I figured my first post writing about the writing of this comic would just be answering all the questions I’ve recieved in one place that would be easy to find. Since the comic is complete I was able to answer anything without worrying about spoilers. This should also serve as a good way to keep the audience engaged while the Kickstarter is going on. Did you know it launches on August 19? Well, go ahead and follow that link to get notified when it finally becomes active. Check out the cover I made for the eventual physical release! Back the project to make it real, please!

…Now onto the reader questions…

 

Who is Puffer’s dad? Is he relevant to the story?

There were a lot of questions about this as the comic was updating, haha. I don’t have any character in mind for him. There’s no concept art lying around that secretly depicts him or anything. Some readers early on suspected Killer Whale was secretly Puffer’s dad because he’s an adult male near Sharon’s age, but that is not the case, as Sharon and Killer Whale have only ever had a bitter rivalry and nothing more. I do have a place for Puffer’s unseen father figured into the story’s timeline, though.

A big part of this story is how Puffer and Sharon are very alike in many ways, one of which is fleeing an abusive authority figure in their teens. Sharon fled Lord Jel, who is a fascist monster with a cult of personality based around him who pits his followers against each other. So Sharon was raised with this inherent need to tear other people down out of some sense of self-preservation, but after fleeing she’s just in one submarine, she had no robot army, no massive fleet to defend herself. So her early life was definitely a desperate situation where she’d have been taken in by some ship town she stumbled across in order to survive and eventually build up her power.

Through living in a more healthy community, she would develop for the better somewhat, like Puffer did with Clarissa. Unlike her daughter, her development and unlearning of toxic behaviors would not be something she kept at, and eventually she would go off and be on her own to make good on her promise to destroy Lord Jel and amass a robot army, as her personality prevented her from gaining loyalty from humans. Despite this she still had the human need for socialization.

Sharon had a few contacts from her time growing up in various ship towns, likely friends who wisely kept her at arms length once they saw some of her more anti-social traits emerge. So she did try to date some of them during that time period, though such relationships tended to end badly when her desire to diminish and insult her partners became too great for them to bear. Sharon discovered one such relationship had left her pregnant, and decided to have the baby hoping it would fulfill her desire to not be alone. That worked for about 15 years until the comic started. So that’s how Puffer’s dad figures into the plot.

How did Sharon and Killer Whale end up working for Lord Jel in the first place?

Killer Whale and Sharon were both raised in Lord Jel’s army, they both have no clue who their parents are, which is a common thing for many of Lord Jel’s child soldiers. So there is the possibility that they were taken from a ship town as babies. Lord Jel often pits his servants against each other to keep them from ever banding together to challenge him, so despite them all being on the same side, many of Lord Jel’s soldiers are all too happy to turn on each other if their master calls for it. Naturally being raised like this made both Sharon and Killer Whale mentally unwell in very different ways to cope with their harsh environment. Killer Whale became a violent person with antisocial personality disorder early on to frighten others while Sharon feels the need to demean others to make herself look good, her narcissism stems from insecurity and feelings of fear.

Do the sea monsters exist due to magic or science?

The sea monsters bred by Lord Jel are scientific in their method of creation, though magic does help in some areas, he has heavily mutated some existing life-forms with magic and selectively bred them for generations to create monsters. He released them into the sea with no concern for how they might impact the ecosystem. His comments on human beings being like livestock gives a good idea of his general treatment of any living being. They either satisfy his curiosity for a time, serve him, or die.

Are there any underwater dwellings outside of Lord Jel’s base?

Currently, no. Lord Jel’s submarines would move to destroy any immobile, fortified area that someone was trying to construct, as that would challenge his ability to terorize the world. However, with the death of Lord Jel and the scattering of his army, such settlements could come into being in the future once word spreads of Lord Jel’s end.

Do people live on the North and South Pole of Planet Aqua?

There is a possibility for above-ground settlements on solid ice, which is rare in this world, but the extreme cold makes people reluctant to try that option. But there are rumors of hidden storehouses full of preserved goods in the South Pole, with their precise locations kept secret by those that made them. In contrast, No one goes to the North Pole, not even Lord Jel’s army. Something is there.

What character changed the most from their original concept?

Hard to say, probably Lord Jel just because I wasn’t sure exactly how he should look, so while writing the story I was sketching a couple of different mechanical designs. I played with the idea of him being some sort of unseen spirit, but that ultimately didn’t work thematically as he’s a character that ruins and perverts nature, so him being more mechanical and alien-looking plays to that idea. In the drafts Puffer was originally a child that Sharon just found one day and adopted, but I decided to make her Puffer’s biological mother after getting feedback from friends on the story outline.

Do Puffer and Clarissa become a couple?

Yes… but later in their lives. This story takes place over a few days and is about the breakdown of a negative parent-child relationship thanks to an expanding support network, so I wanted to focus on that. I think a romantic relationship happening that fast while also having everything else go on in Puffer’s life would be laying the groundwork for something rushed and potentially even codependent. I don’t want to be accused of queerbaiting or anything, but in my mind I have to think about what serves the reality that the story is presenting. There are definitely signs that they could get together in a year or two, though. I mean the lesbian flag-colored sunset at the end should clue some readers in, haha.

Killer Whale died, right?

At the moment, yes. But I wrote it in such a way that if I ever continued with another story in this universe he could have a way to return. He collapses, but Puffer and Clarissa flee the base before it’s destroyed, so his fate is left off-panel. Who’s to say he didn’t summon some stregth to drag himself to his submarine and get out before it all went down? Anyway, that’s the out I’ve given myself there.

If you have any more questions, ask away! I’ll be happy to update and amend this blog post to keep as many questions answered.