#we're going on holiday in 2 weeks so hopefully well have time to talk through anything then

[hjemne]

Getting that sick to the stomach feeling that my bf who is the only person aside from my parents that I regularly talk to is going to break up with me. We've got another year of long distance before we can move back in and god I'm scared he's not going to wait that long

[lianailia]

Well let's see. A lot has happened. Thanksgiving was good. Other than Yuki being sick. Came out to it that morning. But went to my sister's still in the afternoon. We came home and it was all over the floor again. So I took her to the vet the next day. She got anti nausea and antibiotics, as she had some sores on her skin. No parasites. But her pancreas was normal. She started eating again that day after we got home and I gave her some wet food. So now that's all she wants. Heh But it scared me when she wouldn't eat. The door to downstairs was left wide open and she didn't even come up. Plus she wasn't feeling good. But all is well now. I give her the wet food every other day. My brother came to anime night which was fun. He had off the week after Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to maybe change it to Fri nights to see if he can come more then. And hopefully get more people. But now we're not sure about the gaming place since they are hurting business wise and health isn't great. Obviously I want them to feel better and to get more business. So we'll see. I'm going to their holiday party on Sat. I am excited. And I have Sun Spin's (Michael Rosenbaum's band) concert.

Went to yet another funeral for my uncle this time. Not the same one in Vegas. So that makes 3 for me. Which is too many. I just hope we can get through the holidays and rest of the year. It's going to be not happy for a lot of people, which sucks.

Yesterday I had my ablation. It went well. I came home and slept most of the day. I still feel still and am sore. But I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be today. Watched Frieren and worked on a pic. Just taking it easy. I have an experimental tens unit that was covered by my insurance. It's small and fits on my neck. And it's less intensive than a normal unit. I used it today and it feels better. So I'm hopeful. They were showing the original Magnum PI in the waiting room and there was a cute guy there. Heh and 2 talkative people that I was just like it's too early for this. I felt a little nauseous after but I said I felt okay since I wanted to get out of there. I was sedated so probably why and I hadn't eaten or drank any water. But I'm glad it's done and hoping to feel better before Christmas. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

[davidmariottecomics]

The Winter Slump

Hello! 

Today, we're taking a peek inside the editorial side of things and talking about what I affectionately refer to as the "winter slump."

What is the Winter Slump?

The winter slump is the period between the week of American Thanksgiving and the first week of January when things get slow in the world of comics publishing. Something I talk about a lot on this blog is just how many people go into making every single comic. I work on a lot of licensed comics, so in addition to the writer, the artist/art team (pencillers, inkers, colorists, etc), letterers, designers, and any other editors I might be working with for creation of the comic, I'm also working with accounting folks and licensors who review the material and sales and marketing folks and printers and distributors and whoever else--all before it gets to the shop who gets it to you. A copy of Sonic the Hedgehog or Batman or whatever passes though a lot of hands.

But that also means that when we reach the extended holiday season in the U.S., there are more opportunities for one or more of the people in the chain to not be around. People take vacations, offices close, etc. Combined with the inherent nature of how long it takes for comics to be printed and distributed, it means any comics that are still in production this time of year are actually for release in the following year. So, editors like me find ourselves looking at a desk with no more books for this calendar year, various people we work with taking off, and hopefully, a tight hold on what's left to do as the clock on 2022 runs out. Work slows down a bit. What that opens up is more time for things that've been delayed and future planning, and that's why this time should matter to you, even if you aren't in editorial. 

How does it help you? 

Now is a good time to touch base with someone you've been wanting to work with editorially. They might not have anything at the exact moment, but they might be planning for late '23-2024 and know that in January or February they're going to be looking for folks and this is a chance to get back on their radar early. If you're hoping to hear back on a portfolio, now might be a good time to bump it back up their inbox. For example, I made my plans for the next work week at the end of this week and the majority of what I'm doing is getting back to people who have been very patiently waiting for a longer response and getting my future planning done. It's not a bad thing to touch base at a time when you expect editors and other hiring folks might have more flexibility than usual. 

The caveat to all of that is editors are people too. They may be out of office for whatever reason around this time period. And if something's on fire, because they may be suffering from reduced support along the chain, they might have even less time than usual. There's the risk that you might still not get what you're hoping for, but the risk isn't any worse than at any other time you're emailing an editor, but the chances of a faster and more thorough response are higher. 

What should you say? 

So, editors might have more time because things are slower on their end. You wanna take advantage of that. What do you say to them? There are three main tactics.

1. The holiday check-in! Simple and easy, if you're just looking to touch base briefly, you can always drop them a line saying you hope they have a good holiday season. Maybe you can include a digital holiday card you drew, which usually goes over well.

2. The helping hand! If you genuinely have time in your schedule, reaching out to an editor and saying "hey, I'm still around and free through the end of the year if you need help on X" might be the solution to a problem they have. Since remaining deadlines tend to be tight this time of year, you might manage to offer your assistance at just the right time to get something done, which the editor will remember. 

3. The portfolio follow-up! It doesn't necessarily have to be for your portfolio, but if you emailed an editor previously and haven't heard back yet, sending a follow-up specific to whatever you had originally contacted them about is not a bad idea. If it is related to a portfolio--including a writing portfolio--sending an "end-of-year" update can be really nice. Take it as a chance to brag about what you've done in 2022. 

Whatever you do, just remember to be polite and understanding as it's a hope this editor's actually got a winter slump.

And just to get ahead of things: I'm only sending out two more updates this year! Not sure what next week's will be, but 12/17 I've got some goodbyes to say to something important to me. We'll be off the last two weeks of the year and back in January after that!  

Things I've been enjoying this week: Getting the first gifts wrapped and under the tree. The Tick (TV show). Candy canes. Honkai Impact (Video game). Sonic Frontiers (Video game). Chainsaw Man (Anime & Manga). Spy x Family (Anime). My Hero Academia (Anime). Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang-Out (Anime). My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer (Manga). A couple of WIPs I've got going. Our Pokemon card advent calendar. My friend Zac Boone who I got to see yesterday for a bit. The Simpsons (TV show). According to Spotify and adding in my non-Spotify listening, I listened to Lizzo for over 24 hours this year! That's pretty good! And the Rise of the Beasts trailer looked alright, as did the new Indiana Jones one! 

New Releases this week (11/30/2022): Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Gigan (I didn't actually work on this, but the team that did is awesome and you should check it out)

New releases next week (12/7/2022): Sonic the Hedgehog #55 (Editor) Transformers: Best of Windblade (Editor--our penultimate TF book) Godzilla Monsters & Protectors: All Hail the King #3 (Editor! My first Godzilla book!) 

Final Order Cutoff--Last chance for your store to guarantee release day copies for you (12/5/2022): Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #4

Pic of the Week: I got new glasses and I think they look pretty sharp. I like the frames on my face.

Also, speaking of Rise of the Beasts, just a reminder that Beast Wars Vol. 3 is available in my shop now! 

[daisylincs]

ur secret santa accidentally got a bit too secret this week as i finished up my finals but now i am free!! throw all ur fav fitzsimmons @ hogwarts headcanons my way, big or small, relevant to the prompt or not, i'd love to hear them! and just for fun (& for me to listen to while i work on ur gift), any song(s) that remind u of our fitzsimmons? cant believe we're this close to the end :)

Oh my gosh, hello, Santa! 💜💜 No worries about the secrecy thing, I've been a touch less active myself here, too, and spending my days being spectacularly lazy 😝 Ah, breaks are the BEST, and I'm so glad you've got one now too!

So, hmmm, Fitzsimmons at Hogwarts headcanons, let me see.

Well, first of all, I think that they're both Ravenclaws, with very little question about that? Fitz could maybe be a Gryffindor, maybe, but ultimately I'd say they're both classic Ravenclaw. They'd also both be those Hermione-esque students who are naturally brilliant at magic, and get all the spells right through a combination of homework (high five, Jemma 🤣) and talent.

I also think that Jemma would be made a prefect pretty much as soon as she was old enough - because, come on, she's literally perfect for it. Responsible but still compassionate, and more than smart enough to keep up with her school duties despite having other responsibilities - yup. Fits the bill perfectly!

Fitz, I think, would be more of a wild card prefect-wise, because he's a little shyer and less natural with people, and also if we have Daisy in the story, he's bound to get into some kind of shenanigans with her 🤣😝

Thirdly, and I don't know how relevant this is at all, lol, I'm literally just spamming you with my Hogwarts-y thoughts and ideas here - but I've always thought that, in pretty much any Hogwarts AU, Coulson would make the most PERFECT Dumbledore, and May the best McGonagall. I mean, just. 😍😍😍😍😍

Ohhh, my gosh, and the last thing I LOVE to headcanon is that Fitzsimmons is That Couple who the entire school ships, and wants to get together - best friends, or maybe enemies (! 👀), but either way very much into each other, and very much mutually oblivious about it.

Hmmmhhhmm, that's all I can think of at 8am this morning, and without a cup of tea, no less 🤣😱🤦‍♀️ But if you'd like any more hcs about this, ask again anytime and I'd love to share them! We still have a few days left 😍😍🤣 And, you know, in general - I'd love to talk to you a bit more once this is all over.

Before I go, though, you asked me for some Fitzsimmons songs - and I'll let you in on a secret here, I absolutely can't listen to anything while trying to write, because my musical brain gets distracted with the harmonies and analysis of the song, or... I just start singing along, lmaoo. Case in point: no writing gets done.

So while I don't have a convenient writing playlist to pick from, after having a bit of a think, I've managed to pull together a list of songs that give me the best FS feels. 🥰

You Were Never Gone from Teen Wolf - this song is, and probably always will be, my number one Fitzsimmons song. Even if the lyrics weren't positively perfectly suited to them (which they are) I also saw an AMAZING Fitzsimmons edit on it once, and that now lives rent-free in my head, along with the stirring and fantastic song itself.

Perfect by Ed Sheeran - this song is probably the most romantic love song I've ever heard, and nothing short of perfect (😝) for any OTP.

Birds by Imagine Dragons - getting angstier here, but this song captures the pain of everything Fitz and Jemma have gone through exquisitely well, and how they still keep hoping they'll find each other again.

Work Song by Hozier - c'mon, you can't have a halfway decent playlist without a Hozier song on it, and this one, especially the part where he sings about how no grave can hold him back from his love, just seems very Fitzsimmons to me.

Please Don't Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Aplin - this is one of those songs that make me think of a very specific time period in FS's history; namely, in season 2, when Fitz had confessed his feelings to Jemma, but she isn't sure how she feels yet, and just doesn't want things to change. Also, Iain de Caestecker is in the music video, and, come on, you don't get much better for FS feels than that! 😝😍

No Light, No Light by Florence + the Machine - another time-specific one, and another SUPER angsty one. To me, there's no song that captures post-Framework Fitzsimmons better, especially the part where she sings about no light in his bright blue eyes. 💔

The Scientist by Coldplay - the last one on my list, and maaaaybe a bit of an obvious choice, lmao, but still one that I think fits them regardless. It's full of heartbreak ("no-one ever said it would be this hard") and also the haunting, sincere wish to "Oh, take me back to the start // I was just guessing at numbers and figures // Pulling the puzzles apart // Questions of science, science and progress // Do not speak as loud as my heart." And I'm just like... damn. Everything about it - lyrics, title, tune - just SCREAMS Fitzsimmons, and I love it.

Right, my dear Secret Santa, I hope you liked this somewhat long and rambly, but hopefully very Fitzsimmons-y and wonderful answer! I, too, cannot believe we're this close to the end (and more than a little pleased to meet a fellow procrastinator writing-wise 🤣✋). With a couple more days to go (AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, indeed) HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 🥰🥰🥰