#altho he is a great antagonist

[dovesick]

burnet always wins

#anthro art #furry art #sfw furry #anthro #fox furry #my art #various animals #my ocs #he’s not the best person #somewhat of an antagonist in the story #altho it’s realism so no real antagonists #he used to be in the band with fluffy & orzo & the white stag #very close friends with orzo #not a great influence tho

[atopvisenyashill]

What other projects have you watched with got and hotd actors and how do you like their performance outside of got/hotd?

I’ve watched probably….most of Matt Smith’s filmography on account of watching Doctor Who in high school and falling in love with him. I think he’s incredibly talented and charismatic and genuinely perfect casting as Daemon. I had also seen Paddy Considine in that movie Pride altho I didn’t recognize him as Viserys lmao but i adore that movie, you should watch if you haven’t seen it, it’s about the Lesbians And Gays Support The Miners movement and I definitely cried watching it aksjdjd. I also watched all of bates motel as it was airing which olivia is in (and also the sound of metal, which she and riz ahmed are amazing in, and also riz steven and chadwick were robbed that year smh). olivia and matt are actually The Reason i started hotd lol i didn’t intend to watch it but then i was like oh…..but……….i love them aksjsjs.

I have technically seen Rhys in several things but he’s Fine. I am still mad about him having zero chemistry with Lucy Liu in Elementary and ruining an entire season by having negative rizz. why am i supposed to believe that man is like some great love of watson’s life when they don’t even look like they like each other. rhys count your fuckijg days. i’ve also seen graham mactavish in a number of things, the first being Outlander and he was like, one of the best antagonist characters in the show, was both excited and devastated when his character died hah he has one of my favorite lines in the show which is “the idea of grinding your corn does tickle me” 💀💀😂😂

For the main show, I had seen Charles Dance in Phantom (he’s really good even tho it’s a more romantic take on the story but that’s fine i still love it!!!), Lena, Peter, & Mark in like Most Of Their Filmographies bc i was already a fan of them, who hasn’t seen at least five Sean Bean deaths, and I’d seen a few Alexander Siddig, Ciaran Hinds, Iain Glenn, & Indira Varma in a bunch of stuff too and loved them - Kingdom of Heaven & Syriana & DS9, Persuasion & The Terror, Resident Evil, Kama Sutra.

I’ve seen Gwendoline, Elyes (he was Rakharo, rip to an icon), Thomas Brodie, Sophie, Maisie, Kit, Richard, Jason (Momoa), Michelle, and Tobias in a bunch of other stuff since I started the show. I think Gwendoline is incredibly talented, as are Sophie and Maisie. Richard imo usually needs a good script to shine - like Rocketman? amazing. Eternals? Meh - and Kit is uh. Sometimes he has good chemistry with other actors. I paid real money to see him in Pompeii and my sibling holds a grudge against me to this day for that one aksjd. Jason Momoa has a tendency to just play different versions of himself but the movie Red Road Redemption is real good, it’s about MMIW & his acting abilities really shine, I’d love to see him in more serious or more romantic roles and less action roles. I cannot praise Tobias Menzies more highly, hes in Outlander, The Terror, and the Crown and he’s just sublime in all of them and you’d never know it by the way they wrote Edmure. OH SHIT also obviously Jacob Artist in IWTV is amazinnnnnnng EGOT INCOMING and Nathalie Emmanuel was REALLY FUN in The Invitation!!!

Probably my favorite of everyone is Peter Dinklage tho, he’s very serious & choosy with his roles bc he doesn’t want to play a stereotype and it’s made his filmography just *muah* like it’s so interesting and varied and he puts his whole heart into every role however goofy or serious it is. i love him, i want him to be the romantic lead in more stuff bc i’m a romantic and also like, a pervert and he’s so handsome aksksk.

Also Ciaran Hinds & Amanda Root Persuasion >>>>>>>>>>> Those Other Two

#asks #anons #i think that’s everyone….. #nathalie was in like 2 seconds if the misfits so i recognized her but i hadn’t seen her in anything #i can’t even remember the first thing i saw dinklage in bc i remember watching narnia and going ‘hey i know him!!’ #i think penelope? which is the perfect movie i’m dead ass. by the time i was like 12 i was watching his backlist bc i loved him. #i have seen last christmas which was like. fine. #i also want richard to kiss more men on screen but that’s bc RICHARD clearly wants to kiss more men on screen akskskdkd.

[deathits3lf]

wolf359. its grasped me again.

I have become obsessed again. To the point I wrote a ABSURDLY LONG ramble about Warren Kepler. I wrote it in discord messages and I will not be taking the time to fix the typos. There are so many.

But yes, I wrote a... character analysis? It's honestly just about the last season.

⚠️Major spoilers ahead. For last season, the finale, anywhere past 45 basically. If you have not completed wolf 359 entirely, well, this will be the end all be all of spoilers.

oooh. I should put a highlight here: but he assumed it was a "sorry, you are wrong and I am right, and you are going to die, and perhaps you deserve to in my eyes." when it really meant "You are right. I love you. I would do anything for your safety even if you may never know I was doing it for you." <<<< i love this part. im so smart. squints. im actually not but i was onto somethin

And be warned that it is long. Google docs says 1563 words. I'll put it under this read more.

Have fun. I hope this is any bit comprehensible.

--------------------------

okokok. so. warren kepler. i could talk about this man for HOURS, i swear. but i need to START somewhere so why not start at his death. I love thinking aboiut it... and by that i mean i hate thinking about it. buts its great. so tragic. i love characters dying like that; they are introduced as a douche. dickhead, antagonist, honestly villain. not likeable, really. (by that i mean well written but the character themselves being THE WORSTTT) (although i love him i DID used to HATE HIM) (i always joked about wanting to throw him out of an airlock... no seriously. i didnt know. help) 

BUT, throughout the show, despite them being a dick, we are shown some moments of them almost.. being human. cause they are. everyone, despite how mean or stuckup or 'emotionless' they are, is human, and humans feel emotions. 

okok, so at this point some hate em, some love em (altho mostly lovehate), but overall they are.... antagonistic but with the potential. not enough potential however.- (quick sidetrack here, i swear i get back to my point eventually) 

The Last Season. oml, the first time I watched it, before I knew what kepler was doing, I thought,"kepler is acting weird". kepler is acting almost nervous, and something just felt off. yes it was because cutter was there, kepler was used to being in charge and aggressive about it to make his subordinates feel scared and therefore listen to him. which in the last season, is clear where he learned that from; cutter. but now cutter was back and he was the subordinate and scared one. he wasnt The Most Powerful One There anymore. BUT ALSO 

Maybe he acted weirdly because,,listen,, he was already planning something against them. it makes sense. he was sort of kept in the dark, but he knew something was going to happen.

He had to watch his crew like that, despite having just held a mutany against him, he still knew them. they were stuck in space together, they knew eachother, but also JACOBI. kepler interacting with mindcontrolled jacobi was. thats a rant for later on. 

But. He had just had his morals rocked. His right hand man, his most loyal companion, betrayed him, tried to get him killed, he lost his other teammate- no, friend, and well, if you look closely enough he really had some time to think about it all. 

And thats where he decided that he was not on the side he always had been on, the one he worked for for god knows how many years, the one who he had based his entire mindset on, and maybe he realized that his idea of a bigger picture didnt line up with Goddard's. 

Maybe he was doing it for Jacobi. and maxwell. Maybe he was doing it for the whole crew. or the whole world. Maybe he really, truely, cared. deep down.

I also think that he wasnt planning to make it out alive. 

He didnt want to face it afterwards. He convinced himself that this was the only way- that he couldn't possibly have made it out alive and that sacrificing himself for the greater good was the only way.

He could have survived that. The hardest part would have been convincing the others to let him on the homebound ship. (the sol i believe?) jacobi begged him to stay. oml that scene. another rant for later on. 

But going back to my first point- I love that they really gave you one last reason to care about his death. If he died still on goddards side, even if he seemed a bit hesitant, that was still the cowards choice. they really said "hey he actually cares about the greater good and to an extent, the others. anyway immediatly after that revelation kill him." They gave us a reason to cry.

I love characters like that. You hate em, but before they die, you are given a reason to give a fuck. Really wrenches your heart. 

back to other points. rachel, had been SHOT. and yet managed to push him into the airlock and close the door. you could say he was overconfident, but I believe thats uncharacteristic. hes always on guard, always thinking of every way something could go wrong and how to account for it. He should have thought about rachel fighting back. he could have stopped her, but he had already accepted that he would, and perhaps should die here. perhaps he didnt want to face everything after it all. how he might actually care about ppl. how fucked up he acted and all his bad actions. and also, how he could keep living beyond His Job. the artist formerly known as warren kepler. if he stopped Making Art, who was he to go back to? warren kepler didnt exist. he was just a husk. 

thats why i love reading Kepler Back From The Dead fics. it would have been SO INTERESTING. although its fair they wanted to wrap up arcs, or at least leave them on something somewhat satisfying, and kepler was definitely NOT done cooking. put that man back in the microwave he is STILL cold in the middle. 

anyway. kepler was a coward for dying but at least cowardice is human. 

>He couldnt tell anyone. What he was planning. couldnt even tell jacobi, "hey, im on ur side and also im going to stop it all. and sacrifice myself" because rachel was there. rachel was watching, and she was arrogant that kepler couldnt possibly not be on goddards side. yeah she probably definitely knew he cared about jacobi, but the others? she was not expecting him to actually have the confidence to go aginast CUTTER. 

jacobi begged for him to be on their side, argued good arguements,

but jacobi thought. there is no way this will work. absouletly no way he will actually listen to me. but he did. kepler had already planned this. kepler couldnt put into words why he was doing this, but when rachel asked him why he echoed their words; because he is human. 

but kepler couldnt tell jacobi that he was listening. and that he cared about him. he couldnt say he wished jacobi would make it out alive, or that the others would b ok, or that he wasnt going to make it back. 

all he could say was "Thank you Daniel, and goodbye." AKJHSDKJAHSKDH that line makes me want to CRY. its more evidence that kepler totally knew he was going to die. or at least expected it. the way he said goodbye like he knew it really was the last. called him daniel, and maybe others werent aware what that really meant, perhaps they were, but jacobi knew he never called him that. that that meant something. he didnt know what, but he assumed it was a "sorry, you are wrong and I am right, and you are going to die, and perhaps you deserve to in my eyes." when it really meant "You are right. I love you. I would do anything for your safety even if you may never know I was doing it for you." 

.... "thank you" for being in my life? for teaching me how to be good? for everything? AUGH I LOVE THESE FICTIONAL MEN. 

>His interactions while the others were mindcontrolled. I relistened to the first episode or two of the last season, and kepler honestly showed signs that he was already doubting goddard. that he wasnt as confident as when the others last saw him. and they commented on this- rachel talked about hera and kepler replied almost remincing about his time on the hephaestus. he said 'she had always been stubborn.' and rachel said 'careful warren, wouldnt want to sound like you admire it.'

And the whole scene with cutter, pryce, kepler, and mind controlled jacobi. Cutter definitely purposefully picked out jacobi to take notes during that. cutter realized something was off about him. He was weaker, almost upset that his subordinate was mindcontrolled? and would obey his every command? cutter had just improved them; and the kepler that cutter wanted wouldnt have cared. but he clearly did care, as he told- no, lied- to cutter about jacobi being a good team member. despite the fact jacobi almost got him shot, like, not even an hour before I think? He was worried jacobi would be punished, or hurt, or even killed. 

Cutter knew this. he took it into account, basically; he didnt kill him, he merely improved his brain. 

And. Eiffel, after being de-mindcontrolled because of the alien blood, waiting for Jacobi, had accidentily given himself away as being 'unmindcontrolled' when he ran into kepler. he expected to be carted away, re-mindcontrolled, or perhaps killed, or locked in a room, but kepler instead 'played along' and pretended like all was fine. he even sneakily told eiffel to be more careful next time. AND YET WE DIDNT NOTICE- eiffel didnt think to mention 'hey kepler totally let me get off scot free, he is maybe on our side. maybe i mean totally.' ?? and i didnt notice the first time around that THE KEPLER WE KNEW AT THE BEGINNING WOULD TOTALLY RAT HIM OUT INSTANTLY. he was always on their side, and perhaps always planning something. maybe since the interaction with mindcontrolled "she was twenty-eight!" jacobi.

#Should I ramble about jacobi next?? #i could ramble abt his arc and also his backstory. his 'before goddard' #kepler is the only one we didnt get a 'before goddard' peek at. we even got like. hilbert. cutter kinda #we didnt get ANYTHING for kepler. i find that facinating. #i imagine he loved his mother. but had to cut her off bc of the job. #enough rambles in the tags- #wolf 359 #warren kepler #daniel jacobi #kepcobi #a bit implied- #alana maxwell #marcus cutter #w359 #could tag more but. IM SCARED. #wolf 359 spoilers #w359 spoilers #seriously dont read if you havent finished wolf359

[heleizition]

AIGHT im back and i did the reading and i need to know e v e r y t h i n g about the naruto au im not even fucking around. the amount of times ive fixated on that shit despite never finishing it is unreal. also which one was the one that got beheaded? because thats superb shit and i require more information to rotate them in my mind

HIIIIIII thank u so much for this ask i saw it at work and i was SO EXCITED to get home and tell u all about a) the naruto au b) eden who's the one who gets beheaded :3

BTW you can find the art i did of my ocs by checking out the tags on my blog of their name (ex nell art is under #nell, vik's is under #vik ...)

i'll start with eden !!! he's my token white haired guy (altho i have also a white haired girl in the same group of oc lol) to whom i do many terrible things. ever since i created him he's had a scenario where his neck got hurt (electric shock to his neck, knife injury, beheading to simply head explosiong lmao). he's an angel in the angel/demon scenario and the village's doctor in the farm au :3 he's always some sort of healer ! (he's that one "im a healer but... *cocks gun*" meme)

in the angel au he has extraordinary healing powers that antagonists want for themselves until they realise eden is not gonna give under the pressure and side with them so they behead him/make his head explode. not quite sure whcih one yet <3. except he doesn't die bc his power is more. body manipulation than healing and it acts by itself and stitch him back together . its a very traumatizing process but in return he destroys the other guys : D he's often nell's best friend in aus... moody guys who become menaces together. he was supposed to end up w jasper when i very first made him but eh !!!

THE NARUTO AU

okay so . disclaimer most of what i know of naruto is memories from what i watched when i was a young teen and a lot of sakura centered fanfics ive read the past few months lol

the story focus on on genin team but for the sake of the story ill jst go and talk abt the others too :

a) main genin team is nell, vik, lena and their teacher abel

b) second genin team is belly, jasper and eden with their teacher noah

c) cody is basically tsunade, titania is a civilian from a noble family who has a whole side story with lena lol

nell and belly (twins) are illegitimate kids from a clan's girl, who possess the clan's kekkei genkai. no i dont know what it is yet it's not even relevant to the story SEFJSEFOSFJOE

once their mother die they're put under the care of their mother's clan, where they're not rly treated well,,,, belly is a natural as using the clan's technic while nell isn't,,, they stick together but they're treated different and it sucks. tbh nell and belly's ways of dealing with family trauma is a recurring theme in all of the universes they're part of...

nell's fighting style focus on ice jutsu mostly, he's not a powerhouse but he's deadly. belly is more of a brawler type but i havent figured it out much yet :]

vik is an orphan who was groomed into roots (in universe it's a secret unit of ninjas like anbu but it's controlled by danzou who's a fucker and stole kekkei genkai including sharingans by STEALING DEAD PEOPLE'S EYES), who want's belly & nell's clan's kekkei genkai, and who's sent to pass as a new genin in nell's team to gain his trust and kill him and take his eyes,,, theres prob something going on to take belly's also but i havent gotten that far lol

lena (my BABYGIRL) is a civilian, born from a big player merchant family, who's supposed to inherit her parent's role but does Not want to :] she's lovely she's great she has a lot of chakra that she uses for summons (tigers!!!) and also she IS a powerhouse (uses . axes). not the most usefull of spy missions lol i love her <3

abel, in most of my stories, is a big brother figure to most of the kids especially nell,,,, i have not figured out yet what exaclty he does in this au BUT he and cody are old buddies and are destined to be together in all of my aus. anyway

quick other stuff, belly is very angry in hte beginning like her brother and does not know how to work with a team, jasper is kind and gentle and has to learn how to deal with her, also later masters mokuton (tree/plants jutsu) (which makes him very precious and rare), eden is once again a healer in this except he also works with poisons. bitch

and their teacher, noah, also works in torture and interrogation which will come up later.

basically the story follows nell's team as they meet and start working with each other, vik realising that maybe he's doing something that he shouldn't, almost kills nell once when infiltrating his living place but manages to get out when he hears belly coming in, discovers the power of friendship, then they're sent in the death forest for their chunin exam, antagonist guy sends more roots agents bc vik can't do the job, vik protects nell and lena, spills as much of the beans as he can before the seal in his throat starts to paralyze him, nell holds on to him for dear life and fights the other roots, lena gets one of her summoned tiger to go find eden and his team who save the day & also vik...

once vik is saved he cooperated with t&i and noah, who works on the case, adopts him,,, all is well. its not much . i feel like i had more thoughts lmao but its all messy in my head <3 thank u for reading

#ask me #the unwanted #naruto au #nell #vik #eden #belly #THANKS FOR ASKING ABT THEM ... #<3 #i have to GO NOW #oh also vik fights with hundreds of thin needles <3 horrific terrible love him

[aucoba]

I finished Soul Taken and I think I liked it.

I might be a bit tired and I know I did enjoy previous books more after reading them multiple times. Altho ig I felt it took a bit too much time to get to the point, and the realisation that bonarata is the antagonist felt a bit... Not rushed, but I might have needed a bit more time to process the logic 😅

Now that's been said, I reaaaly liked the evil scythe (is that the right word? I'm French and to lazy to check) : this abyss, begging for mercy to let it have her soul to bring back some deity... Hmm, tasty!

Knowing more about the vampires is also a big great point! Why wouldn't Wolfe kill Bonarata... 'cause they are family and he loves him. They are fucked up and still the bound exists. I'm a fan.

And bonarata? Altho I felt the thinking process of the characters being... Lacking of something, I like the road he is taking : someone as proud and powerful would never accept our little coyote escape. Of 'course he is gonna stalk her and try to impact her daily life and, why not, strip her and her people off of their power. There' s nothing more terrifying than a powerful prick.

I don't know where we are going from here but I'm happy to see what else there is to discover.

#mercy thompson #mercyverse #Soul taken #book review

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 109

-The Tragedy of a an episodic format attempting to connect narrative in a series: (Tohru’s Background or Kyo’s Focus?)

One of my issues with se03, ep6 (other than it being 3 chapters combined horribly with new material added for shock value) is that it was weakly undecided who would be the focus? who would the narrative follow?: Is it tohru’s own pov abt herself? is it the gramps giving boring exposition abt tohru over weak still images of flashbacks or is kyo thinking abt tohru’s pain?

The truth is, it was all the above in the manga, but the manga gave each a chapter focus so that the chapter is well-directed with focused narrative. The anime weakly jumbled the 3 chapters together as they always do. You mix chapters & tada~ you got an ep, you only need a broad weak theme that connects the dots! here: it is tohru! & that’s it. As long as the 3 chapters discuss tohru in any form & manner, nothing will seem off if we put them next to each other in a 20 minute ep! right? riiiiiight ????

.. this was never a correct way. Just like a chapter needed a narrative direction, the ep is the same!!

ch 107: The beginning of tohru’s pov on her realization abt loving kyo.

ch108: tohru’s full pov of shock upon reaching the conclusion that she loves him & the beginning of her mom’s issues & abandonment.

ch109: Kyo’s pov abt tohru’s pain & his involvement, guil & the sheet hug.

ch110: (completely cut from the anime!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Kyoru’s part: the aftermath of kyo & tohru crossing the line of being in the most vulnerable & intimate, building towards a more crushing impact of the climax. The stronger & more painful their love is, the more it will hurt. Also a yuchi buildup?!!!!

-so, you see each chapter has a direction i& a narrative it follows independently that is weaved together to make a connected tissue of the overall plot. The anime puts the 3 chapters next to each other & we are lost on who to follow? kyo or tohru or the gramps. That’s why it feels tohru is weak & her two chapters worth of pov is stolen from her cuz it cut or shortened to include the grandpa, kyo, isuzu, shigure & let’s not forget (kazuma, yuki & haru) at the beginning, the dramatic shock value addition & OP & ED. All these take valuable screen time. The ep shocks us by moving from tohru to kyo. One minute she’s crying with him on the streets, next he’s at the grave & she’s visiting isuzu.

Kyo said he isn't going to the grave in the ep, upon seeing him actually going, I just assumed he wanted to avoid, hana, cuz I’m so invested in his story that I remember sth happened in se1, ep 14.. ages ago, The anime didn’t even allow kyo to inner talk abt avoiding hana... In their weird mind, kyo only inner talks in dramatic situations..See the difference!

Not only the writer (a) reminds us why kyo avoided the grave visit, she also (b) seized the opportunity to shine lifht onto an issue that will be the center of kyo’s struggles: Running away!

The anime introduce this in kyo’s pov only when kyo confronts tohru. Only when it was needed & couldnt be avoided. This is sth that will be the core of all the climax & the aftermath as well! Kyo running away.. How bad are you if you avoid inserting one line only that can be said in few seconds & establish great deal & foreshadow plenty!!!!!!!!!! I can’t for the life of my understand why short lines are cut from kyo when in the anime they have him be standing silent in the graveyard. Like slap the line above the silent scene!!!!! But doing so means the anime team understands tohru & kyo’s issues. They don’t. Not the slightest.

-Ep 6 signals the beginning of the anime moving from episodic format of se1, 2 & 5 eps of se3 & entering a connect plot. The anime doesn’t know how to do that & screwed tohru in the process. The protagonist’s main issues are one ep worth only. The antagonist main issues are one ep only (ep7).  Ep 6, was treated as a stand alone ep (minus the inserted shock scene to create a lingering issue that needs a following ep to explain. TOLD YOU they don’t know how to make a series!). Thus the following ep 7 is akito’s focus. Everything that was established in ep 6 was pit on hold until akito reaches the craziest mindset for the climax. See why ep 6 was so bad? it is Should NOT be a stand alone ep.

-The plot connects kyoru emotional & physically: (Kyo’s chapter with a tohru’s focus:

Unlike the anime, the chapter knows what it’s presenting 7 where it’s going. Kyo’s issues. This ch focuses on him uncovering parts of his past as it connects with tohru’s. Unlike the anime, we know why kyo's connection to kyoko’s past. The anime is hiding this for the climax, no problem, it can still work both ways. However, hiding kyoko /kyo connection doesn't necessarily mean hiding kyoko/tohru connection. But the anime is cutting this to milk it in an ova or series next year~ no problem,  it can still work if you handle this ep’s  flashback better. for all the artistic creativity they inserted in the added scene, they failed miserably in tohru’s flashback portion. how?

By choosing a frontal pov shot in tohru’s grandpa flashback as if the audience are the ones who abandoned tohru or opening the door to find her alone. it does NOT work at all. why? the audience are encouraged to be like tohru since ep 1 as tohru is the mother, angel, fixer & endearing hopeful girl. The audience will NEVER abandon tohru, that’s why tohru’s story felt disconnected & weak in the anime. Not knowing what kyoko did, who would abandon such child?! differently not us. so why use the frontal pov shot? -_-’

-tohru confesses her pain to kyo without being ushered by isuzu, without any outside factor. She simply visited the grave & came home. hiding her pain. once again. like she always do. One question by kyo, prompts her to “ complain a little” call back to se1, ep5 as he advised. we see tohru get out of her shell little by little. NOT SCREAM OR SLAP. She opened up. why? cuz the story is abt “ opening the lid” not abt “ snatching the lid”. No need for shocks. Yuki opened his lide slowly, tohru even slower, kyo is resisting opening his altho it is cracking in this chapter. When your story focuses on character buildup it pays!

-I’ll give the anime credit when it due. The hug scene is so good both in manga & anime. but so awesome in animation, colors, music & voice acting. It’s breathtaking & painful. The most beautiful kyoru scene in the whole anime.

-It represents their mutual vulnerability, understanding, pain & determination to love the other but not also let go. kyo has made his mind to be locked in order not to hurt tohru & tohru has made her mind that she can’t let go of her mom.

You see, the scene’s meaning hits different between manga & anime; In the anime: tohru has already challenged the sohmas & screamed to be with kyo, while kyo is still decided to leave her. In the manga: they’re both at the same spot (undecided). I like both interpretations but I’ll choose the manga’s version. Simply cuz it means tohru is still uncovering her issues which means more focus on her, & more explanation of why cant tohru love her mom & kyo at the same time.

-This expression on tohru’s face is a the complete opposite of the shock value expression in ep 6! T_T. I do’nt even hate the shocked scene addition itself that much, I just think (a) this is NOT its time! Tohru deserved better spotlight! (b) kyo didn’t friggen forget! ah! THIS I HATE! (c) the whole shocked scene was so wasted in ep 7. tohru return to her stupid dumb lalala~ land, cooking & forgetting kyo. what growth? what determination & screams to isuzu? what enduring kagura’s slaps? nope! just happy & cooking, lalala~ no one was freaking over her mom’s picture~ lalala~ & kyo just slept it over~ shhhh... its okay. he’ll forget again... see? totally wasted!

The anime knows nothing abt connected narrative! augh!

Side Notes:

We see kyo asking the gramps why he’s offering him info abt tohru which is so logical! XD. I love it.

I’ve read ch 110 & wanted to insert the kyoru scene in ch 110 here, & put yuchi alone in a different post, then I realized I’ll need to talk abt it again once I analyze yuki’s own expressions! XD. so, I’ll put all ch 110 together in one post. It kinda half written by now, so I’ll publish it very soon in two days time. I didn’t read ch 111 yet tho.

I hope ch 110 is the last I feel this much disappointments in furuba’s anime & by ch 11, it hopefully be be minor changes altho I doubt that cuz the manga needed to dwell into tohru’s mindset & the anime kinda stopped after ep 6. so, yup! more big changes coming!

The sheet hug is so brilliant in theory & application! so romantic & so endearing! love it so much! The anime did it so well, too!

I love kyo’s narration & pov cuz it’s so refreshing change from the anime where he rarely does!

I really wish they kept the kyoko abandoning tohru part in the anime... sigh~ it has nothing much to affect her story with katsuya. so it won’t ruin the spin off/ ova or whatever it’s called. 

I love the light focus on tohru in this chapter & how organic & natural it is opposed to how forced the plot seems in the anime....

#Anime Only #manga spoilers #Fruits Basket #fruits basket manga #disappointed paper

[locktobre]

also s/o to the last anon i got before turning my whole ask off for 6+ months who asked how mattel is racist even tho I was literally posting about bpa and johan at the time so it was obvious and also that's not even the first (or last) time mattel, as a company, has had racist media and/or dolls (the freak du chic/haunted/great scarrier reef clawdeen wolf dolls come to mind immediately but I know there are way more examples).

also later on post-ask close I checked the tag to see if I was still really the only one talking about the racism in bpa bc I just can't leave shit alone and I see an anon asking a different blog if bpa is racist bc they asked someone else and didn't get it or something like that. yes I saw that and it couldn't even be funny to me bc I just don't get how anyone can watch the movie and just not get the implications of a country called Johanistan being taken over by a white girl and this being seen as right. I know barbie fans are young but you can't be that young if you are here on tumblr dot com.

but bc I’ve been away for awhile and I’m still pissed about this I will oblige this evening.

let’s start with just the fact that this unseen kingdom with a brown guy ruling it is called Johanistan. just that fact alone. I know how barbie kingdoms are named, I have made a list of them, and fun fact, 14 out of 32 end in the generic latin/greek suffix -ia, which is commonly used in english and also scientific naming. the only one to use -stan is Johanistan, for the kingdom of an antagonist. it stands out immediately, mostly bc the -stan suffix is persian and commonly used in central and west asia. altho Floravia is explicitly in the mediterranean so idk what business they have in central/west asia? I mean why are they in conflict with Johanistan at all? why does Johanistan have to give up its sovereignty and its own monarchy to join with Floravia? this is never explained or even touched upon, but I mean... aren’t the implications pretty bad?

I know this may seem like making out of a molehill, and so what about the kingdom names, and so what if Johan is brown, it doesn’t mean mattel is racist! except movies have to go thru so many layers of approval and development, and apparently, nobody at mattel (or mainframe, the animation studio, altho idk how much control they have) thought to stop and say, Hey, maybe we shouldn’t have our first brown antagonist be the antagonist bc he doesn’t want his kingdom taken over by a white girl over an ill-defined historical conflict between their countries of Johanistan and Floravia. nobody thought to say that, apparently! or if someone did, it didn’t matter bc the movie came out like that anyway!

and BPA came out in 2020. the same year that mattel put these two statements on barbie’s instagram in support of BLM (in may and june), and had Nikki on barbie’s vlog to talk about racism (in october), and also started developing Brooklyn (I assume, given the second statement). so like, sure they can do stuff like that, but they can also be casually and thoughtlessly racist and ppl just give them a pass bc they don’t even recognize it. but I mean, I feel like it’s pretty obvious if you think about it critically for even a minute.

this doesn’t even get into the broader problems in BPA, like the fact that Amelia has no personality or ambition, and she’s queued up to be queen but doesn’t really want the job... and somehow Johan, the ruler of the other country she’s about to take over, can’t take over her country instead bc...? he’s mean? I guess? bc he would be bad at ruling? even tho we are given no indication that Amelia herself would be good at ruling, since again, she has no personality and in fact expresses that she doesn’t like royal life multiple times... but Johan is mean so he can’t have anything. even tho. again. Amelia doesn’t even want the job and we have no reason to believe Johan would be incompetent. so the historical conflict leading to this stupid arrangement isn’t fleshed out, and neither is the current conflict. like the whole plot of BPA is trash even without the racism, like if Johan was white it wouldn’t be a racist movie but it would still be a mess bc nobody at mattel can write anymore. but whatever I’m getting off track.

tl;dr you can argue about whether the treatment of Johan/Johanistan is racist or not but you have to at least acknowledge that it’s weirdly racialized for no fucking reason and that does not help an already stupid and half-assed plot.

#mel irl #barbie babbles #this is a mess i'm all over the place but i am just. genuinely astounded that like. there was 0 backlash for this for mattel. #turned off my ask again before posting this bc i do not want anon to come back and/or cry about me being mean

[queen-of-bel]

A5. A12, B2, B4, C5, C12, D5, D10, E3,

General Yakuza/Judgment/LJ spoilers, so I'm putting under a cut!

A5. Favorite final boss(es)? Oh Kuroiwa, easily. The dynamic intro. The action sequence. The music. His second phase?? Actually, I can't even consider that a second phase. That's just redoing the entire boss fight again. Absolutely amazing.

A12. Favorite tattoo(s)? Maybe it's a bit basic, but I do really love Majima's tattoo.

B2. What’s a scene that never fails to make you cry? Pretty much the entire ending sequence to LJ. I've played the game 3 times and every time the tears start coming when Kuwana says that it'd be cruel to tear Reiko away from Mitsuru after 13 years and they didn't stop until.... the credits rolled.

B4. Who would you like to post more about but you don’t? Why don’t you? Tanimura!! I think it's because I just genuinely cannot take Y4 seriously (altho I don't mean that in a bad way). Y4 is just wild and a really fun ride for the most part. Tanimura's story is the only part that I was genuinely invested in because I really, really love his story. That being said, I guess I just can't really reconcile how seriously I take Tanimura's character and his story and my feelings on the rest of Y4 which is... the complete opposite of serious.

C5. Which character would you like to see as an antagonist? Ooh, interesting. I don't know if there's any specific character that I'd like to see as an story antagonist, but I think it would be fun for Kiryu to try and fight Miss Tatsu but still get his ass beat.

C12. Whose voice do you enjoy hearing the most? It might be a bit basic but I really like Majima's more serious voice like in Y0 or the Majima story in Kiwami 2. I just love those glimpses into more of who he really is, rather than the crazy persona he puts up.

D5. Which character do you think isn’t portrayed well/ is misunderstood by the fandom? Kiryu's relationship with Haruka, absolutely. Fanart led me to believe that Kiryu has a wholesome relationship with Haruka and he's a great father but like... that's not the case at all. Don't get me wrong, he does try his best, but he has messed up. A lot.

D10. What’s something everyone loves that you hate? (Mechanic, scene, character, etc) Mirei Park. I think she could've been a good character if the game didn't try and paint her in a sympathetic light. Her "heartfelt" scenes with Haruka are legitimately so damaging. The woman literally tells a teenage girl "Don’t be content just thinking you’re pretty enough the way you are". She projects her failed dreams onto Haruka, holds funding to the orphanage hostage, says that because Haruka thinks she's ugly, that's all the more reason she needs makeup, and then tries to buy her affection with fancy and expensive gifts. Oh, except she didn’t even give Haruka the pen as a present-- she just wanted Haruka to go meet Majima in her place.

This is a traumatized and very messed up woman who is doing shitty things. If the game just embraced that aspect of her and went with it, I think I would've really liked her character, but the fact that Y5 ended up romanticizing such a toxic person (and honestly the whole idol aspect in general) just kinda left me like

E3. Return: Shinada or Tanimura? TANIMURA TANIMURA TANIMURA TANIMURA. He is legitimately one of my favorite protags in this entire franchise, second only to Y0!Majima. I love Tanimura with my whole heart I hope he's living his best life in a mahjong parlor somewhere ♡♡♡

Thank you for asking!!

#answered #*burns down sega HQ* WHERE IS TANIMURA I JUST WANT TO TALK #bring my boy back i miss him sm #i actually just bought a tanimura sticker it's so adorable #also sorry for going off about mirei LOOOL #she was very close to being an extremely good character to me but the game just missed the mark for me unfortunately #so i have a lot of thoughts about that #but she is so funny #almost mine levels of cartoonish villainy #cruella deville behaviors

[roxannarambles]

Sitting in my draft folder. I wrote this last summer and never posted it because I didn’t finish writing it and forgot to finish, but hey let’s post it now for funsies!

A Very Condensed Summary of My Reactions While I Binged Most of Owl House Season 2 (In August 2021)

 Ep1

* So this Golden Guard is the new antagonist of S2, ok. Cool looking character design . . . (then he talks) OH, he’s pretty young, didn’t expect that. And that’s . . . a really nice VA whoever that is. Hm, ok so they’re making this character a cocky lil shit, ok. Yeah, he sure is a jerk . . . . why do I sort of like him? >://// NO HE’S A JERK DONT LIKE HIM noOOo stop

* Eda protecting the selkie-monster was great, I love that they protected the cool monster instead of the typical ‘slay the beastie’ plot

* Hootie and Lillith friendship not expected but hey I can roll with it

Ep 2

* In this world it is apparantly good and normal for citizens to just casually buy what’s essentially military-grade weaponry, ok. I am even more scared of this world now

* I noticed Alador goes along with his wife but doesn’t seem as eager to cruelly manipulate his kid like Odalia is, hmm, wonder how that’s gonna play out later

* Ok I love the direction they’re taking the glyph magic, that’s just awesome

* HeCkkk yeah Amity jumping in to rescue Luz (& defend her honor) and being all bad-ass, that was perfection

Ep 3

* Oh man this ep. When Eda told King the truth and he was melting down about it, it broke my heart. Oh man. And he bounced back so fast. If it was me I think it would have taken me a lot longer to process all that, lol. But hey it’s a cartoon, they don’t have a ton of time for their eps 

* But seriously, background story for King!! and raising a billion more questions is awesome, dope spooky monsters too

* Altho King naming it Jean-Luc just made me think of Picard 

* WAIT I forgot to add, Hooty . . . doing . . . THAT. Detaching from the house. Disturbing new revelations. It makes sense, from the direction of this season including Hooty as more of an actual character (and not just comedy relief), that they’d devise a way for him to actually participate more. But whoo boy it’s disturbing too lol

Ep 4

* A story that deals with snakeoil salesmen and medical scammers. I can’t help but think about recent world events and all the foolish anti-vaxxers. The story probably was not written with that in mind (no idea when the script was actually penned) but I still couldn’t help but think about it.

* Poor King. It didn’t even cross his mind his dad might not be a great guy until Lillith said that to him. It was super crappy of her to do that but she was too distracted by her own shit to realize it, so, eh, what can you do

* Lillith getting a taste for what it’s been like to be cursed for all those yrs was nice to see

* A portal lead, Titan’s Blood, whoo!

Ep 5

* GUS GETS AN EP WHOOOO this is so long overdue the kid has been ignored for so long

* Really great ep for him, so happy with it. Although I’m sad the pretty purple-haired girl with orange eyes turned out to be a jerk, I KNEW it was gonna happen too, I was like “NO come on the nice girl is gonna be a jerk again isn’t she? ;___;” Why does it gotta be the girl with the coolest-lookin’ design, man

* On that note I feel like the theme for this show is “people who seem nice are actually often jerks and people who seem like total jerks actually can often end up being v. good”

Ep 6

* Such a big lore drop, oohhh. 

* I love the idea of the Palisman so much, so I loved this episode. Thought it was very well done. And reflecting Luz’s uncertainty about her direction. I cannot wait to see what her Palisman eventually ends up being. I’m super glad they’re taking their time with it. Also I can’t wait to see Luz’s friends with their animal familiars.

* I am a bit confused though, if Plaismen are created via wild magic, doesn’t that make them illegal? Why is Hexside openly having an Palisman Day?

* Also WILL AMITY GET HERS??

* OK so . . . I love Hunter. love him love 

Ep 7

.........I missed this episode somehow? WOW how did I not realize that. Ok still need to watch an episode.

(The rest is unfinished)

#toh #the owl house #mystuff

[vroenis]

Lost Legacy Exemplifies Naughty Dog’s Cultural Crisis

There’s a discussion about Ocean’s 8 that positions its existence around whether or not it's necessary as a counterpoint to the Ocean’s reboot - the Ocean’s Cinematic Universe - if you will (what a world we live in) - that it was only made as a gender flip of the reboot that spawned two sequels, three films in total cast almost entirely with men.

My perspective is that as much as I generally enjoyed the Ocean’s reboots for what they were, Ocean’s Eleven should have been a cast entirely with women in the first place.

The heroes we both need and deserve.

Massive spoilers for the original 1960 Lewis Milestone version and the Steven Soderbergh one in 2001 of Ocean’s Eleven - Soderbergh’s flip is of-course that they get to keep the money at the end so that they have to potentially give it back in the sequel he knew he’d be able to make, whereas I doubt Milestone knew he’d ever get a sequel back in the early 60′s so the rub for film-making back then is to burn the money at the end. Nevertheless even for the early 2000′s, the boldest of moves would have been to cast it with women, not to be progressive but also to be progressive, tho that’s still an absurd thought that to cast women is progressive - but to be smart. Ocean’s 8 is a fantastic film, deftly written, paced, acted, shot and edited. Would the world have responded to it in like-kind? I know how *I* would have responded to it, I think you can answer for yourself how societal cultures may have responded at any point from 2001 thru to now. In any case, I have Ocean’s 8 on blu-ray. I love it.

A reader asked me whether I’d played Uncharted: The Lost Legacy after kindly reading through my bludgeoning of Uncharted 4, and seeing as they were patient enough to endure that blood-letting, I felt I owed them and probably Naughty Dog the time of day to give Uncharted-And-A-Half a chance, and I’m really glad I did. Fair warning, there’s a lot I didn’t like about Lost Legacy, and there’s going to be some more pain - a lot of pain. I don’t think any of my tumblr audience is quite on the rest of my socials, but anyone who’s connected to me anywhere else on the Wire was subject to my frustrations as I played thru the game on Saturday, including the blurred image of my Google Keep notes I took while playing the game in preparation for this journal. I keep notes now.

Nevertheless, I can say that on the assumption that the Uncharted series is wrapped, or at least in the narrative arc with these characters as we know them, that Lost Legacy is easily without question my favourite Uncharted game by far.

On that assumption that Uncharted is more or less done, now’s as good a time as any to take a top-down look at the franchise as a whole. I know I already did a fair bit of that in the last piece, but some broader thoughts on what the series does and says have solidified while playing Lost Legacy, and I’ll discuss them as a lead-in to my thoughts on the game.

Again - this is going to be riddled with spoilers for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and most likely the entire Uncharted series, so if you’ve not played them and are interested in doing so, or don’t want to see them heavily critiqued, please stop here.

The first game was released in 2007 and was apparently in development for roughly three years. What was happening up to and around 2004 to 2007? September 11 had happened in 2001, the world was at war in the Middle East in Afghanistan and second invasion of Iraq had begun in 2003, Hurricane Katrina happened in 2005 - the same year the IRA ended armed conflict in Northern Ireland, 2005 saw the outbreak of H5N1 Avian Flu - topical right now. There are so many more, I can’t list them all here - lots of momentous events that in some way or another highlight community awareness in some way - that’s probably a bit of an obtuse statement but hopefully it’ll string together in a sec. What struck me and a bunch of my friends odd about the first, then the second and then somehow every Uncharted game since, is that Naughty Dog seem to choose an ethnicity for their antagonists and scratch the surface of “what if this element of their cultural violence is bad”, but then leave it so shallow that it remains a caricature and comes off as casually and carelessly racist. The first game frames the theme around Nazis, but the actual enemies are anything but. Yes, they’re intended to be mercenaries, but they’re hardly nondescript, they’re absolutely of very specific ethnicity.

From the second game onward, Naughty Dog seem to want to make use of real world settings and do some nuanced research on actual sociopolitical conflict and I always feel uneasy about how its presented. Lost Legacy begins much the same way and I worried about the tone going in. An active war-zone in India as gravitas to your setting that is then almost completely abandoned until the very end? This is my problem with how the writers treat setting in Uncharted. They use very real conflicts that have real-world consequences for people in which actual lives are lost to inject gravity into their narrative and then quickly discard it for the sake of shenanigans once the wise-cracking starts when the tone shifts gear and the characters themselves take centre-stage in the foreground.

Here’s the thing.

The character’s are enough. I *love* these characters. Their story is fantastic. Nadine’s and Chloe’s story was the best and most cohesive of the entire series. Also it only took me roughly six hours to play thru and I only feel like half of that was wasted! That’s still probably being too generous but I’m grasping for positives, here. Still - I don’t know why the senior production team has never had confidence in the core of their product which is the charm of their characters and the play dynamic - Uncharted is primarily about *seeing* and *doing* - for the most part, unfortunately, separately.

The dialogue between Chloe and Nadine is extremely interesting, it is absolutely the best thing in the game, yet it keeps getting interrupted by stupid gameplay beats due to poor timing of rolling up on level locations. Uncharted 4 was supposed to have locations hidden around levels where you could engage in dialogue between characters but I barely found them - why hide such interesting content in your game?? It’s completely absurd. Then the only few I did find were between Elena and Nathan altho I really don’t think those were meant to be hidden, and they were so poorly written and I hated them so much, I didn’t care to discover any more. Again - no disrespect at all to Nolan North and Troy Baker whom I absolutely adore and respect, but I didn’t find anything engaging or interesting *at all* about the brother narrative. I didn’t care one bit what that nonsense was about. What about Sully? Where’s Sully’s story?? I’m just so - so glad we got a story for Chloe, and that at least Nadine got some great screen time too as a part of it and that it all presented so well.

Before I continue to praise what went well, there are a few things I can’t let pass. While the driving has thankfully improved and controls quite well now, the exclusion of a minimap or GPS HUD element is interesting. I’m fairly certain it’s intentional as to not detract from the game’s clean, cinematic look, to not break immersion, but this just generates a horrific breakdown in actual player experience for me. Without any navigational assists, I constantly got lost and stopped every 20 meters to check the map, frequently driving into dead-ends, off cliffs and past where I wanted or needed to go. The game isn’t a 30 hour open-world experience with distinct and varied landmarks the player will familiarise themselves with and learn to navigate by, for the most part the level is fairly homogeneous in object geometry.

Some of the puzzles take far too long to mechanically execute, in particular the smashy-slashy statue block jumpy stupid whatever it’s called one and the sliding shadow motif. It doesn’t matter that neither actually takes too long once you know the solution, it’s that they feel long and then are actually over-long and also not interesting to mechanically execute. This is due mostly to clunky character animation and animation smoothing, and part of Naughty Dog’s overall obsession with being cinematic which is something I’ll return to towards the end of this piece, something which has been a strength but will ultimately be to their detriment. While cinematic visuals might be a benefit for traversal, it’s something that absolutely does not suit puzzle-solving. In the example of the statue-block puzzle, the hard reset each time the player is hit means laboriously jogging all the way back to the beginning and starting again - it’s just poor puzzle design having to begin again from a full reset. There’s no satisfaction in having to remember the whole thing and while I didn’t look up the solution online, I’m willing to bet many people will have just dialled up a clip on YouTube and copied it without figuring it out themselves. This is a failure of connecting what’s satisfying about moving in your game and what’s satisfying about solving puzzles, something Crystal Dynamics understood far better in the Tomb Raider reboots, in particular the second outing (Rise of) with their much more environment-centric puzzling.

The sliding shadow puzzle just simply takes way too long to jog around the space, then clip onto the hot-zone for each lever, wait for the animation to lift it, wait for the animation for the pieces to slide, rinse, repeat. Once you know what you have to do, it’s overly frustrating actually having to do it.

It brings me to a weird quirk of design where the puzzle designers perhaps don’t understand something that the environmental designers do. Maybe they didn’t get the same little notes in the Slack channel, or Trello board or Teams pin or whatever. Uncharted level-design has almost no back-tracking, less in each successive game, and it’s almost entirely absent from Lost Legacy - you’d have to look closely to realise you’re navigating the same area you came in thru and almost always moving over it in a different way that’s been modified - now it’s flooded, now there’s a bridge, now you’re swinging or leaping or climbing where you weren’t etc. I feel like this is the Hidetaka Miyazaki Souls/Borne effect of level design in which environments are designed to be both realistic and practical.

Great! Good for the level designers. Did the puzzle designers not get that note? Maybe they did. I need to stop thinking that every poor optimisation is a symptom of ignorance - that’s bad form on my part. What’s more likely is it’s a symptom of either bad leadership, poor tool implementation, lack of time or too narrow or strict an observation of representative vision - by which I mean - they can’t change the way the characters move or animate just for puzzles, because it has to be consistent with the cinematic representation of the game as a whole - and that sucks lemons. It means the overall play experience suffers for the sake of the overall cinematic experience except executing a puzzle isn’t cinematic unless it’s expansive...

Like the positive example I’ll give of the light reflector room. Shoplifted from Uncharted 2′s giant knife that has Nathan climb all over a giant knife, Lost Legacy’s light reflector room has slightly less climbing but is a much larger space, more impressive and a much better example of good puzzling in Uncharted. It’s not difficult to solve but again (I think again?) I’ll argue that you don’t come to Uncharted for difficult puzzles - you don’t come to Tomb Raider for difficult puzzles, either. 

The puzzles in these games should be mostly environmental because they feel good solving them, and solving them should be more about the doing - the playing - and the playing should be moving - running, jumping, climbing etc.

Both the giant knife and the reflector room are a joy to execute because they’re fantastically realised - large cavernous environments that aren’t annoying to navigate, that give you time to appreciate both the scale of the spaces and the details the designers and artists have put into them. Lost Legacy’s is more impressive because you do a lot more puzzling and spend much more time in its vastly larger space, culminating in combat that usually I would be ho-hum about, but I guess exhibits more animation and destruction tech which while scripted, is still impressive nonetheless given how extremely difficult it is to have interactivity still occurring.

I have a few things I want to mention before I begin to wrap up, given it’s going to be a very long wrap - I’d say I’m taking cues from Joseph Anderson but I’ve always been this verbose.

The medallion puzzles were excellent, in part perhaps because they felt like the closest thing to the Tomb Raider reboots’ challenge tombs. Some of them were silly and lazily implemented, the worst offender being you just had to shoot mans and get the medallion from the lock-box that the mans had put it in (pfft), but the best ones were integrated into the environment such that you may well have walked past or thru areas that were puzzles before you knew what they were. This brings up one of the most interesting things I’ve been turning over for quite some time now. Ben Croshaw aka Yahtzee aka Zero Punctuation may have first mentioned “chest high walls” in his first Gears of War video, but it may well have been an Uncharted game. I don’t remember but he will have thrown in mentions of all the generic cover-shooters as a catch-all for how the environments immediately telegraph that Combat™ will happen. It’s a particularly astute remark and speaks volumes of video game design - developers always seem to have very specific design language to separate traversal, combat and puzzling. While I clearly don’t care for combat most days, and yes - I do acknowledge there are some practical concerns for combat that can’t be avoided, I always envisaged design that blurred the lines between puzzle and environment so that you never quite knew what was and wasn’t a puzzle. Everything should be the puzzle. In some senses, Cyan’s old Myst games were a bit like this but in a very rudimentary and crude way - sure, they’re quite old now, but even those had very clear not puzzle areas. It’s a complex and subtle subject, but something of a study of games like Fireproof Games’ The Room would be in order. Understandably smaller scale, but the thinking behind it is definitely adjacent.

Final notes - the young Indian girl in the prologue has amazing animations that you’ll miss entirely unless you swing the camera yourself. A whole team of people or a single animator has spent hours on those animations - that a director or team leader hasn’t forced the player to see and appreciate them is a disservice.

Every section where you have to do something under pressure like run from mans shooting at you or dash through a lengthy section of crumbling cave network etc. is a horrible play experience of not knowing where to go. They’re trying to inject excitement by applying pressure but there’s no clear guidance and no dependence on player skill, so you end in bizarre fail-states due to going in completely the wrong direction that glitches cameras or scene time-outs resulting in check-points and the whole thing just doesn’t scan as a cinematic experience. I hate hate hate them - you’re subject to the same musical swell that’s supposed to be like a movie only to fail again and it comes off as b-grade and pathetic. Every game has had this problem and it is just straight bad design.

Three? Four? Games in a row, Naughty Dog have recycled; 

being pursued on foot by an armoured vehicle crashing through level geometry while you have to run and occasionally shoot/fight mans, 

driving down a shanty-town on a hill pursued by an armoured vehicle - perhaps the same one as previous scene

a big chase scene of lots of vehicles jumping from vehicle to vehicle shooting and/or punching mans that may or may not include...

a train combat sequence where you start at the back of the train and work your way to the front of it shooting mans as you go

This lacks creativity at this point. I think duplicating these once each - so you do them twice total across the franchise is fine, but they hit the same beats in the same way - exactly - every time they appear. It just strikes me as Naughty Dog just not knowing what else to do. At one point, I think it was in Uncharted 4, when driving down the shanty-town on the hill, I literally had a brain-fart not knowing which game I was playing because I swear we did it in 2 and 3. Did we do it in 3?? Look, I don’t know. But it’s getting old. At least we didn’t do it in Lost Legacy, but we did the train and I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of doing the same things in the same way. It could have been a train but it should have been in a way that just wasn’t just another Uncharted train. It hasn’t worn thin, it’s worn out.

Overall, the games look great... but playing them feels like they’re stuck in PS2 and early PS3 era philosophies, like Naughty Dog haven’t evolved and don’t realise that people’s brains function much quicker and can process more, or that the media we consume, the games we play function at a higher level and we can digest more, we’re capable of processing higher functions. I’ve been playing Ubisoft’s The Division 2 and enjoying it more the more I play, much to my surprise. I understand the intent behind the gameplay is extremely different to the single-player experience of Uncharted, however there are some parallels in what it achieves animation wise;

The Division is also a cover shooter but of-course as a multiplayer, open-world live-service game, its intent is to telegraph to the player that the entire environment is a permanent play-space in which to always be playing. It utilises an information-rich GUI that is an always-on system with button icons telling the player what button to press over what surfaces to snap to, vault over, climb up, run to (and snap to cover), open and loot, interact with etc. I don’t know if these can be turned off but I like them on. It’s a pretty amazing feat that almost every environmental object has been mapped as a snap-to-cover and/or climbable object. For this reason, the character movement in Division is pretty quick and snappy, however it still manages to have a decent degree of natural human kinetics in the character rigging which is amazing. This means if you move-off from standing still, there’s a slight delay as your “weight” shifts, same if you change direction. When I say “snap” to cover, it’s not actually instantaneous, your character makes a movement and takes time to do so, yet it’s still not sluggish. Somehow the developers have worked at fine-tuning a balance between not-instant, but not too slow.

This is something that even in Lost Legacy, I feel Naughty Dog simply can’t do. The animations are decent during play - they’re outstanding during cutscenes (we’re getting there), but character models have a really awkward relationship with the environment. They clip awkwardly with ladders and buttons and wheels - with puzzles and levers - getting the grappling hook to prompt is again better than Uncharted 4 but still not ideal. I had far fewer glitch-outs than 4 too, which was a significant improvement, but I still had to animate back and forth a few times to get into hot-zones appropriately and with character kinetics not quite right, it wasn’t exactly easy.

And again to be fair, this stuff is suuuuuper difficult. I don’t mean to talk about this stuff like it’s cooking instant ramen. It’s so freaking tough. Rigging and mapping interactive character models has to be one of the most stupendously difficult things a developer has to do - making it work with all that scripting, getting it to play nice with all those assets and lines and lines of coding for the full experience. I have so much respect for game developers and what an astronomical task it is. So when I say I prefer one development team’s product over another’s, I don’t mean to say that the other team is absolute garbage - there are so many things that might contribute to that final product and we have no idea what’s been going on at Naughty Dog. If the team leaders and producers say they’re happy or even if they don’t, and the decision is made to ship, there’s nothing more they can say or do.

If there was one thing I absolutely loved about this game, it was the two main characters and the story that was told about them. I can excuse the main text as the catalyst that brought them together - even to the point that it’s a story about Chloe ultimately deciding what’s important to her. My issue with this comes full circle with the setting being in a real world conflict. There’s a bit of white savour complex in there in that Asav might be the narrative’s antagonist, but he at least is local. It’s not clear exactly what Chloe’s ethnicity is and I’m not here to judge what her stakes are in it because clearly her character has a sense of home and place in India, but she certainly also has a complex sense of being an outsider. So the point is not to judge, but the game also is unclear on its positioning other than she’s the heroic vehicle of deliverance. See what I mean about theme? This is what I mean by you could have just as easily written almost an identical story about Nadine and Chloe, with very similar interactions, tension, redemption and resolve - even with an antagonist, conflict and a happy ending, but either treated real sociopolitical issues with better care or not set your game in them at all. I’m all for setting games in the real world, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. I’m not the person to ask.

I need to be careful not to direct that criticism at the base-level developers nor at Claudia Black who is the manifestation of Chloe’s voice because she does an amazing job of bringing her to life. The casting of Laura Bailey voicing a black South African Nadine was much more awkward given Nadine’s ethnicity wasn’t decided when she was cast - again that’s on Naughty Dog’s leadership, but I won’t knock Laura Bailey for it. It’s easy to say she should have resigned, perhaps she should have, that’s an economical question only Laura can answer and I’m sure it’s not an easy one. Suffice to say, VO work isn’t lucrative.

What a side-track.

I don’t think I ever cared about Nathan. I think I always cared about Elena, and not because WAIFU and also not because WHITE KNIGHT or whatever other bullshit reasons stupid alphagamerz will spit from their frontheads. Elena’s just more interesting, probably because Nathan is written like a design document and Elena’s written like a human being. Naughty Dog want to create a game about adventuring with lush expansive environments, shooty mcshooting and light puzzling. They want it to be cinematic and unrivalled in its quality and they have the smarts to build the tech around it, with Sony’s help. Backed by Sony money, they take VO seriously and do a great job at creating that cinematic experience, coupled with some above-par for video games narrative writing. The problem this introduces for me is Nathan’s raison d'être has to justify everything - action, tension, stupidity...

Nathan Drake really is the design document.

I feel like he’s just the unfortunate side-effect of being central to the game, and it’s typical of my character to just not dig the focus of things and get into subtexts a whole lot more. Often I get into things in the periphery, things adjacent - I don’t love or hate Shakespeare or for that matter Baz Luhrmann but Romeo + Juliet ‘96 is an amazing film and not at all because of the eponymous Romeo and Juliet and again, not for Leonardo di Caprio (spit!) or for Claire Danes (she can stay) but the absolutely divine cast of supporting characters (John Leguizamo will live in my heart forever oh baby).

That Nathan makes stupid decisions is already something that turns me off. That he makes poor decisions because... he’s an orphan? Because... he was bullied? Because... his brother left him? This is why he’s not transparent with his wife? Actually, he’s quite realistic. Except the people like him I’ve known in my life aren’t heroes - they’re pathetic or unreliable or abusive or dangerous. Elena is an adult. She’s not perfect either and that’s also great because neither am I. As a side character she has the conceit of being more nuanced, but as the contra to Nathan, she’s also mature versus his childishness. OOOOAAAAH EVERYONE LOVES A LOVEABLE MANBABY OOAAAH COMEON LIVE A LITTLE EVERYONE’S GOT A LITTLE CHILD STILL IN THEM SOMEWHERE yea fine, I get it, like I’ve said before, yes - he embodies the recklessness and playfulness in us, but that’s a confusing position for a game that frequently tries to ground itself in real world conflict to be taking. You’re reducing him to that but injecting complex and nuanced characters like Elena and now eventually both Chloe and Nadine? I’m telling you now - any male that doesn’t know when it’s appropriate to grow-up, when the time to set aside the playfulness and be TRUTHFUL AND TRANSPARENT WITH HIS PARTNER is a dangerous person and FUCK THAT NOISE. Nathan, as much as I do absolutely - make no mistake - adore Nolan North’s voicing - ends up being another Homer Simpson - as long as you laugh at his stupidity, you’ll excuse it, and you’ll excuse the hurt that’s done by it, and that shit doesn’t fly with me. His redemption was not earned. I say again - Elena should throw him into the sea.

Nadine ends up being a fantastic character, even if she’s given less narrative time, she’s a great example of her behaviour telling more story in contrast to Chloe getting to reveal her past and it’s nice to see them play off one another. I feel Nadine and Chloe as characters hit great story beats in ways Nathan didn’t get to with pretty much any of the other characters in four games - not Sully, not Elena, not his brother, not even Chloe - all told, we never actually get any back-story on Nathan and Chloe and I think we’re better off for it because I don’t care.

Having a quick squiz around tumblr reveals the obvious and rampant shipping of Nadine and Chloe and I couldn’t be happier. I think Naughty Dog knew what they were doing. There were so many moments. Those moments were for us. I think they were subtle enough that the fragile manbabies would have missed them but there’s no fooling us. Some of the babyboiz would have been seething thru their mouthbreething hairmouths and I’m sure probably took to the internet but that’s OK, they can remain unfucked incels for the rest of their lives or worse, serviced by whatever unwashed creatures want to dare fondle them in the dark. The elephant ride and that whole conversation was almost enough for me to forgive the absolute disaster that was Uncharted 4. It was given enough time to breathe, it was absolutely beautiful, and just when you thought they were going to terminate it and apologise for making things too awks, it concludes just perfectly and you get a phone picture that doesn’t have Nadine in frame, yet her presence in that picture is definite, pervasive and emotional. Again, some people may have completely missed it and maybe it chalks up to life experience, but as completely contrived as an artefact of complete fiction as that whole sequence might be, it was one of the most wonderfully tender moments ever created in a video game and I wonder if it makes the whole affair worth it.

In the Uncharted 4 piece, I threw in a few barbs about the most meaningful interactions, and in Lost Legacy, what I really loved was Chloe taking photos of things she thinks are beautiful and interesting on her phone, and feeding the elephant - these were the most meaningful interactions in the game. I love that the photos on the phone didn’t serve any gameplay utility at all, they were there because her character wanted to document her travels, because she thought what she was seeing was cool, and any time in the game, you could pull out your phone and look at what you’d seen. It was such a good and important decision to have the very first picture to be the Indian girl in the market, as that rather than the local conflict, does more to ground you and Chloe as a character in the setting. The game never forces you to look at it as a reminder, but you know it’s there.

I did steal these from the internet, sorry - so if they’re yours, let me know and I’ll be happy to take them down - this one in particular, seeing as it’s a photomode capture. I should have taken my own but I don’t do photomode caps on my first play-thru and there’s no-way I’m replaying this ever again.

It took five games for Naughty Dog to finally get some decent character writing, but a part of me still feels they couldn’t have existed without all the dross of the other games. There’s this immense amount of back-story and labour both the developers and the players had to slog thru to get to this point, and I feel as tho we get here and there’s just too little to show for it. I still really enjoyed the story that was told, the sense of character I felt, but a lot of that was contingent on the Uncharted universe in situ. Lost Legacy feels like a combining of all of Naughty Dog’s narrative motifs - the earnest redemption, the moment of tenderness and connection centred around peaceful animals - it’s a greatest hits of Naughty Dog in the best way possible because each narrative beat hits perfectly. I’m glad I played it with two characters who endeared themselves so much to me, that I truly cared about.

I’ve spend a lot of time praising the strengths of writing for at least Lost Legacy, but for each thing I’ve enjoyed about at least these two characters, there have been so many things I’ve been critical of. I feel like in order to get to the tiniest bit of enjoyment, I had to suffer thru so much. Honestly I don’t know if it really was worth it. It’s hard to know given that who I am now and where my tastes are and have developed as a consequence of my experiences, and I definitely would not replay any of those games again - so where does that leave me? I can’t go back and play The Last Of Us and I absolutely won’t play the second game, I just can’t do Naughty Dog games now, I don’t have it in me.

Naughty Dog have spent the better part of two decades developing tech for visual fidelity specifically for the Playstation hardware platforms (PS3 and 4). They’ve also been doing it by overworking their staff, many of which have left out of frustration or necessity. The problem they face is that as industry tools in general improve, there will no gap between games developed by Naughty Dog and any other contemporary studio from a visual perspective. Make no mistake - the Uncharted games are absolutely chock-full of objects, geometry and animation - somehow miraculously so on the Playstation platform in comparison to other games with the exception of other first-party and exclusive games receiving similar support from Sony such as Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn and Sucker Punch’s forthcoming Ghost of Tsushima. There are probably other similar examples for the previous generation on PS3.

Yes, there’s a certain style of game Naughty Dog create as far as narrative goes but because it’s becoming more cinematic, that style is judged more and more by cinematic standards and at best it’s barely semi-professional aside from the outstanding voice work. There are few striking visual motifs that set Naughty Dog games apart from a design perspective, and the gameplay and mechanical constructions that once distinguished them at least a little from others are ever diminishing at increasing rates - more-so as their work practices make the level of quality they set out to achieve ever more unsustainable.

Lost Legacy encapsulates a lot of what I feel about video games as a whole at the moment - as an industry and as a culture. It’s a snapshot of a culture that’s achieving wonderful, beautiful things that are in ways huge - immense, yet somehow can feel so small in comparison to some of the challenges it faces. It’s an industry and culture experiencing a period of great upheaval, where after years upon years of malpractice, terrible things somehow still endure. It’s a space where sometimes it feels like a battle to find the tiniest shred of beauty buried in the dirt and ash, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to the frustration that working thru it brings about while grass-roots labourers continue to be burned.

Like many things in life, both at my age and at the level I guess a person gets to at the exposure rate of a thing, I’ve cut back a great deal on my engagement time with video games, so I’m a lot less patient with the functions and mechanisms of a game. There’s a labour element of video games that I feel developers might think is somehow necessary and there’s a component of that which is true, just not quite in the way they think it is, and it takes a unique frame of thinking to break out of traditional design to understand it. Again I’m not saying there’s anything special about how I understand games - there’s nothing at all original in my thoughts - I’ve shoplifted them wholesale from a hundred other people back from when I used to read Gamasutra and even now when I read designers and the people I follow and talk to on Twitter etc. There’s also absolutely nothing wrong with traditions and the people that enjoy them - just because they’re not my thing any more doesn’t mean they’re bad. It just means I’ve moved to something else and I shouldn’t engage with them.

That, I think, is what I’m waiting for. Kentucky Route Zero, Howling Dogs, Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, a whole bunch of others - these are the games I feel are pushing past the boundaries of tradition. Then the moments Uncharted takes itself out of its traditions - Nadine and Chloe’s elephant ride, Chloe’s phone pictures, Elena and Nathan’s house tours especially as Cassie - that’s when I think now you’re running! Run with it! Look, I’m still playing The Division - I’m still moving and shooting and enjoying it.

But we can do so much more. Many developers are doing more. We as an audience need to play more All of us together need to do and play more.

(The epilogue is me figuring I talk a lot of shit about AAA games and nary a word about KRZ, Howling Dogs, Dear Esther and the rest and I get it, but oooooo howdy is it really difficult for me to talk pragmatically about games I actually love)

#Ocean's 8 #Ocean's Eleven #Women In Film #Women In Cinema #misogony #sexism #2020 #chrono #film #cinema #video games #writing about video games #video games writing #videogames #writing about videogames #video game design #videogame design #gamedev #game dev #Uncharted #Uncharted The Lost Legacy #Uncharted Lost Legacy #Naughy Dog

[thesummerstorms]

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my: For repcomm?

Favorite character:

I mean.. Etain. Obviously.

Least Favorite character:

Kal, but man does Jusik put himself in the running sometimes.

EDIT: HOW DID I FORGET JINART!

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):

Etain/Dar, Jilka/Ruu, Maze/Zey, Atin/Laseema (altho I’m very multiship in this fandom so I like some other Atin ships too), Mereel&Etain or Mereel/Etain but only like in a poly or alt timeline au but I saw it and... it works? Even though Dar/Etain is my otp

Character I find most attractive:

I mean, they’re all book characters, so aesthetic attraction doesn’t have much chance to kick in, but Temuera Morrison is nice generally, I guess. And Gena & Izzy fancast Dichen Lachman for Besany & Dichen Lachman is STUNNING. 

Character I would marry:

hah. hah. they’d eat me alive. Well. Darman’s a sweetheart, but I could never. Etain is my heart, but I think we’d squabble.

I read Niner as demi-romantic or aro & ace, and I’m some flavor of “wtf is happening” aro & ace, so I could relate there,  and relate to the anxiety/grumpiness/feeling responsible but like, idk about long term compatibility.

OR I remember a fmk game one time where I chose “Jaing with the understanding it was some long-distance tax scheme and then we divorce amicably and go away rich/richer”. That still works.

Character I would be best friends with:

I would want to be friends with Etain or Darman or Niner (it might be a lot of fun to gossip w/ Niner, honestly) or Besany but again, my experiences/skill set/ level of interesting-ness are all kinda too far removed from theirs for them to have a reason to give me the time of day, much less bond.

a random thought:

what. the fuck. is. this timeline.

An unpopular opinion:

Unpopular in some parts of the fandom, but not in mine, but like. Kal. If you follow this blog, you know what I mean.

Jusik is three great moments and a whole bunch of annoying as shit authorial morality pronouncements in a trench coat. He had so much potential, but like Kal, lived up to less than none of it. And in his “Gotab” identity I want to throat punch him.

My Canon OTP:

Dar/Etain.

My Non-canon OTP:

Dar/Etain/Rhedian, or if not including OCs, Jilka/Ruusaan. It just has SO MUCH potential.

Most Badass Character:

I think a requirement to being on this main cast is being some flavor of bad ass. Etain the unexpectedly/deceptively tiny but fierce Jedi, Laseema who doesn’t have any military or special background but learns to defend herself and her place in the world  after a terrible past and keep up with all the people who do, Besany the treasury spy and Jilka her best friend who corners Hutts for a thrills,  any given clone who is automatically a super soldier by default... like... it’s a requirement. 

Most Epic Villain:

Uthan when allowed to be herself.

But for the record, I just had to sit and think and count “wait who’s the villain in each book” because with the exceptions of Hokan (who gets pov chapters and is shitty as hell), Uthan (who is ruthless as shit and a major player in the eventual cure), and Ko Sai (who is... Ko Sai)... most of the other folk on the other side of the battle field aren’t even villains, they’re just antagonists and they’re just... there. Which is a major departure for SW when you think about it.

So like, the choices here are only Ko Sai ( *thumbs down*), Hokan (little pretentious pos), and Uthan. Uthan a la Hard Contact wins easily.

Pairing I am not a fan of:

Fi/Parja majorly squicks me out except for when Kaz writes it. but like. Canon Fi/Parja has so many boundary issues that make me uncomfortable.

JUSIK/ARLA like WHAT THE FUCK. Biggest NOTP.

Gilamar/Uthan. A softer nope, because I’ve seen fanon versions done well, but not at all a fan of canon Gilamar/Uthan from 501st.

Ny/Kal because Ny did NOTHING to deserve that.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another):

Hah! HAH! How much time you got?

Kal- not who KT thought she was giving us at all

Jusik a handful of great moments attached to what ultimately fails as a fleshed out, meaningful character with a lot of lost potential

Ovolot Qail ‘suddenly a middle age career woman who can be manipulated by her regret at never having ~children~ as soon as Kal looks at her’ Uthan. 

Parja, who has all this potential, but KT uses as a mouthpiece for some sexist/ablelist/uncomfortable shit.

Jilka- she can still be sharp/judgy/social/a tad vain, but just let her and Besany be friends and also avoid actively shoving her in a gold-digger sterotype in book 4 (book 3? when Ordo gives Besany the sapphire) and then a random out of the blue romance with Corr, of all people, to “soften her up” in ImpComm.

Jinart is not a character, she’s a whole bunch of mean shit the author wanted to say in black fur, and that makes it hard to feel at all sympathetic to or conflicted about the gurlanin, even when KT wants us too

Favourite Friendship:

oh god, I could NEVER choose just one. 

Niner & Dar and Dar & Fi & Atin & Etain (or what we have in those tiny implied moments) and Ordo & Mereel and Mereel & Etain and Ordo & Etain and Mereel & Besany , the hypothetical SNARK /GRUMP friendship in my head that would be Niner & Jilka, Maze & Ordo...

like... it’s all so good. they’re all so good. and there’s somebody I’m forgetting on my list here, I know it, but I just can’t think of it right now.

Character I most identify with:

I mean. *coughs* Do I.. do I really have to say this one?

Character I wish I could be:

Listen, I admire many of these character’s skills, but like HELL would I ever want to experience ANY of their backgrounds or life experiences.

#Anonymous

[maximeloonatic]

Top 10 of Who I want to appear in Scooby Doo and Guess Who

This new show of Scooby Doo it’s getting pretty good, and I love the guest stars at the moment. From celebrities (Pen and Tell) to fictional characters(Sherlock Holmes), ths makes this show amazing. It’s most positive to get a new season, so why not discuss who we would like to have in this show?

(You’re welcome yo add your Top 10 of star guess for this show)

10. The Golden Girls

Altho we know the original and wonderfull actresses won’t be able to share their voices, returning as their roles in the tv show, I do feel it would be hilarious to have this gang of old ladies joining the mystery gang. Blanche would be very flirsty with Fred while Dorothy points out that he could be his grandson. Rose, naive and innocent would be the compleatly clueless and dog lover. And I’ll die to have Sophia say her famous quote “Picture it: Sicily 19538ish)”

9. The Mask/Stanley Ipkiss

We are having the 90s comedi icon Steve Urkel back so why not another icon of black comedy. The Mask was one of my favorites for being so crazy, bonkers and unpredictable (the comic it’s way different tho). And I think the Mask himself could the main antagonist of the episode, and in the reveal could be Stanley (or not). I think it would be a great move to have this character back and redeem his image after what some movie producers has done to him (watch The Mask 2 to stand my point)

8.Anthony Anderson/Andre Dre Johnson from Blackish

I’m getting grow with this man and his character of the show. I’ts strong, confident, he knows what he wants, but when he reacts of goes crazy mad it’s just... WOW!! His screams fits greatly with Scooby and Shaggy.

7. Gordon Ramsey

Now this is a guest that Shaggy and Scooby would be delighted! One of the greatest cook, host of MasterChef and excellent food critict, but with the temper and the bittersweet personality that you don’t know if to hate him or to love him. If he DO appear, I’m begging to have him doing the sanwich talk to the antagonist; IT’S A MUST!!!

6.The Marx Brothers

Wasn’t born in the years of the black and white movies but I do enjoy them specially the comedies: that’s were I loved the Marx Brothers. Groucho, Harpo and Chico coud be involved to a time machime mystery or a hollywood thingy; any way I want to the two gang meet. Groucho’s sassy and flirty comedy (toward Daphne and Velma), Chico’s idiotic but sweet fun personality, and Harpo’s unpredictable way to crack us up it’s this kind of comedy that we need the new generation acknowleges this golden comedy.

5.Fran Drescher

Remember the Nanny? Have you seen Happily Divorced? This woman nailed both shows with her charm and comedic style. I love specially her voice, it’s just perfect for a cartoon character!! (And her cartoon character of The Nanny intro doesn’t count)

4.Dick Dastardly and Muttey

We already had The Funky Phantom introduced in the second episode, an Hanna Barbera tv series that was perfectly mixxed up with the Scooby Gang, so why not more characters from the same studios? Dick Dastardly and Muttey are a pair of malicious troublemakers that already starred three tv cartoon series as main antagonist. Remember the Wacky Races and The Flying Machines) I do want the gang meet this villian pair; maybe because they were framed of they are the main ghost or monster. I do think it would be interested to see Scooby with Muttey; Scoob would go to anything for a scooby snak, why the sneaky mutt for a medal.

3.Casper the Friendly Ghost

With the Funky Phantom prooving that it’s possible to have REAL ghosts in this series, Casper it’s a must to be in! I loved this friendly ghost since the movie, and the tv show after this I ADORE IT! Don’t get me wrong, the first cartoon was adorable too, but the Spooktacular adventures were more comedic and more involve with Casper going far to be a goodie two shoes ghost. I do see the gang freaking out by this small ghost A LOT, but I can see clearly Velma don’t beliveing that Casper was actually a ghost, so they would help each other to solve the mystery. Seriously, I think Casper needs to get back in the 90s spirit way; never l liked his last tv show.

2.Will Smith/The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

I confess, I love Will Smith because of this show. And who doesn’t? This Will it’s all comedy and being bold and creative; this is material of Scooby and Shaggy’s classic scenes to fool them to get away. Of course flirting the girls it’s a must, and yes I also include Velma... (She’s still cute and valid, try to change my mind) But I think the best part it’s his scream. Seriously, when he screams it’s all strong and comedic; I specially love the MAMA NOOOO! I heard that’s not possible to have the show returning, so we can at least have this Will Smith cartoonized.

1.The Ghostbusters

I loved the cartoons, the movies (including the new one)... I just think this would be great to add in the Scooby Doo show!! It’s a MUST!! Of course the main characters should to look like in the cartoons for sure. Of course, we’ll have Velma insisting that ghosts aren’t real and maybe she’ll point out the Ghostbusters to being a fraud, which Peter Venkman would pick on her with his charm. Egon would be genious contrast of Velma too. Winston would be more relaxed, I think... And Ray Stanz it’s like a magnet of weir events and accidents, can you imagine him with Scoob and Shaggy?! Hilarious!

Of course the villian get unmasked... But what if there was another thing involved and the Ghost busters take care of it at the end of the episode??+wink wink*

P.S.: Bill Murray voicing Peter, it’s also a must to happen!

#scooby doo and guess who #scooby doo #the golden girls #the mask #stanley ipkiss #blackish #the marx brothers #groucho harpo and chico #groucho marx #chico marx #harpo marx #gordon ramsay #fran drescher #dick dastardly #muttey #wacky races #flying machines #casper the friendly ghost #spooktacular adventures of casper #casper movie #casper #the fresh prince of bel air #will smith #ghostbusters #egon #peter venkman #winston #ray stanz #slimmer #hanna barbera

[primarch]

okay it’s about time i pulled one of these together so liking this means you’re okay with me:

sending memes on meme day without the worry of first interaction first !

plotting ! this is a plotter call after all so if you’re not comfortable with me messaging you to plot then i am..... sorry, but this includes approaching or being approached for a plot in the event either of us get ideas !

general messages like IMs and asks ! 

other miscellaneous things i may be missing ! 

✩ pre-established relationships: i’m going to preface this by saying anything listed here ( sans romance, although i am open to a ‘hey they could be good this way’ talk and we can see where it goes icly ) is of course welcome as a pre-estab ! i don’t mind these a whole lot and actually prefer them myself sometimes especially if other people like or prefer to jump past the ‘first-meeting’ thread, and it does help stuff goin a bit faster imo ! so if you’re interested in this + whatever’s listed ( and some of what’s not, but i’ll delve into this in the other section altho not...deeply. ) feel free to let me know !

✩ acquaintances: neither friends nor enemies, stuff on the surface level of getting to know one another but not in a deeper sense than that. these kinds of dynamics could be friendly or somewhat antagonistic really ! sandalphon isn’t like the captain in that he’d lay down his life for absolutely everyone he comes across, he doesn’t try to live up to the whole hero role because he doesn’t consider himself one, so the likelihood that he’ll go around saving people is... slim. especially with how limited his powers are at the moment.  he will, however, still lend his aid depending on the situation.

✩ friends: manage to somehow break through his general broodiness and abrasive personality? cool ! if he considers you one of these then he’ll be more likely to lend a hand when it’s needed in more dire situations. he may bring up stuff from his past or avoid it altogether, depending on what kind of questions are asked and whatever kind of mood he’s in. on a more positive note, he’ll be friendlier, although his personality doesn’t do a 180 where he’s intensely friendly all of the time, he just has fewer bad moods in pleasant company.

✩ enemies: antagonistic relationships fall under here... whether someone is completely detestable or just gets on his nerves the right amount that’d be under here ! he does make some attempt to be a good person, but he knows there’s a lot of habits he needs to personally break first. that said, it’s not too hard to get on bad terms with him. people that poke and prod at him or put him / his existence / lucifer’s existence down he loathes. not that a lot of people would know about lucifer.. but still ! if you’re interested in this we can work something out ! 

✩ coworkers: sandalphon works in a cafe located in ( redacted. ) he is friendlier in these settings because he’s soothed by the smell of coffee and the act of making it, but he’ll likely still be snippy even with coworkers. that’s just how he is. but, people can note the differences if they see him outside of a work setting. he spends the majority of his time here, and whether people are part-time or full-time or any time, he’ll likely talk to whatever coworkers he has especially if they share the same shift.

✩ customers: branching off of the coworkers section, he generally enjoys the company / presence of people who enjoy his coffee. unless they’re outright atrocious or annoying, if he’s on break or what have you then it’s likely that should someone wish for his company while they enjoy their own cup that he’ll sit with them as well. he’s not a great conversation partner, but if it’s about coffee then he has plenty to say ! at least, in terms of stuff he will willingly talk about.

✩ fellow nonhumans: sandalphon's expected to be around for a very long time, being immortal and all, but essentially he's an archangel, a primal beast created by lucifer, and on taking up the mantle from his deceased creator he is also the supreme primarch. i don't mind other nonhuman characters or even characters with a kind of clairvoyance realizing that he's not human. it's not so rare that he's seen with his wings out, but it's not super common either. he's still sandalphon, though, so even if someone isn't human as well that doesn't necessarily mean he'll get along with them. it's just that he'll have some kind of relatability to them !

✩ romance ( ? ): this is definitely the most difficult thing in regards to dynamics with him. his feelings are jumbled and when he develops them for someone it’ll be harder for him to confront it because of how long his affections lasted for someone else. for that someone else they’ll of course always be there regardless of if he develops new feelings for someone else. while he doesn’t necessarily have a type, this is more likely for people he’s on friendly terms with because once he considers someone an enemy / someone worth despising that’s all they will be to him. he has a strong preference for other masculine-aligned and / or nonhuman people, but primal beasts ‘have characteristics that may outright contradict the ways mortals perceive them.’  in essence, he doesn’t care one way or another what a person is, if he likes them then he likes them.

✩ other: if you have ideas for something that’s not listed here or something in addition to a category i have up there feel free to tell me all about it ! i love hearing other people’s ideas and am very receptive ! if we’ve done stuff before but you have ideas for more stuff or something else then feel free to like this as well and i will hit you up !

#isola rp ad #long post #finally slaps this out #if youve liked my previous calls but i didnt get around to ur starter THEN #feel free to like this as well... i didnt get to some that i wanted to

[blakegallo]

here’s the thing, i watched the first spider-man: far from home trailer and i have thoughts and i’m going to share them. the appropriate tags will be used for people that still haven’t seen endgame. but honestly this is a trailer and if you want to come for me for spoiling some shit, i don’t give a fuck

first things first, i hate this. i hate this trailer so fucking muck.

i feel like my journey to watching spider-man: homecoming has been well documented on this blog. i liveblogged it both times that i watched the film and the first time i put it off because i don’t fuck with iron man.

full disclosure i’ve never been able to sit through his solo outing and so i just have the team movies he’s taken over to judge his character. i’m sure from a writing perspective he’s had a great arc, but he’s also the only character the mcu has tried or cared about giving that care to, so like. whatever.

not the point.

the point is i wasn’t super thrilled about rdj being on the poster for homecoming and then when i watched the film i think that tony was a shit mentor to peter? like he had one line about how if peter couldn’t be spidey without the suit then he wasn’t really spidey, despite the fact that we’ve already established that peter was out here doing shit before he got the tech upgrade. tonty couldn’t even be bothered to tell peter about the training wheels protocol or friday being in the suit to assist him. if anything i think that homecoming really underscored how peter parker was only a means to an end in the berlin airport battle as the surprise weapon in his arsenal.

sure i guess you could say that tony wanted peter to have a normal life, but um, i don’t think that any of the canon evidence really supports that.

and i almost wish that they did have rdj in the movie more, not that they could pay for him to be, becuase literally all of their bonding moments have happened off screen. this entire friendly mentor/mentee relationship is essentially a massive headcanon that i refuse to accept because the content we do have doesn’t support any of it. it doesn’t support the cute photo we see of them in endgame [ i guess sure they needed to document actual proof of peter’s internship, but even then that’s just a fake thing that is being used to show that they were actually close when they weren’t ]

anyway this whole first part of the ramble is just to say that i don’t fuck with their relationship and i wasn’t excited for iron man to be in homecoming. i really wasn’t excited to see rdj take another storyline that had nothing to do with tony stark and give it to himself. 

and i get that we’ve seen uncle ben die twice now and so do we need to see that happen again, i guess not really. but i don’t think i needed to see that same focus shift to iron man

[ i will also say that the spidey movies timeline is already all kinds of fucked up. from the first movie allegedly taking place eight years after the battle of new york which already put it in the future to now being part of the main continuity where apparently all of midtown high or whatever it’s called was snapped because none of those characters have aged at all. ]

i think what bothers me even more than this weird uncle ben as iron man storyline being floated out is that that is what is taking precedence. sure i guess homecoming kind of established peter as wanting to have a more normal high school experience before the events of thanos. i still find it hard to believe that peter parker would send nick fury to voicemail so casually? like. peter fucking parker?

for me i think the teaser before this was just so much better. [ mainly because it featured 200x the amount of aunt may, and now i’m almost convinced that first teaser gave me all the aunt may content i’m going to get. ]

but also even if i were to buy into this peter/tony relationship you want me to believe that the peter who was so close with tony would then after hearing about an alternate dimension tony wouldn’t try to get to there? instead he’s going to just take over as iron man? which again, is fucking stupid. [ altho from a movie perspective i can see why that’d be a tempting thing to do. esp if all sony has at the moment is the spidey franchise, expanding past new york after 6 spidey movies there does make sense ]

like.

i’m still going to see this. watching jake gyllenhaal play a manipulative antagonist [ i’m still clinging to the idea that this is all a mysterio illusion and he’s really not out here playing the hero ] is all i need in life [ and i’m still rooting for laura harrier to make at least a camero ]. so no matter what sony is getting my money, but this whole trailer has me feeling all kinds of things.

#spider-man: far from home #far from home #endgame: spoilers #endgame spoilers

[comicteaparty]

May 30th-June 5th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from May 30th, 2020 to June 8th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What flaws does your protagonist possess, and how do you show this in story?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

he tends to run away from things and people!

i show this by having him run away from things and people!

She's reckless and always thinks she's right. I show this by having her follow her opinions into dangerous situations haha

I have no idea how to answer the second part of that question

My antagonist

also reckless and always thinks she's right

what a pair

wow, you guys are typing a lot.

eliushi [a winged tale]

As the only wingless child, Florence is used to others ostracizing her. This causes her to believe that she’s worthless or at least a crappy replacement for her mother since she has trouble reading. This is shown by her being passive when confronted with the other winged children and tolerant being left behind. When her mother disappears, her first thought is to find her mother (to make sure mom is safe of course) but really because she feels she can’t possibly fulfill the roles her mother did for the winged community.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

man i gotta read a winged tale seriously

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

For my comic uh lmao. It's been touched during OIYD!'s ctp chat but Cara tends to think critically on her romantic relationships, and thus even when things she goes well, she has her doubts and tries to end it before it develops lmao. Also she runs from her problems a lot (been addressed by her friend Ana through their last discussion). She done goof a lot of things but OIYD! will be pushing on her to how she gonna deal with those mistakes and her shortcomings too.

also like i guess how its depicted uh through dialogue and her body language. she physically closes herself off a bit when Ana was roasting her, and upon meeting with Richie too. so yeah lmao

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Phaedra's faith and devotion to her patron goddess is, to her, a great strength - but in light what she'll have to go through, it could very well be the source of her breaking point. She's never had to consider other perspectives - to her, the line between good and evil is as clear as the horizon, and no one can tell her otherwise. I haven't gone into it much yet, apart from a few sentences in the first chapter, but it'll become painfully clear later. Her family has dutifully served the goddess for generations, and as such, Phaedra has effectively put all her eggs in one basket, and is extremely proud to have done so. As time goes on, we'll see how that works out for her...

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

AAAA

blurred lines between good and evil

I love that

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Hooooh boy! My characters are basically just big buckets of flaws and personal issues. Izrekiel's flaws: * As a result of his amnesia and past traumas that still have an effect on him despite his inability to remember them, he changed from originally a fairly passionate, happy person to a rather reclusive and distrusting mess. I try to show this with his reluctance to speak much of the time, and how difficult it is for him to befriend Agatha. * He's also very quick to anger, which I show later in the story when he gets into somewhat petty fights with people. * Oblivious to even the most obvious of things, he often misinterprets people or misses nuances altogether. He is definitely not a social butterfly and comes off rather awkward most of the time. It happens a lot when someone makes a joke around him, and he just stares silently. * The rest are big ol' hefty spoilers! Agatha's flaws: * She can be incredibly bossy or "mom-ish," especially to her younger sister, but also to any random person whom she deems needs help. This is shown pretty obviously with her immediate urge to "fix" Izrekiel. * Definitely overbearing. She has the best intentions of friendliness, but she will stick her nose so far into your business that her nostrils will flatten. Mainly, she asks a lot of questions, and it can be rather annoying and obtrusive. * She also has a habit of not listening to what her younger sister, Maret. has to say. She often unintentionally ignores her, thinking her more "adult" issues to be far more pressing.(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Sunny: -She’s fiercely independent. As a result it takes her a longer time to trust people and tell them what’s wrong. -Doesn’t like the idea of people telling her what to do, because she craves the sense of control she was denied in earlier years -Dislikes showing sadness since it makes her uncomfortable. So she defaults to anger instead. As a result, she’s more likely to lash out in anger and regret the actions she did in the heat of the moment. -Sunny needs to realize that people aren’t inherently monsters either, that people can be morally grey. Her black and white morality may be challenged in both her writing and her relationships. But we’ll see about that. Liam: -Pretty blunt about criticizing people. He grew up in a critical household but needs to learn that there are different ways to give criticism -Highly uncomfortable with conflict. You’ll find him trying to fix the issue as fast as possible and when that doesn’t work...he’ll flee and even outright lie. It makes him seem untrustworthy and unreliable. -he loves his family. But they are his biggest fears too; the fear of disappointing them, the fear of losing their love. -for a calm guy, he tends to hide a lot of incredible self loathing and guilt. How that will affect his relationships, particularly sunny, has yet to be seen.(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Nyx thinks with her axe. She’s pretty clever if she has to be, but her usual approach to problems is „off with their head.“ The consequences off that are what drive the majority of the story - she nearly gets herself and the people around her killed. The big problem is she‘s a drifter - she rarely sees the consequences of her actions.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Nyssa‘s a bit spoiled and soft and while she overcomes that easily enough, it‘s the combination of her believing she can fix absolutely EVERYTHING and her incapability of dealing well with failure that brings her to her breaking point.

eliushi [a winged tale]

I really love that I can identify with everyone’s character flaws and that makes it all the more relatable

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Lead girl: Naomi Belfry had to deal with fleeting moments of affection from her parents trying to give her a stable childhood altho everything came crashing after her father's absence. Trying to keep this spoiler limited, like children in her position, she escaped reality through imagination lens and her obsession in her interests in forensic and observation. - I plan to show this, whenever something perks her interest, whether it's witnessing a crime scene, dangerous object or observing people at parties. Naomi also lacks a sense of trust in others due to broken promises but it conflicts with her yearning for companionship and love. Will see how she juggles her different sides. I plan for her to be morally gray. Trisha Bennett: She is a big-hearted girl and loyal friend to Naomi. Despite the rumors of the Belfry clan, Trish sees the lonely girl who tried to push others away. Trish's flaw is that she always puts other's happiness before her own. From a young age, she cared for her siblings, sometimes her grandma. Everyone basically pushed responsibility to her, due to her inability to say no. She listens to Naomi's rambles about a new mystery she's discovered.(edited)

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

nervously stares at the dumpster fire that is Trigger Elliot

eliushi [a winged tale]

Give us all the FLAWS

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

there's so many ! Trigger's biggest flaw is his constant running away from his problems and taking ANY sort of responsibility. He takes his short comings out on those around him, and is constantly in a bad mood in the comic. His biggest hurdle is his past with his ex GF, Boggmouth, to which is his biggest fear and one that he's been trying desperately to run away from (so far that he changed his name, dyed his hair, lost his glasses, etc) Vahn has many flaws as well, mostly surrounding them as a mystery and that inability to step up to the plate. They're similar to Trigger in running away from problems, as they are more comforted with familiar spaces than new territory of becoming more or something else. Vahn also has a past they have yet to deal with!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

wow i really like reading people's different character flaws! Krispy, your character Trigger is such a complex character. I should get on reading it (edited)

eliushi [a winged tale]

I’m curious how everyone thought of their flaws for their characters. Did they come to you naturally? What would you say makes a flaw compelling to read/draw/experience?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't really make a character and then go, 'alright, time to add some flaws.' Like.... the same trait or even the same action can be seen as good or bad depending on who you ask?

eliushi [a winged tale]

Totally agree. A trait when taken to the extreme can be a flaw (too kind —> becoming a doormat). How do you make sure that flaw is the “right” one or the one that most fit with your character and plot?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Even the extreme-ness may be different depending on who you ask. Some people may feel it was 100% justified; others may feel it was too extreme, or even the opposite, not enough!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I like to imagine how those flaws would work in real life. If those flaws carry the story and force the characters to develop/face consequences, I usually include them

eliushi [a winged tale]

So true keiiii and I like that approach shadow!

So what makes a trait a flaw for you keiiii

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like look at all the disagreements IRL...

I don't like to divide character traits into flaws/virtues, personally. Like, yes, there are times I notice a trait and go "oh yeah, that's totally Bad, totally a flaw." But as a storyteller, I don't use that kinda judgment as a primary tool. I guess it's in the same vein as the whole 'no one is a villain in their own story' school of thought?

eliushi [a winged tale]

That’s fair!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

It took awhile to develop my character's flaws! I start out drawing the character for fun. For some characters, I made them with intention of flipping Anime tropes, I felt some of them are so shallow, I want to flesh them out in my own stories. So as I write, their flaws are reflected in their upbringing. The personality gets revised over until I have certain ideas in mind, then their flaws come along with the creation process.? I have two sides of my brain cell where, I want to draw these children in a fun, safe environment. Then I got this other side, influenced by teen stories/games where I want to give them risks, be delinquents, have messy choices. I gravitate to stories of teenagers finding themselves?(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

What I do pay close attention to is: do the characters have major disagreements ever? If the answer is no, then I may have a problem.

eliushi [a winged tale]

All the juicy conflicts

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think I gravitated toward portraying a flaw I knew I had when I was younger. Something I'm able to look at with a more critical eye, now that I have more experience. Something I can portray both critically and sympathetically - so people can still like the character, but want them to grow past their flaw.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like, even if I don't think of a trait/action as bad, SOMEONE in the story would probably not agree with it. Stuff like that.

And vice versa

I do think HoK focuses a lot on greyness as an undertone, though. Not every story would benefit from this approach.

eliushi [a winged tale]

I like to design my flaw aligned to the LIE the character believes (in reference to character arcs) and see what sort of negative consequences that will be interesting for the characters to try and overcome

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

In my previous comic, almost every major player was BAAAAD, and that was the point of the story.

But HoK is not like that.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

ooh the Lie that a character believes? That's interesting, Eli.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I think that makes for a good sympathetic protagonist - we're all told things that we may have to unlearn, or learn to read differently. For the protagonist, it's an awakening to the truth of the world around them. Their job as a protagonist is to accept that awakening, for better or for worse.(edited)

eliushi [a winged tale]

Yeah I like to approach character arcs using this reference https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/character-arcs-2/amp/ the flaw comes easier to me once I have the specific LIE developed

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ooooh that's a good one Eli and to piggy back off of you, LadyLazuli, a lot of character flaws I chose were observed from either close friends, family, and even myself! There's something about intimately knowing about these flaws that you can see how it unfolds in real life

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

this would be so helpful, I have a teen character for my slice of life, that I couldn't figure his flaws out, other than being anxious. Will look into these books.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

You can try! It would help a lot I read somewhere that one of the reasons Princess Mononoke had such great characters wasn't because they were inherently good or bad.

Rather, they each had differing goals and that is where the conflicts are.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, one moment in that movie that really shines in that aspect IMO was when Ashitaka talks to Eboshi, and she retorts, "so you want us fight the samurai instead!" (i.e. instead of fighting the forest animals) This was not treated as a big moment in the movie; it was quick and pretty understated. Nonetheless, I feel it really hit the nail on the head with that particular theme.

like, "our disagreements are distracting us from the TRUE enemy: this third party!!!" is totally a valid theme, but it's not the only resolution in that kinda situation. I'm glad Princess Mononoke went for a different direction.

They did have a third party (heck, a fourth party too), but it wasn't what the whole situation was about.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I’m curious how everyone thought of their flaws for their characters. Did they come to you naturally? What would you say makes a flaw compelling to read/draw/experience?

yuh that's a good question. I just kinda look at the experiences I had so far or what my family or friends experienced and I'm like "what is a good thing about this flaw, what is not so good?" like there's some juggling to figure out like in some situations its great and others it's just lmao pain.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

In my case, I didn't really "think of flaws" for my characters. My characters just kinda popped up in my head, and as I got to know them, their traits—both good and bad—revealed themselves to me.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for Cara's case its like lmao idk. a reflection of how my mom and I handle dealing with romantic relationships, and just seeing where that goes lol

for Richie, it's like that but what we like in men/masc-presenting folk but take it up to 10x and see what happens LMAOO

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

So basically it could be a case of veering one trait into the extreme

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

(Also, I totally agree that the characters in Princess Mononoke are stellar! Especially Ashitaka and Eboshi.)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah, but I also made sure there's nuances too since they aren't a true reflection of our own chimera they need to stand out as their own characters after all, not a voice piece

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yeah, the scene I still remember from that movie was when lady eboshi showed ashitaka around Irontown and he sees how she helps the lepers and the women be empowered. It showed that she’s a morally grey character

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I always like messing with that kind of of diacomtomy between people and just lmao idk I just like seeing that despite differences things are connected lol

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I really like the Disagreement-focused approach. Where would the characters disagree with each other? With YOU, the author? Would they ever call you out on something? Would you agree or disagree with the callout?

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Also tuyetnhi I agree. While we can also include flaws of our own, there comes a time where our characters eventually develop into their own person

It’s like watching your child grow up

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I learned that young durring my RP days in the early 2010s

lmao

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

And when Ashitaka reveals a rather selfish thought of his. Eboshi: Does that arm of yours want to kill me? Ashitaka: If it would lift the curse, I would let it tear you to pieces.

(I've watched this movie way too much throughout my life tbh )

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I really like the Disagreement-focused approach. Where would the characters disagree with each other? With YOU, the author? Would they ever call you out on something? Would you agree or disagree with the callout?

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) absolutely! Your characters won’t always do what you want. Sometimes they have ideologies that make you want to shake them or disagree. Because in the end, the characters aren’t you

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I actually didn't see that as particularly selfish about Ashitaka (and I think that's a good thing that we see these differently)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

They will make mistakes that you might not in real life. let them.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah lmao that's why in cara's situation I'm like "same" but also "Noooooooooooo why u do that"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) And they might not even see those actions as mistakes, depending.

And YOU will make mistakes (or "mistakes"... again... depending) that the characters wouldn't make

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

even stuff I don't even realized from other friends who looked at Cara and they're like "she's her biggest cock block; it's that personality." lmaO

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

You don't know how many times I've wanted to slap the shit out of my characters

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

honestly

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

@shadowhood (SunnyxRain) And they might not even see those actions as mistakes, depending.

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) exactly! Hence these are the Lies they might have developed! They might have lies they grew up with that don’t match with ours

And yes....there are times I want to facepalm whenever I see my characters make a mistake I wouldn’t have. But I know that they’ll eventually develop out of it....or face natural consequences.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Anyone else here doing more grey-focused stories? Not every story needs to be that, you can have very mature stories that aren't grey. But yeah

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I have a very grey character

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I mean... I guess it depends on labeling. I have very strong opinions, but I feel like my characters could very easily be seen as grey by others

Especially my villain

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think "grey-focused" is less about the characters and more about the narrative, but yeah, it's pretty case by case

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I think in that case Cara would be considered .... light grey?

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

This character did something VERY bad, and his actions have caused people to be split about his actions But he has deep regrets and guilt about it, even though it was a necessity at the time(edited)

Whether or not people forgive him or understand his motivations

Only time will tell

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oh yeah, my narrative definitely can be seen as grey.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

since it's her narrative focus in the story but as there's some dark moments, most of it is just her just figurings thing out

dark moments as in lmao "i'm hurt in the feels"

not life death situations lmao

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I switch between perspectives a lot in WotP, so it definitely can be seen as grey

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I don’t like grey morals that much, actually. My favourite narrative device is genuinely good people working at cross-purposes. Nobody is evil, or grey; but their personal histories and goals set them into conflict with each others.

These histories often cause or are brought by their flaws, too. But a flaw doesn‘t necessarily make you grey.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't mean grey as "an even mix of good and bad." I meant more like, the narrative does not take sides.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for Richie, i guess for his development as something that is a mere figment of fantasy and trying to be like "wow I wonder what being a person is like?" and he might just become a grey character if he ever experiences Cara's world lol

ahhh

yeah this story is probably pretty grey then lmao

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

You can have a narrative taking side and still be good-people-in-conflict.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

There is one scene I wrote where the morally grey character meets someone who he’s affected. She hates him, but understands his motivation. Both of them have a heart to heart and agree that they were simply two people who were involved in a tragedy, and it hurt everyone.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That's a thing too! But I'm specifically curious about stories where the narrative does not take sides

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

So in the end, it was a scene where the audience can sympathize with both, but these characters are in conflict

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I feel you can't really have a character who will be universally seen as 50:50 good:bad. Different people will have different opinions about the same character.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

that's so true like

idk, i guess this is an annoyance when protraying folks

and i'm like "ya just make it like it is, if you're intimate with their background or have relevant experiences with it"

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

In real life you’re going to meet people who may not like you

Some may even hate you

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

that's why I'm like gearing Cara as like that lmao

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Not everyone is going to agree or like you, and it’s the same with charavters

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yepppp

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Just because another character dislikes your main protagonists does not necessarily make them a villain

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

That's what I'm thinking too. I may see a certain character of mine as leaning more good, and another as leaning more bad, but I know my readers are likely going to disagree. I call my villain a "villain" because he opposes the "heroes," but honestly, I know that a large part of my readerbase is going to take his side in the end.(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

In every villain’s mind they are the heroes of their own story

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

It reminds me of a quote from the Inheritance series

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't 100% agree actually, but I do agree with something in the same vein

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

[me looking at my story] "who really is the antagonist? it's probably all of you" [points at 3 characters at the same time]

lmao

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like not everyone actually thinks of themself as heroic -- but most will see their choices as reasonable given the circumstances.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I agree. Probably should have reworded it as “everyone thinks they are the protagonist of their own stories”

A protagonist can be “villainous” too.

Also tuyetnhi lmao you have so many antagonists

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

omg I missed this really good convo on Princess Mononoke, I LOVE Lady Eboshi's character. I was busy talking about character writing for another show(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yes she is a wonderful character! Let’s use her as an example

In her own mind she sees herself as a protagonist defending the leper’s and the women

And having to fight her way to the top from being a slave

She could have her own story herself!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

it's like Cara has to fight her dreams, her family, her firends and her self as a cock block ya LMAO

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Eboshi is fantastic. She's not good, she's not evil, she's just a person doing what she thinks is best. Even if she ends up doing more harm than good, her aim is to protect her people and strengthen her town. She does some truly heroic things as well as some heinous ones. And I love how Ashitaka lands squarely between the two factions - in his own way, because he seeks peace, he almost acts as a villain for both the gods and the humans. SO COMPLEX it's lovely.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

aggressively throws love at Studio Ghibli

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

A related question that's fun to ponder is, who or what do they blame when things don't go well? (Obviously the answer's gonna vary a LOT depending on the circumstances, but something fun to think about)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

lmaoooo oh man

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Gosh, that's a great question.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Cara would blame herself if it's something she consciously done wrong, but if it's something out her control she'll blame the person or thing she thinks caused the inconvenience.

Cara: "Stupid sexy... man coming out of my dreams looking..... ass"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Don't we all wish we had a stupid sexy dream man to blame

(maybe not but lol)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Izrekiel would blame himself. Agatha would blame the powers that be. Ryukou would blame Izrekiel. Maya would blame Ryukou....

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Hmmm that is a good question

Sunny blames others in the heat of the moment, but she’ll think back and regret it

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for Richie uh lmao he blames himself for most things.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Liam blames it all on himself, and won’t tell anyone

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Phaedra blames herself initially. Then, as with all things, deflect the blame to Ocean Satan.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

if it something Cara done tho, I think he'll have to do some mental gymastics that he isn't outright hurting her feelings but getting his point across (hypothetical situation here lmao I need to draw faster)

ocean satan lmao

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I feel that energy from him tbh

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ocean Satan/lucifer probably has his own fan following tho

Chethanists

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Fata Morgana! Or the Bone Church (RIP)

but yeah, when the origin of all your world's problems is a single entity - BLAME IT

very easy

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

just like blaming an alternative god for the misfortune of humanity lmao

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

In my story, Naomi might go into deep thinking if things don't go well. It means the mystery got deeper and she wants to find out why did it not go well? It depends, I should write a case where the blame can go easily to someone, but the MC has a different reaction than others.(edited)

It depends on situation, I'm trying to think about something that makes the character blame someone? Jasper might be the type of kid, who self blames his own incompetence.(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Thorn is impressively good at figuring out how to assign blame/responsibility to the right parties in the right proportions, but to be fair, he's had a lot of therapy

varethane

That thing about never having a character everyone will like is so true-- I feel like the most consensus I've ever had was over Teeko, the main character of my previous webcomic. Almost everyone agreed that she was a cinnamon roll, but there were others who considered her irritating (or at best, found her irritating at first but then got to like her)(edited)

I'm pretty sure the lead of my new comic will be significantly more polarizing

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

(He has PTSD from a dragonslaying mission that went bad, where he didn't give the order that made it all go wrong but was in a strong position to stop it and didn't, so Responsibility been kind of a major theme in his brain ever since)

varethane

Her major flaws are that she's kinda selfish and impulsive, and while I have a whole Arc planned, that type of character is just guaranteed to rub some readers the wrong way

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Meanwhile, Leif is very well-conditioned to assign responsibility to "anything and anyone except my country's leaders and system of government"

Which is also changing over a long-term character arc! And there's definitely debate in the comments sections at any given stage about how reasonable he's being now

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

My favorite flawed character ever is Leona from Prague Race. I loved that comic but not gonna recommend because it is on forever hiatus. I'd never seen her flaws before in any other character and yet felt them deeply. Her flaws are to the point where you're not even sure if she is a good person. https://www.praguerace.com/comics/1438038533-06.jpg https://www.praguerace.com/comics/1438197522-07.jpg https://www.praguerace.com/comics/1438802007-08.jpg(edited)

varethane

She isnt, at all, but I still love her as a character ahaha

(Well okay she is a little bit at least)

eliushi [a winged tale]

Ahh I remember Prague race

It’s fantastic. I really enjoy the antihero/unconventional qualities Leona has(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i LOVE her

I love her look

I love her attitude

she is like

my favorite character ever in webcomics

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ahhh so is her flaw having her desires supersede others?

Or desiring entertainment even at the cost of hurting others?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

She is exceptionally curious, to the point of recklessness(edited)

eliushi [a winged tale]

A related question that's fun to ponder is, who or what do they blame when things don't go well? (Obviously the answer's gonna vary a LOT depending on the circumstances, but something fun to think about)

Flo: blames herself Ash: blames anyone but Flo Ice: blames anyone but themself Bell: blames the person who is deemed logically wrong

I think Leona’s flaw is self-centredness. AFAIK it’s because she is going to die? Terminal illness? then she feels the world owes her everything

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

She was like that before that happened though

Like in the opening where she drags her friend into a sketchy shop and plays with the mysterious artifacts and falls into a new world

eliushi [a winged tale]

Ah so just a selfish character then?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

All the while being like

"hey neat!"

eliushi [a winged tale]

Disregards others’ boundaries for her amusement and purpose

It’s a great flaw to explore

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh that one is a very good flaw

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Before this point it was more disregarding her own life for her amusement and purpose

It's her own fault she has a year to live

eliushi [a winged tale]

It’s all starting to come back haha

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

So basically she’s self entitled

Those types are tough to pull off

If there’s one character flaw I want to see more, it’s characters that struggle with taking a stand

eliushi [a winged tale]

For sure. I find antihero and passive protagonists especially difficult to write/draw

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i might be the opposite because people complain about my protag being too passive lol

He just wants to live

/not live

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Hmmm, I’m the opposite actually! I dislike conflict so I try to either run away or hide when it happens

So for me it’s easier to write someone who is scared of conflict and is seen as a coward than someone more active

eliushi [a winged tale]

Eli did the proactive choice to follow the minor goddess right? I see that as having agency

I meant more of writing them as compelling characters

Especially as protagonists

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ahhhh i'm glad

i agree that stories usually read better when the main characters have a goal

it gives you a thread to follow throughout the story

eliushi [a winged tale]

For sure. Having a clear external goal to augment the internal one is key

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

What if the main character’s goal is not having a goal

Or being viscerally against the goals of everyone else

eliushi [a winged tale]

Against the goals is a goal in itself I think haha

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Where it’s seen as against the cultural norm to have one....like Eli

Omg full circle lmao

eliushi [a winged tale]

But if the goal is to be passive then... that’s where I find it is difficult to write compellingly

Unless you have side characters that boost the agency

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ugh can't talk about eli while talking to eli

i got confused lol

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I think with those types it works with other characters also having goals

Exactly Eli!

.....oh my god this is getting confusing

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ack now i got confused in the opposite direction

i think

eliushi [a winged tale]

Exactly shadow. Hence I designed ash, ice and bell to be strong voices to counteract quiet Flo

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I love me some well-written passive characters TBH

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

mm i agree. if the mc doesn't have a lot of agency, other people need to to drive the plot forwards

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yeah! I did the same thing by having sunny be outspoken and Liam be the one that runs away

And she ends up having to call him out on his shit!

I wonder if their passivity can be both a strength and a weakness tho

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think I actually gravitate more towards passive ones than to overtly proactive ones, with all other factors being hypothetically equal

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

stares at Danbi

eliushi [a winged tale]

But I find there’s a point in which your passive character needs to make a change for their arc; stasis = death. Ultimately depends on the narrative and theme and with a negative arc it’s something to play with

Danbi is not passive I don’t think

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Hmmmm danbi has a passive nature But you’re right now that I think about it

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think part of it is I'm currently in the "I need to take a break from those ultra-motivated shounen action MCs" phase

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Me: Eli is passive! Eli: no Shadow: Danbi is passive! Eli: no

:p

eliushi [a winged tale]

I find the passive protagonist is like the boy in hyouka

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

what's he like? i haven't read/seen that

eliushi [a winged tale]

Or a lot of those anime’s where the love interest or others drag them into things

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ahhh those types

You’re right about those being hard to write about because they can become satellite love interests

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm thinking more along the lines of, when the story itself isn't about WE RESOLVE THIS BIG CONFLICT YES

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

With no motivation except for their friends/love interests

eliushi [a winged tale]

https://hyouka.fandom.com/wiki/Houtarou_Oreki

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I have not actually read this, so not sure why this is the example to come to my mind, but: there's this manga? in which humanity is facing extinction, but people are just calmly accepting instead of panicking or rebelling. They're not trying to fix things, they're just living out their lives

varethane

In Wychwood, Felix is an extremely passive character (it's one of his biggest flaws, he's absolutely terrible at standing up for himself and..... I mean, atm he doesnt really have any opportunities to make decisions for himself, but if he does he second guesses himself and ends up doing nothing lol)

eliushi [a winged tale]

I see that as more of a choice of acceptance keiiii

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ooooh okay I see Eli

eliushi [a winged tale]

But I mean we all have different definitions and thresholds we refer as passive

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I mean it's okay for us to define "passive" differently, as long as we're aware of how the different definitions affect the discussion

eliushi [a winged tale]

Yep yep

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

If I knew we were all going to die and there was nothing i could do about it, I think I'd just live out my life too. Spend time with family and cook good food.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

In that case there is one character I have like that, but the reason he’s passive is because his hyperperfectionism has marred him and he’s severely depressed now

eliushi [a winged tale]

I’m more referring to a narrative passive character https://www.jimenainovaro.com/blog/2019/9/7/passive-protagonist-how-to-tell-if-you-have-one-and-how-to-fix-it

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Anyway, HoK is like that: it's not about FIX THIS BIG PROBLEM WITH THE WORLD. The world does have massive problems, and there are multiple groups of people trying to fix, delay, or otherwise address those Big Problems in various ways. But the story itself is not about that.

eliushi [a winged tale]

Right so if the story is not about saving the world, in relation to the actual theme of the story, I don’t think Danbi is passive

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

ELUISHI

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

mm we're talking about the benefits of passive characters but that link is "how to fix it" ah

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

YOU’RE HERE

eliushi [a winged tale]

Oh hai!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I feel like that article is written with the assumption that you want the readers to root for the MC, which I think is.... not necessarily what you want.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Hello????

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

ah

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

It depends on what kind of story you want to write I guess

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah like lmao root when you feel like it worm

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I guess for my story it's just lmao done out of my curiosity and just seeing that to form.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Full disclosure, I do not read fast enough to have read the entirety of that article by now (edited)

eliushi [a winged tale]

Exactly shadow

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

But I think that also brings up an important point

eliushi [a winged tale]

https://threekookaburras.com/blogs/news/14720925-writing-tips-whats-wrong-with-a-passive-protagonist perhaps another viewpoint

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

WHAT is the "ideal reader reaction" you want with the story? (can break this down to "with this one scene/ arc" etc)

(can also have multiple ideal/desired reader reactions for the same story/ arc/ scene)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ooh that's an interesting question

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(I also really like parentheses)

eliushi [a winged tale]

I feel like that article is written with the assumption that you want the readers to root for the MC, which I think is.... not necessarily what you want.

I recall you mentioning HoK is more like a character study. I think more conventional storytelling want the audience to be invested in the protagonist

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i honestly don't really have an answer

just want people to know these characters and this world

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Personally the reaction I want....is for other people to learn along with them

And hopefully touch their hearts

And yeah keiiii you DID mention that it’s more focused on character development at one point

eliushi [a winged tale]

Ideal reader reaction by act 1: exciting adventure here we go! Act2: oh no Act 3: oh that makes so much sense why everything is happening but how will they succeed Act 4: hope

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

OH that’s what you mean?

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

What’s an act four

eliushi [a winged tale]

Oops I meant season

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I think. My four chapters are similar to Eli's

eliushi [a winged tale]

(Season 1 is act 1; seasons 2&3 act 2 and last season is act 3)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for me, like if to make my characters relevant to the audience isn't the main goal. like relevant characters doesn't equate to folks understanding to the nuances of their struggles. at least for me. I just want to write the story for the sake of it and what folks react to it uh lmao that's their reaction. stick for the ride if you want to see things panned out is my mind set

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Arc 1: people are excited then sad...what the fuck shadow Arc 2: oh my god oh my god this happened it’s chaos angst time Arc 3: melancholic but going up in a way Arc 4: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH Arc 5-7: this is sweet as hell

eliushi [a winged tale]

Yeah I should rephrase: there can be many reasons why you want the audience to NOT root for the protagonist (ie protagonist is a serial killer and the reader is more keen to know if justice will be served)

But these are done intentionally and the protagonist is not passive in the narrative sense(edited)

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

Act One: Buildup Plot Point: NO NO NO NO Act Two: angst Plot Point: Act Three: Ships

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like, I don't necessarily want anyone to agree with any of the characters. But I want people to be able to see why they think or feel the way they do. More importantly, I want people to FEEL that their (the characters') feelings are real and powerful. So I guess for every arc of HoK it all comes down to: "my heart is breaking and healing at the same time"

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Natasha I relate to the ships coming in later part

same

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

I’m tryna have at least one ship sail in act two XD

eliushi [a winged tale]

I live for the AHHHHH and

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

dang I just love throwing curveballs

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

we can tell

eliushi [a winged tale]

Shadow will draw the ships for me

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh the AHHHHH part is a ship

YES I DRAW ALL THE SHIPS

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

The is my favorite part of the story

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

not saying which ship tho sorry

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

Aside from the ships

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

lol

if I have to break up the structure for OIYD!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yes the is a good scene More please

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

... nah it's too soon to share ask me again in 5 years or somethin

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

@Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!) mood

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I'm like lmao i'm on ch. 3

and it's early to draw some conclusions of what structure i had set up, but I do have a clear idea where I want going with it. just... have to draw it lol

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

Dude I’ve basically scripted my act three and I haven’t even gotten to my first major turning point

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

same mood, same boat

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I’ve only scripted up to arc 2

And I’m already feeling the chaos

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

for me uh.. I guess its main arcs are there

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

My act one is the most solid, followed by act three. I’m slowly figuring out the middle XD

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Because shit gets dark in the end of arc 1

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

but I had chopped off like 8 chapters lmaO

Deo101 [Millennium]

I script... like one scene at a time if that..

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

so it's a lot shorter than it was originally intended but at least

it is more impactful for me lmao

just non canon content now lol

eliushi [a winged tale]

You got this Natasha!

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

YEAH!

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I also can't script super ahead, at least with this story. With my previous comic I scripted like 2+ years worth of content in advance

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oof that's my first webcomic lmao

and ... I stopped after the first chapter lmao

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

What reader reactions I want for my comic? Uhhh... Volume 1: Pretty world! And also some mysteries... Volume 2: Even more mysteries... culminating in the moment Volume 3: IT'S EVERYTHING I COULD'VE WANTED

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah my next comic I'm planning ive got a script for like a whole thing but for this one im like "hmm... what seems fun?"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

For me, I think the main factor is that the previous comic was heavily dialog-driven (you could convert it to an audio drama with minimal changes), while my current comic is very visual (you really can't convert it into an audio drama...)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

EVERYTHING WE WANT CLAIRE?!!?!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Everything you want

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

EVERYTHING?????

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Yes

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

man, it must have some good cheese in there

Deo101 [Millennium]

oh are we answering what we want our readers to think?

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yea

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yiss

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I'm like "I'm not qualifed to answer this because lmao"

Deo101 [Millennium]

I want my readers to be like oh this is fun! the whole time, i think

dont want it to change, want it all uphill

no stress or nothin just fun times

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Deo reading your webcomic is like going to the beach Pretty chill

Deo101 [Millennium]

hell yeah!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Space beach!

Hey my rank just changed!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Wha

Deo101 [Millennium]

when you read my comic I want you to feel like youre sittin poolside with a cool drink and some sunglasses

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

it does have that vibe yeee

Deo101 [Millennium]

fuck yeah thats everything I could want babeyyyy

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

It has mojito pina colada vibes

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

aww yeee

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Mine is just sangria

WITH SHOTS

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I guess for OIYD! is just "bloody mary please say sike"

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Is eightfish’s like....champagne

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Refreshing glass of ocean water

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Is this the "what drink would your comic be" topic?

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

lmao

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

salty

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

salt

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yes

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

Ooooh good question

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Time to bring up my answer to that question again: "liquid bacon fat, so that it stays in your heart forever."(edited)

Natasha Berlin (Pot of Gold)

Hot chocolate

Dark chocolate kind

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Holy shit that’s two sides of the spectrum right there

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Omg keii

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

keii idk how I feel about that if I'm gonna have caradiac arrest reading your comic lmao

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Heart Attack Of Keol

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Clogging my arteries oh lord

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

You're killing me today kei

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Omg

But wait is Phantomarine also a glass of ocean water

Deo101 [Millennium]

not read it yet but I feel like its that blue drink from applebees

do you know the one im talkin about, the one with the shark gummy in it

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

whaaaaat

We don’t have Applebee’s here do explain

YES?!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

drop a big salt chunk at the bottom of it and YEP that's Phantomarine

Deo101 [Millennium]

very sweet but there are like 2 shots in it so you will get 1: brain freeze and 2: more tipsy than u think!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yuhhh

my mom always buy that drink deo

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I kinda want to try it now

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

It's good

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Applebees come to Canadia plz

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

lmaoo

wait what

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

We canucks want to get a brain freeze pls

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

there's no applebees in Canadaland?

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Nope

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

omgGGG

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

We have a tims tho

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

also this might be getting a tad bit off-topic so watch out

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

okay tru tru lmao

dang tragic like

imagine making drink references in your comic and someone is like

"yo what is that? lemon juice?"

"........... lemonade?"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Sorry rebel. We are just perpetually off topic

Deo101 [Millennium]

the page that had orange juice in millennium everyone was talking about the orange juice

and same with the page that there was milk

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

actually this would be an intersesting question like lmao if your comic still makes references to your native place of being

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

The logo was funny deo

And cute

Although at first I thought the cow was a space pig...

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

like having orange juice in space i'm like yaaaa lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

okay but the page with milk also had a murder skeleton

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

But space pig

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Skeleton milk

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Mmmm yes taste the calcium

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

so much calc

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Enough to bone milo

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah everyone was like "he just wants the milk!"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Page with the clock everyone was talking about the clock

The way deo draws inanimate objects is just

Really memorable

I guess

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

whu

Deo101 [Millennium]

you would be the first person in my life to have ever said that

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

omg

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

(or maybe you just don't have anything else more interesting on the page :p)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

The devil is in the details

Or should I say

bone milk

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Crunchy

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

i don'tt hink I can handle bone milk since i'm starting to develop an intolerance to lactose

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I'd love to draw my ships but anxious brain thinks, I shouldn't because no one knows them

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I remember that there was a talk about the page on deo’s server

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh man ships worm lmao

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

And someone mentioned carbonated milk

Deo101 [Millennium]

I dont wanna think about carbonated milk

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

people like guessing Richie or Dean for Cara and i'm like ya'll missing the 3rd option

"it's the friends we made along the way"

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ot3 ayo

Deo101 [Millennium]

I think I was the one who mentioned carbonated milk though

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

dfjalkgjaeoifuiodj

Deo101 [Millennium]

gjsdaghsagjkhgjkasg

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

OT3

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

YOU WERE

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Do it I dare you

Deo101 [Millennium]

shadow big brain w ot3

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I meaaaaaaaan

I have a love triangle

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

if they were compadable with each other

probably LMAO

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

But if they get together

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

but lmAO

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

its a metaphysical paradox

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

AAAAA

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

But yeah I love the OT3 option

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

It would be actually interesting to see polyamory in a comic not about polyamory though

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

[puts down things to consider]

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Cara/Richie/dean

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I'm like I want to see as a possibiltiy

but it's also errrrrr enriched with Viet stuff and i'm like bruh

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I too, like Eightfish, dare you to do it

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

how that would affect Cara's relationship with her family

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I agree Eightfish! I like the secret polyamory in a comic, like Marmalade Boy had a poly family and only when I was older, knew about it. I reread it, was like holy cow! It is a poly family(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

:000

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

same with Dean's too since they're both tradtional vietnamese families to some extent

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

(Apologies for taking forever to type this) "Maybe no one talks about Interesting Things in your scene because there is no Interesting Thing in your scene" used to be my big fear, to be honest. But I feel more confident after a recent epiphany, and if anyone else has that fear, please know that if YOU see Interesting Things in your story, that absolutely counts.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

aww thank you!! I need that reminder.(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I'm like man

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

It was a joke because deo's milk scene literally has someone being cut in half! But I do agree with you keii!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

like I would like to, but I ain't poly and I don't want to mis represent those communties ya kno? riP

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

And there's bound to be someone who likes the same interesting things as you

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah keiiii I worry a lot that all my comments are about asses or something because they just dont care about anything else i'm doing

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Because Lavender Tea was on haitus since I thought my main lead boy was boring but I realized my friends do like simple characters which don't have to have complex pasts.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I'm always like "lol my comic is full of boring conversations" But then every once in a while I get someone who says they actually really like the boring conversations and that just makes me :)))(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

People like to hyperfixate on the weirdest things in stories

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) YES!!!!! Interesting Talky Scenes FTW

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Also I actually like the casual conversations you have eightfish

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Well like would you have as many reader if your comic was just ass panel ass panel ass panel? :P

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like sometimes I see people asking "how do I make a talky scene interesting" and I'm like... BUT TALKY SCENES ARE INTERESTING???

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

people can have the ot3 in their dreams and I'll recognize that but for me lmao I'm like i can't

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

It is a little challenging to make talking scene interesting visually

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

ye

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

it is actually, like the way to keep it interesting I heard, is the angles, and not always focus on their face shots.

Deo101 [Millennium]

hands

give them an activity and focus on hands babey

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

OT3's, eh

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Background props and angles is what I show

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

feet

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

i guess suffering through complex angles in my panels do really pay off

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I wanted to challenge myself to draw silent panels and minimal dialogue.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I wonder if I sort of lucked out with HoK, in that the characters are often (though not always) locomoting while talking. That probably makes it easier to make it visually non-boring?

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Ladylazuli i see you eyeing that ot3

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

same, I like to draw background props, different angles.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh lord what u done shadow

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Beautiful things tuyetnhi what you talking about

Deo101 [Millennium]

ACTUALLY huge sidenote but you reminded me joichi, whats helped me get my writing way more to where I like it is every conversation being like "what if I took out all these speech bubbles?" and then actually going through and cutting most of them out

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

what u MEAN DFJAKGJDKFdjl

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I think the ship shadow is thinking of might be more ot7billion

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

fkaljfdghakldfj what

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

the more the merrier

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh god

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I have shipped OT3 before. I researched quite abit into Poly and started making a story on the side, just to understand the system and responsibilities. Just know that it's not perfect, but there's some differences(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah, I looked into poly relationships to but lmao even with the research and asking first hands accounts, I don't think I can do it justice

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

... me with monagamous relationships tbh

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

like it's hard working with a person in a monogamous relationship but also doing the same with 2 or more oh lord man

it's a lot of work for the persons who inciated and participating in such relationship struggles

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

it is still a big challenge. The good things I did hear for poly folks is, a strong sense of trust, and balancing the love between other partners. Also consent always(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I’ve read testimonies of poly people and they stress that you need a LOT of communication

There’s a lot of trust and mutual respect needed to pull off poly

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

mhm

Deo101 [Millennium]

I'd argue you need that for any relationship!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Actually yeah you’re right! Every relationship needs that!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I may stick with monagamy couples most of the time. The only time I'll draw poly is a mention of couples, i feel I'm not the right person to write drama about poly relationships yet.(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I'm like thinking like for poly persons that working with 2 or more partners like

Deo101 [Millennium]

thats why I dont write drama about any relationship LMAO

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I have thought about writing a poly relationship once but er....I was thinking of doing villains in a toxic one

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

how does that play out like... since I think the possibility with being burnt out with communication with multiple partners

and the partners themselves like their relationships with the main poly person's partners too

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

And showing how it deteriorates through time when one partner is abusive and it destroys the other two

Oh I’ve seen an abusive poly in real life before

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oof

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

One partner chose to have multiple male partners

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

so I have rip

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

But her boyfriend didn’t want that...and the female partner wouldn’t allow him to have other partners

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

also uh same but it was one guy with women as his multiple partners

the guy had a toxic masculinity mindset.

and i'm like to my friend like " Are you still going out with him?"

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

was he cheating on them though, or was it consented? Because infidelity is different from poly. My poly friends can't stress that enough(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

it was consented but from what I see it that for to established relationship he wanted like the women to be him as his partner

and they agreed to it

but he also was meeting with other women other than his poly partners

so i'm like

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Okay that’s....not good. And I think that’s what needs to be addressed a lot I wonder if there are comics out there that talk about poly relationships

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

idk. like if it works with them, that's on them but i'm like idk how I feel if my partner will do that when I agreed to be only monogamous to him

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

yes exactly. Yes there are and usually healthy poly relationship. I have to go find it, but not many comics.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

so lmao it didn't sit well for me due to my morals I guess

but if he, and my friend, and his poly partners had it work, I guess more power to them?

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Okay but if your partner decides to be poly without you, that's not being poly, that's cheating

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

No, eightfish the thing is that they agreed to him seeking out multiple partners while being monogamous

so it's more like an poly-open relationship thing?

at least that's in my understanding

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Not only that, banning your partner from seeking out others is hypocritical

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

like his partners doesn't have an issue with it

that's the distinction

idk man i don't understand well, and even equiped with this knoweldge I rather read other poly folks works about the subject than attempting poly relationship dynamics myself lmao(edited)

that's my two cents on it lol

yeah

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

like for some poly people, they like the idea of having multiple partners, so that there's less pressure to be a perfect partner. Some compare it to; having more than one friend? what do you guys think though?(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

idk I just have friends

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I say that's some valid points. like they're varying degrees

Deo101 [Millennium]

im not poly so I cant comment

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

and the poly experience is varried so there's not right all to be all so yeah lmao.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

yeah I think so too. TBH, I was feeling mixed when they compare romantic partners to having multiple friends?

but because I think the love for a partner is much deeper, but that's just me?(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I say it's valid if you feel that, but i know folks will beg to differ on other responses

I guess for my experience, friendship love can be deep as romantic love and i'm not nesssarly lacking if I don't have love from a romantic partner nor a platonic friend

it's varied, fluid, and if it works for your understanding... I don't see the harm

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

ah when you explain it, I can see why, I do see friendship can be pretty deep and emotional.(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

I think for me, I feel love very deeply for my friends and also my boyfriend. the differences are paper thin between the way love feels for me, it really comes down to "I chose him to be the one im kissin and stuff" cause its not even "spend the rest of my life with him only", because I fully want my close friends to be with me the rest of my life! I would love to live near or with them and see them every day, so its not that sort of foreverness thats different.

its not something that I'm self aware enough to be able to pinpoint.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah!

Deo101 [Millennium]

also this is VERY off topic I feel

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

... very tru

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

oops, it was interesting though. I've been questioning about the differences between romantic love and friendship(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Paper thin differences between deep friendship and strong romance are actually pretty relevant to HoK Though probably still off topic for this week's topic

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

I feel like I'm arriving four years later to the party, but if we're talking about character flaws then oh boy do I have some for you! In O Sarilho, we have: - Nikita's big inability to open up to people and having absolutely no tools to deal with the traumatic things that happen around him. It's so much better to keep it all in, ignore the people who are trying to help you and just let it all come out through anger; - Shizuka always says the wrong thing. Always. It's her natural talent. She doesn't mean them that way but now they're out and that's what counts; - Franquelim avoids conflict (with good reason) to an almost complacent point; - Dária is completely unaware of her privilege and tbh her own sheer luck!!; - Steffano has some problems with making his intentions clear and privilege too, in a way he also a bad time standing up to his father's antics and correlates his relationships with how useful they are to him (and vice-versa)

eliushi [a winged tale]

I’m always curious about the creator’s process arriving at their stories and characters, including character flaws! I’m wondering how these flaws affect the character developments/dynamics and propel the story?

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

at least for me, I am trying to write a story about cooperation, so figures the major flaw my main character would have would be... being very uncooperative

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

(Osarilho is amazing and illustrates that perfectly )

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

()

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Oh nooooo I was typing a long reply and accidentally deleted it

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

F

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

OHNO I wAS LOOKING FORWARD FOr IT

looking at @keii’ii (Heart of Keol) is typing... with such antecipation

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I should type in notepad and C&P but I never learn...

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

well, I think character flaws need to relate in some way to the major storyline, to the big events and themes of the story, but a lot of what I got comes from my interactions with other people, seeing what they think and also how I think and evolve and rationalize stuff... but obvs that all needs to be molded in a way that serves the narrative

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Anyway, I was starting to talk about my experience writing my previous comic, which was a conflict-driven story. What is the conflict (and/or theme), and why are these characters personally involved? What traits, goals, etc. of theirs keep them tied to this very unpleasant mess?

I didn't actually have to sit down for many days trying to figure that out. Once the biggest piece of the puzzle fell into place, the rest just followed pretty smoothly!

And the biggest piece of the puzzle was "what is it that I want to talk about with this story?"

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

yeah! that kinda tends to happen xd find the big piece and the others follow

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

So I think that's sorta similar to what @Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho said about cooperation. In my case, it was "romance can be VERY DESTRUCTIVE"

(I had seen too many "finding Mr/Ms Right fixes all of your life's problems" stories at that point in my life)

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

romance doesn't put bread on the table

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

So I had: - one extremely manipulative, baby-faced MC & his love interest (figuring out that he was manipulative was a part of the First Big Piece that fell into place) - one guy who actually found his True Love, married her, but still had serious problems. He had not even begun to resolve those problems when his wife unexpectedly died - another guy whose OTP was himself x his sister who did NOT want any of that (no assault happened, but that does not make this okay) They all had other aspects that I'd consider flaws, but you can see how those flaws are central to the story.

HoK, on the other hand, isn't really a 'there is something objectively terrible going on' kinda story. (I mean there is, but the story doesn't focus on that.) So I approach it from a different angle that I can't quite articulate/describe right now.

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

with terrible things it's easy to divide the characters in proactive/complacent axis

the "something terrible is happening, are you gonna do anything, or are you gonna let it happen?" but also the third option you are making the terrible thing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yus

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

some people transform into tigers.. to cope

carcarchu

i don't know if i've ever consciously thought about giving my characters flaws. all i think about is "this is the role they need to perform, and this is how they're going to do it"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, it's not like an MMO character creation process: "pick body. pick face. pick strengths. pick flaws." It's a lot more.... simpler and complex at the same time

Nutty (Court of Roses)

In Court of Roses, Merlow's main flaw is that he spends so much effort making others happy and comforted that he entirely neglects himself. He's had a traumatic experience in his past, and since it's still fresh and painful for him, instead of opening up about it, he drinks to numb the pain, if just for the night. Until the nightmares awaken him, of course. While he is an extremely social boy and thrives off the company of good friends, he is so, so afraid of them getting caught up in his troubles. So much so, that after an especially terrible nightmare, he attempted to run away into the woods to escape them "being hurt" in some way. He's constantly putting others before himself. Hopefully he'll learn through the other main bards (especially Nocturne) to take care of himself without guilt, or in a self-destructive manner.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

As I think of Eliushi's question; when I typically think of flaws, I imagine they need to effect the character's life or relationships with others. Some of my older teen or adult characters, I can naturally imagine their flaws, since they are closer to real people.

While my cinnamon roll-like OCs are a little harder to figure their flaws, it can't be too dark or out of character. I figure I'll figure it out as I carry on the story(edited)

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

Cricket is mean, antisocial, and irresponsible. All of the rest of the pirates hate her because she went behind their backs and did something destructive that got them all in trouble. She also has a learning disability that she's really hard on herself about, calling herself "stupid" for not being able to read. She also has no problem with killing or stealing. Captain Harriet Hopper is more of an outwardly good person, with strong moral values and a general capability of commanding respect, but she has very low self confidence, second guessing her leadership decisions and often relying on reassurance and guidance from others rather than taking control of a situation.

The rest of the cast are pretty much just ruthlessly evil with only a few exceptions.

DanitheCarutor

Julian: - They're completely humorless, they do not laugh, they do not smile, everything is VERY serious business! When a joke doesn't fly over their head, they will not find any shred of humor in it. All jokes made by them are purely accidental. - Julian has no self-worth. Self-care is practically non-existent, they don't care about sleep, hygiene, eating and anything else that would help them feel even remotely better. Also, other than with Apollo, they will never stand up for themselves or give anyone lip unless it's to defend someone else. - They are an OCD level workaholic/cleanaholic, and will clean and keep themselves busy regardless of environment. While they did pick up good domestic responsibilities and work ethic at a young age, these positive habits have turned into excessively defensive ones. - They're a tiny ball of stress that second guesses themselves constantly. They are on edge nearly 24/7 about everything, especially when it comes to their partner and his instructions. - Very unambitious overall, they don't see themselves with a future so they don't try to have one. - Julian can have quite a temper and can be an absolute stubborn mule sometimes. They used to get in a lot of fights, especially when defending other kids, now they're like those grouchy old people who'll yell at you to get off their lawn. - They refuse help from others, seeing their own needs and presence as a burden they try to keep as low a profile as possible. I try to show these flaws through Julian's actions, interactions, the subjects they talk about, body language and appearance. Admittedly a lot of their personality hasn't shown through yet, currently in the comic their slew of mental health and domestic issues are overpowering who they are as a person, they're essentially living in survival mode. Later on their personality will start to show more, with their general flaws not being as heavily influenced by poor mental health and a bad environment.

DanitheCarutor

Apollo: - While growing up, his education wasn't taken very seriously by him or his family, in turn he slacked off a lot of school and now isn't the brightest bulb in the box. The lack of good education is also coupled with being very sheltered, he started out in private school then moved into homeschooling, so he never developed any significant life experiences. - He lacks basic survival and emotional comprehension skills. These skills were never encouraged or experienced during his upbringing, so he never developed them. - Apollo is very much a spoiled brat, he puts his wants first before considering other people. Although being someone with a general good nature, he tries to do his best with his close friends, he's just not very good at being considerate. - He is extremely gullible and overly trusting. If someone he considered a good friend told him you could create diamonds through your nose by snorting wasabi he would probably believe them. - Apollo doesn't have a whole lot of respect for himself, letting people use him and swindle him out of his money and possessions. His upbringing has a lot to do with letting people take advantage of him, but it also has a lot to do with his underlying guilt for past events, he just doesn't see himself as someone worth respecting. - He's a raging alcoholic due to the previous point. But he is very stubborn about it, insisting he does not have a problem, and that he can quit any time he wants to. - Apollo is a very lazy person overall, he refuses to learn basic skills, doesn't even take care of his personal and environmental cleanliness needs half the time. I try to show Apollo's flaws the same way I show Julian's, although with him there is a lot more focus on actions since he's a much more active person. His bad decisions are a major cause for some of the current predicaments in the comic, and have had a large roll in the story so far.(edited)

SPOILER

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

Fotis' flaw is that he lets emotion take over him and tends to jump to conclusions. He's very precocious and has had to grow up too fast (he's only 14 and has experiences not many adults have, or should have) but he's still young and inexperienced. He makes errors in judgment though he learns fast. When he thinks coolly he's more likely to make a pretty solid call. But when he's angered, or feels intense grief, or intense joy or desperation, he tends to make less informed choices. Unfortunately living in WWII and Nazi-occupied Greece makes for a very unforgiving environment for trial and error. It shows often in the comic when he talks about things with older people- people that fight with their own demons and challenges.

kayotics

Oh crap, I almost missed this topic. My main character has SO many flaws

Deo101 [Millennium]

and we love him for it

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

it's not too late

list them!

kayotics

I must prepare myself

kayotics

Some classic Toivo flaws: - Serial romantic. He loves the idea of being in love, and is desperate for it. - Flighty. He's hard to keep around. He's afraid of commitment for various reasons, and coupled with the serial romanticism, leads to a lot of heartache for him. - Related to the last one: avoidant in general. If he can avoid talking about hard conversations, he will. - A lack of coping mechanisms. This comes out in a very real way in chapter 3 when it's revealed that all of the ghosts in his house are literal ghosts of relationships, made by him trying to avoid dealing with the breakups. - Impulsive and leaps before he thinks. He's the stupidest genius you'll ever meet. He's super smart, and pretty wise, but he's going to act first before he even thinks about it. (sometimes this is a positive thing, and leads to ingenuity) - Petulant. He's pretty childish a lot of the times. - Brash. This doesn't come out as much in the comic, but when he's dealing with new people or people he doesn't like, he can be quite rude.

I'm sure there's more but those are the big ones.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

[nosequotes]

The Pennsylvania Gazette: In the Days of Our Fathers, 1919

A lad named Henry Hutchins, from the Barbados, was the first speaker. After making the customary excuses on his inability to discover a subject and one which would interest them, he launched forth:

“Now as I do not pretend to be one of your thundergustical, Demosthenian orators, I mean just to give you a few simple thoughts upon Noses.”

After commenting on the importance of his subject and the interest it must surely have had for everyone present, he continued:

"Noses then are of a remote origin. They are lineally descended from as ancient a family, and possess as noble blood, as any upon earth. We receive no particular light upon the subject, to be sure, from the book of Genesis; but we have every reason to believe, that both of our first parents had noses. This deduction is drawn a posteriori, as the philosophers say; for if we cast our eyes over the whole earth, or if we trace the annals of antiquity, we shall neither see nor read of any nation, generation, tribe, or class of people that were without noses. It must therefore be taken as a matter in proof before you, that noses have been appendant to the human face since it was first created; but these noses, altho' similar in substance, have been found dissimilar in shape, colour, and size, among the various inhabitants of the world, from time immemorial to the present day. In point of substance, they have generally been composed of cartilage, bones, muscles, veins, arteries, skin, etc. Some noses, to be sure, in modern times, have been made of paper, some of leather, and some of wax; but these have been departures from the general law of noses. In respect to colour, shape and size, there have been, and still exist, many varieties in the world.

"The one most noted in history, and of which there are still many specimens remaining, is the Roman or Aquiline nose. This is a most astonishing species of nose, for its appearance and uses. In regard to the first, namely its appearance, behold it projecting from the face like the bow of a ship, or like the sign and sign-post of an ale-house. Such a nose cannot fail to attract our attention, and command our wonder. Look back, oh Americans, to former ages, and remember what feats were once performed by the Roman nose! Whole armies put to flight, trepidation infused into enemies, and disorder introduced into their ranks, at the sight of the Roman nose! Remember what Hannibal said on the plains of Cannae, when he raised the head of a slain Roman, and beheld his nose: 'With such soldiers,' exclaimed he, 'I could subdue the world!' This nose also imports genius. Did you ever see a man with a fine aquiline nose, that was not possessed of superior intellect? When this excrescence is large, it follows as a necessary inference, that there is greater room left for the expansion of the brain. Pray, therefore, all fathers and mothers that hear me, that young children may have long noses: pinch them, and pull them, and mould them, to a high aquiline construction, if they happen unfortunately to be small. Young people of every description choose your sweethearts by the size and figure of their noses. If they be not high and properly proportioned, depend upon it you are in danger of getting into a hobble." He then spoke of other species of noses, and went on:

"The first and great use of the nose is in giving bread to thousands. 'Giving bread!' you will say—'the nose give bread?'—Ay—that it will. I say thousands of our species get their bread, and their beef, and their grog, too, by a whimsical propensity of the nose. Look around you in this City, and see how many tobacconists shops there are where rapee and Scotch snuff are manufactured; and how many tradesmen acquire wealth by the importation of St. Domingo and Massabau. Consider how many old women, and tailors, and beaus, draw a great part of their temporal enjoyment from a hearty pinch of snuff. See here then, what a source of pleasure is discovered, and how many honest labourers are kept in employ, by this queer hankering of the nose after a stimulus.

"Again, the nose is an excellent guide to man, if he would but follow its direction. We are often told, when we enquire for a place, to follow our nose—and believe me there is more meaning in the aphorism than many are apt to imagine. If people in their intercourse with the world, would but follow their nose, and pursue the straight line of rectitude and truth, there would be but little quarreling and little misery.

"Again, the nose is of great use as a handle to the face. A pump has a handle, and a teapot has a handle; and why, in the name of Zookers and Bodikens. should not a man's face have a handle? When one man wishes? to insult another, he has nothing more to do than to take his antagonist by the nose, and to lead him about the room. And when we are told that old maids will lead apes, In those regions which I must not name to polite ears — I think it probable, that our antiquated virgins will there be authorized and enabled, with impunity, to insult old bachelors for not courting them here, by leading them about by the nose, i "Finally, the nose is of great use as an instrument of music. At the bar. as well as in the pulpit, the twang of the nasal trumpet is of the utmost avail, to rouse and to command attention. It fills the ear with a full chorus of sonorous discord.

"Thus, my audience, have I endeavoured to give a few thoughts on the history, varieties, and uses of noses— hence you will discern the importance of this noble member. Be careful of it, I entreat you, let no accident deform, let no insult disgrace it. It is the highest and most conspicuous ornament on the human face—Let nothing therefore impair its elegance. Let not that in insidious enemy, intemperate drinking, change its fair aspect to a feverish red, nor raise on it the odious carbuncle; but preserve, by every means, its beauty and its health, and transmit to posterity a sound, prominent, sensible, and respectable nose."