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 Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:17 am
So. You've taken a liking to one of Gaia's many characters. They've taken up space in your mind; their design floating around your head for a while. But, you're at your wits' end at finding ways to interpret them, because there's too little info available. It’s just one last detail that you need to know to make your fic right and it doesn’t exist, or that one idea for an artwork you’ve wanted to execute but can’t because you’re afraid it might clash with canon. Well, fear not, for I am here to guide you.
… good Gaia, this sounds horrible. I’m gonna tell you I copy-paste’d that from my first draft that I decided to scrap, and I’m also gonna tell you I’m scared that people won’t read this. I mean, I’m nobody. I may be an 09er, but it seems like I just let myself be known later 2014 or early 2015. I don’t even reach out to people that much, and my humor is as bad as plotlines. Okay, maybe I’m not really nobody, since I was in zOMG most of the time I logged on to Gaia… and, well, zOMG ain’t here anymore. So now, here I am.
This workshop’s title changed from time to time, and I guess I decided to stick with this one. The deal here is that, we know too little about our Gaia characters to properly do our fan stuff with them or so-so, and I wrote this to help you understand stuff and to guide you in doing your fan stuff. Bear with me too, because I think I wrote all this from a writer’s perspective a lot.
Links
--⊱ Not pot-safe. Or not.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:48 am
I'm not gonna lie and pretend that it's important to read this - in fact you're free to skip this part, since it's not that related to the topic at all. This section was only written to establish my credibility, tell you a bit more about myself, and shamelessly advertise what I like.
So who am I? I'm an introverted(!!!) art student who's struggling to pass her subjects and wishing to move on to her real passion: writing. Does that mean I'm an avid reader too? Not exactly. I'm a very picky person who only reads stuff recommended by family or made by friends. There are several exceptions to this, though, the best examples of which being the visual novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni and the stories of my favorite band Sound Horizon's songs.
I found them while merely surfing through the Net. It's obvious enough that Umineko was made by a Japanese man, Ryukishi07, but SanHora is also a Japanese band, lead by an individual whose stage name is Revo and whose real identity we're still debating on. Why am I telling this, other than spreading word about them? It's because they share something with Gaia's characters - ambiguity and lack of details.
Hey, Anne! Aren't those bad things? Not exactly. Ryukishi's and Revo's styles managed to woo my ice-cold heart, while Gaia's storyline, though the current saga is nice, is getting on my nerves.
Ambiguity in fiction is nice when it keeps you wondering and discussing with the fandom about what you think. As one of my favorite books about writing* say, “Ambiguity [in fiction] is the controlled and deliberate presentation of a limited number of possible interpretations,” which is to say, it's when the author's purpose is ambiguity. (In Umineko (spoilers oops): Was George actually a possessive, obsessive guy for Shannon as subtle details and his image song suggests? Was Asumu really a 'conniving b***h' as Kyrie suggests? Are Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo following 'Beatrice' out of being loyal to Kinzo or out of pity?) We debate on all our theories, sometimes even whine about how we are convinced that what we think is the truth, and even go against Ryukishi's official explanation, when his real is to show how the main character Battler comes to terms with his past, and that every episode/game is actually a battle with the in-story authors, and their readers - which is exactly what Umineko is: a battle between us, the viewers, and Ryukishi, the author. Whatever we do, we were already trapped in his game with us.
Lack of details in fiction is also nice when it poses a question that gets all your brain cells striving for an answer. Revo did officially tell us his fans that “With regards [to a theory posed to him], all interpretations are valid,” and we, eager, ran with the second part of the sentence and participated in tossing theories around. (In SanHora: Why did Endymio Ballad leave his lover, Luna, behind? Who was Watcher and how is he(?) related to Soror and Frater? Who on earth was Anneliese and why does the narrative speak of Therese as a sister?) We give our different opinions and share our different interpretations, with most of us agreeing on a select number of which, hoping to make something as beautiful as the mystery Revo presents us, through the symbols, imagery, and other devices he uses to make up for his lack of interpretation. We don't really hate Revo, seeing as he seems to also want to look at how we see his work.
Let's make it simpler: ambiguity and lack of details are good when it gets you, "Aha, Author! You clever conniving devil. I'll get down to the truth of this someday!" but not when it gets you, "...huh? What? I thought that...? Huh? What's happening? With everything?" As the book I mentioned says, “Confusion [in fiction] is the lack of control that results when you omit or leave blurry certain information your readers need to know.” We Umineko fans didn't need to know whether it was fantasy or mystery - we merely needed to know it was Battler's internal struggle with himself. We SanHora fans didn't have to know everything about the characters - we merely needed to know the basic conditions that caged them and their ability to fight against this cage known as fate. The current manga saga of Gaia had mostly been given the necessary information, though there still exists some questions that need to be answered, partly from seemingly having inconsistencies with what we saw happened and what characters claimed to have happened, and partly because it's still ongoing.
Yup, it's bad if it leaves you confused, maybe even left out. And the confusion in the stories of Gaia's characters may be due to sudden, not-so-relevant plot twists, or perhaps the tendency of staff to pay attention on a particular set of characters and leave the others behind, or, the number one problem, not everyone is that aware of the timeline.
But, as you've read from all my blabbering and advertising, I'm from fandoms that deal with lack of info and ambiguity (especially SanHora whose Revo-heika learned how to troll before going down the stairs), and that's why I think I can tackle how to deal with Gaia's characters when you want to write or draw something about them that's canon or close as possible to canon.
*This book is Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern, a precious treasure I found in our library.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 7:54 am
In this section, I'd like to discuss reasons behind Gaia not telling us important(?) info about our beloved bishies and gals and animals and others.
Ambiguity and lack of details that cause confusion among viewers are just the beginning of all these. There's a lot of personalities around the site - heck, you can even make up stuff from the descriptions on gold items! There are only a number of characters that staff can focus on at a time.
Gaia is also a forum-based site with Flash spaces, and staff would want to utilize what they can for efficiency and maximum participation. However, with conversations happening in the forums and the Flash spaces, details will tend to get buried from bot spams or get left behind. Info is lost due to a limited amount of memory space for history. Info becomes untraceable, until someone pops in from the users and say, 'I thought that Event X said Character A was this and that?' And as we know, a lot of people have left due to various unfortunate circumstances.
Not only did users leave, but also staff. Lots of them went in and out. Gaia is already on its 12th year, and that's 12 years of stories from what, tens, hundreds of people? Whatever the number is, that must've been high, and the premises they've already built up have to be followed by those who're staying, not only as a form of respect for these people, but also as a form of respect for the users who experienced these premises. Imagine a company trying to build a mansion - you can't destroy that good, sturdy wall just because it clashes with your design! Staff can't just scrap the original ideas that the users already know of, or else an all-out war will happen. (...well okay, maybe not, but you get the point.)
Well, I hope I've presented things clearly and adequately enough.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:05 am
Ask staff
If you’re brave enough, you can ask staff about the NPCs. They don’t bite; just be very polite, and brace yourselves for the chances that:
staff don’t reply,
staff replies, but there’s no future plans or it’ll spoil stuff, and
staff replies, but the NPC’s profile isn’t available.
⊰——————⊱
Cry
But that wouldn’t accomplish anything for your fan art/fic. It helps to de-stress though.
⊰——————⊱
Accept things and look at what you can do with what’s there.
The winner’s decision, and an introvert-friendly solution. Here are the steps.
1.) Accept things. De-stress yourselves for a while. Or once in a while, if you’re already working on your pieces. Talk to friends, rage on CB, rant in Towns, or just turn off your computer/mobile and sleep. You’ll need a clear mind.
2.) Find all info related to the character of your choice.
As said, ask staff. If you can’t, ask your friendss or people to ask for you – there are users who offer to ask your questions in your stead.
Google Search. Look up Wikia profiles, tropes, etc. It might lead you to their maker’s blogs too. Be sure to know how to filter true and false info. It takes more than just intuition – be familiar with the character’s maker and “aura”.
Gaia Search. It may be unreliable since the server/s glitch/es from time to time, but you need this to take you to fan threads, event appearances, bot dialogues (yes they’re useful too, especially if there are different messages), items related to them, and all other threads and posts that have their name.
Speaking of items, take a look at their items, specifically the descriptions, the poses, and the name of the poses.
Manga appearances. Take note of their expressions and the way they speak.
If they’re a shopkeeper – look at their dialogues.
If they have an account (the [NPC] ones) – look at post history and myposts (add their user ID to the end of the myposts url).
“Silent stalker” option – if you know the person who made them, hunt blogs, journals, etc. for info. Just be quiet about it. Be very, very quiet (and don’t follow my example).
Very hardworking and patient option – join the Gaia chat (yeah the new button on our menu bar) and see if NPCs post (thank you Paparazzi for the info).
3.) OK! You have info! That’s wonderful!
… what now?
Well, take a look at which info you’d like to work with (or stash them all away for future references). Would you like to make a story based on one of their lines, or is it an artwork showing how you imagine what another character says about them? Analyze from which perspective you’ll attack, so you can efficiently utilize all the effort you made for gathering all that info.
See the next section for examples, and the next next for the continuation of all these (I’m not yet done talking; just a little more).
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:06 am
Feel free to skip this section if you’ve understood well what I rambled on about.
Meredith.
We all know her as the trusted bank teller at Bank of Gambino, the institution that handles all our trades. If you haven’t noticed, she’s that red-haired chic we see… or not really see, since her image is small.
Her SDPlus says a lot about her being forgotten, and Cindy’s runner-up prizes were copies of the issue that had a rather… scandalous article about Meredith.
… YEAH RIGHT. So what happens if I search for her in Gaia Search?
BINGO. Okay she’s not really forgotten. She actually has a fanthread here (boo hoo hoo sorry OP I can only link it and <3 it but not bump it for those who don’t know this exists), but for your convenience, I’ll copy-paste stuff I’ve read there and also merge it with that I’ve already known of.
She graduated from college (Durem University to be specific) at 15, but despite her brains she stuck with the bank-telling job. I mean, bank-managing job (she’s the MANAGER of the bank, demmet, and the CHAIRWOMAN of Gambino Trust). She works with an abacus and she's become quite strong, from carrying all that gold to the bank's vaults. Of course she has her colleagues... err, subordinates (from the Code Alpha CI). She's also Ivan's cousin, whom he loves very much as we learned from Dark Reflection, and they seem to both like math and finance a lot.
In the comic strips where Johnny K. was looking for Gino, Gambino sees Meredith looking at a looooong list, with Leon carrying many gift boxes behind her, and Rina walking rather leisurely and happily in front of them. She was also a witness to the fire at the Gambino Mansion, and therefore called to the Durem Court for Ian's trial. In the Rejected Olympics strips, the bank receives a devil imp who tries to deposit gold... teeth. Meredith is a little reluctant to take them, but Gambino shows up and agrees with the imp that gold is still gold.
Then, Johnny K. passed away. RIP. But because he's gone, hoodlums began to try and steal from the bank. So Meredith costumed up and took the law into her very own hands as... Alpha Girl, defender of justice!!! Here's the art thread. (Woah there's already a lot of stories we can make from there!)
Other info I’ve gathered:
-- She’s supposed to attend Prom with Bildeau.
-- She had a Valentine card.
-- She gave out candies for two Halloweens and listened to carols for one Christmas.
-- She participated in the Rejected Olympics and Pie Hard, and she’s even in the Pie Hard achievement icon.
-- Reaper doodled something for Meredith and Ivan... I don’t want to expect too much, but I think this is a yes with regards to whether Ivan likes her as more than a cousin or not.
Okay. Let’s see what I’d like to do.
I’m not into hero stuff, so I’ll let people handle the Code Alpha story.
I think I’d like to write something about Ivan and Meredith’s families, particularly with their obsession for finance, math, and anything else number. Maybe a reunion where everyone recalls what badassery they learned from doing all those counting? XD
Maybe I can write anecdotes about people mentioning Meredith, but they’ll soon go, “…who’s that?” Maybe she’s going shopping and she’s mentally calculating the worth of her purchases, then people go, “ooh incredible!” and she says, “because I’m Meredith, that’s why” and people go “…………who?”
Or how about… what Meredith did with the gold teeth? Probably she’ll not just count all of it and estimate its equivalent value to Gaia Gold, but also estimate how many people, in terms of adults and kids (or maybe even animals!!) the imp pulled them out from. Yeah… a comic about that sounds funny to me. XD
⊰——————⊱
Winsor.
Wait, isn’t this an item from the Forgotten Reverie CI? Oh yes it is, but it’s named after the character. …wait, I didn’t know that. Lemme plug things into Google.
So, Winsor appeared in Luna’s Incense as a wee little kid too, in his stripped pajamas, a hat of the same shape as the one he wears when he’s older, and with big red balloons containing his iconic sidekick smiley! Designed by artist pyawakit, Winsor is the hero of Titania – wait, let’s go to the very beginning… or to be exact, to the story from Forgotten Reverie.
Winsor’s childhood dreams would transport him to Titania, where all peaceful dreams of mankind are kept. He meets and befriends Princess Estelle, who desired a playmate her own age. For some time they are happy, exploring Titania and enjoying its magical properties. But as Winsor grew up, going to Titania became more difficult, and he began to pass his adventures off as childhood fantasies.
However, one night, Princess Estelle finally summons him up again, but Titania is in danger – Sorceress Corvina claims the title of Nightmare Queen, and unleashes darkness in the land and its inhabitants. Princess Estelle seems to be in danger herself, as her call seems to be the last of her magical strength. Winsor decides to save her and Titania, charging towards the stronghold of Corvina… which looks like a spooky, rotten amusement park, complete with a Ferris wheel and rollercoaster tracks, but because a princess is a princess, there’s a tower conveniently made for villainous scheming and heroic rescues.
Winsor goes up the tower in darkness, and slips in… and sees Corvina sucking up Princess Estelle’s power. He is pained at his friend’s pitiful state, and he draws his sword into Corvina’s body in rage. He does drive away the evil force, but he seems like he’s too late in rescuing the princess. Saddened, he kisses her… and his love for her restores her light and life. They restore Titania to its former brilliance, resolve to never part again, and promise to preserve all the peaceful dreams. The end.
…eeeeee. So what could I do…
Maybe fanart of him holding balloons of every size and variants of his smirking star-eyed smiley I can think of? Or maybe something about him getting to know that smiley in the first place. Maybe that was a gift from Estelle, hmm-mmm… or maybe when he was young his family couldn’t give him something like that, and he dreamed of getting one, so Estelle, seeing it in his dreams, gives it as a gift? Hmm…
How about a fic about Winsor trying to peek into everyone’s dreams and… good Gaia I think this one will be a hell of series… kufufufufufufu… ouo
How about Winsor telling people in his own world, before he came to Titania, not to give up on their dreams? XD He is, after all, “always a dreamer”. …darn am I so punny.
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:10 am
We’re not done yet?! What on earth, Anne?! Hold yo’ ho’ses first, matey. Please allow me to tell you one last thing: please please PLEASE keep the core characteristics of the character. For Gaia’s sake. That is to say, take care not to make them OOC. Even if you’re doing an XReader or an xOC.
Going back to the examples, notice how I incorporated the numbers thing and being forgotten with Meredith, or the concept of dreams with Winsor. Maybe I won’t hit their personality head-on, since there’s only a limited number of things their makers can focus on, but at least I remembered those stuff, and I have some info about them, so at least I can write something decent.
Also, pay close attention to what the staff say, even if it happens that the way the NPC was portrayed the last time we saw them, seems a little different from how things were supposed to be. When in doubt, choose which version you’re using in the fic/art (for example: pre-Vampire Fiasco Ian, non-shipper Rina), or just stick with the latest, and indicate which one in your artist’s comments or author’s notes.
HOWEVER, there are exceptions to this: parodies and satires. Because life yo. Unfair yo. Desu yo. Vous comprendez?
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:11 am
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions? Come one, come all, and give me all your feedback and criticism (and uh, of course, your questions)! Helpful Q&A will be featured here and in other reserved posts… and maybe I’ll feature neat’o feedback and comments too, hahaha.
I would also love to hear your progress on your work, and if time permits, I'll offer my help, okay? ^^
Question Form:
[quote=”AnneLaurant”]I’m not an all-out Gaian, nor a devout Laurant, but I’m just plain ol’ stupid Anne.[/quote]
[b]Hey you, I have to ask you something![/b]
[b]Question about:[/b]
[b]My concerns:[/b]
Feedback Form:
[quote=”AnneLaurant”]Just by using Google Search, Gaia Search, and some browsing, this level of stalking was possible for AnneLaurant. What do you think, everyone?[/quote]
[b]I like:[/b]
[b]I hate:[b]
[b]I wish you discussed:[/b]
[b]Additional things I want to say:[/b]
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:13 am
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:15 am
All memorable posts, shenanigans, miscellanea, and so on shall go here and be featured. Some may receive tips from me, some may win prizes, and some lucky winners may receive participation prizes!
Prizes to Win:
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:18 am
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 8:20 am
All you lazy people I hand-wrote most of this on a notebook before I transferred them because I find it hard to manage my time… grrrr… FINE. *HMP*
1.) Find a character.
2.) Get bummed Gaia doesn’t give them enough TLC.
3.) Get over it.
4.) Hunt down ALL THE INFO!!
5.) See what you can work with
6.) Take care not to OOC them
7.) Seek help if needed
8.) ???
9.) Finish the piece you’re working on and celebrate with a marvelous, fabulous party.
Now, may you go and fly off to the sunset! Thanks for viewing this thread, everyone!
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:30 am
...and banners.
To spread the word for this workshop: [url=][img]http://i.imgur.com/O7AiMOi.png[/img][/url] And for the other workshop in this year's round of NPCon:
Quick jump to panels:
Other stuff to shamelessly advertise:
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:30 am
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