As You Were: Clockwork ( A Matter of Time )

well holy jeez, ive been promising this comic for a year and here it finally is.
here on ao3 i'll be posting scene by scene. on dA and tumblr I'll be posting a page at a time, so follow me (same name) there if you want to see pages as they come out.
im very excited about this story and i hope you like it <3 please let me know what you think.

Chapter 1: Introduction: A Social Call

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: A Brief History of Time

Summary:

An examination of a strange family and their morbid jobs

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

on tumblr

on dA

Notes:

Over the years a lot of people asked for an As You Were of Ember, but I couldn't pull a coherent story from her and I felt like we already knew a bit from canon anyway. so I cameoed her here instead.
Sorry for the dip in art quality - I actually did these and the next pages first, last spring, and then drew the intro this summer, and I kind of got the hang of some things in that time.
Chapters will be getting longer from here on out, so updates on ao3 will be slow. For faster updates check out my dA or tumblr, where pages go up every other week.
Let me know what you think! :)

Chapter 3: The Knight Corrupted

Summary:

A reflection on the nature of objects of power.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

on tumblr

on dA

Notes:

I lied here's one more short chapter. I was kind of on the fence between combining this with the next chunk vs letting it stand on its own, and decided it was a good stopping point so might as well.
I'm on a short hiatus as I ended up needing to redraw part of the next scene, but updates on tumblr and dA will pick up again in late January.
Let me know what you think! <3

Chapter 4: An Unforeseen Circumstance

Summary:

One unwelcome revelation leads to a second, even more unwelcome revelation.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

For earlier page by page updates, read on tumblr or dA :)

Notes:

Thanks for reading! :)

Actions

Kudos

Xmaster3000, 123ThatsEnoughForMe, ravencalia, NomadicStardust, PlatonicLoveForHeroesAndHeroism, Tony281100, AmazingAnon, TheBookking, ImagineBlaqk, Worthless_Nepenthes, MorningMeals, LenorePC, jasonthetodd, srirachacha, Eyebii, Unready_Spaghetti, Closingstraw97, Shadouraito, WaywardStoryEnthusiast, TutaTamta, plainclothesdisaster, Natural_Harmonic, brightlance, Cecilia_Faith, Echowhoslayedthepeace2981, Navy_Blue17, Hakey3electricbogalo, Moonfoxgazer, SATYR_Dev, Bobble_Bees, Mennany, Dokgohh, kiveiru_and_quiznackz, MisterMetalMaker, Mila15, Im_Trapped_In_Reality, TheBot, sykloni, Timaeus1025, LaytonJr, kz3838, SenapiNeko, Lover105, RaylaNevermore, Crossdimensional, messy_feathers, Crazy_Aven1548, acebian, That_Fan, Oraclestone, and 189 more users as well as 138 guests left kudos on this work!

Comments

Sorry, this work doesn't allow non-Archive users to comment. You can however still leave Kudos!

Pages Navigation

In_The_Ghost_Mode on Chapter 1 Wed 01 Aug 2018 03:26AM UTC

this is amazing

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 1 Wed 01 Aug 2018 12:16PM UTC
  
  thank you! :)
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
2. 1. In_The_Ghost_Mode on Chapter 1 Sat 11 Aug 2018 07:19PM UTC
    
    No prob fam
    
    Comment Actions
    - Thread
    - Parent Thread
Taliax on Chapter 1 Fri 03 Aug 2018 12:33AM UTC

Wow, this art style is great! I especially love how you draw Clockwork's different ages throughout. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this!

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 1 Fri 03 Aug 2018 02:11AM UTC
  
  thank you!!! ^_^
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
BiblioMatsuri (Biblioteque) on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Jan 2019 02:09AM UTC

omg
(I started reading this (just this first part) literally right when you first posted on AO3??? and I kept planning to go catch up, and now I'm finally doing it.)
Oh. My gosh. Clockwork's Keep is beautifully drawn here, from every angle (many of which are freakin' hard to draw anything in; kudos to you) and all the tiny details!
The little /digital clock/ along with the various mechanical clocks in p2 panel 3, because of /course/ why wouldn't every possible means of measuring time be here? And those are tiny watches on his gloves.
And the /age-shifting/ - you've made great use of the black between-panel space as a way to just suddenly have him be a different age, skipping along past any hope of the audience seeing the transition. That's a trick that doesn't work so well in animated media; or, at least, it's a dang sight trickier to think of at all. And yet his body language doesn't miss a beat, and why would it? He's still the same person...
And the characters! xD I figured out that the 'mystery guest' was Dani as soon as he mentioned "your cousin" (bc that's a very specific term in this fandom) and her worries about her powers (which trail far behind mr protagonist, for now) just clinched it. That genuine worry about not imposing or intruding, too. Dani's not got a lot of reasons to think she'd be welcome /anywhere/, and Clockwork just casually dismisses that worry in a totally IC way: "You wouldn't be here if I didn't want you to stay," and no she would /not/ be.
Clockwork's overall personality is dead-on, too. He's got this... bombast? bordering-on-smug grandiosity, really. It's not super-obvious bc Danny has more immediate concerns in TUE (and Danny was the POV character so ofc everything is filtered through him, including how much attention is given to any other character) but even by DP standards, Clockwork is rather dramatic at all times. He's just quiet about it.
And then. at the end. That is a statue of the hecking Grim Reaper. I want to say "wuh-oh" but also that feels maybe a leetle bit too light of a reaction.

Last Edited Sun 13 Jan 2019 02:10AM UTC

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Jan 2019 05:31AM UTC
  
  aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa thanks for your long beautiful comments! they made my day! <3 <3 <3
  i will neither confirm nor deny your dani theory. ;)
  ahh i love the triplets. no, youre pretty spot on with the talking thing - i kind of had in mind that disaster/catastrophe is loud and disruptive, like freak accidents and avalanches and fires and whatnot, but that the two of them are relatively silent killers.
  thanatos does have lighter sides, which i think will come through more in later chapters, but yeah, i think you're onto something with his care being a very professional one. the main difference ive had in mind between who he is now and who he was then is less in his sense of humor and more who/what he cares about and why, and how that manifests.
  hes SUCH a gd troll, omg. when i was getting started i was going over all his dialog from the show and just- i had in my head that he was very formal and serious, but he's so snarky all the time.
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
Glowstickia on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Mar 2019 03:36PM UTC

The lighting. The colors. Gooooooosh damn Im excited

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 1 Sat 16 Mar 2019 09:33PM UTC
  
  :D
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
Indrel on Chapter 1 Sun 16 Jan 2022 03:23PM UTC

Oh wow!! This art is incredible!!

Comment Actions
- Thread
WaywardStoryEnthusiast on Chapter 1 Thu 26 Sep 2024 06:52PM UTC

I love this comic so much! I've re read it a bunch, and I think I've read all of your other backstory comics on deviantart.
I was a little confused when I first saw the blank speech bubbles but you do a great job of making it clear who it is and the essentials of what she is saying. It starts off as a fun little mystery, and then offers a way for Clockwork to tell his story while keeping the focus on him.
(I also love that Dani brought him flowers. That's so sweet.)
Clockwork's home is lovely and I really like all the detail you incorporated. I'm not an artist but I've heard that backgrounds and detail are really hard, these look very nice.
Clockwork reassuring Dani is very sweet. I also like the idea of Clockwork changing as his idea of time changed. Even someone as old as he is not static.

Comment Actions
- Thread
Taliax on Chapter 2 Tue 09 Oct 2018 06:12PM UTC

I love this! I hope we get to see more of Samhain, his friendship with Clockwork looks really cute. I wasn't expecting the tie in with Pariah Dark! I love how you've woven together just the little bits of Clockwork's backstory we've seen so far along with the lore from the show. It's looking awesome!

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 2 Tue 09 Oct 2018 11:57PM UTC
  
  Ahh thanks! There will definitely be more of him throughout, and more tie-ins to canon :)
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
BiblioMatsuri (Biblioteque) on Chapter 2 Sun 13 Jan 2019 02:47AM UTC

*flails a lot* there's /so much/ here, holy carp! You're pulling the bare bones of this from DP canon, but this story is really its own vast universe. And I mean, I knew that things were going to go severely heckways as soon as I saw Pariah Dark as one of Clockwork's brothers (really, the fact that CW is telling this story at all is telling enough) but. I deeply, deeply underestimated the epicness of scope in your worldbuilding - and in how you made me /really like/ Samhain as a character, even as I know full well that his ending is going to be the actual worst.
Because kind Samhain, the /bright knight/, who gives the mercy of oblivion to the trapped unquiet dead; who has a golden sword that can cut any chain, and is named /Samhain/ - he becomes the Fright Knight, doesn't he? *pained expression* damn.
On a slight aside side note, the triplets. They're just such 80s cartoon-horror villains, in visual design and in personality - which is to say, "over-the-top menacing" and "evil evil i'm evil ha ha". And yet they're genuinely horrifying, because. they're. literally anthropomorphic personifications of three /really horrible/ ways to die. Degradation and disease of course can't talk, bc part of how degradation (read: cruelty, abuse, deprivation) and disease kill is by breaking the /person/ down so far they can't talk anymore. (...or I might be reading too much into it. *shrug*)
And Thanatos! I can see how the eternally-serious Thanatos could be Clockwork's previous self. He's very literal, and very grim - but he's not /unkind/. Reading this chapter (and the first part) I was reminded more than a lot of Gaiman's The Sandman comics. Here, I'm reminded a bit of Destiny, who holds and reads the book of fate, forever walking a path that has been forever ordained. Like Destiny, Fate isn't good or evil, he's just /necessary/. He's just an existentially terrifying eldritch being doing his job. Thanatos is a /very/ different character, though! He's got this dust-dry humor, and a slight overall unbending of the usual formalities where Samhain is concerned. He's not kind, but there's this sense of very careful attention given to everything - even a mountain (even that mountain will die) - that honestly reminds me a lot of reading Discworld DEATH's POV. He cares. It's a perfectly professional care, but his job /is/ his purpose and the greatest part of his existence.
And I just - I still feel like I'm reading too much into all of this, but really... the bit at the end where Clockwork drops 'oh yeah my jerk of a brother usurped our mother, which was really only the start of the bad stuff happening' and then asks his guest if she'd like some more /tea/. What a troll.
Thanatos' demeanor may remind me of Destiny, but Clockwork makes me think a little of Sandman Death: deliberately and philosophically cheerful, because being grim and serious at all times was just not doing it anymore. (...which fits, as he /is/ a messenger of Death in this 'verse.)

Comment Actions
- Thread
Glowstickia on Chapter 2 Tue 12 Mar 2019 03:43PM UTC

BROTHERS!!!!! O:

Comment Actions
- Thread
RaggPatchFace on Chapter 2 Tue 16 Apr 2019 02:21AM UTC

I don't know why looking at Samhain makes me either want to listen to Legend of Zelda soundtracks, or praise the sun, or both. Either way, I already love the guy -which is sad, considering that Clockwork keeps talking about him in past tense TT.TT

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 2 Sat 20 Apr 2019 02:41PM UTC
  
  awwww <3 thanks! im so glad you like him :D
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
Indrel on Chapter 2 Sun 16 Jan 2022 03:25PM UTC

So interesting!!! Clockwork as Thanatos! I like it!

Comment Actions
- Thread
Oraclestone on Chapter 2 Tue 13 Dec 2022 08:57PM UTC

Oooh, just how did he steal that crown I wonder?

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 2 Sat 17 Jun 2023 10:33PM UTC
  
  Just picked it off the ground after she poured too much of herself into it and dissolved. A master of conquering is he
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
WaywardStoryEnthusiast on Chapter 2 Thu 26 Sep 2024 07:32PM UTC

Our intro to Samhain! Three panels in and I adore him and his relationship with Thanatos! I like how their closeness/similarity is visible with how similar they look. They're both still unique but out of all the brothers they're the ones with the biggest family resemblance.
(Clockworks description of the mountain dieing has the Tolkien fan in me wriggling in delight. I think I had the time riddle from the Hobbit half memorized in 3rd grade.)
The panel of Samhain and Thanatos sitting back to back while Samhain makes a leaf crown for Thanatos hits me right in the heart. It's such a sweet and intimate moment and I want to keep it always.
The contrast between War and Samhain, and how you show it is fascinating and more than a little heartbreaking considering what happens.
And we end with Clockwork dropping a bombshell then calmly offering tea. Incredible.

Comment Actions
- Thread
WaywardStoryEnthusiast on Chapter 2 Thu 26 Sep 2024 07:35PM UTC

AAAA! This bit was actually the beginning of my comment but it didn't get added to the rest!
I am such a sucker for gentle/calm/friendly personifications of death. This, Anubis in American Gods, the Loving Reaper comics by Jenny-Jinya on Tumblr, they always get me. Just Clockwork holding out his hand, solemn but not unkind, and then the symbolism of blowing out the candle is the best.
Family portrait!
I can Hear Clockworks dry snark in the bit about the triplets! Makes me snicker every time.

Comment Actions
- Thread
Guardian_Rex on Chapter 3 Sun 02 Dec 2018 07:24PM UTC

Amazing!

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 3 Thu 06 Dec 2018 12:50AM UTC
  
  thanks! <3
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
Counterfactual on Chapter 3 Mon 03 Dec 2018 04:41AM UTC

BRUH
THIS IS SO GOOD
fuck I keep just getting overwhelmed by this incredible world-building like DAMN. It makes so much SENSE and it makes the characters so much MORE and it's so PRETTY. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 3 Thu 06 Dec 2018 12:51AM UTC
  
  thank you!!! <3 ahhh im glad you like it :)
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
Taliax on Chapter 3 Wed 05 Dec 2018 11:06PM UTC

Ohhhh... those last few panels hurt...

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 3 Thu 06 Dec 2018 12:50AM UTC
  
  *pat pat*
  don't worry! they will get worse! :D
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
MoonyMermaid on Chapter 3 Fri 21 Dec 2018 12:35PM UTC

Aahhhh so good, gosh!!

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 3 Sun 13 Jan 2019 05:27AM UTC
  
  thanks :)
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
BiblioMatsuri (Biblioteque) on Chapter 3 Sun 13 Jan 2019 02:52AM UTC

Oh. OH. The Fright Knight is Samhain's worst fear.
(well, that was painful.)
great application of worldbuilding, though! I liked the diagrams, esp the little "but still alive! *thumbs-up emoji*" over Danny's passed-out self.

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 3 Sun 13 Jan 2019 05:34AM UTC
  
  ha i wondered if people were catching that!
  it'll get fleshed out a little more, but yeah! i have the sword kind of working differently on completely ectoplasmic beings than on mortal ones - ie it can affect them directly, due to their malleability, rather than resorting to the workaround of a pocket dimension. so his worst fear was becoming the sort of person the Fright Knight is.
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread
10moonymhrivertam on Chapter 3 Tue 26 Feb 2019 12:50AM UTC

I don’t have anything articulate to say but I just wanted to let you know I enjoyed it enough to subscribe!

Comment Actions
- Thread
1. sarapsys on Chapter 3 Wed 27 Feb 2019 01:08AM UTC
  
  <3 thank you, i'm glad you're enjoying it!! :D
  
  Comment Actions
  - Thread
  - Parent Thread

Actions

Work Header

As You Were: Clockwork ( A Matter of Time )

sarapsys

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter 1: Introduction: A Social Call

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: A Brief History of Time

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter Text

Notes:

Chapter 3: The Knight Corrupted

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter Text

Notes:

Chapter 4: An Unforeseen Circumstance

Summary:

Notes:

Chapter Text

Notes:

Actions

Kudos

Comments

Pages Navigation

In_The_Ghost_Mode on Chapter 1 Wed 01 Aug 2018 03:26AM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 1 Wed 01 Aug 2018 12:16PM UTC

Comment Actions

In_The_Ghost_Mode on Chapter 1 Sat 11 Aug 2018 07:19PM UTC

Comment Actions

Taliax on Chapter 1 Fri 03 Aug 2018 12:33AM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 1 Fri 03 Aug 2018 02:11AM UTC

Comment Actions

BiblioMatsuri (Biblioteque) on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Jan 2019 02:09AM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Jan 2019 05:31AM UTC

Comment Actions

Glowstickia on Chapter 1 Tue 12 Mar 2019 03:36PM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 1 Sat 16 Mar 2019 09:33PM UTC

Comment Actions

Indrel on Chapter 1 Sun 16 Jan 2022 03:23PM UTC

Comment Actions

WaywardStoryEnthusiast on Chapter 1 Thu 26 Sep 2024 06:52PM UTC

Comment Actions

Taliax on Chapter 2 Tue 09 Oct 2018 06:12PM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 2 Tue 09 Oct 2018 11:57PM UTC

Comment Actions

BiblioMatsuri (Biblioteque) on Chapter 2 Sun 13 Jan 2019 02:47AM UTC

Comment Actions

Glowstickia on Chapter 2 Tue 12 Mar 2019 03:43PM UTC

Comment Actions

RaggPatchFace on Chapter 2 Tue 16 Apr 2019 02:21AM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 2 Sat 20 Apr 2019 02:41PM UTC

Comment Actions

Indrel on Chapter 2 Sun 16 Jan 2022 03:25PM UTC

Comment Actions

Oraclestone on Chapter 2 Tue 13 Dec 2022 08:57PM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 2 Sat 17 Jun 2023 10:33PM UTC

Comment Actions

WaywardStoryEnthusiast on Chapter 2 Thu 26 Sep 2024 07:32PM UTC

Comment Actions

WaywardStoryEnthusiast on Chapter 2 Thu 26 Sep 2024 07:35PM UTC

Comment Actions

Guardian_Rex on Chapter 3 Sun 02 Dec 2018 07:24PM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 3 Thu 06 Dec 2018 12:50AM UTC

Comment Actions

Counterfactual on Chapter 3 Mon 03 Dec 2018 04:41AM UTC

Comment Actions

sarapsys on Chapter 3 Thu 06 Dec 2018 12:51AM UTC

Comment Actions

Taliax on Chapter 3 Wed 05 Dec 2018 11:06PM UTC