190

Gerkie is a good team player!  If only she knew what the play was, haha.

And this is the end of this chapter!  Unless I change my mind later!  Because I can!

And also, there may be a longer-than-usual break before the next page.  Two reasons. 

One is that this website has been due for an overhaul for, literally, years.  I never want to take time to work on it, because I feel like I should always be working on the comic instead.  Well now, I'm giving myself time to work on it.  The biggest change will be that I will upload all the pages at a larger size.  Computer monitors are all much bigger now than when I started this comic, and my little images just don't look good enough anymore.

The other reason is that I've decided it's time to migrate to a new drawing program.  I've been using an old version of flash, but it's getting glitchier each time I switch to a new computer.  And flash is crazy expensive now (no student discount for me anymore!) so switching to a newer version isn't an option.  I'd probably keep limping along a while longer except that pen pressure recently stopped working and that's really been driving me crazy.  So (if all goes well) page 191 will be drawn completely in the new program.  Please wish me luck.  I bought Paint Studio Pro on sale, but I haven't done anything more than test images in it yet.

I also just want to acknowledge that I've been experiencing major anxiety attacks whenever I try to work on the comic, which obviously has contributed to the long gap between pages.  Anxiety has always been a part of my life, and figuring out how to work around it is an ongoing process.  I don't want my life to be dictated by the anxiety.  I also don't want to be silent and try to pretend it doesn't exist.  I know I'm not alone in dealing with anxiety, and I hope that this is a bit of encouragement to anyone else in the same boat -- that you don't have to give up when it gets hard.  You can step away and take a break, do what you need to to feel better, and then try again later.

Even if later means next week.

I am very happy that I've continued to get comic pages done, even at such a slow pace.  Because every page is another victory for me.  And while I hope you're enjoying my story, I also hope my comic helps inspire you to try to make something yourself.  Something unique, and a little crazy.  Something only you can do.  Even if you can only do it at a snail's pace.

Happy August, everyone!  Until next time!

189

Kiaron, you need to work on being a better team player, haha.  The heroes get twitchy about surprises like this.

In other news, it is way too hot here.  I just thought I should let you know.

Later!

188

I haven't updated since January?!  I'm so sorry...  :(  I knew I was having a bit of a slump, but I didn't realize it had stretched that long.

But anyway, it turns out the heroes were never in danger!  How about that?  Although I think Elliot will have a few things to say about all this.  And maybe Sarah, too.  Not Darron, though.  I think he'd rather pretend that none of this ever happened.

187

Wow.  I guess it's been a while since I last updated.  Well what can I say -- holidays are crazy when you're the one who's actually planning and implementing the activities.  And also two trips to visit family.

Next update might be delayed because Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out next week.  :)  We'll see, anyway.

Later!

186

This is a standard greeting between brothers.  My brothers would vouch for this, right?  :D

185

I managed to ride through the perfectionism and get this done.  No matter how many pages I make, I still struggle with this.  I know this isn't supposed to be a masterpiece.  But I still get caught up in obsessing over the details.  Like that hallway that you can barely see.  Bleh!

But anyway, stop worrying so much, Elliot!  I'm sure everything is just fine.

184

Sorry for the long wait.  This page kind of drove me crazy -- 14 figures, and so much perspective to make the building look decent.  I kind of burned myself out.

Also, I had to finish writing my super-important fanfiction.  That was definitely eating my brain, too.

If you find this page confusing, just think of it as being from Elliot's point of view.

Later!

183

Elliot outlines his brilliant plan.

Kiaron's plan is much less fun, but maybe more likely to work?

Happy Almost July, everybody!

See you soon I hope?

182

Exactly 2 months since my last update . . . ?  Uh, oops?  I guess I needed some time off.

Also, my little helpers are making it even harder to get any computer time.  You know . . . helping me use the mouse and hit keys on the keyboard whenever I try to use the computer.  So it goes . . .

Anyway, next time we get to hear Elliot's plan!  Don't worry, I'm sure it's a good one!  ;)

Later!

181

And finally finished this scene!  Yay!  Why was this so hard for me . . . ?

Whatever.  Now on to the next sidequest!  And making a new friend!  Yay!

Okay, I've gotta go eat more candy or something.  Bye.

180

Hey, Happy New Year . . . and Valentine's Day!  I still have to get the Twelve Days of OtW onto the art page, but I've got too much going right now.  So for now, enjoy a new page!

Yes, more talking.  Kiaron doesn't necessarily have a plan.  He's just mad and wants to go beat Thuban up.  That should work, right?

Who knew Elliot was going to end up the smart one? He's the most genre-savvy at least.

Anyway, until next time!  Eat some chocolate (or special treat of your choice)!

179

Well, here we are at last.  Happy Nanowrimo, everyone!  Yes, that is contributing to comic delays.  Sorry, but so it goes.  The upcoming holidays will also contribute to comic delays, since I am the one hosting parties instead of just attending them.

No, Darron is not a prince.  Really, he's not.  Unless you want to write fanfiction where you make him a secret prince.  In that case, do whatever you want.  ;)

Okay, Kiaron, so now can we finally move on to your plan to stop Thuban from destroying the world...?

178

Hello.  Here is a page.  Abner has once again left the comic.

Since I've been asked, the "building" in question is Thuban's house.  Since Kiaron knows that Thuban isn't going to be home for a while.  >:D

One more page the wrap this up, then we can transition into the next arc/scene.  Yay!

Status Update

Okay, sorry, I've owed you this post for a while.  After going to chase the eclipse, I ended up sick for a month straight, during which I couldn't muster the desire to work on the comic.

So, during that time, I started working on a non-comic project.  It's a short-term project, but it's taking longer to complete than I expected.  And I'm finding I'm unable to focus on the comic while I'm so close to finishing this other project.

So, I'm just going to admit to myself that I'm not going to update the comic until this other project is done, and give myself permission to stop feeling guilty.  I really, really hope to have this project finished by this weekend, but it's already taken a lot longer than I expected.  So, we'll see.

177

It's amazingly convenient how you always get a five minute timer to help you exit the building before it collapses on you.  Of course, you may have to also allow extra time for that annoying boss that shows up as you're trying to leave . . .

Anyway, Sarah may not approve, but can you blame Kiaron for wanting to get his hands on whatever goodies Thuban left behind?  Might have some really good stuff in there.  Who knows?

And yay, thief guy finally gets his name mentioned in comic.  I don't think I had yet -- Sarah always lights him on fire too quickly.  I guess I could check my archives, but I don't have the time right now.  He did at least get named on the profiles page.  Man, I need to update that.  Eventually.  Whatever.

Later, guys!

176

As promised, it didn't take them long to find Gerkie.  I wonder what she's been doing.

Just for fun, here's the last time we saw our friendly thief.

See you next time!  :)

175

Elliot is snarky.  And doesn't like having to rely on Kiaron.  But he also raises a good point.

Oh yeah, I didn't feel like explicitly stating it, but Kiaron thinks Thuban knows where the last staff piece is, too.  Both of them were saving that piece for last because they know it'll be the most inconvenient to get.

And yes, Gerkie should be back very soon.  ;)

See ya!

174

And Kiaron explains the current situation.  What will they do next?!  Oh the suspense!!

Sorry.  ;)

173

Oops, I missed all of May!  Well, I had a week of scripting, 2 weeks of everyone being sick, and . . . then trying to get used to scheduling in computer time again.

Anyway, a necessary transition page.  No, they haven't found Gerkie yet.  Don't worry, she'll be back soon.  She's off on . . . important . . . business.  Or something.

Later folks!

172

And . . . everyone's favorite purple person is back!  You can all stop worrying about him.  For now.  ;)

And Kiaron helps Elliot get some perspective about their current situation.  Sarah and Darron don't have to be shown reacting because they had already pretty much figured this out on their own.  Elliot is a little slow.  Or in denial.

Please appreciate the poses Kiaron insisted I draw for him, because they took SO LONG to draw!

I'm feeling a touch of drawing fatigue, so I'll not going to push myself to have the next page out in a week.  I also need to do some serious scripting because we're done with this arc and moving on to a whole new one!