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Someone tell Bellsprout it's not too late to turn back.

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You mean invited to a dine and dash.

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Before Pokeblocks, Pokemon actually had to excercise to look good.

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So in other words, it takes evolution for hormones to kick in correctly. Right then.

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Sheesh, I thought she was 24, not 16. She's obviously never dated before.

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Realistically, you'd be freaked out by Victreebel, too.

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Subtle social commentary.

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Coo is so easily distracted.

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Screw Meta Knight. Waiu is a lot more awesome and yet he was only in a single game. Sickening.

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The Chosen Four: The trump cards against evil in AU. Heck, if you can defeat Giygas you can basically take down anybody.

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And I thought we were worried about Waiu just a page ago.

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I had assumed before that first stage Nidos and beyond were rather carnivorous, why else would they have fangs?

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For those who still don't get it, these are the comics used in the collection, as well as an original snippet. So no, none of the stories are new except the bonus stories at the end.

Negative reinforcement? Nah. Countless poor experiences didn't effect me at all (though to be fair, Kirby's Rainbow Resort was still the best place I've ever been to. Twice).

Oy, the naked (possibly pedo) driver in the parking lot. That's a fun childhood memory for my sister and I. x_x

Ash Head has been inihilated via blasphemy countless times, but he always comes back in the next story, or even strip. Like DRJ says on the next page, no one seems to stay dead.

I swear, Kaboom cereal is surreal. You'd think it'd be something that only existed in cartoons.

This is one of my favorite sequences back in the old Poppistar comics. Blade Knight inc. (character) is a cut up. Mostly because he's an exaggeration of Jared's demenor back then. I'm telling you, the most interesting material comes from real life.

Does this have anything to do with Pokemon? No. But it's funny AND relevant to the collection. Funnier still is how people responded to/edited the ads thinking they were clever. "Wanna Kill a Guy" is a real example. I'm still waiting for the punchline to that one. Eh, not everybody can be a writer. =/

Click this sentence for a real life example from an old ezboard of our escapade, and a lame response (though in context, "That's the spirit!" is pretty funny).

This is back before spam bots surfaced and humans had to sign up to advertise something. Now ads don't distinguish a site's life or death, instead of showing signs of activity.

On the old site, this page would be the start of a new segment. You should be able to tell because it no longer focuses on message boards (for the most part), and Nidorino becomes more of a character and less of a mouthpiece (until it relates to the internet again). His whole personality just kinda changes.

I live across the street from a dog like that, every time it sees us it runs into our yard just to yap at us. I'm doing all I can NOT to kick it moonbound.

Is it me or does Nidorina come off as lusty at times? And I thought she was the good one! Nothing would ever happen between the two of them, though, folks. You know me. Not with characters I care about, anyway.

It IS just like the real world. But the world didn't count on one thing... not only won't I take no for an answer, but I'm militant about creative appreciation and doing things right. These fansites are minute examples. I haven't even begun yet.

Millions of people don't understand subcontext.

A battle for moral surpremecy. I can see these two getting into it a lot despite sharing just about all views. Also, it's nice to see just how much Nidorina cares for Nidorino, no matter what happens. If you've got someone like that, best hold on to 'em.

Not that she has anything they haven't seen before.

DRJ helps explain why attraction to Charlotte is weird, something I didn't think about in the old comics. I mean, unless Nidorino is attracted to underage lolis (I would insert a joke about him originating from Japan and being boyish himself, but even I think that's in poor taste, even if it is true).

DRJ sums up my sentiments exactly. But seriously, despite all his curiosities of the female body, Nidorino probably would faint or scream if he ever saw anybody nude, male or female. He doesn't have the mentality to handle it.

Whoosh. Just went over another's head.

This viewer can pretty much render end of book commentary obsolete, but hopefully I didn't repeat anything written here.

To clarify, by "graceful" I mean in the comic, Nidorino just solemnly closes down NFP. In real life, no. I removed everything because "people didn't deserve it", and chewed everyone out who had a sheep mentality. Fun stuff. Didn't change the world, though. You can read up about the site's history under the ABOUT page.

Charlotte is such a zombie in these old stories. It's kind of weird. But most of you are seeing these collections as new right now, instead of when it was new in 2001-ish. So it may not have the same effect.

The way Charlotte stretches her arms outward in the last panel of the first strip makes me laugh.

Frankenstein here gives the coldest hug ever.

Thanks to Aqua Bunny, I don't think Nidorina would be a good candidate these days if you're searching for very obscure. It made a lot more sense when people still couldn't get Nidorina's name right.

I think her actions and reactions are much more realistic than Mewtwo. An animal would be easily spooked by sudden "happenings". Plus, having something that manipulates atoms is about as dangerous as you can get. She could, in theory, instantly collapse a living creature into a puddle of water, for example.

And here, Charlotte transcends halfway into supernatural, losing half of her...humanity? Naturalness? At any rate, that half of her is basically dead and replaced by that eye, which you'll see keeps her alive, now.

Darn the natural need for love!

Nidorina's thought in the first panel: "Wow, YOU'RE absolutely undateable..." It's fun to look at characters in a past setting.

I guess there we're no mirrors in the lab.

Yeah, "Gabriel" is a little on the nose.

Apparently, Kirby's played EarthBound.

Proof that Charlotte is not invincible. PS: That Devil's Machine shot is ultra cool.

Gooey, Chuchu, and Porygon could probably regroup if it wasn't for that blast behind them.

Rule of thumb: A reaper's motives are ALWAYS ulterior.

I wonder what else Kine and Jeff could build in a day?

Rick's fakeout got me... again.

I'd pay to see a Blade Knight inc movie. Beats everything Hollywood's pumping out. And speaking of poor education, looks like that sensationalism isn't helping the American school children, either.

Girls? Bah. Kine don't like girls. Kine like SCIENCE!

Kine should take solace in the fact that the Pokemon living with him are less irritating than the ones living with Kirby.

Oh man, Pac-Man is so right.

You don't win friends with Roosevelt impressions, much less on a planet where the majority have no idea who he is.

Besides, it's never a party without Rick and Coo. They're like Lenny and Carl.

I wish my phonies were sincere...

Wow, Nidorina spoils her baby sister rotten. That or Charlotte is very manipulative.

Mewtwo has never looked better.

What's funny is that Son of Nightmare, the frickin' SON of Nightmare, is freaked out by the demon band as well. In the original comic, Charlotte didn't mind the dark band, but it seems contrary to her background and demeanor, so I altered that.

Don't get technical, bub.

I'm learnding!

The rule of non-human cartoon creatures: Unclothed ≠ full exposure. Therefore, clothing is arbitrary.

Death is hilarious.

What sucks is that most art teachers are either like Nidorina or like Magnemite. Both don't help you at all.

Regarding Mouser; You know what's more dangerous than a brat? A smart one.

The top comic was pretty hard to do, because realistically there would be no Social Worker flash card for kids, and Charlotte can't speak. So I had to explain that, essentially, Charlotte would most likely become some sort of great peacemaker/missionary when she matures, but in confined space. Or a guardian angel. Or, it'll all be in vain and she'll do what she's programmed to do. Who knows, really.

In all fairness, Charlotte doesn't really have anything to see. Ah, childlike irreverence. Also, it must be fun to be so easily amused, and to think others will think your toying around with the universe is amusing, too.

You'll notice this story was done a little differently. It's a lot more scenic, kind of like an OVA or movie versus a cartoon, with many more establishing shots and just playing around with zooms and stuff. Also, the pacing is a lot more relaxed.

Don't you have some souls to reap?

Claus isn't even pretending to be interested.

That's right, boy, just keep digging yourself deeper.

Because visions of horrifying death keep me coming back.

Since they keep getting the short end of the stick, I suggest Lucas and Paula hook up.

Wait... what are these guys fighting over again?

She's somethin' alright...

I guess you could say the evolutionary stages of Kine's Pokemon friends are... wait for it...

Set in Stone.

This comic's important for two reasons. One, it's the story where Kine releases his Pokemon, an event that happens fairly early in the series. After this point, he no longer has the authority to tell them what to do outside of a landlord-tenant relationship. Secondly, it's the first appearance of Miltank, and the joke that she's infatuated with Kine starts this early, too. It's slightly foreshadowing considering she'd return later as a permanent cast member.

Heh, these guys look way different than they did back in the BFF comic, and oddly a lot more western than Japanese hair stylists (maybe they moved there to work abroad?). Then again, both versions beat out the stick figure variations in the original.

Clarification: Vulpix's hair is braided into what's called Kinky Twists, seeing as I'm not going to spend all day drawing hair all too accurately. Vulpix and Nidorina were not caught in Johto, and I've always had it since the original series that Nidorina would be based on a Caucasian American/white young adult and Vulpix as an African American/black nine year old, and every other Pokemon is basically Japanese (except Bellsprout and Bulba for certain). Why? I dunno, but it shapes the development of the characters a bit.

Hahaha. Why does four eyes look like Milhouse?

Horn Drill is essentially Psycho Crusher. This is the last comic set from "Folder 1", so you'll note a lot fewer "Pokemon with Jokes" strips.

PS: That Hat comic will always be relevant. ALWAYS. >:I

Poor Haunter. The Pointless Poke Battles 1,2 and 4 strips are more or less exact. 3 had to be changed, with the only similar panels being the first two. A ghost using Take Down of all moves, let alone a physical attack at all in a battle of the dreariest made no sense, nor did the outcome (History Lesson: this was before Charlotte was expanded much upon, so Umbreon seemed to have the Charlotte-esque ability of "you can't touch me" as well. This is no longer the case). I can now honestly say that PPB3 is a real battle of the bleak.

At any rate, here's the original for comparison.

You see Coke around a lot in AU (and Struck by the Rain), so now's as good a time as any for a brief history. Coke is my unofficial mascot for Coca-Cola, and comes from the Cool Spot series, which is probably my oldest referenced comic series, dating back to like 1993 or 1994, when Cool Spot was on the Sega Genesis, so if you thought some other characters on this site were as old as time... Like Spot is an animated plastic logo, Coke is an animated bottle cap. Mouser is also a part of this series. Seeing as AU was a mishmash of game series, in jokes and comic series up to that point between friends, Coke needed no explanation. Anyway, he's used in AU moreso than Spot because he's a rather unique character. He's aiming for a career in science (most likely a chemist), and is very very smart, but he's also very sociable and active, and is a bit of an outdoorsman, so he goes against a lot of the other "nerd" characters. Spot's just a mischevious jerkass, and that role's filled by a lot of other characters in AU. Mouser, being an abandoned baby mouse, is the product of both of their natures, which is why he's an intellgent brat.

And that's Coke (and other Spot characters) in a nutshell, and why he's used a lot in AU.

If the last strip wasn't essentially the same joke as the original, I thought another good gag would have Agent Black saying, after "Frankly I'm surprised", "No, I mean I'm surprised that they've been standing there running their mouths for the last 3 hours." I guess Bellsprout'll say "Yeah. It's actually kind of mesmerizing", but the fact is Rina and Bulba seem to do this a lot. Poor Nidorina has no other girlfriends, so she's gotta talk to someone. :C

Of course. A random handful of twenty-somethings are assigned to go head to head with this comic's Axis powers. What could possibly go wrong?

Selective effort is alive and well in this AU collection. Maybe this is why it takes me so long to make these.

This story is dedicated to those who still prefer ACTION GIRL! Nidorina for some reason.

I can imagine Porky/Pokey being the type who thinks he's old enough to drink. At least Post-Monotoli Porky. Too bad he won't wanna be so grown later.

ITC: Nidorina spent her time in the Secret Service watching old movies. Also, when I was younger, I always thought those markings on Bukiset were his eyes, and the visor was a smiling mouth with a single tooth.

Top strip, panel 3. That's got to be one of my favorite drawings I've pulled off into a tiny box. Only Game Informer X can make being useless seem hardcore. I love the reaction panel afterwords, too.

This ending was always rather sitcommy, but mostly I think this is probably one of the first real times Nidorina was shown to be kind of goofy. You know that later she becomes more and more cheeky as the series progresses. Also, I still have no real good grasp of what Attract actually is, but I'm sure she can pull something off without being nasty. This is Nidorina we're talking about. Not... Iunno, Slutty Sue.

Uploaded July 1, 2012. Just marking it because of how I actually got in a comic that fits the occasion. This story starts off like a Kirby comic, and keeps the tone throughout, so it's not very Pokemon/multiseries-esque.

This collection should just be the book of Nidorina's alternate hairstyles, because it seems like all the comics I choose feature them. Vulpix goes through a few, too.

By choking the life out of you.

IIRC, this is the first comic Charlotte makes a different expression from her default deadpan look, other than extreme anger in an earlier bit. It's minimal, but I'm sure it was the crack in the seal...

It could've been BKi's Snorlax...

...but I doubt he'd've caused any further destruction. Oh well, the damage is done. Stop having fun, Miltank.

In universe, you can infer that Kine holds Nidoqueen to a high regard because she was apparently the Pokemon who was there for him in good times, sad times and tough times during the Johto trip. IRL, though, Nidoqueen really did get me through a lot of scrapes in Silver, and I probably raised her and Nidorina simultaneously. Nidoqueen I believe was the first Pokemon in the Hall fo Fame, a well deserved spot, and I always looked back on that with fondness, then and now (though it's probably more nostalgia at this point). So, the "real" Nidoqueen was indeed some sort of Superwoman as far as I was concerned.

I'll sort of explain the first strip. Most of the Pokemon I had in Silver (which were usually those found in these comics) were both female and had Attract. My friend had mostly male teams (and no Attract to counter). Seeing as Attract always meant instant victory for me (it's just the way it always went), Jared basically knew he was taking a chance whenever he saw that female symbol next to the Pokemon's name.

"Absorb" like a shock absorber. I don't need anyone getting Poke-move literal on me.

I find it rather interesting that a peon like Rocky is ordering around something way way bigger and stronger than him.

Bud from the trio, Bud, Dud and Slash. Bud cameoed quite a few times in AU, dunno why, I guess because he was always a memorable guy. I certainly hope the real BDn'S is okay with Bud's appearance, Aipom may not be his real favorite, though (Aipom was chosen in the original based on it being a goofy looking monkey for a goofy guy (at the time, circa 2001). Bud uses more sarcastic humor now, but Aipom stays regardless).

Hitmontop seems to do a lot more damage to the field.

If your smart, you've already picked up on some foreshadowing early on in this story. Here it is again. Also, there's a slight significance to the oversaturation of corporate consumerism, it comes together a bit later in a mild way.

Seeing as this is the last AU collection, unless I upload more original comics, DRJOE's predicament requires explaining. In both the AU series and the Poke Island series, things are a lot more realistic in terms of combat abilities (AU is fickle, though, in that a move will change from cartoonishly violent to realistically violent as the situation demands). Perish Song is essentially a death chant, and it drains the vitality out of the victim until the singer calls it off or the victim ceases to exist. A living creature dies, but the undead have a special kind of death where they vaporize into Pandemonium, a spirit realm where undead souls must spend their eternity. DRJOE almost lost Haunter this way to Kine's Lapras, but Ash Head stepped in and spread his signature G/S Disease, which means everything becomes 100% game literal (which has more adverse effects than benefits). This saved Haunter because it merely caused him to faint.

Hoist by his own petard. And have you ever seen a Nidoqueen with a bigger smile on her face? I mean, my God. Ms. Nakamura certainly makes up for all the grumpy generic Nidoqueen art I've done in the past.

Oops. You just made momma mad, Kine. Actually Ms. Nakamura is very young, especially for a Nidoqueen. More on this in a later story. The point is she's very maternal and patient, but she's also strong, focused, career-oriented woman, and she doesn't take crap from anybody. Even if it came from her absolute favorite little sunfish.

Maybe I'm a sucker for aesops, and even though the structure of this story didn't really lend itself to one all too clearly (because it's minor compared to everything else in the story), I can't help but enjoy Kine's speech regarding what he, and by extension, Nidoqueen learned from each other over the past day or so. You can only hope that Nidoqueen will learn how to keep work and leisure separated, and to check her priorities.

This is another comic you can easily compare to the original. However, it had to be reworked in a way, because even though the fundamental reasons for drawing are still the same for me (mood dependant, the most interesting and accurate expression succeeding being on model, etc), art evolution and character development changes things that are no longer relevant. For example, Nidorina in 2001 followed in the footsteps of Mrs. Nidorina in being cuter than average, and the old answer was good enough. Today, Nidorina is supposed to reflect a specific personality. It's already stated in universe that Nidorina is attractive to look at similar to young women in real life (though "cute pretty", not "Hollywood pretty"), so Kirby's old retort wouldn't fly either.

In strip three panel four, I flipped who says what in that it makes more sense in this context. For the record, the reason for Kirby's fear of changing to the current standard differs in both versions. In the original, I didn't like the design of 64 Kirby. Today, I like all the Kirby designs from 1992 to now. It's the personality change I don't like, and I'll probably never warm up to it. Kirby became a lot less self aware and a lot more... primative (I'm putting it very very nicely).

Also, I must stress that BKi is based off of the Adventure sprite, since the in game art and the promotional art often differed wildly (See Poppy, Twister, Chilly, and others). However, he did have a few additions given to him after Nightmare in Dream Land that are part of his current design, making him a hybrid of sorts.

This comic is WAY overdue. I wanted to have it finished by Mother's Day earlier this year. Before that, shoot, maybe sometime last year? Also, I tried a different method of clean up here, with some inks. Problem is that cleaning up the older comics in this collection was time consuming sometimes, but using this method, I can't really do fine background details (especially faces of distant characters) because the pen tip is too fat. Well, I'll keep playing around unitl I find a happy medium somewhere.

Nidoqueen does her best Charlotte impression.

Once again, Kine proves that he's the best character in this whole series. No wonder it's actually about him and Blade Knight inc. Anyway, this was the last comic set from folder 2. Finally. Inching closer to those delicious extras...

Went out and bought some better, more expensive inks. I'm liking these so far, they allow me to make thinner and smaller, more precise lines. I may continue with this clean up method.

It was only a matter of time before I got to that comic. However, something seems different... Now that we (including myself) have a better idea what kind of girl Nidorina is, it's more fitting that she plays up a cute angle, with some big ol' eyes and knee high socks.

I'm just rolling out the easy comparables. Since I've started up again, I began to make more of effort to make Dream Land look more like Dream Land. At least, I want to make Pop Star feel like a different planet, common structures aside (even Air Ride had typical looking skyscrapers). While doing so, it dawned on me that the anime didn't. You'd think the official show would've pushed the otherworldliness of the planet, too. Not that I care, but still. However, most of the manga do, which brings me to another point...

How do you like that? It's now been long enough that Pokemon Gold/Silver itself is the old RPG battle (as the original PPB#8 states). Didn't think this comic would survive this long, or even resurface in the first place. Also, reference to the MissingoNo virus from Poke Tales.

So what was that point back on page 76? Just that while I knew this would be my favorite collection before I even started, I really love the direction of this one, as well. It's a lot more intentional, and the character models are way better, and cuter as well (well, Kirby still looks like he's from 1998 but anyway). And when I look at these Pointless Poke Battles, I almost feel like their reaching a manga/4 koma kind of level of attention. Then again, my style seems to be west-eastern by default as I just go with whatever's cuter/funnier for the frame anyway.

I think it's funny how I time these stories unintentionally. This one's uploaded 6 days before Valentine's Day, and it's all about love and friendships. In all seriousness, the ACTUAL reason I included this story (even though I didn't need to, much like the pool party one) was because I felt I should at least include a Chikorita story before I finally quit the AU collections. Plus, it shows the much needed bonding between Chikorita and Nidorina, who prior to this event were on OK terms at the best of times. This story is also necessary characterization for Nidorina, in that it presents her in the role that she's plays the best...

The top comic is a lot more significant than it looks, considering how much of a brat Chikorita has been to everyone, including the whole "Princess Chikorita" incident. This is the same girl that was once sent to a military camp to be straightened out. You'll just have to take my word for it, Chikorita bonding with Nidorina, even a little bit, is a big deal.

That's Lucy from Hello! Pac-Man / Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures. I'm probably one of the remaining ten people on Earth who remember the game, and likely the only person who's ever illustrated Lucy period.

Chikorita wouldn't be Chikorita without being deceitful and opportunistic!

Oy, this story... this one was a long time coming due to general disinterest. Not because of the story itself, but because of the contents within and that I'd have to redraw them. That's right, I'm talking about none other than... a Pokemon Battle. If you recall Royally Screwed (that's the Nidoqueen debut story with the Dream Land Tourney), I stalled a bit between updates for that one, too. Thing is, I hate drawing Pokemon battles. I don't even like Pokemon battles in the games, the only time they're interesting is in the anime when I didn't have to be the unfortunate soul who had to animate them. Pokemon are so much more fun to draw when they're just living life.

Additionally, I'm not keen on drawing Pokemon I don't feel like drawing just for the sake of variety and story, especially when they're large and have too many parts. It was easier the first time around because I could get away with drawing by memory, and only two of us ever really saw the comic so who cared about being way off model? These days? Not so much and there's no excuse with image searches. Ugh. I'm gonna dredge through this one, but the light at the end of the tunnel is that this is the last Pokemon battle in the entire collection, so soldier through I must...

Also worth mentioning, in case you haven't noticed, this comic is done digitally instead of with pencils and inks on paper. I'm experimenting here, but I may switch it up between digital and paper after this story.

For the record, Kine's physically strongest Pokemon are Nidoqueen, Miltank, Nidorino, Nidorina and the seldom seen Lapras, with Nidorina sitting on the bottom end and Lapras at the top for obvious reasons. However, whereas Nidorino and Miltank are about brute force and throwing their weight around, Nidorina and Nidoqueen are tactical fighters.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first use of "Nido-san". It didn't mean anything yet. Heh, it doesn't mean anything now.

They're also just plain crazy.

I love it when Nidorina is scaled next to anyone taller than she is. I dunno, it makes her appear cuter when you realize she only looks tall next to a bunch of kids and ball shaped aliens. Also, trivia time: In the original, Nidorina pauses Hitmonchan to use Lovely Kiss to OHKO him, considering that Lovely Kiss (or Demon's Kiss in Japan) is a move that actually faints the user (based on it's "realistic" effect, not the in-game work around). It goes along with Nidorina's usual method of charming her way up the ladder to save time and energy.

When sketching out the thumbnail draft, I had her holding her hand out to stop Hitmonchan like you see here, and while I was ready to proceed as usual, I noticed that she was in the prime position to blast out a Blizzard attack. The pose really lended itself to the action (or inaction in Nidorina's nonchalance), so the new method of Hitmonchan's surprise KO wrote, or rather, drew itself.

Here she lies. PG 01 - 102, RIP Dorky Nidorina. For the rest of the story, she will be succeeded by her twin, Serious Nidorina.

Using some language I'm sure I've heard Nidorina say, what a butthole. This story's true antagonist shows himself, and he was with us the whole time. Man... Never trust a nightmare.

This page here is the reason this story was necessary. While it includes some additional details about Son of Nightmare, and also gave Miltank and Hitmontop something to do, I wanted to provide the canon reason why Nidorina no longer fights, and this is it.

Hallelujah, at last! It's over. The funny thing is, both of Kine's ex-Pokemon won, but neither of them keep the trophy. I guess just proving their strength was enough.

These are the major players you'll see going in. It's all about the familial unit.

It's forever, now. No turning back.

Although undocumented, her clowning started earlier still as soon as Pop-Pop demonstrated the concept of being a jokester. She's just now taking it to Kindergarten.

Setting a standard. This is not to say that Nini hasn't had days where she gets into fights or snaps (you'll see her do a little of this in AVOIDANCE), but generally she tries to be loving because she really wants to be the best big sister possible, and she knows she'll get way further with love and kindness than yelling and telling.

This was one of those "I better cover something I should've brought attention to earlier" comics. I would have liked it if this was before BUTTHAND, but what's here is here, and at least it's not too far in. Also, things are different once you serialize vs. just doing something to fill a week quota.

More truth in visual storytelling.

There's a couple of important points to make, here. One is that Nini is about... six? Seven?... in this story. She has no concept of Pokemon trainers beyond schoolyard urban legends, and maybe quick embellished answers from adults. The point was to show how scary this might all be to a little kid. But more importantly, we get a peek into a deep fear that Nini legitimately has of her family being torn apart. As soon as she had siblings come into her life, they became the most important thing to her. At this age, having anything happen to them that she herself couldn't do a thing about, but would constantly blame herself for would be... devastating to say the least. By the end, she realizes that she took the rumors too far and started projecting, and what probably started out a little goofy really scared Didi, so she makes up by being as nice to Didi as possible.

And now, something light!

Oh my, bare bellies and underwears! Give this comic a PG-13 rating. :P

A rare color comic was spotted. I do wonder how I responded to video games when I was Didi's age (4 and a half/5ish). This is one of those personal stories where I'm actually reaching back in my own childhood, and then retelling it through different eyes and more actors, so I don't really know if I'm Nini or Didi specifically. I'm pretty sure I was a combination of both girls. It also serves as a character moment, as Didi is easily stimulated and excitable, a trait that carries on throughout her life. And finally, that game system is, like, all the systems up to Gamecube. That's the thing about working in an unknown time frame of the past in an alternate universe, I can reference whatever I want and get away with it.

This was about the point I started focusing on the other family members. I might as well, you'll be seeing them a lot. Arnie was always seen in the kitchen but it wasn't really clear that he does this for a living until about now and definitely in SMOKEHOUSE/AVOIDANCE. Overall, we see Arnie's a big softy who takes his culinary skills seriously!

I grew more attached to this guy thanks to this story in particular. It's very funny I ended up doing Dumb Big Sister before I got to the homecoming story in She's One of a Kind, because while important characterizations are consistent, Arnie would have just been the "unauthoritative chef dad" with not much characterization otherwise. Doing this first kind of allows me to approach that story with a bit more zest and liveliness for the entire family.

As you'll note, a sense of continuity starts kicking in at about SAUSAGE, double down gag comics aside (UGLY and BAWW, SALUTATION and HANDSHAKE, the kind of thing you'd see in 4komas). It's just been establishing personalities of Nini and Didi when possible until then, and seeing who influences who, but now we start playing with things and getting hands dirty.

Based entirely on interactions between a mother and a child on a train (with some daily coffee shop cuteness I happen to overhear thrown in). This wasn't part of the planned lineup, but it was so cute I had to retell it. Also, little children are really sing songy. They sing everything! The parents must have done a lot of singing to them when they were toddlers.

Oh ho ho, I planned this series of events so early... I knew Nini's behavior would be a sticking point to Dori while she was still trying to figure out what it's like to raise a daughter, and I knew she'd be oblivious to her child feeling crushed on the inside by words she once said somewhat innocuously. She needed to hear similar words coming from someone else to realize just how much she hurt Nini. This story was also inspired by a retreat thing I attended once, where a lot of people opened up about their problems, and in almost far too many cases it stemmed from a moment in childhood where a parent or parents did or said something that made their children feel inadequate, and they could never live up to them in their minds after that point. It's one of those takeaways where it's like, if only that was nipped in the bud sooner, but people have to be open enough to talk, and receptive enough to listen, no matter what the age. A story was told where something similar had happened (a child misinterpreting, felt unloved internally), so I knew I had to go through with these.

Returning to form in a way.

This is the promotional cover/title for when I first started this. It was going to be way faster in that the ages just zipped by, but I decided to really slow it down so that I could get in as many kid events as possible. Also, it was going to be all over the place chronologically, meaning as opposed to following the ages upward, they could be at an age for any story just as long as it came to mind. I figured that would be confusing as nobody ever evolves (Nini only does so during the Johto adventure), and body types don't change that much, leaving you to only judge by size and possibly subject.

Displayed when "new content week" ended, which was with IDENTITY being the last.

And then the return due to demand, allowing me to finish the first set. The funny thing is that these are slightly older versions of Nini and Didi than the entire first production shows (I guess keeping it in the spirit of other promos). You can tell because Didi seems a bit more autonomous and self aware of her matching Nini's idiocy compared to her more wide eyed 5 year old self.