#and if you don't man what the FUCK are you doing in webcomics it's not worth it!!!

[shinesurge]

hustle culture is SO real lmao. people were sold on pipe dreams of getting rich through webcomics, something that doesn't happen in 99.99% of cases, and they're at each other's throats about it. you can't even politely disagree with people without them feeling like you're coming for their future paycheque. wack!

it's nuts dude. A friend of mine (a reader of comics not a creator of them for extra context) was talking this morning about this one hiveworks picked up that was like "god sorry i quit making this, it was just such a failure and i couldn't figure out why" when it didn't go viral or whatever after like. 50 pages.

Like, i didn't even pull in two-digit views per day until like 150 pages in maybe?? I think that little glimpse is really indicative of the extremely skewed expectations people are coming at webcomics with these days, for some reason they're viewed as this launchpad for Other Things (i knew a couple who were openly contemptuous of webcomics, and admitted theirs was literally just part of their plan to get a film deal lmfao) or they get lumped in with content farm type shit for generating fast money except ohhhhh my god comics are NOT FAST IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD. They're brutal and thankless and even if you have the best work habits in the world they destroy your body just making them!! You will toil for years and years before anyone gives a shit and maybe they never will!! there is NO reason to fuck with any of this if you're not here for genuine reasons, even if you DO manage to make some amount of money it's never going to actually balance out the resources you spend making it. you /have/ to make it up with how happy the work makes you on its own and so many of these folks getting crushed by the webcomic Sisyphus boulder would be happier if they just did freelance art or something. There's no shame in that this is an objectively unhinged career to pursue lmfao

[sureuncertainty]

literally tho why are my friends so fucking talented what the FUCK

[the-muppet-joker]

Greetings, Homosapians.

My name? Heh. Don't be so coy.

Kermit. Croaker. Joker. Clown Prince of Crime. Bro Strider. The Original Adam. Vriska Serket. I am a man of many names, so keep up unless you want to be schooled by myself or my league of dedicated followers. Mess with Croaker Nation if you dare. Don't ask me about my Pro Nouns unless you want me to roll my eyes at you and kick you. HARD. I train my kicks for hours every day, so bones WILL be broken.

♤♡◇♧

DNI:

Other Kermit/Joker kintypes

People who frequently post about Dennys (I have Dennys trauma. Genuinely fuck all of you Dennys enjoyers! Toxic.)

Anyone who kins Gonzo or Batman. Fuck you, Batsy... *voice drops to a low growl* And double fuck you, Gonzo.

Protestants. (Self Explanatory)

Klance shippers-- annoying.

Brennan Lee Mulligan apologists.

People under 21, just a personal preference, please respect it

Anyone who engages with Harry Potter-- fuck terfs and fuck JKR!

Snape apologists

Anyone who violates my previous DNI. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH AND RESPECT MY BOUNDARIES. It is not my job to do emotional labor for you and tell you what those boundaries are. Be respectful and figure it out.

One exception to my previous DNI, however: Women may interact with my blog. You see, I have been reading a webcomic called Homestuck and awakened a Vriska kintype in the process. It has made me realize how close minded I have been and that hating an entire gender based on shallow stereotypes is reductive and harmful.

Men DNI. I am an advocate for the feminist movement and have made it my sworn duty to destroy those who oppose it.

Good Omens fans. Y'all are annoying.

Tumblr user Strange Aeons. DO NOT INTERACT or I will get you with my sword. Consider yourself warned.

As for those of you who are afraid of seeing what real darkness and depravity looks like? Heh........

Run While You Can.

[airprime7]

Why am I seeing so many fake posts on my dash? Like, there's ones from all sorts of made up realities, I'm surprised I haven't seen ones set in webcomics or whatever.

0 notes

♊️ twinarmageddons reblogged

♊️ twinarmageddons

all of you iidiiot2 need two 2hut up about computer2 unle22 you know what you're talkiing about. ii 2wear ii 2aw 2ome guy telliing people two pour water on theiir keyboard2 two clean them.

♉️ adiostoreador

uH,,,

iS THAT NOT HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO, uH, dO IT,

♊️ twinarmageddons

oh my fuckiing god 2ome people are actual iidiiot2

#ii mean come on you actually beliieved that

22 notes

♑️ terminallycapricious

wAsSuP mOtHeRfUcKeRs???

#HoNk

420 notes

♌️ arseniccatnip reblogged

♌️ arseniccatnip

:33 < hiii!!!

:33 < my name is nepeta leijon, and this is my furst post!

:33 < i like shipping, and rolepurrlaying, and hunting

:33 < i have troll pawtism, so i might not be the best at understanding things. sorry if i get confused!

:33 < i also do art, and my commissions are open! purrlease don't ask me to draw trolls pailing, i'm only 6

:33 < bye! :33

♋️ carcinogeneticist

HOW STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO PUT YOUR FULL NAME IN YOUR PINNED POST.

DON'T YOU KNOW THE FIRST RULE OF GRUMBLR IS NEVER USE YOUR REAL NAME, YOU IDIOTIC EXCUSE FOR A PERSON.

♒️ caligulasaquarium Follow

wwhy is your text grey

♋️ carcinogeneticist

I DON'T KNOW, WHY ARE YOU SUCH A PRETENTIOUS ASSHOLE, FISH FACE.

🤡 i-say-honk Follow

hOnK!

♋️ carcinogeneticist

FUCK OFF, TC, WE ALL KNOW IT'S YOU.

THIS STUPID "GIMMICK BLOG" ISN'T EVEN FUNNY.

♌️ arseniccatnip

:33 < @carcinogeneticist @caligulasaquarium @i-say-honk kill yourselves

#:33 < :33

333 notes

♍️ grimauxiliatrix reblogged

♈️ apocalypsearisen Follow

im dead n0w

♍️ grimauxiliatrix

Mood

#Honestly I Cant Believe I Made It Through This Week Alone

60 notes

♋️ carcinogeneticist reblogged

👻 ectobiologist Follow

hi! how do i use this app?

♋️ carcinogeneticist

HUMAN ALERT.

@human-alarm

👤 human-alarm Follow

BEEP

612 notes

♋️ carcinogeneticist reblogged

♐️ centaurstesticle Follow

D -> The day we stop valuing horses is the day society collapses

♐️ centaurstesticle

D -> @cuttlefishculler Perhaps I do share some interests with the protagonist of the new popular movie starring Troll Ryan Gosling

D -> If anything that would be a compliment

D -> Not that that's something a f001 such as yourself would understand

♓️ cuttlefishculler Follow

)(-EY, I was just joking around. No need to start being c-rude!!! 380

♏️ arachnidsgrip Follow

Protagonist!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What movie did you watch? 8ecause 8ar8ie is defin8ly the hero of the one I saw, hooves-for-8rains.

♈️ apocalypsearisen Follow

i liked the 0ne with the b0mb m0re

♒️ caligulasaquarium Follow

rustblood, opinion disregarded

♋️ carcinogeneticist

BLATANT HEMOPHOBIA ASSIDE, ARE WE JUST GOING TO IGNORE OP'S URL?

♊️ twinarmageddons

forget that, cc ii2 the ACTUAL HEIIRE22

♋️ carcinogeneticist

HOLY SHIT, WHO CARES.

1380 notes

♏️ arachnidsgrip reblogged

♏️ arachnidsgrip

You know, I think the murders were good for me.

♎️ gallowscalibrator Follow

VR1SK4, YOU K1LL3D 31GHTY-31GHT P3OPL3.

♏️ arachnidsgrip

Yeah, 8ut I'm over it now. It doesn't effect me anymore.

#I've moved on.

413 notes

♉️ adiostoreador reblogged

💽 turntechgodhead Follow

man i cant believe troll steve jobs died of ligma

♉️ adiostoreador

wHO, uM, wHO'S TROLL STEVE JOBS?

[turbo-tsundere]

Content warning for gore, blood, burns & body horror.

A king with no crown and a holy fool.

(The element of venom/poison, stabbing/puncture wounds and destruction of a whole body is present in both of their deaths. Kokichi's pristine white clothes also end up being shoved down the toilet, and the poison made it difficult for him to breathe, so there's plausible callback to Miu also. Karma at its finest?)

If I could be the devil, you could be the sinner.

(Don't mind them, they're just spilling their guts)

(...)

(Concepts for scenes from a Gonta-centric survival horror game I'll never make. But it was fun to daydream about - maybe one day I'll finish other sketches and doodles relating to it into a more presentable state. The Cat Lady OST was playing on constant repeat while I drew this - Lily of the Valley, Don't Follow the Light, String, Plainwalker, Early Winter, Storytelling, Susan's Blue Sheep (alone again) - those in particular are now stuck in my brain when I look at those drawings, and what I imagine the "game's" mood to be like, at least the opening segment.)

(I felt both heartbroken and like a monster when drawing this one... But I wanted to draw something that doesn't conveniently erase nor tuck his mangled, swollen face away from view. Sure... in game it looks goofy. But I think mockingly disfiguring him was the point in all of this, too. And given the venom, the Schmidt pain index, how it rates some wasp species, the fact that those robot wasps could be packed with anything necessary really... it had to be awful. Really, every stage of Gonta's execution was excruciating and enough to kill a person on its own, but due to his strength he likely suffered through them all. I remember begging in my head he was at least spared the flame, that he was already gone by this point... But it's foolish to pretend it definitely was the case.)

I wanted to post something new, but I was either busy, ill, or focused on something else, so another sketchdump with oldies and wips it is. This time strictly 2020-21 stuff, drawn during the first few months after finishing the game; mostly to process the post-game/Ch4 sorrows. All very emotionally raw, very edgy stuff that I felt, to be honest, too shy to show before.

Like with any wip I posted before, I do hope to finish some of them properly one day, even though I don't know when. But that's fine, I've signed up for a very long ride with the bug man. Taking it easy is the priority.

Speaking of long-term projects, maybe there's no need to, but I do want to talk about my Gonta fancomic, so here goes.

It's a bit long, so I will continue under the cut.

(Some panel teasers first! ...Gonta sanity fine.)

I took a few months long break from personal drawings - an *actual* break, not just sitting in front of a screen, tired, stewing in guilt that I'm tired, and that I can't magically muscle through burnout, or headache, or exhaustion.

My brain was stuck in a loop of berating myself for underperforming, not doing well enough, for taking so long on "mere" 27 pages, when in the past I could finish a 90-page webcomic chapter much faster. I wouldn't let myself rest, because I didn't do enough; but I couldn't do enough, because I didn't allow myself to rest. And it's been going on for months and months.

What a stupid, unconstructive thing to do to myself. I was only spiralling down, intimidating and overwhelming myself with work on the one thing I specifically wanted to keep doing out of joy, not ambition and pedantism. So I decided to just say "fuck it" and stop for a while. Like, actually stop, do something else and try to feel unapologetic about it.

So I briefly took up sewing, a creative activity I had no personal stake in, and then I started PVP-ing in DS3 (sorry if I happened to kick your butt in there. Rest assured my butt gets kicked just as much), which did wonders, too, as non-artistic pastime.

And, in the end, it seems it worked.

I finally feel this internal drive to draw again. Sadly, I can't spend all of my free time on the doujin (I might need to open commissions soon), so my pacing will still be glacial... But there was an internal change from "I have to, I have to, I must..." back to "I want to". And this is all that matters.

Still, that makes me think... while technically I don't have deadlines, the comic has taken so much longer than I thought it would - and it will take a while still. Thus, I wonder if I shouldn't change my approach re publishing it.

The initial idea was to post it all at once when it's fully finished, but I debate releasing it one page at a time instead, while it's still work in progress.

Thing is, I don't think it would be good for overall pacing. I don't want to sacrifice it, plus I can't guarantee regular uploads, esp since I don't exactly work on the pages in chronological order (While the first page is done, it was drawn after I finished a few in the middle & at the end; and there are still a few important pages/panels in first half I'm a bit too afraid of touching just yet, wanting to do them justice. This is how I work in general, jumping around rather than sticking to overly strict linear order.)

The compromise would be to post like 3-5 pages per post, making it so each upload covers a specific scene, however, same issue arises - I can't promise regular uploads. In the end it feels like a half-measure. But maybe it's a good idea, despite that impression?

There's a secret option, too - if this takes absurdly long, my plan was to just post the storyboard, after replacing some panels/pages with already finished drawings. The thing is readable as is, and long finished on that front anyway. My personal deadline for that was "right before my current lease ends", but, well… I plan on extending it anyway, and again... it's just a back-up option for when everything else fails. In the end, I just want to finish the comic, and present it how it's meant to be presented, however long it will take.

All those things considered, I'll stick to the original plan for now... and then we shall see. I simply wanted to share where things stand currently, and where they might go.

And that's it! If you've read this far, thank you. See you in the undetermined future.

[regularme12]

Put on your comedy mask!

A/N: I garuntee you, everyone in the tk community thought this was finna be a tickle scene. So I'm making it into a fic!!!

Lee: Jax

Ler: Gangle(?)

Summary: Gangle don't like slackers, or debby downers. Lucky for her, she knows just the way to turn that frown upside down!

"Hi!! Welcome to Spudsy's!! In this video, you're gonna learn the ins and outs on what makes YOU a good crew worker! AND a valuable asset to the Supdsy's corporation." Gangle explained on the tv screen. Jax felt like he acctually messed up for the first time. If it wasn't for Gangle's stupid happy face, he wouldn't have been complaining about the work enviroment, she sent them out to do!!

"When did you make this?"

"Now I know what you're thinking," Gangle mocked, "I don't want a career in fast food. I wanna be a comic artist and eventually launch my own manga inspired webcomic. And it's cool to have dreams, but you also need to remember that they're all completely unrealistic, and YOU need to stop trying."

Jax was baffled that Gangle had the courage to do all of this shit!! Like yh, cut his pay, or send him home for the day, but this?! This was too much just for her, Jax dosen't know how or when he's getting out. He felt a little anxious and claustrophobic.

"But BEFORE we get into all that...first things first, are you smiling?"

Smiling? Is she insane?! Why would he be smiling when he was practically forced aganst his will to be there?! "Eh, no???"

"Why not?" Gangle looked scarry to the bunny man, how he got himself in this position, he has yet to find out. Then all of a sudden a chair pops out along with robotic hands. They forced him to sit down, and had his limbs stretched out to the bone.

"Wait-Waitwaitwait, uhm... No one can see this right?! hehe" The arms brougjt him closer to the tv where his face was squished upon it, then they brought him back to his prior position, llimbs stretched out, sitting in a chair.

"It's time for your employee evaluation.~" And like that, Gangle was out of sight, out of mind.

"WAIT! NO GANGLE!! I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU LEAVE ME HERE-" He stopped mid sentence, realizing there was no point in trying to call out for something that wasn't even there. "Great..." Gangle put on her employee evaluation video expecting Jax to follow along. He wanted to slouch back because if he's watching something stupidly boring, he'll want to get comfortable first, but it was hard with those damn hands not letting go, he couldn't even move a muscle if he wanted to, that's just how tight they made him. "Now I gotta watch this stupid s***! Hey, bud, you think you can lay off a little? This'll be so annoying if I can't get comfortable, and right now, I can't even move. It's p****** me off." All of the sudden, he felt a poke to his side. This caused him to jump, and let out a small giggle. Oh no... was this Gangle's plan all along?! To get me here so she can leave her murder weapons to tickle me to death?! This is SO not good.

"On my m************ SOUL, you'll be so f****** sorry if u let this peice of s*** tickle me the whole time you're so called 'lesson' is STILL F****** GOING!!! AGH THIS PEICE OF S*** SENSORING BULL S***! CANE I'MMA F****** KILL YOU! TRUST AND BELIEVE- AHHHH!!" Jax screamed so loud, that if that box he was confined in wasn't super fucking sound proof, from here to Thailand, everyone would hear his god awful screams for help, but help has yet to arrive.

"Gahhahahaa!! Pehehehehice of s***, let. me. GOHHOOHOHOHOH!!!" They started squeezing his sides at a fast pace. Jax has always been super ticklish, I mean for the years he can remember. But yet the only person who knows that is Caine and Bubble. Hence, how he even remembers how ticklish he really is.

"D******* ihihihit, Gahahahangle, when I gehehet out of here!!!" They were lightly dragging their finger up and down said bunny man's torso. Which was a little ticklish that made him lightly jerk, but wasn't too extravangant to where he was full on laughing. "Ugh... stop!! C-Can you guys... like speak e-english? Or at least ANY languAGE! NO NOT THEHEHEREEEE" The spot they went to just had to be his second most ticklish spot, his toe beans. They're so sensitive, to the point he can't do anything if it involves someone or something touching his feet. "GahahahahHAHAHHAAhahaha!! THIHIHIS IS TOHOHORTURE OHOHO MY GOHOHOJOD!" Jax was really in a pickle. How is he gonna get out of this?! What felt like 30 minutes had passed, and Jax was still in that same hold with those same hands tickling the same spots. One of them started scratching in the divots of his ribs with there really dull finger tips, which to Jax, is the reason why it tickled so much.

All that was heard was the clanking noises of the robotic arms when Jax was trying to pull his arms down to defend the now attacked spot, before he literally passes out, but to no avail. The room went silent. The tv was still going in the background, he thought to himself that someone was bound to at least notice his disappearnace and comes checks up on him. Then he remembered no one likes him there, I mean... maybe expect for Kinger and Pomni??

But Gangle can't let him stay there forever, right?! He was getting to his limits, his ribs weren't even THAT ticklish, it was just the way the hands were moving in those hollow spots that really got him going. "F******* FINE!! PLEHEHEHEASE!! LEHEHEHT ME GOHOHO!! IHIHI'M SIHIHICK OF THIHIHIS S*****!!" The hands finally let go, giving him a chance to breathe and calm down. His rapid heart rate and the sound of Gangle's stupid annoying voice he oh so hates, was the only ones audible to the naked ears.

Then they started moving, but not to let him go, oh no. It wasn't that easy. They moved to his ears. His worst spot. They swiped up it once, and Jax almost broke Gangle's dumb machine. "OH F****** PLEASE DON'T TICKLE ME THERE PLEASE I BEG YOU!! JUST MAKE IT ST-...." It went silent once again, then Jax started laughing.

"IHIHIHI CAN'T...." Again.

"F************ BREATHE!!...." And again. Then it turned to hiccups, and snorts

"*SNORT* PLEHEHEHEHASE GAHAHAHN... *Hic* *snort* IHIHIHI HAHAHHAD EHEHEHEEH....*Silent* *long inhale* *snort* *HIC*...." And then it went silent again. The hands finally let up, and Jax could faintly make out Gangle's outro for her employee evaluation video. The hands and chairs extracted, making Jax fall on his ass. Then he just lied there for a good 5 minutes. Then he fumbled to stand up, and stumbled his way out the door that appeared after the hands and chairs were gone. He looked like a hot mess, he was sweaty, his fur was sticking to his forehead, he looked exhausted, and he was all red. How is he gonna make up excuses when it's practically written on his face?!

"Wow Jax! Didn't think you'd survive that!! So??? Did you learn anything today???" Gangle appraoched him in her same old giddy attitude from before.

"I f****** hate you." Jax groaned.

"Why?"

"because... you're stupid f****** MACHINES JUST T-" He stopped hismelf, he didn't want everyone around him knowing he was insanly ticklish, or ticklish at all. So he dropped hjs voice to a whsiper, "You're machines just f****** tickled me, jacka**"

"Wanna go back?" She turned serious, but still had that shit eating grin plastered on her mask.

"NO! F*** NO!! You can't pay me 100 GS to go back there." He was relishing back at that moment where he was tickled to near death, and he shivered.

"Hehe, I knew you were insanley ticklish. So I hoped I'd tickled you into consideration about being a better coworker!!"

"Wha-?! How?! Did yo-?! Ugh... Bubble?"

"Yep!"

"Caine?"

"Mhm"

"God, I'm gonna f****** kill them both!!"

"Heheh... yeah."

"Well, anyways. F*** you Gangle, f*** this work place, f*** this enviroment, I could give zero s**** about how you wanna run and invest in this dump, but that's all you. I'm clocking out, I had enough today, and I'm gonna rest in my f****** car, with my f****** radio blaring in the parking lot, waiting for that a**hat of a boss to let us go back home, so I can beat the ever loving s*** out of him and his alliby. Oh, and not a word about this to anyone, if you want me to be a little better, follow those rules, and trust me." Then he walked out.

Ragatha looked up, all droopy and drunk, "Where's he goingggg? Ifff he can leaveeee then I for sureee ca-" She fell back on the floor with a thud. Gangle looked down, gave her a soft smile, and went along with the rest of her day.

[brykp]

THEORY: Lucifer Morningstar in Hazbin Hotel... Might Actually Be a Star

I was thinking of what Sera said to Charlie when she was first welcomed into Heaven... "Greetings, Daughter of the Morningstar"... or, did she enunciate morning-star? This is a real thing in the world that exists for us people on earth, in fact you can walk outside and see it very early every morning --- it is the last star shining in the sky. Tangent oncoming, but it gets back to the main point ----- Lucifer means "light-bearer", or, "light-bringer", because it calls forth the rising sun. In symbology, this has been interpreted as a man holding a torch. In Hazbin Hotel, we not only see Lucifer literally can produce fire from his hand, but this has been passed down to his daughter as well. They're light-bearers --- literally. Also, that is precisely what stars do... they produce light! Now let me advance to next bulletpoint of this post... Vivienne Medrano ALREADY used a "living" object, that can terraform into a more active form, in this web show. And that is none other than Kiki, the literal key to the hotel. She turns into a cat-semblant body.

On the same note, Vivienne Medrano is no stranger to humanoids or beings naturally being another thing. This was a primary feature of her extinct webcomic, Zoophobia, where every animal naturally has a humanesque form they can convert to whenever necessary. For example, Jackie is a great macaw (this isn't the parrot's true appearance, this is a format she takes alternatively):

Now, I know Lucifer is snake-coded, but I couldn't help but acknowledge how well-versed Vivienne Medrano seems to be in demonology and religion, to an extent, based on some videos from YouTuber cartoon analysis channels. And (I'm going to repeat, excuse my drawling), it is a common fact that the morning star.... in the sky... can be seen every morning. Hence, Sera uttered; "Greetings, daughter of the morning star". So, here's the next bulletpoint --- the acknowledgment of celestial bodies as sources of worship (astrology) is a key point in this universe. Stolas, a major character in the same world, studies and is a sort of regulator of the celestial bodies.

That's his whole schtick. Plus, he is royalty in Hell, so astrology is probably a no-shit presence of fact among the general population in Hell. On the the next bulletpoint: YouTube theorists and fans of both these web shows in general have expressed how they think Hazbin Hotel + Helluva Boss take place somewhere in 'outer space'. From the Pride Ring alone, we can see other celestial bodies IN the sky, like Heaven and a weird moon with a copy of Pride Ring's Pentagram on it. While I don't think the Hellaverse is in outer space exactly, I really think it's code for 'the heavenly realms'. Now on to the next and probably most important fact... now, what might the Pride Ring be? What does its parameter resemble? (Btw, follow this person on Tumblr and X, they are a great Lucy fan artist):

Not to mention the pentagram (which is also, coincidentally, and non-coincidentally a star-shape) floating right above it. What is a meteorite? A falling star. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is my final say on this? I might say Lucifer is... well, a fallen star. He may or may not be a literal star in the show, but this is a huge probability in the Hellaverse considering it IS Vivienne Medrano's brainchild. This is my headcannon now... that because these are the heavenly realms, the most powerful beings/ characters can and do exist likely in alternate/ first forms in the same existential plane. Charlie is half human and half angel... or further, half star. Also, this means Lilith fucked a star. (And Eve too, oop.)

[genericpuff]

"As cheap as owning a tablet" as if those weren't expensive, as if you didn't need a decent art program,... Man, fuck Webtoons.

All the other expenses of creating a comic that Webtoons doesn't take into account:

The cost of software

The cost of resources (3D models, licensed font packs, etc.)

If you're an Originals creator or someone who wants to work with others (like myself), the cost of an assistant which is entirely out-of-pocket (the cost of resources is also out-of-pocket, Webtoons doesn't cover the cost of 3D models and other resources that creators practically have to rely on just to meet their deadlines)

The cost of learning how to draw to get to the point of creating a comic. Sure, you can start drawing a comic at any skill level, but if you want your comic to actually grow on a larger scale - which is exactly what Webtoons is compelling people to use their platform for - then you're gonna need to brush up on a lot of foundations both in art and writing that take years of work and practice.

The cost of actually making the damn comic, because that's hours of labor that are largely unpaid / completely voluntary. Much of those hours amount to just a little bit of content that the majority of people swipe through so fast they don't even absorb what they're looking at and never read again.

It's really easy for a company like Webtoons to say "making webcomics is cheap" when that same exact company has foot all the financial burden of creating a comic onto the creators. We all know who they're really trying to appeal to when they say creating comics is 'cheap' - other companies and investors who are also looking for 'cheap to produce' content that they assume is cheap because they're only putting in the bare minimum to sign them on and aren't the ones doing the fucking work. And we all know where that line of thinking leads, because it's exactly where we are right now with social media platforms and streaming services. Art has become "content" and the platforms hosting the content have become completely enshittified.

Man. Fuck Webtoons.

[cryptidcraab]

tadc episode 4 spoilers, that's the whole post

Kinger why are you giving them your shift

there's a stupid burger with the sauce that makes you stupid

Gangle can be terrifying if you're stupid

GUMMIGOO IS BACK AND ONE OF HIS DUDES ORDERED AN ADULT TOY AT THE BURGER PLACE

well that's heartbreaking they don't know each other

Ragatha wants to get flirted with

Happy gangle is terrifying

Stupid Burger is a breakfast thing?

Gloink bus

Bowl of cereal, 31 cent "meat" 300 cheeseburgers

All the gloinks have names

I'm feeling an emotion over the alligator candy man

Gangle made a sbahj face

Spudsys looks like a Roblox game

Gangle deserves to launch a webcomic

Happy gangle is actually frightening

Ragatha still ate the stupid burger

Zooble deserves a raise forever

Gangle lets them huff paint on break?

Ragatha had horses?

I would build gangle a blanket fort, I love her.

Gangle deserves a blanket fort

Gloink reproduction apparently has a lot of stuff to learn and most of it is bad

I want to blend that purple fuckeroni into a fine paste

Gangle deserves so so much better

They should really make a spudsys Roblox game

Kissing gangle gently on all of her at least 3 foreheads

They gave jax a car

Ragatha took too much stupid sauce

Gangle looks like a fever feels

Pomni looks like a cool human person lmao

HELL YEAH GANGLE, STAND UP FOR URSELF!!

me when I believe I truly work at the burger place and the allied teethmouth computer isn't just making me larp to stay sane (or I'm just REALLY into the burger roleplay)

Gangle can fucking GO!!! HELL YEAH!!

oh I'm not sure what the truck is about

She got isekaid into performance review

Will wood? (I do not THINK it was will wood?)

Kinger gets an A+, he did good

Gangle is depressed again

Caine has provlems

Oh god I'm sorry gangle

Zooble and gangle are great, spindly upset interchangeable guys

[lloydfrontera]

EXCUSE ME SIR WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

this is literally not true what the hell is lee hyumnin doing

this whole conversation was completely out of character for both of them. in the novel og lloyd is way more crass and rude the entire time, he doesn't even ask about julian himself and he never expresses any regret or apologizes for anything he did out loud.

and he absolutely hates javier. i cannot emphasize this enough, it is never even hinted at that og lloyd ever cared the slightest about javier. nevermind that he wanted to be his friend or felt sorry about breaking his sword and harassing him as kids.

"Fine. Let's hurry. I never liked that jerk anyway. I don't want to bump into him"

"You don't like him?"

"No." Ghost Frontera nodded at Lloyd's question. And in the most obvious tone, Ghost Frontera retorted, "It's not fair for a human to look like that. I hate him. I feel like life is cheating me whenever I see him, and it pisses me off. I've been in a bad mood ever since my father put that bastard on my side to guard me."

does this sound like a man who just "wanted to become friends with him"??

this is history revisionism and i won't stand for it!!/j

and like. does this really look like a kid who just wants to be friends

like. does it.

again javier is six years old here. he saw his parents die in front of him a year ago and then spent an entire winter on the streets fending for himself and is just now finally settling into a new place that was supposed to be safe for him

he looked like this

look at him. he's a baby.

they're not even the same age!! og lloyd is five years older!! there was never a point in their relationship where og lloyd wasn't just a bigger and older kid harassing a child five years his junior!!

and he didn't feel sorry about it. at least not enough to make amends or even apologize.

and the problem with making og lloyd more sympathetic is that it undercuts just how much he'd fucked up. it makes it look like it was just a misunderstanding and that everyone should've just tried a little bit harder to understand him when no!!! they did try they did love him he just didn't care about it!!

and it's especially egregious when the webcomic seems hellbent in making lloyd look like a total dickhead at every moment possible!

making him kick og lloyd into the reincarnation gate??? telling him he sounded pathetic and didn't want to hear him for another second????why are you making your protagonist so fucking unlikable??? what's the fucking purpose of that???? how come the character that acts like a total asshole in the novel gets to be sympathetic in the adaptation but not your fucking main protagonist??????

that's the main issue actually! making og lloyd more sympathetic always seems to be at the cost of making everyone else look worse which fucking sucks!! because he's not meant to be like that!!! that's not the point of his character!!!

not to mention that they completely rewrote og lloyd's wish to not be born as a human in his next life??? like??? at this point you're just. making shit up. not even trying to follow the original source.

this episode was just. bad. nothing i can really rescue about it it's straight up just a bad adaptation

i hate it here lmao

[pfaerie]

I read heartstopper for a bit and I keep pretty mid expectations for webcomics because its a story for free, im not going to complain too much, whatever

But the 0 stakes thing fucking killed me man. Its also the like, wholesome paradox of not wanting to have a problematic world, but also wanting the mains to be comforted for their issues that came from a problematic world.

So you have a story where we encounter actual homophobia like twice, but fear of homophobia is a vehicle for comfort therapy speak. It becomes frustrating because it starts to feel like their fears are unfounded because the only homophobia in the plot is soundly dealt with by "it's a singular character who sucks so comically and no one likes that guy anyway"

And same with the eating disorder kinda? We have this whole plot about his disorder and it's resolved with "I've been in inpatient for a month and things are looking up!"

Also no one is allowed to be interesting because they all have to be nice and good and emotionally right always.

I don't know much about osemans personal stuff since I really don't look into authors, and I'm sure there's stuff in her comics but the characters are all so forgettable I can't even recall what was wrong about them. However she did have an author portrait in her physical copies that annoyed me lol.

Its all just so toothless man. Idk it feels like an ideological extension of, in trying to defend gay people against hypersexual stereotype, make things incredibly suppressed and overly chaste. Which if that's what you need whatever I guess, but it really became the popular gay media trend for a while and it nearly killed me.

EXACTLY 100% THIS. They're toothless and forgettable.

Their reluctance to do anything isn't supported by the world around them - they could probably kill a guy and get off scot-free, but they wouldn't because they're friends with everyone and nobody has an emotion more intense than a mild flutter. Except for the dickheads, who, like you said, are comically evil.

They're serious about everything, but it's easy to be serious when they only need to be, like, 5th-grader-with-one-chore-a-week serious!!! And vice versa! It's easy to be carefree when there are literally NO STAKES. IN ANYTHING. Like, I don't want to see tons of gay suffering by any means, but also. It builds character 🙄 They're fake. It's whatever.

Like. It's fine that it exists. Creators can do what they want. 90% of what I draw is syrupy-sweet romance and cute things. I get the appeal for the people who just want or need something soft. But god. I wish I never had to see another ad for that show. I don't want it on MY blog, in MY corner of the internet. I hate that it's a media darling. It's obnoxious.

[feltcaverns]

But seriously, none of you people fucking get it.

There are rules to this shit. Okay? And if you're not intuiting them, you're not doing this right.

Fuck, it shouldn't be necessary at all for me to do this. But you keep fucking up like this in front of me, the least I can do is tell you some goddamn basics.

Number one. Don't fucking try and overshadow the main man. This ain't your rodeo, it's his. If you try and jump off your horse so you can impress the crowd, you're gonna just end up eating shit. Stay in line.

Number two. If they didn't sign up for this, don't fucking target them. Should be obvious, but for some of you, it doesn't look like it is. Don't post about muppet drugs in the replies of normal fucking people.

Number three. If he says jump, do not ask how high. Just fucking jump. Have any of you even been in a cult before? Don't answer. I don't want to fucking know. The brotherhood is an embarrassment in its current state. You people need organization and a cutoff point, but that's a whole separate issue.

Number four. Lurk moar. I'm 100% serious. Know your fucking lore, kiddos. If you don't know my name, and it ain't fucking Elegy, then are you really in the right place? Read a webcomic and come back later.

Number five. This is war.

What, you think I'm joking?

Every fucking day we'd wake up and figure out new ways to make him question our sanity. We'd create events spontaneously. We'd organize shit to surprise him. Entire arcs. And you know how much contact we had with the enemy directly?

Nearly fucking nil.

You people need to shape the fuck up, study your fucking history, or don't bother participating at all.

[helluva-dump]

At this point, the hazbin/helluva critical community has fallen flat. And when I say that, I mean that it lacks potential. Like, I thought we were criticizing about the characters and the show itself. I thought we were talking about it's issues and what Viv could approve on it. But now, these people are just targeting fans of Viv's show who are just going on about their day, taking screenshots of harmful posts and posting it on the critical blog just to shit on them. You can't even consider that "critical" now when you're just being an asshole. They wonder why Viv and her fans think the critics are so bad. On top of that, these people love to make assumptions about Viv harassing Gooseworx all because she's a "terrible person" like please stfu. "She probably did this" and they don't even have any proof. Maybe consider that Viv actually enjoys tadc and it's success? What is all of this "viv is mad because the amazing digital circus is more successful than her shitty shows"? I dunno, man. That critical community is just so fucking dumb and stupid. They're not even talking about the shows anymore. They just bitch and fuss about everything.

For real, I had never seen such a critical community this much of a train wreck as the fandom is.

I mean hell, I engaged with the SVTFOE community before (and that show has the EXACT same problems as Helluva boss) and the critical blogs were very chill.

I feel like what didn’t help is how immature and unprofessional Vivziepop acts publicly. But at the same time…. I can’t really blame her for getting defensive when these antis dogpile her on everything.

And yes, the screenshots making fun of harmless posts of fans were red flags to me. Like dude, we have rabid fans and Stans do that to us, why the hell are you stopping to their level??? (I’m not gonna include the voodoo controversy because that to me needed to be talked about. A lot of POC fans and criticals had every right to discuss that and Viv should had given an apology or explanation over that. With closed religions that always got stereotypes due to colonizers, you need to be careful when writing about them. )

Oh God don’t get me started on the whole Vivziepop and Gooseworks relationship assumptions… that actually annoyed me too and I’m sure there’s no bad blood with them. I get she had bad blood with Tracey and possibly Ashley, but I don’t think it’s fair to assume she’s like this with every indie creator.

Honestly, its both of their fandoms that are acting unhinged. But I even seen hardcore fans of Viv like Dani praising TADC and Gooseworks, so I doubt the whole fandom are planning to sabotage them. TADC isn’t a rain full of sunshine either, they too have so much bad apples there.

Also my big issue with this community I’ve noted some critical blogs that claim they wanna make an original series (well one already made a webcomic) but they NEVER stop bitching about Viv and go on and on how they never do this to their project… unmmm dude? If you constantly compare your project to Viv’s, your gonna lose your audience this way. This can make you come off as an a logger and a very petty person to others. Trust me, this is NOT going to make people want to be interested in your original projects.

It’s also very unprofessional to do this publicly. I get looking at bad writing motivates you how to not to things… but the constant comparing is going to make you look like a very petty person to your outside audience. And they feel like your project won’t have agency on its own without being “better than Helluva/Hazbin.” I say this because I too am working on an indie project I want to make to a webcomic. And I REALLY don’t wanna ruin my reputation that way.

That’s what Zeartist did when he made his shitty ass books and would constantly hitch and whine about twilight on his life journals. And he would always bring up his original series and how it’s “better” and how he wouldn’t write such garbage like Stephanie Meyer.

And guess what???? His books are just twilight 2.0 but even worse 😂😂😂 he ended up doing the exact same thing stephanie did, bitches out over criticism, and yeah a huge hypocritical asshat.

That’s why constantly comparing your project to another person’s to seen as better is NOT a smart idea. Please have some self awareness there if your actually planning to make a webcomic or an original series.

Also… I’ve noticed people that have beautiful startled would waste it on blind hatred. Like that “I HAtE VIVZIEPOP” blog. Like godamn, their art is beautiful but they had an unhealthy hate obsession with Viv… why waste your energy on that when you can make something better?

I’m not talking about rewrites, AUs, or redesigns because to me those are like fanfics and for fun. The stuff I do is mainly just for fanfic fun and a writing/world building exercise for me. But also a little bit of self indulgence since I sitll admire Viv’s characters. You can enjoy something without giving your support to the actual creator. I’m trying to show my support to the team behind it.

(I’m even planning to buy fan merch from one of the clean up artists on their shop. To me it’s the ethical way of getting Hazbin/Helluva merch without directly giving it to Viv but to her artists instead. )

[nqmonarch]

Since I've only read the webcomic I may be wrong in some parts but man pre-regression Yoojin and Yoohyun's relationship is so depressing.

I understand why Yoohyun distanced himself but at the same time I want him to suffer because holy shit he didn't explain anything. Yoojin is extremely depressed and has substance abuse problems which there's no way in hell Yoohyun doesn't know about but instead he just keeps creating distance and treats him coldly. I get you don't want your older brother to become a target of mister evil venom dragon dude and die but it's a miracle Yoojin kept himself alive???

Like I'd have to imagine he's had suicidal thoughts as when he attempts to sacrifice himself for Yoohyun, he's like 'Fine I'll die, I'll stop bothering you and everyone else.' He was barely holding onto hope because of the few people who supported him who all ended up dying and only he lived because of Final Thanks.

The amount of trauma Yoojin's been through is insane. That being said I want Yoohyun to suffer (he's already suffered a lot but I want pre-regression him to suffer more). At the end of the day this is evil venom dragon man's fault But man am I pissed at Yoohyun.

That being said it seems like the only way (where the webcomic picks up with them pre-regression) for Yoohyun to suffer is if Yoojin dies. And honestly I don't want Yoojin to die. So I've been thinking about a satisfying way for Yoojin to "get revenge" and I think I've come up with something???

So Yoohyun's doing all of this to protect Yoojin because Yoohyun's a target and if he's close to Yoojin then Yoojin will be a target too. So what if Yoojin just ends up managing to become a bigger target on his own?

As mentioned the government's awakening facility was catered toward individual's with combat abilities so it'd definitely fail to awaken Yoojin at his maximum potential. And as we saw from Yoojin's ability to see other's classes it seemed like over 50% of the population had POTENTIAL for D rank or above.

So if there was another character that could see the potential ranks of everyone and imagine there surprise when they manage to come across Yoojin and find out his potential is an S Rank (which I don't know if that's canon but for the sake of this scenario let's say his potential is an S rank, and they can also see the potential of his skill Caregiver is S (apparently it became L after Yoohyun died for him). Because I think skills can level up??? I don't understand the magic system that well so if that's not true just be delusional with me).

Now obviously they'd want to get Yoojin on their side, and they come up out of nowhere offering training to Yoojin. By the time this news reaches Yoohyun's ears through his weird stalker network Yoojin's already gone.

Of course Yoojin wants to become a useful older brother, and sure maybe he's fallen into the trap of getting scammed before but this person has proof of being in the Seseong Guild (I don't know maybe they have IDs?). And why is the guild for this AU the Seseong Guild? Because that's what would piss Yoohyun off the most.

So now fast forward a few years Yoohyun has been freaking the fuck out and is basically forced to assume his brother is dead. For the sake of privacy and keep their new asset safe the Seseong guild gave Yoojin a new identity. Despite that evil venom dragon dude figured out it was Yoojin and decided 'Hey if I can kill him I can use his body to really make Yoohyun accept that he's dead and make him join my side! :D'

Anyway the dragon fails like in canon. This time instead of Yoohyun breaking into the portal and then sacrificing himself the the guild leader of Seseong guild (my boy Sung Hyunjae) is near the gate (coincidence I think not) and he's like damn something happened, seems interesting, I'll join in. But by the time he enters the dragon's already dead and the only one standing is Yoojin.

Now Yoojin had interested Hyunjae before, the way he'd acted so at ease with his S rank brother in the past despite being an F rank. Not only that but even when Hyunjae let out his imposing S Rank aura, Yoojin, when he was still a lower rank, would cower but he didn't mince his words. It was amusing.

Yoojin had originally been standing in the back as more of a supportive figure but holy shit did the party get wiped by the dragon. Lets say all of the party members were under Yoojin's custody and that one of the party members (for the sake of my delusions) was an S Rank (for the sake of my delusions) and died for Yoojin. Bam Yoojin is super fucking strong solos the dragon, easy, he now gained the L ranked skills Perfect CareGiver and Dragon Slayer.

From unlocking Dragon Slayer he gets the wish stone, and this time is allowed to wish everyone else who died alive and the Irreverent Children are like 'y'know you've made it pretty far already fuck it we'll just bring them back to life no need to turn back time.' Hyunjae watches the ending of this go down and he's like ._., o_o, and then bastard :). You know he'd just be thinking in his head about how useful this random support ite-- person is.

Okay so we've got Yoojin basically up to where he is post-regression and he keeps gaining skills from dungeons, gains the double attack skill, doesn't say shit obviously because he's Yoojin. Except this time he has a lot more publicity more specifically publicity by Hyunjae's side. Yoohyun manages to see this, recognizes Yoojin, and he's first relieved his beloved brother is alive, and then fuming. Why is that bastard there? Poor Yoojin will only be in danger with him but he has to remind himself Yoojin is S Class now (through the power of I say so, I don't actually know if they can like reawaken to a higher class but I assume so?).

Anyway eventually they Yoohyun breaks in to the Seseong Guild just to talk to Yoojin they make up yay!!! All of the post-regression characters end up meeting Yoojin and become happier too. Everyone ends up becoming happy and Yoojin saves the world :)! Go mom powers!

I haven't read the novel, and thus I'm not at a point where I can make this scenario with as few plot holes as possible. Please excuse me for any glaring mistakes, I just need to live out this dream.

Also wouldn't it be funny if Yoojin used his keywords on evil venom dragon dude that follows the Pious and it worked??? And he now had that dude on his side, when I was reading that scene I was like "...is he gonna say 'I love you' to beat it?" Obviously in post-regression it's huge that venom dragon guy dies because he's the reason Yoohyun is dead but... this is pre regression :).

Anyway I love the post-regression characters and how much happier they seem compared to their pre-regression versions. I want post-regression dead Yoohyun to get a happy ending too. I just think he should suffer a bit first.

I felt like I was on drugs writing this I'm going to be honest not quite sure of what I just wrote but it was a hell of a ride.

[l0veraven]

why the fuck would you reclaim the violently transphobic webcomic instead of writing your own thing. awful. are you tme? don’t think i’ve ever met a tma leasebound enjoyer. funny.

I'm trans-masc (this is the first time I've seen the term TME so that was pretty cool to see), but there's more to it than just reclaiming the story.

I 100% disavow the author, Rusty, and her beliefs that she shoehorns into her story. Many of her characters are bland and one-note, and (even though the original story is wildly transphobic), it's turning the transphobia on its head and taking a critical look at transphobia while also focusing on the actual lesbian love story.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the Author's Notes from the top of my head, but the love story is heavily overshadowed by the story being a soapbox and shouting, "trans women are evil and ugly and [insert more insults here]." In my fic, I'm still bringing topics of gender into it, but in a way that, again, takes a deeper look and is an integral part of how the characters interact with each other.

We also need to talk about how allergic Rusty is to depicting men. That's actually another major issue I have. The flavor of terf/radfem beliefs that Rusty upholds is genuine misandry (prejudice/discrimination against men). I don't use misandry lightly and don't mention it much in conversation.

Chapter 12 actually highlights this point.

(Spoilers for people that haven't read the chapter)

Shez's backstory is explored and details how her trauma with her mother being in abusive relationships with men had negatively impacted everyone involved (the mother, siblings, and herself). The character being averse to men and having trauma is completely valid and I would never critique someone having PTSD. I, myself, have PTSD from abusive relationships (familial and otherwise) throughout my entire life, so this isn't something foreign to me, but everyone does experience trauma differently.

I bring up Shez's backstory because even though it's a perfect way to explain why she hates men, it perpetuates the idea that men are inherently violent, predatory, and abusive. This isn't helped by how Meriam, the mother, is genuinely heterophobic and refuses to acknowledge that therapy would be beneficial for her.

(Here are the heterophobic panels in question)

I understand where Meriam is coming from, even though I don't have the same trauma as her. It's understandable that she wouldn't want a man in her house. I see why she's avoidant of meeting Rissa's boyfriend. It's normal to avoid triggers.

What isn't normal is actively avoiding seeking help to work through trauma. This isn't to say she should invite men to her house and "get over it". It's that she needs to learn that not every man is out to hurt every woman they encounter. I had to get therapy myself in the past and had to learn that not every romantic partner will manipulate me, but need to establish boundaries to ideally avoid being in a situation like that again.

To point out the heterophobic lines (which is wild because this is the first time I've seen actual heterophobia in any piece of media)"

Rissa: "[...] SHANEZY doesn't NEED to date women. [... Your ex-husband] was ONE man, mum. ONE. [...] He treats me like a QUEEN. You'd know that if you just gave him a CHANCE!"

Meriam: "One chance is too many. Nice men are the best liars."

This is where Meriam is unable to see the nuances of human interaction. People with enough charisma, period, are the best liars. Could be Ted Bundy, could be your mother-in-law. Anyone and everyone is capable of lying and tearing a person down. Toxic lesbian relationships can and do exist. You don't avoid liars just by attracted to the same gender or only interacting with the same gender.

Rissa: "And WOMEN never lie?!? They're just perfect angels who can do no wrong?!"

Meriam: "Women cannot make you pregnant."

We'll look past the women being able to impregnate (trans women do exist, but that's besides the point). Rissa is making a very valid point. Anyone is capable of lying and you can't avoid toxicity by only avoiding one group of people. Liars exist in a variety of spaces and have a variety of identities. Men are not the only ones capable of bad behaviors.

Rissa: "[...] So my options are: be a fucking lesbian or die alone? Great!"

Meriam: "Rissa... I am not saying this."

But she is. To a degree. I'm assuming that Meriam would be fine if Rissa abstained from relationships entirely (but we can't forget that terfs tend to not acknowledge asexual and aromantic identities), as long as she wasn't with a man. In theory, assuming that Rissa is straight, she would unfortunately be pressured by her mother to remain single.

THE BIGGEST POINT HIGHLIGHTING THE HETEROPHOBIA HOWEVER:

Rissa: "What if we get married, hmm? You just won't come to the wedding? You won't meet his family? Nothing?!"

Meriam: "I cannot support this, but I cannot stop you either."

Rissa: "Well, I guess you'll just never see me after that then!"

Meriam: "You will always have a home here..."

THIS is the problem. Instead of trusting her daughter to ensure her own safety and establish hard boundaries in her relationship with someone she hasn't even met yet, she just doesn't trust men. Period. This dialogue is something that comes straight out of a conflict with a homophobic parent. Remember the lines, "I cannot support this, but I cannot stop you either," and, "You will always have a home here." This reeks of "I don't support your lifestyle, but I still love you and you're always welcome here. Just not your partner."

Why go on about heterophobia?

For one, it demonstrates how hating men is acceptable in the comic, because with how the conversation is treated within the comic, Rissa is the irrational one for not siding with her mother. The other aspect is that it perpetuates "man violent," which isn't really beneficial to anyone. It fails to understand the nuances of people as a whole.

We also can't forget the gay couple with a gender nonconforming son that only appeared for a split second and never returned. Again, Rusty is allergic to men. I actually hate how her friend rags on her "inability to draw men". I think it's untrue, and frankly, I like some aspects of Rusty's art style. However, Rusty herself has mentioned that she refuses to depict men in her comic (unless they're characters like Trinity AKA "Madame President" as shown in Chapter 13).

THE POINT IS:

Why not take a shitty piece of media and re-write it to make it better? It's kinda like being mad at all the anime abridged series out there because the original media is shitty in one way or another. Besides, the story itself has SO MUCH POTENTIAL, but it's completely ruined by the transphobia and focusing on that aspect rather than developing the relationship between Jaden and Riley.

This comic has been going on for 5 7 years and we got the backstory of a side character before getting a look at Riley's backstory. Focus on the main characters please. We haven't even gotten to the inevitable break-up between Riley and Blaire yet.

Who knows, maybe one day I can publish this fic as its own book like with 50 Shades of Grey 🙈

[tensecondstomidnight]

onto Development of Friendship! this one's actually double-length! an eight-page chapter! incredible! here's a double-length post to celebrate.

AND WHAT A START. i didn't skip any panels, this is just how the chapter reads. let's all give a very, VERY generous thank you to the author for still allowing us to read these and not completely burying them. holy cow, man.

lucy shows up to watch paulo's "sermon" and paulo tries to use her an example. shockingly, she doesn't go along with it and kicks his ass!

dude, if abbey was in these early chapters, paulo would be dead before high school.

paulo asks mike how he's able to "keep lucy in line," to which mike obviously replies. "i don't, we aren't dating" and leaves. that's an extra funny thing to say considering lucy spends most of these early pages kicking mike in the shins. what version of bcb is paulo reading?

mike flashes back again to ponder about the fact that lucy's never pursued anybody. when she shows up in the same first grade class as him, he isn't even happy to see her! these are your treasured memories, mike?

also, cute baby david and daisy:

first grade mike makes a valiant attempt at avoiding first grade lucy, but they apparently have recess on a giant slab of concrete so she can just keep looking at him no matter how far away he walks. then we get this sequence where it's revealed that the only reason lucy cares about mike at all is because he was the first one to talk to her.

after trying to tear him limb from limb for no reason, lucy and mike abruptly fall into their dynamic of constantly going head-to-head at everything they do. then they walk each other home, which is by far the most unrealistic part of this comic so far. they're so small! where are their parents!!

this part's not that unrealistic though. she's hilariously mean and adhd here but like, they are little kids. it's not THAT crazy.

the scene after this is actually a little sweet. mike is the only one lucy wants to be around, they're both protective of each other, and they're both staunchly insistent that their relationship is platonic. over time, lucy softens up a bit and actually starts spending time with other friends. sue and daisy also show up! how nice.

she even has her iconic red jewel, which famously gives her her power.

SANDY JUMPSCARE!!!

once again, at the current point we're at in the main comic, sandy hasn't shown up yet. if she's been mentioned at all, i don't remember it. this is the second time they've brought her up and deleted it later.

mike is probably the only guy on earth to call third grade an "unforgettable time."

anyway, mike starts getting closer to sandy and drifting away from lucy. lucy is pretty obviously torn up about it. i have to imagine they deleted this chapter because they understood how unintentionally comedic it was for lucy to have traumatic memories of being four years old.

this sort of continues on for a while until summer vacation, where lucy finally breaks. then, suddenly...

surprise! yashy cured lucy's first grade depression!

and yeah, damn, here's a depiction of sandy leaving. just like that! this probably would've been placed within the first ten chapters. i wonder why they take so long to tell us about her now?

once again, lucy breaks mike out of his memories by beating him in the head. there's just no way to know why he might have a stick up his ass later in life!

but actually, he deserves it this time. apparently, mike ate lucy's pet goldfish that she won at some fair. that's kind of a fucked up thing to do! also, weirdly catlike. this reminds me of that part in Flying Lessons where they land on all fours...

anyway, yashy makes a sex joke and lucy sends her into the cave.

if these damn webcomic makers knew what they were doing they'd put in less unnecessary sex scenes and more instances of characters being sent into the cave.

funny how willing they are to refer to the pets as their children, but more importantly, this page reveals that the AYU BEEM!!! seen later is actually a callback! this must be the original! i have even more appreciation for ayu beem now, if such a thing was even possible.

also, remember that "see you next page" moment from way back when?

mike and lucy are telling me to Like and Subscribe and Pledge to the Patreon

next time.... a candybooru post???