#also i jsut really love that first panel so much

[hopeheartfilia]

I think ill turn in for the night after finishing this chapther of school bus graveyard before i finish all the chapthers that are out and im sleepy for analysis but i wanna share the moments i loved so far and remembered to screenshot :

We're starting with this one of Ashlyn, i love it so much, they are all so silly, this is likely how id react to that when i dont want to talk to people but end up in forced proximity, leaves options for Dont see dont hear dont speak memes in both directions, angstu and crack

This next one is jsut funnier when paired eith the one above. Yeh youre not getting out of this one ashlyn, prepare to suffer socila interactions ( ive been both in her and in aidens role in this type of interacton before) (im an annoying yapper who yaps but is also very asocial)

This is just a reminder that her back crackles like a glow stick

This was me thinking this nickname would stick

This is because i really liked killies. I conect it more to heelies then wheelies

they are very cute

also this. i love that they are both so socially inept indeed

this one is just aiden being abbit smitten. they are adorable

The watermarks ar ebecause i res the first season via my tachyomi on some shady extension before downloading the webtpon app

the gang being cute in this panel youve likely seen over a dozen times

This is the max amount of pics its letting me post in one oost apparently? Anyway im loving this webcomic

#school bus graveyard #me #a shitpost can be blue

[daedalusdavinci]

jason tell me about dove for that ask meme. because i lvoe him too. i miss him :(

well. i asked for this.

hi guys welcome to my batman blog where today im going to be talking about niche silver age dc character that absolutely no one gives a shit about but me: don hall! i read all of his comics in the span of like two days and i havent stopped crying about him since

send me a character and ill tell you...

- What made me like them in the first place

pictured: the precise moment i fell head over heels in love w don. he is just so..... yknow??? hes just such a kind fucking person and i love him so much

- Who I ship them with

no one </3 he literally doesnt talk to anyone long enough. if i shipped him w anyone it would probably be lilith tho they were kind of cute in that single fucking panel lol

- Random headcanon I have about them

he taught an art class he MUST paint i refuse to believe anything else hes definitely an art boy <3

- My favorite moment of theirs

see the above panel but also when he fuckin.g embarrassed himself in front of the girl he lieks and teargassed a bunch of cops and then tripped chasing after a criminal and got called a crybaby and then the comic just ENDED LIKE THAT. dons horrible no good very bad day alkjsndfssdf hes such a loser i love him so much

- Plotline/story I want to happen

if dc hadnt been a bunch of cowardly losers they could have leaned more into dons investigative tendencies and the way he talks to victims about what happened which would have been rad as fuck, just btw. also i wish there had been MORE comics w don and hank working w the teen titans. yes we had a few but what about more. i want don to have friends. fuck you dc

- Any issues or insecurities I think they have

that boy should be more insecure than he is bc wow. he is jsut the biggest loser. i think hes obviously insecure about a lot of things bc hank only picks on him all the time (and he picks back! iconic.)

- Favorite quote

see the above panel (again), but also i think its really funny when he snips at hank, and you KNOW i love all his panels where he defends his pacifism. hes so iconic

- Kiss, marry, hug, or kill

i am kissing him right on the mouth hes so <33333

- Random thing that reminds me of them

just really predictable shit. but yknow i promise you every time i think about the teen titans my brain is always gonna jump straight to him, and thats probably not the case for most people

- Any talents I think they might have

well he knew enough about art to teach a class and apparently hes a pretty good swimmer. i feel like hed probably be good at other things hank would think r super lame, like sewing

- On a rate from 1 to 10 how much I love them

10/10 hes so <33333

- What I think about their family

hank can go fuck himself <3 their dad makes for an interesting contrast to the two of them but i wish both of their parents had gotten the chance to be expanded on more. tragedy of all times

- Who I think should be their bff

i really would have liked to see don and hank become better friends w the other titans who were sidelined, like lilith, and mel. id kill for that actually.

- What animal they would be

.............................i dont need to answer this question

- Three songs that remind me of them

no <3

- Favorite episode/issue/thing centered around them

definitely the cringefail comic where he just fucked up absolutely everything but im also really fond of the hawk and the dove #2

- How badly they need hugs

so badly.

- Favorite thing about their personality

i love that hes every bit as headstrong and snippy as hank is, even tho hes a pacifist. like, yeah, he doesnt believe in violence, but he still gets pissed as hell all the time, and thats so fucking real tbh. ik part of the juxtaposition is bc dc wanted him to seem wimpy and cowardly but it is really fun to see him get humiliated and then STILL whip around and call hank a neanderthal like alsjdlfsndsdfnjsf

- Favorite thing about their appearance

sobbing. crying. hes so cute i love when they give him curls

the dove costume is BUTT UGLY but i do like the color scheme

- Why I love them so much

he had so much potential. it wouldve been so fascinating to see how dc handled a superhero who was a pacifist and believed strongly in criminal reform and peace. dc tried so hard to make him seem weak and unmanly that they would up creating a guy who didnt fit into the usual hypermasculine superhero archetype and that was just. fascinating, honestly. refreshing. i also just loooove a good angry leftist so you know me. hes just. SUCH a cringefail losergirl its impossible not to fall madly in love w him im going to be mourning what could have been for the rest of my fucking life

#asks #don hall is the love of my fucking life he is so babygirl to me #im so normal about it i promise #ashysiashy #dubiousfruitsalad #anyway pls read the hawk and the dove its only 6 issues and ehs so (sob)

[roydeezed]

Beat & Motion-Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 6)

As what feels like sole english speaking fan of this manga on this site, I will keep screaming about how good this manga is, CAUSE ITS SO GOOD YALL! Please do yourself a favour and read it. I won't spoil anything here as I have a lot of thoughts so they'll be below the cut! See ya there!

Right away we learn so much about these two. Nabori was seen as a hothead earlier but he really is just super passionate. And outside of Akame, very withdrawn and soft spoken until he blows his top. And speaking of Akame. That panel that I cut out above is such a masterful panel. Nabori's hesitation with Akame noticing it through the corner of his eye and then proceeding to lead the conversation all happens off of that one panel. And it speaks worlds about their relationship. I really love the distinct art style of Beat & Motion too, it's very angular and thus it emphasizes key features to really deliver powerful emotions.

Oh my God! What a foreshadow! That last panel is from the first chapter where Tatsu was beating himself up about his band. Akame and Nabori were there! And this whole exchange between them brings up so many possibilities. Like what if they were animators in a band together. This manga is probably going to stick to it's guns with Tatsu as an animator but it's still fun to imagine.

But now it makes sense why Nabori is so cold towards Tatsu. They both saw Tatsu's band final performance and Nabori must have been inspired by it. It was the final performance and in the flashback it looked like Tatsu really left it all on the stage. Tatsu talked negatively of his time then but it was tinged by his bitterness. What this manga promotes quite heavily, is that no matter how many people are better than you at something, don't let that stop you from doing it, because art matters. Tatsu thought he was a bad musician but he inspired Nabori. He thought that he didn't stack up to people like Nabori and Akame, but Nico sought him out. Art, if from the heart, can't help but affect people.

I love Tatsu's development so much as well. He went from someone who actively looked down on other's dreams to actually readily sharing his dreams with someone he just met. And it's why I don't think he's going to let this:

affect him much. A lot of it's Nabori projecting and wanting Tatsu to be something he isn't. And the whiplash of having an artist he admired come into his field and give what seems to be a motive spurred on by outside factors must have also led Nabori to attach negative feelings towards wat he feels like are impure artists in his craft to Tatsu as well. It's not as meanspirited as much as it is fiercely protective of his craft and dream. Nabori doesn't want anyone to minimize his art. I love this series sooo much. It's so nuanced and interesting. One more thing I want to note before ending it is that Akame is really protective and considerate of Nabori's feelings. He seems like such an empathetic character that's able to understadn other's with just a glance. It shows the strength of the art that we can understand that much jsut through glances. And it also shows off how kind Akame is, that he cares about Nabori so much. Just because someone is perceptive, it doesn't mean they are always kind. Akame actively and gently tries to prevent Nabori from blowing up.

#beat & motion #weekly shonen jump #manga discussion #manga recap #manga

[smallandsundry]

my super nerdy lotr au(ish?) for @supercorpzine volume 2 🧝‍♀️🏹⚔🌳🌳🌳

#supercorpzine #supercorp #lena luthor #kara danvers #sometimes i draw stuff #also i jsut really love that first panel so much #and the scene in the movie #fiddleabout and i do a full rewatch sometimes #and aragorn is the most Extra

[one-piecee]

#ONEPIECE1045

Okay, wow, this was definitely one of the funniest one piece chapters I've ever read. I felt like I was reading a cartoon network-y, Tom and Jerry esque type fight but in the best way possible.

The chapter title is called Next Level -

which is very fitting, because at this point there is just no one on Luffy's level. He's really unmatched.

Like he's just having fun,

- and yes, like we all assumed (correctly), he can make all of his surroundings rubber as part of his awakening. BUT, not only can he make every surface and object rubbery, he can also make Kaido himself stretch like rubber!!

Kaido literally swallowed Luffy whole and he ended up

blowing up into a ballon inside of Kaido, making Kaido's body stretch like rubber

AND HE ESCAPED FROM INSIDE OF KAIDO THROUGH HIS EYEBALL??? LIKE WHAT KIND OF FIGHT IS THIS

and it's just... so good to see how fun he's having

AND THEN WE GET THIS CRAZY ASS PANEL???

and my personal favorite moment of this fight-

LUFFY PLAYING JUMP ROPE WITH KAIDO??? LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME THIS IS THE BEST

and you can just see that Oda himself is having so much fun because i mean

he's just having the time of his life drawing all of these expressions, and all of this it's jsut so. fun!! like this is luffy's fruit awakening in it's perfect state, the hito hito no mi model nika is all about bringing joy into people's hearts and tell me one person who wasn't reading this with just the biggest grin on their faces

and then of course.

because oda is oda.

this can't all be fun and games!!

and i understand... the way he drew this was funny, like the way luffy went from gear 5 to this old wrinkly sight but the implications of this? just made me go from having the biggest grin on my face to really damned sad

"this is taking a lot out of me" like all of his gears, and all of his powerups, luffy is slowly killing himself quicker and quicker and gear 5 is LITERALLY SUCKING HIS LIFE OUT. He's giving it his ALL, his heart literally stopped and he GOT IT BACK UP FOR THIS, he's sacrificing so much of his life just to beat kaido

He literally had to bang his hands on the ground to get his heartbeat back up -

going gear second stance, to get back into his gear 5 and saying

Do you really think after all of this, something like death can scare me? Come on heartbeat, get loud again.

He is literally trying to get his heart back up, the music starts sounding again (Doom Dut Da Da) and he's back.

(and yes I had to combine all of the panels cus there's so many i loved i needed to add but stupid tumblr has a 10 pic limit)

FIRST OF ALL LIKE LOOK AT THE FIRST FOUR PCITURES, THIS IS LIKE TOM AND JERRY OR SOMETHING AND I LOVE IT

LIKE IT'S JUST SO FUN, I CANT WAIT FOR IT TO BE ANIMTED

and then Luffy punches through Kaido, or more correctly he makes Kaido's face rubber, and then punches him and stretches out his face !!

and then ofc we get that end panel, god he's just so cool

no break nest week i dont think!!!

what did you think of the fight?

#one piece screencaps #one piece #op #luffy #opspoilers #spoilers #wano arc #manga #monkey d. luffy #kaido #joy boy #nika #1045 #chapter 1045 #one piece 1045 #onepiece1045 #one piece spoilers #ch.1045 #op 1045 #rubber #wano kingdom #yonko saga

[stray-tori]

TPN Vol 13 (and some earlier volumes) Thoughts

I honestly thought there’d be more sort of... domestic fun times in the shelter with the dadsTM but Ig not, okay byeeee- (i wish i could be sad, come on brain)

I also just... they HAD to throw in that romantic sub...element before he died?? really? was that necessary? ugh. I felt like they could have done more of these flashes to the past earlier and then just reminded us of them here but... oh well.

Also Emma’s dreams give her therapy. I’m not sure if TPN is saying that these sort of visions are actually some sort of supernatural connection but I find the idea funny that Emma gives herself therapy in her dreams and just SENSES the timing of the explosion (again, weird “placing scenes inbetween other things that already happened”) - that was intense, but I just... I’m not huge on these outright CONVERSATIONS. I think for Ray’s hallucination it worked better because (and the german dub goes in on this even more) Norman just says things (even if a bit different) that were already said before, so it’s more of a.... coming together I guess.

That also kind of bothered me about the scene when Emma is passed out   in GP, it just felt a little “??”, thanks Emma for giving yourself a pep talk by imagining all of that. Ik she’s close to death BUT HOW DID SHE KNOW HOW PEOPLE DIED THAT SHE NEVER MET.

We kind of joked that since the eye necklace gives Emma that one experience on the water, it might be what triggers these things? but then again, it also happens earlier so probably not-

but it’s a fun little inside joke, “ah, there the eye goes again”.

.

STUPID KIDS- I mean yes let the kids be stupid sometimes but GOD WHY NOW, GO BACK- though ig if they had the mech owls, they might have easily found them again anyway. who knows.

How convenient that the randoms always died.

BUT injuries actually persist and are dealt with instead of just time-skipping to when the person in question is okay again :) Emma’s stab had no weight, it was only there for Yugo’s arc and was not dealt with satisfyingly for me hh...

I didn’t talk about this I think because I didn’t note down things for that volume, but hh idk, she seemed PERFECTLY FINE when she got up again, which was hard for me to believe... and afterwards, we couldn’t have gotten one or a few chapter(s) showing the things Emma recaps happened while she was out? We couldn’t have gotten some angsty panels with unconscious Emma and people coming to her side? come on :(

.

please get Andrew off my screen pls end my suffering, i do not want to LOOK AT THIS.

but also. goddamn. shounen manga, huh-

LIKE THIS IS EPIC BUT ALSO I DO NOT WANT TO SEE IT.

.

HAHAHA I THOUGHT THE ANIME CAME UP WITH THIS CONVENIENT DEMON NOM dsihsds, the manga executed it better (i will never get over how the anime cast just sits there like :o at the first time seeing a human being eaten but hey) but it’s still... very convenient oml.

Ray just wants to be burdened. the man wants to use his resolve to kill. let him.

.

Minerva time - obviously the secrecy is kinda ruined by the anime and by spoilers, but... idk... do people actually not find obscuring people... sus? I mean I GUESS the first time we saw the person with the hood, they also didn’t show his face SO I SUPPOSE it’s not completely unlikely that it’s just continuing to do that - but why would you not show it if it was actually James? He already had a face reveal. And the super harsh shadows on only him just look kind of awkward and hhh I DON’T KNOW-

As much as I like this scene as their introduction and I’m glad we get to see the mass production farm (the hug killed me), I also would have preferred them to omit him from it or just not show it NOW (they love their insert-scenes-in-hindsight stick way too much anyway) to commit to the “secrecy” approach for the audience. But maybe I just don’t get it. And I do like the scene so I’ll shut up and take it.

I will say... Barbara eating demon meat reveal in the anime... i liked that more tbh. Because we realize it with Emma and Ray and the way it frames the meat and her hate talk, it’s just MWAH-

Though they also have a lot more personality in the manga which I feel wouldn’t have hurt their anime counterparts.

I still pledge for a two year age-up for this story iduskhjds, it wouldn’t have hurt in general but also jsut because... imagining a 13 y/o dramatically pulling his hood off on a balcony in front of a crowd is just... not as epic to me as it’s supposed to be I think fuishdjs

And as much as the execution of the Norman reveal in the anime deserves to be dunked on and as awkward as the “walking up without saying anything” is... at least being in a demon community was a good reason to actually, yknow OBSCURE their faces and hide them naturally. I didn’t really think about this before BUT that actually makes a lot of sense and I like that more than the harsh shadow treatment.

I also always thought that the “Minerva” cover was supposed to make them come to him, which I GUESS it did, but he had his messages anyway (the way I thought it went was that he had no way to contact them, so he took that cover so they’d come find him eventually and stuff) and ALSO sent people out to find them so I guess it wasn’t the only reason - I suppose it’s also for other children/humans who know Minerva. I actually really like this element, I think it’s neat. I just thought it wouldn’t be this.... in your face and more sort of... not showing him at all until they meet him.

I also hope he actually told the squad his name is James, he’s just like a completely different person, actually sadssda.

I just find it funny to think about Lucas hearing some young soft-spoken boy, maybe barely being grazed by puperty voice and going, “yup, thats the same person as I heard on the phone with Emma :)” just. how. like if he didn’t think so I would have assumed he’d mentioned it.

Also another case of “we didn’t hint this, we didn’t show this off to the side in a panel (or tori is blind), BUT IT HAPPENED GUYS I SWEAR. HE ALSO GAVE IT TO OLIVER I SWEAR!!!!-”

.

I didn’t know about the mech owls. interesting.

.

I find Jin and Hayato’s reactions to the group interesting. the group kind of sees all the GF escapees as holy or also as their rescuers sth because like, if they hadn't escaped, none of them would be free, etc. Which now that I think about it, is... technically not true ig since Norman could have escaped Lambda even without the GF escape succeeding so. HM. And ig since they bowed to them, I think maybe it's jsut "wow you escaped on your own, you're so cool"? I just wonder if they kind of began thinking that way on their own or if Minerva's protecc squad/Minerva kind of gave them reason to behave that way by talking about the GF escape or something... probably they just did it on their own but I'm just rambling.

or maybe they’re just impressed they aren’t incompetent.

.

idk if im forgetting anything but yee, here we go. I’m just being a judgy prick, I’m enjoying it (mostly bc our read is just chaotic).

#tpn #tpn manga #tpn manga vol 13 #tpn vol 13 #tori talks #tori has opinions #tpn spoilers #tpn manga spoilers #ynn spoilers

[wackatoshi]

just my ‘underwater’ thoughts

like I do not know where to begin this fic is 35k of absolute goodness GOD this is one hell of a literary masterpiece...like?!?? it’s engaging in every aspect, the language/tone is absolutely impeccable - there’s this perfect balance between gorgeous and not overwhelming description but maintains a wittiness to it?? which is v central to the reader, or rin’s, personality. i just adore this fic so much like words could really not do it any justice lmao but I will try and condense all my favourite parts into this post <3

chapter 1

“But I can pass for 18, right?”

“No,” he turns to look at the vendors. “You look exactly your age.”

10/10 for smooth flirting, absolutely incredible work ushijima 🙏🏼 AHAHAAHHAAHAHA

MY FAVOURITE OF THE EMAIL CORRESPONDENCES NO JOKE THIS ONE MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD...honestly if I was a journalist in japan I would be exactly the same lmao like  LOOK AT WHAT I ATE TODAY!!!!! IT WAS GREAT!!

THEFRICKFIJF SENDAI STORY WAS THE HIGHLIGHT FOR ME ALRIGHT LIKE WHOOOOOOOPIEEEEE I LOVE A GOOD CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART STORY AND THE WAY THIS ONE WAS DONE WAS PHENOMENAL... HOW THIS STORY BECOMES SUUUCH A THEME THROUGHOUT THE FIC TOO I CANNOT I CANT I JUST CANT DEAL ok

chapter 2

the morning jog is hands down one of my favourite scenes in this entire story...it was just so frickin cute when he stopped at the bridge aisheieusishwi also the sharing of the earbuds AAAAHHHHH GOD that was just. perfect

“You may not be able to keep up.” I LOVE THIS LINE ITS MAYBE ONE OF MY FAVE LINES HE SAYS HEGEHEHE

Sun’s up.

It hits only half of his face as he wears a smile that looks like it’s divorced somewhere between hope and relief.

LISTEN THIS LINE IS SHEER LITERARY EXCELLENCE...the way you can use the visual description of the sun but simultaneously reflect it as something much deeper n emotional?!?!? WOW

“Why didn’t you say anything at dinner?”

“You seemed like you had somewhere to be,” he says.

GODODUEIDHDIDHDUDJDHSJS ITS SO SIMPLE BUT THIS PART AFFECTED ME SOOO MUCH AHAHAAHAHAHAH FRIFK ONLY TWO CHAPTERS IN AND I WAS SIMPING SO HARD FOR THESE TWO SJSJSJSKSJ

“Nah, he’s a model athlete—perfect record, perfect references, perfect everything. His only crime is his grades were abysmal, but does that even matter when you’re a professional athlete?”

ok true but also this part cracked me up coz I’m just thinking about that panel where ushijima and kageyama are like ?!?!?! hinata is on the other side of the earth??? training how to hang on???? LMAOSAOOA DUMBASSES

"I'm happy we met again," he says, looking very solemn, as if he's reading a sermon at a funeral.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH I LAUGHED SO HARD YOU HAVE NO IDEA I ACTUALLY HAD TO PUT DOWN MY PHONE FOR A SECOND BC THIS WAS JUST WAY TOO ACCURATE

chapter 3

He doesn’t listen to music, doesn’t speak unless spoken to first, and doesn’t budge a muscle even as the train goes 300 kilometers an hour across the track. Inside these walls, the world looks slow, but his face is unchanging—nothing could faze him, not even the world hurtling forth at—ah, that’s not quite right. You’ll have to fuss with that line later.

this part will forever stick with me like wow the tone of this fic was just SUPER unique, I mentioned this in my rant post but I just wanted to bring it up again bc I just adoooreeee the tone here. the whole premise of this fic is that ur a journalist, writing an article about ushijima — and I just love how reader’s POV genuinely feels like her thoughts? the last part “ah, that’s not quite right. You’ll have to fuss with that line later” it JUST MAKES YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE YOURE RIN/READER LIKE IT REALLY IS SOO IMMERSIVE. from this point I was just completely submerged in their world. it’s probably bc that exact line is my thought process 99% of the day, so yeah!!! it hit home HAHA. but i love the tone of it all yeah it’s so fitting for the story :)

You ask him a question--he throws it right back at you. It gives the same impression as playing a very exhausting game of tennis, in which the volleys never end because the questions never end.

FRICK this is brilliant as well I just love the way you compare things...they’re always so apt and relevant ahhhh 😭😭😭😭😭

okay but the whole sequence with Ushijima’s mother WOOOOOOW I felt like I kNOW her. have you seen Crazy Rich Asians??? the Eleanor energy she exudes with her expensive jewellery and pressed pantsuits AHHHH. I love that they developed this sort of mutual respect for each other though, always made me so happy!! I reckon that would’ve just oooft made wakatoshi so much more in love w rin lmao. his mother would def be a tough mother-in-law but rin has the mental strength and also the discernment to deal with it well :D

THENFIRICIFJFJFIRND THE YUKATA AAAAAHHH I SCREAMED I HAD TO PHYSICALLY RESTRAIN MYSELF FROM THROWING MYSELF INTO THE SKY LMAO. do u know how BADLY I want a yukata...i went to Japan three years ago and when I saw all the girls in their yukatas (mostly tourists haha) I just. UGH I wanted that so bad HAHAHAHA

chapter 4

“It’s hideous,” you say. “The fabric’s cheap, design’s trashy—I don’t think it’s more than $20.”

HAHAHAHAHAAH OHHH MAN!!! plausible deniability my ass....also CAN I JST SAY I LOVE GORO SO MUCH OMG

...only realizing then that this is what your morning routine would look like if you and him—‘ah, shit, this is exactly why Goro was worried’

yooooo genuinely this line might have actually had the strongest emotional impact on me bc I felt so NERVOUS hnnngh. my stomach did that weird flutter ?!!! I also had that OH FRICK moment along with rin so yeah op you did ur job 😖

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m pretty good in water."

He blinks, “Why would that be contrary to popular belief?”

“Because—” You look at your twiggy little arms and sigh. No use in dissecting a joke when all the humor is lost upon release. “Never mind. I was just joking.”

He pauses. Nods a little. “What was the joke?"

OMFHHAGAAHAHAHAHAH I CRIED LAUGHING SO MUCH OVER THIS EXCHANGE GOD HE IS SO ENDEARING LMAO BUT RLLY SUCH A BLOCKHEAD SOMETIMES

Ushijima is right. All the world could burn and Murata would stay the same. Grandpa and grandma look exactly how they did the last you saw them—dragging you across the finish line at the train station to say goodbye. It’s hard to believe they’re still playing the same game of shogi with one another, even 15 years later.

ok I keep changing my mind over what my favourite lines are bc THIS made me OH WOW out loud. it made me feel sooo nostalgic!!!! SO NATSUKASHII!!! i don’t know if that’s the right word but I instantly felt at home reading that, it just. THAT RUSH OF COMFORT

“He’s the one I told you about! The one who found me in Sendai.” You practically burst, having held onto this secret for so long while waiting for them to finish their assessment of him. “Grandpa said I probably made it all up because I was bored.”

ok this ENTIRE exchange was just sO CUTE!!!! SO ENDEARING!!!! the whole thing about grandpa not believing her, rin remembering the bet, ITS SO ADORABLE I LOVE THEIR DYNAMICS SIHDISEIISSJ

He studies your outfit—a full-body wetsuit, a pair of goggles on your head, along with a pair of flippers in your hands. “I thought when you said fishing, you meant with a pole,” he goes on...

ok maybe I was just sleep deprived but I FOUND THIS HILARIOUS WHEN I READ IT LMAO IT JSUT READ LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A COMEDY AHAHAAH. just the whole “gonna go fishing, wanna come?” and him being like “ok” but then the scene just cuts to you, decked out in serious scuba gear, head-to-toe, w ushi just standing there like WTH. IT JSUT MAFE ME LAUGHHHHH

chapter 5

“Or the red thread of marriage,” grandma tacks on.

You resist the urge to bury your face in your half-eaten bowl of rice, “Grandma, please.”

HAHHAHAHAHA YES GRANDMA YES!!!! but seriously this just reminds me of the grandma from mulan- “WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER”

There’s a shadow on dad’s face that’s stemming from the last bastion of sunlight against your back.

another absolutely piece of description right here, and the tone of this fit perfectly with the sobriety of this scene. aghhh this scene hurts so much especially the part “because you were a child, because you didn’t know any better” yeahhhhh ahaa that hit close to home aye

He catches sight of you and immediately turns red.

*clutches heart* HOOO ALEXA PLAY HELPLESS BY PHILIPPA SOO

if any of you, ANY OF YOU, mention thE KiSs to me I will not hesitate to lose all my inhibitions!!!!! DO NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT IT!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭 frickfjeidjdirkfjfjdififj I was such a wreck LORD. also the fireworks thing about seeing it twice like what the hell how is this so goRGEOUS!!!! I want to have a countryside childhood with beautiful places and experiences like this HAHSSJJSSJ

chapter 6

You hop into the space where the doorway should be, “Okaeri nasai.”

He shields his face and blushes.

"Tadaima."

THEYRE. SO. CUTE. STOP. IT!!!!!!!!!! STOP

chapter 7

You don’t have to speak to him,” he'd said—and gee, that’s a strange thing to say about an old friend.

the way I cried laughing lmao you will never know 😂😂😂😭😭😭

TENDOU TENDOU TENDOU TENDOU TENDOU

the whole sequence of him not hearing you BAGSHAHAHA IT WAS SO WEIRDLY IN CHARACTER I CANT I LAUGHED SO HARD I WANT THIS ANIMATED FR 😭😭😭😭

The match starts and you get an essay from Tendo -- even though you specifically asked for the SparkNotes version of the story...

AHSHSKHESISHWISHWJSUSJ I LOVE THIS ITS SO FUNNY ITS SO ACCURATE LIKE IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE FOR TENDOU TO GIVE A SHORT ANSWER LMAOOOO (but I rlly love him he’s so. I love him. he can talk to me all day I would listen to every word 🥺)

Tendo doesn’t budge, that smile sitting pretty on his face, “Meh. Either way, you pressured her—and that’s a pretty shitty thing to do, right?"

Not all men—yes, you’re right, Satori Tendou would NEVER—

Then he peels off his jersey, pulling it over his head until he’s standing half-naked before you. Completely chiseled. Cut like a fucking statue.

“It’s sweaty. Sorry.” He puts it in your hands, taking care to make sure you’re holding it before turning around and leaving.

UNBELIEVABLE. UNBELIEVABLE THE ABSOLUTE AUDACITY OF THIS MAN HOW DARE HE !!!!! HOW DARE HE!!!!!!!!! i choked here like what thefrifiidke

“I…like you.” He meets your gaze. “But it seems like you don’t want me to.”

HI IM CRYING HAAHAHAHAHA BUT COZ SAD NOT HAPPY 😭😭😭😭 + OMG WAKE UP USHIJIMA

There’s something of relief there, but you recognize that look because he’s seeing you like you’re an absolute reprieve from an otherwise painful world filled with unpredictability and chaos.

oh wow....MAAAN I WOULD DIE TO BE LOOKED AT LIKE THIS CMON 😭😭❤️❤️ this is peak romance writing by the way. “absolute reprieve from an otherwise painful world” AAHHHHHHH PLEASE THATS JUST. THATS WHAT I WANT PLS

chapter 8

They say an apartment is supposed to tell a story, but the only story you see is he lives simply, like a monk from the northern temples.

‘Or like a farmer from Murata,’ you muse, leaning in to press a chaste little kiss to his lips.

SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! sOOO gorgeously written kwjdksieisjs. the farmer from murata part made my heart go all warm and soft...like ohhh what could’ve been haha 😭❤️🥺

It’s your turn to pause this time, “…what do you think an IUD is, Wakatoshi-kun?”

LANSUAISHAIAHAIAJSOAJSJAJSNAOAJAOAKJDJSKSMSOSSI AUHAHAHAHAHAUAH THIS IS SO FUNNY WAIT NO I THINK THIBS ISS MY FAVOURITE LINE NONJOKE AUAHAHAHAHAHA

ahhhh FRICK grandpa :(( that made me sad ouchie it’s kinda one of my biggest fears too sonsjsjsjsj and I love him ... but I’m glad he is ok 😭

oh man rin’s mum...woooo that hurt so bad to read oh god. the guilt that would burden you with man I felt that...I felt that coming through from the fic and it just reached out and crushed my heart. agghh geez the pain :(

chapter 9 (the end *cries*)

WOWOWOWWO THE WAY THIS TIES IN WITH CANON OHMYGOD!!!!! I got way too excited over this BAHAHAHA but when iwaizumi walked in man my heart stopped that MAN. but also wakatoshi’s dad being a great wingman :’)

Staring at Ushijima like he’s at his wit’s end before it melts into something smarmy and coy like he's figured out the key to some all-powerful puzzle in the dunes of Egypt.

AHAHAHAAHAHAH THIS IS SO FUNNY AND ACCURATE LMAO. this frickin description is so on point iwaizumi just HAS THAT FACE

“Nice to meet ya too,” he says, grinning. “Man, wait ‘til Oikawa gets a load of this.”

“Who’s Oikawa?”

Ushijima frowns, “No one.”

iwaizumi says 1 thing in this fic and he is already so charming to me BAHAHAHAHAH. ALSO LMAO THE OIKAWA REFERENCE ushijima is like “that is a can of worms we will NOT be opening today”

He looks concerned, but his cheeks are being stretched like mochi so it's a pretty hilarious sight to witness.

CUTECUTECUTECUTECUTECUTE!!!!!!

I genuinely will never get over how good this ending is holy FRICK the airport scene had all my nerves on total edge, my heart RACING—

You clear your throat, hoping to break that reverie of his, "Wakatoshi-kun, how do you--"

He pulls you in and presses a kiss to your cheek.

I SCREAMED I SCREAMED SOOO HARD FROCKKRFIFKKFFIEIDJDIDDI I JUST I CANT IO BF KFONE THIS WAS SO ROMANTIC IMAGINE HIS SOFT EYES ON YOU LIKE UTTERLY TRANSFIXED AND UR TRYING TO BE PROFESSIONAL ON CAMERA EVEN THO UR HEART IS SOARING AND THEN HE KISSES YOU LIKE THAT ON LIVE TV EIDHDKDJDOSJDJEODJEOEIEOEJSJEIEIE THE NOISE I MADE THE NOISE I TELL YOU

the 5 months later scene. I can’t even pick out the lines for this part all of it is perfect and I couldn’t have thought of a better ending it’s so. the house...ushijima happy...rin happy...me....in love and in a puddle of tears in my room, at 3am :’) we r all happy!!!!! LMAO

in conclusion: @wander-lu5t I am indebted to you forever for this fic. it was so beautiful and I am so so so grateful I got to read it. you are such an incredibly gifted story-teller and your grasp of the words!!!!!!! THE WAY YOU PUT WORDS TOGETHER!!!! ugh I absolutely adore you thank you so much 😭😭

#winter rambles #i have no words like i tried to be coherent but #i cant even form a proper sentence lmao #im just #i just need to get it out of my system!!! these feelings!!!!

[comicteaparty]

September 13th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on September 13th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Gemini Journey  by Tracy MacLauchlan & Yesenia Carrero.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Gemini Journey by Tracy MacLauchlan & Yesenia Carrero~! (http://geminijourney.com/) Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Shen

i liked when she was getting ready for interviews and she messed up her makeup and her buttons popped 100% relatable

Tenor | Shinavar

Hi Hi! Q1: TOO MANY. But specifically I really enjoyed Veil's anger he morning after Gemini went missing. I just really appreciated getting to see someone actually care someone just wandered off, and him still having lingering emotions about the whole incident of her returning home.

aliceapproved

Oh gosh, that one was such a BIG MOOD!!!

saetje

whoo-hoo! Thanks @RebelVampire for putting on CTP. And hey all, thanks for coming :)!

Kabocha

Oh, boy, this is a hard one to answer, to be honest! I really liked the first chapter, where Gemini and Veil were going up against the Dragon-Roach... I was like "WAIT HOW CAN YOU HATE DRA--- Oh." Also, this scene: http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=69 Veil. You are the best.

It was fantastic handling of that... Creeper Kappa? Is the flasher a Kappa?

Shen

i just give 100% of my heart to Veil he works so hard hes so tired let him rest

Tenor | Shinavar

Flasher, I'd say

aliceapproved

Gosh, yeah, the dragon cockroach was really creative and I'm SO HAPPY there's a Kappa and they had to do the "bow" move to "defeat him"

Tenor | Shinavar

But yeah I love how 'street smart' he is about like, everything going on.

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

a book nerd with street smarts

Kabocha

Veil has no time for any of these Shenanigans

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

he's amazing

aliceapproved

I really love Gemini's "guilt" expression in one of the interviews

Superjustinbros

Hello!

RebelVampire

yeah i think veil is also a great character balance to gemini. cause when you have someone who is into the shenanigans, you need someone to be a grounding influence

Tenor | Shinavar

I also really like that though because he shows a level of attentiveness and perception to the world around him. <3

saetje

yess! It's a flasher Kappa! Glad you liked that scene.

Shen

yeah sometimes the "straight man" character can come off as a wet blanket but he genuinely cares for Gemini. i'd like to see more of that, like how they mnet or something one day in the future

aliceapproved

Yeah! Veil and Gemini are such a dynamic complimentary duo, from personality, body shapes, and orange and blue colors!

Shen

EXCELLENt design

Superjustinbros

Oh yea, huge props for how polar opposites Gemini and Veil are

aliceapproved

OH!!! One of my favorite scenes is when Gemini firsts visits the creepy circus and the scene transitions to her perfectly waking up in bed. That was such a cool transition!

Kabocha

Yesssss!

mathtans

Yes, I agree, the two play off each other well.

Kabocha

It was!

Superjustinbros

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=198 Also, I like this scene, in part cause it reminds me very well of what happens to me some days

aliceapproved

I'm really eager to see how the circus devolves and how Veil and Gemini will handle it. Also those rad fox twins!

mathtans

(I may have to leave at a moment's notice when the baby awakens, if I suddenly go silent.)

Jess

You guys are so nice. I don’t know if I can add smilies fast enough haha

Kabocha

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=55 Also, the lighting on this page was woooonderful. I wasn't sure how to read Veil's expression though. It was kind of like... "wait. Do you not want her to move out? Or... Are you just... ....caught off guard by dog fire?" ....Then the next panel is like "Back to reality."

Jess

Yeah the scene where it transitions from her as a circus performer to her in the bed was one of my favorites. @saetje really owned that scene

Tenor | Shinavar

I read it as he's a bit hurt at the "You can finally be alone!" more than her moving out

Superjustinbros

wow that is some really good lgithing

Jess

I think that was the first time that I didn’t second guess the panel format

RebelVampire

to repeat something already said, i loved the dragon bug. that was such an immensely creative idea, and i think it was a great way to open the comic. we get a great way to get not only the impression of what the world is like, but we get to get a great feel for the personalities of the characters.

mathtans

I gotta say though, my favourite was apparently Death owning a flower shop that has the slogan "You Don't Gno-me". Gotta love those little details.

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=44

Tenor | Shinavar

GASP I MISSED THAT

OMG I LOVE IT

Jess

Yaaaaay!!

RebelVampire

yeah i give death's appearance an A+. that and gemini's confusion about why death asked about her immortal soul

aliceapproved

I looove all the mythology monsters at play in the background!

saetje

A lot of those details are thanks to @Jess who does final rendering/lettering. Flower-shop Wraith/Death will actually be showing up again I think next update, haha.

RebelVampire

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=45 although i was also distracted by the page right after. this feels so true for getting a job.

mathtans

It's the Wraith of Khan.

Shen

LOL Gemini's entire job ordeal is so relatable. "i workeds hard on this one application im gonna go get a treat" girl, same

Superjustinbros

hehee

Kabocha

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=157 Veil's distress :<

Tenor | Shinavar

Gemini sets off my inner Veil tho bc I know so many friends who do like

1 app a week

Shen

UGH hes so cute when hes sad XD

Tenor | Shinavar

and it's like: HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

mathtans

Back to what Rebel said though, I agree the dragon as a bug was hugely creative, and a good way to see the main characters play off each other.

Tenor | Shinavar

istg I relate to Veil the entire job process lmao

Kabocha

I love the expressiveness of both Veil and Gemini, but yeah, I really really feel for Veil

aliceapproved

I love how much Veil cares! He cares SO MUCH!!!

Tenor | Shinavar

Did anyone else notice in he dragon roach scene Veil has Gemini's shoe the whole time as the weapon?

RebelVampire

i love that page, @Kabocha like the lighting plus that expression made my heart weep

mathtans

I like that Gemini did start to take it more seriously for Veil, or at least seems to have been at interviews.

RebelVampire

weep so dang much

mathtans

Tenor: I don't think I picked up on that.

Kabocha

Although, how much is Gemini caring vs the Circus influence infecting her with confidence?

Tenor | Shinavar

I realized it after I noticed Gemini running around without a shoe and had to go back to see where I missed it lmao

saetje

@Tenor | Shinavar AH! Someone noticed that!

Superjustinbros

(I'm gonna go AFK for a bit, got some things I have to do but I'll hopefully be back later!)(edited)

Tenor | Shinavar

IT'S CUTE BUT MAKES ME WONDER HOW WE GOT TO THAT POINT LOL

saetje

Yes, Veil took Gemini's shoe despite having larger feet than her. I could jsut imagine the behind-the-scenes squabbling about it

aliceapproved

OOOH Good point about the influence! I'm really intrigued by the hypnotic circus

Tenor | Shinavar

Kabo: Caring about what, specifically? Like, about the circus, trying to get a job...?

(Sorry if I'm slow on the draw, got kids here )

Jess

On our world dragons: Yeah. It came from a conversation that dragons are the pests of the magical/mythical world. To the roach/dragon thing just kinda took form from that Ahahaha

RebelVampire

yes i noticed the shoe and thought that was a great art touch of continuity

Jess

Ahaha yeah!!! I mean. My boi got nice shoes. He can’t be using them for that

aliceapproved

I'm really glad dragons have the roach aesthetic, too! As someone who loves all dragons, I draw the lines at cockroaches XD

Shen

yeah that poster at the end threw me for a loop i thought it was a legit magic look-alike so when i saw the poster i was like "whoaaa no way" haha makes me VERY interested to read more

aliceapproved

Veil is so clean haha!

Kabocha

@Tenor | Shinavar -- Just in general honestly. Gemini started putting more effort into things, but it didn't feel like she actually really gave a damn more than she had gained some level of confidence.

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

i really liked gemini's haunted mascara

saetje

I'm glad you all like the Dragon Roach opening/idea too. It's also the idea...trying to imagine how mythical things might have 'evolved' along with our modern world, and yeah. Dragons are pretty much pests you always have to exterminate, yeah?(edited)

Kabocha

Although maybe that's the magic of the circus

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

or maSCAREa

mathtans

I grinned at it being one of the flying types.

Tenor | Shinavar

Ooooh that's fair, and a good point.

mathtans

Made me think of ants. I hate the flying ones.

saetje

@mathtans directly related to past experience with real life 'flying ones'. Nothing makes a roach worse than realizing it's one of those

omg ants too

Tenor | Shinavar

Saetje: So would this modern world have those 'fortune cat' memes but with the dragons instead? Reblog for good fortune?

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

god i related to that line so much bcus of how often i had to deal with flying roaches as a young childe

saetje

hmm, fortune cat memes? Like on tumblr when someone reblogs a picture of a cat with money on its head? XD

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeah~

!*

aliceapproved

OMG

Kabocha

I could do without the flying insects aaaaaaaa

aliceapproved

gEmini and Veil on social media haha!

Shen

i bet Gemini is a memelord

Jess

Yeah!! For the circus - we’re at the point not where we can start unraveling some of the mystery. Throughout the story so far we wanted it to be sorta ambiguous about if that Gemini in the circus was the same one. In the next oncoming scenes you’ll see what’s real and what’s not. But hopefully the way it’s being read is that the readers (y’all) are realizing it might actually be Gem

Tenor | Shinavar

I'd collect flying insects if they were smol dragons justsayin

Oooou~!

Jess

She is definitely a memelord Hahahah I love that

saetje

I doubt about dragons being seen as fortune memes since dragons are seen as pests and they tend to keep you from your money (ala sitting on the horde and breathing fire) or take loose items into their hidey holes-- so they're not seen the same as lucky. But that might just be for Gem and Veil's part of their world

aliceapproved

I'm so excited for the Circus to "unravel"

Shen

i bet she texts memes to Veil from across the room and then just waits for him to look at her in disapproval =3

Tenor | Shinavar

I've been under the impression the circus might not be entirely real and the performers there are stuck against their will - kinda fae-style. <_< So either she's performing against her will and is not yet fully bound or it's been an illusion to GET her there

RebelVampire

is veil thus the type to post all the old timey book quotes then? XD

in regards to the social media thing

mathtans

Yeah, at first I thought maybe Gemini was just seeing herself in place of who was actually up there, but with the poster it seemed likely that they were actually making her do the things.

aliceapproved

Oooh, I think it could go either way with trapped souls and she's not bound yet, or it's all an illusion to trap her.

Also, Veil posts moody aesthetic boards

Shen

XD

aliceapproved

"Juggling is not a garbage job" :V

saetje

yeah we're getting into I guess the third act and I hope it comes together and makes sense. as we unravel some mystery. There's more stories we want to tell after "Barley & Bay-Lily" that all follow continuity, so I want to wrap Barley & Bay-Lily where you all know what's going on but there's more overarching questions than answered in some ways.

I'm loving these thoughts on it!

mathtans

Clever play on Barnum & Bailey, by the way.

Jess

Thanks!!

RebelVampire

i want to say i loved the juggler. that was a great design and gemini's reaction to it made me laugh. although i do wonder now if the juggler is part of the circus conspiracy

mathtans

I wonder if it's significant that they seem to be foxes.

Kabocha

Foxes are tricksters, so I mean

aliceapproved

Kitsunes!

Tenor | Shinavar

My fear about the poster though, and why I hink it's a trap, is it said her "final act"

mathtans

'Tis true.

Jess

Also I don’t know if anyone noticed but the juggler was only juggling 2 balls with 4 arms

aliceapproved

Very fitting to make them foxes! Cute and mischevious and devllish

Tenor | Shinavar

so it's like; HHHHHHHHHHHHH GEMINI BBY NO RUN AWAY

aliceapproved

YEAH!! GEMINI GET OUTTA THERE

Jess

So lots of talent going on in the streets of New Olympia hahaha

mathtans

Jess: I caught the four arms. Guess I didn't count the balls. Seems like less of a challenge there.

Shen

"mysterious circus ive never heard of down a dark alley? sounds like a great time and not at all suspicious!"

Jess

Right!?

saetje

yes, what @Kabocha said. The idea for GJ is this is HER story/myth/hero's journey. Foxes are pretty archetypal to suspect characters in folklore and fairy tale. WHAT they are exactly, well. More to be revealed :' D you guys have some awesome theories.

mathtans

Maybe there was a chainsaw off panel.

saetje

hahahaha

Kabocha

This'll be really cool to see as it approaches the end

(of the chapter, anyway)

Tenor | Shinavar

yeeees

Jess

That’s true! Whether she was a good juggler or not is the true mystery

mathtans

The foxes are actually out of work actors.

saetje

oh god.

Mathtan you figured it out

noooo

Jess

Yesssss

aliceapproved

I misread that as "work out" actors LOL

Tenor | Shinavar

choke

saetje

oh even better

Tenor | Shinavar

Explains why they are trying to start their own circus

aliceapproved

LOL "Get BUFF with JUGGLING"

Shen

LOL

mathtans

Appearing next in the Big Top - Jazzercize.

Tenor | Shinavar

WHEEZE

saetje

Possessed Scary Circus Zumba

Shen

Crossfit but its clowns

Jess

That’s terrifying

Tenor | Shinavar

I h8 u all bc I can't draw this right now

RebelVampire

i would pay to see clowns doing crossfit

saetje

now tHAT'S a million dollar comic idea, Shen

or idea in general, yes

aliceapproved

I know it's probably way off in the future, but I'm curious about plans for Veil-focused arc in the future

Shen

yeah same, im sure its planned but im interested

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. While searching for a job, Gemini clearly has gotten wrapped up in a dangerous situation involving a circus. What do you think the circus’ goal is in general for the people it entraps? Who exactly are the fox ringmasters running the show? Why was Gemini in particular targeted as opposed to other people in the audience? Why did Gemini seemingly come home in a trance, and what do you think it means for whatever is happening to Gemini? How do you feel the performer who represents Gemini’s ideals fits into all of this? Do Gemini’s anxieties have something to do with all this do you think? Lastly, how do you think Gemini will get out of this mess (or is she just doomed)?

Shen

i wanna know why he puts up with her tbh ^^; seems like she can be a bit self interested

aliceapproved

Also that it's confirmed he has friends cuz of that phone call. I'm sorry, I keep assuming he's a Sad Books lonely boy

Shen

no friends its just his mom

saetje

yeah you guys don't know if he's just sadly talking to a dial tone

Kabocha

The circus' goal is to... Basically steal her life energy! Somehow. But we'll see. Or enchant her and spirit her away~ Once she becomes part of the spirit world she won't really be albe to retuuuuuurn~

Shen

SAETJE THATS SO SAD XD

RebelVampire

well now you made it sad. XD

Kabocha

@saetje oh noooooooooooooooooooooo

aliceapproved

LOL! As for Question 2: Like most shifty magic things, steal her soul! Trap her in the circus

Kabocha

What about Gemini's mom? I'm sure he's probably got her on speed dial

RebelVampire

i assume soul stealing. i mean thats pretty standard evil fair. and who doesn't need a good soul

Shen

i dont think they targetted Gemini specifically as much as they laid out a trap and waited to see who stumbled in, and she did so they ensnared her

mathtans

Veil seems too organized to talk to a dial tone. It'd at least be the official time signal.

aliceapproved

I think the Circus targets ppl who are down on their luck or confidence or don't have a quote "real job" atm? Like job hunting is really stressful and feels hopeless a ton of times

so it looks for vulnerable ppl imo

mathtans

Gemini came home in a trance because the cab was too expensive.

Jess

That’s how I do too

saetje

BRB faking trance to get out of cab faire

aliceapproved

To heck with fantasy Uber and Lyft!

Kabocha

It shows them something akin to their best selves, maybe?

saetje

hahaha

RebelVampire

what if this is a known phenomenon in their world so when someone says "they ran away to the circus" they mean that whoops, got that soul life energy sucked out

aliceapproved

Yeah! The play of "UGH I should just run away and join the circus" it's so cool!

Shen

i once saw a video of a woman pretending to be a ghost to get out of paying a toll

Tenor | Shinavar

Q2: The specific part I havenb't already kinda answered is: I feel she is part of Gemini's subconciousness in the sense of having her "act" together. Her life wouldn't be too chaotic, she's able to balance all that is expected of her without being a 'clutz' or anything she seems to think at least minimally negatively on. (seen by her admiring the grace and such)

Kabocha

She's a representation of everything Gemini wants to be?

aliceapproved

^^^^

Tenor | Shinavar

Not exactly but def a bait, in some way

Kabocha

Except moving more toward that ideal means that Gemini gets trapped...

Well, representations don't have to be literal >_>

<_< I figured it was all pretty figurative

Tenor | Shinavar

True true

RebelVampire

the thing i cant figure out is why the trance thing. like gemini was in the circus, just suck out her soul. why give her the chance to escape?

aliceapproved

Since we see Gemini specifically, I'm assuming the audience members are just an illusion

Maybe these foxes like playing with their "prey" and make it a slow burn

mathtans

It could be through the music that the circus gets you. That alley cat seemed real scared of it, while Gemini was drawn in.

Alice: Oh, I like that.

Tenor | Shinavar

Rebel: If i works like fae magic, you gota get them to agree to it

aliceapproved

Yeah, why play if there's no risk involved?

mathtans

Rebel: To recharge?

Tenor | Shinavar

You also can avoid like - all legal repercussions if it's "willing" >_>

aliceapproved

^^^

Jess

Ahahaha consensual death is the best ... death?

aliceapproved

For lawyers, yES!

mathtans

Now waiting for the scene where Veil rules-lawyers the foxes.

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

thats how it be sometimes

aliceapproved

Law & Order with VEIL

Tenor | Shinavar

Also it hurt a lil bit I couldnt resist. Crossfit clown from geminis world lol

Shen

JKRFJGJHMHG LMAO!!!

saetje

omg @tenor hahaha

mathtans

That's a garbage job. ^.-(edited)

Tenor | Shinavar

BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE VEIL THROW DOWN VERBAL LOOP HOLES IN CONTRACTS

saetje

IT'S NOT A GARBAGE JOB, VEIL. I mean MATH.

Tenor | Shinavar

Just like, pops on some glasses and busts out a book from no where

Kabocha

That's Veil's magic power -- BOOK LEARNIN'

Tenor | Shinavar

YES

Jess

Yessss

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

magic is a thing, he probably just pulls out outta his pocket dimension- which is in his pocket

Tenor | Shinavar

He has a pocket just for his books

aliceapproved

I love all the art you guys do of Veil with his book beasts! They're the best!

Tenor | Shinavar

all 2k of them

saetje

haha,t hat's actually a joke we've been wanting to use somewhere-- "I love your dress" "Thanks it has pocket dimensions"

Jess

Omg I love it. All pockets are pocket dimensions from now on

Tenor | Shinavar

OMG YES PLZ

DO IT

aliceapproved

OMG PLS DO THAT

Tenor | Shinavar

AS A PARENT IT'S A NECESSITY wheeeeeeeeeze

aliceapproved

pockets are THE BEST

imagine a pocket dimension!

This world gets better and better! Minus the creepy circuses

Jess

Right

Hehehe

mathtans

"My pocket dimension is full of clowns...."

Jess

Nooooo worst dimension

Kabocha

I saw a few other people ask it, but... Why is Veil so tolerant of Gemini's shenanigannery? I mean, I am a far less patient roommate than he is...

saetje

I figure a pocket dimension dress would have to be some kind of plot device though for a future arc. i mean, HAVE to be.

Tenor | Shinavar

New def to clown car

Kabocha

matth whyyy

Tenor | Shinavar

Kabo: My shipping side if he finds it endearing

Exhausting but endearing

saetje

wellp, clowns ruined it

RebelVampire

i do applaud veil's sheer patience

Kabocha

I WAS LEANING THAT WAY BUT I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S JUST ENTERTAINED OR WHAT

RebelVampire

but i do assume the blushing is more than just blushing

Tenor | Shinavar

CON GRATS REBEL

YOU DID IT

Jess

Ah. Well be answering that soon. I think so far we’ve been focusing on Gem and some of her worst traits - her selfishness, but

Shen

nice~

mathtans

Kabocha: Because I can. As to why Veil's tolerant, maybe he knows someone like Gemini in his family or his past.

Kabocha

I figured Veil was kind of perpetually blushing unless otherwise upset.

Shen

i am absolute ship trash and i am waiting for this to sail but i am patient

Jess

And we’ve focused on veils best - his smarts and his loyalty

Tenor | Shinavar

I keep getting little hints Veil at least Likes her.

Kabocha

Hm. So he knows Gemini could be Amazing if she'd try?

RebelVampire

i think there is some of that yes

Tenor | Shinavar

But doesn't push it

RebelVampire

wait veil has bad traits?

i dont accept this

Tenor | Shinavar

No he doesn't

don't listen to them

shh

Shen

no, veil is perfect

Kabocha

Veil's afraid of bugs....

mathtans

Veil just likes Gemini for her shoes. Much shoe blushing, wants to wear them.

Tenor | Shinavar

Je

aliceapproved

I'm sure Veil totally finds Gemini charming and really.. pr-pretty BLUSH

RebelVampire

being afraid of bugs is a good trait

Jess

It’s true. And he won’t dirty his own shoes

RebelVampire

bugs carry disease

Tenor | Shinavar

But is he afraid of bugs

or the fact they can catch shit on fire

aliceapproved

Veil is very much a neat freak which is a double-edged sword

Tenor | Shinavar

like his books

aliceapproved

and not very impulsive, so Gemini helps liven things up for him

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

tenor raises a good point

Shen

thats more "quirky" than a character flaw lol

like "clumsy" girls XD

Kabocha

They're foils for one another, you say? That's how these sorts of friendships balance each other? NEVAAAAAAR! ....I ship them unless there is a reason I should not.

Shen

these ship goggles dont come off

Kabocha

Several people are typing...

aliceapproved

Yeah, this arc is very Gemini focused and how she needs to grow as a character

I'm excited to see how Veil needs to grow as a character in the future

Kabocha

Yesh!

Shen

aye

aliceapproved

Gotta take turns!

RebelVampire

admittedly i do think veil kind of needs to learn to have fun probably

as a character arc

Tenor | Shinavar

But books are fun

Work is fun

saetje

well but organization is fun

RebelVampire

although i do wanna know now who veil is calling

and what he does with his not gemini friends

Tenor | Shinavar

RESPONSIBILITY

aliceapproved

Yeah, that's definitely something I see with Veil

Tenor | Shinavar

Just what the dr ordered

RebelVampire

i agree with organization and books but i meant more in how he carries himself

Jess

Oh! It’s a dial tone

RebelVampire

gotta learn to tweet those memes back

saetje

hahaha

Tenor | Shinavar

lmaaao

Shen

thats fair he could stand to lighten up lol they both need to learn a bit from each other. hes not got time for fun if he has to always be the "responsible" one because someone else took up all the "fun" XD

aliceapproved

Yeah! Guy needs to party and have an impulsive time for once rather than strictly schedule

They need to work together

Tenor | Shinavar

I do agree tho, with how in the know he seems to be, I'd like to know who all he's got, esp depending how they'll influence stuff in the future.

bc it seems he's from here whereas Gemini isn't soooo <_<;

mathtans

Veil can be fun. Veil can't be impulsive.

RebelVampire

yeah i do hope this circus experience teaches gemini more responsibility. in that maybe she should fill out more than a few apps XD

aliceapproved

Does Veil have a hard time making decisions?

Shen

"look how impulsively i filled out your applications for you isnt that fun?"

mathtans

Alice: Not if blueberries are involved.

aliceapproved

And yeah, Gemini certainly learning more responsibility and also, to trust in herself if she applies herself and focuses

Jess

Ahahaha

Tenor | Shinavar

I think Gemini jus needs to get to the point she doesn't need a child leash

Jess

Well and for me - I think when people are going through hardships, like Gem not being able to land a job, sometimes the worst parts of themselves show up. And while I love the character - (and hopefully) she’s shown to be kinda funny and not overly mean - I thought it was important to show her bad side early on

mathtans

I don't see her as mean, just easily distracted.

Tenor | Shinavar

^Same

She's irresponsible but not in a malicious way

Like if she hurt someone I'd be dead up surprised if it was intentional

aliceapproved

Yeah, that's definitely it ^^

mathtans

Tenor: She killed a dragon.

aliceapproved

I never thought of her as "mean"

Tenor | Shinavar

she is a sweet widdle cinnimon bun who needs protected from circuses and flashers

I said someone

Not thing

Kabocha

Gemini is Dovahkiin now lol

aliceapproved

I'm sorry, Mat, but they're pests in this universe. Cockroaches uugh

Tenor | Shinavar

Difference ;)

RebelVampire

oh yeah gemini is still super likeable. its more shes that adult who hasnt quite grown up yet. and youre kind of hand waving her to make stop being a kid 100% of the time.

mathtans

Fair.

aliceapproved

Yeah! She's like a kid fresh out of college

Jess

Oh good! Was kinda worried. But she’s definite selfish and flighty and I’m happy to see that it’s coming through

Without making her irredeemable

Draco Plato

yeah she's definitely still likeable

aliceapproved

Open to the free adult world, but still needs to learn how to adult cuz lord knows school prepares us for THAT

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeah nah there's not a mean bone in that child's body

Free spirit, I think is a good desc?

mathtans

The foxes are also spirits, but they're not free.

saetje

I'm glad! That's what we're going for- she's not intentionally harmful but has a lot of growing up to do. I don't think she realizes when her actions can hurt someone else.

aliceapproved

She's selfish and irresponsible, but there's still potential to be redeemed. She's a well-rounded character that's set up to evolve from this story and that's what makes sticking with this story so worth it!

saetje

no one's free when they teach Clown Jazzercise

RebelVampire

those poor foxes. gemini is actually doing them a service

mathtans

I wonder if this world has the Zodiac? Is Gemini's name at all related to that?

Kabocha

Pffff

Tenor | Shinavar

Oooh. <.< Good q

aliceapproved

Like, Veil is obviously responsible and an adult, so Gemini doesn't seem to think she has to think about Veil's feelings or words on some matters? He's got it all figured out! Me though? I need help. Veil, veil help me! What applications?! Not boring help ;; That's how I see Gemini

Kabocha

Gemini's the twins, yeah? Does Gemini have a sister, or a hidden second side where she's actually really competent?

mathtans

Maybe she's the good twin, and the evil one is in the circus.

aliceapproved

OOH, I'm curious about that, too, Math. I'm a Scorpio!

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

that means you have a scorpion in the circus

Shen

"the twins" the foxes...

Jess

Ahahaha yesssss

saetje

Can't really reveal the Gemini connection yeeet buuut, duality and twins have some play in the overarching story yes!

aliceapproved

DUN DUN DUUUN

Shen

PS im a Gemini~

Jess

Me tooooo!! Yesssss

Are you also plagued by fox clowns out of work

Kabocha

Gemini probably hasn't really taken time to consider other people's feelings long-term. I don't think she's quite there emotionally, but when she actually like.... really has it sink in that she worried Veil, that'll be interesting. Although she did acknolwedge she scared him, so I mean

aliceapproved

Secret revealed, Gemini is called Gemini cuz Jess is a Gemini

Tenor | Shinavar

Naaaice ~ Also omg the fox twins ffft- Makes me think

Kabo: Yeah, I don't think she fully got how bad the scare was?

Shen

sweet im gonna name my next character Sagittarius

Kabocha

Yeah, it's the depth that I think she lacks

Tenor | Shinavar

Like "I'm sorry for scaring you but not sorry I did the action to cause it :D" levels of immaturity

aliceapproved

@saetje What's your zodiac sign if you don't mind sharing?

mathtans

Plot twist, Gemini sells her soul to the Flower Wraith Shop, and the foxes have to buy it back to keep their shenanigans going.

Tenor | Shinavar

kjdhaskj

Kabocha

When she gets more insight it'll be awesome as she grows

Shen

LOL

Tenor | Shinavar

Kabo: Yeeeeees

Jess

She’s two fishes

saetje

Pisces

aliceapproved

Yeah, Gemini maturing as an adult is really exciting to wait for

My sister's two fish, too XD

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

twins............. two fish..............................

i see a theme here

Tenor | Shinavar

I really wanna see Gemini work for Death now hhh-

aliceapproved

OMG

Yes haha!

Maybe a temp job that doesn't work out somehow

Kabocha

Twist: Death only claims dead plants

Tenor | Shinavar

Mostly bc I'm stuck with Death having the VA as the Death from Conker's bad fur day and I just. Can't.

mathtans

"You should probably hold the scythe the other way."

Kabocha

"You're going to hurt yourself if you trim the shrubberies this way."

Tenor | Shinavar

"Why are you wearing all black it's hot af out go change, child"

RebelVampire

i hope death only claims dead plants cause otherwise gemini is basically going from one soul threatening adventure to another

saetje

haha so true

XDD

Tenor | Shinavar

WELL I MEAN

she just have to give death her soul

it's never said when

mathtans

Does it have to be her soul, or just a soul? Or maybe soul music?

Tenor | Shinavar

oh god

Just a soul can be how we find out Death accepts plants

RebelVampire

death better be a fan of soul music

saetje

you've split this concept wide open Maths

Shen

the sole of this shoe

Tenor | Shinavar

Shen NO

Shen

=D

saetje

SHEN YES

Jess

Yessss

aliceapproved

Another note about this story, is that I think it's a really good Young Adult story, cuz I feel myself and a bunch of other adults or kids coming out of college can relate to Gemini's story of trying to find work after moving out to live on their own

Tenor | Shinavar

That's Death's brother, Reaper.

mathtans

Veil: "Your spell checker has done you in. Gemini only has to give you her shoe sole."

Jess

Awwww!! Thanks so much

Tenor | Shinavar

Alice: Yeees. Tho I think this first big arc is good for younger children too

RebelVampire

the shoe in the dragon part was foreshadowing

aliceapproved

Yeah!

Tenor | Shinavar

Like my kiddo would love the art and atm if it goes where I suspect it might, it's a great lesson to learn young

saetje

Thanks @aliceapproved !! that makes me happy to hear because that's also what we're going for

Jess

Yeah actually when whenever we show Gem getting rejected I get real sad. Since some of it draws from our experiences

aliceapproved

You guys nailed it

Yeah, it was a big mood for me this year, so this story has been helping

Tenor | Shinavar

Rejeced? D:

Jess

Younger out of college Jess applied to be the new death - and I got turned down

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Though we certainly know Gemini and Veil a bit, much of their past history has yet to have been discussed. Why do you think Gemini has struck out on her own? Do you think it’s just to embrace adulthood, or is there something specific she’s seeking? Was there anything about Gemini’s journey into adulthood that you connected with? What about Veil? What do you think Veil’s backstory is? How do you think Veil and Gemini even know each other? Do you think Veil’s overprotectiveness of Gemini exists for a reason, or do you think it’s just part of Veil’s personality? In regards to their future, do you think that the two will be able to remain friends, or will their differing personalities get in the way of peaceful cohabitation? Do you think Gemini will be able to successfully get a job? Finally, will Gemini move out once she gets a job, or will Veil potentially actively sabotage it?

saetje

I guess now that we're getting more shows like "Aggretsuko" I'd say we'd like to hit around that target. Like, we're sort-of 'mature' only because of some of the (not-NSFW) themes resonates more with older folks. But hopefully there's still more to be enjoyed from a slightly younger YA/teen audience.

mathtans

Interesting last question there - I don't think Veil would actively sabotage, but might passively, without really thinking about it. "You can't move out next week, it's supposed to rain."

Shen

i think Gemini's irresponsibility combined with the double life (???????) shes got going on now is leading to a big fight with Veil. I dread it though

aliceapproved

SAME SHEN!!!

A big confrontation scene!

I can feel it coming

Veil finally calling out Gemini

I can only imagine the emotions!

Kabocha

...Can Veil handle confrontation where he gets pushback?

like, he can handle snark, but, an actual argument?

RebelVampire

yeah. veil might be the type who cant really deal with confrontation like that

Tenor | Shinavar

3: Gemini is homeschooled. If she's trying to branch out there's a chance she might either feel shackled a bit, or she's been encouraged by her parents to stretch her wings. Gemini ran into Veil lost puppy style, trufax. Brought her in from the rain and cold Veil's personality is probably tied to sorta trying to guide Gemini in the sense of law and order. Everything has a place, so you gotta do it- where you going coME BACK OMG I AM TRYING TO HELP YOU. I do believe here is going to be some strife at some point because Gemini has shown a lack of communication and emotional skill and Veil has shown a lack of willingness to bend. BUT I do believe this will clear up after some resolution from some juicy content So yes I believe they'll stay friends.

RebelVampire

although i think the confrontation is coming

saetje

That's a really great question, Kabocha. We haven't shown that yet :)c

Tenor | Shinavar

Maybe at worse a temporary not friends moment to crush our hopes and dreams

aliceapproved

Or maybe "not speaking" terms atm

RebelVampire

actually ya know what i could see as veil's big character arc is addressing change. cause the moving out thing may be more than veil just doesnt want gemini to go. it may be that veil is the sort that completely shuts down when there is change

saetje

y'all you guys have such insight, I'm loving your thoughts here. It's a relief to know you guys are getting a lot of what we're trying to put out and I love hearing your concepts, and concerns, for the characters!

Kabocha

I dunno that Veil realizes how overbearing he can be, to be honest. So.. Gemini's gonna get pushed to the edge and push back against him.

Tenor | Shinavar

Rbeel: Oooooh, that can be true too

aliceapproved

I think Gemini might resolve to move back in with her mom (which is LEAST wanted thing for her cuz I think she loves being out on her own), but Veil offers that she could still say with him, granted now that she has a proper not circus cursed job

Tenor | Shinavar

SOME chaos is good but what is his limit.

aliceapproved

RebelVampire, that's a really good note on Veil!

Tenor | Shinavar

Kabo: Yeah I get that. He seems so happy to 'help' but because he knows what you NEED to do to get done, he doesn't seem to fully 'get' that it's a lot for Gemini

aliceapproved

Veil's very much overprotective

Tenor | Shinavar

A bit of lack of empathy for the situation in the face of necessity?

aliceapproved

Yeah, like filling out applications is FuN???

Kabocha

He also doesn't understand how to break things down into smaller more completable tasks

mathtans

Gemini needs a source of income, maybe Veil's letting her stay for cheap?

Kabocha

he can handle a long list, but.... honestly, Gemini needs to feel accomplished at each step of the way and realize how much progress she's made

aliceapproved

Yeah, Gemini is a person that needs to be eased and break down steps, not all dumped at once

saetje

@Kabocha exactly- one of the flaws we've hopefully seen in Veil is that he can be pushy (literally physically pushing her around town int he beginning arc) and then tends to put too much on Gemini than what she's ready for at times.

Tenor | Shinavar

I got pushy though I didn' know the physical part was part of it

aliceapproved

Yeah! That page with her smushed with all his word bubbles was a great representation of that!

Tenor | Shinavar

I figured him grabbing her was because it was liTERALLY UNSAFE LOL

mathtans

Veil isn't as observant as Gemini, maybe because she's so distractible. He didn't realize she knew his fave berries and such.

saetje

Well I might've misspoke- it was more of a visual analogy for being emotionally pushy than, like, physically harmful or abusive.

Kabocha

He's basically trying to herd her lol

saetje

yes like a little sheep dog lol

aliceapproved

Yeah!

Tenor | Shinavar

OOOH OKAY

I getcha now lol

aliceapproved

Veil is honestly a toothpick and I bet a small breeze could push him over

Tenor | Shinavar

laskdjKLSDFJ

Jess

Lmao

saetje

omg

Tenor | Shinavar

Don't insult my son like that

just bc he can takje flight with those ears don't mean nuttin

Shen

LOL

aliceapproved

He's a GOOD SON!

saetje

oommg haha

aliceapproved

I love him!

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

veil is a good boi

aliceapproved

Boy ain't gonna win a bar fight is all haha!

Bless this sensitive boy!

Kabocha

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=178 "You are in my personal space"

Tenor | Shinavar

Nah legit tho being the tiny I'm surprised he CAN push her, or at least shows she's willing somewhat to be guided

Jess

Guys. It’s the nose isn’t it

Tenor | Shinavar

omg someone draw me Veil getting carried off by gemini plz

Jess

He can do no wrong with a face so right

mathtans

Veil has a large picture of Spock in his room. Big fan.

Tenor | Shinavar

That's exactly it Jess

saetje

Honestly Gem could just pick him up and swing him around like a baseball bat if she wanted, I think.

Tenor | Shinavar

kaisdjfKHJDSF

I mean he is such a stiff

saetje

@mathtans definitely a huge Spock influence!

aliceapproved

OMG BASEBALL BAT

RebelVampire

veil's number one advice to gemini is to just think of what would spock do

Shen

PFFFFF

RebelVampire

then gemini asks who spock is

aliceapproved

http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=186 < a M O O D

mathtans

Gemini to Wraith: "Dammit Bones!"

RebelVampire

oh i loved that page with the giant to-do list

it was a great visual gag

aliceapproved

I definitely "treat myself" for small tasks when there are still more or bigger tasks to do haha!

Jess

Lol me too

saetje

I was REALLY into Star Trek a while back and almost did some 4-panel Star Trek Gemini Journey AU comics...I don't know if I have the sketches anymore though. Kind of psyched myself out of them

I think everyone works differently. You gotta treat yourself once in a while though!

Tenor | Shinavar

^

Jess

But going back to the characters - we hope to focus on their dynamic more and more. We love all y’all insight tho!

Tenor | Shinavar

reating yourself is importaaant

I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC AND AM HYPED FOR MORE

mathtans

Their dynamic is mezzoforte.

saetje

yeah I'm loving hearing all your thoughts and getting some insight into how you all are reading the comic. It can be tough when you're so close to something to really 'see' it anymore

I appreciate your thoughts!

aliceapproved

Yes! They're a great duo!

I'm always excited when there's an update and Veil and Gemini are interacting

And yeah! Ofc dude! Lots of pairs of eyes help

mathtans

Just want to say the style of the comic is really interesting... I don't think I've ever really seen it before, just having the one panel. Most trend to pages or 4-panel or whatever. But one panel can really speak volumes, even if it's just a reaction shot, done in this way.

Jess

That means so much to hear!

Tenor | Shinavar

As someone with a messed up wrist I appreciate it too bc scrolling hurts so this worked great

aliceapproved

I think the webtoons layout for it works really well for scrolling! I love reading updates before bed It fits so well!

saetje

Thanks! Honestly it's how I've always 'seen' it and I'm glad you all like that-- It's been a bit of a point of uncertainty for us. I'm hoping in the future we can get some sort of swiping option for mobile devices to swipe between panels on full-screen instead of always clicking

and yes! Webtoons has done well for us too

Kabocha

Yeah, I'll agree - carpal tunnel makes scrolling format hard, but your website is perfectly suited

thank you for having both options!

Jess

I gotta be honest when we made the decision to do it this way - we were so conflicted. We wanted to do this format becuase we envisioned it with simple panels and @saetje really works hard to make things look cinematic

Tenor | Shinavar

omg if you get swipe in I'd be so happy bc I do like 90% of my reading on my phone ;u;

aliceapproved

Yeah, I would definitely love that as a feature in the future. Clicking is fine, but it can be difficult going back and forth and waiting for a website to load

Oh yeah! This story really reads well as a show or film! The storyboard format

RebelVampire

yeah i was skeptical of the one panel thing at first but once i got used to it i thought it was really nice. especially for how much it allows to be fit on any one "page"

saetje

yeah! Tenor, we always wanted it to be REALLY mobile friendly. Like my ideal is to just let the panels fill a mobile screen and swipe to read. We just....aren't really programmers so we haven't figured that out so much yet XD BUT- I'm really happy to hear the one-panel tapping is easy on wrists! I've heard other people call us 'accessible' for that and that was an uninentional side effect but I'm happy to hear it.

aliceapproved

Yeah! Plus, you get cool scenes like the circus sequence back to Gem waking up in bed in the same pose as the juggler

Tenor | Shinavar

It's muchly appreciated too <33

RebelVampire

on a different note, im really intrigued by the fact that gemini's savings are in the form of like actual treasure. and im really curious if thats literally their hard currency, and if not, where did gemini get all that treasure.

Tenor | Shinavar

I think it is bc she says the coffee was a gold coin + a virgin's tear

Superjustinbros

I'm back!

Shen

"a gold coin AND a virgin tear what a rip off"

mathtans

They're paste gems.

aliceapproved

I think it's Mom's allowance to her before she moved

Superjustinbros

And glad you're aiming for a smooth mobile experience with the comic.

Tenor | Shinavar

So I'm curious, if you two are willing to answer this (and it's cool if not!) But what's inspired you guys to tackle this story? :D

Superjustinbros

I have to admit, sticking to one panel per page helps a lot

mathtans

Yeah, maybe Gemini should store up her tears and sell them on the street?

Tenor | Shinavar

omg math

saetje

omg

Superjustinbros

@mathtans

mathtans

Tear-able idea, I know.

Jess

It’s probably a bit different for both of us: We’re huge myth nerds but we felt like there wasn’t a story that really talked about what ppl just starting their journey was like.(edited)

Superjustinbros

oooo

saetje

@Tenor | Shinavar no problem at all! Honestly GJ has been through many iterations including an animated series pitch in 20...12?? It was my and @Jess 's senior project! It was always very heavily myth-inspired because we're really into that. It's a modern hero's journey

Tenor | Shinavar

Oooh~! <3

saetje

but basically what @Jess said

Superjustinbros

Did someone say, animated series?

Jess

Like the feeling of being unprepared to adult and the lack of jobs. The scariness of being on your own. Finding love, and losing it. And the fear of letting people down.

aliceapproved

That's a really good point, a Journey!

Jess

It’s why Gemini’s full name is Gemini Journey

aliceapproved

Also mythology is SO GOSH DANG GOOD

mathtans

I thought that was a clever play on words.

aliceapproved

I love all the mythical creature references!

Jess

And plus—- all this myth jokes Hahahaha

saetje

Yeah. What can we say--- we were starry-eyed animation students once (well, @Jess was a graphic design major)

Superjustinbros

Seconding mythology

and wow, that's quite impressive!

mathtans

Wouldn't want to myth out.

saetje

yes! I'm REALLY into myth, folklore, and fairy tales. Bookshelves are lined with them, and I still don't know everything. It's a really rich topic.

Jess

I was not a animator hahah but I like them. They are awesome

aliceapproved

World Mythology class was one of my all time favorite classes in college haha!

Jess

Me too!!

aliceapproved

and your animated ad was BEAUTIFUL

saetje

same @aliceapproved !

and thank you!

aliceapproved

Seeing Gem and Veil move is gorgeous and I could see little gifs of them interacting

mathtans

As for the question of the half hour, I'm thinking Gemini answered a "want ad" from Veil, looking for a roommate, and she was the only one willing to take the place. Everyone else thought he was too strict, would get upset if they left the milk out.

RebelVampire

oh thats good to know. i did wonder what the significance was in that her name was gemini journey

aliceapproved

when time allows to work on those kinds of things haha!

Jess

I think myths in general tell important truths about people while still being entertaining. I hope our story gives them justice

aliceapproved

You guys totally do!

RebelVampire

veil does seem like the type whod make horrified faces at the milk being left out XD

Jess

Yeah. It’s a play on the Hero’s Journey

aliceapproved

I wonder if Griffins will make an appearance. I love that Teacup manticores exist haha!

saetje

Definitely lots of fights about how to load the dishwasher correctly (if they even have one)

Superjustinbros

lol

Tenor | Shinavar

I believe you guys give them great justice! I's def creative and fun for sure! :D

mathtans

"You bought the powdered soap again...."

RebelVampire

posting a bit early but i feel we are segueing into the next question already

QUESTION 4. Although the world has present-day elements, there are also a slew of magical things. What aspect of the world intrigued you the most and why? Are there tidbits mentioned that you’d love to know more about in the future? Alternatively, is there any magical related creature or being that you’re hoping to see make an appearance in the comic? In regards to actual story canon, do you feel Gemini is familiar with this magical world or that she still has a lot to learn? In what ways do you think magical elements might come into play and make trouble for Gemini? Regardless of magic, what sorts of other conflicts are you hoping to see/do you think we’ll see, especially in regards to Gemini learning to be an adult?

saetje

@aliceapproved honestly one of our downfalls is @Jess and I want to showcase TOO MANY mythological animals b/c we love so many of them and have a lot of ideas for how they'd work in our world. But, to what cost to plot, ugh.

and yeah griffins are like on that list b/c GRIFFINS

Shen

give me werewolves

ill give you a dollar

Tenor | Shinavar

brb

mathtans

Magical dishwasher.

aliceapproved

VERY GOOD

mathtans

Do they have flying cars?

RebelVampire

have we seen a minotaur yet? need some minotaurs up in this joint.

and unicorns

aliceapproved

What I'm interested is the fact that Gemini is an Antlantean and I wonder how that factors into future story elements if any

And yes, PLEASE griffins, unicorns, and minotaurs

saetje

WELL, here's something I think I can give away that hasn't exactly been pointed out a lot of times in our story yet (we are getting to it): there aren't any humans in the GJ universe (http://geminijourney.com/index.php?c=74) so a concept of a werewolf to them would really be a "werehuman", haha. But there are other wolfed-figured beings like Wulvers from Irish myth.(edited)

Superjustinbros

Unicorns, you say?

~~suddenly thinking about centaurs~

aliceapproved

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT! I remember giggling at that "HUMAN TALE"

Human tale must be so boring to them XD

It's like OUR world, but NO MAGIC

oh wait, they're horror stories

saetje

^^ yes

mathtans

Is Gemini actually a magical girl?

saetje

I MEAN, there are some strong "Princess Tutu" influences already and even more so coming up

Shen

magical girls are my jaaaaaaaaaaam

RebelVampire

did notice gemini was an antlantean, didnt realize there were no humans

i actually hope the gemini veil fight happens

Superjustinbros

What does the transformation sequence look like

RebelVampire

so we can see gemini's home

that sounds amazing

Superjustinbros

I must know

mathtans

Gemini is a duck?

saetje

how did you know?

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

a WHAT

Jess

Nooooo you figured it out

aliceapproved

I wanna meet Gemini's mom haha!

I've seen the art but gosh

or Veil interacting with them

Honestly, Veil and Gemini meet the other's parent(s)

mathtans

Waiting for the episode where Cupid accidentally shoots Veil with an arrow.

Jess

Yeah admittedly - the character designs for gems mom @saetje has done I’m really digging. I can’t wait for her appearance

mathtans

Veil falls in love with a dial tone. Very embarassing.

Jess

“Accidentally”

I love that

We need to rewrite the next episode stat

mathtans

He meant to shoot Gemini but Veil protected her.

saetje

um YEAH Math is going to be our new head writer

awww

mathtans

aliceapproved

LOL

Superjustinbros

Math, you should re-write all our comics/stories

saetje

omg agree

aliceapproved

I think you guys have a great Valentine's idea strip coming!

Superjustinbros

mind blown from the idea of a Math/SJB production

puns and jokes and visual gags everywhere

RebelVampire

i hope gemini's mom is super awesome. i feel like she must be and gemini wants to be awesome like her

mathtans

Let me try to get to 10 people reading my own comic first, maybe.

Superjustinbros

lol

I read your stuff and it's pretty rad @mathtans

mathtans

Would Gemini's dad still be in the picture, I wonder?

Superjustinbros

Gemini's uncle?

aliceapproved

Gemini's grunkle?

Shen

My dad? your dad?

saetje

hahaha, Uncle Saggitarius, Auntie Pisces...

aliceapproved

OMG

Jess

All dads

Superjustinbros

OMG

aliceapproved

HAHA!!! Great idea!

Superjustinbros

I dunno why but i always caught onto the name Saggitarius

Shen

in a shocking twist, veil isn't Gemini's love interest hes her dad

mathtans

Gemini could have two moms for all we know.

saetje

LORD

Superjustinbros

and it's totally not because I love centaurs

mathtans

(I now ship Gemini's parents, I guess...?)

aliceapproved

For Halloween, there probably should be a "Scary Human Tale" and it's filing taxes

Shen

XD

RebelVampire

well to be fair, dont need to be blood related for him to be her dad in a way. i mean he is basically pushing for her to succeed, teaching her stuff, and generally being the responsible adult

Shen

Veil is her dad confirmed

he loves and supports her and wants the best for her even when shes at her worst

Superjustinbros

daww

Shen

ps saetje and Jess i hope you guys are in DMs with each other just screaming about all the dumb shit we're saying XD

Superjustinbros

lmao

Jess

Are... you here with us

Superjustinbros

I never thought of CTP's featured creators ever doing that

aliceapproved

Repeating what a previous comment mentioned, it'll be fun to see how Veil falls for Gemini, like the spark that ignited his feelings for her and hopefully for Gemini in turn

Shen

LMAO

mathtans

Veil is actually a magic clone of her dad that was sent by the ghost of her grandfather, Thor?

saetje

oh, @Jess is my S/O so we're just chatting in our living room together and loving everything y'all say

Jess

But honestly this has been so inspiring

Shen

oh even better!

Tenor | Shinavar

BACK. #4: THe aspect that inrigues me the most is how diverse the world is and how it just is all one big melting pot. It's colorful and you've no idea what's around the corner. :D I'm curious if something like a Wendigo might get seen! :D

Superjustinbros

Daww, that's cute! (edited)

also WB!

Tenor | Shinavar

THaaaaank

Superjustinbros

np~

brb for a sec

mathtans

Wendigos is scary stuff. O.o

Tenor | Shinavar

Yes they are

saetje

I LOVE the myth of Wendigo! No plans, esp. because they start out as human, but. I enjoy that one a lot

Tenor | Shinavar

But also like, one of my favorites so-

That's fair!

RebelVampire

can never see wendigo in a positive light. 2spooky.

mathtans

Wendigone.

Shen

that eliminates vampires, too....

RebelVampire

i hope there are phoenixes. and i hope gemini doesnt know them offhand and freaks out when one bursts into flames.

aliceapproved

Would aliens fall into the category or is that too sci-fi?

Lol a fantasy world that has stories that are sci-fi

Jess

But what if we made a chain. And it’s a reheaded wendigo that sells burgers with square patties

Tenor | Shinavar

Y R U MEAN TO THAT CHILD REBEl

omg

oMG

plz

Jess

I mean —-

mathtans

Oh, phoenixes are fun.

aliceapproved

Phoenix chicks!!!

Tenor | Shinavar

"We sell Hyumahn meat"

aliceapproved

Little baby Phoenixes pls haha!

Shen

phoenix lady dating a merman

aliceapproved

Fresh from death!

I mean Rebirth!

mathtans

Jess: I got that.

Sassy twitter extra.

saetje

We've been throwing around a phoenix story idea! They're also a personal favorite

again: too many great myth/fairy tale creatures we love, guuh.

aliceapproved

Again as said earlier, I'm really happy that Kappas made an appearance, too! I love it when mythical creatures from all over the world are in one place together

Shen

i just love how he knew how defeat the kappa lol

mathtans

"Why's that bird hanging around the Vietnamese shop?" "It's a Pho Enix."

Shen

BOOO MATH XD

saetje

IE: we thought of Veil and Gem "babysitting" a sphinx and Gem keeps feeding it puns and popsicle riddles (junk food) when it needs, like, existential riddles for nutrients, ha.

RebelVampire

yes i do think theres a great mixture of things from tons of diff cultures. it really makes the world extra super colorful.

Tenor | Shinavar

AWH

Yes plz sphinx bby

RebelVampire

i bet veil has some great existential riddles

mathtans

Aw, those are cute drawings.

aliceapproved

AAAAWW

Shen

GOSH

Tenor | Shinavar

I'll hate it because the puns will hurt so much but UGGGH IT'D BE SO CUTE I'LL DIE FROM IT

Shen

SLEEPY VEIL MELTING MY HEART

Beyonce - Don’t Hurt Yourself

OMG CUTEEEEEEE

Kabocha

Awww, Veil, that is just way too cute ^_^

aliceapproved

Your sketches are SO GOOD

mathtans

(Speaking of, when do we get the pastries that I saw on Veil's plate for the CTP today?)

aliceapproved

Your guys' ideas are SO GOOD

saetje

older concepts BUT. Again. there are SO MANY potential for fun-myth-animal stories we tend to get lost in them, haha. I don't know how much/if any will make it into the comic

I'll mail them out Math!

Jess

The pastries were there all along. In your heart

aliceapproved

Do you guys plan to do little intermission stories before doing a big arc like this one?

saetje

yes! Just like the roach comic

Jess

Yup!

aliceapproved

Like the dragon cockroach felt like a good mini-story before we got a meaty story

saetje

we plan to do little minis between bigger arcs

aliceapproved

YEAH!

Tenor | Shinavar

Sweet! :D

Jess

We want to alternate between large stories and smaller world building stuff

Tenor | Shinavar

Exciiiiiited

mathtans

Anyway, gtg, baby needs me. Best with the comic!

RebelVampire

good luck math~!

Jess

Best!! And thanks for stopping by!!

saetje

thanks for coming Math! Best wishes

aliceapproved

Bye, Math!!!

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh more queestions~ Due to how your comic is constructed, do you find you have more time to work on it, and/or you got a good healthy buffer?

BYE MATH

saetje

oh that's a really good question Tenor!

Originally, for like the last two years we've had almost a 6 mo queue, because also only update bi-weekly. But we recently ran out of that queue because LIFE and freelance hit us hard XDD so we've been trying to catch up somewhat successfully. As far as page-speed creation, I think it can vary widely but both @Jess and I have gotten a lot faster than we used to be. When we're really able to focus after-work hours (no life and freelance jams getting too much in the way) we can do about 4-6 panels in a single week, about 10-20 hours between us

The thing is though, one of the draw-backs of single panel shots is you DO have to show a lot more, I think, than just a page-layout comic.

Superjustinbros

Oooh!

That's interesting~

also bye Math

saetje

like, if we took those panels and made them into a page layout we would get away with showing less, I think, and possibly saving some time? But it's hard to gauge because also there's panel layout and flow and page composition to consider that we don;t have to worry as much about

Jess

Yeah I was gonna say the same thing. Actually the full panels largest drawback is that you have to draw sooooo much. In a comic with many panels you could cut to a talking head suddenly - in ours, because of the layout we have to be very careful not to take them out of context too quickly and too frequently

saetje

yeah good point Jess

Tenor | Shinavar

That's a good point. It's such an interesting thing o consider because - I guess the easiest way I can describe it is like the illustrations in children's books. They can be just so world building and easter-eggy so it's interesting to consider the differences!

Jess

So it’s a mixed bag. On one hand you are making only one image at a time. Sometimes even usi a lot of the same assets. But on the other - it’s a full color illustration and having to show minute changes in expression to keep the pace from seeming too quick can be a challenge too

Yeah that too!!

RebelVampire

im curious if you took printing into consideration. idk if youve printed the comic before or ever intended too. just wondering how a single panel per page comic would work in that case.

Superjustinbros

Yeah, I see what you're saying, do one-panel updates but fill them with lots and lots of detail?

saetje

or if the pacing reads too slow too- panel comics (or comics made by animators in general) can also be too slow b/c us animators LOVE showing those minute pose/expression changes, which can sometimes read slow. I'm always stressed about the pace, ha.

whitneyandcompany

Hi! Love the comic

Tenor | Shinavar

I could see, in print form, largely remaining single panel per page, or for the more fast paced ones tweak to 2-3 on the page

saetje

@Jess and I always imagined the comic a digital-first production, but if we were to go to print it'd likely be something along the lines of what Ava's Demon did. Just, single panels-per-page. But @Jess being the graphic designer who often works in print too might have some other ideas on that

Hi @whitneyandcompany thank yoouu

Jess

So when creating one of the things we did as a priority is consider the mobile screen first. Which is the opposite of what is the norm. If we were to do a book it would be handled where we put a very limited amount of images on a page. Maybe 1-2 similar to Ava’s demon

aliceapproved

Yeah, the drawback of single-paged stuff is exactly that. Focusing more on some things, like a character going through emotions can read more slowly even tho it's important to the story

Tenor | Shinavar

ugh ilu for the mobile love lol

Superjustinbros

Just thought I'd say before the CTP ends- good luck with the rest of Gemini Journey, @saetje and @Jess. It's really coming along well and you're definitely got a good story here to tell as well.

aliceapproved

But it works so well for mobile scrolling, it's so friendly!

Tenor | Shinavar

Like I can't express how frusrating it is for me bc there's SO many people who own their own sites and it's not mobile friendly

saetje

thanks @Superjustinbros have a good night!

aliceapproved

Maybe you could have 3 panels per page if printed?

Tenor | Shinavar

I live on the go I NEED THAT MOBILITY ;n;

Superjustinbros

You too, and thanks for being here, @saetje!

saetje

@Tenor | Shinavar I got to be honest with you- as a webcomic fan and reader for MANY years I feel that

Kabocha

I really look forward to reading this in the future. It's enjoyable and to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what I was in for at first... BUT it is a pleasure to read!

Superjustinbros

And cya to you as well, @Jess.

Jess

Awwww thanks!!

Kabocha

Thank you for creating an amazing comic. :3

Superjustinbros

Anytime!

RebelVampire

yeah im glad priority was placed on mobile because it is basically the way thing are going, whether ppl want that or not.

Superjustinbros

^

Tenor | Shinavar

YES it was a fun surprise! (And def last minute for me bc I didn't realize it was something I could read lmao OTL)

saetje

Thank you @Kabocha for your wonderful insights and kind comments! Thanks for coming

RebelVampire

and its definitely a beautiful comic. i think the pacing works out great as well~!

whitneyandcompany

You guys are the reason I downloaded the web toon app, I look forward to every update

aliceapproved

Thank you for making such an inspirational and gorgeous comic!

Jess

Awww well it means so much to hear you guys say that

aliceapproved

I always look forward to your updates!

Superjustinbros

In that case, cya everyone!

aliceapproved

And yes, you're the reason I downloaded the web toon app, too!

saetje

oommmg @whitneyandcompany , thank you

Shen

im glad i got to read this story its so good so far and i cant wait to read more~

Jess

It’s been really humbling for us to put our work out there. But I am so incredibly touched right now

Superjustinbros

Glad to hear~

saetje

Thank you @Shen! I look forward to more of your comic as well! I'm glad you like it.

Shen

GOSH <3

saetje

Yeah everyone, thank you for coming and letting us know you thoughts It has meant the WORLD to us

aliceapproved

You guys are amazing and I love your work

Tenor | Shinavar

Thank you for signing up so we could disect it /shot

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Tracy MacLauchlan & Yesenia Carrero, as well, for making Gemini Journey. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Tracy MacLauchlan & Yesenia Carrero’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://geminijourney.com/

Donate via Paypal.me: https://www.paypal.me/YeseniaCarrero

Tracy’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/saetje

Yesenia’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Demongemini6

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about The Hunter of Fenaur by CalimonGraal. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, September 20th, from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: http://hunter.fenauriverse.moe/

Comic’s Tapas Mirror: https://tapas.io/series/the-hunter-of-fenaur

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #comic book club #comic bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #gemini journey #tracy maclauchlan #yesenia carrero

[muzzleroars]

raelis1 replied to your post “raelis1 replied to your post “I love your character meta! What’s...”

i do wonder about the squad being silent. shinoa used to fulfil the role of yu's protector before ('if you're doing smth that won't benefit yu, i'd appreciate it if you stopped'), but now that mika is here, she's just...passively going along with everything? i used to look forward to what i thought would be an inevitable mika/shinoa alliance against guren because they def seemed to be on the same page, but it jsut didn't happen, and i'm so...bzuh?

raelis1 replied to your post “raelis1 replied to your post “I love your character meta! What’s...”

kimizuki not aggressively objecting to human experimentation considering what happened to his sister is also strange. ah well. as for yu, i keep thinking of the scene where kureto tried to recruit him, and yu said that at least guren did not torture people to get what he wanted. now we see that guren is not above using kureto's methods at all, and yu is still staunchly on his side, and that makes the whole drama in nagoya seem a bit ... overdone and pointless.                 

raelis1 replied to your post “raelis1 replied to your post “I love your character meta! What’s...”

kureto was branded as evil and someone not to be trusted because of how far he was willing to go, but guren is pretty much exempt from criticism (except shinya who at least still has something of a moral compass - a rarity in this series). this manga is...frustrating.

ohhh bit of a long reply under the cut because i’ve thought a lot of same things

shinoa’s silence is one of the weirdest character changes to me. i was also so sure she and mika would be against guren in all of this, especially given some of shinoa’s lines when guren first showed back up?? like what happened to this:

she also claimed not to believe him when he insisted he didn’t know who was pulling the strings. i just can’t understand where she’s gone, especially considering it should be so easy for her to back up mika’s objections. she cares deeply for yuu as well and so you would think she would fight for him just like she did after the shinjuku incident. she fully confronted guren for the things he did in that battle, but now she’s passive as he turns yuu into a weapon, the exact thing she was trying to stop all the way back then? it makes no sense, and i wish she and mika had made an alliance in this. i’m still honestly half hoping for it, because shinoa also seems like the most viable friend for mika out of the squad. but her sudden silence is bizarre. i really wish we would get back the shinoa we used to have, because she has such amazing potential as a friend and leader but her writing at this point almost makes no sense.

to the point about guren and kureto’s similarities, that’s been bothering me too. kureto was made irredeemable by the nagoya disaster, but guren is willing to sacrifice possibly more to get what he wants and it’s fine because...why? it’s for the greater good? so is kureto’s, by his measure: he’s sacrificing the few to save the many. kureto is bent on humankind recovering, repopulating the world and having humans come back from the verge of extinction, and he commits those atrocities to do so. isn’t guren doing essentially the same thing, just reviving instead of bringing up a whole new generation? it does make that arc feel odd now that we’re supposed to agree with the exact same methods for an almost similar outcome, but now with the possible sacrifice of characters we’ve grown attached to in the very next arc. it’s confusing and out of place, which is why i just don’t want to believe this is supposed to be the right thing to do. i can only hope that kagami will continue the trend in fiction that resurrection is rarely a good thing.

i am glad the shinya is saying something and that he can actually confront guren unlike anyone else but mika (maybe that’s why mika remembered his name and no one else’s this chapter....), but he’s not making much headway either. the most we get is panels of guren looking guilty or remorseful...and then continuing on anyway. i wish his squad would be more active in this, but like all of shinoa’s squad, they won’t say anything to all of this either. like i said, i just hope guren does end up wrong. i want this to be him just digging himself and the rest of the world a deeper grave, particularly with the original message of “move on from the past”. i just hope all the other characters don’t suffer a terrible cost for his mistakes again.

#raelis1 #i didn't even get to your point about kimizuki but REALLY... #how is he ok with turning yuu into a seraph??? #his whole conflict rn is based around his sister's suffering #it would offer another perspective too of why this is a terrible thing to do #there's so many counterarguments and hardly any are being made #smh someone help this manga #guren crit #text #ons meta #replies

[laurajanecostello]

When I was younger – especially during those nasty, spotty teenage years – confidence was something that was very much for other people. I wasn’t a very confident person at all – Im still not in fairness. My mum telling me to “just be confident” didn’t really help matters, to say the least, like it was something one can just pull out of a hat and “do”. The bullies didn’t help, and neither did the range of haircuts that often resembled brocollis. As a parent, I’m starting to realise that I can’t teach Eden to be confident if I am not.

At twenty nine, I’m now starting to learn what real confidence is and I feel like for the first time in my life, I’m actually becoming confident, rather than just trying to act confident and shut down my inner critic, who often has quite a lot to say, the loudmouth bitch. 

I went to an event last week organised by Mumsnet and No7, which is a make up company here in the U.K. The theme of the event was #No7ready – Going Back To Work With Confidence. When I accepted the event invitation, I had a look st the Mumsnet thread on the subject and was surprised to see quite a bit of negativity from people who had taken the description to mean “YOU MUST WEAR MAKE UP TO BE CONFIDENT”! I didn’t take it that way at all.

I’ve always been a total make up noob. Like, there was the one time in like 2012 when I spent $60 at the Bare Minerals counter in NYC and came away with some lovely bits that I knew how to use, but I soon stopped using them and the recommendations of the lovely sales assistant slithered out of my brain, never to be seen again. I’m a tinted lip balm kind of girl (London lips need balm) and have never felt the need to wear a dull face of slap every single day, but I know the confidence to know HOW would really help. You know, for special occasions and whatever.

Apparently the event would feature makeovers and a goody bag “packed full” of No7 goodies, as well as the usual prosecco and canapés. I was excited but nervous as I had chosen to go alone, which in retrospect was a bad idea as nothing sets off anxiety more than being in a room full of people you don’t know and being completely alone. My resting bitch face really doesn’t help matters…

Anyhow, the panel at the start of the event was insightful. We heard from Anna Whitehouse, the lady behind “Mother Pukka”, Jade Parfitt and Alice Olins and Phanella Mayall Fine from the Step Up Club. As well as Carrie Longton, the creator of Mumsnet. I very much enjoyed the panel, and took quite a lot from it. There was a lot of talk of being empowered to ask for flexible working, being empowered to do your own thing and having the self confidence and strength to break into the “mumpreneur” (this word gives me rage – can’t we jsut be entrepreneurs?) world if you want to. There was very little talk of make up, which is what I expected. I came away with a feeling of “I can definitely do this” as someone who is trying to carve out a new path in my workplace.

The “makeovers” were a little shambolic. There were about a hundred attendees and about ten make up stations. I was hoping someone could help me out with my lack of make up knowledge, but because I didn’t run or push, I didn’t make it to a station. I then didn’t want to hang around each station waiting for someone to finish. The canapés were lovely and prosecco is always good…

My first good hair day!

It’s like me using the Curly Girl method on my hair. I feel so much better for knowing what to do with my crazy hair. I love the curls and it gives me confidence. That’s for me, not for anyone else. My curls are a part of me, and embracing them means that I am embracing an integral part of what makes me Laura. I’ve also realised that my curls are awesome and not the pain in the ass that I had them down as – something to tuck away, straighten or completely ignore. Maybe one day I will learn how to use makeup effectively, but until then I’m working on the confidence that comes from within and being proud of my hair taming achievement.

The main thing I took away from this event was exactly what I had been beginning to realise – confidence is more than skin deep. It doesn’t matter how much make up you put on, how many expensive pairs of shoes you own or how many designer bags you have, confidence is what’s inside. Confidence is loving yourself and believing in yourself and your abilities. Especially when it comes to your career, I learnt how important it is to take chances, don’t be afraid to fall and pull yourself back up again and that your career is long, so don’t freak out if you fall at the first hurdle. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I think most of those things are applicable for life as well as work.

How do you help yourself feel confident?

#lesbian #mummies #trying to concieve #donor sperm #babies #two mums