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MurderousAutomaton In reply to ??? [2013-07-20 17:31:43 +0000 UTC]

Ah, actually that goes along pretty well with what I had in mind!  I don't want to give anything away, but there are other members of his "race" at the start. That's another case that gives rise to monster myths, I suppose--if there were more of him, their widespread sightings would create myths about monsters--or, depending on the culture (I'm thinking Egypt), could generate their gods.  

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-07-20 17:35:33 +0000 UTC]

Ooh interesting! I'll wait to see what you come up with then. Though to ask, how powerful would Sai be compared to other mythical creatures such as minotaurs and hydras?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-07-21 04:48:36 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it should be cool!  In the context of the story, they might well be the only other being on the planet to provide a challenge for him.

Ooh, that's another good question!  I'm not totally sure how powerful the Minotaur was--he was basically a huge, super-strong half-beast, right?  Or did he have other powers besides?  I would bet monsters like that would be fairly easy for Sai to kill.  A hydra would be trickier, but probably not impossible.  I would think the kinds of characters that would rival him would be more like Zeus, Poseidon or Hades, or Thor, or Shiva.  In modern context, I'd say he'd be very similar in power to Superman or The Hulk.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-07-21 13:29:40 +0000 UTC]

Minotaurs are just super-strong bull-men... Well, usually with a very dangerous charge with their horns and sometimes they're portrayed as notably tougher than anything else their size should be

But that sounds quite interesting regardless! Would I guess that modern times won't really have anything in the sort of superheroes or villains for Sai's story, right?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-07-24 04:44:55 +0000 UTC]

Ah, that's what I figured!  Yeah, I think a Minotaur wouldn't be too much of a challenge for him, then, so I think some of the larger monsters would be.

Yeah, I don't think superheroes would really fit with his storyline, for the most part.  I could see crossovers, maybe--like with Spawn or Batman--but overall I think he fits more into a mythological or anime-inspired universe.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-07-24 11:19:33 +0000 UTC]

Sounds pretty good then! And as for one last question, how over-the-top would you think some of the battles Sai may get into might be?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-08-03 18:50:09 +0000 UTC]

Well, most battles will deal with Sai punishing/being an asshole to humans, but there will be at least one fight with someone pretty much equal to Sai's power.  I don't want to give anything away, but that fight will be insane!  Completely over-the-top in every way--even going so far as to suggest that major parts of the world and many natural phenomena are explained through this fight--like Death Valley used to be a forest until they destroyed it, or the Meteor Crater was created from the impact of one of their attacks, etc.  In the context of a comic, I'd like to take an entire issue just for the fight--it'll be bonkers!  

I suppose some other fights could be pretty epic, too--like maybe Sai taking on an entire army of samurai.  That'd be pretty fun!

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-08-03 18:53:22 +0000 UTC]

Haha man! Yeah that match between Sai and an equal would be seriously insane. Might you think that it would also present a change in Sai's character right before/during it?

Also yes him fighting an army of samurai would be nothing short of insane. Could I ask how it would look like or would it be something you'd like to keep a surprise for now?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-08-25 06:45:30 +0000 UTC]

Wow, I'm getting behind on my comments again!  Shame on me.

Anyhoo, yes!  Sai's fight with his equal should be really fun to do!  I was thinking of taking up an entire issue/chapter for them just wailing on each other. And yes, you're quite correct: the lead-up to the fight and the fight itself give Sai some deep insights, but it also puts him in a bit of a funk for a long time afterward.  It's sort of a life-changing event.

Yeah, that would be a blast to draw the samurai war!  Hopefully I'll have the patience. Do you mean what the fight itself would look like, or what the style of the comic would look like?  I was toying around with each stage of Sai's life making the art of the comic itself look a little different.  More of a watercolor/colorful approach when things are going well, more white and red when he's feeling empty and isolated, and maybe more dark, broad strokes of black and red when he's angry/violent.  I'd do extensive tests before deciding on anything, though. As far as the samurai fight, I think it'd probably take place in winter, out on a mountain or huge field, so it'd just be a blank white landscape with dark figures all around.  High contrast would look awesome for that scene! ^___^

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-08-25 16:59:42 +0000 UTC]

Hey no problem with the slow responses. Glad you are responding to them regardless

It definitely does sound like you've got more of an idea of what that fight between Sai and an equal will be. Have you thought about what the equal would be exactly? (just a yes or no answer please; can't go spoiling that until you get to it, right? )

I more meant how would the samurai war would go for Sai than what it would look like or style it'd be in. However the idea of changing the style depending on the point of the story sounds like a pretty great idea! Perhaps the style might change over the course of the story as the world changes? Like for example during the feudal era the majority of the style would be done in soft watercolors, representing something more of a fantasy look, while in modern days the style would be clear and rough paints to emulate the more down-to-earth and "realistic" style. (realistic tends to be a very subjective term, fair warning ) Any sort of fight scenes or battles however I think could be done in very sharp, contrasting colors and pencils to simulate the brutality of battle regardless of era. Just more ideas but I'm hoping they might help give ideas for yourself.

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-09-01 23:22:31 +0000 UTC]

Of course!  I definitely enjoy our conversations. ^____^ And not just because I get to talk about my characters all the time.

Yes indeed!  I know exactly who Sai's rival will be, but I'll leave it at that, for fear of spoilers.  It's gonna be a great piece of the story!

Oh, yeah, I think it'll depend on Sai's state of mind during the chapter the samurai fight happens in.  I could see it as something he enjoys and gleefully engages in, because he can easily kill all the soldiers, or I could see it as a very solemn, somber scene, at a point in his life where maybe he's tired of always being at odds with humans.  Maybe it's a battle people have brought on themselves, and he doesn't really want to do it.  The fact that it might take place in a barren, snowy wasteland would fit in nicely with that tone.  In any case, the soldiers probably wouldn't pose a real threat to Sai--the scene would have many more psychological consequences for him, rather than physical ones.

Yes!  I think the style could definitely change according to time period, as well.  I could see grainy, sepia tones for the 1800s, and maybe stark, black shadows in the 1930s/40s.  I had done some test drawings a few years ago, trying out a quick, sketchy, energetic style for fight scenes--very messy and inky.  It might have potential!

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-09-02 17:45:37 +0000 UTC]

Ooh nice! It does sound like that massive fight between Sai and all those samurai would be more psychologically-affecting than physically. Should definitely be quite the moment for the story I bet. I imagine it would come after a good deal of build up, like perhaps at the end of some long sub-arc in the timeline of the story. Might even be a good passing onward to a later point in time. What do you think?

Coincidently, and if I can ask, have you thought about whether Sai would ever be taking on an army of creatures/mythological beings at some point in the story? Like would/might that ever be a possibility in his life?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-09-07 18:17:05 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, definitely!  There's going to be a point in the story where Sai gets tired of humans and hides himself for a while--maybe this war event would lead into that!  It could parallel/symbolize his psychological breaking point.

Yeah, I've thought about that!  I might have touched on it already, but I've been going back and forth deciding whether there would be other mythological monsters in the story or not.  Sai's story seems more striking/meaningful if he's the only supernatural character in an otherwise normal world.  Much of the story deals with isolation, and his struggle to understand humans, so I'm not sure how other monsters might fit into it.  Sai himself also inadvertently creates monster myths when humans catch glimpses of him, giving rise to myths about werewolves, tengu, yeti, etc.  It might be neat to imply that all monsters came from one. Although I'm torn, because it would be really cool to see Sai face off against other monsters!  How cool would that be?

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-09-07 18:20:12 +0000 UTC]

Ooh yeah that all does sound awesome! I would take more time to think about whether to have other mythological monsters in the story or not if I were you. However seeing Sai face off against them, especially an army of them would be pretty dang awesome. Heck perhaps such a battle like that might be why monsters are nothing more than a myth; in some epic war, Sai ends up fighting and, through the actions of such a war, would eliminate all monsters but himself, technically being the winner and all. It's just an idea but what might you think of it?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-10-07 03:03:50 +0000 UTC]

Howdy!  Sorry for the delay--I've had a lot of deadlines lately.

But yeah!  I've got plenty of time to think about how I want to approach the monster idea for Sai.  I like your idea about him killing all monsters and that's why there aren't any on Earth!  That's got potential.  Although in some ways I have something like that in mind already (related to him fighting his equal, like I was saying before), but it might spoil some plot points if I saw any more.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-10-07 03:08:50 +0000 UTC]

Heh, I sure as heck won't ask about those plot points then. Does sound like there's something great being built up for it. And no problem for the delay; college wears me down as well

So to ask, how would such a battle between Sai and all the monsters on Earth go, if that isn't a spoiler? (presuming this isn't actually happening in-story since I get the feeling you've got something much better in mind )

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-10-29 06:45:07 +0000 UTC]

Woo!  There I go again with the delays!  Thanks for understanding. ^____^

Hmm... that's another good question!  You're right that I'm sort of leaning toward him not fighting actual monsters in the story, but it is interesting to think how he would actually fight them!  I guess it'd be a lot like Superman fighting Doomsday: just a coupla really powerful creatures wailing on each other! They could throw each other into buildings, smash each other into the ground... basic Dragonball Z stuff. I guess it would mostly depend on what kind of monster he's fighting.  I imagine Sai being very adaptable, so it wouldn't take him long to find the weaknesses of other monsters.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-10-29 10:22:26 +0000 UTC]

Hey no problem. Yeah I can imagine Sai fighting any sort of hardy monster being a series of rather destructive attacks thrown at each other. Thought I'd ask regardless of whether you'd have other creatures in the story or not. So you mention that Sai is very adaptable? In that case, how often would he like to rely on brute force or otherwise just prefer to smash/slice the enemy to pieces than to be highly strategic when he doesn't need to be?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-11-02 19:54:53 +0000 UTC]

Hmm... that's another interesting question!  Since humans aren't a threat to him (even en masse), I guess he could rely on brute force and not worry about it.  He'd also probably find it more fun. Initially, during the earlier parts of his story, Sai despises humans and enjoys killing them, so it'd almost be a game for him.  Like a cat toying with a mouse. I suppose some interesting angles could be if he had to protect a child or another animal from people--he'd have to use strategy aside from just killing everything.  It might force him to think about his own actions in relation to how he treats people.  It's fun to think about this stuff for story!

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-11-02 20:01:45 +0000 UTC]

Ooh interesting. Yeah I can imagine him using brute force for an early period in the story, and for whatever situation he may end up, he may resort to some sort of strategy. I'm guessing that he might act a little different when against an army of samurai? (like during a time that his view on humans or his usual mood might change)

Actually I wonder, how long back would he be able to remember, both from the feudal era and modern day? I imagine that if he doesn't know his connection with others, he wouldn't know how he came to be and such

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2013-12-21 18:57:26 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, definitely!  I think he would rely more on instinct and force at first, but learn finesse and strategy as he goes on.  That is, when he never had interactions with people, all he had to do was kill them if they pissed him off.  But later, if he's trying to influence them or protect someone, the stakes and tactics would change.

I thought about that--I think he would remember just about everything!  Well, as much as you'd care to remember if you had lived that long.  But he would remember where he came from.  I won't say anything else, so I don't give it away.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2013-12-21 19:01:48 +0000 UTC]

That sounds pretty good then! Would be a good start of development for Sai. Would you have any idea how often Sai might need to protect someone? (if the answer can be kept spoiler free that is)

And of course no need to give away where he came from. That would ruin part of the fun. Despite that, it does sound like Sai doesn't know too much about himself on a whole. Would that be part of the case with him?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2014-01-25 18:45:58 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I haven't thought it through well enough to really comment yet, I think--at least without giving some of it away!  I really liked that Lone Wolf and Cub comic, so maybe something to do with protecting a child?  I don't think Sai would kill children.  He's a dick, but he's not a monster. In fact I think Sai would relate to children better than grownups, since they're not so deep in the bullcrap of society.  There could be some cool storylines that revolve around kids, maybe!

Definitely!  I think the overall theme of the story will be Sai trying to figure out what he is.  Kind of a metaphor for all of us, I guess.  Especially how views about others and ourselves can change, and how related those views can be.  It'll be fun to explore!

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2014-01-25 18:53:04 +0000 UTC]

Ooh interesting! Sai relating to children sounds like a plan. Children often do have a greater sense of innocence than adults. Perhaps they might act in ways that Sai would see as more rational? Like he can easily see adults for their flaws and sins, but children wouldn't act that way. Sai might look at people solely of their flaws, yet never of his own. In a way it might be a sort of innocence coming from a hubris he has, hence his closer relation with children. How might that sound?

Now during both the feudal era and modern era, I imagine Sai wouldn't have a fear of injury for the most part, right? Would be he one to take drastic or crazy actions as a result if it's in his personality?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2014-02-08 07:52:35 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, definitely!  I think kids would be less afraid of Sai, too--they're not so set to immediately fear what they don't understand.  In a lot of ways children could help bring out Sai's humanity (if that's the right word for it ).  It might also be fun to have Sai interact with other animals, especially larger ones.  I often wonder how Sai should work, biologically--does he need to eat?  Would he eat other animals?  Would he eat people?  I haven't decided on that one yet.  I would think he'd share a bond with animals on a deeper, instinctive level, and mostly protect them from people (hunters in his woods, etc.), so that's a tough one...

Overall I think so.  Since he doesn't really ever have any physical consequences, he's pretty much free to do whatever he wants.  But as he grows and starts learning (and starts to immerse himself into human culture), he finds there are social/societal consequences to what he does, and maybe that makes him hold back at times.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2014-02-08 14:45:06 +0000 UTC]

Hmm, interesting. I have always thought that Sai didn't really need to eat, drink, or even breathe to live considering how powerful he is. But yeah I think Sai interacting with animals, large ones especially, would be interesting. Perhaps show a difference he has with animals compared with humans? I'm gonna presume it'll depend on whether it'll be normal animals or more fantastical ones back in the feudal era, right?

Speaking of Sai, considering how durable he is, have you thought about him having any sort of underwater or underlava adventures/encounters he may end up in at some point? If he doesn't need to breathe than I can imagine it'd be possible.

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2014-03-08 18:25:39 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I've thought about that a lot!  I suppose he could get all of his energy from the earth, rather than food--but does that mean if he's ever off the planet he'd be powerless?  Not sure how that would work.  He'd have to get is energy from something... Interacting with animals would be really cool, though!  I think as a more animal-like creature, Sai would have an intuitive, non-verbal connection with them.  Like how animals can instinctively pick up on emotion without needing it spelled out, like humans.  Maybe Sai assumes he can communicate with humans the same way, and is surprised to see that man has abandoned his connection to nature, and can't hear the instinctive communication anymore.

That's an interesting idea!  Though it does seem like he'd have to breathe somehow--maybe he just can hold his breath for hours at a time?  I'm not sure how that might work.  He still is a normal being (not a god or anything), he's just so much more powerful than man.  Like how man is a normal animal and part of nature like an ant is, but he's just physically and mentally so much more powerful.  That's kinda like Sai to man, if that makes sense.

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2014-03-08 18:31:23 +0000 UTC]

Hmm, interesting. I do like that idea of a connection between man and nature which happens to be shattered in the story. Would it get worse as the years go on, particularly by the modern and victorian era?

And that's probably a good idea. Of course I dunno who or what Sai is so this is something you'd know better than me Would you have an idea for any adventures or creatures he'd meet in the deep ocean, or even under lava/magma?

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to StarGamerWorld [2014-03-15 17:56:10 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I think so!  Sai observes man become more and more distant from his roots in nature.  I'll have to be careful, though--I don't want the story to come off as too environmental, or hippie-ish. It's more a message about how man always searches for something outside himself to become whole, when he's already got what he needs inside.  Maybe that's something Sai can start to teach man.

Good question!  I'm still not sure if Sai will be the only monster, or if there will be other creatures as well, so I guess I'll have to think about that...

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StarGamerWorld In reply to MurderousAutomaton [2014-03-15 18:11:00 +0000 UTC]

Ooh that sounds like a good idea now. I would say try to keep the message subtle; too obvious and there's a lot that the story loses in the process.

Would Sai become something of a more 'active' character in a more heroic way by the modern era? Not as a superhero of course but like as something a bit similar.

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Ekorra In reply to ??? [2013-06-08 18:19:49 +0000 UTC]

Oo
It's amazing to see the varying levels of change from year to year... I wil honestly admit I wouldn't want to meet the 2013 version in a dark alley... ever.

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MurderousAutomaton In reply to Ekorra [2013-06-09 19:03:50 +0000 UTC]

Ha, ha! Don't worry--he's a good guy. Sort of.

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