#(it's actually pretty impressive imo so kudos haha)

[saltymongoose]

the AU thingy

Son of a ----

Okay.

So.

    First things first. 

I’m like 90% sure I’m not actually human anymore. My vision is all weird and I haven’t blinked once so… no eyes probably. Also, my skin is both grey and I’ve got a decent layer of fur, so that’s definitely an indicator that I am no longer a Homo Sapien.

Not ideal, but I don’t think a species change is the biggest issue on my list right now. I’ve got other shit to deal with.

I did a quick check of my body and everything on me. I was wearing a black shirt with open shoulders that goes up to my neck, black leggings, brown combat boots. Belt with shotgun shells and a pocket full of more around my waist. Another pack around my right leg that’s filled with way more sniper rounds than I think is physically possible to fit in there. Same goes for the one around my waist.

Not that I’m really complaining about the ammo. I’d rather have more than less and if my bullet bags are kinning Mary Poppins’ handbag then I’m not really going to complain.

Green hair, no eyes. I’ve got a sniper rifle on my back and a shotgun right over the small of my back. I forgot that I used that, or more accurately my sona used it. Oh, hey a knife on my chest. That’s useful.

But enough about inventory. I could take a better look later, once I’d had a nice mental breakdown and a good cry. I could really use a good cry right about now.

Later. Here isn’t very safe. 

Not that I know where exactly here is but considering the context clues when it comes to my body and the fact the sky’s red, I’m going to say mother fucking Nevada.

Most likely in the Combat Madness universe.

It’s been a while since I played the game, having finished it once and getting pretty far in Arena before I finally died and decided I’d take a break. Of course, having ADHD and terrible prioritizing skills means ‘taking a break’ quickly turned into not having touched the game for half a year. 

But I’d still written stories and drawn a bit and had worked on a “post-arena” tale for my character.

Agent Echo, a grunt with a genetic quirk that made her female, smaller than most other grunts, and the fastest bitch in the west. Nevada was the west right? 

I’d worked on making it so my character could have a shitton of ammo but also incredible aim, and she wasn’t worthless when it came to hand-to-hand either. So, thank God for small mercies.

After tearing through scores of other grunts and a multitude of battles, but not really being cut out for actual combat against the likes of Hank and the crew (and oh boy would meeting them be fun if I didn’t instantly die) the Auditor decided to order the little killing machine be shoved into a lab for some radioactive testing.

The results? 

Bright green hair (like grass, not eye-bleeding green), a slightly higher than normal level of radioactivity that could kill people if utilized correctly, and a special combat ability I had named “The Las Vegas Glare”. 

If you’ve ever played Fall Out, you know that at a certain point you can begin to pick and choose where exactly you shot your enemies, which meant that if you wanted to blast them with a headshot, you could do so every single time in slow motion and high definition.

So of course, I gave my sona that ability. Not without side effects because I’m a sucker for angst.

While in combat, Echo could dramatically increase her radiation output, which would allow her to a pair of eyes and see everything in slow motion.

If she’d been a deadly sniper before, now she was simply the definition of lethal.

But again, side effects. 

Increasing radiation made her sick as a dog and there was also the fact that growing eyes spontaneously wasn’t a very comfortable experience, nor was dealing with the after-decay either. Eventually the eyes would be gone again, but it was a good idea for Echo, and now me I supposed since I was stuck in her body, to wear a visor to contain the radioactive flesh. 

Sometimes if the ability was used for too long it would cause certain parts of her body to begin to just… quit. Say “no thank” and fuck off and die after deciding they weren’t dealing with the radioactive killing machine. 

I already checked, but just like in my story, my right leg was completely gone. Up to the hip, but surprisingly easy to use after falling more than once.

Then again multiple people have been shot in the head and survived in the Madness Combat universe, so it’s not a surprise they can literally just replace somebody’s leg.

But the whole ‘replacing the leg’ thing is why Echo in the story left. A couple higher ups decided her recovery was too much work and the time she spent healing would be better spent training somebody else to take her place while they disposed of her body.

And in true angsty fashion, I decided that didn’t happen, but something a little worse instead.

One good old 2B-Damned erased Echo’s memory and sent her loose in the Nevadan landscape. After dropping her off somewhere decently safe and giving her ammo and weapons.

I remember vaguely seeing him, still too disoriented in waking up in a body that wasn’t mine and figuring out who I was after having my brain wiped.

So I only really registered that I had met 2B once he was leaving.

That wasn’t ideal. Especially since I had a few questions like how the fuck did I get here.

ANYWAYS, introductions over. I’ve explained some background, given you an overview of the character I’m currently in, a little bit of exposition.

Not that I’m actually talking to anybody, but it’s nice to think that someone somewhere is watching me and paying attention to the ramblings in my mind. It helped me really register where I am and what’s going on anyways. So, win-win.

So. Current situation.

Not human anymore, somehow in Nevada and in the body of a radioactive grunt who got injured and then yeeted out into the desert by a slightly crazy doctor who wiped her memory and in doing so somehow yoinked my soul into this universe.

 I never really did decide if 2B had shoved me, and I guess I’m referring to Echo as me now, I always did like the name and this is my body now, into the desert to save my life or to prevent the scientists who made me this way from being able to use my body.

I’ve always been one for sentimentality, but I think the second option is more accurate. Maybe if I find 2B again I can ask him.

Currently I’m walking through the streets and holding my shotgun to my chest like it’ll save me and take me home. I’ve never actually fired a gun and I’m a little terrified I don’t have any abilities here. 

I don’t know if I could kill somebody if it came to it, but I’m in Nevada now. It’s going to come to it. I’m not naïve enough to think I can live here and not kill people to survive. Pacifism will get you killed in a warzone, and I’d rather not die yet. Some sick part of me hoped I’d end up killing somebody sooner than later so I wouldn’t have to deal with the anticipation, and maybe I’d get over it faster. 

Oh, hey a warehouse! This could be useful. It was better than being out in the open in any case. 

--------------------------         Fellow-09 considered himself a relatively decent guy.

He had friends in Hank and the gang, he was a little closer to 2B-Damned than most expected, and he was, in Deimos’s words, what most would consider a gentleman.

Which is why he felt a little bad for the tiny grunt 2B was having him follow. 

2B had given him the job with the basic overview of what the grunt was capable of, and the fact she’d had her mind wiped. Apparently, it was easier to possibly recruit very deadly agents if they didn’t remember the fact you were their enemy. 

Fellow could understand that, but at the same time it was a little pitiful watching the kid, and even if she was older than him according to her file, she’d had her mind wiped, so yes, she was basically a kid, look around the area like there were monsters in all the shadows.

There weren’t, Fellow had made sure. It wasn’t a good idea to have a potential asset be instantly shoved into a battlefield, though Fellow was sure Hank would’ve said it would be a good way to test her abilities. 

But Hank wasn’t here, and Fellow was a gentleman. He noticed that she had gone into a warehouse, and he quickly entered from a different entrance. 

He knew her name but decided that he’d wait for her to introduce herself before he used it. Wouldn’t want her to be freaked out by him knowing things he really shouldn’t. And honestly, he shouldn’t be talking to her at all. Observe and report 2B had said.

If he asked, Fellow would just make an excuse about the grunt finding him half asleep.

2B would never believe it, but the joke would take the edge off and there wasn’t much 2B could do once the decision was made. So. He was going to introduce himself.

He sat down at one of the empty desks, kicking his feet up on the old wood as he waited for the girl to make her way into the office. He’d gotten a better glimpse of her as he entered the warehouse, and he could admit she was cute.

Not his type, he was strictly men, but he could see Deimos fawning over her. Of course, Deimos would chase after anything with legs that was legal, (but Fellow would never say that to his face. That’s what Sanford was for.)

Then again, Sanford was always into shorties, (now that was something Fellow would call Deimos to his face. It was funny seeing the smoker get pissed about his height.) so he wasn’t fully off the list of people who might flirt with the new girl.

And he was doing it again.

Fellow had a very bad habit of considering people part of the group or team before he’s even met them. Subconsciously adding them to his register of people to protect before they even meet.

There was no guarantee the girl would even stay.

Speaking of the girl, Fellow was snapped out of his musings by the very audible sound of a shotgun being cocked. (Heh. Cock)

Fellow slowly raised his hands, revealing that he held no weapons (there was a pistol in his pocket, though he was happy to see her). Don’t make the girl nervous, and hopefully don’t get shot.

“Hey there.” He drawled, his voice light and welcoming. He’d been a spy for years, and he knew all the tricks to get somebody to let their guard down, even if they didn’t realize it. “Mind putting the gun down?”

The girl relaxed fractionally, her grip shifting on the weapon. She licked her lips, and Fellow noticed with a bit of surprise that she had fangs. Interesting.

“Who’re you?” She asked, voice quiet but confident. Mid tones, not too deep not too high. If he didn’t know from her file and the fact she had boobs, he wouldn’t have been able to tell her gender from voice alone. A good trait for prank calls.

He’s been hanging out with Deimos too much.

“I’m Fellow-09. Friendly, promise. What’s your name?” He answered and asked, his tone still calm. Don’t overwhelm her, keep her calm. Mostly get the gun put away.

Surprisingly, the grunt in front of him relaxed instantly, tension bleeding from her body as she lowered the shotgun. He knew he was good, but he didn’t realize he was that good. He wasn’t complaining.

“Oh, thank god. I really didn’t want to shoot you.” She said, voice watery in the way that meant she was trying not to cry. 

She’s upset but relieved. This is the perfect opportunity to cement himself as an ally.

“You look tired.” He said softly, standing up and reaching out towards her. “How about you sit down and tell me your name?”

The grunt hesitated, her expression conflicted before she nodded, stowing her shotgun into a holster on her back. She walked over to the desk slowly, hopping onto the wood itself rather than the chair. Fellow took a moment to register how small she really was. Even sitting down on the desk which came up to his hip, she still had to look up to see his face. 

Fellow took a moment to wonder if her small stature was less of a genetics thing and more of a side effect from malnourishment. The grunt was skinny enough for that to make sense. She shuddered and rubbed her face, and Fellow quickly grabbed the water bottle he kept in his bag.

“Here ya go,” He murmured softly, holding the water bottle up to her. “Drink slowly, you might be dehydrated.”

  ------

I was pleasantly surprised to find Fellow-09 in the warehouse. It was a relief to know he was there, someone decently trustable. Kinda cute too. 

I sipped from the water bottle he gave me, feeling the cold water go down my throat. I was definitely dehydrated, and the water was a blessing. I took in his features, trying to commit them to memory. 

He was taller than I expected. Probably around 5’8 or 5’10. Somewhere between those two numbers. Big too, in a body size sense. But definitely all muscle. His skin was a pale white, different from my light grey. I chalked it up to being a different type of grunt and focused more on his face. Visual cross, no nose. Cute smile and short white hair that was swooped over on the left side. Solid 8/10 as far as grunts go. I probably stared at his hands longer than was necessary, but I don’t think anybody could blame me.

He had paw pads. And claws. I glanced down at my own hands and saw that I had a similar hand structure. Dope.

The biggest difference between us though was the fact that while I was covered in a solid half-inch of fuzz pretty much everywhere, Fellow only really seemed to have hair on his head.

It was kind of interesting to know that grunts did in fact have hair. I was worried I’d have to deal with a bunch of hot bald boys. Not that there’s anything wrong with being bald, but I personally liked to play with people’s hair.

I’ve been staring for too long.

I swallowed, giving Fellow a nervous smile as I handed the water bottle back to him. 

“Thanks.” I murmured, kicking my legs back and forth as I looked around. Huh, the fake leg was slightly lighter than my own when I’m not standing up. I wonder if the pouch around my leg is meant to add extra weight to balance it out. I didn’t add that in my original story, but it’d be a reasonable decision to make. 

Fellow grinned back, obviously waiting for me to get out of my thoughts so he could talk to me. His voice was relatively low, but nothing extreme. He sounded a little like that guy from Transformers. The movies with the mechanic guy. Always hated that plot point about his daughter and the 18-year-old. Creeped me out. Fuck you Bay. I’m getting distracted again.

“Feeling better?” Fellow asked, placing his water bottle back in what I assumed was his bag and not just some random backpack he found and was going to leave behind.

“A little bit.” I admitted, watching him move and trying to think around the headache I still had.

“Well, that’s good! What were you doing out alone? This is a dangerous area.” Fellow explained, moving to stand next to me. Well sort of, I was sitting on the desk, but he leaned on it next to me. Not in a creepy way, he was facing the same direction as me and gave me some space, but I moved slightly closer. 

I had heard that the grunts’ skin texture was like clay, and I was a little bit curious if it was true. Of course, I wasn’t going to touch Fellow without his permission, but still. If he let me, I wouldn’t say no.

It took me a moment to register that he’d asked a question and I chuckled a little bit when I realized I had spaced out again. 

“Just trying to figure out who I am, literally.” I replied, frowning slightly. “I feel like I just woke up for the very first time, and I’m a little out of it.” 

I rubbed the back of my head, scratching my neck in my normal nervous habit. I quickly pulled away, cringing at the feeling of my skin giving underneath. Right, claws.

Note to self, try to be more careful about scratching. Wouldn’t want to accidentally give myself an injury. 

Fellow looked concerned and leaned closer to me. He seemed to be scanning my body for injuries, and I tried to make myself look bigger. I was perfectly fine, just really really  out of my depth.

“Well, you don’t look hurt, so that’s good.” He encouraged, and I smiled at him. “And speaking of finding yourself, you never gave me your name.”

I stilled trying to think of an answer. I didn’t think that my real name would be one to share, and I never did feel comfortable sharing it with strangers. I never gave my character an actual name, and she had never been referred to as anything other than “Agent Echo”. But honestly, I don’t think that it would really matter if I called myself ‘Echo’ considering I was technically supposed to be dead but looked the same. Changing my name would just make me seem like an idiot. 

“I’m Echo.” I settled on, holding out my hand. 

Fellow grabbed my hand and shook it gently. 

“Pleasure to meet you Echo.”

Huh. 

He felt like soft rubber. 

-------

End of part 1 :3

Hope you enjoyed!! 

This was exactly eight pages in my word document. 

[heathered-beinn]

BTS American Hustle Life Ep8

Episode 7 recap:

It started with a basketball game; Tony, Jungkook, Jimin, and J-Hope VS Nate, Suga, V, and Jin. Tony’s team won by a point and the punishment was Nate’s team had to buy ice cream for everyone. The next day BTS were dragged out of their beds and sent away to experience ‘working for a living’. RM and Suga joined housekeeping in a hotel, Jimin and Jungkook went to an airfield where they had to clean workshops and planes, Suga, V, and Jin ended up on a yacht and had to clean, polish, and varnish it ready for an event. At the working day they got ‘paid’ and Tony told them they were going to use the money to buy food for people on Skid Row.

While the end was a really good lesson in ‘giving back’ the rest of the episode was not so good viewing. IMO they really wasted an opportunity by not telling BTS that they were going to work – if they had they probably wouldn’t have treated it like a game. If they had taken it more seriously then it would really have put the “earning money” and “giving back” aspects into proper perspective. But it was what is was.

Anyway on to the final episode!

So BTS are getting dragged out of bed again. Did they get any decent sleep this trip? Poor V – he’s been the hardest to get out of bed each time lol.

So their last challenge is to create the best hip hop performance they can using their learned skills.

As a band they set to work on their lyrics for regulate – I’m pretty sure they don’t normally work on lyrics altogether – too many cooks spoil the broth etc - so this maybe made it harder for them. LMAO at V who wanted to include an audience aspect with, “I say V, you say The Best” and RM saying if they weren’t on camera he would have cussed him. LOL the sass and confidence of JK putting a hand across his hyung’s (Suga’s) mouth.

So Suga and RM are in charge (by rights of earning the most money last ep). Suga gives Jin and J-Hope the task of printing hand-outs, while Jimin, V, and Jungkook (the Maknae Line!) are to hand them out and promote the show.

Lol at Jungkook’s method of handing out flyers

Why do I think these were the worst three to promote anything *crying with laughter emoji*. Haha V ends up being shyer than Jungkook.

In fact, Jungkook does rather well with the promotion!

I like the little bit of behind the scenes where they clap to indicate the cameras are rolling. Jungkook really got into it lol. They clearly did other promotion for the show (and relied on their already established international fans?) because I’m calling it out that that amount of people were not the skills of Jimin, V, and, Jungkook on the street lol.

I wonder how nervous BTS really felt about shows at this point. It’s 2014 and they’ve played in quite a few shows at this point and I think been on TV? They have even been to Japan. So they were new but not that new? No doubt there will always be some nerves ahead of a show, it’s only natural, but there’s a difference between feeling antsy and feeling ill. I wonder who out of all the band had the worst nerves and who had the least nerves and why. Questions questions.

So this is really my first time seeing them perform on stage, concert style. I’ve never been much of a fan of rap but I actually quite enjoyed their music – they have some great choruses that you can’t help singing along to. What else can I say? They are well styled. Their performance is polished. Everyone sings confidently. Suga is really good at rapping. Their dancing is on point. They are a great band and it is clear why they made it.

I’m impressed at Jungkook’s stage presence – he’s confident and one of the lead vocals despite being quite shy behind the scenes. Also, I noted Jimin has some versatility to his voice! I thought he was mainly the “high vocal” of the group but I saw one bit in that concert where he had a strong middle range. I’d be interested to see him rapping.

Regulate: Turned out pretty nicely, guys! The dance challenge: Ah ha ha ha actually it was quite fun to watch. I be the audience were like ????? though lol

RM and Jimin killed their bboying. RM needs extra kudos for his efforts.

LOL, Jin and J-Hope tried with their beatboxing – lovely of Fraahz to join them on stage.

OMG Suga, V, and Jungkook’s ‘Oh Happy Day’ was great! It was polished and Jungkook, what a marvellous tone you have – he made all the notes, just cracking!!! <3

All in all, it’s clear the lads have a lot of fun on stage and it’s lovely to see their confidence shine. “Same love” was, again, polished and full of high energy, and so was “No More Dream”, it’s easy to see why BTS made it so big. They have great stage presence, their music is interesting, their performances are energetic, their personalities are fun and engaging, they all seem to really care about each other and are not afraid to show affection (which is a wonderful Korean charm), they work hard, they are polite and friendly, and they seem to have a lot of fun which means we have a lot of fun. They tick pretty much every box for success – well deserved success.

So it’s the last day and they are all packing up. They say some really nice things to Tony and Nate. It’s clear they all got on well and that the two gentlemen made it easier for the band to enjoy their time. Perhaps RM was the most honest when he said there was a lot of hardwork. I think there probably was – more than the camera showed. There was probably some home sickness in the mix as well - 21 days in a foreign country and not able to speak the language must have been quite hard.

 Overall Series Musings.

 I’m not going to lie, there were some seriously cringy moments in this series and a lot of episodes I wouldn’t care to re-watch because of that. However, there were some absolutely magical moments too and some comedy gold. We got to see more of the lads’ personalities and they are thoroughly delightful; all seven of them are fun, playful, affectionate, decent, energetic, interesting, polite, charming, sassy, talented yet beautifully flawed, awkward and just perfectly human. The list is really endless, and I know I’ve fallen even more in love with them because of it. I can certainly see why they won the world over.

Things I have learned and/or observed about the members thus far: Jin is not a natural dancer but if he’s motivated – like when he didn’t want to let J-Hope down – he will work his butt off and his hard work really shows in the end. He’s quite awkward at times and that spills into some of his craft. We learned he had been working towards a career in acting before BTS and that he has a brother who is into hip hop. As the band is so busy he hasn’t even seen the families’ new house. His role in BTS at this point seems to be a bit of parent figure for the younger members.

Suga is quite nervous of woman – like unexpectedly so – worse than Jungkook! I don’t know why this surprised me so much. Does this nervousness around women mean anything? No. Not on it’s own. I’ve just filed it away in my brain in case there is anything else that might connect to it at a later date. Anyway, what else did we learn about Suga? He’s a hard worker and a kind of ‘just gets on with it’ guy. He has a nice affinity with the younger ones, which was a little absent in previous series. This time he spent a lot of time with V and Jungkook and he was pretty soft and indulgent of them. It was lovely to see. His roles in the band are lead rapper and a song writer.  

J-Hope is a literal ball of sunshine. He is also a seriously talented dancer and I was a little taken aback that the band considered him their strongest dancer – that never came across in Carpool Karaoke. He admitted that as a trainee he had felt quite remote from the band as everyone else was a rapper, although I wonder if this was before Jimin joined? J-Hope is really quite talented all round – doing really well with all the challenges – except basketball. His roles in the band are lead dancer and the positivity/glue guy.

RM was RM. I don’t feel we learned as much about him as we did the others. Don’t get me wrong, he was front and centre but I didn’t feel we got to go too deep with him – either that or we’ve learned a lot about him already and there was little new. What did come across is that he is under a lot of pressure and that he cares what other’s think of him. He also wants to care less about what others think of him. His role is still as leader of the band.

Jimin is simply a lovable little ball of energy and laughter. Supposedly he has a temper but even when he’s ‘supposedly mad’ he is laughing about it. It’s hard to talk that seriously. Even the tutor, Tony, fell a little in love with Chim Chim. What else did we learn about Jimin? Well he was definitely calmer than in previous series – although he was still plenty loud. What really came through is that he is a hard worker and can knuckle down. His role is main dancer, high vocals, and comic relief.

V is… a lot of things. He’s overly affectionate at times, wonderfully weird, very random, a little spacey, not always the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to certain things, surprising shy in some situations, and a bit of a sensitive soul. Quite frankly I have a real soft spot for this goofball. His role is a little less obvious but I’m thinking low vocals, face of the band, and the mystery guy.

Jungkook, the maknae, is growing – both literally (I swear he grew several inches between ep1 and ep8 alone and is constantly hungry) and figuratively (his personality is blossoming). He has come out of his shell somewhat – still shy (and nervous of woman) at times – but also surprisingly brave in other situations and growing quite sassy. I think he is more comfortable behind the camera rather in front of it and I hope he gets the chance to be creative with that in the future. His role is main vocalist.

Band relations:      

Some of the musings I made in previous series have been proven right while there are many that I perhaps read too much into. We really started to see the inner friendships more in this series so that has helped put behaviours into better perspective. I think J-Hope and Jin are really tight, they spent a lot of time together and had an ease of two people that had known each other for years. They clearly have a close brotherly bond and it’s just lovely to see. Suga, to my surprise, spent a lot of time with the younger ones in this series and he really indulged them. In fact, he did a great job looking after them and played on their level in a way that made it easy to forget he is their hyung. My new observation for him is that he maybe doesn’t care too much for convention? He is unapologetically him and that’s that, which I take my hat off to. RM and Jimin made a surprisingly great unit – RM is really good with Jimin, even if his (lack) of dancing skills frustrates the younger one at times. RM respects everyone and he gives people time, which I think Jimin needs? Also, I think they get on particularly well because they are quite similar in work ethics and principles. Towards the end we saw Jimin partnered with Jungkook. I can’t put my finger yet on a proper description for their bond. They are certainly comfortable around each other – and get on well and hang out a lot - but they don’t have the same ‘brotherly vibe’ as say RM and Jimin. Jungkook also treats Jimin more like he’s the same age as him. I wouldn’t say he’s disrespectful but there is a lot of teasing and a noticeable lack of honorific behaviour. I also can’t explain why but their bond has not got the same feel as Jungkook’s and V’s relationship, in which Jungkook also treats V as though they are the same age. However, there is a notable warm brotherly vibe between V and Jungkook and certainly more obvious respect from Jungkook’s side. I don’t know... Maybe it’s just the way the programme was edited or maybe I’m talking out my *** I just get frustrated when I can’t explain something. I suppose it didn’t help that Carpool Karaoke didn’t show much of their individual bonds in later life. I guess I’ll find out as we go along whether Jimin and Jungkook have a really close but unique bond or whether they are secret enemies lol.

 ******************************************************************************

The next programme on my list is BTS Go! According to Wiki, this seems to be from 2014 too. However, I recently came across the existence of the BTS Youtube channel where they have hundreds of videos from backstage dating back to 2013! What I think I will do is watch and muse over BTS Go first and then watch all the videos up to the end of 2014 on their Youtube account and then muse over what I see there and what I’ve seen in the tv programmes so far. I expect their personalities and bonds are more candid in the behind the scenes videos so I’m looking forward to seeing those in particular.      

[hallaevak]

skam thoughts

hi ok i’m bored n sick so i’m here to give my (maybe unpopular? idk) thoughts on skam + remakes. i have seen most* remakes, but i’ll mention if i have not seen a particular season or not

first off: basic opinions (favorite remakes, favorite characters, etc)

fav jonas/eva remake:

- skam nl (kes/isa) - isa is, in my opinion, the most relatable eva remake. she’s so sassy and lovable! in general i’m not the biggest fan of the season 1 plot, but i think all jonas/eva pairings, chemistry wise, have been phenomenal. isa/kes are just a little bit more impressive in my opinion.

fav noorhelm remake

- this will be of no shock, as this is quite a popular opinion, but wtfock (senne and zoë). most william remakes kind of suck, and the general character dynamic between noora and william is not something i like. i enjoy the plot but a lot of williams are just...ew. i’m interesting in skam españa interpretation (nora and alejandro) but i can’t fully judge their season until it’s over. zoë is such a wonderful character and senne is actually not a dick! i sobbed when they broke up in s3.

fav evak remake

- i’m tied. either skam france/wtfock. i love the (for some reason controversial) dynamic between sander and robbe. i also love elu, like the basic bitch i am. elliott demaury OWNS me.

fav youssana remake

- honestly, i kind of didn’t like any of them (that are released). there’s only two out there, druck and skam france, and i didn’t like any. i’m sorrryyyy i just love sana bakkoush and no one could ever be better than her. oof! disclaimer i have not watched all of amira’s season/druck s4. i wasn’t personally interested but the acting was phenomenal.

alright now to remake-specific comments.

SKAM, the original, the og, love of my life, scandi legend that started this obsession

- honestly one of the best teen shows i’ve ever seen. the development of characters is so prominent. the acting, for mostly amateur teenagers, is mind blowing. maybe american shows just suck? but i’m absolutely in love with every character. they show such realistic stories and i applaud the skam team + actors for portraying their stories so well.

- the one comment i have is the noorhelm relationship. i just? i don’t like it. when i first watched skam i loved it. noora was hilarious (still think that) and the perfect independent woman model. i also liked william. i just wished they showed more of his vulnerability because his kind of static character is not doing it for me. he doesn’t show any evolution or change. idk, he’s still a wet fish in my eyes. obv this has no shade to the actors, thomas hayes is lovely. his character? not so much. i could write a whole essay on how flawed and dislikable william is.

now, the first remake: skam france

skam france, oui oui baguettes this remake really tickles my fancy

- as someone who kind of understands french, i really do like this remake. i have some issues with s1 and s2 but overall it is a solid remake. being the first, it makes sense for the seasons to seems little unoriginal. i still love emma and manon but their characters aren’t very authentic.

- s3 is where they really nailed it. elu’s immense popularity is only a testament to how truly wonderful the season is. the acting, the characters, slight changes in plot. i loved it. a lot.

- i wasnt impressed by s4 but it might just be my extreme love for iman meskini. no one could ever replace her.

- BUT S5. OH BOY. ROBIN. MY BABY. he is such a good actor and i love arthur he MUST be protected! i love that his shame is not romantically related. also as someone who is interested in deaf culture wow! i’m impressed by the research done by skam france. not only is his the first original season but it is excellently executed. noee is my mother i love her.

druck, likely the most liked remake to which i do not disagree with that statement

- druck is legendary. i really appreciate the small changes in plot and character dynamics that create an identity for each remake and druck is so so good at doing that. mia’s season is lovely and so is matteo’s, as well as the other two. i did not finish amira’s season as wtfock s3 started and i was a little too invested in that haha but i liked what i saw. the mia/noora drama annoyed me but it was okay. i saw it in the way how we all beg for evak/elu/nicotino/etc content in later seasons but then complain when noorhelm/jonas and eva content occur in later seasons, which is weird at best or just fetishization of gay couples at worst. take ur pick. i like it when previous plot lines kind of intertwine into the current ones as it shows that people’s shakes are not temporary and have immense effects on others (which is the point of skam, right?

skam italia, the controversial remake that said bye and then uno-reversed itself (thanks netflix)

- a lot of people don’t like skam italia. it’s understandable, as the actress for sana is not a woc or muslim. however, it is slightly understandable (but not defendable, i was way too disappointed when i found this out) given italy and it’s cultural background. it astonished me that they could even produce an isak remake due to their pretty strong religious beliefs. italy is very much roman catholic, and gay marriage isn’t even legal there (this is the only skam where gay marriage is not legalized). so i give them major props to facing potential backlash in producing s2/marti’s season. it makes sense for there to not be a muslim/woc actress because of the demographics in italy. ww1 and ww2 really spun a number on italy’s race, as many jews and romas as well as pretty much any non-italian ethnicity were kicked out. this creates barriers especially when it comes to hiring a woc actress. skam italia is already breaking barriers when it came to controversial topics (literally all of skam would be controversial in italy’s alt-right view, it seems). tl;dr: kudos for being able to produce a pro-gay show but shame for not being able to hire a woc actess.

- i loved marti’s season as was a fan of the other two seasons. they’re well produced and beautiful and more dramatic than the other skams imo! the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous.

skam austin, the american cousin no one seems to like that really lives up to the american stereotype

- ok. when i first saw austin/the fact that they made an american remake, i hated it. disgusting. i hâte america as it is. it was cringey, the acting was bad (i’m sorry i’m sorry), and it got rid of the charm that skam had.

- when i watched it a second time around, i changed my mind. i think grace’s season redeemed it a lil bit. it’s living proof that skam remakes must be watched twice or more to fully formulate an opinion. it’s still cringey but i mean, it’s very accurate to american culture. i’m ashamed to say that i, an american, have said many phrases that austin has used.

- skam austin isn’t THAT bad as people make it out to be. i think americans esp are uncomfortable with a skam from their own culture, myself included. and it’s fine to not vibe with it and prefer other skam remakes. i think the actors are okay, better when i saw it the second time, and the editing/music/videography is beautiful (ofc julie andem is a part of it). people give it crap for being american.

skam nl, may she rest in peace or pull an italia and 180 us

- man i was so depressed when i heard that lucas vdh was not getting his season. lucas is downright one of my favorite isak remakes and his story would’ve been so interesting.

- besides that, skam italia has one of the best eva seasons. it is my favorite and is usually a lot of others favorites as well. isa is just so relatable. liv’s season is also incredibly well produced. i didn’t hate noah! it was a miracle come true. he redeemed the william character if only for one remake.

- my one comment/critic isn’t even that serious. it’s just? dutch? it sounds so...weird. i’m a stupid american but i cracked up at things that were definitely NOT jokes because of the language. i’m sorry netherlands/holland i do not mean to laugh.

skam españa, also controversial for good reasons but also conflictingly good

- alright folks. i am confused with skam españa. i don’t know if i love it or like it.

- hear me out. we all know of the controversy with the panphobic comment that nora made. it was stupid and uncalled for and really disrespected the whole pan community of viewers. now, not many people are pan but for a show where an original character (even bech næsheim, love of my life) is canonically pan? it was kind of a slap to the face.

- besides the comment i loved cris’ season. it was refreshing to get an isak season where it was a she, one, and where isak was not living with his eskild but instead had a family. it was also beautifully shot and i love irene with my entire heart.

- that said, i liked eva’s season. nora’s season is interesting. maybe it’s because it’s the first i’ve watched multiple seasons live (españa and france) and have no attention span and is more interested in skam france s5? idk. the clips aren’t really doing it for me. i love the viri clips but the nora clips are eh. she just seems very...in genuine? idk. i also hate miquel get his ugly ass out of here. i can’t fully analyze the season until it’s over but i’m not really interested in it. i also don’t like the noorhelm plot or dynamic at all so that may be it.

wtfock, or another controversial remake that imo shouldn’t be controversial

- wow. i love wtfock. s1 was rocky and i wasn’t sure of how it would be. s2 SLAPPED ME THRU THE ROOF. god i love senne de smet so much. zoë is actually redeemable??? and oh my god milan is my favorite eskild like please adopt me.

- season 3 was the first one i watched live. i arrived to the skam scene late so i didn’t get to experience march madness aka 5 live skams at once and i wish i did. but wow. willem ds and willem h really are one of the main reasons why wtfock s3 did so well. they’re amazing actors with incredibly chemistry.

- the controversy that imo should be controversy: the gay bashing scene. i was surprised at the backlash. people were upset over the fact that they showed such...intense events without immediate remediation. it’s understandable to be mad but? they were criticizing things that had no correlation with the scene, like the willems’ acting or the music picked. it was very wild. they also did a lot of bitching about how lgbt people should see gay bashing because it’ll bring back bad memories and that skam was for the gays only and should cater for only lgbt people. which i heavily disagree with. 1) gay bashing in media is so prevalent and downright important. things can’t be fluffy gay all the time. this happens in real life and does such a great complement to noor’s comment about how no one cares that robbe is gay because it’s 2019. THAT. IS. SO. IMPORTANT. it’s so so important to realize that despite the strides made for lgbt people, gay bashing and violent homophobia. still. exist. also. i would like to direct you to these examples of gay bashing where no one blinked an eye : queer as folk, where s1 justin gets bashed in at his prom and has difficulties drawing; s2 (i think? may be s1) skam españa where lucas rubio gets bashed; skam s4 where even and isak encounter a homophobic dick; these examples are endless. the one thing that miffed me the most was that many critics acted as if they were forced to watch wtfock and therefore criticize its every move. like no? you have a choice? no one is forcing you. quite the opposite! wtfock is geoblocked! you’re actually forcing yourself because you’re taking the time to find illicit resources in order to watch it! alright man i’m done with this rant. many also criticized the writing of the show. it was shaky but watching it a 2nd time, where all clips were released, was so much better when it came to clarity. many ‘poor writing choices’ made sense in the larger picture. again another example that you should watch skam remakes twice to understand the big picture.

- tl;dr wtfock is lovely and should not be criticized for one wrong move.

thank u for hearing me out. i have strong opinions but a frail heart. pls be nice!

[nancydrew428]

Hi!! So I’m conducting kind of a survey/study? Can you rank the games in order from best to worst in your eyes? A simple list will suffice. Include MID, and both SCKs please. But exclude dossiers ;)

Hi! Sorry for the late response! I’ve been doing finals and my last assignments of the semester haha. But I eventually finished this!

Also, don’t hate me (I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this except for on my bingo card, subtle plug), but I haven’t played 10 of the games, and of the ones that I have played, I still haven’t finished 3 of them🙊😂 So I might not be the most helpful, especially if you need exact rankings or answers from someone who knows everything about each game. I’m sorry! But hopefully my answer will still help you. If not, I’m hoping it’ll be interesting!

1. Curse of Blackmoor Manor

This one has definitely been my favorite game! It took me 8 years to finally finish it, but I’m so glad I did. I love the atmosphere, especially the creepy vibes (and I do like the English moor aesthetic, haha). The game used to scare me so bad, but now it’s just cute, and a little spooky. The only thing I don’t like is the moving rooms. All the other puzzles were good. But that one made me dizzy and confused, lol.

2. The Secret of Shadow Ranch

Dave Gregory. That’s it. That’s the tweet. Lmao. ...Seriously, though, I love being out on the ranch in real life and I love how that translated in the game. I love horses and cowboys. The love story with Frances and Dirk… My heart. I also loved the book. And I liked the glyphs. And the chocolate Shadow Ranch cake is to die for (it’s my go-to chocolate cake recipe!⁠—although I will never do walnuts).

3. Danger on Deception Island

This was the first game I played, so obviously it had to be high up on my list. Again, I love the atmosphere (that’s probably my biggest factor when ranking these games, and with playing games in general). It really reminds me of a place along the California coast that I visit during the summer. And I don’t think there would have been a better game to introduce 8 year old me into the world of ND video games.

4. Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake

This one used to scare me. Every night I would be afraid for the dogs to jump on the house and windows. Every time I would be in the woods looking for bugs I was terrified that something would happen. Also, Yogi! And I remember actually enjoying the puzzles and the hunt for bugs. Also, the speakeasy was so cool!

5. Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon

The Hardy Boys!! I saw someone say this is like an off-brand Murder on the Orient Express, and it was so funny to me, and I wanted to share it with you. But I love the train idea, the Hardy Boys, cooking, the potential “ghosts,” the hunt, and the dialogue.

6. Secret of the Old Clock

I loved this book. It’s the first Nancy Drew book (definitely a classic), and I love how they set the game in the ‘30s. It was completely different in that aspect than any of the other games. Although the driving wasn’t the most fun, I lovedthe pies, going through the secret passages, playing mini-golf, and the ugly yet cute cat that I don’t remember the name of.

7. Shadow at the Water’s Edge

I don’t know how accurate this is in the portrayal of Japanese culture. I hope that it’s pretty accurate and that it isn’t racist, but I’m not sure. But I remember playing this game when I was 11 and being absolutely terrified. The bento boxes were very cute, but I remember getting frustrated with it. The jumpscare is arguably the best part of the game and the scariest scene in any Nancy Drew game.

8. Sea of Darkness

This one is honestly this high up specifically for the graphics. Overall, it is a good game. I liked the puzzles, the setting, characters, dialogue, etc. But the graphics stole the show. It is the best Nancy Drew game with graphics, plus the scenery is pretty (even if it wasn’t as quality). I love the snow and the chilly atmosphere, and I definitely feel like it’s a winter game.

9. Treasure in the Royal Tower

I liked this game. I loved (you guessed it!) the atmosphere. I loved being snowed in, and I loved Hotchkiss. I don’t remember much of this game, and one might argue that that means that it should be lower on the list, but I remember really enjoying it, so I’m keeping it in this spot.

10. Legend of the Crystal Skull

I love the atmosphere, New Orleans, and Henry so much. This isn’t my favorite game, but it is so good!

11. Danger by Design

I like this one, with the Sonny Joon references. I also like Paris, and I think this is a fun game. But I always get it confused with The Phantom of Venice, which is why Phantom is listed right below this one. Which one has JJ and the cookies? I couldn’t tell you.

12. The Phantom of Venice

Like I said, I always get this one confused with Danger by Design. I couldn’t tell you what happens in each. Except this one has you dance in a catsuit and play SCOPA, but I don’t remember necessarily caring for either of these.

13. The Captive Curse

I like this one. I like Germany, the monster, the scary beginning, Renate falling asleep. But I feel like it could have been scarier. (If it was, let me know! I gotta replay it in that case.)

14. Alibi in Ashes

I love Alexei, the ice cream/milkshakes, and getting to play other characters than just Nancy. But other than that, it’s not my favorite game.

15. The White Wolf of Icicle Creek

I’ve only played the Wii version of this game, so I’m not sure how different it is from the PC version. + I never finished it. I loved the kitchen and cooking, and the wolf is super cute! But I didn’t like the ice thing. I could never get past it. Is it any easier on the PC?

16. The Haunting of Castle Malloy

I’m Irish and I think it’s cool that the game is in Ireland. I actually like the character design, but it feels a little bit….ridiculous to me? And the banshee? I don’t know. But I love the atmosphere, and from what I remember, I liked the characters.

17. The Creature of Kapu Cave

I remember liking the game, and I love anything with the ocean or lakes or swimming or diving. Like, the water is where I belong, and I think it’s so fun. But the character design is awful. Frank and Joe don’t look the way they’re supposed to, and I can’t get over it.

18. The Deadly Device

It’s a good game, but I’ve never finished it. It’s difficult in some parts and boring in others. But I love the Tesla idea, Mason’s sarcasm, and Ryan (I just love Ryan). But it’s never really pulled me in. (I think part of it might be because it’s the only game, other than SSH that I’ve tried playing without using any walkthroughs, so I’m having a tough time, lol.)

19. Warnings at Waverly Academy

I know that this is a fan favorite, but it isn’t my favorite. I like all of the Nancy Drew games that I’ve played for the most part, and it is a good game. But I’m tired of school, and I play video games to escape it. Plus, other than Mel, I don’t like any of the characters. That might be the point, but in a game where you have only a handful of characters, I don’t like only having one of them be likeable.

20. Message in a Haunted Mansion

I don’t remember much of this game. But I love anything even slightly spooky, and I remember thinking this game was cute.

21. Secret of the Scarlet Hand

I’m playing this game right now (not as I type this, but I’ve played it on and off for the past few months), and it’s pretty good. I like learning about Mayan culture, but it isn’t that special of a game. Nothing really stands out to me, and none of the characters are all that likeable imo.

22. Secrets Can Kill Remastered

Again, I don’t remember much from this game. It didn’t stick out to me much, and I enjoy games with a good atmosphere and a somewhat lasting impression. This game isn’t bad; I don’t think any of the ND games I’ve played have been bad tbh. But I don’t care about high school, and I want something else to remember. But I give Her Interactive kudos for making a game for girls about murder (especially because it was technically their first game, and this was just a remake). And that sounds sarcastic, but it actually isn’t! Lol.

23. The Haunted Carousel

This wasn’t a bad game. I just don’t really have an interest in carnivals and that sorta thing. They’re okay, but they don’t intrigue me that much. And I don’t remember much from this game. I played it around the same time that I played most of these games, and it didn’t stick out to me. However, I do love the cover and the fact that not every character is white.

24. Ransom of the Seven Ships

I know this game gets a bad rep, but I don’t think it’s a terrible game. But the black face is just too racist and makes me too uncomfortable to enjoy it as much as it could be enjoyed. If HeR toned down the racism a little bit, I could have actually enjoyed this game (except for George’s character design; they did my girl dirty, but what’s new?).

[comicteaparty]

November 2nd, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on November 2nd, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Kindred Skies by Margot Jane & Jaime Camille.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Kindred Skies by Margot Jane & Jaime Camille~! (http://kindredsuncomic.com/) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~!

With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustin of Time and Space

I'M HERE

snuffysam

As am I

Draco Plato

I really liked the water battle pages, they were super gorgeous to look at

snuffysam

Visually, the water battle was incredible

Superjustin of Time and Space

yo can i jsut take a moment to appreciate Khehaic's hairdo

snuffysam

Hairdo noted

and appreciated

Draco Plato

I like Rofaryn's design most, haha

Superjustin of Time and Space

i always like when characters have "out there" haircolors/styles- they're super easy to appreciate imo(edited)

If I had to say one thing

this is a pretty epic shot too

Draco Plato

oh yeah that page I think is my fave visually too

such gorgeous lighting

Superjustin of Time and Space

Yea

RebelVampire

yeah that is a visually beautiful page. i love the addition of the flora in the foreground because i think it really adds a great touch for making an excellent focal point

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I really liked the final part of the confrontation with water baddy. I thought he was really interesting in general and secretly hope he is somehow not actually dead :p

MathTans the Pun Prince

Hiyo. Regards scene, I actually liked the conversation between Cel and Cin as they came back to the village. I thought it was a clever time to cut away, added some character depth, and at one point there was the mention of "why are they choosing a female" and I thought "ohmigod, clever world building now I understand the two husbands thing".

(Of course, that could have been referenced earlier and I'm slow.)

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol

MathTans the Pun Prince

Though the water scenes were very well drawn too.

RebelVampire

@mariah maybe hell come back as a zombie O_O

snuffysam

I think it was referenced earlier, but not as in-depth

Superjustin of Time and Space

Only thing I wished is that the sky started to get darker in the last few pages leading up to Page 56

mariah (rainy day dreams)

@RebelVampire god I hope so!

snuffysam

Yeah, story-wise, I loved the character development between Cel and Cin

Superjustin of Time and Space

sicne on this page it's as bright as it was the past few pages

MathTans the Pun Prince

(I do have a tendency to focus on story, I'm like that.)

Superjustin of Time and Space

but it's something minor

so no harm done

snuffysam

I'm ready for whatever villain the next chapter holds. See if they can top our water wizard

RebelVampire

thats a good point justin. the sky is pretty bright.

Joichi

I'm currently checking out this comic, so just reading people's comments on it

RebelVampire

i do like the scene between cin and cel. i think of all the scenes in the comic is was the most interesting for character cause it did allow for that moment of depth. although i also liked how even tho it was the two of them, we also learned mor about rofaryn

Superjustin of Time and Space

I didn't realise I was already following it on Tap(edited)

lol

Draco Plato

yeah same rebel

camillabluejay

Yeah @RebelVampire that was one of the things I regretted, was too many group scenes and not enough one on one. More character development is easier when it's less characters

Superjustin of Time and Space

Yeah

Joichi

I agree, character development is easiest with less than a group.

MathTans the Pun Prince

It's an interesting format overall though, the band of travellers encountering new people all the time.

RebelVampire

at least in the largest scope it should work out tho. groups cant be developed in a day. most stories generally have to take turns when they focus on groups

MathTans the Pun Prince

I imagine it's also dangerous to split the party.

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol Math

camillabluejay

The next chp they're going to split up haha

Superjustin of Time and Space

YOU JINXED IT

camillabluejay

each group will have a different objective

hahaha

no fun if it's not dangerous

MathTans the Pun Prince

"Your group needs to find the antidote to this love potion..."

Superjustin of Time and Space

Tru

How many lives are you gonna risk?

camillabluejay

Because they accidentally drank it, Math?

haha all of them

MathTans the Pun Prince

"Accidentally", yes, of course.

Draco Plato

as far as group stories go I think it was well done. I like that they were already together vs. having them meet each other and be beginning their friendships

RebelVampire

math look at the havoc youve caused, goodness

Draco Plato

so that we learn about them as the journey goes on but they're not just learning about each other per say

MathTans the Pun Prince

I bring the havoc! It's a skill!

Superjustin of Time and Space

yeah, Draco's got a really good point

camillabluejay

YES Draco. I adore layers of buried history in relationships

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yes, it was good to see them as a group. And with Cin as kind of the outsider character.

RebelVampire

yeah for the group setup i agree that i like the way its portrayed. where most of the others know each but we have newcomer cin who helps us be our learning eyes.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Kind of interesting that Cin's sort of the "white guy" too.

Draco Plato

yeeeees I love relationship layers

Superjustin of Time and Space

How many layers can ye handle?

Draco Plato

I can handle a lot of layers

camillabluejay

hahaha

snuffysam

Especially since that means characters can talk to Cin about their thoughts on the other group members, building more character. Like how Cel was talking to Cin about Rof.

Joichi

ehehe

Superjustin of Time and Space

@snuffysam Seconding this

MathTans the Pun Prince

I wonder how long they have been together? Was that mentioned?

Superjustin of Time and Space

gotta milk all the chances for character developing you can

snuffysam

If they all already knew each other, that wouldn't work- but since everyone knows each other except Cin, it works well

RebelVampire

oh that'd actually be kind of interesting if cin becomes like group psychologist. everyone just naturally comes and spills their problems on him. and also could lead to some interesting conflicts too. like if everyone goes to cin for problem solving, who does cin go to?

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol

That sounds fun

Draco Plato

he goes to rofaryn

snuffysam

What if he has a problem with Rofaryn?

Draco Plato

can still go to him

MathTans the Pun Prince

Probably the smart guy with the blue hair.

I like that he picked up on something being wrong.

RebelVampire

OMG Rofaryn: So what seems to be the problem. Cin: You. You're the problem.

Draco Plato

well he's bonded with celyid so he could go to him

LOL

MathTans the Pun Prince

Rofaryn: I'm also the solution...

Superjustin of Time and Space

Oh you, Math

camillabluejay

I can't tell if I should actually be answering anything, or just enjoying the convo, hahaha. Math is right though, Blue-haired one is usually the one people go to with problems

Superjustin of Time and Space

Sit back and enjoy the show

camillabluejay

hahaha

MathTans the Pun Prince

(I'm bad with names, for the record. They can be very blatant, I'll still end up picking up on art things.)

Superjustin of Time and Space

I feel ya

snuffysam

Fortunately, there is a cast page

RebelVampire

http://kindredsuncomic.com/characters/

snuffysam

http://kindredsuncomic.com/characters/

jinx

Superjustin of Time and Space

dat double post

snuffysam

whoops

RebelVampire

yeah high five

we were both ready

Draco Plato

i almost posted it too

snuffysam

nah ive just had it open the whole time

because i can never remember names

camillabluejay

Oh yeah, you reminded me I need to update that for the second chp too, them drawings are oooooold

MathTans the Pun Prince

Cast what? Yeah, so that silver haired guy, he's good with weapons.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Aw ye new drawings inbound

RebelVampire

me too XD i usually have them open for ctp not necessarily cause forgetting names but wanting to be sure i spell them right

snuffysam

that too lol

almost wrote Raforyn a few minutes ago

MathTans the Pun Prince

So it's useful as a Raforence.

Superjustin of Time and Space

tru

RebelVampire

math no. no.

anyway while were on the subject of the first question still, i wanna say that i like the opening scene to this comic as well. i like that the comic upfront establishes that their fighting skills dont just magically exist out of nowhere

Superjustin of Time and Space

dat's good

snuffysam

And their specialities

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, I thought that was a good way of setting the scene/setting too before getting into the thick of the plot.

Draco Plato

i like the opening scene too

MathTans the Pun Prince

I also can't draw fight scenes, so kudos.

Draco Plato

yeah i was impressed with how it was drawn too

RebelVampire

i also liked that we got to see rofaryn be boss like. estbalish himself as the one true leader

QUESTION 2. Kindred Skies features a varied cast of characters, from the leader Rofaryn to the rambunctious Fayden. Which character did you connect with the most and why? Do you have theories about how they wound up with Rofaryn and/or why they’re a mercenary? Who else in the cast would you like to see this character interact with? Is there anything else you want to mention about them (i.e. they have a cool design, etc.)?

Superjustin of Time and Space

IS THAT ANOTHER QUESTION

On a serious note

snuffysam

love my blue explosive boy

Superjustin of Time and Space

I cannot resist blue haired characters

You put in a bunch of characters with nornal hair colors and then you give someone an anime hair color

Draco Plato

I like Rofaryn best, his design appealed to me most XD I'd like to see him more with Cin

plus the boss is most important

MathTans the Pun Prince

That's a good question! I gotta think more about that one...

camillabluejay

Blue haired boy has a MUCH bigger part in chp 2 :3

Superjustin of Time and Space

OMG

YESSSSS

MathTans the Pun Prince

I feel like maybe I relate to Celyid, just for the whole coming up with a weird plan involving trip wires and things, only to have the whole plan get torpedoed. I'm not as suave as him though.

thezachbales

I am so here for more page time for everyone's favorite blue-haired boy.

snuffysam

I also really like Cin. His fish-out-of-water dealio really works well in the story.

Superjustin of Time and Space

hell yeah \m/

camillabluejay

Zach! Hi! :3

Superjustin of Time and Space

Hi dere Zach~

thezachbales

Oh, hi all!

MathTans the Pun Prince

On the flip side, I find Fayden way too spontaneous, though of course that's part of his personality and he's played well for that.

Superjustin of Time and Space

since we're talknig about characters

Draco Plato

hiiii zach~!

Superjustin of Time and Space

...

eeh I got nothin

MathTans the Pun Prince

I really do kinda wonder what Cel's plan would have looked like if the water hadn't appeared.

Superjustin of Time and Space

was gonna sday maybe the characters could get a bit mor oomph to their designs

but that'd make them hard to draw constantly

camillabluejay

Oh, I'd like clarification on that comment, Justin Do you mean clothes or body?

RebelVampire

idk im kind of fond how they look more normal-ish. i think its a better fit for the tone of the story.(edited)

Superjustin of Time and Space

well, they seem kinda basic to me

camillabluejay

They are getting new outfits for chp 2 I'm literally in the middle of redesigning. And they're party clothes, so they are fancier...ish?

Superjustin of Time and Space

I'm all for that!

MathTans the Pun Prince

Suits and bow ties?

snuffysam

Their faces are different enough to distinguish, and they're different heights, so that's enough for me

MathTans the Pun Prince

"It's strangling me!"

camillabluejay

Yeah, usually I just think that they're kinda poor, and travel a lot, so they're not gonna be fancy. But I also don't want them boring

snuffysam

Looking forward to party clothes though

Superjustin of Time and Space

that's a fair reason as to why their outfits are pretty basic

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Yes good, very excited for fancy party clothes

Superjustin of Time and Space

so much fancy

MathTans the Pun Prince

I tend to distinguish characters by hair style and colour, and those are different, so I'm good. ^^ (I can be pretty shallow.)

Superjustin of Time and Space

ye

MathTans the Pun Prince

I wonder if any of the group is more superstitious than the others. The land seems to have superstitions in it.

RebelVampire

nah thats generally how i first differentiate too, math. i got by hair style and color. its the quickest until i get a better feel for other attributes

none of them felt particularly spooked and were like "this land is cursed."

what we can say for sure

is that fayden is definitely the least superstitious

climbing all over that sacred mountain O_O

Superjustin of Time and Space

dem sacred mountains

Draco Plato

i thought the clothes fit the story and who they were even if they were plain

MathTans the Pun Prince

Heh. He just does his own thing.

Sometimes people have different triggers though. Like, a person can say they're not superstitious until they're faced with a black cat or a 13th floor or something.

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol

MathTans the Pun Prince

"I can't wear that, bow ties are bad luck."

Superjustin of Time and Space

"bad luck"

RebelVampire

cel feels like the character id peg for being rando superstitious

tho for no reason other than he was like "eh nah just let that chick get sacrificed"

MathTans the Pun Prince

I could see that.

There was a cool analysis there, by the way, now that I'm reminded of it. The idea of there not being a "bad guy", it being a self sacrifice sort of thing. That was an interesting take.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Yeah

Stores without antagonists are intresting if done right

MathTans the Pun Prince

Stories with green haired antagonists with delusions of godhood are also interesting.

What he was going to do to Raf, with the "you'll be on the cusp of drowning" that was, whoa.

Draco Plato

adrei was also an antagonist in a way

RebelVampire

i like that the story teaches us that banishing your problems away isnt always the best solution

snuffysam

It can be a mix, of course. Each town they visit has a tangible antagonist, but the overarching plot doesn't. Or something like that.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Rebel: Good point.

Superjustin of Time and Space

aah

and yeah Snuffy has a pint there

RebelVampire

i found the ending to be bittersweet because they got banished from a town. i kept screaming dick move to myself the whole time.

snuffysam

Cin got to keep the sacrificial outfit though. so you win some, you lose some

MathTans the Pun Prince

I kinda get it though, like, they did mess up the ritual, and then the sacrifice. Probably not wise to spend lots of time there.

RebelVampire

no def not wise. but still a dick move. cause i always imagine how id feel if i risked life and limb for a town and then they were like "eh but you also trespassed on our sacred mountain."

i would not be happy

not happy at all

camillabluejay

Would you say it was a dissatisfying ending, or just an unhappy ending?

snuffysam

just unhappy

Draco Plato

i didn't find it unhappy or dissatisfying

snuffysam

i mean, it wasn't satisfying for the characters

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I guess for me it seemed like kind of a wash. Yeah they got banished, but it wasn't like they were emotionally attached to the town as a whole anyway.

snuffysam

but i was cool with it

Superjustin of Time and Space

yea

Draco Plato

yeah same mariah

MathTans the Pun Prince

I was okay with it too, I mean, I guess I didn't really look at it from the perspective of the sacred mountain thing, more that this was just a stopover on the way that went a bit pear shaped.

I also tend to be somewhat emotionless. ^.^

Superjustin of Time and Space

Lol Math

RebelVampire

still sticking with bittersweet. cause im not saying technical craft wise it was either of those. i think craft wise the ending was exactly what it needed to be. just on personal reader level made me feels emotions.

MathTans the Pun Prince

(It's legit a thing with me. I idolized Spock for a while as a youth.)

snuffysam

yeah people can be dicks in stories. if it was always "here's the key to the city", it wouldn't be as good

RebelVampire

yeah and since its about mercenaries, mercenaries arent expected to get those endings anyway

RebelVampire

but still man, was so sad.

not everyday you fight a wouldbe god

Superjustin of Time and Space

^

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. The world of Kindred Skies is one where sorcerers are normal, sometimes mercenaries just do farm work for a living, and sacrificing people can be shrugged off. Amongst all this are themes about family, sacrifice for the greater good, and dealing with hardship. Which theme stuck out to you the most and why? Are there any aspects of the world you’d like to see explored further? Likewise, are there any themes you think could be possibly touched on more?

Superjustin of Time and Space

"mercenaries just do farm work for a living"

snuffysam

yeah that was far from the most outlandish thing in the story, lol

Superjustin of Time and Space

Something like this, because I like seing people use powers to do mundance things

Draco Plato

the theme of family stuck with me most, and i'd like to know more about the nature of magic within this world

snuffysam

"people who do things for pay do things for pay"

MathTans the Pun Prince

For aspects of the world, I'm kinda curious about what it takes to learn sorcery. Like, could one of the group pick up some weak skills somehow?

Joichi

I like the theme of deailing with hardship, that often stick out to me the most. Also families

snuffysam

sorcerers are supposedly rare

Superjustin of Time and Space

Families is a must

MathTans the Pun Prince

But yeah, the whole "band of people as a family" thing rings true, particularly with Cin being sort of adopted into it.

snuffysam

Yeah, family is the biggest theme

i mean everyone was kind of adopted into it

but most recently Cin

MathTans the Pun Prince

Ooh, or could one of the group be a sorcerer and not know it? But the skill gets unlocked? I dunno, I just wonder if all sorcerers are feared or freaks or something. Leading to the superstitious undertones.

It'd change the dynamic of the group if so.

camillabluejay

Are these questions for me, or just in general?

Superjustin of Time and Space

I'm guessing in general

MathTans the Pun Prince

Just general questions, unless you want to jump in with some remarks.

snuffysam

I mean, are you ever planning on expounding on sorcery?

RebelVampire

yes youre free to jump in

even lead us astray

camillabluejay

Eventually, but not for a long while

It is important though, maybe I should look into it

snuffysam

Well then, I can wait

so you don't need to answer that now

camillabluejay

Sorcery is very rare, because it's something that has to be unlocked inside. You can't do it on your own, another sorcerer has to teach you. And it's super illegal and looked down upon

MathTans the Pun Prince

Certainly seems tricky to kill a sorcerer. Or at least that one. I think maybe that's why I'm curious, we basically have a sample of one so far.

Superjustin of Time and Space

oooohhh

MathTans the Pun Prince

Ahh, so it is illegal, okay.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Intresting

camillabluejay

illegal as much as anything is in the desert. it's a little lawless. But they definitely don't like it

snuffysam

i imagine there isn't exactly much of a central government in the wilderness. so what's legal in this town might not be in the next one over

camillabluejay

yup

MathTans the Pun Prince

My other world wonder is the large male population. I wonder if that's just kind of always the way things have been, or if that came about due to something in the past. (Again, don't feel like you need to answer.)

Snuffy - Interesting point.

camillabluejay

Oh yeah that was answered on the patreon. Basically magical curse from their goddess hundreds of years ago

MathTans the Pun Prince

Ohhhh, magic again.

camillabluejay

There's a lot of exposition I don't want to cram into the comic that I'll pepper in here and there, but go into detail on the patreon

Yeah,it's one of the reasons they don't like magic

MathTans the Pun Prince

That makes sense, you don't want to just exposit, particularly if it's stuff the characters already know.

Superjustin of Time and Space

^

camillabluejay

But the next chp goes into themes about the mercenary families and how they work in the world, rather than themes of magic

so it'll be awhile before I'll get back to this in depth

MathTans the Pun Prince

That cool, sounds like it builds well off of Ch 1. There's no rush.

Draco Plato

oooo

Superjustin of Time and Space

Yeah, take as much time as you need

Get all the details you can in there

Joichi

I really like traditional methods where; to gain magic, you learn from a mentor or passed in family. Especially if its something dangerous, which it can be

snuffysam

I mean, looking forward to more themes of family

MathTans the Pun Prince

I'm probably not your main audience anyway, I'm a huge girls love fan.

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol

camillabluejay

hahaha @math, I was literally about to say if I could draw faster I have a side-story about two lesbian sorcerers that might clarify some things haha

Superjustin of Time and Space

The story is definitely intresting, though I think it has a lot of potentinal

snuffysam

i will say, i really like the boys love aspects of the comic

Joichi

lol as long as it's more of an inclusive idea than a fanservice attempt.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, it's cool that you decided to continue.

Superjustin of Time and Space

lol fanservice

Joichi

I like boys love in general, I feel there's alot you can write about the relationship and keep it subtle and also as equals.(edited)

snuffysam

usually a lot of bl stuff (especially if it's written by two women) isn't that great at representation

Joichi

as I also write LGBTQ queer stuff in super subtle ways

MathTans the Pun Prince

I saw nothing blatant. There was that funny strip somewhere in the middle, granted, but that wasn't in continuity.

snuffysam

but this is well done

MathTans the Pun Prince

And it was funny.

snuffysam

yeah, besides the joke strip, nothing too fanservicey

MathTans the Pun Prince

As to the themes side of Q3, I'm not so good with recognizing themes. ^.^

Joichi

I'm super picky about romance, I'd rather like to vouch for bros with good chemistry and have different love interests but remain friends.

friendship goals!(edited)

Superjustin of Time and Space

all the friendship in the world~

RebelVampire

i can definitely say im looking forward to more themes of family. i like stories like this that are about impromtu families. i feel so many stories emphasize blood over anything else, so i find it more refreshing to have stories that illustrate heavily on how groups like this can be just as much of a family.

MathTans the Pun Prince

I imagine in a close knit group, you need to be careful about making things too romantic. Because if it goes sour, you're not able to give much space, you're still together.

Joichi

yess yes! I really agree about blood. and also alot of tragic scarred heroes I'm seeing around webcomics

snuffysam

i mean the gang might have tragic/scarred backstories

Superjustin of Time and Space

I'm seconding this

snuffysam

we don't really know enough about them to say either way

Joichi

LOL

MathTans the Pun Prince

They might have scars. When their shirts are off.

Superjustin of Time and Space

well then again a lot of characters of mine don't really have tradgic backstories for the most part

or scars

but that's prolly cause i have like 100+ and counting OTL

Joichi

rofl scars building good character xD

actually it just means they didn't have medication and so it dried that way, which could be quite possible considering that your cast travels

Superjustin of Time and Space

I only got like, three characters with scars right now

Draco Plato

we know at least something happened with Cin's brother

snuffysam

depends what kind of medicine H'ran does, i suppose. maybe he's able to close up wounds without scarring

Superjustin of Time and Space

either that or the scars leave a really badass mark

Joichi

I'm still reading the comic btw, so I'm not entirely able to ask questions in case, it may sound dumb

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, that's an ongoing mystery, his brother.

RebelVampire

speaking of medicine i really want to know about h'rannith

Joichi

anyone's a trained doctor in the group?

snuffysam

yeah, H'rannith is

MathTans the Pun Prince

Joi - Don't worry about it. It's good to get perspectives partway, I haven't always read to the end before doing CTP.

snuffysam

i mean, i don't know if he went to med school

but he's the team healer regardless

MathTans the Pun Prince

He hasn't needed to do doctoring yet though.

Joichi

@Superjustin of Time and Space very true about badass marks.

snuffysam

yup, which is why i wasn't sure if his medicines left scars or not

camillabluejay

Yeah, H'ran got the short end of the stick this chp, I'll admit it. He gets more in the 2nd chp

RebelVampire

thats awesome

Joichi

ooh, that is true. like sometimes there is in-house stitching he'd have to do on the fly. Sorry I'm excited about doctor characters.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Well doctor characters are fun

RebelVampire

cause i def felt he had the least screentime in chp one. and i was like "who are you mysterious man"

MathTans the Pun Prince

"Drop your pants." "I got hit in the shoulder..." "Who's the doctor here??"

Superjustin of Time and Space

what about docs with scars

snuffysam

"He gets more in the 2nd chp" for a healer? that's not good news...

camillabluejay

lololol

MathTans the Pun Prince

Maybe they come across a town suffering from a plague.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Ooooooh

Joichi

i just imagine alot of wounded people having to come to him, as the healer. oh damn...

Superjustin of Time and Space

and there being no other healers around?

MathTans the Pun Prince

The healers are the first ones you kill with a plague. Everyone knows that.

snuffysam

if you think about it, H'ran should be covered in scars. or at least on his right hand, back, and face

since he can't stitch those up and there's no other healer

MathTans the Pun Prince

Maybe he gives really good instructions.

snuffysam

fair enough

camillabluejay

He does have scars on his hands! I just haven't done close ups of them yet :3

MathTans the Pun Prince

(For some reason I'm reminded of "Spock's Brain" where Spock's giving McCoy advice on brain surgery...)

Superjustin of Time and Space

Oooohhh!!

RebelVampire

oh thats interesting to know he does have scars on his hands. nice detail touch

snuffysam

well there you go then

manny melancholy

have you decided where the scars will be or how they will look like? It sounds like it will be tricky

snuffysam

called it

MathTans the Pun Prince

Good call.

Superjustin of Time and Space

yeah

camillabluejay

And tbf, if H'rannith gets hurt, Khehaic has a steady hand, he'd probably step in

Superjustin of Time and Space

Aw yeah~

camillabluejay

and @manny, yeah we know where the scars are, most are just under clothes. Drawing them everytime would be a pain

MathTans the Pun Prince

"It's fine, I got these explosives here..."

RebelVampire

makes sense tho. Khehaic seems pretty capable in general. like of the group hes the one i feel would be safest entrusting important things to.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Agreed @camillabluejay

snuffysam

@MathTans the Pun Prince that's one way to amputate a limb, i guess

camillabluejay

@math gotta cauterize the wounds first, dontcha know

Joichi

haha I love this scar talk, makes me think about character scars

MathTans the Pun Prince

incites Havoc again

camillabluejay

And yes, Margot and I joke the whole team would fall apart without Khe haha

Superjustin of Time and Space

Well scars are fun

just throwing another character of mine here with a scarf

it's supposed to be shaped like a shark tooth

(on his left cheek)

Joichi

ohh i see it

camillabluejay

Aw, him and Ro are scar buds

Margot

work slowed down, so now I can hop in for a few minutes! and yes, Khehaic is the glue-iest

Superjustin of Time and Space

Hello~

all the scar buds in the world

Joichi

Hi there

Margot

hey there! great to see so many familiar names

Superjustin of Time and Space

likewise!

RebelVampire

@Superjustin of Time and Space I'm glad you're passionate about your characters but please try to keep sharing to a minimum since we're tlaking about a diff comic. ^^;

QUESTION 4. In the background of the first chapter is a hidden conflict about Cin looking for his brother, Seti. Though the tension this causes between Rofaryn and Cin is addressed within the first chapter, numerous questions about Seti are left. Do you have any theories about why Seti is missing? Do you think the group will be able to find Seti or will they just find trouble? Is it possible Cin or someone else is hiding a secret about Seti? Is there a larger conflict going on than we realize?

snuffysam

we haven't had any outlandish theories yet

Seti was abducted by aliens

he's named after SETI, which is the clue

camillabluejay

lolol

Superjustin of Time and Space

is it even possible to have theroies about webcomics/

MathTans the Pun Prince

Have you met me?

Superjustin of Time and Space

If that aliens thing becomes true I'll be impressed

Oh you

Draco Plato

lol of course you can have theories about webcomics XD

snuffysam

all seriousness, i'm guessing he was kidnapped by wilderness bandits or something?

MathTans the Pun Prince

Cin's last name is Alpha. They're actually looking for Alpha Seti, it's in a whole other galaxy. Hence the aliens late in Chapter 2.

Draco Plato

LOL

well could be

RebelVampire

maybe or maybe seti just ran off. got married. was like man this is great. no bro no weirdo mercenaries.

snuffysam

got married and didn't tell his brother?

Superjustin of Time and Space

I'm prolly gonna focus on main chat for now, see ya all around!

manny melancholy

if they are looking for Seti then does that mean he might be kidnapped? maybe he went somewhere and just never came back for what ever reason we need answers @Margot

MathTans the Pun Prince

In all seriousness though, I wonder if maybe Seti ran off to protect the others. Like, he made a bad deal or something, and went into hiding to protect them, and when they find him he'll be all worried.

Others of his family that is.

camillabluejay

hahaha @many, we're not supposed to be answering

Joichi

@Superjustin of Time and Space alright see you in main chat

camillabluejay

it's our seekrit

thezachbales

Is there a butler wherever they're going where they'll be wearing party clothes? If so, I HAVE A HUNCH of who made him disappear.

Margot

hahaha oh no @manny realized i'm the weak link in the secrecy chain

Superjustin of Time and Space

cya Joi

RebelVampire

see ya justin thanks for coming~!

Margot

bye Justin!

camillabluejay

bye Justin! thanks for chatting

Margot

thanks for reading and chatting :3

camillabluejay

@Zach, I could ADD a butler, just for you

Joichi

Since i'm not far in the comic, I'll be back later.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Like, what reason would anyone have to sort of run off? I guess it could be kidnapping, but you'd think there'd be more people missing than just Seti then.

snuffysam

I mean, if he was alone when he got kidnapped, it's not so weird

Superjustin of Time and Space

np Rebel, Margot, and Camilla~

thanks for having me stick around~

snuffysam

maybe Seti and Cin had a falling-out that Cin isn't telling the gang about

MathTans the Pun Prince

That could be, hmmm.

RebelVampire

or maybe cin doesnt know either

MathTans the Pun Prince

Maybe they're not really brothers?

RebelVampire

cause sometimes you can make ppl angry and not realize if said person never says anything

MathTans the Pun Prince

As to finding Seti, I feel like that'll only happen once Cin is really vibing with the group, or maybe one of them in particular. Which creates the question of whether he'd stay with them or not. Or maybe Seti would join the group, but mess up the dynamic? I wonder.

camillabluejay

>:)

RebelVampire

oh thatd be interesting and not something id expect. cause my expectations are that seti is like last conflict. but if they find seti soon and then it mucks up the dynamic, that definitely yields interesting possibilities

especially if cin is with them for a while

snuffysam

Finding Seti will create drama regardless of what specifically happens. it's a bit of a lose-lose situation

RebelVampire

cause then you can have arguments between rofaryn and seti about who knows cin better

snuffysam

Cin leaves the group? drama. Cin decides to stay with the group and leave Seti? drama. Seti joins the group? drama.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Maybe Seti's a sorcerer now, and they're all "we're not having no sorcerer in our group!". But he's trying to be a good sorcerer.

Cin gets Seti's blessing to marry Cel? Drama.

RebelVampire

or seti goes all darth vader and is like cin, come to the dark side. look at my cool magic.

MathTans the Pun Prince

"You're not my father!" "No, I'm your brother." "Oh yeah."

Maybe they find someone who's pretending to be Seti. Like, how much time has passed since Cin's seen him? Would he still be recognizable?

snuffysam

or maybe Seti will be in disguise at some point? like, he's trying to start a new life as a masked vigilante and/or villain

MathTans the Pun Prince

Beards can really change one's appearance.

It does feel like one of the main arcing ideas of the comic though. If they do find Seti, there would need to be a new big arcing plot, in my mind.

snuffysam

that's what the drama is for(edited)

MathTans the Pun Prince

But like, Seti would have some new quest for them. Or something. Maybe.

I dunno.

RebelVampire

that is a good point that maybe cin might not recognize him if enough time passes.

idk why but the idea of "Seti's quest" made me laugh

a weird word combo for me

MathTans the Pun Prince

bows

camillabluejay

Yeah, one of the frustrating parts of webcomics for me, is I really want to write it like a tv show. So we're technically starting ep 2 of season 1. And Seti would be the first season arc. But I can't draw that fast, so we'll see. haha

MathTans the Pun Prince

I know that feeling. No one can draw at the speed of thought. ^^

camillabluejay

Yeah XD If I had all the monies, it would be an animated show, OR I would hire a different artist for every 'episode'

RebelVampire

yeah speed of webcomics can be a real downer for sure. D:

MathTans the Pun Prince

I wonder about the hobbies of mercenaries now. If any of them's into art, or if it's mostly about survival.

RebelVampire

but gotta keep trucking and the comic is doing a good job so far~!

camillabluejay

yeah this whole first chp shoulda been like one 20 min episode haha

instead of a year's comic pages

MathTans the Pun Prince

They find Seti, and he wants to draw a comic of their adventures. Very meta.

RebelVampire

thatd be cute. to see them stop by the side of the road for some rest and someone is like "cin what are you doing?" and cin jsut stares and is like "painting"

camillabluejay

Oh, I don't seeharm in answering that! Khehaic does metal work, makes weird jewelry. Ro whittles

They also all play music and dance together, or play cards

MathTans the Pun Prince

Oh, neat! Hadn't thought of whittling. Can make tools that way.

Margot

fayden likes cooking

MathTans the Pun Prince

pictures Rofaryn with a banjo

RebelVampire

i wanna see some of this weird jewelry because that sounds awesome

MathTans the Pun Prince

Just had another quick look at the site. I notice mention of drugrunners. Maybe that's another place where a medic would be useful.

Margot

....If Ro were in modern day, he'd play some mean guitar, just sayin''

thezachbales

I'm going to need a whole arc about Fayden cooking.

camillabluejay

lolol

RebelVampire

its gonna be the filler ep where fayden has a cooking show to see if its a worthwhile spin off franchise

MathTans the Pun Prince

Gotta get the spices just right.

"Irony Chef"

Margot

there's a fayden & h'rannith cooking themed story in the works for patreon, actually haha

thezachbales

BLESSED

camillabluejay

Bc H'ran is terrible at cooking. Just....terrible.

RebelVampire

AHA. learned something about h'ran. terrible at cooking.

MathTans the Pun Prince

You definitely know your characters! All the best with your continued efforts.

camillabluejay

yeah, there's just a lot of them, and trying to make them all shine the best we can is our goal

since it's wrapping up soon, do you guys have any advice for us?

Now that we're starting up chp 2

any mistakes you see us continually make, or things we could do better

MathTans the Pun Prince

scratches head Keep at it? I dunno, I'm not great with advice.

camillabluejay

ch 2 will be the next year of our lives, might as well be the best it could be

Margot

can i just say, as an ending note... i don't know who made the 'ro-ference pun'... you're the worst... and i love you

camillabluejay

lololol

MathTans the Pun Prince

I didn't see any major mistakes, but I'm not always observant.

RebelVampire

id say just more time with two on two or small group. because admittedly i found it to be somewhat hard to get to know all the characters. which isnt surprising either cause group size

camillabluejay

@Margot did you see they want the Y'linstra/Tori lesbian sorcerer side-story? We better get on it.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, and the cutaway at a cliffhangery time worked well I thought. Good pacing.

camillabluejay

Yeah, we realized that too, @RebelVampire

even just drawing them on every page was rough

Margot

dropping chapter 2 immediately, @camillabluejay sorcerer lesbians is go

camillabluejay

thank you guys!

No, BOTH

Margot

you're all the best!! my heart is melty

camillabluejay

ALL THE STORIES

snuffysam

thanks for creating a great comic!

MathTans the Pun Prince

Heh.

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Margot Jane & Jaime Camille, as well, for volunteering Kindred Skies for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Margot Jane & Jaime Camille’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Infected Blood by Infected Blood. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Also, please note that this comic is on the more mature side. Hope to see you next Thursday (November 9th) from 5PM to 7PM PST~! Until then~! Comic: https://infectedbloodcomics.com/

[serenagaywaterford]

1) Okay, I'm late (bc rl sucks), but I'm back and I'll gradually address everything. "Also do not feel any pressure to respond to my multiple essays! I understand completely!"The same goes to you, bc I feel like I'm bothering you too much. That being said, I truly enjoy talking to you. Not only you offer fresh/perceptive insights into the characters' minds (which made me a. reconsider scenes and motives, b. wanna rewatch S1 --some scenes you're commenting on are SO fuzzy in my head-- mind you,

2) 2) I’m already rereading the book), but you also provide such hilarious, sarcastic lines (some of them are absolute killers).

3) personalities” I know you have an inkling of who’s who. :D But damn, that ‘lesbianing’ bit had me giggling. Kudos, fellow anon. Since we’re on the subject, I have another question about your fic (if you don’t mind): is it post s2 or s1/s2 canon divergent? b) “Add horrid fangirls to that and it’s a big ass no lol.” Ugh. Fandom smh manages to sour my opinion of characters/ships/series I personally like. Especially when fans start pestering the creators to cater to their whims or harass actors

4) or start ship wars. Double ugh. c) “So, that’s the Mass Effect connection!” Two more similarities: i. Mass Effect’s Miranda Lawson got a lot of fandom hate back then (even though she was a famous character), just like Serena. ii. She has a back-and-forth, bickering (hateful but not THAT complex) relationship with another female character. d) “I have seen Westworld! Well, okay, just the first season. I got too tired/confused to get past the 2nd season premiere.” Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t have

5) assumed. Believe me when I say it’s a good thing you stopped watching when you did. The overall quality of the series remained pretty much the same (e.g. acting, cinematography, direction), but, oh boy, some new plot twists (which I usually like) are SO OVER THE TOP in order to impress (?) the audience. It’s reached a point where some characters are unrecognizable, bc they’re servants to the plot. Maeve has a lot bigger arc in S2 and Newton is thriving (imo, S2!Maeve >> S1!Maeve), but so is

6) Strahovski/Serena. :D e) “don’t go around bitching at people who say shitty things or stuff I don’t agree with, or blocking anybody who doesn’t like her."Ah, another thing we have in common. There were times I’ve been blocked by fandom people (with beautiful edits) that I NEVER interacted with (except for maybe reblogging from each other). That’s not me complaining. Like I said, each to their own.I just find this phenomenon funny at times. Story time. Once, an out of nowhere anon (whose msg I

7) didn’t publish, bc drama is SO not my thing) said they’d block me, bc of an uploaded gifset for a canon pairing (which wasn’t to their taste apparently) that was tagged as #[series]edit (although the ship!portmanteau was right there, too, so that people could easily block it). I remember being like: "Okay. Good for you, anon!” LOL. f) “I dunno if you see spoilers but there’s one about them.) She needs therapy so much more than a cutesy feelgood storyline.” I did NOT actually, but feel free to8) enlighten me.

——–

I am sort of back! (RL does get in the way of incredibly lengthy essays about fictional TV shows!) NO APOLOGIES NECESSARY!! I am just so happy I get to read all these excellent thoughts, analyses, and feelings you have! (and that we clearly share lol, including the sheer amusement of your writing!). I really want to write more at the mo but my hands are doing that weird old lady thing where you can see the veins popping out and it makes me v uncomfortable to look at. Especially since I have little baby hands. I hate it.

Ok, I’m now kneeling on the floor and the computer is on the kitchen island. This is better. I cannot see the top of my hands. 

SO. Where was I? OW. my kneeeessss. This is a bad idea.

I’m so lost. Fic question. right. It’s post-S2. Like… quite post-S2. I didn’t even deal with HOW or WHY June is back in the Waterford’s house tbh cos I can’t be bothered to sort that out. (Thanks, show.) So, it just assumes that for some reason, she’s back. Which, if the BTS pics/video is to be believed, that’s the case anyway. 

Fangirls (and boys ofc) ruin so much for me. Even if I like the same thing initially. Ugh. Then sometimes they’ll annoy me so much that I end up liking the complete opposite of what they like. Dunno why.

No worries about Westworld! It’s a reasonable assumption! Please don’t apologise, my friend. I do agree that Thandie was very good in S1. IIRC, her character was my fav (other than Clementine lol). Yvonne S2 was just next level shit to me. Like, what you’re saying makes me wanna give S2 WW another shot but when shows get overcomplicated, they’re not much fun anymore when I’m like “BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING LOL”. 

>> “There were times I’ve been blocked by fandom people (with beautiful edits) that I NEVER interacted with (except for maybe reblogging from each other)”

EXACT SAME. It was actually in THT fandom most recently lol. Like, I reblogged one of their pretty edits once. Ever. I didn’t even say anything snarky or bitchy or rude in tags. I don’t think I added any commentary at all. Next thing I know? BLOCKED. Never interacted with them in any way whatsoever. (Typical N/J fangirl lol.) It’s the strangest behaviour and it’s that kind of thing that sours me towards sects of fangirls, and sometimes even the characters they like. Maybe that’s just petty but I think it actually just reinforces pre-existing feelings I had towards the character or pairing.) The only blogs I block are ones that are gross, RP, or spam. (RP blogs is a long history of them stealing and spamming and adding awful commentary to my posts way back in the day, so I just… block em. lol.)

>> “they’d block me, bc of an uploaded gifset for a canon pairing (which wasn’t to their taste apparently) that was tagged as #[series]edit (although the ship!portmanteau was right there, too, so that people could easily block it). I remember being like: “Okay. Good for you, anon!” LOL.”

Oh. My… WHAT. There’s a very odd sense of entitlement here that seems so peculiar to me. Like, that’s what the blacklisting feature is for? I’ve put every version of my most despised pairings, characters, etc. and it works? Very rarely does it miss on. I guess we’re just dramaphobic, mature old fandom farts. Like, “Kids, let me sit you down and tell you about this site before you could block things. Before even XKit was invented…” Not to mention every other website ever lol.

HOLY GROSS… I just got up and a centipede fell off me!! WHYYYYYY. THIS IS WHY I DON’T SIT ON THE FLOOR. (we live near the beach/woods so we get lots of bugs no matter how clean we are…) no more painful kneeling for me i guess…

OKAY. Spoilers. It’s not much but other than the June in Martha costume (which was shown in the teaser Superbowl trailer anyway by now)… there were set pics of Emily, Sylvia, Nicole, and Luke all happy and smiling. IIRC. I can’t find the post anymore. So it may not have been in character. But I dunno… it all seems… too easy? Like, I’m glad Emily is safe but omg. She’d better not be all hunky dory “I stabbed a lady and threw her down the stairs, murdered another, and ran a dude over with a stolen car, but now I’m Canada, I’m all healed!” (Not including the heart attack/crotch kicking here cos that was fair play to Emily. She deserved that.) Like, honestly, as much part of me was like YESSSS at all of those, still… that’s grievous bodily harm with intent to kill, flat out murder, and vehicular manslaughter. For Emily to do those things, you don’t do those crimes without being really broken and damaged. And… yeah. That doesn’t magically disappear when you hop over a border.

[bruisingknees]

I like these so I’m just gonna answer them all haha 

😍 What is your favourite fic trope?

Oh boy. Fake Boyfrans is a strong fave. I also love coffee shop AUs and reality TV AUs lmao. I love a good kid fic every now and then as well. 

👿 What trope do you hate / avoid at all costs?

I avoid serious angst (like cheating, death etc.), prostitute AUs and moresomes. I used to stay clear of genderbending but I’ve turned around on that haha. I really enjoy accidentally and temporarily a girl cause Sterek does that really well. 

🤷 What thing that your fandom loves do you just not “get”?

‘My fandom’ lmfao like I don’t have a billion fandoms. In Harry/Louis, for instance, fandom was really into Zouis for a while, which was so gross. Then they were really into having ppl watch H & L get it on, which I also hated. 

🏆 What do you wish more authors in your fandom would write about?

TSN Eduardo/Mark had some home made sex tape and I was like “oh cool, I really like this trope!” and then I never saw it in another fandom. Sad. 

💏 Who is your OTP?

I have a many. I always return to Tony/Steve, Derek/Stiles, Spock/Kirk and Harry/Louis though. 

Recently I’ve also been into a lot of canon ships like Ronan/Adam, Simon/Bram and Gheorghe/Johnny. I’ve also been into the Thai BL lately, but I don’t read fic in that. 

🤢 Who is your NoTP?

Any OTP that has someone of my OTPs paired with someone else. (Like Zouis or Stucky or all those things haha)

😎 Who is your BroTP?

I do enjoy Steve/Tony fic with Bucky in it being a good friend to both of them. I really like Spartacus fic AUs where Agron’s brother is still alive (so an actual BROtp). I also headcanon Ronan and Blue as being total Bros, which is fun. 

😭 Has a fic ever left you inconsolable?

I stay clear of angst, so not really. 

Famously though @ghostsinthedaylight sent me fic that made me cry and then we became friends 

🤣 Has a fic ever made your face hurt from laughing so much?

Yeah! I remember that Patrick/Jonny had a lot of funny fics. Sterek tends to be funny as well. 

🕵🏾 Do you ever comment/kudos as a guest, even if you have an account?

Only when my browser has logged me out and i don’t realize. But then I’m always like “aww yas” and log in and leave kudos again. Double kudos. 

📚 What’s the longest fic you’ve read in one sitting?

No idea. I’m pretty sure I read the “A Spider In The Pool” Spideypool fic in one go, and those first two parts are pretty long. I’ve been reading fic for over a decade now tho so honestly i have no idea what’s the longest I’ve read in one go. 

🌍 What is your dream AU?

Fake Boyfrans, insecure, virgin fluff. 

✋ What reader or writer do you think most deserves a high five?

I’m going through all the Steve/Tony fic by Nightwalker, which is seriously amazing and hitting the spot. So a high five for them! I’m also still obsessed by the aforementioned A Spider in the Pool fic by Ajayd, and I’m just forever grateful to them for giving me that fic. A newer obsession is The Improbable Helena by concupiscence66 - which is also *prayer hand emoji*. It’s Mighty Boosh fic, which I don’t even read lmfao so it’s even more impressive that I’m so obsessed with this fic. 

💡 Tell me a headcanon (and who you wish would write it)?

I’m most actively headcanoning for Simon VS. and The Raven Cycle at the moment. Both canon slash ships that need so much more amazing fic. But it’s not being written enough imo so I’m very actively creating little universes in my head lmao. 

I mainly hope to read someone write a long Bram/Simon fic set in college times. 

🎵 What do you listen to while you read?

Sometimes my TV’ll be playing in the background, sometimes I’ll put on random music. 

Reader asks

😍 What is your favourite fic trope?

👿 What trope do you hate / avoid at all costs?

🤷 What thing that your fandom loves do you just not “get”?

🏆 What do you wish more authors in your fandom would write about?

💏 Who is your OTP?

🤢 Who is your NoTP?

😎 Who is your BroTP?

😭 Has a fic ever left you inconsolable?

🤣 Has a fic ever made your face hurt from laughing so much?

🕵🏾 Do you ever comment/kudos as a guest, even if you have an account?

📚 What’s the longest fic you’ve read in one sitting?

🌍 What is your dream AU?

✋ What reader or write do you think most deserves a high five?

💡 Tell me a headcanon (and who you wish would write it)?

🎵 What do you listen to while you read?