Writer's Blog: Hope and the Lack Thereof

I fell asleep at my desk last night before posting Friday’s update. Weirdly, my back feels great? There might be benefits to sleeping upright instead of half-falling off the bed in starfish position like I usually do. Regardless, as of this morning I’m finished with Chapter 4 and currently editing Chapter 5!

(This post also serves as a final request for any feedback on these two chapters, which you can submit here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/63288760)

I’ve discussed how the relationship system now works with Button’s parents, but my focus during Chapter 3 was primarily on Button’s dynamic with John. In Chapter 4, I wanted to make sure that Hope’s absence was more keenly felt. Television shows often feature scenes where a family gathers in a hospital to support an admitted member—this inevitably leads to an arc of reconciliation, where two alienated family members put aside their past disagreements in order to come together and support someone they both love. Given this unstated narrative expectation, I always found Hope and Button’s inability to support Nick together especially tragic, but I didn’t really do a great job of communicating that in the text. The hospital scenes have been heavily reworked, with many of Button’s thoughts setting the remaining variables for their relationship with Hope.

Despite only appearing in a flashback, Hope actually ended up with more variables than John! Which makes sense, I suppose. Given everything that’s happened, there’s no way for Hope and Button’s relationship to not be complicated (even if my first draft didn’t reflect that as well as I wanted).

Hope’s Relationship Variables:

Hfear – Button is terrified of Hope and Hope’s powers.

Hworry – Button worries about Hope’s wellbeing, and for this reason is reluctant to see their mother again.

Hblame – Button blames Hope for The Incident.

Hguilt – Button blames themself for The Incident (this also sets the guiltybuttonvariable to true, which becomes relevant during the meeting with Sohvi).

Habandon – Button feels that Hope abandoned them by leaving, and that she instead should’ve stayed and tried to fix things.

Hnope – Button never wants to see Hope again.

Hmiss – Button has been trying to convince Hope to come visit.

Hforgiven – Button has forgiven Hope for almost killing them.

Hangry – Button is both angry and hungry. (Not really. This variable actually tracks whether or not Button is still upset at Hope.)

Hbrs – Button is in favor of Hope getting the BRS.

Many of these “variables” are actually hidden stat bars where a higher level indicates a higher intensity, such as Hfear, Hbrs, and Hangry. And whereas John’s variables mostly focus on Button’s current attitude towards their father, a lot of Hope’s variables are about her past relationship with Button and are now set during the flashback that Button can share with Gray.

Hope’s Past Relationship Variables:

Hbest – Button and Hope were each other’s “favorite” before The Incident (regardless of their current relationship).

Hclose – Button and Hope were close before The Incident, but not exceptionally so.

Hworst – Button and Hope had an extremely contentious relationship before The Incident.

Hdistant – Button and Hope grew more and more distant over time, with Button noticing that their mom grew more distant once they reached junior high.

Hbest, Hclose, and Hworst are all exclusive, but can be combined with Hdistant depending on how observant your Button was as a preteen (also how moody, as some Buttons were easier for Hope to be around than others). One would think that fourteen variables would be enough for a character who doesn’t show up in person until the second half of the book, but, no, there’s more! Hweekly, Hmonthly, Hholidays, and Hghost track how often Button and Hope video chat.

So, Hope has a grand total of eighteen variables that you can mostly mix and match to customize her and Button’s relationship. John only has eleven variables, which means he comes in second place to his wife—just like his sexiness ranking by Ments Magazine.