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Context: I got this random idea listening to this song for Crumbled Castles AU where Dark Cacao and Pure Vanilla end up 'defeating' the cake creature from the intro, but Pure Vanilla decides to spare it. Yet in his anger, he ends up spilling the information that he and Dark Cacao are still alive.

Probably not a good thing to do to a still-living enemy that can afterwards give this information away. So much for keeping a low profile.

I threw this together in one day because my birthday is tomorrow and this is how I chose to celebrate it. The original sketchbook doodles had it taking place in a village right in front of Dark Enchantress herself after it was almost destroyed, but this one is in a canyon with several shepherds and villagers who were trying to locate their sheep. As you can see, they didn't make it.

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Him

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One frustrating thing about being inattentive and ADHD is that it feels like often I cannot think of story elements or plots without imagining and developing it through the lens of a song.

Listening to 'Fragile Things' and just gradually developing the scene in my head while Crumbled Castles quietly sits in a limbo like 'How do we actually transition into that potential scene happening?' How do you effectively transition from where you are into Hollyberry Kingdom? Do I want to make a chapter dedicated to their travels, do I want them to be there in the next chapter, do I want to cut away from the actual adventure? If I do go into how that venture goes, would it be repeating elements of the story that I've already covered before in terms of how the characters are dealing with the tragedy of the Vanilla Kingdom? If it's a filler chapter of travel or where smaller events happen, how do I make it significant and important to the story? Do I even have the time and energy to do so?

These are the questions that have been pestering and paralyzing me for the past month or so, and it's. Delightful /s. I really do want to do more Crumbled Castles, but the transition from one idea to another is honestly what's slowing me down at this point. It's rather sad because there are scenes I want to get around to, but they take time and patience to get to in the first place.

Meanwhile those scenes I have in my head are just... Getting more developed as I listen to music. Which is lovely, but still.

Anyway that's where I've been.

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'I'm going to take a break from focusing solely on the comic'

Proceeds to focus solely on the comic for 4-5 hours

AKA makes about 8 thumbnails with a Big Revelation to be revealed (to the character. Yes character. As in individual character)

Question is would it count as Chapter 1 or as Chapter 2? Because Chapter 1 seems long enough as it is.

Pure Vanilla gets to go a little feral. As a treat

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Hello, my lovely readers. I'm here to make an announcement: For the time being, Crumbled Castles will be going on hiatus.

It seems that I've drastically underestimated how much having a full-time job would impact my drawing time and motivation. I haven't been able to settle down to consistently work on the comic, and perhaps because the comic is probably the only thing I've been working on as a result, I've been feeling a touch creatively fatigued.

As a result, I've been severely falling behind on pages that I have ready to post.

I've talked in the past about trying to simplify the pages to be less set in stone and more sketchy, but I have a perpetual, unfortunate want to make things look as nice as I can before I get tired of working on it. It's a little bit difficult for me to 'keep it simple, stupid'. So I was hoping to finish all of Chapter 1 before trying for a simpler sketch style, but (as I've said) I've been having difficulty with it.

So! I've decided that I'm going to take a little bit to chill out about it. I'll still be working on the pages on and off, but it won't be a main priority, and I'll probably only start posting pages after I'm done with Chapter 1 and have finalized the thumbnails for Chapter 2. Which... I'm going to try very hard to be more loose and generous with.

I don't want to stress myself out about it too much. And I'm not going to lie, I feel like taking some time off would be good for the story, as well. As it is, Crumbled Castles is largely a series of story beats and concepts with little in the way to actually connect or transition from one point to the next, and I think taking some time to workshop that would be good, especially since the original thumbnails and a few other plot points have been discarded entirely.

This is supposed to be a fun experience for me, and I want to keep it that way. I have full confidence that you all will understand, and I do sincerely appreciate your patience.

I'll still be active on this blog, of course, posting occasional snippets or updates. This is mostly for my own health and, in correlation, the quality of the work. Unlike some projects that I've seen in a similar fashion, I am only one person.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns revolving around Crumbled Castles, my inbox is open. If you'd like to ask more general questions or comments about my other AUs branching from Crumbled Castles or about something else in general, feel free to send an ask or two @unregisteredcookie. I'm a very avid Tumblr user.

Once again, I apologize, but I'm confident that you understand, and I thank you all for that. It's time for me to take my own advice and not push myself too hard. Creative fatigue is exhausting to deal with, and I need to take a step back and pace myself.

Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a lovely rest of your day!

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Good plan.

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Wait. Am I a genius who posted the same page twice? Augh. Don't worry, I'll fix that. It's been a long week.

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Disassociation

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Previous < You Are Here > Next

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dark cacao spilled some jam on his shirt, might wanna wipe that off....

They're both getting new clothes soon, don't worry!

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do we see affogato at all?

I might be able to find some way to fit him in, but as of now, I don't really have a concrete plan for him. I came up with the concept for this AU before Affogato was released.

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Who was the crushed cookie in the beginning that Vanilla was trying to save? Also, does Vanilla know yet of Premier Custard’s death or is it just wishful thinking that he’s alive on his part.

The crushed cookie was one of the workers of the castle, one that Pure Vanilla knew by name. Who the cookie is doesn't really matter--Pure Vanilla knew a lot of his citizens.

Also, Pure Vanilla isn't sure whether Premier Custard is dead right now or not. All he can do is hope that he evacuated with everyone else and that he'll meet him again soon.

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Where are the other ancients? Are they still alive?

Man idk lol. I'm sure they're around somewhere...

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Everybody is freaking out about PV with sharp glass in his feet but Cacao's chest is bleeding through his clothes or is it old blood? D:

I mean.

I'm sure he's fine. I'm sure it's absolutely nothing. He probably just rolled over onto something and stained his gambeson a bit.

Yeah. I'm sure it's nothing. Nothing to worry about.

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pure vanilla needs some hard liquor after all that shit has happened

Trust me, he's going to want to wait on that liquor for a good while. I promise he's not anywhere close to being out of the woods just yet.

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Can Cacao go beserk in this AU? If so, is it hereditary??

Thusfar, he cannot go berserk. He's just a guy with too much stress and generational trauma on his shoulders. If anything's hereditary, it's said trauma.

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is dark choco still alive in this AU, and if so did he play a part in the destruction of the kingdom?

Somewhere out in the Kingdoms, there is a soldier, solemn and quiet, his hands and blade stained with jam and a darkness clouding behind his eyes. He lingers in half-remembered memory of a life he once held in his hands, a life once treasured and valued. And yet he threw it all away once upon a time, to secure his own desperate pursuit of power to protect those he loves.

Once upon a time, he thought he could be a hero. Once upon a time, he thought he could be good. Once upon a time...

It's a battle, truly, one predicated on regret and remorse. And it is one that he is starting to lose.

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I think you need to know this thought that's been bouncing in my head for a few hours:

Crumbled Castles PV can be summarized by the burning dog meme. You know the one.

Instead of a dog, it's PV.

Instead of fire, it's the ruins of a kingdom. Or several.

The fire is metaphorical. He feels this in his soul.

(As it turns out, everything was--in fact--not fine, and he will, indeed, wonder why the hell he allowed it to get as bad as it will end up being.)