'Not A Villain' Webcomic - Side Story about Annie, blob #48

Charactership Side Story – 05

New Readers: We're currently doing a side story that involves reader interaction. See here for details. The main story will resume Tues, March 13th.

Aw, poor Annie. I never expected for the Miracle scenario to be picked and it seemed odd for her to pick it herself. Hence the FATE Decider! lol.

And...you're probably wondering what's up with today's cryptic poll. Let me explain.

I hope to do side stories with Annie and I'd like her ambition to coincide with what you'd like to see more of in my story's universe. So today's poll is me trying to gauge what direction you'd like Annie to aim toward.

Do you:

A) Want to explore more of L.i.F.e. and the various entertainment jobs and dealing with getting people's attention? (Please note: This is an all-ages comic so we won't be exploring anything involving what would be considered a red-light district area.)

B) Want to explore the pre-game leveling up and various fighting practices available in L.i.F.e.?

C) Want to explore the actual Game (once the main story gets to it) and go where the story won't get to? (I realize you all know next to nothing about the Game, but it's a massive world and the main story won't get to all of it.)

D) Want to explore all of the above?

After you vote, please feel free to explain why you chose that and what specifics you'd like Annie to become or go after. I'll gather all the data you give me and then design 3-6 'ambitions' for you to vote come Monday. Sound good?

And...vote incentive time! Danni gets to respond to the little blob version of herself 😀

Thanks to all for reading!!

38 Comments

E) Reality 😛

Ha ha! Side stories with Annie in Reality could happen, but definitely not now or even soon. Besides, since she’s in a miracle area, there’s not much more her story would reveal than when we see Kleya exit into Reality. Maybe later on, I could do a side story featuring what Annie was doing before and during the Ending, but that’s not happening until the main story reveals those secrets first.

Heh, I wanted E as well, but then, I hadn’t voted for “miracle” zone. So I picked C. Like one of the other commenters below, I could see Annie as an avid Game fan. Maybe even one of Kleya’s fans! If she has other friends in L.i.F.e. who are also fans of Kleya’s, or of Bandit’s, for that matter, we could get an interesting perspective on how Kleya’s escapades are playing out among the other denizens of L.i.F.e.

I like C because Kleya and Mina explore L.i.F.e., sorta, and the Game sounds interesting. :3

I also like D, but I figured C would be the easiest option first.

I went with C because D seems like a cop out on my part. Yes, I want all of them, but I am more curious about some things than others. And the things I am most curious about aren’t on the list, so are likely already accounted for. 🙂

Just to make sure they are accounted for, mind listing what you’re most curious about? Unless, of course, it has to do with Reality or the Ending. Then yeah, the main story will get to those. I just want to make sure it wasn’t anything else. 🙂

E) Want to explore the real world … oh well I can hope ^^

My second choice is B. The actual game sound a lot of fun but I’m a sucker for deep backgrounds and detailed worlds. If I can’t have more information on the real world, then I want to know more about L.i.F.e. and the struggles one have to go through to get to the game. We already have an entertainer with Mina, and although I believe adding another one could lead to an interesting development, I would love to see Annie get in the game later in the story. For now though, I wan to see someone who isn’t a hacker or a super talented fighter like Danni (she was hilarious in that little strip by the way XD ) showing us a … normal path to the game. With no super pressure (like she dies if she doesn’t get in the game), just someone who lives in L.i.F.e. and who wants to earn more money by entering the Game. She could use all the different training simulators available, honing her skills slowly, and showing us just how rich this world is. Maybe she’ll make us visit the real world too … oh well, at least I have some nice pictures in my head now … let’s see were this will lead us.

Ah, this is what I originally had in mind since I totally thought you’d all pick Citizen. I am obviously not good at predictions. lol.

I could still probably pull it off but go with a more tongue in cheek mood. Or go with insanity like Z2 mentioned. That’d be fun to explore… 😈

Oh I really wanted her to be a Citizen! Oh well, you’ll just have to explain the world further in other ways XD

E) was likely removed from the possibilities when Annie got stuck in a miracle area.

E) would have been fun to see in an unstable area.

Oh no, it really got the Miracle area! I’m so sorry for poor Annie! Why did so many readers pick that…?

Probably because drama is what stirs interest, causes conflict, and reveals character. That and I don’t think we’ve met a character who’s definitely been revealed to be in such a zone.

There’s also a saying that goes along the ways of “Real art is angsty,” which leads me to think that by doing this, they might get a chance to see some darker elements that haven’t been touched on yet.

Yeah, but I don’t think there will be much drama when she’s all alone. Miracle area is some kind of boring…

I chose C, mostly because I didn’t want A and because of A, D. Being a singer, dancer or really most things for shallow people seems…hollow and there’s enough of it in the main comic. I’d rather have things focused on persevering than a rerun of Mina’s issues all over, only this time without Kleya.

I voted for D, since the game and L.i.F.e. both interest me. The pre-game trials and such less so, to be honest. We already got a few glimpses of that through the story and I think the game itself would be more interesting than the preparing for the game. Of course, I’m also very very very interested in RL, but that wasn’t an option. :p

Oh, and since you asked for some specifics and such… I think it would be neat if Annie was less fanatic about the game and getting into it than Danni & Kleya. I can see why it would be good to enter it (also due to how profitable/populair it is) but would be nice if she had others things going on as well. I don’t know enough about the world to make suggestions, but I can imagine that putting all your hope for survival on one thing seems like a shaky strategy when your survival actually does depend on it.

If I had to make money/become popular enough to be helped with stuff in such a setting, I’d probably try to do one or more activities in L.i.F.e to get it, with the game being one of the activities that could end up increasing the rate of success in the others, too. Like, the game can make you become more popular, which would make you more successful in other activities, which in turn could get you more votes in the game since more folk like you/know you.

Again, I don’t really know enough about the world to make specific suggestions. But, if I was the sole survivor and needed the virtual reality to help stay alive, I’d try almost anything I can to increase my chances of success and probably through more than just one way. 🙂

I may be mixing up Mina and Danny again, but, if I remember correctly, the one that has her life running on it is a Citizen, and therefore not LEGALLY allowed to make money in the game, except via The Game (presumably because it’s too popular to ban?).

She still should have other options, but they would be Real-Life options. And, as stated, that would take her out of the story, at least for now.

As far as I know citizens are more or less supposed to work on the farms and such, which results in them only being able to make money through the game and needing to pay to be in L.i.F.e. Whereas it’s free for outsiders, who need L.i.F.e. to increase their survival chances and who can make money in any way possible. Our Annie will be an outsider, so she could make money outside of the game. 🙂

Miracle may or may not be the worst, depending on your point of view. Being a blob, surrounded by other blobs means you have no individuality, you are not a person. Not having to deal with anybody else in reality, relying solely on oneself and having the game to filter your interactions through could be someone’s idea of paradise.
I’m greedy, I voted D this time.

D, because knowlage is power

I see Annie as more of a game fan fanatic. Subscribes to all the channels watches her chosen group all the time, then through some accident, ends up in the game.

I’m greedy too and voted for D. I can see her just popping up in a bunch of different places in the background.

I voted Outsider originally because I saw citizen as someone who must make money to be in LiFe but can’t make money in LiFe. I wanted Annie to have more choices than another game-central plot.

I think the way you “Decided” Annie was in a miracle area was good, because you’re right, she wouldn’t have chosen it herself.

that’s pretty much exactly the same reason I voted D and where I want to see her go. less of an important storyline character, but rather giving us a different point of view on things going on.

I picked C. I think it would be cool if Annie eventually met Kleya, the Bandit, or one of the others in the game (assuming they all get in). Maybe even Saisuke! As for her ambitions, I think she should just want to reach out to others in any way she can. If I were in her position, I would be extremely lonely all the time and have constant nightmares about my loved ones who died! Oooh, I know. She could have an imaginary friend who is always trying to help her, but then it turns out to be someone’s AI that was so advanced it began to have sentient feelings… What?

I chose D because I didn’t want to miss out on anything, especially since you seem to have an idea for all of them already.

One of my own ideas for Annie is for him/her to work towards becoming one of the top Artists in L.i.F.e. The only reason he/she would enter the tryouts for the Game would be to advertise his/her Avatars since he/she’s quite new to the whole thing and are also not (yet) rich enough to afford advertising. Annie probably wouldn’t really care about winning as long as he/she has the exposure. One obstacle in the way would probably be her/his… ah, “avante-garde” designs.

…though that sounds a bit boring. I secretly want Annie to be a bit like an inverted Kleya: much more social, but would fail at making real friends; where Kleya is trying to make her way to redemption, Annie’s story would be a tale of descent as he/she has a secret delusion to win at a game called L.i.F.e, though without having any hacking skills him/herself. Although the first few times Annie and Kleya cross paths will not be negative experiences, Annie would be one of the ‘mini-bosses’ Kleya will overcome later on.

But that’s really extreme and I can’t even figure out any real specifics to how any of that would work. So yeah. I’ll let everyone else decide.

As long as she doesn’t turn out to be Little Orphan Annie singing about Sunshine Tomorrow, I’m okay with anything. Random vote C.

D***. I was really surprised as well yesterday when I saw the Miracle zone was picked. d*** dramatists.
I actually didn’t see the options this time, and went on to read them after voting… almost got the right one, which is as far off as any but the right one.

Two things: first time commenter here, so I just wanted to say how much I enjoy this story! Not A Villain is on my list of ten or so webcomics I read regularly, and I very much look forward to Tuesdays and Fridays.

For the poll, I accidentally voted D, but what I really wanted was A. I’m interested in the Game, but I expect we’ll see a lot of that with Kleya, so I’m really interested in how L.i.F.e is put together. I love world-building, and one of my favorite parts about reading stories is seeing and understanding the setting and how the world works.

Also, if I was in a Miracle Area, I’d be longing for some semblance of normal life. Killing things/players in a Game might remind me too much of everyone close to me who died. So I’d think Annie would be less interested in the Game and more interested in attempting to live a somewhat normal life to take her mind off all she’s lost.

From the numbers, it looks like A won’t be winning, but if D ends up being the one, I’ll enjoy that, too.

This is a good point. A Miracle Zone survivor who gets really into fighting in the Game would probably be expressing some pretty serious anger and bitterness. I think we need more contrast with Kleya.

I didn’t pick A because I think we get that point of view with Mina already. I think it would be more interesting to see someone earning money in L.i.F.e. a different way, e.g. as a teacher, maybe at a day care with little kids. Kids still need to be taught, right? Especially Outsider kids, who wouldn’t have access to a school in the Real World, and whose parents are going to be busy enough keeping everyone alive to want not to have to worry about what their kids are up to. And it fits in with the theme of trying to keep L.i.F.e. as much like (pre-Ending) real life as possible. You could then cover a few very basic concepts about what people currently have to do in the world to survive, along with as much or little of the Ending as an adult would want to discuss with a little kid. Maybe Annie works with kids because she doesn’t want to think much about the real details, and would rather deal with a simplified, child-like version of the story. And of course the kids would all be avid Game fans so we’d get plenty of Game coverage that way. 🙂

Annie’s long-term goal pretty much has to be getting to a City or at least a better survival zone. Living solo in a Miracle Zone has to be terribly difficult, and if she ever wants real kids of her own, she’s going to have to find a way to meet with someone in the physical world. I imagine it would be hard to meet someone great in L.i.F.e. and have no way of getting to their location physically. But another factor would be that people in a virtual world sometimes act quite differently than in the real world, so if two people who got to know each other in L.i.F.e. managed to meet physically, they might be disappointed or at least surprised.

Anyway, I just wanted to put in a vote for Annie to be doing something other than entertainment or avatar design, since we’ve seen that aspect of L.i.F.e. through existing characters.

Very good point regarding Miracle Area and wanting to have something ‘normal’ through L.i.F.e. It would be interesting to see more of what normal life L.i.F.e. offers, too. Aside from npc’s doing the boring tasks, that is. 🙂

Frankly, D. But specificly, B.
So that’s how I voted 🙂

I’d kinda vote ‘Other’ because, as Annie is a miracle survivor, humans need some sort of contact with other beings to remain sane. In Annie’s case, it is the only sort of contact with anyone she is capable of having.

D. I originally voted miracle, because I wanted a character to whom human contact is something rare and important, who understands the value of others. Who takes an interest in other people on an intense level.

I picked ‘d’ earlier because while I wanted a (slight) focus on c, I wanted to see the whole path of a player going through life and the game. It seemed to me choosing a, b, or c would result in Annie not showing up in the other parts of l.i.f.e. besides what we chose.
Also I chose ‘d’ because I envisioned it to be the most like dot hack, in the social interactions. Seeing a aspiring individual converse with the world, playing games, laughing, training, eating, just giving off a vibe of normality (after a storm) is what I hope Annie will showcase.

I voted D because I’m afraid we don’t know that much about any of the options to make a well informed opinion.

To me, there’s a lot of world building that needs to take place now. Most of what we’ve learned has come through the commentary and not the actual comic itself. Many things are referenced that leave me curious, but confused. We’re invested into the characters now (or at least, we’re invested in Kleya) so I think the time’s right to start filling in the holes about the world they live in, even if that information is somewhat *ahem* misleading. *wink wink*

So overall, I guess I would’ve picked A and C, but went with D as a blanket option.

Classic multiple choice question – When “all of the above” is an answer, it’s the right one!

First time commenting, and may I say this is a great webcomic. Really good concept and story.

I went with A, because I want to see the non-entertainment, non-combat side of L.i.F.e. Aren’t there any other job options available? I guess you wouldn’t need physical laborers, cooks (maybe?), doctors, the traditional things. But there must be something.

Drawing avatars, designing buildings, moderating (police, I guess?), fixing bugs, therapist (most people in L.i.F.e. could probably use one), critic/reviewer, news reporter, teacher (a virtual world sounds like a great place to set up a college), spammer?

You’ve got a really interesting setting, in the virtual world and out, and I really want to see more of it!

I see Annie as someone who is/feels alienated. What with the Miracle Area, she escapes into L.i.F.e. because it’s her sole opportunity to bond with others. What she really wants is affection. Her goal is to make herself worth something. Someone worth caring about. Maybe she tries to prove her worth by battling Kleya? Or maybe she’s in L.i.F.e searching for someone she knew from her past, despite not knowing if that person is even alive. Someone who reminds her of happier times…

Yeah, the miracle situation seemed like such an “edge case” that it would mean we wouldn’t get to learn as much about RL, which is what I was curious about. I thought the “small number of folks where they had to cooperate to survive” had more potential. I kind of wandered off after that selection was made, but I came back to see where it has gone since then.

Not A Villain Webcomic

Webcomic of a semi- reformed hacker trying to redeem herself in a post- apocalyptic world she may have created.

Charactership Side Story – 05