#coming down to the end of the preorder now!

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: THE GREAT CITIES DUOLOGY by N. K. Jemisin.

[deus-ex-mona]

winter 2k24, huh~~~~~~ _(:3 」∠)_

[transcendence-au]

★★★ HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY! ★★★

It’s that special time of year, folks–time for our annual TAU ficathon! But, what’s this… we’re turning 10 this year? That’s a milestone if I’ve ever heard one!

To celebrate, we’re going to offer a couple extras this year… we’ve got contests, raffles, and prizes! Here’s a quick peek at what’s going down this eventful birthday of ours:

Fanfic contest (with prizes!)

Fanart contest (with prizes!)

Three raffles!

Alcor charm preorder!

Here’s what the schedule is going to look like:

October 5th: Fanfic and fanart contests open! Alcor charm pre-orders open!

November 2nd: Alcor charm pre-order close + payment deadline

December 14th: Contest submissions close

December 21st: Contest winners and raffle winners announcements

Click the read more to see all the details of these events!

★ Fanfic contest ★

→ Submit your fic to the fanfic contest here! ← 

This time, you can submit your ficathon fic into a contest for some fun prizes!

The winner will receive:

An Alcor charm (free including shipping)

Their fic featured in the “Introduction to TAU” page soon to be unveiled

Art for their fic, drawn by TAU creator Zillychu

Bragging rights! 

Unlike the usual ficathon though, there is a theme all contestants will need to follow. 

☆☆☆ The theme for this contest is: Introduction to TAU! ☆☆☆

This means your fic can be read by anyone who has no prior knowledge of TAU, or even Gravity Falls! It also means you need to give the reader a taste of what TAU is all about – this includes:

Something that explains the Transcendence (or at least shows the reader that the supernatural is now commonplace – this can be achieved anywhere from a single sentence, to a major plot point)

Alcor’s general predicament of being a human-turned-immortal-demon (could be in conversation, or in the general narrative. Does not need to go into detail on the events that lead up to this, but it can!)

At least one familiar or common theme abundant in this AU, which includes but isn’t limited to: 

Family (however it’s defined), friendship, and platonic love

Finding joy amidst grief, hope despite loss

Demonology and eldritch terrors

Supernatural politics and how they fit into the mundane

The existential horror of being a human turned semi-omnipotent immortal demon who must fight the demonic desire for chaos vs. the human desire to pack bond with everything!

A wonderful example of this includes Mod K’s series Bentley & Friends! The story plants you in the center of the TAU world through the eyes of a character named Bentley, and slowly unveils the setting through his perspective. Bentley himself is familiar with a post-Transcendence world and Alcor’s reputation, but only comes to learn the truth about him and Mizar through ensuing shenanigans. 

Another example would be MaryPSue’s Return, Rewind, Rewrite, which starts with an emotional demon summoning, and follows characters who find they're more closely linked to the Transcendence than they expected. Remember: Showcasing the story of TAU through narratives and character interactions is always better than simply giving the reader a summary! 

Please note that there is no word minimum. Longer fics will generally leave a better impression on the mods, but quality will always trump quantity. 

Here’s a list of all the prerequisites for your fic when entering the fanfic contest:

Only one entry per person

Adheres to the contest theme

Only new work created after this announcement post (or within a month if tagged as anniversary content) will be accepted!

Is rated G to M (no explicit sexual content please!)

No word minimum

Is submitted via the Google form by December 14th

OCs are welcome, so long as the theme is met and the story is easily distinguished as TAU-related

If you end up winning the contest, we will reach out to you for your name and address so we can send you your charm!

If you win the contest and you elect not to receive a charm, we will award the free charm to the runner-up.

★ Fanart contest ★

→ Submit your art to the fanart contest here! ← 

Not much of a writer, but still want to join in the festivities? Perhaps you’d like to write and do a little something extra?

Here’s a list of all the prerequisites for entering the fanart contest:

Only one entry per person

ANY art (that isn’t fanfic) is accepted! Illustration, mixed media, animations, emojis, music… if you create it, you can enter it!

Only new work created after this announcement post (or within a month if tagged as anniversary content) will be accepted!

No explicit sexual content

Is submitted via the Google form by December 14th

OCs are welcome, so long as it’s easily distinguished as TAU-related

★ Raffles ★

→ Click here to enter the TAU fan appreciation raffle! ← 

While the mods of the TAU blog will be picking winning contest entries, we’d like everyone participating to have a chance to win a free charm, as well as fans who have created fan content in the past!

There will be a total of 3 raffles:

If you enter the fanfic contest, you will be automatically entered in the fanfic raffle!

If you enter the fanart contest, you will be automatically entered in the fanart raffle!

Yes, that means if you enter both the fanfic and fanart contest, you will be entered twice! If you apply to the TAU fan appreciation raffle, you'll be entered three times!

The TAU fan appreciation raffle is open to everyone who has created at least one piece of fan content in the past! You will need to enter this raffle manually, and share a link to something you created in the past (must be something with a timestamp, like a blog post or AO3 link). 

☆☆☆ If you pre-order a charm and end up winning a raffle, we will refund you on Paypal for the full amount.

☆☆☆ Only one charm will be awarded per person. If you win one raffle, you cannot win in the others. 

★ Alcor charm pre-orders ★

→ Click here to pre-order your Alcor charm! ←

Want to ensure you still get a charm whether or not you win a contest or raffle? Go ahead and pre-order yours!

Price: $15

(includes shipping inside USA, additional shipping fees for international)

Note that since this is something Zilly wants to do in appreciation for the TAU community, the price listed is purely production price. This will cover the cost of the charm, and shipping. If you live outside the USA, we will calculate your shipping separately and disclose this in the Paypal invoice. If the price exceeds your expectations, you are welcome to refuse/cancel the invoice.

Your invoice must be paid by November 2nd! (We need to know how many charms to order!)

The charms will be sent in early January – We will do the contest winners and raffles first, so if you pre-order and then win one of the contests or raffles, your invoice will be canceled and you will be sent a charm at no cost. 

Here’s what you need to do to preorder an Alcor charm:

Fill out the following Google form (You will need to share your Paypal email! Make sure your name and address in your Paypal is correct, as we will be using that to ship your charm)

Wait for us to send you an invoice in Paypal

Complete payment of your Paypal invoice by November 2nd

Estimated delivery date will be January 2025!

★ And now... the true stars of our AU ★

That's everything for this year's celebration! But now, if you'll let me get a little emotional... I'd like to thank the heart and soul of the Transcendence AU:

You.

To all the fans of TAU, new and old. To everyone who spent years active in the fandom, to everyone who even briefly enjoyed TAU content in passing. To everyone who created fanfic and fanart, to those who created music and animated MAPs, to those who organized events and meet-ups, to everyone who reblogged and liked posts made by the TAU blog or any of TAU's wonderful fans.

Thank you. You created this AU. You created something more than an idea. You created a community. Without you, none of this would have been possible.

From the bottom of my little rat heart, I love you all. From all the mods of the TAU blog, we thank you! Here's to another ten wonderful years!

[crazylittlejester]

LU Links as things I did in the month of September (except two weeks late because i forgot to post it and it’s been rotting in my drafts-)

Time: Sat in the gamestop parking lot for TWO full hours waiting for the store to open so he could get the game he preordered because he thought the line would be super fucking long and he made a friend come with him and wait because he NEEDED his game, but he didn’t wanna get lonely. No one showed up till like 10 minutes too and at that point he’d gotten so distracted he ended up last in a line of 5 people and he was really upset about it

Warriors: Got bit by a mosquito and had a severe reaction to it but because he whines and complains about everything all the time people were just kinda like “yeah I’m sure it DOES bother you dude” but it was genuinely so bad he was on 3 meds for a week, had an allergic reaction, and had to go to urgent care. And on his way to said urgent care a lady told him he looked sad and handed him a 10$ IKEA coupon. When people in his life actually saw the size of the bite they were horrified

Twilight: Looked at his dog and cried because he didn’t understand why such a little creature would love him enough to fall asleep outside his room waiting for him to wake up in the morning

Sky: Stood outside in a rainstorm with his head down staring at his bare ass feet in his sandals that were getting absolutely soaked and decided he maybe DIDNT need to get the mail just then, but then slipped and ate shit in the garage because his shoes were wet

Hyrule: Drove 40 minutes for a can of pringles and three 3 musketeers bars. Intended to ration them out over the course of three days, but ate them all in one sitting and then got sad about it

Legend: Realized he can’t be sad if he’s screaming to FNAF songs in the car, and then realized yes he CAN be sad because FNAF songs remind him of his best friend who he really fucking misses. Now he listens to podcasts in the car because he will start tearing up if he listens to music in general while he drives

Wild: Spontaneously drove to a different state on a Thursday afternoon and the fact that it was a Thursday fucked with his internal calendar and for the rest of the weekend he was mentally one day off. But it ended up being great for him because he woke up and cried Monday morning but then realized it was actually Sunday and no he DIDNT have to go to school

Four: Ate so much chocolate he made himself sick and unfortunately this happened while all his housemates were out so he just had to lay there pathetically wishing he at least wasn’t lonely while suffering

Wind: Wakes up every god damn day and choses NOT to eat his dnd dice. It is a STRUGGLE. They look so fucking edible…

[somelazyassartist]

HOWDY MY ETSY SHOP WILL BE TEMPORARILY CLOSING SOON!! I'M HOSTING A BIG SALE TO TRY TO GET RID OF AS MUCH CURRENT INVENTORY AS I CAN BEFORE WE SHUT DOWN!!

I'm trying to get rid of as much current stock as I can- the store will close once everything (or at least most of it) is sold, and then the shop will be set to Vacation Mode for the foreseeable future!

I want to redo nearly everything, from the way each item is made, how my shop is organized and items are categorized, my packaging, how everything is priced, the photography of items, and more - I want to start pretty much everything from the ground up now that I actually have some experience as a shop owner and not having to continue off of the extremely basic groundwork I laid as a very beginner to selling my art and merch online!

We'll be back after a while! We don't have a specific time frame yet for how long we'll be gone, just however long it takes to get everything revamped new and improved, which will probably be at least a few months of being down, if not longer- But who knows! This definitely isn't the end of our shop, just a break before the start of a new chapter of it!

(oh and just putting this here too- all preorders are still going to be made and shipped out as written in their descriptions, so no need to worry there!)

Even if you can't buy anything, reblogs are super appreciated! The faster I can clear out my inventory to close up shop, the faster I'll be able to come back better than ever!

[hiveworks]

Interview with Mad Rupert, author of Sakana

September 2023

Sakana, the story of life and love in a fish market, is coming back from its hiatus soon! The strip comic style webcomic began in 2010 and follows Jiro, Taisei, Yuudai, and Chie as they navigate their relationships and learn to face their feelings. We asked creator Mad Rupert, author of Robber Robert and artist of Bunt!, for an interview to celebrate the series return.

Read Sakana | Shop books & merch | Read more Hiveworks comics

Sakana has been your baby for 13 years. What has the webcomic journey been like for you over the past decade?

It really has been over a decade, hasn’t it! There have certainly been ups and downs, periods where I was updating as much as I could, and also long hiatuses. I feel like webcomics have always been an amazing space to practice my craft and stretch my writing and drawing skills alike. You can kind of do anything you like with webcomics, and oftentimes people come up with wackier, and imho more interesting concepts than if they were beholden to a large publisher. Not that I haven’t made my fair share of traditionally-published comics and graphic novels… but there’s just something so gratifying about coming up with your own wild story and working towards its end on your own time. Webcomics are incredibly tough and time consuming, but also the ultimate form of self expression. 

What is the origin of Sakana? What made you want to tell this story?

Sakana actually started as a class project when I was a junior at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I had been accepted into the Sequential Art department’s yearly Japan trip to study comics and cartooning in Tokyo for a few weeks, and our final project was to create 11 comic strips based off of something that made a strong impact on us during the trip. We had visited the old inner market (now demolished) of the Tsukiji Fish Market at 4am one morning, and it was the most incredible place I’d ever been, so I decided to craft a short story that took place in the market. Beyond the first 11 strips, I decided to continue the story for as long as I could as a way to practice the comic techniques I was learning in class. That was over a decade and 600 strips ago! It really has become the most ambitious project I’ve ever undertaken.

Do you have the ending already written? Do you see a conclusion in sight?

Yes! I’ve always had something at least resembling an end in mind throughout most of the comic’s lifespan. For a long-format comic like SAKANA, I think it’s very important to have a rough ending planned out as early as possible, otherwise it becomes difficult to keep the narrative moving in a satisfying direction, drop little tidbits of plot that will pay off later, or even maintain your enthusiasm for the project. To be clear, the details of Sakana's “end” have changed many times, which is only natural with a very long project like this. But I’ve always kept crucial details the same: basically certain characters in a certain place at a certain time doing certain things (to keep from getting too spoilery haha.) HOW they get there, WHY they’re there, and WHAT exactly they’re doing will ebb and flow as the years go by and I myself get older and older. But having a general sense of the end in mind has kept things moving all this time. The story’s got one more volume to go, and then I’ll be done!

Your hiatus is a result of working on a traditionally published graphic novel, coming in 2024. Is there anything you can tell us about your book?

My new graphic novel is called Bunt! and it’s a collaborative effort between myself and my dear pal, Ngozi Ukazu (author of popular webcomic Check, Please!) Ngozi wrote the book and I drew it, and we’re both really proud of what we’ve made! It’s already available for preorder all over the place and it will officially be out in stores in February 2024. We’re really looking forward to getting out there this fall and winter and spreading the word about it!

You recently successfully completed a Kickstarter for an 18+ comic, Robber Robert, as well. What is it like balancing these different narratives, genres, and mediums of publishing comics?

It’s definitely been a struggle at times to balance everything, and I definitely don’t recommend working on 3 giant projects at the same time! I finally had to admit that I couldn’t do it all at once, which led to me putting Sakana and RR on hiatus to finish Bunt!, and then keeping Sakana on hiatus while I finished up RR. I really burned myself out on comics for a while, and it’s been a huge struggle to get myself back to a good place with my work. Finishing Bunt! and RR Chapter 1 has really helped reenergize me, but I can always feel myself trying to overload my work schedule again and again. It’s my greatest weakness as a professional artist.

What keeps you inspired?

Making something for myself, practicing my craft, and putting my own stories out there are all huge driving forces in my life. Learning to stop overwhelming myself with work has also helped a lot. Looking back on all the art I’ve made and all the different things I’ve tried makes me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to, so long as I give myself the time and space to enjoy the process.

Do you have any webcomic or graphic novel recommendations?

I’m a big fan of anything fantasy or sci-fi, especially if the narrative approaches the fantastical elements in a weird, unique, and kind of gay way haha. My favorite manga is currently Delicious in Dungeon, but I’m also a fan of historical series like Golden Kamuy and Bride’s Story. For webcomics, I love anything by Evan Dahm, like his long-format series Rice Boy and Vattu. As for Hiveworks comics, there’s too many to list individually but my current favorites are Fairmeadow by KP, and Tiger, Tiger by Petra Nordlund. 

Any advice for new readers of Sakana?

I would say…despite its high page count, it’s not that long of a read! The strip format keeps it moving at a pretty quick clip when read all at once (but it certainly didn’t feel like that over the last 13 years updating one page at a time!) I know that the format and the black and white rendering might feel a little dated in the current era of Webtoons and full-color stories, but I’m too stubborn to change now, and I really appreciate anybody giving it a shot! Also, no matter who you are, or how much you dislike him in the beginning, Yuudai will probably be your favorite character.

You can read Sakana for free at sakana-comic.com and print books are available at hivemill.com

[yeeterthek33per]

Surprise (Katrina Gorry x Reader)

A/n Jeez sorry guys, welcome back to me ay? Anyways, here's the first of many requests, I'm getting back into it, I swear.

Requested.

Warnings/summary: Fluff. Harper Gorry. Itty Bitty Bit suggestive at the end.

You swear, your arms feel like they might pop any second.

It would make sense if you were doing a workout, but it turns out dragging around a 15kg toddler all day is basically the same thing.

With your wife Katrina running around to do assigned media duties before the game tomorrow, you'd been left in charge of little Harper before her family came to get her for the night so you both could get an adequate amount of sleep for once.

There's a little squeal as you swing the small blonde girl up into onto your hip when she tries to make a break for the open doorway that leads onto the pavement outside.

"Mama noooo!"

"Mama yes! No running off like that baby. We stay together while we go out. You know that."

The small pout from her lips reminds you very much of her other mother as you tickle her slightly to elicit a small giggle.

"We goin to get ice cweem?"

You chuckle softly, running your fingers through her blonde locks.

"Yeah, we're getting some ice cream after we have a little walk alright?"

"Chacha coming?"

"Yes Hun, Chacha’s comin', we just gotta wait for her to come down so we can go."

Harper seemingly accepts that, leaning back fully into your hold to sit and play with the small silver necklace you have on, with your wife's and Harper's initials as the pendants.

It takes a very long five minutes as Charlie finally gets off the elevator ready to go, the little blonde in your arms getting much more fidgety as you stand and wait.

"Chacha!"

"Took you long enough, come on!"

She rolls her eyes before turning to the tiny girl you're holding and snatches her up to ride on her shoulders, your biceps screaming in relief finally.

Any other day of the week, you'd be used to it but after the intense gym session the day before, you weren't sure your arms wouldn't have fallen off by the end of today without your younger compatriot to take the younger version of herself off your hands.

The groan of relief you let out as she does so, has her laughing.

"Stop complaining, she's your kid, you should be used to this by now."

"Hush you, gym sessions and wandering toddlers don't mix, now let's go before we run out of time."

"Why are we out here again? It's supposed to be rest day today."

The bright, sunny warmth of the day is nothing compared to the day previous, leaving you feeling a little relieved at not having to deal with 27 odd degree temperatures and an impatient two-year-old.

"We're out here because I need one more thing for tomorrow and I just needed someone to give me an excuse to leave the hotel.

"Why do you need my help? You've known Mini longer. You're literally married to her."

"I know but it's our first game together as a married couple and I want it to be super special for her."

"Alright alright, so what are we picking out again?"

"It's a surprise for the game. I asked the uniformers if I could tweak my jersey a little."

"Okay? What does that have to do with- wait..."

She pauses a little, her hand coming up and making the stop motion.

"You're changing it to Gorry?"

Her eyes water a little as a massive grin stretches across your face with a chuckle and you nod.

Charlie bounces a little in excitement, the squeal she lets out startling the child on her shoulders.

"Is this an official name change?"

You hum in the affirmative, steadying the blonde as she bounces into you, careful not to let Harper fall from her perch.

"It's been a thought for a long while, we talked about it, but we never confirmed whether or not I'd change my name. She definitely wants to keep Gorry, though."

"So why are we going shopping then?"

"Because I'm going out to pick up a preorder I made a couple weeks ago, it was supposed to be a wedding gift when we got married here but they couldn’t get it finished in time so I settled for the specialised necklaces and just made these the World Cup gift instead."

"So, what's the preorder then?"

"You'll see. Wait here"

You playfully wink and duck into the jewellery store to your left, right as she asks the question.

Returning just a few minutes later, bag in hand.

"Alright, let's go."

Charlie looks at you expectantly.

"You're not gonna show me?"

"Later. Harps, what do you say sweety, ice cream time?"

The toddler jumps up and down in her spot upon the older girl’s shoulders.

"Yes pleeeeease!"

Humming in contentment, you drag her down the street to a cold rock ice creamery, much to the protest of the twenty-two-year-old.

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

A loud grumble from the blonde laid across your bed makes you glance up from your spot at the desk with a chuckle.

"At least one little peak, come on Y/n/n. Pleeeeease? You dragged me all the way out to go get it. It's the least you could do."

You'd swear she was in fact Harper's older sister with the way she was giving you the puppy dog eyes.

"You can't wait for tomorrow to see it? Like everyone else?"

"No".

She deadpans and perches herself onto the desk next to where you're signing out papers to send off to the registry that you got married under.

'Alright alright alright. Pass me the bag. I need to hide the box anyways."

There's a small smile as you open up the ring box again, and it reminds you heavily of the ring box Katrina had so smoothly removed from her satchel at the beach the day you'd gotten engaged.

The mid thickness silver band shines under the small white desk lamp, the curved engravings on the underside of it glimmering as you carefully hand it to the blonde who's expression melts at the sight of it.

The little inscription of "our kind of love is the best kind. - (Y)G" and the little football symbol on the bottom matches perfectly with the style of writing.

"It matches our wedding rings. I'll give it to her to her tomorrow after the game."

"She's gonna love it. I love it. God, can you get me one?"

Rolling your eyes at her, you chuckle softly as she slips the ring back into the box and you tuck it away into safe corner of the room until it's needed.

"I'll be sure to let Lachlan know."

She smiles softly at the mention of her boyfriend before a small inquizzacal look appears on her face.

"So, how's this gonna pan out without her noticing again?"

"Well...."

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

Stepping down and off the bus, there's a nervousness in the air, not like the usual national games hold. You'd been to major tournaments before, hell you were in France for the 2019 world cup but there's nothing like the feeling you get now.

Walking into a home stadium, in your home uniform at a home world cup, and awaiting you is the eighty thousand strong crowd, the hopefully perfect condition pitch and your bouncing blonde toddler with her grandmother in the stands.

It's a feeling out of this world.

And it gets better knowing what's waiting for Katrina as well.

Not just a chance at redemption from the last World Cup.

Not just her sweet little harper, cheering and yelling for her mommy and her teammates the moment they step onto the pitch.

A hand on your shoulder jolts you a little, you'd paused in front of your cubby after hearing the ever so faint cheers of the crowd above the entrance to the player area.

"You alright?"

Your wife’s comforting hand gently squeezes your arm as you nod, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Feelin’ great, baby.”

Resting your hand on hers, you caress it with your thumb softly before gently nudging her back to her own cubby to get ready for pitch inspection.

Subtly making eye contact with the trainer across the room, you give him a nod as he slips away to grab the jersey, he’d made ready in time for the game.

Slipping on your training jersey, you duck out onto the pitch before warmups are due to start.

You end up making it quicker than usual in order to slip out to meet the trainer to grab your actual jersey which you leave in your cubby away from sight.

Waving to the already numerous fans in the stadium, you make your rounds of the pitch to get a proper feel of it, and when Sam spots herself on the big screen managing to sneak a selfie, you and your teammates are left chuckling.

Warmups go smoothly, and the atmosphere and tremendous crowd are both buzzing with enormous amounts of energy.

Breathing in the cool night air, your shots feel a little shaky in the leadup, but they quickly relax as you settle in amongst the encouragement and atsmosphere of your teammates.

Despite the devastation at finding out Sam won’t be playing for at least three games, the determination sets in hard and the moment you are all called back to the changerooms, a hardness sets about you and everything in your head calms in the moment, ready to get out there and play like it’s any other game, trying to ignore the already enormous amount of pressure on your shoulders.

Tony gives a quick speech before sending you all off to line up ready for the walkout.

The team are still in their training jackets when you walk out and it’s only when you slip off yours, and place it over the shoulders of the mascot in front of you after the national anthems, that she finally notices.

You’re number 24 while Katrina is number 19 so she isn’t directly next to you to see it, however a close up of your back on the big screen catches her attention when she realises it isn’t her number attached to the last name and she leans forward to catch your eye as you all move to huddle.

Winking at her, you smile and move stand next to her, arm slipping around her shoulders as Sam and Tony do the final send off.

The double take of a few of your teammates makes you laugh, and you press a kiss to your wife’s cheek with a small ‘Surprise.’ Spoken in her ear.

She grabs your face before you can go anywhere.

“Not so fast you.”

There’s a small hum of appreciation when she presses her lips to yours in a brief kiss and her eyes water a little up at you.

“I love you so much, Mrs L/n.”

“It’s Gorry now, baby.”

Her smile widens and right as you go to kiss her once more, a slap to the back startles you.

It’s a grinning Sam who urges you over to the rest of your waiting team who’ve been watching you both with amusement visibly plastered on all of their faces.

"Let’s do this, pretty girl."

With that, you feel more than ready to start this thing.

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

The first thing you feel the moment you're off the bus is Katrina's hand dragging you back inside the hotel and up the stairs, far too impatient to wait for the elevator to come down.

The moment you're both up the six flights of stairs, despite the immense exhaustion you're both exhibiting after the battle against Ireland, there's a giddiness in both of your steps and she quickly drags you into your room with the swipe of your keycard.

The soft giggle that leaves your lips the moment you're pressed back against the door makes her grin and her hands slipping under the hem of your hoodie leave shivers behind as you think back to the look she'd given you from the left of you across the locker room.

Full of love and adoration and a little hint of desire as they move to the name across your back.

Mouthing those three words you know sends warmth to her chest every time she hears them, she mouths them back with a small grin.

[bonbons-artdump]

SO, FAN LETTER RIGHT?!

It really inspired me to draw all my major re reads i've done of the series. ( now down traditionally when a new manga boxset comes out) cause each time I do, I gain a new favorite strawhat. rambles/personal stories below.

Back when it first aired in the states on 4kids. Yooo i fell hard for sanjis terrible stupid accent, i still even replay the gamecube games just to hear it sometimes. i remember at a point i bought a bag of dum dums to have a fake 'cig' all the time. ( the lollipop did not fool me long as i JUMPED on the manga)

sometime in highschool i know i on and off again read it and got such a love for Ussop my entire self insert OC was altered to sort of compliment and inspire from him. plus he's such a great in depth character! i could talk for days how much ussop is a great guy, character arcs and how eveyone damning him for merry do not understand my boy!!!

in my early 20s i ended up buying both boxsets with 3 on preorder, i never had actually read all of thriller bark and marine ford, i'd seen clips and positive watched a couple episodes on adult swim, as i already knew i adored brook. i also knew what all happened with ace, and that there was a time skip upcoming. Alongside that time, i had to get get my thyroid removed. i remember being so nervous and what brought me comfort is just thinking of Super Cool Franky and Brook. I even made a lil mixture of their jolly rogers i printed out and taped on a plush doll i took with me. When i woke up, turns out they had to only take half of my thyroid and id have to reschedule for the second half due to it was much bigger than the scans saw. I couldn't speak for a while and there was a chance i could of lost my voice completely. i'm a big talker if your okay with listening to me ill ramble and excited i can talk. so that was hard, but one of the things that made that trial a lot easier, was my best friend was also reading behind me of the boxsets. i have a very nice vivid memory of waking up seeing her reading one volume and i had my three she brought for me and reading through skypedia, when i could go home we would have some quiet reading like that. That's probably one of my most precious one piece related memories.

Finally Last year i got the 4th boxset and due to it being alot smaller and wano just finished i went ahead and read all of wano too. and just. damn. damn damn damn! i was already observing luffy in a different light during this read, whole cake and wano increased that in depth of him by 10!

well thank you for my trip down memory lane/good times with the series. To 25 years! and more to come.

Remember, life is worth living Yohohohoho!~

[taylor-titmouse]

You'll probably have already been asked this question before but I can't find the answer, so I'm going to ask it anyways.

Is the process for drafting your erotic novellas very different from the one for Hunger's bite? (btw already pre-ordered I'm super excited for the release)

I know you had problems with your old webcomic towards the end due to lack of planning so I'm wondering how you changed your process now that you have loads of previous experience on both long and short term projects.

(you should all preorder my graphic novel that comes out in february)

it is Completely different. even beside the fact prose and comics are very different disciplines, there's also a major difference between work i'm doing for me (novellas, that old webcomic), and work i'm doing for a publisher (hunger's bite). work that i am primarily doing for me, i don't need to do in a way that somebody else can give feedback on. if i don't plan ahead, the only person it's going to affect is me. I Am My Own Worst Enemy.

but for a project like hunger's bite i'm pretty much prevented from working like that because every step has to be approved by somebody else. so it forces me to slow down and fully think through what i'm doing. i Have to outline the whole thing so it can be reviewed. i Have to thumbnail it start to finish before i can pencil. i Have to have the whole script written down.

with novellas it doesn't really matter if i outline it or if i just blitz it out at once, both of which i do in pretty equal measure. i do try to outline things more, because it makes it a little easier to not lose my way, but i don't always. given the novellas are so much shorter, the stakes are a bit lower.

so. yes. very different. basically not the same way of thinking at all.

[thesims4blogger]

The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack is Now Available For Pre-order

You can preorder The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack now to start playing immediately when it launches on October 31, 2024 on PC via EA app™, Mac® via Origin, Epic Games Store and Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems. The expansion pack will be released on October 31, 2024, and costs $39.99. 

EA and Maxis have just dropped an official asset pack for their upcoming The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack.

The screenshots showcase the new Grim Reaper Career, brand new World called Ravenwood and unique ghastly interactions coming in this DLC set.

Peel back the veil to uncover the secret to richer Sim lives and beyond in The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack. Achieve your dreams in life by ticking items off your Bucket List or pursue them as a Ghost with Unfinished Business. There is a ghastly new world to haunt, a career that’ll bring you closer to Grim, Wills to write, Crypts to explore, and even ghostly skills to master. There are no real endings — only transitions — as you move between life, afterlife, and even rebirth.

Official Description and Features

An Endless Journey

Build your Bucket List by collecting goals throughout your Sim’s life, starting as a Young Adult. Items will appear on your list based on your Sim’s traits and family relations, and you can also choose your own. Removing items is possible, but completing them yields powerful rewards. If a Sim’s life ends with items still on their list, they can devote their afterlife to completing their Unfinished Business. The ultimate reward for experiencing everything on their list is the option to be Reborn, though you can still choose to Move On or remain on this plane as a Ghost.

A Ghastly, Gorgeous Life

Make death your life’s work with a career of reaping souls, helping Ghosts, dispersing hauntings, and more as a member of Grim’s team. Or, you could become a Mortician and deal with death more from the perspective of the living. Outside of work, you might spend your days exploring Crypts and building your Thanatology skill for the new Ghost Historian Aspiration. These things – among other dark diversions like bonding with your Pet Crow (careful, provoking it could be deadly) or collecting and reading the lost Tarot Cards of Lady Ravendancer Goth – will have a special appeal to Sims who are Macabre, one of 3 new traits.

Goodbye (For Now)

Different Sims will grieve in different ways. There are 4 types that will tie in with both Sims’ personalities and their relationships with the deceased. Grieving Rituals are customizable and unscripted, allowing you to hold whatever type of event (or events) fits your story. In life, Sims can create Wills which can be used to pass down Heirlooms, assign guardians for surviving dependents, distribute their Simoleons, and more. Sims can honor the departed with a memorial display featuring their portrait, and by interring their urns in Crypts or with Custom Caskets and Gravesites.

Friendly or Fiendish?

Linger on as a Ghost and spend your afterlife helping or terrorizing the living. Ghosts will grow in their abilities as they do everything from assisting with household chores to levitating living Sims and hanging them upside down (fun AND profitable - they may drop Simoleons!). Their interactions with the living can earn them Fear or Goodwill essences, which can both be sold for Simoleons. There’s a lot to do after death; Ghosts can even pair up for a special, spectral Woohoo.

Official Sims 4 Life & Death Screens

Life & Death Pre-Order Bonus

If you purchase The Sims 4 Life & Death Expansion Pack by December 12th, you’ll receive the Macabre Mementos Digital Content set! This three-piece set contains two new Build items and one CAS item, including:

Lasting Legacy Family Portrait

Mournful Melodies Music Box

Plumed Elegance Mask

Macabre Mementos Digital Content —Wonder at treasures that have endured time’s passing, witnessing the come and go of generations with ghastly grace. Look upon those who came before in the Lasting Legacy Family Portrait, listen to the haunting lullaby of the Mournful Melodies Music Box, and masquerade in fowl finery with the Plumed Elegance Mask, available when you order through December 12**.

[housederiva]

Hello! Hope all is well, I wanted to ask what do you think is best to do about Da:tv? Considering the layoffs and like, Initially i wanted to wait a couple of weeks after release, specially after the catastrophe of everything about The Sims 4, Da:tv feels like its going down the same path? Like both games owned by EA that where too many years in development hell, first being made as multiplayer then burned to the ground and made again, much of the previous lore ignored, Da:tv will probably be also patched to hell and back like ts4.

Unfortunatly with all this said i think I will buy the game anyway, not pre-order! But still buying it, because truth be told, even if its garbage i will enjoy it, as much as i enjoyed the Sims 4, but i still wanted to hear your thoughts!

Like, maybe romance Lucanis as my first playthrough? Im sure EA/bioware have player stats and if the most romanced companion is by someone you laid off... I don't really know where Im going with this, Im not too knowledgeable, but i would like that Mary Kirby to be properly compensated :(

Dear listener I'm on a midnight train going nowhere (though i did sign the lease to move into a house in my favorite beach town this morning so maybe the train is flipping a sick Uie) a general rule of thumb I've seen is to wait a few days after a AAA launch for the first patch to come out or to see if it's playable in the first place...But Veilguard did have that giant player event earlier this month and all the bugs I could see were folds in fabric and hair clipping (though those folks were playing on optimized pc's) and BW has mentioned a few times that they're trying to not repeat Andromeda

Regardless if you preorder the game or not, Steam takes 30% of your payment. Speaking as someone who works in production, I know that devs/crew get paid either weekly or monthly for the work they've already done and will do until their contacts end from funds that have already been allocated to their payrolls. The vast majority of BioWare's crew, the people who actively coded and worked on Veilguard, will see none of the money from any sales, preorder or otherwise. AAA sales line EA ceo pockets, not that of the people we care about. Which sucks but that's the way it is. (if a BW crew member sees this please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken)

This is a bit from a Eurogamer article if you want to read more into the logistic of where your money goes

I'm not preordering Veilguard out of personal preference, and while I know my money is still going to the people who laid of Marry and a bunch of other folks with no warning, I feel better withholding my contribution until Halloween

But yeah, I think it'd be a bitter-sweetness if Lucanis becomes the fan favorite romance just like how Varric is the favorite BW is squeezing the blood out of until there's nothing left. They can't repeat that same shade of success a third time. I want her legacy to be a ghost that haunts whoever made the call and when the round of obligatory congratulations goes around, there's a deafening silence when if they purposely leave out her name. Regardless, Marry's already been paid for all the work she did on Veilguard and now it's the recognition I'm worried about.

I don't know if the folks who got laid off's correct severance pay got resolved though, last I checked 14 were suing the company about this time last year

[mkcannothelpyou]

Mission: Buy the Armored Core VI Blu-rays

1. "621. Here's a request from a friend. Street dates for the Armored Core VI Blu-rays are in. Volume 1 includes Episodes 1 and 2. Deluxe Limited Edition packs in a bonus novella, if you wanted to know how G4 and G5 ended up in the Redguns. Audio commentary from me and Michigan too. Bring it home, 621."

2. "This is V.II Snail. I am commissioning you for this request—consider it a privilege. Having been favorably received, Volume 2 of the Armored Core VI Blu-rays is now available for reservation. Episodes 3 and 4 detail the events up to and including Operation Wallclimber. Packaged as a bonus is a novella that lays bare V.IV's induction into the Vesper Squad, as well as some of the meager deaths of Walter's mutts. Proof of your ability is on the line—you will not return empty-handed."

3. "Raven, it's me. Volume 3 of the Armored Core VI Blu-rays is going on sale. That means Episodes 5 and 6, where you take on the Watchpoint. I've looked into the bonuses. There's a novella in this one covering the Fires of Ibis, and a report on Dolmayan. I don't have any funds with which to buy it... Would you preorder it for me?"

4. "Tourist. This is "Chatty" Stick from RaD. There is a date set for Volume 4 of the Armored Core VI Blu-rays, which has made the boss very happy. Episodes 7 and 8 will cover the Crossing. There is a novella about how the boss created me, and a bonus CD of Arquebus and Balam corporate anthems. That's all I had to say. Later, tourist. "

5. "Hey, buddy. V.IV Rusty here. They just announced a date for Volume 5 of the Armored Core VI Blu-rays. That's Episodes 9 and 10, but word is they're going deluxe—a fresh cut of Episode 11, the one where we down the Ice Worm. Still going strong with the bonuses, too—a spin-off courtesy of Arquebus PR's radio station... one whole hour of Vespers VS. Redguns on CD. Don't miss out on it, buddy."

6. "Hey, tourist. It's your old friend, "Cinder" Carla of RaD. Looks like they're pushing out Volume 6 of the Armored Core VI Blu-rays. They're capping this one with the special where you intercept the Redguns. And hey, the viewers didn't vote for it, but someone up there loves us, because they're throwing in the alternate ending too. Chatty, boot up the ACs! Something tells me we're gonna go shopping!"

7. "V.II Snail, come in! This is V.VI Maeterlinck! They've gotten too lavish with Volume 7 of the Armored Core VI Blu-rays! On top of Episode 13, they've brought out a reveal-all OVA about the formation of Overseer, and a top-secret Institute report from Professor Nagai! They even have a CD where Handler Walter sings for the Episode 13 ending theme!? Requesting backup, stat!"

8. "Guess who's calling, tourist. Listen to your lucky numbers—Armored Core VI Season 2, Boxset 1, coming to stores. Sounds like they've got Episodes 1 through 4 in the "Fires of Raven" arc. Bonuses are... an old diary written by that little Ayre interloper, and a drama CD they're calling "MIND α, Release Phase 1". Happy face, tourist! Let's have ourselves the last laugh!"

9. "Hey, buddy. V.IV Rusty here. Just got a message about Armored Core VI Season 2—they're readying to sell Boxset 2. Contents are Episodes 1 to 4 of the "Liberator of Rubicon" arc. They're packing an Alternate Limited Edition with a figure of STEEL HAZE ORTUS. Your ideals brought cinders to life in the production team. I'm moving out to preorder, buddy."

10. One new message. "Rb23, independent mercenary Raven. Armored Core VI: The Movie -Alea iacta est- is now on streaming services. A UHD-BD, containing audio commentary by myself and Ayre, a CD of the main theme as sung by Ayre and ALLMIND, and a storyboard collection, is also available for purchase. This ending exists for all mercenaries."

[astrovian]

Did you read Geneva? If yes, thoughts? I remember you preordered it at one point but no judgement if you haven't gotten to it, I also buy books and then don't read them 😅 but I'm curious what you thought of it

You have no idea what you've unleashed with that question, anon 😂

Yes, I do actually have several copies - two signed, one personalised, and then an unsigned copy they included in the press pack

To condense a very long answer, yes I have read it - feel free to stop reading now if you're short on time 😅

So, confession time: it took me a very long time to get around to actually reading Geneva. Like, much longer than I'd like to admit. This was for several reasons:

I love that some people love/find audiobooks/ebooks more accessible literature than physical copies. However, I am a physical-copy-only type of person. I love the *idea* that I could listen to RA narrating a story any time that I want - however, audiobooks just are not for me and I cannot stand them as a way to consume literature (and I really have tried to make them work, I swear). So to audiobooks & ebooks:

As a result, I never even attempted Geneva until the paperback came out, and for the same reason, have not "read" The Cut (and won't get to until the physical book gets released). As lovely as his voice is, listening to the audiobooks would have ruined the experience of the story and world-building for me

The other reason it took me way too dang long to get around to it was because it arrived, I read like 5 pages, and then I had to put it down. Obviously I knew the plot in advance, but it hit home in that moment a little harder than expected. Shortly after the paperback release, a family member passed away after suffering from dementia for several years. So it ended up being a classic 'wrong place, wrong time' situation for me regarding the plot

Anyway, I finally got around to reading it late last year, and here is my hot take™ on Geneva:

it's good fiction...

...for an audiobook. Or a TV show. Or a film.

For a book, though... it's a solid 'yeah'. As in 'yeah, that was okay but it also didn't make a huge impression'.

This is not to say that it's bad in any way - just that it's a solid middle-ground. Or middle-slider. You know, not the comfort book you know is trashy but where the awful trashiness is what makes it good. But neither is it the book you read and go 'I'm gonna be thinking about this long after I put it down'.

Simply - yeah. That happened and it was just okay.

Now: in RA's defense, this is his first book. Lord knows I cannot write fiction to save myself, so no judgement here. I think this is actually a fairly decent first foray into literature, and he does show some promise as a writer. His descriptive writing, in particular, really shines in certain points throughout the novel

But I do also think RA's theatrical & film background really comes across in his writing style - which is not necessarily to the detriment of the book, but was a detriment to my personal enjoyment of it because of how it shaped the writing. It makes a lot of sense to me that there's the TV adaptation & that it originally came out as an audiobook. Also, RA was presumably writing this around the time he established White Boar/has been thinking about White Boar projects, so I think it really is more natural for him to be writing (unconsciously) from a visual media perspective, not a written one

The main issues:

First of all, first person POV is not my preference for fiction, but I can get over that fairly easily. The bigger issue for me is that I'm really not a fan of switching POVs in books, so that was a struggle. And I'm really, really not a fan of switching between first and third person in the same book?? Personally, I would have kept the story just through Sarah's POV - the unreliable narrator trope is a great device, but gets ruined when the unreliable narrator's husband is butting in every few minutes. It's much more interesting to force the reader to stay with Sarah and have to figure out what the actual reality of the situation is, as the 'reality' she presents us with becomes blurry. This issue with the switching POVs was particularly noticeable at the start - the book really gets going once you get to the middle of it but the start was a bit of a slog with the constant back-and-forth of POVs

Given that the chapters switched POVs, they were far too short - I felt like we got one short scene with someone, then one short scene with another, and so on and so forth. This is really where I think this probably works better in the audiobook format, where you have multiple narrators and the chapters wouldn't feel as short

The third person POV chapters involving Mauritz, Helen & Pavel - I would almost cut those entirely - let the reader grow a sense of unease as the story develops (e.g. as Sarah gets sucked into the Schiller Institute) and discover things as she does. This, I think, likely links in to RA's film/tv/theatrical background - in visual media these sorts of scenes may not be out of place, but with books, it didn't work as well. These scenes in the first half of the book felt like they were ringing a bell for the reader, shouting "mystery this way! there's a mystery or something bad happening over here!"

I did think the plot twist was half-decent, but I just feel like it didn't hit as hard as it could have as a result of always getting everyone else's view of things

As I said earlier, RA's good at descriptive writing, but there were one or two moments when I felt like we were being told, rather than shown what someone was thinking/feeling (sorry to be cliché about it)

Overall, I think RA should definitely be proud of what he accomplished with it - writing books is really hard, man, and he does definitely has proved that he has some skill in it. It has made me look forward to future works to see how he develops and grows as a writer, though - and what he eventually might write for visual media, in particular

[sunnynwanda]

Blind or blinded

Part 2

When Hero agreed to a blind date with their colleague’s good friend, they expected “good” to be an indicator of natural virtue. They expected someone as timid and serene as their colleague. Their eyes searched for a meek creature as they entered the restaurant and allowed themselves to be led to their table. 

They did not anticipate finding the most gorgeous yet annoying human being to ever grace the Earth to be seated at said table. Villain. 

How, in all eternity, did they end up on a date with the enemy? Well, they should not have let their guard down. That’s on them. They should’ve paid more attention to Anita, their colleague, who no longer seemed innocent. Was this a scheme all along? The image of her excited face flashes before Hero’s eyes. 

You have so much in common, I’m sure you’ll enjoy each other's company, she had said. Hero couldn’t deny that claim. They were very similar in their cause, yet their methods differed. And that was what mattered the most. Some would say this ‘date’ was bound to happen, given the tension between them and their nemesis. Except, it wasn’t attraction. It was murderous rage. Blinding rage and something else they were never able to pinpoint. 

They knew for a fact that they should have walked out of the restaurant the moment they saw Villain. Yet they did not. An action that did potentially save their life, to be fair. Because Villain would sure as hell murder Hero for standing them up. Brutally and with utmost pleasure. 

“Did you know?” is the first thing Hero says. Their date is about to comment on the lack of a proper greeting when their eyes land on Hero. It takes Villain almost a minute to realize why Hero is there in the first place. 

“Oh sweet hell, no,” they exclaim, shaking their head - for good measure. “Nah. Nope.” 

Hero would be offended if only they did not feel the same way. Villain digests the information that Hero’s presence entails while their nemesis sits there, staring at the other guests. Well, at least the awkwardness reminds them of a real date. 

“I wonder if Anita knows,” Hero starts after a long pause. The tension around the table could be cut with a knife. Thank god no one knows who they are.  

“Of course, she did,“ Villain retorts matter-of-factly. “She knows my identity. I assume she’s discovered yours as well.“ 

The statement snaps Hero’s attention back to their opponent. “Why would you assume that?“ 

“Because... reasons,” Villain trails off, hoping to avoid the discussion. Their hopes, however, are destined to come crashing down.

“What reasons?” Of course. Why did Villain even hope? Luck was never on their side. The lucky dimwit in front of them is proof of that.

“Because if she figured out my complex self, she would crack you like a goddamn pistachio.” Exasperation is evident in their voice, but Hero seems unaffected. And incessantly curious.

“Pistachio?” They see Villain almost smile and can’t help but think that the charming idiot would look even more dashing if they did. 

“The easiest to crack,” Villain explains, accepting a glass of wine from the waiter. Good thing Anita preordered drinks. They’ll need those to survive this evening without casualties. 

“Yeah, except she didn’t,” Hero grins, satisfied with the effect their words inflict on now dumbfounded Villain. “I told her. She never figured me out. Who’s the pistachio then, hm?”

“You know what? This was a dumb idea, anyway. I’m leaving.” Villain stands up, downing their drink in a gulp. Come to think of it, they should team up and murder Anita for putting them in this situation. “Never took her for the scheming type.”

“Wha- wait,” Hero reaches for them, noticing the glances directed at them. They couldn’t care less. “Don’t get all offended. That’s not how I meant it. Besides, Anita might have done this so we can talk and come up with a peace treaty for the holiday season.”

“She’s mentioned that to you too? What is it with her and Christmas?” Villain asks, still standing but not making attempts to walk away. Hero shrugs before gesturing for them to sit back down. Villain, for some unfathomable reason, obliges. “I highly doubt that, given that we’re both painfully stubborn.” 

“Except I do need some time off.” Hero admits, lowering their gaze. Their fingers wrap around the stem of their glass. “Judging by your life, you could use some rest too.” 

“Excuse you. Speak for yourself,” Villain’s incredulous tone makes Hero snort, heart beating in their throat.

“Oh yeah? What hobbies do you have?” they inquire as their gaze travels from Villain’s hands to their face. “Apart from annoying the life out of me, of course.”

“Very funny,” their lips stretch into a thin line. It’s not like annoying Hero isn’t a significant part of their daily entertainment. It’s that they won’t admit to it. “It’s none of your business.” 

“That’s what I thought,” Hero concludes, now plain irritating Villain beyond imagination. Why does this dumbass look so endearing while being implausibly bothersome? Villain’d pay to know. 

“Hey, hold up there,” they protest, leaning over the table. Hero’s smile is playful and challenging. Villain smirks, accepting the rules of the game. “I have a life. It’s you that doesn’t know about it.” 

“Maybe it’s time I learned, then?” With that, Hero turns to the waiter, ordering without a glance at the menu. Villain has to suppress a surprised ‘Oh’ threatening to escape their mouth. This is their favourite restaurant and their favourite dish their enemy just ordered for them. Oh.

Maybe Anita wasn’t so wrong after all, Villain thinks. Maybe they do share more similarities than they care to admit. Maybe, they do have a shot. 

“Maybe,“ unbeknownst to them, Villain thinks out loud. Hero nods, perceiving their words as a reply to their question.

Part 2

Masterlist

[moghedien]

Have you heard about the prequel book focusing on Elphaba’s life before Shiz that’s coming out in March? It’s definitely a cash grab but ngl it’s working because I’ve always wanted to know more about her childhood. The blurb made me lol at the end: “And she gleans the benefits of an education, haphazard though it must be—until she arrives at the doors of Shiz University, about to meet the radiant creature that is Galinda.” Making it sound like a fateful crossing of paths with the love of her life.

I saw that and I saw that they're also doing graphic novel adaptations of the novel and the only reason why I haven't preordered both is because I'm waiting to see if Barnes and Noble does a preorder sale again like they do every couple of months

Anyway, yeah its definitely a cash grab to some extent, but also if he wants to write more about Elphaba's childhood then I will happily read it because I do want to know more about that actually, especially if her messy ass parents are involved.

Also, I apparently didn't read the blurb far down enough to se the comment about Galinda because this is the first time I'm seeing it (but now I do see its there on like the listings for the book) and that's sure fucking something aksjdasljkfdhs

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Tillie uploaded a few previews of Book 3 on her Instagram. Most of them were on her story though so they might be gone now. I posted them on reddit (ew) if you missed them and wanna see :)

She always gives us teasers when I'm at work and can't post about them right away, but yes, I saw them!

There are 8 pages for Clementine Book Three soooo I'll share them here under the cut and give my thoughts for anyone interested.

So... Olivia's havin' a real tough time.

If you'll remember from Book Two, whether because you read it or because you read my in-depth review/analysis of it: Olivia's pregnant with a little Amos Jr.

Or, as I like to call the baby: AJ 2.0

I know the baby's not going to be named AJ... but god, wouldn't that be so funny?? Everyone else would be so mad but I'd be so happy.

Anyway, I knew this would be a big thing in this book since obviously, but also because Tillie Walden was pregnant while she was working on these books. Given how she creates her stories, and how she's talked about how giving birth completely broke her... I think it's gonna be a lot.

We see how Olivia's struggling to cope with the pain she's in to the point where she's just like "God, kill me, just kill me--" which is a big oof.

And like... the fact that we're starting the story off like this? I see that "Chapter One" there, this is the opening to the final book in the trilogy.

And honestly...?

I'm so here for this.

Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm the weirdo here... but I'm actually a little excited to read this whole thing because yes, give me the horror of a visceral natural childbirth within the zombie apocalypse.

We kind of got that with Rebecca in S2, but y'know what? Crank it up to an 11. If you're gonna go there, then go there. Book One could've given us cannibalism but didn't. Book Two could've given us frankensteined walkers, but didn't. Give me something.

I don't know if I've just embraced that yes, these Clementine comics aren't good successors to the games. Yes, the Clementine here doesn't feel like the same Clementine we knew. Yes, the clemricca romance is not great. Yes, and I don't care anymore. I do not have the energy to be angry about it.

I mean, yeah I care that this is how they're choosing to continue Clementine's story, but it's so far removed from the games that as far as I'm concerned, her story ended a long time ago. This is just a "what if" spin off, and no amount of "no, it's canon" is ever going to change that. Besides, it helps me view these comics as their own thing, as well.

Also, wait a minute... counting heads, I see Clementine, Olivia, Ricca, Fen, Saa, and Derrick... and one unknown person. With glasses.

Gasp, but that's Ricca's thing.

Like... this is a lot.

This is so much.

God, Olivia's sobbing and vomiting all over the place, she's begging them to kill her just so that the pain will go away... but it looks like they're in a safe location with a midwife, so... at least there's that.

But yeah, Olivia's gonna pop out that baby and I wonder how graphic it's going to get.. Like, it's already pretty scary to see them trying to roll her over and pin her down so that the midwife can push the baby over the pelvis on the next contraction... gaaaahhhh--

However, it's questionable if both Olivia and the baby survive given the whole "Clementine suffers a loss unlike anything she's ever faced" thing from the book's description. The obvious bet is that Olivia will die and the group will have to take care of the baby, but who knows?

Speaking of, I'll also share these from the article that posted the pages:

I don't know what else to say about these pages; we're in a new location with new characters, Olivia's having a baby and it's brutal... I'm interested to learn more about The Gardener and what the supposedly safe place is, but we won't know until July.

And yes, I've already preordered my copy because of course I have. When it does come out, you can expect another in-depth review/analysis of it in the "I read it so you didn't have to" style... AND I plan of doing a separate essay that's an analysis of the trilogy as a whole, explores the clemricca romance, dives into Tillie Walden's other works and what they can help us to understand the trilogy better, etc.

This is also another reminder to not be a prick. Leave Tillie alone. If you want to be mad about the comics, that's fine, but leave her out of it. Post about it on your blog, or go be butthurt on reddit.

But yeah, what do y'all think? Let me know!