2022 Writing Log 36

- I wrote Chapter 8 of An Unfound Door. I also wrote a summary and created a #WIPWednesday preview graphic. I’ve been using a web-based AI art program called Night Café (the website is here) to generate illustrations for these previews, and it’s been… interesting.

- I wrote a short story called “The Cow-Headed Boy” based on the Japanese urban legend of “Gozū.” I set the story in Perry County, a heavily forested tourist area just above the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg. I’ve never been to Perry County, and the story I wrote is based on a German yuletide tradition that doesn’t actually exist. That being said, the Gozū legend was also completely fabricated by a novelist, so it’s all good. I submitted the story to the midwinter issue of a UK folklore zine called Myth & Lore, which you can find online (here).

- My essay “The Role of Dōjinshi in Comic Fanzine Discourse” was posted on Women Write About Comics (here). Writing about The Discourse™ is tough, but my editor really helped me out, and I’m proud of this piece.

- YouTube randomly recommended the Tenacious D video for the song “Tribute.” I was like, Hey I used to love that song, so I watched the music video and felt bizarrely compelled to draw Jack Black. (Here) he is, bless his heart.

In other news, I’m still playing Elden Ring. This week I killed many dragons and also accidentally fell to my death many times. This is a metaphor for life.

The Adventures of Peaches, Part Twenty

Peaches, along with his Mimic Tear summon clone Peaches 2, defeated Mohg Lord of Blood! As you might imagine, Mohg was up to some nasty business and giving off rancid vibes, so that's good. Peaches also had an interesting one-on-one duel with White Mask Varré, who gives you a horrible bouquet of roses when he goes down.

Varré is the first living(?) person you meet in the Lands Between, and a lot of people online speculate that he killed your Maiden, the woman who was supposed to be the helpful NPC who welcomes you into the world of the game. I don't think that's true, and I actually like Varré a lot as a character. I killed him because the game gave me the option, and it was fun.

Next up is the Haligtree, a giant tree at the northern edge of the snow area. The Haligtree has all sorts of cool architecture up in its branches, and it reminds me of Cleyra from Final Fantasy IX. Except, because it's Elden Ring, the tree is dead and rotting and filled with mushroom cancer... but it's still very pretty!

Speaking of Final Fantasy, I used to tell people that FFXII is a gorgeous and profound and life-changing game, but that the first two to three hours are really tough. I guess I would say the same thing about Elden Ring, sort of. Elden Ring is a gorgeous and profound and life-changing game, but the first 140 hours are really tough.