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InfinityDoom

Sands of IRON Post-Mortem/AMA

by
  Welcome to the Sands of IRON post mortem and AMA. I’m going to be talking about what Sands of IRON has meant to me personally. But if you have questions please feel free to leave them below, no need to read all my ramblings XD.

  I’m not positive on how I could even begin talking about what SOI has meant for me personally. It’s a work that spanned two years, and changed my life more than anything I have ever done!

  Let’s start at the beginning though. When I first started making Sands of IRON, I was in a failing relationship. Feeling like I was a failure of an artist as well. Just wanting to make something that would get viewed. It was hardly a good place to start from. Of course the idea for Sands of IRON was older than that, and I chose and wanted to make it. But that early time ended up tainting my view of the work.

  After the 8th page I took a long hiatus. During that time away I would think about the scenes I had planned for it so much that I knew I needed to return. I guess you can say it’s been love/hate. But with the growth my channel was getting from IRON I finally had the confidence to leave my horrible living situation with my parents. I moved into my then boyfriend's place across the country, and started my new life.

  I put a lot of work into IRON after I moved, growing closer and closer with the project with things like the comment short stories. Eventually I took a 3 week break from IRON where I released the comic “RoomMates”. During this time I completely rewrote the last half of Sands of IRON. Finally having it hit the artistic notes and themes I wanted to!

  Then came the SubscribeStar, My fan Discord, and even IRON themed commissions. It really ended up feeling like this story I started making for views actually meant something, especially to me.

  And now Sands of IRON is over. And I find myself at yet another life transition. Without going into too much detail. My failing relationship ran it’s inevitable course, and now I’m looking to move once again. It’s almost poetic in a way, this massive life changing project put to rest as I close this chapter of my life as well.

  But while Sands is completed, this is not the end of IRON.

  A new IRON comic is in the works. And I hope it will be every bit as exciting and meaningful as the next chapter of my life.

  I’d like to take a moment here at the end to thank all of my SubscribeStar Subscribers. If you enjoyed Sands of IRON, I’d hope you’d consider joining. My subscribers are the only reason there can be a new IRON Comic:
https://subscribestar.adult/infinitydoom

  Also if subscribing isn’t in the cards, you may consider a 1 time donation at:
https://ko-fi.com/infinitydoom

  Thank you to all the IRON fans who read this, and to everyone who enjoyed the comic in general. Don’t forget to put any questions you have below <3!
Viewed: 245 times
Added: 2 years, 10 months ago
 
31 Comments on this Journal
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FoxxWolf
FoxxWolf
2 years, 10 months ago
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If you need someone to talk to, I'm here, just give me a shout or something
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Thanks!
Rylasasin
Rylasasin
2 years, 10 months ago
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Question: We have seen that the guilds are corrupt, as we saw with Pignite (and the first VFTB comic for us Substar guys). My question is how widespread this corruption is? Is this localized to Sandstone, or is it mostly all over? I've always been on the mindset that it is the latter, save for Sebastian's guild (maybe).

Question: Who talked Shia into joining the guild? I always found it a bit odd that after his experience with Rai (a 'Guild Member') he'd want to join a guild, especially with his self-loathing disposition we saw at the beginning of his epilogue.
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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I think guilds would have to be pretty widely corrupt since they are only second to nobles. My concept for guilds as well is based on a corruption of rescue teams from PMD(sometimes referred to as other things in different games). We don't get a lot of guilds perspective in sands. But we know that guilds don't offer rescue service for free anymore. It takes money to even post a mission.

So this wasn't touched on (And I forgot to draw it on him during the epilogue x_x) but like the girls Shia would need a badge to enter civilization. And the only real option would be Rais guild badge. While some members like Igon just live like citizens. I think it's natural for brene to just place him with her guild to complete the illusion. Especially since Sebastian is already sympathetic to mystery dungeon mons("savages")
Rylasasin
Rylasasin
2 years, 10 months ago
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So in other words, any attempts at a solution that involves the removal of the Nobility as a class, will also need to involve a massive guild purge most likely.
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Edit. Realized I missreplied thinking this was responding to another comment. As for this comment, I think both guilds and nobility are curropt but not allied. They aren't the same thing just cause they both suck. And this isn't really a good vs evil story where heroes win against everything that's "bad"
Acquescurel
Acquescurel
2 years, 10 months ago
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First I want to say thank you for Sands. Waiting to see what happens each week got me through some tough times.

Questions:
This assumes Joli's epilogue takes place a while before Loona's: Is she pregnant as well? She is compatible with Buizel, after all.

What did Brene do with the sword? It would be reckless and foolish to leave it behind but, at the same time, would it be too painful for Brene to keep?
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Thank you!

So pregnancy is a thing I've been asked a lot. But to put it simply. I don't go by the idea that every unprotected sex leads to an egg. There is good reason for that as a storyteller as well. I don't want to just have someone get a Rape pregnancy as a kink. I want time to really explore the concept and do it justice. Treat the child as more then the result of a "bad end". It's why I wanted to wait until after the epilogues to do this post-mortem actually.

Brene already has the sword on her back in the last page of sands of IRON. Perhaps I should have mentioned it again in the epilogue but she has it. And it will appear again.
Greywin
Greywin
2 years, 10 months ago
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I'm glad you were able to move forward and grow! I like hearing these stories about people. Gives me a little confidence too.

Question: Will the next ark of Sands be a continuation with the same characters? Will we have new main characters in a different time period  or anything like that?
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Thanks!

The new IRON comic will not be a continuation of any sort. I've had to stop myself from saying IRON sequel so many times actually. Sands of IRON was always meant to be one and done. The characters have completed their arcs, and I didn't want to tack on more stuff onto them so I can extend the story. Sands characters will make cameos in the new comic. But it will be about the new main characters, and be a new story. As for the where and when these new characters will inhabit. All I'll say it's you've already met one of the main characters XD
Greywin
Greywin
2 years, 10 months ago
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Sweet! Totally looking forward to it!
Rylasasin
Rylasasin
2 years, 10 months ago
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My guess it's either

A. Sebastian
B. Anders
or
C. Shia's kid.
Viajero1
Viajero1
2 years, 10 months ago
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I loved the story and its characters very much, I look forward to its continuation and know more about the fate about them
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Thanks
Vaahn
Vaahn
2 years, 10 months ago
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Edited 2 years, 10 months ago by Owner
I'm going to be the weird guy who just wants to know more about the nuts and bolts of the setting! ^-^

I'm curious, what is the "Guild" the guild of, exactly?

Also, I seem to recall a claim that guilders get "used" by nobles, and by context it implies the nobles abuse and exploit them similar to how guilders use and exploit those below them. Given how well-armed the guilders are, why don't their leaders just take power for themselves? Why do they put up with being exploited when they, unlike citizens, can fight back?
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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So the guild are this setting's corruption of the Rescue teams(Called different things in different games) a PMD player would usually be in.

As for the technical reasons guilds don't rise up there are too points. A point I wish to show more clearly is that IRON and weapon fighting in general is more held by nobility and their armies. (Yes I know I gave the first guild member on screen a sword XD). Second fold is the climate isn't ready for revolution just yet. What you said could be true about any military and their governments. And frankly, every citizen population and their governments. The ideas just aren't there yet, as Rai mentions the only people who've ever changed anything in that worlds history has been done by a human. One of the most insidious things a empire can do is limit it's peoples imagination, opress them to the point that revolt isn't even something they could fathom. I imagine the myth of PMD human heros has been weaponized in this way, in the way I believe many foreign founder myths have been used this way throughout history.
isaaceely
isaaceely
2 years, 10 months ago
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For one: I want to thank you for letting me get a IRON themed commission. Been a big fan of PMD since '07

And a kinda goofy question: Which game you take most inspiration from? Ergo: Red/Blue Rescue, Explorers, etc. Or is it just a general hodgepodge of ideas from all of them?
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Oh lol. I actually haven't played a lot of Canon PMD. I've played part of Red rescue. And the only one I finished is Gates to Infinity: (The bad one XD). Prior to making Sands of IRON. What actually made me obsessed with the PMD setting is the fangame PMU. Which I have played to death and shaped pretty much all the things I know about the setting in general. It's why I called rescue teams guilds, like the player guilds in PMU. Though I suspect somewhere in PMD it's also called guilds since other PMD fan content has called it that as well.

For what it's worth I've been playing Super as research for the new comic. And that game is incredible
isaaceely
isaaceely
2 years, 10 months ago
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I've actually never heard of PMU until just now lol. And the guild thing originated from Explorer's of Time/Space/Sky (Widely considered the best) as you work for one. And I put way too many hours into that game back in high school.
Dirtsky
Dirtsky
2 years, 10 months ago
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I was about to ask how Veera managed to not get an egg after that Zorua encounter but I think you already answered a similar question. I assumed it just takes many times to have sex before the body got the message...

I am curious about your original thought on the ending. Would you be able to say what you originally planned the story to have?

Regardless, this comic is strangely interesting and I always wanted to know how it ended. Usually comics like this would keep me away but this one... I can't really say what it was but I was curious to find out what happens and I enjoyed reading it to the end.

Also I wish you good luck on what the future holds you.
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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The ending is actually the most similar thing to what I have in original plan. Shia rapes Loona, (This was basically the first scene I figured out and built everything else around) Brene kills Rai, Veera says some profound nonsense and the comic ends. In essence it's the same. But there was a few massive improvements I made. If you can believe it, originally Brene just ranged spored Rai and killed him without a fight (Could you imagine how people who like Rai would have reacted XD). Instead I turned it into the high drama fight that's in the comic instead. Complete with hand cutting XD.
Rylasasin
Rylasasin
2 years, 10 months ago
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Edited 2 years, 10 months ago by Owner
Normally I do this sort of thing in the discord channel (I think I'll do it there too, actually) but since it IS wednesday, and this is an AMA, time for a not so little what-if wednesday...

What if Shia (was forced to) raped Veera instead of Loona? Basically, in this what-if scenario, Brene doesn't insist on veera recuperating. Because of this, they reach Rai before Loona does. However, because they didn't recouperate for a day, Brene makes one fatal slip, when she fight the Rai with a big iron who cuts her hip. Rai takes Veera, and (tries to) manipulates Shia to fuck her like he does with Loona in the main canon.

What do you think would happen?
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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Probably more rape porn and a worse story? I feel like you've already figured this one out, and I don't think I'm very good with these what if questions. I don't really try to run a full simulation of a world when I write and think of "What this character would really do?" I try my very best to tell a good story first and foremost. That's not to say I don't explore other options, but I want things to build up in a way in my stories.

An example would be if I did go the direction you mentioned with SOI. Loona would end up killing Rai. Why is Loona able to kill Rai in this version and not in the other? Well to put it simple Rai has to die for this story to work. Without him died there wouldn't be the question of whether or not Shia spins the wheel, he'd just be forced the entire time. And the scenes building that up would just be wasted space. I don't claim to be perfect at this kind of storytelling by any means. But the type of fiction I'm inspired by is driven by narratives, not realistic simulation.
Rylasasin
Rylasasin
2 years, 10 months ago
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" InfinityDoom wrote:
Probably more rape porn and a worse story? I feel like you've already figured this one out, and I don't think I'm very good with these what if questions. I don't really try to run a full simulation of a world when I write and think of "What this character would really do?" I try my very best to tell a good story first and foremost. That's not to say I don't explore other options, but I want things to build up in a way in my stories.


Perhaps I should have been a little more specific.

I'm curious is, after Rai died (as you said, to Loona presumably) how exaclty would Veera and Shia react? For some reason I just don't see Veera doing the Loona thing and trying to get revenge on Shia, and might be a bit more understanding than Loona was... but maybe that's just my opinion?

" InfinityDoom wrote:
Loona would end up killing Rai. Why is Loona able to kill Rai in this version and not in the other? Well to put it simple Rai has to die for this story to work.


I suppose you could also chalk it up to overconfidence and/or tiredness from fighting (and killing) Brene, if you want to be specific.
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 10 months ago
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It's the same issue. Veera's story is about living after trauma. So either there would have to be a lot more work done after Shia rapes her. We get a cop out happy ending out of nowhere. Or she does take revenge and my story ends up saying there is no way to move past trauma. All of which I'd be pretty unhappy with.
KoaSilvanos
KoaSilvanos
2 years, 9 months ago
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I hope it’s not to late to ask this but I’ve been curious about this for awhile. Are we to presume that Shrewn is living a better life if not only by a little bit because he found a way that he can ‘control’ Gaben? I really like Shrewn and was happy he stood up for himself so I wanted to know how he was post sands of iron.
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 9 months ago
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I think Shrewn has always did stuff on the margins of his enslavement. I can say Shrewn got a sotra mini epilogue in the form of a View From The Bottom comic over on Subscribe Star. And it's at least better in some aspects XD.
mnbvcxz4545
mnbvcxz4545
2 years, 8 months ago
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You mentioned that the pruned are castrated Pokemon.
My question for you is, in your world, can Pruned evolve?
(with the exception of item/action based evolutions?)
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 8 months ago
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I can't see any reason why pokemon missing any body part can't evolve. Unless the evolution is stored in the balls.
joao208
joao208
2 years, 6 months ago
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Sooo where are the legendaries and mythicals?
InfinityDoom
InfinityDoom
2 years, 6 months ago
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I call them things like The Maze and The Drought
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