#inconsistent coloring and late oops

[vaos-studios]

Chapter 1 of the 2.0 AU is here!

Chapter 1: The Intro pt. 1

(Small flash warning on the 2nd to last panel)

also i might be forgeting somethings bc it's late but oh well go my creature EDIT: ACTUALLY TURNS OUT I WAS RIGHT I MISSED 3 PANELS OOPS (i think its good now) (reminder to not let me post at midnight)

Also you might notice a shift in the color palette and quality throughout this comic. Which is actually because it was split into three parts, and each part decided to have its own color profile for some reason (which caused them to be incredibly inconsistent with one another in terms of colors and dimensions and that was hell to reference 😭) and on top of that the 2nd part uh… corrupted that’s why the characters and shading might look a bit different bc that was an early backup of the comic and i was like "naw i aint drawing all that again" LOL But yeah the rest of the comic series will look a little like this! My artstyle leans more towards the sketchy / unfinished side, which I've grown to like a lot also asks will reopen now that part 1 is done! and imma get to the ones that have been sitting in my inbox for a while

Next up on the table:

Part 2 of the Intro

2.0 Satellite Investors designs!

[caffernnn]

thanks for tagging me @celesteeal !!! 🫶🏻✨ (gotta jump on this before I forget oops)

favorite color: greeeeen 🫒🐊🌿 love me a good green. also partial to the other cool colors and browns, although deep oranges and ochre/honeyed yellows have been calling out to me lately!

last song: “all i know” by nightlife 🕺🏻

last movie: family wanted to watch the matrix trilogy recently, so I’d say the first matrix was my last movie iirc!! (It’s hard to actually sit and watch anything with my family, so I caught some of the second and third movies while they started them ~without me~)

currently reading: a few different things!! The library has a summer reading challenge going, so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things 😅 out of the library books I have checked out, the ones I’d say I’m actively reading through rn are “Beloved” by Toni Morrison and “Care Work” by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. I also have perpetual holds on “Unmasking Autism” by Devon Price and “In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love” by Joy James that loop back around to me every other month, so hopefully I get a few essays or chapters farther in those before my holds lapse again 🏃🏻‍♀️ OOH AND MANGA STUFF: I’m almost at the end of my library’s physical collection of Blue Exorcist (they stop at v13, so we’ll see how far we get into the Illuminati arc), and I check on new chapters of Sakamoto Days as translations become available.

currently watching: sibling bonding time is anime time, and we’ve been watching dunmeshi and demon slayer. Recently we finished bocchi the rock as well. Uhh, otherwise? I watched Tale of the Nine-Tailed and The Victim’s Game (first seasons) pretty recently. Idk, I’m inconsistent with keeping up with shows, even though my list of watch-laters keeps getting longer

currently craving: I keep seeing tteokbokki pop up (previously mentioned kdrama, random youtube shorts, “I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki” memoir) and I just want to tryyyyy iiiiit. So I’d say that or some good yakitori or something 😩

tea or coffee: I don’t drink either with any real regularity, so I’m kinda open to either at this point. Maybe tea? I got to try some cajun stuff this week (jambalaya and cornbread my beloved) and had sweet tea with that, if that counts for anything!

tagging (no pressure) @sage-nebula @reikunrei @lithopsy @tonfea @shenyaanigans @roses-and-nightingales @ahobbitincamelot @shounenlord-sama @criticalgay @suhmayzooka and anyone else who wants to join!!

[zanyzendraws]

APRIL 2025 ZSA - It's Been So Long!

Soooo it's been a while since I've made these posts, so hihi everyone! Zen Service Announcement time!

Admittedly, I've been dead regarding literally any upload that wasn't just a random art dump on this blog or ANYWHERE TBH

That in mind, here's your monthly dose of ZanyZenDraws updates! (Monthly updates seem a lot more feasible than the weekly updates that I have previously attempted eons ago)

That in mind, let's get started! A bulletpoint list of things I'm going over:

Zen's Zaniness Hiatus

21st Birthday (Late Video, absolutely)

Hanashima's Advanced Class Progress Report

Life of Zen (MISC IRL UPDATES)

Final Thoughts

For those bulletpoints, look for their associated colored text under the cut!

Zen's Zaniness Hiatus

You may have noticed the absence of Zen's Zaniness since...

(flips through papers) Literally November. Jeez.

I'm aware some people may be confused about why I haven't been uploading anything regarding that. Honestly, what happened was a hurting wrist that screwed me over around that time period.

It definitely has healed (it was literally last year), but I decided to wait a bit before uploading. Make a backlog to last weeks. And think up more ideas so I don't run out of content next time.

So no, take this as an official statement.

Zen's Zaniness is not being abandoned. It is simply on an indefinite hiatus.

I have a couple of comics finished, and I've even designed some new characters so I can later take Zen's Zaniness in a different direction. A direction that feels a lot more fun to me!

Oh, those new characters in mind...

21ST BIRTHDAY (Late Video, Absolutely)

Those Zen's Zaniness characters were going to be in a fun video that introduced them, while also celebrating my upcoming birthday with a somewhat ridiculous (but fun) topic!

... It was gonna be fully in animatic form as well.

... If you know me well, you can most likely assume what happened.

(for those who don't know me well, I had overestimated my abilities again)

I had recorded the audio in March and yet -

... Oops.

On another note, I'm turning 21. Trippy.

But hey, on the channel, expect a late video celebration... whenever I release the damn thing. Could be weeks, could be months. I have a friend joining me for that video and he's iconic as fuck, so I hope you'll be able to see us be chaotic together!

Hanashima's Advanced Class Progress Report

So, multiple things to discuss regarding the project.

I don't know if I've previously mentioned this, but I have a few consultant friends that assist me with my webtoon project! Y'know, to ensure quality! (For now unless they explicitly state otherwise or allow me to tag them, I'll simply refer to them as Connor, Pestilence, and Cubed).

Upon discussing the progress I've had so far, we've noticed multiple glaring issues and plotholes. Nothing too big of a problem that would require me to scrap lots of things, but I was tempted to anyways (perfectionism, amiright?)

Thankfully, I had multiple consultants that highly advised against me scrapping large portions of episodes. Below is a visual representation of them holding me back from clicking "CTRL + ALT + DELETE:"

Thanks, guys!

The issues included the following:

Multiple characters seemingly not having a direction or feeling aimless with writing

Character tensions that should be included either being completely nonexistent or should be further emphasized

Same body syndrome within art pieces

Inconsistencies with character writing or behavioral issues that ruin immersion and written interactions

The current timeline of the story not making sense from realistic lenses

So we've discussed remedies for those issues alongside potential character fixes, so multiple characters have been revamped both writing and aesthetic-wise since me posting heavily on Tumblr.

In addition to that, for the sake of making progress, I've since switched over from a novel-style format of writing to something more similar to a script, so it should be less time consuming to write things. Admittedly, this should have been common sense, but oh well. "Live and Learn," as that one Sonic the Hedgehog track sings throughout its melody.

Things I'm currently focusing on writing wise are attempting to finish Season 1 still, but I'm definitely having a more solid outline than I used to, and I know the direction I want to take with each character thanks to consultant input. In addition, I've been trying to work on worldbuilding for Hanashima Island itself (main story location).

In regards to art, a height chart of my OCs and "promotional" materials (if you can call them that) are currently in the works, and I'm brainstorming ideas for the school's layout and their dorms.

Be on the lookout for those! Perhaps a speedpaint will bless (or curse) your eyes in the future!

Life of Zen

Not much on my end aside from experimenting more with art, and obsessing over things such as Sonic the Hedgehog. I've also tried playing Genshin Impact for the first time not too long ago, since my brother and I play together :3

I hope to get one man... since he reminds me of another beloved...

It's literally the same actor! Leavemealone!!!! RAHHHH

I also watched Arcane recently. That was really cool.

Honestly, aside from working on personal endeavors (which will not be disclosed since internet privacy lmao), I've been just been working on projects and trying to chillax (brainrot) a bit before I start up school again in about a month. Expect less activity in May onward.

I mean I'm already dead, but who knows?

FINAL THOUGHTS

As my birthday approaches, I've been awfully reflective recently. Not just about my art, but my life and the person I've become.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm at the point that I need to be at in my life or if I fall behind.

I mean, on social media, all you see are people living their best lives and their successes? Where would I end up? If not amongst those people who are constantly having wins and on that 'grindset' or whatever, would I even be successful? Would I remain insignificant? Stagnant? Am I complacent?

Nah. I work too hard on projects to be the latter, at least.

It's at a certain moment that I then remembered that the internet allows you, the user, to filter out everything. The good and bad.

This is something I attempt to try and remember every time I doubt my own capabilities and goals. People will fail, and that's part of being human. But most people online don't wish to showcase humanity, but rather they wish to embody an ideal. Of themselves or whatever expectation they supposedly meet and fulfill.

Social media is meant to share life, but it's not life itself. A sentiment I tend to forget, but this upcoming birthday allows me to remind myself of that.

As I turn 21, I hope I can continue growing as an artist and sharing the pieces I make with everyone. I hope the content I crank out will one day make people comforted the same way that online comics and fanart have comforted me in the past.

... Sappy stuff aside, I can try wine.

Stay sweet, and stay zany everyone!

Remember cringe culture is dead. Ship people with your OCs/self inserts if it brings you serotonin. I'll be drooling over Kinger.

-ZanyZenDraws

[staticsquidd]

hello, tumblr gremlins!!!

sooo I wanna make a long post about the state of StaticSquidd; not significant enough to pull out the camera and yap in front of a camera for a few minutes, too much to just post on Twitter (except i'll screenshot everything below and post it there anyway)

SO: FIRST! i've been very inconsistent lately! oops! i used to do weekly, that got stressful, moved to bi-weekly and so far i've only actually had one successful month of that. the xbox cases vid, while it was a really good preforming vid (for my channel lul), it was kinda just a lazy video i wrote and pushed it out because i needed SOMEthing to release, segue into the next topic uhhhh

NOW! SECOND! it felt too similar to that of another youtuber, a particular guy with brown hair, glasses, something with the color blue i'm gonna try a bunch of shit until something sticks, so PLEASE stay with me, i don't wanna be too off the walls but eh man i don't feel like what i currently do is gonna help me eeeeeehh stick out or get anywhere. i've been wanting to experiment for a WHILE but the side effects of watching someone excessively for six years is that his style is engrained in your mind and that's just how you naturally write!

THIRD! fourth console gen is DEAD. for now. i'm not happy with the way the episode's going. it's too long, i really just put surface level info and somehow got 40 minutes out of it, it would've been underwhelming as fuck in the grand scheme of things... that episode's gonna be scrapped until further notice, potentially into 2024, which is funny because i wanted to do fifth gen this year too LOL

FOURTH! i might take a hiatus in November. unlike August where I was working on videos as much as I could, i'm gonna take November to just live and write stuff... plus I need as much time with smb wonder, mario rpg and like a dragon gaiden as i can possibly get man, the current plan is 1 more video this month, 2 videos next month, 2-3 videos in December.

FIFTH! i don't have *CONCRETE* plans for a big season finale this year. just a slightly larger episode with credits at the end, bing bang boom, done. or maybe it'll be similar to last year's quality-wise, who knows? i don't. just don't brace yourselves for a huge video at the end of the year.

anyway, long post: DONE! i just wanted to spew some bullshit amid uncertainty about the series looms in my head! thanks!

[hwiyyoung]

HWIYOUNG ✧ TEAR DROP (210710)

[aashiqvi]

idk if im late for this but for the sweet caffe themed asks: cinammon latte and vanilla chai!!

hi bb no its ok!! omg i forgot i rb but tysm for asking so cute of u

cinnamon latte— would you ever want to dye your hair? if you have before, what color was it and why?

omg yes but i’m scared bc i don’t think it’d suit me! but i’ve seen sm south asian women dying their hair a little red maroon AND ITS SO PRETTY i rly want that or like maybe one day ugh i want dark purple hints but that’d be a bit too hard or unrealistic!!! hopefully one day i try the red/maroon thingy ! idk the exact colour :-)

vanilla chai— do you have any hobbies that your followers don’t know about? or any hobbies that you once had, but stopped doing?

hobbies... god i’m so inconsistent but the most consistent ones i’ve had and still have (but not rly bc lil time n bad time management) is sports so i loooved tennis sm would play lots and i play the guitar n piano as a hobby? never professionally i just learn fav songs from youtube UGHNN inrly wish i can learn some again oops. i lov painting & writing bad poetry those r some things but not consistent enough to be hobbies <\3 one day i will try harder 😁!!

[inthedayglo]

Still alive, and Who S11

I’ve been away, largely, for the last few months because of Doctor Who. I’m back now, though holidays, etc. may make that kind of spotty for a while.

I started watching this series late (hence avoiding Tumblr to avoid spoilers), which is pretty unusual for me--I’m usually chomping at the bit. Not this time. Why? A couple of reasons.

1. General wariness of the gender swap and Chris Chibnall. I don’t know if I’ve said this on here before, so forgive me if I’m repeating myself, but I was never a proponent of the gender swap, because I’m not a proponent of “just because we can!” in storytelling. I am a proponent of “because it would let us do X, Y, and Z that we can’t do with our current setup.” There’s no guarantee of success with either, but at least one shows some forethought and purpose. “Just because we can” shows neither. And with Chris Chibnall in charge, and his incredibly inconsistent writing--it’s an oxymoron if ever there was one, putting the man who wrote “Cyberwoman,” one of the most incredibly misogynistic things I’ve ever seen, in charge of a male-to-female gender swap--I was not about to hold my breath that any forethought actually occurred.

2. The BBC and apparently everyone else deciding to trash Peter Capaldi in order to promote Jodie was a massive, massive turnoff. Any decent marketing person can tell you there are better ways to create hype than alienating the viewers who are still mourning the previous Doctor. But no, they went for it. I waited until November to start watching--and wouldn’t have started then if one of my friends hadn’t begged me to so she could discuss them with someone.

My short verdict? “Jodie’s a great actress. The fact that watching Doctor Who has never, ever been a chore for me before does not fall on her shoulders. Chris Chibnall, on the other hand, has a hell of a lot to answer for.”

Because the fact is, this series was a chore. A largely incomprehensible, forgettable chore. I have trouble remembering that at least half the episodes even existed--including the ones I liked, like “Kerblam!” And I suspect that number will grow with time. There’s just nothing memorable going on here.

I appreciate what they tried to do, or what I can only guess that they tried to do, but it feels to me like “tried” is an overstatement. I’ve come to call this TARDIS crew the “ticky box” team, because it feels to me as if they said, “Ooh, let’s tick all the boxes for every possible kind of diversity! Won’t that be great! Then we’re done--nothing more we need to do on that front!” And it just doesn’t work that way.

I mean, there should be an interesting relationship between Graham and Ryan...but no. There’s almost nothing, and what little we do get comes so close to the end of the series as to beggar belief. Those two should be, at the very least, getting in each other’s faces right from the beginning--or else pointedly avoiding each other, or one of each. Instead, it’s as if nothing happened, except to Graham, just a little, here and there. And then right back to Situation Normal--until we suddenly get Ryan and Graham Are Best Buds out of NOWHERE at the very end.

Now, I’ve become kind of tired of the big giant overblown series arc over the years, so I’m not saying that going more episodic is a bad thing. I’m just saying even episodic telly in 2018 is being viewed by an audience that’s going to expect more than that, and that, frankly, deserves more. We didn’t get it.

After 10 episodes, I still have no idea what purpose Yaz serves, except to have given us a Partition episode--which was the only truly memorable one of the year, but she was just an excuse for it. For all she sees during that episode, there’s hardly any character development (do we sense a theme here?) But that fits with the fact that Ryan never seems to mourn his Nan, except in that YouTube video in the very first episode, or deal with his father’s absence, and even his conveniently invisible disability gets so little attention that it might as well not be there (and it’s so poorly explained that I was baffled in the first episode that someone his age could not ride a bicycle and why this was such a big deal. I guess we were required to do outside reading to figure it out--which, by the way, explicitly violates the BBC’s charter).

So basically we ticked all the boxes and still managed to make the old white guy the most interesting character on the show. Oops.

A lot of people liked “Rosa”, and it is better than most of what we saw, but here’s why I have issues with it:

1. Ryan seems to serve one purpose in this episode--to be slapped by a white man for trying to return a glove, and to fawn all over Rosa and MLK like a teen meeting Justin Bieber. The episode basically reduced him to the color of his skin and nothing else. (This is exactly what I mean about ticking all the boxes and deciding that’s enough.)

2. The villain is so negligible that he might as well not even be there. And, in fact, had they made systemic racism the villain instead of some unlikely 267684th century nobody, they’d have had a far better episode. That villain’s baked in, and this meaningless yahoo just distracts from it.

3. My biggest gripe: It paints Rosa Parks as a woman who took independent, spontaneous action when that couldn’t be further from the truth. A historical should know better, because a historical should do its homework. It didn’t. Rosa’s action was planned carefully with local NAACP folks who couldn’t use another woman, who’d already done the same thing, as a flashpoint because she was pregnant and unmarried. There is just plain NO WAY that what Rosa did would have set off a movement like it did if that movement wasn’t assembled and ready to respond to her arrest. Rosa could have picked any bus on any day. It didn’t matter. And yet, the episode hinges on the faulty historical read that says otherwise.

Is it a better episode than, say, “The Turanga Conundrum”? Sure. But so is the average episode of “Teletubbies,” because Tsuranga is literally unwatchable, and I know this because I kept trying and couldn’t do it. It illustrates every reason why Chibnall should not have been put in charge of this show, primarily that he tries to do more than the format will allow for, and he does all of it badly. His Doctor spouts meaningless technobabble more often than Geordie Laforge, and with far less plausibility and logic. She doesn’t even bother to notice that she’s endangering other people. And there are not only four lead characters to keep busy but also a handful guest stars who have almost nothing to do--nothing meaningful, certainly, because they each get about three minutes of screen time--but yes, absolutely, do bring on the pregnant guy just because you can. (Why “Just Because You Can” Is A Bad Idea, Exhibit A.) And the less said about the ridiculous villain, which on paper should have been phenomenally threatening and yet just wasn’t, the better.

The whole Tim Shaw thing is irritating for a series that went episodic, as if it wanted the best of both worlds and couldn’t manage either. Having him turn up in the finale is just annoying, and not just because I found the teeth thing revolting, but because it comes out of nowhere (yes, really, sending him back to wherever with NOTHING in between is still nowhere. Any setup you can find there is so thin you’d need a scanning electron microscope to show it to me). Mark Addy and Phyllis Logan should have made for good telly no matter how bad the script, but that concept apparently never met Chris Chibnall before, because even they couldn’t save it. And Graham’s dilemma, such as it was, should have been more interesting, but ended up just being utterly predictable instead. It’s all surface stuff. Style, perhaps, but no substance.

“The Witchfinders” is interesting more because Alan Cumming camps it up and because Downton Abbey’s O’Brien is the Big Bad, proving that Siobhan Finneran has the serious Big Bad chops we...already knew she had. It stands out for one reason only, for me, and that’s that, for the first time all year, the Doctor actually faces some sexism. Pity Chibnall thinks we have to go back to the 1700s to find it--I guess he figures we’re past all that now? The lack of realism in how the Doctor is treated on Earth grated on me for all ten episodes, including this one, because how did it take so long? How was this not part of the PLAN for a female Doctor? (Oh, wait--did I say “plan”?) “Honestly, if I was still a bloke, I could get on with the job and not have to waste time defending myself” is the story of every woman watching this show, every single damn day. I presume the people who wanted a female Doctor wanted it because they wanted to feel represented by this character--but this isn’t it. If I can’t call tech support without having to establish my tech cred every. single. time because I have the audacity to call while female, the Doctor shouldn’t be able to, either, much less wander into a situation and just take over. And yet, she does, again, and again, denying my everyday existence and that of every other woman on the planet. And we’re...not supposed to notice? Decide the 2018 on the screen is some sort of utopia we know doesn’t exist? What, exactly, are we to make of this whitewashing of reality? Yet another missed opportunity in a series riddled with them.

“Demons of the Punjab” is the only episode I really liked, because it’s the only episode that really told a conflicted, compelling story, though Thirteen is still saddled with being the Unnecessary Exposition Fairy and Yaz is frustratingly pointless in a story about her own past. It could, and perhaps even should, have been a bigger story. Continued lack of development for Yaz notwithstanding, it’s solid telly. More like this, please.

The Atlantic ran a piece extolling the show for “allowing” Thirteen to be weak and ineffective. It was, to my horror, written by a woman. It was not satire. I can’t say if Chibnall intended this outcome, to explore this “theme,” but if he did, he picked the wrong Doctor to experiment with. I’m as deeply offended by the idea that making the first female Doctor weak and ineffective is a good thing as I am by the implication that sexism died 300 years ago and by the way Ryan is presented in “Rosa.” IMHO, this take is a fundamental betrayal of what this character has stood for for 55 years--and of all the women who watch the show, and who wanted to see themselves in the title character.

On the other hand, this excellent, stunningly thorough piece looks at the whole series in great detail (seriously, fortify yourself and block out some time on your calendar, ‘cause it will take a while. It’s worth it, though). It works very hard to be as fair as possible. It also makes a very interesting argument that the surface appearance of Chibnall!Who is very progressive, but the inner workings are astonishingly conservative, and I think the author is on to something that explains, for instance, why CC thinks it’s okay to tick the boxes and then move on without a second thought. Appearance is meant to trump substance in S11, and whatever else you can say about progressive intent on S11, the fact remains that a white guy is still in charge.

(I find it fascinating that my biggest concern when I heard the show was coming back in 2005 was that, if given an actual budget, particularly for special effects, it would lose its charm and become a highly rated show that was all about effects driving the plot rather than plot driving the effects. It’s taken 13 years for that original fear to be realized, which is one hell of an accomplishment considering how easily it could have gone this way from the beginning--but that’s still cold comfort considering the quality we’re used to from Who.)

The second author’s most cuttingly insightful commentary might just be this (emphasis mine):

...the abiding moral of the Moffat era was that kindness and compassion were worthy ends of themselves. The Twelfth Doctor’s final advice to the Thirteenth Doctor was simply, “Be kind.” It is a damning indictment of the Chibnall era that the Thirteenth Doctor has failed so spectacularly at that one single piece of advice given to her by her direct predecessor. The eleventh season is a meditation in indifference and obliviousness, with the Doctor at best ignorant to the suffering of others and at worst actively complicit.

(This observation also harks back to my list of reasons for being reluctant to watch in the first place...)

Really, go read it. Even if you don’t agree with it, it’ll make you think. (You can skip the first several paragraphs about production improvements if that’s not really your thing, though his comments on the attempt to make DW “prestige TV” and what that means are insightful.)

I didn’t really mean to write this much, but this year realized my worst fears for the future of my favorite show. If you disagree with me, that’s fine; you’re certainly allowed--but please don’t ask me why I kept watching. It’s such a dismissive question. The obvious answer is “because I kept hoping it would get better, all evidence to the contrary.”

This show has sat in my heart for 32 years now. It made me who I am. I’m not about to abandon it without a fight. But this year was the biggest fight I’ve had to put up since I was 15 years old, and the closest I’ve ever come to despair while watching (which is saying something considering I was not a RTD fan--but S11 is giving me a new appreciation there).

I can only hope that Chibnall will resign and let someone who can do Thirteen justice take over. We need no repeat of the Series of Wasted Opportunities.

[onebizarrekai]

Here we go…

I got around to analyzing the Cross x Dream comic, and, well, let’s just say I found some stuff I kinda wanted to bring attention to… whoops… sorry in advance? (I’m not trying to hurt anyone, I’m just being overly observant as usual.)

And no, this actually isn’t another rant about how Nightmare is unloved, thank goodness. This is supposed to be half comedy, so only take it half seriously. My strong reactions to things are for comedic effect, I mean. In fact, most of it is simply my reactions to the comic while I was reading it.

I don’t own any of the images used.

Update: Since the Cross x Dream comic was abruptly discontinued, this post doesn’t have much importance anymore, but I’m still going to leave this here for… historical purposes? Yeah, let’s just go with that.

So, what am I REALLY doing today?

I was reading the comic and noticed a few inconsistencies. Or… a lot of inconsistencies? Also some moments where established logic isn’t implemented or considered. This comic actually has a lot of information in it, but… some of it doesn’t make sense, and some things are changed (making it hard to know what’s actually canon or possible) so I’m here to reveal what exactly that is.

So…

Once upon a time, there was a skeleton named Cross.

What a BEAUTIFUL face.

-anyway-

He was a ‘cross’ between Sans and Chara from Xtale. Canonically, they are two separate beings in one body; to be precise, Sans absorbed Chara to keep them from being up to no good and causing trouble in the neighborhood, and this ‘fusion’ became Cross. After a while of acting like two separate entities in Sans’s body, Sans (or just Cross) decreased Chara’s control, reducing them to the state of a phantom that follows him around and is annoying. Except, Cross kind of went insane, so he started doing a bunch of stupid stuff that Chara wanted him to.

After a series of unknown events that tie into this comic known as the Cross x Dream comic, Cross ended up sealing Chara away entirely, leaving only their determination for him to use.

There we go, I found the pictures. (senpai was so proud!)

So um. Let’s jump right in. That thing about killing someone? Yeah, uh, news flash--

OOPS! That’s different… (oh well, I can understand why killing people would also work, it’s just not consistent with Underverse)

Anyway, let me get back to my other point.

Yes, determination is powerful. But, take into account that he only has half determination. In the game, determination, when not controlling time, can keep you alive in dire circumstances. But just because your HP is going back up to full or even fractioning into tiny amounts, that doesn’t mean that you aren’t DYING.

You might make a point about how your HP won’t drop any further down after that, but remember that it only applies to magic that isn’t being used by Sans (or anyone with the karma effect). Most of the attacks that I’ll mention in this are melee attacks that don’t just take off HP, but also hurt you physically and can indeed cause death if left unattended.

And you know what determination doesn’t do? The one thing that it’s never done in the game? It has never restored your health. You can die again and again, and your health can split into fractions, but it can’t restore your health. The thing that restores your health when you’re facing Asriel in the game is when you use the ‘dream’ option, and it gives you an item that restores your health. Hoping increases your defense. Determination alone can’t do anything for you in that matter. And if you’re not doing a pacifist route, you don’t have access to these health-restoring functions.

Anyway, why am I talking about this? Well, it ties into everything else.

Our good old friend Cross only has one HP. Actually, in Underverse, he only has HALF AN HP. But let’s say, just for the sake of something unexplained, he has another half of a soul now. (also I just realized that health bar makes no sense it says he only has half an HP total and the bar is still only half filled like wtf)

Man! Isn’t that a pitiful health bar. But thanks to his determination, he can last a little longer than normal.

Apparently… a lot longer?

Oof. That’s gotta hurt.

But somehow, he survived.

Eh.

You’re a little late in saying that, Dream.

But wait! Cross is somehow still alive. He got stabbed through his fricking eye and somehow recovers completely later?? Dat determination. (also his eye is blue? I thought that was a misconception and that colors aside from gold and blood colors don’t exist in his universe?)

ALSO CROSS MADE A PORTAL. He’s not supposed to be able to do that?? The whole point of Cross and Nightmare’s deal TO BEGIN WITH was that Nightmare would teleport him through AUs because he couldn’t! (Edit: Never mind, he can teleport to places he’s already been.)

Uh, Nightmare? I hope you remember that killing Dream’s gonna kill you. Geez, you gotta stop making stupid spontaneous decisions.

Whoa. I just realized how intense this escape is. But you know, it would still be more practical if Nightmare decided to attack from the side the barrier was on rather than behind them.

Anyway, I’m getting kinda distracted.

Back on track.

Dream heals Cross in Haventale, but it’s still pretty insane that he survived that.

LEARN TO BE PATIENT DREAM HE GOT IMPALED MULTIPLE TIMES JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT INJURED DOESN’T MEAN--

wait

DREAM DIDN’T PATCH UP HIS FRICKING EYE ARE YOU KIDDING ME HE CRAPPILY BANDAGED HIM EVERYWHERE ELSE AND DIDN’T FIX HIS EYE

No. (slaps self) Stay focused.

FRICK YOU HAVENTALE SANS HE’S INJURED

Oh. Frick. Okay. So yeah. WHAT THE HECKING HECK

Like I said, determination has never been able to heal?? (GASPS)

okay fine people can do whatever they want I mean who hasn’t made up some headcanon about what determination can do

Okay, so, his body healing itself was obviously caused by food, but if that’s the case, that means that people’s health bars DO indicate their body’s health and abilities and isn’t just an imaginary number (which is important later). That still doesn’t give his SINGLE HP any more strength to withstand insane attacks like--

Whoops. Here we go again. (am I the only one who laughed at this scene? Cross so had it coming)

Surprise! He survived. How’s that one HP treating you?

how is he supposed to look at himself HUH KILLER you got a fricking mirror or something well you know what I won’t be surprised if you do because you’re such a pretty boy that you probably carry one everywhere you go

But you know who else has one HP?

This guy! And after ONE stab from Nightmare, he’s dead.

Yeah, maybe this goes to show just how powerful determination is. But… you know. Cross only has HALF DETERMINATION and he’s surviving things MULTIPLE times stronger and more intensive. But fine. We’ve established that determination does crazy things… but that’s actually not the main point. You’ll see what I mean.

Oh dear! Look at this, Dream got inexplicably wrecked. Come on, couldn’t we have seen Killer beat the crap out of him so I can at least say what exactly happened?

Fine. I can speculate.

There’s no blood, so Killer didn’t use a knife yet. There still aren’t any real injuries though. Looks like he just got kicked around in the dirt a little. (I mean, he obviously still has the strength to make dramatic sad eyebrows.)

But you know? Must’ve been a lot of kicking around in the dirt. Cross can survive getting repeatedly stabbed with only one HP, but Dream?

SURPRISE

THIS SUPPOSED GUARDIAN HAS NINE HUNDRED NINETY NINE HP AND BECOMES INCAPACITATED AFTER GETTING KICKED AROUND A LITTLE.

THAT’S NINE HUNDRED NINETY EIGHT MORE HP THAN CROSS HAS. YET--

Cross can still pull of things like THIS after getting come on and slammed and welcome to the fricking jammed.

Like. Holy shenanigans. He fricking cut off Killer’s arm. Do you realize how much strength it takes to cleanly cut off someone’s fricking limb?

Look at Dream, crying like that--this is just sad. Not to be Nightmare (which I’ve kind of been throughout this entire thing) but I can’t even begin with how pathetic and awful it is to rely on someone so much weaker than you for support. Cross is injured and bleeding; he’s dying. DYING. Dream clearly isn’t hurt as badly and and there he is, crying and clinging to his knight in fluffy armor.

Then again, he just got stabbed in the foot with a knife, which is definitely painful, and Cross probably got used to shutting out pain (not to mention is probably high on adrenaline), but still. These HP numbers are starting to get me questioning this, because earlier it was established that HP really does indicate someone’s physical ability.

And remember that thing about how hopes and dreams are what boost your defense and HP? Yeah. Dream has that on TOP of having 999 HP.

Oh, and there’s one more thing that I realized.

I remember when I was ranting about how Cross started dissing Nightmare and mentioning that Dream didn’t make a mistake he didn’t have any reason to, someone told me that he was trying to get on Nightmare’s nerves on purpose. Trying to make Nightmare hate him so Dream wouldn’t get hurt. I was like, Dream would never allow that. He still loves his brother. Cross clearly doesn’t care about that, which indicates a lack of respect for Dream, especially because we thought Dream was unconscious. But that brought us back to the fact that Nightmare just ruined a ‘perfect’ AU, and Cross was caught up in the moment, which is totally understandable, but…

But, surprise surprise, Dream wasn’t unconscious. And he wasn’t even badly injured yet! He was basically beat up like a kid in a schoolyard. Yeah, that’s unpleasant, but you’re still alive, and I’m sure that if you had the will, you could at least communicate. Dream didn’t even do anything while he still had the chance. While he still had the power to walk. You’d think with all that HP, he’d have a stronger resolve to like, you know, do something.

Ah, gosh. I’m sorry. That kinda turned into another rant. It wasn’t supposed to.

Sorry if I didn’t end up making any points with this. It was pretty fun to make though, and you can feel free to laugh at my inbetween comedic reactions to things.

If you’ll excuse me… I gotta go work on WW Dreamtale.

[popblank]

Thoughts on the Eurovision 2017 Grand Final (late, as usual):

The individual country introductions/Parade of Nations at the beginning of the show might be my favorite obvious change that the show has made in the last five years. The screens were put to good use, and with the camera work it made it look like every contestant materialized from the darkness in a shower of glitter and confetti under an enormous image of their national flag.  Did the announcer’s mic cut out a couple of times? I didn’t hear him announce Belarus or Armenia.

I don’t have a lot of new comments on the semifinal qualifiers.  In general I liked them better than I did in the semi, possibly because of repeated viewing and possibly because the performances were actually better.

Israel, IMRI, “I Feel Alive” – Good choice of high-energy song to start things off. 

Poland, Kasia Moś – Strong vocal.

Belarus, Naviband, “Story of My Life” – Awwww.

Austria, Nathan Trent, “Running on Air” – Definitely more relaxed, and better for it I think.

Armenia, Artsvik, “Fly With Me” – She really holds my attention.

The Netherlands, OG3NE, “Lights and Shadows” – Staging is kind of literal, in multiple senses of the word.

Moldova, Sunstroke Project, “Hey Mamma” – Still well done.

Hungary, Joci Pápai, “Origo” – I like this much better as a live performance than audio-only.  (I was inconsistent about paying attention to visuals in the official videos.)

Italy, Francesco Gabbani, “Occidentali’s Karma” – I am not sure this staging (EDIT: and camera work) helped the song.  It was constantly minimizing one of the strongest elements of the performance – Francesco himself.  

Denmark, Anya, “Where I Am” – Tough spot in the running order.

Portugal, Salvador Sobral, “Amar Pelos Dois” – I had barely noticed the backdrop of trees, but it was very nice.  I think his singing was stronger this time.

Azerbaijan, Dihaj, “Skeletons” – Also in a tough spot.  Probably my favorite entry from Azerbaijan.

Croatia, Jacques Houdek, “My Friend” – I preferred the feeling of the first music video (the one with the writing).

Australia, Isaiah, “Don’t Come Easy” – Better singing this time but I still don’t understand the stage presentation.

Greece, Demy, “This is Love” – This is fine.

Spain, Manel Navarro, “Do It for Your Lover” – This would be perfectly pleasant if not for the chorus (and that unfortunate screech).

Norway, JOWST, “Grab the Moment” – That was fine. 

United Kingdom, Lucie Jones, “Never Give Up On You” – Not bad.  I was feeling more positive after the semifinal preview clip, while this seemed a tiny bit overwrought.  But it sounded pretty good and the staging looked good, and it appears to have been a solid effort.  

Cyprus, Hovig, “Gravity” – (shrug)

Romania, Ilinca feat. Alex Florea, “Yodel It!” – Kiss was a little awkward.

Germany, Levina, “Perfect Life” – Liked the camera shot that came down through the chandelier lighting contraption thing.  Liked the color scheme, though as a visual presentation it was very restrained.  Nice but not a standout.

Ukraine, O. Torvald, “Time” – Guitar break was the best part. Did not really understand the giant head, even when it was explained in the semifinal preview.

Belgium, Blanche, “City Lights” – She looked so much more comfortable on stage.  What the staging said to me: if you did want to take her hand, you’d have to get through all these barriers around her – the swirling triangle mesh (which seems to pop from the screen thanks to the display and lighting effects), the whirlpool on the floor, the cage of lights, the triangle ring, all the while trying to avoid upsetting the giant pulsing orb behind her.  Sounds kind of like a video game but it works as a metaphor.

Sweden, Robin Bengtsson, “I Can’t Go On” – This is at least my sixth time watching this on a livestream and it just isn’t  song I need to hear that often.

(EDIT: oops I forgot to add a comment on Bulgaria)

Bulgaria, Kristian Kostov, “Beautiful Mess” – I think Bulgaria and Australia would have had similar goals as far as presentation, and I think Bulgaria executed better.

France, Alma, “Requiem” – While I liked the background graphics, couldn’t they have done a bit more?  

On the results:

Happy for Portugal.  One unexpected side effect of this year’s competition is that I am inclined to look up Luísa Sobral’s music.

Befuddled by Bulgaria.  For whatever reason, this song has barely made an impression on me.  (Yet I occasionally find last year’s “Soldiers of Love” playing in a loop in my head.  My mind can be a mystery.)

Surprised and happy for Belgium.  Fourth place is considerably better than I expected after the semi.

Surprised that Italy didn’t end up closer to the top given the expectations.  Later on I watched the Sanremo performance and realized it had some of the same graphics (I had only watched it once before) – but with much, much more focus on Francesco.  Could Italy have gotten a better result if they’d used fewer shots where he was a barely-visible dot on the stage?  I think so.

Belarus and Armenia, not even on the left side of the board.  Europe, why?

On the whole it was a pretty good show and not that bad a year for songs, even if none of them turned out to be as all-consuming as “If Love Was a Crime.” I don’t plan to buy the album, but I’ve already bought "City Lights” and may get a few of the other individual songs.

[silver-soliloquy]

So I actually do have very late notes from last week’s reading! Uh, oops, I’m really slow at translating notes into semi-coherent form apparently

XXXVI

o   Carnival time!

o   Dumas seems to be going for a ~demonic debauchery~ angle here, but tbh costumes and confetti and flowers and parades seem like a pretty good time?  okay

o   Why won’t Edmond get down from his fancy window? I want someone to throw an egg at him

o   Albert finally gets some flirting in!  Well done Albert!  Franz’s fond teasing is both hilarious and adorable

o   Franz apparently really wants us to know that Albert’s peasant costume is really hot?  OKAY THEN FRANZ

o   I’m kind of curious about how much regional variation in dress there was that you can specifically do costumes of peasants from specific areas and expect them to be recognized?

o   “I AM IN LOVE” Albert declares after like 3 days of chucking flowers back and forth with a girl, what a nerd

o   Franz is also “a true Byronic hero” apparently? I am a little skeptical of this, he’s not extra enough

o   Admittedly it’s been a while since I read any Byron, I should maybe brush up since they keep referencing him ALL THE TIME

o   If anyone knows of any articles and suchlike on the relationship between the French and English Romantics I would really love to read that

o   I love that Robin Buss keeps calling out Dumas’s timeline inconsistencies in the footnotes, it’s both hilarious and informative!

o   “he himself would prefer not to be in Paris when the count was there” thus proving that Franz is the smartest person in this novel

o   The whole scene with the moccoletti is absolutely gorgeous, and I love that the carnival ends with as sudden a mood shift as it began—from horror at the execution into revelry and then into darkness and melancholy just like that

XXXVII (the roman numerals are getting kind of ridiculous)

o   FRANZ WHY DID YOU LET HIM GO BY HIMSELF, YOU KNOW HE’S THE MOST TROUBLE-PRONE PERSON IN EXISTENCE OF COURSE HE WALKED RIGHT INTO A TRAP

o   Okay so I’m assuming Edmond arranged for the kidnapping, but was his plan actually just to loan Franz the money or was he actually counting on Franz knowing that he knew the bandits so he could go play the savior without having to suggest it himself?  Your chessmastering gives me a headache, Edmond

o   The thing where he pretends to be surprised that Peppino remembers him saving his life a whole WEEK ago seems…significant

o   I’m glad Teresa is still having fun at parties, although I have a lot of questions about how her life is going as the mistress of the bandit king

o   I feel like Edmond definitely meant for Albert to have to sit and ponder his fate all night, given his penchant for absolute-last-minute saves

o   IS VAMPA IN ON THIS WHOLE BIT OF THEATRE??? EXPLAIN YOURSELF EDMOND

o   Albert is entirely too chill about this whole affair and I can’t stop laughing

o   Franz asking the head bandit for book recs before he goes: EVEN MORE HILARIOUS

o   Okay so by Edmond’s messed-up theories about a person’s reaction to imminent death revealing their True Character, I think Albert did pretty darn well there?  Obviously he didn’t have to wait till the exact moment of death before being saved like poor Morrel (what the hell Edmond), but if this was intended as a test of Albert’s character as well as a way to get him in the count’s debt he should’ve passed with flying colors!  And yet Edmond still can barely deal with shaking his hand :(

o   PLEASE DON’T HURT THIS NICE KID, EDMOND

XXXVIII

o   “I wanted to demonstrate something to those bandits, namely that while people fight one another in every country in the world, only the Frenchman jests as he fights” okay this was hilarious until I thought about “the besieged were running out of cartridges but not out of witticisms; in this whirlwind of the sepulcher in which they found themselves, they laughed” and now I might be crying a little bit

o   Franz is finally realizing that leaving Albert alone with the count is a bad idea!  Well done, Franz!  One near-death experience per vacation is plenty

o   NOW PLEASE GO BACK TO PARIS WITH ALBERT AND KEEP AN EYE ON HIM, THE COUNT’S ~PLANS~ ARE CLEARLY NOTHING GOOD

o   “Worried about the rendez-vous!  I never!  Are you mad, my dear Franz?”  ALBERT THE LAST RENDEZVOUS HE LET YOU GO ON ENDED IN YOU GETTING KIDNAPPED AND ALMOST MURDERED.  THAT WAS LITERALLY LAST NIGHT.  DUDE.

o   Nooooo Franz don’t leave :((((

XXXIX

o   Yay Paris!!

o   YAY MORE FRIENDS!!

o   I…still do not really understand what Debray’s job is, but he’s sure entertaining

o   *lowkey ships Debray/Beauchamp*

o   WHY DID CHATEU-RENAUD AND FRANZ FIGHT A DUEL THOUGH, I NEED MORE OF THIS BACKSTORY

o   How does Franz still think of himself as The Reasonable One when he apparently gets into duels with his close friends for flimsy enough reasons that no one can remember what that was even about later oh my god

o   I love how Albert solemnly swore not to tell anyone about Franz’s hash adventures at Monte Cristo and then turns around and tells literally everyone he knows at the first available opportunity

o   I don’t actually have that much to say about this chapter except that I love all the banter and teasing SO MUCH, these kids are all so delightful and I hope we see much more of them

o   Okay so Edmond is still clearly very fond of Maximilien in his weird creepy way, and he seems surprised to see him but he doesn’t really react to fact that his friend’s kid is friends with his enemy’s kid? I’m interested that that didn’t get more of a spotlight, since that seems like it’s going to be an Issue with Maximilien later in the book?

XI

o   Edmond does surprisingly well with being thrown into the Baby Dandy Bffs crowd first thing in the morning, that seems like kind of a weird way to introduce someone to ~society~ but our Count is unruffleable as ever!

o   “how do you go without food and sleep for that long????” “oh, drugs” EDMOND THAT IS NOT HEALTHY WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS

o   Wait so that was Haydee whose freedom Edmond bought with the giant ridiculous emerald, right?

o   Edmond quit trolling poor Maximilien

o   “They did not know whether Monte Cristo was play-acting, but everything that this man said, despite his eccentricity, was delivered in such a simple tone that it was impossible to suspect him of anything” OH BOY

o   Edmond sure is Weird about Haydee

XLI

o   Albert has Notre Dame de Paris fanart on his walls oh my gosh what a cutie

o   Hi Delacroix!!  This is about the time he was bopping around Morocco fueling everyone’s interest in Orientalism, right? (thanks a lot, Delacroix)

o   Dauzat’s Orientalism travel art isn’t actually that bad, he seems more interested in intricate architecture and really big rocks than creepily exoticizecd people.  And he did Sinbad fanart! (although not till the 1860s I think)

o   On the other hand, probably I’m just relieved that he’s not Jean-Leon Gerome levels of terrible, I really hate that guy

o   ANYWAYS ART HISTORY NERD TANGENT OVER

o   Wait no it’s not, the class-as-costume thing from carnival getting lampshaded in the portrait of Mercedes is super interesting—also that Albert apparently either doesn’t recognize the style or doesn’t know his parents’ history?  Either way there’s so much disguise in this book I just want to take note of Mercedes’ original identity represented through her poor Catalan clothes being taken for another disguise

o   Also it’s just really cute that Albert keeps a portrait of his mom in his room

o   …Antoine-Jean Gros is the same one as Grantaire’s ex-teacher, yes?  Is there room for crossovers here because I would like Grantaire and Albert to be friends please

o   Okay so the thing with Albert’s family’s coat of arms and his nobility on his father’s side—did I miss something about Ferdinand or did he just totally make all this up after he got rich and titled??

o   Mercedes is still the best!!!

o   THIS GUY IS SKETCHY, literally everyone screams at Albert as he cheerfully ignores them

o   Nothing to add to the last chapters except that Edmond apparently thinks it’s really entertaining to torment his servants, nice

[dickie-gayson]

I was tagged by @timdrakeothy ! thank you<3

Rules: Answer the questions and tag 20 blogs you want to get to know better

Nicknames: Vicky, Vick, Tori, any form of nickname for Victoria really lmao

Star sign: Sagittarius

Height: 5′3"

Time right now: 3:47 am (oops lmfao)

Last thing you googled: eidolon (it was for a writing lol surprise)

Fave music artist: music questions for me are The Worst™ bcus i have so many favs. Uuhh...I really love Loreena McKennit, Dean Martin, The Glitch Mob, Breaking Ben, A7x, 10 Years

Song stuck in my head: Kind of a mashup between Howl by Florence + the Machines and City of the Dead by Eurielle 

Last movie I watched: Oh jeeze...uh I think Assassins Creed

Last tv show I watched: Young Justice?? I don’t really watch much tv so it’s p safe to assume it was YJ lmao

What I’m wearing right now: i, too, am wearing a black batman shirt with a yellow bat symbol on the chest and a lil yellow utility belt near the waist. It’s got a cape that can velcro on but idk where it went lol annnd a pair of sweatpants

When I created this blog: Uhh apparently 2013 but i didnt actually start doing anything with it til prob late 2015

The kind of stuff I post: DC, mainly Batfam, political stuff, memes and shitty jokes, Rooster Teeth stuff (like RvB, RWBY, AH, etc.), annnd Video Games. Mainly that stuff, tho there’s random shit, like Aesthetics™ and music erry now and again. 

Do I get asks regularly? nah, not regularly, every now and again. im horrible at communicating and making connections tbh lmao

Why did I choose my url: i have a shitty sense of humor and love Dick Grayson (dick jokes, man, dick jokes) also, he’s at least a lil Gay, we all know it

Gender: cisfemale

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw every time im tested cus im a fckn NEEERD. Wampus for the Ilvermorny sorting -finger guns-

Pokémon team: tbh i haven’t played Pokémon since i was really little. i was looking to get Go on my phone but they didn’t have it for windows phones when i checked :\\

Favorite color: ooh i love blue and purple

Average hours of sleep: idk, my sleep schedule is so utterly fucked. i’ll go two days without sleep or sleep twelve hours a day. I’m also a very, very light sleeper who wakes up from being stared at or a phone ringing two floors down, so my sleeping is highly inconsistent. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lucky number: 9, me thinks

Favorite characters: Dick Grayson - DC (whoa fuckn surprised u guys, didn’t I?); legit everyone in the Batfam, but im too lazy to write them, yall know who i mean. Kaldur’ahm (Young Justice/DC), Mera (DC), Arthur Curry (DC), Rose Wilson (DC), Donna Troy (DC), Johnny Gat (Saints Row), Matt Miller (Saints Row), Garrus Vakarian (Mass Effect), Thane Krios (Mass Effect), Kal’Reegar (Mass Effect), Zevran Arainai (Dragon Age), Fenris (Dragon Age), Carver Hawke (Dragon Age), Ezio Auditore (Assassins Creed), Leonard Church (RvB), Agent North (RvB), Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY), Roman Torchwick (RWBY), Lie Ren (RWBY), Will Solace (PJatO), Percy Jackson (PJatO), Nico di Angelo (PJatO), Butch Deloria (Fallout 3), Harkness (Fallout 3), Craig Boone (Fallout New Vegas), Nick Valentine (Fallout 4) etc. etc. i’ll stop here bcus i apparently don’t know how to actually pick favorites lmfao

Dream job: a lonely hermit in the middle of the woods who's sole job is to make trespassers think the forest is haunted. If not that, then author

Number of blankets I sleep with: one

Following: 963 lmao

Tagging oh god twenty of you -sweats- alrighty

@damianvayne @aoida-blue @rockin-robinz  @robiiins @bootylands @sluttydickgrayson @raven-song-the-second @lockey-locke  @slapbrucewayne @ltheravenl @smokesforwolves @carverrhawkee @bitchwaynes @haunt-the-stars @lccney-t @dickiegayson @myfavrobin  @agent-dick-grayson @shiirro @damienswayne

Sorry to anyone who was tagged or doesn’t want to do it! You absolutely don’t have to if you don’t wanna -finger guns- if you want me to take you off here, just lemme know!

[subparatbestcomics]

Artist’s Commentary

Rather than a new page this week, I will instead be reviewing and providing commentary for the previous 10 pages published. For the most part I will be going over my own mistakes, as well as explaining some of the choices made, and whether or not they worked. Before we start however, I would like to note these pages are not complete, but more of a rough draft. There are several reasons for this. One major reason, is that it has been several years since I have drawn with any regularity. Producing a page each week will, I hope, shake off the rust. Additionally, neither my or my brother's hardware is up to the task of rendering RFO. One day, RFO may see an updated version that better fits our mutual vision of this project. And so, the commentary begins. RFO 1 -Jude Anderson lives in a poor neighborhood; identical row houses with unkempt lawns and no decoration outside. -My first mistake was leaving the sky blank. Its meant to be near midnight, but the bright sky and lack of shading imply otherwise. -Jude's front door and the paneling on it will change in scale just about every panel. Partly, this is because there was no consistent model. -Jude's house -interior and exterior- were modeled in Lego Digital Designer. -Jude's house number is 616, a less popular interpretation of the number of the beast. -My original attempt at this was painted in photoshop. The foreshortened fences were an absolute nightmare. I'm still not too happy about them as drawn now, but its still better than it was. -I forgot to shade the first floor window shutters. Oops. RFO 2 -Jude is whistling the ever popular 'Happy Birthday'. I’m not totally certain about the notation here, because I haven't had to read music since middle school. (side note: This song recently entered the public domain) -Jude's outfit was inspired by Back to the Future's Marty McFly. -I forgot to put a candle in the birthday apple pie. -You may notice Jude has no visible fridge in his kitchen. Jude cant afford a full fridge, or fit it in his kitchen. Instead, anything he needs cold is kept in a basement mini-fridge. -Jude’s facial features and hair take inspiration from Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers of Scooby Doo. -You may notice the quality of characters hands changing. Hands are still difficult for me, but I'm hoping to improve. -My brother pointed out that the carpet in Jude's living room looks like grass. I'm not really certain how one draws carpet. -The leftmost painting depicts two figures with an arm around the others shoulder. A third figure appears later, but there is no story significance, I just forgot what it was supposed to be. RFO 3 -The overly enthusiastic individual at Jude's door is meant to be androgynous. I feel I made them a little too masculine -The design on the handbag clearly denotes a christian denomination, although not any specific one. I wanted it to be generic, but evocative of several things. (a cross, a sword, an angel, a shooting star, etc) -While it was done primarily to help them stand out, the white outline around the stranger nicely implies a holy glow. -I'm most proud of this page, and how uncomfortable and annoyed Jude is by this stranger interrupting his birthday and asking about religion at midnight. -Several of these pages were first sketched in faint colored pencil. Its not meant to show up when scanned, but clearly that didn't work quite as advertised. -You may notice proportions are inconsistent, especially regarding head size. Like most of my mistakes, I did not notice until it was already too late to fix without starting the whole page over. -The handbag is unshaded in the last panel. RFO 4 -I'm not sure how I feel about these sound effects in retrospect. I'm still toying with how they work. -One habit I need to break is placing speech bubbles too close to the papers edge. The scanner sometimes cuts them! -As Jude gets more confused and frustrated by strangers popping up at or in his house, his hair gets wilder. -Jude's house layout is similar to several I personally have been in. RFO 5 -I'm not happy at all with the posing of the officer; they're so stiff and lifeless. While I could try to pass it off as part of the stranger's idea of how a police officer asks, the truth is that even when my skills weren't rusty; posing was never my strong suit. -Some panels have blank backgrounds partly due to laziness on my part, and partly so the paper could be held without smearing -The officer's nametag reads 'GATES'.This, along with his unusual badge and emblems, indicate that this is still the same person who was at Jude's door only a minute before. RFO 6 -I don't have much to say about this page, except that the officers uniform is visibly becoming simpler by the panel. This is because drawing those details was hurting my wrist. In the future I will try to be more economical with character design. RFO 7 -If the past ten weeks have taught me anything, its that I should plan out what I'm going to do more thoroughly. Jude's speech balloon was drawn first, and ended up over the other man's crotch. Now it looks stupid. -The officer (stranger) tends to be to Jude left, while the other man tends to the right. -The middle left panel is another I'm proud of, not for any major thing, but because tilting the head is difficult for me to do on purpose; especially when the part of the head where the jaw meets the neck is visible, but I think I did okay here. -The hard angles and edges of the final speech balloon show the officer is stern and serious. It is also shaped like a stop sign. RFO 8 -While the officer is still left of Jude (to the viewer), he is now right of the other man. Left positioning in RFO signifies benevolence, right signifies malice. It could have been the opposite just as easily, but sometimes you have to make an arbitrary choice for theming purposes. -The other man's hair forms horns on the sides and a tail in the back whereas the officer's (stranger's) hair is more flowing and wing-like. -Jude only owns one other jacket, as seen in his barren closet. -The officer's proportions in the bottom left are so off, I'm not sure why I thought it looked okay. -The other man's outfit and personality are meant to evoke a stereotypical used car salesman. Also Rodney Dangerfield! RFO 9 -Not much to say here. I will continue to simplify the style until an equilibrium is met between making things look good versus not destroying my wrist. -Also, the other man's sleeve in the first panel is missing its vertical stripes. RFO 10 -Jude's face in the last panel seems off to me. I don't quite know why, and I'm the one who drew it. -When I originally planned this page out, there was too much vertical space. It would have left me either having to draw their legs (which would been difficult with the furniture in the scene at leg height) or leaving a terrible amount of dead air above their heads. Instead, I tried to do something more visually interesting with that negative space, by making the last two panels more diagonal than horizontal.                                                                                                                                       Jacob Birmingham

[stellahibernis]

Sunday Snippets, Jan 8th, 2017

This has been a week of posting and editing, no actual writing at all (well, creative writing anyway, I did write stuff at work but that really doesn’t count), which feels very weird. 

I managed to be on schedule and post If There’s a Reason I’m Still Alive as planned. Actually very painlessly too, didn’t have to stay up late with it at any point.

We had a three day weekend, during which I was cat sitting and tackled again my long post CACW fic. I keep calling it that but I might as well mention that the working title that I’ve been using for the tag will be the final title; More Colors Than We Can See.

As I mentioned last week, I’ve let it sit for about a month, and now I was just reading it to see how it holds together and marking the major edits I need to do. Not the grammar and sentence structure things, just the ones to do with the content. It’s really hard btw to read the first draft and not do anything with the other stuff, just to ignore my brain going, “oh that’s a funny typing error, oops the tenses are messed up here” etc etc. 

I’m not quite through with it yet, it’s slower going than I expected, but I can say it actually holds together better than I expected. I mean, I knew there would be inconsistencies just because it’s so long, but a lot less than expected, and mostly things that are fairly easy to edit. So far I’ve only come up with one additional scene that I need to write (although pretty essential, I’m sort of shaking my head at myself for not having done it yet). No major rewrites though, so I’m pretty thrilled.

Next I’ll do the edits for the content, and then the rest of the editing. I’m not going to say anything about the posting schedule yet, because it’s kind of hard to estimate, for two reasons, which I’ll get to soon. I’d like to have it all done and posted by the end of the February, but we’ll see.

The schedule is hard to pin down, even if I could make an estimate based on how fast the editing process usually goes, because this is so long I just can’t do it all in one go, I’d start flipping tables soon. So I’ll more than likely do some other writing among the editing, depending on how the muses will. Like I mentioned last week, my hands are kind of itching to get on with some other stories.

Secondly, I’m about to have at least five weeks from hell at work starting immediately. Just really busy with a couple of projects we have, which means I’ll be more tired than usual. Hence my writing time too will be more limited. I’ll do my weekly check ups here, and try and not complain too much in them:D