#puppets are honestly really difficult in this aspect

[eldritch-nightmare]

Dom / switch / sub headcanons for all the creeps? (like who’s a Dom, who’s a sub, yada yada)

a/n: i'm honestly not sure if i explained any of these properly because they sorta just make sense in my mind but here u guys go i hope u can see my vision. second time writing nsfw content teehee hope i did a good job <3

dom/sub/switch headcanons.

includes: slenderman, jeff the killer, eyeless jack, laughing jack, jane the killer, nina the killer, the bloody painter, candy pop, the doll maker, jason the toymaker, dr smiley, nurse ann, the puppeteer, clockwork, zalgo, hobo heart, ticci toby, zero, kagekao, nathan the nobody, homicidal liu + sully, and laughing jill.

warnings: minors dni, nsfw discussion, inconsistent word length, mentions of the following: praise, degradation, orgasm denial, dacryphilia, asphyxiation, overstimulation, dumbification, fingering, very brief mention of a corruption kink in sully's part.

SLENDERMAN is none. it isn't interested in sex whatsoever. the thought never even crosses its mind, and it will turn down any and all advances. it has no desire to partake in sexual acts with anyone.

JEFF THE KILLER is a dom but that's not a surprise. he prefers being the one in control, and will more than likely never be willing to sub during sex. it also feeds his ego a bit, seeing you squirming underneath him, begging him to fuck you until his name is the only thing on your mind. he likes having this type of power over you.

EYELESS JACK is a switch. he doesn't really have a preference. if you want him to dom you, he'll make it to where you can't walk in the morning. if you want him to sub, he'll be a whining, moaning mess underneath you as he comes undone.

LAUGHING JACK is a switch. he has fun doing both! he's always willing to mix it up. whatever you want, he's willing to be. i actually kinda imagine sex with him will be a little difficult?? y'know, pointed nose, long nails that he can't clip. i'm not entirely sure how certain aspects of sex will work with him but... i imagine you guys figure something out.

JANE THE KILLER is a sub. you would think that she would be a dom but hell no she needs to be treated like a princess during sex. definitely a bratty sub for sure. she's the type to say make me when you tell her to behave.

NINA THE KILLER is a switch. she's definitely a softer dom, always so gentle and praising you so sweetly as she cares for your needs. and when she's the sub? then she is the sub. she becomes a whining, needy mess as she begs you to use her, wanting to be good just for you.

THE BLOODY PAINTER is a switch. honestly, i think he's a virgin so in the beginning of your sexual relationship with him, you would definitely have to take the lead more often than not. he comes to learn that he doesn't really care if he's a dom or sub.

CANDY POP is a dom. through and through. he's a hard dom, at that. he'll deny you orgasms and he'll have you fucked stupid before he finally lets you cum. he degrades you as well. look at you, taking his length so well. it's almost like you were made to be fucked like a slut.

THE DOLL MAKER is sex repulsed. for a variety of reasons, vine is repulsed by the mere thought of sex and will vehemently avoid and turn down any advances made toward him.

JASON THE TOYMAKER is a dom. this also probably isn't a shock, given his nature. he definitely leans more towards being a soft dom, but if you want him to degrade you and use you as a toy then all you have to do is ask. he's eager to please you.

DR SMILEY is a dom. i haven't written much about him but he definitely doesn't seem like a sub or switch. i think he enjoys being in control, and he definitely likes having you at his mercy.

NURSE ANN is a dom. you couldn't get her to sub for you even if you tried, i'm sorry. ann is like a fucking animal when it comes to sex man her stamina and endurance are crazy. she'll have you forgetting your own name.

THE PUPPETEER is a non-partaking dom. he doesn't feel sexual attraction but he's not against helping you get off if you beg him to. he directs you on how to please yourself all while praising you for being a good listener. and maybe he'll end up degrading you a bit too, who knows.

CLOCKWORK is a switch that doms more often than not. she rarely ever subs, finding that she derives more pleasure when she's dominating you and making you scream her name. when she does sub, she's a lot more needy than you'd expect. she's a brat too.

ZALGO is a dom. he's also a hard dom, though i don't think that's shocking to anyone. he's the type to praise you while he degrades you. he'll leave marks on your skin as well, and he'll fuck you until you're in tears because you just look so adorable when you cry. he's an aftercare king tho don't worry.

HOBO HEART is a sub. trust me guys he's a desperate and needy sub. he's so so so sensitive and he'll be coming undone even if you don't touch him. he'll be a crying and drooling mess by the time you're done with him, and the praise you give him for being so good just makes him feel so, well, good.

TOBY is a switch. he just wants to please you in any way he can. if that means pinning you down and filling you up until you're both exhausted or letting you use him to satisfy your needs, then so be it. he doesn't really care as long as he gets to please you.

ZERO is a dom. she absolutely lives for the control she has over you in the bedroom. she'll probably manhandle you, to be honest, she loves how easy you fold to her touch alone. she's also the type to praise you while degrading you. and if you're into it, she'll probably choke you.

KAGEKAO is a switch that doms more often than not. sex is really just another way for him to tease and play with you. he likes having you beg for release, and he loves overstimulating you. but sometimes the tables may turn. it'll be rare, but you very well can get kagekao on his knees begging to worship you.

NATHAN THE NOBODY is sex repulsed. it's just not something he's interested in, and the thought alone tends to make him feel nauseous, to be honest. if you want, you can go and fulfill your sexual desires through someone else.

HOMICIDAL LIU is a switch that subs more often than not. and trust me when i say that he will worship you. his only goal is to fulfill your every need in any way that he can. most of the time, it's him begging you to let him fuck you while you tease him. however, sometimes, when he's the dom, he will fuck you so hard that you end up a dazed, babbling mess only able to get out a jumbled mess of please and don't stop. AND HE'S SO SWEET ABOUT IT TOO god he praises you the entire time, acting as if he literally isn't rearranging your insides right now.

SULLY is a switch. sully just goes with the flow, to be honest. he doesn't lean towards being a dom or a sub, he just is. one moment you could be fucking him until the only thing he can think about is you, and then the next he could be fingering you while marking your body up and making you beg for him to fuck you senseless. and honestly, he probably has a corruption kink tbh.

LAUGHING JILL is a sub. she is so desperate and needy, eager to please you and do whatever you want her to do. she'll cry, she'll beg, she'll be a brat, she'll do anything and everything to get you to touch her. she loves it when you praise her. she just wants to be a good girl for you <3

[muninnhuginn]

okay but I do really like how the revelation/confirmation of how the twins' powers instantly reflects back on shiguang

Passive vs enactor dynamic

Each pair has a passive player (Lu Guang and Li Tianxi) and an enactor (Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianchen). The passive player can see/feel for relevant information but is unable to change anything by themselves. By contrast, the enactor can use their power to change things, but without their passive it's much more difficult for them. For CXS, he has to dive blind and risks altering nodes and/or being unable to fish for info without LG's framework. For LTC, he can't possess anyone from a distance and has to both get in close contact and maintain that close contact for the duration of the possession which heavily limits what he can do.

Which leads onto the next point...

Synergy

LG&CXS and LTC<X's powers are massively more useful when used in combination. I don't know if we'll ever find out the origins of the powers, but honestly, it's like they're made specifically for the pairs to complete each other. Any other combination of the powers doesn't seem to be anywhere near as useful and the fact that LG&CXS's are based in the past and LTC&LTX's in the present is only part of why that is the case.

The synergy in both cases is activated by touch. LG can communicate with CXS when he's in a dive because they activate their powers together. LTC can use LTX to possess and actively control puppets by maintaining touch as she uses her powers.

(Side note: I think the way that LTC possession is more like puppeting than possession is how he was able to make Liu Min commit suicide. If the person actually *in* the body tried to commit suicide like that, as Xiao Li explains to us, the body's defence mechanisms would kick in and it wouldn't work out.)

Disruption

Building on to how shiguang and the tian twins have massive synergy in terms of their powers it also appears that if you try to switch it up they end up disrupting each other.

In CXS's dive into the twins' backstory, he first retains his possession but loses contact with LG and then later when LTX is jumping into Liu Lan and LTC is possibly channeling his power through her's CXS gets a staticky POV from LL and then booted out entirely. I'm unsure of the specifics of which twin is affecting which angle of shiguang's powers, but I think the gist we should be getting from this is that whilst shiguang and the tian twins have a lot of internal synergy they don't have a lot of cross-pair synergy. If anything, it may be difficult or impossible to combine outside of the standard pairs.

Feelings/memories

Anyway, the idea of possession fits with how CXS and LTX are able to feel what their hosts feel and have some degree of memory leakage. CXS is active possession and LTX is passive possession, but they're truly one with their hosts to some degree (which fits with their personalities being the more empathetic of each pair).

We know CXS also carries over some physical aspects when he possesses and LTC by virtue of "puppeting" (rather than possession) is able to override the host's natural ways of working (as exhibited twice by Liu Min, first with his legs, and later with his suicide).

(I'm not entirely sure I'm interpreting the physical aspects of this along with the show's intent but this logic at least follows in terms of it making sense for me)

Photos

This is a bit of an odd one, but it seems that LG, CXS, and LTX all require photos for use of their powers. LTC... doesn't. I don't know that there's any specific reason for why it's like this, but it does stand out when nearly every other trait has an analogue in the opposing pair.

[legoarsonist]

so anon... hm.. what would you say your top 5 fnaf charathers are- other than vanny ofc (Im desprate to see who you like)

OMG SCAR HAII

god, aside from vanny? it's difficult to say honestly. this won't be in any particular order as there r some characters which depend on certain aspects of the lore being canon or what have ya

The fnaf world whiterabbit. There is something about their design which i've absolutely obsessed over and used for numerous different ocs, where they do not have backstory or history, I fill it in with headcanon and frankly I just love the guy.

Candy Cadet. love this guy. All he does is tell stories and that makes me respect him, like he doesn't even try to kill the player or anything, he's the only real friendly force in the games and his design is legendary.

spring/glitch/scrap/burn/trap. I have a lot of history with this dude, I have an ex that's sorta tainted my enjoyment of the character as a whole, but it's undeniable the affect afton has on the franchise and just how much the story revolves around him. His designs? stellar, even scraptrap is cool. glitchtrap was a masterfully done setup for fnaf's reboot, UCN was a great demonstration of fnaf's wordless storytelling, and pj heywood just did an amazing job as his voice

The puppet. Charlie's story in both the books and the games is fascinating, FFPS and the security puppet are honestly great reminders abt how actually messed up the franchise can get. Charlie was around three in the books when she died, and maybe around five in the games. It's a useful lil thing to remember that the ghosts inhabiting these metal shells didn't even get to live to ten years of age. Of course they'd still congregate around afton and try to keep him in perpetual torment they died in the fucking kindergarten. I'd get mad too.

Bonnie. He's definitely not a huge fave of mine, but you gotta respect the OG bunnyrabbit, and plus that withered design goes HARD x3

RWQFSFASxC. honestly I really like the shadow animatronics, I still firmly hold onto the headcanon that they were employees part of the "multiple and simultaneous" springlock incident, love how mysterious they are and how scott refuses to elaborate on them, makes em cool

[bowtiesarecool123]

yk what guys time to refute all of the hate all quiet has been getting bc i have nothing better to do

ok so i am having a very hard time understanding how a film score without lyrics can be offensive. does it make fun of something that requires nuance? no??? this score is not satirical in any way nor does it appropriate cultural music so where the fuck did offensive come from??? also what is so bad about the score being anachronistic? in fact i think this is one of the best aspects of it, if a film score has to be strictly within whatever period the film is set in not only does it lead to one dimensional uninnovative film scores, it just doesnt make sense in some scenarios. does a prehistoric film have to feature sticks as its only instrument?? ok even if we take all of that at their best, i feel like we're being too severe a couch critic, like cmon, they won for a reason, we don't have to be this rude about it, just say it's mid and call it a day...

yay lets generalize a very diverse fanbase bc it makes it easier to strawman and push my argument!! ok anyways i think a rlly big thing with sucessful adaptations is that ur gonna have to change some stuff. what works on paper might not necessarily work on the big screen. i get that a huge point of contention is the ending change and the cutting out of the returning home section. so about the ending first, i actually liked the changes bc while i get the poetic ending of the book, i think the movie ending does rlly well for character development and rlly goes all in to show the psychological changes paul experiences during the war. if we did keep what they were doing in the book, we might run into a lot of issues bc we're able to know what paul is feeling however that might be difficult to translate on film. also, we get interesting interpolation and final emphasis on the theme of how war is essentially just a puppet game. without the changes of the 11am armistice or the final orders from the evil general dude, we lose the new themes that the film brought in which would feel less complete than status quo. ok so the returning home argument, the novel is obviously more complex than the film but that doesn't make it better or worse. our film at hand already has a huge run time, if we tried to shoehorn in another whole theme, that might be too ambitious and we lose the focus the film has right now. i would definitely choose a world where they focus on one theme and do it really well, which is what's happening rn, over a line by line adaption that could feel messy and end up being too ambitious. again, a line by line adaptation has already been done and i wouldn't fault anyone for thinking the 1930 version is better, it just means it would be even worse and completely redundant to make another line by line adaptation rn. also again, these are completely all my opinions and its def valid to disagree on all of them but the real root of the issue i have with op's comment is how they chalk it all up to ppl not reading the books. it just comes off as rlly elitist and just not representative of what ppls actual opinions rlly are. also it's better to attack the media itself rather than ppl who enjoy the media 💀

braindead bird app time, here we have the classic case of someone thinking it's cool to shit on the film that all their twt mutuals are shitting on rn without ever having seen it. sorry if this is a bit left field but next time maybe watch the film b4 commenting on it?????????

this is honestly one of the least problematic opinions out of the all quiet haters so far but i am still responding to this bc the only category all quiet beat banshees in was original score (why is it always this) and the score doesn't have much to do with whether or not this film is a war film or if soldiers appeal to u or how many times this has been remade. and like i agree, banshees score, phenomenal, but if all quiet lost it still would go to babylon so i feel like the anger here is rlly misdirected.

all quiet haters cannot seem to comprehend that this film is not a remake holy shit. and even if it is inferior, it would only be inferior storywise bc u cannot fucking argue the point that 1930s vfx and cinematography are better than the 2022 version. and the only sweeps all quiet got were technical category sweeps so the inferior remake point is entirely irrelevant. and i am willing to bet 5 bucks this person didnt watch the movie bc then they would understand that technical aspects and story aspects are different bc what it sounds like rn is they're repeating whatever they've heard without properly applying the criticism to its accurate category.

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ok im done now very slay if you've read all of this im sleep deprived bc of babylon dickriders so ignore my gramatical mistakes ty.

[cyprith]

Something never felt right to me about Mohg's story. Like something was clearly going on with him. He was so convinced that Miquella wanted him to be doing what he was doing.

Miquella, the guy who according to the bewitching branch item description "is loved by many people. Indeed, he has learned very well how to compel such affection." And who has a secondary, female aspect associated with sleep and dreaming, who would have been capable of contacting Mohg even while the main body was cocooned.

It always seemed to me there was more happening than we saw because Mogh was devoted first to his blood goddess. And especially since we know now that true godhood requires a lord+god duo... would Mogh not have originally wanted to be the Lord of the Formless Mother and usher in HER era? Seems odd to me that he would be like "take a back seat, lady, I'm going to go date a different god."

Also, just... I know siblings aren't always super similar, but he and Morgott are twins who grew up under identical conditions. And Morgott is really practical and straightforward. Heck, I'd go so far as to say honorable, by the standards of his morality. And when we talk to Sir Ansbach, the way he speaks of Mogh sounds a lot like the impression I got from Morgott. He describes a man worthy of his loyalty--not a raving crazy kidnapper with a weird blood fetish.

So, I just suspect that the twins are more alike than they are dissimilar. Morgott fought for the Golden Order until the end, even when it never wanted him. I find it really difficult to believe that Mogh would swear allegiance to an order of his own and then just... find a new one. Abandon all his oaths and responsibilities. Honestly, he doesn't seem the type.

But Miquella sure does. He abandons people all the time. He left Albinaurics behind to suffer in Castle Sol, the outpost from which he launched a campaign to try to resurrect Godwyn. He abandoned the Haligtree, left it to sicken, to try to start a dynasty with Mogh. He left his sister behind, with no idea where he'd gone, desperately hoping for his return and defending an empty nest in his absence--after he'd specifically sent her to kill his own brother, for a purpose of his own. Miquella called his Needle Knights to follow him in the realm of shadow and then never gave them an actual task. Miquella abandons his toys the moment they stop being convenient.

I don't think we ever met the real Mogh. I think we met the puppet Miquella turned him into, after the inconvenient parts were removed.

It’s definitely not out of the realm of possibility but it does seem odd that Ansbach is the only one of the SOTE NPCs that is regularly accused of being an unreliable narrator/biased.

The game doesn’t shy away from making Hornsent (NPC) a potentate as well as a victim of Messmers genocide. The game doesn’t shy away from having Freyja admit that Jerren would feel greatly betrayed by Radahn’s resurrection. Leda is cloaked in a veneer of respectability and scruples, but she’s a paranoid murderer- and her weapon and the oathsworn set confirm this extended beyond Miquella’s followers.

Ansbach’s armor only states he wanted to fight for Mohg’s dignity. His scythe says it is brutal but doesn’t rely on trickery. His blood incantation again highlights his incredible fighting skill. Being a ‘good warrior’ isn’t really enough to be damning to me. So was everyone sworn to a Demigod lol. Nothing about him once mentions his and Mohg’s supposed shared goal of making Miquella into a vessel for the FM. He even tells the Tarnshed that he blames the charm for Mohg’s aggression against the Tarnished. Like. Idk man. It seems less like Ansbach has a blind spot about Mohg and more like Mohg was driven mad by the charm.

This is a long ramble. But in the end I suppose what I mean is that people seem to want to reach to make Ansbach a secret snake that can’t be trusted. Because people would rather project an unsubstantiated persona onto a fleshed out character than accept Mohg was worth even a modicum of sympathy.

[kinglyisms-archived]

Don't you want to know what it is to be loved Zero? To be appreciated? Don't you want to know it's like to have a lover's hands running across your body, their lips trailing kisses across all your scars? Knowing that they love you no matter what? To know they're dedicated to pleasing you in all aspects?

Blindfolded meme.

Ah.

Admittedly, the attention he gets feels a little overwhelming. Feels like a lot on him. He honestly felt like he'd never have anything like that. He viewed his existance as very small in terms of things. As Artemis put it, many times, and is practically his official species from the God of Creation--he was a doll. A puppet, a soulless creation, a life without a life. Those dolls sold in stores? Mannequin like toys for girls? Little barbie dolls?

He was no better than them.

Zero was created for the same reason technically that children buy a doll. To serve a purpose. Entertainment, enjoyment, a tool to be used and enjoyed by someone. In this case, unlike a little girl, that person was Eric. And Eric used him as a servant in the Manor. He tended to his needs, cleaned up after his messes, made sure he fed all aspects of himself. It sounds selfish, but Zero was no better than a butler. The difference was that he--was physically and magically bound to Eric. It was Eric that kept him alive.

How--even Zero doesn't know. But that makes him a puppet too. A slave if one blinked to hard. Eric was by no means abusive or anything. If at all, he could be slightly overprotective because he feared losing Zero. His life, or what of it exists, slipping from his fingers because Zero pushed himself to hard to please him.

So this--this question.

It's difficult because what love really can a soulless creature have? Can he even love? He reads for fun. Casimir brings him all sorts of books and true to the nature of an incubus, some of them are romance novels. They speak of connections, true love, emotional bonds and soulmates. And he reads those things and he wonders, truly, if someone like him can ever actually experience that. And the answer to him is simply--that he doesn't know.

His heart can race. It can hurt. It can break. And it can mourn.

But can you love without a soul?

"I'd rather not hurt or disappoint anyone."

[closedcoffins]

since it’s an art day and not a writing day, here’s some blog related content that isn’t writing! presenting: how i think my muses would align in the magnus archives.

claire stanfield: the stranger. circus background notwithstanding, most people who either see him in action or fight against him stop to wonder if he’s human or some kind of monster, and his acrobatics have been describes as unnatural too many times for me to dismiss him. alternatively: the hunt, the slaughter.

maria barcelito: the slaughter. she attacks most people she sees on sight and her sense of self worth is tied to slicing and dicing. it wasn’t a difficult pick. alternatively: the hunt.

graham specter: the spiral. have you heard him make his little speeches? that’s a spiral guy if there’s ever been a spiral guy. a very spiralling story. you keep making your cars, funky little wrench man. alternatively: the desolation.

jacuzzi splot: the corruption. honestly, i’ve based this very loosely off the “toxic love” aspect of the corruption. people are naturally drawn to jacuzzi and his gang is inseparable, and i just think he’s too good of a guy to actively try doing malicious things, but i do think he could have fuckin bugs everywhere. alternatively: the desolation, the hunt.

nice holystone: the desolation. she likes bombs, gang. she likes bombs. alternatively: the corruption, the hunt.

huey laforet: the web. master manipulator 9000, has his fingers in all the pies, orchestrating things you don’t even know about. he could do fucked up little experiments as a webvatar. alternatively: the eye, the lonely, the flesh.

melvi dormentaire: the stranger. he’s a genetic clone of someone handpicked to make maiza uncomfortable, gang, i dunno what to tell you. also, the almost-human vibes. alternatively: the eye, the lonely.

luchino b. campanella: the web. he’s had control over the vast resources of the mask makers since he was a child, and he’s had to make himself good at it. he’s both the puppet and the puppetteer. alternatively: the stranger, the lonely.

luck gandor: the lonely. he’s caught between a few for me, but i think his general fear of apathy that sets him apart from everyone around him has sold me on lonely!luck, in the sense of being alienated from the people he cares about the most. alternatively: the eye, the web.

sham: the eye. there’s an incredibly strong argument for the stranger... but he was created as a spy network. his strengths lie in his ability to gather information. so, even if he may be a little uncanny, the eye wins it all for me. alternatively: the stranger, the web.

ronny schiatto: the eye. to be clear, he’d be a creature and not an avatar, but ronny’s entire deal is being omnipotent and, more than that, wanting to see how things around him play out. he’s the epitome of the eye’s whole deal; he sits and watches things play out from the sidelines because he wants to. alternatively: the dark, the vast, the extinction.

christopher shaldred: the stranger. what an interesting man. he could go in any number of ways, but i chose the stranger a. as a foil to claire and b. because of his strange desire to be above humanity but also to not be different from them. however, he’s maybe my candidate for most potential choices! alternatively: the corruption, the hunt, the slaughter, the buried, the flesh.

isaac dian: the spiral. i don’t think i need to explain myself on this one. alternatively: N/A.

ladd russo: the slaughter. yeah, so, again, not really much of an explanation to be had here. he likes killing people. what do you want from me. alternatively: the hunt, the desolation.

maiza avaro: the lonely. you could make a strong argument for several others, but the incident aboard the advena avis pushes him towards the lonely for me. he’s missing a lot of his friends and gretto and i think it could cause him to become prime lonely bait. alternatively: the eye.

jules upham: the buried. he just seems like a buried guy to me. alternatively: the dark.

chané laforet: the hunt. she was practically raised to take down all those that would oppose her father, so i think this tracks. alternatively: the lonely, the end.

gabriel & juliano barsotti: the hunt, both of them. they’re referred to as the mad dogs and our introduction to them is them going out on a chase for the people who kidnapped their charge. they are the hunt. one hundred percent. alternatively: the stranger.

pamela mccall: the buried. i don’t know what’s with all these bitches with anxiety but they all have buried vibes to me. alternatively: the hunt.

lana sutton: the vast! lana is something of an adrenaline junkie herself, and she rushes into things without thinking of the consequences because the consequences don’t matter to her. also, her and pamela are constantly bickering over everything, so. opposite entities! alternatively: the hunt.

sonja bake: the slaughter. uh......... yeah. alternatively: the hunt.

rachel jones: the eye. she’s a gopher from an information brokerage! her job is to be a nosy bitch and snoop around in things! alternatively: the end, the hunt.

molsa martillo: the web. i think you can ascribe the web to most successful mob boss characters---either that or the corruption, but i’d go with web here. despite the way he acts, molsa is pretty good at controlling the circumstances around him to keep the martillos out of trouble. just look at his deal with huey in 1935. alternatively: the corruption.

victor talbot: the hunt. are you kidding me? tma’s law enforcement corruption notwithstanding, talbot is the most aggressive person ever, and he’s ruthlessly pursuing and trying to detain huey laforet. alternatively: the eye.

kate gandor: the lonely. but in the way you walk on an empty streat and hear no sounds but a distant piano. i mean, seriously, her plot in drug and the dominos is all about the despair the lonely brings, both with the silent film collapse and with keith never being able to make it home. alternatively: the end, the extinction.

laz smith: the spiral. this guy idolizes madness above all else. sure, he’s a total fraud, but i think he’d be happy with the spiral. alternatively: the hunt, the stranger.

roy maddock: the corruption. it was a tough choice for him, though, but i think i’d like to focus more on the decay and decimation his addiction problem brought him than the whimsical world it created for him. alternatively: the stranger.

tick jefferson: the stranger. i think tick’s uncanniness would suit the stranger well, combined with his intense understanding of anatomy but failure to grasp the significance of emotions. i just think it would be neat. alternatively: the end, the eye.

mark twain: the eye!! i have put him in several places but i always circle back to the eye. he’s a notorious nosy bitch and he likes to ask people for interesting stories so he can write them down “for later”. alternatively: the vast, the stranger, the extinction.

roger zelazny: the extinction. listen, he time travels, i just think the best way to adapt that into tma stuff is to have him be an avatar of the fear relating to things existing and catastrophically changing after you’ve long died. alternatively: the end, the eye.

cyran azerrad kapral: the hunt. of course. he’s a vampire. alternatively: the stranger.

il dottore: the extinction: experiment doing motherfucker techologically advanced bitch. stupid ass fucking scientist. alternatively: the eye, the flesh.

yemevon: the end. fucking of course it was going to be the end. my goodness. alternatively: the dark.

[obliviouskind]

➳ ▼ (for Cyrus and/or Hikari...or any of your NPC characters!)

Ask the mun!

@kyohansha

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➳ : Do you prefer writing on your own, on tumblr/a forum, or on an IM platform? Why?

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I honestly go back and forth on what I enjoy. I think if you’ve paid attention to my blogs these… About four years, is it? Then I think you could assume that I do enjoy writing for, and with, myself. And it would be a correct assumption, haha. Before I joined the tumblr rpc, the way I spent my free time was honestly to just read, as well as write, fanfiction – and that lingers with me in so far as my enjoyment in writing drabbles go.  Even if… That’s dwindled over time, but I’m trying to get back into the swing of things over all. There’s always an appeal, in my mind, to rp though. As much as I love to control every little detail, as much as I love to overthink and add little details only I will notice – to see the world I put my characters into from the perspective of someone else? It’s interesting, and it makes writing fun in a way it usually isn’t. I enjoy other people’s creativity and what they bring to the table; when a character or setting end up different from what I personally would’ve written them like, had I been the puppet master on both sides.

There’s good and bad things about it, sure – just as with writing for yourself has its pros and cons – but overall… Well.

I enjoy both equally, but perhaps at different times.

I will say I don’t really fancy im writing, though, unless it’s on a platform like say – discord. And even then I have some issues with it (side-eyes the word cap) but it’s still a good place to write. We all need some privacy from time to time, ey?

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▼: Are there popular head canons for your character that you disagree with? Why?

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I think I could run a mile with my dislike for what the fandom does to Cyrus, and I certainly have expressed it in the past (found :here:) but, if I had to put down some general points?

- I strongly dislike the idea that he’s some depressed, short gremlin. Where this impression comes from I’m honestly not sure, I can’t recall if he was particularly short in the anime – nor has he ever felt significantly smaller than any other villain the series has presented us with. It is, let’s be real… Only done because he’s seen as the repressed uke in mlm ships – and I hate that.

- That he’s theatrically depressed is, too, something I don’t really understand. Cyrus to me, in the Medias we have seen him in, has always read as someone who is extremely ambitious and goal oriented – hes self-assured and confident to a fault and that, in my mind at least, doesn’t suit the description of someone who is depressed. I think we can blame his physical appearance on this take, more so than anything, but who knows.

- I hate. Hate. HATE. The ‘Cyrus fused with Giratina’ take that was oh so popular when I first joined the rpc. I will be real, had I been maybe… 14 again, then sure. I’m sure it would’ve appealed to me, because I was a depressed emo teenager who loved anything that was ‘ohhh dark and scary and out of the norm’. But it’s just such a juvenile concept, it’s never done well and frankly just doesn’t suit Cyrus’s character.

With Hikari, it’s a little more… Difficult, to pinpoint fanon aspects I dislike. She’s a protag, and the appearances she’s made in all different Medias are vastly different and, I suppose, serve their purpose in one way or another. In a general sense though, as it relates to the choices I’ve made for my own take on her?

- I do honestly really dislike the sort of primadonna attitude that she’s sometimes given. This mean girl attitude, rich princess feel – and I realize it’s influenced by her Berlitz variant but- It just doesn’t sit right with me. It doesn’t feel like her. Same for the monotone, Strong Distant Girl attitude.

- Similarly, I don’t enjoy the take where she Hates Cyrus with Her Whole Heart. I’m biased, of course, but to me the dynamic of the pt protag and villain has always been a unique and interesting one, and to boil it down to something so shallow (given, too, my own takes in Cyrus as a character) makes it feel like you care more about trying to… I don’t know, like you’re trying to posture this ‘Obviously this is Bad and this is Good and if you think otherwise then you’re just as Bad as This’ sort of attitude. When, at least in my opinion, it’s much more interesting to have a more complex dynamic between the two – this gray area, rather than black and white.

- Lastly, I guess… I hate the name Dawn for her, lol.

[fadebolt]

Well, here we are, the 1v1 polls. And you know what that means - it's time for another format shift! I'm going to keep things simple, by listing what each of the two options have over the other, and making a conclusion of off that. Since most of the rooms in this round have a bit of an emotional aspect to them (case in point - this very poll), it's gonna be a little difficult to keep a sense of objectivity, but I'll try my best.

So, this one is about the city view room from The Exterior, and the large climbable tree from Outer Expanse. Since the city view came first, let's address it first as well.

I think the main thing that H01 does a lot better than TREETOP is that it's way easier to find, since Five Pebbles always tries to get Slugcats to leave the puppet chamber by going upward, rather than downward, into his superstructure. This means that the room only gets avoided when the player is deliberately refusing to take the path of least resistance, whereas TREETOP specifically demands that you don't take the path of least resistance. (And as such, a lot of players will miss it - I know I sure did. It's a good thing the devs put an unlockable there, cus otherwise, I might not have ever checked on it… just like how I never checked on the Metropolis Echo)

And is there anything else to note?

Well, I would say that it heavily wins in the music department, too - Stargazer is a very hard hitting piece of music that fits this area perfectly, and is the reason why this is such an impactful moment for people's first playthroughs, whereas Reminiscence is just kind of…. fine. (Bet ya didn't even know it plays in TREETOP, did ya? I actually had to look it up on a Reddit post myself xd)

There's also the fact that people got so obsessed over the background visuals of this one room that modders actually decided to make entire regions based off of it. And yes, I did use 'regions' plural, because Metropolis ain't the only fanmade region where you get to go into an Ancient city (though Scorched District is the only other example I know, but I'm sure there's more). I believe H01 is the only room that has managed to accomplish something like this (cus Rubicon and The Rot were seemingly off of subregions, not individual rooms), which is why it's an enormous achievement.

Now that we've noted all this, what is it that TREETOP has to offer? A decent number of things, as you might imagine.

For starters, it actually has some decent gameplay, where you get to do a bit of fun climbing, instead of just having to hold your finger on the right or left arrow key on your keyboard, as you wait for your Slugcat to get from one pipe to the other. The room feels a lot less tedious as a result of this, especially since it takes a lil shorter to get through, as well.

Most Downpour players also know that H01 gets Scavengers in Spearmaster's and Artificer's campaigns, which can be a minor inconvenience at best, and an utterly insufferable obstacle that kills you multiple times at worst. Not to mention, thanks to how the campaigns of those 2 Slugcats work, both of them are pretty much forced to cross the room, so you kind of have no choice, but to deal with this new annoyance (unless you want to use a Passage as SM, or bring a lvl 5 Karma Scavenger corpse into the Underhang gate as Arti...... and then reach the Metropolis gate by going back down, and then climbing up the Wall). It's a neat world building detail, but god, does it suck for gameplay!

To get back on track with TREETOP's positives, it allows you to see something you couldn't see anywhere else, either before or after - which is Five Pebbles' can from afar. The interactive map really doesn't do it justice, but it is extremely well detailed, and extremely well drawn, and honestly, just hats off to whoever made this background because they did an incredible job, that I really cannot do justice for, within this little reblog!

I would give it points for having that beautiful glowing orb thingy, buuuuut this is technically not the only room that uses it. However, I believe that this is by far the biggest one, so there's that.

In conclusion - this is a really difficult choice. I feel like the achievements of H01 outweigh the achievements of TREETOP, but the former also has weakspots that are much more significant and egregious than the weakspots of the latter. I'm still going with H01, partially because I have a bit of a bias, being a pre-Downpour player, but also because of just how much that one room actually did for the game in general. I know that TREETOP is more popular, and believe me, I totally get it (if my long praise speech on it wasn't proof enough), but sometimes, you really can't help but appreciate the impact that something has had.

Pick Your Favorite Rain World Room, Day 283 R5

There is a hidden slugcat in one of the rooms (they can be in any color). If u can see it comment or reblog with where they are and if u are first, u get a cookie!

Credit for game screenshots goes to: Rain World Interactive Map, Rain World Wiki and me

Congratulations for day 282 winners!

[graffitiskies]

━♡ guess the 26 year old july baby just arrived to dallyeog! it makes sense, because jeon yooseul is just as wild as the month of july. wait, why do they remind me of bae suji? beyond that, they seemed audacious and impartial upon first glance. i heard someone say they’re sort of stormful and brusque though. i hope they get acquainted here in complex #3 / apartment #0722 / floor # 2 ; she seems to have a lot going on with her job as a rideshare driver.

tw: missing persons

hey everyone!!!! ;u; i’m so glad to be joining you at this ungodly hour (it’s literally after 4am here SMH!!) but hey when the muse hits you IT HITS YOU LIKE A CINDERBLOCK and i for one love when i get a weird burst of sudden muse for a new character hehe :> anyways, that character would be jeon yooseul, a somewhat asocial rideshare driver who’s been living at dallyeog for about a year now :0 pretty much all the info i have for her is below, but in case you’d rather not read a big stretch of text all together, here’s some individual page links: x, x & x :)

profile / stats basic

full name - jeon yooseul nickname/s - yoo, yoojwi ( from her aunt due to her quiet nature ) age - twenty six dob - 07/22/1994 gender identity - cis female orientation/s - pansexual / demiromantic blood type - o born - gyeonggi-do, south korea  grew up - pohang, south korea nationality - korean occupation: rideshare driver languages: korean, conversational japanese, very basic english

personality

label - the thunderstorm traits - audacious, stormful, impartial, brusque, enigmatic, aloof aesthetics - long drives with no destination, concealed crying fits, lonely shadow puppets on the wall in the waning sun, wind and raindrops in your hair, smudged lip balm, beat up messenger bags, the jingling of keys, continental drift, being left on read western horoscope - cancer chinese zodiac - dog alignment - chaotic neutral mbti - the logician ( intp-t ) enneagram - the philosopher ( 5w4 ) disc type - the architect ( Dc )

appearance

fc - bae su-ji ( bae suzy ) hair - deep brown and usually worn naturally, with little effort put in. eye color - black build - slender clothing style - simple, aimless - lots of blacks, earth tones and neutrals. owns a few leather jackets. piercings - both ears in multiple places tattoos - a small heart on her left ring finger, a heart topped with a cross on lower part of the back of her neck

familial ties

mother - jeon hyesun ( status unknown ) father - jeon soonil ( status unknown ) siblings - younger brother jeon yoohwan ( 20, currently in university ) aunt - im darae ( 49, living in pohang ) uncle - im jongho ( 52, living in pohang )

biography

yooseul was born in the muggy, oppressive heat of july to two very kind, yet very naive people. they were both young; barely 19 when they had yooseul, and were in no position to take care of a child. however, they still took on the challenge, as it was simply the kind of people they were.

while the pair meant well, they were always leaving yooseul with her aunt and uncle before traipsing off on another adventure. they loved traveling the world doing all kinds of thrilling, but reckless activities. climbing infamous mountain peaks, visiting the sites of active volcanos, boating down the amazon river with scarce supplies. the little girl would overhear pieces of arguments between her aunt & uncle and her parents. yooseul’s aunt and uncle tended to look out for her even more than her parents did, and were adamant that all the traveling was actively harming yooseul’s development. her mother and father remained steadfast that their daughter wouldn’t even remember this stretch of her life, due to how young she was.

when yooseul’s brother was born, everyone was a bit hopeful that yooseul’s parents would slow down with their jet-setting lifestyle, but if anything, it seemed to kick them into high gear. it was as though having a second child made them feel as though the clock were ticking on their lives, and off they were again on another adrenaline rush.

as yooseul grew enough to truly comprehend and lament her parents’ absence, it was only then that they seemed to finally understand the effect they were having. then again, anyone would probably start listening when their young child is on their knees, begging and crying with an intensity of someone’s whose heart was truly breaking. the trips slowed to a crawl and became every once in a while, rather than every other weekend. yooseul grew passive about them by age seven, as they were so infrequent, so when her parents told her they’d be going on a hiking trip to the south korean evergreen forests, she honestly didn’t think much of it.

she hadn’t seen her aunt and uncle in months, and she and her brother could fly kites in their spacious garden. it was a handful of positives, or so yooseul thought. ( tw begins here ) the days stretched on at their house, and it seemed to be taking a bit longer for her parents to return than she’d anticipated. she could tell something may have been wrong by the hushed conversations her aunt and uncle had, coupled with teary phone calls to people that yooseul couldn’t seem to make out.

she learned the truth while eavesdropping on a news story about her parents; apparently they had gone out hiking as planned, but they had never returned back to the hotel they were staying at. several searches had been conducted in the forest, but only scant, inconclusive traces of the couple were found.

as she was just a child, yooseul knew only hope. her parents would come back one day. why wouldn’t they? they’d been hiking before. they knew what they were doing. days turned into months, and optimism turned into doubt. the evergreen forests were so large and covered so much ground - and who knew if they were even still in there?

( end of tw ) her aunt and uncle did what they could for her and her brother, as the two had gained custody of the children due to their frequent care of them. while her brother was able to develop at a relatively normal pace, yooseul withdrew inside of herself for the most part. the hope she had once known had shifted into stinging pessimism. she loved the family she had left of course, but she was terrible at opening up about what she was feeling, and she was so reluctant for people to see any weakness in her. she had to be the strong one, and it was so much easier to be strong when you let emotions roll off your back entirely.

yooseul had difficult focusing on the things that went on around her, especially in school. she never really made socializing a priority, and her grades were abysmal. it was honestly a wonder that she graduated at all, but her aunt and uncle didn’t want her to be without a secondary diploma, so they refused to let her fall back irretrievably far.

trying to enter the workforce was even worse. she’d sworn off university, and all the small trade jobs she got never seemed to last more than a couple of months, mostly due to her lack of interest. she simply drifted from one meaningless wad of money to the next, either saving it up in a jar for goals she didn’t have or slipping it into her aunt’s purse when she’d refuse to take it directly.

having no prospects might have seemed like a downer of a life to live, but yooseul didn’t really think of things in those terms - she was solely focused on existing in whatever moment she was in and doing whatever she wanted to do. after her aunt and uncle surprised her with a fairly nice kia k8 (as they knew it was something she’d never buy for herself), she leaned into late night drives for comfort. there was something about being alone, feeling the wind ruffling through your hair, some mindless song on the radio recorded solely to push false emotions, watching the lines on the road come at you like knives when you push the limits of the car’s engine. it felt free.

after hearing word of a new rideshare app launching from her uncle, yooseul decided to apply to be a driver. she had nothing else going on at the moment, and those late night drives she enjoyed so much could actually make her some money.

she’s been doing it for a few years now and enjoys it as much as yooseul can enjoy something. the social aspect of it can be a bit awkward, so she loves nothing more than when her passenger keeps their face locked on their phone in silence. she’s since moved out of her aunt and uncle’s place and intro her own apartment at dallyeog. she figured it was finally time to move on, as her brother was now entering college and hadn’t really needed any help taking care of for some time now. maybe, deep down, she’d stuck around so long for sentimental reasons, but she’d never ever admit that.

wanted connections ( first come first serve )

anniversary of an uninteresting event ( open ) - yooseul never talks about it, but y/m saw the story about her parents on some exploitative talk show where they launched a ton of conspiracy theories about what happened. you want to set the record straight, but she doesn’t really wanna hear it.

be quiet and drive ( open ) - y/m orders a ride from yooseul with no set destination in mind. they’ve just had a really awful day and want to zoom through the city towards the sunset without looking back. lucky for them, that is just yooseul’s vibe.

needles and pins ( open ) - y/m and yooseul knew eachother before she moved into dallyeog, possibly even dating back to childhood. they actually know her better than most of the people she’s around now, which makes her mighty uncomfortable. she feels as if they hold some sort of key to a past she thought she’d locked away forever.

cherry waves ( open ) - nobody knows how y/m and yooseul came together, but every time they come into contact, they both immediately lose themselves. sitting on the beaches of busan with a bottle of whiskey, tiptoeing on the edge of dallyeog’s rooftop hand in hand, or ending up a tangled mess of flushed skin and kiss-swollen lips in the back of yooseul’s car; wherever they are, time doesn’t seem to exist.

battle axe ( open ) - yooseul can be a little abrasive when she’s irritated, and maybe that’s why y/m likes pushing her buttons so much. maybe they just like to challenge her attitude of not caring about anything. 

passenger ( open ) - somehow, every time y/m orders from the rideshare app, they end up with yooseul as their driver. it’s not that she doesn’t get them there safely and on time, but she can be...rather scary. maybe all it would take is a few conversations, and they’d see she’s not so bad, and maybe even bump up her rating to three stars?

hole in the earth ( open ) - yooseul did the unthinkable when she and y/m were together a few years ago: she actually opened up. she told them things she never thought she’d tell anyone, and y/m didn’t really understand the weight of that decision for her, betraying her trust. seeing y/m again now is just reopening old wounds and pouring on the salt.

digital bath ( open ) - for whatever reason, it is way easier for yooseul to have lengthier conversations over texts, snaps and other various digital means of communication. perhaps it’s not having to see the person’s reaction in real-time and therefor not having to process any of her own emotions. y/m is one of the only people who actually indulges her on this, and now they have become somewhat friendly as a result.

this is all i have for the moment, but i am v enthusiastic about brainstorming things based on chemistry and character traits or of course scooping up one of your open plots! 

[jageunyeoujari]

‘idea’ & self-knowledge as love as freedom

w thanks to @radiatingdyke​​ & henrik !!

so in a previous post, i talked abt spectacle & respect in criminal for context. now starting off w henrik’s thoughts re: plato:

"It’s honestly pretty ambiguous what Plato means by it- at least in the republic- The core theory is that ideal forms are a truer kind of reality than the shadows. The philosopher escapes a cave of shadows projected on the wall by a ruling class, the only “reality” they ever knew and were literally bound to. They crawl through a treacherous passage to find themselves face to face with the dazzling light of the sun which blinds them temporarily, and as their eyes adjust they find themselves in a forest and realize the shadow puppet of “tree” was not the real tree all along! For what the shadows are: Idk how developed popular media/conventional politics were at the time but we (America) based a lot of our shit on it so I think one strong possibility is we find ourselves in a modern allegory of the cave where the shadows dancing on the wall are the world as it’s told to us- through news education and policy and the “real” is personal experience and genuine community. Then shadows would then be actual reality as we know it, including the real trees and personal experience, a veil placed over us by metaphysical forces which can be lifted through Godwork to reveal the true nature of the inner workings of the universe. The last part of the allegory is that the philosopher returns to the cave to free the other prisoners and spread the light”

so while criminal is the revelation in the toxic cycle of the idol culture & mutual destruction & obsession are confused for love, idea is making the decision to learn what true love & connection is, leaving behind the suffocating expectations demanded by the industry, & in the process, become complete in his humanity.

so we first see taemin in jail, condemning himself for his role in the toxic parasocial relations of idol culture, and literally... calling himself out.... altho i would say that this:

in criminal is purgatory proper, the jail may be the end point of his journey there. he confesses his sins, his soul gets purified, & then next we see him in the bar which is confirmed to be heaven (which happens to look much like lee soo man's office) while the flashy models stare at taemin, the walking dead, the posh people in suits (likely executives) ignore him. 

so here we have taemin trying to fit in seemlessly in this world of the elites who have the highest level of control in the idol industry. here, he is assured his status as the best & now guaranteed to be free of pain... but on their terms. there is shallow comfort but nothing else. the others content w playing games & eating delicacies, surrounded by alcohol, but are contained to sitting, indulging in frivolities, & passively looking on but no chance of connection. the bar is just another form of intoxication, but unlike criminal where there is at least an illusion of attaining love, heaven is merely stagnant. this idealized heaven of the elites cannot give true freedom as it is based on sterility & exclusivity, just another form of social control. "the dangerous dream that swallowed me is proven by you." staying here would be another form of self-betrayal & denial of the love he seeks so he rebels against heaven through his dancing, an affirmation of his life.

taemin then being shocked that all these shadow versions of himself are not the truth... silvery dissolving forms... his identity fragmenting............ but still taemin still can't break away from the illusion that the adoration & fame he receives as an idol could be actually hurting him.

as @radiatingdyke has talked about, BoA's 'killing me' line is reminiscent of korean shamans channeling gods. significant that it is BoA who he channels as they are both similar, debuting at a very young age & have been massive stars ever since then. "you are my messiah" BoA cuts him off, speaking the truth. this isn't who he rly is or what he actually wants. he must face himself & the truth or he will die. 

the mirror steps are i think symbolic of plato's ladder of love. to my understanding, the ladder of love is basically about how the aim of life is the ascension of the soul to heaven. the gods can do this as a god's soul is in perfect balance w all the different aspects of itself which makes them necessarily wise & good. humans' souls are in disarray, however, & it is this conflict between all parts of the soul which makes it difficult for us to follow the gods to heaven. to do this, people have to understand the true Form of beauty, by climbing the ladder of love. the steps start from loving a body which one is attracted to due to physical beauty & by understanding the beauty of this body, one can then consider how the beauty of one body is found in all bodies. the progression goes on from loving more broadly until we come to the last step, love of knowledge & wisdom. now one is able to see the actual form of Beauty, bringing harmony to your soul. so in order to taemin to finally know peace within himself, he has to know how to love.

& the progression of the ladder implies for me that by first learning to care for others but understanding who they are in their completeness & beauty, you eventually are able to learn to care for yourself & see the beauty in your own soul. & on the flip side, the better able you care for yourself, the more you are able to care for others. i'll discuss this more when i go into my thoughts on act 2 as a whole but basically, the rest of act 2 has a truly warm & loving atmosphere when taemin speaks to the other. in comparison, act 1 presents his experience of 'love' as enmeshment, painful, confusing, losing his self of sense to cater to the desires of the other. there are feelings of obligation to stay in this destructive relationship bc that’s his prescribed role & anyway, any attention is better than none at all. 

ppl w a poor sense of self can readily suffer mistreatment for the sake of a semblance of connection, confusing obsession for love when what’s rly happening is actually cathexis, an investment of emotions. while care & affection can exist w cathexis, as does happen in fans’ relations w idols, this is not the same thing as love which liberates & cultivates growth in yourself & the other. fans’ obsession w idols quickly flipping to hate when idols stray from the designated persona of perfection is investment in that image but is not real love. in act 1, he does not understand the other clearly for what it is, destruction that must end, & the fact that he is suffering. without such awareness, he is incapable of truly giving & receiving love. 

& while act 2 does have similar themes of taking on other's pain, it becomes a stark contrast to act 1 bc he does so from a place of utter assurance of his identity & true self-love, not from the fear of being left alone. he loves himself for who he is so he is able to love for ourselves purely as well.

& as @radiatingdyke has said (& in much more detail than i can) the ladder reflecting the sky can also be a reference to indigenous korean beliefs where the sky represents the entire universe. the creator god is Hanulnim, literally sky god.  

 also, even tho NGDA as a whole is replete w western imagery & references & v catholic, the overarching narrative of the 2 albums don't feel western to me in that there never is a fight between good & evil. a typical western narrative would be more like there would the defeat of like 'criminal' taemin by 'good' taemin or an obvious redemption arc. & to me, idea doesn't read so much as he confronts & then accepts both the good & the bad in him but that he leaves behind these limited concepts altogether & instead connects back to the true essence of the universe & becomes free to be utterly himself.

he’s struggled so much over the course of his career w figuring out how to reconcile the duality of himself, what it means to be authentic as an idol, wishing for his true self to be seen & appreciated. it’s always been looking outward for that validation but skirting away from revealing the whole truth of himself... & idea is the final answer to all that. no more denial, repression, burning away of the past, configuration to other ppl’s desires, no more use of mystery as a defense against the fear of being rejected if people see him for who he really is. he accepts himself for who he is & that’s all that matters.

in classic gaytholic taem fashion, he compares himself to jesus + mary + other divinity in NGDA imagery but ultimately, taemin is done w being both a god & the condemned. “i’ve finally opened my eyes.” he’s never been anything but a human being & he’s showing us all the beauty in that.

[sebastianshaw]

@sammysdewysensitiveeyes- Fabian for “Vampire: The Masquerade” and “Werewolf: The Apocalypse”! Under a cut because SO MUCH, sorry, the World of Darkness setting as A LOT OF LORE and it’s REALLY COOL so I enjoy gushing about where my guys would fit and why!

FABIAN As a vampire, Fabian would be a Lasombra, Ventrue, or Setite, depending which game that I was playing. If it’s a Camarilla or Cam-Anarch game, Ventrue. Ventrue are one of the common Cam clans, and almost all Ventrue are Cam. High positions are most often held by Ventrue, and having a Ventrue be the Prince (Cam ruler of a city) is such a cliche that people will often remark positively if a Storyteller (the DM) chooses another clan for that seat. If it’s a Sabbat game, he’d be a Lasombra. While any clan can join the Sabbat, the Tzimisce and Lasombra are its founders, and almost exclusively found in it. You’d be hard-pressed to find any in the Cams or Anarchs, though they do exist. And if it were an Independent Alliance or Casablanca game (a game where all three sects co-exist in a city and you can be any), he’d be a Setite. The Independent Alliance (IA) was formed by the Giovanni and Setites, two formally independent clans whose members never (or seldom) joined any sect, into a sect of their own so that they could gain the political protections and benefits of such, without having to join up with anyone else. As a note for context, the Cam, the Anarchs, and the IA may all have power struggles, and the Anarchs and Cam in particuliar have beef, but they can and do all co-exist in the same cities, and members of each group may even socialize with each other as friends. The Sabbat do NOT co-exist with the others, at least not peacefully or happily. The Sabbat don’t just “have beef” with the Cam, they want to wipe them out and the IAs along with them, and the Cam is pretty happy to return the favor, as will the IAs and Anarchs too. The other three are like, different political parties basically, though their feuds CAN turn bloody too, but the Sabbat are the “bad guys” to the others. (And the Baali and Infernalists are bad guys to EVERYBODY, like basically they’re so evil most people consider them unplayable and all the other sects want to wipe them out for their crimes) So yeah, vampire politics are murder ;) But hey, that’s where Fabian THRIVES! So, the ones that fit most are the Lasombra. They hail primarily from Spain, and are master of the power of Obtenebration---the manipulation and creation of shadow and darkness. They are predatory, backstabbing, power-hungry and unapologetically arrogant. The Lasombra are proud elegant predators, social darwinists, cruel manipulators, and naturally seek positions of power and authority because many Lasombra have domineering and superior personalities that necessitates having someone beneath them. They will use any and all tools available to ensure loyalty, such as the Blood Bond, coercion, physical intimidation, and unapologetic use of Dominate (a power that lets you control others with verbal commands) so working for a Lasombra, is a demanding, difficult, and unrewarding experience at BEST.  Lasombra ghouls (ghoul = human enslaved to a vampire) fall into two broad categories. The first are the raft of accountants, lawyers, and bankers that the Lasombra need to keep the finances rolling in, and perhaps these are the luckier of the two groups – as long as the books balance at the end of the day, they will live to see another one. The second group cater to the Lasombra's difficulty with their own image. Some Lasombra keep an army of personal attendants – scores of ghouls to brush the mistress' hair, do her makeup, and dress her. Such attendants are punished severely for infractions. If the hair is not brushed with exactly one hundred strokes the ghoul might find themselves on the wrong side of the hairbrush, a Potence fuelled hand wielding it. Also due to the Lasombra's curse, ghouls of either stripe might have their faces reduced to identical spiderwebs of scar tissue, or be forced to wear featureless white masks. They have strong ties to the Catholic tradition, and have gotten their hooks deeply in the Church, enabling them to puppeteer much of its power in Europe, and that’s probably why a lot of the Sabbat---the vampire sect to which almost all Lasombra belong-- is based on a twisted version of Catholicism, with perverted rituals and rank titles like Priest and Bishop. There are many different camps of Lasombra, but the one I think Fabian would be in is called The Kings and Queens of Shadow. They take part in mortal institutions, exerting influence, gathering resources and in general keeping the mortal population unaware of the vampires among them. In this setting, there is something called diablerie. It’s when one vampire sucks out all the blood of another and their soul with it, killing that other vampire and taking all their power into themselves. The Camarilla forbids diablerie. But the Sabbat embraces it.  The Lasombra are a clan driven by ambition, and consequently they in particular accept diablerie as a necessary facet of their existence; from the Lasombra perspective, the only tragedy in diablerie is that such an unworthy vampire as the vessel was sired in the first place. Each clan has a curse, and for the Lasombra it’s that they cast no reflections. They cannot be seen in mirrors, bodies of water, reflective windows, polished metals, photographs and security cameras, etc. This curious anomaly even extends to the clothes they wear and objects they carry. Many other clans believe that the Lasombra have been cursed in this manner for their vanity. Additionally, due to their penchant for darkness, Lasombra take an extra level of damage from sunlight.  Lasombra pride themselves on doing things with style and elegance, have a fascination with chess, are often drawn to the sea, and have a notably sadistic Embrace--- when considering a candidate, the sire usually totally destroys the target's life and sees how the target reacts. If the candidate falls apart, then he was obviously unworthy of the Embrace. If he can continue to survive and even overcome the challenges, then these challenges tend to become more extreme, until the sire decides that the candidate has demonstrated enough merit and is Embraced. They’re a very...SHAW clan, in many ways. But also very Fabian. Fabian is obviously vain, manipulative, power-hungry, and would absolutely suck out someone’s soul to get stronger. He is absolutely backstabbing and it WOULD be a CURSE for him not see his own reflection. Fabian is also of Spanish origin, as most Lasombra are, and he’s got the Catholic theme going low-key----he preached about Magneto in a way that was literally just Christianity with Magneto as Jesus, and “Acolyte” is a rank in the Catholic church as well as just a generic word for a follower or servant. I can absolutely see him being proud and pseudo-pious, preaching the praises of Caine (the religious belief of the Sabbat, basically, which is very important to them) and going so hard on their Catholic-inspired ritual, while all the while just trying to wriggle into the most important positions possible and have the most vampires under his command, because Fabian just really likes controlling groups of people on a personal level. I play up Fabian’s silly side because it’s so much fun, but he can written as very dark just as easily, and this would be the place to do it. God help his Ghouls. Oh, and while most vampires think they’re superior to humans even if they don’t admit it, the Sabbat preaches vampires openly reigning over humans as chattel and cattle and doing away with the Masquerade entirely, so that goes pretty well with Fabian as the Acolytes leader too. In the Camarilla, which is the majority sect and the one most vampires will be a member of if they don’t really have any strong beliefs against it, he’d be a Ventrue. Ventrue are one of the “pillar clans” of the Cam, but in my opinion, they ARE the Clan. Other members can and do have positions in it, of course, but it’s the Ventrue who are really running things at the end of the day. The Ventrue are called the Blue Bloods, the Clan of Kings, the ones who wear the crown but also carry the responsibility of making vampire society work, and who bear the brunt of everyone else’s hatred for doing it---because everyone hates the boss, even though they need them. They’re seen as a snooty old boys club who only care about enforcing order for the sake of their own power, and that’s true, but they’re also necessary. A lot of people think of the Lasombra as “Sabbat Venture” or “Ventrue but religious” or “Ventrue but darker” and honestly, that’s not a bad summary. Ventrue are all about power. Ventrue know they are MEANT to rule, and are usually selected from people who are ALREADY rulers, whether it’s a merchant prince, a CEO, or a mafia don. Ventrue likewise are very selective about their Embrace, and you have a lot to live up to, a ton of training to go through, all these rules of etiquette and dignity and hierarchy to follow, they are quizzed and needled and will have a hard time, but it’s NOT on the level of the Lasombra. They have a strict pecking order among themselves and no matter what a big dog you were in life, you are still starting at the bottom. But you have literal eternity to work your way up. Ventrue are completely aware of the unsavory aspects of power, and while a Ventrue leader is just as likely to lead organized crime as he is a Fortune 500 company (the Ventrue really do not object to theft, so much as petty theft), he must always comport himself with dignity, with grace and with honor. At least publically. Ventrue take assaults on their stature very seriously. Spreading rumors, taking credit for another's work and insulting a Ventrue without just cause (publicly or privately) are just a few of the ways to make an enemy for life, and life is going to be a VERY long time for these guys. While the Lasombra are closely connected to religion, the Ventrue are all about politics and money. And unlike the Lasombra who are eager to turn on each other and weed out the week, the Ventrue, like a fraternity, do have a policy of  coming to each other's assistance in times of need, even if it is inconvenient to do so, and many Ventrue credit the clan’s success with this. Again, a Clan that Shaw could fit pretty well, and excel in, and that Fabian...would not be the BEST example, but would be the perfect example of the negative parts of the Ventrue, the stuck-up power-hungry yes-men who lick the boots of everyone above them and boss around everyone below them. The ones who will do anything to get ahead. The nastiest stereotypes of politicians and corrupt corporate executives. It’s very easy for me seeing him in a business suit---the most cliche attire for a Ventrue--sucking up to the Prince and then snapping at some fledgling. And being SO grumpy at having to come to the aid of his fellow patricians, but being the first to call on them for help. Finally, the Followers of Set, or Setites for short. While the dominant belief among vampires is that they are descended from the Biblical Caine, the first murderer, with an ‘e’ at the end of his name for extra edginess in this canon, the Setites claim a different lineage. They say they’re descended from the Egyptian god Set instead, and have an entire complex religion that is REALLY awesome but too intricate to go into. They’re associated with snakes, able to command them and even transform into them, and, like the Lasombra, are extra super duper sensitive to light even for vampires, to the point many have to wear sunglasses even at night to cope with the bright artificial lights of the city. The Setites are known as peddlers of vice, as tempters and corrupters, as the guys who can get you anything or anyone you want...but always at a price. No one smart EVER makes a deal with a Setite, and they HABITUALLY make people into addicts of one type or another (it’s part of their faith) and it’s for this reason they’re rightly looked at with tons of suspicion. But what everyone else doesn’t get is that they are not merely pimps and drug dealers and info-brokers, they are not just shadowy manipulators and sleazy silver-tongued liars, they are FANATICS. They are DEVOTED to their god and ideology, and everything they do is in service of him and his return, at least that’s how it’s supposed to be. As with real people, each Setite is an individual, and how each of them interprets their faith, and how devout they are, varies. Fabian, I think, is one of the Christians who sure doesn’t live like one, but believes God has his back, who will pray to God when he needs something but not any other time, and I think that’s how he’d be about Set as well----he believes in the guy, because of course it’s appealing to Fabian’s arrogance to see himself as the descendent of a god, but his devotion isn’t selfless at all as it can be with some Setites. His manipulation and power-mongerering and slithering in to whisper in your ear and living in hedonism, it’s not for Set, no matter how much he proclaims it. It’s for him. But he’ll preach Set in the Independent Alliance as hard as he’d preach Caine in the Sabbat. Also consider: Shaw also being a Lasombra and RAPIDLY getting fed up with Fabian’s shit. Fabian also could have been Embraced by a Toreador or Brujah, not because he actually fits them but because they THOUGHT he did. Like a Brujah could mistake his fake-activism for some cause as being the real thing, or a Toreador could just think he’s really good looking, that kind of deal. In the “Werewolf: The Apocalypse” setting, he’d either be a Silver Fang or a Shadow Lord. My personal pick is a Silver Fang who acts a lot more like a Shadow Lord. The Silver Fangs are the “Alpha Tribe” of the Garou Nation (Garou meaning werewolves), its traditional leaders and warlords. These proud aristocrats are divided into 13 Houses (though only 7 remain in modern times) based on their immaculately recorded lineages, and each House is ruled by a King or Queen, who answer only to the High King if there is one, and are served by Lords and stewards and so on down the line. Whatever their House, this tribe is known for their courage, honor, and physical beauty. Unfortunately, they’re also known for being stuck up and expecting other Garou to obey them, as they believe they have the divine mandate to rule their brethren ---something that many other werewolves react to with ridicule and scorn more and more in the current era. It gets worse than snobbery, though. They’re so obsessive about their pure perfect lineages, they arrange (read: control) the mating even of their Kinfolk (human and wolf relations of a Garou who are not Garou themselves, but whose children could be) to ensure blood purity. As with human royalty, this has resulted in inbreeding, causing the younger members to be born with... quirks - absent-mindedness, mild hallucinations, somnambulism - nothing overtly psychotic, but noticeable nevertheless. They need to start changing their ways soon before this problem gets worse, but most of them show NO signs of acknowledging that, let alone actually doing it. Just as the Lasombra are often described as the dark reflection of the Ventrue, so too are the Shadow Lords often seen as the dark counterpart to the Silver Fangs. Shadow Lords too have strict hierarchies, but while the Silver Lords openly attempt to rule other tribes, the Shadow Lords are politicians and manipulators who use their secretive ways to wrest as much power as they can. The Shadow Lords originated in the steppes of Eurasia, where they controlled human tribes by assuming an indispensable position within their societies that would exert no direct power, but whose word was heeded. And they’ve been playing that role ever since in the Garou Nation, serving the Silver Fangs as their viziers and their secret henchmen, doing those deeds that would harm their reputation. The Fangs used the Shadow Lords as scapegoats for their own dark deeds, and the Shadow Lords accepted this, seeing that it would benefit the Nation if the name of the Silver Fangs would remain “pure” in the eyes of others. At least, that’s how it used to be.  These days, they have a particular hatred for the Silver Fangs instead, seeing the them as an outdated dinosaur holding the rest back from achieving their full potential. The Shadow Lords would love to supplant the Fangs as the unquestioned leaders of the Garou, and will rarely pass up an opportunity to take their plans one step further. Shadow Lords are constantly behind the scenes of any group or faction they have been able to get their claws into, manipulating others like puppets and pawns to get what the tribe wants and needs. While most Shadow Lords believe their works are for the greater good, many other Garou see them as deceitful dogs who need to be kept in clear view.  The Shadow Lords are among the few tribes that are not only willing to sacrifice themselves for Gaia ( such is expected from every Garou), but also others in order to further their greater goal. Sacrifice plays an important role within the Tribe, and a Shadow Lord is expected to be willing to sacrifice anything in the cause of a given cause, himself and all of his allies included. This gives them their grim reputation among the Nation. No other tribe knows the nature of politics like the Shadow Lords, and they value brains over brawn, emphasizing cunning and manipulation over physical fights. You’d think then, that they would be small and weak, the Scar or Loki to the Silver Fang’s Mufasa and Thor. Not so. The wolf forms of Shadow Lords are HUGE muscular black beasts, looking more like giant pit bulls than wolves. They believe in POWER above all else, and that INCLUDES the physical.  There is no room in the Shadow Lords for showing weakness or mercy to an opponent, be it a battle of wits or of bodies. If you couldn’t guess, Shaw would ABSOLUTELY be a Shadow Lord werewolf. Fabian, I’m thinking, is a Silver Fang by birth, probably of the Ahroun (warrior) or perhaps a sly slimy Philodox (mediators, judges, interpreters of the law and settlers of disputes), a Homid (born in human form) but whose half-sister (Anne Marie) is a wolf kinfolk. Which, yes, means Anne Marie is a wolf in this verse. Not a werewolf, just a wolf. A very smart wolf that tags along INCESSANTLY after him. Any, Fabian is a Silver Fang, and he’s the WORST stereotype about it---arrogant, entitled, and thinks he can boss around every other werewolf because of it. Despite his apparent disgust for “lesser” tribes, he in fact actually PREFERS being around them, because he can’t pull this on other Silver Lords, especially those who outrank him. But even the highest-ranking member of another tribe is, to him, lesser than he is, so he can do this shit---though of course he frequently does not get away with it. Fabian wants to gain great power, rank, and renown in his tribe, but while he is a strong warrior, he is also a coward, and thus won’t go into a fight he knows he’ll lose, which keeps him from accomplishing anything truly great in battle. So he begins acting more like a Shadow Lord within his own tribe and outside it, wiggling into the position of advising and manipulating others into order to snag power and credit for himself, make others look bad by comparison, trick them into commiting errors he then swoops in and fixes, etc. All of which just serves to make his ego even more unbearable as he succeeds, though watching him toady and suck up is also hilarious. Also, while he scoffs at the “weakminded” products of his clan, feeling they were the RESULT of bad breeding rather than the attempts to avoid it, he in fact is one of them---his egomania is simply how his inbred madness manifests. Which is technically not his fault, but doesn’t make him any less insufferable for it. As a non-werewolf werebeast (the “Fera” or “Changing Breeds”) he’d be a Bastet (werecat) specifically a Simba, a werelion. As I said with Cateye, they are regal, proud, and powerful beyond compare...and also arrogant, domineering, and malicious, even under the best of circumstances. They aren’t villains, mind you, but magnificent slayers of demons. They just happen to think, like the Silver Fangs, that they were created to rule their brethren, something the normally antisocial Bastet almost universally reviled. They believe they are the ones to put things in order again, and also that humans should know their place as well. You can already see the Fabian appeal. It gets even better. As one of the most social tribes of the Bastet, the Simba adore their loved ones, and watch their Kinfolk very closely. The central organization of the Simba is the pride. Each pride has one “father”, or dominant male, and several “wives”  and “young hunters. Small prides defer to larger ones, and may owe allegiance to a “High King”. Every pride contains more females than males and is usually mixed with feline and/or human kin to ensure a healthy progeny. Simba have rites of initiation and rank; advancement in the pride is by combat, and only three adult males are allowed to remain in a pride. Most have only one. Females fight to be First Huntress and First Wife, though few can be both. Losers either die in combat or wander the plains in search of a new pride. So, lots of hierarchy, harems, and opportunity to force other people out so he can be top, both of the heap and the women. This is the shit Fabian LOVES and THRIVES in. They may not be big on manipulation, but physical combat isn’t a thing Fabian is a slouch in at all---he bested Psylocke before, after all, and he’s huge to boot. Speaking of that, the human forms are typically muscular, charismatic, and attractive. Their hair flows thick and rich; white Simba have cascading hair which blossoms into a mane during transformation, while African ones have thick afros or dreadlocks. So, tall, muscular, long luxuriant hair, that’s him! He’s probably a lone male currently seeking a Pride to take over, or has a small one that is other lone males he’s temporarily banded together with as their ‘leader’ until he can find a proper one. Or, god forbid, he’s actually the king of one his “wives” all claw him in the face when he tries anything As with his wolf version, I see him as a Homid, born a human, and of his Pyrio, I’d pick Night or Twilight, for his sneakiness. He seems open and direct like a Daylight Bastet, but for all his bragging and spotlight-hogging, his real work goes down in the shadows. (Daylight - open and direct, they tend to be diplomats, warriors, lawgivers, and protectors. Twilight - questioners and seekers, they tend to be detectives, lawyers, spies, or mystics Night - often withdrawn and reclusive, they tend to be assassins, scholars, scientists, and practitioners of dark magics.)

[rpgmgames]

August’s Featured Game: Marinette

DEVELOPER(S): Teal Crown ENGINE: RPG Maker MV GENRE: Horror, Puzzle, Adventure WARNINGS: Sensitive Themes, Blood/Light Gore SUMMARY: A little girl named Marinette, in the wake of a splitting family and a change of homes, is having a birthday. But this, her eleventh birthday, will present a deadly opportunity to fulfill a special promise. On the night before her birthday, she is drawn into a strange realm; an unnatural dollhouse, populated with dolls who are not quite what they seem. A web of strings lying in wait, and threatening to ensnare the poor marionette; warping her perception, and twisting her every move. Will the strings attach, and force her to become an unwilling puppet, or will she escape this surreal web of strings? What will she have to do to avoid the dangers of the dollhouse, and set herself free?

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! *Mitty: "Hello, I'm Mitty! Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in this interview. I'm the main developer of the game and I'm working with a team of friends to make this game a reality. I work mainly on the visuals and programming, and I'll be representing the team, alongside Third! I've been on the community for around two years, even though I tend to not be active very often." *Third: "Hoi, I’m Third! I appreciate you reaching out to interview us. I’m the main composer and writer of Marinette, and I work under Mitty to make the story and soundtrack what we want it to be. I’ve been in the community for little less than Mitt but am even less active in most of my developer discords."

What is your project about? What inspired you to create this game initially? *Mitty: "The game is essentially about a girl that gets trapped inside a dollhouse. A simple concept really can go far ahaha I've always loved themes related to creepy dolls so I wanted to create something related to that. What pushed me initially to start were obviously the inspiration of seeing other devs creating, seeing how far you could go with these engines and create amazing interactive stories, however the huge support from a friend was what made me actually start past the planning and dreaming!" *Third: "Marinette is a story about a little girl becoming entangled in the complicated family and supernatural landscape she finds herself in on her birthday. I enjoy writing short stories about this kind of thing so it’s fantastic to work on a larger project about one of my favorite subjects. My primary inspiration and introduction to this kind of game in general was Pocket Mirror, and I use it the most as a model for how to do certain things. However, I also draw a lot of inspiration from masterpieces like Aria’s Story, Ib, Witch’s House, and Alice Mare."

How long have you been working on your project? *Mitty: "The project has been in the works for around two years now! The first year was mostly planning and right now we are on the right track with the programming and asset creation for the demo, as well as music and sound design for later development. Planning isn't over yet though, especially for the final game." *Third: "I’ve been working on this for almost two years. The soundtrack possessed most of my earlier attention, but now it’s taken a backseat to writing, now that I’m actively writing the scripts for the game now. "

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Mitty: "Yes! The game has inspirations from plenty of sources, not only strictly RPG Maker Horror games, or games in general for that matter. If I were to mention those, of course games like Ib, The witch's house, Alice Mare, Pocket Mirror, Yume Nikki & .flow, Stray Cat Crossing, Mogeko's games...etc quickly come to mind. When it comes to the aesthetics and visuals, the inspirations come from several different places, including games like Alice Madness Returns, Dofus, Yomawari, The Legend of Mana, Little Nightmares...the list goes on; or other media, like Inu Curry's animation style or video creator nana825763, as well as some anime and music videos. Silent hill is also a huge inspiration for the atmosphere, and hopefully we can pull it off well!" *Third: "My primary inspiration, as I’ve said earlier, is Pocket Mirror, both for its masterful writing and soundtrack. The game’s soundtrack is the main reason I still play piano. Whenever I’m feeling musical, my fingers always hunt out the same kind of haunting, mysterious, and sometimes peaceful and playful melodies that Pocket Mirror is rife with. In the end, our soundtrack is probably going to sound like Pocket Mirror and Aria’s Story’s soundtracks were meshed together. Story wise, commonplace elements in this genre like demons, monsters, mean parents and puzzles that tell the story are commonplace for a reason, and certainly find their way into this one, in their own special way. Every other game I’ve mentioned involves them in some form or another. And young, curious protagonists are also a blast to write and do evil things to and put in difficult, dangerous situations. "

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them? *Mitty: "We surely have! Many of them in different areas ahaha Taking away bug hunting, I am primarily an artist, so programming for me is a secondary thing. Because of this it's easy to get carried away and hard to realise what can and can't be done. I don't want the game to be visually boring if I can make things move and seem alive! The way I'm handling it is programming like an artist: I think in my head what cool things I can do with my art by not having it completely still, and then it's a matter of executing it on the engine. However this comes with a downside. I tend to tweak things a lot, and that takes quite some time, but I honestly think it's worth it ahaha Also I find it hard to start writing, but when I do, I can't stop orz. Other challenges are also finding plot holes. This is fixed with a lot of studying the story, gathering inspiration and talking with the team. I also struggle a bit with communicating with the team, but thankfully they are all very nice and understanding." *Third: "Main challenge is overcoming the sheer weight of how much I have to learn about music and writing in order for this game to be what I want it to be. I’m a perfectionist, and when I care about something, I can’t tolerate it being worse than it could’ve been. Also, writing is getting more and more complicated and there’s more things and details to keep track of so as not to create inconsistencies or plot holes, especially as we try to revise it and make major changes to the story (Mitt will know what I’m talking about). "

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Mitty: "It changed a lot, not only in terms of the story and writing, but visually too. The basic concept is close to being the same, though. You can check out old posts in the blog where I consider different styles of mapping and such. Actually, don't, please. It's too old...and my writing...oh god." *Third: "The writing has come a long way, but now that we’ve fleshed out and written down much of the backstory, it’s a much more complicated story than what Mitt first showed me when I joined."

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don’t have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Mitty: "Initially it was just me, occasionally having Mia to talk about the story and help develop it. Rindre joined as a voice actress very early on and also helped in other aspects of the game. Then I also talked about it with two friends I know in real life, one helped with organization and the other with some concept art, but they aren't that active anymore, even though I still count them as part of the team (Thank you guys btw if you're reading this). Eventually I met Third, an amazing composer and writer, and I asked him to join in! He brought along a friend who is also an amazing composer and writer, Code, and these two are complete madmen of music and writing and I'm super glad to be working with them, as they are super passionate and it makes me really happy ahaha. Bruno is also a really dedicated composer that is helping with a few tracks as well! Miku and Luccinia are two super talented and kind artists that have also been helping a ton with concept art, and their ideas have certainly improved the game as well. We are welcome to more concept artists, though! More heads, more ideas ahaha Recently we got the voice actresses for a few characters in the game, when we did the auditions, and hopefully soon another friend will jump aboard and help with organization and writing! We are a relatively small team, and sometimes progress goes a bit slowly since we can get busy, but we are all doing our best! I’m glad that I’m not alone. Links for their pages and such can be found on the team section on the blog, go support them if you can!"

What is the best part of developing a game? *Mitty: "For me, personally, I love seeing what my team mates come up with, whether it is music or concept art. I also enjoy the love and support we get, and it makes me excited in the development. As for the creation part, I like programming challenging cutscenes and doing cool things with the assets. Progress updates can also be fun to make when I have the time." *Third: "My favorite part is showing Mitt what I’ve written and composed. Making her happy and excited with my work is extremely fulfilling. "

Do you find yourself playing other RPG Maker games to see what you can do with the engine, or do you prefer to do your own thing? *Mitty: "Oh, yes! Besides being a cool break from programming hell, it helps me make it less of a hell ahaha I like improvising, though, so I think I play RPG Maker games because I enjoy them for the most part." *Third: "Occasionally, not really. I don’t play many games and I’ve played the heck out of the ones I have."

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Mitty: "Ah I don't know, honestly. I think I can relate to every character in one way or another, and it's hard picking one, especially since the game isn't out yet and I'd like to keep most characters hidden until the demo. Marinette is definitely one of my favourites, though, I just love how innocent and cute she is. Her cheekiness can be made super interesting ahaha" *Third: "My favorite character is definitely Pierre. He’s a complete blast to write, and gives me lots of cool things to describe and say through him, from his magic tricks to his killer lines and quotes."

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Mitty: "Hm...Having organized things better in the beginning would have saved a lot of time now, but I don't think it's been that big of a deal anymore. I don't have any regrets that I'm aware of at the moment since everything until this point was necessary to learn and get to where we are now."

Do you plan to explore the game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Mitty: "I'm not sure yet, it depends on the reception and how willing I'll be to continue the story. Even though I would find it fun to make comics, another game or a different midia, realistically I can't tell how willing I'll be to continue developing content about it after the game is finished. Honestly, I hope I can develop more projects on Marinette, we do have content for that, and I absolutely love it with my heart! But it's also equally important to move on to another story. Only time will tell!" Third: "I hope to, but that day is very far away for me. I’ll be gone for quite some time after Marinette is finished, and I hope I’m not forgotten by the time I return. Perhaps I’ll entertain myself with additional short stories exploring the various aftermaths of the game."

What do you most look forward to upon/after the release of a project? *Mitty: "I honestly just want to get the story out there. I'm hoping people will enjoy it if they play the game, and will have a special place in their hearts to keep it on. This project means a lot to me, and having it making people feel things is what I'm looking forward to. I'd love to see other people playing it, definitely. I imagine I'll eventually be relieved to have finally completed it, it'll be a big moment for me to sigh be proud of creating. I'll be able to move on to work on other fun things while I see how this little child of a game is going to do out there in the wild, and that's always nice!" *Third: "Fan reaction, 100%. Having people ask me questions about my work and telling me how much they enjoyed it is my favorite part of writing."

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? *Mitty: "Yes, I don't want to feel empty with nothing to do when I finish the game. I know it will be great and all, but I've been working on it for so long that it's hard to imagine not working on it ahaha! It's a really fun hobby, but it's also engraved in my heart. I want it to be the best it can be, of course, so I'm scared of bugs, inconsistencies and overall it being clearly a bad game. I'm hoping that people will help with critiques on the demo, so I have a better outside perspective of where we are going. I don't want to drop the game, so I'm scared of having to take a long break from it during the development. I'm worried of being a terrible team leader as well." *Third: "I dread plot holes more than anything, and I dread a dull and overall unimpactful story. I want a tale that will punch the viewer in the gut, hard. I want to make them cry. I want to make them laugh. I want them to draw what I wrote, and explore it further in hopefully-not-too-sexual fanfiction."

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Mitty: "Don't be scared to start. You're going to suffer mid-way if it's a long term project, but keep pushing through, you'll learn a lot and it becomes easier with time. Take breaks and take it easy, step by step. LIST STUFF AND MAKE BACKUPS. Learn with short projects first. Ask for advice from people you admire, but never hold them on a pedestal. It’s always helpful to be a jack of all trades! Try to think from an outsider perspective if you're not sure of how it's going, and if you can, tell people you trust about the game and ask for opinions. Always take criticism well, but don't stress too much over harsher or even meaner comments. Have fun and never forget your starts, the people you meet and the reason you're doing the project for. If you're also an artist, writer, musician, remember this is a great opportunity to add something interesting to your portfolio. Cool visuals attract people, but they are not everything that will keep them hooked." *Third: "The best part of making a game is the people you make it with. The story is the most important ingredient of your game. Prioritize it first, and everything else will fall into place around it. Otherwise, everything will serve some other aspect of your game, and that’s rarely a good thing. Always speak your mind; do not every not say something just because it’ll hurt someone’s feelings. Obviously don’t be a tool, but if you ever have to choose between hurting the game and someone’s pride, pick someone’s pride. It’s much kinder in the long run."

Question from last month's featured dev Froach Club: Have you ever had a moment where you got completely stuck or became intensely frustrated while using RPG Maker? *Mitty: "Yes I have, I think everyone has QwQ Despite silly mistakes, I've gotten stuck several times, but honestly it's usually either us doing something stupidly hard that can be done another way, or we are just not skilled enough yet, and it's better to come back later. You can usually do most things you wanna do if you have the advantage of knowing the programming language your RPG Maker Engine uses I think. Google is your friend always, and sleeping about it also helps. I once dreamt of a whole sequence to fix a problem, and it worked! ahaha Always take it easy and don't give up, but know your limits and the limits of the engine!"

We mods would like to thank Teal Crown for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved!

Remember to check out Marinette if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum

[itsamiraculous]

Chat Blanc Predictions

Okay, so my recent post I was talking about Miraculer and Copycat. With that, I was thinking about the upcoming episode of Chat Blanc and I’ve been asked to expand more on what I was saying- I was planning on doing so anyway.

So I’ve been thinking a fair amount and I have concluded that I really can’t see Chat succumbing to Hawkmoth’s temptation of doing evil. We have seen Chloe fight of the Akuma in Miraculer, and considering I said about how similar Chat and Chloe are in their devotion to Ladybug, I really can’t see Chat giving in.

Let me explain and expand:

We have seen Chat be angry and hostile toward Ladybug before over rejection from her, as we see predominantly in Glaciator. The thing is there, it was miscommunication and Chat being too hopeful. In the end, he ended up hurting himself, but he comes to a conclusion on his own after Ladybug apologises. 

Chat was too hopeful, but at the end when Ladybug explained and apologised (again), he understood and took her friendship instead. We know that he is still hopeful, but I would say he isn’t as bad. He knows his boundaries (we see him moving off from Ladybug quicker etc)- whenever he says anything now, it is a part of their game.

However, we have also seen him be hostile towards Ladybug in the aspect of retaining secrets. Not necessarily the Secret identities, he is only distraught over that. The episode I mean by this (keeping secrets); was Syren. 

He didn’t feel like he was trusted, as you are meant to with being partners; especially ones that are saving Paris every day.

Ladybug knew of Fu, she always had hints to go to him and he was left in the dark, which leads to my next and final point...

Feeling useless- Chat thought he was being left in the dark and therefore Ladybug didn’t need him, or that they weren’t being a proper team. Which I would argue they weren’t in that instance, but the situation was unwarranted- Ladybug didn’t want to keep him in the dark, it was for his protection. 

In Sandboy and other episodes, we see that Chat feels useless in comparison to Ladybug. 

“...I’ll never love you. I’ve always wanted to get rid of you”

That she doesn’t see him properly. There are so many episodes now that this is coming up in. In Anansi she says “you know you’re irreplaceable”

I am saying all of these things as they are themes which crop up a lot with him, and can make their communication go off the rails as he has gotten hostile before etc.

Chat has never retained hostility for too long, as Ladybug has picked up on them and has tried to express her reasoning, or to help him not be left in the dark or feel second-best. They are a team and they need to communicate. 

He is very quick to accept apology or encouragement etc from her. I can’t see Chat turning against Ladybug, he is too loyal and he won’t give into the temptation. This is why I think it’s interesting that we see Chloe fight off the Akuma because of her devotion... but we know that she has fallen out with Ladybug and is more susceptible to being Akumatized now. This leads me to think that an event has to happen, that isn’t resolves, or resolved properly to make him so angry, but I truly can’t see that happening. He has only truly had hate in his heart from Dark Cupid and Ladybug was shocked to hear him say that stuff.

However, the only thing that I could think of that is overwhelming, is the feeling of being useless. I sympathise. Even if Ladybug says that he is irreplaceable etc, in my experience (anxiety and depression) you can still feel useless. Appreciative of the person trying to help reassure you, but don’t believe they are genuine. I have no idea if this is a plot point for Adrien/Chat as we still need to dig into his character more, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Feeling useless... it can be from neglection. It can also coincide with how he always wants to help people, even if they are as bad as Lila. He wants to amount to something. It’s why he loves being Chat Noir, but is never actually in the limelight. Still, I don’t think he would be capable of letting Hawkmoth in.

So let’s look at it from two other angles.

So one angle I’ve seen some people approach is Adrien’s family situation. Let me iterate in how I also don’t think this is plausible.

Despite Gabriel being a terrible father, he cares about his son (to a degree, however skewed). From what we can tell from Nooroo mentioning to Gabriel about the negative emotions probably being his son’s, he washes over it (because he’s a dick of a father) but also it indicates to me that he wouldn’t think of Akumatizing Adrien. That is, unless he was very, very, very desperate. 

Even then... it would be hard for Gabriel not to see that Chat Noir is Adrien if he pastes Chat Blanc on Adrien. One, it would bring back his suspicions from Gorizilla like “Oh, I thought you were Chat Noir once, lets see what that’s like”- lets just say it would give away that Adrien is Chat Noir. And Two: Chat Noir wouldn’t be there!  It isn’t a situation like Gorizilla where Adrien was still in civilian form and could get someone to pretend to be him.

Then if Hawkmoth/Gabriel akumatized Adrien whilst as Chat Noir, and it was off of his family situation, it wouldn’t be plausible. Chat Noir would have to have a spike in that instance, if it is his family situation, it would mean Chat would be directly involved, not as Adrien. Then if it was an outsider looking in, then Gabriel would definitely tell that it is Adrien who is Chat (does that make sense?That was hard for me to explain).

So, my prediction. 

I think it’s a possibility that Chat Blanc is not Chat Noir Akumatized. The synopsis for episodes can be misleading, and this is one of those episodes which can easily be manipulated. There is a reference to Copycat, so it’s a possibility that there is a mimicking. We also are expecting to see a sentient of Ladybug, as well as there is a lot of “copying” as a theme in the latest Miraculous episodes that have been released.

I know in S1 we always saw Ladybug utilise Chat when he had accidentally gone over to the other side (Puppeteer, Dark Cupid etc), we know that Ladybug actually can’t do it all on her own; she needs Chat. Their partnership has been building more and more throughout the seasons and we have seen them practically in sync (in Timetagger they were inadvertently and in Frighteningale they literally were tied together). but also...

I understand that it’s difficult to know who it could be and what they would have against Chat Noir or Ladybug etc. But I honestly can’t fathom seeing Chat being manipulated or tempted to betray Ladybug. And that’s another thing, Master Fu will question if Adrien was right for the Miraculous- it would go against why Adrien was given the miraculous in the first place (from being compassionate and caring, but also ultimately giving up something he wanted. From leaving his post on the stairs of the school, he inadvertently gave up pursuing what he wanted). Adrien and Marinette were chosen for a reason and if their negative emotions get the better of them, they could be seen as unfit for the task at hand.

Of course this is only my opinion, so I don’t know exactly, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot. 

I would like to see what other people’s prediction/theories/opinions 

[fictionissocialinquiry]

Welcome to my TedTalk on bloodbending.

Please make yourself comfortable, I have feelings about this topic.

As some of you know, I’m writing a story called Rumour Has It — a zutara season 1 AU which follows the Painted Lady and Blue Spirit who have been appearing in the Earth Kingdom and disrupting Fire Nation forces. Yes, it is the semi-vigilante vignette series no one asked for but dammit that’s never stopped me before.

Now. Without giving away any spoilers, bloodbending comes up in this story because (for me at least) it was one of the most interesting world-building aspects of the whole show.

So let’s talk about bloodbending.

“The interested reader might take a moment to grieve the consequences of war and cultural genocide. Had Katara grown up in a Southern Water Tribe with the elders of old— the rites of the maiden, the Glacier Priestesses of the Long Night— she would have learned of the blood mysteries; the death magic of that sisterhood. How else does life cycle in a place of constant ice and snow? Where the soil sleeps ten months of the year and nothing rots, only freezes? She would have been initiated into her birthright: water is the source of all life and for life to be, so too must there be death.

Katara is every bit as much the waterbender as she is the bloodbender. She did not learn this from Hama; that old, broken woman’s revenge is nothing but a scar on the surface of the Southern blood mysteries. Teachings of healing deeper than the skin, of reading a person’s truth in their veins, of balance, destiny, and deep feminine honour.

But she grew up in a world at war and was shown the distorted aspect of bloodbending.

And now she feels herself evil because of it.”

This is an excerpt from a recent chapter of Rumour Has It (again, it really isn’t spoiling anything) in which I fill in a lot of Water Tribe back story with liberal additions from my imagination. However, it all stems from one difficult to disprove premise: It is highly unlikely that Hama was the first person to ever use a blood-variation of waterbending.

In a review, one of my readers made the following observation:

“The very nature of bloodbending implies lack of consent and it's blatant violation and lack of control that all in all, leaves a terrible taste in my mouth. However, I did always like bloodbending. Though it is in fact a terrifying and deeply disturbing power.”

Something terrifying, potentially violating, disturbing that many people were drawn to The Puppet Master episode where we’re introduced to bloodbending. But why? What is it about bloodbending that draws us in?

Well, from a storytelling point of view, this sort of conflicting and problematic shit is gold. I’ve always interpreted bloodbending as forgotten lore of the waterbenders (no offense Hama, but you can’t possibly be the first). In my headcanon, there was once a rich and thriving culture in the Northern and Southern Water Tribes and bloodbending would have had a place in that culture, just like each of the other elements do in their respective cultures (the Air Nomads are a great example of this).

Now... to me, there’s something about bloodbending that feels… feminine. Like a priestesses/pagan/maybe even sacrificial thing. It sounds damn witchy, is what I’m saying. And as with any tool, practice, or weapon, I don’t think its inherently good or evil, it’s how each bender uses it that matters. Something like bloodbending would have had strident cultural, possibly even religious, norms around its use — think taboos, or harvest rituals, or sexual initiation in ancient cultures. These “problematic” practices always have strong cultural regulation (Ancient Greece, anyone?).

But why do we like it? Why is it darkly appealing? Well, its no secret (ahem, may I interest you in a shameless plug of my stories? Available on FFN and AO3?) that I like to explore the dark side of humanity’s nature through my writing. Honestly, I’m this close to writing a Star Wars fic purely because its so on brand for me. I believe bloodbending is so appealing because it touches on this taboo/dark side that we all have, though each of us admit to and engage with it to differing degrees. It touches on it and allows us a “safe” avenue to explore it, I.E. through fiction.

What I want to know is: If dominion and imperialism are the Fire Nation’s dark side, and bloodbending is the Water Tribe’s troubled underbelly... what, then, is the Earth Kingdom’s and Air Nomads?

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[comicteaparty]

April 4th-April 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble  chat that occurred from April 4th, 2020 to April 10th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What is something you’ve improved with in regards to writing or comic creation thanks to working on your story?

carcarchu

Oh this one i can answer definitively. it's 100% lineart. forcing myself to have to do lineart for hours everyday is definitely a way to force yourself to get better at it while i still don't like it it's something that i can do now without being scared about it

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Colouring. I had to get really creative in expressing emotion and hinting plot devices with colour. Also got much better with drawing gesture drawings due to looking at a lot of references!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Either writing dialogue or drawing/painting backgrounds... I used to be particularly awful at writing dialogue. It was too stiff and formal, and sounded a lot like old prose. Now, because of writing a comic and going through several scripts, the dialogue is a lot more natural, and the pacing is more realistic to actual conversations. And the other: backgrounds. I really used to not even draw them at all, and doing a comic forced me to have to think about environments in scenes. So I went from drawing floating characters to having to consider where they are and how it affects the story/mood.(edited)

Feather J. Fern

Paneling! That was my main focus to figure out how to do good paneling to have clearer pages

Deo101 [Millennium]

Honestly? Everything. It's all gotten better and I've learned so much. I would say my biggest improvement is probably in my time management, and art wise is probably composition and layouts. But it's hard to pick because I've grown so much in every aspect!

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Biggest thing I learned was to keep the story small and focused - and that the smaller, more human struggles are much better in creating tension than the whole default "the world's gonna end!" thing. Mind you, I still love a good "world's ending" story, but you gotta make people CARE about the people in that world first!

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

ohohohoooo I have done more drawing in photoshop in this short time I have worked on Wayfinders, than the rest of my life! That has given me some skills for sure! Coloring is another one, and generally just efficiency and flow in a comic

Nutty (Court of Roses)

For me it's been my use of color, and getting more confident in experimenting with it to really drive home a scene's mood!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

The clearest improvement I always notice is my layouts - I’ve gotten more adventurous with panel shapes and placement as time has gone on, experimenting with more interesting designs for the whole page. Some of those experiments haven’t been totally successful but it always feels like a worthwhile try. I’ve gotten some really, REALLY cool layouts out of these experiments, and I love seeing how dynamic the panels have become compared to my first chapter. Also speed. I’m so much faster now. Thank gooooooodness (edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) I've definitely noticed the experimental panel layouts! They're really cool.

AntiBunny

Planning. Book 2 is when I started using sketchbook thumbnails to plan ahead. The luxury of that first draft meant I could rethink panel layouts and how to best express the events happening if I first had an idea of what was happening laid out.

Also digital art by necessity since I switched to digital during the current arc. I was decent at lineart already, but other aspects have really challenged me to grow as an artist. I had to totally rethink the way I create backgrounds for instance. During this time the background quality actually declined a little while I got used to a new method, but experience has improved my skills greatly as I force myself into new methods.

DanitheCarutor

Hmmm maybe paneling, speechbubbles and backgrounds? My current project is my second real attempt at doing a comic, but I have learned a lot of stuff from the community and general art and story tutorials. Backgrounds and bubbles were the worst for me when first starting out, I only read manga before starting so the speechbubble shapes did not fit with how English is written. Plus I've only drawn wooded fantasy settings before making my comic, so using a ruler, figuring out perspective points and drawing buildings was very new to me. I still hate drawing cities and such, but I've gotten a lot better at it and it is easier to do now. Since I mostly stuck with B&W before my current project, coloring also kind of improved? Depending on who's looking at it. Lmao If I were to think about story/characters/dialogue, I have no idea if I've improved. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to the quality. Also my brain kinda says it's all bad regardless of what I make.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

For my Improvements: I'm getting better at my comic panels, as I adjust to the vertical style. Before I've always drawn the standard format. It's more than just boxes, I try to keep a variety of sizes. I'm picking up roughly how much 'gutter space' I need per 2-3 panels.etc I'm also improving on choosing colors that fits my love of detailed linework.(edited)

OH! I'm also learning about Clip studio shortcuts, how to use the assets they provide which makes the process, abit easier on me. Things I need to change, is I want to get a good speedy coloring style, without referring to my usual coloring.(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

the more I worked on the comic, the more I feel ambitious in making different angles and perspective. So it's really hitting me out of my comfort zone which is good! lol Though I'm trying to keep in mind of my speed, what I feel like I've improved a bit is trying to keep in mind of paneling and dialogue.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Process! Space and i have definitely figured out the most productive way to produce content at the rate and quality that also provides us with time for our own projects. Comics are a useful tool that helps you discover ways to better organize your creative workflow for sure!

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I think probably scenery. I used to dread drawing inanimate objects but now I feel more confident in filling in a scene & even look forward to it sometimes. Maybe also page composition and paneling but I still have a lot to learn there

eli [a winged tale]

One of the reasons I embarked on the webcomic journey is to push myself to improve not only storytelling but also utilizing art to create a reader experience that would be difficult to replicate with just words. I’d like to think that 9 months into making A Winged Tale, I’ve improved on deciding when is a good opportunity to invest more into backgrounds vs character dynamics and when should be focused more on sequences of panels and composition. While the comic is written in a four panel format, more and more I’m finding areas where the story could be told by breaking those rules (attached pic). It’s a balance and I hope going forward I will improve more in pushing the limits of panels and find ways to express the story in fun and interesting ways.(edited)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Wow that's a very good description @eli [a winged tale] I look forward to reading more of your story journey

eli [a winged tale]

Thanks so much Joichi! I’m eager to keep learning~

Capitania do Azar

I'm gonna go with planning and actually getting it done. I'm so much faster because now the process is much more streamlined to me

kayotics

My whole comic was started s an exercise to just get better at comics generally so I’d probably say every part I’ve improved at? The biggest things are probably colors and the upfront planning process

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

Ooof hard question. I think my main improvement lies with page and speechballoon layouts and writing natural feeling dialouge. I'd say maybe also character acting?

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I'm slowly learning how to create more engaging comic narrative. I read and research in the polished prem webcomics to see what makes them engaging? Like I'm going to challenge myself by creating a series of short stories with a reoccurring set of characters. Every new comic series I create is an experience, trial and error. Sometimes I skip the writeup and just go in blind, trust my own instincts. I'm glad to reach out and talk about it than in my own head. I hope by this year, I'll have at least 2 chapters of Hybrid Dolls out.(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I've definitely gotten better at planning/ outlining multiple chapters ahead of time. I did not even do this when I was doing the first 10 something chapters. (I did attempt an outline before I began the comic, but the story changed significantly from the outline by the time I started the comic, and I did not try to do it again for a long while.) I can't remember when I started, but I do recall having a lot of trouble the first time I tried to do it. It's gotten a little easier each time, though. In fact, I just spent the past few days outlining the next few very important chapters, de-tangling some big tangles. I'm really glad my outlining (and overall writing) skills had leveled up, because HOO boy, I don't think my 2014-2015 self could have done this!

I also became friends with enviros. I had already become somewhat comfortable drawing perspective when HoK started, but I had a sort of mechanical approach to it, like "oh I need some enviro for these establishing shots, guess I'll draw them." But now I LOVE drawing enviros! (some types anyway...) It's my comfort activity, something I treat myself to after a long day! In the thumbnails for my next few pages, there's a few enviro-heavy panels that I have to remove, because I drew too many of them (and the pacing got too slow as a result). I have to stop myself from drawing too many of these.

My biggest improvement is probably I've come to understand my characters and my themes much better, but that's more of a "I got better at making HoK" than a "I got better at making comics." There's definitely a difference between the two.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) ah I totally understand I tried the outline method before I start but my story changed alot after I drew it. So it start to feel like a waste of time for me, but I'll still write an outline to make sure to plan where my story heads(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah! I needed to draw those first few chapters to understand the direction of my own story.

The drawing part is an essential part of self-reflection, to try to understand what it is that I want out of the story. The answer has always been there in my heart, but I'm not able to see it clearly from the get-go.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I end up breaking scenes and put them in for future episodes, since I want to get a certain flow in the story.

It could be tricky to see what it is you want out of the story until you are in at least 3 chapters in?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I needed way more than 3 chapters -- though granted, my chapters are short, so that could be a part of it

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I see the early first script as testing the water. like a test to figure out the characters personalities. Unless you are bringing in old characters which you knew before?(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Even if the characters have been with you for a while, unless I have made a comic with them, there is a big chance that the characters will completely change, too.

DanitheCarutor

You know, I was thinking about about this, mostly about how I wouldn't have been happy if I was able to finish my comic the day I started. Then I realized I'm happy that I didn't. The first chapter wasn't the best, I was just learning how to coloring a comic, still fleshing out my characters and was still brainstorming small kinks in the story. I also still didn't have as much of an understanding of perspective, or panel and bubble layout. Even though I still have a lot I need to work on, I've gotten a lot better in all those aspects. Even though my use of color is weird, I've definitely gotten much more confident in it, enough so that I experiment and take a lot more risks with style. Even though my panelling can be boring, I have a much better understanding of how I want a page to look. I've improved a lot with my planning as well, like even though my thumbnailing/storyboarding only takes maybe 30, I've learned to step away for a bit if I don't like a layout, or analyzing why I don't like it and brainstorming ways to make it better. If I had magically finished the comic all at once, it would look really bad and may have been less readable.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

That is inspiring to hear about your improvement @DanitheCarutor

Natsu-no-Hikari

Chiming in! Just this week, Miko (my co-creator) and I were discussing how far we've come from when we started our first comic (https://liarsgotoparadise.com/) vs. where we are now. I think there have been a lot of learn experiences, such as art, dialogue, general editing - but especially with pacing and character interaction. We regret that we didn't stop to focus more on that interaction, as we wanted to move ahead in the story...and now we can't change that, except to start now and not allow ourselves to grow impatient. Take our time and enjoy the journey - that's our new motto. There's a time to rush ahead in perilous moments, but there's also definitely a time to catch our breaths and let the characters mingle and speak. It's an improvement that will become more noticeable going forward in Liars and our second comic as well.