Flaaffies recently became one of three winners in the FYeahRubyAndNanQuest blog! And as a prize, won this RubyQuest panel of Tom and Ruby posing back to back.
Congratulations to Flaaffies!
Everyone take note!!!
The giveaway post has been updated to reflect this!
And thank you very much Weaver for assisting in the giveaway! We really appreciate it!
Welcome to the fyeahrubyandnanquest blog’s first ever giveaway to commemorate reaching one of our first milestones at 500+ followers!
We really appreciate it everyone! And we hope that you continue to enjoy this blog!
PRIZE INFO:
-First Place
-A custom handmade plush of any Ruby/NanQuest character of your choosing (excluding Ace, the Padre, and the Pilgrim) made by our founder, with an example seen above.
-2 handmade traditional bookmarks depicting any Ruby/NanQuest characters of your choosing (they can even be two parts of a whole or something even, whatever you want!) done in ink on thick Bristol paper. (2’ wide and 6’ tall) These will be done by myself and I have provided two pieces I’ve done as a reference, the one on the right is done in ink and the one done on the left is digital but much more recent. If you want more examples you can check out more of my art here.
-Second Place
-Again, 2 handmade traditional bookmarks depicting any Ruby/NanQuest characters of your choosing.
-Third Place
-2 fanart requests depicting any Ruby/NanQuest character of your choosing by our founder, you can find examples of her art here.
**EDIT: Each winner will also receive a custom Ruby/NanQuest panel of their choice drawn by Weaver!
RULES:
-Likes and reblogs count.
-You can reblog as many times as you want, but think of your followers!
-No giveaway/side blogs, we will be checking!
-And we would prefer that you be following this blog, since you know, the whole reason there even is a giveaway is because of our followers. Plus if you’re a Ruby/NanQuest fan then I’m sure that you would enjoy this blog anyway!
-Giveaway ends on February 28.
-Winners will be posted on the blog and notified in their askbox (so make sure it’s open!) and will have one week to reply before another winner is chosen.
-Also winners must be comfortable providing their mailing address so we can make sure that you actually receive your prize.
-Also this giveaway is open to everyone no matter where you live, but we will only guarantee paying for shipping if you live in the US/Canada. If you win and live outside of this area you may have to pay for the shipping yourself, but we are willing to discuss this with you and possibly help cover some of it. Just keep this in mind in case you win.
*EDIT* IMPORTANT UPDATE EVERYONE!!!
Every winner will now also receive a custom Ruby/NanQuest panel of their choice drawn by Weaver!
Regrettably I drew the pictures without much consideration for where I’d put the text. Most noticeably in the sixth image where I practically ended up with a collage.
(And a happy birthday to weaver.)
Regarding Quests.
I received this critique this morning, anonymously
I think it’s a very valid critique; most of what this individual says is true, but the assumption is made that it’s by accident and not design.NanQuest is a spiritual successor to RubyQuest in terms of theme, motif, basic interaction. It’s a lurking horror story with unknowable dangers. But in terms of ‘gameplay’, as it were, both stories are quite different.
As their creator, I’m not ignorant of this fact. I know that NanQuest ‘plays’ very differently from RubyQuest and I have never presumed otherwise. It’s quite intentional. I am aware that NanQuest (and in fact any quests I do) will be living in the “shadow” of RubyQuest, that it will be an inescapable influence that everyone will constantly judge it by and compare it to.
In RubyQuest, most of the dangers and problems are in the form of mechanical puzzles. Find a key, flip the switch, break the lock. Figure out how to move from one room or challenge to the next. NanQuest progresses a similar plot, but not by the same means. In NanQuest, the puzzles are social. NanQuest is, far more than RubyQuest ever was, an ontological mystery. The puzzles are more intrinsic: Where are you? Why is this happening? What can be done? How can we survive? Your tasks are not as simple and objective as “find the key” (though that exists occasionally). The puzzles are figuring out how to deal with other people. Knowing who to trust. Understanding your predicament. Deducing cause and effect. The place you are, the people there with you - those are the puzzles.
Early on, a big criticism of NanQuest was the way Nan constantly found herself in new places, seemingly through no action of the players. It seemed that any time something significant was done, Nan would ‘warp’ and find herself somewhere else. But as I said then, there is a reason for everything.
In NanQuest, we still don’t quite understand what’s going on or why. The problem as I see it is people look at this fact and assume that because they don’t know the reasons for the world, then there are no reasons. But if this were RubyQuest, that would be like assuming that because they haven’t found the key to a lock, there is no key.
There’s a reason for everything that happens. And there are certainly objectives.
Just because the players haven’t fully figured out the reason for everything in NanQuest doesn’t mean there is no reason, or that there is no point to the ‘game’.Maybe discovering the object of the game is the object of the game.
NanQuest is back! Thanks to the generosity of my supporters and patrons during the quest drive, the quest has returned in full force.
NanQuest is the spiritual successor to RubyQuest, which many of you may know. It’s a horror-themed quest with suspense, mystery, and intrigue. It’s currently ongoing, at 6 chapters.
A bit late on these but here are some requests of fans who got friends to do liveblogs.
The first is Tom, Jay, and Ruby all living together for Heropop who got a delicious liveblog from their friend Sir Kut-Ku which you can find right here.
The second is a simple hug for Hikarina who has liveblog logs from their friend cockblockerofdarkwraiths here.
Meanwhile, Jacques Cousteau got a very interesting video liveblog from his sister, which can be found in parts 1-5 here on YouTube. I don’t know if the final parts are coming later or if this is all they did, but it’s quite entertaining.
Lastly on a non-RubyQuest note I wanted to make note of some Gillou fanart here and here. Looks like the big blue girl’s got some fans!
I’m doing some late callbacks on these, trying to sort out any unfinished business before moving on to new business. My inbox has been a little shaky. So if anyone has submitted or requested something and not heard back, please just send me a heads-up and smack me upside my dumb head so I can get on it for you. Thank you!
INTRODUCING THE TGWEAVER QUEST DRIVE
Ladies and Gentlemen, to all my dedicated fans and supporters, I present to you the fever dream of a wild man. It’s a shot in the dark, a grab at the moon, but damn it, it’s time I stuck my neck out for something. So without further ado, the QUEST DRIVE:
WHAT: As proposed by my readers, I’ve opened up a fundraiser attempt such that I can focus all my time and effort purely on Questing, Comics, and other art and doodles. What commissions I’ve received already have largely been for Quest-related materials, or for continued content on works I have been lax on updating. That in part spurred this idea. Without getting into the kind of self-pitying details that have consumed much of this blog in the past, I can summarize by saying the premise is simple: Depression, exhaustion, and preoccupation concerning continued search for employment and scrounging for sustenance while living below the poverty line has cramped my quests and other artistic attempts. I’ve received many messages asking when they’ll pick back up, and the truth is these are serious projects and in-depth endeavors I want to be able to fully commit to. I don’t want to simply churn out content when my mind is elsewhere. I don’t want to produce a NanQuest chapter, for instance, that’s rushed, stressed, or poorly composed simply because I wasn’t in the right place to write for it. That’s where the Quest Drive comes in.
WHAT?: The Quest Drive is a collaborative fundraiser that allows me to cover my barest needs in order to survive, clear my mind, and focus on Quests. Think of it as hiring me to be your full-time quest-runner. Or a community commission by all donators for more - more of everything. If you, the readers, think it’s a worthwhile investment to chip in and sponsor me, I will do everything to make you, the patrons proud of that investment.
It’s a tall order, and I’m not sure it can succeed, but I want to believe that it’s possible, and I know that I want to put everything I can into this. I know people want more, and I’d love to get back to giving you all what you want.
For what: For as long as I’m sponsored, I’ll be able to put all my creative efforts and mental focus on the creation of art. Not just sketches and doodles like I post here, but full quests and comics, the means and depths of which I have not had the wherewithal for for many months. For specifics, I’ve listed milestones below.
How Much: I live as frugally as possible, rent cheap, and stretched my savings for years. Currently I live on roughly $10,000 USD a year, all expenses told - that’s food, bills, everything - and am working hard to tighten the belt even more. That means to sponsor me for one full month, I have to raise about $800 USD. It’s a lot to ask, and a lot to hope for, but I hope to do everything I can to make that steep price worth it.
So, what could be worth that kind of investment?
Well, in addition to allowing me to focus on my art, producing more of the sketches, concepts, and art you’ve come to expect from me, but there are also milestones. I’m setting this up on a small scale first, to give the idea a test run. If it doesn’t work, I’ll keep looking. If it does? More milestones will follow!Milestones
- One Month in One Week: Return of the Quest
The source of it all!
The initial test run is one week, the last open day being August 1st. If an entire month has been successfully raised by August 1st, both DiveQuest and NanQuest will resume updating immediately, both at least once per weekday, as of August 2nd. The Quests will return and keep a regular schedule of updates, guaranteed, for as long as sponsoring lasts. The quest drive will be considered viable and extended another month.- Two Months: The Sad Sack Surprise
Surprise!
That’s right: If two full months are raised, Boxdog is officially back. The depressing mish-mash returns to her webcomic, which obligations have caused me to set aside for many months now. I promised Boxdog wasn’t abandoned, that it would be back one day. Well if this Milestone is hit, that day is now! Boxdog will update a minimum of 3 times a week (on no specific day schedule as yet), and will continue as long as the project allows. The first update will be within 3 days of the milestone being reached, andnot at the end of the second month, in the event the milestone is hit sooner.- Three Months: The Mystery Box
What’s this?
It’s a secret. If three months of sponsorship are raised, you get art every day, all the previous milestones, plus I’ll unveil this super-secret, never-before-announced project right here, which will be available for public consumption. It will begin September 1st, if the milestone is met by then! If not, a delay may or may not be necessary.If the drive goes well, more milestones can be added subsequently. If not — well, sometimes things don’t work out the way we hoped. But at the least I’ll have tried.
So that’s the long and short of it. If you don’t want to, you’re under no obligation or expectation. But if you feel this is a cause worth donating to, I’ll do everything I can by giving you all, in return, the kinds of things that made you a fan to begin with. Your help is appreciated more than you can know, and I’ll try my best to make that donation one you can feel good about.
Thank you to everyone who encouraged me and believed in me enough to push me to pursue this, and thanks in advance to every fan who feels so generous as to make a donation.I won’t let you down.
You can use the ChipIn widget on the sidebar of this very blog to pitch in towards this effort.
A lot of people have been asking me about NanQuest.
NanQuest is on hiatus right now until I can get my life together. So is DiveQuest.
I enjoy both stories immensely and have every intention of finishing them, someday. But right now I have more important concerns, like trying to make rent at the end of the month.
I want to emphasize that it’s not just a matter of free time. Much of my time is spent trying to focus on commissions or explore potential new sources of income, including online work and data entry, and trying to figure out how I’m going to make ends meet. But even what free time I have can’t really be spent on questing, because quests are very big investments, creatively. When I work on a quest I want to be focused and coherent. Things have been bad for me for along time. And I’ve learned that if I’m so stressed or depressed I can’t write a chapter, I don’t want to force it and end up with a bad segment of a story that’ll stick. I’d never be able to undo that chapter. It would be a dark mark on the entire quest. I’d rather postpone until I know I can write the level of quality people expect, rather than just churning out content for its own sake.Poverty is crushing my drive, consuming my time, and wrecking any coherent attempts I could make on a quest.
I know it is a letdown, both to my long-time readers and all the fresh new fans I love to see springing up on tumblr, but for the time being, I’m just not in a place where I can work like that.
I apologize sincerely to you all.Here’s a doodle of Nan and Henry as consolation.
