Thank you to everyone that has helped. You have no idea how much it means.

of critters in clover

I'm so glad we've gotten to see more of Nightcrawler in X-Men 97! I always enjoyed Kurt's episodes in the 90s animated show (and Evolutions) and I'll never complain about getting more Nightcrawler! 💙 (I don't see people mention Wolverine and the X-Men but I also really like Kurt in that one too!)

Wanting to eventually come back and draw Kurt with some of the other X-Men. (Rogue for sure! Maybe Jubilee or Logan eventually?? Open to ideas!)

Almost Real's POP CULTURE issue is live on Kickstarter! Time to introduce the cute yet vaguely horrible cover critter, a living gachapon toy bioengineered by scud aliens!

The wild gachapede is a segmented worm-like arthropoid that lives parasitically inside a bivalve-like "giant diatom" in shallow, sandy-bottomed seas of the scud homeplanet. The giant diatom's shell is made of two interlocking lid-like frustules of transparent silica, allowing light to pass through to its veins of symbiotic unicellular algae. Much like the microscopic diatoms of earth, giant diatoms reproduce in two different ways, asexually and sexually. Asexual reproduction is carried out by the two frustules separating and each generating a new frustule, a phase during which they may be parasitized by the gachapede. But because the new frustule is always smaller than the old one, like the lid and body of a box, eventually one lineage of giant diatoms is too small to safely carry out asexual reproduction. These tiny ones will finally give up and reproduce sexually by releasing sperm and eggs that will join to create new larvae and maximum-size giant diatoms. The parasitic gachapede has a relatively low impact on a large healthy giant diatom, as it lays dormant until the frustules split, surviving off the "bloodstream" of unicellular algae.

Scuds have used the unique properties of these two organisms in combination with their civilization's advanced biotech to create a collectable toy; twisting the basic bodyplan of the gachapede into thousands of variations of "funny little guys." The wild diatom has been modified into a "gachapod," which is far more spacious and transparent than its wild counterpart. To obtain the toy, you crack open the two frustles and recycle the gachapod (which will now grow into two new pods). However, once removed from its food source, the gachapede typically only lives a couple days at most. At the end of its life, its cuticle calcifies and makes them into a rigid figurine. Scuds who are really into the gachapede scene will pose their gachapede into a desirable pose like a insect collector pinning a bug.

The $1 per hour rule. It’s exactly what it says on the tin. If I’m purchasing physical media, I consider it good value if I can expect to get at least one hour of enjoyment for every dollar I spend on it.

I don’t remember what I spent on BG3, but I know it was a good deal because I’ve logged 600 hours in it. Hades II costs $30, and I was more than happy to pay that because I know I’ll play it for at least 30 hours. When I add books to my library, I almost exclusively buy used books that cost under $5 because 5 hours is a good average estimate for how long it takes me to finish a novel.

I made this list for my upcoming fundraiser game, but I figured I'd share it publicly if anyone's looking for some quick inspo!

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Are you…jealous?”

“Keep it; it looks better on you, anyway.”

“You have to trust me.”

“I meant it as a compliment.”

“Hi, I’m calling about your ad.”

“I can’t keep doing this with you.”

“It’s been a long time.”

“Is this really worth breaking your vows over?”

“You know, I didn’t ask to get kidnapped.”

“I don’t deserve this.”

“Sometimes I really don’t understand you at all.”

“Have we met before?”

“That wasn’t how I planned it.”

“Can I come with you?”

“I told you not to tease me.”

“I’ll take care of this.”

“Try not to make any noise.”

“Can you at least try to be nice?”

“We shouldn’t.”

“Stop yelling at me.”

“I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Who did this to you?”

“What did you do this time?”

“You’re so different when it’s just us.”

“I’m not good at this.”

“Are we ever going to talk about it?”

“How long have you been standing there?”