I have gotten wind of some very understandable concerns about where the plot is going and if there is one. I can say only this:
Please do not worry.
This is not a OMGTHEIRLOVEISSOPURE comic. I hate that shit. That is hardly the plot. That isn’t even what fuels the plot. This is insight on what fuels Deatoura. The scene you are reading now is one of only a couple of scenes in the entire comic that can even be called romantic (and that’s stretching it). It will be over in a few pages. That isn’t to say there will never be hot scenes, but they will not be thrown in at the drop of a hat. Torturing readers is a very old pastime.
So yes, there are gay men. Yes, I have taken the risk of being clumped in with every other comic that has gay characters (and there must be more than straight ones by now), but no; I have not chosen a few gay men and thrown them into a random setting so that they can get off. I have chosen characters I can relate to on more than one level. Being homosexual is just one of those levels. It is only a tiny part of who they are. I don’t focus on it except for you to get closer to them.
The story may end up being complete crap. There is a possibility you will hate it with the fury of a thousand suns. It may drive right into Shitville and never be seen again like its predecessor. …But it will have nothing to do with the sexual preference of characters therein.
Anyway, happy late Canada Day, folks. I would wish my fellow Americans a good Independence Day but it has been tainted by my redneck neighbors and everyone can shove their illegal fireworks straight up their asses for all I care. :)
∀ out.
»
July 2, 2007
10:06 AM
Hear hear! Don’t worry Alice, I have faith in your storytelling directional abilities, I trust you not to turn it into one of the shitty webcomics that you describe above far better than I can. You’ve already done a great job, so far.
Here’s one reader you’ll never lose - I’ll be sucking up your bandwidth up like a cheap gigolo until my fucking RSS reader corrupts its own feed DB again.
»
July 2, 2007
7:29 PM
Whoa..wait…are you trying to tell me…that boys kiss? And there are comics out there…dedicated to it? WHAT KIND OF WORLD ARE WE LIVING IN. MY UNBORN CHILDREN ARE NOT SAFE!
so THAT’S what gay means. :O
»
July 3, 2007
9:05 PM
Melii laughs at me because I check your site a gabillion times a day despite knowing it’s not update time yet, because I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! …. So that would be a good sign that you have a good story ^.^;; Or, that I’m a psycho made-up-character-stalker o.O
»
July 4, 2007
1:05 PM
I’m pretty sure… unless I become homeless, or we loose internet entirely (thank you comcast. #.#), or you go on a year long hiatus- I’m here to the end. Being a fangirl of your pretty art, and waiting for what happens next. :)
»
July 4, 2007
5:32 PM
Ew gay.
On a more serious note, this is the first ever web-comic with homosexual characters I have found worth reading, I’m sure you understand why. You appear to have used it more as an interesting character element rather than the focus of your entire story. Using sexuality (in any form) to develop characters is always far more rewarding than using it to flood your story with ‘hawt’.
I’m not quite at the fanboy stage ^_~, but this comic is quickly becoming one of my preferred ones in my list. I already value it a lot higher than some I’ve been reading for a hell of a lot longer.
»
July 4, 2007
7:24 PM
Indeed, your comic is great because you breathe life into your characters and encompass more than just one idea into the story (ie. Dea and Jun’s relationship). You put importance on developing the characters, but never let it overwhelm the story and take away from the main plot. It’s highly refreshing when online comics actually have one besides “hey look! Men/women kissing each other! HAWT! Throw in emo-drama now, plx! D:”. Admittedly there are some really good shoujo style comics online, but those too are few and far between.
I have to say I’m also a huge fan of your art style. I adore the lean towards realism while still maintaining the comic style feel, I’ve always been a huge fan of the blend of realism and anime (or other comic styles, westen style/etc.). Using black and white with just a bit of solid colour here and there is a wonderful touch as well.
I think I’d keep checking every day even if you only updated once a month, you’re not gonna get rid of your fans so easy ;p
»
July 12, 2007
11:02 PM
You should not have to justify what you decide to put into your story, I mean, it is *yours* after all! I’m not a huge fan of yaoi/homosexuality but that’s a preference and at any rate would never be the deciding factor if I read a story or not.
You’ve proven yourself to be very mature, a great artist and a fantastic story teller, so keep up the good work! The site design is very nice as well, particularly like what you did with the character page :)
»
July 30, 2007
10:09 AM
Yes, I cast my vote with the rest of these people– You won’t be losing my readership on the account of some very well-written romance. Oh no, people love each other! Whatever will we do? :)
No, I love this comic very much.
»
December 11, 2008
2:45 AM
Does it count as “fashionably late” to post a comment to a thread that was last commented on over a year ago? I just felt compelled to say here that one of the first character-related things that really struck me in this comic was that the relationship between Juniper and Deatoura didn’t feel stilted or in any way unnatural. I found (and still find) it incredibly refreshing, particularly since, as you said, it’s not the main driving force behind the story. Very nicely done.