Fifty Shades of Grey

[Mage Luna]

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

@Bel
Hooray for Homestuck getting recognition!

I kind of have mixed feelings about the fundraising thing. It's great that Hussie can make his game, but between the amount of charities that could also use a helping hand and the fandom on Tumblr's response was a bit immature. Part of the reason they reached 2 mil was because someone said it'd make his/her day if they could do that.

[Belethiel]

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

@Bel
Hooray for Homestuck getting recognition!

I kind of have mixed feelings about the fundraising thing. It's great that Hussie can make his game, but between the amount of charities that could also use a helping hand and the fandom on Tumblr's response was a bit immature. Part of the reason they reached 2 mil was because someone said it'd make his/her day if they could do that.

Well, he said it was for the game, if he turned around and said, "Okay, the rest is for charity!" when he said that it would go toward making the game better... people would be pissed off. He's just sticking to his promises, and he's very grateful to his fans. None of the money we threw at the project is going to get wasted.

I just think it's unfortunate that we had to do this big of an undertaking to tell the world about Homestuck. :/ The fandom is just as big and respectable as the fandom behind other writers. I'm surprised it was able to fly under the radar for so long when crap like 50 Shades skyrocketed to fame in a matter of weeks while MSPA and AH's other works have been around for years.

[Belethiel]

This new chapter is probably the best out of the whole book, but everything is still stupid and very out of "character" for Ana. Like she had development that came out of nowhere. This is not how character development works. .____. This thing defied anything we already know about her.

But I like Stacy. I really wish this story was about Stacy and not Ana the Spineless.

[Mage Luna]

Belethiel

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

@Bel
Hooray for Homestuck getting recognition!

I kind of have mixed feelings about the fundraising thing. It's great that Hussie can make his game, but between the amount of charities that could also use a helping hand and the fandom on Tumblr's response was a bit immature. Part of the reason they reached 2 mil was because someone said it'd make his/her day if they could do that.

Well, he said it was for the game, if he turned around and said, "Okay, the rest is for charity!" when he said that it would go toward making the game better... people would be pissed off. He's just sticking to his promises, and he's very grateful to his fans. None of the money we threw at the project is going to get wasted.

I just think it's unfortunate that we had to do this big of an undertaking to tell the world about Homestuck. :/ The fandom is just as big and respectable as the fandom behind other writers. I'm surprised it was able to fly under the radar for so long when crap like 50 Shades skyrocketed to fame in a matter of weeks while MSPA and AH's other works have been around for years.

I understand with a kickstarter, you can't really turn around and say, "kay, this is a lot of cash, I'll give some to this charity". I don't see anything wrong with what Hussie did, however, some of the Tumblr reaction could've been more mature. After it broke a million, someone tried to rally a movement to donate to a group of Native Americans who are trying to buy back some sacred land. When one person pointed out that if Homestuck fans could raise a million in less that two days, then in a few weeks, the people of Tumblr should be able to help these people out. Some Homestuck fans started complaining to the person who said that they could spend their money however they want, and that person got annoyed and drama. Plus, with some of the things fans have been saying, it seems like some people are donating less to make the game and more to show off how big and influential the Homestuck fandom can be.

Stacy isn't permanent, so it's not development.

[Destined Savior]

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

Yes, if man in book is ~hawt~, then real life men must be as well.

There isn't. He's just contiuning on being this control freak until he's done with Ana. With Ana's logic, she's not sure of what she wants and assumes that this control is proper love, a way to love someone that you may or may not truly care about. Does she care about Gaston? Probably not, but she does think he's hot and rich.

If someone is hot and rich, their actions are excusable. Whatever they do is right, never wrong.

God, that's a load of bullshit.

@Bele: Stacy is awesome, but there's not too much to her. As Gehayi or Ket had said, she's only there to prove that Ana can say "No" to Gaston for the Critics out there to see. To prove that Ana can stand up for herself in a way that she can be reliant for herself, and nobody else but her.

Contradicting that, she ends up rethinking that and assumes that she must stay with Gaston for the purpose of him and the stupid contract. That's it. So it doesn't make sense for Stacy--who I was hoping would kick Gaston in the balls, but that never happened--to be there if Ana can't pull herself together and face him head on. If Dumb, Dumb Ana cannot face Gaston (which she can't by any means), then she's stuck with him and ends up getting hurt by this sexual abuse.

This is probably the lowest form of stupid I have ever seen out of a character in my life. Just plain stupid. I don't know who would beat that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel. :/

[Mage Luna]

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

Yes, if man in book is ~hawt~, then real life men must be as well.

There isn't. He's just contiuning on being this control freak until he's done with Ana. With Ana's logic, she's not sure of what she wants and assumes that this control is proper love, a way to love someone that you may or may not truly care about. Does she care about Gaston? Probably not, but she does think he's hot and rich.

If someone is hot and rich, their actions are excusable. Whatever they do is right, never wrong.

God, that's a load of bullshit.

@Bele: Stacy is awesome, but there's not too much to her. As Gehayi or Ket had said, she's only there to prove that Ana can say "No" to Gaston for the Critics out there to see. To prove that Ana can stand up for herself in a way that she can be reliant for herself, and nobody else but her.

Contradicting that, she ends up rethinking that and assumes that she must stay with Gaston for the purpose of him and the stupid contract. That's it. So it doesn't make sense for Stacy--who I was hoping would kick Gaston in the balls, but that never happened--to be there if Ana can't pull herself together and face him head on. If Dumb, Dumb Ana cannot face Gaston (which she can't by any means), then she's stuck with him and ends up getting hurt by this sexual abuse.

This is probably the lowest form of stupid I have ever seen out of a character in my life. Just plain stupid. I don't know who would beat that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel. :/

That's what I'm saying. Ana is going to go in for the sex and hope she'll come out in a normal relation when she'll end up a mess. All for sex with a hot rich guy.

I think the person who sees nothing wrong with her protagonist coming to the conclusion that the man she loves uses sex as a weapon and fears him enough to want a getaway car option is dumber. Especially when said person thinks that "oh, well, I'll explain the backstory in the other books and it'll be okay". No. If you want a character to be likable, you have to put something in for a reader to like, revealing a sad backstory as the series goes on isn't always going to change the reader's opinion, some of them will think all the douchebaggery he's committed isn't excused...if they even get that far.

[Destined Savior]

Mage Luna

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

Yes, if man in book is ~hawt~, then real life men must be as well.

There isn't. He's just contiuning on being this control freak until he's done with Ana. With Ana's logic, she's not sure of what she wants and assumes that this control is proper love, a way to love someone that you may or may not truly care about. Does she care about Gaston? Probably not, but she does think he's hot and rich.

If someone is hot and rich, their actions are excusable. Whatever they do is right, never wrong.

God, that's a load of bullshit.

@Bele: Stacy is awesome, but there's not too much to her. As Gehayi or Ket had said, she's only there to prove that Ana can say "No" to Gaston for the Critics out there to see. To prove that Ana can stand up for herself in a way that she can be reliant for herself, and nobody else but her.

Contradicting that, she ends up rethinking that and assumes that she must stay with Gaston for the purpose of him and the stupid contract. That's it. So it doesn't make sense for Stacy--who I was hoping would kick Gaston in the balls, but that never happened--to be there if Ana can't pull herself together and face him head on. If Dumb, Dumb Ana cannot face Gaston (which she can't by any means), then she's stuck with him and ends up getting hurt by this sexual abuse.

This is probably the lowest form of stupid I have ever seen out of a character in my life. Just plain stupid. I don't know who would beat that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel. :/

That's what I'm saying. Ana is going to go in for the sex and hope she'll come out in a normal relation when she'll end up a mess. All for sex with a hot rich guy.

I think the person who sees nothing wrong with her protagonist coming to the conclusion that the man she loves uses sex as a weapon and fears him enough to want a getaway car option is dumber. Especially when said person thinks that "oh, well, I'll explain the backstory in the other books and it'll be okay". No. If you want a character to be likable, you have to put something in for a reader to like, revealing a sad backstory as the series goes on isn't always going to change the reader's opinion, some of them will think all the douchebaggery he's committed isn't excused...if they even get that far.

Sex for Ignorance? Is that right? sweatdrop That sounds wrong.

Backstory reveals nothing. It's purpose is to do nothing. Yeah, sexually abused as a kid? Really? He sure doesn't seem phased by it. If he was truly hurt by his past, he would probably suffer some mental anguish and resistance from it. He wouldn't trust anyone, especially in a relationship. But somehow in James's twisted mind, he's coping by using women for sex to get his way. Heh? What?

At this point, there's no point in getting any further into the series unless you're crazy and really enjoy this type of stuff. *shrugs*
I don't know what she considers reasonable, but this sure as hell an'it. /facepalm

[Mage Luna]

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

Yes, if man in book is ~hawt~, then real life men must be as well.

There isn't. He's just contiuning on being this control freak until he's done with Ana. With Ana's logic, she's not sure of what she wants and assumes that this control is proper love, a way to love someone that you may or may not truly care about. Does she care about Gaston? Probably not, but she does think he's hot and rich.

If someone is hot and rich, their actions are excusable. Whatever they do is right, never wrong.

God, that's a load of bullshit.

@Bele: Stacy is awesome, but there's not too much to her. As Gehayi or Ket had said, she's only there to prove that Ana can say "No" to Gaston for the Critics out there to see. To prove that Ana can stand up for herself in a way that she can be reliant for herself, and nobody else but her.

Contradicting that, she ends up rethinking that and assumes that she must stay with Gaston for the purpose of him and the stupid contract. That's it. So it doesn't make sense for Stacy--who I was hoping would kick Gaston in the balls, but that never happened--to be there if Ana can't pull herself together and face him head on. If Dumb, Dumb Ana cannot face Gaston (which she can't by any means), then she's stuck with him and ends up getting hurt by this sexual abuse.

This is probably the lowest form of stupid I have ever seen out of a character in my life. Just plain stupid. I don't know who would beat that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel. :/

That's what I'm saying. Ana is going to go in for the sex and hope she'll come out in a normal relation when she'll end up a mess. All for sex with a hot rich guy.

I think the person who sees nothing wrong with her protagonist coming to the conclusion that the man she loves uses sex as a weapon and fears him enough to want a getaway car option is dumber. Especially when said person thinks that "oh, well, I'll explain the backstory in the other books and it'll be okay". No. If you want a character to be likable, you have to put something in for a reader to like, revealing a sad backstory as the series goes on isn't always going to change the reader's opinion, some of them will think all the douchebaggery he's committed isn't excused...if they even get that far.

Sex for Ignorance? Is that right? sweatdrop That sounds wrong.

Backstory reveals nothing. It's purpose is to do nothing. Yeah, sexually abused as a kid? Really? He sure doesn't seem phased by it. If he was truly hurt by his past, he would probably suffer some mental anguish and resistance from it. He wouldn't trust anyone, especially in a relationship. But somehow in James's twisted mind, he's coping by using women for sex to get his way. Heh? What?

At this point, there's no point in getting any further into the series unless you're crazy and really enjoy this type of stuff. *shrugs*
I don't know what she considers reasonable, but this sure as hell an'it. /facepalm

That sounds very wrong.

Backstory provides a why, not an excuse for actions. And crap, could writers just quit the trauma for the sake of drama and making characters sympathetic, it doesn't make things better?

I thought that point was earlier...I'm just reading it so I can make a logical argument against it.

[Belethiel]

Mage Luna

Belethiel

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

@Bel
Hooray for Homestuck getting recognition!

I kind of have mixed feelings about the fundraising thing. It's great that Hussie can make his game, but between the amount of charities that could also use a helping hand and the fandom on Tumblr's response was a bit immature. Part of the reason they reached 2 mil was because someone said it'd make his/her day if they could do that.

Well, he said it was for the game, if he turned around and said, "Okay, the rest is for charity!" when he said that it would go toward making the game better... people would be pissed off. He's just sticking to his promises, and he's very grateful to his fans. None of the money we threw at the project is going to get wasted.

I just think it's unfortunate that we had to do this big of an undertaking to tell the world about Homestuck. :/ The fandom is just as big and respectable as the fandom behind other writers. I'm surprised it was able to fly under the radar for so long when crap like 50 Shades skyrocketed to fame in a matter of weeks while MSPA and AH's other works have been around for years.

I understand with a kickstarter, you can't really turn around and say, "kay, this is a lot of cash, I'll give some to this charity". I don't see anything wrong with what Hussie did, however, some of the Tumblr reaction could've been more mature. After it broke a million, someone tried to rally a movement to donate to a group of Native Americans who are trying to buy back some sacred land. When one person pointed out that if Homestuck fans could raise a million in less that two days, then in a few weeks, the people of Tumblr should be able to help these people out. Some Homestuck fans started complaining to the person who said that they could spend their money however they want, and that person got annoyed and drama. Plus, with some of the things fans have been saying, it seems like some people are donating less to make the game and more to show off how big and influential the Homestuck fandom can be.

Stacy isn't permanent, so it's not development.

Oh. Well that's kind of dumb of them, even though it is a nice thought. :/ I was totally not aware of the tumblr stuff. My interaction with the fandom is on the MSPA forums.

I think a fandom showing what they're made of isn't really a bad thing. :v I think the majority of them donated so they could get cool stuff and beta test the game. That's why I put in fifteen dollars anyway. *shrug*

I know, but it's like E.L James wanted it to be. It was completely random and out of nowhere and I bet she doesn't show up again when she should. That person was so different from Ana, she deserves a name of her own for sure.

[Belethiel]

Mage Luna

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

Yes, if man in book is ~hawt~, then real life men must be as well.

There isn't. He's just contiuning on being this control freak until he's done with Ana. With Ana's logic, she's not sure of what she wants and assumes that this control is proper love, a way to love someone that you may or may not truly care about. Does she care about Gaston? Probably not, but she does think he's hot and rich.

If someone is hot and rich, their actions are excusable. Whatever they do is right, never wrong.

God, that's a load of bullshit.

@Bele: Stacy is awesome, but there's not too much to her. As Gehayi or Ket had said, she's only there to prove that Ana can say "No" to Gaston for the Critics out there to see. To prove that Ana can stand up for herself in a way that she can be reliant for herself, and nobody else but her.

Contradicting that, she ends up rethinking that and assumes that she must stay with Gaston for the purpose of him and the stupid contract. That's it. So it doesn't make sense for Stacy--who I was hoping would kick Gaston in the balls, but that never happened--to be there if Ana can't pull herself together and face him head on. If Dumb, Dumb Ana cannot face Gaston (which she can't by any means), then she's stuck with him and ends up getting hurt by this sexual abuse.

This is probably the lowest form of stupid I have ever seen out of a character in my life. Just plain stupid. I don't know who would beat that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel. :/

That's what I'm saying. Ana is going to go in for the sex and hope she'll come out in a normal relation when she'll end up a mess. All for sex with a hot rich guy.

I think the person who sees nothing wrong with her protagonist coming to the conclusion that the man she loves uses sex as a weapon and fears him enough to want a getaway car option is dumber. Especially when said person thinks that "oh, well, I'll explain the backstory in the other books and it'll be okay". No. If you want a character to be likable, you have to put something in for a reader to like, revealing a sad backstory as the series goes on isn't always going to change the reader's opinion, some of them will think all the douchebaggery he's committed isn't excused...if they even get that far.

Sex for Ignorance? Is that right? sweatdrop That sounds wrong.

Backstory reveals nothing. It's purpose is to do nothing. Yeah, sexually abused as a kid? Really? He sure doesn't seem phased by it. If he was truly hurt by his past, he would probably suffer some mental anguish and resistance from it. He wouldn't trust anyone, especially in a relationship. But somehow in James's twisted mind, he's coping by using women for sex to get his way. Heh? What?

At this point, there's no point in getting any further into the series unless you're crazy and really enjoy this type of stuff. *shrugs*
I don't know what she considers reasonable, but this sure as hell an'it. /facepalm

That sounds very wrong.

Backstory provides a why, not an excuse for actions. And crap, could writers just quit the trauma for the sake of drama and making characters sympathetic, it doesn't make things better?

I thought that point was earlier...I'm just reading it so I can make a logical argument against it.

When I read where he says that stuff about Mrs. Robinson, I was like, "So what, that's it? I thought he was supposed to be tortured." How disappointing.

I tend to traumatize my characters a little, but it does not give anyone the right to act like an a*****e. Did it make my character a little distant, bitchy and cold? Yes. Is she a psycho who likes to beat people? No. It wouldn't make any sense. Instead of acting like a jerk she's more like.... hurt.

Jerkassery is rarely justified, but I believe that can. Too bad too many writers don't bother to do it right and in a creative way. It's all like "Trauma = 'tortured jerkass woobie'. Okay, we're done."

[Destined Savior]

Belethiel

Mage Luna

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

NightfallDuet

Mage Luna

@Duet
You're welcome.

Ugh, what makes this True Love worse is that unlike most fix the bad boy with love stories (which I'm 99% sure this is supposed to be), there's nothing that Gray has done to show that there is a good side in him. It comes off as "Gray is so hawt, and I wanna date him but he's so bad and not what I want in a boyfriend."

Yes, if man in book is ~hawt~, then real life men must be as well.

There isn't. He's just contiuning on being this control freak until he's done with Ana. With Ana's logic, she's not sure of what she wants and assumes that this control is proper love, a way to love someone that you may or may not truly care about. Does she care about Gaston? Probably not, but she does think he's hot and rich.

If someone is hot and rich, their actions are excusable. Whatever they do is right, never wrong.

God, that's a load of bullshit.

@Bele: Stacy is awesome, but there's not too much to her. As Gehayi or Ket had said, she's only there to prove that Ana can say "No" to Gaston for the Critics out there to see. To prove that Ana can stand up for herself in a way that she can be reliant for herself, and nobody else but her.

Contradicting that, she ends up rethinking that and assumes that she must stay with Gaston for the purpose of him and the stupid contract. That's it. So it doesn't make sense for Stacy--who I was hoping would kick Gaston in the balls, but that never happened--to be there if Ana can't pull herself together and face him head on. If Dumb, Dumb Ana cannot face Gaston (which she can't by any means), then she's stuck with him and ends up getting hurt by this sexual abuse.

This is probably the lowest form of stupid I have ever seen out of a character in my life. Just plain stupid. I don't know who would beat that.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel. :/

That's what I'm saying. Ana is going to go in for the sex and hope she'll come out in a normal relation when she'll end up a mess. All for sex with a hot rich guy.

I think the person who sees nothing wrong with her protagonist coming to the conclusion that the man she loves uses sex as a weapon and fears him enough to want a getaway car option is dumber. Especially when said person thinks that "oh, well, I'll explain the backstory in the other books and it'll be okay". No. If you want a character to be likable, you have to put something in for a reader to like, revealing a sad backstory as the series goes on isn't always going to change the reader's opinion, some of them will think all the douchebaggery he's committed isn't excused...if they even get that far.

Sex for Ignorance? Is that right? sweatdrop That sounds wrong.

Backstory reveals nothing. It's purpose is to do nothing. Yeah, sexually abused as a kid? Really? He sure doesn't seem phased by it. If he was truly hurt by his past, he would probably suffer some mental anguish and resistance from it. He wouldn't trust anyone, especially in a relationship. But somehow in James's twisted mind, he's coping by using women for sex to get his way. Heh? What?

At this point, there's no point in getting any further into the series unless you're crazy and really enjoy this type of stuff. *shrugs*
I don't know what she considers reasonable, but this sure as hell an'it. /facepalm

That sounds very wrong.

Backstory provides a why, not an excuse for actions. And crap, could writers just quit the trauma for the sake of drama and making characters sympathetic, it doesn't make things better?

I thought that point was earlier...I'm just reading it so I can make a logical argument against it.

When I read where he says that stuff about Mrs. Robinson, I was like, "So what, that's it? I thought he was supposed to be tortured." How disappointing.

I tend to traumatize my characters a little, but it does not give anyone the right to act like an a*****e. Did it make my character a little distant, bitchy and cold? Yes. Is she a psycho who likes to beat people? No. It wouldn't make any sense. Instead of acting like a jerk she's more like.... hurt.

Jerkassery is rarely justified, but I believe that can. Too bad too many writers don't bother to do it right and in a creative way. It's all like "Trauma = 'tortured jerkass woobie'. Okay, we're done."

@Mage: I know you're reading it to make a logical point against it. What I'm saying is that people who are crazy--and more or less ignorant--about these type of things will tend to believe that it's actually good and want to experience more as it continues. Popularity and interest make people wonder. (Though, my interest in this is zero, I like to talk about it.)
Something popular does not always equal good like with Twilight and House of Night (YA, I know, but go with me here). They may be bestsellers but does that make them great stories? No. It makes them just books that were written with the intention of money and popularity--that's it.



@Bele: True, true. If you put emotion into a character, it'll make sense on why they're feeling those emotions. How they are dealing with the "darkness of their past", how they are coping with what people have done to them, and adding emotion gives the backstory/reason as to why they are feeling that way.

Gaston has no emotion (or is just faking it) when he tells Ana about his childhood. He doesn't express enough emotion or feeling to give us any sympathy towards him. James's full intention was to try it and, well, it didn't work. It was just too fake and nothing was coming out of it. Nothing. At least, I didn't get anything out of it.

[Mage Luna]

@Bel
Yeah, I rarely go to forums devoted to one fandom, so I end up in places like Gaia, Tumblr, and dA where you see both the friendly people and the crappy people.

True, I think you have a point there.

I'm on the verge of a rant about how people screw up with trauma, and show how I've been doing it. I'm probably not the best, but the trauma does affect them in ways that make sense (I think).

I've been making some jerkass characters (and characters who are going into jerkass land). Some of it is connected to the trauma, some isn't (now that I think about it, when I was getting the why behind some villains' motivations, it seemed to be in Freudian Excuse territory. Maybe).

@Duet
I know. We need a renaissance of critics, desperately.

[Destined Savior]

With sporks and all!

I can't go to a forum based on one fandom. There's not enough diversity, as you said, and you can't be free with your opinion.

Tumblr's fun. xD Man, they were reblogging all kinds of political jokes last night during the debate.
My dashboard was filled with it. And some Supernatural, but I admit I was a part of it. xD Sorry!

[Belethiel]

Mage Luna

@Bel
Yeah, I rarely go to forums devoted to one fandom, so I end up in places like Gaia, Tumblr, and dA where you see both the friendly people and the crappy people.

True, I think you have a point there.

I'm on the verge of a rant about how people screw up with trauma, and show how I've been doing it. I'm probably not the best, but the trauma does affect them in ways that make sense (I think).

I've been making some jerkass characters (and characters who are going into jerkass land). Some of it is connected to the trauma, some isn't (now that I think about it, when I was getting the why behind some villains' motivations, it seemed to be in Freudian Excuse territory. Maybe).

@Duet
I know. We need a renaissance of critics, desperately.

I like the MSPA forums a lot. It's a silly place. But I usually stay out of fandom related places otherwise.

Rant away! I like rants.

It's really impressive when you justify a jerk without using the usual trauma/crappy childhood excuse. Karkat is an outstanding case of that, and pretty much the only example I can think of off the top of my head. Then actual trauma helped him become a better person by putting his real emotions on the surface. His behaviour makes sense because if you grew up on a planet full of racism and you're a total misfit who would be killed if anyone knew... well, it's only natural that you would be a little jaded, depressed and hyper-defensive. Rudeness keeps other people away, which was an advantage for him because if anybody knew his blood color, he would be in danger. At first I was really annoyed with this character, but looking back to the times where I disliked him... everything he says just sad.

... I could talk about that chracter all day. I think all jerks are okay if they're not the antagonist and if they have genuinely good hearts.

[Mage Luna]

@Duet
Oh man, the one time I decided to join a forum that was all about a fandom, I practically got my head bit off for not going with the majority opinion. (Granted, I don't think the Pokemon fandom is known for maturity).

I did not see a lot of political jokes on my dash. Darn.

@Bel
I may check out MSPA forums.

Alright.
In a way, my character Silver is like Karkat in attitude although the reasoning is trust issues caused by genuine betrayal (by his sister, as well as Coco his sort of boss) and paranoia (when his friend/older brother figure considered adopting a kid, he thought he was being replaced and withdrew from him completely).

Coco herself is an interesting screw up. Her mother was an irresponsible drug abuser prone to sleeping around, the result was she grew up impoverished and from an early age had to find ways to financially support her half-siblings. The result was massive resentment towards the world and a feeling that she was owed a lot for having to deal with her mother. In addition she grew to be emotionally stunted and has several empathy issues, making a dangerous combination of a bratty attitude and an inability to understand other people's emotional issues (leading to her losing Silver's trust, something she's trying to get back, but currently failing horribly at).