#also if you like post apocalyptic fantasy and fae-like forest spirits

[origin-spirits-of-the-past]

Turns out writing a freeform meta analysis on Origin: Spirits of the Past, specifically Agito’s arc interpreted as trans allegory makes you(me) a little unhinged

[encrucijada]

APOCALIPSIS #0012 or Universe of the Six Moons. a world parallel to ours where the differences lay on unexplained but normalised surrealistic fantasy.

❝   There was word of the unsynced phases of the moons on clandestine radio stations, the sort that aired only after 2:15AM, all the talk on the month-long empty sky that had brought mixed feelings because it was easier to see the stars but the oceans started acting up. It was only the late afternoon — but it was winter so the lampposts around the lake were already illuminating despite the sun only just brushing the tops of the tallest conifers — and so the radio crackled in and out a generic music station.   ❞

Why #0012? Originally, I was going to use the date of my birth #0725 but decided I didn’t want that. The number 12 is recurring everywhere: twelve months, two sets of twelve hours, twelve greek olympians, twelve apostles, twelve titans, and this world has 6 moons and 6+6=12. Does the #0012 imply this is the twelfth time the Apocalypse has happened or that this is the twelfth dimension? Who knows.

Created because... I wanted more liberty when it came to setting. Real geography wasn’t agreeing with me so I made this to mold it any way I wanted. No place mentioned is anywhere in particular, they are all a combination of things, but because I am central american latina I am most comfortable borrowing from here. Also, I made the decision to never set a story in USA as a matter of principle and this can help me work around it whenever I need certain scenery.

The [fantastical]. Placeholder name. The closer we get to the end of the world, the more numerous the fantastical becomes. This is a little vague but encompasses everything that simply wouldn’t be possible through scientific logic, such as the following:

❝   That is how it felt to see a trail of light thread itself through the forest, a thousand white butterflies playing to be the flowers of a tree, a whale and her calf swimming up in the clouds, seeing an impossible blue star fall from the sky and land on a field with the grace of a paper lamp.  ❞

Inspiration. Nausicaä of The Valley of the Wind, Shadow of the Colossus, The Raven Cycle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Colorless (webcomic), His Dark Materials, Spirited Away, Realismo Mágico Latinoamericano (genre)

WIPs in this universe.

post-apocaluptic (the fantastical is decreasing slowly): a murder mystery with witches set in a small nondescript town

Princess Gloria saw bad omens everywhere, on the four-winged birds and which moon was on quarter that night. [ . . . ] And the four-winged birds would perch on the trees as they went barren and they would be all black and they would sing their wind-howl song just to scare all the locals.

post-apocalyptic but ghibli style: creatures that steal eyes hide in plain sight like pretty birds or butterflies, wear an animal mask to hide your face and decieve them

Foxglove laughed and through her teeth came a cloud of smoke, cat-shaped mask pushed to the top of her head. Bluebell stared at her from behind the face of a sparrow.

closer than to the Apocalypse (the fantastical is numerous): a ragtag group of dreamwalkers flee from crimes they committed 

If you think we dreamed all the fantastical, you’re wrong, even if we potentially could have. The fantastical has always been there. Although, then you could argue the dreamers have also always been there.

during the Apocalypse: a group of young adults go on a roadtrip to choose how they want to die

Fae watched the burning ocean from over the short leap between the sand and the sidewalk, a sky of orange and crimson above with six moons stuck in different phases and the sun sinking eastward instead of the western horizon.

is this during a previous apocalypse? a post-apocalypse? jury’s still out: survival with guns and animal masks

The chimera issued an otherworldly howl. Something that belonged in Miriam’s nightmares. She was nowhere near the elevator they had locked it in, but she heard the rattle as it barged against the metal doors. Miriam tied on the mask. 

[webcomixtape-blog]

Stand Still, Stay Silent

ACTION ADVENTURE/POST APOCALYPTIC/FANTASY/HORROR/SFW/ONGOING

Generally speaking, there are two ways that I take in webcomics. First, the ones I keep up on weekly, like K6BD, Erfworld, Zebra Girl, that sort of thing. Then there are the comics I leave for a while, maybe a few months, before reading in a batch, a little like waiting for a book to come out, I suppose, like Gunnerkrigg or SMBC. But there’s a third kind, the kind of comic I leave for a few months… And then re-read from the beginning, because I have no self-control and they’re just that good from the get-to.

Today, a day later than I had planned due to some sickness and other excuses, we’re looking at one of those.

Stand Still, Stay Silent by Minna Sundberg is one hell of a comic. It tells the story of a world some 90 years after our own was lost to a plague of rashes and coma that gradually turned into one of monsters and body horror. As far as anyone in the comic knows, only in the Nordic nations did humanity survive, thanks mostly to the cold of winter forcing the beasts, trolls, and giants into hiding long enough each year for some kind of defence to be mounted. Some people are immune to the illness, as high as 48% in some places, but even they would not have lasted long in the warmer, more open places to the south. Immunity to the sickness isn’t much help when your mutated, mad countrymen are clawing at the doors to devour you.

The world of SSSS (unfortunate shorthand, I know) is stunning, not just thanks to the amazing art Sundberg is somehow able to crank out multiple times a week. The five remaining nations of the ‘Known World’, Safe, prosperous Iceland, hardy Norway and Sweden, mauled Denmark, and mysterious Finland are all well realised and believably adapted to this new, dangerous world, both in their technology and societies. Most now follow old faiths, the Nordic gods that have given some people gifts of runic magic, or the yet older, more secretive spirits of Finland that watch over the strange forest folk. It’s an interesting mix of modernity and an ancient, mythological past that I’m a massive fan of. There’s something deeply satisfying about a Finnish mage casting his spirit guide into the world through the burst of an ally’s flamethrower in an act of familiar protection.

The actual plot of the comic follows an expedition into the forbidden, and forbidding ‘Silent World’ that lies beyond the relative safety of the remaining human settlements, an attempt to uncover secrets from the old world, and make some money on the side by selling off old books. The cast, an eclectic mix of weirdos and no-hopers brought in for their willingness to accept low wages over any real skill, are a fun bunch to follow. The standout is Lalli, a Finish scout and mage who quietly gets his job done while offering some cryptic assistance to the crew, and generally just being an interesting, if sometimes exasperating member of the core cast. Plus, his magic is great, and inability to speak anything but Finish helps present some of the fun stuff Sundberg does with language and culture across the Nordic nations. Some can speak their native tongues and be understood, other cannot. It’s a little difficult to follow in some moments, but you get used to it, and the helpful ‘This flag means they’re speaking this language’ note at the bottom of the page helps.

The trolls themselves are great. Real body horror showstoppers made from one or more humans mashed together into a hairless, skinless knot of red muscle and rashy tissue. Very unpleasant, and suitably threatening to make the apocalypse seen real and dangerous. Many act like mythological trolls, avoiding sunlight and lying in wait for unwary humans. Others are stranger, looking and acting more like alien, or fae things. Like the presence of magic, the trolls are not well understood by those in universe, or out of it, but the attempts by the survivors to keep others safe are beautifully rendered in government sponsored posters and initiatives put forward about once a chapter. It’s one of those comics where you’re holding out for the next dose of setting knowledge at least as much as the next bit of plot.

What really sets SSSS apart though, is the quality of the art. The comic is goddamn breathtaking, easily sitting in my top three. Sundberg’s style is striking and colourful, making excellent use of a high contrast and loose, flowing brush strokes to make everything look alive and in motion. Were it not for the bloody, slavering trolls and clear signs of death and decay, it would look almost Disney-esque, and I mean that as a compliment I’ll likely come back to when I get around to reviewing The Meek. It’s the art that has me re-reading this comic every time I sit down to catch up on a few months of updates. It’s just so good I can’t help but want to roam through the archives again, and enjoy it all over and over.

Stand Still, Stay Silent is one hell of a comic. Yes, it can be a little grim, a little depressing in places, but given the setting, that sort of tone is to be expected. It’s well worth the possible brush with ennui at seeing beautifully depicted ruins of our own world.

Also: Really cute cats. Like… So many of them. Wow.

-James