Hi Everyone,

   I want to sincerely apologize for both the long delay between updates and the necessity for one at this point in general. When we set out to make this project, none of us ever anticipated we might still be working on it eight years later. And while a lot has happened in that time, I promise you, no one wants it to be completed and released more than we do.    2022 has been a difficult year for the project on a number of fronts, but we’re still standing. This year has seen an essentially unprecedented demand for the VFX industry, while they continue to fight for the sort of protections and working standards that the rest of the film industry and most industries in general have. Last year’s near IATSE strike was a wake up call for many of us that the film industry can very easily become incredibly dangerous and destructive to the lives of the people who work in it, and we’ve all tried to do our best to ensure we and the rest of our crew members take the time they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones. This, while absolutely critical and my top priority for the team I am responsible for, has meant that there have been some delays with our progress due to artists needing to take time to focus on themselves and their families, or simply because they’ve needed to prioritize their non-volunteer work, and haven’t been able to juggle both.

   As I’m sure just about all of you know, over the past few years, the original author of the franchise has dedicated her time and legacy to an anti-transgender campaign. I’ve talked about it previously, but it’s been an incredibly difficult situation for all of us. While our film doesn’t benefit her in any way, it’s complicated to dedicate months or years of work to a project that is still playing in her sandbox. For some of our artists, it simply wasn’t something they could come to terms with, and they had to step away from the project for their own well being, which all of us on the TGS Production Team absolutely understand and sympathize with. I’ve struggled with it a lot personally, I know most of us have. Speaking purely for myself, while I think the franchise and world will always be tainted by its author’s bigotry now, I love this film, I am incredibly proud of all of the hard work our cast and crew have poured into it, and I made a commitment to see it through. I intend to do so. But I will never harbor any resentment towards any member of our team who doesn’t feel the same way, and wish them nothing but the best of luck on their future endeavors.

   There’s not much we can do from our small platform to challenge her, unfortunately. Our film is long-since written and shot, and a time capsule of where we all were as fans and aspiring creators when that happened. What we can do is support our trans team members and supporters, and reject bigotry like Rowling’s. We will be adding a note on the situation and our rejection of her and her prejudice at the opening of the film, and I have elected to strike her card from the animated credits sequence. She created the world and most of these characters, I can’t change that. She’ll be credited for her part of course, as it would be wrong not to, but we don’t need to plaster her name across the screen either.

All that said, where is the project at?    The first two acts are just about picture-locked with finished VFX, barring a handful of shots that are currently in the works. Among the work done on this section:

An incredibly intricate steadicam shot of the Marauders fleeing Filch’s office after releasing a series of fireworks and dung bombs, as seen in our very first piece of concept art. This effect required the work of four separate artists to rotoscope the actors, 3D model and track the set and camera movement, and the actual effect work of the smoke and fireworks. Talented artist Porter Justus is hard at work on the scene between work on his Masters from SCAD and preparing for the birth of his second child. Congrats again, Porter!

Top to bottom creations of numerous Daily Prophet page graphics and layouts for a montage sequence by talented Malaysian 2D artist Kunal Chopra.

A Virtual CG version of the Marauder’s Map for various shots by American artist Alyssa Nicholas, for tight insert shots where tracking a physical prop became too difficult.

Artist Jorge Gúzman, who was only able to join us briefly before having to leave to focus on paid projects came on and helped with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots.

Artist Chris Shivers has been working on a spell effect for a series of shots of Lily Evans between his other paid work.

UK artist Nathan Collins has been hard at work on several potions class scenes, including the infamous Amortentia potion!

Nic Bahn, a German artist known as WizardingsFX online, has been hard at work helping us upgrade the opening scene of the film.

Talented Spanish artist Pablo Nadal, who goes by Pancatum in online fandom circles, has been busy for much of this year, but when he’s had time to join us, he’s worked on a great sequence between Regulus & Marlene.

And lastly, our VFX Supervisor, Martin Bayang, who between his demanding hours at his Los Angeles VFX day job and helping me manage our team, has still managed to carve out time to work on a number of shots from our Valentine’s Day sequence!

The Third Act is where most of the work is still being done, including a large fight sequence and where most of our focus is.

When VFX Artist Emma Matzke has time between professional VFX work and parental responsibilities, she is currently hard at work on Snape’s big final scene, which is looking absolutely amazing!

Our dynamic duo from Spain, Guillermo Valadez and Iván Rubio, both full-time professional VFX artists, are bouncing between a couple of segments, including that large fight scene, and another key moment of the finale I can’t talk about without spoiling the ending!

There is still work to be done on both Sound and Color, but the brunt of the workload has been on the VFX front.

There is still a decent bit left of both final action beats, along with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots, and one complicated VFX shot for the final sequence of the film that has proved more challenging than anticipated. But we’re hard at work trying to progress through them as quickly as possible.

  Our composer J. Paul Bourque has had a very busy year with his professional composing work in New York, but we’ve slowly been chipping away at the last of the score for the film. We are currently undergoing some revisions to the final sequence, after which Paul and Writer/Creative Producer Ben Wessels will be going back through all the tracks for final adjustments and filling in some final instrumentation, along with the recording of one track I won’t go into detail about that is being recorded live. We’re all really excited about and proud of how the score is sounding, and can’t wait to share it with all of you.   Lastly, while I had hoped to save this announcement until the trailer reveal, I am incredibly excited to announce that over the last couple years we have been working alongside the magically talented Tom Ya, also known as The_H_Project, a french architect who used his lockdown time over the pandemic to create an insanely detailed digital replica of Hogwarts Castle! All of the establishing shots in the film have been replaced with custom shots Tom crafted for the project, and I cannot overstate how much it adds to the final product. Tom is now working, again as he’s able to between his busy day job and time with his new bride (Congratulations again, my friend), on integrating elements of his model into some other shots and sequences, and the results so far have been truly fantastic.

   I want to apologize again to our incredibly patient friends, families, and fans that the project has taken so much longer than any of us have anticipated. We all want to see the project finished and released, and we are working as hard and as quickly as we can to make that happen. But I also just want to take a moment to say how proud I am of our team and everything they’ve accomplished, both on the film and in their personal, professional, and creative lives since the project began. We all really appreciate your years of patience, and we will continue to pour our hearts into this project, and try to get this film finally completed and out to you soon. Happy New Years, everyone. Aaron

Midterms and work are kicking my butt so apologies for the silence! I had honestly forgotten they were due this week.

Artist Resources (Part 1?)

This is basically just going to be a bunch of resources I have found to be useful. I can’t say that I’ve used all of them, but I’m sure they’re all worth checking out.

I’m also gonna try to put a detailed description for most of the links so you have a better idea of what you’re getting. I apologize in advance if some of them are redundant lol

(I put “Part 1″ if in the case I make another one)

~Links to Tutorials, Tips, Resources, etc~

Another Resource List -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Apparently, the post isn’t mobile-friendly, so it’s suggested to view this on Tumblr browser. Has a bunch of other links. I’ve checked out a few of them (mainly the copyright stuff lol), and it seems that some of the links may be a bit outdated. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check out the links.

Arms and Legs -- Leads to another Tumblr post. A handy tutorial on elbow and knee placement.

Art & Game Dev -- This leads to my personal playlist of a bunch of YouTube videos. Has a bunch of tutorials and interesting videos that I’ve collected over the course of a few years lol.

Blamblot -- A website that contains resources and tutorials on comic lettering. This is primarily in reference to western comics, but it doesn’t help to take a looksie.

Commission Calculator -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps artists to stop selling themselves short.

Comparing Heights (hikaku-sitatter) -- A height comparer for centimeters.

Comparing Heights -- A height comparer for feet and inches.

Mouth Shapes and Lip-Syncing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Useful for... drawing mouth shapes.

Reference Angle -- Useful for when you’re trying to map out a face from an odd angle.

Soft Proofing for Printing -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Helps when you’re trying to make prints of your artwork.

Textures -- A website full of different and mostly free textures. While this website is made for 3D texturing, it can also be useful for 2D drawings. Signing up gives you 15 free credits everyday, and you can use those credits to download some textures for free.

The Models Resource -- A website of models ripped from a wide array of games.

The Spriters Resource -- A website of sprites ripped from a wide array of games.

The Textures Resource -- A websites of textures ripped from a wide array of games. 

~Links to Stock Images~

Please check out whatever policies they may have for their images before using them!

(not sure if any of them are active anymore as I followed some of these accounts a long time ago when I used to be more active on Deviant Art lol)

adorkastock (formerly senshistock)

anatoref -- Leads to another Tumblr post. Has a bunch of hand photo references

charligal-stock

HumanAnatomy4Artist -- Does contain nudity

null-entity

PhelanDavion

RobynRose

~Links to Other Artists~

Akihito Yoshitomi -- Yoshitomi is a mangaka who has tutorials on manga making. He also has an insightful series in which he drafts and draws a 30-page manga in 18 days. Remember that every artist works differently and his process may be different from another’s.

Drawfee -- Drawfee is an improv drawing show of four artists: Nathan Yaffe, Jacob Andrews, Julia Lepetit, and Karina Farek. While they don’t have tutorials in a sense, their videos explain the different processes they go through as they draw. They also occasionally provide tips, tricks, and resources in their videos. They do have another channel and a Twitch channel where they host drawing classes in addition to other fun shenanigans.

EtheringtonBrothers -- Has a bunch of useful and eye-catching tutorials called “How to Think When You Draw”.

Mark Crilley -- Mark is a comic artist, specializing in manga, who has a bunch of tutorials about anatomy, perspective, comic making, and other things.

Miyuli -- Miyuli is an artist who posts tutorials on their Twitter. Their tutorials range from anatomy to clothing to other things. They even have a few books of art tips. Currently (as of the time of posting this), their 2018 version is free for download, so I highly recommend you download that. Some tips may be outdated, but they should still be helpful.

Whyt Manga (Twitter/YouTube) -- Odunze is a comic artist, specializing in manga, that has a bunch of tutorials on manga making and drawing characters of color.

~Links to Free Programs~

Blender -- A free 3D program if you’re into 3D modeling and such. I also personally haven’t used Blender (I use Maya lol), but I know it’s a respectable program.

Krita -- A free painting program if you can’t afford Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint. I personally haven’t used Krita, but I have recommended it to a few friends and they have positive reviews about it.

Paint Tool SAI -- Okay, this one isn’t free, but it’s a significantly cheaper painting program where you don’t have to pay a subscription. It’s 5,500JPY (~50 USD). I’m not sure how well it still works on modern computers (the last update was 2016), but I still use it here and there because I love the pen tool feature it has, and it still works like a charm for me.

~General Tips From Raine~

Raine admits that she’s guilty of not following her own advice, but Raine hopes that the tips that she does know will be beneficial to someone who will follow them. She’s also going to keep all her tips under the cut so as to not make this post a huge wall of text (even though it technically already is lol)

Also, if you have some resources, tutorials, tips yourself, please feel free to send them to me and maybe I’ll make a part 2 to this post!

ALWAYS LOOK FOR REFERENCE. This should really go without saying. You can’t draw from life if you refuse to observe life itself.

If you can’t find the exact thing you need, MAKE YOUR OWN REFERENCE. Time and time again, I can’t find something exactly that I need. So instead, what I do is that I take pictures of my own reference. Sometimes I even grab a friend and take pictures of them doing whatever it is I need.

Have a mirror handy when you’re drawing. Sometimes what you need is actually right there in front of you.

Having trouble drawing something? Do some studies. Take the time to understand what it is you’re drawing. I can’t remember the exact story, but I heard that the people who were working on Tarzan were having a hard time drawing his hands. So, what they did was spend a few hours looking at hands to try and understand how they work.

IT’S OKAY TO STUDY THE ART OF OTHER ARTISTS. Just as we look to the old masters as a reference, it’s definitely okay to look at modern-day artists for reference. Just don’t go copying exactly everything that they do, or worse, trace what they do. Just don’t do it... at all.

Not every line needs to be realized. The viewer of your work will automatically connect the dots.

DO NOT TRASH YOUR OLD DRAWINGS. Please, never ever do this. Your old drawings have value to them, even if they look terrible to you. Old drawings may hold ideas for things you could do for the future. They also serve as a way to see how far you’ve come as an artist.

GETTING BETTER AT DRAWING TAKES TIME AND EFFORT. You’re not gonna get better overnight. It’ll take months, or even years, to feel like you’re a competent artist, and even then, you’ll still have room for improvement.

DON’T LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF IF YOU’RE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET BETTER. It’ll be better for your mental health in the long run.

Alternatively, DON'T LOOK DOWN ON OTHER ARTISTS EITHER, ESPECIALLY TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER. You know the struggles it took for you to get where you are, so don’t go putting down other people when you’ve been in their shoes once.

KEEP DRAWING. If you’re not making an effort to get better, then you’re not going to be better. I get that it’s hard to find the inspiration to draw (I’m very guilty of this), but just keep trying. It doesn’t have to be big or spectacular. You don’t even have to post it if you’re the type who likes to post their art stuff.

Try to find references from real-life. It’ll help you better understand form, lighting, shadows, etc., especially if you’re going for a more realistic kind of art style. Otherwise, finding reference from things like cartoons, anime, comics, etc. are just as good.

Try new things. Try new art mediums. Try a different art style. Switch up the way you do things. Maybe you’ll hate it, maybe you’ll like it. Who knows if you don’t try.

Watch time-lapses (or speed draws/speed paints) of other artists!

Pinterest and Google are your friends if you need tutorials or references or whatever.

If you’re offering commissions, DO NOT WORK UNDER YOUR LOCAL MINIMUM WAGE. You are literally devaluing the work you actually put into a piece.

I like to think I’m an aficionado of Photoshop, so feel free to ask me questions on how to achieve something! I’ve used Photoshop for about 11 years now and know my way around the program. On another note, I do recommend setting custom keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop because the default shortcuts are terrible (in my opinion), and because having custom shortcuts increases the speed of your workflow.

Because I’ve been seeing this a lot lately in Twitter, you’re never too old to start in art. Art is just one of those things that anyone can pick up at any age because the only thing you really need to get good in art is time, diligence, and patience.

Try not to post hi-res images of your artwork to prevent art stealers from selling your artwork in high resolution.

Always, always, always add your signature and watermark on your artwork. I like to add my signatures and watermarks in places that’ll be hard to erase or crop out. I’ve also seen people add their signatures and watermarks in creative ways (ex. on a character’s shirt). You need to protect your work in an era where people will just blatantly steal it and make profit off your work.

Tag List

@reality-is-often-disappointing

office hours

hi this is literally the most self-indulgent filth i’ve ever written ever in my whole life its just like all my fantasies wrapped into one big fic

also im not a math major don’t @ me

tags: afab reader, professor/student, age gap, desk fuckin, stockings, first time,  Guilt, professor kink 👀

 Siebren tried not to have favorites. He really, really did. He took pride in his ability to remain as objective and unbiased as possible, especially concerning his students. No matter their walks of life, their intellectual capabilities, or their attitude in his class, he treated everyone fairly and with the same amount of respect.

But you. You were different. You, who always sat in the front row, who always asked insightful questions, who often came by his office just to chat - he considered you less alongside the notions of “student” but closer to “friend.”

And you were brilliant, too - the likes of which he hadn’t seen in a long time. You struggled with much of the math (which is why you started coming to his office at all) but you had an intuitive understanding of the concepts behind quantum mechanics, something most students lacked. They could do the math fine without understanding the real-world significance it held, but you? You didn’t understand why it worked, but you understood the how, and it made class discussions more enjoyable. You often provided another angle of viewing things, and Siebren had been pleasantly surprised the many times it had been an angle he’d never considered before.

His class wasn’t easy - not that he purposefully made it that way, but the subject matter was extremely difficult. The grade you held in his class was a testament to how hard you worked. On top of that, he knew you also held the same work ethic in your other courses - all of your professors had nothing but glowing praise for you.

You were a kind, hardworking student with just a little too much on your plate. Siebren had a hard time not admiring you. He saw a little bit of himself in you, which is maybe why he found it easy to give you preferential treatment. Not when it came to your grades; he graded blindly, so there was no chance that he’d add a few extra points just because it was you, but in other ways.

Like the time you came to his office well past his normal hours with your bag slung over your shoulder and shadows so dark under your eyes he’d mistaken it for makeup. “Please,” you had said, “I-I know it’s late, but can I study in here? The library’s too crowded for me to focus, and my roommate has her partner over and they keep being...gross, and I just… I promise I’ll be quiet, please?”

You had sounded so exhausted and so close to tears that Siebren literally could not turn you away. He knew he’d be there for another few hours before he headed home, so he had ushered you into his office with a kind smile and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Working with you in his office had been...so nice. You weren’t draining in the way that so many others were, and he had easily fallen into a deep focus on his research, aided by the constant sktch sktch of your pencil against paper and the soft symphonies flowing through his speakers. 

God, when he found out you listened to Schumann…who could blame him for crushing on you?

It made him feel pathetic, honestly. A renowned professor with multiple degrees, teaching at one of the most elite colleges in the nation, crushing on his student? What kind of twisted pervert had a crush on someone more than half his age?

Him. He did. He was a dirty old man with more than “just a crush” on his favorite student, and he couldn’t get you out of his mind.

You were so cute, even on the days you showed up to his 8 am class in nothing more than an oversized hoodie and joggers, coffee clutched in hand. He loved it when you smiled for him, those tiny secretive smiles that made your eyes light up, or when you giggled genuinely at his god-awful puns despite the fact that no one else did. 

The things he imagined doing to you were more shameful than he was willing to admit. Many times he found himself waking with your name stuck in his throat and a problem that he had to quickly take care of. Cold showers, unfortunately, didn’t help him any more than trying to ignore it. As of late he found himself in hand more times than ever before; he hadn’t been with a sexual partner in ages, and you stirred up feelings in him he didn’t even know he still had - feelings he shouldn’t be having, not toward someone who was so young, and especially not toward his student.

He had tried to curb his infatuation, once, by resolving not to give in to his urges. It had lasted all of three days and culminated in something so disgraceful he didn’t even want to think about it.

(He had once masturbated in his office just moments after you left, your scent still lingering in the doorway. As he fucked desperately into his hand, he’d imagined you kneeling secretively beneath his desk, supple lips around his cock. It’s still one of his favorite fantasies.)

He should be ashamed to call himself your professor, and yet...and yet…

A knock sounded at his door. “Dr. de Kuiper?”

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. He jolted out of his thoughts, casting a glance at his desk where unfinished diagrams and unsolved equations sat. How long had he spaced out for…?

Siebren swiveled in his chair and found you standing in the doorway, hands clasped in front of you. His eyes were immediately drawn to your attire - blazer unbuttoned over a white dress shirt, cute pleated skirt dancing just above your mid-thigh, black thigh-highs accentuating your long legs…

You looked like a goddamn schoolgirl. That should not turn him on.

Even as he struggled to keep his eyes at an appropriate level, he couldn’t keep the genuine warmth and joy from his voice as he greeted you. “Oh, welcome! You’re not having trouble with the problem set, I hope?” He slid his glasses off his face and set them safely on his desk, prepared to have a nice chat with you.

“Ah, no, not really.” You stepped into his office, surreptitiously locking the door behind yourself. “I just wanted to see how your research was coming along, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, of course!” You’re always welcome, sat unsaid on his tongue. He gestured you over to his desk where he pulled out a holo-pad. As he drew up the latest 3D model, he felt your warmth settle into his side, your leg pressing against his own. He tried not to think about it.

“This is still a work in progress, but I think I’m getting closer to a vessel that can act as an appropriate harness.” The hologram flickered to life and showed a geometric model in the center, equations that you couldn’t even hope to understand running below. 

“Ohhh,” you breathed out. You leaned closer to get a better look at the diagram, stepping a leg in between his so that you practically hovered over his lap. “This is neat!”

Siebren willed his heartbeat to slow down. You were so close. “Y-yes, well, like I said it’s unfinished. This is only a prototype.”

“Still.” You flicked the hologram, causing the model to spin as you investigated it. “It’s really cool what you’re trying to do. I mean, control gravity?” You glanced back at him, a smile playing on your lips. “It’s hard to believe that it’s possible.”

He felt his chest swell with pride at your words. “It is. The theorems prove that much. Now, it is simply a matter of finding a practical implementation. If we take a look at the equations…” He pushed himself away from the desk with the intention of grabbing said equations, but his foot got caught around yours and pulled you back with him. You ended up falling right into his lap with a sharp yelp, his arms wrapped around your waist to keep you steady.

Well. This was turning out to be more like the plot of a bad porno, and Siebren hated himself for being able to name at least three that started out this exact same way.

The way you were sitting meant you were straddling his thigh. Which...okay, it wouldn’t have been good under any circumstances, but it was particularly awful now because he could feel your heat through your thin underwear. 

He tried to find words to make the situation okay, yet his mouth felt dry, his throat tight. Your face - as red as his felt - was mere inches away from his own. You fit against him like a puzzle piece, like this was meant to be.

“Please,” he whispered, not sure if he meant to ask for forgiveness or for permission, but any and all thoughts halted on the spot when he felt your lips press awkwardly against the side of his mouth.

God. You were so cute.

His immaculately-pressed self control snapped, and he raised his hands to cup your face and kiss you properly. You sighed into the kiss, open-mouthed, curling your hands into the soft fabric of his shirt. Your lipgloss tasted like cherries.

“We shouldn’t,” he mumbled against your lips. “You’re my student,” he insisted. “This is a-a gross...abuse of power, I can’t…” 

And yet, here he was, unable to pull himself from you for even a second. His hands slid up your shirt to rest against bare skin, and you shuddered against him as he moved to mouth at your neck. You tightened your grip on the armrests, willingly tilting your head to expose more of your soft skin for him. Siebren sucked with the intent of leaving marks, lightly scraping his teeth across a sensitive spot, and you moaned quietly in response - a sound he’d been imagining fondly for the whole semester.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered your hips rolling slowly against his thigh in small, concise movements, like you were trying to be secretive about it. The image of you doing the same against his clothed erection made him choke on a moan, poorly hidden into your neck. You squirmed in his lap, fighting to shrug off your blazer, and in seconds his hands were atop your own.

“Let me,” he asked - no, begged -  and gingerly shooed your hands away. You fisted them in your skirt instead while he slowly undid the buttons of your shirt, sliding it off along with your blazer. They fell into a heap of fabric beside his chair. His eyes lingered on your skin, hand tentatively resting against the soft planes of your stomach.

“I-I, um -”

“Gorgeous,” he breathed, lovingly running his hands down your sides. “You are absolutely stunning.” He brought you in for another kiss, this one more passionate than the last, and slid one broad hand up your back. Deftly, he undid the clasp of your bra, and you gasped in surprise and moved to cover yourself.

“Wait, wait,” you begged, and he felt you pull away from him. Instantly, his hands settled onto your clothed hips. He felt guilt rise up into his throat at your expression - you couldn’t even meet his gaze, eyes flicking to the floor.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I’m going to fast, aren’t I?” Horrible, horrible, he was absolutely 

disgusting -

Your hands settled on his, even as you turned your face away. “I just...why am I the only one getting undressed?” You looked up at him coyly through your lashes, and a relieved smile spread across his face. Okay. He could fix that.

“You’re nicer to look at than this old man,” he teased, and watched some tension evaporate from your shoulders. 

“It’s not fair.” Your hands moved from your breasts to his shirt collar, fingers twiddling the button there. “Please, professor?” you whispered, and god if that didn’t make his cock jump.

He breathed out slowly through his nose. “All right,” he conceded, and coaxed you off his lap so he could stand. Your eyes fell to his lap, no doubt looking at his straining erection. However, you suddenly moved to hide your face behind your hands.

“Oh no,” you whispered. “I’m so sorry, I-I didn’t mean…”

He glanced down, following your earlier line of sight, and found a nice little wet patch from where you had been sitting. “We’ve only been kissing,” he said, “and you’re already this wet?”

It came off a little meaner than he meant, but behind your hands he saw your flush extend up to your ears. 

Holy fuck.

Effortlessly, Siebren lifted you onto his desk, sending the contents clattering to the floor. You squeaked in surprise, momentarily latching onto him as your world spun - literally.  Even though you were sitting on his desk, he stood eye level with you. He leaned in for another kiss as he began undoing the buttons of his shirt. A moment later, he felt another pair of hands join his. 

“Let me,” you mumbled, looking shy but eager. “Please?”

He let his hands hang down by his sides as you worked his shirt open. He helped you pull it from his shoulders, and when his chest was fully exposed you flushed a pretty pink again.

“Wow,” you breathed, hands skimming over his toned abdomen, up to his deltoids, coming to rest against his biceps. “You’re...really hot.”

It was his turn to blush, but he took the praise in stride. “What, didn’t think your dusty old professor could be smart and strong?”

You bit your lip, shaking your head slightly. “I mean, I always kinda figured you were, ‘cause you have really toned forearms and sometimes when you roll up your sleeves I...never mind.” You ducked your chin into your chest in embarrassment, and Siebren pressed his forehead to yours. 

“No, no. Care to share with the class what you were saying?” He was trying to be playful, but instead you flushed hotter, a soft whine leaving your throat.

“You’re just super nice to look at all the time and I really…” Your voice dipped so low that it he had to strain to hear the last bit. “...really think you’re attractive as hell.”

Siebren couldn’t name the emotion that rose to the surface, so he instead leaned in and captured your lips in a kiss. At least this attraction wasn’t one-sided, and part of him hoped that you had been longing after him just as long as he had. “I’m glad,” he whispered against your lips. He wasn’t ready to confess that he’d imagined you naked more times than he could count, but just knowing that you thought of him like that helped curb some of his lingering feelings of guilt.

His hands settled at the hem of your skirt. “Up,” he commanded quietly, and you braced yourself on his desk, lifting your hips. He slid your skirt and underwear off in one smooth motion, leaving you bare and exposed for him - except for those damnable stockings.

Siebren stopped, stared down at the black fabric covering your legs. A bow sat neatly at the top of each one, tiny and white with black polka-dots. His fingers trembled at the band of your left stocking.

“Do you like them?” you asked, sounding hopeful. “I thought of you when I picked them out this morning.”

Oh god. Oh, Jesus. He was fucked. You wore them with him in mind? “Were you hoping for this?” he asked instead, thumbing the bow at the top. Your face flushed a shade darker, smiling sheepishly.

“I’ve been hoping for this for a while,” you admitted. Both Siebren’s cock and heart jolted at those words. 

God. He was so fucked. So, so fucked.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he groaned. He couldn’t bring himself to take them off, not after knowing that. Instead, he slid down to his knees before you, your thighs framing his face.

“W-wait, professor, what are you doing?” 

He pressed a kiss to the inside of your thigh. “What I’m about to do is called cunnilingus; or, in layman’s terms, I’m going to eat you out.” He relished your whispered oh my god and drew you closer to him, hooking your thighs over his arms, his hands holding your hips. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of your mound and went to work, laving the flat of his tongue across your entrance. You jerked in surprise, thighs attempting to squeeze shut.

“Professor!” you gasped, squirming. He stilled you with those strong arms of his and sucked mercilessly at your clit, causing you to arch up. Your words remained stuck in his head. Professor. Your professor. He was vile, incorrigible, a perverted old man, and you tasted so sweet.

Siebren pulled away just long enough for him to slide a finger into your wet heat, amazed at how easily it went in, aided by your juices and his saliva. “Does it feel good?” he questioned. Sometime between then and now you had ended up on your back, draped across his desk. His tongue licked a wet stripe from his finger to your clit and you answered him with a low moan, a hand finding purchase in his short locks of hair.

Your hips rolled minutely against his mouth as he pumped his finger in and out of you, voice filling the air with a litany of pleas and incoherent mumbles. He slipped a second digit in you and felt you clench around him, voice climbing higher by the minute as he pushed you closer and closer to the edge. He stilled, instead placing a kiss to your inner thigh. “Be quiet, or we’ll have to stop,” he murmured. “The walls are rather thin.” Part of him almost wanted to be caught, consequences be damned. To have others know that he’s the one that has you so debauched, wound tight with need...the hicky was risky enough, he supposed, but he couldn’t help himself.

You wiggled your hips, drawing him from his thoughts. “I’ll be good,” you promised. “Please, professor?” 

He waited a beat just to make sure you hadn’t drawn any unwanted visitors, before he descended on you again. He fucked you with his fingers at a brutal pace, mouth latching over your sensitive nub, and he didn’t stop until you went stock-still, hips trembling as you came. Siebren pulled his fingers from you and cleaned up your juices, making the most obscene noises as he did so.

“Oh my god,” you mumbled. “Oh my god, oh my god. I can’t believe...holy fuck.” You supported yourself with your elbows, watching him rise and hover over you. He settled his hands on your hips, a smug little smile on his face.

“Feel good?”

“Yes,” you hissed. “Holy shit. That was...the best ever. Wow. Thank you.”

He leaned down to kiss you, slow and even, and his clothed erection pressed against you. After a second, you pulled away from him, hands finding purchase on his shoulders. “Um, but what about you?”

“Hm?”

You wrapped a leg around his hips, rutting against his bulge for emphasis. “You’re still hard.”

Siebren shook his head slightly. “Oh, no, no. I made you come, that’s enough for me.”

“But it’s not enough for me,” you said, almost pouting. “You’ve seen everything; it’s only fair that you let me see all of you, too.”

How could he compete with that logic? “You and fairness,” he said, but nonetheless stood straight and began to undo his belt buckle. You watched with rapt attention as he dropped his pants, letting them bunch around his ankles. His cock bobbed free from his briefs, long and thick and leaking, and your eyes widened.

“Oh my god,” you breathed out. Siebren wrapped a hand around his length and stroked it slowly, smearing precum. “I really - um, will that even...fit?”

He laughed quietly, grabbing your legs and lifting them over his shoulders so that your hips were raised slightly. “I’ll go slow,” he promised, “but we won’t do anything if you’re unsure.” He meant it to be comforting, but you shook your head wildly.

“No, no, please. I want this, I promise, please. I can take it.” Even so, you kept glancing at his cock, mouth pressed into a fine line. Your fingers tightened imperceptibly on the desk.

“Please don’t tell me I’m your first,” he said, putting two and two together.

You grew shy, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. “I-I mean, kinda? I’ve done some stuff, but I’ve never actually...y’know.”

His cock twitched and Siebren ran a hand over his face. “Oh, mijn God,” he breathed. You were a virgin. You were his star pupil, his favorite student,  and he was going to take your virginity. Him. Somewhere, he felt incredibly honored to know that you trusted him enough to let him be your first.

“Is...is that a problem?” You sounded so small and self-conscious that he felt something inside him break.

“No!” He was quick to reassure you, running a hand comfortingly down your side. “No, no, not at all, I just -” His voice softened. “Are you sure you want your first time to be with your physics professor? In his dingy office, no less?”

You curled your fingers around the hand at your hip, and Siebren was struck by the realization that your hands were so small, so tiny in comparison to his. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Professor, that I think if you don’t fuck me now I might actually die of desperation.”

That, at least, earned a laugh from him. Siebren placed a kiss to your calf and rubbed the head of his member against your slit, rubbing moisture onto his cock. “Ready?” he asked. 

“Please.”

Slowly, slowly, he pushed into you. He groaned almost instantly at the sensation, hands gripping the soft flesh of your hips. It had been too long. “You’re so tight,” he breathed out, resisting the urge to bottom out immediately. “Am I hurting you?”

You wrapped your fingers around one of his thumbs, heels digging into his shoulders. “No,” you said, though your voice drifted into a soft whine at the end. “It’s...it feels like you’re gonna split me in half,” you confessed. He slid another inch into you and you shamelessly moaned into the sensation, eyes fluttering closed. “I love it.”

After what felt like hours, Siebren sliding into you inch by torturous inch, he finally fit all of him inside your tight, wet heat. He had to stop and catch his breath, convince his body that he really didn’t need to come right away.

“How do you feel?” he asked. His hands went and rubbed along your stomach; if he pressed, he was sure he’d be able to feel the head of his cock bulging against your skin.

“Full,” you responded immediately. “But...it doesn’t feel bad. Feels good.” You twitched unconsciously around him, body adapting to the intrusion, and he cursed softly under his breath. “You can um...move, I think. Please.”

Siebren rested his hands on your hips again as he began to pull out. Going in the second time was a lot easier than the first as your juices slicked his cock, and soon with each thrust he was bringing his hips flush with yours. 

“Okay?” he asked you, sliding a hand up to your chest. “Tell - tell me if it hurts, okay?”

You covered his roaming hand with your own, holding tight to his fingers. “Good, it’s good, please don’t stop - oh, Professor, please…” You were whining now, head lolled back against the desk as Siebren set a relentless pace. He was reaching spots inside you that you didn’t even know you had, and one particularly rough thrust had you on the edge of a scream, arms flying akimbo over your head, knocking over a collection of pens.

“Shh, shh,” Siebren urged, clapping a hand over your mouth. His hips never stilled, desk rocking slightly underneath you. “People can hear you, they can - oh fuck -” Siebren stifled a moan into the soft fabric of your stockings, hot breath warming the skin underneath. “You’re so tight, so tight, goed god -” He pulled his hand from your mouth to instead paw at your chest, pinching one pert nipple between his fingertips.

“Pro-professor,” you begged, reaching for him. Siebren dropped your legs from his shoulders and pulled you into his chest, shifting you until you were sitting on the edge of the desk. You peppered sloppy kisses along his cheekbone, searching for his mouth, and he gladly gave it to you. The kiss was hot and messy, an aching mess of teeth and tongues that brought warmth to your chest and heat to your groin

“Professor, please, please, I’m g-gonna -” You cut yourself off with a needy keen, clutching at his shoulders, desperately rutting into him.

“Going to come?” he offered. He snaked a hand down between your bodies and began rubbing your clit. “Come for me then, baby. Come for your professor.”

He felt you clench around him, and quickly he closed his mouth around yours, swallowing all of your little sounds as you came. He pulled out and quickly jerked into his fist, muffling a groan as his cum splattered your stomach and upper thighs. For a moment, you both merely rested together, panting in the afterglow.

“Here,” Siebren finally murmured, unwrapping your limbs from around him. “Lay back, and I’ll get you cleaned up.” He grabbed a half-empty bottle of water and a few napkins, and wet them down slightly. Your eyes followed his every move. 

“How do you feel?” he asked as he began wiping away the...evidence of your activities.

“Sleepy...and satisfied…” You jolted a little as the cool napkin touched your skin, soothed a second later by Siebren’s large hand. “But mostly tired.”

“No pain?”

“A little,” you admitted. “But that’s normal, right?”

He stopped, peering at you. “Is it sharp, stinging pain?”

You shook your head. “No, it kinda feels more like...like a sore muscle. I think it’s just ‘cause you’re too big.”

Siebren smirked, running his thumbs along your hipbones. “You’re just not used to me yet.” Without waiting for your reaction, he pulled away and tugged his pants on, leaving his shirt crumpled on the floor. Instead, he grabbed your discarded clothing. “Here, I’ll help you get dressed.”

Somehow, having him pull your panties on, sliding one stockinged foot into them at a time, felt more intimate than him bottoming out inside you. He insisted on helping you with every piece, which made you flush in gratitude, and only once you were fully dressed did he grab his own shirt.

Searching for something to do, you cleaned up the mess you had made of the pens on his desk, a thought suddenly occurring to you.

“Hey, you, um, you know your favorite pen? The one you always kept in your breastpocket?”

Of course he knew what pen you were talking about. It was one he used to grade all his papers and sign important documents. The ink flowed well and it didn’t smudge or bleed through. It was an excellent pen, but he had lost it about a month ago and hadn’t been able to find it since.

“Yes, what about it?”

“Well, uh…” You turned your gaze away, fingers playing with the hem of your skirt. “I um. Stole it and used it as...to...y’know. So please don’t think that this is one-sided at all! Or that you’re taking advantage of me, or that I don’t want this...because I do. I really, really do.”

A soft smile crossed his features, and Siebren leaned in close to kiss you sweetly. “Thanks, sterretje. You put this old man’s mind at ease.” He paused, thoughts backpedalling. “Wait, you used my pen for what?”

You flushed a brilliant red and laughed nervously.

Well, at least he knows where it went.

Lockdown Learning

If the devil finds work for idle hands, we can only assume from this summer’s Instagram posts that the devil must love sourdough. And the country’s new army of amateur bakers weren’t the only ones using having more time on their hands to good advantage—lots of people looked to learning new things as a distraction.

But first things first - if the only thing you ‘achieved’ this summer was making it through each day, don’t give yourself a single moment of grief. By doing just that, you’ve already done great. However, as time has wound on and those of us working in events swapped fields and packed schedules for staying in, some of the WMSH team have been enjoying learning new skills or taking on new hobbies. We’ve found that focusing on things you enjoy, be that a new challenge, doing something physical, or spending time making your micro-universe nicer, comfier or more tasty, can be great for your mental health.

Check out what we’ve been up to below:

JD

I decided not to let my lack of actual garden stop me attempting to grow some of my own food. I ordered some tumbling tomato seedlings online, and repotted them along with spinach and kale seeds into hanging baskets so they could bask in the sunshine from the SW facing window that basically turns the lounge into a greenhouse from May to October. Moving them into the shower for a drench became part of the daily routine and within a month, they’d started to fruit (and are still going). To accompany them, I started growing micro salad in a seed sprouter, which made my weekend at-home brunches much more Instagram-worthy. 

As a side note - hanging tomatoes make an excellent Zoom background. So many people commented how good they looked and I like to think a bit of greenery brightened those meetings a little.

Stephen

During lockdown I learned how to use 3D projection mapping, with Mad Mapper and Wayne Sables’ excellent online Vimeo course. The introductory lessons were great, and included insightful interviews with professionals from creative industries. As with most things, the real learning came with practice; but after only a few hours I managed to project 10 different video streams simultaneously onto a complex icosahedral 3D sculpture, using a projector, a laptop, and a demo version of Mad Mapper. This technique has been used in art installations, live music and stage performances, outdoor exhibitions and video game demonstrations, and I look forward to finding more and more places to use it.

Alice

I love doing something physical, knowing it will likely take me all day. The garden has been one big and on-going project this year, something that would normally be left untouched while I’m away on-site throughout the summer. However, through watching many YouTube videos, countless calls to my mum, many plant deaths, and lots of back-breaking work, I’ve cultivated my garden to a point where it’s unrecognisable from where it was. I’ve laid turf for the first time, pruned back trees and bushes that I would previously have had no idea what to do with. I’ve built a rockery, a compost heap, and after learning that there are different types of rakes, with entirely different purposes (who knew?!), I’ve brought myself a new one for raking leaves this autumn, which I’m way too excited about.

As well as gardening - while I’ve always been a bit of a DIY-er - I upped my game this summer by refurbing the kitchen. I even created a Gant chart when I was struggling to figure out the order things needed to happen in, and used a white board to track ‘to do’, ‘to buy’ and ‘snags’, just like I would when managing a festival build site. The refurbing is still ongoing, but so far has included laying flooring and fitting skirting for the first time, and finally conquering my fear of sawing things. I’m still not very good, I can’t cut straight to save my life…but things get cut. One piece of sawing led to another, and I ended up making multiple coffee tables for my new garden oasis, and a footstool to go with the 2nd hand chairs I upcycled. I learned what a ‘pocket screw’ was, which was a bit of a game changer, but I haven’t totally perfected it yet.

Youtuber’s The Sorry Girls , and instagrammer Angela Rose have been major sources of inspiration. Also, my father-in-law, Bob, who’s a DIY expert. He’s always available to give advice, offer encouragement, or send me tools.

 I’ve also spent a little time trying to improve my 3D modelling skills – while I’m a wiz at doing 2D site plans - my 3D constructions don’t always look polished. I took an online tutorial on virtual room dressing and lighting effects for Vectorworks. For practice, I made a room, I put a person figure in it, and set about trying different lighting / finishing options. It’s hard to explain how I got there, but one thing led to another, and I ended up 3D modelling something akin to a bloody murder scene in a movie. Lesson learned – what you, when you’ve not left the house for several days, think is funny…may freak your team out when you show them.

Alice Hunt / @mrsalicehunt

Exploring copy personalization via VR

Introduction

Hello, my name is Jen. Many of the current world are starting to take notice to the idea of Mario 64's personalization AI. Neither of these topics need introduction, You know what Super Mario 64 is and you know why you're here. I've been taking a recent interest into the study of how the game adapts over time to suit the player, and exactly how personal that personalization gets. I'm very familiar with the game, I know most of it's ins and outs, I've completed it multiple times on the original console.

And I can tell you yes, it is a fact.

Super Mario 64 is a personalized game. But it's not personalized in the way people think.

In most cases, I've found the personalization factor of the game is incredibly small, and it's more subtle than meets the eye. And it can only be achieved on original hardware (IE, the Nintendo 64, or an environment that perfectly simulates the Nintendo 64, on a composite monitor or TV), and, for our purposes it would ideally be with the original Japanese release (or as I call it, the J variant) rather than International (or as I call it, the ! variant). It doesn't make too much of a difference, but in the original release it's effects are more obvious, at least for English-speaking players or players with English as their first language.

For instance, an English-speaking player will have slightly negative or empty feelings throughout the game while playing the J Variant on original hardware, similar to those felt in Wet-Dry World in the international release. Likewise, non-English speaking players will feel the same negative aura playing an international copy. I haven't yet studied the relationship between the International and European copies or Japanese and European copies though, which could definitely be something to look into, these same emotional auras could very well carry over.

The reason it can only be achieved on original hardware is because personalization was outright removed from other releases of SM64. Starting with the Shindou release, all subsequent versions of Mario 64, such as the iQue and Wii Virtual Console release, as well as the Japanese, North American and European versions commonly circulated through emulation and rom websites, and consequently what most, if not all of SM64 Hacks, mods and ports are built off of, have personalization outright removed, or altered in such a way to be unnoticeable. I'm not sure if this would extend to SM64DS or not, but the games seems similar enough that cognative proccesses line up in a similar fashion. Something I have noticed in my research is that skeptics of the Personalization AI often come off the heels of having played Modern versions of SM64 rather than the original versions. 

Although to what extent I can't be sure, it's entirely possible that playing these modified ports of SM64 could lead to differences in brain activity that affects the way personalization works, specifically to the extent that playing copies of SM64 without the original personalization factors intact leads to an 'immunity' of sorts to it. The learned responses from playing SM64 emulated rather than on it's original console are subtle, but they're enough to cause differences. Given the personalization AI in general stems from the subtle differences between players, it would only make sense these 'learned behaviors' would alter the game in such a way to give every player who plays on the original hardware after having played a modified port a shared experience, or at least with differences that are too subtle to be noticeable. This is what I'll call the "Surface SM64 Theory". So at least in my mind, copy personalization equates more to instilled emotions, feelings, and thought processes that are interpreted through subtle differences between inputs, than it does pure 'injection' (IE, new graphics, music, sound effects and textures being 'beta-ified'). Although injection is certainly a part of it, it's not grandiose, and the effects are rarely seen on video, if at all. Which brings me to why I'm here today.

I feel that, to experience copy personalization on a level that's intimate enough to not just be a ripple effect, and can be closely analyzed, the only solution is to give the personalization factor a more direct line into one's senses. And what's the best way to do that with tools that are already available to the common consumer? VR, along with some other tools.

By controlling the game as if I were Mario, rather than Mario being a proxy to player input, I can observe the game at a closer, more emotionally open level. With headphones I can experience the sounds at a closer level, and by being closer to the screen I can experience the game itself at a closer level. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Given the Surface SM64 Theory though, I should note that I have played other ports of SM64 though, and, like I said, know it's ins and outs quite well, I decided to break from the game for an extended period of time (about a month at the time of writing) before trying to conduct this experiment. Ideally we'd want someone who grew up with the original release and nothing else, or had never heard of the game at all, but, I'm not interested in using any human guinea pig except for myself. In this way I hope to approach the game with a fresh mindset, or at least a mindset fresh enough so that I could explore at least some of the personalization effects.

Before this break though, I got into contact with a few different mod authors (who, for the sake of privacy, won't disclose the names of, they didn't want much to do with this project to begin with. I think they thought I was crazy or something) who gave me the grace of helping me out. The VR setup in question uses a rom extracted straight from my copy Super Mario 64, which has been verified to be an original cart. This rom was extended, modified, then the new rom was flashed onto a player cart in a modified Nintendo 64, with the rom's mods adding support for a gyroscopic, first-person camera, environmentally accurate surround sound, and two VR controllers I can hold.

I hope that doing this hasn't tampered with too much of the personalization AI, I'm not sure what the authors did to the rom, and in retrospect I probably shouldn't have given them the benefit of the doubt just putting my safety into their hands when they obviously thought I was bananas and refused to let me share any information about them. But, I've gone about this the only way I knew how to, and I've poured too much time into this now to not do it. So, I guess this frontier will be one I explore blindly. So, over the course of however long it takes me to finish the game with 120 Stars and talk to Yoshi, I'll be logging my experiences.

The Experiment

8/7/2020 11:30AM - Stars Collected: 0

Getting used to the controls took quite a lot of time, although thankfully the gyroscopic camera seems to follow Mario as an object instead of his model's face, I can't imagine doing all those flips and turns with a gyroscopic camera.

Everything seems to be working ok so far though, nothing seems too out of the ordinary, of course I didn't really look outside very much before going in, but, we'll see where it goes from here.

8/7/2020 11:55AM - Stars Collected: 8 This may've been a bad idea. I feel fine. So far it's just been playing the game in close-up, with not a whole lot else going on. I'm still going to see it through to it's end, but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't report back on anything else for a while. It's just kind of going through the motions at this point. I have all of BoB's stars except for MwttS and the first secret slide star, I'm not going to even try to attempt the second one right now, I still need time to get used to this I think, and for some reason I've always struggled with that one in particular. I guess if there's one thing that feels off, it's that, ironically, everything ironically feels much more quiet, I don't know if it's me, but everything feels quieter. With quieter audio this game feels so much lonelier. Early 3D environments can seem so bland and barren without much context. I'm gonna go try to fight Bowser, hopefully this goes well.

8/7/2020 12:10 PM - Stars Collected: 8 I may have made a slight error in judgement. Bowser levels are not only harder than I though they'd be with the camera zoomed in so close, but fighting Bowser is nearly impossible. Even though the camera follows Mario as an object and not his model, that doesn't seem to translate to Bowser very well, because the camera spins. Oh boy, does it spin. It's making me motion sick trying to beat him. I usually don't even get motion sick, I've been playing video games all my life, and VR has never bothered me like this. Perhaps it's just the game though. In the meantime I think I won't bother with Bowser and I'll go do some other stars here in the Foyer, there's a lot to get done after all.

8/7/2020 12:46PM - Stars Collected: 15 I finally got the other slide star, after a bunch of tries. I've always struggled with that one in particular, but this time it was especially hard with the camera, you can't hardly see where you're going and making that blind jump is such a gamble. I was really happy to be done with it when I got there. And by really happy, I mean, seriously giddy. When I heard the twinkling and the star appeared I had this moment to myself where I just started giggling. It just felt so rewarding. Something about it just... got to me. I felt warm on the inside. I think I'm starting to like the game better this way, it's harder, but, it's rewarding. I almost wonder if doing it again would have the same effect. But, I don't have time for that, I have to go finish up WF and JRB

8/7/2020 1:12PM - Stars Collected: 17 Well, out of pure curiosity, I tried it. And it worked. Too well. I haven't been getting much done for the past 10 minutes. I've just been redoing the slide star. Why I'm stuck on it? I don't know. I have more progress to make, I know, but, something about it is just fun. But, really, that's what the game is about, isn't it? Having fun? Besides, I have all the time in the world to finish the game, surely a little indulgence can't hurt right? Maybe it just feels nice to have finally conquered that one star that frustrated me so much. Either way, I for sure am gonna go back and finish the foyer now. I'm wasting time.

8/7/2020 2:36PM - Stars Collected: 17 God damn it. Why am I so stuck on this one mission? It's a really unremarkable star in the long run of things, it's a footnote. It's just one star. It's just one star. Why is it so much fun? It's so stupid, I feel like an addict going back to it over and over again. But, there's such a rush that comes with it. It's like a rollercoaster, the thrill, the anticipation of it all. And it has such a nice payoff, collecting a star feels so nice in this game. Screw personalization, maybe I should just shoot for the record on this star, surely there's a glitchless record for it somewhere.

8/7/2020 3:01PM - Stars Collected: 17 Still no progress. Been having a good time though. I think I should take a break soon though, I caught myself drooling a little bit after getting the star again.

8/7/2020 3:25PM - Stars Collected: 17 Yeah I need to take a break soon. This is extremely captivating, but, I caught myself drooling on myself again, and, I think I'm freaking my housemates out by giggling so much. But, I can't help it! It's such a rush! This is the truest essence of a video game I've felt in so long, I'm starting to feel nostalgic. I've always liked the Slider music more than most, and there's so many questions clawing at my mind. Like, what are the pillars there for? Who put them there? Why are they tangible? I always did like them. I wonder if they were meant to be in other levels before getting removed.

8/7/2020 5:16PM - Stars Collected: 17 Ok, I guess the road ends here for now. Someone kicked me off. Probably better that way too. I was in the zone playing the star again but, apparently I must've gotten really into it, because, I didn't hear myself, but apparently I was laughing, a lot. Very loudly. Eventually I guess I pissed one of my roommates off, they came and took off the headset and told me to go take a shower and stop doing this. I don't really want to do that, I kinda just wanna keep researching, but... I'm not too upset about it though, I mean, after all I can always just come back to this later. I mean, if this one star has captivated me so much, what'll the rest of the game be like? I'll come back tomorrow.

8/8/2020 9:50AM - Stars Collected: 17 I had a dream last night. About the slide. I think I need another day to take a break from this, the more I think about it, the more it's starting to bother me. What was my deal there? Why did I start laughing. Why did I enjoy this so much? And why do I still have all these questions about it? It's just one star. I need to get to the rest of the game and stop thinking about this.

8/9/2020 5:30PM - Stars Collected: 17 I can't stop thinking about it. I need to do it again. Just one more time. Then I can do the rest of the game. But I need to put this to bed.

8/9/2020 5:45PM - Stars Collected: 17 It happened again. I did it once, and it turned into another time. And another, and another. I started laughing again. I can't help it. I don't even know it's happening. But it is. It is. And I love it. It makes me sad that it's annoying people, but I can't help it. It's just... so much fun. So much fun. So much. So much. So much.

8/9/2020 7:31PM I shouldn't even bother with the star count. I got down to 13 seconds and I lost it. I cant' believe it. It's amazing. I was so happy. 13 seconds oh my god, I don't even know what the record is but it's gotta be close!

8/9/2020 10:00PM It's too much fun. I stopped about 10 minutes ago but, I soiled myself playing the game. I was too into it, I must not have noticed. What's wrong with me? Why am i like this? i feel like i cant tell anyone about this, they wouldn't understand. they wouldn't get it. they would just tell me to stop. i cant stop. i can't its serious now. this is serious. i have to keep going i have to i have to. but i cant anymore i need to go to bed i need to stop i need to sotp i need

8/9/2020 10:20PM im starting to realize that... this is personalized. this must be what people mean as in, the game appeals to you itself. it's horrific, i hate it i hate thinking about it. i don't even know what the game's doing to make me think this. Why. how. why is it like this? And why do i keep coming back. I hate doing it. I can't stop doing it but I hate doing it. It's an addiction it's a virus it's eating away at me like a parasite. I need to go to bed.

8/10/2020 3:28AM i can't sleep

8/10/2020 4:00AM i couldn't help myself i had to go back to it. i had to play it. it's so fun. i know it's bad for me, but nobody gets it. not even you reading this gets it, you don't KNOW me. you dont' know how much this emans to me and what it's doing for me. It's my lfieblodd this is my purpsoe. thise is me.

8/11/2020 they took it from  e they took it from me

i tried t play it on an meulator just to get the ficx but it wasn't the same. it wasn[t the same. it wasn't the same. and I NEED it back. i need it back . it's been hours now withotu eme having it and it's hurting me. it's hruting me. i'm seeing it in my head, it's what i need to take hold of and use, but Ii cant have it they won[t let me they won't let me do it.

i think im starting to see things that arent there.

8/14/20 I want fun. someone, please, show me, somewhere. I need thid feeling to come back. i need fun.

i hope he’ll show me fun

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Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.

Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized. Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized.Every copy of Mario 64 is 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Tips on drawing environments in comics

I’m by no means an expert on drawing comic environments, but I've been using a few specific methods to get them done which I’d like to share! These tips did pretty well on Twitter so I figured I might share them on Tumblr as well [example panels from my webcomic Shaderunners]:

First, if you’re drawing backgrounds while using straight lines/a ruler and you’re struggling with your environments looking stiff, FREEHAND! It makes everything looks more natural, even if it’s not technically always “accurate”. Here's a comparison (old/recent):

In general environments look more real the more "imperfect" they are, This isn't a hard and fast rule of course, and I'm sure there's cases where a stiff quality is HELPFUL to your story - so I think being aware of the difference in effect is key!

Second, for environments there’s a little trick I like to use, and this kinda depends on your style and how rough the place you’re drawing is, but I like to add little marks and dirt to the walls, the floor, everything. It makes things feel more real/lived in.

Third, get SketchUp or a similar 3D modeling software. Drawing a comic is hard work and if you’re doing it alone some shortcuts will have to be taken - that is NOT to say that it's cheating if you take them. It's simply helpful.

A thing I never see talked about is how 3D modeling is a SKILL, not a magic hack. I had to get BETTER at creating environments in SketchUp and incorporating them into the comic organically. Here’s an example of an old background done with the help of SketchUp above a recent one:

There's No Need To Colour Everything. See how in the first pic below I coloured (er, you know) every object on the shelves? Waste of time - if anything it takes away focus from the characters. Nowadays when things are small, faraway or unimportant I let them blend into the background.

Similarly, in crowd scenes I used to draw every single person and detail, thinking that it would look impressive. The result was spending hours on a panel readers would look at for two seconds. Plus, after all that work it didn’t actually end up looking like that big a crowd.

Compare that to crowd scenes I draw now – by no means perfect but I feel that leaving out details in the faraway figures makes the scene look fuller; it leaves room for the reader’s mind to fill in the gaps and imagine the crowd being bigger than is shown.

And uhh that’s it? Basically this advice is mostly little tips that can be helpful, rather than a guideline/rule. Environments in comics (to me at least) are an efficiency game, and I’m constantly thinking of ways to be economical when I work on them while also having fun!

Hopefully this was helpful to someone out there, and if you were intrigued by these panels you should check out my webcomic at @shaderunnerscomic!

166. Sonic the Hedgehog #98

Sonic Adventure 2

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante Colors: Patrick Spaziante and Nelson Ribeiro

Welcome to Sonic Adventure 2, everyone! Now, you would be excused for thinking that the comic would want to handle such a highly anticipated and ultimately successful game in the same manner as it did the first one, but you would be wrong! I'm going to spoil it for you right now - we only get part of the story in the comics. This one issue used to cover the entirety of the game, and as we'll see this presents some serious problems. But let's dive in, I'll save my rants for after we go over everything.

So our story doesn't actually begin where the previous issue left off. Instead, it begins three months ago, right on the tail end of the previous Sonic Adventure, in fact. The comics never really did address exactly what happened to Eggman in between being chased out of Station Square by Silver Sonic, and returning to Robotropolis. Well, as it turns out, he ended up being chased, somehow, all the way to one Prison Island, where Silver Sonic cornered him and blasted the ground out from under him, causing him to fall down a dark hole. Satisfied that it had killed him, Silver Sonic returned to Station Square to resume its defensive protocol there, but in actuality he had fallen into a secret lab with something very interesting hidden inside…

Now fast forward to a mere week ago. In the dead of night within Station Square, a mysterious figure broke into a top-security vault to steal the city's last remaining Chaos Emerald. Silver Sonic tried to prevent the theft, but…

News of the theft soon reached the desk of the city's president, who mistook the figure as the hero who had defended Station Square from Chaos mere months ago, because apparently in every Sonic canon, no one can ever tell Sonic and Shadow apart, not even Sonic's best goddamn friends. Seriously, at least in the anime it's explained as being a deliberate set-up by GUN to cover their own asses regarding the Project Shadow disaster years ago. I know I've joked before about Sonic being an extremely average-looking Mobian hedgehog which is why he's so easily mistaken for other people, but seriously, Shadow and Sonic's profiles and quill style don't even look alike, let alone their fur color.

That is a very bizarre-looking Rouge. For whatever reason, they decided to draw her a lot in this era with like… claw hands, and I don't even understand where they got that from. In the game itself one of her upgrades is called "Pick Nails" and I guess you could extrapolate that to mean razor-sharp nails under her gloves that don't show up on her low-poly 3D model or something, but all her 2D art depicts her with normal-looking rounded fingertips, so I don't even know. Anyway, the comic goes on about how the president put together an elite task force to track Sonic down and arrest him for his supposed crimes, and now they've finally found him just outside Knothole. Man, if some randos from Station Square could find where Knothole was, how the hell has Eggman not figured it out yet? They pull out actual, deadly rifles and start firing wildly at him, and he dances around cheekily, stealing their guns and taunting them. This ends when they shoot an electrified net onto him, and soon he's handcuffed in the back of their helicopter, being taken to the hidden city. Of course, we know how this goes from here - he breaks free inside the 'copter and bursts out its side, peeling off a strip of metal to use as his makeshift skateboard, because even though this isn't the 90s anymore, it's still the 90s.

We're then treated to a short montage of Spaz's interpretation of City Escape - landing on the streets, surfing down sloped roads, soaping on walkway rails and leaping over any obstacles in his way. Honestly, the action is a bit hard to follow - Spaz is certainly a talented artist in many respects, but I think his decision here to move on from his somewhat simpler designs from before hurts rather than helps, as the action and lines become so chaotic that you have to really concentrate to follow what's going on. There's just a bit too much happening, so that your eyes are drawn all over the place without really focusing on a specific focal point of each image. But anyway, we all know how City Escape ends - with the iconic GUN truck chase!

And that's… it! No, seriously, that's all we get for the actual story of SA2. The final text box invites us to play the game itself to see how it all ends, but there's a number of problems with that, the foremost being that the game takes place in an entirely different canon. We've got completely different circumstances that led up to these events. We've got characters missing - Tails still hasn't been returned to Knothole yet, Knuckles is off somewhere else struggling with his newfound powers, and humans aren't even the dominant species on the planet like they are in the game. This would leave any comic fan with a bitter taste in their mouth, as there's no actual resolution provided and no explanation for how the story will play out with so many of the original players out of commission. Many issues from now, Ian Flynn actually addressed this exact problem and gave a condensed version of events to explain exactly what we're missing, so at least we have that to look forward to in the future. There is one more story after this, and I have additional problems with that one, but let's cover the rest of the issue before I give my final opinions.

As the Shadow Awakes!

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Frank Gagliardo

So this story actually jumps us back fifty years to see Shadow's beginnings. Professor Gerald, Eggman's grandfather on his mother's side, has been working for a long time on his latest project, which he hopes will see the end of disease and untimely death and even be able to cure his granddaughter Maria's unspecified terminal illness. This project is, of course, Shadow the Hedgehog, who, as an excited and astonished Gerald watches, begins to move inside his pod. The inexplicably-brunette Maria suddenly calls him at his lab, telling him that she can see a military spaceship flying toward the ARK, their space station, and Gerald, in a panic, orders her to come to him. He knows that the military is here to take possession of his project, and believing them to be too simple-minded to understand his intentions for the project, wants to evacuate immediately. He's immediately proven right, as the military men who board the station scoff at the idea that an "old scientist and his crippled granddaughter" could pose any trouble to them as they intend to take the professor's project by force. Gerald sends Maria and Shadow, the latter now out of his pod, to evacuate in an escape pod, but of course, we know how this ends…

I think this is the only Sonic media I can think of that actually directly shows Maria dying. In both the game and the anime, the shot happens offscreen, and Shadow is ejected before Maria actually takes her last breath. I do have a problem with how the scene is portrayed here, however, as a big conflict that Shadow goes through during SA2 is his vast misinterpretation of her last request to him, whereas here she seems to just die immediately without saying another word. The military takes Gerald into custody, and shortly thereafter recovers Shadow from the escape pod, taking them both to Prison Island where they force Gerald to continue his work under their supervision. Gerald, however, is devastated at Maria's death, and thus plans out his revenge in secret under the guise of continuing his work as demanded.

The military eventually caught on to his nefarious plans, and had Gerald executed and Shadow sealed away in suspended animation on Prison Island, where it remained undisturbed and forgotten for the next fifty years. Of course, this is what Eggman found on the island, and now he's poised to use his grandfather's own work to conquer the world. My biggest problem with this story, ultimately, is that it essentially acts as one huge spoiler for the game. Everyone now, almost twenty years on, probably knows the general gist of the story, but this comic was published when it was still very new, and this entire story basically spoils the biggest twist in the game right off the bat. Furthermore, in this story, Shadow literally wakes up, goes straight to the pod, watches Maria - who he knows nothing about - die, and then gets sealed away in his stasis pod for fifty years. There's literally no time for him to even develop a personality, let alone a relationship with Maria, which is the single most important thing in his backstory. I believe this was later retconned, but this is still a huge thing to overlook in an adaption of this game.

But anyway, yeah, that's it. That's all we get for the time being. A few brief glimpses of Shadow, and one whole cameo from Rouge. It will be a while yet before Shadow gets to make his reappearance, since like in the game, at the end of their adventure he falls from space and is subsequently believed to be dead. Honestly, the entire thing kind of gives off the impression that they felt like they had to make some kind of comic tie-in to the game, but didn't feel like interrupting what they already had going with the whole "Sonic goes to high school" thing, which is clearly far more interesting of a story. So they basically went "yeah, something like this happened, but now let's just get back to the real story." It's honestly very weird, so weird that, again, they needed a later fix-it issue to explain everything, but for now, we'll just have to move on.

Do you have any tips for people who want to study animation and be an animator?

hi, nonnie!

so it’s not really a secret that i’m an animation student, but i also want to put a disclaimer that this is my first year in college, and also my first time really learning to animate. 

for more information before i jump into it: i study an art & technology degree with a pathway in animation (with some game knowledge) at a public university. i will also say that animation at my program, because it is different from a private art school, i’m not technically in the animation pathway — it’s something that you learn foundations for the first three semesters, and apply to get into your desired pathway (animation or games) to focus. 

i have learned a LOT since i started school, though, so… let’s go! 

art school is not the only optioni thought i was going to go to art school, but i really couldn’t afford it without taking out a loan and putting myself in debt. please, please keep in mind that there are other options to learn animation - many public universities have related/similar programs, and i honestly wouldn’t go to art school if i couldn’t afford it. do your research.

there are going to be people who are better/know more than you. when i started off the year, i knew nothing about 3d animation or any part of the 3d animation pipeline. i’d never touched maya before, or any of the programs in my school lab. like me, there were kids who’d never done anything like this before (about ½ the class), and there were kids who’d been modelling and animating for years. there are kids who did animation programs in high school, or who had opportunities like having animation mentors. my school district did not.you’re going to feel behind. you’re going to look at these people with really cool projects, and who already know how to animate, and who do lots of crazy cool things. and you’re going to meet people whose relative is working in the animation industry. regardless of your skill level, there’s going to be someone who seems to be ahead of you. that’s okay. you’re learning. 

don’t commit right away (to one job/focus).this is a big one. when you go in to study animation for the first time, there are going to be a TON of different positions and interests. don’t focus on one thing and lose yourself in it. try everything. try modelling, texturing, rigging, animation, lighting and compositing. there are people i know who are already like “i want to be a character animator at blizzard” and that’s cool, and totally possible, but don’t limit yourself! you might have a knack for environment design, or maybe, like one of my professors you really want to be a lighter but after you get hired, your supervisor goes “you suck at lighting… but hey, you’re really good at grooming do hair and fur instead.” don’t do that!  there’s also a growing demand for generalists, which is something i think i might be interested in myself. being a cg generalist means you focus in one thing (ie lighting) but you have knowledge of other parts of animation as well. that means that when companies hire you, you might light a model, but then maybe they’re short a texturer, and then you can pop up and go “HEY i can texture!”

use your resources. please. once you get into college, oftentimes your school has stuff for you. that’s included in your tuition. use it! for me, there are whole courses on lynda and the linkedin e-learning thing. youtube. vimeo. books. find things that are available to you and squeeze every last drop out of it. 

get involved. this is the biggest takeaway from being in animation. you could be a great animator, you could be technically really, really good. but nothing matters if you don’t put yourself out there. look up local animation events. i recently went to one, and i spent an entire day listening to industry professionals such as mark simon, the storyboard artist for the walking dead. talk to people! ask them questions! i actually connected with an artist at airship syndicate who was at the event - she’s the daughter of an art teacher i went to studio with for years, and meeting her and talking to her was really nice. and i have her number. and if you have the chance to meet someone, talk to them. don’t be scared. this is your chance to get your foot in the door, or your chance to get advice from someone who’s actually made it. talk. to. them. 

join student organizations. my school has an animation guild chapter, as well as a game developer club and some other related orgs. JOIN THEM. pay the $30 or whatever membership fee. the animation guild at my school has given me, out of all the things that i’ve done, the most opportunities during the school year. i went to an amazon prime screening of Undone. a dreamworks skype call. discounted tickets for that industry event i mentioned earlier. and there is so much more to come. it’s 100% worth it.

try to make friends! this is something that i kind of struggled with, but it’s really important.having friends is going to be your lifeline. every monday you accidentally sit next to a new person in the animation lecture? introduce yourself. when you and two other people are the only freshmen in the labs at 11pm? there is no better bonding experience. having friends means you can 1) pester them for help 2) suffer together 3) get excited about each other’s work. these people are going to be your future co-workers. some might be your future bosses. also make friends outside of your major. you need a break. 

making animation =/= watching animation. this is a big, big, big thing. don’t go into animation if you don’t think you can handle it. what you see on the screen is NOT the same as the work that gets put into it. when you’re an animator sometimes you’ll put in over a hundred hours a week. when you’re an animator you have to keep up with industry changes; every year the programs and tech change, and every year there is something new and different that you need to keep up with or else you’re out. animation is not easy. it’s up to you to put in the work that will make you successful: spend time honing your craft and talking to people. you will cry a lot. you will work your ass off. you will fail all the time. but you have to keep going because you love it. and if you can’t do that, don’t be an animator.

eat. sleep. take care. being an art student is not an excuse to not sleep. it’s not. period. you’re going to have friends who “haha i slept at 5am.” it’s not a competition, there is nothing for you to prove. with the rigor and the difficulty of being in animation you need to take care of yourself. set yourself a schedule every day - set aside time for you to eat THREE meals and sleep for at least 6 hours. treat those like work time. if you take care of yourself, eventually you’re going to look around at your peers who are struggling and suffering and you are going to be better off than them. because you had a meal at lunchtime. because you got more than two hours of sleep. you’re going to learn better, work better, live better. don’t skimp out. it’s really easy to forget, so i will set alarms/reminders for myself. i typically go to bed around 11pm-1am every night, so i usually get around 7 hours on better days. i eat. just don’t be dumb, okay? you don’t want to graduate and just fall apart because you worked yourself too hard and you didn’t sleep for four years. take care. 

i’m stopping this post here because it’s getting a little long but i still have so many experiences and thoughts i can share. so anon, if you’re reading this - feel free to come back and ask more questions!

A Proper Postmortem

Maybe?!  Heck if I know how to actually format a good post but let’s try.  As game development went on for almost four years, this is probably gonna be long... and also give away basically the whole game oops!  Read on with caution.

Sometime around July 2014, a month after the initial release of my first game, my room was being remodeled and I was stuck with nothing for free time but a garbage laptop I could do anything on, an old flip phone, my sketchbook, and my 3DS.  So beyond playing an obscene amount of Animal Crossing and Tomodachi Life, I at some point went “hey, what if I made a second game starring the kids.”  So I started trying to plan it out!  And it went

absolutely nowhere that I intended it to go!!!

For instance, this is the very first page of sketches.  This squirrel was supposed to be really important.  It’s not.  I don’t even KNOW what’s up with that duck.

A thing I like to think about before I set off making any of the story, assets, or scripts for my games tend to be themes and motifs.  And I kept circling back to a very important, very personal “theme.”  Without using the internet at large as my therapy couch, I was emotionally abused and taken advantage of multiple times in my life and it greatly impacts how I interact with people to this very day, as you’d expect events of such a degree would.  Particularly, I kept thinking that the RPG Maker fan crowd tends to skew young and be in the teenage range and at ages 14-16, I could’ve used something to help.

Of course, my entire thought process isn’t necessarily one of charity and selflessness.  It was also a way of me expressing what I’d dealt with in ways I’ve only ever communicated with my friends who were also victims of the same circumstances, the closest I would let myself come to personal stories and retellings with a cover of plastic children and wild adventures.  It was also in some ways a way of me verifying to myself that something ongoing was, in fact, bananas and should not have been happening, but that might be another story for another time.

As you can probably guess, Haze and Seal came into the picture since I needed to make two characters who would have this struggle.  A lot of decisions came about because of my personal experience.  They’re 15/16 because I was at the time of the incidents that primarily inspired me to make this game.  They’re both nonbinary because I am.  They love anime because I did (and do...?!)  One of their friends is even directly modeled off how one of my friends looked in high school.  To that degree, I guess someone, somewhere can call them self inserts.  But they’re also not, since I didn’t want to just do a personal retelling with fictional characters.  I’d just write a memoir or something at that point.

Haze’s design came first, and then Seal’s was sort of made as a foil to them.  Haze’s “colors” are pink, black, grey, and red.  Seal’s are teal and light purple... and also black.  Haze had a rabbit motif (which got toned down as I went on), Seal had an owl motif (which is now just a single mention in their list of likes...), etc.

Though in the beginning, the story was entirely different.  Initially, everything took place in the neon-ish areas with black sky and reflective, celestial water (that I, very eloquently, call “spacewater”).  The idea was that Haze and Seal were beings from another dimension and that their “fighting” was causing a rip in the universe that the kids stumbled into and therefore got wrapped up in this mess.  I had an entire script written and started making assets and when I went to sum up the game’s plot in a neat paragraph, I realized... I hated it!!!

So I chucked all I had done by that point writing-wise and started again.

In fact, I rewrote a lot.  After the first it was mostly small tweaks and adjustments, but the biggest ones (and the ones that still present a challenge to me!) usually involved trying to make Seal feel like a believable character.  I had shown an early draft to someone who said that Seal felt too much like trying to get back at someone, so I scrapped a ton of their lines and tried again.  I still worry whether or not they come across too Strawman-y, but I’ve done the best I can and whatever criticism people have can apply to my next writing attempts.  It’s very hard to separate yourself from subject matter you feel really personally attached to.  I don’t want to write them in a way that you immediately hate them, or hate me for writing such a blatant “villain” character, but in a way that you can formulate your own thoughts.  That said, though, I am violently allergic to people who call Seal a “tsundere,” even in jest.  So I guess I want people to have their own thoughts as long as it’s not that specific one...! (;;;;)

You may be thinking “heck, this is a lot of paragraphs in and you haven’t even brought up gameplay thoughts” and yes... that’s very true.  Shamefully, for a game where I thought “I should definitely, absolutely focus more on making it a Fun Game than a walking visual novel” I might’ve actually dropped the ball in that area.  I’d like to think I was more adventurous than I had been with my first game.  Some parts do kind of fall into the “walk to the next cutscene, find a key to unlock the next cutscene” pit, but I did put effort into figuring out what I could do with RMXP.  My obligatory “please don’t use this engine here, people thinking of using RPG Maker” statements here.  In the final product, though they’re very simple, I’m most proud of the chalkboard puzzle and the paint sorting puzzle.

Even if, y’know... I somehow neglected to include the letter “k”

Speaking of, I’m not sure if this is a general RPG Maker thing, a “man I hate RMXP” thing, or a “meaka cannot gamemake” thing, but I had several event/puzzles just up and quit on me a few times.  Like they would work fine for months and months, but one day I’d go to them and just nope, suddenly they’re not working, sorry.  Copy+pasting the event to a new map wouldn’t work, so I’d have to manually redo the event.  One of them was the chalkboard puzzle.  The other was the sliding puzzle when Tony is by herself.  Which I’m also aware slows the game down a ton, but I have legitimately no idea how to fix that... I tried and I could never get to to not lag like crazy.

Like I said, I started in July 2014.  I’d shipped the game off to my beta testers in March 2018.  A vast majority of that time was spent creating the visual assets since everything you see in the game is custom.  All the sprites, all the tilesets, every little pixel of it.  All me!  Needless to say... it was very exhausting and very time consuming. I grossly underestimated how much time I thought it’d take.  I never accounted for the very real possibility of burnout, which is incredibly silly considering I was making something entirely by myself that was also an occasionally difficult subject matter...!  There were quite a few weeks where I touched nothing because I couldn’t bring myself to and even a few times where I just considered deleting everything and cancelling the project.  I knew I’d be mad at myself if I quit, especially as I got later into production, so I just tried my best to make sure I didn’t turn it into a huge chore.  Obviously, there were parts that were more tedious than others, but this game really is a very large labor of love that I put a lot of my heart into.

Part of that time is also a little bit of indecision.  Did you know I went through 3 possible title screens?  I sure did!  I’ve also publicly posted about redoing both Haze and Seal’s bust sprites before.  I almost redid all of the kids’, too, but I didn’t wanna get caught in the loop of remaking everything, so I opted to just leave them as they are.  Most of them don’t bug me as much.  M...most of them!

I’m hopping back on the Story train since obviously that was my main focus, but the decision to have Seal sort of “reveal” their true nature (or at least have a jealousy-related anger burst) to Octavio as an animated cutscene was one I’d decided pretty early.  Which is also why, unsurprisingly, I was debating getting voice actors for a hot minute.  But I wouldn’t have used it anywhere else in the game, so I opted not to.  I also wanted to keep the file size low, but that wound up not happening so much, h-haha...   For someone who uses the only engine without native support for videos, I sure do like making animated cutscenes, huh.

Anyway.  This scene originally bridged Octavio’s section of the game to Pablo’s, which would’ve been (for some reason) in an abandoned hospital.  But that didn’t pan out because it didn’t fit what I wanted the game to be and also by switching the order of the two, it builds up more tension(?) on the kind of character you expect Seal to be.  I hope their very first “fuck off, maybe” took someone out there by surprise!

This also was the point when I decided I wanted to commission an original soundtrack, since nothing quite got across what I wanted at the time.  Which is when I put out my silly ad post and somehow managed to get the amazing ProjectTrinity to compose for me...!  I’m still amazed by the sheer quality of music he made for my little RPGMaker game.

Having the teen characters curse was also something I waffled on for a bit.  Clearly, I dwell on the important things as a writer.  I wanted it to contrast the cutesy, kidlike way the siblings talk and also the sort of squeaky-clean image the witches (particularly Seal) present to the kids by contrasting how they talk to each other, most importantly how Seal talks to Haze and their other friends.  I did have the same issue with the Mother in my first game, but I opted to not have her curse at all either since she’s childish in her own way, too.  But that’s not for THIS game’s postmortem, get otta here!!!

I also very much was set on a “battle” with words being the final event of the game.  Though I had a hard time imagining what that would be initially, but eventually arrived at a sort of fake battle system that was introduced in the mine.  The setting for this battle changed with time (everywhere from the park to the academy and in between) was considered...!  The dirty secret is that while I did like the decision to make it take place in the voids between worlds, I also sort of did not want to draw the staircase in the witch academy.  Originally, the kids would’ve also helped Haze “reach” Seal (who was putting actual obstacles in the way), but I guess in my own way, I wanted to give Haze the ability to confront Seal on their own, one-on-one.  Or something like that...!  I also didn’t want to add too much needless backtracking.

I’m... unsure what other point I really want to make, so I guess I’ll end this here unless anyone has anything in particular that interests them they’d want me to answer!

All in all, this game means a lot to me and took a chunk of my life to make and I really hope it’s able to reach at least one person who might need it, even if it’s only a little. 

To all of you who gave it a try, thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart.

A shameless link to the game:  [itch.io] & [RMN]

June 24th-June 30th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 24th, 2019 to June 30th, 2019.  The chat focused on Drugs & Wires by Mary Safro & Io Black.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Drugs & Wires by Mary Safro & Io Black~! (https://www.drugsandwires.fail/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until June 30th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Who do you think made the Worm and for what reason? Why does it seem to mostly be affecting Stradania and not other places? Do you think Dan’s implant can ultimately be fixed, or is he stuck forever away from VR?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What aspect of the world’s cyberpunk setting interests you the most and why? Alternatively, what aspect are you hoping to see explored a bit more in regards to how it affects the characters?

RebelVampire

1) Gonna be a bit depressing when I say the bridge scene where Dan almost threw himself off it. Which I'm gonna spoiler tag the rest of this just as a suicide trigger warning precaution. I was 100% right there in the moment with him during that scene. Like I understood why he'd arrived at that conclusion, and it didn't come off as patronizing as I feel a lot of similar suicide scenes often do in comics. This is a man who even I felt really had nothing to live for, as sad as that is to say. Not that I wanted Dan to die, of course, but I get absolutely why he would. And then when he's saved, I liked that he is angry about it. Cause that is a dark reality I feel too many comics shy away from. And just all that gritty realism really hit me in the heart. 2) I don't know who made the worm and I don't think it matters all that much. Rather, I think the reason is more important, and the reason I think is to either kill VR or draw attention to Dan's shitty country. Which I kind of want to believe the latter, that this is somehow politically motivated. Or even if its the former, the idea is to get ppl more politically involved. That being said, I do think it's someone in Stradania who made it. As for Dan's implant being fixed, I don't think so. I don't think he'll be let off the hook that easy, and that he will continue to have to face his awful world for what it is, garbage and all.

3) Dan because he is the delicious epitome of a flawed protagonist. He's not mean, but between his drug problems, his crappy attitude towards most people, and so forth, he's got some real issues to work through. But that's great, cause at least that makes the few steps forward he's taken more satisfying. Since he's not getting those steps easy. He has to basically crawl through metaphorical lava to gain even 2 cm. 4) I really like the world's integration of VR and cybernetics. Like it's not on the level it's just there, but there's businesses around it, slang around it, and so forth. It's presented as this super ingrained culture thing, and that is super hard to play off. And it's just really well-done to see all the ways that those aspects bleed into their lives, whether the invention was intended to do so in that way or not.

Historical Jesus

I'm about to catch up. gimmy some time

RebelVampire

itll be going for the rest of the week, so theres no rush.

snuffysam

1) My favorite scene is the basement wake. It's a cool way to introduce those side characters (especially Vlad), and we were shown how our protagonist is seen through other people's eyes.

Like, we as the readers get to see Dan's struggles first-hand, but seeing the way Dan's "friends" think of him as a mindless junkie is really eye-opening

Re-reading the wake chapter made me think of something regarding question (2). Rebel, you suggested that the worm may have been made to kill VR. Could the reverse be true instead? Vlad has this speech about how the victims of the worm are martyrs, and the rest of the cast groans... but maybe he's not so far off.(edited)

My favorite character is Lin. On the surface, she's a terrible, shady person, but she's got heart where it counts! (in a trunk with a bunch of other organs)

Though I also really like Dan, for the same reasons as Rebel. He starts off in such a terrible place, and watching him take baby steps towards improvement is... honestly, uplifting, even if he does sometimes take some big steps backward.(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. Do you think Dan will manage to find Eve again? If so, how might that affect him? Further, what do you think Dan’s past history is in general with his family and others that might play a role in the story?

Historical Jesus

Is the person writing this comic Russian

RebelVampire

cant speak for Io, but while not from Russia, Mary does speak Russian

Historical Jesus

SHe might have had family immigrate from Russia. This story just feels very Russian in the sense that everyone is down on their luck

But yeah. This story is freaking great!

Cryo

Hey, Mary here! I'm a Russian from Latvia, Io's German but I usually consult him on any Russian bits we have in the comic : D thanks so much for reading, loved seeing all the replies so far!

Historical Jesus

It's you

@Cryo Do you have experience with information security or bug hunting?(edited)

I mean, you sound like you REALLY understand hacker culture(edited)

Historical Jesus

ok I finished

1: Favorite scene? Hard to tell honestly. I like them all for different reasons. It's the continuum of the story I appreciate. The fact I'm always wanting to see what happens next? 2: Who made the worm. I've noticed that people who were infected had illegal copies of software. From a cybersecurity perspective, worms only work when either (A) someone finds a vulnurability that has never before been seem or (B) people don't update their shit for whatever reason. Hence why most software schedules mandatory updates. This could just be the inevitable conclusion to using pirated or older software. 3: Favorite character: Dan. I can relate to him the most. I don't do party drugs, just psycodelics.

4: Favorite aspect of cyberpunk. Historical relevance. In our past, rulers were privileged to rule because humans believed they were "ordained by God" to rule. European philosophers then said that the right to rule belongs to those who become the height of natural selection/ The premise being that there is no god and that we are "free agents" with "free will." No one is entitled to anything unless they produce something of value. This made perfect sense when manual labor was relevant and everything had to be done by hand. This includes pen and paper math. Hence why pay is exclusively based on labor value. Enter the age of technology fucked this up. Capitalism today is STUPIDLY efficient. We WHOOPED natural selections ass. We also learned that humans can't simply "change their outlook at will." Humans are mortal and are not much different than machines. The have needs and all that pesky human stuff. Some people could argue that healthier people have more free will than others, but poverty is the inevitable conclusion to this "free will" "labor value" mindset. But people think principles are sacred and set in stone. So what we are seeing is devalued labor and everyone becoming more poor and the formation of corporate oligarchies and dependences. Cyberpunk was WAY ahead of it's time in seeing this. We need to revisit this genre because I sure as shit don't want to live under a global illuminati with hard line cultural segregation.(edited)

Cryo

No, no real hacking experience here, I'm a 3d modeller by trade. We do our research when we can but our readers are a lot more technically minded than we are :p

Historical Jesus

I love 3D modeling

Attila Polyák

I'll be totally honest your work didn't really catch me at first, but I kept reading. Aaaaand dang that was a good decision. This is genuinely well made. I'm only at the end of chapter 4 but that bridge scene was great. I'm pretty sure it'll be my favourite scene but I need to read the rest first.

Historical Jesus

I have one of two options in life. Make high detailed models to sell on Gumroad or make comics. Gumroad will require constant adaptation to new software, but I already have my comic story structure fgiured out

Cryo

@Attila Polyák thanks for giving us a chance! Hope you enjoy the rest ( though chapter 5 is a lot less dramatic in comparison!)

Historical Jesus

Do you have a resolution in mind or are you just making it as you go?

Cryo

Yeah, we know where we're taking the story, but how it gets there can vary. Lots of the scenes we wrote years ago have to be tweaked or redone entirely to work

Historical Jesus

If the "free will" capitalist have their way, then we can expect the future to look very similar. Lots of poor people using lots of old tech. All software and hardware is closed sourced and locked down.The division between rich and poor will be larger than ever. Many of the zero days will be state sponsored much like they are now and they can use this to legally infect people and categorize them and use their own information against them if they ever become a threat to the state or the rich tech oligarchy

When I read this I got sense of creepy forcasting

More kids are playing with the Linux Kernal than smoking cigarettes so we might be ok

Historical Jesus

5: Favorite illustration? Anything that involved gif animations. That's not to say it should be overused but it was used at the right time

6a: Will Dan find Eve again? Probably. Since Cryo has a conceptual end in mind, I imagine she serves a key purpose in the plot. If they don't then it's likely that their actions will effect each other in some way.(edited)

6b: What is Dan's history with his parents? Let's look at who Dan is now. He's a poor drug addict who has had a dead end job. Yet he is not an overly angry person. Just depressed. He hangs around computer poetry people and other drug people. As a person who has experience with drugs, I noticed three types of people who do the dangerous drugs. At least in the US. They are... -People who have had repressive or needlessly strict parents. Thus overdoing drugs becomes associated with freedom and eventually a point of rebellion. But you can do too many of them. -People who are poor and need to sell them because they are poor. Naturally many of them do the drugs themselves so they naturally become addicted. -People who's parents are drug users themselves. The people who teach are schools will tell you it's that "people are trying to be cool" and it has nothing to do with that. Truth be told, they are hiding something. There is also a lot of dark racial history behind enhancing substances and the law and that can influence people's decision to take them, but I don't want to get into that because I don't want to get booted from this server.(edited)

Historical Jesus

Actually, @Cryo, would you be willing to give us a brief personal biography? Also, if you are, then can you tell us about your parents, what they did for a living, and the income situation you had growing up.(edited)

Why am I asking this? I think we can come up with more interesting answers about the comic if we know YOU as a person and how that influences your writing. I was able to infer that this story sounded Russian as fuck. Since the setting was Russian, I figured you were either from there or had family there

We can give more interesting answers that can help you come up with more interesting writing

RebelVampire

@Historical Jesus Your questions are getting a little personal, and while I understand the logic behind them, keep in mind we're here to discuss the comic and not the creators' personal lives.

keii4ii

Yeah... I feel even if the creators are okay with discussing it, this stuff is best left to DM

Historical Jesus

I understand. I would like to give her the choice. If she chooses not to then I understand. Biologically speaking, I think art is meant to be personal.

keii4ii

(and of course, if they don't want to discuss it, no one should pressure them about it )

RebelVampire

yeah if @Cryo wants to answer that's fine. Just for the future please keep those sorts of questions to a minimum and watch the wording on them. Cause that statement did sound overly pressure filled.

Historical Jesus

of course

keii4ii

I don't think we should be getting further into this territory?

RebelVampire

Agreed. This isn't a really appropriate topic for #week_long_bookclub, @Historical Jesus and has little to do with the comic.

Historical Jesus

I understand. I'm trying to demonstrate the the relevance and the benefits of understanding the author as a person. And again, it's her choice to choose what she discloses.

RebelVampire

And again, I get the logic. But just not appropriate for this discussion.

Historical Jesus

fair enough. I just want it to be known

I rephrased the question so it's less assertive. I apologies, I suck with social skills. Hopefully by the time she reads it, then it will be more inviting for her.

RebelVampire

thats better wording for sure, thank you.

Historical Jesus

no problem

art was definitely designed to be personal. The reason why a lot of big budget art feels bland is because it's meant for everyone and they have to not get too deep into offending people. Because it has to make money. That requires the work of a true genius. D&W is specialized and it will attract a certain group of people. Mostly people who value anonymous culture like myself. Or so I imagine.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Will Lin actually go through with her plan to get into politics? If so, do you believe she can actually make a difference? What obstacles do you think she might run into, and do you think Dan will be of any help to her?

Cryo

(i would appreciate not having to talk about my life and anyones political beliefs neither here nor in DMs, thanks for understanding)(edited)

Historical Jesus

Understood

Historical Jesus

7: Dan, primarily because he is relatable. He would interact the way I would. Not having money sucks.

Historical Jesus

8: Will in go into politics? Probably not. She strikes me as a neroatypycal character. I could be wrong though.

RebelVampire

@snuffysam If the worm was designed to improve VR, I really want to meet the person who decided that making ppl martyrs was the way to go. Cause that's some backwards thinking, imo at least XD

5) There's a lot of really great ones, but I'm kind of fond of the illustration of Dan puking up rainbows. It's this cool mix of gross, psychedelic, and not what I expected. It expressed a lot of mood somehow for something that's less grand than I usually pick. 6) I think Dan will find Eve again, if only cause from a technical perspective she was introduced super early on to not be important. However, I think meeting her again is just gonna make him feel bad about himself as he realizes how little his baby steps of improvement are. In regards to his family, just gonna be bold and say my theory: his dad is part of that political group that took control and really hates cyborgs and technology and all that. Thus they were probably not the most open-minded and rejected Dan in multiple ways both through emotional abuse and neglect.

7) I like seeing Dan and Troy right now. Everyone else in the comic is kind of...shitty towards Dan. Like i know Dan isn't the greatest person, but I would hate to be in the situation where I'm constantly being told I'm a junkie who won't amount to anything. Which I mean don't get me wrong, those are interesting interactions. But Troy? Troy is this new person whose only experience with Dan is kind of a nice if not high tension one. Troy comes with a fresh, no prior knowledge of Dan perspective, and I think that's really interesting and gonna be a good way to shed new light on Dan's more positive traits. 8) I think Lin will try to go through with it, but I think Lin is fighting a losing game. Short of stuffing the ballot, I don't think those she's trying to help will vote for her. Instead they'll just bitch and be complacent to the world around them. But on that same vain, Lin probably could just stuff the ballots to win. I umm...honeslty don't think Dan can help her in anyway. Dan is really busy helping himself to suck less at the moment. XD

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What do you think Sandman and Fixer will find in regards to the Worm as the story continues, and what does the VR cafe Sandman has been hacking have to do with anything? How will Nate tie into this given he’s looking for Fixer?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Overall, what role do you think Troy will have within the story? Additionally, how will she get out of her situation with having no ID, money, or much in the way of people she knows?

Historical Jesus

9: The art against the web design literally looks like something we would see at Def Con

10: I image he has a lead. After all his motivation is revenge

11: it’s strength is that it's good at making people empathize with characters even if you can't relate to them

12: I don't think Troy will get out of her situation. If she comes back to the states empty handed she will be fired. It might be in her best interest to get wrapped up in finding the worm programmer

Typically speaking large scale worms are state sponsored but it's not clear how far this thing actually spreads.

RebelVampire

9) My favorite details so far have been the small things in the background. Like the random graffiti on the walls, the cracks and dilapidation of the buildings, all the small do-dads in Lin's place. Like none of that needs to be there to create a complete background, but it adds so much character to the setting and each character. So I really appreciate the extra mile taken for that. 10) I think Sandman and Fixer are gonna find that some corporation or someone high up on some food chain made it on purpose. As for the VR cafe? Honestly, I think it's a red herring and Sandman is making an excuse to target them just cause he hates them. As for Nate, I think Nate is gonna join the investigation team but also kind of serve as a negotiator between Fixer and Dan. Cause I don't think those two will get along without help.

11) I think this comic's strengths are a) the setting both visually and story wise, as it's a really strong and vivid setting. then b) Dan. It is very, very hard to write a character like Dan. There are so many things he does that could immediately make him unlikeable, what between the drugs, self destruction, and general assholeness to some of the ppl around him. but yet he is likeable. you do want to see him succeed and not suffer. yet you also still can acknowledge hes unreliable. its a great dynamic that lesser writing could not pull off. 12) I think Troy is gonna be their viewport into the corporate world. Which I think will play a role since there is a themeing here about evil corporations. Plus, she at least knows some stuff better than they do, as she already showed off at the VR cafe. But getting out of it? Nope. Shes stuck and probably gonna make another panicked call to Dan at some point. And Dan will be an angel and help again.

snuffysam

I'm going to go out on a limb here. Not only will Lin go through with running for office, she'll win. And she won't even have to stuff the ballot that much. But... I'm not sure her fight will be over there. After all, there's more than just one corrupt person in the country. I agree with you on the investigation into the Worm, @RebelVampire . I think someone up the corporate ladder is responsible. With that said, I don't think Sandman is targeting the VR cafe for nothing. I think he's trying to draw more attention to their security flaws for... some reason. I guess to get more people involved in investigating? I doubt he foresaw Troy showing up and offering to upgrade the cafe's machines though, so I that probably isn't part of his plan. I think a major part of Dan's character arc going forward will be accepting that he doesn't need Eve. Like, accepting that he doesn't need her help to get better, and that he's the only one he needs to prove his progress to.

Dan's character writing is absolutely my favorite part of this comic. In a weaker comic, I would absolutely hate how a self-destructive character like Dan is portrayed. Like, often characters with addiction/other mental health problems in fiction come off as unlikeable, or too cartoonish, or too depressingly stagnant (at least, from what I've seen in other works of fiction). But Drugs & Wires strikes a great balance where character progression isn't always linear, and isn't always positive, but it's there, and that fluidity makes you want to root for him more each chapter.

Attila Polyák

Now that I finally read all of it... 1, The bridge scene at the end of chapter 4, that was really done. 2, Dan's implant... I'm pretty sure it can be fixed, but I have doubts if Dan will ever have the resources to have it fixed. As a matter of fact I feel like he'll never have the money or influence to have it fixed and the way it is he can't really replace it either, so... He's probably stuck without VR. 3, Lin! She's awesome! 4, Probably the grey market implant dealers, even though that's kinda bog standard cyberpunk stuff. :) 6, Yes, they will probably meet again. And yes, I do feel like we'll need to see more of Dan't past history especially about how he got involved in... well in everything that's his current life. 7, Nagy, as surreally odd, is a great addition to Dan. Like at times I thought his absurdity would actually help Dan. 8, Ofc she will, you don't forge that much "voter trust" for nothing. And Dan, tho probably seemingly unwillingly, will likely help her one way or another.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Do you think Dan will ever be able to kick his drug habit, or will he continue to fall back into it forever? How will this affect his relationships? Further, how will his habits shape his future role in the story?

RebelVampire

13) I'm looking forward to getting more info about the worm. Cause right now I dont feel any more knowledgeable than I did at the start, and I'm itching to see Sandman, Fixer, or Dan to somehow get a bigger clue to what's going on. 14) I think both will apply. In that Dan will kick the habit eventually but will always be at risk because addiction is not really something you just completely cure. It's a battle he'll have for his entire life, even if he learns to manage it. As for for his relationships, I don't think it'll have much affect, tbh. Maybe things with Lin will improve, maybe Eve. But everyone else is kind of a jerk who already writes him off. Dan is in need of a fresh start somewhere far away.

Historical Jesus

13: Same here. I would like to know more about the worm. I hope that Cyro puts a cool technical characteristic into the worms behavior so that creates interesting and unique challenges for the characters 14: Statistically speaking most people do not kick their drug habit's. Especially not in the position he is in. Based on the story's cultural nature, I doubt the ending will be happy. But I am sure it will be interesting

Cryo

Thanks so much for picking and reading our comic this week! I've had a great time reading all the replies, especially since we don't hear from new readers often, and it's gonna come in handy when we get back into writing more stuff for the comic.

snuffysam

I had a great time reading it, Cryo!

Io.Black

Just wanted to add my own thanks to everybody who took the time to read and comment this past week. As a writer, it’s always incredibly valuable to get a sense of what people are taking away from your work, as well as where they think it’s headed.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Drugs & Wires this week! Please also give a special thank you to Mary Safro & Io Black for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Drugs & Wires, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://www.drugsandwires.fail/

Drugs & Wires’ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/drugsandwires

Drugs & Wires’ Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/Cryodraws

Drugs & Wires’ Merch: https://www.hellovoid.online/

Safro’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/marysafroart

Io Black’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/b_iologic

Hello! So, um... I’m kinda new to art? I mean I’ve been drawing forever but I’ve just now started to actually want to improve it and make content. Do you have any tipes for improving and studying anatomy and such? I’m horrible with drawing bodies and backgrounds and likewise things. Also I have no idea how to study proportions and things ;-;. Tysm for taking the time to read this! 💕🌸

hello hello young anon welcome to the art world! It’s great that you want to improve, having that resolve is the most important step to making progress! for basic advice check either my FAQ or my “my art tips” tag, but otherwise I’ll put some more pointers under the cut 

As far as anatomy goes, I’m sorry to say that I don’t think I can be of much help here since I kind of just go with what looks right to me? I haven’t taken any guided lessons or gone to school for this or anything it’s just been a lot of trial and error and referencing, and even now I still make mistakes. To say that anatomy is hard is a gross understatement. 

I hate to sound so redundant in all my advice but references are truly lifesavers. Looking at things will help you understand how they work more than you think. Make individual study sketch pages dedicated to practicing certain body parts! Hands, feet, torsos, boobs, whatever floats your boat. There are sites that can show you 3D models of bodies in different poses, so do some looking! I spent 5 minutes digging around and found this blog dedicated completely to anatomy references! the internet is a place of knowledge, use it to your advantage!

(If you have the means to take an actual course in life drawing or something similar, I would encourage you to go for it! If not, online classes or tutorials or speedpaints can also work probably :”> It’s what I’ve been doing, minus the online classes part) 

On to the second part of your ask backgrounds.....are even further out of my comfort zone tbh ftjkh I’m so sorry. I still struggle with perspective and making the characters look like they belong in the setting so my two cents probably isn’t worth much. Check out this artists’ post, I admire their stuff so much and they actually sound like they know what they’re talking about and have probably had more experience and training than I have lmao,, 

last but not least I know people hate this but you know I have to say it : practice :> no one is good at something after doing it just a couple times. But stay determined, anon! Getting a handle on anatomy and proportions can seem intimidating but if you work at it and use your resources well then you’ll be shocked at how far you’ll be able to come! Good luck ! 

Production Analysis

I have always loved movies, believing that stories on screen that take us back to the future and over the rainbow speak a language that is universal. They may not be real, but through this medium, they manage to influence our outlook on the world. This is what I think films are all about: a combination of technical and creative aspects that work in harmony to share the director’s perspective on life, and invoke specific emotions from the audience. My ultimate desire to be a filmmaker and share that perspective with my own audience is what drove me during my final project.

 I had many options in tackling this animation, be it showing off my skills, explicitly targeting the film industry, or just having fun with it. While any would have sufficed, I wanted to have full creative freedom to produce something that felt both powerful, and uniquely meaningful to me. Hence, I decided to make a personal short following a character that had undergone similar trials as I had in my life.

 Despite that, I believe that the project I ended up giving myself was too ambitious, which was corroborated by Goodfellow. This was due to having to condense the development of a whole storyline and an entire character into a two-minute animation, which meant a lot of scenes, and subsequently, numerous set designs to pack in all the information needed to convey the story. To cut this down, I had to change the story and replace the crash with a scene where the daughter falls and loses her ‘drawing competition award,’ in a bid to avoid creating an entire character arc for the animation. In this scene, the mum was supposed to arrive in her car to save the day, taking out her pen and drawing 3D wings for the daughter (the wings from the award). The story would have ended as the daughter takes flight, with a dedication fading into the sky that said, “To my mum and sister, who have always been the wind under my wings.”

 Despite how I pivoted, however, I still could not finish my changes in time due to my perfectionism. Instead of moving on to the next part of the animation, I kept finding small, negligible mistakes that I would take time out of my day trying to fix. Even as I submit my work now, there is still a lot that I want to change and improve upon. I ended up having to cut down the animation by half, including only the montage section of the initial concept, and ending it with, ‘to be continued’ for the animation to make sense.

 3D modelling was my favourite part of the whole process since I love seeing my sketches take shape in a 3-dimensional space. The process was not too hard, as I had modelled characters before, and I only needed to follow the same procedure, even managing to improve my method based on prior problems. In my previous projects, the clothes were all separate objects, causing too many tears in the model when animating. This time, I made the outfit part of the main body. The jacket was the only exception, but I still made sure to keep the vertices underneath far out from the ones for the main body, to prevent the different meshes from overlapping with each other. What I was not used to, and found more difficult, was giving the model high, defined cheekbones as it did not adhere to the basic round face I would normally create. Fortunately, with a few tweaks and experimentation, I managed to overcome this obstacle.

I’ve always found creating rigs a significant challenge, so I am thankful and fortunate that I was able to use the Advanced Skeleton, which cut my work down by weeks, compared to if I had done it manually from scratch. Even then, setting up the rig and weight painting drained me so much that my productivity levels plummeted in this section of the production process. This was because, having always preferred creative aspects over technical ones, I struggled with the lack of creative leeway in this part of the process. A challenge I encountered was the difficulty in animating natural eye blinks. When modelling, I gave the eyeballs an outer layer to create refraction from the light, making it more realistic. This layer was invisible, so I did not think it would matter that it protruded further than the eyelids. It turned out, however, that when rigging and making the eyes close, this did in fact cause problems. I did not have the time to fix these issues, and thus errors can be seen in the final animation. Still, lessons were learned; something to keep in mind for future projects.

 Ideally, I wanted a soundtrack that would elevate my project and help carry the weight of emotion I hoped would be conveyed by the short. However, it was tricky to find the right accompaniment due to copyright problems. Most free music online gave the animation the feel of a cheap advert, or made it seem like it was an amateur YouTube vlog. Even non-copyrighted lo-fi songs (which were my usual go-to) could not match the atmosphere I wanted. I even asked my housemate if he could produce a sample for me, as he is a DJ that creates some of his own tunes. Alas, that did not pan out as I kept changing the idea of my final piece and did not have the time to oversee the music production with him. Nevertheless, this may have been a blessing in disguise as I ended up finding a beautiful, free-to-use, fantasy-themed piano instrumental which yielded the right mystical and emotional ambience I desired. If given more time, I probably would have added several muffled, diegetic sounds to make the result even more atmospheric.

 The most excruciating part of the entire animation production was the creation of the 2D assets. This was because I did not have any drawing pads for digital art, and I also lacked a phone to take any photos of sketches, thus leaving my laptop mouse as my only option to draw with. Even the simplest assets were immensely tedious to make, which was the main reason why it took so long to make such a short video. I could not afford to get a drawing tablet at that time, so I just had to push through.

 Another, lesser difficulty was the colouring aspect. In one of the final project meetings with Goodfellow, he told me that he liked the colour scheme and aesthetic from the animation I submitted for the Professional Creative Production (MI6011) module and that I should try to incorporate that again into my final work. Of course, I took this as a challenge, not only to live up to expectations and previous standards, but to go above and beyond.

 It turned out to be an ambitious undertaking since colouring is not my forte. Most of my casual artwork consisted of sketches, and I was therefore not very acquainted with colour theory and design. To offset this, I took inspiration from themes of beautiful video games and movies that I liked, but had difficulty in combining everything into a uniform colour scheme throughout the whole work. I needed to make the entire piece coherent, and not like a patchwork painting reminiscent of Picasso’s more surreal works. Make it look like it is all part of the same cartoon and not a total mess of idea vomit dump. This was made even more taxing because I already had the inconsistency between the 3D and 2D characters. I eventually overcame this barrier by finding a reference point, and using hue tool to make everything match.

 In my opinion, the post production process was the most effortless part of working on this project, as I was experienced in After Effects from even before university. Neither did I find the merging of 3D and 2D that difficult, as I used an artificial greenscreen in Maya when rendering.

There were many fundamental obstacles I had to overcome during this project, but the main issue was timing and execution. Nonetheless, I am immensely proud of what I was able to produce, which showcases the tremendous amount I learned in this course, for which I am so very grateful. However, I am in some ways disappointed and unsatisfied with what I am submitting, compared to the scope of ambition in my head when I initially pictured my final film. I had a lot I wanted to give, but much of it was just not practical in the final delivery. Even then, from failure comes lessons, and I believe that despite not achieving everything I had hoped to, I have discovered a lot just from the production process. I have emerged not only more knowledgeable in both the creative and technical aspects of different areas of the pipeline, but I’ve also developed my work ethic, and myself as a person. The project has left me with so many takeaways, and I’m determined to continuously improve from here on out.

How The Global Pandemic Became An Inflection Point For Drones

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/how-the-global-pandemic-became-an-inflection-point-for-drones/

How The Global Pandemic Became An Inflection Point For Drones

The automatic landing of a drone with a case for medical samples and supplies in Berlin, Germany, … [] Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

As the pandemic continues to rampage across the globe, forcing much of the world into a semi-shutdown, the digital economy has seen explosive growth. While brick-and-mortar businesses struggle to stay afloat, companies that enable deliveries and services in the home are working hard just to keep up with demand. Even with the hope of a vaccine, the realities of working, shopping, and socializing remotely may permanently reshape human behavior. This unexpected shift has created a gap for new technologies, especially those that speed up the delivery of goods. Now, more than ever is the time for drones.

The earliest concept of a drone—or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)—dates back to 1849, according to Interesting Engineering, when Austria launched unpiloted hot air balloons stuffed with explosives over the city of Venice. By the beginning of World War I, advancements in technology led to the development of remote controlled aircraft by a British scientist and the U.S. Army. Suddenly, UAVs went from fantasy to serious military technologies with real potential for generating revenue.

I’ve been following modern drone technology since the U.S. military began deploying UAVs for reconnaissance. This was a turning point for drones. Worldwide interest and development in UAVs led to more sophisticated models that could fly longer and at increasing heights. Since then, militaries around the world have continued to pour money into drone research, but it wasn’t until about the last ten years that the concept of drones for commercial use really caught on. 

In 2013, Jeff Bezos predicted Amazon would be delivering packages with drones by 2018. While that deadline passed without Amazon packages descending from the skies, the interest in commercial drones has only gone up. Business Insider Intelligence predicts that global shipments of UAVs for the enterprise will reach 2.4 million by 2023—increasing at a 66.8% compound annual growth rate.

It’s too early to tell if the pandemic and its impact on in-person business will be the shot in the arm to propel the commercial drone market forward, but companies around the world are rushing to put forth drones that can serve numerous enterprise applications in multiple industries, including construction, agriculture, inspection and food and medicine delivery. Here are a few examples:

1.    Package Delivery: Bezos’ dream of drones delivering Amazon packages is one step closer to reality. This past August, the company was granted federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones. Meanwhile, Wing, Alphabet’s drone delivery service, has been making deliveries for a year in Christiansberg, VA. The contactless service, which provides residents deliveries from Walgreens, CVS, and a number of other local stores, reportedly really took off during the pandemic—a sure sign that drones may soon be making deliveries around the country as the need for social distancing drags on.

2.    Food Delivery: Uber started several food delivery trials in partnership with McDonalds, including one in San Diego, but it is just one of many companies experimenting with drones for food delivery. In Alabama, Deuce Drone is expected to start deliveries from Buffalo Wild Wings and grocery chain, Rouses Markets, by the end of the year. Meanwhile, in North Dakota, golfers can get snacks delivered on the course thanks to Flytrex. The company is also testing drones for meal delivery in North Carolina. Food delivery is expected to be a huge segment for drones. 

3.    Medical Delivery: Earlier this year, company Zipline jumped in with its drones to help aid delivery of PPE to a Novant Health Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. The company said it was the first emergency drone logistics operation to help hospitals respond to the pandemic. Eventually drones could deliver other life-saving medical supplies, including blood, vaccines and donated organs which could make all the difference, especially in remote areas where healthcare can be more difficult to access.

Most of the elements needed to enable the widespread use of drones in the consumer and enterprise markets are available. These include, drone size, advanced navigation systems, geolocation, 2D and 3D image capturing and AI. Here’s a short list of the companies enabling the newest drone technology: 

·     Skydio has created an artificial intelligence system that introduces learning and decision making into autonomous drone flightpath;

·     Volansi is a developer of logistics solutions for autonomous drone deliveries;

·     DroneDeploy offers cloud-based drone mapping and an analytics platform;

·     ALBORA Technologies provides next-generation geolocation technologies for drones.

While the technology is nearly there, we still have some major challenges to overcome before drones truly flood the sky. These include:

·     better cyber security to prevent hacking and hijacking;

·     a streamlined process for FAA approval of different applications;

·     Ability to carry asymmetric and imbalanced payloads by smart inflight balancing;

·     Enhanced drone design to mitigate in-flight rotor failure

·     Robotic arms for pick-up and drop-off; and 

·     Delivery of multiple packages per flight rather than single delivery per mission;

Drones have been on the radar of startups and big companies for a while, but the demands of the stay-at-home economy have added a degree of urgency that wasn’t there before. In the next few years, I think advances in robotics and AI will drastically improve drone technology and allow it to truly take over tasks that are too dangerous or undesirable for humans to do. Drones are here to stay. We are at the very beginning of this technology curve which will impact almost every sector of the economy. My advice for entrepreneurs is to reach for the skies.

From Entrepreneurs in Perfectirishgifts

Half Baked Goods

This is a list of ideas I'm keeping partially to remind myself so I don't forget them but also to get some feedback on if anyone wants to see them developed.

If you're interested in any of these ideas being finished please let me know so I can move that up on my list of priorities. As you can see, I've got a lot of ideas all competing for attention so I'm only working on the ones that other people actually want to see.

Some of the things on this list are continuations of stuff I've already posted so I've got them linked to that.

Works in Progress

Things for the Kidge Zine - This beast is taking up almost all of my time.

Collab Artwork - This one's a drawing, might end up animated.

Monsters and Mana Fic - I HC Keith as a closet nerd so I just couldn't help myself.

D&D Module - Working with a few artists to make a 5e D&D module based off my M&M fic.

Rover Models - Prototyping 3D models with LED lighting.

Space Caterpillars - Prototyping plushies.

Kosmo - Prototyping plushies.

GoT AU - An art series that took over my life recently.

Keith (Jon) Snow - Keith looking badass with Longclaw and Kosmo as Ghost.

Pidgett (Ygritte) - Pidge in furs with a bow - not the ribbon kind.

Allurys Targaryen - Mother of Dragonmice.

Hunk (Sam) Tarly - Hunk and Sam are basically the same person - the sweet cinnamon rolls.

Lance (Oberyn) Martell - I considered Loras Tyrell but, come on, the spear.

Shiro - I need help with this.

VLD Mix Tape - A collection of songfics from various genres, set in various AUs, some canon, featuring various ships and all the feels.

Simple Man - Based on the song "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Originally this was going to be for Desert Keith Week but I didn't get it done in time. Some real good Keith and Krolia angsty sweetness.

When I Die - Based on the song "Wolves" by Down Like Silver. Pretty much Keith's thought process in that last scene of Season 4. Sad AF and super short but I'm working on illustrations to make up for it. Will post when the art is done.

Rough Ideas

Possible One Shots - These are probably going to be shorts but I never can tell and could all end up sprawling AUs given my track record with trying to write shorts.

Red Thread - Gritty Soulmates AU, future noir conspiracy plot where the government pairs people by a system that supposedly traces Red Threads to match soulmates but it’s imperfect and corrupt. Keith is a hard boiled detective, Pidge is a tech genius and daughter of a renowned scientist who is openly critical of the soulmate pairing system and hires Keith to find her father when he goes missing.

Douglas Adams Tribute (working title) - Almost Canon AU style study where I tortur- I mean, where Shiro gets thrown into the sort of absurd adventure that you would expect from the creator of the Hitchhiker's Guide, Dirk Gently, and some classic episodes of Dr Who. I want this sooo bad but it takes so long to write like that.

80s Romance (working title) - Modern AU where Keith's parents are living one of those fiery, doomed romances that make for such great stories but kind of shitty lives. Thank the-ghost-of-keith-kogane for this one. I might integrate it into my Quiet Kind AU cuz it fits.

Dancing in the Dark - Modern AU where Keith works dispatch for the university police at his school and his desk just happens to overlook the dance studios where he can't help but watch Lance practice every night.

More to Lose - Canon Divergent AU in which everything is basically the same but when the war ends and they go home the others find out that Keith had motivations to save Earth beyond just natural heroic tendencies and he actually did leave something (someone) behind.

Identity - Canon Divergent AU where Shiro is acting strange (so maybe canon?) and has a bit of a mental break that leads down an insanity spiral into Lovecraftian horror.

VLD Mix Tape - A collection of songfics from various genres, set in various AUs, some canon, featuring various ships and all the feels.

Stuff that Works - Based on the song "Stuff that Works" by Guy Clark. Basically a music video for my Quiet Kind fic. Soooft Kidge and real friendship between the Paladins.

Champion - Based on the song "Champion" by Barns Courtney. Not just about Shiro.

In the Valley - Based on the song "Through the Valley" by Shawn James. Basically a music video for the Western AU listed below.

Only Human - Based on the song "Human" by Rag 'n' Bone Man. This just screams of Shiro.

Broken - Based on the song "Broken" by DNMO & Sub Urban. Something with Lotor.

Wisdom of Officer #3 - Based on the song "Girls on Trampolines" by Ludo. Cuz even Paladins need to have fun sometimes.

Probably Series - These are probably going to be longer works, anywhere from three to infinite parts.

Trip the Light - Canon Divergent AU where Keith comes into contact with some strange alien I'll just call it a drug and, well. . . Keith without inhibitions is a beautiful and terrifying thing.

In the Valley - Western AU where the Paladins have to save a frontier town being threatened by Rail Barrons (Galra). Shiro is the sheriff, Pidge is his deputy, Matt's the sawbones, Lance manages the cat house, Hunk tends the saloon, Coran is the priest, Allura is Coran's niece and the school marm, Keith is a gunslinger.

Rabbit Hole - Almost Canon AU where Voltron has fans and they are very much like the real fandom (without the ship wars) and when Pidge stumbles across it she shows the others which kind of breaks Keith cuz he doesn't like how accurate some of the information is and thinks there could be a spy and this could be dangerous so it's tinfoil hat time!

Elsewhere - Canon Divergent AU where the Paladins stumble upon a Fey Gate into a fantasy realm where they get to meet all my OCs and participate in the insanely huge uber plot I've been running D&D groups through for decades now.

Reflections AU - A canon compliant (for the most part) series of (so far) fluffy team bonding moments that lead to introspective scenes where Keith slowly opens up to each of the others about himself. Kind of an excuse to get down some of my headcanon for Keith's past. Parts of this are already published but here's some ideas for more.

Lance (working title) - Keith opens up to Lance.

Pidge (working title) - Keith opens up to Pidge.

Allura (working title) - Keith opens up to Allura.

Hell in a Handbasket - Series of gritty, realistic vignettes showing the progression of what went wrong in Keith's past to make him the way he is. Backstory behind the fluffy parts. Waiting to see what season 6 does with Keith's mom on this.

Country Christmas - Adorable vignette of Keith's childhood in the Texas panhandle to make up for that darkness and prove it wasn't all bad. I didn't finish it in time for 2017 but I'll probably have this out for 2018.

Lone Star AU - Modern AU, Lance PoV, Klance that was going to be a much longer work but I don't have time to finish it and reader feedback suggested it would be better just to focus on the relationship dynamic between Lance and a closeted, slightly homophobic, rodeo Keith anyway. So that's what this is. Parts of this are already published but here's some ideas for more.

Au Naturale - Lance talks to Keith about skincare, or the lack thereof.

La Grange - How Lance met Keith and what started his Telecaster crush.

Bullrider - Lance observes one of Keith's hobbies.

Rattlesnake Roundup - Texas has some strange traditions and Lance can't wrap his head around this one so of course Pidge forces him to attend.

Hermanos AU - Canon Divergent AU, started as a request fill for a 5/1 where the team slowly realises that Keith and Lance are adopted brothers but I'm seriously considering expanding it into a multipart AU.

Homecoming - The Paladins return to Earth and Keith goes home with Lance. Waiting to see what season 6 does with Keith's mom on this.

New Kid - Look at the past when Keith first went to live with the McClains.

Brothers - Rewrite of the original fic but from Keith and Lance's perspective.

The Paladin Saga - Canon Divergent AU that was going to be an insanely long work where I keep mostly to canon but fill in plot holes with eldritch horrors, tie up loose ends in ancient myths, and shed light on the "legend" of Voltron to show a much darker history than Allura would like to admit while also letting humans be a little badass for once. This one was gonna be a long, sprawling epic full of Lovecraftian horror and moral ambiguity but I don't have time to finish it and reader feedback (or lack thereof) suggested I should focus on my fluffier works. Here's a list of chapters anyway, not a complete list mind you and possibly a bit out of order:

Is it Real - The Paladins refuse to believe Kolivan when he tells them Keith is dead.

Space Between - Keith wakes up in a strange place and finds something Dark there.

Fire and Darkness - The Paladins get Keith back but the Darkness has affected him.

Sins of the Father - Lotor tells the Paladins what Zarkon told him of the Darkness.

Waking Dreams - Keith struggles with the Dark, Shiro loses time, Lance gets visions.

Scorched Earth - Shiro loses control, Keith puts him down, Hunk keeps them all alive.

Things I've Seen - Lance tells others about his visions, Coran tells them about the Price.

King of Death - Zarkon returns from the dead (again) with a new weapon.

When the Arm Breaks - The Red Lion pays a heavy price to save the others.

Tides Turn - The Galra rally under Zarkon and his new power.

Devil You Know - An unlikely ally offers the Paladins help.

Fool's Errand - The Paladins make a desperate move to save Red.

The Dreamer Awakens - The Paladins find a sixth Lion and Allura gets an upgrade.

A Sword Reforged - The Paladins return with Voltron made whole and defeat the Galra.

At What Cost - The Coalition takes power but peace isn't easy and bills are due.

The War to Come - The Paladins learn of their part in an ancient prophecy.

See You on the Other Side -

What I have been up too

AGGGH! I’m an artist dammit! Why the hell am I learning code for?... Oh, right robotics/computer science, game development, challenging my tiny dyslexic brain, etc. 

I’m trying to program a simple blackjack game (probability was my strongest subject in math, so I love this game) in Unity, but my damn cards aren’t turning right. I want the blackjack to be the battle screen for the RPG Visual Novel, I’m trying to write and do art for. So far Tako’s tutorial scene is almost written out, he’s going to introduce you to the rules of this blackjack game.

(this is where the simple blackjack will get complicated)

The Battle/Party system:

Basically in the “battle scene” I want to have the player’s health bar under their cards, as the enemy’s (the dealer’s) health bar is “above” (under if you are on their perspective). Different difficulties are based on how much health the enemy has. The heath represents the amount of times the player or enemy can “lose”. Once one reaches 0 the game ends. (Player kills enemy or vice versa, in some cases).

You will have a party of max 3 characters besides your main character. These extra character don’t have a health bar, but carry “Special” cards or can change the style of your attack based on who you select to deliver the “Attack” that turn. Default is protagonist attacks with a basic weapon (ie, short sword) as your party members may have element bonuses that deal extra damage to certain enemies. There will be a timer on how many rounds you need to wait before using a certain character again, I’m thinking 1-3 rounds depending on if you used a special card or a regular attack.

Obviously if you win the blackjack, you successfully attack the enemy. How much damage you do will be based on the character’s stats, elemental effect (if they have one), and if you chose a special card that effects the enemy. (Ie: a “❤” card can be used to heal yourself or attack an undead enemy for bonus damage).

This is the same for the enemy you are fighting. They don’t have a “party” but will have specials based on their typing. Some lower leveled ones will have no special cards, well higher leveled one will and have a higher RNG chances when they hit with them. The player character can put points into their “Resistance(s)” to lower how much elemental damage they take if the enemy isn’t neutral. But, sacrifice points that can go into health and general defence, though you can negate effects that will lower your own damage dealt by putting points into this stat.

The enemy and the player only have 11 regular cards in their decks. Numbered 1 to 11. If you hit “21″ as your score, you will deal a critical hit (a higher RNG rating than normal). If you hit a draw, both will miss/block/dodge the attacks.

Battle Rules:

#1: A special card & the party member it is linked to must be selected before your first “Hit me!”, during your turn in a round.

#2: Run out of HP and you Lose.

#3: Enemy opponent must have a total of 17 or higher score before standing.

#4: The closest one to 21 or hits 21 wins the round.

#5: No one wins on a draw.

Character(s) functions:

Basically what certain characters do, but not who they are (I’m not spoiling them)...

Tako is so far written to give you hints (basically his guess) on what the enemy has for his score. Given they only have 1 to 11 to deal with, the player could figure it out themselves. Though Tako can also give background information on an enemy if you're struggling to decide what will be the best course of action. He’s the only character you can select during battle that kind of ignores rule #1, as he’ll have a “Hint” button on his menu. He will not be selected to attack though if player uses his “Hint”. Like all members you must select “Attack/Special” at the start of the round if you actually want to use him to hurt the enemy. (Not advised as he has even lower attack than the protagonist...) Although all of this depends on if you take him with you or leave him at Jaxel and Damian’s shop, you can always pick him up though if you want his hint ability, but he will take a party member slot.

Jaxel & Damian Daniels, are two characters that run the shop where you can restock on “Special Cards”, buy/trade different weapons for certain members of your team that can have elemental properties, and healing items to use out of combat. (Warning: these two are not what they seem to be and may demand extra payment in other ways other than gold. This payment usually carries negative effects to the player, though you can choose to fight them instead if you refuse their extra demands.) The first thing they try to sell to you is Tako as a food item, where he teaches you how to fight monsters. They’ll let Tako stay in the shop’s fish tank if you leave him there, though they will not guarantee that he’ll be there when you return.... (Tako will be fine, maybe, talking soup is hard to sell, right?)

As I continue to smooth out and write the main story, there might be other characters with special functions, but this is what I have so far. The battle system/blackjack game is what I am currently focused on and want to finish before continuing with character and story development. I also have to figure out how to code for a Visual Novel in Unity.

To my followers:

I know my followers probably think “Oh, Kisa is changing their mind again on what game they are developing.” And I understand. I’m frustrated too that I can’t keep focus on one game concept. 

My 3D game has a few unfinished models right now, I have my 2D side scroller (that might be going into the 3D game if I get my way), but this Visual Novel is replacing my previous ideas on one. 

Since I have no script kiddy that I can use (Daniru’s busy doing his thing and this is to prove to myself that I can script too), and for learning purposes this is something I really want to tackle myself. I might get Daniru involved if, and only if I can’t do scripting myself and the story + characters + CGs are ready to be implemented. It’s mostly since I do not have money to waste paying him at least $50 to do this for me even if I’m unable to sell or raise money to push this through. I’m currently using royalty free music to cut time on this project.

I’m sorry for my empty promises in the past and I shouldn’t make excuses for my “laziness”. If I am to make excuses though, I’ve have a lot (if you haven’t noticed) of IRL BS, going on in my life at the moment. I’m fighting depression again without medication, and had been very sick for the past few months (like I lost 10 pounds in three days sick).

To my Ao3 followers:

I will try to update my Tokyo Ghoul Fanfictions (and Danny Phantom ones if you like those), again there has been a lot going on in my life. But, I am the type of person who hates leaving things on cliffhangers (did I ever tell you I borrowed $20 from a teacher on a trip and paid her back 3 years later, because the guilt of a debt was killing me inside?). I only take down stories I have no hopes of revisiting if they are not One-shots. If there is a “?” I will be updating when I am able.

The only thing that will permanently stop me from anything will be my death, and even then I bet I’d haunt my computer just to finish what I started. So don’t worry too much if I haven’t updated something you like. If it’s still on Ao3, know one day I’ll come back to it. (If you followed me for a long time you know I update chapters quickly when I get back into the swing of things!)

Thank-you for reading this far if you cared enough! Here’s a cookie: 

🍘

Hopefully my next update will not be so long!

Oh, and I might be less active in the next few months do to that IRL BS. If things go right I will never have to deal with that stuff again. If sh*t hits the fan (and it will) know that I appreciate all of you guys! You really have been a positive in my life!