jainavogt

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Trials of the Jedi, by Jake Bartok.

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i am actually insufferable once I get comfortable with someone

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dear lord, please take all life problems and responsibilities away from fanfic writers but also make them financially stable and happy with nothing to worry about so they can happily focus on writing and posting fanfiction. amen

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After a while of struggling to create, I'm continuing this little series of characters. Next up, Dame Darci Dumond, one of my oldest and most dear.

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Next up after a mental health break, Arctura being the hot, buff muscle mommy she is. I don't have anything eloquent to say, I just like big muscle demon ladies.

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The dysphoria monster pays me a visit. I have a short beard at the moment for *reasons* and it’s been really hard to look at myself. Fortunately, it won’t be for too much longer and I can soon go back to being myself.

Cameos from @biblicallyaccuratemoth and a mallet belonging to a certain red-headed gal by @crazygnomenclature

Thank you Mina for letting me take DM for a spin, it was a lot of fun doing his expressions.

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Next in this little series of characters is Annalise, whom I don't draw nearly enough given how often I think about her.

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she’s definitely pulling late nights playing CoD and dunking on sexist men

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Elzar Phase 1 & Phase 3 versions

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The firebrands

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Maeve is next in this little series of pieces I can't stop doing. Really proud of the background on this one, didn't think it was gonna turn out good til it was already done.

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How to Write a Character Who Feels Like Throwing Up

When fear, dread, or guilt gets sickening—literally—your character is consumed with a gut-clenching feeling that something is very, very wrong. Here's how to write that emotion using more than the classic "bile rose to the back of their throat".

Start with the Stomach

This isn’t just about discomfort. It’s about a complete rebellion happening inside their body.

Their stomach twists like a knot that keeps pulling tighter

A cold sweat beads on their neck, their palms, their spine

Their insides feel sludgy, like everything they’ve eaten is suddenly unwelcome

They double over, not from pain, but because sitting still feels impossible

Add Sensory Overload

Vomiting isn’t just a stomach reaction—it’s the whole body.

Their mouth goes dry, and then too wet

Their jaw tightens, trying to contain it

A sudden heat blooms in their chest and face, overwhelming

The back of their throat burns—not bile, but the threat of it

Breathing becomes a conscious effort: in, out, shallow, sharp

Emotional Triggers

Nausea doesn’t always need a physical cause. Tie it to emotion for more impact:

Fear: The kind that’s silent and wide-eyed. They’re frozen, too sick to speak.

Guilt: Their hands are cold, but their face is flushed. Every memory plays like a film reel behind their eyes.

Shock: Something just snapped inside. Their body registered it before their brain did.

Ground It in Action

Don’t just describe the nausea—show them reacting to it.

They press a fist to their mouth, pretending it’s a cough

Their knees weaken, and they lean on a wall, pretending it’s just fatigue

They excuse themselves quietly, then collapse in a bathroom stall

They swallow, again and again, like that’ll keep everything down

Let the Consequences Linger

Even if they don’t actually throw up, the aftermath sticks.

A sour taste that won’t leave their mouth.

A pulsing headache

A body that feels hollowed out, shaky, untrustworthy

The shame of nearly losing control in front of someone else

Let Them Be Human

A character feeling like vomiting is vulnerable. It's real. It’s raw. It means they’re overwhelmed in a way they can’t hide. And that makes them relatable. You don’t need melodrama—you need truth. Capture that moment where the world spins, and they don’t know if it’s panic or flu or fear, but all they want is to get out of their own body for a second.

Don't just write the bile. Write the breakdown.

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On Transgender Day of Visibility, I got a message from Fran (@crazygnomenclature of Tiff and Eve) who was over the moon having just learned that a comic artist she’s a fan of was trans.  The artist’s name didn’t come up at first, but when Fran said it was Dana Simpson, I was like, “Oh, DC Simpson, I know her!  She made Ozy and Millie.”

I hadn’t kept up with her work in recent years, but back in high school (graduated HS in 2006 for a frame of reference), Dana was a god to me.  Ozy and Millie was one of the webcomics in my usuals and I absolutely loved everything about it. 

There was one storyline in particular that really stays with me today, when their school puts on a play… but not just any play, they put on… “The Story of Caulk”.

I mean, first off, that’s absolutely hilarious and I still giggle when I think about it.  As an adult, I’ve caulked three bathtubs.  I like to think that being introduced to caulk as a teenager prepared me for sealant based home maintenance later in life. 

But that plotline also had some poignant messaging regarding gender and how kids interact with each other, and has massive value beyond its comedy.

And that’s kind of what Dana Simpson was for me back in high school.  I’m not sure that I can find what she said at the time (or if it even is still online at all anymore), but I recall reading something she said about her comics being a way to create conversations about more serious issues that are otherwise difficult to get started.  I believe she said that comics were a way to open a dialogue by slipping these issues “under the radar”.

Now, it’s been twenty years since then so I miiiiiiight be misattributing that, but I’m almost certain it was Dana who said it.

She got me thinking about a lot of things.  It would still be about four or five years until I started my first comic strip, Corpse Run, but her work was a major part of the reason why I wanted to be a comic artist.

When she came out as transgender, she got me thinking more.

I knew I was queer, I knew I was questioning my gender, I knew that being transgender was a thing… but until she came out, there was no one in my sphere of life in any capacity that actually was trans. 

Her coming out made me realize that this was a kind of self acceptance and love that I could practice.  It took another decade and a half to eventually begin my transition, but without Dana, I’m not sure I ever get to where I’m at now.

She had that big an impact on me, and I’m forever grateful.

As a note on the second panel in this comic, there are many more folks that I’ve met and befriended in these last few months, and in the event you aren’t shown in that panel, I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t know, love, and appreciate you all.  These are drawings that I already had on hand, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!

Folks in the second panel:

@maddiee-line - @kaylasartwork - @bubbleverseart - @lynnsenpai - @lariumbreon - @pennymations - @deadeyedfae - @haarlow - @cholerascum - @welldrawnfish - @paintedbytosia @biblicallyaccuratemoth - @crazygnomenclature (represented by Tiff and Eve)

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I've been possessed by one of Narise's ghosts, and all they want is for me to do more of these pieces with character names on them. So...I have no choice.

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New character, who this? Meet Aliénor, member of my character Darci's old adventuring party and Darci's best friend. She plays in a punk band and wields the music of the universe as a weapon. She may also have overthrown a dictator.

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Almost called the Leveler “Nameless Sycophant” but Marchion loves it too much for that