#and the only thing i could draw outside of comic revisions was this

[omegalomania]

from under the cock tree

[aeon-borealis]

Dumb AleHeather Related Rambles

I play with the idea of "Dumbass is jealous of/has a goofy rivalry with their S/O's cat" for Serirei (Serizawa X Reigen), but I just can't do it with AleHeather. It'd be in-character for them. It'd be so petty and fall so perfectly in place with what kind of writing better Total Drama has. Hell, if I got to work on an older TD cast special, I'd sooo want to storyboard whatever Looney Tunes antics someone brewed up for Alejandro and Bruiser.

But I'm not strict canon compliant for AleHeather. I can, will, and have broken what's "in character" to get more sincere, fluffy moments than I'd get otherwise. That includes both Alejandro and Heather being cat persons. And Alejandro loves Bruiser as much as Heather does because that's wholesome as fuck to me.

I've also been sold on Alejandro and Heather both being HUGE fans of puppetry and that being the nerdy interest they both sync on. I want to do more research because if there's a scene with more of Alejandro's room, there's gonna be more than just the Jim Henson poster or references to The Muppets.

I vaguely remember establishing Alejandro as a Star Wars fan in a fan fic too. I'm not 100% sold on that one any more. It's more because I've never been that into it and I'd have trouble selling a character's enthusiasm on it.

I made some fanart with a hypothetical AleHeather fankid back in high school. She never had a concrete design or personality. The only given was that her name was Alejandra Heather Burromuerto.

By this point, I'm not keen on revising this character or doing anything further because it's important to me to have solid, meaningful childfree rep. I'm on the fence myself, but I feel like deliberately childfree characters with rich, interesting lives outside of kids is woefully under-explored in media at large. To me, its very believable that Alejandro and Heather could be childfree by choice as adults. I definitely want to write/draw content for late 20's-early 30's AleHeather. I don't have any solid ideas or directions other than that drabble I posted a couple months ago about depressed Alejandro.

Writing for them at that phase of life hits a bit too close to home. That's why it's so hard for me. By the reboot standards, they're the same age as me! It was one thing to write for them as a teenager. Hell, a few people told me my writing for Alejandro was spot-on ten years ago. By now, though, I don't want just the angst-fest and I don't have patience for the soap opera theatrics with no real payoff. I honestly want to flesh out and do more with them figuring out a healthy, meaningful dynamic. That's more of what I'm aiming for with my in-progress fan comic (once I actually get back to it. Going through some shit right now and its been hard to drum up motivation again).

[meruz]

once again i am answering asks in a big compilation post. included is... gotham, patrick stump, tips about drawing backgrounds, tips about drawing in general, links to my faq, and infinity train

like.... the tv series? No... I’ve drawn dc comics fanart before, though. But it’s been years since I’ve been really into it. I like jumped ship like 10 years ago when the New 52 happened LOL.

AFJHDSLKGH I’m sorry I (probably) won’t do it again??

Actually full disclosure I have a truly cringe amount of p stump drawings/photo studies in my sketchbook right now LOL. He’s just fun to draw... hats, glasses, guitar, a good shape... but I don’t think I’ll rly post those until I can hide them in another big sketchbook pdf.. probably Jan 2022. Stay tuned........ (ominous) 

(ominous preview)

These are all sort of related to backgrounds/painting so I grouped them together even though they’re pretty much entirely separate questions.... ANYWAYS

a) How is it working as a BG artist? Is it hard? What show are you drawing for?

I think you’re the first person to ever ask me about my job! Being a background artist is great. It’s definitely labor intensive but I think that could describe pretty much any art job (If something were rote or easy to automate, you wouldn’t hire an artist to do it) and I hesitate to say whether its harder or easier than any other role in the animation pipeline. Plus, so much of what truly makes a job difficult varies from one production to the next, schedule, working environment, co-workers etc. But I will say that I think while BGs are generally a lot of work on the upfront, I think they’re subject to less scrutiny/revisions than something like character/props/effects design and you don’t have to pitch them to a room like boards. So I guess it’s good if you don’t like to talk to people? LOL

A lot of my previous projects + the show I’ve worked on the longest aren’t public yet so I can’t talk about em (but I assure you if/when the news does break I won’t shut up about it). But I’m currently working on Archer Season 12 LOL. I’m like 90% sure I’m allowed to say that.

b) ~~~THANK YOU!! ~~~

c) What exactly do you like to draw most [in a background]?

@kaitomiury​ Lots of stuff! I really like to draw clutter! Because it’s a great opportunity for environmental storytelling and also you can be kind of messy with it because the sheer mass will supersede any details LOL. 

I like to draw clouds... I like to draw grass but not trees lol,,, I like to draw anything that sells perspective really easily like tiled floors and ceilings, shelves, lamp posts on a street etc.

d) Do you have any tips on how to paint (observational)?

god there’s so much to say. painting is really a whole ass discipline like someone can paint their whole life and still discover new things about it. I guess if you’re really just starting out my best advice is that habit is more important than product. especially with traditional plein air painting, I find that the procedure of going outside and setting up your paints is almost harder than the actual painting. There’s a lot of artists who say “I want to do plein air sometime!!” and then never actually get around to doing it. A lot of people just end up working from google streetview or photos on their computer.

But going outside to paint is a really good challenge because it forces you to make and commit to lighting and composition decisions really quickly. And to work through your mistakes instead of against them via undo button.

My last tip is to check out James Gurney’s youtube channel because hes probably the best and most consistent resource on observational painting out there rn. There’s lots other artists doing the same thing (off the top of my head I know a lot of the Warrior Painters group has people regularly posting plein air stuff and lightbox expo had a Jesse Schmidt lecture abt it last year) but Gurney’s probably the most prolific poster and one of the best at explaining the more technical stuff - his books are great too.

e) Do you have tips for drawing cleanly on heavypaint?

@marigoldfool​ UMM LOL I LIKE ONLY USE THE FILL TOOL so maybe use the fill tool? Fill and rectangle are good for edge control as opposed to the rest of the heavy paint tools which can get sort of muddles. And also I use a stylus so maybe if you’re using your finger, find a stylus that works with your device instead. That’s all I’ve got, frankly I don’t think my drawings are particularly clean lol.

f) Tips on improving backgrounds/scenes making them more dynamic practicing etc?

Ive given some tips about backgrounds/scenes before so I’m not gonna re-tread those but here’s another thing that might be helpful...

I think a good way to approach backgrounds is to think of the specific story or even mood you want to convey with the background first. Thinking “I just need to put something behind this character” is going to lead you to drawing like... a green screen tourist photo backdrop. But if you think “I need this bg to make the characters feel small” or “I need this bg to make the world feel colorful” then it gives you requirements and cues to work off of.

If I know a character needs to feel overwhelmed and small, then I know I need to create environment elements that will cage them in and corner them. If a character needs to feel triumphant/on top of the world then I know I need to let the environment open up around them. etc. If I know my focal point/ where I want to draw attention, I can build the background around that.

Also, backgrounds like figure compositions will have focal points of their own and you can draw attention to it/ the relationship the characters have with the bg element via scale or directionality or color, any number of cues. I think of it almost as a second/third character in a scene.

Not every composition is gonna have something so obvious like this but it helps me to think about these because then the characters feel connected and integrated with the environment.

Some more general art questions

a) Do you have any process/tips to start drawing character/bodies/heads?

I tried to kind of draw something to answer this but honestly this is difficult for me to answer because I don’t think I’m that great at drawing characters LOL. Ok, I think I have two tips.

1) flip your canvas often. A lot about what makes human bodies look correct and believable is symmetry and balance. Even if someone has asymmetrical features, the body will often pull and push in a way to counterbalance it. we often have inherent biases to one side or another like dominant hands dominant eyes etc. you know how right-handed artists will often favor drawing characters facing 45 degrees facing (the artist’s) left? that’s part of it. so viewing your drawing flipped even just to evaluate it helps compensate for that bias and makes you more aware of balance.

2) draw the whole figure often. I feel like a lot of beginner artists (myself included for a long time) defer to just drawing headshots or busts because it’s easier, you dont have to think about posing limbs etc. But drawing a full body allows you to better gauge proportion, perspective, body language, everything that makes a character look believable and grounded.

Like if you (me) have that issue where you draw the head too big and then have to resize it to fit the proportions of the rest of the body, it’s probably because you (I) drew the head first and are treating the body as an afterthought/attachment. Sketching out the whole figure first or even just quick drawing guides for it will help you think of it more holistically. I learned this figure drawing in charcoal at art school LOL.

oh. third mini tip - try to draw people from life often! its the best study. if you can get into a figure drawing/nude drawing class EVEN BETTER and if you have a local college/art space/museum that hosts those for free TREASURE IT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, that’s a huge boon that a lot of artists (me again) wish they had. though if youre not so lucky and youre sitting in a park trying to creeper draw people and they keep moving.. don’t let that stop you! that’s good practice because it’s forcing you to work fast to get the important stuff down LOL. its a challenge!

b) I’ve been pretty out of energy and have had no inspiration to draw but I have the desire to. Any advice?

Dude, take a walk or something.... Or a nap? Low energy is going to effect everything else so you gotta hit that problem at its source.

If you’re looking for inspiration though, I’d recommend stuff like watching a movie, reading a book, playing video games etc. Fill up your idea bank with content and then give yourself time/space to gestate it into new concepts. Sometimes looking at other art works but sometimes it can work against you because it’s too close. 

Also something that helps me is remembering that art doesn’t always have to be groundbreaking... like it’s okay to make something shitty and stupid that you don’t post online and only show to your friend. That’s all part of the process imo. If you want to hit a home run you gotta warm up first, right? Sports.

I should probably compile everytime i give tips on stuff like this but that’s getting dangerously close to being a social media artist who makes stupid boiled down art tutorials for clout which is the last thing i want to be... the thing I want to stress is that art is a whole visual language and there are widely agreed upon rules and customs but they exist in large part to be broken. Like there's an infinite number of ways to reach an infinite number of solutions and that’s actually what makes it really cool and personal for both the artist and the viewer. So when you make work you like or you find someone else’s work you like, take a step back and ask yourself what about it speaks for you, what about it works for you, what makes it effective, how to recreate that effect and how to break that effect completely, etc. And have a good time with it or else what’s the point.

for the first 2, I direct you to my FAQ

For the last one, I don’t actually believe I’ve ever addressed artwork as insp for stories/rp but I’ll say here and now yeah go ahead! As long as you’re not making profit or taking credit for my work then I’m normally ok with it. Especially anything thats private and purely recreational, that’s generally 100% green light go. I only ask that if you post it anywhere public that you please credit me.

(and I reserve the right to ask you to take it down if I see it and don’t approve of it’s use but I think that case is pretty rare.)

a) @lemuelzero101 Thank you!!! I haven’t played Life is Strange but actually  that series’ vis dev artist Edouard Caplain is one of my bigger art inspirations lately so that’s a really high compliment lol. And yeah I hope we get 5-8 too...!

b) Thank you for sticking around! I’ve been thinking about Digimon and Infinity Train in tandem lately, actually. They’re a little similar? Enter a dangerous alternate world and have wacky adventures with monsters/inanimate objects that have weird powers... there’s like weird engineers and mechanisms behind the scenes... also frontier literally starts with them getting on a train. Anyways if anyone else followed me for digimon... maybe you’d like Infinity Train? LOL

c) @king-wens-king I’M GLAD MY ART JUST HAS PINOY VIBES LOL I hope you are having a good day too :^)

a, b, c, d) yessss my Watch Infinity Train agenda is working....

e) aw thank you!! i think you should watch infinity train :)

[timelord-winchester-22b]

do u think u could do bucky x autistic!reader headcanons if ur up to it? i’m autistic and i cant stop reading over the ones u have posted they make me so happy! thank u so much i love ur blog!

I'm not as into Bucky as I am some other Avengers characters, so I hope this still managed to do his justice! (I will be typing this on the spot in my phone like the others however)

Also I'm so glad you like them! I was hoping someone would enjoy some additional autistic!reader content and according to my inbox as of late they have!! So without further ado:

Bucky is probably not the first member of the team that you met. You probably wouldn't have thought to talk to him if you'd met him on the street or something.

He had a reputation, a resting bitch-face, and a big metal arm, not the type of person you'd go start a friendly conversation with

Which means you probably knew some of the other Avengers first, or worked for Stark Industries?

Let's go with that.

You worked at Avengers Tower. You were one of a kind, irreplaceable, because you saw the world differently

You were good at your job, thankful that Tony had found you, because you enjoyed it too, and he always made sure you had whatever accomodations you needed

Perhaps, you thought one day, he was trying to ease his guilt by finding someone like you to "look after"

Or perhaps he was just a very reasonable boss who could see how valuable a worker you were

You saw Bucky in person for the first time trying to get Tony's attention from an Avengers debrief without distracting anyone else

He was playing with his phone

Steve noticed you and asked what you needed, drawing everyone's attention, which caught you a little off guard

Tony rushed the both of you out of the room, seeing your discomfort, but not before you and Bucky met eyes and he offered a soft reassuring smile where everyone else in the room offered only their confusion

You couldn't help but think about it for the next few weeks

You saw him around a few more times, but you had still never spoken a word in front of him

He became curious about Tony's cute assistant. There was something different about you, he thought, but he couldn't quite figure it out

Every time he thought he had picked something up from your mannerisms, you were gone again and he was still confused

Then a sensory overload that was on the fast track to a meltdown, and you were trying to get to Tony's work office, a bathroom, that empty room you had access to on the other side of the kitchens. Whichever empty room was closest

But you couldn't think, weren't exactly sure where you were, and then you were running into someone

You heard your name, but your eyes couldn't fix on the person long enough to determine who it was, still looking for an escape, covering your ears as sound still drifted down the hall.

There was a light hand on your shoulder and you were guided through a door, and then it was gone

It was quieter, and you managed to find a corner to curl into until your senses stopped screaming at you

By the time you had calmed down and remembered that there was someone else there, he had calmed down too. You would never know how panicked he was to find you like that.

You were surprised to find Bucky of all people, sitting on the floor across from you, waiting patiently

"Are you alright?" He asked. You nodded.

"anything I can do?"

You shrugged

"well... Let me know. I'll just wait here, we can leave whenever you want"

You were both there for an hour

You fully expected him to leave at some point, but he sat right where he was, somehow giving you just enough attention so you wouldn't feel like you were a trouble to ask him for something, but not enough to make you uncomfortable

After that you realized that outside of Avengers missions, he basically had nothing else to do

So whenever something was going wrong, you found yourself looking for him

You asked Tony for him one of these times, and he was surprised because he didn't even know you two had properly met

Before anyone knew it, Bucky was spending almost all his free time with you

He tried to help you work a few times, but stopped after quickly realizing he would end up doing more harm than good

He'd just keep you company while you worked

He's still very behind on pop culture, so if your special interest is a comic, tv show, movie, book, etc. He's immediately willing to watch/read whatever it is with you

You two ended up spending lots of time watching movies and shows outside your special interest too, helping him catch up

You revised Steve's list of things to catch up on

(really really really hope you don't hate Tony, because he just kinda.... Ended up in there somehow)

[seokiloquy]

Lost In- What Word? Pt 1 - Akaashi Keiji

AU: Single Parent

Requested

Word Count: 4.5k+

Disclaimer: Fem! Reader, Time skip spoilers, Udai being a meta Furudate insert, just fluff

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3

Akaashi wasn’t sure if Udai was naturally forgetful, or just held so much anticipation in his smaller form that he glossed over details and didn't realize it. Udai was an excellent author despite not having reached the major public yet. His first published work was short and eerie which most of the shonen reading population didn’t greedily rip off the shelves. Although, those that did read it gave him overwhelming support, maybe the rest of the world wasn’t ready for that kind of psychological horror just yet.

When Akaashi originally applied for a position at the publishing company he intended to work in the literature department, editing lengthy novels and picking out grammatical errors, not reading conversations via text bubbles and looking for continuity errors between images. He never did pick out the exact moment he went from editor to fact-checker and archivist. Akaashi also never knew how many different ways there were to translate a single word until he met you. And once he did, he realized that his eyes would follow you across the office as you ran around and spoke to other editors, helping them furnish their translations so that they flowed properly.

“Tenma, isn’t he meant to be out of the rotation for this panel?” Akaashi couldn’t help but grimace when faced with the utter despair that had pulled on Udai’s typically eased expression. The panel itself was masterfully drawn, taking up two pages and showing off Udai’s immense talent in drawing expressions and anatomy.

“I spent 8 hours on that, only to find out that it needs to be scrapped. What has my life come to?”

The yellow office lights made both of the men’s hair give off a green tinge and made their faces look sickly. Udai frowned as he pushed his chair back and let his chin sit on the table of the small meeting room. His hair curled around his fingers as they gently tugged on the ends of the wavy black stands, straightening them only to let them go and have them bounce back into place.

Akaashi flipped through the printed out pages of the chapter, letting the loose papers lay flat on the table. He pointed to the next pages. “These are fine though. They’re in the right rotation here, so not all is lost at least.”

Udai sighed, as he threw his weight back into the chair, making it spin with his momentum. “That’s all well and good, but I was really proud of that panel. It was going to be the attention grabber.”

Akaashi pursed his lips gently, flipping through the pages once more before tucking them into the pale yellow folder and closing it. Udai’s new story was in its beginning stages, only having a sample chapter that would be published in the following week’s magazine, that is if they got it done in time. 

“It needs to be perfect. I can’t have this not work and starve for the rest of my life.”

Akaashi opened his mouth slightly, taking in a deep breath, ready to spout out his words of encouragement for his colleague when there was a knock on the door followed by the soft creaking of the hinges as it opened.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to ask Udai about some of the uh… what’s the word? Dang, I’m supposed to know Japanese, it’s my job. The— I give up. Help?”

Udai chuckled and waved you over to take the seat opposite him, you shook your head and bowed slightly as your hand raised, saying you were alright, not needing the chair. Leaning down slightly you pointed at the ruff sketch copy in your hand where your current author’s handwriting seemed to over the edges of the text bubble slightly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but how in the hell am I supposed to translate ‘paisen’?”

The innocent question seemed to brighten Udai’s mood much more than Akaashi’s monotone words of support would have. The older man launched backwards, nearly flinging himself off the chair, in a fit of laughter. His hands gripped the shirt he wore above his stomach and chest as they tried to ease the laughing pains.

Akaashi chuckled at the sight before looking at your somewhat regretful expression, you were probably too used to your co-workers laughing at your in-fluency at Japanese. “You can probably substitute a familiar nickname or a joking reference of respect.”

You sighed and brushed your hand over the back of your neck, “I swear, Himari had the intent to torture me with this last chapter. Thank you, Akaashi.”

Finally calmed from his fit of giggles, Udai sat straight in his chair and sent you a gracious smile. “Well, at least when you join our team I won’t torture you as much.”

You gave Udai and Akaashi a teasing smirk as you reached for the door handle. “I’m not so sure about that,” you said. “Besides, you need to get the attention of the readers before I join your team. No point in translating a comic that doesn’t even get off the ground right?”

You sent them a wink and the door closed behind you with a quiet click.

“Was that a challenge?”

“I believe so,” Akaashi said, handing Udai a blank sheet of paper. “Looks like we have some work to do.”

The office was, as it was the day before, and the day before that, calm. Udai sat in a small isolated office on his own with a naturally coloured lamp hanging over his hunched figure. The rest of his team, including Akaashi and now you as well, sat outside his door in a row of cubicles that led up to a large window that took up the entirety of the wall. In the corner cubicle, pressed against the window and directly across from him, you sat, typing away on your computer as you translated the Japanese text into Wild Words fonted English. 

“Akaashi, is the end of chapter ready to translate?” Your head peeked over the frosted cubicle wall, a small smile pulling at the corner of your lips and the corner of your eyes pinching together. Akaashi’s gaze fluttered around.

“Ah, Ya the edits are done so you can finish translating it now.”

The smile you wore only seemed to grow, making Akaashi want to turn away and stare at the same time. The sun’s light contrasted with the dull rectangular lights in the office, making your skin glow. Your fingers tightened on the top of the glass and your shoulders rose to your ears, you narrowly missed knocking over an owl keychain that hung on his side of the wall.

“Perfect,” you said. “I’ll get them done now.”

The day continued like this, everyone working and occasionally calling out to each other through their cubed walls, possibly getting a twirling pen in the forehead followed by a meek apology (coming from you). Every time you spoke to someone you would rise out of your seat to make eye contact with them, refusing to continue speaking otherwise, and even though he wasn’t the person you always spoke to, each time your head began to poke out of your squared corner Akaashi couldn’t help but turn his attention your way, watching as the sun's light danced around you. It didn’t come to a surprise when, like every instance before, Akaashi looked up when you shot up from your seat. Only this time there was a frantic look plastered unevenly on your face, one that the warm light didn’t compliment.

“Please tell me my clock is wrong and that it’s not 4 pm.”

Chiyo leaned back in her chair, setting down her Cintiq’s pen and flipped the watch on her wrist so that the face faced her. “Yup, it’s actually 4:15.”

Akaashi was surprised to hear a not so work friendly English curse leave your lips as you rushed to save files on your computer while simultaneously packing your purse. You continued to swear as you ran out of your cubicle and toward the elevators with a quick “goodbye” being thrown over your shoulder. The office was quiet.

“Does that happen often?” Ena asked as he pulled off his glasses.

The group of artists and their editor sat in stunned silence for a few moments, minds racing over where the young translator had scurried off to. In their collaborative confusion, the team slowly went back to their respective jobs.

Himari came around the corner of the office, coffee in hand, as she chatted with her editor, who was nursing his own mug. The writer looked up for her conversation to see Udai’s team and gave them a polite nod. They were going to meekly return to their work when Himari paused her steps and looked at the empty plush chair that sat rotated and untucked in your cubicle.

“Oh, did (Y/N) leave?” to Akaashi’s surprise, Himari was not.

“Does she do that often?” he asked, setting down his pen on the counter of his desk.

Himari nodded, smiling, “Oh ya, sometimes she gets lucky and her friend can handle it but a lot of the time she has to run out of here by 3.” Akaashi’s brow furrowed slightly as Himari took a sip of her coffee before continuing waving her hand by her head, “Don’t worry too much about it though, she always comes in early to get her work done.”

Before they could question further, Himari was off with her editor sending them a knowing smile.

When the end of the workday rolled around, only 45 minutes after your quick departure, Akaashi found his eyes trailing back to his phone that sat at the corner of his desk on top of a stack of papers. Keeping watch on his phone, he swung his bag over his shoulder and shut off his computer. The device remained silent as the team began to pile out of their seats, toward the elevators and in a fit of contemplation, he reached for the phone.

Your response was quick and vague; Family thing, happens often. I’ll tell you later. See you tomorrow!

After the sample comic was released, Udai was thrown when he received an immense amount of interest for his characters and story, and he was even more excited when he received word from the magazine’s publishers that they wanted him to continue with the path he was on. The months building up to this moment were filled with constant plot revisions, reference excursions, and interviews until they came to a conclusive framework of the story, and continued introductions as new members were added to their original duo to make the workload less hefty. 

Today though was the day that the story’s first chapter would finally be released to the public. 

Akaashi tracked into the office, heading to the lounge to grab a coffee before coming up to his cubicle against the window and setting his bag down, immediately heading to the lounge. 8:40 in the morning, 20 minutes before the expected time of arrival, Akaashi, back at his desk, was just about to take a sip of coffee when a small snore overlapped the sound of the air conditioners, creating a dishonest harmony. 

On the other side of the frosted glass wall of the cubicle was you, head resting on the black mouse pad that had a small plush cushion for your wrist. Akaashi quickly rounded the desks, coming to our side to gently rouse you from your slumber before your co-workers arrived. He was to wake you up gently with a hand on your shoulder, that was the plan. The plan changed when he noticed the small picture frame on your desk, surrounded by various action figures and Funko pops.

With one hand on your shoulder and the other holding the fame, he studied the photo with a kind gaze. He was so enthralled with the image that he forgot that below his other hand, was you.

“He’s cute ain’t he?” you asked, startling the editor back to his current reality as you stretched, arching your back like a cat. Akaashi’s attention was brought back to the current situation as you reached out for another frame in the opposite corner of your desk. “His name is Naoko. Here, this photo is newer.”

The young boy in the new photo looked like you a lot, more so than the previous one where he was just an infant that carried more resemblance to a potato than a human. Akaashi, without taking his eyes off the pictures, pulled the chair out from under Ena’s desk and sat next to you. He didn’t say anything, deciding just to admire the photos he held and letting you decide whether or not he should have the pleasure of hearing a story.

You sighed and yawned, leaning over the armrest of your chair so you would see them too. “He’s six, really quiet. I moved here when I found out. Hardly even out of university, and I was already pregnant with some strangers kid,” you laughed, making Akaashi stare at your features for a moment, wanting to point out which ones could be found on the boy.

“Is he the reason you moved to Japan?” Akaashi was a little taken aback by your willingness to talk, but in hindsight, you didn’t seem like the person to keep secrets, often rattling with your co-workers about your interests. Thinking back, maybe he should have expected something like this, Himari seemed to have known after working with you for several years, happily dancing around the topic of your personal life with your new coworkers when your sudden departure was questioned.

You shrugged, “not entirely, but he sure was a good excuse. I had plans to move to Japan for years before I even got into university. When I found out, I was sort of… uh. English…. Fuck, I need a job. So I applied to be an intern here, moved in with a friend I met online and prepared to have a baby.” Your arms flew about as you talked.

“You act as though it was easy,” Akaashi laughed, placing the frames back onto the table.

You let out a happy chuckle and spun your chair to face Akaashi head-on, eyes not leaving his, “I wouldn’t say it was easy, per se, but I’m happy with how things turned out.” you yawned a bit, “I should also apologize for running out of the office early sometimes, I have to pick Naoko up from school so —”

“You don’t have to apologize for that.” The gentle smile he wore was contagious.

It was 8:50 when the rest of the team came in. Immediately catching sight of Ena, Akaashi pulled away from your side, rolling the chair back to its respective location. He heard a breathy laugh escape you as he scurried around the desks to return to his designated spot across from you, cardigan flailing about.

The rest of your team piled into their seats sending the two of you waves and morning greetings. Ena nearly dropped his ‘don’t talk to me till I’ve had my coffee’ mug as he tripped over his rubber slides just before reaching his desk next to yours.

Sending your friends a smile you quickly slid back into your cubicle to re-adjust the frames on your desk with a yawn. Akaashi gave you a nod when you looked up to his stiff, still standing, form. You made his heart feel much weaker than he’d like to admit and without saying another word, he picked up the forgotten mug filled with brown liquid and handed it over the glass, into your hands.

Naoko was much more reserved than Akaashi expected, definitely a contrast to your more hyper personality. He spent most of the day sitting in the corner behind your cubicle where a table was set up next to a row of cabinets. What the boy was doing, Akaashi wasn’t entirely sure, but there was a small tickle at that back of his brain that made him want to find out.

When you had come in that morning, the group was surprised to see the small boy trailing behind you, holding onto your hand tightly with the both of his. “PD day,” you said. Udai spent the first few minutes of the day gushing over the boy’s cheeks instead of working, only to end up being backtracked and having to cram into his lunch break. Akaashi would be lying if he said he wasn’t thankful for that though.

“What do you have there?” he asked, taking a seat next to the boy and setting down his lunch next to the younger’s bento box.

Naoko curled in on himself, bringing the phone (that was most definitely yours) to his chest. The boy’s knees had pulled up to his shoulders as his feet pushed on the edge of the chair. Akaashi sent the young boy a kind smile and waited. From the corner of his eye, he could see your chair turn around as you took in the sight of your son and co-worker. He watched as you began making large swinging motions with your arms. Akaashi tried not to laugh.

Whatever had been playing on the phone hadn’t been paused in the short time given to do so, making the familiar sound ring quietly around the two of them. 

Akaashi looked back your way for a moment, only to see you tilt your head up in a supporting nudge and turn back around.

“Are you watching a volleyball game?” he asked, rousing a more positive reaction from the boy.

Naoko’s shoulders lowered and he slowly placed the phone down between them. As Akaashi had concluded, a volleyball game played on the small screen. He put forward another question.

“Do you like to play?”

The six-year-old shrugged but nodded before scooting his chair in closer and reaching for his food. Akaashi mirrored him, slipping off his collared cardigan and pulling his lunch closer, still watching the game.

“I used to play volleyball.” This caught the boy’s attention, who turned his head to look at Akaashi, brows raised and lips pursed. “I was a setter.”

Naoko swallowed his food and for the first time, Akaashi got to hear him speak.

“I like playing setter too.”

His voice was rather meek and had a sort of authority to it, but the biggest thing he noticed made him stifle a laugh.

“Hey, (Y/N),” he called gently, making you spin your chair around in question. “Why is Naoko better at Japanese then you?”

“Hey! That’s mean!”

Naoko began to wiggle in his seat, desperately trying not to laugh at his mother’s, your, irritation. You shot a look at your son and gasped.

“Don’t you start laughing at me. I speak English better than you do.”

“You don’t need to speak English in Japan, mom.”

Kaashi continued to choke on his laugher as you pushed the palm of your hand into your forehead. “I’m being teased by my own son,” you cried quietly, turning your chair back around to face the unedited pages.

Naoko giggled and looked back Akaashi’s way. “Can you teach me?”

Akaashi didn’t see you still in your chair, listening.

“Of course I can.”

“Udai, seriously? You promised that you weren’t going to use weird industry term slang stuff on me.”

With a wide-eyed look and hair messily tied back, the man in question rotated his chair around childishly. “I never promised. I just said I'd go easier on you.” It was infuriating really. 

With a pitiful whine, you shook the rough script in your hand making an angry fluttering sound. “You’re so mean Tenma. You know that I have trouble with slang.”

Udai only laughed and waved you off, “It’s a good way to learn is it not?”

You rolled your eyes but relented, giving a wave and closing the door. Once at your seat Akaashi poked his head out, eyes visible over the top of his square-framed glasses.

“He did it again?”

“Ya,” you huffed. “I can’t blame him though. It’s just frustrating that I can’t remember what a lot of the words mean. I should buy a dictionary.” Akaashi watched as you turned your monitor on. “Oh, um, Naoko was asking about you the other day.”

“Really?”

Your hands came together behind your neck, pulling your head down bashfully. “Ya, he’s been wanting to show you how he’s doing and maybe get the chance to learn a bit from you.”

Akaashi gave you a kind smile, so small that it didn’t even crease his cheeks, and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Your cheeks warmed as you beamed up at him before turning your head down towards your computer screen. Akaashi took a second to appreciate how the cool light from the overcast sky made you look. It was silent in the office for a moment. Just a moment.

“Udai! Another one?!”

In theory, so long as you have space above your head, you can play volleyball anywhere. Your apartment wasn’t ‘anywhere’.

The three-bedroom living space was built as housing and not an Olympic arena, and after breaking one too many of your glasses playing around, it was made clear to you, Naoko, and your sport junky roommate, that volleyball shouldn’t be allowed in the house.

“You guys can go play volleyball with Akaashi at the park, no?” Yukie asked, grabbing an onigiri of the large plate on your kitchen counter and stuffing it in her face. You made a large dinner that day, only to have your friend eat most of it, instead of leaving leftovers for Naoko’s lunch. Not that he complained about it, you sure did though.

Taking Yukie’s words to heart, when the weekend rolled around and Naoko was becoming more anxious, you invited Akaashi to your neighbourhood park to play volleyball.

“Open your elbows a bit more, make a triangle with your hand, and when the ball comes just cushion it with your fingertips before sending it out, okay?”

Naoko nodded, staring at his hands that were being moved around by the older player. Akaashi’s form was kneeled by the boy’s side, his head nearly resting on the younger's shoulder as he tried to make sure he was in the right position.

“Alright,” he said, grabbing the smaller than average volleyball off of the grass. “I’m gonna toss this to you, do you think you can get it to hit my hand right up here?”

Naoko nodded again, eagerly waiting for the blue and yellow ball to come flying his way. You watched silently from the park bench as Naoko tried (and often failed) to get the ball to touch Akaashi’s hand accurately. 

“Almost there, you got this Naoko!” Akaashi encouraged.

Earnestly waiting to see the next move, you sat forward in your seat, watching as that ball made a tall arch towards Naoko’s waiting palms. As the ball made contact with his fingertips, he bent his elbows and wrists before shooting them out into a straight line, sending into the palm of Akaashi’s hand before dropping back onto the grassy field.

Your son, as most six-year-olds do when accomplishing something, shrieked. He shrieked very loudly before sprinting directly into Akaashi’s stomach to give him a (breath-stealing) hug. Akaashi coughed as he tried to get air back into his depleted lungs. From the side you giggled, watching as Naoko’s smile grew, head buried into Akaashi’s stomach.

It became standard, going out to the park during your off days. And this day, like the weekends that have come before, the routine of going to the park, ball in hand, continued. But after spending an hour or so watching the familiar movement of the yellow and blue ball fly through the air, Naoko interrupted the serene setting with a loud request.

“Mama! Mom! Can we go get onigiri?”

Looking up from resting your neck on the back of the bench to turn your gaze onto the energetic boy that was hopping around on the grass. “I’m okay with that, but you should probably ask Akaashi along. We don't want to leave him at the park do we?” you teased, picking up your bag and walking toward the two.

Naoko spun again to look at Akaashi, whose hands were now tucked into his jeans pockets. “Please!” he wailed. “Come with us! Please, please, please, please, please!”

Akaashi let out a hearty laugh. “Calm down, I’ll join you.” without saying another word, Akaashi offered his hand out, letting Naoko clutch it eagerly.

“Udai are you sure it’s okay to bring Naoko along? This is meant to be a work trip and I’d hate for him to dis… dic… get in the way,” you gave up at the end, sighing over your tripping words.

Udai gave Naoko, who had been clinging to Akaashi’s arm since all of you had met outside the city gymnasium, a pat on the head. “It’s alright. Besides, he’ll probably be a great resource.” 

You nodded and watched as Naoko rattled to Akaashi about his school team and new things they had been practicing. You pouted. Upon their arrival, Ena, Chiyo and the others immediately began teasing you for effectively losing your son’s favour, which didn’t make your whining any less audible. On top of that, the group of artists found your sullen look to be a perfect reference, taking their cameras out.

“Keiji,” you cried, following behind the rest of the group as they waltzed through the gym entrance along with the crowd. “You’ve stolen my son.”

Akaashi paused for a moment, taking in a calm breath before looking over his shoulder. “He’s your son, I can’t steal that from you.”

Naoko threw a large smile over his shoulder, making your dragging steps falter.

When did it change? The expression on his face. When did it become so happy? Did he not smile before?

You picked up your pace, brows furrowed as you watched your son chatter happily.

When did he start speaking so much? Since when did he have so much to say? Was it something new in his diet? Or maybe the new friends on his volleyball team?

You found your gaze shifting to the hand that held his. Without thinking about it too hard, you quickened your steps to come up to Naoko’s other side. Your heart pounded as you held your closest hand out for him to grab hold of. When he finally did, immediately looking forward to dragging the two adults with him, the smile you gave Akaashi was the largest he’s ever seen coming from you. 

You looked back at all of your interconnecting hands fondly.

When did he become another person’s son?

I tried going a bit of a different direction with this one in comparison to most Single Parent aus. I’ll admit it could have more meat to it, but oh well, things to improve on. 

Question:

Do you prefer weekly one-shots that are shorter in length (like we’re doing) or longer ones with bigger plots and inconsistent updates (Sort of like “Catch Me If You Can” and “Ready Aim FIre” but longer)? 

- Bacon

Posted: 31/07/2020

[adamwatchesmovies]

We Can Be Heroes (2020)

I don’t know why Robert Rodriguez keeps returning to these special effects-heavy kid adventures. Why would anyone of any age want We Can Be Heroes when they could be watching the real thing? If you can see this Netflix original, you have access to dozens of better, theatrically-released superhero films.

In a world where superheroes regularly save the day, powerless Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin) watches in horror when her father and his super teammates are easily defeated and then kidnapped by space invaders. As the world prepares to surrender to the extraterrestrials, Missy and the rest of the children of the Heroics decide it’s up to them to save the day.

Like so many of Rodriguez’s other pictures, this one assumes the audience is stupid. Accompanying Missy are a half-dozen pint-sized amateur heroes. There’s stretchy Noodles (Lyon Daniels); Wild Card (Nathan Blair), who has “every power out there” but can’t focus his abilities; A Capella (Lotus Blossom) whose voice can make objects levitate; Slo-Mo (Dylan Henry Lau) who moves in slow-motion; Guppy (Vivien Blair), the daughter of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (we’ll get to them in a moment); “so strong he can’t walk because his muscles would crush his bones” Wheels (Andy Walken); siblings Rewind and Fast Forward (Isaiah Russell-Baily and Akira Akbar) named for their abilities to speed up/rewind time; Ojo (Hala Finley), whose drawings foretell the future; and Facemaker (Andrew Diaz), who can change his appearance. Even with the utterly useless Slo-Mo, the ability to rewind time and predict the future should make them invincible. Unfortunately, no one knows how to use their powers properly. Slo-Mo, for example. He would be useful if Fast Forward just sped him up all the time. Even then he would still be a hindrance because you know what’s faster than a slow kid sped up? a regular kid sped up. Give it a few minutes. You’ll be screaming at the screen in frustration.

It’s clearly a superhero film written by someone who knows NOTHING about superhero movies or comic books. The kids suggest their parents were easily defeated because they wear “masks which obscured their vision” or costumes with “underwear on the outside”. First of all, only one member of the Heroics wears a mask: Sharkboy. It's not to look cool, it's so we can't tell he isn't played by Taylor Lautner. Want to guess how many of the costumed heroes wear the strongman shorts even the current cinematic version of Superman doesn’t wear? Zero! One of the kids is called “Wheels”, the name Wolverine jokingly gave to Professor X in X-Men!

Compared to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (whom this isn’t actually a sequel to, confusingly), the special effects are Jurassic Park. That’s good. Performance-wise? you’ll be reaching for earplugs. The worst offender is easily Vivien Blair, who can be given some slack because she’s what… 8? but is still horrible. The action is staggeringly poor. In many scenes, the alien villains stand around, obviously waiting for their cues so they can run up to someone they could easily lift over their head and toss away like trash but pretend to be unable to. Many times throughout, the kids stumble artificially constructed scenarios where they powers just happened to be exactly what’s needed to escape. Shoddy writing plagues nearly every scene. The alien invasion is happening in 3 hours. One of the first things the kids do is go to Missy’s grandmother’s home so they can train. Train?! For what? 30 minutes? That’s won't make any difference, particularly when the team leader has no plan.

The plot holes in We Can Be Heroes are numerous but I can foresee protests should I bring them up. You see, there’s a twist at the end. Turns out the aliens are not invaders after all. This whole thing - the attack, the kidnapping of the parents, the sinister administrators at the junior Justice League school - was all an elaborate test. See, the parents were deemed inadequate saviors because they constantly bicker among themselves so the aliens decided the kids were the answer. Wow. I sure hope no one takes offense at spacemen hijacking the United States' government and that no one felt so upset at the thought of being enslaved by Marzoids that they made rash decisions… they’ll REALLY regret them come tomorrow. So the ships with the convenient control mechanisms, the villains who gave themselves away, the ones who purposely destroyed their own ship and supplied their “enemies” with ammunition? it was all a test. I guess that’s why the parents were so intent on escaping their prison.

Once again, Robert Rodriguez - who directed, produced, wrote, shot, and edited the film - has emerged from his echo chamber to deliver a sloppy picture that feels like it was written decades ago and went through no revisions. At best, you can have fun at the film’s expense by pointing out the plot holes and thinking of ways it could be improved. Most people would rather shut it off. (January 8, 2021)

[sonicfanj]

I’m a big fan of AUs and the freedom that fans have to explore Sonic or any fandom in ways that diverge from the source material, but with AUs and more recent Sonic stuff being what a lot of new fans brought in from the movie will see, the possibility of providing false information is far to high if we are not careful. That SEGA also spreads misinformation only makes matter worse and it is the heart of this particular post.

One of the biggest misconceptions of Sonic that SEGA perpetrates both through retcons and from Sonic Generations onward is that Sonic before the Sonic Adventure (Adventure henceforth )rebranding back in 1998/1999 is that “Classic Sonic “ as he is dubbed these days is possessed of an age of around eleven and is even shorter than Sonic’s 1 meter/3′3″ height. The height can actually be sourced to a profile of Metal Sonic’s that lists him at around seventy something centimeters as well as Generations making him shorter to account for the difference in proportions. But the truth is, Sonic was always listed at 1 meter tall, both before and after the Adventure redesign.

[Character height chart for reference - http://info.sonicretro.org/images/9/99/Classic_character_heights.svg]

Age on the other hand is where things get really strange. Again, a retcon for Generations makes sense to an extent, especially when you consider that the characters had their ages shuffled around as it was with the Adventure redesign. Amy aged up from 8 to 12 and Knuckles aged up from 15 to 16. Tails remained the same but Sonic actually received a subtle change. Bios that listed Sonic’s age before Adventure typically listed him at 15 to 16 years old. That would actually make him the same age or older than his Adventure onward counterpart. But it gets even weirder. According to the Sonic Technical Files (currently hosted by Sonnic Fansite Sonic Retro here - http://info.sonicretro.org/Original_Story) Sonic was actually originally thought about to be even older, around 18 years old. Suddenly, Sonic from his typically dubbed Classic Era is actually definitively older than his modern counterpart, yet is portrayed as a younger bubbly child from Sonic Generations onward. And I assure you, this is a retcon.

If you grew up in the 90s like I did and were introduced to Sonic when he debuted back in 1991, then you will remember the western advertising over embracing his teenager with an attitude description. And it wasn’t just in game ads, it was in all Sonic media available in the west. The US cartoons, the Archie and Fleetway comics, and so on, portrayed Sonic as an uppity teenager with an attitude problem (some cases being far worse than others). That teenager of a high school age mentality was the backbone for why the Archie Sonic comics were littered with teenager romance drama, which would look rather distasteful if you think about it post retcons now. But they were not at fault for portraying Sonic based on being high school age. The material and information they were provided told them as such and so they based their interpretations off of that available information.

But it wasn’t just a western mistake either. If not for input from key members of SEGA of America (henceforth SoA) Sonic would be rather different and would even have had a human girlfriend by the name of Madona who was anything but a child.

[Pic here - https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/d/dc/Madonna.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090313035151]

Madonna was not the only time it happened either as one of the last pieces of pre-Adventure release Classic Sonic material is the Sonic OVA or Movie produced by Japanese animation studio Studio Peirrot where a catgirl (read human girl with cat ears and a tail) was the main love interest and whom even Eggman/Robotnik wanted to marry (it’s weird, I don’t argue that). But more importantly, two of Sonic’s primary creators, Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima, were listed as Production Directors for the two episode Original Video Animation (OVA) and were rumored to be involved quite a bit with the film. You can typically find it on youtube though I recomend the subbed version, bad video quality and all, to get a better representation of the Japanese perspective. It’s really eye opening and was very nostalgic in when I first watched it post Sonic Generations release.

The thing is though, the OVA released in 1996, years before the Adventure rebranding, and is strongly believed to be how Naka and Oshima see the character. This is actually reflected in the Sonic Adventure redesign as Yuji Naka on record (a shame I can’t find the link) has stated that Sonic was redesigned to bring him closer to the original character idea and to erase the growing cute identity that he was developing due to marketing. He even goes on to say that Sonic was never intended to be cute and that being a cute mascot character would inevitably pit him against Hello Kitty which would not have ended well. Yet, SEGA retconned the Naka/Oshima Sonic into being a bubbly hyperactive kid who was much shorter and generally hyper cute compared to his more modern interpretation of the character. This retcon is only made even more complicated when SEGA decided they didn’t like their “New” Classic Sonic being treated as the same character as their Legacy Sonic and even retconned that come Sonic Forces to say that he was actually from a different dimension. Years after Sonic Forces release that decision still riles up many more dedicated fans as it breaks the series continuity. Arguably, it has too. After all, if Naka/Oshima Sonic is older than Legacy/Modern Sonic and has the same height yet New Classic Sonic is shorter and strangely mute then something had to be changed or it just starts to fall apart for a cohesive narrative. Of course Amy’s four year gain already threw things into question but on it’s own was fairly harmless considering her role in the franchise as the main female lead and primary love interest. But New Classic Sonic’s muteness is what this post will be carrying on from.

One of the biggest misconceptions of Sonic before the Adventure redesign is that he did not speak. The primary reason for this misconception I usually attributed to him not speaking in the classics. this is actually a false statement as Sonic speaks in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, SegaSonic the Hedgehog, and is quite the chatterbox in a Japanese only popcorn machine. Admittedly, these are all difficult to experience items, especially pre-Adventure, but by the time of Soinc Generations’ release a good deal of these could be researched and Sonic CD was readily available to the public again thanks in no small part to Christian Whitehead of Evening Star Studios. but even outside of the games SOnic was shown to talk quite a bit before the Adventure redesign. Again both the western comics and cartoons and even numerous Japanese comics all showed him speaking quite a bit before the Adventure redesign. Of a more canonical nature however, the Japanese instruction manuals for most of the games from the original onward will show Sonic talking.

So, where did this misconception gain enough steam to become a retcon? It’s hard to say, but there are a lot factors that could lead to it. Major fan backlash was threatened when Generations was first revealed if they got Sonic’s voice wrong and hat it’d be better if he didn’t talk at all. SEGA is known for overreacting to negative feedback at odd and seemingly random times and this appears to me to be yet another case of it. But his muteness only got weirder when people started latching on to him being mute as a matter of shyness. I don’t know where that one originated from, but Sonic’s shyness is actually a trait of his, but it is specifically tied to how he feels about his self-proclaimed Amy Rose. When asked about, Yuji Naka once said that Sonic does likely like Amy deep down, but is too shy to act on those feelings. Naoto Oshima expands further on that stating that Sonic has a boyish immaturity in regards to his feelings and thus won’t act on them but should he mature in that regard he would end up with Amy. In other words, boyish immaturity and shyness are part of Sonic’s character, but they only reflect on certain facets of his character. His shyness and immaturity of his feelings for Amy though were instead stretched out to cover most of his character resulting in New Classic Sonic being a mute, when Naka/Oshima, Legacy/Modern, BOOM! (just to throw in another iteration where he is shy about his feelings for Amy), and even Movie Sonic are all rather talkative.

So that there is three misconceptions about pre-Adventure Sonic that are perpetuated officially by New Classic Sonic effectively being placed over Naka/Oshima Sonic. Again, I don’t aim to bash fanfics and AUs as I love them and the way they explore the characters in new ways, but for the sake of new fans not being overly confused, it should be noted if your Classic Sonic is New or Generations based, or the Naka/Oshima, pre-Adventure version. There are hugely massive differences between them with things like height, age, and talkativeness being hugely noticeable. Otherwise, keep writing, drawing and having fun, and may all of the movie’s fans who find their way into the fanbase enjoy themselves

[vanholstein]

How much research is done in creating dishes for the manga?

Yūto Tsukuda: Every week, the three of us meet together—myself, Saeki, and our chief editor—and it's always explicitly for research. We talk about a lot of dishes, so we can have an in-stock library of options that we all keep with us. Depending on the storyline, we would go into the materials we had stocked and say "oh yeah, that dish would match this character or that storyline, let's use this one, let's use that one." So sometimes the dishes we have planned for an upcoming story have been in our stock for a year already, and sometimes it'll be something someone found two or three days ago.

ANN: As a producer, what do you think is the most important factor to consider when translating Food Wars!' appeal from manga into anime? What have you learned through that process that you plan to bring to season four?

Noriko Dohi: I believe that the appeal of this show really comes from the culinary battles and the comedy. It's that difference between the serious battles and the comedic side that forms the story's biggest appeal. During the creative process for the anime, I think it's most important to emphasize those two cornerstones. Usually when you're cooking, there isn't anything action-packed about it. You don't see vibrant and lively movements from everyone working on the food, so we really wanted to emphasize that difference in the anime series through the art. For the comedy, we always want to emphasize how cute and cool the characters are, so their sense of humor comes through. Those are the two most important aspects of Food Wars! as an anime. What I've learned from working on this series for a very long time is that the theme of culinary art, or even just food in general, is a major draw for a lot of people all over the world. So I really want to keep going with that energy for this new season too.

What was your mindset heading into the final arc of the manga, and what were some of the challenges you faced when deciding how to end it?

Tsukuda: Of course there's always the concern of "Is it really okay that I did this? Are the readers going to be satisfied with this sort of ending?" What I'm going to talk about now is really spoilery, so I hope everyone has already read through to the end. I've always wanted to end the series with Soma and Erina getting hitched, but it was difficult for me to get to that point naturally in the story. So I had to rewrite it over and over before I could revise it to an ending that I liked. I really hope that all the fans are satisfied with the sort of ending that I reached.

Is there any character in Food Wars! that you wish you could have spent more time with?

Tsukuda: Rindo is a character that I really wanted to explore more deeply. I didn't know she was going to be so popular! To be honest, I really want to write a version of the story where Rindo was the main character, where she's the one battling her way to the top and beating all these other chefs. But obviously, Soma was already the main character, so that kind of storyline wouldn't have been possible at that point.

Soma has a unique confidence that allows him to make connections outside of his social standing. What was the inspiration behind this aspect of his character?

Tsukuda: First of all, I really wanted to create a character that would be a good match for Saeki-sensei's art, the kind of character who could excite women with his culinary skills. I thought that a cool character who girls like would not be all over them, he would be kind of a cool tough boy who does his own thing. I wanted to depict him as someone who's serious about his art. He's focused on cooking instead of being easily distracted by girls. So his cavalier attitude was a result of wanting to make him the kind of character that girls would find appealing.

What was your inspiration behind the creation of the last group of colorful combatants Soma faces in Food Wars?

Tsukuda: In a shonen series, the final group of enemies is a major familiar trope for writers and readers. There is a popular older cooking manga called Chuuka Ichiban! In that series, there are many unbelievable chefs with superhuman powers. For instance, one character uses an ice-knife for his dishes, and if you touch it, it will give you frostbite. So I wanted to save that superhuman style of character for this important arc.

Soma has been consistently popular in our Anime Trending manga polls, and he even won most popular character of the year. What were your reactions to Soma becoming so popular abroad?

Tsukuda: That's amazing. I've often heard people make comparisons between Goku and Soma. I understand it in that they both aren't afraid to challenge foes who are much stronger than them.

Dohi: I believe Soma's character is the key to the success of this series, just because he's so easy to watch and keeps things lighthearted. Oftentimes, when things get too serious in stories, readers and viewers can be overwhelmed by that heaviness. But with Soma in the mix, it becomes much easier to relax while enjoying the story.

Has creating Food Wars! inspired you to cook more often or with more theatrical flair?

Shun Saeki: I've always enjoyed cooking myself. When I was a student in university, I cooked all the time. But I don't cook at all anymore.

Tsukuda: It's the same for me too. Back when the series was first serialized, I did cook for myself. But when I started getting really busy with the manga, most times I did not want to cook at all or even think about cooking. These days, I'm thinking maybe I should pick it up again!

Dohi: I actually cook for myself often, and when the first season started airing, I would cook each dish that was featured each time and put them on social media. I saw that many fans were loving it, even overseas, and that was really exciting. But when there was an episode about bear meat, for example, that sort of thing I couldn't do.

Tsukuda: It's impressive, because sometimes I had my doubts that any of these dishes could actually be made.

ANN: So did you start this project with the peanut butter and octopus combo?

Dohi: I did indeed.

ANN: Was it edible?

Dohi: It was edible, and I even had Matsuoka-san, the voice of Yukihira Soma, eat it for me.

Tsukuda: I've had the dish as well, and I think the key to the recipe is the peanut butter. The peanut butter you use determines whether it will taste good or not. So long as the peanut butter you choose is not too sweet, it will turn out alright. The texture doesn't make as much difference, but I think the smooth peanut butter would be best.

ANN: When it comes to illustrating "the ecstasy of food" and how good something should taste, what was the greatest challenge you faced in translating a dish into manga?

Saeki: It's really difficult to describe the taste of food purely through drawings and dialogue in manga. This is especially true in terms of spicy flavors, so I would make sure that a character's body language conveyed that detail, emphasizing the sweat breaking out on their face while they described what they were tasting. There are times when I don't even focus on emphasizing the specific taste or flavor of a dish at all, and I'm more interested in the comedic effect that it has on the character as they eat. We really want the readers to laugh at those reactions.

Do you have a favorite reaction scene?

Saeki: Yes, it's Magical Cabbage.

Dohi: Yes, you could ask all of us, and it will always be Magical Cabbage.

Tsukuda: It was modeled after Sailor Moon or especially Precure, and that was all Saeki-sensei's idea. I wanted to show Dojima as a magical girl, and he said "Then let's have five of them!"

Saeki: I've always enjoyed watching transformation sequences in series like Sailor Moon, so I knew that to have a sequence of that striking caliber, we needed several beautiful women. The only problem is that there's a muscular man right in the middle.

ANN: That's gap appeal.

Tsukuda: Yes, exactly. Thank you for appreciating the gap.

Usually, separating the writer and artist is something more associated with Western-style comic books. Is that style of collaboration becoming more common in Japan, and what was the dynamic between the two of you like?

Tsukuda: That's definitely becoming more common now. In the past, it was more common for duos working on manga to be separate rather than working close together, but nowadays, as we have a lot of titles on the market, this type of closer collaboration is becoming more common, with The Promised Neverland and Dr. Stone being other examples. My motivation throughout this whole project came from wanting to demonstrate the greatness of Saeki-sensei's art. That was actually the main point of our project at the outset, so it was always my greatest motivation.

Saeki: For me, I don't have the storytelling power that Tsukuda-sensei has, so it was like this chemical reaction of our good aspects coming together to bring this story to life.

Like a Maillard reaction, when you fry something and it creates a new flavor?

Tsukuda: Definitely like that.

What does the other person in this collaboration do that drives you nuts sometimes?

Tsukuda: I think Saeki-sensei would get pissed off when I'm slow with material.

Saeki: No no, never! There isn't anything that really gets me annoyed with Tsukuda-sensei, because we both have a strong goal of creating something great together. We can always talk to each other because of that passion, and we aren't afraid of letting each other know what we want to do and how we want to do things. That comes from our desire to work as a team and create something worthwhile together.

Was Food Wars! the first time you had collaborated?

Tsukuda: This was the first time we had formally worked together, but I knew about Saeki-sensei from the past because he was my senpai in university. He's always given me pointers and been clear about his goals, because he's a very logical individual. I know that whenever he critiques something or points out a problem that needs to be fixed, it's coming from a logical place and not an emotional perspective. So I take his critiques seriously and understand that they're something I need to work on.

Are you planning on collaborating together again soon?

(Tsukuda and Saeki high five.)

Tsukuda: Yeah, we've been talking about our future plans on this trip.

We'll be looking forward to it. If you could have any of Food Wars!' characters as your personal chef, who would you pick?

Tsukuda: Megumi. Her cuisine is based around home cooking, so it's very peaceful and kind in its flavors. That way, even when I get much older, I don't have to worry about her dishes being too spicy or weird or anything. If I eat something that the other chefs make when I get old, I might die from too much excitement.

Saeki: I actually want more excitement in my life, so maybe Rindo! She will find ways to cook something that I've never had before. I'll actually live longer, because I'll be excited all the time.

Dohi: I would definitely want Kojiro Shinomiya. For one thing, his dishes would be healthy. His food is based heavily in French cuisine, and he uses a lot of vegetables. But for another thing, he's a very sadistic character, so to be able to make him do what I want would be extra-fun for me.

ANN: I feel like that's a very fitting answer for a producer.

Tsukuda: (laughs) Well, no matter who you are, if you hire a personal chef, you would have to tell them very directly what you want.

Saeki: If I can have one more answer, I would also want Mimasaka Subaru. That way, if I'm at a restaurant and I try something I really like, I can just tell him that this is what I want, and he could whip up something just like it on the spot.

Tsukuda: Damn, I didn't think of that.

How do you feel about the series, which is unique in the world of cooking manga, being popular all over the world?

Saeki: I think its popularity is mostly due to Tsukuda's amazing writing skills and character building, but another thing that's important to note is that, compared to many cooking manga that have come and gone, Food Wars! really emphasizes the battle aspect of shonen series, which I think is a unique point in its favor.

Tsukuda: In terms of genre, there are many modern culinary manga for more mature audiences, not shonen but seinen titles. Many of them are enjoyed just to kill time, with very passive storytelling that's meant to be read on the train or while waiting around. But going into the history of culinary manga, there are many shonen titles as well, like Shouta no Sushi, and because this unchanging base of cooking stories in shonen is so easy to access and reference, I think people are still drawn to the concept of dramatic cooking manga.

Dohi: In Japan, it's very common to find culinary manga, so I believe that people will keep loving this kind of story even twenty or thirty years from now.

It stands out to me that the cast of Food Wars is very international.

Tsukuda: That was very important to me. I wanted the younger readers experiencing this manga to learn about different types of food and culture from different countries. I thought it would be great if kids reading the manga could grow up, travel the world, see unique dishes and remember, "I saw that in Food Wars! when I was a kid."

Kind of like how Slam Dunk influenced basketball?

Tsukuda: Definitely. Kids in Japan didn't even know the rules of basketball before Slam Dunk. I think it's really important for kids to learn something through manga when they're reading it.

Saeki: Because of Slam Dunk, I actually joined the basketball team in my elementary school. Obviously, I didn't stay with it, though.

Tsukuda: I didn't know that!

Saeki: I also played ping pong, and even competed in a regional event.

Has anyone told you that their life has changed or that they look at food differently because of your manga?

Tsukuda: I have gotten letters from fans saying that they wanted to become a chef after reading Food Wars!, and even some letters saying that they had become a chef! It makes me really happy.

What was your favorite recipe in the series and why?

Dohi: I actually asked this of the creative team around the studio, because I knew you guys were probably going to ask that question. From the director to the art director to all around the staff, everyone was excited about rice dishes in particular—we are Japanese, so that's always going to be a point of interest—and out of all the rice dishes, the omurice with the curry risotto inside was definitely one of our favorites to demonstrate in the anime. Of course you can't smell anything from the screen, but to be able to depict the smell bursting out from the omurice when the spoon cuts in was rewarding. That moment was shocking for all of us when we first read it, so we wanted to give it a lively and energetic presentation in the anime.

Tsukuda: For me, it was definitely the midnight laksa curry, the dark and stinky curry made from kusaya, which is a very traditional Japanese dish. I really want to try it myself, to experience that contrast between its overwhelming stinkiness and being so delicious when you actually eat it. Seeing the smell just permeating throughout the hall was interesting.

Saeki: My pick has not appeared in the anime yet, but it's the dish made by Somei Saito, a ruby sushi made of mabuho and tuna. That would definitely be delicious. Just thinking about it now makes me salivate. I love sushi.

ANN: Now that the manga is coming to a close, and the anime isn't far behind, what have been your most memorable experiences along the way?

Tsukuda: You know, now that I think about it, this trip might be the most freeing and fun experience I've had since beginning Food Wars! For seven years now, since starting the project, every single moment of my life, no matter what else I'm doing, I'm always thinking about the manga in the back of my head. So now, it's like I'm trying to remember "What was fun about it?"

Saeki: For me, being serialized in Jump was my ultimate dream. Just knowing that I was able to create a work that continued on for such a long time was a dream come true for me, every single day that Food Wars! was in serialization. So that has become my fondest memory, every day that I got to have a hit in Shonen Jump. It was the second time for Tsukuda, but the first time for me.

Tsukuda: Well, the first time I got serialized in Jump, my manga was cut in 15 weeks, so this was a much better experience. Food Wars! is my first real success.

Dohi: It's a little hard for me to think about memories at this stage, because unlike these two that are done with the project, the anime is still in the heat of production, so I get to go back to Japan after this trip, and there's going to be hell waiting for me. So I can't think of any memories just yet.

Tsukuda: I'm so sorry.

ANN: In that case, what are you most looking forward to sharing with fans in season four?

Dohi: For the fourth season, it will be a direct continuation of the arc from the third season, so we're hoping that fans will appreciate how the characters have all grown since then.

Is there someone special in your life who inspired your love of cooking?

Dohi: My parents. My father is a chef. I would just watch my father's back as he cooked for us every time, and I grew to appreciate the happiness that comes from making something for others and sharing it with them.

Tsukuda: I didn't know your father was a chef, either! What did he specialize in?

Dohi: French-style cuisine.

Tsukuda: I'm learning so many new things in this interview.

Saeki: For me, it was my father as well. Many parents like to cook things that are simple for their kids that they can easily enjoy, like hamburg steak, but when I was a kid, my father was really into cooking with unusual ingredients, like sea urchin. He liked to cook things that paired well with alcohol, since he would drink with his dinner, and when I was little, he would give me a taste of these more grown-up dishes he'd made for himself. So my father had a big impact on my love of diverse foods and wanting to try different kinds of flavors.

Tsukuda: I lived in a small town in Fukuoka prefecture as a child, until I was in high school. When I went to university in Osaka, it was my first time living in a big city, so there were many types of different food to experience, and the variety came as a shock to me. It allowed me to realize that my mom's home cooking was truly unique, as a meal only she could create that was enjoyed exclusively in my own home. It helped me realize a difference in my palate and the tastes and flavors I could enjoy.

[thearkhound]

Muneki Ebinuma’s commentary on various Technos projects

The following is a translation of various bulletin board posts that were allegedly posted by Technos Japan designer (and motion capture actor) Muneki Ebinuma on the now-defunct 喫茶ダブドラ/Kissa Dabudora (Double Dragon Teahouse) fansite back in the early 2000′s. Some of the inside stories he brought up he would later bring up in his Super Double Dragon and Double Dragon Advance commentaries he later wrote for the site Game Kommander, so these posts seem pretty legitimate.

Source: http://web.archive.org/web/20010305081410/http://www2.tkcity.net/~kissa/itadakimo.htm

Anecdote #1

When Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zen’in Shūgō! [a 1991 Famicom game. The title loosely translates to ”It’s Kunio-kun’s Historical Drama Play, Gather Everyone!”] was reaching the end of its development, I wrote a plan starring the Double Dragon brothers. It was basically the same gameplay system as Jidaigeki, but it took place in a kung-fu movie setting. It was supposed to be a Kunio-kun game, but it probably deviated a bit too much from the rest of the series. Development ended up being abandoned due to the strong popularity of the Kunio-kun sports game in our surveys, but I really wanted to make it. The Double Dragons were supposed to appear alongside Ryuichi and Ryuji [a pair of characters from the Downtown Nekketsu series modeled after Billy and Jimmy. In River City Ransom they were renamed Randy and Andy], since the project was intended to be a “festival of Technos” (of course, other guest characters would have also appeared). I was even planning to have Kunio perform the “shadowless kick” technique using a wire.

Anecdote #2

There’s quite many inside stories, so feel free to ask any questions you might have. Me nor Mr. Mitsuhiro Yoshida [co-director of Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari and many of the Downtown Nekketsu games alongside Mr. Hiroyuki Sekimoto] won’t mind.

The arcade version  of Double Dragon started development as a sequel to Nekkketsu Kōha Kunio-kun and since we were aiming for the U.S. market this time, we started development using the graphic image of Renegade as a basis[the export version of the original Kunio-kun]. I heard that Kunio and Riki were supposed to be the Twin Dragons themselves, since they wore gakurans [a type of Japanese school uniform] with dragon embroidery within their jackets. The Kunio-kun series afterward then became console-centric [after the first two arcade games].

The arcade version of Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone was not developed in-house by Technos, it was outsourced. However, the NES version [titled Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones outside Japan] was made in-house. Personally the first two games were my favorite. Double Dragon II in particular was perfect for me. The story was pretty good too.

The Super NES version [Super Double Dragon, released in Japan as Return of Double Dragon in a slightly revised version] was supposed to be a port of the arcade game using an 8-Megabit cartridge, which was the largest ROM size at the time, but we were not familiar with the hardware and we didn’t know how to compress the size of the sprites, so it was impossible to match the character sizes of the arcade version. The Technos Arcade Team were responsible for the graphics and programming, so they had a peculiar roughness to it.

There were many ideas that ended up being cut since I was young and inexperienced at the time. There were texts and images that were being made for cutscenes that were inserted into the game’s ROM, but ended up being unused. The ending and sibling confrontation were even programmed into the game, but I was forced to patch it out due to fears that it would end up bugging the game. We were given priority to meet the announced release date given by the company. Thinking about it now, I believe I was disqualified as a provider. Shodai Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun [a 1992 Super Famicom game that came out only in Japan. The title translates to “The Original Hot-Blooded Tough Guy Kunio”] also had a troublesome development as well, since that game was also being made by people with no prior experience working on the Super Famicom. It was a very brief development period of around six months. I ended up learning things the hard way and that earned me a reputation of sorts within Technos. The sound test [in the Japanese version] has music tracks that isn’t played anywhere else in the game, like the boss theme. Actually, the boss theme was supposed to start playing during the unused conversation sequences with the bosses. Marian, the game’s heroine, doesn’t even appear in the game at all [despite being depicted in the Japanese version’s manual].

During the development of Hybrid Wrestler [a 1994 wrestling for the Super Famitsu endorsed by actual wrestler Masakatsu Funaki], I asked one of the designers to draw Billy and Jimmy Lee in the same size as the Street Fighter II characters. He also drew Abobo lifting a large rock. However, we ended abandoning that plan to assist in the development of Popeye on the Super Famicom and the arcade game Shadow Force. There were also plans to port Shadow Force to the Super NES, but they were canceled. If American Technos hasn’t asked us to prioritize the development of Popeye, then maybe Shadow Force and Double Dragon fmight had been made. [Other Double Dragon fighting games were later made, but the project Ebinuma is talking about here seems to be unrelated to either of those].

Personally I want to make a perfect port of the arcade game with some additional content. [Ebinuma would later get his wish with Double Dragon Advance]. If it wasn’t for that particular programmer and designer, that sense of roughness would had never been born. I was blessed to have such a staff. A good team is capable of creating a masterpiece. I think a game can be even more interesting if you know the joy of bringing out one’s imagination and creativity. I hope new game creators will be born out of the people who are familiar with Technos games. I’m looking forward to such a game that will entertain me.

Actually there are some larger-than-life people making games. Everyone has great potential. Please do your best in your various fields. Make an effort and realize your dreams.

Anecdote #3

If I remember correctly, I was taken to the vacation home owned by Mr. Yoshihisa Kishimoto [director of the original Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun and the Double Dragon trilogy] and his family around the time the scenario [screenplay] for Kunio-tachi no Banka [a 1994 beat-’em-up for the Super Famicom. The title translates to “The Eulogy of Kunio and Friends] was being finalized, where he told me various stories. The screenplay was bulky like a movie screenplay, in which every character and line was thoroughly described on every scene.

He told me he wanted to take the image of the original Kunio-kun arcade and upgrade it for consoles. Unfortunately, Mr. Kōji Ogata, the character designer of the original Kunio-kun, was unavailable due to another project he was assigned to, so the character designs ended up being very different from the conceptual stages. I though the characters looked on paper, but when they appeared on-screen within the game, they were not well-received within the company. It was neither, realistic nor comical, but somewhere in-between. It was really regrettable. But I remember being really happy when I was shown the animation of Kunio doing the Bruce Lee backfist. There was also a stage that was drafted that ended up being cut, as well as a scene that was planned out that didn’t make it, as well as a scene that was impossible to realize due to technical difficulties. Other than, Kishimoto-san was pretty satisfied with the final product.

Instead of Mr. Kazuo Sawa, the usual composer for the Kunio-kun series, the music was instead composed by Mr. Kazunaka Yamane, who did the music for the first two Double Dragon games.

The pixel art for the backgrounds were exceedingly good too. And punching sound effects sounded painful too. It was pretty interesting that familiar characters from the original arcade game appeared too. The enemy’s A.I. programming was a bit different though. There were some aspects of a fighting game that could be seen there, but it was also different.

The TV commercial, which was shot in live-action, featured weapons that was brought in by the company’s staff. The nunchaku there was mine! Mr. Kishimoto was once again really proud of that work. I really another Nekketsu Kōha to be made.

An illustration from a 1991 pamphlet featuring various Technos Japan characters.

[thechrispavon]

Okay, I think I'm in the mood to talk about 2018 and the year to come.

(Originally posted on Twitter)

2018 has been... an odd year, I guess? It definitely wasn't as bad as my 2017, but I always think it could've been a bit better. I think I'd give it a 6 or a 7 out of 10, mainly because I think I could've done more. (Plus, my 2017 was flat out horrible.)

I started 2018 finally getting employed. Even though it was only a part time job, it was my first job after I finished my Bachelor's degree in 2016. Constantly applying for jobs and getting no response greatly contributed to my depression.

And even though I occasionally apply nowadays, I at least have my current part time job to fall back on. It makes my job-hunting less soul-sucking. While I take calls for theater patrons who want to order tickets, I slowly got to know my co-workers.

I feel like I didn't really open up until summertime, which was the theater's off-season. I can say I've met a few friends. Some of them have their quirks, but I don't mind. Through working, I've noticed I have more patience than others. And boi, it comes in handy.

Plus, with a part time job, I get to treat myself! AND BOI, DID I DO THAT! I got myself a Switch on my birthday, a bunch of merch at NYCC, several games during Christmastime, a new phone, and that KH3 Deluxe coming next year! I'd hate to flex, but I worked for it. XD

Creatively this year, I've been mentally throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks. At the end of last year/beginning of this year, I talked to a producer and showed him my writing work. I was just happy to talk to him.

To be honest, I didn't expect much from the conversation, so being able to show him my work and get feedback was pretty much an honor! Lol Afterwards, I went to work brainstorming and developing new ideas, but they were a hit or miss. I feel like some ideas need more time.

Meanwhile, I managed to finish writing the Children of the Sky Episode 4 Script around October. I was ecstatic. I don't remember when I started that! It was a long time, way before I wrote the Series Bible in January 2018.

Speaking of the Children of the Sky Project: Even though I finished Episode 4 and I'm currently writing 5, I really don't know what's going to happen with the project in 2019. Honestly, I've never been this unsure with the project before.

Children of the Sky is a huge story, and yes, I could continue writing scripts, but I REALLY want to share it with people. I wanted it to be animated. That's why I wrote screenplays. I tried to do it back in 2016 with a couple of people, but it turned out to be REALLY difficult.

I tried to make Children of the Sky into a comic all on my own, but I became absolutely exhausted, because I'm a huge perfectionist. It took me a few weeks just make this one panel. (And looking at it in hindsight, there's a bunch of things I could've done differently.)

I toyed with the idea of turning my story into a video game series, because that would be awesome. (I can dream, okay?) I thought about how battles would play and I even dabbled once into very basic 3D modeling, but honestly? I don't know anyone with that expertise.

I know I could hire people who know how to draw, animate, make 3D models, or even program a game, but with my expectations and standards, I can't afford to properly pay them with my part-time job. And I'm terrified of crowdfunding, because what if people don't like my ideas?

Only recently have I begun to think about turning Children of the Sky into a series of novels. Using my scripts as a foundation, I would have to greatly revise the episodes to properly fit the medium. It will take some time and I don't know if I'm really keen on the idea.

And I haven't even started on my stuff on YouTube!! My "Throw-Stuff-At-Wall-And-See-What-Sticks" mentality REALLY transferred over to that space in 2018. I tried to do vlogs, dabbled in reviews, and I don't know what else. Just some random videos. I need a focus. Or a coach lol.

My Most Viewed YT Videos I made in 2018 were... 

Kingdom Hearts III Release Date Reaction 

My Manga Collection 

Cloud and Sephiroth But with Ed Edd n Eddy Sound Effects 

Devilman Crybaby Fast Review 

Reacting to KH3 is Hard 

VA Demo Reel 

The KH3 Release Date Reaction was just good timing, because I released it RIGHT after it was announced. FF7 with Ed Edd n Eddy was just a meme. And my demo reel only got that much views because I marketed it to Voice Actors on Twitter often.

Right now, I don't know what I'm doing for YouTube! Lol I've been debating on doing a video on how Kingdom Hearts means so much to me, but I'm hesitant, because I don't know how people are going to take it! XD But outside of that? I have no idea!

Let's change the subject to voice acting!

This past summer, I came out of a massive hiatus. Before then, I hadn't been doing voice acting in YEARS. What prompted me? Some idiot I worked with once decided to go to recording studios and anonymously slandered a couple of well known voice actors.

But that absolutely PALES in comparison to the whole Mylez Dimitrovski fiasco. The worst thing? I worked with the guy a couple times. I kinda chatted with him. But I knew NOTHING about his shit. Only hints I get from other voice acting friends in the past.

I missed voice acting during my hiatus, but nothing really inspired me. I was so pissed off about these two that I felt COMPELLED to actually get back into it.

I met some voice actors online because of this, but I still honestly feel like an outsider to the voice acting community. I quickly became aware of how my quality isn't as good as anyone else's. Plus, getting rejected auditions still feels like crap today as it did years ago.

I got to Round 2 of Now Voice This and I was very shocked. I did not expect that at all. I just submitted a few days before the deadline and tried not to think too much about. When I saw my name in Round 2, I didn't believe it. My first thought was, "You're kidding, right?"

But now, I unfortunately have to take another voice acting hiatus, because my family and I will be moving soon. The new house will be closer to work. It'll still be in the same state, so no California or Texas for me!

I'm concerned about where to record in the new house, because most of the place has hardwood or tiled floors. Reverb's gonna be horrible. Maybe I could ask my parents to install a studio? I would need to upgrade my equipment, because I don't think my Yeti's gonna cut it anymore.

But yeah. For the past couple of years, my parents have been thinking about moving and have been looking for houses. They just bought the new house last month. So it just created this weird seismic shift in my life. 2019 is really going to be marked by my family and I moving.

I've been in the old house my entire life. Sure, I was on a college campus for 4 years, but the old house was my childhood. I don't know what's going to happen in 2019. I just want to get used to the new house and play Kingdom Hearts III.

[pomegranate-belle]

I'm having like massive fucking difficulties picking a mere 500 words from MK1-END, so I kinda want to just give you the entire section beginning 'The elevator is locked, and there’s no way out. They’re all going to die.' and ending 'What’s happening around her, around them, fades away, but she can feel soothing heat and sadness and an ache in their chest,' and let you decide how much from that you want to do, and how.

Oh boy, I have a feeling this is gonna get long but… Oh welllmao

Ok, so… This first part is sort of the first time we’reseeing into the main ZTD cast – like, before that there’s sections that shiftaway from Kyle and Maria, but they’re short and they’re still tangential to thejourney those two are taking. But it’s way, way more exciting to have Kyle-Mariashow up from a different point of view than theirs. Also I might have some CSexperience but I know -5 about hacking, I am admitting that now, that wasdefinitely part of the reason the narrative shifted away from them at thatspecific moment lol

After that, it kind of devolves into Delta, and Delta’sthought process. I’m gonna be honest with you I wasn’t really… Convinced bywhat he says in ZTD and I think that ended up reflecting here. I think I kepthis arguments relatively in line with the ones he makes in the game, but I hadthe others, Maria especially, cut in with my objections to his logic. The wholestory is about Kyle and Maria working together, sharing their strength back andforth to save their families, but when they argue against Delta in unison, thatwas the one thing I really wanted them to connect on. The idea that they’d hadtheir worlds manipulated by him and that instead of just acquiescing they wererejecting his right to do that.  

It’s sort of the climax of the story, I think. In the sensethat it’s a culmination of their shared strength and their determination tochange the timeline they’ve been put into. But the part immediately after:

“You’re lying,”Maria realizes slowly.

Her lips are numb,and she doesn’t quite know the meaning of what she’s seen, but it’s there.Something, huge, something he’s not telling them. She thinks it must be aboutLeft, but she’s never been able to learn enough about him or about Free theSoul to be able to determine now what Delta’s motives truly are.

That was actually one of the first parts of the story Iwrote. And it really reflected my own views when I reached the ZTD True End forthe first time. We never got the backstory about FtS that we were promised, soeven though I was absolutely certain Delta was lying to us, there wasn’t enoughcontext to figure out why or about what.

And then we return to the gun. It’s er… Well, I guess wecould call it Chekov’s Gun, couldn’t we… I tried not to draw direct attentionto it, but the question of ‘where’s the gun, who’s holding it, where is itpointed’ was on my mind the entire scene inside the Test Facility. Which ofcourse leads to the gun ending up in Diana’s hands. Sort of a mirror to themoment in the game where we put her in a similar situation as Delta does here.I always knew I wanted it to be her. Eric is the gun-happy nutbar, but Dianaand Delta’s relationship is too interesting not to try and play with like that.

Maria jumping into Delta’s body was also something I wantedto explore kind of from the beginning. Just because we the player (or in thecase of this fic’s canon, Maria herself) were inside Delta’s PoV the wholetime. The thought of going back to it knowingly, even though she didn’t wantto, was interesting. And the truth is that the part about him not letting go ofher… My brain was absolutely 100% on that scene near the end of Anastasia lmaosorry Delta you are Rasputin now.

And then, after all the drama, I had to insert a littlelevity. Thus the “oh no she’s hot” exchange, which was an enormous amount offun to write. And it was a good transition into the Phi/Maria from the prompts.They (obviously) don’t interact in canon, so it was tough to try and find adynamic for them and a way to parse the attraction so that it wouldn’t read astoo sudden and unrealistic. With ? being Maria, I had a lot more leeway withthat, since she ended up getting to know everyone from VLR really well bydefault. But I mean, being the big fucking romance dork I am, I had to do the Lady-and-the-Tramp-esquebit where they touch hands.

I added in my own little headcanon about ZTD Dr. Klim – I’msure if you look at my old ZE posts it’s there somewhere – being the youngSigma from VLR. I was very proud of that bit because time loops always N

I couldn’t resist Carlos scolding Maria for the cuss words,probably because that stupid “Language!!” gag from AoU was on my brain. I alsocouldn’t resist namedropping Dio because I just gd love that garbage clone.What a fucking tool.

The exchange afterwards between Dr. Klim and Diana was atough one. Not in the sense that it was difficult to imagine the exchange, butin that I wasn’t really sure how to resolve it. Of course Dr. Klim was havingthe same problem, so maybe that’s why it worked out in the end. I think Idefinitely drew on a lot of Doctor Who related angst for that exchange.Everything from the Journey’s End exchange to that phone call in Deep Breath.The idea that the version of the person that you love is gone and a strangerthat is also paradoxically him is taking his place is one that’s pretty uniquebut it fits in ZE and in Doctor Who, thanks to the power of time travel.

This part here:

He takes a moment,breathes. Flexes the fingers that are and are not his own. The way he looksdown, aside, is one Maria knows intimately because Kyle recognizes it as hisown – a nervous tic to hide his fear of rejection.

Is one I added one one of my later passes, I think. But I’mreally proud of it. There are definitely ways in which Kyle and Sigma aresimilar and I think that this sort of emotional fragility is one of them. Ireally liked the thought of expressing that similarity through a gestureinstead of words.

Originally, I wasn’t going to have Kyle express a desire toleave so soon. But after the scene between Dr. Klim and Diana, this sort ofsinking feeling hit me. Or Kyle? Both of us I guess. Because it’s true he doesn’treally belong in 2028. He could, maybe, eventually… But then it hit me that hestill had unfinished business in 2074. And maybe that was always in the back ofmy head, that need for a resolution with Luna, just because she’s so near anddear to my heart. And the reason that Kyle begins to see her differently isbecause he sees her through Maria’s eyes, so in that way she’s helping him onelast time.

Their exchange about meeting again, I’m sure I’ve admittedto this before somewhere, is absolutely based on the “End: Lost in the Waves” FEFates DLC. That, in addition to the epilogue, was added on my second or thirdpass through the fic. Originally it ended with Phi and Maria holding hands, butI wanted to see Kyle again, so changes were made.

In the same way that I wanted to hint to a Kyle-Lunaresolution, I knew I had to start mending the ties between Sigma and Kyle,which is what his exchange is all about. I can’t remember who it was that madethat comic about Sigma getting attached to his clones but they kept dying andeventually he cut himself off from them but I think that played a lot into howI conceptualized their relationship. Now that their mission is done, there’snothing holding them back, there’s no longer a wall between them. And Kyle wasnever sure if that was really the problem, or if Sigma just truly didn’t care,so that reassurance is really important to him.

And of course I couldn’t have Kyle leave without talking toDiana. But in addition to having no idea what they would say to one another, Ialso wanted to expand a little bubble of privacy to them. Playing with the waythe body-sharing works was part of it too, because I think up until that pointthe only one who’d leaned back out of control far enough to mute the outside worldwas Kyle. I wanted to see it from Maria’s perspective too, and emphasize thatat their core – emotionally – they’re still connected no matter how far theylean apart.

I guess that’s all of it lmao wow.. I hope that didn’t soundtoo pretentious, I’m sure I got a little long-winded but look….. I revised thatfic like ten times before I posted it and it’s really one of my most polishedworks and I am So Damn Proud of it!

[screenandcinema]

State of the Slate

Five years ago this fall, Marvel Studios held a press conference where they announced the next phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe, nine films in total due to be released between 2016 and 2019. Since that momentous event, Marvel Studios has not announced a single new film pass 2019 and with their triumphant return to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con after a one year absence set for tomorrow evening, it is likely that a new slate of films, encompassing Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is likely to be announced. To mark this occasion, I wanted to look back at that previously announced slate to grade Marvel’s ability to execute their vision and look forward to what movies will likely be coming from Marvel next before tomorrow’s event.

When it comes delivering on their initial promise, Marvel Studios did an impressively good job. Only one of the originally announced nine films didn’t happen, that being Inhumans - which instead was developed as an abysmal ABC television series that even I couldn’t get all the way through. Not to mention three films came out over the period in question that Marvel didn’t announce that day in October 2014, that being Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. The lack of inclusion fo the Spider-Man films is easy to explain as at this point in 2014, Marvel Studios had yet to reach a deal with Sony to produce Spider-Man movies so there was no foresight to announce said films. And as for Ant-Man and the Wasp, the first Ant-Man film had yet to even be released at this point, so there was no way to know how well the film would fare. Also it likely that the plot of Avengers: Endgame, announced here as Avengers: Infinity War - Part II, was not fully fleshed out yet, so there was no way to know that a second Ant-Man film would be integral to developing that story-line for audiences. Release dates didn’t always hit their marks and films were shuffled around to make room for these three new unannounced films which is understandable. As a whole, the accuracy is impressive especially compared to Warner Bros. who announced a similar slate of ten DC films due for release between 2016 and 2020 and has so far released six of those films with the remaining four nowhere near hitting cinemas any time soon including Justice League Part Two. As well as the next wave of DC Film like Joker, Wonder Woman 1984, Birds of Prey, and The Batman not being on their radar at all in 2014.

What can we expect from the future of Marvel Studios when they put their forecasting to the test tomorrow? Aside from new details about Disney+ series like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki, hopefully, Marvel Studios will fill the giant gaps in their future film release date. Currently, Marvel has planted their flag on multiple release dates in 2020, 2021, and 2022 with no films announced at all. Officially it is two dates in 2020 (May 1 and November 6), three dates in 2021 (February 12, May 7, and November 5), and three dates in 2022 (February 18, May 6, and July 29). I don’t think it is outside of the realm reasoning to expect Marvel to announce all eight of those movies tomorrow. But what eight will there be?

Some are easy to point out. A Black Widow prequel film has been filming in earlier this summer, so it is likely one of the 2020 films, if not the May 2020 one, since it would difficult for Marvel to have any other film ready in the less than 10 months between now and then. Directors Ryan Coogler, Scott Derrickson, and James Gunn have all signed on to helm sequels to their Marvel characters, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, respectively. A Black Panther sequel looks primed for that February 2021 date since the first film was released in that month in 2018. A second Doctor Strange is set to begin filming in early 2020, which feasible could be ready for November 2020, since the first one came out in November 2016, just under a year after filming had begun the previous October. Filming of a third Guardians of the Galaxy won’t begin until 2020 at the earliest due to Gunn’s commitment to The Suicide Squad with DC, so the May 2022 date seems like a likely destination for that film. Just last week, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi signed on to direct a fourth Thor film, and as there is no timetable yet, there is no real way to gauge where it would fall in the slate, but let’s pencil it in for November 2021 at this moment.

Let’s recap the predicted release dates at this point:

May 1, 2020 - Black Widow

November 6, 2020 - Doctor Strange 2

February 12, 2021 - Black Panther 2

May 7, 2021 - ?

November 5, 2021 - Thor 4

February 18, 2022 - ?

May 6, 2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

July 29, 2022 - ?

Before going into what new properties/characters will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are other films in need of sequels. Captain Marvel grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide so there is no way that a sequel is not in the cards very soon. The same goes for a third Spider-Man film, but since Marvel only produces those films and they are released by Sony, it is likely that any future release date won’t be set by Marvel Studios and will instead come from Sony at another time (Sony will not have a presentation at Comic-Con this year). A third Ant-Man movie also seems highly likely, but it could be something left for 2023 and beyond. The same goes for newer properties coming into the Marvel Studios fold like Fantastic Four and X-Men after Disney purchase of 20th Century Fox. While an announcement of a new film with either set of characters would likely draw crazy enthusiasm in Hall H, both seem unlikely to rebooted after 2022, with Fantastic Four likely joining the MCU first. 

What does seem likely are the announcements of a Shang-Chi film, as well as a  The Eternals film as rumors of their casting and production have run rampant as of late. Both films already have directors hired apparently, and The Eternals is rumored to begin filming this fall. Those two films and a Captain Marvel sequel could easily fill the remaining gaps in the release date slate, but where would they fit it? It would seem unlikely that Marvel would launch a new property on the first Friday of May (Summer Movie Day), something that hasn't been done since 2011 and the first Thor. It is possible that building off the enthusiasm of Black Panther, that film’s sequel could be pushed to May, to leave the February date open for a new franchise. The spring has regularly been a jumping-off point for new MCU characters, with Black Panther and Captain Marvel being released then. With that in mind, The Eternal, set to film this fall, could slip into that February 2021 date, with Shang-Chi coming a year later in February 2022. A second Captain Marvel could look to that July 2022 or possibly a third Ant-Man (since all previous films have come out in July), if Marvel Studios feels the summer 2022 one-two punch of Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy is too cosmic for movie-goers.

With that in mind, here is the revised full predicted slate:

May 1, 2020 - Black Widow

November 6, 2020 - Doctor Strange 2

February 12, 2021 - The Eternals

May 7, 2021 - Black Panther 2

November 5, 2021 - Thor 4

February 18, 2022 - Shang-Chi

May 6, 2022 - Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

July 29, 2022 - Captain Marvel 2 or Ant-Man 3

This slate leaves out the possibility of Marvel Studios announcing a third Spider-Man, a giant surprise like Fantastic Four or a New Avengers, or a film scheduled for beyond 2022. But in the end, it is just a prediction, one that is likely very wrong. Be sure to keep an eye on official news out of the Marvel Studios event San Diego Comic-Con tomorrow and check back next week for a short commentary on all the things right with these predictions and (more likely) all the things wrong.

-MB-

[cleretic]

The problem with ‘Riddler Plots’ in RP

Something I’ve seen plenty of times in roleplaying of all stripes are DMs including overt puzzles into a plot or scene they’re running. We’re talking about direct, unobfuscated tests of knowledge and problem-solving, sometimes absent of any in-story justification outside of ‘finding a puzzle that needs solving’. They’re usually puzzles that the DM themself either designed or adapted. I’ve taken to calling these ‘Riddler Plots’, because that’s what they’ve always reminded me of: the exact kind of challenges the Batman villain uses, that are only there for the sake of puzzles.

You could also call them ‘Da Vinci Code Plots’, but I think the Riddler’s actually a step up.

I don’t want to take away from the work inherent in designing a good puzzle; it’s a skill I definitely don’t have. But designing a good puzzle is a world different from designing a good puzzle for roleplaying purposes, and one that’s suited for the former might well be god-awful for the latter. I want to explore that, expose the problems and potential solutions.

When talking about this, I think it’s best to start with an example that gets everything wrong, before exploring how to do it well. What I don’t want to do, though, is shame people who have actually done these things wrong in RP; we all make mistakes, and we can all learn from them. So rather than actual or mocked-up RP examples, what I instead want to do is use missions from The Secret World as examples: to explore why missions like these would or wouldn’t work as a scene or plot in roleplaying, because of reasons that tie into the problems with Riddler Plots, and what we might be able to do to improve them.

“Fly through my maze, Superman!”

Superman 64 is a famously bad game for many reasons: extremely poor controls, countless glitches, terrible graphics, the list goes on. But perhaps the most important single reason to me was always right there in the title: ‘Superman’. The game’s very title delivered a specific promise, that it then failed to deliver on, because it couldn’t possibly make you feel like Superman when you’re just flying through a ring maze. There’s a reason one of the biggest compliments given to the Arkham games is that they make you feel like Batman.

(I promise I’ll stop referring to DC Comics stuff now.)

This is the problem that the worst Riddler Plots bring: players are coming to the plot as roleplayers, for roleplaying. And an overt puzzle isn’t roleplaying. Characters aren’t the ones interacting with an overt puzzle: the players are.

Consider Digging Deeper from The Secret World; this would be awful in a strictly roleplaying context, despite being a good mission in the game, but let’s explore why.

In the context of the game, this is one of the earliest investigation missions, and acts to teach you the skills in looking up pertinent knowledge that you’ll need in future investigation missions. This works, because the game is directly challenging the player; it doesn’t care about the character. But if it were a roleplayed scene it would fall apart, as the characters themselves have no agency, and the players can’t possibly roleplay out a solution. They have to solve it themselves.

This problem only becomes more present when you enter spheres like freeform online roleplaying and in many MMOs, because at the very least tabletop roleplaying has tools to mitigate this. In a tabletop game, there are often skill rolls or feats built into the game that players can enforce, to bring an in-character element to an out-of-character puzzle. Those tricks aren’t in play in many other roleplaying mediums, and so the players are either left to solve the puzzle themselves, or try to use nebulous parts of their character to negotiate help from the DM. And in my experience, ‘I don’t know classical music, but my character definitely would’ is rarely accepted without something to enforce it.

Not only that, but the puzzle is directly present to an almost comical degree: you have to solve a puzzle, for no other reason than because the puzzle is there, there’s no logical, in-story reason the obstacles in place are puzzles. This is also true in the game, but in roleplaying it would be even more egregious because it takes away all potential alternate approaches that could be roleplayed out.

The DM has thrown away the central draw of roleplaying for the players, and is instead forcing them to fly through their maze.

So there’s two major problems here preventing this from being a good roleplaying experience. How do we fix them? Let’s take them one at a time, starting with the first mentioned, and what doing it right could look like.

Character Skills and Accepting Alternatives

So, the problem is that we have a puzzle--or series of puzzles--that exist to both the player and character on the exact same level. The player and character would be using the exact same approaches and skillsets, and there is effectively no difference between the two until the puzzle’s been solved. This is a problem if the goal is ‘providing a good roleplaying experience’, so how do we solve it?

Of course, this has already been solved by tabletop games, although implementing the solution is another matter: respecting and utilizing the skills or equipment the character has actually been written up to have.

Using another Secret World mission as basis, let’s use Death and Axes, which does well to demonstrate avenues that could be pursued to improve a puzzle in roleplaying. This is a mission all about following fragmented clues left by ghosts (both figurative and literal) to discover the identity of their killer. With all the clues put together, the player is expected to figure out themselves who the murderer is. In a roleplaying setup, this works pretty well, but it does have the problem that the player and character are on the exact same level.

But what if they weren’t?

This mission involves learning from literal ghosts; what if one of the characters being played actually was a medium, and so could communicate better, and glean more information? Or alternatively, what if somebody’s playing a police detective, somebody whose whole profession is figuring these things out?

In both of these cases, the planned elements of the plot should be bent or revised, to respect and aid the fact that somebody’s character is uniquely suited for solving this.

Alternatively: who’s saying that your solution is the only way forward?

Consider the mission The Orochi Group; you sneak into a research camp, to learn just what these guys are doing. I bring this up because of a specific point in the mission, where you force a tent to evacuate by contaminating their air conditioning. It gets everybody out, allowing you to get in, but then you’ve got the problem of dealing with the gas you put in there yourself. Interestingly, this isn’t a problem that the game outwardly gives you an answer to. You can muscle your way through the debuff it gives you--and in fact this is the only option in Secret World Legends--but there’s another way.

Near the place you start the mission is a side mission, Up In Flames, that gives you a hazmat suit. Wearing this suit means the debuff is never applied, allowing you to complete the mission without trouble. This was clearly the intended way…

But it’s not the only way. Other ways to filter gases also work: a mission introduced later gives you a respirator that also works. But even at launch, there was another one: Illuminati players are given, as part of their faction uniform, a gas mask that turns out to be functional. So, if Illuminati players are smart enough, this puzzle never even exists for them. That rewarding of lateral thinking, using resources available in-character, is fantastic, especially for roleplaying.

These two approaches do great to help players feel more like they’re actually roleplaying out a solution, but both of them (the latter more than the former) require the DM to do something extremely difficult: to accept their creation being broken. Either by providing more information than the players have personally ‘earned’ through the character doing the hard work, or by smashing past the puzzle entirely though alternative approaches. This is why many DMs will refuse to do this, out of a desire to protect their creation. And in freeform or MMO roleplaying, they’re the ones with all the keys to progress; the players only have the tools to interact that the DM has permitted, because the lack of an established system means they have none of their own.

This is an obstacle the DM needs to overcome, not the players. DMs in any medium need to understand that roleplaying is inherently collaborative and creative, that the other players are not subordinate. And if they want to break the DM’s toy, it’s not up to the DM to tell them ‘no’: it’s to help them figure out how.

Immersion in the RP’s world

Immersion is a tricky word in gaming, because it implies a quality that’s hard to attain, but not necessarily helpful. But when designing an in-RP puzzle, some of it is needed.

Remember the example of Digging Deeper. There is no effort made to make those puzzles fit in-universe, it is squarely intended for the player. And that’s fine for the game, it’s working in the lines it drew up for itself, but it won’t work for an RP puzzle. What’s needed is to link it to the world it’s taking place in, rather than the world the players are in.

The puzzle needs to make sense as something that exists within the game’s world. That can be hard sometimes, but ensuring you have answers to some simple ‘who, what, why’ questions will go a long way.

Who made this thing?

What is it supposed to do?

Why is it a puzzle? Why is it this specific puzzle?

Having some firm answers ingrained into the puzzle and its presence itself will help to entrench it in the game’s world rather than our own, thus helping it be more of an actual roleplaying experience rather than a diversion from such.

For an example on how to approach this, we’re turning to Obstructive Persons; a mission that tasks you with infiltrating the Morninglight cult’s underground crime and surveillance operations. This one’s brilliant, because every single step of it is grounded in the world of the game, and is presented in such a way that every part of the process makes reasonable sense. We can answer all of the questions above, comfortably:

Who made it? Obviously, the Morninglight.

What’s it supposed to do? The system you’re infiltrating is a secret operative network, designed to keep out uninitiated.

Why is it a puzzle? Because we’re trying to get through security used by that operative network. It’s not linear, because we ourselves are not initiated; there’s implied to be training and context we don’t have.

This puzzle works perfectly within the world of the game, because every question about it can be answered, and every step makes total sense based on the surroundings, and the one preceding it. In a roleplaying plot version of this, you can see a lot of this playing out because of actual character agency and behavior, rather than progress happening ‘because Greg figured it out’.

Both this flexibility and immersion need to be in place for a puzzle in roleplaying to work; to make it something that the characters are interacting with, rather than solely a challenge posed to the players.

There’s one more thing I need to raise, though. Something that’s much harder to figure out a solution to, and I would say it’s the reason that a plot can’t purely be puzzles like if the Riddler wrote it.

The Fighter Problem

So you’ve taken these things into account, and designed this elaborate puzzle (or puzzles) that’s designed to be able to work with character skills. One that fits perfectly within the world. And you’re willing to adapt it when somebody comes up with something you didn’t. You’re fine, right? You can go ahead, everyone’s gonna be happy!

Except that you’ve forgotten somebody. Somebody we’ve not mentioned in this whole discussion, but someone who undeniably exists within the group you’re pitching your roleplaying plot to, especially when the environment is a game:

The dedicated warrior.

This is a problem across every single medium someone could be roleplaying a puzzle-focused plot in: it inherently cannot permit somebody whose character is focused on combat. Whose character reasonably knows little else other than skills relating to combat. I’ve met plenty of people playing these characters, and they would all be ruined if a puzzle came up--several of them actually were. It doesn’t matter if the DM gives them a caesar cipher, references to Shakespeare, or even a literal jigsaw puzzle; the character is out of play, either totally unable to participate or working much slower than anybody else, even if the player wants to join in.

Picture this from the warrior’s player’s point of view, because this is a lose/lose/lose situation for them from a roleplaying perspective:

They sit it out completely, because their character can’t contribute.

They contribute only out-of-character as a player (depending on who else is involved, this option might not even be possible).

They break character, having them come to conclusions or propose solutions that their character would normally never do, just so they can participate.

I can’t show you an example that demonstrates how to fix this. Because I can’t give a simple fix for this problem at all: there is no easy way to give the warrior something to do during a dedicated puzzle. My only suggestion is that you design your plot so that those people can be important to it: that there is something for them to fight. But that wouldn’t make it a pure puzzle like I’ve been talking about, and it still means that your puzzle acts as a time-out for them.

Conclusion

Puzzles are hard. Roleplaying puzzles are harder.

That doesn’t mean they’re not worth pursuing, or can’t be fixed. It just requires more than the skills inherent in constructing the puzzle in the first place. It requires writing, it requires integration with the world, it requires improvisational thinking.

But perhaps most importantly it requires compromise, and humility. The DM’s willingness to to pull apart the puzzle machine they’ve built, and the humility to realize that not everybody is going to be happy with it in the first place.

[libraryoferana]

Welcome to Amanda Schmidt

I have published thirteen books.  I have two stories that are two books (Taken, Solace), one trilogy (The Shadow Dragon), one story that will be two books (Rise of Ansea), and the rest are all stand-alone books (Not Human, Heart of the Emperor, The Huntsman’s Daughter, Project 21, and Adventurer’s Spirit).  They are all fictional adventure stories with a love story entwined.  Each story has two main characters: a strong – or will become strong – female and a male that eventually is the perfect compliment to her.  My published stories so far tend to take place on other worlds because I love using my imagination, although some of my stories talk about Earth, or start on Earth, but only one of them completely takes place only on Earth.  I have one story (my trilogy) that is true fantasy – with dragons, swords, magic, lords, wizards…   The books I publish contain the elements that I like to read: action, adventure, twists and turns, love, heroes, vicious enemies, fighting (weapons and hand to hand combat).

What prompted you to publish your work? My oldest son was about ten when he caught me writing.  He was smiling from ear to ear after I confessed what I was doing and he said, “You’re going to be famous.”  I didn’t believe that, I mean, I was hiding that fact that I was writing.  However, his excitement dwelled in my mind and I began to consider maybe I could publish.  I eventually allowed people to read my manuscript and they encouraged me to publish, which clearly I did.  It only took two years for me to gain the courage to do so.

What have you found the most challenging part of the process? Finishing/not having enough time.  I am constantly being bombarded with a new idea, and the ideas do not wait until I’ve completed the previous idea.  So, I’m constantly changing what I’m working on.  Which takes me even longer to finish a story.  Plus, I don’t read as fast as I’d like, so revising takes forever and then, again, another idea pops in for something not related to this story.  It’s a vicious cycle really (but I love it).

Are you a ‘pantser’ or a plotter? Definitely a pantser.  I have never been able to write an outline.  When I had to write papers in school, I usually did it after I finished the paper/story – or had to change the outline when I was done.  When I sit down to write, the moment I begin typing, the story plays out in front of me, and not always in chronological order.  For example, at least three of my books, I wrote the first chapter after I finished writing the rest of it.

What are your views on free books? I’m personally on the fence about that one.  I do not think it demeans the author or his/her work.  Getting your stories out there is an important part of being a writer, especially as an indie author since all marketing falls on the author.  Free books seemed like a great idea when I started.  I was told to make book one free and then they’ll come back for more.   They didn’t, and I struggled again with the idea that maybe my stories are not “good”.   One day someone said to me that they download free books all the time, and they had read very few of them.  However, they did read the ones they paid for… because they paid for them.  And my numbers seemed to reflect the idea that they probably weren’t that far off the mark.  I’ve never had much luck with selling my ebooks for free, and getting sales off my other books, so I stopped.   However, I do tend to give out my paperbacks, because I have made a few fans that way.

How do you deal with bad reviews? I always take my reviews to heart, even the bad ones.  However, depending on what is said, is how I react to it.  I honestly don’t expect everyone to like my stories, because I don’t like all the books I read either.  A review is a person’s opinion and they’re allowed to have one.  I usually take the bad review as constructive criticism, sometimes I can see their point.  Like with the “Huntsman’s Daughter”, I unpublished it and am trying to find the time to tend to the issues that my “editors” and I missed.   However, there have been times where the review kind of hurt, like when they attacked something about a character.  I wanted to be able to defend that character against whatever it was that they were attacked for, but alas I cannot.  Those are the times I make myself warm cookies, grab a glass of milk, and get back to writing.  Or I talk to a friend and vent a little.  The last time I did this my friend said: “writing with your heart again, I see.”  I shrugged, and let that sink in.  Then I realized that person didn’t understand my character’s behavior because they hadn’t experienced a similar situation to what my character was dealing with – or if they had, they dealt with it differently –  and that allowed me to not be so frustrated.

Order of importance?

Great Characters – If I get attached to the characters in a book I will finish reading that book guaranteed.  If the main characters don’t draw me in, I will stop reading the book.   So yes, when I write, character development is huge to me.

Good Plot – If the characters and their development are great, I will be more forgiving of the plot.  I will finish the story and if there’s a sequel I’ll probably read it as well.   As a writer, plot isn’t something I’ve struggled with, I actually don’t think about it too much because the characters tend to write the plot for me.

Technically perfect – I’m not saying it has to be perfect, but if there’s too many technical issues – then I will stop reading it.  I’ve put down a book before because there were a ton of short sentences and my brain was so fixated on the all the periods that it was not picking up any of the story.  I am pretty lax on typos, and am proud of myself when I catch a homophone error, but I am not a grammatical Nazi by any means.  As long as the errors are not overabundant and don’t pull me out of the world the author created, I will continue to read the story.

Awesome world-building – This is not necessary for me as a reader.  I’ve come to realize there are two types of people, those with active imaginations and those who need to be told what to see.  Which type am I?  I’m the type who gets annoyed if there’s too much description.  I have a very active and strong imagination so I don’t need pages of details to see something.  Give me an idea of what you see and my brain will do the rest unless it is important to the story.   Even when I take the time to read all the details an author is giving me, my brain pictures what it wants.  I would much rather the words be used for moving the story along or building the character than telling me about a tree that has little if any relevance to the story.   As a writer, I do draw the scenery, but I’ve had times where my friends have had to remind me that they are not in my head, so I go back and write to help them see what I see.

  How is storytelling influential to our culture? I believe storytelling is very influential to our culture.  It helps to inspire and motivate people, it gives people a way to escape this world for a while, it gives something for people to relate to.  My older son was not a strong reader, he hated it when he was in early elementary.  We introduced him to comic books and by the time he was in sixth grade he was reading above his grade level, but more importantly, it inspired him to make better choices.  We had a discussion the other day, and he looks at me and says, “Mom, tragedy helps build character.  It sucks, but it’s the truth.  Look at Batman.  His parents were killed, and that’s horrible I know, but look at who he became, look at all the good he did and people he helped.  If his parents hadn’t died he would not have become that incredible man.”   And if you think about Star Trek, and all those devices they used that inspired people to figure out how to create things that were similar… like cell phones.  Storytelling invigorates the mind and encourages us to think differently than we did before.

What is your writing space like? My writing space is anywhere I can sit with my laptop.  In the summer I like to write outside under the trees, but when it’s not nice, I’ll sit on the floor, in my bed, on the couch.  I’ve sat in bleachers waiting for wrestling meets to start, in my car waiting for my kids to get done with class, at the library, at a coffee/tea shop.  I’m really not too picky about my writing space because as soon as I start typing, this world falls away.  Although sometimes if there’s too much talking or the TV is loud, I usually plug in headphones and I’m good.

Tell us about your latest piece.

My most recent story I’ve published is “Adventurer’s Spirit”.  It takes place on another world where two different races of people exist.  Alyxzandra belongs to a people who are in touch with the world they live on, and Jared’s people do not think twice about the planet.  Alyxzandra and Jared meet in the woods when they are young – she was playing a game and he was hunting.  They should have seen each other as enemies, but the moment they saw each other they only saw someone who didn’t deserve to die.  Jared should have killed her that day, and she should have let Jared die when he is attacked by a Zurgala, but instead they keep each other alive not knowing that these two incidents would change everything.  This story follows their journey of friendship as they do their best to protect each other, their sacrifices, and the impacts it has on them and the world they live on.

What’s your next writing adventure? I am always working on more than one thing, but currently I’ve been a bit obsessive over Story 20.  I’m almost 150,000 words in, and the ending is almost complete.  This is an adventure story taking place far from Earth.  It is a story of unexpected love, betrayal, and survival.

Is there a message in your books? I don’t set out for there to be, but they do seem to fall in line with my beliefs that nature is important, that love knows no bounds, that you’re stronger than you know, that men and women are equal and a complement to each other, and survival is possible even in our lowest/darkest moments.

How important is writing to you? The only thing more important to me than writing are my kids.  And they will attest to the fact that when I don’t write it affects everything about me.  I become forgetful and dumb – we joke around that I can’t think straight because of the voices in my head (the story ideas are taking up too much space).  Irritation and sadness tend to take over my mood more easily, and my focus goes out the window.  I love writing, stopping isn’t an option.  It’s my solace, my happy place, my space to challenge myself to think outside the box and become more than I thought I could be.

Links:

Blog: It all started with a dream…: https://amandaschmidt09.blogspot.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandaschmidt09/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaSchimdtFans/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaSchmidt09

Bio

I graduated from Eastern Michigan University and live in Rochester, Michigan. I am a single mother of three amazing children who have helped me rediscover my love of writing. I started writing in 2009 and discovered there were many stories within me that I wanted to share. With the help of my family, friends, and fans, I have gained confidence in myself and in what I love, allowing me to live my dream to be an author who finds inspiration everywhere: my past, listening to music, in laughter, and even random moments while out hiking or practicing Tai Chi.

I discovered the hard way how important believing in yourself and your dreams is. With each story I write, I hope to take my readers into a world that will captivate their attention. I hope my stories remind you to believe in your dreams, allowing you to think outside the box and become more than you thought you could be.

Dirty Dozen – Author Interview – Amanda Schmidt Welcome to Amanda Schmidt I have published thirteen books.  I have two stories that are two books (Taken, Solace), one trilogy (The Shadow Dragon), one story that will be two books (Rise of Ansea), and the rest are all stand-alone books (Not Human, Heart of the Emperor, The Huntsman’s Daughter, Project 21, and Adventurer’s Spirit). 

[andrewdburton]

Your money blueprint — and how it shapes your world

A few years ago, I had a memorable dinner with two friends from high school. Tom, Paul, and I shared good wine, good food and, especially, good conversation. We spent a lot of time talking about how we perceived money when we were younger, and about how these “money blueprints” shaped us as adults.

Tom’s family was poor. They lived in a single-wide mobile home. His father built bar stools in the garage; his mother waited tables. Because there was no room inside the trailer house, Tom’s family slept outside in tents. And because his father’s business never made much money, his mother learned to pinch pennies. She was a queen of thrift.

“I didn’t learn much about money from my mom and dad,” Tom said as he sipped his wine. “I learned more from Paul’s parents. I remember going over to his house and marveling that he had opened a savings account. I remember that passbook you had, and how your parents would drive you into town to make deposits. I went home and told my mom that I wanted a savings account, but it never amounted to much.”

“I still have that savings account,” said Paul. “The same account my parents opened for me when I was a kid is my savings account today.” Paul’s father also taught him how to invest in the stock market. His parents owned a split-level home on several acres of land, and they raised their children in a middle-class environment. They instilled smart money habits in their kids. Paul and his sister were raised with effective money blueprints.

“I wish my parents had taught me some of that,” I said over a mouthful of pasta. When I was a boy, my family was poor. I grew up in a trailer house too (although we never had to sleep outside in tents like Tom’s family did). I lived in this house from the time I was two until I left for college:

Dad was sometimes unemployed. During those dark days, he had trouble putting food on the table or buying clothes for his kids. But he wasn’t always broke.

“When Dad hade money, which wasn’t often, he spent it on toys,” I told Tom and Paul. “He didn’t save. He didn’t invest. I can’t remember that he ever invested a dime in anything. He bought computers and airplanes and sailboats. But then when he was broke, he turned around and sold them again. He and mom never taught me anything about money.”

But my father did teach me about business. He was a serial entrepreneur, always starting one business or another. Many of those businesses failed, but some were wildly successful. (In fact, one business — the custom box factory — still supports most of my family thirty years after Dad started it!)

My friends and I finished our food, paid the bill, and went our separate ways. But that conversation about money has stuck with me for years. I often think about how each of us has a money blueprint — and how some money blueprints are better than others.

Mental Maps

Our behaviors and attitudes toward money are largely shaped by our family and our friends. Society at large — especially the mass media — also plays a role, but most of our money blueprints are drawn from what our parents teach us.

It’s important to note that these money blueprints are but a piece of the larger mental maps we use to find our way through life. Recently, I’ve been re-reading M. Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled, in which he writes extensively about how our individual mental maps shape our view of (and ability to cope with) reality.

“The more clearly we see the reality of the world,” Peck writes, “the better equipped we are to deal with the world.” He continues:

Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know where we are, and if we have decided where we want to go, we will generally know how to get there. If the map is false and inaccurate, we generally will be lost.

We’re not born with these maps, Peck says. We create them as we go. As we experience life, we draw new features on our maps so that we can better navigate in the future.

This concept has some interesting implications:

Each of us has a different mental map of the world. No one map is 100% correct, but there are lots of folks who believe theirs is the only accurate map.

Our mental maps require constant revision in order to be useful. The world around us is constantly changing. The tools we have for interacting with the world are also constantly changing. More importantly, we are constantly changing. If we don’t update our maps, they no longer reflect reality.

“The more effort we make to appreciate and perceive reality, the larger and more accurate our maps will be,” says Peck. But revising our mental maps takes effort. Sometimes the effort is painful. As a result, some people stop adding to their maps in adolescence. “By the end of middle age most people have given up the effort. They feel certain that their maps are complete…”

Here’s the thing: Although each of us has a mental map with which we “negotiate the terrain of life”, for most of us these maps are hidden. They’re subconscious. We never overtly check them for accuracy, and we never deliberately revise them.

Invisible Scripts

Because our mental maps stay hidden, my pal Ramit Sethi refers to them as the “invisible scripts” that guide our lives. “These invisible scripts are so deeply embedded that we don’t even realize they guide our attitudes and behaviors,” Sethi writes.

He provides several examples of the assumptions embedded in our culture (and our personal mindsets), such as:

If you don’t have money, you can’t go to college.

To be happy, you should follow your passions.

You should hook up with a lot of people before settling down.

“I work hard, so I deserve a nice apartment.” (Or nice car or nice wardrobe.)

“I’ll be happy once I make more money.”

Spending a lot on a gift shows how much you care.

People who love each other never fight.

“No pain, no gain.”

Again, not all invisible scripts are bad or wrong. In fact, many invisible scripts are useful. As Peck noted in The Road Less Traveled, when they’re accurate our internal maps help us make the most of reality.

But Peck argues that much of mental illness stems from “clinging to an outmoded view of reality”, from failing to make revisions to our mental maps, to our invisible scripts.

What happens when one has striven long and hard to develop a working view of the world, a seemingly useful, workable map, and then is confronted with new information suggesting that the view is wrong and the map needs to be largely redrawn? The painful effort seems frightening, almost overwhelming.

What we do more often than not, and usually unconsciously, is to ignore the new information. Often this act of ignoring is much more than passive. We may denounce the new information as false, dangerous, heretical, the work of the devil. We may actually crusade against it, and even attempt to manipulate the world so as to make it conform to our view of reality. Rather than try to change the map, an individual may try to destroy the new reality.

The challenge then is to remain dedicated to reality, to truth. Instead of using an outdated map to navigate a new and uncertain future, be willing to revise your working model of the world so that it helps you rather than hinders you.

This is true with both your larger mental map and with sections of that map — such as your financial blueprint.

Like Father, Like Son

In my case, I learned bad money habits from the start. My parents were poor role models. They taught me that money was meant to be spent. They didn’t save and they didn’t invest. As a result, our family was subject to the whims of fate. We had no protection from bad luck or a bad economy. If my father was out of work, we were out of money.

When I grew up, I made the same poor choices. I followed the same invisible scripts my parents had followed. For a long time, I spent everything I earned. It was a game to see how long I could skate with nothing in my bank account. Worse, I developed a credit-card habit (something my parents had always avoided). Instead of improving my financial blueprint, I was making myself more miserable. (Peck would say that I was suffering from a form of mental illness!)

At the same time, I followed in my father’s entrepreneurial footsteps.

As a boy, I imitated him by starting kid-sized businesses of my own. I sold my extra Star Wars trading cards to other kids at school. I also sold the Hardy Boys books I’d finished reading. I drew comic books and sold them at the school store.

Fortunately, I eventually learned from other people who were better examples with money.

My ex-wife, for instance, has always been financially savvy. Kris showed me it was possible to use credit without going into debt. She showed me it was possible to live well while still setting aside over thirty percent of your income. Her parents had provided her with a sound money blueprint, and in time I was able to incorporate some of these good habits as my own.

It took me twenty years, but I managed to completely re-draw my money blueprint from one that kept me depressed and in debt to one that allowed me to save and invest and make my money work for me. I taught myself new “invisible scripts”.

Your Money Blueprint

Our financial blueprints don’t just shape how we interact with money; they also define how we relate to other people when money is involved. Do you lend money to friends? Do you give to charity? How much do you tip in restaurants? How do you feel if your spouse never saves a penny?

Unfortunately, most of our financial blueprints have flaws that prevent us from having healthy relationships with money. A huge part of getting rich slowly is developing a money blueprint that allows you to build a sound financial foundation for tomorrow and today.

As you contemplate your own money blueprint, ask yourself the following questions:

Are you a spender or a saver? Why do you think that is? If you’re a saver, could you ever become a spender? If you’re a spender, do you think you could become a saver? Were your parents spenders? Is your spouse a saver? How do you feel about people who have a different attitude toward money than you do?

Should a couple have joint finances or separate finances? Some combination of the two? Does it make a difference whether the couple is married? How do you feel about pre-nuptial agreements? What’s the best course of action if one partner is a tightwad and the other a spendthrift?

When is it okay to talk with friends about money? Is it okay to lend to family? To friends? Okay to borrow from them? If a friend offered a chance to get in on the ground floor of a business, would you do it?

When is debt okay? Is it ever okay? What about abandoning debt? How do you feel about defaulting on loans? Walking away from a mortgage? Are credit cards okay? If so, how should they be handled?

How do you feel about saving and investing? Have you begun saving for retirement? Does the stock market scare you? Do you go out of your way to learn how money works? Is it all a mystery? Are precious metals a store of wealth? What about real estate? What about bitcoin?

How much does the larger economy affect you? The stock market? Unemployment? Interest rates? How do you feel about taxes? Are government social programs a necessary evil or are they just evil? To what degree is your own financial fate subject to the fate of the world around you?

How do you feel about work? Are you willing to take two jobs (or three!) in order to achieve your goals? Are you unwilling to work overtime because it’s more important to be with your family? Are certain jobs beneath you? Are some jobs unobtainable because you don’t have the education or experience or the right social background?

What does it mean to be rich? Would having a million dollars make you rich? Would earning a million dollars per year make you rich? Or have you won the lottery of life simply by being born where you were born? How do you feel about rich people? Are they admirable? Are most of them crooks?

How willing are you to take financial risks? Do you gamble at casinos? Do you invest in the stock market? Is there a difference between the two? What about playing the lottery? Is it a tax on the stupid or is it a chance for the average joe to catch a lucky break?

When it comes to money, is there “women’s work” and “men’s work”? If so, which jobs belong to the man and which to the woman? Are certain financial tasks beneath you? Are you willing to clip coupons? Bake your own bread? Make your own laundry detergent? Who pays the bills in your household? Why? Do both partners understand your complete financial situation? Or is money the sole responsibility of one person in the home?

What must you have and what can you live without? Is cable television a necessity? What about transportation and housing? Can you live without a car? Do you need a home with a yard? Is renting for fools? Is homeownership the path to wealth? Do you plan to pay off your mortgage early? Or will you continue to refinance until you die?

How does money make you feel? Does thinking about money make you stressed? Does it make you happy?

What is money for? What is its purpose? Does that purpose change over time? Does it change as you get older? Does it change depending on where you live?

That’s a lot to think about, I know. I’ve overwhelmed you with questions. Still, I hope that you’ll take the time to ponder each of these and to think about how your answers play into your current financial situation.

How do you think your answers would compare to those of your family members? Your friends? Your colleagues? Are there right answers to any of these questions? To all of them? What makes the answers “right” or “wrong”?

Like it or not, your financial blueprint defines who you are and how much money you have. If you’re unhappy with your financial situation, things will not improve if you continue to do the same things and think the same thoughts. For things to get better, you must make deep and lasting changes.

Exercise Think about the people you know who are successful with money. (Define “successful” any way you wish.) What do they have in common? Do they share certain attitudes and beliefs? Pick one of these people. Contact her. Ask if you can take her to lunch and pick her brain about personal finance. (If it’ll help, point her to this webpage.) During the meeting, listen carefully to what she says. How is her money blueprint different than yours? What parts of her blueprint have helped her to achieve financial success? Most importantly, how can you incorporate some of these attitudes and beliefs into your own life?

[The “Liberate Yourself” poster comes from the now-defunct Small Answers blog.]

The post Your money blueprint — and how it shapes your world appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

from Finance http://www.getrichslowly.org/2017/12/05/money-blueprint/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[foursproutwealth-blog]

Your money blueprint — and how it shapes your world

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/your-money-blueprint-and-how-it-shapes-your-world/

Your money blueprint — and how it shapes your world

A few years ago, I had a memorable dinner with two friends from high school. Tom, Paul, and I shared good wine, good food and, especially, good conversation. We spent a lot of time talking about how we perceived money when we were younger, and about how these “money blueprints” shaped us as adults.

Tom’s family was poor. They lived in a single-wide mobile home. His father built bar stools in the garage; his mother waited tables. Because there was no room inside the trailer house, Tom’s family slept outside in tents. And because his father’s business never made much money, his mother learned to pinch pennies. She was a queen of thrift.

“I didn’t learn much about money from my mom and dad,” Tom said as he sipped his wine. “I learned more from Paul’s parents. I remember going over to his house and marveling that he had opened a savings account. I remember that passbook you had, and how your parents would drive you into town to make deposits. I went home and told my mom that I wanted a savings account, but it never amounted to much.”

“I still have that savings account,” said Paul. “The same account my parents opened for me when I was a kid is my savings account today.” Paul’s father also taught him how to invest in the stock market. His parents owned a split-level home on several acres of land, and they raised their children in a middle-class environment. They instilled smart money habits in their kids. Paul and his sister were raised with effective money blueprints.

“I wish my parents had taught me some of that,” I said over a mouthful of pasta. When I was a boy, my family was poor. I grew up in a trailer house too (although we never had to sleep outside in tents like Tom’s family did). I lived in this house from the time I was two until I left for college:

Dad was sometimes unemployed. During those dark days, he had trouble putting food on the table or buying clothes for his kids. But he wasn’t always broke.

“When Dad hade money, which wasn’t often, he spent it on toys,” I told Tom and Paul. “He didn’t save. He didn’t invest. I can’t remember that he ever invested a dime in anything. He bought computers and airplanes and sailboats. But then when he was broke, he turned around and sold them again. He and mom never taught me anything about money.”

But my father did teach me about business. He was a serial entrepreneur, always starting one business or another. Many of those businesses failed, but some were wildly successful. (In fact, one business — the custom box factory — still supports most of my family thirty years after Dad started it!)

My friends and I finished our food, paid the bill, and went our separate ways. But that conversation about money has stuck with me for years. I often think about how each of us has a money blueprint — and how some money blueprints are better than others.

Mental Maps

Our behaviors and attitudes toward money are largely shaped by our family and our friends. Society at large — especially the mass media — also plays a role, but most of our money blueprints are drawn from what our parents teach us.

It’s important to note that these money blueprints are but a piece of the larger mental maps we use to find our way through life. Recently, I’ve been re-reading M. Scott Peck’s The Road Less Traveled, in which he writes extensively about how our individual mental maps shape our view of (and ability to cope with) reality.

“The more clearly we see the reality of the world,” Peck writes, “the better equipped we are to deal with the world.” He continues:

Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know where we are, and if we have decided where we want to go, we will generally know how to get there. If the map is false and inaccurate, we generally will be lost.

We’re not born with these maps, Peck says. We create them as we go. As we experience life, we draw new features on our maps so that we can better navigate in the future.

This concept has some interesting implications:

Each of us has a different mental map of the world. No one map is 100% correct, but there are lots of folks who believe theirs is the only accurate map.

Our mental maps require constant revision in order to be useful. The world around us is constantly changing. The tools we have for interacting with the world are also constantly changing. More importantly, we are constantly changing. If we don’t update our maps, they no longer reflect reality.

“The more effort we make to appreciate and perceive reality, the larger and more accurate our maps will be,” says Peck. But revising our mental maps takes effort. Sometimes the effort is painful. As a result, some people stop adding to their maps in adolescence. “By the end of middle age most people have given up the effort. They feel certain that their maps are complete…”

Here’s the thing: Although each of us has a mental map with which we “negotiate the terrain of life”, for most of us these maps are hidden. They’re subconscious. We never overtly check them for accuracy, and we never deliberately revise them.

Invisible Scripts

Because our mental maps stay hidden, my pal Ramit Sethi refers to them as the “invisible scripts” that guide our lives. “These invisible scripts are so deeply embedded that we don’t even realize they guide our attitudes and behaviors,” Sethi writes.

He provides several examples of the assumptions embedded in our culture (and our personal mindsets), such as:

If you don’t have money, you can’t go to college.

To be happy, you should follow your passions.

You should hook up with a lot of people before settling down.

“I work hard, so I deserve a nice apartment.” (Or nice car or nice wardrobe.)

“I’ll be happy once I make more money.”

Spending a lot on a gift shows how much you care.

People who love each other never fight.

“No pain, no gain.”

Again, not all invisible scripts are bad or wrong. In fact, many invisible scripts are useful. As Peck noted in The Road Less Traveled, when they’re accurate our internal maps help us make the most of reality.

But Peck argues that much of mental illness stems from “clinging to an outmoded view of reality”, from failing to make revisions to our mental maps, to our invisible scripts.

What happens when one has striven long and hard to develop a working view of the world, a seemingly useful, workable map, and then is confronted with new information suggesting that the view is wrong and the map needs to be largely redrawn? The painful effort seems frightening, almost overwhelming.

What we do more often than not, and usually unconsciously, is to ignore the new information. Often this act of ignoring is much more than passive. We may denounce the new information as false, dangerous, heretical, the work of the devil. We may actually crusade against it, and even attempt to manipulate the world so as to make it conform to our view of reality. Rather than try to change the map, an individual may try to destroy the new reality.

The challenge then is to remain dedicated to reality, to truth. Instead of using an outdated map to navigate a new and uncertain future, be willing to revise your working model of the world so that it helps you rather than hinders you.

This is true with both your larger mental map and with sections of that map — such as your financial blueprint.

Like Father, Like Son

In my case, I learned bad money habits from the start. My parents were poor role models. They taught me that money was meant to be spent. They didn’t save and they didn’t invest. As a result, our family was subject to the whims of fate. We had no protection from bad luck or a bad economy. If my father was out of work, we were out of money.

When I grew up, I made the same poor choices. I followed the same invisible scripts my parents had followed. For a long time, I spent everything I earned. It was a game to see how long I could skate with nothing in my bank account. Worse, I developed a credit-card habit (something my parents had always avoided). Instead of improving my financial blueprint, I was making myself more miserable. (Peck would say that I was suffering from a form of mental illness!)

At the same time, I followed in my father’s entrepreneurial footsteps.

As a boy, I imitated him by starting kid-sized businesses of my own. I sold my extra Star Wars trading cards to other kids at school. I also sold the Hardy Boys books I’d finished reading. I drew comic books and sold them at the school store.

Fortunately, I eventually learned from other people who were better examples with money.

My ex-wife, for instance, has always been financially savvy. Kris showed me it was possible to use credit without going into debt. She showed me it was possible to live well while still setting aside over thirty percent of your income. Her parents had provided her with a sound money blueprint, and in time I was able to incorporate some of these good habits as my own.

It took me twenty years, but I managed to completely re-draw my money blueprint from one that kept me depressed and in debt to one that allowed me to save and invest and make my money work for me. I taught myself new “invisible scripts”.

Your Money Blueprint

Our financial blueprints don’t just shape how we interact with money; they also define how we relate to other people when money is involved. Do you lend money to friends? Do you give to charity? How much do you tip in restaurants? How do you feel if your spouse never saves a penny?

Unfortunately, most of our financial blueprints have flaws that prevent us from having healthy relationships with money. A huge part of getting rich slowly is developing a money blueprint that allows you to build a sound financial foundation for tomorrow and today.

As you contemplate your own money blueprint, ask yourself the following questions:

Are you a spender or a saver? Why do you think that is? If you’re a saver, could you ever become a spender? If you’re a spender, do you think you could become a saver? Were your parents spenders? Is your spouse a saver? How do you feel about people who have a different attitude toward money than you do?

Should a couple have joint finances or separate finances? Some combination of the two? Does it make a difference whether the couple is married? How do you feel about pre-nuptial agreements? What’s the best course of action if one partner is a tightwad and the other a spendthrift?

When is it okay to talk with friends about money? Is it okay to lend to family? To friends? Okay to borrow from them? If a friend offered a chance to get in on the ground floor of a business, would you do it?

When is debt okay? Is it ever okay? What about abandoning debt? How do you feel about defaulting on loans? Walking away from a mortgage? Are credit cards okay? If so, how should they be handled?

How do you feel about saving and investing? Have you begun saving for retirement? Does the stock market scare you? Do you go out of your way to learn how money works? Is it all a mystery? Are precious metals a store of wealth? What about real estate? What about bitcoin?

How much does the larger economy affect you? The stock market? Unemployment? Interest rates? How do you feel about taxes? Are government social programs a necessary evil or are they just evil? To what degree is your own financial fate subject to the fate of the world around you?

How do you feel about work? Are you willing to take two jobs (or three!) in order to achieve your goals? Are you unwilling to work overtime because it’s more important to be with your family? Are certain jobs beneath you? Are some jobs unobtainable because you don’t have the education or experience or the right social background?

What does it mean to be rich? Would having a million dollars make you rich? Would earning a million dollars per year make you rich? Or have you won the lottery of life simply by being born where you were born? How do you feel about rich people? Are they admirable? Are most of them crooks?

How willing are you to take financial risks? Do you gamble at casinos? Do you invest in the stock market? Is there a difference between the two? What about playing the lottery? Is it a tax on the stupid or is it a chance for the average joe to catch a lucky break?

When it comes to money, is there “women’s work” and “men’s work”? If so, which jobs belong to the man and which to the woman? Are certain financial tasks beneath you? Are you willing to clip coupons? Bake your own bread? Make your own laundry detergent? Who pays the bills in your household? Why? Do both partners understand your complete financial situation? Or is money the sole responsibility of one person in the home?

What must you have and what can you live without? Is cable television a necessity? What about transportation and housing? Can you live without a car? Do you need a home with a yard? Is renting for fools? Is homeownership the path to wealth? Do you plan to pay off your mortgage early? Or will you continue to refinance until you die?

How does money make you feel? Does thinking about money make you stressed? Does it make you happy?

What is money for? What is its purpose? Does that purpose change over time? Does it change as you get older? Does it change depending on where you live?

That’s a lot to think about, I know. I’ve overwhelmed you with questions. Still, I hope that you’ll take the time to ponder each of these and to think about how your answers play into your current financial situation.

How do you think your answers would compare to those of your family members? Your friends? Your colleagues? Are there right answers to any of these questions? To all of them? What makes the answers “right” or “wrong”?

Like it or not, your financial blueprint defines who you are and how much money you have. If you’re unhappy with your financial situation, things will not improve if you continue to do the same things and think the same thoughts. For things to get better, you must make deep and lasting changes.

Exercise Think about the people you know who are successful with money. (Define “successful” any way you wish.) What do they have in common? Do they share certain attitudes and beliefs? Pick one of these people. Contact her. Ask if you can take her to lunch and pick her brain about personal finance. (If it’ll help, point her to this webpage.) During the meeting, listen carefully to what she says. How is her money blueprint different than yours? What parts of her blueprint have helped her to achieve financial success? Most importantly, how can you incorporate some of these attitudes and beliefs into your own life?

[The “Liberate Yourself” poster comes from the now-defunct Small Answers blog.]

The post Your money blueprint — and how it shapes your world appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.