#versus the comics where she ultimately didnt get any

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Invincible fans be actually normal about an r*pe scene challenge (IMPOSSIBLE).

[docmurph12]

Ok. So two parter on CATS coming up. POSSIBLY a three parter depending on how long it takes to get through background. Here we go......

So my first request review comes from my good friend. I'm not sure how this is going to go, because I'm going whole hog on this one, again in the interest of pure objectivity.

My understanding of CATS is this. It was a Broadway musical based very loosely on T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats". My friends in and fans of the theater community have told me there isnt really an intended overriding plot. The Wikipedia page I found begs to differ, but they insisted it really is just a collection of vignettes, told through the perspective of a cat. Simple enough? I believe so. Now, I also understand this stage musical to have been adapted a number of times, largely for Broadway and for specific actors and actresses, with the noted exception of the film CATS (2019). Yes that one. Yes I intend to watch it. On purpose. But wait there is more. The 2019 film was trashed nearly universally but everyone before they finished the trailer and after the film was released and viewed. Most people said the performances were fine but visually it was recieved as, to put it simply, fucking wierd. I saw one review that said it was released unfinished, with a CD character model floating into the middle of a scene out of context and with no animation, a mess with texture rendering (apparently Ian McKellan has a scene where his fur just doesn't show. Like the texture is flat. Like it looks like it was published on a floppy disk alongside the original Doom). Not to mention the myriad questions that seem to come up in conversation about the character design choices as a whole. Jesus, how bad is this thing??

My resources tell me a BUNCH of super important contextual things about this one, most important of them being that this is SUPER META Broadway at it's best. Like this is the most Broadway that has ever Broadway'ed. This could be a good thing (one of my favorite musical pieces is fucking everything from Les Miserables), or it could be a bad thing (anyone that knows me knows that with notable exceptions I am NOT a big fan of musicals AT ALL, which is strange for me given my proclivity for weirdness, good storytelling, and music). This is going to be fun for everyone I think so strap in folks. This is going to be a wierd ride through furry land with a guy that wants nothing to do with it, lol. (SCORE, looking like 2 parts)

First I'll be looking at CATS (2019), because I am a glutton for punishment, and my wife says that the best way to get through this is to chew through the shit sandwich first, and then to get through the good stuff, so the good stuff is what sticks. I'm not sure I am going to enjoy either part, but I am open to it so here we go. I'll try to keep my writing as live as possible, per usual.

RIGHT AWAY, as I'm completing the Amazon rental purchase, this cast is fucking loaded. Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson. Judi Dench, Jason Derulo (wait, he acts too? Maybe his part is the worst part in this, I hate his music worse than I dislike Taylor Swift), Idris Elba, Ian McKellan, Rebel Wilson, and more. And that doesnt even include any love for people I am not familiar with that might carry some star power over from Broadway. So this thing is loaded for bear with acting heavies. That said, I really don't understand the comic appeal of Rebel Wilson. I don't think she is funny. You already lost me with Taylor Swift and Jason Derulo. All that said, this cast roster looks expensive.

Ok I am a minute and 47 seconds in and my first thought already is what the hell am I listening to? If this was originally put together in the 80s, and its either loved (ironically I guess?)or reviled, why would you stick with the same musical choices as instrumentation is concerned? I'm guessing I am going to have more on this later.

So completely inconsequential to the actual review the word jellicle as it relates to cats is totally ruined thanks to my learning of a word not in may people's vocabularies. Farticles. Thanks to my cousins for that one.

Alright, so full disclosure. I am not a fan of Rebel Wilson. I enjoy aspects of characters she plays, and she can be funny at times, but when your whole act revolves around one aspect of you (in her case it is that she is a large woman. Seriously its like every joke in all 3 Pitch Perfect movies) it says a lot about your ability to tell a story or joke. That said, it is so nice to not hear Rebel Wilson tell fat jokes. She is genuinely talented. It's hard to watch her in this cat suit (? Cat body? Cat war crime? More later), but it's interesting to see someone explore another side of their craft.

The sound design is...off. I'm not sure how else to describe it. You can LOUDLY hear body parts hitting set pieces. Footfalls, people jumping and grabbing on things. Like seriously you can hear it over the music. It sounds like someone got lazy in the mixing room, or they were trying to make it feel more like a stage production. News Flash. It doesn't make it feel like a stage production. It makes it feel like nobody in the production staff cared as much as the actors. I am beginning to suspect that ALL the money on this movie was spent on casting. And concept art.

I am genuinely confused by the choice to have only a couple cats wear clothes, and when they remove them, their fur looks exactly like the clothes they removed. I'm finding myself looking at things they did that wasted money. Money that could have been spent anywhere else to improve this thing.

All things considered, I could watch Idris Elba play the title character in Jaws, and enjoy it.

I'm pretty impressed by the entire cast's commitment to everything they picked up from their movement coaching. It is obvious that they were trying to incorporate a lot of typical feline movement and habitual aspects, even going so far as utilizing ballet movements for some of the dancing (probably because it is more "feline", to use the word again.) Nobody has really slipped yet. It's pretty impressive.

I think the thing that has me most surprised throughout is that this thing has the ability to elevate some (Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, Francesca Hayward, Jennifer Hudson, the VFX artists) and drag others through the dirt, (Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Idris Elba, the VFX artist team), most times in the same scene. It's crazy how on one hand someone truly can astound you with their performance, blow you away with a wonderful rendition of a song some people know well, and on the other hand you see wonderful, well established actors really putting their asses into a performance that has no way of doing them service because there isn't anything there. For comparison, look at Ben Kingsley in Ghandi, or Lucky Number Slevin, versus his performance in Bloodrayne. It's really hard to watch these respected thespians work their asses off for something that won't ultimately pay off for them because it doesn't have the capability to.

Ok so halfway verdict here:

This was a fucking mess. Now I didnt see the original theatrical release, so I have no idea how truly barrel bottom things got here. I CAN say, that I can see the bones of what this is supposed to be buried in the mess of cat shit (see what I did there????).

The concept of the costuming is essentially what I imagine it is for the stage show, but seeing it in it's execution is.....disturbing. The movement coaching was pretty solid and worked well with the dance choreography, but in combination with the actual character design there is an implied sexuality in the feline-ness that makes you uncomfortable, but not in the thought provoking way, just in the "forced to look at naked people covered in cat fur for an hour and a half" kind of way. Like I was even kind of into Idris Elba's performance of Macavity, until he took off the hat and trench coat and now I'm just watching a naked Idris, but with cat ears and a tail. To be honest seeing this throughout the film really took you out of the immersive aspects of it. Not to mention that while lighting was ok, the actual character models pasted on the motion capture actors moved strangely, sometimes the faces were disjointed with the heads, sometimes textures looked unfinished (not as bad as I thought it would be but I know people that could do better than that on their computers at home.) Just a jarring experience visually overall.

The score was ugly and dated too. Or maybe not the score, so much as the instrumentation. Sound design was atrocious throughout, it seemed like the intent was to make it feel more like a stage production, but if that's the case, why go the route they did in terms of set design and all that? Being able to hear hollow flooring under heavy footfall, or people loudly slamming hands into bars they need to grab to catch themselves, or the piss poor choice in instrumentation, the whole thing feels like B roll for the DVD extras. You know what actually did great in updating the music for a more immersive experience? Aladdin. Check my first review out for more on that one.

So halfway verdict? I say a rough D. I dont see myself going back for this one, but I'm not unable to see the appeal. I just am sort of anticipating the 1998 Broadway production (part 2 of this review) so I can see what this is really SUPPOSED to be. Watch for part 2, coming later!

[comicteaparty]

July 19th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on July 19th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Wednesday7 by Viki Kuli.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing Wednesday7 by Viki Kuli~! (https://tapas.io/series/Wednesday7%20) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! As a bonus, each chat a top comment will be picked and featured in the archives and on an ad for CTP! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

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

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hey super~!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Glad to see Wednesday7 get the CTP treatment!

I think my favorite moments thus far were Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4, mostly with the character interactions.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes there are definitely some interesting character actions going on

tho one of my fave moments is when the cat slips the key under the door for penn

that is an A+ cat

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

XD

Yeah that moment was good too

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

actual favorite scene wise though i think id have to pick the scene at the bar. i like the visual nature of mercury's visual distortions. and i also really love mercury's reaction to it. i think just the pacing and expressions are entirely too real. like how he kind of snaps at Penn even though its not Penn's fault exactly. yet, you get why hes snapping cause hes freaking out. and just that little detail makes it a really engrossing scene for me.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I agree, the bar scene was really memorable.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats one thing i definitely like about this comic in general though. i feel that the emotions are really realstic and that helps you put you there in each moment

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but back to character interactions, i do enjoy mercury and penn's dynamics. its kind of this interesting mix of tenseness since penn is a stranger who got overly personal really fast. and like...its one of those things where id hate to be mercury cause that situation seems uncomfortable. having a stranger be the only one that can help.

✨Respheal✨

WHOA HI lost track of time okay uhh

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello!!

✨Respheal✨

Favorite scene....Okay no I gotta agree with @✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨ -- the scene at the bar was good

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

speaking of the bar scene again i also really love the game they played. i thought that was an interesting setup for getting expositionary info out of the way.

✨Respheal✨

It does really make me wonder who Penn actually is though He definitely knows a lot more than you might think he would(edited)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Kind of speed read the comic but my stand out moment was the deal with Wednesday. Visual interesting, great angles, and the character at his lowest.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That was a really tense moment, making amends with (and ultimately assembling with) a wolf spirit/ghost/whatever

also eey Jonny

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

yo justin

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. i really just want to know why penn so rando approached him. like was it really just being a neighbor thing? but it might just be strange to me cause ive never been rando approached by neighbors who want to introduce themselves so idk. XD

but yes, the deal with wednesday was really interesting visually for sure. i loved the tense drama as well cause you can really feel that eternal struggle but ultimate acceptance its probably better than death

✨Respheal✨

For sure x.x It's like, "welp, this'll suck, but it's something?"

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

I don't think the initial meet up at the apartment was odd. He got real werid at the bar but that's because he found out some weird demony stuff about him.

✨Respheal✨

And then there was the handshake before that, which clued Penn in to Merc's....weirdness

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

what ever life he leads could also make him not very social(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah once the handshake penn's behavior made more sense. just that initial approach even felt weird, but like i said just not something ive experienced with neighbors.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

For a sec I thought it was a "sixth sense" type of ordeal or ghost vision.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

maybe he does that with everyone to find demons or something.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. thats what im wondering. if penn is a demon hunter. cause if he went with purpose thatd make way more sense to me.

not that he cant be a nice but weird neighbor

QUESTION 2. Besides Mercury and Wednesday, there are two more characters worth discussing: Penn and Julia. Despite seeming normal, Penn seemed to have the best clue of what was going on with Mercury. Who exactly did Penn know that this same thing happened to? Why do you think this person supposedly didn’t make it? How do you think Penn found out about the house where he took Mercury? Was Penn approaching Mercury a coincidence, or was Penn somehow drawn to Mercury because of the impending possession? There is, of course, Julia as well to talk about. What do you think Julia’s past history is with Mercury, especially given she apologized vaguely for something in the past? Do you think Julia will find out about Wednesday, or will Mercury keep it a secret? What role in general do you think Julia will have to play in the story?

✨Respheal✨

A demon hunter? Not sure about that since he basically helped get a demon stuck in Merc

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ooooh, this'll be interesting

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well demon hunter in the sense of wants to find the ppl cursed by demons. he just may not know how to do the demon murdering yet

hes only in finding demons 101 at demon hunter school

✨Respheal✨

Okay hahaha xD Yeah, getting into Penn's past will probably reveal a lot about Wednesday, too....like do they know each other? Penn seems to recognize Wednesday at least

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Maybe he needs a demon to resurrect whoever he lost

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

idk. i didnt get a sense that penn had ill intentions or wanted to use mercury. but i could be wrong. penn could indeed have a specific goal in mind for helping mercury (besides just trying to not fail again). idk if penn knows wednesday. maybe penn knew another day of the week. like monday.

✨Respheal✨

Actually yeah, rereading a bit, I don't think Penn knows much about Wednesday specifically, just that someone else previously went through this and died because they didn't get demon'd

I bet everyone hates Monday......

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

But that implies he's been searching for someone to by demon'd

I'm just super suspicious of Penn

✨Respheal✨

With good reason x'D He seems good! Just......

What does he knooooooooow

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Who even knows!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

its good to be suspicious though cause how could penn tell mercury was possessed via a handshake. like...i know he knew someone who was possessed before but i doubt that just auto gives you the power to know possession via handshake

✨Respheal✨

Fair xD

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

not to mention who does penn know that told him about the house

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

With Julia I figured that her and Merc tried to start a relationship that didn't work out. Maybe something to do with her leaving for town or maybe they were friends first n it was weird

the blushing implies something romantic

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i do get the distinct impression that there were romantic feelings involved. tho hard to say if they were together or not. though im leaning towards they were together...maybe like while they were in school. and then julia was rando one day like "welp im out i need more in my life"

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

maybe not that blunt

she got her dream job in town and Merc didn't/couldn't leave

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah, least that was worth it

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

it doesn't seems like things ended too badly but I could be wrong.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. i mean its still possible they werent actually dating before either. which couldve actually been a motivation for julia to leave. like she liked mercury but since neither would make a move she felt that hoping and staying for that relationship wasnt worth it.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

My presence is really driven by the mood of my month old daughter. I'll be good for a while, checking the backlog here.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol

Hey Math

THat's fine- best keep your baby occupied and happy

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Nice, someone already mentioned the scene with the cat passing off the keys, I liked that one too. :>

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf i also think all cats are A+ cats

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

And when all cats are A+.......no one will be........

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Cat MVP(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, if memory serves, Mercury was an "I" (introvert, in the character bio) while Penn seems pretty extroverted. That can be awkward. I also liked in that bar scene how if Mercury hadn't been quite so specific, he could have won. ("You have a child" versus specifying the gender.)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

he wanted to one up him and lost

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It's true, A+ to cats. Was also very well behaved in the carrier on the trip!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah it was kind of sad how close mercury was to being right

and then just missed

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I feel like it was that handshake which had Penn press the point... agree that maybe he just shakes hands with everyone waiting for that sort of thing. Must get weird at family reunions.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

shakes everyone's hand at the bar until he gets kicked out

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Penn might have known Friday. Looking forward to the inevitable Robinson Crusoe cameo.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

a bit off topic, but as i think about penn's knowledge of the house more, im starting to wonder if the person he knew he brought to that house. and that person refused to make the deal so thus died. and so mercury is going to tell penn that and penn is going to be devastated.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, I thought maybe there was some kind of relationship thing with Merc and Julia. But I thought maybe he comforted her when she was having a bad relationship with someone else. But then she fled town to get away.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 3. Though Wednesday reveals a few tidbits of information, little is known about him. Do you believe Wednesday’s goals really are to just get closer to humanity, or do you think Wednesday has secret goals? Besides what we’ve seen so far, what do you think Wednesday will do with his newfound freedom? Do you believe Wednesday will continue to remain interested in the human world, or do you believe he’ll eventually get bored? Additionally, do you think Wednesday will find a way to bond with Mercury? Speaking of Mercury, why do you think of all the people in the world Wednesday picked Mercury? Was it just happenstance, or is there something special about Mercury? Of a last note, do you believe Wednesday will meet another demon/spirit?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the previous person was the owner of the house, and that's how Penn knew about it?

✨Respheal✨

On the "why Merc" point...apparently Mercury's parents were in on it, naming him like that

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I suspect that this isn't Wednesday's first merging with a person, but the seventh. Given the title. ^.- I'd be curious to know how the previous melds went.

✨Respheal✨

Mercury = Mercredi = Wednesday I get the gist that Wed just wants a body to live in since he's probably trapped in whatever parallel purple world he comes from normally

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Respheal: Should you really speak about his parents Venus and Mars that way?

✨Respheal✨

pffffff

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Mercury was also the messenger, hence the speeding around town, methinks.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

What about Saturn?

or Uranus?

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

He seems to just want to cause mayhem

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

or Wednesday's alternate universe friend Friday?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i can only conclude mercury is from a hippie family and left town cause he didnt want to do anything with their new age stuff.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

horribly forced joke over

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i mean to be fair there could be a club. of planet named ppl who are all possessed by demons. and penn is gonna go introduce him.

i mean to be fair there could be a club. of planet named ppl who are all possessed by demons. and penn is gonna go introduce him.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Wed said something about destroying humanity.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but yeah with a title like wednesday 7 it could be implying that wednesday has done 7 possessions now. although there are also 7 days of the week so maybe wednesday is actually the last to possess someone in this generation

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the club is behind that bar that they went to? I feel like that wasn't coincidence that they were there, and that's when Mercury started having the swimmy visions.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

7 days of possession per haps

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

OH. Which reminds me. The talk Mercury had with the bartender in the background there was funny.

Rebel: Oooh, that's an interesting one. Wednesday's late to the game.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

XD

Then again getting drunk does really weird things

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Incidentally, I kind of like that idea that random names we give to things take on their own identity out in the ether somewhere. In part because it fits with my personifying math functions, but still. ^.-

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

could Penn be a previous possession?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe but i dont feel he is. although it would explain why he could tell via handshake

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(The scene I meant by the way was this one, where he's calling the bartender "Joey") https://tapas.io/episode/558419

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ooohhhh, good find

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i thought that was a cute background convo.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh! Penn had a daughter, and he's divorced. Maybe his Daughter was the previous possession, and it led to the marriage breaking up.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

and my thoughts still stand, don't underestimate the lower of alcohol

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

What's Joey's backstory?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Joey owns a small kangaroo.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

ya know didnt penn just say he lost someone to a demon? i keep assuming it means said person died, but maybe said person is just 100% possessed all the time whereas mercury gets to get his body back somehow.

i think you mean joey was raised by kangaroos O_O

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: That's an interesting thought. Maybe after the person dies the spirit can still possess them, but only for a finite amount of time....?

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Penn possessed killed someone.

would be pretty dark

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

He's spent time in the state.... penn.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

"Back into your pen(n)!"

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

math no

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that could be tho. penn is secretly a murderer

although now im worried for mercury

petty thievery is one thing O_O

murder is a whole other ballpark

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

but if he's possessed then did he really kill them? or did the demon do it?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The cat trusted Penn though. He can't be too bad.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

So here's a question.... are there spirits for months too? Because August just refers to Augustus Caesar. Is the spirit of Caesar roaming around out there? Because I don't think he'd fit in too well.

Jonny: Hmmm. Maybe there's rules like with hypnosis, you can't do anything you wouldn't normally? (Is Mercury the type to steal watches?)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well given that a day of the week can have a demon spirit thing, its not inconceivable a month can. albeit i doubt august is the spirit of augustus ceasar XD unless the demon dresses up like it for fun.

and if hes possessed it depends on who controls the body O_O

i do hope wednesday and mercury can mentally communicate somehow

or leave like post it notes for one another at least

"Drank all the milk. Buy more. -Wednesday"(edited)

✨Respheal✨

Yes please

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Julia... that's a bit like Julius, for Julius Caesar, for JULY, hmmm.

✨Respheal✨

I need this in my life

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"That wasn't milk. -Merc" (Gotta keep him guessing.)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

would stories have demons since they embody thoughts and emotions for people?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Stories like Virgil's "The Illiad" kind of thing?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

would make sense if stories could

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Wait, he wrote the Aeneid, what am I thinking.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

although if stories can i think demons outdo humans in population

so there must be specific circumstances that allow someone to possess someone else

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Though that reminds me of that old poem about the days of the week. And "Wednesday's child is full of woe".

Ref: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Monday%27s+child+is+fair+of+face

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Okay, so time for a fun theory. Penn and Wednesday used to date, but something went wrong with the possession. So now that Wednesday has a new body, we're in for hijinks as Mercury and Julia have a date at the same time as they do.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the real reason they divorced: penn's one true love is wednesday

and by they i mean penn and his other spouse

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

God I hope that doesn't happen

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Penn was born on a Wednesday.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Solomon Grundy born on a Monday

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe wednesday had to pick mercury because of the name and maybe mercury was born on a wednesday. maybe it takes that sort of high affiliation for possession

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It would cut down on the number of possessions per year.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

possession tax?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

They have a tax for that too?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the fact that Merc's place was partially furnished is also indicative of shenanigans.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. In order to save his own life, Mercury fuses himself with Wednesday. However, the full consequences of this act are yet to be known. How do you think Mercury might gain control of his body again, even if only temporarily speaking? Assuming he does (as the comic description implies), do you think Mercury will be completely normal, or will being possessed by Wednesday give him access to Wednesday’s supernatural powers? Do you feel Mercury will have an easy time having a normal life, or will the experience render him unable to fit in with society anymore? How do you think his relationships will affected by the change? Lastly, do you think Mercury will attempt to get rid of Wednesday, and if so, what lengths do you think he will go to?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Already contains Wednesday's favourite couch.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats a good point, math. it is suspicious the apartment was furnished without mercury knowing

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Well look at the bight side

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Maybe Merc's mind is in some other plain and we'll see that

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

you're merged with a bloody wolf

you can do wolf things

Like howl

and...uh...

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Merc regains control on the full moon.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

what other badass wolf things exist?

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Julia tries to bring Merc back but Penn gets in the way(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Merc's probably going to have to do a bunch of research. I imagine he'll corner Penn for info, could create a rift there.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Maybe it's a night thing. We've only seem Wed at night

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(I won't propose a Mercury Penn ship because that's too Sailor Moon jewelry-esque.)

Jonny: Oh, that's a good point.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its a day thing and wednesday can only come out on wednesdays

cause wednesday did keep checking the time it seemed like

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Especially cause there's no thing as Wednesnight

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

stop

now

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, we don't know what day of the week it is. Though that would make meetings awkward, if they can only possess on particular days... hmm.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

really hard to say this early on.

i definitely think mercury is gonna try to cure himself though

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah(edited)

he has to

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

cause i mean on this first night wednesday has already caused a lot of chaos

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

No kidding

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

At least he has a totally different appearance from Merc. So the people with the camera phones and the theft videos won't be going after him.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Will Wednesday save the girl on purpose in that latest episode, you think? Or will he just mess them both up by blowing past? (Maybe giving the watches away is meant to show he's a ladies man himself?)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i think hell save her on purpose. but less cause hes like "oh no that girl allow me to save her"

but more as a "wow this looked fun"

i would be interested in seeing merc's mind on another plain as jonny suggested. i think that would lend to some very cool comic visuals

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

That might be interesting. I wonder if he'd see the purplish vision things in living colour, and the real world as purplish blobs.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

now thatd be a cool reversal

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

With Penn living in both places, maybe.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i wonder if well see wednesday and penn have a conversation

that could be interesting

and could reveal stuff about penn that maybe wednesday knows for whatever demon spirit reasons

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, I wonder how well they get along, since Wednesday just kind of blew by him.

There's also that mercury tattoo, maybe Merc lives there? O.o

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oooooh

Interesting find

(again)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

lots of little details I missed. probably cause I read it fast.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i just noticed

https://tapas.io/episode/1000244

that sign says swift st.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

zoom

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i really hope that was an intentional joke XD

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Well you do move swiftly along

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

probably

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh! I noticed that at the time and thought it was really clever.

Glad you remembered to say something.

I wonder what does show up on traffic cameras, if anything.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well given the comic description probably just what it appears.

cause the descrip implies that basically wednesday is gonna be some wanted criminal

which is gonna suck if they collect dna evidence

suck for mercury that is

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ah, right, good point. Fingerprints even.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

possible story arcs

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes. so mercury is definitely gonna be tapering on the edge there

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

yus

OH crud only 4 minutes left

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I wonder how much Mercury's been watching of stuff like technology. He did seem to know to grab the more expensive watches. Surely he knows about surveillance systems?

vikikuli

Hi everyone! Sorry I just make it on, had work until now :/ but the discussion looks awesome so far! thoroughly enjoying it

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

VIKI!

Hello there!

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

hey man!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

It's actually about to end ^^;

3 minutes left

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Hi author/writer/artist!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Glad you made it in time so I could tell ya you're an awesome person with lots of great skill and talent

and I wish you luck with working on more of the comic!

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

dido

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I suppose one of the questions that Mercury should probably answer is what Wednesday did last time, given the remark "Good to be back".

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"You still have all these unpaid parking tickets from twenty years ago too."

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

glad you could make it, @vikikuli ~! even if it is towards the end

tbf

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

You'd think Penn could've paid them.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that would be wednesday's last body's job to pay im sure O_O

does anyone have any quick closing remarks?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It'll be interesting to see how the body sharing goes.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I already said mine so I'm good!

And yeah, I second that

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Penn is evil

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

But only on WEdnesdays.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Viki Kuli, as well, for making Wednesday7 and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Viki Kuli’s efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Stomp by Brodnork. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on July 26th from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: http://stompwebcomic.com/

[doycetopia]

Masks "Menagerie" Campaign - Session 6 to 10

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about our ongoing Masks game (superhero antics in the vein of Young Justice, Teen Titans, or Avengers Academy), but that in no way means the game itself has slowed. Quite the opposite.

So, if only for the sake of bragging, I thought I’d catch things up.

The last time, I covered sessions 0 though 5. This time, it’s sessions 6 to 15, so buckle up.

Before I get rolling, I want to recognize two resources that have made this broad overview far more manageable.

The first is the forum that is automatically made available for any campaign you set up on Roll20.net. (Our game is played online, and while the voice chat isn’t able to handle our group’s particular challenges, the other tools it provides are invaluable.) The forum lives here, and sees continuous, nigh-daily activity in the form of fiction, world-building, general discussion, and (of course) the blow-by-blow Actual Play summaries – usually authored by Dave Hill – which supplement if not completely stand in for my spotty recollection.

(Said forum has been made even more valuable with the addition of a custom coded search/scraper that Bill forced around roll20’s forum code at great personal effort.)

The second tool is a more recent addition to our electronic tool box, a wiki built and customized (again, mostly) by two of the players, Bill and Mike. Thanks to the organization of the wiki (and downright sexy layout), I’m able to excavate all kinds of trivia and bits of game lore that might otherwise have flared and died within minutes of being introduced into a session.

With that out of the way…

When We Last Left Our Heroes…

Sessions 1 though 5 were mostly about introducing the heroes to the people of Halcyon, and the players (and myself) to the Masks system. They had a morning show interview, a downtown brawl with some bad guys, and then rode the fallout from those events, (including the speedster getting temporarily lost in an alternate, devastated version of Earth.)

Session five saw the team looking forward or inward – taking stock of the problems they had on their plate and making plans to deal with them.

It also saw their team coming to the attention of AEGIS, the SHIELD-esque organization of the Masks universe.

Issue 6

Issue 6 recording on YouTube

AP Report

One of the directives for a Masks GM is presenting adults as supportive but short-sighted; willing to help but always pushing their own vision and agenda on the teen heroes – help with strings attached. Okay.

Enter Agent Ted Waters (who’s probably going to be the most supportive, least strings-attached adult in the game – though that’s a low bar), an experienced AEGIS agent and the father-figure/handler for Link (whose actual father is super-villain Rossum the Minion Maker). Waters shows up at Quill Industries (the ‘sanctum’ for the team’s Doomed character) with paperwork in hand that will officially recognize the team by AEGIS… a move AEGIS hasn’t… umm…. actually sanctioned?

This paperwork is simple – it merely requires the team pick a name and an official leader. Easy, right?

The name had been under discussion via in-character posts on the forum, but we hadn’t brought it to the forefront yet. This was meant to facilitate that. They tell Ted the team will be the Menagerie and it gets the expected, bemused response from the older man (a good sign you’re on the right track in a teen-oriented game).

The ‘strings’ attached to this bit of help were more meta-level than an actual condition offered by Waters – the team had to pick a leader; a requirement I thought might generate some drama/angst/hand-wringing/reflection/et cetera.

It did all those things, so yay. 🙂

The team eventually settled on Jason Quill (the Doomed, played by Dave), a decision which the team treated with varying levels of seriousness. (Jason on one end of the panic-stricken-with-the-weighty-responsibility spectrum; speedster Mercury (Kay) providing the ‘whatever man paperwork is boring just write something in it doesn’t matter’ counterbalance.)

While Jason continued to process this development, Ghost Girl went and got herself in one kind of trouble (attacked by someone who saw her as a dangerous menace, starting both an arc and introducing her current Mundane-vs-Freak Hook), while Like found another (investigating a mutual friend’s disappearance and running afoul their supernatural kidnapper).

This development brought us to the end of the session with the team rushing to help GG, but split (“where the hell is Link?”), and under a leader (technically) who was still a bit in shock.

Issue 7: If the Graveyard Be My Destiny!

Issue 7 on YouTube

AP Report

(All credit to Dave for the comic-book-classic session titles.

This session was meant to introduce one of Ghost Girl’s issues and a sort-of nemesis; Ghostheart (one of the characters from the Masks Deck of Villains) whose main deal is obsessively keeping living people over THERE, and dead people over THERE, and NO TOUCHING NO TOUCHING NOT EVER.

Charlotte is all about connecting with people amongst both the living and dead (she’s playing the Outsider playbook, and filled with wonder at the modern world in which she now finds herself), so Ghostheart seemed almost a custom-written enemy for her.

Most of the session was a nighttime fight at GG’s home cemetery against Ghostheart and a couple of his summoned demonic henchthings – Rawhide and I-Didnt-Catch-the-Other-Guy’s-Name. After the fight (and some really stilted, useless, uncomfortable leadership, beautifully delivered by Dave), the heroes (reunited, since Link was tussling with Rawhide on his own, initially) tracked down and rescued the kidnappee “@powerpony” – an online-mutual of both Link and GG’s (PC-NPC-PC relationship triangles are good – need more of those).

Offscreen

The players conducted a couple Google-Doc-based scenes after this session, simply to get them done in satisfying fashion without taking up too much in-game time.

The first was Link talking with green-lantern/Blue-beetle-esque Concord about the details of the kid’s powers.

The second was between Link and Jason – an often tense but ultimately fruitful and relationship-building ‘discussion’ about what kind of leadership the team really needed (and what kind Jason could legitimately provide).

Both scenes were great, and the ‘offline’ RP option proved a good one, though we try not to use it too much, as it tends to move characters whose players have the mid-week bandwidth for such things further center stage, in a play environment (online, short sessions) where it already seems someone ends up drawing the Spotlight Short Straw every week.

Issue 8: Lo, There Shall Be an Evening of Character Interaction!

Issue 8 on YouTube

AP Report

As a means of exploring GG’s current Hook (her Mundane connections with others, versus the Freak nature of her powers), we also learned a bit more about why Ghostheart wanted GG out of public circulation – her interactions with the Living were creating some kind of ectoplasmic catnip that would inevitably attract a terrible entity known as Pandemonium to the material world.

The only way she could guarantee her living friends’ safety was stay away from them. Which sucks.

AEGIS rolled back into the picture much sooner than anyone expected, as the team called them back to take Ghostheart into custody. (The team opts NOT to go the morally-and logically-questionable route of the Flash CW show, with villains held without due process, inside a particle accelerator, and fed Big Belly Burgers on a… mostly daily schedule.)

The rest of the session involved the team either trying to help each other out with Comfort and Support-based roleplaying (with mixed but fascinating and sometimes hilarious results), or working through their own problems; Link’s robotic not-girlfriend Pneuma announced she was departing Halcyon for a bit to visit ‘someone’ in Japan, while Jason went down a digital rabbit hole, investigating how and why his nemesis Alycia Chin infiltrated Quill Compound as a lowly warehouse employee for a month.

Jason’s investigation led to a great scene where he uses his nanobots and latent genius to analyze Alycia Chin’s actions, and gets knocked cold in the process via some kind of latent … mental … something … Alycia left behind in the video recordings of her activities. Remote Memetic Programming, maybe? Image-gestalt boobytrap? That would be bad.

Issue 9: Sizzling Big Adult-Influence Issue!

The Beginning of the Day From Hell

Issue 9 on YouTube

AP Report

Morning! The second Weekday of the campaign, and time once again for all good heroes to… get to school.

(Assuming they aren’t a ghost from the civil war, or unconscious, of course.)

A while back, Concord’s player had started a discussion on the forum where we all talked about whether the Nova playbook was working for him, and we collectively came to the conclusion that the Janus playbook worked better. So we retconned it.

This session was the one where we started to get into that ‘dual identity’ drama a bit more, very literally in this case (because I am a ham-fisted hack) with Concord trying to help Link with an unconscious Jason (via an energy construct copy of himself) while simultaneously attending school in his ‘real’ body. He didn’t exactly balance this out well, and ended up being sent to the principal’s office when he confused his multiple mouths and remonstrated his English teacher for being a ‘walking deceit’ when he meant to be talking to the vision of Alycia Chin in Jason’s head.

I’d call this situation a solid B effort on my part. Maybe a B-. We get better at this in short order, though, so I’m not going to beat myself up too much.

Meanwhile, Mercury and Ghost Girl spent the morning reaching out to adults for advice and input, before Mercury had to get to school.

Harry’s dad-joking, eggplant-emoji-texting dad, Silver Streak.

This is always a fraught situation in Masks – going into a scene with an adult or adults in Masks carries an undercurrent of threat akin to an armed parley with A-level super-villains. Honestly I’ve never done as much broad-spectrum damage to the team with a bad guy as I have in scenes with their well-meaning mentors dispensing advice, constructive feedback, and (horror of horrors) heartfelt praise.

It didn’t really go better here, with both Harry’s dad and the retired ‘grail knight’ Armiger (Lucius, owner/operator of the Has Beans coffee shop, downtown) kicking in their two cents about Ghost Girl’s ongoing Ghostheart/Pandemonium problem, what they thought the kids should do about it (and, ultimately, who they thought the kids should be.) They got what they were after, but Ghost Girl at least wasn’t feeling great about it afterwards, which lead to some Condition-clearing reckless behavior later. (As it should.)

Issue 10: Halcyon High-Jinks (Hell Day, Part 2)

Issue 10 on Youtube

AP Report

Dave, Margie, and Katherine were all out of town, which left Jason recovering from his tussle with not-Alycia, Ghost Girl roaming the city doing reckless things without consulting the team, and Harry actually attending Gardner Academy (the private high school that tends to specialize in rich kids and publicly recognized supers).

Concord and Link, on the other hand, are on their way to HHS – Halcyon High South – part of the public school system, where they academically toil in relative anonymity.

Bill and Mike (and I) were excited to play around with that classic of teen superhero comics, the high school, so we had a good time with this. First order of business was to establish the normal day, and I had fun introducing some of the faculty, and went to the players to fill in NPCs (which gave us the wonderful Ms. “No!” Rodriguez, Leo’s lab partner.

I also introduced Taz, a new transfer and tech-nerd who seemed to either be a bit on the spectrum or way over-informed about Leo, or both. She showed up both in Leo’s chem class as well as at lunch with Leo and Adam, and was generally fun to play, freaked out the players a skosh, and has more going on that I’m looking forward to getting into.

With the norm established, it was time to get some Concord-grade villains on the stage, and that mean “galactic” villains. For this, I went back to the Deck of Villainy and pulled out The Farlander (who is just too weird looking and fun to play) and Sablestar who, by sheer coincidence in visual design, seemed to be … related to Concord and his powers in some way. There’s some vague hand-waving on her card about being a member of the Void Collective and something of a space-anarchist, but I already have an anarchist villain, so Sablestar and the VC became a kind of counter-(if not anti-)Concordance, in my head. We’ll see how that fleshes out over time.

So: a bit of fighting at the school with The Farlander, and the introduction of Sablestar, and as things get complicated we call it for the night, ready to bring in the rest of the team next session as things heat up.

That’s five of the ten sessions I wanted to cover, so I’ll stop here and do 11 to 15 in the next post. More soon!

original post