I do not recall collab-ing with you to put to paper a visual representation of the exact psychological experience I have when I experience a major depressive event… >_>
This is phenomenal. It does a wonderful job illustrating that kind of dark fall into depression. The thoughts you have about yourself, the people around you. The evil and despair you experience. The pain. The trauma. You did good Brian. I appreciate this. A lot.
Also… Evil Sam?! Is it Evil Sam?! Holy fuck I think it is!
I want to know who this is, but I can’t place them. Is this the grin? Is this the Mother of the Dead? One of those two if I had to guess. The only thing i know is that this thing goes by “she” and hates either Christmas, or Brett, evidenced here: https://d20monkey.com/comic/elsewhere-part-three/
But I don’t recognize this one, and that is…troubling.
Also, this comic is masterfully dark and really hits home as someone who struggles with these exact thoughts a lot. Bravo.
Thought I should mention, right below “oh please” seems like a typo, I get the feeling the first ‘are’ should be a ‘you’ instead. If not, perhaps I’m just misreading.
Great work as always, I’m seat-edged for more!
Hmm I always took the “You hate him as much as she” as he hates Brett as much as Jeanie, not a weird third person self reference. Although the Us line after could imply there’s multiple persona’s/people in the crystal entity which if so one of the female persona’s could hate Brett/king of seasons and the self reference is less weird, could also just be about its alliance/henchmen in Klaus as we’re now aware.
https://d20monkey.com/comic/welcome-back/
the melty mouth and robes do seem approriate for an undead/ghost of karthunn, so Mother of the Dead seems like a decent possibility now,
Grin seems less likely now, in the one depiction we have of it, it has very fangy teeth, https://d20monkey.com/comic/harsh-reflections-part-nineteen/
Although honestly just a personification of depression/evil Sam seems fairly likely with this dialogue. Mother of the Dead could work for that with the backstory Sam gave her and to tie in karthun still. Can’t wait to see where it goes 😀
Something like a manifestation of Sam’s own depression feels right, but it will also need a name and an identity.
I feel like most of the named Karthun NPCs we have heard of are too mundane for this climactic show down with Sam’s inner demons, but maaaybe the Mother could fill it.
Hm. That *is* the same text style. So if this thing is or has been feeding off of Sam’s negative emotions, I guess it backed his brother opening the Game Haus just to fuck with him and get him super stressed out to empower it? Huh.
We have definitely seen this text in relation to Sam’s depression/doubt/anxiety like the one you pointed out, but we’ve also seen Sam depressed/doubting/anxious without the text and tendrils, so its definitely possible its just when he gets in a dark enough spot/certain triggers, its also possible, this baddie is just enhancing Sam’s natural depression/doubt/anxiety at times.
I felt that when I got laid off in 2018. Despite getting servance, I felt so worthless for months. It was a hard hole to climb out of… sometimes you fall in again.
Amazingly well done Brian. Possibly a small correction needed in the adversary’s dialog box after Sam mentions Amy. It responds with “Do not love you.” That should probably be “Does not love you.”
Nod. I think I based my comment based on how Sam continued talking about Amy. But yes, on second reading it is likely meant to follow the “My friends” line.
damn, I really want to add this to my Slack Communities “Mental Health” channel, because it so accurately portrays, depression, imposter syndrome, and the ‘not good enough’ feelings that many in infosec feel. the only reason I didn’t is because I’d rather them go back about 100 pages and not see the ending spoiler.
Thank you for this… That oubliette is where I find myself when I’m afraid to put myself out there.
Seems one potential problem with Narrative power, is that there are all kinds of narratives, and it can be difficult not to lend the wrong narratives too much of your power. To not let them steal your power. There are several dewey decimals devoted to dealing with unhealthy narratives.
Now it’s telling me this is stupid and obvious and not to send this message. Maybe I should go for a walk.
I think it may be Evil Sam from when Mel hurt him. Oh a similar note the Dice Vault I keep my DM dice in I named the Crypt of Broken Dreams based off that bad ass arc!
I made a similar prediction yesterday that it was Lord Greymane Douchebro, from the same story arc. Evil Sam is a possibility, but with the way it goes out of its way to call Sam its ‘creator’ I just don’t feel it. ‘Evil Sam’ isn’t so much a creation of Sam’s as a manifestation of his feelings at the time.
After a reread. I think he is actually given life to depression itself. This could explain Carlos’s reaction. I don’t specifically remember if Carlos battle depression or not but it does seem like something that could have happened.
Simply awesome. Conceptually, artistically, psychologically – and what’s really struck me, with this and the previous one, is how it uses the technical capacity of webcomics, the scrolling, to create the sensation of falling into darkness. It’s not just a regular image on an electronic rather than a paper page; the medium is the message…
And, yes, I’d go with the Mother of the Dead identification too. There’s an image on the Twitter that fits the picture above – https://twitter.com/d20monkey/status/1168342114972950528?s=21 – but still more there’s the origin myth at https://d20monkey.com/comic/story-time/. “The act tore reality, creating the shadow†– and suddenly it’s clear how far Sam drew inspiration for this bit of Karthun from the darkest parts of his psyche.
He needs to remember that he created the rest of it as well…
Yeah, I have to agree here. Taking the familiar (comics) and utilizing the capability of an alternate media (not having a fixed page/image size) and really using that capability to the fullest, that’s awesome.
Hmm. I wonder how Mel is tied up in all this. She popped back on-scene, and Larry just happened to be hiding out in the stall. Was it a cameo, or a part of this final showdown in some way?
/>
damn
I’d like to go ahead and second that damn and contribute a HOLY SHIT….
I do not recall collab-ing with you to put to paper a visual representation of the exact psychological experience I have when I experience a major depressive event… >_>
This is phenomenal. It does a wonderful job illustrating that kind of dark fall into depression. The thoughts you have about yourself, the people around you. The evil and despair you experience. The pain. The trauma. You did good Brian. I appreciate this. A lot.
Also… Evil Sam?! Is it Evil Sam?! Holy fuck I think it is!
I want to know who this is, but I can’t place them. Is this the grin? Is this the Mother of the Dead? One of those two if I had to guess. The only thing i know is that this thing goes by “she” and hates either Christmas, or Brett, evidenced here: https://d20monkey.com/comic/elsewhere-part-three/
But I don’t recognize this one, and that is…troubling.
Also, this comic is masterfully dark and really hits home as someone who struggles with these exact thoughts a lot. Bravo.
Thought I should mention, right below “oh please” seems like a typo, I get the feeling the first ‘are’ should be a ‘you’ instead. If not, perhaps I’m just misreading.
Great work as always, I’m seat-edged for more!
Hmm I always took the “You hate him as much as she” as he hates Brett as much as Jeanie, not a weird third person self reference. Although the Us line after could imply there’s multiple persona’s/people in the crystal entity which if so one of the female persona’s could hate Brett/king of seasons and the self reference is less weird, could also just be about its alliance/henchmen in Klaus as we’re now aware.
https://d20monkey.com/comic/welcome-back/
the melty mouth and robes do seem approriate for an undead/ghost of karthunn, so Mother of the Dead seems like a decent possibility now,
Grin seems less likely now, in the one depiction we have of it, it has very fangy teeth,
https://d20monkey.com/comic/harsh-reflections-part-nineteen/
Although honestly just a personification of depression/evil Sam seems fairly likely with this dialogue. Mother of the Dead could work for that with the backstory Sam gave her and to tie in karthun still. Can’t wait to see where it goes 😀
Something like a manifestation of Sam’s own depression feels right, but it will also need a name and an identity.
I feel like most of the named Karthun NPCs we have heard of are too mundane for this climactic show down with Sam’s inner demons, but maaaybe the Mother could fill it.
It’s Sam. Or an aspect of him. We’ve seen this before.
https://d20monkey.com/comic/nope/
Hm. That *is* the same text style. So if this thing is or has been feeding off of Sam’s negative emotions, I guess it backed his brother opening the Game Haus just to fuck with him and get him super stressed out to empower it? Huh.
We have definitely seen this text in relation to Sam’s depression/doubt/anxiety like the one you pointed out, but we’ve also seen Sam depressed/doubting/anxious without the text and tendrils, so its definitely possible its just when he gets in a dark enough spot/certain triggers, its also possible, this baddie is just enhancing Sam’s natural depression/doubt/anxiety at times.
I know this voice.
I’ve been down here before.
wow
I feel this so deep
This is like the embodiment of despair
I felt that when I got laid off in 2018. Despite getting servance, I felt so worthless for months. It was a hard hole to climb out of… sometimes you fall in again.
Amazingly well done Brian. Possibly a small correction needed in the adversary’s dialog box after Sam mentions Amy. It responds with “Do not love you.” That should probably be “Does not love you.”
He starts to say “My friends” so do would be more correct following that.
Yeah it’s pretty clear to me that it’s correct.
Nod. I think I based my comment based on how Sam continued talking about Amy. But yes, on second reading it is likely meant to follow the “My friends” line.
Hits home, depression incarnate. I need a minute, I think I’ll join you on that walk Brian.
damn, I really want to add this to my Slack Communities “Mental Health” channel, because it so accurately portrays, depression, imposter syndrome, and the ‘not good enough’ feelings that many in infosec feel. the only reason I didn’t is because I’d rather them go back about 100 pages and not see the ending spoiler.
Thank you for this… That oubliette is where I find myself when I’m afraid to put myself out there.
Seems one potential problem with Narrative power, is that there are all kinds of narratives, and it can be difficult not to lend the wrong narratives too much of your power. To not let them steal your power. There are several dewey decimals devoted to dealing with unhealthy narratives.
Now it’s telling me this is stupid and obvious and not to send this message. Maybe I should go for a walk.
Nope. NOT stupid and NOT obvious. Insightful. …but wake a walk anyway. They’re good for you. 😉
I think it may be Evil Sam from when Mel hurt him. Oh a similar note the Dice Vault I keep my DM dice in I named the Crypt of Broken Dreams based off that bad ass arc!
This is my thoughts too. I don’t remember who it was. It might have been you. Made the same prediction. A couple weeks ago, maybe
I made a similar prediction yesterday that it was Lord Greymane Douchebro, from the same story arc. Evil Sam is a possibility, but with the way it goes out of its way to call Sam its ‘creator’ I just don’t feel it. ‘Evil Sam’ isn’t so much a creation of Sam’s as a manifestation of his feelings at the time.
After a reread. I think he is actually given life to depression itself. This could explain Carlos’s reaction. I don’t specifically remember if Carlos battle depression or not but it does seem like something that could have happened.
The bit after “Oh. Please” looks like a typo. Also, this is fucking stunning. Like, sledgehammer to the sternum.
I think maybe the line “ARE TRULY ARE DIM.” should be “YOU TRULY ARE DIM.”
All fixed. Thank you!
Here…?
https://d20monkey.com/comic/grim-fortune/
I did not need my anxiety manifested D8 ( Gorgeous work Brian)
Simply awesome. Conceptually, artistically, psychologically – and what’s really struck me, with this and the previous one, is how it uses the technical capacity of webcomics, the scrolling, to create the sensation of falling into darkness. It’s not just a regular image on an electronic rather than a paper page; the medium is the message…
And, yes, I’d go with the Mother of the Dead identification too. There’s an image on the Twitter that fits the picture above – https://twitter.com/d20monkey/status/1168342114972950528?s=21 – but still more there’s the origin myth at https://d20monkey.com/comic/story-time/. “The act tore reality, creating the shadow†– and suddenly it’s clear how far Sam drew inspiration for this bit of Karthun from the darkest parts of his psyche.
He needs to remember that he created the rest of it as well…
Yeah, I have to agree here. Taking the familiar (comics) and utilizing the capability of an alternate media (not having a fixed page/image size) and really using that capability to the fullest, that’s awesome.
Like everyone else, that really hit close to home Brian. Methinks we’re going to have a mob walking down the road soon, all supporting each other.
A physical manifestation of his greatest fear. Sam, face yourself.
*goes for a walk*
This hurts my soul, been in this place far more times than I wish to recount.
Hmm. I wonder how Mel is tied up in all this. She popped back on-scene, and Larry just happened to be hiding out in the stall. Was it a cameo, or a part of this final showdown in some way?
ooo, I’m sure I’ve met this guy before…
Also I just wanna grab and hug Sam, poor baby… DX<
“IT’S ME, AUSTIN! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG!”