08-06-2009, 08:27 AM
Ok, I guess I can be a little serious.
What I like about Belle is how he's constantly toeing that stereotype line. He gets just close enough to get the read nodding along, then does something... normal, I guess is a pretty good word. You take bits of commonly accepted character mechanics and fuse them into the character without letting them actually take over the character.
Your most recent post in Shadow Play is a perfect example of this. (What I liked about this post was how humorous it was when looked at conceptually) You have Belle about to face down with some random jackass who supposedly knows all this shit about him. When Blaze starts mouthing off, Belle treats him exactly like what he is: some random jackass.
The whole "omg he's my brother now everyone stand around stunned for a whole episode" bit in anime gets really old. Yeah, everyone in simultaneous shock can be dramatic for about two seconds. After that it's just stupid. No one would do that. Ever.
Belle certainly doesn't. He gets annoyed. It makes sense.
As long as you keep the balance you've struck, I think Belle will continue to be a very entertaining character. Too far to one side and he'll just become too predictable, but too far to the other side and he'll make a pretty serious tonal shift. I think you're a good enough writer to handle it, though.
What I like about Belle is how he's constantly toeing that stereotype line. He gets just close enough to get the read nodding along, then does something... normal, I guess is a pretty good word. You take bits of commonly accepted character mechanics and fuse them into the character without letting them actually take over the character.
Your most recent post in Shadow Play is a perfect example of this. (What I liked about this post was how humorous it was when looked at conceptually) You have Belle about to face down with some random jackass who supposedly knows all this shit about him. When Blaze starts mouthing off, Belle treats him exactly like what he is: some random jackass.
The whole "omg he's my brother now everyone stand around stunned for a whole episode" bit in anime gets really old. Yeah, everyone in simultaneous shock can be dramatic for about two seconds. After that it's just stupid. No one would do that. Ever.
Belle certainly doesn't. He gets annoyed. It makes sense.
As long as you keep the balance you've struck, I think Belle will continue to be a very entertaining character. Too far to one side and he'll just become too predictable, but too far to the other side and he'll make a pretty serious tonal shift. I think you're a good enough writer to handle it, though.
![[Image: Kaden2.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v403/Nezumi16/Sigs/Kaden2.jpg)
"It's on my brain, driving me insane. It's on my mind, all of
the time, and if it left... I would be fine."