Zodiacstuck - The Goodbye to End It All

Give your sprite a legendary BINCH splap

>Ferren: Frolic though the hills

>Ferren: Be the Zodiac Killer

((i would like but i dunno that song.))

Ferren: Lead your pack and get hunting



No need to say anything more. You lead MOONSTONESPRITE and DOGFATHER (who is still there, somehow) through the starry hills of your new land.
There are STARS everywhere. In the sky, in the plants, on the tiny IMP-LIKE CREATURES. Creatures which soon are no more part of this world.
You still have your trusty SCYTHE with you. In your first years of life, you have learned never to find yourself without a weapon, whatever the circumstances are. Living in the streets and poor corners turned you into a TOUGH GUY, someone ready to fight whatever would come to him. You would even have become a SHREDDER if you didn't have to keep your CURSE a secret. Trolls with Curses were likely to be TERMINATED, back on Sotergan. People were so SUPERSTITIOUS.
But in this land, as alone as you are, you are free to be YOURSELF. No more shades to hide your heterochromia. No more need to fight with stealth and hideable weapons: if you want to STRIFE with a fancy scythe, you can do it. There won't be any need to keep your PRECIOUS THINGS in a hidden stash; you are finally free to be yourself and SCATTER your prized trophies all over the place. There won't be any risk that someday you need to RUN AWAY from another abandoned house, leaving everything behind, only taking what your BINDLE Fetch Modus could allow. Now that the moons aren't dangerous anymore, you can be free of this stupid desire to retrieve some SHINY BALL. If you're gonna transform ever again, it will be ON PURPOSE. You're gonna learn to master Moonfang's Curse. You're gonna learn how to use your TELEPORTING TRICKS.
You'll shape this planet YOUR WAY. It will be your HOME, now. The biggest shiny thing you've ever put your PAWS on. That will put to shame all those trolls who mocked you, who shamed you, who insulted you. You're gonna prove to the WORLD how powerful you've become. They are left to strive on a FROZEN PLANET which will likely get destroyed by METEORS and never bear LIFE anymore, while you have a whole new land all by yourself. This time, you are the ALPHA.
And the first thing you'll do as alpha wolf will be killing all these parasite imps and liches. Second thing will be bonding with your new pack. Third will be laying down in the shiny grass and gaze at STARS.
They're so shiny. You wish you could simply put them in your pocket and look at them whenever you feel down.
You'll need to learn how to do that too.

((Weird part is, that's something he'd actually listen to.))
By the way, 'cause of finals and everything, don't expect much until Thursday evening, which is American Thursday morning. Then I'll have all the time I want until the end of June.
When we get to this point, while we're at it, I'll have to see a few things, but there is a risk I won't be allowed to draw during summer. I'll try to keep the Tumblr page running but we'd need to wait and see.

Talking about projects, I've been thinking about giving an act to Yalia, Hivebent-style. Y'know, fishpeople. Explain their backstory and all, explore more about Nyalon civilization, and put an use to all the worldbuilding. Would that be a good idea? Don't hesitate to tell me about what you'd like to see in the near or not-so-near future.

Okay, guys. Let's get serious.
On the occasion of Zodiacstuck's third anniversary (May 17th marks the creation of the Zodiacstuck thread on Mspaforums), I've decided to redraw everything. I mean, not everything as in "everything": I'll focus on the first 50 or so panels that need a good polish. I will also re-write most dialogues and texts to clear out any typos, characterization errors, etc.
Don't expect much new updates. But if you want to see the changes, start over at the beginning of the FA. Here are some previews.


Of course, I won't waste time re-drawing panels I deem "alright". Those done in Fire Alpaca (around the Ferren: Open memo arc), despite not being at the level of what I can do today, don't need that much polish. My main goal is to turn panels like these

into panels like these.


I don't know how much time it will take, but it will take time.
If you want to help me, please tell me if you spot typos or grammar errors in the mirror, and I will fix them. You can also pick a panel you think is particularly ugly, and if I agree with you, I'll redo it.
If you want to know whether I'll digitally draw paper panels, the answer is "maybe". I know some photos are of terrible quality; if I find the original drawings, I'll try to take better shots.

Thank you for your time. I'll try to supply you with content on the Tumblr page, if I can pull myself to do it.

Just wanted to say how impressive your style is now, and how much you've improved from the start of this adventure. Keep up the amazing work, and I can't wait to read more.

Some more pics! Knowing myself, I'll get inspired for the next few days and draw panel upon panel, then drop out all of a sudden for weeks.
Believe me, this has already happened. Twice.






By the way, from Saturday to Tuesday, I'll be out of town for personal reasons and won't have my tablet. But if I manage to bring my computer I might proceed with further text corrections.

It was 2am and I hadn't the motivation to draw over a screenshot. Will maybe change it later, but then they'll say I focus too much on artistic details instead of story quality.

(but i like those shit tier games :/ )

It never was my intention to mess with you. I honestly wish I had your flaw-spotting skills. And to be honester, feeling jealous is a thing that happens. How do you think I feel when I read Team Paradox or great Fanventures the like? We've all been there. That's what makes us want to better our own work. (and thus fulfill our ego. Let's not lie.)

About suggestions, I might not need them right now, as I'll focus on the beginnings of the comic. I'll try to render the dialogues and introductions as true to character as possible, shorten out unnecessary text pavés, and give out some free worldbuilding here and there. Art is a secondary concern. (who am I kidding. It is my main concern. I used to draw like a potato and that put off newcomers. No wonder I don't get new readers.)

I'll be blunt: I'm not good at characterization. I honestly don't know how to make a character round, or evolve with time. I don't know how to put friendship or rivalry mechanics into place. If you ask me what are the dynamics of the Homestuck Alpha Kids, I'll tell you I didn't understand any of it. (or at least, not the more subtle things that make them unique, like why Dirk and Jake broke up.)
But I try. Even though I kinda cheat by backtracking and rewriting descriptions so it feels as if there's an evolution, I try.
I know the result will never be perfect, and people will still nope out of it. But it's before all a thing I do as I like, and as I can. Zodiacstuck will never be perfect despite all my attempts, but I will enjoy doing it anyway.

If you do have a suggestion for the LoMaF arc, feel free to drop one. Can't tell when I'll restart regular updates.
It's 1am and I didn't mean to write another pavé, but did anyway. Sorry.

I guess that makes sense, but what's the point in writing like a potato chip, only to be told your writing sucks ? There are hundred of other Stuckventures out there and most people nope out before they get past the first page. To keep the readership interested, you must clearly show what's unique about your style and story.
It's alright to start as shitty, accept critique, and then improve; but people aren't interested in the evolution of your skill. They want good content from the first page. They have read countless Stuckventures and want something refreshing. If they read a single more "A young troll stands in their room", they're going to nope out. Who cares if you've got a good plot twist coming up 180+ pages later, or if you have a completely restructured troll society ? If you can't hook up readers from the start, you never will. I know there are people who advertise for good adventures they've read, but who in all of the Infinity Pond ever cares ? You have to advertise yourself, so you better be doing it good.
Perfection isn't my goal. It's impossible to achieve anyway. But I can at least try and aim for uniqueness.
It's going to be even harder to achieve, but in the end it's worth it.

Also I'm sorry if that sounded like a harsh rant but I had to get that of my chest. Please understand.

I guess that now that there isn't any commands to give, everyone's gone now. Oh well.
That doesn't mean I'm giving up.



Now that I've thought about it, giving the Yalia a Hivebent-style arc could bring in some fun. Colorful art and new species, *worldbulding*...
Various garbage thoughts under the cut.