And that’s all for now. On finished Chapter in 21 pages. The original plan was 20 pages, but I had to split the first page into 2 to make it work.
Anyways, I hope everyone is enjoying the new format and are looking forward to more then we come back for Chapter 7.
Stay tuned next week for an announcement for the restart date!
Um, I don’t think any of us will scold you for having to post one page more than your self-imposed limit (Well perhaps Azrael–you never know about cats–but I doubt even that). 🙂
Everyone looks happy except Ashling who looks a little apprehensive to me. I’d guess that events are moving faster than she’s comfortable with.
In our magnanimousness, we deign to allow him this indulgence. >^.^<
😛
@Delta: I get the impression that Ashling was pushed way outside her comfort zone in chapter one and hasn’t gotten anywhere near it again ever since. I’d think that everything that’s happened would be pretty stressful for her, and it doesn’t look like things will be going back to normal anytime in the foreseeable future.
@Azrael: You are a Prince among cats, my friend. 🙂
@Kessy: Absolutely right, Kessy, It’s pretty much been her default expression since the story started.
Well, a boogedy-boogedy enforced cliff-dive, near death experience would tend to take one out of their realm of contentment. 😛
@Azrael: Agreed, although my impression is that ghosts, a magic staff, and a frozen girl from the past would have been outside Ashling’s comfort zone anyway. But not Aoife’s! Actually, come to think of it, Ashling is probably lucky to have Aoife with her in all of this. I think Aoife taking all of this in stride is reassuring to Ashling, helps her not freak out.
@Kessy: Well, Aoife sees ghosts, too (except that she sees them as balls of light) so she may be less discomfited/horrified than Ashling is by all the spooky goings-on. 🙂
@Delta: You have all thankfully gotten the impression I had hoped for with Ashling. She’s uncomfortable with and is kind of dragging her heels a little. This is all beyond her previously comfortable microcosm, and since that day on the cliff even her dreams haunt her. Right now, all she wants is normality. Although I have intended for Bata Neart to be the story of several characters, it is mostly Ashling’s story, and we will be following her while she becomes more sure of herself and tries to figure out where she fits into the newly magical world 🙂
@Kessy: Aoife generally takes all of life in her stride as a rule, but Ashling’s new found abilites has the added bonus of allowing her to live out her ‘magical girl’ fantasies. For Aoife, life is now a new exciting adventure.
@Azreal: Thank you! I am humbled to have such accommodating readers 😛
I think that how well someone would deal with spookiness is a part of their personality. Some people can deal with weird abnormal stuff better than others. I suspect it has to do with how well someone can deal with change and uncertainty. When something you didn’t even know really existed inserts itself into your life, you don’t know what it’s going to do, what the rules are. What was routine suddenly becomes unpredictable. Some people deal well with that, even revel in it in some cases, while other people do not like it one bit.
@Rawr: glad you could make it – I was starting to worry a bit since you normally come to the comment section much sooner after a new page goes up. Hope life isn’t treating you too roughly. ^_^
RE last week, just so long as Sharon Connors doesn’t have a cache of heavy weapons hidden in the gym equipment storage!
Well, she does work at a school full of teenaged girls, so I give it even odds on the weaponry either way. 😈
@Kessy: Pretty much a spot-on description of how Ashling and Aoife differ in their approach to all of this. As well all know, Aoife delights in everything that happens (mostly due to her in-built knack of trying to look on the positive side of stuff), while Ashling is a lot more reserved & cautious about change. I like to think that Ashling anchors Aoife from going too far, while Aoife ensure’s that Ashling never gets stuck in a rut. This is part of the reason I enjoy writing for this duo 🙂
Apologies for my apparent radio-silence. I haven’t had much time at the computer, and whenever I got a chance to be at my desk, I have been working on the plans for Chapter 7, and the next Back Office story. I often run out of hours of the day lately, which is why I haven’t been as active here in the comments. I do get email alerts with the comment whenever one is posted, so I have been reading them, but to reply I like to be able to log into my PC and answer there. (WordPress management via my phone kind of sucks 😀 ) I just logged in last night to post the inter-chapter filler (which you have already seen on DA!).
@Azreal & Kessy: Funny you should mention Sharon and weaponry. Although this is difficult to illustrate in the comic I had intended for her to be Northern Irish. One clue of her political leanings is in her very first appearance back in Chapter 2, so you’d never know what her relationship with weaponry might be 😀
Discliamer: As a whole the Northern Irish are actually pretty nice folk, and Northern Ireland itself has become pretty peaceful since “The Troubles” ended. The place is now mostly filled with shopping centers these days (long story)..
Ha! That makes me think of a song I grew up with. Maybe this should be Sharon’s theme song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44RDtfX_mvk
Argh, she looks so happy! I can’t stand it, my heart’s going to melt into a hopeless slurry!
@melaredblu: Awesome! Hopeless Heart-slurry was exactly my aim 😀 I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂