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Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 12:51 pm
by Akeche
Julie wrote: Actually, I think Paul designed her the way he did for the story he was trying to tell. I could be wrong, but he does go out of his way to not present Atsali in an overtly sexual manner for her pin-ups (like he's done for Castela) primarily because she is a child...and if people view her sexually, he's called them out for it. I could be wrong...but that is what I've seen come from him about this, so I'm inclined to think he wasn't hoping that people would get their rocks off at his portrayal of an under-aged girl with massive breasts and therefore spend gobs of money on his drawings.
Well I never said the design wasn't for the story, but there can be secondary reasons. And... Goes out of his way to do what? Simple fact of the matter is, they're pin-ups and plenty of them have been drawn in a provocative manner. He can argue that they aren't all he wishes to, but if they weren't drawn to the point of being titillating you wouldn't have people on tumblr claiming that he's hypocritical. Now I personally don't find him to be a hypocrite, but I'm also a rather relaxed individual and try to look at things under a well reasoned lens.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 12:56 pm
by DinkyInky
illiad wrote:DinkyInky: yep, there is a famous presenter here..
(yeesh, Tenjen, where did YOU grow up??? :roll: - most 'disadvantaged ' people get good training from their family in various self-defence.. (mental and physical) )
Yeah, I learned sprinting and gymnastics were very good for getting away from bullies. Run real fast, crab walk up the bricked corner, flip over, keep on running, and climb the nearest tree. Dancing and ballet was good for balance, and basic stance was great for adjusting your center of gravity and turning theirs against them.
My Mother, who claimed no training, made me walk with heavy books in each palm, and a large picturebook on my head with a bone china teacup full of barley tea on it. Walk on tiptoe evenly without spilling. Carry several rice bags in arms while "duck waddling". Breathe in through nose four beats hold four, and out through mouth slowly four beats hold four. Stretches in the morning before my walks, stretches before bed.(she said it was for growing pains) How to properly reach for things, and climb up steps, and ettiquette, and tons more. I later learned through a trained martial artist that everything, including the dance lessons, she was training me in the basic stance work and breathing most early belts learn. When she finally discovered the bullies still beat me after ignoring them, she let me both run and fight if I thought I could, and I discovered I actually could evade, block, and counter.
I'm being just as sneaky with my son. He'll appreciate it later, because he hates fights, and these will help him avoid it some.

I had to fight, because the people in power refused to help a person of colour(I'm half Asian, and have that olive complexion and slant eyed thing going), and actually encouraged the bullies. My Mother in her odd way, helped me to be stronger. She was not a citizen until I was seven. I was well into adulthood before we could boot them out and protect the others.

The first time I was assaulted, nobody defended me, nor believed me. I learned one thing from that...Speak softly, and carry a sharp knife. It never happened again.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 1:04 pm
by Akeche
Don't mind me, I'm just secretly sending a script to Hollywood.

Seriously DinkyInky that sounds like the synopsis for an awesome movie.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 1:39 pm
by DinkyInky
Akeche wrote:Don't mind me, I'm just secretly sending a script to Hollywood.

Seriously DinkyInky that sounds like the synopsis for an awesome movie.
Methinks if I ever decided to write my life story, I could afford to send my son to Purdue, MIT and A&M...He'd be set for life.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 2:19 pm
by Thor
If I can derail this lovely exchange about biographical drama for an actual commentary on the recent strips . . . :roll:

What is the point, exactly, of having a paranormal-only pool if everyone is in their human guise? Aside from the usual mouthful of bestial teeth, the only hints we see that this is not a normal pool are PIckle's eyes, Jessie flashing a little gill, and the 65ft marker (which could be a length marker instead of a depth indicator). If this pool is a place where paras can just relax, then why is no one letting their freak flag fly?

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 3:57 pm
by Dave
zachariah wrote:Niece is a bit vague for how she is related. The term can be by blood, marriage, or adoption into the family. After all Sali has all those Aunts after all. Devyn may be the same way with Poseidon. Let's see if more info in provided before we get too far into guessing.
Well, it is all Making Sense now.

The "pool" at the resort is clearly natural, not entirely artificial - it is built around a Lake. Somebody was Fripping out about Atsali's swimsuit, claiming that showing so much voluptuous skin was turning the whole place into a Sinfield. Fortunately, The Child saw how bad the situation was, and decided to Tippett in a different direction. Her arguments were quite meaningful - she's quite The Logician.

That's not surprising, since she was obviously born In the Wake of Poseidon.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 4:07 pm
by sheik
Thor wrote:If I can derail this lovely exchange about biographical drama for an actual commentary on the recent strips . . . :roll:

What is the point, exactly, of having a paranormal-only pool if everyone is in their human guise? Aside from the usual mouthful of bestial teeth, the only hints we see that this is not a normal pool are PIckle's eyes, Jessie flashing a little gill, and the 65ft marker (which could be a length marker instead of a depth indicator). If this pool is a place where paras can just relax, then why is no one letting their freak flag fly?
Practice, Practice, Practice; all with the knowledge that if someone slips badly it will (hopefully) not cause an uproar in the mundane world.
As I see it, the Paras are not hybrids but chimeras, that is to say all are "human" but also have add-on traits (that are also independently heritable) that make them "non-human".
Thus we see the Paras playing out the usual human dramas(and needs) with the added complications of their other heritage and, thanks to their common ancestry, are still able to interbreed.
Essentially this has to come from an extraterrestrial invasion that played hob with the locals until the world-grid put a halt to it, or at least throttled it down.
The Paras are humanity's window into a much larger and older universe that has intruded on us youngsters.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 4:29 pm
by jwhouk
Akeche wrote:On another topic though still related to the comic, what happened to Paul's tumblr page?
You mean this? (wapsisquare.tumblr.com)

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 4:47 pm
by jwhouk
Back on to the strip: I do not believe that Jin set the exchange between Devyn and Atsali, but I think she had enough info on who exactly was going to be at PPR&P that she could reasonably assume she'd have her bases covered. And, of course, she has Bud (who is considered the "face" of MiB) and Monica (who is, of course, "THE" Jaguar Girl) as a good backup for whatever or whoever the actual complainant may be.

It's not exactly Xanatos Gambit, but it is knowing when the situation will be tilted in your favor.

Next week is the big reveal - the "acidic bigot." I'm betting it's:

1. Someone who hasn't been seen prior in the strip, or was mentioned in passing;
2. Someone who is "powerful" enough that she (he?) can bully a girl like Atsali - or is possibly even anti-Siren; and
3. Someone who has body-shame issues of her own, possibly due to a difficulty in transforming/"glamouring".

EDIT: Oh, and one other little thing - y'all do know that Poseidon's chosen domain was... Atlantis.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 5:32 pm
by AnotherFairportfan
Lilith.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 6:22 pm
by KnightDelight
jwhouk wrote:Next week is the big reveal - the "acidic bigot." I'm betting it's:

1. Someone who hasn't been seen prior in the strip, or was mentioned in passing;
2. Someone who is "powerful" enough that she (he?) can bully a girl like Atsali - or is possibly even anti-Siren; and
3. Someone who has body-shame issues of her own, possibly due to a difficulty in transforming/"glamouring".
Then there are the Fae (choice #2). Maybe even a member of the royal family? Not likely Cricket, of course. Bud has some body issues, but also seems an unlikely candidate. Certainly not I like to read while nude Euryale. I can't think of anyone we know who would be behind it all, so most likely it will be a new character, as you say in choice #1. OTOH Phix can be pretty conservative towards paranormal's behavior and their not attracting undue attention ... Naw.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 6:44 pm
by Akeche
KnightDelight wrote:
jwhouk wrote:Next week is the big reveal - the "acidic bigot." I'm betting it's:

1. Someone who hasn't been seen prior in the strip, or was mentioned in passing;
2. Someone who is "powerful" enough that she (he?) can bully a girl like Atsali - or is possibly even anti-Siren; and
3. Someone who has body-shame issues of her own, possibly due to a difficulty in transforming/"glamouring".
Then there are the Fae (choice #2). Maybe even a member of the royal family? Not likely Cricket, of course. Bud has some body issues, but also seems an unlikely candidate. Certainly not I like to read while nude Euryale. I can't think of anyone we know who would be behind it all, so most likely it will be a new character, as you say in choice #1. OTOH Phix can be pretty conservative towards paranormal's behavior and their not attracting undue attention ... Naw.
Well duuuhhh of course it's not Bud or Phix or Euryale. My money is on it either being Lilith, or possibly even being Cricket's mum.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 6:45 pm
by Akeche
jwhouk wrote:
Akeche wrote:On another topic though still related to the comic, what happened to Paul's tumblr page?
You mean this? (wapsisquare.tumblr.com)
Also that's... not what the old one was, huh. Weird.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 8:12 pm
by Wapsi
Akeche wrote:
Julie wrote: Actually, I think Paul designed her the way he did for the story he was trying to tell. I could be wrong, but he does go out of his way to not present Atsali in an overtly sexual manner for her pin-ups (like he's done for Castela) primarily because she is a child...and if people view her sexually, he's called them out for it. I could be wrong...but that is what I've seen come from him about this, so I'm inclined to think he wasn't hoping that people would get their rocks off at his portrayal of an under-aged girl with massive breasts and therefore spend gobs of money on his drawings.
Well I never said the design wasn't for the story, but there can be secondary reasons. And... Goes out of his way to do what? Simple fact of the matter is, they're pin-ups and plenty of them have been drawn in a provocative manner. He can argue that they aren't all he wishes to, but if they weren't drawn to the point of being titillating you wouldn't have people on tumblr claiming that he's hypocritical. Now I personally don't find him to be a hypocrite, but I'm also a rather relaxed individual and try to look at things under a well reasoned lens.
Show me just one pic of Atsali that is drawn in a "provocative manner". I dare you.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 8:50 pm
by Akeche
Wapsi wrote:
Akeche wrote:
Julie wrote: Actually, I think Paul designed her the way he did for the story he was trying to tell. I could be wrong, but he does go out of his way to not present Atsali in an overtly sexual manner for her pin-ups (like he's done for Castela) primarily because she is a child...and if people view her sexually, he's called them out for it. I could be wrong...but that is what I've seen come from him about this, so I'm inclined to think he wasn't hoping that people would get their rocks off at his portrayal of an under-aged girl with massive breasts and therefore spend gobs of money on his drawings.
Well I never said the design wasn't for the story, but there can be secondary reasons. And... Goes out of his way to do what? Simple fact of the matter is, they're pin-ups and plenty of them have been drawn in a provocative manner. He can argue that they aren't all he wishes to, but if they weren't drawn to the point of being titillating you wouldn't have people on tumblr claiming that he's hypocritical. Now I personally don't find him to be a hypocrite, but I'm also a rather relaxed individual and try to look at things under a well reasoned lens.
Show me just one pic of Atsali that is drawn in a "provocative manner". I dare you.
I apologize if you feel offended Paul, and perhaps what one person considers provocative is simply different than what another does. The one of her in a nighty comes to mind, as does the image of her in a black bikini with her wings visible. Both of them have a similar pose, one which classically is used to draw attention to the chest. Now I never said any of the pin-ups you've done aren't tasteful, really I'm not sure you've ever drawn one which wasn't. I also realize that technically speaking, the money you receive from your pin-ups is literally peanuts compared to what an artist might generally charge for.

Hope there aren't any hard feelings, my intention wasn't to try and offend.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 8:55 pm
by Boxilar
Thor wrote:If I can derail this lovely exchange about biographical drama for an actual commentary on the recent strips . . . :roll:

What is the point, exactly, of having a paranormal-only pool if everyone is in their human guise? Aside from the usual mouthful of bestial teeth, the only hints we see that this is not a normal pool are PIckle's eyes, Jessie flashing a little gill, and the 65ft marker (which could be a length marker instead of a depth indicator). If this pool is a place where paras can just relax, then why is no one letting their freak flag fly?
Jessie is presumably in her full mer form below the pool. Pickle is in her natural humanoid state. Bud and Jin are the way they always look as of late. It's been a long time since either has taken their Chimeric form. Jin may not be able to now, since her baseline modeling is "human" now. Atsali is extremely self conscious about her "seven foot tall, thirty foot wingspan, can rip a man in half" form, even more than her breast size in her "human" form. So she's sporting her human look. Devyn is the niece of Poseidon, a Greek god, so she's either a Goddess, Demigoddess or possibly a minor Titan. Either way, she probably looks like this all the time. Aside from pale eyes and tiger teeth, she looks pretty normal. We don't know her possie's stories, so the may not be all that radical, at least from general appearances. But there is one other girl with pronounced canines and the other two have normal human teeth.

Of course, if they have shape shifting ability, manifesting non threatening teeth in a tense social situation may be subconscious. We've seen Phix and Eyrale change their dentition according to their moods.

Aside from the greasy pool attendant, that's everyone we've seen.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 8:56 pm
by CraigR
Yeah, it comes down to: there is a difference between a picture that is posed to illicit a sexual response and having a sexual response just because there is something in the picture. Given the way Atsali developed (literally overnight, a couple months earlier), Paul could conceivably draw pics of her wearing the same clothes, in the same poses, but just a few months younger (i.e. an A-cup). If you don't find those pics to be sexual, but find the original (slightly older) ones to be so, then you are reacting to the fact that you are seeing bewbies and that is your issue, not Paul's.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 9:04 pm
by jwhouk
I was gonna say, there was that one pic of Nadette hugging Atsali from behind - but that was more on Nadette's part... ;)

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 9:07 pm
by Boxilar
Akeche wrote:
KnightDelight wrote:
jwhouk wrote:Next week is the big reveal - the "acidic bigot." I'm betting it's:

1. Someone who hasn't been seen prior in the strip, or was mentioned in passing;
2. Someone who is "powerful" enough that she (he?) can bully a girl like Atsali - or is possibly even anti-Siren; and
3. Someone who has body-shame issues of her own, possibly due to a difficulty in transforming/"glamouring".
Then there are the Fae (choice #2). Maybe even a member of the royal family? Not likely Cricket, of course. Bud has some body issues, but also seems an unlikely candidate. Certainly not I like to read while nude Euryale. I can't think of anyone we know who would be behind it all, so most likely it will be a new character, as you say in choice #1. OTOH Phix can be pretty conservative towards paranormal's behavior and their not attracting undue attention ... Naw.
Well duuuhhh of course it's not Bud or Phix or Euryale. My money is on it either being Lilith, or possibly even being Cricket's mum.
My bet is someone's mom who is upset with Atsali's unintentional rise to Queen Bee status at the school. Human mothers have taken out hits on their daughter's rivals in the real world. While 'Sali is self conscious about her looks, the fact is, she is stunningly beautiful, well liked and respected (partly for who she knows, but that's through no fault or design of her own) and is rising fast in supernatural circles. I can see a jealous mom trying to take her down a peg.

In fact, I'll go out on a limb and make a call. Jessie's mom is the complainer. It fits. From her perspective, Atsali's rise and associations knocked her daughter out of her Queen Bee slot. Something Jess was actually relieved by. But from previous conversations, Jessie's mom would be livid.

Because Jessie's mom, does not in fact, have it going on.

Re: Imagine That 2015-05-29

Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 9:10 pm
by Brasten
And there it is. There's the logic tear down one can achieve with good Debate training. Verbally latching onto the throat of your opponent, and not letting up until you've stripped them of all their possible escapes. Then adding even more hurt with "oh, and I'm telling Uncle. (aka Your Boss's Boss)." Well messenger figuratively shot, then drawn and quartered.

Who's ready for round 2 with the "originator" of the "complaint?" :twisted: