#and thus adding to the inspirations comics were drawing from

[mzminola]

#and Dick has a rep for being the happy one because he's the one from the Adam West show #tim drake #barbara gordon #that one line from the Kevin Smith penned comic about Robin doing Batman's wetwork is weird #but it was also true very specifically of his dynamic with Tim #there's a bunch of 90s Batman stories where Tim's role as Robin is to do Bruce's preliminary info gathering #and he mostly does so via old school hacking #this starts back in his training period it was A Thing [tags via soleminisanction]

“Oh yeah, Babs and Tim are the computer geniuses,” any one of the other Batkids say as they hack into the Pentagon for the third time that week.

“Oh yeah, Dick’s the nice, happy one,” one of the other Batkids say while Nightwing walks off whistling from where he left fourteen assassins unconscious and bleeding in an alley.

[ck-17088]

Similarities between Transformers One and the Aligned Continuity (aka Transformers: Prime) 

Watching the trailers and reading the interviews made me realize that there are many similarities between TF One and the Aligned Continuity. As a reminder (or for those who don't know)- the Aligned Continuity consisted of the War for Cybertron games, Transformers: Prime, Robots in Disguise, Rescue Bots, etc.

Transformers: Prime got me into the fandom, so it's interesting to see a multi-million-dollar movie use elements from the continuity it is a part of.

Here is a list of similarities I have found so far. 

Note: I'll also be mentioning IDW1 briefly since the Aligned continuity and IDW1 comics have similar concepts and have constantly exchanged ideas with each other.

Megatron's name: D-16

In TF One, D-16 will become Megatron. D-16 is a name directly taken from the Aligned Continuity and has been solely associated with it until now. Even though Prime Megatron and IDW1 Megatron have very similar backstories—both being miners and then revolutionaries—only Aligned Megatron was also known as D-16.

Caste system/Social Inequality (hinted)

In both the Aligned and IDW1 continuities, pre-war Cybertronian society had a rigid caste system where one's role in society, thus their life, was determined by their alternate mode (Functionism in IDW1). In Aligned, Orion Pax's desire to learn more about this system, specifically the corruption and inequality it created, leads him to find Megatron (as described in Exodus and TF: Prime). The two become friends who desire change for their society. The interviews with Josh Cooley (the director) hint that something similar exists on Cybertron and is the main cause of their fallout.

 

The thing that starts the wedge between him [D-16] and Orion Pax is that the world is not what they thought it was, and they then start to form two different views on how to solve the problem.

 (Entertainment, Comic-Con 2024 Issue) 

In addition, someone on Twitter -who saw an early screening-said that the movie was "very in-line with IDW's ideas for how the war started," so it's safe to say it draws heavily from Aligned/IDW.  

Extra note: Another interview with Cooley revealed that in an early version of the film, Megatron was supposed to be a gladiator. He and Orion Pax were also supposed to have "very different backgrounds" - which sounds very similar to the data clerk and gladiator origins of the Aligned continuity.  

 Unfortunately, the limited runtime meant Cooley had to limit how much of the characters' origins to show on screen, including changing part of Megatron's accepted story. "If we had all the time in the world, it would've been fun to show Megatron as a gladiator and have the two characters come from very different backgrounds," Cooley added. "We actually had a gladiator scene that alluded to this origin that was cut out." Instead, Orion and D-16 are reimagined as bunkmates working as miners to bring Energon back to the planet after a years-long drought.

(IndieWire)

Cooley also mentioned being given a "bible" of the franchise's entire lore, which reminds me of the Binder of Revelation Hasbro made, or the source material for the Aligned Continuity...

The 13 Primes 

The 13 Primes will appear in the movie (you can spot them in both trailers). The idea of the 13 Primes isn't new, but this particular group version is heavily inspired by the Aligned Continuity. In Aligned, Alpha Trion is canonically one of the 13 Primes (aka the Covenant Primes, who also include Prima, Solus, and Megatronus). He wasn't considered a Prime in other stories before TF: Prime. The Covenant Primes also appear in Cyberverse and Earthspark, and TF One continues the trend. 

Below (in order):

Onyx Prime design from the Covenant of Primus

A mysterious statue (being?) from the trailer that looks very much like the Aligned Onyx Prime

Mysterious beings (Primes?) behind Optimus

Airachnid

 The design for Airachnid in TF One is very similar to the design in TF: Prime. Both have the "arms" on their backs and similar head shapes.

Vehicons 

Some Cybertronians look like the Vehicons. Looks like we're getting multiple Steves…. 

Extra: Brian Tyler 

Not directly related to the story, but the composer for Transformers: Prime (aka the genius who made the ionic Prime theme) is back and composing the music for the movie. If I hear the Prime theme in the movie theater, I might start screaming. 😂

I think it's so cool to see how much influence one continuity can have on the franchise, so much so that its elements are used in a movie that'll soon be seen by millions of people and future generations.

[elbdot]

I love your Pokemon comics so much! I've reread them a ton of times, EAA has become such a comfort read. I just adore how you make Alola feel so alive, and the characters all feel so much more complex and interesting. Out of curiosity, were there other comics (Pokemon or otherwise) that inspired you? And are there other Pokemon fan comics you like or would recommend?

AWWWW Thank you so much!! 🥹🥰 Actually, I wasn't really inspired by any other Pokemon comics at the time I began making my first short comics. Despite Pokemon having one of THE most MASSIVE fandoms on the internet, it's honestly surprising how little ongoing fancomics there are. I've seen many artists starting Nuzlocke comics but I only know of ONE artist who ever finished drawing one (And I'm ebarrassed to say I didn't fully read it yet and don't know the name of it anymore, it's been so long 😂)

I think if there was any comic inspiration at the time in 2016, it must have been the webcomic Avas Demon. Not in terms of STORY or genre, but in terms of how the story was told in a 16:9 format like a storyboard or color test for an animated movie. I took a lot of inspiration from that in the way I boarded the comic and wanted to make it feel like a movie sequence, making more individual panels with varying expressions. But that ALSO ABSOLUTELY blew my work-load on each comic out of proportion, thus resulting in VERY irregular updates due to how detailed my backgrounds and shading became plus A LOT of additional poses like here for example:

I'm proud of what I created back then, but after the most recent Arc I have decided to step BACK from this approach and have now heavily simplified my shading and am experimenting with reusing backgrounds and using new panel sizes and formats 😂 You'll see what I mean in the upcoming update this week. Surprisingly enough, I don't think the quality of art has dropped because of these changes! Also my love for adding additional expressions between panels has remained, they're just my favorite thing to do to bring life to the comic!

[sugar-and-pearls]

Coraline Story

Hello! Happy Halloween!! In celebrations of this most spooky and hallowed of days I decided to give you Dearie-Ohs another preview on one of my stories.

Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in the poll. I still find it fascinating to see which of my stories people were more interested in hearing about. If you wish, please send a message about which one you picked and why, I would love to see them!

After Howl's Moving Castle, Coraline shared second place with Spirited Away so those two are the next to get a preview for. With that out of the way, lets get to the beating heart of story.

Like with my Howl's moving Castle story, this is going to take the main structure and story from the movie while adding things from the book. Out of all my WIPS (both on the poll and the ones I didn't include) this has got to be my most put together story so far, as I've already gotten to the stage where I'm writing actual chapters for it (the first chapter is near finished. Hopefully I can post it soon.)

I first started this story about, two-ish years ago. Back then I had planned to write the story within six weeks and post it in the beginning of spring. Course then I got burned out and couldn't write for a year so now I'm just taking it slow and doing a near rewrite. I did managed to post the first chapter of the original write so if anyone is interested in reading that, you should be able to if you search in the "Hedone writes" tag.

Now, on to the story

After in anonymous tip is sent in to the BPRD Merope volunteers to investigate a place called the Pink Palace, having previous history and old ghosts hidden in its walls. Unaware of its new occupants - in particular, of the new child living there. Merope is sucked into the story of Coraline,though not alone as she is accompanied by Klarion the Witch Boy.

Thus getting involved in the with the main story. I have a few scenes already planned out. My favourites so far has been:

Merope and Klarion going to the local minor fae court to investigate. For this scene I'm drawing most of my inspiration from Holly BI'm also using this as a way to explore Merope's past before she joined the Addams.lack's fae writing - mainly from her book The Darkest Part Of The Forest.

In the original book there is a scene where Coraline has a picnic with the Ghost children after freeing them. It was somewhat cut in the movie so I decided to add that in here with a few small changes.

Merope going through the door and saving the Other Wybie. This last scene I think is what actually inspired me to write this story. I remember watching this movie and wishing

It's a scary scene that has me on the edge of my seat while writing it.

I also want to use this as a way to explore Merope's past before she joined the Addams.

Like I said above, I have changed somethings since my original draft. To start, I plan on showing off my more world building/ crossover skills in this story. To make a list of fandoms I've added to this fic we have;

DC

Hellboy comics

Sandman

Ancient Magus Bride

There are more but these are the main ones so far. I plan on Morpheus being a somewhat minor character and Klarion to be a main supporting character in this.

In this story I plan on Morpheus being the love interest here.

This is one of my more horror based stories. Coraline was one of the first things that really scared me in my childhood and I wanted to bring that fear with me in this story. As such I plan on it being just as dark as it was in the book.

With all that said, if anyone has any questions or just wants to talk about this story please just ask as my letter box is always open.

With that in mind, have a lovely day or night my Dearie-Ohs

[arcxnumvitae]

Who/What inspired my muses

I can’t believe I’m doing this oh it’s going to suck so much

Part 1 because it got long because I’m wordy

Veritas: In high school I was friends with two “the art kids”. I, meanwhile, was the bookworm/writer. We all thought it’d be fun to make a comic, them drawing and me writing the dialogue, so we all said we’d come up with characters from it. Mine ended up being an elf who wore long swishy skirts and fought with dual blades and one of them drew out the design for me. The comic, haha, never got far but when I got interested in doing Tumblr rp I looked at that initial oc idea and reworked it into Veritas. The only real remnants of that origin is, well, elf. And her two swords. But I mean, my interest in fleshing out my brand of elves led to what is what I actually consider a big part of my blog-- my elves. So a lot stemmed from that initial, silly and fun idea between three kids. I’m actually still best friends with one of those girls to this day!

Vendere: My second attempt at making a less morally pure muse after my real second-but-now-removed muse Tamashi ended up nice despite my wishes. I can’t say much of the thought process behind Ven other than his name being a continuation of a Latin theme I had started with Veritas and decided to keep going, which you will continue to see later on too. The only thing I can remember is choosing his name because it was the Latin verb for “to sell”, because info broker, and because I went, “Haha and I can call him V.en like in K.ingdom H.earts.” A lot of big brain ideas going on back when I was sixteen, of which I can’t even make jokes because I’ve done it again with muses fairly recently. In retrospect it makes no sense why his Italian parents would name him that but thus is my 16-year-old-idea oc burden to bear.

Jianhuren: My first muse who I added with the intent to have a bit of a storyline going! I also! Can’t remember why I got the idea for a form shifting person who  was an amnesiac. I’m fairly certain it was an idea that came straight out of my head. At the time, I hadn’t even intended to make a species of dragons, the Red Eyes from them. So it’s kind of why they may seem a bit different in feel or canon or themes or whatever from the other Red Eyes. We were winging it, baby!!

Somnio: Oh my gosh I can’t say I’ll do this and keep saying I don’t remember for these muses! I’m sorrrryyyy these were like a good six or so years ago! I think inspiration. I think maybe the feeling of days and friends gone/soon to be gone from Summertime Record inspired him regarding his feelings towards his dead friend? At the very least, I was listening to that song a lot when I added him and I was definitely thinking of him when I did it. The “Sayonara” part always really stuck out to me.

Amara: Me: What if I did a phoenix. Me: Oh, I see phoenixes in this sense have been pointed at from coming from either or both Greek and Egyptian myth let’s make both of those his background as a fun little easter egg. Me: what if I made a muse so tragic--

Qingshan: Here we see Red Eye lore starting to take more shape! Originally I had just said that Jianhuren was attacked by a monster or something, but I then had a thought of what if it were a betrayal and the monster story is just what was told? A lot of Qingshan’s vibes and the idea to do an evil or “bad” muse came from listening to Sacrifice from Rwby! Since I had just recently gotten into it. And I mean, the music rocks. Wait.....the lyrics never quite fit Qingshan at the time but now I’m realizing they fit Zhaohui well.... hm.

Ren: More desire to expand upon my elf lore that I had started with Veritas. And a desire to touch more on the trafficking issue that elves face. Then I just thought it’d be cool to give a muse the powerset of basically the Avatar-- with setbacks.

Kareena: You know me, I’m always going to look at a predominantly white-assumed category and go, “how can I make this more Brown(tm)? Elves are always so stereotypically white in the media I saw, and I’ve always had a desire to see myself represented in fantasy genres I love so much. Veritas was actually supposed to be brown, but she was my first oc and I couldn’t find a fc that fit what I imagined for her and had brown skin, I just changed it to match her fc. Now, I clearly don’t care, haha. Anyways, Kareena was me wanting to make a brown elf, and also a differently abled one too, and I settled on her being blind. I thought it’d be an interesting study since elves have heightened and stronger senses, and here was someone who was born without one. I will say, she wasn’t perfect representation at the time, since I unknowingly fell into a bad trap of “blind person uses super senses to get around anyways with no issue”, which is something I learned later that a lot of blind people don’t like to see in media about visually impaired people! The importance of doing research beforehand, kids. Especially if you’re writing of a culture, lifestyle, or experience you haven’t lived.

William/Thanatos: .......................ok.........I don’t...........remember, sorry. To explain a little, “Thanatos” actually existed on my blog as a man named William O’Connor! A man who had died but still lived on by some raw accidental deal made by his mom to some sort of death-like entity. I only remember that I was thinking on him back when I was in another state visiting by undergrad for like the first time? And Gen Con was going on and I had like just stuck my toe into C.ritical R.ole, but I don’t know if any of that actually influenced William. Anyways, I had no intention to actually ever state or clarify what “Death” was as I intended for It to just be some sort of amalgamation of different interpretations of Death. But later on I thought it’d open up for some more interesting opportunities if I put a name to the thing and had it able to interact and do a little more. Maybe a bit before Dawn came around, for reasons?

Lucia: I had mentioned in Ren’s backstory that he ran with a group of elves when he was a kid on the streets and I’d already established another, Aeon (who’s now a side muse) so I thought it’d be fun to pick out who their de facto leader was. And I thought it’d be funny if she seemed like the least intimidating-looking person ever, but absolutely was the leader of them all for good reason. I then picked up my “angsty backstory” hammer, and I then gave her a prompt solid whack with it.

Alexa: “Okay, so I touched on the elf trafficking, but what if I did what happened when one was successfully trafficked?” Et voila. 

Val: ‘Kristen, you just added Alexa, and sure you established she has a partner but you don’t need to full on add him as a muse-- oh no how did he get on my muse page.’ Alexa and Val are also meant to be foils in the way they deal with their servitude, with Alexa having given in and Val still being rebellious. Plus, I just love non-romantic soulmates. Mwah.

Imani: “I want a Black muse. An unambiguously Black muse. Make her an elf too while I’m at it.” I love sibling dynamics and I’m a sucker and wimp for older sibling dynamic stories too so that also came into play with her and her younger brother.

My gosh this is long, I’m doing a part 2 or something

[greypetrel]

7, 23, and 29 for the writer asks?

Hi there!

Thanks for asking, these are very interesting! èwé

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

Right now? Writing for the sake of it. As per the last ask, I'm going to prose again after years of believing I sucked ad prose. Writing and posting it... It's great and it's happy and each single comment makes me so happy.

Also, the immediacy of it. Comics are LONG and difficult to correct. I love them and they're my favourite expression for but... Being able to correct a passage with two clicks, without doing collages or redoing something difficult... *elated sigh*

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

I'm at my desk with my laptop, it's a little dark wood dest in the corner of a room. Behind the screens there are 5 penholders full of various writing and drawing tools. Pencils crayons, coloured pens, brushes, markers, uni poscas. Also some knick-knacks: I don't really believe in crystals, but I like shiny coloured things. Under my desk lamp I have a pink agatha, it's oval and very smooth and I like to touch it, a labradorite with some lovely gold speckles, a small lapislazuli stone I bought from an Afghan stand in a fair in town which has the most wonderful, deep blue EVER. On the backwall are hanging poscards of Maigritte's paintings, from an exhibition I saw in high school and that I LOVED. Also a printed page of my comic The Last Bacchae that I made with one of my best friends and I like to see. Above, two bookshelves: on one there are my finished sketchbooks, some funko pops and Star Wars figurine (an Anakin watching over me, I'm particularly attached to his character), my glass case with my glass and some products to keep them clean, and a small box with the jewelry I use. On my left there's my bed, a carpet and the door. It's closed, so there's a big Freddie Mercury watching over me (I have one Freddie Mercury in every space I'm in). On my right, the window. It's night right now, I have blinders shut but some light from the outside courtyard filters through. Below the window, a small table with a stereo and way too many books. There's pile number 2 and 3 of books to read (mainly non-fiction), a box with my inks and ecolines, a couple of candles I like to light from time to time, and the stash of papers I use for comics, and the completed pages I have to scan/ink. On my back, a bookcase full of too many books, old university notes, drawing materials. And an acustic guitar lying over it, I should really play more (but I like ukulele best)

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

Other books and movie I see, pictures I find on the internet, videos or things I see outside. I majored in English Literature, so I tend to be more analytical than other people when reading books or watching movies. I think of what I liked about what I read, what struck a nerve, or what I maybe would have done differently. Or a song that evokes a particular feeling or image in my head, that I thus fill and expand. For illustrations, it's usually other illustrations, styles I'd like to come closer too, or photo references on pinterest or here as well music. I rely a lot on music. I'll try to recreate a feeling or a scene. Often, I'll attach a story to it. And that's how my eighty AUs were created.

When the inspiration runs dry I learnt long ago not to force it too much. Beside the fact that originality is a myth (no big author is truely original, they ALL took inspiration from someone else. It's normal and it's inconscious.), I like to just... Open pinterest, look at pretty pictures and study. Doodle something, no pressure. Watch a movie. Have a walk. I'll see something that will strike my imagination and here we go again. For some it may be harder and I won't give advices, everyone works differently. I just use creativity as an emotive outlet, I express myself that way. The times I was seriously art blocked where in university when I was really, really, REALLY stressed (and panicking). Everyone works differently tho.

[suneiaaa]

2022 recap!

Hey so I want to reflect about 2022 cause it's been one hell of a year. I do this for myself, but perhaps someone else is curious. I also want to bring back writing blog posts. I hope you'll excuse me if that's difficult and ends up being just a wish though, cause nowadays it's very hard to drop the phone and stop watching silly videos. I hate how our attention span goes off the window just like that. Actually let me make that a New Year's resolution: stop with the silly videos, thank you. The only reason I don't feel guilty about it is because I know it's the way social media is designed that manipulates our attention span left and right lol

Anyways,

2022.

In summary, I finished artschool, found my first industry jobs, moved into a new flat with my partner.

That was a lot of changes in a short period of time and I feel like I'm still recovering from/processing it.

_

In January, I was working really hard on the last 8 pages of Crow of Stone for one of my projects. That was the steepest learning curve up to that moment. From having to change the plot 7 or 8 times, to thumbnailing and scribbling, to storyboards, to handling critique and applying it, to being hella stressed out because perfectionism & still being unable to guess correctly how much information 8 pages can hold. Doing Comics Is So Hard, it's so much harder than you think!!!

I also put myself in charge of putting together the InDesign document of the zine Crow of Stone was in and that was really stressful FUCK THAT!!!:) We sold our zine at Comic BCN a couple months later, that was also a nice experience.

--

Then I got a chance to catch my breath but not really because that project ending meant the start of the final project And I Did Not Know What To Do Yet

I focused on adding some more pages to Crow of Stone and make it to the deadline of the International Comic School Contest of Clip Studio 2022 that is very long to write so from now on it'll be 'CSP CONTEST'. That was very important to me! I had always wanted to participate. I couldn't make it during 3rd year (my classmate won though!!) and this year felt like my last chance. So I did that. I had already given up on the idea of making something new with the time I had so CoS would have to do! You can read it here.

We were also Kindly Asked to participate in another scolarship (?) contest and had to create several comic(al) strips as entry. That wasn't too bad even though it didn't go anywhere lol

------

A NY WAYS, there went my time for the final project lol

It must have been April by this point. At first I wanted to create a storybook with my OC Neia but I struggled to give the story a... story.

My brainstorming for a new idea started. And it was a bit desperate. What did I want to draw? Should it be a comic? What did I like to read? Should I make something according to my inspirations? Quick, what are my favorite genres? Tropes? And most importantly, what do I want to tell? Etc. 

Lots of little drawings ensued.

And I finally came up with something that I felt was 'me' enough, and cool enough, and worth exploring. Llamadas Perdidas (missed calls, or lost calls.). The plot is STILL very hard to explain so I will translate it literally below and make of that what you will...

----

May. So my final project was pitching this whole thing. Thus creating a portfolio with the premise, plot, synopsys and sample pages. Just like with CoS, storyboarding was hard, thinking was hard. Time was almost up when I decided to pour all my energy into 6 pages. I was even finishing up the cover just a few hours before my deadline. 

That moment was fun, actually. I showed my work to my professor full of self doubt and wondering if it would be enough. He looks at me like girl this is fantastic sdhsjdhsjdh 

I had barely slept that day. On the way to school I found some broken glasses in a puddle and wondered, who could have lost their glasses like that? Flash forward and I'm home and I had taken a quick nap. And I can't find my newest, goodest pair of glasses. Before paranoia got the best of me I went outside and looked for them on the street (yeah I couldn't believe it either). Halfway to my school I gave up and went back home... And I found them before that: someone had left my glasses, intact, on a windowsill. On my fucking street. I had dropped my fucking glasses on my way home. Hah. I'll admit I cried a little bit.

---

June. As an extraordinary school thing, we were visiting a publisher's installations that day. When we met up with my teacher, for some reason, he said to me something like 'Thank GOD you're here. If you hadn't come I would have killed you. Are you nervous?'

And I said 'No?'

And he replied 'You better be'

Which puzzled me for a bit, but haha... During our meeting with the publishers they actually said 'Later we want to talk to X and Sun' and OH MY GOD was I fucking shocked (laughs)

Yes, they told me they Wanted To Publish Llamadas Perdidas. They saw my pitch and thought it was very cool. So I'll let you imagine the look on my face. Finishing school and already landed my first gig and as an author, no less. Man.

I spent several days being in a weird high and processing and I'll admit I haven't processed it yet. And thus I finished 4 years of art school.

---

I've written so much so from now on it'll be an actual summary.

Dealing with my first contract, panicking a little bit... On July I also received this good news: Crow of Stone had been awarded a runner-up prize in the Manga category of the CSP contest!

This was really great!! I fucking loved reading the critique and checking the other entries and I felt very proud...!

Also!!! They contacted me from ANOTHER publisher to work on another comic project. Since comics aren't well paid I took the job too :^) Freelancing in Spain is also hella expensive like you wouldn't believe soo... No, but it's also a good project and I'm glad I'm working on it as well! Can't talk about it yet.

MEANWHILE my partner and I were LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO MOVE IN TOGETHER!! Barcelona is so fucking expensive and it was straight out impossible to find anything decent. Even in the suburbs. So it sucked for a while... but eventually we decided to live in the small town we live in now. And we could find something pretty quickly :') And we moved in in August!!! WAHOO big lifegoal achieved :')

---

Fall. I've become a freelancer (oh god finances are such a headache...) and have been working on my 2 comic projects mostly. It took a while to adapt to like working everyday but I'm proud at how hard I've been working. Llamadas Perdidas is definitely the most difficult because I want to get it right/so many demons to fight and so much to learn. I'm also happy about the commissions I've been taking and love the style I developed. In December my art school and Clip Studio invited me to have a small panel at Manga BCN where I talked about Crow of Stone. I was honored & happy, especially since I met with my professor (the same I mentioned before) and he was very happy to see me and encouraged me a lot!

----------

That's about the major events that happened. My reflections? This year has been the steepest learning curve by far and also my most successful. I hope I can grow as an author and artist and keep flourishing. Also I literally just want to pay my bills with my work lol so there's my hopes and dreams. I haven't had much time to draw for myself, planning and drawing comics is super time consuming. But I didn't want to force myself too much and properly adapt to my new life (deadlines deadlines...deadliens...dead aliens...)

Videogame wise? I played Earthbound. It was the greatest thing I'd played in the longest time. Definitely a highlight. Triangle Strategy was cool too, but I hate Roland with all my heart. Xenoblade 3 was a good game but a disappointment story-wise. I had genuine fun being hyped for it, and playing too, though. So as we say in Spanish 'you can't take away the time in which I've been dancing'. Endwalker was fine though I like Shadowbringers a bit more x) OST wise this year was super fantastic. There were more games but I forgor. Oh yeah, Paper Mario was being great but it broke on me :( Also I became addicted to Eve and blame myself for not discovering him before. It's my fucking jam I admire him a lot.

To wrap up.

Wish me luck, I'll be working on comics all year, head full, want to maybe try streaming with the mic on,aaaaahhh thank you all for supporting me ESPECIALLY those who have been there for YEARS those who have commissioned me and just. Thank you! Happy New Year 2023, manifesting good mental health for all of us.

[jihanesroom]

Digipack: CD - Second Draft

My first digipack paid homage to Raymond Pettibons comic-esque, monochromatic album covers. However, my attempts to replicate this style through the consolidation of poor line quality with a semi competent art style was incongruent, and resulted in the piece looking confused. I realised my attempts to reach a middle ground to make my art appear intentionally bad was not working, and thus needed to lean towards either end of the binary opposites of messy and clean. As such, I decided re-work my approach, and lean more towards the messy, more explicitly juvenile art direction.

Inspirations

★ Crest (Bladee, Ecco2k, 2022)

★ Beatopia (Beabadoobee, 2022)

★ Exeter (Bladee, 2020)

I then looked towards the artists from my original inspirational mood board. I recognised a trend in medium, using non-ink mediums that would often be seen in a kids classroom, such as both regular and coloured pencil, wax crayon and pastel. In addition to this, the use of wide, highly saturated colour palettes enables a childlike, jovial quality, a quality that is subverted by the pop-punk music the album represents.

In addition to this, the use of seemingly random, unrelated, and near surreal images as opposed to representing the artist is a very anti-commercial stance, one my original digipack did not adhere to as the sheer depiction of a band member has the most minor of implications of the band being identity driven, and by proxy utilising the self as a 'product', which goes against the punk mentality. As such, though in a wildly different direction to my original ideas, I decided to apply these qualities to my album artwork.

Criterion

★ Traditional, non ink mediums

★ Saturated colour palette

★ Random imagery (not including band members or logos)

Final Artwork

Front · Back

Following the above criterion, I produced these two artworks.

Though I wanted the imagery to appear random, the choices for each individual subject were strategic and were chosen in service to the punk mentality. The use of intertextual references, specifically Jim Davis' Garfield and Sanrio's Pompompurin, both child friendly IPs, in my artwork is not only characteristic of the punk 'cut and paste' culture, but also subverts their clean personas through inclusion on such a provocative album. I wanted to push being intentionally provocative through a bastardised depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, an image that may offend, but may be just as likely to service humour to others.

To add to the randomness, I utilised a bricolage of styles, drawing inspiration from 90s anime, comic strip absurdity, kids drawing and amateur art. I did however stray from my criterion, using a variety of mediums including pen ink and marker though I do feel the veering was beneficial to my overall piece, servicing the other criterion of saturated colours, which non ink based mediums fail to provide.

My choice to only use free, online fonts or simply handwriting also relates to the punk movement through being anti consumerist, refusing to subscribe to use premium fonts. As the piece was so messy and cluttered, I decided to use clean, sans serif fonts such as Public Sans and Futura. The choice to feature the album and band name on the back was strategic as after all, the album is still a product that requires selling. I did however want it to feel more personal and as such, hand wrote the band and album name. FInally, to make the album art feel like an actual product, I added a serial number, barcode and copyright.

Overall, I'm very happy with the outcome of these works, as I feel they effectively represent the band's brand image as well as the punk movement in both aesthetic and creation.

CD

For my previous digipack, I made a very simple CD design which only contained the album and band name in a scribbly font. Though the simplicity adhered to the anti establishment mentality, I wanted to make a new CD design to follow the new direction of my digipack. As such, I looked again towards my key inspiration of Beatopia, who's CD featured a scribbly butterfly. This reminded me and possibly drew inspiration from Britney Spears' '...Baby One More Time' CD, which consisted of a hand drawn flower.

With these inspirations in mind, I created this rather simple design of a cherub and scribble. I wanted the CD design to be comparatively simplistic to my album art as to contrast to its cluttered and random nature. As the details on the CD would be seen bigger than that of the album artwork, I used thicker lines with more bold mediums such as oil pastels. To also add texture to further juxtapose the alb um artwork, I crumpled the paper before scanning, servicing the handmade look.

To make the CD appear as a more coherent product, I included the compact disc logo as well as utilising free clipart to make a faux record label logo. I then used the same serial number and copyright that featured on the album art.

Consolidating ideas

I consolidated my ideas on this template, which enabled me to not only view how all aspects of my CD artwork interplayed with one another, but also map out a potential spine and inside insert design.

For the inside insert, I featured a polaroid from my film. However, my reasoning and choice of polaroid differ from that of my 1st digipack draft. This time, I decided on using a photograph that featured a couple of Vice's band members working on making the film. The subject of them actually creating the work, as well as the obscuring of their faces through either objects or life, undermines any connotations of 'selling out' through identity focus.

For the spine, I wanted something sleek and simple and thus decided on only including the album and band name around the middle of the spine. The simplicity paired with an intentionally poor font choice serviced the CD being identifiable, an aspect imperative to the punk mindset, being non conformist.

Final CD Digipack

Utilising a free .psd mockup set, I was able to see a proper visualisation of what the CD would look like in real life. Overall, I am very pleased with this CD design, as i feel all the designs are perfectly balanced with colour, type and negative space. Throughout the entirety of the creative and tangible creating process, I adhered to the punk axioms of anti-establishment, anti-communist, non-conformity and DIY ethic, which by proxy, makes my album approachable to my target audience of young, likeminded punks.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "What If...T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" from Marvel Studios' What If...

Salutations, random people on the internet who already scrolled past this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

You know, a lot of people lost so much when Chadwick Boseman died. His family has lost a husband and a father, his fans lost an inspiration, and to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we lost both a hero and a king. His performance as T'Challa/Black Panther is by far the best the character has ever had, nailing the essence of the character while delivering so much more. So with the second episode of Marvel Studios' What If... one has to ask: Was Chadwick Boseman's final performance his best, or did the series failed to honor his legacy? Only spoilers can answer that question, so be wary as we analyze the second entry into Marvel's most ambitious series.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

T’Challa himself: I enjoy that because his story has changed, so did T'Challa's personality. There's this sly cockiness that we've never seen from the character before, showing how much influence Yondu and his Ravagers had on him. And it's actually pretty fun seeing a character who was so calm and collected now act so...not that. With that said, just T'Challa is now Star-Lord, that doesn't mean he's a copy of Peter Quill.

The major differences lie in the impact that T'Challa left on the galaxy. Instead of stealing for himself, he chose to steal for planets in need as his own version of Robin Hood. And that, in turn, is a way more intriguing and compelling character to me than Peter Quill ever could be. There's just something about the nobleness of choosing to be a heroic outlaw instead of being strictly an outlaw. It proves that despite having his history altered drastically, there is no erasing that perfect and intelligent King that we all know and dearly miss. It sucks that we'll probably never see him again, but at least the last time we did it was to leave one epic impression for the fans.

Korath is T’Challa’s #1 Fan: Not what I would have expected, primarily since the character never acted so goofy, but I appreciate this change nonetheless. Because it's oddly wholesome seeing how much Korath admires T'Challa, to the point where he honestly believes that they're best friends. Also, it's funny. Like, really funny. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this version of Korath is the funniest character in this episode. He's just too good.

It’s All Funny: Hey, we're on the Guardians of the Galaxy side of the universe. I'd personally be offended if it didn't have a sense of humor.

Yondu: Yondu seems to be the only one who hasn't changed that much through T'Challa's presence. Sure, he went straight because of it, but personality-wise, he's still the same. He still gives off the energy as this king of the idiots when dealing with his Ravagers, and you how he's this thief with a heart of gold. It's just that only T'Challa brought it out more than Peter did. Other than that, I personally don't mind that not much has changed. Yondu was already a fun character, to begin with, so I'm more than alright seeing him unaltered if it means we get to witness more of him.

The Galaxy is Better Because of T’Challa’s Influence: No, really, it is. Drax still has his family, Thanos renounced his genocidal ways, and Nebula not only remained in one piece but even has hair...somehow. It's impressive to see just how better everything turned out, and, in a way, it's also kind of funny when you think about it. Like, I wouldn't go so far as to say that the universe was in shambles because of Peter's existence...but it wasn't really better either, and I can't help my chuckles when witnessing how better off things were because he stayed on Earth.

Thanos: Not much to say here. It's fun seeing how chilled out Thanos is when he's not hellbent on wiping out half the universe. And I definitely chuckled a couple times when people called him out on his genocidal bulls**t. It's pretty enjoyable and made me glad we got to see his very surprising return.

Nebula: But this shocked me more. Korath becoming a T'Challa stan? Sure. Thanos acting as a respectful ally? Whatever. But Nebula becoming T'Challa's sexy thieve-in-arms girlfriend?! I don't think anybody in their right mind would have predicted that!

But putting aside the shock, this version of Nebula was surprisingly entertaining. It's nice seeing what she would've acted like without the tragedy as she acts like she's free as a bird but still a little devious. Although, despite having a much better life, that doesn't mean there isn't animosity between her and Thanos. He may not have torn Nebula apart as much as he did in the universe we know, but take notice of how she still has cybernetics in her left eye. That shows that T'Challa didn't get to fix everything, and I appreciate that the writers hadn't glossed over how much of a bad father the Mad Titan is, just because he's all sunshine and rainbows now. It allows a chance for Thanos to prove he really did change and gives Nebula an arc to forgive him. And while the pacing for that could have been better, it's still somewhat believable for me to get behind it. Thus surprising me even more with how not only did Nebula make a phenomenal appearance, but one that left quite the impact on the story.

The Collector: It's not just better heroes that T'Challa created. The Collector, for example, somehow became a genuine threat in this timeline instead of that pathetic dweeb in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War. This again amazes me with how T'Challa miraculously created a buff-supervillain in his universe, where Peter did jack all. Maybe the galaxy really would have been better off without him...

Howard the Duck: This is the best way to utilize Howard the Duck if you ask me. He's a character that doesn't really scream "leading character" to me (unless given the correct type of writers), so it's better to let him stick to brief cameos and occasional supporting roles. It allows a goofy type of character to shine without causing audiences to roll their eyes over the idea of a talking duck saving the day.

Wakanda Theme Playing when T’Challa Found the Ship: It's just a cool callback. That's all.

Yondu Lying About Wakanda’s Destruction: A pretty solid reveal that shows how even though Yondu loves the kids he steals, he doesn't have the best intentions. What more can I add?

The Collector’s Wall of Weapons: The callbacks are nice, but I like implications from seeing Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer on that wall. It could mean that while the universe is a better place from T'Challa's influence, not everybody made it out alright.

Yondu’s Speech to T’Challa: I'm sure these beautiful and sentimental words have some implications toward Chadwick Boseman as an actor, but I was too busy being emotional to notice them. Well done.

What Happened to Peter Quill: Ok...I think we can just stop beating Peter down for dooming half the universe. Because how much lower can you get when finding out that this other guy practically saved everything with very little effort, only for you to end up as a worker at Dairy Queen? I'd honestly feel bad if I kept doing it at this point. The poor bastard…

(Sidenote: Love the implications that the world is still in danger because Ego still gets to Peter. It shows that despite the more interesting changes, not everything turns out all hunky-dory.)

The Tribute to Chadwick Boseman: A well-appreciated sentiment to cap off a perfect episode...or what would've been a perfect episode. 'Cause ya boy's got some nitpicks!

WHAT I DISLIKED

T’Challa Being Called Star-Lord: A small thing, but the reason why Peter called himself Star-Lord was because it was a nickname his mom called him. What's even the reasoning here? Because it makes no sense when you sit down and think.

The Black Order are still Boring: Out of all the improvements we've seen, it is still disappointing that these four remain as nothing more than cannon fodder for our heroes to go through before fighting the main boss. And pathetic. Immensely pathetic. I mean, for f**ks sake, THE MAW GOT KILLED BY THE PINK GIRL FROM GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY! Psychic powers and he still goes out like a b**ch!

Thanos Got Nerfed: The guy nearly killed the Avengers, with and without Infinity Stones, yet he can barely hold his own against these people who worked for him. C'MON NOW!

IN CONCLUSION

But those were just nitpicks. Despite them, I'd still consider this episode a solid A with 9.5/10. It was fun getting to see the changes T'Challa made to the galaxy, added with some pretty entertaining moments with other iconic characters. You couldn't have asked for a better final performance from Chadwick Boseman, and here's hoping that wherever he is, he knows that he shined brighter than any star in the galaxy.

[lutiaskokopelli]

Hi everyone ! I just wanted to give some news, and reassure you in case you were possibly worried not to hear from me for a while (I mean, I'm rather active on the Discord server, but not all of you would know that).

For the short version, the good news is that I'm fine and nothing has happened, but the bad news is that TFS might be on break for a bit. I'm not gonna call this a hiatus though, it shouldn't take that long and it has nothing to do with me losing motivation or inspiration, far from it.

For the long version, what I've been doing lately and what I will keep doing is something that I've been meaning to do for a VERY long time: that is to say, bring some actual closure to my two previous long-lasting fan-stories (my Gravity Falls comic, Pythagorean Thoughts, and my Undertale fanfic, Learn When to Quit), and once that is done and/or while it's being done, finally give TFS its remastered version. I hope the remastered version won't diverge more than it needs to be and the overall plot won't change at all, but I'll most definitely add a few details / mini inconsequential scenes whose purpose would be to better show how some things work -- notably Player's inventory, whose mechanisms are in fact quite simple, but haven't so far been explained clearly enough in my taste.

Regarding my two previous stories, I was sadly unable to complete them because of how hard they were to draw/write, and how my motivation / mental and physical health weren’t enough to let me keep working on them. It doesn't help that I was in a heavily depressed period during the past five years, the period when I was drawing/writing these stories... As much as I love them and wish I could complete them, the fact that working on them unavoidably reminded me of how depressed and lost I felt back then... that didn't help.

Still. The readers of these stories, and the stories themselves for the sake of their own plot, deserve a decent closure. And so I started for the past few days to put all of my story notes in order in a Google Drive folder, and started redacting a detailed summary of what was left of the plot for both stories, including additional trivia, backstory details, the like -- pretty much everything I judge the readers should be allowed to know.

I'm kinda stuck in a pseudo-depressed nostalgia trip because of the reasons I mentioned, but I'll be okay. I'm proud of what has been done so far, and I know that once it'll be done, I'll be done with it forever and I'll finally be able to move on for real; I'll still answer the questions I receive if I ever get some, but the stories themselves will finally be put to rest, hopefully with a satisfying enough conclusion. It'll be a bittersweet conclusion... but a conclusion nonetheless, which is still better than keeping them stuck in limbo.

Anyway, I think what will happen in the near future will be rather simple: I'm currently working on the summary of Pythagorean Thoughts, then I'll move on to summarizing its backstory (which is probably necessary in order to fully understand the main plot in all its details); then I'll move on to Learn When to Quit and do basically the same. I may or may not add some extras, but I've already added and completed a good enough list for both stories, which means that the summaries are really all that's left. And, in the meantime, whenever I get tired of writing aboard the nostalgia train, I'll draw a bit for TFS's remastered version as a break -- hopefully I'll be able to post some updates during the whole process every now and then!

Anyway... I just wanted to let you know. I'll be fine, it's just that both Pythagorean Thoughts and Learn When to Quit were, on one hand, stories very dear to me, and thus I want the closure to be as satisfying as can be; and on the other hand, their plots were just as long and contrived as TFS's, if not far more. They were both meant to be extremely long stories, heavy with many plot elements all around, which almost makes TFS's Episode 2 sound like a walk in the park in comparison. Translation: Even writing a summary alone will probably take a while, and a lot of brain power.

Thanks for reading up till this point! I hope you won't mind the break while it lasts, but once it's over it will be over for good.

You all take care <3 I'm currently reliving by proxy some of the most depressing years of my life, and my mood is a bit gloomy as a result; but I know I won't fall back, because I now realize how far I've come.

If you too have been depressed, or are currently depressed... It's okay. Just try to hold on to that hope -- it will get better. It'll be hard; it'll take a lot of work; but once you'll have climbed out of your abyss and finally reach the light, you'll have learned so much about who you are, and who you want to be. Some things will still need to be patched up... but it'll be okay. Even mistakes and failures will be lessons and advice for you to learn, and will further help you know yourself. There's no regrets to be had; no matter the hardships, you'll know how to make it work and finally be happy.

That conclusion is sappy, I know... but I hope that if someone who needs to read these words gets to read them, it'll give them the strength and courage to push through. It will be worth it in the end, I promise.

[riisinaakka-draws]

part 2/6

2nd part of my old Black Sails scraps and doodles from 2016–2021. Not in any particular order.

This time the drawings are short comics that were abandoned for a reason or another, mostly because I lost the interest or felt like there was too much to redraw compared to the satisfaction of finishing something else more interesting. There’s also some talk about rigid mindset and how overthinking can lead to stagnation.

Contains early silverflint moments, specks of dust, rackham's glasses are found, jealous-Billy spying, desk-Flint gets caught, "squint-squint", a quiet moment and its bird dilemma etc.

And please do not steal and repost elsewhere. But if you do get inspired, feel free to make your own interpretations!

Long-ish post under the cut!

“What are you thinking about?”

“Specks of dust.”

“Liar.”

The idea was to show how much they and their relationship had changed. This was around 2016 when the season 3 began and I was still re-learning to draw with a tablet. Another art from the same time period (and idea) is this art: The Dynamic Duet. 

And for some reason I was really stuck up thinking that I’d have to first do the sketch, then the clean line art, then planes underneath, then shadows etc. and I have always struggled with that kind of approach! Mainly because I hate doing clean line work, lol. And I was a fool for trying to start with a white canvas! It’s so much harder to find values and plan things, or at least in my opinion..

“Rackham’s glasses are found”

To celebrate their new pirate alliance, they share the four lenses of Rackham’s sunglasses as they were also found at the time (because I wanted it to resurface and they could be made into jewellery you know...). This was right after the episode where Anne fights and hurts her hands (here wearing protecting mittens from Max even though she’s not trusted at the moment). Uh, this doesn’t spark joy interest me much and it’s quite stiff and would recuire a lot of redrawing faces, so - discarded!  

I somewhat like the idea still (them having something to share, although it’s on Jack’s detriment). I tried to find a stylished comical easier doodlier? way to draw them and draw clean lines etc, but it just wasn’t for me. Also here too, the background is blank and too bright. Later I started to think things as scenes and draw everything at the same time instead of adding the bg later or trying to show everything (and everyone) at the same time.

Here’s also Billy in the same story:

He’s spying on them and since it’s so bright he’s wearing his diy “sunglasses” and being envious to the others. *cough* uhhh...Idk? Also people were shipping Ben Gunn (and cheese) with Billy, so that bled into this too... Charles’ spirit is riding the “big white bird” that was mentioned in Teach’ story and in this case it’s a pelican.

As you can see, I also wasn’t using the brushes that I use nowadays. A hard (or soft) round brushes with no change in opacity just aren’t for me. For example, in traditional art, I struggle with markers and copics, but really enjoy charcoals and watercolours. I prefer ragged edges, layering and thus blending things into each other (and leaving the viewer to fill in the gaps) instead of having stark or definite things. I also struggle with vector drawings, although I have decided to finally start learning to use them...somedayyyy.

Also, I wasn’t paying attention to anatomy, like, at all LMAO. I was just so happy to be able to put something on the canvas.

This is one of my first ink drawings, but I cannot find the original anymore. Again, I like the idea, but not how things look art-wise. And I was so adamant, that I have to get everything right in the traditional drawing and not fix anything later on on photoshop because then it would be cheating. And thus, I was never able to move on or finish this properly the way I liked it (idiot).

BUT! It was a good practise to just draw and test things on paper and gain confidense on drawing things in overall (as I was still getting back into art). To get over the fear of blank paper you know, and try to find my style whatever it would start to form into.

Oh, yeah, Desk Flint.

Desk Flint was a thing for a while (still is, lol). Another drawing from that time is this Slingshot Pirate (2016). And Desk Flint keeps repeating in many later works too. The point is mainly “Flint sitting behind his desk and people interrupt him and I don’t have to draw him fully”

Well, anyway... moving on.

Here’s a plan that has been stuck for years. It’s name is “Squint-squint.” Left is the sketch (with another sketch underneath because the expressions were clearer in the old one). On the right is the continued piece with colour scheme but I cropped the eyes panel and faces out (it was so ugly for some reason) but if I ever continue/finish this, it will be redrawn there in the middle.)

Left. “On that moment their eyes were literally open(ed).”

Right. “After squinting on the shore for days, they had actually forgotten how pretty the other idiot’s eyes were.”

I still like it, quite a lot, but my perfectionist ass only sees too much “boring” things to draw and get right, so it hasn’t been a priority for a long time and other works have kept me occupied and more interested in them.

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

“Quiet Moment.” 2018 (a wordless comic happening after the events of Charles Town)

I’m going to explain after these pictures, but see how big the difference is when you start to look at references and plan things together (the space, “camera” movement, background etc). I also started to colour with coarser brushes:

I drew this around early 2018. A lot of improvement! Still quite a lot of negative space (empty white backgrounds), but it fits this work. A few things tell where we are (the ship’s cabin and the balcony). Changing distances and how things are cropped/framed make things more moving and focused (and less to draw, lol). Colours and brush strokes are softer, more layered and so on.

But guess why it’s still a wip!

I couldn’t decide what bird is flying over there.

Yeap! At first it was an albatross (doesn’t go to Bahamas?). Then a seagull (but which seagull? there’s so many subspecies! Is the ship at sea or at the harbour? what birds are there on the open water/ close to the shore?? oh noo...) So, yeah, wayyyy too much over-thinking.

At some point I ended up with white-tailed-tropic-bird which was a plus! because it sounds like the bosun’s whistle, but at that point I was so tangled and frustrated and still had so much to finish with this that I left it be. Also Flint’s face looks different in every frame so I would’ve had to change some parts, lol. And then I forgot it for a couple of years! And then I had learned to draw a bit differently and again saw too much things to do, so it’s quite hard to take on this again, especially when there are so many other interesting wips waiting...

But I still really like the feeling of it! And the colour scheme. So I might just limit the things I’m allowed to fix and then post it as it own someday. I mean, it’s 90% finished, but the last reach just feels like miles.

And that’s what usually happens with my wips. They reach a certain point and it suddenly becomes really hard to finish or get back into.

But every time I learn things and then use the information in another work! :D

Final note for this post (altough this has been said hundreds of times): use references and look how things go and try to see the structure and form beneath things. And think where it is happening and how the light and surroundings affects the characters and/or spaces. And maybe think what you’re trying to convey with the art, what idea? what emotions? what purpose? or like, what are you trying to learn with the piece? and so on...

Thanks for checking this out, I hope you had fun <3

[anime-lover-forever-1127]

A Woman With Vision {Arthur Leywin} - 20. Beast Glades

Beast Glades

*****

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "The Beginning After The End", it belongs to its original creator TurtleMe. This is only a fanfiction that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release. Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. Thus, most of them aren't mine (because I really, really can't draw) unless mentioned. To fit the story, images are also edited by various apps and websites. So they aren't mine, just edited. I get much of the text, especially the fight scenes and thought, aside from my oc's, from the original novel, which can be found on Library Novel. Please support the official release.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and publish it onto any other website.

If you're gonna use my idea, please ask me (If you ask nicely, I for sure, will agree). If I don't contact you within a week, then just assume I'm giving you the all clear and go for it. Just remember to credit me.

I will be writing out scenes even if my Oc isn't in them. As long as she's mentioned, or influencing the characters in some way. This may seem a bit annoying. But that's just how I write. I like to embed my characters into the story line. Because of this, most of the dialogue/scenes will come from the original work.

Playlist

For the playlist you can go to my YouTube channel, which is under "Anime-lover-forever-1127" and click on the playlist titled "A Woman With Vision {Arthur Laywin}". Or you can use this link watch?v=GYlAaNM7WS8&list=PLVKYkztH1Zd8bdl2_a1C8F6u8gPPwfa6D&ab_channel=7clouds 

Warnings: Spoilers for Chapter 30 and chapter 54 of the comic

*****

Today's Special

No one tells you that the hardest part of MOTHERHOOD is when your kids grow up

~ sitiraihana

*****

{Morgana P.O.V.}

Crossing through the teleportation gate, my senses jolted from the scenery. The City of Xyrus had the most teleportation gates among the cities since they were the only way one could enter it, it being a floating city and all. The one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the Beast Glades.

The chirps of birds, occasional cries and roars of beasts, and the constant sound of water flowing filling the background all created an enticing symphony of nature. The sight of tall trees and numerous hills covered in various plants and shrubs made it hard to believe that this beautiful landscape was filled with magical beasts capable of killing even the strongest mages. However, because of abundances of natural resources on the outskirts, it was mostly only the lower rank beasts that inhabited this deeper an adventurer traversed, the more mysterious and treacherous the landscape turned, filled with the lairs of powerful beasts that have amassed their treasures and power in the solitude's of unexplored regions in the Beast Glades.

I took a sip of the crisp air as Jasmine and Arthur arrived behind me through the teleportation gate when, suddenly, I heard a wish, and from the corner of my eyes I saw Sylvie scurry off.

"Wait, Sylv! Where are you going?" Arthur called after her, dumbfounded.

Sylvie transmitted a vague response; I could feel her emotions of excitement as she sent out thoughts about her plans to train as well.

"Did she just?" I asked, pointing at the direction my baby just ran off to.

"Yep, she just ran away from home." He answered weekly, his tone going a little high.

"Oh, Arthur." I sighed, pulling him close and giving him a shoulder hug. I had only known Sylvie for a couple of months, and I felt as if something was missing without her here.

But she was Arthur's bond, and had never left him since the day she had hatched. I could only imagine how big the hole in his heart must feel.

"Are you gonna be ok?" I asked. "We could take a break."

Arthur shook his head, "We just got here. Plus, I'm only a little…" He struggled, unsure of what world to use, "...uneasy. But… I can sense her whereabouts. So it should be fine."

"You can sense her whereabouts?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded, "Wait! You can't?"

I shook my head.

"Close your eyes, and try searching for her aura."

I did what he had said. I could see the mana floating around me, but no Sylvie. I opened my eyes, "Nothing. No trace of her. Maybe we're not just there yet."

Sylvie had explained to me that the longer me and Arthur were with each other, the stronger our mate bond would become. And the stronger it becomes, the easier it would be for me to create an adopted bond with Sylvie. Of course that would only be possible after spending time with her. And if I ever got a bond, it would be the same with Arthur. He would form a bond, through me, until he had a second, slightly weaker bond, with my own, on his own.

So because of that, until my bond with Sylvie was complete, I would be using Arthur's bond, to support my own developing one with her.

Now it was Arthur's turn to give me a sympathetic and reassuring hug. "It's fine mama bear."

"You're right." I nodded, "Knowing you can still

"She'll be okay. Mana beasts have a natural instinct to grow stronger. She must've felt very suffocated being in a sheltered environment all of her life," Jasmine pips up , walking next to Arthur.

"I know." I nod, "But that honestly doesn't make it hurt any less."

Jasmine lets out a chuckle, "It's like your her mother."

"She is" - "I am"

Arthur and I answer at the same time.

Jasmine stops a bit, staring at us long and hard, before smiling, "I think I get what your parents meant now. Well, to each their own."

Both me and Arthur smile at that. She really is a great woman.

Putting her hand on our shoulder, she signalled for us to start moving. "There's a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon. We have to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night."

Willing mana into her body, Jasmine bolted off into the distance, her wind attribute mana propelling her even faster.

I followed after her, forming two gales of wind below my feet as I dashed after her, Arthur doing the same, followed.

Everyone in a while, Arthur would give me an update on Sylvie.

"I just hope that she doesn't go after bigger beasts until she's ready." I sigh.

"Don't worry. She knows she has us if she ever gets in over her head. She knows she can always ask us for help." Arthur says, petting my head.

*****

The journey lasted a few hours and it began to grow dark. The only reason Arthur and I had been able to keep up with Jasmine, even when she was at a dark yellow stage, was Arthur had been using mana rotation throughout the way, and I had controlled mine to only use the bare minimum amount mana needed to create a controlled, constant amount of wind. This skill had become almost second nature to me now as I utilised it unconsciously whenever I exerted mana.

By late evening, we had cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small clearing. Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of grass with a stream of clear water flowing through it.

"We'll camp out here for a few days," Jasmine announced as she set down her bag and took out a couple of items.

"Weren't we going to a dungeon right away?" Arthur asked, setting down his bag as well.

She simply shook her head, picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them together.

Well Arthur and I went into the forest, finding some decent-sized branches to make a fire with. After a bit, we had a fire crackling and popping in the middle of our camp. Making myself comfortable, I leaned against Arthur who had removed his mask and sat silently by Jasmine, next to the fire.

Trying to break the silence, Arthur asked Jasmine, "What made you want to become an adventurer?"

"…"

Her gaze never left the fire and after a few minutes of more awkward silence, I just stared back at the flame, assuming she didn't want to answer.

"I wanted to get away from my family." I almost missed what she said from how quietly she spoke amidst the wood of the fire snapping fiercely.

"I see… were you on bad terms with your family?" Arthur responded, his eyes focused on the fire.

I choose to just listen to their conversation.

"…"

"The Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against the elves. Our house has provided many powerful mages, both conjurers and augmenters. Our lineage in the fire attribute element was second to none. We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to be the most powerful of the elements," she stated monotonously.

Despite her short sentences, this had been the most Jasmine had talked in one sitting.

"But Jasmine, aren't you a…" Arthur asked, looking up at her as she nodded in response.

"Since early on, when I had first awakened and started training, my family tried to test my mana for fire affinity. I went through various tests so they could see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels." She took a pause and poked at the fire before continuing on. "When it was made clear that I had no aptitude for the fire attribute, my family regarded me as lesser."

"…"

Arthur didn't know how to respond to her. For the first time, the always aloof and cold Jasmine seemed…vulnerable.

"I'm sorry for what happened…" was the only response Arthur managed to utter.

But so much for staying silent, I stood up to my knees and crawled over to Jasmine until I was face to face with her. Looking her directly in the eyes, I told her firmly. "Your family is wrong… and crazy." Her eyes went wide at my statement. "Wind magic is probably stronger than fire when you get down to it! All your family is, is a walking matchstick. All they can do is shoot out flames, a pillar if they're really getting creative. But with wind magic… we can create tornadoes, fly, move objects across a room. I mean it was because of wind magic we covered a distance that would have taken us days, in mere hours. Do I really have to say more?"

Jasmine's eyes widened and she shook her head, she gave me a faint smile. "The Twin Horns have treated me well and I don't dislike what I am."

I smiled, "I know that. I can tell it on your face whenever you're with your party, that you're clearly happy. But I'm just letting you know that your family is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but theirs… is just plain stupid."

I glanced at her palm as Jasmine formed a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her face as she peered at her hand.

This world was a place of discrimination and classification. The hierarchical roots embedded into this land would never truly disappear. Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while even amongst mages, augmenters were discriminated against by conjurers. It went further than that where, unless one was a deviant or a dual element specialist, some elements were considered "higher class" than others.

Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages, she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had; something that most mages would kill to acquire. She was a dark yellow augmenter skilled in fighting and mana manipulation at the ripe age of 24. Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she grew up with, she considered herself lesser.

We placed more wood to last through the coldest parts of the night and laid out our sleeping bags a few feet away so we could still feel the heat.

As we got ready to go to sleep, Arthur leaned into my ear and whispered, "I know subtlety isn't really your strong suit. It never has been."

I sent him a glare, "This better be building into a compliment."

He sent me a smile, "Well, more of a request. But I'm not shy to add one in there. Anyway, if we ever meet with nobility… and royalty again - assuming you haven't scared them enough yet. Could you at least try to hold it in. Until we least have a chance at beating them."

I huffed, "Speak for yourself. I already have my network ready. Of course it really isn't anything that great yet, but it has potential. The seeds are planted, and ready to sprout like a butterfly bush at a moment's notice." I winked at him.

He stared at me confused, "Who would-"

I cut him off, "Finishing school is quite boring when you've actually played the high society game. But, when it comes to making connections with little girls eager for your approval, there's nothing like it. As for informats, they're easy to buy. Mom and dad's allowance has always been generous, and I know exactly how to put it to good use." I smirked as I thought of the various amounts of blackmail I had collected for various families.

Arthur stared at me, wide eyed. "Damn, why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, "I thought you knew me?"

"I do!" He defended himself. "But I may have accidentally underestimated you. I thought your network may take you another two to three years. Sorry. Never again."

I smiled into the fire, "Well… If I'm being honest. It's nowhere near as good as my old one. But it's better than nothing. Information is the name of the game. And plus, every now and then, I do find a few pieces of gold." I said, remembering the little golden nugget of information I'd collected on a certain elf princess. I don't wanna be mean, but if she pushes my hand...

My eyebrows furrowed as I remembered, "Where's my compliment?" I pouted.

Arthur chuckled, "What you said to Jasmine, was truly amazing."

"Of course it was." I said, smiling and accepting the compliment. I ran my fingers through his hair, and added, "Though, we really do need to work on your elements. You need to do so much more than just creating pillars of fire." I felt a sweat drop roll down the side of his neck as I began making plans. "I've made a lot of progress with my wind, though I definitely need to work on my water. Before we start school, I would like to start working with ice a little bit. Though I'm not sure how much I could exactly get done between practising wind, and working on water, and relearning the sword." I pouted, eyeing the blue blade Arthur wouldn't let me touch unless he knew for a fact I wouldn't drop it on myself.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don't really blame him for it. Considering he never lets me forget it, I know for a fact he remembers how bad my first sword training lesson went. And to be honest, as fun as it would be to swing it around again, I don't wanna know how well it would work out with my current build. It was too big for my current body. So until I grew a bit, I'd have to use a practice sword.

Eyes closed, I waited to drift off when I heard Jasmine mumble something.

"…It's weird. When I talk to you two, it doesn't feel like I'm talking to children."

I didn't respond. Pretending to be asleep, I hoped she wouldn't push further for a reply.

*****

"Good morning." Jasmine was up and cooking something over the fire by the time I had gotten up and out of my sleeping bag.

My stomach rumbled to remind me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon as I looked hungrily at the skewered fishes being grilled on the fire.

"Good morning! You should've woken me up, Jasmine. There's no need for you to do all of the chores on your own."

I turned my head to see Arthur rubbing his eyes.

"…I tried waking both of you up… But you wouldn't budge." Her half-closed eyes that give off an apathetic stare regarded us with concern. "If I didn't hear you breathing, I would've mistaken you for corpses."

"Haha…" Arthur let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry, I really need to fix that."

"You and me both." I nodded. I usually woke up early on my own. But if I didn't, then nobody could wake me up.

After devouring the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire. Using the nearby stream to wash myself and my clothes.

Arthur put on his mask and swords, well I wrapped my cloak around my shoulder, and placed my contents lenses in, assuming we'd go hunting for some mana beasts around the area, when Jasmine stopped me.

"Your opponent for these few days will be me."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but be surprised at the turn of events. We came all the way here to spar?

"This area is close to the dungeon we will be exploring, but for these days, I want you to focus on fighting me. I noticed that your fighting style seems… awkward at times. Like, you know it in your head, but your body doesn't listen to you… or something like that." She told Arthur and then turned to me, "You have your control down. But you need to focus on increasing your mana amount. We can stay in a dungeon for days at a time. So you're going to need to work on that."

Unsheathing her two daggers, she pointed one at me, continuing, "We won't use any kind of mana for these next few days while sparring."

I hadn't expected Jasmine to catch on to what I had been worried about, but it was a good opportunity.

"Good idea," Arthur replied, unsheathing his short sword.

I sat down on the grass, getting ready to meditate.

{Arthur's P.O.V.}

"Use your other sword…" Jasmine's eyes flickered toward Dawn's Ballad.

"How did you know this was a sword?" I wasn't planning on hiding my weapon from her but I was still caught off guard.

"Knowing you, that black stick should be something more than just a cane or a practice stick," she shrugged, walking a few steps closer to me.

Giving her a confirming nod, I tossed the short sword to Morgana, who caught it with her eyes closed. From my position, I could see the mana around us, begin to gather towards her.

As the sword soundlessly glided out from its scabbard, the translucent blade glowed a light teal as it reflected the sun's strong rays.

Holding it out in front me, I positioned myself. "Ready when you are."

"Y-Yeah," Jasmine stuttered as her eyes remained glued to Dawn's Ballad.

We dulled the edges of our weapons using mana before beginning. Without mana strengthening my body, I realised just how much I had been neglecting myself. After a few swings, my arms felt heavy and my legs trembled as they pushed feebly off the ground.

This was my mistake. I knew of the limits that my juvenile body had, but instead of trying to fix my shortcomings, I chose only to mask it using mana.

While magic in this world was capable of many things, it should be only used as a supplement to your abilities, not a replacement to cover them.

I lunged out with a sharp thrust aimed at Jasmine's sternum. Even though our swords were coated to prevent fatal injuries, it would still leave bruises and even broken bones if taken lightly; this made the sparring experience much more intense and real.

Jasmine swung her two daggers down in an outward arc, parrying my lunge and knocking the blade of my sword into the ground.

I brought my rear foot forward to maintain balance as my teal blade sunk into the ground below her. However, by that time, Jasmine had already brought her daggers back into position to follow up with a quick, downward slash.

Prying out my sword, I immediately pivoted my body to the side to avoid the overhead slash. As her daggers grazed harmlessly past my loose shirt, I kicked her arm away and stepped away into a more comfortable distance.

My arms were burning from the quick, consecutive movements as I positioned my sword in a defensive stance.

"It's my win," Jasmine said, sheathing her two daggers deftly into their scabbards attached to her thighs.

"You're right," I laughed as I dropped Dawn's Ballad on the ground. We had sparred for a little less than five minutes but my arms and legs screamed in protest from overuse. Massaging my forearms, I picked my blade back up and slid it back into its black sheath.

The duel had ended with me with the upper hand, but I didn't have the strength to proceed. It was my loss.

"Hey Jasmine, I think I'm going to need more than a couple of days to work this out," I confessed with a chuckle.

Her lips curled up slightly as she nodded in agreement.

I had three years before I'd attend Xyrus Academy. During my time at school, I would have plenty of chances to focus on studying mana.

I knew what my priorities were at this time.

Making a rough calculation in my head, I held up two fingers. "Two years, Jasmine. I'll dedicate two years to getting my body truly adjusted to sword-fighting without relying on mana."

"That's it?" she said, surprised.

"Just watch," I smirked.

*****

A Butterfly bush is a really fast growing plant. I could have used weeds, but referring to an information network as weeds, doesn't sound nearly as nice.

Also, finishing school only takes about 6 weeks. So I didn't have to worry about that.

I get the whole bond system is a little confusing, especially with me throwing in mate bonds and secondary bonds. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Because I do have plans to keep using and referencing the bonds - so it would be easier for you guys and less confusing, if you know what's actually happening. (Or if your just here for the romance - I guess you can sort of skip it - though again - their is the mate bond)

I feel like I should give you guys a heads up, that the next chapter is going to likely be on the shorter side (and the two after that as well). But man will it leave a huge impact on you guys. I'm actually willing to bet the title of the next chapter alone would be worth the hype (and the happiness and excitement you would get from four pages - why four you asks, one page for each word in the title.)

In fact, here's a little teaser (Feel free to try and guess what may be happening, and the contents of the paper):

Next Time~

Morgana untied the bright red ribbon and uncurled the scroll.

Her eyes widened as they flew over the contents of the paper, before tears began streaming down her cheeks.

[nokomiss]

thank you for being a friend

for @jes-cher, who requested Steph+another member of the batfam doing a group costume?

“It’s a Halloween party, though, so we can just wear our uniforms and blend in.”

Steph stared. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No?” Tim said.

“You think that we can just all waltz in there in our stupid-expensive uniforms and people will just assume we got them at Party City? Have you seen a Party City costume?”

Jason snorted. “She’s got a point, Replacement.”

“I think that you’re overly complicating it,” Tim said.

Steph stared again, then turned to Jason. “You heard that, right? Tim just told me that I was overly complicating things?”

Tim sighed. “Jason, you don’t understand where this is leading.”

“Where do you think this is leading?” Steph asked, narrowing her eyes. Jason leaned back and watched the two of them, looking entirely too amused.

“You know that you love stupid group costumes,” Tim said.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure we all love stupid group costumes, we go out every night in them,” Steph said. She would not be shamed. She was among her own people here.

“I do not go out in a group costume with you losers every night,” Jason said.

“Do you or do you not have a giant bat-symbol on your shirt?” Steph crossed her arms over her chest.

Jason remained silent up until Tim snorted, at which point he jabbed a finger in Tim’s direction and said, “Not a word out of you until you’ve had a single original outfit ever.”

“Pants,” Tim sing-songed, unfazed by Jason’s threats. “I revolutionized Robin and you know it.”

“My point is, I refuse to go in the actual shitty version of my outfit, or the sexy version, so we absolutely need undercover costumes to wear,” Steph said loudly. “Besides, we all three know that my Robin uniform was the most revolutionary, not one of you fools added hair accessories. Do you have any idea how many weapons and lockpicks you can hide in a headband?”

She settled comfortably into her chair, pulling out her phone to find costume options, secure in the knowledge that she’d won the argument. 

The case was a relatively simple one -- there was word about a mysterious shipment coming through Gotham, a contact claiming the major players were going to be at a Halloween bash, and Batgirl, Red Robin, and Red Hood had all noticed the case, no one had wanted to give it up, and thus the team up had occurred.

“We’re not actually going undercover,” Jason tried to argue, but Steph just shushed him. 

“We’re doing this. Ooh! Group costume! So we can find each other!” Steph said, scrolling through different ideas. “What should we do? Rocky Horror? That meme of the lady yelling at the cat? Ghostbusters? Heathers?” 

“We are not going as the Heathers,” Tim said, rolling his eyes. “Wait, would we get croquet mallets? I can cause a lot of chaos with a croquet mallet.” Jason grinned at them.

“We’re aiming to blend in, not draw attention to ourselves,” Tim said.

Steph had to agree. “True. We get you two out there in miniskirts, and we’re gonna draw all sorts of attention.”

“Hell yeah,” Jason said, patting his own thigh proudly.

“I’ll order something low key,” Tim said.  

Steph and Jason looked at each other in dismay. “Low key?”

“You can’t go low key at a Gotham Halloween party,” Jason said seriously. “That’ll stand out even more than our shapely legs.”

“Honestly, Tim.” Steph shook her head.

Tim looked briefly heavenward, then said, “Okay, do you want to be in charge of costumes?”

“Yes,” Steph and Jason said simultaneously. They eyed each other. 

“Teamwork is a thing,” Steph said, doubtful, but she was far more doubtful in Jason’s ability to choose a group costume up to her standards.

Jason seemed to be having similar thoughts.

Tim looked between them, realized the chaos that was about to ensue, and said tactfully, “I’m going to go out, check on these sources, make sure the info’s good,” as though they hadn’t all already independently checked the sources.  

“Weak,” Jason crowed at him as he left.

That left Steph and Jason alone with all the costume ideas the internet had to offer.  It was more of a challenge that Steph would have thought. 

“You know those costumes where someone has to be the horse’s ass? I vote we pick that. Dibs on Tim being the ass.”  Jason propped his feet up on the table and looked smug, as though his idea was brilliant.

“Great,” Steph said. “Super easy to split up and find our mark dressed like that.”

“Oh yeah, the mark,” Jason said. “Well. There are plenty of options.”

They spent several minutes attempting to come up with one, but to no avail.  

Steph froze on one option, struck with the brilliance of it. “What do you think it would take to get Bruce and Damian to patrol as the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda?”

“Surely between the two of us we have enough blackmail and guilt tripping to make it happen,” Jason said, “especially since it would spawn so much more blackmail material.”

“A totally sound investment.” Steph offered up a high five, which Jason met enthusiastically.

Steph kept scrolling, hoping for a group costume inspiration that didn’t involve t-shirts and tutus, but ideas were far more elusive than she would have thought.

“You know, I’m really rethinking our stance on the Heathers outfits,” Jason said, just as Steph hit paydirt.

“I have a better idea,” Steph said, holding her phone out gleefully. 

Jason grinned.

*

“I’m sorry, Tim, you didn’t want to get recognized, right?”

Tim scowled, which made Steph frown at him and say, “You need to get into character.”

“I don’t know why you’re making me Rose,” he grumbled, adjusting his wig. 

“Because Jason is twelve feet tall, he has to be Dorothy,” Steph explained. “And you blush if you even hear a double entendre, there’s no way you could pull off Blanche.”

“I do not blush,” Tim protested.

Steph opened her mouth, and he immediately clapped his hand over it. “Stop, I regret saying that, whatever horrible thing you were just planning on announcing, just… don’t.”

“See? You, sir, are no Blanche.”

Jason laughed, adjusting the way his own dress fit over his shoulders. They had to forgo masks, but the dresses were loose enough to hide most of their costumes underneath for a quick change.  

The party was already in swing when they arrived, even though it was barely dark. The costumes were perfect-- amid all the bright spandex, colorful wigs, and knockoff superhero costumes, their grey wigs and floral old lady dresses were easy to spot. 

The mark showed up after just thirty minutes of dancing and mingling, watching and listening carefully. Steph danced up to Jason, who was nursing a drink with a comical amount of fruit skewered in it and scanning the crowd. “Got eyes on him,” she said. 

Jason tossed back the drink and set it down. Steph snagged the skewer of fruit, eating it as they danced their way back through the crowd towards the mark. Steph tapped Tim on the shoulder as they passed him, and together they followed the guy away from the dance floor and down a long dark hall. 

The guy noticed them as he was about to unlock a door, turning and saying, “Private hallway. Party’s back that way.”

“You sure?” Jason leaned heavily against the door and Steph stepped behind the mark, pressing the now-empty skewer into his back between his shoulder blades. 

“Open the door,” Tim said from the other side.

“Please tell me the goddamn Golden Girls aren’t trying to shake me down,” the guy said, clunking his head against the door. 

Steph glanced between Jason and Tim, then shrugged. “Yep. That’s what’s happening. Open the door or it happens here in the hallway, where anyone could wander by and put it on youtube.”

The guy stared at the door, presumably weighing his options, before deciding that defeat came before humiliation and opened the door.

One glance around showed that was a mistake; Steph could see multiple crates still marked with the code they’d all noticed associated with the shipments they were chasing after. Tim slid over to the desk, and stared down at the papers scattered there. Steph could tell from his flabbergasted expression that all the evidence they needed was just lying there in the open.

She pulled a taser out of her pocket and hit the guy with a jolt, sending him falling to the floor unconscious. 

“This was almost too easy, right?” Jason glanced at them.

“Shhh, don’t say that, you’ll curse us,” Steph said. “We’re going to accept that for once things are going smooth.”

Tim took photos of the evidence while Jason and Steph took samples of everything, which lined up with their assumptions about what was going on. It was easily the easiest take-down she’d had in months. Maybe there was something to be said for teamwork.

““Sophia!” Tim said suddenly, staring down at the unconscious drug runner. “I could have been  Sophia!”

“Do you really see yourself as a Sophia?” Jason said, doubt obvious in his tone.

“Do you really see me as a Rose?” Tim shot back.

Steph snickered, finding untold joy in how very seriously Tim was taking his role. “I guess we should go,” she said. They’d accomplished all the vigilantism they’d come here for. 

A pause. 

“Maybe,” Jason said, glancing back in the direction of the party, “we should stick around. Make sure nothing else nefarious is happening. The dude could have had contacts here, it was his party.”

“You just want some of those cupcakes,” Tim accused. 

“Jason has a point,” Steph said, zip-tying the mark and stepping back, admiring her handiwork. “We could call this in anonymously, and go back to the party. No one saw who took him down.”

“Plus, we all heard B mention he had a stakeout he needed someone to cover,” Jason said. “Gotta keep busy.”

Tim weighed his options, then said, “Well. I mean. You can’t just have two Golden Girls, no one would get the costumes.”

“Exactly,” Steph said, beaming. “Can’t waste a good costume.”

(Steph already had a plan for the next costume party stakeout, which given Gotham’s flair for the dramatic, would absolutely happen again -- Team Batgirl showing up as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, Babs leading the way with her red hair piled up in a riot of curls on top of her head, Cass bedecked in her gown her hair tucked up into a pointy hat, and Steph laughing with her blonde hair flowing free. The Golden Girls had been fun, but a missed opportunity was a missed opportunity, and Steph was going to rectify that as soon as she could.)

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hey! Idk if you have time or energy, but can you just briefly tell me what your main problems are with LO? I read the comic and enjoyed it, but I'm really curious about your point of view and why you hate it! (This is a legit ask, I'm not trying to be provocative)

Hello! Yeah, sure! Let me first start by saying that Ι don’t have anything against people who enjoy LO. I never attack the fans, I only those who are aggressive and come to my asks insulting me. I never condemn preferences. I understand how this comic can be enjoying. 

Some of my issues are: 

1) The art. There are some good panels in each episode but usually the art seems weird or simply bad to me. I draw/design myself and I understand how much effort comic panels can take. I don’t doubt that the panels of LO take effort to desing but at the same time I see much better artists on webtoons with much less recognition. 

Persephone isn’t even the same shade of pink between episodes (without significant change in lighting)! Also the color of the gods doesn’t make sense, besides HxP contrasting. So, artistic-wise I don’t understand or like some choices.

2) Pacing. All those 105 episodes take place in TWO WEEKS? This is from episode 105:

I feel the story is dragging too much, thus, I can’t enjoy it or get attached to the characters and care. When I was in the 100th chapter I thought at least some months had passed till then, but I was mistaken. Still, it felt like an eternity (story-wise) to get there. 

3) Environment/Timeline. Does it place on Olympus or on a place like Olympus or a place with the name “Olympus”, like a metaphor? If it takes place on the actual mt Olympus, is there a metropolitan city on the top of the mountain? If yes, why don’t Greeks, who live on the mountain on around it, know about this city as well? They would certainly see it. 

What is the timeline even? I gather it’s a modern alternative reality where they dress modern but also have their ancient forms (with ancient clothes)? Did Greece even exist in this story’s timeline? (Probably yes, if they have ancient Greek style clothing BUT if Greece existed but the characters are not in Greece WHERE do characters live??)

4) The way the gods are presented. I never felt the characters are gods or inspired by gods. I mean they are presented like normal people, without a hint of grandeour. I don’t like it when I feel the gods could be my buddies. I get that the Greek gods have human flaws and characteristics but I don’t think they would feel like the man/woman next door. Lots of modern stories take the glory and magnificence out of the gods but they still want to present them as fearsome. I am sorry but a rich CEO will never scare me as much the Lord of the Underworld. If you changes Hades’ name to John nothing in the story would change. (As a friend added).

5) Characters. I don’t find them compelly, unfortunatelly. Persephone, the main character, feels bland and without agency. I get why she is like that but I need a more dynamic character. Plus, there is a huge power imbalance between her and Hades and it kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. The most interesting personality is Minthe. I feel bad saying that cause she is an abuser. (Finding her interesting doesn’t mean I endorse her actions, though).

6) The behavior of the artist. Some monts ago, when me and some other people started pointed out what was wrong with the comic, mainly the lack of anything Greek in there, she went on Twitter and vented, calling us haters. Like, don’t we and every other person have the right to criticize her work? Also, most of the time we didn’t say anything rude, and that’s why it was weird she reacted that way. In other #anti lo tagged posts you may find more about her immature behavior. 

7) The behavior of a lot of fans. Many stans of LO, when seeing that someome dislikes LO, they straight up attack this person. Criticism is labeled as “negativity” and fans don’t want it near them. They don’t understand that you can enjoy something while keeping a critical mind.

8) Pathetic Greek representation (it’s nonexistent actually). Did you personally feel like you learned anything about Greece or how Greeks live or maybe some Greek customs? Because I saw nothing Greek in there. Granted, there are big cities in Greece (only two, though :P) and Greeks wear modern clothes and their phones are an extension of their hands. But there are small things Smythe could do to show the culture a little bit.

There is some decor she could have put to give some Greek-ness to the houses (I had this in another post) and she could make the characters wear a mati for protection, or a pomegranate for good luck or a small boat around their neck. She also lost the chance to make the parent gods call their childern 100 times and if they children don’t answer the first time, the parents think they are dead. :P Or the mothers who think their son is the most important person in the world. There are some small behaviors you can put in there to make the characters feel a little Greek. (Those behaviors are not Greek only but they can also be met in Greeks, so it would still be some reprentation).

She made a minimum effort to search some Greek stuff when she made Persephone bring some baklava to the Underworld and when she named Artemis’ cat Retsina. But still that doesn’t give much flavor to the story. For starters, baklava exists in Greece but it’s more of a middle eastern dish. I mean there are more representative Greek desserts. Also, no Greek has ever named their cat “Retsina” or “Ouzo” or other types of beverages :P That was a weird choice as well. 

I don’t think that, despite her fame and influence, she has found a Greek person and ask them how can she put more Greek touches in her comic. I don’t find that weird. Many artists, who want to trasnfer the Greek gods in a modern setting, don’t even think of Greece (even if the gods are Greek in the first place) and don’t seek to put any elements from the original culture in. 

Like, hellooooo we exiiiiist, we haven’t diiiiied, our culture is alive and weeeeeeeell 🤣

______________________________________________________________

There are some smaller issues, but those were the big ones for me. You can find the rest in the #anti lo tag. I don’t have a problem discussing about LO so send me more thoughts if you like. 

Thanks for asking and sorry for taking some time to answer. Despite the lockdown, everything is online now and that means my responsibilities are not reduced :/

[millennialzadr]

WHY I LOVE ZADR!!!

HEY GUYS WHASSUP? LMAO

So this is a whole ass giant long post of me absolutely spewing my feelings of love for ZADR, it was the very first thing I wrote when I made this blog and I think it’s a nice, positive thing for my fellow shippers to inhale and enjoy 👌👌

it was originally a reply to mitarashiart’s post about why HE loves ZADR (link in replies) but I decided to delete that and make my own post since MY WHOLE ENTIRE TEXT WALL WAS SHOWN IN THE REPLIES and drowned out anyone else who was trying to talk (thanks tumblr mobile u fuckin idiot)

I had also posted a summary of an AU that I’m working on in the original post, but decided to remove it since it just about doubled the length (I’m thinking about posting it separately along with the wips I’ve been putting together, we’ll see 👀)

But ANYWAY, here is about a million reasons why I think ZADR is the fucking best, so if you like reading gushy gay ship feelings, please enjoy ❤️❤️❤️

[Posted June 2019][WARNING, LONG ASS THOUGHT BARF]

SOOO, holy hell y’all my journey back into this fandom has been a wild and unique experience for me, i went from adding invader zim to my bookmarks on kisscartoon, rewatching the series, finding out theres a movie coming out, finding out there was a shitload of content i’d never seen before (commentaries, lost episode scripts and audios, panels, the COMIC, episodes i’d never seen because the dvd i used to watch was scratched!! and a FUCKLOAD of quality modern fan art like oh my GOD) and finally curiously googling ‘zadr’ (which i was way into when i was maybeee 13/14) to see if there was any interesting new art, and holy hell, mita (the artist above) singlehandedly THREW me down the hole into modern zadr hell, first with his absolutely stunning IZ art (all his art is dope tho check him out yo), then reading the above explanation put the final nail in the coffin like, 100%

so i wanted to add onto his post here on why this ship got me so fucked up, both for anyone who might be wondering why on earth i’m shipping two characters from a kid’s show (i’m very aware how weird that is at first glance trust me) and also so i can get some ideas down for possible future reference (will i ever draw them? maybe)

(first of all, a disclaimer, and this is not pleasant to write but it’s important to address for clarity’s sake: I have no interest in romantic or sexual relationships between minors, and do not ship zim and dib as they are presented canonically in the show (as children). what i’m interested in is the conceptualized relationship they may have as modern adults, and i view zadr more as taking the concepts of existing characters and experimenting with them with different interpretations, which i personally think is a constructive and fun creative outlet, especially if these characters hold personal significance for you (childhood faves of course). growing up together is an important facet of their relationship, and certainly they were important to each other even as children (see: mopiness of doom) but as an adult i’m personally curious about what kind of adults they might’ve become, and that’s the focus of my interest. i’ll still be reblogging regular IZ art because it’s dope but if you see shippy looking art of them as tiny lil beans its either friendship or chibis (and i personally headcanon zim as getting taller with dib but some people stick with his canonical height when drawing them as adults, which is super short. it still doesn’t mean he’s a kid). aaand i wish i didnt have to write this and it would just be obvious but we live in a sick sad world and it is sourced from a children’s cartoon so i feel its necessary. end of disclaimer)

NOW THAT THAT’S OUT OF THE WAY

- ok, first reason’s a bit obvious - the nostalgia. holy hell, the feeling of rediscovering a ship that was popular when i was a preteen during the mid 2000s and discovering a totally new perspective on it as an adult comes with an almost totally overwhelming sense of nostalgia and comfort, as well as inspiration!! the kind of art that seems so common for zadr, these sketch pages of scenes and expressions and visual gags where artists would just scribble every idea they had and LOVE doing it, this was exactly the kind of art that made me so passionate about drawing as a kid, and it still sparks such a powerful feeling of love and admiration for me to this day. fan content of iz and zadr is simultaneously achingly familiar and totally new and fascinating, and it just makes me SO damn happy to consume, it is most definitely my new comfort content. and just, GOD. THE ART!! SO GOOD. FUCK

- now for the characters themselves: for some reason i just really love the thought of a mid twenties, modern Dib?? lanky goth dork, disaster bi, depressed as shit, uses bad sweaters and memes to cope?? when i was a kid i didn’t even LIKE Dib, but now i totally sympathize with him! he’s just a hyper obsessive nerd wishing there was more to life than the situation he got stuck with, how wildly relatable. he was a pretty big asshole as a kid (even to people besides zim) but he was also totally isolated and constantly bullied, so there’s a lot of room for growth. i feel there’s a lot of juicy character development potential for that boy, and there’s always been a special place in my heart for characters who are totally sad and screwed and hopeless, but there’s one thing, or person, that means the world to them and could possibly save them…

- aliens. Zim. i love nonhuman characters, i love monsters, i love aliens, i love characters that don’t understand human shit (and thus have much less room for shame or fear bc theyre just totally oblivious the negatives of modern society) and need guidance (bonding!!) from their human. i also love morally grey characters and characters with skewed logic, they’re always really interesting, and Zim himself just has such a unique personality and set of mannerisms, he contradicts himself a lot and you can never quite expect how he’ll behave, and i love that in a character, it makes them super versatile and fun, especially since there’s so many different possibilities for their development. Also, Zim is a gremlin, a little shit, and a disaster. I also love those traits in a character. And don’t even get me started on his character design?? big sparkly eyes? expressive antennae? monster teeth? complimenting colors? he’s adorable.

- mutual obsession. for someone like Dib, who seems almost repulsed by how boring and slow the people around him are, Zim quite literally personifies Dib’s  escapist fantasies, both as an inhuman entity from beyond the stars, and as a person who’s knowledge, charisma and mystery far exceeds that of anyone Dib has met in his entire life. (so basically what i’m saying is that for a shunned, jaded misanthropist, an actual alien is terribly alluring, even if said alien is dangerous, stupid, and possibly insane). not to mention Zim vindicates Dib’s entire life passion, the supernatural! Even when their relationship is totally negative, there is not a single inch of room for Dib to get tired of Zim. as mita explained, they validate each other. for Zim, WHO AGAIN, IS TOTALLY SHUNNED, ISOLATED, AND HATED BY EVERYONE HE KNOWS, Dib is the only person in the universe who gives a single shit about him!! he gives Zim credit as a threat, a capable invader, which if you ask me is the sole thing Zim is after (he’s hellbent on his mission because it would win him the approval of the tallest, all he’s ever wanted is recognition from the people he thinks so highly of). He literally gets depressed when Dib isn’t around to pay attention to him, not even the tallest were enough to motivate him before Dib came back. these two have no one and nothing without each other, and while lifelong nemeses is fine and dandy, i personally prefer friendship, affection and love, cause i’m a softie like that. how could they possibly get there after years of actively trying to kill each other?? well, i think under just the right circumstances it could become a possibility after a long, long time.

- growth. i. love. me. some. good. character growth. especially for characters with trauma/mental illness, bc again, relatable. these boys have issues, and as mita mentioned, their canon stories are actually INCREDIBLY sad! but the happy thought is, they could recover! they could help each other recover, for little reason other than the two are the only source of happiness for each other. now of course this also opens the gate for angst lovers, but at the same time offers potential for comforting, uplifting content of the boys supporting and inspiring each other, maybe even to the point of becoming happy and healthy enough to create the lives they want for themselves (as in appreciating life and doing things that make them actually happy instead of the delusions of grandeur they both sought when they were younger). gimme that positive shit and let the poor beans be happy  щ(ಠ益ಠщ)

- LITTLE THINGS. LITTLE THINGS THAT ONLY COME WITH CHILDHOOD FRIENDS. WITH HUMAN/NONHUMAN. WITH THE SHOW’S WEIRD LOGIC. Zim being the person Dib knows best and vice versa. Zim having an involuntary respect/admiration for Dib because he’s tall. Learning each other’s needs, limits, and communication methods, both emotionally and biologically. Sensitive antennae. Affectionate bickering. Being less insecure bc your partner literally has no idea why you see your flaws as flaws. Laughing at the flaws they do notice because they make no sense. Zim only wanting to eat waffles and chow mein. Dib being forced to overcome his depression lethargy and stay hygienic/keep the apartment clean because Zim has a sharper sense of smell and is afraid of germs. Endless conversation about anything and everything because they’re from literally different worlds, and endless intrigue. TOUCHING. TALKING. DOING EVERYTHING LIKE ITS THE VERY FIRST TIME AND ALWAYS NEEDING THE OTHER TO GUIDE THEM. HOLY HELL THERE IS SO MUCH POSSIBILITY FOR TINY LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MEAN THE WORLD. FUCK. GOT ME FUCKED UP.

so that wraps up the why. fuck man. its just such a good ship. if you read this big ass text post, thank you for indulging me, i hope you enjoyed it! because i enjoy it very much 👀 so stick around if you’d like to for a shit load of IZ and zadr content on this blog, possibly (MAYBE) even from me!! come roll around in alien hell with me why dontcha ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ its a fun time! thanks for reading!!!

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SO THAT’S MY MANIFESTO Y’ALL, FEEL FREE TO REPLY WITH YOUR OWN REASONS!! I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS POST TO JUST BECOME A BIG GIANT PILE OF LOVE AND YELLING!! GO NUTS! SCREAM ABOUT IT! INFODUMP! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I’LL READ EVERY LAST REPLY! Y’ALL DESERVE TO ENJOY YOUR SHIP BC IT’S LITERALLY THE FUCKING BEST!!! LOVE Y’ALL!!!!!!

[killfaeh]

Péguy

Hi everybody! In this news feed I've told you a few times about a project I named Péguy. Well today I dedicate a complete article to it to present it to you in more detail but also to show you the new features I brought to it at the beginning of the winter. It's not the priority project (right now it's TGCM Comics) but I needed a little break during the holidays and coding vector graphics and 3D, it's a little bit addictive like playing Lego. x) Let's go then!

Péguy, what is it?

It is a procedural generator of patterns, graphic effects and other scenery elements to speed up the realization of my drawings for my comics. Basically, I enter a few parameters, click on a button, and my program generates a more or less regular pattern on its own. The first lines of code were written in 2018 and since then, this tool has been constantly being enriched and helping me to work faster on my comics. :D This project is coded with web languages and generates vector patterns in the format SVG. In the beginning it was just small scripts that had to be modified directly to change the parameters and run individually for each effect or pattern generated.

Not very user friendly, is it? :’D

This first version was used on episode 2 of Dragon Cat's Galaxia 1/2. During 2019 I thought it would be more practical to gather all these scripts and integrate them into a graphical user interface. Since then, I have enriched it with new features and improved its ergonomics to save more and more time. Here is a small sample of what can be produced with Péguy currently.

Graphic effects typical of manga and paving patterns in perspective or plated on a cylinder. All these features were used on Tarkhan and Gonakin. I plan to put this project online, but in order for it to be usable by others than me, I still need to fix a few ergonomy issues. For the moment, to recover the rendering, you still need to open the browser debugger to find and copy the HTML node that contains the SVG. In other words, if you don't know the HTML structure by heart, it's not practical. 8D

A 3D module!

The 2020 new feature is that I started to develop a 3D module. The idea, in the long run, is to be able to build my comics backgrounds, at least the architectural ones, a bit like a Lego game. The interface is really still under development, a lot of things are missing, but basically it's going to look like this.

So there's no shortage of 3D modeling software, so why am I making one? What will make my project stand out from what already exists? First, navigation around the 3D workspace. In short, the movement of the camera. Well please excuse me, but in Blender, Maya, Sketchup and so on, to be able to frame according to your needs to get a rendering, it's just a pain in the ass! So I developed a more practical camera navigation system depending on whether you're modeling an object or placing it in a map. The idea is to take inspiration from the map editors in some video games (like Age of Empire). Secondly, I'm going to propose a small innovation. When you model an object in Blender or something else, it will always be frozen and if you use it several times in an environment, it will be strictly identical, which can be annoying for natural elements like trees for example. So I'm going to develop a kind of little "language" that will allow you to make an object customizable and incorporate random components. Thus, with a single definition for an object, we can obtain an infinite number of different instances, with random components for natural elements and variables such as the number of floors for a building. I had already developed a prototype of this system many years ago in Java. I'm going to retrieve it and adapt it to Javascript. And the last peculiarity will be in the proposed renderings. As this is about making comics (especially in black and white in my case), I'm developing a whole bunch of shaders to generate lines, screentones and other hatchings automatically with the possibility to use patterns generated in the existing vector module as textures! :D

What are shaders?

Well, you see the principle of post-production in cinema... (Editing, sound effects, various corrections, special effects... all the finishing work after shooting). Well, shaders are about the same principle. They are programs executed just after the calculation of the 3D object as it should appear on the screen. They allow to apply patches, deformations, effects, filters... As long as you are not angry with mathematics, there is only limit to your imagination! :D When you enter a normal vector in a color variable it gives funny results.

Yes! It's really with math that you can display all these things. :D Now when you hear a smart guy tell you that math is cold, it's the opposite of art or incompatible with art... it's dry toast, you'll know it's ignorance. :p Math is a tool just like the brush, it's all about knowing how to use it. :D In truth, science is a representation of reality in the same way as a painting. It is photorealistic in the extreme, but it is nevertheless a human construction used to describe nature. It remains an approximation of reality that continually escapes us and we try to fill in the margins of error over the centuries... Just like classical painting did. But by the way? Aren't there a bunch of great painters who were also scholars, mathematicians? Yes, there are! Look hard! The Renaissance is a good breeding ground. x) In short! Physics is a painting and mathematics is its brush. But in painting, we don't only do figurative, not only realism, we can give free rein to our inspiration to stylize our representation of the world or make it abstract. Well like any good brush, mathematics allows the same fantasy! All it takes is a little imagination for that. Hold, for example, the good old Spirograph from our childhood. We all had one! Well, these pretty patterns drawn with the bic are nothing else than... parametric equations that make the students of math sup/math spe suffer. 8D Even the famous celtic triskelion can be calculated from parametric equations. Well, I digress, I digress, but let's get back to our shaders. Since you can do whatever you want with it, I worked on typical manga effects. By combining the Dot Pattern Generator and the Hatch Generator but display them in white, I was able to simulate a scratch effect on screentones.

In the traditional way it is an effect that is obtained by scraping the screentones with a cutter or similar tool.

Péguy will therefore be able to calculate this effect alone on a 3D scene. :D I extended this effect with a pattern calculated in SVG. So it will be possible to use the patterns created in the vector module as textures for the 3D module! Here it is a pattern of dots distributed according to a Fibonacci spiral (I used a similar pattern in Tarkhan to make stone textures, very commonly used in manga).

Bump mapping

So this is where things get really interesting. We stay in the shaders but we're going to give an extra dimension to our rendering. Basically, bump mapping consists in creating a bas-relief effect from a high map. And it gives this kind of result.

The defined object is always a simple cylinder (with 2 radii). It is the shaders that apply the pixel shift and recalculate the lighting thanks to the high map that looks like this.

This texture has also been calculated automatically in SVG. Thus we can dynamically set the number of bricks. Well, this bas-relief story is very nice, but here we have a relatively realistic lighting, and we would like it to look like a drawing. So by applying a threshold to have an area lit in white, a second threshold to have shadow areas in black, by applying the screentone pattern to the rest and by adding the hatching that simulates the scraped screentone, here is the result!

It's like a manga from the 80's! :D I tested this rendering with other screentone patterns: Fibonnacci spiral dots, parallel lines or lines that follow the shape of the object.

Now we know what Péguy can do. I think I can enrich this rendering a bit more with the shaders but the next time I work on this project the biggest part of the job will be to create what we call primitives, basic geometric objects. After that I can start assembling them. The concept of drawing while coding is so much fun that I'm starting to think about trying to make complete illustrations like this or making the backgrounds for some comic book projects only with Péguy just for the artistic process. Finding tricks to generate organic objects, especially plants should be fun too. That's all for today. Next time we'll talk about drawing! Have a nice week-end and see you soon! :D Suisei

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Source : https://www.suiseipark.com/News/Entry/id/302/