#and I chose to take longer

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[rottmnt-residuum]

Sorry if this is too unrelated or something, but do you have any tips for comic composition? I absolutely adore how you frame everything, from the backgrounds, to the bubble placement, to the way the colors seem to fit together in each panel, and I've always been curious about how you do it

if this is too vague/overcomplicated I understand, I love your work and hope you're doing well <3

Hm... well. Honestly, most of my composition comes from transcribing the animation of residuum that's happening in my head. Which is why, if any of y'all've noticed, residuum is framed a bit like a movie. So if you're looking to do something similar, I'd recommend either studying camera techniques, or watching movie analysis with a focus on camera work. I'm unfortunately a bad person to ask, as a lot of what I do just comes via practice that's turned to instinct.

This is a really good resource on page compositions in general, though I mostly do panel by panel stuff for my own ease:

The background style is actually directly inspired from @meandtheyeehaws, it's fast, easy, and doesn't require too much thought on my part. You spend a lot of time on comics, so you take shortcuts where you're willing to.

Bubble placement... I've noticed that people tend to laser focus on dialogue. So, the dialogue bubbles are how you lead the reader's eyes. They are the very base of the reader's eye path. All this means is that you should just map the eye path you want and then frame everything else around that. Either to bring notice to stuff or to hide something in plain sight.

Honestly, I have no idea for the color thing. It's one of the things I actually wish the comic was better with. All I do is have set color swatches for characters, and do a transparent color mask to the background color. I love to color, but color itself isn't really my strong suit.

[furnace-flame]

Stolas: Constantly puts some guy before his daughter, seemingly hasn't paid any attention to her in her teenager years since he has no idea what he's interested and assumes she's still into her childhood interets, willing to leave her fatherless for the sake of that one guy

Stolas: What do you MEAN my daughter doesn't want to speak to me?!

[triglycercule]

i'm updating that bullshit mttpoly ship chart i made years ago (like at the beginning of the year 💀) because a little evil birdie seemed to judge me for my OLD opinions

[jazzzzzzhands]

Inktober 2023 Yr 8. Day 21: Smile

I confess i did this soooo long ago and i never posted it but im running out of time, so i can't afford NOT to use it! I swear I will draw him more Goober next time!!

[sulky-cabbage]

The sukugo fight can't get animated any sooner I'm craving sukugo tiktok edits

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Everytime i see that New Girl/Buddie gifset, i think about that post you made (or was it an answer to an anon? Idk) about straight pairings and years-long slowburns wayyy back when season 4 aired.

I'm pretty sure i told you this back then as well, but as someone who has been pretty firmly believing in Buddie endgame since Eddie begins, that post was so validating. We could never (and still can't) know exactly where this story is going, but to see that someone else recognized the pattern and believed that them telling Buck and Eddie's story like that was an actual possibility felt really great.

I'm such a sceptic by nature, but i actively chose to be an optimist this time and i just...can't believe this is our life now. Investing in that clown make-up was so worth it.

Ahaha that was a post I'd made, yeah. It was probably also an ask, too - I've talked about this quite a few times starting in the season three hiatus. The deal for Buddie was sealed, to me, when Eddie said there's nobody in this world that I trust with my son more than you. Because now to give either of them a love interest was to supplant Buck in Eddie's life as the co-parent and earn Eddie's trust with Chris more than Buck had, and would supplant Eddie and Chris as priorities in Buck's life - and the audience was going to have a very hard time accepting that.

Of course I wasn't 100% sure at that point but that was when I went from "okay yeah this is a fun ship but people have the shipper goggles on" to "...wait this actually is a possibility."

From that point we've seen the classic slow burn tropes that I haven't seen recently as we have, sadly, moved away from longer seasons and guaranteed renewals and once-a-week episodes into short, bingewatching, constantly-about-to-be-cancelled formats. I don't necessarily blame people for not recognizing. I certainly don't blame singed and exhausted queer shippers from being unsure. But I admit it is quite the vindication to see that I was right to compare Buddie to seasons-long slowburns that we've gotten with straight couples for decades.

I'm so glad that I could help validate your own feelings. I feel season three was truly the testing ground for Buddie and season four they went in fully prepared to make it canon, and have just been forcibly delayed since then. It's been a frustrating experience at times, and disheartening. We never would've gotten canon on FOX, we would've gotten canon in season four/five like originally planned if they'd been on ABC... etc.

So it warms me to know that with all the ups and downs you felt that my meta and observations could help support your own feelings and be a reassurance. That truly means a lot to me. I feel we're genuinely in the home stretch and it fills me with buoyancy. I'm all floating and giggling ha ha.

Investing in that clown makeup was SO worth it! *honks my big red nose*

[binbogummy]

Humans are —

An intermission of sorts?

This was originally going to be at the end of chapter 6 or the beginning of chapter 7 but I just decided I didn't like the way it flowed with either, so consider this a little tumblr exclusive intermission I didn't have the heart to scrap completely.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | * | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |

~

As the night settled in, Aziraphale had excused himself downstairs again and Crowley finally returned, sipping something dark from a lowball glass and retaking what was practically his designated seat at this point.

You were currently curled beneath your blankets, still feeling comfortably heavy from dinner, which had been more soup, as an episode of some show Crowley had picked, but neither of you had really been paying attention to, droned in the background to fill the silence.

"Aaaaaand finished~" The demon announced, tossing the pencil down on the nightstand and handing the notepad back to you before reclaiming his glass.

It was a picture.

Of you.

Touché.

Or at least, it was you if you were a sickly orphan, wrapped in a blanket with big, watery eyes and an exaggerated frown. He had even sketched the tiny bell beside you, with a completely unnecessary little ding ding written above it for emphasis.

You scoffed, completely affronted.

"Nailed it, yeah?"

You quickly shook your head, making a dramatic X with your arms before hastily scribbling a message.

You mock me in my time of need?

Crowley barked out a laugh, lifting his glass in a mock cheers gesture. "Indeed I do."

Feeling spurred on by both the demon and the creeping boredom of being in bed all day, you narrowed your eyes and slowly, deliberately, reached for the bell on the nightstand.

His expression barely had time to shift before you gave it a single, sharp ring, making him snort so hard into his drink he nearly choked.

The sound of Aziraphale’s hurried footsteps echoed up the staircase before you could even smirk in triumph. The door swung open, and the angel reappeared, his expression immediately shifting from mild surprise to full on maternal panic as he took in the sight of you, upright, bell in hand, looking completely not in distress.

"What is it? Is everything all right? What do you need?" His eyes scanned your face, flickering to Crowley briefly as if he might have caused you some great misfortune in the short time he’d been left alone with you.

Crowley managed to cool his expression into something mostly neutral, except for the barely suppressed twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth.

You hesitated for only a moment before lifting a single finger and pointing at the demon.

Aziraphale’s expression darkened into something dangerously close to warning. "Crowley."

Crowley scoffed, tossing his head back dramatically. "Oh, come on!" He gestured toward you, feigning offense. "I haven't done a thing."

"That remains to be seen." The angel stated flatly.

You had to bite your lip to keep from laughing, shaking your head as you waved a hand to dismiss whatever false accusations Crowley assumed you were making.

Just wanted to see if you'd actually come, you wrote out silently with an apologetic tilt of your head.

Aziraphale studied you for a moment before sighing, though his disapproving frown was softened by fond exasperation. "Well, I’m glad to see you’ve still got some spirit, at least." He picked up the ice pack you'd set aside earlier and pressed it to your forehead, attempting to ease you down. "But I do believe it's about time we all turn for the night, don't you?"

"Again with the early bedtime, Angel? Got her on a proper schedule now, do we?"

"She's still ill," Entirely unbothered, Aziraphale made sure the ice pack was resting securely on your forehead before pulling away. "Must I reiterate for you again the importance of rest above all else these cases?" He challenged lightly.

Crowley, of course, was entirely undeterred. " But consider this-" He leaned forward. "What if she stayed up just a biiiit longer?" He suggested, tapped the side of his temple as if this was a groundbreaking thought.

"And what exactly would that accomplish?" Aziraphale shot him an unimpressed look.

"Morale," the demon declared. "You've got to factor in morale, Angel. Can't have the patient feeling too miserable, now can we? Might even set her back. Who knows?" He waved a hand vaguely. "Humans are sensitive like that, you know. Let her stay up a bit. Finish an episode or two~" Not that either of you had been watching whatever was playing in the first place.

Aziraphale sighed, turning his attention away from Crowley's nonsense and toward you, still laying snugly in bed.

"My dear," he cooed, leabing over you and smoothing the blankets down for good measure. "Are you feeling particularly miserable?" His tone was indulgent, but there was an underlying sincerity to it, as if he genuinely wanted to be sure you weren't actually upset with the idea.

You blinked up at him, pursing your lips in exaggerated thought and tilting your head slightly as if you were really considering it. You held the act for just a second longer than necessary. Just long enough to make him anticipate a dramatic answer, before shaking your head no.

Achy? Yes. Weak? For sure. Still feverish and congested? Absolutely. But miserable? Nah.

The angel gave you a soft, satisfied hum, looking entirely pleased with himself. "There, you see, Crowley? She's not miserable at all," he said smugly, smoothing a hand over the blanket once more as if sealing the argument with a final, gentle touch. "In fact, I'd say she's quite content. Aren't you, dear?"

You made a faint hum of disagreement.

Content in general? Yes. Content with another early bedtime? Not so much.

"Oh, hush now," he chided sweetly, "No need to pretend you aren't utterly worn out. The signs are all there. You've had another vigorous day of recovery. It's no wonder you're looking a bit droopy-eyed now."

Droopy-eyed?

You frowned lightly, not entirely pleased with the accurate assessment.

But it didn't matter. Aziraphale was already in full-on bedtime mode.

"Rest is just as important tonight as it was yesterday, if not more so," he continued, "And will continue to be just as important tomorrow. So I shan't hear any more complaints."

"Well if that's the case, I'm out of here," Crowley announced suddenly, standing up, stretching and rolling his shoulders. "You two enjoy this little routine you've got going on. I'll see you tomorrow."

Aziraphale gave a knowing hum as he tucked you in more officially. "Oh, I'm sure you will," he mused, casting Crowley a pointedly innocent look over his shoulder. "At this rate, I daresay it would be more surprising if we didn't see you tomorrow~"

The demon's eyes narrowed under this glasses, or at least, that's what you assumed must have happned as he stopped in the doorway to look back at Aziraphale after that comment.

To his credit, though, he seemed to know that acknowledging it beyond that would be backing himself into a corner. So instead he looked to you, giving you a lazy salute as he strolled out the door. "Try to make it to morning, yeah?"

With a surprisingly bright smile, and as much energy as you could muster, you saluted him back. Will do, boss.

Aziraphale huffed as he left that turning his attention bacn to you.

You gave him your most innocent look as you peered over the blankets, but he was having none of it.

"Come now," he coaxed gently, stepping closer to the bed. "I know you’re not entirely opposed to the idea. Whether you realize it or not, your body has worked quite hard today, battling that fever of yours. Let's do it a favor and give it the rest it needs to keep up the good work tomorrow, hmm?"

Truth be told you'd only been resisting the idea out of principle alone, but he made quite the compelling argument. So after squinting in thought for a moment, you gave a soft smile and a little nod.

Satisfied, Aziraphale dimmed the lights and turned toward the television, moving to switch it off. But before he could, you let out a small, involuntary sound of protest.

It wasn't dramatic, barely more than a little breathy hum, but it was enough to make him pause, glancing back at you with mild curiosity.

You blinked up at him, eyes a bit wide, before lifting a hand from beneath the blankets and giving the screen a small point.

"Oh?" he hummed, tilting his head slightly. "Would you prefer to keep it on, my dear?"

You nodded quickly, lips pressing into a small, pleading frown.

Aziraphale exhaled slowly, his head tilting in that indulgent way of his, as if mulling it over. He should turn it off, really. You needed proper rest, and distractions weren't always conducive to that. But at the same time...

He glanced at you again.

You were already tucked in so snugly, barely peeking out over the top of the covers, eyes half-lidded but still content and hopeful in that way that made it far too difficult to say no.

"Very well," he conceded at last. "But only under the condition that you don't let it keep you up too long.

You nodded again eagerly, making a little crossing motion over your chest. Promise.

That seemed to convince him, and he adjusted the volume down to a soft, barely there hum before setting the remote within easy reach on your nightstand. "There. Now, you just rest. And, if you need anything, just ring, alright?" His eyes flickered briefly toward the little bell on the nightstand before returning to yours. "Though preferably not just for the sake of testing my response time."

The little giggle you let out seemed to have been exactly what he was aiming for because his expression softend with satisfaction as he finally stepped back, wishing you a quiet goodnight and leaving you be with a soft click of the door.

After that, the room fell into an easy stillness, save for the quiet murmur of the television. It was just enough noise to keep the space from feeling too empty, but soft enough to lull you into the heavy warmth of impending sleep.

You probably would have crashed pretty fast if the day hadn't left you feeling so utterly aware of everything around you right now.

Of the way your head throbbed against the pillow. Of the way your body ached with that deep, feverish exhaustion. Of the way the congestion pressed thick and heavy in your chest, making each inhale just a little too labored. You thought for a moment and then swallowed experimentally. Nope. That was still awful too.

But you weren't going to dwell on it.

Because if you let yourself focus too much on the bad, you'd start thinking about how good everything else was in comparison. About how thoroughly the good of the last two days had outweighed your discomfort in heaps.

And then you'd begin to think about how, if you weren’t sick right now, if you weren’t confined to this bed with a fever that had left you fatigued to you very core, then today, and yesterday, and the night before, would have looked a whole lot different.

You would have woken up in your hotel room. Would have gone about your day alone, trying as many restaurants as you could find or jumping from shop to shop.

You would have kept wandering around the city, with no real plan, sightseeing in a forcefully casual attempt to not impose on the two main reasons you'd even bothered coming back to London in the first place

And that would have been fine.

But it wouldn’t have been this.

~

[flamboyant-king]

Hey babes, sorry I've been dead, but I coulda been literally dead if I had not gone.

I didn't hurt myself and we're still figuring things out. I would love to share but I've already forgotten what I've learned. I hope I get more guidance and time for healing and learning on how to lead my life in a better direction than where I was. But that takes time and effort.

I hope to get some rest, get some support, and get it together. But right now, I don't think it's healthy for me to worry about art in the way I do now. I may not express it here, but trying to maintain my art endeavors/projects while there's so much bullshit going on backstage is not helping me. Especially since I'm not even obligated to do so. But trying to force myself to do something I am currently unable to do will just make me feel worse. I'll follow my dreams and passions one day, but I've been putting off the healing process for years.

So I guess it's better to get better now so I can get the ball rolling again. Why drive on a flat tire?

[spookieloop]

Torturing myself with thoughts of Durge potentially having a very unintended experience the first time she goes on that little weave date with Gale.

.

What if she intends to kiss him in the weave, but her fractured mind conjures up the image of Gortash instead after she pulls away.

It's who she really wants, she just doesn't remember.

Gale is none the wiser, until the weave slips away to reveal a panicked Durge...

Trying to explain what she saw?

Trying to brush it off?

Who is that man burned into what's left of her brain matter? Who was he to her that the weave would pull him forth when she made the decision to pursue Gale?

And laying eyes on him again for real, at Moonrise...

Maybe she finds the Prayer for Forgiveness, and her hands are shaking as she reads, knowing that she penned this.

To her father.

Her God.

To Bhaal.

Scelaritas's words suddenly make sense.

"He would forget his god for you, but you won't for him. Of that I know."

She did forget her god once, it seems.

For Gortash.

After that, she goes to Wyrm's Rock to meet him alone, because she has one burning, inescapable question.

"Who are you to me?"

[mstepenwolf]

this semester i'm experiencing an almost unprecedented lack of inspiration and drive, it's even scary. i'm not very happy with the program i'm in but i'm too deep in it to jump ship plus this degree will open doors to the undergraduate studies (which i seriously consider doing in the future). basically, the only way out is through. i will try my best to derive as much benefit out of this situation as i can but a harder task will be to just stay mentally intact.

[lokh]

im gonna draw my gaiaonline avi

[ficandkaboodle]

What if the Ministry’s headquarters is constantly moving and that’s why stuff doesn’t add up? Kind of like how Olympus in the Percy Jackson series goes where civilization powerhouses develop, but for convenience and goals’ sake. Like, they do have abbeys and ministries located all over but one of the first and oldest ones is in Italy. Sort of like a taunt to the Vatican. Like when a Burger King opens up across the street from a McDonald’s or whatever.

But as focuses expanded, so did where they had ministries established.

In the beginning, for the most part, ministries remained in the more west and southwestern regions of Europe (Italy, France, and few in the UK, etc). But we know they expanded because Terzo carried out at least some of his studies in a Polish location.

Eventually they broke ground in parts of the US with the leading location being in LA. However, the Italian Ministry closest to the Vatican will always be Ground Zero essentially. But maybe they relocated the main base of operations to Sweden when it was decided that the Church would focus on a more heavy metal style and they (read: Sister) were aware of Scandinavia’s enthusiasm for metal.

From then, a few years later, they shuffled off to America as they began to gain a bit of a following in addition to pushback, which would do wonders for

Then relocated the main hub to Sweden because of its rich metal history before shuffling to America because they were gaining a following while also experiencing pushback that would do wonders for the attention they could gain. After all, how many people even knew about Ghost until religious nut jobs raised a big stink?

Because the Italian base is of such importance and one of the larger locations, it’s customary for a predominant amount of personnel intending to rise in ranks or commit to diabology to spend a good chunk of their time there. It may not always be consecutive, and it’s not unheard of for a priest, bishop, etc to go back and forth between the Italian Ministry and another one located in another city or country.

(I’ve been thinking about this for a while but actually putting my thoughts to words was inspired by @writingjourney’s deep post regarding the use of language and influences on accents. Though they do it way better and prettier.)

[seilon]

If i don’t get an update soon on my god damn top surgery insurance negotiation im going to lose my fucking mind

[theskeletoninthegarden]

Sorry about the theater of emotions going on my face from across the room. I'm trying to resolve an argument that I made up between two fictional characters.

[coldgoldlazarus]

It's kinda funny how scattershot my approach to the 2D games has been lol.

AM2R: Beat, 100%

Zero Mission: Beat but haven't/won't complete percentage

Metroid: Completed percentage but haven't beat

Dread: Working on it

What a skip lol

I want to play Super and Fusion and the other two versions of Metroid II properly, I've watched enough playthroughs to have a good feel for them but it's no replacement for actually experiencing them myself. But I do think I want Return Of Samus to be the last one, (until future releases anyway) but not in a "putting off the worst until all other options are exhausted" way, more a "saving the best for last" way. I already know I'll love it for the story and how that's conveyed, but I want it to be special.