Another Bata Neart and another page after the scheduled baby-break. I’ve posed this before I even know when the birth is happening. Things have stabilised, so expect the usual updates π
Bata Neart
Irish Magical Girls!
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Another Bata Neart and another page after the scheduled baby-break. I’ve posed this before I even know when the birth is happening. Things have stabilised, so expect the usual updates π
Random guy got the free shot. π
Great to hear things are going well for you and the fam, Rawr. π
@Azrael: Thanks π
I needed to have Random Guy (that is now his name forever π ) there to react to Aoife’s…attire. Would just be off to have someone walk around in their underwear and not have anyone react π
I feel kind of sorry for Aine, like I want to hold her and calm her down. I think that means this is a very good page! π
Hey! Random Guy was already in my story! Where he was being shaken until his teeth rattled by an irate werewolf… Oh… Yeah, I guess this role is a lot more fun for him… Rawr, you’re being too nice to your characters! We authors need to stick together or the characters will walk all over us! Next thing you know, they’ll be forming a union and demanding paid sick leave. I can’t afford to give paid sick leave! How do fictional characters even get sick? (giggles madly)
(In my best Sean Connery voice) 008, you do realize don’t you that what you just described is the definition of “moe”?
@O8h7w: Thank you π
Don’t worry about Aine. Aoife’s gonna take care of her (or at least try) π
@Kessy: I think we’ll end up making Random Guy into the next Jenny Everywhere π
I’m actually incredibly cruel towards a lot of my characters, even more so in my other webcomic ‘Back Office’. Alas their union already have me on unfavorable terms requiring at least one update a week and a ‘cuteification’ clause in Aoife’s contract. They occasionally contract ‘writer’s block’ which can immobilize them for a while (be sure to immunize your cast from that!)
Aine’s a moe? I guess in a way she is. She *really* is a moe in the Bata Neart non-cannon one-shot manga I’m writing up for Manga School Nakano, but here in the ‘prime-cannon’ story Aine will shed her moe ways soon enough once she regains her confidence.
Well, I don’t think Aine really fits the usual image of a moe character, but I suspect that’s due to cultural differences with the Japanese as to what sort of characteristics would make the reader want to protect the character.
@Kessy: Aine’s design is not actually intended to be moe. I’ve designed her to appear to be a more mature character. When she’s in her stride she’s far from helpless.
The closest to moe-design is probably Aoife, but again she is far from helpless herself, and despite her apparent cuteness can stand for herself when needed.
It just occurred to me: Ashling says, “I can’t believe this is working.” what did she think was going to happen? That the driver wouldn’t let them on the bus? Or was it just a generalized anxiety about breaking societal norms?
I had to look up “moe” (I’m old, dagnabbit), and it seems to be a word that means whatever the speaker wants it to. I’m gathering that Aine is moe because she’s lost and vulnerable, and her plight makes anyone who has even an ounce of decency to want to hold her and comfort her, whereas Aoife is moe because she simply deserves a hug just for being her.
I hope that’s right, because that’s how I feel about them, now that I think about it.
@Delta: Moe is technically defined as a character that evokes a “big brother” sort of protective reaction in the readers / viewers. In anime and manga a moe character is typically female, overly cute, and somewhat helpless – often annoyingly so for my tastes. Often such characters are ditzy, clutzy, chronically unlucky, extremely shy, socially awkward, embarrassed by anything and everything, and/or a bit childish. It’s a “you know it when you see it” sort of thing.
Moe usually refers to the character’s normal personality. So Aine is acting a bit moe at the moment, but isn’t really. And I don’t think Aoife is moe at all – she may come across as ditzy sometimes, but she’s also very self confident, which is pretty much anti-moe.
Moe is pronounced “mo-e”, with two syllables. It rhymes with “so a” as in, “So a llama walks into a bar…”
@ Kessy Athena: Hey, thanks for clearing that up for me. ^^ I wish now I’d asked you in the first place. You made more sense in nine sentences than I got from five articles.
Rawr, Aiofe taking care of Aine? Isn’t that just begging for trouble? π
@Delta: Glad I could help. ^_^ Moe is one of those things that’s more about the feel of a character than any specific characteristics. (The ones I listed are meant as examples, not an exhaustive list.) That makes it hard to put into words well, and it also makes it very subjective. For example, there are some characters that some people find moe and others find creepy and disturbing. That’s why there isn’t a standard definition.
@Jen: Rawr does not beg for trouble, He COMMANDS it. π
@Kessy: Thanks for the moe explanation, now I’m even more certain that I’m not doing that with my characters.
(Also I have been mis-pronouncing it as ‘moe’, as in Moe Sizlak. Mo-e it is π )
@Jen: Wellll yea…Aoife’s a bit cheeky, but I think she’s in relatively safe hands…relatively… π
@Delta: Well….I don’t as much command trouble. Mostly I order it online and wait 5-10 working days for it π
Well, if you’re ever confused about what moe is, watch a few episodes of K-On! That’s the series that defined and popularized the concept.
In Japanese, vowels are generally not modified by the letters around them, and almost always have the same value. “A” sounds like the vowel in cot, “I” sounds like key, “U” sounds like glue, “E” sounds like say, and “O” sounds like flow. Other vowel sounds are generally diphthongs, and are written in Japanese with two vowels. For example, the long “I” in English is written as “AI” in Japanese, as in “hai.”
The only real exception to this is with Japanese long vowels. Unlike in English, a long vowel has the same sound as a regular vowel, but just lasts longer. I personally find this to be a difference that’s very difficult to hear. Long vowels are written as “aa”, “ii”, “uu”, “ei”, and “ou”. I have no idea why long e’s and o’s aren’t written as “ee” and “oo”, it’s just a spelling eccentricity.
So transcribed into the Japanese sound system, Aoife’s name would probably be “Eifa.” or γ¨γΌγ (I say probably because I’m a bit rusty at this.)
I’d nearly forgotten Aoife is pants-less right now. And it looks like it must be cold out, too. So between being pants’d and having to calm down Aine and back up Ashling, I’d say she deserves today’s MVP award, because she’s taking all of this like a champ.
@melarebblu: Thank you for saying π This is part of the reason why Aoife is my personal favorite character. No matter what life throws at her, she tries her best to take it in her stride…sometimes with a cheeky grin on her face. I have nothing but respect for people like this π