Villains are tremendously important for a story. They set the framework and standard for a lot of things in an unsaid but definite manner: how far your villain is willing to go sets up audience expectations for how big and how dire the stakes will be in the story.
If ...

The Slippery Slope (Or How to Make a Great Villain Origin Arc)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, May 6, 2023Red Carpet 2023 is Coming Up!
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, April 29, 2023
The DD Awards, run by DD Awards Queen Niccea, are already under way!
The first For Your Consideration (FYC) pages are already up on the DD Awards 2023 page, so go check them out if you haven't already.
And since the DD Awards are already happening, you guessed it ...
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 ...
Tough Love vs. Abuse
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Feb. 18, 2023
Tough love is so cool, eh? It's going to magic the “whining” right out of you, won't it? You just need to stick out through the harshness, and then when you reap the benefits, you'll realize your tough loving benefactor had the right idea. You'll be ...
Character trait: Toxic Positivity, Toxic Acceptance (Part 1)
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 28, 2023
Usually, antagonists or villains are emo and gloomy, angry and aggressive, suave and sly, or any combination of that. They are not generally associated with positive traits in their personality, or at least positively-associated traits.
And that's a shame, because real life sure does have a lot of variety ...
It's Christmas Eve!
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Dec. 24, 2022
Over here in Greece, it's Christmas Caroling day and also Day We Officially Start Eating Ourselves Into a Coma!
I hope however you're observing your Christmas Eve, that you have a good time, or a calm time, or a rejuvenating time with those you want around you but ...
The Silver Lining
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Nov. 12, 2022
So I just watched the latest Trope Talk by Overly Sharkastic Productions on Youtube (high recommend if you aren't already subscribed). The focus was on Doomed Heroes, and there's not much I'd be able to add to that comprehensive essay. Go watch it.
What it did inspire ...
So About Black Ariel...
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 17, 2022
I liked her. The trailer dropped and I didn't quite like the trailer, but I liked her.
Hear me out, now.
I think Halle Bailey can absolutely, 100% work as a mermaid. A little mermaid, if you like. There's just something in the way she's set up ...
Would You Hit a Girl?
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Sept. 10, 2022
So hitting a girl (or a woman) is extremely tropey. Regardless of how progressive your story is, a man hitting a woman runs a high risk of being considered lowly or less than heroic. That's because generally, women are considered weaker than men, thus an easy target. A woman ...
Pets in Comics
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, May 14, 2022
Pets are intimate companions that get us through the day. Cats, dogs, rabbits, rats, snakes, fish, you name it- they help us in their own way. And yet not many characters in fiction or comics tend to have them. I for one don't include animals at all in my ...