#ALSO i'm glad you're enjoying the webcomic !!!!

[drawnecromancy]

Happy STS!

Your characters and story but it's the middle ages. What roles do they have in the society? Are they royalty or something else? How does your story change?

(Also unrelated but I was curious does the place that Claire comes from have a name? I read until page 22 of the webcomic and I want spoilers because I am horrible at handling suspense)

Ahh, hm. About 90% of my stories are in some kind of medieval-fantasy setting, besides Break of Dawn. There is, also, a medieval fantasy past to that story - you can find that in the tag "before dawn : the age of the gods", that is mostly full of random thoughts and snippets. I have a lot of thoughts about pre-Dawn things because I am completely unable to do anything modern for more than half a second before turning to medieval fantasy again.

If we're just teleporting everyone to the normal middle ages, Claire doesn't get powers and her family doesn't die HAHA (<- so so evil.); the whole story cannot happen because its inciting incident is... genuinely, a half god from space arriving and going "I don't like how things are around here. Let's destroy everything that makes this place special, and turn it into what I think it should be !".

We could have a completely different story, turning Dawn into some queen that has invaded the country and having a ruthless rule, and killing Claire's family off for whatever reason to jumpstart the moment where we start following characters, but that's not really something I'd want to explore. The point of Break of Dawn is that it used to be medieval fantasy, but no one remembers, and magic is actively erased, history rewritten, people killed to hide it.

I'm having trouble just imagining Break of Dawn in the middle ages because it... really is not made for it to work there at all, haha. It would be an entirely different thing, I'd probably cut down the number of characters, as we wouldn't need the overpowered 3 of the Undercity; Dawn could just be assassinated. Etc, etc. Vincent would be interesting as an evil advisor, though... Claire would likely start out as the child of farmers, and if I'd figured out a way to murder her family, she'd become a traveler/adventurer with her Brand New Dads, I guess.

The problem here is really that it's not meant to work there at all, and that everything else I write is already medieval-flavored, haha.

Here's what we could do, i guess :

Claire's family gets murdered for ??? reasons. She gets picked up by two errant adventurers. (knights, maybe ?)

She meets Vincent, who's like 2 years older than she is, because he's the son of her new dads' friends.

After some growing up, Claire and her dads live with other people in the capital city of the country, she gets a baby brother.

They eventually have to rescue Vincent and his new baby sibling, while Vincent's parents get killed, because they were doing shady shit.

This whole time the adventurer dads are doing shady shit, but they aren't explaining to their daughter that they're straight up trying to murder the queen.

??? Vincents gets abducted by his uncle, becomes nobility and the queen's evil advisor.

The dads die.

Claire becomes an adult, raises her two little brothers Sacha & Kyle, falls in love, blah blah.

When her brothers are teenagers, Sacha gets abducted, Vincent is the one to save him and get him back to her.

Meanwhile a stray seer (at least that's what that 16 year old claims to be) is picked up by Kyle

Claire and her family go avenge the Witchmann dads and murder the queen. I don't know what happens to Vincent.

That's it. I'd just straight up get rid of the Sky City and everyone in it. Sorry Elysia, Val, Mark, Melyane, and Ava. They wouldn't work in a pure medieval setting, the core of their existence is because of magic. Val, Mark and Ava especially are reminders of the past before Dawn.

(Also : while the little town she grew up in doesn't have a name, mainly because we're never going back there in the story, i can tell you the story currently takes place in the region of Lonna. I don't have a finite map as of right now, so I can't like. point and go "this is Lonna". The capital of Lonna is called Kello, and it's a place that will eventually appear. Currently, Claire and the Witchmanns are quite far up north of Lonna, I think ? I'm not 100% sure; geography in Break of Dawn isn't really something I've thought about. Also, Hoo Boy :) while I wouldn't consider the name of the region to be a big spoiler, there's a couple of places that could technically be considered spoilers if you want them : the Sky City, the Academy, the Undercity, the labs. >:) we'll be exploring them eventually ! Though, thankfully, Claire won't be the one getting put through these things for once.)

(I also, like, don't even tag break of dawn spoilers as spoilers most of the time when i'm talking about characters or events that won't appear for a while, so if you ever see mention of... literally any character that isn't Claire, Sandy or Percy in a post of mine tagged Break of Dawn, it's currently technically spoilers. OR it's before Dawn. One or the other. Sometimes both if it's about the Emperor ! So if you want to learn more about anything, don't hesitate ! i love rambling, lol)

[togglesbloggle]

In Defense of Bad Things

'Bad' here meaning mostly 'amateur'; stuff made enthusiastically by people at an unprofessional level. Art with visible gaps between what the artist imagined and what they achieved, products of flawed craftsmanship. I suppose everybody can appreciate them to some extent, it's a rare parent that doesn't put up their kid's drawings on the fridge in one way or another. But it turns out to be a fully general skill you can cultivate, and the more I do, the more I'm glad I did.

Partly, it's the teacher thing; finding delight in amateur work is one of the ways to find delight in the process of learning. Cultivating a love of striving-qua-striving can help make you a force for good in the world, as people start to feel safe trying to do things when you're around, even when their efforts are wobbly. You get to participate a little more in the process of atoms spinning themselves into ideas, even when there aren't any illusions about whether you're helping cultivate some revolutionary genius in the field.

And partly it's a fabulous way to build community. By necessity, our professional-level skills tend to be at the service of other people, performed for economic benefit; that's kind of how you get professionally good at something in the first place. When we're acting for our own sake, and among friends, most of what we do with one another is amateurish. I only cook middling-okay, I can't hold a tune that well, I'll never be a speed runner for anything. If you can only enjoy singing from the hundred best singers in the whole world, manufactured and polished by major studios, then you and your friends will sit shoulder-to-shoulder and passively listen to music. But it's so much richer an experience to sit face-to-face, actually singing together, even badly; you expose yourself to so many new ways to appreciate and respect one another, building relationships on what you've accomplished and not just by witty criticism or liking the same things.

And partly it's because some of the most powerful and innovative artistic experiences are in high-churn environments with low expectations and low barriers to entry, if only because those catch the passionate and driven young people that have been otherwise overlooked by our systems. The golden age of webcomics meant that a ton of the actual art involved was pretty lousy, but it also produced work that people still talk about today. D&D began as a profoundly unpolished collection of handmade rulebooks sold at cons in a plastic baggie. By the time these products of enthusiastic amateurs filter themselves through various levels of popularity and absorb mainstream cash influx, they're often risk-averse and missing a lot of the bold spark that inspired their fans in the first place; others will simply never drift towards the mainstream at all. I'm not saying you should be the person who goes out to dig through the slush piles of the internet looking for overlooked art, unless you want to be-- but sometimes a work of actual staggering genius also happens to be a Supernatural fanfic by a first-time author who's a little hazy on commas, and if that's a dealbreaker, you're going to miss out on some profoundly valuable experiences.

And hiding behind all of these things is, like...

Our appreciation of beauty has an odd structure, right? When things are done very skillfully, by brilliant artists with years of training, we can usually appreciate those accomplishments. And when we're looking at nature without human influence, and especially when we think very deeply about natural processes and understand them in context, we often rediscover that sense of beauty. There's just this bizarre hole in the middle where we declare things 'ugly'; as if a little skill is worse than none at all.

I really don't trust that gap. It feels like a trick my brain is playing on me, you know? It has me suspicious that a lot of what I consider 'ugly' or 'bad' is not a very direct experience of the world at all, or an informed judgment. That it is, rather, a declaration of (self-, social-) identity; a desire to be seen as a person of good taste, or as somebody who does things well, or just more primitively as one of the monkeys who is in the good-stuff-tribe and not one of the monkeys who is in the bad-stuff-tribe.

[unsoundedcomic]

Genuine praise and applause here, you've achieved something unprecedented to me as a reader: I feel shaken and uncertain about a protagonist I once liked, but also still completely invested in their story.

Right now (I've just read 18-80 to 84) I feel you've struck a great balance of surprise (at Duane) and trust (in your story). Perhaps because no single choice of Duane's felt out-of-character, as they slowly added up? I honestly can't predict how I'll feel about him and his flaws by the end of Unsounded, but for once, I'm enjoying that unease! Because of the care you've taken in building your characters so far, I at least still have faith in *you* to reach a satisfying ending.

Oh this should be a question, hmm. Were you at all tempted to foreshadow Duane's recent/future choices more obviously (by character or plot), softening a bit of the impact for a smoother story? Because again, I'm glad you didn't – perfectly threaded needle to keep me captivated.

So glad you're having a good time!

I hope Duane's current state is pretty well telegraphed, though I know it can be hard to remember past instances when the webcomic delivery spaces everything out. He's repeatedly shown himself to be hypocritical and selective in regards to kids. The army story ended with him continuing to train babies in the killing arts and accepting a false narrative that he had never let one of them die. This led right into him turning a blind eye to the Litriya twins for the sake of helping the Aldish invaders get to the construct facility. He felt AWFUL about this - we saw it - and tried to make up for it, but even that very action was already going against what was said in the black water: God is not attainable by transaction. Duane was trying to erase that debt to Litriya. It doesn't work that way! Like Claggart said, you got to acknowledge your mistakes and keep moving.

Duane started to. He truly did, when he spoke to Lori and the Peaceguard, then moved to go defend the shrine. But then Mikaila was there in the sky and all development was cut short in tandem with his poor rotten head.

What did he see when he and Toma and Elka approached Port Morstorben's ravaged gate? Not all the dead bodies. Not a vision of Sara asking him to help defend her people. Instead Duane saw Lemuel and Leysa and Mikaila. The eels have always known exactly how to steer Duane towards his worst self, and they use his best self to do it. They use his blind love for his family, his loyalty towards his homeland, and his faith in God. These can all be fantastic attributes or they can make a monster.

So yeah, I feel like the foreshadowing is there pretty thick. What makes it still compelling, I hope, is Duane's selfishness and reluctance to change are so often counterbalanced by his earnest desire to make things better and to help the people around him as individuals, in the moment. There's not an ounce of real malice in the man, but when Duane stews, he often talks himself into making the wrong choice. When he acts with all the compulsion of a big-hearted protector, he tends towards selfless compassion.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

wow man why did the new chapter have to be for sponsorship? it was difficult to control my anxiety. any post I thought was a new chapter. when the notice appeared my happiness fell into a hole full of depression. Man I waited for so long for a new chapter to come out. that it wasn't long before I started to freak out, I'm serious I almost freaked out! I got angry and then sad. my mother was even worried, asking: what happened son? why are you locked in the bathroom? (I lock myself in the bathroom with my stuffed animal when I'm having a crisis) I'm autistic.

Buddy I'm going to be honest here:

That isn't healthy.

I love people reading my comic, and I'm glad you and other people enjoy it a whole lot. I want to keep making it!

But I'm one person, and I need money to live. I understand this might be hard to conceptualize if you're young and still living with your mom, but MY emotional health hinges on having enough money to eat for the month. So if YOUR emotional health hinges on me not posting my Patreon once in a while (a thing I promote because it greatly helps me financially) then we are inherently at an odds.

It's not anyone's fault... but it's not a good place for either of us.

I don't want to discourage you from reading the comic, but also, if it's hurting you to see me post specific things and not others, then you're probably not in a stable enough mental place to enjoy the webcomics in general, which are often updated only when my time allows me to, in between my other responsibilities which take precedence (like my main irl job and tasks).

I sincerely hope you can find a way to build a healthier relationship with media, because I have seen other people allow this sort of thing to destroy their mental health, and I don't think it needs to happen to anyone. My comics are not - and will never be - a clockwork thing. I cannot break myself in order to keep you calm.

I am posting a reply to your ask not because I want to make you feel bad, but because you deemed your feelings strong enough to send this to me, so I believe you probably care enough to understand my perspective:

It's not a healthy thing to hinge your emotional stability on one person or thing. It will eat you up from the inside, and you will starve yourself more effectively this way.

[barrenclan]

Hello! I have a question about writing comics. How do you see your comics through to completion? I've tried to make webcomics, and it doesn't matter how much planning I do, I always struggle to continue them after the first couple of pages. You have two long-running webcomics, how do you do it?

Also love the comic Asphodel's death has wreaked me emotionally <3

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Here's a response I wrote about motivation several years ago:

"This is a tricky question, because most of creative motivation is intrinsic, and that is simply not something that you can gain in any easy way except real passion. It’s that feeling you’ll have if a story connects with you in a meaningful way, one that can’t just be rushed into. But I think extrinsic motivation can include things like setting reasonable and achievable goals for yourself. Promising to yourself that you’re going to upload one page every week, or do all the lineart for a batch of pages on Sunday, or that you’re going to write one page of your script every time you have an hour of free time, can help you stay on track and get used to the rigor of committing to a large project. Eventually, you will fall into a rhythm of making pages, but it can be difficult at first. Hang in there!"

Basically; if you want to do something, you'll do it. (And if you don't want to... it probably wasn't right! No shame in that.) But having structured goals, outlines, and a strong sense of achievements will buoy that desire until you've developed enough discipline to keep it up.

[seeminglydark]

hey! just wanted to say I saw the art you posted the other day of Caro & John at the punk show, and then saw they were characters from your webcomic. I then binge-read the entire comic yesterday; it's so cute! I adore Caro! Thanks for putting such a great webcomic out into the world; I'm excited to see where it goes next! (I also want to pet Ragnarok, but am pretty sure that would be a bad idea.)

Omg! Im so glad you're enjoying it, I actually love when people find my comics cuz of an art i made, funny that Seemingly Dark doesnt actually feature John and Caro as kids like they are in the punk rawk show art haha!

Petting Rok would probably be a bad idea yeah, but hey! I never met a dog i didnt want to pet so i would not fault you for trying.

Seemingly Dark Updates this Sunday so we are getting somewhere hopefully hahahaha. (I'll just throw it here that for those who havent read it, or didnt know i actually make comics about the characters i draw you can read Seemingly Dark on Tapas and Webtoon for free! And in case you didnt stumble across it, John and Caro's comic, Mil-Liminal is ALSO on Tapas and Webtoon for free and does feature them both as a adults and flash backs as teens!)

Heres a Daring Rose vs Ragnarok <3

[a-caterpillars-world]

So. I finished Homestuck.

Reading Homestuck in 2024, over a decade since it started, was definitely an experience. There was a lot that i was spoiled for, but a lot that took me by surprise, even though "spoilers" are just about everywhere. I'm glad I was able to go in blind, there's a lot that wouldn't have felt nearly as impactful had i known about it beforehand. I'm not great at just directionless rambling, so I'll organize it in the form of an FAQ of a sort, under a read more since I'm expecting this to be a longer post.

Did you enjoy yourself?

Honestly, yes. I know Homestuck has a kind of negative reputation, and now that I've finished I can certainly see where it comes from, but even considering all of that I can't say I had a bad time. I think Homestuck has a lot to love, even if there's also a lot to hate. Personally I think there's several elements and characters of Homestuck that deserve a better rep, there was a lot I read that was very funny or very narratively compelling even through all the obvious flaws. I had a good time, I don't regret picking up Homestuck.

Do you plan to read anything else related to Homestuck (eg Homestuck 2)?

Maybe! I'm not entirely sure how much I'm missing out on, or how much the various side stories impact the main canon. If one of them seems particularly interesting to me, I'll look into it, but right now I'm good. I'm not even entirely sure how deep the Homestuck rabbit hole goes, though I suppose I could look it up and find out for myself.

Do you have any favorites/what do you think about [character]?

This is a hard question to answer, as Homestuck is a series with a loooot of characters to talk about. If you want to know a more in-depth opinion on your favorites, send me an ask! I love conversation and even since I started my liveblog I've been open to asks being sent in even if we've never spoken. Maybe I'll make a tierlist to organize my favorites, that could be fun.

Should I read Homestuck?

It depends. Homestuck can be a very good and interesting story at times, but a lot of what makes it a great story is hidden behind layers of questionable-at-best humor and casual ableism. I think if you can approach it as it is and understand the flaws inherent to it, it's definitely worth at least checking out. And then if it isn't for you, then it isn't for you, but it did end up being for me so take it as you will. Even if you're just looking at it as a part of internet and webcomic history, I think it's not a waste of time to give it a read. Via the downloadable archive though, not the browser version. Homestuck suffered greatly from the death of Flash, so it's best to read on a version that can better support all the unique elements it utilized without much risk of it crapping out on you (like it did to me, in several key points including the finale.) I also recommend reading with a friend, preferably one who's read Homestuck before so you can talk about things as they come up naturally.

Final thoughts

Homestuck is a fascinating piece of internet history. It's a near-perfect capture of the humor and culture of the late 2000s and early 2010s, largely dependent on a web service that is now entirely defunct. Were it not for the actions of archivists and fans, it's entirely likely we could've lost massive chunks of an incredible piece of webcomic and fandom history. It certainly isn't for everyone, its flaws have been talked about with regularity by essayists and internet historians with the whole spectrum of opinions on it. Even with its flaws, though, it still puts together a quite lovely story, with several compelling characters and scenes that grab your attention and hold it tight. Not only do I not regret reading it, but I completely understand how Homestuck created such a storm of a fandom especially when it was being actively updated. I'm glad I read it, in the end. It brought me a lot of joy in the best moments, and even at the times when I was most frustrated with the story I can't say there was ever a point where it was too much for me. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to check on the liveblog, whether you're one of my friends or a stranger checking in from the Homestuck fandom. It has certainly been an interesting ride, and I'm glad that I got to take it, even if I am in fact several years late to the party. Until next time, everyone!

[beesmygod]

I did say ALMOST inspiring. While I am also glad that public criticism of brainrot comfort media is slightly on the uptick and I do enjoy your webcomic, the way you express your passion makes you seem like a fairly exhausting person. You're mad about some new, inconsequential thing nearly every time I log on.

I'm mostly just taken aback by your ability to devote so much time and energy to bullshit that doesn't matter instead of your art. It has nothing to do with clout-chasing. You just don't ever seem very happy. Ah well. The artist's curse, I suppose

for those paying attention ive been physically ill for a year straight and had/have a lot of down time. however, im pretty sure what this passive aggressive ask is referring to has been the past two months i've been weaning off effexor. sorry i've been keeping the updates coming in spite of all this. maybe you can forgive me for taking a little time for myself to post for an hour a day after 10 years. dumbass.

[kindlyanni]

A damn long post of asks and replies

Thank you! I'm glad it's something people want to read again! :3

You're welcome! I hope you enjoy the comics even though the characters are a bit different from my fanart :'D

Hell ye! I'd be happy to read and share it when it's out there! :) I'm glad I could provide inspiration!

Haha thank you! It's been interesting to see so many people share and enjoy my fanart even though they have no idea what they're about :D As a creator it brings me lots of joy.

Thank you!

Heh, I was thinking here that Dream's kinda mindlesslly fiddling with Hob's shirt collar and when Hob asks if he should remove it Dream takes a second to compose his answer because sure, he wouldn't mind the shirt coming off but he also doesn't want to seem too eager about that.

I think the flowers are a neat way to show when someone is smitten. I felt like small hearts wouldn't be quite Hob so I drew small flowers instead.

Oh gosh, thank you very much! I'm glad so many people liked the idea if Dream not wanna undress.

Haha, thank you! Violet and purple are my favorite colors and I usually pick that when I start an illustration (I always sketch with a colored brush), and my art often ends up being purple. But it's also a very dream-like color (heh) so it fits well for The Sandman fanart :3

I actually struggled a bit with the long comic to make the colors cohesive so I just slapped a layer of purple with a color mode on every page and that sort of did the trick :''D Sometimes all it takes is to play around with the layer blend modes.

Thank you so much! (p...please don't die, I take no responsibility;;)

Thank you!

I don't do commisions, unfortunately. Not at the moment, at least.

Sure! Cat pics are always welcome!

cat!Dream has very Miette energy tbf!

Yay, thank you so much!!

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that! And hey, take your time. Webcomics can be a lot, and when mine's like 1000 pages lmao..... yeah. You don't have to start from the beginning, if you remember approximately where you left, just hop on chapter x from the archive and browse on a little bit. If you made it to Book 2 already, I think the beginning of it is a good place to hop on again. But things come and go in waves, the same is with enjoying webcomics or any media really. Don't feel bad, focus on what brings you joy in this moment.

Haha, well I'm not gonna stop you ;D I'm glad you're enjoying it!! <3

Maybe? Maybe not?? who knows.

When I started Transfusions it was fun to have a vampire who's kinda fresh, still, because vampires are always like 300 years old or whatever in every other media. Plus I'm not a history nerd so I can't be bothered to be historically accurate and have people nag about how I got this and that wrong from period x. Looking back to 1960-1980 is relatively easy lol. And a punk vampire is funny.

Thank you very much, I'm always glad to hear people finding and enjoying The Witch Door. I've kinda felt like struggling to find it it's audience since it's not BL and I worry if my brain is big enough to write this kind of a story. So comments like these are very reassuring and encouraging! Danke schön! :) (my back is doing better, thought it still gets achy if I sit for too long. Just gotta try to remember to exercise OTL)

[pixies-and-poets]

Girl! First of I just began reading your webcomic you introduced today and I'm already in part 2 chp 3. It's such a comical fantasy comic my heart craves. Also Idk if you figured this out (just gonna put it out there) but you're missing a good opportunity with High Seas phaugie au. I mean you just created a ship with two giants in it. That's rare or not enough of that. just imagine how exciting it is to just cuddle alone in the bottom of the sea making huge waves. The comfort Phantom must have gotten to finally be around someone who he wouldn't kill by accident. Imagine Phantom motivating Augie to stop thinking about his family who abandoned him and just live the life he created. He may not be a god but he does know what it's like to be ostracized and still having the confidence to keep swimming. Imagine if Phantom does turn back into his normal form. Or imagine if this all happened before their relationship began to decimate. (er that last part kinda hurts to think about)

Thank you so much!! Victor and I appreciate it. A few people have been picking up The Fourth lately and it delights me, even if I am a little self conscious about the main story being on hiatus right now. I'm glad people can still enjoy what's there, even with my goofy and off-model old art, lol.

Yeah, it COULD be really sweet, I know! I guess I just can't take Phaugie ultra seriously because... Well, opposites attract to some degree, but they are just SO opposite; the lazy slob with a heart of gold, vs. the energetic, scheming fancy-lad who will have an uphill battle overcoming his own narcissism. That said, the heart wants what it wants, so who knows! (And in the High Seas AU, Phantom's life situation is a lot different and he's not able to fully indulge his fanciness anyway; he's a bit more of a gross monster as it is.) There's a lot of potential there, like you said, and I want Phantom to musically roast Augie's parents and maybe even Perfectus to their faces, for not being as great as they say they are!

At the very least I could see them having a relationship and breaking it off peacefully, Phantom having learned his lesson with Bea and not wanting to hurt Augie. Or they remain close friends (...with benefits?) even if the romance isn't there.

I want Augie to be happy, AU or no. We all want that, right?? He doesn't necessarily seem to type who needs or craves a romantic relationship (...and he may or may not already be married to his crab??) which is why I like the idea of him having/adopting a kid as well. Because he would be so much of a better parent than his own were to him; even if he's a mess, he's a loving mess.

[cartograffiti]

May '24 reading diary

This month, I finished 16 books, mostly quick cookbooks and graphic novels!

I started May by listening to a very unseasonal full-cast audiobook of E.T.A. Hoffmann's original The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. When I was a child, I read a lot of different text adaptations of the Tchaikovsky ballet adapted from this story, but only realized I'd never read the original when a friend got me to read Hoffmann's squarely horror story "The Sandman" a few years ago. This was creepier than the ballet story, though clearly written for children, and I'm very glad to have gotten around to it.

K.J. Charles, author of a large number of romances I'm a fan of, put out her first mystery A-plot novel, Death in the Spires. I think it's a good introduction to her style if you're not a big romance person, and I think it was the right call for this plot to prioritize the genre elements in this way, but I also have found her B-plot mysteries more exciting. No problem, I liked it a lot, and it has a lot of juicy thoughts about justice as distinct from the law and how trust is earned or lost. Gay disabled detective.

Two sports romances: You Should Be So Lucky, a sensational 1960s baseball player/magazine journalist relationship, meditating beautifully on the fear of failure and on grief. One of the mains was in a long-term relationship with someone who has died, and I think this is the best widowed romance character I've ever read. Sebastian is also just fabulous at taking a tour of a made-up person, full of small details and slice-of-life stakes. I've read all her books and will continue to; I like her particular approach to historicals and her ability to make queer happy endings distinct and individual. M/M.

The other sports romance I read this month is The Boxing Baroness by Minerva Spencer, which I only mildly enjoyed. Unfortunately I don't even have any real criticisms, I just very simply didn't click with Spencer's style on a sentences level, particularly in sex scenes. Your mileage will vary! There is a lot of really enjoyable bits about the hot honorable love interest thirsting over how strong and cool he thinks the heroine is, and he's right. This is definitely worth trying if the basic premise of woman boxer Regency is your thing. Wait, I do have one plot criticism--this would have been stronger without the epilogue. We didn't actually need to meet [historical figure redacted]. M/F.

Graphic novels--I used to read Chelsey Furedi's Rock and Riot when it was coming out as a webcomic, and I was excited when her follow-up, Project Nought, was suspended soon after launch because of a book deal. Unfortunately I somehow missed it when the book actually came out in 2017, and only when Heartstopper sent me on a nostalgia trip last month did I realize I could read it. I wish I had read Project Nought when it was new! A lot of the sci-fi plot no longer feels futuristic even 7 years on, although the core twist is just fabulous. There isn't enough of the interpersonal depth that shines in Rock and Riot, the villain plot resolution is a bit too easy for the YA market, and overall I just wouldn't pitch this as more than pleasant.

The rest of the graphic novels, far more than pleasant, I read volumes 8, 9, 10, and 11 of Witch Hat Atelier by Shirahama Kamome. This was a good batch to read close together, as they all deal with the events of the same festival. Unfortunately I have to wait for my library to buy the next to see the resolution, but that's how manga goes! I loved a lot of what's happening at this point, with some fabulous milestones in the Coco-Agott friendship, lots of good moments from my favorite of the adults (Olruggio), and continuing to push down on the question of forbidden magic. Shirahama brings in both strong cases of things that deserve to be banned (glasses that let you see through people's clothes, not treated as remotely funny) and things that...maybe don't. I really cannot tell what ethics resolution might be end-game, which is very exciting.

Cookbooks! My lovely mother surprised me with a copy of an 80s book I'd been looking for, Vineyard Seasons by Susan Branch. I wouldn't exactly call her style pastoral, but I've seen her rediscovered a bit by cottagecore, Ghibli-esque, and related aesthetic bloggers. If that kind of romantic daily life artwork appeals to you, you might like her books as much as I do; every page is full of Branch's watercolor paintings, sometimes ornamental borders and sometimes illustrations of the sights of her home in Martha's Vineyard. I read and re-read her books just to linger over the pictures, but almost every recipe I've tried has been a winner.

I also borrowed a whole bunch of cookbooks of literary-inspired recipes. I went through two by Alison Walsh (A Literary Tea Party and A Literary Holiday Cookbook), which were disappointing; they draw from a pretty small range of books, and rely a lot on food coloring to fit the themes. Meanwhile, The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook (ed. Kate White) has a really wide range of difficulty level and approach, only some of them inspired by fiction. Each recipe was contributed by a different author, making it fun in the same way that church and community cookbooks can be, but I don't have any wish to own this, either. I have two others still to look at. (And I already own some I do recommend, Kate Young's Little Library cookbooks and Tim Federle's literary cocktail books.)

More nonfiction: DK Publishing's really insubstantial small coffee table book Banned Books, which didn't have quite enough text (I shouldn't have finished any entries unsure on what grounds they were banned/challenged, and did), but some pretty vintage covers (and not enough of those either).

Really great, with loads of pictures and thorough text: The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag by Sasha Velour. I was first aware of gender-fluid queen Sasha Velour as an illustrator and zinester, and in many ways they're the reason I was first interested in drag performers. This book doubles as a history of drag and a personal memoir of Velour's experience with it, and I enjoyed both equally. The history is well-researched and thoughtful, and the memoir is generous and self-aware. And it has some of their comics!

And I'm still reading Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles at about one per month. I finished Pawn in Frankincense in May--lush and devastating and funny and infuriating and completely absorbing. Still not a series I would recommend to everyone, and still one I'm so glad I'm reading at this exact moment, when my emotions can go through the juicer and not feel scarred afterwards.

[astaralys]

Update!

heeellooooooo......? 👀

I may have suddenly remembered I have a tumblr. And that I write Frozen fic. except......

oops.

Short story: I have been incredibly busy but well! I'm healthy! I'm still writing and creating! I hope everyone reading this is doing great!!

Long story:

"girl what on earth have you been doing" Career change, moved house, masochistically started a postgrad degree while working full time, working on original story projects when I have time AND AND AND started a two-person creative studio with @lianthuss!! We have a webcomic oneshot releasing in the coming weeks!! More info on that below :D

"are you still working on TNU??" First of all, thank you for sticking around for this story! The fact you enjoy it means so much to me. I know exactly how frustrating it is to be invested in an unfinished story. I have every intention of finishing the fic, and the thought of it still brings me a lot of joy, which is all I need to keep writing. That said, the honest answer is I've been so busy I haven't worked on it for almost a year now. I didn't even remember where I was up to in the next chapter until I opened it and saw 1000 words (that I now want to entirely overwrite 🥲)

"when do you think the fic will be finished?"

Funnily enough, my mental goal was to have TNU finished before Frozen 3 comes out... and I might still make it! There are (I think) 5-7 chapters left to go, so not far. The question is when I'll have time to write. The second question is what else I'm working on - I have a lot of original story ideas in development that motivate me more than TNU right now. TNU is like my fun corner. I pick at it when I miss it, or when I need a change of pace from other projects. I know it might be disappointing to hear TNU isn't my highest priority and truly appreciate every reader. I do absolutely plan to keep writing this fic, but I'm also having so much fun with original stories and the new studio. I hope some of you will be interested in supporting this other dimension of my creative pursuits too :)

"so tell us about these other creative pursuits" Why I'm so glad you asked! I actually discovered a passion for game development :O I've only made one little one for my partner so far but I have lots of other game ideas brewing that I'd love to turn into reality and share with the world. I'm especially pulled towards concepts that have compelling narratives (I am a writer hehe) that use gameplay to create a story that can only be told in the game medium. (yes, playing Nier: Automata changed my life and you should play it too) And!! I got into 3D modelling and pixel art! Super fun. Please behold this fat chocobo I modelled and got 3D printed

"how do we keep in touch with you before you come back 7 years later and tell us you're an astronaut now" I go by wiredforwords on twitter and instagram. Also just started up a ko-fi if you'd like to support me. Someday soon I'm going to share some free pixel emotes and other updates on there!

nice! now what's this about a studio? and webcomic??

why, I'm so glad you asked!

STUDIO POINT9 is mine and @lianthuss' new baby. It's where we work on and produce our original stories. Our first project is MIDNIGHT HOUR, a oneshot webcomic based on a moment in a larger sci-fi fantasy epic (which will be a webcomic series in the future!) I wrote a 2k oneshot on a whim and lianthuss brought it to life with her incredible storyboarding and art. Coming super duper soon! As in WITHIN ONE MONTH soon!!

We have big plans for STUDIO POINT9 and appreciate any support! You can follow us on twitter and instagram (@studio.point9). Cool website to come!

I'll try to be more active here and not forget tumblr exists. Might be TNU related. Might be random pixel art. Might be studio updates. Might be martians.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for enjoying my stories!!

[wu-wakfu-undertale]

hello!

i've always wanted to send a ask before, but didn't have a blog before, but here i have one now!

i just wanted to say thank you for a lot of things.

first, you posting your art here around 2015-16 was a huge reason i started drawing and doing art in the first place. seeing other peeps similar to me making stuff i enjoyed really cemented what i wanted to do going forward. you were one of my first inspirations for art, and i thank you for that.

second, seeing someone enjoy the funny french fantasy show and the impactful heart dodging game as much as me was also a huge factor of my initial art drive. my first characters were fan characters of wakfu and undertale. hell i even had a small AU mixing the two with an original character as the protag lol. Even after all this time, i still have them and actively draw them, with a ton of reconning, redesigns, renaming rewriting and making them their own thing separate from both things, but they still came from influences like you. thank you for helping me make my own lil guys gorls and theys by just posting what you like. I'm planning on making games, a large scale webcomic , and hopefully more as i go on with them. The webcomic in specific has the fanchild i designed as a ship between adamai and my oc as the protag of it, but he's basically a new character from what he was before lol. even still, the orginal design has influence over his newest design, keeping the blue and white from adamai as a big part of his current color pallete. Even if he is a completely different character, he still has roots from my old interests when i was 11-12.

i'm blanking hardcore rn but all in all, you posting stuff here was a huge reason i am where i am now in life. thank you for that. i'm glad to see you're still on this blog and such, i hope the future treats you well.

thank you, Wu.

aw dude! thats so wonderful!! like i said to the other asker, i think younger me would be totally overjoyed that my little blog could inspire others at least a little! thank you so much for sharing that, and i hope your comic and games go well!! :D

[thegoldenshi-shi]

*Kool man’s my way into your inbox* OH YEAH

Hello my dear Shi-Shi, it has been a while T-T

School and work be hitting me like a train so i have bee kinda dead for a while QAQ

But I come back to see your magnificent arts and the beauty of it *cue my resurrection from the dead*

It is beautiful and if I wasn’t still tired from work I would have gone on a Rook mixed with Bluestreak rant about how beautiful and amazing your art is!!

Like, it’s still so soft and i want to bite into it like a cookie and shake it but also tuck it into bed like a baby and smooch it’s forehead gently

I wish you the best of summoning luck with the current event in Twst!! I got both Epel and Sebek in 12 pulls and I am aggressively biting them both(lovingly)

Also I might have gotten my little sister hooked on a webcomic and she has been spending all night reading it and she’s already farther along than me QwQ

-Sunny Simp Anon💛

Hello there Sunny Simp~

It has been a while, I'm happy to hear that you're doing well. (Or at least as well as can be expected with a train-load of school/work hitting you hehe) I've been kinda busy myself, but I'm getting back into the swing I think. Hopefully you can too soon. I don't know if I could handle a Rook+Bluestreak fusion rant tbh, it sounds kinda scary lol

But I am glad to hear that you still enjoy my artwork~

Anyway, congratulations on your gacha luck!🎉 The cards I wanted out of the Harveston event were surprisingly the ones that come for free with the event,(Jade and Idia) so I'm happy and hoarding my gems and keys still. I've got my eye on the Fairy Gala rerun, and my hoarded gems are probably going to Leona. I've wanted him since the event first dropped in Japan like two years ago, so I'm salty he still hasn't come home -_-

On the topic of sharing webcomics with family: it's great that you can have a fandom friend with your little sister. Reading the same things can be such a lovely activity between people. I share lots of my comic/manga/book recommendations with my mom and sister as well. We get a lot of fun out of comparing notes on what we're reading. It's like a tiny book club or something hehe.

It was nice to hear from you again, take care Sunny Simp Anon💜

[barrenclan]

Questions about Defiance if it’s not too spoilery:

How does Deepdark feel about his Lieutenants, like does he see them as friends or just how useful they can be to him?

Also when you mentioned that in the human au, Deepdark only has like four kids. I noticed that you listed Chrysanthemum as one. Why him specifically and not another of his siblings? Maple for one seems important or Wolfs jaw or Crabapple. Does that mean that he‘s going to play a role in the coming issues?

I’m honestly really curious about him, Chrysanthemum that is. I feel a little silly for being so interested in him, while the majority goes ham about Rainhaze and Ranger and Hacksaw well the mains. Which is perfectly understandable.

And thank you for creating such a wonderful Webcomic, every new issue was highlight of my week! Hope you’re taking care of yourself.

And sorry if I made any mistakes, English isn’t my first language.

Deepdark and his lieutenants are best friends forever.

Sorry to say that Chrysanthemum is not important, I just thought he'd be a more interesting character to include out of other deeplings, who are sometimes similar to each other. The human AU has absolutely zero bearing on anything happening in the story, it's only for fun. I still like him, though!

I'm glad you're enjoying the comic. I'm doing my best despite my busyness.

Because she lives with Ranger! It's not like, if you're a bird you don't HAVE to be in Ash, but Ash has a lot of birds in it. The branches aren't strict borders but just how things happened to organize.

[demifiendfumi]

Hi I hope you're alright, just found your smt webcomic and I wanna say so far it looks really cool despite me not getting too far into it, love your art also!

Hi! Thank you for much for reading my smt webcomic! I'm glad you're enjoying it and taking the time to read them! And thank you so much for the compliment!