Do people think we need an "about Paradox" section in the DW5 section of the FAQ?
I don't get a lot of questions about him, but I'm curious if y'all would find that useful.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel

Per the discussion over in General/General...

Note that as I write this, I haven't yet looked at the snippets.
I have written EVA. I have written a story that tried (and succeeded) in being as mind-bending as the original. I have written a cutesy EVA parody. And I have, in fact, written an EVA self-insertion. So I think I have some perspective.
EVA was conceived and brought to term by a man who was dangerously, even suicidally depressed. The resultant human darkness of the story creeps subtly into everything in the series and the films. Unless you are writing one of the aforementioned cutesy EVA parodies, that darkness must be present in the story.
I offer as an example my SI character. At first glimpse, he seems like a noble soul who will help the Children to overcome their problems and eventually triumph over their adversaries.
This is a false perception. While he is initially interested in Shinji, after realizing that the boy still desperately craves Gendou's approval, he loses any desire to help him. He is contemptuous of Rei, viewing her as Gendou's willing sex toy -- ironically not the case -- and yet he hypocritically looks down on others who view her with that same contempt, such as Ritsuko. He regards Asuka as an annoying brat, and the scene which finally made me give up the series was when I was writing him voyeuristically listening and ahem, engaged in self abuse, to the sounds of Asuka and Hikari's "harmless teenage experimentation".
I felt soiled afterwards, so I deleted the file containing that passage and have never spoken of it until now.
The one seemingly pure element of his character -- and he has one, just as all the others do -- is that he seems to really care about Misato. But even this is part of the story -- does he really care about her, or did he start looking after her as a way to atone for another little girl whom he willingly murdered after the Second Impact?
In Dante's vision of Hell, many of the people there, even though they are being tormented, would not change the deeds they committed in life. And that, more than the deeds themselves, is why they belong in hell. Another religious parallel that suggests itself is the concept of the Rapture -- when the deserving souls of humanity will be taken to Heaven, while the rest of us are left in a world given over to the forces of evil. (The notorious "Left Behind" multimedia phenomenon is about just this subject.) The similarities between this situation and that of EVA should be obvious -- and suggest that, ultimately, nobody in the series can be saved, not even from themselves. You cannot even hope to change them -- because ultimately, they like the way that they are.
Passage from one of my favorite novels, David Drake and Eric Flint's _An Oblique Approach_: "It is all very murky. In my vision itself, no, there was no hope of any kind. ... All was at an end, save duty, and what personal grace might be found."
This is one of the many reasons that EVA has merged so well with the Lovecraftian concepts in "Children of an Elder God"; well, that and the fact that Go Nagai's "Devilman", which was one of EVA's inspirations, shows a pretty clear Lovecraftian influence.
The plotters of SEELE think that they have found a way to escape the destruction that is to come, and emerge with their desires fulfilled. So does Ikari Gendou. So did Ikari Yui ... and of all of them, she comes closest. But they are all ultimately thwarted, because ultimately, none of them are truly as powerful as they would like to believe.
EVA is a story about hopelessness and helplessness. And if those aren't represented in any story about these characters and ideas, then you are, just like the authors themselves did in the final episodes, only offering up a parody of what's gone before.
Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Chris Davies

K-1 said the magic words....
No Bob, it's not "I wanna threesome". Though the way Skuld is drawn nowadays, if he wants to wait another year or two...that's definitely possible.
That's chapter 195.
Edit: Let's just say Bell's reaction (along with everone else) was strange.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

...where the mechs are big, and androids pretty....
Drunkard's Walk ?? -- The "Big O" step.
Problem is, while there's lots of opportunities for fun bits (like having flashbacks to MegaTokyo when he sees Paradigm Corp's headquarters), there's not much for him to *do* there.
Unless the world of Paradigm City needs some external force, some out-of-context impetus, to leverage it into a paradigm shift into a fully-realized reality...
And now I keep having this *line,* cribbed from an old SciFi radio show episode, echoing in my head: "You see, Mr. Sangnoir, this entire city... is built upon a tabletop."
And now, some Dougliners:
"Oh, yeah? So tell me, Mr. Negotiator, just how many times have *you* managed to successfully negotiate with a god, or gods?"
"Several. I think. That last time, things got a little hazy near the end."
"...can I hire you?"
"All right, dammit, this isn't FAIR! I *have* to find a song that generates me a giant butt-kicking robot."
"A butler with really big guns. *That's* what Warrior's Mansion has been missing!"
"Your clothes are all currently being laundered, Mr. Sangnoir. Fortunately, I have extensive experience in picking out clothing for men who have no taste."
"Tomato? You're calling *me* a tomato? Lady, you've obviously never seen my 57th-favorite movie."

The Sailor Moon Step is, of course, still in long-term development, so nothing is set in stone. Even so, I wanted to share a couple little things just because I was rereading the file this morning and they amused me. As usual, there's no promise or guarantee they will make it into the final draft, but until then, enjoy:
"Will you just *chill out*, Luna? Geeze, Usagi, your cat is*such* a spaz."-----"Loon Schism Power, Fake-Out!"-----"This is the Dark Kingdom?" I looked around. "This isn't Hell so much as a Hellette. Hell Lite! Now with 50% less suffering!""Doug-sensei?""Yes, Usagi?""Please. Shut up."-- Bob
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Chaos isn't really chaos if it isn't Lawful part of the time.

hmm? well? its not exactly home but has some similarities ne?
I sorta see this as a fun step though :S no real deep problems for Doug to solve and move on from.... ___________________
-Necropotence, its viagra for the undead. For those nights when you just cant raise the dead.-
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.

Is it too early to consider discussing it? Book 4 is supposedly coming out on December 27
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Folks have probably noticed that the chapter byte count is now appearing in the forums subhead. Just so you know, though, that while we are progressing, the holiday will have an effect on our output, possibly stalling it for a few weeks as we process all our obligations and whatnot.-- Bob
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Chaos isn't really chaos if it isn't Lawful part of the time.

When you're alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go - downtown
When you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know - downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown - no finer place, for sure
Downtown - everything's waiting for you
Don't hang around and let your problems surround you
There are movie shows - downtown
Maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close - downtown
Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova
You'll be dancing with him too before the night is over
Happy again
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, where all the lights are bright
Downtown - waiting for you tonight
Downtown - you're gonna be all right now
[instrumental break]
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along
So maybe I'll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares
So go downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown - don't wait a minute for
Downtown - everything's waiting for you
Downtown, downtown, downtown, downtown ...
-- Petula Clark, Downtown-- Bob
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Chaos isn't really chaos if it isn't Lawful part of the time.