11/23/06: jelousy

[Amber Williams]

It doesn't help that your question tends to be asked seventeen times repeatedly in various ways.  Usually with a "durh hurh...you made a plothole here " attitude I should add.  Note, this isn't you...I'm more referring to the emails I have gotten in the past.  You just happen to have triggered a response.

It should be obvious that the older DMFA's were more campy and a lot more amatuerish than the storylines of current.  The fact most everyone points it out adds to it.   However one of the many aspects of becomming a better writer and creator is to be able to take your prior mistakes and fix them so that it works.  And that's what I'm trying to do if people would just give me the chance and the time.

If people reallty want me to just go "lol it was me being silly back then and has no reference", I will gladly do so.  It saves me the time and lets me scrap a few storyarchs in the process. 

[Zedd]

Thats why Amber carrys a big shinney shinney bat on hand to make sure most stay in line

[Amber Williams]

No Zedd. I don't carry a bat and people don't need to stay in line.  Thats not the point I was wanting to make. -_-'

It's just that there are various questions that people seem to like asking that I can't honestly answer without spoiling things.  And the issue of comic 78 seems to be the big one most people like to bring up.  So much that I made comic 405 in response to the issue.

It's frustrating, and every now and then it causes me to react quick and bitter.  Cause I can't push the storyline along without causing a loss of quality....and when I get email after email of it...I begin to question if quality should be sacrificed for just getting it done and over with.  And I dont want that...and I doubt any of the people emailing/asking do either. But its the impression I walk away with.

I guess what I'm saying is: I have a plan. I might not have had it when I started...but I have one now.  Have faith that I wont mess up too big and that I'll entertain you.

[Tapewolf]

It's frustrating, and every now and then it causes me to react quick and bitter.  Cause I can't push the storyline along without causing a loss of quality....and when I get email after email of it...I begin to question if quality should be sacrificed for just getting it done and over with.  And I dont want that...and I doubt any of the people emailing/asking do either. But its the impression I walk away with.

This sounds like good material for one of those "questions from the readers" strips - that would probably stop the flood and it would also have the benefit of remaining in the archives to dissuade most future readers from asking it too.

[superluser]

If people reallty want me to just go "lol it was me being silly back then and has no reference", I will gladly do so.  It saves me the time and lets me scrap a few storyarchs in the process.

Well, the most important thing is that you stay true to the characters and the story.

If the characters do something that they're not supposed to, that's no good.  You've got strong characterization going on here.  You should let the characters decide where they want to go, and if the characterization of Destania works best with Dan having seen her in the twink territories, then that's how it should be.

If, on the other hand, it proves to be a handicap, shoehorning it in probably isn't the best idea.  I probably speak for a few people here when I say that I don't want a Crisis on Infinite Lakes.

I don't know what the plot will be, so I have to assume that you're doing a good job of it.  And I know that you've done a good job in the past, so I'm more than a little bit optimistic.

...so see, folks, we don't necessarily know that Dan saw his mother safe and well, so let's not assume and let Amber decide what goes on. 

Or...you could read my all-mow fancomic and lose interest after the second strip.

P.S. I do not have an all-mow fancomic, so please stop e-mailing me!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Thats why Amber carrys a big shinney shinney bat on hand to make sure most stay in line

No Zedd. I don't carry a bat and people don't need to stay in line.  Thats not the point I was wanting to make. -_-'

Yeah. It's Fluffy who carries the Wand of Motivation....


*grin*


more seriously, I'm happy to just wait. An answer of "that's plot convenient, go away" is fine by me - but you've answered this one several times that I've seen, not just in the comic but also on the forums. So I cna understand Amber getting tired (oh, so -very- tired :-) of repeating herself...

[Sid]

It should be obvious that the older DMFA's were more campy and a lot more amatuerish than the storylines of current.  The fact most everyone points it out adds to it.   However one of the many aspects of becomming a better writer and creator is to be able to take your prior mistakes and fix them so that it works.  And that's what I'm trying to do if people would just give me the chance and the time.

I think the most beautiful way would be for you to go along with the plan to unify the archives into one stream (excluding a few inevitable plotholes few people notice). The early strips do have a few rather odd deviations from what is later considered to be Full Canon, but you did manage to smooth out a few things in the past (like that rifle Jyrras uses, which is later more or less touched again during the revelations in his lab, the W-S branding and the party that kicked out Merlitz), and I think it works well. Such pointers to the past are always nice, and people who read the archive also get a nice "Whoa!" effect and maybe even ask themselves if you planned it in advance.

The recent wave of speculation and nagging surely doesn't help, but I'd be somewhat disappointed if some strips are suddenly declared to be fully out-of-canon (like the 78th strip) just because of the nagging. But in the end, the decision is yours to make. You could even declare complete arcs out-of-canon. ()

Edit: Ye Gods, I shouldn't post at 2am... I made the same point in FOUR ways. *streamlines a little bit*

[Azlan]

Everything was carefully structured and planned years in advance.  What appears as campy and plothole ridden is a carefully constructed plan of deception and expert misdirection.  Under careful analysis, this can be determined if sufficient effort is placed in extrapolation and an expert team of NSA analysts are employed to decipher the carefully concealed and subtle nuances.  Now please resume standard speculation.

[DigitalMan]

This sounds like good material for one of those "questions from the readers" strips - that would probably stop the flood and it would also have the benefit of remaining in the archives to dissuade most future readers from asking it too.

I agree While there are dozens of other questions I'd like answered, those will likely be answered in-comic eventually. However, what Amber just answered here will never be seen by newer members, and quite possibly by some current ones; not to mention anyone not on the boards. I actually find myself asking things that have been answered in the past, because I'm still rather new. So I don't think we'd mind at all if Amber tossed in a QftR strip to save some sanity

[superluser]

I actually find myself asking things that have been answered in the past, because I'm still rather new. So I don't think we'd mind at all if Amber tossed in a QftR strip to save some sanity

You know, a FAQ file might be a good idea.  Even an unofficial one.

Now please resume standard speculation.

With gusto!

[Landon_Fox]

You forgot to include Amber's Freemason advisor, Azlan.   

[chaotik]

Meka-meka Mow-wow.....hmm...now all we need is a couple of Jyrass's inventions.....


then we can have a Mecha-Mow!   



WOW!



ba-DOOM-boom........

[Amber Williams]

Meka-meka Mow-wow.....hmm...now all we need is a couple of Jyrass's inventions.....


then we can have a Mecha-Mow!   



WOW!



ba-DOOM-boom........

.....get off my internets!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I actually find myself asking things that have been answered in the past, because I'm still rather new. So I don't think we'd mind at all if Amber tossed in a QftR strip to save some sanity

You know, a FAQ file might be a good idea.  Even an unofficial one.

You mean, like, say, in the wiki, if we get that working?

Yes, that sounds like a good idea...

[LionHeart]

Well, it seems like everyone is in favour of the wiki; it's just that no-one seems to want the job of actually starting the thing up...

[Boog]

Sorta like the story of the mice and the bell. Nobody wants to set up the wiki because then somebody's going to overwrite it with their views, and nobody wants to see their stuff overwritten or their name attatched to whatever the new person writes.

[KarlOmega1]

Just got back from my parents for thanksgiving...now that I have seen the comics that I missed over those couple days, I have one thing to say...

Jealousy is never a good thing...even from an attractive femme like Gen...

[keybounce]

78 and 405 are not a problem, at all.

Here is one possible answer:

Dan goes off adventuring, doesn't leave a forwarding address, moves a lot, etc. Always on the move, blah blah. Family doesn't know where to find him.

Being out of touch with things, he comes across his mother in twink territory (#78), and is suprised by it. Leaves without saying hello, for whatever reason.

Later, in 405, Amber starts to explain things -- his mother in twink territories, him off on an adventure with no one knowing where, when the cat (It is a cat, right?) stops the story.

Today, with Dan living at the lake, with his sister, at this point we see that his sister did not know that his mother was in twink territory.

The conclusion: Dan, having seen his mother there hundreds of strips ago came to the conclusion, "No, that must just be some other lady that looks like my mother". Remember, she would not have been in Cubi form (Dan didn't know he was Cubi back then), so it would have just been another lady, and maybe just "Well, she's close, but not quite". Either her shapeshift was a little different, or Dan was mistaken.

Either way, it's not a point of problem. Years ago, Dan was wandering, and Destania didn't know where. Later, neither Alexi nor Dan knew where Destania was, and Dan mistook her for someone else. Since Destania didn't know where her children were, and her children didn't know where she was, until the kidnapping, the kidnapping is actually a family reunion, which is part of why Destania hasn't killed Biggs for this -- he's responsible for reuniting the family.

[Aridas]

I doubt "another lady" would recognize him and call him Danny (at least, I think that's what the speech bubble said...)

[keybounce]

Whoops, I missed that response. Alright, need a different idea then.

Point is, these comics are not inconsistent with each other. Maybe strange, but not inconsistent.

[FlameSword]

Yeah it sais "She probaly isn't a real girl." If she knew that Dan-Alexsi is a cubi...