Updates, Art, and Thanks-Giving · 10:47am Dec 1st, 2023
Heya guys! It's been a bit of a long while since I've shown myself. What with an extreme crunch at work which I can only aptly describe as a "Death March" like how the Japanese do, and the holidays around the corner plus a seasonal manuscript I had to do, I had just about no air to breath these last few days. For now, I have a few days to relax, but I'll likely return to that crunch until the mid-January. I'll do my darndest to get a chapter out by Christmas though, energy and soul willing. And I'll also try and make some time to read my friend's stories too. Honestly, that's my biggest priority even above my writing, but I have work-brain. My duty ties me to my writing until its done 
I'm not the only one who has been hard at work tho! This will be the first piece I'll show that I didn't commission, but I felt since it was something related to me, for me, I wanted to show it off anyway. Just call me an ambassador for all things Chrys related!
Dama came to me and told me that she simply felt like practicing some new art techniques she learned and just used Chrys as a reference . Till today, I still don't believe that this was done just as practice. It's amazing. I'm short for words on how beautiful it is. It feels like I've been witness to an evolution of one of my characters, and that by looking at it, I'm scared to try to imagine who Chrys grew up to be. Like a parental fear, almost. I wonder if I've done right by her, and I wonder if this is how most parents feel. I know it must sound weird to say for something imaginary and made up like a written character, but now that I've had no say or input on a piece, I'm strangely moved in that way. It's like I'm realizing that she'll be able to live and grow, even without me. It fills me with so much pride, so much happiness, and so much joy. But at the same time, I feel a little lonely. I realize I can't continue her story indefinitely. I shouldn't either, lest my writing suffers from stagnation. One day, it will all seem so tired for others. But I won't stop thinking about this place and time and stories I've made. My heart will stay here, and I'll likely still be talking about it for years to come.
And again I wonder. I think. I daydream. I ponder. Is this what a parent's love is like? Is this the true meaning of it? Maybe it's just my own overthinking, giving me false thoughts. But I'm getting a little bit closer to understanding all those nagging, annoying fathers who can't stop talking about their kids, even after they're all grown-up. Slowly, I'm opening up to believing in the idea of "unconditional parental love". And I'm starting to see things in new lights.
I didn't speak much about the specifics of all the things I liked about this piece because I wanted to do something a bit different this time. Instead of giving it my usual compliments, I wanted to show just how meaningful it was to me by opening my headspace up and talking about the thoughts I had thanks to it.
Outside of that, I did want to mention that this piece Dama drew for me comes at a fantastic time, since it'll soon be time for me to write about a grown-up Chrys. I won't say more than that, for now.
It's been ages since I've been given such beautiful gift. Even if I understand that the intention behind the art was just done as practice, there's still a level of care and quality I cannot fathom in it. A heart that goes into it that has not been present in anything anyone has done for me since my early youth, when then existed a soul who truly cared about me in any meaningful capacity.
I've had a lot to be thankful for this year, and I spent Thanksgiving reminiscing and remembering all of those things. To my audience, to my family, to my friends, and to myself... Oh how joyous it is to be alive and well, if a little busy. I'm not a paragon, no saint. Sometimes I am failing, and wish to give up on the things around me or on people. It takes a great deal of effort for me on a personal level to connect and to convene with others. But that effort has given me something to truly be thankful about this year. Friendships that go beyond face-value.
And that little spark that began this journey of growth and love for me, again, is Chrys. So I hope Dama will allow me to name this piece she's created for me. Even if it was just made as practice, it represents something truly profound and meaningful to me.
I dub it, "Herald of Kindness".
Glad to see you're still trucking along, pal!