Rumours
Long goodbyes and quick returns
This newsletter pertains to episode 89 and 90 of ill fame, which you can read here and here.
I remember my shock in realising that I had spent one real life human year, almost to the exact date, keeping my protagonist lovers apart from each other, both captured and trapped and plotting their escape so they could reunite. It felt like a long time to keep an audience in suspense. On the flip side though, I now realise we’ve had eleven months of them living out their blissful existence in the Black Mountains, with their little house and little adventures. Eleven months doesn’t seem like long enough. Plot wise they had to leave the mountains, but I really don’t think I was ready to.
There is not much to note production-wise for episode 89. I knew from the onset that this would be one I’d have to feel out. The ending where Rhys walks away and we can only hear the crow fledglings caa-ing through the fog was there from the onset, guiding the mood. I didn’t want Rhys to be happy about about any of this, but he needed some hope. I’d had the phrase “living memorial” rattling around in my head for a while to describe Rhys; before he was a reminder of tragedy, now he’s tasked with becoming an emissary of renewal. Whereas before he saw being useful as only a survival mechanism, now he is useful in a way more meaningful then he could ever of dreamed.
It may sound strange, but returning to the Sea Realm with all its loathsome characters and childish politics always provides a nice release for me. I get to indulge in some silliness, some ridiculousness, and research things like the abyssal plain and different seaweeds. I also have to remind myself each time just how terrible narcissists can get. Everytime I go to write for our princess-witch’s abhorrent father King Augustus of Wrack, I always have a moment where I think “Is this too harsh? Nobody would actually behave like this, right?” I then have to remind myself that, oh yes, narcissists can be that bad.
I wanted Augustus to be coming up to his last resort in episode 90, scrabbling around for any resouce he could use to curry favour for himself. And it had to be succinct (y’know, to save on panels). Songs like the type you’d hear in a playground seemed a fun way to do this, plus it seems like something that could easily spread, regardless of anyones protest.
“The Witch of Wrack brought the Sea King back ‘cos a human stole away their crown/ Now the King of Wrack can’t get his tail back, so his spots are all gone and he’ll drown/ When the Witch comes back to her drowned home Wrack with the crow that she stole with a spell/ When the Witch comes back she’ll hex the King of Wrack and then sink to the depths where she dwells”
I think Augustus especially likes this song becuase it makes him look like a victim. The last tactic of a bastard is to make someone else look worse.
I still felt unhappy with this episode, despite being happy with the song, until I decided on the framing device of letters. Letters are very important in ill fame, even from the first episode, being a way to sustain community, elevate prestige, as well as decieve (as our villain Thomas Reid did). I find it helpful, especially in these episodes that seem more like a montage of events then a continuation of plot, to have a framing device. I think it helps keep focus for the reader, and it can sevrve as a microcosm of the larger issue. In this case, letters were too formal and too slow compared to the speed of rumour.
I also had a lot of fun drawing the water and the waves in this episode. This is the first time I’ve drawn water in ill fame and actually really felt like this is the way I want waves to be seen.
Sometimes I like start drawing a character a certain way for no particular reason except that I am compelled to do so, only to realise later on that I was influenced by something I’d seen or heard somewhere else. That was the case with the orca assistant in the middle of episdoe 90, who for some inexplicable reason dons a salmon skeleton as a hat.
It was only afterwards that I remembered the Orca Salmon Hat Fad of 1987, where a female orca wore a dead salmon on her head, inspiring a meme amongst her pod and others. Yeah, how could I not make reference to that. I guess I thought a skeleton would be more sculptural?
You can read episode 89 of ill fame here and episode 90 here.
There is also a small hiatus episode where I discuss the inspiration behind the Sky Queen and also show off some fan art I made, which you can read here.
Episode 91 will be released Monday 26th June, 7pm BST. Below is a little preview, and then a small postscript. Warning for a giant pair of breasts.
Thank you for reading!
Other things I’ve been enjoying lately:
Read bell hooks All About Love and yeah, that book cuts to the bone in parts. Gave me a lot to think about.
I don’t get a chance to watch a lot of TV lately, but I watched Blue Period and really liked how it explored the different ways students approach their art studies, from the seemingly naturally talented to the ambitious beginner to the practical wage earner uninterested in school.
Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier has equally been a valuable escape and a huge inspiration for me lately. The art style, paneling, character design and world building are all marvels I will most likely find myself going back and studying.
I’ve been a huge fan of Hellebore magazine right from the first issue, and their latest issue didn’t disappoint. There was an anecdote about throwing cowpats at a wall for divination and I’m just going to warn you now to not be surprised if that comes up in a future episode of ill fame.
