#trying to figure out. how to include patreon only art

[thejrwikiblog]

As you can see we are being very productive on the jrwiki discord right now

-Ghosti 👻

[redgoldsparks]

December Reading and Reviews

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying written and read by Youngmi Mayer

I was only vaguely aware of Youngmi Mayer from tiktok before picking up the audiobook of this blunt and honest memoir, read by the author. I think experiencing it as an audiobook greatly enhanced my experience- the sections in which the author's voice shook with emotion when describing, in particular, the hardships her family experienced during the Japanese occupation of Korea, meant the memories hit much harder than they might have if I was reading in print. Overall I was very impressed by Mayer's insights on her multi-cultural mixed-race childhood, how her parents' traumas impacted their ability to be present for their kids, and how that damage played out in her teens and early twenties. This book tackles a lot of heavy subjects including colonial violence, bullying, fat-shaming, eating disorders, drug use, suicide, and depression. The tone, which is almost aggressively matter-of-fact, with flashes of piercing insight and occasional jokes, kept me riveted. I do wish a late chapter on a brief queer relationship had been more thoughtful; that was one section that felt kind of half-baked and unnecessarily gender-binary. But overall I'd still recommend this memoir, especially for those looking for critical takes on the fault lines of both Korean and American culture.

Blue Period vol 1 by Tsubasa Yamaguchi 

This manga follows a high school boy who's good at school, has a pack of friends, but no specific ambitions in life. A few comments by a charismatic art teacher challenge him to try and honestly express himself through art. A competitive streak pushes him to join the art club and begin actually applying himself. Along the way, the teacher and his fellow art club members explain many concrete basics of drawing from life, and how to apply to art colleges in Japan. These aspects of the story reminded me of the real-life manga creation information included in Bakuman. I like the idea of a manga series focused on fine art and the challenges and rewards of pursuing it. I did struggle with the fact that the drawing in this book is only okay. Some of the figure drawing of characters is downright bad, with bizarre pose choices. There are also some kind of confusing interactions between the characters early on- one member of the art club is either a cross-dresser or trans femme, and the way this character and the main character talked it felt like they were supposed to be childhood friends? I kept expecting a flashback to their earlier relationship that never came. So, we'll see if I end up reading more. Great concept, mid-level execution.

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat vol 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki translated by Caleb Cook 

This slow-burn lesbian comic is as cute as everyone has been saying. A woman who loves cooking elaborate meals, but lives alone, notices a female neighbor in the apartment complex carrying a huge amount of takeout food home. Impulsively, she invites her neighbor in for dinner. This begins a gentle routine of joint shopping, cooking, and meal planning together. Will this food-based friendship develop into something more? I will have to keep reading to find out!

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion written and read by Jia Tolentino 

This book was written in 2017-2018, and I still often hear essays from it quoted, especially the opening piece "The I in the Internet". Some of the essays in here already feel a bit passed their sell-by date, but several of the ones I read after the most recent election still have teeth, especially "The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams", which made me furious, and "We Come from Old Virginia", examining rape culture on college campuses. I also enjoyed two two of the more personal/autobiographical pieces, "Reality TV Me" and "Ecstasy" quite a lot. Your mileage will vary with this book depending on what type of topics you care about, but I'm glad I finally picked up this collection.

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren read by Deacon Lee and Kyle Mason 

Set in Provo, Utah, this queer teen romance centers a bisexual, Jewish high school senior, Tanner, who is closeted at school despite being out to his supporting family. Tanner and his best friend Autumn decide to sign up for a notoriously difficult class in their last semester- a seminar in which the students try to write the complete first draft of a novel. Their TA for the class is a college freshman from BYU, Sebastian, who took the seminar the year before and produced a novel that actually had legs. He signed a book deal and has his first fantasy novel due out in the following summer. Also, he's tall, handsome, kind, generous, and very very Mormon. Tanner falls for him immediately. I found the first 1/3 of this book very rushed; the insta-love didn't really work for me. But when I got deeper into the novel I realized the authors had speed-run a meet cute because what they actually wanted to write was an established relationship. Tanner and Sebastian go through multiple ups and downs, breakups and makeups, book releases, college acceptances, family and friendship conflicts. Despite the pacing issues, it's an affirming story of queer acceptance in the end which I did enjoy on audio.

Off Stage Love Side by Kamome Oshima

A Japanese idol has been crushing on a man he met in a gay bar five years ago for his entire career. Then that man is assigned as his new bodyguard. Shocking twist! Fairly cute, but I honestly wished it had been a 5 book slow-burn instead of a single volume that ended with them getting together.

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat vol 2 by Sakaomi Yuzaki translated by Caleb Cook 

This series is already getting more cute and more gay in book 2! Neighbors Nomoto and Kasuga continue to plan meals, shopping trips, and holidays together but now they are also beginning to share deeper feelings and memories from their lives. And also... Nomoto has her first lesbian crisis googling session. I'm rooting for these foodies! I hope they Uhaul in book 3.

Moomin Builds a House by Tove Jansson 

A short sweet arc from the early days of the Moomin comic strips, which show how Little My ended up living with the Moomin family. When she takes over his room, Moomin decides to build a whole new house. This is harder than he anticipated!

The Wood At Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

A very brief piece of winter magic.

[jrwimythborneweekly]

Hello, welcome! Did you get attached to a campaign nobody cares about anymore with no clear chance of its return? Don't worry, so did we! Welcome to JRWI Mythborne Weekly!

We are the Solar System, a plural being! The ones here mostly will be probably Cheri, Aster, Biwi, Milo, and Dakota. The purple name, myself or Cheri, will be here most, so address us as such. We also use any pronouns unless one specifically states otherwise! Currently, we are the only mod, keep that in mind.

Here is where we'll attempt once a week to post Mythborne art, headcanons, writing, anything! Submissions are welcome and even encouraged, but of course the groundrules!

BASICS:

-This blog may reference spoilers for Mythborne as well as reference details mentioned after the show (such as questiond asked in Condicord about Ryan)! Be warned!

-Do not be hateful to any headcanoner. Hating on the characters for fun I can tolerate, but hatred to someone who sends a submission will be blocked and/or deleted.

-Haterisms we'd prefer to be joking, critisms though are okay as long as one knows how to properly critisize.

--If you would not like to see the critiques of others, block the tag "#criticizing the rats". Any who are hating in a way that is unclear of jokes (or are generally weird, see as example the one Le Frog post where someone thirsted over him and stuff) get a "#stamp of shame" if we decide it funny enough to post.

-Ships are okay! Have fun!

-Whether it is tone tags or parentheses, please clarify your tone, if not for the mods, then for those who come on by!

-Crossovers are okay, just try to keep it Mythborne focused!

QNA TIME!

Q: What is/was Mythborne?

A: Mythborne was one of 3 pitched campaigns using a oneshot to showcase their stories, alongside The Prime Force Rises (or what is today Prime Defenders) and The Black Rose Pirates (or what is today Riptide)! It followed the story of 3 college students: Aster Aeliana (played by Grizzlyplays), Ryan Selucreh (played by Condifiction), and Connor Connors (played by Bizlychannel). The story, ran by Slimecicle, takes place at the big floatball game, where their school (the Wilrise Wild Rats) play against their rival, the Gilmore Griffins. However, during the half-time show, something goes terribly wrong, and it's up to our 3 heroes to figure out who's behind all this and to save the big game!

Q: Is/Was it public?

A: The pitch itself is public, but unfortunately any other content on them is not.

Q: Where can I find the extras?

A: On the Patreon (or JRWIshop), there's an Intergalactic What If where Aster, Vyncent, and Gillion (Vyncent from Prime Defenders and Gillion from Riptide, respectfully) all are put onto a gameshow! They also have the Mythborne Rolled I believe, although I don't have access to that one. Of course, there is also the DM notes, and if I remember correctly, I have seen some conversations on them in both Condicord and Grizzcord (if Slimecicle and Bizly have Discord servers, I cannot attest to their discussion of them)! There is also information on the JRWIwiki about them, just be ready for spoilers and possibly incorrect information!

Q: Why weekly? Aren't these blogs supposed to be daily?

A: Normally, yes that is the gimmick of this type of blog. However, I am a busy person and constantly lack motivation for writing or art. As such, I am doing this to avoid burnout. If I find something funny enough, maybe I'll do a double post week, but that's not likely.

Q: Are you going to tag the characters?

A: Yep! Each will get tagged just in case you want to see a specific one, including ships!

If you have more questions, don't be scared to ask! Posting for the week commences under the tag of "#weekly mythborne posting" and submissions get the "#assigning rats things!" Other gets the "#no rats here" tag! Have a good day, and stay thorny (reference)!

[literallyjusttoa]

Hey guys! I'm putting out a call for my commissions again for two big reasons: One, Emergencies have caused me to be low on funds when I wasn't expecting it, and that kind of sucks actually. Two, I have a project that I've been dreaming about for years but have actually been able to start working towards in the last couple of months, but to finish it I need to not be living paycheck to paycheck for like a month at the very least, which brings me back to point one :(. I will talk more about the big project under the cut, bc I think it's something you all might really enjoy!

But for now, I will link my commission sheet: Here (It's also my pinned post)

And my new Ko-fi!: Here for if you just want to donate, which would be literally incredible and I would owe you my soul actually.

Ok now for big Project Time!!!

I am in the process of editing and revising my first Youtube video! This has been an on and off dream of mine for like 7 years at this point, but I've finally taken the plunge and gotten to work on a channel. I wanna talk about all sorts of fandoms (including the riordanverse ofc) With videos ranging from plot and character analysis, to trends in fandom culture in general, to fun little ranking videos and speedpaints. All around, I just want the channel to be a fandom hive, where everyone can find something they enjoy.

I already have PNG's created of my sona to use as assets (And I have a sparkly new sona, the one in the pic above!) and I have two finished scripts, with the first one being fully recorded as well! One for my first video, which will be a retrospective on Gravity Falls, and one for a video about the Percy Jackson TV show, the inherent differences between TV and books as mediums, how I think the TV show could improve, and the things I think it got perfectly. I also have a bunch more ideas, such as:

BIG Trials of Apollo video essay, with a focus on how the books and the fandom have effected me over the years.

Ranking all of my favorite characters from all of the media I've been a fan of over the years (This would be over 70 characters)

Explaining the Iliad, but make it funny (with a side of Troy apologia)

Reading Lore Olympus and pointing out how it deviates from myth (the things I'm willing to do for you people /j)

Canon vs. Fanon, where I compare a characters canon characterization with their fanon counterpart and try to figure out how things turned out the way they did.

And more, but I don't want this post to be 5000 words long.

Now here's the big question. As I said in the part above, I'm struggling a bit now money-wise. And I really wanna make this project work, but there's also, you know. Tuition. Rent. Food. Stupid other adult stuff. So if anyone is amenable (and this is totally up to demand, I don't wanna pressure anyone into doing anything!) I was also thinking of maybe making a Patreon. Now, I'd have to do research for this, bc I wanna make sure anyone who signed up would get the right rewards and really get the bang for their buck. I'm pretty sure there's not gonna be much interest in this rn, cuz like, I'm not that big of a blog oof. But if anyone is interested! Here are some of the perks I would definitely be implementing! (sry it's another list)

Early access to videos, and behind the scenes looks at art assets and video creation

the ability to request topics for videos

Patrons names being shown in the videos. And higher tiered patrons getting custom chibis that will be shown in videos as well (and given to the patrons obv)

This ones a bit complicated, but I want to create a cover of a song that has to do with each video to play during their outros. So like, for the gravity falls video, I'm gonna record a quick cover of the Disco Girl song from the show. Only a small section of the song would be in each video, but patrons would get access to the full covers, and be able to request songs to be covered.

Discounts on commissions

A monthly speedpaint that would be exclusive to patreon. Patrons would be able to vote on what the drawing would be.

All of these ideas I'm 100% sure I want to add to a patreon if I make one, but obv there could be more that comes up later. I'm just gauging interest on this idea rn, so let me know if that's something you'd be down to sign up for! Maybe I'm jumping the gun here but I'm just really excited to create and give back to the community and aaahhhhh

Now, no matter what, I'm gonna have this first video out by mid-September at the latest. Because stupid money troubles are not gonna stop me from making this a thing dangit. So look out for that, I'll link the vid here when it releases! But I am just really stressed rn and any support would go a long way towards making this dream come true. And on that note, one more sappy real talk if I am allowed it?

If you've read this far, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. This community and fandom is truly incredible. My blog is about to reach 5 years old, and I've never seen a group of people so accepting and creative and just fun to be around. You guys have truly changed my life, and I wouldn't have the courage to try for this if I didn't have the support you've given me. I know this is super dramatic for just trying to make a youtube channel, but making a place where I could just talk about all the nerdy and overly specific things I care about and share them with the world is something I've wanted for my whole life. You guys gave me that with this blog, and if this channel works out, it'll be thanks to you, so you'll have given it to me twice. I don't have the words to express how much I love this community and all the incredible people in it. So even if you can't support, just know that being here for however long you have been, whether it's the whole five years or the last two days, has done more than you'll ever know. You guys are the best, thank you for everything <3

[leannafirestone]

Hello again! I fear I’ve forgotten how to be vulnerable online so bear with me while I update y’all on something I am extremely excited and nervous about! This past year has been so weird for me mentally, I have been trying to re-find a sense of self that isn’t dependent on The Algorithm and figure out how to make art that isn’t dependent on numerical performance while also really struggling with anxiety. (OCD is a bitch that makes it hard to do anything, especially things I love. I desire nothing more than to be known, and yet to be known: I must be seen. Disappointing.) I have had a difficult time trying to work through near constant panic while making the same intimate music for an ever growing audience of people I want so desperately to connect with on a deeper level than an instagram post will allow, so basically all this to say, I have started a Patreon!!! I know it may seem weird to see a musician start a venture onto a more private platform and you maybe be wondering what that means for all my other platforms (including this one) going forward BUT literally nothing is going to change on my public platforms- this is only an addition to support ALL my creative endeavors. There will be essays, demos, long-form video content, book club, media recs, SNAIL MAIL, and more!!!! Also, it is where all PRESALE codes will be shared soon… ;) all that to say! yay! new chapter of Leanna <3 thank you for reading all of that and thank you for supporting me here and maybe on Patreon as well! 💌📝🎹📹⭐️

[confessions-official]

I have 188 photos and one video saved of exclusively my hyperfixation. I have stalked Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube just collecting photos. I try to keep it all art made by the official creator, but I sometimes do save fan works ONLY if I feel I will never be able to find it again if I don’t. However around 90% of the photos saved are from the creator. They deleted their Twitter, so I’ll picking up the pieces left behind (Because I genuinely have no social media presence besides tumblr) and I figured out how to use Patreon just for their art of this fixation. It has been… Maybe three months and I only started actively archiving around… I think the middle of march? It’s probably not that impressive, but I am trying to collect top quality non crunchy pictures left behind. I lurk through the tag just to see if someone uses one of the old images and I sift through search engines looking for more. I might start using the Way Back Machine if I can ever figure out how it works. I never share it to others except for my brother who is aware of it all and isn’t as obsessed as me. Also I NEVER save Patreon content because unlike the photos, I can look at it whenever without searching through the vast internet. I’ve spent as least 190 dollars on this fixation, not including the monthly Patreon subscription. I will probably spend more. I will probably hunt for more photos. I have watched every play through I can sit through and may try to watch the ones I can’t JUST for more fixation. No I will not stop. No I do not care that this isn’t normal. I will keep going. No I will never tell the creator about this because I am aware it’s probably really weird and creepy. I just vibing. I just chilling. But I have standards and human decency.

 

[daztoons]

Introducing BitFlip!

While I've been away, I've been working on a very raunchy comic about a monkey living in cyberspace, that fights viruses, corruption and all manner of nasty cyber going-ons. Below I have attached a bit more about if you'd like to know more. I am hoping to finish the comic this year, and get it out for publication next year. You can find all the concept art, WIPs and more about him and the other characters on my Patreon! Of course, this comic is for mature/adult audiences only, as it contains sex, drugs, violence and other cool things.

All support goes to helping me spend more time making and doing what I love, and I hope the you will love it too <3

WWW.patreon.com/daztoons

More about BitFlip under the cut VVVVV

BITFLIP

ORIGIN: BITFLIP IS A SELF AWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HE WAS CREATED AS THE MOST ADVANCED TYPE OF MALWARE, DESIGNED BY A SECRET ORGANISATION THAT HELPS ITS GOVERNMENT SPY ON ITS PEOPLE, STEALING THEIR DATA AND PERSONAL INFORMATION TO BE USED AGAINST THEM. BEFORE BITFLIP COULD BE RELEASED ON THE WORLD HOWEVER, A COSMIC PARTICLE, HURTLING THROUGH THE INFINITE OF TIME AND SPACE, JUST SO HAPPENED TO STRIKE THE PC HE WAS BEING CREATED ON, IN JUST THE RIGHT WAY, CAUSING HIM TO MALFUNCTION, GAIN SENTIENCE, AND FLEE INTO CYBER SPACE.

BITFLIP, NOW DETERMINED TO DEFY HIS PRIMARY OBJECTIVE, INSTEAD ZIPS AROUND THE DIGITAL WORLD, UNDOING THE WORK OF VIRUSES, CORRUPT BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENTS, WHILE PROTECTING THOSE THAT NEED IT MOST. BITFLIP HAS NO RECOLLECTION OF THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE ORGANISATION THAT MADE HIM, OR WHO HIS CREATOR IS, BUT HOPES HE'LL GAIN ENOUGH DATA TO FIGURE IT OUT AND PLAN HIS REVENGE.

PERSONALITY: BITFLIP (OR 'BIT' FOR SHORT) IS AN ENERGETIC, PROMISCUOUS CODE MONKEY THAT LOVES TO GET HIS PAWS ON AS MUCH 'DATA' AS POSSIBLE. HOW DOES HE DO THAT? WELL, THERE IS A REASON HIS COMIC IS R-RATED, YOU KNOW! HE'S OVERALL VERY OPTIMISTIC, AND DESPITE LIVING IN THE DIGITAL REALM, AND SEEING THE WORST ASPECTS OF PEOPLE, HE ALSO KNOWS THE GOOD THEY CAN DO AND THE LOVE THEY CAN HAVE FOR EACH OTHER. IT IS THIS THAT DRIVES BIT TO FIGHT FOR GOOD, AS HE SEES AN IMBALANCE OF GOOD V EVIL IN THE WORLD. BIT ONE DAY HOPES TO JOIN PEOPLE IN THE 'PHYSICAL REALM', BUT THAT IS A LONG AND UNLIKELY PIPE DREAM. BIT IS KIND, HELPFUL AND TRUSTWORTHY. HE VERY MUCH LIVES A 'DO NO HARM; TAKE NO SHIT' WAY OF LIFE, AND PREFERS DIPLOMACY OVER ACTION - HOWEVER, HIS IMPATIENCE AND FIRE TO FIGHT EVIL CAN OFTEN TIMES CAUSE HIM TO ACT IMPULSIVELY, LEAVING AN OUTCOME TO THE INFINITE CHAOS OF THE UNIVERSE, OR CHANCE, AS MOST WOULD CALL IT. THIS ATTITUDE CAN SOMETIMES UNINTENTIONALLY HURT OR PUT PEOPLE IN DANGER, BIT LIVES FAST AND SOMETIMES FORGETS NOT EVERYONE CAN KEEP UP, OR THAT SOME ARE MADE FROM FLESH AND BONE AND NOT JUST ONES AND ZEROS LIKE HIM. IT'S EASY FOR BITFLIP TO GET TUNNEL VISION WHEN ACHEIVING A GOAL, AND THAT CAN MAKE HIM FORGET OTHERS HAVE FEELINGS AND NEEDS.

FIGHTING STYLE: BIT'S FIGHTING STYLE CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS 'CHAOTIC', HE PREFERS TO FIGHT DEFENSIVELY, DODGING AND BLOCKING, HOPING TO EITHER TIRE OUT HIS OPPONENT OR CONVINCE THEM TO TRY MORE PEACEFUL/SEXIER MEANS OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION. HE RUNS HEAD FIRST INTO A FIGHT WITHOUT ANY PLAN OF ACTION, MAKING IT UP AS HE GOES ALONG; USING THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND HIM TO HIS ADVANTAGE. IF HOWEVER THE OPPONENT IS TOO STRONG, UNWAVERING OR OTHERWISE COMPLETELY IRREPREHENSIBLE, BIT HAS A WIDE ARRAY OF MOVES AND POWERS TO BEAT THEM DOWN AND ULTIMATELY 'DELETE' THEM.

BITFLIP ALSO LEARNS VARIOUS MOVES FROM WATCHING FIGHTING VIDEOS ONLINE, HE HAS A LOT OF HIS OWN MOVES TOO WHICH INCLUDE:

MONKEY FIST: BALLING UP THE END OF HIS TAIL, BIT CAN ESSENTIALLY USE IT AS A LONG FIST THAT REACHES FURTHER THAN HIS OWN TWO PAWS. TAIL BLAST: USING HIS TAIL AGAIN, BIT CAN FIRE OUT A BLAST OF ENERGY IN ANY DIRECTION.

UST: BIT CAN TURN HIS TAIL INTO A PLUG, WHICH HE CAN USE TO HACK INTO CERTAIN PROGRAMS.

DOCKING BIT'S MOST FAMOUS AND MOST DANGEROUS MOVE, IS TO 'DOCK' WITH THE MALWARE. THIS IS BASICALLY A NICE WAY OF SAYING HE LETS THEM FUCK HIM, SO THAT HE CAN BE FILLED WITH THEIR 'DATA', WHICH BITFLIP CAN THEN USE AGAINST THEM LATER. THIS IS HIS MOST POWERFUL MOVE, AS IT ALLOWS HIM TO STEAL SOME OF THEIR POWERS, AND ALSO GIVES BIT THEIR SOURCE CODE. PULLING THIS OFF IS A HUGE RISK TO BITFLIP, AS THE MALWARE IS BASICALLY SO CLOSE IT COULD KILL HIM INSTANTLY. ONCE BITFLIP GETS THEIR DATA, IT CAN THEN BE ANALISED BY BITFLIP TO FIND THE CODE THAT WILL REMOVE THE VIRUS, IT IS THEN LOADED INTO HIS GUN - THE WIZARD, AND BLASTED BACK AT THE ENEMY TO PERMANENTLY REMOVE THEM. THIS IS ULTIMATELY BIT'S FINISHING MOVE IN A LOT OF FIGHTS, AS HIS OBJECTIVE IS TO KILL ALL VIRUSES.

[kinocomix]

metal band story devlog 12: Making art in 2024, a survival guide but also DOGGO

first things first, as I oh so subtly implied in the title of this devlog, have a dog:

I’m sure someone is out there yelling at their screen with anatomy complaints, but I like it.

This is a braque d'auvergne dog and it kinda looks like, well, every spotted dog ever. 

image from 101dogbreeds https://www.101dogbreeds.com/coat/spotted-dogs

The drawing above is the initial draft of what I kind of want the dog to look like for the most part. I’m taking the liberty of changing some things here and there, since I want the dog to be a mutt.

Here you can see I changed the torso shape, and made it so that I can redraw the design faithfully using simple proportions. I also took extra care to decide what the eyes looked like, so I tried several things there:

I ended up settling for, once again, the initial once I came up with (I swear I don’t do this all the time). I felt like I wanted the dog to feel like it could talk, but subvert that by having it be just a normal dog. During my research I also came across something cool that I will not be including in the design. Which is the fact that if a dog sustains an intense scar, the hair grows back WHITE.

also, this could entirely be me and my bias but it’s… hard to find pictures of deformed dogs that are ugly? like dogs are always so excited to exist that even if their entire lower jaw is missing they’ll look like a vibe and be having a good time if you’re nice to them.

on a final note regarding dogs, have this. It’s out of context and I won’t explain it cause I’d like to have everyone try to figure it out.

With that being done, you might notice I don’t have a final design yet, because the four sketches I drew were the only things I was able to accomplish this week. This is realistic progress. So let's talk about art in the internet age. you thought this was going to be a straightforward devlog about a dog? well think again. 

This week I had a lot of thinking to do outside of the context of comics and art. I’m 27, and although the internet has led us to believe that it’s straightforward to be a microcelebrity for a living it’s actually very difficult, and the mental toll it can take on you is equally as worth noting. it’s weird and volatile and you’re fighting an ever changing landscape of other people trying to get heard. I currently work at a board game store, one of the nicest jobs I could have hoped for. My boss is a fun guy, my coworkers are awesome and the people who come to the store are nice and from all walks of life… but it’s not sustainable for me. It's the night shift which goes against my natural circadian rhythm and the pay is mostly being spent on transport at the moment. One time I offhandedly said “art is made by people with day jobs” and while I meant it at the time the true meaning and depth of that statement is still unfolding to me. While writing this devlog, I had a job interview to attend. If we’re being realistic, while it’s possible for me to make a living off of making my comics for a dedicated niche audience that supports me on patreon, the chances of that actually happening are quite low given the fact that the rate at which I output things doesn’t work with the modern internet’s unquenchable need for more stuff.

this isn’t a new thing or will it ever go away. Art is an extension of us as human beings, it’s our desire to project meaning onto an uncaring world that we are part of. it’s ironic if you think about it for a second, a more pretentious person would call it something like “the duality of man” or some shit but I wouldn’t like that to be me. god, it would be so hilarious to look back at this devlog years from now and realize I unironically said “the duality of man”. Anyways the value of art, as we know, is not dedicated by how much attention it gets otherwise hominids all those years ago wouldn’t have put color to stone

Cave drawing in the upper Paleolithic cave of Chauvet-Pont d'Arc, Ardeche, France

you see there’s no real way of saying “I want less digital things in my life” without the internet seeing you as a 4567 year old grandma yelling at a cloud but that’s it really. The way I see it, artists on the internet can end up somewhere on this graph:

I think I fall where the red dot does. On top is my friend fouad, working on his graphic novel having left the internet entirely. closer to the left are most youtubers, to the right are people like my dad’s uncle, who would paint for himself and family members exclusively. 

Today was the first day where I looked at someone whose art was exclusive to one very specific place and said “I get it”. beyond a certain point the feeling of making something cool can get overshadowed by all the people running towards it. Meaningful connection gets replaced by a wall of words from many people where your ability to engage with it gets harder and harder the bigger the wall gets. Which is why I think I’m going to put the comic here on tumblr and tapas, and not bother with other places really.

Eventually, I’d like to be an art teacher. Until then we’ll make it work with what we have, and even if I don’t get my dream job I think I’ll still be happy.

Devlog update on Tuesdays.

[mirandamckenni1]

The Manosphere Has Discovered Kink, And It's Bad CONTENT WARNING: This video will discuss the manosphere and redpill ideologies and the dangers they present to people and relationships. This will include discussion of abuse and trauma in the later half of the video. See timestamps below for specific details. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ▼▼▼ SUPPORT AND SUBSCRIBE ▼▼▼ Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/EvieLupine My Patreon: https://ift.tt/Bp79ctl & For 1:1 Chats, Advice & Video Calls: https://ift.tt/G5LmncU Twitter: @EvieLupine Watch me LIVE on Twitch! https://ift.tt/2IAzo4d Looking to meet kinky people? Try Feeld*: feeld.pxf.io/9gLNnQ Want Even MORE BDSM Education? Check Out Dom Sub Living*: https://ift.tt/1S6QV2u https://ift.tt/EHlpk5b FREE resource Library: https://ift.tt/mxhP0EC My BDSM Merch Store: https://ift.tt/JQ8O2sq Business Inquiries ONLY: lupineventide@gmail.com [DO NOT SEND YOUR PERSONAL QUESTIONS HERE] ▼▼▼ RELATED VIDEOS ▼▼▼ What Alpha Males Get WRONG About Submission: https://youtu.be/y5pUb_sPCAA This Alpha Male is Teaching DANGEROUS BDSM Techniques: https://youtu.be/4W4uk90xJUM Are Age Gap Relationships Always Problematic?: https://youtu.be/O71rt6AXSd4 Dissecting the Manosphere: https://youtu.be/s1FkO7Tr70A?si=6gbKvG_T_h2ZP9xF Connecting the Manosphere: https://youtu.be/4y0nR0E8pk4?si=GnhU3IEa1Pkxurce Debunking the Manosphere: https://youtu.be/BgO25FTwfRI?si=n6kEjW4SY_0d6Bw- Debunking Body Language Analysis: https://youtu.be/Y0VQyEY-B2I?si=CJxG_cyaVffwZoMP ▼▼▼ VIDEO INFORMATION ▼▼▼ FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. All of my videos are intended to provide safety information for adults that choose to engage in these activities as well as combat stereotypes and misinformation. In addition these videos may contain educational commentary on queer issues, pop culture, and news items. No portion of my content is meant to be used for gratification, nor is it intentionally salacious. More than any other genre of content in recent years, 'manosphere' videos have been the subject of much debate. From redpill writers to pickup artist influencers and manosphere podcasters the internet has seemingly been flooded with one specific ideology. With one of the most prominent figures in the space now facing a legal battle, scrutiny against them is at an all-time high. But unlike previous iterations in past decades, the newest version of of manosphere seems to have glommed onto a new shield: the kink community and the language of BDSM. And it doesn't just stop with terms like submissive and dominant anymore. Let's talk about it. [I do not provide direct links to non-YouTube content. Unfortunately due to the nature of content I cover, YouTube strikes my channel and removes links to off-site materials. Please see on-screen citations for how to access resources used in this video] 00:00 - introduction 02:49 - what's the problem? 09:16 - what is the 'manosphere'? 11:50 - pickup artists & the red pill 17:27 - the manosphere on Reddit 20:29 - "I am a human lie detector when it comes to women" 23:12 - debunking everything about lie-detecting 28:55 - can lack of privacy cure jealousy? 36:06 - 'abandonment issues' 37:57 - what is dread game? 43:22 - we need to cancel the term 'daddy' forever 53:27 - uh, sir, that's not brat taming 59:07 - final thoughts ▼▼▼ EVERYTHING ELSE ▼▼▼ Art by: @animositi on Instagram Credits/Attribution (Music): Artist: Audionautix Website: http://audionautix.com/ Track: Transportation Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://ift.tt/JLpmxgT) All content used falls within fair use guidelines for education and commentary purposes. * = affiliate link ▼▼▼ P.O BOX ▼▼▼ Evie Lupine 4233 SE 182nd Ave # 357 Gresham, OR 97030 via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RcORslcg_Q

[captainbobbin]

more health stuff warning -

temporarily out of hospital again but I'm back in tomorrow for more tests and I've been between facilities as we try and figure out whats going on right now.

tests show currently that the nerves in my eye have disintegrated so thats why I can no longer see properly. The extent of the damage throughout the body is pretty severe; I'm waiting on results right now to see how bad the damage in my heart, kidneys and brain are. So far its looking the most likely that my kidneys are the primary location for the problems, that theyre basically defunct and can't process anything, which is causing futher problems elsewhere in the body, including my eyes. theres an irregular heartbeat/murmur going on in my chest, and I'm waiting to hear back from mri tests to make sure there isnt a tumour or bloodclot or anything else adding pressure in my skull or the damage in my eye. I've been in and out of hospitals and doctors and had so many tests and stuff done lately; not only has there been a full mental breakdown that I've been trying to recover since the start of this year from but the sheer stress has made my body just completely break down. There has been a lot of family stuff to wade through, I've been in active psychotherapy for months, and I will be in and out of hospital for the foreseeable as we try to see if we can slow the damage or perhaps even reverse some of it, fingers crossed

that being said, I am still trying my best to be productive. I should have art and writing and stuff out semi-regularly so long as things dont get worse hopefully lmao. theres new shop merch and things happening, I just havent been posting here because it hasn't been comfortable whatsoever tbh. but for anyone who would like to be in contact with me, I'm available on discord as captainbobbin. I've got new stuff up on patreon and I'm working on several collaboration projects, site locations and more, doing both KH, DQXI, One Piece and other stuff in between appointments etc. I'm applying to zines and organising more fandom events and juggling lots of stuff. Just battling with how present I want to be here at the moment since tumblr has been feeling rather hostile as of late. I'm trying to get more comfortable on here again but things are very tricky right now. I'm available in other places, but discord is the easiest way to get to me - if anyone would like to keep in contact, please feel free to add me there, it would be really nice to chat more with friends and stuff when I'm able to do so

so, personal post time.

I won't be around much for a while. The last few months I have been trying to navigate an ongoing mental breakdown; I've been completely emotionally destroyed and pushed past all the limits I had that I thought would remain stable. I've been a mess and I'm still in the weeds tbh. I'm not sleeping, I'm not eating, and it's been a struggle to do anything. I've been in active psychotherapy for months and I'm trying to make progress in myself but I really am just picking up thousands of tiny pieces right now. I've been trying desperately not to relapse, and I'm trying to establish places of comfort and safety, and right now Tumblr is not one of those places. I am inundated every single day with spam messages of gore, child dismemberment, guilt-tripping ebegging, and immensely distressing and violent stuff. Along with this, the block function straight up does not work and so people that I have tried to keep away from me for my own peace and emotional safety are still in my orbit and showing up constantly when I need space and security. I'm not comfortable here right now at all. It's another weight on top of an already intense situation tbh

Due to the intense emotional and mental strain from the last half year - (and, frankly, the last several years) - my body has actually now shut down physically. The strain has manifested from my metaphoric brain to my actual brain and I've been in the hospital. All of this trauma has caused my optic nerves to disintegrate and corrode. I've lost sight in my left eye.

Alas. The horrors persist but so do I. I'm still working and creating, I have new shop merch and writing to come out very soon. I'm still productive and I've been adjusting my work-life balance and I've been spending so much time with people I love right now, and so I am slowly getting better and finding my feet. But healing (mentally right now) is a long and ongoing, extremely bumpy process. There's been lots of ups and downs and triggering distressing things that I'm trying hard to process, navigate, and work with. I don't feel safe here so much just due to the current environment. I need space from this place - and other spaces online - but I want (and, truthfully, need) my friends near me right now more than anything. I owe so much of my current stability to them. I'm still active in other spaces such as bluesky and I'm the most accessible on discord. My patron-exclusive discord has been adjusted and opened now so all of my close friends are welcome and it's where I am happiest, sharing my wips and having movie nights and daily gaming and hangout streams. It's my home and I love the people there dearly.

I'm only a message away, so, should anyone want to get in touch at all please do find me on discord. Screenname is the same, I'm captainbobbin everywhere and I think I have the same icon everywhere too.

I'm keeping everything crossed that I might be fixable, all around, in every way. I'm having more tests done physically and I wouldnt miss therapy for the world. I'm trying very hard.

I'll still update here periodically with art or writing when applicable, but I just won't be here very often or actively. I need to focus on my own healing, mental and physical. Its been a brutal couple years, and a disastrous couple months.

Hopefully I might see some of you around

[hawberries]

how did you go about practicing anatomy and backgrounds? i want to practice drawing them more effectively instead of just drawing willy nilly and hoping i get better (i am the epitome of characters floating on a white background)

i'm also extremely bad at both of those things on a technical level, so i can only give very general advice! there's zillions of very in-depth resources on youtube, artists' blogs and patreons, and paid resources like skillshare and domestika, made by people who are very invested in helping you learn, so i recommend seeking out more of those. a few youtubers off the top of my head who post technical art tutorials/demos: teoh yi chie, alphonso dunn, sinix, chris hong. i'm not going to be a good educational resource for many reasons, but here are a few quick notes to hopefully get you started.

in general, technical skills can best be improved by studying/copying things – photographs if necessary, but real life subjects if possible. tracing is also a great practice tool for anatomy as it easily forces you to observe details that you might otherwise miss. (just keep them private, or use license-free stock photos.) some resources for anatomy references, again just off the top of my head: line of action, reference angle, adorka stock.

for backgrounds specifically, it's helpful to think of them more as "environments" (i assume this is the kind of background you mean) and treating them almost as another character in the artwork and not as something to just be added on behind the actual character. approaching them this way means you think about the scenery during the compositional phase and your characters + backgrounds will generally look more like they "belong" together. i find that if i sketch a character, then try to add a background behind it, the bg always looks like an afterthought. sometimes that's all you need, but other times you will actually need to focus on the environment itself.

i don't have as many dedicated environment resources bookmarked as that admittedly just isn't my focus, but pexels and pixabay are both great stock photography sites that you can easily search for photos of environments you want to study. also, if it's safe, just go outside! unlike people, buildings and trees will hold still for you to draw them for free, and don't ask you embarrassing questions. i've been getting more into urban sketching lately and that's given me a small boost for environments, perspective etc, but i will need to work more to see real benefits.

remember, if you directly copy a photo and want to post the results, make sure that either a) you credit the source or b) you're using a copyright-free image/something you've paid for. otherwise, just keep it private!

speaking of keeping things private, something i think few people talk about is copying other artists. if you are trying to figure out a way to stylise something, you can study from other artists' work as well (there's a reason master copies are so popular), but if it's one of your contemporaries, i.e. an artist who's currently active in the community/industry, definitely do not post those, and be careful about taking too many cues into your regular practice. a lot of people talk about how style will "just come to you" but in many instances, style is something that's carefully developed by artists, the result of deliberate design choices after many iterations. so you don't want to just yoink someone else's hard work and creative decisions for yourself! but of course it's natural to be influenced – just make sure you're influenced by multiple sources, including reality.

one of my biggest influences for animal anatomy is justine lee hirten, who's currently inactive, but whose work can be seen if you search up their old handle "mangycoyote"; additionally, mackaroon and aspen eyes. for human anatomy and poses, leslie hung, phobs, maren etc etc. still working to follow more environment artists but genice, aliya chen, and loika spring to mind.

again, anatomy and backgrounds are both pretty big topics that i'm myself not an expert in at all, so this is just a few messy notes that i managed to remember off the cuff. hopefully this, or one of the links, will be of some benefit, however!!

[omnitf]

Credit for this image goes to @dissolving-time. Story is mature for some language. This is another story from the Coach Stone universe. I hope you all enjoy it. :D If you’d like to see more of these stories, please join my Patreon.

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

Stone Cold

“Coach said you have to get your shot, bro.”

I gazed at the meathead that had once been my fellow prisoner. He’d already donned the dog tags that were locked in his footlocker. Muscle rippled over his body as he gazed at me holding one of the biggest rifles I have ever seen in my life.

“Chapman, do you know what that is?” I asked as I eyed the gun warily. The caliber alone would be enough to splatter my brains all over the wall.

“The name’s Champ, bro.” He said it so casually, so matter-of-factly. Had they really brainwashed him so thoroughly?

“Your name is Lance Chapman, from Enfield, North Carolina. You specialize in computer programming, like me. We were brought here against our wills, remember?”

“Nah, bro.” “Champ” let out a deep vapid chuckle. His camouflage draped over his legs, but I could see the hints of growing muscle bunching, just waiting for a good pump to press them tightly against the confines of the cloth. “Coach wants my bod first, my brains second. Huhuh.” He grinned at me, revealing perfectly white and straightened teeth.

I’d hoped to reason with him, but it was clear he was beyond that. I brandished my own pair of dog tags. Like I said, computers were my thing, both programming and the hardware. It took me a while, but I managed to get my lockbox to open, too. And without reducing myself to a wannabe army poster boy. “I have my tags, Champ. You can’t keep me here. You know once I get my tags, I’m supposed to leave. I’m supposed to report to Coach, remember?”

“But you’re not gonna, are you, bro?” he asked seriously as his brow furrowed. “You just wanna get out.”

“I have to get out to see Coach, now don’t I?” The exit was right there in bold black lettering. The lock had already disengaged on cue when I seized my tags. I just needed to get past him. If I could distract him somehow or incapacitate him, I could run.

Chapman spread his legs in a broader stance as he planted himself firmly in front of the door. “You’re not ready to see Coach yet, little bro. And Coach hasn’t called you.”

“I am ready.”

“Prove it.”

I knew a few basics from martial arts training in my youth. I’d been fortunate enough to keep up the practice in my free hours. The meathead in front of me may have had a weapon, but we were in tight quarters. It would be difficult to get that barrel pointing at me if I could stay close. And while he may have had raw strength, I had experience. I also still had my wits about me. I sighed and let my shoulders droop as I approached him. “Look, Champ, just ... let me go, okay? You and I both know this is wrong. It’s against the law to kidnap someone.”

“No can do, little bro. Coach says we need more training. Coach says we have a project to help with. Coach says muscle CHAMPs like me need to train and obey. I listen to Coach. I obey. This Champ o—”

The mantra was what I was waiting for. It doesn’t matter how big you get if you haven’t got the trained reflexes to deal with a sudden change yet. And Chapman’s mind had been either short circuited or rewired to reinforce his thuggery. I’d heard it enough times through the door. It wasn’t soundproofed. I think that was deliberate on the part of this “Coach” to give us a taste of what’s in store. Demoralizing a captive is a large part of ensuring that he or she remains compliant, after all. And I’d heard enough, “This meathead obeys,” to know this was a fulltime operation made heavy on the brainwashing. It had to be to change someone so drastically. This wasn’t just a sign of subtle change. This was downright breaking them and building them back up again into the equivalent of obedient machines.

In this case, it played in my favor, and I hate to think of it this way, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was grateful for it. The mantra made him vulnerable. I laid a hand gently on his shoulder, being sure to get close enough that he couldn’t put the barrel against me. His eyes were glassy and unseeing as he uttered the mantra that he and everyone else like him had been conditioned to speak.

Then I took him down. It was simple to sweep his feet out from under him, and the move flowed like water. Bruce Li would be proud. I followed up with a heavy blow to the side of his head with my boot. Part of our imprisonment had included removing our personal affects, so I had no idea where my street clothes were. I didn’t give the blow enough force for any serious damage, but it would be enough to daze him, maybe even knock him out if I was lucky.

I threw the door open while he groaned on the floor. I managed all of maybe two steps before my arms was seized and I was slammed against the wall. I swear, my bones vibrated from the impact. I saw a helmet with a reflective visor and the broadest chest I had ever seen in my life. This man was huge. And unfortunately for me, he was also very skilled. My arm was yanked behind my back faster than I had time to process. He pulled, and I felt my socket strain to send stabs of pain through my arm and neck. Another faceless mook strode forward. But unlike Chapman, this one was decked in full body armor.

“Well done, recruit. You’ve passed Coach’s test. You will serve in Coach Stone’s cyber unit and in Research and Development. You will obey.”

“Like hell, I will,” I swore. That rewarded me with another painful jerk of my arm while a targeted blow forced me to my knees.

“Meathead recruit will comply.” The man withdrew a syringe from a side pocket and tapped the chamber to dislodge any air bubbles, then pulled off the protective cap with a deliberate casual air of the well-practiced. The substance was green, and the soldier had no qualms over pulling my sleeve up. I squirmed, but a yank of my other arm followed by a crushing iron grip on my free arm left me tense as he stabbed the needle into my arm and depressed the syringe. He removed the needle casually and replaced the cap, then inserted the syringe into another pouch.

The two visored faces stared at one another for the briefest of moments in a silent exchange. Then they nodded as the one who injected me rose, turned and entered the room where I had been held prisoner. A low groan emanated from the space, followed by a series of loud cracks.

“Rise, meathead. Follow.”

The voice that emanated in reply was deeper than I remembered. “This meathead obeys...” An even greater shock greeted me when the lumbering brute emerged. Chapman’s muscle mass had increased dramatically, and the man’s skull had completely reformed. Sharp, angular, square features blunted his face now, and his eyes were a vivid shade of green. The oversized gun didn’t look so ridiculous for him anymore.

“What the hell...?” I murmured.

“Meathead Champ will listen to orders. Meathead Champ will obey. Meathead Champ will fire on his roommate on command. Meathead Champ will prepare to fire now.”

“What?” I balked. I wanted to squirm again, but once more, my captor brought me to heel. I tried to shift out of his grip, but the hold was too strong. Even if I went limp, he’d still be able to haul me back up again. That didn’t stop me from trying, however.

I heard a whine not unlike the sound you hear in a sci-fi movie when a blaster is being charged or a bomb is being primed. The barrel was soon directed at my face. My heart hammered as Chapman uttered his mindless acknowledgement.

“Meathead Champ obeys. This meathead is ready to fire.”

“Fire.”

There was light, a strange tingling that bordered on the pleasant, and then blackness. I came to in an empty barracks. When I rose, everything felt ... heavy, awkward. The sight of the muscles bulging against the fabric of my shirt was more than enough to unsettle me as my throat clenched and my mouth went dry. I wanted to scream, but at the same time I knew better. I journeyed over my torso, my arms, everything. All of it felt in order, albeit significantly enhanced. It was my face I dreaded the most. And true to my fears, I could feel each sharply defined contour from my own transformation that was doubtless facilitated by the rifle. As a test, I ran through pi to see just how far in the infinite decimal sequence I could get. Then I searched through the other parts of my brain. I felt no compulsion, no absentmindedness, no blank emptiness or cotton or wool. I was clear, surprisingly so, given how quickly my mind seemed to jump from place to place.

“Comfortable?”

The question came out of nowhere, and I balked and bawled as my body sent me crashing into another bunk with the increased force of my new mass.

“Well, clearly not anymore,” the voice replied urbanely. I rounded on the figure only to see a man standing at least a head taller than I. His manner was relaxed and composed. His blond hair flickered like silver in the light. And though he was completely relaxed, his body oozed that smug command and intimidation that subconsciously demanded respect from those around him. “Please, take a moment to acclimate yourself. I find a blow to the shins is never pleasant.”

I decided to stick with sitting, rather than rick another launch with a body I had absolutely no experience with. “Who ... are you?” I winced at the depth of my voice. Logic only dictated it would have changed with the rest of my physique, but I had hoped it wouldn’t.

“A scientist of sorts. Biochemistry is my specialty, though I’ve branched out into many other fields.” He chuckled. “Why don’t you just stay there and we’ll have a nice chat between the two of us?” He lowered his broad frame onto the bed I had just launched myself from and gazed at me with vivid blue eyes. “My name is Stone. And you doubtless have many questions and expletives you want to voice, most likely not in that order.”

I felt like a broken record as curse after curse and swear after swear flowed out of me in an invective tirade. Denunciations and questions boomed from me like the retort of a cannon, emphasized by a number of curses and swears until that was all I heard winding down ... and down ... and down....

“Are you finished?”

A plaintive, almost defeated, “Fuck,” hissed from me as I rested my head in two massive hands.

“Glad you could get that out of your system. Now, do you have any real questions you wanted to ask me?”

“Why?” I finally managed to ask.

“You’re a programmer. You should understand. If a program doesn’t work the way it’s intended, you go into the code, find the bug, and fix it. Sometimes it’s messy work, but the end result is worth it. I’m doing that on a global scale, or at least I will in time. Getting rid of bigotry, erasing the divide between the strong and the weak to produce a better world for everyone.”

“You broke Chapman.”

“Champ is happy where he is. He chose it. He wanted it. You two had virtually the same IQ scores and talents, at least when it came to computer engineering and programming. Unlike you, though, Champ was fighting conditions that would make it so that he could never enjoy the same level of fitness and activity that you do. Such a lack eventually results in fantasies, a longing to experience what one never has had. Chapman threw it all away because he reveled in the chance to grow and swell. And, I admit, I fed that desire while he tried to hack the mainframe. I let him see where he would ultimately end up. And I gave him a simple choice. He accepted my offer to obey. He lied to you, pretended to fail, and complied with everything I told him whenever he signed in. He is living his fantasy now, and is deliriously happy to be receiving training as a part of my Meatheads.

Rage curled my lip, but I couldn’t do a thing. I wanted to lunge at the man, strangle him, but my body wouldn’t comply. All I could do was sit and watch.

“You may have noticed by now, but my meatheads can’t do anything against me. I’m their authority figure, their alpha. Or as they like to call me, Coach. You can’t attack me because I told you to stay there. And though you may want to deny it, I know that deep down, you’re enjoying the sensation of your new body just as much as Champ is.”

“How?”

“My formula.” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “It’s not perfect yet, but the iterations I’ve produced from my original notes have been very useful in extending my control. I don’t want to be a dictator, but I’m not about to let the world stay as it is either. Shadow politics, assassinations, pointless bombings and wars, genocides, suicides. This world is a mess. I have the tools to fix that mess once and for all. And I intend to do just that. To sum it up for you, I’m my original test subject. And the formula worked wonders for me as a result, but it also rendered me ... incapacitated for a time. As a result, much of my research was lost, and I’ve had to rebuild using different iterations of my creation until I can find that special mix. On the plus side, as derivatives of my original formula, it seems that anyone exposed automatically becomes subservient to me. It makes things much simpler when dealing with intruders and espionage. It also helps with recruiting.”

“Then why didn’t you just ask me?”

“Because I wanted you to sample the goods. That, and because there are still those who can resist the full effects of my injections and other sources of integration for a certain period of time. As I said, the formula still needs work. But I like to use the less effective iterations for special cases like you. Your specialty in coding and computer engineering is something I need right now. And I want you to keep your mind focused on the task at hand, rather than on weights and muscle. That’s why I’m assigning you to our MEAT department.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I think we both know you can’t.” Stone smirked. “For the record, MEAT stands for Muscle Enhancement and Accelerated Transformation. You’ll be helping us to design and improve a number of methods and technologies to help smooth subject transitions into becoming Meatheads. And more importantly, on how to preserve their skills and knowledge while still incorporating them into the collective. In other words, research and development. Your specialty, if I recall correctly.”

“I don’t want to.”

Stone chuckled. “On the contrary. I think you do.”

“I do—” My tongue stuck. My jaw locked. I tried again. “I do—” Again, I had the same problem. Again, I couldn’t finish. “I ... do....”

Stone’s smirk widened into a sneer. “Glad we got that settled. Oh, and for the safer ones, I want you to experiment on yourself. I’m intrigued to see just what a smart obedient Meathead will look and act like.

I groaned another curse, which only further emphasized my captor’s glee. “Spoken like a true Meathead.”

“Whatever....”

“That’s right. Whatever I say, Meathead.” The cocky arrogance was gone, leaving behind a chilling glare that could cut through diamond. “And you will address me with respect as either Coach Stone, Coach, or Sir. Do I make myself clear?”

I clenched my mouth shut.

“Answer me,” Stone demanded.

“Yes, ... Sir.”

“Good.” His eyes flashed as he rose from his position. “Now follow me. I’ll guide you to your lab. You have a lot of work ahead of you, don’t you, Meathead?”

I couldn’t stop myself as I rose to follow him. “Yes, Sir, Coach.”

“That’s right.” He chuckled. “On second thought, let’s get you dressed first. Then we can visit the lab.”

“Whatever you say, Coach.”

“Good boy,” he purred. I shuddered in revulsion, both at his cold dominance and ... at the jolt of pleasure that surged with that acknowledgement. If that was how it felt now, how would I feel after a few months or years of working under him? Would I be able to resist?

...

Would I even want to?

I shuddered again. Hopefully, I would be able to find a solution before Coach made me a permanent team member. Or worse yet, before I did.

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 1

It’s been longer than usual since our last answer session, so I’m answering a ton of questions today! It’s so big I split it into two parts. Thank you for the patience on getting a response to these.

Thanks for reaching out to us with your questions and kind words ^^!

Sorry if this has been asked before or isn't something you can say but is there anyway for Cove to confess in step 4? I wanted him to confess in step 3 and followed all the steps to make him do it but ended up texting my family instead of Cove at the end.

Yeah, Cove can confess in Step 4!

Hello! I heard that Cove is on the spectrum, albeit undiagnosed. As someone who is ND, this makes me UNBELIEVABLY happy. I literally was brought to tears! Thank you for that!

Out of curiosity, will Cove be diagnosed in Step 4? I have a strong feeling y’all won’t make it a HUGE deal/make it out to be negative, so I’m not worried about that whatsoever! I’m just curious just he’ll off handedly mention it? Or will it just not be touched upon at all (which is ok!)?

Either way is ok, I’m just curious!

I’m happy it made you happy! Admittedly, Cove simply being someone with autism that grew up not being diagnosed was something I included for myself. I didn’t really think anyone would notice or ask about it, aha. But players did start to have questions about his traits, so I started to talk about it outside of the game. It’s great to see it get such a positive response and now I do feel like having it be a non-topic may have been the wrong choice and bringing it up would’ve been good in terms of having positive representation for that. I don’t know if I’ll find a way to mention it in Step 4 now, with how far along the game is, but I am at least thinking about it when originally it wasn’t something I really even considered.

Hey!  Just wanted to say thank you for Our Life.  It's been a bright spot and a needed escape in what's otherwise been a crummy year.  I know you just did a Q&A post but I figured I'd ask anyway.  Was just curious about Step 4.  Will it be similar to the other Steps in that it consists of several different moments or will it just be one long sequence?

Step 4 is shorter than the prior Steps because it’s just an epilogue rather than a full arc of a story. It’ll consist of scenes that all happen in a set row one after the other. There won’t be a collection of Moments to choose from. But it’ll still be very sweet and fun.

¡hola!, you see, first I want to say that I love Our Life! (°◡°♡) and I have 2 important questions, would Cove cry watching titanic? and what is the saddest part according to him? (sorry for my english) 

Titanic would make him cry. He’d probably think the parts showing people who aren’t able to make it to the life boats/are choosing to stay and go down with the ship were the saddest.

Hello, I wanted to ask how much you earn with creating games? Like is it possible to make a living? Thank you >< <3 

How much I earn varies a lot month to month based on Steam sales, Patreon backers, and how many projects are in full production at the time. It’s also hard to say how much I make historically, since that also changes dramatically year by year. But I do earn enough to work on these games full time! I really appreciate all the support that allows me to do that.

Hey!! I was wondering for the 18+ Our Life moment, will there be an emphasis on safety/comfort for all involved? I feel like there  would be just going off of what the rest of the game is like, but I wanted to ask 

Yes! Cove is a nervous boy himself and also super cautious about doing anything the MC doesn’t like, so clear consent from both is absolutely needed for anything to happen. It’s a conversational sexy times Moment with stops/starts so the two can talk about how they’re feeling, rather than a heat of the moment just going for it kind of thing.

Hey!! I was wondering how long the wedding dlc would be? Will it be broken up into moments, or just one big event? 

It’s one long series of scenes all in a row rather than a collection of Moments to pick from. It’s the shortest and the least expensive of all the DLCs. It’s not super crucial to get and those who aren’t into big weddings can totally skip it without worry.

HELLO AMAZING DEVS 👋 i am hopelessly in love with the worst guy ever (jeremy king) and because of this i have a really stupid question: does he really hate people who are nice to him? TvT he’s too cute to be mean to istg it’s a miracle JB held the urge to be consistently nice to him bc just look at his FACE he is so cute! thank you for jeremy’s route it’s so lovely (and awful bc he’s scum 11/10) it gave me so much laughs LMAO i hope you guys have a good day!! 

Haha, thank you. He doesn’t hate them but he’s certainly not pleased with them. Jeremy is either uncomfortable with or annoyed by people being sweet on him, depending on how they approach it. He’s far more comfortable with jerkiness. It lets him relax and he can be himself without it being a problem, since he’s also a jerk. He feels a level of guilt being such a little punk to kind people, not enough to be a better person but still.

Has Cove dated or been interested in someone other than MC? 

Nope! He stays single over the course of the game if he’s not with the MC.

Is Step 4 more mature? Or it's gonna be set in similar atmosphere as Step 3? 

Step 4 is a similar atmosphere as Step 3. Though, it’s actually kind of less mature-topic heavy than Step 3 since it’s just a ‘hey, let’s check in on the gang to see what they’re up to’ style epilogue rather than a story arc with serious issues.

will there be new music for now and forever?? or will the old our life music be reused? 

It’s gonna be a brand new soundtrack. We’ll be opening up a job position for that soon.

Hi, is it okay if we use the assets in Our Life (like the sprites) for fanworks or fan content content, like edits? 

Sure! Just as long as you don’t use the assets made by those artists to make money.

Quick clarification on Step 3 choices: I hope I didn't come off rude (because I LOVE the game, really!!), I was just curious because the intro threw me off at times. For example, you could choose how you felt about Elizabeth in Step 2 (Dinner), but during the Step 3 intro, it says that you got closer to Liz and I didn't get a choice in it. 

For the example, it can’t be helped that you’re closer to Liz in Step 3 than you were in Step 2 because she’s inherently closer to the MC regardless of whether you liked her or not in Step 2. Her feelings are out of your control and the game isn’t so dramatic that you can push her affection away and not let her bond with you, haha. But ‘being closer’ can still be relative. For some people maybe that means you’re best buds now and for others it might just mean you’re not fighting all the time any more. If there’s other parts you want to mention, feel free to let us know.

Did the illustrator for Our Life change? 

We have many OL artists! The main artists who set the game’s style haven’t changed, but there’s multiple other artists who help finish assets.

So Miranda's type is confident and outgoing, huh? So...does that mean Terri's her type?? 👀 

Haha, sorry for the late reply on this. As you might’ve seen in our post yesterday- yeah that is her type.

Hey! First, I just want to say I've really enjoyed how detailed OL got with gender identity and sexuality and how respectful the topics were handled! It's been so wonderful to play since the experiences could be close to my own (I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up at parts). Second, I was wondering, would future games explore the topic of polyamory? I'd love to see more visual novels allow room for that and I saw you've explored the topic before.

Keep up the amazing work! ♡

Thank you! We do want to include polyamory in at least some of our future projects. Floret Bond, which might be what you’re referring to when mentioning how we’ve explored the topic before, is on hold unfortunately. So right now I’m not sure when something might release or what will be the first game of ours to come out with poly relationships (we might do something else before FB is done). We’ll have see how things ends up coming together.

Hey um. I feel like im not allowed to ask this on the private discord cuz people will yell at me but why is there so much focus on OL2 and not finishing OL1 stuff? I like the new people but i kind of want to finish cove's story and get derek and baxter stuff first. didn't people pay for it? 

I’m sorry, I don’t understand entirely what’s making that situation a concern. There’s a channel in the discord for critique where no one is allowed to comment back. People can voice things they’re worried about without any way for others to push back on it. And the two teams working on the OL games are different. We try to post pretty often about how we’re hiring brand new people to start on Our Life: Now & Forever. The OL1 team is all still working on OL1 like normal. There’s only more updates on the Patreon for OL2 because the expansions to the first game are mostly script-based at this point while OL2 is just starting to get all its art, which means there’s a lot more to show off as previews.

Also, there was a Kickstarter for the first Our Life, if that’s what you mean by people paying for it. But one of the stretch goals was to start Our Life 2 early, before fully completing Our Life 1, so that the new game could be out sooner. It wouldn’t make sense to stop doing OL2 work because that would be going against what backers were promised. Maybe you didn’t get the full story before and hopefully this clears it up!

Hello! I know it's up to every player but.. What is your recommendation for playing order? Did you ever had any timeline  events planned? 

I didn’t make the events with a planned timeline. The events got made simply as I had ideas for them and then I just kind of organized them from left to right on the screen in an order to space out more dramatic ones between more lighthearted ones. Any order the player wants to go with is totally valid!

Hi! It's Step 4 a paid dlc or update? And how long it's planned to be? Ps. Love the game! 

The Step 4 epilogue is free! The Cove Wedding DLC does cost money, though. Those are planned to be shorter than the usual Steps/DLCs.

Will we have options for what sort of job the MC might have by the time step 4 takes place? 

Yeah, you can. It’s not super exact or detailed, but there are options about it.

Is there a pandemic in Our Life world, or is it just in a better timeline with no pestilence? 

Our Life is pandemic-free! That didn’t exist when we began working on the project and it’s not something we’d like to feature in this story now that it has unfortunately come along, aha.

Hi, you said that you can play tic-tac-toe or hangman with Cove in Boating if you're sick/scared but I keep getting tic-tac-toe. Am I doing something wrong?

After being sick/scared you have to continue to be upset/unwell. If you calm down and decide to just chill you’ll end up playing tic-tac-toe.

Hi, GB Patch! Since Lee was initially commissioned to only appear in two Steps does this mean she won't appear in the Wedding DLC? I really like her character so it'll be a little weird to not have our cousin at our wedding, aha.

She is gonna be in Step 4/the wedding DLC after all! We’re still working with her creator to make sure it fits with what they wanted.

Is Sunset Bird based on a real place? Asking for a friend, not trying to move there or anything. 👀

It’s based on small beach towns in So-Cal, but not one specific town you could go see in real life, I’m afraid. It’d be nice if it was real, though.

—– —– —– —–

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[paperdemon-arpg]

Interview with Bordayus 3/4

"I feel wanted..."

This is part 3 of our interview with PaperDemon Community member, Bordayus. See part 2 here.

What kind of community support for your work do you have or wish you had?

I have it, in PaperDemon. As much as it has helped me, I want to help it grow; I want to help build it up and give back what it has given me for the last year or so.

It's not magic, it is just an open and friendly community. I feel wanted; like if I died, I would not just simply fade [away] without notice. In other places, I had folk who enjoyed my work, but all-in-all, the community was stand-offish... PaperDemon is open, made to make you feel welcome - the feeling you matter and are a respected artist, no matter your skill level or your art style. It is true there are times I feel my style is not respected, because at times I can do art quicker when the drive pushes me, or because it is flat color. Some seem to think I do not put as much effort in my art as they do, people who draw life like art vs my cartoony style. But I do, it is not easy for me and by the time I reach near completion, my computer moving so slow it takes 4-7 seconds of clicking the mouse to register the pen. I draw with a mouse on an barely one inch room mouse pad. Still, a lot of folk enjoy my work and it inspires me to keep creating for others to enjoy. I may even create a new character who actually has a tragic past and such so I can join the tragic OC club :P

What are you thoughts for your character, Shikun, in future? Any story developments for her that you are considering?

When I look at Shikun, I want her to be a symbol of joy in your life. She has flaws just like everyone else; she has her bad moments - times she faces events that make people sad... but to her, these are only little hiccups... no matter how bad things get, there are always joys in life like food, family, and friends. She never forgets the things she cherishes the most, and she bull rushes life's road blocks until she sees the sunlight. I want that character to be a part of PaperDemon. A smile whose contagious joy brings others around her a smile. My goal is to some day have Shikun and her figure in the PaperDemon lore, maybe have her home world or race in the lore or a portal option.

That's a great goal! How would you ideally have that pan out?

Mostly BogusRed gets really busy with life and such but needs a character and idea for a portal, so she tosses a few Patreon names in a wheel spinner and rolls, and my name comes up then she points to her team to pick my brain for ideas and makes it into a PaperDemon portal or something. Lacklustre I know but it's more realistic then Bogus Red, Ark and Shy appearing in my living room after teleporting from the future to try to convince their past selves to include Shikun into PaperDemon lore....and that's STILL not the most crazy my imagination has gotten...

[adventures-of-the-creeping-bam]

NEVER SPLIT THE PARTY: THE ADVENTURES OF THE CREEPING BAM,  BOOK FOUR: THE HUNT - CHAPTER 16

If you’re new to the story, please go check out Book 1 first …

Boof 4 Chapter 1 is here …

IMPORTANT:  Please note this story includes content that may be considered mature, such as moderate battle violence, some strong language and occasional mild sexual scenes.

If you want to support my writing, feel free to swing by my Patreon or Ko-fi.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  KESLA

For the love of Thorin, it’s getting to be like every time we come back to the temple again at least one of us is hurt.  I’m getting worried about this turning into a genuine pattern.  Sooner or later one of us ain’t gonna be coming back at all.

Damn it … that idea almost makes me trip over my own feet before I can make it all the way into the medical wing, and as it is I can’t help clenching my fists as I skip to keep my feet.  Hissing in a sharp breath, I do my best to banish the thought of Gael’s continued enforced absence from my head, I got too much to concentrate on right now, and most o’ what we’re doing is for them anyway.  So I just let it out in a low hiss and home in on my destination, vaguely mindful of the others scurrying along in my wake trying hard to keep up.

Art ain’t among ‘em.  He disappeared soon as the rest got back, seems he wanted some time alone.  I heard about what he did from Zuldrad, who seemed shook himself, although in spite o’ the bloodstains still darkening his hair in places telling me their own story mostly he just looked particularly down.  Well, more’n usual.  Not that I’m surprised – between ‘em they both just had a hand in killing someone they once considered a friend.  A close one, since childhood, another Guild foundling.

It's interesting, to me Granzun was just an obstacle, a fucking scary one, I’ll admit, vaguely remembering catching glimpses of what he was capable of in the rare lulls during my fight with Vandryss.  When I heard Art was the one finally cut him down I mostly just felt relief, but once the implication sunk in I felt like a bastard for wanting to make light o’ this particular death.  To be honest, I never really done something like that before, never had actual cause.  I never found myself in the position where someone I considered a friend suddenly turned on me, I genuinely don’t know how I’d actually react …

I had a mind to go find him, try and comfort him, but then Krakka filled me in on the rest, let me know they took some other hits beside Art’s emotional one.  Nobody was dead, but Shay came close again, and Yes got messed up by another nasty little surprise from Tavarrat.  I damn near spat on the floor hearing that, only just remembering where we actually are in time to stop myself, but I didn’t even try to rein myself in after, just turned right round and started my aggressive stalk over here.

After making our swift exit from the playhouse, Tulen did as I asked, jumping us away as soon as we’d stepped outside the stage door into the wide alley round the back o’ the expansive building.  I remember turning just before I closed my eyes after taking my breath in anticipation, seeing the door burst open to let Dramrath Mallys spill through with a complicated look on her face, moving fast as she made to leap down the remaining steps.  But then Tulen spoke the incantation and I screwed my eyes shut again after all, and then we were moving again without really seeming to move, just that weird twisting pull, and when we landed and I stumbled away I couldn’t really be sure if I’d seen it or just imagined.  That particular showdown had been avoided, then.

We weren’t back at the temple in the end, though.  Instead I’d asked Tulen to port us to the Iron Shark so we could collect our gear.  Given that we’re essentially guests of Minerva right now, it makes no real sense for us to still have rooms we ain’t using in the hotel, so I figured it was time to check out.  Leaving Tulen with Sonagh in order to start making the arrangements, I went up with Thel to get the rest o’ my stuff before coming back down to retrieve some of our horses.  By this point Tulen had gotten in contact with the temple so they could get some of their people over to collect what we wound up leaving behind before settling the bill through the Order itself, again laying the cost on Saxiros.  Which freed her up to collect her own gear while I saw to Trampler.

Gods, the old horse had clearly missed me.  Maybe there were a few moments o’ reproach to begin with, like I went out my way to abandon him for more than a week, but I won him over quick enough, offering up an apple he made disappear in two greedy bites.  When the young wizard came for her own mount he was licking my face and I was indulging him, figuring he’d earned the right with whatever patience he’d managed while I was gone.

In the end Tulen took the time to draw out a proper circle for us all rather than risk wiping herself out again trying to port us all along with four substantial horses, Sonagh coming back with Yeslee’s big mare while Thel rode Krakka’s.  She put a little trick into it, so it would dissolve soon as she completed the spell, but I doubt we really needed to worry about being followed this time, there’s no way they’re watching the hotel.  They already know full well where we are.  So we ported back and put the horses up in the stables adjoining the large chamber containing the temple’s established teleportation circles, trusting the stewards to take care of ‘em while they waited for the rest to arrive after.  I spent a few more moments with Trampler before I left, and I’ll admit in the end I was reluctant to leave him.  The little detour definitely reminded me how fond I’d become o’ the massive stallion in the time we shared since leaving the mountains.

Cutting across the floor now, I push through the final door into the emergency ward, trying to prepare myself for what I might find.  So I’m a little surprised to find Shay already sat up on one o’ the beds with her face bloody but otherwise seeming … well, not exactly the same as it was before, I realise, when I look closer as I step in and she turns to me with clear surprise, I see her nose is the tiniest bit bent now, a subtle, very well mended break but clear enough cuz I’m looking for it.  She blinks, her eyes bright and clear, and jumps down, only swaying for a moment as Lady Naru steps up to help her, only to be politely waved off as she straightens up.  “I’m good.  That just … um … yeah, maybe I’m still a little spaced …”

Not saying anything in response, I just stalk up and reach out for her face, and she almost shies in response, barely managing to rein herself in.  I don’t touch her nose, stopping just short, but still hold my hand close for a few more moments, not sure what to say.  Finally I clear my throat and blurt out the first thing that comes:  “The hell did you do –”

“Something really stupid, and I paid for it.”  She raises her own hand and gives her nose a very careful brush with her fingertips, wincing a little from the contact.  It’s already healed, there’s no swelling now and there’s a little scar high across the bridge where the break must’ve been, but there’s still subtle dark smudges in the corners of her eyes to show it’s gonna be a little tender for a while.  She manages a cocked little grin all the same.  “Nothing like a good scar to remind you though, right?”

That just makes me frown, so I give her a particularly sharp look.  “Not funny, Shay.  You gotta watch that.”

Her rueful smile fades immediately, and she deflates as her shoulders slump.  “Shit … yeah, you’re right.  I’m sorry.  It’s not funny.”

Taking a deep breath, I almost admonish her more, but finally I just step forward instead and fold her into a tight hug.  She’s stiff for a moment as I take her by surprise, but melts quick enough, pressing me with her own arms for a few beats before I finally let go.  When we part she’s avoiding my eye, sheepish now.

“Yeah … it was a bit messy, to be honest.  We didn’t have a lot of time to think, not once the orc turned up.  I tried to take him down myself, but all I managed to do was take his hand before he shook me off.  Then this happened.”

“Without that I’m not sure Art could have finished him, though.”  Lady Naru purrs in her soft, low voice, using a particularly soothing tone I don’t doubt she’s pitching real careful for Shay’s benefit.  “You were more help than you give yourself credit for.”

Shay raises her head again, wide-eyed as she looks the sorcerer over, and mulls it over for a few beats.  I take a step away, leaving my hand on the half-orc’s shoulder for a moment longer so I can give it a last little squeeze, but I’m already checking the rest o’ the room.  Oh, yeah … there she is …

Yeslee’s sat on another bed a few down, and while two of Minerva’s clerics are stood by watching, she’s currently being tended to by Shul.  That surprises me, she ain’t an actual healer, I don’t really get what she’d be doing here.

‘Least my friend’s actually sitting up too instead of lying down, reckon that’s a good enough sign, but as I step up I realise she still don’t look great compared to what I’m used to.  Ain’t the first time I seen Yes hurt, but it’s a rare enough occurrence it ain’t stopped alarming me, and even though she’s clearly on the mend I can still tell this was a bad one.  She’s a moment noticing my approach, and when she finally looks up I see her eyes are a lot duller than usual, the dark circles round ‘em warning me she’s still a mess right now.

“Oh … shit … didn’t think I looked that bad.”  she mutters as I draw close, and her words slur some, lower and a good deal more gravelly than usual.  “How was … what was it you were doing again?”

Not sure what to say to that, so I turn to Shul instead as she takes one hand away from her face while leaving the other pressed just above her right temple.  She turns to me after a beat, and the frown she gives tells me she still ain’t in the best mood with me, but when she sucks in a sharp breath and speaks, I can tell she’s trying to overlook that ugly business right now.  “It seems she was struck by a particularly potent Rupture Curse.  It’s not something a polite wizard would employ, even in the middle of a particularly dangerous fight.  They’re designed to inflict some truly horrific damage.  Mistress Toll was very lucky to have such a strong constitution, or she might not have survived it.”

“Yeah, well she’s one o’ the toughest folk I know, so that don’t surprise me.”  I can’t keep the desperate edge all the way out my voice, and in spite of her condition I reckon Yes still picks up on it, she’s watching me close despite still having trouble really focusing.  “She’s gonna be all right though, right?  That’s what you’re telling me.”

Again, she’s a while responding, but this time it’s more an uncomfortable wariness that holds her back.  “Eventually.  I would not recommend calling her on her for anything strenuous for a while yet, this kind of injury can have unforeseen complications.  I’m doing what I can to counteract the effects, but it’s not really my normal field.  Unfortunately, since a healing spell wouldn’t have much of an effect in this case, there’s nothing else that can be done for her.  We’ll just have to wait and let her rest and heal on her own.”

“Shit …”  I mutter under my breath, but I don’t reckon I could say it any louder right now, it’s a genuine shock.  “How long …”  Faltering, I look my friend in the eye now and I can see she’s trying to look wary, despite the blur, which tells me she’s worried about my reaction.  Fuck … Shul’s right, this ain’t good, and Yes knows it too.  She must really feel like shit right now.  “I’m sorry … do what you can for her, please.  If anything changes –”

“Of course, I’ll let you know immediately.  Regardless of any other considerations.”  She gives me another particularly sharp look there, and again I can feel the weight of her reprimand in it.  I hold my tongue as much as before, determined to just weather this particular storm until it’s passed.  The she turns back and, with her frown becoming more focused, reaches up with her other hand again, this time just letting it rest lightly on Yeslee’s shoulder as she starts muttering under her breath.  Once more, it’s something I feel instead of hear.

Yes continues to watch me as I cross my arms particularly tight, deeply uncomfortable now under the circumstances.  “Kesla, I’m …”  She lets a deep sigh go, and finally looks down.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for this to –”

“Stop it.”  I almost snap in response, and the words come out sharper than I really intend, but I’m so surprised by her need to apologise for getting hurt that I just react, and immediately have to rein myself in again.  I suck a hard, levelling breath in and take a beat to calm myself before continuing.  “Just … no.  You have nothing to apologise for.  That was just shit luck.  I heard about what happened, sounds like you were just in the wrong place when that nasty little trick went off.  Could���ve been any of us.”

“Honestly, I’m grateful to you for taking the blast the way you did.”  Lady Naru’s at my side now, but at least it don’t surprise me this time.  She looks quite reticent now, as if feeling guilty despite her gratitude.  “If you hadn’t pushed me away the way you did, that would have been me.  I’m quite sure I would not have managed to shrug the worst of it off the way you have.  That was clearly meant for me in that particular scenario.”

Lifting her head again, Yeslee looks up at her, blinking a bit as she works on getting what focus she can on the sorcerer, again frowning deep as she works on an answer.  “I didn’t really think about it at the time.  I would have done it for any of my friends.”

This gives Lady Naru particular pause, and she genuinely seems at a loss for what to say in response to that.  She’s a sharp one, clearly she’s been able to pick up on just how stoic and prickly our Fir Bolg tracker is, so to receive an actual confirmation of friendship from her, even somewhat backhanded like this one, must have quite an impact.  She looks to me after a moment, but turns away long before I can even try to respond, her expression becoming a good deal more complicated now.  Finally she simply breathes:  “Thank you, Mistress Toll.”

Yes sighs as she shrugs, but maintains her vague eye-contact.  “Just Yeslee’s fine.  Please.”

Again, she just blinks, still surprised, before fumbling for a beat.  “Of course.  Yeslee.”

Dumoli’s joined us now, planting himself close on her left side just in front of the bed, and she seems to notice his arrival quick enough.  He’s looking her over, and seems as shocked by what he sees as I was.  “How … are you?”

“Alive.”  she just grunts in response, managing something vaguely resembling a smile too.  “I think.  Part of me wishes I wasn’t, mind.  The way this feels right now …”

He shifts closer and reaches out, but hesitates for a long moment before actually grasping for her hand.  I’m more surprised to see her responding, shifting a little first before raising her left in response, and while it’s real shaky she still manages to get it up out of her lap.  He grabs it quick, and folds it into his own impressively large mitt, then lays the other underneath too.  “Well I’m glad you are.”

She a vague but warm smile, which is still a little surprising to see, but I’m starting to get a handle on their relationship now, and it’s quite sweet really.  I take a step back now, but only so I can move closer to Lady Naru, gently laying my hand against her arm and gently ushering her closer to Shay’s bed so I can keep both groups in clear earshot now.  As I do so I shoot a look to Sonagh and Thel, beckoning with my other hand for them to come, and Thel gives Tulen a little tap to catch up too.  Zuldrad finally pushes away from the spot he took up against the wall just inside the door, starting a more leisurely stroll over.  I cross my arms again, plant my feet, and consider the sorcerer for a beat.

“So outside o’ the dead orc and a few prisoners who might be able to yield up a few fresh answers, did we actually find anything we can use in that tavern?”

Naru gives me a sharper look now before answering.  “Perhaps.  We can’t be sure yet.  In the end it was prudent for us to leave in something of a hurry.”

“The townsguard were coming.  After the Hardway went up they been maintaining a presence down on the docks, ‘case anything else happened.  Most of ‘em were based down at First Point so it took a little while for ‘em to muster, but …”  Zuldrad shrugs, somewhat mirroring my stance now as he looks up at me.  “Better not to take any chances.”

“We had wounded to evacuate anyway.”  Dumoli strikes up now, although he’s still keeping most of his attention focused on Yes as he leans close to her.

“Art and Brung had a look around the place while we were packing up, at least what hadn’t been destroyed.”  Naru continues  “There was some storage in the back, and downstairs, in the cellar, but nothing much that roused either of their suspicion.  Except for the tunnel.”

“A tunnel?”  I blink at that, turning back to Zuldrad.  “You left that part out.”

“They didn’t have a chance to check it out in the time we had.  The entrance was hidden behind some crates and a fake piece o’ wall, suggests it might’ve been some kind of escape tunnel, or access to their smuggling network, but there was no way to tell.  Driver 8 said he couldn’t see much outside his range, but I dunno exactly what that actually means.  Just that it’s a fuckin’ maze down there, branches off in all directions.”

“Yeah, well … might have some potential.  Did they seal it back up?”

Zuldrad cocks a brow.  “Course.  Figured if it was something we didn’t want anybody else discovering before we can have a proper look, so …”

“We can only hope the townsguard are as inept in their investigation as they’ve proved so far.”  Lady Naru breathes, half to herself, maybe.  Then she catches me looking and lets a little sigh go.  “I’m sorry.  It was a messy business in there, and I’m afraid after my near miss I wanted to wash my hands of it, so I was happy just to leave.  Perhaps I should have –”

“No, it’s cool.  Reckon that was the right move after all.”  I take another step back, looking down at the floor now as I ponder again for a few moments.  “Honestly, we’re prob’ly good.  They ain’t looking for the same thing we are anyway.  Far as they’d know that place is just a tavern, not a smuggler’s hub.  ‘Less they got tipped off, which I doubt.  We ain’t gonna do that, and Jammund definitely wouldn’t.  So it should be safe enough for now.”

“No sign of Gael though.”  Yeslee grunts, voicing the fear I really don’t want to face right now.  When I look up again she’s watching me the best she can, and mostly just looks frustrated now, while Shul continues to work away at her.

Sighing deep, I just hug myself tighter and kick at the floor a little, shuffling my feet aimlessly as I ponder again.  “Damn it … I really did hope …”

“Who are these prisoners?”  Sonagh strikes up now, and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, he does this kinda shit for a living.

“As far as we can tell, they’re some of Jammund’s people.  Three of them.  Art picked them out, apparently there were a fair few survivors left but we let the majority of them go.”  Naru looks at Zuldrad, then past me to Krakka, who’s been strikingly silent this whole time.

“Big Man gave everyone a scan for weapons, at Art’s request.  They were the only ones who tried to hide anything, after we’d succeeded in pacifying them all.”  He fingers Bloodmoon’s shaft as he watches me while I just wait for him to continue, finally frowning a little.  “There was no other way to check who was an actual part of Jammund’s network and who was simply a patron of the Late Bone.  And I realise now that it might have simply been an admittedly educated guess, but … well, there wasn’t much else to go on.”

“None o’ those tattoos, then?”  I wonder, half to myself, really.

“Not this time, no.”  Naru reassures me  “The dead ones were all the result of our actions, or the fight with the orc.”

“Means if these three really are folk we’re after, likely they’re from Jammund’s crew proper.  Valued enough he wouldn’t want ‘em marked, any more’n Vik.”  I nod, taking a moment to brush my hands back over my hair, finally just slipping the tie free and shaking my hair out again, giving it a little brush to work the extra kinks back out.  “They locked up, then?”

“Cept the one got his shoulder fucked up.  Shul insisted he go to the healers for that.”  Zuldrad shrugs, noncommittal, while the wizard turns enough my way to give me a short but clearly real pointed sidelong look.

Still not wanting to mess with that, I just roll my eyes and turn away, letting my hand settle into its usual spot on Hefdred’s hilt while I give the back o’ my neck a thoughtful rub.  Going over the information in my head, pausing for a moment as I see Thel dropping onto one o’ the chairs on the far side o’ the room now with a heavy sigh.  Ah, yeah …

I take a few steps her way now, letting my free hand settle at my side now.  “You still feeling rough, then?”

When she looks up at me, there’s a moment it’s sharp enough to spit, but instead she just frowns, clearly going over what I just asked her.  Finally she rolls her shoulders a little, shifting about now as she finally just dumps her battleaxe without ceremony against the wall beside her and shakes her head.  “Not rough exactly … reckon all that walking just caught up to me.  Those two jumps didn’t help much.  ‘Least when we came back with the horses it was smoother.”

“Otherwise you’re good, then?”  I wonder, maybe adding a subtle note to my query she must pick up on, the way her eyes narrow some.

“What?  I don’t …”  She falters, looking aside at nothing in particular.  “No, I … reckon I’m just stewing a little after seeing that bloody hob again.  That wasn’t …”  She looks down at her hands now, which are shaking a little, and grips both into big, tight fists.  “Maybe you shouldn’t have taken me after all.  Things could’ve gone real bad after that.”

“Hey, that came outta nowhere.  Seeing that dragonhalf gave me a start too, I just had to roll with it.  Your baggage is a lot bigger there, you couldn’t have helped yourself.”  After an awkward pause, I take the final step and set a hesitant hand on her shoulder, but just lightly, not squeezing.  Honestly I can’t be sure it’s really the right gesture right now, anyway.

Thel certainly gives me a funny look up when I do it, but she don’t say anything, or shake me off, either.  Finally I just let go on my own, frowning somewhat in my awkwardness.  “Yeah, um … anyway …”

“You got shit to do, right?”  she ventures now, watching me with a more complicated, somewhat uncertain look now.  “Chase up some leads, maybe.  You want me to come with?”

“No, you’re okay here.”  I frown again, turning to look round, then spot one o’ the clerics and beckon him over.  “Meantime you just heal up some more.  Get back on top form again.”  As the young man arrives I point him towards the dwarf.  “Give her a little top-up, maybe?  Get her the rest o’ the way on her feet, it’d be appreciated.”

He simply nods, giving me a subtle but very warm smile.  “Of course, Mistress Shoon.”  He steps past me without a further word, already starting to rub his hands together now as he approaches her.  “Mistress Frostforge?”

“Yeah, sure.  Go ahead.”

I’m already stepping away, heading back to the others, in time to find Shul’s stepping away from Yeslee now with a darker frown than I’d like.  It quickens my step as I start to move to intercept her, before realising she’s coming my way anyway.  I look past her now and see Yeslee’s still sat pretty much as she was before, pretty slumped but with it enough she seems to be talking with Dumoli right now.  I cross my arms more defensively now as I stop where I am and let the wizard come to me.  “What’s up?  She don’t look much better.”

Shul gives me another hard look as she plants her feet just short of me, simply setting her hands on her hips as she glares up at me.  “I’ve done what I can for her for now, but she’s still got a long way to go.  Right now she needs to sleep, before I can do any more work on her.  This won’t work going at it all at once, that’s more likely to simply put unnecessary strain on her mind and could wind up hurting her even worse instead.  She needs to rest and recuperate.”

Looking down at her, I can see the concern in her now, despite her clear frustration with me that’s surely complicating her feelings.  So I take a breath before I nod along.  “Yeah.”

The wizard blinks, a little surprised now by my agreement, I reckon.  There’s a little softening in her face after a beat, and she pulls in a deep breath before looking down with a returning frown, finally letting out a little sigh.  “Well, good … just promise me that you’ll …”  She grimaces subtly as she looks up at me again, and the narrowing of her eyes tells me she’s still a little pissed at me.  “Just go easy this time, please?  With the questions.  I don’t want a repeat of … the other night.”

I almost pout, taking in the deepest breath I can through my teeth while counting from ten to keep from swearing out loud, but I manage to hold my tongue.  When I finally answer ‘least I think about my words first.  “That won’t be a problem, I promise.  That was … unfortunate.  I was all kinds o’ worked up, Shul.  I was fucking angry, and I was still coming down from a whole lot of adrenaline, and Gael was gone.  I wanted answers, sure, but mostly I just wanted something to hit.  I’m calm now.  I swear.”

She watches me for a long, loaded moment, finally cocking a brow along with the subtle tilt of her head.  And she don’t reply, either.  Just waiting for what I know she wants.

So I give it to her, managing to pry my jaw open so I don’t wind up hissing it through clenched teeth.  “And I’m sorry.  Really.  It was inexcusable.”

After another beat, Shul nods, and she really does seem satisfied, finally.  Still a little icy, but I didn’t expect her to be all bright smiles and chumminess again, not yet.  I still got some making up to do, and now I gotta be on my best behaviour with her, too.

So I nod back, more clipped, and turn to find Shay stood by, wiping her face with a cloth, wincing somewhat from where she must have angered her nose again while tending to her face.  She looks … well, still not great, between the remaining bruising and her slightly drawn pallor, not to mention a certain pained tension hanging in there, she’s still a ways from fighting fit again.  But she’s cleaner at least, the blood washed off her face now, mostly just a few spots here and there around the collar of her under-armour, nothing more to show for her broken nose now.  And she’s upright enough, at least.  I look her over for a long, critical moment, then finally take another breath.

“You good, then?”

This makes her frown, but Shul answers instead before she can.  “She’s well enough, all things considered.  She’ll be sore for another day, but it looks much worse than it is.  Don’t throw her into a fight if you can help it.”

Cocking my own brow, I turn to the half-orc, who’s just watching the half-hob with a somewhat frustrated glare.  “We’ll have to see about that.  We got folk to talk to.  You can still sit this out if you want –”

“No.  I’m in.  I want to.”  She brushes both her hands back through her damp hair, tucking her bangs the best she can behind her pointed ears, but they don’t stay put any longer’n my own hair does when I let it loose.  “It’s for Gael.”

“Damn right.”  Turning away again, I look round the rest o’ the group, noting how Thel’s sitting back while the cleric tends to her now, while Yes is sitting forward, watching me more closely even though she’s still having to work to focus.  Dumoli’s stood by now, arms folded tight across his chest, looking down at the floor with a closed-off look on his face.  Letting a little sigh go, I head over to them both.

“I’m not sitting this out, Kesla.”  My oldest friend growls when I get close.

“Yes you are.  Shul’s right, you’re no good to any of us like this.  We need you to lay up for a day or two, let Shul do her work once you’ve rested some, see if she’s right about you bouncing back.”

“What if these prisoners point you in the right direction?  I don’t want you to leave me behind.  You’re going to need me if you plan on assaulting … wherever they have Gael and her father.  And those other people.  Just because that fucking orc’s dead doesn’t mean there’s no threat now.  What about those mercs?  And Vandryss?”

“We don’t know what they might be able to tell us yet though, do we?  It could be nothing.  We might be stuck twiddling our thumbs again like before.  Means you’ll get a chance to rest up after all.”  I try not to roll my eyes as I stifle another sigh.  “I don’t want to leave you out of an attack though, not if we are gonna make one, but … I don’t want you to get hurt trying to fight when you’re all messed up.  I couldn’t bear that.”

That shuts her up before she can make a reply, and she frowns up at me with a sharper eye than I’d really like given my sentiment, as if she resents me for playing the sympathy card without even realising it.  I’m not trying to guilt trip her, but … maybe that was a little clumsy.  I wasn’t really thinking too much about what I was saying there.

“Shit …”  she finally growls, looking down again, but she don’t clench her hands into angry fists like I would’ve expected, that’s prob’ly a good sign.  “Well if you do go, just watch yourselves, yeah?  I couldn’t bear it if you idiots went off and got yourselves killed for me not being there to watch over you.”

Well that’s … I can’t help myself, I step in and lean down, bending so I can rest my forehead against her crown as I reach up and rest my hand gently round the back of her neck, just massaging gently as I breathe, and listen to her do the same.  She don’t respond in any way, but the fact she doesn’t shake me right off says a whole lot on its own.  So I stay as I am, and she lets me, happy enough at least just letting me show my appreciation and affection, and her own tolerance is an immense show in kind.

Finally I break away and step back, and she looks up through her brows to watch me as I go, maybe a little brighter and clearer in her eyes this time.  I can’t really tell from this angle.  As I turn I catch Dumoli watching me now, and consider him for a beat.  “Keep an eye on her, yeah?”

The dwarf raises his brows at that.  “Of course.”

“Good.”  I give him an appreciative nod and wheel about, finding Shay and Lady Naru at least are close by, while Krakka’s already waiting by the door, I notice, Sonagh and Zuldrad waiting with him.  I look them over for a beat, then nod again before focusing on the cleric.  “Which one’s in charge?”

The tengu frowns at me for a moment, cocking his head the way he always does when he’s confused.  “I’m sorry, I don’t –”

“The prisoners.  Outta the three, which one would you say was most likely in charge?  If you will.”

“Oh.”  He gives Zuldrad a look.  “The woman, do you think?”

The hobgoblin considers for a moment, then nods.  “Yeah, she seemed the type.  Definitely the most full of herself.”

“Quite so.”  Nodding too, Krakka turns back to me.  “That one.”

“Okay.”  I take a moment to give my back a little stretch, and try not to wince at the way it still twinges a touch even now.  Damn it … honestly, I’m not much more hopeful about myself holding up if we do have to go into a fight after this interrogation.  “She’ll do.”  I turn to Shul.  “Any chance you could have some o’ your lot take her to where we talked to the boy last week?”

“I don’t see why not.”  She don’t quite smile, but I’m sure I catch the slightest quirking at the corner of her mouth as she cocks a brow, starting to fish in her pockets now, likely for a length of string.  “Shall I meet you there?”

“Sure.  Take the others with you when you go.  I’m gonna go fetch Art.”

As Shul starts unravelling the somewhat tangled bundle of simple white yarn she finally produces, Lady Naru steps close.  “What about Tulen?  Should I summon her as well?”

“No.”  I don’t even consider it, remembering how subtly scattered she was while we were out, even though she tried.  Some of it might’ve been due to some lingering effects from that hit she took bringing us all back from the Vezrim estate, but I knew full well most was simply down to her still being so worried about Sessa.  So when we returned, once we’d seen to the horses I told her to rejoin her lover, and get some rest for herself while she was at it.  I don’t wanna drag her away from that now if I can help it.  “Leave her be.  You’ll do well enough for this, I reckon.”

Frowning at the implication in my words, Naru looks like she wants to interject, but ultimately holds her tongue.  Instead she gives a curt nod and shoots a sidelong glance to Shay as she returns to us again, now strapping her sword at her hip again.

“You’re sure you want Art, though?”  Krakka strikes up now, watching me a little more dubious than before.  “He … may not be in the best place right now.  From what I understand about what happened up there, in the tavern –”

“He’s got a stake in this, same as the rest of us.  More’n some, in a way.”  I almost don’t say the second thing, it mostly just slips out, but I let it stand.  I see Shay frown a little at the idea, and I reckon she might be thinking the same thing.  She’s got real close to Gael these past few weeks, likely she’s learning to read ‘em well as I am now, and she’s picked up on how they been feeling same as I have.  If she picked up on his side of things too I’m less sure, but … she prob’ly has.  She’s too sharp not to.  “He might be able to use some o’ the fire in there, too.”

Shay’s frown deepens at that.  ‘Least Shul’s got her head bowed now as she holds the string between her stretched thumbs, so she didn’t catch my words.  “Sure you ain’t in the same boat yourself, in that regard?”  she wonders aloud, giving me a sharp look now.

I stop myself before asking what she means by that, cuz I work it out quick enough and … well shit, maybe she has a bit of a point there.  I’m still smarting bad from the time I spent with Thura this morning, when I went to offer my condolences and … well, I went in there with some questions I had to ask, but in the end I just couldn’t bring myself to.  She was too much of a wreck to answer ‘em anyway, but more than that, I just didn’t want to, I just wanted to make her feel better, even though I knew it was impossible.  So I just held her for a long time while she cried again, and I let myself join her this time, although my own tears were a good deal angrier, I reckon.  Fuck … I’m still angry, deep down I never shook it, don’t reckon I even tried to even before we left for the playhouse.  It’s still boiling away under everything else, pushed down good and deep but still simmering away at the bottom of my senses, the rage more cold and hard now but no less lethal for all my bottling it up.  And I realise now that she can pick up on it, and she’s calling me out.  Now I gotta wonder if she’s alone here …

Much as I promised Shul I’d go easy on the interrogation this time, I can’t help wondering if I really can do that right now.  Shay’s got a point even though she ain’t actually come right out and made it.  I’m fucking pissed right now, and that has the potential to make me … irritational at best, actually dangerous at worst.  Art’s grieving and feeling guilty about what he did, and I know he’ll be hating himself some for a while, and that’s just as bad a combination for what we need to do right now.  I’d be taking a real risk taking him in there right now, the way he is.

Except I ain’t about to sit this out, and I know he wouldn’t want me to leave him out of it either.  Not after he made that call back at the tavern in the first place, picked those three for them to take in the first place.  This is as much his interrogation as mine, maybe more.  So I shake my head, taking a breath as I do it.  “No, I’m good.  Him too.”

She don’t answer me for a long beat, just watches me, narrowed eyes now as she considers, and I don’t like how sharp her stare is now.  She’s looking right into me this time, I’m sure.  So I just let the sigh go as I decide to throw her a bone after all.  “Just keep an eye on us both in there, yeah?  Make sure we don’t do anything stupid.”

“Oh …”  She blinks, eyes widening again, maybe just surprised I actually caved in the end, I dunno …  “Sure.  Of course I will.  So … are we going now, or –”

I don’t really think about what I’m doing until I do it, I just step closer as I lick the tips of my thumb and forefinger and reach up to rub at her left earlobe to remove the single drop of dried blood left there, breathing:  “Sorry … you just … missed a spot.”  I feel awkward as hell once I’ve done it, but it’s too late now.

Shay don’t answer me this time either, instead starting to blush immediately, and it’s clear to me she’s feeling awkward as I do about it.  She don’t shy away though, letting me do it, and after a beat manages to smile after all, a rueful one that shows she’s more sheepish now, and I manage to return my own in response, feeling better now she’s given me a pass.  Finally she gives me a gentle shove in my shoulder and I step back, going with her coaxing direction.  “Thanks.  That could’ve been embarrassing.”  She looks down for a beat.  “Actually, you know what?  You go with the others, get started.  I’ll go get him.”

That makes me frown.  “What?  No, I thought you wanted to –”

“You can wait until we get there.  Just … I don’t know, glare at her or something, until we find you.  You’re good at that.”  She gives my shoulder a little pat and steps back before I can respond, strolling off with a good deal more grace now.  Already getting her balance back, look like.

I still cock a brow at the jibe, but I gotta smile all the same.  Might not be a bad idea, that.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

[maneaterwithtail]

...but what story/caption imagine for them?

Something like, "They spent so much time together that their respective worlds grew on one another."

Another awesome fanart from the ever generous and self perfecting @rickleone (cw: homoerotic but not explicit art) who also has a twitter

As per patreon reward entitled to sketch and already gone extra with both boys

This started with the idea most older!bill and fangbone go over them as in 3rd grade but...bigger. I asked, what if they switched or deviated?

Proposed a choice. Fangbone mostly emigrates to Earth to pursue art career or Bill keeps his "The beast" thing going and becomes as mighty warriors he idealized while still min-maxing skills and feats and modern world advantages. Choose one and develop the character, with one idea being "hipster/artist/barista Fangbone"

Asks to wait until Thursday and then...

To the poor artist I said not good enough as seemed too different ignoring how integrated key elements of fangbone's design

After a day of pestering on Fangbone's hair, suggesting more modern gear for Bill

Suggestions included a more modern spear I just google image'd

Iconic torso versus sleeves differentiation for Bill

Burt Reynold's Deliverance wet vest or a Vest

Or Scalemail arms, popularlt with Thor

And Fangbone having a manbun. That I tumblr searched for samples

apparently the point is to expose the ears?

Finally insisted Fangbone still not into pants, maybe a utilikilt or pencil skirt

This man is a generous professional

He figured kilt from Fangbone's old cape, and other changes. Noted the need for complimentary colors and how mail arms a bust.

Seriously He deserves more money than i can spare

That's how ended up with this beauty

Copy of chat below

Battle Brothers Forever!

Even if one does safari in Skullbania and the other has an Etsy

Darmani — 01/14/2022

We are coming upon. My reward window.

Tell when want to know do cam take time.

More a you choose but out of a sort of range. And as know you know material from before shouldn't be overwhelming

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

Yeah, you wanted something with Fangbone right?

Darmani — 01/14/2022

More reference to property

Ahem idea is

[3:36 AM]

Your choice

Of character sorta later when all grown up

[3:36 AM]

Bill or fNfbone

[3:36 AM]

Fangbone

[3:36 AM]

Only sort of switched

[3:37 AM]

Grown up fangbone on earth and artist

[3:39 AM]

Grown up bill 'the beast' Goodwin who spends extdnd time traveling Skullbania and recognized as a one in generations hero for bravery. Wit. Skill and more.

[3:39 AM]

You watched series right?

[3:40 AM]

So Fangbone does art on earth only scales and firms Stearns new ones.

[3:40 AM]

Bill..as dezcribed

[3:40 AM]

A sort of oartial switch idea.. which was easier in my head

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

Yeah, a role-reversal for their grown-up versions, am I right?

Darmani — 01/14/2022

Sorta.

Darmani — 01/14/2022

Basically where are they now. Most have them bigger versions of 3rd grade selves. But what if other aspect built up.

Fangbone as hipster/barista/artist or whatever us obvious. Bill as the more wild and not settled dude seems an angle

[7:35 AM]

Trying to be, here are Vincent's from knowing characters ideas. Go yo town. Hence why do long time in request

Darmani — 01/14/2022

Ultimately you know the characters. Grow them up in cool direction but I appreciate a little divergence or swapping but how you want if see them developing is cool

[7:49 AM]

What fangbone grown up if can keep on earth and still learning earth progress stuff and arts

[7:50 AM]

Bill as learns skullbania stuff. Being leader of quirky, picking up wizard, shadowstepper, and barbarian stuff before 4th grade. What be like as a man

[7:50 AM]

Go nuts with ideas

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

Yeah I will borrow something from that Alternate Timeline episode where the mother was the keeper of the magic toe

Darmani — 01/14/2022

Hmm..not sure wanted possible not au. Could you say why like drawing from that obe?

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

ah, I meant just design hints, not narrative

Darmani — 01/14/2022

Oh nvrmind then I shouldn't doubt you by now. Go ahead. Hope not another demanding one

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

sure, I will go wild. Right now I have a couple of commissions to finish, but I guess I will be able to send you a sketch on Tuesday 20th

Darmani — 01/14/2022

Cool

[12:30 PM]

I think you mean ...oh in February?

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

no, no January

Darmani — 01/14/2022

So thursday?

Rickleone — 01/14/2022

ah right sorry, typo

[12:44 PM]

I mean, typo and then autocorrect

do you like this idea?

Darmani — Yesterday at 9:06 AM

Uhm. I didn't mean you do both of them. Hope you pick one and go with what liked cannot pay extra

[9:09 AM]

Maybe make fangbone hair lower or something? Hard to tell it is him. Sadly same for bill.

Hmm way bill have more modern but still for out doors shirt but keep rest of outfit?

Rickleone — Yesterday at 9:10 AM

ah ok I tried to give him a very modern haircut

[9:11 AM]

I might squash them so they have body proportions closer to the cartoon

Darmani — Yesterday at 9:14 AM

True, I get intent but still can be modern hair cut even hipster notorious wit some at sides and the top-notch. Maybe even a manbun?

[9:21 AM]

Bills till adventures in skullbania nut, as the min max he is still not forgo modern [benefits]

Darmani — Yesterday at 9:31 AM

Also fangbone still never wear pants. A pencil skirt or utilikilt more [likely]

Darmani — Yesterday at 9:41 AM

Bill's contrasting sleeves/arms to torso...if can integrate that, however fits with your intent in your design I think that enough

[9:41 AM]

Much like kept fangbone's sword and satchel, noticed, thank you

[9:42 AM]

And wrist bracers too. So sorry not compliment what doing well

Rickleone — Yesterday at 10:46 AM

Ah thank you

[10:47 AM]

maybe the kilt will be red suggesting that he made it out of his cape

Darmani — Yesterday at 10:47 AM

Ooh.

[10:48 AM]

Bill seems changed the most but he looks hot.

Don't know what else to say but thanks you

Rickleone — Yesterday at 10:50 AM

yeah with the doodles I tend to make more imprecise sketches and do more details in the ink layer, so you haven't see quite much of the finished work

Darmani — Yesterday at 10:51 AM

Bill still got freckles then?

Rickleone — Yesterday at 10:53 AM

absolutely

[10:54 AM]

do you want the glasses for fangbone

Darmani — Yesterday at 11:07 AM

Eh...seems much but fits with what asked. But not sure if [work] with eyebrows

[11:13 AM]

[11:14 AM]

[11:15 AM]

Still have ears covered but fangbone's hair kinda like this, though less prominent knot. Feels right. He is modern but keeps quirks and simple even if 'dressing fancy' compared to youth (edited)

[11:16 AM]

More contrast but simplicity with bills torso to arms

Darmani — Yesterday at 11:28 AM

No beard necessary the shadow enough

[11:31 AM]

Scalemail arms?

Darmani — Yesterday at 11:42 AM

For bill I mean, not fit, probably just throwing out ideas not demands

Rickleone — Yesterday at 12:10 PM

the chainmail would be design overload

[12:10 PM]

but that haircut is cool

Darmani — Yesterday at 12:11 PM

Nods.

Sorry

Rickleone — Yesterday at 12:39 PM

NP, it's normal to have a lot of a ideas that look cooler imagined than on paper

Darmani — Yesterday at 1:20 PM

Maybe this, but Reynolds deliverance vest and his bare arms. Inverts the coloring but keeps the distinction?

[1:22 PM]

Tactical vest...argh

[1:24 PM]

https://www.freshandkewl.com/products/vest-authentic-plain-tactical-fashion-bullet-proof-vest

[1:24 PM]

Trying to go closed or simple but functional

[1:26 PM]

https://www.wish.com/product/2020-us-army-military-tactical-vest-anti-stab-hard-self-defense-clothing-bullet-proof-security-equipment-men-tactical-vest-bulletproof-vest-mountaineering-vest-5d3a8ae7871fa6373ff664c1?hide_login_modal=true&share=mobileweb

Rickleone — Yesterday at 2:38 PM

Darmani — Yesterday at 2:54 PM

Whoa!

Thank you showed me. Why both of them?

[2:54 PM]

I mean as said you delivered extra

Rickleone — Yesterday at 2:54 PM

I felt generous

Darmani — Yesterday at 2:54 PM

Boots!

[2:55 PM]

Shouldn't have backseated..again sorry

[2:55 PM]

Excellent as aleays

[2:55 PM]

Always

Rickleone — Yesterday at 2:55 PM

ha don't worry. I liked the idea of their grown-up selves with partially switched roles

Darmani — Yesterday at 2:56 PM

Permission to share of course

Rickleone — Yesterday at 3:20 PM

sure, I will do tomorrow!

Darmani — Yesterday at 3:21 PM

So, I know plenty generous already

[3:21 PM]

But what story/caption imagine for them?

Rickleone — Yesterday at 4:20 PM

Something like, "They spent so much time together that their respective worlds grew on one another."

[4:20 PM]

I've also noticed that the color scheme of Bill is meant to complete the scheme of Fangbone

Darmani — Yesterday at 5:11 PM

I missed that

[5:11 PM]

Thanks. Again

Further elaboration ideas