puddingvalkyrie

[puddingvalkyrie]

Daily Sip 6/21

You can reblog this post.

You can make your own post.

You reblog someone else's snip!

Just tag it sipofsnips so everyone can find each other. ^.-

[puddingvalkyrie]

Show your Pride this June with a rainbow dragon!

[puddingvalkyrie]

PSST--would you like an **free** ARC (advanced review copy) of Spitfire: Rekindled before it releases on July 25th?

I'm looking for readers to give early, honest reviews of the first book in my queer, polyamorous romantasy series in trade for a free digital copy.

Applications are open until July 2nd:

[puddingvalkyrie]

Johann is responsible for the rent as the local Count, and he keeps it as low as possible. But the villagers worry that the crown will demand a price hike if he doesn't keep up with the scares.

There's an arc with Johann next, so like. Here's Johann.

Johann is expected to terrorise the villagers and all that but he's just not into it.

If you read the books he's the first Stollenheim you come across, but y'know this ain't the books, is it?

I should probably post the family tree. There's a family tree.

But why would the villagers be upset about Johann not terrorising them?

1: Story karma. Vampires are supposed to lurk in castles not drinking wine. Biting sleepwalking women in nightdresses or whatever. If they don't, then the stories will break, and if the stories break....

2: Listen, I need an appropriate level of terror to keep my rent down. It's alright for you in your swanky castle in your spooky forest. And there's my garlic business. Yes I KNOW you don't have a problem with garlic - very inconsiderate of you, by the way. But what's important is that you're SUPPOSED TO and you act scary enough so that everyone buys my garlic. Savvy?

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Comic text:

Villager, holding torch and pitchfork: Come on out, vampire! We know you're in there!

Johann: (appearing on the battlements with a glass of wine)

Villager: ... Can't you terrorise us just a LITTLE? We brought our torches and everything!

Johann: Do you mind, gentlemen? I'm trying to have a quiet night in with Rosie and a bottle of Chardonnay.

Villager: And that's another thing, STOP DRINKING WINE!

[puddingvalkyrie]

Comic text:

Difference in king management styles

Will:

Tyrian: I'm no good at this... What would my parents say?

Will: Aw, don't say that! You're doing fine! (Want a cuddle)

Aurelia:

Aurelia: GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE AND KING!!

---

They work great as a team. Tyrian needs both things.

Some context: Aurelia is Tyrian's ex-fool, and Will is his current fool.

A fool was like a paid friend for royals or nobles. They are outside the hierarchy of the court, so the royal can talk to them and give them presents or whatever without it being political (unlike with nobles) and the fool is also the only one allowed to openly criticise the royals. So whereas a noble would have to tread very carefully in telling the monarchy they were about to do something unwise the fool can kinda just go 'that's a dumb idea, you're dumb'.

Edit from 2025: I mean. Nobles don't have to tread carefully around Tyrian. Mainly because he kicked them all out of his house but like. Anyone can tell Tyrian he's being dumb.

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[puddingvalkyrie]

Remember when everyone was sick of vampires and now everyone's sick of fairies?

I sure picked the best two things to write about all the time forever the past two decades.

Comic text:

Lucinda and Shu are at in the lunch hall at school.

Shu: Hey Lucinda! Vampire movie marathon at my house on Saturday! You in?

Lucinda: Thanks but... I'll pass. I can't watch vampire stuff anymore.

Shu: Is that because you're sick of the oversaturation of vampire stories in recent years? (What a hipster!)

Lucinda: ...Yeah, let's go with that.

---

Definitely nothing to do with vampire overlords that tried to kill her at all.

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[puddingvalkyrie]

Comic text:

Fairyland. A fairy king sees a human woman with long, white hair from his carriage. The woman is Cordelia Von Stollenheim, daughter of Contessa Von Stollenheim, a true vampire.

About 200 years ago:

King: My, aren't you an unusual human! And so pretty!

Wanna marry me?

Cordelia: Who are you again?

King: Arawn, king of the Dark Realm.

Cordelia: Sure, why not.

---

People used to ask 'Why is Tyrian a vampire?'

This is why. Because his great grandmother, Cordelia von Stollenheim, came to Fairyland to study as a witch. And when kings meet pretty ladies in forests in fairy tales, they take 'em home and marry 'em.

Contessa grew up in a time of political marriages, so even though her youngest daughter was the result of her SECOND marriage, which was a love match, 200+ years after her first marriage, Cordelia is aware that you don't say no to a good marriage just because you only just met the guy.

Like I said, Cordelia is a witch and knows enough about the king that this is a worthwhile gamble, especially as she's a vampire.

Sorry 'bout the anatomy. I was going to fix up the comics before I posted them but then I just didn't post them sooooo.

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[puddingvalkyrie]

rereading dracula after reading carmilla for the first time really makes me appreciate carmilla's efficiency in securing a place. dracula had to deal with all the logistics of the housing market meanwhile carmilla just crashed her car on someone's lawn and she got a cushy guest room and a girlfriend out of it. carmilla the woman you are

[puddingvalkyrie]

HEY look who is back with a few extras before Episode 2 starts in all seriousness?

<< < > >>

I'll make proper character profiles at some point, but I also decided they would be good illustrations to a little glossary that will help you guys understand Gemini 2's society better. The pages are styled this way because their main purpose is to give context to people who will only read the comic through printed samples in comic cons.

That's why I'm posting them in pairs, the way they are supposed to be seen in a printed booklet.

There are a couple more pairs. We're so back. x3

[puddingvalkyrie]

One of the worst parts about the relentless disrespect given to Mina Harker in Dracula adaptations is that if we ever get one that actually follows the book version there would be backlash against her because critics and grifters would think Mina was just "stealing" from Van Helsing. Which, um, no. Crucial parts of book!Mina's heroism are constantly being taken from her. (i.e. "hey the undead douchebag who assaulted me now has a psychic connection with me. Let's use it against him and find out where he is!") All to be *checks notes* more progressive and *checks further* update the outdated source material.

[puddingvalkyrie]

I have Horrible Back Pain (TM) so I have been unable to sit and draw anything but it's driving me a li'l cray cray so I decided to sit down and draw in li'l bursts. How I used to do the comics before my burnout was, I'd just get a few ideas for comics at a time. I had plenty of head space to do silly little things like this. Since I'm now comicing an actual manuscript, the spontaneity just isn't there like it used to be. I will take the opportunity of the Horrible Back Pain (TM) and limitations thereof to try and do some Silly Little Things while I recover... The vampire on the left is Victor von Stollenheim. The vampire on the right is an Unnamed Horror. Both are perfectly valid vampires. Image description: Text above reads: Vampirehood is a spectrum. There is a double headed arrow pointing left and right. On the left is Victor, a shy vampire who is blushing and nervous. It is stylised and cute. Underneath him it says 'cupcake'. On the right is a vampire with pointed ears and lanky hair, blood dripping from her mouth, her eyes red and mouth wide open, screeching. Underneath is written 'Wrii'

[puddingvalkyrie]

I'm keeping an eye out for heat stroke in my area and I can't figure out what a full body flush would look like on dark skin since all the pictures are just fake training pictures. Anyone have video/pics of a heat stroke flush on black skin?

[puddingvalkyrie]

It could be Rotterdam or anywhere (it's not though)

Comic text:

Sara has a mirror and is trying to scry.

Sara: Mirror, show me where she went.

Mirror: (displaying an image of a patch of sand and a few rocks)

Sara: ... Helpful. (That could be anywhere!)

---

Scrying spells are useful only if you know where it's showing you.

If you have no idea (or it's showing you part of a desert) not so much.

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[puddingvalkyrie]

I thought I forgot the chair, but this was pre-chair era.

Comic text:

Sara is sat at the desk in the Rent-A-Legend office.

Sara: Hello, Rent-A-Legend. Sara speaking, how can I help you?

Person on phone: Hi, yeah, you guys are a guild, right?

Sara: No.

Person: No? But I thought you helped people with quests and things?

Sara: Yes. But we don't have a bunch of monks praying for us in the basement.

Person: Oh... Um... So you CAN help us with our vampire, then?

Sara: Yes.

Person: So the difference between you guys and a guild is that you do your own praying...?

Sara: More or less.

-----

Sara runs Rent-A-Legend, which is a guild by fantasy/RPG standards but not by historical ones. Rent-A-Legend is an agency that rents out princes, princesses, snow women, valkyries, etc, to 'fix' stories or whatever. Lucinda works for Sara as a prince because they keep running out of real princes. The real ones tend to run off an marry the first princess they rescue, and then they become kings, and kings don't rescue people.

Guilds had a bunch of monks praying for their members.

There's a few rando comics I'm going to post between now and the next arc.

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[puddingvalkyrie]

It's truly fucked up how ancient Ancient Egypt really is. Like, the New Kingdom period of Egyptian history ended in the 11th century BC, and that's the one they call the New Kingdom. King Tut's reign was one thousand years before the time of Cleopatra. The Great Pyramid of Giza was older to the Romans than the Romans are to us. Ancient Egypt is just fucked up old and it blows my mind every time I think about it.

[puddingvalkyrie]

I can appreciate that someone, somewhere looked at a chart and said, "Engagement with Dungeon Meshi has finally dipped below the threshold. Drop It."

And is now giving everyone a renaissance of thirsty yuri fanart. Honestly, Game Recognize Game.