[0529] This Is Not The End
└ posted on Monday, 18 November 2013, by Novil
- Zoey: — That’s just terrible, Larisa. I’m so sorry for you.
- Larisa: You have to look on the bright side, Zoey. Misery has always run in my family. Maybe I can finally break the cycle!
- Larisa: If Michelle hates you now, do you want to sit next to me in class for the time being?
- Zoey: No, it’s not like that. She doesn’t know that I like girls.
- Larisa: I don’t quite understand. You did kiss her, right?
- Zoey: Yeah, that was really stupid of me. But she bought my excuse. I told her that I…
- Caption: Meanwhile in Michelle’s house.
![[0529] This Is Not The End](/comics/2013-11-18-0529-this-is-not-the-end.png "[0529] This Is Not The End")
Meanwhile, in Michelle’s house, Michelle totally knows.
@ Sam:
… and is totally have a sexuality crisis.
I’m getting this strange vibe that Michelle didn’t exactly buy Zoey’s excuse. Maybe it’s just a feeling, I’m not sure.
Someone call Katy Perry.
A few seconds ago, just before we cut to Michelle’s bedroom, she was laying there and a little light bulb came into existence over her head.
I think the clue fairy just completed it’s delivery.
As quick as she bought it, she has it up for sale again…discount…? Nope free!
This is the second great “aha” face we’ve gotten this storyline. Michelle’s seems much more troubled than Larisa’s.
I know it isn’t very likely, but please don’t cop-out and say that Michelle was willing to try lesbianism a try after so clearly showing her disgust a week or so ago. It is bad enough that half or more of all fiction makes the primary characters have a relationship that just happens to work out (the rest are the other extreme of soap opera-esque romance plots).
I want someone to strike out and remain optimistic anyways. I want someone (attractive) to realize that romance is something that can wait ’til after high school. I want something real. That isn’t to say Woo isn’t welcome, in fact I find him underused, but still.
And zero points for everyone who said that Larisa’s secret won’t get revealed,
’cause that was just ridiculously obvious.
Nice strip, nonetheless!
Really interested in the way this story arc goes now.
And Michelle’s face is just priceless.
@ Beppo:
I’m pretty sure that Zoey’s final comment was, “I thought you looked like a boy,” which would explain the expression on Michelle’s face pretty well. (It’s also pretty true, in my opinion.)
Again
@ twaintoss:
as expected her secret will take longer to be revealed, so I’ll have to post a extended edition soon again… well Michelle’s “realization” face isn’t as hilarious as Larisa’s meme, but it was a good try anyway ^^
looking at the last panel, I Don’t know if Michelle was faking all the time or if her brain just had some “LAG” when Zoey kissed her……….
And nobody has yet regarded Michelle’s visage in that last panel and uttered the words: homosexual panic.
Tsk.
Deko wrote:
I think it took her a while.
@ NecroRyu:
Yep, exactly my point. It would have been stupid if it WERE revealed now, after all.
And the extended edition is nice.
Michelle (thinks): This is terrible! Zoey is coming out as a lesbian, and I’m just not ready! She’ll think I hate her, and I do, but I hate myself as well. Oh noes, I’m going to end up as the only one who’s not totally cool about it!! Why now?! (texts) Zo, pls sty in clozt jst fr nothr yr! Cnt fit in sched yet! X-( <3 U
twaintoss wrote:
But it narrows things down a bit… probably some genetic issue which may or may not come up during whole her life.
Well useless to feel sorry for the genetic lottery, one can only hope that the mechanics we have to keep our bodies running (doctors) will reach a point either to manage it or to fix it.
AUUUGH! So frustrating to not know Larisa’s secret! 🙁
DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUUUNNNN!!!
Well, it is better if Zoey still sit near Michelle.. If not, people will ask why, Mishelle will talk about the kiss..and bam! Everyone will gossip about Zoey’s secret (Without even confirm that it is true :D).
Well, that should be GUILT keeping you up.
But somehow I doubt it. I was once like that. But I’ve gotten better.
… Yeah, this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of this.
God, that face. It’s like the face of a girl who danced with the devil under the pale moonlight… And she just doesn’t knows what to think about it. I can feel her nerves cracking, the fire in her eyes burning brighter and brighter until it will either consume her or destroy everything around her… This, my friends, is the face of a young school girl who (got) kissed (by a) girl, and had her world crumble to dust around her. This is the face of every person who ever said “WTF?” and nobody was there to answer. This, this is the face of Michelle.
hola wrote:
I have to agree. Michelle is clearly not into girls/women and we can’t force her to change. Remember that the LGBT community always talking about not forcing them to be straight, so of course they don’t want to force straight people to turn gay just because they want to have relationship with them. It doesn’t work that way.
I remember a webcomic called Shortpacked where a gay female character is keep pushing the girl she’s interested in to change her sexual preference even when she’s clearly into men. It felt like the ending of the story arc was forced to fill an agenda.
The webcomic who done it right is Wapsi Square. The gay female character actually met someone who also into her and they are happy with each others. Not forced, no agenda, just actual romance.
Michelle with the delayed reaction.
Just to say, is it just me that finds it refreshing to use a comment system that is not the horrible new Google+ system on YouTube? It just is infinitely better to not have ASCII art tanks everywhere and have to sign in with another site which I don’t like or use just to post a comment…
@ hola:
Her “disgust” could simply be her playing down an awkward situation that she is quite unused to.
Luke wrote:
New Youtube comment is a total trainwreck. Idiot postings increased and ascci arts appears everywhere. From hitler to dick ascii image. They are all horrible.
The silver lining? sensible people now realize that they don’t need to post on youtube. They have more time to comment on better websites. Like this one!
Still irritated that we didn’t find out Larisa’s secret. This is not a ‘noodle incident’, correct?
Five points says that Michelle doesn’t handle acceptance well, and ends her friendship.
Really, Zoey? Really?
Talk about a tin ear for subtext…
(Subtext in the “I’m totally telling you this but can we not talk about it” sense, that is, not the “Kirk and Spock / Xena and Gabrielle / Rizzoli and Isles are totally going at it offscreen” sense.)
(…Spock/Xena and Gabrielle/Rizolli just became my new favorite pairings.)
@ Lord Coyote:
‘Noodle Incident’ being a huge event implied, but never actually goes beyond the occasional passing mention?
Whatever Larisa’s big secret is exactly we’ll just have to wait. It’s probably health related, but regardless we know it’s a VERY serious problem. But Larisa’s talk about personally breaking the cycle of misery gives us hope.
I think those to upgraded from enemies to frenemies.
“She…she gave me…an incurable disease…and now I must kiss someone…to get rid of it…but someone must die from it for it to be eradicated… Should I do my duty and eradicate it myself by letting it kill me? Should I pass it on to someone else like a coward and hope they are less important? Should I take this matter to the government? No, wait, that wouldn’t work, they’d just kill me on the spot. Oh crap, I’m going to die…”
With understanding comes… well; if not actual friendship, at least tolerance. Nice job, Oliver. Good expression work to back up the text too, Powree. Really funny that Michelle is just now catching on. 🙂
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but the way Larisa says that she will be the one to end the cycle is way to dramatic. The only thing that really comes to mind is the fact that she may be terminally ill, and as much as I’ve fallen in love with these characters and the story, that kind of scares me for her.
…To be continued another time? So things might get tense between Michelle and Zoey for a while.
I really wonder what Larisa meant by “Misery has always run in my family. Maybe I can finally break the cycle!” Sounds genetic. Does she mean that she won’t let her illness hold her back and rule her life, or does she mean that the cycle will end…PERMANENTLY?
Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh, I don’t think Michelle knows Jack. She’s to busy thinking about that kiss and why she wants to do it again.
You guys way over complicate things.
Last panel: that horrible moment when you realize you’re out of the food you crave.
You do realize she actually gave an excuse, right?
At least Zoey is acknowledging her stupidity.
Noooo, now we will never know what pills larisa was taking over two years ago… ;.; It’s been bugging me forever.
@ Mr_Nabby:
The worst case scenario here is that she has fatal familial insomnia. You really don’t want that one.
Oof! Man! Larisa’s confirmed to have some sort of condition, Zoey’s trying to come to grips with her sexuality along with the cultural ramifications that brings, and Michelle just discovered that her best friend is not only les/bi but also attracted to her. I honestly feel sorry for all of them.
Mature response: “Hi Zoey, I figured it out, and I’m sorry for what I said.”
More probable response: “Hey everyone, guess who’s gayyyyyyyyyy!”
Poor Michelle. She’s probably torn between liking Zoey as a friend, not liking her in _that_ way, and not wanting to change anything in their relationship. At least, that’s what I’d think if I were her and not into girls, or not into personally Zoey (attraction is NOT solely defined by gender).
We’ve seen Larisa’s parents, right? Have they seemed to have hidden misery?
It looks more like she’s going “Oh god, she’s probably -actually- gay and I just really, really insulted my best friend today. She’ll hate me forever.” in that last panel there.
Rachel wrote:
In her father Ivan’s case, he doesn’t hide it. Check out any of his artworks, there it is for the world to see.
Not sure about the source of the misery, though…
Ah, here you go: http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2011/08/08/0297-art-i/