Q: When do you update?

A: You should see a new comic, or at least some kind of art or text to let you know we're still alive, every Monday at midnight. We might change the schedule at a later date, when we get used to doing this.

Q: Web 14? Why that rating?

A: Characters will sometimes die or suffer permanent injury, likely through violence. Our characters might have non-explicit sex, including non-traditional relationships; some of our characters have abnormalities that don't allow them to fit into traditional roles. While this makes BastDawn Cereal Wars unsuitable for children, teenagers should be mature enough to handle the content.

Q: What's with your weird names? Have I heard them before?

A: BastDawn's been using her alias online for years. She isn't the BastDawn on NeoPets (gave that account away years ago), but almost anywhere else you see a "BastDawn", it's her. She's got an archive of things she's made for The Sims game at BastDawn Fantasy Sims if you're interested in some of the other things she's done. "Shirto Lozenge" is a psuedonym we came up with while trying to find a name that hadn't already been used online. Shirto is our writer, not some kind of T-shirt guy.

Q: DarkOx? Factsen? What are those? And why can't you spell "engineer" correctly?

A: BastDawn Cereal Wars is "a post-apocalyptic fantasy", and the people have their own names for animals, objects and careers. Some of these names, like "Enjinear", are clearly descended from modern concepts, but don't expect them to be completely the same. Check out the Setting and Map page if you'd like more details.

Q: I'm upset with you because of the way you portray furries/religion/the military/anything else.

A: Sorry. Xter is a fictional place, and it's definitely not supposed to be some kind of ideal society. If you find something about it offensive, we regret your need to find a new comic to read.

Q: Is Ashira supposed to be some kind of "Mary Sue" character -- you know, a special character whom you identify with?

A: *snerk* *cough* ...um, no. In fact, she looks nothing like either one of us and has a completely different personality. We try to identify at least a little with all our characters (even the unlikeable ones) to make a better story, but we definitely don't think of any of them as some kind of "alter-ego". The closest thing we have to self-insertion is the cereal, which we added so BastDawn could name the comic after herself. (I like having my name all over my work, as opposed to thinking of myself as a crunchy breakfast product.)

Q: Who's writing this? You use a lot of 3rd person.

A: We both are! BastDawn writes a little, then Shirto fixes it, then BastDawn makes suggestions, until you can't tell who's done what anymore. We constantly influence each other. Shirto has a lot of impact on Bastdawn's art, and BastDawn constantly makes suggestions for the storyline. (We're married, and we've been together as a couple for over 15 years.)

Q: Where's the cereal? The comic is called BastDawn Cereal Wars, and we haven't seen any cereal or any war yet!

A: Eh, we'll get to that stuff eventually. It's going to be the focus of the first major plotline, but we have a lot of stuff to work up to before we get there. Ask us again next year if it still hasn't shown up. ;)

Q: Will you draw my character into your comic?

A: The world of Xter is dangerous! We don't want to have to worry about how upset you might get when terrible things happen to your character. I'm sure you're very nice, and your character is very interesting, but we only use characters we've created ourselves, which also helps with copyright restrictions. Sorry!

Q: Okay... will you draw a picture of my character for me?

A: While we would like to do commissions someday, getting the comic done on time is a priority right now. We'll consider it after we get at least 100 comic pages on the site. Please don't request anything until then.

Q: Can I post your art on my webpage? Can I use your story as the basis of my fiction?

A: No. Theft and plagiarism are not okay. If our creative works appear on the web in places we haven't given permission for them to be, that is copyright infringement, and we will take it personally and tell on you! Draw your own pictures and write your own stories.

Q: Can I send you fan art, fan fiction, or comments?

A: Yes! We'd love to hear from you. Send it to shirtolozenge (at) hotmail (dot) com, include the phrase "Cereal Wars" in the subject (so we know it isn't spam), and we'll add it to our site with a link to your site (if you have one).

Q: Hey! I have a real question, and you didn't answer it!

A: Send your question to shirtolozenge (at) hotmail (dot) com, include the phrase "Cereal Wars" in the subject, and we'll put it up here for everyone to see. Do not expect a reply if your question is answered elsewhere on the site! We also will not reply to inquiries about future plot lines, trollish insults, or requests for your plot ideas to be incorporated in the comic. We have the plot decided on already, for a very long time in advance, and none of it shall be revealed until the proper time. :)