#I just finished a long ass usagi comic | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

paint-lady · 1 year ago

Note

🖊 + Maru!

Send me a “🖊+an OC“ and I will talk about that OC! It can be a headcanon, a fun fact, a small paragraph of backstory- anything! Alternatively, send in just a “🖊“ and I will talk about any one of my OCs at random!

Oh, Maru my beloved.

Maru "Maru-Maru" Maru is my character in Secret World Legends and my NPC (and eventual PC) for the Secret World ttrpg. They are the current OC im constantly rotating in my brain like a rotisserie chicken.

I had attempted to write a longer form comic for them and even finished a first chapter. Unfortunately, life got busy and started taking more spoons to other tasks and I am not able to dedicate the time and energy I want to the comic. And thats okay. In the year I have been cold, I have expanded upon the Maru-verse even further, and discovered even more interesting loops and details to incorporate. And I cannot wait to illustrate them one day.

So without further ado, please enjoy this extensive lore breakdown on Maru-Maru:

For your convenience this post has a keep reading <3

Name Significance: Of course Maru is not their given name. Its partially a joke, partially an echo of a long-lost memory, partially a misheard role to fulfill, and their first grasp on their identity.

The name Maru firstly comes from my Exalted Zenith character. My partner and I wanted to name our bees after them, as a way to honor the fun we had with such a short campaign. Little did we know how smoothly Exalted and SWL can blend together- the transition from one age to the next, apocalypses rising, and powerful beings beyond comprehension changing Creation. The tone is certainly different though: an Exalted chronicle is uplifting and with epic heroes to save the world, whereas SWL is riddled with uncertainty about how long the collective will of reality can hold.

The SWL version of Maru can barely remember their previous incarnation, it's more like a weird dream than anything else. If they look to closely, the memory vanishes; like the people of the Third Age trying to grasp their memory of the Second, and their predecessors before them. The golden light within them feels different, yet can still vanquish monsters with their touch, and aid people plagued by nightmares seeping through cracks in reality.

A more recent discovery has played nicely into my friends headcanons and names of their characters. SWL Maru was discovered by experienced agents of names Inanna and Ninshubur in Kingsmouth. While the name Maru is not a Sumerian/Assyrian deity, Mamu is. There is not a lot written about Mamu. They are most notable for being a god of dreams and having both male and female depictions. We love a lil gender fuckery in the pantheon. There was temple built in Imgur-Enlil (modern Balawat) to them. Dreams were not seen as depictions of the subconscious (thanks Freud) but rather true portents of the future. This is all over the epic of Gilgamesh as a literary device to keep that long ass story going. Regardless, the Assyrian King who had dreams of Inanna vanquishing his enemies felt the portents were significant enough to build that temple to the messenger: Mamu. Additionally, there are oodles of accounts of death-dreams and glimpses into other worlds (namely the Underworld) across several sites, whether its recorded dreams from priests and priestesses- or more Enki myths.

And this is what Maru does- even by accident. They catch glimpses into the other worlds, talk to other versions of themselves to relay messages and warnings, and make sure Inanna and Ninshubur are aware of whatever weird shit is out there. In the SWL ttrpg, I intend to have Maru explore this role to fulfill more, as a messenger and a dreamer. Funnily enough, the surname I gave Maru is 夢宮: Yumemiya, which can translate to Yume: dream, and Miya: a shrine, or place for gods. Don't you love it when the narrative falls into place like that? (But in truth, I borrowed the surname from Kanae Yumemiya, an actress who portrayed Usagi in a Sailor Moon Live production...)

Lastly on name significance, we have the japanese translation that Maru means ◯, and is literally a circle. Depending on the characters used to spell Maru, it can also mean truth, and expanded to mean a complete unending cycle. Putting two ◯◯ together is like censoring a name or word, similarly to how $#%&#! is used in English. In a way, Maru-Maru is saying their name is Redacted, or blankety blank or So-and-so. This was incredibly hilarious in the SWL game when QBL labels the player a terrorist after climbing Orochi Tower. Ah yes, you've definitely found the ringleader who set off the Tokyo bomb: It was ◯◯! Excellent journalism, QBL, no notes.

But in truth, its a clever and funny way to hide themself. Searching Maru on google is gonna get you a stardew valley villager and a cute, chubby cat youtube sensation. And they like it that way.

So whether it's Maru, Mamu, Redacted, ◯◯, or some other weird fifth thing, they'll always be that one odd baby bee who reaches across dimensions to keep reality running just a little longer. They won't have to face the end alone, in fact, its statistically improbable.

And if you survive. If you are still you. Think on the questions. Remember when you were a bright little thing, so full of questions?

THE LIFE CYCLE:

Time is a funny thing when dealing with several versions of the same individual. The smallest changes completely alter a course of events. Many Marus recall gaining their bee not long after the Tokyo Filth bomb around 2012, and being swept up by whichever agency got to them first. Many recall their parents working tirelessly at their jobs at the Orochi Group. They learned how to cook for themself at a young age because Mom and Dad wouldn't be home til late. Many recall the first time they heard the buzzing static was as young as 6, following the sweet whispers through a soon-to-be park and a newly planted flowering tree. There are a few that never receive a bee, or receive their power through other means. These timelines are the strangest ones.

A riddle to kill a sphinx: What's one, then three, and then one again? Wait- that's not how it goes...

The Lumie, Templar, and Dragon Maru all share the same origin. Depending on where an outsider glances, the three realities are so close, they are nearly one. Nearly. They grew up in Kaidan with their parents. They did attend the Orochi-sponsored schools and attended several programs, but flew right under the radar for "gifted abilities" that Orochi was seeking. Little Maru was aware of whispers in tv static, rattles in old pipes, the shrieks of summer cicadas Evangelion style. As a young child, they marched to the beat of their own drum, ignoring or indulging the whispered warnings as they saw fit. The dreams were harder to ignore, but when they told their parents about the big scary monsters that couldn't get out- it was written off as their overly active imagination. After all, they had failed an aptitude test to get into the nearby elementary school near their work. Its uncertain whether or not Maru's parents knew what that test was truly analyzing- and whether or not they were relieved to see they failed. Decent Orochi employees have excellent poker faces.

Sometimes one is born special. Sometimes specialness is genetically modified into one. Not every child is equal.

As they grew older, the supernatural continued to burrow into their eardrums. Maru was an average student, but occasionally received top marks on answers whispered to them. They earned a reputation for being a little bit of a tech whiz, and had an observant eye for finding errors in codes. Not really a "super power" but troubleshooting tech is an immensely useful skill. Maru was exceptional at the ol' percussive maintenance with old printers, punchcards, and fax machines. When things went to digital interfaces, Maru found the tried and true "have you tried turning it off and back on again," to be a real winner.

When they didn't want to hear the whispers, they'd make use of bulky, noise-cancelling headphones. Maru would often be seen wearing them outside of class and in their home, enjoying the peace and quiet. Maybe the headphones were a placebo. It only worked because they believed it worked. However, at night, their mind would be plagued with vivid dreams and even louder whispers and messages. Headphones can't keep hide the noise if its already in their head. Frustratingly, they'd always wake up and immediately forget what they dreamt. This was their normal. Caffeine to keep themself up during the day, wear headphones to keep out the messages, and TV to drown out the static at night.

And there wasn't really anyone to talk about it with. Last time some Orochi kid fessed up to their weird dreams and whispers, he'd definitely vanished. Teachers said the student moved away, but Maru knew his parents still worked in Faust upper management. Another girl said she could hear thoughts before you could finish thinking them. Maru thought that one was bullshit- but she disappeared too. Lesson learned. Keep the static to yourself.

Don't fear It. Fear Nothing. Fear the Foundation. It's no wonder; they say once you hit four, it's all downhill from here.

When it came time to apply for highschool, a few of their peers found this "Clubhouse" and despite its messaging, were blabbermouths about it. Maru always felt uneasy about the place. If there were whispers saying they had nothing to fear, they didn't trust it. They couldn't believe the claims that were coming from this place. Free drinks? Can play games as long as you want? You can be yourself without any fear? Maru especially didn't trust the last one. None of their classmates knew how they felt wearing the girls uniform. None of them knew how exhausting it was to shut out the whispers, keep the eyes on them sated with just the right expectations, and then complete their coursework on top of it all. Maru absolutely did not want to "perform" there either.

Upon finishing highschool, Maru was presented with an opportunity. They'd complete a university comp-sci degree and then immediately dive into a job at the company. Orochi is not devoid of nepotism. At first, this seemed ideal. They'd attend university in New York, and take their summer internships with the American branch of Orochi. Should everything go well, which... it was going to go well that was the expectation... they'd be looking at a substantial salary and generous benefits while working in the Tower.

America was loud. America is loud. But the sheer volume of everything drowned out the buzzing whispers. They still needed the headphones to drown out the rest of the noise though. They could focus a lot more on themself outside of the Orochi bubble, even if their presence was just a few streets away.

Maru figured out a lot about themself in the four years at Uni, especially the gender thing. They enjoyed building weird robots and programming them to do silly things- in addition to their assigned tasks. They enjoyed the few college parties they attended. They even had a steady, long term relationship with a classmate named Caesura (nods back to Exalted). As graduation loomed, they dreaded going back home. They realized how much time they spent alone and really did not want to go back to that solitude at Orochi. So they avoided it. They delayed their graduation by a year and a half by swapping majors, making absurd connections and promises with subdivisions of Faust and Anansi, and prolonging which classes they needed to graduate.

What was the cause of all this, sweetling? Where is the zero point?

Everything changed sometime in 2012. Maru couldn't get anyone on the phone back home when the bomb went off. Even the work lines in Faust were gunked up. They have zero clue if a letter they wrote made it through security and into Orochi's headquarters. Caesura had also vanished. (Unbeknownst at the time, the man was abducted by the Dragon. In most timelines, he does analog calculations for the faction, figuring out where pieces need to move rather than doing field work himself). And then they get their bee, freak out and wreck their apartment, get nabbed by one of the big three, and then get sent out to Kingsmouth.

Things start to break and differ sometime after this for our Red, Blue, and Green iterations of Maru. They all admit to being unaware of their prowess for chaos magic before meeting two other big bees: Ninshubur and Inanna. It was Ninshubur who gifted the confused baby bee a chaos focus, and Inanna gifted a them an empowering gadget. Receiving these items are one of the more prominent cracks on the flickering timelines on the Reality Engine.

Though the most prominent tears in their time are when the Dreamers made themselves known to Maru. The first, a gift. The second, worship. The third, freedom.

Templar!Maru, believes they were tricked by the gift. They swear they would have never have listened to the bubbling voices, but deep down they know that they fell for their sweet words. Whenever the Dreamers approached them, they were certain to make sure they'd never be fooled twice. Their choices are marked with unbound Blue wings.

Dragon!Maru had already begun developing their philosophy on the cyclic end of the world: however messy and destructive it was going to be, whatever was going to rise out of the ashes was going to be just as magnificent. Decay is a form of life. They morbidly want to see what the world will look like at the end, but have to be strong enough to make it there. Accepting the gift, begrudgingly worshipping, and freeing the Dreaming Ones is all part of their dream. Their wings drip with filth. Unease sits in their stomach, they do not know if they'll get their wish.

Lastly, Lumie!Maru was keen on not listening to more voices in their heads. They are the only iteration to refuse the gift. Their wings gleam gold. What is done cannot be undone, and they loathe that their defiance to one set of voices is obedience to another.

Go ahead, glance back. Don't sweat it, sweetling. You won't turn to salt and you can't make yourself impossible. History will conserve itself. The continuities will hold.

Again, time is funny when dealing with several iterations of the same individual. The slightest changes make immense impacts on their lives. There are Maru's who graduated on time. There are Maru's who never left Kaidan. These individuals work with Orochi, whether they want to or not. There are Maru's who's last memory is the filth exploding from within that guy's jacket. There are Maru's still sleeping. There are Maru's who joined the Council of Venice, there are Maru's who hacked the Swarm's game back, and fled their factions. There are Maru's who want nothing to do with the secret world and just want a peaceful goddamn life with their wife and accounting job. There's a Maru who is just really into boats...

But they are all connected, tethered to one another. Like a rat king on reality, fated to meet and tangle.

FUN and STRANGE DETAILS:

BLOODY VALENTINES: Uta, the rabbit killer in Kaidan, is three separate individuals who used to inhabit the same body. Lilith is responsible for splitting her like a worm and separating the sibling souls into new bodies. Maru is an anomaly: they are physical duplicates of the same individual existing simultaneously. Both Maru and Uta fight with unprecedented coordination, switching aggro and balancing their buffs between the three of them. The showdown at the top of Orochi tower was certainly a spectacle... And a vocabulary lesson for swears in several languages. Some agents have noticed the similarities between Maru and Uta, but Maru is quick to squash any speculations. This is not because the two actually know each other, but more Maru does not want anyone to know their Orochi background if they can help it.

The buzzing on Uta reveals some interesting clues about Maru and their existence. Uta was not plagued with insanity but rather hypersanity for the new age- and with new software there are bound to be bugs. While Maru didn't absorb their twin in the womb or was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia; Maru was also sensitive to whispers just outside reality. And so were other children born around the same time. Maybe Maru and that generation of kids got the patched version.

A LUCID DREAM: The Black Signal, or John, tells the Chuck's who will listen that he's no longer singular, he is plural- but remembers what it was like being a sole individual. To Maru, this is so old news. In fact, Maru loves to snark back at him saying that he is not special and they're plural too. There are many Maru's. The Black Signal doesn't really tend to listen to this. Maru may be many, but Maru is still meat. If they would hatch, then they'd have a new conversation. Again, Maru disregards this, and says they've spent enough time being an egg.

They don't want to think too hard about what it means to have "hatched." They know John's not talking about them being nonbinary. Maru is an adept and experienced enough chaos user at this point to recognize when a timeline is too different for them to safely pull on. There's a phantom pain in their outreached hands and fingers when they try to go too far. They are aware that there are some selves they used to be able to call upon and cannot anymore. Something about them has changed. They are aware they can become "out of sync" with their doppelgangers or even be "out of phase," and get stuck somewhere overlapping two or more timelines. But to not be able to call themself at all is terrifying. If only they had the ability to glance at all it all from the outside ... oh.

At least, Maru can't do this consciously. Some versions of Maru have swapped places with their doppelgangers in their sleep or had rude awakenings of being pried from bed to be used as a meat-shield for another. While dreaming, they can go anywhere- so long as they don't forget how to wake up. These ones don't know how close they get to bleeding out of reality.

MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES:

In my SWL playthrough, I of course ran into a whole bunch of bugs and glitches. And I love them. But, there were times that it made the game do absolutely weird things- which provides some very fun stories to weave into the glitch. The most notable was at the Second Choice in the City of the Sun God. At this point, my partner had played ahead and was almost through Translylvania when I had finally defeated Aten. He knew there was an Ultimate Move behind the choices and spoiled a little (with my permission). I didn't know what "Blue Wings" meant but I understood to get them I would need to, against my better judgement, listen to the Dreamer's at least once. So after defeating Aten and being greeted by the Filth bird saying "hey you should do the worship emote" I then obliged and typed /worship.

And the game crashed. No worries- this happened all the time for me. My laptop would get obscenely hot running this game and would shut itself down so it wouldn't fry itself. Upon reloading, I had to do the Aten fight again but found myself having trouble with some of the UI interface. Reloadui did not solve the issue, and I found myself in front of the Filth bird again. I typed /worship and Maru did nothing. I opened the emote tab, and clicked, and Maru would do nothing. In fact, all of my emotes were not functioning- except the dances.

I laughed as I watched Maru dance and devour tacos in front of the Dreamer, not knowing how frustrating it must have been for the cosmic entity to watch some small, nascent angelic thought just proceed to do anything but what it requested. How much longer? Out of frustration, I eventually attacked the creature, triggering the next cutscene. The Dreamer's were angry, and I laughed and laughed.

Now the strangest thing is in game play, Maru sometimes has golden wings. I have had friends say they see blue wings and I will see gold on my screen. I've also had the opposite. In all cutscenes, they are blue. Considering the overlapping timelines, it seems like Lumie!Maru's almost choice bleeds through onto their timeline sometimes.

INITIATE THE D20 SYSTEM:

I have been very fortunate to be the storyteller for some very avid fans of the Secret World and have presented an alternative timeline to the world they know and love. Maru of course, is no exception to this. Everyone is operating with different times and circumstances. Eventually, I will get the chance to play Maru in the game. But for now, Maru has only made one appearance: to Olivia, the newest bee of the group. Of course, Olivia has zero idea what implications she has encountered by merely interacting with this version of Maru, untethered to their doppelgangers. The TTRPG timeline is indeed one of the strangest.

Thank you for reading this absurdly long OC lore post, I have spent easily 3 week writing and editing and rewriting and adding. I hope you enjoyed and it sparks some fun thoughts about SWL and maybe a lil Exalted. As a treat.

#steph answers questions #thanks for the ask!#swl #storyteller vibes #maru energy

16 notes · View notes

ryosei-hime · 3 years ago

Text

Writer Tag Game

I got tagged by @ernmark

I’m terrible at tagging people in these so if you see this and want to do it, go for it!

How many works do you have on AO3?

I’m gonna start by saying that I have a larger chunk of fics on FF.net because I wrote more back when I used that instead. I also had a very long hiatus from writing fics at all due to mental health and life stuff.

Also I realized recently that a lot of my RvB fics didn’t end up on AO3 and I just left them here on tumblr which was the last time I was super active with fanfic back in 2014.

So, long way around to say, only 20 that are housed on AO3 specifically.

What's your total AO3 word count?

49,141

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Naptime is Best Time which was my most popular RvB fic. A little humorous Grimmons.

Stolitz Week Oneshots - Some of my most recent work since that event only ended recently. Very specifically I got a lot of those kudos after posting Confession which seems to be well-liked and makes me very happy.

Personal Space which is a HuskerDust chapter fic that deals with Husk’s insecurities regarding his demon form.

Sex and Therapy - An OCxRobo Fizz story in which an imp therapist buys a busted up second hand Fizzarolli Personal Companion with intents to help him professionally but uh. *points at the title* This one was very surprising to me because I don’t expect much if any attention to be given to my OC focused things. So that this one got enough to be on the top five makes me really happy.

Apologies - An Alix/Chat Noir fic that I did for a rare pair exchange. Another one that surprises me. : P Especially as I only watched the first season of Ladybug and often forget I even wrote it.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to and if the comment is longer, I definitely do. With shorter comments, it depends on my mood. I’m socially awkward and whether or not saying just thank you feels inane and unwanted as a response will vary with how I’m feeling. I definitely appreciate all comments! Even one word comments. : P But responding will vary based on my own mental processes and has nothing to do with the commenter or my appreciation for the comment. Some comments will make me particularly happy and I’ll read them over again but still not respond because I don’t have anything specific to say in response. It’s mostly a series of noises that can’t be conveyed in text.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Oh! That’s definitely Don’t Cry Usagi. A short fic speculating the long term effects of Naru's role as victim in Sailor Moon's crime-fighting life. I don’t do character death a lot but I had this idea and it wouldn’t leave me alone.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I think I end up with a lot of happy endings. Like there’s probably suffering along the way but in the end things work out more often than not. So, I don’t think that I can say any one fic has a happier ending than another, really.

Do you write crossovers? If so, What is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

I was probably more prone to that when I was younger. I did have one that I never posted anywhere that involved Doctor Drakken from Kim Possible attempting to use a device to access a universe in which he had been successful in taking over the world (I think this was before a Stitch in Time came out) and learn how he did it. But of course the device malfunctions and sort of scatters universes. I used pretty much all the cartoons I was particularly interested in at the time.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t say hate. I’ve definitely received some weird responses though. And all on FF.net.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I only very, very recently starting doing so! Because you can only write a character that’s a sexbot for so long without it coming up. It was important that the second occurrence of full on sex in Sex and Therapy (I fade to blacked the first) actually be written because there was a lot of emotion and bonding involved in it that needed to be shown. Which is why I said fuck it and did the shorter one right before it as well. I had to accept I couldn’t tell that story without sex. It’s in the title! But now I’m more comfortable writing it, so I may be more prone to do so going forward.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I’m pretty sure I had a few snatched up by bots grabbing a bunch all at once. But not by a person that I am aware of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I’m aware of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I attempted to do so once with a 9/Labyrinth crossover. I failed you @ernmark. Forgive me. Actually, there was one other time where I was slightly more successful but it also never got posted anywhere or made it beyond a couple of rough drafts. It was a DBZ fic and I remember a much more talented writer was working with me and I was super grateful for their input and help because this was when I was like *maths* 13? I was super young. We were using yahoo chat to work on it together. And this much better/older writer treated me so nicely and wasn’t condescending at all. It was really nice of them. I will always remember you stranger from yahoo chat.

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

That definitely depends on the fandom. Since these are the two fandoms I’m active in right now: Stolitz is my favorite Helluva Boss ship and HuskerDust is my favorite Hazbin Hotel ship.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Okay, there are two fics I started a million years ago that I think about rewriting and finishing constantly. I even started to rewrite one of them more recently before Helluva/Hazbin took over my brain. One was Foutley’s Phone Buddies which was an As Told By Ginger fic focused on aged up Carl/Blake. The other Was Crouching Tigger, Hidden Rabbit which was a Tigger/Rabbit fic. That’s right. I ship the fuck out of Tigger and Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh.

What are your writing strengths?

Characters and dialogue. I’m someone with very low self-esteem or it used to be very low. I guess it’s gotten better but it’s still hard to say outright nice things about myself. But I’ve never had a problem saying I’m good at characters. Confessions is kind of a point of pride for me right now with that because of how much attention it’s received for being in character.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot and structure. I write primarily by instinct. And my instinct is primarily character driven. What makes it easy for me to just churn out character interactions without thinking makes it difficult for me when I have to stop and slow down long enough to figure out what’s actually supposed to be happening in the story and in what order for the best pacing. The more my wheels have to actually turn, the harder it is for me.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ll do it poorly with flagrant disregard for poor native speakers. I’m so sorry native speakers. I used bacha galupe for Angel in one recently. I didn’t even think about it. I just did it. And I’m pretty sure I learned that from the Golden Girls so how accurate it is or if it’s even spelled right is beyond me. But it’s out there now. I really only do this for words here and there though. If someone’s gonna do more than that, I’ll just write that they speak in the language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Animorphs! I typed up Animorphs fic in like comic sans size fucking 30 or something and printed it out. I’ll never forget. That was in the late 1990s and my grandfather had just moved up from the printer that had the edges you had to tear off. So it was on this impressive pure white straight sheet of paper. So fancy and it had my giant ass fic on it. Only the best for my Andalite OC.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I’m still very fond of Naptime is Best Time after all these years. I think Sex and Therapy is gonna be special to me for being one of the longest chapter fics I’ve ever finished (I’ma finish it) because I’ve always been more of a oneshot person until recently. And Confessions will probably stay a favorite for a long time. So, yeah, I’ve just been happier with my recent stuff and being able to write fanfic again after so many years.

4 notes · View notes

dream-beyond-the-fantasy · 6 years ago

Note

Pinkie here!! So now is your turn!! I want to know your top 5 female characters!!! Thank you!!

Phoebe Halliwell, Charmed - Even though I love all of the sisters and I am probably more like Piper, Phoebe was my favorite. She is beautiful, sexy, and funny. Phoebe has some of my favorite powers, premonition and empathy. Levitation is pretty cool, too. Phoebe is a style queen! I love nearly all of her hair styles and clothes. She has also had the most romances on the show. Phoebe has grown so much in the show’s eight years. And she is played by the ever awesome Alyssa Milano, a favorite actress since my childhood.

Leia Organa (Solo), Star Wars - One of my favorite characters since I was a little girl and one of the first main female scifi characters. Leia was smart, strong, and sarcastic. She cares about doing the right thing, despite the danger and cost. Leia is a princess, a senator, a rebel/freedom fighter, and a mother. I grew up reading the books and some comics of the Expanded Universe, now termed “Legends”. The Leia I grew up with married Han, was a mother to three amazing and powerful children, went on to become the Chief of State of the New Republic (twice, I believe), became a Jedi, and just kept fighting for the safety and good of the people and the galaxy. The new canon still has Leia as an inspiring figure as a general in the Resistance. I also loved Leia’s various hairstyles and clothes in the films and on book covers.

Kimberly Hart, Power Rangers - Kim was one of my first female superheroes. As the first Pink Power Ranger, she was very feminine and still could kick villain ass. Kimberly could do almost anything: gymnast, Power Ranger, cheerleader, environmental activist, volunteer. She could even sing and play the guitar. I always thought that Kimberly was incredible beautiful and kind. I loved her romance with Tommy and never forgave Power Rangers Zeo (or Kat) for breaking them up. I even love her when she is briefly turned evil in the Turbo movie.

Martha Jones, Doctor Who - Martha is one of my favorite companions of the Doctor. She is one of the few women of color on the show and to be a regular companion to the Doctor. I love that she is a doctor in her own right. Her family is important to her. I hate how the Doctor didn’t see how awesome she was until too late because he was so hung up on Rose. I didn’t mind her crush on the Doctor, because why wouldn’t you fall for him? Martha grew a lot over the course of the show. She was jealous of Rose in the beginning, but when she finally met her, she was so happy that Rose and the Doctor found each other. I love how Martha made the decision to leave the TARDIS on her own terms.

Daenerys Targaryen, A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones - Dany is compassionate and strong. She has gone through so much in her young life and keeps fighting. She cares about the people, particularly women and children. She tried to get the Dothraki to stop raping the women of the people that they conquered and pillaged. Daenerys abolished slavery in Meereen. She has a personality that inspires respect, love and loyalty, as seen with the Unsullied, Missandei, Jorah, and now Jon on the show. I love the storied history of House Targaryen, despite some of its darker moments and rulers. I love the dragons and how she brought them and magic back to the world. Daenerys shares qualities with her ancestors, such as Aegon I and his sister-wives, Jaehaerys I & Alysanne, and Aegon V. I also love the parallels with Jon and their love story.

And here are the additional five @cobrakaiseriesfan allotted me:

Fran Fine Sheffield, The Nanny - The Nanny was one of my favorite shows when I was growing up. Fran was a style icon. I always wanted to dress like her. And even though my hair is dark and curly, I wish I could pull off some of her hairstyles. But maybe not as big. She is gorgeous and funny. Fran is from a working class/working poor family, so she is easily relatable. I love her relationships with love interest/boss Maxwell Sheffield, his kids, Niles, her own family, and Val. Fran teaches the kids great lessons in unconventional ways. She may not be book-smart, but she is street-smart. Fran is such a warm and compassionate person.

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter - I relate to Hermione because she loves to read, is intelligent, and her friends are very important to her. Hermione will also fight for who and what she believes in. She can be a bit narrow-minded at times, but she does learn from her mistakes.

Usagi Tsukino/Serena Tsukino, Sailor Moon - I was a little girl when I first saw the English dub of Sailor Moon, which I loved. She was one of my first female superheroes. I love how much her friends mean to her and that she would do anything to save and protect them. I loved the love story between her and Mamoru/Darien. I love how she has a big appetite. I also loved the clothes she wore. Sailor Moon was my introduction to anime.

Dr. Robin Scorpio-Drake, General Hospital - Robin is a strong and compassionate person. She has a strong moral compass, which she usually follows. Robin has overcome many struggles in her life (”death” of her parents, HIV+ diagnosis and living with the disease, Stone’s death via AIDS, romances, being a hostage, postpartum depression, Lisa, etc.) and has come through them with grace. I love all of her romances and how they are each an important chapter in her life, even though Patrick is my favorite. Robin is a great friend to have, a dedicated doctor, and probably one of the most stable mothers on the soap. Her story provides an education on HIV/AIDS.

Bianca Montgomery, All My Children - Much like Robin, Bianca is a strong and compassionate character that has seen many struggles. She is the heart of her family, which includes her mother, daytime legend Erica Kane and her half-sister Kendall, but that doesn’t mean she is a pushover. Bianca is an iconic character, in that she is the first lesbian lead on a daytime soap opera. I have loved watching her romances with Maggie, Zoe, Reese, and to a lesser extent, Marissa. Her baby swap story was one of the first soap opera stories to real hook me and get me hooked on two soaps at one time.

I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to finish this post! Please forgive me.

101 notes · View notes

tessatechaitea · 6 years ago

Text

The New Titans #60

First time in my comic book reading history that I noticed how much Nightwing's symbol looks like the torso of a woman in a skimpy top.

It's difficult beginning a new New Titans comic book when I'd let myself believe I was finished reading them all. It's especially difficult to keep reading this comic book when the first page includes this warning:

You don't have to tell me twice!

Apparently my brain disagreed with its first assessment that the comic book didn't need to tell me twice because it reread the warning and idiotically read it correctly this time.

Dammit! Why did I already read Batman #440?! Now I'm practically locked into reading this!

Looking on the bright side for the second time in my life (the first time was when I realized that when I die, it'll most likely be in some horrible accident in which I won't have time to register that my life is ending and therefore I'll never actually know I've died, easing swiftly into the loving embrace of non-existence!), I thought, "Well, Batman #440 was written by Wolfman and it was a decent read. How terrible can this comic book be?!" But that pleasant thought was completely undone when the first panel reminded me of something I had yet to consider:

Fuck. Cyborg was still alive at this time. I'm fucking bored already!

Well, looking on the bright side who loves seeing a character yell "Booyah!" constantly, this comic book should be a real treat! I do feel a little bit of white guilt creeping in around the corners when I voice my indifference of the most boring character in the DC Universe because he's black. Especially with Donald Trump's recent explicitly racist tweets and the GOP's rush to hide behind other members of the GOP in the hopes that they won't have to shrug apathetically on camera when asked about the tweets. But it's not my fault that DC Comics chose to make their most boring character an American black man! Would it help if I said some of my favorite DC characters were black? Nope. Just heard how that sounds. Not better! Paragraph breaks don't do as much heavy lifting as I need them to. Sometimes after I've written some commentary, I'll wander off to another part of the Internet to take in some sights. Then when I come back, I sometimes want to discuss what I've just experienced. But going from one paragraph to another, readers just think they're reading it in real time as I wrote it. What I need are paragraph breaks that represent the amount of time I was away (but not what I was doing while I was away or they'd all be variations on "Gone five minutes. Jerked off to Sailor Moon porn where Rei surprises Usagi in the shower and teaches her how to masturbate" or "Gone ten minutes. Watched an erotic massage video and spent most of the time fiddling with the sound so the downstairs neighbors couldn't hear it. Turns out 3 out of 100 is still to loud for some women's orgasms" or "Gone three days. Couldn't take reading another Wolfman New Titans comic book and wound up just playing thirty games of Apex"). Between the last paragraph and this one, I went on Twitter where Andy Richter posted Fats Domino's version of The Beatles' "Lady Madonna." My only response after hearing it was, "Holy fuck." Seriously, I never want to hear The Beatles' shit version ever again! I also just noticed in the above panel, Cyborg accidentally stuck his penis plug-in to the side of his face! Whoops! Back in 1989, Cyborg wasn't capable of contacting anybody in the DC Universe immediately. So he's having trouble finding Dick Grayson. He tried his pager and...well, that's about it! It was 1989! If somebody wasn't sitting by their phone, you didn't have many other options when trying to contact them! This is probably one of the moments where much later DC editors looked back at Cyborg and realized he needed to be more powerful. I'm not arguing that he definitely needed to be more than a white noise gun that said "Booyah!" but they could have realized he needed to be interesting as well. Hell, it's not long after this issue that Marv Wolfman completely gives up on him and smashes him into bits. Having no other options but to risk exposing Batman's secret identity by putting calls to Wayne Manor on the Titans phone records, Cyborg gives Bruce a call. I'd understand interrupting Batman's hectic life if the world were on fire but the big emergency right now is that some weird kid looking for Dick visited Kory while she was practically naked (no wait. She had a towel on after showering so her body was more covered than usual). Batman is busy dealing with Two-Face even though it's the middle of the day. I think maybe Alfred lied to Cyborg. I bet Batman's taking a shit. Dick has gone back to Haly's Circus to find himself.

I bet these two clowns are actually old white land developers responsible for the circus failing! Their next trick will be to dress up like ghosts and zombies to scare everyone away!

A third clown named Harry comes out of a tent and passes out in Dick's arms. Can you imagine blacking out as a clown? You'd probably wake up in an unknown tent with no make-up covered in lion spit and shame. Dick meets with Haly and is all, "I read about the circus closing down and I couldn't figure out why. But now that I'm here, I totally get it!" And Haly is all, "Fuck you, Dick! You try running a circus in 2019! I mean 1989! Oh, yeah, I guess I should probably still have been able to trick idiots into thinking freak sideshows and abusing animals was still cool." Haly actually blames the failing of his circus on too much TV and too many video games. Obviously Super Mario, Tecmo Bowl, and Duck Hunt (hee hee! You thought, "Cunt!") were way more fun and interesting than sitting in a smelly tent being terrorized by people in greasy face paint but Haly really should take a little responsibility for his own business failings. Dick arrives and in ten minutes, he's already washed an elephant and kept a drunk clown from breaking his neck. Maybe get off your ass, Harry Haly, and fix up your shit. Haly also mentions that there's been a rash of accidents that have kept the selling price of the circus down. I bet it was those fucking clowns!

He's talking about his penis so yes, Dick, he has to ask.

While at Haly's Circus, Dick Grayson witnesses the origin of Clown Batman!

Later, after Bozo Wayne grew to an adult and was wondering what direction to take, a clown crashed through his window.

Tensions are running high at the Haly Circus as some performers want to circus to be sold so they can move on and others just want things to remain unchanged.

Finally, a clown that makes me laugh!

During the show later, Wilhelm the lion tamer gets his throat ripped out before Dick can save him. Dick was disguised as a clown so Wilhelm probably bled out as Dick was struggling to take off the stupid shoes. Tim Drake is in the audience watching because he's smarter than the entire Titans team put together. Later, Tim and Dick team up to find out who's been sabotaging Haly's Circus. It turns out it was the little person and the strong man. So typical! It's totally who I thought it was and not those two clowns from earlier. That was just a red herring I was throwing out to confuse you. The team-up doesn't make me like Tim Drake any better. But then Tim makes an admission that warms my heart and I can't help but love the kid.

Wolfman knew what he was doing.

At the end of the day, Dick Grayson buys half of Haly's Circus to help keep it afloat (with Bruce's money). Then Tim shows him the pictures of Batman battling Ravager that he took in Batman #440. He pleads with Dick to go back to help Batman cope with the death of Jason Todd. "Batman needs Robin!" he argues like a nerd doing his thesis on Batman's inexplicable need to endanger minors. Dick takes the kid seriously because who else has ever figured out that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are Batman and Robin?! Only the smartest man on Earth and he won't do that for another twenty five years! The New Titans #60 Rating: B+. Apparently it's the Titans that make the Titans comic book suck. Concentrating on Dick Grayson and his relationship with Batman and the circus (and even this new upstart kid that loves Dick) causes Marv Wolfman to be at his best! My guess is that it's the lack of Cyborg that really makes the book shine.

#The New Titans #Teen Titans #DC Comics #DC #A Lonely Place of Dying #Batman #Tim Drake #Comic Book Reviews

5 notes · View notes

katsuragi-yako · 7 years ago

Text

Rules: Answer the questions you’ve been given, then write your own and tag 11 people.

Tagged By: @deviliciious ( Thank you so much!! )

#1 Whether you have other blogs, are a multi-muse or only have one muse, who has been or currently is your most favorite character to play? What is it that makes you enjoy that character so much?

Honestly, I love playing Yako. She is my number one favorite fictional character of all time, and I truly enjoy roleplaying her. However, so that I’m not being entirely predictable, I’ll give an honorary mention and shout out to Renet from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( either the comic versions or the 2k3 series version ). I used to run an ask blog for her a while back and even a full rp blog for a little while before I got locked out of it. I love Renet to pieces and what made her so fun to play was that she can literally interact with anyone because of her powers and abilities. I could throw her pretty much anywhere and it works. Not to mention, she has such a fun personality to write for. I love my airhead, scatterbrained, time-traveling, dimension-hopping daughter. Maybe one day I’ll bring her back. I suck at juggling rp blogs but... idk maybe I’d give it another shot for her.

#2 What has been the most pleasant experience on this website? Related to writing or interactions with a person, whatever you can remember!

Tumblr specifically? Mmm... Weird as it might sound ( since drama in the rp community seems to happen constantly ), pretty much all of my rp experiences on here have been good. If I had to pick a favorite or “best” I’d say that my Ask Blog days as Renet and Usagi were very high up there. I made some great friends doing that, including someone who I talk to nearly everyday still and want to meet in person someday. Though, my experience with Yako has also been fantastic. If it’s not tied with the Ask Blog days, it’s damn near close.

#3 In your opinion, what is the hardest aspect when it comes to roleplaying? How about the easiest? What do you do to overcome any lack of muse, interactions, etc.?

This is going to sound like such a weird answer but, honestly, it’s the social aspect of roleplaying that is the toughest for me. I generally do not to have a huge OOC presence on my blogs and try to limit how many OOC posts I make ( because my first rp experience on tumblr was a group that had a limit to OOC posts, and that just sorta stuck with me ). Combine this with the fact that I’m usually quite reserved or quiet unless I get comfortable chatting with someone, and I think I end up lacking a lot of... mmm... personal presence? Reaching out to people to talk about roleplay related things is something I’ve grown used to, but I still have a lot of trouble sometimes talking to people about anything more, even if I want to. Believe me when I say I want to get to know the people I write with, but it’s a very tough thing for me to do because I constantly second guess if I’m talking too much or getting too personal. Plus, I am shit at keeping track of time so sometimes I drop off the face of the earth without meaning to and will realize too little too late that it’s been like a week or two since I’ve talked to someone rip.

#4 Favorite threads to have? Long or short, angst, fluff, etc.

Medium to longer length threads are generally my preference because even when I try to do short threads, my wordy ass always ends up lengthening it anyway. As for subject matter, I’m both a sucker for fluff and angst. Fluffy angst included. Give me all of it!

#5 Mention any positive influences you have! From other writers, book, shows, etc.

Haha, my Neuro ( itadxkimasu ) has honestly been a very positive influence on my writing. He’s a fantastic writer and I like to think I’ve grown a lot by roleplaying with him.

#6 Do you have a routine when it comes to writing? Write at a certain hour, do a certain number of replies, use the queue, format a certain way, etc.

Most of the time I write later in the day or in the evening since I’m more of a night owl. Sometimes when my sleep schedule is off from its norm and I’m up earlier I’ll write earlier as well, but that’s pretty rare. As for replies, since I usually don’t have that many threads at one time, I kinda stick to only doing one at a time. Like if I have two replies, I’ll do one reply and then either wait until the next day to do the other one, or at least take a break before doing it. There’s always exceptions, though. I rarely ever queue replies and I’ve been using the same simple format for my posts pretty much since I started this blog. Nothing too fancy there.

#7 How about sharing a few songs that inspire you? Whether they remind you of your muse or just put you in the mood to write, toss them here!

I’ve made both a Yako Playlist and a NeuYako Playlist in the past that includes a lot of music I use to make me think of Yako specifically. But I’ll sometimes listen to other music while writing. I love both SCANDAL and SID, The recent Kuroshitsuji Musicals, a lot of the recent Guild Wars 2 expansions soundtracks, and other stuff that kinda comes and goes depending on my moods haha.

#8 What has been the hardest character you have played? If you have played only one character then what has been the hardest part of portraying that character?

The hardest character I’ve played was one that I felt kinda forced into playing by a roleplay partner of mine a while back. They were absolutely desperate for someone to roleplay as MCU Thor and I felt somewhat obligated to do it since they had tried out a different character for me in the past. The character himself wasn’t the problem, though, it was more... that I lacked any sort of muse for him, and the subject matter of what they wanted me to roleplay with them made me very uncomfortable. Thankfully I didn’t have to do it for very long, as they eventually found someone else and kinda dropped me as a partner. But now I’m extremely wary about picking up a character for anything besides my own desire to play them.

#9 Any advice you would like to give to roleplayers? About the community, how to stay active, how to write, how to approach people, etc. Whatever crosses your mind.

For me, the hardest part is always the first step. If I can get myself to take the first step for anything--whether it be wiritng a reply I owe, reaching out to a person I want to interact with, making more icons or a new theme, etc--every thing after that goes easier than I always think it will. Hell, sometimes you almost have to force yourself to do it because if you’re like me, you tend to procrastinate even the things you enjoy sometimes because idk... reasons. But a lot of the time if I force myself to take the first step towards getting it done, I end up enjoying it. Or, at very least, realizing it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be.

#10 If you could change one thing about your character, what would it be?

Hmmm... what I would change about Yako... I don’t know, I really like her the way she is, so there’s nothing I’d really change? If anything, I just want more MTNN so that we can learn even more about her LMAO. I guess if I had to choose one thing, it’d be to stop selling herself short so much. She largely underestimates her own abilities because I think, to her, they seem pretty lackluster next to a demon who could kill her in an instant if he so desired. But she really does accomplish some amazing things over the course of the series that likely none of the other human characters could have been capable of doing.

#11 What are a few things you would like to say to the people who write with you? Any advice about how to interact with your character? What you are looking for, wishlists, plot ideas, share some of your desires here so people can see!

Thank you so, so much for writing with me. I’ve really enjoyed most, if not all, of the interactions I’ve had on this blog and I look forward to more in the future! As for a wishlist of sorts... mmm... well, I still have plans to add more verses to broaden my options. So, whenever I get any of those finished, I’d love some threads for any of them. I’d also be down for a thread where Yako cooks with or for someone! I think that could be fun. Also, just more female characters in general! Yako interacts with mostly men for some reason ( not that that’s a bad thing, of course ), and I’d like her to meet some girls too!

My questions for those I’m tagging to answer are under the cut!

Tagging: @itadxkimasu, @bomba-tea, @gxxdgiirl, @timeovercome, @kcguya, and anyone else that would like to do it!

1. What was your first roleplay experience on tumblr? Do you consider it to be a good or bad one?

2. What are some of your favorite characters you’ve roleplayed in the past? If you haven’t roleplayed any other characters in the past, are there any that you wish you had?

3. Are there any characters that you have your eye on to possibly roleplay in the future at some point?

4. What is the hardest thing about roleplaying for you? Have you learned to overcome it? If so, how?

5. Are you happy with how you write or portray your character? Is there anything you want to improve upon?

6. Did you roleplay before doing so on tumblr? What were some platforms that you used in the past to do so?

7. Do you have a “type” when it comes to characters that you roleplay, or are you pretty varied? If you haven’t roleplayed more than one character, could you see yourself playing a similar character in the future, or would you try something different?

8. Does music help or hinder you while writing? If it helps, what do you usually listen to? If it doesn’t, do you stick with silence or do you listen to something else?

9. Is there a specific character that no one is roleplaying right now that you wish someone out there would pick up so that you could interact with them?

10. Is there anything about roleplaying on tumblr that annoys you? If so, what platform would you like to switch to? If not, what do you like most about roleplaying here?

11. How long do you think you’ll be roleplaying for? Any foreseeable end in sight, or will you be doing it for years to come?

#◄ ooc : ❝ out of cases ❞ ►#long post

3 notes · View notes

keyofjetwolf · 8 years ago

Note

It is 3am and I had a long night at work and a bit too much to drink as a result, so if this comes across snarky or snippy I'm super-sorry and I didn't mean it to it is a legit honest question but I am not toning well right now. Obviously, you are not happy with the way the manga is going. I think one of its issues is that it had only so much space to play with--you had a set number of pages, and that was it. So especially in light of the Giant Sailor Moon Canon Voltron, I'm curious: (1/2)

(2/2) given a similar amount of space, if you had to tell all of the story that was in the original–e.g. no “let’s just skip an arc for space’s sake”–what would you do differently from the actual manga that you think would make it a better story? Like I’m sure it can be done but as someone who masters in talking too much I’m fucked if I can imagine how. I AM KIND OF HOPING YOU HAVE MORE AND OR BETTER IDEAS THAN ME.

Not snarky, no worries!

“How would you rewrite the entire manga in the same amount of space” is a pretty huge fucking question though, and to be completely honest with you, I don’t care enough about the manga to try and fix what I find wrong with it (which is basically everything). But let’s talk about some stuff for a bit!

I don’t think that “there’s a space limitation” is a valid excuse for … well, anything, really. This isn’t a constraint unique to Takeuchi, it’s a truth for basically every form of professional media we have. TV shows have a very set and firm number of minutes they’re allowed, movies generally have about two hours to tell their story from start to finish, books and novels and short stories all have some degree of length constraints, comic books are churned out week after week and for the most part adhere to the same number of pages. I said this repeatedly when I was watching Crystal, but the problem isn’t how much time you have so much as it is what you DO with that time.

Let’s take the final act of the Black Moon. Specifically, let’s look at how limited time and space was used in that chapter. I’ll break the whole thing down, STRAP IN.

pg 1-5 (5): Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen disappear

pg 6-10 (5): NQS wakes up and emerges from the palace

pg 11-17 (7): NQS talks about power, sends Chibs to help Sailor Moon

pg 18-24 (7-1=6): In space, Usagi and Mamoru reaffirm their love

minus one page where Planet Ryan is spooky and threatening

pg 25-28 (4): Chibi-Usa is “born” from their love and they kick Ryan’s ass.

pg 29-34 (6): Crystal Tokyo is revived, everyone gets a free power up.

pg 35-42 (8): Goodbye to Crystal Tokyo

pg 43-49.7 (6.7): Usagi says goodbye to Chibs

pg 49.7-54.7 (6): Mamoru and Usagi say goodbye to Chibs

pg 54.7-54.9 (.7): The Inner Senshi split a panel for their welcome homes

pg 55-59 (5): Chibi-Usa’s back

It’s the end of the arc, so let’s be a little generous about some allotment of space and try to focus on parts that are overly bloated or incidental to the plot.

Immediately, we’ve got five entire pages of something which can be resolved in two panels, but let’s say we steal just two pages.

NQS waking up, easily another two pages we can steal.

YOU CAN CUT EVERY LAST SECOND OUT OF USAGI AND MAMORU IN SPACE IN MY OPINION, but honestly, six fucking pages is so unnecessary, so I’m taking half.

The entire Usagi/NQS meeting makes me grumpy for so many reasons, but it absolutely does not need eight goddamn pages of “BUT I WANT TO MEET YOU BUT I CAN’T BUT I WANT TO BUT I CAN’T OH FUCK IT”. Granting some artistic indulgence, I’ll just take two.

You know what, I’m already at nine pages (NINE PAGES), I can stop. What would I do with those nine pages?

How about one each for the Inners getting to return home? Actually you know who hasn’t hugged them or welcomed them back or said she missed them or was so worried about them? ANY OF THEM TO ANY OF THE OTHERS OF THEM INCLUDING FUCKING USAGI

Rei was missing since LITERALLY THE START OF THIS ARC, and Usagi has yet to actually say her fucking name. So yeah, one page of my nine for the Senshi (ALL the Senshi, looking at you manga Usagi) to actually show they give a shit about each other. Then a page each for the Inners to show them returning home. What kind of relieved but knowing looks did Grandpa give Rei when she returned home after being missing from anywhere from three days to three months ?(seriously how long was she fucking gone) Did anyone water Mako’s plants while she was missing, or are they all dead now? Did Ami have a series of lies and excuses on her lips, only to discover that the note she’d left for her mother since just after Rei was taken is still unread? How is Minako quietly (or not so quietly) coping with having once again been the only Senshi when she lost her girls?

Five pages down. I’ve got four left.

How about one for Pluto actually being dead? Let’s be generous, let’s give her TWO. Pluto gets a fucking memorial. Even if “our” Senshi can’t be there, let’s see it in Crystal Tokyo. You don’t even have to have words. Chibi-Usa lost and mourning. Her mother maybe tentative at first, unsure after so long, but then providing the direct comfort and affection she sometimes struggles with.

Those are ideas just off the top of my head that would have improved just this issue tremendously for me, AND I STILL HAVE TWO PAGES.

The problem isn’t limited space, the problem is limited caring.

#jet wolf versus the manga #prismatic bell #ask a jet wolf #JW reads Sailor Moon #sm manga act 26 #a novel by jet wolf

50 notes · View notes

chunsoftie · 8 years ago

Note

#1 2 3 5 9 11 13 for Fanfic Day Meme unless you don't wanna write that much in which case do what your body tells you

Thanks for the ask! Sorry I didn’t answer this sooner - I was at work when I got this but thank you so much, regardless!

1. What is your favorite fic you have under your belt?

My favorite fic would probably have to be either the(broken) road to recovery, my current WIP, or if we’re talking about oneshots,the king to your satellite castle is one I particularly admire.

I think broken road is a fic that’s opening me up to writingmore multi-chapter works. Obviously, I cater more towards the short-story,oneshot style of writing, so the fact I wanted to embark on something longer ischallenging me to the extent I want to be challenged. I think writing this fichas allowed me to experiment more.

The latter fic is a oneshot that I found myself proud ofwhen I finished. I really enjoy those Kyle/Cartman stories where it’s the twoof them bonding through mutual means, whether it be by deep, intellectualconversations or just hanging out at a D&B’ and then gazing at the stars. Ifind that I always have to include these heavy conversations between the two ofthem – like if I didn’t, what was the point? Kyle and Cartman are both smartkids, they can learn to adapt to the world themselves, but the idea of themneeding the other as they get older, knowing they can’t survive without theother…that’s really impactful to me.

I also have to give credit to my compilation of oneshots onFFN, “The Most Random One-Shots You’ll Ever Read.” Basically it’s my Lord ofthe Flies compilation I’ve had published since 2014 and it’s over fiftychapters with over 150k+ words. It’s definitely something I’m proud of.

2. What is your favorite snippet of dialogue?

This is from my Junjou Romantica fic, the jetlags and thecatalysts:

Akihiko was just asconfused. It wasn’t sheer egoism that he was surprised not everyone knew who hewas, but a comfort that he could start scratch with someone. He shot the restof the drink, leaving his glass empty.

“I’m an author – my name is Usami Akihiko.”

“Ah, Usami.” The boy refilled the glass.

There was a brief silence where Akhiko expected the action to bereciprocal. When the boy caught on, he become flustered.

“My name is Takahashi Misaki.”

The feminine name left the writer in bafflement but he went withit. Misaki. He found the bartender start to laugh and he raised an eyebrow.

“It’s funny, your name is Usami. An old friend of mine – well,he was friends with my older brother – we called him usagi because he remindedus of a rabbit.”

“Well, that is what usagi means.” Akihiko took a drink. Misakigave off a comical expression.

“I see that the more you get drunk, the more your sarcasm comesout.”

“And I wasn’t even trying to be sarcastic.” Akihiko replied.

And I love thisfrom the king to your satellite castle”

“I should be pissedthat you assumed I wasn’t busy, but considering you never question yourassumptions, what else is new?” Kyle pulled on his jacket and hopped shotguninto Cartman’s truck, and the brunette just scoffed as he pulled out of thedriveway.

“Nice to see you too, Jew.”

“We’re a little too old for the nicknames, aren’t we?” Kylemuttered, eyeing the black jacket Cartman was wearing over his red shirt andhating himself for finding it hot. “Where are you taking me?”

“We should just let it be a surprise.” Cartman grinned, cominginto an intersection. Kyle rolled his eyes and leaned in, eyebrows narrowed.

“Where are you taking me?”

“We could sneak into a movie.” Cartman commented, a suggestivetone rather than a commanding one that took Kyle by surprise. “Terrance andPhilip’s new movie is out.”

Kyle was tempted, but he had already seen that with Stan and hedidn’t feel like seeing it again. Plus, Cartman would just talk during thewhole movie and Kyle knew he could barely take a few sentences with tolerance.

“You would suggest sneaking into a movie, probably because youdon’t have the money to get in.”

“Hey, I actually have a kickass job, Jewboy. I help society withgood deeds and commercial products.”

“You’re a grocer, Cartman.” Kyle sighed. “All you do is stockshit and put things under a beeper.”

“And what do you do, Kyle? Flaunt your pretty little ass and letyour family pay for all of your shit?” Cartman reached for what Kyle assumedwas a Dr. Pepper in the cupholder and took a drink. Kyle flushed a little atwhat seemed to be a compliment, but he flicked Cartman on the arm.

3. What inspired (broken road)?

In another ask I was told to include Broken Road with this,so that’s what I’m doing.

I actually came up with the idea for Broken Road on a walkback home from studying. I was almost back to my dorm and I thought, ‘You know,if you want more Eric-centric psychological works, why don’t you try writingone, yourself?’ And I was hooked with the potential of a behavior correctionalfacility, so I stuck with it. I ended up going back to the library either thatsame night or the next just to look up research before I started writing thefirst chapter.

Originally I wanted to just continue writing it and make it along oneshot, but I felt like making it multi-chap was the right thing to do(and honestly I am glad I stuck with it in that regard).

5. What’s your favorite headcanon you use in your fics?

I don’t really use a lot of headcanons for fics but if I hadto say a repetitive thing when it comes to my fics is when it comes to Kyman, Ilike the more ‘drunken exploration’ trope…a lot more than I care to admit. Myother OTPS, like Jalph, I don’t even care to use this as often just because Ifeel like if two characters could benefit from this, it would be Kyle andCartman.

9. What’s the fic you like the least?

Probably ‘he’s your ride home.’ I kind of wrote that at twoin the morning and thinking of it now, there is so many ways I could havewritten it better. I may go back and edit it just because compared to my otherKyman oneshots, it’s relatively weak.

11. What’s a fanfic idea yo haven’t done yet?

There’s a Stormpilot fic idea I’ve had for a while now thatrevolves around Finn and Poe’s confrontation regarding what they feel towardsone another with the setting of another couple’s wedding and them on the sides,not realizing how this plays with their own lives until they get a littlecarried away and well, yeah. It’s something I’ve been wanting to write for awhile but I just haven’t started yet.

I also would like to write a restaurant!AU Kyle/Cartmanoneshot. I have a few plans for this already so I may go ahead and write thissooner than later.

And, of course, I have another Bellarke piece I want to workon, but that’s going to be for another time.

13. Do you have a favorite character to write for?

I love writing for Cartman. He’s my absolute favoritecharacter to write for and I love it when people request me to write him,because, he’s fantastic.

I also love writing Ralph. Jack is tied as my favoritecharacter in Lord of the Flies, next to Piggy, but there’s something aboutwriting Ralph that makes it so enjoyable for me, like I can envision hisexpressions in my mind and laugh mentally.

Thank you, @polarspicecaps-blog!

2 notes · View notes

thehermitmj · 5 years ago

Text

I keep talking about how I’m gonna do The Art for a living and not posting art or prints or whatever but -- God Damn It -- I want to think this through a little more. I want to set goals that aren’t so big I’ll definitely fail and get discouraged and quit at the gates, or whatever.

So. I know, kind of, what I want to do.

Comics, illustrations, prints. Largely passive income would be great, as I want to work on big projects (comics are huge when you haven’t made one in a while, guys, especially if you’re doing all the writing). Eventually, I want to move into animation. I think I’ll do illustrations first while I’m scripting, as those are smaller projects in comparison to comics and animation.

Prints through RedBubble sound like a good idea, but I wanna look into other shops that are similar. There was one that got permission from a bunch of IP for artists to recreate, print and profit off of the IP so long as certain rules were followed. I think I might look into that again.

Maybe I’ll make YT videos? Videos and streaming are kind of on the fence for me because I’m not... able to split focus enough? Ten dollar commission sketches sound like a good idea if I can fucking focus long enough to finish them. Maybe start small and simple...

I know my ass needs an editor and a manager now. I know I do. I want to pay them to keep my ass on track, because I KNOW that’s going to be a full time job. Someone to help me keep track of all the shit I need to do (I’ll still try, but damn, I know my brain too well by now), and someone to help me keep stories from meandering into shit they shouldn’t meander into. When I write an action-romance fic there shouldn’t be a heavy emphasis on Real Life politics (maybe) unless it’s related to the action-romance story specifically.

Sigh...

Patreon... I think I wanna do that, too, but treat it more as I think the patrons of old might’ve done it? With some adjustments? Like... When people pay to be my patrons, I want them to have agency in what I do, because they’re paying to have my works completed. But I also want to be the one to have the final say. I want to still put up WIPs, pick a subject I really want to work on, so on and so forth. But I also want the people paying for certain tiers to have an amount of say that most others don’t in the process.

Maybe I’ll have three low cost tiers that fulfill the expected Patreon flare: shout outs, behind the scenes peeks, and a thanks for supporting. Then a Mid-tier with more direct say in things: voting on projects probably being the biggest draw here. The last, high-tier will have essentially the position of Actual Patron where we collaborate together for pieces they want to see. They say something like “I want sailormoon fanart of Usagi/Serena in her princess/queen dress with wings” and I throw some thumbs together, they pick the two or three they like, and then it goes down the line to the Mid-Tier patrons who decide which thumb they like best, which gets worked on as the final product and eventually reaches the low-tier patrons so they get to see what’s been worked on and what’s coming in the future.

.... I don’t know, I kind of need to workshop that a bit and figure out the limits of the system for myself and the tiers involved. Like. Make it clear I have the final say in projects, but high-tier patrons get the most immediate input from everyone else. Maybe mid-tier patrons can get a percentage off whatever prints come out, and low-tier patrons get all the Latest News a week or two before everyone else?

*chin scratch*

... I’ve also decided that I want a few simple milestones for each media outlet I submit art to. Like... 10 new followers in two months for Tumblr, Twitter and DA once I get this ball rolling. And once I have a shop open (probably will wait to have 1000 followers total before playing with that idea too much), I’ll try for $100 every month or two and see where that goes.

General consensus from working cartoonists and comic artists is if I can keep my job and still work on art, I should. If I can use the money I make from my art to improve my art, I should. And, in the end, if I can make money, pay my bills and do art full time, I should.

This is... relieving news, because now I have more concrete goals to keep in mind, too. Pay bills being one of them. If I can focus on the smallest bill first, that’ll give me and everyone potentially involved a real scope of where we are in certain goals.

... Okay, so, let’s try and make a list of all this nonsense:

Social Media Goals:

Regular posting; small illustrations within controllable increments (every week or two? Depending on complexity)

100 new followers across all platforms (Twitter, Tumblr, DA) in two months (4-8 new small illustrations at min in relation to posting; possibly more)

Possibly stream and offer $10 sketches on stream? Maybe done once a month to keep things manageable. Funds gained here to improve quality of streams (mic/sound quality, video quality, internet connection).

Gain 1,000 followers across all platforms; revamp and advertise Patreon with $1, $5 and $10 tiers immediately available for supporters. Ideally done within 6 months; expect it done within the year, at best.

Workflow Goals:

At least 4 high quality pieces done at the end of the month; medium doesn’t matter so long as they’re all uploaded and completed.

WIP uploads on instagram? Thumbs, pencils, inks before posting the final piece? (Maybe reserve most of them for Patreon, just to have something for them from the jump.) Break up different mediums in similar, large-step ways. Post at least once a week before pieces are finished.

Friggin... queue posts to accounts if it’s at all possible. Schedule queue a week in advance.

Financial Goals:

Keep the current job, MJ, it keeps you afloat.

Once earning enough to pay for smaller bills plus $300 ish? Find a manager and/or editor to pay them to work once a week for five hours a day to keep this ship afloat. (Having both would be ideal, let’s be real.)

Once rent, bills and pay for manager and/or editor are covered, invest in prints. If Patreon is set up by this point, ask what they want. (ASK, MJ.)

The end goal of this is to eventually start a small business with me and at least four others, depending on how we expand (EX: might need a proper video editor for speed paints, stream recording edits and possible comic promos? An editor for scripts, a manager for all these projects, an assistant for long term art stuff.)

Hire a god damn accountant or something, you don’t know wtf you’re DOING, MJ. LET SOMEONE ELSE DO THIS, YOU FOOL.

#mj shut up #long post #this is more for me than anyone #but like...#look if you like?#real long post tho

0 notes