#I never was big on the numbered comics BUT I am so happy to see them next to each other in official material again

[i-eat-your-pancakes-art]

Update on Through Thick and Thin + Pointing Out TF2's Separate Continuities

First of all, my fic project is moving along well, about 1/3 of the art is done. Not what I'm here to discuss, though.

So it finally happened...damn, I kinda thought comic issue #7 would be coming out around springtime. Merry Christmas to us. I won't go into my thoughts on the comic here, but its surprise release made me realize I should make sure my audience is aware of some distinctions between the game versus the numbered comics issues.

The numbered comics are actually unrelated to my story, and I'll explain why that is. This post will be long, but I feel compelled to make some things clear to everyone who's been following me before I publish the story. I'm the type of writer who really wants her audience to understand her thought process. I dove WAAAAY deep into official statements and material to make sure this post is all accurate, as well as to give myself the peace of mind that my fic can be canon-compliant to the game itself, which is all I care about. This also means that I won't be stepping on the toes of people who prefer to focus more on the comics. That’s a relief because I’d been a bit nervous about putting this story out there.

I want you to know that this fic was written with the game itself's continuity in mind, not the continuity of the numbered comics. Issue #7's release doesn't even affect my fic in any way. So why am I making this distinction? Well, there's something important that a lot of people either forget or never heard in the first place. I blame Valve for not marketing this fact better, but whatever.

Here's the deal. In the official comics, it's stated that TF2, the game, is a "dramatization" of the war between RED and BLU. It makes sense why Valve said this. It's why so much that happens in the numbered comics is never mentioned in the actual game + SFM videos and vice versa. The game and the numbered comics aren't canon to each other since there are differences that make them incompatible. They're two valid but separate continuities told in different mediums/formats.

You could say that the game + SFM shorts and those silly one-off update comics are continuity A, with the original , much loser style of worldbuilding, in which RED and BLU fight each other for territorial control all over the world. And that's all there is to it. There is no one epic plotline or ending to this version of the world. The later comics feature continuity B, which take the characters introduced in the game and put them in a new format with a single, long-running story that eventually ends. The split more or less occurs when Gray and the robots are introduced to give a story reason for the RED vs BLU war to "end."

So, what's the difference and why'd they choose to make the later comics their own new distinct continuity? Read on, and I'll go over some key differences between these continuities for those of you who weren't aware, and then I'll talk about where writing fanfiction (like mine) stands in all of this. This will be long, about two pages of a word doc, so I'm putting the rest under a cut.

The game is said to be a "dramatization" of the RED and BLU conflict that's similar to the "gravel wars" as they're called in the comic universe, but with all classes present on both teams for a total of 18 mercs. It's never explained why, but everyone rolls with it as "just how it is." There doesn't need to be an explanation because it works so well already. It's honestly really funny to think that RED and BLU just so happened to hire a bunch of guys that look exactly alike and it’s never explained. I've seen a lot of people write game-universe fics that propose one team are original mercs and the other team are their clones, created just to fight them. But I always thought it'd be funniest with no clones or whatever, just a series of wacky coincidences in which RED and BLU happen to hire 9 pairs of extremely similar people. It's so absurd and impossible that it fits the silliness of the game perfectly, don't you think? This way, things are so even that the fights are endless. It works out perfectly, so don't overthink it! Just have fun with it like I am.

Meanwhile, the numbered comic issues only ever show 9 individuals, no doubles. In this comic storyline, some were RED and some were BLU before merging to fight Gray. It looks like there'd been 5 REDs and 4 BLUs. Since there are absolutely no duplicate mercs in the comic, different from what had been established in the original game continuity, this just can't be the same setting. The “rules” are different. And that’s why the game and numbered comics are weren’t intended to be the same continuity. It bugs me that more people don't know this. Again, I blame Valve for not advertising that better.

And of course the older, non-numbered, one-off silly comics that were released to go along with game updates aren't to be lumped in with the numbered issue comics and what builds up to them with Gray and the Robots. Those have featured members of both teams and are tied to the game itself, which they were created to promote. They’re part of continuity A. The same goes for the Meet the Team videos and Expiration Date. Notably, these feature some mercs (like RED Engie or some of the BLUs) that don't even exist in the continuity B of the numbered comics, so that’s why they aren't connected.

It makes sense why the numbered comic issues had to go the route they did with no doubles because it would've been very confusing to have 18 of them running around in the story, especially if they were all look a-likes. The story is kind of a mess already, imagine twice that mess! The plot would've suffered for it. But it's the reason why those comics aren't meant to be the same setting. It’s clear: all 9 of RED team and all 9 of BLU team are real only in the game itself’s universe which has a much looser set of rules.

I won't lie, I’m only interested in writing for what I see in the game’s universe instead of for the numbered comic issues. There's far fewer things to restrict you and more freedom to make the scenario you want because the game continuity has no ending, just a series of shorts that go along with it. There's plenty of fun stuff to work with in this version of the world but no definite end to the game itself. Just countless fights across countless maps. The comic issues never mention the mercs fighting anywhere besides some of the spots in and around Teufort, NM. Meanwhile, the game takes us to other regions, continents, and even outer space! We don't even know what order the teams could've visited all the maps in or who won which fights where. We’re not supposed to know who wins. That's for the outcome of each individual match to decide! The game versions of the setting and mercs leaves much more creative room to work with.

Here's how I look at it: The numbered comic issues tell one long, winding story. Meanwhile, the game's method of storytelling is just like a really violent cartoon with random, unrelated episodes as told by the shorts and matches ingame. If you have an idea for a story but you've hesitated because it'd clash with the numbered comics' storyline, like I once did, I hope this has encouraged you to look at it another way. Word of God says they’re two separate continuities. Just use the game's version as your setting! There's so much potential there!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for why I felt the need to blab about all this...I chose to use the game's setting for my fanfic because the numbered comics' plot is far more defined and doesn't leave room for what I wanted to accomplish. RED Engie and BLU Sniper don't exist in the numbered comics, which sucks because you can't write them always being on the same team in that universe. One could use RED Sniper and BLU Engie for it, in fact I know I've seen people do that. For me personally, so much happens in the numbered comics that it would just complicate things too much to try this route. There's a chance that the comic's version of "Mick" and "Dell" strike up a friendship in the midst of all the chaos of the comic but that's too complicated for me to want to touch. (The ending makes that outcome possible, but I would get a headache trying to shoehorn my own story into all of that. I also don’t wanna put up with all the angst in the comics.) I tip my hat to those of you who write your fics in the comics universe. I'll just stick to the game, which I'm actually very happy with because of the freedom it allows. I like this version of "canon" better anyway, but that's just my preference.

It's still unrelated to my fic, but to end this I'll go ahead and shout out that Valve actually threw me one last bone: Engie and Sniper sitting right next to each other once again at the dinner table in the final comic scene. I'll take it. :) They've been shown next to each other enough times to make me wonder if someone at Valve shares my feelings on these two, as well. That's probably me reading too much into it, but hey, it's fun to speculate.

TL;DR my fic with RED Engie and Sniper is meant for the setting of the main game/SFM shorts universe, not the universe of the numbered comics. Remember, they're canonically two separate canons!

I'll probably be adding a shorter version of what I just wrote to the author's notes of the fic once it's published so that everyone who reads it will be aware. Both canons are fictional to us, so we can all choose whichever version of canon we want to focus on in our fan works and discussion. I'm glad I can say that, because it means my fic will be canon-compliant to what I care about most: the game that's had a hold on my heart for the past 14 years. The comics look fantastic and tell a compelling story many years in the making, but they aren't the canon I prefer to focus on. But that's just me.

If you read this whole thing, thank you for sticking with me. It means a lot to know that people still take interest in my work and read my ramblings!

[zahri-melitor]

October Solicits (because this set is actually worth discussing):

My biggest question over the Absolute Line is whether the Trinity being defined by their losses is because "they have just entered a new universe and have none of their background supports" or whether it is "they have grown up without any of the things listed".

Because "Batman, but poor and alone" or "Wonder Woman without the Amazons" are different premises if these have NEVER existed, or if they're just not accessible (heck, Rucka's Wonder Woman Rebirth is 'Wonder Woman without the Amazons').

I am interested in the fact that Wonder Woman potentially looks like "what if Diana was Bana-Mighdall", but then, that's the point of Artemis, when Artemis is used properly.

Batman: ahaha yesss time for Eddie to go legit OR 'legit' for a bit, he's been a big bad too often in the last 15 years, time to come be an annoying detective for a while.

Action Comics: look I think this is selling me on picking it up, at least to try, though along with everyone else I'm wondering at the weekly start. I really hope it's not on weekly for an extended period and he's just frontloaded the work, because to my eye Waid's got 6 comic issues coming out this month

Detective Comics: I am totally picking this up, just to see what they're doing.

Nightwing: also finally starting current Nightwing as I might as well pick up at a new run. I am cautiously interested but it appears like it will be a big tonal shift.

Catwoman: I am also cautiously interested in this, especially given my look into Grønbekk's prior work gives me a really weird read on what this run might entail. Will sample.

Green Arrow: which numbering system are we picking up for #350, as my rough calculation does not match (I think they're including both #0s in this count but not One Million) and if you're willing to do this, WHERE IS THE CATWOMAN ANNIVERSARY ISSUE. That said, will keep reading. I will miss Izaakse on art. I sort of hope Condon can write a plot that moves faster than Williamson's.

Flash: THEY ARE GOING TO SKARTARIS OH HAPPY DAY FOR MEEEEEEEE.

Batman & Robin: look PKJ on this is probably the best possible option for my own preferences in Damian storytelling, so I am very interested in what he plans to do.

Birds of Prey: EXTREMELY happy Babs is being sold as Oracle on the cover of this (coloured green too!), delighted to see Onyx in the title, and I'm so proud of Cass going undercover again. That's always fun.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: oh look DC remembered that Aquaman exists.

World's Finest: ...at least it's not more interdimensional imps.

Shazam!: switching focus to Freddy for a bit, I see, between his new powers AND roadtrip - which means the Shazvan.

Batman & Robin Year One: look. I think it looks promising. I think they could have found a more interesting name for a crime boss than The General. I also think Waid might have WAY too much on his plate.

Poison Ivy/Swamp Thing: okay okay time for me to find out what all the fuss over the G. Willow Wilson run is about.

Jenny Sparks: my teeth are so gritted over this title. I am trying it, because she's my Jenny, but everything about it is raising alarm bells.

[watchmorecinema]

Something I don't like about the current state of the MCU (and DCU) is just how much work it all is. Some pretentious European movie from the 70's didn't require 30 other movies to provide context. You can pretty much watch any James Bond film in any order, there's not a lot of continuity to deal with. LOTR is an incredible series with a long plot but it's still only 3 movies; you only had to watch 2 other movies before Return of the King.

But with the MCU there's just so much! I think most people were following along fine until Endgame, but then it started to branch out too much. We get a new show every week, the multiverse idea just means that there are more and more threads to deal with and I just don't feel like it's working towards anything at all. Like, is She-Hulk required viewing before The Marvels? What context am I missing if I watch Quantumania but I didn't see any of the movies beforehand? Before Endgame there was certainly an issue with too many of the movies feeling like Origin stories, but at least they didn't require a lot of context. But now I'm so far behind that it just feels like a chore to catch up.

DCU has it worse since they keep rebooting everything. If your movie is meant to setup 5 future films and those films never come, then your movie isn't even good on its own. Apparently the next Avengers movie is going to be a soft reboot the MCU, so it's like why bother?

The films have finally grown all the same issues the comics had. Too many plotlines going on at once, constant retconning, and a focus on big events instead of just telling good stories one at a time. I would be so happy if we just kept getting standalone films that didn't really tie into each other so I could just watch them whenever. If they just made a new Batman each year with no plot carrying over I'd watch them all. Why did Columbo get popular again out of nowhere? There's 70 episodes and no plot to carryover so you can just watch one and get a complete story. Literally the best comic book projects to come out recently were fairly standalone or at least didn't need a lot of context. Werewolf by Night, Across the Spiderverse, The Batman and TMNT didn't need 30 movies of backstory and they didn't spend a lot of time just introducing characters for future movies. Spiderverse of course is different in that it is a sequel and a 3rd film is coming to finish the story but 3 movies is a reasonable number of movies to carry a plot over!

And what really gets me is that I did like the MCU a lot up to Endgame. I was pretty much watching them all as they came out in theaters. It was so much easier to do then. I think there are good stories to be told in the comic book superhero genre, but I don't think Hollywood can carry a plot over 40 films and have it work.

[shigayokagayama]

sakurai hato or minegishi :3? my faves

sakurai:

Sexuality Headcanon:

this man is gay

Gender Headcanon:

honestly nothing in specific. cis but in a "never really put much thought into it" kinda way. could he be inclined to question or transition? perhaps, but he is too busy cleaning up the giant comical jar of disgusting orange sauce that spilled all over the floor because a customer insisted they could fit a weeks worth of groceries into one cheap reusable grocery bag and it predictably split open and went everywhere and now the whole store smells like nondescript orange sauce and he has a headache from the smell but the manager will be pissed if he closes the register and moves to one further away so he just has to mop it between customers and the stain remains until they redo the nylon in 30 years.

A ship I have with said character:

koyama. made for each other.

A BROTP I have with said character:

i really like thinking abt post canon 7th division staying friends :] i think they hang out sometimes

A NOTP I have with said character:

none that come to mind? obvious stuff aside i suppose

A random headcanon:

a common theme between all three of these characters is that theyre young enough to fall in the age range where they could have been kidnapped by claw and i choose to believe that's what happened. especially sakurai. this kid screams kidnapped. no one would have looked for him....

General Opinion over said character:

i dont think about the 7th division members all that much just because they all get introduced in my least favorite arc so i dont really have a reason to reread/rewatch unless im doing a full series rewatch, but as a background character enjoyer seeing people have thoughts on them makes me very happy

hatori:

Sexuality Headcanon:

gay asexual seems right for him i think :]

Gender Headcanon:

definitely some flavor of transmasc

A ship I have with said character:

computers. other than that ive seen people ship him with joseph and i see the vision.

A BROTP I have with said character:

similar to above i think he and the rest of the super five are still buddies after everything.

A NOTP I have with said character:

this is a weird question to answer for the more minor/background characters so instead ill say "i used to sorta ship him and minegishi in like a qpp sorta way when i thought they were like the same age but learning minegishi was like 19 and punching the numbers meant that unless they didnt meet until less than a year precanon there's no way to make that not weird so i dropped it". so it goes.

A random headcanon:

ditto to above and also reddit moderator. i know he's a reddit moderator on some tech forum giving the world's most smarmy and least helpful advice

General Opinion over said character:

i like him! i dont think of him too often but im fond of all the super five.

minegishi:

Sexuality Headcanon:

ace aro :]

Gender Headcanon:

transfemme nonbinary <3

A ship I have with said character:

none really. they dont have time for that they have a thankless minimum wage job to work.

A BROTP I have with said character:

super five but also i realized hoshida from the reigen manga is in the age range to have gone to middle school with them before they became a terrorist and the idea of them having been childhood friends who fell out of touch and then him turning on the news to find out the kid who used to make him clover necklaces is wreaking havoc on downtown is REALLY funny

A NOTP I have with said character:

most things honestly at this point. i am so sorry shimamine shippers they took everything from you with the fanbook

A random headcanon:

i feel like post canon theyd become a bug person. like, getting big terrariums with self sustaining ecosystems of invertabrates :]

General Opinion over said character:

i actually like them a lot! i feel like its clear from the answers to these that theyre the one out of these i think about the most frequently lol. i just. how did you join the upper echelon of a terrorist organization at age 16. what happened.

[ultimateask]

Dear Blog Owner,

I just wanted to say thank you and let you know how much I look forward to reading your posts.

Despite the large number of characters, you've captured each personality incredibly well, and I find every answer very convincing. I love UTDP, but I feel like there aren't many people creating content based on it (at least less than I'd like to see!), so your posts are very valuable to me, like an oasis in the desert 🥺.

Also, your blog gives me with a lot of inspiration. To be honest, I had never shipped Mondo and Mikan before I discovered your blog, but now I'm a big fan of owamiki :D

Attached is an owamiki piece I drew, inspired by your blog:

I'm sorry if it's against the rules of your blog to send this kind of asks! If so, please just ignore this one.

I'll keep looking forward to your blog updates and rooting for you! <3

I don't even know where to begin. I genuinely teared up reading this. I am so, so, so happy that you enjoy my blog this much. Not just you, everyone who enjoys it. Never in a trillion years did I imagine that my silly little danganronpa comics would ever make this many people happy. I am honored and humbled for your, and all you guys' love and support. Now, outside the words of appreciation: First of, it is absolutely not against the rules to send these kinds of asks! I welcome any and all (non offensive) asks! Especially such amazing kind words, and such amazing art! Speaking of which, I love it! You may have noticed I followed you, because your art is really really cute! And of course, seeing Owamiki is always a treat! I am glad I was able to introduce you, and others to this (in my eyes) great ship. I am also glad that a lot of other people love the UTDP as much as I do! Once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words, and this lovely piece of art! I will keep doing my best to be deserving of you guys, and to keep making content! Thank you, thank you!

[ut-versotale]

A Trip Down Nostalgia Lane

This AU's been in existence for so long, and the most current iteration is so wildly different from the rest. As such, I felt it'd be kinda cool to show you guys how the AU's progressed over the years. I don't think it's too big of a problem to reveal what the initial plans were for each iteration, what I liked and didn't like, and my thought process behind forgoing the old ones

If you don't particularly care for all that, here's the iterations' major characters lined up. (Iteration 4 I only have revealed Asriel and Undyne, so the rest I've designed so far are silhouetted)

Iteration 0.5

Oh boy, where to begin with this one...?

I number it "0.5" and not "1" because there were only two parts that never even officially released on this Tumblr blog. I did upload Part 1 for an April Fool's joke a while ago. But really, it was only ever present on the TS!Underswap Discord server over half a decade ago.

To put it bluntly, Versotale at this point was just a reskinned Undertale roleswap AU. The personalities, while I tried to keep them intact, were not the main driving force. As such:

Asriel is a silent protagonist (And not in a cool clever way like Kris; I mean just straight-up silent)

The only difference with Undyne as a narrator was noting that Frisk was a human at the first save point

Flowey had a more formal speech pattern but was otherwise barely affected despite carrying Chara's consciousness. They weren't even named Asthana yet.

Frisk... well, I can give my past self this, he certainly made an effort to differentiate Frisk from Toriel. I can't say he did a GOOD job at that, but they certainly were different. Awkward dialogue, though, and not much sense behind why they were the mayor of the Ruins at 13 years old

Overall, you can 100% tell I made this as a young teen. Awkward dialogue, barely any effort put into the concept, unoriginal...

It's pretty easy to see why I forewent this version of the AU. Only two parts were ever made. I must thank @beethovenus who gave me a lot of very helpful critiques, such as giving Asriel a voice and making original sprites rather than using sprite edits, as well as encouraging me to make this Tumblr blog for it. Thus, brings us to what I'd like to consider the first PROPER attempt at this AU...

Iteration 1

Ah, this one... this ALSO lasted only two parts. Can't remember why. But I made a lot more headway on this one. Quality aside, I am happy that I had the guts to try and make original sprites of my own back then, even if they aren't particularly good compared to now.

This was where I really attempted to make the characters act noticeably different. Though there were still quite a lot of problems, some that would even persist all the way up until Iteration 4.

I wanted to give Asriel a combination of his regular and Flowey personalities. A cool idea on paper, but the lore doesn't support him acting like that well enough. Thus, I refer to this version of him as Sassriel. This was one of those problems that persisted up until Iteration 3.

Undyne having this snarky back-and-forth with Sassriel. Again, cool idea on paper, but it is not supported by her personality in Undertale, nor the altered circumstances in VT Iteration 1. Also, with Undyne being a disembodied consciousness, it means she's merely an observer of the story and not an active participant, meaning her dialogue got very boring very fast. Undyne in canon was always an active character, so putting her in a role that basically FORCED her to be a passive character was maybe one of the worst decisions I could've made that lasted way too long, all the way until Iteration 4.

You'll notice a whole bunch of characters that never actually saw the light of day in the comic. In the bottom row, starting from left to right, there would have been Pepper (Who DID have a design but I've lost it), Donavan, Dr. Aakil, Lily, and Queen Alice. There's not much to say about them story-wise since I mainly just got the designs down, and you can probably guess what the plot was gonna be like given this was the early days of the AU where it was still very much following the Undertale formula. I think the only UNIQUE things I should mention are that Aakil's version of the amalgamates would've been cyborgs.

Iteration 2

This is the one that's lasted the longest (so far), managing to push its way into the Cold West. I tried to break out of the Undertale formula a tiny bit with this one, to varying degrees of success. There's not much history I can recall or find with this iteration, but I suppose I can give a character rundown of the ones you never saw, ironically enough all positioned on the bottom row again.

Donavan... not very unique compared to Undyne. The main gimmick that separated him from her, I think, was that he had gloves designed by Aakil that were soul-powered.

Valencia... a new character who was meant to be an expanded version of Napstablook's role. Fun fact: Valencia's hooded trenchcoat design there was originally Pepper's Iteration 1 design.

Everyone else was... about what you'd expect.

Looking back on this version, I am... honestly very embarrassed by how badly I butchered the Cold West. I wanted to do so many cool things, like a bounty on Asriel's head and all. But my God... Spade and Pepper sucked so much. Especially Pepper. For characters who at this point were meant to be this AU's replacement of Sans and Papyrus... what poor substitutes.

And honestly, I think that's why I scrapped this one; because I hated the Cold West and how I did it. It felt rushed, awkwardly-written, bad characterization, horrifically-bad puzzles, etc. Thus, Iteration 3 was made.

Iteration 3: Hybrid

I nicknamed this short-lived one "Hybrid" for multiple reasons.

It's where Deltarune became an extremely prevalent influence in Versotale's universe. So no longer is Versotale just an Undertale AU, it can also be considered a Deltarune AU as well.

Many characters could be considered hybrids at this point. Asriel and Undyne shared determination and a body. And, more interestingly, the Mettaton role also shared a body with Mettaton. More about that in a bit

When I was making Part 10-B of Iteration 2, Iteration 3 was meant to flow naturally into it, effectively replacing all of what had came beforehand. That never worked out.

Ultimately, I abandoned this version because it just simply wasn't doing it for me. By this point, the project was beginning to feel stale and boring. Despite my attempts to make a new unique storyline, it just kinda... felt like it was still following in Undertale's footsteps far too much. I mean, you've got the protagonist kid, an old fallen member of their species, the double-crossing flower, a mentor who's lived in a secluded area all their life, a chef who wants to join the guard, a tough grizzled guard captain, a morally-dubious scientist, a celebrity, a monarch... you see how I became dislliusioned with the quality of what was supposed to be my "Unique Undertale storyline." The most unique thing at this point WAS probably Spade. But still, many elements of this version of the story were very fleshed-out. I tried to turn Pepper into a character who wasn't just a bargain-bin Papyrus clone, I had come up with a more unique Hotland area, and it probably could've turned out really nice.

I think the thing I genuinely really liked from this old version was that Shella (This iteration's celebrity character) actually was also possessed by Mettaton. There was this huge backstory thing where the scientist character had monster dust and was injecting humans with it, and since Mettaton was a ghost, his consciousness became attached to Shella's and served as her sort of "assistant." He gave her all the tips and confidence to become famous and gave Mettaton the opportunity to indirectly entertain humans like he always wanted. While a cool idea on paper, having... well, essentially Mettaton technically in the same place as canon Undertale again just felt cheap and lazy. Not to mention it only continued my disillusionment with my "unique story" being far too similar to Undertale for comfort.

But the Surface shenanigans this iteration... man, for as weird as Gaster being king was, I had such a cool thing planned for all the Ebottobia characters. It's something I wanna carry over into Iteration 4 to a certain extent.

Iteration 4: "King Asriel"

This one's really freaking cool. Going back to the drawing board completely, the story resembles almost nothing like Undertale's, with the sole exception of the main premise: People underground, free them from imprisonment through peace or violence.

I'm so proud of these ideas so far, you have no idea. The new Ruins area I'm excited for, the new Cold West feels like an actual proper flowing storyline now, the other areas have way more uniqueness, the characters feel like their own characters with their own stories now (Even the ones that appear in canon), the plot feels completely different... I think you all are really going to like it

That's all. Just felt like taking a trip down memory lane and share some ideas and designs the public never got to see.

[jackals-ships]

JACKAL I must apologize I was like I WILL GO CHECK F/O LIST because I am not 100% sure which bot you ship with (<- did not care about robots until suddenly I cared A LOT) though I thiiink it's Megatron bUT sorry if I'm wrong fkdjashkj BUT BEARING IN MIND I HAVEN'T FINISHED S1...I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR SHIP(S) 👀 and perhaps read fic at some point if you are able to find it @goldenworldsabound

(<- did not care about robots until suddenly I cared A LOT) IS AN ENTIRE MOOD THO HFKF tfp is like some sleeper cell activation code i SWEAR,,, + ur all good !! i gotta fiddle w my f/o list a lil and then repost it bc i kept meaning to make minor changes an then forgor,

BUT ANYWAYS YES !!! he's also, hilariously, one of the f/os i have a physical lil guy of despite being not on my radar as long as like garrus hf

also a read more bc i woke up Rambly today <3

he gets to sit with the ponies :} bc he canonically likes mlp at least according to the lil ask Megatron bit + there was a whole comics crossover (2 I think actually?)

breakdown + knockout are also My Besties they started out as like kinda baby crushes <- local aro can't tell the difference between Feelings even in fiction more at 11 [lighthearted] before megs came for my braincell with the fuckin. steel chair HFJ so seeing you go 👀🥰 at knocks i was like FUCK YEAH LETS GOO !!! im dropping into his work station from the ships vents like oooo someone's got a cruuuuush ooooo you wanna be all (⁠ʃ⁠ƪ⁠＾⁠3⁠＾⁠）don't u knocks- (jackal is once again banned from the nemesis)

okay okay but; i rlly only have one fic Finished and luckily had the foresight to post it to AO3. it's a lil older so not totally in character + canon but still silly and cute hjfkd

NOW GETTING INTO MY RED STRING TERRITORY-

when i get into something with a lot of continuities i tend to kinda? squish em together? or take bits and pieces going >:3 my city now, so the jackal x megatron ship is Primarily TFP but ive also absconded with fun movie details (like megs being i think it was 30? 40 ft tall? Fuck Huge,,,,) and also bits of comics lore/designs (holomatter is an interesting concept and im chewing on Meg's as we speak. gnawing on his arm even-)

but regardless this ship is totally my Slice Of Life Comedy Hour Chill LoFi Beats type of ship HKF like im a sucker for darker stuff higher stakes but i think this one has 0 stakes

like. like jackal and megatron literally met because jackal enjoys long walks on the beach exploring places Away from the city and Generally Away From Ppl to just sorta vibe. and ofc the normal thing to do when coming across a Definitely Alien And If Not Alien Then Like Secret Government Ship is to walk away. NOT wander ur happy lil ass inside like :0 yooooo what do These buttons do

and then when you get kicked out instead of getting squished like the bug you shouldn't come back via the air vents. again. and again and again and AGAIN and AG- until the local alien warlord gives in and is like "yeah okay this is my life now ig???" (soundwave was totally helping them btw. he likes drama 😌 and also has his own human hi adri so he can't say shit-) (also I've never decided on the Actual number of times they break it, in my brain it keeps slowly going up jus bc I find the concept SO funny. pov you're an alien warlord worried you got alien rodents and oh no NVM it's the human again. FUCK-)

it's absolutely the slowest burn too bc Meg's Refuses to admit that he has a crush on the weird squishy thing that keeps breaking in (until he's decided they're dating. and doesn't bother mentioning this) while jackals just 🥰 hehehoho big robot friend who calls me scraplet and sweetspark and sometimes puppy 🥰🥰🥰 also threatened to kill any mech who was mean to me 🤔🤔 weird. aaanyways

THERE'S ALSO a running joke in my head of that "what do you have?" "A KNIFE" "NO-" but it's jackal running off with energon bc you can't SHOW ME a cool liquid and have me NOT want to drink it !! Just a sippy. jus a lil- we'll have the hospital on speed dial pleeeeaaaase-😭

anyways tldr jackal megatron is "I'm not trapped with him he's trapped with me yaaaay :D" and "robot google; weird fuzzy feeling in spark?? how to remove weird fuzzy feeling?? robot google human exterminator near me-"

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week? Also merry Christmas

A late Happy New Year to all of you as well. Small haul this week and I finally got around to reading Superman #21 and Absolute Wonder Woman #3 from last week too.

Absolute Wonder Woman #3 - Wow. I said I wasn’t sure if Thompson was going to make this Diana feel enough like her own and boy was I wrong. After this issue she is definitely a different creature from her mainline counterpart. Not in personality, everything Diana does still feels “true” to how Earth 0 Diana would act if she had to, but the caveat being that Thompson takes advantage of this being an Elseworld story to challenge Wonder Woman in a way the mainline version never can be. Absolute Wondy has presumably lost her arm for good whereas 0 Wondy will inevitably revert back to norm after a while. This is what makes Elseworlds exciting, imagine if that story where Diana blinds herself in Rucka’s run left her permanently blind. That can happen here! I finally see how this Wonder Woman is an underdog, and that cliffhanger where she deafens an entire city has me eager to see what comes next.

Absolute Superman #3 - Elites of the world being all too aware of the environmental degradation and planning to escape to New Zealand Mars the stars, while leaving the lower classes to die? Now where have I heard that before? Seeing that the Law Guild has Zod’s symbol, I think it’s a safe bet that Zod is going to be one of those elites. Easy to see how he will be in a stronger position in the AU than he usually is, instead of being exiled with a small band of loyal followers, his army might number in the hundreds or even thousands this time around. Viltrumite comparisons incoming! I’ve been adamant that Lara should be the one that Kal gets his fighting spirit from, so I’m pleased that Absolute Lara is the clear “superhero” of the Els and the one who Kal is following in the footsteps of as Superman. I agree with Aaron, after seeing how beautiful Krypton as drawn by Sandoval is I am almost sad to see it go. That scene of a red crystalline Fortress or when Kal was investigating the extend of planetary decay was gorgeously illustrated. This was a nice character focused issue for Kal, we see him doing some journalism that manages to expose the elite’s plot with the caveat that it only worked because they don’t care enough to hide it. Lara also mentioned that they plan on taking a ship to safety and going with their cousins and neighbors, Absolute Kara possibly showing up soon? And then of course we have Ma Kent shown to be alive and in a nursing home. This has me convinced that Brainiac is a possessed Jonathan Kent.

Superman #21 - A fun “date” filler issue that riffed on Morrison All-Star and actually landed for me unlike Williamson’s previous attempts elsewhere at riffing on Morrison. Think what made him succeed here was that he wasn’t trying to do big ideas as much as smaller character moments which Morrison is underrated for imo. Really keen to find out what the deal is with the Armada of Doomsday survivors.

Ultimates #8 - A second Morrison riff that actually landed? Will wonders never cease! Now Camp unlike Williamson actually can match Morrison when it comes to big ideas and what I saw here really drove home how despicable Maker is for robbing this world of its future. Especially when it seems like the Ultimates are destined to lose. Yeah I’m wondering how the Ultimates could possibly win, they’re woefully underprepared to beat Maker at this point and I don’t know how they could turn the tide. Perhaps that’s what pushes Tony or Reed into becoming Kang? An army of Iron Men with Immortus Engines is terrifying.

[rontra]

I had never even heard of this magician woman before you started making art of her but I am oddly invested in your art of this funky little woman, she seems silly and goofy

no i know right. i had the same experience i was like "who the hell is this magician woman theyve got standing next to the justice league" and my partner was like oh Zatanna Zatara? everybody knows her (and she's IN the justice league)

shook me to my core. there was a sillygoofy magician the whole time i had never once heard of... now i'm so invested in her goofy shit. i'm glad my art is becoming a secondary source of infection ❤

optional: here's some things ive learned over the past 3 months

she was introduced as a weirdo in 1964. she's been weird and strange for 59 years and counting! next year will be her 60th anniversary #Hag

her whole gimmick is that she's a famous stage magician who also happens to be a real magician, which i think is very good

i think she joined the justice league in like 1978 or smthg shes Been Around

before i had the magician disease: no matter how much someone tried to explain her character to me, i couldn't grasp her. and now that i have first-hand magician disease: no matter how much i try to explain her to my partner, they can't grasp her. i think there's something aberrant about her. like she demands hands-on interaction to be truly perceived. but watch out for the spores

????

for a while she used to drag her Normal Manager around for magic adventures. his name was Jeff and i suppose he just took the constant near-death peril as part of the "managing a stage magician" job

some website once ranked her among the top 5 sexiest comic women, making her the highest-ranking DC character on the list #LetsGo #MagicianSweep

she's quite beloved and a pretty consistent feature but she doesn't get a ton of solo stuff 😔✌ but theyre reprinting her comic from 2010 next year woohoo happy 60th bitch

they forgot to really give her a power ceiling and her magic can pretty much do anything she can think of, so she's a consistent pain in DC's neck whenever she has to intersect with other characters and Big Serious Plots—but it's not like they can just leave her on the shelf entirely either

(i think powerscaling is fake & that "who would win a fight between x and y" is a fake question that depends on so much more than hard numbers, especially in a medium like comics. but i also think DC itself quite visibly feels a pressure to manage her + i think this quirk about her is extremely funny and i LOVE to see them try so hard to nerf their pesky magician)

in 2004 they made her part of a The Gang Commits Atrocities plot without really justifying Why she would do all that, and her next several years are Fascinating to watch as writers try to come up with various ways to make new sense of her character in light of it. until the whole dc comics continuity was wiped and relaunched in 2011, solving the problem by erasing the whole thing from canon (along with everything else)

the real crime of that whole incident? the '04 comic that started it wasn't even very good

she's listed on the DC Wiki category page for "Eldritch Blast"

currently serving time in the Justice League Dark branch department, which is where we keep all the weird grimy magic stuff so it doesn't get all over everything

for a second and not too long ago, the big leaguers exploded and died for a bit (long story also they got better) including zee. and they put a gigantic scary moving painting of her in the basement as a memorial. i think this is exactly what she would have wanted to be honest

this post

they should put her in the rwby crossovers more. she was in dc/rwby for a second but i want her in the damn movies. i think it'd be funny

i love her. that's what i've learned in the past 3 months

[kninedlog]

I haven't been praising Sonic characters on my blog lately. Let's change that!

Here's every current main Sonic character IDW or Videogame and my; I've been with sonic the hedgehog since birth, opinion.

V+Name= Videogame vr

C+Name= IDW comic vr

Name = just assume I'm talking about both iterations or they only have the one of either.

(mostly jokes under the cut. I'm not taking this seriously)

VSonic: He be going; but the development of character is slow and practically stagnant

CSonic: He be going; but, the character development is actively moving along with him.

Tails: He be following; but, he has grown and I am very proud of my fox baby

Knuckles: He be punching. But, he has grown to accept more company. I *really* REALLY like that. He's gonna try to no longer be a loner. That makes me so happy, take that vacation Knux you deserve it boy!!

VAmy: Grown to levels at the age of twelve I never thought I would see possible.

CAmy: Shows me every time she's in a panel why she's still and forever will be my favorite sonic character.

VEggman: His same goofy ahh self. That old geezer is now hell-bent on just ending Sonic at this point.

CEggman: Still has plans and ambitions and still executes the most perfect plan awfully. Why is there a button to fuck you over, sir!

VMetal Sonic: My poor baby gets no love...

CMetal Sonic: This is what I'm talking about! This character hit hard and makes me cry harder!!

VShadow: Could be edgier...

CShadow: I would say the same thing as the video game iteration, but at the time I am making this post the Eggperial city arc of IDW comic has ended and Shadow played a big part in it. And he slayed. An absolute KING 👑 I'm just happy we got to see him a little bit fixed from what we got from the previous arcs. So, ultimate.

VRouge: Haven't seen her in a while can only go off based on what we recently got and fine I guess.

CRouge: A BOSS ASS BITCH! QUEEN! I LOVE YOU 💜💖💞💕💓 She one ups everyone with every line of sassy dialogue and I don't ever want it to end.

VE-123 Omega: Haven't seen him a while, can only go off base of what we've gotten so far, and I still miss Gamma. (Jk jk Omega's still cool)

COmega: A little menace of a preteen in a tank like robot body focused on nothing but being petty towards Eggman! Read the IDW Omega and you'll see the angsty preteen I promise! I love this Omega!

VSilver: He's such a punk.... Where's all the smack you were talking and power you were showing in 06 bro, where'd that go!

CSilver: He's such a punk.... But he talks that smack and shows that power he's been given since 06! Love him 🤍, this is why he'll always be number 2

VBlaze: All we got recently was her in that annoying racing game (it's fun cuz it's a little buggy I'm just trash at it) and the April fools game and in those I'm happy to see her having fun. In any cannon game she's ever been in she's got a stick up her butt. I'm happy to see her smiling more.

CBlaze: A breath of fresh air is what she needs and what she deserves and I'm happy that the comic is delivering. It's clear that her breath of fresh air is her going on adventure with sonic and co. So let her go on a little more adventures though, I wouldn't mind seeing her go on another girl focused adventure with Amy, rouge, cream, bell, tangle, whisper, and Lanolin. That sounds really fun! She'd probably have a blast.

VCream: I don't think I'm wrong about this but the last time we saw her was in GENERATIONS! . . . Need I say anything else?

CCream: IDW has made me find a new appreciation for the characters I never thought about as much since Sonic X. Cream being one of those characters. She's so headstrong, and believes in what she does and, is such a purely good force that everyone that has recently crossed paths with her either understands, or knows, that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. That girl is going places, and gonna change the world. We may never see it but the facts are there.

Gemerl: A gem. And I'm happy I got my Omega vs Gemerl fight in an annual issue. THAT made me love their character. So serious about everything unless their allowed to chill out which is everyday considering they live with the Rabbit family.

Vanilla: I don't think I can say anything about Vanilla other than that she's just a good mom.

💚💛💜TEAM CHAOTIX!!💚💛💜

VVector: Since we got him in the April fools game and the racing game he has more coverage to talk about, however he's still just a loud crocodile making the audience laugh

CVector: Yoooo! This guy don't play about his buddies. The metal virus arc... I was ready to cry. I didn't think he would do that let alone be as serious as he was in that arc considering the Chaotix are meant to jokes. Especially Vector with his greed. The comic shows that he's a good leader, and since he's been doing it for years I want to see another mini adventure involving the Chaotix and Knuckles.

VEspio: I don't think we've seen him since Generations either so,.... Still as quiet and ninja like as ever

CEspio: NINJA POWER!! He was, is, and forever will be one of the coolest characters in the sonic franchise to me. As he is; I believe, to be the only one with a definite fighting style and set of skill along with a vibe of mystery that I wish would be uncovered sooooo bad. If you seen that annual where Silver and him had that deep talk, I almost could hold back tears. Again this comic has made me have a serious appreciation for the characters I never thought about so hard since Sonic X. He's perfect, never change Espio.

VCharmy: Again since Generations, all we've seen is a kid.

CCharmy: I have a lot of thoughts on comic Charmy that it's hard for me to put it down. I'm not gonna make the rest of this post a rant/appraisal on this little kid. So this is all I'm leaving you with.

- PART 1 - You're here!

- PART 2 - Here

[smokeybrandreviews]

Youngling Slayer 9000

Watching Jar Jar save Grogu from Anakin's Jedi genocide in the last episode of Mando, was surprisingly cathartic. I abhor Jar Jar Binks. I thought he was a thinly veiled, overtly racist, caricature of my people. That punk ass Gungan rubbed me the wrong way for years and, apparently, did the same for A LOT of people. SO many, in fact, that the actor who portrayed him, Ahmed Best, contemplated suicide. People were absolutely cruel to this man because of a character he played in a bad film. Listening to him recall the utter torment he suffered over the years because of that role was heartbreaking. I felt awful because i was apart of that mob. Never once did i wish ill or curse the name of Best, himself, but i would sh*t all over Jar Jar to anyone who would listen. It took this man years to come to terms with that hate so to see him don the robes and wield a lightsaber in service to saving Baby Yoda? That was dope. I am glad Best was able to get his shine, even if it’s three decades late. Dave and Jon have been redeeming Star Wars through Mando and other series. They have a plan to redeem the entire franchise after Kennedy did her very best to absolutely destroy. It’s wild to think that, in just a few years, we might be looking at Star Wars with eyes of joy and wonder and not trepidation and contempt. I am very happy for Ahmed Best and hope we get to see more of Kelleran Beq.

I wanted to say all of that up front because we are about to get into some sh*t right now and it was absolutely necessary to give Best, Mando, and Favloni their flowers. That sh*t was dope and it got me thinking about the real topic of this essay: Vader’s Redemption. If you’ve been around these parts for any number of years, you know i adore Star Wars. It’s a staple in my life and, while no as prominent as the three pillars of my childhood, it’s still a big part of it. My favorite character is, and will always be, Darth Vader. Also, just for transparency, a lot of the things i love about Star Wars are Vader adjacent. Ahsoka is my second favorite character and Dr. Aphra is a distant third. The Dark Lord of the Sith was just this imposing, malevolent, force of nature. His rage drove an already overpowered monster of flesh and steel that, to this day, is rarely topped as a cinematic antagonist. I love Vader so much. Just from a visual perspective, dude is overwhelming, but when you get into his canonical feats? Bro. That, however, brings me to the point of this entire goddamn post; How the f*ck does Anakin Skywalker get redeemed at the end of Jedi?

Darth Vader has so much goddamn blood on his hands. Like, WAY too much. And he did it with intent. His goal was to inflict as much harm on the Jedi, as he had inflicted upon himself. It’s insane how strong he hated and how much he slaughtered. The Yunglings were just the beginning but more than enough to bar him from the Force Ghost Paradise his previous Masters achieved. How many randoms did Vader kill? How many Empire Officers did he Force choke just for the hell of it? Bro, even before he had that inhaler strapped to his chest forever, mans was a whole ass problem. He slaughtered and entire camp of Sand People! As a teenager! He left no one alive! Men, women, and children! And that’s just the sh*t e see on screen. The stuff he gets up to in the comics is vast and horrifying. Vader in the comics is just a relentless machine of pure malevolence. Comic Vader’s entire being is violence. The whole time. All of the time. I mentioned Chelli Aphra as one of my favorite characters, right? Well, go read her introductory story in Star Wars: Darth Vader. That whole arc is a study in pure, savage, criminality on the part of Vader. It was insane. And that was the first goddamn story! You’re really going to tell me chucking Papa Paps down the poop chute of Death Star part deux, is enough to wipe that blood soaked wake Vader left behind? Really? Bro, there are no Jedi in the galaxy because of his very focused efforts! Why does he get let into Force Valhalla like dude was the best among them or some sh*t?

Don’t misunderstand me, i love Vader. I love Anakin. But realistically there is no redeeming this dude. He’s a monster and deserves to be remembered as one. Like, Vader committed genocides. He was part of the crew that destroyed a planet. Mans literally blew up Alderaan and then defended the giant murder moon responsible when the Rebels rightfully tried to destroy it. You don’t come back from that. If Himmler decided to take his service pistol and personally blow out Hitlers brains, he would still be a war criminal for his complacency in the goddamn holocaust. Vader was complicit in literally turning an inhabited, into a f*cking asteroid cluster. When you look at it from that perspective, Darth Vader has one of the highest body counts in all of fiction. There’s no way one life wipes that much red out of your ledger, even if said life was that of Space Wizard Hitler. And it wasn’t even like the decision to assassinate Sheev was a selfless one. Vader didn’t kill Palpatine through altruism, he did it because dude was torturing his son. He was being a good dad after literally being the worst. His daughter’s adopted family were from Alderaan. Vader cut off Luke’s hand after beating the sh*t out of him with random objects. Bro, killing Palpatine means nothing if you did it to effectively preserve your own self interest. What the f*ck? It’s almost like the Force doesn’t give a sh*t about any of this because it’s just this vague, enigmatic, energy which exists in us all and it’s when very human ideals are ascribed to it that it becomes tainted with contradictions. Wait...

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics

Batman #154: Look, I don't hate this story, but did we really need another round of Thomas 'Cheater' Wayne? Especially Dr Thomas MD But Can't Handle Contraception Wayne? Been here. Done that. Bane Half-Brothers was funnier. Hopefully this is superior to every time Tommy Jr appears.

Absolute Superman #1: I think I rank this ahead of Absolute Batman but not as good as Absolute Wonder Woman. It's an interesting approach. It's very in your face and not bothering with subtlety in the analogies.

I will agree I am fond of the trend of Live Mothers With Their Sons in these stories, even if I know Lara's about to get whomped by the plot. Loved fix-it engineer Lara who wanted to be an astronaut and got washed out for having Wrong Political Views (age 9).

Action Comics #1074: in contrast, Lara in this is a 1950s cipher, literally standing there holding the baby. It's is such sharp contrast compared to Absolute Superman, especially as I read them back to back.

Aside from that, I think the Clark main plot finally picked up its pace a bit, the Kenan and Kon plot got a bit explainy but remains fun, and Kara is having a very bad time over in her plot.

Birds of Prey #15: Delighted by Cass being a menace here. Really happy we got to spend a little more time getting inside Sin's head. And Grace and Onyx looking at each other and trying to work out how to fight Barda to let her let off steam without anyone getting massively injured was so funny: they're both ripped in this comic, but Barda is, well, Big Barda.

Batgirl #1: As was generally expected, this is heavily leaning on Batgirl 2000. Interestingly as far as I am concerned, it is retaining Batman & Robin Eternal and working on twisting the word 'Orphan' to have multiple meanings! Which I've commented on before: Orphan as a name and a word has a lot of implications for Cass to be unpacked, and not all those implications are obvious on the surface.

I'm interested to see more of how they play this - it's a different approach to Cass's internal monologue and body reading skills.

As far as Shiva goes: they definitely seem to have sat down and tried to find a midpoint between preboot Shiva in Batgirl 2000 and Rebirth Shiva in say Batman and the Outsiders 2019 (both are definite influences on this).

Shazam! #17: Love the Hephaestus design. Feeling sorry for Freddy, though I liked that the whole situation is framed not as 'going evil' but as a test of strength of mind. And given the uneven power split in the family right now, externalising that jealousy makes sense.

Plastic Man No More! #2-3: caught up with Plas. Was reminded I don't actually particularly enjoy him as a character. As a set of stories focusing on treating Eel as more than just a joke character and interrogating his interiority they're doing a lot; I guess some of it is I simply don't really feel attached to him, and I'm cheering Luke O'Brian on to never talk to his dad again.

Also very much reminded these are Black Label, between the gruesome body horror, the plot, the number of character deaths and the fact Tim's running around as a Titans lieutenant checking on members.

I think these are quite good comics. I'm just not emotionally attached to Eel and these aren't managing to get me over the hump.

Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #2: and over here in the 2024 DC Santa read along, we scored a Jason Blood telling tales of Camelot! Don't know where Nimue was - she clearly managed to sidestep this drama and reminding Jason she has very different memories of the period.

Mera also kicked absolute arse and weaponised her attackers prejudices in a satisfying manner.

As a marker: John Stewart is in this title, but he's on the JL team up that are currently trapped and don't have Santa with them. This is important because...

DC'S Batman Smells, Robin Laid an Egg #1:

Santa's Oath: this is a story about Mrs Claus driving the sleigh and being a Blue Lantern, while John Stewart is asking if Santa really exists. We covered this, John! Extensively! In the DC Santa read along last year! He's real! And not only is he real this story is suggesting he's 'busy' in a way that makes me think it wants to align canonically with Silent Knight Returns, except for the fact, John, you are currently trapped in that story, and you're undoubtedly about to MEET Santa in it by the end of it.

In terms of Blue Lanterns, if anyone is going to be one, I don't hate putting it on the Clauses.

Also add this one to the tally of Real Santa stories, even if it is 'Carol' Claus.

Secret Santa: Happy Christmas to me personally, because the 2008 Secret Six lineup are currently exchanging presents and it includes hilarious cuddly Bane musing on everyone's histories.

This is amazing. I only wish Floyd and Thomas had got more banter in it. And it wasn't even written by Simone - dare I dream of another Secret Six run?

Ghosts of Christmas Present: John Constantine gets trapped in a Hallmark Movie via Hell. This is slight and underuses Constantine.

It's a Criminal Life: ...Joker gets It's a Wonderful Lifed with a ghost dead Robin!Jason. It's deeply ridiculous.

Deadman Walking: it's a Christmas mining disaster story! Ahhh, Deadman comics. Honestly a bit too earnest and instructive on how to dig people out of collapsed mines.

Silent Nite: oh the art on this one is good (Francavilla). Silent, period piece for Dr Mid-Nite set in 1941. The direction of the story is obvious from about the second page but still well told.

The Perfect Gift: Ben Turner and Mari McCabe try to buy each other Christmas presents story. Mari massively overthinks things. Ben apparently managed some serenity from the O-Sensei and just got Mari something straightforward. Donna plays wingwoman.

O Glowy Night: The art is fun in this and the concept (Clark can't stop radiating a sunny glow). I sighed at the villain.

Honestly I enjoyed this mix. Lots of characters who mostly get back ups, from various corners of DC.

The Warlord #75: this week in Skartaris we reach an anniversary issue and with it...the return of Graemore, Tara's old childhood friend who likes trying to steal her away from Travis (via such seduction methods like 'not wandering off into the wilderness to kill things without returning for months on end' and 'appearing at meals' and 'asking Tara about her feelings').

Travis and Tara actually discuss the fact Travis is never in Shamballah for more than 5 minutes at a time and that she's tired of it.

In the Ancient Atlantean artefacts line of story, we find out that the USAF identity card thing Travis found was from the 23rd century, yet left with all the other materials of the ancients. COULD IT BE MORE TIME TRAVEL? (because this story doesn't have enough as it is). I feel sorry for whatever poor fool got trapped back in Wizard World and had to live out his days there to get this stuff over to the Ancient Atlanteans.

(Also uh the New Atlanteans try to invade Shamballah and Travis ends up punching Tara to carry her as they try to escape so she won't try to make a heroic last stand. Which. Certainly a thing that happened here)

[button-man-herald]

Dev Diary #2: Post-XP Gaming, Am I Recovered?

A little over a week since XP Gaming wrapped up, and I still have a cough! Remember friends, if you're gonna shake hands with hundreds of strangers in a tight space, maybe bring some hand sanitizer.

But it was a great time! Ron doubled his roles while we were gone, acting as both my boss and my guide around Toronto, as I had never been there before. A nice city overall, and really clean (despite what all these Canadians keep saying to me. I mean, the presence of trash does not in of itself qualify a city as "dirty"). My goodness, the municipal confidence of having subway seats made out of velvet?? When I was finally brave enough to sit, I was amazed to find they were not, in fact, laden with piss.

Streetcars were neat, parks were plentiful, and despite how mean-mugged a lot of the cyclists were, the cycling infrastructure was far better than I expected in a North American city. On my first day I took a bike share ride around the city for a few hours, saw a lot of pleasant neighborhoods full of pride. I also rode by St. Anne's Church in the aftermath of its destruction. As a proper tourist, I had no knowledge of the church and felt like I was intruding as a handful of locals gathered around the remains. I snapped a picture and rode off.

Ron fed me too much while I was there. I had grand ambitions of cooking meals for myself and running calorie-light, which were dashed upon the delicious rocks of internationally rated ramen, beef tendon, soup dumplings, BLTs, A&W, croissants, and chinese barbecue.

Ron also showed me the Eaton center, which is a big ass mall underground; Queen's Park, which we sat in for a few hours in the long wait to our hotel's availability; City Hall, which looks like either an Avengers HQ or a spaceship (or both), and he even showed me the spot where he met his lovely wife. Hey Ron, thanks for the tour man. You really took care of me, and found time for us to see the city and not only work.

But as for XP itself? MAN, did they pack a lot into that. Nearly 100 speakers across two days, giving talks about the most pertinent issues facing the industry today. There was a lot of discussion about leveraging your IP correctly; ensuring that you aren't leaving opportunities on the table in the form of multimedia such as comics, micro-games, novels etc. Players really enjoy getting immersed and living in your IP, so make sure they have the different forms of media to fulfill that!

There were talks about Gen-AI, the good and the bad, thankfully. I won't get into my opinions on it here, but I was happy that the conversation was more robust, thoughtful, and progressive than any we've been subjected to online. We got to see a bunch of games which are soon-to-be-announced, and I even got the chance to play a few alpha games that really blew me away. We are looking at a very exciting few years in the indie space, for sure.

Ron and I spoke with studio leads, designers, writers, and development coordinators, all of whom left the event with a copy of our comic. The enthusiasm for Button Man was invigorating for us, as we had some of those same folks finding us the second day in order ask us for more copies of the comic! After a handful of meetings and talks, we felt the event had really been worth it for a number of networking and exposure reasons, and hopefully soon we'll be able to share a little more of those specifics.

An unanticipated but welcome aspect of all this however, was the attitude. If you have even a passing interest in video games as an industry, you are aware of the layoffs. In many ways, the industry is in its worst state its been in years. While at the event, studio after studio announced its closure, unleashing another several hundred professionals into the job market. Despite dire nature of it all, the drying well of publisher funding, and the job insecurity in the industry, the many designers, writers, developers, and project managers who flooded those halls were filled with support, enthusiasm, and mutual aid.

For every grim announcement of another closure, there was a call-to-action for reemploying those who lost their jobs; workers helping workers find a place for themselves often before the ruins of their former studio had even finished collapsing. I was genuinely heartened and shed some of my natural cynicism in the face of so many people refusing to give up creatively, professionally, or as a collective. XP Gaming left us with a lot of hope. Games are going to be okay. Our games are going to be okay. Its going to be okay

[afaimscorner]

When Anne Rice died two years ago, I was more than a little shaken to put it mildly. Not only because my favorite author just died and we would never get any more books by her, not only because I survived my teenage years and twenties because of her works and words, but also because in hindsight I saw the writing on the wall. My grandmother had also died the same year, only a few weeks before Lady Anne and that didn't help either. Thanks to the Pandemic I had not been able to see her very often in the last years before her death. She had been sick for a long time, and many times we got to hear that we should not come to visit because we wouldn't want to see her "like this". But in-between there were times, when she was fine, but we were in Lockdown, so there was time, that was robbed from us by the circumstances. So yes, that news flabbergasted me ,and my first thought was: "But what about Christopher? Poor Christopher." I knew mother and son had been very close, not only did they start writing novels together, but they also had their great Twitter-Back-and-Forth, which I always thought would have made a nice book of its own. My brother, who never had the connection to either of them that I had and who never read a single book from either of them said it too: "Poor Christopher, they were so close." Again, I think we saw the writing on the wall. I did see it, I feared it. It was irrational of course. The breast cancer had been mild and had been gone for years now. She was healthy. That didn't mean it was not a hit close to home, though, because it was - but there was so much going on in that year, the pandemic was still going strong, Lockdowns were happening again, I mourned, got depressed maybe, but with the end of winter I put my fear behind me. I always get slightly panicked in the dark time of the year, it's instinct maybe. I do not fear the dark, I fear things that might happen in the dark und what the Dark stands for.

Poor Christopher. My heart was always with him. He dealt somehow. I wish I knew how. Especially now.

Death is always sudden. Even if you see it coming, it is sudden. You expect the pain and the slow dying to go on forever. When me aunt died of ALS that is certainly what it was like. She went quickly in the end, but before the end there was a long time of decay. My cousins were distraught of course, but they had time to prepare at least, they knew it was coming to an end in a number of years/months, eventually weeks. When my grandfather died, it was sudden and not sudden. He spend some time in hospital, then went home to die. That was hard, especially for my Gran, but still, we all had time to consider the possibilty of him dying. My other grandfather though, he just died lying in the sun at Easter, waiting for us to come by, I think (there is a story behind that, I am not willing to go into now). That was a big shock. Still, you kind of fear and expect your grandparents to leave you. You certainly think they will be the ones to go first.

2023 was a hard year, and I kept thinking: "God, please, don't take my Gran now, not now, I could not take losing her now." But she is healthy, her father, my great grand-father, made it into his early hundreds. And the thing with fear is: You always fear the wrong things in the end.

But how could I have known?

When Death comes, she comes unexpected like I said. It was an actual rare good day. I was still in rush from Comic Con, which had its ups and downs, but where I actual won (I never win anything) a free cinema ticket, that actually worked. I got to see the movie version of book I love for free with free popcorn, and for a change I actually saw a good adaption again, which made me strangely happy considering what I was watching (it was "A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", in case you are wondering). Since I have quite a way to the next cinema and it's a long movie, I had chosen an afternoon screening. Around half past seven, when the credits rolled, I looked at my phone.

We had just spoken before I left for the cinema, she was watching "Voice of Germany" on Joyn and was waiting to get a call to go and pick up her car. It's a ten minute walk to the service station. My first thought was that someone had run her over. I stayed put, watched the end of the credits, got up and got to the toilet. Left the cinema. Then outside, I called my brother.

Then I had to get home somehow. It was simple: We can't have two family members in hospital at the same time, pull yourself together girl, you can lose it at home. You still have to find out what is actually going on.

It was like a nightmare. I haven't managed to wake up yet.

She spend three days in the ICU. The unfair part about it is: They had saved her, her heart was beating again, it actually looked good the first two days after the incident. Yes, sure, they were telling us, it could go either way, but no one was expecting her to die. Not after everything that went down to save her life. Also: How could she die? It was unthinkable. She had been alive and well just a few days ago, bad been joking and laughing and living. She fucking just got a new knee in summer. She was only 71 and had no prior history of heart related health problems.

When I stepped in the ICU on the third day and saw the dialysis machine, I knew. I did not want to believe it though. The Doctor did not know what to say. The staff knew though, they knew it was over and not everyone was good at hiding it.

I never signed up for having to call my 95 year old Gran in the evening to ask her if she wanted to see her dead daughters body before it was taken to the morgue on a Saturday Morning. She had hoped to be able to visit her on Saturday before it would end. But it was not to be, it ended sooner than anyone would have thought.

I have to shoulder it all now - have to the laundry, cook, clean maybe, organize everything around the funeral, help my father doing all the legal stuff, oh and, yes, take on Christmas, because she ordered all those gifts right before ... so, we owe it to her to not just cancel Christmas. I wrote a whole damn fucking Fanfiction about the fact that you should never just cancel Christmas, no matter what.

I haven't even had time to mourn. I have to be there for my Gran, my father, the rest of the family, the old friends, the neighboors, the aquantances ... I can't break down before the funeral, and ten days or actually nine days after is Christmas, so I can't break down afterwards either.

I don't know how to continue. I don't want to without her. I fear everyone is expecting me to be functioning like normal by January. When I don't even know if I can ever function normal again.

My brother is swimming in the River in Egypt and my father is ... I have no idea where in his head. I get panic-y when someone is out and not immeadtly reachable. It's like my worst irrational fear came true and now no fear I have (and believe me I have enough fears for the whole human race) is irrational anymore.

Poor Christopher, I thought two years ago in December, he must be so broken. Now I am the broken one, pretending to be whole because I have to. Because when I let my parts fall, they can never fit together again.

I am not sure I can write anymore (Fiction, the rest is fine, you are reading it right now). I haven't had time to try it yet, and I think not being able to write anymore might be the last straw for me. Maybe it would help me, maybe it would heal me, I don't know, but I am afraid to try and too tired all the time.

Winter has come. Literally. Shipping snow is helping even less then having to wash her clothes. The world might be ending around me, I am not even noticing.

The dogs might have started to understand that she is not coming back. That is the worst part. Seeing that wondering look in my dogs eyes. That and knowing that Christmas Eve will be the one month anniversary of her passing. How can that be? It can't be real, it was never supposed to be her. It can't be.

My mother can't just be ... gone.

[sunflowerrruwu]

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has ever liked my posts, commented on my posts or just looked at my posts! Thanks a lot, everyone! I love you all very much, although you probably already forgot about me lmao. I got so much feedback. When I tried to create an account in 2018, I got 0 likes. I didn't know why but I got a little upset and deleted all the posts. In 2021 i tried again and i got some likes! And today I have quite a few of them!  More than ever had. Ihave 121 likes on that Sportarobbie Valentine's day mini comic i made.  That's a huge number for me! And also 141 on that digital sketch of them. Then i was so obsessed with the quarry game. Thank you for 133 likes! I had some other social media accs and, you know, there 5-10 likes was a normal thing. So 100+ likes is a really huge number for me.. I'm very grateful and i want you to know this.

Now, the worst part of this post. It's so depressed and i feel so guilty because of it.

I feel a big responsibility. It's hard.  I'm so afraid to post anything. I very rarely draw.  sometimes I'm busy, sometimes I'm not in the mood, and sometimes I just prefer to do something else (play games). I started all over again many times. Started to become some kind of an artist again. I have changed my nickname many times. All in order to forget this guilt i have. Guilt that I'm not active enough to be an artist. Guilt that I'm not active enough to be popular.  Popularity is not my goal, to be honest.  I almost never worried about likes or comments. Views are what was important to me. From the views, I can know that people saw it.  People don't always like or comment, so likes and comments are not that important for me. What do i want?  Inspire and give a sense of comfort.  I was so happy to see that my pinterest pin got 19k views and 230 saves. I thought "someone saved this. someone needed it. someone found it interesting and inspiring. I'm happy."  Someone else's art gives me the reason to live. Seeing my ships and favorite characters that other people are actively drawing.. it helps to stay alive. This is what I wanted and still want to give to others.  But I'm not active enough.  Many times I tried to think like "forget it. just post. let it be like an archive for your drawings. even if no one sees, even if no one finds out. it will remain here forever for you as evidence that you are not  lazy". I hate laziness so much. I hate that I rest and sleep. I often stay up late thinking "you can't go to bed, you will waste your time. you could do something more useful." And the next morning I feel so bad from not sleeping that I pass out and can hardly stand on my feet. And then I hate myself even more.

This is a great responsibility.  I love lazytown. I'm so multi-fandom. I am into 30+ fandoms. But it's such a big responsibility for me. The fact that people expect lazytown drawings from me when I want to draw genshin, for example. When I want to draw warrior cats, for example. When I have my own OC, personifying me in this world. I'm so afraid to post something else. A lot of people told me that being a multi-fandom artist on tumblr is hard. Those people told me that you can even get hated because you are multi-fandom. But I know artists on tumblr who draw about 5 fandoms. And those artists are very loved by their followers.

This is a great responsibility. Being an artist and posting means being active. Oyherwise all followers will leave. I don't need many followers. I mean it's not very important for me whether I have 10, 100 or 1000 followers. I just want to know that someone needs my art. And I want to know that I'm not nobody. That I am someone special. That my nickname will be remembered, I will be recognized. I have always dreamed of drawing requests. You give me an idea and I draw it. All are happy. You got your art, i got a cool idea. That's why I wanted a tumblr account. But now, when I draw so rarely, when I regularly disappear. Can I do all this now? Maybe I really should just post and not think about anything. Someone will need it. Someone will find me and follow, like and save my drawings, someone will be inspired to draw, too. I get inspired very easily.

I can look at a drawing and want to draw too.  That's why I love YouTube videos so much where artists show their sketchbooks.

I feel like I need to tell you why I'm like this. Why I don't post and why I disappear. Why I used to draw lazytown, then the quarry, and now other fandoms. I'm so afraid. But I always come back. Maybe nothing will happen after this post.  Maybe I'll disappear again. Maybe I'll play games all day long. Maybe I'll be busy with my studies.  And maybe I will draw trashy drawings that I don’t even want to post it. I haven't drawn much this summer. I used to draw a lot and often. I don't know what's scarier. Get hated for this post or not get any feedback and understand that everyone has forgotten me. I really want to delete it all. And I'm really sorry that any of you had to read this. I didn't want to burden you with my thoughts and feelings. But I feel like I should have written this. I feel a little bit safe here. It's the internet. Even if someone will write bad comments i can delete them.

I wanted to add some drawings to this post but i don't think it's a good idea anymore. I will leave it like this so i can delete it later.

This is not a cry for help. I don't need sympathy. I just feel like I can't post my drawings without explaining how I feel. I feel guilty that I decided to become an artist but couldn't handle it. Couldn't be active enough to be an artist. I will probably disappear again(because i don't have many new drawings to post), but I give a 99% guarantee that there will be no more posts like this. I already explained what I wanted. That would be enough for me to feel less guilty.

I feel stress and fear because of this post. So, most likely I will delete it tomorrow or in a couple of days. I don't like talking about myself, but I've said so much.

[smokeybrand]

Youngling Slayer 9000

Watching Jar Jar save Grogu from Anakin's Jedi genocide in the last episode of Mando, was surprisingly cathartic. I abhor Jar Jar Binks. I thought he was a thinly veiled, overtly racist, caricature of my people. That punk ass Gungan rubbed me the wrong way for years and, apparently, did the same for A LOT of people. SO many, in fact, that the actor who portrayed him, Ahmed Best, contemplated suicide. People were absolutely cruel to this man because of a character he played in a bad film. Listening to him recall the utter torment he suffered over the years because of that role was heartbreaking. I felt awful because i was apart of that mob. Never once did i wish ill or curse the name of Best, himself, but i would sh*t all over Jar Jar to anyone who would listen. It took this man years to come to terms with that hate so to see him don the robes and wield a lightsaber in service to saving Baby Yoda? That was dope. I am glad Best was able to get his shine, even if it’s three decades late. Dave and Jon have been redeeming Star Wars through Mando and other series. They have a plan to redeem the entire franchise after Kennedy did her very best to absolutely destroy. It’s wild to think that, in just a few years, we might be looking at Star Wars with eyes of joy and wonder and not trepidation and contempt. I am very happy for Ahmed Best and hope we get to see more of Kelleran Beq.

I wanted to say all of that up front because we are about to get into some sh*t right now and it was absolutely necessary to give Best, Mando, and Favloni their flowers. That sh*t was dope and it got me thinking about the real topic of this essay: Vader’s Redemption. If you’ve been around these parts for any number of years, you know i adore Star Wars. It’s a staple in my life and, while no as prominent as the three pillars of my childhood, it’s still a big part of it. My favorite character is, and will always be, Darth Vader. Also, just for transparency, a lot of the things i love about Star Wars are Vader adjacent. Ahsoka is my second favorite character and Dr. Aphra is a distant third. The Dark Lord of the Sith was just this imposing, malevolent, force of nature. His rage drove an already overpowered monster of flesh and steel that, to this day, is rarely topped as a cinematic antagonist. I love Vader so much. Just from a visual perspective, dude is overwhelming, but when you get into his canonical feats? Bro. That, however, brings me to the point of this entire goddamn post; How the f*ck does Anakin Skywalker get redeemed at the end of Jedi?

Darth Vader has so much goddamn blood on his hands. Like, WAY too much. And he did it with intent. His goal was to inflict as much harm on the Jedi, as he had inflicted upon himself. It’s insane how strong he hated and how much he slaughtered. The Yunglings were just the beginning but more than enough to bar him from the Force Ghost Paradise his previous Masters achieved. How many randoms did Vader kill? How many Empire Officers did he Force choke just for the hell of it? Bro, even before he had that inhaler strapped to his chest forever, mans was a whole ass problem. He slaughtered and entire camp of Sand People! As a teenager! He left no one alive! Men, women, and children! And that’s just the sh*t e see on screen. The stuff he gets up to in the comics is vast and horrifying. Vader in the comics is just a relentless machine of pure malevolence. Comic Vader’s entire being is violence. The whole time. All of the time. I mentioned Chelli Aphra as one of my favorite characters, right? Well, go read her introductory story in Star Wars: Darth Vader. That whole arc is a study in pure, savage, criminality on the part of Vader. It was insane. And that was the first goddamn story! You’re really going to tell me chucking Papa Paps down the poop chute of Death Star part deux, is enough to wipe that blood soaked wake Vader left behind? Really? Bro, there are no Jedi in the galaxy because of his very focused efforts! Why does he get let into Force Valhalla like dude was the best among them or some sh*t?

Don’t misunderstand me, i love Vader. I love Anakin. But realistically there is no redeeming this dude. He’s a monster and deserves to be remembered as one. Like, Vader committed genocides. He was part of the crew that destroyed a planet. Mans literally blew up Alderaan and then defended the giant murder moon responsible when the Rebels rightfully tried to destroy it. You don’t come back from that. If Himmler decided to take his service pistol and personally blow out Hitlers brains, he would still be a war criminal for his complacency in the goddamn holocaust. Vader was complicit in literally turning an inhabited, into a f*cking asteroid cluster. When you look at it from that perspective, Darth Vader has one of the highest body counts in all of fiction. There’s no way one life wipes that much red out of your ledger, even if said life was that of Space Wizard Hitler. And it wasn’t even like the decision to assassinate Sheev was a selfless one. Vader didn’t kill Palpatine through altruism, he did it because dude was torturing his son. He was being a good dad after literally being the worst. His daughter’s adopted family were from Alderaan. Vader cut off Luke’s hand after beating the sh*t out of him with random objects. Bro, killing Palpatine means nothing if you did it to effectively preserve your own self interest. What the f*ck? It’s almost like the Force doesn’t give a sh*t about any of this because it’s just this vague, enigmatic, energy which exists in us all and it’s when very human ideals are ascribed to it that it becomes tainted with contradictions. Wait...