Slime Mansion

Done with finals, passed all my classes, and I just got back from a wonderful weekend at Fanime in San Jose! Now it's back to work for me :> Inbetween the Directions of Destiny stuff, I thought I'd put on the blog some of the fan art I've done over the last year that I hadn't put on the blog yet (even though they're technically on the website ha ha D:)

This is fan art of Mother 3! If you've played Earthbound on SNES, this is the sequel! Y'all should play it if you haven't D: It was an amazing game and it made me shed tears. :') I tried to put in as many elements of the game into this illustration without being too revealing.

Incidentally, the linework was originally done in pencil on paper, but then I decided to make some significant changes so I ended up redoing the linework completely in Illustrator.

First of all, Otakon is coming up this weekend in Baltimore, MD, and as I had mentioned before, I will have a table in the artist alley! So if anybody is planning on going, find me at table C5! Comment if you're going!

For people who aren't going to make it, don't feel too left out because over the past week I changed my personal site to include an online store! You'll be able to find everything that I've been selling at these conventions over there, including the Something Colorful artbook! Furthermore, in addition to PayPal, the store also accepts payments through Google Checkout, as well as automating check and money order transactions so you don't have to print and fill out a form! ;D Check it out!

Incidentally, my personal site itself got a nice facelift too. :3

Since I last posted, I managed to move back into my mom's house, although everything's a complete mess! I've been living on the couch of the living room this whole time because we haven't cleared out enough furniture for me to establish myself in an actual bedroom, but we're hoping to get that underway after I get back from Otakon. Because of this, I haven't been able to work on the comic pages since there's literally no physical space for me to do so! :[ But what I HAVE been doing is planning out more of the plot, so when I do get those pages underway they should pan out smoothly?

As for my laptop, it finally got fixed too! It turns out that they had to replace the whole motherboard along with the cable connecting it to the LCD. >_o BUT it's been working splendidly now, so glad that's been taken care of. :Db

Anyway, I'll definitely get back to work on the comic when we get all the furniture in place. Until then, I'll try to keep you regularly posted!

So the good news is that the crisis mentioned in the last update has been resolved! The bad news is that I will have to move back to my mom's house, so I'll be busy doing that for the next few weeks. >_o

Aaand more bad news is the fact that my laptop's back in the shop now for the THIRD TIME. It's still the same problem as before, which I thought was fixed the first time around, but I guess it was just biding its time?? So they never actually figured out what was causing it until this afternoon when the screen messed up and froze again, and rather than just trying to turn the computer off and back on like I used to do, I just brought it into the shop in its frozen state and told the guy, "THIS is what my laptop's been doing for the past MONTH AND A HALF!!"

So I guess it's got nothing to do with overheating and everything to do with the graphics card (which is integrated into the motherboard) being messed up? :< Hopefully it'll be fixed some time next week.

Anime Expo was pretty cool, although I was nervous about it because it was the first convention where I had already brought Directions of Destiny to before. Of course everybody who bought the book the first time two years ago gave me a hard time about the second book not being out yet, but I don't blame you guys. 8D()() It does motivate me to work harder to get the second book out by next year though, so wish me luck >3<b

And for people going to Otakon, table assignments have been given out, and I will be sitting at table C5! See you there~

Japan decided to spank my ass today without any warning nor explanation. I felt a little violated for the next few hours before it finally thought to let me know that, "BTW JK LOLOLOL."

I shall elaborate!

I finally went back to the ward office to pick up my alien registration card this afternoon. Namioka-san, the sister of the priestess of the temple, took me in her hot red sports coupe. As soon as I got the card, I thought to put it in my wallet, but seeing as Namioka-san had an appointment to make, we rushed back into the car. What followed was a complete lapse in my memory that lasted until we had arrived back at my apartment:

Last night I had borrowed money from Namioka-san's husband because he took me to shop for a computer desk and the place we went to only took cash, and since I stopped by the ATM earlier today, as I got out of the car I handed the money to Namioka-san to give to her husband and then waved her goodbye. After she drove off, however, I thought to myself, "Hey... did I...ever put that registration card into my wallet...?" I had my wallet in hand since I drew out money from it for Namioka-san, but when I opened it back up to check if the card was there... Nothing.

Checked my bags, checked my jacket, my jeans, inside my boxers... Nothing.

There was a typhoon today so I dropped my things off in my room first before running back out to the temple, not minding to take my umbrella with me since it was only a short distance away. I told Hibino-san, the priestess, about my situation, and she gave her sister (who had already left for her appointment) a phone call to see if the card was anywhere in the car. After a few minutes, Hibino-san returned saying that it wasn't. I suggested that perhaps it was in the wad of cash I handed to her. Hibino-san told me that she'll let Namioka-san know about it after she gets back. I return to my apartment and took a nap.

Two hours later I got a call from Hibino-san: apparently the card was nowhere to be found in the car, nor in the wad of cash. I told her I'd check my stuff once more and I'll call her back if I find it, or if I don't find it for that matter. Did my rounds through my belongings. Still no good.

Now by this point I was really hating myself; earlier when I was taking the train back home, I ended up jumping onto the train going the opposite way. ...And then after that I took it one stop too far past my station. Suffice to say I was probably in no condition to be seen in public. And then, of course, this whole ordeal with the very-vitally-important registration card happens, and I was just about ready to throw my arms in the air, declare today as the Worst Day in Japan Evar, and then starve myself as punishment and eventually go back to sleep.

...But before that, I thought to check outside the apartment again; maybe it was somewhere on the ground between the entrance of the apartment and where I got dropped off (an area of about 10 feet in diameter which I had already checked earlier, but perhaps not quite so thoroughly). Billy was just leaving his room at the same time to stop by the konbini for some drinks, so I whined to him a little about my situation, and he sympathised.

The rain was a little harder now than it was earlier when I had ran out to the apartment so I had my umbrella in hand. I followed Billy out the door, and quickly raised my umbrella and clicked it open.

...POOF.

...My alien registration card.

It flew out.

Of my umbrella.

ffja;kdkfajsfhdklsadf;jaskdla WHAT.

I-I mean, thinking over the situation a little more, it kind of makes sense how it could have dropped into my umbrella without me noticing it, especially since it wouldn't have made a sound. But. Still.

...WHAT. LKJFKALSD;FKDASJF.

Of course Billy laughed at me. And then I called Hibino-san to let her know about it, and she and Namioka-san probably rolled their eyes out of their sockets at me from behind the phone. Either way, my opinion of Japan has been briskly rescued away, and I celebrated by buying 1000 yen's worth of food from the konbini tonight. 8D

Other things have happened over the past week and a half (class starting for one, in addition to my near-death experience and run-in with the law), but that stuff can be saved for another day.

ほ、欲しい。

(There's still a chunk of Directions of Destiny orders that haven't been sent. After I finish giving all the shipping instructions to my mother, she'll have it taken care of. Apologies!)