I have no frame of reference for the source material for this, nor did I even realise it was a fanwork of something on first read, but I barely have words to describe how much I love this comic. There's something deeply compelling about it to me -- it gives this kind of aching emptiness, longing for something even if this was always how it would end. And those bits of derealisation really sell the feeling to me, the feeling of everything you'd ever culminated having finally ended -- all hitting you as you lay awake in bed at night, almost feverish with it. Practically no direct emotions, just trying to process actions. On my first blind read I also envisioned it as a more literal game of chess divorced from the DND context (I googled the wiki pages, is that guy an actual piece of cake? lmao?) and read it as the characters being literal pieces in a game of chess, with the POV character grappling with this faint, hard-to-grasp feeling of existential horror, this simultaneous feeling of their previously-real life turned faint and fleeting now that the game has ended. Thinking back on everything that's happened and only finding this pale, unreal reality, a vague history, facts you know are true but that exist in a void. 20 years passed in what now feels like minutes -- was any of it real? Is your world real? What now? And all with a kind of repressed, creeping regret permeating through it all. Now I'm gonna assume that wasn't your authorial intent (especially now I know there's more context and that's probably POV character's general derealisation and shock lol) but I found this so captivating that even after looking a bit more into the source I keep coming back to reread every so often, months later. Hell, I've been recommending this to friends who ALSO don't know D20 purely on the basis of "this is a really good artwork." Because those emotions are still there for me!! And now I can interpret slightly altered readings!! I find your creative production decisions very inspiring too -- the pink calls to the "candy" feeling I'm seeing in the source, and juxtapose very nicely with the black and chess boards, and the repeated lines strike me as the POV character spiraling in his thoughts, always drawing his mind back to when he killed Amethar, trying to soak back in the thrill of the moment, before inevitably drifting back to other, vaguer, more private and emotional moments. "This isn't how you are supposed to feel" -- ohhh my god. Sparring him, the wind drying the sweat on your brow, does it even matter when that was? All that mattered was that he was there. But no -- this was the way it always should have ended. Your writing is so succinct yet powerful I LOVE IT. Look I REALLY have no further context here, it almost makes me want to look into the DND campaign this is from if not for my worry it won't live up to how beautiful and poignant this short isolated comic is to me... but still!! I love this comic!!!! I love your art for it, your character designs, composition and motif choices -- those last few lines are AMAZING. I'm leaving this comment here today bc I was rereading the whole comic to TAKE NOTES and WRITE DOWN MY FAVOURITE LINES. Like it's genuinely shocking to me how much this speaks to me as a standalone piece of art. Hell, I've recently been personally using a lot of metaphors to describe fights as waltzing, and coming back with that at the front of my mind, leading up to the ending where they circle each other forever, always hovering in that moment before King Amethar dies???? houuurgh i love this comic. I hope you're really really really proud of what you've made here, even if it's from a few years ago. Know that I, some random guy, saw your work with no context, no expectations, and fucking ADORED it. Just like in that first comment from modernmagica years ago, I will always remember this. (Hope you don't mind the ridiculously long comment from someone who doesn't even fully know the fandom haha. Thank you for making this and sharing it here!!!)
Again, sorry about the long comment, I rambled a lot to try and get my whole mess of feelings about this comic across lol. TLDR: Absolutely love this, amazing even as a standalone work, really fascinating to read into from that outside perspective!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!! (ps. is there anywhere i can read/watch/peruse some sort of summary of this DND campaign arc thing? cool tysm)
sincerely i think this is the best piece of fanwork i've seen for a crown of candy. holy shit man. the art is incredible with the bright pink juxtaposed against the black background, the writing fits calroy perfectly, the chess imagery is stunning, that battenburg cake line is going to stick in my brain forever i think. the way it begins to run in circles... chefs kiss. the way amethar looms over everything. incredible on every level good god i love this
wow thank you so much ^_^ been sitting on your reply for a few days to be honest, super flattering that it resonated so much with you! i dont know if ive ever been told that something i made was going to stick with someone forever, and in turn ill treasure *that* forever
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I have no frame of reference for the source material for this, nor did I even realise it was a fanwork of something on first read, but I barely have words to describe how much I love this comic. There's something deeply compelling about it to me -- it gives this kind of aching emptiness, longing for something even if this was always how it would end. And those bits of derealisation really sell the feeling to me, the feeling of everything you'd ever culminated having finally ended -- all hitting you as you lay awake in bed at night, almost feverish with it. Practically no direct emotions, just trying to process actions. On my first blind read I also envisioned it as a more literal game of chess divorced from the DND context (I googled the wiki pages, is that guy an actual piece of cake? lmao?) and read it as the characters being literal pieces in a game of chess, with the POV character grappling with this faint, hard-to-grasp feeling of existential horror, this simultaneous feeling of their previously-real life turned faint and fleeting now that the game has ended. Thinking back on everything that's happened and only finding this pale, unreal reality, a vague history, facts you know are true but that exist in a void. 20 years passed in what now feels like minutes -- was any of it real? Is your world real? What now? And all with a kind of repressed, creeping regret permeating through it all. Now I'm gonna assume that wasn't your authorial intent (especially now I know there's more context and that's probably POV character's general derealisation and shock lol) but I found this so captivating that even after looking a bit more into the source I keep coming back to reread every so often, months later. Hell, I've been recommending this to friends who ALSO don't know D20 purely on the basis of "this is a really good artwork." Because those emotions are still there for me!! And now I can interpret slightly altered readings!! I find your creative production decisions very inspiring too -- the pink calls to the "candy" feeling I'm seeing in the source, and juxtapose very nicely with the black and chess boards, and the repeated lines strike me as the POV character spiraling in his thoughts, always drawing his mind back to when he killed Amethar, trying to soak back in the thrill of the moment, before inevitably drifting back to other, vaguer, more private and emotional moments. "This isn't how you are supposed to feel" -- ohhh my god. Sparring him, the wind drying the sweat on your brow, does it even matter when that was? All that mattered was that he was there. But no -- this was the way it always should have ended. Your writing is so succinct yet powerful I LOVE IT. Look I REALLY have no further context here, it almost makes me want to look into the DND campaign this is from if not for my worry it won't live up to how beautiful and poignant this short isolated comic is to me... but still!! I love this comic!!!! I love your art for it, your character designs, composition and motif choices -- those last few lines are AMAZING. I'm leaving this comment here today bc I was rereading the whole comic to TAKE NOTES and WRITE DOWN MY FAVOURITE LINES. Like it's genuinely shocking to me how much this speaks to me as a standalone piece of art. Hell, I've recently been personally using a lot of metaphors to describe fights as waltzing, and coming back with that at the front of my mind, leading up to the ending where they circle each other forever, always hovering in that moment before King Amethar dies???? houuurgh i love this comic. I hope you're really really really proud of what you've made here, even if it's from a few years ago. Know that I, some random guy, saw your work with no context, no expectations, and fucking ADORED it. Just like in that first comment from modernmagica years ago, I will always remember this. (Hope you don't mind the ridiculously long comment from someone who doesn't even fully know the fandom haha. Thank you for making this and sharing it here!!!)
Again, sorry about the long comment, I rambled a lot to try and get my whole mess of feelings about this comic across lol. TLDR: Absolutely love this, amazing even as a standalone work, really fascinating to read into from that outside perspective!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!! (ps. is there anywhere i can read/watch/peruse some sort of summary of this DND campaign arc thing? cool tysm)
Oh wow, I am a little late to this but its... gorgeous ?
beautifully done
sincerely i think this is the best piece of fanwork i've seen for a crown of candy. holy shit man. the art is incredible with the bright pink juxtaposed against the black background, the writing fits calroy perfectly, the chess imagery is stunning, that battenburg cake line is going to stick in my brain forever i think. the way it begins to run in circles... chefs kiss. the way amethar looms over everything. incredible on every level good god i love this
wow thank you so much ^_^ been sitting on your reply for a few days to be honest, super flattering that it resonated so much with you! i dont know if ive ever been told that something i made was going to stick with someone forever, and in turn ill treasure *that* forever