#that one impulsive decision to join the discord server really changed my life.

[astro-inthestars]

@ask-the-rpg-3 HOLY SHITSTICKS I CAME AS FAST AS I COULD!!!

WHEN I GOT BACK FROM A STAY AT THE HOTEL I IMMEDIATELY RAN TO MY LAPTOP TO DRAW SOMETHING FOR THIS MOMENTOUS OCCASION!!! PLAY THE FANFARE *DOOT DOO DOO DOOOO*

HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY RPG3 COMIC/ASKBLOG!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!? ONE YEAR OF RPG3!! WOW!!! I am just so so so happy I got into this comic, because wow my life improved. Not just because its story is incredible and has me intrigued to no end, but I met SO many amazing people in the process!!! I may have only been around for a few months, and I may not know everything about it... but what I do know is that everything about it is amazing. The story, the art, the characters, everything!!! Who'da thunk, me just seeing my friends reblog this comic would lead to me meeting a few of the most amazing people I'd ever meet! (shoutout to @serizawasweep thank you for getting me into this I adore you and am ever so grateful you continue to improve my life even if you don't mean to thank you always)

I love this story so much, and I just cannot wait to see what comes next. Sock is such a genius and every idea she has—RPG3 or not—continues to amaze me every time! And I would never ever fail to mention Chip, the co-mod and Sock's partner in crime <3 Thank you for helping bring this story to life. And ALL of the RPG3 community!!! They wouldn't have done all this amazingness without you!!! Thank you everyone.

BUT A MOST SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SOCK FOR GIVING US ONE OF THE BEST RPG COMIC CROSSOVERS OF ALL TIME!!! CHEER AND CLAP FOR HER RIGHT FRICKIN NOW!!!! She works her hardest to give us this incredible story, draw the most amazing things, and even give us ARGS!?!?!? And despite all the hardships of running an askblog, she still pushes through to tell us this story. THANK YOU SOCK!!!

OH and also it was Basil's birthday I know!!! i need to draw something for that too...

#rennikorambles #astroarts #kaibigan kong mahal #omori #sunny omori #ONCE FUCKIN AGAIN FOLKS!!! IF YOU LIKE RPGS LIKE OMORI DELTARUNE UNDERTALE AND YUME NIKKI (AND SEVERAL OTHERS) #undertale #deltarune #kris deltarune #yume nikki #madotsuki yume nikki #THIS IS MY OCCASIONAL PROPAGANDA TO YOU TO CHECK OUT RPG3!!!!! #i adore this story so much and everyone working on it. i look up to sock to chip to just everything its amazing #sock continues to push through to create such an amazing narrative #you could say she's got a lot of DETERMINATION! to tell us this TALE amirite- #SORRY okay but for real. this thing is great #that one impulsive decision to join the discord server really changed my life. #huh. if i had a nickel for everytime an impulsive decision i made led to me meeting the most amazing people in my life #that matter so much to me and will impact my life forever... i'd have two nickels #which isnt a lot. but i sure am fucking glad it happened twice. #anyways happy anniversary rpg3!! and happy birthday basil!! and my friend bee!!! happy birthday bee! #AND BTW!!! YES THE FIRST ART IS THE REDRAW OF THE VERY FIRST TIME THE THREE FELLL #LIKE ALLL THE WAY BACK FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE BLOG!! #I JUST KNEW I HAD TO REDRAW THAT #I WANTED TO MAKE IT A GIF BUT I COULDNT :( I HAD NO TIME

[crescentlightning]

On the Watch_Dogs Community, Art, Cosplay, and Cons

Today is the first anniversary of one of Ubisoft’s most recent games: Watch_Dogs 2. This game lead to one of the wildest rides of my life and has changed me in ways that I couldn’t even imagine a year ago. If you had told me that I would be joining my first game community, meeting new friends and the voice actors of a game at a con, cosplaying, and collaborating on projects within the community since the announcement of Watch_Dogs 2, I probably would have thought they only happened in dreams.

I had played the original Watch_Dogs when it came out. I loved the game very much, but was also aware of the reception towards it. Admittedly, the overwhelming negative response made me feel guilty for even liking it, but it did not make me enjoy it any less. There was something about the story and characters that touched me and I felt excluded because of the negativity towards it.

Art has the power to change people’s lives, whether it is creating art or being inspired by it. It was during this time that I stumbled upon Vanade’s Watch_Dogs art on Tumblr. I was honestly surprised that I found someone else who loved Aiden Pearce and shared the same passion for the game as well! To see someone show positivity towards the first game reignited my love for the franchise. I felt a spark from that game that little did I know would drastically change my life 3 years later.

I had only recently started sharing my art online, but was timid about communicating my thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I wasn’t in any game communities and I didn’t know anyone that shared the same passion for the games that I enjoyed. To be honest, it kind of made me embarrassed to be so “obsessed” as I had once thought, but now I understand it as being “passionate.”

When I saw the announcement for the next Watch_Dogs game from the official Watch_Dogs page, I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked because the Watch_Dogs franchise was getting a second game!

I still remember the day of the Watch_Dogs 2 World Premiere announcement. I loaded up the video on YouTube, eagerly watching the countdown for 12 PM EST. I still couldn’t believe that we were getting a second game and words really can’t describe that feeling. During the announcement, I was amazed at how different the second game was in every aspect to the first.

Before I knew it, October came around and I was drawing InkTober art for my second year of the challenge. For one of the days, I drew the Hackathon piece. Shortly after, I saw Vanade’s post about the WD2 fanzine on Tumblr, so I joined the project around the end of October and thus, joined the Watch_Dogs community on Discord. Back then, I had no idea what Discord was and what being in a game community was like, but everyone was kind and supportive. Before long, I became more comfortable in communicating with people online and sharing my art.

When the voice actors of Watch_Dogs 2 were announced to be at Montreal Comic Con 2017, I, like many other fans, hoped that I would be able to meet them. Little did I know that would be a dream come true when the community on Discord planned a meet-up there. I spoke to my friends about cosplaying, since they had already prepared outfits for the con and I would be the only one without one. I had never cosplayed before and was extremely nervous, so it took a while to decide. That impulsive final decision came at 2 AM a few days later, when I chose Sitara to be my first cosplay with some encouragement from my friends. Another one of the best decisions I had ever made since she was the first character I connected with, both in artistic philosophy and ambition.

I met my friends from the server, who came from around the world (Brazil, England, and Chile) and made new ones. We all met the voice actors on Friday while wearing our cosplays: Ruffin Prentiss (Marcus Holloway), Shawn Baichoo (Wrench), Jonathan Dubsky (Josh Sauchak), and John Tench (T-Bone/Raymond Kenney).  They were so kind, down-to-earth, and funny!

That was an unforgettable experience. All the people I met, were so sweet and lovely. Words can’t really describe how happy those two days of my life made me. Through Watch_Dogs 2, I have met people and experienced things that I honestly thought would never happen.

When I got home, the next thing I thought about was finishing the animation I had been working on since December 2016. After watching the video of Ruffin and Shawn acting in the car, my first thought was “I NEED TO ANIMATE THIS!” Not even a second guess. It’s one of those moments where the art screamed at you to be made and I made it!

The games, passion and energy of the community have been inspirational for my art and me as a person. Both games’ themes of our relationship with technology and how it affects our relationships with people is a topic that I am interested in. Many moments have inspired my art as well, whether it is the conversations within the community, interviews with the actors, or Discord community events such as the weddings. Being in this community has been enriching experience - teaching me much about our world, people from different walks of life, and myself.

Thank you Ubisoft and a big THANK YOU to the Watch_Dogs team for making these incredible games and creating communities that bring people together. I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am for joining this community and meeting, learning from, and becoming friends with wonderful, supportive, and inspirational people. It has been one of the best experiences of my life, with many great moments! This community is truly a family and means a lot to me. I look forward to seeing it grow!

#watchdogs2 #wd2