t3h quiet
Well, it was an interesting experiment, to be sure. I’ve been very quiet about it and other stuff recently, so much so that the few blogs that i have done has led people to believe that i’m very depressed right now, or just feeling in some sort of funk that wont go away. That’s not really true. The fact is, there’s a lot going on right now, and more than I had planned. DId you know that i’ve taken two trips in the past two weeks? Didn’t miss a comic, either 
Sarah and I took a short vacation trip into Canada for the weekend, came back last night and finished the Circuity series. Some different extremes, to be sure.
I decided to wait till i was done with Circuity to talk about it in a rant on the MT site, because it’s one of those few times that i was able to do something that was started and finished in a short period of time, and was a self contained work. I almost lost my nerve to finish it two comics back, i was worried about the dreaded label of ‘melodrama’ and the ubiquitous ‘i don’t get it’ but i stuck to my guns and finished it. The real reason i had trouble finishing the last two pages was that i wasn’t in the kind of serious, sombre mood that i needed to be in to finish those days. I had to take myself there, and that wasn’t really fun.
You need to be careful about the stories you set down to write. You may be in the right mood to do it when you set out, but have a care for later on, there may be depths of feeling you really don’t want to go back to.
- pirotunes: Dwight Ashley - I Swallowed A Thousand Saws -
July 25th, 2005 at 10:42 am
I really enjoyed this one. Thanks
July 25th, 2005 at 11:03 am
Simply amazing…you did an awesome job, Fred ^_^
July 25th, 2005 at 12:00 pm
I’m amazed you can do what you did on the comic and yet be able to go on a trip.
Then again… My day is not as free as yours… nor are my skills as good.
GO FRED! Continue your goodness.
July 25th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
Nice change of pace … though I suspect you went through a lot of graphite and may plan nicer weather in future omake.
Great job of implying a much larger story within the confines of that short arc. I prefer that over straight exposition any day.
July 25th, 2005 at 12:03 pm
>.< Damn you Fred… got me caught up in the story… I want more!
As it is, I’m going to have to rewatch AIR when I get back home on Saturday. Crap. The gut-punching shall begin yet again…
July 25th, 2005 at 1:46 pm
It was an odd story, and I don’t usually do drama, but I liked it. I agree with Jack90; I like the suggestion of a longer back-story more than I would’ve liked intrusive exposition. Always leave ‘em wanting more, as they say.
“You may be in the right mood to do it when you set out, but have a care for later on”
That’s why I almost always try to finish my paintings in one sitting - once I stop, the mood is lost. It must be hard to do something like this and try to get ‘in the mood’ when you’re drawing.
July 25th, 2005 at 2:03 pm
Heh, for the sake of Circuity, I rewatched Haibane this weekend.
Thanks for the ride. Out of the Fred-mind, and back to the world of Megatokyo.
Take your time starting off Chapter 7; rushing it makes the story for that chapter a bit unstable.
~Chun
July 25th, 2005 at 3:32 pm
Excellent little bit of omake. As with others, it put me in the mood for Haibane. It also makes me wonder how much further that story could go.
Knowing you, I imagine you have already went there and have a ton of thoughts on it already.
July 25th, 2005 at 3:38 pm
it was a little confusing, but that’s ok. it had it’s uniqueness (word?? i don’t know…).
July 25th, 2005 at 3:50 pm
I thought Circuity ended up being splendid, and the last page was just great. While it was quite short, depth was something that simply wasn’t lacking. And everything made sense in the end, which was certainly important. I think it’d be intriguing to see some sort of sequel to this in the future. That is, if you could think of a way to do it.
It’s great that you’ve been able to do things on schedule and still do the trips. ^_^ **throws confetti** Hooray for you! Take pride in that.
Mood is almost always the true killer when creating. I often try to get something done as much as possible in one setting because I know it could be months before I can fall into that little niche again. I’m currently attempting to write a book and I think it’s going to kill me with its moods. Everything’s so dark. Though while it is really hard, and you often don’t like setting yourself back down to that mood. The finished product is generally worth it.
July 25th, 2005 at 4:17 pm
event ho it was pretty confusing, the look of circuitry was really good. seeing the charas with these new expressions on their faces too, was nice… you don’t get to see them with so many faces in MT very often, you know? i think those were conveyed very well.
i reread it and it’s still confusing, but i can kidna make up my own idea about what kinda place the charas are supposed to be in here, so ..::shrug.:: i hope you kinda explain it a little in a rant later, tho =\
July 25th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
I hope your take on the HR world is an environment you revisit. Hiromi and I will view volume 2 right after we see more Master Keaton.
July 25th, 2005 at 5:53 pm
I find I have to set myself up sometimes for certain things that I’m writing music wise. Today doing a more gritty/crunchy tune, I had to put on something that was going to give me a little more inspiration. I put on The Blair Witch Project. It helped for sure
July 25th, 2005 at 5:56 pm
It was a nice little break. But now I wish for more megatokyo!!! The omake has fueled the fire of my slight obsession! heh….
July 25th, 2005 at 8:13 pm
I’d just like to say that even though this story was short, it was very well done (sorry if that sounded stupid as hell). I do agree with Mittens-San, though (not to annoy you). I was pretty excited to see what was going to happen after the night at the “Cave of Evil”. I think circuity also did a good job in expressing Piro up to that point in megatokyo reality. Anyway, amazing work so far. you shouldn’t be putting yourself down.
Yeah, I went off topic, but that’s all I have to say (lucky you).
July 25th, 2005 at 9:19 pm
Well, I’m likin’ it so far, man.
It’s refreshing to see something different every once in a while, and I know how it feels to keep on doing a continuous storyarc for a long time. It bogs ya down at times.
So how many pages does Circuity have left? 3 more? Have a good one!
July 26th, 2005 at 12:52 am
…You’re right….I didn’t get it…however, I loved it. The art was great, and it was just like a windoww, watching half an hour of a 90 minute program, but where you actually get so caught up in reading it, that you don’t realize you’re missing anything…I liked it. It was a bit different from the norm of what I read, but…that’s the fun part.
July 26th, 2005 at 4:54 am
I think I know just enough about Haibane to make sense of the omake. There is a great deal of depth and meaning to it.
Thank you Fred for the opportunity to pause and reflect and think about the things I perceived in this short story.
Now I only wish I could see HR myself.
July 26th, 2005 at 7:46 am
I agreee with you completly- moods can throw things out of whack if you’re not in the right one. And writing half-heartidly is not a good thing either.
But I still liked the omake, it was very interesting. I would even like to see more of Circuity! ^_^
But neverless keep up the good work, and if your muses are giving you trouble, give them trouble back!
July 26th, 2005 at 10:48 am
hm, yes. but if you ever need to go back to those feelings.. listen to plenty of ‘Louder Then Bombs’ - The Smiths, ‘Pornography’ by The Cure, and watch lots of “Haibane R.” (i can’t remember how to spell the rest of it because i am dumb like that.), or ‘Loveless’, in one day. that can REALLY bring you back down to earth. heh. to tell you the truth, i’ve never seen any of them. i just heard they are extremely sad. i want to watch Haibane one day, though. it sounds really, really, realy good. and so does Catsoup!!
’cause it gots kitties.
anyway..
labeling is for the imature. kind of like because of Miho you’re gothic. because of Largo you’re a wino. because of Piro you’re sad, pathetic.. etc. etc. etc.. that’s not how it should be.
how was canada? i heard some parts are very nice.
you’re an extremely lucky person, piro. you’re talented, you get to travel.. the only thing that could really be stressing in your line of work, is the mood thing. but of course.. that can always be moved up and down depending on what kind of person you are.
Megatokyo has been kinda sad lately, that’s why i kind of assumed that you were having some troubles with life (ehh..) because usually a person’s creations are a mirror of their deeper upmost feelings. *shrugs*.
you’re STILL one of the best artists i can think of.
July 26th, 2005 at 11:56 am
one thing some of the forum responses are showing me is that our K-12 systems are failing in more areas than in just math and science…
July 26th, 2005 at 12:29 pm
O_o that’s the end?? omg that was awesome!! Good job for doing well even with two trips. I’m on vaca and I’m soooo behind. Guess I do better with school going on. *thumbs up* Keep it up, Fred!
July 26th, 2005 at 1:21 pm
Though i barely understood the plot, i loved the artwork. And think thats what makes Meatokyo so great. The plot can be just about anything and you’ll still want to keep reading because of its woneerful and constantly evolving artwork.
July 26th, 2005 at 1:38 pm
Fred - great work. I really enjoyed the Circuity and am looking forward to getting back into MT. Keep up the fantastic work and remember to enjoy yourself.
July 26th, 2005 at 4:02 pm
Circuity = teh good, even if those of us who haven’t seen Haibane Renmei were wondering about what the story was based on.
Where in Canada did you go? Toronto or thereabouts?
July 26th, 2005 at 5:38 pm
Great jod! -claps-
Cant wait to read Chapter 7
July 26th, 2005 at 7:08 pm
awesome job.
Circuity was sw33t.(No joke)
Fred, you did a great job with the drawings and the plot, hopefully you can take a break and let Dom do a comic.
p.s. ready for chapter 7
yah!!!!
July 27th, 2005 at 10:49 am
I really enjoyed Circuity. It was a really good plot, and cool drawings. I can’t wait for chapter 7 ^.^
July 27th, 2005 at 1:26 pm
I have to put in another vote to do the next omake around Gunslinger Girl. The commentary on societies pressure on children is absolutely stunning.
July 27th, 2005 at 2:42 pm
Circuity was really astounding. That was maybe the best few pages I’ve seen you do. And I think I like it more because it’s a short, you can’t really get the same intensity into a long story. I hope you’ll do something like this again some time.
During the last chapter in MT in general, your skills have been soaring. I enjoy the direction the plot is going at the moment and how it’s going there, and the way you draw faces is truly amazing nowadays. You really get the emotion through.
Well, that was praising… But Circuity got me into the mood
July 28th, 2005 at 3:53 am
I personal have been drawn into the Omake - I love how super-serious and secret spy-like that Largo gets in these little bits.
I love your comic. Fun, fun stuff. And I read your postings regularly because I am an aspiring author (working on about 10 books at the same time - I AM insane - but your postings on the creative process have really helped me focus on how to do what I love to do. Thank you.
July 28th, 2005 at 3:56 am
YIKES! The dreaded typos!! Gomen na Sai!
July 28th, 2005 at 2:11 pm
Yes. One trip was to Canada. and where was the other one to fred? well I can personally say I know. beucase my mom saw you there. you were on your cell phone, and I belive being the rude person she, my mother interupted you to say hello.
also this omake was amazing. the artwork was so beautiful, and you could really see all the emotion and thought that went into it. Thank you for producing such wonderful art, and writting that you share with the world for free.
July 28th, 2005 at 5:46 pm
Yay!
Canada. Don’t worry about the omake. The art rocked, and the people who didn’t get it, well we eventually figured it out. d:
July 28th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
Heh, i recognize that feeling of not wanting to drag yourself to a certain level of emotion. Has happened before watching certain anime, specifically i cant remember at this instant, but also in playing through the .hack videogame series. Awesome job with Circuity, it still has me thinking, but thats a good thing :D. ^_^…
July 28th, 2005 at 11:18 pm
Piro,
You have no idea how funny it was to walk into my school library and see the Megatokyo poster hanging in there. My friend and I went to school the other day to check out some books and we could not stop laughing. Our librarian had to kick us out because we were so loud. No one got it but us. Thanks for making my day!
Jem
Btw. I remember when you first completed that poster.
July 29th, 2005 at 7:45 am
I think Circuity was one of the finest things you ever did. The expressionism was brilliant. I could understand and co-live their emotions. The art was fabulous. Don’t worry, if you do what YOU like, you’ll find that a lot of people have the same taste and adore it.
July 29th, 2005 at 11:31 am
Just a quick note to let Piro know that there is another fan of Circuity! I thought it fit really well. I loved how you took the MT characters and put them in a haibane like world and the characters still told a storey that was completley faithfull to both the world and the characters themselves…I would have liked to see more really….but you are a buisy guy so I under stand.Btw I can’t wait to read warmth, and buy MT trade paperbacks when I get back to the states.Never thought I would say that I’m looking forward to leaving Japan so I can read more comics but…yea….that’s how much jØ R0×0r 7h3 b0×0rz
July 30th, 2005 at 7:41 am
Amen to the last part about moods and writing. ^-^ Gotta admit I can relate.
July 30th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
Circuity was great! I have great respect for you to complete the comics while going on vacation.
July 31st, 2005 at 8:05 pm
Great Job! I read a LOT of webcomics (twenty or thirty) but Yours is the one I’m always looking forward to… When you announced the omake, I was a bit skeptical, but The last few pages brought me in to the story. You won me over! Anyways, I have to say that while I loved the omake, I can’t wait to get back to the main story… You left me hanging, but then again, thats an important skill, I guess… Anyways, just wanted to say good luck with the next chapter, and don’t be afraid to try things like this again! As Haruko says, “Nothing can happen until you swing the bat!”.
August 2nd, 2005 at 10:41 am
I know what you mean about the whole having to get yourself into a certain mood to do the story. Its hard sometimes to just..I dunno… “get into character” with it. sometimes when i do that sort of thing, for my short stories, its really personal almost. Thats kinda why I have such a problem finishing so many of my projects.
I liked the omake, I’ve never seen its like before, but I’d like it if you gave me a few tips on how to get a good storyline going and see it through. (Another thing I’m lacking *embarassed*) Drop me a line anytime.
ps, Did piro get hot in the omake? lq
August 2nd, 2005 at 10:42 am
I know what you mean about the whole having to get yourself into a certain mood to do the story. Its hard sometimes to just..I dunno… “get into character” with it.
Sometimes when i do that sort of thing, for my short stories, its really personal almost. Thats kinda why I have such a problem finishing so many of my projects.
I liked the omake, I’ve never seen its like before, but I’d like it if you gave me a few tips on how to get a good storyline going and see it through. (Another thing I’m lacking *embarassed*) Drop me a line anytime.
PS Did piro get hot in the omake? lq