#i think those r my favorite kinds of panels :( or pages

[lemongogo]

#bro i cant do this. #the panels in quick succession . like tanjirou witnessing rngks death #memories of his mom. the flowers the trees #his image in nature vs his haori in the sunlight #oooooooooooooooooooooooo...........................o.................... #hmh.hn.hmmmmmmmm #i think those r my favorite kinds of panels :( or pages #like the ones tht . dont require any dialogue . they hit so hard #im . rngk movie tomorrow........combusts #or technically later today?? bc time difference? #kny #kny spoilers #kny manga #rengoku gaiden #rengoku #akaza #tanjiro

[tessatechaitea]

Cerebus #8 (1979)

This cover doesn't help me remember what this issue is about.

Having only ever read the first half of Cerebus via the collected stories in the Cerebus phonebooks, this is the first time I'm seeing most of the early covers of Cerebus. I probably started reading the monthly issues during "Flight" but had purchased the "Melmoth" back issues. So I'll be getting a lot of new material in the covers and the Aardvark Comments section all the way up through "Jaka's Story." In Note from the Publisher, Deni explains that Cerebus is currently selling 4,000 copies a month. That's four thousand dollars a month! Of course, Dave probably has to sell at half the cover price, so maybe that's more like two thousand. And then there's the expense of paying for your own printing and shipping. I have no idea what that might cost but let's pretend it's another thousand dollars. That leaves Dave and Deni with one thousand dollars per month before taxes and art equipment! And I know I'm being way too optimistic so let's say it's more like $750. In Canadian dollars! That's probably about five hundred American dollars! But then again, this was 1979 dollars and cars were about six thousand dollars back then. You could buy a house for twenty grand. So by Issue #8, Dave was either really starting to make a lot of money or heading toward financial ruin. I'm not sure why I even began this paragraph when I have no idea what I'm talking about. Although, four thousand copies of an independent comic book by the eighth issue? That's good fucking marketing. No wonder Dave Sim became the God of Self-Publishing. In his Swords of Cerebus essay, Dave Sim continues to explain how he was growing as a writer and artist. It's the kind of thing a fan of Sim's work enjoys reading but not the kind of thing that I can make entertaining in a brief synopsis. So fuck off to the next paragraph already. We're done here. At the end of the last issue, Cerebus escaped his battle with a gigantic Black Sun spider god. But he did not escape as unscathed as I maybe led everybody to believe. He was actually bitten and poisoned by the thing and now he's wandering the desert (unless it's the tundra (which is probably a definitive desert but what am I? A reader of The Farmer's Almanac?!), hallucinating and probably dying. Some Conniptin soldiers find Cerebus and take them back to their Commander's quarters. The Commander isn't the main leader of the army; the main leader is some cocaine snorting prince who thinks he's a god. He wants Cerebus made into a bath robe which would mean Cerebus would get the last laugh. Because remember how badly Cerebus' fur smells when it gets wet? Ha ha! That joke was so funny Dave used it five or six times in the Bran Mak Mufin issue. The Captain and the Commander make plans to oust the young Lord and take over the army themselves. But they need Cerebus by morning for their plan and Cerebus isn't healthy enough. So they take him to the army's doctor for a few Star Trek jokes that seem cheesy and overly done (but maybe not so much in 1979? Or is that the whole point of the running joke here? Because it's a tired format that Sim subverts at the end?) but which ends with a pretty fantastic punchline.

To really appreciate this joke, I think you have to remember what the world was like in 1979. If you weren't born or cognizant of the world at that time, I can't explain it to you. It's like trying to explain Ringo's obsession with the hole in his pocket to somebody who has never seen The Yellow Submarine and who also doesn't know who The Beatles are and has also never heard music or seen animation. Yeah, the 70s were that fucking cool.

The Captain and the Commander take Cerebus out later and point him in the direction of a campfire. They tell them the men around the fire drugged him and they should pay. Feverish and sick, Cerebus runs up to the small camp and begins slaughtering the four men around it. He hallucinates that three of them are Elrod and one of them is Sophia. So what the reader learns this issue is that Cerebus is ready to kill all of the other characters of his comic book at a moment's notice. How The Roach and Weisshaupt and Elrod and Rick and Astoria and Cirin last as long as they do is a miracle. Or it's just part of the contrived story. I guess if it were real, it would seem like a miracle. But since this is all written by Dave Sim, it's just the way it was meant to be. I'm not sure what their eventual plan is for Cerebus as this just seemed to be a test. I guess he's their Manchurian Candidate? The four mercenaries Cerebus killed were Hsifan. The Commander and Captain are Conniptin. I have no idea what these things mean. I think Hsifans make really good ninja assassins though so killing four of them is pretty damned impressive.

Like I said. Killing twenty-five Hsifans is pretty damned impressive.

This story highlights one of Cerebus' bigger life problems: he's constantly being pulled into other people's stories. If he's not trying to steal some treasure to get more gold crowns so he can drink more ale, he's slaughtering other mercenaries to get more gold to drink more ale. And when he's not doing either of those things, it's usually because he's gotten caught up in somebody else's story. I suppose that's what you need to expect when you're some kind of prophetic Messiah. Your story has already been told and you're just time's puppet. But — and I think this is the most important part — something about being an aardvark allows Cerebus to tell destiny and fate to fuck off. So quite often, Cerebus just walks away from the story he got sucked in without a care to its resolution. It has something to do with aardvarks being soulless and less with aardvarks being hermaphrodites. Because I think maybe that's just Cerebus. The Commander and Captain want to make Cerebus their new leader because they can't stand the selfish, greedy fops who rule. The Conniptin motto is "Might makes right! Fight, fight, fight!" Which you really can't argue with unless you're a talented fighter. So Cerebus is offered the job which he can refuse if he doesn't mind having his guts spilled on the floor.

Seems like Cerebus' future is pretty cut and dry. If you forget that he's an aardvark.

Cerebus decides he'd rather escape than be a puppet of the Commander. But after knocking out the guard and trudging some way across the snow, he thinks twice. He decides having a warm place to sleep and free food are a better deal than running for his life from vengeful Conniptins. He also likes the idea of leading an army. If you're not into Cerebus as a mercenary captain, don't worry. It won't last more than one issue!

Damn, I'd forgotten about this line. It used to be one of my favorites to quote whenever being offered some payment or reward of some kind. "What's better than X? Mayhap two Xes!"

Fred Hembeck writes in to Aardvark Comment this month as well as, if not as famous as, David R. Wooten. Pretty sure I've seen David's name in quite a few letters pages of DC comics. The Singles Page is a strip by John Barclay called "Small Potatoes!" It's twelve panels of a couple of guys singing "Dude Looks Like a Lady" on, I guess, a street corner. They sing, over and over again, "DooDuckGlackaLayda!" It's social commentary of some sort. I think. Maybe he's just making fun of the repetitive nature of the song, or any song you're forced to hear out in public by buskers and bucket drummers. Who can tell?! Humor was different in 1988 (the Singles Page is only from the Bi-Weekly! That's why the date is different from the comic). Cerebus #8 Rating: A. There's something happening here. What it is ain't a standard comic book. But it's not what a lot of people thought of as an underground comic book. For one, not once has Cerebus walked around with an erect penis. What was this nonsense not being published by DC or Marvel but also not being weird animal porn that is also personal confessional?! I wish I hadn't been so ashamed of purchasing adult material that my mom might raise an eyebrow at but then say nothing at all. One time she cleaned my bathroom where I had a playboy under the sink. Instead of saying anything, she just straightened it up and left it. I couldn't look at her for weeks. Although I was pretty relieved because at least a week before that, I had about twenty Playboys in there! I can't remember why I moved them but at least she didn't know the extent of my wanking! She probably thought, "Oh how cute. One magazine! And the centerfold is an African-American lady. My boy ain't no jerk off racist!" instead of thinking, "How many fucking porn mags does he need? Does he do anything but jerk off? Oh God! I'm not touching anything of his ever again! Plus isn't this copy of Penthouse the one with an underage Traci Lords?! I wonder how much that will be worth in thirty years?" Of course she thought that last thought not realizing that thirty years later, it would be considered child porn. No, I don't own it anymore, you pervs. I threw out all of those porn mags when I went to college because I didn't know where to hide them! Also I was underage when looking at the Traci Lords' Penthouse so it wasn't weird. She was older than me in those pictures!

#Dave Sim #Cerebus

[talltalesandbedtimestories]

A View To A Winchester (Part 5)

Series Page

Summary: Julie’s starting a new life after divorce in a home with a very nice view.

A Dean X OFC story. No idea how long it will be, but I’ve got time on my hands. I got this idea staring out the view of my home office window and thinking how nice it would be to have Dean Winchester to ogle. I’m thinking it will go the fluffy route, with some angst, and maybe some smut down the line. Not sure yet.

Section Word Count:  3,000

Section Warnings: fluff, angst, some R-rated language, Dean flirting/arousing/eating/breathing - the man needs his own warning label

~~~~~

Julie had done some reconnaissance before heading out her front door. She stared at Wes and Samuel’s backyard for some minutes prior. There was no sign of them. Samuel’s SUV wasn’t in the driveway. She figured she had a few minutes to take the walk around and past their corner house in safety. They wouldn’t assault her with questions about where she was off to, taking a stroll she never took in her neighborhood. And they wouldn’t ask what she had in that box she was holding so carefully.

This can’t end well, can it? Her thoughts of Dean were confused and irrational. She was going by pure feeling. And that hadn’t always proved the best course of action.

He’s too fucking gorgeous and too much of a flirt. Guys like that will usually sleep with anyone that tug at the bait. Her father had been that way. Handsome. Could have had his pick of any woman he wanted. And even though he’d one hell of a wife in her mother, he insisted on rutting with anything that came sniffing. Mom had finally had enough twenty years ago and divorced him. She would have taken him for everything she could, if he’d anything worth taking.

And, here she was, having just gone through an eerily similar situation with her now ex-husband… walking up the incline to Dean Winchester’s front door.

Maybe it’s genetic? I could blame this very bad idea on that. Tonight, that’s what I’ll do. She glanced around the side of the house she never saw up close. The cream-colored siding could use a power washing, but the front lawn was neat and tidy. Just like his backyard. There was no landscaping to speak of and the concrete driveway had seen better days. 

His Impala, seated on her throne yards away from the door, demanded the spotlight. The slick black paint shone more than usual. Julie wondered if he’d taken her through a car wash that day. Or maybe he’d washed her himself. Then, she thought about Dean wet and soapy, rubbing his body all over that car, hosing her down. Hose me down, Jesus. Her brain short circuited for a second.

I could turn around and head back. It’s not too late. I could just leave it on the step and text him when I get back home. The sky was turning a dusty pink with purple ribbons. 

No doorbell. The berry red front door teased and tested the outreached fingers of one hand as she balanced the dessert in the other.

She pulled her hand back. Eyes closed. Head tilted. There was a split second where she’d decided to leave. An immediate flash in her thoughts of Dean’s smiling face, those green eyes, those lips, overpowered her senses. She opened her eyes to the sound of her betraying knuckles as they rapped on the door.

You are not desperate. You are going after something you want.

She waited. Some time went by. An awkward amount of time.

Maybe it wasn’t loud enough. Maybe he’s in the shower. Maybe he’s sleeping. Maybe this really was a bad idea. Oh God, what if he has a woman over?

She turned and darted down the small landing and got halfway across the walkway when she heard him. “Julie?”

She pressed her lids together in embarrassment, took a quick breath, and prepared to face the music that was Dean Winchester.

Damn. He was even more tempting than the last time she’d seen him. Surprise overtook his exquisite features. A blank expression gazed at her, open and waiting. His lips parted. Grey sweatpants and a cadet blue Henley draped over his frame. But fabric still hugged taut muscles and beautiful curves. She tried to regain her focus and stared at the ground by his... Shit, and he’s barefoot. Even his feet are fucking perfect. His toes wiggled on the concrete. Just take me now, Dean. She sighed and, realizing no part of him would be unattractive or neutral territory, returned his inspection.

“Is everything okay?” He looked past her onto the street and did a quick survey of the area around him. She nodded. His brow furrowed and then his gaze landed on the box in her hands.

“I made a cake.” Her arms outstretched. It was the only motion she could think to make at the time. “Thought you might want a piece.”

“Oh.” A small smile danced over his mouth in a wave.

She retracted the box back to her chest. “I should have called first. Sorry.”

“No. It’s more than fine. I just…” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t deserve such special treatment.”

Have you looked at yourself? “Kind of selfishness on my part.”

He gave her that quizzical look again.

“Want to see how much you enjoy my dessert, up close and personal.” She quipped.

He licked his lips on instinct. “You’re giving me lots of opportunities to not behave myself with this mouth o’ mine.”

Jesus. “Is that a preemptive apology, or a promise?” She couldn’t help it. He brought out the flirt in her, full on. Her reaction was like a runaway train with no conductor at the controls.

His laugh was deep, sexy. “Come on in. I won’t apologize for the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.” He nudged the front door open with a bare foot and stuffed his hands into hidden pockets. A step back cleared the threshold.

She walked towards him. When she got closer to his figure, she had to look up to meet his gaze. Almost a foot taller, his presence made her feel small and vulnerable. The grin didn’t help to calm the sensations. He uses Irish Spring soap. She wiggled her nose at the clean, fresh out of the shower scent his skin exuded.

The house wasn’t much on the inside in terms of construction. But it possessed a style somewhere between mountain man and perpetual bachelor. All Dean. Dark paneled wood confirmed a 70s architectural build that had never been updated. The open living room and kitchen area felt smaller than it was because of the dim lighting. She squinted through her glasses. A floor lamp was on and near a muted, flat screen television atop a console table. Something was blowing up on the screen, flashing and illuminating the lived-in space. She stepped in farther. Her flats skimmed off a small area rug to tap onto wood laminate. Stale beer and spicy alcohol permeated the stagnant air in the room. She wondered again how much he drank on a regular basis. The front door click froze her in place.

He appeared at her side. “Let me.” His eager open hands waited. The box dropped into them. “Whoa. Heavy. What’d you make?” He strolled over to the breakfast bar along the edge of the kitchen. The broad shoulders got her all swoony. Bowlegs weren’t as obvious in the baggy sweatpants. The curvy ass, however, was quite prominent. He waited for an answer with an expectant look after placing the dessert on the counter.

“Oh. Just a white cake with chocolate frosting. Um, have you ever had a Tastykake Chocolate Junior?”

“More than likely.” He shrugged. “Convenience store grub was sustenance for many, many years.”

She filed that bit of information away for future dissection. “It’s a pretty spot on flavor recreation. They were my favorite growing up.”

“Should I slice it up then? See if it jogs my memory?”

She smiled. “That’s why I’m here.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Make yourself comfortable.” He pointed to the living room. “Move whatever you need to.”

Even the couch is covered in plaid. An open bag of chips occupied a spot where she guessed he’d been sitting. A couple beer bottles were on the coffee table. Again.

She debated on whether to sit on the armchair or the tiny lumberjack couch. There were some books and papers on the chair. She plopped on the empty side of the two-seater. The chips were placed on the table after a careful bag fold over. 

Her body shifted, ancy and excited. Should she do the relaxed, one leg folded under the other? How far of a tilt in his general direction? Had she dressed up too much? She tugged at the low-neck paisley peasant top she’d thrown on with her dark jeans. A finger wiped at the corner of her mouth, reminding her of the shiny gloss applied before she left the house. A faint cherry flavor hit the tip of her tongue.

Her gaze wandered back to him while she continued her inner debate on the best position. He’d gotten out plates and rested a rather long knife on the counter. His fingers lifted the box lid. “Oh, man,” he mumbled to himself. He reached in and pulled out the cake, his focus never leaving the treat. Her eyes widened when he grabbed the knife and flipped it in his hands like a skilled warrior. The blade slid into the cake without hesitation. He repeated the action three more times and then served the slices. His brow lifted and he looked over to Julie. “A cake like this deserves milk, but I’m fresh out. Water do? Beer?”

“Um, water’s good.” She was still getting over the display he’d put on.

He nodded, grabbing two bottles from the fridge and wedging them between his arm and side. He strolled over with a plate in each hand and offered one to Julie. The waters dropped on the table.

“Wow. You don’t play around.” She laughed at the enormous pieces he’d doled out.

“I do not… at least when it comes to dessert.” He settled into the seat beside her, thighs splayed out, encroaching into her territory. He pointed at Julie with the tines of his fork. “And, if you can’t finish yours, I will.” He leaned back and brought the plate to perch at his midsection.

She scooted back, deciding a cross legged approach would have to do to avoid brushing against him. The cake plate rested on her lap. Her gaze traced his body from his very close knee all the way back to his face. “You don’t even know if you’ll like it yet.”

He scoffed. “Please.” His grin turned playful. Yes, I could definitely stare at this man for an indefinite amount of time. “Ready?” He inquired with a side glance.

Her cheeks rose along with the wide smile she returned him. “Ready.”

He cleared his throat in deference to the upcoming act. Julie pursed her lips together. His fork sank into the dessert. “I’ve got to get a decent amount of both cake and frosting for this to be a fair sample to judge.” He nodded and tilted the forkful in inspection. His jaw dropped like a nutcracker. He shoveled the mound of cake into his mouth and chewed. Eyes shut as the chews continued. There were no audible cues expressing enjoyment this time, compared to the meal they shared on the patio. The silence was gut wrenching, but Dean’s physical actions were making Julie’s mouth water. She wanted to dive on top of him and latch lips onto that pout. The man was legit dampening her panties. She squirmed in her cross-legged position.

His eyes bolted open and he swallowed. Dean cocked his head at her. “That… is… amazing.”

She stifled a giggle rising in her throat. “Yeah? Not just saying that cause I’m right here?”

His brow dipped down, looking a bit pained in his expression. “I’m a straight shooter.”

I bet.

He attacked the cake again. Julie tried it for herself to see if he was right. She nodded at her handiwork when the smooth chocolate frosting melted in her mouth. It hadn’t gotten grainy from over whipping.

“Thanks.” Dean came up for air after a single piece remained on his plate.

“Welcome.”

“So, is this your interrogation tactic? Getting me into a sugary-stupor so I answer all your burning questions?” He grinned at her.

She stopped in mid-chew and swallowed.

“Cause it’s a pretty good play.” His eyelids looked heavy as he finished the last piece. He tossed the plate onto the table and grabbed one of the beer bottles. He went with the one leg folded under the other position this time and shifted at her, full tilt.

She cleared her throat, feeling the heat of his gaze. A long swig of beer and smack of his lips warmed her cheeks. “I was just being neighborly.” She lifted a shoulder.

“Hm.” White light from the television danced over his face. His stare seemed chiseled out of marble in the strobing spotlight. “Coming over unannounced. And, considering you didn’t want me in your house… why’d you think I’d invite you in?” His jaw clenched after the question.

Shit. “I had cake.” It was half statement, half question.

“Secret weapon aside,” he mumbled, “chocolate frosting wouldn’t protect you from… well, you don’t know anything about me.” His eyes drew her in further, danger and searing intensity illuminated with each flash. 

“I’d like to know you,” she whispered back without thinking, inwardly cursing at the admission.

He gave her a small smile. “Might not like what you find. I’m much better if you take me in small doses.” His hand lifted. A flat palm, dangling the bottleneck between two fingers, slid in the air. “Deal with what’s on the surface. Digging deeper is usually a disappointment.” He drank again, then thumbed the bottle opening.

She sighed. “Well, I guess we just do the good neighbor thing and keep things civil, distant.”

He nodded. “Would be for the best.”

She dropped the plate onto the table. “Should I go then?”

He shook his head. “I like your company. Almost as sweet as that cake.”

“That’s all surface stuff.” She tested.

“Is it now?” He leaned in a little closer. His arm draped over the seat back. “Just proving my point.” A grin.

Julie held his gaze and inhaled. “Spill with some surface stuff, then. To appease my curiosity.”

“Okay.” The word dripped out of his mouth, slow, like honey. “I’m 43.” He waited.

Julie smiled. “Are you expecting me to tell you how old I am?”

“I’m not stupid enough to guess.”

Her hand wiggled a finger in the air. “Point for you.” But she chose not to answer.

The triumphant, pleased with himself smile returned. “Moved here a couple years back. Used to work with my brother. Now, I take care of business solo.”

She nodded. “I won’t ask what kind of business.”

“Thanks. That wouldn’t be a simple explanation.” Another sip of beer. “Uh,” he cleared his throat in thought, “I listen to classic rock… nothing else is real music, anyway.” He caught the rise of her eyebrow. “In my opinion, of course. Been all over the country. Driven through almost every state, even Alaska. I hate flying. Oh, and I love my Baby.”

“Your baby?” Her heart stopped.

“My car.” He clarified. A hint of nostalgia passed over his face. “Been to hell and back in her. She belonged to my Dad.”

“She’s a beauty. You take good care of her.” Julie didn’t push for more, marveling at the little chips in his exterior.

“Family’s important to you?” Dean asked.

It made her pause. “The ones that matter are. The ones that don’t give up on you, even when it would be easier to. Those people are important to me. Those are the ones I’m loyal to.”

The smile he produced held an air of… it took her a few seconds to identify it. Respect. 

“Thing is,” Dean whispered, “I think you’re a decent woman. And I consider myself a good judge of character.” His eyes peeked down to her chest for a brief instant. “And, if I do what I want to right now… well, that might make the whole neighbor thing awkward. I can be an ass,” he licked his lips, “after.”

“After what?” Nervous energy caused her fingers to fiddle with her eyeglasses.

His knees brushed against her thigh. Warm fingers skimmed up her forearm. Her breath hitched. His hand traveled up over her shoulder and swept the ends of her brown hair to rest on her back. A thumb dipped into the hollow past her clavicle. He skirted under the collar of her shirt, not asking permission. Not needing to. The thick pads of his fingers massaged the skin. His eyes never left her face. “After.” He repeated.  

Charges of electricity pulsed and awakened the cells in her body. Thighs squeezed together while her mouth opened, struggling to make heads or tails of what would be the best course of action. “Being an ass would mean no more dessert.”

He smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “It would.” His fingers retreated from her skin. “Shouldn’t risk it, then.”

They sat in silence for a minute, the moment gone and the space now awkward. Once she felt her heart rate return to a normal beat, she clapped her hands softly on her knees. “Well, I’m going to go. Keep the cake.” She rose. “Figure out how much you want to keep.” She stared down at the confused look on his face. “And bring me the rest tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“When you come by to mow my lawn.”

He smiled. “Still want me to?”

“Of course.”

“Okay then.” Even though she hurried, expecting to beat him to the door, he managed to get there first again. “Still wanna get to know me?”

She nodded. “I’ve got lots of time.”

He sighed. “I might not be that patient.”

“I didn’t say it’d be easy. For either of us.” She let herself out and stepped into the dusk.

“Julie.” He called out. She turned to take in that perfect figure in the doorway. “Let me walk you back.”

“I’m just around the corner.”

“Just let me.” He raised a finger, dashing away for a few seconds, and returned wearing slippers. A quick lock of the door and he slid down the walk to join her.

She shook her head in protest. “You really don’t have to.”

“Too late.” He slowed his pace and strolled with her in the night. The neighborhood only had a few streetlights scattered throughout. They were flickering in that fickle in between before true night enveloped the area. Their short walk was in the shadows of trees and Wes and Samuel’s house.

“Who’s going to walk you back?” she quipped.

“I’ll be fine.” She couldn’t see his face well but sensed a smirk. His slippers shuffled on the asphalt.

When they rounded the corner and her house was in sight, she raised a hand. “There. You can watch me from here.”

“Uh-uh. To the door.” He trudged up the hill.

“You’re quite chivalrous for an apparent ass.”

He chuckled. “I do try sometimes.”

The rest of the walk was in silence, side by side, until Julie took the lead up the narrow concrete path. She bounced up the two steps to the square slab that was her tiny porchway and turned back. It was quick enough to catch that he’d been admiring her ass as he stood on the path by the bottom step.

She was thankful he couldn’t see the blush she felt creeping up on her cheeks. “Well, good deed done.”

His hands plunged into his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He nodded. And waited.

She sighed and pulled out the key to unlock her door. “Are you worried I’m going to get attacked by a monster hiding in the bushes?”

He grinned. “Something like that.”

The door acquiesced and Julie stepped inside. “Satisfied.”

“I will be when you lock the door behind you.”

She shook her head and whispered through the narrowing gap. “Night, Dean.”

“Good Night, Julie.”

Part 6

Series Page

#dean winchester fanfiction #spn fanfic series #supernatural fanfiction #spnfanficpond #dean x ofc #dean winchester fluff #dean winchester angst #spn fanfiction

[comicteaparty]

July 13th-July 19th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 13th, 2020 to July 19th, 2020.  The chat focused on Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R by snuffysam.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R by snuffysam~! (http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until July 19th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

carcarchu

I'm only 5 pages in so far, but this comic has a great sense of humour i've already laughed out loud at some of the jokes

Deo101 [Millennium]

god yes the jokes all hit so well

carcarchu

i noticed an error on tapas, page 42 and page 45 are identical

Deo101 [Millennium]

oh no

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

@carcarchu fixed, thank you for pointing that out!

carcarchu

i'm 63 pages in now and i'm really enjoying this comic so far. it's solidly paced with an interesting cast of characters. the banter is really fun to read and i'm loving how the world building expands with each new character introduced

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

glad to hear it!!!

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Damn I feel bad for only reading this now

I love the comedic pauses in between the jokes, and it makes the situation more awkward and hilarious for me!

Also fourth wall breaking and lampshades

Feather J. Fern

I really like the line "I can't hear you from over there." Lampshading why people monologue but they are stepping away from the listener

I really enjoy these types of jokes, this comic has really good comedic timing.

Also It is long, but easy to digest, so I'm speeding through quite easily.

Also Sir Pokes a Lot!! My favourite character, and you killed them! (I love the animated parts of the comic too)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

thank u!!!

and yeah, sorry about sir pokes-a-lot

Deo101 [Millennium]

Can not wait for y'all to meet my fave

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Wait WHAT SIR POKES A LOT DIES WHAT THE HELL

Oh yes, the animated parts always get me by surprise and I love them too

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

imo, there's an even sadder death in book 2...

RebelVampire

I like that the beginning just has a lot of comedy even while establishing the exposition parts. So you don't really even notice you're learning about characters, the world, and so forth, because the jokes just really make the entire experience vastly entertaining. My favorite moment in the comic is probably now when all the governors show up and Electric Zebra to fight the demon. Cause it was like a party of badasses, had lots of great comedy, lots of great fighting, and just all around it was nice to see everyone else embrace Mizuki's strengths too. My favorite character is a tie between Electric Zebra and Sword Warrior/Taci. Electric Zebra because I love that he works for the gov but also hates the gov while also moonlighting as a musician. He just all around is a fun character for me who could do no wrong. Taci I like because he's simultaneously arrogant, smart, caring, and selfish. I also like that he just blatantly announces his plans to become dictator. As for the art, I really love the colors. The entire comic is just a really colorful experience without being over-saturated, and I really think that makes it stand out, regardless of the other 3D aspects and such that make it stand out as well, of course. I like in the current book it explores the nature of making friends. Since Mizuki is trying hard to make friends with Stella, and Stella isn't having that. So I enjoy this exploration in terms of kind of what do you even do in those situations and how can you peacefully co-exist and overcome that grump gap.

As for the overall related content and the comic's strength, these are one in the same for me: the comedy. This is by far one of the few comic's that clicks for me in terms of comedy. Not only does it have fantastic timing, but a lot of it is really smart with lots of callbacks to things that happened - and damn do I love that sort of continuity. It's not even just the one-liner jokes though. Sometimes it's just the stories overall way of solving problems in comedic ways that is the best, so all in all, just a great entertaining comic.

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

The dialogue is so funny to go through, I love the way Snuffy characterises and just has fun!

also the cell shaded rendering is so cool! I love the aesthetic and design !

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

@RebelVampire regarding continuity stuff, this is basically the ending of book 2 lmao(edited)

mathtans

Hm, so this is somehow a trickier one for me to analyze since I've been reading it since the first CTP. Admittedly I fell behind after Book2 (busy months) but I just got caught back up (SpaceMySpace...) so I guess I'll do some further pondering and check back in later. ^^

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

ok so i finished re-reading my comic the only joke that made me legit laugh out loud this re-read was the dancing in panel 3 of this page: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/255 just because i completely forgot i put that gag in there lol

tbh my favorite character in the comic is taci. like, before his introduction, the comic was incomplete, in a sense. but with him in the picture, all the writing just fits together. (even past the fact that books 3-5 wouldn't happen without taci being a total weirdo who mailed hundreds of letters to the galaxy knights under fake names, lol)

Deo101 [Millennium]

taci is also my favorite,,, as you know, aha

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Given the comic’s emphasis on comedy, what was your favorite joke insofar? What made it stand out to you compared to the others? In what ways does the comic’s comedy stand apart from other comics?

10. What do you think of Mizuki’s tactics for using magic? Is she crazy as many characters imply, or do you think she’ll continue to make it work far into the future? How will this decision affect her skills as a strategist?

11. What do you think King Zebugu is doing participating in Galaxy Knights trials? Do you think he’s finally changed his ways, or is he up to something? Also, will this help Taci achieve his own goals?

12. Do you think Mizuki will be able to become a Galaxy Knight? If so, what other trials will she have to work through? Additionally, what will become of some of the other characters such as Stella, Taci, and Pejiba in the trials?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Deo101 [Millennium]

Okay my favorite joke so far was DEFINITELY this one, it's the first one I think that really made me like, fully laugh out loud. I dont know why it got to me so much. Also it made me love cahe very much as well.

SPOILER

Also I think Mizuki's magic probably IS something to do with her abillity to copy other's magic really easily, and probably more efficiently.

and kinda combo of 11 and 12 but I hope they all become galaxy knights and be friends :)

(including king zebugu)

back about the magic thing I KNOW weve been told anyone can do any magic, it's just very draining and hard, so they use their own magics always... but People have also commented on her ability to actually utilize other's magics SO i feel like theres more to it than just her being incredibly stubborn.

RebelVampire

I'm sorry Cahe. You used to be my #2 fave character, but then Taci.

Deo101 [Millennium]

LITERALLY SAME

RebelVampire

My favorite joke changes each reading, but right now I'm gonna go with Book 2 when Mizuki is remarking about forgetting something important and then we see Enetoro still stalling for the talent show. It was such great timing since it was long enough most readers probably forgot about it in the front of their mind but still recent enough you're like oh yeah. And I just like that long ass joke setup for the entire book. As for how the comic's comedy in general stands apart, just superior timing. A lot of comedy is about timing, and this comic is just spot on everytime. As for how Mizuki uses magic, it's probably a bit of both. She is crazy, but she will probably make it work for a long time to come just out of sheer force of will and stubbornness. But I think her having to learn so many abilities and find ways to utilize them together can only increase her skills as a strategist, since it allows her to assess the full potential of every ability and command others to reach that potential. King Zebugu is probably up to something again. I don't think he's as evil in the first books, but I def think there's something going on that he isn't telling anyone that he'll reveal towards the end and say, "Well good luck Mizuki peace out." I don't think it'll help Taci though. I think Taci will just wind up getting roped in and never get even one step closer to becoming the dictator he always wants to be. I do think Mizuki will become a Galaxy Knight. As for other trials, I'm not entirely sure. I imagine there's gonna be some sort of tournament arc though cause otherwise how is Stella supposed to say something about how this is a true contest for warriors. I think Stella will befriend Mizuki, and Taci will at least win something he can brag about. I think Pejiba won't win though, but I also think Pejiba would be content to try again and just go back to skipping around with Cahe.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

There's... somewhat of a tournament arc coming up? The structure is gonna be weird compared to other tournament arcs, but it's definitely one of the more interesting chapters I've written lol. So... have fun speculating on that for the next three years lmao

Regarding some of the other questions - there's currently enough information in the comic to figure out all the 11th-hour plot twists for Book 3. I won't say there's enough information to easily figure the plot out, lol, but you could figure it out. Though - there is absolutely something going on that King Zebugu isn't telling anyone about (it's kind of a habit at this point, lol).

mathtans

1. You know something I like about the beginning? The links to the original artwork. It's just a subtle thing down at the bottom, but it simultaneously shows the progress made by the artist, and allows anyone thinking 'wow I could never do anything like that' to realize that it didn't happen overnight.

Also the gradual world building is really well done. You don't get too much at once.

2. I think my favourite moment remains how Mizuki defeated Zebugu near the end of Book 1. It was just really clever in terms of reincorporating something subtle (the comic's good at that in general) to turn the tables, and played off his personality more than his magic, which was also clever. There's lots of other great moments too, but that one stands out over time, I think because we were looking at a climax there.

3. Favorite character is probably Zaxaty. Yeah, yeah, mathtans going for the major lesbian, big surprise, but hear me out. She's connected to the King, a major antagonist, but has her own personality and I don't think she's afraid to slap him down if needed. She might even end up connected to the major protagonist (because of reader ships). She's into art, there's that whole bizarre roller skating thing just to point out she's not normal. I possibly enjoy hairstyles like hers. And she sustained major injuries in the big Book 2 battle but sucked it up and still did what she could. So there.

(Before Zaxaty it was probably Pejiba. She seemed smart and capable.)

4. Character interaction... possibly Mizuki and Taci, simply because I tend to enjoy their interactions with everyone else in the cast. So when they get together, whew... possibly related, Mizuki has a tendency to be oblivious due to inexperience or failing her perception checks, while Taci can be oblivious because he's so full of himself. Their battle and the Sword Warrior revelation was another good moment overall.

5. Again, I'm hardly a person to be commenting on art. But the rendering effects and the occasional animated panels kind of blow me away.

(Not the first person to remark on that, admittedly.)

6. I'm not great with themes either. Perseverance is probably one, based on what/who Mizuki has to put up with. Also friendship, which Rebel referenced, and can even be seen in the earlier bits with the group coming together (Cahe and Pejiba taking it to the next level). And how those in power aren't necessarily the best at decision making (is that a theme)?

Then there's mystery, like what are peoples' goals. Is that a theme? I don't know what I'm talking about, let's face it.

7. Something about the story and content is how much development's gone into it. I don't know if the side stories were started in part due to StArt Faire, or if it provided some perpetual motion, but for example Gynu and Suzigu have this entire childhood backstory in there, and we never saw that much of them in Book 1. (Maybe that one was to highlight more Galaxy Knight stuff? But there's others that expand on otherwise minor characters.)

Then there's the cast page, which seems to be constantly updating, and includes extra random trivia and even what seem like really really minor characters (like the Ferryman).

I have no clue how snuffysam manages to do all that stuff and yet continue to update multiple times in a week. With, as Rebel pointed out, very good comedy too, both situational and connected to character personalities.

8. Comic strength is I think at times doing the unexpected. Like throwing in animation, or referencing someone new or something that adds new pieces to the magic dynamic. Like you want to keep reading to know what comes next because even if it's what you think it might be, there's probably some new aspect you didn't expect that will be there too.

Anyway, there's some thoughts, and for all I know it's similar to stuff I already said in a previous chat. If so, whoops. More tomorrow. I type slow.

(Incidentally, related to the stories, the "wingwomanicon" story won't load for me... it's a blank pdf. And the link in the story proper for when it first went up seems to link to the wrong story.)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

@mathtans I really should test my links lol... the story should be fixed now

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

mathtans

9. I'm not sure I could pick a favourite joke. Mizuki's habit of breaking the fourth wall tends to be cleverly done. Coruby's wit matches well with his character. I'll echo what Rebel said about the timing too; there's effective use of beat panels and the like too.

10. Mizuki's probably crazy, or perhaps it's more her obliviousness, but she's very good at working with what she has to minimize the drain. She also must have a really good memory. I think the main problem with her ability to strategize is she's not great at long term planning, everything seems to be more "in the moment".

(I figure you've got a lot going on as is there. ) Sorry, must scamper again, back later. Should we comment on ships too here, or is that mostly covered by the comic itself?

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Hey, you can comment on ships as much as you want!

mathtans

Zebugu and Taci might be a ship. Can't be that much animosity without deeper feelings somewhere, right?

RebelVampire

I can't decide how I feel about Zebugu/Taci. That is a ship that makes sense as much as it doesn't make sense. I am stuck in a loop.

I am looking forward to more Taci because Taci. There can never be enough Taci in the comic, and I think I just really enjoy how he works off Mizuki because it offers lots of beautiful comedic potential. My final words are just amazing comedy comic that everyone should check out.

mathtans

11. I think King Zebugu is in the trials in part because he doesn't like that his wizard and his accountant were former Galaxy Knights. Maybe it's the ace they play to get him under control at times, maybe they don't need to, but I think he's trying to gain more power over his underlings, and by extension the planet. He's always got an angle. As to Taci, for him it's probably more ego driven, but he does have two abilities so maybe he wants to see how he compares off planet. I don't see either of them winning, I see them potentially cancelling each other out so the other guy doesn't win.

12. I think Mizuki could become a Galaxy Knight, but I don't think it'll happen in Book 3. In particular Bily is being set up as an antagonist against her (she has a similar ability to duplicate the spells of someone else, though she does need to touch them AND she has a beef with Mizuki over being the one to knock her brother out of contention). Other trials, I'm not sure... there might be one where they have to team up with someone else. Mizuki and Stella would be an interesting situation, as would Taci and anybody. I don't think Motorcycle Man or Willpower-Copy Lady will get far since the cast page only gives them minor character status. But then that could be part of the joke in the end.

Rebel's analysis regarding the others looks pretty good, actually. I'm not sure how hammer guy fits in, is one thing.

Fun that Stella's officially out now, incidentally. I don't see her going for shorter women though. Also, I wonder what constellations she might have that are in no way tied to the stars as we know them? And for that matter, she made a "Frozen" reference, which is usually Mizuki's domain. Perhaps she's also aware of the 4th wall (or "Frozen" went international there on 'SpaceMySpace' or something). Anyway.

13. Well, that last Starstuff Story is only one page long, so potentially looking forward to reading the rest of that. Seeing how the tournament plays out will be interesting... I'm more hyped about it than the gatherings plot of Book 2, maybe it's the extra title drop, dunno. Also vaguely curious about what's happening with everyone back on the planet during this time... like, if the King's away, who's running the place? (Zaxaty?)

Incidentally, the Galaxy Knights must be pretty well off financially. They set up housing and roommates for EVERYONE, then almost right away had a challenge and eliminated most of the people. Like, a lot of those rooms they didn't need.

Random question too, how DID the Starstuff stories get their start?

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

@mathtans I dunno how I keep screwing this up... anyway, I checked, and the newest story is now 100% fixed.

The original reason for Starstuff Stories was to flesh out characters' move pools for potential video game adaptations. Like, that's why Green Archer uses explosive arrows and chain arrows in her story, and why Chill Bro has ice armor in his. Though it evolved over time to just being interesting stories that I wanted to tell that wouldn't necessarily focus on Mizuki.

mathtans

Sorry, was needed elsewhere. Then read the story. I didn't expect ears to be a thing, and that poor woman is cursed. ^.^ That's a neat origin idea, I hadn't thought along those lines. Looks like the story has evolved too, there's been some scenes without Mizuki too (though I guess they were in some way related).

14. For final words, just keep at it I guess, you've got a very interesting world set up and do well at engaging your audience too, from what I can tell.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Zebugu/taci huh...? I can see them being exes or something

mathtans

Maybe that's the real reason Taci wants to kill Zebugu.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Zebugu forgot to tell taci they broke up, and stood him up!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

That does sound like something Zebugu would do...

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

also, regarding something @mathtans said - Looks like the story has evolved too, there's been some scenes without Mizuki too (though I guess they were in some way related). yeah i had to rewrite book 3 like two times before I realized the story worked better if it didn't focus on mizuki all the time. like, book 3 introduces the most new characters out of any book so far, and i was completely neutering it by forcing all their arcs to relate to mizuki in some way. thanks to breaking that mentality, i'm able to include stuff like characters having rivalries with each other in ways that mizuki wouldn't even find out about, which helps keep the book from getting bogged down imo.

mathtans

It's cool that you draft everything out to that extent. And it's not out of the blue, she wasn't there for some of the big battle ending Book 2 either.

(Or at the talent show for most of the story. )

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R this week! Please also give a special thank you to snuffysam for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/

Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Galaxy_Knights

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #super galaxy knights deluxe r #sgkdr #snuffysam

[scyllua]

While chap.203 hasn't stirred that much of a reaction in the Japanese fandom as the previous chapter did, it prompted many fans to emulate Sugimoto's art style. Nothing of this comes as a particular surprise, as the chapter serves as sort of a recap of the events from vol.14 (the Abashiri Prison assault)... and because Sugimoto's drawing talent would be on par with his sniping skills.

The highlights of this chapter have to do with the confirmation of the Russian sniper's identity and goals and the hint at Noda pursuing the plotline regarding the Partisans. It was rather obvious who that Russian sniper was from the very moment he (re)appeared in the manga, but given this is Golden Kamuy and the weird things that have already transpired in the plot made me think it's a very crazy Meiji era the one they are living in, I'd rather wait for the author's clear confirmation on ANY matter before taking anything for granted. Let us not forget that, for starters, I think most of us had already assumed our Russian sniper pretty dead. We can always speculate, however, and this chapter leaves enough room to reflect on a certain other sniper (this one, Japanese and now one-eyed) and how soon (or not) he could make it back to the plot.

I should work on my summaries so they aren't that long. In the meantime and to everyone who had the patience to read my previous chapter post: thank you very much and fear not, for I have no random movie comments to make here! There should be some fan comments, of course, and the usual warnings about mistakes and mistranslations apply as well. Onto the fun of two amateur artists sharing their Ogata fanarts then!

In short, as no further shots are made, Tsukishima believes Sugimoto got to the sniper and Asirpa runs off to meet him. Meanwhile, Sugimoto and the sniper -now confirmed to be Vasily- overcome the language barrier by using the latter's hand-drawn pictures to explain to each other the circumstances in which they crossed paths/met Ogata. Upon the arrival of the rest of the group and after Asirpa recognizes Vasily as probably one of the men who ambushed them in the frontier, Tsukishima explains to him Kiroranke is already dead and they don't know about the current whereabouts of Ogata, their only purpose in Karafuto being finding Asirpa and going back with her. As a rather annoyed Shiraishi complains to Vasily for shooting him, it's revealed he can't speak because of the shot wounds he sustained. As Sugimoto's group resumes their journey, Vasily keeps following them on horseback from a distance. They deduce he's now keen on meeting Ogata again and engaging in another snipers' duel, and that he's sticking around convinced the wildcat will eventually come after them. Questioned by Asirpa, Sugimoto says as long as they're still looking for the Ainu gold, there's always the possibility of Ogata coming back; as per his motivations, Sugimoto adds it might be that Ogata is simply messing with them as opposed to being after an actual goal. In their way back, the group visits Svetlana's parents to hand them a letter she wrote; even though Sugimoto would rather search for Sofia and find out the truth, he understands their primary purpose in Karafuto has been fulfilled already. The chapter ends with Sofia meeting Gansoku and Svetlana in a port city in Russian territory. After exchanging a few hits, Sofia invites Gansoku to come with her, but he turns down the offering, stating he'll travel west with Svetlana. Sofia then states she'll go to Hokkaidou in pursue of their hope... and revenge.

Ever wondered why streets are always so conveniently empty whenever there's a chasing or a shooting going on? I have, even if my question is probably answered in the same question already (because... they're so conveniently empty: easier to describe, draw or animate, and with a minimum of casualties, as well!) In any case, and even though our group seemed to be the only bystanders at the time the shooting began, there's now the usual traffic and activity you'd expect in a town street. In fact, a man in a sled is just walking down the street when, alerted by Koito and Tsukishima not to come that way or otherwise risk being shot, he good-naturally asked what the soldiers are doing. Tsukishima comments it seems as though Sugimoto has already done his magic, ie. he did what he's best at (hint: it isn't sniping or drawing, as we'll see in this chapter), and Asirpa runs off to meet him.

Here follows some good 4 pages of Sugimoto and Vasily proving the language barrier isn't an hindrance when it comes to relatively difficult tasks, such as explaining the events from vol.14 up to that point or how both of them have survived being shot in the head by the same sniper. It turns out Vasily has made enough drawings of Ogata to start his own Pixiv account -putting aside the fact that he's one century ago from that website being created-; actually, Vasily could begin posting full illustration logs, as he even took the care and time to draw the wildcat sporting different expressions, including one smiling. I'm suspecting he might have more study sketches of Ogata in the fiction than author Noda in the real world. This would pose a question for me: just how well could he see Ogata during their snipers' duel? In the extended passage as it was compiled in vol.17, they do spend many hours watching and studying each other... but let us not forget that Ogata's face was obscured in such a way, Vasily couldn't tell for sure where it was him or not. Well, following last chapter's caption at the end, I'm just going to assume here Vasily has nothing short of a photographic memory, sharpened to perfection through his sniping skills, and that he could commit to memory the features of a man he only seemed to have caught fleeting glimpses of partly because the wildcat is unforgettable. Being shot can arise that kind of reaction in people, after all. Going back to the chapter, and given the amount of Ogata portraits he has, Sugimoto asks him whether he's been requested to find him -bounty hunter-style, we may speculate-, but then Vasily uses some of his many (MANY) drawings to explain he went into a showdown with Ogata... and lost. This chapter's title could be translated as "portrait" (似顔絵, nigaoe), though its exact meaning would be more in the lines of a "drawn sketch/picture of a face". Why, yes, a portrait indeed, only that the term in Japanese suggests it isn't as precise as a taken photograph, but a close enough depiction.

I'm always making jokes and complaining about the cast in this manga being so prone to trust in others no matter what terms they might have been on in the past, but I have to admit that being able not to hold grudges, apart from preventing bitterness and anxiety in addition to other negative feelings, also helps greatly when it comes to pace the story forward. Remember how Sugimoto was about to kill Vasily in the best of Friday the 13th traditions (only that less bloody I might presume, given this is still a seinen manga and not a R-rated story), all of this happening in the previous chapter, 7 days ago in real time, 2 pages prior in the manga, like 10 seconds previously in the story's timeline? Well, let's put aside all that negativity for the sake of a couple of souls bonded by the same sniper (different bullet obviously, same rifle and all) sharing an artistic moment.

In addition to their fanboying over Ogata -for the wrong reasons, though, as they'd be both after the wildcat to settle some scores-, Sugimoto and Vasily manage to summarize the manga from vol.14 up to that point, using their respective drawings to explain to each other the events. "Explaining to each other" wouldn't be a wrong statement in this case because they do appear to be understanding the other quite well through the drawings, some gesturing, and the usefulness of somatic language, even though Vasily doesn't seem to know Japanese (as he's puzzled at Sugimoto's questions). When he produces drawings of Kiroranke, Shiraishi and Asirpa, Sugimoto explains to him the latter two aren't related to the Partisans: the bad guy here, no doubt about it, is Ogata, as he emphatically conveys by hitting his portrait with his fist. Now in quite the roll because Vasily is assimilating the ideas very fast (as he also hits Ogata's portrait), Sugimoto then explains he was also shot by the wildcat... and reveals his artistic sense might be on par with his sniping skills. ...and while I'll keep joking about his awful aiming until the day he finally manages to shoot anything down -as opposed to pummel or pierce it with his rifle or affixed bayonet-, I won't make much fun of his artistic capabilities because, I'm afraid, he might draw better than I. As I state in my blog's sidebar, I color manga panels partly because I can't draw a straight... or crooked... line for the love of it.

Sugimoto explains Ogata was in cahoots with Kiroranke -and as well as the readers, he doesn't how for how long-, shot him in the head in Abashiri Prison and then ran away taking Asirpa with him. Unlike their previous exchange, I can deduce Vasily didn't get a single word of any of it, as he mistakes Sugimoto's drawing of himself for a spider. And I must confess it took me some time to realize Sugimoto drew himself being shot: those tendril-like things sticking out of his head -that Vasily takes for a spider's legs, it seems- are meant to show the bullet's trajectory when impacting him. A parenthesis here: Let's just check Sugimoto's drawing of Ogata running away on horseback. I don't pretend to make fun of it, but I still find quite the noteworthy detail that he draws Ogata with an arrow sticking out of his right eye, and not sparing even the lock of hair that frames his face. Or at least, I'm assuming that's a lock of hair on Ogata's head. The caption Sugimoto writes in katakana reads, "Ogata escaped". That scene, may I add, has been a fan favorite -mine included- and a source of inspiration for many works in the Japanese fandom. Some speculative fanworks have to do with the circumstances Ogata runs away, and thus some fans have posed quite the questions, ranging from where he got that horse, to whether it didn't hurt too much to ride it in such conditions as, you might remember, he was wearing a hospital gown only and had no underwear to speak of. If you take a closer look at the panel, however, you'll notice Ogata is carrying a sack when he's riding away, implying he managed to gather his belongings and probably a couple more things for the road, and thus wouldn't be dying on us due to exposure or some painful horse riding to wherever it was he ran away .

Back to our amateur artists (because I'm assuming Vasily's main occupation revolves about being a sniper... with an eidetic memory for faces and some outstanding artistic talent as bonus) and resuming his recapping of the latter half of the manga and unabated by the debatable poor reception his drawing skills might be getting, Sugimoto explains Asirpa involuntarily shot an arrow that hit Ogata in the eye. Here comes a short passage -it's a single panel, in fact- that killed my Japanese pretty dead, so I wouldn't risk a translation of it... though I think, it seems to me, I could grasp that blah blah etc. etc., Sugimoto further and quite lively states Ogata's death would have "stained" Asirpa -meaning, would have dirtied her hands-, and thus he saved the wildcat because he'd do anything in his power to keep everything surrounding her pure for her sake. The actual word in Japanese he uses is 綺麗 (kirei), which you might know as meaning "cute" and "pretty", but it can also be understood in the sense of "clean", "pure" or "neat." Given Sugimoto literally uses 汚い (kitanai), "dirty", "unclean" or "foul" (used as a verb in this case) to describe how Ogata's death would have impacted Asirpa, I'm going with "pure" in my previous sentence. ...I'm aware my explanation of Sugimoto's statement makes it sound as though he's belittling saving Ogata, but I can reassure you that his lines are way more poetic and moving: it's just that my Japanese -and my English, come to that- is just that lacking, sorry about this! The scene is more moving because Asirpa arrives at the precise moment to hear Sugimoto's words, but he doesn't notice her.

The rest of the group arrives and cuts off Sugimoto and Vasily's artistically driven moment of plot exposition, though. And now, please allow me to state that God bless Tsukishima for being himself, acting as the sane man every story needs, accompanying the group in this journey, and knowing Russian, not in that particular order: I'm 100% convinced this manga wouldn't progress half as smoothly as it does weren't he around. And Tsurumi and Koito wouldn't be probably around either if he didn't have that presence of mind and swiftness of action, specifically when projectiles and explosions are involved. After Asirpa says she thinks Vasily was part of the group of men that ambushed them in the frontier, Tsukishima explains to him Kiroranke is already dead and Ogata ran away, his whereabouts unknown to them. Their only purpose in Karafuto was to find Asirpa and go back with her, he adds, and they have nothing to do with the Czar's assassination by the Partisans. Vasily says nothing in the metaphorical sense, as he keeps quiet and seems to accept the explanation. Now, and I've already written above, I've always complained about the GK cast for being this trusty and, let's say, think nothing of the repeated risk of a headshot by accepting in their ranks a traitorous character who left their previous party after shooting a couple people in the head, but I have to admit yet again the characters being this quick to understand, accept and come to terms with practically anything and everything does help move forward the plot. Very much so.

I wrote Vasily said nothing in the metaphorical sense because it's revealed -just as we were speculating- he can't speak due to the shot wounds he sustained during his duel with Ogata. Once outside, Shiraishi complains to him about shooting him; when our Escape King snaps whether he doesn't have anything to say or it's just that Russians don't know how to apologize (he literally asks whether there are no words for apologizing in Russian), Vasily shows him his face, prompting a reaction in Shiraishi that might make readers grateful we aren't shown the state of his lower face. Sugimoto comments at that moment he might not be able to speak due to those wounds. I was also wondering whether Vasily knew or at the very least could grasp a little Japanese. It seems to me he might not after all, as there are some panels throughout the chapter that show him with an interrogation mark -indicating he isn't understanding- when Sugimoto was talking to him. In the above panels as well, Tsukishima seems to be translating Shiraishi's complaints for him.

Just before the group resumes their journey, Shiraishi tells Vasily -in not so kind words- to go back to Russia, but he's shown to keep following them from a distance. Shiraishi ponders whether he doesn't believe Kiroranke is already dead, but Asirpa points out he used the back of Kiro's wanted poster to make some of his drawings, leading her to conclude he isn't interested in the latter anymore. As discussed by the our main protagonist trio, it seems Vasily is sticking to them under the belief they'll eventually cross paths with Ogata; as Sugimoto puts it, given he's still alive, he considers their snipers' duel to be not finished (I suppose a more poetic way to put it would be, "as long as he draws breath, he can keep fighting"). The immortal also thinks there's always the possibility of Ogata coming after them because of the Ainu gold, prompting Asirpa to wonder if that's actually his goal: let us not forget he showed quite the intent to kill her (chap.187) and thus, eliminate the one person who holds the key to solving the tattoo puzzle. A somewhat serious and pensive Sugimoto comments it might be that Ogata... is simply messing or toying around with them. Cue a full-page panel depicting a lynx (in Japanese, an ooyamaneko) crossing the path in the snowy forest. (I should point out I'm assuming it's a lynx because of its ears, making it very similar to the one shown in chap.169, vol.17.)

A not-so-random fan comment here: I always refer to Sugimoto as not being the sharpest knife in the drawer. Actually, I'd say he's the kind to smash the drawer against a wall and use the sharpest fragments of it to cut open whatever it is he might need cut, even if I'm compelled yet again to admit his approach, while not the most strategically planned, tends to work. But he also seems to be quite understanding of others in addition to his natural kindness, and it comes as not much of a surprise then that he could be the person with the better grasp at Ogata's personality. Or the only person who might have any grasp on it at all, in any case. I must say my opinion of Ogata's character pretty much coincides with that of Sugimoto as he stated it in chap.196 and now in this chapter: specifically, that Ogata doesn't have a particular motivation to act as he does (apart from being driven by the most negative and dangerous of his traits, of course). I think his character isn't meant to have any specific motivations or goals other than being chaotic for the sake of it; however, as Noda has given a background to every single recurrent and relevant character in the manga and spares no revelations for some of them no matter how far into the plot we might be (the most recent flashback regarding Koito's past should be an example), I can't discard the possibility of the author having in store some plot twist or equal revelation about Ogata.

Given Sofia is the only one who knows the truth now (I'm assuming here Sugimoto thinks Ogata might have sided with Kiroranke for a reason that lies with the Partisans' intentions), our immortal comments he'd liked to look for her. He's aware, though, that Tsukishima and Koito's mission was to find Asirpa and get back with her to Hokkaido, whereas Tanigaki joined in the entourage for the sake of the girl as well and thus, they should have no reason to pursue other ends at the time. They still stop by the lighthouse to hand Svetlana's letter to her parents, and just as the manga implies they won't be going after more subplots, Asirpa points out Sofia was planning to reunite with her comrades in the continent and then go back to Japan: she wouldn't just run away to Europe after everything that just happened.

Right in cue, Sofia meets Gansoku and Svetlana in a port town in Russia. Just as Gansoku seemed to be involved in yet another cathartic moment pummeling around men who can't put a dent on him, he's challenged by Sofia but refuses, stating he only fights other men. He's quick to change his mind and declare the world does have many surprises in store ("The world is so wide!") after Sofia not only punches him, but manages to get in quite the equal grounds with him. This yet again poses another question for me: given Gansoku is one of the toughest men in this story -in the strictest physical sense at the very least: we can't forget everything Nikaidou has gone through the manga, after all-, how come Sofia can beat him so badly? The obvious answer would be that Sofia happens to be just that tough -or the toughest woman of the Meiji era-, but since this is a Shueisha and a Jump-published manga, I also want to believe she might be using Haki to hit that hard. Just as Nami in One Piece, her blows manage to harm a man's heart and soul.

Before their fight can further escalate (but after Sofia has pulled off the almost obligatory Rip Open my Shirt scene, only that she isn't exactly wearing a shirt and the scene isn't that common when female characters are involved because of censorship), Svetlana intervenes and stops them, saying it'll be quite the problem for her if Sofia kills her bodyguard. Implying here she was at least sure of what the outcome of the fight would have been. The three of them have a talk then and Sofia invites Gansoku to join her, but he turns down the offer and explains both he and Svetlana intend to make their way to the west, to the cities where a larger population means a larger possibility to find stronger people (to beat the **** out of them in more cathartic instances, I'm presuming). As Svetlana asks Sofia where she's planning to go now, she replies that she's going to Hokkaido... for their hope and revenge.

I should note I'm not including any more panels of Sofia in this chapter because I'm assuming Tumblr would flag this entry otherwise. I was never told why they put my blog "under review" when I barely had any posts on it, so my best guess has to with an entry I wrote explaining about the terrorist groups that operated in my country. I made that post partly because to poke some fun at Sugimoto's wielding a hammer and a sickle in chap.145 (vol.15), and how that would have been merited a ban for this manga were some conservative Congressmen in my country to see the panels (the largest terrorist group operating in my country originally followed the Communist ideology). Well, as Sofia begins exchanging blows with Gansoku, she uncovers her torso and her breasts remain visible for the rest of the chapter, even when she's speaking with him and Svetlana in the freezing Russian landscape. Her breasts are so big, they cover part of the chapter's title in the last page... making me suspect Tumblr could flag this entry just because her nipples are equally big.

Some (more) fan comments on this chapter: The story is unfolding as I'd anticipated in a very broad way, as it seems Vasily will stick around with the group for at least some more chapters. While none has proposed an alliance, I don't think any will have any inconvenience cooperating with each other as long as their goals align: even if it's true Sugimoto's group isn't that elated at the possibility of meeting Ogata again, they're obviously expecting to cross paths with him in the future, and extra help is always welcomed. Specially if things come to a sniper against another sniper, I'd say: the manga is hinting at another confrontation between Vasily and Ogata. After all, Noda is a noteworthy narrator and all of his plot elements turn out to be relevant (even those related to food and cultural traditions which could have been seen at first as more trivia-informative to the reader than important to the plot), so I don't think he brought Vasily back to the story for no reason. Or just to show off Vasily's artistic talent, in any case, * ahem *. The plot would still have to take shape, but it seems to me all elements are aligning so that Noda can solve several pending subplots: Vasily's reappearance can tie up with the plot regarding the remaining member of the Partisans trio, Sofia, and also provides the proper scenario for Ogata to make it back to the story. It'd be a viable, solid and swift way to focus in the current open subplots before focusing on the main premise of the Ainu gold in Hokkaido.

I'd just speculate then about how soon the subplots would meet a resolution. I'm wondering whether we'll see the rest of this arc taking place in Karafuto, as Sugimoto's group has already made their way back to its southern region, whereas Sofia is in Russian soil, but making her way to Hokkaido. If Vasily doesn't have any trouble with following them to Hokkaido -given he's already in Japanese soil-, then I see no reason as to why the action might not unfold in the island that is the main stage of this manga, but I'm thinking this arc could wrap up while the group is still in Karafuto. We'd need to see at least one more chapter to see how things progress from this point on; unless Noda suddenly feels like jumping back to Hokkaido and showing us what Hijikata has been up to since vol.18 and whether Tsurumi reunited with his men already, with the arc “introduction“ over and the situation laid out to both the cast and the readers, chap.204 should serve as the starting point for the resolution of the current subplots.

My last fan comment of the entry has to do with Vasily. While I'm happy to see him back in the plot and sticking to the protagonist cast for the time being (and hoping he stays in the plot and with the cast for at least the remainder of this volume), his personality as shown in the current events has caught my attention. I wouldn't say he's that different or plain out-of-character in comparison to his first appearance in vol.17, but it's also true he now acts carefree enough as to join Sugimoto in a fanart-sharing moment, and is more emotional as opposed to his cool-headed demeanor during the ambush in the frontier. And adding to his minor hairstyle change, he also looks more youthful now, even if the only we get to see of his face are his eyes. We'd need to see more of him in upcoming chapters to have a better grasp at his character... but if you'd ask me, I'd say Noda has made some changes to his personality, or rather, is shaping his character in a different, though not drastic, way. Why? Well, it seems to me Vasily would fit our protagonist cast and all the weird things bound to happen in this convulsed Meiji era just fine and even better now; in comparison, the group he first appeared as part of acted colder, more focused and serious. Until we see more of him, I'm just going to assume Noda decided to give his character another direction because Tsukishima was plenty of a sane, serious man for the group. Any more sane men in the same group at the same time and I might begin doubting what happened to this manga.

#golden kamuy #fan talk

[softshelltaakos]

alright, folks! if you know me you know that i 1) received the taz graphic novel for the holidays and 2) have hated the taz graphic novel since before it came out, and that 3) actually reading it in no way improved my opinion.

let’s review.

disclaimer: i love the mcelroys. i truly do. taz has gotten me through some very difficult stuff and i have a tattoo. all this to say i’m not doing this because i hate them or because i like hating things — on the contrary, i’m doing this because i care a lot about the podcast and analyzing things is what i do for fun and also because, like, it has issues that i want to talk about!

there are spoilers for the graphic novel and the whole of the podcast under the cut.

this is part 1, in which i’m talking about the actual storytelling and writing; for character design thoughts, you’re gonna have to stay tuned because i’ve been working on this for three and a half hours and i have shit to do. so!

let’s start off with the things i actually liked. there are a few!

the main characters get little intro cards, which i think are pretty cute. this isn’t all of them, but here’s a sampling (forgive my messy collaging):

[ID: four panels.

the first introduces magnus burnsides, a barrel-chested white guy with auburn hair and a fluffy beard and sideburns. he’s saying “trust me, if the law hassles us, i’m the guy you want at the front of the wagon. but look, if you want to drive so bad, i might let you spell me the next time the dwarf has to stop for a pee break.” there is a scroll with his name listed, as well as his race (human), class (fighter), and proficiencies: battle, carpentry, and “everything else... apparently”

the second introduces taako, a skinny mint-colored elf wizard. he’s blonde with pronounced lower lashes and a big pointy nose. he’s saying “hell, no! i’ve got stuff to do. i’ve read the books. adventurers are supposed to, like, forage for food and shit. bor-r-r-ring! no, thank you. not for taako.” the proficiencies on his title card are spell-casting, transmutation, and gastronomy

the third introduces merle highchurch, a brown dwarf with white hair pulled back into a bun and a big poofy beard. he’s saying “i’m studying my cantrips!” and his title card proficiencies are “healing... supposedly,” “religion stuff,” and bleeding

the fourth panel introduces griffin mcelroy, a white human man with brown hair and glasses wearing a collared shirt. he’s saying “guys! it’s me: griffin! your dm!” his title card shows his race as “actual human” and his class as “dungeon master,” while his proficiencies are podcasting, karaoke, and “weaving a rich tapestry of drama.”]

then there are a few cute references to other mcelroy stuff:

[ID: two side-by-side images. the first is a photo of justin mcelroy wearing a bib with “shrimpin’ ain’t easy” written on it in crayon. the second is a close-up of a similar bib on a goblin -- though the text is distorted, it’s the same phrase.]

[ID: magnus thoughtfully says “unless...” and the other boys echo him in traditional mcelroy fashion.]

barry also wears underwear that read “meloincloths” around the waistband, which i didn’t take a picture of because it was small and also i didn’t really want to take a picture of barry bluejeans’s underoos. but that’s cute!

as it mentions in magnus’s titlecard, there’s a running joke about him being proficient in everything. that gets some play in the podcast but it comes up a lot more here and i think it works pretty well and establishes early on that magnus is cocky and headstrong and all that. it’s actually introduced in the very first panel of the comic, where he mentions his vehicle proficiency, and then it comes up several more times.

there are some moments that shift out-of-character dialogue to in-character dialogue, and i think it works sometimes. notably, it occasionally happens with griffin’s dialogue, which i think is a good way to include his voice without constantly breaking the fourth wall. it’s done some, obviously, but it’s not to the point that it’s intrusive.

[ID: a panel featuring taako approaching the other boys, who are playing cards while they wait for him to scout the next room out. magnus asks, “would you say it is spooky... or beautiful?” and merle cuts in “or spookily beautiful?” followed by magnus finishing up with “or beautifully spooky?”

taako responds “if you were a gerblin you would actually find it a pretty chill den to, like, hang out in.”]

i also like the introduction of the voidfish static. i think it’s appropriately dramatic and does a pretty good job of emulating how it’s presented in the podcast.

[ID: a panel featuring killian, an orc woman with a crossbow. the lighting is dark gray-blue-green and she’s shouting something unintelligible marked by a cluster of consonants and a shaky, brush-strokey speech bubble distinct from the other speech bubbles stylistically.]

the scene where taako grabs the umbra staff is also appropriately dramatic, as is merle trying to talk down gundren/bogard from the gauntlet’s thrall, but those are full page images and very large, so i’m not including them.

then there’s this panel of lucretia, which slays me:

[ID: a closeup of madame director lucretia, a black woman dressed in blue with white hair, though her eyes are out of frame. she’s holding a white oak staff in her hands. she’s stopped mid-sentence and there’s a little jaggedy line near her head indicating surprise.]

this is lucretia turning around and seeing the boys for the first time since she dropped them off at their respective “homes.” she’s caught off-guard and i think this is a beautiful way of noting that without giving too much away, and this is a good moment of foreshadowing that she knows much, much more about them than she’s letting on. she catches herself quickly and gets back into the swing of things, but i think this is a very lucretia panel, and it’s probably my favorite panel in the book.

now it’s time for the negative.

first off, a nitpick: there are moments where the characterization feels very off -- at one point magnus is said to have been the kid who “always reminded the teacher that they had forgotten to hand out homework,” which... does not really match what we know of young magnus. at all. travis describes him as “a good but kind of rebellious kid, like he was probably kind of a little bit of a turd [...] who was kinda sarcastic” (ep. 60, the stolen century part one) which feels super incongruent with the homework thing.

my issues with characterization come into focus most strongly with taako. while a lot of moments get his voice down pretty well, there’s a major issue in his presentation, which is that from the very beginning, he’s bragging about his tv show.

[ID: several panels in which merle and taako are talking. the first is a wide shot with taako’s voiceover saying: “--and then the lights come up, and there i am, standing under a magnificent banner that reads:”

the second is taako posing under a spotlight, speaking in large, fanciful script: “sizzle it up with taako”

panel three is merle asking disinterestedly “so it’s a show... about cooking?” and taako replying emphatically “it’s about life!”

in panel four he adds “...told through the perspective of fine dining.”

another panel collaged in features a cookbook with taako’s face on it labeled “perfection: cook the taako way” and taako excitedly saying “i know that smell!! that’s my recipe for haunch a la taako!! it was in my very first cookbook!]

now, we all know that by the end of the show “taako -- you know, from tv?” has become a catchphrase of his, and i understand the desire to retcon that kind of thing into his personality from the start. it seems like a natural way to add character early on when in the podcast, the boys are still pretty underdeveloped at this point.

here’s the issue. neither tv nor the title “sizzle it up” are mentioned at any point during here there be gerblins. in the eleventh hour (e48, part 8 of that arc) we’re told that we’re six years out from the mass poisoning in glamour springs. while the maxfun donor bonus episodes, like the liveshows, play it a little bit fast and loose with canon, and this episode was the 2015 bonus episode (e48 didn’t come out until september 2016,) that’s the only real explicit sizzle it up development we have until the eleventh hour. i’ve transcribed some of the bonus episode below, as transcripts for it are not available via @.tazscripts.

justin: taako-- i’m sitting in a corner by myself with my hat sorta pulled down low so people don’t recognize me. and i’m just trying to eat my meal but i keep changing the items that i’m trying to eat into different substances, so every few minutes you hear from my corner of the tavern:

taako: damn it!

clint: i hate asparagus!

griffin: i turned this sandwich into wood!

[...]

justin: mainly, i’m just trying to be nondescript. 

[...]

justin: the whole time i’m talking to [the tavern owner] i’m like, keeping my face down so he doesn’t recognize me.

griffin: why would anyone recognize you?

clint: why?

justin: well, taako, uh, used to host a cooking show. it was a very, very, very popular cooking show. uh, and--

griffin: what was it called?

justin: what?

griffin: the show.

justin: sizzle it up with taako.

this episode is when the boys take the job with gundren off of craig’s list, so the time gap between this and episode 1 is negligible at best. there is a moment where the other boys recognize taako and he doesn’t lie about his identity, but:

taako: (begrudgingly) yeah, i’m taako, i’m disgraced, you might have heard about the [poisoning] thing.

so... he’s clearly not putting himself on display the way he does later in the podcast. in episode 40 (lunar interlude III: rest and relaxation) which came out in may of 2016, we get the first reference to the poisoning itself:

taako: one time i transmogrified something that, uh… i transmogrified it into something you really shouldn’t eat, ever? for life, to live, i mean? And, uh, a lot of people ate that. and that went... so sideways. um... i-- i just decided i would never again cook for people i cared about, because i couldn’t risk, um, y’know, something happening to them. until i get this under control, i guess.

so we know that even at that point this is still something that troubles taako greatly. one might even say... he’s traumatized! and doesn’t talk about it! he does not go into detail about sizzle it up with anyone over the entire course of the podcast except for june while she is literally possessed by the chalice and forcing him to relive it. So. kind of a weird character take.

to skip ahead a little bit, most of the moonbase stuff is fine, but there’s one omission that feels very weird to me.

[ID: three panels. the left is a shot of the elevator hallway leading to the voidfish’s chambers. thb follow killian towards the elevators; johann is walking away from them. he’s a black human man with natural hair dressed in a silly bard outfit with a violin strapped to his back. he’s carrying a ton of scrolls.]

these three panels are the only time we see johann in the book. in the podcast it’s johann that escorts them to the voidfish’s chambers and inoculates them. it makes sense that this has been changed to lucretia in the gn; it gives her a much stronger entrance and cuts down on scene changes. but it also cuts out a lot of establishing things about johann that are all extremely important and set up not only his character arc but several core plot points.

it’s during that scene that we hear that johann’s greatest fear is being forgotten, and that that’s exactly what will happen to him and all of the other bureau employees when they die. it’s during that scene that we learn the basic mechanics of the voidfish and the mission of the bureau. it makes sense that some of that is going to be handled at the beginning of the next book (presumably) and i’m glad that lucretia is introduced here, but the gn adjusts it so that killian takes the boys into the elevator. that’s johann in the podcast, and it easily could have been johann here. it would’ve been a good chance to establish at least johann’s fears, which would be a weird and creepy setup for the voidfish mechanics when they do get revealed.

it’s just odd to me that johann, who is the reason for the song half of story and song, gets the short shrift here.

i’m gonna wrap up with one last thing. i wanna talk about arms outstretched.

griffin: and you’re both getting pulled into the rift now, and-- but with a 20, taako, you fight against the pull and both of you are flying backwards towards the center of the room, back towards the catwalk. and merle, you’re standing in front of the two liches, one in the form of magnus and one not. lydia just is there in her spectral form. and you’re standing next to a taako who’s gone completely catatonic.

[...]

griffin: okay, then, m—magnus and taako, you two are flying back towards the center of the room. the pull of this rift is still trying to suck you in. and out of nowhere, just merle turns around—turns his back to the two liches—and just outstretches his arms and as he does, you see, like, spectral versions of his soul-wood arm sort of reach out and grab you and he’s also pulling you back in too, now. and he rips both of you towards himself.

i don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this is one of the most emotionally charged moments in the show, and it’s that because it’s a moment where we see, crystal-clear, real character development and growth.

magnus, who rushes in, who has never wanted anything as much as he wants to be reunited with julia, actively resists the pull of death to help his friends.

taako, who’s good out here, who is so selfish that an entire town died because of his ego, risks his life to help his friends.

merle, who can barely feel his holy connection, who barely ever even heals, breaks planar bounds to help his friends.

we’ve been with these characters for 56 episodes. we’ve seen their worst regrets, we know their tragic backstories, we understand why they’ve been the jackasses they’ve been, and now we see them moving past that to work as a unit. one might even say as a family!

arms outstretched is a moment that has been earned over the course of those 56 episodes.

enter the graphic novel.

[ID: a full page. flames are everywhere and panels are intentionally chaotic. dialogue reads:

merle: maybe now would be good?

magnus: i’m a hero, not an idiot.

taako: actually, you’re both idiots!

he outstretches his arm from his position safe in a well.

taako: come on!

merle and magnus reach for taako’s hands. there is a closeup on their arms: merle and magnus each hold one of taako’s with one hand. then there’s a panel showing an explosion.]

this is obviously intended as a way to foreshadow arms outstretched. and typically i’m not against foreshadowing! i think one of the benefits of the graphic novel is that it’s an opportunity to insert foreshadowing in cool ways that were not necessarily possible given the in-progress nature of the podcast -- like i said earlier, that lucretia panel is a really great example of it. you can’t foreshadow arms outstretched in episode one because you have no idea it’s going to happen.

but here’s the thing. you also can’t foreshadow arms outstretched in episode one because it hasn’t been earned. these characters are not those characters yet. they don’t know each other. taako actively shuts down the title of “friend” earlier in the book. they’re not even coworkers yet. and you could make an argument that in the face of death, taako would try to save them, but... would he? really? he’s a pragmatist, and that’s putting it nicely. during the stolen century the only person he tries to get to safety at the risk of his own neck is lup, and, uh... neither of these guys are lup. hell, he doesn’t even know about lup right now, and we see in the podcast that not remembering her leaves him colder and more self-centered. he knows people are dust, but he doesn’t know there are people that aren’t. i truly don’t buy it.

the nature of adaptation is that things are going to change, and that’s fine; but this is such a major shift that it left me really jarred and unhappy with the writing. in the podcast itself, we get this:

killian: c’mon c’mon c’mon c’mon!

clint: decision made.

justin: yeah, i follow her.

travis: i follow her.

clint: me too.

griffin: the three of you dive into the well.

it makes sense that the gn adjusts this slightly so that magnus and merle try to pull some heroics and save everyone; i don’t have a problem with that. that’s a good adaptation of character that hadn’t exactly been seen yet, but comes to be a core enough part of the characters that it makes sense to insert it earlier. but even then, they could’ve gotten to the well without taako’s help. it’s just such a weird rewrite, and i really think it weakens the impact of arms outstretched itself.

i’ve been meaning to get my thoughts on this out for nearly a month at this point so if you’ve stuck with me this whole time, wow! thanks! i appreciate it! i’m not a professional, and obviously the mcelroys signed off on this, so i don’t really have space to say “oh, taako would never do this” or “oh, magnus was never like that” on a canonical level -- i know travis says something along those lines in one of the ttazzes. but as i said at the very beginning: this story means so, so much to me, and it’s really deeply frustrating to see an adaptation that handles things so... weirdly.

#prim.txt #tazposting #tazmeta #NEW TAG BABEY

[storyofmorewhoa]

Fan Review/Rant: Rogue & Gambit #1

"Ring of Fire:" The arc "Ring of Fire," links Rogue and Gambit with another iconic Southern duo in sharing its name with the 1961 country song written by June Carter and covered by Johnny Cash-- while they were both still married to other people-- equating sensuality with destruction. A line from the song, “I fell for you like a child,” particularly fits Rogue and Gambit. For in leaving home, traveling the world, and in ending up falling in love someone from the other side of the river-- is the unspoken hope of a second chance at childhood. Further layering the multi-tiered work R&G is proving to be, is the possibility that the title could additionally refer to the zone of volcanic and seismic activity that surrounds the Pacific Ocean which is also called the "ring of fire". This is interesting because not only does volcanic activity have the potential to create lush and fertile tropical islands, which is where R&G is set, but because it further alludes to natural intensity churning below the surface which has been essential to much of Rogue and Gambit's relationship.

The cover: The cover of R&G #1 is drawn as though from the perspective of someone about to be punched in the face by Rogue with a split second before the punch lands to enjoy a superb view. Kris Anka’s proportions and foreshortening are flawless. With Gambit’s care-free grin, Rogue’s smug smirk and raised eyebrow, the cover suggests that the series is going to be as much fun as those two are having. Frank D'Armata makes fantastic use of their signature colors, incorporating both the same shade of pink for Gambit’s eyes, armor, and charged playing cards, and the same green for Rogue’s eyes and suit into the series’ title lettering. Though the cover is undeniably enjoyable and gets the reader’s curiosity as peaked as Rogue’s eyebrow, it would have been more engaging if it was specific to this particular issue since the absence of plot-related substance makes it feel slightly generic. However, the technical skill behind it is too solid for any criticism beyond that.

a spread of ice or glass?: The comic begins with nine ordered rectangular panels containing: white blank spaces; images of Rogue and Gambit in a fight that is yet to come; and images of their shared past. The next two pages contain a spread of the two crashing through more past images in broken shards, displaying both Rogue's borrowed "flying brick" powers and Gambit's explosive force powers that break things apart from the inside. The broken shard imagery calls to mind two things: glass and ice. Viewing the shards as glass can be further broken down to two readings-- the first of which is best described by Battle of the Atom's Zach Jenkins as a shattered stained glass window. It is as though their relationship itself is a great mosaic of moments that is being destroyed. The second reading regarding glass is that each shard is merely reflecting Rogue and Gambit, but at a different times in their relationship. This recalls the images of Rogue contained under glass in framed photographs and on screens in Gambit vol.4-- as though their relationship was preserved but inaccessible. Lastly, the imagery also suggests ice, and that what they are crashing through is merely the surface of their relationship. Only once that is broken through can a deeper meaning be discovered. The significance of ice is evident with Rogue #1 (2001), in which Rogue is described as "a river of anger beneath... frozen indifference," the events in Antarctica of UXM #348-350 (1997), and XML #234 (2010) in which Rogue likens her sexual attraction to Gambit to melting snow.

"If time is a circle...": The prologue: “If / time / is / a / circle / then / everything / happens / at // once" indicates that the series will recap the evolution of their relationship. Much of this approach works and is achieved with small details in the writing and art. For example Gambit leaning in a doorway, allied with "Stormy" lightly retreads his introduction in Uncanny X-Men #266 (1990). Pérez gives the characters a fantastic range of facial expressions from smug to sensual, and Gambit's boyishness shines through, especially in the shard containing the aftermath of the X-Men #4 (1992) basketball game in which Gambit grabs Rogue. Gone is the chiseled pirate that Jim Lee drew. Instead Pérez draws Gambit like a big goofy kid, suggesting that even though the basketball game was over, Gambit and Rogue were still playing, although it was another kind of game. My favorite of Pérez's variations on back issues is the addition of Gambit's smile in a panel from X-Men #24 (1993). Pérez's action sequence in the Danger Room is fantastic, particularly when Rogue is so distracted by Gambit that she is hit by a sentinel fist, which takes on symbolic poignancy as a superhero whose powers are initiated through touch is immobilized by a giant hand. After the training session, Gambit ends up on top of Rogue with their lips centimeters apart, recalling Gambit #1 (1993). Their post-breakup friendship which was highlighted in XML #265 (2012) is emphasized as Gambit calls Rogue his best friend, and later Gambit suggests that they seize the opportunity for legitimate romance in the midst of an obvious trap as he did in Astonishing X-Men #4 (2017).

"Same as ever?": Other details in the characterizations do not work quite as well, specifically Rogue's return to her XM #4 (1992) disposition that requires Gambit to insistently initiate any kind of communication, and even worse, perpetuates the stereotype of a woman who says no-- but really means yes. It reads like they are back in the 1990s-- before they lived together, and before they were able to treat each other civilly as friends. Rogue even protests being in the same room as Gambit. While this is done to reestablish their early dynamic within this series, I would rather that behavior be left to the past. I also disliked their discussion on Deadpool. Instead of taking issue with Rogue becoming romantically involved with an assassin (to which Rogue could have rebuffed with Gambit's marriage to the head of the Assassins Guild), Gambit complains, "He doesn't even have a face." A lot of Gambit's charm is not just that he is conventionally attractive, but that he treats others as though they are too, and in Deadpool v Gambit (2016), Gambit even seemed to think of Deadpool as friend. While I understand that it is meant as a joke, and appreciated Rogue's defense of, "I didn't kiss Deadpool. I made out with him," her line: "maybe not having a face makes people... I don't know try harder. Maybe people as pretty as you have it too easy" struck me as too immature to be redeemably funny. In Uncanny Avengers #8 (2016) Rogue is confronted with Deadpool appearing as he would prefer to look, and tries to break the illusion gently knowing he is sensitive about it. Part of what made Rogue's brief romance with Deadpool so memorable was her willingness to take on Wade's scars and tumors in UA #22 (2017)-- especially when taking into account her character growth since preferring to kill Angel rather than take on his physical mutations in Dazzler #22 (1982).

"...something bigger": Shadowcat's line, "You're focused on the wrong thing. These mutants need your help, Rogue," and the inclusions of a gay couple and an interracial couple suggests a progressive social commentary in the background of R&G. Already, two very different sides of Paraíso are shown: a city where people presumably live, and the beautiful exclusive resort that locals probably could not afford to stay at. Perhaps R&G will indirectly touch on the effects of colonialism, or the exploitation of a country's natural beauty while ignoring the needs of the people who actually live there. As Gambit is from New Orleans, which depends on tourism for a large part of its revenue, it will be interesting to see if these dynamics will play a role as the series continues. The greatest of Rogue's and Gambit's many similarities to each other is not that they are from the south or had troubled childhoods. It is their acknowledgement that everyone needs to be accepted regardless of their differences. Being on a team that works towards everyone being accepted as they are and being free to love who they love is what brought them together. It's not just fighting, it's work, and I hope R&G allows them to work towards achieving that acceptance and love for others, and finally for themselves.

#Rogue & Gambit #marvel comics #but what i really want to know is if rogue and gambit took turns sleeping on that couch

[archiveacademics]

Authors and Fanfic

Sometimes published authors are into fanfic. Sometimes they’re not. These are their stories.

We’ll start with those who don’t like fanfic. Namely, Diana Gabaldon.

In 2010 (as far as I can tell) she went on an epic rant on her blog about how much she hates fanfic and why. There’s three whole chapters to it (not shocking from someone who writes books that could potentially be used like a concrete shoe: chain someone to it and drop them in the river, never to be seen again.) While it was eventually deleted from her blog, it was luckily saved by a few enterprising fans and is recreated on this LiveJournal page for your enjoyment. 

Since I read the whole thing, I’ll give you some highlights.

“OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I know it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters.”

“[Reasons people use in argument for fanfic] 2) I want to write, but I don’t know how to make up characters, and it seems less scary to use some that already exist, and just make up stories for them. You know…it’s practice!

I have a lot of sympathy for people who want to write. I used to want to write, and I had no idea how to develop characters. Oddly enough, the notion of using someone else’s characters never occurred to me. I just tried to do it on my own. Surprise! It worked. Suck it up, guys. If you want to write, write—and write your own stuff. It does take courage, but that’s the only way to learn how, believe me.”

“Beyond the specific arguments against the concept remains the unfortunate fact that a terrible lot of fan-fic is outright cringe-worthy and ought to be suppressed on purely aesthetic grounds.”

“The thing is, though, that the central—the only truly vital part—of a story, and what makes it unique, is the character or characters. Everything else springs from that. In essence, a story is its characters. Therefore, while all kinds of things in a piece of writing can flow throughout the collective consciousness and inspire new work—theme, style, form, setting, mythical archetype, ideas of any kind….a character is not merely an idea. He or she is a real thing, and no less real for having no bodily presence. They do exist, even though they are embodied only in words.

Characters—good characters, “real” characters—derive their reality from the person who created them. They are the person who created them, refracted through the lens of that writer’s experience, imagination, love, fear, and craft. Another writer seeking to duplicate that character might equal—or conceivably surpass--the craft; they can’t touch the essence. When you mess with my stuff, you’re not messing with my characters—you’re messing with me.”

OK, so that’s a lot of quotes, but it saves you from having to go on the whole journey with Gabaldon. It’s a long one and though she seems to soften a bit towards fanfic (acknowledging that she never imagined maybe it was just written out of love while still taking the shot that the reason she never imagined it is because all of it is terrible) she still ends the rant by stating, unequivocally, that she does not want fanfic written about her work. 

George R. R. Martin is of the same mind, though he’s a bit nicer about it. 

“I don’t think it’s a good way to train to be a professional writer when you’re borrowing everybody else’s world and characters. That’s like riding a bike with training wheels. And then when I took the training wheels off, I fell over a lot, but at some point you have to take the training wheels off here. You have to invent your own characters, you have to do your own world-building.”

Anne Rice also hates fanfic. Famously so, in the face of fandom. There’s even a fanlore page that describes the personal harassment campaign that was launched against several fanfic writers in 2000. Pretty intense stuff there.

Meanwhile, there are other authors who not only support fanfic, they still actively write it.

That’s right, Rainbow Rowell is one. She features on the Fansplaining podcast episode “Rainbow Rowell” and talks all about her fannish history and how she came to write the book Fangirl as well as Carry On (which is actually not fanfiction.) 

Fangirl tells the story of Cath, a college freshman with social anxiety who is a big name in fanfic and is trying to complete a novel length fic about her favorite series, The World of Mages by Gemma T Leslie, before the final book of the series comes out while also completing her first year of college. It’s a fun coming of age story and I’d highly suggest it if you’re into that sort of thing. 

It’s basically a love letter to fanfic, with Cath having to defend her writing to everyone from her professor to her best friend to her boyfriend. Apparently, Rowell came to the internet late and so she was discovering and exploring the world on online fanfic at the same time she was writing Fangirl, which adds authenticity to the book. Cath’s experience of reading and writing is very much tied to Rowell’s own. 

She even admits to writing fanfic today, though she does not publish it. 

“I was trying to write Landline and it was the first time I had written about an existing relationship. So Landline is a book for adults about adults, it’s about a marriage that’s kind of having a hard time. They’ve been married like 15 years and they’re having problems.

I was kind of nervous about writing an existing relationship, because I had written only falling-in-love stories, and so I decided to write a really short Harry/Draco where they’ve been in a relationship for 20 years and they have, like, grown stepchildren and this sort of middle-aged thing...

So it was kind of my experiment with, like, can I write—like, let me do this as fanfiction where I don’t feel as much pressure to pull it off. So I’ll just do this short story and I won’t show anyone and I’ll see if I can write a compelling story about two people who’ve been in love for a long time.”

Needless to say, she pulled it off. The book got written and published, though apparently the fic will never see the light of day.

Other authors aren’t so shy about their fanfic and they write a lot of it. 

“[Naomi] Novik scorns the idea that published authors should turn their back on fanfiction. She recalls being on a panel where one member said he couldn’t understand why someone would waste their time writing it over an original work: “I said, ‘Have you ever played an instrument?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I play piano’. I said, ‘So, do you compose all your own music?’”

For Novik and many other writers, fanfiction is a fundamental a way of expressing oneself, of teasing out new ideas and finding a joyous way to engage with writing again after the hard slog of editing a novel. The journey to become a published writer isn’t a straight line; it’s a spiral, as we grow older and continue to explore the characters and tropes we love.” (The Guardian)

Novik, who helped found The Organization for Transformative Works, is not shy about the fact that she writes fanfic. In fact, she considers it an important cultural artifact, according to her soundbite here. Though she asks that her fanfic pseudonym not be attached to her in the google-able sense (I couldn’t find out what it is. I think you have to know a guy who knows a guy and I apparently know no guys) she’s not shy at all about the fact that she writes it to this day.

Neither is Seanan McGuire (who is, in case you were wondering, my favorite author of all time.) She discusses fanfic at length in this GeekDad interview that is well worth a read. I couldn’t decide what snippets to quote so I’m quoting none of them. (It was that or quote all of them.) She also wrote a great...”manifesto” might be too strong a word but “essay” doesn’t convey the power of her words, for Tor.com. 

“Fanfic is a natural human interaction with story. Children do it before they know its name. People who swear they would never do such a thing actually do it all the time, retelling fairy tales and Shakespearean dramas and family anecdotes in new lights and new settings. FANFIC WILL NEVER DIE. We need to acknowledge that fact: we need to accept that fanfic is never going away, and that it would suck a sack of wasps through a funnel if it did, because we need it.

So if you know someone who wrinkles their nose at fanfic, or who would tell a former fanfic author that their original fiction is somehow worth less because of their roots, or who is just generally an impacted asshole with legs, remember:

They are wrong. Fanfic is beautiful. Writing fanfic teaches you important storytelling skills. I have a funnel and access to wasps. Thank you for coming to today’s episode of Seanan Gets Mad About Things, and join us next time for No It’s Not All Porn And There Wouldn’t Be A Problem If It Was.”

McGuire especially gets into the questions of race and gender than plague fanfic (do women write more? Why? Is it considered bad because more women write it? PS, the answer to that last question is YES and McGuire’s argument is pretty solid on that front.) She doesn’t pull her punches and if you want to dive more into why fanfic is Important, I’d highly suggest checking out what she says. (And then, once you’re awed by her words check out some of her fiction!) 

#fanfic #fansplaining #authors #publish #anne rice #rainbow rowell #diana gabaldon #george r r martin #naomi novik #seanan mcguire

[creatures-that-wont-die]

You Came Back

so i had to write a scary story for english class and i had to make it angsty. heres a rick and morty au for ya enjoy

“Where am I?” Morty sat up and looked around. It was pitch black so he sat there for a minute, letting his eyes adjust. After a few minutes of trying to slow his breathing down, he opened his eyes to see the faintest outline of a door not two feet in front of him. Lurching forward, he threw his hands out to reach for the door but fell flat on his face. Looking down to see what caused this, he discovered his ankles were shackled together. Feeling his breathing speed back up, he frantically swept his gaze across the room, looking for anything to help him. To his right was a table with a rod and a book sitting on top of it. He stood up and shuffled as close to the table as he could. Picking up the book and examining it, he found it was blank. All pages. The cover had a weird R shaped symbol on it.

Next, he looked at the rod. As soon as he held it in his hands he knew what it was. Getting excited, he cracked, snapped, and shook the rod until it lit up. It was a green glow stick. Sweeping it across the room, Morty found a pile of what looked like… raccoons? His chains left him three feet short of the pile standing up, so he laid down and reached out with the glow stick, cautiously poking the raccoon closest to him. It fell down the pile and landed next to him with a sickening thump, and a tinkling sound. Curious, he held the glow stick closer to the raccoon. Seeing a glint of metal, he put the stick in between his teeth and pushed open the mouth with his hands. Sure enough, there was a key in the raccoon’s mouth. Finding it strange he found a key on his first try, he bumped the pile of raccoons and heard multiple tinkling noises. “Oh great,” Morty thought.

Five minutes later, he acquired all the keys. “Ok, I got the keys, now what,” he said to himself. “Well, I- I can’t reach the door from here so how am I supposed to get out? Wait- my chains!” Morty swept the glow stick over his shackles, looking for a key hole. Not finding one, he sighed in exasperation and buried his face in his hands. “I give up. I’m done.”

“That didn't last very long,” someone said.

Morty sat straight up, and whispered, “Who’s there? Please don’t kill me.” The mysterious voice chuckled. Morty pointed his glow stick in front of him like a sword, but didn’t see anything. He couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be coming from… everywhere?

“I’m not going to kill you, kid. You’re worth way more alive, but I must say you disappointed me with giving up that early.” The voice sighed. “Well, I just wanted to check in and tell you not to give up unless you want to rot in here.” “Can you give me a hint of what these keys are for?” Morty asked tentatively, crossing his fingers. The voice was silent for a few seconds, and Morty was worried he had left. “You already know, Morty. Y-y-you’re smarter than you think.” The voice paused, thinking. “If you need me, just call my name. I’m Rick.”

“How- how did you know my name?” Morty asked. He was met with silence. “Rick?” Still silence. Morty started to cry. He didn’t want to rot in here, he was too young to die! “Get yourself together.” Morty grabbed the glow stick and stuck it in his mouth. Picking up the shackles in his hands, he ran his fingers over it. There, in the middle, on the back- was a keyhole. “Yes!” Morty did a happy dance for a few seconds then grabbed his pile of keys. He had twelve keys, so he tried the smallest first. That didn’t work, so he made his way up through the keys until the eighth one fit. The shackles came off his ankles with a clang. Morty stood up and ran to the door. Trying the knob, he found it was unlocked. He could hardly believe his luck.

“Congratulations, Morty. You made past the first room. Which actually isn’t that big of a deal, I made it super easy,” Rick said. Lights flashed on, temporarily blinding Morty. When he could see again, he looked around and saw a camera in the corner. He stuck his tongue out at the camera and opened the door. Rick laughed.

“Y- you know, it’s rude to kidnap someone and put them in a Saw enviroment and watch them on cameras,” Morty complained. Rick said nothing, so Morty walked into the next room. Not watching where he was going, he tripped over some box thing and fell on his elbows. “Owww,” Morty groaned. He rolled over onto his back and layed there for a second, trying to catch his breath. Once he did, he sat up and saw the box he tripped over. It was a metal box, that opened at the middle. It had a metal padlock on it, that required a four digit code. Morty tried to pick up the box, but it seemed to be stuck to the floor. He stood up and looked around. His eyes stretched wide after he realized he was in a literal padded room.

“W- what the hell, Rick?” Morty muttered. The only part of the room that wasn't padded was the floor, which was hardwood. He walked to the wall across from the door he came through and started to inspect it. Running his hands across it, he found a split in the padding. It stayed put when he tried pulling on it, so he hit it with his palm and it swung open. “Bingo.” He pulled it all the way open. Behind it was a door. “Well that was easy,” Morty said triumphantly. “You sure about that?” Rick said ominously. Morty narrowed his eyes at the camera in the padded room and tried the doorknob. Locked. He walked to the center of the room and looked around again. The floorboards creaked with every step he took. It was a small room, and the metal box was directly in front of the door. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock. Morty could have sworn he heard a clock. He strained his ears to see where the ticking was coming from, and it sounded like it was coming from… above him. Looking up at the ceiling, he saw a large digital clock counting down, and the words “Lights out” underneath the time, which read 00:03:41.

“Rick!” Morty yelled.

“Jeez Morty, you don’t have to yell. What is it?” “What’s this clock for?” Morty said, pointing up to the clock.

“Well if I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a puzzle, now would it? Hurry up, you’re wasting time by talking to me.”

Morty sighed and went to the left wall. “Maybe there’s another hidden thing?” he said to himself. He hit the wall every half foot. Once he got to the middle, another panel popped open. He looked inside of it and found four numbers. 5, 1, 9, 2. Morty ran back to the box and quickly put the numbers in the combination lock. It popped open and inside was a pen. “A pen? Really? How is this supposed to help me?” “You’ll find out in… one minute and tw- twenty eight seconds.” Rick said. Morty looked up at the clock, and it read the same time Rick had named. “It’s not going to kill me is it?” Morty asked.

“Does it say ‘death’? No, it says ‘lights out’,” Rick said impatiently. “Besides, I already said you’re worth more to me alive, didn’t I?”

“Yeah…” Morty sat down and examined the pen. There was a button on the side, but when he pushed it, it didn’t do anything. He pushed it again, but it still didn’t do anything. He got up and walked back into the other room. His glow stick lay forgotten on the ground, and the blank book was on the table still. The pile of keys were next to the dead raccoons, and his shackles were… gone?

“ Hey Rick, where did my shackles go?” Morty asked

“W- why do you care Morty, you don’t want me to put them back on you, do you?”

“No!” Morty shouted.

“Ok, ok, calm down Morty, jeez...” Suddenly the lights went off. Morty grabbed his glow stick and the pen and stood up.

“Rick! What am I supposed to do now?” Silence. “Rick?” More silence. Thump. “What was that?” Morty looked around and saw the book had fallen to the floor. He walked over to it and picked it up. The pen almost fell out of his hand so he adjusted his grip and accidently pushed the button. It shined a light that wasn’t visible when the lights were on, and Morty immediately thought, “Invisible ink pen.” He opened up the book and pointed the light at the books blank pages. He flipped through each page, eyes wide. There was pictures of Morty on every page. Pictures of him with his family. Pictures of him at school. Then there were pictures of him with people he’s never even seen before. Pictures of him with a blue haired man in a lab coat. Pictures of him on what looked like alien planets, but he knew that wasn't possible. It must be photoshop. There, on the last page, a letter fell out.

Dear Rick,

It’s been a month since you left. Today’s my fifteenth birthday. I keep hoping you’ll come back. It’s hard to sleep at night, because I stay awake hoping you’ll come drag me out of bed to go on another crazy adventure. But you never do. I go sit in your garage a lot, but it’s not the same. Everything is gone, you’re gone, the garage is empty. It would be so much easier if you never came back in this family’s life to begin with. If I had never met you. Or, if I didn’t remember you. I wish I could forget.

Love, Morty

Morty didn’t know what to think. That letter was in his handwriting. But he had no memory of writing it. He looked at where he knew the camera was, in confusion. “Rick?” Silence. “Rick!” Silence. Morty ran to the locked door and pounded on it until his hands were red. He slid to the floor and felt wetness on his cheeks. He was crying.

“Morty, move out of the way so I can open the door.” Rick said. Morty stood up and walked to the middle of the room, but kept his back to the door. He heard it swing open, heard footsteps getting closer, felt a hand on his shoulder. “Eat this Morty, if you want that letter and those pictures to make sense.” A gummy bear was put into his hand. “It’s the blue kind. Your favorite.” Morty stared at the gummy bear in his hand. He brought it up to his mouth, but hesitated.

“Will you let me go if I eat it or not?” Morty asked.

“Of course I will.”

Morty thought about it for awhile. He hated being curious, and he wanted to know what this was all about. But at the same time, what if all this was fake and that gummy bear was poisoned? After all, he was kidnapped by this man. “C’mon morty, you can do it. 3… 2… 1…” He popped the gummy bear in his mouth and started chewing.

“Morty, this is your grandpa Rick. He’s going to be staying with us for awhile.”

He shut his eyes.

“M- morty, come on, we have to go on an adventure.” “What the hell Rick, it's like three in the morning and I have school tomorrow.” “School can wait Morty, this is more important.”

He felt his knees hit the floor.

“Look, I want to leave now. You win the bet, okay? Just give me the portal gun and let's go, please. Please, I just want to go home.” Morty grabbed onto Rick's lab coat and started crying. Rick looked past Morty to see the king walking out of the restaurant bathroom, face badly beaten up. “Okay. Listen, Morty. I just won a bunch of shmeckels. Why don't we use 25 of them to pay slippery stair here for a ride back to the village, and then we'll give the rest of the shmeckels to the villagers, huh?” Morty looked up at him and smiled. “Really?” “Sure, Morty. Yeah. You know, a good adventure needs a good ending.”

A hand rubbed his back comfortingly.

“Hey Grandpa Ri-” The garage was empty. “R- Rick?” “Hey mom have you seen Rick?” “No sweetie, but I’m sure he will be back in time for supper.” Supper time came, and he still wasn’t home.

Morty slowly slid open his eyes and looked behind him to see Rick standing there, looking the same as he did when he left. Morty jumped up and hugged Rick as tight as he could.

“You came back...”

#rick and morty #rick and morty fanfic #rick and morty au #fanfic #fanfiction #au

[recentanimenews]

Exploring How English Manga Gets Made with Blade of the Immortal’s Editor

This article was provided by Dark Horse and is written by Senior Editor Philip R. Simon.

  With the announcement of Dark Horse Manga’s new Blade of the Immortal Deluxe hardcover series and also the recent conclusion of Amazon Prime’s Blade of the Immortal anime adaptation (deliciously adapting Hiroaki Samura’s entire manga series with care!), it’s certainly time to preach the “Gospel of Rin” again. 

  If this is your first time being exposed to either the complete animated adaptation that Amazon Prime offers or even the original epic manga series by Hiroaki Samura that spawned it, here are some basics to consider as you start down Rin’s road of revenge ... 

  The original manga series debuted as Mugen no Jünin in Japan in 1993 and ended with its final chapter on December 25, 2012. The original Japanese title roughly translates to “Wanderer into Infinity.” When original translator and English-language editor Toren Smith — of the now-defunct but pioneering Studio Proteus manga translating and packaging company — first negotiated the publishing deal for this series between Japanese publisher Kodansha and Dark Horse Comics, Toren suggested using the Blade of the Immortal title for English-reading markets. The title stuck! That title has even become just as common as — and more distinctive than — the original title. 

    Dark Horse Comics published a monthly “pamphlet-style” Blade of the Immortal translation which ran for 131 comic issues, from June 1996 to November 2007, then Dark Horse moved to a trade-only collection format which lasted for thirty-one volumes. Some of those 131 comic-book style issues included fan art by professional Blade fans Becky Cloonan, the Luna Brothers, Guy Davis, Dan Hipp, Vasilis Lolos, Nathan Fox, Rob Guillory, and Farel Dalrymple! All of the smaller collections have been collected into the mostly three-in-one “omnibus” trade paperback collections — and now those “three-in-one” trade paperback collections are getting hardcover collections at the larger, “Deluxe” 7-inch-by-10-inch size, with faux leather covers and a bookmark ribbon.

  Something new readers tend to also ask about is the approach Dark Horse took in presenting the Blade of the Immortal manga in a left-to-right (English reading style) but also a cut-and-paste (original Japanese orientation) style. I found a statement from Toren Smith that he sent to me to run in one of the final Blade of the Immortal monthly comic letters columns about this process. Here’s what Toren wrote in 2007 about how Blade pages were laid out in the English-language adaptations:

Speaking to Samura, he was dubious about flopping his art. Since this was back in the Dark Ages, when retailers and distributors were wary of unflopped manga, we didn't have much choice. Still, initially he refused. Later, after the first tankoubon had come out, I sat down with it and partway through made a realization. As his layout and storytelling skills had matured, he had moved to an unusual style—almost all of his panels were rectangular. For an idea how odd this is, grab any manga off your shelf and compare. I made a few photocopies of his pages and pasted them up with the panels unreversed, but the order of the panels reversed. It worked. Studio Proteus put together a sequence of about ten pages and sent them off to Samura, and he was intrigued. While he had done some work early on that was not amenable to this technique, he suggested that he'd redraw a few panels here and there as needed. I knew we could trim bleeds, and if I kept sharp while doing the rewrite I could move the readers along correctly with strategic repositioning of the word balloons and tweaking the dialog. I think it worked pretty well. Hey, it's tough to read each panel knowing it will be unflopped ... and yet reordered on the page! For the first couple volumes I actually cut and pasted each page, but eventually I was able to do it in my head, on the fly. All of my mistakes were corrected in the TPBs, and after Tomoko came on board, there were essentially none, since she kept an eagle eye on this.

  That process changed drastically by 2004, with digital technology making production so much easier. Dark Horse used to receive large film sheets from Kodansha for our Blade of the Immortal production process. We used to print physical, high-quality sheets of both unflopped and flopped manga pages and send those to Toren Smith and Tomoko Saito so they could work with the large printed sheets and cut every panel out — flopped and unflopped — for flexibility in reassembling everything onto Dark Horse artboards, which would then get scanned. We’d get the book in chapter by chapter from Studio Proteus, to produce the comic books on a monthly basis, and those “raw” paste-up boards would get scanned and then digitally art corrected to remove any small glitches and correct any lettering issues. The process changed in 2004, though, when Tomoko Saito started using print-ready digital files from Japan, her own physically drawn and scanned sound effects, and a digital process to rearrange and flip the panels on a page and letter everything up. That’s why Blade of the Immortal runs the way it does and has a unique, one-of-a-kind “flopping” process.

  Readers who have only skimmed the start of the series will also find that the stubborn, cursing Manji appears to be the main character of this epic series at first, but this is mainly Rin Asano’s story of revenge and growth. The foundation that Samura lays down in the early Blade of the Immortal volumes is an insane plot tool, but fairly simple: In a nutshell, young survivor Rin seeks revenge against the renegade sword school led by Anotsu, because Anotsu and his group of thugs crudely and callously murdered Rin’s parents on her fourteenth birthday. Rin is paired with the powerful and sullen ronin called Manji — who is immortal due to the mystical, regenerative kessen-chu bloodworms in his system — and Manji vows to protect and aid her in her quest for vengeance as she is set on murdering each of Anotsu’s thugs before murdering Anotsu himself.

Manji steals the show right away, and his anachronistic speech and ungentlemanly behavior make him the perfect foil to the proper, driven, serious Rin. “Little Rin” tracks and identifies most of the members of Anotsu’s gang who are responsible for her pain, and Manji sloppily disposes of them. He’s a resilient, charming rogue. Along the way, though, brilliant writer/artist Samura has shown us that this monster of a manga series is just as much Rin’s show as it is tough-guy Manji’s.

  After establishing story arcs in the first dozen or so volumes that show a pattern of Manji and Rin taking down villain after villain, some readers are taken aback by Samura’s “Demon Lair” storyline, which runs through Blade of the Immortal Volumes 16-21. Manji is chained, drugged, and subjected to horrific experiments throughout most of his scenes, and the point of this long divergence seems to be to focus readers on Rin and the strength of Samura’s female characters. Rin’s persistence, intelligence, and willpower wind up matching Manji’s, even if Rin continues to struggle with believing that about herself. Rin shows the most growth through a manga series that’s packed with multiple, satisfying character arcs and perfectly-dovetailing plots.

  I hope you find all of that out for yourself, without giving more details on Rin. My personal favorite character in this series is Giichi — the bald and spectacled warrior who seems defined by his distinctive, head-lopping weapons. Only when you get to the end of this tale do you realize exactly what his motivations are, and Hiroaki Samura seeds and nurtures Giichi’s own character transformation perfectly. But that’s for another article!

  I also have immensely enjoyed the Amazon Prime adaptation, which I highly recommend after you finish reading the original manga series. The story unfolds almost arc-for-arc exactly as the original manga series runs, with some lines translated differently. An example of this is toward the very end when Itto-ryu warrior Ozuhan manages to find fellow students Doa and Isaku. In the manga, Doa asks Ozuhan about all the fishbones in his boat and why he stinks of fish. (That’s all he had to eat on his voyage to find his friends.) But in the newer anime series, Doa comments on how Ozuhan has figured out how to now speak English. (Instead of his usual grunting and whistling.) That’s a slight change that works to build a possible familial conclusion there at the end of the epic with some characters, with Ozuhan now seen as able to communicate with the other “redeemable” members of the Itto-ryu. A small but fun change — and also material for another article!

  If you find yourself enjoying the core Blade of the Immortal series, Dark Horse also has more Samura projects available. The Art of Blade of the Immortal hardcover, with thirty-two extra pages exclusive to the Dark Horse edition, and the Blade of the Immortal: Legend of the Sword Demon “alternate reality” novel are excellent additions to his core series. Dark Horse Manga also collects Samura’s existing short story work in two collections: Ohikkoshi (Takeiteasy Comics Complete Works) and Emerald and Other Stories!

  -Philip R. Simon 

Senior Editor, Dark Horse Manga

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[comicteaparty]

September 14th-September 20th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from September 14th, 2019 to September 20th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What would you consider the most interesting aspect of your comic to be, and is it the same thing your audience finds interesting?

ErinPtah is doing a Kickstarter

Huh, I can't imagine there's any one aspect that most of the audience thinks is "the most interesting." Different people have responded to lots of different things!

Like, with Leif & Thorn (now on Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erinptah/leif-and-thorn-volume-2-sparklier-magic-er-funnier-gayer?ref=4l78c3), some readers are always tracking the political or economic worldbuilding -- the things with real-world equivalents (and some real-world commentary). Others mostly ask questions about how the magic works.

ErinPtah is doing a Kickstarter

Some readers get invested in specific mysteries (like Where Did Leif's Debt Come From, or Who Is The Woman In Black). Some are more focused on the main romance, or other relationships or character arcs. In the last couple strips there's been a flurry of comments speculating about the weather! (To be fair, it's magic weather.) Just about any topic can be The Most Interesting to someone.

FeatherNotes

For Ghost Junk Sickness, it's most definitely the worldbuilding we do. There's always planned concepts for every background and how we go about and strive to include objects and characters that help define its individuality. Most of the times when readers point out their favourite aspects, it's always the world building and designs that go with it! http://www.ghostjunksickness.com/comic/12-6(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

For Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/), the main focus from readers is worldbuilding as well. And along with the worldbuilding, lots of questions are coming up about the moral greyness of the main 'good' and 'bad' factions of the story. And that's exactly what I wanted From my own perspective, I get a kick out of the secrets I'm weaving into the story - I wonder if people will pick up on them once the narrative kicks into high gear, and will notice them later on re-reads...(edited)

Nutty (Court of Roses)

So... for Court of Roses http://courtofroses.spiderforest.com/ , I actually asked my discord what they found interesting, and the number one thing brought up was the worldbuilding. It makes me happy that I'm here able to create a world that draws people in, and then populate that world with relatable characters. I do my best to make THEM interesting, because I want the story to feel character-driven, so you root for them and feel for them.(edited)

HiddenElephant

The most interesting thing for The Wide Ocean? (http://thewideocean.thecomicseries.com/) For me, it would be some of the small details, some of the things that only I know, but some of the things can be figured out with the tattoos of the sharkfolk, which I love creating; they each have a meaning to them, which I suppose is worldbuilding. But I'm not sure what my audience considers the most interesting; it might actually be the story.

JUNK

I think for Fairy Fighting League (http://fflcomic.com/), people are curious about the setting the most. Fairy lore and iconography to this day is very nature-based, so having a bunch of fairies interested in tech makes people interested in seeing to what extent.

deo101

I think the most interesting part of Millennium (https://millennium.spiderforest.com/) is the characters. At least, it seems to be what people are most interested in. I've had a lot of questions about my worldbuilding, and I really love my worldbuilding, but I don't think it's what drives my story or my reader's curiosity. I try to have many different kinds of characters, and seeing how they interact is what interests me the most.

seetherabbit

I had to think on this, but I think the most interesting part of Vulperra (https://vulperra.com/) is that it's pretty much a collection of relative short stories set in the same world, where you have one set of stories about a super hero and a set of just regular folks

FeatherNotes

I gotta say how much I love @LadyLazuli Phantomarines worldbuilding and chars, who all fit so gorgeously in with one another . its absolutely rich in its own lore, it reads as a story that's existed forever in a sense of how grounded it is!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

@FeatherNotes I feel like I've only gotten started, too! The world is very real in my head - it certainly helps with getting it on 'paper.' Thank you so very much

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

Very much agree! @LadyLazuli 's worldbuilding is hella, I can't wait to see more.

I don't know which part is most interesting for me regarding http://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/, it's like asking which child is my favorite. I guess I'm really excited to show more of the merm world, but that won't come for... a while. I love looking up the vintage marine stuff, that's always my bag and I'm always fascinated by everything I learn about old ships. I think the dichotomy between the merm world and human world is hella fun and I hope the audience eventually finds it as neat as I do.

kayotics

So I decided to take a note from Nutty and asked my discord readers what they thought about Ingress Adventuring Company (https://www.ingress-comic.com/) for this question. I always kind of figured the biggest pull for my comic was the characters, and it sounds like my readers think similarly. One thing that was mentioned a few times was that they really liked the pacing, which I really appreciate since I try to make the pages work on both on an individual, weekly level, and on a level that's not too fast when you read it in chunks.(edited)

Urbanjawdust

@LadyLazuli What's your favorite aspect of worldbuilding? :D

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I actually really like worldbuilding through dialogue and character interaction! My entire second chapter was meant to be my 'boring worldbuilding chapter,' but somehow it turned out less boring than expected I just follow some secondary characters around on a normal day in the world. They drop a few 'fantasy' terms here and there, mention some historical events and people in passing, and express some strong emotions regarding their individual situations in relation to the world's 'rules' - but it's mainly just them doing their normal thing as normal people. Conversations we'd have in our own world, but twisted to work for theirs. Basic everyday character behavior manages to do a better job at worldbuilding than any big 'Long long ago, in ancient times, there was a big blah blah blah' kind of opening ever could.

If you keep things natural, it's almost like the worldbuilding is silent - the reader feels 'at home' in the world and becomes fond of the characters, but also curious about how certain bits of info will be explained

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I agree, worldbuilding through character interaction is super duper important.

FeatherNotes

@LadyLazuli your lore is so grounded, the worldbuilding just completes itself each panel! I've seen a lot of your concepts too-- how old was the initial draft of Phantomarine?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Started writing in late 2014, started drawing in mid-2015. I had the basic plot down very quickly, but lots of details were very different from the get-go. The first chapter took two and half years to complete (because c r o w d s), but that meant I had LOTS of time to work out the rest of the world while two of my mains had a little underwater chat Still... no full complete draft exists even now. I just know the main beats and I fill in the details as I go along. It's... not very organized But it allows me to improve the story elements as I learn to improve my storytelling.

There's honestly a lot of lore that I still don't know the details of! I keep things vague because I don't want to lock myself in to anything specific yet. Hell, I haven't even drawn a proper map of the world... and that's, like, the first thing everyone does! I guess it's more like a picture that's getting less blurry with each chapter. For the readers, and for me. And maybe that makes it more natural?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Or my imagination is just extra chonky from years of zoning out at school, I dunno. Pretend your world is real, go have a picnic there. What's it like. What are your characters' favorite sandwiches. Who's sitting next to each other. Are there any threats to this picnic. I don't know. IMAGINE IT, DANGIT

I don't mean to be taking over this babble chat, haha. Please keep babbling, all!

deo101

what is babbling if not taking over a chat for a few minutes? we love to hear your thoughts

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

https://tenor.com/view/my-heart-goes-out-to-you-heartfelt-heart-love-touched-gif-9263701

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Yeah! We're answering a prompt, sure, but there's no reason we can't discuss it with each other, so long as we stay on topic, yeah? And man, worldbuilding is just FUN. Making the rules up as you go, making all the connectors and weaving it together... ugh. <3

keii4ii

The most interesting, and the most important, part of Heart of Keol (https://heartofkeol.com/) is the character relationships! In fact I describe my comic as a "relationship comic" -- like a 'romance comic' except the relationships in focus aren't necessarily romantic. As for what the readers think, there seems to be a fairly clear split between readers who focus on the relationships vs those who focus on the worldbuilding. I could be wrong, but I think those who stick around are more likely to be the former.

RebelVampire

Just want to mention as admin, it's 100% A-ok to semi take over the chat, especially if someone starts asking questions. As long as it's not too far off-topic, I'm happy to see discussions going on in this channel!

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Roger that! I figured as much, just wanted to be polite just in case Thank you!

AntiBunny

In AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ I think the cast are the most interesting aspect of the comic. The characters grow organically, and develop, and readers become attached to them. I think one of the most important things is that Pooky is a massive jerk, and it's important to establish that Pooky is wrong sometimes. Avoiding the pitfall of protagonist centric morality is crucial to making a more well rounded cast.

AntiBunny

It seems that over time Penelope has become the most popular character as well. Given the setting is a world of gray morality and violence is frequently resorted to, her insistence on not using violence, proves she's willing to change the world around her, and refuses to be changed by it.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

[iseeuseepage]

Death at sea, old case files, and personnel records – 035

//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/9197726/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/1a5c74/

Right-click and select “Save As” to download this podcast episode to your device.

transcript:

​This week on the Writer’s Detective Bureau, Death at Sea, Old Case Files and Personnel Records. I’m Adam Richardson and this is the Writer’s Detective Bureau.

Welcome to episode 35 of the Writer’s Detective Bureau, the podcast dedicated to helping authors and screenwriters write professional quality crime related fiction. I’d like to thank Gold Shield patron Debra Dunbar from debradunbar.com and Coffee Club patrons Joan Raymond, Guy Alton, Natasha Bajema, Natalie Barelli, Joe Trent, Siobhan Pope, Leah Cutter, Ryan Kinmil, Richard Phillips, Robin Lyons, Gene Desrochers, Craig Kingsman, Kate Wagner, Marco Carocari, Victoria Kazarian, Rebecca Jackson, Daniel Miller, and Natalie Maran. Your support keeps the lights on in the bureau.

Please support all of these amazing authors by visiting their author websites and reading their books. You can find links to their websites in the show notes at writersdetective.com/35. And I keep telling you if you have your own author business, please consider joining Patreon. It is free for you. It allows your readers to support you financially through monthly micro payments just like these patrons are doing for me. So give your fans a chance to show their support by creating your own Patreon account right now. To learn more, just visit writersdetective.com/patreon and that’s P-A-T-R-E-O-N.

​Can you believe it is already the end of March? Man, the year is flying by. I’m going to be sending out the March All Points Bulletin, the APB email on March 31st. Now, if you aren’t on the APB mailing list yet, you’re welcome to join right now. So if you aren’t aware, the APB is my curated list of links to resources on the internet that I think you’ll benefit from knowing about. And I’m not talking about like a bunch of affiliate links or books to buy or courses or anything like that. These are things like real procedural manuals or white papers that are going to help in your writing research or police discussion forums that may give you some insight into what a potential character of yours might be thinking.

So many of these links are actually ones that I find doing my day job, actually working in law enforcement, and so I squirrel them away all month along and then at the end of the month, I send them out to you guys if I think it’s something that will tie into what you’re trying to write about. So if you’d like to get those kind of things in your inbox on the last day of each month, you can go to writersdetective.com/mailing list to sign up. When you do sign up, be sure to check your inbox right away for a confirmation email. And once you confirm your sign up, you’re going to receive the January 2019 and February 2019 APBs right away. That way, you get to see exactly what you’ve signed up for. And if it isn’t for you, you can unsubscribe by clicking at the bottom of the email. I promise if you unsubscribe, it won’t hurt my feelings too badly. So again, the link is writersdetective.com/mailing list.

Also today, I was one of the lucky I think 850-ish people to secure a ticket to this year’s 20Books Vegas Conference, which will be held in November. And I saw in the conference listing in the description that they’re planning to have a legal police procedural panel as one of the events during the conference so I am looking forward to checking that out. My favorite Cops and Writers sergeant, Patrick O’Donnell will be there for sure so I’m looking forward to catching up with him. And be sure to like Patrick’s new Facebook page. You can find it at facebook.com/copsandwriters. He’s another great resource for you guys. So facebook.com/copsandwriters for Sergeant Patrick O’Donnell’s page. And I know he’s got a book coming out soon. So once that’s out, I’ll be sure to have him on the podcast as well.

Anyway, if you are attending 20Books Vegas, let me know. We might put together some sort of meet up during the conference and I’d love to get a chance to meet you in person ’cause this podcasting thing is pretty one way kind of a communication form, kind of like writing most of the time. So let’s change that. I want to hang out in Vegas if you’re going to the conference. So let me know what you think of the meet up idea and send me a question while you’re at it. Just drop me a line by going to writersdetective.com/podcast. All right, now let’s get on to this week’s questions.

So my friend, Chris Niles at chrisnilesbooks.com submitted this week’s first question. She writes “If a person dies at sea in international waters, what’s supposed to happen? How much flexibility is there in making things more difficult or easier for my main characters? Does it matter if there’s a body or if the body is gone, say eaten by a shark?”

What a whopper of a question, Christine. So there are a lot of parts to this one even though it was a pretty simple question so bear with me with this. First and foremost, we are dealing with a huge issue of jurisdiction obviously, especially when we’re talking about international waters or the high seas as you may also see it referred to. So the overarching Law of the Sea Treaty comes from the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea. So we’ll call it UNCLOS, U-N-C-L-O-S.

The US participated in the negotiation conference of this treaty, which took place over several decades and despite 162 countries and the European Union joining the convention, the US has not ratified the treaty despite bipartisan efforts across several decades to pass this ratification with the required two-thirds vote of the United States Senate. So despite our legislative ineptitude and political BS, the US still at least recognizes the Law of the Sea as customary, even though we aren’t legally bound to it. We believe in it.

We just can’t get our politicians to…                                                                                                                                                     Continue reading… 

Death at sea, old case files, and personnel records – 035 syndicated from detectiveserviceblog.wordpress.com

[shadowfollowweb]

Death at sea, old case files, and personnel records - 035

Right-click and select "Save As" to download this podcast episode to your device.

transcript:

​This week on the Writer's Detective Bureau, Death at Sea, Old Case Files and Personnel Records. I'm Adam Richardson and this is the Writer's Detective Bureau. Welcome to episode 35 of the Writer's Detective Bureau, the podcast dedicated to helping authors and screenwriters write professional quality crime related fiction. I'd like to thank Gold Shield patron Debra Dunbar from debradunbar.com and Coffee Club patrons Joan Raymond, Guy Alton, Natasha Bajema, Natalie Barelli, Joe Trent, Siobhan Pope, Leah Cutter, Ryan Kinmil, Richard Phillips, Robin Lyons, Gene Desrochers, Craig Kingsman, Kate Wagner, Marco Carocari, Victoria Kazarian, Rebecca Jackson, Daniel Miller, and Natalie Maran. Your support keeps the lights on in the bureau. Please support all of these amazing authors by visiting their author websites and reading their books. You can find links to their websites in the show notes at writersdetective.com/35. And I keep telling you if you have your own author business, please consider joining Patreon. It is free for you. It allows your readers to support you financially through monthly micro payments just like these patrons are doing for me. So give your fans a chance to show their support by creating your own Patreon account right now. To learn more, just visit writersdetective.com/patreon and that's P-A-T-R-E-O-N.

​Can you believe it is already the end of March? Man, the year is flying by. I'm going to be sending out the March All Points Bulletin, the APB email on March 31st. Now, if you aren't on the APB mailing list yet, you're welcome to join right now. So if you aren't aware, the APB is my curated list of links to resources on the internet that I think you'll benefit from knowing about. And I'm not talking about like a bunch of affiliate links or books to buy or courses or anything like that. These are things like real procedural manuals or white papers that are going to help in your writing research or police discussion forums that may give you some insight into what a potential character of yours might be thinking. So many of these links are actually ones that I find doing my day job, actually working in law enforcement, and so I squirrel them away all month along and then at the end of the month, I send them out to you guys if I think it's something that will tie into what you're trying to write about. So if you'd like to get those kind of things in your inbox on the last day of each month, you can go to writersdetective.com/mailing list to sign up. When you do sign up, be sure to check your inbox right away for a confirmation email. And once you confirm your sign up, you're going to receive the January 2019 and February 2019 APBs right away. That way, you get to see exactly what you've signed up for. And if it isn't for you, you can unsubscribe by clicking at the bottom of the email. I promise if you unsubscribe, it won't hurt my feelings too badly. So again, the link is writersdetective.com/mailing list. Also today, I was one of the lucky I think 850-ish people to secure a ticket to this year's 20Books Vegas Conference, which will be held in November. And I saw in the conference listing in the description that they're planning to have a legal police procedural panel as one of the events during the conference so I am looking forward to checking that out. My favorite Cops and Writers sergeant, Patrick O'Donnell will be there for sure so I'm looking forward to catching up with him. And be sure to like Patrick's new Facebook page. You can find it at facebook.com/copsandwriters. He's another great resource for you guys. So facebook.com/copsandwriters for Sergeant Patrick O'Donnell's page. And I know he's got a book coming out soon. So once that's out, I'll be sure to have him on the podcast as well. Anyway, if you are attending 20Books Vegas, let me know. We might put together some sort of meet up during the conference and I'd love to get a chance to meet you in person 'cause this podcasting thing is pretty one way kind of a communication form, kind of like writing most of the time. So let's change that. I want to hang out in Vegas if you're going to the conference. So let me know what you think of the meet up idea and send me a question while you're at it. Just drop me a line by going to writersdetective.com/podcast. All right, now let's get on to this week's questions.

So my friend, Chris Niles at chrisnilesbooks.com submitted this week's first question. She writes "If a person dies at sea in international waters, what's supposed to happen? How much flexibility is there in making things more difficult or easier for my main characters? Does it matter if there's a body or if the body is gone, say eaten by a shark?" What a whopper of a question, Christine. So there are a lot of parts to this one even though it was a pretty simple question so bear with me with this. First and foremost, we are dealing with a huge issue of jurisdiction obviously, especially when we're talking about international waters or the high seas as you may also see it referred to. So the overarching Law of the Sea Treaty comes from the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea. So we'll call it UNCLOS, U-N-C-L-O-S. The US participated in the negotiation conference of this treaty, which took place over several decades and despite 162 countries and the European Union joining the convention, the US has not ratified the treaty despite bipartisan efforts across several decades to pass this ratification with the required two-thirds vote of the United States Senate. So despite our legislative ineptitude and political BS, the US still at least recognizes the Law of the Sea as customary, even though we aren't legally bound to it. We believe in it. We just can't get our politicians to...                                                                                                                                                     Continue reading... 

Death at sea, old case files, and personnel records - 035 published first on https://detectiveservicesmelbourne.tumblr.com/