Lovely visualization of what’s happening in Al’s mind right now. I am praying that the AI version of his mind will process this flood of memories and emotions the right way this time and accept Brendan’s love without the stupid self-homophobic hangups that ruined their relationship the first time. *fingers and toes crossed!* Come on, Al! You’ve got a man that loves you, and a daughter that is just like you (AI) that will need guidance in navigating a non-het, mixed-being relationship once all the shock, confusion and angst sorts itself out, on all fronts. Please lean into the gift you’re being given!!!
This is *beautiful* and I bet this page was planned for a long time, which is why we have the different colours for flashbacks!
Also I REALLY hope Sulla isn’t experiencing the same flashbacks…
EDIT: I went through the comic and realised the colour choices are really simple but really beautifully done. It’s given me a whole new appreciation for Blues work!
On the one hand, there are more positive memories than negative ones. On the other hand, the last panel is in the negative right column. On the third hand, in reading order, the last memory is a positive one.
On the contrarian side, much as Brendan has matured, the Brendan Al knew was self-centered, demanding, somewhat domineering, kind of insesitive to Al’s desperate coping mechanisms from traumas inflicted during his growing up, and let’s be honest, somewhat shallow. Raising Sulla has matured him a lot, but Al hasn’t really experienced that side of Brendan since his return. And also, much as I root for them both, I’m not sure this was ever a healthy relationship. Might be time to acknowledge that and move on…
On the other other hand, Sulla will probably intercede and save the day.
Slightly less contrarian angle on what you just said:
The Brendan Al knew was relatively young, which caused a style mismatch. Now Brendan has aged and Al hasn’t, so they may be even better matched than they were.
Good point, we’ve seen the old dynamics play out, the new Al hasn’t quite found himself yet, but his plunge into the water might be symbolic of a kind of rebirth where he could shed the old Al and embrace his love for Brendan. That might take some time for him to work through though, and he seems to be having a kind of memory cascade panic attack at the moment…
And then there’s the Chekov’s gun of Al’s deep past that hasn’t been fired yet…
This comic is one of the best that I have ever read! It’s great to see fleshed out characters that are queer and/or fat for once. As a fat trans guy, seeing Sulla and Brendan succeed and love and make friends makes me so happy. I can finally see people like myself living some sort of happy life. I had a random thought though: can synthetics and humans get married?
This is beautiful. Holy crap.
Overlaps…
Please don’t pass out
“Uh…” is right. What will it all mean? Hopefully, a “let’s take this slow” kind of deal.
Oh my. This page is a stunner.
neat!
as, it never occurred to me, blue, that this time♦line blending ever would be a thing i can witness in this comic
Lovely visualization of what’s happening in Al’s mind right now. I am praying that the AI version of his mind will process this flood of memories and emotions the right way this time and accept Brendan’s love without the stupid self-homophobic hangups that ruined their relationship the first time. *fingers and toes crossed!* Come on, Al! You’ve got a man that loves you, and a daughter that is just like you (AI) that will need guidance in navigating a non-het, mixed-being relationship once all the shock, confusion and angst sorts itself out, on all fronts. Please lean into the gift you’re being given!!!
I don’t think he’ll have the same kind of self-loathing he had at the time.
But I think Al may have an issue with himself not being actual flesh and blood…
This is *beautiful* and I bet this page was planned for a long time, which is why we have the different colours for flashbacks!
Also I REALLY hope Sulla isn’t experiencing the same flashbacks…
EDIT: I went through the comic and realised the colour choices are really simple but really beautifully done. It’s given me a whole new appreciation for Blues work!
On the one hand, there are more positive memories than negative ones. On the other hand, the last panel is in the negative right column. On the third hand, in reading order, the last memory is a positive one.
On the contrarian side, much as Brendan has matured, the Brendan Al knew was self-centered, demanding, somewhat domineering, kind of insesitive to Al’s desperate coping mechanisms from traumas inflicted during his growing up, and let’s be honest, somewhat shallow. Raising Sulla has matured him a lot, but Al hasn’t really experienced that side of Brendan since his return. And also, much as I root for them both, I’m not sure this was ever a healthy relationship. Might be time to acknowledge that and move on…
On the other other hand, Sulla will probably intercede and save the day.
Slightly less contrarian angle on what you just said:
The Brendan Al knew was relatively young, which caused a style mismatch. Now Brendan has aged and Al hasn’t, so they may be even better matched than they were.
Oh. Oh dear.
Good point, we’ve seen the old dynamics play out, the new Al hasn’t quite found himself yet, but his plunge into the water might be symbolic of a kind of rebirth where he could shed the old Al and embrace his love for Brendan. That might take some time for him to work through though, and he seems to be having a kind of memory cascade panic attack at the moment…
And then there’s the Chekov’s gun of Al’s deep past that hasn’t been fired yet…
is this symbolic of the past and future meeting up for AL or is this SULLA suddenly getting a flash of al’s memories………………
It would suck for Sulla if it was the latter because can you imagine seeing your dad bottoming?
The way the images are overlaid on top of a picture of Al makes me think it’s Al seeing these memories.
Obviously this page has been carefully planned for a long time. We have arrived. Nice work!
This page gave me the shivers, such a moving and powerful moment, Thank you!
This comic is one of the best that I have ever read! It’s great to see fleshed out characters that are queer and/or fat for once. As a fat trans guy, seeing Sulla and Brendan succeed and love and make friends makes me so happy. I can finally see people like myself living some sort of happy life. I had a random thought though: can synthetics and humans get married?
This is a really good depiction of the overlaps that really happen in memory. We are in the now AND we are in the then.
WHOAH BLUE…..