At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, Webtoon returned with a full slate of panels and a roster of talented creators. Among those creators was ROSEOAK, the creator of the popular Webtoon Not So Silent.

Temple of Geek sat down with ROSEOAK, who shares the creative journey behind bringing characters Fern and Lewis to life, the evolution from the original Canvas version, and the deep research, including American Sign Language and neurodivergent representation, that shapes the story.

The Creative Process Behind Not So Silent

Not So Silent follows Lewis Walker, the seemingly perfect high school student who has no time for himself. He meets Fern Montalvo, a new deaf student who immediately captures his attention. As Lewis navigates his feelings for Fern, Fern begins to show him that it’s okay to love yourself.

The story takes inspiration from ROSEOAK’s own high school experience. She also spent a lot of time workshopping both Lewis and Fern to ensure the deaf representation was done properly. The series has been through a lot of changes since it was released on Canvas. She says:

So, full transparency, Fern, as a deaf character, was extremely infantilized in the canvas version, and I just was not writing him correctly. And I’ve had a lot of workshopping, a lot of help, and obviously the whole thing for him specifically was I never want him to be the infantilized one in any point of the story, not just because of the obvious, but because that’s not his personality.

ROSEOAK goes on to explain her references for ASL. She consumes content from a deaf and hearing couple, noting how the two interact. Keeping up with any language is difficult without practice, and American Sign Language is no different. ROSEOAK talks about her process. saying:

I do have really good reference library for the signs that I took notes, and I always reference that, and I always ask questions if I’m not sure about something. But it was kind of difficult getting the full approval to write this character and to go through a fairly normal romance story with this, because I think a lot of people were really concerned that the infantilization was going to happen. So I really have been trying to make sure we avoid that, and we do what we can to be sure the ASL is not misused or anything.

The impact of Not So Silent on Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Neurodivergent Readers

Not only does Not So Silent offer deaf representation, but it also offers autistic representation. The global fanbase of this Webtoon resonates with both Lewis and Fern, thanking ROSEOAK for creating characters that allow them to feel seen. Lewis is written as autistic who struggles with understanding that, while he does get good grades, he may need more help than other students.

I do notice a lot of deaf and hard of hearing readers, and I think it actually has really gotten to the neurodivergent readers a lot… I think it’s really been connecting with people who have had that [school] struggle, and I’ve personally felt that struggle, and it makes me really happy to see that there are readers who can understand their struggles through reading this.

Read Not So Silent on Webtoon for free!