Retrospect of 2020

So... hindsight is all twenty-twenty, right? (Yes, I'm absolutely sure nobody figured out that joke before me... /s) 

It was a rotten year, yeah. I can't pretend it was outside of my usual norm or that I've had it worse than the rest; that's simply not true. I'm also not going to give it the satisfaction in wallowing and reminiscing on all the shit and heartbreak and loss this past year held.

I took a break these past few days, got time to clean my house, spend time with my dog, relax a little (Obviously enough so that my year now starts in February...). I'm still not exactly the paragon of health and my hair has enough grey in it to fit a man twice my age, but at least I don't wake up at night anymore because my body forgot to ingest oxygen, so that's a plus.

Yeah, 2020 was a crap year. But that doesn't mean the few good things in it deserved to be forgotten or buried under all the negatives.

2020 broke me, but it didn't kill me. I found new strength and new ways to cope.

2020 gave me a new taste for writing. It gave me enough material and motivation to finish two pretty large scripts, it let me flesh out finer details and add new characters and now I have way more imaginary friends to keep my company. 

2020 (... gods, I hope it's not like Beetlejuice and I didn't just summon it back) gave me confidence and air of "you know what, I don't care" attitude to sharing my writing. And thus, after what felt like ages of drought on my side, I was able to present my comics. So I presented the first one. And another one after that. And then I just kept working.

That in turn gave me this.

And this is just a very small part of a larger whole which I keep at hand to remind myself why are the long hours and aching wrists worth it in the end. I am a very people-shy recluse, but I read each and every one of these. Every charr lore debate, every passionate rant about how this or that character deserved better. Every emotion you guys share you felt over my writing. All those things are incredibly empowering to a creator, and I was honestly surprised how touch-starved I was for this kind of feedback.

And 2020 gave me Shiro. And while he can't really replace what I lost, he's the best thing that happened to me for years.

Those are the things that are worth remembering for me.

I hope that wherever you are, you are safe and healthy. I hope that besides taking away so much from so many of you, the year that went also gave you something, no matter how little. And I hope that in order to spite that shitty year, you're holding onto that little something.

Thank you for all your kind support throughout 2020; and even before that. It saw me through some tough times, and I owe you more than you know. Every kind word and spare coin you've spent on me is cherished and remembered. And I hope I will do right by you in the times to come.

See you in those times, and lets all hope they are better.