At the beginning of Dec, I had an art day with a friend and they surprised me by bringing macaroni pasta as a craft item. A blast from the childhood past...!

We didn't have glue so we made a paste out of heating a mixture of rice flour and water. The dark parts are black beans. Another hideous masterpiece.

OC stuff

This month's OC birthday: Sab, who I associate with darkness, purple, an interesting visual imagination, and journaling. Drawn in Procreate like the rest of the OC birthday series.

Jake and Austin's "anniversary" is also on my OC calendar. In previous years I did a fake comic cover for the same occasion (which was very cool-toned), so here we are again, but OLDER and warm-toned!

It felt weird to colour Jake's hair black but it's accurate for this era. Drawn in Procreate, which I meant limited font options so I scraggled wrote my own title text. In the draft, there was a more streamlined diagonal direction for the text (since I drew the pic with text in mind) (I do not like Procreate and I ran out of layers). There are several other things that bother me, but maybe I'll deal with it another day.

Web stuff

I said I would work on a links page but in addition to that, I ended up converted my site to use Kiki (a tiny homepage construction kit) to remove the pain of having to hand code a lot of links. The conversion was mostly painless (took me a few hours). I ended up using kiki's default bug language (and some HTML) to get things working, but if you get the full version, you can use markdown (bludit and kirby both used markdown) in lieu (and do some of the more complicated stuff, like lists and tables).

The dev of the kit, vga256, also does gamedev and is actually based in the same city as me!!? I like their software design philosophy. I would say that the kit provides a halfway-there result when it comes to making a site with a lot of IMAGES, as in, you can have a website that displays long scroll of pictures, one at a time. I added 2-3 lines of CSS to get the images to fit to the width of the browser size, so it could be more responsive (for images).

It's a lot more pleasing to look at content files that don't have as much HTML stuffed inside of them. I decided to ambiguously call my links page sphere because I like to think of it as stuff in my sphere/orbit.

I also got a NEW guestbook. Come sign it (so I know if it works)!! I used baccyflap's guestbook PHP script (it was super simple, stores data in a txt file and doesn't capture more info than necessary, score).

I might add a separate page for sewing/crafting too. Web tinkering, another rabbit hole.

2025 retrospective

How I'm feeling:

2025 was not great for most of us. Some nice things where:

• temporary peace from Tumour Time
• planned and thumbnailed Stuck in the Middle (still have a few chapters to go)
• crawled into a deep crafting hole (textiles/fibre arts, sewing, jewellery, etc.)

I was wholly got distracted from Here We Are (my disdain for making and posting digital comics/art in this evil-internet-scrapping-slop-age) and instead prioritized my mental health and went down a physical sewing/crafting hole instead.

So many projects so little time!

I'm wrapping up my 2025 journal. Unfortunately I ran out of pages in my A6 midori notebook, so I resorted to using Midori-branded post-it notes instead.
It's fun to see all the fruit stickers!

If you haven't done it this year, go borrow 4⭐Town 4⭐Real from the library!!!

2026 aspirations

Comics

Thinking about the physical production of SitM has been fun. I already have lofty print production ambitions, but they've only gotten worse (and more DIY/hands-on/pseudo-eco-desires ramped up). I need to actually draw the comic, HAHA. Since corporate slave life has only gotten worse, I feel like I have to change some plot points a bit, because my feelings have also evolved since I first wrote it. There's still a lot of back-of-house work to do, like designing the workplace/setting/environments properly for continued use and continuity when drawing. Unexciting cubicles!

As for HWA, I do wonder if it's better for me to actually write the whole book first and gather up a "buffer" before releasing any new chapters. You know, like a more regularly-updating comic online haha. Working on two books feels unfeasible given the time I have.

Sewing

I have a long list of patterns hoarded that still have to be made. I should limit myself to sewing 1 project a month at max (or less I will only sew and never draw again, as I tend to get hyper-focused when I'm crafting).

• Shirt : Ridgeway (Twig and Tale), Fairfield HWA loggersport uniform top edition (Thread Theory), Jarrah (Megan Nielsen)
• Pants: Sidewinder (The Sewing Revival), Jumpy (Ready to Sew, discontinued), Flint (Megan Nielsen)
• Jacket: Joe (Ready to Sew, discontinued)
• Undergarments: modded patterns from Measure Twice/Cut Once, one of the few places that does woven patterns (hoping to be able to make a boxer style one with a proper crotch gusset piece, with biodegradable elastics at waist and thighs)
• Improv patchwork twin-sized blanket quilt with all my yellowy fabric. Bust my stash! IDK if my domestic sewing machine will survive, it struggles with thin batting already, so maybe I'll be forced to hand quilt (which explodes the making time)
• Hanging fabric organizer with pockets: that I can tie to the sides of my shelves, to hold more overflow stuff
• I've also been thinking about getting into sewing pattern-making for bags, with the intention of using all natural materials as baseline so they're more washable (which axes any use of zippers) and give people a lot of ideas for storage/pockets/other functional design features

I bought a set of natural dye kits from Julie Sinden (The Love of Colours) and look forward to using the kits some day. So many other supplies I have to gather first though (buckets, pots, scouring materials, drying space). I want to dye some thrifted and light-coloured clothing so I will actually wear them! I also want to visit Reimagined Fabrics (local second hand fabric store) when the weather is better.

My own attention has/will be very divided in the next while, since I'm living in 3 different places (my own unit, house-sitting and shovelling for another, and cat-sitting for another). The hardest part is managing food and laundry. I just ate way too much baked halloumi cheese because it was past expiry and I'm not going to be home for a bit.

Hope we all get some Rest and Recovery. Bad vibes begone!

Listening

Sonido Cósmico album by Hermanos Gutiérrez + Elegantly Wasted (Hermanos Gutiérrez Ft. Leon Bridges)

Reading

i'll give you my galaxy~: BREEZE started an English resource blog about making doujinshi in Japan and Korea!

Tetrapod Zoology: I love the clear passion that Darren has for animals. I esp like to read the caption text on the images because sometimes Darren will drop golden nuggets like "this handsome specimen..."!! I can't commit this level of animal-knowledge-detail to my brain, but I like to creep from the sidelines. I remember reading about some of these creatures in Dinosaur Sanctuary comic.

Nani Iro sewing studio: I've always liked Nani Iro textile aesthetics (but can not afford them). I sometimes find that Japanese fashion design leans more into functional (pockets by default) and looser woven clothing. The book came with some folded sheets to trade patterns off of, looks scary because there are several different patterns overlapping, but once I slowed down and looked carefully, it felt less intimidating. There are a lot of potential things to make from this book, but tracing the patterns and taping tracing paper together...is...annoying HAHA.

Pattern Design Fundamentals - Construction and Pattern Making for Fashion Design: a nice overview! I appreciated knowing some of the fundamentals but without getting too bogged down in history. There are a lot of deets about different sorts of darts and fitting mods, which would probably be more useful to me if I was actually interested in making fitted clothing, but you all know my fashion sense is stylish bag.

The Daily Heller: When stamping was a brand strategy, part 1 + part 2: so many exquisitely-detailed-carved stamps with illustrated accents and typography!

~

I read a lot of random romance/smutty comics while living in places that aren't my own...

Dandadan #4-14: Jiji kid really is...a representation of a modern day teenage boy.
I laughed really hard at this tsundere maid part. Turbo granny and kitten (CRY). I want more grannies stories instead of teenage boy and teenage girl bra/panty/tentacle shots. I hope they calamari-ed the baddie aliens or not.

Firefly Wedding #1: I read this because of Jocelyne's review. Intrigued to see how this Assassin Guy and Noblewoman relationship develops! I like that the Noblewoman stops being CRYCRY and uses her brains and determination to problem solve.

A side character's love story #5-6: everytime I read a new vol the only thoughts I have are "sure pure innocence"

Smoking behind the supermarket with you #4: she is getting SO touchy.

Blue Box #16: I was also rooting for Haryu because he is a 3rd year...

Akane-Banashi #14: I was also the blubbering crying person after reading Maikeru's performance. Shiguma!!! So COOL!!! SO STYLE!! I always love when artists really pay attention to subtlety in eyes and acting. I would love to see him perform. Everyone powerful loves Akane's dad's rakugo so much, I look forward (and dread) to seeing what drama led up to the expulsion...

Sweet for Sweets and Foreigners #1-2 (end): I read because of glasses man on cover!! It's exactly what you expect haha. The heroine loves shoujo manga. The author's freetalk makes me think of myself in 2010, when we released Expired Seafood (older men in glasses comic anthology).

Don't call me dirty (end) + Don't call me daddy (end): despite what the titles imply, these stories were pretty tame! The former is about a liquor store keeper and a homeless person and the word dirty" mean a few things. The latter is about about oyaji parent(s) of the liquor store keeper in the other book.

Glass Syndrome (end): high school and college boys. I'm a bit baffled because there wasn't much time to dig into either characters' background or complexes that led to a slightly unconventional attachment and form of love.

We Can't Do Just Plain Love #1: about a guy who can't deal with women, and the woman loves the smell of this Guy and thus strikes a deal to "train" him with exposure therapy, where she also benefits from getting a good smell of him. Sometimes this guy wears Glasses. I can appreciate that the gal knows what she wants and isn't overly shyshy about it.

Loved Circus (end): a guy who loses all his money to a hostess, gets into trouble with loans, and ends up (willingly given the circumstances?) in a male prostitution situation to earn money back. Despite the context it felt very...reasonable? The art style has a nice looseness and clarity to it.

This Wonderful Season with You (end): nerd + jock with a wee bit of angst. Another choice based on "glasses guy on the cover"

RePlay (end): pitcher and catcher marriage battery sports boy angst!

I'm nearing the end of a rough project (I toughed it out)! I also contemplated quitting my job again (this is a constant struggle) because of generativeSlop intrusions from both coworkers and clients. How many of my carefully crafted messages/emails/docs weren't even looked at because people just don't care to use their own brains and do things for themselves anymore? It leads to more mistakes and carelessness on their own part. I can't set anyone up for success if they won't even engage with the Help I've provided to them.

I did more math on my living expenses again and absolutely won't make it to "retirement" (hahahaha what a concept) so I'll have to continue enduring. I have no idea how to find teams and jobs that are generativeSlop-free. Hit me up if you know of any in Canada...!

Not sure when the last time I used a G nib was (over a decade ago?!) and every stroke felt deeply awkward. I drew this on an unfinished and decades old comic. 5min timelapse vid on 🔏Masto!

I've been thinking about making their uniform top since I have the fairfield button-up shirt pattern. Making the patch feels like it will be painful and slow embroidery, and I would have to actually design the logo properly. We shall see!

Pet news

Alpa and Fishlips got new room mates. They came unexpectedly so I didn't formally name them. One of them named themselves after Alpa (Metal Alpa X) and the other dog-like one is named Raven. Those two don't like either other! What drama will ensue!? It tickles my heart greatly to think that Alpa (D&D and Paperdemon version) might hang out with these very 2d scrungo Poppyseed pets. Both Fishlips and Raven have their colours inverted right now...

50 questions for webmasters

Got these 50q for webmasters survey from fiddery!

I can't believe it's almost Dec, aka nearing the end of 2025. I just ate a blood orange. Its sticker label says Red Flesh Navel, which out of context, sounds creepy! My surgery scar is still very visible.

My default brainless canvas size is square, so my doodles always end up in that ratio.

I found Val's realistic brush (Krita) and wanted to try it out. If left to my own devices I will 99% overhatch a drawing. Though I find with default digital brushes the hatching just look very, digital? I get a lot of hooks at the ends. This brush felt pretty good in comparison.

This drawing just became what it became...IDK what's going on.

We got a bit of snow earlier in Nov and it put me in the mood to draw snow and winter jacket!
I drew my own BG this time. I love "quality" jpg compression on red tones. When it comes to colouring I often end up with something dramatically lit (direct light hitting subject vs ambient light) because I love contrast.

For the past few years I've been trying to reduce digital colouring / shading layers to a core set (usually fg flats, shadow x2-3, highlight x2-3) and that has been working in Krita! This is a pretty common approach used in production (to make edits to flats easier, change the lighting completely, etc.). In the past I mainly focused on using 1 colour for shadow/highlights, but I think putting in slightly more time to colourize them a bit, gives a more interesting result (e.g., reflected light and whatnot).

I continue to be more of a line-person rather than a colour-person.

HWA ch.13 WIP

I had a dream where some reporter (?) linked to one of my deleted freetalk entries (about how I'm a genAI-hater) and they did a calculation of how many years it would take for me to release HWA ch. 22?! AHHHHHHHHHHH!

My shame.

From the archives

I found some old Katekyo Hitman Reborn fan comics' original inks from over a decade ago. I was in SO DEEP for a while (we made a whole perfect bound fancomic anthology out of it afterall!) but I never finished the series.

I'm curious about why there is a giant chunk of paper missing in one of the pages, and why past me drew 2x pages per copy-paper letter sized sheet (when the final print size was about the same...?).

I went through my zines and found a lot of pre-2010 fan books from various series. I wonder how we found each other. Was it really because of DeviantArt? LiveJournal?! Most of these are B/W productions because printing full colour was super expensive (and printing b/w bound comics was already cost-prohibitive).

I have no idea where I found $ to make books and buy books during this era...?!

Sewing

I wasn't really planning to make a whole wardrobe but I guess I'm on my way...

Padded patchwork reversible vest

A vest with an overlapping collar, pattern courtesy of Remittancegirl who drafted a pattern from a store-bought vest! I over-complicated things again and make a patchwork quilted reversible monster. Honestly vests are not usually in my closet (I own...zero until now), so we'll see how this gets used! The pockets are only on the patchwork side.

Materials

• Fabric outer: Cottom loom (sourced from G.k. Fashion Fabrics)
• Fabric inner: yarn-dyed cotton scraps (sourced from A Threaded Needle)
• Thread (sashiko): Cosmo Lecien Hidamari, navy (sourced from A Threaded Needle)
• Thread (sewing): probably Gütermann 100% cotton 50wt grey?
• Batting: Pellon 100% cotton Wrap-n-zap

(For a while now, I've been wondering what sin I'm perpetuating by using cotton batting made for microwaving potatoes and wraps, for clothing instead...)

Turning the vest into a shirt

I tried to make something with the same vest pattern but attached sleeves and used the curved edge on both front panels. Unlined this time, so that tested my brain and skills on how to do a clean interior finish. I incorporated the pocket learnings from previous make, Twig and Tale's Breeze. I did a super bad job drafting and attaching new sleeves, so the sleeves pulls strangely. The armpit seams are super unaligned. The ergonomics of the ties/pockets are a bit weird as well...it feels like I really have to "reach" across my body, awkwardly, to get to them (probably should've used longer ties and/or reduce the overall width of panels). I weirdly left the selvage edge of the interfacing showing through parts of the collar (tho I tried it on first to make sure it doesn't scratch my neck).

One other annoying thing was that my thread spool ended up with a bit of a plastic "bur" on the edge where thread was flying off of, and it created a lot of thread breaks. I tried nail-clipping the excess plastic off, which helped a little, but not completely :S. I hadn't realized this before since I mainly used this spool of thread for handsewing my burgundy/wine patchwork jacket.

Materials

• Fabric: My celestial opossum organic quilting cotton (custom printed at Art Fabrics)
• Interfacing: Sew-in cotton woven
• Thread: Coats and clark cotton

These high collared cross-over shirts are great to keep my back-of-neck warm and loose/adjustable enough while looking clean!

Pin cushion

I've been hoarding leftover threads and tiny fabric scraps. I finally made a pin cushion with the scrap threads/fabrics as stuffing! I honestly should've under-stuffed it and maybe use a looser weave (than oxford cotton) so that the pins can pierce through the surface more easily. Originally a cylinder to fit into an old gifted candle jar (from LOHN), but then it was...too...thick...so I'm using it like a horizontal log now.

Materials

• Fabric: variety of Japanese cotton scraps leftover from prior projects
• Stuffing: old fabric cut-offs and threads from prior projects (largely a mix of cotton and linen)
• Thread: Gütermann 100% cotton 50wt

A great upcycling idea!!

Sewing Therapy rectangle top

The website examples are all very fem and chic.
Mine is...not. My intent was to make a woven PJ top to replace all my other holey PJ knits. It's meant to be easy to cut and assemble because the pattern is just of a bunch of rectangles, however, I messed around too much and it became a series of comedic errors that increased the make time by 10000%.

I wanted as small of a neckhole as possible (for warmth) but then when I attached stuff together, I couldn't fit my head through the hole. So then I undid bits and added more fabric to the shoulder to widen the hole, and THAT still wasn't enough, so I ended up needing to "fold back" part of the shoulder piece before attaching the front/back panels, which made for this strange polygonal neckline. I also wanted longer sleeves and body, so I attached extra length to those in the end...

This fabric is pretty interesting, perhaps sort of hideous. Like what if Guy Fieri x Lisa Frank x a toddler did a collab to melt primary-colour wax crayons?!? Rainbow flame waves? I have no idea. It's deadstock fabric afterall haha. Since the fabric is a bit bulkier (but still pretty good to sew!) I went with the scraggly zigzag stitching on the interior seams (instead of trying to french seam).

Materials:

• Fabric: Deadstock cotton (?) flannelette (sourced from Our Social Fabric)
• Thread: Gütermann 100% cotton 50wt

I ran out of this interesting fabric so can't make pants...so will have to make those from something different!

Maybe it's time for me to finally source biodegradable elastics for pant sewing. None of the things above go "together" in a cohesive way, HAHA (though I never intended them to).

Digital pet updates

Fishlips's colours became inverted?! But they're still living their best life. Even though their home is constantly full of stuff. They broke up with someone they're dating from their research group, but turns out they're also dating and FWB with other pets...! Their life is much more exciting than mine.

Reading, watching, looking

Being Ace and Intermittent Fasting: two new personal "my experience with" zines by Maiji! I enjoyed reading them. Turns out Maiji and I are both intermittent fast-ers! Reading Maiji's Ace experiences and comments/quotes from her colleagues, reminded me of how my ex-colleague asked if my boyfriend bought me my varsity jacket?! Please, I make my own fashion choices and use my own money (also there is no boyfriend 💅🏻)!
These zines made me want to make zines again...

Schism: if you were around for the early 2000s webcomic scene, you might remember this comic by Leigh/NewBabyFly. It's back and rebooted! Still extremely recognizable after the glow-up, nearly 2 decades later :).

Rurupoi painting the Rockies: so glad to see someone echo the similar amount of awe I felt when I visited the Rockies!

What's the difference between an artist and a creator?. WHICH ARE YOU? (I'm self-directed artist with no market appeal).

Shannon Kao, a multidisciplinary artist with focus on book-making, print, and digital interfaces. Also runs a risograph press! I'm loving the handicraft and care put into the art books.

Illustrations from Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom (1909): such beautiful illustrations!

Nina the Starry Bride #15: so many princes...

Wandance #13: unceremonious leaving of 3rd years!! The drawings really are getting MEGA bendy.

Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You #2: so dense...so dense... I suppose this is the kind of comic I make HAHA, all TALKY TALKY!

Physical Asia ep1: the more competitive and boastful a person is (aka most of the contestants) the less interested I am in them, though some of this is manufactured drama. For me this is more stressful to watch than awe-inspiring, haha.

Dandadan #2: I have 0% teenage boy sense-of-humour, so dick jokes were never funny to me, so I don't find most of this series funny (yet?).I also think some of the Japanese humour is lost on me?! 

Blue Box #15: ouu...a break down...! When will you get to chill and be a normie teenager...

The Moon on a Rainy Night #5: of course it has to be cat-ear maid cafe!! The longer maid skirt reminds me of the time I visited Schatz Kiste over a decade ago (sadly they closed in 2020).

The Way of the Househusband #14: every moment is a hyper-exaggeration.

Pink Candy Kiss #1-2: I can not argue against a story with 30+ yr old stylish lesbians. One of them is...MARRIED THO! DANGER...
I love how the characters have bushy eyebrows...! Reading the author's freetalk about how they're admiring all the details on women...hehe

Dinosaur Sanctuary #3-4: omg chucking Eiger dino keychains off the school roof?! So drama. It's my first time seeing such an impeccably drawn shrimp in manga. As always the dinos are very charming and I can feel the love depicted for them.

Akane Banashi #13: Authors weren't joking about this vol being a Maikeru-ani-san vol. I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!! I CRIED WITH THE AUDIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was some really good paneling going on to show the crowd and bad vibes.

I survived my US trip. October has been a stressful month and will continue to be for the next while. I have to tough it out. I can't predict if the situation will blow up, which makes everything else I want to do in my personal time impossible to plan. I missed this year's Pelikan Hub!

The upside is that I adopted a bunch of chill digital pets (my version of therapy) that I can look forward to creeping once a day (or more). There's Fishlips, Boot Boot, and Buubuu. I also ate pumpkin pie 🎃!

HWA ch13

VERY SLOW..........

Fanart

I drew fanart for Nero's webcomic, Ultraviolents (18+)! There are many things to admire about his comic, but I remember fawning over a beaded curtain in one of the scenes and knew it had to be part of the picture. The other thing I wanted to convey, was the currently (?) ambiguous (?) relationship that Arnaldo and Sergio have. DO U WANT HIM TO STAY OR GO? Gotta keep reading...

Oftentimes I realize my linework too thin after I put in flats. So for this illo I had to double-up and displace linework to thicken things up. Arnaldo (left) has thickened lines below, Sergio (right) does not.

After thickening stuff up, hatching, and adding black fills here and there. Nero has a much looser way of drawing and applying texture/black fills than me...

Drawn in Krita with mostly moo brushes!

~

I drew Shishido (Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name) to match the Tsuruno I drew last year, but after I finished inking it, I realized I was not-smart and these pics can't match because I inked Tsuruno with a soft line, and Shishido with a hard line...!? I forgot.

Drawn in Krita, inked with the default digital pixel art fill brush. His jacket pattern is also very intricate but I did do as much detail as I did with Tsuruno's. They both have floral motifs. I've finished more Gaiden and Omi/Watase family illos than Tojo. I do suppose that Gaiden NPCs are some of my favs!

Sewing

Slippers!

I made some slippers. The blue/white pair is Heather Handmade pattern (women, men). I added extra tabs to make them easier to pull on. After a few days of wearing, the seam at the toe has begun to pull apart (this is a fabric and me-sewinig-issue, not necessarily a pattern one)! I'll patch them if it gets really bad.

• Fabric: dollar store flannel
• Thread: Gütermann 50wt cotton

The single boot (haha) pattern is Frog slippers by P2 Designs. The reason why there is only one is because I forgot to cut fabric for another one... It's more bulky, so it didn't fit my needs (I wanted something that would fit into my existing non-warm crocs).

• Outer fabric: cotton canvas (with my eel/shrimp/cuttlefish print)
• Inner fabric: cottom loom leftover from making my first Fairefield button-up shirt
• Thread: Gütermann 50wt cotton

Pull-on arm warmers

For these I just held my hand/arm onto paper, traced, added extra width based on my arm diameter at different spots, added seam allowance, then off we go. I made an initial prototype with thumb hole and french seams, but it became way too bulk/unruly.

The ends are done with a zigzag stitch (my first time using it in a long time) with jersey needle (also my first time), since I'm mainly using these at home. These have been good for me because I am armpit sweaty but my limbs are otherwise cold. They have a brushed interior, so it's soft! I cut the fabric so the stretch keeps the warmers up my arm without much sag.

• Fabric: bamboo knit jersey fleece??? (sourced from Simplifi Fabric years ago)
• Thread: Gütermann 50wt cotton

Breeze by Twig and Tale

Stand collars are my fav collars. This pattern already came with french seams baked in (YES!), clean interiors, and good size alteration instructions.

It was my first time blending between 3 sizes (40, 46, 52) because I wanted bigger armsye (52), a wider body (46), but more fitted shoulder/collar (40). I must've done something wrong at some point, because my sleeve pieces were much shorter than the body piece it was meant to attach to, but since the sleeves were meant to be oversized anyway, I just adjusted by cutting off the extra bits...

In addition there were some other tutorials for mods: pocket and split hem! So I gave those a try. They were good learnings!

Mine ended up more tunic length, and there are some skipped and uneven stitches here and there, but patterned fabric means you can't really tell...! I also didn't flatten the front properly when I attached the facing, so there is some fabric sag there, but again, patterned print makes it less noticeable!

I pattern matched this tab reinforcement!

• Fabric: Cotton loom (sourced from G.K. Fashion Fabrics)
• Interfacing: sewn-in mysterious fabric (cotton?) that was leftover from my nutshell patchwork jacket
• Thread: Aurifil mako 40wt

If I were to make this again, I'd shorten the body and sleeve length, maybe exaggerate the height of the collar too. Maybe not use a tab at the front for a cleaner look (but that comes down to my lack of skills w/r/t sewing a sharp point...).

Reading / watching

I wish my genus and species was boops boops.

SpyxFamily #14: this henry and martha side arc (screams)

Sensei's Pious lie #3-4 (end): I think there's a lot of ambiguity in how the author writes. But I'm glad it became clearer by the end. Minako's speech at the gross man was great.

Pluto #8 (end): indeed...nothing good comes out of hate :S

Blue Box #10-14: the gears are finally turning...!

The Moon on a Rainy Night #2-3: I like Kanon's straightforwardness with calling-in (positive) Saki on certain matters.

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! #14: Tachibana's gotta find his own man!

Forensics: Catching the killer (S3 E1-5): it's hard to commit crimes when there are CCTVs everywhere and scientists getting more intense with their disciplines...

Akira #1-6 (darkhorse TPB, huge): Every panel is a perfect illo. Tho I wish it wasn't plagued by female sexual harrassment like all shonen manga of this era. Only gals get nipps, not the shirtless dudes. I'm glad I read it (to understand the hype). As a story it isn't necessarily my vibe, but its execution is excellent!

A Side Character's Love Story #2-3: brb getting destroyed by 4-leaf clovers. Bandaging a back heel at this stage??????? DARING!!!!! HOW INTIMATE!

Tokyo Alien Bros #3 (end): Natsu in 80s garb with wide leg fishnets, amazing. The author's stories are quietly poignant.

Takopi's Original Sin: A friend asked me to read it so I didn't reallly know what I was getting into. Simultaneously cute and harsh/messed up...but not a bad way.

Dandadan #1: shounen manga without some sort of sexual harassment in first volume challenge: failed! I'm not sure what to think of this yet but everyone else seems to love it, so I'll keep reading!

Kaiju no. 8 #14: the guy on the cover didn't actually get more air time, haha

Kaiji no. 8 B-side #2: Narumi's fakeness and background. I'm often not convinced that Kikoru is a 14yo teenager.

Akane Banashi #12: glad that old fart got a talking too :S!! Looking forward to seeing what Maikeru's rakugo is like...!

My Love Story!! #8-13 (end): great picker-upper series. Maki is still best baby...

My Love Story!! in College #14: it's funny to see the authors' freetalks at end of v13 being like "it's over!thank you" but then as a reader I get to reader #14 continuation right after ahaha.

Smoking behind the supermarket with you #1: middle aged guy fell for a store worker, VICE VERSA! PS: I'm the manager.

Sad vs happy jellyfish indicators. Now we can crtique all aquariums' jelly fish health.

The grand prize worksfrom the International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest.

Enjoying the vintage aesthetic of of Animal Park Fun fabric collection designed by Stacy Iest Hsu (for Moda fabrics), especial #20964 and #20965.

Photos of artist studios via The Studio Project. In the past few years I've been really drawn to impressionist techniques (specifically, visible brush strokes) in abstract and semi-realistic paintings. I found out about Iosif Derecichei's work because of fabric.

I you asked me "will you draw another six foot tall standee" I would've said "no," but I do not control my fate. I drew another 6ft tall standee by request, this time it's Majima to go with Kiryu (Yakuza) hahaha.

Laser cut backtrack

I mentioned my laser cut adventures a few months ago. Some of the designs were "emblems" that I designed to represent some of my comics/zines. The different tones represent different cut/engraving intensities, but I'm not sure why these aren't consistent across images in preview (e.g., solid black was meant to represent a cut line, grays are meant to represent engraving).

• Cry bye = mostly my attitude these days, but also thought about Cook n Cry anthology
• Glasses and shrimp = my beloveds
• Sunset against mountains = based on the scene in HWA arc 1
• ??idk?? = Sabina's HWA arc 2
• fuzzy pencil topper, 4-leaf clover, and sticky note = stuck in the middle's special items

I made 1cm versions (now strung onto a bracelet) and 1.5cm versions (not sure what I'm going to do with those) to see how small the laser cutter could cut without losing detail. I'll say that 1cm is a bit too small haha (they're a bit fragile, but cute). I didn't futz with the settings enough for the 1.5cm run (because a stranger at the library kept talking to me when I was trying to work!?), so the engraving intensity is all off.

OCeptember (original character)

I found a list of prompts from Bolthamos. I decided to use a grid, so there was less stress about drawing big and filling a space. The ink used is the ink I'm journaling with that day. Straight to pen horrors! Whenever my pen was too thick (broad and double broad) the drawings became worse.

OC bday of the month, Austin.

HWA HWA HWA!

(please read as weird laughing) I haven't done fake dialogue in a long time. This fake dialogue explains my rationale for HWA comics, whose ch.13 is still taking me long to get through because of technical challenges (both drawing and software).

Sashiko Zenigame

My first sashiko! IDK why I chose my first to be a complicated looking design, but once I understood what was happening, it's all good. I guess all that patchwork hand sewing was good training. The hardest part is trying to make even and consistent stitches, but I didn't beat myself over it.

I missed a sewing step at the beginning (didn't finish the edges of my cloth properly) so I had to append a border on to it (which I did with a sewing machine). I did a hand top-stitch at the top and bottom (originally I was going to do the left/right sides too, but...)

I have some left over threads...what will they become?? Tassels????

Materials

• Olympus hana-fukin (kugurizashi) kit, zeni-game design (sourced from A Threaded Needle)
• Olympus sashiko thread 100m (Amber #137, Variegated green #155, Bright yellow #111, gold yellow #106 (sourced from A Threaded Needle)
• Tulip sashiko needle, long
• Border fabric: Handkerchief Nectar from Art Gallery Fabrics' Season & Spice collection
• Backing fabric: leftover lining fabric from making the Thompson coat

Separately I also made a fall/pumpkin bracelet from glass beads, which unintentionally matches the sashiko!!!!!!

Autumnal pumpkin colours forever! I want PUMPKIN PIE!!!!!

More scrappy patchy

I saved all my linen scraps from making the Thompson coat and began assembling them. What will they become? I'm not sure yet, but it sure is satisfying to turn many little scrappies into medium scrappy patchies (and so on). I always enjoy the serendipity of scrappy patchy!

I now have glass-head pins from Clover and they're so SHARP and SMOOTH. My rate of stabbing myself has increased 100%. IDK where I got my prior pins (probably dollar store) but they sometimes get bent tips, snag the fabric, and are harder to pierce the fabric smoothly. I have definitely melted some pin heads off. With these new pins (which honestly felt frivolous), I can (gently) iron all over them.

Web stuff

It seems like a few more people are interested in Fediverse after multiple BlueSky dramas (bannings, ToS changes and censorship). If anyone here wonders what is Fedi and Mastodon, FediTips (also on masto) is a good starting point. There are now:

• Starter packs on FediDevs, where you can search a term (e.g., comics) and see if someone made a collection of accounts to follow
• FediGroups that let you follow and post to a group if you tag the group in your post, like sewing and webcomics. You can also create a group (through approval, which may/may not be open, given there's an influx of sign-up because of similar service, Guppe's demise), but FYI their server doesn't allow NSFW.
• Independent artist support community (original born out of music discoverability, now extending to different sorts of arts)
• An unexpected recent fav account is Weird (real) estate
• Alternative front ends, like phanpy.social, which I sometimes use instead of masto's official frontend (honestly I don't think I need to use it, but it is sometimes interesting to see a profile's "post type" breakdown so I can sorta tell who is just cross-posting vs actually interacting on the site).

Since there's an influx of new (or returning) peeps to fedi, I updated my profile intro to consolidate my projs (and made some custom opossum emoji hehe).

• I made new website banners!
• I updated DA CHARM SONE with more weirdness

I have biz travel to USA in Oct, so if I u don't hear from me 😭...u kno y.

Listening

Buscabulla's El Camino. Bandcamp friday is this Oct 3! I got a lot of great music last month 💓, including a lot of albums I've mentioned here.

Reading, watching, looking

My Love Story!!! #4-5: I would also be mesmerized by Takeo if I saw him in action. The little details like "headband doesn't even fit his head" are so good. The baby is SO cute. I also love how "I love her" is repeated nearly every chapter haha. (I think the same thing whenever I see good animal pics).
I liked the story with the strong mom who wants to protect cute things (and I love the choice of keeping her looking like a stereotypical older permed hair mom haha).

Fragrant Flower Blooms with dignity #7: I keep getting hit with all the feels with these friendship and parental moments!!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So good.......so pure

Sensei's Pious Lie #2: so many uncomfortable moments and danger characters. A high degree of dislikeable characters.

Tokyo Tarareba Girls Return #1: I'm back for more. I agree this wedding guy has the Looks and the reveal at the end was brutal for Rinko hahaha.

Marriage Toxin #7: amazing driving, I can relate. Chinatsu is a babe. The physics in this series never make sense haha.

In this Corner of the World #1: about a young bride in war era Japan. So far it hasn't been what I expected (it feels more slice of life, at least the first volume). Probably a book that would be best for someone who has good historical chops...

Hirayasumi #5: Hideki's sad life reminds me of the woes that some people around me are going through right now too. This series is my vibe...

A Side Character's Love Story #1: The title is exactly what the story is. Pleased to know that the love interest wears GLASSES. Also most of my traits match up with Mokubo, which also means I'm a side character (to nobody's surprise)

Mushishi #3: I feel that I don't always understand, but maybe that's part of the experience, given these strange mushi...creatures

The Wize Wize Beasts : I thought this was going to be about furry magicians doing magic hijinks. Did not expect the make out, bite marks, and some of these predator prey dynamics. And very gay characters?! My shock is mainly bc I've only read Girl from the other side story had none of this thirstyness...!? Laughing at the author's freetalk (and clarified their intent to spread furry love hahaha).

Dinosaur Sanctuary #2: I thought the dad drama was going to be way more dramatic! Benkei bullying, how dare!! Squat-sitting dinosaurs are extra cute and charming. I wonder how many visual revisions the artist has to make because the scientific advisor is SO SPECIFIC about how dinos need to look.

Nina the Starry Bride #14: I read the prev vol so long ago that I admit I don't really remember what's happening...I think Sett and Az just need to both be loved by Nina. Meanwhile I'll devote myself to Neena the bird.

Blue Box #7-9: I'm gonna assume that Karen's sister is gonna fall for glasses guy!!!!!!

itemLabel: if I had an animal/creature "brand" it would probably have some of this chaos. When I did the quiz I got youfo.

I saw new PostPet gacha and remembered its existence. I had no idea petWORKS also made the Momoko dolls and compact airplanes.

I never had my own Punkinhead but my childhood friend did. I had a purple popple. I have a (rare) memory of one of our popples getting their tail snapped off after it got caught in an exercise bike wheel...

Paper and Stitch has some charming Halloween monsters art made out of junk mail.

Otomo Katsuhiro on Urasawa Naoki's Manben. I've never read Domu but it looks SO GOOD. Immediately went to check my library but they don't have it, so I put Akira on hold instead. I need to go back and watch all the Manben that I've missed (most of them except for 2 episodes from the non-Neo era)...

5-way wear coaroo bag design is neat. I have all these wear problems. After using my handmade bag (that I was mainly carrying with short handles) for a recent trip, I realized that handsfree is really important at the airport gate (have to show ID, take glasses off, take mask off, show a phone/ticket, aka all action that require a lot of HAND)

Kuchipatchi in a backpack with lip squished against the clear window. How much carrying capacity does this have beyond kuchipatchi tho?

I could not resist my temptations for Techotchi, a yelllow block charmer with pink lips and polygonal feet.