Sara N
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sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Sara N
@sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
180 followers 8 following 93 posts
Writer + Illustrator (she/her)
Creator of the webcomic "Julienne." (Among other things!)
I make stories about friendship, courage, and complex trauma.
linktr.ee/snutter
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sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Sara N @sarathedragonfly.bsky.social · Dec 2
Hello! I'm Sara, a writer and comics artist.
Links to my various projects can be found at snutter.com!
A mermaid and human talk with each other, one on the dock, the other in the water, but the roles are reversed. The human is the one in the water, the mermaid on the dock. It's a reunion of old friends, long separated. In a dim lab, a robot convulses as it comes to life, covered in glowing, sparking wires, its eyes wide open but unfocused. At the back of the room, two men stand at a makeshift control center. One is much more emotional than the other. He's trying to save his friend. He needs this to work. A cover design with an ensemble of characters: In the very front, a tall young man with a heart-shaped face and dark curly hair, wearing a red and black military uniform, reacts anxiously to something off-screen. He has four arms, and holds a helmet close to his chest. To his left stack people affiliated with the uniform--his teammates, who have their own special abilities, and his superiors who range from confident, to sympathetic, to sinister. To his right are members of the rebellion, opponents to the uniform, intense and mysterious, one of whom appears to have an ability of their own. Everything is complicated, nothing is as it appears to be, and the central young man is caught in the middle of it.
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Happy Halloween! 🎃
Julienne got a little more daring this year, submitting himself to the middle/high school spray-on hair dye rite of passage he missed out on.
#snJulienne #webcomic
October 31, 2025 at 12:01 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
A short Julienne amv in color! ✨
Always looking for voice headcanons for people, and Julienne's is maddeningly elusive, but that short lip sync part in the middle is the closest I've found so far.
#snJulienne
October 17, 2025 at 12:11 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
A new Julienne Q&A is up on Webtoon, Tapas, and Patreon! I get into the weeds about hydrophin self-harmonizing.
linktr.ee/snutter
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#snJulienne #webcomic
October 10, 2025 at 8:18 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
(1/2) I made a cheat sheet! What I REALLY wish everyone had a working knowledge of in their toolbox right now (but which took me 5-10 years and lots of research and therapy to learn myself).
Don't let the fascists chew you up. Keep your feet under you, friends. 💛 #stress #authoritarianism #trauma
PANEL 1: "Let's Talk About Stress! (And the authoritarian playbook)" Between the words, a derpy lion floats blissfully in space PANEL 2: A lion (labeled "Danger!": borrowing a metaphor from "Burnout" by Emily and Amelia Nagoski) braces in front of a person in the foreground. "When we come across a dangerous or stressful situation, our nervous system has a few strategies:" PANEL 3: "FIGHT" a person squares up, fists ready PANEL 4: "FLIGHT" a person twists away to run PANEL 5: "FREEZE" a person freezes up, playing dead while the derpy lion looks up at them, confused PANEL 6: "FAWN" a person offers a flower to the lion PANEL 1: "Our nervous systems are largely designed to run a certain course." Flow chart: DANGER! (lion) > ESCAPE! (person runs away) > TELL YOUR FRIENDS! (person sits around a fire with their friends recounting the tale (connection!)) PANEL 2: "It's a physiological cycle that mobilizes every organ system, and requires what your body recognizes as a resolution." A cyclical graph around the central word "Stress": 1. Danger! 2. Defense 3. Physical safety 4. emotional safety/processing 5. Resolution PANEL 3: "It becomes trauma when your nervous system gets too overwhelmed to deal with an event or stressor. The stress response system can get stuck, looping in states of stress, fear, and overwhelm, unable to complete and return to calm." Arrow points to "TOO MUCH, TOO SOON, TOO OFTEN". Next to this is an alternate version of the stress cycle diagram, where DANGER > Defense failed > Can't escape > Isolation > feeds back into STRESS, which is now on fire. PANEL 4: "In modern society, we can't often deal with the things our bodies register as dangerous or stressful. In the ways we were naturally programmed to, either." The lion is in business attire, saying "I'm your boss now!" A person stands beside them smiling, with their hand on the lion's anthropomorphic shoulder, while the person in the foreground is sweating. PANEL 1: "Existing in these various states of activation can feel like:" Fight: Anger, Flight: Anxiety, avoidance, dissociation, hypervigilance, Freeze: Depression, shutdown, exhaustion, executive dysfunction Fawn: People-pleasing, peacekeeping, masking PANEL 2: Over a looming thundercloud, the lion's derpy face emerges while a person looks on. "Or what if, say, the danger is always there or happens over and over again, and you can't do anything about it?" PANEL 3: On the person, full of dread as the cloud-lion's shadow looms heavier. "That's where 'complex trauma' comes in." PANEL 4: "High control groups are very attractive if you have a chronically dysregulated nervous system. They sell safety, belonging, and predictability in a chaotic world." The thundercloud is still there, but the lion's head hangs under it, waiting. In the foreground, one person wearing a sash reading "authoritariain" tells another "I can keep you safe! Make sure you do everything I tell you so the lion can't hurt you. (Give me your money and undivided loyalty!)" PANEL 5: "It's very useful for these groups to keep you dysregulated. The more off balance and stressed out they can keep you, the easier it is for them to control you." The lion swipes at innocent, scared bystanders from the thunder cloud. In the foreground, the authoritarian declares to another person, "Those people control the lion!" PANEL 1: "This is because while you're at a high enough level of fight/flight/freeze/fawn, your logic and empathy are turned off. It's just how our brains are wired." A lizard sits atop a brain, its claws controlling levers ("the lizard brain") "I'm just making sure we survive!" the lizard says. PANEL 2: "But it can be very dangerous when manipulated by people who know how to use this against us. (Like politicians, narcissists, and cult leaders!)" The lizard has a pitchfork, hissing. PANEL 3: A tornado tears through a house. "In politics especially, these types of people can (and will) try to provoke others into mob behavior, which is extremely dangerous. Mob behavior literally kills people. It doesn't matter how smart or kind you are. Anyone can get sucked in if they get too comfy with the ragebait. It's just in us, unfortunately. That's why it's important to know what you're looking at."
October 8, 2025 at 12:31 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Tried some drawing the other day with Feelings(TM).
#snJulienne #comics #webcomics #mermaid
A big serpentine mermaid hugs his smaller human friend into his chest, his tail curled around them both. Usually he is the one his friend comforts, but in a rare moment, she is letting him comfort her.
September 29, 2025 at 9:06 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
A new group of Julienne prose extras are up! 🐠✨

All prose excerpts are available to my $5/month patrons, but you can also buy access to these specifically as a one-time purchase.
(Avoid app store fees please. Purchase outside the app.)

www.patreon.com/c/snutter/shop
A list of Julienne prose excerpt extras 11-15: "A library revelation," "Quiye's childhood," "A daily prison visitor," "Graveyard reunion from Julienne's point of view," "Julienne's first night free from Opal's point of view."
September 9, 2025 at 1:08 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Currently battling my relentless cptsd triggers with therapy, acupuncture, and a growing hyperfixation on learning how to create Sims 4 mods...🫡
September 3, 2025 at 12:51 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
There are a couple of new pages out this week though.
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
#snJulienne #webcomic #mermaid #cptsd
Semi-terrestrial mermaids on skates and their human friend enter an impressive showroom of wheelchairs.
August 30, 2025 at 3:07 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Followup to my earlier post, I've decided to pause making new Julienne pages for a bit. My anxiety about deadlines and work performance got unmanageable, so I'm needing to take a step back and regroup.
I'm still posting prose excerpts and BTS extras over on patreon.com/snutter in the meantime. 💛
A mermaid relaxes in a stone hot tub.
August 30, 2025 at 3:04 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
I mentioned this on Patreon a few days ago, but my schedule for making new "Julienne" pages has been upended by health stuff. My body's getting triggered pretty severely by deadlines and perceived pressure, so I'm having to step back and reshuffle. (1/2)
August 25, 2025 at 11:10 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Julienne updated! 🐠✨
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
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#snJulienne #mermaid #webcomic #cptsd
August 22, 2025 at 7:41 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Problem fixed! 🐠✨
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
August 15, 2025 at 8:31 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Technical difficulties on the juliennecomic site. Update pending...
August 15, 2025 at 8:06 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Go play kids! (Julienne updated 🐠✨)
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
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#snJulienne #webcomic #mermaid
August 9, 2025 at 12:02 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Hostile corporate takeover.
#snJulienne
PANEL 1: Three stressed business executives gather around the end of a conference table. Exec 1 stands, addressing the group, Exec 2 sits at the table, slumped over, his face in his hands, Exec 3 stands on the other side of the table, worried with arms crossed. Exec 1, throws his arm out, gesturing toward the door: "Someone bought out the whole company! Struck a partnership with the state government, jettisoned the whole thing into the public sector! They're talking about overhauling everything. Imposing new regulations, extending service all the way down the coast. PANEL 2: Exec 1: "Taking detours into hydrophin villages and not charging any fare! Exec 2, full of dread: "The company's not going to survive that! PANEL 3: Exec 1: "They're cutting our salaries by over half to compensate. Exec 2 lifts his face from his hands in dismay: "They can't do that!" Exec 1: "They can! It's already happening." PANEL 4: Exec 3, angry: "Who the hell is the new owner? Who would be stupid enough--" PANEL 5: He's interrupted by the opening of the conference room door. All three men fall silent, waiting to see who this hostile new owner of the company is. PANEL 6: A couple of hydrophin enter the room (a species of serpentine, semi-terrestrial mermaid). One (Quiye) has blue-white scales and black hair, smiling, the light glinting off their round glasses obscuring their eyes. They have a baby carrier on their chest, in which nestle two tiny sleeping hydrophin babies. The second (Gehenna), has dark skin, red scales, and wears gold jewelry around her neck and intricately coiled hair. Her posture is erect, confident, her expression smug as she addresses the humans in the room. As she speaks, her low, melodic voice harmonizes in two tones, an effect produced by the double voice box hydrophin possess: "Afternoon, gentlemen..." PANEL 7: All three men stare at them, angry, thwarted, scared. Exec 3, arms crossed, his expression falls to deadpan as he recognizes her: "...Fuck." Synopsis: When he was thirteen, Julienne accidentally killed his best friend's father in self-defense. Fueled by the stigma surrounding his siren-like species, the courts imprisoned him until, many years later, his estranged best friend has managed to negotiate his acquittal. Greatly changed by their lives apart, she invites him into a world outside the small-town terrors of their adolescence, where even a hydrophin raised in self-loathing may learn to be free. But Julienne wonders, isn't it too late to start over? "Julienne" is a story of first days, of learning to let go of the narratives that bind us, and of healing as the sum of a thousand small things. "Julienne" is free to read at juliennecomic.com, also at Webtoons and Tapas! More content available at patreon.com/snutter
August 1, 2025 at 10:59 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Healing my trauma one baby hydrophin drawing at a time. (Julienne updated! 🐠✨)
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
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#snJulienne #webcomic #mermaid #cptsd
July 18, 2025 at 10:19 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Q&A Round 1 is up on Webtoons/Tapas/Patreon! 🐠✨
#snJulienne #behindthescenes #webcomic
July 14, 2025 at 12:53 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
It's my birthday! 🍰✨ Read my books ✨
🐠: juliennecomic.com
🤖: thebioroboticist.com
July 7, 2025 at 10:21 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Post-therapy vibes. Emotional support plushies are a must.😭
#snJulienne
A serpentine mermaid with long brown hair and blue-green scales with a scar through his right eyebrow wears a cozy sweatshirt and lies on top of an enormous whale shark plushie. He hugs it with his arms as well as has his tail wrapped around it for emotional support. His eyes are closed, his expression tired, with small tears at his cheeks.
July 1, 2025 at 9:10 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Drawing on my cintiq (13HDT) has felt like ass for a long time, and it turns out the newer wacom drivers for my ancient cintiq don't play well with CSP. Installed the oldest driver compatible w/ my computer & seems to have fixed it. Y'ALL, it was so subtle I've been gaslighting myself for months! 🥲
June 24, 2025 at 1:28 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Got a harsh and uninformed drive-by criticism by a non-follower on Instagram the other day. Have I...made it? 😲✨
June 14, 2025 at 5:02 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
"Julienne" updated! Trying new things with new friends!
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
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#snJulienne #webcomic #mermaid
A couple mermaids swim in a water canal, in a lane zoned off by small buoys for safety. Higher up, on the street above the canal, another of their species (they're semi-terrestrial) looks on, traveling with his human friend. This world is all new to him. Webcomic about friendship, mermaids, and life after trauma! Free to read at juliennecomic.com, also at Webtoons and Tapas. Prose excerpts and more content available at patreon.com/snutter
June 7, 2025 at 12:21 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Got something to share with the class, Professor?
(Been pondering on Quiye's childhood. Let's just say it was a little spooky.)
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#snJulienne #webcomic #mermaids
Panel 1: Julienne (a serpent-like, semi-terrestrial mermaid called a hydrophin--long brown hair, glasses, blue-green scales) sits on the back porch with his human friend (Opal--brown skin, black wavy hair pulled into a high ponytail), who is working on a laptop at the low patio table. In the background, another hydrophin ("Quiye", mid-seventies, round glasses, gray hair and white/blue scales) approaches the door with a tray of mugs. JULIENNE (pensive): I know it's just grief...but it's comforting to think that maybe my mom's still looking out for me somehow. Panel 2: Quiye sets the tray down on the table. QUIYE: Of course she is. Panel 1: Quiye picks up their mug from the tray and turns to go. QUIYE (nonchalant, but what they say is completely serious): She visits the house all the time. Panel 2: Julienne twists back to look at them as they leave. JULIENNE: What? Panel 3: JULIENNE (braces his hands on the table, short-circuiting): WHAT?!, OPAL (resting her hand on her chin, frustrated): QUIYE--You can't say stuff like that and then just leave. This is just a little extra bonus comic. The synopsis for the webcomic it belongs to can be found at https://www.juliennecomic.com/?view=about
May 26, 2025 at 9:07 PM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Julienne updated! He's livin' in the future now. 🐠✨
www.juliennecomic.com?view=pages&p...
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#snJulienne #webcomic #mermaid
May 23, 2025 at 7:19 AM
sarathedragonfly.bsky.social
Y'all ever heard of the BITE model of Authoritarian Control? It's a great resource for gauging how cult-y something is. Also very pertinent as the political nonsense continues.
freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-co...
BITE Model of Authoritarian Control
Discover the foundational principles of psychological freedom with our BITE Model PDF. Dr. Steven Hassan's pioneering framework offers insights into controlling behaviors and thoughts. Download now to...
freedomofmind.com
May 15, 2025 at 4:35 AM