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One of many forms of feedback that surprised me when making this comic is that readers generally tend to like Royce and find him sympathetic, despite the fact that his defining action in the story is something as amoral as screwing his teenage stepdaughter. I wish I knew exactly what I did right with him so I could do it again with the other upcoming male characters I have in the works. If you guys know of any pointers I should keep in mind for future reference I'd be happy to hear them.  

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ScuzzBucket

Haha, I've been thinking about this one, actually. Part of what makes Royce sympathetic is that he was basically SEDUCED by Casey, and found himself a slave to her charms. I mean, it's CASEY- most of us would have been as weak. He's also lacking in general negative character traits- he's not selfish, an asshole, argumentative or nasty. This, and the fact that he's probably the most adjusted member of the cast otherwise, seems to have made people like him. He's also "Acceptably Masculine"- guys tend to not like male characters who are too pretty- Royce is basically what every guy wishes he looked like. Monstrous physique, square jaw and a dick like an elephant's. Almost more of a male fantasy than a female one. This fact helps us get over the "jealousy" aspect of the guys in porn who can just fuck all the chicks they want. Ever look at the comments section of a porn website? It's all guys complaining about the male talent, like it really matters that much. I think a lot of the time if a guy doesn't fit their criteria of what a man in porn SHOULD be (ie. hard all the time, muscular, etc.), they complain. Partially out of jealousy. This is why I think Royce goes over a LOT better than the snarky guy you're adding who can bang any chick, or the arrogant teacher-guy. Guys read that and are like "hey, what the fuck- *I* want to be in that guy's spot, and he doesn't DESERVE it!" It's also why most anime &amp; porn games tend to make the lead character either a featureless nobody, or a shy nerd who needs to be taken out of his shell. So instead of being a ladies' man, he's either had sex forced upon him (like Royce), or he desperately wants it, and FINALLY gets it, so you cheer for him. I think that's part of why I liked the Marshall character in Switch- sure he got to sleep with Bria, but she treated him like shit and more or less punished him for not being what she wanted, sexually. Also he's built like a tank :). Never let it be said that I can't over-think my smut :).

ScuzzBucket

Heh- also a funny ending to this one. "You fuckin' piss me off".

Anonymous

Honestly I like Royce because even though he's fucking his stepdaughter he seems genuine about his concerns and feelings toward whatever situation he's in and is actually reluctant about the situation.

Reinbach

Hey thanks for all the feedback! I guess I'm weird in that I never identify with the blank-slate nice guys that get all the girls in hentai (or regular anime for that matter.) I personally see no problem seeing a jerk screw a hot girl in porn, as the focus is on the woman and how dominated she is, and you don't see that with a nice guy. So while I want more likable types like Royce I'm not giving entirely up on jerks either lol.

Walter L.

Meh, I neither like or dislike Royce particularly, it's just that so many characters in this comic are dicks or cunts, that he and Bria stand out for not being either of those. Well, Bria is actually sympathetic, I wouldn't go that far with Royce. I mean, I do like her boobs and ass a lot, can't say the same for his. ;)

Bob Fink

I have to agree with ScuzzBucket as far as what make Royce so likeable, he's spot on! And what a classic Casey statement to end the page, love it!

Anonymous

Well you give Royce problems and conflicts. When your character suffers, if they have good qualities (masculinity, reason, gentlemanly attitude) it makes us want his suffering to be relieved. Even wanting to bang his daughter is leavened by the fact that he struggles with the decision and the consequences...and we the readers know that Casey is also banging her mother, which is even more 'bad'. So yeah, take a character and give him good qualities, make him suffer or have conflicts that are not a result of his own actions and that's over half the battle to making someone sympathetic.

Hollow49

I don't much care for blank-slate characters either, but I'm weird because I don't *want* to identify with the characters in porn - I need them to be actual characters separate from myself, or it doesn't work for me. I suppose that I need a touch of abnegation in my fantasy. But male or female, abusive types like Mr Fontaine bother me if they don't eventually get the tables turned on them. (Casey gets sympathy despite her maniupulations because they sometimes backfire, and she's got enough problems of her own that it invokes pity.)

ScuzzBucket

Yeah, I never had a fetish for women being dominated (unless it was a WOMAN doing the dominating :)!!!), so that part never held appeal for me. Seeing obnoxious dudes get girls in porn reminds me of the early days of watching BangBros where they wouldn't shut up and treated the girls like dirt- it comes off really badly nowadays. That said... Bria with the cum shooting out of her nose while the guy holds her head down? One of your hottest pics ever :).

ScuzzBucket

Yeah, pretty much my thoughts exactly. Royce does a terrible thing... but he was practically railroaded into fucking Casey (and come on... it's CASEY), and we get to see him act guilty, and deal with things like an adult. He's also mature and rational in a cast full of total nutjobs, so we see him as "the normal guy". If Reinbach had made him a smirking asshole about fucking Casey, or something, the fans would HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE him.

ScuzzBucket

I think "comeuppance" matters a bit here, too. Royce has a ton of guilt and self-hate about what he's done, so we can kind of empathize. Compare him to the guy with super-seduction (I recall you being surprised at the hate he got from his description; it might come off differently in the actual comic): that guy's only "comeuppance" comes from picking fights and getting beaten up. Which is KIND of a thing. But if he had like a "Lena Hyena" chick chasing him, or his seduction working on chicks he DOESN'T want to fuck (like his mother or some fat chick :)), then it'd be funnier and it'd be easier to like the guy, or at least be amused by him.

Anonymous

Jah. One of my problems with most of the incest porn out there, even the hot stuff JAB draws, is there's no since of shame or regret or wrongness. No consequences. No one feels 'real'...which ironically makes it less hot. Maybe there's something wrong with me but the more real the characters feel, the better the porn is.

Reinbach

Hey I know what you mean there. It's a tricky thing to balance for me, keeping the erotic concepts grounded firmly in the world of fantasy, but still having the characters behave and react like real people. Having you guys around to give feedback has helped a lot.

Reinbach

That's true, I'll have to work on that kind of thing in the new comic.