In exchange for shoes

I bet most of you recognize part of this page ๏◡๏

This scene was in the original story, but with much more upset Robert. I gave him shoes in his size this time, so that he doesn’t throw a tantrum~ It’s always a hard decision, which scenes to keep, which to remove, which need more attention, what should be added… There will be another page in this location (yes, I drew complicated background to use it on only two pages, very smart) and we’ll move to different characters for a moment.

How are you guys doing? I’ve had a rather unpleasant January but February might be a tad gentler. And my painting got slower since I’ve had to buy new laptop, change screens, change Photoshop from old CS5 (yes, I was still using that grandpa, sue me) to newest version and damn, everything is just so different…. ʘ‿ʘ I hope I’ll get used to all the new things quickly, wanted to get back to those daily sketches as well…

And hey, I’ve watched Death Parade while on the bus, it’s just 12 episodes and if you don’t know it – it’s recommended. Very sad ending though, so if you are not in a mood for touching story and heart aches leave it for later. Loved the visuals as well \(-ㅂ-)/ ♥ ♥ ♥

I’ll try to change the vote incentive sometime this week, thanks for your support, it really helps Replay get new readers (°◡°♡)
See you next week!

84 comments on “In exchange for shoes”

  1. Adriano Reply

    Hi !
    I like today’s page. And I wanna say that caring for background even for two pages isn’t silly.
    It’s the proof that this webcomic is awesome \o/

    I’m quite sorry to hear your January wasn’t good :/ Though mine wasn’t great either. Let’s pray for february ahah xD

    Anyway, have a lovely month, and keep going ! GO GO GO o/

    • Sparrowhawk Reply

      Now, in your all’s defense, with the number of well-loved people who died, I don’t think anyone had a particularly good January.

    • Rateus Camp dweller Reply

      Ah now the voting reward makes sense… I thought that was an odd choice to draw off story!

    • xthorgoldx Reply

      Story time!

      One of the summer programs at the Air Force Academy for rising juniors is “Ops Airforce.” Long story short, you go to an operational AF base for a month to shadow officers as they do their jobs and get a taste for the “real” Air Force. All in all, good program, fun times were had. Except for my first week.

      See, I’m a stickler for using issued gear. They forced me to buy this crap, so I’m gonna get my money’s worth! That includes some travel bags – generic, over-the-shoulder carriers, good for shirts that need hanging (read: service dress) and whatnot. Thing is, it’s generic, and everyone gets them. On the bus up to the airport, all of our luggage was thrown into the bus cargo bay, and when we got off I did my usual deal and helped everyone unload before getting my own bags. Now, most people don’t use the issue bag, preferring something with a bit more style or space – roller bags, namely. So when I saw the last bag on the ground was an issue blue uniform bag, I assumed it was mine.

      nope.jpg

      Six hours of travel later, I was in Fairchild AFB, I open up the bag, and… not mine. Thankfully, uniforms are uniforms, so the only problem was size, not style – except the guy who took my bag is a head shorter and two shoe sizes smaller than me. And, by the time we realized the blunder, I had to attend a briefing – in uniform – in 30 minutes. The guy with my bag was in Florida.

      Do you know what kind of hell it is to wear boots two sizes too small for three hours? We all laugh at the guys in movies who complain about bad boots. No. That guy is a HERO for paying attention to foot care.

      • NotImportant Reply

        Oh damn hahaha yeah, running around after demons it too small shoes wouldn’t end up well… And I think they’ll appreciate the change after fighting them in socks some pages ago.
        And the moment you said the bags were generic I knew you’ll end up with someone elses’ ~

      • Lukkai Reply

        That’s why we didn’t only have to label all our bags in the army. Our Feldweibel pretty much insisted on us actually paying attention to those labels as well!

        Mind you: Mostly not your fault here, since it would seem from your story to be the other guy grabbing the wrong bag. But you could have noticed way earlier.

        So two things to learn from this, in the end:

        First: Size does matter!
        Second: So do labels!
        😉

    • NotImportant Reply

      Yeah, it’s ‘farsa’ in Polish so you know… brainfart. I’ll fix it in a moment, thanks for letting me know!
      Sorry to hear about your car. Makes me glad I don’t own one.

  4. Refugnic Reply

    Brian is right. I do believe it’s spelled ‘farce’ as well.

    And solid shoes must not be underestimated, especially if there is a lot of walking to be had.

    I mean, it’s not like they’ve given them high heels or something else with next to none actual protection value. (Can you imagine fighting demons in High heels? I don’t imagine that going too well, to be honest.

    Though I would’ve loved to see Robert’s flustered face if Ada had decided to be playful and asked him how she looked instead of doing the sensible thing of keeping herself covered up. 😀

    Very nice page as usual. And here’s to the future, may it bite less than the recent past.

      • Refugnic Reply

        Yes, actually I think so. Because the other direction to go would be replying something like: ‘Pretty nice. You look even better without that stuff on though.’

        And quite personally I don’t see Robert and Ada’s relationship as being that far along the way quite yet (of course: What do I know?) and I don’t judge Robert’s character that way either…but then again, Ada’s not the type to be that kinda forward either. Though she does seem to be mighty comfortable about being half-naked around Robert, so I guess she’s not exactly ‘prude’ either.

        She knows what she’s got and is not afraid to use it, eh? ;P

        • NotImportant Reply

          More like – she knows he doesn’t care and she’s not 15? 😀 I guess I am not a fan of animesque scenes where everyone gets flustered about every little thing. They are not Japanese, they can call each other’s first names just fine haha, plus if they are comfortable with sleeping next to each other in a shared tent then I guess it would take a little more to surprise Robert~

          • Refugnic

            I agree on the ‘She’s not 15’ bit, but ‘He doesn’t care’? I believe to recall that he cares about her quite a bit. ;P

            The implicit innuendo is what would surprise him, not her actual body. Though I guess in times like that, a (semi-)naked body doesn’t have quite the same effect as it would have in normal times.

            Regarding the shared tent…well, it’s perfectly possible to do that without ever having seen the other one naked (simply take turns with getting changed) or without any compromising situations happening. This is an issue of trust and self-control, not a matter of ‘I don’t like you, so we’re good’.

            As you correctly stated, they are not 15 any more, so self-control isn’t as much of an issue.

            Still would’ve liked to see his reaction. 😛

      • Refugnic Reply

        Actually there’s some silly contest in the USA, where a bunch of women need to do a hundred meter sprint in High Heels. to get a rather valuable shopping coupon. The event is humiliating and injuries are likely to happen and those who participate are either attention hogs or really desperate, I don’t know which.

        But yes, doing anything physically demanding like running (or fighting demons) is not for people in high heels and all those animes who portray the girls (mostly magical) doing just that are worth scratching their heads over.

          • Refugnic

            Stefen in a sailor uniform with a short skirt and high heels…*shudders at the thought*.

          • Dæmon

            First I meant fighting specifically.

            Second, *shudders* I don’t know what’s worse… Robert in a short skirt, Faust in one, or Stefan in full Sailor Moon uniform…

          • Dæmon

            Which would be more horrifying, NI? Stefan being a mad scientist in full Sailor Moon uniform, or Faust talking to a demon in one?

        • Lukkai Reply

          Well, if the costume is completely magical, it might have some stabilising and movement magic on the shoes to… Okay, okay, I’ll stop! 😉

      • Uhl Reply

        Or Bayonetta. They’re not just high heels, they’re high heels WITH GUNS! Which brings up all sorts of logistic problems when one stops to think about it. Still, it’s not explicitly an anime thing as there’s a very old video-game, made entirely in the US, that features the main heroine fighting in insanely high-heels. When asked how she does it, she replies, “It takes a lot of practice.”

      • Sheylenna Reply

        Back when I was wearing heels full time (I was also about 100 lb lighter) The only times I had trouble doing ANYthing in heels was when they were stiletto (VERY tapered that is). I could run and Jump and kick and well anything. Obviously the thicker the heel the more stable you are so for real fights you should stick with wedges or thick heels not skinny heels. But my point is if you are used to heels you can probably do in them anything you can do in flats… I could…. back then I was more comfortable in heels, heck even these days I prefer a 1-3 inch heel to flats… got a nice pair of sneakers that are a good 2-3 inches high. And if I can loose that weight I’ll be happily back in my high heels again.

  5. Dæmon Reply

    You know, questions keep popping g in my head. Ones like, what would Ada and Robert if they found the Necronomicon, or ‘book of the dead’ by another name? How would they handle it or its power? I mean, an artifact like that is normally at least very difficult to destroy, and some are near impossible. I’d imagine a Lord of the Rings scenario, if they needed a volcano, but as for any other way, who knows? Plus, the knowledge that it would contain is almost if not completely invaluable, perhaps one of its kind, the only copy in existence. Of course, assuming that to be the case, then there would likely be a million or more demons guarding it, and would be an anime esque adventure, if not an epic worthy of Homer himself. Just wondering if you can shed some light, NI.

    • NotImportant Reply

      Sorry but… I don’t want to post spoilers haha~ Right now they only have access to Ada’s random notes and in a random military facility a chance of finding a magical artifact is, let’s be honest here, close to zero.

      • Dæmon Reply

        …Fair enough.

        Although, if there ARE magic artifacts or times of power and such, who knows what could happen? …Except maybe you, since you ARE the creator, writer, and illustrator of this story.

        • NotImportant Reply

          Oh we’ll have some epic moments in the story as well, don’t you worry hehehehe…

          • Dæmon

            …
            …
            …

            That sounds like an invitation for the Devil to visit this comic, in one form or another.

          • Dæmon

            Soo, DO we get a Devil, or is it only Demons here? Or are they the same? I always understood that they were separate entities, and as such were separate classifications of unholy being.

          • NotImportant

            I’m going to tell you only this: there will be more than just demons.

          • Dæmon

            Oh God… I meant Faust was in one while talking to a demon, but… That’s even worse. Now I WANT to see that, for sheer shock value… Can you do that, as in, maybe make a daily sketch of that and then post it here?

          • NotImportant

            I have a feeling we misunderstood each other somewhere along the way hahaha, maybe it’s not important xD Anyway, I’m all for sketches and additional stuff and everything but right now I really need to focus on other things. When they are done I’ll be posting more random additional sketches and illustrations. So I’ve got the motivation, the only thing missing is time. Should be better with that once I’m done with the master thesis.

          • Dæmon

            I meant to put that last one on the chain above, not here. Sorry for the confusion.

  6. Bizkit Reply

    Yep, women like their shoes. XD

    BTW, it should be “I heard that,” not “I’ve heard that.”

      • Crystalclaw Reply

        Because “I’ve heard that” extends to “I have heard that”, implying she has heard that before.

        • NotImportant Reply

          I didn’t know it implies that she has heard that before… I was thought that present perfect indicates that action has already ended but has implications in the present. But you are probably right, I’ll change it in the evening. Thanks!

  7. drakwithout Reply

    i, i have no words,

    so lovely, yet so vaguely soft core porn,

    should i cry or swear fealty?

  8. Werdna Reply

    Hey, good boots are very important. If your feet are covered in blisters, literally all of everything sucks to do, even things that don’t involve your feet, like sitting. Robert is so mad about this whole situation, it’s great. Is it bad that I’m so happy that he isn’t?

    • Lukkai Reply

      ANYONE who has EVER been a soldier for more than five meager minutes will know the value of good boots! Those rank among the topmost important pieces of your equipment!

  9. Kazzeon Reply

    January was ok for me, went back to college and hang out with friends.. I miss the days of not doing anything.. u_u
    Also Death Parade is great! I really liked the whole psychological aspect of it, what would you do in that situation, and all that.
    I recommend watching Death Billiards, since it was made before Death Parade, you can take it just as an extra-story.. 😛
    The comic’s great like always, keep up the good work!

    • NotImportant Reply

      Oh, thanks, I haven’t heard about Death Billiards, will check it out!
      And I’ll do my best, thank you!

      • Lukkai Reply

        Death Billiards was the entry into a support programme to bring more young Japanese into the animation industry. I remember seeing the entries of that year and after watching Death Billiards me and my friends all agreed that “This would make for a great series!”

        Turns out we were both right and by far not the only ones. 😀

  10. ToxicLotus Reply

    Umm no offense, but do you realize that the two main characters may or may not have an uncanny resemblance to the vocaloids Dex and Daina?

    • NotImportant Reply

      I know nothing about Dex and Daina. But I was told they also resemble main characters from Wolf and Spice. I guess you can never come up with something 100% original haha, things like that happen~

      • Dæmon Reply

        Huh…

        Just lighten the hair, and take away Rob’s ears…

        Yeah, I can see that. Wolf and Spice is a good anime, and even though it’s not normally my kind of anime, it is a very good story. It’s a little slow for my taste, and there’s no real fighting as far as I got but I usually switch from Attack on Titan like anime (action wise, not disturbing imagery wise) to some comedy, with the occasional rom com. Either way, Wolf and Spice was a little too serious for a comedy, but it didn’t seem to reach the full Noir scope that I had heard about. Either way, it was highly enjoyable, and I loved it, and still need to finish it.

        • NotImportant Reply

          Yes, slightly boring at times, I didn’t manage to watch the anime but manga is absolutely lovely and I enjoyed the drawings very much.

    • NotImportant Reply

      I am not taking such requests hahaha, so sorry, only if it will happen in the story~

      • Dæmon Reply

        Although, you could always do ampage answering fan mail and questions. That, or have a separate comic section for that. Also, how long does the comic take now that you’ve swithced to the new version if the program?

        • NotImportant Reply

          Much longer! New version of Photoshop doesn’t change much, since I don’t use any fancy tools anyway, but new screen messes up all my strokes…

          • Dæmon

            Hm. Seems like it could be hours longer than I thought. My guess was that after this much practice, you would have the old version down to around five hours for a page, and then the new version added about two to three hours., since the time taken would have likely shot up at least another half. Either way, it sounds like it osmore likely to be about ten to twelve hours, or at least a good work day and then some. Overall, maybe twelve, fourteen hours sounds about right based on logic and the current information. There’s not enough to gauge the time, mind you; only enough to guess how severe it is and use logic from there.

          • NotImportant

            It heavily depends on the page, you know. Sometimes I can use parts of other backgrounds, some tents, some ground, some trees, and sometimes I need to paint everything from zero and that adds a lot of time given how complicated those backgrounds sometimes are.
            And with new screen my lines are so wobbly my roommate started to laugh when he saw me struggling yesterday. But I’ve been through this phase already so I’m sure that after a while my brain will figure it out and I’ll be able to draw like usual.

          • Dæmon

            Well, all that matters is that you try. After all, even if you were to have a delay every now and again, the quality if the comic is good enough to make up for it, so don’t sweat it. You may have trouble with the thesis, bit that should take priority over the comic, since work normally pays more than games (with some notable exceptions, namely Youtubers, tournament winners, etc.).

          • NotImportant

            No problems with work and money so far, I treat the comic like a hobby, so it’s never going to become my job, I don’t want it to (but that also means I won’t be making 5 pages a week like some people).
            For now I am not behind the schedule, all is well :3

          • Dæmon

            How far ahead are you though, for a fallback? For instance, if you end up not being able to make a page, how many weeks would you have currently to get one up? Also, since this is probable a couple.of up rs before the new post, I personally would say that I have X weeks fall back in the description, but that’s just me. If you want to post here, that’ll work too. I just think it would be more useful to all of the fan base (at least the ones that go below the comic regularly), and plus, we do normally get a “status update” of some kind of information, so knowing how long we can guarantee the comic to be updated regularly in an actual update seems more useful than saying, “Oh, well, I’ve got X comics saved for now” in a comment maybe a couple of hours before the new post.

          • NotImportant

            I did say that couple of times so you must have missed it. I am not going to post it under About or anything like that because the number changes. Usually I try to be 5 weeks ahead, so 5 pages. We’ll have a problem only if I break an arm 😉

          • Dæmon

            I see… Well, I’m not the most observant person, so maybe I did miss it.

  14. Lt. Zeen Reply

    i really. really enjoyed this page. explicily the boo- boots. i really liked the boots.

    • Ada’s twin sister Reply

      That’s my sister! And yes, good boots are a necessity in our demon infested world.

  15. Dragon Master Reply

    Hey NEVER underestimate the value of nice high quality shoes in a post-apocalyptic situation, especially if there boots. Boots will last forever if treated right.

  16. Klorix Camp dweller Reply

    I must say, Ada has a very nice figure.
    Did they actually find boots in her size, since she’s so small…

    • NotImportant Reply

      They had no choice but to find some! But I imagine she needed to add an extra pair of socks lol

  17. SotiCoto Reply

    Bah. These two again.

    Nevermind that they’re on the title banner and all the adverts, and that the comic seems unduly centered on them…

    Neither of them wear glasses. It is a travesty. Carrot-top there would look right good in glasses, for sure.

  18. adam Reply

    Considering that they were walking around in socks beforehand and that all the shoestores were invaded by demons, having good shoes would be looking at the silver lining of the situation.

  19. Skally Reply

    I’m new to all of this, but I am enjoying it so far, also as for January, I have no clue about it, I’m out of the loop, but anyways, I’m gonna keep reading.

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