assmundr

[assmundr]

I don’t really have anything specific to add to the discussion, just that I’m so relieved other people are talking about how atrocious The Dragon Slayer is. There is a huge difference between portraying sexual assault and its ramifications in a society structured to accept and forgive it vs showing it on-screen repeatedly for shock value to make your story ‘darker’ while treating characters who are victims of it as pariahs we’re meant to dislike (S’melie) or barely characters at all (Dandy). Also I really need people to stop calling characters ‘morally gray’ when really they mean ‘morally repugnant but I like them’. There’s a trope called ‘kick the dog’ that exists to tell the audience a character is a dick and you shouldn’t root for them, but apparently the protagonist kicking a dying baby isn’t supposed to make us hate her? Even if we set aside all of the glaring misogyny, this comic is just so poorly written and has no grasp on pacing or tone or how to handle any of the tropes or themes it’s employing. The whole thing feels like a rough draft of baby’s first mature story, and if it were me I’d be truly fucking embarrassed to put out something this half-done.

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[assmundr]

i feel like im going crazy but how does pierces even know that caly set up dyktors death. how did she math that out to rationalize kicking a sickly child in the head. no one saw caly sneak the metal into dyktors mane and even then how is a child supposed to know that it would've attracted lightning. its making my head hurt

Two main questions I have about Dragon Slayer are:

1) How the fuck does Percy know CalyCuntUs killed Dyktor

2) How the fuck did Caly the Cunt know metal attracts lightning in the first place?

Both of these just feel like an absolute reach. These horses don't know what fences and injections/syringes are, not do they know anything about trailers or humans, but somehow they know that metal attracts lightning...??

Moreso, how would Percy make the connection that The Rape Priest killed her father when she 1) didn't even see him put the wire in his mane 2) didn't even know anything about the wire and 3) shouldn't even know metal attracts lightning at all??

My only guess at this (and I feel like I'm reaching) is that Percy, who still believes in the Dragon, somehow deduced that Rape Priest "ordered" it to kill Dyktor, otherwise influenced it to do it.

I personally see this bit of the story as bad writing. Rape Priest knowing about something he shouldn't even understand and Percy having a reaction to it as if she saw exactly what the audience saw, which is not true. Feels like a bad case of deus ex machina

And about Percy attacking the baby, of course it's not rational, that is the point. Or rather, I think it's the point, because this comic's lack of good pacing and inner monologue of the characters doesn't provide enough substance to properly draw any conclusion, in my opinion. But what I THINK Sleepy is attempting to do here is take the grief-sickened Percy and take her anger out on something/someone she deems "responsible" just to feel better about what happened. Irrational thinking is not at all uncommon with people who are grieving or otherwise emotionally upset, and taking questionable actions that frequently result in other people's harm is not uncommon either.

But on the other hand, imo there's a big difference between "I'm going to deliberately dislike and/or bully my cousin because he's connected to my uncle, whom I hate, and I cannot unsee the connection between these two due to my trauma, which is something that absolutely could become a way to develop me as a character and speak about the cycle of hate and abuse" vs "I'm gonna cave this baby's skull in like it's a ripe cantaloupe because I'm Big Sad"

Like there IS a line here and Percy leaped over it like a deer.

[assmundr]

'She makes many mistakes and is often morally gray' A teenage is trying to murder a newborn, fuckin nothing gray about that. I think I could have handled this scene in dragon slayer if it wasn't for Sleepy trying justify her 'mature' writing. Flat out admitting she can't handle people seeing the characters for what they are and not what she intended them to be. All the dad jokes and touching family moments doesn't save Dyktor from being an enabler to a fucking rapist. Which i wish she would let him be seen as that, but she's clear bothered people see him for what he is. It's basic male privilege and toxicity, that they dismiss and excuse other mens horrid behavior in favor of not rocking the boat. Usually dismissed with jokes and humor. Which Dyktor doesn't do, but rubs me wrong that he has both these traits adjacent to each other. Like we just had the game Mouthwashing come out last year. A actually mature story were, a man enabling his rapist friends, is a key point.

This comic is just embarrassing at this point. The fact they want to claim, people who see it for what it is and not what they intended, are the immature ones in this situation is laughable. Half expect them to pull the songdog excuse of, 'its for fun so you can't talk about it', at this point.

God we haven't even got to the dubious consent yet-

Dyktor literally has the vibes of a man who goes "Noooo, whattttt? My buddy Johnny would NEVER do that!! I know him! He's a good guy!" when he hears his bro was accused of sexual assault. Again, just like with Percy, I really don't understand how Sleepy doesn't see why people would dislike Dyktor when he literally admits ON SCREEN that he doesn't really care what his rapist brother does to other women as long as its not HIS women.

Somehow Dyktor is a good guy because "he lets his herd of women choose when they wanna have babies and also allows them to leave whenever they want" as if this is not the absolute bare fucking minimum?? And even after this is somewhat glorified, we're shown a scene where a mother mourns the departure of her baby son and instead of like, idk, maybe comforting her, Dyktor goes "lol wanna make another??"

I honestly cannot believe how much Sleepy wants to make this comic not about sex while it's very clearly written to be just about sex.

Anyway. Any and all potential good things about Dyktor are immediately null to me because this bitch continuously shields his rapist brother while knowing what his rapist brother does is bad. The guy could invent a cure for dementia and I'd still hate his guts.

[assmundr]

"Pierces is morally grey, you're all misogynistic" bro she's like a teenager beating up a dying baby

"Based on people's reactions to S'melie, I cannot trust that you will not also say horrible things about Pierces too."

I fully agree with Sleepy about the absolutely horrific comments she received about Millie, but I guess that's what you get out of an audience she cultivated when she blocked and shunned away people who criticised the terribly writing in her story and let all the other trigger-happy people roam. What a lot of people said about Millie was absolutely terrible, simply for the reason of her having attitude?? And it really made me question the ability of critical thinking of her comment section.

The other part of this sentence however? Makes it really come across as if Sleepy really wants people to like Percy and gives the idea she's upset just by the idea that people don't. And I honestly question this? Like, Sleepy, my guy, so far Percy has been a bratty, aggressive bully to literally anyone but Dandy, including all the other foals in the herd she was born into and the herd stallion himself, and now she's attacking a dying baby because "my dead is dead and I am sad"

And to that I ask, where is the white parts? Because morally grey characters absolutely do exist, but the thing is that to be morally grey, you need to mix the good parts with the bad parts and...Percy really doesn't have any good parts. The only good thing I can think of her doing for her entire existence so far is attempting to bring some food to Dandy, but that is it. Percy is an absolutely insufferable character otherwise and I don't understand how Sleepy does not see this

[assmundr]

Cute. Really cute

so nobody should ever write about rape then? if yall just hate any work that speaks about SA and its victims? what about other "sensitive" topics like molestation or murder or racism? should everyone not write about any of this ever because of sensitive snowflakes like you? stop trying to spread censorship and stop reading media that depicts topics you dont like instead of complaining about it maybe lmao

I'll reply to this properly in a few hours because I'll most likely end up writing a mini essay as an answer, and right now I'm on my way to work. All of you feel free to bask in the glory of this anon, who completely missed any of the points I make on this blog, just so they could send this angry message. Cute

[assmundr]

so nobody should ever write about rape then? if yall just hate any work that speaks about SA and its victims? what about other "sensitive" topics like molestation or murder or racism? should everyone not write about any of this ever because of sensitive snowflakes like you? stop trying to spread censorship and stop reading media that depicts topics you dont like instead of complaining about it maybe lmao

I'll reply to this properly in a few hours because I'll most likely end up writing a mini essay as an answer, and right now I'm on my way to work. All of you feel free to bask in the glory of this anon, who completely missed any of the points I make on this blog, just so they could send this angry message. Cute

[assmundr]

Pierces is just a bully. Even in earlier pages she's shown fighting the other foals in her herd and them not exactly liking it

Yup. Fully agree

[assmundr]

oh boy if you think dragon slayer is bad now just wait until you catch up to whats on patreon

I heard about what's coming and it honestly makes me think...why would anyone root for Percy?

Spoiler alert but what she does to that foal is horrific. "Hurr durr I'm angry and jealous so I will act it out on a defenseless dying baby" is this really the protagonist we're supposed to be rooting for? The overzealous foal that's shown disregard to authority from the day she was born? A bratty, aggressive character that's supposed to radiate "female empowerment" or whatever because being aggressive and eager to fight everything you come across = strong female character??

Honestly, I ask in absolute sincerity, what is there to love about Percy? What is there about this bratty, violent, jealous little ass that I should love? Why would I care or root for her when she acts like *that*?

[assmundr]

Can't you tell us the comic name of the author who criticized Kique and rancher and then did the same? maybe a hint? It's ringing a bell

Anyways. When you create a story it's normal people won't like certain characters mostly if they are abusers (though the amount of lust some people have for abuser characters in media it's concerning). I would understand getting upset over sexist comments but bashing an abuser? Reminds me of a cat comic author who closed the comment section when a character who pretty much manipulated and mocked a SA victim was getting criticism.

We are definitely thinking about different people because the person I'm thinking of never had a comic, nor did they upload their work publicly very much, but I find it both hilarious and off-putting that there was more people like this.

You know, liking terrible characters is fine. Not to make a hot take here or something, but I don't actually mind if people like the antagonists and villains in stories no matter how horrendous they may be. One of my favourite fictional characters ever is essentially a space fascist and it's solely because I love the writing the character has and the role he plays in the story. I don't care if people like antagonists, villains and other bad fictional people as long as they don't try to UwUfy them or otherwise excuse or minimise their deeds.

I also think that as an author, you have to expect that not everyone will feel the same about your creations as you do? And I feel like people tend to really forget this and then get very upset when people don't like their characters, especially if that character is a bad person. Sure, you may appreciate them for the character they became, for their complexity and role in the story or simply just because you enjoyed writing and designing them. But I don't get why anyone would be confused when their Bad Person Character gets treated like a bad person? I think the main issue about authors like this is that they get attached to their character for whatever reason and don't realise someone else's point of view may be different

[assmundr]

Just a PSA

If you, an author of a story centered around heavy and sensitive topics such as rape, sexual assault and religious indoctrination, have to shut down your comment section on multiple occasions because of the criticism and backlash you get over portraying said topics badly, you're the one who is the problem, not the people in your audiance.

[assmundr]

Do you have any advice on how to write darker themes without them being … just a shock scene that forwards the plot?

Research. Research. Research and more research. Listen to people's expriences, take a look at real world events, study them and get inspiration (I will not lie, a lot of what I write for my own stories is inspired by present day political events, especially the dumpster fire that became the US) talk to people who have experiences with whatever theme you want to write about (racism, sexism, queerphobia, spousal/parental abuse, religious trauma, cults, mental illnesses, mental and physical disabilites and disorders, sexual assault. etc. etc. Of course only do so when you know that person is okay with such questions, don't be a creep.) Not everyone's experience is universal so be prepared a couple people will tell you something akin to "that's not how that works/that would never happen/that's so unrealistic" disagreements are fine and they happen, you can't expect that a 100% of the people exposed to your work will like it and agree with it, but if many many people continuously tell you that This One Thing (or multiple things even) are written in poor taste, please listen to them. It's not an attack on you as a person, I promise. Most people just want to help you.

Always treat these topics with the respect and dignity they deserve. Sexual assault is not funny, racism isn't funny, sexism and misogyny are not funny either. (It's fine to have characters make jokes about these or other dark topics because they're trying to cope or doing their best to make light of a bad situation. Or maybe they're just assholes, aight? Not every character will be a good guy.) But the overall tone of the story and the message you as the writer is trying to send should not give a sense that you don't take something like this seriously, think it's not a big deal or even that any of these issues are funny.

In short; don't name your main character, who's mother was sexually assaulted, after a sex joke, nor name a religiously indoctrinated woman who was taken advantage of by someone in power "stinky" just because she has attitude, and otherwise imply through the story and your own commentary that she is the issue and not the guy who raped and indoctrinated her.

Which brings me to another very important point. There is a rule going around literary circles which goes; If you can use anything but rape, don't use rape.

I'm not at all saying this topic is off the table and complete taboo, not at all. What I am saying is that this topic is very hard to get right when it comes to writing it, the effects it has on the victim, the approach others take to this event, the approach the story often takes towards the rapist and many other things related to this. There's so many other things that can be used instead this, and a lot of the time when someone writes about rape, it comes off as nothing but shock value points. "Look how Dark and Complex and Mature my work is!! It has rape!!! Isn't that soooooooo mature of me?? Isn't that soooooooo dark and provocative and raw???" is what I get out of 90% of all works that tackle this topic. Don't be that guy. The focus of the story should be the character, not the terrible thing that happened to them.

And for the love of god, if you, at any point, try to make the story come off as if the rapist is actually the victim or if you simp for them in any way, I will come for you and stab your ankles.

Also, if you happen to write something incorrectly, make it come off in a bad way or otherwise it's pointed out to you that you didn't do a good job working with such a topic, that's okay! Nobody should expect anyone to be pros at writing something on the very first try. Oversights happen, misinterpretations happen, writing something for the first time seldom has perfect results and that's fine. If you realise either yourself or thanks to someone else that your writing of a topic is not adequate, research it more, talk to more people, compare experienses, consequences, until it is better. It's not the end of the world, allow yourself some grace, but please, if someone approaches you about an issue they have with your work, don't stubbornly dig your heels in, listen.

[assmundr]

Holy shit. So tumblr is being tumblr again and just. Not notifying me when I get asks?? I have like 20+ messages from y'all, mostly about the absolute putrid mess that became the Dragon Slayer comic, and I have not seen them for months. Sorry for this, everyone, I'll begin chewing through them tomorrow after work

[assmundr]

I still find so weird and disgusting Kique's decision of letting Diarko being raised in the meteor tribe, and Diarko not giving a fuck of being separated from his mother.

But ofc little Diarko can't be raised BY HIS OWN, BIOLOGICAL, THE FEMALE WHO FIGHT AGAINST HER KIN FOR HER SON, NO, HE MUST BE RAISED BY THE THREE FORCED POLYGAY BECAUSE THEY NEED A CHILD.

Uggghhh

[assmundr]

Lmao, a white saber wolf with a red eye as well. Feel free to report him for sealing Ninmah from you!!

Uh oh! Big stinky thinks he owns wolves with saber teeth!1!!

Except I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FIRST

UNO REVERSE DOG-MAN

[assmundr]

Kique, babygirl, lemme repeat something to you that every sane artist knows at the very beginning of their artistic journey, because it's fucking common sense for most:

You cannot own a pose

You cannot own an colour palette

You cannot own an artstyle

"Style trace" is not a thing. "Canine with saber teeth" is not a concept you own. (And just a sidenote. I love how he, the King of Theft and Tracing, is now complaining somebody else is "stealing" from him.) You cannot copyright a style for the same reason you cannot copyright a colour, an idea, a concept, a musical note, a name, because those are free, abstract, widely ranging concepts that stem from pure thought and creativity and therefore cannot be owned by anyone. I cannot believe I'm telling this to someone who's in his 30s and has been an artist for nearly two decades, but here we are, I guess.

Please, stop embarrassing yourself with this ridiculous callout. You're not even grasping at straws, you're grasping at thin air in hopes you'll eventually grab a blade or two. Anything this callout is proving is what kind of a petty idiot you are. For the love of God, stop with this nonsense and save yourself the little bit of dignity you still have left

[assmundr]

"what a good day to be the worst person alive!"-Kique

#RogioCoded

[assmundr]

Can I just quickly say that I'm lowkey not even surprised he was stealing brushes from Aaron Blaise? Kique has been gushing about this man's work for years, especially about the work he's done on Beauty and the Beast and Brother Bear. Of course he'd resell his assets, because god forbid Kique creates something on his own instead of stealing from people he admires