Chapter 3, Page 49

A most earnest friend

I’ll be doing some coloring tomorrow (Sunday) morning on the Patreon stream, see you then.

 

60 Comments

  • dream-piper

    That chasm….
    This speaks to me on many levels.

    • msouth

      You could almost just end the comic here. Not that I would want that :). Not that anyone reading it would want that :). But it’s like, this is the thing that was needed–the destination, in his mind, that he had to reach. Or maybe not “reach”, really, but to “get back” to–to remember this healing-coping mechanism and start applying it again.

      • Ferrick

        What i was thinking was that they would end book 1 here, and the next book would start with Bex.

    • Glew

      Yeah, me too. Fuck the chasm.

  • rimmeh

    That fifth panel, I like to think Thighfriend is also going “Yeah! Fuck you chasm!” as it flips its frilly tip.

    • shingworks

      Thighfriend is a team player!

      • Rin

        Thighfriend is all in! Excited to be a part of this plan!

        …..

        wait what are we doing again?

  • Lilian

    Sometimes the best way to help yourself is to help someone else. Well done, Shing.

  • Vert

    Thank you answering a question I had about Kallakore… how she could leverage the strength of those massive arms without falling over! And the crest is a bit of a counterbalance, too. Clever!

    Der-Shing, you’re a biologist in there somewhere, yes? Are the names of limbs determined by function, or by location? Would the large limbs be considered arms or legs by earth biologists?

    • shingworks

      lol, that sounds like more of a job for an etymologist. I have no idea. Also no idea if my glasses have two arms or two legs.

    • shingworks

      But as a matter of opinion I think her large limbs are legs, and her smaller pair are arms, since they are the articulate ones :p

      • Vert

        Me too. The question just popped into my head, while typing the bit about her stance. We say quadrupeds have four legs, so I suppose legs are whatever you normally walk with. Of course, many apes walk on their knuckles, but we still call them arms… and brachiators have two arms despite all four limbs being of similar length and design. Damn. It’s all so untidy!

        Sorry. I, like Michael and LEVi, am easily distracted by esoterica.

        • Edmund

          The words anterior and posterior come to mind in regards to limb labels, since arms and legs function gets a bit swappy in kalla’s case. xD

        • SSR

          Yes, I’d definitely say they’re named by function.

      • spottedspeck

        Good to know! A few months ago I was playing Akinator and was trying to get it to guess Kalla. I was doing pretty good until:
        Akinator: Does your character have arms?
        Me: Of course she….! I mean….. wait…
        I ended up staring blankly at the screen for ten minutes, trying to work out how to label her anatomy XD

  • Ash

    this page cheers me up

  • jeffepp

    How long has he been down here? He had a shaven face when he fell, now a full beard.

  • Some_Douchebag

    “Michael, LEVi had no arms or fingers. You’ll have to walk me through what that thing you’re doing with yours means.”

    I like how the paranoid guy is so driven by his spite and defiance for any sort of controlling force that it actually motivates him into behaving more like a gracious team player. I have actually seen that happen once in real life with someone I used to work with, and it completely blew me away because the last thing I expected.

    I feel I should also point out that neither of them being dead might-and-probably-does mean that “chasm”, or at least the “processor” that waits inside of it, still has Plans for both of them. It’s unknown why it kept Kallakore alive, and Mike may just be a kink it’s still trying to work out. I can’t think of what two sapients could do for it that one can’t, especially since they’re of different species. This also assumes that the processor *has* a plan, and this isn’t all happening to both of them due to it maintaining Business As Usual.

    Finally: lol, sisyphus

  • Solanuma

    After those last pages u can’t help but think that this is a personal “fuck you” to your internal sea, Der Shing.
    Thank you for sharing this story with us.

  • Luna

    OH NO no no no no…Der-Shing please come and tell me this is NOT a situation like in the final episodes of Doctor Who Season 9, where the Doctor is trapped in an environment that resets over and over and over again. I just noticed what others have pointed out about how Mike’s beard is growing at an unusual rate. Mike and Kalla both realize they feel like they’ve had this conversation before. What if they have? What if they’re going through this over and over again, except that the length of Mike’s beard doesn’t reset? If this is inside Mike’s mind, then it is the defiant, life-embracing half of his psyche (thighfriend!Mike) cracking down on the apathetic, life-weary half of his psyche (Kalla). He’s having to pull himself out of the dark chasm of suicidal thoughts and severe depression. If this is outside Mike’s mind, then he’s had a change of heart and is trying to convince Kalla to embrace the adventure of life along with him. Either way . . . I need to know for sure that I’m overthinking this arc and that this isn’t a repeating conversation . . .

    • Thrawcheld

      Well if it *is* Groundhog Day, clearly Mike is still in the early stages of romancing Kallakore.

      • Min

        Well, I just snorted.

        • VHough

          *snerk*

  • AGV

    “AHHHHHHH! listen, chaaaaasm, SCREEEEEEW YOOOOUUUU!
    Go f*ck yourself!”
    https://youtu.be/GibiNy4d4gc?t=11s

  • Arbatel

    Armshark looks more like a bird with a long neck in the second panel. At least a baby bird. Right down to the small tail.

    Armbird.

  • Doubtful

    As somebody that struggles daily with anxiety and depression, I love this and the last page…they really speak to me.

    I also love this entire series. :)

    Great stuff you got here.

  • kate

    this whole comic has a lot of really cool meaningful messages in it but i prefer to sum them up as “fuck the ocean”

    • MGin

      That’s a good one, ha xD Time to make some MI t-shirts with that motto!

  • Oh jeez, this page. My heart. This comic. <3

  • shh

    I’m going to reread this page next time I want to kill myself

  • Terrina Spain

    What about Thrip though??

  • Luces

    It is astonishing how much changes Mike is willing to accept in his drive for freedom. He seems to ignore thigfried completely. But there seems to be a lot of mania in his overdrive!

  • TorgueRND

    “Hey, fuck you too, buddy.” -chasm

  • Arianwen

    mff. crying. good crying not bad crying.
    Thank you, Shing.
    wow.

    • CosmicStresshead

      I’m right there with you.

      *solidarity fistbump*

      Right there with you.

      This is by far the most engrossing comic I’ve ever read, and the most personally moving.

      Thank you, Shing.

  • Graypath
  • Purplefelix

    Triumph!

  • Petra

    As a person who struggles with severe depression and other mental illness this page made me tear up. Thank you, Shing.

  • spottedspeck

    I mostly just post random little comments, but I have to join everyone in saying that the comic (especially these last few pages) have been absolutely spectacular! Your art is gorgeous, your story is intricate, your characterization is just wonderful and your dialogue is fantastic! I hope to create a webcomic one day and I consider you to be one of my biggest inspirations! Thank you so much for sharing your stories with all of us!

  • foxorian

    My dreams never have an ending, or some definable part that could be described as an ending. My dreams always ALWAYS involve me being lost in some place I make up and never find the destination in.

  • Ceceoh

    Too bad the Italian arm slap never caught never caught on in America, ‘coz Mike would really look would really look badness in panel 5 giving the ol’ bras d’honneur, and Kallekore would look awesome!

    • Ceceoh

      Sorry about the written stutter.

  • Sillydraco

    aww, they’re holding hands in the second panel c:

  • Andre

    I’m loving the story, but I have to admit I REALLY wish the whole fungus thing get off his body because it’s almost triggering my trypophobia… :x

  • Icamenal

    This comic is crazy, but I love it!

  • Shane Powell

    this is beautiful

  • Michael W Haneline

    Just read this page and I’m bawling, but they’re good tears. I’m dealing with so much shit right now. This page was a strange comfort.

  • Anonymous but not like the hacker kind of anonymous

    I love this comic, but where’s the next page?

    • shingworks

      in my head, hopefully out soon (a news post here for more info)

      • Android 21 3/7

        *clicks gun* I’m afraid I have your precious next page right here! And, loyal readership, if you ever want to see it, I have but a modest request… WORLD DOMINATION!

        … Sorry, I can’t say those two words without shouting them.

      • Anonymous but not like the hacker kind of anonymous

        That’s a lot going on, wow!

        Thanks!

  • Aidan903

    Mike…
    I love you, bae, but I don’t think you can escape.
    Y’see. . .You lost your helmet, and you need that to breathe, or at least avoid sudden decompression.
    Good luck.

  • Kuggur

    Now I am sure, I jinx interesting cool web comics.
    Even after checking that they are actually regularly updating, they grind to a standstill the moment I finished reading the archive. I finished this one around the twentieth of September.
    Strange…

    • shingworks

      Haha, you give yourself too much credit… I’m fulfilling a 2k+ order Kickstarter at the moment, so there’s a lot going on on my end. Next page of the comic will be up tomorrow~

  • Kuggur

    That is great to hear as I enjoyed this comic very much.
    Looking forward to the next page (take your time ;) ).

  • kathy

    DOING GOOD I REALLY LIKE IT PLEASE DONT STOP NOW. ITS BEEN AWHILE SINCE LAST ENTRY

  • VHough

    Can I get the penultimate panel in hi-res as a desktop? That pose, the balance and moment of the thing, is great.

  • SotiCoto

    … Thighfiend is still ugly and asymmetric…

    Thighfiend and toasterhead must be removed.

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