Sunday, September 4, 2011

Putting On A New Face

For the discussion question's sake, view the caption first, before reading the blog post.


I was going through my archive's for something to post tonight, and this one struck me in an interesting way, and figured I would share it with you. It was made for Mei and I think its probably the best one I did for her. Why, you may ask? Mostly because I went against the grain and didn't use any typical over-the-top Asian stereotypes of "Me sucky sucky" even though she doesn't mind them. I left that stuff vague so you could read it in the caption if you wanted to, but there are only so many times you really can go into that well before you get bored with it.

I wanted to play around with what constitutes the "true" person inside. Caitlyn does a great job in explaining how she's defined Calvin and where Caitlyn fits into his life. When I was creating this, I saw a way to push on through and go places I hadn't before. It wasn't like it was painfully plotted out, since it honestly took about 8 minutes in total to go from picture to final jpg, but it was an idea that had bounced around my head and just all came together when I saw the picture and knew it was going to be for Mei.

In this caption, I wanted to show that "Jeremy" was more of a Drag King mode for Mei, than the other way around. It was obvious to her, and possibly to others, that a big change in her life was about to happen. Mei, as far as I know, is in the process of transition. I thought it would be fun to see it not the way that most people see it, but from a complete alternate take. Something that is probably closer to people in the process of going through SRS feel at a certain point, where they are no longer portraying the new version of them, but pretending to be who they were and tying up the various loose ends of their earlier existence.

I made no claims as to how/why the change was happening. I figured that people would fill it in however they wanted to, but there is no forceful nature implied  to whatever changes are underfoot. It could run the gamut from willing change all the way to completely forced. Perhaps that is why I love this caption so much.  I laid a groundwork to get my point across, and yet it is still pretty universal. Is it magic, hypnosis, force-fem, or whatever category you want to place it in? Its probably a good litmus test to read the caption and then see how you read it.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Soooooo, what was the back story to this caption as you read it, before reading what *I* had to say? Does it line up with your preferences as to what you really like in a caption, or did what I write lead you a different way? Did I do a good enough job in portraying the idea I wanted to convey, or was it watered down too much to really grasp?

2 comments:

  1. I think this is one of the stories where things are better left understated. Reading this, I have questions as to what happens, but because it feels like a exert from a short story, I feel like the details will eventually be revealed.

    I'm finding more and more I don't want caption detailed rammed down my throat. Yes, I like vivid writing, but vivid doesn't equal insane amounts of detail. It's timely detail spread out in chunks. This caption is perfect in that reguard; there's story and there is a hint of a background and there's enough to draw you in to want to know more as to how Mei came to be this way.

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  2. For me, I saw 'Jeremy' as being forced into the situation by Damien-san. So I guess I did fill in the details with my own preferences. I think some of that came in from 'Doubt began to form in Mei's mind....' and with 'With that thought, she drifted off once again to....'

    Upon reading your thought process, I can see that as the clearer way to read this. Mine is a little more convoluted. I think you conveyed what you wanted, while leaving it open enough for interpretation. I'm sure Mei loved it, as there is enough room for it to match up to her preferences. I certainly don't think it was watered down 'too much'. The only times I ever think that of any cap is when I read it, and don't have enough information to get any story out of it. I never get that from your caps. I may not end up with the same mental picture you were thinking of... but I get enough of a story line to work with.

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