How many times have you heard someone say“if I had his money, I could do things my way?”

How many times have you heard someone say“if I had his money, I could do things my way?”But little they know that it’s so hard to findone rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.—“A Satisfied Mind,” Porter Wagoner (1955)It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #21 - Freeside VCollaborative Issue!Guest Artist: @tarberrymentats​Archive Links«« First | « Previous || Next » | Last »»Read IKROAH on Archive of Our OwnNotes / Original Pencils / TranscriptNotesOkay so here’s the thing. Yes, in-game there are sewers beneath Freeside that you can enter and explore. Yes, as far as dangers go, there are ghouls in parts of the sewer. No, none of these sewer tunnels actually allow you to subvert the Vegas gate via subterranean means, like I very confidently thought they did when I first outlined this volume of IKROAH and scripted this issue probably close to a year ago. Yes, it would have required rewriting the entire outline of Volume 2 to account for this because Agnes would have to get out of Freeside a different way. Yes, I care much more about telling a strong and coherent narrative than I do about what strictly happens in the video game Fallout: New Vegas. Yes, this is very sexy and cool of me.Everybody give a big round of applause to @tarberrymentats​ for crushing the art again just like they did last December, they’ve been one of my favorite artists since I first ever became a part of this community and it’s been great to become such good friends outside of just the Fallout fandom. I love it so much when I get a guest ink-and-colorist because adhering so close to my pencils creates this really interesting hybrid of our styles that you just don’t get from any other kind of collaboration. It’s an especial honor to have had Halk work on this issue specifically, too; I couldn’t help but get the number one ghoul aficionado to assist with an appearance from of my favorite minor NPCs in the game: Rotface! He was fun to write, and fun to use as a way to show a little bit more of Agnes’ character and history. First that “maniac medic” thing Beth mentioned, now this? What the fuck is her deal? Maybe we’ll finally find out for sure in an issue or two. Maybe.Also of note: IKROAH has a brand new font! Caveat Brush has been the font for all of the previous issues, but as my lettering has gotten much better and much more attentively professional over time, I started to disagree with it. The new font going forward is “Unmasked” from BlamBot, a possibly generic font that is nevertheless very suited for my purposes here.Original Pencils (click for full size)It felt really great to draw Agnes again after so long. With this issue primarily just being a conversation, I wanted to make sure the layout was interesting throughout, and conveyed the emotional beats and narrative focus very intentionally. I’ve included the original thumbnail sketches on the pencils for page 5, because that page had so much empty space anyway due to the way it looked in the final product. You can see a few alternate designs for the fifth page among them, such as a more typical-looking page, a dizzying overhead shot, and a close-up of the Lucky 38, but I went with the sort of “tunnel system” layout for Rotface’s dialogue rather than try to stack a bunch of balloons.You can also see on the fourth page an original sketch for Agnes’ “flashback” panel (to the very first issue of IKROAH) that wound up getting replaced for old art. It just didn’t look good with the whole page around it, and using the old panel from Issue #1 carried a lot more weight. It was still a pretty cool design, though, so I’m glad you can all still see it in the pencils.And lastly, there’s the final page, which was actually added after I had already scripted and drawn the entire issue. The issue originally ended just with Agnes walking away, but it felt like it was missing something, and this extra coda with Agnes and Cass entering the sewers was a much better final note. I just want to say, going into this issue, it was probably my least favorite that I had scripted just because it felt far too purely functional as a matter of getting Agnes from Point A to Point B. But it went through many dialogue revisions, especially during the process of lettering it after it was already drawn, that kept the same idea while adding much more emotional depth, and now I’m instead very fond of this issue and what it does for Agnes’ character. Tumblr was being very difficult with letting these particular pencils be viewed at full size on desktop, so just click here (1), here (2), and here (3) for them instead.TranscriptEXT. FREESIDE, a street corner. A ghoul known as ROTFACE sits on the sidewalk against the building of a pre-war water filter installation business.Suddenly, over him, is:AGNES: Is this seat taken?ROTFACE: It is if you’re asking, ugly. Take a hike. Unless you maybe care to spare a cigarette.AGNES SANDS sits down next to the ghoul.AGNES (sitting down): Thanks, Zeke.ROTFACE: Don’t mention it. How’re you doing, Agnes? S’been a while.AGNES: Yeah, I was, uh…shot in the head.ROTFACE: You’re fine other than that though, right?AGNES (weakly smiling): Yeah. Yeah, just peachy.ROTFACE: Y’know, I heard you were back in town—well, figured, because what I heard specifically was that you killed Dixon.AGNES (removing two cigarettes from a box): Oh. Well…there was, uh, well, it was this whole thing with the Followers*—CAP: *Last ish. -LouROTFACE: Oh, I’m well aware, ha ha. Grecks said he could hear Dr. Farkas chewing you out from four blocks away.AGNES (handing cigarette to Rotface): Zeke, I really don’t want to talk about it.ROTFACE: Alright, sorry. Tough break, Ag. I mean it.AGNES: Um…nice hat, by the way.ROTFACE: Aw, thanks! You think so? Cost a lotta caps, but man, worth it. Really brings out my eyes.AGNES: Wait—where’d you get the money?ROTFACE: Just because I’m a beggar doesn’t mean I can’t save up for stuff. something nice every once in a while. The last time I really got anything nice for myself was that steak dinner after my surgery. Besides, this is more of a long term investment. I spend my caps on food, that’s gone as soon as I eat it, right? But this hat? Bought it three weeks ago.AGNES: I worry about you…please don’t buy hats instead of food.ROTFACE: Bury me in it, then. If you worry so much, why don’t you buy me something to eat?AGNES: I would, Zeke, but…I can’t. I literally can’t. I’m broke.ROTFACE: Get your own corner to beg on, then.AGNES: I’m serious, Zeke, come on. I’m only here at all because I need to get on the Strip.ROTFACE: For business or pleasure?AGNES: Uh…no, it’s…I…I…A memory of blinding light from the barrel of a pistol, a gunshot, and then the silence and darkness of the grave.AGNES: There’s someone I’ve been trying to find.AGNES: But I blew the last caps I had here just trying to scrounge enough for the gate. AGNES: …I’m worried I’ve really fucked up.ROTFACE frowns sympathetically.ROTFACE: Y’knooow, I heard that security has been kind of lax at Mick and Ralph’s lately—AGNES: No. I’m not going to steal it, Zeke. And not from them.ROTFACE: Not gonna steal from Dixon either, or did you at least loot his corpse?AGNES glares fiercely at ROTFACE.ROTFACE: …eheh. Sorry.ROTFACE: Well…alright, fair. I’d be a bad friend to make you go back to that shit, anyway. So let me be a good friend. Maybe I can get you onto the Strip.AGNES is stunned. She leans toward ROTFACE urgently.AGNES: You’ve got enough cash for the gate check!?ROTFACE: Ha! Good one. If I did then I sure as hell still wouldn’t be in Freeside. No, what I do got for you is a damn good tip: you want to go in? Go under. But it’s dangerous.ROTFACE: What you do is pry open the manhole on east Fremont and take the old sewer tunnels. It’s gonna be miles of maze-like bullshit, sure, but all the pre-war stuff’s still connected. The first ladder you’re gonna want goes up behind the Ultra-Luxe, I think. Squatters used to sneak onto the Strip this way sometimes, but it’s been a while, might be sealed off by now…might be. I’m not sure. That’s not why they stopped.ROTFACE: No…that’d be because of the ghouls. And not the kind capable of a pleasant conversation like moi.AGNES: Huh. If it is sealed, would you know with what?ROTFACE: Probably nothing that you couldn’t pick apart in your sleep. Shit’s gotta flow somewhere, and sewers need maintenance, so it shouldn’t be all tombed up with concrete like what Mr. House did to that one vault hotel.ROTFACE: But yeah, that’s it. Fuck the gate check. Get a little messy, or just a whole lot lucky—and Agnes Sands is on the Vegas Strip for free.ROTFACE: Really gotta watch those ghouls, though. Get caught, and you may not spend any money, but it still might cost an arm and a leg. Know what I mean?AGNES: Thanks. It’s, uh…at least I know what to expect.*CAP: Wouldn’t be the first time. See IKROAH #11. -LouROTFACE: No problem, friend. And I’ll sell my hat for a nice grassy plot if you don’t come back.AGNES (standing up): You really mean that?ROTFACE: Hell no. You’ve told me before that you’d want to get cremated, anyway. Now scram, I don’t need deadbeat beggars like you hogging my corner.AGNES (walking away): Thanks, Zeke. I’ll be seeing you.ROTFACE (waving goodbye): Aw, don’t mention it, Agnes. And best of luck to you in Vegas!EXT. ELSEWHERE IN FREESIDE.AGNES walks a few blocks to reconvene with ROSE OF SHARON CASSIDY, and they share a few words before they continue walking together.ROTFACE (cont.): I always wanted to go and try the machines. Y’know, slots…but if I was a good gambler then I probably wouldn’t be a beggar, ha ha.EXT. ELSEWHERE STILL, EAST FREMONT STREET.AGNES and CASS approach a sewer lid over a manhole in the middle of the dilapidated street.ROTFACE (cont): There’s always some kind of system in place that just makes sure you lose anyway, right?CASS casts a nervous glance toward AGNES.ROTFACE (cont): So it’d probably be a bad idea no matter what.AGNES returns the look impassively.ROTFACE (cont.): There’s an old saying like that, I think, but…gun to my head, I can’t remember how the whole thing goes…The manhole lid is off, and AGNES and CASS are gone. -- source link

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