A Series of Great Ideas (Or Not): Character Breakdown · 8:54pm Jul 30th, 2019
"A Series of Great Ideas (Or Not)" has quite the cast of characters, between the two leads, Shining Armor and Flam, and the supporting cast, which includes Starlight Glimmer, Rarity, among others. Here's a breakdown of the main cast, a.k.a. The Unicorn Squad.
Shining Armor - The lead protagonist of the story. He's the brains of the operation, leading himself and Flam on their adventure, although often misguided. He loves the life that he has (his wife, his child, his job), and is afraid to lose it, which motivates him to take more extreme measures throughout the story. Unless the situation is extremely dire, he usually remains relatively level-headed and calm, although he can often get agitated and refuses to take the full blame for his actions. Even though he doesn't necessary want to, he's willing to go through the most insane things to save his life, whether it be erasing a mind or leaping through a window. Throughout the story, he grows to value his companion more and more, and begins to rely more on his friends for help and support.
Flam - The deuteragonist of the story. A performer and con-pony, Flam is always improvising and coming up with schemes, even if they don't always work. His mind and his mouth are always going, he's very expressive, and just a tad cocky. He's got very high highs, and very low lows; when something is working out, he's very happy and excitable, but when he's in trouble, he often panics and assumes the worst. Not many ponies value Flam at the start, including Flim, seeing him as just a con-pony and looking down on him for his various failed schemes., and the many mishaps he causes along the way. However, as he goes along on the adventure, he becomes a full-fledged, valued member of the team and finds friends who recognize his worth and skill in specific areas. He's also bisexual, blatantly hitting on Shining Armor and Rarity at various points in the story.
Starlight Glimmer - A supporting character in the story. Starlight is the first pony Shining Armor and Flam confess to. Though she has a much more rational mind than the stallions, she's still willing to try more unethical methods to help Shining and Flam. She's their go-to when they need a spell cast, and a voice of reason that guides them through the experience. She also doesn't sugarcoat the truth, and readily calls ponies out when things go wrong. While she tends to get frustrated, she also recognizes that everypony, including herself, makes mistakes. Her and Flam bond throughout the adventure.
Rarity - A supporting character in the story. Rarity, like Starlight, acts as a voice of reason throughout the story. However, unlike Starlight, Rarity is much more opposed to unethical methods. She tries to find the simplest, calmest, most sensible way to do things, and doesn't see the need for crazy, overdone schemes. If somepony else does something potentially illegal, she's fine with it, as long as she doesn't have to do it herself. She also adopts her "Detective Rarity" persona throughout the story.
That's the main cast! Shining Armor and Flam seemed like such an interesting and random combination to me, and I wanted to see where I could take it! I feel like they play off each other really well, and their chemistry hopefully shows throughout the story.
Chapter 10 released today, so check out the story!
