#and some games its a shame bc sound design helps a lot. but

[chytilovian-daisy]

funniest part 4 me playtesting is. i hate hearing music most times in games. like i know that is not a popular thing bc friends are like "you play [x] on mute?". but i dont wanna be bothered.

[npdzane]

Hiiiii, could you explain you npd Zane hc to me? As someone who lives with a narcissist, I’m very interested.

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT!!!!!! FOR SO LONG!!!!!!

Tw I think bc ik i will be mentioning sh. But only for a sentence or two.

Mostly just "he's just like me fr". I get how it can sound confusing, especially as a lot of people tend to see Zane as the opposite of what a (stereotypical) narcissist would act like, so I'll try to explain in a way that makes sense.

I'm going to list off traits I see in him, and then what caused it and how it developed over time. Starting with the traits.

- Pixal is 100% his fp. I don't think there's anything to say about it that hasn't been said already. You don't just give a girl half your heart because you "like her a little" without having some issues.

- "Be envious of others/believe others are envious of them". He stated himself that he envied Kai. He also has moments where he does things that make him look better than others ("I personally find old video games to be unchallenging", something about his tone when he was saying "being a nindroid, I wont be able to be digested.", he also just does a lot of random flips and shit when its not needed?? That part may be a stretch though.).

- "Withdrawal from situations where they may fail." In Quest for the Lost Powers, he almost quits out of fear that he won't be able to face the Ice Emperor without breaking down. He also tends to tell someone they shouldn't do something because the chance of failing is too high.

- "Feeling depressed or moody over not reaching perfection/secretly feeling insecure, shameful, and humiliation and fearing being exposed as a failure" In s4, he panics over feeling like he'll always be just a replica of the original Zane. He's desperately begging Pixal to save him from said panic too (which fits into the last trait). He still has similar fears to this day, feeling like being seen as just a robot takes away from his original design. Meaning he failed at fitting in, which was always his goal.

- "Have trouble interacting with others and easily feel sighted" in the entirety of S1-3, he struggles HEAVILY to talk to the others. Granted this does get better throughout the series, but it's getting bad again it seems. He often goes on solo missions or stays in the monastery/Destiny's Bounty. I personally think it's because he feels the others don't see him as vital to the team as they should, or he believes he doesn't need help with anything from anyone (but Pixal). The point is there is some sense of "they don't appreciate me enough".

- "React with rage or contempt to try to belittle others to make them appear superior". Again, bringing back the "I find older video games to be non challenging" quote. As well as the fact that every time Pixal is obviously very annoyed by him, he ignores her and carries on with what he thinks is the right idea (Detective/Pirate Zane obviously was a bad idea, but noooo Zane can't be wrong ever). He doesn't react with rage as much (at least not openly), however he does ignore people when he's doubted.

Ok! That's not as much as I thought! A few other things I wanted to point out, although these are also headcanons:

- His self esteem is TERRIBLE.

- What he believes he doesn't make up for in battle, training, etc, he tries to make up for in smarts and hobbies to impress people.

- He bases his opinions on people based on assumptions. For example, he'll assume everything about a person's personality and hobbies (sometimes even their skill level at those hobbies) based on first impressions. So, say he meets someone like Jay who seems very excited about something he doesn't like, his first assumption will be "this person is most likely annoying and a waste of time because they're trying to be as good as me, that's not egotistical that's just an observation. Everyone complimenting them is simply lying to them.".

- He refuses to believe any of his flaws are his fault, sure he can say he has flaws but they're all someone else's fault. It's never just how he is, it's always because "someone caused me to act like this".

- He switches between "I'm literally amazing I'm so smart I'm funny I'm good at everything" to "Everyone hates me for no reason I dont deserve any of this they're all terrible awful people" and then again to "I'm not good enough yet I need to push myself more so they'll see I'm better than they think". All because of a small bit of criticism. He absolutely cannot handle criticism. ("Why are you doubting me!? I'm a nindroid!" <- when Kai tried helping him, "Not now Pixal!" <- when Pixal told him trying to out-smart Nadakhan was a bad idea)

- I think him and Pixal argue a LOT. It's why I don't openly ship pixane. I believe ever since he found out she was Samurai X his trust issues got way worse (While he is easily trusting, once he does trust someone it's hard to not break it). He constantly uses their "no more secrets" promise agaisnt her, and he thinks that no matter what she or anyone else tells him, the probability of her keeping something from him is high, and he has to stop it (even if it means being extra clingy, possessive, and controling). But the other ninja somehow haven't noticed this from them, they just believe it's normal couple banter.

Sorry, like I said, this headcanon is coming out of my ass. Now I can talk about what caused it.

I see Dr. Julien as a good father to Zane, just not the best one. Like he's at the lower end of average. Not abusive so to speak, just overly critical and slightly neglectful. Zane's a robot, so why can't he do the things Dr. Julien tells him to do well enough! Julien accidentally made him too similar to the (daughter..ftm moment.) son he wanted, so similar that it turns out Zane needed the same amount of attention and support an actual child would've needed, which Julien didn't account for. Zane was used to only receiving the bare minimum of those two by s1. Unfortunately the bare minimum is far from enough. Not to mention the isolation he had to live through living in Birchwood, far from the village.

I think what we see as OG Zane is basically his child/early teen stage. Anything past s4 is late teen/adult, which is when his symptoms started showing up more. The other ninja, especially Wu, noticed he was starting to cling to Pixal much more (especially since she was in his mind). He'd also start spending more time on hobbies and things to impress people. Thinking if they thought his new self was better than his old self, he wouldn't be seen as a failed replica of the original Zane. He thought he could hide the fact it was all just to look better than everyone else, but either Kai or Cole picked up on it (Kai because he acts similarly in that way, and Cole because he's usually the first to notice things wrong with Zane.). When they showed their concern, Zane only saw it as motivation to try harder and them trying to take Pixal from him.

After the Never Realm, his self esteem and worth went to absolute shit. Not only was he abused and manipulated, he was at fault for the deaths of thousands.

But worst of all, he let himself be abused. Or at least that's what he believes (the Quest for the Lost Powers also confirms this!). He blames himself massively. How could he let himself fall for that? Why didn't he fully cover up the cave to stop threats from coming in? Why didn't he kill Vex when he got his memories back? Why did he let Vex control him? Isn't he supposed to be perfect? How could someone who claims to be perfect let himself slip up like that?

He definitely started to push himself more after coming back. In training, in battle, with maintaining the monastery, with cooking for the others, hobbies, you get the point. He'd completely forgotten to be patient with himself while trying to gain control over his powers and his life again. Meaning the next time he tried to use them in training, they were out of control and he ended up failing and hurting himself. But how? How could he not be perfect if he was trying as hard as he could? If he was programmed to be the best, why isn't he?

Pixal was also starting to get annoyed with Zane, he was way too attached and she knew that. It made her fall out of love, if there was any in the first place. Zane refused to let her separate from him though, especially since there was still the idea that she was keeping things from him. He believed Pixal didn't think he was worth caring about, causing him to purposely make himself worse in hopes her pity will keep her with him. He'd already been struggling with self harm, but now it was as a punishment for failing as well as a way to get Pixal not to leave (See why I don't ship them now?). I would love to talk about how I think he s/h but it'd take another post.

Now that Pixal is gone, he's getting way worse mentally. Which is why he seems like he's not working as well as usual (in the tournament). It's not like he's not trying anymore, it's that he hasn't let himself rest enough for his efforts to work.

That was way less than i expected to say (⁠･⁠o⁠･⁠;⁠). Anyway! Yeah!!! It is just mainly headcanons, but if Zane were confirmed to have some kind of personality disorder in a different world where ninjago isn't for tiny kids I wouldn't be surprised!!!

TY TY TY TY FOR ASKING IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG TO YAP ABOUT THIS. 😭😭😭😭

[anime-grimmy]

My thoughts on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The game’s been out for almost a week now and Ive blasted through it in like 3 days because my sick ass couldn’t really do much but lay around and suffer anyways. Rn I’m trying to fill my Pokedex and I’ve started a second, way slower playthrough to really enjoy everything the game’s got to offer.

Criticism

So, Pokemon’s first open world game. We’ve all seen the memes, the game has a lot of bugs and especially performance issues. While I have not run into a high amount of glitches, except for some visual stuttering and one shut down, the performance of this game is sometimes atrocious. And this coming from someone who plays Monster Hunter World on an old laptop at 30fps where more than half the textures don’t even load. Sometimes the game dances on the line of death when it loads in too many Pokemon, or god forbid you’re on water because your switch will sound like a chainsaw trying to cut through a stubborn trunk.

And it really IS a shame, because the concepts and ideas of this game are a lot of fun! Like, this game IS fun but it does get bogged down by its issues a lot. Also bcs it does not have dynamic level scaling. Don’t tell me I can go everywhere and do anything, but then throw me in a zone I can’t go through. Don’t get me wrong, the whole “I SHOULD NOT BE HERE YET” experience is very funny and makes you look forward to going back to places, but the layout is just confusing. At the start, Nemona tells you the West Gate is for the first Gym Challenge, Arven tells you the East Gate is for the first Titan. You’d assume either way you go, the challenges in that zone are at least around the same levels but NOPE. You can beat the Gym Leader on the side of the first Titan relatively easily, but try to take on the Team Star base in the same area and be sure to suffer. This weird layout design goes through most of the game. Like, why is the Gym Leader that’s FARTHER North than Grucia weaker than him??? Like, you kinda HAVE to go through his town to get to the other one. It just does NOT make any sense!

 I wanna say that Game Freak just needed more time but we know that even a year more wouldn’t have helped much, because Game Freak just isn’t a studio that’s equipped to do everything they set out to do. They’re short development time makes them build the games on an already wonky base, so even if they did suddenly extend the development by a year, I don’t think much would have changed since they had a faulty game design from the start. It pisses me off so much how Game Freak won’t or can’t reach out for help, they always try to keep everything in their small little team and not let outside hands touch their product (which ofc also is because of all the branding around it), but with their short 3 year development cycle, these guys just aren’t fit for the job to make the games they want to and the people demand. For fuck’s sake, they’re the biggest media franchise on earth, I do not understand what makes them think that one more year of development from the start or an extension of their team would do to fuck that over. So far the people stick with their games because they give us glimmers of hope and lure us in with great Pokemon and characters, but if this continues, they are slowly but surely going to lose their status as top franchise.

Because not making a game with this low res run well on the switch when the Xenoblade’s Chronicles games can be played on the system is unacceptable.

The Good stuff

Now that Ive got the negative stuff out of the way, I can go to stuff I really enjoyed. Because while I do have my fair share of criticism, this game also did a lot I liked.

For one, I am deeply saddened they removed the chugging balls mechanic from Arceus, this just makes catching Pokemon a hassle again. However, I do like the autobattle mechanic. It’s a bit rough because your Pokemon are so slow and once you run for 3 steps they’re back in their Pokeballs. But it’s a nice mechanic to get some off hands exp when traveling from place to place.

Speaking of traversal, I really love Kuraidon. The sound design of this Pokemon is immaculate, I love the scaly boy, he has so much personality and I love how you’re unlocking HMs for him through the Herba Mystica. It’s such a stupid pun but I love it.

As for the other new Pokemon, I’m hit and miss on them. A lot feel weirdly Fakemon. Like, the Flamingo and the Stork don’t feel like real Pokemon to me. Others, however, I really really liked. The Smoliv line is one of my new fav Gras types, Fuecoco has no braincells and I love him for that, and this game did give us some awesome new bug and fairy types. DUDE, A BREAD DOG?! HE’S SO CUTE!!(Spoiler for endgame)

And then the ancient Pokemon. I do prefer the ancient Mons to the futuristic ones tbh, and I like the concept also way more of trying to bring back old, extinct Pokemon to live alongside the present ones than bringing some from the future. Dude, like, the ancient Volcarona is so fucking cool, it’s my fav of the old mons.

(spoiler territory)

But on to the one thing I truly loved about Scarlet and Violet, the characters. Specifically the main three, Nemona, Arven and Penny (and Mr. Clavell/Clive). I never thought I’d like Penny and Arven at the start but holy shit they grew on me. Even Nemona, who I figured I’d like, took a turn in character I hadn’t expected.

Let’s start off with Penny since I have the least to say about her. It was pretty obvious she’s the leader of Team Star from the start, right? The predictability aside, while the Team Star story was nothing to write home about, by the end I did feel attached to this group of misfits, and Penny’s relationship with them is so sweet. Like, when after the game you can join her looking after the team Star bosses to see if they’re doing well in school, it’s so adorable. What I like about Penny though is how surprisingly sassy she is. Freaking hacker Otaku with no chill, I love it.

Then, Nemona. She’s like the epitome of a “nice” rival. I like that from the start it’s established that she is a great trainer, since she already has the Champion title, but the fact she chooses to start from scratch to grow alongside you just screams how much she loves battling and respects a good journey. She wants you to be the best because she sees your potential and she just knows she’ll have the best battle in her life if she helps you out. She’s a mix of a rival/mentor character, who at the same time kind of has a screw loose since battling is all she thinks about. But it all comes from an honest place and the fact she doesn’t act as a cheerleader and actually challenges you in battle when you’re not ready for it, makes her a great rival.

Lastly, Arven. (BIG spoilers) My sweet baby boy, I cannot believe Game Freak dumped so much trauma on you. It was obvious from the start that he had some parental issues, I did not expect it to be year long neglect. I mean, he hasn’t seen the prof in YEARS and has NO memories of playing together with his parent? And apparently his other parent walked out on them the MOMENT he was born??? Then he gets a dying dog, which thankfully got better (it did make me teary eyed by the end ngl) but then the one who’s actually dead is the PROFESSOR???? I hate how quickly he got over the fact, the dude just found out his parent who he hasn’t seen in years is fucking DEAD and has been for YEARS. I mean, I’m happy this makes him find new ambition and a new path in life but fuck me, let the boy process this for a bit.

But yeah, Arven’s story was my fav (im very weak for dogs ok.) Though, all coming together in the end and you running alongside your friends down the Great Crater was so damn cute istg. And the dialogue between them, getting to know each other, is so damn good. You see some different sides of them, showing interest in someone else but you, and it gives them some more dimension, I love it.

Now if Game Freak just FINALLY added voice acting, at least for the damn CUTSCENES, I’d be the happiest. Like dude, that last emotional cutscene really needed some raw emotional voice deliveries.

But yeah, all in all, Scarlet and Violet has a ton of fucking problems, but it also has a lot of good sides to it. Now if Game Freak just took it’s fucking time and accepted some help, they truly could make a great game from the get go.

[heyhowyadoingpally]

it’s been forever since i’ve done one of these, huh?

i figured i’d bring this little series back from the dead (pun intended) for october, but i’m not gonna be looking at one pokemon at a time - i’m gonna do mass reviews.

that’s right, i’m going to do a bunch of super quick, rapid-fire reviews of pokemon. more specifically, different pokemon types. even more specifically, three pokemon types.

i’m gonna review all - yes, all, including half-types and secondaries - the posion, dark, and ghost types, in that order. i would have thrown in one more, like bug or psychic, but i think i have enough as it is to last until halloween. although, if there’s a good enough response and, for whatever reason, a demand for either of those two types, i might do one more.

just to clarify, if a pokemon is two of the types i’ll be reviewing, i’ll be placing them in the review of their first type. i.e. if there’s a ghost/dark type, i’ll be putting it in the ghost type review.

yes, these are going to be LONG fucking posts. so sue me.

with that out of the way, let’s begin.

Spooky Halloween Special Part 1: Pure Poison

#023 - Ekans

there really isn’t much for me to say about ekans. he’s really a product of the first-gen’s shtick, which was having the first chunk of the pokemon be more like mundane wildlife than anything else. and that’s something i’m more than okay with; you need mundane wildlife to balance out shit like fire-breathing anteaters and living, floating magnets.

that being said, i adore ekans’s design. there may be a good amount of pokemon out there that are based on real-world animals, but not many of them heavily resemble the animal they’re based on.

ekan’s look is so subtle yet it just works, from the reptilian eyes to the ring around his neck(?), and even the rattle at the end of his tail. hell, i never even noticed the thin lines going all the way down its body until now! maybe they could be segments that somehow help is slither around easier? who knows!

RATING:

i love ekans, but it’s not something that i would absolutely go crazy for. i gave it the extra half-point because, again, it’s one of the cooler “realistic” pokemon, imo.

#024 - Arbok

in the simplest of words, arbok is just plain awesome.

making ekan’s next stage be a cobra just seems fitting: a pokemon as “average” as ekans definitely would evlove into something weirder than a typical snake, but not too weird. cobras are pretty weird, but not too weird. it goes hand in hand.

it’s a little sad that arbok doesn’t retain some of the subtle qualities its predecessor had, like the eyes or the big ring, but it makes up for it with the kickass hood. i’m sure like everyone knows this, but in the first few games the little design on arbok’s hood differed slightly, because they’re arboks from other regions.

RATING:

again, i love its look, but it’s not an absolute favorite.

#029 + #032 - Nidoran

i vaguely remember how awesome i thought the idea of this one pokemon with genders was. of course, now pretty much every pokemon has some minor detail that differentiates their sex.

i love their cute little faces!!! they’re like adorable little rabbit-things with poisonous barbs!

oh, yeah! they’re poison types! so poison is incorporated into their design, right?

...kiiinda?

the pokedex states that nidorans have poisonous barbs sticking out of their backs, but they don’t really look like barbs. they seem more like really dull dorsal fins or something. like, if your tried to hug one of them the most pain you’d get is an uncomfortable poke more than anything.

RATING:

a neat concept for a pokemon, but the execution of the “poison” aspect didn’t really shine through.

#030 + #033 - Nidorina and Nidorino

these two changed, and for the fucking better.

i love the idea that when certain pokemon evolve, it’s really just them maturing, and the nidos did a fantastic job with their second evo. they look a lot more dangerous, but still not quite “barb-y”. i do love how the nidorino seems to naturally crawl on all fours while nidorina stand on her hind legs. it’s those subtle little things that i like.

RATING:

tbh i really don’t have much to say about these guys that i already said about their first forms. they’re more-or-less improved versions of both nidorans.

before we continue and before you say anything, yes, i’m one of those types of people who have a hard time hating any pokemon. the worst you’ll hear from me is that i’m not a fan of certain ones, but they’re nice efforts nonetheless. plus, i have a strong affinity towards the types of pokemon we’ll be looking at, anyway, so this is more of an excuse for me to gush about cute monsters.

#088 - Grimer

GOD where do i fucking begin???

this was the starting point for when pure poison (not quite yet for the half or secondary type!) pokemon really started to take advantage of the concept of...well, posion.

basically, from here on out, i’m going to be gushing a lot about the pure poison pokemon.

if you’ve been following/have known me long enough, you’ll know that i fucking adore any sort of outlandish, blobby monster. sure, most of those kinds of monsters out there are just the same thing over and over, but for some reason i never get enough of them. hell, my favorite animal is basically just a blob with a vague body shape!

everything about grimer is just so pleasing to me: the dopey expression, the little glob of goop dripping from its lip, the nubby hands...it’s even purple, my favorite color!

not to mention the fact that grimer is literally living sludge, one of my all-time favorite concepts for a monster. probably bc i associate any kind of goop monster with swamps, and you all know how much i fucking love those. i think we need more sludge/toxic monsters in our lives. i know i do.

RATING:

let’s face it: you all saw that coming.

#089 - Muk

you know, i didn’t think there was any way that you could improve a living pile of toxic waste, but game freak proved me wrong.

muk took everything i love about grimer and somehow made it significantly better. it genuinely feels like a grimer that grew larger and nastier through years of absorbing more waste and refuse. the strand of slime connecting the “lips” is a really neat touch!

 the more serious expression on its face makes me think that it hates its own existence, like it somehow just knows that it should not be alive. it’s a sad idea, and surprisingly not the darkest ideas that the pokemon franchise has ever delved into. but we’ll probably get more into that with later entries in this series.

RATING:

grimer and muk were, for the longest time, my favorite pokemon, period. that was, of course, until a certain gen 5 creature was introduced and immediately stole my heart. but, again, that’s one of those things we’ll get to soon.

#109 - Koffing

if i had never gotten into pokemon, or even monsters in general and you tried to describe certain creatures to me, i’d think these were some of the dumbest, most batshit ideas ever put on paper. koffing sounds like a weird or dumb idea, but the way a floating orb that spews toxic gasses is presented here is so fucking original.

i’ve always found it fascinating that we associate the color purple with anything poisonous. i suppose it stems (no pun intended) back from certain toxic plants having purple coloration? idk, i’m not an expert on these things.

as a little kid, i loved koffing, which i guess goes to show that i haven’t changed since then lmao. but what’s not to like about it? that’s a face that you can never say no to. koffing wants some cash so it can go out with its friends? go ahead! it wants to have pizza for dinner tonight instead of a casserole? sure thing!!! it wants to start an underground meth lab to rake in the dough to support its family? right on!!!

i especially adore the little skull-and-crossbones on its belly(?). it’s a really neat, subtle touch that didn’t even need to be on there but works so well. i especially love that it’s not just a standard jolly roger kind of crossbones that you’ll often find on monster/creatures that’re poisonous; it’s just the vague shape that makes it really feel like an animal might be able to evolve such a strange pattern on its body, which fits the semi-grounded-in-reality feel gen 1 was trying to go for.

fun fact: some real-life animals, especially insects and arachnids, have skull-shaped patterns on their backs!

RATING:

a perfect example of a pokemon that exemplifies its type.

#110 - Weezing

weezing is either a really ingenious - yet dark - metaphor, or just a really, really cool concept. or both.

i’m probably not the first person to think of this outlandish idea, but i think weezing might be some sort of weird, “hidden message” behind koffing and, more specifically, weezing.

lets take a look at this round, adorable, little cutie: 

it’s associated with toxicity and poison

it produces a gas that’s unpleasant to inhale

it has a second “head” growing on its side (with a cute little “starting crossbone”!)

both faces look quite glum

now, what in real life relates to to these aspects? what thing or things in real life are associated with being harmful or toxic; produce a gas or gaslike substance that, when inhaled, is unpleasant; can cause those exposed to it to develop large, potentially lethal lumps inside their body; and makes people quite glum?

hmmm....i just can’t think of any real-world items that could cause such dangerous, life-altering side-effects.

jokes aside, i’m more than certain i could just be pulling this connection with tobacco out of my ass. it sounds more like one of those edgy creepypastas from back in the day than anything else.

RATING:

this is the closest i think we’ll ever get to a pokemon with a fucking tumor, and whether or not it was intentional weezing’s design reminds me of real-world issues.

(m)

(f)

#316 - Gulpin

after koffing and weezing, pure poison type pokemon were few and far between. it’s a shame, since a lot of the pokemon that are solely poison are just so damn cool, even when they don’t quite show off the “poison” aspects you’d come to expect.

at the same time, i’m glad we currently only have a few amount of pure poison types out there; it makes them feel more special, like a nice treat you’d get every-so-often.

the first pure poison pokemon (how’s that for alliteration!) to appear since gen 1 was gen 3. there was an entire generation that skipped out on having really cute babies. those were surely dark time. at least they up for that with an abundance of other cute pokemon.

that being said, the first pure poison we get after a long, dark and empty era is an absolute cutie! again, i’m a sucker for round, blobby creatures. they always just look so soft and huggable! i think if i lived in the pokemon world, gulpin would definitely be one of those critters i’d snuggle up with.

you know, i really don’t know much about gulpin other than its adorable appearance. i’d really like to find out why its a pure poison! maybe i should see what the pokedex entries from the games have to say about this little cutiepie:

o h .

RATING:

gulpin’s a really neat concept, but the idea of something small and cute that also has an insatiable appetite isn’t something entirely original, and nor is it the first time a character in nintendo followed that same idea.

(m)

(f)

#317 - Swalot

listen: i LOVE swalot. but it’s the kind of love where if i sort of bring that up in a conversation people immediately assume i love swalot because of the same reason that a good two handfuls of people do.

i’m sure you can guess why some people love swalot more than others based on both its name and its rather...erm....interesting eating habit:

i told you that pokemon can get pretty morbid.

i’m really not the sort of person who "points out” something made for kids but with some sort of “underlying fetish material”, but swalot here is one of those few things that make me raise an eyebrow just a little.

but, uh, let’s look at this big cutie in a different, more wholesome light, huh?

designwise, swalot looks fantastic. i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: i love evolutions that look like a genuine life cycle. i can see gulpin being this sort of nymph that grows over time into this huge, squishy, toxic thing with an insatiable appetite. it almost sounds like the premise of a 1950s b-movie.

even though it’s not a major change, i love the coloring. again, it gives me the impression that young gulpin’s flesh darkens with maturity into a swalot. it’s great.

a detail that i never noticed until getting the pictures for this review is that if you look verrrrry closely, both gulpin and swalot have a faint pattern all over their bodies. it reminds me of how light looks reflecting in the ocean, all broken up like that.

RATING:

potential vorebait aside, i really love swalot’s design, even moreso than gulpit.

#336 - Seviper

there aren’t as many real snake pokemon as i’d like to think, but the ones we do get are pretty rad.

while ekans and arbok have great designs and are always gonna be near and dear to my heart, they never quite felt pokemon-y to me. yes, they were in the first gen and are revered as classics, they seem just too normal to me, you know? like they were literally just purple snakes.

i’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but when you compare them to the outlandish creatures from later generations, they aren’t all that unique. i still love them to death, of course.

seviper, to me at least, looks like what you would mentally picture if someone told you that there was a snake pokemon: it retains the basic idea of a serpent, but takes some creative liberties.

idk why but i really love the eyes it has. they sort of compliment its almost-smile, like its just about to pull a harmless prank on someone and is anticipating the gag. what a smug bastard.

according to the every pokedex, seviper’s best quality is that the entire species has had an ancient rivalry zangoose, another pokemon, for years. from what i can tell, zangoose is supposed to be based off the real-life mongoose, so what we have here is the age-old battle between snakes and mongooses (mongeese?) in the pokemon universe. that’s pretty awesome. i wish they could find more ways to tie in real wildlife habits and instincts like that.

RATING:

overall a good bean with a good design.

#568 - Trubbish

ohhhhh man. ohhhhh boy oh man. we’re at my favorite evolutionary line ever. i’ll try to keep this as contained and condensed as possible.

i’m not sure what it is exactly about garbage monsters, but i adore them a lot. maybe it’s because you can get really creative with how you design the? idk.

i’m surprised it took until gen 5 to get a real trash pokemon. grimer and muk may have been associated with filth, but trubbish and garbodor are the living embodiment of garbage. like, you look at them, and you know exactly what their shtick is. 

i’ve seen a few garbage bag monster before, but trubbish is probably the absolute cutest one i’ve ever seen! look at those big, curious eyes!!!! look at that cute overbite!!!!! look at the little feet made from the bottom corners of the bag!!! it’s such a cute little baby!!!!

unfortunately, not a lot of people share that opinion. and that’s okay. because you’re allowed to have your own fucking opinions on the internet. there’s some pokemon a lot a ppl like that i’m not too crazy for, so sue me. i’ve got my little compost child and that’s okay.

RATING:

is this cheating? i don’t think it’s cheating.

#569 - Garbodor

here it is! the best fucking pokemon to have ever existed!

you might be thinking i saved garbodor till the end on purpose, but i’ve just been reviewing these by the order they appear on the pokedex. besides, there’s just one more after this, so you don’t have to suffer much longer.

GOD i love garbodor so much. everything about it is so creative and fun and cute. i’m so glad it kept the face from when it was just a trubbish. what a cutie!!!!

i love how the garbage bag is sorta draped over its body, like the bag somehow filled up with so much trash that it burst open. i also really love how both of its arms are doing their own different things. it really gives the idea that garbodor wasn’t trying form a perfect body, just a body that works. but the greatest part of this huge baby bean are those cute little pigtails!!! god bless it for looking so cute!!!!!!!

i wanna hug garbodor so badly!!! even if it smells like garbage!!!!

RATING:

i love that funky little compost

#803 - Poipole (aka UB Adhesive)

i haven’t played ultra sun or moon, so the new pokemon in that game are still...well...new to me.

one of the new ultra beasts introduced in the games, poipole has already stolen my heart and i don’t even know it that well. it’s got all of my favorite color combinations rolled into one - blues and purples and pinks!

being an ultra beast, poipole hails from ultra space, and, apparently, from a city in ultra space called ultra megalopolis. jeez, game freak sure loves using the word “ultra”.

i really can’t say much since, again, i’ve never played either of the ultra games, but i like what i do see.

i would have wrapped up this review here, but looking at the pokedex entries for it turned out to be a fucking road trip:

poipole goes from adorably-loved to a fucking sociopath.

alright, i like this cutie even more.

RATING:

for some reason, i still get surprised whenever a new pokemon game has creative and original monster. you’d think they would have blown their wad in the first few gens, but so far they haven’t done so.

that wraps up the first part of this little “review series” next time we’ll be looking at both half-poison AND secondary poison, all in the same post. how terrifying.

...i’m sincerely sorry if you had to read through all of this

PREVIOUS POKEFART: Weedle Line

NEXT POKEFART: (it’s not out yet you dip)

[meepface]

Evens for the ask thing!

thank you this was fun and extremely time consuming (which is good because i have nothing to do ever)!!

200: My crush’s name is:

Caitlin!!

198: I am really:

gay

196: My eye color is:

green

194: My ring size is:

uhhh @ caitlin: mine is a 5 right

192: I am allergic to:

shrimp i think, possibly red wine also, the fake metal they put in earrings, cedar pollen, also i’m lactose intolerant which i’m assuming counts here

190: My 1st job was:

TCBY frozen yogurt

188: My bed is:

the only place i can really fall asleep and Stay asleep

186: My best friend:

is the cutest look at us!!

184: Xbox or ps3:

xbox but i’ve never played ps3 so i’m biased

182: In my pockets:

they are empty

180: Marriage is:

not something i Need but if my partner wants it i will get married, i just don’t believe i need to get married to be committed to someone for life. it’s just never been as big of a deal to me as it is to most people but i would marry Caitlin in a heartbeat

178: My mom:

is the kindest most accepting and supportive person i know!! she is so great i love my mom look at her

176: Last YouTube video watched:

i sort of started this one by Miles Mckenna but i stopped to do this lmao

174: Do you have any siblings?

one brother!

172: Are you taller than your mom?

no

170: What did you do yesterday?

yesterday i worked until 3 and then visited Caitlin and then went home and saw my family for a bit and then went back to visit Caitlin at her work again until she got off and then her and i went and got a cinnabon and she talked to my boss about getting a job at my work and he basically interviewed her and guaranteed her the job on the spot and then i took her to dairy queen so she could get a blizzard and then we kissed a lil and went home!! a good day

[ I Believe In ]

168: Luck:

yeah i guess

166: Yourself:

honestly?? yes i have really started to!!!

164: Heaven:

idk i like to think it’s real but i feel like i logically think it isn’t but i also feel like who knows you know

162: God:

i believe there’s probably some sort of God but i don’t necessarily identify with really any religion and never really have so i think sure there’s probably something up there helping us out but who knows what lmao just be good to people and respect everyone’s beliefs and we’ll find out later

160: Soul mates:

i don’t believe everyone has just one i think everyone has multiple soulmates in multiple different fields (like platonic, romantic, etc) and i think that everyone has several people in each field that they could really click with like idk i refuse to believe there’s only one soulmate for everyone and too bad if you don’t find them

158: Gay Marriage:

absolutely. this is just common sense. i’m not big into the concept of marriage but i know damn well i don’t want that right taken from me if i choose to marry

156: Orbs:

idk no tbh 

[ This or That ]

154: Hugs or Kisses:

uhh i love both a lot but i’m always down for hugs n cuddles

152: Phone or Online:

online??

150: Blondes or Brunettes:

i’ve always liked brunettes but then Caitlin came along and changed the whole damn game for me so now i really don’t know. blondes but like, only Caitlin and nobody else

148: Summer or winter:

winter

146: Chocolate or vanilla:

boring, give me mint chocolate chip

144: Oranges or Apples:

oranges

142: McDonalds or Burger King:

i don’t really care for either but burger king i guess bc their chicken fries are good

140: Mac or PC:

mac just bc i’m so far up apple’s ass

138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor:

sweet and poor lol? 

136: Hillary or Obama:

obama

134: Singing or Dancing:

i like to sing because sometimes i can sing well and whenever i dance i look like an embarrassing dad chaperoning a middle school dance but trying to be cool and dancing along

132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks:

who

130: Wal-Mart or Target:

target is my second home

128: Manicure or Pedicure:

manicure ig

126: Your Birthday or Christmas:

christmas!! i love givin people gifts

124: Disney or Six Flags:

six flags

[ Here’s What I Think About ]

122: War:

stop (but sometimes it’s necessary)

120: Gay Marriage:

again, it’s common sense lol marriage is for everyone who wants to get married

118: Abortion:

it’s the person with the uterus’ choice

116: Reality TV:

i dig it ngl

114: Back stabbers:

dumb

112: Facebook:

it’s nice but people who use it excessively are obnoxious and people who excessively share/comment their opinions on it are also obnoxious. take a break live offline a little

110: My Neighbors:

i have nice neighbors one of them is wealthy because he’s the drummer of a famous christian band so they’re always either throwing parties of out of the country and then my other neighbor lives alone with her annoying dog Chewy who roams the roads of our neighborhood and chases cars and almost dies and then my Other neighbors have an annoying ass kid named Sabrina who set loose one of my pet bunnies when i was little and i never forgave her. also one of my neighbors used to have a meth lab here but he got caught 

108: Designer Clothes:

rock those clothes if you can afford them

106: Sports:

i don’t get into them but i don’t hate them either. i used to want to be in softball or tennis or basketball when i was in high school but i never tried out

104: The future:

bring it on (gently)

[ Last time I ]

102: Last time you ate:

i had some froyo about two hours ago

100: Cried in front of someone:

i cried in front of my therapist a little last Wednesday

98: Took a vacation:

my family and i went to NYC for a few days right before Christmas last year

96: Changed a diaper:

i never have honestly

94: Went to a wedding:

oh man it’s been years but it was my cousin’s wedding and he has two kids now and my other cousin got way too drunk and disappeared from the reception and we found her at a starbucks eating dried fruit that she bought

92: Got a piercing:

forever ago BUT i think i’m finally going to pierce my ears for the second time on Friday!! i hope i stop talking about it and actually do it

90: Texted: 

i texted Caitlin like 20 minutes ago and i need to text her back but i keep doing this (sorry babe i love u i see ur texts give me just a minute ok)

[ MISC ]

88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is:

my brother, my dogs, my parents, the comfort of my comfy bed and my big room, my dad’s cooking, no neighbors close by so it’s always nice & quiet

86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most:

figuring out what i want in my life and getting myself there, my music fest this summer, pride, my friend’s 21st bday, seeing my girlfriend tomorrow, learnin how to love myself even more, therapy next wednesday (no particular order)

84: People call me:

elyse, that ginger girl

82: I have gotten a speeding ticket:

i have not!! one time a cop pulled me over when i was going 10 over with Caitlin in the car and my insurance was months expired and he asked where we were going and we had to tell him we were just going mini golfing. he set me free with just a warning

80: The first person i talked to today was:

well i texted Caitlin first thing in the morning but i spoke to my mom, so

78: The one person who i can’t hide things from:

Caitlin probs, she can always tell when something’s wrong

76: Right now I am talking to:

well i would be talking to Caitlin if i would pause this for a second to text her back (i am so sorry babe i am on a roll please forgive me)

74: I have/will get a job:

i have a job at TCBY frozen yogurt right now but i am planning to get a second job (maybe at target or petsmart?) and test it out and use TCBY as my fallback just in case they don’t work. TCBY is such a chill happy job so i don’t wanna give it up quite yet. plus i get employee of the month all the time because my boss loves me, sooo

72: Today:

i had work until 4 and i was super duper productive so that felt really great!! i got a compliment from a customer and my boss!! and i made $7 in tips which was a lot considering how slow it was!! and then i visited Caitlin for like 5 minutes maybe and then i went to therapy and got froyo at menchie’s with my mom and then came home it was a good day!!!

70: Next Weekend:

i have no plans that i’m aware of yet. i am probably working though

68: The worst sound in the world:

a fork or knife scraping against a plate. my entire body shivers

66: People that make you happy:

caitlin, my mom, all my friends, my brother, my dad, my grandma, a few of my coworkers, my regular who always compliments my eyebrows, the guy who makes me breakfast tacos at this food trailer nearly every morning, my internet friends, my therapist

64: My friends are:

so great and supportive and positive. i love all of em so much

62: My School:

its so nice!!!! it was great going from a high school in an all white conservative small town in texas to a very diverse and liberal and happy college. i love it there and the campus is beautiful and i’ve made so many lovely supportive friends and i see my girlfriend every day!! and my classes have all been good (except modern biology 1300)

60: I lose all respect for people who:

are ignorant and disrespectful to others for no good reason, people who are rude to their waiters, people who can’t seem to mind their own business, people who slut shame, people who are racist/homophobic/xenophobic/etc,

58: Your hair color is:

red !! look at how cute i am 

56: Favorite web site:

runescape HIGHKEY

54: The worst pain I was ever in was:

physical was probably when something was seriously fucked with my stomach last year and it was Cramping and the doctor said it was a stomach bug but it felt like i was actually dying, emotional i do not want to talk about publicly !

52: My room is:

a disgusting depression cave and i should clean it now that i’m feelin good again

50: Where would you like to be:

with my girlfriend or maybe in iceland (or both)

48: Ever been in love:

currently

46: More guy friends or girl friends:

as a kid i had more guy friends but as i’ve grown i have more girl friends! this bitch learned

44: One person that you wish you could see right now:

my girlfriend !! also it would be nice to see my grandpa and grandma again i miss them a lot sometimes :( 

42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die:

i have!! one of my best friends and i are gonna go skydiving after we graduate college so soon i will get to check something off so that’s exciting to me

40: Last person I got mad at:

one of my parents, i think it was my dad most recently

38: I wish I was a professional:

psychologist 

[ My Favorites ]

36: Vehicle:

i don’t have one lol hondas are nice bc i have one and it is nice

34: State visited:

i really loved oregon and south dakota and montana!! california would be nice to revisit because i hardly remember it but i’m sure i’d love it there too. and i loved ohio for sentimental reasons 

32: Athlete:

venus williams

30: Actress:

shit i don’t know probably Emma Stone since she’s my real mom

28: Band:

twenty one pilots because i’m a fake deep emo loser and i hate myself :/ 

26: Grocery store:

HEB (only texans get this like if u agree)

24: Movie:

probably either The Secret Life of Walter Mitty or Silver Lining’s Playbook 

22: Animal:

i love bears and also bunnies

20: Holiday:

Christmas

18: Sport to play:

tennis and basketball and baseball are fun!!

16: Book:

the entire Junie B Jones series

14: Beach:

i don’t have one i hate them all (a beach in Hawaii would be really nice to go to though since the water isn’t like…. gross there)

12: Thing to cook:

i can’t cook don’t get me near a kitchen or the house will burn

10: Restaurant:

Hunan Lion, it’s a lil chinese food restaurant that like nobody knows about or cares about or goes to but it’s SO GOOD and i could eat there every day

8: Yankee candle scent:

shit i don’t know whatever smells like christmas

6: Flower:

sunflowers & daisies

4: Talk show host:

ellen degeneres & seth meyers & jimmy fallon

2: Dog breed:

i like border collies and golden retrievers and french bulldogs

(OKAY I WILL TEXT YOU BACK NOW CAITLIN I LOVE YOU)

[comicteaparty]

June 7th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on June 7th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on The Pale by Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing The Pale by Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares~! (https://tapas.io/series/The-Pale) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! As a bonus, each chat a top comment will be picked and featured in the archives and on an ad for CTP! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

snuffysam

I won’t be able to be around much this week, but I’ll just say that I loved the speed dating scene. Really set up Fink’s personality, skill, and face blindness well.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah the speed dating scene was pretty interesting. i really like in general how the face blindness is portrayed with the comical same faces. like something about that makes face blindness both understandable but subtly horrifying

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'll echo that. I liked when the different art style on the faces was revealed to be character related.

Also, Fink was all "this is not how I expected her to react... smokebomb!" vanishes

And he's had bad luck ever since.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hi there!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbh i did not expect his speed date partner to react that way either XD

hey super

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Hello!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hey there Jay!

Great to see ya~(edited)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha likewise

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotta expect the unexpected.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Hi artist/author/writer (one or all of the preceding...)!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

glad you could make it jay~!

Agent Jay (The Pale)

I'm the artist and Co writer

totally! glad to see y'all like the speed dating part

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Very clever way to set up characters, don't think I've seen it before.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

when I read my husbands first draft of that scene-- I was all smiles

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's nice~

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I also kind of liked the knife throwing scene. I knew pretty much what was going to happen when I saw Fink out front, but it was still entertaining and set the tone of their interactions going forwards.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You two make for a good team, I enjoy how realistic (for the most part) and lifelike the comic is.(edited)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

yeah, the knife scene was fun. The ending went through a lot of changes.

and thanks Super!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

You're welcome.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Aiming for a different balloon? I noticed some of those slogans... speaking as someone over 40...

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i really liked how the knife scene kind of characterized the town. only in a small town would it not be considered a safety hazard to just throw knives at the wall

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Impressive background detail, actually. I caught myself trying to read the chalkboard in the sherriff's office right off the start.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

And yeah the backgrounds have lots and I do mean lots of details(edited)

dylandrawsdraws

the comic is awesome - I still love the wolf with the hand as a great intro and tone setter

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Anything to help make it pop.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha, I'm 36. the ending was hard bc we didnt know who was going to say the last line for the longest time it was Fink.... but then suddenly we had the idea for Joseph Yazzie (Logan's friend) say something. and it worked out well we think.

little title drop-- sorta there--

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Right, yeah, well played there. Other ideas paled in comparison.

dylandrawsdraws

Am i allowed to ask questions?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

ah coyote scene you mean!

dylandrawsdraws

(yeah coyote!)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Right, the wolf and the hand bit. Effectively creepy.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

#PraiseCoyote

dylandrawsdraws

I think @MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑 will always think it's a wolf

#teamwolf

Agent Jay (The Pale)

... so funny.

And um, I guess you can ask Q's

dylandrawsdraws

Can you tell us about your process

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Call the wolf Virginia. To go with Dawn Knotts.

dylandrawsdraws

script and thumbnails, etc - the collaboration between you and this mysterious writer you work with

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(That was a clever name, by the way. I didn't catch on.)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

really? SHAME

Agent Jay (The Pale)

1. We start with a general outline of what we want to see happen 2. eventually that goes down to what is really needed and my husband Sanders writes a 1st draft 3. I then read the draft and make changes-- rewrite scenes, take away, change dialog 4. we argue 5. and repeat till we are happy with it! 6. I start rough layouts/lettering/edit some more 7. (see step 4) 8. eventually everything falls into place and then we have a final edit pass 9. BOOM done.(edited)

dylandrawsdraws

oh very cool

sounds like a mini pixar

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That's nice.

Cool seeing what goes on behind the scenes

Agent Jay (The Pale)

and @MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑 Dawn Knotts was the only character that didnt go a name changes.

even Fink was Franklin INKS

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh? Were they all puns originally?

Ahhh.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

sorta... Logan originally was Sam Addams

then it went to Scott Logan (xmen joke)(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, it's an interesting name juxtaposition there. F. Ink. Whereas some people might call FBI types using slang.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

now it's Terrence Logan. I took the Terrence from a discarded character-- I loved the name too much to waste it.(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

ah yes always a good use of discarded characters. when in doubt steal their stuff O_O

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha-- right?!

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I gather that the story takes place in... New Mexico? Texas? Nevada? That area...

Agent Jay (The Pale)

It's a made up town south of the Navajo Reservation, so it is Arizona (I hope I'm not derailing your chat)(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotcha. My US geography is poor. (Well, my geography in general is poor.)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

between Flagstaff and north of Winslow...

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The bit of Navajo on the radio was clever.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

how much research did you put into the location out of curiosity?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Eh, we just chat about whatever anyway. Rebel will have a random question again in about 5 minutes.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i mean generalized location since its a made up town

Agent Jay (The Pale)

We spent a lot of time considering where the location would be in real terms

The inspiration of the town is a mix of our experiences of small towns in Arizona and on the Navajo Rez. But also-- bc we like small towns

I based the town layout off of Holbrook Arizona more or less.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Holy cats. That's impressive.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I think the small town atmosphere is well captured. The deputy who hangs around the game instead of being on radio and all.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Dewey! haha yes... I love him.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually they've got a pretty large police force.

Relatively speaking.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

there's 4 with badges and luca at the station, Logan, Dewey, Russ and Dawn

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf to dewey it seemed like the whole town was at the game so like...who is actually gonna call

QUESTION 2. Not long after the mysterious body is found in the story, Agent Fink enters the scene and gets involved “off the books.” However, his motivations remain elusive. Why do you think Agent Fink is so intent on everything staying off the record? Is it personal or is this a professional risk? What do you think is the significance of the rock found with the body, and why does Agent Fink seemingly have more rocks? Do you think this mystery has something to do with Isaac? If so, how does Isaac factor in to both the mystery and Fink’s motivations? Lastly, what do you make of the dreams Fink has been having?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha, I guess this is when I don't talk... heh

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'd lay dollars to donuts that it relates somehow to those dreams. And presumably to the dreams that the woman in the tapestry place had been having too.

(It being his involvement.)

The rocks, of course, is all a red herring. Fink just likes collecting rocks along with bird watching.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

he should pick better rocks to collect then

invest in geodes

and he can expand his horizons. go get some petrified wood since hes in az

snuffysam

He just showed up to get his hands on that rock

wishjacked

AHHH, good evening, guys!! I've been looking forward to this chat for a while, I'm glad I could make it (albeit late)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or just scare a bunch of normal wood...

Fink has plans to become a rock musician.

snuffysam

I don’t think that’s how they get petrified wood math

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

No?

dylandrawsdraws

can I ask about character design and how you do the settings and prep work

for settings?

snuffysam

It’s his DREAM to become a rock musician

That’s what the dreams mean!

wishjacked

Catching up: I love so very many of the scenes, but the one that really hooked me was the coyote scene-- such a classic, beautifully executed mystery setup. And I loooved all that wildlife

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

as someone who lives in az, no i confirm. thats how we get our petrified wood.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

That was Fink's drummer showing up at the end of Part 3.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

sure Dylan! which character do you wanna know about?

(and HI CHLOE)(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

More seriously, birds are definitely going to factor in too, methinks.

wishjacked

Still catching up: One thing I think really works with the comic is the balance between quiet, slow images and faster moving dialogue: I love when the comic slows down to linger on images. One part that I kinda liked for that reason was with Yazzie visiting Nathaniel's house and looking at the rug on the wall, the lingering look at the rug really slowed the scene in the best way. Also when Fink is wandering through empty Rocket Ridge. Such a good way to build tension, improve pacing, and draw attention to the art. So good

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hey there Wish

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Related, I liked the bit in the plane where the pilot was all "I have binoculars somewhere" and Fink's like "I'm good". There's lots of little fun things in the comic too.

wishjacked

(and HI JAY!!! :D)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

y'all might get a kick outta this-- some early sketches of Fink and Logan

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

OMG those look nice

wishjacked

(And hi to SuperJustin, too!!)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Neat! Hm, Fink was shorter.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

haha the thing was very cartoony and different in tone at first.

the THING=-- THE COMIC...

der

wishjacked

Ahhhh, that art is so good hahaha. Look at these good guys! XD

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Personally I think the final/current style fits the comic a lot more than something cartoony IMO

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

wishjacked: Agreed. One of those things that I didn't really notice, but to have it pointed out, yeah. And like the woman just turning at the bottom of the page during that rug scene. Vaguely ominous but you don't know why. Probably attribute some of that to pacing.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

funny bc they changed-- but also remained the same?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

And yeah wishjacked made a good point about the slow and fast moments.

omg that hairstyle

Agent Jay (The Pale)

oh totally Super... we changed the look really bc the tones are much darker. The story helped determine the style

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Seems liek younger/older comparisons

Agent Jay (The Pale)

ha

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yus

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

You could include the early drawing of Fink as a picture on his desk. Or maybe as his ID badge.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

The art style can give you lots of insight on a comic's tone so you want to make sure it's just right

Agent Jay (The Pale)

We work hard on the pacing. glad that shows!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That would be a cute little nod IMO

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

We never look our best on IDs/driver's licenses.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^^^

Amen

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm also vaguely waiting for someone to call Fink "Mulder".

wishjacked

and regarding question #2, I always get a feeling from this comic that things aren't quite what they seem in this story, so I'm very hesitant to barf up ideas about Fink's motives. Whatever they are, I think they'll be unexpected. I wonder if he has some inklings of the supernatural (???) elements of the story he's in

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe they will someday. when theyre less busy putting him up in a hotel and more busy investigating things

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

but the hotels are super comfy

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well given the dreams i think hed have to have an inkling

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Fink being good with dialects probably means he'll know if anyone he runs into is from out of town. Or... out of this world?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

unless he just thinks hes the weirdest dreamer in all the land

snuffysam

He acts on rock mysteries though. You wouldn't do that if you thought your dreams were just dreams

wishjacked

and yes, Math!! Ohh, going off on another tangent about that scene, it was so well lighted too. The lighting in this comic also really helps the tone. That was a very ominous scene.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe he thinks everyone has those sorts of dreams. Could be normal for him.

"My face blindness thing is an unusual quirk, but at least I have nightmares like normal people!"

Agent Jay (The Pale)

lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

possible but i doubt it O_O

until proven otherwise im assuming that isaac was murdered while investigating something and fink is trying to solve the murder but no one can know cause supernatural stuff and everyone will think hes crazy

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Also I just wanna say the inn rooms look awesome for something out in the wilderness (from what vibe the comic is giving me)

How old is the inn anyways?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, I wonder when Fink was diagnosed.

dylandrawsdraws

@Agent Jay (The Pale) hmmm which character? fink and logan -

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Crazy theory: Someone is killing people by dropping huge rocks on them, followed by shrinking the rocks down real small.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

dat crack theory(edited)

dylandrawsdraws

and the yazzie?

the native american?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

the inn... around the 1950's(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh wow

Agent Jay (The Pale)

I went through several sketches with Fink. I knew he was tall, slender, and had a dog... much like Tin Tin and that's sorta why he looks cartoony in the beginning I think... but as the story evolved, again, I just kept pushing he design to reflect that. He is supposed to resemble a bird with his hair a bit. Sort of like a crest.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ahh, Tintin, that would explain the early hairstyle a bit. Though the bird connection is interesting too.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

when I drew the HAIR.. I knew I had something I think...

from 2013

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oh christ

That's quite a prototype

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Logan was a typical big guy on campus type deal.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Clever not starting the story with Fink, in a sense. It makes it more about this particular mystery and the town itself rather than one FBI case among many.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

stoic, middle aged, seen stuff, understanding, father figure type(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I see what you're sayin

Agent Jay (The Pale)

thanks Math!

snuffysam

and fink is a young, fresh face

but when they get together

the shipping begins

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Did someone say

ships

dylandrawsdraws

oh these early drawings are great

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 3. Despite Rocket Ridge being a small town, the discovery of a body jumpstarts a lot of strange things. Do you think someone in the town had something to do with the body that was found? If so, who do you suspect (or have we not met them yet)? If not, do you think it has to do with the town supposedly having run-ins with the supernatural? In the most recent page we do see the supernatural, so do you think it has something to do with the body? In the background there is also Sheriff Logan, the man who discovered the body. Do you think Sheriff Logan will help or hinder Fink’s investigation into the situation? At the very least, do you think Logan will discover the real reason Fink is there? Of a last note, how do you think the comic’s events will affect Logan in general?

dylandrawsdraws

can you talk about your inspirations - other media, comics, whatever?

Agent Jay (The Pale)

i watch a lot of crime dramas(edited)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Any crime dramas in particular?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Things between Fink and Logan are definitely off to a "rocky" start. I think Logan will work out that this isn't an authorized case though, starting by looking into how Fink flew in in the first place.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

(This is a really interesting question to ask a creator IMO)

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Recent favs The Killing, MindHunter, DARK, Twin Peaks (haha), Longmire

snuffysam

i think fink having to walk into town will have piqued logan's interest, absolutely

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I get why Fink wouldn't want to come clean, suspecting supernatural elements (and wanting to avoid being labelled a Mulder) but Logan doesn't seem like the type who enjoys other people trying to barge in on his territory. I mean, he was stubborn about that coffee machine for how long?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ooh nice

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well and nobody likes the fbi

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Pretty much

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

cause they throw their federal weight around

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The dog does, apparently.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the dog is a spirit guide clearly

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

And actually that counsellor seemed to get on well enough with him.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

Emma

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yes. I'm abysmal with names.

Ask anyone.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

yeah her and Fink got off to a okay... start sorta

yknow.. hotdogs and stuff

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i do think its inevitable logan is gonna find out about fink tho. cause fink is gonna order him and logan is gonna be like "let me talk to your superior" and then fink is gonna be like "oh shit."

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

She musterded up the courage to speak to him.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

omg

slow clap well done

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

It's beautiful

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I wonder what Fink would get out of hearing me speak.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I wonder that too

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Aside from an excuse to be elsewhere.

snuffysam

i wonder what fink's determined about the officers he's met from their voices

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe he can exposit to the dog.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hes probably determined that dang is he sure in a small town

although he probably learned that from the knife

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or his tiny alien friend.

(It's actually Logan in a suit.)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i hope fink's linguist thing comes up with logan. cause i feel like hes just gonna reveal all these personal things about logan at some point. and logan will be frowny face

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That would be hilarious @MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"You thought it was extra terrestrial, but it was I, Dewey!"

Agent Jay (The Pale)

or Russ...

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

So, back to crazy theories, do you think the Tapestry Woman is committing the crimes? Because she's possessed by her tapestry, it exited her dreams and into real life?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

if i had to pick someone who was magically involved with the body and mystery, itd be dewey. O_O his radio wasnt off cause lazy. it was off cause he was busy committing more murders.

snuffysam

nah i think she's forseeing them

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ooooh, nice one Rebel.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah Rebel, good pick.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Also a nice take, snuffy. I wonder if she's trying to weave warnings into her work.

snuffysam

yeah that's what i think is going on. and at some point, fink will find out.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

By spying with his binoculars.

snuffysam

i was thinking by like... someone mentioning it

say someone who lives with her

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe tapestry lady was abducted by aliens and thats why she had nightmares. and she makes tapestries cause she knows one of them is still out there.

snuffysam

or maybe she's just psychic for unrelated reasons

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Perhaps

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

She knows they'll want to buy a tapestry as a souvenir gift before returning to their home planet.

She's saving that dark one for them.

snuffysam

she's preparing to open a tourist trap for aliens?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That would be a clever way of capturing the aliens

Or not, if they're armed

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Gotta trap 'em somehow.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yes

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

wait what if by weaving the tapestry she set the creature from her nightmares free. and the reason she keeps it is out of guilt and the belief that one day she has to destroy it to destroy the creature.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Actually, what if Fink is psychic? Maybe that dream he had in the plane was prophetic.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe. i tend to view his dreams as more symbolic. like im really interested in the fact he has faceblindness and isaac in his dreams had no face

snuffysam

maybe that's not isaac. how would fink know?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that is also a good point

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

By the voice, possibly.

snuffysam

fair

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Only we don't know.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

to be fair it might not have been isaac for the fact "isaac" was wearing a shirt that says "This is you"

which lends credit to the dream being prophetic

cause theyre warning him

actually yeah even tho "isaac" is talking the text is written as intelligible. so we cant gurantee he recognized isaac by voice

snuffysam

so yeah i may be right then

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

So it was Fink himself!

snuffysam

the shirt did say as much

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. Besides the bigger mysteries, there is a lot of small town drama going on. At the game, we meet Emma Bloom who Dawn clearly doesn’t care for. What do you think the history is between them? Does it have something to do with Logan, or is it just between them? What significance might Emma have further along? Another noteworthy character when it comes to drama is Nathaniel. Why is Nathaniel trying to obtain a gun? Is it just for protection, due to his angst, or is something else going on? Do you think this will get him in trouble with Joseph who is keen on watching him? In respects to the larger plot, what does Nathaniel’s end of the story have to do with any of the other events going on? Are there any other dramas or characters you thought were intriguing?

snuffysam

i think emma v dawn is definitely something relationship related

not sure as to what though

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'll ship Emma and Dawn.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe emma was supposed to marry logan but then she noped out of there. and dawn knows and is like "how dare"

snuffysam

that's not entirely implausible, math. one dumped the other at some point, and there's been bad blood ever since

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I feel like it's more of a professional issue than a personal one. Based on their professions.

Snuffy: True 'nuff!

snuffysam

what could the professional issue be, then? because in a small town, dawn's probably had to yell at everybody at least once

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its nothing relationships wise and the two are just rivals. like dawn always feels like emma is one-upping her

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I figure maybe the counsellor gave bad advice to a kid, who maybe then had a run-in with the law or something.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but only dawn feels this and emma is like "wait what"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Or maybe it was just a very bad "take your kid to work" day.

Dawn seems reasonably laid back though.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe dawn just doesnt like other women in general usually

snuffysam

like she's just always catty? i guess we haven't seen her around that many other woman.

she seems friendly enough with luca though

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

it could be more...defensive shyness? like make dawn was bullied in school by other girls and thus takes a while to open up

alternatively, emma was the bully

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe Emma was arrested once.

Also, yeah, I have no idea where that gun angle is going. Nowhere good, I presume.

Given the attitude of the guy with the bullets.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

im just curious how this is gonna tie into fink. unless they decide nathaniel will be their tapestry expert for some reason.

or maybe nathaniel is after that alien creature thing we see haunting fink

and thats why he wants a gun

snuffysam

i think he'll reveal the tapestries to fink, but i don't know how or why

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe he has a bird interest too.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its just a casual thing that gets brought up. like logan and fink will catch nathaniel getting the gun and have him in the car. and hell just offhandedly mention something about the tapestries

snuffysam

maybe he has a bird "interest" and that's what the gun is for

but yeah i think rebel's right

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Perhaps

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and then theyll get joseph yazzie involved and itll be ultimate cop trio

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Meanwhile the ladies solve everything back at the station.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

on a different note, i cant wait till fink is boiling in the az sun

snuffysam

ooh yeah, he hasn't seen the sun up yet

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

not to mention his suit is dark colored so its gonna absorb more heat.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea looknig forward to all that sun

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

and then all the cops are gonna snicker at his unpreparedness

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

ye

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

He never seems to get the breaks to go his way.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

pretty much.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

on another different note, i like that fink just accepted the dog into his life

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm a cat person sooooooo.... sure. ^.^

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

lol

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

im also a cat person. but i can appreciate someone getting a pet after being followed, shrugging, and going i guess this my life now

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I get the feeling Fink has to do that a lot.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

One other thing I want to mention before we wrap, that "favourite panel" contest I saw partway through. I thought that was really clever, I don't think I've seen that anywhere before.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Before time's up, If you see this, Jay, keep it up, this comic is a really great read and I love every bit of it.

snuffysam

yeah the contest was cool

as was the rest of the comic. keep it up, agent!

Agent Jay (The Pale)

ty ty

glad you guys enjoyed it

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

My pleasure

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ah, you're still here. Yes, very well done.

Agent Jay (The Pale)

i've been working on some touch ups to ch4 ... and reading in here.

very fun

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

In a final twist at the end... we learn that this was all about "The Pal, E".

snuffysam

maybe the real pale was all of us

Agent Jay (The Pale)

hahaha

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lul

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Knife throwing can spark many emotions.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yus

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well i am really pale so it works O_O

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares, as well, for making The Pale and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Jay Fabares & Sanders Fabares’ efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Obelisk by Ashley McCammon. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on June 14th from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: http://www.obeliskcomic.com/