And I've actually gotten a lot done! I finished the page I was working on, and script-wise, I finished scripting all the pages that I had preplanned down to pretty much the last panel.
...Of course, that comes with the obvious downfall that I'm having SLIGHT writers' block dealing with scripting the pages after that (specifically, the transition between the script and the Gary-Ruby banter), but it's a small hurdle I'm sure to easily overcome.
I also plotted out today a, basically, 'revenge of the shadows' mini-arc, where I made a realization. There's a very-much-not-wanted coincidence.
Sally uses threads and bazookas to fight, and is a magical girl in a sailor outfit. She's also the rival to the other main magical girl in the series, Ruby.
Sound familiar?
I swear, and have the blog posts to prove it, she was NOT, in any way shape or form, inspired by Mami Tomoe. I knew of Puella Magi Madoka Magica since forever, and maybe knew of Mami's fate, until I watched the show, I had absolutely NO clue what her powers were, whatsoever.
Given that I started watching the show well AFTER Sally was long-since established to have thread-and-bazooka-based powers, it IS just that, a massive coincidence, but it's, again, a very much unwanted one, since me having now watched the show, I've lost the plausible deniability of claiming I haven't. :/
Ah, well. Bazookas aren't identical to musket guns, anyway, and threads have always been a power of mine that I've loved to give characters, because I love their versatility. I was getting into them during this arc, even, with them used as whips, and, eventually, monomolecular razor-vines. (Ruby laments she's fallen behind, and that she knew of it even when Hannah didn't because "there's some things best friends know that nobody else does, and then there's some things that rivals know that nobody else does".)
Notably, that mini-arc also highlighted another flaw, since during the fight (between Sally and a shadow using Hannah's abilities--an inversion of the first time, you'll recall from this blog), Ruby and Gary are watching on the sidelines. This dialog happens--
Gary: So what do you think would happen if they tried to possess you?
*cut to a "Two days later:" caption*
Shadow (slowly being torn apart, talking to a tied-up Ruby): W...what...what the hell ARE you?!?
Ruby (smugly): You're the one possessing me, you tell ME.
Ruby (in the present): Eh, I'd wish them, "Good luck with that." You?
*cut to a "Three days later:" caption*
Shadow (with Gary tied up, yet having hands up, going to Ruby): I surrender.
Gary (in the present): With my intellect? Probably give up. What about Amy?
*cut to a "Four days later:" caption*
Shadow (in great pain): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhgg...
Shadow (purified into a being of light, talking to a tied up Amy): I'm so, so, so, so sorry!
Ruby (in the present): They could try, but they'd have better luck with me. What do you reckon their odds of trying for Sally after today are?
*cut to a "Five days later:" caption*
Sally (pulverizing a shadow): Yeah, once was enough. Nice try.
Gary (in the present): Probably immune, since she had it done to her once already. Even if not, she's savvy enough to stop it. And for that matter...
*cut to a "Six days later:" caption*
D.D. (noticing the shadow): Hmm?
D.D. (casually punching the shadow away): ...Oh. Sorry, not interested.
Gary (in the present): D.D.'s probably got immunity thanks to her past services, too. Which leaves...
*cut to a "Seven days later:" caption*
Sky (noticing): Activate emergency procedure 23-4A!
Shadow (gulping): ...This won't go well.
Ruby (in the present): Professional superheroes have training to deal with this sort of situation, so no need to worry there.
Gary: But what about Vili?
*cut to a "One day later:" caption*
Shadows (observing Vili): ...Meh.
Ruby (in the present): She's not worth the effort.
Vili: ...You know, I'd object to your comment if it wasn't true.
In short, the arc itself is lampshading that, as far as characters go, Vili is currently such that it can be said she's been DemotedToExtra. Dale Valentine gets more screentime than she does! (A LOT more.) The only member of the Ruby Gang hit that badly is Herald, also not prominently featured; all others have many, MANY storylines featuring them. (Okay, so D.D. only has one I can think of, and Sky/Whitney only has that same one from memory, but they EXIST; Vili has nothing of the sort.)
I think that one of the problems is that, as she is, Vili is the weakest of the magical girls, with every member of the elemental eight being stronger and even Dale being her superior in a fight. Yet one of the fears is that if she got a power-up, she'd overshoot to be the opposite way. (Remember, she's introduced as the strongest of the magical girls.)
Why? Well, think of a superhero who combines the superpowers of The Flash and Magneto: control over electromagnetism ALONG WITH superspeed and all the required secondary superpowers those two abilities give. That's what Vili's capable of in theory, as the fastest of the magical girls and the one with focus on energy.
So one potential solution I've thought of is to basically have some training focusing on her slowly unlocking the abilities, yet with it being noted that she doesn't have the same ability to instantly master and unlock the powers as the others do, be it a mental block (this is my main idea right now, that the thing holding her back more than anything else is her attitude), or a physical inability to learn the skills without risking severe physical harm. (This one I lean against, since secondary superpowers of speed include increased MENTAL speed and increased endurance.)
Still, that's a lot to think about.
...Of course, that comes with the obvious downfall that I'm having SLIGHT writers' block dealing with scripting the pages after that (specifically, the transition between the script and the Gary-Ruby banter), but it's a small hurdle I'm sure to easily overcome.
I also plotted out today a, basically, 'revenge of the shadows' mini-arc, where I made a realization. There's a very-much-not-wanted coincidence.
Sally uses threads and bazookas to fight, and is a magical girl in a sailor outfit. She's also the rival to the other main magical girl in the series, Ruby.
Sound familiar?
I swear, and have the blog posts to prove it, she was NOT, in any way shape or form, inspired by Mami Tomoe. I knew of Puella Magi Madoka Magica since forever, and maybe knew of Mami's fate, until I watched the show, I had absolutely NO clue what her powers were, whatsoever.
Given that I started watching the show well AFTER Sally was long-since established to have thread-and-bazooka-based powers, it IS just that, a massive coincidence, but it's, again, a very much unwanted one, since me having now watched the show, I've lost the plausible deniability of claiming I haven't. :/
Ah, well. Bazookas aren't identical to musket guns, anyway, and threads have always been a power of mine that I've loved to give characters, because I love their versatility. I was getting into them during this arc, even, with them used as whips, and, eventually, monomolecular razor-vines. (Ruby laments she's fallen behind, and that she knew of it even when Hannah didn't because "there's some things best friends know that nobody else does, and then there's some things that rivals know that nobody else does".)
Notably, that mini-arc also highlighted another flaw, since during the fight (between Sally and a shadow using Hannah's abilities--an inversion of the first time, you'll recall from this blog), Ruby and Gary are watching on the sidelines. This dialog happens--
Gary: So what do you think would happen if they tried to possess you?
*cut to a "Two days later:" caption*
Shadow (slowly being torn apart, talking to a tied-up Ruby): W...what...what the hell ARE you?!?
Ruby (smugly): You're the one possessing me, you tell ME.
Ruby (in the present): Eh, I'd wish them, "Good luck with that." You?
*cut to a "Three days later:" caption*
Shadow (with Gary tied up, yet having hands up, going to Ruby): I surrender.
Gary (in the present): With my intellect? Probably give up. What about Amy?
*cut to a "Four days later:" caption*
Shadow (in great pain): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhgg...
Shadow (purified into a being of light, talking to a tied up Amy): I'm so, so, so, so sorry!
Ruby (in the present): They could try, but they'd have better luck with me. What do you reckon their odds of trying for Sally after today are?
*cut to a "Five days later:" caption*
Sally (pulverizing a shadow): Yeah, once was enough. Nice try.
Gary (in the present): Probably immune, since she had it done to her once already. Even if not, she's savvy enough to stop it. And for that matter...
*cut to a "Six days later:" caption*
D.D. (noticing the shadow): Hmm?
D.D. (casually punching the shadow away): ...Oh. Sorry, not interested.
Gary (in the present): D.D.'s probably got immunity thanks to her past services, too. Which leaves...
*cut to a "Seven days later:" caption*
Sky (noticing): Activate emergency procedure 23-4A!
Shadow (gulping): ...This won't go well.
Ruby (in the present): Professional superheroes have training to deal with this sort of situation, so no need to worry there.
Gary: But what about Vili?
*cut to a "One day later:" caption*
Shadows (observing Vili): ...Meh.
Ruby (in the present): She's not worth the effort.
Vili: ...You know, I'd object to your comment if it wasn't true.
In short, the arc itself is lampshading that, as far as characters go, Vili is currently such that it can be said she's been DemotedToExtra. Dale Valentine gets more screentime than she does! (A LOT more.) The only member of the Ruby Gang hit that badly is Herald, also not prominently featured; all others have many, MANY storylines featuring them. (Okay, so D.D. only has one I can think of, and Sky/Whitney only has that same one from memory, but they EXIST; Vili has nothing of the sort.)
I think that one of the problems is that, as she is, Vili is the weakest of the magical girls, with every member of the elemental eight being stronger and even Dale being her superior in a fight. Yet one of the fears is that if she got a power-up, she'd overshoot to be the opposite way. (Remember, she's introduced as the strongest of the magical girls.)
Why? Well, think of a superhero who combines the superpowers of The Flash and Magneto: control over electromagnetism ALONG WITH superspeed and all the required secondary superpowers those two abilities give. That's what Vili's capable of in theory, as the fastest of the magical girls and the one with focus on energy.
So one potential solution I've thought of is to basically have some training focusing on her slowly unlocking the abilities, yet with it being noted that she doesn't have the same ability to instantly master and unlock the powers as the others do, be it a mental block (this is my main idea right now, that the thing holding her back more than anything else is her attitude), or a physical inability to learn the skills without risking severe physical harm. (This one I lean against, since secondary superpowers of speed include increased MENTAL speed and increased endurance.)
Still, that's a lot to think about.
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