Okay, first the update:

Not much to report, I suppose. Going to Indiana for band next weekend, where my marching band will be the exhibition band for the Bands of America National Championship. Should be fun. Comes with its very own ten hour bus ride!

Artistically, there's not much to report. You guys know how I function here, just kind of working on whatever comes to mind... Though I do have to say, the reference image getting more faves than the Avolc image was a bit of a surprise, and a tad disappointing, in a way...

What else... Oh, right, these...:
- http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v413/HalfDragon/?action=view&current=Photo19.jpg
- http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v413/HalfDragon/?action=view&current=Photo20.jpg
- http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v413/HalfDragon/?action=view&current=Photo21.jpg
I was gonna post a journal with them for Halloween, but it didn't seem to have enough meat, so here. You can have some late images of me in my incomplete pyro-suit.


And now, because I keep making the mistake of looking at these things... X3;

From the journal of  Sovhiel :
You respond here, and the following will occur. Since I don't devote entire journals to memes, though, mention if you'd rather I did NOT do the following with your comment, and I will oblige to omit them.

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you which song or movie you remind me of.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something I've always wondered about you.
8. I'll tell you my favorite thing about you.
9. I'll tell you my least favorite thing about you.
10. If you play, you MUST post this on yours.

And since it doesn't say what the penalty is if you don't post the same on yours after playing... How about a papercut on your right index finger and a stubbed toe at random? I will leave enforcing of these punishments up to the forces of karma, as I lack the time and will to do so myself, needing to do more valuable things with my efforts, like (being a philosophy major) ponder whether forces such as chi and karma exist.

Take care, everyone.

No, not for me. For  Sovhiel

Now, look. You've all had that story that you really wished you could write out perfectly, right? Or maybe some idea that you've wanted down on a page, but comics are too expensive and a single picture just doesn't quite tell the story? Well, that's where a short story commission comes in handy!

Sov is offering two services in the area. He's willing to edit, detail, fix, and perfect a story that you've already written for dirt cheap, or write a while story by himself based on that little idea that's been chewing at the back of your mind for so long for a bit more.

Interested? Just head here for some of the details right from the foxtaur's mouth!
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/975770/

For those of you only semi-convinced, I'll level with ya. He's trying to purchase a half-fursuit, which, as you know if you've ever even glanced at one or heard about from a friend who has, are very expensive.  Sovhiel 's really an excellent writer. Probably one of, if not THE, best I've met. On that note, I've seen other writers try to open up for commissions, and it's always seemed to end poorly. I suppose it's just the nature of the beast. People want a visual medium, not something that they have to use their imaginations to get the clear picture with...
I probably won't be able to convince anyone either, but I figure I can at least try to give his attempt at taking commission a little boost. I'd really appreciate it if anyone who's interested would go mull it over and give him a comment or something saying that they are so. Heck, I might even throw in a picture to his first few commissioners, for what little selling power that holds...

So, Descartes walks into a bar. The bartender asks him, "Can I interest you in a beer?"
Descartes respondes, "I think not," and *poof* disappears.

Get it? Because he created the Cogito Argument...?
... As in "Cogito, ergo sum"...?
... Which translates to "I think, therefore I am"...?
... Which refers to... only being able to be certain... about... one's... own...
... It's funny, damnit! >:C


Anyway, that aside, it's October... When the heck did this happen?
On a related note, it's my birthday in... 6 days. I will be twenty years old... When. The Heck. Did this happen?!
Seriously, twenty just snuck up on me. I didn't even realize it until my parents started talking about it, and even then, it just sounds weird.
Also, I'd like to discourage most, if not all, attempts at gifts. I've never been very good understanding social obligations. I guess I was supposed to make counter gifts for everyone who made me one last year or some such nonsense...?
Yeah, good luck with that. My mind doesn't function well under the premise of things being mandatory.
Just ask my teachers about my homework grades.
So, yeah, if you're hoping for something back, I would double-discourage you.
I just don't function like that.

What else...? I've been drawing again lately... Mostly gifts, fat things, and fulfillment of a certain agreement. Also that comic and thinking about several more like it. Um... Got the new Dream Theater album. They look angstier than ever, but their music is starting to show some of its old spark again, so that's really nice to hear... Oh, and I found from  Test_subject 's journal, a band called Sweet Trip that sounds kind of like the illegitimate lovechild of Aphex Twin and 120 Days, raised by 120 Days and 65daysofstatic, and dating Porcupine Tree against their father's wishes (in their newest album)... Which is awesome.

... I now require cookies to dilute the coffee. So that is all for now.
Take care, folks.

Well, here's been my day:
-Sleep until 6:30 -> wake up due to upset stomach (Probably from all the mucus I swallowed overnight... Being sick sucks... )
-Cough my lungs out nonstop until 8:30, when I went to the medic, where I asked if I could get my 1:20 appointment changed to right then on the grounds that I was dying.
-Got back to my dorm at about 9AM, now with prescription of Promethazine with Codeine Syrup.
(An aside: I hate meds. I have suffered through pounding headaches, bad colds, flus... everything, because I don't even trust Advil. I tell you this so that you know where I'm coming from when I say the following...)
-9:10, took the teaspoon of codeine. -> passed out roughly twenty minutes later.
-12:30, woke up due to obnoxious neighbors. Used this waking time to shower, eat food, chat with Evoc for a moment, then took another dose of the meds as my cough was once again causing me extreme physical pain and passed out again at roughly 3PM. (This is some strong stuff...)

And, this is where it gets interesting...
- 8:30PM. Wake again to find that I'm now a part of this: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/953720/
... Oh dear.
Well, I guess I'm glad that I came to mind, even if I'll be wiped out in no time, most likely...
But what's really got me a tad worried is leaving my character in the hands of Sefra. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's perfectly capable of doing... things...
But we've never really had a meaningful dialogue, or even chatted outside of comments and notes, and I have trouble believing that anyone can really capture a character's essence without getting to know them a little first...
Maybe I should start said dialogue...
Nah... That doesn't sound like me...
That would be giving the wrong impression...

On a sidenote, All your votes are belong to Tsumi. You are on your way to digestion.
Seriously, so many people voted for him as either pred or prey. Geez!

Also, Sigmund hits you. You die...
Xom titters.
Anyone who gets all this nonsense, you will have gained some respect from me.

Now, if you'll excuse me, this bottle says I've got some food to nibble on before taking my last dose of this stuff for today...

*EDIT*: I just an advert for a Where the Wild Things Are film... That book was like 30 pages, right? And that's with huge text and pictures... How do they keep stretching these books that take less than ten minutes to enjoy into 2 hour feature films...?

I'm now back at college. That means no more scanner.
On a related note, you know that list in my last journal? No you don't. Shut up. It never happened. You can't prove it.

Anyway, any and everything submitted over the next few months will be digital. Full digital. I don't really have a choice...

For those of you who saw that disgustingly cute drawing I made the other day, sorry for lulling some of you into a false sense of security by not seeming like a monster for a minute. It was just a little mental breakdown/GIMP experimentation.
I don't like sketching in GIMP...

Also, never watch WALL-E alone. At least not if you're anything like me. That film has an unprecedented ability to make me really want a hug.
Go figure.

Guess that's about all to report this time around(?)
Take care, everyone.

EDIT: Wipe those caches, people. Just don't do it all at once or the screen migh-!!! Gah! Auto-scroll!

Let me start by saying the most-viewed picture in my gallery, which I had questioned "why?!" about, has now been overthrown. The new most-viewed picture would appear to be the slime vore piece that I buried in my scraps at the beginning of the summer.
... My former "why?!" has also been overthrown by the clearly superior "WHY!?!"
It's not even in my public gallery, it's a scrap! How are all of these people digging it up?
... S'pose I should re-work it, if it's that popular.
... Maybe later.

The next segment of this journal will be done in list form. It shall be a list of things to come:

-A collaborative work with Charem. I'll probably post it on my gallery later today.
-A transformation comic I've been working on. Hoping to have it completed before going back to college.
-Possibly some scraps from my water-damaged sketchbook.
-A written reference of the igwulf species. Just because.
-The first four pages of my VOCT. It's come to my attention that I never actually posted them. Huh. I'll fix that soon. Sorry that the rest of the comic is still apparently lost in limbo.

Speaking of being lost in limbo, I'm back at college on the 23rd. That means, once again, no drawings. Not that I've really put up much this summer anyway, but still...

First Farrah Fawcett, then Michael Jackson... And Now Billy Mays. Everyone we know and love is DYING!!! D:

... And in several days, they shall rise again and begin consuming brains.
"Billy Mays here, with something you're gonna love! It's called T-Virus. Why chance your soul to an afterlife, when you can be sure. With T-virus, you can just keep going, and going, and going!"
And, the source, in accordance with today's coincidental link of the day must be McDonald's. I knew it!
... I hope that doesn't seem in bad taste. Honestly, I do have the utmost respect for the guy. There was just something about him, it kind of made him into like the Chuck Norris of the salesman world... And it's really kind of hard for me to believe that he's dead. Like, Michael Jackson at least was known to be ill, this is just sudden. :/

On art updates, I've managed to get my old scanner working again with my new computer... How curious.
Pictures to possibly come.

... Also, according to that meme going around, I'm $3400. With only one favourite colour, because more is cheating.
Hurrah(?)

First matter of business, my compy. After six or seven years of it being reliably unreliable, we're finally putting the poor, old machine down. It's just time. Plus, it's started making a very troubling whiring sound on start-up, followed by a sickening whine the entire time it's running, even on idle. And will no longer run L4D without randomly crashing the whole computer, which until about a week ago, it ran like a dream with never a complaint...
So, yeah, old compy is finally getting retired in favour of a newer gaming PC. 8 GB RAM, high-end video card, 1 TB of storage... Should be good times.

And with a new PC, it turns out my old scanner (which my dad still hasn't figured out isn't working after the last reset) will also need to be replaced. In this case, because there are no drivers for it on the Vista OS. I'm not a big fan of Vista, but I've heard it's not SO horrible since the service packs, so... Here's hoping. And for a good scanner this time.

... And speaking of TF2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2huUZG_LIA4
... Dunno. Just figured someone else would get a kick out of it. It just works so perfectly with his new backstab animation too...

Also, still no job. It's starting to seem a lot like there won't be one. There's just no job market anymore...

I feel like there's more I want to say, but I can't think of what...
Darn...

... It was going to be long. Maybe my longest to date. But Misa actually didn't win in the VOCT this round, giving me likely false faith in sentient kind and leaving the huge wave of logical rebellion planned rather null and void. Sooo...
Yay.
Thanks for proving me wrong, judges. Sincerely. It's oddly rewarding to see that the world isn't as clockwork as I sometimes make it out to be sometimes, especially when I do hope that I'm wrong in my predictions...

Anyway, reason for no more arts, for those of you who don't read descriptions and an update for those who do: Scanner is dead. Not coughing and sputtering and begging for digital morphine to get it through the agony in peace like before. It's. Now. Dead.
Computer has suffered too. Had to be rebooted twice after I made the mistake of letting my dad try to make the scanner less dead.
Anyway, compy's back up and, after FIANLLY convincing my dad that Norton 360 is doing more harm than good at a steep price and getting him to try not installing it, running better than ever.

Newest TF2 update needs lots of tweaking. I played for roughly 7 hours today (out of boredom, mind you. Not wanting of new unlockables... it's been a dull day... <<; ), and what I have to show for it is (I kid you not...) four Natashas. Seriously game. Game. Seriously.

... Bored again.

And wouldn't'cha know it? As soon as I get home, our scanner sputters and dies on us again. So no pictures for a few days still...

... Technology hates me.

On an unrelated note, after getting addicted to Left4Dead during my last week of the school year and "looking forward" to a summer of not being able to get a job with the current economy, I told myself I would buy the game for PC if I found it on sale some time this summer.
Low and behold, I get home and boot up Steam to see a giant "Left4Dead 40% off, this weekend only!" ad.
Glee~...

... 'Course, turns out the game is only half or less as much fun without the person I was playing it with that last week of school. I mean, taking on hordes of zombies is always good times, and there is the occasional server full of fun people, but it's just not the same as wading out the zombie apocalypse with friends... And maybe the occasional AI bot to use as a deliciously blood-filled pipebomb instead of the old, metal, beeping kind...

... I prefer Molotovs...

Also, the L4D hunting rifle is amazing. <3

Well, just wanted to let everyone know what's goin' on here.

(Anyone who doesn't much care for ranting, best stop reading before the third...)

First, sorry for the uncharacteristic number of journals.

Second, I know that I really don't respond to or leave comments very often. It's one of my flaws. I'm not a social creature...
Fact of the matter is, though, I really appreciate getting comments. I've read all of the comments on my latest scrap attack over and over. It's just... I don't really know what to say back to them.
So, yeah... Thanks.
Similarly, I don't generally start conversations online. I enjoy talking to people usually, but I don't like to initiate the conversations. So if you'd like to talk to me, you should probably start the chat...

Third, there is nothing in this world more patronizing than talking to someone for awhile like your interested in becoming friends, vanishing for a long time, then coming back after they post some art that you apparently liked and asking for a request or gift approximately twelve words after "hello". It is something that you simply do not do. Honestly, a few people did this to me after my last sketch dump, and... well... No. Just no. People who are talking to me for the first time have a significantly higher chance of actually getting giftart and a somewhat higher rate of successful requests than people who I once thought of as friends that vanished, then returned only to ask a favour.
You left me. You abdicated. You ran from me when someone you liked better came along, and now that I've progressed, you're back. You're no longer my friend. I owe you nothing.

Which leads me into "fourth"... I'm not Spencer, damnit! I know he would generally give counter-gifts if a gift was made for him. That was nice of him. I don't. My gifts go to people who I feel deserve them. I know there's still people who harbor admiration for him, myself included to an extent, and that there's those of them that didn't get to meet him before he bolted who're now trying to fill that little hole of hopeful admiration with a new figure. Idolatry substitution, if you will. That's fine too, just don't fill it with me. Go hassle someone who actually said "I'm gonna try to be the new Spencer" when he left. Especially if you're going to try appealing to his old counter-gift policy.
I've never much subscribed to society's "gift-giving obligations". They really shouldn't be called "gifts" then. A "gift", I've always thought, it something that one gives out of benevolence. Not out of socially constructed duties.

... Also, anyone who tries to turn this into either a Spencer-worship or a Spencer-hate meeting will be banned from my page. I will not have anyone trying to justify or discredit his actions here and now. Welcome to my democracy of one.

Fifth, I don't recommend starting YouTube LP channels. Turns out, they can and likely will begin to assimilate, along with fairly okay watchers, quite a few eerily devoted followers. I mean, cult-like dealies. It's... really kind of terrifying. I would say "Obama should give it a try, since that's what he wants," but he's already got a terrifyingly cult-like following. They call themselves "the Television Media Watchers of America". <<;

So, to sum this all up, I'm not a nice individual, trying to ask for gifts from people you haven't spoken to in what seems like at least a year is a bad, YouTube LP's are really evil-doers' starting points for minion acquisition, prinnys explode when thrown, Oreo's are amazing, chances are that I'll die alone and unloved, Iron Hill Brewery is a must-eat-at for any trip into PA, USA (try the house salad and/or Southwestern Burger... I3 )... As demonstrated by the LOTD a few days back, otters are all kinds of awesome... Never put jam on a magnet... Never suck all the juice out of a vampire... Uhm... What WAS I talking about...?

... Whatever. College semester's out in three weeks, then posting's'll be more frequent, and I'll (hopefully) be less pissed off.

-Reed

Okay, so this is what's up...
I, er... Can't seem to locate the last few pages of my delayed VOCT entry DON'THURTME...! *cower*

All the parts got scattered while I was frantically trying to get the scanned on the extended due date, despite Murphy's Law making it's "heroic" return. I managed to piece together the first 5 pages, but they let off right at a bit of a cliffhanger, and I really don't wanna just leave it there... especially not for the month or so that it would take to get any more of it up...
So, yeah, the VOCT entry delay is going to be... well... even more delayed. ^^;
... Next time I come home, I promise! I'll even re-draw the darn things if I still can't find 'em.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled... er... Whatever-the-heck you were doing.

This weekend, if reports from home are correct, I should have a working scanner waiting for me at home. Yay.
Last time I posted anything, my sketchbook was half-empty. Now it's all full. Prepare yourselves for a barrage of scraps and sketches. Fair warning. I'll try to make it one doodle-bombing early and one in the evening for these few days and see if I can get through the whole sketchbook without making you all hate me (more) from inbox overload.
On a related note, you guys know the drill, right? Best response will influence my decisions on what to polish up and what to leave scrapified. Make sure you speak up if a doodle makes you particularly happy.

Needless to say after that, I will be going home this weekend. Yay again. Hopefully hang out with friends and everything. Should be fun. I think we agreed on SSBB this time around. Which'll be interesting, since none of us have played it since... well, a long time. I've personally only played once since college started.

You guy's still have to play Ur-Quan Masters. X3
All of those who already played the original Star Control II are excused from this assignment.
None of you are excused from the 100 word essay on the benefits heavy weapons would have for the clam population. Due Monday.

So, yeah, summer jobs... First reaction when I mentioned maybe trying to get commissions instead of going to work in a bank this year, if I didn't get the job:
-"Yeah, right! You think that someone'll PAY for your drawings?! In this Economic climate?! Get real!" (response: "I only brought it up as a back-up anyway. Afterall, summer jobs in a bank are tough to get in this economic climate too.")
-About five minutes later. "... So, these commissions, how do they work anyway?"
-Another five minutes. "... And they pay you through the mail?" ("no, Paypal. It's all safe.") "So that's how it's all shipped around, huh?"
-Another five minutes. "And another good thing, you wouldn't have to pay for supplies even because you have your tablet, right?" ("Er... right(?)") "Huh."
-About ten minutes into a different conversation "... Wait, back to the commission thing, do you really think anyone would want anything from you?" (*shrugs* "I've had to turn down an offer or two because I'm closed to 'em right now... Dunno if that means anything.") "..." ("...") "... So, how about this season of 24 so far?"

Honestly, I think he kind of wants me to take commissions instead of getting a real job now... Probably has something to do with being a house full of women with no one around to do guy stuff with most of the time these days... X3

Also, IT'S SPRING! Happy spring, everyone! Oh, warmth and rain, how I've missed thee both...

That will be all. Take care, everyone.
-Reed

Well, s'pose it's about time I give my monthly-ish update/memory journal.
Here goes nothing.

Lifewise, I'm well. Lonely, but well. I wish I wasn't so lonely, though. It kind of makes a positive feedback loop. When I get lonely, I start not acting quite like myself. The less like myself I act, the less people are willing to talk to me, and, thus, I get even lonelier, less like myself, and less wanted.
Okay, done whining about that.
What's next on the list of things to whine about...? Bookbags? Nah. Stale Doritos? Meh, even I can't stretch that out too much... The new scout/spy update on TF2? ... Eh, everyone already knows how ridiculous that is...

Okay, let's try something new, then. I'll skip the whining and get to things that are made of pure awesome instead.
Starting with music. If you think of yourself as someone who enjoy fine, complex, instrumental, experimental music, you will go buy the album(s) The Fall of Math and/or One Time for All Time by 65daysofstatic. It's the first music in roughly a year to actually give me chills when I listen to it. It's just. That. Good.
Also, most Porcupine Tree CDs are pretty good and rather on the mellow side if you're not looking for something as intense as 65daysofstatic. I'd especially recommend Fear of a Blank Planet (the album, not just the song) and In Absentia from them, though Stupid Dream is pretty good too.

Nothing interesting and new in terms of Games lately, really, so I'm going all the way back to the Taito Classics New Zealand Story and Bubble Bobble. Amazing games for their time, they are, and still a good deal of fun today... Don't buy any of the new knockoffs, though, except maybe Bubble Bobble Wii... <<;

Other things that are amazingly awesome include:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frnRoOFvV8w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JhTrbZ_xC4
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/vi.....ndfuck-moments
 Blue-Dragon
Prinnies, of course.
http://buttersafe.com/2009/03/05/pineapple-time/ (feel free to go though the rest of this site too, a lot of it is really very good.)
And my new tea a bunch of people sent me. <3

Artistically, I'm feeling kind of unmotivated as of late. My scanner at home breaking just before spring break really didn't help either. It's looking to be at least three more weeks before I can post anything now, thanks to that... Just to see if anyone's still watching, though, I may string together a few of the animations I made in Game Maker and set them loose on FA.
Also, I'd like you to submit reque- I mean, suggestions about what you think I should maybe try drawing in the future. Don't feel bad if I don't pick yours, anyone who actually goes through the trouble to give me ideas, I'm just trying to break this little motivational block of mine and any ideas will be appreciated muchly.

That'll do for now, I suppose. Take care, everyone.
-Reed

First things first. For those of you who haven't already noticed, I've been forced to retire from the VOCT. It's not that I didn't get my submission done on time. In fact, it's laying before me in a full, finished product.
What happened was that every little thing that could go wrong did. I brought my Tablet to school to work on it, turns out oC is the only art program that doesn't work on my Mac's Windows virtual console. Go figure. Of course, everything else is complicated and just generally different... I tried using some other things, but they were taking so long to get used to...
Yeah, so tablet was pointless.
Made even more pointless by the fact that the pictures I'd scanned in back home and e-mailed to myself to post all at once got screwed up somehow. My computer actually sent me all the right file names, but somehow sent me the wrong files under those names... I. Don't. Know.
So, my friend actually shipped me a scanner for Christmas! I get it all hooked up and everything only to discover that, after scanning beautiful previews, the final scan goes to the end of the scanning bar, then the program tells me that there's a communication error. I spent 5 hours trying to fix it with no success at all. Then I resigned.
Shame that a months work on a comic went to waste, but I suppose there's not much I could have done. I'll post the comic some time when I'm home with hardware that "works". Maybe.

On a related note, I'd like to make a quick thank you to  Strawberrymog for portraying my character so well in his story. I'll repay the story somehow, sorry it'll be so much later than yours, and best of luck with the rest of the tournament.

So, yeah, what I said would be online, isn't. Ironically, what I said would never happen again is happening. My dad's begun working again for supplemental pay at a different company. He's happy. We're happy. Everyone's happy. Yay.

Also, guess between that and me still having no way to get art up, despite now having a tablet and scanner at school, I'm staying off commissions for now. Sorry(?)

Guess that's about it.
Take care, everyone.
-Reed

My dad's job is gone. The economy killed the company he worked for, and the company that bought 'em just officially pulled the plug on his section. He's out. Ironically, just after he got back from a two week training course they all have to re-take every six months to make sure that they're up to date with everything.
Huh.
The best part, though, is that this call came to tell him that his job is gone while he was at SEARS to buy a replacement washing machine and dishwasher for the ones that just broke at the same time. Doesn't that figure.
Oh, but it gets better. My parent's had been putting money into warrenty extensions for the products for the past few years, so that they could get them fixed/replaced if anything like this happened. Well, in typical Corporate America fashion, the companies have been doing everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) in their power to avoid keeping their part of the deal. Looks like all that money went to nothing. The warranty was a lie. Like the cake.

Sooo... Yeah.
On a related note, I may be opening myself to commissions in the near future. I'd so been hoping to avoid doing so, but it seems I'm going to need to make a little extra cashflow for myself. Or stop drinking tea while I'm at college. Which we all know won't happen, SO...! We'll see.

Now then! On to happier news!
For  LapSeph 's VOCT, As much as I'd love a time boost, even if it's just by a couple of hours, I should have SOMETHING to post tomorrow. It might not be as polished as I'd hoped to make it, but you can only do so much with two days around your tablet, you know...? If I could just submit it around like 3AM, as my body clock has started to tell me is finally getting late enough to sleep, I'd feel much more set... :/

Also, I've begun working on making a video game in my spare time. Right now, I'm keeping you all pretty much in the dark with a strike match... Sorry.
Here's what I can (and will) tell you all. The game is platformer style. The game will involve some vore and possibly some inflation. It will be generally kid-friendly, of course.
As far as development goes, I currently have working player movement, attacks, status, inventory, view, ETC. Meaning by which, it's finally beginning to look like a stable game engine that just needs loads more enemies, items, ETC.
At the time, it's a personal project, and until its functions are more like a finished product, I'd like to keep it that way. Once it's starting to resemble the finished product, I may release a demo level that'll give anyone who tires it a little taste of how it'll play, what features are in it, what buttons do what, and so on. Until then, its pretty much for my eyes only. Sorry, folks.

Guess that's really all I have to report. Old new pictures'll be up soon-ish, and my submission for the tournament'll be up before the deadline.

Take care, everyone.
-Reed

Another 365 days for me to try to break the world. *stretches lazily*Shall we begin?

First things first, it seems that I confused-slash-terrified no less than half of my viewers with my last journal. To clarify:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH6gjFUl8gs&fmt=18
about 5:00 on is pertinent to the whole dealie I did at the end of my last journal. So now you know. And knowing is half the battle (for your sanity).
Other than the Eddie Izzard thing, I think I threw in some TF2 references and whatnot, but that didn't seem to throw nearly as many people as the end bit, so...

On a semi-related note, I didn't really get a straight answer for any of the questions asked in the last journal (except a few cleaning requests on some of my scraps submitted thus far...) Guess I'll just keep doing whatever the heck I feel like, as I have been.

I've been invited to join in a Vore competition thing hosted by  LapSeph . I'm not sure just how well I'll do, especially if I have the extreme misfortune to end up against someone who could be described as "super-pro". And the location being something like an open field. That's not very convenient for an ambush hunter, unless the grass is a dark red or something... ^^;
Ah, well. Guess I'll give it a shot anyway. Should be fun.

Well, more new pictures coming up. Sorry about the delay in the posting, it's been a weird past couple of weeks... ^^;

Out of curiosity, how many of you have ever played Commander Keen games (other than the GBC version. It doesn't count.)?
How about the Monkey Island games?
Earthbound?
How about Nox?
Come on! These are good games...!

-Reed

-I am still alive.

-Over the next few days, a major art dump will ensue.
+Most of these will be in scraps.
+Select few will be cleaned up. If there's a specific favourite, let me know so that I can keep it in mind.
+There is a lot. Seriously, a lot. I will try to stagger the uploading a bit, but I'm not making promises.

-Saaandvich and me are goin' to kiiick yooour aaass~

-As much as I've tried to avoid it, I'm beginning to consider possibly opening myself to commissions.
+If I do, they will be in slots to ensure no more than two are active at a time. This will be done to prevent overflow.
+If I do, a portion of my earnings will be set aside to fund commissioning, FA donations, and/or general community (furry) work, thus recirculating that money flow back into the system and getting it to those who need it more than myself.

-It's cold here.

-I'm going to try to spend more time online, but no promises.
+I may be spending some of that time on TF2. For anyone who wants to join me (or for me to join them), my Steam name is ReedWulf.

-Ich bin ein Berliner nicht. :/

- Also, Englebert Humperdink is dead... Yeah, he was driving through LA and his car got T-boned and...

- Heh, no, no, no. It's not true, no worries. He's fine, he runnin' around, he's doing his thing...

- No, it is true... Yeah, he was with his girlfriend, and she was pretty much okay, but he wasn't wearing his seat belt, and he just got all smashed up. Shame really, it's his own fault...

- I'm kidding! He's fine! I think the news said he had a cold is all...! Or was it a tan...?

- No, but seriously, it is true...

- *Grins and shakes head*

- *Nods gravely*

- *Shakes head slightly with hint of a smirk*

- *Nods head a bit with very solemn expression*

- :3

- :<

- No, it's not true, really! He's okay! X3




- ... *shakes head grimly*

- Okay, really, how do I know? I don't. To the best of my knowledge he really is fine.

- Well, off to the land of dreams. Take care, everyone. And have a happy holiday, ya? ^^
-Reed

Gotta write some final papers and take some final exams in sub-zero, windy weather this week. Fun. :D
... In case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm.

Well, after this week, I'm on winter break. A much needed winter break. Who knows, I might even scan some of the pictures that I've been drawing in this time. Or not. I might just spend this whole break playing TF2 or something. Like I usually do. ^^;

Speaking of games, review time!
This time, World of Goo...

What is there to say about World of Goo, really? It's a game about building living structures out of squealing balls of goo so that they can be sold as products by the evil World of Goo Corporation. At least that's what the basic concept an gameplay is...
Once one gets into it a bit, however, it starts to become clear that one is playing something much more than that. Making living structures is actually much much more fun than one would imagine at a glance. What's more, everything in the game is extremely clever. The cutscenes are all short, sweet, and to the point; the point being that big corporations will eventually take over the world if we, the people, just let them keep doing what they do and leeching off our hard-earned cashmonies. More specifically, EA and their steady monopolization of the video game industry.
The physics are well made, there are a wide variety of goos to solve puzzles with, said puzzles are all clever enough to make one think, but simple enough for more people to figure out, though some may take a few tries, and the graphics are absolutely stunning. It absolutely maddening to think that only three people made this game, meanwhile EA has enough money and power to buy Australia, rename it "EAsland", and have half of the world's programmers and all of the world's beta testers shipped there; but they still can't seem to release a good, time-tested game to save their lives since The Sims. But, then, most people just buy those games and their loads of money-siphoning expansions now out of sheer reflex. (What's more, EA realizes this, and that's why they continue to release games that are obviously so incomplete that they require expansions or patches every other month.) ... Oh, unless you wanted to count Left4Dead, of course, but EA didn't really make that one, they just distributed it and used that as an excuse to slap their name all over it and make us think that their games aren't as crap as they generally prove to be. See, Left4Dead was made by Valve, which, we know, is an actually good game company.
Right, though, back to World of Goo. If you like things that are fun, funny, intuitive, clever, do-able, and polished, then here's a good game for you. Honestly, I played it through twice, trying to get all of the "OCD" requirements (they're actually called that) because my only complaint about it was that it was too short, which is amazing considering what my standards have become. If you don't like games that fun, funny, intuitive, clever, do-able, and polished, but you still want the "too short" factor... I dunno... Go play Mirror's Edge or some other EA game. Though, I've gotta say, you really deserve something more along the lines of Action 52 if you're part of that category.

And now, Meme time (Because I said I would... <<; ) :
Tagged by  quietkingdom

*How old are you?
19

*What's your height?
I dunno. 5'7"-ish?

*Are you a virgin?
'Fraid so. :/

*Do you have any kids?
Based on my last answer, that'd be pretty awkward, huh? :\

*What's your favorite food?
I don't play favourites. <<;

*What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Mmm... Vanilla Bean, I suppose. Or maybe mint? Meh, I'm gonna go with the above answer again... <<;

*Have you killed anyone?
I've killed flys and gnats and stuff. Do they count?

*Do you hate anyone?
Hell, yes. :D

*Have any secrets?
A few

*Do you love anyone?
Yes for "love", no for "in-love"

* What is your job?
Student. :/

* Boy or girl?
I'm male.

* What do you do to relax?
Throw rocks at the orphans in the park. :/
Or play games, talk to people, eat, drink tea, ETC.

* What do you think your life expectancy is?
18... Hey, I'm older than I expected to get. :3

* What is your favorite song?
Depends on my mood, really. Currently, I'm listening to "Anesthetize" by Porcupine Tree a lot. :/

Every, expect a major art-dump when I get around to scanning my drawings once I'm on break. Until then, take care, I suppose.
-Reed

Yes, I am still alive. Sorry to disappoint you.
This is what's been taking up most of my time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXhGzQgjlJc (the opener)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2UayvT_9hM (the symphony)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kv9awj_fps (the ballad of woodwind finger-death)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y7zwZV1p_s (The finale, "caravan")

The sound is much better in person, and the video's a little blurry and distant, but that's our show. In the rain. If you can't tell in the videos, it's actually raining pretty hard there.

So, yeah, there's that. Also, it's my birthday on October 8. It really snuck up on me this year. Honestly, if a bunch of my friends didn't remind me, I might have just completely forgotten about it. It could have passed completely unnoticed.

*yawns* It's too late for me to be making a journal like this. Got class tomorrow.

... This journal's too short...
I know! Here's what let's do. Here's your chance to interview me. Ask a question if you want to, and I'll give you some form of answer. Got a question you've always wanted to ask and just been too shy for fear that I might gnaw your face off? Here's your chance to ask away with risk of face removal being minimal. (If you'd like to specifically ask me the artist a question instead of Reed a question, do make that clear, please.) Have fun. I'll check up on this tomorrow.

G'night, everyone. Take care and all that.
-Reed

It feels like an eternity since I last submitted anything. I'm considering starting to submit my alternative work. You know, my short stories, my music. I might even throw some of my more visible webcam shots of pictures into scraps. Anything to feel like I'm still an active member of the community, you know? I'm just starting to feel like a worthless little speck on site who takes in and gives nothing back. I know it's not my fault, but it still feels awful.
... On a related note, I've noticed that the submission policy for music is that it can only be your own creations. Makes sense, but do GarageBand loops assorted into a creation all my own count as original by composure, or do they count as another's work because the loops are not one's own? :/

Anywho, still surviving here at collage. Got a nice package from my folks yesterday. It was full of tea~! <3
... I fear I may be a tea addict at this point...

Oh, and I got two new games that need reviewing:

Spore:
If you don't know what Spore is supposed to be, you're living under a rock. If you don't know what it is, you haven't played it. If you don't know how such a great concept could have gone so horribly unpolished and fine-tuned, even after making the public wait for a number of years, you've obviously never dealt with EA before.
Maybe I'm exaggerating, it's still not a bad game, per say. Though, I have to say, it could have been a fantastic classic that would have gone down in the history books as a game that everyone should know, like its creator's other brainchild, The Sims. Just a little more polish could have made it that good, but leave it up to EA to take a concept game that everyone's hoping will be great and put in minimal effort because they're already making loads of cash off the name alone. What we get instead, is a mediocre game that will probably be forgotten by most in a number of months. Like three. Or perhaps two, if the later September/early October line-up is as good as it was looking.
The first four stages seem, really, like a very detailed introduction to the game. Each should have been longer and more in depth, so that they actually seem like portions of the game and not portions of a prologue. I mean, one of the achievements (because every game seems to need those things these days... <<; ) is "Beat the cell stage in under eight minutes". It's a little tricky to do, but even the fact that an entire phase is doable in under eight minutes minutes should be a sign that something's wrong. They're fun little add-ons, yes, but they should feel like a part of the game, not a mini-game before the end.
And yes, the end is a bastardization of Star Control II. Don't even try to deny it, because I will destroy your logic. I guess there's nothing really wrong with this, though. Star Control II was a great game, one of the best ever, even. I was in the mood for something with the same flavour, too, so it was kind of nice. You know what would have been nicer, though? MORE POLISH!
Once you're in the space phase, which is by far the most detailed phase (and most of the game, really, so it should be), you will begin to need alliences, even if you're a warmonger, because you'll get wrecked by all the other surrounding warmongers if you don't. Not many, though. In fact, the prime ally number in the space phase in one. Yes one. Because, if you have more than one, your allies will keep waring with each other and expecting you to help. if you side with one, the other gets mad, breaks the alliance, and raises hell on your planets (which your allies do surprisingly little to help you with, despite everything you do for them.). If you choose not to help either, and let them fight their own wars, both of them slowly get angry at you for not helping, and eventually you end up at war with both. Fun, right? And, what's more, everything needs constant, constant, constant attention. So, yes, there is an entire HUGE universe to explore in the game, but if you go and try to explore it, don't expect the better part of your empire to be there when you finally make it back.
The building system, what is really the selling point of the game, is pretty interesting. (And yes, I did make an igwulf.) It does, however, get tedious. Yes, the selling point gets tedious. Mostly because they make you build everything. And by everything I mean EVERYTHING. It gets to the point where you're pretty much thinking "Just build the damn theater for me, I'd like to get around to playing the actual game some time today!" Luckily, you do only have to build EVERYTHING your first time around. After that, you can just reselect your creations. Which is good, because I would have gone insane if they actually made me build all new buildings for each colony, like it seems to expect you to.
All in all. I give it a 7/10. Shame really, if could have been so much fun, and it ended up only okay. And again, screw you, EA. Screw you for botching up game with potential, and give me my money back. If it were as good as it could have been, I might have dealt with paying twice, but there's no way in hell I'm paying more than once for what I got.

Lock's Quest:
I'm not sure if I really have grounds to judge this one yet. I've only played a small way into it, after all. It could still go way downhill. As of right now, though, I love it. It's sort of like a new take on the traditional Tower Defense game. Rather than the slow, "I'll just leave my computer for a bit and bulk up my defenses when I get back and need it" sort of game-play, your character actually plays a pretty big role, running around. The walls make things interesting in the sense that you can actually block enemy paths, instead of just set up on the sides. There are a ton of different kinds of turrets and enemies, too.
Admittedly, the scrap building mini-thing to get new turrets is kind of a bad idea. It could have been a fun way to make new and unique turrets, but it turns out to just be a "copy this picture and we'll let you have your new gun" sort of thing. Really, just let us have the gun. It just wastes a few seconds of our time to do this. And it's not even time on the clock where you're racing to do it before the enemies come up and destroy you, it's paused time. So that portion's just a total waste of effort.
The characters kind of bug me, but that's kind of a minor flaw. Gameplay isn't really effected by it.
As of now, I give it an 8.5/10. We'll see if it goes downhill.

Ah, darn, class stared about three minutes ago. Gotta bolt. Later.
-Reed

I never thought I'd say this, but I miss my crappy scanner. :<
I mean, I wish I had a better one and all, but it seems to me now that a bad scanner is worse than no scanner at all. I've been mostly able to show people giftarts and drawings that they really wanna see personally via my MacBook built in camera, and the photos are pretty good, really, but it just doesn't provide the accuracy and quality I need for things like comics. Of which I have a pretty good one coming, by the way. I actually really liked how it came out, and I'm really looking forward to getting my paws on a scanner so that I can show it to you guys.
Bah. I've actually been drawing well lately and I can't show any of it to everyone. What a shame. :/

Anyway, the first of the ex-hurricanes hit us on Saturday. Despite the rain and wind, our marching band was still out there. It got too wet for the woodwinds to play, so we ended up just "singing" our parts to the musics. Some people looked miserable the whole time. Needless to say, being the rain-loving igwulf that I am, I wasn't one of 'em. I had a blast, despite the fact that I lost my voice. Again. X3
Yeah. It was fun.
Gotta say, I'm enjoying this whole collage thing for the most part. ^^

...Also, EA stole my money. Someone, please do tell me if there's some trick to this that I'm not getting:
I bought Spore for direct download on their website after searching diligently and finding nothing that said "Mac's can't download this game." Seeing no such sign, it seemed a proper assumption that a game for the Mac would be able to be downloaded on the Mac, right? Wrong. EA, in their all-knowing wisdom, makes you download a download client so that you can download the game. Although I'm assuming the game would work fine, I can't download it because the download of their download client is an EXE program. Not. Mac. Compatable. So, to recap, though the game would probably work fine, there no way for me to get to it because the way to download it will only work on PC. I called 'em about it. They didn't care. Why should they? They've already got probably billions buying Spore around the world, AND they already have my money. Why try to help the one customer that bumped into an issue? Cute, EA. Really cute.
Seriously, do tell me if there's just some little trick to getting the download client to work on Mac that I'm just not getting here. <<;

Well, guess that's all for now. Stay well, everyone. I'll try to find a scanner on campus and get some drawing up again soon.
-Reed

The past couple of days for me has been pretty much just what the titles says. I'm sitting in my dorm with Laryngitis right now. I don't think I've ever had it this badly before, it's the kind where your voice gets all kinds of messed up. And it would have started to show up the day of my audition for the play here. I'm quite annoyed. Way ta be, virus.

Yesterday, though, I went to the beach, and it turned out to be a good time. Originally, I was gonna have friends go with me, but they all ditched. I did end up with one friend going, she ended up ditching the ditchers. Almost missed the whole thing myself, because my alarm didn't go off. Just about kicked the iHome out the window when I saw what time it was.
Anyway, I did make it, and we had fun. The ocean was a perfect temperature. I ended up feeling like an otter because I spent most of my time floating along on my back and occasionally dipping under. That feeling only got stronger when my friend there wanted to go seashell-hunting and I spotted all the best ones easily and quickly. Also bought myself an otter carved out of coral and another big, stone dragon for the collection. The store was selling everything at 50% off for inventory reasons, so I figured I might as well spoil myself.

The car crash was on the way back home from the beach. Coming to a toll booth, we started to see a pillar of smoke. Once we got closer, we were able to see a bit of a blaze. Even closer, and we finally got close enough to see everything. It was a pickup truck pretty much completely engulfed in flames. There was a guy sitting on the guard rail looking a little freaked out, and little chunks of the vehicle's shell were melting off as the smoke rose from the inferno. I hoped no one was hurt, but at the same time, I couldn't help feeling a little snicker deep inside somewhere. I hate pickup trucks, they've almost killed a number of times in my limited driving experiences, including my first time driving alone. They always seem to act like they own the road back home, always doing stupid things that risk injury to someone just because the someone isn't likely to be them thanks to the size of their car. I think I was smiling deep within because it felt nice to see one of those things finally get wrecked by what I can only assume was its owners own reckless driving...
Does that make me a bad person?
Probably.
Oh well.

Well, I've now got a huge load of art that needs scanning. Some of it's not too bad either. Wish I had my scanner, as crap as it was. :/

And I need to clarify from my last journal, it's not that I never want to vore RP again or anything like that. I just don't want people to think that's the only thing I'm good for/ever do.

... Prismacolor markers are tougher to use than I was expecting. Is there some technique that I'm not getting here?
-Reed

(Firstly) Yes. I am a voraphile. No this does not mean that it's my entire life. The way some of you talk to me, I expect that you think otherwise. Especially those of you that have messaged me claiming that you want to be my friend, then suspiciously vanish forever after I refuse to have an erotic vore RP with you. Or those who will only ever want everything I ever do to be vorish. I'm sorry, but no. I like vore. It's my fetish, and therefore a part of who I am. But it's not my everything.
I suppose I deserve what I get in terms of it for drawing so much vore, selling myself out almost solely to it for pageviews. Even still, I'm going to note again, if you wanna be my friend, by all means, send me a message some time. If you just want me to be a tool so you can live out your little fantasies and nothing more than that, go pester someone else who doesn't have a problem with being a tool because there's more to me than just vore.

Secondly, I've been on a bit of an otter fix lately. Otters, otters, otters. So, even though I can't show my pitiful attempts to draw 'em yet, expect them next time I can manage to get to a scanner.

Thirdly, I just spent the past hour and a half wandering around in hopeless, little circles looking for a Burger King because I got bad directions from my roommate. And, my God, when I FINALLY saw that red and blue roof, it was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. Sooo hungry... o..o;
Anyway, the moral of this story is don't fly planes into trees. :/
By which, I mean don't give poor directions but sound like you know what you're talking about. Every time you do that, another igwulf goes hungry. Think of the poor igwulves. : <
Also, mine was order number 42 at BK. Think about it. X3

Fourthly, otters again/still. <3

Fifthly, I think I'm making up words now, I fear. Spangtastic. (Flute inside joke)

Sixthly, I had an audition today. Wouldn't it figure that I seem to have caught a cold? My throat's all raspy, I'm hardly in any condition to sing. What a shame. : <

Seventhly... Ah, there is none. I'm out of ammo. Have a good day everyone.

-Reed

I've gone to collage. I'm here right now, typing from my brand-new Ethernet connection on my Mac. While here, I'm partaking in Marching Band, which means band camp almost 24/7 for this week. Now, I love that you guys actually seem to miss me enough to message me asking me when I'm going to be online next, how often I can get online, ETC. But, PLEASE, stop with the paranoia. There's a whole group of people who seem to think I'm just avoiding them, am mad at them, don't want to talk to them anymore, ETC.
I'm here wasting my valuable sleeping time, plucking away at the keyboard to assure you that that is absolutely not true. I'm just really busy. Believe me, I miss just lazing about the internet and chatting it up like nothing else, but some things just take priority to that. Sorry... And stop making me feel bad.

Also, I never did get a drawing program for Mac recommendation from anyone, so I'm afraid you guys aren't gonna get to see anything until I make it back home for a break. Again, sorry.

Also, things are going fairly well here. I live right down the street from the student union, where the shop and cafe and... well, everything fun is. Very convenient. And, just to put the icing on the cake, so to speak, they have just about every flavour of SoBe under the sun in there! SoBe~! <3

Well, I guess that's pretty much it. Take care, everyone. I'll find some time to get online and chat soon, I promise.

-Reed