Nice! When I get some income again, I should see about getting one of my own Steampunk characters. =) I like that her outfit is nice and simple. Practical! So many people define Steampunk as needing to throw a bunch of gears on everything. I just like the look Myst had, a Steampunk game before the genre had a name. I wish more people would remember and use that style!

Steampunk is, as I most commonly define it and see it defined, identical to our world in all but one aspect; steam power is still the prevalent means of powering everything. So you will get some costumes and outfits that are over-the-top with accessories, but in my view of such a world, people who do that are looked upon the same way that people who wear 18 different chain necklaces, 32 bangles, two rings on every finger and two or three hats simultaneously are in our world. :P

Hah! XD I suppose that's a fair comparison. It's why I haven't gotten into the Steampunk community myself. It seems like their costumes are way too out there, and sometimes I feel like some of them just don't get it. The Steampunk I fell in love with felt like something that did exist. I felt like you really could find a Linking Book somewhere, that would take you to Myst and all the other Ages in the game. The developers did all they could to preserve that feeling, even making up a story about how they were part of a research and translation team! And most of the machines seen in the Myst series felt like they could exist in our world, that we only lacked the proper geography and know-how (or initiative) to build them. The last two games got a little magical in places, but on the whole it really did feel like it was waiting just around the corner somewhere, out in the unmarked places on a map, waiting for someone to discover it.

That's the kind of Steampunk I like. The kind that could exist in our world, but doesn't for various reasons, something that could be right around the next corner, or lying hidden beneath tons of rock. That, I think, is what drew me into the games so much. This feeling that we weren't quite "playing pretend" about all this. That hint, that whiff of Adventure and Other Worlds, was in there. And all you needed was your wits and a bit of courage to get there.

Much as I love some Steampunk stories (like Girl Genius), they're more like a fantasy novel, or soft sci-fi. There's no hint of secret worlds just around the corner. Even Star Wars happened "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away". Without enough hints of truth to tie it back here, you just lose that magical feeling that excites the kid in us all. At some point, something inside you says, "That's too different from my reality. Either it doesn't exist or I could never get there." Not to say those sorts of stories can't be fun. But I don't think they draw us in quite as much as others might.

Takes a deft touch, I'm sure. A careful balance to make sure it's neither too fantastic nor too mundane. Just enough to entire the reader and suggest they've stepped through the Looking Glass along with the characters.

Erf. Sorry for the geeky rant. ^.^;; I'm just a little excited that I seem to have found someone who shares my point of view on this. Though I don't think I ever put it into so many words before. I'll have to share this with others and get their thoughts on it.

Keep up the good work, regardless. =) You've got awesome art and some good writing skills. Keep practicing and you should only get better.