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ALL POSTSHow to come up with good stand abilities?
<p>Title says it all. I've been getting a bit of a 'writer's block' (is that what you call it?), for stand abilities, for both RPs, and for stuff like fanmade stands and fanmade stand fights. Normally, I can come up with ideas pretty quick, even if they're not that good of abilities, but now, I just plain suck at it. My mind just scrambles for stand abilities, but they don't find any. So, any tips on how to come up with a pretty decent/good ability?
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(Edited by Basikmann)
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<p>Well I don't think it's a good method, not bad, but there are definitely better methods imo.
</p><p>What usually separates the good Stand from the bad Stand is that the power is thought with an unusual mechanism. A good Stand doesn't shoot rays. A good Stand doesn't make something happen just because it's here. There should be a trigger, even as simple as the Stand touching something. Frankly, you can always look at the XMen and then add a restriction to a power.
</p><p>You should also expand your sources. You should look at many more things than songs. There'll always be a song to name your Stand with, the name is not important.
</p><p>Look for illnesses, especially mental disorders. Look at everything around you and ask yourself how you'd die from it even if it involves a stupid scenario. For instance I invented Champagne Supernova which when you drink it, makes you attracted to a star in the sky and make you "fall" into the sky, forever. Look for verbs. For instance "dry". What if a Stand dried you to death? How can you use a chewing-gum to attack someone.
</p><p>Look outside the box, seek esoteric beliefs. Araki use cryptids, fengshui, pseudosciences, religion to fuel his imagination, no reason why you shouldn't.
</p><p>Instead of imagining powers, for one-off villains, imagine a scenario like a mugging, and then ask yourself how the villain can make it easier through a Stand.
</p><p>Here I just imagined a chewing gum. You chew it, you stick the gum on something, and that something will inflate until it violently explodes. Now it's a chewing gum Stand, where does it come from? Does the User produce it automatically, at which interval? Let's say he's got a Pez dispenser that always deal chewing gum. Let's say he's got to chew it until it's not solid anymore. What's its name?... What about Sugar Shack from the Phish? I like the song. Here it is I got a Stand.
</p><p>Then I'd build a character from the power. He chews gum, he sticks them somewhere. He must be laid back, surely a little disrespectful, surely young. What about being a girl? A kid? Or go for the contrast and make it someone mature and respectable looking? I'll decide later.
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(Edited by Nabukun)
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<div class="quote"><i>Nabukun wrote:
Well I don't think it's a good method, not bad, but there are definitely better methods imo. <p>What usually separates the good Stand from the bad Stand is that the power is thought with an unusual mechanism. A good Stand doesn't shoot rays. A good Stand doesn't make something happen just because it's here. There should be a trigger, even as simple as the Stand touching something. Frankly, you can always look at the XMen and then add a restriction to a power. </p><p>You should also expand your sources. You should look at many more things than songs. There'll always be a song to name your Stand with, the name is not important. </p><p>Look for illnesses, especially mental disorders. Look at everything around you and ask yourself how you'd die from it even if it involves a stupid scenario. For instance I invented Champagne Supernova which when you drink it, makes you attracted to a star in the sky and make you "fall" into the sky, forever. Look for verbs. For instance "dry". What if a Stand dried you to death? How can you use a chewing-gum to attack someone. </p><p>Look outside the box, seek esoteric beliefs. Araki use cryptids, fengshui, pseudosciences, religion to fuel his imagination, no reason why you shouldn't. </p><p>Instead of imagining powers, for one-off villains, imagine a scenario like a mugging, and then ask yourself how the villain can make it easier through a Stand. </p><p>Here I just imagined a chewing gum. You chew it, you stick the gum on something, and that something will inflate until it violently explodes. Now it's a chewing gum Stand, where does it come from? Does the User produce it automatically, at which interval? Let's say he's got a Pez dispenser that always deal chewing gum. Let's say he's got to chew it until it's not solid anymore. What's its name?... What about Sugar Shack from the Phish? I like the song. Here it is I got a Stand. </p><p>Then I'd build a character from the power. He chews gum, he sticks them somewhere. He must be laid back, surely a little disrespectful, surely young. What about being a girl? A kid? Or go for the contrast and make it someone mature and respectable looking? I'll decide later. </p> </i></div>
<p>I have to agree with that. A lot of the thought process should come from outside sources. I made another stand based off of orbs on photos, another on information theory, etc. Araki does write about what he's interested in </p><p>But if you want to create the most reasonable stand, you should be like Araki again and put extra thought into it. For example, you could think of a stand revolving around speed, and then use Speed King. That's the flaw, it becomes predictable. Paisley Park might seem like an environment-type stand, but instead it's a stand that gathers information and guides the user. Tusk could be about walruses, but instead its about using the Spin to shoot your nails. </p><p>And I have talked about this before. Take Tusk for example once again. It's a marching band song by Fleetwood Mac, referencing Johnny's goal to walk again. Tusk will literally be the song for him to march to. </p><p>Another obscure one is Green Green Grass of Home. The song is about what seems to be a man returning to his childhood home, but the song gives context mid-way through to show that the man isn't returning home alive. Instead, he's being buried there. His body is taken from a train, walked down a road, and buried under a tree where all his family gather under to mourn. This is most likely a reference to the Green Baby as a symbol of return to DIO's legacy, before it becomes the fuel of Pucci's rampage. Goes from nostalgic to dark with the right involvement. </p><p>And the problem with becoming too crazy in how you write is that explanations have to be done to get the message across, or the reader would never understand. Ozone Baby suffers greatly from this, as the entire arc Poor Tom was in, Joubin has to go off on dialogue to explain what is happening. It really ruins the mood of the story. Stands like White Album and Chocolate Disco are written to be interesting but not crazy, and the story they give work well. Giorno and Mista slowly learn what White Album can do through the attacks without describing it in detail, and Gyro learns what Chocolate Disco can do by being attacked and given description without going on a huge dialogue. </p><p>But besides that, a lot of the writing is done on the spot, because you never know how things are going to turn out until later, so just push it off until later. </p>
Well I don't think it's a good method, not bad, but there are definitely better methods imo. <p>What usually separates the good Stand from the bad Stand is that the power is thought with an unusual mechanism. A good Stand doesn't shoot rays. A good Stand doesn't make something happen just because it's here. There should be a trigger, even as simple as the Stand touching something. Frankly, you can always look at the XMen and then add a restriction to a power. </p><p>You should also expand your sources. You should look at many more things than songs. There'll always be a song to name your Stand with, the name is not important. </p><p>Look for illnesses, especially mental disorders. Look at everything around you and ask yourself how you'd die from it even if it involves a stupid scenario. For instance I invented Champagne Supernova which when you drink it, makes you attracted to a star in the sky and make you "fall" into the sky, forever. Look for verbs. For instance "dry". What if a Stand dried you to death? How can you use a chewing-gum to attack someone. </p><p>Look outside the box, seek esoteric beliefs. Araki use cryptids, fengshui, pseudosciences, religion to fuel his imagination, no reason why you shouldn't. </p><p>Instead of imagining powers, for one-off villains, imagine a scenario like a mugging, and then ask yourself how the villain can make it easier through a Stand. </p><p>Here I just imagined a chewing gum. You chew it, you stick the gum on something, and that something will inflate until it violently explodes. Now it's a chewing gum Stand, where does it come from? Does the User produce it automatically, at which interval? Let's say he's got a Pez dispenser that always deal chewing gum. Let's say he's got to chew it until it's not solid anymore. What's its name?... What about Sugar Shack from the Phish? I like the song. Here it is I got a Stand. </p><p>Then I'd build a character from the power. He chews gum, he sticks them somewhere. He must be laid back, surely a little disrespectful, surely young. What about being a girl? A kid? Or go for the contrast and make it someone mature and respectable looking? I'll decide later. </p> </i></div>
<p>I have to agree with that. A lot of the thought process should come from outside sources. I made another stand based off of orbs on photos, another on information theory, etc. Araki does write about what he's interested in </p><p>But if you want to create the most reasonable stand, you should be like Araki again and put extra thought into it. For example, you could think of a stand revolving around speed, and then use Speed King. That's the flaw, it becomes predictable. Paisley Park might seem like an environment-type stand, but instead it's a stand that gathers information and guides the user. Tusk could be about walruses, but instead its about using the Spin to shoot your nails. </p><p>And I have talked about this before. Take Tusk for example once again. It's a marching band song by Fleetwood Mac, referencing Johnny's goal to walk again. Tusk will literally be the song for him to march to. </p><p>Another obscure one is Green Green Grass of Home. The song is about what seems to be a man returning to his childhood home, but the song gives context mid-way through to show that the man isn't returning home alive. Instead, he's being buried there. His body is taken from a train, walked down a road, and buried under a tree where all his family gather under to mourn. This is most likely a reference to the Green Baby as a symbol of return to DIO's legacy, before it becomes the fuel of Pucci's rampage. Goes from nostalgic to dark with the right involvement. </p><p>And the problem with becoming too crazy in how you write is that explanations have to be done to get the message across, or the reader would never understand. Ozone Baby suffers greatly from this, as the entire arc Poor Tom was in, Joubin has to go off on dialogue to explain what is happening. It really ruins the mood of the story. Stands like White Album and Chocolate Disco are written to be interesting but not crazy, and the story they give work well. Giorno and Mista slowly learn what White Album can do through the attacks without describing it in detail, and Gyro learns what Chocolate Disco can do by being attacked and given description without going on a huge dialogue. </p><p>But besides that, a lot of the writing is done on the spot, because you never know how things are going to turn out until later, so just push it off until later. </p>
(Edited by Zodazzle)
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<p>omg don't quote like this, it makes the thread unreadable
</p><p>Hey, Araki is a seasoned writer. When he decides to have a character explain the ability, it's for storytelling reasons. Who are you to decide the mood of the story anyway?
</p><p>and fyi Araki doesn't give much thought to Stand names. if it's vaguely related and sounds good, he's use it that's all. You don't have to seek symbolism where there isn't.
</p><p>Anyway one of the hardest Stand to create is those you could keep using for a whole part. It needs to be versatile, and interesting to follow, both as a power and visually for Araki. Frankly there's no sure way to come up with that. It could come down to chance.
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(Edited by Nabukun)
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<p>I have to argue about Araki not giving thought to stand names. Jolyne literally states that Stone Free will save her from the "stone ocean" that is Green Dolphin Street Prison. And the lyrics also state about Jimi Hendrix being able to do what he pleases, to have complete freedom. "A woman here a woman there try to keep me in a plastic cage" is a line in the song with an uncanny similarity to Jolyne's life in the female ward of the prison, being attacked by fellow inmates.
</p><p>Anyway, that is just one of many.
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(Edited by Zodazzle)
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<p>There are times where Araki uses the source material for good uses in relation to the character, but you can’t deny there are numerous instances that gave absolutely no great relation to the characters or their stands. For instance, take Illuso’s Man in the Mirror. You can’t possibly make a cohesive argument about the meaning of that name being anything else than the fact that it is a stand that allows a man to go inside a mirror. I’m not trying to degrade Araki or anything, but I feel as though people overhype Araki and pretend that every name has a relation to the character or the situation, when that is clearly not the case. I see him as the same as Akira Toriyama when it comes to names, except that he tries to be more serious when Akira is just making puns (not that there is anything wrong with that).
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(Edited by Kakorat)
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<p>@zoodazzle
</p><p>Your argument about Stands would make sense if only Araki didn't reveal several times that he cannot understand the lyrics of any song he listens too (nor does he want to) and only pays attention to the melodies.
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(Edited by Nabukun)
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<div class="quote"><i>
<p>Nabukun wrote:
@zoodazzle
</p><p>Your argument about Stands would make sense if only Araki didn't reveal several times that he cannot understand the lyrics of any song he listens too (nor does he want to) and only pays attention to the melodies.
</p>
</i></div>
<p>I’m not disputing you, but can you give me a link or excerpt of him saying that. I want it for future reference. </p>
<p>I’m not disputing you, but can you give me a link or excerpt of him saying that. I want it for future reference. </p>
(Edited by Kakorat)
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<p>Naokatsu Tsuda interview, 2015
</p><p>What was the process for choosing the ending theme songs like "Roundabout" and "Walk Like an Egyptian?" Is this a tradition that you want to continue in future parts?
</p><p>Well, those came from the author of the original graphic novel, Hirohiko Araki. They're all songs that he was listening to back when he was drawing the individual parts. Mr. Araki only listens to Western music because he doesn't understand English, so none of the lyrics come across to him as language, but as pure sound. So we got a list of these songs that he was listening to back when he was writing each part, and we chose songs for the closing animation based on which ones Warner was able to secure the rights for.
</p>
(Edited by Nabukun)
<div class="quote"><i>
<p>Nabukun wrote:
Well I don't think it's a good method, not bad, but there are definitely better methods imo.
</p><p>What usually separates the good Stand from the bad Stand is that the power is thought with an unusual mechanism. A good Stand doesn't shoot rays. A good Stand doesn't make something happen just because it's here. There should be a trigger, even as simple as the Stand touching something. Frankly, you can always look at the XMen and then add a restriction to a power.
</p><p>You should also expand your sources. You should look at many more things than songs. There'll always be a song to name your Stand with, the name is not important.
</p><p>Look for illnesses, especially mental disorders. Look at everything around you and ask yourself how you'd die from it even if it involves a stupid scenario. For instance I invented Champagne Supernova which when you drink it, makes you attracted to a star in the sky and make you "fall" into the sky, forever. Look for verbs. For instance "dry". What if a Stand dried you to death? How can you use a chewing-gum to attack someone.
</p><p>Look outside the box, seek esoteric beliefs. Araki use cryptids, fengshui, pseudosciences, religion to fuel his imagination, no reason why you shouldn't.
</p><p>Instead of imagining powers, for one-off villains, imagine a scenario like a mugging, and then ask yourself how the villain can make it easier through a Stand.
</p><p>Here I just imagined a chewing gum. You chew it, you stick the gum on something, and that something will inflate until it violently explodes. Now it's a chewing gum Stand, where does it come from? Does the User produce it automatically, at which interval? Let's say he's got a Pez dispenser that always deal chewing gum. Let's say he's got to chew it until it's not solid anymore. What's its name?... What about Sugar Shack from the Phish? I like the song. Here it is I got a Stand.
</p><p>Then I'd build a character from the power. He chews gum, he sticks them somewhere. He must be laid back, surely a little disrespectful, surely young. What about being a girl? A kid? Or go for the contrast and make it someone mature and respectable looking? I'll decide later.
</p>
</i></div>
<p>I'm going to use this from now on. Not just for Stands, but everything ever write. </p>
<p>I'm going to use this from now on. Not just for Stands, but everything ever write. </p>
(Edited by Jesseinator1000)
<p>I actually have a fan-made protaganist stand that is a combo of Crazy Diamond and Killer Queen. It has 6 total types of bombs. Whatever the stand touches with its left index finger can turn into a deadly or a healing bomb. There is also a deadly and a healing Sheer Heart Attack. The final type is Bites the Dust. If you said "There must be a healing and a deadly variant of that bomb", you are absolutely right.
</p>
(Edited by Narancia555)