#theyre p straightforward tho. mostly

[horse-girl-anthy]

Pseudo-Incest in Revolutionary Girl Utena

while RGU contains actual incest between blood-related brothers and sisters, there are also relationships between characters who are not blood related, yet behave both romantically and familially towards each other. I believe that these pseudo-incestuous dynamics add an important layer to the themes of the work.

the most obvious pseudo-incestuous relationship in the show is between Nanami and Tsuwabuki.

although not blood related, there are many similarities between this dynamic and other incestuous couples in the show. most importantly, role confusion: although he is not her brother, Tsuwabuki wants to be; and although he is younger than Nanami, he wants to be her older brother. yet, when he approaches Nanami, this desire somehow warps into him being her "boyfriend," or more accurately, her servant.

Tsuwabuki is the youngest of all the characters, unable to understand the meaning of his interest in Nanami. at this age, the foundation of a child's life is their family, and they are likely to understand all relationships in terms of family dynamics. thus, when young people begin to develop their sexuality and enter into the world of adult relationships, confusion is bound to follow.

there is also an apparent draw to these confused dynamics. Ikuhara has discussed how in fiction, incestuous romance relies on the myth that “blood relationships are eternal.” by portraying both blood-related siblings who seek eternity in each other's arms, and non-related characters who blend roles, RGU is able to examine more deeply the dynamics which motivate incest.

Mikage's feelings for Tokiko and Mamiya are up for debate, but in my view, they aren't as simple as "romantic interest," in either case. rather, I would argue that he becomes fixated on them because of their relationship to each other.

Mikage is a lonely individual, an outsider with no significant relationships, family or otherwise. upon witnessing the tragedy of this little family, the sister's true care for her brother, the brother's gratitude and sad resignation, he is entranced. what Mikage is seeking is a family, and this comes out in romantic obsession with both siblings.

Utena is similar; as an orphan, she has no family dynamics through which to understand the world, and her desire for family is easily manipulated. she views Akio and Anthy as the ideal siblings, enjoying watching them interact in much the same way as Mikage liked to spend time with Mamiya and Tokiko. Akio is ready to take full advantage of her naivete.

in the final arc of RGU, Utena pseudo-joins the Anthy-Akio family, with all the baggage that entails. examining Akio's pattern of predation, it's as if he's trying to make everyone he meets into another Anthy--a younger sibling he can control and sleep with. thus, his relationship with Utena is pseudo-incestuous. it's my contention, as well, that Utena and Anthy develop a sisterly relationship in the show, as they live under the roof of the same patriarch.

-------

in his privacy files, lead writer Enokido stated that the prince's appeal is related to dependency, which "is a most serious matter for a mammal that cannot survive for several years without dependency after it is ejected from the mother’s body at birth." thus, rather than taking a moralistic stance, the creators of RGU understood that struggles with role confusion and dependency are natural parts of human development. however, Enokido also wrote, "people who are in love for real would not be chasing after the image of a prince."

pseudo-incest isn't just the result of a desire to have a family; it's a result of the erosion of the boundaries between individuals, the grasping after certainty, the drive to force closeness with others for one's own benefit. Tsuwabuki put his own self-image over Nanami's actual safety, all while claiming to care about her. Mikage wanted to be a part of Tokiko and Mamiya's family so badly that he tore everything apart at the first sign of trouble. and Akio is immature to the point that he can't conceive of a relationship not based on patriarchal, familial power. notably, when Utena and Anthy become true lovers in Adolescence, the family angle is dropped and Akio is no longer around to muddy the waters. whatever real love looks like, it isn't people replicating their own family dynamics eternally, and it won't be found in the chains of dependence.

[videostak]

decided to takee the favorites of my piano recordings from last year-ish to this year and upload them all together as one 42 min ‘album’ ^_^ since theyre all mostly just spur of the moment recordings lots of them are really short lol tho i def think just presenting them as is is the best thing to do since if i tried to rerecord them like straightforward it would lose the little charm that the recordings have :P

[kiatheinsomniac]

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒 | 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒

Alright, heres my description! id like you to ship me with any male assassin from assassins creed! :) my name is Aia, i go by she/her, and i’m straight! For my body, i’m 5”2/158cm, and i weigh about 50-51 kg on average. i go to the gym a lot, so my build is pretty muscular, but i still look feminine overall. my shoulders are broad, but so are my hips so my body is like, balanced :) my legs are fairly muscular, and my arms are mostly just “toned” :) i have some abs, not that much tho 😭 my waist is also pretty tiny so thank god for the amazing genetics my face is kind of hard to describe so bare with me! i’m kurdish, so i have very strong individual features, but theyre all in harmony, and as a result im surprisingly pretty conventionally attractive despite my unconventional features. My eyes are big and round, and theyre kind of downturned. My nose is hooked. my lips are kind of thin, but not overly thin, and theyre kind of bow-shaped :). my eyebrows are thick and dark. my face shape is oval! my skintone is olive, but still fair! my hair is thick and dark brown, but it gets kind of golden in the sun :) my hair is to my collarbones, and i like to keep it straight, but it is naturally wavy. i have curtain bangs too :) my personality is also kind of difficult to describe 😩 im an introvert, im funny, im empathetic, im sensitive, im straightforward, and im stubborn. im an istp, 8w7 i think! im fairly confident, but im also very humble. im a pretty good listener and advice-giver, and i dont really sugarcoat things, but im not mean with my advice-giving either. i get drained SUPER easily around pretty much everyone, but the exceptions are the people who are closest to me - they never drain me, ever! im also very clumsy and airheaded, which is probably my least favorite thing about myself. im not talented, intelligent, or gifted whatsoever but im ambitious and hard-working, and whatever i want, i will achieve in some way or another. my hobbies! i love going to the gym, cooking, playing volleyball, painting, writing, and eating :p i dont like bugs, being unproductive, being surrounded by people a lot, being wrong, and dry people. i dont like parties or most outings either, id rather just stay home and do something i like doing. Thats all!! Thank you again, Kia! Im so excited to read your analysis!! – @gojohater101

I ship you with Jacob! 

Jacob likes that you’re quiet and confident but humble – you help to balance him out and he wants to be a bit more like you in the humble sense from time to time. He really appreciates the advice you give him, even if in the moment it might seem like he’s just annoyed; he’ll always come back to you to apologise and tell you that he wasn’t really mad, he just felt a belittled in the moment but he understands that you’re just trying to look out for him. Your advice usually turns out to be what’s best anyway so these little quarrels don’t go very far in your relationship and he instead understands that, to talk to you, he needs to listen to what you have to say too. 

Jacob admires your ambition and hard-working mentality a lot too. He wasn’t too bright growing up which isn’t too bad until you’re constantly being compared to your gifted-child twin sister at every waking moment. He likes that you work hard for what you want to do and when you set your sights on a goal, you’ll do whatever you can to attain it – he’s the same and so he wants to see you succeed by giving you whatever help he can offer and you will accept. He also really likes working out and playing volleyball with you! Jacob’s a pretty active guy and he can’t really sit still so he likes partaking in your hobbies with you! He doesn’t really understand when you get drained socially (the extrovert) but he respects it and will tone himself down when he can tell you just need time to unwind and recharge. He’ll usually watch you paint in this time or read a book while you write (by reading a book I, of course, mean he falls asleep with it on his face to block out any light that might disturb his nap). You keep him out of trouble like this too: he’s more likely to stay indoors with you then go out and get involved in something bad so he’s doing much better by staying with you like this. 

♡ Jacob always makes sure that you have enough of the things that you need for when you want to take some time out and recharge. Because he doesn’t get this social drainage himself, he takes it even more seriously than you do oddly enough. He always makes sure that there’s enough pillows and blankets on the bed for you to be comfy (Evie’s shocked that you’ve managed to get him into the habit of making the bed), he tries to make sure your favourite foods and snacks are available, makes sure that you’re never running out of a particular colour of paint (once bought white paint in bulk bc he noticed how quickly it goes). 

♡ He also knows exactly what it feels like when you’ve been working really hard but feel like you aren’t getting anywhere so he’s there to support you. He’ll hold you if you want to cry or take you somewhere to smash things if you wanna just let it all out. If you need advice, he’ll do what he can but will also consult Evie or Henry for their perspectives too. 

♡ When you’re cuddling up together, Jacob typically likes to have your head on his chest with his hand giving you back rubs. He likes seeing how much darker your skin is compared to his when you’re so close like this: you make him think of summer time and warmth and you’re just so, so beautiful. He also adores the feeling of how thick your hair is between his fingers when he strokes your hair to feel you melt against his body even more. I can see him asking you for a lock of your hair to keep in some jewellery with him – a common courting practice in the Victorian era. He’ll tilt his head down just enough to kiss the top of your forehead before he continues to laze around with you like this. 

♡ He likes to find ways to celebrate your achievements too. He never really had anyone to do the same for him until you came along and it was a feeling of such overwhelming joy to be congratulated and celebrated by you that he wants you to feel the same way. If you’re up for a gathering of friends and a night out, he’ll arrange that, if you just want it to be you and him going out, that’s good too, if you want to just stay at home to celebrate, he’ll even find a way of making that special. He wants you to know that your hard-work is noticed and wants you to know how celebrated you are and how much he looks up to you. 

♡ Jacob’s never really been one for arts like painting or writing but he loves to watch you paint (has even sat posed for you before when you needed a reference) and he’s amazed by your writing! You can string words together in ways that he could never imagine and he’s always hooked on anything you let him get his hands on (which is otherwise out of character for him, not being much of a reader but he just gets so excited by knowing that you wrote this, this is your creation). He can see himself growing a lot as a person with you by his side and you always make his day, just by being around. 

☾ ⋆ ﾟlike my work? why not: ∘ buy me a coffee? ∘ commission me?∘ join my taglist ∘ consider following/reblogging

[suneeater]

oouuu okok matchups sound fun! id like an obey me matchup if that’s fine 💞

my name is aia, i go by she/her, and i’m straight!

For my body, i’m 5”2/158cm, and i weigh about 50-51 kg on average. i go to the gym a lot, so my build is pretty muscular, but i still look feminine overall. my shoulders are broad, but so are my hips so my body is like, balanced :) my legs are fairly muscular, and my arms are mostly just “toned” :) i have some abs, not that much tho 😭 my waist is also pretty tiny so thank god for the amazing genetics

my face is kind of hard to describe so bare with me! i’m kurdish, so i have very strong individual features, but theyre all in harmony, and as a result im surprisingly pretty conventionally attractive despite my unconventional features.

My eyes are big and round, and theyre kind of downturned. My nose is hooked. my lips are kind of thin, but not overly thin, and theyre kind of bow-shaped :). my eyebrows are thick and dark. my face shape is oval! my skintone is olive, but still fair! my hair is thick and dark brown, but it gets kind of golden in the sun :) my hair is to my collarbones, and i like to keep it straight, but it is naturally wavy. i have curtain bangs too :) (if youd just like to see how i look, u can go to my tiktok and just see for urself 💀 @connoisseuraia on there 😛)

my personality is also kind of difficult to describe 😩 im an introvert, im funny, im empathetic, im sensitive, im straightforward, and im stubborn. im an istp, 8w7 i think! im confident, but im also very humble. im a pretty good listener and advice-giver, and i dont really sugarcoat things, but im not mean with my advice-giving either. i get drained SUPER easily around pretty much everyone, but the exceptions are the people who are closest to me - they never drain me, ever! im also very clumsy and airheaded, which is probably my least favorite thing about myself. im not talented or gifted whatsoever but im ambitious and hard-working, and whatever i want, i will achieve in some way or another.

my hobbies! i love going to the gym, cooking, playing volleyball, painting, writing, and eating :p

i dont like bugs, being unproductive, being surrounded by people a lot, being wrong, and dry people. i dont like parties or most outings either, id rather just stay home and do something i like doing.

pls that was a lot im so sorry 💀💀

no worries, ty anon!

I pair you with Beelzebub!

Gym dates?? 100%. Like I've talked about gym dates with Mammon before but with Beel? It's just completely unmatched. Imagine Beel coming up from behind you to help you with your form?? Omg

And you love to cook? This is so perfect for him honestly. He'll eat up anything you make like it's the most precious delicacy in the world, he might even actually take his time

Luckily for you, he's a pretty laid back dude. He's always so down for a night in, especially after a hard day's work. There's nothing more rewarding than lounging at home with you, getting some much needed recharge

[surprisebitch]

Hi dear! I wana start playing final fantasy but I am so discouraged there are like 15+ games and I care about the story more than the game itself. I don't know where to start

omg i see what you mean, i grew up playing FF even the earlier ones (even when they were released before i was born lol) cause thats how much i fell in love with the series but yeah if you just wanna get into it now, there are alot

anyway i’m glad to see you got interested! Final Fantasy is my most fave game tbh.. like if you asked me to pick my top games, the FF series tops the list hands down without a doubt.. ANYWAY to answer your query..

i think if you want to start with final fantasy, you can start with FFX. i know alot of people who didnt play the entire series but played that game and they loved it. so i think it’s a good entry point since it gives you a feel of the classic FF battle system. active time battle and turn based. but yeah, the sphere grid system in X is pretty new since the previous ones were mostly about leveling up (if i remembered correctly. it’s been almost 10 years since i played IX and beyond before tbh lmao)

and the storytelling is straightforward. which i think is good cause open world may be intimidating. and if you’re really in for the story and less a fanatic about sidequests. i think FFX is a good entry point. it’s as linear as FFXIII tbh so if you see people hating FFXIII (cause XIII was linear) but have FFX as their fave, dont listen to them cause theyre probably bandwagon haters and the two have a p similar structure

anyway, if you enjoyed FFX then check out FFIX after! i think it’s a love letter to the all the final fantasies that came after it but i feel like you might appreciate it more once you’ve played the previous ones so..

if you dont mind the graphics, FFVI has a great story and it’s a good start too. the villain of VI is so nasty and iconic. such a surprising moment. the battle systems of FFI til FFIX are essentially similar if i remembered correctly since it’s all active time battle and turn based. i havent played FFI til IV tho.. but i do remember playing FFV and it had a tree as the villain but yeah my memory is so fuzzy on that one. there’s also FF tactics but idr if i played that one… anyway

FFVII and VIII seem to be almost everyone’s favourites though cause of iconic characters like Cloud and Squall.. and for those who played FF on ps1 or an early console cause like it’s the purist forms of FF. (which is also an annoying part of the fanbase.. the ff purists who think nostalgia >>>>) but yeah, i mean the stories are great tho! but i dont think they’re the best personally. IX is superiour imo. and the remasters of these games on Steam polished things

and sorry i rambled graphics-wise, i know you asked story-wise but i think if you know what you’re in with the graphics, then it’s a good thing to consider too when it comes to what you will enjoy playing and completing.

but yeah i think FFX and FFX-2 (remastered) is when you start to notice technology’s advancement gaming-wise so the graphics are great and the story is super amazing too! so i think it’s a good entry point! yeah

the thing is all final fantasies have a different story and are incredible in their own ways. none of them are connected to each other. there are references like recurring names and monsters but yeah you dont have to play one to understand another. (you will see the name Cid appear though ahha even Lindblum but like none of them are related. it’s just a trademark in the Final Fantasy series haha also CHOCOBOS and MOOGLES

i hope this helps! for avid Final Fantasy gamers that follow me, feel free to reply to this post and also say what you think!

[comicteaparty]

February 4th-February 10th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from February 4th, 2019 to February 10th, 2019.  The chat focused on Offshore Comic by Stefan Gasic.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Offshore Comic by Stefan Gasic~! (http://www.offshorecomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until February 10th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite strip in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Given the comic’s focus on financial markets and all that composes them, what is something this comic has taught you about the subject? Alternatively, what is something you wished you understood better to understand the comic’s comedy?

QUESTION 4. How do you think the comic’s illustrative style and choices help the comedy of the comic? What is one moment where a particular design or image really stood out to you and helped the point the strip was trying to convey?

QUESTION 5. The comic features several recurring subjects like the legitimacy of IQ scores, LLCs, and more. Which of these recurring topics did you like the most? What about it caught your interest?

Stefan G

Hello everyone, 1) Just updated www.offshorecomic.com with a new strip. Check it out. 2) RebelVampire, are your questions intended for me or any new reader? Ciao, Stefan the creator of #Offshorecomic

snuffysam

They're intended for both (still working through the archive)!

keii4ii

Is there a way to get permalinks for individual strips, so I can come back to specific ones at a later time?

Stefan G

Thanks & okay, snuffysam keii4ii, unfortunately there’s no way to get permalinks for individual strips ... I coded the website myself as a side project and am not that good a coder

keii4ii

Oh man, I can relate to that... If I ever get rich, comic website coding and maintenance stuff is the first thing I'll hire someone to do for me

I do like how it loads and makes it easy to read through the archive, for what it's worth.

Stefan G

Thanks for the feedback ... and I totally, totally agree. One could spend a fortune for a coder to take care of all the fixings and stuff ... now I’m learning on the side whenever there’s time left over from work & family.

Stefan G

Answer to Q1 => readers have found the “happiness” strip the best. It’s also one of my favourite ones [succinct & clever & relatable] ...I truly don’t have a favourite strip, but the attached Reto & Urs -strips make me chuckle whenever I read them [I appreciate below-the-waist-humour and/or humour where people are really, really selfish].

lomcia (princess_lom)

1. The newest one is so funny

2. Trader

3. i dont work in office but i cant find nothing to improve that comic, i think the design of characters and humor is on really high lvl 12/10 for me

4. Style is perfect ffor that comic, i wouldnt change it

Stefan G

Answer to Q2 => at the moment my favourite character is the Economist. He’s a genuine IYI [intellectual-yet-idiot] ... which the world is full of and the finance industry in particular. The Economist is easy to write for because I’ve discovered a never ending source of humorous material called the daily financial newspaper ... please find attached also one of my favourite strips

Thank you, lomcia (princess_lom) for your feedback.

lomcia (princess_lom)

your welcome I hope i didnt misunderstood question 3 xD

Stefan G

I think you got everything just right

lomcia (princess_lom)

cool

Stefan G

Answer/comment to Q3 => I’ve spend my professional life in finance, hence, I know every nuance of the industry. However, for the layperson the finance industry [money, banking, insurance, etcetc...] is a big black box of unnecessary complication. My humble attempt with #Offshorecomic is to untangle this complexity and make money related topics more accessible/understandable to anyone ... using humour as my main tool. Finance is more stupid than you think; trust me

I’ll answer the rest tomorrow. Gotta go to now. is like in a totally different time zone and all that Thx again y’all !

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Which joke not related to finance did you enjoy the most? What about it made it stand out to you among all the others?

RebelVampire

1) i really enjoyed the life coaching strip about facing reality and lying to yourself. i just really enjoy the bluntness and simplicity by which the self-deception line is delivered. A+ comedy right. 2) i like p-bird because i consider him a much needed counter balance to many of the other characters. he at least has more feet planted in reality. 3) hedge funds. not that i understand them perfectly from the comic, but now theyre more than just a financial word i see tossed around. and despite the very negative absurdist humor regarding them, was still interesting to get some insight into what they actually involved. 4) i think the style overall really balances well with the comedy. a lot of the comedy is reliant on the dialogue, so keeping the illustrations clean, bold, and somewhat simple really helps direct attention to the words. i also really just enjoy the character designs cause every single one really hits that idiot or absurdist mark that needs to be hit. 5) actually i really liked the address of IQ scores. because literally these characters seem like the type whod wind up on r/iamverysmart and use their IQs to talk about how cool they are. so it was kind of nice to see some evidence for that with the subject. that and i always like seeing the concept of IQ being torn apart. 6) i actually liked a lot of the jokes that pertained to the academic sphere in regards to things like publishing and teaching. selfishly it most just stood out to me because academia is something im more familiar with in regards to its simultaneous setup of worthless class structures and cutthroat profs trying to further their careers.

Stefan G

Thank you, RebelVampire, for your thoughtful analysis & feedback I believe that the writing is the most important part in comics ... and the best humorous writing is often blunt & simple [you hit the nail on the head with that comment]. Furthermore, I intentionally designed the strip in a simplistic style in order to A) highlight the writing/gag, B) to save time and C) cuz simple drawings are funny I love to make fun of pompous, self righteous folks ... academics are thus some of my main targets [due to the same reasons I make fun of financial professionals].

Stefan G

Answer to Q4 => My childhood inspiration and spark for cartoons/drawing came from F.Ibanez [Clever & Smart] ... very funny yet simple style. Nowadays I enjoy Dilbert by Scott Adams or the political cartoons from cartoonist Jari Elsilä; also both of them are hilarious without wasting unnecessary lines. I believe a straightforward style highlights the writing and that’s what I’m trying to achieve. Moreover, I love to have backgrounds in my comics [to steer the reader to a particular thought or mood] but hate to draw them and/or dislike it when they clutter the cartoon ... I’m rather happy with a style that I’ve developed over time where I draw the background but reduce the opacity to 25 %. I think that works pretty nice

Stefan G

Answer to Q5 => My favourite themes are 1) anyone predicting the future, 2) mistaking luck for awesome skill and 3) incompetent yet pompous professionals ... there is so much hilarious material right there

Answer to Q6 => I often use the characters Reto und Urs for jokes/strips that are not necessarily financial because they are so endearingly stupid [well, mostly Urs is]. This one makes me chuckle

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. In what ways have any of the strips changed the way you think about life, finances, or any other topic covered in them? Alternatively, what have the strips portrayed that you wish more people knew?

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on Poco Adventures is now available https://comicteaparty.com/post/182650076295/january-28th-february-3rd-2019-ctp-archive)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Of all the parodies and jabs at financial markets and life, which do you consider the most on the nose as far as its representation in the comic goes?

RebelVampire

7) the strips have made me realize in a way that this is another industry where basically theres lots of ridiculous junk going on in the background cause you can never remove human faults completely. cause when it comes to finance theres lots of advanced vocabulary and concepts being thrown around usually, so for someone untrained it can sound intimidating and hard to follow. i think these strips do a great job of humanizing things tho and showing that the concepts arent all that alien cause at the end they were created by humans and reflect the desires of humans in a way. 8) one of my faves that i think is totally on the nose is this one where the economist is telling p-bird about ppl on twitter debating him being ignorant. and that his facts and stuff will prevail but p-bird points out that wouldnt even work on the economist. and the economist goes home confused. i think this is way too true for what its like to argue on the internet and how facts and logic get infinitely buried for the sake of narrative.

Stefan G

Excellent analysis/comments, RebelVampire really constructive. The human element is everywhere and money is such an emotionally laden topic that it’s easy to get confused even without the unnecessary complicated vocabulary ...which is often misused even by so-called “professionals”. If my strip has helped you understand all of that and un-demonised the beast, you’ve made me a very happy man Yeah, the Twitter-Fact-Confusion strip is one of my more relatable strips ... I’ve given up on trying to change people’s minds with facts; if changing minds is possible, it can only be achieved through via emotions. It sounds more logical the other way around but that’s not how we work. Here’s a special academically oriented strip just for you, RebelVampire Enjoy

snuffysam

haven't been able to get all the way through the archive yet, but my answer to both #2 and #8 is the Regional Manager. I love all the characters, but there's something to be said for the simplicity of having a guy literally run around headless.

Stefan G

Thanks , snuffysam. I almost forgot about the regional manager. I have to bring him back to life; I also like him ... by the way, there are 308 strips in total.

Answer to Q7 => I can’t claim that any one strip has changed the way I think about life and/or other things ... however, I do believe that writing & drawing Offshore strips has reinforced in me some of the main ideas from my favourite author, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who’s books have influenced me deeply [e.g. Black Swan, Antifragile, etc etc] ... luck versus skill, thinking about risk and stuff like that. I regularly come back to his books for inspiration and recommend his books & Twitter -feed. Here are two strips that highlight my point ...sort of

Answer to Q8 => wow tough question ... with 99 % of my strips I genuinely try to convey some message about basic human quirks and/or outright stupidities that actually take place on a regular basis when handling money + and then I add my own personal humours twist to it. Here are a few strips with the message never to buy something you don’t understand [a hint: they always have complicated names]...

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What other finance related topics are you hoping to see the comic explore? Which characters are you hoping to see involved with the topic?

Stefan G

Answer to Q9 => As the creator of the strip I’m obviously biased to answer this question, but I’d love to hear what the new readers have to say. I don’t have a particular preference for any topic [except make fun of pompous forecasters ] ... but I feel myself wanting to write & draw more strips for the Markets-Weasel and Reto und Urs. And that’s surprisingly hard to do; forcing it doesn’t work [at least not for me] ... Offshore’s main characters were supposed to be Reto und Urs and somehow P-Bird and the Economist and the trader stole the show. I guess that happens when you get to know your characters better. Funny how that happens ... here’s one nostalgic strip from my early work that I really enjoy

Stefan G

Addition to Q9 => ... I’ve steadily build up an audience on Twitter [@NonMeek] which consist mainly of likeminded financial and/or other professionals ...hence, hearing the viewpoints from anyone outside that sphere would be awesome

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

RebelVampire

9) idk about specific topics, but id like to see the CEO who i think appeared in like one strip. I'm really interested to see the CEO dynamic with the other characters in terms of finance. learn how they view what theyre doing, how they view what the others are doing, etc. but im all for bringing the regional manager back too cause i enjoyed that character as well. a lot of great humor picking fun at how some managerial positions are kind of ridiculous to even exist to a degree. 10) learning more, mostly. overall its nice to see a harder to cover topic in comics. ive enjoyed how approachable and humanized the strips make finances, and how they remind you that professionals can be like this and actually have no clue what theyre doing. @Stefan G that academic oriented strip you shared was actually one of my faves. not necessarily in college, but i see this a lot in the blogosphere where ppl do a thing once and try to pass themselves as qualified experts to deliver advice. XD

Stefan G

@RebelVampire Thanks again for your opinions. Those really help with the development of the strip ... finance is a hard topic indeed and there are no really finance oriented strips out there [that I know of anyway], which is funny cuz the industry is filled with emotions and mind blowing mental errors. I guess people still believe finance & investing is some sort of scientific discipline which it’s really not ... there are hardly any black & white answers to anything even though there’s lots and lots of historical data ... it’s time to fix that myth with Offshore I’m glad you enjoyed that academic strip. It resonated rather well on Twitter too

@RebelVampire [adding to my previous answer] ... I agree that the managers need to be reanimated and given another chance. I’ll try to do that and see how they resonate. I never know beforehand which characters will work and which will fizzle out; e.g. der Compliance Offizier is one of my favourite characters, yet, resonates weakly outside the banking circles ‍♂️ [I love the strip below ].

keii4ii

I would like to see more strips that cracks jokes about this very specific context of finances! Things like that strip about funds blowing up on day 252. I think that gives this comic its own flavor. Readers get to laugh about not just any kind of incompetent people, but incompetent people in this specific field. Readers with no background in finances don't know the context, so more strips that shed light on the context of the jokes would be great.

Stefan G

@keii4ii All valid and excellent points ... I genuinely try to write & design my cartoons in such a way that the joke is understandable even though you don’t know the context. It’s a hard thing to do ... my wife is my toughest critic and she tells me the same as you ... but keep following Offshore and I promise to come up with more stuff like that 252 strip

Answer to Q10 => My ambition with Offshore is to 1) amuse myself first and see if anyone shares my sense of humour [if a cartoon doesn’t amuse me, I don’t publish it]. It’s a splendid way of letting out some frustration from work ... and 2) to make investing & finance more approachable to the layperson by infusing some humour into it in the form of cartoons ... which by the way nobody thought of doing on a serious basis. Weird. However, to produce material on a semi-regular basis I figured that writing only gags/jokes is too much work and/or too shallow of an approach, hence, the characters in the strip need to be interesting/relatable enough in order to create humorous material by mere interaction with each other. That’s easier said than done. I’m quite satisfied with my characters so far but am continuously looking for new interesting characters to add to the strip [either permanently or impermanently]. Like Scott Adams once told me: “The trick with comics is to reflect the reader's own experience. To allow people to say, "That's me!" I’ll conclude with this sneak peek strip [only for you guys] that should relate to the experience of anybody working in a big corporation.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Offshore Comic this week! Please also give a special thank you to Stefan Gasic for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Offshore Comic, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.offshorecomic.com/

Stefan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonMeek