War of the Forums

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I still like this fic thingy.

My comments are always late, but this time I would like to post something unrelated to printing...

All I can say is:

'Rule #1 of the mr_pikachu handbook...

If you act like an idiot enough, people will underestimate you!'

That was the most impressive part of the entire fic! I mean it, it got across to me so much that...er...I had to grab a heavy dictionary to find the right words! Hehe, I thought that was MY motto in Real Life at high school, I was a parody of myself back there. So I have something in common with mr_pikachu, I guess.

Um, something more, I think I am facing the same problem as with Japanese manga, I just cannot see which speaking bubble is whose. It's just me, I know it, since I know I have the same problem everywhere.

[Gavin Luper]

Heh, Phoenixsong, you stole the words right out of my mouth. I'm foreseeing a big Ada-Becca deep and meaningful over a tub of icecream and a box of tissues for when they get too girly and weepy.

Sounds like lots of action/plot stuff incoming, Brian. Can't wait.

[Lady Vulpix]

Freaky? Umm... yes. But what's even freakier is how sudden it was.

[Perfect Chaos]

Hmm...I think disturbing is more fitting than freaky, but I suppose they both go in together.

Martin's reaction to when Becca says she's engaged to Mega Horny was just another classic blank stare that had me cracking up.

Cooties...haha, I realize now why my childhood days were so funny now...very nostalgic. Anyways, can't wait to see what Becca feels like spilling out to Ada. This is going to be interesting indeed...

See you for #55!

-Sean

[mr_pikachu]

CEB: Well, there's probably a reason that she doesn't want to talk with Martin about it. But it's hard to say exactly what that reason is... perhaps it'll become clear eventually.


Phoenixsong: Boys irritate you? Aww...

The thing about this project is that I'm trying to incorporate all sorts of genres and even different styles within genres as much as possible. From slapstick scenes to witty humor, and from suspenseful dialogue to intense action, there's supposed to be something for everyone. But that also means that each page plays to a different audience.

And, um, they're totally not going to the mall. Er, I'd never do something as stupid as that. *starts frantically rewriting several pages*


Mikachu: Yes, it's true! My motto makes no sense, but it still somehow works. Hooray for the crazies!

In my case, though, I was the impressive one in high school. I waited until college to start acting like an imbecile. Good plan, don't you think?

As for the situation with the bubbles, there's really not much I can do to help you there... guess I could write out a script, or something, but what fun is that?


Gavin: *starts twitching* Why must you insist that "deep and meaningful" is a noun? It's not... the Grammar Nazi says it's not! *falls over*

Anyway, yeah. Things are about to get very actiony and plotty. Neither of which are real words.


Gabi: Well, perhaps Becca will explain that part of the puzzle for us. We'll see...


PC: Disturbing would've been more difficult to fit in the word bubble. Plus, I personally think "freaky" sounds a little more humorous.

The blank stare is one of the easiest techniques for me to use. Hence why you see it so often. (Yes, I'm lazy. But in a good way! Write smarter, not harder!)

And I'm glad someone noticed the nostalgia of the title. ^_^ As for what will happen next... you don't know the half of it.


To the next page!

#55: Yes, MH is hopeless at fighting, it seems. But what does Blademaster have in mind?

Things are about to get crazy.


EDIT: Did I just quintuple-post? O_O

This. Internet. Connection. SUCKS.

[Gavin Luper]

You're not alone with the forum issues, Brian - there was some kind of internal service error or something ... I just made a quadruple post in the E-zine thread, which I thought was a record until I saw your quintuple post. Bizarre.

Anyway ... page 55 ... *uses evil voice* Gooood, gooood ... it's all coming to plan ...

I loved Panel 5. Poor MH just gets his ego pretty much destroyed. I can somewhat relate to having "zero aptitude for physical combat", unfortunately. And I wonder who this old "friend" is going to be?

I await the impending action/plot explosion with bated breath!

EDIT: Hehe, there is no escaping the deep and meaningful! It WILL become a noun! Bwahahaha!

[Dark Sage]

Please, people, if I had a dollar for every quintuple-post I made by mistake...

Anyway, I like the two plotlines that seem to be heading towards a common thread. Will MH ever confront Becca again? Most likely... But what will be the result?

You keep writing, I'll keep reading.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Hehe, #55 was an average War of the Forums comic, it was good but not so good as some of my favourites here. As I haven't watched the animes, I don't know if it's the same room in panels 3,4 and 6 but it gives an impression. However, that choice of pictures does bring some solidity to the story. But then again, in many animes the backround varries despite the current surroundings, so I am a real pilkun******* in Finnish, i.e. nit...picker.

And as I was able to answer last time by only once mentioning the word print, now I can comment on some of that you, mr_pikachu, said earlier.

It is: I have the money to print, I don't have to pay for Internet, I don't have my own connection at all, I use the Web at libraries... and Mielikkitalo, which I have mentioned before in PCG and don't bother to explain in English. I just copy TPM topics to my memory stick if they need deeper thinking like this one and print them at home.

[Lady Vulpix]

Wow, issue 55×5! And right on the day I delivered the 555th random hug at Clockwork Mansion! This must mean something... or not, either or.

Intriguing issue, Brian.

[darktyranitar]

Heheh. If it is physical training we're talking here, then I know one char (from the character collage) that will fit in the critea very well. No idea which TPM char he will represent though. So surprise me.

[Phoenixsong]

Aw, boys don't really irritate me. Just talking about boys and girly stuff. And reading about it is fine either way, I just don't want to do it.

Like darktyranitar, I know who they're going to see. Not that I have any idea who that is, both anime-wise and TPM-wise, but, yeah, methinks the montage gave it away. Eh. Anyway, eagerly awaiting MH's "schooling".

...Double entendres are fun. I probably spelled that incorrectly, but they're still fun.

[mr_pikachu]

Gavin: Yes! The record is mine! I am the champion!

...

Nobody has any respect for MH. Not that it's a new thing, but it's amazing that he hasn't just suicidally attacked Blademaster by now. As for the old friend... hehehe...

Prepare yourself for the action to come!


Sage: ...You'd be broke? Or do I need to scan Fanfic for massive quantities of spam? ^_^;

Multiple, simultaneous plotlines are fun. But why keep it at two? Have you ever heard the old saying, "The more, the merrier"?

Keep writing I shall!


Mikachu: Some people have filler chapters. I have filler pages. They're a necessary evil, like it or not. And as I've said before, it's hard to find similar pictures... most of the time, I ignore such concerns.

Anyway, I do appreciate you being so dedicated as to actually print this... although it feels weird to think that someone's taking this work so seriously. Even I don't have print-outs of these! I'd go broke buying this much ink!


Gabi: Yes, you've gotta love those multipliers. Sometimes fate does funny things, huh? And I plan for the coming pages to be filled with excitement and further intrigue...


Faiz: I think I know who you mean. Time will tell if that guess is accurate! Maybe I'll really surprise you... but then again, maybe not.


Phoenixsong: Oh, so you like looking at boys, but talking about them would just be too weird? Best to keep such things to yourself, I suppose. Wouldn't want to hear more about everyone's PMS.

You've got such assumptions about what will happen next. Ever think that I might be pulling a stunt here? Or have I become that predictable? Meh.

I see you like the occasional French word, Phoenixsong. ^_^


Let us continue!

#56: They just can't resist! I tell you, their methods make watching through a keyhole look really primitive.

Funny how one person's mischief can pull everyone else into the antics, huh? I guess that's peer pressure for you.

[Lady Vulpix]

Well, he said it was low. He didn't say it was beneath him.

[Gavin Luper]

Hehe, good call Gabi.

Good that we get to see where that quote from your sig comes from. I think Gavin's resistance was pretty half-hearted really - I'm quite sure he was the one who said "Oh fine, I'll adjust the monitors". Hehe. Serves the girls right for talking about important stuff without us.

Oh, and I forgot to say that there was a typo in panel 4 of page 55 - when Blademaster says "I don't know what do do with you". It should be "to", right? Unless he's speaking a different dialect to the rest of us.

[Phoenixsong]

Yay for French!

Hmm. Well, let's see. Are you becoming predictable? Or am I pulling a stunt to confuse you into thinking that you're becoming predictable for diabolical reasons of my own? Mwahahaha...

So, you've got cameras in all of these rooms and such... what, are you spying on all of us? Hm. Perhaps now isn't the best time to set into motion my plan for the complete and total hijacking of the GPs. Ah, well. Then again, if you're all too busy spying on girl-talks, perhaps you won't notice. Hmm... food for thought.

Okay, okay, in all seriousness I actually do have some criticism. Cute as #56 was, that joke is a bit... old. Isn't there some other way one might have presented it? Hm.

[darktyranitar]

I can see the reference to the title here. Advance Shipping.

Ah, okay. So that is when Gavin said those words (once again, referring to your sig); I thought Brian had made some kind of accusing or anything.

Hah, now that I think of it, wonder if they'll hear something shocking... (referring to your sig, once again...)

Oh wait, I found out another thing...

Never mind, I'll wait for the next chapters.

[Perfect Chaos]

Whoo! We have three voyeurs on our hands. Its very suiting of you to use the Third Hokage, since I remember he said he wanted to spy on girls with Jiraiya in the anime/manga. Well, he finally gets to now!

Great point brought up by Gabi. I would find that low as well, but definitely not below me hahaha

Anyways, here's to looking forward to #57!

-Sean

[mr_pikachu]

Gabi: Too true. We're all a little too curious sometimes. ^_^


Gavin: Yeah, Gavin caved to peer pressure pretty easily here. But Martin and I are right. How dare she ask for some privacy! We're all mods here, right? We're mature enough to handle serious subjects...

As for that error, that'll be corrected when we bind these pages in tankōbon.


Phoenixsong: I choose to ignore that twisted predictability paragraph because it's too complicated for me to find a witty one-liner with which to respond.

Of course we're spying on you! We know where you live! How did you think we get banned members to leave us alone? *holds knife menacingly* And when you've uploaded your brain to the internet, you have time to spy on everything.

As for the last part... there was a joke? It's news to me.


Faiz: Yes, I... uh... totally planned that reference. It wasn't just a coincidence due to the use of "Advanced" as "high-level." Nope. I planned it all! ^_^;;

Will they hear something shocking? You'll see soon enough!

And you won't have to wait long for the continuation...


PC: Voyeurism is fun! Yeah, Sarutobi wasn't the best influence on Jiraiya. Or was it the other way around? *shrugs*

And haven't we all tried to listen to something we weren't supposed to hear at some time or another?


Perhaps this will shed some light on what happens when you spy on private conversations...

#57: What are Ada and Becca saying? Wouldn't you like to know!

In any event, this is why certain people don't know certain things about everyone else. Because not everything is meant to be publicized. Hence the title.

One more thing. Notice the contrast between mr_pikachu the character and mr_pikachu the person. Remember the comment in #9 about "virgin eyes"? All the way through high school, the other students said that they couldn't look at certain things in front of me because they didn't want to "hurt Brian's virgin eyes."

[classy_cat18]

LMAO! That'll make the virgins run for cover!

*takes out pen and pad* "Now what do I do to him?"

[mr_pikachu]

Shonta: Hehe, I'm glad the joke worked! I am a little curious about what notes you're taking, though... *tries to peek at notepad*


It continues!

#58: Woohoo! New character! But... just who the heck is that guy?

As for the title, it's based on a book by Al Franken. Go burn a copy for yourself today!

...And I mean that literally. Grab one of his books - preferably one that you didn't purchase - and set it on fire. Better yet, if you can take out an entire bookstore that carries it, more power to you!

By the way, I think that the image quality of this and the next page might be a little lower than most of the others. This is mostly because I had to make some significant edits, including changing the identity of the new character. As for what anime character he was before... that'll be on the Director's Cut.

[classy_cat18]

*smacks Brian with frying pan* I WARNED YOU! NEXT TIME WILL BE THE SLEDGEHAMMER!

*puts on a nice face* So...old fart. Who could that be? Darien Shields? And it was cool that you used Roger Smith as the new character. But there shouldn't be a surprise that his former student was a troublemaker. I mean, look at him!

And who is Al Franken? I've never read any of his work.

[Perfect Chaos]

#57: Hahahahaha, the looks on all three of their faces was just priceless. In fact, I think I shall make my own Mastercard commercial right now on #56 and #57:

4 Digital-quality camcorders to capture every second of gossip: $4000

4 HD Monitors in order to view the disgusting material at the peak point of quality: $2400

Program in which to control all these things: yeah not sure about this one

The look on the mod's faces when they hear something COMPLETELY unexpected: Priceless

Yeah...it seemed alot funnier in my head...I think alot of things are like that, oh well

#58: Blademaster sounds just like Ichigo when he's talking to Zangetsu in the anime/manga. Yeah, I'd expect Blademaster to be a rebellious, troublesome, irritating (take your pick) student. But in reality, normally those students are the ones who turn out to be some of the best of the "class".

Ooh, so he was expelled huh? Maybe that changes what I just said before...hopefully we get to see into Blademaster's past.

See you for #59!

-Sean

[Bulbasaur4]

I love Gavin's expression in #57. Priceless. XD XD Of course, Abel is hawt to begin with... so that is all the more bonus-y.

I wonder who the sunglassed man is? Hrrmrmm!

[darktyranitar]

Ah. Well, there goes my idea on who Blademaster's friend is. And he turns out to be his teacher, hm...

Now, who could he be? Not Master of Paradox, he's already being shown earlier... Andrew, perhaps? Who knows?

Hehe, more mega expression from Mega Horny.

[mistysakura]

All you eavesdroppers I like the change in expression from panel 3 to 4 for dh. I have a feeling we'll never find out what Becca and I said though; you'll just leave the 'stuff that even Brian finds gross' to our imaginations where it will wreak more havoc than anything you could put in the comic. For the latest one, yeah the quality of panel 6 is a bit screwed. Unlike everyone else I'm haivng trouble picturing Blademaster as a rebellious student; actually I'm having trouble picturing him as a student at all, since he's always so dominant. So this will be amusing.

[Dark Sage]

Whoa... New character... I've learned from experience that guys in suits with sunglasses are usually bad news. Who is this guy?

I'm anxious to find out! Keep up the good work, Brian, I'll still be here.

- DS

[Phoenixsong]

Hey, expelled doesn't mean bad student. Bad student means repeating a year. Expelled means possibly an excellent student but he blew up a toilet or allegedly harbored a murderous, student-killing monster in a cupboard or learned an uber-powerful spell from a forbidden spellbook or stabbed someone or plotted world domination or read Al Franken or something.

...Shouldn't talk about a book I haven't read, but after your remark I couldn't resist.

Hrm. Wondering who that guy is, like everyone else. But did Blade ever know Darien? I'm not sure it's him. No, I have my own suspicion, especially given what happened to a certain story written by a certain person on a certain forum... oh, wait, duh. Anyway, yeah. I have my own (probably wrong, but this is fun!) idea as to who Mr. Sunglasses is, so we'll just see.

Shocked expressions=love. Oh, and I'm with mistysakura: I do kinda want to know what they were talking about, but it's fun to leave things like that up to the reader's imagination. Noodle incident, mwahahahaha...

[Blademaster]

Hrm. Wondering who that guy is, like everyone else. But did Blade ever know Darien? I'm not sure it's him. No, I have my own suspicion, especially given what happened to a certain story written by a certain person on a certain forum... oh, wait, duh.

Can we please not go there? I said I was sorry already...! Sheesh...

Anyway, I'm still reading this thing 'cuz it's actually short enough for me to manage! Yay!

I'll start commenting on individual chapters again later. No more numbers, though. Too confusing. :s

[Charles Legend]

I bet the new guy is Faiz/darktyranitar, However my guess well most likely be wrong...

~Charls Legend

[mr_pikachu]

Shonta: Where do you get all these weapons?! *cringes*

Yes, old fart. It could be Darien, even though he's not often around... I did get the idea for this fic awhile ago, after all. And it must have been tough for Roger to deal with such a troublesome pupil!

As for Al Franken, he's a political commentator. You could say I'm not a fan of his.


PC: Hehe, interesting commercial! Yes, the male mods definitely didn't expect any of that.

I've changed a lot of pages because the jokes just failed when I looked at them. #6 was edited and re-edited multiple times for that reason; just couldn't get MH's last line to fit. (I still didn't think the eventual result was very good, but it was better than my other attempts.)

And I would guess that his teacher's comments put Blademaster into a bit of a defiant stance.


B4: Yes, Gavin has his share of moments like that. Sometimes it's good to see that we're all human. ^_^

As for the sunglassed man... hehe!


Faiz: You were expecting Armstrong, huh? I told you, I'm tricky. And yes, his profession might be a bit of a surprise as well.

Who is he? You'll find out soon enough!

And you just have to love characters like Mega Horny. Annoying as heck, but interesting as well. ^_^


Ada: Yes, shame on us! Heh. I think this project gains a lot of strength from the shift in facial expressions; that's something I like to convey in my normal writing through abrupt interruptions in dialogue and such. It's fun. But what was said? Well... I may reveal it, I may not.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have started by doing these as GIFs. Maybe JPEGs would have saved without losing so much image quality. But at this point, I'll keep the format the way it is.

And regarding Blademaster's personality, maybe that's why he was expelled?


DS: I've said it before, and I'll say it again... you'll see his identity soon enough! ^_^

I'll keep working if people keep reading.


Phoenixsong: Why was he expelled? That's my little secret. Maybe it involves toilet humor; maybe it doesn't.

Everyone wants to know about the new character! I'm loving this. It's good to see that people are crafting all sorts of theories. Who will be right? Who will be ashamed? Find out on a future WotF!

Shocked expressions are awesome, if hard to find. But we'll see just how much of a secret the private conversation remains. I do enjoy messing with your minds, after all. ^_^


Blade: After what you did, you should be sorry! Consider yourself lucky to have only been expelled.

...Yeah, I have no idea what I'm saying. But it's good to have you reading again, with or without your judgmental numbers.


Charles: Interesting guess. Just who is this guy, anyway?


Let's hit it!

#59: I.N.D.E.E.D., if you were wondering, was a group that included a lot of TPMers many years back. It was actually a little before my time, so I don't know too much about them. Apparently, though, Lady Vulpix waited for several years just to get a reply from them. That alone makes the group worth destroying, don't you think?

[Bulbasaur4]

Ooooh... I SO remember that. I was in it after all! BWHAHAHAAA!! *salutes*

This will be very interesting... INDEEEEED...

BWHAHAHAA! *loves her pun*

[Gavin Luper]

This was one of those times when I don't reply for three pages. ^_^

So, you've left us hanging with what Becca and Ada were talking about. Damn cliffhangers!

Blademaster's reputation as a rebel grows - he was expelled by this guy? Hmm. I thought it had to be either the big dark glasses guy or the young one with brown hair, seeing as they were both in your sig.

But who is this man? Hmmm. The Knights of I.N.D.E.E.D. ... I think it must have been slightly before MY time, too. Either that or I was just very ignorant. Though I'm sure a lot of people used to have it in their sigs, whereas I think Gabi is the only one nowadays who is still active. Anyway, the point is ... if this guy wiped them out ... he must be a TPM veteran of some sort? It would make sense. Maybe Andrew, though that doesn't seem to fit him at all ... OR BBP! Damien Silverblade! That's my random guess. Why not?

Now it'll probably turn out to be just a throwaway reference to the Knights of I.N.D.E.E.D. and I'll look like slightly more of an idiot than usual.

EDIT: Wasn't it Knights of the I.N.D.E.E.D.? I can't remember. I tried looking at Gabi's sig, but it's vanished ...

[Phoenixsong]

Member combat? Le hrrmm... sounds like something that will be as interesting as dh's Infraction-Fu. "Super Blazing Blade of Scathing Reviews!" Yes, that sounds about right. I dunno. Jus' bein' stupid.

I had a thought a few pages aback, but forgot it until just now. Is this fic actually going to have any Pokémon references in it? Not that it needs any--it's just a story about the interactions between the members--but I was wondering. Or any fanfiction, for that matter... now THAT I'm a bit surprised we haven't seen more of yet.

Uh, and Blade, I didn't, like... mean anything by that. Maybe I'm not reading enough into something (not that you'd want me to, apparently), but it's not like I know any details about anything. Eh, sorry?

[Mega Horny]

These comics just get more insulting by the hour. Why am I still reading these?

>_<



...and why is Blademaster...cool?

[Lady Vulpix]

Indeed, Brian. 3 years! By the time I was allowed to join, all the activity was over! Curse you, Jay Umbreon and Indecent Exposure!

[Perfect Chaos]

Hahaha, Knights of I.N.D.E.E.D. reunion! (me, Gabi, and Kalah...and whoever else I forgot to mention ).

It seems Mega Horny's going to get hurt QUITE a lot, considering how he's understimating Blademaster's "master" (aka, he OWNS Blademaster).

Well, this shall be quite entertaining now won't it?...

-Sean

[mr_pikachu]

B4: Evil, evil! You horrible rebel!

I'm... honestly not sure if I.N.D.E.E.D. will be mentioned beyond that reference. It wasn't planned to be part of the plot, but you never do know.


Gavin: Welcome back! We've missed you!

Yeah, Ada and Becca are having a nice little chat. And Blade's never truly been "noble," although it's a mystery as to why he would be expelled. As for the brunette, he already has a role. Check #7 if you want to see him in action.

Maybe you're right, and this new guy is a vet. Or maybe you were ignorant of I.N.D.E.E.D., so anyone here could have destroyed it with enough power. Revelations will be coming shortly, so stay tuned!

And I believe it was just "Knights of I.N.D.E.E.D." We'll have to ask someone who was a member of that wretched troop.


Phoenixsong: Member combat... I look forward to revealing that. ^_^

We may have some Pokemon references in the titles and such, but I really don't expect to include them within the plot itself. WotF doesn't take place in the Pokemon world, after all. But who knows? Maybe I'll slip in a surprise sometime. After all, I already told you I'm tricky.


MH: Insulting? I don't mean to do anything like that... you seemed happy enough about the idea when I showed you the beginning. But hey, maybe things will turn around for you. Blademaster is supposed to teach you to fight, after all. You could be the big hero in the end, for all we know!

And Blade's got just as many problems as you. The rebel's not exactly on good terms with his former teacher, after all.


Gabi: Like I said, it was an evil group. You're lucky that you didn't get enlisted!


PC: Down with the I.N.D.E.E.D., I say!

Our buddy MH should probably watch his step, to be sure. But there's probably a reason that Blade took him to see this guy. We'll see what happens...


But first, it's time for a little girl talk!

#60: One of the longest gaps in page production came between #59 and #60. This was made soon after getting my new computer, which happened after the old motherboard broke during my vacation. So, about a one-month gap, I'd say.

mr_pikachu's mantra, by the way, harkens back to Shinji's infamous phrase in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[Gavin Luper]

Hardcore alien porn ...?

*shudders*

Please may we be spared the visuals. ^^ But I thought it was a good call by Gavin, and Martin too in his response. Cool to see the different ways the male mods handle the gross details. Though I have to say, it's starting to feel like the suspense is dragging on too long ... I want answers! Now!!!

[darktyranitar]

Detailed description? Something about a certain part of Mega Horny's anatomy, I suppose?

And now that you mentioned about Shinji's phrase... I haven't watch NGE for a while, but was it "aim, press, kill"?

[Blademaster]

Hardcore alien porn ...?

*shudders*

Please may we be spared the visuals.

Baby.

You Mods are a bunch of wimps. Being intimidated by a little girl talk... Show some backbone, guys! Get a sense of reality!

Anyway, more good work, Bri. It's nice to see the Mods aren't as invincible as I thought, heh heh heh...