It would be a good idea to post a few notes every now and then. If I can’t update the comic as often as I’d like, at least I can post notes on what’s going on behind the scenes or if there will be any delays.

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September 9, 2024

I forgot to mention when Scene 16 was uploaded, but its transcript was finished and uploaded today.

April 27, 2024

Another update in a few days? What devilry is this? In any case, Transcript #15 is up.

April 25, 2024

Yes, there has been a delay, but for good reason. I got accepted into grad school, and for the past few weeks, I’ve been going back and forth between school offices, financial aid offices, and other offices to make sure my first term actually begins this summer (preferably without going into too much debt).

I’ve been working on the comic whenever I can; I’m probably halfway done with Scene 16. But these delays have made me consider other ways to tell this story. I do like the British and Irish tradition of audio dramas, and I’ve been wanting to write one myself for the longest time. Or maybe I’ll do something similar to what all these analog horror projects are doing and tell the story through a mix of mediums.

Regardless, I am determined to continue and eventually finish this story. I’ll start talking about my progress again on my blog in the near future, and I’ll link to the tag/category as soon as I make a first post.

Have a great one, and do something nice for the world.

March 12, 2024

Scene 15: It recently occurred to me that Clip Studio Paint on the iPad likes to shift dialogue boxes in balloons to the right. It’s a very unappealing effect, and it makes me look like I don’t know how to use the program… even less than usual, I mean. The images have been updated with the improvements.

March 11, 2024

Scene 14 transcript is up. Only two more to go and I will have caught up with the comic itself.

February 6, 2024

Transcripts for Scenes 11, 12, and 13 have been posted. Now to catch up on Scenes 14 and 15.

January 31, 2024

I wanted to get a new scene up by the end of the month, and it happened. Praise be.

December 18, 2023

Scene 14 is up and I have plans to use the rest of the year (all lucky thirteen days of it) to write transcripts for Scenes 11-14.

October 8, 2023

Scene 10 transcript has been uploaded. Let’s see if I can finish another transcript—or Scene 14—before the month is done.

September 23, 2023

Scene 13 is up. This has to be the longest I’ve spent on a comic. I blame my laptop for being a noisy nuisance, my iPad for being sluggish and nearly obsolete, my newish job for making me tired, and myself for not managing my time better. Even thinking about the time I spent on this scene is making me tired.

September 2, 2023

The transcript for Scene 9 is up. Scene 13 is still being colored. I’m feeling a bit guilty for not updating in August, but I do have a good excuse: I’ve been acclimating to a new part-time job. Although drawing a comic is more fun, paying the bills is a bit more important.

June 26, 2023

The transcript for Scene 8 is up, and the images for Scene 13 are being set up.

June 14, 2023

Transcripts for Scenes 6 and 7 are up, and they barely hurt to write at all.

June 8, 2023

Scene 12 is up. This one feels like it took longer. Not from the health/caregiver issues, but from the details I wanted to include. I like to use brushes for shortcuts in my work, but I couldn’t find a lot of free lightning and scorch mark brushes that I liked.

I’ve been falling behind on the transcripts, so I think I’ll dedicate more time to writing those this month. Scene 13 will be in the works, but I need to catch up on transcripts. I don’t want to be on Scene 100 and realize that I’ve left behind a segment of readers.

May 18, 2023

I realized this evening that I made a minor mistake in Scene 8. When Cat opens the desk, the sides have changed.

Since magic runs rampant in this world, why not explain that mistake with magic? It has the added perk of giving Cat a minor obstacle each time she wants to read Barty’s letters.

Maybe I’ll have the desk turn into a cavern at one point.

May 7, 2023

Updating the Scenes page with Scene 11 would have been helpful. Can’t believe it took me over a week to realize it.

April 28, 2023

Scene 11 is up for all to enjoy or at least look over in bemusement.

Normally, I’d take a few days in between posting and roughing out the next scene, but I’ve got the itch to keep moving.

April 23, 2023

Surprise of surprises, Scene 5’s transcript is up. I don’t think I even announced my intention to work on it. Maybe I shouldn’t talk about my plans in that case; I could finish more projects. No, then people will think that I’m not working on anything at all.

Scene 11 could be finished today or tomorrow. Funny how a rambling character can cut down on the number of pages you were originally going to make.

I discovered one of WordPress.com’s quirks: while I was editing a link, I got a notice in the left sidebar:

This color combination may be hard for people to read. Try using a brighter background color and/or a darker link color.

Designers, you chose this color scheme and the varied options. Don’t get onto me about your choices.

April 4, 2023

The Scene 4 transcript is up at long fricking last.

I’ve been creating a pub model in Blender, with all the usual setbacks and time sinks that come with working in that software. To summarize:

• I’m probably better off creating a clean 3D model and screencapping it as needed or exporting it into Clip Studio Paint.
• I should focus on the areas where the scenes take place; right now, Cat’s corner is more important than the bar area.
• Texturing the whole model will take time. That means less time actually drawing the comic. I can do a bit of work here and there as the scenes require.
• I did create a nice watercolor shader using a tutorial, though. I’ll have to see if I can recreate it somehow in CSP.

Even if I don’t have a model to plop my characters in, I have a reference. Things will progress more smoothly now.

March 21, 2023

A big part of the reason why the comic doesn’t get updated as often is that I deal with the pesky problem of backgrounds. It would be fantastic if I could plop my characters in a setting, make some speech bubbles, and export the images. I’d probably update more than once a month that way.

I can do something kind of like that in Blender, but it’s going to take time. With the Sketch N’ Carve add-on by artist Sahin Ersoz, it won’t take as long as it usually does.

I’m kind of excited to do this. But this means that I won’t be drawing the comic right away. Maybe I’ll take a page from the Pizza Tower guys and draw concept art and non-canon comics.

March 3, 2023

Yes, I’m using the American dating system. Bite me.

At long last, Scene 10 is up. Lots of real life issues came up and there were days that I didn’t feel like working on the comic. I’m also in the process of trying to grow my grant research business, which requires a lot of researching of potential clients and quite a bit of interviewing. Lots of fun for an easily exhausted introvert.

So, understandably, Scene 10 was posted later than I would have liked. I don’t know if Scene 11 will be up this month, but I’m motivated to start sketching it this week. As the old saying goes, “A good start is half the work.”