Not giving a content warning for the salacious bunny art in the second page because if you can handle beheadings in the current comic you can probably handle some censored nudity.
Although I do apologize if it still bothers you. It won't happen again.

But anyway, that’s enough. I went on longer than I intended, but I guess I just had a lot of thoughts. Anyway, these next few days and the rest of the year will be very good for Portals, and I hope you all enjoy this time with me and my story. See you again tomorrow.

It’s not what I want, but it’s the best realistic option. But yes, I fully intend and know that Chapter 2 will be better. It just will, half of the reason this chapter has taken so long is because I’ve wasted time, but I’m better now, and everything else will be better.

To have the current story arc done by this year, the story arc that began back in 2024 with Silvercraft. That seems like a reasonable deadline, doesn’t it? But as for the rest of the chapter? At worst, I want it to end February next year. That’s as far as I’ll allow it.

I love the way I’ve written the story so far, even if I feel it can drag at points, but as a consequence I can never be certain of far off deadlines until I’ve just about reached them. It’s inconvenient but it’s the truth. The one thing I can say though, is that I’m aiming…

People ask, and I say there’s at least another 40 pages before completion, but even then I’ve been starting to wonder if that’s generous, just because of how the story is. You could say the pacing is a flaw, and maybe it is, but it’s also one of my favourite things here.

Like I’ve said other times on my main account and this account recently, I do hope to have Chapter 1 done soon. I’ve given deadlines, but I think it’s unreasonable to try and figure out any exact dates when the pacing of the story is so unconventional. I just don’t know.

It’s still too soon for that. Chapter 1 still needs to conclude before I can begin to share much of anything from its development, but perhaps by the 4th anniversary the time will be ripe. That’s still a while away though, so for now let’s just focus on the now.

However something that isn’t obvious is what I’ll post these next few days. I won’t say anything to keep it a surprise, but it won’t be anything too crazy for the most part like I said. At some point I would absolutely like to share more like concept art, but…

Well, I guess that certainly helped to deflate the encroaching egotism, which is good, as while pride is good, it can be detrimental if you start ignoring your flaws. Obvious I imagine, but sometimes it’s good to state the obvious fact.

If you’re a random person who’s never heard of me or my comic, and you struggle to make things, take it as an example that you can always succeed if you just care enough. Nothing is ever easy, but you’ll make it through if you just care enough to do it.

In light of the moments where I feel doubt, I need to feel content. In the moments I feel lazy, I need to be determined. In the moments where everything seems insurmountable, I need to keep pushing forward, just like all of you also should.

As I write this I realize that this all feels a bit self complimentary, and I don’t like to be egotistical, but I guess it just makes sense it would turn out like this, as my comic is very personal, and for it to continue thriving, I need to care about myself.

I’ve been working so that when I get to Chapter 2, it doesn’t take another 3 years. It could still take a while, or the other chapters could, but with each chapter I hope to learn new things that will make the next one better.

Mistakes aren’t bad, it’s just about how you handle them. Chapter 1 taking so long is something I’d consider a mistake, and in response I’ve been working to more consistently get pages out for all of you, and myself.

While that might sound bad, I decided to just go ahead with Portals as it was at the time in 2022 because by that point I had already been planning this story for a while, and I knew that if I didn’t commit by a certain point, the story would never even start.

While there are certain things I wish I could’ve changed, like visual inconsistencies in the opening or poor paneling or bad speech bubbles or any other types of mistakes, I don’t mind them, as I always wanted Chapter 1 to be a learning experience.

Now, this doesn’t mean Chapter 1 has been perfect. I didn’t even have the entire script figured out when I started it, but I think it’s impressive it’s been able to remain so consistent, something I also feared before starting it.