So, Sleepless Domain is a webcomic about magical girls. So far, it's not very long but it looks like it's been getting regular updates for some time, the artwork is gorgeous, the story and setting interesting and it offers a rather fresh take on the genre.
This is a city that is kinda isolated from the outside (at least as far as I understood things so far) and monsters can't enter during the day. At night, basically, from ten pm to two am, monsters can enter and it is up to magical girls to fight them.
One thing that sets this world apart from other magical girl shows is that the identities thing is not a secret. It is known who is a magical girl and who isn't, in fact, they have camera crews, licensing and merchandise deals and are pretty much celebrities with fans. In fact, it seems to be their main income and lots of girls react differently to that, which makes things interesting. You have girls who are mainly out for fighting and then you have those who put more importance on publicity and whatnot.
Magical girls also, for example, go to a special school just for them, whereas normal people go to a normal school. In fact, one character switches from one to the other and the contrast is interesting. The whole society is, and how the whole magical girl thing is integrated.
It works rather well and the webcomic has a lot of imagination. The monsters are pretty good and the rules by which this world and its magic operate under are rather intriguing, even if what we know is relatively little.
But I haven't told you what this story is about, not really and because it would be kind of a spoiler. So if you like reading webcomics/comics/manga/magical girls, then give this one a shot. It's worth reading.
To those unconvinced, spoilers under the break
The story starts with a magical girl team of five, which gets destroyed, leaving two survivors. Undine, the Sailor Mercury of the group and Tessa, the old leader, who has now lost her powers. The story now follows Undine, who was a support fighter, trying to find her own way now on her own, dealing with survivors guilt, trying to become a more proactive fighter and find the mysterious individual responsible for the monster attack which devastated her team and who seems to have it in for her and Tessa, who, after using up all of her power to heal a dying Undine, has now returned to becoming a normal girl and has to pick up her life from there, and is also dealing with survivors guilt. Undine is the main character but we also periodically check up on Tessa, and that's really where we are.
It's not grimdark everything is misery and life sucks kinda thing but it can get more serious but still a rather positive experience. The supporting cast is fun and bright so far but not silly.
So yeah, it's still very much early into the story but what we have so far is beautiful art, a creative and imaginative world and interesting characters.
Wordcout: ca 390k in total with the first story being 89k and the second one being 302k.
link:
AO3
Summary:
What if Dr. Harleen Quinzel stopped in front of Poison Ivy's cell that first day rather than The Joker's? How would things change?
So, this is a bit of an interesting and strange story, or rather stories. The first one is rather simple. The summary describes it basically perfectly. On her first day in Arkham as a doctor, Dr. Quinzel becomes interested in Poison Ivy instead of the Joker and falls into her orbit rather than his. The first story is the mind games those two characters play on each other and the interest they take, slowly culminating in a relationship, which, in turn, kinda redeems Ivy.
Basically spoiled the first story right there but don't think this was any surprise there. As you can see, that is not really what this story over all is about. This is merely the prequel to the main body, to set that story up. On itself, it's really nothing amazing. 3/5. Decent story. Read it or don't. If there hadn't been the second story, which makes reading this one a necessity.
The real meat, the truly interesting and fascinating part of the story is the next part which focuses entirely on the family life of Harley and Ivy. All the usual stuff that is happening in super hero stories? Fighting villains, defeating world ending threats all the drama in the shows and cartoons and movies? That's all happening off-screen. We barely see it. That's their jobs, really. At most we get snippets of someone in costume fighting some gangster but even there it is not about the action but rather focusing on why that person has put on the costume and why they are out there instead of being at home.
There isn't really an overarching plot, just character development and interaction. And the most important thing? There is a clear progression of time. It's not 300k about a year or two in their lives. Instead, its about their whole life. Harley and Ivy move together, have children, these children grow up, later on get their own children and these children grow up as well and start to fight crime.
And honestly, this story got heartbreaking at times. I basically burned through this story in one night without sleep and it fucked me up because the end is just haunting.
As you can see, their children are (I think) mostly OCs (unless the author converted existing minor DC characters into the children but if so, no one I know but doubt it) and are rather fleshed out. The relationship between Ivy and her eldest daughter is just pure tragedy.
*1
And honestly, I have never read a story like this. To see that progression of time mercilessly affect the characters and their family was powerful to read. We get to know each character, see their lives play out and ultimately end.
*2
Another big thing is that the relationship between Harley and Ivy is not all roses. They are both intrinsically messed up people, have some rotten personality traits and hurt each other at times, as despite the love and family they share, they still have traits of personality that clash wildly and make this relationship not something that works without effort but rather something more tangible and real. Yeah, things can be cute and romantic between them but also vicious and damaging.
The writing over all is rather solid, it has its weaknesses at times as the grammar is a bit wonky from time to time, some arcs aren't as good as others, not every conflict feels natural, and the last two chapters or so and the stuff with Supergirl was a bit meh but overall, it works. The other DC characters that appear are written competently, although the story was rather unkind to Jason Todd and it's engaging from beginning to end.
Another weakness would be that Jo is a bit the exception when it comes to memorable OCs. The rest work in the context of the story and the emotions the story wants you to feel but the getaway character from the story is definitely Jo, as a lot more effort was put into her than in anyone else.
It also needs a while to get going and the first story is unfortunately a bit meh and doesn't really give you the energy to push further into the second story but you absolutely should.
So yeah, it's a long read and probably not really for everyone but it has been without a doubt one of the better stories I've read this year and if any of what I wrote sounds appealing to you, I urge you to give it a try. As of my writing about this right now, the story has nearly 1300 comments and about 900 kudos and it deserves every one and more.
Maybe a bit high but honestly, can't do anything else but give this a 4/5. Read this months ago and I still think about it from time to time.
Below the cut are *1 and *2 because they spoil a lot of stuff for the second story.
*1 One more fascinating aspect is the fact that Ivy doesn't age, being a whatever she is. So we have her being relatively immortal but having to watch her wife grow old and die, same with her children. And honestly, their deaths, all natural due to age and sickness, were honestly some of the most heartbreaking scenes I have ever experienced in a story. The farewell letter that Ivy's eldest daughter had written before her death, which Ivy got after she had died, nearly made me cry.
*2 And to see their daughter Jo grow from a cute, precious child, to a proud and positive athlete, to an angry teenager who hates the fact that her biology disqualifies her from her dream and which creates a rift in the family that will never be truly bridged, to making mistakes and pursing goals just to antagonize her mother, to a hero in her own right,then to a mother herself, finally retiring as well but still dealing with all the family issues and then ultimately dying has been a harrowing and fascinating journey.
Rules: tag your top eleven male/female/not clearly falling into either category characters. Tag ten people to do the same.
Okay, this is a hard one, so, here it goes. Of course, in no particular order:
Taylor Hebert (Worm by Wildbow)
Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)
Saber (Fate Zero and Fate Stay Night by Nasu)
Jaime Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)
Revy ( Black Lagoon by Rei Hiroe)
DEATH (Discworld novels by Sir Terry Pratchett)
Kakashi Hatake (Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto)
Homura Akemi ( Puella Magi Madoka Magica by Gen Urobechi)
Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling)
Lisa Wilbourne (Worm by Wildbow)
I have probably forgotten a few.
And more temporary ones, who are there because I am in the fan-zone fore a few months, who probably won't be there after some time has passed but who are there now, simply because I am still kinda obsessed with the show:
