Narrative Pet Peeves (Part 1)

There are some things about story and basic narrative that simply piss me off. Sometimes its because I dislike a work and this is the case. Other times it is because I like a work, and I don't want to see it fall into obvious traps and and bad design that it may not recover from. Sometimes its simply that the trope itself rubs me the wrong way, that the trope can seem personally disrespectful to the characters and plotlines related to the readers, and that it can be insulting to say the least.

Disclaimer, of course. As those at TVTropes will say, Tropes are Not Bad and my thoughts may not hold up. However, there is a clear trend. A trend I would personally like to see stopped.

1) The Load: This character has to stop existing. Someone who adds nothing and is a liability. Now, this is very different from someone who doesn't fight or who simply does things that are non-combative in nature or considered a more "feminine" skillset, if we even need to use gender specifics-which I real we do not need to do. Every character in some level should have an ability to effect the plot and carry it effectively. No character should ever be useless in a plot.

2) Fridging. Using a character simply as a plot device through death for another character is sickening to me. Everyone should have their agency and their own weight to carry around in a story.

I'll add more to this later. I have a headache.

Reading some comics, and....

I just wanted to give my thoughts on one of them. This one.

http://www.gabbysplayhouse.com/

Now, I can take some sense of angst or people feeling bad about themselves, and I also recognize that this world is rather screwed up. We live in a world of lies, and privilages we shouldn't have and stuff like that. This artist shows it well, and I do get the message he's trying to convey.

However, I do not and will NEVER agree with his stance on how he has done nothing or should just give up because he's damn lazy. Anyone who knows me is aware that I work hard on social skills and doing my jobs and coming through in the end. I'm not slogging behind-I'm thriving in a poor economy and I'm going to keep moving forward despite claims that it should being me down. I don't fall, and I don't stumble. I refuse to give up.

The main character of this comic sickens me. That he is willing to believe there is nothing to do in life, when there is for every human being. That's annoying and wrong.

A request from a 'fan'.

Upon a lovely person, well-endowed with wisdom and-from what I've seen-a great deal of tension that I should be trying to do my part to relieve, I am attempting to show this person that I care about them. They already know this. They feel like they are talking to a wall, and I do not always provide enough proof that I am anything but. I admit my fault in these proceedings; while I am certainly moving forward, I do not always take the time to contemplate and recognize how my former reactions have colored perceptions.

While my belief that perception are things based entirely on the moment of which you speak to the person, not everyone sees it that way.

But first, a message; I apologize. I truly and wholeheartedly do so because I do not wish to cause harm or to cause grief in anyway. My intent in my voice is not to be aggressive or dismissive. My intent is to allow you to make your point without interruption from the peanut gallery like myself, who would come up with criticism which does not pertain to the situation at hand nor is pertient. I am attempting to also establish emotional control and social control, allowing others to speak their mind fairly and without interruption. It is also not my intent to blow off your concerns; I just found them unlikely in the context of the situation you had presented, and that I also want to find something to do in writing, but also because I am happy where I am at this moment.

Will it last? Of course not. By historical precedent, nothing ever lasts indefinitely. Education and certain statues certainly last a long time, to that I admit. My education in English Writing was to write, but it was also to set a proper framework from which to communicate with my family and loved ones. To improve as a young adult who is a man (Still young at 25 people. At least that's what I keep hearing.) and to self-advocate my feelings and thoughts to those that matter.

Also, it should be for the record that at one of my jobs, higher-ups are considering me for positions in social work with adults with AS. Perhaps counseling and motivational strength is where my true calling lies just alongside gaming? Only time will tell.

ANYWHO. Those who know who they are, this is for you. Two starting paragraphs I developed for a possible short story.

I'll add more to this as I feel the inclination, and at least expect more activity at this blog in the future. Halfbeard's HUD is a great site to write for, but I wanted to get some creative juices flowing. Reaction summaries and questions will abound this blog. Personal? Sure. Professional? I like to think so. Too personal? Yeah, nice try out there.

Let's get to the main event.

---

Max swung on the swings, rolling the peanut butter on his tongue from the Cup as his mother pushed him. He liked the swings because the cold, autumn air between the sides of his arms felt good. Also, there was only his mother and him. Ninny was too small to push in a big-kid swing, and while it would have been fun, Max knew Nanna and Pop-Op didn't like the cold weather. Everyone else was busy with big work or really-big school work. Max liked school; you could think hard and adults smiled at you. Then you thought and worked hard at home and they were still happy the next day.

Adults were more fun to Max. They always had more interesting things to say to one another, and you could learn stuff from them. They also knew how to play games better and read the longer stories in bed. Sometimes Max didn't quite get it, and things got loud and blurry in his head when he felt bad. Still, it was more fun. Kids like him were noisy and ran around a lot. Others were better because they liked games and encyclopedias and television, but they could still be pretty noisy. The running was okay, but they weren't careful. Max scratched his shoulder, but his mom slowed down, so he stopped. Kids weren't careful.

SOPA and PIPA annoy me.

Okay, so we have this another big, looming bill. Like the last one that tried to take away our games and censor a strong part of out media, this one extends to the Internet and dropping big sites that do reviewer content and the like.

This should be stopped. I have no issue with that, and am also writing an article about this thing to send into the other blog I write for. However, this is also a flagrant misuse of the Constitution and violates Free Speech and Expression which are amendments in that document. The chance of this getting past of known rights strikes me as very low and more than a little impossible.

And its not like I haven't done my part to fight against it either. I'm just not exactly thinking that this has really any chance of getting past the Supreme Court, even if it somehow gets past Congress. It would be stomped down as unconstitutional with a simple bat of an eye.

What's the Point? (Platform?)

So, why is this blog-or any blog-important for professional writing, exactly? I don't really get it; Blogs and Social Networks are primarily social mediums which have no bearing on what I want to write or how I wish to write about that specific subject, being Asperger's Syndrome and Autism.

I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't think that a developmentally-disabled person would have much interest in the social networks, and I do see why. Even considering that they are efficient? I would much rather talk with a person either through messenger or in real life/over the phone. Is there something wrong with that line of thinking?

Really, I don't see how Social Networks or lack thereof in the writer means I won't be considered as a good agent for my work.

New Finds on the internet.

One a little fun, and one a little more serious to catch our collective eye.

Let's get the fun one out of the way first: Good Old Games.


Playing older games and sometimes new ones at a discounted price on my laptop? No DRM on these games which made them inaccessible and annoying before? Sign me up. I already have Heroes of Might and Magic 3, and I will be back for more. Make no mistake about that.

The more serious one is a Cracked Article; sure its a comedic one, but I want everyone to read it fairly...see if it applies. It may not be the case for humanity, but it does open some eyes in my opinon.

Here you go. Think it over. I'll be seeing Thor tomarrow if all goes well...now back to ponies, the Armageddon as told by a very exact witch, and some numbskull child in the body of a 30-year old writer who helps the cops.

Random Stuff I've Been Linked Too (Part 2)

I know I've done this before, since I've checked, and now I'm doing it again. It was two posts ago which brought my unfathomable rage eariler, so let's see what can give me unbridled joy....just without all the death.

First, I'm still watching White Collar. This is one of the best shows-alongside the generous opinion and outward awesome that is Burn Notice-with some of the best character development I've seen in a long time for men and women involved. No one is a liability, everyone has their awesome, funny,and incredibly heartwarming moments which are easy to spot, and it depicts a relationship between rivals that I haven't seen before in such a capacity..ever.

Now, while I'm getting ready to watch this show again and I'm doing some research, I get linked to this lovely little blog post.

Let me break it down for you: The male cultural perception is incredibly broken. We're supposed to be strong, unfeeling types who simply cast off to greatness because we can feel good about having those weak, piddling emotions and understandings to hold us back.

This is wrong. We need to be able to express and not be ashamed for it. We need to be able to say that we're men because we're human beings-just as women should-and the world would be better for it.

This was to be my response post for Ms.Kesler, but I couldn't get it on there somehow. I was impressed with her feature and felt the need to congratulate:

'Thank you for this feature and your feelings upon it. I agree with your analysis and idea of feminism wholeheartedly. The perception of the male cultural stigma pervading other men has gone on far enough. It has been said best by many others and it shall be repeated here: The Patriarchy Hurts Men Too.

What I found particularly drawing about Fight Club as a movie was not only the Mental Illness angle perpetuating the idea of a culturally-supermale society, but also the complete and total persecution of lesser males-and females by the second half-for being incapable of reaching their goals. One of the many reason the 'Calvin and Hobbes' theory was postulated was that Jack (In this situation, Calvin) was someone who completely saw fantasy as an escape towards a society where he was a superman who could do literally anything he set his mind to. Tyler (being Hobbes) facilitated that need and gave Jack everything he ever desired all with the context of a completely fabricated pseudo-reality.

When he gets thrown into reality once more, where does Jack stand? A normal human being without that world to reside within, but also a free man who cast off the shackles.'

Take that to the bank.

I am a Man...

And I watch a lovely little cartoon called "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."



No. I'm completely serious. This is probably one of the funniest new animations I've seen in recent memory outside Adventure Time with Finn and Jake and Regular Show. This little gem was developed and produced by Lauren Faust, an artist and animator well known for her work on Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends alongside her husband, Craig McCracken. Her work clearly takes inspiration from other sources and the initial commercial roots of the original Hasbro franchise, but it goes beyond that altogether (and far beyond the Memes, let me tell you) in order to become something wholly original. The main characters are exceptionally well-defined as females in almost every archetypal role possible for a protagonist with visible motivations and flaws, the animation is flawless and the comedy-while sometimes gendered because of their primary demographic-is side-splitting.

I was introduced to this series by people on Skype, and as with nearly everything I'm recommended to see, I was skeptical not only by the nature of the story by the title and what people had said, but also because of MLP's history. The original "My Little Pony and Friends" was I show I watched with rose-tinted glasses back in my childhood years. The rotating cast and conventional "pink, pretty and hooved" mentality was bought in for girls, but there wasn't really any conflicting storylines with depth; it was meant to be marketable and we were dumb children. Who were we to care?

Also, for the record-since I don't want this brought up here: I am a heterosexual and a man, and I am proud of being such. I watch this show because I am a fan of a good storyline. Despite the demographic or lack thereof, I watch this series because I found something well-made to be entertained by, and I will continue to do so.

But this Pony show blew my mind just in the pilot. Cutsey names, but with strong humor. Traditional lessons for children, but presented without pandering. Action and conflict without dumbing down to the primary demographic without glorifying or detracting from narrative tropes. And the potential for something greater waiting in the wings in an arc storyline of magic, friendship and harmony. I am as hooked to this as I am hooked to Burn Notice, White Collar, and the Friday Action Block plus One on Cartoon Network.

And one of the reasons I'm hooked to this series is the fact that the author is defending her own work in the greatest Take That I think I've seen in media thus far. Kathleen Richter, an graduate from the University from California and an outspoken feminist on Ms.Blog, decided to deride the show for not displaying values to girls that spoke to things outside the pony-girl-princess archetype, as well what she claimed as 'pony racism.' Lauren Faust responded...and did she ever respond.

I think I can say this with absolute honesty and without a shred of doubt or misplaced conviction:

YOU GO GIRL! WHOOOOOOOOO!

...The F&*^!? (Hey, I'm back.)

I've been busy writing feature stories. There's no time for that. I'll link it later; LOOK AT THIS.


They are using SHOCK TREATMENT on people with disabilities, mainly Autism.


THE HELL!? Oh, they better be damn proud of themselves-this Betty Fry and Randy Lee Williams for their wonderful book they are trying to put out. Trying to place this tripe on people within Canton, MA who shock residents, withhold food, and STRAP residents to a wooden board. People have died from this. Children have died from these hacks for doctors and nurses who have absolutely no idea what they are doing-You know, outside the physical harm-and call themselves capable of handling the responsibilities of the Hippocratic Oath.

Make no mistake I'm gonna boycott this book. I'm saving this page, and its getting sent around. Make no mistake that if this were to happen in New York, that I wouldn't bring a damn firestorm upon whomever had the gall to abuse psychiatric and medical practice in such a way that it would not stop. And make no mistake that if some loony were to support this, what I wouldn't bring down upon them. There is NO reason to treat those with disabilities this way, there is NO reason that I would allow such support in my presence, and I will NOT hear otherwise. IT IS WRONG.

So....Writing Again.

This time on Wordpress for blog, but not for my own needs, but for a gaming blog. Love writing about the industry when I'm not looking at other things to talk about. So, I will link it up soon, so you can read my stuff there as well...there will be more.

Gaming Time.

I'm gonna do reviews again, and starting with getting my DS Emulator up and running. I'm gonna be around at times to put them right here. Nice.

(Review) Disney's Princess and the Frog.

Alright, this is my first movie review, but as it is my first, I decided to start with something simple.

Oh, and you'd think that because the subject matter is Disney and an animated movie, that'd be the simple part. No no, the simple part comes in when we're doing the writing. Disney's return to hand-drawn animation with a stylized, well-cut fashion of 1950s New Orleans is far and away from the conventional Disney storyline.

I'm going to take a break from all the discussion about the new Disney Princess which will be sufficiently marketed to hell and back, and skip to something important. The character of this movie is charming and sufficiently lighthearted surrounded by a lesson about life which every person should follow right from the get-go; work hard for what you have. This is a bold and risky move, using Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) as a foil for a hardworking, independent young woman when the culture and the times were sufficiently against a business owner, much less them being a woman and black. Her appropriate foil Lottie (voiced by Jennifer Cody), is your blonde pseudo-princess who serves the high-society and riches angle, but is also well-meaning and friendly....just a bit diabetically obsessed with the color pink.

Throw in a dash of Anastasia-equse art direction, and you have the making of a pretty good titular conflict displayed in soft, vivid lines and more jazz than the bayou can muster as love interest-to-grow Prince Neveen of Maldonia (voiced by Ricardo Mon-I mean, Niptuck-star Bruno Campos.) becomes too engrossed with the culture and makes a deal with the Shadow Man, Dr.Facilier (voiced by the epic voice talents of Keith David.), who is sadly bog-standard for a Disney villain sthick. I will admit that he oozes class and style out of every pore, though.


Come on! Look at the guy. Guy has one hell of a ridge with a quite prominent jaw, but he is just class in every way.

Nearly every formulaic Disney narrative device is subverted to wonderful effect; the love takes time instead of quick. The too-perfect Princess already has a good mindset, but she still needs to live her life too. Wishing is secondary. A main character DIES. Period. Full stop. Top that, former generation (excusing Fantasia. I applaud your candor.)

This lovely movie sparks a whole new realm of animated displays back to the hand-drawn times of yore, accomponied with vivid and stylized colors with narrative context. I am expecting far more from this....except I will never accept a sequel. Mark my words: No more crappy sequels.


4/5

Comics.....oi, Comics. (Rant with Great Feeling: Please Forgive.)

Here, watch this. This is one of my favorite web series, Atop the Fourth Wall, talking about something which should never be used.

The fact that rape had to be used in this fashion is appalling, sickening and completely unacceptable. If I EVER find the person who wrote this piece of schlock, I would bash his head in with a tire iron.

No....I'd either give it to Linkara to do, or give it to my best friend. She would really let him have it.

Any work like this is meant to be derided, insulted, and totally criticized. This trope-used in any media as a simple plot point-is FORBIDDEN in my book. I will not read anything with this trope used in such a callous manner, much less any other manner without proper depth used otherwise.

Be warned, fellow writers, be warned. I don't care what you think about one man saying no, but I'm watching you now.

The fall of Puzzle Quest

Hmm...this game is way too different than Puzzle Quest: Let my good friend Chazdragoon explain.

Oh, this is one of the greatest rants I've seen in awhile, even over the fact that it's only from a simple Skype Chat and forum post. Give it a look, and don't play Puzzle Quest 2. Play Puzzle Quest 1. It's much better.

Steampost plox!

What I saw on Devart today: Donkey needs some therapy.

(Of course, all work is the author's own. I personally just take an interest, and go with it.)

http://brokenteapot.deviantart.com/art/Donkey-Kong-175777455?q=&qo=


Yeah. Either therapy or pills. This is not the smart monkey we know and love for his hints in DKC, and I already miss his tie. Pauline does have that lovely little ladder right there though. Could just climb and hop down. There are always more high-heels dear.

Gaming Time - RPGs.

In the advent of looking for jobs, and all other consistent craziness (like cooking over a fire pit last night....yeah, that was pretty surreal) I am returning to a regular gaming schedule while also looking for jobs before November, when student loans start being needed to be paid....sigh.

On other news, a few RPGs have caught me, mainly in the RM2k and Playstation realms, as well as Indie. I won't mention names for RM2k since I don't wanna give anything away, but if anyone is interested, I would suggest heading here for anyone with interest.

I am also playing a number of roleplaying games with friends-either something I'm running, or someone else-but I run things a little different. I take a simple single-player game and run through it with my friends in the roles to let them in on the fun. It's exciting, I let them roleplay and play around and I reward them for it. Its strange, but my players have gone along with it, and I'm having a blast. Notable games are Avernum , Geneforge , and Disgaea on a more strategic bend.

Outside that, I play some Team Fortress 2 and talk with people when I can. As it is, reviews will come out soon as I get through more games, but for right now, I got some playing to do.

Aura's Introspective: The extent of defense.

Today, I got rather defensive towards people that I care about, and this is not the first time I have done so. Far from it; I am generally able to count down my own defensive and angry episodes-even when I myself do not feel angry-to at least once-a-month at times. While I am generally a person who tends to be well-meaning, friendly and a little wacky, I do not mean to get mad. On many occasions, I do not even sense my defensive nature until it is too late.

This cycle must stop. These emotions are causing me to remain in a comfort zone of limited apathy and more defined damage to myself on a physical and mental level, not to mention to my family, where despite the fact that they have their own demons, it does not excuse me from my own actions and development as a human being, which is a never-ending process.

The first thing to do with any situation is to explore the basic areas through analysis; whilst I have been looking for jobs and currently do have a part-time one, I still enjoy having bad foods. I have mentioned this before; I enjoy both good and bad food, and that will not stop despite any changes I make. I refuse to let that happen because I do enjoy my life-I do not have self-esteem issues and I do work hard-and removal of those things that do help me to enjoy it are accounts of where I attempt to defend myself. Removal of such things that I enjoy-friends, food, games-is a account of my defensive nature. It is also a removal from my comfort zone, which I have talked about at length with my closest friend, and am trying to broaden.

The reason I got defensive was because of that feeling that the things I enjoy in life were threatened-much like a King in chess being checked. My initial response is to enter a defensive stance out of two motivations:

1) The person who has said/did those things is trying to hurt me, by my mindset. (I am willing to admit that I may be unable to recognize that they are not by either not listening or that they read my thoughts/actions wrong, but it is clear that my mindset matters as much as theirs.)

2) A preventative measure designed to prevent such feelings from happening again. This is usually successful, only because I recognize they are not trying to hurt me in the first place, but that latter strategy is one I have yet to devise.

This tends to lead to yelling and bad feelings all around. While many things are unclear about this, there are some clear answers.

a) Only eat bad foods-which I may still enjoy-on Wed.
b) Like times before, attempt to recognize that people are not attempting to hurt me, and while I might not be hurting them, either my inaction or action may be doing so without my knowledge.
c) Learn to breathe and take things less seriously. There is too much in this world that we have to take seriously that we'll burn ourselves out trying. ^__^

That being said? PIE.

Or.....

Take you pick, friends.

Aura writes about something: Animaniacs and the evolution of cartoons.

(First, I will get to my analysis of personal drama within the next week or so. I do not believe it is wholly important to talk about, but nothing has stopped me from mentioning things before, so I will consider such things in the long run.)

See this?


This was one of those crowning moments of awesome for American-style Cartoons. With each and every iteration of the initial 70s-80s cartoon genre, it developed from sitcoms to slight action to the advent of anime within American shores, to this crowning moment of American animation. This had jokes that got past so many censors, it was unreal, the writing was second to none and featured zany humor, dramatic moments with their own touch of gold, and even musical numbers that made children not want to groan derisively and change the channel.
Animaniacs is a random assortment of Warner Bros. Cartoons which, by themselves, started a whole franchise of cartoons with incredible quality: the well-honored predcessor: Tiny Toon Adventures, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, and Hysteria! served as the foundation for at least the next five years, when they're not action-oriented cartoons. Look at things nowadays, like Chowder or Adventure Time: They attempt more sequential, story-based comedy without randomness....while still being random. So where I stand, they are taking their inspiration from Animaniacs for their humor potential, and another source for their story-driven plots. I can think of only one man-and his team of gifted animators and storyboardists-who is to credited for something like this. He made this lovely classic.


As well as many others before certain companies I'd rather not speak about shut him down on a epic that never should have ended. Drawing a lot from Japanese Anime (which in turn, drew a great deal from early cartoons and comics.), Genndy Tartakovsky was a genius that many different people have a great deal to thank him for, inculding Michael Dante DiMartino and those who consist of Man at Action.

Back then, when WB took its fist out its bunghole and decided to give the writers free reign, the only thing that didn't make children seem like idiots were Power Rangers, Heim Saban's poster child filled with Japanese Sentai and filled with continuity potential the likes of which children had never seen unless they started watching Doctor Who at an early age.

New cartoonists, I'm looking at you. I'm not sure what this Total Drama Island or this Sixteen or Surf's Up-whosiwhatsit is all about, including all this stuff from France. (Except for Code Lyoko. That was pure action gold....except for the novels, which seem to like to degrade canon....but yeah, Totally Spies-outside of some okay fetish fuel at very limited times-strikes me as a poor man's Kim Possible.) This kind of stuff has to stop because it is uninteresting and shallow for younger audiences and older cartoon/anime watchers who love this stuff they still watch it.

You wanna have a good, close-to-modern day example? Here's two.

Transformers Animated

Batman: Brave and the Bold

Watch. And LEARN.

High School Drama is Dumb, but important (Part 1)

My sister has been complaining about boyfriends and stuff like that. I really don't see the point in it if there is no point when people only think with their dolittles and continue to pester just based on the guy's mother being in the hospital...when the mother is pretty bad as is.

More on this with analysis tomarrow.

I'm back....again.

And this time, I do plan to stay as much as possible. The blogosphere is getting quite big, and due to the crappy recession, I only have a part-time job as a Pharmacy Technician right now. I'm writing a book, and we'll see how that goes.
Either way, I got plans. Hopefully, I'll start doing casual reviews again for other sites while I also maintain a semblance of writing and reaction to experiences, news and any other events I deem interesting to the World of Aura. I will continue, and I will persevere!
Things that have gone on as of late.

1) Obama speaks about college dropout and work related rates, and his plans to improve them though the young people. That's all well and good, man, but its not to say there isn't work for high-school dropouts. Hell, I got my master's in English Writing, and I'm still looking like crazy. Clearly, having an education is important, but it's not the only factor these people are looking for. I'm also led to believe that corporations and their subsidiaries are sitting on their collective money piles and screwing the pooch. These people should be hiring as well, but they can't risk the moneypile and it's expensive doghouse and treats, so they simply lay off.
Gahh....And this is why I don't give up. Hard Work alongside some talent yields results down the line eventually. Humanity has been working hard since infancy for their historical developments, what is to say this is any different, no? Strive forth, humanity! Bring back the strength of our jobs and restore of lives in some meaningful way.
2) Kekkaishi and Black Lagoon.


These are the two latest anime/manga (outside my small list of still-preceding anime/manga I'm reading but not have to find a new place to read it, thanks a lot Onemanga...though I do understand...I miss you One Piece.) that I am involved with. Latter is a atypical shonen about moonlighting temple priests who fight with boxes, while the other is a seinen with the dopiest Magnificent Bastard in the history of ever (except for one hell of an AU-Harry Potter....worry not, fair readers, I only link good fanfiction on my blog, and that's a promise.) with a ragtag bunch of suave mofos, jewish hackers, and gun-toting sociopaths. Internet Cookie for whoever can tell which is which. ^_^

Both do great storytelling. Both have expressive and emotional contexts which are unique and interesting for flavor purposes as well as their own plots, and they are easy to find online. I highly recommend both these series.

3) Roleplaying has been made available to me in new ways with a new group and wholly new experiences associated with them. Hell, I'm even adapting certain "single-player" videogames to play with dice systems for more action and interactivity. I believe in getting my friends involved.


Anyone who happens to come over here from any significant streams I'm a part of, welcome! I WILL BE UPDATING. If I do not, remind me to do so. I have a lot to talk about, and I really should be talking about it.

Happy revitalization to me. KAMPAI!