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#this is the least consistent art i’ve ever arted
soupwfork · 1 year
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me: yeah i’m rewatching httyd for the plot
the plot:
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m1lfandcook1es · 4 months
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Ranting for a second in the tags on this, don’t mind me
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sabertoothwalrus · 3 months
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so I’ve been gaining a lot of insight into the animation industry recently, especially in regards to pitching & the creation of new shows. There’s a few ways to go about it.
First, there’s pitching to a studio. When you pitch, it has to be SHORT and CONCISE. You may write a lovingly detailed pitch bible that perfectly breaks down episodes and characterizations, and it might barely even get read. First impressions, first impressions, first impressions!
Most peoples’ first projects don’t get picked up. I’ve heard a few stories from directors that said they tried pitching a story they’d had for years, which got rejected, to then spend a week or even several hours in their car coming up with a new idea, only for that to get greenlit.
But that’s not the end of it. Just because a show gets greenlit, doesn’t mean it will ever get finished. There’s lots of things that can happen. Sometimes, unexpected major world events (like… a global pandemic) can cause projects to get chopped. Sometimes, a CEO change or studio merge means a single person can decide a project “no longer fits with the company’s brand.” Sometimes, the one producer that was rooting for your project gets laid off, and no one else cares enough, so it gets shelved. Sometimes, a streaming service decides to create an animation department, and then they decide they don’t want it anymore. Sometimes, the studio will be simultaneously be developing another project that was too similar to yours and they just didn’t think to tell you until they decide yours is the one with less potential.
On top of that, almost everyone in the industry is saying that “studios just don’t pick up original content anymore.” Studios want something they can franchise, something that will bring in money. New content is risky. Established fanbases are safer.
However! Studios can still be a very good thing. They can be unionized. They can provide better benefits and resources. They can have connections and infrastructure and a larger volume of workers. At a studio, you can divide the labor and produce more in less time. Longer episodes, longer seasons, more consistency in quality.
But this comes with all of the disadvantages of having more in the kitchen.
The alternative is indie animation.
With indie animation, you have total freedom. Full artistic control. It doesn’t even matter if your idea sucks ass, because there’s no one to tell you you can’t make it. You could make it anyway, and you can make it whatever you wanted.
The thing is, making animation is hard. In my production class last semester, the average maximum animation one person could make in that timeframe was 30-60 seconds, and that’s not even counting background design, sound design, or cleanup/color. To make a 5 minute animated short, you should probably have at least 5 people.
And it is CRUCIAL you have a production manager. Ideally someone who’s not already doing art for the project. Most projects without a production manager will fall apart pretty quickly. Once the adrenaline and impulse-fueled motivation wears off, you need someone to hold you accountable and enforce deadlines and proper time management.
Speaking of time, that’s also hard to get. The more people you have, the more likely schedules won’t line up. Most people will have school, or other jobs.
And it costs MONEY!!!!!! You either have everyone work for free and volunteer their time & energy, or you establish a business as a proper indie studio, with people who may or may not have experience on how to handle paying someone else’s salary. And the money has to come from somewhere, so you have to rely on crowdfunding like patreon or kickstarter. (This, by the way, is why I could never fault an indie animation for releasing merch with their pilot.)
And like, maybe you wanna do a series, and all your friends agree to volunteer their labor and time to make the first episode, but it was unanimously not sustainable. Deciding not to produce a second episode until you can raise enough money is not being suddenly greedy, it’s attempting to compensate people rather than expecting them to be continuously taken advantage of.
You have to consider your output as well. There are some outliers like Worthikids, who afaik does all his animation himself, and afaik can work on it full-time thanks to his patreon subscribers. And he still has only produced a total of 30 minutes of animation (for Big Top Burger specifically) in the past 4 years. This is an IMPRESSIVE feat and this is with using a lot of 3D as part of his pipeline!!
Indie animation also has the complication of being more accessible for fandoms. When you’re posting your Official Canon Content on youtube, it doesn’t look a lot different than the fandom-created video essay in the sidebar next to it. What’s canon vs what’s fanon becomes less distinguishable. The boundaries are blurrier. When the creator is just some guy you follow on twitter, it’s easier to prod them for info regarding ships and theories and word-of-god confirmation. They don’t have a PR team or entire international tv networks to appeal to. And this is when creators get frustrated that their fans snowball and turn their creation into something they don’t recognize (and no longer enjoy) anymore.
So it’s tricky.
Thankfully, the threshold to learn animation is fairly low nowadays!! There are TONS of resources online to learn it on your own without forking over a couple hundred thousand to a private art college. There are conventions and discord servers and events where you can network, if you know where to look.
I know it can seem discouraging in the face of capitalism, but I think that’s all the more reason why it’s so important to BE DETERMINED about animation!! We’re already starting to see the beginning of an indie animation boom, and I think it’s a testament to humanity’s desire to tell stories and create art. Even if there’s no financial gain, we do whatever it takes to tell our stories anyway.
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scorpioracha · 4 months
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Jisung x reader, exhibitionism, slight reader x Minho, perv! Jisung, open ended ending
Perv! Jisungie has been running through my head rampantly. Like this baby gives me such service top exhibitionist energy that I can’t help but to imagine him wanting to take you anywhere he thinks he can get away with it. Lmk if you likeee I’ve never really written something like this before 🫶🏾
Movie night with the boys starts off innocent enough, a casual sleepy affair with everyone sated from the dinner Minho cooked and sprawled across the various couches in the living room. You weren’t even really sure what was playing and you couldn’t say you were interested. You were hoping for the fault in our stars but they all wiped the floor with you in the first round of rock paper scissors leaving you pouting and uninterested. It wasn’t anything new, you never won anyways but you were hopping someone like Chan did, instead of being forced to watch one of Hyunjin’s many many historical art piece documentaries. No one was really watching but at least Chan and Felix tried to feign interest, letting out little hums and questioning hmm’s when it felt appropriate. Minho had left halfway through to do dishes, Jeongin was scrolling through Pinterest and Changbin was fast asleep in the comfort of his room, the only one brave enough to reject the movie completely. Seungmin had been sent to the convenience store an hour ago which was suspicious because the closest one was a five minute walk.
That just left you with the yapper,the mediators,the iPad kid and your lovely boyfriend who went through the trouble of getting you all nice and cozy with blankets because these heathens didn’t believe in heat before January. If they weren’t idols they’d make excellent landlords, you rolled your eyes. Despite the annoyances—if hyunjin ever pulled this shit again you were going to turn his jiniret into a smoothie—it was a nice time. You’d never admit it to their faces but you missed them. With all the schedules and comebacks it was hard to remember a time where they didn’t look half dead or were asleep. It was even nicer getting to see Jisung. The two of you had spent the better half of the movie side eyeing each other and giggling about Chan’s lackluster responses, the single father jokes almost blew your cover from how hard you were trying not to laugh. The monotonous drone of the narrative and Hyunjin’s consistent chatter lulled you into a hazy state of dozing off. The world growing pleasantly fuzzy as you laid your head on Jisung’s shoulder. It was perfect really, the lights were off, shades were drawn and he was rubbing your head in a way that had you nudging into his touch, scooting closer until you ended up in his lap. He grabbed the blanket and fluffed it a bit so you were both wrapped up tight and your head was resting in the crook of his neck.
The touches started off innocent enough. The hand that was rubbing your head ran down your back, massaging your hips and trailing down your thighs. This didn’t sound off any alarms, Jisung had always been pretty tactile and you were still dozing a bit. That was until his hand snaked around your waist, leaving feather light touches on your tummy, gentle adjusting you so you were more so straddling than cuddling him. You hummed inquisitively but he just shushed you and went back to rubbing your back. It felt nice, having his hands on you, they were warm and you were weak so you all but melted into his arms. You weren’t sure when gentle caresses turned into poorly disguised groping but you couldn’t help but gasp when his hands trailed back towards your stomach settling on your pelvis just below the hem of your sweats.
“W-what are you doing, sungie?”you whisper in his ear. You could feel him smile before you see it, all teeth and all trouble.
“ ‘m bored” is his only response as he rubs soft circles with his thumb across your hip bones, his grip only tightening when you begin to squirm.
“Wanna be good for me?”he purrs into your ear. the feeling of his breath fanning your neck alone has you trying to hide a shudder but you find your nodding anyways.
“Say it”he goads, digging his thumbs deeper into your hips making you suppress a whine.
“Say you want me to touch you”he starts.
“I-I want you to touch me”you say in a low tone, eyes darting around the room trying to make sure now wasn’t the time people decided to become social.
“In front front of all the members”he finishes. You flush and shake your head a bit.
“I-I Jisung—“
“Say it” he says. the glint in his eyes had gotten much darker, or maybe the hue of the tv had shifted. you felt the swirl of arousal begin to stir in the pit of your stomach. you’ve played the staring game with Jisung before time and time again. and if the earlier rock paper scissors was any indication.
You weren’t too good at winning.
“want..want you to touch me..’front of all y’er members”you mumble quickly, feeling your face grow hot and your stomach sink just a little bit. His grin widens and he rewards you by fulling dipping his hand under the waist band of your sweats, letting his fingertips rest on your clothed cunt.
“Really”he whispers, going for coy but he just looked hungry. “Didn’t know my girl was so needy”
There wasn’t much more time wasted talking as there was energy going into making sure you didn’t get caught. You isolated between pretending to sleep with your head on his chest to cover your face and inevitably needing to come up for air by pretending to stir restlessly.
and Jisung wasn’t playing fair.
Your panties were all but forced to the side as he rubbed deep gentle circles on your clit. and it just made you all the more aware of sound. Hyunjin talking, Chan and Felix now deep into their own conversation, games coming from Jeongin’s phone and Minho occasionally dropping cutlery in the kitchen and cursing. You could also hear your own heartbeat and the squelching of your cunt as Jisung bullied two fingers inside you, resulting in a strangled grunt and biting his shoulder. your stomach dropped and your blood ran cold but Jisung didn’t stop. Instead he curled his fingers just right in the way that had you wanting to crumple right there. his other thumb found his way to your clit and you were panting in his ear desperately trying to find the words slow down. Your head was thrown over his shoulder and all you saw was the hardwood floor, the dining room table and the glint of the kitchen light seeping in. your thighs were burning and you couldn’t tell whether you were chasing the pleasure or running away from it. and Jisung has the nerve to look unphased. his eyes were focused on the documentary and he was even engaging in Hyunjin’s pointless debates on modernism and whatever the fuck Picasso did and you have tears in your eyes from trying so hard not to make a sound. Jisung is hard, you can feel it, you know he’s getting off to it and the minute he hears a sniffle and feels your tear on his cheek, it’s over. You’re shifted a little bit to the left, he spreads your legs a bit wider and he’s thrusting his fingers into you with abandon. His face is still perfectly neutral while you’re falling apart just out of everyone’s line of sight.
Well, almost everyone.
You hear the hardwood floor creak just barely as Minho pads back in. In a state of panic your eyes shoot up and meet his, teary and damn near crossing. He goes to speak, he tilts his head, and he stops in his tracks. you’ve never made such intense eye contact with Minho before, it’s like you can see every thought run across his eyes in real time and fuck you’re still crying. they darken significantly before they settle on a sick understanding that has you feeling nauseous and hot and clenching tight around Jisung’s fingers. Minho’s eyes never leave yours and you almost feel like this was planned in a way. You wanna ask, but before you can Jisung is pinching your clit and you’re cumming around his fingers with an aborted cry. mid way through your high you realize the hand around your mouth is smaller than usual and the one petting your hair has sharp nails that Jisung doesn’t.
It’s Minho announcing that he’s back that finally gets everyone’s attention. The boys seem to all snap out of their own worlds in tandem and welcome him back with varying degrees of enthusiasm. You’re just happy to have the attention fully off you for a bit because you’re still shaking and your eyes are red and-
“Hey y/n, you alright?”Felix asks with a worried pout. you don’t even have time to think about an acceptable answer before Minho is rubbing your head again, those same sharp nails tracing your scalp and saying.
“She’s alright, just got a little banged up from helping me in the kitchen”
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eregyrn-falls-art · 2 years
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HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY TO GRAVITY FALLS!
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Back in Oct. 2018, my project for inktober was at least one pic from every episode.  Because of the pace, there were restrictions; I did each on a post-it note, limited coloring, and chose things that would fit the square format and that I could get done in time (between working full-time and owl-banding most nights).  I always sort of wanted to redo a bunch of those; but really, what occasion would merit putting in THAT much time and effort for a project of that size?
Well, how about for the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Gravity Falls?
I’m not saying this was a *smart* project to tackle, but I thought it might be “easier” because I had first drafts of most of the pieces; I just wanted to redo them so they’d look better, with 4 more years of practice under my belt and a new move to digital art.  (Narrator: it was not really easier.)  Some I redid completely, or did new to create the full sets above.  Basically, once I’d hit on this idea, and decided to link it to the refrain of “How Far We’ve Come”, I was committed; there was no way I was going to *not* try to do it.
I know that “How Far We’ve Come” gets fanvidded for eight billion different shows.  But, the first time I heard the song was in one of the first Gravity Falls fanvids I ever watched (link  below), so it will always be a GF song for me.
Gravity Falls has meant a lot to me for the past 6 years that I’ve been active in the fandom.  I have no doubt it will always have a big place in my heart. I’m definitely not done with things I’d like to do for it.  I’m so glad to see people coming together to celebrate this big anniversary! 
ALSO: needless to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Stan and Ford!
“How Far We’ve Come” by @findmeinthealps2 ​
IDs under the cut.
Image descriptions.  The post consists of six images, each with a one-word header.  Together they spell out, “LET’S SEE HOW FAR WE’VE COME”.  Each image has 8 square pictures under the header.  Each picture is a screenshot-redraw from an episode of the show, usually consisting of one or a couple of characters against a simple colored background.
The first image’s 8 redraws are: Dipper and Mabel from “Tourist Trapped”; Old Man McGucket from “The Legend of the Gobblewonker”; Mabel and Bats Biker from “Headhunters”; Lil Gideon from “The Hand that Rocks the Mabel”; Mabel from “The Inconveniencing”; Dipper from “Dipper vs. Manliness”; Dipper and Dipper clone 5 from “Double Dipper”; and Mabel and Quentin Trembley from “Irrational Treasure”.
The second image’s 8 redraws are: Mabel and Waddles from “The Time Traveler’s Pig”; Robbie and Dipper from “Fight Fighters”; Stan and Lil Gideon from “Little Dipper”; the Summerween Trickster from “Summerween”; Stan in his vampire costume from “Summerween”; Mabel and Dipper from “Boss Mabel”; Stan from “The Bottomless Pit”; and Mermando from “The Deep End”.
The third image’s 8 redraws are: Dipper and Mabel from “Carpet Diem”; Mabel surrounded by Sev’ral Timez from “Boyz Crazy”; Stan punching the pterodactyl from “The Land Before Swine”; Bill Cipher in giant red angry form from “Dreamscaperers”; Mabel and Dipper from “Gideon Rises”; Dipper, Mabel and Stan from “Scary-oke”; the Shapeshifter from “Into the Bunker”; and Mabel and Pacifica Northwest from “The Golf War”.
The fourth image’s 8 redraws are: Bipper from “Sock Opera”; Soos Ramirez and Melody from “Soos and the Real Girl”; Stan from “Little Gift Shop of Horrors”; Old Man McGucket from “The Society of the Blind Eye”; Mabel fighting Blendin Blandin from “Blendin’s Game”; Robbie Valentino and Tambry from “The Love God”; Pacifica Northwest and Dipper from “Northwest Mansion Mystery”; and Stan from “Not What He Seems”.
The fifth image’s 8 redraws are: Mabel from “Not What He Seems”; Ford’s arrival from “Not What He Seems”; Ford and Stan as teenagers from “A Tale of Two Stans”; Dipper and Ford as elf characters from “Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons”; Stan from “The Stanchurian Candidate”; Mabel, Wendy, Candy, and Grenda after their fight with the unicorns from “The Last Mabelcorn”; Darlene the spider lady from “Roadside Attraction”; and Dipper and Ford with Bill Cipher’s shadow over them from “Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future”.
The sixth and final image’s 8 redraws are: Bill Cipher holding up the gold statue of Ford from “Weirdmageddon Pt. 1″; Wendy Corduroy from “Weirmageddon Pt. 1″; Dipper and Mabel from their class day photo in “Weirdmageddon Pt. 2″; Bill Cipher in giant red monster form trying to capture Dipper and Mabel from “Weirdmageddon Pt. 3″; Stan punching Bill Cipher in the mindscape from “Weirdmageddon Pt. 3″; the group gathered around Stan sitting in his chair while Mabel shows him her scrapbook, from “Weirdmageddon Pt. 3″; Dipper and Mabel waving goodbye from the bus window from “Weirdmageddon Pt. 3″; and Stan and Ford laughing together in the rain, after defeating the giant squid, on their boat the Stan o’ War II, from “Weirmageddon Pt. 3″.
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project-sekai-facts · 10 months
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Any opinion on Akito and Ena's dad ?
I don’t think he’s the best parent ever by any means, but I also think people often greatly exaggerate what he did to his kids. Both him and his kids have a pretty blunt way of talking and I think this is why they clash so often. The thing is, none of what he said to Ena about art being a terrible field of work to go into was wrong, it’s just that instead of trying to help Ena, he just told her she was talentless which like don’t fucking say that to your child??? I get that he was trying to look out for Ena but he just approached it in the worst possible way and ruined Ena’s mental health. He’s clearly been through it in his art career and doesn’t want Ena to go through the same, especially when she’s already struggling at a non-professional level, but he’s not the greatest parent going and clearly doesn’t know how to talk to his kids. He’s gotten better after Akito talked to him, but still has some work to do.
What I’m saying when people exaggerate what he did is that people tend to dial up the abuse to be more like Harumichi & Toya’s mother or Mafuyu’s parents and this is a very different case. Shin’ei clearly doesn’t know how to communicate with his kids and isn’t good at parenting, and I don’t think he meant to hurt Ena as bad as he did. He didn’t think she would be able to handle an art career and didn’t want her to get hurt, but he ended up hurting her more because he has dogshit communication skills. Yes, he still abused her and isn’t like a hugely present figure in her or Akito’s life (might be work-related? It’s never explained) but I don’t think he intentionally crushed her mental health and self worth. Considering one of his hobbies is camping trips with the family I think he actually does love his kids, he just isn’t a good parent.
It’s a very complex case because yes he did abuse Ena but it doesn’t entirely seem like it was intentional? Like telling her she was talentless was an intentional decision but I don’t think he said it because he wanted her to suffer emotionally for years, does that make sense? It wasn’t like Harumichi who made Toya practice past the point of injury and his wife who banned Toya from having any free time just because they wanted him to be a musical prodigy and live up to their expectations of their family (also Toya has older brothers who probably went through the exact same thing before him). And it wasn’t like Mafuyu’s mother who manipulates her daughter into becoming what she wants her to be and is fully aware of the fact she’s manipulating her, and then tries to manipulate other people on top of that to believe that she’s a good mother and actually cares about her daughter.
Shin’ei actually does seem to care about Ena and Akito and the fact that he does seem to try and change after Akito talks to him adds more proof to that. Harumichi hears Toya out and Toya isn’t scared of him anymore, and although he hasn’t really shown up much since Nocturne, whenever he does or whenether he’s mentioned there’s still this sort of disconnect between him and Toya still? Like he’s kinda just accepted that Toya rebelled against his expectations as an Aoyagi but you can tell he still doesn’t see eye to eye with Toya and probably never will. Hell, when Mrs Asahina is called out on her actions, she tries to manipulate the person calling her out in the exact same way she does her daughter. So Shin’ei at the very least tries to be better even if the improvement isn’t huge and I think a lot of people in the fandom miss that part? Like I consistently see people describe/portray him as far more intentionally malicious and hurtful and sometimes even physically abusive and he isn’t?? Yes he abused Ena and doesn’t seem hugely present in Akito’s life compared to like Ken, but how he abused his kids reads very differently to the other more notable abusive parents. I’ve already said it loads by now but the intent is different. And this is a character analysis and not an opinion
Uh yeah I think he’s pretty well written and I’d like to know a bit more about him but maybe I should invest in the fanbook for that. He’s very realistic like this is definitely something that happens a lot in real life. Some parents just aren’t good at it and don’t mean to hurt their kid but they end up doing so because they just don’t know how to care for them and communicate with them properly. He feels very human.
He’s a shit parent and I hope this doesn’t read like an apologist post because it’s not meant to be, like he drove Ena into a deep depression that’s fucked up. I just wanted to point some stuff out because I really like how he’s written and think he’s a pretty interesting character.
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yuurei20 · 7 months
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Silver Info Compilation part 7: Silver and Malleus
While Silver is quieter in general than Sebek he seems equally devoted to Malleus, with voice lines like, “I hope to attend a Night Raven College ceremony alongside Malleus”, “I’ve no desire to reflect poorly on Malleus”, “I train myself ardently to better protect Malleus and his entourage” and “The stronger I get, the better I can protect Malleus. That is why I seek as much power as I can get.”
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When Malleus compliments Kalim and Deuce during New Years he says that one might say they have “taken on the mien of a true guardian”, and when Sebek responds with poorly Silver responds that his envy his “understandable”.
Silver worries about performing poorly in a class and being an embarrassment to Malleus in a vignette, and explains to Idia that he “cannot let anything happen to Malleus”.
Idia comments that maybe Silver’s loyalty is just a result of scared to defy Malleus, and Silver responds, “I will do anything for the man I have pledged my loyalty to.”
Vil has learned how to take advantage of Silver’s loyalty to Malleus manipulate him, namedropping Malleus to pressure Silver into participating in a Film Club project (“Does he mean to say that I will sully Malleus’ good name if I refuse?…I cannot bring shame upon Malleus”) and to get Silver to join his group during Beanfest.
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During Spectral Soiree Cater encourages Silver to share his woes with himself and Jamil, with the ulterior motive of picking up “some secret intel on Malleus Draconia”.
While just as loyal to Malleus as Sebek Silver and Sebek differ in opinion on how strict they ought to be with guarding him: Silver tells Malleus that if he ever finds Sebek's presence stifling he should tell him “as clearly as possible”, while Sebek insists he wouldn’t dream of stifling their liege.
Silver expresses exasperation of Sebek’s insistence to do things like handle clothing stains on Malleus’ behalf despite Malleus being perfectly capable of such simple feats of magic.
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In a vignette Silver explains to Kalim that he and Sebek got into an argument over the strictness of their patrols, with Sebek accusing him of negligence toward Malleus.
Silver is distraught by the thought that he has hurt Malleus by failing to understand his feelings, saying that he couldn’t even eat his favorite risotto at lunch, as “Whenever I lifted my spoon, I would think of Malleus and stop.”
(After Kalim reveals that he “would be completely lost” without Jamil, however, Silver decides that being overprotective must be avoided at all costs.)
In a vignette Malleus invites Silver out to introduce him to the school’s gargoyles as a part of his Gargoyle Study Club activities, but is consistently disappointed in Silver’s inability to tell the difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque, and his presumption that gargoyles are generally monsters.
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After receiving a lecture Silver tells Malleus that he feels they have grown closer, and he wishes to gift Malleus with a gargoyle for his room.
The vignette ends with Malleus beginning a new lesson on gargoyles to teach Silver “at greater length.”Silver losing track of Malleus is a common theme repeated in Phantom Bride and at least one vignette, but in the main story we see that it is not exactly Silver’s fault: it seems there are times when Malleus actively runs away from him and Sebek, leaving Silver to take the blame.Malleus says there “is something to be said” for the level of perseverance that drives Silver to train hard every morning.
The two characters have interesting overlap through lines about things that do not betray you: hard work for Silver, stars for Malleus.
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・Silver Info Compilation Part 1: Humor ・Silver Info Compilation Part 2: Sleeping ・Silver Info Compilation part 3: Animals, Art and Floyd ・Silver Info Compilation part 4: Appearance and Emotions ・Silver Info Compilation part 5: Sebek (pt1) ・Silver Info Compilation part 6: Silver and Sebek (pt2)
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plantboiart · 2 months
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List of bitb headcanons I’ve just accidentally convinced myself are canon or something to the point where I’m shocked when they aren’t (under the cut so I dont needlessly fill up people’s feeds and also for spoilers)
-Rolan is a gay man
-Rolan did not realize he was a gay man until like his mid to late 20s
-Kian’s parents were drug addicts and very neglectful (I mean there’s subtext pointing to it but like technically all we know about them is that they’re hippies, they’re part of a “commune” (probably a cult) and they didn’t give him a last name)
-Rand has a stockier build than the other two. I don’t. He’s very skinny in official art. But in my brain? No he is not. Bro is chubby.
-Rolan was raised very religious and now he has issues
-Kian’s death and rebirth left him with a very large scar on his stomach (listen all I’m saying is the stingers like melt your skin and shit so if he swallowed it it would have done that to him from the inside starting at his stomach and also-)
-Rand is aroace but because he’s pretty sex positive and romance like neutral / positive he ends up thinking he’s bi
-Rolan had a cat with en ex-girlfriend but she took it when they broke up because Rolan’s a workaholic (mutual decision)
-Kian was definitely homeless at some point or at least very very much struggling for money while still trying to make the rockstar thing work
-Rand is dyslexic. Don’t really know where that came from and it’s not based on anything I just feel it in my soul
-Rolan can’t actually like… get sick. At least not with any kind of human illnesses. He just thought he had a very good immune system for the longest time.
-Kian is so so so very trans!!! Which direction? Depends entirely on what I feel like writing that day
-Rand was left a lot of shit in both of the other twos’ wills so post canon he’d be financially speaking pretty okay. Once he was doing a bit better he’d spend some of that money to just fucking start a record label, publish Kian’s music, and then leave conspiracy theorists going wild when the record label never publishes anything else ever again
-Rolan is the only one of the three who has like… actual other friends. They’re mostly from college and stuff and they’re not super close anymore but still call from time to time
-Kian calls Rolan hot nonchalantly
-Rand attempted before (please tell me you’ve seen the original please it’s meant to be a joke but also. Uh. Yeah.)
-All three of them are autistic. You know I’m right.
-The bugs can buzz in a way that has a similar effect to a cat’s purring :)
-Also on the bugs: they have a hierarchy that consists of
The queen (starts the hive, typically stays in the nest, not really of this mortal plane so needs a host to like tether them to it (Rachel), very intelligent and obviously rules the hive),
What I am choosing to call impostors for funny (more intelligent than average workers, are fully aware of what they are and what’s going on but can still pretend to be just normal people, act as a sort of middle man between the queen and the workers, mostly in charge of reproduction and gathering intel, keep and have all the knowledge from the person they are pretending to be),
And then the workers (not very smart on their own and need the hivemind to have like any idea what to do, have basically two minds aka the human mind and the bug mind, only one of which can typically be in control at a time, not capable of reproduction (mostly so i dont have to think about the implications of the bugs canonically laying eggs and Rolan), main purpose is to expand the hive, get food and protect the queen)
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mortalityplays · 2 months
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Hi there! I’m a newly graduated editor and writer trying desperately to make freelance work for me, and/or find a permanent position with a publishing house or company. Do you have any advice for how to start getting clients consistently/how to get your foot in the door? I’ve been struggling to find work since I graduated last spring and it’s been hard to figure out where to start or what I’m doing wrong when a lot of the time I am just being ghosted :”)
I had to go for a walk and think about this. I've written and deleted two very long responses because it's hard to balance what I think I've learned about 'the industry' (fake idea but we can unpack that another time) with what it has made me learn about myself. The latter is not really going to be important or helpful to anyone else's specific circumstances.
Here's what I can boil it down to:
The idea of a 'traditional path' into editing/publishing or a standard entry point and career ladder, is almost entirely made up. I don't think that's on purpose. Getting established is very slow and hard and confusing and full of unexpected opportunities and disappointing dead ends. As people who are fond of narratives, it's only natural that we retrospectively turn our journeys into storylines. Real life doesn't really work like that, though. Take all advice with a pinch of salt; ultimately all advice is just somebody trying to speak to their past self.
All of the best clients I've ever worked with have been friends and artistic peers first, clients second. Some of them were also starting out when I was starting out, and we just traded services to help each other get a leg up. Now that they're well established in their fields, they're in position to vouch for me with bigger clients.
Having someone who can vouch for you is worth its weight in gold. Do a tiny job as a favour, then tell a small client you did that job. Do their small job for a small fee, then tell a medium client you did that job. Collect testimonials. Collect examples of past work. Let me tell you a secret: I didn't go to school for this, and nobody ever trained me. I've never landed a job by talking about paper qualifications because I don't have any. Show, don't tell.
Don't beat yourself up if you have to take other work to make ends meet. Not only will you be happier, healthier and more stable with that consistent income, but life experience will make you a better editor. I spent years working in bars and restaurants while I was doing sporadic small editing jobs on the side, and I loved it. It taught me about people, and how to speak to strangers with total confidence, and how to demand the value of my work, and how to spot when a writer doesn't know their shiraz from their malbec. All experience is work experience in the arts.
On that note, SPECIALISE. Pick out a subject you're especially passionate and knowledgeable about, or a genre or medium where you're particularly determined to excel. Study up on it. Look for clients who need specific expertise, and sell yourself to them. Generalists are everywhere, but you might be the only 'amphibious vessel technical manual editor' in your state. Learn to adapt your offering to the client and tell them why you're the key that fits their lock. Lie sometimes maybe I don't know shh I didn't say that part.
I think that's all I've got that isn't unbearably navel gazey. It's really hard work and I haven't finished the marathon either. I may still end up going back to generic office jobs on and off in the future. Mostly I try to follow the only really good advice an artist has ever given me: Do what you can, with what you've got, for as long as you can. At least then you can say you did.
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heartnosekid · 9 months
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hey friends, i need to gush a lil - feel free to skip this post if you don’t want my gushing lol
so, i’m just. without words to express how grateful i am to all of you. when i started this blog, i was at my lowest creatively. in all honesty, i was spiraling. i was so full of creative energy and ideas, but i had no outlet through which i could feel satisfied. that left me feeling very overwhelmed and empty at the same time. i am an author primarily, but i’ve always loved visual arts and creating visually pleasing things.
long story short, this blog and all of you have honestly saved me from the worst creative drought of my entire life. i have always created, been known for creating, and excelled at creating, and when i came to the tallest wall of inability to create i’d ever seen, i was met with a request to create. and i have scarcely stopped since.
i am so thankful and grateful and blessed to have my work viewed and appreciated by so many of you. i cannot stress it enough, you all have changed my life. it may sound silly, being that i run a tumblr stim blog and know literally 3 out of you 14.000 (what?!) personally, but i don’t say this lightly.
you all have changed the way i feel about my art, which was something i have always deeply struggled with. you have taught me that no matter how small my contributions may be, they still matter to at least one person. that person could be me, or the person i created something for; regardless, i have made a hopefully positive impact on someone.
i love you all so very much. as a disabled person who has a lot of free time, i have known how much of my time can be spent worrying, despairing, or self sabotaging. but since i started taking requests and teaching myself how to consistently create without burning out, i spend a good bit of my energy focusing on the good i can give to people, even if it is only in the form of a stimboard or a gifset.
if you’ve made it this far, thank you. thank you so much. you mean the absolute world to me, and i hope that this blog and i mean something to you, anything at all. because it literally was my lifesaver, and so were you.
thank you all, i love you endlessly, & blessed be,
gratefully yours, ish 💕
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ducktracy · 2 months
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Hi!! I'm a young adult (23) who has been interested in the animation industry for as long as I can remember. Do you have any advice on how to get yourself out there when first starting out? I haven't had a professional storyboard artist job, or have been hired for anything, and I don't feel like I would be good enough/know what I'm doing, given the chance. Sorry if this is a lengthy message, your art is just so inspiring and I'm looking for advice! Thank you so much.
do you have any advice for breaking into the animation industry? your work is really inspiring me to become a storyboard artist but I'm not sure where to start
HI HI!! THANK YOU BOTH (and anyone else who has ever asked me this) FOR REACHING OUT! it’s super kind of you and genuinely flattering to be considered enough of an authority to answer something like this 🥺
i’ve answered this a fewwww times (or at least asks similar), so i’ll link back to this post, which, tangentially, links to another post! i generally stand by what i stand. the short of it is that i didn’t go through a formal hiring process, i was nabbed from social media and it was a series of chain reactions that basically amount to “right place, right time”… BUT! also! i definitely wouldn’t whittle it down to luck and luck alone, i was picked for a reason, etc.
BUT if i had some advice, my main bullet points to reiterate are:
being easy to work with is probably one of the most important priorities. put that ego aside, be willing to learn, willing to make sacrifices, willing to make mistakes. a deadline is a deadline and you can be the most amazing artist that’s ever graced this earth, but there is no room for ego.
reach out! a lot of my animation connections before being in the industry were from me being a pesky fan lol. obviously respect boundaries and understand time and place, but if you like someone’s art? compliment it! say so! engage! share what you like! i’m not saying to bribe your way through (be genuine with your compliments obviously), but i made a lot of friends in the industry this way and that helped get more eyes on me and my work
practice makes perfect! the most trite saying of the century and the one people hate to hear the most is the one that’s the most truthful. a big reason why my storyboards have improved as they have is because i’m always doing them! i’m always drawing! you develop muscle memory, you develop shorthand, the mental blockades slowly go away—you have to be consistent, but it really does work
leading into the above point, study! make mock-up storyboards! board out a scene from a TV or movie you like and analyze it. i did it with Tom Turk and Daffy a few years back and it was such a great learning experience! i thought i knew everything there is to know about that short and yet i noticed so much more by doing that. it’s also a nice way to reduce any formalities or intimidation of storyboarding by doing things you’re comfortable with
…i swore i was just gonna do a few condensed bullets LOL. i’d still recommend going back to the link at the top of the post, as i’m sure i’m missing some things since i’m still covid-brained, BUT! just be ready willing and able to learn, practice practice practice, and keep a positive attitude! YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!!!!!! BOTH OF YA’S!!!! i believe in you!!!!! LET’S GOOOOOOOO!!!
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hyenafu · 6 months
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Chu, you ever have those moments where you're looking back at your comic and you see a little mistake? I get that all the time with my comic and I beat myself up for it like an idiot even though there's not really much of an issue at all.
Yes, I do. For the entire time I’ve been doing Slightly Damned, I tried my best to keep everything as consistent as possible. However, just like everyone else, I am an imperfect being. There’s a lot of clumsy wording, bad jokes, and dumb art mistakes that inhabit the archives of Slightly Damned.
But that’s okay. They’re not huge inconsistencies that make gaping plot holes (yet? 💦). They’re signs of growth. If I didn’t make those mistakes in the past, I don’t think I would have learned as much as I have. 20 years later, maybe my art isn’t superstar material to the comics world, but… well, I think my teenage self would think I’m pretty cool.
I just try to make every page reflect my best work. It doesn’t mean every page is better than the one that preceded it. There are ones that feel like they didn’t work out, or panels where I was just like “Aw hell, I don’t know!! at least the reader will know what’s happening! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”.
Looking back at this massive, 1100+ page archive, it feels WILD to think that I could have made everything consistent. My drawing and writing styles have changed several times. I’m not even the same person I was when I started. My perception of the world and people around me is so different now. And they will probably keep changing as I get older.
If you’re feeling super stressed out because of your mistakes, try thinking of it less like “I have to make everything correct” and more like “I’m going to do my best to lay out a fantastic groundwork for the adaptation”.
That makes it sound like your comic being adapted is the goal, but I really don’t like that way of thinking. Comics are uniquely beautiful. What I mean is more like, even people reading your work will interpret it through their imagination. In this case, “the adaptation” would be what people think and feel from seeing your comic. Of course it’s fine to try to be consistent in order to avoid being confusing. But little bumps aren’t going to deter people from really enjoying what they like about your work.
I promise that your most favorite thing in the world is probably loaded with mistakes. They just don’t matter much to you because the part you like is way more important. I know it’s tough, but if we can forgive our favorite works for their shortcomings, then it makes sense that we should forgive ourselves, too. We’re all just doing the best we can.
Sometimes people like your work not just because of what you’ve done, but because they’re excited about what you’re going to do next.
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scattershotsaffron · 10 months
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“If it is true that cowardice is the most terrible of vices, the dog, at least, is not guilty of it”
this is a bit of a weird one!! This is, of course, @canisalbus ‘s Machete! This particular piece is inspired by the aesthetics of The Master and the Margarita, which is a political commentary novel that was written under Stalinism that uses religious connections and some badshit insane deviltry involving Satan and his band of goons. Figuring out the colors on this one we’re a lot of fun
Anyways I fucking adore Machete! Finally worked up the courage to draw him, hope i did his likeness justice! I know this guy gets a lot of art but I do really hope you like this, since your art has inspired me so much! i don’t think I’ve ever actually drawn a canine before?? But I actually kind of like the idea of Vasco looking more dog-like and Machete having seemingly feline attributes as dogs are consistently considered kinder and more loyal and cats are often associated with spite and envy
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jorrated · 3 months
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Some super stray thoughts I had while reading STCO so far:
Knuckles would NOT prioritize his past over Tikal’s suffering are you crazy in the head!!!!
Zak Simond-Hurn’s art is really charming, if it wasn't for the digital onomatopoeias, I wouldn’t mind having this style by a base for an official sonic comic! The design for the red echidna villain however… HM. Not pleasing to the eye.
I like that Ebony are having a bigger role on the fist few issues! But also Ebony’s constantly referring to Super as his friend and doing things to bring him back. Like I get it but also is this going to be her only trait now? Girl…
And porker is going on adventures again. Actually I don’t think they ever explained why Porker went back to being more adventurous in the og comic, participating in Chaos defeat and all. Not against it, and I like to see he still has a bit of bite and wasn't reduced to only a coward, tho it would’ve been cool to see at least a comment on how hes back on “adventuring”.
It’s cool to see Amy dealing with grief over Jhonny (I’ve given up trying to write his name correctly, too weird for me), but IDK. Amy probably was the best grounded character in that situation, so it feels weird to see her distressed over it? I don’t know how to explain it but in my eyes, Amy’s grief for Jhonny would definitively be more melancholic than scary/guilty. I’m glad they are trying to flesh out Amy more, but it doesn’t feel very cohesive with the comic to me. And Jhonny-zombie the killer… a bit tacky but in a funny way.
WHO…. Designed Vichama. I just want to talk. Tell me why you made him look that way. What is that. What went through your head. Dude. I get that Ebony has considerably more anthro body features than the other animal characters, but I feel like Vichama crosses the line into the “gross valley”. If he were drawn closer to how Zachary is I probably wouldn’t care, he probs would’ve looked like an Archie character. But the bulging muscles are kinda upsetting to look at. Cover up man.
So Shadow was created by some enemies of the echidnas. Noted.
Big and the Drakon prosecutor are actually really cute. I like them. Knuckles trying to break Ebony’s spell on Tikal is making me fume. HE WOULDN'T TRY TO DO THAT!!!!! He maybe would be a little desperate trying to trigger some memories but he wouldn't knowingly hurt someone to get information!!!! There is a pannel tho in this part of the comic that makes Knux ask “Where is Porker” and then “Where is the emeralds”. THAT is Knuckles to me, checking in on people before anything else.
Knuckles not being able to carry Big is bullshit. KNUCKLES PUNCHES ROCKS IN HALF LMAO. It’s fine I assume they need to be separated for a reason.
ROUGE STICK LEGS. Somebody please give my girl a double cheeseburger with extra fries and a big gulp of soda.
Actually I love that Rouge is a cunt here. Girlboss!!!! Stole this dudes emeralds AND left them to die, queen shit. Didn’t work but she did have the intent to kill them.
Big wouldn’t eat his friends….. He’d never eat Froggy, and DP (Drakon Prosecutor) even tho looks like a fish, Big considers a friend. BIG WOULDNT THINK ABOUT EATING HIS FRIENDS!!! HE IS A KIND BIG GUY!!!!!!!!!!!! ← most egregious mistake until now. Fucking funny tho can you imagine dying by vore They kept Mighty funny, that’s good.
MMMMN. I like that Sonic is consistently arachnophobic. Really nice continuity. How he first met Shadow tho… It felt underwhelming? Like yeah we know they were going to meet some time but IDK. The framing/pacing is weird to me. Either have them meet quickly at the start of the issue and Sonic is like “IDK WHO that guy is but I don’t like him!!!” or have them meet at the end of the issue, but only show Shadow in shadow (lol) to hook to the next issue. Shadow’s bland ass “I am Shadow” has the same energy as two kindergartners introducing themselves first day of school.
Shadow’s personality is interesting tho. I like him being a bit cocky but not too much, it’s a good take on him, plus he bounces off Sonic pretty well. I do wonder what the hell they’re going to do with him tho.
Awn… acknowledgment of some of the chaotix families… Blockhead Bill my dude
Tikal being given more of a spotlight is neat. It doesn’t give her much, but it’s refreshing to see her thoughts and intentions. However, I can’t help but think that she was mainly inserted to aid Knuckles and be a well of angst. Like IDK, Knuckles has moments mourning his past, or wondering if he will ever understand his ancestors, and Tikal well… She sees things rather than feel? If that makes sense? Like in this comic she is able to see a bit of the past and think “wow this is horrible! Must be a nightmare!” but she doesn’t feel despair? Or anything much? The only moment so far she felt despair was to make Knux Angst, like “ooooh shes suffering so we need to wipe her memories, that means Knuckles wont have his backstories :(“. Smells fishy.
Oh wow, Shadow has an actually interesting backstory here. It gives a reason to follow Robotnik, hate Sonic, not give a shit, aaaand its ambiguous enough you can probably pull off whatever. Fucking congrats STCO writers.
Fave image. What the fuck are they even doing here. Freaks.
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Hm. No thoughts on Shadows maybe death. Thematically it’s interesting and all, but we don’t get enough time with him to give a shit. Unless I’m reading it wrong it seems like Shadow is sacrificing himself to save Robotnik, but IDK.
Grimer develops a situatioship depression.
2007 ANTI-ASIAN RACISM. BAD.
Bro what’s with this Knuckles characterization. He would NOT be mean to Tikal. If anything he’d probably be a bit overbearing, trying to give attention to her even if she didn’t want it. I get trying to tie him living his whole life alone being overwhelmed and feeling frustrated that Tikal can’t give him answers, but he wouldn't treat her like crap what is this. I like Porker’s and Knux bro moment, but that doesn’t make up for treating Tikal badly for no reason. Where’s her catharsis? She’s probably just as confused and desperate as Knuckles but she doesn't get any of these moments. Sigh. This idea could’ve definitely worked if Tikal was pushier or more imposing, but like she doesn’t do much, so Knuckles just snaps and it feels off. Knuckles’s stories are probably the issues with the biggest potential, but the writers for sure squander him the most, whomp whomp.
“One of Sonic’s fears is seeing Amy settle down with someone else” no it isn’t shut the fuck up. And the fact they put this on the same level of fear as Jhonny death is deranged.
The tonal whiplash between character comics is p funny honestly. You’ll have one really serious comic followed by a comedic one, lil bit of a mood killer. I guess STC also did this, but to me it at least wasn't jarring like this. Like how am I supposed to process Big getting shot, after Knux and Tikal experiencing the worst nightmare of their lives, living the trauma of seeing million of dead echidnas, after Vector put angel island as a security fund for his ship LMAO.
SONIC CHARACTERS HELPINH OUT THE POLICE SFAJHBJHBWRKJBJB??????!!!!!!!!????????????????????!!!!!!!!!????????11111111!!!!!!!111!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate this actually.
These Shorty and Tekno comics…… I don’t know what it is about them but god. I just don’t like them! Firstly that now it seems they are a completely separated duo from the rest of the team. Like They don’t interact with Sonic or Amy or whatever. Secondly.. Shortfuse is TOO nice. It doesn’t feel like him where is his tantrums??? And this isn’t a diss on the artstyle itself, cause I think it looks pretty nice and cute, but I don’t think it’s really fitting for the characters? Tekno and Shorty look like they’re in a shoujo manga.
I really like how Sonic is now a loser LOL. He got canceled to hell and back.
Finally Rouge makes and appearance. Kinda only realized how little she showed up during the SA2 adaptation.
Grimer destroying Sonic’s reputation is actually kinda nice. I like that they acknowledge his Robotnik situationship depression, tho I think it’s a bit over the top have him be behind EVERYTHING. Still like it tho. Go gross boy go! (Also the art in this issue is REALLY solid, wow, Zak Simond-Hurn really is my favorite artist from the STCO group).
At some point I think I need to stop complaining about Knux’s characterization. But I Do Not Like How They Write My Boy. Doc Zach is still serving cunt so that’s great. Go grandpa go!
It’s kinda awesome to see how the issues expanded through STCO’s run, but I think having so many stories at the same time kinda makes stuff bloated. Like I’m sure I’ll forget some parts of this, even if they are short bits. Like do we really need to follow 2 sonic stories and 2 amy stories at the same time? I think it would’ve been better to pace this with a limit of 3-4 stories MAX per issue. And then once a character story is done, release the next story with the same character. Sonic and Knuckles are kinda always going to be there, having the biggest pull on the comic’s lore and story, so the other ones could cycle out between amy, tekno, shorty, tails, sonic’s world, chaotix, and so on. I haven’t read some of the other non-sonic stories like decap n attack, but those could be thrown in the cycle too!
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Actually I love that DP is just hanging out in Big’s restaurant. It’s goofy I really love it.
I wonder how old Sonic’s gang is supposed to be here. Like in theory some years have passed in the comic, but how many. It’s not important at all but Amy is seen drinking wine with Chrysalis and it’s like?? Is she a kid?? Is she an adult?? Is she underage drinking? Again it’s not a big deal, and I don’t even think these characters need a specific age but IDK this was odd to me.
Oof the multiple stories at the same type problem came instantly. I like how Amy acknowledges the losses of the group, Sonic is “evil”, Jhonny is dead, Tekno is missing and stuff, Porker has PTSD and cant fight… But like. That feels so weird when you have a story right next to it with Amy and Tekno together!!! This is why the pacing and bloating feels whack, the comic has continuity with SOME of the stories but not all so its confusing. I know the OG comic had moments like these but because it had less stories per issue, it was way less noticeable, and usually were one-off stories I think.
And on the topic of Porker, I did mention before how he just kinda.. went back to being more adventurous? But know the comic insists that he can’t do it? Man this is kinda messy. I don’t mind Porker starting to become more adventurous again and then maybe regressing a bit in recovery, being too much for him, but it doesn’t feel like that is what it’s being intended here. It feels like someone read STC and maybe skimmed on STCO and then wrote this, so it feels out of place? Like you have porker in the first issue of STCO going on a mission no problems at all, but then on another issue he goes on a mission to blow up an eggman database or smth and hes freaking the fuck out being nervous all the time. Like which is it!!!!! I don’t mind him progressing and regressing on his trauma but at least acknowledge or be consistent with it! Is it because the underwater mission didn’t involve Robotnik? Is that it? Who knows.
I get that Knux and the crew planned to bait Zachary and shit, but like, then why did they act like that in the previous issue? Like the plan was to break the shield so why did Porker said to Knux be careful about it? Girl. This information is only given to bait and switch the audience and it doesn’t work. Porker and Knux have no reason to pretend to not have a plan when they are alone what.
Tails working with cops I’m going to kill myself.
Oh so like. The special zone is dead for real. Like for real FR. Jesus. Could’ve let the characters grieve a bit huh.
Really liked the #250 issue (Tho its funny that I complained about the number of stories per issue, and then #250 has ONE story LOL)! It’s awesome to see the different arts from the varied artists on the STCO team. And even with my complains and whining, it’s an impressive project full of love, good to see stuff like this!
TURBO TURBO TURBO MY BOY TURBO!!!!
The art on this issue is great but some of the flow of the dialogue is off, as in, sometimes I don’t know which speech bubble I’m supposed to read next, cause usually you go left to right, but it seems this story follows top to bottom for speech bubbles and left to right to panel. Not awful but it did throw me off, and it does fuck up the pacing.
um. hi shadow? ok.
(Only read until issue #250)
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mishydraws · 4 months
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Very... very unfortunate life update
Hi, everyone.
Ok, I don’t want to waste your time but I wanted to be upfront about what’s going on in my life just so you all know.
Last night I got what is probably one of the worst emails that could have ever appeared in my inbox? Our landlord has given us a 60-day notice to get out. For context, my mom and I have been living here since the year 2000. We have never been late on rent or missed a payment despite every difficulty life has thrown at us in that time and this has completely blindsided us.
We haven’t spoken to any of the neighbors yet but some of the wording on the notice makes me think that they may be kicking out the entire building. Or maybe they’re just targeting those of us in the non-renovated units because we’ve been here so long and they could charge a new tenant much more with a quick kitchen and bathroom upgrade. Renoviction is a new word I just learned. I don’t know. That’s what happened to my brother at his last apartment. They kicked out everyone in his building, renovated, raised the rent, then let new people move in.
They suddenly started increasing our rent every year like clockwork a few years ago so I’ve had a feeling they’ve been trying to price us out for a while but I didn’t know they could just… tell us to leave just because they can. Rent consistently paid up and everything for 24 years.
The notice we received really doesn’t say much so it’s all speculation I guess. It doesn’t state a reason why it just says we need to be gone by March 31st.
But basically, I’m really not doing well right now in all honesty. I slept for maybe an hour last night and it’s like a switch flipped in me as soon as I read the email. My stomach has had this weird knotted feeling ever since and I can’t stand up for more than a few minutes before needing to lie down again in case I either faint or vomit… I’m not sure which but it’s been this way since last night. I had to stand up at the sink to wash one singular dish from dinner and I could barely do it. At least I didn’t see the email until after I ate last night because I still have no appetite now.
However bad I’m feeling I know my mom is probably feeling worse. She has been for a while. She’s getting older and my dad is no longer alive. Aside from my brother and one irl friend I still see in person regularly, we have no family or other support system in this country and are well and truly on our own, staring down the barrel of homelessness if we can’t quickly secure a place and move decades worth of our life there before the end of March.
All of this to say, I don’t know what our usual art shenanigans here are going to look like during this time. I am incredibly stressed to the point where I am physically ill but I also can’t pause and step away because I do need the income that I receive from your support of me/my art here. It’s just the reality. I’ve never been particularly Big And Successful with what I do so your support means all the much more and makes a real impact on my life.
I am so sorry if this dampens your mood at all today or if you notice a decrease in the quality of art I’m able to deliver over the next few months but I will try my best to keep things rolling and let you know if there’s any particular delays to expect.
To top it off, I requested a tour of a nearby apartment last night (more expensive than our current) and the name of the person who just texted me back has the same name as our current landlord. Who wants to start taking bets? I know for a fact they own a lot of property in the area so this isn’t looking promising.
Anyways. Sorry for this downer of a post. If we’re not homeless in 2 months then… I dunno. I’ll have somewhere indoors to do art? Yay? You can imagine the housing market we’re dealing with being in California. The prospect of moving at this point has always been one of my biggest fears but we’ll see if we get lucky real fast 😢
If you've ever thought about supporting my Patreon or anything else, now and over the next few months might be a good time if you can swing it. Maybe it'll help us secure a place to move if I can point to it and be like 'Look! A whole income!' 🥲 Idk man.
There's an art update in the (public) post I made if you want to see what we're at least trying to work on for sticker club through all of this.
Mishy
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cloveroctobers · 7 months
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OCTOBER PROMPTS 🎃 — 8. Hector
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A/N: the way I always had something in the drafts to write for my beloved man like back during the summer time. The universe had other plans and what better time than to revisit this episode on Halloween! I think this is my first time ever writing on the day of this superior season?! Happy Halloween people 🧡 🪄
WARNINGS: language + hints of sexual tension 😅
PROMPT is from HERE + I’m using: “I love you, I swear I do but we’re not wearing matching costumes.”
₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚
[~October. 2000’s~]
Oh the wonders of being a big time celebrity during the month of Halloween. That’s right, a whole entire month! Which felt like so because you were constantly in the limelight with people not only dissecting your love life but also your roles which consisted of either being the lead scream queen in a thriller series, supporting actress in horror movies, and also being the star drummer (on some Sheila E shit!) and backup singer of a Alt-Pop girl band on the side.
So yes, you stayed busy and were worth talking about.
“Whatever you decide to be this year has to be big. I mean Destiny’s child, Britney Spears, Zac and Vanessa, and Halle Berry are all gonna be here at your party this year.” Your manager/publicist ranted as she paced the floor in your open concept closet.
You’re lounging on your studded chaise lounge chair, texting away on your blackberry while chewing on some gum, half listening, “Halle’s my god-mom, of course she will be here to support but who else is on this list exactly?”
“I invited pretty much everyone, the hottest stars even those who may or may be in your age range. It doesn’t matter! As long as you get good pics that brings fresh press.” Natania voiced as she began flipping through a notepad.
You hum knowing the deal, considering you’ve been in the limelight since you were fourteen so this was not anything entirely new. “I’ve got the perfect outfit for Hector and I.”
Natania glances up from writing, “funny you mention him after I say press.”
“Him has a name and who also happens to be my boyfriend?”
“Don’t remind me,” Natania mutters, “and just to think you could still be with Taylor Lautner right now. His stats are only climbing after ‘Breaking Dawn Part I,’ dropped and I can only imagine how much more attention he’s gonna get.”
Shrugging your shoulders you say, “I’ve got more than enough attention with and without a guy by my side. It was fun while it lasted but as soon as he booked the role for twilight, the distance just grew. It was all only a matter of time.”
At sixteen and seventeen years old you got into a relationship, naturally with who everyone may know as Jacob Black but he was just Taylor to you. You met way back in a martial arts class that your uncle actually taught but you didn’t end up sticking with it thanks to a tv series you booked. You met again not long after at a audition for “Sharkboy and LavaGirl.”
“Well the both of you could have at least faked it for a little!” Natania almost stomped her feet before sighing, “I mean Taylor still talks highly about you although you decided to pick a old paparazzi instead as your new fling.”
“I wouldn’t expect him to say anything less,” you blinked, “wasn’t a bad break up anyway and I don’t pay you to make judgements on who I date. I pay for you to manage my career, not my personal life, sooo mind yours.”
Natania rolled her eyes beneath her glasses, “whatever, you’re right. I’m just saying you could have done better. There’s just something off about him—Hector and not the whole follow people like you around for cash either.”
“Nat!” You hissed, “shut up already, hector’s coming over, he’s gonna be at that party with me and that’s that. When’s the stylist coming over?”
Natania puts on a forced smile and glances at the watch on her wrist, “in about a hour.”
“Great! Hector says he’ll be here in fifteen so that gives us a little down time. You can let yourself out whenever you’re ready.” You state laying back to rest your eyes.
You’ve been up since six thirty this morning doing a extreme workout routine you didn’t like with a trainer who took it too seriously. You were more of a cardio person than juggling ropes, jumping and squatting, and flipping over tires.
Soon the door bell rings and you pry one eye open to see the monitor by the door glowing, making you aware who it could be. Groaning you took your time getting closer to the screen, seeing no one there. Shrugging to yourself, you plopped down on the lounge just as your closet door budged open revealing your stylist and no other than your boyfriend, Hector.
Lounging on your elbows you smile and wave at the two.
“No, please. Don’t get up, I got it.” Your stylist wheeled in a rack while you laughed at the usual sarcasm.
“Hey, baby.” You craned your neck to meet Hector’s lips as he leaned over you in greeting before sitting next to you, “what happened to fifteen minutes?”
Hector laughs, rubbing at the back of his neck, knowing that he was late, “traffic? Even on my bike and Hunger…”
You hum at this.
“Just burgers.” Hector whispers as you shrug your shoulders.
You knew what it was like, actually dating someone in the supernatural world. It could always go one or two ways and of course there were heavy rumors surrounding Hector since he was there at the time of Mazey Day’s death. He should have been dead—especially with the amount of damage done to his body, you knew what he and Bo were up to and the pictures Bo showed you was not something you would forget.
However Hector was meant to live and see it through…and he did with the help of your family.
They got to him first.
That’s right, a long history of, “werewolf or wolf training,” depending on which form. You had more experience with simply wolfs while the higher skilled like your parents and siblings dealt with the werewolf’s. Due to your involvement with the spotlight you didn’t have much time for…family activities but you weren’t completely clueless.
If you were able to get to Mazey Day in time, perhaps things could have been different. No one really knew and some still didnt accept what it was.
Werewolves were fucking real and you so happened to be dating one.
“Soooo,” you drag pushing yourself up once more to face Hector with a tired smile, “I’ve got an idea of what we should be for Halloween.”
“Aw but you didn’t see what Freddie brought yet.”
“Oh it’s in there alright,” you push off the chair to head over to Freddie who has measuring tape draped over his shoulders.
You do the honors of taking the protective cover off the clothes and run your fingers over the various fabrics, “we have DoubleDare contestants from the 90s, or you can be Cupid and I’ll be a large fuzzy heart, or my personal fav: little red riding hood and her werewolf of a grandmother.”
Hector blinks after briefly studying the costumes and says, “I love you, I swear I do but we’re not wearing matching costumes.”
“Uh oh,” Freddie mutters while you frown at the curly haired man.
“And why the hell not? The last option is the best one.”
“I get that one,” Hector replies with a knowing look in his dark eyes, “but don’t you think it’s a little…corny?”
“We’re supposed to be corny! You’re my boyfriend and I’m your girl.” Digging your fists into your hips and peer at Hector who snorts.
“Yeah but—
“At least try it on! I mean if we’re gonna be at my party together shouldn’t we at least match?”
Hector lightly grips your wrist to pull you from Freddie’s ear shot, “it’s gonna be a full moon that night.”
“Even better.”
“For who? Not me.”
“It’s been a year already,” you slip your hand down to squeeze his, “you’re gonna be fine.”
“That’s not what your mom believes.” Hector’s shoulders almost slump, which irritates you, the fact that your mother was always getting into his head was not something foreign to you but when she started to do it to people you cared about, that’s when it became a problem.
“Newsflash, she doesn’t know everything like she claims.”
“I mean I should listen to her since…”
“Since she’s more skilled than me? Ah alright well I get it. Look, I’m not gonna peer pressure you. I just know I wouldn’t have you here if I didn’t think you could handle it. We’d take all the proper precautions a few days before just like I planned but if you really don’t feel comfortable…we’ll just make sure to take the pictures in advance and we’ll go from there.”
Hector studies you then. He knew that it was hard to be around each other sometimes whenever the moon shifted. He was thankful he got another chance at life…sure but life just become a whole lot more difficult now with this new lifestyle and being legit involved with someone in the public eye. No doubt he’s thought about it before but never pictured it happening and Bo also told him it was a bad idea after figuring out that he basically resurrected and could transform into a hairy ass creature!
You lived one way and he lived another, there were contrasts to you just like the sun and the moon, the pair of you worked taking turns to let the other breathe separately. Space was efficient when it came to your relationship but when you were together? That opened up a whole new feeling. A scary one. He wasn’t sure if this relationship would be long term but he had the chance to see you for what you are beyond the lights and that was a treat in itself.
He exhales, lifting a hand to cup the side of your face, “…let’s try these costumes on then.”
And you squeal, hopping into his arms and he holds onto you as you lock your legs around his hips, his beaming smile meeting yours as you peck all along his handsome face.
“We look foolish,” Hector comments as he readjusts the gingham hat on top of his head while you stand side by side in a full length mirror.
You laugh as you wrap your arms around the curly haired man in the floral green nightgown, “correction: we look fine as hell.”
“Fine enough to where I don’t need to spend two hours sitting in a chair having ass cramps and getting wolf prosthetics on?” Hector slips on his circular glasses and peeks over them at your reflection.
Red was certainly your color.
You snort, “you could always let the moon do it’s thing.”
“That’s not even funny.”
Pressing your chin against the back of his shoulder you say, “Wanna give me a little snarl or something?”
Hector sends you a pointed look as you trail one hand up to twist one of his damp curls, “Oh Granny, what pretty curls you have.”
“All the better for you to tug my dear,” Hector begins to play along.
A smirk makes its way onto your red painted lips, “Oh granny, what a beautiful face you have.”
“All the better for you to,” Hector starts before quickly twisting his body to yank you tight against his body, “sit on.”
You see the specs of ember swirling in Hector’s ink eyes now and you know you were pushing it as the length of his nails began to poke at the fabric of your red hood.
He then places a open mouthed kiss to your beating throat, “you didn’t say anything about my teeth.”
Standing up some with your hands locked around his neck now, you lean just a bit closer so that your forehead presses against Hector’s; you reply just as some knocks sounded at your closet door, “Now that’s satire.”
Hector let’s out a small laugh as you untangle yourself from his grasp to get the door, making a show of pointing the makeup artists in his direction only.
With your confidence in him and against the full moon, Hector can’t help but to shrug his shoulders and take a seat peeking at the face he got used to over the years. Somehow even this skin felt different and not just the scars embedded.
He just hoped you were right but knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it.
Well…here’s to a new change of course for Halloween! That might actually be terrifying but as long as he had you on his team, his doubts and speculations from outsiders—which he used to be—didn’t seem to matter as much anymore.
₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚ ✧ ♱‧₊˚. ₊˚
Continue along with my fall anthology prompts here.
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