Ouch, I say. Ouch! I did some things to Sam I honestly feel bad about. Am I dealing with it effectively? Is she too strong, too weak? Just completely out of character? Amazingly in character? What do you think I should have that I don't? Or did I already include too much?

And of course, how would you describe her? What episodes in the series really bring her out? (Aside from nearly all. :P)

And in the topic title, I did mean to put "Sam Character Discussion", as it is with the other character topics. Meh. Oops!

I love the way you did Sam's character! She's older, and a "single" mother, which is bound to bring out her maturity, which you've succeeded at brilliantly. The only thing that I don't really like is that you've sort of pushed her goth-ness out of her character. don't make that a phase. she's a goth throughout the entire show, so you'd think she'd be a goth when she's a bit older, yeah? that's just what I think, the goth in her makes part of her who she is...

~Elyn

Thanks! So you think I should keep her Goth preferences. I guess right now I think of her as being very attracted the macabre, to many of the things that make someone a "Goth", but she's not so attached to the specific clothing style as she was before, or so determined to use it as a statement of independence from her parents. At the same time, I haven't really taken much time to decribe her clothes, or make that clear, I guess...

I think for right now she's just trying hard, maybe even without realizing it, to make amends with her parents. She's been gone a long time, and she really craved/missed having a home and being loved in little ways, from day to day. For now I think she's focusing on unity, on the basics, so clothing style falls by the wayside.

But maybe she'd get back into her groove, given time...

On the subject of "Gothness", which is probably a bit OT, clothing is only tangential to it. I'm not a Goth myself, but I know a number of people who'd describe themselves as being "within the gothic spectrum," I guess you could say. Not all of them wear black, or chains, or have massive amounts of piercings. Not all of them listen to gothic music. It's a mindset more than anything, I think, and like you've just said about Sam, are "attracted to the macabre" and to the geeky. They're gamers, comic afficiandos, sci-fi watchers—which Sam is, in canon.

I don't think you need to emphasize how Gothic Sam still is, not by any means, but a comment or two about, I dunno, what she's watching, listening to, wearing probably wouldn't hurt. *shrugs* I think you're right in having her trying to achieve unity and just survive with her parents, and I think that with the massive changes to her life in the past year that some of the hardcore extremism might have left her personality as well. Some, but not all, and she's probably mature enough now that she knows she can rebel in subtle ways, instead of refusing to wear colour, skipping school, or starting a public protest.

So yes, I think you're doing all right with Sam, and I like what you've done with her character. It's not Canon Sam, but it's believable, and I can identify with her.

Thanks! lol...especially for reminding me about the games, comic books, and scif-fi stuff. Not to mention anime, I would guess. And there's lots of macabre anime out there....I bet Sam's watched Hellsing, lol.

It's always good to include those quirks that keep them in line with their roots, right? And sometimes I'm afraid I forget. And I've changed her a lot, but then, who wants her to stay, three years later, exactly as she was at 14 years old? Admittedly, a lot about a person has already solidified even by then, but I think many subtle things continue to change for a long time. Hopefully your whole life.

I'd hate to get stuck being exactly the same person 20 years from now. Brrr. Gives me the chills.

Realism versus canon...the internal battle continually waged. And then, of course, there's deciding what IS realistic, I suppose. ^^

All your comments have been so thoughtful...:D

Oh yes, anime for sure. She probably has watched Hellsing. And Death Note.

Exactly. And quirks make them a little more believable as characters, too. You know, I just had a thought…. If I had a child, I'd want to raise them as a geek, because I'm a geek. I'd get them Harry Potter blankets, or stuffed Killer Rabbits, or Doctor Who action figures. I'm willing to bet that Sam would probably go a similar route: bats, black cats, spiders, talking about darker subjects….

And no, nobody wants to stay exactly the same as time goes on. You've matured Sam well, like I said. :) I think people tend to become more moderate as they get older, even though the core personality remains the same.

Heh, yeah. What is realism? There's often a fine balance between that and canon, esp. when it comes to cartoons. I think you're one of the few DP writers who's managed to find that balance or at least get very close. The characters as you've portrayed them completely fit with the canon facts while also being realistic and rounder than they are in the show.

Thanks?

Bwahaha...yup, Death Note too, you're right. You know, they're actually showing the first Death Note (live actors) movie in a few theaters where I live? I think next month, or maybe the end of this month. A friend of mine is keeping track, I think. Just thought I'd mention it, if you were interested in checking in your area, or something.

Anywho, I love your comments on how Sam would try to raise Nathaniel! lol! Heehee. Yeah. And if I ever have a kid, they shall be watching certain cartoons, reading certain books too. Definitely.

This then, at least, is realistic, right? I'm going to have to incorporate this later, I just know it. :D

I know of Death Note, but haven't actually seen it, so I'm not particularly interested in checking my area, thanks. I also doubt there's any theatre that would play it, either.

Yes, it is. Bringing up children to enjoy the parents' interests is a time-honoured tradition. ^^

Keh, you're not really missing out. I'm honestly rather tired of anime...or at least I'm not obsessed, like some members of my family who will remain nameless...

I never read the Death Note manga. I watched about half of the anime series. After that, it gets boring. Honestly, the first movie sums up the first several episodes very well. I have yet to see the second movie. In fact, my friend hasn't mentioned that movie showing to me...I'm thinking we missed it. I don't think it would benefit noticeably from being on the big screen anyway.

You know, the anime phenomenon really is something to watch. I feel somewhat detached from it, though. My mother actually taped several anime back in the seventies, before I was even born. I proceeded to watch those tapes through the eighties, along with some Warner Bros cartoons, and few others. I found out what it was in highschool, when I became a fan of Dragonball/Z.

Since then, I've watched various things. I could easily number off what I would actually recommend using my fingers alone. (Meh, unless you count Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, perhaps.) Anime doesn't guarantee quality.

There's a whoooole lot of people out there who seem to miss this fact, somehow. It's the...I don't know. There's a culture surrounding it. It's cool, it's a humongous fad, in a way. For me, it's another option for entertainment. A good book, a good movie, a good TV series, comic book series...a good anime.

By the way, have you ever heard of Girl Genius? Sorry, totally switched topics on you there. It's an online comic book series! My brother got me into it. It's very good. (Though not finished! It's still going.) If you're looking for something exceptionally entertaining, check it out. It's at girlgeniusonline dot com.

Yessss, go read it, you know you want to....:P Or not, whatever. Put it on a list of things to do on a rainy day, perhaps. :)

Yeah, I don't think I am. I find anime/manga as a genre to be either too long, too convoluted, too vapid, too random, too bland, or a combination thereof. A number of my friends can't really understand this mentality, but oh well. Can't fault them for trying. That said, it is an interesting phenomenon to watch. It's influenced Western culture in some pretty intriguing ways.

lol I've been reading Girl Genius for at least a year and a half, probably more like two years. A friend got me into it and I absolutely love it! XD The Jagers especially, and Agatha's approach to the rest of the world. It's a very fun read, isn't it?

Awesome!! Yes, the Jaegers are the best! I love the scene where Oggy (Oggie?) runs into his grandson! That's hilarious. We actually just named (several months ago now) a kitten we got Oggy.

Well, Duke Ognian von Scootenheim, actually. Then there's Princess Amelia Louisa Contessa Anna Banna Bo Besca the Third. (Eep. Something like that.)

Then there's my cat, Dash. Full name Dashiel Parr. :D And Kohaku and Kiki. And our four dogs.

We're country folk. All the strays find their way here! (All the dumped animals more like. Grr.)

Anywho. yeah. Anime's overrated. Not to say there isn't some very good stuff out there, as in nearly any kind of entertainment.

Every scene with the Jaegers is hilarious, though. :D

Wow, you've got a lot of pets… and they all seem to have long names, too. It's good of your family to take in strays, though. My parents have tried that with cats several times, but K.C. (Kitty Cat, the fat neutered tom) doesn't take kindly to them. Stray dogs would be an absolutely disaster with our Akita/Newfie/Shepherd too. However, he came from the SPCA, so I guess we're still doing our part. ^^ You must have a lot of land for your animals to run on. Dogs need lots of space.

I agree. I've seen a few episodes of good stuff, but they're all late 80s or early 90s and rare to boot.

We do have space..meh, and by that I mean my parents have space, lol. About 6 acres, and very pretty. They're extremely fortunate, and honestly this house is an incredible blessing. (I say this because they got this place at an incredibly low price- I actually only found out a few months ago how low, and it's like....dumpy little houses toward the center of town are going for more. It's incredible. So yeah...this place is a blessing.)

Anyway. Yes, the dogs have room. It's too bad your tom cat is so snippy, but I completely understand what you're talking about. Thankfully our cats pretty much get along together amazingly well. They're very fun to watch, actually. Our dogs are a mix. We bought two, and two showed up. One, the only purebred we've owned in my time at least, is a golden retriever- Tobias. (Toby for short.). Then there's Tippy, a weird mix- she looks like a cross between a bull dog and a dalmation. We call her the cow dog, because she kind of resembles one. :P The other two are siblings of unknown breed. It looks like they maybe have different dads though. The boy (Cosmo) looks sort of like a labrador, particularly in the face. The girl (Wanda) has a very funky build, very skinny legs- she's the deer dog. They're both a tan colour, short haired, and have no tail. They're sweet, but a little short sighted, and a tad stupid.

Yay...dogs. And cats. I'm more of a cat person myself.

Oh...and anime. Yeah. My favorite anime is still Dragonball, actually. Laugh if you like. Or go read the manga- it doesn't have the incredibly long boring scenes that stretch into infinity- filler, in other words. But yeah, it's wonderful, when you really get into it, great characters, story. It has problems too but...man. It's a classic.

Impressive! The most we ever had was four, and the dinky houses in town cost less. We still got a pretty good deal, I think, though. Property rates in the area that was in suck. (Yes, I'm a country girl too, but not really a farm girl.)

The tom's old, set in his ways, lazy, and doesn't like competion for the food dish or attention. Spoiled thing. He's thriving now that his dominant brother's gone. We figure he's earned a solitary retirement, though, since he decimated two separate rodent populations for us. We'll (my parents will) likely get another set of kittens when he passes, provided they can convince the dog not to play with them.

Sounds like you've got some very interesting dogs there! I love your names for the siblings. Do they match the dogs' personalities? (I'm a cat person too, but favour big dogs over small and medium ones.)

Well, Cosmo is about as stupid as a rock at times...and very lazy. Um. But then Wanda's no genius either.

I dunno...did you think I was describing the dogs or the cartoon characters just now? Okay...obviously I'm talking about the dogs. Right...?

lol...they're not very similar. They're siblings, for one. As far as dog preferences go? Hmmm. I think maybe a medium sized dog, with a good nature, and intelligence. Or maybe one of those dogs that look kind of wolfish- with the blue eyes, white-ish coats, pointed ears, bushy tails...oO. I can't remember the breed right now.

Ah, your cat is reminding my (very slightly) of Nanny Ogg's Greebo. Now there's a great name!

The other name I looove by Pratchett, for animals, is Gaspode. I mean...gas-pode. HAhahaha!! It just cracks me up.

I'm the same, a country girl, but a far cry from a farm girl. A very far cry, lol. Property rates...there's an interesting topic. But I'm tired, and moving on to the next post now, lol...sorry. :)

lol It sounds like you picked very appropriate names for your dogs though.

I think you're thinking of the arctic breeds—Huskies, Malmutes, or anything that gets classes as a "Spitz". Akitas, for instance.

Very slightly is about accurate. He's a lot sweeter than Greebo and doesn't kill out of vindictiveness. He kills because he grew up feral and was taught to be self-sufficient. Also, instead of attacking strangers, he avoids them.

I'm only a short cry from a farm girl. I helped out in the garden as a kid, and I've picked fruit several times, so I'm no stranger to growing and harvesting, even if I don't particularly enjoy doing it. I'd much rather be doing middle-class things though.

Hey, no problem. I'm not all that knowledgeable about property rates, nor am I all that interested in them on more than a general political basis. ^^

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