SEPTEMBER VOTING INCENTIVE FOR ALL!
So the deal here is that I’ve been working on background images for that bonus comic I keep working on. I had some backgrounds of scenery from my city drawn and colored but nothing that would make a good voting incentive. So I quickly drew a pic of Puck, smacked something together and the end result actually looks pretty good!
VOTE TO BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!
As for this comic…
So last week, there was a lot of speculation as to who the prom king and queen would be. And now you have your answer. At least partially. There may be more to this whole situation. Just … just wait. Next week, there may be an addendum.
Groan.
I Desperately Desired a Demonstrably Devastated Daffy.
I dare to disappoint.
Holy s#i+!
That’s semi-mature of her.
Semi-mature is about as mature as Daphne will ever be.
To answer your question Plenty.
Fair enough. I think that’s most of us here.
Either Daphne stuffed the ballot box, or His Honor, Phoebe’s dad did, in order to get Daphne back into the theme park for his Shnorf.
Doubtful. This is a fair election. You can always count on high school popularity contests to be examples of fair democratic process.
@EG
(snicker)
Then this is a thread drop for when Canadians start to take over the world. Puck, Phoebe, Daphne and Hannah will be generals in His Honor’s armies to overthrow the world. This would make Colin , Papa Schnorf, Tyler, and that 4-LOM guy their colonels. I picked him because hey, two people who are overcoming severe health isses. And they love roller coasters.
At least that’s my bet on where the four horsemen would show up from.
Not bad. Seriously not bad.
But who is the SENIOR Queen and King? Could it be Phoebe and Papa?
Next comic, dude. Next comic.
For some reason I can see Papa Shnorf becoming father to a Daemon stand in with Phoebe later in the comic and it all started with the prom.
No more babies!
How many years of pregnancy was it it for Puck?
It’s understood, a 600+ y.o. fairy may take a little longer to gestate, but both she and we all (in sympathy) may have suffered enough.
OTOH Tracee…….
It was two years real time of Puck pregnancy. Mind you, this whole prom thing might end up running for two years real time, so … yeah. When updates are weekly, time moves so very, very slowly…
Well, it’s probably too late for Puck to put Daphne on somebody else’s doorstep…
She’s too heavy to carry. And she’s ambulatory. Gotta abandon your kids while they’re still too small to follow you home. That’s the REAL moral of Hansel and Gretel.
I though real moral of Hansel and Gretel is “just because you are good witch doesn’t mean you don’t need a machine gun”.
Mmm. Good point.
There’s nothing wrong with those who wanted to see Daphne win…
They’re just fans of Carrie, is all.
You people are just bloodthirsty.
@EG
Only the Americans (and the Gamers).
Baby steps, Puck. Baby steps.
Exactly. Two steps forward, 1.9 steps back.
Still a net forward.
And that is the exact principle of the DIFFERENTIAL SCREW.
They may be my personal favorite.
I actually saw them coming from the get go but that might have something to do with a friend having the exact same scenario some 10 years ago – everyone thought another person in her school would win, before everyone decided to vote for someone who was blind out of pity.
The blind girl was not amused at this fact.
As for me hoping for Daphne: I mostly hoped for it because unlike Hannah, she isn’t completely human, given how she has dog ears.
…Still confused exactly what Daphne is, but eh.
Okay, so I would say in this scenario, Daphne is only partially right. From what we can see, Hannah is a legitimately popular, sociable and friendly girl who would likely have lots of friends. I mean, she managed to successfully disarm Daphne in a conversation; it indicates that she really is a people person with good social instincts. So she is a popular girl in her grade. But she is also blind, and that doesn’t hurt when it comes to voting time.
I’m sorry that real life blind girl was not amused.
Is Daphne in the same grade as Tyler?
Yeah, she’s in the same grade. Seeing as this is a ‘junior’ prom, it might mean one of two things. ‘Junior prom’ is really an American thing, and in the U.S. the junior prom is a dance strictly for students in grade 11. In Ontario, though (where this comic is set), ‘junior’ is a term applied to students in grade nine or ten. So ‘junior prom’ would likely be a dance for those grades.
In my head canon, Tyler and Daphne are both in grade ten. But an American reading this would assume they’re in grade eleven, and that’s not far off.
That’s odd. The Junior Prom from my area of the country is for the 7th and 8th grade awkward adolescents.
Okay, no. I see how junior prom could be for elementary school, but … no. These guys are older than that.
7th and 8th grades used to be junior high school a lot of places in the U.S. Now grades 6-8 are middle school (I think).
It only seems confusing because it is. 😀
Grades 7 & 8? Is that Saskatchewan?
And in follow-up to Typeminer’s comment, then you have areas that have junior high (grade 7-8) in some districts and middle schools (either 5-8 or 6-8) in other districts, all in the same geographic area….. Not in the least bit confusing.
Same here. It’s a mess. But most of it was developed ad how and regionally, so none of it is consistent. And when it comes to schools, people get very attached to the old ways. So a lot of the weird regional names and breakdowns persist.
And then you have the way it was when I was in High School (back before the world was in color). 9, 10, 11 and 12th grade were considered Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior — causing the Junior prom to be for 11th graders. Simple, isn’t it?
Well, that’s the standard American Breakdown. For the record, I consulted the interwebs, and they said standard American terminology is a JS prom, for grade elevens (the J) and twelves (the S). If it’s just a junior prom, that school will also have a senior prom or a graduation ball for the twelves. So how it was for you is still how it is. In America, at least.
The intertubenetwebs more than likely lacks the information on what small school’s do to accommodate their four grades is to allow all students to attend.
Mic Girls’s dress is UGHly.
Well, they all can’t be great. And I don’t really mind it.
Awwww, that’s so sweeeeet! Daphne’s SO jeallous! 😀
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next, which is always the important part in crowning anyone at a prom in a story. My favorite was when the King and Queen were arrested for murder.
I’m sure Puck has seen a number of corrinations. But it’s so much more when it’s your own children who are bitterly disappointed. And I mean bitter.
Man, it’s early. I’m babbling. I’ll shut up now.
The king and queen were arrested for murder? Which story was that?
It was an episode of Psych. It was interesting.
Sooo….perhaps not a complete garbage person anymore. That’s progress…
It is! Glass half full!
(ducks)
The color of Daphne’s aura in the last frame is quite appropriate.
By design.
GREEN with:
Gratitude ?
Gluttony ?
I’m out.
I wanted to see Daphne win, as it would have been all kinds of awkward for her and maybe even her family. But, I have hope for ensuing awkwardness coming right up.
Guaranteed!
Well, she’s half way there.
Which is better than no way there.
I admit I had it wrong- I thought Hannah didn’t want the title. Her expression says otherwise. Also, I have the hots for Mic Girl. She’s very shapely and expressive. Is that wrong?
Well, I don’t know how old you are, but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume she’s a little young for you. But I do like her character design. You know my penchant for bangs – a penchant not shared by the rest of society anymore.
@EG
“but I’m going to go out on a limb”
I’ll meet you there !
I love climbing trees.
Getting down is a bit tricky. I just can’t get the hang of backwards-climbing, tho.
So I jump face first DOWN to the next lowest limb, then the next, then the final few feet right onto the grass.
Or you just sit there at the upper limb, meowing for Baldy to get the ladder and carry you down. I know you cats; evil creatures, one and all.
To the author, though I I wasn’t one “hoping” that Daphne would win, why would you rule out blackmail, intimidation, and ballot rigging on her part and then be surprised that a number of your readers would be rooting for that? :/
Well, you have a point.
Because if the readers got what they were wanting, then it wouldn’t be his comic anymore.
@EG, I happen to like bangs, so go ahead and bang away! 😉
I’ve rethought a bit, and perhaps Puck’s near future will be more awkward than I thought. This is good, because awkwardness makes plots more interesting, IMHO. 🙂
Should I call the next strip? I probably shouldn’t. Let’s just say that nothing cuts worse than calculated weaponized self-deprecating kindness.
Also, Puck has learned a few emotive ear tricks of her own.
She has always been armed with the ear tricks. She knows the game because she plays the game.
Hamilton, Ontario; syringes on the Beach???? I thought you Canucks were shipping all you medical waste down here to the USA! Or, should I say Up here, since Detroit is actually North of Windsor? Please don’t start sending the Homeless. We got plenty! The Mic girl is OK, but Phoebe is the Hottest of the Bunch!!!!
No, we certainly can’t send our homeless to Detroit. That goes against one of the laws of thermodynamics: particles in a high concentration will naturally diffuse to a lower concentration. I think Detroit is currently at a point of maximum homeless saturation, whereas Hamilton has room for more.
Where IS Phoebe, anyway? I hope her sugar high hasn’t made her drift off into outer space. I would certainly miss her.
Somewhere close by. Guaranteed.
Of the people who wanted Daphne to win the crown, I’ve thought long and hard and decided that, basically, we want her to be happy.
We knew her as tiny tyke and (in story at least) she’s about to become a independent woman and many people always wants the main characters to be happy. Even Dr. Smith.
That’s not to say it’s a good narative choice. Daphne being happy is really something that should happen at the END of a story and the Gecko seems to have a lot more story to tell.
A little more story to tell. But not much.
Like seriously, I started this story arc in April of 2018. I think I’m maybe testing people’s patience?
You should see the Longest Day story arc over at the Whiteboard.
I am unfamiliar with it. Because I live in a sealed box.
Just in case you want a window: http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1783.html
[and following. And following. And following.]
A … paintball … anthro … Alaskan webcomic? Wow. I mean, I know Puck is a weird comic and is not for everyone, but dang it if that’s not the most niche thing I’ve ever seen.
And to be fair, I have seen that comic before. I forgot the name, but when I
it popped up, I was immediately like, “Oh, the Alaskan anthro paintball one. Right.”
“A … paintball … anthro … Alaskan webcomic?”
Yeah, a few people enjoy it. 🙂
My point was, it can be O.K. for a story to take a while to spin out. So long as it’s actual story that’s being spun. Beowulf, the Iliad and the Patrick Troughton Dr. Who story the Warlords take forEVER. But that’s O.K. because they don’t waste people’s time.
Just to be clear, I don’t think you’re wasting people’s time. This is great!
I am … not sure I’m not wasting people’s time. But I’m happy you don’t think so.
“I am … not sure . . .”
That’s O.K. I am. 🙂
@EG, It’s been said that good things take time. I hope you don’t feel pressured to end the story sooner than you want.
I don’t. In fact, no one thus far has expressed any dismay over the length. But it’s always in the back of my mind to not take too long. It’s hard. It’s particularly hard because I need to worry about pacing on two different levels: one is the week to week level of pacing, and the other is the overall narrative pacing. So sometimes I need to generate a comic that really is a bit of an empty strip, but I need to do it for the sake of the story’s pace overall. For instance, the last two comics before this one (511 and 512) were both filler comics based on pacing. They didn’t really advance the narrative; they just served as transition material or tension builders. I do think those comics are a little less engaging if you look at them as weekly entries, but they’re needed for the overall story.
When push comes to shove, I always try to play to the needs of the story as a whole, though. That’s what I’m really aiming for: that if you binge the whole story at once, it’s a good read. It’s not too rushed or too stretched, and it keeps you reading. I do realize that prioritizing the whole story over the weekly experience doesn’t really make sense for a weekly strip comic, and might at least partially explain my phenomenal lack of popularity, but I’ve never been one for smart decisions.
EG, it seems to me that you have a fine sense of when a story arc becomes a trough, and avoiding the face-plant that often results. There is, after all, a reason I and many others (what the heck happened to Susan, anyway) have followed this fanciful family as far as we have — and it isn’t (solely) the art. You do you, Gecko.
I am glad you are in favor of me doing me. As for Susan, we lost her a while back. Salem even tried to reach out via email just to see if she was okay, but we got nothing. Hopefully she’s fine.
Glad that my odds weren’t off the mark. Though Papa Schnorf and Phoebe being named king and queen WOULD have been interesting to say the least.
Well, just wait. Juuuuuuusst waaaaaaiit.