Original webcomic by Yuumei (Wenqing Yan)
PG 13 Genre: Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Fiction, Psychological
Living under an authoritarian regime is not fun. Extensive censorship meant no Facebook, no Youtube, and no porn.
Fortunately for Vance, being a hacker makes scaling the Great Firewall a walk in the park. With the free web at his fingertips, Vance should be happy but he’s not. Maybe there’s something missing in his life that porn just cannot replace.
Maybe it’s a girlfriend.
So it’s not weird at all to hack into the university to assign himself a hot female roommate, right? That’s just taking fate into your own hands, or something along those lines, right?
Too bad fate had other plans in mind and Vance is dragged into a crazy conspiracy to overthrow the government by his most-definitely-not-female roommate.
College is meant to be exciting, but not this exciting. Between failed dates, failed grades, and maybe not quite failed hacks, Vance will slowly come to question the morality of his actions and the true price of freedom.
Is this what democracy looks like?
Part 1 of Chapter 0. The chapter is actually very long so it's split it into many parts. It has a much lighter atmosphere than the intro.
The intro is a scene from after the revolution began, now we're going back in time to see how it all started. Stick along for the ride!
Sometimes problems can be turned into opportunities.
Remember, kids, you should never trust strangers on the internet!
Now what could Robin be possibly up to?
The bait here is referring to the social engineering technique of baiting.
And yes, Vance is eating Red Cow Crunch with Red Cow.
Yes, that is a Red Cow brand pony plush that they're licking....
2 Girls 1 Horse is a parody of the infamous 2 Girls 1 Cup (If you don't know what that is, don't look it up, you're better off not knowing) and the horse is referring to the Trojan Horse malware.
Frey is in cyberspace stealing government documents! Near the end, the glitchy text says Zero Day, which is a type of computer exploit that has yet to be discovered or fixed by the masses. This allows Frey to go undetected by the antivirus programs because the pattern of his attack isn't in the antivirus data base yet.
The quote "Bodies upon the Gears" is from Mario Savio's speech during the Free Speech Movement in 1964 at UC Berkeley (which happens to be where I went for college.)
This scene was inspired by a personal experience I had as a child in China. Like in the story, I was in the car with my dad when a group of street children came begging for money. My dad immediately locked the doors and explained to me that these kids were known to stab and rob people when the passengers open the window to give them food or money. And like in the story, my dad also grew up in extreme poverty, having to eat rats for survival in his childhood, but instead of sympathizing with the street children, he believed that anyone can pull themselves up like the way he did so there was no need for charity.
There is no moral to take away from this situation. I can't say what would have been the right thing to do at that moment, but I did gain a better sense of the class struggle that existed and still exists. I want to show how ignorant and spoiled Vance and Alex were, and the kind of country that Frey and Robin wants to change.
This is the final part of Chapter 0
Thank you all for reading my comic, and special thanks to all my friends who have helped me with various aspects of the story. I really couldn't have done it without everyone's advice and constant encouragement <3
A new character has appeared! Her name is Jen, the guerrilla graffiti artist. Up next, Frey and Vance will have a lovely little conversation.
Special thanks to my friends for helping me come up with the censored title~
Since I know we're all so mature on the internet here --- a penetration tester is someone who works in information security and tests if a website or workplace is safe from getting its data stolen or compromised --- not the dirty stuff.
Frey doesn't actually work for the university's infosec department, he's just pretending to be a person of authority in order to social engineer Vance into working for him. The touch on the shoulder is also strategically placed to distract Vance from focusing too much attention on Frey's fake work ID.
After a crazy year of hiatus, Fisheye Placebo is back!
I'm really sorry about the long break between updates. If you haven't heard already, I designed and co-founded the Axent Wear cat ear headphones, which took away 99% of my time. I'm happy to announce that the headphones will be ready to ship soon and I will finally get my old life back!
Expect more frequent updates soon! And thank you all for being so supportive and patient with me during the stressful times dealing with headphones manufacturing.
The new character is Cocoa! I modeled their art studio after what my own dream art studio would look like, part greenhouse and filled with weird and quirky things :D
What could be in those shredded paper? How are they going to piece them all together? Find out next time!
In other news, I am looking into getting a Patreon account in the near future to help fund this comic. I'm very busy with lots of projects, and the intense amount of drawing I did at the beginning of working on Fisheye Placebo actually caused me permanent hand damage. Now my right hand hurts a lot if I'm drawing for too long (even though I take breaks and do hand exercises), and the nails on my right hand are perpetually deformed from constantly gripping a pen (I went to 3 doctors about this and none of them could help) Hopefully with more support on Patreon, I'll be able to afford a helper to lessen the load on my hand.
Fisheye Placebo is back after a 3 year hiatus! In the past, I had hurt my hand with Repetitive Strain Injury caused by overworking. Now the pain limits how much I can draw each day.
But I didn’t want to give up so I hired a team of amazing 3D artists to help me continue the comic. Now, instead of drawing things from scratch, I paint over the 3D characters and backgrounds they’ve created, which saves me a lot of time and hand pain.
I need your support to keep my team going. We are all artists who need to make a living, and you can help us keep creating comics by becoming a Patron on my Patreon. As Patrons you’ll get special previews of new comic chapters as well as HD files of the comics! And best of all you won’t have to wait another 3 years for the next chapter :)
Art & Story by Wenqing Yan, aka Yuumei
Character Modeling: Sozo Maika
Clothes modeling, Rigging, Scene Setup: Colin Barton
Other team members: YuumeiArt.com/credits
The Image Recognition software featured in this chapter is inspired by real life examples. I talk more in depth about the research that went into the designs here.
I can't believe the thing I'm most proud of in this chapter is Vance's underwear design XD
Art, Story & Design by Wenqing Yan AKA Yuumei
Environment, Rigging, Scene Setup: Colin Barton
Character Modeling: Sozo Maika
Outfit Modeling: Bryan Link
Other team members: YuumeiArt.com/credits
Another new chapter! I'm aiming to speed up these updates more and more as I get more used to the new workflow and as my hand recovers more from physical therapy
I'm sure most artists, myself included, has felt like Jen at some point in their life. Wondering if their art even makes a difference, wondering if all the effort is even worth it. I especially felt that way when my hand first got injured from overworking, and for years I didn't post as often and was depressed from various reason. Life is much better these days and I have a lot of hope and inspirations for the future. If anyone else out there is feeling hopeless, don't give up! Inspiration will find you.
Art, Story & Design by Wenqing Yan AKA Yuumei
Outfit modeling, Rigging, Scene Setup: Colin Barton
Character Modeling: Sozo Maika
Outfit Modeling: Bryan Link
Other team members: YuumeiArt.com/credits
Why can't we all just be like Bob Ross? And what will Jen do next? Find out in the next part!
In other news, with the help of the 3D team, I can finish drawing a new strip in about 10-15 days, but it usually takes 2 months to finish a strip due to the time it takes for the team to finish the models. If you can help support my team on Patreon, we will be able to get more help and release new chapters much faster than before! :D
Art, Story & Design by Wenqing Yan AKA Yuumei
Crowd, Rigging, Scene Setup: Colin Barton
Character Modeling: Sozo Maika
Crowd Hair Modeling: Bryan Link
Background Modeling: Sean Hummel and Bran Yordanova
This is the last part of Chapter 2! Thank you all for staying with my story for so long even after the 3 year hiatus. I'm excited have finished this chapter after so many years, and excited to begin Chapter 3 of Fisheye Placebo. The next chapter will focus on Vance and his development (and more trolling by Frey of course). Stay tuned!
Special thanks to my amazing team of 3D artists who helped me get back into comic making after hurting my hand. My comics wouldn't be possible without them!
Art, Story & Design by Wenqing Yan AKA Yuumei
Rigging and Scene Setup: Colin Barton
Character Modeling: Sozo Maika
Jen clothes Modeling: Bryan Link
A new chapter has begun! And now I also have a Discord where I’ll be sharing behind the scenes art, discuss plot, spoilers, and more! The Twatter, Instaspam, Dumbler, and Faceshook accounts seen in this chapter are cameos of Discord members :D If you want to cameo in Fisheye Placebo, hang around Discord for the next opportunity :)
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
Cyber Vance has entered the scene! In the past I’ve only shown the cyber representation of Frey, so I’m very excited to finally show off Vance’s design :) What will he find when the pieces are put together? Find out next time!
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my new Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
It was a lot of fun designing and showing a representation of how Vance and Frey hacks :D Vance used computer vision to match the edges of each shred of paper to piece them back together, and Frey used Rainbow Tables to get as many passwords as possible from the stolen hashes.
What will they uncover from the fruits of their effort? Find out next time!
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my new Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
Thanks for reading another chapter! I will be slowly revealing more of Frey and Robin’s past as well as more shenanigans with Vance. Stay tuned!
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my new Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
Robin is presented with a difficult choice. There is no right path, but she will bare the burden of each decision.
This scene is inspired by all the reports about how the Chinese government would hire thugs to beat up people at night to get what they want. From stealing land of the poor to silencing political opponents, the Chinese government embraces violence to the fullest.
As of this post, the Chinese government has hired internet brigaders to mass report me on Instagram to silence my support of freedom for Hong Kong. Be it online or offline, they will do whatever they can to take away free speech.
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
A glimpse of Robin’s past. Layer by layer, the stoic front will be pealed away.
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
What a long chapter! My hand hurts from all the drawing ahaha. The homeless person is based on a graffiti by Banksy and he will be making another appearance in future chapters.
This chapter was made during the Coronavirus pandemic. All of my conventions have been canceled so my income has been cut in half. If you can, please support my comics on Patreon or my online shop so that I can keep creating <3
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
I’m back after a one year hiatus caused by hand pain. This time was a mysterious painful lump that appeared in my hand, and due to the pandemic taking up all the doctors, I couldn’t get it checked out for a long time. Turns out the lump is a condition called Trigger Finger caused by gripping the pen too often. There’s no cure but a physical therapist friend gave me some great hand exercises and now I feel much better. Expect more chapters and art from now on! I feel reborn :D
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
This concludes Ch2 Mutable
I’ve been looking forward to making this chapter for a long time. All the characters played a part at the end, and Vance is beginning to wake up.
Ch3 will continue the story, stay tuned!
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
Fisheye Placebo is back! Sorry for the hiatus, but I'll aim to update the next part soon~
The chapter title "SYN" is short for Synchronize
You can get behind scene looks, discussions, and more at my Discord
If you enjoyed this chapter, please support my comic on Patreon.com/Yuumei
The flashback protest in this chapter is inspired by the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. My own parents participated in smaller protests in other parts of the country right before I was born. Luckily they survived, but when I asked them about it, they only expressed regret and believed all their efforts were futile.
It was interesting to see how time and experience changes people.
Someone really loves his cookies~
What is Phase 1 of Frey’s grand plan? Find out next time when all the pieces align.
At the end of this chapter, Robin is quoting Frey from Ch1: Part 5
More paths cross, what will their meeting bring?
Follow the making of each chapter on my Discord
Vance experiences the beauty of art class~ how will they tackle this new project?
Follow the making of each chapter on my Discord
Sorry for the long hiatus! I got boggled down by a bunch of commissions but I have since closed commissions forever, so future chapters should updated more frequently.
Follow the making of each chapter on my Discord
