Hi all! I have a lot going on with friends and family (and other work), so decided to take the week off for the holiday. You may think “hey shouldn’t this mean you miss NEXT week’s update instead of this one” but shhh, haha. Next week there WILL be an update!
Normafest is Idenau’s harvest festival, the feast of gratitude dedicated to the goddess of stability, and with that: comfort and home, however you find and define those things. Technically it takes place for them at the beginning of autumn, before Havocfest, but let’s celebrate it now.
I really can’t express how thankful I am at this point in my life. A year ago I was, to put it simply, in a really bad place. This comic didn’t exist; heck, the world of Idenau barely felt alive at all. I didn’t have a creative anchor, and felt immensely adrift and lost in every respect, trying to work towards vague ideas of “success” that my heart wasn’t really into. At the beginning of the pandemic, I began to realize some things: I didn’t need to compare myself to others, I just needed to find something that made me happy and would hopefully touch and affect at least a few other people, because life is short and the best I can do is pour my soul into something of my own, something with sincerity. But it took a long time, over a year, for me to actually truly internalize and begin to act on those lessons. That’s when I began this comic. It’s also when I began to spend more time talking and playing games and having fun with others instead of hunkering like a hermit in my own little art corner, which is one reason for the comic being a bit late sometimes, but one I don’t apologize for. I love Victor, my friends, and my various communities of art/stream supporters and am doing the best I can to balance my energies and affections. It’s from the people I love that I draw strength to continue this story, much as Goldgills and his crew draw strength from each other.
My greatest hope is that in the coming year, you’ll continue to enjoy this comic and the places it goes. I put a lot of my aforementioned struggles, and the realizations and triumphs as well, into this story and the things Goldgills feels and goes through. I do hope you enjoy the journey, and thank you again for coming on it with me. From the bottom of my heart.
-Courtney
