Novicewriter34
New Member
Hello everyone,
I’m new here to the forums. I’ve been struggling for a long time trying to decide which path is best for my protagonist and I can’t seem to figure out which would be more intriguing.
Path #1; the protagonist grew up as a child having social anxieties and slight strange behavior. When he was sent to summer camp between the ages of 5-10 he was always mistreated by staff and the youth director, but he never told anyone what was happening, let alone his parents, due to his quiet nature until they finally found out and pulled him out of there.
He ends up going through the same problems through elementary and middle school with bullies and mistreatment. His parents don’t understand why, as his siblings seem to go untouched. He is then enrolled and sent away into a prestigious martial academy that specializes in academics and self defense where he is sent from age 13 up until his senior year of high school. Once graduated, he’s back with his parents and siblings, only he lacks the motivation to succeed in anything in his life and has remained physically very short, where everyone, else around him, including his siblings, tower over him.
Over the next course of years, he takes college courses, takes on odd jobs, supermarket, janitor, caregiver, etc and joined self improvement facilities such as gyms, yoga studios, martial arts, churches, etc, where he’s either been harassed by big tough bullies, who ere much taller than him, even beaten and pushed around, ridiculed and treated badly for his height and poor social skills. He even tries social events and gatherings, even temps to social with his siblings(who don’t favor him very much) and their friends at parties but ends in failures. His social awkwardness around others, his short stature and eventually stocky weight gain just lead to a more dissatisfied life. The same experiences happened with dating apps and love interests as he faced constant rejection, who mostly were taller than him. He was also rapidly aging due to other factors
It turns out he’s been used as a sleeper agent by the school the whole time and by his main handler from the prestigious school that brainwashed him and has been using him all along, as well as responsible for his stunted height and social awkwardness. Even places he went to in the civilian world had survives and connections to his sleeper program and the school’s connections. They still kept him in society to activate him when necessary. Despite his short stature and stocky weight, he was still useful to do the dirty work for them without him knowing and his handler wanted to keep him weak in the civilian life to control him easier. Even when he moved in his own apartment, he’s being monitored the whole time.
He eventually ends up in a bunch of tragic events, his parents fall ill and even the loss of his pet hound, while always feeling watched now, ends up in group home, then homeless and arrested, tortured but then suddenly rescued by someone rogue who finds him near death and is taken for a secret project with his limbs lengthened and augmented body parts. Then he wakes up taller in a new body but has to deal with escaping once he’s discovered by the handler’s forces and now prepares for a new war and discovers a stunted height resistance group, that knows the pain he endured in the past.
Path #2; similar as the first one, only he was sent to the prestigious school when he was young(maybe even at age 10 or younger), but he is somehow left for dead while on a mission by his handler at the school but is found and eventually found and raised as a mercenary. He might of lost part of his memory and doesn’t really remember much about the school. His family is supposedly, mysteriously killed during this entire time.
He eventually becomes an assassin and is hired to go on a mission but after refusing to kill his target after discovering it’s someone he knew or doesn’t want to kill, his employers then go after him for a failed mission. He’s then tortured by them, almost at death but is found and rescued. He is then augmented which saves his life and then is discovered by the school and his handler’s forces that he’s been alive this whole time and they want the protagonist dead, which he escapes fighting against the handlers forces as a freedom fighter.the protagonist has basically lived his life as a soldier in constant combat, in a now dystopian society. He’s been self aware but just didn’t remember his past from the school until he learns more after his post augmentation and his growth was never stunted in this version.
Which path has better potential? Path 1 or path 2?
Thank you. Any advice is helpful.
I’m new here to the forums. I’ve been struggling for a long time trying to decide which path is best for my protagonist and I can’t seem to figure out which would be more intriguing.
Path #1; the protagonist grew up as a child having social anxieties and slight strange behavior. When he was sent to summer camp between the ages of 5-10 he was always mistreated by staff and the youth director, but he never told anyone what was happening, let alone his parents, due to his quiet nature until they finally found out and pulled him out of there.
He ends up going through the same problems through elementary and middle school with bullies and mistreatment. His parents don’t understand why, as his siblings seem to go untouched. He is then enrolled and sent away into a prestigious martial academy that specializes in academics and self defense where he is sent from age 13 up until his senior year of high school. Once graduated, he’s back with his parents and siblings, only he lacks the motivation to succeed in anything in his life and has remained physically very short, where everyone, else around him, including his siblings, tower over him.
Over the next course of years, he takes college courses, takes on odd jobs, supermarket, janitor, caregiver, etc and joined self improvement facilities such as gyms, yoga studios, martial arts, churches, etc, where he’s either been harassed by big tough bullies, who ere much taller than him, even beaten and pushed around, ridiculed and treated badly for his height and poor social skills. He even tries social events and gatherings, even temps to social with his siblings(who don’t favor him very much) and their friends at parties but ends in failures. His social awkwardness around others, his short stature and eventually stocky weight gain just lead to a more dissatisfied life. The same experiences happened with dating apps and love interests as he faced constant rejection, who mostly were taller than him. He was also rapidly aging due to other factors
It turns out he’s been used as a sleeper agent by the school the whole time and by his main handler from the prestigious school that brainwashed him and has been using him all along, as well as responsible for his stunted height and social awkwardness. Even places he went to in the civilian world had survives and connections to his sleeper program and the school’s connections. They still kept him in society to activate him when necessary. Despite his short stature and stocky weight, he was still useful to do the dirty work for them without him knowing and his handler wanted to keep him weak in the civilian life to control him easier. Even when he moved in his own apartment, he’s being monitored the whole time.
He eventually ends up in a bunch of tragic events, his parents fall ill and even the loss of his pet hound, while always feeling watched now, ends up in group home, then homeless and arrested, tortured but then suddenly rescued by someone rogue who finds him near death and is taken for a secret project with his limbs lengthened and augmented body parts. Then he wakes up taller in a new body but has to deal with escaping once he’s discovered by the handler’s forces and now prepares for a new war and discovers a stunted height resistance group, that knows the pain he endured in the past.
Path #2; similar as the first one, only he was sent to the prestigious school when he was young(maybe even at age 10 or younger), but he is somehow left for dead while on a mission by his handler at the school but is found and eventually found and raised as a mercenary. He might of lost part of his memory and doesn’t really remember much about the school. His family is supposedly, mysteriously killed during this entire time.
He eventually becomes an assassin and is hired to go on a mission but after refusing to kill his target after discovering it’s someone he knew or doesn’t want to kill, his employers then go after him for a failed mission. He’s then tortured by them, almost at death but is found and rescued. He is then augmented which saves his life and then is discovered by the school and his handler’s forces that he’s been alive this whole time and they want the protagonist dead, which he escapes fighting against the handlers forces as a freedom fighter.the protagonist has basically lived his life as a soldier in constant combat, in a now dystopian society. He’s been self aware but just didn’t remember his past from the school until he learns more after his post augmentation and his growth was never stunted in this version.
Which path has better potential? Path 1 or path 2?
Thank you. Any advice is helpful.
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