#I'm planning on making a comic latter

[sm-baby]

strange request but, i'd love to see more of carnival pomni & carnival caine NOT getting along! :] (since u said in a post they didn't get along at first). It'd be interesting to see why they felt the way they did about each other, what didn't click at first, and what ended up bringing em together (i figure the latter must be harsh environment). Love your work btw!! :D

CARNIVAL AU - Concept art

I do plan to make it a comic so I won't give you big spoilers for now.

Old-time followers know how much I LOVE making concept art as if I'm preparing to make an animated series. so have a vision of how the scene should look!

kofi✨

[dceasesd]

why juni ba’s the boy wonder has my favorite jason characterization of any contemporary comic run: a needlessly in-depth analysis (pt.2)

alright here we are with part two! i promised i'd be quick with it, didn't i? you can find part one here. thank you guys so much for all the nice comments, i love yapping to a receptive audience :D

so, if you haven't read part one, i've been going over the common critques of ba's characterization of jason, the main three being:

the typical boiling down of jason's character to "the angry one"

his lack of strategy going into the fight with the demon is out-of-character

the neighbor's kid interaction

in the first part we went over #1, so now were gonna look at #2!

so, a problem people have with the story is how ba writes jason's reaction to the fight with rok (white tophat demon guy); damian and jason jump into the fight with seemingly no preparation at all, "underestimating" rok and paying the price for it.

i'll be honest, i do agree with this critque a bit. jason, if he is nothing else, is an obsessive planner and strategist; his back-up plans have back-up plans, and so on. we see this in plenty of his comic renditions, especially in lost days and under the red hood, where there are numerous examples of jason's competency. despite this, many comics fall into the habit of treating him as the "reckless, stupid robin", once again reducing his character to just his anger, usually to make the other robins more competent. looking at his actions in utrh & lost days, however, makes him jumping into a fight with no information uncharacteristic.

so, i sort of agree with this critque. HOWEVER. i will attempt to rationalize this part of ba's writing (because there are still parts of it i disagree with and it's more fun than just agreeing and moving on)

alright, to begin, lets look at these three different series; utrh (under the red hood), lost days, and the boy wonder. there is obviously many other examples out there, but i'm just gonna focus on these three for now because otherwise we'd be here all day.

in utrh & lost days, jason is driven by an obvious goal with an obvious end result; in utrh his goal is making bruce kill the joker & taking over gotham's underbelly, and in lost days it is getting skilled enough to complete the previously mentioned objective. i also chose to highlight the scene where jason puts a bomb underneath the batmobile in lost days, intending to kill bruce, because it's another very clear example of jason's strategic prowess. the whole bomb thing even happens before jason starts his murder training, making the feat even more impressive.

ba's jason, though, exists in a reality post-utrh; his plan failed and he must live with the consequences and implications of that truth. the recklessness that he presents in the fight in the boy wonder could be a representation of him grappling with this idea-- his supposed failure and banishment obviously must have had an effect on his psyche, and ba is attempting to portray that. ba plays a lot with the sadder side of jason's existence in the comic, so it's a plausibly theory, even if it is admittedly reaching a bit.

additionally, referring back to the earlier conversation about jason's anger in the first part of this discussion, i have the same sentiments about portrayal's of jason's recklessness. he can possess a strategic mind while still being reckless; it's his numerous paradoxical character traits that make him such an interesting character (at least to me). he's a mess of contradictions.

furthermore, while jason's actions are reckless and brash in this specific instance of the story, that does not mean that ba presents him as a reckless character. there's a difference between a reckless character and a character being reckless, and i feel like jason mostly falls into the latter. while maybe not super obvious, jason's tactical-ness is still present in ba's portrayal. this is represented through damian's responses and reactions to jason.

the fact that damian goes to jason for help in the first place is baffling. as a prideful kid desperate to prove himself, damian is not predisposed to asking for help, which is clearly presented in the first issue when he interacts with dick and babs.

damian's willingness to work with jason could be a result of him recognizing their similarities; he's more approachable than dick "golden boy" grayson. beyond that, he goes to jason because he needs a certain set of skills to help him catch the demon.

while jason is not able to fully present his usefulness at this task because the demon finds them first, he is clearly seen taking charge of the situation and dictating their plan to locate the demon, and damian actually defers to him. while brief, this instance represents that despite his recklessness in the battle against rok, ba still accurately presents jason's tactical skills, underscoring the intelligence he has that so many author's ignore or downplay.

i could go into how this plays into jason being a foil character to damian, but i'll save it for another day. sorry if this post is a little nonsensical, i did my best. i'll finish up my analysis in part 3! :)

part 1 / part 3

[tossawary]

You know, given all of the cloning and other evil experiments that Palpatine apparently had going on, it's a little remarkable in hindsight that he never targeted Shmi Skywalker personally.

Like, this woman apparently reproduced asexually and gave birth to one of the most powerful Force-sensitives of all time; I don't characterize Sith Lords as having great scientific curiosity or a sense of wonder for the universe (or bothering to remember "little" people exist most of the time), because their whole deal kind of precludes that, but it seems reasonable that one might conclude that there's potential power in investigating this.

If Anakin was friendly with Palpatine for the latter half of his childhood, it seems like it could have been relatively easy for Palpatine to learn things like 1) Anakin's midichlorian count (which he can use to tell Anakin that everyone else is just jealous of his power) and 2) Shmi's situation on Tatooine (which he can use to foster resentment between Anakin and the Jedi Order for not helping Shmi too). Just get Anakin a little frustrated and he'll probably start talking! Palpatine could make some concerned offer to send someone to check on Anakin's mother - it is the least that Naboo can do for the family that helped to save them, the Chancellor might say, but he would prefer that such favoritism remain a secret between them - and then Sidious would have Watto's exact address no problem.

And it's not like it would be hard to kidnap Shmi. Palpatine (as Sidious?) could pick some random bounty hunter and order them to go buy her, because this amount of money is presumably pocket change to him, and if Watto resists selling her off to a stranger, the bounty hunter can claim that they've come on behalf of her son. And if that doesn't work or if Shmi is already with the Lars family, there's always violence. Palpatine can just lie to Anakin and say that his agent discovered Shmi was targeted by enemies of the Jedi Order. Oh, what a shame they didn't protect her!

I don't know what would happen from here. Sidious could potentially contract the Kaminoans as a private, anonymous citizen to research Shmi and see if she'll be useful to him at all; the Kaminoans seem to be in the business of designer babies for specific clients (Jango + my vague memories of some "Clone Wars" comic). Which means that Shmi could be unhappily, awkwardly hanging around Kamino, probably still enslaved, when Jango Fett and the clones business is going on. For years, potentially.

Ideally for the Sith, the Kaminoans would be keeping Shmi in an entirely separate facility most of the time, away from the army intended for the Jedi and the Republic. But Jango might be sent around the planet on errands or something and the Kaminoans might need to use very specific equipment at some points, and I am a fan of grand plans being ruined by chance encounters or workplace logistics, so I think it would be fun if Shmi met Jango or Boba. Maybe Palpatine assumed that the Kaminoans had already disposed of Shmi or were keeping her on ice, due to a badly worded email or something else mundane, because the Kaminoan forgot the right Basic word (it's not their first language!!! or a translator malfunctioned or something) during their space phone call.

There's lots of Canon Divergence directions for this, like more serious angst or drama or thriller horror being imprisoned by a Sith Lord (somewhere besides Kamino) or discovering what's being done to the clones. Shmi could end up being rescued by Jedi and helping uncover Sidious. Or she could have a different tragic ending. (This whole post regarding Shmi and cloning is partially inspired by that one post pointing out that Rey looks a lot like Shmi, and given the strange circumstances of Anakin's birth, any attempt to clone Anakin might have created a clone of Shmi instead. I still think a "Rey as Anakin's clone" is a fun sequel trilogy AU.)

I'm leaning towards fix-it and comedies of errors ideas because the prequels are tragic enough for me. Currently, I'm thinking about Shmi eventually ending up as part of young Boba Fett's gang somehow, because it's amusing to me that he was somehow a recurring antagonistic figure on that TCW show despite being a child. The other bounty hunters are like, "Kid, did you... bring your mom on this mission...?" And Boba Fett is like, "No!!! She's my ship mechanic!!! But if you touch her, just so you know, I will fucking kill you."

I think that both Anakin and Boba would fucking hate being adoptive brothers in any way, shape, or form. And the idea of Luke and Leia someday having an "Uncle Boba Fett" is also very funny to me.

(EDIT: I'm currently dubious regarding a Jango/Shmi ship because Jango does participate in the creation and enslavement of the clone army. Like, it's the Kaminoans who do it, they hold most of the blame and they would have gotten someone else if Jango hadn't done it, but Jango is very much there and at the very least complicit in a horrifying series of crimes against millions of people. Depending on how you characterize Shmi Skywalker, an enslaved woman, I don't really think she'd be cool with that. She let her child go off to become a Jedi because she thought it would be a much better life for him, while Jango sold his own "children" off into war for money. So, I'm currently thinking that Shmi might like the innocent child Boba, but she might honestly dislike Jango quite a lot.)

[meanbossart]

ASK COMPILATION: LORE, CHARACTERIZATION, AND THE ONE IN WHICH I RUIN A BUNCH OF PEOPLE'S FUN

As usual, this is far from all of the asks in my inbox but I'm trying to catch up 😩thank you everyone for your patience!

For the record, if your ask isn't being answered, that most likely means one of three things:

I am saving it as a possible art prompt.

I sincerely don't have a very interesting or good reply for it yet!

It's a question I have been asked multiple times/the answer is in my pinned post.

Glad you like them!!

As much as I don't limit what I draw to canonical events, vampirism is so antithetical to DU drow's character journey that I couldn't really envision it, to be honest, but who knows! Maybe I'll cook up some Ascended Astarion scenario someday that is kind of a role-reversal of the Bhaalist DU Drow AU I have going on in tandem to the story.

I'll be honest, this is one of the rare times where I'm really not sure which aspect of DU drow's weirdness this is in reference to. Do you know something I don't? 😅

His masochism is very... Classic, I guess? He's in it for the pain and for the emotional connection, and the process of being pierced wouldn't cut it whatsoever, it's too subtle. The body modifications he has are an incidental result of it, but they were never really the goal.

Also having stuff dangling off his face or body would just irritate him, he specifically only does rings because all other types of jewellery get in the way too much. Pre-tadpole Bhaalist drow obviously wore them by the ton, but only as a symbol of status and because he had a permanent new-money complex🤷 so yeah not a piercing-type of character at all, sorry!

He's smooth from the eyelashes-down and profoundly weirded out by body hair LOL

I don't personally think that whatever Astarion had for a home before would bear my resemblance to it after 200 years - having probably gone through several owners, remodeled, if not completely lost to the destruction of the end-game. I do HC that he used to visit it whenever he could as an enthralled spawn to read his mail, but he stopped after his father passed.

THANK YOU, I THINK? I can't say that isn't a passionate description at least!

I'm honestly surprised that this comes up as often as it does LOL but it's just an stylistic choice on my end!

The latter - for sure. He figured that them dying at each other's hands at the end was a given and took that assumption entirely for granted (and I'm sure daydreamed about it often while Gortash went on and on about political strategy during their dinner meetings.)

;))) way ahead of you and by "way ahead" I mean "eventually and whenever I can figure out when to do it alongside the other 30 ideas I am currently juggling" (but I really do want to make a little comic out of it!)

He used them! Not immediately, but he grew to trust the guardian after some initial suspicion and happily gobbled up those squirmy little things alongside Astarion. Because I made his character on a whim and without any planned backstory, I didn't really put any thought into his Guardian's appearance either, so she's just a human woman with a Joan of Arc look going on who's of no significance to him or his past.

But DU drow did trust her, again not immediately but eventually. It was honestly a big kick in the gut to him when the Emperor revealed himself and it definitely set their relationship up to fail from the get-go.

This is also why he didn't ascend to the next stage of Ilithid power, he just stomped the thing dead right on the spot LOL

LMAO I think Gortash is too proud to chase a tail he can't catch like that

He was probably very overwhelmed by the sudden realization that OH, THIS IS ALL HAPPENING BECAUSE OF ME which naturally didn't come across whatsoever to anyone present since he immediately bottled it up and tucked it away out of sight. However, as the story progressed and DU drow helped his friends get out of their respective pickles he was probably able to justify it to himself as it having been for the greater good - since it led to Astarion being freed from his master and Shadowheart to defying the Sharrans.

As for all of the rest of the ensued destruction and death that resulted from it? Well you can't make an omelette without cracking some eggs, or whatever is the wizard version of that saying. He has essentially turned the entire situation into a net-positive in his mind and sleeps great at night because of it.

[neoyi]

[NEXT]

☀️There once was a young alchemist who was very happy until one day his heart broke so violently that his sorrow echoed through space and time... 🌙

SUMMARY: Resh'an travels to the end of the universe to unwind and meets an interesting individual who finds the very notion of a self-proclaimed God amusing. Lots of life lessons, self-discovery, and homoerotic touching occurs.

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I had plans to finish this earlier and upload all 14 pages, but uhhh, real life got in the way, so I've only been able to chip at this little-by-little in the past few days. So I said, "fuck it", and decided to split this comic into increments, so here's the first four pages. The others will come... eventually.

This is... a very, very, VERY self-indulgent comic. The context behind it will probably not make any lick of sense for any folks who's recently been following me for my Sea of Stars content (I'm very sorry)... for that matter, it might not make much sense for those who have been following me for my older Shovel Knight fan content, because the latter's portrayal in this comic is incredibly head canon as hell. If that's not your thing, then *shrugs*, sorry, man. But I had a story idea and a desire to see it through, so hey.

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⭐Prince Marine: The Dandy Robot / Ko-Fi / Itch.io / Bluesky⭐

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

hi! i’m currently making my own ask blog and was wondering if you had any tips abt literally anything? including art and stuff ^^’

trying to find my style but also find a style that i can easily draw over and over again

hi ! yeah i can give some tips

really the first thing of all is to Have Fun . i'm running this blog as i have always wanted to run an ask blog for a long time and thus have the energy and motivation to do so . really , ask blogs can be pretty demanding to run so just know if you're up for the challenge ... !

as for the art , it's fuckall really . what i loved about ask blogs back in the day is the variety of art styles i could find . it just depends on how frequently you want to update and the mood of the ask blog , really ! more sillier and character-based ask blogs have simpler art styles while story-based and elaborate ones have a more complex one - having colors and shading and all that

but Be Careful if you're going for the latter !! you might get burnt out and that's no good !! which is why i'll say you shouldn't feel pressure with updating often . ask blogs most of the time are comics , and comics take a while to draw . so take breaks if you can (: some ask blogs have an update schedule like actual webcomics and that's also another option .

and don't overdo it in the tags , like . don't put the characters that aren't in the post in the tags . it's both annoying and would get you blocked by a bunch of people . just put the main tags and character tags and you're done . i've since phased out the main tags as i've already have an audience for this thing . surprisingly .

and if you're running a story-based blog ... um ... ask blogs are very fickle . like think of this as a dnd campaign — you're not really in control , your players are . they might say or do something that will change the story's direction but may be even more interesting than what you have actually planned . basically do not expect things to go 100% as planned .

the only thing you have 100% control over really is the lore that your askers would uncover ! and that leads me to the next tip - how much power does your askers have ? are they just voices in the character's head guiding them or are they agents of chaos that can do literally anything ?

now . for the asks itself ... You Guys Don't Have To Follow My Way Of Doing It - which is just opening the asks and picking out the ones i feel like drawing . some ask blogs do an ' ask limit ' where they only allow a limited amount of asks before closing the inbox . which i think is good if you're not a fast artist like me

if you don't get a lot of asks , it's okay to ask your friends to drop some ! really , do it . it's a way for you to start posting and let people know it's active .

oh lord , long post ! but yeah here's my tips ... ! i love ask blogs so it's nice to see people make more (:

[buffyfan145]

Just wanted to make a little post as I'm seeing article going around about "Rings of Power" and if it's been renewed for a 3rd season or not, and it has. It's what's called a quiet renewal where they network already tells the writers to go ahead and write the new season. Both Deadline and Production Weekly even reported last year the show was renewed, and the latter's article was even hiring new crew members for the show. The writers then updated about how the writing for s3 was going at SD Comic Con and Charlie even said in a recent interview they're just waiting to find out when filming for s3 starts when he was talking about a new project he just finished filming in Australia. I don't think he'd said that if they were still in limbo. The show does have a 5 season plan the network approved but they still have to renew it year by year. Amazon hasn't officially announced the renewal yet, which is also why I said it's a quiet renewal, but that likely is coming any day now as they waited till the s2 was airing. So really nothing to worry about and it'll likely film early next year after the cast finish up their other projects they did in this off year from filming.

[ihopesocomic]

What are some scraped ideas that you had for the IHS comic?

Here be a list:

Carnelian was originally planned to originate from an order of warrior lion mercenaries named after types of weaponry. They were located in an area of the map known as Acacia Grove (which was roughly in the empty territory between the Thundering Mountains and the Kingblessed Coast). We wrote it out because it seemed like a ton of wasted potential. I'm reusing the idea for one of my IHS OCs though.

A couple of things we had planned but changed due to critique from readers include: Hope opting to choose to disown her parents vs. being exiled and Diamond being non-binary trans masc as opposed to a trans lioness. The latter was back when we had them and Wind as our only canon trans characters and yep, we were in danger of falling into stereotyping so kudos to that anon who very kindly pointed it out for us.

Hopeful was originally going to have a broken back leg vs. an undeveloped limb. We changed this so that her disability would not feel like a tragedy hanging over her like it does with Nothing and somewhat switched this circumstance over to Bronze instead, showing that - despite the loss of his limb - he is still capable of carrying out the duties handed down to him but with assistance and accommodation from the other tunnel guards.

We were originally gonna use wc-style names similar to My Pride but that got dropped almost immediately because we wanted to make it easier for prides to be told apart.

We originally were gonna have a tigress character who the girls were going to meet and converse with, to highlight how tigers are critically endangered and how such a thing leads their culture of depending on the self vs. folklore heroes. Unfortunately, we couldn't verify if the South African reserves that house these tigers are managed ethically and we didn't want to promote anything problematic. Thus, she was replaced by a pair of cheetahs instead.

Daffodil was originally a lot older and a minion of Rose's. They were replaced by Heather and made into a reincarnation of Quiet.

We wanted to do a side comic for Careful but soon realised we would not have time for this. It's probable I'll dedicate a written story to her in the future however.

Fade was originally planned to be killed accidentally by Storm.

Diamond was originally going to be a deaf lion known as Zoisite. We changed this due to feeling that we would be unable to properly portray deafness in comic form. Zoisite as a name was retained for Amber's aunt, however.

Zircon was originally known as Topaz. - RJ

[tblsomedoodles]

I

C R A V E

more Donnie VS The World content. It makes me vibrate and scream and wiggle like I'm off my meds. I would love anything, even a solid block of text, but your doodles/full artworks/comics are my favorite.

Please? All I've found so far is what we see in the donnieverse comic and the MVA/AMV (music video animatic/animatic music video). So many questions, like - is Casey (Sr) involved in any way, whethercas a fellow captive or rescue mission teammate? Is this the True Apocalypse or Averted Apocalypse timeline? If the latter, where is Casey (Jr)? How is Splinter handling it? (Is he even still alive to be Having Emotions About It?)

(Please feed me.

B L E A S E)

(If you don't mind, could you show/tell how Donnie escapes, one of his first Big Leads that gives him so much hope he cries, and/or the Big Reunion? One would be nice, two would be great, and all three would be amazing. If they aren't planned/are too spoilery, that's okay. Anything you can/are willing to give would be lovely.)

Thank you!! I'm glad you like it : ) I don't think I've answered many asked about this particular au, so i'm more than willing to talk about it! : )

I don't really have much up for it, mostly b/c it deals with a lot of angsty material that i can be a little uneasy about posting. I have a bit of old concept art, and an unposted fic i'm editing/rewriting (b/c it's the first fic i wrote for Rise and i did not have those character voices down lol.) I can probably post the first bits of it later this week. I did say at one point that i would once 'proud family tradition' was over, and it now is.

but yeah, here's the concept art, i'll put the explanation under the break b/c i'm going to be rambling lol.

So Donnie vs. takes place after the thwarted apocalypse (not-apocalypse future). They get taken by Bishop a few months afterwards, and it isn't until about a year after that, that Donnie gets free.

He's the last one still with Bishop at that point, and had been told/convinced through various means that his brothers were dead.

Bishop did a lot of experiments on him, leaving a lot of scaring. One of which was injecting him with Krang DNA to see what would happen. (the eye and veins thing. I think he has some side effects from that but i'm not entirely certain what they are atm)

The fic itself starts after his rescue, b/c i'm focusing on Donnie's search for his brothers (and his own recovery) Rather than the traumatic event itself.

The rescue itself, was certainly a rescue. April, Casey, and CJ worked together to get him out of there as well as gain whatever information they could before they were found out. (Casey went undercover and was able to get some incomplete files and help get donnie out before she was discovered and had to leave.)

donnies in...pretty bad shape at that point, mentally and physically. Physically, he's malnurished, injured, scared, the works. Bishop did a number on him in the year he had him.

Mentally, he's pretty much shut down. He's completely non-verbal, unresponsive most of the time, when he does respond it's very slow and seemingly difficult for him to do so. He describes it that it feels like he's behind several plates of thick glass. He can see and hear what's happening, interacting (or even just feeling anything about it) is very hard to get past the glass.

How he goes from that state to hunting down his brothers is fairly simple. One of the broken, encripted files Casey acquired was Leo's file. None of the three could open it, but they managed to get Donnie to try to do so. He manages it, sees the file, and for the first time in about a year, has hope. He doesn't even wait to show the other three, he just takes off while no one was looking, with April's laptop and CJ's coat (he steals a backpack along the way.)

I don't really want to say much past that. A lot of the rescues/reunions are pretty spoiler heavy, and i don't want to ruin some of the mystery of what's going on in the fic. But know this, he does get all his brothers (and family in general) back. Also, splinter is alive and is part of this, but again, that's spoilers for some things i don't want to ruin.

Again, i'll probably start posting this sometime this week. It's an interesting fic that i've put quite a bit of time into at this point, so i'll be excited to see what is thought of it.

Thank you!

[bigfrozenfan]

10-year-old mystery finally solved

One of the biggest riddles of Disney Frozen is how the choir gets up to the gallery. Nowhere in the movie is an entrance to the gallery or an access of any kind to be seen. All we see during Elsa's coronation scene is a completely open construction of the chapel, but there are twelve singers above the altar. How do they get there? Many fans have wondered how this is possible for ten years of Frozen's existence and everyone has puzzled over it. Even in books and comics, not a single clue is given and, stupidly, nowhere can you see the back of the chapel, i.e. from the west. Not even in Mindcraft designs is this side more clearly visible, which proves that the fans have no idea. However, there is Disney concept art and two, almost identical books about Arendelle Castle. The latter is clearly intended for children, but even there you can see the beginnings of a solution to the problem.

I myself was at a loss until yesterday, when I suddenly realised something while downloading screenshots and concept art. And tada!, suddenly everything was completely simple and logical. I could hardly believe it. You're probably asking yourselves now, "So how does that work? I don't believe anything without proof!" No problem. Let's go!

But first I'd like to show you my initial approach - until it turned out to be rubbish and couldn't work at all because of the open construction, no matter how you twist and turn it. Maybe you've already got there yourself.

Then I looked at the concept art of the chapel from the outside and the floor plan. Suddenly everything was clear to me and it made perfect sense. The only thing that didn't quite fit is the illustration in the book "All Around Arendelle" and the almost identical book "A Frozen World". There, the lower windows of the chapel are not shown, which can be seen in the concept art and round off the picture - also to the original model, St Olaf Church! But hey, it's a children's book and, in my opinion, the only incorrect depiction of the actual situation.

Here is the final proof:

Some side thoughts:

it makes no sense whatsoever to see a ladder or stairs in the church. It also makes no sense for something like this to be brought in from outside before every service.

a permanently installed staircase, but invisible to churchgoers, makes much more sense. But it must be easily accessible for the choir singers who a) want to rehearse independently of church services and b) do not enter the chapel at the same time as churchgoers. They arrive in their everyday clothes perhaps half an hour early and only need to put on their robes, which are c) always ready for them in a locked room behind the altar.

The entrance is well hidden behind the altar screen, and it is very likely that this door is even wallpapered in the style of the immediate surroundings, so it can withstand a casual glance from a curious person. In the room behind it, there is either a ladder to the gallery or - more likely - a permanently installed, narrow staircase leading to a hatch in the gallery. The singers' robes are always hanging ready for changing and the hatch at the top is there so that none of the singers accidentally tumble down the steps when closed. The stained glass windows around the small room also let in enough light for the singers to get changed in daylight without being seen, to talk face to face before the service and to get into the right mood with the coloured light from this type of window. There is another good reason for having a room separate from the church. The pastor or bishop can prepare there in peace, store things for the sermon and talk to the choristers undisturbed. I'm sure there are other reasons for such a room that I just can't think of right now, but you can certainly think of them yourselves.

This is how it would look like if the tapestry wall wouldn't be there:

PS: the only thing I haven't been able to solve yet is how to get up into the bell tower. There is a staircase that leads nowhere and no rope to ring the bell. Very strange… But on the real model, St Olaf's Church in Norway, you can see a ladder leading up to the bell tower.

Credits to: Art of Animation for the concept art images, and to GETTY images, David Nikel (for Forbes), Visitnorway.com for the images of St. Olaf Church in Balestrand, Norway.

Here are a few more pictures of St Olaf's Church in Balestrand, Norway, for those of you who are interested:

UPDATE 04/2024:

I stumbled upon a screencap from Frozen Fever where you can clearly see the rear left side of the chapel. And there are windows to be seen! I would say: because it's not only a part of the concept art but is seen in the Frozen Fever short too, my theory is confirmed now.

[greekceltic]

FAQ Page

She/her | 38 | I like cats and rain. My comic: https://catswaycomic.com/ My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/greekceltic My Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/greekceltic Other links: https://linktr.ee/greekceltic Sorry in advance if you send me a message and I don't get back to you, I tend not to stress over messages/asks. I do try to read them though, and I'm always open to being asked questions about characters or my headworld/stories. I am already aware that my art is being copied. They're blocked. Please stop telling me about it. Rest of my FAQ is under the cut >

Can I repost your work? I don't mind as long as I'm credited. I'm less okay with my work being used as a pageviews grab, but it's probably not worth my time to care. If it's something I've selected to take down and don't have posted anymore, don't. If it's something you commissioned, go for it. You don't need to credit me every time you share it. Once in a while is cool.

Are you okay with fanart? What about OC interactions? Can I post it? Sure, just don't profit off of it and please credit me. If you want to draw my OCs interacting with yours that's also fine (and fun!)- though I prefer situations where their actions make sense. Alf wouldn't make your character cry, for example. He's grumpy but not cruel. Posting it is fine. Is it okay if I take inspiration from your art and concepts? I've been in a situation in recent years where another artist has taken far, far too much. It's a subject I'm pretty burnt out on. I recently saw another artist's take on this and it looked sensible to me. I'm just going to quote theirs. I have tried to find my own words, but right now I find myself more comfortable using someone else's. "Well, if you’re having to ask me for permission, either your design is too similar or you’re being overly nervous about a normal artistic process. You’re absolutely free to use my work as a source of inspiration but I’d strongly encourage you to think about the details from my design you like most, and remix them with other concepts into your own unique take."

Taking inspiration is something everyone does, but please don't become a shadow I get bi-weekly alerts about. Ideally your pool of inspiration will be many artists and concepts re-imagined into something unique to you- and that you're being honest with yourself about the result.

Your art is being copied! / Will you tell me who the copy cat is? I get a lot of messages about this and am tired. I'm sure if my art ends up somewhere it shouldn't be or there's something really worth my attention I'll find out through friends. Otherwise, I'm just sayin' get a second or third opinion before coming to my inbox. I probably already know about it.

I sent you a message and you didn't respond. Sorry about that. I tend not to stress about messages because it can be a drain. You're more likely to get a response if you let me know from the get go what you want, but nothing is guaranteed. Sometimes I didn't see it, sometimes I got busy or forgot, sometimes I plan to do it later, sometimes I just opted out. It's not personal. Where do you Rp? Are you looking for more partners? Discord mostly. Roleplay consumes a lot of time so these days I mostly only play with my buddy Thema. I probably wouldn't have time to play, but I like to hang around people that do and I don't mind being asked. Just please don't be sad if I never get around to responding! I'm most compatible with people who are comfortable with radio silence.

Can I use your characters in roleplay/as roleplay refs? Considering I actively roleplay my OCs and there's a potential for confusion, I'd rather you didn't. Though I think there's a difference between linking to my art and saying 'this is my character', and linking to it to say 'this has the mood I'm going for, but here's what's different about my character--'. The latter is fine.

Can I make Fan OCs for your setting? Thinking about this makes me tired. Maybe I'll get to a point where I'm more comfortable later, but for now I'd rather you didn't make something directly from my worlds. But lets be real, you don't need my permission to draw cat monsters and I take a huge amount of inspiration from ancient history. Many of my concepts are inspired by things that you can read about and be inspired too. If you see something and are curious if there's a historical source, just ask. Hopefully I'll remember.

Do I have permission to draw NSFW art of your characters? No, for a plethora of reasons, some easy to explain and some not, but I probably can't stop you. Just don't profit off of it or show it to me.

Do you have a website for your OCs? I have RP pages for them scattered all over the place and many of them are outdated, but as I type this I recently put some up on Toyhouse. https://toyhou.se/GreekCeltic

Do you have a website for your comic? Sure do. It's an expensive fuck. https://catswaycomic.com/ When does your comic update? Sporadically. I work on it when I have time. My income is solely freelance commissions and Patreon- mostly commissions.

There's other places you could post your comic! Yeah, I know. I may do that someday, but for now I like having my own house, even if it's an expensive fuck. (Not really, the renewal just hits around tax time, Lol).

[emeraldspiral]

Headcanon:

Since Zib can't be the true "Number 1 Zim" because he isn't a Zim at all but a Dib, that makes Number 2 the actual Number 1 Zim. Following this idea, I theorize that where Zib is the only Dib to have defeated his Zim, Number 2 is the only Zim to have defeated his Dib and conquered earth.

This gives them a unique connection because they're the only versions of each other who can relate to one another's complicated feelings of regret and longing for the past. Zib couldn't handle destroying the only person who understood him and gave him a purpose, only for no one to care, so he merged with Zim's PAK as the only way to be with him again. Number 2 went through the same thing, destroying his Dib for the Empire only to learn the Tallest never cared about his mission. But since there was no way for him to get his Dib back, he coped by joined Zib willingly to get revenge on the Irken Empire, and was the only one to know the truth about "Number 1".

If you're wondering how Number 2 can be unique as the only successful Zim when there's another Zim who won in an earlier comic, well...

At the end of that comic, Zim claimed that defeating himself in the future somehow undid the past, although Dib pointed out that made no sense. But in the Zimvoid, following another train of non-logic, Zim erased every alternate version of himself by feeding them packing peanuts to merge their timelines, which both Dib and Zib point out makes no sense. But since the latter ended up working out due to Rule of Funny, I'm inclined to think the former did as well. Except it actually does hold up to logical scrutiny when you think about it, just not for the reasons Zim thinks.

Earlier in the Future Zim comic, Zim tried to find out from his future self which of his evil plans was successful, but the only thing he finds out is that it wasn't the one where he covered the earth's atmosphere in cheeto dust. Later, at the start of the Virooz arc, we see Zim attempting this very plan despite being told it wouldn't work. So either Zim was so enamored with the idea he blocked out all memory of being told it would fail, as he usually does whenever someone tells him something he doesn't want to hear, or he deliberately attempted a plan he was told wouldn't work just to spite his future self. Either way, meeting his future self altered the course of Zim's destiny because meeting him caused him to make different choices, thereby rewriting the future and erasing Future Zim's timeline. So Future Zim no longer exists by the time of the Zimvoid adventure. Then the timeline branched at some point, creating a new Zim variant who instead of conquering the earth and then putting on a fake beard and high heels somehow grew taller naturally and could throw Vibrating Irken Death Blades with 99.4% accuracy.

I've theorized before that because timelines are always splitting Zib can never truly be erased. After the Zimvoid adventure, ETF came out and created a new timeline that split off from the first comic, creating a universe where the events of the Zimvoid haven't happened yet and therefore Zim hasn't gone back in time to feed everyone packing peanuts to erase them, thereby restoring Zib's existence. I think the nature of the multiverse pretty much guarantees that there will always be a version of Dib who wins and a version of Zim who wins. Zib always comes into existence and creates the Zimvoid while Victorious Zims take many different forms, Future Zim and Number 2 just being two of the infinitely possible examples.

[noonical]

𓍯 ִֶָ VANILLA BABY ...

↪ jungwon may not fully understand it, but jay is ready to gift him the world wrapped up in a bow.

↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ now playing: that's my name - akcent

pairing: park jongseong x yang jungwon cw: kissing, jealousy, whipped jay and enamoured jungwon, a (possibly) cheesy usage of nicknames like "kitty" I'm sorry 😭 but overall nothing really just two silly guys in love

"Baby, have we been to Dubai?"

Jungwon looks up from where he was sitting on their shared bed, in the process of folding their freshly washed and dried clothes. He wears a confused expression as he raises a brow at his boyfriend.

"You have, not me though", he says. Something in him tells Jay is not asking that for nothing and he has a inkling where the conversation is going.

Jay smiles and walks up to sit in front of him on one knee and somehow, that move gets Jungwon blushing in the cheeks. "Well, now we're going there together", he announces with sparkling eyes that hold all the love and affection he has for the younger. Jungwon splutters.

"What?! But what about your work? And what about mine?" Jay fondly chuckles at his comically widened eyes and takes Jungwon's hands in his to softly rub them, making the latter drop the clothes he has been folding. "I didn't forget about your work, love. That's why I planned my meetings to be held in Dubai after two weeks, which is when you said you'll have your ten day vacation, isn't that right?" Jungwon simply nodded, still a bit stunned at the revelation.

They've been a couple for a year and have been to two countries already, but it seems like he's still not fully used to spontaneous trips abroad. Falling in love with a man whose social status differed from his by a large scale was not something that Jungwon thought will happen at all. He was still happy, of course, and wouldn't trade his relationship with his dear Jay-hyung for anything, but he still had a hard time accepting being spoiled.

Jay must have noticed his long pause, and furrowed his eyebrows. "Jungwon-ah, if you don't want it, please just tell me so, it's okay. I'll postpone my meetings and we'll be here for your vacation, you just have to say what you want. Your wishes come before anything else", the older stood up to sit next to Jungwon and gently put his arms around the latter's waist.

Jungwon looked at his boyfriend, heart practically aching from how he was being treated - like he meant the whole world and life to this lovely man. He sniffed and wrapped his arms around the older's neck, blinking his eyes repeatedly to not bawl like a child. "Hyung, you're unbelievable...", he murmured. "Of course I'll go with you, I'm sorry if you thought I won't. It's still kind of new for me... but just know that I'll go anywhere as long as it's with you", he turned his head up to kiss Jay on the corner of his mouth, hands softly brushing along the sharp jawline as he admired the most handsome face he has ever seen. Jay grinned, face so full of glee and pure love that Jungwon couldn't resist kissing him again, this time putting his lips on his boyfriend's.

Jungwon couldn't stop his stunned gasps and "whoa's" as they were on their way to their hotel. Jay decided to book their stay in "Address Sky View", which, of course, intimidated Jungwon with its rate and overall price (even though Jay never let Jungwon pay despite the latter's resistance) at first, but quickly figured it won't be too bad. After all, he loved being pampered by his boyfriend, despite his partial guilt.

"How's Dubai?" Jay whispered lowly, lips brushing Jungwon's reddening ear. The younger was glad the partition was up in the car, otherwise the poor driver would've witnessed their shameless antics. He softly pushed the older on the chest at the bold flirting. "I've always looked at it through the screen but now... I can't believe I'm here, and it's all thanks to you", he smiled gently and pecked his boyfriend on the cheek before putting his head on the sturdy shoulder.

"I can't help but to want the best for you, Wonie, and I want you to know that I do things because I love you, not by obligation or anything else", Jay said and leaned down to kiss the younger on his temple, arm wrapped protectively around the shorter frame. "I know, hyung. I love you too... I don't know how I got so lucky with you", murmured Jungwon, his voice a silky sound surrounded by the gentle whirring of the car.

They safely arrived half an hour later, both drowsy from a late night flight. The couple decided to eat and then sleep since they didn't feel like doing anything aside from resting at the moment. As Jungwon put his head on the fluffy and rumpled pillow, and Jay made sure to properly tuck the younger in bed, he couldn't help but feel like this will last forever. With that thought, he drifted to sleep, dreaming of only the sweetest dreams.

Their first proper day in Dubai started with Jungwon waking up early and just lying down and admiring his man's divine face (which is an absolutely normal thing between them), then, after Jay had risen from sleep, they headed to get breakfast.

"How's the food, kitty?" Jay asked as he carefully wiped a tiny crumb off the younger's face, which, in turn, caused Jungwon, who was still very shy about PDA, to turn pink in the cheeks. He coughed and smiled, his endearing dimples popping out. "I like it! Very delicious and different from what we have in Korea, but in a good way", he hummed as he put down his spoon to pick up his glass filled with orange juice. Jay nodded and put some heart-shaped waffles from his plate to Jungwon's, murmuring "eat more".

After the breakfast, they thought they'd enjoy swimming in an indoors pool since it was already piping hot outside, and so here they were. Jay was completely topless, clad only in swimming trunks, while Jungwon opted for a full body swimsuit, being a person whose preference lies in non revealing clothes. The younger decided to read a book he brought for a little before diving into the water while his boyfriend jumped into the pool as soon as they arrived there.

As Jungwon sat and squirmed in his lounge chair to find a comfortable position, he was suddenly approached by a tall man. He tore his eyes off his book to look up at the stranger in surprise, and that's when he noticed the man's Asian features.

"Hey, sorry if I'm bothering, but I've heard you and your friend talking in Korean and guessed you two are my fellow countrymen", the man said with a friendly smile, and Jungwon's eyes widened. "Oh?! That's right, we're Korean! Wow, that's so cool, I wouldn't have guessed I would see a fellow Korean here.. Uh, what's your name..?" Jungwon said, filled with enthusiasm at the prospect of meeting people from the same place as him and Jay-hyung.

"My name's Hwang Yeonseok, what about you?"

"Yang Jungwon! Nice to meet you", He smiled, eyes bright and shiny as he shook hands with Yeonseok, the man returning the excitement. Jungwon didn't notice how he started chatting with a newfound acquaintance, completely forgetting about his book, the pool and... his boyfriend.

Speaking of the said "boyfriend", Jay didn't notice them immediately, head and body under the surface for a little while until he came out eventually, eyes squeezed and hands rubbing his own face until his vision became clear again. And that's when he took saw them: his boyfriend with another man, both of them talking to each other so animatedly. Now, Jay is not a jealous and possessive man by nature - his Jungwonnie has many guy friends that he's totally not concerned about because, well, that's just weird to feel territorial over your partner when they do nothing for you to be worried about.

This time, however, something was different. Jay was not an oblivious fool and that's why he immediately took notice of the way the stranger was looking at his Jungwon, approaching the younger with a clear (at least to Jay) intent. And that's also why he swam closer to them, when he heard the man say: "By the way, you have a great body, Jungwon. It's not too buff but not too frail either", with an unknown glint in his eyes, and Jay decided to end whatever that was going on. He cleared his throat and Jungwon's head snapped in his direction, heart eyes immediately taking over his embarrassed and shy ones from the man's compliment.

"Jay hyung! Look, this is Hwang Yeonseok, he's also Korean and came here to rest just like us! And Yeonseok-ssi, this is Jay hyung, he's-"

"I'm his boyfriend", smiled Jay, trying his best to look friendly and not bare his teeth in a grimace as he emerged from the water and walked up right next to Jungwon. The latter must have noticed the tension as he took Jay's hand into his and nodded. "Yes, he's my boyfriend", he said in a breathless tone as Yeonseok opened his mouth in surprise. "O-oh, nice to meet you, Jay-ssi. Well, it looks like I have somewhere to be. It was really nice talking to you, Jungwon, see you later. You too, Jay-ssi", the man had smiled and quickly went away, leaving the two alone. Jungwon couldn't hold his giddy expression as he giggled and hugged the older.

"What's gotten into you, hyung? Ah, were you jealous? Was Jjongssaeng jealous of a complete stranger?" He playfully cooed as Jay rolled his eyes. "Yah! He literally complimented your body, isn't that just weird? You also left me in the water by myself, just to talk with another man!" Jay hissed, very obviously playing along since a smile adorned his face. Jungwon threw his head back and nuzzled into his boyfriend's neck afterwards, squeezing his eyes shut in a complete bliss.

"I was just excited to meet a new friend. You're the only man I'll ever find attractive, so don't worry okay? I love you too much to even think about how others look, hyung", he smiled and tiptoed to kiss his hyung's chiseled jawline. Jay grinned, satisfied with his answer and leaned down to kiss the younger's nose, eyes full of adoration.

"Love you too, Jungwonie, so so much."

AN: OKAYYY here goes my first ever published work 😭😭😭 jaywon makes me feel so weak, and English is not my first and not even my second language so forgive me if there are grammatical mistakes 😅 hope someone enjoys it, much love 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 OI ALSO: the title is not really related to the chapter at all, it was stuck in my head so yeah 😅

[pomegranate-pen]

Lackadaisy you say? How about some Rocky angst with a fem reader because I am extraordinarily concerned with his well-being in the comics. Thanks for this! Please have a cookie for your troubles 🍪

Rocky Rickaby x gn! reader

(pronouns weren't really needed to be specified here, so one can easily see this as gn! reader.)

warnings: mentions of blood, injuries and gun wounds. implied intense fight and in general, 1920s fiascos. angst with some fluff in the middle. not much of an intense angst I think- kind of ooc rocky if you haven't read the comic???

A/N: first of all, I'm quite shocked and delighted to see that a lackadaisy request was a first one to be sent!! and for my favorite character nonetheless! I was honestly expecting a welcome home one at first, since the x reader for that is much more popular at the moment and thriving. nonetheless, this was a pleasant surprise! second, for some reason, writing angst for someone like Rocky was difficult- even though he has such a tragic childhood, it's hard to make angst x reader for him without making it 20k words full of plot and explaining and expanding relationships- or at least, that's how it is for me. though difficult, I tried my best to give a angsty with some slight fluff fic, for this one I recommend remembering that one chapter in the comics where Rocky got hit in the head and after being patched up was in the car with Ivy and opening up a bit about his childhood, that's the moment i took inspiration from to write this. I'm not sure how to feel about this one, but i truly hope you all enjoy it!!!

On such a rainy night like this, you’ve expected nothing less than staying in your tiny room, a warm sweater comforting you and a hot mug of tea calming your senses, as you look at the rain droplets hitting the window.

However, fate seemed to have other plans for you. for rather than a peaceful night away from chaos, your sweater is stained with splotches of blood and the mug of tea has been long forgotten in your room. the rain doesn’t sound as calming as it had before anymore, rather, it's noisy and it's stressful. With sounds of thunder cackling left and right, your new focus isn't the window in your room anymore, rather, it’s the injured Rocky Rickaby that lies motionless on your couch, a gunshot wound to the shoulder and leg painting his clothes red. his lucky tie, with circles of blood around it, had to be removed, and his pine-strip coat that was riddled with mud had to be thrown to the bathroom sink.

You’re a mere in-training nurse and the three people in your house at the moment- are your neighborhood friends. Being a regular at the little café they worked in has made you know a thing or two about each other. Though, it seems like they left out a big portion of who they truly are away from you and maybe- well surely- everyone else in the public.

Ivy was the one who banged on your door first, a sound so loud that it made you forget the haziness of sleep crawling into your mind and making you jump. As you opened the door, you were met with the frazzled trio, all hair messed up and clothes soaked, droplets of blood leaving a trail to the ground beneath you, and Freckle holding what seemed to be a bloody Rocky in his arms, the latter which was so out of it that for a moment, you thought he was a corpse now.

With a scared gasp, you frantically wanted to ask what happened and what caused such a scene, but realized that there was not much time for an explanation when they laid down Rocky on the couch and pleaded for you to fix him up.

With rookie hands, a left-over roll of bandage, a sewing kit, and some utensils that are normally not suitable for medical procedures, you patched him up and realized some much more unnerving information. 

The gun wound on his shoulder was so close to his neck. if the perpetrator shot one inch higher, then there would be no more strange poems sung in the height of morning, no more talks about different jazz bands around the block or listenings to his tunes as he played the violin, trying to convince you that he’s a prime violin player amongst all the others in Mississippi, maybe even reciting a poem he just thought of at that moment. There would have been no more of the strange waiter you grew so fond of, whom you’ve talked to so much throughout the morning weekends. the one you considered most as a friend than anyone else in the café and new city these past few months. it made your heart drop, and you couldn’t understand why, how are you so hurt by this? why is the idea of his death, of his absence in your life so important to you? you shook your head, annoyed by your own complicated thoughts, your feeling unwilling to cooperate with your mind,

You glance back to your room, the place you offered Ivy and Freckle to rest up in, since they looked extremely exhausted and out of breath. with a bit more focused staring, you could guess that they’ve peacefully dozed off, leaving you widely awake and still unaware of what kind of fiasco they've done.

  Great. You sighed, a yawn almost escaping you as you peered at the clock and realize what time it was. 

2:30 a.m. 

thank god tomorrow was Friday.

 and as much as your limbs and eyes beg for some good shut-eye, your mind was too preoccupied to sleep, too into its own fight with itself to let your heart calm down and rest. so you decided to make some tea and stay close by Rocky, in case he woke up.

The tea took a solid twenty minutes to fully prepare, the preparation for it merely taking less than that. The thunders and storms have stopped, but little pitter-patters of the rain can still be heard. The cup of tea stayed untouched on the table (your mug was still left in your room, and you couldn’t bring yourself to possibly wake up the others by walking in), yet despite your thirst for it a few hours ago, now seeing it, you found yourself unable to freshen up your apetite, and realized that you made the tea as a mere excuse to stay awake.

With the silence and rain your only company, your mind drifted to memory land. Memories of you and Rocky debating about the best breakfast or best poets in the morning of spring, eating pancakes since Rocky insisted that it was the day's special, and it must be cherished as that. you remember how much he spoke fondly of pancakes and how for a moment, he spoke about how his aunt used to make pancakes when he was a child. Rocky never really spoke about his life, let alone his childhood. And so, since the opportunity arose, you decided to ask him a question.

“Were you and your aunt close?”

He tensed up by that, choking a bit on his tea and glancing away from your gaze. “uh…yes? Well, um-“ he gives a nervous grin. Thick eyebrows positioned in a state where you'd think he's done a mistake of sorts. “ I’m closer to Freckle than her.” He didn’t give anything further than that, and with how tense he seemed for a relaxed guy like himself, you decided to not question further.

now with thinking about this day, your suspicion towards everything has increased. has he been lying about everything the entire time? whats his actual job, and what has he done that made him end up like this? the more questions you thought of, the more frustrated you felt.

You’ll admit, you’ve heard some… rumors, about the establishment before, but you just considered them as they were. Simple white rumors existing to just to satisfy the drama-hungry people in this world. But tonight, with the dilated-pupils of Freckle, the out of breathiness of Ivy, and the gun wounds of Rocky, you wonder how much of the rumor was true and how much of who they said they were was a lie.

You felt hurt, offended even. With a now clear mind, you now can presume why they didn’t go to the hospital or an actual doctor and settled for an in-training nurse close to their café instead.

“Mnngh….”

The blurred, tired, and worn-out voice of your companion on the couch made you flinch. Your head twist’s in his direction, as his eyes start to blink a few times slowly, the lids becoming more open with each blink and he soon starts trying to move. He shuffled with his body a bit and as he tries to move his shoulder-

“Wait, Rocky—“

He hissed in pain and falls back down to the couch. You put your palm on his head, checking his temperature just in case.  

“you’ve heated up quite a bit, stay here. I’ll bring you some water.”

Rocky mumbled something, shifting his head left and right and his eyes squinted from the lights in the room. “….where…am I?...” he looks back at you. “are…are you an angel from the heavens?”

If this situation wasn’t so dark, you’d laugh at his cheeky comment. “ No, I’m Y/n, Rocky.”

It took him a few moments to process your words, the moments in which you quickly left to bring the water.

“h-hold on…-“ as he grabs the glass with his healthy arm, his eyes widened. “Y/n?!-aughh-“ from shock, his body tried to move up, completely forgetting the wounds on his body. You put a hand on his head and urged him to lay back down. “if you move too much, your wounds will open up.”

Rocky, however, didn’t seem too worried about the wounds as he tried to hoist himself up a bit so he could lean in the armchair. You helped him out, grabbing his waist and gently pushing him upward so he could lean down. The water, which has spilled a bit on the floor with all the moving, is now chucked down in one gulp. The glass is set down on the table and the questions began.

“how..” he cleared his throat, his head now clear and focused. “ how did I get here?”

“ Ivy and Freckle brought you.”

“and…uh…” he looks away from your serious gaze, ears now lowered in fear and a sheepish look on his face. “have they… enlightened you with the story of this—” he motions to his wounds. “—yet?”

You squint at him, now leaning on the couch with crossed arms. “not yet, but please, Rocky,” your tone shifts into one of tensity. “enlighten me.”

  He gulped, now forcing himself to look straight at you. “well— you see— " he gave a forced chuckle, one where his shoulders moved a bit with and he winced in pain. " there was...this old drunkard! and-"

“Rocky.” You spoke, a ramble of rhymes and fake stories cut off from him. “…I’m not an idiot.” You frowned. Your heart started feeling heavy and your hands kept fidgeting with your clothes.  You werent sure how you could describe what you’re feeling right at the moment, but you knew it was one pent up the entire night and now close to bursting.“ I may have not believed the rumors, but that was because I trusted you.”

“Please, just tell me the truth this time?” He went silent, and that was all you needed to realize that such a thing won't be happening anytime soon. With the stress of the situation now feeling like they’re invading your lungs, you take another breath and look at him with bleary eyes, a pained look on your face and body frustrated with itself for no good reason. “at least…” you take a deep breath. “ be more careful in your next— well, whatever it is you did to end up like this.”

“oh please-“ he huffed, now starting to act a bit more like the Rocky you knew, one where all casualties and warnings are ignored by him. “ this is but a mundane and normal routine for an artist such as myself.”

Usually, you wouldn’t mind his casual behavior towards a serious situation, you would’ve even appreciated it at times, since he always eased your mood with it. But, in such a circumstance, you couldn’t help but look at him with eyes of distraught. “you could’ve died.” Your tone was shaky, and your eyes were welling up with tears. A few started to slip down as you continued. “Rocky if you were just an inch higher- if Ivy brought you just a second later- I-…” you gave out a shaky sigh. “ you would’ve been dead.”

At the sight of your teary and panic induced face, something he’s never seen from you, a pang of guilt seem to hit him. He moved slowly, though his words were laced with shock and were frantic. “hey now, there’s no need for tears!” with his good shoulder, he tried to reach out for your face and wipe some of them away. “ I’m fine now- aren't I? “ he tried to reassure. “ your skills are quite commendable, much better than how Dr.Quackenbush would handle it.”

 While still bawling your eyes out, you rose a brow. “w-which is?...”

“Well, last I heard, using lots of chloral hydrate.”

“y-you’re joking…right?” you sniffled, and to that, Rocky gave a sheepish smile. my god, how is he still alive? even though the words of comfort weren't the best, they eased your concerns at least for a little bit. enough to grab his palm that laid on your face, wiping the rest of your tears away yourself, and holding his hand in yours.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered, looking away. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He added, still not meeting your gaze out of guilt. With a few deep breaths, you try to calm yourself down. The stress of the moment now finally leaving your system.

 “how about…” you breathed in and gave him a concerned smile. “from now on, you just get patched up by me?” you sniffled, trying to fix up your shaky voice, which was now toned to embarrassment from the small breakdown you had. “ I wouldn’t mind your company. And it’ll lessen my worry for you, too.”

He went silent for a moment, seeming a bit bashful about this entire thing, especially since he was still in his clothes which are covered with lines of dirt, and his lucky tie isn't around his neck at the moment, and not to mention, his fur was covered with all sorts of dirt and blood, with a tired body comes a tired cat, and he for one, is slowly feeling the exhaustion seeping through him. If he were healthy, he’d have the energy to grin and gawk at the pretty girl who just told him the most romantic line he’s ever received (he’s ignoring the fact that this is in fact, the only one he ever received as well.) if he were more conscious about what he was saying, he’d flirt back a bit in his own way, maybe rhyme a few words and then go back to sleep. But that clearly isn't the case, and the Rocky Rickaby before you is slowly taking his mask off. “…why though?”

“Hm?”

“Why do you worry about me?” he said in a more clear tone, one seeped with confusion and, if you listened just a bit harder, concern. “ I’m…not really worth worrying about.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Why would you say that?”

He looked at you speechlessly for a few moments, then stared at his hand that was clasped in yours. His hand shifted a bit, yet hesitated to move away further, as if it was contemplating on what to do. but soon after, he took it away and he already missed its warmth. “I’m…not the best person.”

“and…you say that because?...”

He leans his head on his shoulder. “I’ve been told that a lot.”

“Oh…” you felt sympathy for him, his eyes seemed so sunken down, and his head seemed to be up somewhere else. Damn, have you made him remember some unpleasant memories? With a glance to your hands and a gear shifitng in your head, you speak once more. “I…I worry about you because I care for you. and I care for you because you you’re my friend.”

Rocky, in his dosy state, gave a joyful grin. “you think of me as a friend?”

“I mean…we are friends…right?” you felt a bit of fear well up, now wondering if your freindship was moslty one –sided and that you were just being a fool.

“I do enjoy our conversations a lot.” He smiled, eyes focused on the small light source on the ceiling. “I never thought you’d consider me a friend, though. Let alone an aqquiantace.”

“Why do you think I go to the café everyday?” you huffed. “It’s to see you, silly.”

“Giving the good old flriting a try, huh?” he looked away, an annoyed tone not matching his amused and bashful face.

“I’m not flirting, I’m merely telling the truth.” You countered back, now feeling a bit more at ease. “ I enjoy your company.”

“Consider me flattered,” he speaks, and soon, a yawn escapes him. he looks back at you once more. And as the exhasution of the entire day and the sleepiness seeps in him, he is left with a jumble of thoughts that he, if more aware of his surrondings, wouldn’t have speaked up about. “But…” he blinks a few times slowly, now trying to lay back down on the sofa rather than lean. “You’re life is normal, and mine isn’t.”  He takes a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing on the sofa. “If you mix in with mine, you’ll…”

“I’ll what?”

“…you’ll probably hate me.” he mumbles, now head sinking deeper into the small pillow. “I don’t want that to happen.”

You hold his hand once more, gazing at him softly as you sighed. “And it won’t. I promise.”

He stirs a bit, now half-asleep. And as he falls into a deep sleep, one which he looked bothered in, he mumbles out one single sentence, one that begun the change in your relationship that you never could’ve expected. Because for once, Rocky Rickaby cares for someone so deeply, that he’s willing to stay away from them for their own good. To the point where you never see him anymore, and Ivy and Freckle never mention him around you, as if he was a mere figment of your imagination. Rocky Rickaby wants you to lead a normal good life, and as thanks for the help, he’ll do exactly that for you.  for if you’re shedding tears on a simple injury on a shoulder, than you’re not capable to withstand the unlucky streak he has in life, and he doesn’t blame you at all.

“ me too.”

[dailycass-cain]

I'm just as surprised as you are to find out Cass had an appearance in DC's How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days #1, and not in the way I was expecting.

Was it good or a pass?

Well...

Cass appears in "Date Night" in the anthology story which is more a Dick/Babs story about well the two of them going out on a date. Cass and Steph are basically on a mission checking out something Babs had an inkling things would be bad.

Things do end up being bad.

Alright, I'll just jump in about said bad.

Yeah, this is a supporting role for Cass (along with Steph) in the story. I don't really mind that. Dick/Babs are the leads in this and I'm okay with that.

What I'm not okay with is how the story treats the two Batgirls as amateurs.

Okay, I get the "Scarecrow got the drop on them" opening because neither knew Crane was behind this until fear gas canisters were being loaded.

So that I don't mind. Mainly it's the sections of panels like above saying, "Make sure you do things like Dick is doing."

I didn't like it when Batgirls pulled this off in #5 when Babs showed up and it wore out its welcome in #7-8 (and the Catwoman #45 tie-in).

I get Cass/Steph are younger compared to Dick/Babs but they aren't "rookies". The year is 2024 not 2002.

Just cut down the dialogue to the first sentence. Bam, gripe solved. It's simple word fixing that gets fans of said characters off-backs because it at least treats the characters as being experienced rather than not.

We do get one whole page of Cass/Steph busting the criminals introduced earlier looking to take advantage of Scarecrow's schemes (aka the B-protags taking out the B-antags).

In all honesty, I think the reverse should've occurred. Dick/Babs taking out the B-antags (as they were introduced via being a few tables from them) and well Scarecrow gets his comeuppance from Steph-- AGAIN (or them/Dick being him with Bruce/Helena/Kate in "Shadow of the Bat".

I'm done being nitpicky so I'm gonna talk about the positives aka that whole page and how artist Leonardo Rodrigues draws a nice old-school Cass. No white eyes and we even get the bat fins on her gloves.

NICE.

I think the one detail I loved most was the yellow stitching which does make Cass's mask more striking.

The one page is also a nice little touch showcasing Cass/Steph getting SOME measure of respect by owning the B-antags.

In the end, this is a harmless "fluff" tale that's not gonna be much looked at like Cass's entry from Beast World Tour: Gotham a few months back. Both are kind of forgettable save the latter's being the first mention of her old origin (Steph's story really stole that one-shot).

I'd be more frustrated if this was Cass's only showing this week (it isn't) and really it's because of THE OTHER comic that makes me less cross.

Stephanie fans?

Oh, they deserve to criticize MORE on this.

As for it being a Dick/Babs story?

It's alright.

Nothing memorable as to "why" they work as a couple. They were both paranoid enough to know their date night was gonna get ruined. But at least they're both Bat enough to have "plans within plans."

So yeah, this story is just "there". Doesn't give us adequate Cass/Steph (because it isn't their story), and Dick/Babs stuff is "middle of the road".

Given where both characters are at the moment, yeah "middle of the road" will do.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Tezuka Osamu Story: I am Son-Goku (1989) 手塚治虫物語 ぼくは孫悟空

Director: Osamu Tezuka Screenwriter: Osamu Tezuka Starring: Kuniwa Ishii / Tsui Kusao / Kyouji Kobayashi / Mari Shimizu / Kosei Tomita / Yoshiko Fujita / Momi Koyama / Mayumi Tanaka / Kenji Utsumi / Tetsuya Asado / Kaibo Kawakubo / Hisashi Katsuda / Ichiro Nagai / Kaneto Shiozawa / Nishio Germany / Masuoka Hiroshi Genre: Drama / Animation / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Japan Language: Japanese Date: 1989-08-27 Duration: 70 minutes Also known as: 手冢治虫物语 我的孙悟空 / 手塚治虫物語：我的孫悟空 IMDb: tt1654078 Type: Crossover

Summary:

This is the 12th special animated program for "24-hour Television: Ai wa Chikyu wo Sukuu." The first half of the story is an autobiographical animated piece focused on the episode in which the young boy Tezuka Osamu becomes attracted to the Chinese animated work "Tessen Koshu." Then it uses some episodes from Son-goku to depict how he eventually becomes an animation writer. The latter half is a new science fiction version of Son-goku set against a background of Planet Sapphire in the Galaxy of 3010. This is one of Tezuka Osamu's posthumous works. He unfortunately passed away during the planning stages.

At the world premiere, Takamasa Matsutani, president of Japan's "Tezuka Animation Production Co., Ltd.", accepted an interview with the "International Herald Herald". He revealed a rather touching past incident.

Osamu Tezuka began to create this different Sun Wukong in 1952, and made it into a comic "My Son Goku" and serialized it in a magazine. When creating, Osamu Tezuka also considered using the image of Peking Opera facial makeup, but in the end he making Sun Wukong like a bear perhaps to show the difference. When he died in 1989, he left the draft of the animated film "My Son Goku" in the world. This was also Osamu Tezuka's last animated work.

The indissoluble bond between Osamu Tezuka and Sun Wukong dates back to when he was in middle school. At that time, he watched the cartoon "Princess Iron Fan" produced by the brothers Wan Laiming, the founder of Chinese animation, and made up his mind to make animation his lifelong career. Therefore, there were later cartoons and animated characters such as "Astro Boy" and "Jungle King" that grew up with a generation. It was his comics and animations that saved the Japanese animation industry, which was on the verge of collapse at the time. "My Son Goku" also records the friendship between Osamu Tezuka and Wan Laiming.

Matsutani Takamasa said: "Mr. Wan is the person that Mr. Tezuka respects and admires the most. Many people think that Mr. Tezuka is more influenced by Disney animation. In fact, he was influenced earlier by Chinese animation, especially Mr. Wan's animation, and more profound.” In 1988, Osamu Tezuka came to China and paid a special visit to Wan Laiming, who was already in his seventies. After returning to Japan, Tezuka Osamu completed the draft of his last animated film "My Son Goku" and wrote "This is my Son Goku" on the title page. "After he visited Mr. Wan, he already knew that he would die soon and completed "My Son Goku". Before his death, he used his work to say hello to Mr. Wan and tell Mr. Wan, 'I'm going.'" When he said this, Matsutani Xiaozheng's tone was a little heavy.

In 2003, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Astro Boy's birth, Tezuka released the cartoon "My Son Goku", to which Osamu Tezuka devoted special emotions to.

Source: https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/63.html

Link: https://gogoanime.be/watch/tezuka-osamu-monogatari-boku-wa-son-goku-WYPj-episode-full/