Friday, July 15, 2011

Don't Rain on My Parade!


Please view the first caption above first before reading the blog posting.

I had an idea to make a caption that was vague in which way it the plot actually played out. I tried to write it in that either "he actually WAS exactly the way he was in the photo, and Damien was setting him up to be a hot woman wandering around the party making her future fiance look like a lesbian." OR "what we are seeing in the picture is what Kevin thinks is the way he looks, and is actually still himself dressed up in slutty clothing which will be a huge embarrassment to the entire family later on that day."

I originally planned it to be the first reading, that he actually looked like that and that Damien was just yanking his chain. But as I went along, it was intriguing to have a caption where the reality is that the guy THINKS he has changed, but it still himself, with the bonus that he is wearing womens' clothing and setting himself up for some major humiliation as he goes about his daily routine. I just tweaked it a bit so that both scenarios would work, and it'd be up to the reader to decide. However, by the time I posted, I was leaning more towards the second scenario of Kevin still being a guy, but hypnotized to think he looked like a sexy woman.

Something happened around the time I had created the caption, but not posted it. Gay Marriage passed in the state of New York. I thought that was a big deal, since it seemed that it was going to be defeated by ONE vote. One lousy stinking vote! I wanted to use the law passing in a caption, and as I was looking at this, it seemed to call out for a sequel. This usually doesn't happen for me, especially since I deal mostly with single panels. Luckily for me, I had a set of pictures to use (when I made the above one, I was trying to figure out which picture to use) so it was just a matter of snagging another suitable photo.


So I ended up using both images that I had trouble deciding about, and the second one seems more of a "leaving the house now" shot, don't you think? I would like to think that I made it well enough that people would think it was always meant to be a 2 part caption series. The first one ends well enough on its own, but I think the second one does a great job of wrapping it up into a bow and delivering the goods.

Someone did leave a Formspring question, but wanted the answer in a caption form, and I just haven't had much time to devote to whipping one up at the moment. I do hope to have something for it within the next week. Feel free to leave more questions though!

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Would I have been better to keep it at one caption, or does the followup make it better and more complete? IF you read it to be that Kevin was still a dude, but wearing female clothing, did you mind that ... seeing as you don't get to see a cross-dressed dude in the actual caption? Is that scenario the better one, or is Kevin REALLY changing into a girl the most satisfying to you?

I am looking forward to comments on this one, since I could use some other peoples' perspective on what they think.

8 comments:

  1. Uhm difficult question, but hey I got all the afternoon to answer!

    For me it would be a bit difficult to follow the purpose if not for the second one, of course the plot is set in the first one but I cannot stop to grasp my head at the "Great mesmo" reference heh(seriously I demand to be on the joke Dee)
    So the second clarifies that Kevin is really changed as you bluntly say it on the firs line "giggle"

    I don't mind the cross dressing reference and I think that even if the pic doesn't qualify for that because hey you are seeing a drop dead gorgeous chick! fit somehow in the theme, the lingerie only is always the most used reference for a cross dressing theme ^-^

    As for the political view that's a pity that there are still some "mongrels" working for a bad future to other people, I cannot understand why some people still want to get their hands in the future of other people lives!
    Hugs and Kisses Alectra

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually Alectra, I don't say anything about him REALLY being changed. Where exactly do you see a line that says that?

    Well, I think we have 5-6 states now that allow same-sex marriages. It is a slow process, hindered by the fact that many states have outlawed it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Uppss my mind got slippery on that one sorry :)
    I got that feeling by mixing the first paragraph and the last paragraph on the second cap, but I really saw it that way :p
    Hugs and Kisses Alectra

    P.S: Well in Spain the law applies to all communities so if the government says the gay marriages are applied so must everyone has to do as the government said and ouh that cheesy law of don't ask don't tell in the army doesn't work in here as even transexual people can apply for a position in the army on Spain :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Interesting caption and nice to hear your thoughts. As Alectra said, we DO get to see a beautiful woman in her lingerie, so that beats any allure of crossdressing. Crossdressing would have been "funnier" as it definitely suggests the second reading (i.e. he's a guy who think he's a woman, but dressed in women's clothing). Personally, I prefer TG transformation to crossdress.

    I honestly think the caption reads as more of a legitimate transformation, plus mindwarp, than just a hypnosis. Here's why. If you hadn't suggested it, most readers would go with the evidence of their eyes, a beautiful woman, and take that as the reality of the situation. However, since you've suggested it, I can see it both ways.

    Anyway, nice cap and set of images. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  5. @ Alectra

    The "Great Mesmo" isn't too much of an inside joke. Mesmer was one of the first people to use hypnosis, or "Mesmerism" which lead to a term called "mesmerized" .. Many stage hypnotists (they probably aren't really hypnotizing people on stage) use some sort of play on the name Mesmer .. ala "Great Mesmo"! Its sort of like how magician are "The Great Randi" or "The Amazing Jonathan".

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think the second panel makes it a more complete cap. The first works fine alone, but it is improved with the second one. I actually read it as a Kevin still being a dude and dressed in women's clothes in the first cap. I just had the idea that we were seeing him as he was seeing himself. Then Damien was screwing with him about what he was wearing.

    But the second panel made me rethink that. Being that his fiancé is running with 'same sex foes' helping him, it would be more devious if her fiancé was a woman. It would still be bad if her fienace was a man mincing around in high heels and lingerie, but then the zinger would have worked better with 'conservative Christians' as opposed to 'same sex foes'. Both scenarious work though.

    I did get confused in the second panel though. When you wrote 'he is running....' and 'are backing him...' did you mean his fiancé? did you mean 'she is running...' and 'are backing her...'? Or were you talking about her opponent? I assumed it was a typo and that you meant her.

    As to which scenario (cross dressing vs transformed) is better, I think they both satisfy different areas for me. But then again unlike mingle, I prefer cross dressing to full transformations.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't mind at all that we see a beautiful woman in the pic and you suggest that it's really a cross dresser. I think that helps with the fact it's really all in his mind, instead of him really being a woman. Of course it also help's that it could be that he was turned into a woman.

    I don't use many real crossdresser in my crossdressing caps, but if I find one that looks passable enough and I have an idea for it, then it's fair game really. I think most people use real women in a crossdressing cap because it's the sort of fantasy that they are looking for. I know I do!

    And Like Caitlyn, I much prefer a crossdressing caption over a magic caption. I don't dislike magic caps, but I like the little bit of realism it brings to the situation. SOME guys can look really hot dressed as a chick and that's closer to reality then anything you could find in a magic cap. But it's all fantasy work anyway, so all of it works really.

    And I do get a kick out of magic caps. Some of my favorite captions and story's involve Magic or some other fantastical element that changes the dude into a chick.

    I think it works very well as a two part cap. It's a great single cap, but it all comes together in the second cap. it adds a lot to the first one.

    @ Caitlyn

    I think the he Dee was referring to was his fiances farther running for the senate. Though I do see why it's confusing.. Hmm, maybe I'm wrong on thinking that, but I'm pretty sure that's how it was discussed with Dee in our chat the other day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Urrgghh, Blogger ate another one of my comments I made.

    As Jennifer mentioned, it was the dad (celebrating the 25th wedding anniversary) that was going to run for senate. I thought that I had made it clear, but I certainly did not. I probably should've made one more sentence in there clarifying it.

    Oh well! Que sera sera!

    ReplyDelete