HOME | DD

Description
Moonlight Wanderers is a fancomic, based on the game, Pokemon Moon. It follows the adventures of teenage insomniac, Maya Shimizu. Things have been falling apart for Maya for a while. She suffered a bad breakup pretty recently. Her big sister is too busy with college to spare any time for her. Her mother has dragged her to the Alola region, far from any of her friends, her life, and her dreams. And almost immediately upon arriving, Maya is involved in a freak accident where she very nearly dies!

Maya feels like she's losing control of everything, but her near-death experience - and the mysteries surrounding it - start her on a journey to find some purpose in this unfamiliar place. She's walking a dangerous path, but with the support of some of the locals and a cheerful little blue seal, Maya's determined to forge her own destiny and regain some semblance of control in her life.

***

There are several elephants in the room. Let me try to address a few.

"Why a Pokemon comic? Why not something original?"
If I'm being totally honest: I just want to. There's a few reasons, but when it comes down to it, I've wanted to do a Pokemon story since Pokemon began. There's something so inviting and interesting about this world, and it's just full of untapped potential. There's a lot of obstacles to telling this story in this way, but I'm committed to this, and I want to see it through. People might be surprised to hear that this is a very important and very personal story for me. It's not [only] self-indulgent fanfiction.

"I've never played any Pokemon (or at least not Sun/Moon specifically). Will I understand MW?"
I am very aware that most of my readership is here because they liked a queer/trans slice-of-life comic I did, so this might feel like a jarring transition. If it's any consolation, MW is actually also a queer/trans comic , and also touches on a lot of real, relatable themes. It just does so with a Pokemon-flavored coat of paint.

(I mean, everything I write is going to be a queer/trans story that gets real sometimes, so you don't need to worry about that.)

But it's okay if you're not familiar with the particular game or the franchise as a whole. I'm not playing strictly by the canon lore and mythology of the games, and MW doesn't necessarily follow the story/structure of the specific game to a T. Since a lot is different, I'm going to have to elaborate on new lore and whatnot as I go (so it'll basically be like reading any worldbuilding story for the first time). This is partly because I have a lot of ideas, and partly because it kinda puts everyone on equal footing and keeps the barrier of entry low and accessible for everyone.

And personally, I'm pretty excited to see how theories and predictions differ between people of varying degrees of Pokemon knowledge and history. Longtime fans will be more likely to get any nods or references, but newcomers won't be burdened by decades of lore/rules that may or may not be applicable here. I think it'll be interesting to see. XD

"What is a Nuzlocke comic? Is that the thing where Pokemon die?"
Pokemon games are generally considered to be a bit on the easy side. So a Nuzlocke is a self-imposed challenge where if at any time one of your creatures is knocked out in battle, you are to consider them dead and you can no longer use them. It leads to great emotional attachment and can sometimes be very intense, as every choice you make matters so much more. And a Nuzlocke comic is a fairly common trend where people basically make up a story about their experience with the challenge.

In terms of theming, MW is going to revolve a lot around themes of mortality, loss, coping, and more. I think it's going to be a fun comic, I promise, with a lot of humor and cute moments, but it may be a heavy read at times too.

What it WON'T be, is a gore fest. I'm not actually into drawing explicit violence, so I'd prefer to approach it artfully and sensitively rather than gratuitously. There will be depictions of blood and scars, but that's about the extent of it. It may get thematically intense, but much like Rain, I'd prefer to keep this as PG-13 as I can (that also means no f-bombs, no nudity, etc. but I don't know if anyone expected that anyway).

"Why Moon? Why not Sun? Why not Ultra Moon? Why not Sword or Shield, Let's Go, Legends, or any other Pokemon games?"
The simple reason is it's the game I did my Nuzlocke run with (like, years ago now), and it uniquely fits with the story I want to tell in ways no other entry really does. It basically just has to be this one. That said, there may be references to other entries in the series (before and after this one), with characters and Pokemon not technically in this installment getting cameos.

"What about [insert other story idea mentioned before]?"
If you're just here to prod at me about Shangri-La or Magical or any other stories I've either started or alluded to over the years, all I'll say for now is that I haven't forgotten about anything. I have no further comment to make regarding anything other than MW today, though.

***

Fun fact: I've been planning Moonlight Wanderers since even before Pokemon Sun and Moon released back in 2016. I also almost started posting the comic back in 2018 to run alongside Rain (I announced it and everything), but I held back because I wasn't satisfied with the state of the comic at the time. At some point, I just decided to wait until Rain was over. So, I guess it's looking like 2022 will finally be its year.

(For what it's worth, the original idea for Rain was created in 2004 but the comic didn't actually start until 2010, so this is kinda par for the course for me, I guess. I just need to stop getting overexcited and announcing things WAY before they're ready. Whoops!)

All that said, whether Moonlight Wanderers is appealing to you or not, I have another announcement. This is not the only comic coming up after Rain is over, and the other one will not be based on any existing properties. So if you don't like Pokemon and you're not even willing to give MW a chance (though I hope you will), I may still have something for you. Please look forward to that announcement later this week. ^_^

***

But for now, what do you think of MW so far? Please tell me your thoughts.

Description
Moonlight Wanderers is a fancomic, based on the game, Pokemon Moon. It follows the adventures of teenage insomniac, Maya Shimizu. Things have been falling apart for Maya for a while. She suffered a bad breakup pretty recently. Her big sister is too busy with college to spare any time for her. Her mother has dragged her to the Alola region, far from any of her friends, her life, and her dreams. And almost immediately upon arriving, Maya is involved in a freak accident where she very nearly dies!

Maya feels like she's losing control of everything, but her near-death experience - and the mysteries surrounding it - start her on a journey to find some purpose in this unfamiliar place. She's walking a dangerous path, but with the support of some of the locals and a cheerful little blue seal, Maya's determined to forge her own destiny and regain some semblance of control in her life.

***

There are several elephants in the room. Let me try to address a few.

"Why a Pokemon comic? Why not something original?"
If I'm being totally honest: I just want to. There's a few reasons, but when it comes down to it, I've wanted to do a Pokemon story since Pokemon began. There's something so inviting and interesting about this world, and it's just full of untapped potential. There's a lot of obstacles to telling this story in this way, but I'm committed to this, and I want to see it through. People might be surprised to hear that this is a very important and very personal story for me. It's not [only] self-indulgent fanfiction.

"I've never played any Pokemon (or at least not Sun/Moon specifically). Will I understand MW?"
I am very aware that most of my readership is here because they liked a queer/trans slice-of-life comic I did, so this might feel like a jarring transition. If it's any consolation, MW is actually also a queer/trans comic , and also touches on a lot of real, relatable themes. It just does so with a Pokemon-flavored coat of paint.

(I mean, everything I write is going to be a queer/trans story that gets real sometimes, so you don't need to worry about that.)

But it's okay if you're not familiar with the particular game or the franchise as a whole. I'm not playing strictly by the canon lore and mythology of the games, and MW doesn't necessarily follow the story/structure of the specific game to a T. Since a lot is different, I'm going to have to elaborate on new lore and whatnot as I go (so it'll basically be like reading any worldbuilding story for the first time). This is partly because I have a lot of ideas, and partly because it kinda puts everyone on equal footing and keeps the barrier of entry low and accessible for everyone.

And personally, I'm pretty excited to see how theories and predictions differ between people of varying degrees of Pokemon knowledge and history. Longtime fans will be more likely to get any nods or references, but newcomers won't be burdened by decades of lore/rules that may or may not be applicable here. I think it'll be interesting to see. XD

"What is a Nuzlocke comic? Is that the thing where Pokemon die?"
Pokemon games are generally considered to be a bit on the easy side. So a Nuzlocke is a self-imposed challenge where if at any time one of your creatures is knocked out in battle, you are to consider them dead and you can no longer use them. It leads to great emotional attachment and can sometimes be very intense, as every choice you make matters so much more. And a Nuzlocke comic is a fairly common trend where people basically make up a story about their experience with the challenge.

In terms of theming, MW is going to revolve a lot around themes of mortality, loss, coping, and more. I think it's going to be a fun comic, I promise, with a lot of humor and cute moments, but it may be a heavy read at times too.

What it WON'T be, is a gore fest. I'm not actually into drawing explicit violence, so I'd prefer to approach it artfully and sensitively rather than gratuitously. There will be depictions of blood and scars, but that's about the extent of it. It may get thematically intense, but much like Rain, I'd prefer to keep this as PG-13 as I can (that also means no f-bombs, no nudity, etc. but I don't know if anyone expected that anyway).

"Why Moon? Why not Sun? Why not Ultra Moon? Why not Sword or Shield, Let's Go, Legends, or any other Pokemon games?"
The simple reason is it's the game I did my Nuzlocke run with (like, years ago now), and it uniquely fits with the story I want to tell in ways no other entry really does. It basically just has to be this one. That said, there may be references to other entries in the series (before and after this one), with characters and Pokemon not technically in this installment getting cameos.

"What about [insert other story idea mentioned before]?"
If you're just here to prod at me about Shangri-La or Magical or any other stories I've either started or alluded to over the years, all I'll say for now is that I haven't forgotten about anything. I have no further comment to make regarding anything other than MW today, though.

***

Fun fact: I've been planning Moonlight Wanderers since even before Pokemon Sun and Moon released back in 2016. I also almost started posting the comic back in 2018 to run alongside Rain (I announced it and everything), but I held back because I wasn't satisfied with the state of the comic at the time. At some point, I just decided to wait until Rain was over. So, I guess it's looking like 2022 will finally be its year.

(For what it's worth, the original idea for Rain was created in 2004 but the comic didn't actually start until 2010, so this is kinda par for the course for me, I guess. I just need to stop getting overexcited and announcing things WAY before they're ready. Whoops!)

All that said, whether Moonlight Wanderers is appealing to you or not, I have another announcement. This is not the only comic coming up after Rain is over, and the other one will not be based on any existing properties. So if you don't like Pokemon and you're not even willing to give MW a chance (though I hope you will), I may still have something for you. Please look forward to that announcement later this week. ^_^

***

But for now, what do you think of MW so far? Please tell me your thoughts.