#but i think ive gotten better at layout since then

[blushouyo]

working on that sampo comic and ive already planned three pages... im not even halfway through what I want to be in it...

[clutchpowers]

Sooooo... i wanted to stick this little rambly thing at the bottom of the redraw but it would have made it look UGLY so im doing this separately... just wanna talk about the whole thing and What Not.

TLDR: its been a slash positive ride thats been worth it to try "something new" every year and my favorite piece out of all of them is the 9th. also for the curious heres the comparison of the 5th anni piece to the recent one (2018 -> 2023)

anyway. personal post time.

oh where to begin *rocks on my rocking chair* i guess it would be with the 5th anniversary piece...at the time it had been a long while since i did lineless art and i thought it would be cool to try it again for that one so i did by redrawing an old piece from 2014... that was the first "finished piece" i made of Them. i think i even made it into a wallpaper for myself lmao. anyway after i posted it i was like "aw man i should draw something every year until the 10th" but i thought yeah right. im going to forget next year like the idiot i am. but i Some How managed to do one every year... th worms got me... i honestly didnt think id make it all the way to the 10th but i did!! AND WITHOUT MISSING A DAY EXCEPT FOR THE 7TH WHERE I WAS A WEEK LATE???? UNREAL especially when fun fact! every year i had no idea what i wanted to do! all i knew for sure is that i wanted each piece to be out of my comfot zone to push me to do something a little different. unfortunately the subjects tm where always the same so it feels a little. samey. but these are my celebratory posts I GET TO ONLY POST ABOUT THE OTP SUPER BLORBOS OF ALL TIME

the 6th anniversary was a redraw of that one scene. you know the one. the helicopter one. fucking hate that scene btw it actually causes me psychic damage i cant watch with the audio or ill scream. but it is my favorite scene of mine despite all the horrors it causes <3 and i wanted to redraw it as if it was a cartoon... like i had taken screencaps from the lcu cartoon in my head. i still remember the backgrounds being such a pain in the ass. honestly id like to go back and redo this one one day too or do something similar to the concept because its a fun one that i always saw done growing up and i wanted to try it myself.

for the 7th anniversary you can see the turn.. no more humans... return to lego... i was getting a little more confident in drawing them in the lego form so i did another redraw this time with the ending!! honestly i still like this one and how it looks even with how late it was but i wanted to test my confidence and do a real True and Finished piece with COLORED LINES and EVERYTHING!!!!! im glad i ended up taking the turn because for the LONGEST TIME i wanted to try and draw them as lego so bad because all i did was draw them as humans and its funny because now its the exact opposite. glad this piece was kinda the solidification in my head that yeah okay im a bit better at drawing the stylized lego toy now i can keep drawing them like this without feeling like im going to want to delete this in 2 weeks.

the 8th anniversary one is so weird. somewhere toward the beginning of the year it got into my head that i wanted to do a comic of them but time/school would have gotten in the way so i ended up opting for a page. another redraw of the ending scene which honestly out of all of them this is my least favorite one and its solely because its all so off. i def could have formated it better so the background shot doesnt take up the entire fucking page but then again im not a comic guy and this was my first time so the layout was bound to look HORRID but this is something id like to come back to ive had the idea of making like a genuine short comic about them since FOREVER and now that im a bit more experienced (lying) i would like to make one day!!!! just gotta stop getting caught up in my scripts!! and going in circles!! Because im obviously not a writer and i keep getting first-hand embarrassment from these!! but ill get over it one day lol.

OH THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY PIECE MY BELOVED. ONE OF MY FAVORITE PIECES ACTUALLY i love this stupid thing so much you have no idea.i know its re-using lineless but i just loved the idea of what it would look like lineless AND IT CAME OUT SO PERFECT I LOVE IT SO MUCH obv it needs a few touch-ups so the main issues dont stand out to me but god. i love this piece so much. idk what came out of me to make this but its so good ill never get over it. and the little lego them as a cake topper ITS JUST SO CUTE I DONT HAVE MUCH TO SAY OTHER THAN I LOVE THIS SO MUCH SORRY

finally. the 10th anniversary piece. oh my god. okay. i need everyone to understand this. i had woken up with this fucking Unbearable pounding headache that was trying to kill me. my body the entire day wanted me to stop and lie down, but last night i was already done with a good chunk of it and all i had to do that day was finish some lines and the coloring?? i literally don't remember all i remember is my body actively trying to shut down and force me to stop and sleep which i took a nap? didnt help. so i said fuck it im finishing this. i was. an entire goddamn corpse arched over my laptop. i was so delirious the entire time its a fucking miracle it even came out as good as it did but honestly. i still hate how it fucking looks. like you can TELL when i gave up (the shading) and it sticks out like a sore fucking thumb to me and it pisses me off because i knew i could have done so much better if i wasnt being stricken down by gods hand and his every attempt to get me to rest. idk like im generally proud ot it, with this one i wanted to go out with a bang tm so i tried to draw every important and relevant character instead of ALL of them like I was originally planning LMAO but ah well. maybe one day when im faster at drawing. this one i defiantly wanna go back and touch up but i everytime i open the file i can see 40 more things wrong with it and it drives me nuts. so ill just have to wait for when im ready. i guess.

can i just say though. the improvement is crazy. it always catches me off guard because tbh i uh. dont like my own art. im getting better at not fucking hating it because i can pinpoint everything wrong with it but whenever i see the side by sides it always surprises me. i always dont think im improving but then i see it and its like wow i really am getting better! i still suck at 3000 things but im getting better! and its overall just a nice thing to see after having drawn them for as long as i have... the power of the worms is strong and has ruined my brain...... speaking of i know ive said a few times that i fucking hate certain pieces, not just LCU related ones but almost anything i post, but if you love them and are able to look at them with a twinkle in your eye then thank you. genuinely. i honestly love looking over the tags of people exploding and saying nice things. it warms my cold little heart and im glad there are people out there that genuinely love some of the things what i do! even if its just fanart and its just their blorbo. thank you for sticking around even tho all i do is draw my otp super blorbos :'^) this game means the world to me and im glad like more than 2 people wanna spread it around.

to wrap back around to the anniversary stuff and speaking of big love to the people out there THE FREAKING EPIC ZINE i was just a small thing but it came out amazing even for how small it was thank you to the contributors and thank you to everyone whos downloaded it!! its still getting the occasional and i love getting the notif in my email about it. i love that there are still people out there who wanna see it and all the hard work everyone put into it to celebrate the games 10th just thank you again i really does mean alot to me ALSO IF YOU HAVENT CHECKED IT OUT PLEASE DO IT IS 100% WORK YOUR TIME AND ITS DIGITAL WITH PRINT AT HOME STICKERS AND YOU CAN KEEP IT AND LOOK AT IT FOREVER

uh to end this off....would I like to do this again..... I mean I kinda am? by that i mean ill do the big numbers (15, 20, 25, 30, 40, etc) till the day i freaking die!!!! but yeah no countdown stuff ever again!!!!! sorry :^( it was super fun to do though!!!! and im glad i did it that piece is the conclusion to the whole thing but that doesnt mean ill stop drawing them. duh. theyre my characters now! but heres to many more anniversaries and to hopefully another game! or to just see them again in any other lego media! or even better... a mischaracterized cameo in ninjago!

[capricornus-rex]

His Spark of Light (4 - End)

Cal Kestis x Reader

Requested by: @stellar-trinity​ | Prompt: Clingy! Cal Kestis

1 | 2 | 3 | Masterlist

4 of 4

One of the things you told him while catching up was that you’ve volunteered for two tasks—medical work and mechanical work. After having your snack break over space waffles and fruits, you stood up from your seat but Cal snatched you by the wrist.

“Stay with me, please?”

He cooed and then flashed his puppy eyes at you—knowing that it was one of your biggest weaknesses—and you were having an internal battle whether or not to give in. He pulled you in until you sat on his lap. Cal has been behaving like a big baby around you ever since you rejoined the crew.

“I really missed having you here,”

“Sweetie, I won’t be long anyway. Plus, I’ll just be in their med-bay,”

He clicked his tongue and playfully whined like a toddler, “Noooo…”

You chuckled, brushed away the red fringes from his forehead to kiss it, and stood up—his grip on your wrist remained secured.

“Would you like me to help though?”

“That’d be great, come on. We need all the help we can get with the tech in the medical bay. You’re a better mechanic than me,”

You dragged him while he still has your hand in his clutches. The two of you went out of the Mantis and told Cere that you were going back in the base to help with the fighters set up their medical tech.

A fighter stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw you and Cal coming to her general direction.

“Oh, [y/n], I was about to look for you!”

“Yeah, have the shipments of the medical tech arrived?”

“About an hour ago. We need help in setting it up for the patients,”

You turned to Cal, “That’s where you come in. Let’s go,”

Both of you marched through the halls with you on the lead. The medical bay is located in the farther end of the ground floor just past the conference hall. Cal surprisingly kept his grip on to you all the way, you didn’t mind, though it was sort of a neat discovery on your end.

The medical bay’s doors retracted at the push of a button. Most of the tech has been set up but Cal helped out in configuring them until they’re functional for use; you were busy in tending to the patients’ wounds such as replacing their bandages and plastering their wounds with Bacta strips.

You and Cal have made quick work with the things needed to be done in the medical bay. Cal even managed to revive a decommissioned 2-1B medical droid that only needed a new processor, further impressing the doctors and medics in the room.

“Oh, that’s incredible, Cal!” you sincerely complimented his handiwork with the then-decommissioned medical droid, leaning against his arm as you examine it rebooting and making itself aware of its surroundings.

“Nah, it’s nothing. I fix up droids pretty quick,”

You gave him an affirming pat on his chest as the droid’s sounds gradually changed from distorted garbles until it became a monotonous yet coherent voice.

“System rebooting. Registered name: Eye-Em-Nine. Scanners optimal. Hello, my name is IM-9, 2-1B Medical Droid at your service.”

“Awesome work, Cal!” you gleefully said, shaking him by the arm.

“Well done, [y/n] and Cal! Thanks for configuring these old things. Now we can treat patients with better medical quality,” the doctor commends.

“Glad to help,” Cal beamed.

“How are you feeling, [y/n]?” the doctor asked you casually while poring over a patient’s records chart.

“Better actually. Cal here replaced my bandages earlier,”

“Good man. Oh, by the way, as a reward—here, have these,”

The doctor fished out something from the stock cabinet. He approached you and placed two stim canisters on the palm of your hand. The pair of green vials glowed and their light twinkled in you and Cal’s eyes. BD-1 even peeked over Cal’s shoulder to look at it.

“Oh, but Doc… we can’t… we can’t take these,” you stuttered. “The patients need it more than we do.”

“Oh come now, I insist,” the doctor gently pushes your hand back away from him. “Besides, we have enough for the patient—and another shipment well on the way. Please accept my quite small token of thanks,”

Seeing that you can’t talk your way out of it, you caved and decided to express your gratitude.

“No, it’s quite a big token, Doc. This is gonna come in real handy sooner or later,”

“You’re welcome, [y/n] and Cal,”

BD-1 chirped curiously when the doctor dismissed himself to accommodate a patient in bed.

“How many stims you got left in you, buddy?” you asked.

BD-1 trilled in a soft rhythmic tone—as if counting—and then replied with one loud chirp.

“Oh, well, these are gonna restock your storage real quick,”

BD tilted his head slightly, ejecting the small tray for you to place in the stims in. when you slid the vials into the slots, the tray retracted into BD-1’s head and then the little droid played a string of happy-sounding tones.

“With you, BD, we feel unstoppable,” Cal cooed and fist-bumped with the tiny droid, and you patted his head.

Now with the job done, you exited the medical bay and saw that there was still little sunlight shining through the windows. The fighters and their commanding officers were busy as usual in different sectors—the communications, the strategical planning, and medical efforts to name a few.

The lightbulb in your mind suddenly flickered on and you had an idea. The thought was at the tip of your tongue moments ago and you finally remembered it.

“Oh! Follow me. I wanna show you something,” you grabbed him by the wrist and let go as soon as you felt his feet carry him.

Cal was impressed that you managed to memorize the layout of the temple without a map. Four days isn’t usually the threshold for a person to have memorized an entire place with all its twists and turns. He was able to keep up to your pace as you sprinted through the hallways; you could have been easy to lose with the blind turns and sharp lefts and rights, but Cal stayed close.

“Where are we going?” he huffed as he ran.

“You’ll see!” you heaved as well.

Cal followed you up to the third level of the temple. Both of you finally finished the flight of stairs from the second floor. He hoped that the run was at its end. You two stopped to catch your breaths, you went ahead towards the open balcony.

“This has been my favorite time of the day and favorite thing to do ever since I got here,” you said as if daydreaming.

Cal walked up to your side and saw what you meant.

The view from the third level balcony of the temple was a breathtaking spectacle. The powder blue sky had a royal blue gradient as the sun began to set. The most prominent part of the view is Yavin itself, the red planet blanketed nearly half of the evening sky, accompanied by a multitude of stars and puffs of clouds while dusk comes in. The trees were transforming into silhouettes when the sky grew into a deeper shade of blue, and the stars were multiplying tenfold.

You gestured a nod, “Look down there.”

Cal followed and saw how small the fighters and the ships—including the Mantis—appeared. He couldn’t believe that both of you have gotten this high up in the temple. He stole a glance at you, he watched you stare at whatever’s happening down below and alternately look at the sky—though you stared longer at the sky, looking at it as if the sight came from a dream.

He stood closer to you as he looked down below.

“When I got here, most of them were wounded, they returned with their ships barely holding it together. Even if I wanted to leave, I felt the need to help them,” you thought out loud. “And then, one of their leaders said something. He had a speech for his soldiers. He said something like, ‘the tiniest of sparks could even ignite the largest of infernos.’ I overheard him say that and I can’t help but think, I wonder which one of these fighters is the tiny spark that would light up the blaze.”

“Well, who knows? Maybe one of the people you saved might be. You’re a hero too, [y/n],”

You smile while slightly shaking your head, “I never thought of myself in that high regard,”

“They could’ve died without your help,”

“That’s literally what you said back in Kashyyyk when we got there,”

“Yeah, and even if I keep saying I miss you every day when you were gone, now that you’ve told me about this, I’m proud of you. You saved lives, that’s a really big deal,”

Your cheeks flushed in color while you try to fight back a smile by biting you lip, “Really?”

“Yeah. Come here you,”

Cal pulled you in close to him again, you were really pressed against his body and he encased you in his embrace while he rested his head on the top of your head while both of you continue viewing the evening scene of Yavin IV. Your small arms attempted to wrap the broad of his back as you returned the hug and he planted perhaps a dozen of kisses all over your forehead and cheeks.

“I think I should go on solo trips more often,”

“Why so?”

“So you’d hug and cuddle me tighter than usual like this,”

Albeit being a half-joke, Cal still went for it and thought of a breakeven.

“How about I just smother you more often so you don’t leave my side ever?”

You rolled your eyes in a pensive manner, and then you smiled when you’ve reached a decision.

“Not a bad bargain.”

Cal beamed, leaned closer to you and kissed your lips, shortly but sweetly. He slicked back the loose hairs on your hairline, exposing your forehead and planted another kiss there; and then he rested his cheek over your head again as both of you enjoy the scenic evening view.

[xadoheandterra]

Series: Semblance Title: Patriciate Fandom: Jak and Daxter Chapters: I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | XIII | XIV | XV | XVI | XVII Characters: Jak, Daxter, Samos, Keira, Kid!Jak, Ashelin, Torn, Tess Tags: Worldbuilding, Accidentally King of Haven!Jak, hurt/comfort, things go wrong, things get better, things get worse again, slow build, slow burn, slow to update, cross posted, fantasy racism, canon divergence, been meaning to share this here Summary: “It’s yours,” Jak said softly. “Keep it…remember where you come from. At least one of us should remember….”

If Jak knew the consequences of that one, selfish choice…well, he’d probably have made the same decision either way.

Jak forgot something kind of important. At least it gave Torn time enough to get him presentable.

Daxter ducked between legs and strangers alike, scurrying along the ground on all four paws. He dashed quick from the port and used all of the little known side alleys that only three years in Haven could teach an ottsel. Two of those three years he’d worked hard to unearth and learn the layout by himself despite Haven’s insane size. It’d taken him the better part of the first year to just learn how to traverse the city at barely two feet tall; after all the distance Jak could travel at a dead run in an hour Daxter could barely achieve in three.

And he wants this damn thing pronto, Daxter grimaced to himself. Really buddy? It ain’t easy getting’ around by myself and it ain’t like I could ask anyone! I can’t even jack a damn zoomer, sheesh.

Sometimes Daxter felt like Jak could be so inconsiderate, taking his willingness to help a pal out for granted. Still Daxter persevered, and yeah maybe he realized after he’d finally reached the beginning of Main Town that he could’ve asked Tess for a ride but damn if Daxter weren’t determined to do this one his own by that point. Even still Daxter had a limit, and one that rapidly began to approach given how much his chest burned and his legs and arms hurt.

Jak’s just gonna hafta deal with me bein’ a bit late, Daxter reasoned to himself. I’ll make it up t’him later. He skittered to a halt over by the nearest bridge. His chest heaved as he flopped down against one of the rails supports, the small backpack that Tess had scrounged up for him to carry the key in thunked heavily against the ground. Exhaustedly Daxter brushed along the fringe of what would have once been his bangs to wipe away the sweat that had gathered. He grimaced at the feel of slick fur and resisted the urge to growl out of annoyance.

Sometimes he really hated being an Ottsel. The fur and two feet tall were prime reasons to resent the transformation, no matter how used to it he’d gotten. Daxter puffed out a breath and pressed his head back against the rail and closed his eyes.

“Ugh, why s’it gotta be so far?” Daxter grumbled to himself bitterly. He didn’t see the glances from the others who meandered around Main Town, going about their business, but he knew they were there. He’d gotten stares like that all the time, although the ones that he and Jak got together where by far the most hilarious of the lot.

“I think I found him.”

“Really? That small thing?”

“Well Commander Torn did say an orange rat, right?”

“I thought he was joking.”

Daxter opened one eye to look for the voices the minute he heard ‘Torn,’ a snarl on his lips. He wasn’t a rat Precursors damn it all! His gaze found a small trio of slightly armored teens that he vaguely recognized from the few times he and Jak spent more than a night at the Underground barracks.

“Oi!” Daxter yelled. He jumped to his feet, quite suddenly energized, hands on his hips. “It’s ottsel. O! T! T! S! E! L! Get it right, ya jerks!”

The three teens turned and shared a look before they seemed to nod in agreement. One of them approached and Daxter noted he wore some sort of half-KG mask. He vaguely remembered Tess had mentioned something about the Underground’s members were now forced to be recognizable since the metal head invasion.

“You Daxter?” the one on the left said. Her voice rang with the tinny quality that Daxter associated with the KG.

“Ya work for the Tattooed Wonder?” Daxter shot back, eyes narrowed and lips pulled down.

“Yeah it’s definitely him,” the one on the right said. He shot a side glance to the girl. The one in the middle, closest to Daxter, snorted disdainfully.

“This job sucks,” the middle one grumbled and turned his gaze away from Daxter to look instead at his companions. The one on the right’s eyes crinkled in the amused way and the one on the left looked like she was hiding a smile under that mask.

“What job? Searchin’ out the good ol’ Orange Lightning?” Daxter didn’t quite leer, but he did drawl out the words. At least two of them seemed decent.

The girl on the left laughed. “Definitely him. Come on, orange lightning. Commander Torn’s asked us to pick you up.”

“Said something about it taking too long,” the one on the right said.

“I still don’t get why we’re stuck with carrying this pet,” the middle one huffed.

“You can carry me anytime you like, gorgeous,” Daxter winked to the girl, who laughed good naturedly with the guy on the left while the middle one growled. “I’ve been lookin’ for a cute ride like you. I got one mean delivery I gotta get over pronto, y’know?”

“I might have heard,” she replied as she reached out a hand for Daxter. He quickly scurried over and then up her arm and onto her shoulder. “Damn is this what it feels like to be him?” she said almost reverently.

“All th’ time, babe,” Daxter nodded. “Now c’mon! I’ve wasted enough time huffin’ it by myself. Ol’ gravelly shoulda sent someone sooner.”

“We should just shoot it,” the middle one hissed.

“Aw, I like you too grumpy!” Daxter cooed back, face twisted into a sickly sweet grin.

“I’m gonna shoot it,” ‘grumpy’ snapped and reached for his gun.

The one on the right grasped his wrist before he could do anything and hissed, “Do you want to get on Commander Torn’s bad side?”

“But it’s annoying.”

“It,” Daxter said sharply, “is a he, and he happens to be the one who saved all your asses with his trusty sidekick Jak who just happens to be his best fuckin’ friend and can, y’know, get growly.”

Grumpy swallowed heavily and backed off at the look he received from his two partners.

“Told you,” the one on the right mumbled. “Bad idea, man.”

“Yeah,” Daxter agreed. “Listen to your conscience over here.”

“Fuck you,” grumpy spat.

‘Conscience,’ snorted a laugh in response.

“Funny,” Daxter’s current shoulder seat laughed softly. “Come on, we best hurry. We’re gathering a crowd.”

Grumpy and conscience exchanged glances, paled, and quickly began ushering their female compatriot onwards.

“Weren’t we supposed to not draw a crowd?” conscience uttered.

“Your fault,” grumpy spat.

“Oh hush,” Daxter interrupted, “and get movin’!”

All three started to run at that. Daxter relaxed against the gentle lull of a shoulder at full run, a wide grin across his face. Now he’d get there in a decent amount of time. He’d have to thank the Tattooed Wonder for giving him such a lovely ride, too. Daxter paused, then frowned, then wanted to cry at the realization he actually had to thank the asshole who called him a rat.

Torn stared at his communicator in faint horror, although Jak figured a good majority of that actually was for show. Torn had to be acutely aware of how uncomfortable this entire situation made the teen, give that Jak practically gouged his legs throughout a good chunk of the process. The act did serve to put Jak into a more comfortable mindset, comfortable enough that his eyes were black with dark eco—just tinged purple instead. His skin looked a bit paler than normal, but that could be associated to nerves rather than eco.

“Why is your rat insisting on riding one of my men up the elevator?” Torn’s voice practically squeaked at the end he wheezed so hard.

Jak scrubbed a hand through his now groomed, wrapped, and braided hair. It hung in twisted, braided dreadlocks that suited the young teen and at the same time felt like a punch to the gut. If Torn didn’t know that Jak happened to be the young kid he’d once looked after—and thus had to be related to the late King Damas—then the resemblance sure as hell would have told him as much. Granted Damas never did quite wear the locks as well as Jak could.

“Mar you have to have some Wastlander in you,” Torn muttered as he flopped onto the couch.

“What does that mean?” Jak blinked at the sudden non-sequitor.

“Your hair,” Torn waved a hand. “No Havenite can wear it like that so easily. You see it more on Wastelander’s than anything.”

Jak’s brow furrowed in confusion, but before he could get a word in about it Torn shifted and spoke up again.

“Seriously though what does that rodent think he’s doing anyway? He could put her at risk!”

“His name is Daxter,” Jak pointed out, “and he’s probably exhausted. I forgot how far Main Town is from the bar.” Jak leaned forward from his spot on the bed and scrubbed at his face. “He’s probably pissed about that. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Do you like him nagging you or something?” Torn quarried. When Jak didn’t answer at first the commander shifted to stare at the teen, concerned.

Jak sighed. “…sort of.” He licked his lips. “It’s…I didn’t speak for a long time, Torn. Dax talking…it’s normal.” He smiled fondly. “He spoke for the both of us.”

“He still does,” Torn grumbled.

“Yeah.”

Despite being an ottsel Daxter at his core didn’t change. Jak relished in that, relished in how much his friend still remained his friend because damn if he didn’t regret that accident so much. He opened his mouth to speak some more when a sharp rap at the door sounded throughout the room. Torn got to his feet and Jak likewise pulled himself up.

They shared a glance—looks like it was showtime. Jak got to his feet, Torn shortly behind him. Jak wanted to get the door, but Torn motioned for him to stay—they’d gone over, repeatedly, in the wait for Daxter to show up and in the time that Torn worked on his hair, how the people around Jak were expected to act. How Jak would be expected to act. While it sat wrong with him to hang back, he still let Torn take the lead and open the door.

This whole insane plane hinged on Jak, after all, and if he didn’t show the right response at the right time then any credibility as being the last heir to the House of Mar wouldn’t matter. It grated to act like some damned nobleman when first and foremost Jak was anything but; still he waited, anxiously as evidenced by the slight shift from foot to foot. Torn slipped the door open, took one look out into the hallway, and sighed in relief.

“Ashelin,” Torn greeted sharply, and stepped back.

“Commander,” Ashelin responded in kind. She stepped into the room first, behind her followed an Underground fighter with Daxter perched precariously on her shoulder. Jak zeroed in on his best friend, and a small nervous smile flittered across his face.

No one said anything at first, or at least no one but Daxter and Jak. Jak’s little twitches—almost completely unnoticeable—clued Daxter into the bigger picture within a minute. The conversation went on much longer than that though, with an ever growing darker expression on Daxter’s face. The ottsel glanced between Jak, Torn, and Ashelin with a scowl until Ashelin couldn’t take it anymore.

“What!?” the young Praxis heiress snapped out. She looked to Torn for back up, but Torn refused to respond. He’d seen the silent communication in action too much to even attempt to counteract it.

“Nothin’,” Daxter said eventually after a pleading look from Jak and a slightly pulled face. “We’ve got a show to get on the road, right?”

“What do you mean we?” Ashelin demanded. “You were just delivery—”

“I ain’t leavin’ Jak to deal with just you,” Daxter shot back, “and my ride here ain’t either. We’re both goin’ an’ you’ll just hafta deal there princess. You roped Jak into this thing and ya better handle the consequences. We’re a pair an’ that is that.”

Jak smiled.

“Dax’s always had my back, Ashelin,” he said softly. “Besides, as I understand it if I just walk in with the Ruby Key they’re going to demand how a priceless artifact integral to this city’s history just so happened to disappear and then reappear with the House of Mar.”

Torn smiled, and nodded once in approval when Jak glanced his way. He spoke up to catch Ashelin’s attention. “Look at that Ashe, the kid has a knack for this,” he teased for a second before he added seriously, “He has a point and you know it. Especially when you know it was this very council that ousted the last King we had.”

“That was my father—” Ashelin counteracted, only to be cut off with a look.

“It might have been your father,” Torn said carefully, “but even your father can’t intimidate the other sage lines. At least three quarters of them had to be in agreement. Not to mention the other minor noble houses.”

Ashelin bit her lip, frustrated, but she had to admit Torn was right. Although neither of them had been there for the original banishment of the House of Mar, they both knew the aftermath intimately enough. Still—Ashelin turned toward Daxter and with a sharp look assessed the situation.

“You can’t just waltz in with the Ruby Key, either,” Ashelin pointed out. “You’re too involved with Jak.”

“Ah, but I’m involved officially as of this past year,” Daxter pointed out slyly. Jak didn’t bother to fight down his smile as Ashelin blinked in slight surprise and Daxter continued barreling on, head held high. “In fact I was quite the respected bug hunter up until the business went up in smoke; I merely stumbled across this here puppy,” Daxter patted his bag, “without knowin’ what it was. I’m just a poor ottsel—we’re not taught Haven’s history.”

“If anything Dax only realized what the Ruby Key was after he and I got involved,” Jak added softly, and completely convincingly. Any protest left Ashelin.

Torn glanced at them, then asked, “How will you explain your closeness?”

“How do you explain a soul brother?” Daxter shot back full of complete self-confidence.

“We click,” Jak shrugged, and it was the honest truth—he and Daxter had always just clicked like that.

Torn appraised them for a second more—and almost let out an amused snort when he realized the soldier before him was still star-struck and drooling; kids these days—before he nodded sharply. He turned to Ashelin and said, “They’re good.”

Ashelin looked ready to protest, so Torn stepped up to her and grabbed her shoulders. “They’re good, Ashe,” he said sharply. “Trust me.” It took a second longer before Ashelin let out an explosive breath. They’d wasted enough time already on this whole mess, and so with a sharp turn she motioned for the group to follow.

“Look alive soldier,” Torn said under his breath to the young girl. She jerked, flushed, and then straightened her back and fell into step just behind Jak.

[macklives]

homestuck recap

i hated this so fucking much bc my 2 am bitch-ass didnt want to read a recap thats probably longer than any slowburn out there

anyways here it is

also, uhhH sorry im using this as a end of session discussion bc that shit gets explained in her as well. and im not writing up more recaps of a recap so this is where im done for the day. (by done for the day i mean last nights session, im still doing a liveblog soon. i just wrote this yesterday)

also that this is long

you dont have to read it, theres nothing of importance

ive been coping with humor to get me through it

neato.

have fun with what i suffered through:

why was “beta” the only thing unhighlighted?

like did i miss a page???

OH its the beta version of HS thats why

damn its like 5 pages and thats it

mmh

well youll all be happy to know im clicking every single one of these links again bc i like looking back like ahh i remember that. good times. also in case i forgot some shit existed.

do you think andrew had fun writing this? or was he like “fuck”

thats a lot of fucking package talk. good thing im not confused as of now and remember it pretty clearly. of else, this early on in the recap, id be screwed.

god remember when i did an analysis on each item and what it did

i feel as if i have the technology engrained inside my head right now

cruxite, alchemeter, all that jazz

flashbacks are starting up already

yeah, that was the good part in homestuck where i knew 100% that i probably would continue on this liveblog in its entirety, ngl

that one explosion scene. bc it kept me going.

OH W A IT SHIT

i just realized how the intermission spades probably fucking foreshadowed the whole jack revolts thing and gains the ring, which was also technically JOHNS fault considering he slashed up the doll in the first place

my god, i guess thats the only good aspect of the recap. looking back at things and realizing the missing pieces.

oh that makes sense for the whole “this prototyping had no effect on the enemies, since he was already in the medium” i didnt actually think about that

little did rose know where that would get her right now

oh yeah

there’s still the whole entire lab terminal thing and how mom basically knows the place exists. i guess we’re still venturing onto that and itll come up later when we find out how mom knows SO MUCH about the game.

still think shes some weird spy or secret agent

i kinda love her ngl

anyways, theres literally no reason for skaia to produce a cloning machine. so technically, they only sent the meteors in, right? so who put the cloning machine in if not mom?

oh yeah that impact was nerve wrecking asf

and still at this point in the comic i called dave fuckboy red

huh, how times change

i hated reading that whole paragraph ngl, the frustration just kicked me in the boobs again

yeah nobody else got tornadoes, huh?

OH that makes also much more sense

bc she did prototyped them before she entered the medium.

i gotcha

man one of my favorite edits i made, rose hitting that meteor with a bat

are you

telling me

the exiles structures they arrived on were in the form of the items the kids used to enter the medium?

THE EGG

THAT EXPLAINS “EGG”

of course it was 413 years ago. that was never explained. simply vague “many years in the future....” but i expected no less from this

man serenity is the most wholesome character in hs no doubt

damn thought andy here was really gonna spoil us jade’s planet

okay cool, im glad i now have the layout to the whole “their stations went to the coordinates of the home button” shindig

man i honestly dont know what else to say besides “yeah cool recap” when i already pretty much know what went down? ofc im looking into each link and shit and adding in things when i see fit, but otherwise its just me going “ah good times” yknow

the whole meteor thing kinda makes sense now?

we’re still missing a few pieces of info but we’re getting there, folks

oh yeah that reveal

god jade and dave have it in the shits for parents huh

bro isnt the best and jade has a fucking dog

who lowkey

is doing better than bro

who knew a fucking dog is a better guardian than bro lmfao

dreambot = terminator. im telling you.

sorry im still on that idea and it will never leave unless i have the actual proof in front of me that its not going to become a thing. meaning, ive finished hs and theres still no terminator dreambot or either andrew himself gives me a canon letter with “the robot is not arnold, mackenzie, pls just let it be”

why is the entire game session highlighted

i swear to god if this is like to a second recap or smth of the whole game session i may fucking CRY

okay thank god its just a design of the skaia layout

which is honestly cool

idk why its blurry tho but i can at least see the layout now. which is honestly how i pictured it anyways.

yeah, john did make a huge impact in his friends’ life and i find that so fucking touching

yep. got that. everything loops around. cool.

especially when the trolls come in. god we havent even gotten to that recap portion yet, we havent even gotten to the INTERMISSION

pls can this be the halfway point to the recap

AT LEAST

so they were exiled after the whole jack: ascend thing, right? considering theyre way in the future. man no fucking wonder.

speaking of jack

man that whole dad and jack interaction was gold, ngl

OH THAT EXPLAINS THE RING THEN

and wow, andrew’s really giving us the best female content huh. andrew is the true god of equality and diversity.

also hey, i didnt realize that wow. so PM tricked the queen in showing the parking ticket to be able to take the present from jack. she’s a smart cookie, that one..

she and PM basically snitched on jack and it was the best thing that has happened to me so far

oh yeah okay

but why did AR panic over bec? bc thats something we havent learned yet, right?

anyways

exile town, the only town which should exist. facts. i dont make the rules.

noice

i love PM being queen. like.. thats canon now. shes an actual queen.

yeah that was a fun game and the consorts were cute

fuck yeah the dick head

hate them even more now that i know john was killed because of them

anyways, i wonder what dick move dave’s denizen did? maybe thats why its filled with lava bc the denizen was like “fuck it. make the land red. kill them all”

UH WHAT

WHAT

OH MY GOD HOW DID I JUST FORGET NANNAS LETTER LIKE THAT LMFAO

THEIR TITLES WERE THERE THE WHOLE TIME!

so i still dont know what they mean but i can gather it has something to do with the game giving them abilities. considering dave is the “knight of time” and he can go back in time. whack.

which means john can either control someones breathing or simply wind. and rose is... like that one girl in the winx club who does the sun shit. bc whenever i think of light powers, i think of stella.

and jade is space. witch of space.

nice

i have no idea what that means ngl

okay finally

we’re at the trolls

maybe this recap will end soon

i remember when i thought they were internet bullies

yesss

someone asked if i basically knew the trolls were on a different veil than the kids, so not presently with them, and i know lol. i was making a joke before btw. jsyk. dont think im incompetent to forget these things when sometimes i choose to forget it so i can add in a joke

it be like that, i annoy many

then again, pls dont assume im trying to say im not incompetent bc im also a fucking dumbass and DO forget shit and i have no excuse

imagine being so bored on the meteor, your last resort is speaking to aliens

ngl me if i was ever trapped on a meteor and could potentially do that

nah ik its bc its their only hope at helping with their session or whatever tf CG said to john. but there was BOUND to be a conference meeting between them like “okay guys. humans. that needs to be sorted out” and you just hear CG screaming in the background

i cant wait to meet them honestly bc im growing on all 4 of the ones we’ve seen already. and on top of that, i know what they look like and i know theyre not THAT bad, just a little on the crayy zee side sometimes

but theyre trying

OH MY GOD

I GET IT

FUCK

DOES THAT MEAN THE INTERMISSION IS *APART* OF THE MAIN FUCKING STORY??

AND SPADES IS WV FOR THE TROLLS

GOD D A M N

wow

i didnt expect that. but maybe the signs were there and i was just willingly choosing to ignore it or smth bc “haha couldnt be, right”

flashbacks to how i thought the trolls were humans

anyways, i guess he got his revenge on the kids version of “snowman” ie the black queen. but really

he did not have to do that. he could have cut off the finger and fled. but he decided “nah, lets implode her” so the loml is dead and all i got was a catchy song

i knew they were different types of “bullies” but now i just have to replace bullies with uhh

trolling strategies

anyways, this is cute. i love how they’ve come to be friends through mutual frustration. good part in the comic.

i wonder why it explodes

more importantly

....

terminator time?

this was my favourite sequences of dialogues in the whole entirety of homestuck. that is to say the back and forth thing that the kids went through to become a sort of wingman for the other.

absolutely gold.

all except AT’s rap.

GC was the only smart one with the linear shit

anyways fuck he still has to kill the denizen now but apparently its hard to beat for a sleeping dick head so

that will be fun for the future

john will probably need to kill A LOT of imps to get there

yeah rose is a badass bc she slayed that thing with needles of all things

OH and the white queen was the cursive

damn did AR ever do the whole guide process to a kid yet? maybe he will with dave, idk

oHHH

i fucking SEE

thats why he said DNA

to use it and replace all the life forms in the ocean

fucking neat wow

man that sounded sarcastic but im genuinely impressed bc all i got was bullshit as i read jaspersprites log

so thats the secret. it was “meow” bc that somehow translates to the genetic code she needs then. and that code apparently took fucking years to write as well. sick. whack. oh man.

derse is very pretty, ngl

and wow shit

“dave had already been awake in his tower all along without realizing it” how tf does someone just

do that, awake in both places at once

i didnt even fucking realize that fact as i read that pesterlog wow

ah yes, around the time things got confusing

okay so the capsule makes sense bc at first i didnt know it was a fucking time capsule so i got confused as to how it just apparated the game lmfao

the more you know i guess *twinkle*

i find that a neat concept tho

like the whole whatever you prototype affects the imps and shit

yeah so that whole “he had no advice” basically impacted his future

no shit dave wanted to reset things bc he probably thought he caused some sort of bad butterfly effect and killed his best friend

fuck calsprite thats all im gonna say

i read that first sentence and i think i got an aneurysm

and then everything else just made me sad again

i mean good thing he fucking did amirite?

we got pain at first but now we got cool shit like idk

fucking DAVESPRITE

damn idk how that works

will rose have like two minds now? or will this be some steven universe fusion shit?

“and understood their meaning” course well i fucking didnt so could you pls elaborate, rose?

okay but then what the fuck did he use that was inside the fucking box

bc i thought he used his knife?

im only every going to refer him as that now, thank you andrew

alright okay..

god that was a lot

i dont know what will happen once i click on those links but i am going to see that for myself bc i refuse to add ANYTHING ELSE

[comicteaparty]

July 4th-July 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from July 4th, 2020 to July 10th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What was an unexpected aspect of making webcomics you didn’t realize before making one yourself?

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

How much our comic and it's story we're going to change during the years of creation was the biggest and most jarring aspect for sure. There's scripts and thumbs that were all made before we ventured out to make GJS with paths completely different from what we initially thought we would take that have completely changed how we approach not only writing but reading webcomics too. Webcomics as a medium have the biggest connection to time, whether it be production or the consumption, they have this opportunity to exist and transform in the long hours it takes to enjoy and read them. It's honestly one of the biggest advantages imho. To see a story slowly unfold, listening to ur audience reactions, peer critiques, or new inspiration can make such a drastic and intense impact on a long form work- its both jaw dropping and humbling to be apart of!(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

For me it was the community aspect of comics. I knew a community existed on the reader side of things (comments!), but I didn't expect the creator side to be how it is! I don't know why, but for some reason I kind of always thought that all of us were sort of throwing our comics out from the void... I guess that was me looking at comics from a reader's point of view! But as soon as I started making comics, I started meeting people who made them too... and it's been incredible!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@deo I never really understood what an internet community or internet friends were until I started making a webcomic

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, I had been in (and quickly decided to not be in 0_0) gaming communities, but nothing really as wonderful as what I've found through comics. Closest I had gotten other than that was comments on social media

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

Community definitely one of the big things, much like Deo pointed. I was kinda expecting to have get connections through readers, but it's much more with other creators, which is super satisfying in it's own way. Also gonna second Krispy's comment about how time affects how you see your story's past and future. A lot of things changed in the past four years that made my comic change as well and having so much time to think each individual scene allows them to be much more complex and interesting than they would when I first thought them through. Having the time really helps. This also kinda touches the topic of personal change too, which affects how I write and what feels most important to focus on and that's interesting to think about as well

eliushi [Keyspace]

How long things will take, the longer the story goes on! I started out being able to complete a page in 2h but then I found more I wanted to try on each page (colours, layout, composition etc) and even wanted to extend certain scenes. With 500 pages planned, I definitely thought I’d be farther along by now, heading into AWT’s first year anniversary in a month. That being said, I’m also enjoying the ride and it’s all thanks to the great community here and making connections with other comics folks/readers. I never expected to get comments and so each one has been a treasure to read.

Desnik

An unexpected aspect of making webcomics is how much people respond to them. I figured I'd be creating into a void but I met so many people as a result of publishing my dinosaur comic

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Ditto on the webcomic community. I didn't realize how far reaching it was to have a community that supports each other. And I've enjoyed meeting so many wonderful and creative people who raised each other up. Another thing I didn't expect, however, was how invested I got into my comic.(edited)

At first I was doing it mostly for fun. But the more I delved into it, the easier it was to get sucked into my story and want to draw it out. And as a result taking it a lot more seriously.

Desnik

yeah sometimes I miss my dinosaur comic even though I had some pretty good reasons for moving on. It was created out of desperation and evolved into something that made me feel good about myself

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

How much work and time it takes to keep a weekly update going with no backlog

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah same

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

For me, I didn't realize how much it would affect my life to make comics, and vice versa. In a weird way, I didn't know how interrelated the two were, or how easily life could interfere with my comic, or the inverse.

eliushi [Keyspace]

Making comics became a lifestyle for me

@Haruh2 (Colony Life) When I had no backlog I was updating every two weeks with 7 pages per update; so about 14h of work. But this is with a finished script. I am also told I work fast.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

omg

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

That's soooo much, Eli!

That's at least twice as much as I do (edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

For me, I didn't realize how much it would affect my life to make comics, and vice versa. In a weird way, I didn't know how interrelated the two were, or how easily life could interfere with my comic, or the inverse.

I hadn't realized how much I put myself into my comic! My friends who read it have all said that it's incredibly in my voice and reflects my opinions and worldviews Before I shared it with people I hadn't thought of it in that way at all

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

As an artist, I didn't expect how my comic production and mindset will change. Once I started comics, it brought out my ideas from thoughts to a physical form. I start to invest more time into it. Each project evolved through each chapter. How to balance script writing to a polished piece. I put alot of time and research in my works. It makes me glad to hear other creators do the same. I'm not the crazy artist who's wasting her time. One of the positive change was meeting other creators, how we give advice and receive praise.(edited)

eliushi [Keyspace]

The support has been amazing. It makes the work less lonely

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Fish, oh for sure! I didn't realize until recently how much my characters are all just facets of myself!

eliushi [Keyspace]

(I don’t work that quickly anymore and I’m making big changes to the format soon so it’s going to be a Transition)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I've been in school with art students who never made comics, so when I came to CTP discord, reading comic discussions. It was comforting and fun. I enjoy the cooperation our group has, helping each other.

eliushi [Keyspace]

I like to commiserate about the unique challenges comics have

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Hahaha, yeahhhhh

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I agree, it's different from illustrations. Different approach(edited)

eliushi [Keyspace]

I am perpetually balancing time spent on a panel vs how much time the reader will spend on it

Vs illustration: lemme make all the details

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Oh I agree, each panel takes longer than it takes to read it. Hence I dislike when readers call manga creators 'lazy'

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

how much time does it take to read one of my pages?

20 seconds?(edited)

haha

e.e

wait is that emoji supposed to be someone rolling their eyes??

i jsut looked it up

i might've been using it wrong this whole time

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Pacing

It's way different than in novels, and definitely came as a shock at the start

eliushi [Keyspace]

Yeah have to play to the strength of the medium. Still imagining AWT as an animated movie written from a novel, in the format of a comic

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Haha, same kinda

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

@eliushi [Keyspace] ah haha, that makes me feel better about my update habits, but thats a good goal for me to shoot for now that im learning a new way to make long comics specifically

cAPSLOCK (Tailslide)

I completely underestimated the amount of effort that would have to go into formatting, website design and maintenance, etc. If I got to do it again, a little more research beforehand probably would’ve saved me a lot of time and hassle.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I really overestimated the "if you build it they will come" aspect of webcomics lol. Like, you actually have to work to advertise your comic in order for people to read it. Nobody ever got hundreds of readers just from posting their comic onto some hosting site without doing major marketing work.(edited)

dako

yeah, I feel that

I've never really been an advertising type before my comic, im learning to just get used to it

Deo101 [Millennium]

I've not really done much advertising tbh, it makes me uncomfortable

dako

it feels kinda...embarrassing? might be too harsh of a word

i dunno

Deo101 [Millennium]

its just uncomfortable idk! i feel awkward doing it

dako

yeah, same ive done it a few times on reddit but i have to force myself

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

it does feel, odd..hell most of the time it just feels like i open the door to my house and toss a bunch of paper to the wind hoping someone can see it

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah, I dont know if ive done anything other than posting updates on twitter and talking about it in groups like this

and twitter is mostly just me talkin to people who already read it...

idk talking about my work without being asked first makes me feel like im inserting myself where im not allowed

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Self promo got MUCH less intimidating for me when I started thinking of it like: "okay, so my comic is made for readers like me, people who share my tastes. That means I only need to answer one question: what can I say to get me to check out this comic? I don't need to impress anyone else. I just need to appeal to me." (since "me" is my target audience)

Deo101 [Millennium]

mhm ^^

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

But take it with a grain of salt because I'm still not really promoing

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

exactly, thats why i find it hard to tweet about it most of the time, but i get the whole if i dont care about to talk without being asked no one else will either

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah lmao mood im like what would get me to read... hmmm... probably exactly what im doing.... I'll keep it up then :)

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

yea i get excited to draw out certain parts..but wouldnt want to just tweet about all the little tidbits of the story ruining it for others

Deo101 [Millennium]

sweats

dako

i made a whole side twitter for my comic cuz talking about it on my main intimidated me too much

it is my containment chamber

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

hm may do that, just to say i did it and to get my mind away from the thought

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

yeah same

Deo101 [Millennium]

My main is just whatever I want it to be idk. Its kinda for all my comics, since my comics are all I want to talk about

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

though my main is mostly just retweeting from my side twitter lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

it removes a lot of the pressure of like what if my followers dont wanna see this??

cause they wouldnt be here if they didnt wanna see it

cause its all Ive been doing the whole time

dako

thats a good point

i had my main way before my comic so most of my mutuals/followers dont follow for that

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

yea, it can feel abit disorienting when there is no interaction one way or another on anything you tweet (also if twitter has messed up and causes your tweets to not show up)

Deo101 [Millennium]

but yeah I dont really advertise cause it just makes me so uncomfortable >.<

dako

understandable

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I'm kind of somewhere in between. I advertise my comic mostly because it is all I wanna talk about, like Deo. But I also don't think it's gotten me many readers. Most of my readers came as far as I can tell because I was making something that appealed to them. (The whole "if you build it, they will come" thing.) Although, I really don't have a big audience, I do have an audience, and I am certain most of them came from me just posting.

I think it's determined a lot by luck, and also, how big your niche's audience is to begin with (and some skill tbh).

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah like I think "gay sci fi" is a p big niche so ive got a big amount of people I could potentially reach

which makes it much easier to draw people in

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I'm particularly lucky, I guess, that fantasy/romance has a lot of readers (also more competition, but...)

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah fantasy romance is a damn big one

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

eh i think im in an awkward void with my action/drama story (since im not doing romance drama)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I just go with the mindset: "what makes my fantasy/romance different from the rest" and go from there.

Deo101 [Millennium]

mhm

tbh I dont think my sci fi romance is doing anything special?

but im having fun so :) I dont rlly care about that hahahha

dako

having fun the most important thing

Deo101 [Millennium]

its not my goal to make somthing mindblowing ^^ truley im just here for a good time

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I mean, LGBT+-inclusive sci-fi is pretty unique

I haven't seen a lot

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's clear that your characters are people, and that's special, regardless of how common/uncommon

dako

think if i didnt love my comic as much as i do id have stopped a long time ago

Deo101 [Millennium]

thats true keiiii, thank you <3

also yeah its Sad that theres not more LGBT+ sci fi cause its like youve got aliennnssssssssssssssssssss you can do whatever you waaaaaant

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I knooowww

Deo101 [Millennium]

guess it shows what ppl want or something

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

yup

Deo101 [Millennium]

off topic

so to make it back on topic

I underestimated how much people would like gay sci fi GJKLAGJLAJLKAGJSLAKGJKL

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One thing I learned specifically with my current comic... I did not realize how much difference the reader's cultural background would make in terms of interpreting my story.

Deo101 [Millennium]

!!!!!

I actually almost mentioned you in class once tbh keiii

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Big oversight, in retrospect

!?

Deo101 [Millennium]

saying "someone I know makes a comic which they noticed, it's interpreted completely differently just depending on cultural backgrounds" kind of a thing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like I would not have made the comic any different, but I would have approached the... presentation differently. Like, talk about it differently

Deo101 [Millennium]

cause we were talking about how narratives affect rt

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I guess another thing that was unexpected about making webcomics was... there are way more people with my exact tastes than I thought

Deo101 [Millennium]

and I was saying that I think the viewer's narrative affects art more than the artists narrative

I mean, the artists narrative obviously is what makes it so.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

In the eyes of the beholder

Deo101 [Millennium]

but interpretations and all that... yeah!!!

so. actually I might have offhandedly mentioned you I cant remember if I did or not

lemme check

I did! very like "second hand" offhandedly mentioning though ahaha

hope that doesnt make you uncomfortable GSKLGSJALGJLGK no one replied to me so e.e

in the class I mean

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I am super uncomfortable and offended !!!!!

j/k

Deo101 [Millennium]

hgjkghsjkagskajgdhsakgjhgjd

but... yeah idk starting out I truly just was making it cause I really love my characters a lot, the idea that other people would like them too is very unexpected :) in a good way

I also definitely didnt expect how important enviornments were e.e

didnt plan those well enough.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

that relatable feel

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I really desperately advertise my comic everywhere. I don't really know how to do marketing effectively though & I don't know if its working

eliushi [Keyspace]

I find what increased readership most consistently is still the feature aspect from the hosting sites. It’s really about finding the right readers/right readers finding you

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Same, I'm basically a rounding error away from being 100% reliant on the features for subs

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I don't think my comic has ever been featured on the hosting sites. My numbers have always been low on Tapas and maybe thast why

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, features help a lot

I've been featured on Webtoon, but not Tapas, and you can really see the difference in readership there

Deo101 [Millennium]

Ive been featured on both, uhh in a couple of diff places, if you wanted a breakdown of how many readers i got from the diff spots and stuff ever just lmk im happy to share

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I've been featured on both. It certainly got people to check it out and even sub, but retaining those people (even if they've subbed!!!) is a different story. I think my story is just not the right type for the platforms, but eh, even if 99% of the platform users aren't into the kinda thing I'm making, 1% increase is still an increase.

Which is another thing I learned over the course of running this comic, specifically (since the internet has changed so much after my first two attempts). Just because the majority of your subs don't actually read the comic, doesn't mean your work sucks. Today's internet caters to casual users, and there's a bajillion factors affecting who's actually reading your stuff.

dako

i agree

my comic has never been featured on either, and webtoons doesnt have a guideline on what they pick but tapas does and my comic doesnt really meet their featuring requirements so i dont think either site ever will feature mine haha

so i gotta advertise on reddit and use twitter tags a lot

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Don't go too crazy with twitter tags; they can make people zone out and not look at your tweet.

dako

i try to use 5 at the most, i know too many is unpleasant to look at haha

Jib {WIP haha}

Oh huh, my rule of thumb is to use 1-2 on twitter and as many as I can on Insta but I’m no expert lol

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, IG seems to be where you want all the tags XD

varethane

Webtoon's algorithms are like turning a hose on and off lol

The difference between views and sub growth during periods of being featured vs not is stark(edited)

carcarchu

i've never been featured by webtoons but i've seen series grow from 100 followers to 10k overnight

not an exaggeration

varethane

I put my new comic on webtoon in november 2019, and in 1 month I crawled up to.... maybe 50 subs?(granted I only put up one episode and then paused for a bit)

Then in December I started updating it weekly and got placed in the new and hot section of the app

And bam, 6k subs

It last 2 weeks and then the section updated and all growth stopped, and subs went down by 10 or so over the next week

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

(Omg featured is like the new Daily Deviation goals from DA way back in the day!)

varethane

Until it got another feature on a different part of the website and went up another 2k. It was like playing with the handle on a faucet lol

dako

I got some pretty good growth during canvas week, but beyond that not really

I get 1-2 subs after an update if I'm lucky

varethane

I feel like their algorithms are very reliant on the regular rotation of features that staff have to do manuallt

Outside of that, discoverability is quite weak

Mostly because of the volume of comics on there

boogeymadam

same boat as vare. the only thing i know about webtoons features is they have stated a couple times one of their recquirements is consistant updating, so if u skip a week that disqualifies u for a lil while i imagine

varethane

I wonder what they count as consistent. I was doing every 2 weeks for awhile, but this month I'm gonna try weekly to see if it helps me earn more $$ from ads :U

dako

I wish there was more incentive for readers to check out the new section on webtoons and tapas

carcarchu

i have found some amazing gems in the new section

i swear i've seen stuff in featured that were not at all updated consistently

dako

I have too, there's a ton of good comics that get overlooked because they're not in the front page

some featured comics havent updated in months sometimes

varethane

I definitely would not have considered myself consistent at the time of the first feature, considering there was a gap of a month between episode 1 and 2 lpl

carcarchu

the consistently updating thing is more of a recommendation than a requirement i feel?(edited)

boogeymadam

ooohh good to know!!

varethane

I'm sure it cant be a hard rule, especially for comics that have just launched

boogeymadam

im just going off their canvas qna's from last year

dako

if it's actually a hard rule for staff to feature comics that regularly update they break that rule a lot

i also heard a bot picks up comics too

carcarchu

well i at least think the staff or bots or whatever at webtoons are doing a better job with features than tapas is

tapas is always pushing their premium comics way more than their indie stuff

boogeymadam

tapas needs to bring new comics onto the frontpage more often than it does, yeah

dako

yeah I agree

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I mean, I get why they put premium on the front page. But I feel more variety would help them because it's more interesting for the readers?

dako

I can't tell whats premium or not with tapas sometimes

boogeymadam

i do like that they've been asking stuff like this in the forums tho

carcarchu

more distinction would be helpful to me too dako

i don't think its as clear as it could be

dako

yeah, webtoons at least it's clear what is and what isnt featured or canvas

Jib {WIP haha}

Huh, anyone remember that really popular writing podcast? I forgot the name

Or have any recommendations I guess

Moral_Gutpunch

Terrible writing advice? It's sarcastic

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

is this related to the topic?

Moral_Gutpunch

It's a podcast about writing, so I'm going to say yes.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think snuffysam meant the weekly topic for the channel

Moral_Gutpunch

Oh

Just for this channel, no. I'm too new to know that.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Please check #rules

Moral_Gutpunch

Sound more like someone forgot context than the rules

That's why I'm hardly here. I don't know stuff people who've been here for a long time know like podcasts or older comics(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Basically each of the channels under "CTP Activities" on this server has its own topic of the week.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

It's not a matter of being here for a long time or not. This channel is used solely for discussing the weekly topics, and such information can be found in #rules

Moral_Gutpunch

Kudos then. I came for creator babble only.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

For general webcomic creation-related advice (either seeking or giving) and such, #shop_talk usually is the place!

creator_babble is for answering the topic of the week

It's not actually for generalized "creator babble" despite the name.

dako

looks like they left

Jib {WIP haha}

Oh my bad, it’s been a while since I read the rules, I brought up the new subject

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Happens!

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

No problem, we were just reminding you all :)

Jib {WIP haha}

Ty for that then haha

dako

I think one unexpected thing for me is that no one tells you how crazy the highs and lows can be

well I guess people do but you really don't know until the highs and lows happen to you if that makes sense

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Oh God, that's so true

Burnout is way more dreadful than I could ever guess prior to experiencing it

Feather J. Fern

One unexpected thing for me was how many people I would meet because of my comic. It surprised me greatly that I found so many cool people through the comic community and made the friends I have made now. Love you all

rajmews

The unexpected thing for me was just how much you have to just...predict...what the market will want to read. Like even if you research a whole lot, and you draw really well, and have been doing art professionally, you can still strike out. It's a humbling experience, but being able to just let go of poorly received pages and move on and try things differently is a lot of the battle for doing a webcomic. It teaches you how to fail gracefully because...it's all a process of learning your readers better. Even if they're few at first.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

My major unexpected thing was how much my initial ideas change as I work through a page. Everything from the expressions, dialogue, and layout can change as I look at it and 'solve' it more closely than I did in thumbnails. There are pages I look back on and realize they are ENTIRELY different than what I had first sketched. And they're better for it. Allowing myself the freedom to edit during the artwork... it's created some majorly awesome opportunities.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yes!!!!! Me too!!!

It's exciting thoufh

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Absolutely same

Could plan something out meticulously but then change it in the last 2 secs before uploading

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yup... I don't thumbnail much ahead of where I'm at cause of this(edited)

I thumbnail a scene at a time, and then usually I end up changing stuff halfway through ahahfjjdkskdkss

varethane

Same hat, haha. I often make changes at every stage-- even the thumbnails will often depart from the script. If anything, I wish I made even more changes-- I feel like my page layouts tend to be pretty standard, I do a lot of pages with the 3 rows of 2 panels each, and I want to break out of that more. But... well, that's a work in progress.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

No Strings on Me

A Stitched Story

JSE Fanfic

A bit of a shorter story, but after the event that was the season finale, there’s some aftermath that needs to be taken care of before the boys can move on to the next phase. Specifically, with Chase. He needs some help after all this. Let’s hope the other two are able to give it to him.

Tagging @septic-dr-schneep for inspiring this AU with this post.

Read where it started: Stitched Together | Season One 

Chase was in the bathroom. The bathroom of Jack’s apartment, to be exact. Sitting in the empty bathtub, to be even more exact. Jack and JJ thought it would be best if they all stayed together, and, well, Chase agreed. He didn’t want to go back to a big, empty home. He didn’t want to be alone. But he didn’t exactly want to see the others right now, not after they’d caught him up on everything he’d missed while he was...away.

He scowled. “Away.” That was the word Jack used. He was hesitant to use a stronger one. Honestly, what word would even fit? Kidnapped? Evil? Being used? Something that meant all of those at once? Chase pulled his knees up to his chest and looked down. An instinctive position. Curling up like this protected the face and the most sensitive body parts. He stayed like that, thinking back on the events earlier that day, after they’d all managed to get back to the apartment.

JJ had made dinner. Apparently he’d gotten familiar with the layout of the kitchen in the month he’d been alone. But even that, even something as simple as eating dinner had proven to be a challenge for the three of them. Jack had immediately scarfed it down, but he hadn’t been able to eat much before he started to feel nauseous. He’d excused himself, practically rushing to the bathroom. That just left Chase, picking at his food, with JJ.

“Hey, uh...” Chase didn’t look directly at JJ, but he did look in his general direction. “How did you get around the, um...” He gestured to JJ’s mask. “I mean, with the doc...well, I don’t know exactly what’s up with him now, but...he’s not doin’ his job at the hospital, I know that much. So how...?”

In answer, Jameson had stood up, walked over to one of the kitchen cabinets, opened it and taken out what looked like a fat syringe. He waved it at Chase, then put it back and sat back down inside.

“Oh,” Chase said, surprised. “I thought...I mean, you have to get those from the hospital, and you...need good reason. Did you...make something up to tell them?”

Jameson shook his head, folding his arms in an uncomfortable manner. At that moment, Jack walked back into the room. “Hey, I heard that last part,” he said. “And, uh, well, Hen’s ID wasn’t deactivated, since they think he’s just on vacation, so...it still works to open the doors and stuff.”

“You’re stealing the shots from the hospital?” Chase asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, what else are we supposed to do? We can’t let JJ starve to death because of what that fucking demon did.” Jack took his seat at the table again. “And speaking of starving to death, I thought...I thought you said you were hungry. You haven’t touched your food yet.”

“I’ve been touching it.” Chase stabbed his fork into the chicken, as if to prove this point.

“That doesn’t mean you’ve been eating it.”

Chase looked away. “I mean...I think what just happened to you is proof that...I dunno, hard to adjust again.”

“Chase.” The tone in Jack’s voice was enough to make Chase look back at him again. The new, brighter blue eye gave his stare an almost lopsided appearance. “You’re gonna have to at least try. You look like hell, and I can tell you’ve lost a lot of weight. You’re not gonna get better again if you don’t eat.”

He tried, really he did, but he just...”Can you...tell me that I can?”

“You don’t need permiss—” Chase didn’t say anything, just gave stared at him with a pleading expression. Jack’s eyes widened, and he leaned back slightly. “Yeah...yeah, you can eat.” Chase’s shoulders immediately slumped in relief, and he didn’t have any trouble from that point on.

What happened after they ate, though, was tough to get through. Chase demanded to see Schneep. He wasn’t sure what state he was in now, and he needed to know. Jack and JJ had exchange a worried glance at his demands, but they still showed him to the guest room where Schneep was...staying.

He didn’t know what he expected. But it wasn’t this. This still, limp body, with eyes blocked out by static that overflowed into tears. He’d been hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor, also presumably stolen from the hospital. And he was still wearing the same clothes he’d been that day. Chase sat down hard in the chair the others had placed next to the bed. This was somehow worse than all the scenarios he’d been imagining. No change at all hurt more than seeing things get worse.

“Hey, doc,” he whispered, reaching out and grabbing his hand. It was warm, which surprised him. “I’m sorry about all this.” He turned back towards Jack and JJ, who were hovering in the doorway. “Has it...has it been like this the whole time?”

Jack nodded. “A few months. Bit over three, to be exact. We...don’t know how to fix it, or what happened, or what’s wrong with him.”

“Why don’t you ask me?” Chase asked dryly.

Jack blinked. “What do you—?”

“I was there, Jack. I was part of this, this is—” He stopped himself from saying this was his fault. He knew that it wasn’t. But...god, how could it not be? If he’d just been a little bit stronger, if he hadn’t fallen for Anti’s tricks in the first place, this never would have happened. He swallowed through the lump in his throat. “I saw what happened. He told me what this is.”

Jack walked over to stand next to Chase, and put a hand on his shoulder. Chase immediately shrugged off the too-heavy weight. A flash of hurt crossed Jack’s face, but he covered it immediately. “Well...anything would help,” he said softly.

“...right. Yeah.” Chase looked back at Schneep and his blank eyes. “What happened...I was supposed to get him away, to the place he’d set up for this...this purpose. And...” Chase shuddered. “Anti...he can’t affect someone unless they’re in a mentally weak place. He can force inside, that’s what he calls puppeteering, it’s what happened to you on Halloween. But...to really mess with them...”

“You don’t have to go into details if you don’t want to,” Jack hurried to say.

“I—alright. Alright.” Chase took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them slowly. “But he...he...what he said happened to Schneep is that...his soul was separated from his body.”

“What?!” Jack glanced at JJ. “Is that possible?”

JJ furrowed his brows, confused, then shook his head, making a strange gesture with both hands. “That’s ‘die,’” Jack translated. “You’d die without a soul?” JJ nodded.

“Well, if the soul was just left there,” Chase said. “But...he put it somewhere. I—I don’t know where, but it was something to do with TV screens. Or maybe that’s just how he accessed the place.” Chase remembered walking the empty halls of that underground maze. Sometimes there was a TV screen in the eye-ridden walls. He’d walk past it and hear...something that almost sounded like a person...“ ̴́ ̢ ̀͠ ͝ ̷̢ ̕͠ ̡͢ ̡̀ ̛͢ ̢ ̀̕ ̵̛͢!̸̕ ̡̧́ ̨ ̛͠ ͡ ̕͠ ̵̕͟ ͏͞ ̧͠ ͟ ͏͏̀ ̷͟ ̨̕ ̨ ̢͢ ̷͢ ͠͏ ̀ ̷̴ ̀͠!̀”

“Can we...can we undo it?” Jack sounded afraid of the answer.

Chase shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Silence for a moment. And then, “Well, we know more than we did before. That counts as progress!” Jack said, forcing a note of cheerfulness. “Now we have good ol’ knowledge, we have those books that could maybe help us, we can meet him on his own level.” JJ straightened, nodding optimistically.

“I guess it’s better than where we were before.” Chase let go of Schneep’s hand—why was that so easy, he should’ve wanted to hold on longer—and stood up. “Maybe...we have a chance...” he said reluctantly.

Jack smiled. “That’s the spirit!” He pulled Chase into a one-armed hug. Chase squeaked, and wiggled out of it, backing back toward the door. Jack gaped at him. “Chase, what—what’s wrong? You’ve never...I mean...”

“I-I’m going to the bathroom,” Chase said, stepping past Jameson, who was giving him the most peculiar look, and into the hallway. “I’ll-I’ll be back.”

And that was how he ended up here, in a ball in the tub, wondering what the fuck was wrong with him. It wasn’t enough that he’d helped put one of his best friends in a coma, he had to be repulsed by his other best friend just trying to comfort him.

He tried to tell himself that wasn’t what was happening. But he couldn’t think of any other way to describe it. When Jack had tried to hug him, it felt like his skin was about to crawl off his body. The weight of his arms had been stifling, suffocating. And the feeling of being pressed against another person made his breathing stop and his brain go crazy with the need to just get away.

Chase curled up tighter. It wasn’t always that way. He used to love hugs. What happened?

You don’t hate me, Chase. I’m your fr̨i͟͏e͝n̛d̵̀.

Chase shuddered. Anti. Anti was what happened. For a demon, he’d been awfully touchy-feely while Chase was with him. If he wasn’t off doing...whatever it was demons did, or making Chase...he didn’t want to think about what Anti made him do. But if neither of those more pressing engagements were underway, Anti would show up. He’d wrap his arms around him, tightly, and wouldn’t let go. His favorite thing to do was touch the stitches on his neck, gently stroke them. Chase had thought it felt...nice...at the time. Now he shuddered, remembering it.

He uncurled from his position, climbing out of the tub and walking over to the counter with its mirror. He leaned over the sink, staring at his own reflection. Jack was right. He did look like hell. In fact, he almost didn’t recognize the thin, pale face with dark circles under its eyes and brittle hair tangled and faded at the ends. But there were two things that affirmed it was actually himself he was looking at. The dirty cap that he still wore, mostly out of habit now, and the green stitches wrapped around his neck. Contrary to the rest of his appearance, they looked as clean and pristine as the day he gave them to him.

Chase gritted his teeth. He could feel them. They were itching, grabbing at his skin. Around his wrists, too. He held up his hands, examining the stitching there. There was a small, loose end dangling from his left wrist, half an inch long. Before he could stop to wonder if this was a good idea, he snatched the end, and started pulling. And kept pulling. The sensation of thread rubbing against his skin, being pulled from somewhere inside, made him want to scream. But he kept at it, until the string was about the length of his forearm. And then it stopped. He tugged, and no more string came out. It just felt like something was pulling his wrist along.

There was another loose end on his right wrist. Chase repeated the process, and got the same result. He whimpered. There had to be something else he could do. There had to be, he couldn’t just be stuck with this, stuck with him, forever.

He looked back up, catching the fearful eye of his reflection in the mirror. He watched his reflection’s hand reach up, feeling the stitches on the neck, causing his reflection to shake at the sensation of fingers on its stitching. The reflected hand made its way around the back of the reflected neck and back to the front again, where its fingers brushed against a dangling string. The fingers seized the string, and slowly, steadily, a length of green thread unreeled. Simple as pulling out a vein. Until it stopped, and all Chase could feel was that—that tug.

You’re being d̶͞i͟͟ff́i͞c̷ul̛̕͢t on purpose, Chase. Come on, be good for your fr̴̢i̴͠en̨d̴ or I’ll have to dr̶a̶g̛̕͞ you b̢͠e͢h͞iǹd̴̕ ̡͟me̵.

Someone was knocking on the door. He heard it, but he didn’t listen to it. He was too busy clawing at the stitches, nails catching on thread as he tried desperately to get them off, get them off, get them off. If he could just get under them, if he could only get them away from him, everything would be okay. He wouldn’t have been so weak, Anti wouldn’t have used him, his friends wouldn’t have been hurt by him, he wouldn’t be such a fucked human being—

The door must’ve opened at one point, because now someone was trying to pull his arms away. He resisted, naturally. That was what you do, you resist the pull during those moments when you’re aware enough to realize you’re being yanked along down empty red halls. There was blood on his neck and under his nails, and the stitches weren’t coming out. He wasn’t breathing. Or if he was, it was so shallow that it didn’t register. And the stitches weren’t coming out.

His hands were finally taken away from his throat, warm hands wrapped around his fingers so they couldn’t wiggle back. He stopped trying at that point and just stood there, gasping. Chase realized there were tears in his eyes only when he had to squint through them to see who it was who’d stopped him. Dark blue eyes, a darker blue mask. Jameson.

“I—I can’t, I c-can’t,” Chase gulped. His cheeks were wet. “I c-can’t, I just—I j-j-just want—” 

Jameson didn’t say anything, obviously. But Chase realized his eyes were watery with unshed tears. After a moment, during which Chase tried his best to recover his breath, Jameson let go of Chase’s hands and reached over to the mirror, swinging it open to reveal the medicine cabinet behind it. He plucked out a box of Band-Aids and held them out to Chase.

Chase took the box, giving Jameson a confused look. JJ responded by tapping his own neck. After a moment, Chase opened the box and took out a Band-Aid, carefully removing the paper covering. He took a moment to steel his nerves, then put the Band-Aid on his neck, over one of the spots that was bleeding. JJ nodded encouragingly. Chase stared at him for a moment more, then sat down on the toilet seat, steadily making his way through the box as he used up Band-Aids fixing the bleeding. After he was sure every spot was covered, he looked up at JJ.

JJ’s eyes squinted in a way that meant he was smiling underneath the mask. He held his hand out toward Chase. Chase instinctively shrank away, holding his wrists closer to himself, but when the hand didn’t come any closer he slowly relaxed, and took the offering. JJ pulled Chase to his feet, and gently led him out of the bathroom and into the apartment’s second bedroom. Normally that was where Jack slept, but Jack had been gone for a month, and it looked unused when JJ flipped on the light.

Chase looked around. “I thought...you would’ve been sleeping here. While you worked on getting Jack back.”

JJ shook his head. He walked over to the room’s dresser, pulling open the bottom drawer. After a moment of rummaging around, he started pulling out what looked like loose cloth until he had a pile of it, which he gathered up and dumped onto the bed. He beckoned for Chase to come see. Chase slowly crept over.

It wasn’t just a bunch of loose cloth. It was...scarves. And bandannas. A variety of styles and colors. Chase gave JJ a wide-eyed look. “What’re...?”

JJ tapped his mask, right over where his mouth was. It clicked for Chase then. Of course JJ would know something about the stitches. Of course he would understand why Chase was trying so frantically to pull them out, to no avail. He’d been living with them for longer than Chase had. And his had caused quite a bit of inconvenience, too.

Chase sat down on the bed and began sorting through the pile. “Heh. Why does Jack have so many?” he muttered. He pulled out a piece of purple. The color was quite nice. And it was a bandanna, no loose dangling ends. He tied it around his neck, fully hiding the stitches from view. Then, he noticed his wrists, and held them up for Jameson to see. He gave him an inquiring look.

JJ folded his arms, thinking, then walked right back over to the dresser and opened a box on top of it that looked like it had never been opened before, at least not regularly. He pulled out a yellow headband, threw it away, then showed Chase what else was in the box: two matching wristbands. Chase nodded, and JJ tossed them over. Chase caught them easily and quickly pulled them on, tucking the loose string inside. “I...I think I like this,” he said quietly. “Thanks, JJ.”

JJ smiled again, then jerked his head toward the bedroom door as if to ask, Are you ready to leave? “Not...yet,” Chase said. “I want to change clothes. These are kinda a mess. Do you mind?” JJ nodded, and left.

A few moments later, Chase reemerged from the bedroom. JJ, who’d been waiting outside the door, gave him a thumbs up. Chase returned that with a small smile. He felt at least a little better now. Not back to normal, but not...like it was with him.

The two of them walked down the hall and came out into the living room. Jack was curled up on the couch, also in a new set of clothes, staring at nothing. The moment they walked in, his head snapped toward him. He did something strange: he closed his left eye, the normal one, for just a moment. He smiled, and opened it again. “Hey, dude,” he said, his tone falling somewhere between gentle and casual. “Are you...okay now?”

Chase leaned against the nearest wall. “No. But...I’m not as bad.”

“That’s okay. It’s...gonna take a while. For all of us.” Jack took a deep breath. “Look, I’m...I’m sorry about what happened back there. The, uh, hug thing.”

“What?” Chase blinked, surprised. “No, you don’t have to be sorry. I shouldn’t’ve freaked out on you.”

Jack shook his head. “No, I made you uncomfortable, and that sucks. I’m the one at fault here. I didn’t know it would make you upset, but the fact of the matter is that even if I didn’t know, I still need to apologize. It may have been an accident, but it...it hurt you. And I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Chase stared at him. He could feel the tears coming again, just a different kind now. “Thanks, man.” He took a deep breath, then crossed over to the couch and sat down. He was on the other side, and he wasn’t at all eager to get closer to Jack, but...he didn’t want to be alone right now. JJ followed him into the room, taking his place leaning against the wall. He made some gestures that Chase didn’t understand.

“What is...?”

“He’s wondering what to do next,” Jack translated. “It’s sign language. We, uh, only came up with it after...he took you. And, uh, Chase.” Jack made eye contact with him. “It wasn’t your fault. None of it was. It was all him.”

Chase felt the urge to explain. “I mean...if I hadn’t been taken, then Doc wouldn’t be—”

“He probably would,” Jack said. “Remember December last year? JJ and I think maybe Anti was trying to get him in this same sort of...coma, whatever, but wasn’t quite strong enough. He’s been trying for a long time, Chase, and if he hadn’t been able to use you, he still would’ve found another way. Chase, you’re not the bad guy here. You’re the victim. And you need to stop taking blame that isn’t yours to take.”

Chase made a strange sound, part whimper, part squeak, part sigh of relief. He...he needed that. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I’m not the bad guy. I’m the—I’m the victim.” He flinched automatically, saying that, expecting retaliation for saying he was hurt. Of course, it didn’t come. And...it felt good to be able to say it. “But...JJ’s right, what are we going to do next?”

Jack glanced at JJ. “Well, we need to figure out what could be happening to Henrik’s soul. And then we need to see if there’s a way back. And then, if there is, we need to get it back so he’ll wake up.”

“That’s only three things,” Chase muttered. “Not too hard when you say it that way.”

JJ laughed a bit at that, a muffled sound. He held out his hand, and a blue circle flared into existence, spinning on the fingertips briefly before fading away. He looked at the other two, then flexed his fingers again as if to say, we have this.

“Yeah, that could help,” Jack said, picking up on the unspoken message. “I know you don’t know what it is, but you know how it works?”

JJ nodded.

“Didn’t you guys say you had some magic books?” Chase asked. “I think I remem...shit!” He bolted upright. “JJ, I stabbed you! Fuck, I’m sorry about that, I-I know it wasn’t me, but I still feel like to need an apology—”

JJ held up a hand to still the flow of words. He nodded in understanding, and Chase practically wilted with relief.

“Yeah, we have some magic books,” Jack said. “Four, wasn’t it?” JJ nodded. “Maybe something could help us in those.”

“I guess the next step is researching, huh?”

“No, the next step is bedtime.” Jack pointed at the digital clock hanging on the wall. “I dunno about you, but I’m gonna sleep for the entire next day.”

With the mention of sleep, Chase was suddenly aware of how exhausted he was. How exhausted he’d been for a long long while. The adrenaline must’ve been wearing off finally. “I...I don’t think I can be alone,” he whispered.

“Then we can all sleep in my room,” Jack said. “I know I have a ton of spare blankets and pillows. We can make a nest on the floor, or two people can sleep on the bed together.”

“Dibs on the nest,” Chase said. “Do you...mind if I’m by myself?”

“Of course not, Chase,” Jack said gently. “JJ and I can take the bed. That’s okay with you, JJ?” JJ laughed, then gave a thumbs-up. “Then it’s settled.”

Night fell. The city continued on its business outside. And for the first time in months, the three of them slept soundly.

[comradecrossing]

hi do you have any tips/recs for someone who’s just starting new leaf? i had it a long time ago but i stopped playing, and now i want to start playing again but i don’t remember it well 🙈

Hi! This might be long but! When I restarted this last time I was worried it would get boring real fast like with my first save, so I planned out as much as I possibly could ahead of time.

Think of a theme that makes you happy! Do you love witchy/fairy things? A specific color? maybe a season? particular villager animal? Aliens??? If you can figure out a theme you can build around (and it can be ANYTHING) then you will have much more confidence when you first step foot in your new town!

Now I’m gonna use my town as reference, so, I really like the Witchy/Fairy aesthetic and I knew immediately thats what i was going to do. I’m bad at town names, but i like Pokemon and remembered they have a fairy town, so I looked it up and got my name and figured why stop there? That’s how Laverre City became one of my sole inspirations for my town. I was inspired to restart because of hackers so even though I cant hack, I think about things I might like to do, or really want to do when/if i ever can and i have some big ideas lol im so sad. So ultimately i settled on a fall themed town (not perpetual fall but looks best in fall and the dreamcode will be of the town in fall) with lots of pink cosmos and regular saplings to give off a resemblance to Laverre City :)I then looked at a lot of forest and dreamy type towns to get some inspiration like mushroom rings, layout ideas, and items or PWPs to use. I also checked sites like animal crossing wikia to make a list of PWPs I might like in my town and chose 30 possible options (you can only build 30) and check the space requirements.

Once I start for real with a vague idea of where I want to put things I look at all the maps available and if they don’t have specific traits i want (secret beach, desirable town tree location, diving cliff, ponds in places that wont get in the way of projects and landscaping ideas, good spot for the cafe, etc) I restart until a map comes up that I like. Once I arrive in town its time to check my native fruit and rock locations and make sure its up to my standards, and if a resident is important for you to have/not have make sure to check the map too!

Once you get a town you’re happy with and you’ve found the perfect place to call home its time to get serious >: |It’s time for your first shovel and axe.Now, I have always been anti-axe in previous games but this last save changed me. I got a hold of that first axe and chopped down every tree that wasn’t a southern cedar tree! (southern cedars are only possible at the start! If you plant them they’ll only grow in the North, thats the top half of your town.) Now your town will feel barren at first and this is the ugliest stage but also one of the funnest -imo- so lets open up your patterns and get started. Now that you have a blank canvas use your green & blue tiles to signify trees/bamboo and bushes, you can even redesign it and write “T” or “B” respectably and start laying them out. You can also use the Yellow to lay down where you want PWPs (make sure to surround two spaces further than the project requires. a 3x3 fountain should look more like a 5x5 area to ensure no one moves directly next to where you want to build). You should have lots of fruit piled up (remember to stack them) so you can layout bush tiles and plant fruit if you’d rather have a better idea of how its gonna look. I planted all my peaches and would later go back and replace certain ones with new fruit i acquired. Its good to have a “this is all a process” mindset because it will take a while to get your town done even if you time travel, but thats good! because the game is all about making your dream town!

So now you have a good amount of the town planned out and probably have some ideas of what to do next. The next few days will be spent checking out how things are growing and making sure you planted things in the right spots. if there’s anything you’re not liking - change it! Your town Your rules!

Now while you are waiting for things to grow and get pretty its time to gather aaaaaallllll the flowers you can find and organize them in a large free space so they are all diagonally touching (XXXX), this way you can get hybrids early on :)Make sure they are the same breed and check hybrid guides so you know which colors work best to make the hybrids you most want and make sure to water them everyday as they will wilt if you don’t have the beautiful ordinance. Hybrids are good to have for trades when you dont have much money.

After all this you should be off to a pretty good start. Try to keep in mind villagers you would like to have and try to make friends online or IRL that you can adopt from (I always post when i have some one leaving and who I am hoping to replace them with and I usually get an offer fairly quickly, even for villagers I was desperate to get out. No matter who they are someone likes them :)) But if your town is set up in a way that you’ll be devastated if your dreamie moves in that one perfectly made up spot, it might be a good idea to plot set &/ reset.Plot resetting is when you make a *NEW* character save to check and see if anyone moved in overnight, and more importantly, if they moved in an undesirable place. If this happens restart and select the new save option until the villager plots in a spot you like. Once they do that build your tent somewhere and save quit. This will make the new residents spot permanent and then you can select the new save once more and delete their home. This could take quite a while if you have lots of “open” space. “Open Space” is how I refer to non-tiled/pwp or house occupied areas and the way I go about this is covering my town in about 75% tiles and spacing out pwps to where there are as few places houses can plot in as possible. Houses wont build over tiles and will plot at least 2 spaces away from other buildings, rocks and projects and one away from clifs and ponds/rivers. They dont care however if there are trees, bamboo, items, bushes, or flowers so be sure to lay out tiles in any place at risk to being plotted on. I refer to this as “Plot Setting” as you can make 3x3 empty plots you surround with tiles which will help villagers know where to plot. If you do a good job and plot everything out just right, you’ll never have to worry about someone messing up your hard work.

Now here’s the kinda sucky part of ACNL and that is The Limitations.Annoying programmed rules that seem to only get in the way such as the 2-space rule between pwps/buildings. This can mess up your aesthetic a lot and sometimes you will have to completely replan things due to a small fact you may have overlooked or not noticed and suddenly your garden isnt looking right so im gonna name off the biggest hassles and how I have gotten around some of them.

Bush + tree + bush: You can line up 12 trees/bamboo and bushes in a line. This works both straight and diagonally. only 12. Now you can leave gaps in some places that will reset the count or do intricate designs like one cedar in the middle of 4 bushes, a line of bushes with trees spaced out directly behind, a pattern of bushes and chopped bamboo, etc get creative. Visiting others towns or looking at pics people post can help you get lots of ideas. Bushes can touch each other but trees & bamboo still have the one space between rule.

PWP 2-space rule: now I’ve already mentioned this a few times but this rule is always the one that I seem to forget when planning. YOU NEED TWO SPACES. I cant tell you how many times i have planned project locations weeks in advance only to not be able to lay them out as i wanted because I got the space requirement wrong or only left one space between other objects :/

Beach Rules: You may have seen cool towns with pwps, cedar trees and hibiscus bushes scattered around their beach and Ive got some bad news; Those are hacked towns. The only thing that can be planted on the beach naturally is coconut and banana trees, flowers, and clovers. Nothing grows on the beach, not even weeds. No pwps can be built there either, even though it was initially programmed to be possible. I currently use the space for hybrid breeding since i have no space to elsewhere ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tear Down and Build Up: I will say though that even though only maybe 15% of my original plans came to life, my town looks way better than i had ever imagined it would. Don’t be afraid to tear things down and try out different locations or setups you might figure something out that looks amazing compared to your original plans.

Finally, while you can participate in the Happy Home Ratings, you dont have too. Decorate how ever the flip you want. Find new things to do everyday as the game can get old fast and you might get temped to Timetravel (which isnt a bad thing if thats what you want to do, but be careful you dont lose your villagers/flowers! Even though I have the Beautiful ordinance, I water all my flowers incase they pop out a hybrid. I try to earn all the badges, I visit dreamtowns for inspiration, redesign areas of my town, farm PWPs, make patterns, try hunting down items to decorate my house with, etc, this is another area where having a theme can help as you will find inspiration easier, and make you feel more immersed like you’re playing an RPG.

I’ve gone on a lot here and I have more to add but I’ve spent over an hour typing this, but let me know if you have any other questions or need clarification on anything :) I’m not gonna add pics rn but if you need photo reference send another message and I will address it separately and add it here later.

Now heres a bunch of links to help you get invested:MoriBD - A catalog of every in-game item and an option to make a wishlistHybrid Guide - By @nooklingPWP GuideVillager Adoption Further Info on Plot ResettingPWP Farming Towns/interiors I found inspirationalSome QRsHacking info (if youre interested)How to upload your screenshots & Make your screenshot pretty!

Pick the right face when you startOnce you get the QR reader (talk to sable 7 days) you can use these

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help :)Just putting it out there too, I am always happy to help people get whatever they want/need for no cost whether it be fruits, bamboo, mushrooms, items, hybrids, etc, I will always do what I can to help you out, whether you’re just starting or on your 5th year.

[ask-tvkid-and-boyshinsou]

Hello!

Hi! Its been a while huh. Ive been thinking about this blog again and gosh i dont know if i want to let it go or not. Kinda dont want to haha.

I wanted to say that ive gotten help and so far ive been doing better. Its still a struggle sometimes and i still have a long ways to go.

BUT ive come to a decision where starting in November hopefully i will be back on here taking asks! I will be updating profile/header drawings as well. Currently i have been accessing everything from my phone because my laptop can no longer connect to anything properly so i apologize that my pc layout will stay the same for now. But i am able to draw on my laptop. And ive been drawing everyday since i am not allowed to work because of my mental illnesses. I think i have greatly improved and im proud of myself and i would like to share that with everyone.

I am also starting personal projects and working on my own ocs from my developing comic so i wont constantly be on this blog but i will still be here every other day.

Speaking of ocs, im planning on developing TV Kid more. I miss him a lot and i actually have some stuff i havent even shown yall haha.

Im excited to try and get back into this. So i guess stay tuned til November thats only a few days!

And also, thank you to everyone for being supportive and very patient.

💜🐱📺❤

[hazuknagisa]

sorry to make such a personal post again 😔

im thinking about it again now, how its so hard to do the things i used to be able to do. for years ive been wanting to delete all the themes i made and remake them because ive learned a lot since then but i cant even do that.. all ive really done in terms of design over the past 6 years or so is maintain my personal site which has always had a pretty simple layout. i did make the theme im currently using so i am proud of that i suppose.. but its just hard. its hard that i cant even do the things that im passionate about anymore

like writing especially, i used to write a lot and now i can barely finish anything. ive just been in a steady decline over the past 5ish years and it hurts that i cant express myself the way i used to or go out and do things the way i used to.

its also been such a slow process that i didnt even really notice how bad its gotten until recently and now i think about it all the time. its like i am drowning and i have been drowning for a long time. i keep trying to write and design and read and draw and just Do the things i was always able to do but i cant anymore!

its very hard. and i never thought it would be this way. i always thought its ok, ill get better eventually but im Not. im Not getting better i am just slipping away

[radramblog]

Video game controller tierlist

What is up fuckers, I’m out of ideas again so its time for another tier list. This time we got video game consoles’s controllers. Link’s (here), and keep in mind I don’t really know much about the Sega ones but its fine since they all suck.

Without further ado lets fucking go bc I have 22 minutes to write this before I get ready for work

D-Tier

Xbox original controller is gotta be the ugliest thing on the planet. That ugly-ass early 2000s (in a bad way) logo, those buttons, the sheer size of the thing, I just don’t know why they thought this was a good idea. Luckily they learned from the mistake that this controller is for their future designs, otherwise the 360 probably woulda been dead in the water.

I don’t know anyone who had a Dreamcast. I mean, that’s because no one fucking bought them, and I’m young enough that people my age basically missed Sega’s consoles completely. With that in mind, what in the goddamn is going on here. Why would you put the cable facing the user, what is this little Tamagotchi-ass screen doing, why is it so dummy thick. I don’t understaaaaand.

Sega gets two entries in the D tier btw. The Genesis competed with the SNES pretty wwell but the controller isn’t even close. “Ah yes rather than four buttons that you can easily press from one thumb position we’ll have three buttons that are all in a line so you have to move it around awkwardly a bunch. Brilliant!” Yeesh.

C-Tier

Okay they didn’t put the Master System on this list so this is the last Sega controller. The Saturn is just the Genesis one but with more buttons and beeg bumpers. This is this low just because of those bumpers- ill talk about it later with the 360, but big shoulder buttons are more trouble than they’re worth imo.

The original Playstation Controller is fine, but it does just feel like it’s missing something. It’s pretty obvious what it’s missing, but without those sticks it just looks naked. And I haven’t played much PS1 stuff but I can imagine not having the analogs is a huge pain for most games on the console.

The Wii U Gamepad was a good idea in concept (I mean, just look at the Switch) but as it is, it’s just way too bulky and awkward. This thing just hurts your wrists if you play for long enough. Without it we wouldn’t have gotten the Switch, though, so it’s for the best that this existed.

Spoilers, I don’t like the Dualshock 4. The big old touchscreen thing does not do it for me. Beyond that it’s basically fine, but that centrepiece just turns me off the entire concept. Also, fuck the Share button.

The Xbox One controller is a hybrid between the Xbox and the 360, except it came after both and the 360 is actually pretty good, so what the fuck is going on here. Didn’t yall learn? Also, again why did you get rid of Start/Select what are these buttons supposed to be help I don’t understand new things

B Tier

This one is here because I don’tt know what it is. Like, it looks like a generic knockoff 360 controller, but no other knockoffs are here, so what’s the deal? What is this? We just don’t know.

Dualshock 1 babyyyy. While the N64 pioneered thumbsticks on controllers, the Dualshock solidified them as a part of gaming going forward. Unfortunately the rest of it is still mostly a PS1 controller, so.

The Wiimote is here because it’s the average of its two components. I actually really like the Wiimote, it’s an excellent, elegant piece of technology that really made motion controls work for the first time. But at the same time, fuck the Nunchuk and the horse it rode in on. Never was a fan of this weirdo periphery. I used to play Brawl without it, and anyone who’s done that knows how miserable that is, but I just dislike the nunchuk that much.

N64 is an awkward mess but I love it. Constantly ridiculed but they really went for something here and that’s worth respecting. This walked so everything else after it could run.

The 360 is the best controller Microsoft has put out. It’s really comfy, feels natural to use, the only downside is the giant fuckoff trigger shoulder buttons. While the idea of an actual trigger for your shooty man games was solid, in execution they’re just a little awkward. Also, the rubber on the sticks always comes off them in my experience and that just sucks.

Joycons would be higher but they drift alllll the fucking time. Also the analog sticks are just a little too small? Other than that I think these are genius, and it would have been hard to make a controller stick size that works for both the two in tandem and individual sideways controllers.

The SNES innovated real hard and got paid off for it. This fucker invented shoulder buttons, which is a pretty huge deal. Notice how just about every other thing on here has those. Unfortunately, and since I’ve never actually used an original SNES controller this might be inaccurate (I’m going off the SNES mini’s ones) the thing is a teensy bit too small for my hands and so it feels a lil uncomfy using them.

Speaking of innovation, the NES controller invented the fucking D-pad. It’s an iconic piece of retro technology, looks great, probably isn’t too uncomfortable, ya know it. Again, never had my hands on an actual one, so I don’t know how good they are to use, but come on it’s the NES.

A Tier

Dualshock 2 and 3 are here because I don’t really feel much of a difference between them- one’s wireless and one isn’t, to my knowledge its that simple. But they’re just so usable, sit really well in the hands, and honestly I do think putting the analog sticks next to each other is prooobably better than the separation every other controller is doing. I’ve seen the PS5 controller, and it’s a real shame because that thing looks like some fuckin Apple shite when they really coulda just updated the DS3 and it would’ve been leagues better.

The Switch Pro Controller and Gamecube controller are also here next to each other because I can’t decide which I like better. They’re both incredibly comfortable and durable, the former the result of decades of innovation and the latter the mildly awkward but forward-thinking icon. I think it’s pretty common belief that the Gamecube just has the best controller, but my dumb ass can’t get used to the weird face button layout, so it’s a little lower in my eyes. Still, Nintendo really got it right this time, and there’s a reason every “classic”/”pro” controller they’ve put out since has been some iteration of the Gamecube’s design. It’s to the point where they’re still making the things, though that may just be because Smash players don’t like change. At least the controller they’re touching is of age, heyooooooooooo

jesus christ that was the worst joke ive ever made im so fucking sorry

[collage-portfolio-time]

Interview Preparation

Career Choice : Illustrator

Company Choice : FolioArt

1. Tell me about yourself. I am a 16 year old artist who has been working with portraiture, both realistic and cartoonish, since I was very small. I have won 2 consecutive awards for the international government-run ‘Manga Jiman’ competition, both in 2019 and 2020, winning the youths prize in 2019 and both the youths prize and 7th place in 2020, ‘making history’ as I won the youths prize two years running. The music I listen to inspires me a lot as what I draw can sometimes entirely depend on what I am listening to at the time. I have had a major interest in manga and anime since I was young and that has also influenced my style of work and the fandoms I go around to spread my collection of work to different places of the internet.

2. Why do you want to work for us? I love the fact your company will represent a range of illustrators, both well-known and up and coming. That makes you seem much more open to different styles of work and experimentation to me which I find myself drawn to.

3. What can you bring to our company? Why should we hire you? I can bring a range of styles. Like Ive said before, I work in both realism and cartoonish styles of work, which I feel could bring more people in from completely different sides of the art world. I can also work with a wide range of mediums, from digital work to watercolors, although I find myself preferring digital for the clarity you can get in an image.

4. What do you know about our company? You were established in central London in the 1970’s and are now working worldwide. You cover all sides of the art world from traditional works to GIF’s. You say you have a personal relationship with your illustrators. You have also represented artists that have worked with well-known bands for album art which include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones, and have also had artists under your wing work with film studios like when Joe Petagna created the concept for the Facehugger in Alien.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your career goals? I hope to see myself with enough of a following to simply be able to create for myself and be able to make a living, as selfish as that sounds. I don’t enjoy working for others unless I like their concepts and ideas as I will just simply be uninterested in what I create and end up producing something boring as a result. I want to work to the best of my ability, and as much as the art world is ran on what others want to see, I want to dictate what I do in the process while also getting approval from the people who will consume it.

6. Why did you choose this field/career path? I chose this career path as it’s the only thing I know. As I child I would never let myself do anything but draw, I was obsessed with the gratification I got when I saw that I was improving. That was probably a detriment in the long run as now I feel obligated to work in the art industry because if I don’t what have I been doing this whole time. I feel like I owe it to myself and to the people who have funded my interests and hobby.

7. Can you tell me about your role in your current place of work? Right now I am a college student, so my role is to learn. I will create, be criticized and create again. My job is to learn from the criticism and improve upon myself to represent the collage in a good light as well as myself, and hopefully gain recognition so the collage can say that they taught me for better reputation.

8. What are your strengths/weaknesses? My biggest weakness is my pride. I will become quite offended by the slightest bit of criticism that I think isn't warranted, and yet I am so self-critical that I will rip a piece to shreds if I go a touch out of my lines while painting. It hurts to have my fears confirmed that I won't be the gifted child forever and that I will blur into the crowd of other talented artists in my classroom. It's not only that but also the thought that I spent so long on a piece to be told that it didn’t match up to an idea someone else wanted or there wasn’t enough color, and I find myself unconsciously lashing out, but I am trying to work past that and take the criticism thankfully. Despite that, what could be considered one of my greatest strengths from time to time will be my stubbornness, as I will stick to a plan I like no matter what others tell me might go wrong, which sometimes works in my favor. Technically, I am more skilled with watercolors and digital mediums than I thought I was, as the amount of people I hear struggle with them is astonishing to me as I find I work with them with relative ease, but to counter that I now struggle with mediums such as acrylics and colored pencils as Ive laid off them for so long. I hope to get better with those mediums in the future as I practice more with them again.

9. Tell me about a time when you worked in a team? Were you a leader/coordinator/etc.? I studied performing arts when I was at The Academy Grimsby secondary school. We were tasked to create a script or scenario based on a prompt that I can't quite place now, and we were a group of 4 actors as most people there were dancers. I ended up writing up the entire script that I put together, although the others did prompt some ideas, and almost directing practices. I felt I was forced into a leading position as the others weren't engaging as much as they probably should have, apart from one other person who seemed to take it as seriously as I did. I feel despite the fact I was practically shoved into the lead, and even though the script was probably shoddy as I had never really written besides from creative writing in English, I lead them well considering I was known to be quite antisocial and introverted. That situation made me realize that I was better at controlling situations and being assertive to others than I ever thought I would be, although I wasn’t too strict or bossy from what I remember.

10. Tell me about a time when you faced a challenge. What was your reaction? How did you solve it? I faced quite a big challenge when I created the first page of my 2020 Manga Jiman entry. In the first page you get quite a copious amount of building shots, and while it looked good how I imagined it, I realized when I had finished the sketch that I had never really drawn a building before. It took me two days of constant redoing, experimentation and almost scrapping the first page entirely before I finally felt happy with what I had produced. Nowadays I find it much easier to step out of my comfort zone and delve into architecture when drawing backgrounds, and I feel this experience helped me progress as an artist.

11. Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of. Ive mentioned this before a copious amount of times, but my Manga Jiman awards. As they are government run and judges by professional mangaka (manga creators) I think it gives my awards that extra flair of pride that makes me cling to them. The thing I will probably particularly cling to is the fact they said I was ‘making history’ with my consecutive youths prize wins, which I think is quite a good thing to be able to say on a resume. Not only that, but my winning submission for the 2020 competition was given a talk about on the award ceremony by a legendary mangaka Kiriko Kubo, who said my ‘line was neat, the layout was good and the main character was charming.’,’the work can be read smoothly’, and that ‘creating atmosphere is important, and being able to do it like this is an exellent talent’. It gives me pride that someone so prestigious in a world I had barely entered would praise my work so highly.

12. What motivates you? What can motivate me most are two things: approval from others and money. I am materialistic at heart but also sensitive to others comments on my work, so the both end up being great pushes in my art career. I feel if I am being paid for my work that it is worth something, because objectively it is, and being praised for what I do makes me feel validated beyond what I thought was possible, so the two can push me to keep going.

13. What was your biggest failure? What did you learn from it? My biggest failure is the many times Ive tried to work with soft pastels. I don’t know what it is with that medium that renders me unable to function with them but I cannot create a good piece with those sticks of chalk in my hands. I learnt that I am not the best with dry mediums and should probably keep to my paints and digital mediums for now, although I'm always open to trying them out again and again until I get used to them.

14. What was your biggest mistake? How did you fix it? My biggest mistake was thinking I was going to get placed in my first Manga Jiman entry in 2019. I was 15 at the time, so there wasn’t much of a chance I was going to be placed within the top 10 because of my age alone but I didn’t realize that at the time. I had gotten so apprehensive about results that should've been obvious from the moment I was shortlisted, but I was aiming for the top 5 in the placings. I still think that my work might've placed in top 5 had I been older, but the embarrassment and sadness about ‘only’ getting youths prize at the time was almost overwhelming. That experience taught me not to get my hopes up on stuff like that and set myself up for the worst when it comes to things like this in the future, which I did in the 2020 entry. I was simply aiming for 10th place as I wasn’t even aware the youths prize was being awarded that year because there was only 11 of us, and one of the prizes was the yonkoma award for people who were between 11 and 13 containing a single 4 panel page which one of the shortlisted entries mirrored. I ended up getting more that I thought I would've in the terms of awards and recognition which I was happy about.

15. Are you willing to relocate/travel? I am willing to relocate and travel, although i would prefer to do so with someone else I trust as I tend to get nervous in new situations should that be possible.

16. Do you have any hobbies? What are they? I don’t really do much other than draw for my social media’s and complete collage work. I do small things such as singing and watching twitch streamers, but those are few and far between or happening while I work so I don’t think they can be considered big hobbies of mine. I used to bake when I had to take a lot of time out of secondary school due to sickness but I had a lot of spare time back then so it was more possible for me to have hobbies other than art.

17. What are your computer skills/technical skills? I know how to work almost all Microsoft programs, office 365/outlook, and various digital art programmes such as medibang paint pro and the basics of photoshop/illustrator. I also know general video editing such as keyframing and audio manipulation in Wondershare Filmora.

18. How did you hear about this position? I chose to contact you for this position as I had found you take submissions for new artists to represent and thought I'd shoot my shot.

19. What are your salary requirements? Minimum wage and whatever you/the client feel I deserve on top of that, even if that’s nothing at all. As long as I get minimum wage for my work and supplies, I am fine with that.

20. Do you have any questions for me? How would you represent me? Would it be a situation where you would recommend me to people looking to commission and leave us to our devices or would you be there the whole process?

[jaeyooniverse]

Yeah I play ss pledis and woolim mostly (and fnc now). Been playing pledis basically since it came out, with a few months break end of last year haha. Yeah once I saw I had to upgrade a bunch of R cards I was not excited. Just played Good Guy a bunch since it's the easiest I think and sf9 gives me the most rps haha. If you have spare diamonds, maybe buy rps with them if you want to finish the thing? You'll get em back. Also def just use the 100% power up chance! You'll get more eventually. 👾

Yeah stage 7 was so easy haha. I mostly just had to play 1 song, a few groups I needed to play 2 songs lol. Ahh, yeah the rewards are nice. I wanted the profile pics since I liked the summer breeze profile pics better haha. Yeah all the other ss games let you watch ads for rps and diamonds. Maybe since fnc's is new they haven't gotten there yet? Personally, I love fnc's layout the most. Also being able to equip cards by theme!!! So so helpful!!! Wish they would add that to the others! lol. 👾

i just downloaded the woollim one a while ago but haven't played it much 😅 i just wanted to check out the golcha songs lol i got pledis when it came out but since i stopped playing and it was just taking up space i uninstalled it a while ago

lol yeah ive been playing summer breeze and good guy the most bc they've been giving me the most points. I realized I didn't finish all the songs on easy mode so im working on that to get some extra RP and cards. I'll probably end up using the power up card bc these Rs are just eating all my cards up 😭😭

the summer breeze pics are nice youre right! hopefully they'll add the option to watch ads soon, ya girl is desperate for some diamonds and RP 😂 and I was thinking the same thing I like the layout for the fnc one! the theme thing is really helpful it's nice to see which cards i have for each theme like that. i didnt that wasn't a thing in the other games! like i tried to do it in the sm one and I was like?? um where is it?? 😂

[festfashions]

Insomniac Founder Pasquale Rotella Did A Reddit AMA Live

Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella did a Reddit AMA Live to answer questions on EDC 2018 and here’s all the questions and answers he responded to.

The live AMA took place Sept. 27 at 3pm PST. Lots of questions came up, but only a few were answered. Since some of them offer us new insights into EDC 2018, I’ve compiled them all for us! Check it out below and read the Reddit thread here. Some of the questions got off the topic of EDC 2018, so I’ve reorganized them to be at the bottom.

Q: jtet93: Can we have details about how the shuttle experience will be improved? I can't really express how bad my experience was last year, and I was personally really frustrated that it was so challenging after the cancellation of third party shuttles. I swore I wouldn't come back to EDC unless the transportation improved. I know you're handing off the planning to an outside company but any details you can provide on how their plan will make a real difference to the shuttle experience would be awesome. I'm also wondering if there will be reentry for campers? And how the issue of sunlight will be dealt with in the "turnkey" tents - will there be any effort to create shade or darkness in the camping areas? Thanks Pasquale! I will say that once I'm inside EDC it's definitely one of my favorite places ever and I love attending. I would love to see the logistics improve and come back year after year A: PasqualeRotella: We have confirmed the third party company we will be using for shuttles and they provide transportation for the largest live events in the world. I am excited about collaborating with them to make it the best it’s ever been. Also, great camping question! The tents we are setting up will provide protection from sunlight. There are also multiple shade areas for not only activities around the campgrounds but also at the center camp, which is called The Mesa. We’ll have more details about this when we announce camping soon!

Q: Shannonraczka: Can we get a ball park range for camping passes? Also will they be available in a payment plan as well? Lastly can we get an estimated time that they will go on sale? Thank you!! A: PasqualeRotella: It will be between $250-$275 to bring in your RV, and we’ll have hook-ups available for an additional fee. As far as campers, there will be several different packages available. It depends how many people you’re with and what packages you choose, but you’ll be able to get something between $450 to $2,500 for 4 days of camping. This will all be laid out clearly before we go on sale with camping options.

Q: RaveMeSilly: With camping being added and festival hours being extended, are there plans to change the re-entry policy? I'd love to party from 3pm to 6am, but it would be clutch to be able to hit up the campgrounds for a bit in between to relax and recoup. A: PasqualeRotella: Yes, during festival hours you can come in and out of the show as long as you have a camping wristband [additional response on the same post] We will have in's and out's at the festival for campers, but non-campers will not be able to enter the campgrounds.

Q: TheHans215: How likely would it be to get a small stage, maybe even sponsored by like 7-Up again, inside of the huge shuttle tent outside the speedway? Waiting in the early hours of the morning would be way better with some chill music to groove to. Even better, have campers host the stage like a "sound camp" type thing. Doesn't have to be crazy lights or effects, just some sound to keep peoples moods high. A: PasqualeRotella: We're capable of building that, no problem. No plans for that right now but I like the idea. Thanks for the suggestion! That said, we do not plan on having a long wait at shuttles with our new provider.

Q: ekapote: Hi Pasquale! I have a question regarding security on shuttle waiting lines. Last year a huge cause of frustration, along with long waiting times, was due to large groups of people jumping the fence dividers and cutting lines leaving the festival. Does the new company plan on upping the amount of security monitoring these lines? There was no way cops on the outskirts could see what was happening inside the tents based on the layout. My group witnessed several fights break out, and we were concerned for the safety of everyone involved. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions! Can’t wait for 2018. ✌🏼🌼🦉 A: PasqualeRotella: The answer to that question is yes. Shuttle operations are gonna be completely different next year.

Q: juanmiindset: Im a Cast Member at Disneyland and Ive seen you and Holly at the park often, how much inspiration from Disneyland goes into these festivals if any? A: PasqualeRotella: I get inspiration from so many different places. Even going all the way back to the original LA warehouse underground scene. But yes, theme parks as well!

Q: DeClann: Will the livestreaming experience be improved for 2018? Having a continuous stream for each stage would be much more appreciated than 10-20min sets from only a handful of DJ's. I can't wait to see what you have in store for EDC 2018! A: PasqualeRotella: I've gotten mixed opinions from people for what they'd like to see on this. I do appreciate your input. We're capable of doing longer sets. Maybe I should get a vote on this from fans.

Q: brandejae: You advised that EDC 2018 will be getting longer hours, new shuttle service, camping and new stage designs. Does this include the neonGARDEN as well!? We've had the "TechnoTeepee" for going on three years now and it's definitely getting a bit stale. Personally, I really enjoyed 2013/14's designs with the larger structure and feel that Insomniac could take note from Awakenings & Time Warp for their new Factory93 experience. Techno has definitely been growing in the states and I feel like we are definitely past due for some upgrades! Thank you! A: PasqualeRotella: Agree! We are working on new designs for next year's neonGARDEN.

Q: Rekari: Are there any plans to update QuantumValley stage? This year was great, but could have been better with the addition of CO2. Also it seemed like it was too small of a venue for some of the bigger acts like ATB and Gareth Emery where it was completely packed this year. A: PasqualeRotella: Yes, I'm excited to say that it’s going to be a new open-air stage.

Q: Ilovewingsnthings: Pasquale, I LOVE all the main stage designs, but can we please have more LED on the main stage? I really like Insomniac visuals, but the last 3 years they been obstructed. Kinetic Cathedral has been the perfect balance. A: PasqualeRotella: We pretty much use all the LED in the United States for EDC Las Vegas every year so that might be difficult unless you own an LED company.

Q: Redrunk: Where exactly is the camping going to be on the speedway grounds? A: PasqualeRotella: Surrounding properties outside the Speedway grounds.

Q: slombar: As a big trance and Dreamstate fan, I have to admit the QuantumValley experience just didn't compare to the old Megastructure of Circuit Grounds. Is there any plan to bring a megastructure stage back? A: PasqualeRotella: There are no plans right now, but there's the possibility of bringing the megastructure back, just not for the circuitGROUNDS. It's not big enough to accommodate the people at that stage.

Q: xxalexmxx: Pasquale will you improve premier parking for edc 2018? I spent $150 this year and left at 4am and no one in the lot could leave till 8am friday it was horrible Everyone in GA left before us. The pass was for faster in and out but we were the last ones to leave Ive had premier for 3 years in a row. 2015-2016 was better so why change it Youve also moved it into a diffrent bigger lot which makes me think its more about the money now. Edit: Can you let us know if premier parking lot will be in the new 2017 lot again or will go back to the good lot they had in 2015-2016? A: PasqualeRotella: The only way that we’ll have it as an option is if it is 110% improved.

Q: vanewho: Pasquale! The announcements you made regarding the changes to EDC have definitely lived up to the hype and shows that you are actively trying to improve things for us. I've been attending EDC for 3 years now and this past year just felt.... off. It bummed me out a little but this gives me hope that 2018 will be great again. Question #1: Are you going to continue this trend of booking artists that are not part of the EDM scene? (DJ khaled, metro boomin, etc.) Question #2: A lot of headliners complained about being ripped off by the water vendors and being denied ice in 100° weather. Are you aware of this at all? A: PasqualeRotella: Thanks for supporting us for the past three years and reaching out to me today! For your first question, we'll always experiment with things out of the box. We are a dance music festival first and foremost, but we're gonna have fun sometimes, especially in Las Vegas, California. ;) As far as the water question, I never heard this before but thanks for bringing it to my attention. I'll speak to the head of F&B at the Speedway. Good thing is the average temp in May is 64 at night. Thanks again. I'll get on this.

Q: Bertillcious21: Hey Pasquale! Just a quick question... Will shuttle prices go up with this change? When will you announce shuttle stops? Can we expect to have the same ones as last year? We want to book our hotel ASAP. A: PasqualeRotella: Not only are the prices not going up but shuttles will be immensely improved. All stops will be announced before the shuttles go on sale.

Q: kunfuz1on: Having a large quantity of DJ's at EDC is good for diversity but have you thought about lowering the amount of DJ's at the event in place of longer sets? It would be nice to see multiple DJ's play for 1.5 - 2 hours. A: PasqualeRotella: We will have artists periodically play extended set times depending on the genre or stage they are playing at.

Q: nnicot: Hi Mr. Rotella, as an 'older' festival-goer it's been amazing watching the evolution of Insomniac festivals through the years. present-day EDC especially is mind-boggling with its production quality and lineups. My mind was completely blown this year watching Valentino Khan throw down his ridiculous set while all the fireworks were going off in our faces right behind the Basspod stage! First question: after so many years of holding EDC in June, what was the final tipping point for you to move EDC to May? Second question: moving forward, how much involvement do you think you will have with the HARD brand of events, and what is your vision for the Hard brand? The recently revealed Holy Ship lineups are absolutely insane and have definitely served to calm the fears of many of the die-hard Ship fans. Thank you and my crew and I are eager to see what Insomniac brings in the future! A: PasqualeRotella: The biggest factor in our move to May was the cooler weather. It allows us to do camping, have extended hours, and the temperatures are way more comfortable for Headliners. It also takes if off of Father’s Day, which is great for me and all the other Dads. We’ve owned HARD for 4 years but haven’t operated it, with the exception of helping with HARD Summer at Glen Helen this past August. Moving forward we’ll continue with operations.

Q: IIcantstopwontstopII: Every year you manage to up the ante with production design, you see to have the perfect layout stage by stage at the speedway. Wil we ever see stages que relocated? Or since the system is already in place, will things forever stay the same? A: PasqualeRotella: We don’t have any plans to but if you think there’s a reason to, please let me know.

Q: mycleanaccount96: Why wont you release all dj sets recorded at edc? A: PasqualeRotella: We leave that up to the artists to make that decision.

Q: soondubu23: How safe is camping? Are personal items susceptible to stealing/looting while we're at the festival? A: PasqualeRotella: If you're in an RV I suggest you lock it. If you're staying in a tent, we ask that you bring your own lock as the zippers will have luggage lock holes. Security will be roaming the grounds as well. [later to the same post] You'll be able to access your vehicle if you want to lock items in there too.

Q: A_burdenless_pig: Hi Pasquale! Just wondering what the timeline for camping? What date could people check in and what is the latest they could check out? Thanks A: PasqualeRotella: Campers will definitely be able to check in on Thursday, but we're looking at the possibility of Wednesday. Checkout will be Monday around 7pm.

Q: sheriffChocolate: So my question, like so many others, is related to EDC camping. In the campground can we get above ground pools and have pool parties with DJs? Since we're so far away from the strip I feel like this would be a great way to supplement some EDC week pool parties and cool off! A: PasqualeRotella: That is being explored and likely to happen. Plus a lot more activities will happen. I'm excited about it.

Q: alpatt: Pasquale, Will EDC LV be going "cashless" and make the attendees utilize wristbands for payments in 2018 similar to other music festivals? A: PasqualeRotella: No plans for it right now but is that something you think we should do?

Q: Psirocking: Was edc ny ended over low turnout, high cost, or a bit of both? A: PasqualeRotella: The reason we no longer organize EDC New York is because we felt like we needed to find a better venue.

Q: shotnuke005: Where do you lean on the pineapple on the pizza argument? A: PasqualeRotella: All toppings are welcome here :)

Q: Ilovewingsnthings: Pasquale, I've always wondered this, what happens to the main stages after you're done using them. Where is Kinetic Cathedral for example. Scrapped for parts? I like to daydream that one day there will be an EDCLand full of all the mainstages A: PasqualeRotella: I have some artifacts in my backyard, there are some in the Insomniac warehouse, and we are looking to make an Insomniac Production Museum.

Q: cu4tro: Do you have any updates on a location for Middlelands? Lots of Texans hope it doesn't leave this state. Being from Texas and going to EDC since 2014, it was amazing to be able to RV camp at an insomniac festival so close to home. It was awesome running into you to personally thank you and welcome you back to TX since Nocturnal in Rockdale. Cant wait for RV camping at EDC! A: PasqualeRotella: We are still searching for the right venue and the plan is to definitely bring it back but not before finding the right place. Glad we crossed paths!

Q: throwaway3921218: What was the first festival you ever attended? A: PasqualeRotella: Grateful Dead show in Southern California with Mama Irene.

Q: king_of_nogainz: Mr. Rotella, my question to you is, have you ever Kandiflipped? A: PasqualeRotella: Yes but I’ve been sober for many years now

Q: wookin: Hey Pasquale, what's going on with the Mexico on sale? Do you have plans to donate to those affected by the earthquake? A: PasqualeRotella: The on sale will be October 16/17 for EDC Mexico and will raise funds for those affected by the earthquake. The same goes for EDC Orlando for those affected by the hurricane. And it doesn’t stop there. All of our major festivals support communities in need.

Q: manny-rr: Hey what is your favorite non insomniac festival and why? If it is burning man, what's your second favorite. A: PasqualeRotella: If you’re not letting me pick Burning Man, then I would say Boom Festival.

Q: aquino661: Would you ever consider throwing an edc inspired cruise? #EdcCruise A: PasqualeRotella: Yea an EDSEA has been considered many times. We will make it happen one of these days.

Q: ZerophoniK: Pasquale, do you play Fantasy Football? If so, who are your top players on your roster? A: PasqualeRotella: I don't play Fantasy Football but I do play Galaga and Donkey Kong

[viichar]

Tagged by @sukkanen to answer a few questions about my OCs!!! Thank u i am honored LOL now lets get into it 

 Some OC questions      

1. Your first OC ever? i had this “RPC” who was just a naruto oc and her name was Kiki and she was rlly like over the top happy go lucky but had an angsty backstory bc i was emo and she was like blind in one eye but she covered her good eye with hair?? and she was an orphan I shipped her w like 6 different naruto characters #noshame

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs? Charlotte is definitely my fave honestly !!! Second fave is Hayden tho (her brother, but actually hes my oldest current OC )

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else? YES!! And i haven’t used them bc im trash but i love them,,, i promise,,,,,, i just dont know what to do w them yet,,, 4. A character you rarely talk about? I have a lot of OCs like this, but the ones that are still alive are Luna and Lulu who r best friends, and i made them w my friend @papperie as like background friend OCs for hers!! 5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? ...this is a double edged sword bc ofc i want my favorite OC, Charlotte, to b most popular, but then she’s gonna get reinterpreted constantly and like i wouldnt be allowed to have her exactly how i want her?  6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related? UHHH most of my OCs actually are related but if im not careful Aureli and Charlotte can start to look similar

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories? YEP that’d be all of them!!! if i dont make a story for them they die inevitably 8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here! I used to,,,, mostly as Hayden!!! I miss RPing haha but i havent done it in SO LONG 9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

NO i would b so emo,,, once they are mine they’re mine !! altho ive considered making adoptables  10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? Dont have any LOLLL all my OCs are slice of life tbh so they end up being very casual, ALTHO currently im in the middle of designing a princess so that could very well change soon! 11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? AURELI,,,, mischevious sunshine princess, shes kinda oblivious to things but she likes causing play trouble and embarrassing her gf  12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot SARA, i love her she belongs to @quillsareoverrated, id add more but im 2 lazy 2 draw but like name wise I love Fordic and Laura ( from sukka and spacey )

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

AURELI, also Hayden, but he just causes his own trouble and ruins his own damn life which isnt what i think u mean LOL

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory

uhhhh maybe Hayden again, he did end up running away from home and then going into shady business to survive and then he tried to die and failed //shrugs

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people? YA I DO but then they get bored or like dont rlly care abt my OCs and like,, its hard to try and talk abt your OCs when ppl clearly r not interested 16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? PROBABLY LULU, shes the only OC who i even think COULD be good at biology,,, 17. Any OC OTPs? YESYESYES Charlotte and her wife Hayden and his husband,,, AURELI AND SARA,,,, Summer and Vi I HAVE A LOT MORE 18. Any OC crackships? ya,,,,   I like shipping Lulu with Claire and Luna tbhh ALSO ALEX i ship her lots ALSO I ship Charlotte with everyone who will LET ME

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why) Hayden and Charlotte, theyre so old and like theyve evolved so much, but especially Hayden who is still like..down in the dumps and bad at everything and like extremely dependent on his husband and like....i relate but every day he tries his damn best even tho its hard to see if he’s getting anywhere,,, he tries his best and i should too he means a lot to me,,, hes been w me like 8 yrs 

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)? no lol all my OCs are tone deaf LOL which is funny bc i love singing 21. Your most artistic OC UHHH NO CLUE,, Charlotte is a top notch ballerina but shes not creative really... Maybe Luna?? Shes a cute model and i think shes a fine arts major iirc 22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? YA,,, definitely Charlotte, people tend to see her as a character who is cold but opens up when u get to know her, but not rlly shes rather cold LOLL she just has a soft spot for her wife 23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like? HAYDEN,,,, he used to be so rebellious and like angsty and now he literally just sucks at everything but tries to be good ALSO charlotte because she literally was just Hayden as a girl and now look at her,,,,, 24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why? Sevastyan!!! He’s only half mine, but im ready to marry him he is big and buff and TALL AND BROAD and boring as hell but thats ok  25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?) Lelija! Hayden and Charlotte’s younger sister who gets picked on by lit all of the siblings besides Hayden and Adeleine ( So like 8/10 siblings ), shes chub and unkempt like me

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? Nope, there are things i changed bc they felt over done or they were just old and i was done but never against my will? After all theyre MY OCs im not going to change anything i dont want to??? 27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? Nope!! Maybe by movies or comics, but not songs. 28. Your most dangerous OC? UHHH Victoria (Charlottes wife) could fucking kill a man LOLL and would for her wife  29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going? Charlotte bc she thinks she is tough and doesnt need any help with anything, this is how she dies probably 30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? HAYDEN,,, Shoving them rapidly into his closet when company comes over bc he is mortified but they make him feel better Unsecretly tho i bet Aurelia has 67789767897668976 covering the bed and no one can stop her 31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really) Charlotte would have an annoying fitspo blog w like minimalist pics of nice apartments and cute girls tbh I bet Aureli would have a blog dedicated to cute stuffed animals, rooms filled with pink and white furniture.blankets, and tons of lingerie and cringey quotes abt love 32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? HMM... TBH Hayden would be the best bc he would cry the entire time and u would relate to him and try ur best with subpar skills LOLL for ACTUAL horror tho Probably Victoria, shes kickass and wont lose, she’d be OP 33. Your shyest OC? Lelija! After being picked on for years its no wonder she’s shy, especially talking about something she likes bc she doesnt want to be made fun of for having interests 34. Do you have any twin characters? Hayden and Charlotte! I made hayden first, and honestly most of the time theyre in seperate verses, but they ARE twins if theyre in the same verse! And Charlotte is older she’ll have you know. 35. Any sibling characters? Hayden and Charlotte have 8 younger siblings LMAO Aureli also has an older sister named Aurora!  36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? YEP YEP YEP Charlotte and Haydens wife/husband Lulu and Luna are friends of my other friends OCs Aureli is in love with Sara!!  I prefer to make OCs in pairs with other people!!  I love it !!!!! 37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human

AURELIIII shes a robot girl!!! She can do pretty much anything other girls can but shes a robot 

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? Charlotte. No question. After all she’s one of the best ballerinas in the world in her verse so BUT Also April and Summer can dance p well!! More contemporary!! 39. Introduce any character you want here is Lulu i keep mentioning!!! its been so long since i drew her i kinda forgot but shes best friends with Luna and is engaged!!! Not to luna unfortunately but dw Luna is doing good too

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share! Not really!!! I have a bad memory so LMAO even if i did i cant remember them on command

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!) YES AND I LOSE MY SHIT EVERY TIME, most of them r on twitter tho ( This one is by Sukkanen on tumblr !!! I LOST MY SHIT,,, )

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? probably hayden, he loves stories and storytelling and religion so

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess Short w round faces and big bright eyes and long long hair, always girls tbh, i know who i am and im ashamed LOL, also girls who are bratty !!

44. Something you like about your OCs in general i like how hard they work, all my OCs basically do their best and try their hardest and like they stumble, or sometimes just suck at what theyre doing and dont get better but like i value that  45. A character you no longer use? the first one i drew, KIKI, she fucking embarrasses me but every time i try to revamp her i cant bc im attatched. 46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly? YES,,,, EVERYONE,,,, I LOVE TO MAKE THEM SUFFER 47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? YEP, LOTS OF MY FRIENDS 48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure My OCs are honestly all assholes besides aureli so shes defaulted even tho she loves mischief 49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes Hayden  50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want If you want, you can tag your ask answers with #yetanotherOCmeme so I can check them out too `v´9 OCs are magical and every character u love was someones OC at one point. I am rlly attached to my OCs and afraid to put info of them out there because i dont want people to like..take them and make these connections i cant control but like then i see other ppls OCs and i want to!!! SHOW PEOPLE!! Its a weird line, but i love OCs and i wanna know abt more of them!!!!

[iyarpage]

5 Ways to Design for Large Viewports

Web designers have typically always been big-picture people, in that they like having really big screens in front of them. It’s convenient, and it makes you feel very professional. At this point in my life, I don’t think I could go back to having just one monitor, either. And yet, I find that many websites don’t live up to the potential promised by big darned screens, or even that presented by phones with HD resolutions.

This is because we live in a mobile-first world, with mobile-first people. They go to far off and exotic places like “outside”, so they have to carry their screens around with them. Outside people pretty much pay our bills—whether directly or indirectly—and we have to make websites they can actually use on those small screens.

That is all well and good, and it’s not going to change any time soon. But big screens aren’t going anywhere, either. People still work in offices, at home, and in coffee shops with laptops and desktops. People still have “the family computer” at home. PC gamers exist, and they’re buying some of the biggest screens, right alongside photographers and videographers.

These people are often left with experiences designed for mid-range to small screens. This likely doesn’t break the experience for them, but why shouldn’t they have an experience tailored to their needs? Besides, what is all that extra screen space there for, if not to play with it? Here are a few ways to take advantage of the bigger screens, along with some examples:

1. Literal Big Pictures

One of the most common ways people try to use up the empty space is to put pictures in it. We’ve all seen the ten-trillion websites (I may be exaggerating) that use some stock photo as a background, particularly in the “hero” section on the home page. This is everywhere. You’ve done it, most likely, and God knows I’ve done it.

It is not altogether the worst way to go about it, and it’s not the best. While image compression is getting better and better, those images will still hit you in the bandwidth, caching or no caching. If you want to save you and your CDN some trouble, go with SVG. I know, I keep saying this, but it really works, and it works wonders. See bebold for a picture-perfect (heh) example of how to use simple SVG imagery to fill up some space while keeping the bandwidth and rendering costs light.

2. Scaling the Layout

So we all know how responsive design works, right? Well, it’s gotten a lot easier with CSS Grid. I’ve been experimenting with it for personal projects, and goddamn but it truly changes everything. Those Magazine-type layouts that front-end developers have been trying to make work for decades? They’re easy now. Easy. Go read a tutorial already.

With all that time you have left over, why not see what you can do when you let the central wrapping div go wider than 1,200 pixels? It could be fun. For an absolutely gorgeous (if somewhat bandwidth-heavy) example, see Seedlip.

3. Responsive Type

But hey, sometimes you don’t want to bother so much with pictures. Maybe you just want big darned text. We’ve had various iterations on the responsive layout for years, though. What has been harder is scaling our typography up and down by screen resolution in a way that seems natural and fluid. Sure, you can do it with a few dozen media queries (or like two, if you’re lazy like me), but the CSS calc function has us covered if we want to do it the easy way.

Sure, Chris Coyier has been writing about this since 2012, but the browser support hasn’t always been up to par. I quite like the technique used by Mike Foskett’s Fluid-responsive font-size calculator, which allows you to specify a maximum font-size, and can calculate everything in rems and ems, if that’s the way you want to go.

For an example of the technique in action see any article on CSS-Tricks.

4. Just put More Stuff on the Screen

As an avowed minimalist, I’m not a huge fan of just bombarding the user with information in general. However, there are times when this is exactly what they want and need. The clearest use cases for this approach are in dashboard-style user interfaces, and plain old e-commerce. In either of these cases, if you’re not using the maximum potential space for functionality and/or products, you’re actually slowing the user down when they may not want to be slowed down.

Most dashboard designers are already, well…on board. However, I’m seeing more and more ecommerce site templates trying to cram products into small areas on big screens, and that makes little sense to me.

Example: I dunno… Amazon? I’m not going to link that. They’re going to get our traffic eventually in any case. Actually, the aforementioned Seedlip works very well for this section, too.

Now where I object to this approach is on news sites, and generally they seem to agree with me. Although some are still using up the full screen, they make the content big enough that there’s not too much in the viewport at any one time, encouraging you to scroll down and really pick and choose your articles. Sure, they do it to display more ads, but this might be one of the few times ads have actually helped to improve an experience. Kind of.

5. Video

And lastly, a real no-brainer. I’m not actually sure anyone’s doing this one wrong. Still… if you’re going to use video extensively on your site anyway, and you’re not too fussed about bandwidth, go big. It’s video, that’s what it’s for. If nothing else, at least give people the option to watch your videos in full-screen mode. For examples of this tip in action, see just about any filmmaker’s site. Here’s one: +Ring.

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