Now that the first arc is done, I thought it would be a good time to self-indulge and answer some questions! Some of these are things that people asked me directly, others are just things that I thought it would be good to clear up. I unfortunately cannot answer anything that involves spoilers, so if your question gets ignored, I still read it, I just can't actually talk about it.

Also, be on the lookout for the intermission this week!

Q: What's this whole "intermission" thing?

A: I'm glad you asked, person who is definitely not me! In the week between the end of each arc and the beginning of each new one, I will be publishing three intermission posts. Each one will focus on a different character, but all of them revolve around some central theme. If you want, you can think of them as bonus content or filler, but they are all entirely canonical.  The intermissions are a way to get to know the daily lives of the characters a little bit better, and to have some fun without being constrained by the pace of the plot. You are free to request themes for future intermissions, although I've already got quite a few planned...

Q: How did you come up with this story?

A: In a sense, this story should not exist. 

Several months ago, I was writing query letters for my novel, and I was getting pretty burned out by all the rejections. I decided to take some time away from that world and those characters in order to do some free writing. I  particularly wanted to practice my worldbuilding, since I've always find writing characters and relationships to be interesting and relatively easy but creating a dynamic and engaging world to be difficult. So I sat down and wrote about 2000 words with the goal of creating an interesting world. I legitimately never expected to develop the story any more than that.

I kept adding to the story without really knowing why, and I gradually fell in love with the world and characters. The 2000 words I originally wrote became the first two chapters of Nimue's Bar. It took me until about the end of the first arc to think about doing something more with it, and when I asked for feedback from a few friends and they responded positively.

I originally wanted to release the story as a podcast in order to give myself more confidence with my voice, but I later decided that I wanted to put it on the internet in the form of a novel as well. I'm a writer first, and a narrator second. I had read comics on tapas before, but never interacted with the community until then, and was really floored by how kind and welcoming everyone was.

Q: Is Kaia based on you?

A: The short answer is no.

Kaia and I share several characteristics. We are both transgender, we both have an obsession with keeping organized (although mine is considerably less extreme), and we both have a similar sense of style.

Beyond these basic characteristics, she and I diverge. I maintain an oblivious cheeriness, and have been told by friends that I am the least jaded person they know. I'm also very shy, have a hard time asserting myself, and avoid confrontation, all of which set us apart. I'm also not super lonely, which is nice.

Harder to explain is that I don't write Kaia as me. I don't think about what I would do in a situation, I think about what she would do, and I don't channel my own wants and feelings into her when writing emotional scenes. I have written characters that are brutally, honestly me, and Kaia is very far from being one of them.

Q: What does being a shade mean in the world of Nimue's Bar?

A: A shade is a specific type of person who comes back to life after they die. Shades are practically immortal unless exposed to sunlight, and considerably stronger than the average person. The most notable feature of shades is that they cannot exist in the long-term memories of most people. Moments after they leave someone's presence, that person forgets their name and face. Shades even disappear from photographs and pieces of writing. Due to the difficulty of living like this, most shades keep to themselves. Many die due to accidental sunlight exposure, and others simply fade away and disappear. Lorelai implies in chapter four that there is a reason why some people become shades, but as of yet it has not been addressed.

Q: How many Shades live in Grotto? Compare to Shifters, Bleeders, and Mages they seems to be rather rare.

A: Due to a number of different reasons, shades are extremely rare. It's almost impossible to get an accurate headcount on them, however.

Q: How many organizations/groups/clans are there in the city?

A: The Grotto is a complicated and diverse place with a lot of different organizations. We get more exposure to all of them later on, but here's a very brief rundown.

The Circle are the uncontested governors of the Grotto. There are eight of them, and each is rumored to possess deific levels of power. Lorelai and Cahiel are the two most often seen; the rest tend to avoid the public eye.

Mages are organized into several different schools, and many of them are members of the Grotto's middle class. Most are devoted to the academic study of magic, although a few use their powers for less reputable means.

Shifters tend to form very tight-knit communities, and are divided into a number of gangs, the largest of which are the Lunars, the Umbra, and the Tide. All of them are very angry about the Circle's edicts on hybridism.

No one knows much about the bleeders, and no one wants to talk about them. Their goals and motivations are completely unknown, and their tendency towards violence makes most people keep a healthy distance. They are generally thought of as, "very angry and murder-happy vampires."

There are countless other small groups and individuals, but most people are concerned with living their lives, just like in our world.

Q: Where do the people in the Grotto get food? How does it work for people who are far away, such as on the other side of the world?

A: I can't talk too much about this because it goes into spoiler territory. All I'll say is that the Grotto is not located in a distinct location, and it doesn't really have discrete boundaries. It operates in a sort of contiguous reality to the real world.

Q: Why is Kaia taking pills in chapter three? Is she on The Drugs?

A: Kaia is canonically transgender and is taking hormones, hence the pills being blue and white. She is not sure if the hormones are actually doing anything (she hasn't physically changed since becoming a shade six years ago), but takes them out of principle. Kaia's gender identity will be explored a bit more in the future, although it's not the focus of the story.

Q: How come you only update once a week? You always talk about how you have a massive buffer.

A: There are a couple reasons my update schedule is as slow as it is, but the biggest reason is that I'm really busy. I work a full-time job, volunteer on the weekends, and also have a novel that I'm trying to find an agent for. Nimue's Bar is incredibly important to me, but I have other responsibilities as well. The other reason comes down to the way I write. I've mentioned it on the forums, but it bears repeating here: I plot things incredibly carefully. As in I like to foreshadow and set up things 20,000 or more words in advance. There are legitimately parts of arc one which function as setup for the fourth arc. I need as large a buffer as I have because I'm constantly going back and setting up things for later, or cleaning up character arcs, or making things flow more smoothly. I'm sorry I update so slowly, but it's how I manage to consistently produce quality chapters. Please be patient with me! I want to deliver the best possible content I can.

I want to update more frequently in the future, but that's dependent on how much work I have and other outside factors.

Q: Why are Kaia and Dirk not together?

A: Dirk is gay, and he and Kaia are content with their "extremely close and slightly codependent friends" dynamic. They made out once. It was not good.

Q: Which character is the most fun to write?

A: Kaia tends to be a lot of fun because I'm an angsty mess and I enjoy having a character that is willing to be petulant and more than a little edgy.

Overall, I tend to think about character dynamics that are fun to write, not singular characters. For example, I have a lot of fun writing the interactions between Kaia and Dirk. They've known each other a long time, and I really enjoy their casual familiarity and mutual supportiveness. Nimue and Kaia are my other favorite pair to write. Sadly, Nimue doesn't get much screen time this arc, but she shows up a lot more often later on.

Q: Where else are things going in the future?

A: All I'll say is that the next arc is shorter, way lighter and goofier, and we get to meet a number of the residents of the Grotto that don't work for Nimue. Besides that, you'll just have to wait and see.

One last thing: Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story. I try to keep the perspective that if even a single person enjoys what I write, then it is worthwhile, and seeing comments that so many different people have left make me really happy. I can't thank everyone enough.

I'm really excited to see where Nimue's Bar goes in the future, and I hope you'll come along for the ride.