Question That is not dead which can eternal lie...

So, hi everyone!

It's been far too long. A lot has happened. I've been through the ringer but I'm getting better again, finally, so I'm writing. Some of you have probably seen my latest stuff on Big Closet. I lost a lot of weight and I'm going through transition now, which has also helped my state of mind immensely. I haven't been well for a long time, even back when I was writing for Whateley.

But the important business, am I ready to come back to Whateley? Not in my full capacity. Lot of old wounds, still. I'm not sure if I can or if it'll be good for me to work in canon again. I also find myself using a name that I would change given the chance. Some elements of old Sara stories that I'd re-write given the chance. And I haven't read a lick of Whateley stories for more than five years, so I have no idea what's happening in the universe anymore.

Still, I don't want to let Sara just sit in limbo forever. That being said, I've got no idea how to get her out. Please don't send me ideas for getting her out, trust me I've thought a lot of ways through but I've got no idea which one to go with. At least not yet. My current working idea is something I call Fragments, a set of very different Sara stories that play with the Whateley U. There's also a possibility that I'll extract Sara from Whateley and use her in other, non-Whateley stories.

As for when, when I feel I can. I'm sorry, I'm working on NaNoWriMo this year, I'm editing Hold the Salt and I want to finish FatIT before January. I also need several elective surgeries and I'm unemployed and living with my parents, so getting my life together and earning money is a thing. I'm picking up pieces of myself and trying to glue them back together.

But I will be around, here and on BC and DeviantArt. I won't be a stranger anymore, I'm sticking around. Maybe I'll get to reading some stories again. That'd be nice.

Welcome Back!

Happy to hear from you, and don’t feel you have to do anything, just popping in to say “Hi” is great!

I'm glad you're back. Don't worry about writing until you are ready. I'd rather wait for you to write something that you want to write, rather than you forcing something out.

So? Do we call you Doc or Branwyn? Or Dr. Branwyn?

As for coming back, just remember ONE THING- this is supposed to be fun. If it ain't fun, then why bother?

Just don't let the trolls get you down, either online or IRL. If you do, you're letting the terrorists win

Welcome back!

Phoenix Spiritus wrote: Welcome Back!

Happy to hear from you, and don’t feel you have to do anything, just popping in to say “Hi” is great!

I second this. Good to hear you're doing better.

It's good to see that you are back. don't worry about catching up, it's easy to knock back a story or two when you feel up to it. You catch up faster than you think you do, or at least you get enough of an idea of what's going on. All the same, it is awesome to see you back. No need to worry about what's going on with the Pack, Paige has made a few appearances,but nothing major... and Hyppolita hasn't done too much, other than fretting over where Sara is, and smoking stogies with Ribbon.

Welcome back, and here's hoping your transition is everything you want it to be.

BIG HUGS! ^w^

Glad to see you here. ^^ Just take things at your pace, take your time, and just have fun as you can.

And if you need help, there's always someone willing to help. :3

Thank you, all, and hugs for everyone.

Bek: It's Branwen now, thanks. Not so comfortable with Doc anymore.

Kirsten: It might be an idea to change the name, possibly with a subscript saying 'formerly DrBender' or something if possible? I'm still using the DrBender handle in places because it's a lot of trouble to change it and name recognition and all that but still...

As for transition, it's the best thing that's happened for me in a long time.

The Author Formally Known as Dr Bender?

It's good to hear that you're okay. We were starting to worry.

Thank you for the hours of entertainment/arguments/discussions/ideas that your writing has sparked off. Definitely chewy.

Please make sure that you look after yourself first, and worry about the stories later.

Without your continued existence, your stories won't be there at all.

As for the future, write when you are sufficiently inspired to do a good job.

It'll happen when the muse lets it.

Luck to you.

I left what I thought were some obvious 'outs' for Sara in the binding circle. If you want, we can discuss what I am thinking in PMs.

Regardless of whether you write more Sara, it's great to hear from you again. Pop in from time to time. You may be a bit puzzled by some references, though - we have added a lot of stuff, so don't be shy to ask (either on forum or privately) if such a confusing reference does occur.

By the way, if there's anything that should be fixed in your min-bio in the Wiki ( pretty much any change -- up to and including the page title, references from other pages, category names and such) -- just tell us. We did it for Heather back when we didn't even have a bot to do the heavy lifting, we sure can do it now.

Elrod: We'll discuss it.

Sir Lee: Yeah, maybe cut Todd McFarlane out as one of my influences. -sigh- I liked the Spawn comics over ten years ago but the guy's a dirtbag. Add in Laurel K. Hamilton, Stjepan Sejic, Dan Shive and J. Jacques.

I need some more comic book influences, but the only western comic I've liked in recent years is Angela.

Done!

DrBender wrote: I need some more comic book influences, but the only western comic I've liked in recent years is Angela.

Maybe try Brian K. Vaughn's recent work (Paper Girls, Saga), Gail Simone's Clean Room, or American Vampire by Scott Synder and Rafael Albuquerque? I found them to be very different and refreshing.

Or even webcomics like Spinnerette, which is very self aware of comic tropes.

Edit: Totally forgot The Black Monday Murders, which has the same demonology slant that Whateley features.

Thanks, Sir Lee.

And I try and have a look at those, Katssun, thanks.

Welcome back to the Whateley (Loony Bin) Academey Web forum.
Good to see you here.

Katssun wrote:

DrBender wrote: I need some more comic book influences, but the only western comic I've liked in recent years is Angela.

Maybe try Brian K. Vaughn's recent work (Paper Girls, Saga), Gail Simone's Clean Room, or American Vampire by Scott Synder and Rafael Albuquerque? I found them to be very different and refreshing.

Or even webcomics like Spinnerette, which is very self aware of comic tropes.

Edit: Totally forgot The Black Monday Murders, which has the same demonology slant that Whateley features.

If you liked Angela (which was one of the best books Marvel has done in recent years and I still miss it), I would point you at DC Comics Bombshells and The Wicked + The Divine, two of my current favorite books. Bombshells is written by Marguerite Bennett, who wrote or co-wrote all three Angela series from Marvel, and WicDiv is written by Kieron Gillen, who co-wrote the first two of the three Angela series Marvel did. I'm also a huge fan of the Squirrel Girl series, for that matter.

Welcome back

DrBender wrote: Thank you, all, and hugs for everyone.
As for transition, it's the best thing that's happened for me in a long time.

Branwen, you are braver than I will ever be. Speak your truth and walk your path.

Dia dhuit Bran, failte sa solas an Danu. - Welcome Branwen, in the light of Danu.

To note, I'm glad you have moved forward with life in such a manner. I'm in my own transition and it has opened up my life so much and I feel a lot better than I use to be. On the note of your stories, I think you have a lot of potential to where Sara could go not to mention the lovely Seraphina. If anything your works such as Fate and the Iron Tiger as well as Hold the Salt show a lot of avenues one could explore.

First, Sara's been (I'm only on page 7-8 older canon) as a major secondary character popping up to give bit of exposition or so. But there's a lot to consider in what she's been doing and how she could be just being her fab self.

Plus I'm curious as to what happened to Daphne from Gilded Cage.

So I think when and if you want to write more Whately fiction you are only limited by your muse and inspiration. Write what you love first, an what your fans want second I say (this coming from someone who wrote a 600 page novel on Amazons over a period of three years).

DrBender wrote: I need some more comic book influences, but the only western comic I've liked in recent years is Angela.

While it's more hard-science-style sci-fi-humour, have a look at Freefall, http://freefall.purrsia.com/

It has some truly excellent writing, and the epic scale that the author thinks on, is both realistic and awe-inspiring.

For example, http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1200/fv01190.htm

Well worth the archive trawl.