sparklemaia - Tumblr blog

[sparklemaia]

Haven’t seen anything from you in a while. Just making sure you’re okay.

Yes! I am alive! I'm in the last push to get my End of Year Final Projects done for comic book school which is omg so much work. My body is held together with k tape and prayers lol but here are some Upset Children from my current (undisclosed) project for your viewing pleasure

[sparklemaia]

kids need safe places to play. kids need safe places. ceasefire. ceasefire. ceasefire.

[sparklemaia]

the horrors (seasonal depression) persist but so do i

[sparklemaia]

[sparklemaia]

...and then i cried.

this journal comic brought to you very late by the two (TWO!) bouts of covid I had during my first semester at comic book school.

hey did you know that I have a substack and it's free (or $5/mo if you're feelin' froggy and like to know Secrets) and it sends my comics etc. directly to your inbox??? it's true! I hate capitalism but I love drawin' stuff and I love YOUu ❤️

[sparklemaia]

first week of comic book school and i accidentally turned in one of my school library books to the united states postal service

immediately pANICKED

receipt:

good news though, a very amused postal worker called me and then delivered my book to the school P.O. box, and I was NOT banned from the school library for eternity as I'd feared

[sparklemaia]

got to hang out with Maia Kobabe (@redgoldsparks) in October when e came to my school as a Visiting Artist, and it went pretty much exactly like this

[sparklemaia]

hey i'm not sure if you've answered anything like this already but did you get any grief from the doctors/system/any of it for wanting top surgery and not being strictly binary trans or even nonbinary in the assumed they/them sense? did you get a dysphoria diagnosis or do informed consent? in any case, it's amazing to see people with similar feelings to mine, thanks for sharing your experience ;D

Hi! I am very, very, very lucky because the city where I was living when I got my top surgery has a lot of good protections and resources for queer folks. Even though I did have to jump through some typical systemic hoops to get insurance to cover it, I didn't really encounter any unnecessary gatekeeping related to gender. I easily got a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (without having to lie) from the in-house social worker. It was literally a single one-hour phone appointment and then I had my letter; I didn't have to do extensive therapy or meet any HRT requirements or anything else. The letter basically said I am nonbinary and have had persistent and acute gender dysphoria that would be alleviated by top surgery. It wasn't a problem that I use she/her pronouns and a feminine name. At surgery time, the whole surgical team was clearly educated on gender expansiveness, and easily used my name and pronouns correctly without seeming confused or skeptical. Aside from some scheduling hiccups, it was such a streamlined and affirming experience, and I wish it could be this way for everyone everywhere. Like, if you want top surgery, for any reason, no matter what your relationship to gender is -- you deserve it. I feel like top surgery IMMEDIATELY resolved like 90% of my gender anxiety. It's the best medical decision I've ever made for myself. I'm relieved EVERY day that my chest is finally MINE.

[sparklemaia]

I've been out with covid for the second time in a month and also it's the end of the term at comic book school and I have so much work to do but! got to hold Walter Walden (between covid bouts) and that was pretty great

[sparklemaia]

I made this nearly a month ago and then immediately got covid and had to cancel my birthday party an hour before it was supposed to start. but cake freezes well, and now I have a job and friends and also SO MUCH HOMEWORK help

want my comics sent directly to your inbox? for FREE?? I have a substack (there's also a $5/mo tier for Secret Content, if you want to help me afford rent in my apartment that thankfully no longer smells like a carcass)

[sparklemaia]

more like netflix and chili amirite

[sparklemaia]

[sparklemaia]

[sparklemaia]

I'm two full weeks into comic book school now (spoilers: it is E V E R Y T H I N G) but here's a lil journal comic about the move from west coast to east coast I drew a coupla weeks ago 🌕

if you wanna see art from life at Comic Book School (omg) plus early access to comics like this, you can sign up (it is free!) for my substack, which will send emails full of my drawings right to your very own inbox!! (there's also a $5/mo option to get Extra Secret Content but like 80% of my posts are free and publicly available because ily)

[sparklemaia]

oh hey!! I MADE THIS COMIC :) It's finally up!

You can read the full thing on OJST's website 💜

ACE 101, by sparklemaia

This comic hits the venn diagram sweet spot of our readers’ overlapping interests: tea, cats, and sexuality deep dives! Pull up a chair and pour a steaming hot cuppa, ‘cos sparklemaia is spillin’ the tea on asexualiTEA! Read the whole comic at https://www.ohjoysextoy.com/ace-101-sparklemaia

[sparklemaia]

on my way to cartooning school to draw things and learn stuff! 😘✈️

[sparklemaia]

another page from my top surgery recovery sketchbook, scanned & hastily colored digitally 4u. this is an incomplete list because I ran out of space 😅

more top surgery recovery sketchbook pages here