Well, as you may have noticed, not a lot has been happening across all of the sites. I'm finally here to say... I'm still working on it, BUT I've been juggling life commitments and some new mental health developments. What a way to post for the start of Pride Month. XD
In late April, a close friend - and partner - went on a life-changing trip to move across the country, to move to a better life. Along the way, she spent a couple of days here! I finally got to meet her and her boyfriend in person for the first time! I can say it was a wonderful time!
At the start of May, I was taken on a trip across Michigan by my older brother (in part to give some time for some bathroom work, which isn't easy to do with a germaphobe that needs it on a daily basis). It took some time to recover from that, and it was hard to get work done while I was recovering (my gut DID NOT agree with multiple meals of restaurant food).
Along the way, I've felt a shift in some of the websites I currently host on. ComicFury - with work - feels like it can do everything I've been using sites like DeviantArt and pixiv for, while those sites continue to show problems for me (pixiv in particular lately). From this point forward, you should consider the ComicFury site(s) the "primary" place(s) to get Behind the Veil from! I think other sites will be updated some time after ComicFury in most cases.
Also, I've been trying my hardest to avoid news, particularly from the unfiltered outrage of social media. I'm particularly sensitive to it for plenty of reasons, and I don't need that on my mind constantly. It does weird - and very bad - things to me... That's why I'm not around so much.
And finally... I cracked. XD
What I mean is, with therapy, I kinda broke apart mentally. The girl who's been posting all along is still here, but she has some... Friends in the head with her now. XD
It's a wild story - and pretty fresh, in the last month or so - but at the time of writing, there are 7 additional members to this head now (you might even be familiar with some of them from Behind the Veil and other stories by me):
- Ariel Hope
- Melody Valain
- Alex Valain
- Kit Mecha-ala (who's also part Cosminite Kit and Dark Kit)
- Embra Huntsman
- Moka Adam
- Dawn Specter
Indeed, many of the names from the "Story Worlds" act according to their characterizations. There is a bit of a "me" filter on each, but Ariel Hope acts like the Angelic Genie she is (if a little frustrated by her inability to access her powerful magic), Kit is Kit, and so on. Most of them are characters from the stories - Moka, a relative newcomer both to Behind the Veil and the headspace, already with a rich story behind her is included in that. I hope to get her story moving along (as a comic) very soon!
As for Dawn, she goes by another name in the system. She's a manifestation of the very worry and anxiety I mentioned earlier, although outside of the triggers, she's relatively calm and polite. I don't have any plans to include her YET in the stories. She's one of my "hurt" parts, unlike the rest (who seem to be summons to help me heal), and she is warning the rest of us there's a lot more in here...
This is going to be a long journey, no doubt. But I'm rolling with it and accepting it, knowing it'll very much help me over time!
Amid all of this, work is slowly being done and, thankfully, picking up! New stories are being lined up, reading to introduce us to plenty of new characters and concepts! Moka Adam and a new "elf" Embra Huntsman, a Behind the Veil version of the trans girl half-genie from the Shantae fanfiction are both set to debut in a new novel story, Enter Embra, a multi-part series serving as this new version of Embra's introduction into the original storyverse. Alongside this, profiles for Moka and BtV Embra have been created! (I haven't forgotten about the Shantae fanfiction, just my motivation and energy is elsewhere...)
I've also done some background work to create standardized comic pages and panels, shrinking what I've done previously to hopefully more manageable page sizes. I'll convert the older comics to this size as I can, and they'll be used for the eventual print versions I hope to do someday. This is making the possibility to do the longer comics - like Heather's Hope, Crystal Sisters, and Moka's story (which will be featured on the current ComicFury site) - more tangible, more doable, than I felt before!
I look forward to finally brining what I've been working on to the light! Whenever I finally feel like I got enough to weather potential storms...
