04-04-19 I hope the same for you

[VoxPopuli]

Am I the only one heartbroken that Gary and Zii never hooked up (I mean at least once, for you know, completion)

Yes, you are.

He’s so not.

Okay.

[Giz]

It is kinda weird that after all the teasing, they never hooked up.

In all honesty, I’m putting that down to the fact that the comic is ending in a bit of a hurry, rather than any actual plan on the writers’ part. I reckon the teasing was originally meant to go somewhere.

Though in all honesty, the more I’ve read of this comic, the less planning I reckon the writers do.

We have visions, and improvise to our set destinations. However, with so much continuity built up at this point, our characters often set their own destinations, which surprises even us. Zii & Gary was always something we thought MIGHT happen so we planted seeds in case things would go that way, but again, these characters sort of have a life of their own at this point.

The next strip is just Zii and the band face-down-ass-out in a mountain of cocaine, with the van on fire and Gary standing there shouting "You haven't even left the driveway!"

It’s funny how a comic stuffed full of amiable sexual depravity is so completely void of any other sort of depravity — despite it involving rock’n’roll bands. I blame the Archie influence.

Though drama is clearly an addictive drug for some of the characters.

Both Dave and I have never done drugs of any kind, and I think I can speak for the both of us when I say we're pretty against it in general. I know we often write stuff that we've never experienced ourselves but I think we find it a little hard to find comedy in drugs. Not saying we'll never do it. I mean, we've shown alcohol and neither of us drink, really. Who knows, I guess. Maybe it'll show up one day if the story calls for it somehow.

[rubberchickencircuit]

Am I the only one heartbroken that Gary and Zii never hooked up (I mean at least once, for you know, completion)

I can't get over the feeling that long ago, that was the originally intended end of the strip. It feels a little empty without more closeness ever having taken place between them—the extreme comedy reaction here makes me wish for something calmer and more sincere.

[worldshaking00]

I, for one, hope you don't inject drugs into your comics. Period. If we needed a dose of realism in comics, why not STDs? Unwanted pregnancies? I think that alcoholism in general (Sandra's for sure) has more than enough ugliness. Drama is enough, thank you very much.

[Zellgato]

Zii and Gary being platonic (generally) is pretty nice to me.

though I suspect it'll happen at some point with peggy along for the ride. Probably a birthday. Just pragmatic to the universe.


I am honestly surprise how little STD effects have occured din general though. Just statistically speaking numbers and how many folks don't know for long whiles.
but that would be rather outside the norm drama serious for this.

[Spidrift]

I don’t particularly want to see Zii face down with a needle in her arm after another emotional screw-up, or Erik gone screamingly hyper after blowing the month’s allowance on Bolivian marching powder. But in a story about young urban bohemians, some of them in a rock band, the complete absence of so much as a single spliff sometimes feels a little odd. Certainly, Amber chewing Dillon out for possibly getting into drugs sounded oddly puritannical from someone who’d been in a business where drugs are, I understand, not entirely unknown — and she might have said that if “Rudy” (another sadly lost plot thread) was method-researching the topic, he was really in the wrong place.

As to STDs and pregnancies — well, let’s face it, if these comics had ever mentioned the subject, it would never, ever have gone away thereafter. Better to throw in the odd line about condoms and then skate over it.

[Cortez]

Zii and Gary being platonic (generally) is pretty nice to me.

I don't know if platonic is the right word, there was attraction and desire to go further on both ends.

[Opus the Poet]

The next strip is just Zii and the band face-down-ass-out in a mountain of cocaine, with the van on fire and Gary standing there shouting "You haven't even left the driveway!"

Muttley LOL

[Zellgato]

I don't know if platonic is the right word, there was attraction and desire to go further on both ends.

Attraction is fine, that still works as an undercurrent to a platonic friendship. What ultimately defines platonic is what they choose. Which, while it almost became not platonic. It ultimate is and staying (as of this writing anyway). It could certainly evolve to shanangans into something else.
but for now they choose platonic

and I kind of like that. But ya'kno their platonic friendship (with random undertones of attraction and sexual attraction) is probably the most interactions we've seen that wasn't shanangan based. Though we did get some Yuki (way early on) stuff with regards to the art work.

but ultimately relationships are whatever the two involved ultimately both choose it to be.

[Spidrift]

I don't know if platonic is the right word, there was attraction and desire to go further on both ends.

“Platonic” is about what people do, not what they might want. It describes real actions, not fuzzy emotions. Lots of people in platonic relationships might feel twinges of desire for each other, but so what?

Zii and Gary’s relationship is platonic.

[Mandy]

I don’t particularly want to see Zii face down with a needle in her arm after another emotional screw-up, or Erik gone screamingly hyper after blowing the month’s allowance on Bolivian marching powder. But in a story about young urban bohemians, some of them in a rock band, the complete absence of so much as a single spliff sometimes feels a little odd. Certainly, Amber chewing Dillon out for possibly getting into drugs sounded oddly puritannical from someone who’d been in a business where drugs are, I understand, not entirely unknown — and she might have said that if “Rudy” (another sadly lost plot thread) was method-researching the topic, he was really in the wrong place.

I suppose Giz doesn't find it that unrealistic, because she was a young bohemian in a rock band back in the day. In her and Dave's comic's, the only serious mention of drugs was in Dangerously Chloe when that stripper overdosed... I honestly find a lack of marijuana more odd than a lack of any hard drugs though. Weed is so commonplace now.

It's fun to hear about Giz and Dave's writing process. It reminds me of actors that learn who their characters are then argue with the writers when their character does something that feels 'out of character' to them... In The Walking Dead, I've heard of a time or two when a cast member won that argument.

This series is wrapping up fairly neatly, it's good to know that we'll be getting glimpses of these characters in the future. Lots of little things to touch on. I'm very curious about the last strip's echo though. Gary's 'what!?' shocked reaction could be echoed into setting things up for the next comic.

I wonder if the next comic will be family friendly to avoid ad funding problems or if they'll be starting a patreon to help fund the next comic(?) I already get Exorsisters, so I'd be up for helping fund more projects from this crew via a patreon. Their kickstarters are quite successful, so I'd think that a patreon would do decently well too.

[Spidrift]

In her and Dave's comic's, the only serious mention of drugs was in Dangerously Chloe when that stripper overdosed...

Well, there was also “Rudy’s” cover story... And during that plot arc, Dillon announced that he was “high on life”. It all has an oddly 1950s tone somehow.

I honestly find a lack of marijuana more odd than a lack of any hard drugs though. Weed is so commonplace now.

Mm-hmm. And this is set in Canada, too...

It's fun to hear about Giz and Dave's writing process. It reminds me of actors that learn who their characters are then argue with the writers when their character does something that feels 'out of character' to them...

The problem here is that by the time G&D or the characters decided that Zii and Gary wouldn’t be getting together, they’d already dropped a tanker-load of hints to the contrary — what with Gary wandering around idly reflecting how he fancied Zii, Zii having to take cold showers to avoid fancying Gary, et cetera, et cetera. This didn’t commit them to having these two shag, but it does mean that some kind of closure or comment would have looked much more satisfying.

This series is wrapping up fairly neatly, it's good to know that we'll be getting glimpses of these characters in the future.

As Giz is now dropping hints about this on Twitter, I’ll start a separate thread on the subject.

[rubberchickencircuit]

The problem here is that by the time G&D or the characters decided that Zii and Gary wouldn’t be getting together, they’d already dropped a tanker-load of hints to the contrary — what with Gary wandering around idly reflecting how he fancied Zii, Zii having to take cold showers to avoid fancying Gary, et cetera, et cetera. This didn’t commit them to having these two shag, but it does mean that some kind of closure or comment would have looked much more satisfying.

Agreed. It felt so completely like they'd eventually get together that without it, the story feels a bit unfinished. Even as Gary and Peggy snuggled close, I was in denial until the last moment that this could really be his intended finale—if only because the foreshadowing said otherwise.

[Cortez]

“Platonic” is about what people do, not what they might want. It describes real actions, not fuzzy emotions. Lots of people in platonic relationships might feel twinges of desire for each other, but so what?

Zii and Gary’s relationship is platonic.

I don't know, it always felt like sexual attraction is completely absent in a platonic relationship. Like with family members and the like.

[Spidrift]

Well, the Wikipedia article gets fairly complicated... But one definition it offers says that “Platonic love in its modern popular sense is an affectionate relationship into which the sexual element does not enter, especially in cases where one might easily assume otherwise.” [My italics.]