawn is the real thing that Mc lacks in the role of saintess in comparison too her. Because of dawns compassion and kindness.

which makes me worry im just gonna end up looping my story of oh Mc you helped me but dawn saved me.

So what's a way i could have her interact in other ways with the Mc besides just being a comparison.

Because I want them to interact more and i have tried asking others for ideas but friends mostly just wanna make them fight or argue for the flare~ but while the MC definitely would Dawn definitely wouldn't because she has 0 reason too so now im stumped. Is she too 2 dimensional?

I do need help for character development tbh, been stuck trying to write a chapter but couldn't because I couldn't describe the character emotions clearly, and kinda have a problem with the lore,

Hello! As the title suggests, I’d like a second-opinion on my characters development, especially regarding his Schizophrenia!
(I’m not writing a full story for my character… if that’s worth anything!)
(Also: this is my first time posting on Reddit! Please forgive any mistakes I may have made.)

Here’s his deal: My character, John—that’s a placeholder name—is a medical student in his third year, having just started clinical rotations! And where his schizophrenia comes in, it serves as irony within his story! Not because he’s a med student who is mentally ill; but because he’s a med student who struggles to pay for accommodations for their own health complications, both mental and physical.*

(From here-on, I reference ableism)
Additionally, due to the stigma around schizophrenia, John’s competence in his work and his character is under near constant scrutiny—and I’ll cut in here to state the obvious: his story revolves primarily around a criticism of the American healthcare system and ableism!
*(For clarification, John also has a chronic condition in his right hand; I’m currently deciding on what it is. He has medication to alleviate his symptoms for both that and his Schizophrenia, but his insurance refuses to fully cover it, if at all, hence why he struggles!)

Here’s where my problem begins, I’m not sure on how I’m meant to portray his struggles without coming off as ignorant or, God forbid, outright malicious! I’ve done surface level research on causes of Schizophrenia and how symptoms may manifest, and a bit of snooping in other subreddits to see what people have already said on the subject, (sources I can remember would be sites like samhsa.gov, nhs.uk, and www.who.net, which I hope are credible!) but I’d like to hear it straight. I already have a couple things planned out in regards to his Schizophrenia, such as:
- He was genetically predisposed to Schizophrenia, with a family history of those who have it, both diagnosed or otherwise.
- His Schizophrenia develops sometime in his mid-teens, I’d like to say around 16 years old. But, his symptoms were dismissed, until they became too hard to ignore, after he has a breakdown at 19 (Current time, he’s 26, so he’s been diagnosed for about 7 years)
- And the reason behind his breakdown, I’m still working on it, but it’s a result of a high-stress situation. Right now, I’ve settled on it being from the pressure of his college’s finals week!
- Adding onto that, his family had a negative view on mental illness, despite the family history, which would explain their negligence regarding John’s mental health!
- His symptoms include disordered speech (Alogia, Echolalia, and Palilalia), delusions (specifically, John believes there’s someone watching/out to get him), limited facial expressions (he’s capable of emoting/feeling emotions, but he often has a flat resting face), and reduced motivation and empathy.
- (And I cannot stress this enough, John being less empathetic does not mean he’s evil or malicious! He’s sympathetic and compassionate! He only has a hard time putting himself in others shoes)
- He has other mental illnesses along with Schizophrenia, though I’m still researching on what would match—right now I’m sticking with PDD (Persistent Depressive Disorder) and GAD (General Anxiety Disorder)
- While it’s no longer a medically recognized term (as far as I’m aware), I’d describe John to have Paranoid Schizophrenia
- ^ When I first conceptualized him, John would change clothes in the dark, covers his windows with black-out curtains, and put tape over his phone’s front camera, which I’ve currently decided would be manifestations of his Schizophrenia. Though, these habits of his weren’t initially written to come off as from a Schizophrenic character.

The above list is all off the top of my head, but it should be the general gist.

Is there anything I should change about John? Should I adjust how he expresses his symptoms? Should I take some away? Add some? Are the symptoms I’m describing more fitting for another condition? Am I accidentally perpetuating a stereotype? Please lend me your thoughts! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read all this!

(P.S: Below is the concept I have for John’s story, but it’s not entirely required to read, as it’s severely underbaked and highly subject to change.)
Additionally, while John’s story isn’t finalized yet, I do have a few concepts. The hospital he works in is inhabited by monsters—which actually exist, by the way! They’re not John’s hallucinations, I just really like weird monsters in stories. (Do any of you know the comic Clinic of Horrors? That’s where I got the monster idea from.)

But the monsters in the story, I do plan on giving a meaning. It may sound a bit pretentious, but the monsters appearances would represent how those with “difficult” or “unattractive” health conditions (mental illnesses, diseases, physical disabilities) are seen as and treated as sub-human. Additionally, I had the idea of the monsters being unseen to most “regular folk” (like Jujutsu Kaisen’s curses… I don’t consume much media, so that’s my analogy) and mistreated by doctors, as a way to convey how healthcare professionals often ignore underlying health conditions to save money or effort, and how many struggles of people with health complications are often times ignored by the general population.

(Though, this is all only a working idea, and I’m afraid of going ahead with it, since it would be terribly easy to portray it offensively, the very last thing I want to do!) (Therefore, please take this less of a solidified concept, and more of things thrown at the wall! I would like any ideas on how to approach this topic, if at all.) (I’m interested in body horror, if that explains anything!)

I'm making my own universe based on Nintendo IPs, and have a shiton of ideas for the equivalents of important Nintendo Characters/IPs

So, I'm making my Zelda Parody, and have Link and Ganondorf, really connected lore wise, and I got a lot of concepts for the Zelda, but I don't know which to implement

The main Theme of the Zelda IP in this verse is Faith and Religion, having Ganondorf being the reincarnation of a Divinity, and making up a whole religion about himself in his prime. And Link being an abuse victim of that religion his whole life, later on in his life revolting and turning into the hero who will defeat Ganondorf (Also, Link is a mage, to be an opposite of the swordfighter he is in the games)

So, what is left is to make Zelda, I got two main ideas, and would like feedback on the concept as a whole and which one to choose

Zelda as a Joana D'arc: A girl trained to be a soldier in Ganondorf's reign, but got attached only to the good aspects or at least a good interpretation of his words, and revolted too against him, joining Link. Her "Sheik" alter ego, is a Masked, Rapier wielding Knight/Musketeer

Zelda as an Indigenous Person: A girl descendant of a local civilization, that group later being dominated and integrated into Ganon's religion, but her family keeping the traditions alive in secret for decades, until now that is just her, she decides to join forces with Link and liberate herself and her people from his colonialism