#maybe bc it felt so realistic and i was rooting so hard for the main character

[incensuous]

tfw ur casually reading a hmanga and it turns out to be this emotional and realistic experience based on one of the authors' (?) actual experiences and the pair DOESNT GET A HAPPY ENDING (it's just left open and they dont get together) and THEN YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY HEARTBROKEN OVER A FRICKING HMANGA

[galaxy-of-me]

a response to waywardfacegarden’s response bc ily why did you write so much

note: i forgot to post this i’m clowning so hard rn anyway i made a separate post bc long but uh enjoy

@waywardfacegarden

OH MY GOD YOURE AMAZING YOU LITERALLY WROTE AN ESSAY ANBDABSHSHASAKKQ. never apologize for writing something so in-depth and passionate!! i really loved hearing your take on it all and like wow there were a lot of good points.

(also sorry if i get any of this wrong it’s been a hot minute since i read the manga lol)

uh but basically when i first read the last few chapters i was literally so shocked like NSJSJSAJSSM I REALLY WASNT EXPECTING ANY ACTUAL LGBT+ RELATIONSHIPS FROM THIS SHONEN JUMP MANGA BUT NO. they de👏🏻li👏🏻vered👏🏻. i was one of those people who thought the ending was kinda rushed but i think part of the reason for that was because i literally zoomed through the last chapter when i heard about the taichi/touma endgame LMAO. but also i felt like the transition was just very sudden. i’m generally pretty neutral towards timeskips because, while realistically the most important events in your life do not all happen in one year, story-wise it leaves a lot unsaid and often feels like an excuse for when the author doesn’t really know how to transition one event to the other smoothly. (this is not the case with all time-skips but it does often happen when a story is rushed to a sudden conclusion.)

i do agree that taichi and futaba breaking up was realistic! okay, but when i read “i broke up with futaba” i was actually shocked, haha. i was just thinking “what? they were doing so well though??”. but after a while i kinda just accepted it. i mean, that’s what happens. you aren’t always going to end up spending the rest of your life with your high school sweetheart and that doesn’t mean that something horrible happened between the two of you. break ups happen for a lot of different reasons. maybe it just isn’t the right time or you’re just heading in different directions.

one of the core aspects of the story for me was platonic vs. romantic love and how a lot of characters outside the main trio would push the idea of romantic love being more important than platonic love on taichi and how he felt he had to choose to either keep his best friend or his crush. it felt kinda contradictory for the story to go “lmao well you see the solution is to just marry your best friend” lol. when put under the context of what you saw as the main theme though (as in make decisions that will make you happy in the moment) the ending makes a lot more sense.

i think the contradiction of this theme i had set for the story (which had made me so invested in it) was what tipped me off about the ending for the most part. there is also the fact that the story spent so long on convincing the audience that taichi did not reciprocate touma’s feelings. many of the major conflicts in the later half of the story rooted from touma’s one-sided love. even though taichi did love touma very much, he still could not just lie to him to make him feel better. that’s just not the type of person he was or is. (okay, but taichi totally had a crush on him when they were kids though i will not even try to argue with that LMAOAOAO.) some romantic development between the two would have been nice, like literally just three panels of taichi slowly becoming more fond of touma would have been enough lol. i do understand that it was probably difficult as hell to even have a taitouma endgame (i mean touma’s face wasn’t even shown for the entirety of the last chapter like mm censorship is fun). the fact that they were even allowed to show taichi and touma being married is so. significant. thank you, wow. but i am still allowed to give “what if”s and such.

overall, i think i had my expectations for ao no flag way too low while reading it which is why the ending caught me off guard. if i re-read it today i think i’d be able to appreciate it a lot more but the stuff i wrote above is pretty much the thought process i had directly after reading the ending lol.

(btw you can call me galaxy/hayes/lila/audrey or like all of the above lmao!! i don’t really have a preference :0)

((also is there a name i can call you bc i’ve literally just been referring to you in my head as “KDJSJSJS NICE MUTUAL WHO IS NICE” or “sasunaru pfp” or “waywardfacegarden”, hahA.))

[pekorosu]

no.6 novels thinky thoughts

--------

so… i ended up finishing all 9 vols in about a week haha.

my overall impression? it was… alright, i guess.

not that i didn’t enjoy it, in fact, the first half was great! by the time i reached the end though, i had mixed feelings. sat on it for a week or so but a lot of it remains a vague hhhmmmmmblah blob that i’m not done figuring out. 

i still wanna make a post as a form of closure for myself though, so i’m just gonna dump whatever comes to mind here. don’t mind me.

so... the ending. i guess it was supposed to be open-ended in a hopeful way, but it just came across as unsettling to me. the ~chosen one~ thing rubbed me the wrong way, because shion was entrusted with an enormous responsibility that no 16 year old should even be shouldering in the first place. (i mean yea okay he did willingly accept it, but still. why only him? why aren’t they all collectively responsible?) 

meanwhile the actual perpetrators get to escape all the consequences by just… dying. just like that. and the rest of them, especially the adults… they’re pretty much useless? even the ones that wanted to do something by staging a revolt ended up being unreliable either bc 1. they were drunk on revenge or 2. all that power was getting to their head. ironically, rou was like “it’s all on us, the adults” but in the end even he decided to just spend the rest of his life chilling out underground -_-

on top of that, shion had to let go of nezumi. idk about y’all but that ending, that “promise to meet again” kiss was like… i couldn’t help but wonder if nezumi only did that because shion was all “a world without you is meaningless” and he had to give him something to cling onto. followed by shion’s devoted “i’ll keep waiting” which… idk, something about it felt utterly depressing. to be fair, nezumi always keeps his promises and the epilogue was vaguely hopeful i guess, but it still didn’t give me the sense of closure that i needed. 

to clarify, i’m not saying it’s a bad ending. it’s realistic and the implication that there’s still a lot of work to be done is very much in line with the story’s themes. just that something about it didn’t work for me personally, plus the lead up to it felt rushed, so it left me feeling :/ when i was done.

the plot… well, it started out exciting but turned out to be rather anticlimactic? the shift from science to supernatural had a proper build up, but still felt like a letdown for some reason… 

i think... maybe it’s bc dystopian stories tend to culminate in a huge battle and stuff like that, while this one just… didn’t. there was no final showdown with the Big Bad. there was chaos, but it hadn’t descended into total devastation yet, with the ultimate message that maintaining peace is always more preferable in order to prevent any more senseless deaths. and i guess that threw me off a little? not in a bad way, it was just unexpected bc i’m so used to the whole “final boss” format.

speaking of which, the antagonists were very one-dimensional, and for dictators they were surprisingly… weak. i mean, i get that hubris was precisely the reason for their carelessness and subsequent destruction, but it felt too convenient, too simple.

and i was sorta expecting something more gruesome when they got to the top floor of the correctional facility. idk, i guess brains floating in tubes just couldn’t compare with that scene of them climbing a mountain of corpses+half-alive people, which i had the misfortune of reading right before dinner. that was straight up horror.

and for all its depiction of the horrors of a police state, of poverty, famine, genocide… i felt like it stopped short of something. this isn’t meant to be a proper critique ofc, just that i remember feeling like the writing came across as wishy-washy or superficial at times, even though i knew the author’s intention wasn’t to hand out answers, but to get the readers to think. something about the way it was handled left me feeling unsatisfied i guess. 

that said, there were stuff that i did like! eg. i liked how the story dealt with the “we’re all human beings” statement from shion. it started out as a simple, idealistic “all lives matter” kind of thing, only to be turned on its head when he comes face-to-face with the kind of atrocities no.6 has committed. then it becomes less about that and more “our shared humanity means that we too have the capability to become cruel and apathetic.” or at least, that was my takeaway. 

hmm… in hindsight, i think it does what it set out to do well enough. that is, to convey a certain message to a certain group of people (teenagers i guess. this is YA after all). to inspire them to think for themselves, to realise that apathy is dangerous and to take responsibility for their own learning, but also to know that doing the “right” thing is not just about good intentions; it is constant hard work but still important work... among others. all of which are solid themes and messages. god knows when i was younger and learning about all this for the first time, even the simplest things would leave me mindblown for days. if i’d read this back then i imagine it would’ve left a bigger impression too.

the main highlight for me though, was probably the character scenes. i was surprised to find out how introspective the story was, with the majority of it dedicated to the characters’ internal thoughts and conflicts. 

sadly though, the side charas’ POVs (like inukashi’s and karan’s) ended up becoming tediously repetitive and draggy despite starting out strong. and safu… poor safu, she pretty much got the shortest end of the shit stick being the Plot Device Damsel In Distress Who Is Eventually Fridged. i had higher hopes for her ):

as for the rest… i don’t really care about rikiga… and who else… oh right! small nezumi team! hamlet, cravat and tsukiyo. 10/10 love them, would never get tired of their cute little squeaks.

and the protags… shion started out kinda bland but ended up being the easiest to relate to haha. eg. his constant struggle to reconcile his personal ideals with practical reality. and it was interesting to see how he confronted and came to terms with some harsh truths. he always tries so hard. sometimes it hurt to read, but it made me want to root for him and in a way, it gave me strength too. 

also his apparent “lack of interest” in sex/women/etc... i know it’s generally played for laughs or to highlight his ~naivete~ or ~immaturity~, but whatever lol it’s something i can relate to it v strongly.

nezumi took a while for me to warm up to even when i understood why he is the way he is. the callousness, hostility, volatility… they’re all defense mechanisms rooted in his trauma, but still, knowing that didn’t make him any less irritating lol. he could be deeply hypocritical at times and his tendency to randomly explode at shion was grating. on the plus side, it’s always very satisfying whenever we do get a glimpse of his more vulnerable side.

them as a pair though… i’m not a huge fan of the “fate brought us together” trope so i was skeptical at first. nezumi being so prickly and moody at first didn’t help either, but shion. oh shion, he tried so hard to worm himself into nezumi’s heart, to prove himself worthy, that i couldn’t help but be charmed. to me, they started out more like “snarky senpai and curious kouhai” as opposed to “friends” or even “potential enemies” as nezumi liked to insist they were, which made for an amusing dynamic. 

and while they did grow on me over time, they don’t make me feel that INTENSE CHEST STABBING feeling that i get with other ships. idk why, i mean, their sarcastic exchanges were amusing, their brutally honest arguments were compelling, and the pining (which is my #1 weakness) was through the fucking roof with shion. but still, something was missing.

sidenote on something the author mentioned in the guidebook interview (my own rough t/l):

I like writing about relationships between people of the same sex, not just boys. When it comes to the opposite sex, the end result of being attracted to each other is always romantic love, or getting married…… To a certain extent, the “template” for that is already fixed, isn’t it? But when it comes to the same sex, there can exist a connection that can’t be expressed in the usual cliched words like friendship, camaraderie, love, hatred… I think there’s meaning in writing about relationships that can’t be clearly defined. What’s between Shion and Nezumi is a “one-of-a-kind connection” that’s born out of a certain situation, out of certain experiences that only they have gone through. I wanted to find out what exactly that connection is, which was why I wanted to try writing it. Of course, that “one-of-a-kind connection” would probably exist between people of the opposite sex as well. After all, the feelings that emerge from a chance meeting of two human beings can never be something that’s mass-produced. But still, I think the one thing that I really enjoy writing about has got to be the unique emotions that develop between people of the same sex.

i know she doesn’t mean anything negative here, but idk… it kinda reminds me of the way yoshida akimi discussed ash and eiji’s relationship in banana fish, and the way she discussed what she found so special about same-sex relationships that is lacking in m/f relationships. and something about it bugs me so much. i don’t even know why or how to explain it… 

it sounds like to them, there’s something fundamentally “different” about same-sex relationships. "different” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad” and in fact, it even sounds positive in this context because the implication is that that “difference” allows for more freedom and variety in relationship dynamics. but i guess, the closest thing that i can come up with is that it sounds… othering? i don’t know….......

speaking of which, i suppose shion/safu is a subversion of that typical m/f relationship. shion can never love her the way she wants him to, which is heartbreaking, but also refreshing in a way.

and you know what… it just occurred to me that maybe, maybe… it’s the same with shion and nezumi. and maybe that’s why something about them feels off to me. i mean, obviously the strength of their feelings for each other is indisputable, but idk if the essence of it is the same. 

shrugs. anyway, yeah.

the honest truth is that, while i enjoyed their interactions immensely, they just don’t ignite the same fire in me as all my other otps. that said, i still do have a lot of thoughts on them! maybe that’s a post for another day.

some other stray thoughts:

- was it ever explained how nezumi built his robo rats? or where tf he managed to gather so many gold coins? was this something the story just handwaved or did i just forget?

- nezumi wanting to leave on a journey at the end baffled me. even though him eventually leaving was foreshadowed a couple times, he never really struck me as a wanderer to begin with. but now that i think about it… i wonder if he’s leaving bc he wants to, or rather, needs to look out for any other remaining forests and natural environments. that’s what his people did, didn’t they? protect the forests. i wonder if he’s going to go look for others like himself. after all, he’s the only surviving indigenous person left in the area surrounding no.6, isn’t he? hmmm.

language-wise... this is my first proper japanese (light) novel so i’m feeling kinda accomplished rn! lol. it was surprisingly not as tough as i had expected. i think the most difficult part was actually reading the quotes at the beginning of each chapter bc it’s in a font that’s so hard to make out.

oh, and again, some parts felt really redundant. i kept wondering if it was a language thing or an author thing. either way, i felt like there were quite a few unnecessary rehashes that could’ve been omitted to improve the pacing. 

sequels, other adaptations...

i’ve not read “beyond” yet, which apparently has sequel-ish bits? i’ve ordered it, it’s on its way, but i have a feeling my impression won’t change that much even after i’ve read it. heck, it might get worse judging by all these lukewarm reviews. i’m definitely gonna see this through to the end, but i’m feeling kinda scared now lol.

i might check out the anime? based on the summaries on wiki, it sounds like quite a lot has been altered, but i’m still curious about the visuals. dunno if i’d wanna check out the manga. if it’s exactly the same as the novels or the anime then maybe not…

oh yeah, their anime/manga versions look quite different to how i imagined them! mine’s closer to the novel covers i guess. especially nezumi. i imagined him with short hair. maybe not all super saiyan like the one below, but yea.

lastly, i just had a good look at all the vol covers and i actually think they look pretty cool! i’m really glad i chose to get this version instead of the bunkobon. i mean, i don’t know if i will ever reread this again, but at least the covers are nice to look at haha.

[strangesugar-blog1]

Pot update: Snow

I kinda just put the hard sell on Snow. It could totally backfire but honestly whatever, better than being in limbo.

Our date yesterday was only ok. It wasn't the most awful thing in the world, but I feel like maybe we could have a better connection? Part of this is definitely on me, I know I need to up my game. Part of me is actually like, maybe I should step back from the bowl and get my shit in better order, then come back rearing to go. Like actually learn some more about more topics, current events, get all my grooming stuff in order, my house in order, create systems, a few more basic nice things to wear on dates, catch up on everything in my personal life, etc etc. But also like, a lot of that takes money - which I need these men for 😂 And realistically I'll probably never reach that magical point of having my shit properly in order haha. But it just seems too overwhelming to tackle it all as I go. I don't know.

Anyway, there were a few awkward silences, but he's kind of a weird conversationalist. He sort of doesn't ease in to topics, he will suddenly just ask really vague kind of questions and I get caught off guard. The restaurant we were at also had a glass wall by where we were sitting that looked through to a place with stuff going on next door that was enthralling him, so he'd keep looking at that and the conversation was kind of bitsy and weird. He was asking about turn ons, fantasies etc too, but considering it's our second date and I haven't seen a dime I'm kinda thinking that was a bit much, but also like, I really do need to make a list of interesting enough but not too weird things to say when they ask, lol. I felt like a boring human when I just clammed up and didn't know what to say. My turn-ons/kinks change depending on who I'm with, the situation, etc, and honestly not that many apply with him. Like I know we all joke about it on here, but for real, money actually does make me so wet. I can't exactly say fuck me in a pile of your cash then give it all to me. Or talk dirty about how rich/important you are and all the things you're going to buy me 😂 My two other main Things are a really specific body type that doesn't apply to him, or "cheating" (he knows, but still) on my husband with lots of verbal stuff about it, which is a) weird and b) incriminates, for lack of a better word, my husband, which I don't want to do in case anything goes wrong the last thing we need is anyone coming out with bad/embarrassing stuff about him as well as me. Or maybe like, me being all dom (fin-dom even better) on him and making him fucking worship me while I deny him orgasm 😂 Which once again makes me look money-hungry and conceited, and like, I'm not under any illusions, I'm really not worshippable, I'm not really that hot or put together or interesting or fun, and probably not that good in bed tbh due to the whole long-term sexless marriage thing. So I'll have to make a list of some less weird things to pull out I think haha, just some basic subby stuff I guess, teasing, maybe fun/cute orgasm denial on both our ends instead of it being mean, cutesy names, blah blah. Maybe ask to call him Daddy? A bit of exhibitionist stuff to tie in with him? Lmao.

Anyway. I talked to him a bit about the privacy stuff and he actually bought up first getting stuff sent somewhere else or whatever, then i expanded on that with the po box idea, so that's good at least. He seemed quite open to me continuing to be vague on identifiable details in general, which I appreciate.

Anyway, I kinda thought I might have blown it with my awkwardness tbh, but he said as we were leaving that he really wanted to see me again and then texted later "Was super to see you babe and am excited to know you better and explore if we are going to live out your fantasies". I figured I should take a bit and think about what to reply, because I don't just want him to think I'm going to keep going on dates for free, and try and figure out how to word it, but life got in the way and I never replied like an asshole. I just replied not long ago with an apology and a bit of small talk, but then put the hard-sell on him. I'm not gonna copy/paste bc it's long, but basically like yeah i wanna see you again, but I need to know where this is going (he keeps saying that he's not sure about the whole allowance thing bc he's never done it before, blah blah, but that he's not necessarily saying no, just that it feels weird to him) and whether or not the allowance will work out for him etc before we go too much further. I said I wanted him to want to do it and not to feel resentful, and he could take some time to think it over of course, but that each meet takes time/money for getting ready, transport, other things I don't do with that time, etc etc and I need to know it's going somewhere before investing more time blah blah. I said if he'd like to meet one more time (and casually used the word "platonically" to hopefully make it clear that means I'm not ok with a bunch of dirty talk for free lol) before deciding that I totally understand, but that I would have to ask for a "small gift" to cover my time, transport, etc, and that hopefully he understood from my perspective. Because to be fair, he knows I'm not wanting just a spoiled side-hoe gig, and we've already met twice, so I think it's fair that anything beyond that has some kind of compensation.

Oh also I was thinking of calling in after our meet to the salon to get my nasty growing-out hair cut. He asked where and I told him. They had one same day appt but i said I'd call back to confirm bc it was gonna be a rush to get there after the date. I ended up deciding to take it and tried to call back twice in the Lyft on the way and once after the date but couldn't get in touch with them which was a shame since i was over that way. Anyway he was asking what I was getting done, and asked if it was my roots (he wasn't being rude lol I'd already talked about fixing them) and I said nah I do that at home to keep costs down, just a cut. And he was saying how he wished he didn't have to leave so he could take me and pay. Like, he's so obsessed with being involved with everything, like, I don't want you there while I'm getting a haircut lol? I'm gonna look like a weird drowned rat? It will be awkward as fuck. But of course he didn't offer to give me something towards it to do myself. Oh and he pointed out that there was a salon two doors down like... ok? I go to my other one because it's cheap lol, are you going to take me before you have to leave and give your card details to them or something? No? Well i don't understand your point. It's like he's super willing to spoil but only if he has a ton of input, and like, I get that for fun stuff like clothes/lingerie or fun makeup or whatever, but for my boring daily "things I always get and know what i like" essentials kinda stuff it's like... that's gonna get annoying pretty quick.

Anyway, we'll see how he responds to that i guess, I'm not too worried either way. I'm torn. Like I hope he's down for it but also I actually did kinda lowball myself tbh like he's worth a LOT of money, but I fell into the trap of trying not to look money hungry since he's not used to allowances, and since he was going to be spoiling me a lot on dates and go shopping etc I went with a pretty low allowance figure. I figure since it's my first time etc it was ok but honestly now I'm kinda regretting it like I should have asked for more considering his worth and how often he wants to see me. Plus I feel like he's not going to stop bugging me about traveling which i really can't do. He so badly wants at least a Vegas weekend with me. I genuinely wish I could but I can't. So part of me actually kinda wants him to say no, I don't even know haha. Either way is a win I guess, bag my first SD and maybe try and find another one on the side, maybe be able to work my number up with time or really take advantage of the "extras", and at least have something coming in, ooor not and free up more time for me to find someone else, work on myself and my confidence and be ready to ask for what i really deserve next time.

I'll let you know what happens.

[comicteaparty]

December 4th-December 10th, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from December 4th, 2019 to December 10th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question: 

What comic ended or went on indefinite hiatus that you miss?  What about that comic do you like?

AntiBunny

An old one I enjoyed was Mindmistress. It was very interesting to see the combination of futurism and superheroes. It not only looked at what superhero tropes would and would not work in reality it took those tropes and looked for a way to make them work when they seem impossible. It wasn't exactly realistic, but it was believable and consistent within its self. The comic stopped very suddenly in the middle of a story arc.

carcarchu

Pao Ge Huang Taizi - https://www.kuaikanmanhua.com/web/topic/840/ i loved the funny and lighthearted tone of this series and really wish i could know how was supposed to end

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

My mind immediately jumps to Hannah is not a Boy's Name, which was one of the first webcomics I've ever read (that were not on the German site I was mostly reading where everything was manga inspired). Especially what Tess Stone did with typography in the comic pages was just...top notch (also one of the first comics I've seen that made used of vertical scrolling. It's pretty sad bc it ending had nothing to do with the creator, tho I'm glad Tess went on to create other really cool comics.

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

Oohhh seconding Hannah is not a Boy's Name. That story inspired me to no end, and then it just disappeared :8(edited)

Cronaj

For me it is almost always Grand Spirit. (https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/grand-spirit/list?title_no=6608) I fell in love with it back in 2015, and then it disappeared for 3 years until it returned unexpectedly in 2018. Aaaand then it disappeared again this past July without a word. So who knows, it could be another 3 years before they return... Or it could be forever. I mainly loved it because the idea was really something. When this comic was originally published, it was for the Webtoon sci-fi contest back in 2015 (which I didn't participate in because I didn't have a solid idea to work with). But naturally, the story is about... fairies. XD Robot fairies created by the humans with one program in mind: protect the grand spirit of nature that humans have destroyed. The main character, Wang Min, is one of these programmed fairies, but he realizes when he is injured and taken by a human to be repaired that he is a machine created by humans for their own purposes. I mean, beyond the amazing concept, I thought the whole comic was excellently done: good character designs, excellent pacing, beautiful artwork. All this things falling into place for the author. They actually got past the first round of the contest, which is pretty amazing, but they didn't go any further past that, even though I was rooting for them. And then after that... They went on their hiatus. It makes me wonder if maybe the creator wanted to make money from the comic, and once they discovered they weren't going to in the immediate future, they gave up. Very disheartening. There are plenty of other comics that I love that have either gone on indefinite hiatus or that have ended that I still think about, but Grand Spirit is the one I think about the most.

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

I still miss No Rest For The Wicked

Not to mention What Happens in Carpediem, which was on Smackjeeves, so I bet even if the artist wanted to come back they'd decide it was more trouble than it's worth.

Eightfish

It makes me sad how quickly people responded to this question ): I too know of several comics I wish would be continued. Such is the world of webcomics though. Also, you guys, stop with the descriptions. They're too good! You guys are tempting me into reading these comics but I know if I do it will only end in disappointment edit: what is that thing below this vvv(edited)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Oh gosh, where do I start? So many over the years. One that stuck with me the most was an old, old comic from the early '00s called Fallen about a fallen angel of death. The humour was so quirky and good, but it also hit the drama and emotional beats really well. It's long since vanished after going on perma-hiatus, but 10+ years later, I still miss it. Another was Off-White. The art in that one was incredibly gorgeous. I'd link the site as it's technically still 'there' but the archives are either broken or missing. And finally, one that hasn't been officially announced as dead, but probably is, is White Noise. This comic has such great writing and atmosphere. Like Fallen, it really hit all the emotional beats so well and the build-up to big reveals was always pulled off superbly. Fortunately, the website for this one is still up and functional, and you can read what there is of it here: http://whitenoisecomic.com/(edited)

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

@Eightfish: the server has levels for every user based on how active you are -- the more you post, the more you level up! There's not a whole lot to it tbh, but there's a list of ranks and what comes with them in #rules

SAWHAND

Oh shoot! I remember Fallen @Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) ! And I don't have a great memory for stuff like that, but that one really stayed with me.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Oh man, White Noise was one of the first webcomics I ever read, but I still have never made it through the whole archive. I lost it for a few years when I switched computers and I think when I remembered it again it had gone in that hiatus. I think that made it to hard to try and reread again :(

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

For sure. I never start a comic that’s already on hiatus. It’s too sad to get invested in something that might never continue.

mariah (rainy day dreams)

So for me I guess my White Whale of indefinite hiatus comics is this one called Scarecrow Lullaby. It was also one of my really early first webcomics and it wasn't like, the best comic in the world but it hit a lot of the spooky but cute notes that I like in a story. There was also something about the art and character tropes that really resonated with me and my own comics I was making at the time. So I felt kind of a kindred spirit connection with the comic in some ways. I've felt that for other comics too over the years, I figure that's probably not uncommon for folks but I don't really know? But anyway, the hiatus for this one just really haunted me almost because the creator just kind of disappear. Like there wasn't any goodbye post or anything. The comment section got wild on the last page with people speculating that she had died or something. There were people saying they were real life friends confirming that the artist was dead and then others saying no, she was still alive but wasn't planning to continue. I still go check in on it every few years just to see if there's any news. I think what makes me most sad about it isn't that the story didn't finish but just that the artist vanished. Like I wish I could follow her on Twitter or Instagram and see how she's been doing the past 10 years but if she has accounts they aren't under the same name. Just a big weird mystery! https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/ScareCrow_Lullaby/

RebelVampire

The comic I miss the most is Chronicles of Oro http://www.chroniclesoforo.com/ . I really loved how languages were handled in the comic, the character designs, the interesting world, etc. It was a really great start to a good fantasy story that really just hit all the right notes with me. It's only been 2 years since the last page was posted, but its been agony. However, unlike some of the other depressing tales, the creator does occasionally pop in to give a "It's not forgotten" status update, so maybe it will return one day.

mathtans

I'm gonna show my age here. "Elf Only Inn". http://www.elfonlyinn.net/ It started as a comic about internet chatrooms in 2002. After a few years it went on hiatus and rebooted itself as a comic about an MMORPG. As if the same users were using a new medium. Brilliant. It's been on indefinite hiatus since 2008. I still get a kick out of the "Nimoy" character being mistaken for an elf.

keii4ii

I too remember the comic Fallen @Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) though I don't remember much of its humor, so not 100% sure if we're talking about the same Fallen? Is it the one where the human MC has a pet snake? I don't quite miss this comic, at least not in the sense of longing for its unlikely return. But it left an impression on me. Taught me an important lesson in writing character-driven stories. See, at the time I was chest deep in Chosen One stories and the likes, so I thought central twists had to be about what a character was. But Fallen showed me that a story could revolve around who a character is. It's such a basic lesson, and sometimes I feel dumb for not having learned it at an earlier age, but better a little late than super late!

It was a good comic, and I super appreciate what it did for the Younger Me.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

@keii4ii It must be the same Fallen, because I def remember the MC having a pet snake.

keii4ii

Woo!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

The humour wasn’t terribly prevalent, but I remember when it surfaced, it always made me laugh out loud. The author also left snarky and often hilarious comments under the pages.

Erin Ptah (BICP 🎄 Leif & Thorn)

Oh, man, Elf Only Inn takes me back. Such a perfect distillation of free-for-all tween chatroom roleplaying. She's a princess mermaid elf who is also a vampyre(half)!! I'd love to see someone do a sequel/homage with present-day kids. Same kinds of jokes, but it's on a Discord server with 2019-style memes.

"Not everyone uses a 1024x768 screen size, so we're shrinking the comic." #just2002things http://www.elfonlyinn.net/d/20020705.html

Kabocha

Comics I miss... So, it's not even online now, because the author pulled all mirrors and was going to redo the site back in 2012, but I really miss Picatrix. It was kind of fundamental to getting me into webcomics at all, and I became friends with the author. It was kind of an isekai sorta deal - Main character ends up in another world with magic and stuff, finds out there's a prophecy that she's gotta fulfill. Only she wasn't reincarnated or anything. But also the whole, "oh crap arranged marriage to a king?!" plot? I was kinda into it. Especially with how Az and Winnie started off hating each other.

AntiBunny

I'd forgotten about Elf Only Inn. Really takes me back to those late nights of chatting on IRC.

€heshire777

Dr. McNinja is my first thought

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

Did that die?

AntiBunny

Dr. McNinja finished. The creator works as a pro in comics now, but he occasionally does a short. Like "Never Enough the Wario Diaries" that he's posting on Twitter right now.

Kelsey (Kurio)

What sorts of comics does he work with nowadays?