Excess snot is never a good sign. Maybe she should try vitamins?

Orrrrr maybe you just need to eat something, or have a nap, drink some water. Maybe that would help

Your drawing skills have grown immensely over the years. Kudos!

EARN IT

Maybe you should calm yourself, Noa, you're gonna be exhausted when you reach the third letter in your alphabet. And these is not the way how you grab a pencil, please

Have you tried holding your pencil *correctly*?

So, of all the witches in the coven, Noa is the true talent, but completely insane. Driven by curiosity and passion to the point of madness. Jenny just waits, stalks, obsesses, and observes. From what we’ve seen, she has no true talent, not really.

Noa was never told that the old "5% Inspiration, 95% Perspiration" canard was always sntirely figurative.

Overdramatic much? That can't be healthy!

Blood, sweat, snot, and tears. • I like how the corners indicate this is a flashback, is it to avoid the more detailed "watercolor look" like "Get Lost"? Also that chapter's bright and happy colors and detailed artwork indicate that was a generally lovely memory (death, infidelity, and quarreling aside) while Noa's almost gray and sinister colors indicate that in spite of how innovative she's being she's not having fun. There's also a lot of playing with camera and panel angles when she's being innovative like in the beginning with the teacup. Wait, is Noa be the source of the "cursed teapot" Kat and Annie dealt with offscreen?

She’s so frustrated she’s ugly crying over it,

How I feel when drawing on depression mood swing

She will either master the glyph or burst into flames. And emerge as a phoenix.

I know you don't normally draw nostrils, Tom, and this honestly might just be me, but I find myself unable to concentrate on the actual content of this page because I'm struggling to get past the trail of mucus on Noa's face clearly emerging from a hole when there isn't another next to it. The shadow-hatching is probably enough to divert most people's attention away from that area of the face, but it's a bit uncanny valley for me.

(Otherwise, I should say, this is a powerfully rendered page.)

Ohh… oh dear.

Weak from… what? Modifications? Neglect? Sense of self-preservation?

This page is disturbing. The previous page was really relatable, and this is maybe one of the most viscerally upsetting pages in the comic. Second might be Tony's arm, but the art there doesn't hit as hard. I may or may not have done actions the previous page showed (like opening a door to a friend, mm-hm, yup) and may or may not relate a bit too much to Noa's throes here. Good stuff, Tom.

That last panel was snot very nice...

I understand that she's probably struggling to draw the rune she mentioned that was 'barely in her head', but... I can't help but imagine that this is how AI art bros feel about being told to pick up a pencil and start practice drawing.

....Have you tried getting some nourishment and sleep, my dear?

Girl, I feel that. I, too, bear the struggles of drawing the perfect circle.

Average artist

Any creative ever during art block:

That sure is a heavy pencil.

Ah, the Loony Toons are strong with this one... I'm gonna laugh when Noa gets all pumped up, Red reaches out in the ether, tugs a string, and Noa's head goes of like a Roman Candle.

This is dark. It’s also quite scary and concerning

Its not that hard. Just draw the owl noa.

Well, I guess we can check "Snot-dripping closeup" off the Gunnerkrigg Court list.

Me when I try and draw a circle freehand.

...nap might help? You look really tired, Noa. Also might help? Holding the pencil not like a kindergartner.

That doesn’t look healthy, it seems what she is trying to do has a massive price tag attached to it.

:(

Starting to guess that she carved things into herself.

Haha this feels like what AI Bros and supporters do and say when they're told to pick up a pencil (I love this comic by the way)

I guess we're about to see why she is the tank

Oh noa, you’ve gone too far. She is spiraling into madness, someone help herr

ah yes, that relatable homework feeling

Op. Here comes the muscle. Also, JENNY DIDN’T TRY TO STOP HER?????? WTF JENNY

I think that she is taking this a little hard. While I hope I am wrong, I can see a deal with Coyote, or another spirit being the reason she is now known as "the muscle."

"In a city not far from Innsmouth, our young heroine tampers boldly with eldritch forces beyond her ken, heedless of the consequences."

‘Earn It’, Noa! Be Strong! Lift yourself! ** Noa seems to be having an existential crisis. We know she will come into some growth & understanding. Will she continue to evolve her understanding or become static & didactic. ** Thanks for continuing your excellent artwork & story telling, Tom!

Accurate portrayal of doing derrivations of physics formulas.

The idea of Jenny collecting a hoard of menhera girlies to protect their menhera idol is peak. I generally am so back into this comic.

ai artists be like

Perbe she has to, earn it

EARN IT.

Oh yeah, she's spiraling.

Girl, it's just the midterms.

Wait, is the glyph physically taxing to recreate at this level???

You know whatyou've done here man. I'm not falling for it I'm not going to make memes about the evil witch lady. That's reserved for the bovine characters

Someone tell her that's not the most effective way to hold a pencil

That ain't no way to write a gliph. You have to use a pen with red or green ink! It's the rules!

noa honey breatheeeee

Dang why is she bleeding from the mouth? This girl needs serious help. Also forget strength, magic yourself a tissue, jeez.

I, too, have trouble drawing circles.

Damn

Skill issue be like

Oh, girl, I've been there

Oh dear...

I'm tempted to make some comment about "AI bros trying to draw a circle" but perfect circles are HARD. This coming from an actual pencil-and-paper-using artist. Do not mock the circle, yada yada. Hope she figures out what she needs in a way that isn't too self-destructive... *doubt*

She may actually want to try less hard.

Same.

AI 'artists' giving up before doing anything and deciding to use AI instead.

Git gud

She's having such a hard time because they took her other arm after the tattoo. The person the teacher she's feuding with is based on is infamous for this sort of thing, taking pieces away from problem individuals until they are not problems anymore one way or another. I'm pretty sure she lost her credentials after all this. Overpressure on your new writing hand is a common complication of sodium ball cauterization replacements; the heat seemingly never goes away, so your brain doesn't know how tightly your new muscles are gripping your plastic skeleton and both holding the pencil and moving the arm becomes difficult. The piezoelectric feedback used to experience temperature is denatured during the incident and the brain primarily remembers the (now disassociated, locked at maximum temperature feedback,) neurons of the old hand, confusing the temperature and pressure feedback the body relies on to assess hand contraction and pressure.

hate it when that writer's block hits...

Huh, so is there some kind of power requirement to write a rune down/bind a rune to an object? That would explain why the court doesn't slap them on everything.

Homestuck reference detected

The way Noa is gripping the pencil way too hard makes it seem like she's talking about physical strength, here, but from the previous pages, she must mean mental fortitude to completely draw the glyph... maybe one she probably shouldn't be drawing in the first place... Oh, Noa...

What writer's block feels like.