#Virtual Comic Conventions

[welcometoamphibia]

Happening soon! Matt Braly will be talking about a new book and answering questions!

[maraevantree]

NEW SCHEDULE LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

DON'T FORGET COMIC CON! Our room will be 1DO5-06 in the Javits Center during Comic Con this year! Our day and time is Saturday, October 19th at 9:15PM-10:15PM! LEARN TO BECOME A VTUBER WITH US!

[cozycononline]

📣Being a Discord member has perks!🌌

Not only is there free swag during the event, but we have 2 discount codes for our kofi fundraiser; one for the limited time commissions, and one for our shop page which includes comic YCH's, badges, VR content, a Music album, etc. https://discord.gg/t8c6gyzx2s

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Good Omens graphic novel update: June 2024

Welcome to the June update. A lot of behind the scenes work at the moment but we're grabbing the travel sweets, popping in the Bentley and hitting the road. More on that below.

Admin

Ongoing reminder that the project FAQ can be found here. 

I pledged using my Apple ID, or no longer use the address my pledge is attached to, or I cannot work out what email address my pledge is connected to. What should I do? Please contact us via your Kickstarter account where the pledge is connected; we will be able to see on our system which address it is. If it's one you have access to, great! The FAQ has information on how to resend your invite link to access the PledgeManager. If it's one you are not able to access, then you can let us know which email is preferred and we can update this on the system, which will automatically send a new invite.

Events

We've had a lot of queries about when the Good Omens team will be attending events more formally, after some Aziraphale and Crowley spotting at conventions we'd been to previously. Well, we're excited to confirm the first: Good Omens HQ will be at ACME Comic Con in Glasgow, Scotland this September.

We'll be bringing the actual-real-life-home-to-Crowley-and-his-plants Bentley from Season 2 of Good Omens, the first time the car has been made available publicly for fans to come see and get photos with, ahead of its journey back to the set and the start of Season 3 filming.

We also see Quelin Sepulveda, aka Muriel, has been announced for the event for some additional ineffable joy.

You can get your tickets for ACME Comic Con here. We hope to see some of you there.

While we won't be rocking up with the Bentley to this next one, we want to let you know about Ineffable Con which, though sold out in person, is also taking place virtually in July. The fan-run event hosts great panels, auctions and more, with money raised going to Alzheimer’s Research UK, in memory of Sir Terry Pratchett.

Where next? We have - not an exaggeration - a list of about 200 events somewhere from when we asked fans this on Instagram and while we can't promise quite that amount of convention attendance, we're certainly looking to do some more things in future with Good Omens at large. Watch this space.  

Good Omens items...

This month has largely seen prototypes and samples for the wider Good Omens merch store arriving, and while we can't share those yet, we are certainly excited to see more fan product suggestions coming to life. That does, however, leave our public item updates a little slim on the ground.

To make up for that, here's some new panels from Colleen:

Also known as, "What could possibly go wrong?" And:

Also known as, "Well why don't you ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇ ▇▇!@#▇" or words to that effect, we'd imagine.  

Update from Colleen

Following such a positive response to Colleen's piece last month, bringing you behind the scenes into making the Good Omens graphic novel, we are delighted to say that she has agreed to write something for our updates going forward! For June, she's going more in depth into the process of flatting and the technicalities of colouring on screen vs print. Over to you, Colleen.

---

I mentioned the other month that I use a flatter to help me with technical work on GOOD OMENS, and here is a great example.

This is my original, hand drawn line art.

And this is the flatting file which was created using the MultiFill computer program.

It will put your eyes out.

The raw image above demonstrates how the color art lines up solidly under the line art. If it doesn't do that, you get a weird phenomenon in print called ghosting, a tiny little line of white around each segment of color. I had this issue on one major project and ended up redoing every single color file after I got a look at the first printing. Nearly two weeks of work.

The same image with the line art on top.

The layer order looks like this.

Background copy is the clean, line art layer.

I scan the art at 600 dpi, then make the blacks pure black, the whites pure white. Then I convert back to greyscale, then RGB, then duplicate the layer. Then I delete the white on the upper layer so the line art layer is transparent but the blacks on that layer are not.

If you have blacks on a layer that has been multiplied, you can see slight color through those blacks. You want pure black.

The lower layer is where I use the MultiFill program to create the digital flats. First you use MultiFill to drop in the random colors, then the companion plug-in Flatter Pro to make those colors seal under the black lines.

This probably sounds like a silly thing to worry about, but if the flat colors don’t line up perfectly under the black line art, you get the dreaded ghosting I mentioned. You can see it below in this image. It’s a tiny little white line that will appear around the black lines and color areas.

This drives me nuts and is an absolute nightmare to fix.

It’s a very common problem, especially for people who work for web and don’t anticipate the problems going from web to print.

What looks great on your computer can cause big problems in print.

From here, my flatter Jul Mae Kristoffer, who is way over in the Philippines, does flatting that is more in keeping with the areas of color I want to isolate. As you see on Layer 1.

But again, this is still pretty ugly, and not what I would use for final color. Flatting is a technical issue, not a creative one, though in some cases a flatter will make choices you may use. Most of the time they don't.

Here is my final color page.

Sometimes my MultiFill flats are so wonky I have a hard time getting my brain to snap out of what I see before me. If I get stuck, it's a good idea to just pick at it and come back to it later.

If it really, really bothers me, I’ll take the MultiFill flatter layer and desaturate the color so it doesn’t poke my eyes out.

Here’s an example. The digital flat file.

The desaturated flat file that doesn’t make me want to poke my eyes out.

And the final color.

Sometimes I just put in a solid white layer so I don’t see the flats at all. Flatting is there to allow you to easily pick spots to color in, and doesn’t usually appear in the final work.

Sometimes I want to create my colors using transparent color over a white ground, which is more delicate in the final.

Here’s an example from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I also selected all black line art here and converted it to sepia to give it a vintage look. Except for the fairies. They’re green.

A colorist must also consider color settings.

Different clients can have different requirements. I find these color settings, which I got from the Hi-Fi Studio, to be pretty solid. I use them as my default for all my projects unless otherwise requested. If your publisher has other settings, they’ll usually send you a csf file which you can upload to Photoshop. The program will save your files and you can just switch between them as you need them.

This tells the printer things about the paper and the spread of the ink you will use. That’s what dot gain means - it makes printed color look darker than intended, so you set up your files to account for it.

When you hover your pointer over each box, it will tell you what each setting is supposed to accomplish.

Another really important thing to consider when coloring comics is color range.

I’m coloring this book in RGB range, but for print you use CMYK.

I’m about to confuse the heck out of some people with this post, I’m afraid. But here we go.

Here is this shot in RGB color setting.

And here is the same page calibrated for print in CMYK.

The biggest shift is in the reds. Print cannot match those reds.

You may not see much difference here, but it’s the sort of thing that drives artists crazy.

A computer should be perfect for conveying exactly what you want, right? It's all just 0's and 1's, binary information, and that information should be the same from one computer to the next?

Nope. Not even close.

First off, computer monitors must be calibrated. You can use a computer program or a tool that measures the color on your computer screen and then adjusts the color to an industry standard.

Have you ever been in an electronics shop where a bunch of TV shows were on display, all of them playing the same show, and have you noticed how different the color was from one TV to the next?

It's like that.

I freely admit I don't pay a whole lot of attention to calibration, but if I were a professional photographer I would. I'd have a little spectrometer attached to my screen and software would adjust my monitor to the best possible standard range. As it is, I just use the default setting on my computer and hope for the best.

If your monitor is properly calibrated and your art is shown on another monitor that is properly calibrated, the art will look almost identical from one monitor to the next.

YAY!

But from one monitor to the next, that's about where the resemblance ends.

Colors are calibrated to something called RGB, or Red, Green, Blue.

All colors come from a mix of red green and blue. At their greatest intensity, all the colors in the spectrum together become pure white light.

This is why RGB is called ADDITIVE color, because you ADD colors from the spectrum to get ALL colors, and all colors create the entirety of the rainbow, and pure white light.

Your computer monitor, your phone, your television, all images are created via light using RGB, a gamut that covers all possible colors that can be created.

That's a lot.

And that's why some of the colors you see on your TV or phone are so deep and intense.

For the widest possible range of color and intensity, you use RGB.

Unfortunately, there is what you can create with light, and then there is what you can create with pigment or ink. And that is why printing what you see on your computer almost never looks exactly like what you see in a book.

For printing, you must use a color setting known as CMYK. This stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key/Black.

In printing, the pure blue is actually Cyan and the pure red is actually Magenta.

CMYK color range is not created by addition, but by SUBTRACTION. In order to get the color you want, you reduce the percentage of one of the four colors for ink mixing. Mixing all colors, instead of giving you white, gives you black.

The gamut of CMYK is limited to what can be created with ink.

You've probably heard the term four color press? This is what that means. Four colors, with each color of ink run over the paper on rollers which, combined in varying layers of opacity, create all the printing colors you see.

But remember, what you see on your computer monitor and what CMYK gamut can handle are two different things.

Now, I’ve been really careful with the color settings on Good Omens, so there haven’t been any big surprises, but let me show you a snippet of a project I did for the French fashion house Balmain.

The RGB version:

And then this shot after it was converted to a CMYK file for print.

That's a pretty big difference.

Now, you see this shift mostly with vibrant colors, such as that pink there. But other colors hardly changed at all, right?

That's because this issue is about range of color. CMYK and RGB occupy a shared range which you can see demonstrated by this graphic I got from Wikipedia.

The graphic shows the RGB ranges supported by various digital formats. SWOP CMYK is the most common range my publishers use. Note that the bounding box line shared by the RGB and SWOP CMYK formats shares about half the range space. So whatever RGB colors you use that are outside that range will be digitally converted to the smaller SWOP CMYK range.

And you may not like what you end up with.

As you can see, some of the most ethereal and intense colors get lost outside of the SWOP CMYK boundary.

A look at the Dark Horse Comics color settings in Photoshop. Theoretically, this information should prevent your art from looking like mud on publication.

Now, after I just told you the dangers of coloring in RGB then converting to CMYK for print, I tell you I am coloring Good Omens in RGB anyway. There’s a couple of reasons for this.

Remember, RGB give you a greater range of color, so it can be to your advantage to preserve your original files using a format that gives you the greatest range.

Again, here is the unaltered file.

You can see what the CMYK result will be simply by clicking the Proof Colors button here. This will show you how the art will convert.

And the Gamut Warning will show you which colors are out of gamut range for print.

The intensity of that magenta and that purple in the top right are not going to print true.

This is how it will look in final.

So even if you do what you think is perfect color on screen, there is no way it can perfectly convert to print. Almost everything will involve a little bit of compromise.

Even though you have to consider the color shift issues, preserving your files in RGB gives you greater wiggle room, especially if you get lucky someday and get to work with a printer who can print in 6 colors. Or maybe some technology you don’t know about will pop up and make printing super glorious. Who knows.

Regardless, you should keep an eye on that gamut and color for CMYK print, while preserving your master files in RGB.

Until next time.

[stxrvel]

intrusive (4)

series summary. the holy grail of the seven men who ruled the country's entertainment used to be your friends at school. now, ten years later and between successes and failures, what reason would they have to want to come back into your life? pairing. eventually ot7 x f!reader. content. THIS IS EDITED!! there are new scenes!! 16/9. first of all, english is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes! sadness, lots of mixed feelings, self-hatred, flashbacks, flashbacks. a/n. hi guysssssssssss. its been a while, i know and im so sorry. i hope this chapter doesn't feel too rushed. truth be told, between life issues and that i've been having trouble with inspiration for scenes it took me a while to build this, but surprisingly i'm pleased with the result. now, where do you think we're going and what will we do from here on out?????? surprises come, surprises go. thank you all for your continued support!! i really appreciate the feedback from all of you and reading your comments makes my days. for those who are still here, thank you. see you next time!

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There were too many loose ends to tie up. There were too many empty spaces, too many misunderstood moments that kept your hair standing on end every so often or every time you remembered. They were like gaps, things you didn't know how they had gotten there, how they had happened, or how someone else knew. And you were accumulating them, suspicious, somewhat delusional and paranoid if you asked anyone, but they were held in that space in the back of your head waiting for the right moment to come out.

Between moments of lucidity and memories of the past, there were many things you had superficially let slip by.

Yuna was in front of you, her brow furrowed in concentration and her eyes almost square from the amount of time she had already spent in front of the computer. You had been at it all day, so the moment your friend appeared like it was her own living room and everyone acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary, you just plopped down on the couch with a calm expression, waiting for the perfect moment to let certain things out, to ask certain questions.

There were moments of enlightenment, there were moments of brilliant discoveries. And that day you had discovered something you had forgotten because of the brevity of its recognition, but in retrospect it was something worth knowing, even if there were still too many things, more important things, of which you were ignorant. At that moment, all gathered in the living room of your parents' house, the most important thing was what was on your mind.

“Yuna.”

Your friend barely shook her head in acknowledgement of her name. Your parents were arranging the table in the middle of the couches to settle lunch, surely a big feast like every other day for the past few days and the only reason Seojun took virtual classes that day, and your brother was ogling the dishes with his mouth ajar. Eugh.

But none of them were paying too much attention. Food, social media, ordering, direct messaging, arranging the geometrically correct dishes… everyone had their heads in their own world, and that's why you could hear the moment your father's hair touched the ground when you asked:

“You were the one who set up my book booth at the last convention?”

Four pairs of eyes bore into you.

“What?”

You looked at her expectantly, not letting the mischief interfere with your plans.

“No…! I didn't-I mean, what are you talking about?”

Yuna let out a nervous laugh, just after correcting herself when she got a blunt look from your mother. Your father stood stiffly behind his wife, the frying pan in his hands wobbling so clearly that a few drops of the soup dripped onto the wood of the floor. Your mother leaned over, leaving the plate she was carrying on the table, sending Seojun a look that caused him to swallow his saliva sonorously.

The scene was so comical that you really had a hard time not bursting out laughing.

“It's just that when I talked to Sol this morning she commented something…”

You let the words hover in the air, straining them each time it came to one of them. Yuna straightened up, completely forgetting about the computer for a second, peeling her back off the couch where she was leaning on the floor. Your father snorted in surprise so hard that he was attacked by a cough and your mother had to take the frying pan away from him before he watered down all the soup from all the shaking. Seojun hid behind your mother's legs and you just plopped down on the couch, stretching your legs over the armrest, satisfied with their reactions.

“And what did she say to you, honey?”

Your mother was the most composed, finishing arranging the dishes around the pan while your father had run out to the living room for a glass of water. Among the foursome, your mother was the only one who truly knew what dissimulation meant. You had no doubt that her sisterhood with the others in the room would end once you told them you already knew everything.

“She told me she was afraid I hadn't been able to see what you had done for me,” you frowned looking up at the ceiling, looking genuinely confused. “And it was weird, because we were talking about the last convention.”

Yuna let out a laugh, incredulous.

“And why would you be talking about that with Sol?”

Putting the antics aside, you stood up on your forearms and glared at her.

“Why did you do that?”

“What did I do?”

“Sol told me it was your idea.”

“That's not true!”

“Ah…” you held a hand to your forehead, as if you had just remembered something important. Your gaze swept around the room and Seojun cringed when your eyes landed on him. “True. She said it had been your idea.”

Before Yuna could send a warning glance at your brother, Seojun raised his hand and pointed at your friend, exclaiming:

“It was her idea! It was all Yuna's idea! Tell her mom!”

The two aforementioned closed their eyes, taking a deep breath and bringing their fingers to the bridge of their noses. Their expressions of ennui were unmatched and promptly Seojun was cringing for a completely different reason.

“You're such a jerk,” Yuna mumbled, almost barking in the direction of the poor man seeking to escape his mother's lethal gaze. Instantly, your friend turned her gaze in your direction, meeting that amused look that curled her annoyance just for a millisecond. “I thought you'd be more upset.”

“I was,” you lifted a shoulder, leaning back against the back of the couch as you listened to the string of scoldings your mom was in between yelling and whispering to your brother. “But it's impossible not to see reason when you're talking to someone like Sol.

Yuna also nodded in consideration. It was something that, not just the two of you, but all of Sol's workers agreed with. Sol had a warmth about her, a homely feel to her that made you automatically trust her and take it for granted that, if she told you everything would work out, it was because it would; whether it was by chance of the universe or because she would see to it that it did.

“Then it was a good thing you heard it from her mouth and not your inept brother's,” Yuna sent her another withering glare and you couldn't help the smile that twitched your corners as you watched your mother move the bowl of tteokbokki away from her grasp. It was so funny to see that he didn't always get the baby of the house treatment for a change.

“Were you planning on taking that to your grave?”

Yuna turned, arching her eyebrows. With her lips set in a thin line, you knew she was thinking about choosing the right words to answer you, even though that thing they'd done had led directly to the fact that, at that moment, you'd been able to afford the luxury of asking for vacation for the first time and focusing on what you truly loved to do. Even if they had worked behind your back, the result had not been so fatal.

If you took a few unwanted people out of the equation, that is.

Your friend finally softened her gaze.

“No, I knew you'd find out at some point. From whoever's mouth. A secret can only be kept from so many people.” Yuna rolled her eyes, moving to listen to your father complain from the kitchen. “But I didn't think Sol would tell you so openly. Was it on purpose?”

“Yes. I think she was trying to convince me or make up for something. I'm not sure which.”

Yuna raised her eyebrows, cocking her head in tension for barely a second. If not for the years you'd known her, you probably would've interpreted her short-lived reaction as genuine curiosity, the desire for a tidbit of gossip. But your friend's tension was palpable and it was something that left you wondering a bit, especially when she didn't speak until your father returned to the kitchen.

“Honey, I think I'm going to get a sore throat.”

There were too many loose ends to tie up. There were too many empty spaces, too many misunderstood moments. There were too many things you were still ignorant of and had no idea about; things far beyond what was happening in the present.

There were things you still didn't understand, like why and how Jeon Jungkook, the country's most famous idol and probably one of the celebrities most likely to have easiest facial recognition on the street, had so stealthily stumbled upon your whereabouts or why he had acted as if seeing you again was a reunion with his lost puppy from years ago.

“Are you still upset, noona?”

Seojun watched you warily, your sidelong glance leading him to cower once more behind your father. With lunch settled and the tension gone (barely), you all had been able to enjoy an enjoyable moment. After all, the dense atmosphere that still lingered was only due to the fact that teasing Seojun was fun and more satisfying when you had no reason to do so.

It all came from a great consideration that your family, and even Sol, had for you, trying to support you however they could, even if you didn't even seek their help. As much as you wanted to (and didn't really want to) there wasn't much reason to get angry. Less so when the outcome, likewise, had been favorable.

“We should focus on what's important,” Yuna dipped her spoon into the almost non-existent conversation, finishing her meal and leaving the plate practically glistening, to which your mother was able to sketch a satisfied smile. “We have a meeting this afternoon.”

“Ah. Yes,” Seojun nodded, remembering his place as the second-in-command of the business, because you had actually been relieved of any position you might have held in your own business. “As the person in charge of the treasury of this company, I must admit that the decision made is the most appropriate and in our best interests.”

Yuna narrowed her eyes, seeming it was almost impossible for her to ignore your brother's annoying presence.

“What have you contributed to this business to call yourself the person in charge of the treasury?”

“I've done a lot for this project! Besides, you are focused on advertising. You should be in charge of the public relations department.”

“And I can't handle both?!”

“I set up all the lines of communication with the delivery people and organized the accounts with Dad!” Seojun pulled Dad's shirt collar, pulling him close to his face with a frown. Your dad only let him be, as he savored a wing. “You took charge of net with mom. We can't reverse charges now. Experience and reality speak for themselves.”

Yuna clicked her tongue, irritated.

“Whatever,” shaking her head, she flipped the computer on the table so Seojun and your parents could get a good look at the proposal you had accepted, after arduous study over the weekend as a family. “After a long board meeting, which stretched over the entire weekend, this was the accepted offer.”

You could almost see the zeros running in your brother's eyes, with a budding smile making its way across his face. Your parents looked pleased, proud. And Yuna kept that determined expression; she was really taking all this seriously and you didn't know yet how you could thank her for it.

“Ah…” your mother sighed, holding a hand to her chest. “It's finally happening.”

When she sent you that look with the sparkling eyes you couldn't help but shrink back on your spot on the floor.

“Mom, I think it's best we avoid getting too excited until we've signed.”

Your mother nodded, closing her eyes and breathing to keep her composure.

“Accepted the offer, we were summoned to their facility, which is where we will be heading after resting from this delicious lunch.” Yuna smiled radiantly in your mother's direction. Sometimes you wondered if she wasn't missed at home. But… no, she was much better off here.

“My children have to rest very well to make the best decisions at that meeting,” your mother nodded, stroking Yuna's hair superficially and getting up to pick up the dishes. Seojun got up to help her, but your father stopped him, keeping the warm smile on his face. Of all of them, your father was the most expressive, but you knew that at that moment he was holding back only because at the slightest he would burst into tears. And yes, with a simple glance in your direction, his eyes watered and he had to run away hugging the dishes against his chest.

Seojun sighed dramatically.

“I wish they had been this excited when I entered college.”

Yuna moved across the table, smacking him on the forehead that left him with an instant redness.

“What are you talking about, idiot? You celebrated all weekend.”

Seojun didn't respond, touching his forehead with a grimace. Yuna snorted, not believing your brother's audacity, and turned her focus back to the contents of the proposal you had received from Noble Publishing Apgujeong. You still remembered the screams that had echoed throughout the house when they found the letter from that publishing house in the mail, the most prestigious and probably the highest one could aspire to in the world of writing and for the purposes of editing and publishing. There wasn't a book published under that publishing house that wasn't a success, and that they had sought you out themselves was a great privilege.

“Speaking of celebrations,” Seojun took the floor again, when your parents had finished taking the dishes away and agreed that you would wash them all together before youo left for the publishing house, because nothing was good enough, ”I don't think we've had a moment to at least pop a champagne and celebrate this.”

Your parents remained thoughtful, but you were already shaking your head when Yuna spoke:

“It's true,” her frown said she couldn't believe they hadn't done it yet, but between so many chores, to-dos and new things you were discovering on this new path, you couldn't just take the luxury of doing nothing for a few hours. There was a lot to work on. “We should do it after the meeting. With the contract at home, it will be much better!”

Your father and Seojun cheered in agreement and your mother gave a few claps.

“You're working tomorrow, Yuna.”

“So what?” your friend frowned at you. “Do you think it'll be the first time I've gone to work with a hangover?”

Your mom's throat clearing startled her, and she quickly melted like pudding with a sheepish grin.

“But this time it will be for a good cause…and it won't happen again.”

Your mom nodded, not very convinced.

“Incidentally,” Yuna regained her posture, sending a glare at Seojun, ”we could have y/n finally watch the video reactions of her books.”

“You haven't seen them?” Seojun exclaimed and suddenly the four pairs of eyes felt very threatening.

“… no…”

“Mom?? Did you hear that?!”

“Sweetheart!” your father exclaimed, looking at you as if he had heard that you did something worthy of banishment. “Why haven't you seen the videos, don't you know the good things they say about you?”

“The compliments,” your mother nodded. “Almost the entire internet loves your books.”

“That's an exaggeration, mom…”

“How did you even avoid all that hype?” Seojun asked, leaning over the table. “Even Dad's TikTok wasn't spared, and he only watches National Geographic videos.”

“…I muffled a few words.”

A roar of incredulous refusals followed your words and promptly everyone was moving to corner you against the couch so you had no escape.

“There is no time to waste.” Seojun nodded in Yuna's direction and it offended you too much that the only times they agreed was to do something against you.

“Mrs. l/n, I think dessert will be popcorn,” Yuna moved her computer closer to the center of the table as Seojun settled in behind you, each of your parents on your sides as your friend opened the TikTok web app.

“Hey, no… no. I'm not ready to watch this. I'm not-”

“Nonsense, noona. Even better, this will give you a big confidence boost for the meeting this afternoon.”

You didn't believe Seojun at all. Your nerves were on edge as Yuna moved to sit next to your brother and the first words of the first video echoed in the living room:

“My honest opinion of the A Million Swords trilogy…”

-

“Do you think I might publish any of these one day?”

Your fingers drummed on the keyboard of the desktop computer, watching the letters spinning a story that no one yet knew. No one, except for you and Taehyung at that moment. His gaze was confused as his dark eyes hid behind the dark, unruly, damp locks of his hair. For a pool day, you couldn't have had a better time than writing parts of your still unfinished story, the one you used to run away to when you had a whole reality to mold in front of you. Maybe you should have paid a little more attention back then; attention to details, to gestures, to distances, to forced smiles; maybe if you had paid that kind of attention you would have been able to foresee everything that would happen later… maybe then it wouldn't have hurt so much.

But at that moment, at 14, you could only see with stars in your eyes the enormous possibility that you thought writing would open up for you; the world you were about to discover, much farther away than you thought.

That weekend the pool party was at your house. Jimin had brought a gigantic inflatable pool withJungkook and they all kept splashing water in each other's eyes in the backyard. In your prolonged absence, surely, Taehyung had ventured inside the house to the only place he would know you would be if it wasn't next to them.

“Do I think? I'm absolutely sure.”

Taehyung shook the droplets slipping from the ends of his hair all over your face.

“Tae!”

“Why are you doubting it?”

“I never said I was doubting it.”

Your friend took one of the armchairs that each of the boys had recast in your room, which no matter how much you pulled them out always ended up there again, to sit next to you and watch the unfinished paragraphs on the computer screen. There were four armchairs already gathering dust in the corner of the room that you still hadn't had the heart to take them out.

“Look at that,” the brown-haired man moved his face closer to the screen, splashing more water on you, with a mischievous grin. “It was desire that stirred me, far beyond the reach of reason or any cognitive faculty. In the depths of my being, I knew with unshakable certainty that I was right. Their gaze scrutinized my every expression, searching for ways to break me, while their fingers, far from innocent, accused me relentlessly. Yet, even as the weight of their scrutiny bore down on me, there was no realm, no dimension in this vast, boundless universe where I had not chosen him above all else. Not even as the streets ignited, the houses crumbled to ashes, and the roar of thunder drowned out the cries for mercy…who writes like that?”

“y/n!”

Your other two friends appeared, reveling in the unapproved reading of the first draft of your first novel, and you felt your cheeks burn with embarrassment.

You moved quickly to press the off button and your friends barely let out a short laugh.

“Don't ever do that again.”

“Then don't ever doubt you again.”

“I wasn't doubting! It was just a question…”

“She just wants you to be honest, Tae.” Jimin entered the room, moving right behind his friend and flashing a smile that made your hair stand on end.

“Honest...?”

“Shut up, Jimin.”

The aforementioned barely let out a laugh, under the scrutinizing and confused expressions of his other two friends.

“What do you mean?” Jungkook spoke, trying to gain ground in that unfamiliar room, clasping his hands in front of him in nervousness. He didn't even understand why he was nervous, he just knew he didn't like the obfuscated expression on your face.

“Nothing, Junkookie, Jimin's just an idiot who only knows how to spout rubbish.”

“Rubbish? Where do you even get those words from?”

“I learned it yesterday in literature class!”

“Uh-huh…”

“Stop it, Jimin!”

-

He wasn't a person to be caught off guard. His cautious attitude was something he had developed over time; with the experience of going through and surviving difficult situations; with the toughness of making strong decisions and constantly bearing the burden of being at fault for their consequences.

So no, Min Yoongi took it upon himself to plan things around him so meticulously that every aspect of his life had a place and a time; an hour and a second.

A planning so perfect that at that moment it was slipping through his hands like sand. His friend… no, Dohyun could do nothing but rest his hands against his desk sending him an obfuscated look, trying to look almost as disgruntled as Yoongi was at what he had learned would happen in that office.

“Of all the things I thought you could tell me…” Choi Dohyun shook his head, and on his face Yoongi could tell there were no words that could qualify his surprise. But he was surprised too, to be honest. He didn't know how he had summoned the fortitude to move so quickly from across town, from his study, to arrive at Dohyun's office and blurt that out to his face as if it were any Tuesday afternoon, as if he were simply inviting him to dinner at his house. “I've never underestimated you, Yoongi-ah, but this…”

“Who contacted you?”

“Who contacted me?” Dohyun let out a laugh, which felt a little heavy to Yoongi as he shifted his weight on his feet. “What makes you think I can't recognize a good deal from a distance when I see one? They call me the Shark for a reason, don't you think? I smell business like they smell blood in the sea.”

Yoongi clasped his hands at his sides, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Dohyun, who looked up and barely ran his tongue over his teeth before plopping back down on his ergonomic chair.

“The decision is already made,” was all he said to him, generating a flutter of emotions inside Yoongi.

“Who contacted you?” Yoongi insisted, feeling time slipping through his fingers. “How did you find out about… this?”

Dohyun let out a laugh, bordering on sarcasm and disbelief. Yoongi would've taken more time to think about it there, to ponder what he was doing, what his impulses were pushing him to do. But within the framework of his decisions and conflicting feelings, Yoongi had taken a path that he could no longer undo and the least he could do was avoid was to generate collateral damage to someone. Just for the chance to try, even though the probability of having the universe in his favor was microscopic, he decided not to give in to reason.

Maybe he would still be the villain in someone else's story, but in his conscience… maybe… maybe he was right and was looking for no way to excuse himself; to excuse things he could no longer change; to excuse behaviors he could no longer erase and decisions he could no longer undo.

Perhaps, too, it was the price he had to pay for what he had done. For what he had said; for what he had not said; for what he had done and what he had not done; for his action and his omission; for his perpetration and complicity. If Yoongi had known that time in his twenties that such a decision would have taken things so far, so close to the impossibility of healing, he surely would not have made it .

But to regret now, what good would it do him? To mutter apologies now, what good would it do him? To dig through the fibers of an unbridled heart, what good would it do him?

“Yoongi. I am the head of the largest publishing house in this country. If you thought I was going to see fluttering around the internet this opportunity in a million and as an entrepreneur and investor I wasn't going to take it, who are you taking me for?”

He should've dragged Namjoon away when he saw him in the parking lot, because business was his forte and not Yoongi's. Yoongi might as well cringe at Dohyun's words because how was he going to refute them. He had come with fortitude, yes. He had come with resolve and determination, yes; believing that this decision was the right thing to do, the least he could do right. And yet, at that crucial moment, with everything against him and the swords at his neck, Yoongi had his arms crossed again.

Maybe he should've dragged Namjoon along, but… how would he know if he was on his side?

“But don't worry. I'll try to keep you apart. You know I always separate personal matters from my work.”

Dohyun was a professional liar. If telling lies were a profession, Dohyun would quadruple the fortune he now boasts as the owner of the country's largest publishing house. Yoongi hated the way he covered up his poisonous words with honey, as if he couldn't see through the thin texture of the liquid how everything was corroding around him. And Dohyun was not his friend, if he wasn't sure before, he was now.

It's business, Namjoon would say, as rational and objective as ever; a businessman can't have someone around who attacks his vision, his business, that's an enemy.

Yoongi right now was a blob of green soup on Dohyun's pole, about to walk to an important meeting where he would close a million-dollar deal. His insignificance bordered on indescribability, but his diminutive presence was big enough to be considered a splinter in the foot.

The phone rang, breaking the tension in the atmosphere, and instead of answering it, Dohyun sent a glance toward the oak doors and then to Yoongi's limp body. Clasping his hands once again, it shook him inside to think that once again he allowed himself to be trampled. Once again, he was going to be the misfortune in someone's life.

“They're already here,” Dohyun almost muttered, an amused expression on his face. “You can leave now or you can stay and watch.”

Yoongi knew he'd be happy to have him there, watching him bite his tongue, trying to swallow his embarrassment. And wouldn't it be simpler to just leave, to brush against the fate he once let slip away as if it were something so trivial that it didn't tear a piece of his soul to even think about it; to brush against an opportunity he missed, selfish and presumptuous, as if he were the only one whose heart was beating with pain that day.

“I've never asked you for anything…”

“And neither have I,” Dohyun interrupted him, raising his gaze serenely, lifting his chin to acerbic dominance. “And all I'm asking you now is to stay out of my business.”

And Yoongi would've had to agree with Namjoon, because business and money definitely change a person. No one can rise to a high position, of Choi Dohyun's level, without having scored a big armory and a few degrees of tough personality willing to kill to get what they want.

“I received you out of courtesy. To Jin. But I won't tolerate another second of this.”

Dohyun mumbled, and the moment he brought the phone to his ear, Yoongi knew he had lost. Again.

“Hyung…” Yoongi closed his eyes, helplessness winning out over reason, the word sour in his mouth.

“No. I'm sorry, but no. It will happen. Just make your decision, I don't want my guests to wait too long.”

He didn't know if the grinding of his teeth was as loud as he heard it in his head. He didn't know if his behavior was over the top or understandable. He didn't know if he had a right to those emotions or if he had lost it more than ten years ago. Well, ten years in her head. He didn't know if he deserved that moment; to share that space and time and catch off guard someone who could become as cautious as he was now; because if Yoongi learned from anyone to be the way he was today, it was because of her.

He didn't know, in retrospect, if he ever made a good decision in his life.

-

i reeaally want to know your thoughts on this one!! re-edited!

tag: @rinkud @futuristicenemychaos @pastelpeachess @parapiop7 @kokoandkookie @midiplier @thunderg @lizzymizzy-blogg @ladymorrie @butnotmontana @lovelgirl22 @jjeonjjk7 @aurorathi @ot7stansthings @kunacat @borahaetelevision @mylovingstars @ghostlyworld @talyaaas-blog @slowlyshycomputer @jjk174 @maynina @saintomie @damn-u-min-yoongi @juju-227592@yoongznme @queenbloody @leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesworld @zippaur @v4ksk4tz @kookierry @idk179634 @canarystwin @elliott-calls @devilzliaison @butnotmontana @ismelllikechlorine247 @19yearoldjstryingtolivelife @thatgirliehan @yuuuumii @welcometomyworld13 @sugarbaby69x @whoa-jo @chaotickyrith @dreamerwasfound @darlingz99

[neil-gaiman]

I am in the process of unpacking boxes that have been packed for far, far, far too long after an old move and came across my copy of the graphic novel for The Kindly Ones and remembered not only that you signed it during a very very badly organized convention in New York in the 1990s* but that it saved me from being mugged** that same day. It brought back a whole slew of good memories of my life in the 90s and I wanted to thank you.

(*I think it was in 1996 or 1997; New York University's science-fiction club tried to host a convention that also served as a fundraiser for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and you were the GoH and were to give a speech. I remember Mike Diana, of Boiled Angel infamy, gave a small speech before yours and some of the people I was with were distinctly dismayed that someone other than you was speaking, but I remember being horrified by Mike's situation. You read Chivalry and one other story I don't remember, you said emphatically you would not do a signing, but did one anyway - and your silver pen died while you were singing my book, so I have your signature and a sketch of Dream in silver and gold.)

(**On the subway home, much later, after dinning and arguing with friends about Mike Diana's circumstances, I was in a virtually empty car and a guy basically pulled a knife on me and told me to give him my bag; I asked him if I could at least keep my ID and the signed copy of The Kindly Ones. He had a moment of geeking out over me having your autograph that delayed him from doing anything long enough for the train to pull in to the station and for someone to come into the empty car, see the guy with the knife, yell and make the mugger run.)

Reblogging for the mugging story.

And to put up a link to Boiled Angels: The Mike Diana story, a documentary on what happened to Mike.

[ofmdrecaps]

03/13-16/2025 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Samba Schutte; Kristian Nairn; Nicola Dove; Siren Events: Behind Our Flag; Love Notes;

Hey luvs, I know I'm super behind again-- I actually took a couple days off from work to catch up on all the stuff I have to get done around the house and online I'll do my best to be caught up over the next couple days! <3

= David Jenkins =

David's been keeping active over on bluesky and sending some love to our crewmate Danielle aka dbsaveofmd.bsky.social!

Source: David's Bsky

Also, he's joining the digital convention going on on April 5th via Siren Events! Visit the bottom of the recap for more info!

Source: David's Bsky

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys was out helping to manage the new AoNZ Sail GP team, the Black Foils! He even got to do his traditional Murray Role call!

Source: Rosie's IG Stories

Lots of solo shots and pics with Rosie and Theo out with the team as well!

Source: Rhys' IG

Other great news in Darby-land was Season 2 of Monsters At Work, where Rhys voices Roger Roger, won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice Direction! Congrats team!

Source: Rhys' IG

Rhys also announced returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! You can get tickets for Aug 1-10! at https://www.pleasance.co.uk/

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhys Darby (@rhysiedarby)

Source: Rhys' IG

= Samba Schutte =

Samba was sharing lots of memories and friends!

Source: Samba's IG Stories

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristan was out at Comic Con Scotland Aberdeen on March 14 and 15 and he did a couple interviews/panels!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Comic Con Scotland North East (@comicconscotlandaberdeen)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Simon Cassidy (@simon_cassidy1)

Source: Simon Cassidy IG

= Nicola Dove =

Our beloved S2 photographer was kind enough to post more /updated stills!

Source: Nicola Dove IG / 2

Annnnd Rubio and Samba had a little fun with them...

Source: Ruibo's IG Stories

= Siren Events: Behind Our Flag Event =

Hey all! Sorry this is so delayed on announcing but April 5th, 2025 - 18:00 UTC, the online Our Flag means Death Virtual Convention will be taking stage!

You can still purchase a ticket for the entire event here! Here's the schedule!

LIVESTREAM SATURDAY 5TH APRIL 2025 (UK 19:00-02:00) VIEW ON DEMAND FROM SUNDAY 6TH APRIL 2025

A SPECIAL 90 MINUTE PANEL WITH DAVID JENKINS

Saturday 5th April 18:00 (UTC) / 19:00 (BST / UK)

60 MINUTE BREAK - 19:30 (UTC) / 20:30 (UK / BST)

LOOKS THAT STOLE THE SHOW: BLACKBEARD

Saturday 5th April 20:30 (UTC) / 21:30 (UK / BST)

30 MINUTE BREAK - 21:30 (UTC) / 22:30 (UK / BST)

LOOKS THAT STOLE THE SHOW: MERMAIDS & UNICORNS

Saturday 5th April - 22:00 (UTC) / 23:00 (UK / BST) 

BUILDING THE WORLD OF OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH

Saturday 5th April - 23:00 (UTC) / 00:00 (UK / BST) 

THE BEST REVENGE IS DRESSING WELL

Sunday 6th April - 00:00 (UTC) / 01:00 (UK / BST)

and last but not least, Kelly Ren Head Painting & Sculpting!

Source: Siren Events UK

== Love Notes ==

It's been a while lovelies! Jeez! What a year it's been. I tell ya one of these days things are going to calm the heck down and things are going to get easier, they just have to.

Today I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow can be so scary when things are uncertain. We never know what's going to happen--- but that doesn't mean we have to always look to the future. Sometimes, when things are hard, we need to sit here in the moment and process them so we can deal with tomorrow when it comes. Please remember to get some rest and be kind to yourselves lovelies. 🫶.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @thelatestkate

Source: The Latest Kate's IG

[alan-in-the-outernet]

AvA/AvM Comics and/or Au's

This is basically a masterpost for my comic's and au's

Alan's Adventures in the Outernet

Tag: #Alan's Adventure AU

Main Comic: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 - Page 5 - Page 6 - Page 7 - Page 8 - Page 9 - Page 10

Human Alan in the Outernet

Tag: #HAiTO AU

Summary - Monster School - Chilling - God??? - Rapidly Approaching - Squish

Thank you (Short Comic) - What Have You Done (Short Comic) - First Meeting (Short Comic)

The Beginning: Page 1 - Page 2

Fantasy AU

Tag: #fantasy au

Cursor Alan AU

Tag: #Cursor Alan AU

Summary - The Beginning

Cursor Dragon AU

Tag: #Cursor Dragon AU

Cursor Dragon Design - HTTYD - Doodle Dump - The Box - Dragon Emma

Apotheosis Alan AU

Tag: #apotheosis alan au

Oc Tags: #ava emma heart

Patient - Dr. Heart Design - Constellation - Stick Form - Evil Apotheosis... - Cannenta (request) - She's Angry! -

Evil Noogai and his Kids - Cannenta Has a Gun (Request) - Unreality

Stick Alan

Tag: None Yet

Anxious

VR AU

Tag: #vr au

Summary -

Time Travel AU

Tag: #time travel au

Summary - Doodles

What I Need (Short Comic)

Alan in the Underground

Tag: #alan in the underground

Monster Designs - Noogai

Evil Second AU

Tag: #evil second au

Summary - Where do you think you're going? (Request) - Love In Paradise

Sticks in the Physical World

Tag: #SitPW au

Jar

Adopted AU

Tag: #adopted au

Walk

Fallen Gods AU

Summary - Video Game Screen Shots

Kid Alan AU

Tag: #kid alan au

Kid Alan Design - Kid Emma - Kitty(Kid Alan) Doodles

Figment Noogai AU

Tag: #figment noogai au

Figment Design - Figment Extra Designs - Not Alan - The Terror (Request) - Snakemint - Swap Au - Cursor Dragon Figment - Smol Figment(Request) - Fable

Virus AU

Tag: #virus au

Summary

So Above, So Below AU

Tag: #so above so below au

Alan Design - True Name

Virtual Apocalypse Au

Tag: #virtual apocalypse au

Title Card - Game Designer's - Nala's Avatar - Creator and Creation - VRN - Pride and Joy - Squish That Blob - Creator's Cursors - Sunglow Fluster Nala Doodles - The Creator's/Dev's

Not Alan Au

Tag: #not alan au

Summary - Stick Nala Design

Starcraft Crossover

Tag: #alan in space au

Emma Design - Nala Design

Source Au

Tag: #source au

Summary

AU Crossovers/Side Stuff

All of my Alan's! - Three Stick Alan's - He's Coming to Adopt - Fantasy Alan and the Stick!Noogai gang - Kill for Fantasy Alan - Multiverse - God Convention - Ex - Sassy Lost Tiny God - Sassy Lost Tiny God Continues - Kitty(Kid Alan) and Inspo - Teen Alan's - EN and His 'Kids"

HAitO + Apotheosis The Light Said "I love you"

Amalgamation Alan Crystal Alan - Fine...?

[ear-a-corn]

I won't be at any cons for the rest of the month due to surgery, BUT...

You can find some of my fan projects in this virtual artist alley itch bundle!

I've got 2 Resident Evil projects(One of them being my first graphic novel length comic ironically) + a BONUS Ship sketch zine I put together just for this bundle!

Find these and even more cool fan works for less that it costs to get a ticket to a convention!! Find it here!!

[grouper]

Text from the telegram chat:

ROOM PARTY

Furry Art at the Beginning of the World

Opening June 6th at Bunker Projects

5106 Penn Ave

Pittsburgh, PA 15224

Room Party is the first-ever large-scale group exhibition of contemporary and experimental furry art, featuring over 50 artists working in drawing and painting, comics, photography, installation, video, and new media.

Opening June 6 at gallery and residency nonprofit Bunker Projects, Room Party is a celebration of the diverse and vibrant Furry community that brings us together. From paintings to sculptures, video work, comics and writings, Room Party aims to demonstrate the joy and dedication of the artists that make up this community. Throughout the show's 6-week run, weekly events will be held every Saturday in the gallery, including screenings, workshops and performances, peaking with a day-long gallery room party on July 5th, the Saturday of Anthrocon. There will be two opening receptions as part of Pittsburgh's First Friday art crawl, scheduled June 6 and July 4. We hope you'll be able to show up!

Curated by furry artists Lane Lincecum, Brett Hanover, Cass Dickenson, and Paul Peng, Room Party takes its name from the unofficial hotel room parties held during conventions—embodied virtual realities where furries try on unimagined identities, invent new sexualities and artistic expressions, and discover alternative ways of being known. Room Party brings the love and creativity of these events to Bunker Projects, putting furry artists in conversation with the fine art world, the broader queer community, and the contemporary moment.

Channel link below!! ↓↓↓↓↓

https://t.me/RoomParty2025

Please share this chat with people, particularly local Pittsburgh furries and those attending Anthrocon. More information about upcoming events will be posted in this chat and on our bluesky throughout the show's runtime, so keep your eyes peeled!

To view a a full list of the artists involved in the show and our full event schedule, you can view our website here: https://room-party.com/

You can follow our bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/room-party.com

[homestuckreplay]

Webcomics at Day 100 #1: Kevin & Kell

Pages read: 9/3/1995 – 9/3/1996 & 4/13/2009 – 8/18/2009; about 380 pages

Reason for selection: Best I can tell this is the oldest webcomic that’s still running as well as among the first ones made. It updated every weekday from 1995-2000 and every day since then without breaks, totaling around 4500 strips as of 2009 and 10,000 strips as of 2024. This webcomic is older than I am and has been around for over 90% of the internet’s public history. While not originally intended as a ‘furry comic’ it quickly gained popularity among furries, who are an important internet subculture. K&K meetups happened at furry conventions in the 2000s.

Current status: This comic is an eternal truth of the internet

Content warnings: predator/prey dynamics

Overall thoughts: I think this strip is charming. It’s functionally identical to a newspaper strip, and there’s nothing about its presentation that couldn’t be done in print – which makes sense as its creator was already a newspaper cartoonist before starting this. Being published on the internet allows readers easy and instant access to the archives without having to buy the newspaper each day, although the sections I’ve read don’t take advantage of this by having long running storylines that require reading the archive. There is overall continuity, but jumping from 1996 to 2009 wasn’t super confusing. At the time of writing this the website is quick to load, well organized and really easy to navigate, so it’s no work at all to just start reading and get lost in the comic.

Content wise, the strip features anthropomorphic animals living in modern society (humans appear to be mythical creatures?) and includes a lot of jokes about animal traits manifesting in school, work and day to day life. Some specific jokes such as the hedgehog character getting stuck to things with her many spines are used often. Quite a few jokes rely on the fact that a significant portion of society are killing and eating the other portions on a daily basis, which is written in a lighthearted way but won’t be to everyone’s taste. I’d also describe the comic as ‘boomer humor’ in some places. Bill Holbrook began writing the strip in his late 30s so is older than the average early webcomics artist, and writes about family and technology from that perspective. The content also focuses on both nontraditional relationships and traditional family dynamics, and the ways these rub up against one another, while avoiding any genuinely controversial topics.

I love how Holbrook draws rabbits – Kevin and baby Coney’s designs are adorable to me and are the visual highlights of most strips. The character R.L., wolf and CEO of Herd Thinners Inc., is never shown in full – only his drooling mouth, fangs, and hands clasped on his desk are shown, which kicks ass as a villain design. Holbrook is also really good at conveying a character’s overall mood or vibe just through their body language in a still image, which is impressive considering how many different species he’s working with. The comic began in black and white and switched to color in 2000, and while I don’t think the color significantly improves the strip, it does make it easier to distinguish between characters of similar species as the cast has grown.

Connections to Homestuck: K&K doesn’t use the affordances of the internet (such as including gifs/sound in the comic) but it is definitely about the internet. It’s established imemdiately that titular couple Kevin & Kell first met and fell in love online, and that Kevin’s job is the system operator for the ‘herbivore forum.’ Kevin attends an online high school reunion, daughter Lindesfarne (INCREDIBLE character name) attends a virtual prom, and son Rudy stays in touch with his long distance girlfriend via email. Jokes about online life being inferior to digital are rare, and spending a lot of time online is normalized within the world of the comic, a decade or two before it became normalized in the real world.

K&K also plays with the boundary between digital and real space, and commonly depicts a character typing something into the computer to cause a physical effect in the world far away. Computers physically react to the digital content they are used for, such as Kevin’s computer starting to grow leaves and plants when he spends too much time on the herbivore forum, and digital phenomena are represented physically such as this depiction of a firewall:

I don’t think Rudy and Dave are the exact same archetype but Rudy does wear sunglasses 24/7 and is a different flavor of above it all coolguy whose feelings aren’t as secret as he thinks.

Continue reading? Probably! Despite being loosely drawn archetypes I did start caring about the characters quickly, enjoyed reading enough to go well past day 100, and have marked my place to come back to. It’s sweet and low effort entertainment that I can easily see myself digging into when I’m tired or sick.

I have sponsored today’s update which only costs $5 and is a small contribution to webcomics history.

[silentmagi]

TADC Vtuber AU. They are all VTubers.

So this is actually one that I've have thought of a few times, so I will admit some of this will be a jumble of multiple ideas I've bandied about with @logo-comics. Inspired by this video:

Series: The Amazing Digital Circus AU Criteria: They are all VTubers. AU title (optional): The Amazing Virtual Circus

C&A entertainment is a small company that started early in the Virtual idol business as one of the pioneers. The Amazing Virtual Circus is A Group of VTubers that do both gaming streams and performances.

Kaufmo has just gotten a break to go do professional acting, and so there is a void, a void that needs auditions. After several weeks, they are getting worried about never finding someone that will mesh with the rest of the group, and be able to sing the part he covered.

Late after one failure of an auditions session, Ragatha is packing up to go home when she hears singing from the offices. Figuring someone may have left the radio on or something, she goes to turn it off, when she finds one of the technicians working on equipment while singing to herself. It's a very nice voice, powerful and on tune, with emotion carrying over. She didn't know why this cutie didn't try and audition, she was a natural.

When she is found by the short technician, she finds out as the poor girl nearly has a full blown panic attack and her low self-esteem reveals just how much she wasn't suited for the role, as they had public appearances at conventions and such. Shifting tactics from recruiting, she instead decides to try and befriend her, since she seemed a little lonely/socially awkward, and if some of those friendly outings seem like dates to the others, they can mind their own beeswax. She's just trying to get her to warm up to her.

The 'friendly outings' become the highlights of her week, and she'll make excuses to hang out with Pomni at work to get to know her better.

On the other side of the equation, Pomni sees how much the others are struggling, and knows that her job could be at risk as well. Eventually, she watches a stream, and sits in on an audition, until finally she can't take the look on her friend's new faces, walks up onto the stage, and belts out an a capella song, eyes locked on Ragatha for support as she fights off the full body trembles and panic.

[thatstormygeek]

But it isn’t worth getting lost in the pedantic details; details that even Trump doesn’t waste time on. What matters here is the overall image he and his coterie wanted to paint: an image constructed by surrounding the doddering, terrified 78-year-old manchild with comic symbols of hypermasculinity (Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White—the latter of whom was last seen drunkenly slapping his wife in a Mexican night club on New Year’s Eve); by Trump kissing the fireman’s uniform of his “fan” killed by a stray bullet at his rally, and wearing the comically oversized ear bandage to remind everyone of his near-brush with death. It is the image of Trump as God-appointed leader, the nation’s savior, and protector against the violent “un-human” hordes. Major media, parroting the Trump team’s pre-spin, had promised for days that the speech would be an exercise in “unity,” reflecting a newfound humility that Trump had allegeldy gained from his brush with assassination last weekend. Racket readers were better prepared: As I argued on Tuesday, Trump’s obvious move would be to follow the example of fascist leaders before him —including Generalissimo Francisco Franco and, yes, Hitler — in claiming that his near-death experience was “proof” that his authority was sanctioned by the divine.

The New York Times tried to “contextualize” Trump’s threats a few days ago, noting that the “costs and hurdles would be enormous.” But this is, again, missing the forest for the pedantic trees. The point isn’t that it would be easy or legal to round up 20 million people, any more than it was going to be easy or possible to “build the wall” during his previous term. It’s that this is the direction he wants to drag the entire country in. And don’t be confused about this: Rounding up 20, or even 10 or 5, million people is a project that will touch every aspect of life in the United States. It will mean checkpoints and random raids at workplaces and in neighborhoods; it will mean mistakes, wrongful detentions and deportations, racial profiling and state violence at an unprecedented scale. I can tell you from having covered past threatened mass expulsions, particularly in the Dominican Republic, that even when the full extent of the government’s threat is not realized, in practice it is an exercise in terror and a virtual carte blanche for violence against the targeted minority, up to and including outright lynching. The Times wrote that “consensus among immigration experts and former homeland security officials is that logistical, legal, bureaucratic and cost barriers would make it virtually impossible to carry out the mass deportations Mr. Trump seeks in the span of a four-year presidential term.” But what legal barriers? The Supreme Court just ruled that a president can do whatever he wants, so long as it is an “official act.” And who says Trump — who, again, tried to overthrow an election by force — will allow himself to be limited to just one more four-year term? And I guess, at root, that’s why I and other political observers sat through all 92 minutes of the longest, most rambling, incoherent speech by a major party nominee in televised history. Because if the Democrats, media, and the rest of the supposed pro-democracy opposition don’t get it together and figure out how to stop this immediately, it will be a preview of the next chapter of our lives.

[theultimatefan]

Morrison, Golden, Russell, Platt Headline Fan Expo Portland Comics Creators Lineup

Comic creators like Bill Morrison (“The Simpsons,” “Roswell”), Michael Golden (“Avengers,” “The Micronauts”), Stephen Platt (“Moon Knight”, “Wolverine”) and dozens of others who have delighted millions with their work will be on hand in a standout Artist Alley at FAN EXPO Portland, January 24-26 at the Oregon Convention Center.

Among the other standout superstar artists and writers fans can meet are Mindy Lee (“Harley Quinn”), Peter Bagge (“Neat Stuff,” “Hate”), Enid Balam (“Spider-Gwen,” “NYX”), Randy Emberlin (“Amazing Spider-Man,” “G.I. Joe”), Guy Gilchrist (“The Muppets,” “Nancy”), Aaron Reynolds (“Effin’ Birds”), Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies,” “The Walking Dead”), Stephen Green (“Hellboy,” “Sea of Stars”), Tom Grummett (“The New Titans,” “Superman”), Karl Kesel (“Superman” “Fantasti Four”), Eric Canete (“Gatchaman”, “Iron Man”), Steve Lieber (“Metamorpho,” “Hawkman”), Kevin Maguire (“Justice League,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), Andy Mangels (“Wonder Woman ‘77,” “JLA”), Jeff Parker (“Zootopia,” “Batman ‘66”), Carl Potts (“Alien Legion,” “Wolverine”), Keith Tucker (“Little Mermaid,” “Animaniacs”) and many more.

Virtually every franchise will be well represented by numerous creators. Q&A’s, interactive demonstration sessions, autographs, commission opportunities, and more help turn FAN EXPO Portland Artist Alley into a paradise for comics lovers of all genres.

Fans can view the entire FAN EXPO Portland field of creators at https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpoportland/comic-creators/.

Today’s announcement of the comics creator field enhances a celebrity lineup that includes the “Supernatural” tandem of Jared Padalecki (“Supernatural”), Tyler Hoechlin (“Superman & Lois”), Grant Gustin (“The Flash”), James Marsters (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), “Doctor Who” companion Catherine Tate, and teen romance “High School Musical” stars Corbin Bleu and Lucas Grabeel, with more soon to be announced.

FAN EXPO Portland features the biggest and best in pop culture: movies, TV, music, artists, writers, exhibitors, cosplay, with three full days of themed programming to satisfy every fandom.

Portland is the second event on the 2025 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

[brian-in-finance]

Any idea(s) as to why Cait hasn't been to any OL functions such as Hublander and the upcoming Land on 6? What was the last event she attended?

Thanks for the message, @dragonflydreams47 😃

She might not have been invited. She might not have been interested. She might have had previous commitments. She might be done with attending cons that aren’t Outlander-sanctioned.

What was the last event she attended?

last publicised: JW Anderson fashion show on the 18th of February in London 😉

last con: NYCC, virtually, in October 2021

last festival: ATX in June 2023

last fan event: Season 7 Premiere in June 2023

I’m able to post only 10 images at a time. Here’s a sampling of fan events she’s attended since 2015:

PaleyFest • 12 March 2015 • New York, USA • Photo: Paley Center for Media

SDCC • 20-23 July 2017 • San Diego, USA • Photo: Outlander-Online

Highlanders 2 • 25-27 August 2017 • Blackpool, England • Photo: StarFury

The Land Con 2 • 30 June -1 July 2018 • Paris, France • Photo: Outlander-Online

NYCC • 6 October 2018 • New York, USA • Photo: Getty Images

The Land Con 3 • 30 November - 1 December 2019 • Paris, France • Photo: RosterCon

WizardWorld Comic Con • 6-8 March 2020 • Cleveland, USA • Screenshot: FANdemoniumNetwork on YouTube

NYCC • 9 October 2021 • New York, USA • Photo: Getty Images

ATX TV Festival • 1 June 2023 • Austin, USA • Photo: Outlander Online

92NY • 8 June 2023 • New York, USA • Photo: Outlander-Online

She’ll be busy, preparing for her directorial debut and, like the rest of the cast, getting ready for Season 8. Assuming Starz promotes the elusive Season 7B, we’ll see her in what are probably long-ago recorded videos, etc. Some fans are wondering if Starz will host another mid-season premiere event like they did for Season 1B in 2015.

I’m looking forward to seeing her promote The Amateur (8 November) and The Cut (TBA), and hope the films are represented next awards season. As much that circus irritates me, I enjoy seeing her and Tony out and about. 👠👞

Remember… I have failed 'Star Wars' trivia tests. People come up to me at conventions and use terms that I've never heard of. — Mark Hamill

Sounds like the Force wasn’t with him. 🤷🏻‍♂️