#ok i'm cleaning it up and fixing it digitally

[beesinspades]

happy pride month from vash the stampede!!!! 💜 seeing all the ace vash art makes me so happy I wanted to contribute!

[fox-teeth]

Continuing my final days of ShortBox Comics Fair posts (first post here) about the process of bringing "The Maker of Grave-Goods" from idea to completion here, where I'll discuss how I take a page of comics from outline to final art.

So after writing an outline I create lots of these messy stream-of-consciousness "sketch pages" where I write/revise the script, sketch out potential panels, and start fitting them into thumbnails simultaneously. I've never written a script before drawing--the two are too thoroughly linked for me.

I then draw big thumbnails (layouts?). I usually do these at print size on templates I print out as a way to make sure all the text and details will fit/look OK at the final size. This comic was digital and this stage was mostly done in a library so I just roughed things, 2 pages to an 8.5x11 sheet.

After I completed the thumbs and did some revisions on the script, had it copy edited, etc. I moved on to pencils. I printed templates with different divisions (fourths, thirds, etc.) for reference on legal size paper, hand lettered it using an Ames guide, and drew the art using 2B and col-erase pencils. (Unfortunately the paper I used for this was awful, too thin, just the worst)

I inked the pages on nicer paper (Strathmore 400 vellum bristol) using a lightbox. I mostly used Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes sized 000-0 and Winsor & Newton india ink; but for the lettering and small details I used Japanese nibs (Nihonji for lettering, g nibs & maru for drawing) and speedball ink. And Delter 2 ink for white fixes.

Next is what I think is the most boring part: scanning, dropping images into templates, cleaning up, re-kerning a lot the hand lettered text, to get the traditional inks ready for digital coloring. (Thanks to my partner Sam for assisting with clean-up!)

For the coloring, I wanted to bridge what I'm known for (risograph comics) with digital so decided to treat this comic like a faux two-color riso. I made up two ink colors, "grape" and "phthalo green" and created a digital riso color chart to colorpick from (left) Compare to a real printed one at right.

The coloring uses only colors on that chart and lots of color holds, gradients, big flat spot colors, and even some simulated overprinting like the 2nd panel on the left page. And a noise filter for texture on top. Overall I'm really happy with the coloring--it looks exactly how I wanted it to.

This is pretty typical of how I make comics--I hope it was informative especially if you're interested in traditional media comics making.

Buy "The Maker of Grave-Goods" on ShortBox Comics Fair

[kerubimcrepin]

LIVEBLOG: Dofus Novel 4, The Thirsty Beheader

I apologize for my absence. Translating this novel has burned me out from the fandom in a pretty major way, and I also got into a different fandom in the meantime and am, like, three 4k word chapters deep into a longfic for said new fandom. Besides that, I had a depressive episode and went insane for a while. Basically, I've been a bit busy.

At the same time I release this post, I have uploaded the new, updated versions of both translations (since this liveblog is mostly a reason for me to reread and fix stuff) to MEGA and VK, so I recommend you download the new versions!

I will mostly be copying the text directly, to bypass tumblr's image restriction, but some screenshots will be provided. For example:

If pride is a sin, then the typesetting and cleaning I went through with this book will have me go to hell after I die. (I don't think I'm a master, but I did a pretty good job, ok?)

A cart had just entered the District of the Lost Steps. It stopped in front of the store, as two Srams* got out.

I love the internal consistency of the street being named here. Thank you, author of this book, for caring.

“Are you sure about this,” asked the little guy, “Is this really the right place?” “Yeah,” replied the tall one, “There aren't thirty-six Shushu* houses in the neighborhood.”

LMAO this is something Kerubim is actually known for, huh?

At the time that this book takes place in, joris can't read very well. Cute...

Also, hehe... I am pretty proud of the way this part of the book was cleaned + the font + the layers and colors and opacity I applied to the text, to make it fit in with the paper.

^^^ This is me btw, during this entire post. ^^^

The entirety of the epilogue and prologue are typed on top of cleaned backgrounds sourced from the scan. The rest of the book is typed in front of a digital background. This artistic choice was made because....... You can't set different pages to be different colors in word. You have to overlay some image or a textbox, if you want a page to be a different color.

Anyway — I had a lot of fun searching for the fonts from this book! (and far less fun searching for appropriate fonts for the Russian translation since none of the fonts this book uses have cyrilic versions...)

The fonts this book uses are: Dimbo, Chelsea Market, and Aleo. Google them for all your Dofus Aux Tresors de Kerubim related needs.

The fonts I chose to use in the russian translation are: Brydan Write, Correction Brush, Curinn, and Itim. I just had to make do with what I had, ok?

“My Papycha said it's urgent!” exclaimed Joris, “He could be in danger. Maybe he's being attacked by the Thirsty!” Even Pupuce looked worried. Simone reread the message, thinking out loud: “The Huffing Bow Wow tavern is in the Pandawa district... There's plenty of bamboo milk there. Maybe the neighborhood is overrun by the Thirsters?” “And soon, the whole city will be under attack!” concluded Joris.

Nobody knows how to escalate a situation better than a 7yo with anxiety. God bless <3

The Ecaflip goes full "war machine" mode: he cuts and slices through the living dead for the entire night, and when the golden disk of the sun finally rises over the horizon, the scenery is carpeted with the Thirsty. The region is saved. Kerubim becomes a legend. To thank him, the local lord offers him the... “Hey... Joris? Are you listening?” asked Simone. She began shaking the boy, who, abruptly snapping out of his reverie, mumbled: “Huh? What?”

Joris is so normal. So sane.

“Bye-bye,” added Bowiknif. But Luis slammed the door in their faces, roaring: “You're not going anywhere!” “Oh yeah?” hissed Bakstab, “Is that so?” “Would you like us to chop up your friends with a Brakmarian steel sword of Chouque?” questioned the other, “Or with Samuel J. Axe?” Luis muttered what sounded like a string of expletives, before reluctantly opening the door to the two robbers, who bolted out without further ado.

I'm LITERALLY fucking insane about this.

“I'm sorry,” said Luis, “I tried to hold them back, but...” “We know, we saw everything,” the girl cut him off, “You did your best, Luis.”

Actually deranging. Also explains why Luis did fuckall about Sipho, Harebourg, and Ush — there's just not much he can actually do.

She spotted a Dragoturkey standing near a trough. In two strides, she reached the animal, untied it, and climbed onto its back like an experienced Dragogirl*. “Let’s go!” she said to the boy.

This once again raises a some questions about Simone's past — when did she learn how to ride dragoturkeys? Is it the same reason why she knows how to fight, at least a little?

Then again, maybe she's just being an Osamodas here.

I love, love, love the Simone&Joris content in this book. Their bond is so important to me... She's the aunt who stepped up.

This art is so nice...

They had run like mad through half the city, arrived at the wrong address, turned back just as a thunderstorm broke out, wandered around in the rain in the Pandawa district, and FINALLY arrived at the Huffing Bow Wow Tavern, a large, long building with a thatched roof.

They're so fucking stupid. I love them.

“Ah, there you are!” called out Kerubim, “I almost thought you’d make me wait some more!”

I wish english also had the phrase "I almost thought you'd be late" as a cunty response when someone's an hour or three late to an event. I don't think the english translation I made conveys the sheer frustration.

Kerubim raised an eyebrow — a perfect copy of the circumflex accent:

I struggled with this part a lot in russian sjfkgdfg. It made me nerd out a little bit too.

I didn't have a lot of comments here, but eh. It was nice to finally get this over with dfjgkdsfg.

[sasaleletrebol]

I found you by total accident…

Meet my OC Luna! This is the only good drawing I have of her, and I forgot the ink splotch on her cheek.. but I’m to lazy to fix it lol

I’m still learning how to draw skeletons, so if you have any tips I’d love to hear them TvT

Your art is very edible btw :D

WHAT'S UP POOKIE? DID YOU THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOUR CHILD? NUH-HUH

Two versions because I didn't know what to do for the background lol

So... you discover I can't draw wings... you... why

Nah, nvm. It was a lot of fun and also I really like dragons but can't draw them lololololololololol

So... Tips???? Man I wish I knew how to draw skeletons too. But ahí te va some stuff that help me be a little good at it:

Ok, I'm not the biggest expert on this. But I'll try my best!

I'll devide it in sections

Study: If possible try to understand the basics of the real thing. Ya know, so your brain have a more clear vision of what your hands are going to draw.

Studying is (for me) an important part of the creative process. It's the "why are things the way they are?". Once it's explained, you'll have more confidence in what you're going to do.

Big Shapes: Now, obviously you're not going to remember all those bones by heart to draw a silly skeleton. That's what big shapes are for.

Try to look at them not as lines, but as objects. Objects have perspective. It doesn't have to be exaggerated or perfect. But knowing it can greatly improve your drawing skills.

I'll recomend watching some tutorials or drawing practices for this.

Details: this it's the fun part! Now our skeleton has a face! Yipie!.

Here I want you to remember to FLIP THE CANVAS NOW OR LAMENT IN THE COLORING. Now we are working with finer lines (depending on your style) for the smaller but not less important part of your work.

Technically it's the "lineart", but I don't know what that is *proceeds to whistle at just cleaning the sketch (but that's personal taste)*.

Style: Here's where personal taste comes into place. It's the pencils that you use, the lines you work with, what's best looking aesthetically to you.

I'll add and extra tip here... it's... STEALING!!! MUAHAHAHAJ. Ok no. Don't do that. What I mean by "stealing" is to see references of styles that you really like and try to implement elements of them in your work!

For example my biggest Inspirations are Jakei, x_nzlian and fanarts I really like!. I study really deep what I most like about those styles and use it to improve my own!

Like, how they draw the noses, the eyes, the shapes of the mouth they use, how they draw clothes interacting with the bones.

Take care and have fun. Don't compare yourself to others. Don't be sad if it doesn't work at the first try. Just keep going, keep learning, keep looking, learn from your mistakes and take care of your hand omg please. Do some wirst warm ups (that you can look up on YouTube and stuff) before grabbing a pencil. And your eyes, if you're a digital artist. DON'T DRAW ON A PURE WHITE CANVAS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

And also you can do whatever the heck you want! Don't follow all of this at the point of the letter. What I mean it's have fun and do whatever suits best for you. I'm just some silly clover in the internet who thinks that they know what they're doing.

That's it. Sorry if it is too long uuuhhh. Here, you got a cookie as a reward for reading all of that rambling→🍪. Thank you, and take care of yourself💕

[marzbix-crystal]

[Image ID: A page of annotated and fully-coloured digital drawings featuring an interpretation of the character Apophyllite from Land of the Lustrous, on the right is a full body drawing of the character facing the right, they have grey-blue hair that reaches their chin with one side partially covering their face, they wear the winter uniform with a shirt, tie, puffy sleeves, flared shorts, and flat shoes with bows on them, they also wear white knee-socks and elbow-length gloves, In the lower centre is a headshot of Apophyllite looking towards the left with their hair obscuring their face, in the lower left is a stylized drawing of them with one hand on their hip and the other holding a broom, finally in the top left is an image of Apophyllite crystals, and a Manga screenshot depicting a Lunarian mentioning the gem, with a red circle and arrows pointing to the name. /End ID]. Annotations will be rewritten below

APOPHYLLITE She/Her Pronouns Mohs Hardness: 4.5 Nicknames: Phyll or Poppy The Fourth Elder Gem. She pulled everyone together when Kongo Sensei lost consciousness. She's a lovely gem, but very strict on how she runs things- she's always fussing the youngsters about their uniforms, sleeping quarters, and even their posture. Apophyllite is a jack of all trades, she can teach, fix broken gems, mend clothes, she can even make quality paper. But she prefers cleaning above all else- dirt and clutter beware!! Some stuff I didn't write on the drawing: She is the Head Cleaner, and while she has a team of cleaners to keep the school tidy all year-round, she begins rallying every gem to get things (mostly) spotless before winter hits.

[Image ID: A page of annotated and fully-coloured digital drawings featuring an interpretation of the character Pink Fluorite from Land of the Lustrous, on the right is a full body drawing of the character facing the right with their head turned to the left, they have long, sleek, reddish pink hair that hangs around their shoulders like a scarf with a strand of hair drooping from the top of their head, they wear a suit with a waistcoat, shirt, tie, rolled-up sleeves, trousers, and high-heeled shoes, In the lower centre is a stylized doodle of Pink Fluorite from the waist up, they have their hands on their hips and they have a disgusted expression on their face, the word "disgusted" is written in bold letters on their left, in the lower left is a bust drawing of the character facing the left while looking over their shoulder at the viewer, their hair is tied into a bun, finally in the top left is an image of a Pink Fluorite crystal, and a Manga screenshot depicting a strategy board where the character Phosphophyllite mentions them, a red circle and arrows point to the name. /End ID]. Annotations will be rewritten below PINK FLUORITE She/He Pronouns Mohs Hardness: 4 No Nicknames: Use their full name or refer to as "Sir" A total etiquette freak, far too strict to be a Mediator, but she still does her best to uphold the rules to the best of her ability. He was once the Delinquents' worst nightmare, but he started to mellow out a while ago. She had a weird one-sided rivalry with Labradorite, but she has mostly grown out of it. Mostly. Several-hundred years shy of Elder Gem status, but he still pulls the age card like it's a badge once in a while. She's weirdly agile for a gem that doesn't fight. He often ties his hair up into a bun, a very prim and proper gem. Some stuff I didn't write on the drawing: Pink Fluorite is actually quite elusive nowadays, he's usually holed up in the Library, making sure everything is in the right place. Despite her cold demeanour, she gives pretty good advice to those looking for it. --------------------

ALRIGHT OK ALRIGHT!!! I'm so happy with these I posted them together because I didn't want to just, idk bloat?? my profile?? I don't know how to say it but ANYWAY I realise these are a bit messy but I don't really mind it? I got my thoughts down and that is what matters. All three of these gems (Sphalerite, Apophyllite, and Pink Fluorite) looked VERY different to when I first thought about them, it's a shame I didn't draft those out, but I' so so happy with how they ended up. Although it's been very hard not to write "Pink Floyd" instead of Pink Fluorite I will be doing some proper art soon ish, I have several ideas, but not not all of them will be pretty rock related, so if you're tuned into my other blogs you can keep an eye out if you want :]

[unova22]

Ok, so, here's an image of Mephiles i got Bing image creator to generate.

And here it is cleaned up to not have a mouth and with a more accurate muzzle and inside of ears color.

I used IbisPaint X to do the fixing, I generated it because I knew AI could do it justice, I left the streaks a more green teal because changing it would've been an absolute mess considering how I had to use the magic wand tool liberally to change the muzzle color, I'm gonna ask ChatGPT to gen me a nålebinding pattern for a Shadow the Hedgehog amigurumi and make Mephiles using it, I'm o e of those artists who use ai as a tool rather than a crutch to lean on, this was made just for the profile pic for a Mephiles bot on figgs.ai because I knew that it would be easier to generate the image. Also yes, my life is entwined with ai. I legit have a keyboard app so i can have a keyboard font close to VT Portable Remington, weed leaf digital keycaps and an image of Mephiles as the background of it. If I'm ever told i don't look autistic I'll just show the fucker my phone keyboard.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

So yeah...dentist.

The whole thing was just kinda mind boggling.

I had to go do Bunny Duty this morning, and got my inhaler at safeway pharm, which was fast. Came home and pissed away an hour or two and figured I should leave about 11am, since I had to go by the lab and give the vampires their blood. That would leave me plenty of time before the 12:30 check-in, 1pm appt.

Finding the dental clinic in Highland was daunting. I am used to just the building with the ER, for the elevator up to the Adult Medicine Clinic. The dental clinic is in the OLD hospital building...which I'd never been in. Down a flight of stairs, through a maze of hallways, two security checkpoints...I was pretty bug-eyed by the time i found the dental clinic.

Everything they do at Highland is 100% digital now, and that included things I had no idea about.

The assistant lady was very sweet, just came out and told her this was the first dental appointment I have had in over twelve years. A quick run-down of why I'm on SSI and use baking soda, coz I can't pay for toothpaste. So the dental Resident came in, and she, I can tell, is aghast at the mess that is my teeth. Did a little poking, asked where it was hurting, etc. and told the assistant lady to do the xrays.

So she leaves, and the assistant hauls out the old "Lead Apron", and lays it across me, and said OK, open wide and bite down when I tell you. I was confused, no nasty little cardboard things to cram in your jaw and bite down on , and I was looking around for the XRay machine. I figured she would go and get it. Surprise!

She picked up this thing that was about as big as a compact kitchen HAND MIXER, with a 5-inch diameter "cone of shame" and a flat piece of plexi where the blades of the mixer would be. Like a space blaster on The Jetsons, but a REAL "Ray Gun"!

She placed this plastic sensor thing in my mouth and told me to bite down, and put the mixer thingee against my head and clicked a trigger. About six seconds later, the goddamn xray of my goddamn teeth showed the fuck up on the computer screen! No more waiting for hours, no big glass plates, none of that.

And yes, a veritable cornucopia of crowns and fillings and much less pleasant findings were all there, worst of which was exactly what I figured: the back molar on left is cracked. Much poking and prodding. So much poking and prodding.

After the usual question about why my teeth are the color they are, she asked if I took Tetracycline as a kid, and I said, yes, along with every other antibiotic made between 1959 and 2000, and I also drink hot black coffee all day, and smoke only cannabis (when I can). I knew the Tetracycline turning teeth grey long ago, plus 60 years of asthma inhalers.

I told her that I gave up on having pretty teeth a long long time ago. I don't open my mouth when I smile, unless made to. I've always considered showing your teeth when you smile to be a sign of menace and aggression, another reason I don't.

Besides the busted molar, three cavities, probably more.

So the coolest part, besides all the Space-Age George-Jetson Dental Bling is that she came up with a game plan to fix things fairly quickly, and we start Aug. 7th with cleaning.

I've been instructed to brush my tongue. It must be hairy. lulz.

Oh, and the blood test results are now almost instantaneous: they were waiting for me in the MyChart by the time I got home.

Thank you Medi-Cal !

"California, Ah LUV YEW!"

[sluttention]

Warnings: 🔞

yandere? , graphic sex scene, dom/sub, facefucking, and other things

--

"strip"

as soon as I walk into his office he told me to strip, how typical. he must've been feeling down or stressed out from works.

so then i obey him, slowly i reach for the hems of the blouse and take it off of me then my skirt and hesitantly take it off

"hurry"

no matter how many times i',ve done this and countless time he already see me in nothing i still feel embarassed somehow to be completely naked in front of his figure sitting in his chair fully clothed in tailored suit with his eyes still glued to his phone, his hair up and his feet on the table.

then i fold my clothes and put it on his desk

"is everything ok at work, Hongjoong?"

i trembling as i ask him, trying to break the silence. then he took his eyes off of his phone and look at me, finally.

he walks slowly to me with his hand still holding the phone trying to call someone and his other hand guide me to lay on his desk

i can hear the call trying to connect to the other but my eyes never leave his beautiful face.

his other hand travel to my core and without warning enter the three digits in me, i yelp in pain trying to hold on to his hand as if i can at least make him least rough but to no good

"what the fuck Lee? i told you to fucking get it together"

things must be in chaos at work, he curses and swears about business over the phone but his finger seems to work on his own never reduce the pace, i try to hold my moan and put my hands over my lips so my moan won't escape and it still comes out in muffles

between his anger on the phone he take a chance to spit on me, he keep fingering me hard and when i feel like it's coming i try to get off of him but he pulls me by my ankle and go back to fingers me for a while then finally i come i scream in muffles again with tears running through my cheek.

he pulls his finger out and insert it into my mouth for me to suck it clean

"whatever, fix it"

then he turn off the phone and throw it on the table, he open his zipper and pull me by my hair to kneel in front of him

"suck my cock and get yourself off on my shoes"

"Hongjoong, i-"

he grips my chin in force to face him

"i'm having a bad day slut, don't make it worse"

and i can do nothing but obey him again, i take his length into my mouth and suck it while grinding myself on his leather dress boots. with tears still leaking off my eyes i look at his eyes and he grip my hair to push himself deeper in me with grunts here and there and his shoe press in between my legs, i tried to scream but his length doesnt do the justice, he guide my head back and forth until i hear the loudest groan and he come all over my chest.

"god look at you" he says still trying to catch breath seeing me helplessly lying on the floor with cums all over my chest "anyone who sees you will thought youre just a fucking cumdump"

he reach for me and toss me to lay on my back on his desk again and get his phone

he start to pound himself into me

i don't care anymore if people gonna hear me but the pain is so damn good to keep it to myself so i scream, i moan, i groan, i tried to stop him but he doesn't budge an inch. in fact, he is now recording how i look being fucked relentlessly with his phone

"that's enough"

i cried between my moan while trying to cover my face but he hold my hand and spit on to my face again, still in pace he grunts and grunts and when he finally come in me he gets off of me and record how his seed is running down my thigh as if it's marking me.

"clean my shoe"

he throws me on the floor again and make me lick his shoe clean from my juices and he giggles taking pictures of me in that degrading state

"you look cute babe," he says with his ridiculous grin showing me the picture "now go, i will see you at home"

[kelleah-meah]

My Christmastide Plans

Just a little blueprint for how I plan to spend the next 12 days off work and trying to recover from the organized chaos of 2022.

Of course, the best laid schemes of mice and men ...

Here it goes:

Friday, Dec 23

Med / Tao / Tar 🧘‍♀️ ☑️

Exercise 💪🏽

Finish grocery shopping 🛒 ✅

Watch “The Strike” episode (s9, e10) of Seinfeld 📺 ✅

Watch Christmas movies I don’t hate (Klaus, Scrooged and How The Grinch…) 🍿 ☑️

Wrap Christmas gifts 🎁 ✅

Twist my hair 💆🏾‍♀️ ☑️

Saturday, Dec 24 *

Drive to Mom's house 🏡 ✅

Wash laundry 🧺 ☑️

Sunday, Dec 25 *

Christmas at Mom's house 🎄 ✅

Monday, Dec 26 *

Drive home 🏠 ✅

Fold laundry 🧺 ☑️

Create digital vision board for new year 👁️‍🗨️

Watch JS movie #1 - Tuff Turf 🎥 ☑️

Tuesday, Dec 27

Doctor's appointment 🩺 ✅

Call Leslie and catch up ☎

Go see Basquiat exhibition in NYC 🖼️

Begin organizing home office 🗄️

Watch JS movie #2 - Supernova 🎥

Wednesday, Dec 28

Med / Tao / Tar 🧘‍♀️

Exercise 💪🏽

Puzzle Time 🧩

Continue organizing home office 🗄️

Shadow work and paint 🎨

Thursday, Dec 29

Puzzle Time 🧩

Run gallery payroll 💵 ☑️

Create a blog post 📝 ☑️

Continue organizing home office 🗄️

Watch JS movie #3 - Music of Chance 🎥

Friday, Dec 30

Exercise 💪🏽

Write in journal ✍️

Puzzle Time 🧩

Continue organizing home office 🗄️

Shadow work and paint 🎨

Saturday, Dec 31

Read my book 📖

Deep clean kitchen floor 🧼

Place the December wins in the orange jar 🥇✅

Continue organizing home office 🗄️

Dance Party! 💃🏽

Sunday, Jan 1

Meditate 🧘‍♀️ ☑️

New Year's Day tarot reading 🃏 ☑️

Cook New Year's Day meal 👩🏽‍🍳 ✅

Write in journal ✍️

Enjoy JS marathon - Dream Lover, Keys to Tulsa & the 9th season of The Blacklist 🎬 ✅

Monday, Jan 2

Exercise 💪🏽

Continue to fix storage issue on Lila Mae 🖥️

Create financial plan for the new year 💳

Review info on capsule wardrobes 👗

Wash laundry 🧺 ☑️

Tuesday, Jan 3

Fold laundry 🧺 ☑️

Promote new blog post 📯 ☑️

Watch JS movie #4 - Alien Hunter 🎥 ✅

Twist my hair 💆🏾‍♀️ ✅

If you're wondering was "JS" stands for, it's James Spader. I'm on a bit of an obsessive kick about him right now. I'm bingeing The Blacklist on Netflix, but I also want to check out the free films available on other streaming services. Don't judge.

As I move through the days, I'm marking each item with a blue or green check mark. The green check ✅ means I did the activity on the day I planned to do it.

The blue check ☑️ means I did the activity, just not on the day I planned to do it.

Ok. That's it for now. I'm interested in seeing how this will go.

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Dancing lessons

Hi!! I'm sorry, this one took forever, I had a Dengue Virus outbreak to deal with for the last three weeks and I even had the damn thing myself, not funny, wouldn't recommend it, it felt like shit and I had to skip work two days, thankfully no mortal victims, at least not on my watch, but the town is still recovering, anyway work is crazy and that's why I haven't update anything, I'm really sorry

Summary: Barry is finally cast in a feature, the problem? He said he could dance and now he can either disappoint Sally or found a way to learn some steps.

Part 1 ● Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 ● Part 5 ● Part 6 ● Part 7 ● Part 8 ● Epilogue

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence, guns, cheating maybe.

Part 4

The lights on your studio were still on when you entered, and the dry blood on the floor made a horrible sight that almost made you faint again, thankfully a strong arm was holding you since you get out of the car, and he was looking at the floor too.

"I can clean that if you want" He said helping you sit down on a chair. "I'm not sure if you should climb your stairs yet"

"Thanks, that would be great. I would say leave it but I have class early tomorrow and is not a nice view for a bunch of 4 year olds" you said thinking about the wooden floor and how much damage the blood would cause, and Barry walk inside the storage closet looking for a mop.

"Then I will leave it there, you are insane if you think you are going to give any class tomorrow" He came back with the cleaning supplies and gave you a judging look, lacking any authority since he was holding a bottle of detergent in on hand and a bucket in the other.

"Fine mom, I'll cancel" you held your hands high in surrender "Actually I can use a day off, I have this terrible student in the afternoon, he is a pain in the ass" You said and he rolled his eyes at you while rolling up his sleeves and starting to clean the floor.

An hour later the floor was spotless, he had an odd talent cleaning up blood, and made a funny shocked face when you pointed it out, the clock announce it was merely 8:00 pm and you had to remain awake until 6:00 am at least.

"I feel well enough to go upstairs, you can leave now" you told him hoping he would listen since his presence made you feel uneasy at times.

"No way, the doctor gave me a list of things to check up every couple hours, and if I leave you would fall asleep, but let's go get you upstairs, you will be more comfortable on your couch" He said approaching with the clear intention of carrying you on his arms.

"I can walk, that won't be necessary" You said quickly, ignoring the idea of how wonderful would it be to be held in those arms.

Maybe that was the reason you had end up screaming in the first place, an elaborate defense mechanism your brain set up in motion to ignore the growing feelings you had every time he enter the studio, every time you held his hand and forced down your waist while you were dancing, and the longing in your skin asking for more.

Of course there was handsome men in your class every now and then, grooms, fathers of the bride, actors, etc. and you had always conduct yourself professionally regardless the clear intentions some of them may have. And you have always respected your marriage with Alan even in the worst of times. But Barry was different, there was just something about the way he looked at you that make you want to scream and run away because it terrifies you how easily you could fall for him.

"Are you feeling nauseous?" He asked once you were sitting on the couch, and you nodded no "Tired? Clouded vision? Having incoherent thoughts?" He continued reading the list the doctor gave him.

"I believe I'm a big green marshmallow queen of the north pole, but that's normal right?" You say dead serious and he hide a grin behind the white sheet of paper.

"Very funny, we should call the doctor and share the joke with her" he said seriously.

"Fine, I'm sorry. I have a minor pain in my head, but I can see and hear perfectly clear, I remember everything that had happened clearly and I don't feel like vomiting" you said and he put the list away satisfied with your answers. "I'm sorry I'm being an imposition to you, I'm sure you had plans" You continued and he opened his mouth to reply he was staying once again so you keep talking before he did "And since you are staying here at least let me fix you something to eat, is late and I don't think you have eaten". You stood up and he followed you to the kitchen.

"You really don't have to, I can make a sandwich if you tell me where things are, or we could order something, I don't think you should be near sharp objects" He plead alarmed when you took out a large knife from a drawer.

"Fine, but I'm paying, and once again I can assure you this is nothing I have had worst" you said putting down the cutting board and opening the fridge to offer him a beer "once I broke my leg in 3 pieces" you said confidently showing him a long thin scar on the side of your leg and suddenly feeling exposed since you haven't change from your dancing clothes, and you didn't feel the same confidence wearing them outside the studio.

"I've been shoot, a lot" he said lifting part of his shirt showing you a couple scars, not helping the situation in your mind.

"Ok war hero, you win, can you please order the food, I am going to change, feel yourself at home" You said patting his hand urging him to cover and hurrying to your room away from him.

***

Y/N took forever to come out and when she finally did she was wearing a comfortable pajama, and was drying her hair with a towel.

"You took a shower?" Barry asked upset "You could have fallen"

"But thankfully I didn't, I have to I was covered in blood and I need to find a way to cover this" She pointed at the place the doctor have shaved her hair and she tried to hide it with a lock of hair.

"I'm sure the parents would understand you had an accident" he said confused by her despair.

"Yeah, they will mostly, but Alan would make a big deal out of it and I'm sure he will use it as an excuse to keep pushing me into selling the studio" She said letting her hair alone and crawling onto the couch.

"Why would he do that?" He asked trying to be interested and ignoring the pinch of jealousy he felt once again when she mentioned his name "I mean you do charge a lot but you have many clients"

"Is not about the business, he just thinks I should sale the studio to Macy since she knows how to run it, and move with him to Dallas or Colorado or whenever his company wants him, that way he would be home every night to see our children" She said exasperated at the idea.

"Children?" He asked a bit shocked since she never had mentioned any children before.

"The hypothetical children we will have in case I actually leave this place behind" She said with a sad look on her face.

"So you don't want to have children?" He asked now genuinely interested. "I mean it's okay if you don't" he said quickly.

"Honestly?" She asked and he nodded "I really don't know, I mean when I was 22 and dancing in Moscow I have this crazy fantasy that I would retire in glory from ballet at 32 and meet a wonderful man and have a girl and she would be a great dancer by the age of 4." She had a sad smile on her face as if she could see herself in the moment she was describing.

"Moscow? As in Russia?" He asked.

"Yep, I was about to become a Prima Ballerina, then I broke my leg and every money I had went to surgery and recovery and suddenly I was no longer fitting to play Odette, or any major role and eventually like three years after I have to come back, I worked in Broadway for a while, that's when I met Alan"

"Sounds romantic" he said sarcastically making her laugh

"It was, at least at first, but then I had another lesion in my ankle so I was no longer able to work there either, and he was nice and sweet and he was with me, so we got married and end up here, five years later dealing with moms that feel their children would be next Maria Kowroski"

Barry's phone start ringing and he went downstairs to pick up the food, when he came back she was holding a big photo album in her lap.

"I haven't seen one of those in forever" He said entering the apartment holding the bag with Chinese food. "I thought everyone had digital albums these days"

"They do, but you can't do this to digital pictures" She said showing him burned hole in one of the photos. "Kids these days, what would they burn when they break up with a boyfriend? Anyway I'm starving" she pointed to the kitchen so they could eat.

They share an animated meal talking about how life and technology was passing by them, maybe a little lost resentful than usually since they both have the same opinions on the matter.

"Did you told him?" He asked after a while, he was leaning back in his chair looking at her finishing some noodles. "About not wanting kids I mean"

"Of course I did, since we were dating,but he had this idea that he would make me change my mind, and I was sure I would make him change his. Now we have civil dinners when he is home and pretend we are not angry at the way this marriage turned out, just waiting for one of us to give up and accept the other terms" She said and her bluntness took him by surprise again.

"I'm sorry" he said with a sad frown on his face "Earlier when I said this was your dream job and that your situation is perfect, I have no idea and I'm sorry"

"Don't be, I shouldn't have to try and prove you wrong forcing myself to do the Odile's Coda, since I'm clearly not in shape to do it" She smile at him and pointed the injury in her head.

"Well that only make it worse, why would you need to prove anything to me? I'm really sorry"

"Relax, you already making up for it being here, and is only 10:00 pm, do you want to play a board game? I would say we watch a movie but I would fall asleep quicker that way" She said and he agreed.

They played scrabble, bringing out some dark competitive instincts on both of them, only interrupted when Barry took a couple trips to the bathroom to call Sally who was not upset at all that he had canceled their dinner since she had this amazing party to go to.

By 3:00 am and feeling extremely tired and looking at her about to give up he call the hospital, the doctor kindly told him she was clear to sleep, news he took gratefully, but before he could tell her she was already curled in the couch, he sit next to her and let her rest her head on his chest, maybe when they woke up he could feel guilt and remorse about it, maybe he would have to stay away from her since he was obviously interested in her but at that moment he was very comfortable and lost in the smell of her hair to care about anything else.

@meraki--mei

[reading-hub]

Dandy And The Jet 🚀 [3] To Boobies, Baby!

- Space Dandy x reader -

[part 2]

- - - - -

The digital transmission hidden underneath your jacket that was made by Bea so it was easy to update on the mission with Admiral Perry. You were explaining the events that were leading up to today, from that one-sided crazy bar fight, being able to escape said bar fight, having the opportunity to escape with Dandy's crew inside the "Aloha Oe" to now.

“So, you’ve already made your way to his inner circle?”

You hid within the hallways, luckily nobody hadn't woken up yet. Although that little wheeled robot named QT had this obsession with cleaning early, so your not exactly in the clearing yet...

"Yes, I have. His crew was surprisingly welcoming despite them being alien hunters.." You responded, remembering your last experience with some alien hunters in the past...

"I don't care about them! What about the target, how's is he taking in your presence? Has he suspected anything about you since your arrival?" Admiral was obviously cautious about you being found out in a short time. You rolled your eyes slightly.

You sighed and answered. "Well, he was questioning my position when I took the wheel, but nothing really about me.” Admiral sighed in relief, guess that's good news?

"Very well, just keep pursuing on the target at all times, don't let him slip through your fingers. We're so close yet so far." The burning skeleton commanded. "I will, sir." You agreed, transmission ended.

"Hello miss [f/n]!" You jumped slightly, turning around to see the little robot QT and his broom. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry! Did I startle you?" QT said in a worried tone. The robot really was the sweetest.

"Don't worry, er, I was just looking around the ship..." You smiled looking at the inter-galactic gears and such.

Now that I mentioned it, this ship is pretty huge, this must've cost a fortune, maybe Dandy is a successful alien hunter after all if he was able to afford such a ship and all...

You shrugged it off and looked at QT. "So uh, you clean up around the ship when everybody's asleep?" You asked, continuing the conversation with the little robot.

"I clean up anyway, even if everyone's awake or not." Saying in their autotuned voice, which is a bit adorable. "I really like cleaning," QT said simply.

"That's one hell of a favorite thing to do. I rarely ever hear someone say that sentence, ever." You chuckled a little. "So anyway, what exactly is the schedule around here?" You asked, changing the subject.

"Schedule?" QT said confused. "Oooh!" The male robots autotune sang in harmony. "To be quite honest, there really isn't one." They shrugged, your eyes quirked a little in surprise and confusion. "The only real mundane place that Dandy likes to go to most of the time is a place called Boobies," QT answered.

"Boobies?" Your whole facade went full-on confusion with what the innocent robot said so casually. "Yeah, it's this restaurant that Dandy really likes going to a lot but the paycheck is more than what we normally have so its tough for Dandy to accept when we don't have enough to go." The robot explained.

Huffing a little in response, "Judging by the name of this restaurant, I can tell why Dandy would like going there." Both QT and You laughed right after.

"Geez, you giggling pre-teens woke me up." Looks like your quality conversation with QT is over thanks to a grumpy pompadour. Speaking of pompadour, Dandy was hiding his hair using his blanket that he dragged along the floor without a care.

"Now if you excuse me, girlies, I gotta take a shower. This hair ain't gonna fix itself!" Dandy boasted proudly as if you were gonna swoon over him right when he gets out.

"We should probably check and see if Meow is awake, though I highly doubt it," QT grumbled as we walked to the main room of the ship. "How long does it usually take for everyone to be awake by?" You asked jokingly. "I'd say around 02:00 in standard time," QT answered quickly, looking at his watch that miraculously appears out of nowhere!

"It's nine-forty." You questioned immediately. “How long does it take for Dandy to finish up in there?" The robot rolled his screen eyes thinking of Dandy's precious timing.

"I'd say two hours, one if today's a lucky day." QT hoped.

"Dang." Was all you could say to that. The guys that you use to know hated when a woman took too long getting ready and didn't really care for their hair products. Needless to say, this Dandy guy was something else and nobody you’ve met before.

-

After talking with QT for two hours or so, you both sat at the dining table, if you call it that. You can easily tell by the crew that they didn't seem the type to eat breakfast together in a table.

QT was nice enough to make you a single cup of coffee. Luckily he was able to find some coffee beans after looking up and down in the cabinets. Wasn't a lot but you could manage either way. You wondered if he was able to have any human-like food?

You both shared a few things, like past stories. QT shared a lot about the past adventures him and Dandy have been through. A booby monster, plant people, and said something about zombies but I kinda lost track since all them were just bat-shit crazy all on their own.

You on the other hand only shared ones that were pretty tame when compared to theirs. Warning the robot that your adventures aren't really exciting to tell compared to what they told.

QT seemed interested with what you told him anyway, but you also didn’t want to overshare too much.

"What are you guys talking about?" The yawning came from Meow who was shuffling his feet, he must be still tired even though he's slept longer than the rest of us combined.

"[F/n] has been telling me about her adventures.” The robot said with glee, you couldn't help but smile in embarrassment when QT showed some exciting interest in your stories. "Whoa really?" Meow was obviously interested. All you could do was shrug in embarrassment.

It has been a while since people actually listen to what I had to say...

Meow just asked upon millions of questions each time you telling more and more details of the time you able to hold your own against the likes of humanoid monsters and crazy ex’s throughout the galaxy.

"Does that mean you know some close combat?" QT asked politely. "Yeah, and a bit of gun firing as well," You replied.

"So are you like some kind of superhero?" Meow smiled and pulled out his phone. “I'm not even close to a superhero."

True, you really weren’t . You were basically the big, bad, villain's accomplice, you know the ones where they trick the good guys into thinking that she's one of them now and then double-crosses them saying how "I am not who you think I am!" And then they laugh evilly.

The sad truth is that I don't think I can laugh evil.

"Is Dandy out of the shower yet? I really need to use the restroom." You said, obviously frustrated. QT grumbled, "Eh, probably putting his hair gel right about now..." You didn’t care, You just stood up and just tell Dandy to step out real quick so that you can go!

Storming off back to the hallway where you had that transmission call with Admiral and then that talk to QT later on.

Stopping your tracks, you noticed that the bathroom door had a small crack open. You could only guess Dandy got out and is probably changing back in his room? You hoped, otherwise he's gonna think you’re peeping on him, which he'll probably find flattering, you however were not intending on that.

Slowly walking towards the steamthat was seeping through the cracked door, Lights full white, You were hoping he forgot to turn off when he left...shit!

Peering through and - goddammit! - he's there! Oh well, at least he has a towel on, even if that towel is low cut and will probably fall off easily...fuck!

He was drying up his hair with another towel. The towel was off from his head, and you got a clear view of his shaggy natural hair!

Your eyes went full surprised. He really wasn't that bad looking without the hair gel, You certainly didn’t understand why he has to hide it...

Oh well.

You felt as though you were peeping a little too long.. you just booked it outta there! Maybe you should hold your bladder until he actually leaves the bathroom next time...

-

Sprinting back to the lounge, you know what you’ll just call it that since you refuse to call it a "dining room" or a "kitchen".

Meow and QT were still hanging around where you last talked to them. "That was quick," Meow said in surprise. You took a few breaths and replied, "Yeah, turns out I didn't really need to go." You said in relief.

A few minutes later, a wild Dandy appears behind you! "You're finally out of the shower?" You said in a bored tone. "You know if you wanted to take a shower with me, you could've asked?" He suggested slyly. Sadly, he had his pompadour back, kinda wishing to see his hair down. QT decided to change the subject.

"Nevermind that, where are we going, Dandy?"

Dandy's attention was at the robot. "To boobies, baby!" He boasted proudly. "Boobies, you mean that ‘breastaurant’ that QT was telling me about?" I jumped in with air quotes.

Dandy's face freaked a little. "QT, YOU TOLD HER ABOUT BOOBIES!?"

"Don't pin it on them, since I agreed to be apart of this crew, I was probably gonna find out anyway, no use of hiding it.." You said in defense. "She's got ya there, man.” Meow commented on the sideline.

All Dandy could do was have his lips curl, pouting like a child because you had a point.

"Alright, just don't take the fun out of Boobies for me, ok?" Dandy whined slightly at me. You shrugged it off, "Don't plan on it."

"Hey QT, how much we got for Boobies?" He called out to the robot. "Hm, probably enough. But Dandy, I thought we were going to spend this money for--" QT was cut from his words by Dandy.

"Nevermind that QT, we could always just hunt for a rare alien and get double the money back!"

Something tells me that this is just gonna be one those days...you know, the ones where shit gets fucked and it could've been avoided by just listening and following the obvious from earlier.

Yeah...those...

The four of you have arrived at Boobies. You really didn’t have an expectation of what this breastrant would look like, but seeing it right in front of your very eyes, it hit the nail on head.

You weren’t one to judge. We all have our guilty pleasures in life. Some like eating a bag of chips on a slow day, some like the smell of a certain candle that keeps them at ease, and some like a ditzy waitress who dresses little to the imagination to take their order while also small talk to on a daily basis.

You took a seat between QT and Meow, Dandy sat across from you. Small tension was between you and Dandy for a full two minutes. Dandy obviously not a fan of you being at Boobies with them. You couldn’t care less what he thought about you at that time, you just wanted to eat something, pay half of the check, possibly tip the waitress, and go back to the ship.

Before it can be anymore silent—

“Hey boys, how are we doing today?” You looked up, only to see a young blonde waitress, eyes looked as if full of innocence. She was quite pretty, you admit to yourself. “Oh my, I’m sorry, and how you today, miss?” Her wide eyes immediately directed towards you. Her tone was that of surprise and joy. Possibly because of how rare it is to have female customers here, you guess.

“I’m okay, thank you though.” You replied, smiling faintly at the blonde. “Yeah, we’re good today, too.” Dandy said after, his palm holding his jaw in boredom. The blonde beamed happily. “Dandy, who is she? Is she a new friend of yours?” She egged him on. Obviously curious about who you were. You’d think that this waitress is close friends with Dandy, given how easily she’s able to hold a conversation with him.

“No Honey, me and crew met her yesterday.” He explained, smirking with confidence. “Although an initiation of the Space crew in the talks.” In talks? You could’ve sworn he agreed to you being apart of the crew the first day you two met. You looked at him sideways, just what is he trying to get at?

“An initiation? That must be so fun! When is it??” Honey looked at him with answers. Dandy slumped on the booth, smug as all hell. He’s gonna get punched so bad when we get back to the ship. “Actually, initiation starts today.” He boasted.

“It is?” Honey asked excited.

“It is?” You reiterated sarcastically, wondering where this was going.

“It is.” Dandy conceded.

Before Dandy could be anymore proud of himself of having you put in a tight situation, hook line and sinker...

“Since when did we propose for an initiation for future crew members?” QT popped up with a sudden question out of nowhere. “We didn’t have one for Meow now that I think about it...” the robot added, while Dandy’s eyes widen, nervously.

“It’s a new thing I made up!” Dandy interjected. “I forgot to tell you and Meow about..” he explained, hoping the damn robot keeps thier mouth shut. “Okaaay, what’s the first stage of initiation then?” QT asked after.

Meow looked up from his phone, seeing what was unfolding right in front of him.

Dandy could only grind his teeth, thinking of one on the top of his head and try not to look stupid. Than, a light switched on his head!

“[f/n], our lovely new recruit here has to pay for the check.” Douche. That was all that popped in your head soon after.

Well, I have space skeleton demi-god and a pimp gorilla looking over me like vultures, I’m being labeled as a last resort plan to capturing Dandy, and being apart of his crew is the only shot I can get to getting closer to finishing my mission. No pressure.

Ok Dandy, I’ll play along.

“Well, if it’s what I have to do, than so be it.” You agreed, getting a little too confident.

“Alright!” Dandy rubbed his hands together in anticipation. This was too fun for him.

The food orders were now final.

Dandy made it easier by just having you pay for the ‘Captain’s Meal’, aka Dandy and yourself. Meow just ordered for soup and a soda, QT just wanted some juice. You wondered if the robot could actually consume foods...

Your order was that of a space meat fillet that you thought looked good on the menu and your choice of two sides.

However, Dandy knew he had you by his finger and went all out. Two large chucks of meat, topped with chili, cheese, a ramen bowl, and a slushee that was most likely child size.

He looked as smug and pampered as they came at that moment. The food came in.

Meow’s and QT ‘s came first since their orders were small and simple. Your’s came second. Dandy’s was last, the meal was so huge that Honey needed another waitress to help her bring it to the table.

You rolled your eyes at how Dandy was making a big deal out of this.

-

Meow and QT were done with thier orders a long time ago. You just finished your own meal. Dandy on the other hand, still had halfway to go. I guess Dandy didn’t think though how big of an order his was compared to everyone else.

“You’re not gonna finish that.” Meow commented as he was scrolling his phone. He pouted his lip in response. “Nope, I’m not gonna give in to the temptation of losing.” Dandy replied, hiding away the worry.

“Losing what? I’m the one paying for your meal.” You said suddenly. “How about we just ask to box it for to-go.” You suggested. You honestly felt a little bad. He looked like a small boy who feels bad for not finishing his dinner. It was honestly kinda cute at this state.

Wait what?

“Fine!” He gave in, crossing his arms in the process. You perked up at the waitress who was walking past your table, and asked if they’re was a to-go box for a meal like Dandy’s.

Honey came in with the check, the total of Dandy’s meal itself was almost 300 yen, your own meal was around 30. Luckily, you secretly tapped Honey’s shoulder and gave the ditzy blonde a coupon for Boobies when Dandy wasn’t looking. You knew holding onto that coupon would benefit you one day.

The crew got their things together before heading out. Dandy begrudgingly holding onto his box that had his meal.

It was already midnight by the time you guys came out of the breastaurant. All of got into ship, one by one. All tired from eating. Seeing how exhausted you looked, Dandy took the liberty of stirring the ship with QT tonight. How nice.

Guess him being nice was just a thank you for putting up with him today at Boobies.

Before you could relax your eyes, Dandy shouted out:

“Whoops, forgot to get gas!” He nervously smiled through his teeth.

“ARGGHHH!!!” You, Meow, and QT loudly responded.

[thetonecontrol]

Interview with Electronic Audio Experiments

Righteous Ryan: When did you decide to become a builder and what motivated you to do so?

Electronic Audio Experiments: Even before I taught myself how to play the guitar I was always interested in what makes instruments work, so naturally I was a pedal nerd as soon as I learned what they were. After studying electronics for fun on the side (took a couple extra courses during undergrad and then read books on my own) it became a natural progression of my interests to start tinkering with my own. I did a few tagboard clone builds before I realized I wanted to have more control over the design process. And that's still my primary motivation: I love the design process with all of its challenges and room for artistic decisions.

EAE as a company formally started in approximately winter/spring of 2015. In February of that year, Boston was slammed over 5 feet of snow. I spent a lot of time in my crummy basement apartment eating frozen pizzas and breadboarding what would eventually become the Longsword V1. I used it on a couple records I was a part of (Perfect Moments by Tiny Fractures and the Native Wildlife s/t - both on bandcamp, for the curious) and that generated enough interest to do a release that summer. The rest has been a whirlwind!

RR: What motivates you to create original circuits?

EAE: Short answer - it's really satisfying to me, basically my favorite pastime.

Longer answer - I love the challenge of making something from scratch that hopefully lets my personality come through. I should qualify; I am not reinventing any wheels here. Designing "from scratch" is like building something out of legos. You can't really design new pieces (which leads some of the more cynical folks out there to say there's nothing new under the sun) but there are lots of building blocks and lots of ways to arrange them. The artistic merit is in the details, and the fun is in the thrill of the chase. It's an obsessive process but endlessly gratifying.

RR: Are you currently working on anything new?

EAE: Oh god, too many things. Here's a sampling:

Halberd - this is a drive which started as the preamp block of Sending, but heavily mutated into its own thing. It features pronounced treble attack/clarity, stupidly high output, and a strong second harmonic response. Been "finalizing" it for a while but I'm trying my damnedest to release it this summer. (If you want to hear a rough demo of an earlier iteration, check this video out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpGgzl3lOgs)

Sending V2 - I'm trying to add some features while I do an SMD conversion - mostly modulation and CV control over delay time. Currently on the back burner while I get the Halberd sorted out.

Hypersleep - this is my weird multi-tap chorus/vibrato/reverb-ish thing (nb: this is also in Ian's video linked above). It's also on the back burner while I get the Halberd sorted out. I really want to put it to production but it depends fully on whether I can source enough MN3011 BBDs to make it happen. If I can get enough to build 50 I'll do a limited run, but I'd really prefer to do 100 if at all possible... so we shall see what happens.

Super secret collab with Electrofoods Pedals - stay tuned, I am very excited

Surveyor - IVP side of the Dude Incredible, will be released later this year. It's ready to rock.

Various contract designs - Caroline Somersault (just wrapped up), Caroline Megabyte (working on the second round of prototypes), Dunable Eidolon (close to done, just needs some code fixes), another 2 or 3 projects all TBA.

RR: What is your design process like?

EAE: Whenever I design something new I have to answer two questions. 1) does it exist already? and 2) does it address a need or want in my own sonic pursuits? For instance, drive pedals will reflect my tone in whatever band I'm currently in. If it's already been done I can go buy it. If it hasn't been done then the work can begin.

If the design is simple or contains simple building blocks I often go straight to the circuit board layout and if necessary, debug from there. I can often turn a project around pretty quick if that's the case. If I'm not sure whether or not a building block will work, I can try simulating or breadboarding. Circuit simulation is extremely powerful but requires interpretation of the results, which also sometimes differ from reality. Breadboarding is great for audible characterization of a new idea, but the added parasitic capacitances can dramatically alter the frequency response of a circuit - especially a high gain drive or something with lots of complex filters. So there's usually a loop of steps where I move between a breadboard, circuit simulations, and a working prototype until everything works out. Sometimes I just have to resort to plain old math to get what I want.

The first pass of design is a go/no-go check. Does it work? Once it does, I refine it until it can produce sounds I truly like. This is also the step where I do the most work to address noise, oscillation, unwanted artifacts, etc. The final step is to identify which controls I want to keep, and then I determine the tapers/ranges of those controls.

Once there's a working prototype I do extensive beta testing with friends, local musicians and engineers, etc. When testing at home I can lose sight of how good (or not good) a prototype sounds. So a sanity check helps! Once this feedback is incorporated into the process we can go to production. At that point we get the artwork done and start working with our local SMD shop to get boards going.

RR: What's your setup (guitar, amps, pedalboard)?

EAE: I've been awful about maintaining a static setup. I realized that when you're not in a band you can just buy whatever sounds good instead of worrying about serving a song or particular mix. I have a wide assortment of guitars and amps that I use to test pedals during the R&D phase but listing those won't really tell you a coherent story. BUT I started a new band and we're tracking a record (we just did guitars + drums at GodCity) so I can tell you all about the gear I used for that. It's a post-metal sort of outfit so there are lots of heavy sounds but lots of unique mid-gain tones as well. This is also a great chance to plug some work by my friends...

Guitars - Travis Bean TB1000S, which is essentially vintage correct after some restoration work at Electrical Guitar Company (new bridge + pickups). Sounds like a piano. A very angry piano.

My very heavily modified Classic Player Jazzmaster with EGC JM500 pickups and a Robot Graves neck. It can do pristine, chimey cleans or a savage clang depending how much gain you use.

Amps - Traynor YBA1 MKII - Basically a marshall-ish amp with really big transformers. I modded the preamp to roughly superlead specs, but it's got way more bandwidth than a typical marshall.

Traynor YBA3 - not mine, lives at GodCity. Was extensively modified by my friend Scot from SnK pedals, who is also a gifted amp tech. It's loud and clean with a sound that's almost like an ampeg.

For cabs we mostly used an emperor 6x12 with an assortment of speakers. The mic was placed on a Texas Heat.

For my own use I have a pair of Joe's TL806 cabs (Thiele 1x12 design) with EVM12Ls.

Pedals - Halberd proto - great for slamming tube amps!

Electrofoods Oprichniki - the highest gain big muff variant around. I don't even know if it should be called a muff variant because of how twisted and souped up the circuit is. It is an absolute beast.

Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler - another extraordinarily high gain fuzz which sounds like absolutely nothing I've ever heard. It's a nice contrast to the more scooped flavor of the Oprich.

SnK VHD - a high gain distortion, used extensively for lead parts especially. Super tight and clear.

Sending V1-ish prototype - also has a tone control. It works ok I guess. Still very much a work in progress!

Lastgasp Misty Cave - weird drone-y reverb/flange thing? Hard to describe. Sounds heavenly.

Hypersleep proto - for room-ish reverb

Red Panda Tensor - Used for a particularly glitchy "solo"

Dirge Slowly Melting - I saw the end of the world, and it was terrifying

Lots of other stuff - I forgot!

Other - Yamaha FX500. The ultimate digital pad machine.

Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo - my drummer owns this, holy hell it is magic

My modular synth - a whole goddamn mess of its own

[everytomurashigaraki]

I'm about to study animation. What's it like? Anything advice you can give like?

oh  b o i  there is a Lot

Animation is pretty fun for the most part–you get to see your creations come to life!! Though you do have to spend a lot of time for it. It usually depends on how long your animation is, if you’re doing traditional or digital, and how many moving elements you plan on doing. Animation is tedious, yes, but it does pay off in the end! It’s always fun to see a simple idea grow and come to life in the end–and knowing all the effort you put into it.

As for advice:

TAKE LOTS OF BREAKS. Seriously, remember to take breaks. Do wrist and hand stretches, do NOT let your hand cramp up. it will get worse and you will end up damaging your wrist and hands (i ended up getting carpal tunnel in both of my wrists after finishing a 10 second animation in a weekend with little to no breaks). I cannot stress this enough.

Use your principles of animation. You’ll learn this in class, but there are 12 core principles of animation that help make movement smoother and more natural looking. It’s important to remember to use them or your animation might look more robotic! (here’s a link with some examples from Disney: https://ohmy.disney.com/movies/2016/07/20/twelve-principles-animation-disney/ )

Storyboarding. Storyboarding is the layout of what your animation is going to be. A good key concept to storyboarding is to make sure your shots of your scene are diversified, and not the same panel every time (example: instead of 2 characters talking face-to-face with the same camera angle, try doing different angles of the scene! it will be more interesting to the viewer as well as adding tone to your scene). You’ll also learn animatics (which is basically an animated storyboard). They’re just for laying out basic movements, like someone throwing a punch. This makes the final render of the animation easier, and you’ll just need to refine the movement you planned out.

Be patient. As I said before, animation takes up a LOT of time. Good effort and hard work make the final result more appreciated. Try not to rush your work (unless you REALLY need to meet that deadline soon). Rushed work will make the animation look, well, rushed, and incomplete. 

It’s perfectly A-OK if your animation doesn’t turn out right the first time. It’s the first run-through of your animation. You’re gonna find things that could have been done better. It happens to every animator. Especially if you’re a beginner animator like me. It’s okay if your animation looks bad. No one will care, and your professors will (most likely) offer advice for future animating and will tell you what could have been done better. Don’t be discouraged over it– no one starts off perfect. Don’t think of “Oh this is horrible I should never animate again”–instead think of “Yknow what? It may be bad but i know I will grow and improve over time–and that’s okay”. I know for my animation classes we do a rough animation and then a final animation to fix up and clean anything that looked iffy in the rough. You might have classes that do the same. I mean my first animation was utter garbage but now since I know more I’ve improved so much within a year. And you have the knowledge of knowing you’ll improve the more you practice and do.

All in all, animation is fun! It takes hard work but it DOES pay off in the end! If you got any more questions just dm me and I’ll answer the best I can!

[incaseyouart]

Hi! I have a problem: when I sketch a picture it usually looks ok and dynamic so I decide to add lineart. After adding it, it still looks great. However when I remove the sketch from behind it, the picture looks horrible, everything is in the wrong place and it looks very flat and lifeless. Do you have any idea how to fix or prevent this? I'm really frustrated. (i draw digitally) thank you!!

A sketch always looks more loose and dynamic because when doing a sketch your arm is looser. When you go to do the lineart, you probably slow down and try to make it “perfect”. If you want the lineart to look more like the sketch, be sure to try and draw with looser, bigger strokes. Like, with your digital canvas, you can zoom in and make your lines sweeping and gestural, and then when you zoom out, that one line could be part of a face or something.. or hair.. I don’t feel like I’m making sense right now. But yeah just try to keep your drawing tools (your arm, wrist, hand) more loose, like how you draw the sketch. It can still be cleaned up after, and you can find a combination of loose and meticulous that works well for you. 

[disabilityhealth]

Part1- Hi so I have pots and for the last year and a half it's been really bad but I feel really bad when I complain or am in pain cause I only have pots (that I know of) plus mental health problems I honestly don't want more health problems I just feel that I'm overreacting when in pain cause there is a lot of people with more chronic illnesses and I feel like everyone with pots as other chronic illnesses (I know I sound crazy sorry) also I am very grateful that I only have pots

Part 2- I know I’m probably sounding ungrateful or like I want attention but I really don’t I just want this off my chest sorry really I am I try not to complain but I need to tell someone sorry anyway when people say I seem so much better or my heart rate and blood pressure are what normal for me I freak out cause even with that I’m still so incredibly fatigued Iv not been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and I don’t claim to have it either but it’s annoying cause everyone excepts me to be able

Part 3- sorry this is so long I just have a lot on my mind sorry you’re the one receiving it ok now I continue from where I was on part 2…. to do normal things like clean and other stuff but it’s really hard for me to do because it takes all my strength to do them and most days walking down the stair wipes me out for the whole day and all my doctors to exercise and sit up and go more place but it’s so hard and I don’t want to disappoint everyone even more than I already have but I feel like

Part 4- again sorry… I just honestly don’t know what to do anymore I’m just a blob that sits on a couch watching friends and consumed but their own mind I can’t see a future I failed school I feel so alone and feel like my doctors don’t hear me when I tell them about my pain or how fatigued I am and it’s not like they know what it’s like. I’m sorry for complaining and rambling I just feel useless and I don’t know what to do anymore I’m so sorry for bothering you and wasting your time sorry bye

I’m so glad you messaged me, please do not be sorry. 

The first thing I want to say is that your journey back to happiness is going to be a process, but you can absolutely do it.

It seems overwhelming now because it sounds like you’re trying to find a way to fix all of these things at once, but taking things one small step at a time is so much more doable, in my experience. Don’t expect to get back out there in a week, and don’t be too hard on yourself when progress takes time. You’re actually making progress by just reaching out to me and I’m really proud of you for doing that.

The next thing I want to say is that you are not alone in this struggle. I’m still going through stuff myself, like I really relate to how you feel like you’re a blob sitting around. Some days I can’t leave the house, and it can feel SO isolating. But you are not alone. I would recommend sending out messages to fellow potsies for some support, and mental illness blogs specific to what you’re going through? The online community has been so good to me, and I bet there’s someone out there willing to vent back and forth with you.

A therapist would also be helpful so you have someone to talk to. Like you don’t have to bottle all of this up on your own. You might be able to find one online? If any of my followers have more info on that I’d love to give anon some more specific suggestions. 

Now, moving on to pots and how it’s affecting you. I wanna say that there’s no such thing as “just” having pots or mental illness. Like pots on its own is a big thing to deal with, and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed sometimes. It’s okay to complain about your pain and fatigue. Even if someone has it worse than you do, you’re allowed to feel the way you feel. No matter what.

I’m not sure if this sounds like something that could help you, but have you thought about using a wheelchair? It might help with your pots and your fatigue (and pots is absolutely a valid reason to use one). Or maybe there’s another mobility device that could help? You could use it on bad days - or for everyday use to get you back out there.

Now for ideas on keeping busy when stuck at home. I have found solace in hobbies, specifically painting and drawing. Drawing is pretty cheap to get into and it can be cathartic when you just let your pencil do its thing. The same can be said for journaling. Don’t even worry about grammar just let your words fly, it can be freeing.

There are lots of other creative arts that might help you feel like you’re producing something. Embroidery, clothing making, knitting, calligraphy, playing music (can be done digitally), vlogging, beading, pottery, clay sculpting. 

These could give you something physical to represent your work and that helps SO much.

On to doctors and such, I would suggest being very honest with them. Tell them your pain levels, your fatigue, and don’t sugar coat it. Then tell them if you feel like they’re not taking you seriously. Not aggressively or anything, just honestly. And if they still discount your pain or don’t help you the way you think they should, see someone else. Demand they treat you right because you deserve it! 

Feel free to message me again. I promise you’re not inconveniencing me or anything. I might not always get to messages because I get a lot but I do read them all so even if it’s just to vent, I am here.

Take pride in working on you because that’s an accomplishment right there. Give yourself a break when things get hard. Take little steps. Enjoy Friends when you want to and without guilt. Complain when you’re struggling and love yourself for the steps you are taking. You deserve it. 

I will be thinking about you and wishing you the best.