Spiky-Haired Dragon, Worthless Knight

[ak-ryuu]

Hey all,

just checking in to say that I'm still alive and I haven't forgotten about SHD-WK -- but I also don't have an update.

I do still want to continue and hopefully finish some day; but I still can't find the time, energy, place, or tools needed to do so at this time.

I'd like to at least finish the writing, but have not made much progress on that front either.

If/when I do, should I
- just release the written notes?
- force myself to draw and publish them, no matter how far below my personal "good enough"?
- hope to find somebody else to draw them that I feel I can work with?
- something else entirely?

At this point, it will probably be years until even the writing is done. I do have notes and I know where the story is going, but I've been "out of the loop" for so long it will be hard to even get into it, if I don't have a few weeks/months at a time to devote to it, and with Real Life and health issues and family issues going on, it's just not happening right now.

Anyone who dropped by to read this, I do hope life is treating you well; and perhaps one day you'll check by once more and the site has indeed come back to life again!

(If it weren't temporarily dead, it would have lived for .... 16 years now. Where has the time gone? Spiky would be 16! .... when do dragons hit puberty?)
_________________
Do you mind? I'm trying to learn about the Okapi.

[Ilari]

Hello, author.

I was just doing my daily rounds through my ancient bookmark folder of favorite webcomics, skipping over those that have (sadly) died, but it seems that I missed Order of the Stick by a few pixels and landed here instead. When I found this post and noticed the lack of replies, I couldn't leave without saying something.

I'm afraid I have no advice for you. Obviously I want to see the story continue in the best quality possible, but not if it means sacrificing your health or quality of life. Finding an achievable way of finishing the story isn't really something your audience can help you with.

What I can say is that it makes me very happy to hear you're alive, that you still care about this story, and that you still want to finish it some day. It must have been very discouraging to post this update and not get a single reply for two weeks. I just wanted you to know that there's at least one person out there who still thinks about you and Spiky from time to time, and hopes that one day you'll be doing well enough to achieve your goal. It's not much, but consider this small bit of encouragement a late birthday gift to the dragon, her struggling knight, and you.

[adDiyn]

Not just one, here is another fan of the comic, who still comes by once in a while to check.

I know how hard live can be and how demanding. Sadly some stuff has to go to the background because of that.
But rest assured no matter how long it takes, as long as I am around, I will come by and check. And no matter how small the update, it will always be appreciated.

I do hope that eventually you will find the peace and time to finish the story, by whatever means you are comfortable with (guest artists, text version,...), but in the end your health and that of your family have always to come first.

From time to time I enjoy reading the comic as it is now, and if the end will never be published, then thats as far as it goes.

Best wishes
Jakob

[wallac]

Hi Ak-Ryuu,
I really enjoy your comic. I hope that one day you can come back and finish it. I wonder if you would get any reaction out of posting an update saying you are still not going to update it but that you are still alive.
Take care of your family and hope to see new comics someday soon.
<3
~wallac

[PMAOpus]

I hope it's clear to you, dear Author, that every now and then, nearly three years after the last update, there are still people who wander by to see if anything has updated. Which is to say, there are people out there who genuinely think your work is good, and worth their time and energy.

If you don't think your work lives up to a standard of "good enough," you are quite alone in that. But as a person prone to perfectionism, I can relate. You're *not* alone in that!

Real life, and health issues, and family issues-- these are all important and valuable things, and they need to come first. I'm sure I am not the only one who hopes those things become well for you. And who hopes that the time, energy, place, and tools you need to accomplish your hopes and dreams find their way back into your life.

I'd love for this story to pick up again. I remember it with such joy! But if it is not life-giving to you, then perhaps you should not pick it up again. Creativity is vital to human life, but when creativity is forced, it is no longer that source of life it should be. I don't think anyone--neither you nor your fans--would find joy in the rest of this story if, as it were told, it caused you misery.

But if, and when, you do, we will still be here, hoping and waiting. And in whatever form it takes--written notes, detailed scripts, illustrations that aren't "good enough," your proudest work, or someone else's--we will, I am certain, delight in its telling. And will delight in your well-being, which allows it to be told.

Be well, and know that you are loved, even by people you've never met.