#am I going absolutely feral over a character from a game I haven't even played yet????

[kaionyx]

SIR DID I HEAR (read?) YOU RIGHT??? DID YOU SAY YOU LIKED FINAL FANTASY??? asking as a semi-longtime ffxiv player,,, have you played it (and what did u think if so)??? sorry i literally exploded reading that lol ive never been more absurdly into someone /lh

(also you mentioned ffv was ur fav, do you have a favourite character?? i haven't played it yet but i do like noctis, he was in the crossover with 14)

like genuinely i was on call with a friend when i read that and they found my rather flustered explanation very amusing. like im sorry how am i supposed to explain that someone i already thought was attractive is now more so bcos they potentially like the same games as me??? insane. absolutely insane. im going insane. feral, even. absolutely barking rn (despite really being more of a cat than a dog tbh)

ANYWAYS yeah this is completely disjointed and a bit of a mess i just!!! oh my god!!!! aaaa!

- ☣

Haha that’s adorable. I have played FFXIV and it’s not bad, but they’ve could’ve done better with the story. My favorite character is Sephiroth, purely just because he’s pretty and I want to bend him over my lap. Tifa is a cool character too, but she’s from VII though.

[bakafox]

Animated critical role rambling- possible spoilers if you haven't seen S3 trailer or heard some of the hints being dropped at cons by the cast.

I for one actually am quite fine, even thrilled, with the idea that there will be edits made to LOVM and even M9 animated shows to deviate them a bit from the live play. There's definitely (bathtub) scenes I really hope to see in particular, but I just saw it's been teased that the LOVM trip to hell may dredge up some EXU: Calamity stuff and seriously I am for that.

I view it like the differences between book and movie- and also just... look, I want the main story beats, and also yeah the stories between all CR campaigns are intertwined in ways that weren't gonna be visible in C1 or C2 and I am absolutely FINE with throwing that stuff together early in the name of a smoother serial storytelling.

And there's absolutely stuff that happened in the live games I won't miss if it's left out, and if a few things I wish were in aren't (BATHTUB?) I won't be heartbroken. I just want a familiar-enough-that-my-anxiety-lets-me-watch-it fantasy story told in really damn good animation and LOVM, esp in S2, was delivering on that.

I think anyone who didn't go into seeing animated CR with the understanding that 1000's of hours of live play being condensed into a smoothly paced story that's comprehensible to people who've also never watched the live plays meant changes were going to happen were kind of just not thinking it through.

Especially when we're gonna have seasons of animation for TWO campaigns running in tandem, at that. And I would again, much rather there be tweaks to LOVM and M9 animated than have to wait for LOVM to be done with (hopefully) 5 or so seasons before stepping into M9.

Anyway I just saw a clip of a hint that LOVM going to Hell in S3 rather than fire plane may involve Xerxes from EXU:Calamity and I almost screamed. And I am not going to lie also if at some point Brennan Lee Mulligan voices Azmodius in animated I am going to completely lose my fucking mind and go fully feral because MY GOD his Azmodius was amazing.

PPPS-

Any followers of mine who like good animation and good fantasy and are OK with some toilet humor and bawdiness and some animated gore, if you haven't looked into Legend of Vox Machina, even if you never were into CR, I do still rec it? The first 2 episodes go a little buckwild with the bawdy and toilet humor and some puking to sort of I guess 'warn' what sort of show it is, but then stuff smooths out to what I at least feel is a very good balance of funny and heartfelt and gory. Ep 1-2 give a decent idea of the BASEST baseline of the characters and set up some plot stuff, and then ep 3 of S1 takes off, and S2 gets even better than S1 which already I loved.

The love of animation and anime as an art form held by the original cast and the animation studio is fully on display, the cinematography and camera work and fight scenes have some truly epic moments and they are NOT ashamed of their anime roots while still having a more western feel to things too.

And for people who like to go 'aaaargh' over how some modern shows seem to need to hold hands, LOVM doesn't. You may miss important plot ticks that are hinted at, or forget something you did notice earlier but there's just- massively important shit sometimes going on in just background conversations and little moments that seem almost throwaway or ignored that do Come Back.

Anyway I need more people I can enthuse with over this T_T I acknowledge I'm not as excited for Veilguard as many of my best friends and mutuals (I'm looking forward to it mind you) but in return most of them aren't as excited as me about this lololol.

[zanyzendraws]

SEPTEMBER 4 2024 ZENLOG: Guess Who's Back Again?

So as you can see, I haven't been keeping up attendance since the last update. Oops.

I somehow missed the second week already... MAN.

But I'm thankfully here now and boy oh boy do I have a lot to update you guys on!

That being said, here's the nifty little table of contents! Just look for the color for the section(s) you wanna read and enjoy yourself!

CONTENTS OF THE ZENLOG

PERSONAL UPDATES

PROJECTS

WHAT TO EXPECT

BEFORE I GO

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! (Wooooooah!)

If you're ready to read, click "keep reading!"

PERSONAL UPDATES

Remember how my throat was hella sore the previous update? I managed to go to a follow-up appointment for the doctor. Upon looking at my throat, sir said absolutely nothing has changed (much to his confusion... and mine).

So, sir has decided to up the intake on my antibiotics. They were WAY more effective than the ones I was on previously, so HALLELUJAH!

Then I got sick two more times post-recovery.

It's actually bonkers. I mean, aside from my wack sleep schedule, for the most part I took care of myself. So what was the problem?

Turns out that the air here where I live now just has a crapton of particles that irritate my asthma.

Oops.

But hey, on another note, I've met my extended family members and all of them are hella cool! In addition to that stuff, I've also been researching on colleges and working on myself outside of projects. After all, if I don't take care of IRL me, how will I take care of my creations?

And brainrotting over Bill Cipher and Stanford Pines content shhhhhh

(For those curious, the game is Swooning Over Stans! I've heard so many things on Tiktok so I started playing it myself LMAO)

PROJECTS

A slightly detailed list of what I wished to accomplish this week, but if you want brief phrases that sum things up, look for the pink text!

HANASHIMA'S ADVANCED CLASS

I've managed to get 17/15 responses to my anxiety-related questions that I've mentioned the last time! I'd like to thank my Discord friends and everyone who participated in my little survey! The input really means a lot to me! I now have a better understanding of the specific scenario I've been trying to write, and hopefully I won't let everybody down with my attempts at portrayals.

In addition to that, thanks to a friend, I've noticed some blaring issues with some characters and pacing, so an outline is in the works and the same applies with an official character sheet.

This issue made me realize that I do in fact, need outsider opinions regarding more 'technical' aspects of my writing and not just what I wanted to accomplish. That in mind, I now have two consultants on my team (woah, I have a team now!)

[WIP AUDIO PROJECT]

Not much progress has been made with this one, though character designs for 2/3 characters has been finalized.

MISC

I've completed two short comics and am currently working on a third strip.

I've uploaded a few tiktoks that I plan to reupload onto here / post the images I've included in those works.

WHAT TO EXPECT

It'll probably be a while before you even see anything genuinely plot-related for Hanashima's Advanced Class. I have big things planned, and I'm doing the thing where I write the whole entire story first prior to actually committing to uploading (compared to others where they come up with the story as they go).

I've ultimately decided to stay quiet on the psychological horror project that I mentioned the previous time as well. I might post some stuff about it every now and then, but I'll keep my mouth shut on the matter for now. Mostly because it's a horror so the element of surprise and shock is of utmost importance... and thus, no one can know anything about it if I wanna keep that element!

I might work on an official introduction to who I am via Youtube video format - because aside from witnessing my feral behavior and my art stuff, I realized that not most exactly know who I am or what my goals are regarding what I want to do with my art. It'll be a simple video but an introduction nonetheless!

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! (HUH???)

Starting next week, I'll be posting a series of weekly comics! They'll be similar to ShenComix in terms of content but with my own flair and experiences!

I'm still working on a title for the series but just know that I'll have a lot more content! I'm working on more comics so I don't have to worry about deadlines or anything haha

EDIT: Zen's Zaniness is releasing Thursday next week!

BEFORE I GO...

Apologies for the lack of funny images here compared to last time. And- you know, my absence.

But I'm really excited to be sharing more art with you guys, as I continuously work on more Hanashima's Advanced Class.

Take care and stay zany! <333

-ZanyZenDraws (Zen)

[soft-cryptids]

Simon Ghost Riley.

[adrianasunderworld]

Why do you think so many people cling to the idea that Leona would be an asshole to his s/o? Like he would delight in beating up his partner and would be offended if his partner wanted a little bit of intimacy.

I know Leona is mean and he is very guarded but..still

He’s not that kinda character. Basically, why does the fandom have two very different versions of Leona?

I am going to be 1000% honest and say I'm pretty sure it's people being racist. Leona, someone who is based off a film that takes place in Africa, meaning he would be black. So people are vehemently characterizing him, the black housewarden, as an aggressive abuser? Hmmm...

Like you said, Leona is no saint, he's guarded and can be an asshole. But he isn't an aggressor. He's said time and time again that using brute force for a problem isn't his ideal, that he prefers to make a plan and out smart the opponents. When he found out some Savanaclaw students were going to gang up on and beat Jack up, Leona intervened. These are not the marks of an abuser. The only time I can think of him being over the top pissed (save for the Overblot, but everyone went off the rails leading up to their Overblots. So he isn't special in that regard.) was when the Mc meets him in the botanical garden. But the matter is let go once Ruggie shows up a moment later and it is forgotten. It ended up being all talk. The point I'm getting at is Leona doesn't get physical until it's needed, even with people he doesn't like. So him putting hands on his partner of all people doesn't make sense. In short Leona is a poc man who isn't some flawless saint, and thus will be villainized.

I think another part of it on some level is people being misogynistic. I see a good chunk female Leona fans putting him into the role of protector for girl!Yuus and xreaders. For example. Another thing about Leona as a character, that has been stated multiple times in game is in his culture, women are valued and respected, and him being raised in that culture, means Leona does too. Part of Leonas appeal ,to female fans specifically, is him actually giving a fuck about women, and I do think some asshats absolutely hate that. Because I've seen tik toks joking around about some of the boys being misguided, like they clearly took some bad "how to be more manly" type advice. Then look at the comments and it's stuff like, "He took advice from Leona" Are we talking about the same Leona? Because the one I know would hear you spouting that nonsense and think you're fucking idiot. People love to do the exact opposite of his characterization.

This all reminds when I was very into Pokemon SWSH. Raihan is my favorite character in that game. And I saw a good chunk of people really lean into the whole "feral dragon man" persona. If you haven't played the game, when the gym leader Raihan battles in the arena, he yells, he takes a wide stanch, he acts like the dragons he trains. And it's all an act for the cameras. Outside the gym he is friendly, takes care of historical artifacts, and likes taking pictures for his instagram. He is the most laidback guy in that game. And yet people really love to make his battle persona his only personality trait. Raihan is also a very tall dark skinned man. I can't help but side eye it all. Because none of that math checks out unless you add a racist bias to the equation.