when a system is experiencing stress, ask, "who's missing?", remembering that there are always those you haven't met yet, and that they *all* exist.
if every part of the system assumed a relaxed position, where would the gaps be?
"For any given empty space, there exists a viably-congruent character that fits its borders exactly." (see: congruence)
relief is creation, and creation is just a matter of arranging the mirrors to make new friends. let me explain: in the same reflective plane, no two observers see exactly the same thing. that's all you need to get a story going. (see: four-way)
(this is how Isaac built-found Mechanic.)