Hey guys. Branch here. This is an update project, because I feel like I owe an explanation. Even though Dark Ripples isn’t very popular, there are AT LEAST TEN PEOPLE (me included) who care, which, honestly, feels pretty great. I’ll cut to the chase. Doing this is hard. I knew it would be when I started making it. But lately, DR has been feeling like something I HAVE to do instead of something I WANT to do. And I don’t like that. So I’m taking a break. I don’t know how long it’s going to be. However long I need. But there’s a couple things I want to get straight: 1. I’m not quitting. I care too much about my characters and story to quit. I’ve worked too hard to quit. I’ve learned too much to quit. The story alone took me like several weeks to put together. This is a concept and story I love with all my heart. It’s a passion project for me. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I’m stupidly stubborn. 2. This is a hiatus from DR, not from Scratch. I’m still here, I’m just not doing DR for now. The 50+ Q&A is still open. My art shop is still open. I’m still checking my messages with excitement every day. Reasons for stopping Warning: vent below. Continue at your own risk. From an objective standpoint, my life is great. I’ve got a loving family, good friends, a safe learning environment, etc. But I’m still stressed. I’m in middle school (not disclosing which grade, sorry!) which means the pressure’s on. More assignments, more stress. A ton of math homework that I never get done because it’s on the computer, and I’m easily distracted. A big project due soon. And this one kid in my class being an absolute @$$h0l3. (I’ll get over it, he’s really peeving me off right now.) Plus, I’m kind of worried about one of my friends. He seems normal, but he gets really distant when he gets upset lately. He just like… sits by himself, head in his hands, and refuses to interact with anyone. I want to help him. But he doesn’t want my help, so I feel like I should respect his boundaries. It’s… confusing. I didn’t sign up for this, people. So all of that makes it hard to keep a comic going, even if I only work in 6 panel chunks. I need a break to get rid of another piece of stress and hopefully get DR to feel more like a fun little thing I do than just more work to add to my load. The adults didn’t tell us being a kid would be so hard. Thanks for bearing with my rant. Have a great day. -Branch <33
Thank you to everyone who has commented, loved, favorited, or asked for a ping on Dark Ripples. You make my world that much better. This’ll stay as my featured project until my DR hiatus ends.
