The Letter
Chapter: Season Nine
Characters: Sam
I know I teased you all a little bit with this reveal, but the overall arc of Sam’s path to growth is a marathon, not a sprint. I hope you can forgive me.
You may have noticed that this page dropped on a Monday. I have decided to go back to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday updates. It is/was a goal of my Patreon page but to be honest, I just missed my characters and stories too much. I will do what it takes to make it happen.
In the meantime, consider dropping me a dollar or two every month if you have the means.
See you again on Wednesday as Sam and the crew brace for the opening of Lee’s rival game store.
First off: GODDAMN YOU.
Second off: Thank you. That is such a beautiful letter.
^THIS pretty much covers it all
thirded…Amy, we love you…
Unintended bonus of being a Patreon supporter: Nearly instant notification when a new strip drops, because now Brian’s sending out the high-res copies to supporters.
Crit the day is my new anthem
Fuking hell.
I’ve felt that last panel through my soul. Stop writing so good. Also, don’t listen to me.
Like, SERIOUSLY PATTERSON!!
If you had f’ed up Sam’s relationship, I woulda come over there and. . . . well, probably not, since I’m not really confrontational, and you’re probably a big guy,
But I woulda QUIT THIS COMIC. . . . okay, not that either since I’m kinda invested in everyone now, and I really care about them. . .
But I PROBABLY would have pouted.
You know. Like a grown man.
I’m with this guy… and relieved.
What this guy said.
Sam needs some vacations! needs to be chill.
Totally called this.*
* = In my own mind.
Oh, yeah, me too. A Dear John in a letter is not Amy’s style at all. Maybe something scribbled on the bottom of a cream pie pan and tossed in someone’s face…
You know, in Hindsight, Amy wouldn’t have pulled a “Dear John” on Sam; she’s too straight-forward a person to do that. She would say it to his face and give reasons why; at the very least in an attempt to end it friendly, I’d think
The thing is I very easily identify with Sam. I regularly get imposter syndrome wondering why on earth my wife hasn’t got fed up of me and thrown me out.
This guy gets it! I still don’t know how I’ve had a 10 year relationship. Every so often I wonder why I haven’t been tossed on my ear.
…. I did. Get tossed, I mean.
And, worst of all … just when I had stopped constantly doubting myself, and feeling that same “imposter syndrome” where she was concerned. :'(
Trust me, as bad as you think it would be? The reality is worse. FAR worse. :'(
…
Go make some public displays of affection. Make your S.O. some breakfast (two big stacks of pancakes maybe), take her out for a picnic somewhere, SOMEthing. Show her you love her, don’t get complacent about it.
FUCK YES SO HAPPY TO HAVE MY FIRST THOUGHTS BE 100% WRONG!!!
I’m making a “Ledo Critico Diem” sticker asap. Thanks Brian!
Every day, Sam. I wonder if it’s the day she realizes she could do so much better. I understand.
Note to self: Save a man* a heart attack by putting hearts or something on the outside.
*- person, man just fits the cadence better.
Oh, Sam, Sam, Sam.
Nothing at all is wrong with you, that isn’t wrong with a billion other poor souls on this planet …. yours truly, included: a lack of self-esteem.
Add to that the never-quite-healed hurts of past failed relationships, and, well … :'(
I feel you, man. I feel you. All too damned deeply.
Even the first sentence is heart attacking inducing! Is there a reason that Amy couldn’t have at least told Sam the previous night that she had to be gone early?
Yeah nothing wrong with him actually. I mean I’m sure he probably has insecurities to work out but 90 percent of the time you wake up to your romantic partner gone and a letter in their place you just got dumped. This particular moment I would think more was wrong with him if he hadn’t thought, “Oh shit”
True, but I think a lot of us would have just torn open the letter to see what was what.
To be fair, most people would have just left the letter taped up on the bathroom mirror or something instead of stuffing it in a cryptic sealed envelope with “Sam” written on the outside. Like, who else would it be for? The cat?
Therapy is something that can help when the constructions inside your head start becoming more important than the realities outside. Isn’t Sam already getting some kind of therapy? Other than a group of great friends which even includes Santa Claus.
Heh. Well played, Charles.
Admit it Ryan. You used up a little time trying to figure out HOW you were going to illustrate the letter in glitter ink, didn’t you?
I would have done it in Photoshop by pulling out the black letters to make them transparent and dropping a layer of “glitter” underneath. Flatten, then maybe “bump” them a bit to make the ink look thick.
Of course, judging the excellence of your previous artwork, you probably already have two easier ways of doing it better.
“Brian.” Where the heck did “Ryan” come from? I have a lot of trouble with non-editable comment fields…
Wait, didn’t he have a shrink? Or was the lich shrink just for joke purposes?
I will actually cover that. Iddy is a GM therapist and Sam needs a conventional therapist.
Interesting. Now you’ve got me thinking of real-world examples where that applies. Groovy.
Amy is still goodness.
Please do get help, Sam. <3