Dawn's Preganancy (A Visual Guide)

 

Wanted to do some sketches of Dawn at different stages of her pregnancy with Paige, from conception to just days before having the c-section. It was something I sorta wanted to do for a little while and was prompted by Patreon backers to go ahead and do it while I'm still stuck in this...' traditional mode' I guess. It was good for some pose and character practice, and dare I say some of the sketches are cute. 

Just a note before I get questions on this...the full term of Dawn's pregnancy (7 months) was figured out by taking wolf, sheep and human gestation times, finding out the median numbers of both when compared to human gestation overall, and favoring the larger number. If I recall the average wolf gestation was super quick, like 2 months. Sheep were about 5 by comparison. So that came out to a 5 month median for wolves, and a 7 month median for sheep. The reason I went with the sheep total instead of trying to split it between a wolf/sheep median was that it was both longer, which seemed more feasible for a sentient species than the shorter one, and by virtue of that, it made it feel more organic that Dawn could reach the point of looking like she's ready to burst and unable to get around by herself come c-section day.

Anyway, hope you guys think the art is cute. Much Love,

-Wasty

"Ask Dawn And Vern" The in-universe podcast edition.

 Breaking in the new light pad and inking pens with a sketch of Dawn and Vern recording their podcast "Ask Dawn and Vern". I actually had this idea for a while, in terms of an eventually in fic nod to the blog in some form. Initially, I was thinking they'd record it on the weekends, but after giving it more thought, with the pups and work and so on, they'd probably do a new episode once a month. Like the blog, they'd obviously be answering questions and offering advice to those who email or send them letters.

Also, we get a look at 'post glasses' Vern in this one, or as some are calling him 'Dilf' Vern. Not me, my patreons in discord I swear.

I wanted Vern's overshirt to be plaid, but I wasn't comfortable inking that and possibly losing the lineart.

Three Months Out; Where we're going.

 Been a bit too long for one of these huh? Well, I suppose that just means I have more to say. But in all honesty...I think I've also been kind of...drawing inward I guess? Becoming withdrawn as the fire experience sets in more, and we continue to go on without finding a place to call home. I know that's not a good thing...so I'm trying to fight against it as best I can.

So as I said, we haven't found a home here in NH. We've pretty much thrown ourselves at everything that we could at this point, but nothing has really come from any of that. We're on several totally pointless waiting lists for apartment complexes that have way too many people ahead of us to even hope that something could come up in two years let alone two months. And in the one wild instance that a place actually had an opening come up out of the blue, they gave it to someone who put down the deposit sight unseen, something I wasn't even aware we could do based on the way they made 'going through the process' sound. Craigslist was no better. Eighty percent of the people I emailed never got back to me, another fifteen didn't take my mom's housing voucher, and the remainders were either scams or totally dropped off contact out of the blue. Needless to say...I'm just...I mean it all just feels hopeless at this point.

Earlier this week I came across the old paper handout the town had given us just days after the fire and it just.... made me feel worse I think. I mean, the town did help us with the hotel stay and gift cards, but...there was so much in there about 'advocating' for us, and helping us find our new homes. It was enough to prompt me to send them one final email to them, expressing gratitude for what they had done, but admitting that helping with the burden of finding a home was more important than anything else, and I felt they had honestly fallen short of that.

Their response? I wasn't grateful enough, and that I sound depressed and should set up to see a therapist which they offered to help with. (Paraphrasing there). It was essentially kicking a squid while he was down, despite my email not being an 'angry' one, but a more pleading and vulnerable email about my feelings. I messaged back that I said multiple times I was grateful for the cards and hotel stay, but I also reminded them that in order to get help with anything else I had to twist their arms to varying degrees to get them to agree to help, and in those instances they made sure to shame me over needing it and reiterating whatever it was would be a 'one-time thing'. I mean, they shouldn't have made such bold claims and promises if they were going to act put-out whenever someone had to ask for them to make good on them.

Also, I pointed out therapy wouldn't exactly help the 'lack of home' thing, and with that being the root cause of the current depression, it means it would be an exercise in futility. At the very least replying made me feel better...I guess...but it didn't really get me anywhere new.

Since then I've turned purely to focus on Colorado and the trip that awaits. We're slated to leave on the 17th, So I've still got a few things to get settled before we take the Rental RV across the country. It's a more expensive method of travel than I initially planned, but keeping my mom's needs and personal comfort in mind, it seemed like the best option, with the added bonus of being able to make some nice tourist pit-stops along the way. I can even hitch the 'Bellwagon', (My smart car) to the back of the thing, so...I'll still have something of mine when we finally get to grand junction.

Still, even staying with my brother...I don't know if house searching will go any better out there...but at this point, it's the only option in terms of keeping me and my mom together and not breaking the bank while in the process of finding a place.

Now on to...I guess lighter news stuff? I'm still drawing. In fact, that's been part of what delayed this update as long as it has, as I was investing my time into drawing rather than writing up this long update post. (And by the time I'd finished I'd feel too tired to compose this). I'll be dumping some stuff shortly after this...a lot of sequence work, featuring mostly my Zoot characters. Got something adorable and wholesome, and something more...risque. Expect them soon.

One more thing before I get to the Patreon thank you's. The Gofundme for me and my mom will be closing soon. I'd like to thank all of you, backers, fans, friends, everyone who threw something in to help me and my mom. It has really helped and will go on to help when we eventually find a place and start actually buying replacement furniture. This is, of course, not to put down those who could only offer emotional support. Even that was extremely appreciated and has really been helping me from slipping completely down into the darkness. That said, if there are any folks interested in a last-minute donation, I will link it a final time below.

https://gofund.me/92364f20

If you miss it and still want to help, you can always hit up my "Buy me a coffee" as well.

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/S3KT7Ejtw



PARISHONER

Warwolf416
Randomgamer24
Hyenatig
Matt
O.C.R.
Reddawn7744
Luposong
Unformed
HyenaFur
KarakuriCentral
BovineMage
Bjerken Badger
Kei Fox
Sypher597
BatDuskyLycanroc3blr
Toonophile
AmanCalledDominik
FluffWolf117



FOLLOWER

Martin Nilsson
Alexander Eckhart
Churchontime

Thank you guys so much for your continued support, especially during this time. It means the world to me, and hopefully, I'll be able to provide you with some better work than just traditional stuff soon enough.

That's all I can say for now...just going over that stuff sorta put me in a bad mood. I'll aim for a short update before I leave for Colorado, just before we go radio silent for a week or so. Don't want you guys thinking I just completely dropped off the face of the earth, do I?

-Wasty

Two Month Anniversary

 Thanks to all my patreon backers for your continued support. Without you...I mean...I've said it so many times before...”Your support means more to me than you'll ever know. And that's even more true during the current crisis than it's ever been.

PARISHONER

Warwolf416

Randomgamer24

Hyenatig

Matt

O.C.R.

Reddawn7744

Luposong

Unformed

HyenaFur

KarakuriCentral

BovineMage

Bjerken Badger

Kei Fox

Sypher597

BatDuskyLycanroc3blr

Toonophile

AmanCalledDominik

FluffWolf117

FOLLOWER

Martin Nilsson

Alexander Eckhart

So... it's the two-month' anniversary of the fire. Would you call it an anniversary? The term sounds too...positive...like it's worth commemoration, celebration. Of course it's not. It's hard to believe it's been two months. It feels like yesterday. I can still remember that night so vividly...when I close my eyes I can see that hallway, the smoke...everything.

I'm supposed to start speaking with a therapist soon, so hopefully that will help...mitigate some of these...feelings and visions. Not...exactly excited about opening up to a stranger via 'telecom', as phone stuff gets my anxiety up, but I've gotta do it.

In case you are wondering why I'm not in Colorado yet, my brother won't be in his new house until April 30th, instead of March 30th. That gives us a little more time to get our stuff together in terms of important paperwork replacement and preparation for the 2000 mile trip. Thankfully, while the town stopped covering for the Hotel as of today, my renter's insurance is picking up the tab from there, and it will see us through until we can head west. Thankfully the hotel pay will not detract from my renter's payout which...for the moment seems on track to come through.

In the meantime, I've been using some of my remaining time to try and do all I can to find a place that isn't a complete slum that will take my mother and I in state. Basically a last-ditch effort to stay in New Hampshire in order to not have to put my brother out and...really because I liked living here. But it seems the entire North East is under a sort of 'Rental Run'. Apartments and housing opportunities are currently few and far between, and places get snapped up at light speed as soon as they show up on the market. And that's not counting the fact that I and my mother have some necessary needs that further complicate what we can get. (2 Bedrooms, Ground Floor, Low Income). I get the distinct impression that New York is having a similar exodus to that of California, and so the North East is filling up with NYC refugees...well that on top of it being a bad season to move. The Apartment complexes we've touched base with have waiting lists thirty people deep or more, and so considering the dwindling time factor, submitting applications and paying fees for said applications seems like...ironically a waste of time. Needless to say, it looks like Colorado is unavoidable at this point.

At least my mother and I are vaccinated now and will be...as resistant to covid as we can be during the drive. The only thing I'm debating now is whether to try and make the trip in the Bellwagon (My Smart Car), or sell it off and get a Jeep Grand Cherokee or something. I've had my smart for two years, and it's been very reliable and good on gas. But storage space is limited, and the week-long drive might be more uncomfortable in a smart car than something bigger with storage space. (Not that we have all that much to travel with). But a new vehicle...I mean, I don't know if it'll turn out to be as reliable, or be able to handle the trip...I'd have to trust the dealer, which is always a risk...and with everything else going on right now being uncertain about the car I'm driving across the country in is...I mean it's another level of stress I don't need.

Art-wise we're still looking at sketchbook photos for at least another month or more...

-_-... I'm not even super confident about writing on this thing thanks to how slow and miserable it is to use this laptop. Running a browser and Discord at the same time is too taxing for this thing... I know that's a first-world problem, but I'd like to be able to share cleaner, clearer art with everyone. At this point, it's the bare minimum I can do.

So that's the long and short of it at the moment...It would be redundant at this point to say I'm tired. That I want this to all be over, and for life to return to...something resembling how it formerly is. I'm emotionally tired, and my and my mom's health is being pushed to the brink. I'll just be...relieved when this is something I can just...look back at this as nothing more than a dark, painful memory. Distant in the reflection of a more positive future.

Thanks to everyone for their continued support, both Patreons and fans who supported the GoFundMe. I'd also like to thank everyone who just...reached out with kind words and emotional support. I know I keep saying it, but it truly means and means the world.

-Wasty

Gil's Band Continued; "Mad" Max, on rhythm guitar.

 

Last we have Maxwell Gulstafsson, a.k.a "Mad Max"; The group's rhythm guitarist. Max is a wolverine, and ostensibly the 'wild' member of the group. However, his 'wild' nature is solely limited to his actions, as Max was born totally mute. Without the use of his voice, the mammal is forced to communicate in sign language, which always requires Henri to interpret him for Gilbert. However, lacking the trademark 'wolverine scream' most mammals expect of his species hasn't slowed Max down in the slightest. In fact, to date the wolverine has gotten into at least two out and out brawls with audience members over seemingly nothing, stopping the performance in its tracks each time. He's also the groups 'lady's mam'", as being the only 'technically' single member of the band has him dealing with the overflow of fangirls. Not that he minds of course. 

So yeah, that's Gil and his band of misfits. I hope you guys like 'em.

-Wasty

Gil's Band Continued: Caroline the Basist

 

Caroline Ghàidhealach; Caroline is the band's basist. Caroline is a Scotrammish Highland Cow, and as the name suggests she was born in Scottram. Her family was another touched by Norwulffish culture,  as her earlier ancestors left with the Norwolves after one of their occupations of Scottram, only returning after the peace agreement. Caroline is missing her right leg below the knee, the result of a calfhood accident. Off stage she uses a general prosthetic which actually resembles a cow leg, however on stage she uses her grandfather's left horn as a stand in. Said horn was left to her by her grandfather in order to 'protect' her, and the Norwulffish depiction of the 'world-eater' was something he had etched into his horns while alive. Caroline feels using it on-stage is both a way to honor his memory, and allow him to 'protect' her as he wished. Caroline speaks fluent 'Chaoraic' (Zootopia's Gaelic Equivalent), but even when she's speaking Animanglish her accent is so thick she's very hard to understand, once again forcing Henri to act as an interpreter sometimes. Caroline is Gilbert's mate, and they've been together since shortly after the band got started in earnest. 

At this point you may be starting to notice two patterns. One, each remember of Gil's band seems to be disabled in some way. Gil's blindness, Henri's stubbed tail, Caroline's missing leg, each on has suffered some sort of handicap. The second thing, is that when on stage, they all have their hair over their eyes. Thar second bit is both acting in solidarity with Gil, and theming with the bands name. That said, our pattern remains unbroken with our last bandmate.

Gilbert's Band Continued: Henri the Drummer.

 

So let's talk about Gil's bandmates, starting with Henri. 

Henri Järvullen; Henri is Gil's masterful drummer.  Throughout history, foxes have been known to sort of latch on to other cultures, taking bits and pieces of it and giving it a foxish flare, or outright accepting it in full to become part of a community. This was the case with Henri's Yipsi ancestors who would eventually settle in Norwulff, and find themselves eventually absorbed into one of the more prominent packs in the nation. That said, Henri is fairly in touch with his 'Norwulffish' roots, even going so far as to regularly wear runes in his hair both on and off stage. Henri was born with a malformed, stunted tail, and to compensate the tod grew his hair out long enough to feign the appearance of one. It is the only real part of his look that transfers between his off and onstage persona, which is so drastic to most mammals that he largely goes unrecognized in public, which is not something he minds in the slightest. Henri speaks Norwulffish, and slightly broken Anamanglish, with often sees him working as the interpreter for the group. He is also never seen dating, foxes or non-foxes, male or female, leading most fans to speculate he's asexual. However, he is merely very particular about who he opens up to in that way and feels that fan adoration would get in the way of an organic relationship, thus eliminating most of the females who throw themselves at the band.

A Different Kind of Update: Gus' brother and his band.

 

    So, I've been reluctant to share any 'art' that I've made since the fire, mostly since it's all snapshots of sketchbook drawings. So not only am I not happy with the way I have to get them into the computer...but unless someone specifically asks for sketches...I always feel...kind of weird sharing them. It just feels unfinished, like sharing scaffolding. It's makes me feel like I'm naked in public. But I've still got another month or so before I'll have a tablet again, which is a conservative estimate. So I have to break away from my comfort zone.

    Anywho, some of you may remember in LAW I mentioned Gus had a brother, but I never went into detail about him. So I spent some time working on him, and those associated with him's design and lore. First off, Gus' brother is named Gilbert (Which was actually a name given to him by backer BatDuskyLycanroc, and I liked it and went with it, thanks Dusky. He's also the front mammal for his band, "The Order of the Bleating Eye", a popular death metal band in Roarope.

    Gilbert is Gus' older brother by about five years. He's considerably healthier than Gus overall, sporting healthier and more robust horns like their father Aslan, a slimmer physique, and without the whole 'fainting disorder' that Gus picked up from his mother Vitoria's side of the family. However, Gilbert was born totally blind. When not performing, the goat walks around with a particularly stylish walking cane that doubles as his guide cane. On stage, Gil has a series of grooves and pegs covering the floor of his performance space so that he can 'feel' his marks. Gil always had a passion for imaginative creative things and was actually responsible for getting Gus into BnB while they were growing up. However, Gil's biggest passion was music, and his dream was one day making it with a band despite his condition. At the end of his high school stint, and with the rather reluctant permission of his parents, Gil went backpacking across Roarope to 'assemble' his band out of the 'very cradle' of death metal, his words. Gil is the lead singer and guitarist of his band.

I'll continue the roster with the next few posts as the files are large and this Laptop is miserably slow. So yeah, look out for the rest.

Saying Goodbye to New Hampshire

It's been a little while since my last update, mostly cause I've been busy running around and (at first) trying to work out things with places around here, and now focusing on the transit situation, but I don't want to get ahead of myself, so let's start at the beginning.

First off, my hand scar I picked up from the fire was (and possibly still is) infected. It's still quite sore to the touch, and I just had x-rays done to see if there was anything foreign that they missed caught inside my hand. I won't know till tomorrow what's the verdict on that, but I have just finished a regiment of antibiotics which only sort of helped reduce the swelling and sensitivity. I am optimistic that the medicine helped, and I'm pretty sure there's nothing stuck in there, but I appreciate my doctor being thoroughness.

Apartment hunting has been, well...it's been a total bust. Either the waiting lists are forty families deep, or someone just nabbed the place before we did, or it's a second or third floor apartment, and so on. I do feel a sense of solidarity in knowing many of our fellow neighbors are just as much out in the lurch as we are, as they are also struggling to find a place with significantly less 'needed specifications'. But that said, if they are having as much trouble with that much less holding them back, what does that mean for us?

So, due to that reason, as well as the mounting 'rapidly dwindling' time limit in terms of how long the town is willing to put up those of us dislocated at the hotel at their expense, my mother and I have made the difficult decision to stay with family in Colorado until we find a place out there.

It's not that I dislike Colorado, or my brother for that matter, but I had really wanted to try my best to stay in New Hampshire as I was pretty happy here. But nothing is giving, and everything seems to just be pointing us more and more in the direction of relocating as the only answer, and eventually we had to make a call so we could start the necessary preparations to actually get out there.

The focus now has been planning a route that is both the least expensive and also the least uncomfortable for my mom, as trying to drive from New Hampshire to Colorado is probably not the best idea for either one of us, but especially her. And on that note, my mom's health seems to be declining that much further.

While waiting for her second covid shot, which I know will more than likely make her sick for a few days, she also developed a UTI (Urinary tract infection).There was apparently some blood and bacteria in her urine, and so she's been on heavy meds for it. I am starting to worry that getting stepped on and trampled in the fire may have done more damage internally than we initially thought. Naturally I'll be keeping a close eye on her, and for the time being we are right next to the hospital so should anything worsen, I can get her there right away. Still, at anytime my mom's health could throw yet another spanner in the works of the already difficult situation.

Honestly, I'm really tired. Like spiritually as well as physically if that makes sense? I just want to go home more and more...but there is no home. This hotel room is starting to drive me crazy with the noise and lack of privacy and discomfort, and I know I'm whining and it's first world problems. I am grateful we've been allowed to stay for as long as we have thanks to the towns efforts, but a hotel is not a home, and I honestly wish they could have helped more in that regard. At least now, as uncomfortable as I am, I know soon enough we'll be out of here for better or worse, and with less of a tight time limit to worry about hanging over our heads...Although depending on how we need to travel, we may have to stay at a few more hotels on the trip to Colorado, which in itself is it's own issue.

I'd like to thank all of you who have contacted me, sharing love and emotional support. I also want to thank all of you who donated to the gofundme, as well as spread it around. Regardless of the size of the donations, it...it is a big help, believe me. I'd also like to of course thank my wonderful patreons, both long time patreons and new arrivals. I'm sorry I don't have as much work and content to provide as I usually do, but hopefully soon we'll be getting back to...well semi-normal.

I don't think things can ever...truly be normal again, so it's more of a new normal. It feels weird to mourn...stuff still. Objects, furniture, scraps, whatever...and there will more than likely always be part of me that remains affected by the experience, therapy or not...but they say time heals all wounds, and it does...in some ways get a little easier each day.

Thanks again guys, I love you all

-Wasty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPkizW2SFSY

One Month Out; Staring into the Unknown.

 There's a lot of folks I have to thank going forward. Once again both my mom and I are eternally grateful for all the donations on the Gofundme, as well as the much needed emotional outreach and support by the art and fan community. It's truly been a godsend after this horrible tragedy, and it's been a big help in keeping me from completely and totally falling apart while trying to get our lives back together.

That said, I also owe my Patreon folks a big thank you for their continued support through this trying time. I didn't get a chance to do this last month because of...the mess, so here is the 'shout-out' to my backers.

PARISHONER

Hyenatig

Matt

Randomgamer24

Milkerfur

Unformed

O.C.R.

BovineMage

BatDuskyLycanroc3blr

Reddawn7744

Toonophile

Kei Fox

KarakuriCentral

Bjerken Badger

HyenaFur

Sypher597

Luposong

AmanCalledDominik

FluffWolf117

Warwolf416

FOLLOWER

Martin Nilsson

Alexander Eckhart

Seriously guys, thank you for sticking with me, even during all this.

So that said, the 8th was the one month anniversary of the fire. It's hard to believe it's been...over a month since it all happened. I can still...see everything. The sights and sounds of that night are still etched in my mind, but I mean, that makes sense all things considered.

It's been a long time since I've had stitches, so I'm not sure exactly how much my gash should still be bothering me in terms of being red and sore. Right now it's still at a point where you can't really touch the surface of it without it hurting. Same goes for the leg wound, the nerve endings are still crazy sensitive and the muscle is still hard and lumpy.

Since I last checked in with you guys, my mother and I both got covid shots. I got the single-dose Janssen shot, and she had the first of her Pfizer shots. I had a pretty nasty reaction the first night, I think I underestimated what classifies as an Auto-immune disorder, so my joint inflammation issues were kind of amplified by the dose. Mom's reaction was minimal though, which was a relief.

Housing-wise, we've got nothing. Everything so far has been out of the price range or lacking the necessary amenities, and so we remain at square one in terms of finding a new home. The town has agreed to cover our stay at the hotel until the first week of April, but if we can't find a place before then, we'll more than likely have to stay at my brother's place in Colorado for a while. At the very least I'm glad we have that so we don't end up kicked to the curb in April, but I did want to try and stay in New Hampshire. I really like a lot of things about living here, and while I'd ideally like to live further up the state someday, I mean...if we can't find a place here, we can't find a place, and we'll have to go where we can.

On Friday I drove back to our old home, to see it with my own eyes now that I had proper glasses again. I don't really know why, I just...I felt compelled to see it I guess. Maybe to make sure nothing was salvageable? Or to make it stick in my brain that there was simply no going home, that it was well and truly gone? Regardless, I was there for a while. Walking around, taking photos, and simply staring into the husk of a remaining structure. With my glasses on, I can tell there's really nothing left up there. Even the closet I thought might have been untouched was charred and empty. The roof came down on most of the apartment, and our apartment partially collapsed onto the floor below. To me, that says nothing escaped. Perhaps it's better this way. There's nothing recognizable, nothing visible and half charred from my bedroom that would cripple my heart. Although I did spot my microwave and food processor smashed on the ground below where part of our kitchen collapsed out to the ground level. Admittedly it hurt, but not as much as it would have to see my even more personal effects.

I have caught up posting everything I had ready to go before the fire. The Cherub art is live on all platforms, and if you go to Sofurry and Furaffinity, I actually posted both sets across the two sites. So it's a little scavenger hunt. The other remaining scraps, including something sketched recently, are on patreon. I'll probably share them on twitter during the week until I can actually do more with them when I'm settled again.

So yeah...I guess that's all for now. I've already said I think I'm about done posting the Gofundme link with these, as I already feel guilty about having it despite the circumstance. But you can check my former posts if you'd still like to donate I suppose. Thanks for everything guys...I'll try to keep you posted as things go on.

-Wasty