There's generally a tennet about character building for a villain in a story or webcomic that urges the creator to humanize them by giving them a backstory that “fleshes them out”. Often, “humanization” of a villain is taken to mean that they come across as more sympathetic or appealing ...
Everyone Was Innocent Once
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 23, 2023Twenty Six Hours in Philadelphia
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, Dec. 18, 2023
Photo: “La Mariée Mise à Nu Par Ses Célibataires, Même (The Green Box)”. Marcel Duchamp. 1911-1915. Photograph taken by kawaiidaigakusei. The Philadelphia Museum of Art. (December 2023)
Tomorrow will mark one month of continuous cross country travel in the most real Kerouac sense of the word. The trip across the ...
Incorporating Catharsis
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Nov. 18, 2023
Last time I talked about catharsis I focused on how important it is in a story, whether by its presence or absense. This time I want to talk about how to incorporate it in a story.
To give a brief recap, catharsis is the feeling of release of powerful emotions ...
Horror is Small
Banes at 12:00AM, Oct. 26, 2023
Horror is Small
I think horror is better and more effective when it's small.
A dark hallway with one person nervously tiptoeing through it…a creepy phone call or knock on the door in the middle of the night…the demented, sinister weirdness of someone's new step parent ...
Horror - The Morality Play
Banes at 12:00AM, July 27, 2023
The idea of “sin” is a prevalent one in horror stories. In terrifying tales, the monstrous against the human also explores good vs. evil.
There is often a “sin” perpetrated by horror Protagonists. The classic Psycho begins with Marion Crane stealing money from her job. Her intentions are understandable, maybe ...
On plot armor
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 8, 2023
Ok yes. Plot armor in general is considered a mistake. With good reason. Enough plot armor and there are no stakes left in your plot, and the audience isn't worried your plot-armored characters may not make it. And if there's no suspense, there's no engagement or the ...
Revisiting The Fugitive
Banes at 12:00AM, July 6, 2023
This year is the 30th anniversary of The Fugitive - that is, the Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones movie. It's a phenomenal movie, and maybe the high bar for the…I guess, the “mature thriller”, we could call it.
Funny enough, it's a remake. In the conversation about ...
FEATURED COMIC --> Gamma Blue Smoldering of Creel
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, April 12, 2023
Creel is a smoldering wreck of what it once was. Mysterious alien hybrids have wreaked havoc across the lands, killing most of the populace and abducting others for unknown reasons. Juno and his sister Naomi must learn to survive in this demon haunted wasteland, dodging alien hunting parties, and scrounging ...
Planning for the 2023 Drunk Duck Awards is Underway
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, April 3, 2023
Photo: “Casual Group Photo (Right Side)”. 2022 Drunk Duck Awards Community Project. (2022)
Niccea has spoken—The planning for the 2023 Drunk Duck Awards began last Friday, March 31, 2023. The two categories currently accepting volunteer sign-ups and art submissions in April 2023: Planning Committee and For Your Consideration (FYC ...
Poetry Time 10: Sunslit
Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:00AM, Oct. 16, 2022
Some more poetry. Poem Nr. 10: Sunslit
Your shadow growing to blacken the sky
Unfilling the vaccum we rotate inside
Your shadow glowing to blacken the sky
Sealed by the heavenly ocean we´ve seen to forget
Your shadow flowing to blacken the sky
In your reflecton I´ll always ...