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funnuraba · 3 years

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A Rough Moral Overview of Archie Comics: Teen Propaganda Machine

Part 1: The 1940s

1941: Archie first appears in a small feature near the end of PEP Comics #22. His popularity builds rapidly, with the audience apparently writing in to express immense interest in the short monthly Archie comic.

At first the Archie story isn’t even mentioned on the cover, but Archie himself slowly starts appearing on the cover, always with PEP’s big star at the time, The Shield. The Shield on the cover is at first much larger than Archie, but he shrinks over time, and after Veronica’s introduction, she and Betty start to feature on covers as well. The Shield continues shrinking...

And by issue #49, the magazine is PEP Comics: Starring Archie Andrews! Archie quickly becomes its own imprint, and the only one of PEP’s lineup that survives into the present day. Ads in the magazine advertise an Archie radio show that was spurred by what was a apparently a massive outpouring of interest from PEP’s teenage subscribers. The concept of teenagerhood itself was a new invention dating from 1944. Archie’s reality included things like school, dating, and modern teen problems like trying to maintain a car and deal with wartime rationing.

Also, sending your dog to fight Nazis. (Note: the above are two separate stories; no Nazis ever actually invaded Riverdale. Oscar, Archie’s dog, gave birth on at least two occasions, including during her army tour, and eventually faded from existence.)

At this stage, minstrel-style caricatures of black men appear on occasion in Riverdale (as train attendants and no-account bums who steal clothing out of the trash), and Yellow Peril-style caricatures of Japanese people are a regular fixture in other PEP features like “Captain Commando and the Boy Soldiers”. As a side note, Chinese people are depicted quite differently in Captain Commando. At this point in US history, they were seen as important potential allies in the war against the Japanese. In Captain Commando, they’re drawn like actual humans in comparison to Japanese soldiers. One story shows a Chinese warrior who’s been bamboozled by foolish Buddhist ideals of peace, but finally snaps out of it and gets his followers to join up with US forces in resisting Japanese occupiers. Chinese-Americans were depicted less frequently, but also running in PEP for a time was a rather remarkable depiction (for the time) of a Chinese-American hero: Fu Chang, International Detective. Chinese people would later be collapsed into the Yellow Peril phenomenon in US pop culture and there were some very racist depictions within Archie Comics, but in the 40s there was a different perspective on display for a while.

(Captain Commando and his Boy Soldiers have since lapsed into the public domain; evidently the heroic quality of child soldiers lost its gleam after WWII and reviving the property was never deemed profitable.)

Also in the 40s, many, many stories end with a quite literal punchline in which Archie gets taken out to the woodshed and beaten by his father for causing trouble. This was PEP’s light-hearted humorous fare that apparently spoke quite deeply to a teenage audience of this era. The depiction of corporal punishment is neither “pro” nor “anti”, it’s simply an unavoidable consequence handed down from on high. Archie’s misadventures lead inevitably to physical punishment from an authority figure, no matter how much or how little he’s to blame for things going wrong. Mr. Andrews himself is sometimes a figure of fun during this period, but the 40s and 50s are the time when he most often feels like a self-insert for the writers and artists, who would have been closer to his position in life than Archie’s.

Archie’s position, though, isn’t entirely as the object of abuse. It’s pretty safe to assume that the writers and artists also grew up with corporal punishment and can sympathize with the experience--though they’ve now entered the stage of life where they understand that it was done only for their own good. Archie at the end of these stories is both resentful and rueful; he wishes it hadn’t happened, but there’s no room in the pages of PEP to contemplate a world where it doesn’t have to.

Violence was much more accepted in the 40s, including against the girls themselves--for their own good, in this case, but it’s still jarring to see a man give Betty and Veronica black eyes. Their crime in this case was, of course, being so silly and man-crazy that they nearly drowned him and themselves.

Often the violence was more cartoonish in nature, but it was only in the 40s that you’d see Betty showing up at Veronica’s door with Moe Szyslak’s weapon of choice.

The porter in this panel is one of the kindest portrayals of a black man in this period; the others (and the one depiction of a black woman that I noticed) are frankly unreproducible without heavy content warnings. Also in the 40s, fat and/or ugly women exist only as an object of fun or outright cruelty.

Vague “reducing plans” were advertised in the pages of Archie in the 1940s. This particular method was, as the name suggests, seaweed pills that were also marketed as chewing gum.

You may notice in some stories that the “ugly” and undesirable woman has very nearly the same face as Archie himself; the irony here is very likely unintentional. It’s rarely (seriously) suggested that there’s anything morally wrong with Archie aspiring to a girl much prettier than he is, but an ugly girl expressing interest in any boy is a figure of fun right up into... well, the present day. The Gabby pictured in the panel above her was a semi-recurring character, one of the only plus-size recurring characters ever depicted in Archie. As her name suggests, she was a gossip and one of the undesirable girls, but she was sometimes allowed to be friendly with Veronica or Betty without immediate karmic punishment. She’s also notable because she’s not only one of the only plus-size characters, she’s one of the very few plus-size female or teenage characters. Mr. Andrews, Mr. Weatherbee and Pop Tate all survived the 40s, but Gabby didn’t.

Betty at the inception of “Archie” (the comic) was just Girl. She rather liked Archie and he liked her, and he would try to impress/date her but end up having his monthly funny adventure. But only once Veronica was introduced did she start to gain more dimension, this time as Other Girl. Veronica was rather nice to begin with and it took a short while for them to start getting played off each other as “characters”. There was still little difference. Veronica was always rich and as a result became snooty fairly quickly, but her flaws were the flaws of an object. They existed to create difficulties for Archie, in his struggle to impress her, and Betty was differentiated only by not being snooty.

When Betty and Veronica were allies, it was because Archie had blown it somehow, and they were naturally compelled to be allies by virtue of both being girls. (When they didn’t like each other, it was also because they were both girls, and such was the natural state of being girls.) The panel above--both in the same pose, their identical faces lifted in scorn towards all men--would be echoed in other later stories, whether by chance or by accident.

Their posing in the 40s was frankly pretty ludicrous and transparent in its intentions.

Sexual attraction wasn’t explicitly commented on in the 40s comics in the way we understand “explicit” today, but it’s allowed to exist more openly than in later years. The va-va-voom effect highlighting the breasts would have to become more euphemistic as the decades passed.

In general, there was very little pretense in the 40s.

Artists had no qualms about showing the girls nearly in the nude (I cropped out a panel of Veronica in the bath above), nor about showing adult men leering at them. Even Mr. Weatherbee was occasionally moved by their charms. Generally adult men were “punished” for showing visible attraction, but only in humorous ways. It was more common for the teenage boys to drool over the girls, but the only disapproval shown when grown men did it came from women their own age, playing the role of scold or prudish spinster. There was also the occasional gag in which an adult man was misunderstood as a “masher” or peeper and received undeserved punishment from the supposed target.

There were various write-ups of celebrity activity in the 40s and 50s, and there too the attitudes towards women were pretty much what you’d expect, but even in the late 1940s the realities of life were not entirely veiled from teenage eyes. There was room for what would now be considered adult jokes.

Also in the 40s, Archie cross-dressed, like, a lot, in a way that noticeably vanished once the 50s rolls around. It’s always as a gag, and it’s usually noted that he makes an ugly girl, but in this era it seems to have been an idea that could be poked fun at without threatening the moral fiber of all America by the mere suggestion.

In fact, one semi-famous 1948 story, “The Battle of the Jitterbugs” (reproduced more fully elsewhere) revolves entirely around the girls and the boys competing in a “fair contest’ to see which sex is better at dancing--since boys only lead and girls only follow, it’s impossible to determine who can dance better overall. The obvious solution is for two girls to dance with each other and two boys to dance with each other.

Crucially, the idea is suggested by Reggie, the prankster of the group, framing it as a joke from its inception. Archie, the main character, follows through with it as a means of asserting male superiority. There’s also no possibility that two boys could dance, or two girls could dance, without the conceit of one performing the role of the opposite gender. But in practice, the whole thing does involve a lengthy depiction of two boys dancing together, and indeed, jokingly flirting with each other.

Again, the joke-flirting comes in the form of mocking from Reggie, both en femme and en homme. Archie, the protagonist and everyman, is uncomfortable throughout and finally throws Reggie right out Pop Tate’s door after Reggie goes too far in impugning his masculinity.

At this stage, the usual band of crones step in to punish him for imagined crimes against women, and he finishes the story sitting in bed with a broken leg, making a pronouncement that stands out rather sharply to the modern eye: “Confidentially, Jug! I’m no longer interested in women... or dancing!”

Veronica and Betty are significantly more comfortable with each other. In fact, it’s a rare 1940s story where they don’t quarrel with each other at all! Veronica’s femininity is seemingly unthreatened by the hat and pants, even though Archie Comics would continue issuing dire warnings against women in pants up through the mid-1970s.

It’s hard to imagine they lost after this! The tone of this page is downright celebratory, a rare occasion of early Betty and Veronica working together and coming out the victors of the story, not by one of them winning Archie, but by both of them showing their own skill at something without trying to show the other up. “Battle of the Jitterbugs” is a true rarity in these early years, a depiction of female triumph that doesn’t exactly defy the era’s pop culture as a whole--women were creating their own art even in the 1940s--but it does defy nearly every other Archie story up to the mid-1970s.

#archie comics #archieganda #i couldn't possibly put enough content warnings on this #content warning just about everything

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deliciousscaloppine · 3 years

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Hot takes galore 2: A brief overview of fandom backlashes that influenced fanfiction writing traditions as I have personally experienced them.

In this segment we examine...THE INDOMITABLE MARY SUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, as I was entering fandom in 2008 (Bleach, a manga by Kubo Tite), the hottest, sweattiest discourse pertained perhaps to Mary Sues. I thought the hatred of Mary Sues had completed its cycle and it was dead and gone in our days, BUT I happened upon a post that said that we are all stanning Moxiang Tongxiu’s OCs (original characters), in a sort of admonishing tone, and I couldn’t help but smile.

For back in the day, OCs, were termed self-inserts at best, and if they were a female protagonist that would sideline the canonical cast of characters then they were Mary Sues. And there were as many people hating original characters, and Mary Sues in particular that I remember sitting up all night thinking on whether I should post or not this fic that had some OCs in it that were there to just deliver some messages.

And of course this bled into accusations of writing canonical characters as basically “original characters” or “self-inserts”, by use of the term “ooc” (out of character). Personally, I thought this was over, but recently Riri accused me of disregarding the existing characterization and turning the CQL characters into my own original characters...for KINKY HAVOC IN VOLCANO PALACE!

An unjust accusation, I feel, Riri, because I do my damnedest to maintain characterization even under the wildest circumstances.

People were looking to extend their enjoyment of the existing characters and story, and for some reason fanfic authors could come under fire for not catering to that, and writing for their personal self-fulfillment.

And there were as many people writing oc’s and Mary Sues as there were people hating them, and the writers for it. It was chaos, there were journals (i was in livejournal) devoted to roasting mary sues, laughing at authors etc. If you came in fandom after me, you live in much much gentler times, and perhaps you have the Mary Sue to thank for that, because the Mary Sue kickstarted a lot of fandom feminist discourse.

Back in the day they usually determined “Mary Sue” as an overpowered, female character, whom everyone loved even though she might not be particularly charming (by whose standards?), who was adept at everything, knew everything, felt everything etc.

The thing is that Mary Sues did not seem to exist only in fanfiction, but everywhere around us, whenever there would be a project film/show/comic/book that had a strong female protagonist.

And that was because fandom and male nerd culture were intertwined. Anime, games, comic books were heavily “invaded” by swaths of girls who were not quite fulfilled by corny pop stars, or saccharine rom coms, and seeing that there were no female power fantasies available in these media, they created their own.

It was a very interesting time because if you remember, Marvel Movies started getting made around that time, riding on that convention power, which was dominated by male nerd culture - and that is why they gave so little screen time to female characters, because the demographic was pretty thoroughly examined and they were found to dislike any and every female character that was not there to validate the male character’s cishetero sexuality (YEAH BABY)

I mean women, actresses, female characters had a good portion in media, and the marvel cinematic universe and its imitators pretty much sidelined all these people very aggressively. Male stories started exploding and taking over during this time, exploiting that very vocal male nerd demographic.

But where is the backlash you ask, because so far we’ve only seen the oppression.

I saw a lot of writers struggle with the validity of the female character, and then the validity of female writing. They conflated writing female characters, as writing without examining themselves, or attaining a neutral voice and a role of representing accurately reality (lol). Writing Mary Sues was bad writing, and at some point all women were Mary Sues.

...So can you guess what happened?

A lot of these people turned to male slash in order to cope. Before the Mary Sue hate, male slash was a considerable but not dominant piece on the fanfic pie, which was mostly dominated by main het ships. Male slash was already enjoyed by female heterosexual audiences, but it started gaining more and more traction until a term was coined (shipping goggles), and accusations were once more flung: that fangirls will ship any two white dudes - not untrue.

This audience was not very friendly to actual gay people. There were all sorts of strange views passing before my bespectacled eyes at the time. People proclaiming that they loved yaoi (i was in manga, so this was the term used), but would not watch gay porn, and thought gay people were gross. And in the case where gay people were in fandom these people often complained of not being included/invited in fandom activities, or having minimal readership from groups that promoted male slash, but not gay writers.

This is why I often say fandom is not a friendly place for lgbtq people, because this type of audience still exists, even if it had to suppress their discomfort and assimilate the rhetoric of allyship at some point. And sadly a lot of people who dominated these early discussions about fandom becoming more lgbtq friendly since it consumed such relationships in media, managed to set this climate of dishonesty where everyone is pro-lgbtq in theory, but not in action.

Meaning a lot of stereotyping that is not endemic to actual lgbtq communities. Like top-bottom (most people are verses), whiny bottom, subby bottom, violent top, aggressive sex, hypersexual gay characters, almost complete erasure of bisexuality, lesbians what are they?, a complete and absolute fear in portraying trans characters, suppression of genderfluidity, accusing people of writing male gay characters as female characters as a form of wish-fulfillment or supposed homophobia.

A while ago I saw this article asking why lgbtq people are so mean to each other that confused me thoroughly, until I remembered this call out phase that happened a while ago and still goes on, where everyone blames everyone else of abusing and gaslighting them, friendships falling out etc, which is not at all the reality of older lgbtq scenes, because these were not formed online under this climate.

And because fandom is a vehicle for self-exploration a lot of people to this day conflate consuming lgbtq relationships through media as being lgbtq themselves, or these “actual” relationships being set as these other fictional “idealized” relationships. Whereas in older lgbtq scenes a lot of people come into them by realizing their attraction to actual, real, live people and not characters, or hot celebrities.

I am not saying that current lgbtq people who discovered that about themselves online are lying, or lying to themselves, but they definitely came out in an environment of fake acceptance, and have a hard time reconciling reality with that lie of acceptance through no fault of their own, of course, because they never developed the language and the understanding that language brings in order to communicate amongst them. The characteristics were set by a group outside of them that might be pro gay marriage, and having a cool gay friend, and the inherent tragedy of homosexuality or something, but are not really for it - as a very wise queer eye contestant once said.

And so every trespass by their own people, becomes a proof of this generalized rejection with tremendous consequences for young people’s mental health. YOU ARE BEING GASLIT IT’S TRUE - but not by your own people, it’s just a miscommunication going on there.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MARY SUE. She changed. She stopped seeking love, sex, and power, or at least pretended that she did not want any of these things, or did not understand them, she stopped speaking, and became more stoic so people wouldn’t judge her opinions, and finally one day she went on to accomplish great things, because women seeking representation was also a pretty set demographic, and somebody could and would exploit that!

The Twilight Saga, Fifty Shades of Grey, even Hunger Games, are the media progeny of the Mary Sue powering through the entirely of male nerd culture. In a whole decade where people wanted Marvel to release a Black Widow movie, there have been three major spy/action girl movies that did very well in the box office, and since producing and releasing a movie usually takes three years, i’d say the audience was heard loud and clear - even though not by Marvel.

And the side girls in these Marvel movies, or other action movies, became more and more badass - they all went from damsel in distress, to saving the hero, and of course the male characters were subsequently “queer-ified” until everyone was finally happy, and nerd culture was exposed as having been infiltrated by neonazis and that’s why it was making those unreasonable demands for no women ever in the first place.

And everything was right in the world, except that it was not. Because...girls had also been infiltrated by “neonazis”. A lot of these media, and a lot of these “white” Mary Sues, fall under many conservative criteria. Conservatism being a nice word for fascism.

A few examples is the person of color always dies, or is brutalized, or is admonished constantly even as they shadow the protagonist in order to reinforce their inherent radiance. Characters who might be poc in books or in the anime (hur hur), are whitewashed in the visual media. The women are almost never comfortable with sex or romance, always thinking about the future and amassing power, not for themselves, but for the benefit of the resistance, or the family, or any other entity they belong to. And of course they are forever incredibly flawed - as opposed to idealized versions of male heroes always on the side of good for the right reasons! Also a minimal cast of women, with one woman being the protagonist, and the rest functioning as side characters or mostly antagonists.

So every time you feel a slight trepidation for not being the right type of lgbtq for writing something that is not strictly anal, or fear to include feminine characters, every time you erase yourself from the narrative it is it, the spectre of the Mary Sue coming to haunt you with a “We won, what more do you want?”

#fandom history?

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devourer--of--books · 4 years

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I’m mad about Hunter being written off and here’s why you should be too

You: wasted potential.

Me, an intellectual: ah, Hunter and Nicola’s friendship

I have strong opinions about Hunter.

Yeah, you heard me right.

Look, I have strong opinions about many, many, things. Today, we are taking a dive on Hunter and Nicola. First I’d like to blame this post on Kate, as I decided to make it after I tried to articulate why Hunter being written off TCY makes me so angry in a huge comment under her latest OTK post but it ended up being too big and messy so I deleted it. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone elaborate on it, so if you were also mad about this, bro, not to be intense, but like, are we soulmates or...??

Before anything else, as I usually do with my text posts (which I haven’t done in a while, opsies), I shall provide you with arguably unnecessary context. Sit down, grab yourself some snacks, make yourself at home, I’m about to rant you into oblivion.

Since I know many accounts weren’t around back then, I’ll also give you the socio-political vibes of the time period, as any self-respecting half-baked essay written last minute should.

POV, you’re 14/15 year-old me. You flat iron your hair, you don’t use sunscreen, you think you’re straight and your school makes you wear those horrid low rise uniform pants, but at least you can somewhat do your make-up decently now that you grew out of your emo phase.

The year was 2016. The Ever Never Handbook has just come out. You re-watch the handbook trailer on youtube for the fifteenth time. Everyone is losing their minds over OcTObeR 14tH and “a student named Agatha ~ now Agatha of Camelot~”, as well as the portraits and the teasing for a new SGE book. Quests For Glory is announced just a few days later. 2016 tagatha ship week happens a few months down the line.

This is the SGE Tumblr Fandom Peak.

Now, let’s start right there, two-ish weeks after the release of the Handbook, right as the QFG announcement comes out.

We all knew Soman wasn’t done with SGE after TLEA. He definitely had been teasing something in his weekly blogs (lol, remember when I used to check the blog, what a time to be alive) and once we got the ENH, we got quite lot of info to theorize. Here’s some that I can think off the top of my head:

- The coven was going on a mission to find a new School Master.

- Tedros and Agatha were struggling financially in Camelot but were going to get married soon (even if Sophie doubted Tedros would have asked Agatha yet, as of the time of the Ever Never RoundTable, but we’re taking that with a grain of salt, because she was written to sound jealous here, and I won’t acknowledge that kinda of bs, she is happy for her friends okay, we’ve been though this-)

- Sophie had completely remodeled the School For Evil and was getting on Dovey and the rest of the faculty’s nerves (except for newly hired history teacher, Hort).

- The rest of the supporting cast had just graduated third year and was to be off in quests soon.

- The School was now accepting applications, and two of those applicants are Nicola and Bogden.

Now, I’m not even gonna bring up how it was mentioned in a video in EverNeverTv that Bogden would be an important character in TCY, and yet, I can’t think of anything relevant about him other than the fact that he knew tarot apparently, or how his application had more personality than him in the entire series, or how he was basically there so we could look at him and Willam and be like “oh, representation”, or how he’d be a good insight on how Galvadon perceives Sophie and Agatha post-TLEA, or- I’m just not gonna.

Oh, no. Instead, we are here to discuss Nicola’s application.

If your memory is foggy, let me remind you:

Nicola’s application is submitted, according to the Handbook, by her friend, Hunter. For convenience sake, we’ll assume Hunter is a guy (I’ll tell you why Hunter being a guy works better for me in a bit), but his gender is not mentioned anywhere in the ENH. I don’t think he has been gendered in any version (correct me if I’m wrong) or if there are any pronouns for him during TCY, but I’m fairly confident he isn’t mentioned at all.

Hunter tells us he is applying on Nic’s behalf, as she’d never apply for herself. He mentions that she is more or less the Galvadon equivalent of an activist for women’s rights, founding a rugby unisex team and campaigning for pants instead of skirts for the local school uniform, as well as having a feminist sounding book as her favorite book. It’s heavily implied that she is a jock, as he lists that, if marooned on a desert island, Nicola would want to have a soccer ball, a hockey stick and a set of dumbbells (“and none of this 5-lb nonsense”) with her.

Upon asked why Nicola should go to the school, his answer is: “because there’s a greater place for her in the world, where she can learn a girl’s true worth, and I don’t think it’s here.”

Then you have a note from (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) the very late, long, long gone, absolutely dead, August Sader, telling the Deans to accept her application, despite having no reason to do so, as Nicola was to “play a crucial role in it’s [the school’s] survival.” Dovey and Sophie agree to flip a coin to decide which school will take her, which Sophie must have lost, as Nicola is accepted into the School For Evil.

By now, I think we all agree that Nicola was done dirty. If you check my QFG re-read you’ll notice that I complained about her there. As I had to go though her introduction chapter again to make this post, let me tell you why: Nicola wasn’t written to be likeable.

She simply wasn’t. That’s the one conclusion I can draw. Whether that’s intentional or not, I can’t tell, but the backlash she received was fairly useful, as it meant Soman could write her off the main story without much backlash from his target audience (aka, not us, pesky pretentious older readers).

The Nicola I was introduced to, not only in the Handbook but on her trailer for QFG was not the girl on QFG.

Nic is there to be the smart girl™, and while I do appreciate having a character who is a bit cocky about their brains, it just doesn’t work well there. Because her bond to other characters and the way she earns their respect feels so weak, she just comes across as pretentious. Characters like Hester and Agatha, who are supposed to be smart, feel dumbed down to show us how clever Nicola is. Agatha is supposed to be the resourceful thinker and Hester wanted to be class captain, you bet she studied like crazy, she probs knows every fairytale in existence.

Then you add that to the (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) Nicola and Hort fiasco and Nic feels like a weirdly written OC insert.

Handbook!Nicola sounded like a smart jock kind of character (read, more Gryffindor than Ravenclaw). Handbook!Nic was a Reader who read the tales as a hobby, but her favorite book is not a tale, it’s a non-fiction book (as far as I can tell). She might not be the fairytale expert, but she sounds like a practical thinker, as sport requires strategy, which is not Hester’s strong suit, given she is rather impulsive, or Agatha’s, given she is often unwilling to make hard decisions due to her Good nature and her own insecurities. C’mon, Handbook!Nic would have taken one look at Hort and sent him running to hills, because she would be able to smell his bs three miles away. She’s no one’s replacement, least of all Sophie’s (whom she probably would not have gotten along with (at least they got this part right) given Sophie’s “my prince will sweep me away from an ordinary life” phylosophy). To be honest she doesn’t sound like she’d be interested in dating at all.

But this post is about Hunter right? Let me remind you, Hunter is not mentioned in Nicola’s introduction, when she talks about her life in Galvadon. Canon!Nicola tells us that she has two brothers who want to inherit her father’s pub in order to sell the place, but Nicola is close with her father and likes working there to some extent, even if she has bigger ambitions. She believes her brothers sent her application as a way to get rid of her.

Back when I still had some faith that Soman had an arc for Nicola that included resolution, I had my theories as to why she wouldn’t mention Hunter: maybe he was to appear in later books and they’d have a huge backstory explaining their friendship, as well as a dramatic confession that Hunter sent her application because he felt Nicola deserved to live an adventure, and Nicola would either realize that she was meant for something more or that she wanted to live a quiet life, honestly either would be nice. I would have taken anything. Truly, if Nicola’s k-pop boyfriend in the OTK epilogue had been replaced with Hunter, I might be able to hate it less.

Especially if they came to the (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) school wedding as friends. Because you know what?

We are starved for male-female friendships in the SGE universe.

Tedros’s only female friends (all his friends in general) are Agatha’s friends (who all tried to get rid of him at some point, save for maybe Dot) and his actual friends are all dead (Bettina/Chaddick). Hort could be counted as Agatha’s friend, if only he didn’t bash her every five seconds like a moron (he literally pitched the idea that Agatha should be executed by Tedros in OTK, just because he was envious or her relationship with Sophie (not jealous, envious, because Sophie wasn’t his to begin with)) over his delusional sense entitlement of Sophie’s affections (which I hate, but as this is not a Hort-bashing post, I won’t get too much into), but the coven, Beatrix, Renna and co. would not touch him with a stick. Merlin’s friendship with Lady Of The Lake is gone, and Dovey is dead. Rhian and Kei both had that frenemies thing with Sophie in ACOT/beggining of OTK, but I think it was supposed to be romantic? It wasn’t ew (I hate Rhian but he’s also wasted potential, and so was Kei, whom I liked, rest in peace). Japeth hates women for??? Whatever. Willam and Bodgen are such background characters I could not care less about them. The new students weren’t memorable enough for me to remember their names. I think this about covers the main male cast.

There’s a lack of male friendships too, but we kinda have (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) Tort and whatever was that rushed Tedros/Chaddick friendship. Rhian and Kei were gay friends (yeah, right, sure, very platonic). Tedros and Rhian could have been friends if Rhian redeemed himself, but otherwise no. Tedros and Filip… gay. Japeth literally killed Rhian, so also not very good friendship between brothers. Hort has no friends, because Ravan would so not be here for his bs. Willam and Bogden are a couple and (*rolls eyes* *suppresses a gag* *tears hair out*) so were Aric and Japeth, I guess.

Still don’t believe Hunter was wasted potential? Okay, let me tell you what my ideal Nicola arc would be, mixing Handbook!Nicola with some canon!Nicola and including Hunter.

- Nicola is the one inheriting the pub (once she gets married), despite Galvadon’s pre-TLEA sexism and conservative views, because she is her father’s only child and her brothers are actually her older half-siblings from her mother’s previous marriage.

- Her mom died at some point early in her childhood. Not a childbirth tho, because Callis, local witch gynecologist (have you checked my post on this yet? no? you should) was there for her, even if it was a high risk pregnancy because the mom was already older.

- Because of that, Nicola’s father actually sells bread to Callis for cheaper prizes, but don’t tell the elders, shhh

- Anyway, because her mom was gone so early, Nicola was raised by her dad, brothers and by the employees (mostly men, as I don’t think it was all that common for women to work jobs in Galvadon) of her father’s pub. Due to being a girl, most guys weren’t willing to befriend her (sexism, am I right), but because she was a tomboy she had difficulty bonding with the other girls at school, even when they weren’t outright hostile (cof cof Sophie).

- Example: she and Belle had a tentative bond over their love of cooking, but often ran out of things to talk about and the conversation fell flat.

- Which is how she ends up befriending Hunter.

- Hunter is the only boy in a family of many girls and his father works all day. He has a good heart and is rather emotional, but he always feels like he has something to prove, which leads him to being rather impulsive. Both Nicola and Hunter love sports and are very competitive people. Once Nicola gains his respect, he feels very protective of her and often feels the need to stand up for her, even if she doesn’t need it.

- Nicola knows Hunter feels overlooked in his family, so she is always inviting him over and taking care of him, keeping him out of trouble. Her father begins to see him as his own son, and soon he spends more time at Nicola’s house than at his own.

- Everyone thinks they’ll get married some day. His sisters tease him mercilessly about it, and so does Nic’s father, but frankly, Nic and Hunter see each other as family.

- You can bet Hunter is the one teaching Nic about periods after asking his sisters, so she wouldn’t have to suffer with Galvadon’s horrid Sex Ed. (go check the Callis headcanon’s okay, give me clout, that it my favorite post I’ve ever made)

- They tried to kiss once. Nicola vomited and Hunter gaged.

- Hunter is Nicola’s number one supporter and fan, 100% had those gender-equality pins she made for her campaigns all over his bags and jackets.

- Since most wedding matches are arranged by the elders before girls even graduate, it was settled that Nic and Hunter would get married to each other and then inherit the pub. It would of course, be a secretly platonic match and they would suspiciously have no children (Nicola even had a plan to visit Callis to get a potion for infertility, just in case the elders wanted to check on her... okay, I’ll stop).

- Hunter doesn’t tell her, but Nicola knows he wants to marry for love and have a family of his own. She tries to talk him out of marrying her, but he insists that he would be doing it out of love for her, even if not romantic, because Nic didn’t deserve to be matched up with some stranger she barely knows who would no doubt be less tolerant of her more radical views.

- She tells him it’d be fine for him to have a affairs then, but he insists he would never do that to her, because people would talk about Nic if that was the case and her reputation would be ruined.

- The night of Sophie and Agatha kidnapping Nicola tells him she would rather be taken to the School than to stay there and make him live an unhappy life.

- Hunter is horrified (remember, everyone thought going to the school was a fate worse than death) and makes her promise to never treat her life so fickly.

- Sophie and Agatha get taken, come back, but during Tedros’ reign of terror in Galvadon, right before they return to the Woods, Nicola’s father grows very very sick.

- Nic thinks he’s going to die, and she frets, not only because they’re close but also because she can’t inherit the place if she doesn’t marry Hunter. But, well, she sort of always knew, but now that feels very real, she thought she had some more time before that.

- They set a date for the wedding, but thankfully, Tedros and Agatha’s escape ends up causing the ceremony to be delayed.

- By the time the new date is set, there’s no more elders and Stefan is now mayor.

- But just because he is the mayor doesn’t mean the law and the sexism is gone overnight.

- Nic’s father is getting somewhat better, but she is still very worried about him, because of his old age.

- Once SGE starts having applications and has been proved to be, well, somewhat safe, Hunter suggests that Nicola applies, but after the scare that she might lose her father sooner rather than later, she tells him she can’t bring herself to leave him.

- Hunter doesn’t want her to throw her life away, specially now knowing that in the Endless Woods there were people like her and that progress would get there before it ever got to Galvadon

- (He also wants to not marry someone he views as a sister, pls).

- So he files her application in secret.

- Nicola gets accepted, upon Sader’s request and Sophie’s bad luck, into the School For Evil. She and Sophie still don’t get along, the Evil castle rejects her and she gets pushed to Good, becoming an Ever, but she’s only staying until Christmas, because she is worried sick about her father.

- She thinks the application was a plot from her brothers because she doesnt think Hunter would ever betray her trust like that, after she specifically told him she wouldn't go.

- There’s no Hicola, instead, she and Hort become friends and she talks him out of his delusions with Sophie, because as much as Nicola dislikes her, Sophie was a girl too, and deserved to have her feelings respected.

- She also punches Hort into giving up his envy of Tedros and Agatha while at it, because she is just that efficient.

- Everything else up to OTK can be pretty much the same because I can’t remember what happens, other than everytime Nicola is smart girl™, it’s not “because she reads”, but because she is practical.

- Example: on the boat scene where she very pretentiously sasses Agatha for not saying hello to her (canon!Nicola, girl, she just suffered six months of loneliness at Camelot because Tedros shut her out and is now on a quest to save her happy ending, probs didn’t get much sleep, maybe cut her some slack) and then tells her how to sail a boat (despite the fact that there are no boats in Galvadon and I’m sure you can’t just read Peter Pan and learn to sail a boat, unless I did it wrong or something, maybe the storian version comes with a crash course). Here, instead, Nicola presses Hort (who is a pirate’s son) to remember literally anything to help them (therefore making him not completely useless on this quest), and he does and they tell Agatha and she’s like sure and does it.

- Now, in OTK, I literally can’t remember where Nicola was for most of it and I read that book not too long ago, so I’m worried.

- Okay, so, have the Knights Of Eleven actually serve some purpose, include a scene where Tedros and Nicola stress-play rugby and get her some internal conflict.

- Nic now loves this world. She just spent the last few weeks fighting to protect it. She is now a Knight, and she loves the adventures and the new friends she made. Can she really go back to Gavaldon to take care of a pub? Well, she needs to, doesn’t she? That’s what a good daughter would do.

- After Japeth’s execution, Nic goes straight home.

- Her father’s condition is stable, as he is being treated by Hunter and his new wife.

- Oh boy, Hunter has some explaining to do.

- Nicola is furious that he broke her trust, but at the same time, she’s happy he’s happy and well, Hunter what do you have to say for yourself?

- “Damn, Nic, nice armour- ouch, my arm!”

- Apparently, since Nicola was taken, Stefan approved a law for people to be able to leave their inheritance to whomever they wanted. And since Nic was gonna be at the Woods, her father was more than happy to leave it to Hunter. Of course, unless Nicola wanted to stay at Gavaldon.

- Does she? She’s not sure.

- Hunter and Nicola attend the tagatha wedding at Camelot (what, like I wasn’t gonna fix this part?), Hunter is Nic’s plus one.

- There, Hester, Anadil and Dot show her Sader’s note, and ask her, not to become School Master, but to become Dean Of Good, because she would be perfect for the new brand of Good to match Sophie’s Evil. You know, since she is all for gender-equality, good manners, practicality and was particularly good at dealing with Sophie’s bs.

- Since Tedros has the Storian Ring, the pen doesn’t need actual protection, well, not more than it can get from Nic and Sophie.

- Sophie herself insists that Nicola accept the position, not because she doesn’t want to be alone at the school now that Hort and Dovey are dead, no, of course not, since when did Sophie ever need anyone, she was just asking cause… cause Nicola looked lonely. The pretty boy who came with her was not her boyfriend, was he? Sophie was prettier than him anyway. Who needs a boy when they can have her?

- Whether they become a couple or not, I’ll let you decide.

- Bonus: years later, Hunter’s eldest daughter is accepted at the School for Good. Nicola is her godmother, and her favoritism shows.

There, if nothing else, the reason you should be mad about Hunter and the Handbook in general is because this didn’t happen.

#school for good and evil #The School for Good and Evil #nicola of woods beyond #Sophie of Woods Beyond #Hunter of Woods Beyond

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mst3kproject · 5 years

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601: Girls Town

This movie is vile but the episode has some amazing moments. The joke about assassinating Eisenhower nearly choked me the first time I heard it, and I love the skit about the honour system. It reminds me of the one about Bobo’s Sandwich, in that I know where it’s going but it’s the trip that makes it work. There’s something about Mike’s complete obliviousness while the wrappers fly that just kills me.

A guy named Chip tries to rape his date, and she allows him to fall off a cliff to his death (insert gif of woman with teacup saying “good for her”). His friends know he was supposed to be out with a girl named Silver – she denies being there, but they turn her over to the police, who send her to a Catholic reform school called Girls Town. Meanwhile, Chip’s ham-faced buddy Fred realizes it was actually Silver’s sister, Mary Lee, whom Chip attacked. Fred decides to blackmail her, and Silver must somehow find the time to let God into her heart and escape Girls Town to help her. Meanwhile meanwhile, a girl named Serafina tries to commit suicide because a squashed-looking singer named Jimmy will never love her.

Let’s count the attempted sexual assaults in this movie. We start off with Chip trying to rape Mary Lee. Then a guy tries to force himself on a girl during the supposedly comedic fight scene. Serafina literally throws herself at Jimmy, twice. The detective repeatedly tries to get cuddly with Silver when he knows she’s underage. Fred’s plan is to sell Mary Lee into sexual slavery in Tijuana, and at the climax, another one of Chip’s ham-faced friends is trying to rape her all over again. Oh, and Silver is supposed to be seventeen and Mary Lee fifteen, so even if any of these encounters were consensual the men involved would still be rapists.

This is, obviously, repulsive, but it’s also the entire point of the film. We’re here to see a bunch of titillating bad behaviour, just barely held together by an outline of a story. There are two things in Girls Town that might be called a plot – one is the intrigue among the teenagers of who killed Chip and why, the other is Silver coming to realize that she can’t go through life without help, whether from God or other people. Both these stories, however, happen almost entirely in the background in order to make more room for the exploitation content.

And what a lot of exploitation content there is! We’ve got leering shots of Mamie Van Doren in all kinds of form-fitting clothing. We’ve got girl fights with slapping and pulling hair. We’ve got the aforementioned assaults, which are dropped quite casually into the narrative and never more than barely dealt with. There’s parties and dangerous drag racing and teen idols and the weird ‘scandal’ thing about Serafina’s obsession with Jimmy, which Jimmy seems determined to foster when he really should be getting a restraining order. Yes, there’s something here for everybody, except of course for people who like good movies! I find myself wondering if the writers weren’t given a list of things the studio wanted to include, and had to find a way to fit them all into one ninety-minute movie.

The result, as one might imagine, is utterly foul, and while it’s more unified than it might have been, I don’t even want to give it credit for that because it is so utterly nasty and sexist. When it was first released I suspect the movie felt like a trick, like it lured in an audience with the promise of a good time, only to wag its fingers and tell them to say their prayers. From the standpoint of sixty years later, it just reeks of hypocrisy. I’m pretty sure the church frowns on taking pleasure in (or profit off) debauched behaviour, even fictional debauched behaviour. Are we really supposed to enjoy all that and then take away the lesson that we should be loving, pious people? Are we honestly meant to believe that the film-makers were sincere about that message?

I commented on the use of the archetypes of maiden, mother, and whore in my review of Untamed Youth and here it is again in Girls Town, even less subtly. The nuns are obviously mothers, even the ones whose official title is ‘sister’, because that is the role they fill towards the students. The students themselves come into Girls Town as whores and leave having been remade as maidens, which is Silver’s arc mainly – as illustrated with a rubber mallet to the face when she meets her former self on the way out – but we see the same thing in others, too. Serafina begins the movie ready to be a whore for Jimmy, and ends it as a maiden, having become a novice nun. Mary Lee spends the whole movie under threat of becoming a whore, but in the end manages to preserve her maiden-ness with Silver’s help.

The sins and stories of the male characters are equally simplistic. Jimmy seems to have spent his whole life atoning for the theft of a laughable forty dollars (this might have been less laughable in the 50s, but it still wasn’t exactly a fortune). He is in the movie as a literal deus ex machina. When Silver prays, it’s Jimmy’s car that God sends to her, thereby saving Mary Lee. Jimmy is also the instrument of Serafina’s redemption, inspiring her to marry the Lord instead of lusting after singers. I don’t think it’s an accident that his name is James. St. James the Greater is the patron of pilgrims, or those who go on a journey seeking salvation.

(Not that this has anything to do with anything, but when I looked that up I learned that the epithets ‘St. James the Greater’ and ‘St. James the Lesser’ are supposed to specify that one was ‘Tall Jim’ and the other was ‘Short Jim.’)

The only other major male presence in the film is Fred. Characters like Chip’s grieving father and the detective are introduced as if they will be important, but after a scene or two they vanish and never recur. Where Jimmy is almost literally the movie’s saint, Fred is its devil. Almost everything he does is reprehensible, starting with harassment and moving up through vehicular homicide to human trafficking! If they could have gotten away with making him a cannibal they probably would have done that, too.

Girls Town therefore presents a world in which humans can be tidily divided into good and evil. There are nice god-fearing boys who do charity work, and there are nasty murdering rapist. There are sweet virginal girls and nice motherly nuns, and then there are whores. And it’s obvious within a few moments of meeting either type exactly which side they’re on

This is, frankly, a terrible way to present people in a movie, not just because it’s shitty character writing but because in real life you can’t just tell like that. When rapists and serial killers are captured there’s always somebody saying he looked so normal, and I swear it’s because movies keep telling us that such people don’t look normal. This makes us feel better because we like to think we could recognize a ‘bad person’ if we met one, and even more we like to think that we don’t look the way ‘bad people’ do. The truth is that this just isn’t possible, and perpetuating such stereotypes encourages people to see danger where none exists and ignore it where it does.

One thing the movie does get kind of right is the culture the inmates have developed for themselves at Girls Town. There have been studies about how hierarchies evolve in closed groups such as prisons and high schools (yes, of course people have explicitly made that comparison), and an outline of that exists in the film. The nuns are technically ‘in charge’ but the students have a form of self-government as well, complete with a penal system, which their actual superiors have come to respect. Rules that benefit the group are enforced from within it. Alliances survive despite things that should break them, because they’re all anybody has.

As a movie, Girls Town looks okay. You can always tell where you are and what’s going on. The girls and even the nuns are easy to tell apart, performances are never outstanding but usually acceptable, and you can follow the plot even when it throws in weird shit like Serafina’s obsession and the ridiculous drag race. The content is just so disgusting that none of these things actually matter, and the worst aspect of that content is the way it throws in sexual assault like seasoning – just toss in a rape here and there to spice things up!

The writers allow Mary Lee to plead self-defense since Chip attacked her first, but the rest of them are never dealt with. We don’t know what happened to the girl in the fight scene, she and her attacker never even have names. The detective faces no consequences for cozying up to both Silver and Mary Lee, despite the fact that he’s gotta be twenty years older than either. Serafina is somebody to be pitied and the thought of getting her to talk to a psychologist never occurs to anybody. At the end, it seems like even the nuns are willing to forget about all the nasty shit Fred did as long as he testifies that Mary Lee isn’t a murderer!

When all was said and done the movie’s makers probably patted themselves on the back and told each other than they meant well, what with the Good Christian Message and all, and slept very well that night. They were douchetrumpets. Fuck them and fuck their movie.

#mst3k #reviews #girls town #tw: rape #fuck this movie #50s

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vdoesbookrecs · 5 years

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Mini analysis - A Long Way Down

Blurb: ‘Can I explain why I wanted to jump off the top of a tower block?’

For disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp the answer’s pretty simple: he has, in his own words, ‘pissed his life away’. And on New Year’s Eve he’s going to end it all ... but not, as it happens, alone. Because first single-mum Maureen, then eighteen-year-old Jess and lastly American rock-god JJ turn up and crash martin’s private party. They’ve stolen his idea- but brought their own reasons.

Yet it’s hard to jump when you’ve got an audience queuing impatiently behind you. A few heated words and some slices of pizza later and these four strangers are suddenly allies. But is their unlikely friendship a good enough reason to carry on living?

‘Extremely funny ...and wise’ -Sunday Times

‘A page-turning plot and rich, funny characters with several big laughs on every page...Hornby’s best yet.” -Library Review

‘Hornby pins down the age in which we live with precision and comic brilliance’ -Guardian

‘Hugely enjoyable’ -Irish Times

‘Masterful ...some of the finest writing, and some of the most outstanding characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading’ -Johnny Depp

‘Impossible to put down... enthralling’ -Ruth Rendell, Guardian

‘Hilarious yet heartbreaking’ -In Style

‘Generous and wise. Right rom the opening pages, a smile played continually across my face’ -GQ

‘Darkly comic’ -San Francisco Chronicle

‘Brilliant, smart and funny... a cello suite about how to go on living. It’s hard to imagine a novel more darkly and sublimely devoted to life’ -Boston Globe

‘Hornby’s portrayal of four characters who accidentally meet on top of a tower block, all ready to jump to their death on New Year’s Eve, manages to be sensitive and emphatic, but damn funny as well. My new Hornby favourite’ -Adam Philips, Observer

I’ve always been suspicious of books that have more reviews than blurb printed on the cover, and this confirms all my darkest fears and theories.

Structure and Intention: There are no chapters, instead the book is divided into three parts of about equal length. These three parts are further divided into sections where each of the four characters narrates a part. These individual narrations are between a half and about five pages long, change frequently, and are indicated by the name of the character set over the text in all capitals. The events of the book roughly follow Aristotele’s model for the ideal drama:

(note: I wanted to link the source and the website this is from apparently doesn’t exist anymore, sorry) At the very beginning we’ve got our exposition - four characters who all want to commit suicide meet. We are informed about the place (Topper’s House, London), the time (around midnight), the characters (Maureen, Martin, Jess, JJ) and get first information about them (mostly their motivations for trying to throw themselves off a building). Then we’ve got our falling action - at the end of the first part, a pact is formed: The characters agree to meet again on Valentine’s Day, and not kill themselves until then. Then we’ve got our climax (the witnessed suicide on Valentine’s) at the very end of the second part, after quite a bit of rising action (the newspaper fiasco, the interview on Martin’s show, the vacation...). Then one could argue that Maureen and Jess’ visit to Martin’s ex-wife can be seen as an element of retardation. I personally don’t, because that whole thing can be seen as leading up to The Intervention, leading us directly to our conclusion (which is a happy one and thus, if this was a play, would make the book a comedy, which I find very fitting.) What’s interesting about the structure is also that part I and II both end with a turning point: In part I we’ve got the Valentine’s Day Pact delaying the suicide, in part II they witness a suicide and subsequently realize that they aren’t capable of killing themselves. The author’s intention becomes clear in the last part of the book: the characters all slowly get better. The last sentence sums this up perfectly: JJ says about the London Eye that “It didn’t look as though it was moving, but it must have been, I suppose”, which can also be applied to the characters dire situations throughout the whole book: It doesn’t look like it’s getting better, but it is.

Characters:

1) Martin (age: probably mid-forties)

Family situation: Was married to Cindy, with whom he has two daughters (Polly and Maise), currently together with Penny Chambers, his old co-host. Martin is a serial adulterer who’s marriage ended because he was caught having sex with a fifteen-year old girl who was under the influence of cocain. His type is described as blond, young, and big-breasted.

Character traits: Martin is educated and a member of the upper bourgeoise (rich enough to afford a BMW and a very nice flat in London, not rich enough to lose his job and still uphold his standard of living without any problems). He is pessimistic, but at the same time has a very media-friendly personality (egoistic, likes to be the center of positive attention, charismatic, vain, self-assured). Though he is very shallow and lazy, he has a strong sense of obligation.

Situation: Had sex with a fifteen-year-old and went to prison for an unspecified amount of time (my best guess is about two to three months - he’ s still recognized on the street, he mentions recent articles about himself, his girlfriend was still waiting for him when he got out, so it couldn’t have been that long). As a consequence to his...sexual escapades....he lost his job as a breakfast TV presenter (his show was called Rise and Shine With Penny and Martin). He also has an alcohol problem.

Secret wish: To not have to be held accountable for his wrongdoings

Seeks: Redemption

2) Maureen (age: 51)

Family situation: Is a single mom (her fiancé broke off the engagement before she even knew she was pregnant, and she never had or even wanted another romantic or sexual encounter). She is the sole caretaker of her son Matty (19), who is wheelchair-bound and so severely (mentally?) disabled that he cannot communicate with anyone and basically just...vegitates.

Character traits: Maureen is deeply religious, but often doubts the teachings of the catholic church. As a consequence of her faith she has a strong sense of guilt and duty, and sees her son as the punishment for all of her sins (but mainly for the premaritial sex). She is very timid and has low self-esteem and cries very easily. Some passages allude to her being diagnosed with depression.

Situation: Maureen has absolutely no friends and isolated from all aspects of social life (except for Sunday church) due to her family situation.

Secret wish: To be free from Matty.

Seeks: Human contact

3) Jess Crichton (age: 18)

Family situation: Is the daughter of the Junior Minister of Education; her older sister, Jennifer, disappeared shortly after obtaining her driver’s license and is presumed dead. The car she was driving was found at a popular suicide spot and her body was never found. Jess’ relationship with her parents is very tense, as she blames herself for Jen’s disappearance and, consequently, for her parents’ misery.

Character traits: Jess has a hard facade and often acts unpredictable or crazy. Underneath that facade she is a vulnerable and grieving young girl who feels deeply guilty because she is convinced she is the reason her sister left the family and clings to any and all human contact. She is deathly afraid of people leaving her. She is very insecure and often ‘reinvents’ herself in order to please those around her. Despite this she is not afraid to speak her mind, often in vulgar terms. She describes herself as ‘fucked up’ and self harms.

Situation: Jess is convinced her sister isn’t dead and is living a happy life somewhere without her. She is very detached from her parents, though she secretly longs for a happy family life. She is starved for affection and clings to it wherever she can find it, which leads to her stalking Chas, the boy who took her virginity. She in convinced that they had a deep and meaningful relationship that he destroyed, despite only ever going on two dates and Chas not even defining their relationship as boyfriend-girlfriend type.

Secret wish: For her parents to swoop in and magically fix everything that’s been going wrong since Jen disappeared.

Seeks: Reassurance

4) John Julius a.k.a. JJ (age: mid twenties to early thirties maybe? it’s pretty unclear)

Family situation: JJ’s family situation is unknown; the only meaningful relationships mentioned in his past are his ex girlfriend, Lizzie, for whom he immigrated to England from the US, and Ed, his former bandmate and childhood friend, who quit the band and is living in the US.

Character traits: JJ is an introspective, melancholic and philosophical artistic personality. He is very philosophical despite being a relatively uneducated high school dropout and enjoys intellectual stimulation, particularly in the form of books. He loves four things: music, books, his bandmates, and his ex, three of which have left him.

Situation: JJ is an illegal immigrant. His band broke up despite obvious success and his girlfriend, who was the reason he came to the UK in the first place, broke up with him.

Secret wish: To be famous with his band

Seeks: Self-expression

Language: All four characters use typical language in their monologues. Martin typically uses words from the fields MEDIA. LAW and PROFANITY and very long and elaborate adjectives and adverbs. He uses rather long sentences with multiple subclauses and often employs rhetorical questions. His educated, engaging and cynical tone stands in contrast to his frequent use of profanity. Overall Martin’s tone is rather sophisticated, sometimes lofty, but not implausible as spoken English. Maureen typically uses words from the fields RELIGION and OUTDATED SLANG. Striking is her complete lack of profanity. She uses rather simple syntax, lots of insertions, often ends her sentences with ‘isn’t it’ and there are often periods instead of question marks at the end of her questions. This leads to her seeming slow (as in slow-moving), old-fashioned, uptight and prudish. Overall her style is rather standard but seems stiff in comparison to the others. Jess typically uses words from the fields PROFANITY and SLANG. She uses lots of ellipses, rhetorical questions, and relatively short sentences. Her language sees fast-paced, intense, and often jumpy. Her style is somewhere between colloquial, which she is a bit too structured for, and standard, which she is a bit too jumpy for. JJ typically uses words from the fields LITERATURE, BAND/MUSIC, and PROFANITY. He uses very long sentences with elaborate subclauses which often feature rhetorical questions, and questions and literal speech or his thoughts as insertions. His language is philosophical, thoughtful and ‘deep’, the style is standard to colloquial.

Personal Opinion: It’s shit don’t read it.

Ok but in all honesty this book is shallow, doesn’t accurately portray depression or being suicidal, features a character whos only regret about sleeping with a minor who was unable to give consent due to being drugged out of her mind, and also, fifteen, (this is what they call rape fellas!) is that he didn’t get away with it (also this is never addressed? there is no outside perspective given on this? no one ever says anything about this in their parts, everyone seems ok with Martin being a convicted and guilty sex offender? what the f), and, in all honesty, the writing is...rather mediocre. Like, it isn’t bad per se, but in my opinion it’s on no way deserving the praise it gets.

Note: I...have so much more stuff I could say about this book. If you want a series of very detailed diagrams depicting character relationships or something like that, let me know because I’ve got it all.

#nick hornby #a long way down #bookblr #book #books #reading #analysis #mini analysis #the shame shelf

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dicecast · 6 years

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End of Evangeline doesn’t know itself

So a major theme of End of Eva is a giant “Fuck you” to Otaku culture and the Eva fandom in particular, and it is designed to strike directly at their creepy sense of entitlement, their insecurity, their extreme sexism, and their total spinelessness. Shinji as the audience stand in is shown as basically a Gamergater, an insecure, shrill loser whose mass of insecurities make him impossible to be reasoned with and his internalized fear of rejection means that he can’t have normal relationship with people, in particular women. Even the things he likes he destroys through his obsession and sense of ownership, such as when he masturbates to completion over the unconscious body of his friend who was wounded in battle. It serves as a pretty good critic of Otaku culture and the entire creepy obsessive nerd fandom that surrounds it, and it is a really pointed response to the fandom who hated the original ending because it wasn’t a combat filled wish fulfillment fantasy. So it is taking their self insert character and revealing him to be what the fandom is, a pathetic weakling who projects his insecurities on those around him rather than make any real attempt to face his problems directly. Solid premise, and a nice way of calling out Nice Guy bullshit.

Here is the problem....Shinji has never been a self insert character

(Pictured, not a power fantasy)

So the thing about Eva is that as much as people remember the weird existentialist shit, the vast majority of the show is....a pretty standard mecha anime (by which I mean its bad...its really bad). It isn’t until the the show has to rewrite its own script and Ano has a mental breakdown that the show really starts to get interesting and actually worth a damn, but but most of the time it kinda is just standard. The characters are bit better written than their arch type demands, but until the last few episodes Asuka, Rei, Misato and Ritsuko (all the other characters are terrible) are still very much their ‘role’, Asuka is still a Tsundere tough loud girl trope, Misato is the party girl/cool mom character, Rei is the quiet girl etc etc you get the idea. They are better written than most, but they are still very much their arch type until the ending where suddenly they show their true selves.....

(once upon a time there wasn’t a standard trope)

Except Shinji. Shinji from the start stands out like a sore thumb in the whole process because...he isn’t an anime hero. He really isn’t a hero at all, not in a moral sense, a mythic sense, or even a personal sense. And he knows it too, I know the ‘reluctant hero” trope is a thing, but there is no protagonist ever who just wants to stay home and not go on an advnture as much as Shinji. Now I hated the first episode of EVA....a lot, like I really really hated that opening episode, and if I wasn’t being paid I likely wouldn’t have kept going, but there was one moment where I kinda woke up and was like “huh.....thats....not what I expected’. Which is when Gendo (aka worse character in the series) is like “You must accept your destiny” and Shinji is like “no”....not out of any moral sense or dramatic rejection, or even refusal of the call, but simply because he....is too emotionally depressed. I mean compare this to Buffy, a character who is introduced Refusing the Call

(Buffy, another main character who isn’t appreciated enough by the fans)

Buffy is rejecting the call but she is already a hero, and she is rejecting it for other responsibilities, and even then her desire to fight evil is just so strong she can’t stay home, she is a hero at heart who is just rejecting herself Shinji is not, Shinji is the least heroic person in the world suddenly being told he has to save the world and if he fucks up everybody dies.

Now remember, we don’t know who these characters are, we just met them but...when the fuck in anime does the main character be told out right that he is the chosen one and he has a destiny to save the world and the main character basically says “I am too emotionally unhealthy for this, please come back later”. LIke the Refusal of the Call isn’t suppose to come until later in the story line, and Shinji is just so pathologically uninterested in being a hero that honestly....that was interesting. Shinji gets a lot of hate but personally, for most of the show he was the one thing that kinda worked for me, the one character who was just so...not what the show wanted him to be that he stood out. I mean lets talk about Shinji

(pictured...a power fantasy)

Shinji is a deeply emotionally unhealthy sad person who has extremely low self esteem and has absolutely no spine, passively doing what other people tell him to do and basically living his life on an insecurity based auto pilot. I think my absolute favorite scene is where it is shown that he practices the cello every day and is asked if he liked it and he doesn’t have an answer. And when asked why he practices, he is says he was told to practice when he was a kid so he he just does...this guy is just on inertia his whole life. But the thing is, SHinji knows it. He is acutely aware of his own failings, but has no sense of direction, will, or frankly audience to know what to do with it, and everybody around him seems to be either trying to use him, or is convinced that if he just gets more material rewards he doesn't’ care about he will get better on his own. Instead he just becomes more and more insecure and avoidant until the last two episodes which are about him finally learning to value himself, at least a little. What is interesting about Shinji is that just kinda wants to...merge with the world around him (if you like the Enneagrams, Shinji is the Platonic 9 btw). I mean that line “unfamiliar ceiling”, Shinji hates change, he hates disruption, he hates messiness, and he hates activity, and that is basically what his life is now, what SHinji likes to do is just kinda zone out. And Singularity is actually...kinda appealing to him, its merging, its becoming one with a larger group, and losing individuality, and Shinji has been trying to give up on his own individuality since before the show started. So his learning to acknowledge himself as an individual is the pivotal part of his story.

Ok, that’s nice and all, but other than my assertion that Shinji is the best character in the show and the internet is wrong, what is the point? Well Shinji has never been a power fantasy self insert character, in fact that I think that is why people hate him so much, they want to have the fun mecha show and Shinji is there being sad. I mean the argument against Shinji is always “stop being EMO and just do something already, you are piloting a mech what reason do you have to be sad’ but the thing is, what the audience wants to fantasize about and what Shinji want are just..opposite. The teenage male audience is like

“Omg, it would be so awesome if i could be the chosen one who gets to fight the big monsters and everybody thinks i’m awesome, and I live in a house with two hot ladies who are weirdly into me and often walk around without clothes and everybody at school thinks i’m cool and then I win and become the hero of the world, all by beating the shit out of things in a giant mech, ITS AWESOME”

and Shinji is like

“....why would anybody want any of those things? Now i’m just sad”

(Shinji doesn’t like Mecha Anime and neither should you)

Shinji’s existence is actively fucking with the power fantasy of the mecha anime, because what the audience is suppose to like he is indifferent too, he never enjoys any of the things that make up the power fantasy. And that’s partly because Shinji doesn’t enjoy anything, but he really isn’t a self insert power fantasy character because he is just such a fucking downer. So while I appreciate giving the finger to Otaku culture (trust me I do), personifying the audience fan base in Shinji is just...wrong. Because Shinji already is a rejection of the audience, everything they want he rejects in favor of sitting in his room staring at the ceiling. If Ano wanted to make that point, Shinji isn’t the tool to use it for, because Shinji isn’t what they idealize.

Which leads to the larger problem cause....Well, Shinji from the show just...isn’t Shinji from the movie, they don’t behave that way at all. True Shinji (show) is deeply flawed, but he would never masturbate over somebody, even if he had the desire, he would chicken out and do it at home. And while Shinji is a deeply fucked up person who does have issues with women, he never displays that kind of entitlement and sense of ownership towards his friends that he does in the movie. Shinji is deeply insecure about sex yes and he does check out the women around him, but his response to that is mostly shame and self loathing (his response to fucking everything), not a sense of ownership. Honestly, if anything, they claim ownership over him, Asuka clearly has a crush on him (its mutual) and actively pressures him into kissing her (he fucks it up because of course he does) and despite being his guardian, Misato actively hits on Shinji like....a lot

(erm...what)

Honestly, its really uncomfortable, when you watch this show as a teenage boy its like “oh the hot grown up how is COOL and confident and hip and drinks, and is confident about sex is into you, holy crap” but looking back, its kinda fucked up, I mean Misato is his boss and guardian and unlike with Asuka, Shinji doesn’t seem comfrotable with how much he hits on her. He checks her out and fantasizes about her cause he is like 14, but the dynamic obviously makes him uncomfortable, he is attracted to her sexually but clearly the power dynamic is weird also why the fuck is she hitting on a 14 year old, she is like 28 i mean come on. My point is, that in the show, while Shinji does have a weird relationship to the women in his life and really should question some of his sexist assumptions, he isn’t the type of larval form MRA as shown in the movie, that type of naked aggression towards women as a group just isn’t shown as part of his behavior. I mean Shinji can (and does) do many awful thing, but having an object of affection who he feels so possessive of that he attempts to strangle her in order to vent his frustrations isn’t in his character. I mean in terms of violating people’s boundries and showing lack of care for their feelings...in the show that is mostly happening to Shinji. I mean Misako and Asuka really never take his feelings into account about anything and while he does the same to them (again show Shinji isn’t a good person) he just wants to go to his room, they keep aggressively making him uncomfortable. And i’m not saying they are bad (well I am kinda saying that about Misato) just that this isn’t a dynamic or mindset Shinji displays, he isn’t an aggressive Otaku fanboy seeking a power tribe or sex, he is a deeply disturbed person who wants to hide in his room.

Movie Shinji is effectively an entirely new character, or rather it is Shinji being written wrong, in essence its like if the character Shinji was possessed by the desires and insecurities of the fandom rather than his own, so he has all of his passivity and cowardice, but over entirely different issues. The emotional climax of End of Eva is the women in his life actively calling him out for being an entitled selfish person who expects women to fix his problems and blames them for not being perfectly clear with him about their intentions, women existing to suit his needs. Asuka in particular makes a point about how Shinji doesn’t even care about her because of anything about her, he just wants to go after her because he feels he has a chance and is too afraid of rejection to go after anybody else. He snaps once Asuka calls him a coward, which is a direct fuck you to the Otaku fandom, people who are obsessed with stories about heroism but are in fact cowards themselves.

(cough)

Meanwhile in the show, Shinji already knows he is a coward, in fact he knows it so deeply and it is so internalized that he basically doesn’t function, and the message he needs to take is “yes, you are a coward, but that isn’t an absolute term, that can change. Anything about you can change if you recognize that you can change it. And most importantly, even if you are a coward, you can still love yourself.” I am not being original when I say these endings are exactly the opposite, because Shinji is a different character. And while I am totally fine calling out Otaku culture because its a fucking dumpster fire, the point doesn’t actually work because Shinji isn’t the character you want to use to deliver that message. Shinji isn’t that fandom, so having him be their mouthpiece means that it comes off as incoherent rather than righteous.

And also.....Otaku culture’s relationship to women is really fucked up but lets be honest here, the screwed up sexual politics of EVA isn’t just the fandom, Rei, Asuka, and Misato are all extremely sexualized from the word go by the series itself, and there is a TON of fanboy-ism within the original show. The Fans aren’t making this shit up, they are taking it from the show itself. So it comes off as kinda hypocritical to call them out, even if Ano is entirely correct to do so.

End of Eva is just like the original show, it has some solid points but the entire show is too much of an incoherent mess to really pull them off, and the subtext of the movie (The toxic and obsessive nature of Otaku fan culture leads to selfishness, bitterness, and destroying the thing you love) has nothing to do with the text (Random christian imagery and giant robots being eaten). But the show worked better because its subtext was largely consistent, everything else in the show might be a mess, but Shinji from start to finish is the exact same sad sack he has always been, and the resolution hinges on him....not doing that anymore. There is a consistent thread in an otherwise inconsistent show, and that is Shinji, as fucking......I can’t even say.

This is why End of Eva doesn’t work, it doesn’t have a core to wrap its point around, and so it has all the terrible thing the show has, without the one thread to redeem it. Trust me, it is much better to hear End of Eva summarized then seen, while I honestly recommend the last two episodes of the show to anybody (not the rest of the show necessarily). I mean Eva is a mess generally, but the show at least has something it wants to say, while the movie is mostly just vomiting..emotions.

Actually legit, you know how Shinji builds up anger all day long and then kinda vomits it out at random points (9)? Yeah, I kinda feel Ano is doing the same, End of Eva is basically a temper tantrum and he is breaking all of his toys, this is slightly excused because the people who pissed him off are literally the worse but still.........End of Eva is basically an emotional breakdown on film, which is interesting but not enjoyable.

#neon genesis evangelion #shinji ikari #Anime #misato katsuragi #rei ayanami #end of evangelion #ritsuko akagi #asuka sohryu #Otaku #Sexism #Gamergate #Nice Guy #Buffy The Vampire Slayer #Refused the call

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junkobears · 7 years

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are you still taking ask memes ? may I ask for kiibo, and (sorry for this but I love the salt) saihara ? oh, and a girl,hm.... ibuki !

Haha I’m always up for doing the character ask memes, anon. Maybe one day I’ll have done one for EVERY POSSIBLE DR character...? Prepare yourselves for V3 spoilers as usual, duh.

Kiibo

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang | meet me in the pit iruma you robofuckerhogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (none, robots aren’t people and the sorting hat doesn’t work on them! ...okay for real I’d say Ravenclaw? purely cuz he’s quite logical and analytic I suppose... also dumb about social cues since robot.)best quality: I honestly really love his robophobia gags? And his general insensitivity regarding social situations and people in general? I just find him super endearing, hilarious at times, and I always smile when he had some focus. Plus his JPN voice is super soothing. worst quality: Isn’t really particular relevant in V3 until the very last chapter... I think since Kiibo’s supposed to be the audience stand-in that he should’ve been a lot more involved with the main story/investigations. The audience really that content to not properly RP with their self-insert???ship them with: Iruma, Shirogane, Akamatsu, brotp them with: Mecha-Nidai, Hinata, Souda, Fujisaki, Nanami, Mioda (for his singing FTE)needs to stay away from: Oumamisc. thoughts: Would say Kiibo has the best English VA by far, narrowly beating Iruma and Akamatsu. Also he’s a really good deconstruction of the Naegi/SHSL Hope Archetype and I’m glad he actually sacrifices himself at the end to save the others, since that’s what should’ve happened with Naegi a long time ago. Even tho I hate the fact the survivors of V3 lived, haha. I can appreciate Kiibo’s gesture.

Saihara

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (shouldn’t be a debate tbh... he basically solves all the V3 cases. hufflepuff would also fit since he’s bland as shit... actually this is insulting to MY pottermore sorted house, wtf me. he’s ravenclaw ok)best quality: With the hat I think his design is actually quite nice. His blushing sprite is cute I guess. worst quality: WHERE. DO. I. BEGIN. Really fucking bland Naegi/Hinata blend? Gets Akamatsu reduced to his love interest, killed off and replaced by him for the sake of his ALREADY-DONE-A-MILLION-TIMES-IM-SO-BORED character arc? Really goddamn annoying fandom who has a shit fit everytime someone dares to dislike him? Does nothing throughout the whole game but the entire cast is forcefully wedged up his asshole and canon over-hypes him? I could go on. He is EVERYTHING I DESPISE about this series rolled into one package. I’m salty as hell and I won’t stop.ship them with: Absolutely no one.brotp them with: ^^^needs to stay away from: Akamatsu, Ouma, V3 in generalmisc. thoughts: His design post-hat looks really awful, the ahoge is so unnecessary and rapidly defeats the point of “being an unconventional protagonist” (Which still makes no fucking sense, Kodaka/fandom). It genuinely makes all of his sprites look so WEIRD... Also why is he in the MC spot in the trial room if Kiibo is the V3 MC in-universe??? UGH I hate this shit so much.

Mioda

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (i picked this one because mioda’s so peppy, genuinely wants to be good friends with her classmates and is always trying to keep up morale, and is hard-working even if her music sucks. she also is very helpful and intuitive, see: her FTEs. idk, she doesn’t really fit any of the other houses as well IMO.best quality: Probably the best ‘comic relief’ character in the series, IMO. I laughed so much everytime she was on-screen. And I like how she’s allowed to be just more than that as well, mostly in her FTEs but she has some insightful scenes in the main story as well.worst quality: Again, not the most plot-relevant character. This actually doesn’t bother me personally and I think she died at the right point in the story, but I would’ve at least liked a flashback to the scene where Tsumiki kills her. That case felt lacking and it could’ve been benefited from that detail (same with Saionji).ship them with: Imposter, Hinata, Tsumiki, Koizumi, Sonia, Pekoyama, Maizono, Akamatsu, Irumabrotp them with: Kiibo, Leon, Celesneeds to stay away from: Ropesmisc. thoughts: Her Death Metal song is defs one of my fave tracks from the series overall, haha. Fuckin’ love her horrifying style.

#replies #ask memes #character opinions #character hate #V3 spoilers #Anonymous

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inexchangeforyoursoul · 7 years

Text

... look. There’s no guarantee that I’ll ever finish the next chapter, which is... about halfway done, maybe. As for the whole thing? It will never survive till the end. I just know it- my attention span is shit, as soon as I hyperfocus on another thing it’s adios, amigos. Also, I don’t write a lot and my style is rather convoluted, sorry about the consequences- you are already experiencing them. Anyway, I’ve never jotted down any of... these types of ideas, ever. So there’s that, too.

Either way, here lay the specifics: series is One Piece; the basic setup is an unfortunate body swap; this is a self insert fic with an insert that borders an OC- little is specified about the female insert’s looks, but a lot about her personality. This might change, but let’s stick to the topic. If -and let me emphasize IF- I get into this far enough, it will be, like, OCxCanon, with Law as a target. But since I have logorrhea and such, we’ll never get there.

I also like to stick to Gen, sfw, and also canon while randomly entering other territories on a whim. I also have really dumb jokes.

If I get as far as 2 chapters, I’ll scrape together a title for an AO3 upload and put a link here (which is now a thing... here’s the link), until then you’ll have to tolerate my blog’s looks. The combination of Ctrl and +/- are your friend. Anywho, without further ado...

„I imagine... this is pretty high on your list of 'worst decisions ever made'.” is all she can muster in a voice that has an unfamiliar tinge of a higher pitch while looking down at an extended arm that is definitely not hers. As in, things she wasn't born with.

“I...” he starts, trying to rationalize the situation, but cuts the sentence off right there. The face, which used to be her playing field, looks just as stern and vaguely embarrassed as his would, and is quickly losing color, then gaining more than usual. A slim hand halfheartedly twitches into motion to reverse the mistake, to no avail- another digs into now longer hair in disbelief.

His devil fruit was, naturally, left with his body- a body which now she resides in. So if they want to regain their... privacy should be the word, well...

She looks back at her “new” hands- this doesn't feel all that different. Apart from her head not hurting from hitting it into a shelf yesterday, that is- instead, there is an easy to ignore stinging in her left wrist and side which might as well be from straining or a fall. As far as powers are concerned, though... she has no idea where to even begin if she wanted to give them a try. She's not even sure how Law ended up swapping them in the first place; after the first few hours of acquaintance it's clear that it takes little talent to push the man's thinly veiled buttons; playing dumb is beyond effective, even if it's sarcasm, -to which he is no stranger to in the first place, so what even is his deal?- but no matter what happened, he always kept his head straight. At least he did in this almost-week of acquaintance. He didn't drink as far as she knows, either, nor had an especially bad day, so... what was it that pushed him over the brink?

The handful of eye witnesses are also frozen in shock.

“Holy shit,” is all that Usopp breathes as the 'yes, that just happened' sinks in. Chopper keeps slurping from his straw, even though his cup of milkshake has been empty for the past ten seconds. If the legends are to be trusted, they've experienced the consequences firsthand, and are also connecting the one, big, problematic dot in the picture based on it. Shachi and Penguin, who have presumably witnessed the effects more often, seem to be taking it better. Seem to.

“Well... thiiis is awkward,” states the latter.

“And will remain so until it's... fixed,” adds Shachi, scratching his nose. “... does this mean we have, like, two captains now?” he asks a second later, wondering.

“Well... I ain't no captain of yours.” The statement in the de facto voice of their actual captain ups the awkwardness by multiple levels.

Grimacing, Penguin looks at Law, who has been staring at a nondescript wood grain on deck and is holding his head as he's likely trying to figure out something to deal with the problem; then shifts his attention to his captain's body and her in it, where he's greeted with a shrug. “As nice as it would be to have a cute captain, I guess we better hurry and do something as soon as possible.” He summarizes. Shachi hums.

„Shucks, thanks~” The uncharacteristic tone makes the boys rather squeamish at this point while Law is reconsidering his life choices. The girl continues unfazed, though: “As for the fix, it's not that I couldn't... try. What's the worst that could happen, right?” Unsettling visions of many kind flash in front of everyone's eyes; before the occupant of her body could say anything, she states her own conclusion: “Ripping out some vital organ and killing us both in an instant is what it is.” She scratches her beard- this is a thing she has now. Which is actually pretty cool, because sometimes she muses over growing one, just for the hell of it- but then keep shaving for the rest of her life whenever she doesn't want it around? No, thank you. Now she gets to experience it free of charge, if this can be said about the situation.

Also, she's so... tall. She could get used to this, yes... feeling it. A lot.

“Is what it is,” he speaks up finally, ignoring the amused half-smile that's slowly spreading over the girl called Kat's new face; “You'll need to go through some training before we even attempt this, or anything else, on a living target. Until that...” he takes a hard-to-identify look at himself, “we'll... have to get by as we can.”

“No need to overthink it, alright. Should be fine.” she assures him. “The longer I think about it, the more enjoyable this adventure seems, actually.” She couldn't hide her grin if she wanted to. And even if she could... that glint in her eye? Whatever she's thinking of, it's a No and earns a suspicious look on Law's part.

“No funny business with my body.” As the imagination if the boys is taking an obvious and immediate turn towards uncharted, wild, wild territories, he feels the need to clarify. Really now, if these hooligans had popcorn lying around, they'd be munching on it as if watching some especially exciting play unfold. “You will stay put; as in, right here. On board of one of the ships. Meanwhile I will stay put as best as I can while managing my crew, too, got it?”

“Yes, yes, geez,” she says, rolling her eyes. Her place is right over there, down the coast past the docks, within plain sight, but whatever. He's lucky that right after the weekend there's a holiday, so she's free to play along for roughly six days despite having had other plans.

He doesn't look convinced. Well then.

“I will not promise to stick to your diet, training plan, music taste, or... whatever your daily routine is, okay?” she continues, counting out the items on her hands- those tattooed to hell-and-back hands. Steering her attention back on topic, she straightens herself to pledge in as official of a manner as possible, even forcing herself to keep eye contact for more than one second: “But I hereby also declare to do my best not to get your body maimed by marines, headhunters, or any of the people you've pissed off with your attitude in the past twenty-something years.” She closes her left hand, save one finger. “Pinky promise.” After a moment of consideration, she adds 'you better give me a list, though'. He is a man of many secrets and twenty locks on his mouth, after all. Also, she doesn't actually know shit about him past being as much of a wallflower as her, possibly having a degree and also a Reputation- keeping up with the news in general is not Kat's forte.

Law pulls his mouth to the side, but seems more relaxed upon hearing that. Then he turns around, leaving the expectant audience somewhat disappointed. “I'm... going back to my room. Come down tomorrow at 8. And do not fool around with the devil fruit powers until then.”

“... should I just tell people who come to me that you fucked up?” she shouts after him before the door of the submarine could close. It stops halfway and stays ajar for a while. A harder pill to swallow than expected, huh.

He needs a minute to consider how to answer- the initial thought was to groan an exasperated “no, pretend everything's normal”, but... getting his body back may take anything from a few days' time to... straight-up months, depending on her skills and outside forces. The option also leaves way too much room for shenanigans, which, based on the past two days, this woman here appears to indulge in. The harmless ones, yes... but she didn't appear to be one for Strawhat-brand tomfoolery at first, either, and what did he know. All in all, he's better off being safe than sorry. “Don't advertise it outside the alliance for both of our sakes, if you please. Also, they should look for me--- I mean, you, if my skills are needed. The remaining ones, that is.”

“Aye aye, captain~” he can hear from not too far away, with sarcastic tinge still intact. Law closes the door, staying still for a few seconds before making his way down to his chamber- does he really sound like that? He really needs to sleep on this if he can. Also, he has a rather big bump on his head and it stings.

The cool winds of the early night dissolve Kat's excitement from a mere minute ago, and she can feel her inner clock hitting one before bedtime. As she's about to turn around and get her stuff, it occurs to her that she's not supposed to go home- which gives her another rush of blood, and a slight sense of alarm.

“Wait... where will I sleep?” she snaps back, expecting the answer from the four silent judges still idling by.

Chopper stops slurping.

#opfic #op fanfic #you know what these will be more than enough #also in the end I decided to go for third person instead of second #Kate writes #KMKY

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cindyerbacher · 7 years

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Phantom of the Opera Thoughts/Review -New York City-March 16, 2017 evening

Cast: James Barbour as Phantom, Ali Ewoldt as Christine, Kyle Barisich as Raoul, Michelle McConnell as Carlotta, Laird Mackintosh as Monsieur Andre, Craig Bennett as Monsieur Firmin, Linda Balgord as Madame Giry, John Easterlin as Piangi, and Kara Klein as Meg.

Great job by entire cast!

While waiting to get into the theater, a man asked me if the line was for Phantom. As I talk to everyone nowadays (my 20 year old self would find that very hard to believe), I asked him if he had seen show before. He said it was his first time and then asked me if he had a good seat. (Like I would know? Ha!) Told him he in fact did as it was an aisle seat not far from stage and I sat in the same general location the first time I saw the show.

This performance was my planned event and marked my 32nd time seeing the show overall in the span of 20 years. (I am old. Ha!) It had been 15 years since I was last at the Majestic Theatre and 7 years since I last saw the original version. (Although, I did make a very last minute decision, within a few hours of show time, and saw the matinee earlier in the day as well.) I secured myself a front row center orchestra seat. Figured for a difference of $20, I would take the front row location instead of third row side. Surprised I could not contain my excitement because I have sat front row before for the current tour and 3NT tour, but this is NYC! I have seen folks say that the first row at the Majestic is too close but not true. I like being able to see the actors’ expressions and the little nuances that you can’t get from being far away. One can still see the candles rising during the lair scenes and the boat. The only thing that you can’t really see is the Phantom at the top of the proscenium during Il Muto.

In the past few years, I have been making at least one trip a year to NYC to see shows. When I do, I generally like to see shows I have not seen since my time is limited. My friend asked me if I was going to see Phantom not long after Mr. Barbour took over the role. My response then was that while I would like to see him in the role, I didn’t know if I actually wanted to see Phantom. (Insert gasp….Ha!) Fast forward to now. I inadvertently found something on Youtube with Mr. Barbour (not Phantom related) and decided I definitely needed to see him in the role. One of two main reasons for my theater trip and I saved it for my last show. By following him on social media, I knew he would be out of town the following day. So, I was fully expecting he would not be on for the evening show. While I was disappointed I would not see him, I told my friend that I would enjoy the show nonetheless and I would be pleasantly surprised if in fact he was on for the performance. Welcome pleasant surprise!

Prior to the start of the show, I was sitting next to two young gals who were on a bus/school trip. It was their first time seeing the show. They asked me a lot of questions. I so enjoyed their reactions. Some which gave me a nice chuckle.

Prologue/Auction:

The rising of the chandelier was awesome, even for this seasoned “phan.” It did not disappoint. It is so much closer than any other venue I have sat front row. I was a bit surprised that there were some cheers and clapping at the beginning of its rise.

Hannibal/Think of Me:

From the first entrance of Michelle McConnell’s Carlotta, knew I would like her performance. She has a lovely voice. I didn’t much care for the look Piangi but that is a personal preference. He had a fine voice. I really liked seeing the elephant and the “struggle” Piangi has getting to the top before removing his knife/sword at end of the music. A bit surprised there was no laughter when the elephant gets turned around to see the drinking and eating stagehands in it. Remember it always did but it didn’t at either show I was at. I have always liked the Monsieur Reyer character and surprised to see it was Jim Weitzer, who I had seen as Raoul on tour. Once again I was really surprised at how little laughter there was when Carlotta storms out. Always recall this getting some. There was just a bit more when Piangi says “amateurs” before exiting but nothing like what I remember. Ali Ewoldt was an awesome Christine. Such a beautiful voice and has that perfect young Christine look.

Little Lotte/The Mirror:

The interaction between Christine and Raoul was good but why do people think his name is Ralph? I never hear that. The girls next me felt for certain they heard Ralph throughout the show. Since I know what is going to happen, I was able to see the shadow/outline of the Phantom prior to him becoming “visible” through the mirror at both shows. I don’t think a first time person to the show would have picked up on that. There are two things early on that really sell me on the actor in the Phantom role and one of those is when the audience first hears his voice during the mirror scene. The other would be Music of the Night (MOTN). James Barbour’s voice was deep, powerful, and forceful here. It captivates you. Knew I was in for a treat when “ignorant FOOL” was sung.

Journey to Phantom’s Lair/Title Song:

While it was great to see the original staging of this I really like the “big walls” of the current tour better because the principal actors are on stage for the entire scene to the Phantom’s lair. However, I like the boat and candles of the original more. I like the toss of the Phantom’s hat, the swing of the cloak after it is removed, and the pleasure he gets from hearing Christine sing by moving his hand over his head.

MOTN:

This was very good. The long note of “be” was just a little bit short. Loved seeing the original way of the Phantom putting his arm around Christine and singing “touch me, trust me” which gives a much better connection between the characters. After Christine faints, I like how the Phantom puts the cloak over her and folds it down just a bit. Don’t recall ever seeing the cloak getting folded down a bit.

Stranger Than You Dreamt It:

Have nothing of importance to note here except a very tender moment when Christine hands back the Phantom’s mask.

Notes/Prima Donna:

I really like the interaction of the managers here. Once again not much laughter when the manager corrects “wrote” with “written,” when they step to the side before saying “far too many notes for my taste,” or when one says “we need you too.”

Il Muto:

I really liked seeing the original version of this scene. Once again, no laughter when the manager says, “the old audience.” This always got laughter in the past but think maybe the audience as a whole is younger so probably wouldn’t find it funny. This might be a change that has occurred at some point but the “observe her” with the “her” being a long held note that always got laughter is not done. I miss that because they don’t do it on tour anymore either. I didn’t even catch that Ted Keegan was in this scene until my friend pointed his name out when I sent her a photo of the cast list. We both had seen him as the Phantom years ago. I really like how Carlotta has a pronounced pause between “your part is silent” and “little toad.” Don’t recall seeing it done like that before. I also pointed out to the gal next me the Phantom at the top of the proscenium which one would not realize from the front row.

All I Ask of You:

This song was done wonderfully by both Christine and Raoul. The Phantom sounded great with the reprise here. I know the chandelier crash is coming, not going to look up at it but could feel the air as it went over our heads. The funniest thing is that the gal next to me squealed quite loudly because she thought it was going to hit her. I had to laugh.

Intermission:

The big question the gals asked me was who Christine is going to pick to be with. Told them there are folks that like Christine/Raoul and those that like Christine/Phantom but have to think which one is most realistic. Told them they would have to wait and see what happens at end of second act.

Masquerade:

The gal next to me had the same reaction I did the very first time I saw this scene open. I didn’t realize how much I missed seeing the grand staircase and the original costumes. So happy to see two of my favorites again, the blue fairy like one and half man/half woman, which is my mom’s favorite. Always like the choreography for “hide your face so the world will never find you.”

Notes/Twisted Every Way:

This scene was good and I have nothing to add specifically.

Don Juan Rehearsal:

I really like the man in the scene that kept laughing when Piangi kept getting “tangle” wrong. Don’t ever remember seeing it like that before.

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again/Wandering Child:

Christine sang this beautifully and was wonderfully expressive. This scene also has my favorite Christine costume. The trio singing was really good too. One thing that I do think is a bit dated are the flames coming out of the Phantom’s staff. Just don’t find them as visually effective anymore, even when I sat in the front mezzanine. Even though I know the big flames are coming up at the end of the scene and I close my eyes beforehand, still never really ready for them. Ha!

The Point of No Return (PONR):

Over the years, this has become one of my favorite songs/scenes. The Phantom and Christine sung this really well. They had a great interaction. There was minor flub here because Christine is supposed to remove the Phantom’s hood in one movement but it took her twice to have it go all the way down.

Final Lair:

My favorite lines in this scene are “this face which earned a mother’s fear and loathing. A mask my first unfeeling scrap of clothing.” It sums up the Phantom’s sad existence. I also really like how softly he says “wait…I think we have a guest” and not in a booming angry voice. It only changes when he throws the dummy off the chair and puts all the emotion in “you truly made my NIGHT.” I also like how he sits in the chair bouncing his leg like he is impatient with the whole situation. It is great how he gets into Christine’s face before saying “you try my patience.” He says the line somewhat softly and with some underlying anger for the first three words but all the anger is placed loudly on PATIENCE. Then he turns his back to her and says quickly, very softly, and almost painfully “make your choice.” I had seen a clip of this scene on Youtube and wasn’t certain if I really liked it done like that or not, but seeing it live made a world of difference. If one wants to feel sorry or sympathetic for the Phantom, this would be the very place. The girl next to me whispered what is Christine doing and absolutely squirmed in her seat when she kisses the Phantom. Happy to see there was applause after the Phantom’s final line.

How I missed seeing the original version! When can I return? Ha!

#phantom of the opera #phantombwy #POTO #NYC #majestic theatre #musical theater

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writtenbyhappynerds · 4 years

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FF102: Unit 6, Formatting and Text [part 2]

Welcome back to another week of Fanfiction 102! In Fanfiction 101, we talked about formatting and text. We brought up grammar, how to format paragraphs, and how to tag and use verbs to describe speaking and movement. These are common mistakes that we felt were important to point out. Now in the second part of Formatting and Text, we’ll discuss POVs, ways of writing characters, scene structure, and as we teased last week [Y/N] [L/N].

POV tags to me are understandable. I used to do them too, and they’re something that people grow out of with time and experience. You will find that so long as you make your character’s voices distinct and recognizable, the reader will be able to pick up via context clues who is speaking. We know that Annabeth Chase has a very different inner monologue compared to Percy Jackson, and we the readers are able to pick up on those context clues of who is speaking without needing a tagged POV. A technical note: if you are going to change the POV of the story it’s best to save it for a new chapter entirely. You want your reader to stay immersed at the moment, and what is happening right there in that very instant. By changing the POV you’re asking them to pull out of that immersion and enter another. This isn’t always a seamless switch. Rick Riordan handled seven protagonists, and he did so by giving each chapter a header with whose POV we were viewing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but notice that he never switches it up on us mid-chapter. He lets that character finish their thought, and then moves on to the next. An additional note: Do not start your story with *POV (Insert OC’s name here)*. We can assume that the story is going to start with the main character’s perspective. We don’t need you to tell us that.

I personally used to shoehorn a POV change in the middle of the scene because I wasn’t sure how the scene would end and I thought using a different character’s perspective would carry me through the moment. It doesn’t, I just made myself believe that it did. There are many reasons that specific scenes can succeed or fail, and sometimes the worst writer’s block will come because you can’t figure out how a scene is supposed to go. Or, the scene finishes, and now the story is so open-ended you don’t know what to do next. We’ll talk about endings later, for now, let’s focus on why scenes fail.

If you are struggling with scenes, it may be because they are aimless or pointless. Your writing should be exciting to you; you are the first audience member. You’re the first critic. If you find your own scenes boring and pointless, the audience will find them boring and pointless too. A simple way to get around this problem is to sit back and ask yourself what the goal of the scene is. What is the endgame of this moment? If you can figure out what needs to happen by the end of a specific moment or interaction, you can work your way back and get there. Or, if all else fails, go back to your characters and use them to generate a purpose or tension. In any moment of any book, you can go to it and answer the question: What does this character want? Your own characters should be able to answer that question too, and you can generate tension or motivation with this question:

Maybe one character wants information another is refusing to give. This back-and-forth can generate tension.

Maybe two characters are fighting to a goal that they don’t know doesn’t exist. This goal creates motivation.

Maybe one character is looking for individuality, and they believe their current actions will help them achieve that.

If you can’t figure out what should happen next or why something doesn’t feel right, go back to your characters and look at what they want. Look at the endgame of that moment, and go from there. I mentioned in the last unit I need to stare at my work until I hate it. I mean that. I sit at my computer and re-read my work until I can find what doesn’t feel right. Then I make the necessary adjustments. If that still doesn’t work, it might just be that the scene is unnecessary filler. If there’s no point in the scene and no purpose to the scene, cut it out.

Before you start your story, you should pick the point of view you want to write from and stick with it. You can of course change your mind, but if you change your mind halfway through, you have the responsibility to go back and adjust what you’ve already written to match. Which gets annoying. I’ve been there. Try out different points of view. Find what feels comfortable, and once you do stick with it. It’s also your responsibility to establish that point of view quickly in your story, and we’re going to review the three types of POVs in writing:

First off, we have first-person. First-person is one of the more limited POVs. It uses “I, my, me,” language, and stays with one character for the duration of the work. The reader only ever sees or experiences the story from the point of view of this character. Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief was first-person, and we knew it from the first line: “Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.” First-person lets you hear the inner monologue of a character. You can know what the character is thinking, they can have an inner commentary that is very nice, and the reader can live vicariously through this one person.

Next, we have second-person. This is where I’m going to @ a community. If you write [Y/N] [L/N] content, one it is so exhausting to type that and I don’t know how you do it, and two, WRITE IN SECOND PERSON. Second person uses “You, your, yours, etc.” It was literally made for self-insert fic, yet self-insert fic writers don’t use it. On top of that the additional tags that have been created over time, including [e/c], [h/c], [h/l], and [f/c]. That is exhausting. I am exhausted just typing it out. You can word a narrative around using those words, and you rip the reader straight out of the immersion in a genre that is meant to be the most immersive! Self-inserts should be written in second person, but they are usually just first-person or third-person stories starring an OC that has no name. It would be better for you, and you would suck the reader in more if you just picked a name and an OC. On top of that, these self-insert fanfictions sometimes spend an inordinate amount of time describing the reader when that is not necessary in the slightest. In the Great Gatsby, Daisy’s appearance was never described. We never know exactly what she looks like, but Fitzgerald uses the joy on her face, the curl of her lip, things that every girl has, and makes them appear beautiful to those who want her and to the audience. You do not need to describe the reader for the audience to believe that they are beautiful. You need to describe the reactions of others. I will give you an example: the following is a scene with the same premise. Steve Rogers is about to pick you up to go dancing. The first paragraph is in second person, the second paragraph is in [Y/N] [L/N].

*******

It took a week before he said yes, and you weren’t going to waste it. You reached back, contorting your arms so you could wiggle the zipper of your dress up unaided. From behind you a gentle hand overtook yours and closed the gap.

“What do you think?” You said, turning and letting the skirt float. He smiled down at you, his hands coming up to brush back your hair.

“Beautiful,” Steve said, his lips curled and his teeth flashed and he pulled your face to his. You had to stand on tiptoes to kiss him and when you did his lips were stained red with your lipstick. “Are you sure about this?” You pulled away, grabbing the last part of your outfit.

“I’m a good dancer. I promise! You haven’t seen anything yet.” He took your necklace, and you turned to let him put it on you.

“I’ve seen you in our kitchen at 2 am.” With a roll of your eyes, you swatted him. “I’m just saying!”

“I’m just saying you haven’t seen anything yet. Prepare to have your mind blown. Your socks obliterated. They won’t even be knocked off; they're going to turn to ash. That's how good I am.” He laughed, looking at your reflection in the mirror. His hands found their home around your waist and he pulled you to him. You loved it when he did that. You felt safe. Protected.

“I… what if I can’t match you?” With a frown, you turned to face him. “I, I haven’t been dancing ever. And I just, I want to make sure it’s perfect and I don’t want to step on your toes and-” with a smile, you make your way over to the record player. Your fingers trail over the vinyl, picking one of your favorites. When you turn back to face him, there’s sweet music playing.

“Come here.” He joins you in the center of your bedroom. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to lead, but you put your hands here, and here, and then you always start with your left…” The world was golden. Bright and syrupy and blissful. You never made it out of the house, but you and Steve did go dancing that night. Just the two of you.

****

*****

“What do you think?” You said, turning and letting the [f/c] skirt float. He smiled down at you, his hands coming up to brush back your [h/c] hair.

“Beautiful,” Steve said, his lips curled and his teeth flashed and he pulled your face to his. You had to stand on tiptoes to kiss him and when you did his lips were stained red with your lipstick. “[Y/N], are you sure about this?” You pulled away, grabbing the last part of your outfit.

“I’m a good dancer. I promise! You haven’t seen anything yet.” He took your necklace, and you turned to let him put it on you.

“I’ve seen you in our kitchen at 2 am.” With a roll of your [e/c] eyes, you swatted him. “I’m just saying!”

“I… what if I can’t match you?” With a frown, you turned to face him. “[Y/N]. I haven’t been dancing ever. And I just, I want to make sure it’s perfect and I don’t want to step on your toes and-” with a smile, you make your way over to the record player. Your fingers trail over the vinyl, picking one of your favorites. When you turn back to face him, there’s sweet music playing.

****

One is more immersive than the other. One has a more professional approach than the other. Writing in second person is uncommon but not invaluable, and if you can wean yourself off of [Y/N] [L/N] you will master an invaluable skill that will make you stand out as a writer versus relying on what has succeeded for others in the past. If all else fails and you can’t figure it out, just pick a name. Any name. Readers often project themselves onto the main character- that’s how you get characters with basic or generic descriptions: brown hair, brown eyes, etc. they’re trying to fill a demographic. Twilight did this, as did the Hunger Games, Divergent, and Beautiful Creatures. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s totally okay to just pick a name.

The final POV in writing is third person. This is where you have a narrator talking over the story and describing events. A third-person limited narrator only sticks to one character’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Harry Potter is written in a third-person limited POV. We only see what Harry is thinking at any given point, and we follow him through the story in third person. Third-person omniscient is a narrator that can describe the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of every character in the story. That isn’t just being able to tell the reader exactly what a person is thinking, it’s describing their feelings and reactions. It is making a statement or inference about a character in a way the main character typically wouldn’t. They are subjective narrators that let the readers draw conclusions based on their descriptions. In my opinion, a third-person omniscient story is the most difficult POV to write because it becomes more difficult to let your readers figure out things for themselves. Part of writing is letting your audience draw conclusions and make inferences on their own, and what other characters are thinking or the methods behind their actions are a big part of that. It can work, and Beartown employs an omniscient narrator, but I have found that most fanfiction follows a third-person limited or first-person POV.

In Fanfiction 101 we talked about the tropes that bore us. The ones that need to get left behind. The Editor got to talk about how much she hates twins. I recently found out that she hates clones too. However, not all tropes are terrible. Next week we’ll be talking about, “that gud emotional shit.” as it is written in my notes, and why some tropes work well and why they get used again and again.

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angstylittlecatboy · 5 years

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memories of my sprite comic nobody read

I'm not sure if I believe in the whole angel numbers thing anymore but I think they want me to reintroduce my sprite comic (saw 111 while thinking about it.) I just feel like talking about it, idk. I know nobody cares.

Barring a few standout strips I don't think Purrnout the Edgy Cat (covering my bases here, but the comic predates me meeting FP by two years, “edgy” refers to how stuff like Linkin Park and Shadow the Hedgehog is referred to as edgy) was a good comic, most of it's gags fall flat, the backgrounds and walking sprites were mostly ugly (if my more detail-oriented brother was downstairs he'd insist I do better,) and I could never get a story arc off the ground, but I only made it to kill the bore (in the description it said "updates whenever boredom strikes") and I had fun making it.

The idea was to be a sprite comic (believe me, I’d draw the comic if I were any good at drawing, but I learned my lesson from having DeviantArt) that was something of an affectionate parody of early 2000s sprite comics while avoiding a lot of the common complaints about them, also throwing in some punk/goth/emo culture. Specifically, all of it's characters were original, only one was a recolor (and his name was Recolor the Hedgehog, he was the deuteragonist and straight man, I planned to make him the only character who can't do cool superpower stuff for irony,) I didn't use backgrounds from Google Images, it didn't directly take place in the universe of something else (my idea was that it took place in a nonsense universe where every work of fiction is somehow canon, though I wanted to be pretty strict about seeing concepts and objects but never characters from other works, but other than showing Recolor losing rings, nothing ever came of it,) I tried not to mainly use reference or shock humor, and I tried to use a consistent sprite style for the characters and backgrounds (I confess to ripping effects.) I don't think it ever achieved parody of 00s sprite comics, I wanted to eventually make some stuff like DBZ-style sprite battles and teen melodrama, but I ended up making a gag-a-day strip mostly utilizing cringe comedy. At least, all the good or least bad strips are cringe comedy. I tried teen melodrama but it was mostly big lipped aligator moments that went nowhere, especially both aborted story arcs (though the latter was going to be less teen melodrama and more band melodrama.) If I reupload the comic, the arc comics won’t be reuploaded with the rest as I consider them non-canon since neither got past two strips and the first attempt would have honestly ruined the comic if it finished. I guess there were two continuous strips where Purrnout commited tax fraud (I think this predated the Yoshi meme) but I don’t see that as a story arc. Actually the first three comics were sorta a story arc but they mostly just introduced the main two, explained why Purrnout is living in an apartment (I think I needed to explain this as I intended it as a Chekrov’s Gun for a later story arc,) and made some obscure Green Day references. Maybe the arc comics could get re-added at a different place on the timeline if I felt like completing the arcs. A huge problem is that I didn’t make an outline for them tbh.

The style I settled on for the backgrounds and sprites was that of the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The panels were in either that system’s resolution or one close to it (they were tiny.) I ignored palette limitations, but so did most sprite comics.

I must admit that the title character is a self-insert fantasy to some extent, he was admittedly, like 16-year-old me but cooler. Well, not really cooler since the comic revolves around him being a loser, but he was an emancipated minor and a good punk/alt rock guitarist, both tying into my fantasies at the time, and he was a lonely emo teenager trying to not be mainstream. If I brought the comic back, I’d continue to write Purrnout as 16YO me and not as 18YO me. I’m still a loser, but my spiritual beliefs, dedication to kindness, and inconsistent attitudes towards life WOULD NOT mesh with the character. Purrnout cannot have reverence to things that control the world or talk about peace and love, he needs to be angry at the world and be a bit of a deliberately insensitive asshole to the people he doesn’t like. Sort of a much less extreme version of an incel (I identified as such at the time.) Wouldn’t call him a Mary Sue, though it’s not really my call to make since I’m the author and this is the only creative work of mine that can kinda be considered “completed” that I’m still fond of in a way. Maybe I’ll cringe someday, but not today.

There’s not much to say about Recolor the Hedgehog, he’s very much a pretty normal guy other than having nerdy interests and Purrnout as a best friend. He more or less exists to be a straight man. He was a composite of my brother and an ex-friend.

I might as well mention the comic’s other non-antagonist character since I’ve already talked about both Purrnout and Recolor. Love the Golden Retriever, a rich, smart, pretty normie girl with a Pollyanna viewpoint, a wish to heal people like Purrnout, and a crush on Recolor. She was based on a variety of girls who tried to become my friend out of pity and were nice enough but we didn’t connect. Purrnout finds her annoying, while she considers Purrnout a friend. I also introduced another one, but she was part of the first aborted attempt at an arc.

A third main character was planned as well, but she was supposed to be introduced in a story arc that I planned but never even tried to start. She wouldn’t make it into the comic if I start it up again, at least not without heavy modification, as I eventually met someone who was very similar to the character I had in mind. So similar that adding them now would look creepy.

The comic’s most common antagonist was a cat named Muffin. He was basically Chad Thundercock, probably the most shallow character in a comic that wasn’t long enough to get deep. I also introduced another character intended as an antagonist in an admittedly-hamfisted way named Felicity the Once-Golden Retriever, Love’s best friend who used to be a highly optimistic normie with a promising modelling career before Muffin cheated on her, and then became an angsty anti-society rebel who thinks cutting her hair and dying her fur darker makes her ugly. She hated Purrnout because she felt that Purrnout hadn’t suffered like she had and is moping for no reason, which annoys her. I think I was trying to do a straw feminist character minus the actual feminism, but don’t quote me on that. I had a third antagonist that I wanted to introduce, my favorite antagonist made for the comic actually, and he already cameoed, but I never ended up writing him. Maybe if I had my PC through Summer/Fall 2018 I would’ve made more (the last one was Spring 2018.)

But anyway, it doesn’t really matter. My brother was the only person who really read Purrnout, but I do remember him getting a chuckle out of it. I posted it on Tumblr (now deleted) and I got one follower, who was likely a bot. I never posted a link to it on my main Tumblr, partially because I wanted to see it gain an organic audience first (it didn’t lol) and partially because I was scared of it being seen as cringe. You may have come across it if you browsed the “sprite comic” tag on here. I know Tumblr is a bad place to host webcomics (at least if it’s the only place you’re hosting the webcomic) but it’s free, I was familiar with it, and I wasn’t making any plans to profit off of or take the comic seriously (it ran Summer 2016 - Spring 2018 and only had twenty strips.)

I’m still hesitant to bring back the comic because I honestly want to use the universe (most of it, obviously modifications would need to be made) for a video game idea I have, though that would be 10+ years in the future if I ever have credibility as a game developer since I couldn’t see myself doing that one without a team (”3D hack n’ slash platformer” is a lot harder than “2D JRPG.”) Hell, I originally made the sprite for a Zelda II clone I wanted to make with Purrnout using side mounted guns (because Shadow the Edgehog,) but for some reason, be it laziness (not wanting to re-learn Game Maker) or wanting to use the character for something more character driven, I ended up making a sprite comic instead. Another route I could do is redesigning and renaming Recolor, and removing all sprites ripped from other games, but I’m extremely hesitant to mess with Recolor’s design since his worried face is a running gag and if I did continue I’d still want to eventually make jokes that don’t work without him being a Sonic recolor.

Also, it wasn’t a furry webcomic, at least not entirely. “pet sized” (cats, dogs, wolves, foxes, etc.) characters would stand on fours while characters of much smaller or much larger stature (cows, hedgehogs,) than that would be anthropomorphic.

#journal #sprite comic #memories #purrnout

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