I have a website now!

https://www.rstorm.net/

Just proud of it is all x-x

Sooo...

I've got some news for y'all regarding the book. I have most of Book 1 complete in terms of drafting. Actually, pretty much the entire book (or at least part 1 of it) is written in a readable format as it stands, though I might just release each part as its own thing and instead label the books "Episodes" or something quirky like that 💀

Disregarding this, though, the final 3 chapters are still almost entirely in a draft-only format that reads like a script. As a matter of fact, the final chapter isn't even properly drafted yet. It's literally just a collection of my thoughts written onto a page on how it should go... so yeah-

I do still need to go back and rework a lot of things either which way. For instance, I'm re-adding gunpowder-based ammunition because it simply isn't practical to have electronic guns be the primary weapon. That will warrant a rewrite of at least one chapter and a lot of changing things up. Another big things is I want to introduce a little more screentime for the enforcers so that they're more intimidating and interesting, especially since they're mentioned so much.

That aside, I also have a few tweaks to the general story and some massive revisions to make, as well as some data logs to insert for some generally interesting lore tidbits.

Then, after I have everything set in stone, I'll begin to commission people for the project... this will include things such as a new book cover, updated character designs, proper weapon drawings, some specific scenes, etc. I dunno how many illustrations will be in the final book, but if my wallet lets me, hopefully it'll be a bunch.

After all that, it'll be done... I think. Probably. Maybe. As for a time estimate? Can't really give ya one. Sorry. I'd love to but at this point, I really don't know. Feeling rather unmotivated lately and anxiety keeps bubbling in my chest when I don't work, leading to some... less than well feelings. Yet I have a hard time picking up the good ol' keyboard and writing things out regardless of how I feel, which is a really weird and frustrating form of procrastination to deal with. It's like "Hey, you should do this! You feel almost incapacitated and as though your heart will explode! But nah, let's just stare at the page for an hour and then just watch YouTube."

Why are we made this way ._.

P.S. Cuz of all that, I'm not so sure if we're gonna do a 300 member milestone video or not to be honest? I think I'd rather put all my effort into the book at this point-

So yeah, that's sort of how things are. Not great, not too zesty, but uh... it's goin'?

After everything is said and done, I do kinda wanna make a sort of mock-up video. Kinda like an "Anime in so-and-so minutes" sort of recap that makes fun of the story while also recapping it. A meta sort of "Yeah, I know it took a while, I know it's not that great" sort of thing to hopefully save myself from a lot of the soon-to-come "This is all we get?" comments when it releases-

So yippee.

I really appreciate my community for being so patient with me. I set out and promised an animation, shifted to a comic, and now I'm making a novel. How did we get here? Shit planning a lack of foresight. I was naive and didn't understand how the world worked... and now that I do, it's a bit too late and I'm sorta on a time crunch in a sense.

So I ask for a little bit more patience if at all possible.

I really do appreciate y'all.

Yup! It's the final stretch! It'll take a few weeks/months, still, but we're pretty close!

These last few chapters are especially hard to write cuz

✨plot and emotions✨so yayyy...

After that, I've gotta go back and revise the entire thing, and THEN I gotta update the drawings and add some new ones!

Once that whole process is done, the book is (in theory) ready for publication, at which point I'll be seeing about some proper beta readers! Gonna see about getting people $10 a piece for reading the whole thing and giving feedback! That may not seem like much, but each chapter is about a 6 minute read tops, so... yuh

And I'm broke <.<""

Might up it to $15 or something, we'll see

If I do that, I'll definitely be willing to pay those who ALREADY proof-read it for free, though! I'll let y'all know if I end up doing it and, if so, just reach out to me if you've already helped :0

Then, if the feedback is positive enough not to warrant going back and rewriting a lot of stuff, I'll see about making some physical copies and launching the book with a Kickstarter of some kind with some fancy stuff like posters! We'll see! It IS only part one of two, but it's been a long journey to get here so

I definitely wanna start it off with a bang!

That's all for now, I just wanted to let people know my plan!

(Side note, working with a coder friend to potentially get a proper website up for the book... I was thinking of making the URL "https://www.rstormis.gay" or "https://www.rstormisdumb.lol"... namely cuz it'd be funny as shit, and both are available 💀)

Not gonna say whenever I finish the draft for a chapter, just the important ones; don't worry!

This chapter in particular I'm pretty proud of, though

Not sure if you could count it as a twist villain or nothin', but

It's still like a reveal and whatnot

And it's also arguably one of the most disturbing things I've ever written so... yayyy-

I'm just waiting on a draw for it and then it'll be ready!

I have absolutely no fucking idea what I'm doing! But I'm sure it'll turn out fine :0

Gonna be trying to expand my social media horizons, though! I've made a Twitter account to start with, but I might make - and manage - more in the future. I want to grow an audience for my story so that when it's finished, I can start a Kickstarter to turn it into a webcomic or manga!

So yeah! That's what's happenin'! If you wanna support the Twitter account, it's here:

https://twitter.com/ItAtDawn

I'm gonna be posting stuff about the story and whatnot there! And uh

Random shit I think about I guess

Hey! Quick update on everything!

SIGNIFICANT plot changes going forward! The previous iteration was strong for the first half and progressively lost focus as it went on... no more! I've built up some things, I've been careful with characters, and I'm building the plot in a way I fully understand now! Dare I say that the ending might actually be worth your time now <.<"

The Tapas story is discontinued, so reading that one is HIGHLY discouraged! It's no longer canon and anything you read in it is legacy content!

Instead, PM me if you're interested in helping, whether you wanna help draw things for the book, help beta read the new stuff and give feedback, etc.! I'm always looking for some helping hands!

I love you all, and I apologize for the lack of updates!

My book's still going! Not strong, but it's going <.<"

Not the best writer ok-

Anyways! I've begun writing a small summary of chapters prior to actually writing them, so I don't mess it up... so ye! Chapters should theoretically be better written and easier to actually write from this point on! :D

(Blurred cuz SPOILERS >:|)

Anyways! Uhhhh... ye

That's about it! You can read it below:

https://tapas.io/series/rstorm-novel-1/info

Lemme know what you think >:)

Love y'all!

(Sorry for the lack of updates, I typically post them to my Discord, not here, sooo...)

(Discord link: https://discord.com/invite/6BsauKFbCc)

https://youtu.be/SvmcCq6spJk

Here's our first dev long! Sorry for the hiatus-

Kinda forgot to post here-

We're on Wattpad now! Come check it out >:3

https://www.wattpad.com/story/298367067

I genuinely cannot believe we've reached 3,000 views already...

Thank you all so much ;-;