Comic for November 17, 2018: Pulled in Two Directions

[MuonNeutrino]

Pulled in Two Directions

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I feel sorry for both of them here. Totally apart from being sad about the possible separation, Mike obviously feels like [censored] for having to rain on Evals' parade like this. And Evals has finally run nose-first into the wall of reality, and it hurts. He knows Mike is right, that Mike *wouldn't* fit in in dog society, even if he doesn't want to admit it to himself. But he's also got a point himself; he and Mike *are* essentially family, the only *sure* family each of them has. No matter what, *someone's* hopes are getting dashed, because the three courses of action of Evals going to where he feels at home, Mike going to where *he* feels at home, and Evals and Mike staying together are mutually incompatible.

On a side note, in real life at least Evals is completely correct about dogs - real-life wolves are pack oriented, but also have an instinct to disperse and establish their own packs when they're old enough, which we've more or less bred out of dogs. It doesn't really matter for the comic universe, but the parallel amuses me.

Also also, awwwwkward. This got uncomfortable in a hurry for Flora!

[Hayate]

Them feels... <\3

[BadJoke]

Wow, it been a while since we got a page with so much tension and drama.
Poor boys got hit hard here. And all staying credible. Totally logical. So in character.

Nice detail also to show Flora being very uneasy standing in the middle of the conversation. So many authors would create the perfect scenery, build the most dramati display. Not Tom, who likes to remind you that great drama can jump at your face in the most ordinary places in the most awkward moments.

PS: Are we sure Mike isn't back to girl? Because here, even boob-less... damn...

[Deaththekat]

Awkward sipping I N T E N S I F I E S


Also, x is the best ship since x

[Nosy Bobcat]

oh boy, you can really see the heartbreak in the last two panels. It's such an interesting setup between Mike and Evals at the moment because there is no clear compromise that would satisfy both of them unless something happens that would render one of their dreams impossible. It really leaves me in a tough spot as a reader where I'm kind of secretly hoping that some terrible fate has befallen Evals' home so that he has to go with the only family he has left (Mike), However wishing for the death of an entire village of people just to keep my two favourite sweet boys together makes me feel kind of [censored] as a person.

Side note: I created this account just to partake in this discussion after reading the forums for years.

[Panther]

The more this arc runs , the more it's heartbreaking ......... Poor Mike

[Warrl]

It really leaves me in a tough spot as a reader where I'm kind of secretly hoping that some terrible fate has befallen Evals' home so that he has to go with the only family he has left (Mike), However wishing for the death of an entire village of people just to keep my two favourite sweet boys together makes me feel kind of [censored] as a person.

Also, Evals would have to somehow learn of this unspecified tragic event - and if he goes to where home was, even if he immediately turns around and comes back it's realistically* anyone's guess whether he'd ever find Mike again.

[Nosy Bobcat]

It really leaves me in a tough spot as a reader where I'm kind of secretly hoping that some terrible fate has befallen Evals' home so that he has to go with the only family he has left (Mike), However wishing for the death of an entire village of people just to keep my two favourite sweet boys together makes me feel kind of [censored] as a person.

Also, Evals would have to somehow learn of this unspecified tragic event - and if he goes to where home was, even if he immediately turns around and comes back it's realistically* anyone's guess whether he'd ever find Mike again.

Yeah that is something I thought about as well, and if or when he ever finds Mike after such an event how much time would have passed at that point? It could play out as a very heartwarming reunion but that would take place quite far down the line, anything and everything could change during that time. Ultimately I don't think they will go their separate ways (or at least not for long) I believe some event will keep them together for whatever reason, but i've been wrong many times before and I'm sure it will be well written and emotional however it ends.

[Dadrobit]

Just a quick aside from all the obvious drama.

I know that it's Flora just drinking from her Watermelon Cup™ in panel 3/4, but with her cheeks being so distended in the top panel, at a glance it looks like she's tried eating a whole mini-watermelon in one go and is slowly coming to the conclusion that it wasn't happening and it needed to come out and she's hoping that no one else noticed.

[Hayate]

Just a quick aside from all the obvious drama.

I know that it's Flora just drinking from her Watermelon Cup™ in panel 3/4, but with her cheeks being so distended in the top panel, at a glance it looks like she's tried eating a whole mini-watermelon in one go and is slowly coming to the conclusion that it wasn't happening and it needed to come out and she's hoping that no one else noticed.

Ok that’s pretty much exactly what I thought at first too! xD

[Elemental Templar]

I know that I said in the comic post for the 3rd that Mike and Evals are likely gonna end up both going to Lyn'knoll with the others, but I can't help but feel sorry for the both of them in this page: Evals is losing the closest person he's had to a family member since being abducted and put into slavery, and Mike is forced to leave behind probably the only person who didn't treat him like a piece of property in his entire life; and the worst part of it is, is that neither of them is completely in the wrong.

All in all, this mostly comes down to a plethora "What-If?" scenarios and they both fall on opposing ends of the Risk/Reward spectrum, and it'll have to come down to whether or not one of them is going to risk their ideal "Happy-Ending/Freedom" for the other or if they can't compromise and will have to face their own uncertainties alone (metaphorically speaking).

Also, I can't help but wonder If Flora's thinking about her own experiences with being freed from slavery and thinking about all the risks she took and/or avoided?

[FishWeave]

This isn't a surprising page, but on the last page I did say that Mike tried to tell him before. He tried to tell Evals and the dog didn't listen. Others acted like it was mikes first try, but it wasn't. The wording in this page even confirms what I said- Evals only listens now because he has to. Mike had been telling him already but Evals wasn't listening. He didn't want to listen. Now he has to and doesn't like it nor does he want to accept it. What I don't know is what Evals will do now that he has had to listen. It feels like hes trying to go back to not listening to mike, but that fox wont just drop the spotlight.

[aitaituo]

I know that I said in the comic post for the 3rd that Mike and Evals are likely gonna end up both going to Lyn'knoll with the others, but I can't help but feel sorry for the both of them in this page: Evals is losing the closest person he's had to a family member since being abducted and put into slavery, and Mike is forced to leave behind probably the only person who didn't treat him like a piece of property in his entire life; and the worst part of it is, is that neither of them is completely in the wrong.

All in all, this mostly comes down to a plethora "What-If?" scenarios and they both fall on opposing ends of the Risk/Reward spectrum, and it'll have to come down to whether or not one of them is going to risk their ideal "Happy-Ending/Freedom" for the other or if they can't compromise and will have to face their own uncertainties alone (metaphorically speaking).

I don't see Evals choosing to go with Mike. Evals has every reason to believe at least some of his family is alive. He knows nothing about the war and only an inkling of the genocidal intent behind it. Whatever's on the third floor could alter that equation, though.

[Hulk10]

I do so hate having the feels...............

[Sky Shatter]

It's noteworthy that Evals is wrestling with the belief that what he wants personally was always just "sensible", but now faced with trying to rationalize it as such, he's at a loss. Taken at face value, his arguments contradict themselves. If he really believed that "home is where you make it", he'd be fine to continue with the group; if home is where you came from and with your siblings like on the previous page, then Mike wouldn't be at home in dog country.