I'll tag my posts related to my isekai comic plans as #volpeonIsekai . This time I'll plan it all properly by writing the plot down, creating storyboards, the whole thing.
I could copy the pinned post from the old account, but it isn't Winter and my mood is much better, so that would feel a bit weird.
The reason I created this account was to talk about topics I'd like to keep out of my main account. This does also include more personal ones, but it can be anything that simply doesn't feel like it belongs there. That's why I call this a "bonus account" rather than a "personal alt" and why I won't restrict followers. I want to allow people to find my posts and read them without my approval.
One thing I explicitly try to post about here every once in a while are topics related to my desire to be an animal. I felt this way for my whole life, and so of course it's a significant part of who I am today. I want to talk about my identity and my self exploration using characters and art, and I also want to share my views to related topics openly and honestly. As those of you who followed my old account know, my views don't necessarily agree with those propagated in online spaces related to therianthropy etc, but I will never try to force them on others.
My planning for the comic looks pretty decent now. I got - a section "Ideas", categorized as needed. There's "premise", "intro" for different ideas on the beginning, "questions" for anything I need to think about, etc. - "Outline", where I write down the chapters and what they cover. - "Plot", where I plan every panel for every page.
My writing is mostly bullet points, but that's plenty. Things are easier when you're both the writer and the artist.
I think the outline I wrote so far makes for one year of material, if I go with the same schedule and density as Wanderings of Morok. That's fucking intimidating
Since the secondary main character is more human-like, there's now the option to give the wyvern main character a name. And also a new name for the comic based on it. I wouldn't have considered it otherwise since animals don't rely on names for identification.
I'm looking forward to figuring out a interactions between them both when language is not an option. Characters being able to speak the same language with little to no effort, even across species boundaries, has always felt like cheating to me.
edit: That isn't to say that use of language will never happen. But between the wyvern and the other main character, it will never be on the level of natural conversation. It's much like how teaching commands to animals will only get them to understand some individual words but nothing about grammar, syntax and context.
I got the outline for the first 2 chapters and the beginning of chapter 3. I'll have to translate this into pages and panels, and I also need to design the second main character. I'm thinking about a species somewhat like Areon's, minus the futuristic technology stuff.
It's super easy to get stuck with the idea that I need to solve things exactly the same way as other media. Like, the first beginning I drew resembled the dragon isekai a lot. Then, I had trouble getting away from the idea that I need to find a pivotal childhood moment as an intro like Wanderings of Morok does.
I think such a moment doesn't work for my comic because it disagrees with my own experiences of my own development. I thought I could use a retrospective as a setup where the protagonist saw their reflection in the water and realized it's themself, but I just don't remember ever having such moments myself. My life is a gradual evolution of understanding and I can't think of a single thing where I'd be like "it was in April 12th, 2003 at 10:16 when I understood ..."
Been racking my brain for my comic plot, and I finally got a rough idea that doesn't reek of plot holes. I was also worried about people being put off if I made it a blatant reincarnation story, so I tried to circumvent that. And I also need to build a consistent narrative from a character who only gained higher sapience due to the reincarnation.
Honestly, even if it's not easy, I'm having a blast with this whole project.
My strategy for the comic is now as follows: - Write the story outline. As text. - Practice adding more details and shading to my art. The comic is going to use large panels, so it's important to not make them look plain and boring.
It's kind of funny that all of my characters nowadays are bipedal. I used to avoid having even the faintest bit of human-likeness in my characters, so walking on 2 legs was right out.
On another note, seeing the raptors in the comic I recently recommended makes me want to have one as a character. I thought about it a few times before, actually. Should be a good project when I need a break from the comic.
I'll definitely need a timeskip because I'm sure people don't want to see how wyverns learn hunting in all it's unpleasant detail. Learning to fly would be interesting, though. I might be able to use the interference of past life impulses as a way to need him to "re-learn" it.
If there's a lesson I learned lately, it's that I can't shortcut my way around proper planning. I thought I'd plan the panels progressively and things would fall into place, but that turned out to be wrong.
I've been thinking about one more thing lately: Do I really need my comic to be an isekai?
The core of the story is basically the life of a non-human protagonist who's a bit smarter and curious than his brethren. I used reincarnation as a vehicle to create a contrast between life as we know it and life of an animal, and to serve as a motivation to go on adventure. I never planned for it to go beyond some weird impulses, so they never even learn about who they were before. Those impulses will have to stop being disruptive at some point. You can't have the protagonist have trouble walking with wings forever.
And once this happens, has there been any point in adding the reincarnation aspect? Isn't it possible to tell the same story on the basis that the character just happens to be smarter and curious? Whether there's a past life interfering or not, they still have to learn to fly, to hunt, etc. A past life isn't necessary for them to be scared of heights or to encounter other problems.
I need to keep reminding myself that he experiences this feeling and doesn't even know that it is unusual. An adult human would be scared if this happened to them frequently, but a young creature who doesn't know anything about the world or itself? That's its "normal".
Reminds me of my own feelings regarding the desire to be non-human. I felt this way from such an early age that it didn't strike me as unusual or weird or even worth mentioning. I simply didn't feel the need to express it outwardly in any way, which in hindsight was lucky because I didn't need additional attention for other things on top of my awkwardness in social situations.
The tricky part remains to find a narration that doesn't rely on human logic to draw conclusions, especially at the beginning. And that's hard because it just happens automatically.
Volpeon Extra
@areon@icy.wyvern.rip