Xaltean Imperial Headquarters

The place to get updates on the Beloved Universe!

When I was restoring my servers that hosted my blog (I had a complete hardware crash), I realized that I hadn't published an update in awhile. When I went to check when the last time I had posted something, I found out it had been eight months!

So here you go! The updates to what is going on behind the scenes in the Beloved Universe.

Beloved Chains – Slow but Sure

I had hoped we would be further along in finishing the fourth installment of the main web manga but that has turned out not to be the case. 2024 has been rough for everyone, especially my artist who is attempting to finish this all up. We were able to get a few pages released so far but we're only a little over 40% complete.

Not to fret though! Not only am I going to be seeing 6 pages of drafts soon but Issue 5 has already been paid for so we can go directly into that story!

Just hang in there and we will get to the end of this issue, I promise!

Beloved Maid – Almost Done

I cannot believe that Beloved Maid has gone on for nine issues! When I originally created this companion comic to the Beloved Chains, it was meant to be a silly comedy. Turned out to be much more than that and spawned not only a whole host of new characters but it's own novella too!

Beloved Maid is finishing up its 9th issue now and there is only two issues left with the 11th being the last one! So, we are really close to seeing the epic conclusion of Princess Aevina's arc!

Did the Visual Novel fail?

No. The visual novel is still on my project list but it has had to take a back seat to a lot of things. Programming a game, even as simple as Tales of Blue Blossom is, there is still a lot of coding and content to right and working with one artist has made things slower. The artist who has been doing the artwork has been working on over 200+ pieces for almost two years now.

My goal is to start working on this visual novel as soon as Beloved Maid has been completed (or at least I have all the scripts written for the aritst).

Then we'll get to tell this tale!

Anything in the pipeline?

There are a few things I'm throwing around that I am thinking I want to work on. Some of those are:

  • Beloved Chains light novel series.
  • A new companion comic (not sure on this one)
  • Deck Building card game.
  • Simple mobile app game.

These are only a few things I have tossed around, none of them having made it off the idea board yet.

Ending

Well, that's it. I probably won't write another one of these until possibly after the new years. Again, thank you so much for your continued support for this universe and I hope you all have a wonderful autumn and winter!

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

Wow. I cannot believe it has been six months since I provided an update for everyone who isn't a member of the discord server. So, here we go!

Beloved Maid: Alone in the Wilds – Released!

I did think I was going to be able to but I actually got the first novella in the Beloved Maid series released!

Beloved Chains: Issue 4

There really isn't much to provide for this section except that Issue 4 isn't dead. The artist who is finishing it up had some unavoidable emergencies that have put this on hiatus.

Pages will be released as soon as I get them!

Beloved Maid: Issue 7

For everyone that is following Beloved Maid, we are on our way through Issue 7 and the good news is that the rest of the series is entirely funded!

After laying out the entire story, there will be twelve issues total and one more novella for this part of the universe! That doesn't mean that it ends with these characters, just the series itself.

Plans for this year

For 2024, I really do not have more plans except for continuing the projects that we already have but also get the collections released that I had been planning for some time. There is the short story collection and Beloved Chains: Spring which combines all the issues of both web comics (plus artwork) into one physical volume.

Ending

So, that's that. Not much else to update you with but if there is something specific you'd like to ask, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or join the discord and ask there!

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

Autumn Updates from the Beloved Universe

I am amazed how fast that the summer has gone and now that we are back in autumn. We actually past our four year mark here at Comic Fury on the 7th of this month! In a way, it is hard to believe that this much time has past while working on this passion project and I appreciate each and everyone of you that have stayed along for the ride. So! What's still coming? Let's get that update done!

Beloved Chains

Issue 4

Just a few updates when it comes to this one. Issue #4 is still going. All the layouts have been completed and I already have the first completed page. I'm hoping to get at least half the pages in my hand before I start releasing again.

I want to avoid too long of a hiatus but I also don't want to put you all in the situation on not knowing when the next page is coming out.

New Artist!

I am happy to announce that we have a new artist for the series and you have actually seen his work before. MajiroB, the artist behind the Interlude 2 – “Obedience”

He will be taking over the story for Issue 5 that is presently being written! I'm very excited to be working with him in the coming months!

Beloved Maid

All of you haven't finished Issue #5 but I already have almost all of Issue #6 which will be uploaded right behind so there shouldn't be any interruption between the two!

Digital Comics Released!

I have also gotten Beloved Maid released digitally for anyone who wants to get a personal copy and support the project! You can find them below

Issue #1 Amazon | Gumroad
Issue #2 Amazon | Gumroad
Issue #3 Amazon | Gumroad
Issue #4 Amazon | Gumroad

Blue Blossom Adventures Visual Novel

Unfortunately, this project has been on the bottom of my to do list due to how much it takes to get done. Like I mentioned in my last update, I had to redo all the code again to make it better and run smoother. It was a lot of work down the drain but in the end, it'll make the game a lot better!

More to come on this even though it might be awhile.

Novellas & Short Stories

In the gaps between art releases and the other projects, I decided to lean into the talent I actually have and get some content out for those who like to read about the world as much as read the comic.

The short story collection is now at 5 completed stories of 15. Some of the other ones I'm working on are a longer but I'm going to get this done. I plan to release a few more online for everyone to read if they'd like.

Between a Princess & A Hard Place

The first novella based in Beloved Maid! I started this one while on vacation as I had a wild idea to slip some story between a point in Issue #6. There is about 10,000 words of the planned 25,000 and I hope to release it before the end of the year!

I've been really wanting to get a novella done for this universe as I wanted to see what these characters were like in a story.

My Beloved Chains: Spring

This is almost done. It is actually an omnibus of Beloved Chains Issues 1 through 4 and Beloved Maid Issue 1 through 5 plus the inclusion of a lot of the art including some art that has never been released!

The goal is to release this as a Print on Demand manga so that anyone can get a physical copy of the entire universe to read whenever they want!

How can You Keep up on Projects?

I decided it was time for a way to track the projects so you could easily see how they are going. If you go to the following page, you can see an updated status of the present project, where it's at, and for the funding status of the next issue after!

Status of Beloved Universe

How you can help?

I'm still working on a perk system built into my beloved universe website but if you are interested in helping out. There are a few ways you can help.
* You can donate through librapay or through paypal. * Purchase one or more of the released volumes. * Vote and Share Beloved Universe with whoever you want to enlarge the readership!

Where to Hang Out?

Interested in hanging out and seeing snippets and sneak peeks? I do release some snippets of projects in the work on our Discord and for those who love the decentralized technology, you can join us at our new matrix server (which bridges to the Discord)!

Discord
Matrix

Ending

That's it so far! Thank you again each and everyone of you who has taken time out of their day to fall the adventures of Henry, Maevin, Aevina, Larry, and the rest of the Beloved Universe cast!

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

“That Bittersweet Moment...”

Have you ever had that moment where you were sad and happy at the same time? That is what I am experience right now.

I am sad to announce that Laura Mondragon, the artist behind Beloved Chains will be departing the project after the conclusion of Issue 4. That is the bitter part as she has been with me since the project started and created the fundamental visual that is the Beloved Universe. Through the five years we worked together, she became a dear friend and will be sorely missed.

The sweet part is that her decision to step away is due to the need to shift priorities for her family life and opportunities to pursue her career as a professional artist.

I will be the first to say that I am proud of her and what she is accomplished and though her iconic drawing style will be missed, it would be selfish of me to not want her to be the best that she could be!

Beloved Chains is not Dead

No. This does not mean the Beloved Chains is coming to an end after the completion of the fourth issue. I will have more news on the next artist who will be continue the series in the next blog I will post sometime mid week!

Stay tuned for more updates on where we will be going from here!

Thank you all for your continued support of this project and the love you have shown Laura's work. I know she has great things ahead of her!

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

Summer Update on Beloved Universe

To Start Things Off

I know it has been a while since I have been able to write up a blog post and give all of you an update on the universe. The first thing I wanted to say is thank you for your continued reading and supporting of the comic. I really enjoy reading all the comments that people leave even if I don't respond to them for a while. Thank you! This comic would not be as fun as it is now if it was not for everyone of you who has taken the time to show it some love.
So! Let's get to the updates on all the different projects that I have been working on!
##Beloved Chains
As you all who have been following the comic have noticed, June 22nd, we went on hiatus as Issue 4's pages are designed and drawn. I am happy to say that I'm all paid up with my artist on that one so there should not be a long wait between them. She is presently giving me an end of July Deadline so I'm hoping to start releasing more pages again in the first week of August!
After that though, I'm still working out the finances to fund Issue #5. Worse case scenario, we won't be able to until I get the budget to a point to cover it.

Beloved Maid

Beloved Maid is continuing on with no problems! Kinchan has continued to work on getting the art completed. As of the posting of this blog, we have only one more page for Issue #4 to release BUT, I have already uploaded half of issue 5 so there won't be any delay!
Beloved Maid is funded all the way through Issue 6 plus a bunch of special artwork that I hope to make available on the website once I finish some backend coding.

Blue Blossom Adventures

The visual novel? Has it died? No! I honestly had to start all over again because I learned so much about the system I am using to write it that I made it almost impossible with the present code to actually make it expandable. Instead of taking time to hack it to make it work, it'll be easier for me to restart the code base.
That has been started and the artwork is already 90% done. So, I'm hoping by Christmas to have a release!

Tales Around the Empire

I am working with the artist of MB Studios to create an anthology of short story web comics that tell stories from all over the universe instead of staying focused on the main characters of Beloved Maid and Beloved Chains.
This comic will not be as common as the others but a place to share unique stories that I come up with for you all! Stay tuned as we are already done with the script stage and character designs which I plan to share on the Beloved Chains website next week!

Writing, Writing, Writing!

I have a bunch of short stories and novellas that are still in work. Not an exhaustive list but I'm half way done with Ascendant Rising and in the process of editing the second Star Traveler book Dead in Space to continue that story.
Not to mention the Anthology Tales around Blue Blossom which will have 15 short stories, some you have already read and others that won't be published on the blog or websites including unique artwork for them in the book!

In the End

We are still chugging along! I've enjoyed all of this but I didn't realize how much output I would need on top of my non-writing life and everything.”

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

1. Important Announcement: Switching from Ko-Fi to LibraPay

“Sorry all for yet another post right after I sent the update in but I had learned some new information about the systems I was using for donating to Beloved Universe.
I decided to part ways with Ko-Fi and completely deleted our account there. It wasn't an easy decision, but I discovered they had silently de-activated my ko-fi account with no email. It appears to be because it supported an nsfw project and they are so nervous with dealing with Paypal, they didn't want to chance it.
But don't worry! I found an incredible alternative in Librapay. They share our values and understand the importance of providing a secure and welcoming environment for all creators and will allow us to continue to offer the opportunity to support the project!
You can find our official link at:
https://liberapay.com/beloveduniverse
I have also added an icon where the ko-fi one used to be on each of the comic pages. It's the big yellow button!
Before we wrap up, we want to send out a huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you. Your support means the world to me.
If you have any questions or need assistance during this transition, you can send a PM to me through Comic Fury or reach out to me through Social Media!
Thank you again!”

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

3. Statement from Beloved Universe about AI

“You would be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't realized what the potential impact of #artificial #intelligence is when it comes to the artistic worlds of both the written word and the drawn image. The creative endeavors of our #creators in the realm of #computers have created a machine who has learned from us and can create works. The beneficial potential is immeasurable.
Of course, that means those who only see money and not the damage it can cause, will attempt to utilize this new tool to cut out #artists and #writers; try to replace them with these wonderful machines.
I, the creator of the Beloved Universe, am a writer and I rely on amazing, artists around the world to fashion this universe into what it is now and it is important to know where the Beloved Universe stands with the continued rise of AI artwork in the wild.
Beloved Universe does use artificial intelligence like #stablediffusion and #midjourney to create concepts of what is in my head. It is a tool to provide artists a better understanding of what I am thinking outside of what I have written.
Under no circumstances will Beloved Universe be replacing an artist with a machine nor will we be releasing any AI-created artwork on our official channels. Beloved Universe will continue to work with and hire real artists to create this passion of mine, and #AI will remain a tool to that end.
Beloved Universe supports both the creator and the advancement of technology and condemns those who care little for either and treat both the artist and the machine as a path to more riches.
AI is here to stay, and it will be treated as a tool to help humanity, not replace us.
-Jonathan S, creator of Beloved Universe“

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)

Two New Blogs for Those Interested in Lore & Stories

Hey all! What a surprise? Two posts in the same week? (I think it's been the same week). I just wanted to let everyone who is interested in more deep dives of the world that I have a Lore Blog now and a Short Story blog setup. Right now there is only one Lore Article and I'm still working on a bunch of short stories in between approving artwork and writing scripts. :)
For those of you using a Mastodon, Friendica, etc, these blogs are federated so you can subscribe to them and get updates in your feed.
Codex-Xaltea (Lore Articles): https://blog.beloved-universe.com/codex-xaltea/
Tales Around the Estate (Short Stories): https://blog.beloved-universe.com/tales-around-estate/
If this is your thing, I hope you enjoy!”

Jonathan S. (LuckyFoot)