I’ve upgraded my Clip Studio from PRO to EX. Didn’t even get it with a discount, Clip Studio guys deserve all the money because it’s a worthy one-time purchase, unlike Adobe!
So I might be able to animate stuff in the future, after I gitgud first that is! And I bet some of you lewd dudes are looking forward to some animated stuff. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Hibi-Hibi (flashback): Yes. We need something tough and waterproof for Bakunawa's "collar". Tammy: MERM--mmmf! Cruz: Since we're in here, is there anything that we can use for what Hibi needs?
Tammy: Like... rope? Maybe? Seems like the obvious choice. Keith: Oh! And maybe Haliya can lasso with it! Haliya: It will be hard to lasso something that big, but I'll do it.
Blue Bunny Haliyan: Rope? Yep, we do have some spools here.
Hibi-Hibi: I can use these, but it could be thicker...
So… those two sweaty girls from the previous page are taking a bath (thanks Haliya). I wonder if I should draw that hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
These strips are small but since there’s a story now there’s a lot of thinking involved. I’m still bad and slow at writing, but there’s really only one way to get better!
Now, Page 199 mentions that her worshipers banned fireworks to not distract from “the glory that is the Moon”. Continuing from that idea, they’ll need people to do said prohibiting, so… forest rangers!
Are these Haliyan forest rangers real or fake? They’re real and working with, not for, the local municipal government. Both groups will benefit from protecting the forest from fire/works, illegal logging, etc., and helping hikers/campers. As for each group benefitting, the municipal won’t have to manage the forest or staff, while the Haliyans can keep people away from their village with some legal backing. The municipal don’t know where their village is though, and they’re wise enough to not piss-off them of a group that hunts monsters and have a warrior goddess leading them.
Being unmasked is tantamount to being naked, if not plain uncomfortable to Haliyans, so these forest rangers wear masks enchanted to look invisible to others. I’m not even sure when they’ll appear again after this Episode, but I imagine most Haliyans that leave their village will wear invisible masks like these. The tawlis also help them out in the forest rangers by spooking people with some scawy wind, or else just blowing them away with stronger gusts.
Interestingly, a page with none of the main characters. Naturally, they’re somewhere off-camera with dumbfounded expressions.
This also the first comic and drawing I’ve completely finished using my new gaming table. Things are certainly a lot easier to do now that I can use everything, aside from owning a cool table and freeing up space. Thanks as usual for your patronage my patrons, and the new patrons/upped pledges too of course!
Also, feel free to submit suggestions for Haliyan characters again. Or not cause it was fun designing these three and the ones from the previous page.
Sorry still for the delays and silence. Had been feeling extremely overwhelmed with all the things going on, especially that uh, legal thing with my mom. That’s actually still not over. And part of that was worrying about COVID infection since I had to go out a couple of times, but it’s been two weeks and I seem to be fine, thankfully.
Anyway, feeling a lot better now… and it’s time to get back to work again!
My computer finally has Wi-Fi now and got some cheap mesh Wi-Fi routers. Just saying cause the internet will now be more stable for art streaming. Maybe I’ll talk too since I’ve also gotten a nice pair of headphones (I can’t really work well without some tunes). No promises that I’ve got anything interesting to say though haha. Because of you patrons, I finally get to buy something nice and useful, thank you!
Also, give me some time to mentally prepare myself to come back to Discord. It’s always kinda awkward coming back after a while. 😅
Hoo boy, it took 22 pages to get at this point. I hope that part wasn’t too boring for you all! At least we had some fun stuff like uhh wolfgirl Tammy, kid Cruz, Tammy Stripping take 2, and voice acting.
Got a new tier in my Patreon, the $55 AristoCat Tier. It’s basically just a discounted $50 commission for $45 (10% off) + Patreon benefits, but doing it through Patreon contributes to the new $300 Goal… a NSFW goal ;). Thanks to the patrons who increased their pledges, the goal is already at $238 this month, but maaaaybe someone wants to nudge it a little closer to $300? Who knows, we might even reach it, it’s still just a week since June started after all!
I’ll announce it and other things properly in a separate post later, and make a separate mention for the AristoCats on the area below and the patrons/ko-fi enablers page.
Hibi-Hibi: It will take a LOT of work to create an agimat for Bakunawa but... we have a plan! Tammy: OHH THANK YOUUU!!! Haliya: Everyone...
Haliya: ...I did not think it was possible to end our centuries-long conflict without one of our deaths. Even if it's just a chance, I am deeply indebted to you all my friends.
Tammy: You two were the ones who helped me! Hibi-Hibi: Don't thank me just yet, making the thing is the easiest part.
Keith: All I did was bring Myan- Cruz: I'm just the bait, the master ba-- Keith: -and shut this guy up. Myan: mew!~
Haliya: I'm glad it has eased her burden somewhat, but what can we do with just this? Hibi-Hibi: It might seem like a failure, but perhaps we can make an agimat like Myan's for Bakunawa.
Hibi-Hibi: Similar to Tammy's case, we might not need to overpower Bakunawa's curse.
Hibi-Hibi: But maybe we can transform her just enough into a more... manageable form. It will be easier to persuade her to ask for forgiveness from the god that cursed her, or fulfill the curse's conditions. Even if we never win her over at least she'll be safely contained... to do what you have to do.
Soundcloud mirror just in case. The file itself isn’t big, but I still have to think about my webhost’s limited space if I ever do more of this.
Originally, I had the bright idea that I can get away with a blank comic page, except the dialogue, to simulate that Keith and Cruz’s eyes (and yours) are closed. But that was too boring! So to make things a little more interesting, I thought this was a good opportunity to make an audio comic. I hope you have enough imagination to understand what’s happening! Else, just read the transcript below which I filled with additional info.
I’ve hired a couple of talented voice actors from Fiverr (referral link. Might earn me some money!) and this is the first time I’ve ever commissioned anything or used Fiverr at all so that’s more things that I’ve just learned. Having to think about what the Cat Nine characters sound like or how they talk (and how Myan is pronounced), discussing details with the voice actors, and editing and mixing the audio using Audacity were all fascinating as well. I was also planning to add some sound effects, but looking for free sound effects are even more of a hassle than free music. Please forgive me for that and my amateurish audio skills!
I don’t mind if this is just a one-time thing, but this was fun enough for me to maybe consider making more in the future.
And excuse me if I don’t feel like drawing an actual comic page since I paid out of pocket for the voice talents after all, although I’ll draw those scenes with Tammy checking herself later… but only manyaks would look at those riiiight? EDIT: Here it is!
I also had “Tammy” say her dialogue in page 216’s last panel and some adorable awoo since I had a couple of words left from her. Dunno what to do with these yet. Feel free to make something out of them yourself!
Thanks to my patrons as usual, the kittizens at Discord for the input about the voices, and last but not the least:
