#been so busy working on my webcomic ! but i spare time for THEM! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

1863-project · 2 years

Note

Comic anon again,. I’m, not sure how to say this or even if I should but, Please don’t put yourself down like that.

I understand if you feel you don’t have any advice but “other amazing artists” makes it sound like you don’t consider yourself one. Maybe I’m just over-thinking it, but.

I ask you because your blog makes me happy. I ask you because you’re a kind and informative person behind all the submas work. Because I trust you and your opinions and I know you better than some of the other artists here,, I just feel better able to connect with you. I feel understood.

So I hope you don’t think of yourself as less of an artist than others,, that breaks my heart. And thank you for showing me your references tag, sometimes a good collection like that helps a lot.

Oh, geez, anon, thank you so much! I'm sorry if you thought I was putting myself down - I was more confused because I haven't actually done longer-form comics with Submas, and I haven't drawn a proper comic in ages! I used to do it more often, but I've gotten so busy that the most I have time for is the short sequential things I post on my art blog. In general, my real-life job as an archivist keeps me busy so I don't get to work on comics the way I did when I was younger because I'm full-time now!

So in that case, here's some stuff I learned when doing webcomics when I was younger and had something resembling spare time:

Starting small is important to get the hang of things. I didn't do longer stories at first - just things that would only take a few panels to tell, so I could get the hang of things. Four-panel gag comics are great to learn from for this.

Always warm up before you draw anything! It'll keep your hand and arm from cramping. Also, make sure you stay hydrated and move every so often!

Somewhere in my references tag that I linked you to are some tutorials on designing panels, framing the characters (rule of threes is super important), and things like that.

Sometimes when I'm trying to get the hang of drawing a new character I do entire pages of just different facial expressions for them. It's fun, it's good practice, and sometimes that can give you ideas to work from, too!

For one-shot comics, the best source for ideas has always been my actual life. Library patron says something weird to me? Now a passenger has said something bizarre to Conductor on the train and he's trying to tell his co-workers about the weird conversation afterwards and wheezing with laughter over it. Strange experience in NYC? Redraw it with Unova characters.

If you're stuck, it's okay to practice by tracing things so you can get an idea of how to move your hands - just don't steal someone else's art, obviously, but for practice this helps you get some muscle memory! And of course, references are your friends! The majority of my selfies are actually me trying to pose and get facial expressions right so I can draw them.

I hope this is a better answer, anon, and I really appreciate that you care about me and don't want me selling myself short! That means a lot, thank you!

#replies

10 notes · View notes

maybemockingbird · 2 years

Text

Anybody Out There?

I have NO idea how long it’s been since I’ve actually logged into my Tumblr, but looking at all of these memories, the things I was into years ago, is both surreal and embarrassing. I had given this place up, I had no real need for it and it took up a lot of my time. I’m 29 now. A lot of things have changed, and I’ve re-discovered my passion for writing and comics. Since this username is tied to literally everything else I have that shares the MaybeMockingbird/MayBMockingbird moniker, I figured I’d log in, clean it up a bit, and post an update. I have no real plans to be on Tumblr frequently, it wasn’t a healthy place for me, but for those of you who still hang around just know that have big plans, big dreams, and I’m aiming to make them happen.

Here’s what’s going on...

1: A week after my job shut down due to the pandemic, I looked at a few notes on my laptop that held random character names and decided to start writing. I created a new Pages document at 3:26am on 3.27.2020 with the desire to write a space opera. Never did I imagine that now, in December of 2021, my boredom would turn into a planned EIGHT novel series (three of which are complete, two more are nearing completion). I’ve written just a few thousand words shy of 1.3 million (can you believe that!? 1.3 MILLION words, with only about 60k of it being cut content) that’s spread out over about 3,400 canonical pages. I am beyond excited and blessed to have had the opportunity to re-discover my love of writing and I cannot wait to get this series out into the universe.

2: I’m writing reviews as a webcomic critic over at Comic Book Yeti! I got accepted onto the team in May of this year and have had such a blast talking to indie comic creators, sharing something I’m passionate about with an amazing fanbase, and getting to literally read comics for work. If you’re wanting to check those reviews out, here’s my profile.

3: I’m part of an AMAZING charity-focused flash fiction zine called Worth Writing About. Every month a group of writers (myself included) get together and pick a theme and write short flash fiction pieces that get compiled into a digital zine. All of the proceeds go toward a different charity, too and it’s only $2 minimum per zine, so if you like horror I highly suggest snagging a few issues here!

4: On top of my novel writing, I’ve been working on several other projects, too. I have a sensory deprivation focused horror script, a supernatural/comedy comic, a second novel series, and several short stories I’ve been working on in my spare time. All of my short stories, updates, and socials (including TikTok where I post comic reviews and book updates and Twitter where I focus on my CBY work) are listed on my blog at the bottom of this post. HOWEVER, I also post my short stories to Vocal, usually for contests, and I get tipped if you read them there! If you’re wanting nice bite-sized horror pieces, please check out my Vocal, here!

Anyway - life is busy and I’m having a blast. I had a second successful year of NaNo, I got to tour a funeral home for research, and I’m working on a horror anthology short story piece, so lots of cool things are always happening. Please follow me on Twitter and TikTok for more frequent updates.

Check out my personal homepage here to see everything I’ve been up to!

#writer #fiction #horror #aspiring author #indiecomics #webcomic #comic review #short story #personal blog #flash fiction #nanowinner2021 #space opera #update #scripts

3 notes · View notes

onepunchmiss · 4 years

Text

Thoughts on Zombieman as of WC Ch 131 (basically I’m sad)

So, as has been addressed several times now the past couple days (thanks @gottahaveguts and @handlewcaare u feed my brain), Zombieman is straight up Not Having A Good Time Right Now. And so naturally I have been overthinking why he's putting himself in this situation, and maybe a little bit where he could be going.

So with the most recent developments in the webcomic, we get confirmation that Zombieman has not been seen since going to Dr. Genus about his limiter. As narration pointed out in webcomic ch. 130, Z is not one to cut off contact on his own normally. While they interpret this as him being in danger and in need of rescue, we as readers are fully aware that this is in fact exactly what he did. It’s safe to say that he doesn't want to be found.

And regarding the limiter, I should wonder why he didn't confront Saitama first. As far as we know, Zombieman doesn't know that Saitama's own power is a mystery to himself, so I would have thought that Z being a pretty logical and goal-oriented guy, would consult the guy with the experience of successfully obtaining the exact thing he wants first, directly. Obviously we know this wouldn't get him very far, Genos is the living testament to that, but he doesn't know that.

But no, what does he do instead? He goes straight to a guy who only witnessed that power, a guy who has already himself admitted that it made no sense and effectively broke his will to continue his former research. Genus more or less admitted he didn't know how breaking a limiter was possible the first time Zombieman confronted him, stating it defied all common sense.

And on top of this, we already are very aware that Zombieman is NOT fond of his time at the House of Evolution. Genus recounts earlier that same confrontation that Z went on a rampage to escape the HoE, destroying the facility in the process. Then, over the span of 10 years while finding an identity as an extremely successful S class hero, he had still been tracking and monitoring them with the intention to dismantle the HoE and kill Genus. Alsooo during this confrontation, might I add, is the only time in the series we see him lose his cool and legitimately start straight up yelling with next to no provocation.

Genus was just sitting there with some takoyaki, yet the axe and emotions were raised high.

Zombieman generally appears to be pretty sensitive to the value of human life, and does not like his own humanity being questioned, which presumably stems from him being the product of the HoE's experimentation. While admittedly not as intense as the above image, he's pretty obviously pissed at Amai for accusing him of being a monster at the MA raid meeting. Its a touchy subject.

So it’s safe to say that even though we saw him talk it out with Genus, only sparing him once he was sufficiently convinced the HoE was truly disbanded, Zombieman clearly has a lot of trauma tied to Genus and his experiments. For him to go back to Genus and demand to be experimented on, without even pursuing the first and most obvious lead he has on limiters, and to do so with out telling a single person where he was going, is freaking insane.

Basically, what I’m seeing is the behavior of someone with serious self worth issues culminating in drastic self destructive behavior. He's taking an extreme and reckless route rather than finding positive constructive ways of dealing with any feelings of inadequacy and self doubt, and honestly I'm sure he knows this. This whole thing could hypothetically be a death sentence for him and he's just... throwing himself at it full force, no turning back. To him, he must do everything he can, there is no other option. I mean, let’s not forget this bit.

"Thus, as if he wanted that" Z, pls no

He can, will, and has thrown himself into situations he knows are impossible and could end him- he wont allow any less of himself. And now he’s done it again in Genus's basement. The degree to which his experience in the HoE really affects him isn't well defined, but I think there’s enough evidence to say that it does affect him pretty negatively. Purposefully exposing yourself to trauma/triggers is a legitimate for of self harm, and I get the impression that Zombieman forcing himself to undergo some excruciating process at the hands of the very person responsible for his likely trauma, without telling a single person of his whereabouts, when there are other more obvious courses of action available, is just as much a form of self-punishment as it is him legitimately seeking to improve and grow stronger. Subconscious or not.

I'm worried, because I obviously don’t think he's going to break his limiter. Narratively I have no idea how that could work, it’s just not going to happen. So then... whats next for Zombieman? Whats it going to take for him snap out of this all-or-nothing mentality he's seemingly developed in regards to himself, since his sense of self-preservation is kinda missing? He’s putting himself through all this agony, but how’s he going handle the realization that we can’t achieve his goal? I’m so curious as to what kind of story is One trying to tell with him. There’s a high level of intrigue surrounding his character, and he’s received a good amount of emphasis compared to other S class members we’ve yet to focus on (like Pig God or Watchdog Man) so I’d say he’s about due for some sort or character arc. And now that he’s dabbling in the limiter business, which is like, THE thing of OPM, I dunno, something substantial has to happen with his character next time we see him.

And I sure hope he comes out the other side of it far better off than where he was going in to it.

#sorry this was so rambly and had no real point #point 1. z has issues #point 2. what hes doing is not fixing those issues #point 3. im afraid of how hell handle that realization #zombieman #one punch man #opm #webcomic spoilers #spoilers #webcomic #just #please i want to wrap him in a blanket and protecc #Dear you deserve so much better please be good to yourself.#opmiss mumbling #this just in: i can write infinite essays on zombieman #surprise to absolutely no one

74 notes · View notes

xandertheundead · 4 years

Note

Please take this not as criticism because I absolutely love your stories and you are such a fantastic writer. But you really should update more frequently because as a reader when you update I have to go back and reread because it has been so long since you last updated and sometimes I just don’t have the time for that so it takes me awhile to read when you finally do update. Again I’m not trying to sound ungrateful for when you do update but it can get frustrating sometimes.

Anon. I’m going to real honest here. This ask had me so upset I had to put down my phone and take a break because otherwise I would have just screamed as an answer.

Let me start off by saying that this ask is extremely ungrateful in so many ways, doesn’t matter if you say you aren’t. My stories are something that I give to this fandom for free, something that I use my very little spare time to create. I love writing these stories and it makes me glad that people enjoy them so much as well...however.

When I’m getting comments telling me I need to update and when almost 70% of my asks are people asking me to update or begging me not to abandon a fic when I literally just posted something it tends to make me really upset. I have time and time again explained that I work on fics in order, five fics that I rotate between because I want to give all of them the same attention instead of just focusing on one. So does that mean a little longer wait time to update? Yeah, it does and I’m not going to apologize for that.

I have a life outside of writing fanfic. A very busy one. I have two small children who have their own needs and activities I have to take them to, I have school which I have to do at night because of children, I’m also the writer for a webcomic that updates so I need to keep on top of that along with other side jobs I am doing. Even other fandoms and friends have been so kind since I’ve been making content only for the IT fandom and been quiet in other spaces. Also, if I look back, I have produced something almost every month, whether it be an update for a fic, a one shot or even prompts so I really don’t appreciate you dictating to me that I need to pick up the pace.

I’m giving content quite regularly, thank you very much.

Do not ever tell a writer or artist who is giving you something free of charge that they worked hard on that they aren’t going fast enough. It’s rude, selfish and extremely discouraging to a creator.

Do better.

#im mad #anon #asks

220 notes · View notes

assless-chapstick · 4 years

Text

This is me sending myself an ask… because I am boredt and my teeth hurt and I want to lay in bed….

So I ask myself … how are the Couch AU boys coping with the COVID19 lockdown??? Are they ok??

Tbh I think Charles and John are taking it harder than Arthur and Javi. Like, Arthur and Javier are a little more stable, a little more mentally well/neurotypical, and while everyone is finding it hard, I think Charles and John are struggling more than average.

Charles practically lives at John and Arthurs place, so he’s locked down over there; half his stuff is over there already, and while it might be a little crowded, it’s better than him being alone at his place. He doesn’t have any roommates and he needs to have someone around to help with the anxiety and keep him on a schedule. With Arthur around, he doesn’t sink completely into a depression. Sure, he’s finding it hard to focus and stay motivated and he spends a lot more time on the couch, napping and watching jeopardy and comfort-eating, but he’s not completely vacant and spending all day in bed, forgetting to shower or eat like he might if he was alone.

Arthur has a little gym/studio in the spare bedroom where he draws and does his fuckin bowflex or whatever, and they set Charles up there so he can get some studying done and continue to attend classes online. Charles is just finishing his first year of law school and he’s like, determined not to let this whole situation fuck up his academic career, even if he’s a little worried about it all…

Arthur is going a little stir-crazy; he works at an autobody shop, and they closed for a couple weeks at the beginning so he was out of work for a while. He was all “perfect I can work on my art,” but he’s so used to being super busy working two jobs and going to the gym and shit that having so much free time has been stressful to him. He processes a lot of feelings through anger, so the punching bag on the balcony has taken some pretty rough beatings the past couple weeks…

He’s back at work now, three days a week, so he’s feeling a little better… I think his biggest concern is money, cuz with reduced hours and all the cons he was planning to sell art at being cancelled, his income is reduced, and as a teen/early 20s he struggled a lot so that really scared him… But Dutch and Hosea aren’t too bad off and they’ll help out if he or John are ever in a pinch…

I think Arthur authors/creates a queer cowboy romance webcomic, so he’s been working on that a lot… he’s finally pages ahead and has some updates queued, so if he needs to be can afford to take a break for a week or two! He’s psyched about that. His patreon profits have gone down a little, but he’s got some loyal-ass fans and they’re really helping him thru it, too, I think… and he’s made some new merch for the first time in ages, and has had time to open up more commissions… He and Charles spend a lot of afternoons in the study, listening to Arthur’s vinyls and working together in silence …

So Arthur is doing ok, and Charles is pulling through, but John is having a… really rough go. For someone who seems really chaotic, John really really thrives when he had a routine and a set schedule, and with classes being moved online or canceled, he’s really struggling to keep a routine and as a result, his mental health is suffering. It also doesn’t help that he can’t leave the house and can’t see Javi, a major source of security for him. John runs to get his frustration out, and not feeling like it’s safe to go for a run has him feeling really bad.

He and Javi FaceTime every night, but it’s not the same and John is pretty miserable. He spends a lot of time in his room, music Loud, and he stops sleeping with any sort of regularity. The stress also makes his nightmares worse, I think, so he’s spending a lot more time avoiding sleep, which definitely makes him even bitchier than he would be otherwise. That and the situation have him really snappy, so there’s some Big Fights between him and Arthur; fights over nothing, fighting just to have something to do, to just feel something, because he’s angry with the situation and the feelings and everything… He’d just started to get his life on track and here it is, all out of order again. The uncertainty and instability are really unsettling for him.

I think John’s been seeing his therapist online, but it’s not the same, and he really hates it. In the first few weeks, things were all over the place and he forgot to take his meds and stuff… when Arthur noticed something was wrong, he kind of just started gently helping John remember to do things, just gently coaxing him and reminding him to take his pills, etc…

Like Arthur starts making meal at the same time every day, and cooks for all three of them so John remembers to eat… he makes coffee and sings when he makes breakfast to wake John up, and they watch movies and play boardgames and stuff after dinner, just to keep John on a little bit of a schedule. John usually goes to bed in his own room and climbs into Arthur and Charles’ later in the night, but during this whole thing, he starts going to bed with Arthur and Charles, and that helps too...

I think eventually he gets a little more used to it, once he gets back into a routine and then he’s still having trouble, but he’s doing better…

Javi lives in college dorms, so he’s moved back to living with his mum and his sister, which sucks, but that also means he can borrow his mum’s car… so when John is feeling really bad, one day, Javi throws his guitar in the trunk and goes to John and Arthurs place and stands under the balcony and plays all the dumb joke songs he’s written for John… songs called shit like “im sorry I backwashed in your redbull, flaquita” and “youre a pendejo but I love you anyway” and that cheers them both up…

Also, John makes up little care packages and has Arthur drop them off at Javi’s!! little doodles (John’s been practicing drawing but he’s like, crazy bad, just awful) and poems (marginally better, not great), their favourite snacks, little trinkets from around the house and stuff he picks up on his runs (once he starts going on runs again), and of course, of course, cuz he’s nasty, panties that he MAYBE wore on his run, for Javi to, y’know, do with what he will…

And of course they have a lot of phone sex, especially once John pulls it together a bit… at first he kind of went AWOL and didn’t talk to anyone, let his phone go dead and stuff, but he’s doing better now and now they’re… being quarantine horny …

Javi prefers regular voice phonesex, loves to call John up and tease his girl until John whines for him to stop, ask if John is touching himself when Javi can tell by the hitch of his breath that he is… Javi loves that, but not seeing one another, John insists they do videocalls, even if Javi is a little uncomfortable…

But it leads to some… fun roleplay … John pretends to be an innocent starlet trying to make it big, and Javi is a big-time director that keeps on pushing… “you look so good on camera, babe, but maybe take the bra off, let us see how those little titties of yours look? Don’t be shy, it’s all business, just want to see… grab them for me, that’s it, now show me that ass…”

And they also play like Javi is broadcasting the video to everyone, like all his friends can see what a whore Javi’s girl is, how he can suck that dildo like it was a real cock and how desperate he is for it… they pretend Javi is advertising John as if he’s a thing for sale, like Javi is booking John’s ass by the hour…. All “cmon baby, show them how greedy your pussy is, you’re gonna take so many cocks for me tonight, you’ll be leaking cum by the time they’re done with you, you’ll be so sore but you’ll do it for me, won’t you, flaca? Til you’re rubbed raw and then I’ll slide into your wet, gaping hole…”

And of course, of course, John BIG gets off on watching Javi jerk off into the panties he sends him… Javi maybe even… sniffs them, licks them a little, cuz he misses John so bad and he loves the way John looks in the pale yellow, lacy panties he’s got wrapped around his dick, loves the idea of coming in them and then making John put them back on,…

Aaaand that’s that on that, I think!! So thanks for reading, mister, if you’re still out there somewhere. I have dental surgery tomorrow and I’m more scared than a spider in a shoe factory, so please wish me some luck and send me some non-COVID related asks, iffin you’re feeling it!!

#the couch au #COVID19 mention

20 notes · View notes

strangestofquarks · 4 years

Text

Want to make a webcomic with me?

Hey, so, I have an idea for a webcomic. Unfortunately, I'm absolutrly terrible at drawing, so I'm seeking a partner who's just as excited about this project as I am, and would want to work with me on it. This definitely sounds a lot like 'hey, come draw my ideas for me for free,' which is not my intent; I'm looking for a new friend who I can work with to build more on the plot, characters, and themes as we go along, and who sees this as something they really want to spend their free time working on.

However, if I am, in fact, doing the art version of 'so I have this new app idea...' please feel free to inform me and I'll take this post down.

But, I digress - onto the comic idea itself.

In a fictional, medium-sized city, the personifications of renewable energy sources are brought together. Each has their own personal challenges - college workloads, financial worries, family drama - and they're all already vwry busy being twenty-something adults trying to figure out where they're going in life (the New Energies, being, well.... new, are all young adults). And now, on top of everything else, they have to constantly fend off the Fossils using their newly discovered powers.

The whole thing is intended to be a bit of a lighthearted, magical-girl-esque story filled with science puns, found family, and flashy fight scenes. In regards to characters, we've got:

The New Energies

Nuclear, the head of the New Energies. Picture Ms. Frizzle, but as a college student, and with big, round glasses. Nuclear is a passionate, determined person with a love for all things sci-fi, and on top of her (obvious) nuclear physics and engineering double major, she has a new special interest every week.

Solar, the biggest hippie of them all. He's a botany major at the same college Nuclear goes to, and spends his spare time hiking and resding transcendentalist poetry. You'll usually see him wearing pastels and sandals whenever the weater lets him get away with it, and he has a bit of a penchant for hangout out in high places (trees, roofs, etc.). Also, he would pretty much die for any human, animal, or plant that needs help.

Wind, a thrill-seeking bicycle courier and aspiring pilot. She's almost never not moving (hence the ever-present althetic attire), whether it's running, cycling, or yoga. She's saving up money to train to become an airline pilot, and traveling the world is her biggest dream. Win'd is fierce, intense, and always teady to take on a challenge.

Hydro, who people sometimes forget about, but really shouldn't. They usually have the hood of their trademark purple sweatshirt pulled up as a 'don't talk to me' signal, and are pretty quietl. They're also reclusive, their work as a marine biologist taking up most of their time. However, they have a razor-sharp tongue, and when the situation calls for it, can be a hell of a force to reckon with.

Geothermal, or 'Geo' for short. Geo is an Icelandic exchange student, has collected enough rocks to fill a small museum, and is perpeturally wearing a big, puffy vest and seeking out heat sources (including, if his friends are okay with it, occasional cuddles). Geo's very calm and sure of himself, and he's not really a thrill-seeker like Wind, but danger doesn't bother him much (in particular, he can be a bit of a pyromanic sometimes).

The Fossils:

Coal, the oldest of them all. Coal looks to be in his late sixties and has a perpetual cough, and his dress and manner of speech are as stuck in the start of the twentieth century as he can get away with without attracting too much attention. He once led the fossils, but now he's content to let Oil take the reins. He's still incredibly powerful, though, and his influence is everywhere.

Oil, almost as old as coal, and the head of the group. He appears to be middle-aged, and has a high-ranong position at - you guessed it - an oil company. He's almost always in a suit, and whether it's his hair or his words, everything is slick and shiny. And he is absolutely ruthless.

Natural Gas, the youngest of the Fossils. She's a post-grad student at Nuclear and Solar's college, working on a thesis on conflict resolution and psychology (note: this is based on natural gas being the poster child for "clean" fossil fuels, hence her being involved in a field about resolving arguemnts). Outwardly, she's very amicable and friendly, but most of what ahe says is carefully crafted to get what she wants, and not in a good way.

Oh, and about the characters' ages, they're based on when the types of energy were widely used during and after the industrial revolution, and their ages don't directly correlate to how old they are. The Fossils have actually been around for a few centuries, while the New Energies are much more recent. Nuclear has been around since the 1950s, Wind since the 1970s, Geo since the 1980s, and Hydro is actually over a hundred years old, but because they've been widely forgotten as a source of power, have literally phased in and out of existence. Solar is the only one who actually is the age he appears to be, and discovering he's one of the new energies is what kicks off the story. Essentially, this is similar to American Gods in that the characters become real when enough people consider their concepts important (they literally popped into existence as young kids, and most of them wound up in the foster system and/or being adopted), and they are strongly linked with their reputations. About why most of the characters are doing things young adults would do rather than being more successful for their actual age, I was thinking with technology making it a lot harder to keep their real afes secret, Nuclear, Wind, and Geo (who'd already found each other), decided to make new identiites and atart over.

However, I definitely want to keep the whole 'kind of immortals' thing light. It's necessary because this does need some level of cohwrent worldbuilding, and I do want the Fossils especially to have been around for a while and have gotten pretty formidable, but beyond that, the focus of the story is more about the plot than the world.

Anyways, if you're interested in making this with me, send me a message, and we can chat.

#webcomic #webcomic artist #art #art help #science #comic #web comic #comic art

4 notes · View notes

gofancyninjaworld · 5 years

Text

OPM manga chapter 119 Review: A Conspiracy?

Buckle up, this review gets long. I was away on family business for a few days so I missed this one’s drop. It’s meant though that I’ve had longer to ponder my thoughts.

Core take away for me is that like Hellfire Flame and Gale Wind trying to recruit Sonic set us up to better understand the Ninja arc when it showed up in the webcomic, this ‘glimpse behind the scenes’ at the conspiracies brewing sight unseen is foundation for what will burst into the open later, apparently from nowhere.

Anyway, onto the review. Much more under the cut. First though, One-Shotter is still alive! Looks like his mechanised parts are much more extensive than initially appeared.

I tell you, it doesn’t pay to be a cyborg hero in OPM. It’s just inviting gratuitous cruelty into your life.

Soon Gets Sooner

This chapter, I honestly expected Drive Knight to just leave with Nyan and stay the international Cyborg of Mystery he'd been to date. But he stuck around to talk to Sekingar and what we got was a glimpse indeed to the mystery plot that has been brewing from the very start.

We find out just why Drive Knight has a 100% win record: he never, ever fights unless he has carefully studied and formulated an excellent battle plan. Even if it means sacrificing his fellow heroes like pawns.

And then things get weird. After offering data on the strong monsters in the MA, Drive Knight changes the subject to asking Sekingar about the state of the Hero Association, being very interested in just which capable heroes were left available to respond and whether or not Blast was likely to attend if the Hero Association were attacked. And then Drive Knight went into full tin-foil hat conspiracy mode, painting the loss of the Metal Knight as a deliberate action by Dr Bofoi to gift the Monster Association with the way to take out the Hero Association.

When Sekingar spoke of not expecting the support heroes to carry out their mission without injury, I’m sure he couldn’t have imagined ending up a casualty. When he tries to call the Hero Association to check, none other than G5 shows up to shoot his hand off. As G5 approaches, Drive Knight makes no move to either attack G5, claiming lack of power, nor to protect Sekingar. Even in extremis though, Sekingar is still thinking about the support team, the hostage, and what action he could yet take. Truly, a hero is being forged before our eyes. He just has to survive the experience.

‘Why not me?’ That’s the central question heroes ask themselves.

Fee, Fi, Do, Fum, Cinderella's At The Ball

We'd seen Garou, who I'd dubbed Sleeping Beauty awaken from his unconsciousness. With a roar, he pummelled PPP into the ground.

Cyborg Cinderella, whom we'd left vacuuming and washing dishes while the others went ahead, may be attending the ball late, but his entrance was no less spectacular. With timing worthy of Saitama himself, just in time, one mighty kick all but split G5 in half, arriving so fast the robot barely had time to register his presence. It's interesting what summoned him; Saitama's punch may have gotten his attention, but it was G5's energy signature that really got him on scene.

Insane kicks, flips -- and upgrades

Kuseno magic extends to clothes: the last time he used Jet Drive Arrow, he ended up naked. Now Genos isn't just very fashionably dressed, but his raiments are fire-resistant and wonderfully form-hugging. Until the clock strikes twelve (or ten in his case), he is here to cut some terrifying shapes.

And now all the pieces are in play.

The chapter ends suddenly and ominously. On one side, we have Genos asking, looking about as cunning as a newborn lamb, what’s going on:

On the other, if it’s possible for an expressionless face to look unamused, then the very cunning Drive Knight looks most unamused:

Meta: “The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less.”

-- from the webcomic ‘Schlock Mercenary’ (more here)

I’d wondered why ONE had split Genos off from the rest, in difference to the was he’d gone together with the rest in the webcomic. It was definite that ONE intended to test Genos in a situation where he had no support, bu the potential for him to discover something new and relevant to his quest is the last thing I expected.

A peek behind the scenes indeed! Where from and why Genos came to fetch up at Saitama’s door in chapter 7, telling a tale of evil cyborgs and total extermination, we know not. It’s seemed increasingly far-fetched as nearly nothing happened with that storyline and the monsters we meet have nothing to do with the sort of intelligences behind any such cyborg. It’s led to some, too many, fans claiming that in that absence the ‘mad’ cyborg must be Genos himself -- in a twist of logic too stupid for real life [Then again, the typical SF story seems to be written by an individual who never met an actual human being...]. I don’t know about the veracity of 90% of what Drive Knight said, but there is a conspiracy indeed.

So, now we get to understand a bit more about Drive Knight. It’s something I’ve long wondered about:

The thing about Drive Knight is that he hasn't told us who he is yet. At present, he's a blank slate for whom many alignments are possible without betraying who he is. He could be entirely a hero, just acting in ways that are more independent than most would appreciate. He could be a member of The Organization, acting as a mole in the Hero Association. He could be an entirely amoral person, aligning himself to one group or another as suits his goals and all would be consistent with what we don't know about him. Once he declares who he is, we'll be down to many fewer possibilities. -- myself, Reddit post

“Everything that can be used must be used.” With that, Drive Knight has finally told us who he is. He is highly calculating and will use anything he can to achieve his ends. At the expense of anyone and anything.

What to make of all of this? One thing we can be certain of. Drive Knight really hates Bofoi, considers him a threat and reads the worst possible motives into his actions. He wastes no time in trying to sew suspicion about Bofoi whenever possible. Why? We don’t know.

At its most benign, Drive Knight may be like Zombieman and the House of Evolution, seeing evil in Metal Knight and a grand conspiracy where none actually exists. A less benign possibility is that Drive Knight may be projecting his ambitions onto Metal Knight and describing what he fears Metal Knight has in possession in order to thwart them (whoever ‘them’ is).

Since we as readers have a quasi-omniscient view of the story, we know that quite a lot of what Drive Knight said about Metal Knight is factually wrong. We know that he is wrong bout the circumstances under which Bofoi lost the Metal Knight. We know that he is wrong about its fate. We know most of all that he is absolutely wrong about Bofoi wanting the capable heroes scattered or defeated. Dr. Bofoi has been furious with the Hero Association executives for risking the lives of any heroes raiding the Monster Association precisely because he feared what might happen if the ranks of the heroes were thinned.

Interesting that G5 is definitely its own entity! Once I realised that the tactical transformations formed around Drive Knight, I’d started to entertain the possibility that the two of them were the same. That said...

I could well understand Drive Knight having done his own work to understand the nature of the strong monsters actually in the Monster Association base. However, there is one piece of information G5 has that it could not have reasonably obtained without Drive Knight sharing it.

When they ran off a second time, they ran off separately. More pertinently, there’s no reason for G5 to show Sekingar this information: it puts psychological pressure on him, but if G5 just wants to kill him, there’s no point to it. Instead, Drive Knight drawing attention to the support team and G5 drawing attention to the hostage act as a double-team interrogation to see if Sekingar has some way yet of reaching Blast in time of most extreme need.

We’ve also learned that Blast is all but retired. It falls into line with what we've gleaned from the webcomic and suggests that he's quite old.

He's just a poor boy from a poor family: spare him his life! (and limbs)

Dr Kuseno's occasionally prodding Genos to not forget his primary task of finding the 'mad' cyborg, as well as his warning not to fight it alone both make great sense. In OPM, you get good at what you actually practice. Fighting monsters as a hero has been very useful for Genos developing raw fighting prowess. It has done nothing to prepare him to face the cruel, conniving, and creative people that the not-quite-mad cyborg and those behind him are. Watching Genos ask straightforwardly what the situation and contrasting it to Drive Knight's complicated narrative was to realise how painfully naive Genos is.

It's all very well to counsel non-engagement, but you deal with the monster before you: situations aren't neat and don't wait until you feel prepared. I'd hoped for another conversation between Genos and Drive Knight but this looks far more dangerous. I've no doubt that Genos won't die, but his participation in this battle could be VERY short.

So many ways this story could wend. A few that come to mind:

The most tragic:Drive Knight convinces Genos of his predicament, perhaps offering data on the cadres as a sweetener and Genos escorts him and the fallen heroes out of the war zone. As soon as Drive Knight is sure Genos is safely underground, he'll kill Sekingar... and probably the support heroes into the bargain. If he burns them, the only fire-wielder known is Genos. If he's really clever, catching up with Waganma and Food Battler, dragging them back and burning them too creates a compelling narrative of Genos (already suspected of colluding with the monsters) waylaying the support heroes as they tried to retreat and killing them all. Drive Knight can show up at the Hero Association and continue his activities. No witnesses, a convenient scapegoat, and near total freedom to carry on his agenda.

Mortal combat. No matter what changes to the webcomic ONE has planned, Genos isn't about to get killed, so Drive Knight is either going to have to run for it or else get killed. Knowing who Drive Knight is, there is no possibility that he would defeat Genos and leave the latter alive -- even if he were that careless, Genos announcing that any enemy that gives him trouble will find that he comes back very quickly and very much stronger would put paid to that. (yes, he’s so naive!) Either way, Drive Knight won't be working as a hero any longer. For Genos, victory is likely to be expensive -- he runs the risk of sustaining critical damage, which will force him to retreat, or of wasting precious, precious energy that he could really use later. Very interesting repercussions will definitely follow.

Hit him in the heroism. Drive Knight could use the heroes and Sekingar as hostages and get Genos to allow him to leave unmolested. He won't be coming back to the HA but it looks like he knows all he needs to. Genos won't like it, but as a person who has long established his willingness to take incredible punishment to protect others from harm, he won't have any other course of action. I suspect that this is the most likely outcome.

Whatever actually happens! Only ONE (and Murata) know. I know I need the next instalment!

Bonus question. Where is the cat? Drive Knight dropped it when G5 showed up and it hasn't been in evidence since.

#OPM #manga #review #meta #long #Drive Knight #Sekingar #Genos #heroes #yay Genos is back #and ominious #wah ending on such a tense moment #please be a little cunning Genos #just a little

31 notes · View notes