Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in serpentrose's InsaneJournal:

Friday, June 6th, 2008
12:43 pm	Bronwynne's Hometown First off the town is as yet unnamed, though I'm thinking something Irish/celtic would be appropriate I don't yet know what. It's fairly small, and the inhabitants are largely farmers and hunters. I'm not yet certain if I want the local terrain to be hilly, foresty, or forested hills, or maybe something else. Winters are fairly long and tough, due in part to the wildlings who, especially in lean years, will supplement their diets with food raided from the village and surrounding areas. I had an idea that the locals would share a central storehouse and living quarters during winter to make the supplies easier to protect. This place used to be Lord Owen's Keep, but it was abandoned a long time ago when the wells went bad. Hauling water for a few hundred people up to the top of a hill is not a desirable task. I've decided that the wintering residence would also serve as an Inn and Tavern during the warmer months. During the warmer months the villagers disperse to their various farms and summer homes- whatever and wherever those might be. I haven't decided on a great deal of technological details, but since the village is located well off the beaten track it wouldn't be at the same level as the cities. About ten years ago the Innkeeper made a deal for an enchanted cauldron that produces a good hearty stew, haven't decided for how many though, every evening. About eight years ago a skilled healer and midwife moved into town causing the infant and child mortality rates to drop dramatically. Weaponry would be mostly things which are fairly easy to make and maintain, or useful enough in hunting that they'd be worth the effort to maintain. If I decide the area is forested the villagers will undoubtedly keep an area around the village cleared so that the lookouts can see the wildlings coming. There may, or may not, be a wooden wall about the town- I'm not sure if it would be worth the effort to build and maintain. (Comment on this)
Monday, May 26th, 2008
3:30 pm	Dumping the Infodumps I recently read through my script, what little of it I've actually written, and discovered it's boring. I've got too much plot exposition and too little interesting stuff. Pruning it is a pain in the ass. I've done some already, but there's still more to do. Especially since I've done little more than cut off some of the fat. I'm pretty sure there's still more to go, but I'm not sure how little I can get away with and how to make what's left interesting. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
12:52 pm	On Ratings and Content I've been thinking about As We Know It (a comic about the end of the world) and come to the conclusion that my original plan of sticking to a PG13 rating might not be workable. I don't have anything planned for it that I feel would be unsuitable for a thirteen or fourteen year old to read, but then I have a different opinion of what is suitable for a fourteen year old than many other parents do. Mostly around sex. It should be noted that I am aware that my fourteen year old daughter reads and writes slash. I suspect when she first told me this it was in the hopes of getting a reaction out of me. Since I remember being a teenager who thought about sex a lot I wasn't surprised. I also wonder if the Internet had been around when I was her age if I would have done the same. I can't say for certain that I would have, nor that I wouldn't have. I'm not going to make As We Know It and "Adult Comic", but neither am I going to go out of my way to avoid sexual content if/when the story requires it. I don't know, beyond a handful of things which must happen, exactly where the strip will go. The story has already altered significantly from what I originally had in mind. This is a good thing, because the changes are, overall, for the better. It just means I don't know what's going to happen. If I decide to create a strip about Modren's story I might need to include sex, though I suppose I could fade to black. The thing is there are certain elements of his story wherein sex and sexuality are important. Including that he was the lover of an Arcanian Prince. I know some idiots consider the merest mention of homosexuality to render something unsuitable for children and teens. I'm also intending for the violence to be brutal rather than romanticized- largely because some of my favorite works (both books and film) depict violence in gory glory. They can be hard to read/watch, but are much the better for the nasty reality they include. I'm thinking it would be interesting to make the comic mostly black and white, but with the addition of red in the battle scenes. I'm not sure about that one yet, but it was a thought that I had. (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 6th, 2008
3:25 pm	Species Name Needed Right now I"m stalled on my script, so I'm going to make a request of anyone reading this. I need a name for one of the intelligent species, they're sort of elf-like and sort of dryad like. Here's something I wrote from the perspective of someone who is essentially one of them. I was raised by my mother and her sibs- there were eight of them, including my mother. There are rarely more than five or fewer than three. Three were differentiated [gendered] and two were juvenile trees, having planted themselves at a young age. Mother was, biologically speaking, my father. She was a switch and had became female during puberty. After my human mother died in childbirth my (dryad) mother became female in response. There's more, but I don't feel like typing it up and it has more to do with his love life than with his one parent species. "Sibs" are siblings born at the same time, and they tend to be very close. Tristan (who comes from Toronto) will tend to think of Torell as a half-elf, but I want a name that they call themselves, rather than just calling them elfs. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 24th, 2008
12:15 pm	As We Know It: Some Ideas Right now I'm planning a webcomic which I intend to start posting at the end of October. This should give me plenty of time to get a three month buffer in place. I'm thinking the frequency of updates will be related to the size of the buffer I build. It is the story of two young women and their lovers working to avert The Final War in which Humanity Will be Destroyed. A Seer known for being uncannily accurate has predicted that one of the women (who happen to be twins) must retrieve The Sword of Lord Owen- also known as "Skewer". (Lord Owen wasn't the brightest of people, fortunately his wife was.) The Story begins with Bronwynne traveling back to Nexus from our world (or at least one very much like it). She is followed by the annoyingly impulsive Tristan and they are informed that the Seer has Seen the two of them have a good chance of at least delaying The Final War and The End of the Worlds. There is some discussion and concerns about Tristan going along, but the Seer is adamant that the group needs to include him. (I'm working on the exact wording as the Seer predicted Tristan's arrival at nexus- all I know is that there will be mention of him being a follower of a One Eyed God.) (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 1st, 2008
8:29 am	As We Know it Character List (Partial) I've decided that I will be using this for mulling over writing ideas that I don't mind making public. As We Know it Character List (Partial) Branwynne: A woman from a small village in an alternate reality. She was taken to Nexus at the age of ten and taught how to use magic and some other neat stuff. She was sent to the "Real World" to untangle a spell which affects the flow of time on a worldwide scale. Tristan's Girlfriend. Rhiannon: Branwynne's Twin Sister and an excellent warrior. When she was 15 she gave up her fertility so that she wouldn't bleed. As one of the Morgana she is expected to support the rightful ruler of her land and keep up with her training and train others in turn. Morgan: Branwynne's Boyfriend. A sorceror and healer who resides in Nexus. He has a strange connection to a powerfully enchanted chamber there which has been known to trap souls. Tristan: Branwynne's Boyfriend. A guy from the "Real World" who follows Branwynne through a PortaPortal and gets dragged along on an adventure. I really need to flesh out this character more. All I really know right now is that he's impulsive and that he's a follower of Odin. Kevin: (name subject to change if/when I think of a better one) Rhiannon's Fiance. A sorceror capable of opening portals between realities. Kevin doesn't like fighting and feels somewhat uncomfortable with how much Rhiannon seems to enjoy swordplay. (Comment on this)