Week 193! (Patreon)

Here's the first script for April, for page 417. This page has the big 'lesson' of the arc, and the general point it was all leading to, that sometimes all you need to do to be a good friend to somebody that's down is just... listen to them and be there for them. You don't always have to buy or make them things, appeal to them with gifts or activities or whatever. Sometimes all someone really needs is someone to pour their anger, frustrations, stress, sadness, depression, and so on out to. Even if that person can't do anything to help solve those problems, the simple act of having been a conduit for that outpouring will at least help relieve the person somewhat of feeling those pent-up and bottled-up emotions boiling and simmering under their skin for a while. And that can be a lot more valuable than you'd think. And all coming from the damn sad sack's mouth itself, for irony.

The idea behind this was much akin to the arc with Gus, where it's my own personal beliefs, experiences, and opinions about mental and social health that I wanted to portray and espouse through the medium of the comic. With Gus's arc, it was about unrequited love and maturity in dealing with it, as well as taking things into your own hands and making your own decisions rather than purely relying on the advice of others to save you from a situation. With this arc, it's about the build-up of stress and emotions day-to-day that we keep hidden within ourselves, that it's unhealthy to bottle them up until they explode as we often do, and sometimes the best solution is simply to find a friend willing to be an ear, to let you pour it all out to a real person who's listening rather than into the ether. Even if they can't help you solve it due to lack of experience or knowledge, the fact that a person actually heard you and could understand your pain and problems as best they can, that can make it feel a lot better on its own, and is a far better alternative than letting it fester within yourself, or proclaiming them to nobody.

Like I said, this is just stuff I've picked up on over the years and believe, and I think it's worth teaching and telling people about, even if it's through the medium of a silly furry webcomic. Try to be a mature person who can make your own decisions. Try to not bury your negative emotions down too deep and too much. Try listening to others and being there when they could use a shoulder and ear, even if you have no definite solutions to their issues. Messages I'm not sure get conveyed too often in media, but are important enough to me that I want to convey them myself.