Eldritch: Lineage 002

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The Cover to Eldritch: Lineage [link]

Chapter One Changes: [link]

Chapter Two Layline: [link]

Chapter Three Lessons: [link]

Chapter Four Halloween: [link]

Well, when it rains, it pours. If you didn't catch my deviantart journal last Thursday, the rather destructive 'super derecho' storms knocked out power and internet for a while... and I couldn't get online until after update day. That's why there was no update last week. Like I say in the disclaimer, sometimes, updates will be missed... and speaking of which... I'd like to talk a bit about my disclaimer.

I know. So many people are rolling their eyes that i can hear it echoing through the tubes of the intarwebz. But I've gotten some snide comments, and some nice ones, and some curious questions, and I feel like I ought to explain myself a little, at least in one part. This is largely sparked by someone who may be writing a fanfiction... And, flattered as I am... I can't read it.
　
I don't suppose you've ever heard of
Marion Zimmer Bradley? She's an author, and wrote several science fiction books that are known as the Darkover series. While I've not read any of her work, she published several anthologies that consisted largely of fanmade works, which she paid the fanauthors for the use of. Personally, I think this is kind of a beautiful idea; vaguely similar to doujinshi. However, this later resulted in an odd incident with a fanauthor, Jean Lamb, who did not like what was offered, and eventually, lawyers became involved. The roumor was that "Bradley had a skirmish with a fan who claimed authorship of a book identical to one Bradley had published and accused Bradley of 'stealing' the idea, and the resultant lawsuit cost Bradley a book." The truth was, it was more the other way around. But, Bradley's lawyers suggested that she no longer read fanfiction.

That's terrifying to me. Even if that wasn't really the case, the idea of someone else laying claim to my work is just... mind-numbingly scary. Heck, the idea of someone doing anything to make it look bad is scary. I don't know what I'd do... I've put hundreds of hours into this over the years, and much of it was being worked on before it was ever a comic. In addition, while I do hope to make revenue off of this sometime, fact is, I'm so busy making the dang thing that I have very little time to research getting it published for purchase. Part of me worries that after I finally get around to publishing it, some twisted version of Bradley's situation will crop up. I'm in kind of a perilous position. It's a scary world to be a creator in, and since I'm constantly displaying an unfinished work, I feel really vulnerable to things like that. It frightens me. That's part of why my disclaimer is so long... It's why I have that extended portion discussing my policy to not read suggestions and such, and how, if suggestions or the like are made regardless, that they become my property. It's not that I want to use folks or anything... it's that, if the natural course of the comic is similar, this way, hopefully, I have some protection. The disclaimer is to protect terrified little me... and you. I don;t ever want any of my readers to feel taken advantage of or upset.

I want to share; I want to meet people with similar interests; I want to entertain, and I want people to imagine. Sometimes, fanworks come of imagining. Sometimes they're done out of love for a character or story... sometimes they're done for practice... and sometimes they're done as a way to say thanks to the creators. Personally, i think it's very flattering, and I love the drawings folks have done for Eldritch... but, given the context of the above, it can also be very scary.. particularly with fanfiction.

Several authors, if I understand correctly, disapprove of fanworks to varying degrees, such as
Anne Rice, George RR Martin, and Andre Norton.
I remember how Anne McCaffery had, for a time, said she wanted no fanfiction of her work posted. (This is understandable really, after several 'Zines had been profiting from fanfiction of her work published in them) She later revised that, saying it was okay so long as no one was profiting from it... but people don't remember that. I remember that after she died, people were happy because folks could make fanfic... they had no idea it had actually been allowed for some time. It was sad, really... to see fans of a creator happy at her passing, simply because they felt this left them free to play in her universe. To imagine it in their own ways, just for the joy of it.
　
So... that leaves me with a problem. The safest thing is to outright disallow fanwork. The "I licked it; it's mine!" mentality. But... suppressing imagination... that's a horrible thing. I mean, everyone's made fanart... doodled favorite characters on their binders, written Mary-sue self-insert fic, or filked a song so you could sing about your fandom of choice. While some will do it for selfish reasons, most of the time, it can lead to wonderful things. So... So long as it's for fun, not for profit... I hope it's okay to say it's alright to do. I hope I never have to regret it. I get scared... I worry that I'll somehow lose my baby by doing so. But I also want my readers to be happy and creative. I'm trying to take a page of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's books (Pun?) and treat fanwork and such as a harmless expression of appreciation. Which, I think, the grand majority of it is.
　
So.. please forgive me for my oddities. Sometimes, folks contact me on AIM and want to talk about the comic... and a lot of the time, I can't. I swear, I don't intend to be mean when I say I can't read a fanfiction (that is certainly more fun to read than my rather dry script, I'm sure.) And while fanart is safer for me to look at and comment on, that doesn't mean that I appreciate it else any more or less than other fanworks. It's... just what I have to to if I want to show this to you guys as I make it, as opposed to working on it for several years and then just publishing it after it's all finished. It's the best way to keep me safe.

Thanks for putting up with me.

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If you read this comic, you understand and agree to the following conditions and warnings:

Discretion is advised. Eldritch is for mature audiences, and will contain violence, gore, and mild nudity, along with adult situations, themes, and language. Some pages will be marked as such on sites such as Deviantart and may be unavailable to minors. The author takes no responsibility for anything unsavory anyone, may think, do or say should a parent or guardian let them read this comic.

The author (SMG Nashoba Hostina ) has everything planned out, and if something does not immediately make sense, it will later. If there are questions about what will happen, answers will not be given until the issues come up in the natural course of the plot. Furthermore, if something is “Wrong” it is often because some mistakes are intentional, to allow the pages of the webcomic and the eventually published version of the comic to be easily distinguished.

In addition, the author has done a lot of work and research and has a lot scripted and planned. This means that ‘requested storylines’ and suggestions have no place in this comic whatsoever. It is the author’s policy to decline all such submissions. This policy is intended to prevent any misunderstandings regarding intellectual property rights.

In short, do NOT send requests, share ideas with, or make suggestions to the author at any time, in print or otherwise.

However, in the event that you ignore what is written above and insist on making requests, suggestions or sharing ideas in any way whatsoever regarding this comic: be aware that in doing so you are giving the artist this idea, along with non-exclusive, royalty and compensation-free rights to utilize, reproduce, sell, disclose, and distribute the suggested content in any form and at any time she sees fit, in the comic or otherwise.

Although, the Author generally tries to avoid being exposed to such unsolicited suggestions, and once a note, conversation, or other means of communication swings that way, she makes all attempts to remove herself from the situation. Please do not be offended should the author not read your letter in its entirety because of this. However, should the author’s content in any way resemble that of a suggestion or other form of content, unless it is credited in the artist’s comments, the similarities are purely coincidental.

Eldritch and all of its specifics are © Nashoba Hostina, and is not in any way Public Domain. Thus, Eldritch is not an “Open Source” world any more so than Star Trek or Lord of the Rings is. However, regarding fanart, fanfiction, and such: The author is always flattered when folks take the time to draw a picture of one of her characters for her. However, if you choose to do fanart, please, make it clear that the characters, world, etcetera are Nashoba Hostina’s creation, and kindly link back here, or to the comic’s blog. Then, whenever you post Fanart of Eldritch, please let the artist know! Under no circumstances should any content derived from or inspired by Eldritch be used for financial or material gain of any sort, or to spread messages of hate in any way. No fan-made work is ever to be considered canon.

Eldritch, in part or in whole is not to be distributed without the author’s permission. Should permission be granted for the redistribution of any part of her comic, the use of her work is never to be used for financial or material gain of any sort, or to spread messages of hate in any way. The author reserves the right to insert additional requirements that must be adhered to at any time, both before and after the posting of any such content, and may withdraw permission to use her content at any time. The only places where this comic will be found in its entirety will be its blog: [link] or here on the author’s deviantart page.

As a courtesy to your fellow readers, please do not make predictions about what will happen in the comments section of these pages. Saying that you think you know what may happen is fine, but actually stating what you think will happen is not. If you happen to be right, that means you’re spoiling the other readers, and no one likes That Spoiler Guy. In a similar vein… be nice to one another, okay guys? Please?

This comic is free for anyone to view, so the author must have a day job to support herself. It takes supplies and LOTS of time to make Eldritch, so she cannot afford to do art all the time. Thus, Eldritch is done on the author’s free time, which means page quality will vary. In addition, updates may be missed if the author has a busy week or becomes ill. Should an update be missed, it will be at least a full week before more content will be posted. The author apologizes for the inconvenience.

The Author is not liable to you, nor to any party claiming through you for any aggrievance real or perceived that you may experience as a result of reading the comic, or these terms and conditions.

The author apologizes for the length of this dreadfully boring disclaimer/ terms of readership. However, making a comic is hazardous and downright scary, and she is just trying to protect herself.

This disclaimer and all prior forms of it are subject to retroactive change.

And, finally… If you don’t like the comic, don’t read it! No one’s forcing you to look at this :3 Go outside and play or something!

Thank you for reading!