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harley4l · 4 years

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Chapter 11: Two can keep a secret ...

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

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Daniel hadn’t always thought of Nelly DeSantis as horrible. When they were both little, about six and seven, their fathers often met for a glass of scotch at Prescott Estate and then Daniel, Spencer, Eleanor and Kara were more or less forced to play with each other. The Nelly he remembered had been quieter and less intolerable. One sunday while Spencer was away with his boy scouts, they sat on the swing of his porch together and listened to an old country song blaring through the opened kitchen window. I wish I had a brother, Nelly had said bluntly. It seemed so random that Daniel just scoffed. Why? When she shrugged, he added. It’s not that great. And he knew what he was talking about — for the past few months his relationship with Spencer had gotten worse and worse, despite Daniel’s efforts to be polite and unobtrusive. It seemed like Spencer had simply decided to hate him. It showed in the bruises on Daniel’s skin.

My sister is ... Nelly had started, but trailed off as Kara came running around the corner. Her hair was disheveled and her cheeks flushed with excitement. Spencer is back home, she’d giggled, grabbing her sister’s hand. Let’s go and flirt with him! Nelly held on to the swing. No, ew. The excitement in Kara’s face dissolved into slight irritation. Why not? He’s so cute! Daniel had glanced back and forth between the twins while they stared each other down, as if engaging in a silent argument. In the end, Nelly rolled her eyes. Fine!

And off they went. It was one of his few memories before she turned into a spiteful monster. Despite this, all the boys in town had been crushing on Nelly and stood in line for a chance to date her. It seemed that Daniel was the only one unaffected by her alluring charme, due to her decicion to go steady with Spencer. At least that’s what he thought back then. On a scorching hot summer day when he was thirteen years old, he lazed on the couch with his best friend and traded Void Critter comics, their collectible cards sprawled in an unorganized mess on the floor. I am not interested in Eleanor either, Reed had proclaimed while flipping through the pages. Daniel grunted and the raspberry soda he was sipping was prickling in his nose. Not crushing on pretty princesses, huh?, he’d teased. Reed’s cheeks flushed a little. Well, no. I’m crushing on you! Daniel waited for the sike that never came. After a moment, he’d laughed out loud as if this could erase what Reed had said. For a few years, it seemed it did.

When Daniel was sixteen, he was invited to a bonfire barbecue with the cool kids of the Brindleton Private School and everyone brought their friends along so he’d brought Reed as well. His friend had never been a fan of cheerleaders and jocks, which was why they eventually trudged down the path from the woods to drink the cheap beer in their plastic cups at the docks. Daniel should have turned away, yet he just let it happen when Reed leaned over with a drunken grin and glassy eyes to kiss him. Let’s just pretend you didn’t do that, he muttered after the other boy pulled away. Why? Reed frowned.

Why? Daniel glared it him. He belonged to Brindleton Bay’s high society and everyone there was the same. Girls were ultra skinny plastic dolls in high heels, boys were hyper successful jocks with immaculate white teeth and golden credit cards, and these boys and girls all dated each other. Boys did not date other boys. In fact, Daniel only knew one openly gay couple, the Heckings, who volunteered at the shipyard and sold seafood at the local market each week. The two men seemed nice, but the one time Daniel wanted to buy their shellfish sandwich his mother had pulled him away and muttered sternly: we don’t buy from people like that, Daniel. His parents had never made a secret of their thoughts regarding people who didn’t fit the social norm. If they ever came to think that Daniel was „like that“, they‘d send him off to a military boot camp in no time.

I like girls, Daniel told Reed flatly.

But he should’ve known someone was always watching in this town. Back at the bonfire, Nelly had scooted close to him, her icy breath tickling his ear once no one was looking. Danny and Reed are sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, she’d cackled under her breath. And I’m going to tell everyone. Kiss popularity goodbye, Danny. When Daniel froze and stared at her she smirked, apparently very proud of herself for spying. However ... I might keep your scandalous little secret for a price.

Nelly meant she wanted cash, and lots of it. Fifteen grand and she’d forget about the secret, so she promised. It was common knowledge in all of Brindleton Bay that a promise from Nelly was worth nothing, however in this case he had not much of a choice left. Sure, Daniel had kissed girls before, but his peers always had to set him up to it and some even told him it was weird how he was so disinterested, or how he hadn’t scored a girlfriend yet. Daniel always joked it was because he had such high expectations, but once Nelly was blabbing they were going to change their minds. People believed in everything coming from her mouth religiously, contradicting her was basically blasphemy. Eventually, Daniel supplied the simoleums to Nelly, expecting the matter would be done with it.

Nelly was already planning her next shopping trip on the phone, while she eagerly flicked through the cash. After she’d counted it twice she clicked her tongue. We’re not done yet. The fifteen grand were hush money regarding your little boyfriend, but you're a real treasure chest of secrets. The dirt I have on you alone is worth so much more. Her voice was filled with glee. You don’t know anything about me, Daniel spat. He’d pointed at the door. Now get out, or I swear ... Nelly cocked her head and watched him with those ultra blue eyes, a knowing smirk settling on her face. Of course I do. I know who you really are, Danny. She’d shifted closer and whispered it into his ear.

I wish I had a brother, Nelly had told him, back when he thought she’d been a decent person. Except now he viewed this memory in a different light. Her gaze had not been wistful, but cold and calculating. Even as a seven year old kid, she had been rotten to her core. His existence had been an elaborate joke to her and she couldn’t wait to deliver the punchline. Her relationship with Spencer had allowed her to go in and out of his house for years and according to Nelly, his mother had been entertaining an affair with her father for sixteen years and counting. And congrats, you’re their love baby, she’d purred. She’d sworn up and down that she had top secret evidence of the affair on her phone which she would leak to all of Brindleton Bay in case he didn’t transfer 130.000 simoleums to her bank account. While Daniel refused to believe the absurdity of her assertion, he was cautious to call her “proof” a bluff. What was going to happen if it wasn’t? Would his parents divorce? Would his dad never speak to him again? He loathed himself for being so gutless, but he ended up transfering the entirety of his college funds to her, hoping she would finally be satisfied and shut up.

The weekend before summer vacation, Daniel put together a party to celebrate his designation as captain of the school’s basketball team. He’d explicity invited a handful of people who he thought might have some dirt on Nelly, but it turned out she was very careful with her own secrets. When being questioned about her private life, most people answered with frowns and blank faces, even Nelly’s friends. It seemed as if the whole town knew Nelly, but at the same time they didn’t know anything about her. He’d more or less given up when Zoe Westerberg, a girl he attended biology class with, started to dance very close to him. She swayed her hips suggestively and winked. Daniel instinctively scanned the room for Nelly’s prescence and caught her gaze at the bar where she whispered with Jillian and Rachel. He returned Zoe’s smile, grabbed her hand and twirled her around. Nelly’s eyebrows tilted upwards as she watched them dance together. Yeah, look at that, bitch, Daniel wished he could shout. I’m flirting with a girl. As if reading his mind, Nelly got up and stalked towards them. She didn’t spare another look at him, just put a hand on Zoe’s arm. Hun, won’t you come join me and the girls? I think Daniel isn’t for you. Zoe stopped dancing, the question mark almost visible on her face. Excuse me? Nelly smirked at Zoe, stretching out her next words delightfully. You should know, Daniel isn’t into girls! Her voice was so shrill even the people in the back of the room had to hear it. Daniel drew in a sharp breath, his mind coming to a screeching halt. Nelly‘s mouth was moving, she was saying something else but all he could hear was a deafening ringing in his ears. He could feel his face burning with shame. Leave, he croaked, or perhaps he yelled it because the boys he‘d hired as security came to escort Nelly outside. Even as she was being pulled away she was laughing, her eyes wide open and flashing with spitefulness. They were of the same shade of blue as his own and he hated it. He hated that she was right, not only about what she’d just said but about everything else as well. He hated her because she didn’t care. He hated himself for doing just that.

I wished Nelly was dead, he told Reed as they were throwing horseshoes in the woods. It was the end of summer and the leaves were turning scarlet mixed with dirty browns. Reed picked up the iron he‘d thrown and shot him a stern look. You don’t mean that. But those thoughts were swarming his mind like a mantra. I wished Nelly was dead. I. wished. Nelly. was. dead.

In winter, Nelly turned seventeen and as their friends and business partners, his family was forced to attend the celebration. After some second guessing, Daniel had brought Rachel along and Nelly had said nothing about her. Months ago during a chilly summer evening, they’d sat on the couch eating popcorn and waited to watch a movie with Spencer, when Rachel had leaned in close. You’re cute, she breathed against his cheek. He thought of his brother, who was getting ready for his girlfriend upstairs, then he thought of Reed and that his mother thought Daniel couldn’t be like that. If he was pretending to be someone else until the end of time, why not try and get back at his brother? A door was slammed shut upstairs — and Daniel had ignored his gut and moved to kiss Rachel.

Nelly had shot Rachel a blank look when she entered her house holding hands with Daniel, other than that she’d completely ignored them and tended to her presents. They had barely exchanged words since that incident and Daniel got the impression that she regarded the extortion as done, after all she’d been paid generous money despite spilling his secret anyway. Well, he wasn’t done with her. It had taken literal months to outlast the aftermath of her announcement at his party. Kids had snickered and whispered wherever he went, his pals had teased him to no end and his teammates had even considered revoking his title as captain, apparently afraid the gay was going to „rub off onto them“. But the worst thing was that his parents, after they’d inevitably caught wind of the matter, had not spoken a single word to Daniel for two weeks—he almost choked on his water when his dad announced at dinner he hoped the rumor was't going to hurt his political campaign. Daniel had repeated over and over again that he was straight, that Nelly was lying, but the talk had only truly died after he started going steady with Rachel. If he learned anything from this, it was how unaccepting the town truly was.

After dinner had been served, Daniel and his brother got drunk on booze and Rachel ended up leaving early as it became clear he wasn’t going to spend time with her. At one point, Daniel walked out onto the porch to smoke when he caught sight of Nelly’s silhouette in the kitchen window. She seemed to argue with her friend, her arms were gesticulating wildly and her cheeks were flushed angrily. He dragged at his cigarette and watched her through the frosted window. Nelly seemed to notice something and her movements became slower, distracted. She stared at the window, a strange look settling on her face. She looked almost ... fearful. Daniel exhaled and flicked the burnt stump of his cigarette away. He turned to walk inside when he was sure he heard her laughter, high pitched and hysterical. Something in his head snapped white, hot and painful and he felt his feet slowing to an halt. The hazy fog around his eyes cleared and when he breathed out into the darkness he felt completely calm. He kept walking, but not back inside.

He’d woken up with a hangover the following morning not quite remembering how he’d gotten into bed. His head was throbbing in pain and his muscles felt sore. As he’d scrambled out of bed, he noticed his brother leaning in the doorframe. Mom and Dad are waiting downstairs, they want to talk to us about Nelly before the detectives come over, Spencer had informed him dryly. When Daniel asked why detectives were coming over, Spencer gaped at him, his brown eyes flashing with anger. Because Nelly was freaking murdered? Not funny, you dumbass. He’d slammed the door shut with a bang before Daniel had the chance to process this. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the world seemed to spin. Nelly was ... dead? He tried to recall the past evening, but there was a strange void in his head. Nothing about this was funny. Despite of it, he realized he was smiling.

Three days after the incident, Reed had approached him in the locker room after sports. He‘d held a white card in his hand. Can’t believe I was actually invited to her funeral, he’d admitted. Daniel snorted. Apparently the DeSantis‘ sent out invitation cards to everyone in town, even the people who had never spoken to Nelly in her life. For a split second, a worried expression had crossed Reed‘s face. You didn’t have anything to do with what happened to her ... did you? The words hung in the air like a dark cloud while Daniel pulled off his sneakers and shoved them under the bench beneath him. Perhaps, he‘d shrugged. When his friend‘s face paled however, he flashed a nervous smile. Not really. I‘m kidding silly! And as if to prove a point, he stood and pressed a kiss on Reed‘s cold lips. They tasted like cigarettes and lemon soda. No one would ever know about that though. Because Nelly was gone and everything she’d known about them had been erased with her like dirty old chalk washed from a board. The day after her murder, Daniel had noticed a weird scratch under his jaw in the mirror as he was brushing his teeth. He had no idea where he’d gotten that and it was making him a little nervous. He sincerely hoped he didn’t remember because he'd been hungover, and that was all. There’d been a period in time when he was a child and things between Spencer and him had gotten so bad that Spencer was physically hurting him when their parents had noticed Daniel kept forgetting huge chunks of time. When they first asked about the bruises on his arms and legs, he couldn’t recall where he’d gotten them. This happened a number of times, so his parents took him to a psychologist who examined Daniel’s behavior and told his parents that the memory loss was caused by high emotional stress or unprocessed trauma.

While Daniel wasn’t an expert, murdering somebody would most likely fall into one of those categories. If he actually killed Nelly and blocked out the memory he wasn’t going to shed tears about it now. This bitch had absolutely deserved it. Yet as Daniel turned away from Reed and shoved his bag into his locker, there was a bitter taste in his mouth and a dull ache in his chest. No, he reprimanded himself. All she had ever done was sabotage him and everyone he loved. Her death wasn’t sad. It was good. He’d slammed the locker shut.

The dreaded day of Nelly’s funeral came. Her best friend Kirsten held a speech and somehow told everyone with a straight face what an inspiring girl and great friend Nelly had been. Everyone cried, even Daniel‘s cousin Rebecca who‘d said to his face that she wished Nelly gone. The hypocrisy was absolutely baffling. After the service, Daniel and his family had to pass the DeSantis at the archway on their way out. Nelly‘s mother was sobbing into a handkerchief while his dad briefly exchanged words with Nelly‘s father. Nelly’s younger sister Miranda glanced through the church with red, puffy eyes. Her twin sister Kara held her chin high while absentmindedly patting Miranda‘s shoulder. Her gaze seemed bleary, but as she caught Daniel staring her eyes narrowed with such a blunt hatred that the hairs on his neck stood on end. Outside the church, his father smoothed his immaculate black suit. The poor girl, he sighed dejectedly. What a pity, his mother chimed in, though her face didn’t look particularly pitying. Yeah, Spencer muttered. Daniel said nothing.

Because right then, everything was finally how it should be. He was still dating Rachel. He was still Daniel Prescott and he was with his family — his mother, his father and his brother. Just the four of them.

Without Nelly.

Next Chapter: The sister named Kara

#thesims #thesims4 #sims4 #Sims Stories #harley4l #mystery #storytelling #gameplay #a deceptive perfection

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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April 15th-April 21st, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from April 15th, 2020 to April 21st, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

If all webcomics everywhere suddenly costed money to read, how much would you be willing to pay to read them?

carcarchu

i've currently spent about 10 dollars reading paid webcomics and got about 60 chapters with that much. i'll be buying more webcomics in the future but if it's too pricy i'll be less inclined to buy

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I buy the print volumes of my favourite webcomics, which is about £10-15 for around 100-200 pages? Depends on the comic. But I do get a book to leaf through, so dunno if that counts.

carcarchu

as an added note the app i use to buy webcomics has an interesting feature where u can purchase "food" to donate to the author directly without / in addition to buying the chapters themsevles(edited)

oh now that chalcara mentioned it i also buy the physical copies of webcomics as well and i've probably spent close to 100ish on that

also also that same app gives u daily login coins and u can also watch up to 5 video ads per day to gain extra coins which u can use to buy more chapters or donate directly to the author

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I DID try a monthly subscription to a rather specific comic content webpage, but I don‘t like that comittment. Vastly prefer buy-once-keep-something-forever; even if it‘s just pdf.

Yeah, have bought pdf‘s of comics before because of shipping expenses.

So yeah, buy once, get something, yay! Subscription, boo.

carcarchu

i had to buy a monthly subscription thing for a webcomic once too but it was a completed comic and the app has a download button so i just downloaded all the chapters of it all at once. i could see the monthly payment being annoying if u had to keep paying it in perpetuity though

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

i've paid for comics before

I'd probably pay to keep reading the comics I love

but I'd be reluctant to invest money to read a new comic i don't know is good or not

i'd need a good friend, person I follow, or well written review's recomendation first(edited)

Feather J. Fern

I will buy physical copies most of the time. I do like having the print in my hands. If it was like a site sub though, like you can put your comics on a site and everyone gets paid a share, then I wouldn't mind because you get options.

But if it is just one comic though, I would be worried,

For example, if people were paid to upload onto Webtoons, but you have to pay like 5 dollars for reading for 1 month, I wouldn't mind because I still can choose what to read

But if for example, my comic is five dollars to read monthly by itself, I don't htink people want it

Especially new readers

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah i think that I wouldnt want to have to spend money to try a comic. Im really very picky and I wouldnt want to risk basically just losing money because I dont like a comic. To continue reading the ones I like I think I'd spend money, but honestly I'd probably only do that once they're complete, too. A monthly payment/subscription for a service with many comics, though, I could see myself paying for

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Depends. I’m fine with paying it at once to read it in one go, but not necessarily per month

Also would pay if I got to see a preview first

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

As a reader, I also prefer to know what the comic is about first, before committing to pay to read it, like going in blind. I prefer the subscription option to read any comic but not per comic chapter. I like to support the authors if the story appeals to me or purchase their ebooks(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I would likely pay to keep reading the ones I'm already into. But I would be very reluctant to check out new ones if I had to pay to even check them out. The first few pages aren't enough in most cases. I also wouldn't be averse to the subscription idea, assuming the platform isn't like, catering to a genre that I'm not interested in. Physical volumes actually don't interest me in most cases. Storage is a huuuuuge issue for me.

DanitheCarutor

Depends on digital vs. physical, the amount of content and quality. Usually I prefer a physical copy since I like collecting indie comics and am willing to pay 10USD - 30USD, I'll even pay high price for hardcover collector editions if I really, really like the creator's work. Like, I actually have a section of my bookshelf dedicated to printed webcomics, which isn't very full yet but I plan on practically overcumbering it someday. Digital copies and subscriptions, I'm oddly a little more stingy about. I tend to forget about stuff like that very easily, so to save myself from wasting money I would have to be almost a mindless fanatic about the webcomic to buy it digitally or keep up with a weekly/monthly pay subscription. As far as price, if it's a subscription I can't afford a whole lot since I'll probably be trying to take on multiple comics, a digital copy I may pay around the same amount as with a physical book.

I'm not too picky about what I would buy, if it looks really good or interesting I'll maybe subscribe to give it a look through, or buy a chapter/volume if I can afford it. Worst that would happen is I didn't like it after all but supported an indie creator trying to get their work off the ground. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I actually have in fact read many pay-to-read webcomics, and my experience has been somewhere in the middle. I think the most important thing is that the webcomic in question has the first few chapters as free-to-read so that new readers can get a feel for the story, because I wouldn't pay for something I didn't know I would like. The other things is for comics to be affordable. I'm not very wealthy, so the price of a comic chapter needs to be pretty cheap for me to invest. $1 per chapter is the absolute highest limit, and the chapter has to be at least 10+ pages. I'm way more willing to spend more money on print comics because it is something physical that I can put on my shelf, and because I know printing costs can be expensive.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

No way I'd pay to read a comic without having at least the first chapter free. Even if people are recommending it to me, I still want to see it for myself first. But even then... I don't know if I would spend money on an online subscription - I'd probably wait to see what people are saying about it, save my money, and shell out a bit extra for a print edition (if that's in the cards for the comic). If a comic is free online, I feel even more like supporting it with a physical purchase. If a webcomic is locked behind a paywall... I get it, but it certainly discourages me as a reader.

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Same here really. I much prefer giving money to a Patreon or buying merch for something I love than pay to take a chance on something I might not like

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I agree. I don't mind subscription if it's someone's work I enjoyed but I'm more inclined to buy physical copies or get my own digital pdf of the same thing tbh

Feather J. Fern

I wouldn't mind an idea of like, you get 1 page free a month (Slow I know) but you can buy the full thing now as an Ebook or something. That system would help the author get money (for people who want to support and love their comic from the slow post rate) and great for people who can't afford comic, and read them free at the library becuase they can't even afford computers at home.

I like the print comics too for libraries, gives comics more free access

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ah imagine if we could check out print webcomics at the library now

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

there is a few libaries that are doin that

Feather J. Fern

Yes! Actually, a few librarians went to Vancaf as long as it has an ISBN it makes it easier (Well we hope there is a copy catalogue somewhere lol) And I know in the US there are a lot more librarians grabbing comics for their shelves

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yesss which makes it super good

makes me wish I could go to my local libary but like everything else here, it's currently closed orz

Feather J. Fern

Hell, from a podcast I know there is a large interest in comics for libraries, and I know recently they are using comics to try to bring more literacy to people who don't want to read.

This might be off topic I will move it somewhere else

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Maybe when I get mine printed I'll go see if the local library would like a few

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

that is why I'm going to be a teacher. Get more people use comics for education lol

GuildmasterPhill

The tricky thing would be finding new comics to get into... how would you get exposed to them? And there are so many, how would you know which ones are worth whatever pricetag goes with them? It would certainly change the whole landscape of webcomics, to be sure.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It would probably increase the demand for webcomic reviews.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

yeah

And again, the first few chapters being available as a sample would be really important.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Put in requests for webcomic print collections at your local library! They probably won't get bought during the lockdown, but at least your interest will be on record when the librarians get back.

Mine stocks some, although it's skewed toward really well-known ones -- Homestuck, Digger, Nimona, Cucumber Quest, Skin Horse, Penny Arcade, Gunnerkrigg Court (there's more, I just can't remember them off the top of my head).(edited)

Capitania do Azar

If I have to pay before I can know if I'll like the contents? I'd probably pass, unless there was some other big incentive for me to read it (like a friend's recommendation). Paywalls can be a big turnoff if you don't know what you're paying for, that's what I'm saying. However, if there were previews or free chapters, and then I had to pay to read the rest? I'd probably invest those €€€.

kayotics

I read Stand Still Stay Silent at the library, actually. That’s how I managed to actually get into it, I felt like it was a better experience. As for paying: I will sometimes buy a physical book of a comic I want to read but haven’t yet, just because reading on paper is easier on my eyes. So, sometimes I’ll pay money if I’m really interested in it. But it usually takes me a while to get to that point. If every webcomic went to a paid platform, I’d probably be less likely to read Webcomics.

Feather J. Fern

A thought occurred to me, if all webcomics are paid to read, how would the newbies, or highschoolers, get an audience at all if no one would buy to read their comic?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The under 18 creators does pose an interesting question -- are they allowed to make money at all? Would they have to get their parents to sign a thing for them?

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I believe so

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

As for small creators with no existing fans, I imagine they'd have to rely on subscription platforms where readers don't have to pay for their comic specifically.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yeah, or just make no money like now

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

well, it would just also mean no readers because in this world, there isn't even an option to make no money in this world, the webcomic emperor has decreed that all webcomics must cost money to read, and you shall be thrown into The Pit if you make yours free

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Exactly

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

actually i guess you could kinda get around it by making your comic cost a penny

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

But yeah, you'd also not have readers and be unable to build a following

Basically the barrier to entry shifts and becomes more like traditional print publishing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Slightly different from trad publishing since anybody CAN still post up their comic -- even if no one would read it X'D

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

TRUE

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

actually you know what it would kinda be like? steam like basically any game devs from the smallest indie devs to the massive corporations publish their PC games through steam. and to my knowledge, all games on steam cost at least some money so indie creators' only option to get eyes on their comic would be the same as indie devs getting eyes on their game. find someone popular willing to review it, and hope for some word of mouth.

Feather J. Fern

Odd take, hold a seminar or not really that but a group gathering where people pay like, 2 dollars, because money still needs to happen, so a bunch of newbie comic artists and pitch their first chapter or something

Oh wait I know what my brain was thinking

like comixlogy

If you can have like a section like "New comics starting out, you can read the whole first chapter for just 0.99" then I might scroll through and be like "You know what, I wouldn't mind some entertaiment"

I think also defintely reviews are really important with this situation

If someoene was like "This art is good, plot is good, grammar is good" I woudl be like "Yeah I would read the first three chapters"(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Steam sounds about accurate

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I definitely think that in this case, good reviews would be like gold

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Even Print comics do freebies to rustle up new audience. And steam has a pretty lenient „don‘t like this game? Get your money back“ policy.

RebelVampire

For me the answer here depends on a lot of factors. If it's a one time "bulk" purchase, I'd probably go from $5-$10 depending on amount of pages, time to read, and just overall quality. I'd of course have to be interested as well, but that's an aside point for me in terms of what I'd be willing to pay. Anything past $10 is just kind of too rich for my blood sort of thing, unless it's like a super volume or something. As a subscription, this would heavily depend on the service. How are they curating content? Do they add more content regularly? How much content do they have? How are they innovating to improve my experience as a reader and to be able to find content? How is the industry as a whole? Are there a few competitors making it an affordable option, or is it becoming like tv cable because everyone wants their slice of the pie? With this many questions, it's hard to put a price on a subscription service. Definitely no more than I pay for Hulu or Netflix. But honestly, with the state of the industry right now, I don't think the price would be justified if they made it even like $10/month. Cause as it stands none of the hosts really do anything to improve my experience as a reader and only make things harder for everyone.

Feather J. Fern

This topic makes me love webcomics more, people are giving it to us for free, and It is amazing the internet can give someone an outlet to do so. Thank you internet

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

@Feather J. Fern dang I would sign up so fast if there was a good subscription service like this. And same time it helps give something back to New creators!

Feather J. Fern

To be honest, if I had the money, and the power, and the programing skills I would. I would love to support creators like this. Becuase it also gives people confidence too.

#ctparchive #comic #indie comics #webcomics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #reader favorites #comics

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