Today is the day we load the truck. All that packing and now we have to lift all the heavies up a ramp, engage in some tetris-level organizational skills, try to sleep it off on a pull-out couch, then drive it all seven hours away only to have to lift all that heavy stuff again down a ramp and up the stairs. Great times for me. Just let it be over…

Art supplies are packed, tablets are packed, computer remains online but I’ll be taking that down this weekend. Chances of art from me are pretty slim right now as my only remaining medium is my phone. But don’t worry, I should be settling into my new hone in Vegas around Christmas!

SO, move is absolutely happening now. We got a house, I got a job, we even got the plane tickets. Now I fully expect to spend the next three weeks alternating between ‘trying to keep it all in’, 'complete meltdown’ and 'emotionally exhausted’. For the record, I’m currently in the final category.

Yeah, I know I haven’t been super actively lately. At least, not in the artistic sense. I’ve been very busy at home making preparations. I’ll be driving out to Las Vegas this weekend to do some interviews and check out some places and, if everything goes well (or at least not catastrophically wrong) I’ll be moving to good ol’ Sin City. So I’ll probably continue to be quiet for the rest of the month as we make calls, pack and eventually move in late December. You’ll probably know once I’m there because I am just artistically backed up and I really want to get some things on a digital canvas. I’ll probably finish a few small things over the next few weeks but come January, I should be back to my usual schedule. Until then, my dear fans! Thanks for baring with me!

-TB

It was sixteen years ago… sixteen years since I first played Final Fantasy IX. The deep characters, bold style, whimsical yet dramatic universe; it quickly became my favorite JRPG of all time. But for all the love I had for the game, I never actually beat it. After four complete play-throughs, the final boss always proved too difficult. The game always ended with the known universe destroyed, the crystal of all life gone and their memories forgotten. I never got closure.

Until tonight. Nearly twice my age from my first attempt, I defeated Necron and for the first time ever, I saw the true ending. I saw a world saved, I saw a petty thief find love and meaning, I saw a villain find forgiveness, I saw their memories live on. I cried. I felt an emptiness that had always lingered lift from my shoulders. And perhaps the most important thing I brought away from it all is this:

We all find ourselves in our stories. These books, these shows, these games, they are all art and it’s that art that shapes us. I don’t often think about how these characters influenced my teenage self but I honestly do not believe that I would be the same person without them. So to those who create art, who tell stories, we thank you. We are the lovers, the believers, the hopeful and the desperate and we thank you.