I mentioned in the blog that I had ideas for a capstone for Ramon and Evrina since they had a big part in this arc. I really couldn't sit down and do a bunch of extra pages, but I went ahead and did a quick first pass on how it might go. Normally i would sit with this a bit longer and not just write off the cuff the way I did with these. You shouldn't take these as exactly what i would have done with finished pages, but more of how I hammer out the process of what I want to say as I work. I only did 3 of these but the actual "conclusion" would take several more pages to do. I'm not against the idea of adding to this if people are interested in a "what might have happened" scenario. The sad fact is that I have limited time so I couldn't sit here at 3 AM until dawn making pages that won't be part of the actual comic.
Evrina and Ramon's dynamic and how it all ties in with Jess, and now Jo, is interesting to explore and it will be explored in the actual comic over time. In some way these ideas really do belong in the comic, so they may be revisited in a different context later. Evrina is very much an exploration of someone who has boxed themselves into one idea of what they are when really humans are often much more than the labels we put on ourselves, or the ones that are put on to us from outside. There is a very human need to classify every single thing as a way to try an understand a very complex reality we are born into against our wills. (as far as we know) I'm not sure if I've ever said it in any blog before but Evrina, like most of the characters, is based on a handful of people I've known over the course of 50 years of life. If you choose not to believe my perspective on that there's really not much I can do about it, but I say it just so you know I'm not just weaving nonsense out of nothing. I have a backstory too. As open as I have been with everyone over the years there are volumes and volumes of life behind me that I've kept from everyone else in my life. And really I only bring it up because I'm getting really sick of people calling me a liar, or assuming things about me they have no fucking way of knowing. Maybe someday I'll tell my actual story, but for now I'm telling this one that only has one foot in reality.
Anyway, I hope this makes you feel like your support has been worth it for another month. I can tell everyone is hurting because of all the notes from people as they cancel their pledges. Hold on to hope for better days. We're only here for a little while, so find whatever happiness you can. I'll be making stories about fake people for you because that is my path to happiness. Thank you for paving the path for me.