#summerlightning

also I WANT THAT PILLOW

it is soft.... just like my werewife 

oh! um- well… I GUESS HERE WE GO. LONG POST IS LONG:

1. what is your sexuality? 

2. what gender do you identify as? 

Cis lady

3. how long have you been aware of your sexuality/gender? 

It has been a long journey, that started with me thinking I was bisexual (but picky!) in highschool to me thinking I was pansexual (but homoromantic!) in college to me watching the “Battle of Times Square” scene in Ghostbusters last year and realizing I will never actually be attracted to a man when I have seen the one true light of lesbianism.

Gender-wise, I did some soul-searching in college when a lot of my friends finally felt safe enough to transition, and other than an unhealthy obsession with beard-growing, I’m good out here as a chick. 👌✨

4. do you have any preferences? 

Girls who look like they could kill me with their bare hands, if they wanted to, but really just want to gently comb their fingers through my hair.

5. share a positive memory about coming out! 

I don’t really have any. I don’t really “come out” to straight people anymore because the one time I did, the friend I told immediately asked if I was attracted to/going to hit on her.

6. how do you feel about pride month? 

We should all be given the whole month off paid and trans/genderqueer/NB people should get an additional $1000 cash. 

(I like it.)

7. do you participate in pride related events? any other events? 

I get a cold or something happens every June where I don’t feel up to going to Pride, but like HOPEFULLY THIS YEAR? (Baby’s first Pride at 25 is gonna be WEIRD. Someone hold my hand.)💦

8. how do you feel about lgbtq roles in media? 

I WANT MORE. I WANT THEM ALL. EVERYONE IS GAY.

9. do you feel pride in who you are? 

Yeah, I really like who I am and I’m proud of what I had to go through to get here. I like that things feel right in my life, for once.

10. who has been your supportive idols in your self discovery? 

Looking back, Karolina Dean and Xavin from Runaways were some of the first gays to really have an impact on my life. When Xavin starts IDing as female it like… struck a chord with me about their relationship. I was just like, “yeah that feels right.”

Hannah Hart was a BIG DEAL for me and meeting her was so nice. It’s so great to see an openly lesbian woman being real and kind and succeeding. Watching her evolve and grow over time has been amazing. Also, that bod now, like omg Harto-san, you have become your true self and that self is making me BLUSH.

Rebecca Sugar is weirdly important to me, being in the animation industry, myself. Like… it’s so good, seeing her make a show about girls loving other girls after BEING PERSONALLY TOLD that gay content was inappropriate for children while I was in school. Noelle Stevenson and the crew on Lumberjanes are similar, because you get told you can’t make queer content for kids by the old guard. That it won’t sell, that it CAN’T sell in certain markets and that kids won’t get it. All I can think of is that HAD I known at 7 that girls can like girls maybe I would’ve asked Emma out after class and my life would be different. I don’t want that to keep happening to little girls and I’m so glad that people like Rebecca and Noelle exist.

@yamino​ and @summerlightning​ are like… life goals and wife goals. I’ve been following them for years and sometimes I just think how I’d want like EXACTLY their lives. Make gay webcomics with my pretty wife. That’s all I want to do. (Hey, read their comic @sisterclaire​, it’s gay af, you’ll love it.)

Hayley Kiyoko is a biracial sapphic queen and I love her and she is so nice and genuine and she gives GREAT HUGS. She sings songs about girls who like girls and they’re GOOD SONGS. Not just like campy gender-ambiguous low-budget stuff. She makes… god, her music videos. And I have met this small human and been to her concerts and the feeling of love and safety around that night was LIFE ALTERING.

(Also, can we talk about how that’s the flag I gave her hanging up on stage behind her and how much I love her and still cry about that? See question #26 for that story.)

Kate McKinnon, see #3 for the latest in Eevachu self-discoveries. She’s just… SHE’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. She’s famous and she’s weird and she’s out there playing big roles as an openly lesbian woman. She got me through 2016, which was honestly, THE FUCKING WORST. And she helped me accept that I can be a lesbian and still succeed.

BASICALLY, I WANNA SEE ALL THE SAPPHIC WOMEN SUCCEED, SO THAT I THINK I CAN SUCCEED AND FEEL SAFE DOING SO. REPRESENTATION MATTERS.

12. what sort of advice to have you lgbtq teens? 

Your parents are just people and one day, you’ll be better than them. You are strong, and you will find the people you are meant to be your people. You’re going to evolve and change throughout your whole life. Don’t be all tumblr witchhunt-y; people make mistakes and grow. Adults barely have any idea what they’re doing, we’ve just done it more.

13. have you come out to friends and family? 

Like occasionally? I only formally “come out” to other gays, so that we may huddle together like penguins in a storm of heternormativity.

14. how do you feel about the term “coming out” ? 

I don’t like that it’s made to seem like such a huge deal and that it’s a one time thing. Like… it’s such a pain and you have to do it over and over again and then all the straight people in the room get WEIRD ABOUT IT and you’re now the outsider and the feeling fucking SUCKS. I just don’t like that it’s a thing. The actual term is fine for what it is, since I don’t have a solutions otherwise.

15. do you believe there is a “closet” to come out of? 

Yeah, and it sucks that people feel unsafe enough that they have to be in one.

16. any tips on coming out? 

I am literally the worst person to ask about this because I just like… don’t. lol I let people figure it out. Non-queers love testing out their “gaydar.”

17. what’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to lgbtq characterization in media? 

Lesbians for the male gaze. HEY BUDDY, LITERALLY THE OPPOSITE POINT OF LESBIANISM. NO BOYS ALLOWED.

18. what’s your favorite parts of lgbtq characterization in media? 

When queer people get to play queer characters and make their own queer stories and I get to sit there and cry because it’s so GENUINE AND GOOD.

19. what did your teachers say about the lgbtqa community in school? 

Well, my animation teachers would low key be like that won’t sell (see that thing I said about Rebecca Sugar in #10). But I had a gay/straight alliance in highschool, so it was fine.

20. do you practice safe sex with the same gender? 

At this point, I would probably practice any sex with the same gender. (But yes, please.)

21. what’s an absolute turn off for you in the opposite/same gender? 

I don’t really like traditional butch/femme role types and I’m not into really masculine ladies. I like girls who are flexible with their gender expression like I am.

22. what’s an absolute turn on for you in the opposite/same gender? 

I am a sucker for a strong independent femme in heels that would love to smash the patriarchy and then smash me.

23. how do you feel about lgbtq clubs/apps/websites? 

I wish there were good ones and that I had time to find them or had a senior-qualified gay to tell me where they are in Toronto. WHERE ARE THEY???

25. how does you country view the lgbtq community? 

Pictured: Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister at a pride parade.

On the surface, it’s pretty good. We also have to be careful because there are just some dirtbag conservatives waiting for us to get complacent and take away our rights. Currently, there’s a huge fucking thing about a trans right bill, so I’ve gotten to see which of my family member’s are absolute scum.

They’re here, they hate queers, but they’re usually drunk uncles.

26. favorite lgbtq actor/actress?

Hi, yes, hello, haaaaave you met Flat Kate? (see question #10)

Also, Hayley Kiyoko, because like…

…BIG GAY FLAG STORY TIME. So I went to her concert in Toronto this spring and I had everyone outside the venue that I could leave messages on it for her. All of the messages were so funny and heartfelt and there were so many baby gays at the concert and my old gay heart grew 3 sizes that day because they were there with friends and their parents and I was just SO HAPPY AND PROUD.

Then I meet Hayley because bitch splurged on VIP tickets. She gives the best hugs, and she took the time with fans and she was so genuinely happy to be there. We had a great talk and I was just thanking her for being her and doing what she do. And if you know me, you know how important it is that there’s biracial representation and she like got that. And then I give her the flag, which I had drawn on because I’M THAT KID and she’s saying how she’s gonna treasure it and read all of them and I’m like dying and trying not to openly WEEP.

Then I get into the concert which is ALL SAPPHICS, so I’m like the most comfortable that I have ever been in my entire life. Then the sound guys are setting up and they PULL OUT MY FLAG. Now, everyone knew me from when I had gotten people to write messages on the BIG GAY FLAG (”COME SIGN MY BIG GAY FLAG” is what I had been screaming), so when this flag comes out all the girls around me are like, “Girl, that’s your big gay flag.” And then I ASCENDED TO THE ASTRAL PLANE AND IT WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE. 

27. any tips for heterosexual and/or cisgender people on how to handle lgbtq events/news? 

Don’t fucking make it about you. You aren’t the centre of the goddamn universe. No, you aren’t hearing about “gay news” too much for how many of us there are.

29. how do you feel about receiving questions about your sexuality/gender?

I’m cagey about it. It always feels so uncomfortable when it’s non-queer people asking. Queer people asking is fine and we can have a good dialogue usually, but cishet people treat me like I’m a novelty and it’s gross sometimes.

@yamino @summerlightning @sisterclaire

elena’s bingo card inspired me to make one for livedraws.

@sisterclaire is the story of a young woman who leaves her quiet abbey to undergo a rigorous journey across a monster-riddled wilderness. 

On this journey, Claire begins to assemble the jigsaw puzzle of her past, present, and future, all while facing terrible dangers, finding new friends, and trying to save her found family from certain doom.

     The best webcomic I have read, I think, is Sister Claire by Elena Barbarich (@yamino​) and Ash Barnes (@summerlightning​.)  The characters are deep and nuanced, and the world is rich and enthralling.

     There is one issue with the comic as it is: the best order to read it in for your first time through is not obvious.  The updates to Sister Claire come in two varieties: the comic pages (Mondays and Fridays) tell the “main” story, starring the eponymous protagonist, with very few flashbacks.  Meanwhile, the “Missing Moments” (which update Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) are short story prequels which flesh out the backstories of the cast and the details of the world.  

     The use of prose stories accompanying a webcomic may seem odd if you are used to other webcomics, but it works for the kind of story being told.  Stephen Sondheim said that “content dictates form.”  The missing moments detail the backstories of the characters and the world, and that is something that is easier to do with text.  Meanwhile, the comic lets us see the emotions of the characters in real time from their body language, and includes powerful symbolism from the scenery and page layout in ways that only a visual medium can pull off.

     The missing moments are not really “optional” for understanding Sister Claire, as the later portions of the comic have clearly been written with the assumption that you have been reading the missing moments.  If you go to the archives, though, they are split into two archives: one with all the comic pages and one with all the missing moments.  If you want to try reading every page of both sorts in the order they were originally released, you’ll have to continuously click back and forth between the two archives.  This process would be very inconvenient, and on a smartphone would be nigh unmanageable.  

     So what order should you read the comic and missing moments in?  If you don’t feel like reading the rest of this post, just skip down to “Book Order,” because that is the one I recommend for new readers.  

     There are at least three major factors to consider in deciding in what order to read Sister Claire:

1. Pacing: Each missing moment short story flows well when it is read all at once.  If you were to read each page in the order of original release, the stories would be broken up every three pages by new comic pages.  You will probably want to read things in an order such that you get each missing moment story as part of one chunk.      

2. Information reveals: If you read things in any order other than how they were originally released, then you will receive information in a different order.  This isn’t always a bad thing--sometimes it is even good if an alternate reveal order is better.  But it does lessen the impact of some potential reading orders.

3. Convenience: the online archives of Sister Claire are set in a particular way, and they make reading in certain orders require more clicking than other orders.  As I mentioned above, reading page-by-page in order of original publication will require a lot of extra clicking beyond just pressing the “next” button.

     Below, I discuss four possible reading orders for Sister Claire, and their various pros and cons.  I think three of them are appropriate for a first-time reader, while one which might seem obvious is a really bad idea if it is your first time through.  The one I’d most recommend is “Book Order,” which I describe third.

Page Publication Order

     To some potential readers, the most obvious order may be the order in which the pages were originally published.  You’d start with book 1 (which only has the comic), and the first three chapters of book 2 (which also only have the comic).  Starting with book 2, chapter 4, you would alternate between one or two comic pages and three missing moments pages.

     As I noted above, this order is very inconvenient.  The archives have the comic and the missing moments separated.  To read in this order, you would probably have to keep two separate tabs open, and flip between them frequently.  You would also have to frequently check what page to read next, since it isn’t obvious from the archives.

     All hope is not lost, however.  Laura, the comic’s editor (@ace-and-ranty), maintains a spoiler-free Google spreadsheet showing the order in which each pages was published (she also maintains a version with spoilers which summarize every comic page and every missing moment).  If you are willing to keep this spreadsheet open in a sperate tab, and consult it every page as to what to read next, then you will be able to read everything in release order.  It will be quite inconvenient, and will likely be easier on a laptop or desktop than it would be on a smartphone.

     Even ignoring the inconvenience factor, Page Publication Order is not perfect.  It works for people following the comic as it is released, but that doesn’t mean it provides the best pacing for an archive binge.  Many of the missing moments stories have tight narratives, and so you’ll want to read a story straight through, rather than being interrupted every three pages with new comic pages.  Likewise, if the tension in a seen in the comic is really high, you might not want to interrupt it with a prequel story.  These concerns aren’t as big a deal for those reading Sister Claire as it is released, because you’ll have to wait a few days between pages no matter what.  Both Book Order and Chapter Order (described below) address the pacing issues of Page Release Order.

Archive Order (Comic first, then Missing Moments): NOT RECOMMENDED

     One reading order that might seem appealing would be to read the entire comic first, then all the missing moments.  This order may seem like the easiest: since the archives are divided between the comic and the missing moments, you can just read straight through the archives without having to do any extra clicking.  However, I believe that this order is not a good way to be introduced to Sister Claire.

     Archive Order will work for the first book, and the first three chapters of book 2.  The Missing Moments didn’t actually start until book 2, chapter 4, so you won’t be missing anything in the first book if you haven’t read the missing moments.  You’ll also probably be fine through book 2, chapter 4.  However, starting with chapter 5 of the comic, the authors assume you have been reading the missing moments, and reference information that they assume you know.  A lot of the events in chapters 6 and 8 don’t make much sense without the context provided by the missing moments.

     Moreover, if a character is introduced first in the missing moments, they generally won’t be given another introduction if they later show up in the comic.  One example is the character Magpie, who is first introduced in the missing moments of chapter 6 of book 2.  When the first appear in the comic two chapters later, Magpie is given no further introduction and is not even named initially, because the authors assume that you are already familiar with them.  A more extreme example is Hanabi, who appears occasionally in the book two missing moments.  Her first apearance in the comic is in the first chapter of book three, in which Hanabi is the focus.  Without the missing moments, there is no explanation as to who she is or how she connects with the rest of the story.

     Other things that happen in the comic do make sense without the missing moments, but don’t have nearly the same effect.  In the last chapter of book two, there is a really emotionally powerful reunion between two characters who, if you’ve only read the comic, you have barely seen interact.  You know they were close to each other at some point in the past, and you’ve seen a lot of them separately.  But without having seen their past relationship, the reunion isn’t as powerful as it could be.  On the other hand, if you’ve read the missing moments and seen their relation from the beginning, then the ending of book two is among the most powerful dramatic moments I have ever read.     

Book Order: Most Recommended for first time readers.

     The order I think is best for first-time readers of Sister Claire is as follows: ----

Start with book one (there’s only the comic, since the Missing Moments didn’t start until book 2).

Read all the book 2 missing moments.

Read all the comic pages in book 2

Read the book 3 missing moments until you are caught up (as of 2017 book 3 is still ongoing).

Read the comic pages in book 3 until you are caught up (as of 2017 book 3 is still ongoing).

     This order works a lot better for the pacing of the story than page release order.  If you read in Book Order, individual missing moment stories won’t be interrupted by comic pages, and the narrative flow of the comic won’t be interrupted by the missing moments.  But, by putting the missing moments for book 2 in between the books 1 and 2 comics, you’ll get all the context you need to fully appreciate the book 2 comic in ways you wouldn’t get without the missing moments.

     There are some pieces of information that you will learn in a different order than if you had read every page in release order.  However, the missing moments are written in a way such that you won’t have trouble understanding them if you read the series in book order.  Characters and events that are first introduced in the book 2 comic are reintroduced if they later show up in the missing moments, so that you don’t need to have read any of the book 2 comic to fully understand the book 2 missing moments.  Similarly, the book 3 missing moments are written so that you can understand them without having read the book 3 comics (provided that you’ve read first two books).  

     There are some cases when reading in Book Order leads you to learn some pieces of information at a different time than release order, but it actually works out better for those reading in book order.  For example, there is an important fact about Oscar that was first revealed in book 2, chapter 3 (which only had the comic).  In the missing moments, this fact is first hinted at in chapter 5, before being revealed directly in chapter 6.  If you are reading in book order, then the chapter 6 book 2 missing moments are the first time you learn this fact.  I believe that the reveal in the missing moments is better than the reveal of the same information in the comic, so people who read in book order will be getting a better experience in this regard.

     In book 2, chapter 4 of the comic, the background artwork contains some powerful symbolism which ties in to the missing moments of chapter 6.  If you are reading the series in page release order, the background in chapter 4 works as subtle foreshadowing.  If you’re reading in book order, though, it is instead a heart-wrenching callback.  Once again, I think it works as well or better in book order as in release order.

     The biggest drawback to book order is that you have to read through a lot of text in between the book 1 comic and book 2 comic.  There are over 500 pages of missing moment stories in book 2, not counting title pages and such.  Since the missing moments are almost entirely text, that means you have a novel’s worth of short stories to read in between volumes of the comic.  If you are someone who reads text slowly (like me), that means a very large time investment in before you can get to book 2 of the comic.  If you are someone who prefers comics/graphic novels over prose, then you might not like slogging through all of those missing moments before you can get back to the comic.  

     Of course, if you enjoy reading fiction in prose in addition to comic form, then you likely won’t mind and won’t consider this a drawback of book order.

     As of late 2017, the current updates are still fairly early into book 3, so going reading through all the book 3 missing moments in a row doesn’t take nearly as long as going through all the book 2 missing moments.  In any event, this drawback (if you consider it a drawback) of book order can be avoided by reading the series in chapter order, which is described below.

Chapter Order

What I call Chapter Order for Sister Claire is as follows:

Read all of book 1 (there is just the comic). 

Read the first three chapters of book 2 (there is just the comic).

Read the missing moments for book 2, chapter 4.

Read the comic for book 2, chapter 4.

Read the missing moments for book 2, chapter 5.

Read the comic for book 2, chapter 5.

...and so on.  

     In many ways, this approach combines the best aspects of book order and page release order.  Each chapter leaves of at a natural break in the story, so this order doesn’t have the interruption pacing problems of page release order.  You’ll also learn story information in approximately the same order as someone reading in page release order.  The exposition in each chapter’s missing moments is directly referenced in the corresponding comic chapter, so you’ll always have the context you need to understand what’s going on.

   So why isn’t Chapter Order the most recommended order?  It is largely a matter of convenience.  If you are reading the comic in the archives, you can easily tell when one chapter ends and another begins, because there are title pages for each chapter.  However, there is no such indication in the missing moments archive.

    Let’s use Book 2, Chapter 4 as an example.  This was the first chapter that had missing moments, so the first missing moments story for this chapter was “The Discover.”  The last missing moment story of chapter 4 is “The Dark Friend,” and the chapter 5 missing moments begin with the next story, “First Sight.”  If you are just reading the archives, however, there is no indication that a chapter has ended or that a new chapter has begun.  If you are trying to read the series in Chapter Order, you may not know when to jump back to the comic.

    All hope is not lost, however.  Laura, the comic’s editor (@ace-and-ranty), maintains a spoiler-free Google spreadsheet showing the order in which each pages was published (she also maintains a version with spoilers which summarize every comic page and every missing moment).  If you check the spreadsheet after each chapter, you can see which missing moments stories you should read before going back to the comic.  The drawback to using this approach is that it is an extra thing you have to keep track of when reading the story for the first time.  Users who primarily read comics on their phones may find archive-jumping, as well as the reliance on the non-touch-friendly Google sheets, particularly inconvenient.  

    If you don’t mind those inconveniences, then Chapter Order may well be the best way for you to experience Sister Claire.  Otherwise, Book Order is about as good.