iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I need to make a big piece of Erin art with giant honking text saying "yes it gets better stop posting to ask if it gets better"

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

IKR, most people criticize her for not accepting levels but even from the beginning it seemed reasonable to me--of course the person who had uncontrollable voices in her head even prior to isekai would be happy to turn off the one voice in her head that is actually within her power to shut off.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Nope and unfortunately procreate has no cloud backup to begin with so afaik my art is tied to that specific install regardless of icloud

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Nope, Procreate has no cloud storage, and if it did, it's too late now since the ipad is stuck on its restore screen. If Procreate goes away, so does all my art in it.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

First is The Wandering Inn, and second is FF14's Sphene. Maybe one day I'll try to work off of these WIPs to finish them but for now... they're dead. I'll be working on other things now, I guess. Or I can pray that the Apple store can resurrect my iPad when I next go to Japan.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I try to have two WIPs going on at any given time, but my iPad fucked up an update and it's likely all my Procreate art is gone forever. Here's the two pieces that were in progress and have had many hours of refinement since then. Unlikely I'll go back to these now.

unfinished digital charcoal drawing of sphene from ff14

unfinished painting depicting ryoka, tyrion, and several unnamed nobles gasping at the sudden appearance of the fae at a banquet.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Is there a way to recover all my files from my iPad after an update fucks up, but before I do a factory reset? Because I think all my Procreate art is at danger of being gone forever

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Oh, huh... I can't say for sure since I don't read the Kindle versions, but that sounds short to me... Looking at the list of chapters, I don't think 700 pages could fit all of what's going on in there

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

*pat pat* can't blame you if you skip but fwiw v6 is when flos slowly starts to get deemphasized in favor of basically anyone else in chandrar... this batch of chapters introduces some interesting characters and the next batch introduces some actually important ones and a fan fave

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Oh I didn't realize you didn't know how many books there were! Whoops! But nah, there's plenty of books shorter than book 20's length, it's a result of having to end books at a chapter that narratively feels like the end of a book, when pirate didn't write with book divisions in mind.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Interval doesn't seem to be too consistent, maybe 3-4 books a year? I believe book 20 is in Nov. I think pirate's taken notes on what people found boring about that big Flos batch, and this one is... better, but still not as interesting as Izril. But the overall K quality does go up steadily

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Does this help wiki.wanderinginn.com/images/5/5a/...

wiki.wanderinginn.com

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

you don't know how much i wanted to reply to your post about what you'd do if you were magnolia

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Good eye! Yes, every book in volume 6 has a flower being blown in the wind! I don't know how many people have actually _noticed_ it, but as far as I know you're the only person to have ever mentioned it, so congratulations! The books comprising volume 7 also have their own running theme...

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Hm? Why would it be gone forever? Yeah, it's in the books, albeit the second one (No Killing Goblins)

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

No it's okay, I didn't realize! I thought you were just too scared to reach the end of volume 5 😅 But if it's actually a bad time to read you should wait until your imagination is optimal again, especially for what's coming next!

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

emotional support group at the ready...

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Human artists! Use one piece only to convince people to follow you! 🩸

A girl holding a broken and bloody knife close to her. Her eyes are offscreen and her shirt bloodied, her emotions guarded.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Hey all! Today, The Wandering Inn (@thewanderinginn.bsky.social) celebrates its physical release, and I'm making a thread of the fanart I've done over the years, to gush about why I made these pieces, and hopefully, along the way, convince you to read it. Yes, YOU.

Colorful portrait of the main character, Erin Solstice, a young woman with chestnut-colored hair. Vividly colored fire swirls around her head.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

There's some interesting touches in the online version that you won't see on the ebook, for what that's worth! For example, did you know that Erin's [Immortal Moment] is printed as green? What could that mean? There's other minor HTML gimmicks too. Nothing critical but it adds a bit of flavor.

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Reposted by Miguel Arguelles

Spooky! @spookyowl.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I just finished a fun art piece! Check out the showcase video if you're interested-- I'm going to post some progress pictures & glamour shots in this thread :D #wanderinginn #terrarium #miniatures youtu.be/b13VtqwgRB0

youtu.be

Wandering Inn "Twi-rrarium" Showcase

YouTube video by Spooky Owl

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

And for good measure, here's a great supplementary essay about TWI, if you have time to read more than a few bsky posts: likethegirlsname.substack.com/p/food-and-o...

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

How to read it? Well, the first two volumes (split into 4 books for pub), because of the publishing deal, are no longer free on the site--you can buy a print copy from your local bookstore, or digital from Amazon. BUT. Once you finish those books, the rest of the books are FREE at wanderinginn.com!

wanderinginn.com

Overview

Table of Contents Latest Patreon Chapter loading… Latest Public Chapter loading… Where I left off loading… New here? START YOUR JOURNEY Welcome to the Innverse, a captivating web serial where stories ...

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Anyway, go check out The Wandering Inn! And feel free to ask me stuff! I've left out a lot because, well, 1. character limits, and 2. I didn't want some dingus to come in thinking they're funny by saying "even bsky posts about it are too long"

Close up portrait of Erin Solstice, eyes off-canvas and shadowed. She holds a broken and bloody knife close to her. Her shirt is bloodied.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

And really, more than anything else, what appeals to me about this is how committed the story is to what I would call its central theme (see linked essay below for more): that treating everyone with dignity and compassion is far more powerful than any ancient eldritch being.

Erin Solstice dancing with the goblin shaman Ulvama.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I know how easy it is to dunk on its length, but even years into TWI, the author has still been able to knock it out of the park with emotional scenes, somehow covering new ground. This scene was particularly evocative, and more importantly, felt earned over years of character growth.

Erin Solstice sitting on a grassy field at night, staring in wonder at a night sky lit up with colored fire.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I've always been surprised by just how much the author is willing to experiment! Their attempts at playing with genre don't always land, but are usually interesting. And keeping up with the varying tones is one reason I've always played with styles. Comedy! Horror! Drama! They've tried it all!

Erin Solstice making finger guns at the camera

Erin Solstice, aboard a ship wracked by waves. She is ensnared by a Naga, and has one hand shackled. By her waist is a knife that she cannot reach, but her free hand secretly draws a magical circle on the ground. In the background is her inn, and a vague silhouette floats in the sky near it, observing events.

A witch manipulating red threads, drawn digitally with fake ink brushes.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Over the years, I've drawn so much fanart of Erin herself, because I've always loved how her character grew. She gets a bad rap for being an airhead, and yeah, that's core to her, but she's so much more than that! And I've loved painting every milestone she's had as she learned more about herself.

Erin Solstice, rendered in five different styles, each encompassing a different mood--horror, comedy, drama, mystery, and a synthesis of all of these in front.

Erin solstice, wrapped in a blanket, covered in blood, with war paint on her face.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

And conversely, it's quiet moments like these that serve to heighten the loud moments that come soon after. I'll concede that the pacing isn't for everyone--but for most of us readers, the so-called fluff is central to it! The burger selling, the stage plays, and yes, even the baseball games!

Four adventurers having dinner together at an inn. In the foreground is a human necromancer in white. Seated with him are an ant person, a dirty blonde haired half-elf with a skeletal hand, and a blonde woman with steel arms.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

"Slice of life" is often conflated with "cozy", but it turns out it's far from cozy! And that's because it contains slices of lives of people around the world--and many of these lives are ones that see death and mayhem on a regular basis, which makes the actual cozy moments all the more meaningful.

A knight carting around dead fish, being forced to keep working against his will by a magical contract, together with miners, farmers, and other workers, as a group of merchants cackles at them from above.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

to fishers, to kings. People, living their own lives, separately from the main character, but with resonating thematically... and eventually, weaving in and out of the inn's story. TWI didn't invent worldbuilding, but it leveraged the web serial format to do it in a way unlike any other.

A fisher girl struggles to keep her small bangka (a Filipino outrigger) afloat as it is pounded by waves and attacked by three-eyed fish resembling sharks.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

And yeah yeah, I know--"oh no, it's an isekai? and a LitRPG? I hate it already!" I won't deny that it does carry some tropes associated with those, but it goes way beyond that! Before I knew it, the story grew to encompass so much more--glimpses of lives of people from all over, from couriers...

A courier covered in tattoos runs along his companions--a variety of magical animals--on his way to make a delivery.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It proved shockingly unpredictable, and while the inn remained core, it surprised me just how much variety there was to it. While this looks like something straight out of an anime OP, it is in fact very literal, and I painted this absurd scene to highlight the crazy directions the story goes.

A giant Erin Solstice wearing a flaming hat hovers over a giant chessboard, stylized as a battlefield, while a young man in white runs towards the camera, pursued by giant chess pieces.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Initially, I thought that this was as far as it was going to go... but it wasn't, as I expected, just an inn where random people come in to tell stories! Far from it! I painted this to illustrate that the inn isn't merely a hub for disconnected vignettes, but a central player in the world's events.

A montage of several dozen characters from The Wandering Inn, doing various activities in said inn. Erin Solstice appears five times in the pictures, participating in these activities.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Don't think of my art as spoilers... think of it as teasers. I started reading TWI in 2016, and it's been crazy watching it grow as my own art grew. Don't stop me even if you've heard this before--it's about a young girl who gets transported into a fantasy world. Things were so simple back then!

My first portrait of the main character, Erin Solstice. The painting comes from circa 2016 and is markedly amateurish.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

hahaha, thanks--that last one took several months and was something I made as a celebration of the launch of the v1 rewrite. A lot of them are pretty far removed from the official designs now, at least for the ones who have official designs 😅

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Harkalé Linaï @harkale-linai.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Beorn's Hospitality MtG: the Hobbit, AD: Colin Boyer. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to paint Beorn, I love that big grumpy vegetarian guy and his animal friends 💚 I'll add some close-ups (as well as the card) below, so you can look at the details and approve of Bilbo's sense of priorities!

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Ooh... my art was not so good back in that era... lemme see if I can curate some that won't spoil much. There's some spoilers in here but they have no context, and some you won't even realize are spoilers until you get to that part

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Oh hey thanks for the follow! I must warn you that some of my art may be quite spoilery

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Welcome! It's not really a reference to a particular game trope, just a convenient way to distinguish, for example, someone with an actual class of [Warrior] from someone who fits the general abstract idea of a warrior.

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

there's a number of times that i meet a new/practically new character and then decide "no wait, shohreh plays this character now. i'll need to recast her previous role"... there's a character i'm reading literally right now to whom i've reassigned shohreh yet again!

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Harkalé Linaï @harkale-linai.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The card illustration in question :) Desolation Prowler, painted for MtGxThe Hobbit, AD: Colin Boyer. Look at this cute little black-aligned warg, I'm sure it's only following someone's bloody trail to make new friends 🖤 I had a lot of fun with "oily" colours on that one!

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Yooooooooo congrats! That looks so good! Excited to see your next ones!

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Harkalé Linaï @harkale-linai.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

MY FIRST MAGIC CARD HAS BEEN RELEASED A FEW DAYS AGO, WOOOOO! LOOK AT IT! Ahem. What I mean is: Last Light of Durin's Day, Magic the Gathering: the Hobbit, AD: Colin Boyer. I was fangirling a lot when working on that set (...and quite a few others), so I'm so happy I finally get to show my art!

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

actual highlights... primarily because pirate figured out that all the colorful people around Chandrar (whom you haven't met yet) are way more fun to write and read about than Flos himself

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Sometimes if I really get the sense someone is close to DNFing due to this batch of Flos I encourage em to skip, since you can figure out a lot of their deal when they come around again (many many books later). FWIW when K chapters come back they're marginally more interesting and later on become

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