#and i didnt feel like drawing the next panel

[shoemi]

live and learn

[xxplastic-cubexx]

if i said i picked up this issue for anything but drunk erik i fear i'd be lying

(Wolverine (2020) #3)

[soriastrider]

they deserve some time to relax

(transparent edit under the cut)

the original dirk and jake images here are pulled from homestuck (i removed their backgrounds here), i just edited them together :) and then i decided to try drawing a fake panel background lol

[plulp]

MORE HAPRER PLEATHE HES SO FINE

youve asked this at such a good time because i had just had a harper design explanation idea and i wasnt sure if i should make it or not:

[todayisafridaynight]

daigo-gets-trolled kinda fuckin panel

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 161 spoilers with thoughts below the cut u know the drill

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THIS IS MY FAVORITE PANEL OF JAVIER EVER. IN THE ENTIRE MANHWA IM LOSING MY MIND HAHAHAHAHAHA

HE JUST LOOKS SO FUCKING UNHINGED I DIDNT EXPECT IT AT ALL HHAHAHAHAHAAAA

anywayy back to the top

honestly maybe i shouldve seen the fact that his own singing would fuck him up coming LMAO

their matching dazed expressions when they both realize PLEASSEE LOL

raphael also calls the start of his singing demonic sounding lmao

and then they start fighting again and JESUS holy shit they're so overpowered this is so cool to watch and also as i was reading i was VERY scared for javier

genuinely i really really love whenever they draw action scenes they look very cool while also not being terribly hard to follow i like that

like oh my god?? he's swinging that hammer around like its nothing its very very terrifying, esp cause its been a while since javier has fought something thats his match yknow, or at least it feels that way

AND THEN. THE LEADUP INTO THE NEXT SCENE IM LOSING MY MIND JAVIER YOU SCHEMER

the feigning being down and then the peek and the slow getting up im giggling so so bad AND THEN

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA JAVIER YOU CLEVER ASSHOLE I LOVE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH

like i knew that line raphael said about how the halo would continue protecting him so long as he's pure and just or whatever would come into play BUT I DIDNT THINK JAVIER WOULD BE THE ONE TO DO IT SO DIRECTLY TOO HAHAHAHAAA he's learned so much from lloyd <3 LOL

i also think its interesting that the halo keeps track of this with like points or smth, not much to say about it i just think its an interesting gear; the ultimate defensive tech but it's based on how "good" you are thats just really interesting to me hehe

ALSO ALSO i think it's really really silly funny that raphael was this very intimidating and menacing figure that was super scary right up until the moment javier played dirty and then the moment that happened that image/vibe immediately crumbled WAHHAHA he's just a silly guy and the halo does the work i like him a lot

i really like these panels of them being evenly matched, raphael is still holding his own even with a penalty like that, their expressions here are really good too its so tense,,,

AND THEN LLOYD BEGGING THEM TO STOPP AAHHH

AGHHGHGHHGHGH AAAHH JAVIER STARING WIDE-EYED AT LLOYD IM CURLING AND SHRIVELED ON THE FLOOR

like okay i know lloyd is scheming or whatever. but my heart wants to believe that some part of this was very real okay . let me cope let me believe this . one cannot act/lie effectively without some of it being real. RIGHT???

AND THEN WHEN THE POPUPS APPEARED I STARTED SHOUTING OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABT THE RP SYSTEM IM SO. LLOYD YOU BRILLIANT MOTHERFUCKER YOUUU

HE CAN JUST SKIP THE PROCESS AND THEN BECOME A SWORDMASTER HE HASNT DONE THAT IN A LONG TIME OHHHH MY GOD

also. everyone else's bonus RP was +10. but only javier's bonus RP was +45. which could mean nothing.

WHAT DO I EVEN SAY ABOUT THAT LIKE. JAVIER WHAT YOU. WHAT. YOUUU im gonna lose it im gonna LOSE IT

top ten photos taken moments before disaster HE LOOKS SO EVIL THE ART HERE IS SO GOOD HAHAHAHA OHH MY GOD

and how he says "YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS" ohhh lloyd you asshole you i love you so much

THIS PANEL TOO LIKE WOW THE FUCKING EFFECTS THIS IS INSANE HE LOOKS SO FUCKING MENACING THE VIOLENT LINEART HES POWERING UP HIS SINGING OH MY GODDD HAHAHA

when i saw these panels i immediately thought of that one song from princess and the frog god i wish i could like tween or something itd be so cool to see This drawn to That

thats all i LOVED this ep i had so much fun RAPHAEL JAVIER LLOYD FIGHT PART THREE NEXT WEEK HERE WE GO

[pop-roxs]

hiiii idk if i wanna post this on ao3 or not so you guys tell me pleaseeee

relationship(s): grelle x reader words: 533 extra: no warnings should apply, reader is just a sickly little guy and grelle takes care of them(noooo i didnt write this cuz im sick rn wdymmmm)

reader is gn!!!

You laid in bed, lips slightly parted, which allowed you to breathe, as you heard footsteps drawing closer to you. You felt a weight be placed on the edge of the bed you laid nearest to, and a hand touched your forehead. You opened your eyes.

“Hey, sweetheart. Are you feeling better yet?” the redhead asked. You shook your head, and she frowned. “I’m sorry…”

You were going to speak up, to tell her that she had nothing to apologize for, but your clogged nose and itchy throat decided that you weren’t going to speak comfortably for a little while. You moved her hand from your forehead down to your cheek, and she leaned down to kiss the spot where her hand previously was.

“Do you need me to get you anything? You have water, tissues, and medicine when need be… Do you need something warm to eat?” You nodded. “Alright, darling. You wait right here.” Grelle stood up from the bed, walking out of the room and presumably to the kitchen. You turned over to close your eyes again.

You couldn’t help but feel a bit bad about all of this. You got just a little cold, and now Grelle is all over the apartment trying to make you feel better. You didn’t like these thoughts, so you let your body relax, and you drifted into a nap.

Grelle slowly opened the bedroom door, and once she saw you asleep, she made sure to be extra quiet as she made her way around the bed and to the side you were sleeping on. She gently placed the bowl of soup she had made on the nightstand next to you, crouching down in front of your burning face. She pouted. “Poor dear,” she whispered, as she caressed your hair and placed a few kisses along your cheek. She paused when she heard you grumble and saw your squinted eyes

“Good morning.” It was 1:24 PM. “You look awful. I wish I could do more to help.” You reached your arms out to her, beckoning her to join you in bed. “Oh, really? You’re so sweet to me. Of course, ma cherie.~”

You scooted back to make some room for her, and she gently pulled up the covers, sliding underneath them and holding you close. She tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, both your arms around each other. Her smile was sweeter than ever. You pulled her closer, resting your head against her chest, but she could tell that you were trying hard to not get any mucus on her.

“My love, you look uncomfortable. As your partner, it is my sworn duty to look after you when you are sick. Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.” You looked up at her for a moment, before sniffling, and deciding to just tuck your face into the crook of her neck.

She pet your head once more, holding you tight and whispering in your ear, “I love you so much, my dear. You’re safe with me. Rest, now. I’ll take care of you.” So you closed your eyes, drifting into another nap, this time feeling as if you’ll have sweet dreams.

im gonna die right here also yes. i reused the grelle divider from my valentines fic. leave me alone i couldnt be bothered to go looking for a good panel to take a picture of

[dogboyklug]

UH-OH! a comic about being trans. by me. part one of probably three :]

i felt bad about being transmasc so i decided to just give up and write about it until i hopefully didnt. i feel a little better getting this all on digital paper but there's still. a lot to draw. so. oops

i'll be posting the next parts. whenever they're ready (which will hopefully be soon) and linking them all here, so whenever you want just check back with the base post and i'll prolly add some links and maybe clean things up. yay!

text transcript / partial ID under the cut!

transcript:

looking back, there were a few signs i might have been trans.

[a sequence of events showing little me flinching and going "ow" at being called his deadname, little me reading a book and going "haha im like a tomboy but i dont like sports or being active or anything im just. a boy. haha", and little me having an active breakdown, crying and holding his glasses, with partially obscured text in a dark cloud around him. the only text visible shows his thoughts, and shows he's worrying that he's sexist for mostly only liking and relating to boy characters.]

...some.

however.

there were also a few things i considered signs of me not being trans at all.

EXHIBIT A:

[a drawing of little me, looking at his 3ds. he's thinking "as long as i make sure that i always play as the 'main girl character' in these games i wont cry because im a girl because i wont be me as a girl i'll be Them. roleplaying. as them".]

no dysphoria.

[caps] EXHIBIT B: [end caps]

[a crude drawing of little me staring at nothing. he's thinking "i don't hate women. and i don't like being mean to other people."]

[caps] I WAS A FEMINIST. [end caps]

and not toxically masculine.

i knew about trans people, but i didn't know trans MEN existed.

[a drawing of little me, with the caption "clueless". he's staring slightly up, and saying "huh?!"]

my mom was nonbinary, with a few trans friends, but people [caps] WANTING??? TO BE MEN??? [end caps]

to be

gross,

disgusting,

hateful,

cruel,

oppressive,

men?

[the background slowly gets darker until it reaches the final word, and that word is a significantly bigger font than the rest of the words.]

for a while, primarily due to my lack of research

[drawing of little me, staring at his computer (which is labeled "deviantArt machine") and going 'huh'.]

i figured, if i WAS trans, I was probably a trans women.

but of course, that was silly

you can't be a trans woman if you're already afab.

and there's no other ways of being trans,

right?

[a crudely-drawn drawing of a deviantArt favorite's tab. none of the favorited pieces have any detail, though several are the same width and length as classic deviantArt stamps.]

hm.

hmmmmm...

[a crudely-drawn drawing of a representation of one of the favorited stamps. it's a massive, pink stamp with the text "SHE/HER!" in it in all caps and pink lettering. bottom text states it is a "she/her pronouns badge by ...", though the rest is cut off.]

HMMMM...

[a picture of a mouse hovering over the 'favorite/unfavorite' button. the star is filled in, indicating clicking it would unfavorite the piece.]

[two wordless panels, side-by-side, showing little me staring at his screen, hovering his cursor over the unfavorite button.]

[two more panels, showing that little me has unfavorited the she/her badge. the panel showing his face shows he is grinning wildly, his hair has poofed up in excitement, and his glasses are now blue-ish purple.]

OHO!!!!!!!!!!!!1

.................and that's

quite literally

how it happened.

before i knew how bad the entire site was, i would frequent dA. CONSTANTLY.

it was baby's very first "social media" webpt site.

[a drawing of a tiny, cartoonish kitten with a small turf of hair, staring at wonder up at a computer, one hand on the mousepad. it is labeled "dramatic reenactment of me making my d a account."]

i wasn't really SHELTERED as a kid, i just didnt know fuck for shit, and my baby anxiety made learning annoyingly hard.

so i turned to memes as a sort of wire mother as opposed to my real, cloth one.

jokes can be easier to understand than reality, sometimes.

(this isnt a good thing.)

so, i sort-of-came-out on deviantart, home of the wacky, wild and weird, where i learned he/him pronouns were an option, and a choice.

[a drawing of little me, with blue glasses, gazing up at the sky and smiling triumphantly.]

and some crazy trauma but that's for a different comic. if i make it.

[a drawing of little me being hit with a cartoonish star, which is meant to represent the trauma.]

sooo...

that's it, right?

[little me, with a cartoony bandage on his head, gently rubbing his wound.]

my mom was supportive & anyone who wasn't ...isn't in the picture now

that's the end

...right?.

end transcript.

[thedrotter]

not-yet-dead-person

silly comic of a conversation in-game i thought was too funny not to make something proper for instead of a doodle ww

(timelapse + wip images (thus silly process commentary in read more if you like artist commentary :3)

i think the sketch looks silly and goofy and funny so i find it important to share with you the mere presence of the faces i drew on it. i drew it on top of the boxes without staying inside its borders because i find my proportions can get wonky if i draw them cropped in a restricted space. and I feel trapped otherwise and i will draw BAD!!! give me spaceeeee to go wild!!!!

the head circles are there for emotional support

very low res speedpaint because truth is the canvas was much bigger than the space where my comic was placed. i didnt account when exporting my timelapse in 720px that that tiny space would look so pixelated ... but it's able to be percieved, so its okay.

(i will now comment on my process and it is not brief sorry)

usually i would try to clean up my sketches and figure out what goes on top before jumping into linework, but since there are multiple panels and drawings i chose to jump into inking right away for the sake of brevity. i just went in with a brush that uses pen pressure and drew what was needed. i added extra line thickness and contrast in areas around the face because it helps direct your eyes there more easily that way.

according to her equipment rei has a chain belt but i only remembered it existed once I was going to color, and i did not like that discovery... I chose to ignore it to maintain my peace. i already have the color palettes for these characters figured out, and i didnt really want to think about a new element at the moment www I tend to overthink those things a lot so i skipped it

the rest is rather straightforward! not that anything else wasn't, but in here i could turn my brain off and sing. linework and sketching require mumbling so i cannot turn my brain off. just block in the characters with a solid color so i can have a mask (something along those lines,) where the color can stay inside. then just color in !!!

Base colors just had slight cell shading on the skin, and for the hair i airbrush a bit of the skincolor in low opacity near the forehead... I'm not sure what it means, but i can look at the faces easier with it somehow. i like the gentle subtlety it adds even if you cant really tell. it makes things look nice.

background was just me blocking in the color of the wall and floor, shade the wall a bit, then slap a noise and free use wood texture on top. work smarter not harder ! yet it took a bit to make it look stylistically fitting with the characters, and even now i think bottom middle panel looks odd. whatever!!!

for the middle panel i thought itd be funny if the background was a solid silly and colorful one to contrast the next panel's sketchy black one. a contrast to how the word widow is seen. on that note my handwritting is not pointy. i gaslighted my hand into thinking that it was indeed pointy in that moment so i could write "not-yet dead person" in letters that didn't seem cute. my hand did not fall for it but it complied anyway

that's basically it! I'm not sure what else i could say that doesn't feel barebones because it really is that straightforward. if you're curious I used clip studio paint for this. only special brush used was for linework (a brush named Lemon Brush), the rest used were just the default. my computer gets the least credit. it was trying to convince me a 20mb file was going to nuke it all the time and hardly let me save multiple times so i do not appreciate it

[nutzworth]

its been a whole month. but you know what time it is? thats right.

DAY 6: MARCH 17, 2024

STATS: read for 1 hour 20 minutes (WEAK.) pages read: 1359-1592. 233 pgs slur count: 9 + 3 = 12 (dave, john x2. r slur) silly count: 11 + 1 = 12 (wv about his drawings) (i REALLY feel like i missed some... but whatever.) piss count: 2/3 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (dave pissed in his shower)

THOUGHTS: ok i didnt think a lot this round cus its like nearing midnight on a school night so im reading for funsies ok

act 4 has the story bouncing around way more than it did in previous acts. i saw a lot of the exiles today. and a lot of TROLLS! the exiles are so fun today i saw some pm and ar lore and wv pm ar all fought and then they had a meal. and wv and ar are trying to win over pm but she dont care. the WOMEN. panel. so good.

somethin else i reaaally noticed this time around is HOW GOOD HUSSIE WRITES! seriously these kids are talking so naturally its insane. i really like it. theyre so cute. they talk like me and my friends and its really good. hussies a really good writer guys

why did dave say that "i should probably text [john] soon. cus. i love him" why did he say that? and rose's "I know." why? what? im sure this has been read into like a million times but it feels so OUT OF POCKET. why did he SAY THAT? why does rose KNOW? what is anything.

today was the introduction to rose's exile and land. the land of light and rain. the combination of the land and the weird cursive exile and the weird loneliness and silence just really... it really creeps me out ok. "A mother does what's best for her children" with the empty dock with a cut rope and the martini. ugh. "There are footprints in the white sand." oh my god. IT CREEPS ME OUT. its SO QUIET it freaks me. augh. i love you rose

DAVE PEED THIS ROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the next (and last) on the piss counter is in the middle of act 6 so were gonna be sitting pretty for a damn while. daves kind of a freak to be real. he says "voyeurbot" and "little girl" in the same sentence. why did he say this?

PA HARLEY. PA HARLEY ON LAND OF WIND AND SHADE!!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!! oh oh aaaalso jade mentioned her penpal (JAKE!!!) and it got me a little excited. teehee. i looove jake english you dont even know

ummm dave entering the game... hes not in yet. but hes toying with his big machines and he got his totem and the object out. his egg. yeah. i didnt realize he was just playing with all this stuff and hes not even in the medium yet. craaaazy

WE SAW TEREZI THREE TIMES TODAY! THATS SO MUCH! SHES SO CUTE! i literally love terezi i always forget but i love her. shes so cool and silly and cute and the best. her convo with rose (her first one?) is so funny and awesome and ahh i love terezi. she says that the two of them were destined to be hatebuddies cus theyre both seers. ahhh

she also mentions some god tiers during that convo which was crazy. seer of mind. page of breath. knight of blood. maid of time. hussie just had this stuff on lock huh. why TAVROS'S classpect? not like vriskas? i dont know man.

karkat was so dumb today i cant even talk about him. he showed up twice and fumbled so bad. girl you havw GOT to stop being mean to people and yes that includes yourself. i really like karkat too i cant lie. hes so dumb so sweet. i love you karkat

jack noir just straight up gives pm a hit list for her king and queen for no reason. i mean yes there is a reason hes like "lol i do this to everyone wouldnt it be crazy if she was the one to get me their crowns lol" why does he do that? does he just have swords and symbols on lock? hes literally crazy

rose does her cool knitting needle in the monster thing. DAVE AND KANAYA CONVERSATION! i love them bad. rose and tavros is also funny but tavros types so much like a tool i can hardly stand it. im gonna be real i dont really like tavros. hes just not my style sorry

thats it sorry for not reading for a month. maybe ill do more this month haha. maybe maybe not. we will see ;-) thanks

[downfallofi]

That doesn't sound bad. That's only disappointing if it disappoints you. What kind of stuff do you tend to sketch if I may ask? Also might've been low key seeing if you play video games that I could invite you to play.

Ah, you know, thank you for this. 🥹 they are my hobbies, and I need to learn not to minimize them or apologize for liking them. (Old habits, it comes with growing up the way I did and being told that liking comic books and Star Wars and "living in a fantasy world" was making me weak) But yeah I mean. It's not disappointing to like reading, or art, or video games, nor does it make someone a loser.

(I need to remember that)

I love to draw all kinds of things, I have a sketchpad filled with stuff from reference/still life, I like practicing drawing flowers, I actually sometimes like drawing smut/ shibari and if I ever actually posted that online I'd tag the models I referenced... not even in a horny way but there's something wonderful I find in shibari or fetish stuff artists that they challenge you, in drawing in a pen and ink medium, to workshop how you adapt poses, musculature, lighting, all that stuff.

And I have a lot of superheroes.

When I was a kid, all the way up to about 17, I wanted to be a graphic novelist, make my own comics that were like just my teenaged brain firing off ideas I'd sponged up from a lot of X-Men and a LOT of Toonami. I didnt go on to become a comics artist, in fact, due to being discouraged by my dad and others (...but, well, my dad) I sort of came to the conclusion it was childish ("cute lil cartoons," they were derisively called) and let my gift atrophy. I drew nothing.

So in coming back to it, slowly over the last... ten years? Ive gotten back in to art.

It's not the same as it was. Sadly, it can't be, that fire I had when I was young was well. Stomped out.

So I cant make panels, and I struggle with transition and movement from one panel to the next to make a story flow, and sometimes it feels like I draw OTHER people's heroes like Spider-Man like I'm a fucking cover band at a dive bar playing KISS.

But I've still worked on it, and grown a lot over those last ten years, and found a peace in it that yeah, idk, maybe it isnt what I wanted to be when I was young but it's still art, dammit.

So yeah, sorry. Im wordy and it was complicated to answer but you kind of put a dime in and got me talking about it so. My sketchbook has lots of microliner ink drawing, some flowers and still life, some smut, some X-Men cover band stuff, just stuff I want to challenge myself to draw.

I'm also determined to experiment more with color like my copic markers this year so.

Video games I play are really a lot of single player open world stuff, Im currently grinding on um.

...fallout4 OKAY DONT JUDGE ME, I am of the specific brand of gamer that finds some peace and comfort in going back to Skyrim and Fallout from time to time...

I would love to get in to games with other people but I wouldnt know where to start, or what to pick up, frankly, but that is a kind offer and one I'd be interested in maybe perhaps at some point

I take it back... I did have a coop farm in Stardew Valley I played sorta multiplayer with my friend from CO but... our friendship sort of died off and we dont Stardew together anymore... fuck Im sad now.

Sincerely, thank you for the asks and the kindness and if you made it through reading ALL of that shit you are a fucking G and I respect and love you so much

[someone-always-cares]

chapter 5, page 48

first - previous - next

[image description: an sac webcomic page. "seems like a normal kitchen. coast's clear, but it's locked." jade says, off panel. theres a view of the kitchen from the outside. no acual kitchen appliances are shown, but there is a island counter, and a few shelves in the back with various items, notably camera equipment, cleaning supplies, and assorted boxes. "we'll have to break in here, everything else is boarded. you remember what i taught you about breaking glass?" she continues. "yeah. it'll be loud though" lewis replies. "we'll just have to take whoever hears us." jade states, the panel now showing jade hiding to the side of the window, looking at it out of the corner of her eye, while lewis has wandered off and is kneeled down to pick up something off the ground. "this glass seems sturdier than the wine glasses lewis practiced with... can he do it? i've never been able to get the frequency right, but surely any glass will break with a loud enough noise?" jade thinks to herself, looking through the window, still to the side of it, while frowning contemplatingly. she seems to be unaware of lewis behind her, raising the brick he just picked up like one would when preparing to pitch a baseball, and sticking his tongue out in concentration. end id]

yall are getting a treat with me drawing actual backgrounds the past few pages! my computer fucking hates it and has tried to crash my art program many times but im not losing to a fucking machine so the page is ready to go! and yeah i didnt think to google what a broken wire fence looks like until typing this

anyway some life updates. next page may be a little late, i have a convention this weekend (if anyone is headed to animeleague london anime and gaming festival this weekend feel free to say hi! its the one with the star fairy lights and like. my art in it? yeah. also for the same con in birmingham in a couple weeks)

also ended up getting those wooden pride cat pins! or the charms, i need to glue the actual pin bits in and that tomorrow's task!! and even more importantly, i've started the process of trying to make sac into an actual printed comic!! so far it seems like im just going to start with chapter 1, because with the printer im thinking of using, anything over 76?ish pages is automatically more expensive so currently only have the funds for chapter one (50ish pages inc bonus and prologue).

also because turns out theres more work than i thought. theres some things like getting the colours cmyk ready and fixing typos and other errors, there is some size problems (the first 6 pages in particular need to be redone entirely but not much of a loss. they look.... Not Great. maybe prologue too). also some "accidentally lost some files and the backups of said files in an external drive related incident a couple years ago" but i've got my best experts on the case (asking my dad for help). i also need to change the font since the old pages are using the old version of the font. also a front cover because i never made a cover for chapter 1. anyway. its a start

anyway this was long i really needed to sleep a few hours ago lol. its only 1am but its been a day

[moumantaimf]

Intermission, Page 4/4

=============

With this... I want to finally celebrate the first anniversary of this comic! While technically the first page was done on September 19th and some of the characters had been created long before, it was a sketch the one that kickstarted the whole comic idea and that one was made on September 17th, 2022.

Last year I was working but I had lost most of my love for art due to multiple reasons. I decided to start this comic because "If I don't do it now i will never do it". And it ended becoming a sort of miracle cure: Working on this brought me back all the love I had for arting. And while properly getting back into the groove was extremely hard (couple with a lot of RL reasons), this comic helped me to regain my sanity and the appreciation for everything.

I decided to pour here everything I had learned so far. Writing. Trying to make a story that didnt rely on crude jokes, edgy stories just for the sake of being edgy, and trying to keep it SFW to an extent.

Chapter 1 didn't have much writing on it beforehand (just a vague note); I was trying to just "draw, don't stop". I was also afraid of losing interest (like has happened with most of my stuff before) so I wasn't sure how far I was going to reach with this (and that's why I didn't try to make a page like this for the comic at first). But I carried on. And started properly writing the story I wanted. I look at it now and its insane for me to think that I have an actual proper story, a lot of characters and relationships that feel natural.

This story is what I think is my magnum opus and I'm putting all I know, learned and have into it. However, saying I've done this alone would be super false. I tried to put in the credits the peeps who have helped me in one way or another, and I want to sincerely thank not only them, but also you, the reader, for your interest and for reading this, and also to everyone who shares this and so. I hope to continue making a story you like.

See you during November or December when chapter 8 comes!

- Vic

====================

Panel 1: D is in a graveyard. He says "…And that's what's been going on. I even got a space sister, one that actually acts way less spoiled than your daughter in spite of having much more".

Panel 2: D smells a handful of flowers with their eyes closed.

Panel 3: D drops the flowers next to the gravestone of 'Emma Reh' with an epitaph in German: 'Der Tod, so bitter er auch sein mag, ist nicht das Ende, sondern nur eine weitere Stufe, von der aus wir zu einem besseren Leben übergehen'. D says "You know what, old hag? I forgive you for all the bullshit. To be honest, I'm sorry you never found happiness in your life; unlike what you taught me, I learned that life actually can be beautiful and worth living. I don't really love you, but I genuinely hope you found some peace at the end, and that you're having fun with all your boys down there. Now it's my time… to leave with my new family, or pack, as we call ourselves. And you… You sleep well or whatever. Auf Wiedersehen wir sehen uns in der holle".

Panel 4: The band is walking through a street, but both Sher and Rowi are hugging D. Rowi says "Hey D, you're still very stressed. Wanna get some Döner Kebab with us?". D replies "S…sure! Thank you guys. You're the best thing that has happened to me in my life".

Panel 5: Roi, standing on a ceiling, wearing a visor, says "We love you too, D. You can be sure of that". There's a small narration square saying "End of recap. Thank you for reading this intermission. The story will resume in Chapter 8".

[quark-art]

i have a lot of thoughts about this!

there are two types of writing that webcomic creators use from what ive seen and heard, those being script-based and thumbnail-based. script-based means they write a script, which is not to be confused with prose, and its what i do because thats how i like to write my comic! (also insert rant here about how i have more experience as a playwright than anything else)

a script is not material thats meant to be its own product, its a blueprint for how to MAKE the final product and what its going to be, so its sort of like an outline but very very specific and long (and need their own outline). (i have a post about scripts in more detail here)

what i like about scripts is how easy they are to edit; scripts are very easy to cut material from, retroactively add material to, or move around (for instance, if i find that pacing requires i move the latter half of one scene into a scene-break in the middle of the next scene, i can do that really fast). one of the downsides of using a script for a comic, however, is that it doesnt specifically serve the medium, so you cant anticipate where the page breaks will be or what it will look like on the page, which might make the reading process a bit more awkward if you dont know how to arrange it on the page properly (but ive found that this generally isnt a problem for me)

thumbnail-based writing is when you write the story as you arrange the comic page, which follows the same principle as reds writing method. this is the opposite of script-based writing, because the story is shaped around how it looks in comic form and thus serves the medium better, but its also (i imagine) more difficult to edit beyond the scale of single panels/pages, which is why outlines are so important for this method of writing

originally i wrote chapters without any outline at all (or, at most, a basic description of the A and B plot) because i was still getting a feel for the story and the characters and improvising helped me get a grip on everything. luckily, because the scripts were so easy to edit, i had a lot of time to revise the messiness that resulted in until i was happy with it (i have done a LOT of editing for the earlier chapters on the scale of entire scenes or even plots, mainly bc i write so far ahead of what i draw and ive gotten a lot better at writing since those first drafts). i use scene-by-scene outlines now that i have a better understanding of what im writing and find that im doing a lot less editing. to be clear, in hindsight i definitely shouldve used outlines because i work better with them, i just didnt because i started writing my comic when i was in a state of "so mind-numbingly bored, could not care less about writing technique, just need something to do" and i didnt start drawing it for like a year anyway

i think the most important skill in writing a comic is figuring out the method that works for YOU, SPECIFICALLY the best, and that can be pretty hard! generally id say its important to experiment with different methods because that can help you discover what works best for you. if you cant bear outlines, try improvising a chapter and editing it later, and if improvisation horrifies you, try an outline! there are a lot of different things you can try. either way, its still important to edit your work if you dont want your final product to be your first draft

Hey, Red, I wanted to ask your insight on one thing about comic writing yet again

How do you write "serialized" media in comparison to traditional writing? Like, people often say that "your first draft will be bad, so you have to get back to it and revise at some point", but, like, for media released periodically, like webcomics, it's much harder to do, unless you write down the entire story beforehand in a lot of detail, and revise *that* instead, and only start drawing after like third or fourth edition of the script.

But, like, I assume that, beyond basic outline, some cool scenes in the middle, and the ending, there is only so much planning you can viably do. How do you handle it? Do you sometimes have to draw a page without knowing yet what will happen five pages later? How do you balance between leaving yourself the freedom to alter things (and also free time not spent on writing a novel before transforming it into a comic) and having a good written story, with themes and foreshadowing and stuff?

It's certainly different than traditional writing, because progress becomes a rolling, iterative thing rather than full draft passes.

What I have is a many-pronged approach that gets more detailed the farther in it goes:

The toolbox. This is a big pile of characters, subplot concepts and plothooks I add to whenever I think of something new and fun. When I'm building out a new arc from scratch, this is what I draw on.

The roadmap. This is a rough plan for the overall shape of the story - I know where the characters start and where they end, and I have a rough idea of waypoints they'll hit along the way. I have one of these for the story as a whole, with each "waypoint" basically being a rough-draft concept for the premise of a single arc. To give an idea of the level of specificity, the "waypoint" for this first arc was literally just "getting the gang together." It was the one thing I needed to have happen. On a smaller scale, individual sub-arcs have more detailed roadmaps of their own, but they mostly fit the format of "characters arrive in location A -> characters fight bossfight B" with the rest fleshed out in between.

The checklist. This is the specific list of "things I need to happen in this specific substory," aka the waypoints on the smaller-scale roadmaps. It gets fleshed out as the actual story gets closer to it and specific character arcs take turns I might not have been able to anticipate. This is close to a timeline, but it's more flexible, as at this stage it's okay to shuffle around the order of things - in fact I almost never make solid linear timelines of events, because sometimes I split the party and things happen at their own pace. In these cases I just set waypoints for when different sub-timelines will intersect - at what point in the conversation will the large flashy thing interrupt, at what stage in the fight will the cavalry arrive, etc. I just need to be sure to hit all the important parts. I'll know a story is ready to turn into a storyboard once I have every important detail nailed down - what specific sticking points will come up in the character conflict, what hidden threat is going to be in the environment they enter so I can set it up correctly, what conclusion will a character come to and how will they want to proceed, etc.

The solid storyboard. This is what I turn into finalized pages, and I work several chapters ahead to make sure I have the rhythm of the story. Once it's down on paper it generally doesn't change much, though specifics of dialogue can be reworked right up to the export. This is linear progress, and it usually happens in very discrete bursts. I don't storyboard something until I know exactly what is happening in this specific scene, where they're going, where it'll end and what it's setting up for later. Sometimes I get stuck on a single panel because I'm not sure which choice a character will make, and then when I come back to it I set down that panel and like five more pages flow out afterwards. Sometimes I'll just reread all my storyboards up to the current endpoint, take a nap, then wake up knowing exactly what to put on the next panel. Sometimes I'll do a reread and tweak the dialogue at several points because the first draft I wrote doesn't sound good to me anymore. This is where I do the bulk of the work that traditional media would do in the second draft.

In order to avoid rewrites - because in serialized media, rewrites are very bad - I frontload as much of that work as I can. I don't start the storyboard until I know all the relevant details of the scene's setup, so I don't end up retconning anything important. If there's a specific hidden enemy in the environment, I want to foreshadow it accurately, so before I draw the area it's in I want to know exactly what it looks like and where it could be hiding. If they're in a facility designed for a specific thing, I want to know exactly what that thing is so the clues and details line up. If I've reached the start of an argument, I want to know what is going to end it before I draw the first panel.

I don't need to know every detail of exactly everything that's going to happen, because the characters work better when I let them make their own choices on a panel-to-panel basis, but I need to know every detail of what they're reacting to and interacting with. In a way it's a lot like running a TTRPG. So there are many times where I draw a page and don't know what's going to happen five pages later - in fact I'd say that's the vast majority of my experience - but I always have a narrowed-down space of things I know will need to happen in the next sixty pages.

[marunalu]

I want to talk a little bit about the “Inko Shimura” theory and while Im not 100% convinced about it and there are not as many hints as with the dad for one theory, its not as impossible as some people seem to think. Remember there were almost no hints about the “Shirakumo is Kurogiri” theory and in the end it was true. This post is inspired by similar posts of @gentrychild​ and @psychomurderz​ and I will just list a few hints that support the theory.

First hint: All might says Inko reminds him of Nana.

Here All might tells Izuku that he “cant put his finger on it” why Inko reminds him of Nana. In the end he mentions they have the same hair, but that alone is clearly not the only reason why he feels like that. He is unsure himself. Of course Inkos motherly and protective nature could remind him of Nana too, but he doesnt mention that. And knowing Hori he didnt include this moment for nothing. There was by itself no reason why Hori should include this, if he doesnt want us to remember it later. And while I personally dont see much of a resemblance between Nana and Inko when it comes to their looks, in the bnha universe they seem to be similar, otherwiese All might wouldnt have mention that. 

If you look at them like that, you could indeed think they are related. To me personally its the weakest hint, because the only resemblance they have in my eyes are their hair style. But! Even if they dont look like each other that much, that doesnt debunk the theory, because for all we know Inko could come after her father/nanas husband. We dont know what the guy looks like and its very possible that Inko inheritet her features and colours from him, while Kotaro clearly comes more after his mother in appearance.

Second hint: the scarf.

Like the first hint this could be a complete coincidence, but Inko and Nana wear the same scarf. And I like to think that Nana left it with baby Inko, when she left her in the hospital for adoption/foster care.

Again, maybe its just nothing, but Hori could have choosen any pattern and motive on Inkos scarf, but he choose the same as for Nanas.

Third hint: Kotaros quirk.

You most likely think now “but he never showed what his quirk is”. Yeah, thats right... or is it? Look at this:

In the first panel on the left, we can see that Kotaro spotted a garden tool near him. Distance wise I would say its about 2 to 3 meters away from him, because we cant see it next to him on the picture in the middle. But in the very next picture in the bottom right, Kotaro already holds the tool in his hand. The tool is to far away to just grab it and its strange that Hori didnt draw a picture of Kotaro running or jumping for it. Its as if he left out a picture on purpose. And if you look closely you can see that it seems indeed as if the tool “jumped” or “flew” right into Kotaros hand and he closed it over the tool handle. Its also interesting to note that Kotaro holds it with his right hand, despite his left hand being nearer to it. Of course we could say its because he is right handed, but if you are in a situation like him, wouldnt it have been more logic to grab it with the hand that was nearer. That tells me he grabed it with his right hand, because that is the hand he is used to using his quirk with (and because he is most likely right handed). So if what we see here is indeed Kotaros quirk and the garden tool “jumped” into his hand on his own, I think we can all agree that this sounds suspicious similar to Inkos quirk, attraction of small objects, with which she also can make objects “fly” or “jump” into her hand and Nanas quirk is called “flow” after all, only that she makes herself flow and we dont know what the quirk of her husband was.

Fourth hint (now it starts to get interesting): “That was a demon that threw away her own children.” - Kotaro Shimura about his mother Nana.

Yeah you read it right. Here Kotaro says word for word that Nana threw away her “children”. Not child! Children! Plural! For someone who is supposed to be an only child, its very strange to speak in plural here. And the interesting thing is: he also uses plural in japanese. In japanese he says: “Kodomo o suteda kichikuda.” The translation for that is: “Its a devil/demon that throws away (her) children.” So its possible that Kotaro knew that he was about to become a big brother. The timeline suggests that when Nana gave Kotaro in foster care, she was already pregnant (the death of her husband was probably not long ago). Its spring at that time, because we see can see the Sakura blossoms fall. And Inko was born in summer. And if we look at Nana in that pictures, she looks indeed as if she gained weight. You could say its because of the coat, but even then she looks more “rounder” then normal and its also a little suspicious that Hori didnt draw her from the front. And from afar she really does a lot look like Inko, dont you think?

Also the building in the backgroud looks very similar to the house complex the midoriyas life in right know.

Fifith hint: Inkos birthday date.

Some of you may wonder now, whats so special about Inkos birthday date. Inkos birthday is on 4. July or 7.4. The special thing is in the translation of the numbers, because it translates into: seven (nana) and four (shi). 7.4. = nana shi. And if we consider that Hori loves to put informations about his characters in their names and birth dates, I think this is a pretty big hint from him.

Sixth hint: Parallels

Im pretty sure I forgot a few hints, but this were the ones that came right to my mind, so feel free to ad a few more if you can! 

P.s.: And lets face it. If dad for one is canon, we all know, afo would go after Nanas daughter, as soon as he finds out about her.

[seina91]

I didn’t expect to finish reading this today, but work was a bit slow and I was really excited (but is it really “reading” if I didn’t really understand at least half of it? I really need to study Japanese again…). I was a bit of a perfectionist so I tried really hard to get good pictures, but they’re still not that good. It’s probably better to wait for the kindle version to come out…

Anyways, ramblings under the cut. I’m not very coherent in this. Sorry.

The story starts off some Ayaka flashbacks. I feel like Morii did really well showing how guilty Ayaka feels for what happened at the Semina apartments.

When original Fillia appeared in the flashback, I thought she really looked like Caren lol.

This was a bit surprising. In the novels, it is highly implied that the people Ayaka met at the church was Kotomine and Gilgamesh, but here it is basically stated outright. Reminds me how Vol 1 of the manga shows that it was Caubac talking to Zelretch, while it wasn’t clear in the novels.

Flashbacks ends around here.

Present time - Ayaka and Richard got out of jail and they meet with the drugstore employee and his bandmates.

I think Morii got really good at drawing comedic scenes.

Richard moved by the rock music lol.

Pierre Basile face reveal. Looks a bit older than what I imagined.

Nice scene. Sorry I didnt take pics of what came before. Basically Ayaka was saying - Why are you telling me this (info like who killed you)? That’s like revealing your true name. When you find a better master, you should tell them this stuff, not to me. And Richard reveals his identity just like that. So touching.

(Also put a close up of Richard when he was alive(?) cause I know a few people who like historically accurate designs)

Richard puts on the cool jacket he got from the band and gets ready to make some friends allies.

Next the scene switches to Orlando and Dumas talking about the sword Richard left behind.

Handsome pic of Dumas

Here’s Orlando too (this is their only scene in this volume)

While they’re talking, they discuss how Richard heard stories of King Arthur and the Round Table since he was a kid. We don’t totally see their faces but its probably kid Richard and Eleanor based on the context. cute.

First appearance of Enkidu this volume. Morii had said before that they found Enkidu very hard to draw. I guess their solution is to make Enkidu as pretty as possible lol.

Wolf because this panel is so damn cute. Fluff fluff.

This was supposed to be Richard vs Enkidu, but mostly took pics of Richard. Whoops. Anyways, the stickalibur scene was surprisingly very cool. When I was reading the novel it felt a bit ludicrous, but Morii makes it really cool.

(I thought I took a picture of the page before this, but its not on my phone... It was kind of funny cause Ayaka was pulling on his braid but it was a serious moment) Anyways this scene was really touching. Ayaka was upset that Richard was fighting for her sake. She really doesn’t think highly about herself because of what happened at the Semina apartments. But Richard said she worries too much about the small things. This is the scene where Richard says all he knows how to do is war.

And then Enkidu, Ayaka, Richard and No Name Assassin team up and decide to go back to the villa where No Name was summoned.

Sorry, skipping to Sigma now -picking off from where the previous volume left off on.

Even though I already knew what was going to happen next, reading these pages still made me really tense. You can feel how nervous Sigma is facing a heroic spirit, an enemy who can kill him very easily but not vice versa. That shaking of hands when handling the gun. I didn’t take pictures, but there are more pages that further convey this.

haha.

Context - This is the part when Sigma talks to watcher’s shadows out loud and No Name is like, who are you talking to? No ones there. Your servant? Not!Icarus explains how only sigma can see Watcher.

Sigma: I-I see... (I wish this was the first thing you told me)

No Name uses the hair Zabaniya

No Name Assassin is also called Beautiful Assassin, but I never found her to be super pretty. I thought she was very cute, but not someone I would call beautiful. But seeing these panels... I’m sorry, I take it back.

Sorry, I just found Sigma’s expression funny. He is a lot more emotive than I expected (do I need to revise my Sigma comic...?)

!!! A new Watcher’s shadow!

When sigma first sees them, he wonders if they are a kid shadow.

Based on their clothes and the cross, I thought maybe they were someone from the Crusades. Unless it is a situation like Wu Zetian, I thought maybe this kid was one of the leaders of the Children’s Crusades (you can look it up on wikipedia)

“Now! Chaplin!!“ Even though I knew this was coming it still made me laugh.

Stop, drop and roll. Sorry Sigma is just very funny, even if it is (probably) unintentional.

Anyways, Richard stops Assassin from killing Sigma. And they kind of become allies.

Sigma watching comedies when he was a kid. (tears)

Sorry, I barely took any pictures of this scene. This is when Jack and Flat infiltrate the hospital to find the source of “death“ surrounding the city. I know Jack is just copying the form of someone else, but they look very cute here. Also there werent that many panels with Flat so I just took my favorite one lol.

There was a cool scene here where Jack felt the pressure of Pale Rider from Tsubaki’s room, but I was too lazy to take it. Sorry.

Jester doing typical vampire things - watching people sleep.

Hansa is irritated that Jester managed to run away lol.

Quartet in action! They’re looking for Jester. Though they are only shown in these two pages.

Would be nice if they got to fight in the next novel volume.

Despite being the mediator for the Grail War, no one is coming... lol

In the next page he eats a jalapeno(?) pepper

Talking about the mana batteries.

I feel like I should have taken a picture, but at the end of their conversation It highlights Baz’s intense loyalty for his boss. Which segs to...

This scene is so damn cool. Whenever Faldeus and True Assassin interact the scene always feels intense.

Now to the Clock Tower.

Sorry. I only took one picture cause the rest was stuff already in the novels. We finally learn the name of Rhongall’s disciple. Terrible attempt to romanize his name: Christophel Beilman. Any other suggestions for クリストフェル・ ベイルマン are welcome.

Anyways, El-Melloi calls Ayaka and finds out she’s in Romania. Meanwhile Ayaka in Snowfield gets a text from Fillia who tells her she free to do whatever now. If Ayaka Sajyou is in Romania, then just who is that person in Snowfield?

Finally, we cut to Haruri dying. Above is just a closer look of her command spells.

Dun Dun. A full-ish body reveal of True Berserker. Very cool.

The only panel that Francesca appears in throughout the whole book. Just Haruri’s flashback saying she shouldn’t have agreed to let Francesca have the Caster slot.

As Haruri lays dying she wonders if her father was watching her, and how she wants to see her mother. “Now... Finally...“

However Fillia (Ishtar) has other plans. (Finally Ishtar’s debut!)

I like how Morii manages to distinguish who is in control. Fillia is shown as no nonsense and serious, but Ishtar has a very playful(? maybe condescending is a better description) demeanor. The slight change in hairstyle helps too.

Another panel showing a different angle of True Berserker.

This scene. When I was reading this... Man. You can feel how Ishtar basically overwhelms Haruri. A powerful being who shouldn’t be able to exist, a being who should not exist. So intense. Morii shows so well how terrifying Ishtar is.

(Ishtar was telling Haruhi she didn’t need to be so scared, but she just made it worst)

Ends with Fillia/Ishtar saying that she since she has arrived, she will make sure to properly rule over humanity.

Yay.

Also, omake picture with the girls. You cant see Francesca’s face well because it is in the gutter section. Better to wait for the kindle images.

Whew. I can barely remember what I was writing. I feel like even though Ayaka and Richard were the focus in the beginning of the manga, I posted much more pictures of Sigma. Oh well.

Anyways, as usual the manga is super good. I’m kind of glad that the manga is published sporadically in volumes, instead of being serialized. It allows Morii to adapt the story at their own pace instead of in monthly/weekly beats. I hope its also less pressure, but idk.

While the novels will always be more detailed and comprehensive, Morii is really good at conveying the scenes.

Ok, my brain is frazzled to talk more coherently. I think I need to sleep or something. Probably(?) won’t update with more thoughts. (This post has been barely proofread. Sorry. Too tired). EDIT: Now proofread, and hopefully more coherent.