It may just be my impression, but usually when a story is set in a dystopian setting, the dystopia is played straight. However, when the characters encounter or start off in a utopian setting, they almost always will end up realizing that the utopia is actually a mirage, and in ...

On Utopias
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, April 26, 2025Back from the Dead
Tantz_Aerine at 2:02AM, April 19, 2025
It's Resurrection Saturday today! What better occasion then than this to talk about the resurrection trope?
Usually, cancelling out a character's death is not a good thing to do in a story. It undermines the weight of the stakes involved and/or the sacrifice or seriousness of the ...
Quackcast 734 - When love turns to hate
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, April 8, 2025 LISTEN on our player!
Or Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/24f85853-5d63-44ac-885f-da23db0a53ad/the-quackcast
When love turns to hate… It's a common trope in fiction: partners split up and their once loving relationship turns to one of bitter acrimony! We see hate turning to love frequently too, that ...
Quackcast 733 - Watch again: Rediscovering
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, April 1, 2025 LISTEN on our player!
Or Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com.au/podcasts/24f85853-5d63-44ac-885f-da23db0a53ad/the-quackcast
Watching, reading, and listening to things a second, third or even a million times can offer you a whole new experience. Why do we pick up the same thing to enjoy again? It could be ...
When Life's Too Crazy for Fiction
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, March 29, 2025
I generally avoid using current events in my articles about webcomics, but this time I can't help it. Signalgate has been living rent free in my mind ever since the editor in chief of the Atlantic broke the story.
There are many reasons for that, most of them not ...
Resentment
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, March 15, 2025
In designing a good villain character there's a wide range of paths one can follow. From the grandiose villains that want to take over the world and live in volcano islands, waiting for the hero to fall into their elaborate death trap to humanized villains with complex backstories that ...
FAFO Reveal
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, March 8, 2025
So you might have a character that's generally very calm or stoic. They may appear weak, or just not intimidating. They may be the right gender, class, age, or any other parameter for their peers to assume they are easy pickings and thus a great target for harassment. Initially ...
Nailing the climax
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, March 1, 2025
One of the best ways to absolutely nail the climax of your comic arc is by using foreshadowing. It’s like planting little breadcrumbs for your readers—tiny hints or clues scattered throughout your story that point to future events or a character’s big moment. When done well, foreshadowing ...
Nature As Antagonist
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 22, 2025
There is nothing more humbling against human hubris than Nature herself.
Even at humanity's peak expansion, technology, sophistication, education, or intelligence, all it takes for its eradication is for the earth to sneeze in just the right way.
Nature cannot be beaten or tamed. It can only be appeased ...
Creator Interview: Genejoke
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 15, 2025
We are finally back with interviews, and who better to kick it off than with Genejoke, one of the most prolific, helpful, and active creators in the Duck!
Genejoke is invaluable in many group projects, including our top event, the Drunk Duck Awards, and its side event the Red Carpet ...