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It’s the first day at St. Christopher’s, and Sandy and Nikki handle it... differently.

The freshman welcome rally brings up some feelings. Zach gives a speech. Nikki has opinions about it. Strong ones!!!

This one is 29 panels - more than I planned! But I wanted to spend some real time on what “starting over” looks like when one of you is excited about it and the other one isn’t sure there’s anything left to start with.

As always, thank you so much for your support! 💕

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Jade Diaz

Oh my lord that dodgeball girlie is so smokin’ hot 🥵

wolfdragon

I think dodgeball would be good for Nikki. It will allow her to let out her frustrations , and she can already throwing a mean fastball

Jenny S

Oooooh, I'm loving the story possibilities opening up with the college clubs. A super feminine sorority has be so tempting for those newly accepting of their womanhood, lord knows I'd be tempted if a pretty girl came up to be and started complimenting my hair. Sandy's first step to her Mean Girls arc? Only time will tell. While dismissive, I feel like pre-Second Dawn Nick would be so much more mean about the anime and D&D clubs. Nikki going "not my thing, but you seem nice" feels very mature for her age. Dodgeball seems much more her speed, letting her scratch that competitive itch while (hopefully) being a much less stressful and drama-lite scene. Though I'd fun if she threw around a few d20s too, see what it's like. My group fought a lich not too long ago too. :P I like the way you frame the opening conversation between Nikki and Sandy, Nikki's parts more close up and claustrophobic as she relays her traumas, Sandy's more softer and a little more distant as she tries to comfort the other girl. You're a very good visual storyteller! <3

Jenny S

ALSO I AM VERY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THIS NEW HORIZONS POSTER!

Jade Diaz

As well you should be!

Crewchick

St. Chris needs a DG Chapter. They also need a crew team (please, please, please say they have a crew team!!! Pretty Please!!!🙏) Rowing does exist outside Boston. Even in Texas! UT Austin's women's team has won 4 national championships in the last six years. (https://texaslonghorns.com/news/2026/5/31/rowing-wins-fourth-ncaa-championship). Nikki would be so perfect. She is tall, 6' or maybe 5'11" now??? She is strong and has good cardio. And she does not need to worry about plowing over other girls on the field like a linebacker and getting found out. Because rowing is a non-contact sport, but winning is very important. It is both a team sport and an individual competition in the single sculls. She could have a real team that plays to her strength, but without the chance of standing out in a way that could skyline her, because all eight rowers need to work together in perfect sync or the boat does not move and the team does not win. And because of that it would force her to have to change her leadership style. One good rower won't make a difference if the other seven aren't swinging with her. O.K., enough of my annual crew pitch... for now! 😉 Did not expect Nikki to not get approached by Zeta Rho, or that Sandy would get approached and Nikki given the "bless your heart"! Ouch! Both are stunners, but I did not see either as a sorority type. But Sandy seems to be eating up the attention and possibly considering the pledge proposition. The platnum comment though makes me think ZR is just looking for a certain Barbie clone type and Nikki is just too dark in hair and complexion. We will have to see. Sandy pledging a sorority, especially ZR would be interesting under any circustances. But considering she so far is planning on approaching college openly trans, That could put a real fly in the ointment in a lot of ways. I am sure you have an intersting way to play this whole scenario out. Dodge Ball took me by surprise. Not what I would have seen as a real challenge or outlet for Nikki as a D1 athlete, though probably occassional fun. But woh! that table rep is smoking hot, fit, and got some major attitude that might just keep Nikki in check on her best day still channelling some of Nick's eagotism and concete. I think we may have a new character entering stage right. Not sure she will last to be part of the "force femme five". But however long she is part of the story should be intersting. 29 panels were needed. We are finaly seeing Nikki starting to release some of that emotion she has had bottled up for at least 2 plus years. And Sandy is amazing at her ability to be there without smothering. This is well needed decompression before Nikki can really start LIVIN! 😉

Crewchick

Errrrr 😡 I just lost half this post. Stupid fat finger error and my edit that added like four more paragraphs simply disappered befroe I could hit post. I guess God is telling me it is past time to go to bed. G'night!

Gemma

Interesting start for the girls. I hadn’t taken into consideration the extent of her ongoing sensitivity and vulnerability to trauma. All of this further exacerbated by her feelings if rejection and being dismissed and disregarded by Zach. I think Zach is soon to learn the full extent of a woman’s scorn. It is interesting the discerning differences between Sandy and Nikki’s experiences. Sandy’s naïveté and positive excitement, embracing her new life experiences. As someone who has never felt valued and truly belonging she is so vulnerable to the seduction now of embracing being a part of something and feeling special. Alternatively, Nikki’s competing feelings, her underlying cynicism of the College scene coupled with her resentment around no longer having a position of status and automatically having being the ‘hot property.’ It will be interesting to see how this works out and the different paths they both take on day one of college. It will, I’m sure, be okay. It will be interesting to see however, the dynamics that play out between them. I imagine they will get through some teething issues in their friendship that they may encounter from the different paths they may take at this time. The last two images suggest that Nikki may have found her sport. Again it will be interesting to see if the elevated assumptions she holds around dominating in women’s sports play out in reality or if she is in for experiencing a rude awakening. All so very exciting Emory. So many potential juicy plot lines yet to be played out between all the protagonists in the story.

SingularCurve

Ohh SANDY! That armor wont protect you as well as it looks on you!

Maggie Heels

ohhh... wooow... Nikki... I can only imagine what is happening inside your brain... continous nuclear reactions... and, and, and that last image... OMFG... Sandy could sell to me any dnd dice set possible for any money... (including same sets multiple times) 🫠❣️🫠❣️🔥🔥

Kris Greg

Nikki's Freshman rush is going about how I expected. I wish that she had given the D&D club more of a chance. The dodgeball rep is about to regret her life choices. The picture of Sandy with the d20 just does it for me. Thanks for that.

Maggie Heels

PS sooo Sandy will go with dnd and that will make her a target for zeta something girls and Nikki will defend her with "undodgeable" red balls of fire... 😁😁😁

Pet Jeffery

Another great episode, although not a great day for Nikki (and, I think, a day fraught with traps for Sandy). Some brilliant artwork. The close-ups of Nikki's face are extraordinary, her emotions so clearly delineated. On a personal note, this made me realise that, sixty years on, I still remember my first day at university. (Sixty years, really, it was 1966. And, like Sandy, I was a little older than most of the new arrivals and, also like Sandy, hopelessly naïve.) Most days in the last sixty years have vanished beyond recall, but that one remains. My first day had virtually no resemblance to Sandy's and Nikki's. A different time (I doubt whether dodgeball had been invented and I'm sure that D&D hadn't) and a very different place. This is almost unbelievably American, and not in a good way. I downloaded the pinup before the episode. (Just because it would download quicker, and I could look at it while the episode was downloading.) It gave me the impression that Sandy would join the D&D club. (Maybe she will eventually; she'd be a lot safer than she would with those sorority girls.) Years ago, I was very interested in dice-based RPGs (and used to write for the Call of Cthulhu game). In the letter pages of the magazines devoted to those games, people used to complain about chainmail bikini artwork. You seem to have taken the chainmail bikini literally, which looks as though it would be extremely uncomfortable to wear. I hope, for Sandy's sake, that it isn't actually made from metal. I don't entirely understand what dodgeball is, but it seems something that Nikki could find satisfying, and perhaps enjoyable. Better, the dodgeball girl (whose name we don't yet know) would make an excellent friend for Nikki and would teach her that girls can escape from their gender stereotypes, a lesson that would soothe her soul. I notice that, while we don't learn the dodgeball girl's name, we discover that the D&D girl is called Mira. Does naming a character mean that she will play a significant role (role playing game?) in subsequent episodes. Mira has a goth look. Is she friends with Evie? And, on the subject of Evie, aren't the cheerleaders trying to lure the new girls into try-outs? As to Sandy, I can't help feeling that she's naïvely stepping into a metaphorical quicksand. She'll need Nikki to extricate her.

Pet Jeffery

I wonder what a DG Chapter is.

Jessika

"New Horizons" (Horizon = Dawn...hmm....Xu from the Shadows...or Morosini being altruistic?) Love how Nikki is feeling hurt that she is not "pretty enough" for the Reds now...lol. She still has her ego to be the best and in control...and watching Sandy thrive will push her forward to "acceptance". But her flashbacks are definitely going to be an issue in the future...but Sandy has her back. As for Zach, Nikki ignoring him is going to push his feelings for her into retaliation. He had a crush on "Nick"...and now he likes "Nikki" but cannot accept it yet. and that date/kiss changed them both....it will haunt them. AND, removing her cage is definitely going to trigger Hutchinson....that psycho-ego will never let that action go unpunished. Plus, remember we don't know all the devices implanted in Nikki that she doesn't know about...yet. Plus, I can see Zach feeling rejected/hurt, or his boyfriend Mando seeing a threat, and leading to outing Nikki and Sandy on Campus! ...conflict is definitely coming!!! ...and will Nikki still end up a cheerleader?...I think yes....Lauren and Evie will definitely not take "no" for an answer....plus it will counter Sandy being a "Red" in her head...and give Nikki the ego boost of feeling important and "pretty" ...and she'll do it to get back at Zach and distract him. Remember, Nikki has yet to discover her power of being pretty and controlling men...she will definitely like that!...haha

Jessika

It will be fun to see if Nikki might not be the best athlete in the Dodgeball Club...humbling...and hopefully chip away at her ego and lead to acceptance....will it soften her some?

Jessika

...and the Dodgeball-Girl definitely has "Holly" vibes...Nikki will respond to her ego-crushing personality...and control. (...could she even be a spy from Second Dawn to keep an eye on Nikki???)

Jade Diaz

I for one welcome our new Zeta Rho overlords

wolfdragon

What does DG stands for?

Crewchick

Delta Gama; it is an international sorority present on campuses all across the U.S. and very popular in the South Eastern U.S. Founded in 1873, their moto is "Do Good" which is where the Greek Letters for "DG" came from. Their club focus is "mutual helpfulness". The symbol is the anchor representing "hope" (as in faith hope and charity (➕, ⚓, ❤), as well as safety. Just sharing a personal greek bias of mine. 😉 https://www.deltagamma.org/

AB

Hope we see more of Mira

Crewchick

That was a good catch. I blew right by it and had to go back and take a look after your comment. A very ominous name in the Xuniverse. Could it possibly be a clue where Janice might be? Last we saw she was making a video for Nikki saying she escaped to Mexico, but she had been recaptured and was at a Second Dawn facility, that is not Clinic 12 or the island. There was some doalog about down communications with Clinic 12. Could New Horizons be a Second Dawn facility in Arizona? Guess we will have to wait and find out.

ender8343

The Zeta Reds would obviously be interested in the rich pretty girl. They probably collect rich pretty girls.

Phoebe Nocturne

That IMMEDIATE apology after she uses the wrong name in an emotional moment... ugh, Nikki is growing so much! ;~; She's really going through it, though, holy shit. I'm glad she's admitting a lot of what's been happening to Sandy, at least... for what good it's doing in the rush of activity in the moment, oops. And I'm already getting a great vibe off of the sorority girls with Sandy too (STRONG sarcasm here!) Nikki, you had one job and you're failing... Side note, I can't help but think that Nikki... might not dominate as hard in field hockey as she fears she would. But a very valid fear, regardless.

Emory Ahlberg

Jenny, thank you so much! And you're so right about Sandy - having pretty girls compliment her is basically her kryptonite right now, and Zeta Rho definitely knows how to play that angle! Agreed on Nikki's reaction to D&D. Pre-Second Dawn Nick would've been a total jerk, but Nikki actually seeing Mira as a person shows how much she's grown already.

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you, Gemma! You've hit on so many great threads! Sandy is so eager to belong that she's ripe for the picking by Zeta Rho, while Nikki's cynicism is keeping her guard way up. And as for dodgeball, that is coed - but Nikki's assumption that she's just gonna waltz in and dominate women's sports is definitely going to get tested in the best way possible!

Emory Ahlberg

Diana, your passion for crew always makes me smile! But you've made a compelling case for Texas rowing, and honestly, Nikki's height and raw power would make her a terrifying force on an eight-person boat. Forcing her to adapt her QB leadership into total synchronization with seven other rowers would be something to see... That Zeta Rho interaction was so fun to write! Getting hit with a classic Texas "bless your heart" was a big blow to Nikki's former big-shot ego, while Sandy just ate up Kimberly's compliments. And that dodgeball rep! She's got just enough fire and attitude to give Nikki's competitive spirit a run for its money. We'll find out more about her soon...

Emory Ahlberg

Maybe it will distract the enemy long enough for the rogue in her party to get in a sneak attack! lol

Emory Ahlberg

Thanks, Maggie! Nikki's brain is definitely going through a total nuclear meltdown, but having a target to throw things at is gonna help her process those reactions real fast!

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you, Pet! 💕 It's amazing hearing about your first day of university back in 1966! And that's so cool that you used to write for Call of Cthulhu games! Don't worry, Sandy's chainmail bikini in that pinup is purely fantasy artwork and definitely not what her D&D character would actually wear lol You've got great instincts about Sandy stepping into quicksand with Zeta Rho... but maybe they're nicer than they seem! And you can bet Evie and the cheerleaders aren't done recruiting yet either!

Emory Ahlberg

Jessika, you've got your detective hat on already, and I love it! That "New Horizons" actually already has two stories about it in my "Reformation" series... https://mega.nz/folder/JD4lHCaD#RMYjV1M2_gcT4yvqsl5ZoQ Gotta say... Nikki's bruised ego over being completely ignored by Zeta Rho while Sandy got courted was so fun to write. Love your theory about Dodgeball Girl - maybe that "control" will rub Nikki in all the right and wrong ways!

Emory Ahlberg

LOL - I love that Nikki's main objection is that she could never get one to date her

Emory Ahlberg

Wolfdragon, you're so right! We already know Nikki's got an 85-mph fastball from when she pegged Hutchinson with that rock, so dodgeball is definitely a potential outlet for her pent-up frustration!

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you, Kris! I'm so glad you loved that d20 pinup image of Sandy. That was a lot of fun. I think dodgeball girl looks like she can hold her own, hehe

Emory Ahlberg

Thanks, AB. It's possible... and she is really cute!

Emory Ahlberg

LOl - Ender, I think "collecting rich pretty girls" might literally be the Zeta Rho mission statement - and Sandy (currently) fits their polished aesthetic so well that they couldn't resist pouncing!

Emory Ahlberg

Thank you, Phoebe! And, yeah, I was proud of Nikki' s immediate apology. She's really opening up and trying to be a better friend to Sandy - and I think she was too stunned that the sorority didn't approach her to even think about "saving Sandy lol... so she still has some growth to do! And you're very correct about field hockey... Nikki's assumption that she'll automatically dominate is gonna get tested hard once she steps onto that field! 💕

Kris Greg

That club will give Nikki a chance to work out both her competitive inclinations and her frustrations. Sandy should send that picture to a certain fella who's moved up north.

Pet Jeffery

I didn't tell you about my first day at university. The bus dropped me off in an underpass. A climb up concrete stairs brought me out into a sea of mud. Wooden planks formed narrow pathways over the morass. It was a new campus, open for the first time, and still under construction. Apart from teetering on planks over mud, most of the day was spent queueing. I just followed the other students, usually unaware of what I was queueing for.