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kenzie !

love love love how supportive charlie is 🩷🩷

Katie H

As hard as it is, I'm glad that Nick is starting to open up. And the way Charlie looks at Nick in the 3rd panel with the most caring eyes, I'm so glad they've got each other and will support each other no matter what ❤️

Ariel

You go Charlie!!! Just being there for your boyfriend, encouraging him to open up to you, that makes all the difference!!! Also I love how you drew their facial expressions and Nick's closed off posture (slumped shoulders, hands on knees, looking down) and how Charlie turns his whole body to try and show Nick he's still there - reaching out🥰🥺💕🍂

Brittney

Aww bless your beautiful soul Charlie 🤧 I swear, the way this volume is already ttugging at my heart strings it just showcases again and again of how far they have made it so far, like everything that has happened and coming up to, it just shows really why everything that has happened in their lives had to happen in a way to realise the outlooks with life itself and really get an entire full circle moment. I love how we are getting that with closure too

Merel

Yes go on Nick! ❤️

ACxo

And the best boyfriend award goes to Charlie spring 🏆

Chloe ♡

i just wanna give nick a big hug between the flashback and current nick im a mess 💔

Lolli98

Ok. It's a start. To admit that there is something he can't name yet. And Charlie offering to listen. Maybe Charlie should have brought up the Sandwich issue for a start. To reassure Nick (and us) that his eating is fine. I hope it is!

Victoria Panaro

Charlie I'm so proud of the human being you are!!!

Brittany Cournoyer

Is Nick scared to talk to Charlie, becuase he’s worried it’ll make Charlie have a setback?

Merel

The head tilt in the third panel just adds fuel to my 'Charlie Spring is secretly a cat' theory

Shin__

Bless you, Charlie 🥹 I love how caring he is and how he tries to encourage Nick to talk to him without pushing 🩷

Elity

"I love listening to your rambles" might be the sexiest thing I've ever read.

Sarah Kover

Move over Nick Nelson, Charlie Spring is coming for your best boyfriend award

Ann-Marie Still

Please open up Nick. Charlie is there for you 💜

Christie

Come on Nick, you can do this 💜

arlo🧞

come on yes you got this!!!

Harriet Echo

Please talk to Charlie!!! And then… therapy time?!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🩷🩷🩷

Ava

🩷🩷🩷

flynn tasker

so excited to see this side of nick #charcterdevlopment

M R

THERAPY!!! Charlie's so good🥹🫶

Merel

I get it, Nick. Feelings are difficult, especially if you've been suppressing them for this long 🥲

Desi23

'Cmon Nick! You can do this!

Coralee Hoots

Obsessed with nicks lil stomach pooch

Loveislove

I can continue breathing through no page tomorrow - some progress. I am in love with both of them 🥰

Charlie

It’s not rambles. It’s feelings and emotion and worries and stress and love. 🥰🥰

Barb

charlie has a soothing effect, nick will open up🥺

K

I think Nick genuinely doesn't know what he's feeling.. He knows he's feeling off but he can't really pinpoint what it is exactly

Nyssa Rawther 🍉

Awh 🥰🥰🥰 I love Charlie's little head tilt and dimpled smile. And I hope Nick is able to ramble on to Charlie about his anxieties. It's not gonna be easy, esp now we've seen a bit more how Stephane's toxicity and bad parenting affects Nick but Narlie are just so supportive of each other. You will make it through this, Nick!!

Ellen🌈✨

panel four, if that isn’t the look of love, i don’t know what is 😍🥰

Caro

the warmest and honest smile is here 😭 <3 and thanks to universe that they have each other, is really amazing and deep how nick don’t know how express what is happening on his mind, but he know that charlie is there for it, and charlie mean it

Diana

These pages have been hitting hard. There's something about being a child of (at least one) parent who discouraged emoting negative emotions that makes it impossible to really discuss how you're feeling, or what you really want. Like, you can be a Literature major or multilingual or have excellent vocabulary, but when it comes to talking about how you feel, it's like nothing fits.

Irem7

There you go Charlie, you become Geoff😂

Rmb

Nicks inability to talk about his feelings is taking years off my life

Beam Bugge

"you can talk to me about it if you want, but you don't have to, but know that I am your (boy)friend and I do care"

Lissie

Charlie is so good at letting Nick feel. I love them 🥹

Noemiette

Having something to ramble to is exactly what Nick needs. Because all his life he was either shamed for his emotions or tried to put on a mask or felt pressured to fill a role that was either expected or he felt like it was expected of him, he has kept soooo much of his emotions and feelings burried deep down, repressed them and never learnt to sit with them and proccess them. So now that he cant ignore them anymore, he is left with that absolute chaos in his head and he cannot make sense of any of it. So he needs to ramble. To let every bit of thoughts out and let someone help him make sense of them bit by bit. Kinda like a brainstorming session !

Andrew

charlie is such a good boyfriend🥺 i hope nick opens up

Adriane Tanjutco

I’m enjoying this Nick development and character dive.

Laura

Please Nick, start rambling! It’s so good and healing sometimes.

Ana Alicia Aranda De Contreras

How I adore them both and the support they always give each other. Let's hope Nick opens up to Charlie and that he can clear up some of his problems🥺😭❤️

ashley ✨

oh charlie ur such an angel :(

Suse

“I love listening to your rambles” is so perfect 🥹❤️

Oliver

Charlie ur so strong and brave for being so real and emotionally available whilst there is a hot shirtless rugby player right infront of you 😌🙂‍↕️😌🙂‍↕️😌🙂‍↕️ /lh

Ada Suzany

🥺🥺🥺🥺🤏🏻

Maddy

THIS.

Scott Whittall

Rambles, Charlie? Don't you dare give up this easily. Do not cast this off as mere rambles. Once upon a time, you sat with your back against this very door and poured your heart and soul out to this very amazing person. Were those rambles? Gaze into your love's eyes and remind him that the two of you vowed to always always always tell one another when either of you had something going on. For the sake of both of your mental health, Carpe Diem sweet Charlie....Seize This Day.

Katya818

Oh Nick, we all have faith that you can do it! You can open up to your Char!

Claudine

Oh Nick. He is with Charlie and yet... he looks so vulnerable and fragile, it breaks my heart to see him like this. Especially when you are young you look up to your father and see him as an example. The things Nick heard from his father as a child are hard to shake off and stay with you forever 😞 The impact of being a parent on a child is huge and I hope as many parents as possible realize that.

Beth Yoshida

I like how Charlie considered it for a moment before speaking. He can tell something is off but I think he can also tell that Nick might not be ready yet to open up. It's okay and valid. Him assuring Nick they can basically talk whenever he is ready is good and allows Nick to not feel pressured but to know Charlie is still his safe space.

E

Charlie 💜💜💜💜💜

Nikki

I wish Charlie hadn’t called them rambles. Whenever anyone says to me it feels like a kick in the guts and like a being a burden. Really hope that’s not what Nick’s expression in the last panel is about… 🥺

oddtree

I love the way you draw Charlie's eyes in these panels 🥹

ucfnurse

They’re so sweet together!!!☺️😊💞💖🌱🌿🪴🎄✨🎂✌️🕊️☮️

Ashley Robinson

The way you portray teenagers is so real.

Katha

It’s a start…

Dippity_Dip

I feel like every comment I make it just “damn I would give my life for these fictional teens” and here I am again at the cog of existing to love knowing I would give my life for these fictional teens

Justin S.

Alice, I really do love this unfolding…it’s so realistic and man I just want to give them both a hug.

Vantacy_1912

That's how you know you found the one for you.

Molly Goat

Charlie's so sweet 🥺

CinD

I’ve found that sometimes rambling helps me with getting to the root of the problem 🤷🏽‍♀️ subconscious thoughts come forward during mid rambles, for me. Ramble when you’re ready Nick.

Elsie 3

Your ability to call back quotes from earlier scenes/books is unparalleled ❤️❤️❤️

olli

"I love listening to your rambles" is so important because it shows Nick that he doesn't have to find all the right words, he can just talk and Charlie will listen and try to understand :,)

toneelspeler

love love love charlie's assurance here that nick can really tell him anything. so wonderful. but it's so difficult trying to talk about how off you feel and you can't put words to it why. you really tend to push yourself through it bc that worked for so long.. until the day the adrenaline that kept you going runs out and you really feel overwhelmed and there's no way out but to talk. glad to know nick has such a strong support system when it comes 🧡

Elsie 3

For real! I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged talking openly about difficult or uncomfortable feelings. My partner was raised by “everything is great/we don’t talk about bad things” parents. I can almost always name the nuances of all my feelings at any given moment. My partner struggles to connect to any of their own. My heart goes out to Nick, and to Charlie for trying to support Nick through it.

Evergreen

I don’t mind the use of the word ramble. My spouse listens to me ramble all the time because there’s no other way for me to name my feelings other than verbalizing my stream of conscious until I notice a pattern. As someone who is used to burying his feelings (including from himself), Nick could definitely be this way, too. Charlie may be used to hearing Nick ramble at this point (the full on gay crisis moment, for example!) and it may be known to both of them that this is how Nick expresses himself. I appreciate that my partner recognizes that I need to ramble and gives me space to do so. I bet Nick does too - when he’s willing to ramble, that is. Hearing Charlie say he loves listening to those rambles probably feels very safe and welcoming to Nick’s deepest, most hidden self. I doubt he has ever felt safe to ramble to anyone but his mom (“well, her dog died…”) before.

Katrina

It’s a start! Nick is at least admitting something is wrong!This is how you know you found your soulmate. They will let you talk even if you don’t have all your feelings sorted out and are willing to listen and try to understand. I love how Charlie is willing to give Nick the space to talk even when he doesn’t have it all figured out and he will listen to Nick and try to understand because that is what Nick needs right now. I also appreciate how Charlie is showing Nick that he can be vulnerable with people and they won’t leave him like Nick’s dad implied they would.

Evergreen

THAT SAID, if the thing he needs to talk about most is that he’s feeling left behind as Charlie’s life gets busier, he may still not feel safe because he’s afraid it will start a fight. As a general people pleaser, and knowing that Charlie’s mental health has struggled when they’ve argued in the past, I can see him continuing to hold back out of (conscious or unconscious) fear. Guess we’ll see in a couple days! Or months at the pace he’s moving! 😅

Claire

I really love this gentle low key approach from Charlie. He knows Nick and knows that this will be most likely to work. Charlie's tender face here is perfection.

Lolli98

I love Nick's look in the fourth panel. Unfortunately it turns back to concerned/sad. But I hope he really heard Charlie and will start to open up to him.

Ali Michelle

I’m looking forward to Nick opening up to Charlie, but I also hope Nick gets a therapist 🥹💖

HJ

Charlie looks so much like Tori in that second panel

Jenny Delcher

Feeling abandoned as a child is definitely one trauma that can cause a lot of anxiety and other issues such as addiction or codependency Nick will need so much more than a talk with Charlie … ❤️

Elfi

That's ok, Nick, sometimes you just don't know exactly what's going on inside you, especially if you have been hiding these feelings for so long. Realising that there is something off is the first step. I love Charlies reaction. It's very realistic and also very kind and cute and feels so Nick and Charlie. And I really love Nick's smile in the fourth panel, it's finally not that fake smile with his eyes closed, but an honest one, really looking at Charlie. You can still tell that he's got a lot on his mind, but now it feels more natural.

Lolli98

I usually have a lot on my mind, too, and most of the time no idea how to verbalize it. I'm looking forward to Nick's journey and maybe getting an idea for myself. My beloved boys.💛💙

RCM

"I don't know." "I can't--" "I don't know what I feel." As Nick says this to Charlie, all I can think about is little Nick, and the way that Nick is drawn here makes it seem as if he is talking to himself (past and present) as much as he is now to Charlie (the no eye contact, his staring off, the dejected slump against the door, his face somehow almost numb and muted AND simultaneously filled with self-conflict, the holding of his own hands and not reaching for Charlie at all...). I can hear little Nick saying these very things to himself when he was so young, and he had all these emotions surrounding his parents' divorce, his dad leaving and only returning under conditional expectations, never having a REAL friend to TALK to (outside of his mum who was also managing a lot at the time too!)...Nick had ALL these EMOTIONS but was never allowed/given space to actually FEEL them. Even when he had the natural behavior of crying when he was clearly upset, Nick was trained to STOP, to REPRESS, to IGNORE his feelings, and was not given space to learn to express and thereby connect HIS emotions and feelings, but instead, he learned to read others needs and to suppress his own, so his dad (and eventually others by proxy in little Nick's mind) could "be fine." This is part of the reason he became a people pleaser and such an empathetic friend (which can also be wonderful attributes to a degree...) Panel 1 hurts so much because I think Nick now KNOWS something is not right inside him, and that it is not okay. He has experienced love and happiness and profound connection with Charlie, and once you have that, you start to view yourself and your past experiences differently...but, when you still don't know HOW to articulate about yourself, and you probably still feel guilty for having any of these feelings, and as we saw in yesterday's flashback, it was reinforced to Nick that the responsibility was on him to manage other people's happiness through his behavior (or lack thereof). I love how Charlie picks up on this in panel 2 (you can see the heartbreak in his eyes!), and I love how he softly shifts to a sweet, "I'm here... (for) whatever it is." We see Nick HEAR this in panel 4 (that smile and eye contact!), we see him reminded of that unconditional love that he and Charlie share...(and the encouragement to RAMBLE is the perfect word choice here...Charlie knows it's a tangled web inside his Nick, and the ends are deeply buried but CAN BE GENTLY FOUND in due time, not under pressure). And that very last panel, oof, there is Nick, still thinking about little Nick, but presently hearing Charlie (see the white dots showing Charlie's light that Nick keeps wanting to be closer to?!), actually gives me a little hope that this was a baby step forward...

DogBefriender22

As if we all couldn’t love Charlie Spring anymore…I love this page Alice! And loving how Charlie is (maybe subconsciously) using his Geoff crap on Nick. Allowing him to ramble until they can eventually unpack those feelings, but keeping the pressure off Nick - m it doesn’t have to make any sense right now and that’s fine (‘that made zero sense’ - Nick often resorts to this line when he’s feeling vulnerable or awkward after opening up a little, and Charlie KNOWS so he is pre-empting that with some swoonsome Charlie reassurance ❤️

rickettyuncles

One of the most generous, reassuring things a sweetheart can say—« I love listening to your rambles » —especially since we’ve heard Nick say « that didn’t make any sense » when he’s tried to express himself before

Jordan

I’ve been thinking about how we saw Nick break down and cry on Charlie’s shoulder back in volume 2 the morning after the kiss-and-run. Knowing what we know now about Nick’s relationship to expressing his emotions and crying we can realize that was him at his absolute limit. I think now that he’s a bit older, he knows himself a bit more and knows he has Charlie by his side, so that “breaking point” will be farther and farther away. We will see if the “cry and talk” will come when he just breaks down bc he can’t repress anymore or if he and Charlie will get ahead of it but either way I am loving where we are heading because it’s SO realistic and loving.

Jordan

I love that you pointed out how his smile is so genuine here! It reminds me of his adoring smile up at Charlie when they were working on his essay outline. A real one 🥰

Nathalie

What does rambles mean?

Alex

Like rapidly talking about something (rambling about a fight or something)

mal

If i dont have a relationship like nick and Charlie then i dont want it

rickettyuncles

« rambles » is talking for a long time about something in a not very clear way. I disagree that it means fast talking— « rambling on » about something may be slow—especially slow to get to the point

Caitlin

This and the previous scene strike me as, Nick was one of those kids that because he always appeared happy and together no one paid much attention to his needs unless he hit overwhelm and break down levels. This has led to him not knowing how to identify his feelings, needs, or wants which makes it a million times harder to verbalize when you need help or you’re feeling overwhelmed. On top of possibly feeling responsible for a parent abandoning him due to his emotional and most likely age appropriate show of emotions, you can really see where his people pleasing tendencies come from and why he’s now struggling with everything. I love how complex Alice makes these characters and how realistic they are.

June

I love that Charlie gives Nick the space to tell what's going on when he is ready but also makes sure that Nick knows that he is there for him without pushing or pressuring him🥺 I love their love and it's so realistic to how a healthy relationship should be.. these boys have been through so much in their past and during their relationship but they always stay strong together😭 I like that we are slowly unpacking more of Nick's story and feelings, i'm excited to keep reading and see where this goes🥺❤️

Bob Scardino

Sometimes you just don't know. Sometimes you just don't have the words.

T

How can you leave us like this?!?

T

Also holding space for Nick’s tummy ❤️

Bee Levy

i relate SO deeply to nick here :(( he's spent so long shoving everything so deep down that he's genuinely lost touch with himself and can't identify how he feels :(( someone get this boy a feelings wheel, stat!!!

Calfic

I feel like Charlie is doing everything "right" and being there for Nick in a great way, but I am not sure if that will be enough for Nick to really open up.

Lilly Mae

Nick is definitely not alone here. When you put other people above yourself for most of your life, it can be hard to figure out who you are and what you feel. Charlie just being there for Nick really helps. I love their relationship sm 🫶🏼

Loveislove

I love that Charlie is following through with his perception and intuition. He put the brakes on Nick using sex as a distraction or the sole means of communication. He did not react with anger when Nick's actions touched upon overprotectiveness concerning food. He has had a tough day himself with the head teacher turning down his club proposal and dealing with the bullies in the hall. But he is so gentle with Nick with his attention and body fully focused on him. He also uses his trademark humour with his rambles line which draws out that genuine smile from Nick. This is a positive start to a complex situation and I know that Nick must feel Charlie's love ❤️ 🥰❤️‍🩹

Krystyn

Charlie is just there, like Nick was for him. I love the balance in their relationship. And I Hope Nick will find a way to express what he is feeling.

David C Witkin

All I keep thinking about are those times when Nick has had to finally deal with the rising tide of his emotions because they reached a point where they threatened to overwhelm him. That time in the movie theater when he punched Harry, or that time after the kiss at Harry's party when he broke down crying in Charlie's arms the next day. Or when he sobbed on Tao's shoulder at the Halloween party. Or when he uleashed himself and let loose on his awful dad and his horrible brother at that fateful dinner. This is one of those times when the tide of emotions threatens to rise but Charlie is there to help channel it, to help him direct the flow. For the first time in a long time, Nick has some help in finding out where his emotions are flowing from, and can slowly regain some control over where they are flowing to. Slowly but surely, with Charlie's help, Nick can convert his emotions from a breaking dam, with a raging flood sweeping away all in its destructive path, to a calm but mighty river that can link great cities and nourish fertile fields and give life.

artxsta

charlie’s “i love listening to your rambles” seems like a nice nod to the bonus material in the recent version of N&C from earlier this year when he says “i love your nervous rambles, music to my ears” 🥹🥹🥹 i love the way charlie encourages nick to talk about it, even when he doesn’t know exactly what to say or how to say it, just getting out of his head is a vital first step

T

Actually yeah - I think the little tummy in the Romeo + Juliet trailer was pretty perfect. I just hate the visible abs washboard look - first off, you have to be so dehydrated to have that look, and second, Comic Nick was fantastic in giving some body positivity for teenage boys, but instead people pressured Kit into getting built up…

Jo

I've been sitting with this all day, curious about why I had such a different reaction to Charlie's words. The "if you ever want to talk things through..." felt so dismissive to me, as did the "rambles." Sometimes it's hard to separate how I'D feel from how the characters would feel. Art is so challenging!

Murgy

Well, if you don't know how you feel exactly, I suppose it is very hard to talk about your emotions. But I hope Nick works it out soon, as leaving the thing hanging over your head only makes it harder, especially if you choose not to face it. Perhaps Charlie asking will help, but we will see. And possibly we will see a ramble as well :P

Dave

Such a great storyline even if it’s hard to see Nick suffering. Thanks Alice for representing sensitive bisexual boys with divorced shitty dads leaving them struggling to talk about their feelings! 😬

Cody

I'm glad I waited until evening to read the new page 😭 Yes, Charlie! I wish I could give Nick a hug

brie

side note: really loving charlie’s hair post-haircut!!!

Neenie

That’s a good point! Now Nick’s anger is reminding me of my dad — never expressed, except once a year when he chucks an electric toothbrush or kicks a door

Neenie

Ya.. during the pandemic I was dating someone in grad school and they couldn’t figure out what their emotional needs were. For a while I tried random things based on their best guesses, but eventually I gave up because none of it worked.

Neenie

In group therapy they kept asking us to use feeling words and I usually offered up a convoluted metaphor which was not accepted as a substitute

Neenie

It’s like Elliott in Leverage! People who are strong for sports or things involving tackling have very different body shapes than people who are sculpting for abs

Neenie

Rambling typically connotes lots of detours and dropped ideas, along with a lack of a main point.

Elspeth Fougere

Do you know, something I love the most about your illustrations of their faces when theyre talking Alice, its so open and loving, and there are so few people who look at each other this way, so lovingly and hopefully and conscientiously. It reminds me of looking after little children in kindergartens, when you get to know them and they talk with you, they look at you so closely, with such an innocent and open hearted face, it makes me wonder as adults at what stage each person loses their tender feeling and trust, and closes off from ever being loved and trusted/trusting in this way ❤️💔💖

Katia Gómez

Oh, poor Nick. It’s hard to know how to process difficult feelings when you don’t even understand where they come from and they seem so random and over the top 🥺 Maybe it’s time for Nick to also profit from some therapy? ❤️‍🩹

Cliff

Charlie did such a good job using Geoff’s lessons on the show with Tara. Hopefully, Nick will be prompted to ramble (if not now, later) and at least consciously reason through the stumbling that he’s feeling insecure. How, why, what, might come out afterwards.

Jazmine Terson

Ohhhhhh Nicholas…baby…it’s okay!! It’s gonna be okay. 🥺