The whole... four arm thing

[darkwingdork]

As you can probably guess, this comic features multiarmed characters. Surprise!

The main characters are members of a magical race that features this characteristic. So they don't use magic to make their extra arms appear, but rather, they use it to make them disappear. (ie, four-armed is their natural form, and two-armed is an illusion).

But that's internal story logic. The question you might ask is, why Darkwing did you create a comic that features this? And I must honestly answer... I don't know.

I like multiarmed furries. I do. So that's part of the reason. Another is that it's unique. There are so many furry comics out there, it's hard to get one to stand out. This way I've created something that stands out.

Not that I hope that's the only thing this story is known for. Brooke's excellent artwork deserves special mention, of course. And I certainly hope the characters are lively and personable beyond that gimmick.

But a story must have a hook, something unique beyond just an original story to get those loyal readers. The people who are interested in something just by looking, but will remain with it in the long run because the story draws them in. This multiarm thing is our attention grabber.

Rather it works or not is still to be seen.

[cubist]

Aug 29, 2008 23:18:25 GMT -5 darkwingdork said:

As you can probably guess, this comic features multiarmed characters. Surprise!

The main characters are members of a magical race that features this characteristic.

A magical race? As in, one? Hmm. They look like three different races to me... what's up with that?

[darkwingdork]

Hmm. That is a good question. The best I can say is that in this setting, furries are technically "one species."

[Temujin]

I think a good analogy would be

Human = Race

"Race" = variation (black white latino asian and ect)

[darkwingdork]

Sept 1, 2008 16:44:57 GMT -5 Temujin said:

I think a good analogy would be

Human = Race

"Race" = variation (black white latino asian and ect)

I may have to come up with a term instead of trying to differentiate the two meanings of race.

[cubist]

Why bother with new terminology? Since we're talking about a species which possesses [spiffy echo and reverb] Vast Magickal Powers, [/spiffy echo and reverb] it may be that they just don't care about (what we humans would regard as) seemingly-significant differences in appearance. Maybe they think Ally's long ears & etc are the moral equivalent of a tattoo or something, in which case the rabbit/'roo/fox thing doesn't really matter?

[darkwingdork]

Sept 2, 2008 21:40:18 GMT -5 cubist said:

Why bother with new terminology? Since we're talking about a species which possesses [spiffy echo and reverb] Vast Magickal Powers, [/spiffy echo and reverb] it may be that they just don't care about (what we humans would regard as) seemingly-significant differences in appearance. Maybe they think Ally's long ears & etc are the moral equivalent of a tattoo or something, in which case the rabbit/'roo/fox thing doesn't really matter?

I was toying with the idea that the girls are the decedents of an ancient group of furries that somehow gained their powers through some magical agent. Hence why so many different species are represented.

[darkwingdork]

I was trying to conceptualize the society in which the Enchanters live. I picture it as Utopian city modeled on the ancient Greek and Roman design.

But one think I'm curious about (and why I bring it up in this thread) is I wonder how a four-armed society would differ from a two-armed one. I'm trying to figure out how different objects would be designed (such as houses, personal items, etc.) to accommodate this, or if having an extra set of arms really would change the aesthetics of a culture that much. Having an extra set of arms would make some tasks easier, but most of the objects we interact with in everyday life don't really require them. A door, for instance, only requires one hand to operate.

Naturally I would expect some smaller changes, but if anyone has any other thoughts on how their home world's design would be different, please share.

[cubist]

sez darkwing: "...I wonder how a four-armed society would differ from a two-armed one. I'm trying to figure out how different objects would be designed (such as houses, personal items, etc.) to accommodate this..."
There would be less impulse/desire to make gadgets suitable for one-handed use. We humans have that because a two-handed gadget leaves us with no free hands; with your furries, however, a two-handed gadget leaves them with two free hand to do stuff with.
Similarly, your furries would feel less reason to simplify their machinery. With us humans, a machine whose controls require 3-4 hands to use is a machine that needs two operators; with your furries, that same machine is a one-man gizmo. Thus, more-complex gadgetry is more practical for them than for us.
How do your furries compare to humans, strength-wise? Do the extra arms mean they can exert a greater total quantity of physical force? If so, they have less reason to shave weight off of their gadgets.
Bottom line: All in all, I'd say your furries should tend to have larger, bulkier, and more complex machinery than us two-armed humans do.

[darkwingdork]

All good ideas, Cubist! Thanks for your input. I especially like the fact that there would never have been a need to simply machines to the point that we have right now.

[Kaotix]

Four arm question. When the girls are hiding their extra set, what exactly are they doing? Are the the pair of arms just invisible and the clothing modified to hide them? ie... You could reach out and touch the invisible arm. Or are they totally gone while hidden?

And if they are just invisible, how do they not allow their hubbies to find out? I mean I assume they perform their husband and wife duties and it would be hard to hide an extra set of arms during that.

[darkwingdork]

That's a good question. The thing is, the girls all have limited transformation abilities, so their extra arms just poof out of existence until they call on them again.

It would be funny to have the extra arms causing troubles for just gags, but it would present some problems that their husbands would pick up on quickly.

However, it might be interesting to explore a story where, for whatever reason, the girls can't make their lower arms poof away, and have to use an invisible spell for the time being (some "puberty"-like body freakout or something). Much hilarity can ensue and such.

[Kaotix]

Or when they are sick, they might have issues with their magic not being entirely reliable.

Of course, since they are magical to begin with, could they even get sick?

[darkwingdork]

They maybe be magical, but that doesn't mean their bodies are perfect. Since they are capable of dying, I'd say yes, they're susceptible to getting sick, though probably not to ordinary diseases. Magical diseases though...

[Kaotix]

Well, I meant in the way they could probably use their magic to heal themselves or each other or something similar if they got sick or hurt. But some sort of magical illness or something else (like some sort of magical artifact) that could make their magic go haywire or become completely unreliable.

There was an episode of Aladdin in which the Genie got sick and every time he sneezed something random would happen with his magic. As he got sicker, the effects of whatever his misfired magic created got worse and more dangerous. They healed him by getting some sort of magical artifact and using it on him. Without it, his illness would have lasted "just" a few hundred years, which he then realized was along time to everyone else. "Oh that's a long time to you guys, isn't it?"