#probably new colorists or something

[cozymochi]

is it me or do some of the more recent SSRs have wildly different coloring styles

[galvanizedfriend]

Fic: The Unexpected Grace of Falling Apart

Summary: AH/AU. It's Tyler's wedding weekend and Caroline is back in Mystic Falls for the first time after the most traumatic and depressing year of her life. And it's about to get even worse as she's made to share breathing space with Klaus, The Worst Guy Ever. Except they might have to join forces to save the wedding, and to the discovery that things might not be what the seem. As Caroline teeters on the edge of a breakdown she'd been trying very hard to conceal, an unexpected savior appears to help her through the haze.

---

About a year ago, Caroline met the worst guy ever.

No, really. The Worst.

Men are, as a general rule, pigs. If women were to make in-depth pro-versus-cons evaluations of every guy they met before deciding on whether to hook up with them or not - well. Let's just say the perpetuation of the human species would be in serious jeopardy.

There's only a handful of guys out there of a certain age, still single, who are really worth any woman's time, and Caroline hasn't had the pleasure of meeting many representatives of that rare, dying breed. Those are the real-life unicorns.

It doesn't help that Caroline seems to be a walking magnet for the dudebro kind. She doesn't know what it is about her that gets them to crawl out of sewers and holes in hell to greet her with their Hey there, gorgeous or Have I died and gone to heaven?s whenever she walks into a bar. It's probably the blonde hair. Men tend to get friskier around blonde women for some ancient misogynistic reason.

There have been moments in her life where her faith in the male half of humanity was so deeply shaken that she even - God forbid her - considered going a few shades darker. She's a natural blonde, though, and it takes her hours (and a small fortune) every few months at her colorist's chair to achieve that perfect sweet spot between kissed by sunshine and blessed by the angels for her to commit that crime against herself. Caroline's hair is the one part of her life that has remained absolutely flawless even when everything else around her has fallen apart, including her mental health and self-esteem. She refuses to dye it just because men can't bother to put some honest effort into updating their lame pick-up lines and yet, somehow, still expect her to have sex with them.

And the sad truth is, catch her on a bad night, and she just might. Horny melancholy is where a woman’s dignity goes to die.

It's exhausting to be a twenty-something woman in the XXI century. There's the pressure of making it in this godforsaken world as an adult, there's the pressure from society's understanding that a woman of her age should be looking for serious commitment with marriage in sight, and then there's also the pressure that stems from the very human needs of her hormonal body. It's a jungle out there.

Things would be so much easier if she didn't need men at all, not even for the specific parts of their anatomy that appeal to her. She really hopes next life brings her back as anything other than straight.

In the meantime, in this lifetime... The Worst Guy.

Caroline has met her fair share of jerks and idiots of all shapes and colors, so it takes something really special to shock her. As a seasoned woman in the woes of the dating market, she can 100% state that this guy is no ordinary asshole. This is a king among douchebags. And that's not just her personal opinion; she has shared the evidence with all her friends, and the friends of her friends, and all the women at her work, and even some random people at powder rooms at bars and parties. Basically, every woman in New York's grapevine who was willing to listen.

The collective response to her tale is always a disgusted gag sound, followed by Please, tell me you punched that son of a bitch or Did you gouge his eyes out with a hot poker?

If you discount abusive, aggressive and violent men, who are criminals and not in the same category as everyday lame-ass men, he really is The Worst.

Caroline doesn't like to say she's not over it yet because it implies bestowing a level of importance to His Royal Dickshness that is not merited. The guy was a friend of a friend - her best friend, yes, but still only a notch above a complete stranger. She’d known him for less than a week and, technically, they did no more than make out for a little bit, so it's not like they had any kind of relationship going on. He's not important, just some guy who did something astoundingly douchebaggy, even by someone whose standards are sadly low.

The whole incident was bound to go down as a funny anecdote to be shared among friends, a Oh, you think you've had the worst hook-up ever? Hold my beer kind of story. Provided, of course, that she never had to see him ever and could just wipe him out of her life and memory for good. Given that they live in different time zones, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

That is precisely why Caroline is livid when she emerges from the arrivals area at Richmond airport to find Douchebag, in the flesh - sunglasses indoors and all, like the proper jerk that he is - holding up a sign that reads Clarisse.

Read the full story here

--

For four years, this was known as Random Fic, and so if you have been following me here, you might have heard me whine about it at some point. I've just decided on the title ten minutes ago. lol I can't believe this is finally done!

Thank you @definedareasofuncertainty for hearing me talk about this for almost as long as you've known me and never telling me to shut up.

As always, your kudos, comments and reblogs mean the world and have been feeding my fic-writing soul for four years so that I could get a grip and round this up. ❤️ Ty and if you read it, hope you enjoy it!

[ferronickel]

Lettering Tips for Comics Artists!

Lettering is an easy to overlook aspect of comics creation, partially because good lettering is designed to be invisible, but bad lettering can ruin an otherwise well crafted project.

Now, I'm not a letterer by trade, I'm a colorist who thinks too much about comics craft, but I've picked up on a few common mistakes I've seen new webcomic artists making, and I thought I'd share my tricks.

#1: Get a Dialog font

Sorry, despite Comic Sans having the word comic in the name, it's not actually good for lettering comics. Comic book letterers usually use specially designed fonts when they're lettering comics, and they often have websites where you can get these typefaces for a reasonable fee (or sometimes even free!)

What makes dialog typefaces special?

The barred-I! (and other contextual options)

This one is subtle, but generally, you want to only use the barred-I for the personal pronoun "I" or for roman numerals. It helps clarify that what you're looking at is an I and not an L, but it takes up more space in the word, and we're trying to reserve as much space as possible for the art on the page.

Specially made comic book fonts will also be custom designed to be legible at a distance, have multiple bold/italics options, and might even include special versions of individual letters for when you type multiple of the same character in a row! It'll give your lettering a personal touch that you won't get from typefaces designed for other things.

Blambot is a great resource for all your lettering needs. Here I'm using Backissues and Nightmark

#2: Dialog Stacking

Dialog should always be stacked such that your longest line of text is in the middle. The block of text itself should have a sort of diamond shape <>. Sometimes this is difficult to do, especially if you have any long words at the beginning or end of a sentence. You can't always get it to work (and if you're unwilling to rewrite your dialog so it fits), so sometimes it might not be perfect, but if your text block is more hourglass shaped >< that's a good indication that you should try putting your line breaks somewhere else. Basically try to make your text as round as possible if it's in a balloon.

#3: Balloon Shape

One of the more common mistakes I see webcomic artists making is using perfectly elliptical balloons. It's actually kind of difficult to fit text into balloons that are perfectly elliptical; there ends up being a lot of uneven space around the text, and it looks kind of cheap. Making your balloons slightly more rectangular is going to give you more bang for you buck, they'll fit the text block a little better. I like a hand drawn balloon, I tend to think they add variety.

One thing you definitely shouldn't do is this:

This might be a personal preference thing more than any kind of hard and fast rule, but these lettering styles give me the impression that the text is pasted on top of the art, and that no real thought was put into arranging it thoughtfully with the art. These are probably more appropriate for captions, not so much for dialog

Lettering is a part of the medium we're working with, the dialog should be approached as a part of the artwork, and treated as such.

#4: Balloon Placement

The number one, most important rule of lettering, is that the placement of your balloons should never confuse your reader. The goal of balloon placement is to guide your reader around the page, each one should naturally lead your reader towards the next thing they should read. Here's an example of something I see a lot:

While yes, it is true that on a comics page, people read left-to-right top-to-bottom, if two balloons are connected with a line, I am going to read them one after another. Readers are not going to intuitively assume they should jump to the other side of the page just because the #2 balloon is slightly above #3. In this situation the balloons should be interwoven.

It should not be possible to look from one balloon to another and skip over intermediate dialog. If your reader misses a part of the conversation and has to double back to figure out what they missed, you've broken the flow and immersion of the page.

Like I said, lettering is all about guiding your reader around the page, it should be a part of your composition from the beginning, don't forget to incorporate lettering into your work when you're first laying out your page. Put yourself in the place of your reader and see how your eyes track across the page.

Hope these help! Like I said, I'm no expert; it took me a while to learn a lot of this. I would have found these tips super useful when I was first starting out. If you're interested in the technical side of lettering, I highly recommend The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering by Nate Piekos. It's one of the most useful reference books I own, and I learned most of this from that book.

[lore-gore]

Ride The Cyclone Open Roleplay

Doing a Ride The Cyclone roleplay.

Jane Doe: Taken by me

Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg: Taken by @democracyrockzz

Noel Gruber: Taken

Constance Blackwood: @jane-does-head @thenicestgirlintown

Mischa Bachinski: Taken by @max--jagerman

Ricky Potts: Taken by @krowsselfindulgy (@spacingbachelorette)

This will be the main trigger warning for the beginning of every scene:

Tw: death, unreality, body horror, implied gore, yelling, trauma, loss of identity, horny teens being horny teens

This will also be in the tags.

Any other trigger warnings should be added to reblogs as well as tags.

The concept is basically if Karnak died before ressurecting anyone. So it's just them doing silly shenanigans as ghosts, singing songs we think they would sing, and probably a bit of angst. It will mainly act as a follow up to the 2016 bootleg version, with yannick's edits of course. (If you headcanon a different performance of your song for your character that's fine.)

We will also create character sheets consisting of name, gender, pronouns, age, sexuality, sign, birthday, favorite ride, appearance, personality, backstory, and "the most _ in town." (Mine is the only one without a sign, birthday, and favorite ride. If you forget, don't worry, I can edit it in.)

It's how you imagine the characters, with a mix of headcanons and canon.

The uniforms are the same as the 2016 ones but without the plaid.

How they wear their uniform and how they accessorize is up to you.

You can interpret the characters however you'd like, but make sure to stay faithful to their base character traits. (Things like Noel being gay and Misha being Ukrainian. Also Ricky using MOBILITY AIDS THANK YOU.)

Be as descriptive as possible. (See mine and my friends character sheets for examples!)

Also me and friends are high school students, so please only other high school students!

No NSFW roleplay. Talking about sex is fine, but no actual sex scenes! I'd prefer SFW blogs too.

Characters having crushes on other characters is allowed, but it might not be reciprocated. (Me and @democracyrockzz are pretty much planning to do perfectdolls.)

Every thread will be a scene. When you want to start a new scene, make a new thread. Give a synopsis of what the scene will be about, as well as the location in the fair.

Example:

New Scene

Synopsis: The choir plays a board game.

@democracyrockz reblogged

Ocean: Guys look what I found!

(Ocean emerges with a board game)

Noel's roleplayer reblogged

Noel: Oh god, no.

It will be a public thread so people who aren't in the roleplay can still enjoy it.

No racist, sexist, ableist, saneist, colorist, binarist, pigmentist, homophobic, transphobic, biphobic, panphobic, acephobic, enbyphobic, queerphobic, xenophobic, islamophobic, fatphobic, misogynistic, transmisogynistic, body shaming, "pro-life", transid, "MAPS", pro contact para, TERF, anti semitic, anti neopronouns, anti xenogenders, anti mspec, anti BLM, anti feminist, or incel blogs.

Toxic behavior will not be tolerated. Hate comments will be deleted.

To claim your character, simply comment who you want to play or DM me.

Afterwords, write your character sheet. Take your time, the person playing Noel won't be ready for a little while so don't be rushed. (I'm getting ahead of time.) Make sure to tag me too.

Also let me know what to add to the main tw. If you plan on having your character bring a sensitive topic up, I need to add it.

I will then put your character sheet in the pinned post of my side blog @mystery-contestant. Make sure to follow it!

If you want to make changes to your already posted character sheet, edit the original post and send me a message letting me know!

You will know the roleplay has started as I will announce it on my side blog. I will be starting off the first "scene."

Also if there's something you think should be a main tw let me know!

We will be starting this summer!

Jane's character sheet!

Ocean's Character sheet!

Ricky's Character sheet!

Constance's Character sheet!

Breakdown of edits!

More:

[birindale]

Bow wanders by a tea party and is opportunistically kidnapped, SweetBee steals Glimmer's gimmick, and She-Ra obliquely threatens to cut off Entrapta's head.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Born Champion”.

Cover: SweetBee descends from the sky, her wings glowing and sparkling as She-Ra holds a welcoming hand out to her. At the top of the page, the Princess of Power (trademark symbol) logo sits on a flat purple sky. A fuzzy orange and magenta landscape in the foreground blends into a featureless mass behind the girls. Two lumps of hard material which are probably supposed to be cliffs or mountains or something but are colored like glaciers mark the skyline behind them. At the bottom of the page "A BORN CHAMPION" is stamped in dark blue and outlined in white. Below it, the copyright text reads, "Illustrations (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1985 Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc."

Page 1: A desaturated, pale pink caption box reads, "It was daybreak and SweetBee buzzed about her hive. Passing by, Bow stopped to chat. "I'm scouting Etheria for signs of trouble," he said. "Will you be back by sunset?" SweetBee asked. Bow nodded and SweetBee watched him go. "If only I could be a hero brave as he!" she sighed." Thanks for the feminism as always, Tina. The illustration shows Bow, who's toy-accurate except for having both hands, making conversation with a flying SweetBee. There's no hive around, but they do appear to be at the foot of the Crystal Castle. 

A yellow caption box reads, "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MATTEL BY: WRITER — TINA HARRIS, PENCILER — JIM MITCHELL, INKER — TODD KUROSAWA, COLORIST — CHARLES SIMPSON, EDITOR — JOAN DUMBAULD & LEE NORDLING". God, how did I forget about Joan. Why would you keep the name "Dumb-old".

End Page 1. 

Page 2: Another desaturated pink caption box reads, "Meanwhile, inside her new tree-plex in the Valley of the Lost, Catra was busy entertaining. She and Entrapta sipped their tea while Clawdeen munched a crumpet. Suddenly, a twig snapped in the woods below." Entrapta lounges on a plush teal and amethyst bed, legs dangling over the edge, Catra lying prone beside her (and actually wearing her gloves for once! Good job, Skip!) They're both holding steaming cups of tea. The room appears to be a hollowed-out tree, a window showing several strangely shaped trees outside. Clawdeen, the pink lion, is watching Catra and Entrapta with a rather crudely-drawn crumpet in her mouth. She has a sparkling blue-and-yellow collar and some kind of garland draped over her mane for some reason. 

"What was that?" asks Clawdeen as she and Catra look around suspiciously. Damn, she ate that crumpet fast. 

"Look, it's Bow!" says Catra. She and Entrapta peer out the window, which is honestly just a tree hollow. Bow is indeed passing by beneath them, having made incredible time on circumnavigating Etheria, apparently. Look the Crystal Castle has been out for a full year now there's no reason they couldn't consult the map sticker. I'm just saying.

End Page 2.

Page 3: ""He can tell us the secret of She-Ra's power!" Catra cried. Entrapta called to Bow from the balcony. Bewitched by her golden glow, he stepped toward her. Letting loose her lovely hair, she trapped him in its tangles." So I guess there's a tree-balcony now. Entrapta wraps Bow in her hair, which is pink and purple, and can still move on its own. Her armor is gold, although it's not really colored to be as reflective as the plating on the toy is so it's—like that would hit better if you had the doll in front of you, I think. Catra just kind of stands there. Bow has his left hand behind his back, as though he'd gone to draw an arrow. 

"Ha! Ha! Good work, Entrapta!" says Catra, smiling wickedly with Clawdeen. Hm. No mask in sight I notice.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: A pale pink caption box reads, "The day passed quickly and SweetBee noticed it was getting dark. Bow was late and she began to worry." Sweetbee is tending to a small garden, trowel in hand, and looking over her shoulder with some concern. A climbing vine bearing some kind of fruit snakes its way up a climbing stick beside her. The sun is getting low in the sky, though it hasn't yet set.

"Bow could be in trouble. I must find him!" she says. 

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pale purple caption box reads, "SweetBee took to the air at once. She searched Etheria for many miles. Reaching the dark edge of the Valley of the Lost, she pressed on. Catra's tree-plex appeared suddenly below her." We see SweetBee soaring over a sprawling landscape, a huge forest bordered by steep mountains. Everything has an orange tint, which may indicate that it's now officially sunset, as the sky is too filled with beautifully-colored clouds to be sure, or just that Skip Simpson was really feeling orange this issue. A tree riddled with hollows stands out bright yellow in a clearing amongst the trees, in what must have been a discarded toyset, right? They're plugging it more than the Crystal Castle. Perhaps it was intended to adapt Justine Dantzer's proposed 'Topaz Tree Home' idea? But alas, it was never made.  

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pale pink caption box reads, "SweetBee landed softly on the rooftop. She peered in through the skylight. Bow was trapped inside! Carefully she moved away and magically turned her wings from bright yellow into a powerful pink light…" Well, there's not really a roof, as it's a tree. But she is up above them. Entrapta has tied Bow to a tree with her hair, and Catra has one hand resting on his shoulder and the other balled up on her hip, literally talking down to him. Clawdeen looks on with a smile. There's an abstract painting hanging on the wall.

"... sending out a signal for help!" Seriously? THIS gets to be a dialogue balloon? Whatever. SweetBee is posing with her wings flared, as they flash bright pink. For context, her toy had reversible wings—one side gold glitter, the other pink and glow-in-the-dark. It's not super original, since Flutterina has wings and Glimmer glows in the dark, but they're… there. They are there. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pale pink caption box reads, "From Crystal Castle's mighty throne, Princess Adora spotted the beacon light. Quickly, she decoded SweetBee's urgent message." Adora and Spirit are standing on top of the Crystal Castle. The throne (which is also an elevator) is up there with them, though it's gold instead of blue. If you really squint, the Crystal Castle's facade kind of looks like a skull. If skulls had big glass doors instead of teeth. And turrets. With shingles. It does seem to be getting later at least—the sky is beginning to turn this lovely indigo, and the clouds are a rosy orange. A sprite is whizzing around the castle, and Adora points at it as Spirit stands behind the throne. A slightly inaccurate flag is flying from the parapets. 

"Spirit, Bow's in terrible trouble!" says Adora. "We must leave at once!" 

End Page 7. 

Page 8: With a big dramatic burst of light, Adora and Spirit become Starburst She-Ra and Crystal Swift Wind, refracting all kinds of colors. The throne is still gold instead of blue, and it looks like they didn't realize the shield could be detached when drawing it.

"Fear not, SweetBee! Help is on the way!" says She-Ra, from Swift Wind's back. Skip did a great job coloring this one to make Swifty look like he was actually made of crystal and not just lit from below, everyone say thank you Skip.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: Another pale pink caption box reads, "Swift Wind sailed through the night. They circled Catra's tree-plex and landed with a gentle thud. SweetBee moved to greet them. Bow heard his friends up on the roof. Shuffling about noisily, he whispered to himself, "No one must know help has finally arrived."" Well, it's super not nighttime. Now I know what you're thinking, wouldn't making it dark out desaturate the bright colors which draw the children's eye? And yeah if it were realistic, but you can just make a dark blue sky and call it a night (heheh) in these things. They do it all the time in this very franchise. Anyway. We see Swift Wind landing, She-Ra on his back. SweetBee looks up from where she's evidently been hiding on the 'roof' of the tree-plex.

"Quiet, you!" says Entrapta, gripping Bow's shoulder where he's still tied to the chair. In the foreground, Catra and Clawdeen are curled up and napping on the big comfy bed. It's pretty adorable. 

"Disturb my friends' catnaps and they'll have both our heads!" says Entrapta. 

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A pale pink caption box reads, "Crashing through the skylight, She-ra took Entrapta by surprise. "And if you don't let go of Bow, I'll have yours—with all its lovely locks!" "No!" Entrapta cried. Clutching her braids, she fled into the night." 

Catra and Clawdeen are waking up, Catra angry and Clawdeen… disoriented, as She-Ra leaps down through the hole in the ceiling. Entrapta clutches her hair defensively. Her outfit is much more appropriately reflective this time, though it still doesn't scream 'metallic'. It's pretty. Bow smiles at She-Ra in apparent relief. 

"You think you've outsmarted me? Just try to find your way back to Crystal Castle!" says Catra, blasting us with some kind of pink sparkle. 

End Page 10.

Page 11: A pale pink caption box reads, "Catra sprang to Clawdeen's back and hissed a dire warning. "The Valley of the Lost's secrets are mine. Without them, you will remain trapped here forever!" Then, in a flurry of furry pink, she and Clawdeen disappeared." Catra sits on Clawdeen's back amidst a huge cloud of smoke and sparkles as Bow and She-Ra look on. Maybe the garland thing on Clawdeen's head is supposed to be her bow? It doesn't translate well to photograph so they may have misinterpreted it as a rope-crown thing or something. 

End Page 11.

Page 12: Whoa. Okay, everything is upside down now. A pale pink caption box reads, ""What a different forest this is!" Bow cried. "Catra has turned everything upside down!" Swift Wind shook his head. "She-Ra, I can't make hide nor hair of this. I've lost all sense of direction. How will we get home?"" She-Ra, Bow, SweetBee and Swift Wind all look around them in apprehensive confusion. 

"A bee's homing instinct is very strong. I can find Crystal Castle. Come on, we'll make a beeline for home," says SweetBee.

End Page 12. 

Page 13: A pale pink caption box reads, "And at their journey's end, the weary travelers found themselves at home once more." Swift Wind flies after a glowing SweetBee, Bow and She-Ra on his back. It is still not visibly nighttime, and the cliff under the Crystal Castle is much higher than it was in the beginning of the issue. I feel like this would have been fixed by some rescaling. Looking at you, Tim. 

"SweetBee! You saved the day!" says Bow, as they all land in front of the castle. 

"I never thought that just being myself would make a hero out of me!" says SweetBee. 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: SweetBee kneels before She-Ra, who holds the Sword of Protection to her shoulder as though knighting her. Bow and Swift Wind look on with big smiles. A pale pink caption box reads in the red 'moral' font, "She-Ra laughed and smiled. "Why, SweetBee! Everyone has some special talent to offer. It's when you put your talent to work that you become a champion. Helping others with your power is what makes you a true Princess of Power!"" Which like, I don't think that ALL needed to be in red. Also, Bow's stomach is blue. He wears a crop top, Skip. Get used to it. 

End Page 14.

End ID]

[randybutternubber]

Little Nightmares unused 2017 comic content master post (WILL BE UPDATED)

Okay, so disclaimer/info: None of these have been "leaked" by me, nor are they leaks in the first place; I just found them because I'm a HUGE LN comic fan, and I cannot keep the silliness contained. They either came from posts/portfolios made by the original comic creators or official announcements (with a few exceptions.) All of these are real. Obviously, don't take my word for it, but all of these have come from official sources that can be found online (if you want me to, I can prove it). Also, I know I might get people asking me about this/asking me to add it, but the supposed "leaked" comic pages of the Runaway Kid and Six interacting are fake. As far as I'm aware, these were either made to push sevix as canon or to troll. Either way, they were presented as being real leaks. Any other leak posted by this person was, while convicting, faked. (I don't want to start drama, and this happened years ago, so obviously, I'm not going to mention who made these posts.) Also, I will be updating this post with new content once I find it. I am currently looking for a couple of early sketches I saw a while ago. LAST THING: not all of these are unused content. Some are unused covers that didn't make it into the display at the end of the comics or inked and uncolored versions of existing pages.

Taken from Aaron Alexovich's website. This is an alternate version of an existing panel. The North Wind seems to have shape-shifted itself or created the visage of a wolf to blow at the barn. This is probably a reference to The Three Little Pigs, which fits, considering that The Tale Of The North Wind has many references to the fairytale "The North Wind And The Sun" and some other stories that involve the north wind as a character. One other minor difference is that the crows, which are implied to be skeletons in the original panel, are shown to be fully skeletal. Looking at the original panel, it seems like this version came first. Not sure why it was changed.

This is an unused cover. I found it on the twitter of one of the people who worked on it.

This is an unused/alternate version of the hunchback girl destroying the music box. Found (If I remember correctly) on the colorist's ArtStation.

WIP version of an unused cover

This one is an alternate cover version, so not really unused. As far as I'm aware, they don't sell selling physical copies with this cover anymore, but they do exist. Also, this can be seen in the cover display on the last pages of the comics, so if you've read them you've probably seen this. Might be a bit of a copout but it feels right to add it hear for some reason

I wasn't sure if I was going to include this one because, honestly, I don't really know what's going on with this cover. While this cover is used, for some reason, the colors in this version are super warm. It might be a reprint error, but it may also be an issue on the side of whoever took the photo. This may be a specific issue with the physical version as well. Really not sure what's up. (original below for comparison)

Unused alternate page where Six hauls in the music box. Also found on the colorist's art station

This is also an alternate cover that was used. I put it in here because a lot of people haven't seen it, but it isn't necessarily unused content.

These two pages seem to go hand in hand. They were used on the steam announcement for the LN comics. The top page looks like two panels oddly edited together. The children in the top panel seem like an early scrapped design for the campfire kids. These two pages honestly feel more like promotional material/concept art or something because of the sketchiness and scrapped designs. I believe these were specifically created for the announcement. This is just my speculation, though.

All the photos below are uncolored, inked versions of pages from book 2. These were found on a deviant art page which seems to be owned by one of the artists involved, probably the inker. Nothing super out of the ordinary until we get to the last of these inked pages.

This is an alternate uncolored, and unused version of the mirror monster first appearing.

I hope you guys enjoy this post, and I do plan to update it when I find those sketches. (sorry if the grammar is a bit messed up I'm tired and a bit out of it)

ONE SKETCH HAS BEEN FOUND

I found this on my camera roll and if I’m remembering correctly it came from one of the artists’ twitter accounts or one of their Deviant Art accounts. (Because I can’t remember exactly where it came from, please take this one with a grain of salt.)

[aita-blorbos]

aita for not being able to get over someone?

this is going to be a prety long story. i (31F) ended up in a really messy situation. basically i draw comic strips for a living and i have a colorist (32M I'll be calling him R for this post) helping me with it. me and R started out having a strictly work relationship (he's always been really closed off and he hates getting personal with anyone) but over the years we became pretty close friends. so all this led up to his ex girlfriend (I don't care about her age,F I'll be referring to her as J) from italy showing up a while ago. she was engaged to some italian guy and R didn't want to look like a total loser for not having anyone so he asked me to pretend to be his wife? at first the idea seemed stupid to me but i decided to go along with it and i found myself... enjoying it more than i probably should've. by the end of the day J called her engagement to her fiancee off and seemed to be all over R and i felt actual jealousy.

The next day i asked a mutual friend of me and R if he thinks i have any chance with R and he said yes so i left a message on his answering machine about my feelings for him that night but i found out next morning that he got married to J and that she heard and erased the message before R could hear it. she said it's to save me the embarrassment so I can't really be angry at her but then again I'm not sure if i should trust her. something about her is just... off. she's just so selfish and hot headed and i can tell she hates me. of course she has her reasons but... I'm just not a hateful person you know? and yet i hate her. she may just be the only person in the world i hate.

so that's where i am now. i even got a boyfriend and he's... nice. but he's not R. and j think he knows that.

but the real reason I'm writing this is because i also feel like my presence puts a lot of tension in R and J's marriage and i don't want to be responsible for ruining things between them. I can tell J hates how much time R and i spend together but we still work together in my apartment I can't change that! but the fact remains. I'm deeply in love with R and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon.

tl.dr: i'm a cartoonist and i have deep feelings for my colorist which his new wife knows and hates me for. aita?

[peppertaemint]

I’m going to be honest: I’ve been following you for a long time (I was already following your previous blog) (mostly for your Shinee/Taemin content because I love Taemin) and I used to think you were too judgmental and harsh and unfair about Army. Well, I guess I owe you an apology because now being 3 years and a half, almost 4 years into the fandom, I’m at my limit… yesterday was my last straw. As much as I love BTS I just can’t stand this fandom anymore. Of course there’s some good things but it doesn’t counterbalance all the bs anymore…… I’m so done, the immaturity and entitlement, constant harassment, no criticism policy, my resentment for the fans is almost starting to turn into bitterness towards the members because they never speak up about it. BTS values my ass. Right now I’m waiting for all the members solo to be done - not even sure why cause JK’s solo is utterly boring and disappointing so far - and I’ll probably log off and just engage with their music and past content on my own. I really hope for a change and for things to be said once and for all when they come back but I doubt this will happen. What a mess..

Oh boy, if yesterday was a lot, I hope you're okay, Anon. Koreaboo has already published an article highlighting the backlash around the supposed "pornographic" concept etc. I know Taemin wants to make waves, and he's well old enough to handle himself and he's dealt with so much worse, but it would be nice for this not to pick up on SK news outlets.

Re BTS, I always give this advice to people who tell me what you just did: take what works for you and leave the rest. Create healthy boundaries and focus on what speaks to you.

People (army, lol) like to paint me as some evil bts-anti who is so mean and unfair etc. I'm not; I just have boundaries and standards. When SHINee made those colorist comments in their content a few weeks ago, I made my thoughts known and fully expected them to speak on it. And they did. And the DMs Taemin sent actually meant something.

I expect him and the whole group to be accountable, and that goes both ways. Minho has talked before about how fans are a reflection of the artist. You know, sometimes there are even dress codes for concerts! But really, what I'm saying is having standards and boundaries is a good thing. Don't lose yours. And you can still enjoy BTS content even though the group ethos doesn't match your standards. It's recognizing it and having the boundary that is important.

Please have a pretty Taeminnie to cheer you up:

[dollsonmain]

Thinking about how many BJD I have that need dressed, still, and thinking about letting some of them go instead.

Probably sells

I might let go of Elma instead of dressing her since it's taken me so long to get her all put together and that's making me not like her as much. She's also the only doll that is based on an existing character and meant to be that character in my entire collection. I even custom made her some MiM eyes. Violet is loosely based on Nana, but is still Violet.

Still need to list that Nano Haruka.

The SDM head I don't care for but don't much want to search for a replacement and don't know what I would want anyway, so might need to let the whole doll go.

SD13 Mimi head I would sell. I'd like to find a Kun head to put on the body since Mimi came in a Kun box, but that's not likely to happen. Kun was really popular at the time and I don't often see them for sale but especially not just a floating head (turns out there are some on DoA rn...). I could also put one of the other heads that are on old-old SD10 bodies on the newer SD10 body Mimi is on and let go of one or more old-old bodies. I really only wanted one old-old body, specifically with an F-01 head.

This F-08 with the sanded off by someone else and repaired by me lip isn't exactly what I was wanting. I really want an unmodded F-08.

Maybe sells

I'm not sure what to do with the Abies head and Limwha body.

Don't have a body for the Notdoll Argeia head at the moment.

No head for the Dollzone body, either. They go together well enough, but the Argeia head does look like it needs a willowy body just to keep up the oddity whereas the Dollzone body is more realistic proportions than a lot of BJD bodies and is closer in bulk to an old SD10.

I'm not sure if repainting and wigging/rerooting Little Kurhn Colorist would make me like her more or not. I'm not a fan of the face sculpt, honestly.

Steve's been naked forever. He fits Tonner male clothes I think. Tonner size clothes tend to be $$.

Need clothes

Seiji still needs good clothes. He's an odd doll but I like that about him. He's SD17 size thereabout and clothes for that size aren't easy to get. I don't know exactly how I want him to dress anyway.

Bellamy still needs some softdad clothes.

SDC Kaede, I would love to get her default outfit but don't see that happening, so she needs something else.

Sakura needs something, too.

Wanted

I've noticed that the old F-07 head has been brought back for Dear SD, likely with a new number that I don't know. I don't really want a Dear SD but do think that body shape suits the F-07 head.

[davidmariottecomics]

Writing for your First Audience

Hello! 

Today's blog is mostly for newer to comics folks, though there's probably some useful stuff for old hats here too. As an editor, I see a LOT of scripts every year. Since I am reviewing a high-volume of them on a regular basis, I end up seeing some commonalities of both good practices and things that could make everyone down the line's life easier, so I thought I'd briefly talk about that! 

Who Reads the Script vs. Who Reads the Comic If you're making a comic and making it available to be read, the idea is you want someone reading the final product, right? The full execution of your (and your collaborators') ideas. But most of the time, unless you're quickly cartooning something, that final stage is not the initial execution of a comic. Exact workflows vary from person to person, team to team, but generally speaking, most comics start with a script that's going to be read and shared. 

Think of a good mystery. As a reader, you're compelled by putting the pieces together, seeing what's going to happen next, being surprised or vindicated (or both) when a reveal does happen, and these things work in tandem to keep you turning pages. A good script is like that, but you have to make sure you're leaving very clear signposts for the people you're working with to properly put together the puzzle. 

It's worth remembering at this point, that your comic is likely to have anywhere between 1 and 7 other people reading it at the script stage: an editor, a penciller/artist, possibly an inker, possibly a colorist, possibly a licensor, possibly a letterer, and possibly any of those sorts of people in duplicate! And because they are helping build and refine the story with you, they need to know what they're working on as early as possible. 

The very basic version of that is something like if a baddie is giving their grandiose speech before they blow up a bank vault or whatever, if you know they're going to thumb a detonator on page 8, you should probably make sure you show the detonator while they're speechifying on page 7, just so the action tracks more easily for the reader. And, more importantly at the script stage, so your artist knows that they should be drawing the villain with detonator in hand before they press the button. 

But there are a lot more complex versions, and a lot of those come down to formatting as much as the actual writing process. 

Where Do You Put the Information

Again, a lot of this is going to come to personal preference between the people involved, but I would generally consider what information the rest of your team will need and flag it as early as possible. Some of my favorite scripts to read as an editor start out with a reference section before the script itself. Some writers I work with will provide short descriptions of the major locations or set-pieces and props. If there's reference available--something we've seen previously in the series and are revisiting--maybe they'll drop in some pictures. If there's a new character joining the cast, they might have a short description of their appearance and personality. Some folks even go so far as to flag ahead of Page 1 word 1 to call out if they've got specific requests for the lettering. 

I am very grateful to my collaborators who don't mind that I don't tend to do that in my own scripts (though I try to be better). But I really appreciate it as an editor because it makes my life a lot easier knowing I can properly communicate that information not just to the rest of the team working on that issue's interiors, but also often by having that info and reference available for cover artists. 

The other place I see those larger reference archives added is the back of the script. Generally, I find if the reference is at the back of the script, it tends to be more photo-heavy with ideas for locations or specific callouts for characters (or sometimes memes). It doesn't reduce the helpfulness or importance of the reference, but I do find reference in the back tends to be for broader picture ideas that help set a more specific sense of place or build upon a reference, rather than helping to dictate the action. 

For myself, I tend to be a heavy in-script referencer. Which is to say, I add a lot of hyperlinks and comments to the things I have a specific idea on how they should look, as they enter the script. That's also a totally fine option, as long as you're planning your script for the other readers. Again, that's making sure the detonator's there before it's used, but it's also things like if you have a back-and-forth with your editor about something being unclear and you figure it out in the comments, make sure you also go back and add that clarity in the actual script so licensors or artists aren't having to track down and read through all your back-and-forth. Plus, as an editor, I tend to like to send licensors "clean" scripts, so I minimize the number of comments as much as possible. 

With all that said, figure out what works for you and your partners. A couple of times I've gotten scripts with accompanying thumbnails (usually when the writer is a cartoonist in their own right) and those have specific compositional ideas or funny little details that might not get illuminated in the script as written. I've had some writers drop like one link early on in a script to a shared folder that has all the references or mood boards or whatever for an issue in a single place. I've worked with teams who have created shared inspiration boards and reference boards that make getting a fill-in artist on-board super easy. 

Not Everyone Starts at the Start

I was talking with an artist friend at SDCC and she was mentioning how she likes to tackle issues in reverse page order. She reads it front to back, but then she starts drawing with the last page. Her reasoning, which makes a lot of sense, was starting at the back, she'll have the most energy for the most exciting pages, the cliffhanger or finale. And she'll know how things are set up at the end so as she works backwards to the front, she can keep continuity going because she already knows what she's supposed to be setting up. And I thought that was a very neat way of doing things! 

I bring this up because it speaks to one of the most important things: like half of knowing how to format for the people you're working with is finding out how they work. And that's not always an option. I have heard a lot of folks talk about how--despite comics being collaborative--they haven't really had a chance to speak to the writer or the artist or whoever else they're working with. Which makes working with them really hard. As an editor, I tend to facilitate communication at the start, but if the creators ask to or seem like they should be in direct communication, I link them up ASAP. 

All of which is to say, unless you're operating in total isolation, someone else is going to access your script and when they do, make sure you're making it illuminating for them so they can do their best job, rather than having to piece too much together on the go. 

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), Honkai Star Rail (Video game), My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon), the beach, The Broken Room by Peter Clines (Book), Crime Scene Kitchen (TV show), Dumbing of Age (Webcomic), Barbie (Movie), Guy's Grocery Games (TV show), Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), not being at SDCC. 

New Releases this week (7/26/2023): Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors Summer Smash (Editor)

New Releases next week (8/2/2023): Nothing from me! 

Final Order Cut-Off next week (7/31/2023 - AKA Preorder Deadline) Godzilla: Best of Mechagodzilla (Editor) Sonic the Hedgehog #64 (Editor)

Plug:  No big announcements, but maybe join my Patreon! You get this same blog, but without this part plugging my Patreon! Plus you get extra stuff! This week, I'm putting up Jimmy Squarefoot for all $5 and up backers and have my first "something weird" coming out for $10 and up backers: a presentation about some best practices on moderating (and making presentations for) panels! 

Pic of the Week: Took the day after SDCC off to recover at the beach, so that's what's here, but the real pic of the week if Becca's series of Freddie and Laurie's summer vacation! 

[kudosmyhero]

Legends of the Dark Knight (vol. 1) #67: Going Sane, part 3: Breaking the Surface

Read Date: April 21, 2023 Cover Date: January 1995 ● Writer: J.M. DeMatteis ● Penciler: Joe Staton ● Inker: Steve Mitchell ● Colorist: (Digital Chameleon) ● Letterer: Willie Schubert ● Editor: Archie Goodwin ◦ Jim Spivey ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● mm, pizza sounds good about now. with pineapple. (don't @ me) ● this Joker storyline is really quite tragic, with Joseph ("Joe Kerr"). you know it can't end well. I just hope Rebecca survives. it's like a train wreck happening in slow motion. ● this is the first story I've come across so far (that I can remember, anyway) that Batman was found as Batman and unmasked by his rescuer

● the art style is growing on me ● Bruce has a shattered femur and a compound fracture of a rib. damn. ● the doctor thinks he was in costume due to a party. they're in a town called Accord, 200 miles north of Gotham. the water carried him a damn long way… ● back to the present, Batman reveals to Jim that he's back, but he prevents him from getting too close. he doesn't want Jim to see how hurt he is. ● omg Batman is smiling. that's kind of terrifying

● heheh, the poor doctor made the mistake of sneaking up on Bruce. he nearly attacked her by reflex ● Bruce sees the small-town life and probably for the first time in his life feels a sense of peace. he doesn't know if he wants to go back to his old self. ● omg, Bruce is wearing flannel, working in a garden, and looks happy… ● back in the present, he's still trying to get up to where he was physically ● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Joseph and Rebecca find themselves outside the dilapidated Comedia Theater with Joseph telling her how he loved the place as a kid. Rebecca doesn't understand, as she was told he just moved to the city less than a year ago. Joseph plays it off as a harmless josh. Batman begins again on his search for Joker nearby while various flashbacks of his missing time come to his mind. He recalls how Dr. Lynn Eagles, from the upstate little town of Accord, did emergency surgery on him for his various life-threatening injuries. She comes to call Bruce "Lazarus" during his time there.

Batman appears to Captain Gordon in his office and assures him that he will find Joker and bring him to justice, while hiding his apparent ache from his still recuperating body. Batman confronts Dorothy Bruckner, the widow of recently deceased Dr. Elias Bruckner. An alcoholic and failed plastic surgeon, Dr. Bruckner catered to criminals wanting new faces. Batman easily deduces from Dorothy's reaction that Joker hired him to do something about his skin condition and killed him when the job was done.

Flashbacks take Bruce back to his downtime in Accord. Bruce asks why Lynn would take him in like this, to which she replies that simple intuition says that he is a good man. The idyllic quiet life in Accord makes Bruce think of possibly giving up Batman, and finding peace within himself in such a town. Lynn tells Bruce that she once moved to Gotham City for a few months but eventually returned to Accord because she hated the big city scene. Bruce likewise tells her vague truths about his life in the city.

In the Batcave, Batman is still retraining his body to act as it once did, when it hits him. Councilwoman Elizabeth Kenner's comments that Joker made her watch old comedic films, spurs Batman to cross-check rentals of such films at local video stores. Seeing the name of Joseph Kerr makes Batman wonder why Joker would be so obvious in this deception.

In a flashback in Accord one night, Lynn confesses to Bruce that she did indeed love Gotham City, but one night she came upon an intruder in her apartment, held her at gunpoint, and proceeded to rape her. The tragedy led her back to Accord to heal. After a few years, she returned to the city to spend the day there. However, on the way back to her hotel, she was confronted by a man with a knife. She reveals that this time she was saved by Batman, and that was the reason why she helped Bruce the whole time, and returns his costume to him. Upon hearing this, Bruce returns to Gotham City.

Batman visits Joseph and Rebecca's apartment and sees a picture of them. Joseph's innocent look casts doubt in Batman that he is Joker. The superintendent, Mikey Sansonia, tells Batman that Joseph and Rebecca went on vacation in Pennsylvania weeks ago and that they are to be married. This solidifies for Batman that this is a just a deception by Joker to throw him off the trail. However, in another part of town, Joker reappears.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman:_Legends_of_the_Dark_Knight_Vol_1_67)

Fan Art: Cheeze Luis by nefar007

Accompanying Podcast: ● Batbooks for Beginners - episode 12

[saifahname]

Vice Versa - EP 1 mini analysis

So my day was awful but this first episode was great so let’s go

First, the color. The use of the ocean blue color is expected: this episode, Talay finds his (almost) death in the ocean, the most important symbol for now. But the color blue sets the vibe: it can be a calming color, known to have a relaxing effect on people, constant and unchanging (like the ocean). However, when overused, the color blue symbolizes depression and sadness, with almost threatening associations. It can feel cold, impersonal, unfriendly - like how you would feel about a new universe you suddenly wake up in (or how Talay describes his feelings after what he thought was a failed interview).

Blue is the color that separates bodies of land from one another - in this case, the color that separates universes from each other.  It is also sometimes considered a symbol of wisdom and introspective journey - hinting at the long eventful path both Puen and Talay will have to take in order to find themselves, both literally - by returning to their world, and figuratively. 

From the get-go I can say that I am not the biggest fan of making them meet each other before the reincarnation. In my mind I would have preferred a blind union back in their world, but I hope (and know) X will make this work beautifully in the end anyway. 

We get to meet Talay: passionate, reliable, and kind of obsessed with his work. All his actions, before the reincarnation, set his character as someone who is willing to work hard for whatever he has to, be it his dream job or something he promised his friends. He is desperate at first to go back to his universe where he just started his job, even more when he finds out Tess was but in his body, which means everything he worked for is probably going to be f*cked, as he said. 

So to see him get put into trouble-maker Tess’ body is going to be a ride. Luckily, he has Phuwadol and Joopjang to guide him (I am mentioning them because I need to mention my huge crush on both the characters and the actresses). 

THE EASTER EGGS!!! - I appreciate little cameos of other actors playing their characters from other series or things like quotes, etc. They have a very nice and funny touch. Just like all the things particular to this universe: the paper being transparent, the way to count, wine/beer inversion, etc.

Fuse and Kita - I would die for both of them, but they also tell us more about who Tess is: a spoiled kid, who doesn’t do much, but loves to party and who got beaten up because he flirted with someone else’s girlfriend. He doesn’t help/is not interested in his family business and makes a point in not helping at the company. A lot of times this episode, Tess and Talay were put in antithesis: their economic upbringing, their passion and how Talay was so willing to go to work when he found out it’s a film company, how Tess is more of a happy-go-lucky guy while Talay is more stern and serious. 

I am pretty sure, also, that Pakorn did not reincarnate yet. What would be his reason to avoid Tess like the plague if it was Puen in his body already, who has no idea about any history behind Tess and Tun. 

For me, this was a great first episode. It set the pace and we also got to meet all the main characters we’ll focus on, but it also left a veil of mystery over Puen/Tess and the exact history behind Tess and Tun. It had comedic moments (the cherry for me was Talay blocking Tun’s way with his leg). I can’t wait to see more of Puen in Tun’s body and the changes in him. 

(what I also find interesting is the fact that the characters actually resemble each other in an X: Talay, a passionate colorist, resembles Tun, an aspiring screenwriter, both in the domain they work in but also in personality, while Tess and Puen seem, at least, more similar than Talay and Tess. Just something that I remarked and found interesting to point.)

[itsallhoney]

My Top 48 Albums of 2023 (So Far)

We’re just past the halfway point of the year and I wanted to share my favorite albums of the year so far. I've been listening to a lot of new releases as a sort of personal project but I've found a lot of albums that I really connect to and feel passionate about that I would like to share with other people that might like them as well.

Every album has a short review or description, of varying quality. I touch on themes where I feel they are relevant and try to describe the sound where I could and where I felt that the genre is maybe too broad. This isn't something I've done before so it was mostly an exercise in getting any thoughts down at all.

The list is in alphabetical order (by artist) and the album covers are also arranged in that order so if there’s a cover that stands out to you it should be relatively easy to find.

titles + descriptions below

100 Gecs – 10,000 Gecs (hyperpop)

I expect hyperpop to be very electronic but this album brings in elements of ska and hardcore that I just thought were a lot of fun.

2. Alice Longyu Gao – Let’s Hope Heteros Fail, Learn, and Retire (hyperpop)

This is absolutely wild, and a masterpiece. It perfectly captures what it feels like to be in your 20s in America right now. If you already like the 100 Gecs album then you should check this out.

3. Aly & AJ – With Love From (pop)

This is a 70s pop/soft-rock inspired album and probably their best album to date.

4. Andy Shauf – Norm (indie pop)

It’s a concept album about God losing faith in humanity, but seeing a glimmer of hope in a man called Norm who is stalking an unnamed woman because his faith in God is pure. Sonically it’s very dreamy, but grows more discordant as the story goes on.  Shout out to the clarinet.

5. Anna B Savage – in|FLUX (art pop)

Haunting and beautiful (alto) vocals -- seriously her voice is impressive. Emotionally poignant and poetic lyrics. Masterful composition, it’s not the main focus but it’s still really intricate.

6. Blondshell – Blondshell (indie rock)

This is a 90s alternative inspired album. It’s raw and witty and real.

7. boygenius – the record (indie rock)

I’m not describing this because all of you sad tumblr gays know what it is already. I listen to all three of the boys, but Lucy is my boy. So, I do prefer the groups songs + Lucy songs, but I truly love all most of the songs on this album and if this were a ranked list it would be in the top ten.

8. Braids – Euphoric Recall (experimental pop)

This one is ethereal in a way that sounds like it comes from space (I feel like I often use ethereal in a spritely way).

9. Caroline Rose – The Art of Forgetting (indie rock)

At it’s core this is a breakup album. It’s about completely breaking down and building yourself back up again. It’s a piece of art that is meant to be experienced whole.

10. Cusp – You Can Do It All (indie rock)

It’s got that sort of 90s indie rock sound. A little shoegazey, some twinkly guitars. And it’s a no skip album.

11. Emilíana Torrini & the Colorist Orchestra– Racing the Storm (chamber pop)

This is one of the most unique albums I’ve ever heard. Torrini’s voice has a haunting/ethereal effect. I want to call it otherworldy, but I also want to say that it’s very organic and feels like nature so do with that what you will. If you like Secret by The Pierces, I don’t know if you’ll like the whole album but I think you’ll like the opening track.

12. Emma Tricca – Aspirin Sun (chamber folk)

I’m worried that people might get confused and think I understand art when I merely appreciate it. I just let this album wash over me and it is an experience.

13. Falso Nove – Horta da Luz (indie rock)

This is a concept album and it’s probably really strong thematically, it’s about the search for light. But I liked it fully based on the music (because I don’t understand Portuguese). The arrangements are really full and they swell with emotion, you get a story even without the words. The vibes on Cacos are immaculate. But I can be swayed by any song with a saxophone.

14. Fran – Leaving (indie folk)

Climate anxiety and isolation. It’s mostly folk but occasionally veers into ethereal.

15. Gretel Hänlyn – Head of The Love Club (indie rock)

What this album is, is an artist on their second album trying to discover their sound. But what she achieves is an album that effortlessly blends a lot of different styles and eras of music into something that feels both cohesive and modern. It sounds like a lot of different things but every song sounds like it goes together. Also a great vocalist.

16. Indigo de Souza – All of This Will End (indie rock)

It’s an album about mortality, loneliness, and self doubt. It feels like she captures some deep truths about humanity, but maybe she just perfectly captures what it’s like to feel bad all the time.

17. Innerlove. – Roscoe (emo)

They’ve got that 4th wave emo/Midwest emo sound. It perfectly captures that mid-twenties malaise and it came out at the perfect time in my life.

18. Janelle Monáe – The Age of Pleasure (pop)

Words cannot express how much it means to the 19-year-old me, writing queer analyses of the Metropolis series and listening to “Q.U.E.E.N.” every day, to see Janelle Monáe be so loudly and unapologetically queer. They are hot and this is good pop music.

19. Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental (country)

This is a break up album and it's about finding yourself again after losing yourself in another person. There are so many lines that cut me to the core. The twang is strong and that’s a bonus.

20. José James – On & On (jazz)

This is a jazz reimagining of Erykah Badu songs and it is so good.

21. Joseph – The Sun (folk pop)

A vulnerable album about the mental health struggles that the sisters have gone through in recent years, but it’s more about the recovery. About seeing the light again.

22. Joy Oladokun – Proof of Life (folk pop)

A little more pop than I was expecting, but in the Americana revival way that seems to be having its moment right now. It just radiates positivity and feels like a much needed album right now.

23. Kara Jackson – Why Does The Earth Give Us People to Love? (folk)

This is Bob Dylan shit. Great poet and lyricist.

24. Kari Faux – Real B*tches Don’t Die (rap)

It’s an album about grief, but not in the way you would expect. Grief is a thing that permeates every part of life, but life continues and that’s how it’s reflected on the album. There are songs where she fully reflects on loss right next to songs about going out with friends, or dating, that feel like a celebration of life.

25. Kesha – Gag Order (pop)

Gago Order captures every emotion at once. It feels like you’ve just passed through the eye of the hurricane and now you’re right back in the storm.

26. Khamari – A Brief Nirvana (r&b)

If you’ve been waiting for a new Frank Ocean album, try this.

27. Labrador – Hold the Door for Strangers (alt country)

This feels like middle-aged man divorce music, and definitely sounds like something my dad would like. There are a few lines on this album that absolutely took me out and I go back to these songs frequently.

28. lusillón – Pensado mucho y mal (indie pop)

This is just really sweet indie pop.

29. Marlody – I’m Not Sure At All (art folk)

This is a really gorgeous album. It’s piano-driven, very emotional, and she has a very ethereal voice. I think fans of Weyes Blood will probably enjoy this.

30. McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (jazz rap)

A prolific album that is in part an ode to Toni Morrison, hence the title. It is just as much a portrait of life in America today, in a way that highlights the ways in which Morrison’s writing is still relevant. There are also some really good beats on this one. Shout out to the flute.

31. M(h)aol – Attachment Styles (post-punk)

Queer and feminist punk rock.

32. Miss Grit – Follow the Cyborg (alt pop)

If you like sci-fi pop using robots as a metaphor for queerness, like Janelle Monáe’s early albums, then you’ll like this.

33. Miya Folick – ROACH (indie pop)

Another one about grief, isolation, losing yourself/finding yourself, and resilience. Everyone is going through it these days but I’m a fucking cockroach and you can’t kill me.

34. PACKS – Crispy Crunchy Nothing (indie rock)

A series of vignettes with a kind of dirty lo-fi sound. The songs are a little on the short side but they leave you feeling satisfied.

35. Petite Noir – MotherFather (noirwave/experimental)

Petite Noir created a new genre, and cultural movement, known as Noirwave when they began their first project and this album is a continuation of that.  It uses punk aesthetics, mixed with jazz, R&B, afrobeats to create something new and explore the identities of the African diaspora and Pan-Africanism. And it sounds damn good.

36. quinnie – flounder (indie pop)

This is an album for the sad queer girls. It’s sweet and vulnerable and a really great debut.

37. Rebecca Black – Let Her Burn (dance pop)

Whatever you think you know about Rebecca Black, forget it and just listen to this album (or better yet go watch her perform it live). This is fun dance music.

38. Samia – Honey (indie pop)

This is literally a Samia stan account. I truly think Samia is one of the best lyricists in the game right now. The girl can paint a picture with her words. The album is beautiful, and vulnerable, but also fun, and everything I needed this year.

39. Shalom – Sublimation (indie pop)

This is perfect indie pop. It’s fun and danceable with lyrics that are clever, honest, and emotional.

40. Shego – SUERTE, CHICA (indie rock)

This is a fun album. I will admit that my Spanish is rusty (that’s an understatement), I can tell you that some of the songs deal with mental health but in general I listen to this for the vibes. The album is a little punky, although the single with Natalie Lacunza has a slightly dreamy indie pop feel and “Steak Tar Tar” is a dance track (and absolute masterpiece).

41. Steady Holiday – Newfound Oxygen (indie pop)

Another case of this being exactly what I needed to hear in the moment. Another album about recovery and finding yourself again.

42. Tiny Microphone – Other Cities (indie pop)

If I could only recommend one album from this year it would be this one. If you just moved to a new city or you’re still getting over a break up -- and you’re struggling -- this one is for you.

43. Transviolet – Body (indie pop)

The first half is light and, dare I say, happy. The back half is a little darker and cathartic. The whole thing is danceable and fun.

44. Twin XL – H Y P E R F A N T A S I A (synthpop)

I was emo in the MySpace/neon pop punk era and the natural progression for a lot of those bands was to move into synthpop in the 2010s. If you enjoyed those vibes, if you’re an After Laughter enjoyer, check this out. Be emo and dance about it.

45. Wednesday – Rat Saw God (alt country)

This album is a collection of Southern Gothic stories, some personal, some observational. The music goes hard but the band doesn’t shy away from their country roots.

46. Y La Bamba – Lucha (psychedelic rock)

This is an album about embracing queerness as an adult. About what it means to be a queer and nonbinary as a Chincanx person and what it means to be Chincanx in Mexico. It’s about processing trauma and struggling with PTSD. And it’s about trying to take up space as a person with all of those identities in the music industry, and the world.

47. Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy (experimental rock)

This album radiates joy and positivity and it will make you want to dance.

48. Yves Tumor – Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) [experimental rock]

The first time I heard "Echolalia" I thought, this shit fucks. I would say the same about the rest of the album.

[updatemensalon]

How to use the both natural and chemical hair coloring dye?

NATURAL HAIR DYE

   Hair coloring or hair dyeing  is the practice of changing the hair color. The main reason for the hair coloring is cover the gray or white hair , to alter the hair original color into dye color. 

 Reffer to our customer

   In our salon we suggest our customer to prefer natural based hair dye  contain plant  based ingredients  rather than harsher, chemical free dye.

Benefits of  natural hair dye

  The natural based hair dyes includes some important  ingredients  such as Henna leaf, Indigo powder, Amla powder,  Bhringraj powder ,  Curry leaves this ingredients are naturally produced colors as alternatives to avoid the chemical product to  using the natural dye .

  The using of natural hair dye it is safe for hair and skin good for our body because we added the natural based ingredients in the hair dye.

Benefits of ingredients

Henna leaf: 

   Henna leaf is centuries-old way to color hair without abrasive dye. Henna leaves change color into red-orange,but there are henna dye shade in a spectrum of colors.

   Though ingredients such as indigo have been added to get these colors, it's still natural hair color. 

  Henna leaves is the safest option as it is all natural hair dye ingredients. 

Indigo powder:

   Indigo powder are regular use can help treat baldness and restore hair volume. Apply organic indigo powder help to eliminate excess grime out  of the scalp.

   Additionally , indigo powder prevents the scalp from too oily ,to dry, or scaly, which usually contributes to dandruff formation.

Amla powder:

   Amla is natural gives the darkens up the colors of natural dyes. when added with henna, amla helps darken up its color.

  Amla is acts  as the property of anti-dandruff, antibacterial and antifungal property.

  Amla  powder helps keep dandruff ,scalp flakes,and itchiness at bay. 

Bhringraj powder:

  Bhringraj powder will naturally enhance dark hair color making hair darker because of the naturally black dye content found in the bhringraj.

  Bhringraj function in the hair miraculously on its problem like hair fall, dandruff, premature graying hair and also strengthen hair.

  They are even more beneficial content in the bhringraj for hair because it is rich in nutrients like iron vitamin E, magnesium, polypeptides and vitamin D.

 Thing to know  about  men hair color

  Men's hair coloring can help you redefine yourself. whether you'd like to cover up a few gray strands or shake up with a bold new, hue choosing the right  men's hair  color for yourself is key to crafting your perfect look.

Permanent  men's hair color :

  Permanent hair color is probably the most commonly sought after hair coloring service.

  Every piece of  your hair has a protective outer layer called "cuticle".

  In order to change the color of you have to get past the cuticle and manipulate that inner layer that has the pigment.

  Hair color treatments start by using ammonia to raise to pH level. after the color is applied, it's locked in with a through rinse of water.

Temporary men's hair color:

  The temporary hair color can be be good choices for the looking to just try something new without a huge commitment.

  Temporary hair coloring a much simple process for a very short time. instead of using ammonia to lift cuticle and color the inside of your hair temporary.Hair color actually sticks to the cuticle  instead.

Know your color :

 This important of choosing hair color is related to skin tone and coloring are clues, but a good colorist can help you pull off a variety of snades.

  Fair skin tone you should refer the hair color is golden blonde and cool blonde are good options.

  Dark skin tone you should refer the hair color is generally ashy, cool brown ,chestnut and chocolate tones work well on dark skin.

Men's hair color trends and ideas:

  Highlights and Lowlights  can be great, hair color lighting just starting out with coloring the easiest men's hair color treatment to maintain and they can  add depth  and dimension to hair that might otherwise look flat. kinds highlights in hair coloring  have dark brown hair. 

Communicating with your hair stylist:

  Communication with our stylist tell your opinion about the hair coloring suggestion to our stylist about your hair coloring.

Timing your appointment:

  Consult with our stylist for appointment the frequency of your return-visits will depend on how much and what kind of hair you dyed.

Protect your hair color:

  Protect your hair color is one  of the best things you can do is use a shampoo and conditioner made for color treated hair. you will want to switch to a system containing a shampoo, conditioner and hair mask formulated for colored hair.

Maintenance:

  Hair maintenance is very important while it's a  little possible after coloring you will wash your hair with only lukewarm water  something to do maintain your colored hair. 

[vforhair18]

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Why Get Permanently Straightened

You might be wondering what permanently straightened means. Straightening your hair using thermal methods - that is, with an iron or a flat iron - can cause breakage and damage to your hair. That's why most people don't choose to use an iron on their long, delicate tresses. Heat-based straightening doesn't last either; you can expect your hair to go back to its natural curls in as little as two weeks if you don't treat it with care. If you want long-lasting results, then permanent straightening is probably better for you. Just remember, after getting permanently straightened, it's not possible to revert back to curly hair (or another style). But let's face it - curly looks aren't everyone's cup of tea!

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[ikroah]

How many times have you heard someone say “if I had his money, I could do things my way?” But little they know that it's so hard to find one rich man in ten with a satisfied mind. —“A Satisfied Mind,” Porter Wagoner (1955)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #21 - Freeside V

Collaborative Issue! Guest Artist: @tarberrymentats​

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Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Original Pencils / Transcript

Notes

Okay so here’s the thing. Yes, in-game there are sewers beneath Freeside that you can enter and explore. Yes, as far as dangers go, there are ghouls in parts of the sewer. No, none of these sewer tunnels actually allow you to subvert the Vegas gate via subterranean means, like I very confidently thought they did when I first outlined this volume of IKROAH and scripted this issue probably close to a year ago. Yes, it would have required rewriting the entire outline of Volume 2 to account for this because Agnes would have to get out of Freeside a different way. Yes, I care much more about telling a strong and coherent narrative than I do about what strictly happens in the video game Fallout: New Vegas. Yes, this is very sexy and cool of me.

Everybody give a big round of applause to @tarberrymentats​ for crushing the art again just like they did last December, they’ve been one of my favorite artists since I first ever became a part of this community and it’s been great to become such good friends outside of just the Fallout fandom. I love it so much when I get a guest ink-and-colorist because adhering so close to my pencils creates this really interesting hybrid of our styles that you just don’t get from any other kind of collaboration. It’s an especial honor to have had Halk work on this issue specifically, too; I couldn’t help but get the number one ghoul aficionado to assist with an appearance from of my favorite minor NPCs in the game: Rotface! He was fun to write, and fun to use as a way to show a little bit more of Agnes’ character and history. First that “maniac medic” thing Beth mentioned, now this? What the fuck is her deal? Maybe we’ll finally find out for sure in an issue or two. Maybe.

Also of note: IKROAH has a brand new font! Caveat Brush has been the font for all of the previous issues, but as my lettering has gotten much better and much more attentively professional over time, I started to disagree with it. The new font going forward is “Unmasked” from BlamBot, a possibly generic font that is nevertheless very suited for my purposes here.

Original Pencils (click for full size)

It felt really great to draw Agnes again after so long. With this issue primarily just being a conversation, I wanted to make sure the layout was interesting throughout, and conveyed the emotional beats and narrative focus very intentionally. I’ve included the original thumbnail sketches on the pencils for page 5, because that page had so much empty space anyway due to the way it looked in the final product. You can see a few alternate designs for the fifth page among them, such as a more typical-looking page, a dizzying overhead shot, and a close-up of the Lucky 38, but I went with the sort of “tunnel system” layout for Rotface’s dialogue rather than try to stack a bunch of balloons.

You can also see on the fourth page an original sketch for Agnes’ “flashback” panel (to the very first issue of IKROAH) that wound up getting replaced for old art. It just didn’t look good with the whole page around it, and using the old panel from Issue #1 carried a lot more weight. It was still a pretty cool design, though, so I’m glad you can all still see it in the pencils.

And lastly, there’s the final page, which was actually added after I had already scripted and drawn the entire issue. The issue originally ended just with Agnes walking away, but it felt like it was missing something, and this extra coda with Agnes and Cass entering the sewers was a much better final note. I just want to say, going into this issue, it was probably my least favorite that I had scripted just because it felt far too purely functional as a matter of getting Agnes from Point A to Point B. But it went through many dialogue revisions, especially during the process of lettering it after it was already drawn, that kept the same idea while adding much more emotional depth, and now I’m instead very fond of this issue and what it does for Agnes’ character.

Tumblr was being very difficult with letting these particular pencils be viewed at full size on desktop, so just click here (1), here (2), and here (3) for them instead.

Transcript

EXT. FREESIDE, a street corner. A ghoul known as ROTFACE sits on the sidewalk against the building of a pre-war water filter installation business.

Suddenly, over him, is:

AGNES: Is this seat taken?

ROTFACE: It is if you’re asking, ugly. Take a hike. Unless you maybe care to spare a cigarette.

AGNES SANDS sits down next to the ghoul.

AGNES (sitting down): Thanks, Zeke.

ROTFACE: Don’t mention it. How’re you doing, Agnes? S’been a while.

AGNES: Yeah, I was, uh…shot in the head.

ROTFACE: You’re fine other than that though, right?

AGNES (weakly smiling): Yeah. Yeah, just peachy.

ROTFACE: Y’know, I heard you were back in town—well, figured, because what I heard specifically was that you killed Dixon.

AGNES (removing two cigarettes from a box): Oh. Well…there was, uh, well, it was this whole thing with the Followers*—

CAP: *Last ish. -Lou

ROTFACE: Oh, I’m well aware, ha ha. Grecks said he could hear Dr. Farkas chewing you out from four blocks away.

AGNES (handing cigarette to Rotface): Zeke, I really don’t want to talk about it.

ROTFACE: Alright, sorry. Tough break, Ag. I mean it.

AGNES: Um…nice hat, by the way.

ROTFACE: Aw, thanks! You think so? Cost a lotta caps, but man, worth it. Really brings out my eyes.

AGNES: Wait—where’d you get the money?

ROTFACE: Just because I’m a beggar doesn’t mean I can’t save up for stuff. something nice every once in a while. And last time I really got anything nice for myself was that steak I had after top surgery. Besides, this is more of a long term investment. I spend my caps on food, that’s gone as soon as I eat it, right? But this hat? Bought it three weeks ago.

AGNES: I worry about you…please don’t buy hats instead of food.

ROTFACE: Bury me in it, then. If you worry so much, why don’t you buy me something to eat?

AGNES: I would, Zeke, but…I can’t. I literally can’t. I’m broke.

ROTFACE: Get your own corner to beg on, then.

AGNES: I’m serious, Zeke, come on. I’m only here at all because I need to get on the Strip.

ROTFACE: For business or pleasure?

AGNES: Uh…no, it’s…I…I…

A memory of blinding light from the barrel of a pistol, a gunshot, and then the silence and darkness of the grave.

AGNES: There’s someone I’ve been trying to find.

AGNES: But I blew the last caps I had here just trying to scrounge enough for the gate.

AGNES: ...I’m worried I’ve really fucked up.

ROTFACE frowns sympathetically.

ROTFACE: Y’knooow, I heard that security has been kind of lax at Mick and Ralph’s lately—

AGNES: No. I’m not going to steal it, Zeke. And not from them.

ROTFACE: Not gonna steal from Dixon either, or did you at least loot his corpse?

AGNES glares fiercely at ROTFACE.

ROTFACE: …eheh. Sorry.

ROTFACE: Well…alright, fair. I'd be a bad friend to make you go back to that shit, anyway. So let me be a good friend. Maybe I can get you onto the Strip.

AGNES is stunned. She leans toward ROTFACE urgently.

AGNES: You’ve got enough cash for the gate check!?

ROTFACE: Ha! Good one. If I did then I sure as hell still wouldn’t be in Freeside. No, what I do got for you is a damn good tip: you want to go in? Go under. But it’s dangerous.

ROTFACE: What you do is pry open the manhole on east Fremont and take the old sewer tunnels. It's gonna be miles of maze-like bullshit, sure, but all the pre-war stuff's still connected. The first ladder you're gonna want goes up behind the Ultra-Luxe, I think. Squatters used to sneak onto the Strip this way sometimes, but it's been a while, might be sealed off by now…might be. I'm not sure. That's not why they stopped.

ROTFACE: No…that'd be because of the ghouls. And not the kind capable of a pleasant conversation like moi.

AGNES: Huh. If it is sealed, would you know with what?

ROTFACE: Probably nothing that you couldn't pick apart in your sleep. Shit's gotta flow somewhere, and sewers need maintenance, so it shouldn't be all tombed up with concrete like what Mr. House did to that one vault hotel.

ROTFACE: But yeah, that's it. Fuck the gate check. Get a little messy, or just a whole lot lucky—and Agnes Sands is on the Vegas Strip for free.

ROTFACE: Really gotta watch those ghouls, though. Get caught, and you may not spend any money, but it still might cost an arm and a leg. Know what I mean?

AGNES: Thanks. It’s, uh…at least I know what to expect.*

CAP: Wouldn’t be the first time. See IKROAH #11. -Lou

ROTFACE: No problem, friend. And I’ll sell my hat for a nice grassy plot if you don’t come back.

AGNES (standing up): You really mean that?

ROTFACE: Hell no. You’ve told me before that you’d want to get cremated, anyway. Now scram, I don’t need deadbeat beggars like you hogging my corner.

AGNES (walking away): Thanks, Zeke. I’ll be seeing you.

ROTFACE (waving goodbye): Aw, don’t mention it, Agnes. And best of luck to you in Vegas!

EXT. ELSEWHERE IN FREESIDE.

AGNES walks a few blocks to reconvene with ROSE OF SHARON CASSIDY, and they share a few words before they continue walking together.

ROTFACE (cont.): I always wanted to go and try the machines. Y’know, slots…but if I was a good gambler then I probably wouldn't be a beggar, ha ha.

EXT. ELSEWHERE STILL, EAST FREMONT STREET.

AGNES and CASS approach a sewer lid over a manhole in the middle of the dilapidated street.

ROTFACE (cont): There's always some kind of system in place that just makes sure you lose anyway, right?

CASS casts a nervous glance toward AGNES.

ROTFACE (cont): So it’d probably be a bad idea no matter what.

AGNES returns the look impassively.

ROTFACE (cont.): There’s an old saying like that, I think, but...gun to my head, I can’t remember how the whole thing goes…

The manhole lid is off, and AGNES and CASS are gone.