SS4 149 Mixed emotions
skyangel on Oct. 9, 2012
Oh dear, dear, dear what haveI done. Is this a good web experience or not, idk. The one thing that's always appealed to me about webcomics is that writer, artist and readers can all mix intimately in a way you could never do with the old paper comics, and you can discuss thoughts and viewpoints with each other too just as you have been, which is very unique. I'm actually almost scared to come on at the moment as I feel guilty for having crushed the relationship so badly!
In many ways though asI think a lot of you have already agreed, if anyone was ever going to cheat it was always likely to be Janey. Sarah isn't perfect by any means but for all her faults and even her doubts about her feelings, she has always done the honourable thing. As I've said before, I'm not defending Janey, she's just going to do what cheaters do in situations like this and try and convince both Sarah and you readers that she has learnt something from it and truly regrets her selfishness, as well as waking up to what she has really lost. She's the accused and you are the court andI get to be Judge Judy!!!! I have to admit though that at the moment I'm on the side of the non-forgivers.
Next week: Sarah faces Janey at work for the first time since that night and struggles to contain her anger in the workplace!
Have a nice weekend all! :)
prairienymph at 1:03PM, Oct. 26, 2012
Another time I made out with someone other than the man I was interested in. This was because I felt unworthy of that man and wanted to prove to both of us I was no good. He didn't see me as bad or cheap at all. It was part of the beginning of a relationship we plan to continue for the rest of our lives. (married 6 1/2 years!) Neither of these situations match Sarah and Janey, but I'm just saying stuff is complicated and its too easy to make assumptions.
prairienymph at 12:59PM, Oct. 26, 2012
About cheating and the end/beginning of relationships: I once 'cheated' (if sex isn't involved, some people don't count it) on a boyfriend because I was desparate to get out of the relationship and not strong enough to just leave. Abuse was involved. Its easy to judge from the outside. I had tried to end it before and hadn't worked. This was my way of finally getting free. It signalled the end.
roycemarie at 12:15AM, Oct. 23, 2012
OK, when I got married the first time, my Mother wrote me a letter saying "Congratulations! He is the first of many." That really upset me, and I didn't believe her. Well, the wise woman was right. Not too many, but a few. Some were a waste of time and a couple were not. I'm happy now, most of the time. My points are: no one is perfect, a person moves on, time heals wounds, and Sarah will be happy again. I don't really care about Claire or Janey at this point. Maybe Janey later.
oldironside at 6:21AM, Oct. 22, 2012
This is in no way a setup, unless Claire is as devious and confident as Professor Moriarty. Janey and Claire got careless and were probably seduced by the thought of the illicit thrill of doing it in that particular bed. Otherwise they could have been safely ensconced at Claire's. Which only goes to further suggest that this wasn't an isolated incident. I doubt it's been going on for years, but certainly weeks and maybe months. I would suggest that Claire was the prime mover here, but Janey didn't need much talking into it.
Lopriest at 1:31AM, Oct. 22, 2012
Awesome artwork, really conveys the mood.
comic_didi at 4:05PM, Oct. 21, 2012
@DR: Yeah, I gotta go with these two. No possible way did they set Sarah up here. Claire just didn't give a shit one way or the other. Plus, she's a bitch. And really, her callous comment was hardly anything that would need planning. She could have just as easily said something else. All she really said was that apparently you can't cheat if you're not married and that Sare was being overly dramatic.
marrog at 2:16PM, Oct. 21, 2012
I don't buy that they intended to get caught - not all cheaters want or expect to be caught (although there are a subset who do of course). And if Claire wanted it I suspect she'd use a less indirect method. @prairienymph, as I say below, I've actually cheated myself, and I've never to my knowledge been cheated on. I still think that cheating of this type marks the effective end of a relationship (it certainly marked the end of mine). That doesn't mean that what Janey's done is unforgivable or impossible to understand - that's down to the empathy of the individual involved. But it takes a particular kind of person to be able to continue a relationship with someone after a betrayal like that, and it doesn't seem to me, from the past years of her life we've seen in this comic, as though Sarah is that kind of person. Compassionate enough to forgive? Yes. Naive enough to _try_ again? Perhaps. But able to forget and move on entirely? I suspect not. She never could just ignore Claire.
Lunaris Victoria at 12:03PM, Oct. 21, 2012
@DR Seriously? How do you phone in an abandoned package? Someone left a strange package sitting around and the worst was assumed. Neither Janey nor Claire could have predicted that would have happened, and it's sure as hell obvious Janey wasn't expecting Sarah home so it's clear enough she had nothing to do with it. Claire would've been in an awfully big hurry if it was her, and that still assumes she knew how the store would react. And that assumes she knew the package would be found when it was. It was pure chance. As for Claire's comment...Claire is a bitch, that's all that needs to be said. Seriously...there were no calls made, so if The Yard can do a voice match...well...there's some straight-up supernatural shit at work here, and we may as well blame it all on Janey being possessed. No, kind sir, this was just a bad decision and bad timing colliding together. Agreed, though, that this should be tops for drama. ~Liz
dragonrider at 6:57AM, Oct. 21, 2012
P.S. @Skyangel if this doesn't land you in the top dramatic slot for DD awards next round the judges will be drunker than the duck.
dragonrider at 6:53AM, Oct. 21, 2012
@LV phoned in bomb scare? Use your brains ma'am think could Claire or Janey have gone to a public call box and placed that call, bet voice analysis of the threat call recording by "The Yard" could turn up a probable match. No dear lady that was a set up for Sare to catch. Even if she hadn't gotten home early they would still have been at it when she did get home. Why else did Claire have the callous comment she tossed out ready at to use?
prairienymph at 7:21PM, Oct. 20, 2012
Hi, I'm a longtime fan, but have never commented before. Yes, we should empathize with Sarah. That sucks (understatement). But I have noticed that people who demonize someone without trying to see their side tend to be denying the possibility that they could do something like that too. We are all capable of hurting those we love as much as we'd like to pretend otherwise. I doubt Sarah is capable of that anytime soon. She needs to mourn. But we don't have to be so simplistic. We can hold someone responsible for their actions without closing our ears to whats going on. Janey has a history of being thoughtless, but not malicious. I think constant abuse and disrespect would be a far more damaging issue in a relationship than trust and communication, as essential as those are. I have hope for both of them, whether or not they end up together. New jobs? New girlfriends? Poly relationship?
comic_didi at 5:24PM, Oct. 20, 2012
@Udyr: That was the first thought I had when I read this. Meeting there is one thing. But I bet there's chagrin and regret now that Sarah helped Janey get this job. I'm interested in what the woman has to say but it's less about the optimism and mostly because I always wanna know what motivates a cheater.
Lunaris Victoria at 2:13PM, Oct. 20, 2012
Hence why I said they both need to grow up some. :P With some time and maturity it can still come together.
marrog at 2:09PM, Oct. 20, 2012
Mm, 'delicate' isn't a word I'd generally use to describe _either_ Janey OR Sarah... *grin*
Lunaris Victoria at 2:06PM, Oct. 20, 2012
@Dragonrider Sarah got off work early due to a bomb scare...Janey could hardly have predicted that. I don't think she was trying to get caught so much as filling some void in her life that needed filling. And I really don't think Janey would've done as much with anyone else. I think Claire manipulated her, and is working to pull Janey away from Sarah whether or not Janey realizes it...and I think in the end Sarah and Janey will split, grow up as individuals, and come back together when the time is right...and I also think Janey will open her eyes, see what Claire is doing, and finally stop hanging around the bitch. Just being optimistic, perhaps...but I don't think this is beyond repair yet. It just needs delicate work. ~Liz
dragonrider at 2:00PM, Oct. 20, 2012
My, My Sky you've certainly stirred up a hornets nest here. OK, IMneverHO, Sarah is the type who will forgive and try to forget and just when she thinks everything is peachy, guess what Little Miss Hot Panties will let herself get caught again, if not with the Queen Bitch someone else just like her. That was a set up for Sarah to find them, just to let her know if you don't swing with me I swing without you, before we started living together this was your hope chest, now it's the community chest. And By The Way, don't ever think about putting a spider down my girlfriends panties again bitch. PQ Sky.
marrog at 1:49PM, Oct. 20, 2012
(Repeated from the last thread in case folk have just stopped reading that one - dunno how you guys work! This comment mostly directed @ LV with ref to how our personal experiences colour our reactions and opinions.) I've cheated too, with someone I'd been friends with (online) for years and about whom my girlfriend was already nervous - so not that dissimilar to what Janey did here. And I'll tell you what, it worked out _great_ for me - I've been with the girl I cheated with (who was cheating too, on her husband) for four and a half years, we have a civil partnership and two cats, and we're idyllically happy. But I didn't make excuses for it. It was still the wrong thing to do - and it most certainly, and quite rightly, signalled the end of my relationship.
oldironside at 1:45PM, Oct. 20, 2012
Well, if you want my opinion... There are some very interesting questions. What will Janey be like without Sarah's moderating influence and with the Bitch Queen egging her on? As for Sarah, without Janey she'll probably return to type and sit at home with her coat buttoned up to her chin drinking weak tea. I think that long term they will realise they need each other, because they each provide the missing part of each other's psyche. One is Bob Ferris, the other Terry Collier. The most important thing is that the journey should be fun - a real roller coaster.
BearinOz at 10:28AM, Oct. 20, 2012
What if you meet in the workplace Udyr? - we did and were fine
Dark Pascual at 8:51AM, Oct. 20, 2012
Judge Judy is funny, but Judge Marilyn Millian has better legs and Latin looks... I just hope for sake of giggles that Sarah delivers a nice "FUCK YOU!!!" to Janey, followed by a Curbstomp... And not any Curbstom... but Super Dragon's Curbstomp... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw3etxwKaoY That man taught me that if violence is not the solution, is because you are not using it enough... Again just for giggles...
Udyr at 8:19AM, Oct. 20, 2012
this is why couples shouldnt work at the same place...trouble
DarkVisor at 5:27AM, Oct. 20, 2012
Once again, will be joining LV as a hold out until we hear Janey's side of things (and Skye? Please don't be Judge "Don't piss on my leg and call it rain" Judy, be Judge Wapner instead, he at least was cool)
oldironside at 4:29AM, Oct. 20, 2012
Lovely. The layout of the first picture, the small cones of light, Sarah's pose in the second, and the colouring in the third. However, the final picture is the best. She is alone, but the whole composition screams that she will soon be surrounded by her workmates when she really just wants to be alone. For the first time in her adult life she will be hoping that the empty chair opposite her stays empty.
BearinOz at 4:05AM, Oct. 20, 2012
...and I can't believe I've been doing a silimar run-from-pain, sleep-in-the-van in a servo parking area scenario for something of mine (which I'm not going to put up for ages anyway). O.K. carry on ! B-)
BearinOz at 4:00AM, Oct. 20, 2012
Wow - I haven't even got past the first panel yet - but so perfect that forlorn nightlit, abandoned shopping trolley scene...10/10...back in a mo!