#well at least art block didn’t win today xD

[pixlokita]

Unicorn I think

[lifeofkaze]

An Art of Balance #9

Orion Amari x MC

 A/N: I swear @kc-needs-coffee I’m almost done borrowing KC, I just enjoy her so much xD

Warning: use of alcohol

 Word Count: ~ 2.600

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Chapter 9: A Knight in Shining Armour

Tired and beaten down, the Hufflepuff team trudged back towards the castle. It hadn’t taken the Ravenclaw seeker much longer to capture the Golden Snitch after KC’s Bludger had hit Lizzie. None of them was in the mood for much talking. Losing this match was a heavy blow to them.  

When they neared their Common Room, they could already make out the loud music and sound of chatter behind the narrow passage leading up to the entrance. Upon entering, they found themselves in the middle of a full-fledged post-match party taking place inside the round room. Their peers had set it up while they had been trying to wash off the pain of the loss. To the people of their House it didn’t matter if their team won or lost. They always found a reason to celebrate anyway.

Before long, Lizzie found herself chatting away with Penny and Tonks. The butterbeer in her hand spread a comfortable warmth from her stomach into the rest of her body, numbing the pain still throbbing inside her bruised shoulder.

Her foot was lightly tapping to the rhythm of the music that was blasting out of the enchanted speakers Face Paint Kid had mounted above the huge fireplace. They obscured the huge portrait of Helga Hufflepuff, who had retreated to a picture of her friend Rowena Ravenclaw near the Astronomy Tower. She couldn’t stand this ‘modern nonsense people called music nowadays’.

Lizzie had just downed the rest of her drink, when Penny nudged her and nodded inconspicuously towards one of the ledges that were protruding from the walls of the Common Room.

Skye was seated there all on her own, as had been her habit for the last weeks. She was nursing an empty mug in her hands and seemed to be brooding on something, deeply lost in thought.

“Someone should go talk to her,” Penny proposed softly. Lizzie contemplated passing on the task, but eventually her conscience got the better of her. She lifted her glass towards Penny and Tonks.

“I was going to get a refill anyway.”

She left her friends standing and made her way through the thick crowd towards the refreshment table, grabbing two fresh butterbeers before heading over to where Skye was sitting. She noticed people were giving the gloomy looking girl a wide berth and braced herself for being snapped at. But when Lizzie sat down next to her, she just accepted the drink Lizzie offered with a thankful smile.

The two of them were as used to fighting with each other as they were to making up again. There was no needs for many words or apologies. Lizzie held her mug out to Skye in a silent offer of reconciliation and Skye simply clanked hers against it before both took a deep swallow of the sweet liquid inside.

“Seems like Orion was right after all.”

Lizzie wasn’t looking at Skye as she spoke, rather staring at the bubbles rising up from the bottom of her glass. She was slowly swivelling it, watching the light from the fireplace illuminate the golden drink.

“This stupid quarrel likely cost us the match today. We can’t win if we don’t work together. It made getting our hands on the Cup just that more difficult.”

Skye chuckled wryly. “I’m always in for a challenge. How about you?”

Lizzie grinned back at her. “You know me.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Skye spoke up again. “Just wish I could have shown Rath the ropes. We’ve lost more times to Ravenclaw than I care to admit.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Lizzie sighed. “At least, KC and I can now talk to each other again like the civilised human beings we are.”  

Skye snorted. “Your choice of friends has always been questionable.” She was acting up this time, Lizzie could hear the teasing in her voice.

“That’s why I’m friends with you, I guess,” she shot back.

Both of them started giggling, all the tension that had built between them over the last weeks suddenly dissolving into fits of laughter. They were drawing wondrous glances from their peers.        

Calming down, Skye’s face suddenly grew serious again. “Sorry for what happened today. Shouldn’t have said all those things to Orion. Or you. Not a good move from me.”

“You should tell him that, not me.” Lizzie gave her a sideways glance. “I was a bit harsh to you as well. Sorry about that.”

Skye raised her mug. “Forgiven and forgotten. Glad we could solve this mess.”

Lizzie leaned closer to her. “Speaking of solving the mess…” She motioned to where Penny was standing with Tonks, watching them through the crowd. “You should go talk to her. You can’t hide from Penny forever; I’m sure you will find a way to work things out.”

Skye had suddenly gone pale, a pained expression showing on her face. “I don’t know, Jameson, you sure about this?”

Lizzie just shoved her off the ledge for an answer. Shooting another uncertain glance over her shoulder, Skye made her way towards Penny. With a relieved sigh, Lizzie leaned back against the cold stone wall, propping one foot up on the ledge before taking another sip. Finally things were starting to get normal again.

Her sitting alone didn’t go unnoticed, however. Within minutes she could spot Everett breaking from the crowd and heading towards her, fresh mugs of butterbeer in hand. Lizzie groaned inwardly. She wasn’t particularly keen on getting into a conversation with him. She didn’t mind her new teammate during practise, but Lizzie had started feeling uncomfortable with the way he had been looking at her recently.

Gulping down the remains of her drink, Lizzie tried to get up as fast as she could. But before she had a chance to escape into the mass of students, Everett had reached her and slid down onto the ledge next to her. He sat a little bit too close for Lizzie’s liking.

“What are you doing, sitting around as lonely? Fancy a drink?” He held the mug up for her to take.

Lizzie couldn’t think of a valid reason to refuse and gave in to her lot. “Sure, why not. Thanks.”

She awkwardly accepted the butterbeer, not quite knowing how to start a conversation with him. Her not being overly keen on it didn’t help either.

“You played well today,” she tried treading on safe ground. Nothing wrong with a little Quidditch talk.

“Not as good as you, though. You were fantastic!”

“Hmm,” Lizzie hummed in response. That was a flat out lie. Today had been one of the worst matches she had ever played. She had performed just as poorly as Skye and Orion had done, perhaps even worse.

Everett didn’t seem to sense her disagreement, however. “You were almost as good back when you played Beater. Crazy good aim. I could use a bit of improvement in that area.” He smiled mischievously at her. The uncomfortable feeling in Lizzie’s stomach increased.

“Maybe you could show me how, some time? So I can better protect you.”

Of course Lizzie knew he was referring to Quidditch, but somehow the way he was stressing ‘protect’, combined with her general discomfort around him, rubbed her the wrong way.

She bristled at him. “I don’t need any protection, let alone yours, thank you very much. I can perfectly handle myself,” she snapped indignantly.

Laughing, he raised his hands in defence. “Relax, kitty cat, no need to get all angry. Doesn’t suit your pretty face.”

“You want to be a better Beater? Here’s my tip for you: more practising, less flirting.” She set her drink down with a clank and got up. She had enough of his attitude for the evening.

But before she could make off, Everett had grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to him again. Lizzie raised her eyebrows, her face anything but friendly.

Feeling the need to change tune with her, Everett ran his hand through his dark hair. “I’m sorry, don’t run away just yet,” he smiled apologetically.

Lizzie was still on edge, but her posture gradually softened again. She noticed he had pulled her down even closer to him than she had been before.

With a wink, Everett reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a silver flask. The light of the fire place was reflected in it as he was brandishing it in front of her face. “What do you say? Let’s have a drink on peace?”

Her eyes followed the blinking flask as he poured a shot into his mug. Lizzie wasn’t one to object to a little extra punch when it came to her drinks but she really wasn’t interested in talking to Everett anymore, let alone drinking with him.

She shook her head. “No, I’ll pass. I’ve had plenty already. I don’t want to end up doing anything stupid,” she added lightly.

Everett’s smile grew wicked. “Like this for example?”

He quickly leaned forward, putting his hand against the stone wall next to her face, effectively blocking her means of escape. To her horror, he started leaning in to kiss her. It was all she could do to duck under his arm supporting his weight to get away. Coming so close to him, a familiar scent reached her nose, fresh and spicy at the same time. It made her hesitate for a split second.

She knew the scent, but it thoroughly confused her to smell it on him of all people. It reminded her of the component of the Amortentia she had had problems placing.

Using her hesitation to his advantage, Everett got up as well, grabbing her arm before she could dart away. Anger flashing in her eyes, Lizzie tried to yank herself free.

“Is there a problem?”

Orion had suddenly appeared next to them. He looked calm and collected as ever, but his posture was tense, the tone in his voice firm. Lizzie sent a quick prayer to the heavens for sending him along just now.

Everett didn’t seem as happy. “Nothing to see here, Amari,” he snarled, but his territorial demeanour didn’t so much as make Orion flinch.

“That is fortunate, because I am aware that McNully’s Kneazle is up in our dormitory, chewing away on your Transfiguration essay. I believe, it is due on Monday?”

The aggressiveness visibly drained out of Everett as he turned pale. “It took me three weeks to finish that assignment! I’m going to make a hat out of this fleabag!” He raced towards the round door at the far end of the Common Room and vanished behind it.

Lizzie’s brown furrowed in concern. “He’s not going to do anything to Kneil, is he?”

“Don’t worry, Kneil is somewhere in the castle, probably hunting his dinner,” Orion smirked in response. “To be honest, McNully saw Everett hitting on you and sent me to your rescue.”

“How gallant,” Lizzie giggled.

Orion wasn’t even trying to hide his grin. Instead, he nodded towards her arm. “How is your shoulder feeling?”

Lizzie shrugged it off with a laugh. “Better than Everett’s ego, I image.”

Her eyes followed the path he had taken through the crowd. “I wonder what’s been going on lately; Everyone seems to be out of their minds,” she mused.

Including her, apparently. She could still smell the lovely scent lingering in the air, just as strongly as it had been before. She fought the urge to inhale deeply.

Orion laughed lowly. “That’s how it goes. I remember my fifth year vividly. Between O.W.L.s and people getting interested in dating each other, it was… “ A mysterious smile played about his lips for a moment, amusement sparking in his eyes. “Let’s say it was a singular experience.”

Lizzie remembered what Rowan had told her about Orion having a history when it came to dating. She felt self-conscious invading his privacy like that, but her curiosity and the fair share of butterbeer she’d drunk by now got the better of her.

“So, did you get to do some?” she asked in what she hoped was a nonchalant tone.

Orion took a sip from his drink. “Did I get to do what?”

Lizzie felt herself blush, glad the light emanating from the roaring fire hid the changing colour of her face. “Dating, I mean. Did you get to go on some?”

One corner of Orion’s mouth quirked up, the mischievous sparkle in his dark eyes intensifying. His lopsided smirk gave him a totally different presence than what Lizzie was used to seeing on him. Despite herself, she found herself staring at his oddly compelling smile, quickly shaking out of it as soon as she realised.

“A bit here and there.”

He knew his ominous answer only intensified Lizzie’s curiosity. So before she could ask, he added “Nothing serious, mind you. No real commitment from both sides.”

Not satisfied at all by this vague answer, Lizzie blinked at him, now even more curious than before. It felt completely out of place discussing this topic with her Quidditch captain, but she just couldn’t resist.

“You never mentioned seeing anyone. Why did you never tell us about any of them, or bring them to one of our matches?”

He slightly shook his head, his face changing to a more thoughtful expression. “Nothing worthwhile ever came of it. And I don’t know whether I would’ve been able to balance both things at the same time. Being the team captain and just me.”

Somehow, Lizzie was not entirely sure they were still talking about the same thing they had in the beginning of their conversation. She had noticed the tinge of frustration creeping into Orion’s voice, however.

Before she could reply though, a hand snaked around her waist and Rowan appeared at her side. Lizzie let out a small gasp of pain as she rested her head on Lizzie’s injured shoulder, a girlish giggle escaping her mouth.

Although Rowan didn’t exactly dismiss alcoholic drinks as a whole, Lizzie knew her to be rather restrained when it came to drinking at parties, especially since she had been appointed prefect. It made seeing Rowan as drunk as she obviously was even stranger.

“Lizzie, there you are! I have been looking for you all over the place,” she shouted into Lizzie’s ear a lot louder than she had to. Lizzie tilted her head away from her to protect her eardrums from bursting.

“Skye has been looking for you, you should go find her,” Rowan explained, her voice slurry. She tried to talk matter-of-factly but the slight swaying as she stopped leaning on Lizzie for support vastly undermined her effort to appear sober.

Scanning the crowd, Lizzie could see Skye joking around with Tonks and Penny. Apparently, they had been able to calm the waves. It did not appear to her as if Skye was searching for anyone though, let alone her.

She started telling Rowan, but was silenced by the pointed look her friend gave her. Her eyes flickered to Orion for a moment, who was watching them patiently. The penny finally dropped on her.

“I’d better go and see what she wants then.” She winked at Orion, her hand resting on his arm for a moment. ”Thanks for being my knight in shining armour.”

She left the two of them standing, while she made her way towards her friends, the spicy scent that had shaken her earlier still hanging in the air.

[sher-soc-the-famder]

A Story of Death Chapter 2- Demons for Dummies

Word Count: 4720

Pairings: Slow burn LAMP, Moxiety, Logicality, Logince

Tags: Light cursing only this chapter :D

Notes: We’re starting you guys off slow, as in Slowburn XD Co-Written by the fabulous @wisepuma23!!

READ ON Ao3 :D

Chapter 1

Roman had long since mastered the art of smiling and waving as he walked down the street. Shoulders thrown back, chin tilted just slightly up, and a long confident stride would fool just about anyone into thinking he was fine even when he wasn’t. And at the moment, he really, really wasn’t.

Oh god, Ma was going to kill him. He was a dead man walking and for more than the demon deal he hadn’t meant to make with the demon he hadn’t meant to summon.

Don’t worry Ma, it’s the quietest town in the state. Don’t worry Ma, I’ll lay off the magic and focus on writing. Don’t worry Ma, I’ll be fine.

So much for that. Roman had to kiss the cushy life away from his mother good-bye. He was fairly certain that he was going to be locked in her basement until the end of time, or Ma found a way to break the deal, whichever came first. He was never going to get that best seller done, let alone the series he was doing now, and the thought of that ached. No, it was more of a horrific burn, and Roman didn’t want to think about that.

He’d rather focus on that flipping cute barista that worked at Starbucks and the easy no pressure flirting that was in his future. Maybe he’d actually be able to control his mouth to some extent. Or at least turn the ever flowing waterfall of prose and rush of flowery words to a target that wouldn’t be shredded into ever flowing driftwood like the way his future had just been destroyed. Yeah, like that.

Roman paused when the steady footsteps that had been next to him stopped and he ripped himself from his internal monologue- which in his defense was a beautiful monologue, could use some work but, no focus Roman- to look at the demon.

And Roman could admit that the demon he summoned was a rather tall drink of water, but the whole creature of Hell thing was a turn off. Totally not his thing. As was the inevitable dragging his soul to Hell. And his inevitable death at Ma’s hands--wait, no don’t think about that. There was a lot of inevitables going around lately and it tempted Roman to do something truly stupid just to throw the word off its tracks.

“Uhhhh,” Roman glanced around at the near empty street. He smiled at the girl staring at the two of them and waved, feeling way too happy at the fact that she waved back before hurrying off. He turned his eyes back to Lahash, “So are you planning on moving any time this century, Beelze-bud? Or is just standing there all-” He waggled his fingers in front of his face, “- and doing demon-y things?”

Lahash stared at him for a long moment, before pinching the bridge of his nose. Score one for the witch.

“Do you ever listen to the mess that exits your mouth or is it never ceasing stream of useless, unintelligible dribble?”

Roman wrinkled his nose, and stuck his tongue out at the demon, “Buffy speak is a perfectly acceptable way of communicating the thingies that people do the, you know, the thing with.” He grinned at the way Lahash’s eyes darkened with anger. Aaaaand score two for the witch. If he was going to die at least he could make it amusing.

“But that doesn’t answer my question, La Lahash Land, coffee is that way.” He pointed in the direction of the nearest Starbucks and Lahash raised an eyebrow at him. Bastard. “It’s literally within your line of sight. I know that you’re blind to all the good things in the world, but it’s also an evil evil capitalist business and I’m sure you’d be encouraging some sort of Hell agenda by supporting them. They killed Merry Christmas on their cups last year, that’s like your enemy’s birthday right?”

Roman’s grin grew at look on Lahash’s face. Score three, and he was winning. The demon looked like he was struggling for the right words to say. Probably more big words about Roman’s smarts, and how lacking in them he was. Fine by him, the more people underestimated him the better. Roman had never cared, well actually, that was a lie, but he was master at pretending he didn’t care.

“So do you actually say Hail Satan? Like is that part of the customer experience? Do I need a pamphlet. Are there pamphlets for this?” Roman said as he looked down at his hands, envisioning an actual pamphlet. The front would have a pentagram obviously, maybe with cute little horns and a tail, black and red like an edgy teen had tried to design it. Roman pitched out, “Demons 101: How to Care for a Little Shit.”

“More like Demons for Dummies.” Lahash snapped back, “Chapter One is titled How to Summon Like a Fucking Idiot.”

“I think that title is too long.” Roman said with a cheeky smile and patted him on the back, “But good try, Hot Wings. Someday, you’ll figure it out.”

Roman bit back a laugh at Lahash’s face. Score four, and he pulls ahead! Lahash’s nose wrinkled and his mouth twisted as if he sucked on a lemon. He adjusted his glasses and tightened his tie. Roman only had a moment to process holy shit, oh wait, unholy shit that was hot. Bad Roman, no, don’t lust after the demon, that’s how they get you.

Lahash stepped in front of him and stared him down, “We are walking to Angel’s Coffee if you know what’s good for your entrails,” he growled out and perked an eyebrow, “Is. That. Clear?”

And score one for Lahash.

Roman let out a squeaky, “Okay,” before clearing his throat and trying to back track, “I mean, what the hell, I don’t even know where that is-”

Roman blinked at the small paper that was shoved into his face, going cross-eyed trying to read the tiny script. Lahash sighed and Roman valiantly resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the demon again. It wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t read the paper card or whatever that was literally inches away from his face! He reached up to snatch it out of the demon's hands and ignored the growl it earned him.

Or at least pretended to, the sound made him shiver and he spent a precious moment trying to tap down on the way his magic jumped. Down boy.

The card was professionally done, and Roman could appreciate the clear artistic eye that went into the simple design. Angel’s Coffee, done in elegant script and framed by a pair of wings. He flipped it over, and couldn’t help his snicker.

Not halo amount of Coffee! Visit us at xxxxxx!

“Cute,” he admitted, and went to pocket the card only for Lahash to growl at him again. “Alright, alright, touchy much?” Roman tossed him the card back, “But like, I appreciate the ironic aesthetic and all. But like, it’s half an hour away and have you seen the sky?”

He waved at the dark clouds and ignored the unimpressed look in Lahash’s eyes. Roman almost snapped that he knew rain had never hurt anyone but have you seen his shoes? They didn’t exactly come cheap, before he bit down on his lip. No, that line was too personal.

“Just because you wanna cool down from a stint in Hell, but some of us have delicate complexions and an actual body that gets sick. So excuuuse me if I don’t want to go walking in the rain.”

“What are you talking about?” Lashash said as he looked at the dotted clouds in the sky, “It’s lovely today. You need to get your eyes checked as well if you think,” he spread out his arms in the muted sunniness of the afternoon, “this is going to rain.”

“It’s still half an hour!” Roman said as he followed Lahash down the street, past the Starbucks, “You can’t be serious. Do you even know where it is?”

“Humans have walked for far longer times than a mere thirty minutes only five hundred years ago. And by the alarming number of pizza boxes in your apartment, well,” Lahash turned around to eye him up and down, Roman fought back the blush at the stare, “you need the exercise.”

“We can just call an Uber!” Roman said aghast and pulled his jacket tighter around him, he walked faster to catch up, “It’s only ten minutes of driving.”

“Already out of breath?” Lahash clicked his tongue, “I told you so. We’re walking.”

Roman pulled up into a stop and pointed at the demon. “I,” he declared, “am not out of breath. I am nowhere near what is counted as out of breath- wait! Wait, wait, hold up, set down the bag, and take a lag. I never agreed to this in the first place!”

Lahash clicked his tongue, “Only catching on now? I suppose I should be less surprised. It’s amazing what humans will do with only the slightest suggestion, such as walking in a certain direction. So many arbitrary rules that you give yourselves. Ah, well, more for me to exploit, such as it is.”

“Excuse me?!” Roman said, “I’m not following your manipulations! I’m standing right here and I’m going to call an Uber. And when you arrive at the cafe out of breath then I’ll have the last laugh! Cause I’m not falling for your demonly tricks.”

Roman crossed his arms. Lahash sighed and turned on his heel and kept walking. Roman tapped his foot on the cement as he took out his phone and pulled up the Uber app. He watched Lahash’s back stop at an intersection. He typed in the address. He shifted from foot to foot as the light counted down. The Uber blue route lit up on screen. Then the clamor of the crowd as they crossed the street. He lost sight of Lahash in the masses.

Roman swore.

He took off into a run and crossed the street just as the light turned to red. He heard angry honks behind him as he bent over his knees and panted. He swallowed in wet breathes, he just ran a whole block, fucking shit. Roman looked up from the grey pavement to see two familiar business sensible shoes in front of him. He straightened to see Lahash smugly looking at him. Before Roman could tell him to wipe that irritating smile off his face, he turned around and went back to walking.

“We have to turn right at the next light.” Roman muttered next to him, falling in step, “You do know Google Maps, right?”

“No.”

“You’re insane.” Roman said, “Did you just walk in any direction? Were you planning on asking for directions?”

“Yes. Do humans not do that anymore?”

Roman wasn’t sure what noise escaped his mouth but whatever it was made Lahash’s smirk tick higher upwards. Damn him to Hell- wait, would it be better to bless a demon? Roman wondered vaguely if he should have known that by now, or if someone had told him before and he had just forgotten. He wasn’t used to needing to be the one with the knowledge. Ma would have his hide if she found out- Nope, he was still avoiding thinking about her learning anything about him right now.

Roman tapped at the screen of his phone, squinting to get a better look at the map. “There’s an alley up head that it wants us to take-”

“‘It wants,’” the demon muttered, “As if humanity has the ability to create something with feelings.”

Roman ignored him. Barely a few hours of knowing each other and it seemed they had already fallen into a pattern. Roman didn’t want to know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. He really didn’t want to think about how having someone to talk to was a heady feeling. Or how his plans on breaking the deal were slowing getting pushed back behind showing Lahash that he was in fact an adult. And that humanity was awesome. And that he was intelligent.

And wow, this was such a bad idea. Huge. Oh god.

“- so if we happen to get mugged, you really should refrain from murdering anyone,” Roman continued smoothly. “I haven’t had to hide a body in years.”

That drew Lahash up short and Roman adjusted his scoreboard accordingly. Haha, who’s a loser? Not Roman!

“You haven’t killed anyone,” the demon scoffed, and Roman smirked. The longer the silence stretched on, only the sound of footsteps around him, the more Lahash seemed to waver. “No, no, you haven’t, you don’t have the guts for it.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Roman singsonged, a bounce in his steps.

“You are infuriating,” Lahash said, and Roman winked at him.

“I do try my best. It’s a gift.”

“A gift of idiocy,” Lahash muttered, eyes sweeping the alley. Huh, Roman wouldn’t have thought he’d take the warning seriously. It was unexpected, but not unappreciated. Not that he really thought there was going to be a mugger in the alley, it was a quiet town after all. It never hurt to be prepared though. “Was it from your mother perhaps?”

Roman let out a shriek. No one got to talk like that about Ma.

“You need to cool your jets,” he hissed, flinging his hands out, magic sparking at his fingertips. Wait, no, no, no, he didn’t want sparks! The dumpster just left of Lahash caught fire and Roman yelped at the whoosh that came from the sudden change. That- was not a water spell. Nope.

Silence fell between the two of them, and Roman coughed into his hand. “That will be you if you ever talk about Ma like that again.”

Lahash stared at him for a long moment, turning slowly to look at the (thankfully) quickly dying fire, and then back at Roman. “Well,” he drew out, then deadpan, “That is about an accurate summation of my mood for the day.”

Roman yelped again and almost stumbled trying to follow after the demon. “Like a….” he glanced back, “A dirty dumpster fire?”

“Sure,” Lahash said, waiting at the corner for Roman to take the turn they were supposed to, “As well as being misused by the most incompetent witch I’ve ever had the dishonor to meet.”

Roman bit down on his tongue. It wasn’t exactly a wrong assessment of his skills. Roman had managed to pull a demon from Hell when he had just been trying to craft an assistant.  He rubbed at the sigils around his wrists, and clenched his jaw.

“Oh I can’t have been the worst,” he tried to wave off.

“That’s up for debate,” Lahash said, eyeing him with intelligence that seemed to pierce his soul. Roman grinned and shrugged shameless.

“What can I say?” Roman waggled his eyebrows, “My life is simply an explosion of adventure. I never had time to learn control, and everyone loves a little wildness in their love anyways.” He winked and blew Lahash a cheesy kiss.

“I don’t believe you can handle my sense of wild.” Lahash said, and then pulled a wink. Roman felt his face flush, he just had to summon a cheeky demon, didn’t he? “Whatever is that supposed to mean?”

Lahash said nothing and goddamn his smirk. Roman shoved down the monkey part of his brain. How did this demon already manage to wrap him around his little pinky? Oh god, he was in over his head wasn’t he? Then he saw the exit to the alley was ahead. Roman let out a relieved sigh as he saw the green cafe doors on the other side of the street come into view.

Lahash came to an abrupt stop, “I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself.” he turned to Roman and held out a hand, “My human name is Logan.”

“Logan?” Roman said as he shook his hand, then bit back a yelp as Logan’s hand tightened, “You must never speak my demonic name in front of anyone. If you do, I’ll be forced to kill them on the spot.”

Roman gulped as he saw Logan’s fangs grow in and peek out his lips, “Okay.” he said with a squeak.

“You must never order me around. And don’t you ever use your magic on me, witch.” Logan spat out, his red eyes appearing for moment before fading, “There’s a special torture in Hell for the witches who dare to do so. Even today I can still find pieces of them stuck to my shoes.”

Roman’s eyes widen and his lungs couldn’t take a breath and his heart pounded. He felt the ghost of claws digging into his soft palm. Logan smiled and Roman felt his heart skip a literal beat at the fangs glinting back at him.

“Do you understand, Princey?”

“Crystal clear.” he said with a strangled gasp, and then Logan finally let his grip go, Roman took his hand back with a hiss, “Is that the Orientation to Demon 101? Cause it sucks.”

Logan smirked and then turned his gaze to Angel’s Coffee.

Oh, Ma was going to kill him.  

It was one o’clock and the lunch rush slowed to a trickle. Finally, Virgil’s fingers and feet could rest. He bit back a groan as he leaned against his counter. His feet begged him to take a fifteen minute break two hours ago. He really should’ve bought better shoes on the last shopping trip. He knew this was his dream job but it wasn’t easy on the sensitive sole.

Patton was rubbing off on him. A giggle escaped him. Man, he should tell Pat. He could use the laugh too. Sensitive sole. Comedy gold.

Virgil turned to him. Then frowned, Patton had been adjusting the counter display for the past five minutes. He remembered that call earlier, he knew Patton said he was fine, but he still felt his stomach roil with anxiety. Virgil bit his lip. There were no customers at the moment, so he stepped closer, away from the register.

“Patton,” Virgil said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Patton startled and turned to him with a smile, “I’ve never been better!” Patton ran his hands down his apron and fiddled with the pens in his apron pockets. He took a breath, “I’m just...jittery. I’m hoping an old friend comes to the cafe. I’m not sure if he will but if he does, well, so much the better!”

Patton’s smile was unrestrained in its brilliance, “Golly, it’s been so long!”

“Must be some friend.” Virgil said teasing, “Do you want to talk about him?”

“...No, not really.” Patton said after a pause, “Not right now. If he shows up, then I’ll let you know who it is. Otherwise, we can eat the cookies I made and talk about him then.” Patton walked over to him and put a hand on his arm, “I promise, dear.”

Virgil knew he shouldn’t press. There were some things in Patton’s past that never failed to make him clam up for one reason or another. It didn’t really matter too much to Virgil, not when Patton was open with him about not wanting to talk. Patton tugged on Virgil’s arm to take his place at the register. Virgil leaned forward to peck his cheek and walked around to pick up the dishes on the tables.

Virgil heard the bell above his door chime with new arrivals. He turned his head to the sound as he picked up plates. The two men made him do a double take. The one in front strided in as if he owned the place, his red letterman jacket making him look like a stuck up jock that never left high school. Already Virgil detected asshole all over the man’s windswept hair and chiseled jawline. He mouthed something off to his friend, a smirk and a wink, and Virgil hated anyone who looked so good effortlessly.

His eyes drew to Adonis Asshole’s friend, who hadn’t followed him inside, and just stood outside. Adonis threw his hands in the air and and stalked back to his friend, the two leaning forward to exchange rapid words under their breath. Well, that wasn’t shady at all. Virgil worried at his thumb as the friend winced walking through the door and let out a shaky breath. Virgil watched him walk to the nearest empty table to the entrance while Adonis sauntered to the counter.

Then the friend’s eyes shot over to him from his table and Virgil felt a sudden clench around his throat. He averted his gaze, focusing on cleaning up his plates. Shit, he hadn’t even realized he was staring. That was so rude. Virgil felt the heavy stare on his back as he stacked dirty plates, making his spine prickle and neck burn with a flush. There was something off about that man. He wasn’t one to judge, money was money, but it made his mind twist in knots.

Virgil hoofed it back to the counter and through the doors to the kitchen in the back. He set the plates down in the sink and pushed his sleeves back up to his elbows. He sucked in a breath. It was okay. Patton’s jitters just made him twitchy too. Nothing was wrong.

He walked back out and watched Patton grab the two finished coffee orders by the machine. Virgil went to the register while Patton walked to the pick-up section. They worked in tandem, a silent rhythm, beneath the perpetual faint music playing overhead.

Patton called out, “Order for a Roman and Logan?”

Adonis blushed as he stumbled out of his seat, “Ah yep! That’s me! Roman, haha.”

“It was nice of you to be roman around here and stop by our cafe!” Patton said delighted, “Enjoy the coffee, sir.”

Roman blinked at Patton and in a heartbeat, the almost endearing nervousness disappeared under a smirk. The asshole leaned forward and Virgil felt his grip on the counter tighten.

“Well with a cutie like you serving it, who wouldn’t?” The asshole had the nerve to wink and Virgil grit his teeth. He glared daggers at the man, wondering if he could set Roman on fire with the force of his gaze alone. At the very least, make the uppity customer uncomfortable. Patton giggled, and Virgil tried to pick out if it was an amused or uncomfortable one.

“Oh thank you!” Patton said, before bringing his hand and ring up to view, “But I’m afraid this cutie pie has already filled that spot in his life.”

Roman squealed, Virgil’s shoulders jumped to his ears at the sudden noise, “Oh my gosh! Congratulations! Who’s the lucky gal? Or guy? How did it happen? Oh I don’t mean to pry but I’m such a sap for weddings!” He bounced on his feet as he leaned forward on the counter, “When’s the date?”

Virgil drifted to Patton’s side, “We haven’t picked a date yet. We’re still debating on a winter or spring wedding.” Virgil narrowed his eyes at Roman, “So take your coffees, sir, and enjoy them.”

Roman took the coffee with a sheepish expression as he slid back to his table. Virgil tracked Roman and his perky ass back to the table and his friend with a glare. Damn it, he was hot. Then Virgil felt Patton grip his arm tightly. He wasn’t that obvious was he? Virgil stumbled as Patton dragged him to the kitchen with a yelp.

Patton let him go and walked into their refrigerator. Moments later, he set down an assortment of cookies. Virgil had seen Patton make them the minute he came back from the latest demon attack. Patton quickly transferred the cookies onto a platter with a lace center. He bent over his work, tongue sticking out in concentration as he lined them up just right.

“What’s up, Pat?” Virgil said, “You’ve been acting weird for the past hour.”

Patton straightened and turned to him, “Oh sorry, honey. I saw my friend out there. I just…” he glanced at the cookies, “wanted to welcome him after so many years.” Patton’s eyes glazed over as he thought about some distant dusty memory. Virgil guided his fiancé to sit down at the table. He pulled up his own chair in front of Patton, and leaned against the table.

“Oh Virgil,” Patton said as he put a hand on Virgil’s face, his smile a little sad like the time Virgil told him he was moving schools, “I was planning on telling you about Lahash after we got married. It’s tradition you know.”

“Lahash?” Virgil said, his tongue awkward around the name, “Who is he?”

“I know I don’t talk about Heaven.” Patton said as he tugged Virgil’s hands into his own, “But I can tell you about him. Lahash was my only angelic husband, he was my first, and we’ve been married for eons. Even before that, we were friends before the first stars were born.”

Virgil felt his mouth grow dry, “What happened?”

Patton’s hands tightened, “Lucifer rebelled. Lahash took his side. We had to fight on opposing sides of the War until God decided to force Lucifer and his Army to Fall.” Patton took a shuddering breath as he looked down at the checkered tiles, “Lahash fell with the Morning Star and his grace corrupted and it made him who he is today. A Demon.”

There was a silence that was heavy with unspoken questions, history, and ultimately, pained sorrow. Virgil knew Patton fought demons and devils daily but he didn’t know his...friend was one. He swallowed thickly.

“Are you two...still..” Virgil said, his shoulders tight to brace for the worst, “Married?”

“No, honey.” Patton told him in a gentle voice, “He divorced me that day. I didn’t ever marry another Angel again. My heart wouldn’t be able to take it.” Patton reached up and rubbed a thumb over Virgil’s cheek, “But humanity and their love is so pure and beautiful. Humanity taught me so much over the eons. And you, Virgil,” Virgil leaned into his palm, “don’t know how much your love has saved me.”

“You’re getting sappy, Pat.” Virgil mumbled, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Patton said, his smile wider at the declaration, “You’re the first human I can ever introduce to Lahash. Oh gee, this is exciting! I made him some cookies to entice him here.” Patton kissed him with a loud mwah, “I can’t believe it! He actually came. I wish he had come after I told you all about him. Oh there’s no use for that now. I can still tell you later.”

Virgil let a smile spread on his face, “You’re really happy about an ex-husband. I won’t mind if you take the bat from upstairs and smack him a few times. It’s the human way.”

Patton burst out with a laugh, “Oh, I’m still really mad. But I’m not batshit insane.”

Virgil hummed a light agreement as Patton poked at the cookies to get them into the perfect arrangement. He knew that Patton had a whole list of ex-lovers, but there was something about the jittery way that Patton approached this one that put him on edge. Maybe Virgil was just bias against goddamned demons, or maybe it was just the quiet sad way that Patton talked about this Lahash. Maybe it was his anxiety coming around to make his life hell as usual. Whatever. He was going to keep an eye on this demon just in case.

He had promised to protect the angel as best he could after all.

Virgil hauled himself to his feet and trailed after Patton, shoving his hands in his apron pockets. He smiled softly at the bounce in his fiance’s step as they exited the kitchen and made a beeline for the table with Asshole and The Ex. Or well, Patton made a beeline, and Virgil dragged his feet to delay the inevitable. It would make Patton happy. Patton was excited. It was fine. It was going to be fine.

Virgil looked up to meet the blistering glare of the demon and fought against swallowing in fear.

Maybe now was the time to panic.

Tag List!

@moonlightinwater​ @confinesofpersonalknowledge​ ​@ace-v-p-d​ @nightmaresides​ @virgils-jacket​ @v-blue-writer​ @izzynuggets​ @bubblycricket​ @heir-of-the-founders​ @thegreyacefromspace​ @squiggle-squish​ @nottodaylogic​ @magnificentme513​ @angeliclogan​ @bekkyboo2003​ @justanotherpurplebutterfly​ @milomeepit​ @lesliealiceinwonderland @cinquefoilelove @shattereddreamsamongotherthings​  @nye275 @brikcsandbones

[comicteaparty]

October 19th, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on October 19th, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Alethia by Kristina Stipetic.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing Alethia by Kristina Stipetic~! (http://alethia.kstipetic.com/index.html) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~!

With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Mharz

I'm here too!

RebelVampire

hey Mharz

Mharz

yay!

snuffysam

I am here as well

RebelVampire

welcome again @snuffysam ~!

Mharz

It's actually hard to choose there's so many good scenes here.

sskessa

ok i am here i have coffee

MathTans the Pun Prince

Given my tendency to veer towards humour, in terms of a favorite scene it would be when the weird Tetris block appeared, like whaaat. But speaking as an Educator a lot of the "it needs to make SENSE" from #5 rang true for me.

Also hullo. ^^

Mharz

LOOOOL that was funny!

RebelVampire

hi math and sskessa~!

snuffysam

#5 was probably my favorite chapter, at least

Mharz

like oh you're so good at this here's a nice big block. have fun!

MathTans the Pun Prince

The only way to trip up artificial intelligence.

RebelVampire

yeah i liked the random tetris block appearing. but also sympathized with the frustration cause i went through a tetris obsessed period and if the game rando dropped such a block on me id very much wtf

Mharz

Chapter 4 is my favorite so far

MathTans the Pun Prince

Getting sympathy from readers is good.

Mharz

I would've kicked the game.

but it's purpose is to make robots angry so pretty much the game is doing it's job well

Kabocha

Agreed, chapter 4 is DAMN GOOD. It was interesting to see how everyone moved to "ooph, yep, it's okay to let one robot be angry forever because why do we have to go through stress and frustration"

Mharz

yeaaahh

Kabocha

It felt like it was really a good commentary on how people are going to be lazy if they can feel like someone else is going to do the heavy lifting for them.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, I need to stick with #5 as a whole being my fave, just because of the education perspective that I took to it. The idea of tests deciding who's good enough to move on and up in the world, and the idea that to be seen as special people just "game" the system, rather than really trying to understand the problems with it.

Mharz

every chapter has a good message.

snuffysam

And then how they moved to "eh, it's easier to just do our jobs than argue"

MathTans the Pun Prince

I have no idea how something that that could even be storyboarded. Impressed.

Mharz

at the same time they don't want to feel they're useless

RebelVampire

i really liked the art in chapter 4 because of how differently the oil was depicted. cause sometimes it could look benign and just kind of normal but then other images are just immensely spook and make it look like this terrible horror substance

Mharz

yeah

MathTans the Pun Prince

Actually, the "cheating the system" bit in #5 when Jun reprogrammed it made me think of James Kirk and the Kobyashi Maru "no win" situation.

Kabocha

only Jun was making the system work logically

MathTans the Pun Prince

Agreed, interesting art on that. Horror vibe but not to the extent that I was put off.

Kabocha

It takes a special kind of programmer to really eff up basic logic problems

MathTans the Pun Prince

Here's the thing though, the programmers must be machines, right? They're all machines there.

Kabocha

there's reference to the creators though

and we have NO idea who the creators are

MathTans the Pun Prince

Well, sure, you'd want to program something like that in.

snuffysam

My interpretation was that the system was designed that way intentionally- for whatever reason, making smart people think they're dumb was the creators' intention.

Mharz

Man seeing those source code in chapter 5 gave me nostalgia in my college days

XD

MathTans the Pun Prince

Snuffy: Interesting. Like a vendetta or something.

RebelVampire

yeah i agree with the system was designed intentionally that way for reasons we cant yet comprehend.

Mharz

yeah

RebelVampire

cause all the cities seem to have a flaw of some sort

like a really big flaw that should not form naturally

Kabocha

could it be that over the course of running, each city ended up getting messed up?

MathTans the Pun Prince

Bad AC/DC conversion made some robots crazy.

Mharz

it was made messed up...

sskessa

i won't say anything unless you ask me directly

snuffysam

Maybe the creators just wanted to make a planet-wide factory (for silicon, oil, etc), so... they built sections with robots that could make those things and left them to it?

MathTans the Pun Prince

jumps 5 feet in the air An author! (and/or artist?)

Kabocha

Ahahahaha

:3

Mharz

XD

RebelVampire

breathe math, breathe

Mharz

She's the author

and the artist

MathTans the Pun Prince

I've been very jumpy lately.(edited)

sskessa

do not be alarmed

Kabocha

sskessa, why do they ship the dumbest robots off after Chapter 6? Mel seems to understand that they get sent out as they progress further along in their ignorance... Or is that spoiler territory?

I'm thinking they're sending them to another facility to do a thing, but what, I wonder

Mharz

oooh good one

sskessa

i have an answer and i don't know if it's spoilers, because i haven't decided how much info i'll put into the comic by the end.

MathTans the Pun Prince

If you send out your stupid people, you retain the smart ones.

snuffysam

How long are you planning on making the comic?

sskessa

maybe 10 years total. so far it's been 2 years

MathTans the Pun Prince

Dedication, woot.

RebelVampire

that is some extreme dedication. very impressive~!

Mharz

XD

sskessa

i think by the end of the whole comic, you'll understand what's happening in chapter 5

MathTans the Pun Prince

Note that when you're shipping robots, you need to be careful they don't become trees.

Mharz

in 10 years

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

Chapter 5 is one of my favourites

snuffysam

I meant chapter-wise- but I suppose 10 years is around 30 chapters?

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

I have the first 5 books and I have Chapter 2 and 5 in my bag all the time and show them around to people(edited)

Mharz

I like how everyone is being referred to in female pronouns.

MathTans the Pun Prince

I'm also massively impressed that there's a whole opening sequence for the comic.

Mharz

OMG

MathTans the Pun Prince

Mharz: I didn't even totally pick up on that.

Mharz

I LIKE THAT VIDEO

yeah I've noticed it

since chapter 1 everyone refers to everyone as "her" and "she"

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, no, I'm realizing it as you say it in retrospect.

sskessa

it seems like a lot of people have overlooked it, but it's true. everyone is female

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

Got to poof out becuase I got to do something but I love sskessa's stuff so much

Literally read and bought the books on the same day

XD

MathTans the Pun Prince

I suppose with them being kind of naked that eliminates the need to draw male bits, uhm.

Mharz

AWESOME

:y

MathTans the Pun Prince

(Do robots have those?)

snuffysam

They're also robots. So... that's not an issue regardless

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

Yeah I love the fact they are all robots too

snuffysam

Heh exactly

Mharz

I mean one lays egg so there's a possibility?

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

So it makes things really transparent

Superjustin of Time and Space

Hello!

Mharz

in case there are male robots

snuffysam

Were the people in chapter 1 robots? I wasn't quite sure...

MathTans the Pun Prince

Male robot is needed to make queen.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Wait

Mharz

Not in the first chapter tho

Superjustin of Time and Space

Robots can breed in this universe?

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, when the one ripped off the tail there were electronic parts.

Even in Cahpter 1.

sskessa

all the characters in all chapters so far have been robots. the green ones in chapter 1 were just very early designs

Mharz

oooooh

Superjustin of Time and Space

Oh lol

Kabocha

I dunno that I'd call it breeding

snuffysam

Cool cool

Kabocha

synthesizing perhaps

MathTans the Pun Prince

Robots breed by becoming trees.

Mharz

yeah that's the more appropriate term

Superjustin of Time and Space

I agree

MathTans the Pun Prince

They're synthesizers. plays music

Mharz

LOL MATH

Kabocha

not the midi kind

RebelVampire

im curious about the fact that the robots feel pain. like particularly in the first chapter, why would you design it so a robot feels pain when synthesizing?

sskessa

XD

snuffysam

The chapter 2 specific robots reproduced by becoming trees though. Chapter 3's were made on an assembly line.

Mharz

all the robots have emotions tho

Kabocha

I dunno that I'd call it pain too much either; it's just electrical impulses that their systems might not have a great way of processing

snuffysam

That does raise a question of what the creators' intentions were...

Mharz

yeah

MathTans the Pun Prince

Does the protagonist? She's seemed pretty emotionless. (Granted, creepy teeth sometimes which makes her look sort of upset, but she's very logical.)

RebelVampire

well technically all human pain is just electrical impulses processed by the brain

Kabocha

:3

(I'm being pedantic okay)

Mharz

XD

Kabocha

I guess what I'm getting at is the pain is more like an interrupt though, or just an unexpected input from a not-great design

Mharz

it might be possible that Jun hasn't comprehended it yet since she has just been repaired.

Kabocha

Jun, quick, become an electrical engineer!

RebelVampire

thats a fairer way to put it

i think jun has emotions tho to a degree. i mean in the sixth chapter she does say "don't abandon me" which thats kind of reflective of an emotion

Mharz

yeah

Superjustin of Time and Space

Yeah

Oh of course I would yeah to a prior post

MathTans the Pun Prince

I suppose. She also grew a tail, I think. I'm not quite sure where that's going.

Superjustin of Time and Space

Thanks Discord mobile for not scrolling down

snuffysam

Yeah she seemed pretty attached to her friend in Chapter 2 (to the point where she's afraid of someone leaving her again in chapter 6)

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

I also love that the name came from the location of where names are extremely important

Mharz

and she was concerned when Mel was crying and that she might turn into a tree like camphor

MathTans the Pun Prince

Snuffy: Good point on that callback.

Mharz

tho I found those lines a bit funny. sorry.

"Don't cry! You might turn into a tree!"

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, it was the reaction to the tree thing that was funny. Like, tree, whatchootalkinbout?

Kabocha

sskessa -- do the names have any actual importance, or are they randomly assigned characters?

(like, does the string eventually indicate that there is a function or assignment for that?)

sskessa

the names from chapter 5 are randomly assigned, alternating between consonant and vowel

RebelVampire

yeah i agree the tree bit was also sort of funny cause of course mel doesnt know wtf that means

Kabocha

Aaaah, okay

MathTans the Pun Prince

Is Y a vowel? ^.^

sskessa

but "jun" has a personal meaning to me and i intended to name her that since the beginning

Mharz

and Jun probably got an assumption that robots turn into trees when they cry because that's what happened to the first robot she saw crying

MathTans the Pun Prince

I feel like I want to put an 'e' on the end of the name. ^.^

snuffysam

I think the story structure is interesting. Chapters 2-5 had basically no callbacks to earlier chapters (except Jun's goal of making the cities more efficient). Suddenly, Chapter 6 has a bunch, with the first character carrying over between chapters, and referencing the turning into a tree.

(besides Jun, who carries over every chapter)

Mharz

I really like how they were all stand-alone

well almost(edited)

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, I'm reminded of some of those old TV shows where you have the central character (like Columbo or Kojak or whatever) and the entire cast around them is different. So it doesn't really matter where you start reading/watching.

Kabocha

I think the callbacks in Chapter 6 were appropriate, though, since Jun had someone to carry that over with. It's also a good reminder of what came before, too.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Alethia features a world where scattered groups of robots all live together functioning in different ways. While it is clear that the robots had creators of some sort, they are nowhere to be found. Why were the robots created in the first place? How did the world get to be the way it is? Why do the robots live so scattered even though some areas seem to have transportation to and from different places? What was the original purpose of each factory city?(edited)

Kabocha

insufficient data

RebelVampire

XD

MathTans the Pun Prince

It's all happening in their minds.

snuffysam

Was it a planet-wide factory? Some sort of social experiment by the creators? Only time will tell, I think...

Mharz

pretty sure whoever the creator is they didn't program the robots to have knowledge of the outside

or they probably have

but they never consider leaving(edited)

MathTans the Pun Prince

What I'm kinda wondering about it who maintains the power station(s). And who built THAT (them).

Mharz

ooor they have limited capabilities

snuffysam

The robots in chapter 5 knew there was a world outside their city

Mharz

cus camphor can only take 800 steps before running out of batteries

MathTans the Pun Prince

Well yes. So different power systems but there seems to be compatability.

RebelVampire

i think all the robots besides the tree ones know. cause i recall there being a few other times jun arrived and the robots were like "oh we dont usually see outsiders"(edited)

snuffysam

The robots in chapter 2 knew there was a vast world, but they couldn't visit it.

MathTans the Pun Prince

(Are there AC and DC robots?)

Mharz

oh yeah that's true

Kabocha

Each city seems to explore an aspect of humanity or society and the contradictions with each theme. You have a group that's expected to rely on one person to continue to carry on the future, even at great personal pain. You have another group that's expected to pair up, but... I mean, not everyone wants to do that! Come on. (Poor Camphor, though.) Another yet is willing to shunt the work on another person -- teamwork and loyalty gone awry. And then another is willing to forgo actual learning in favor of passing a test.

Mharz

poor camphor

RebelVampire

yeah part of me wonders if the creators are doing this as a huge social experiment

Mharz

-_-

snuffysam

(and the robots in chapter 3, which create separate social castes based on something completely arbitrary)

RebelVampire

to see which society functions best

MathTans the Pun Prince

I dunno, camphor didn't seem good at seeing the big picture. Like, upon finding out that everyone was trying to keep her there, she just said she'd leave.

Mharz

bottomline is not all systems are perfect.

snuffysam

Chapter 4 is especially interesting, because the major "flaw" only came up recently.

MathTans the Pun Prince

True. No system is really.

Kabocha

I kinda read the tree city as being a sorta high-level commentary on sexual expectations in society without going there? Camphor strikes me as wanting to do their own thing, and was essentially the only person in the society that was ace, but being pressured into pairing off. ...I dunno, each chapter sticks with you in a different way and the interpretation's gonna be pretty subjective.

Chapter 4 felt like a giant "fuck you" to most workplaces loooool

sskessa

you can use female pronouns for all the characters

MathTans the Pun Prince

Okay, related to the recent question, crazy theory time about "Robots had creators".... Jun is one of the creators. She was cast out and had her memory taken because she didn't agree with the creators any more. Or possibly she volunteered, in order to see if the systems they all put in place were working and didn't want to be biased by knowing them.

Kabocha

(oh crap, it's already 8:30 and we haven't had any crazy conspiracy theories about teh plot yet)

MathTans the Pun Prince

Yeah, definitely subjective interpretations for some of it. That's an interesting one though, Kabocha.

snuffysam

Nothing crazy yet, no. We have had some theories.

MathTans the Pun Prince

(Jun's a SPY I tell you... deep undercover.)

snuffysam

"Jun is one of the creators" makes as much sense as anything else...

What are your thoughts on the tail?

Kabocha

Long live the queen? :3

snuffysam

Yeah, I'm thinking it's a callback to chapter 1 in some capacity...

sskessa

haha, you're the second person to suggest that

RebelVampire

jun is clearly just going through robot puberty

sskessa

should i keep quiet wrt to theories?

snuffysam

yeah probably

MathTans the Pun Prince

Up to you, sskessa.

It'll be on the web later.

sskessa

alright, i'll keep quiet. you'll find out everything eventually

RebelVampire

yeah these chats do get archived and the chat history is always readable

but its largely up to you

weve had chats with spoilers, had some with no spoilers

MathTans the Pun Prince

The tail is to help with swimming, obvs.

Kabocha

Oh no, the next city is a water level

MathTans the Pun Prince

Better call a plumber.

RebelVampire

actually

thatd be interesting if that was the reason somehow

that there was adaption for the city coming up

and somehow a tail was needed

MathTans the Pun Prince

bows

(good spin)

snuffysam

she was pretty broken when the chapter 1 robots found her. maybe this is self-repair?

Kabocha

Jun is slowly changing each chapter, hehe

She's truly an admirable AI

MathTans the Pun Prince

I feel like she had enough power previously to do evolution though. So why trigger it now?

snuffysam

distance from her home?

MathTans the Pun Prince

Oh, sskessa, in case I forget to ask later - Chinese translation, is that you? It's an interesting language choice.

Snuffy: Fair point.

Could be getting close to home with the other creators.

Mharz

What I missed? Our power went out

RebelVampire

you missed the secrets of life being revealed

sorry Mharz

Mharz

Dang

MathTans the Pun Prince

Jun is actually an acquatic goddess.

Kabocha

Don't worry, it was only applicable to robots

Mharz

That's not Jun's final form

sskessa

the chinese translation is done by my friend, but i read over it and give feedback

MathTans the Pun Prince

That's neat.

sskessa

we discuss the subtleties of all the word choices, so everything in the chinese translation is definitely intentional

Kabocha

That's neat though

Mharz

power's back woo!

MathTans the Pun Prince

I would think the "characters in a name" thing would translate differently.

sskessa

haha, well, it was very important to me that her name be "jun" so i had to keep the latin letters

Mharz

interesting

MathTans the Pun Prince

That's fair.

sskessa

this isn't a spoiler, she is named after my favorite singer, jun togawa.

Mharz

ooooh

MathTans the Pun Prince

With synthesizer backup...

Mharz

jun and mel will make a band

snuffysam

@sskessa, in the animated OP- how much direction did you give Ann Mendenhall? With regards to referencing future events, for instance.

thanks discord, that's totally what i wanted after the @ symbol

MathTans the Pun Prince

Spice Girls, Unplugged.

sskessa

hm....i believe it was $1000

i had a sponsor

Mharz

whoa

that's so cool

MathTans the Pun Prince

O.o

Mharz

the she animated everything herself?(edited)

snuffysam

whoa dang

sskessa

i told someone about my project and he gave me the money for it, i gave it to ann. she animated everything single-handedly. i drew the backgrounds

snuffysam

did you give her storyboards or something?

sskessa

sometimes, yes.

Mharz

kudos to her

it's very well made

sskessa

she is very good, you can commission her :3

Mharz

I wish I have the money

I can do it myself but I really just don't have the time and patience

snuffysam

it was certainly worth it. the OP got me hooked

sskessa

for example, i gave her this reference for the tower

snuffysam

oh neat

Mharz

oh wow that's cool

how long did she take to animate everything?

sskessa

a year

Mharz

omg

well it's very well made so it's worth it

:' D

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. This comic deals with a lot heavy themes concerning collectivism, individuality, guilt, forgiveness, peer pressure, and much more. Which theme and story resonated with you the most and why? What other sorts of storylines and themes do you think are possible? Are there any characters you think it’d be interesting to see again? What do you think the comic’s overall theme and/or message is?

sskessa

haha, it's not like anyone knew we were making it, so no pressure to rush

Mharz

I totally salute her.

sskessa

listens intently to the answers to this question

Mharz

is thinking...

MathTans the Pun Prince

As a teacher, for me it's still got to be #5. With the assuming books are right and not doing proper thinking, or in the one case needing to understand the REASONING, which I always tell students is SO key, like, don't just memorize an algorithm. But there it's taken to the extreme, looking for reason in something that has no system of logic.

Or a continually changing system of logic anyway.

I'm reminded of a Janway quote, "You can use logic to justify almost anything. That is its power, and its flaw."(edited)

Mharz

not all truths can be found in books.

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

I love the backwards logic of Chapter 5

Some of it is really funny

sskessa

part of it was inspired by reading someone in a reddit debate say "circular reasoning doesn't bother me"

Mharz

that is some twisted logic

MathTans the Pun Prince

The math teacher in me is screaming.

snuffysam

The comic so far seems to have a theme of "people will let their emotions/biases lead them to make irrational decisions"?

MathTans the Pun Prince

As far as other themes, I could see addressing keeping something for sentimentality reasons even though it has no "practical" purpose. Or maybe even a "hoarder" issue, like someone who just collects a bunch of stuff not really for any reason. Not sure where one might take that though, would need to be careful.

snuffysam

Though that could change as Jun's worldview changes in the coming chapters

Ooh, good one

RebelVampire

snuffysam: i like that as an overall interpretation for the comic

seems pretty accurate

MathTans the Pun Prince

Bias would keep anyone in business forever. There's so many of them.

Feather, Duke of Hot Leaf Juice

Also the best part of that statment

because they are robots

Robots usually are the most logical things when people think about them

MathTans the Pun Prince

ALL the bias, in wheel form. (credit at the bottom)

Mharz

Some knowledge and beliefs we have came from our environment and peers

sskessa

wow beautiful

snuffysam

Question is- in situations like Chapter 3, was it somebody's idea to split up the classes of robots, or was that the creators' design?

RebelVampire

i think for me its also #5 that stuck with me the most because of the themes of peer pressure and blind adherance. like the ending to the chapter hit me really hard. cause i liked all the touch about education and books not being right etc. but what hit me is that mel was right and that for mel it was like watching a train wreck happening and being unable to do that. and i felt thats a good parallel for what life sometimes feels like. where we can see the inevitable outcome of something for a person or a society, and yet there is absolutely nothing we can do because norms prevent others from fully embracing differing perspectives.

Mharz

yeah

I can relate to that too

MathTans the Pun Prince

Good one.

Maybe creators put in contingency plans, Snuffys?

sskessa

@RebelVampire that's definitely what i was thinking about when i wrote it. thinking about friends of mine

Mharz

like I was trying to figure out the logic within a certain book but peers just keep telling to just believe it just like that withoug any concrete proof as to why.

RebelVampire

yeah but to be fair, all knowledge exists only because we agree on the answers. so in a sense education will always have a sense of peer pressure in only believing the most accepted thing

MathTans the Pun Prince

2+2 = 5

Kabocha

in certain cases where you have a float error....

Mharz

no math

MathTans the Pun Prince

Rootbeer float error. "2" is too large.

Kabocha

2 is perfect what are you talking about

Mharz

2 is a company 3 is a crowd

MathTans the Pun Prince

Actually 6 is the first perfect number. Divisors are 1, 2, 3 and 1+2+3 = 6.

It's a real thing. So are friendly numbers.

sskessa

so with that in mind, sometimes the only way to escape peer pressure, which is not always consciously recognized, is to physically leave a group of people

MathTans the Pun Prince

sskessa: Good point. Which is hard when we want to fit in somewhere.

Mharz

oh yes definitely

I mean I agree to you both

sskessa

oh, 2+2=5 is a theme in "notes from underground"

snuffysam

It's also why it's so interesting that Lak chose to stay behind.

sskessa

to answer the question myself, the next story arc is going to be the one that is the most personal to me so far.

MathTans the Pun Prince

There. Are. Four. Lights. (Okay, now I've referenced original series, Voyager and TNG. Can I get the others in?)(edited)

snuffysam

Looking forward to it!

RebelVampire

oh that sounds exciting

Kabocha

What's the general synopsis, sskessa~?

(of the arc)

sskessa

@MathTans the Pun Prince XD

MathTans the Pun Prince

About friendship, maybe? Given there's two of them now.

RebelVampire

i wonder if the robots will know how to "fix" the fix jun used in chapter 5. or if they will actually have to have correct answers now. cause jun's fix was so simple unless you had looked at the code before you might miss that single punctuation that changes everything

Mharz

forgot a semi-colon, got 1000 errors

trust me I can relate

sskessa

mel and jun arrive in the movie factory and meet the most famous actress of robot world (who you've seen before). jun does not understand the function of movies. we meet the "underground robot," the most unpopular robot in the movie factory who writes anti-literature. the character is my personal response to dostoyevsky's "notes from underground"

a book which i have very mixed feelings about

Mharz

weren't mel watching a movie in the transport thing?(edited)

sskessa

yes

snuffysam

and they had movies in chapter 4

Mharz

oooh

snuffysam

very interested to see where that goes!

Kabocha

oooh! :3 So the actress is one they saw in that movie, then?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Jun, as the main character comes to be named, is on a mission to travel from city to city and correct their inefficiencies. However, there remains many questions about Jun in regards to this. Who created Jun and for what purpose? Is Jun’s mission a result of free-will or is it something driven by underlying programming? Should Jun even be fixing the cities, or would it be better if Jun left them the way they are? What do you think will be Jun’s ultimate fate?

sskessa

@Kabocha yes, and she is the main character of the next arc.

snuffysam

So far, it seems Jun's goal is just the result of something someone in chapter 3 suggested.

maybe that was her remembering her true purpose?

Mharz

I think Jun weren't meant to do that but after what happened to camphor, somehow triggered her to go and fix the cities.

snuffysam

for the most part, she seems to just be exploring. the only reason she keeps fixing cities is because they're all broken.

MathTans the Pun Prince

Jun will meet herself. If you travel far enough, you meet yourself, and that's totally possible with robots.

Mharz

and she did get the idea of "evaluating efficiency" on chapter 3

RebelVampire

i feel like that is kind of her purpose tbh, to evaluate efficiency. which makes the next arc very interesting cause from a practical standpoint movies dont really have purpose. i mean they arguably further culture, but from a productive standpoint they dont have a point(edited)

snuffysam

Mel watches movies. perhaps she will (attempt to) convince Jun of their worth...

Mharz

will she understand the sense of it tho

MathTans the Pun Prince

She'll be the new star. Paid in batteries. Much usefulness.

RebelVampire

jun will learn to have fun O_O go to cool robot starlet pool parties

Mharz

maybe at the end, jun will have full human emotions

sorry I'm dumb

snuffysam

thats what the tail is for. pool parties!

Mharz

omg

sskessa

laughs but you know...i already think she does

have full emotions XD because i am also a very dry person

Mharz

she does but she hasn't realized it fully

MathTans the Pun Prince

That doesn't sound dumb.

Like, having something to be building towards in terms of understanding emotions. I have emotions, doens't mean I always understand them, like why am I crying at a certain point.

Mharz

^

sskessa

that's a fair point

Mharz

maybe she'll fall in love with someone

sskessa

she already fell in love, back in chapter 3

MathTans the Pun Prince

She'll meet herself then fall in love with herself.

Mharz

:0

MathTans the Pun Prince

A bit curious about her design, incidentally. Different from the other robots. Wider legs, for one thing. Wonder if that means something.

sskessa

what? isn't it normal to be aroused by beautiful abstract concepts? maybe it's just me

snuffysam

Jun efficiency

sskessa

exactly.

snuffysam

OTP

Mharz

XD

sskessa

seriously though, i want her to have a girlfriend at some point. if i can manage to write it well.

MathTans the Pun Prince

I personify mathematics functions as cute females, so I'm the wrong person to ask.

Kabocha

I think however you write it, it'll be fine RebelVampire

to be fair as someone who also likes to find the most efficient way possible to do things, i cant blame jun for falling in love with efficiency XD

Mharz

yeah

MathTans the Pun Prince

Will they ever meet a non-female robot, I wonder. (Not necessarily male.)

sskessa

no

Mharz

that's interesting

snuffysam

now i'm curious- is there a reason you decided on an all-female world?

Kabocha

They're robots

MathTans the Pun Prince

Females are better, but aside from that.

sskessa

got tired of reading about male characters

snuffysam

fair enough

Mharz

I somehow can relate

not that I have anything against male characters

snuffysam

now that i think about it, pretty much everything i've written or drawn over the past couple years has a female lead...

for basically the same reason

Mharz

I love female leads

MathTans the Pun Prince

I just prefer females. Why would I write about males, I am one, that's not so interesting to me.

Mharz

I love female leads

If you can't tell yet.

MathTans the Pun Prince

The site navigation is interesting too, just to mention it. Having all the strips laid out on one page, scrolling down, rather than page to page to page. Took a while to load, but then could read a lot at once.

I love female lead love.

Mharz

:y

RebelVampire

yeah i like that the scrolldown format for each chapter kind of emphasizes their connected but individual storylines

sskessa

yes, so, the corollary to all characters being female means all characters are lesbians

snuffysam

Navigating between chapters is a bit of a pain. As far as I can tell, the only way to do so is to go back to the chapter list?

sskessa

hm. good point. i will put a "next chapter" button at the bottom of each chapter

Mharz

oh yes please.

snuffysam

Thanks!

Mharz

I did have to scroll back up to get to the next chapter

MathTans the Pun Prince

I just hit my "back" button.

snuffysam

...your browser doesn't have a back button?

lol

sskessa

as for that format, i did my last comic as single-page navigation and it always took so long to load. this way you can leave the comic to load for 5 minutes and then read it all at once

snuffysam

no yeah, that part's great

Mharz

a chapters list and next/previous chapter at the bottom should suffice(edited)

snuffysam

honestly a next button alone would be fine for most purposes. but more is better in this case, i think.

sskessa

will do

Mharz

in case you want to get back at something

MathTans the Pun Prince

The layout's good too on individual pages, works with the scroll down format.

Mharz

I kinda had to go back to chapter 1 to verify if Jun had a tail initially

sskessa

i will try to clear up the tail question in the next arc. i don't intend it to be too mysterious

Mharz

I just like to think that she's evolving into a final form

XD

Respheal

o_o -goes back to chapter 1 to see if there's a tail- (Also hiiiiiiii popping in late)

snuffysam

her head isn't enough of a trash can yet

Mharz

no she doesn't

snuffysam

hi Respheal!

Respheal

Okay xD Was doubting my memory there

Mharz

XD

oh trust me that was me last night too

like "wait, did she have a tail?" O_O

sskessa

hi!

MathTans the Pun Prince

It's not a tail, it's the start of a third leg. ^.^ (Actually, yeah, all the robots look human-ish. Which helps to relate to them, though I wonder if we'll run into a place where they don't.)

"Why do you have two heads?" "Why don't you?"

Mharz

the queen isn't

I mean she looks like an adorable dinosaur

MathTans the Pun Prince

True that.

Mharz

with a badass spiky hair

(edited)

Kabocha

They are probably designed to better imitate their creators

:3

snuffysam

of course, we don't know the creators are human

they could just be more robots

MathTans the Pun Prince

Their creator... V'ger! (Okay, no more Trek references.)

snuffysam

robots all the way down

Mharz

XD

Kabocha

recursive robots

RebelVampire

but somewhere down the line thered be non machine based life. cause machine based life doesnt just pop up from nothing

its called manmade for a reason

Mharz

yeah

MathTans the Pun Prince

Beats cursive robots. Walking around like @(#(@#.

Mharz

LOOOL

Kabocha

Shh, the creators clearly had a design in mind

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to Kristina Stipetic, as well, for volunteering Alethia for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Kristina Stipetic’s efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on Magnetic North by Kat Gemmill. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (October 26th) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: http://www.magneticnorthcomic.com/