Hello handsome

Nina’s the best.

Next page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/page-iii-28-hd-36697040 (where you don’t like Filip anymore)
Next next page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/36952285 (with the chicken being mentioned)

Had a bad weekend, kinda. I hope you guys have better moods. My brain is stuck somewhere between “what I do is worthless” and “I can’t do anything”. Hopefully, it’ll be busy enough at work next week to reset that shitty attitude. I wouldn’t care but it didn’t let me draw at all so I’m a bit annoyed. Made good progress on Historia though so at least that’s moving forward.

I added a bunch of stuff to the fanart section! We’ve got some new art from Nohealforu which I haven’t added there until now and a fanfiction from Refugnic about girls’ slumber party! Go see the art, give the fanfic a read! And if you’re bored in quarantine feel free to make my day better and send over your own fanarts, be it writing, art, cosplay, anything, really. You can post it on Discord or send me an email: ni.replaycomic[at]gmail.com.

And hey, visit Replay’s Discord if you haven’t yet: https://discord.gg/ttgpurr

36 comments on “Hello handsome”

  1. Refugnic Reply

    Hmm, ‘what I do is worthless’ and ‘I can’t do anything (right)’ sounds like an onsetting depression, to be honest…and that is not something to be trifled with, to be sure.

    I mean, I’m no strange to these kind of thoughts myself…usually I try to keep busy to drown them out, but when there’s nothing to do, they like to come back to haunt me…making ‘weekends’ more difficult for me than ‘weekdays’.

    And the worst part, which you also mentioned…if it gets bad enough, you feel like there’s no point whatsoever in what you usually like doing, rendering you paralyzed…as I already said on Discord, doing something ‘unrelated’ tends to help in situations like that.

    Receiving (preferably genuine) praise for things you are doing and things you have done also tends to lift the mood.

    So while I’m at it, and no, I’m not just saying that to make you feel better:
    – Thank you for mentioning the fanfiction, both on Twitter as well as here, I really appreciate you advertising my work. 😉
    – Thank you for pushing out these pages. You are really brightening my weekends with them. 🙂 And you are right, Nina is really something, though I kinda doubt she’ll appreciate what Filip’s going to say next. (I don’t know the next page, but ‘Actually, Nina’ basically cannot end well :D)
    – And finally, as for ‘Feeling worthless’: I consider you one of the most awesome persons I’ve ever known and I cannot help but be a little jealous of the things you’re doing and how ‘effortless’ you make it seem. (To be noted: I am aware that it is a lot of effort).

    You left your home country and basically your entire life behind to start over in a new country with an entirely different culture…whereas for me ‘going abroad for a business trip’ is already one heck of a big deal.

    Want a little list?

    – You are smart
    – Kind
    – Friendly
    – Hard-working
    – Generous
    – Courageous

    Or, to sum it up, an overall awesome person, people should strive to be a little more like.

    I’ll get back to the page (and the poem I’m ‘owing’) in a separate comment. 😀

    • JW Reply

      [..] but ‘Actually, Nina’ basically cannot end well 😀

      It could. To be honest I was expecting him to come up with some way in which it’s possible for Nina to help fight those demons. But now I’m not so sure any more.

      • Refugnic Reply

        According to the cast page, her weapon is ‘Faint’, which might do well to avoid drawing attention, but does not do as much damage.
        On the other side, Filip is categorized as ‘Magic user’ (it would appear that he utilizes talismans).

        As for ‘find some way for Nina to fight’…well, she already is contributing to the fight, actually.
        By being cheerful, understanding and helpful.

        I have not served in any sort of military service, but to my understanding it is imperative in any sort of fight, to have something to fight for.
        Something or someone to protect.
        Even if it’s just something as sappy as ‘the smiles of those left behind’.

        And in order to survive, it’s always best have something to ‘come home to’.

    • NotImportant Reply

      Oh man, thank you Refugnic, that’s very sweet. I’m sad that I make you feel jealous, I don’t like inspiring that kind of feelings XD And believe me, when I was told I need to go for a business trip to NY I was freaking out, I didn’t want to go so badly…

      Please don’t worry about my silly moods! I’m all better already 🙂 And praise usually doesn’t work for me, I’m bad at taking positive feedback. But as long as you guys are here, read and comment, I know it’s worth it to keep drawing. So thank you for reading Replay!

      • Refugnic Reply

        You’re welcome, though I’m just stating a few facts ;).
        And how could we not come back? 😛

        And as for the jealousy…well, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
        I think I chose the wrong word, actually…I believe the one I was actually looking for might have been ‘envious’.

        Either way, the way I feel about this whole thing is a good thing.
        Because it inspires me to try harder in order to not ‘look bad in comparison’ (which is what should not be done in the first place, but you know how people are…constantly comparing stuff and people. :D)

        The thing is, you make it LOOK effortless, but fortunately I am fully aware that what ‘looks effortless’ is actually the result of years of hard work and dedication.
        And that is something admirable in my book.
        Something to strive for in order to obtain it for oneself.

        It’s not like you just snap with your fingers and these pages and your personal successes come falling from the sky. 😀

        Hah, I just remembered a quote from the manual of ‘Netstorm’ (PC game from way back then):

        They just stand there, chant a bunch of nonsense and suddenly there’s a big, perfect building.
        No wonder that people want to kill them! – Nimbian architect after watching a High Priest ‘constructing’ a workshop

  2. Refugnic Reply

    Credit taken, where it was not due
    ‘Who helped you out, who got it for you?’
    In the shadows he stands, with a jealous sneer.
    Lonely and lost, longing for some cheer.

    A pinch, a scream, a gentle touch,
    Now holding on, maybe a bit much.
    Nina, be worried, for the man you hold dear,
    might leave you behind, to pursue a career.

    Math is long dead now, but we are yet here,
    So I can protect you and see what’s unclear.
    I must set out soon, right into the unknown.
    So they won’t be lost now, and soon come back home.

    • NotImportant Reply

      I love the bit about math beingdead and Filip pursuing a career hahaha xD I feel like this one is extra snarky, nice!

      • Refugnic Reply

        I’m not a very big fan of (advanced) math, maybe that shows a little. 😀

      • JW Reply

        I never quite understand why people dislike the things that make civilization possibly, even while they readily enjoy the fruits of it.
        I suppose, perhaps, it’s just the unwelcome reminder one has limitations.

      • Refugnic Reply

        I do not ‘like’ it, but I do accept it as an important part of our lives and acknowledge its great impact on the history of mankind.

        And most people ‘dislike’ things they do not (care to) (fully) understand.
        For me ‘advanced math’ is one of those things.
        I do see that it has its place in our world and that many things we treasure would be impossible without it…like for example ‘electricity’ being readily available at the push of a button.

        But that does not mean that I need to care too much about understanding the inner workings of advanced mathematics, like how exactly the power plant regulates the output or how the just right voltage comes out of the socket.

        The big problem I have with math I have is, how illogical and whimsical it often seems to be, unless used in conjunction with the laws of nature…at this point, it becomes an assistant to a ‘natural science’, like for example physics.

        And no, I’m not a crack at those either. 😀

        There was something about there being no Nobel prize for Mathematics, wasn’t there?
        As if ‘mathematics’ were not on par with the other ‘greater achievements of the human mind’ like ‘literature’ or ‘peace and economy’.

        • JW Reply

          There was something about there being no Nobel prize for Mathematics, wasn’t there?
          As if ‘mathematics’ were not on par with the other ‘greater achievements of the human mind’

          I think the reason for that was that there already was a prestigious international prize for Mathematics at the time. And certainly not because people didn’t feel it wasn’t a “great achievement of the human mind”.

          like ‘literature’ or ‘peace and economy’.

          The prize for economy isn’t actually a Nobel prize like the others, it was instituted much later by a bank “in memory of Alfred Nobel”.
          And I have some serious doubts about calling certain theories in economics great achievements of the human mind, considering how ill they fit reality. (e.g. anything that relies on the concept of Homo Economicus)

          The big problem I have with math I have is, how illogical and whimsical it often seems to be, unless used in conjunction with the laws of nature…

          You’d be surprised how surprised mathematicians and physicists are when they find, again and again, how whimsical mathematical results that no one ever thought applied to reality, do in fact apply to it and clarify new physics.
          As they say, appearances can seem deceiving.
          By definition, though, maths is anything but illogical. It encompasses and defines logic.

        • JW Reply

          I think the reason for that was that there already was a prestigious international prize for Mathematics at the time.

          I was pretty sure I read it somewhere, but the best I can find now is that it there was some Scandinavian prize (and even then no specifics).
          There’s also theories about some mathematician sleeping with Nobel’s wife. Which would have come as big surprise to Nobel, seeing as he didn’t have wife.

          It’s also odd that people don’t wonder more often why there’s a prize for literature, but not music or art. At least for most natural sciences you can shove them in the physics, chemistry or medicine box. But still, why physiology/medicine but not (instead) biology?

      • Refugnic Reply

        For me, ‘advanced math’ starts at the point, where I cannot apply it to my life any more.
        So pretty much after basic calculus (which includes stuff like percentages).

        So…pretty much all of geometry, binomical formulas and wherever it goes from there.
        I just never managed to ‘see the point’.
        I mean sure, there are people that actually need that stuff, but ‘the layman’?
        Hardly.

        So yeah, I opt for the easy way out of this one and blame it on school for failing to convey the most critical point in regards to math: The practical use of what they are trying to teach the children.

        And yes, the myth about ‘Alfred Nobel’s wife’ is entertaining, but pretty much undoubtedly nonsense. 🙂

        As for ‘medicine and not biology’, that one is rather easily explained:
        The study of biology is essential for the advancement of medicine, but it is medicine, which actually makes the lives of people better.
        So it is much the same as, for example, math and physics.
        You use math to describe and ‘predict’ things you cannot prove (yet), but at the end of the day, only the things you can prove count.

        As I said: In these cases, math is an ‘assistant’, a ‘tool’ for the natural sciences.
        We do need it and our lives would not be possible without it, but as it stands, it is still ‘just a manmade tool’.
        Which is kinda funny, that it was ‘just a tool’ that made Alfred Nobel rich and famous to begin with. 😀

        As for ‘it defines logic’…does it now?
        It can describe logical circumstances (like for example 1 + 1 = 2), but at the end of the day, it’s a number of definitions created to describe logic.

        For all it’s worth, if people had decided to that 4 + 4 = 2, it would be just as true…assuming that ‘2’ had a counting value of what we know as ‘8’ in this context.

        But as I said, my…dislike of mathematics stems mainly from my failure to ‘see the point’.
        I know there is one for just about any of the formulas…I just don’t see it. 😀

        • JW Reply

          For me, ‘advanced math’ starts at the point, where I cannot apply it to my life any more.
          So pretty much after basic calculus (which includes stuff like percentages).

          Are you sure you meant calculus? Because you probably don’t have much (explicit) use in daily life for differentiation or integrals. So you can probably stop at algebra or plain arithmetic.
          I suppose I mostly use maths recreationally, though it’s useful occasionally.

          I mean sure, there are people that actually need that stuff, but ‘the layman’?

          I think, as with literature, that if you think it’s just a matter of need, you sorely miss the point.
          Not that I’m a fan of literature. I much prefer books that I like reading. But I appreciate that people explore the fringes of human understanding and experience in most (if not all) directions and expand it. Even if it’s not a journey I care to accompany them on (or hear them talk about incessantly).

          As for ‘medicine and not biology’, that one is rather easily explained:
          The study of biology is essential for the advancement of medicine, but it is medicine, which actually makes the lives of people better.

          So does agriculture and biotechnology and probably other fields of biology.
          And by that metric, engineering and not physics should have gotten a Nobel prize.
          It’s really all rather arbitrary in my opinion.

          You use math to describe and ‘predict’ things you cannot prove (yet), but at the end of the day, only the things you can prove count.

          That sounds more like theoretical physics than maths.
          Mathematician explore and prove properties of mathematical structures (numbers, sets, groups etc). They may make the occasional prediction that some property probably holds, but their main occupation is describing/proving what’s true (i.e. following necessarily from the definition of those structures).
          And science can then try to map observation to mathematical structures to describe and predict natural phenomena.

          it is still ‘just a manmade tool’.

          So is physics. So is medicine. So is “just” about everything. However, saying “just” belittles both the subject and everyone that studies it.

          As for ‘it defines logic’…does it now?

          Yes, logic is a field of mathematics, just as much as arithmetic. Otherwise anyone can just claim whatever and call it logical. But there’s a structure to what actual logic is.

          For all it’s worth, if people had decided to that 4 + 4 = 2, it would be just as true…assuming that ‘2’ had a counting value of what we know as ‘8’ in this context.

          .. That makes as much sense as frible goble drigt offr tagg fregg. If those words meant something intelligible.
          How you write the values of numbers has nothing to do with maths. Though obviously a shared vocabulary is important for communicating. How you write a mathematical truth will not change that it’s true, but it can cause someone to misinterpret what you’ve written. If you use binary then 100 + 100 = 1000 conveys the exact same relation as 4 + 4 = 8 in decimal, or 4 + 4 = 2 in refugnical (where the meaning of 2 and 8 are swapped).
          It’s more interesting when 14 + 14 = 4, and the counting values of each symbol-string is the same as usual. Because that probably means you’re working on a 24 clock. (It could work with your example and a 6 hour clock, but who has a 6 hour clock?)

      • Refugnic Reply

        See, I don’t even know there’s different words, that’s how bad I am at math. 😀

        Really though, I derived ‘calculus’ from ‘calculation’, which sounds a bit more concise than ‘arithmetical operation’.
        But yes, basic arithmetics and boolean algebra are what I use most often. (The latter kinda coming with the territory of being a programmer. :D)

        Interestingly enough, many people have great difficulties wrapping their heads around the idea of there being different numbering systems all expressing the same thing, (most notably to the bases 2, 8, 10 and 16), whereas that almost comes like second nature to me.

        Funny how that works. 😀

        You are correct about ‘literature’ having no ‘need’.
        The only ‘need’ in literature (or stories of any kind) rests with the author to express themselves.
        If you wish to derive a ‘need’ in the reader, it is their need to escape their own reality for a little while…to imagine how it would be to live in different circumstances.

        Essentially, the point of writing/telling a story is the wish to convey information.
        About lessons learned, the own opinions etc.

        The point about reading a story has two primary purposes:
        – To escape the own reality (which we tend to get fed up with occasionally)
        – To pick up the ‘lesson’ hidden in most stories, even up to this day.

        As you probably know, fairy tales started out just like that: Easy to digest ‘life lessons’ you can tell to your children, so they do not make the mistakes the characters of the story did.
        ‘Do not stray from the path’
        ‘Do not talk to strangers’
        etc.

        If you just tell those things outright to the children, they are likely to discard them before long…because what exactly is supposed to happen?
        In the story however, the lesson is wrapped up into a (often horrifying) scenario of ‘what is supposed to happen’ if you don’t listen.

        So yeah, the ‘point’ and ‘need’ of literature (or stories in general) is teaching others about lessons the one telling/making up the story has learned…often at personal cost.

        There’s a saying in regards to that: ‘Those who learn from the mistakes of others are wise, those who learn from experience are idiots.’ (Guilty of being an idiot myself here. :P)

        Heh…I guess you’re right about that.
        Just like 2+ 2 equaling 4 for that matter. 😀

        Yeah…I’m way too little into ‘mathematical structures’ to even properly understand what that word is meant to express, I’m afraid.

        I admit, ‘just’ may not have been the correct adjective to use here.
        The people pursuing these things actively deserve respect and not ‘belittlement’…if only for the simple reason, that I am not cut out for these kinds of studies.

        So, for example Einstein’s Zebra riddle is a mathematical problem then?
        I had always thought it to be a logical one…although I guess there are a few numbers in there, but not a single mathematical operation, as far as I know.

        Hmm…I’ll be honest, I did not think about it that way.
        And you are correct, ‘language’ is just as constructed as our numbering system.

        So, just to clarify, numbers are not ‘part of mathematics’, but much rather the ‘language’ we use to express it, huh?
        I guess that does make sense.

        And yes, a ‘common vocabulary’ is essential in communication, be it words or numbers. 🙂

        • JW Reply

          Interestingly enough, many people have great difficulties wrapping their heads around the idea of there being different numbering systems all expressing the same thing, (most notably to the bases 2, 8, 10 and 16), whereas that almost comes like second nature to me.

          Like the old programmer’s joke says, “There are 10 kinds of people, those that understand binary, and those that don’t.”

          There’s a saying in regards to that: ‘Those who learn from the mistakes of others are wise, those who learn from experience are idiots.’

          Don’t idiots fail to learn even from experience?

          So, for example Einstein’s Zebra riddle is a mathematical problem then?
          I had always thought it to be a logical one…although I guess there are a few numbers in there, but not a single mathematical operation, as far as I know.

          Well, as I said, (formal) logic is generally considered a part of mathematics, like astronomy is considered part of physics.
          The operations would be basic logical operators*, “and”, “or”, “implies” etc and more advanced once like “there exists” and “for all”.
          Translating it to first-order logical statements is probably more work than solving it informally, though 😛
          Come to think of it, it could probably be solved quite nicely in prolog (a logical programming language). But if I wanted to solve it by hand, without thinking too much, I’d probably draw a grid exactly like this: http://www.davidpace.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/einsteinLogicChart.jpg
          *NB if you take 1 to be True, and 0 to be False, then “A and B” is equal to “A * B”, and “A or B” is equal to “A + B – A * B”, and “A implies B” is equal to “A * B + B – A”, which translates boolean logic to basic arithmetic.

          So, just to clarify, numbers are not ‘part of mathematics’, but much rather the ‘language’ we use to express it, huh?

          Yeah. Though I suppose mathematical notation, numbers included, are such an important tool set for doing mathematics that it’s hard to see them completely separate. A bit like telescopes and astronomy.
          And there’s also the theory that a language helps shape how people think, so that might apply here as well. It’s quite possible that without the adoption of Arabic numerals mathematics would have developed differently; if only because Roman numerals are hell to do multiplication with and more mathematicians would have killed themselves out of frustration.

      • Refugnic Reply

        Heh, I remember that one.
        Took me a moment to get it, when I first came across it, to be honest, but when I did, I laughed. 😀

        Unfortunately it only works in written form (just like many other jokes only work in their ‘native language’)

        Being an ‘idiot’ does not necessarily mean that you are completely stupid, although it is often implied.
        For me, it simply means, that you are making ‘wrong decisions’ on a regular base.

        As for ‘not learning from experience’…you’d have to be really stupid to manage that, because ‘from experience’ is the most natural way of learning if there ever was one…pain especially is a very good tutor.

        Like for example the child that would not listen to their elders and put their hand on the hot stove is a prime example.
        Think the child will do it again after feeling the searing pain?

        Unless they are somehow mentally challenged, I would think that they would remember that ‘putting a hand on a hot stove’ is a very bad idea…they learn from experience.
        If they had learned from their elders though, they could’ve avoided the pain.

        Well, I do use ‘Boolean Algebra’ at work regularly, and I am aware that the good man who defined it was a mathematician.
        So I do get your point.

        Fun fact, many of my colleagues look at the stuff and keep wondering, ‘How the heck does that even work?’
        To be noted, it does work, quite reliably too, but it is sometimes…difficult to break down the thought processes to my colleagues, even though it is perfectly logical to me. 😀

        • JW Reply

          As for ‘not learning from experience’…you’d have to be really stupid to manage that, because ‘from experience’ is the most natural way of learning if there ever was one…pain especially is a very good tutor.

          I think that depends a bit on the subject matter as well. For example, I think everyone has a friend or relation that has a disastrous track-record in relationships, but keeps picking partners with the same glaring faults over and over.

          Like for example the child that would not listen to their elders and put their hand on the hot stove is a prime example.

          I think my mom said that I did that once. But I don’t recall it myself, and I don’t know if anyone had thought to warn me beforehand. I’m pretty sure I never did it again, though.
          Maybe kids should get started off with a training stove that’s painfully hot, but not damaging hot. And electricity sockets that shock without electrocuting if you stick a fork in.

          Fun fact, many of my colleagues look at the stuff and keep wondering, ‘How the heck does that even work?’

          Do you then also wind up in endless code reviews until you sufficiently commented and documented the code so they understand (or give up)? That’s my least favorite part of having to write complicated code. But sometimes it’s unavoidable because performance requires it, or it’s just a complicated situation.

          I assume/hope you don’t write like that when it’s unnecessary, though. Because I worked on a few projects where some regions of code were regarded as no-go areas, that inspired dread and despair in junior programmers if they had to fix bugs or add features there. And it wasn’t that the code was performance critical or functionally complex, it was just over-engineered and/or needlessly complicated and dense. I suppose it didn’t help that apparently no one in the company had heard of “code-review” when we started 😛 (Definitely not something I was taught in University, not sure what the excuse of some of my more senior and differently educated colleagues was.)

      • Refugnic Reply

        Hmm…good point.
        People tend to be a lot more dense, when it comes to ’emotional pain’.
        Or much rather: The triggers are far less obvious than with ‘physical pain’.

        I mean, physical pain tends to be the direct result of messing up…whereas emotional pain usually only sets in later and tends to be from a series of ‘mistakes being made’ (by either party).

        Hah, I think you’d have a LOT of ‘caring parents’ complaining about trying to market that kind of stuff (seeing how it is designed to hurt their child)…but then again, nobody is forcing them to buy it and nobody is forcing the kids to ‘use’ them.

        It’d be one of those things you ‘cannot admit having bought towards your neighbors and friends’, because it implies that you are ready and willing to hurt your child on purpose (for teaching purposes).

        But then again, I hear that people are watching stuff like Big Brother or other ‘reality crap’ like it.

        Code reviews are always difficult, because any code sufficiently complicated to WARRANT a code review is also a code too complicated to ‘review in an acceptable amount of time’.
        We’re currently moving from ‘code review’ to ‘explaining the concept with a brief overview on how the concept was implemented’.

        Haha, I know precisely what you mean…there’s this one file in our primary project ‘I am not allowed to touch unless absolutely necessary’ (I am known for optimizing and simplifying code, my record sits with compressing 3000 lines of code to 300…in my defense, I’m not crazy good, the one who wrote it apparently just had never heard of ‘functions’ and really liked the CTRL + V key combination).

        So yeah, that one file is one huge mess which…well, let me (freely) quote the Ghostbusters game: ‘So the people in there are praying to keep the whole thing from coming down on them? Sign me up!’

        To be noted, when I joined the company (some 10 years ago now), their ‘revisioning system’ was a plush rabbit.
        When it was sitting on one desk, that person was working on the code base, meaning that the other one (they were only two at the time) was not allowed to change anything at the code. 😀

        Ever since we’ve been using SVN.

        • JW Reply

          It’d be one of those things you ‘cannot admit having bought towards your neighbors and friends’, because it implies that you are ready and willing to hurt your child on purpose (for teaching purposes).

          Well, it’s not about purposefully hurting them, it’s about making an environment where it’s safe for them to hurt themselves (and let me add it’s also not the goal to provoke them into hurting themselves 😛 ).
          It’s just, if you shelter them from consequences their whole upbringing, then they’re in for a rough shock when they emerge into the real world. And unfortunately, you do see that happening a lot, with young adults being entirely unprepared for a world where their actions have (sometimes harsh) consequences, and the additional inability to deal with the fallout. Granted, that’s usually more abstract things than “hot things can burn you” or “electricity can shock you”, and more like “if you spend your paycheck on new games, you’ll have nothing to eat for the rest of the month”.

          [..] any code sufficiently complicated to WARRANT a code review [..]

          On the one hand, there’s definitely code that shouldn’t warrant a code review, on the other hand, in practice, I find that people can make mistakes and poor choices in any amount code, of any complexity. I think I’ve even seen one-character bugfixes that where wrong (or incomplete, or not the best way to fix the problem).
          And aside from whether the code works, it’s good to have a check on whether there’s another person in the company that can understand it (and related whether it conforms to the style guide and best practices etc). It’s also a good opportunity to learn/teach, cause there’s usually room for improvement. And to remind me I should document better (even though I don’t like it).

          I must admit I consider a lot of documentation superfluous though. But that’s also because I much rather read the code itself (provided it’s well-written), than reading about the code. And most of the docstrings are just stating the obvious. As a made-up example:
          def count_distinct_words(words: List[str]) -> int:
          “””
          Function to count distinct words in the provided list of words
          :param words: a list of words
          :returns: count of distinct words
          “””
          return len(Counter(words))

          In such cases when my colleagues remind me the docstring is missing, I just sigh inwardly and add it cause it’s the rules.

          To be noted, when I joined the company (some 10 years ago now), their ‘revisioning system’ was a plush rabbit.

          Haha. At least it’s a good way to avoid merge conflicts.
          We have a few rubber duckies to help with debugging (though mostly we just bother a colleague for rubber-ducking — or at least we did before corona caused everyone to work from home).

      • Refugnic Reply

        Yeah, I see what you mean…and I agree.

        Education is a very difficult area to tread on…for one, you are supposed (and usually want to) keep your children safe.
        On the other hand you are supposed to prepare them to stand on their own two feet.

        But while parents of today (and even those of the previous generation) are doing fairly well on the first part, they often fail catastrophically on the second part.

        Stuff like ‘cooking’, ‘cleaning’ or ‘keeping a household in general’ (which includes keeping an eye on the finances)…basically ‘basic life skills’…I have hardly been taught any of these.

        I mean, I can operate a stove without setting the kitchen on fire and I know how to boil water…but actual ‘cooking’, where you go out, select ingredients and stuff?

        If the apocalypse were to come, I know I’d be on the ‘completely screwed’ list.

        In fact, I believe that these skills are so important, that they should be on any curriculum of ‘young adults’ (read: 13+) in school…you know, teach them something useful instead of drilling some abstract formulas into their heads, which they don’t care about and probably will never need again anyway. (To be noted: I’m not saying that they are useless or have no reason to exist, I am just saying that might be more…important lessons to learn)…but you know how it is: Non vitae, sed scholae discimus’.

        Aaaanyway. (School is a bit of a sore point for me, in case you haven’t figured yet :D)

        Yes, you are correct on all those accounts.
        Passing on information is vital when working in a team…unfortunately, most of the time people are so caught up with their own tasks, that they simply don’t have the time to ‘bother with the code of their colleagues’…well, up to the moment where they stumble across it.

        And yeah, I know what you mean about documentation…I mean the function name itself is part of the documentation of what the function does, honestly…as are the parameter names.

        Like for example (actual example)


        /**
        * Resets the boot information.
        */
        void resetBootInformation(void) { … }

        Hooray for completely superfluous documentation. 😀

        • JW Reply

          If the apocalypse were to come, I know I’d be on the ‘completely screwed’ list.

          Eh, you’ll be alright if you hoard enough canned food. It lasts forever, and if you can’t figure out how to warm it, it’s mostly edible cold.

          In fact, I believe that these skills are so important, that they should be on any curriculum of ‘young adults’ (read: 13+) in school…

          I think they’re on the curriculum in some countries. Though I have a feeling there’s a large gender bias in the students that elect, or are required/expected, to follow it.
          On the one hand you could also argue it’s something parents can, and should teach their children themselves, and leave the teaching of things parents can’t teach to teachers that can. But we also know that’s not happening (enough). It does place an extra burden on the education system though (unless you scrap other things).
          I also think 13+ is probably a bit late. You could start them off with simple stuff from primary. You could make breakfast with the whole class occasionally. Teach them to cook an egg (or whatever the simplest thing is a vegan can eat). Make pancakes. You could plant and maintain a vegetable garden. Prepare and cook the vegetables they grew themselves. Harvest apples and bake a pie. etc

          you know, teach them something useful instead of drilling some abstract formulas into their heads, which they don’t care about and probably will never need again anyway

          Well, it does also do a few additional things besides (temporarily) filling their mind with useless formulas. It teaches them to learn/think in a certain way, and it tests how well they are at it.
          Maybe you can view it in part as the “wax on, wax off” approach from Karate Kid. What you learn transfers to more important things later on. (Although one can rightly wonder if you couldn’t achieve that in a way that appeals to more students.)

          unfortunately, most of the time people are so caught up with their own tasks, that they simply don’t have the time to ‘bother with the code of their colleagues’

          True. It’s usually a struggle to get someone to review a pull request. Unless it’s one they need, then it’s suddenly rushed through.

  3. Meadblondie Reply

    my money is on him telling her that they can’t sleep in the same tent nor have sex anymore. He will reason it with him wanting some magic of his own, she will jealously assume he just wants to dump her for Ada or some other girl, what with him seemingly avoiding her for some time now.

    *push stack of coins to the midst of the table*

    • Refugnic Reply

      Well, maybe not the ‘same tent’, but the ‘no sex, because of the ‘three day purification ritual limitation on being able to do magic’ seems like a viable option.

      Of course, considering how…active Nina still appears to be, this would be extra challenging, so the ‘nocturnal distancing’ might well be an additional effect.

      Whether Nina will jump to the ‘there’s another girl’ conclusion right away is debatable though.
      If he was two-timing, wouldn’t he try to get the most out of his relationships?

      Besides, he’d be a fool to turn someone like Nina down for another…not that this is going to help Nina’s potential self-esteem issues any (after all, jealousy is born from a lack of self-confidence.)

      • Regis Earsquake Reply

        Isn’t magic in this world the best detector for two-timing? I mean, at least you didn’t have sex if you can do magic without going through the purification ritual.

      • Refugnic Reply

        It would appear that way…but then again, Robert didn’t do too well with ‘ritual magic’ either, but sort of excels at performing chaos magic, so just ‘magic’ may not be the best indicator. 😀

        Man, I can just picture it…the angry wife urging his significant other to draw that pentagram after a long day at the office…and it better light up. 😀

      • Meadblondie Reply

        longing for someone isn’t technically “two timing” exept for jealousy and hurtfulnes purposes it _totally_ is <.< you remember when she had tea with Doc ? She IS suspecting Filip of something, and even thinks some bro-code was involved with the other man not "wanting" (not knowing) to tell her.

        • JW Reply

          I don’t think that it will be a great comfort to Nina to find out that the “other woman” is Magic itself. Especially if it entails a lack of physical contact with her love, on top of take much of his attention away.

          Why even wait till the next page, remembering all this, I already dislike Filip again!

  4. DKpsyhog Reply

    There’s something about this interaction I love~
    Stay safe, NI! Hope you keep well in these times! Don’t forget that what you do is worth a lot to us! ^_^ <3

  5. Klorix Camp dweller Reply

    I guess it has become kind of easy for Nina to finde Filip now. He’ll be wherever all the magic users gather.
    Looking forward to what he’s going to say. Looks like an argument is coming up.

    Also, NI, don’t worry too much. Everyone feels a little down sometimes, and these times more so than usually. But it’s going to get better, eventually.

    • NotImportant Reply

      Yeah, I’m not worried. I observe my moods and I know days like this just happen sometimes. It’s just annoying to waste so much time when I could have been drawing, meh.

      • Klorix Camp dweller Reply

        Believe me, I know how that feels (just with other stuff than drawing).

  6. AgentPensive Reply

    I know you feel that what you do is worthless but to me it isn’t worthless! I’ve fallen in love with your artwork and go through each week looking forward for the next page you create! I love the story and cannot wait to see where everything goes. I know the listing of the comic has fallen but in my heart you are still apart of the top 20 web comics out there regardless what one site may say.

    If your feeling is due to an inability to really affect the world events we are experiencing? Well that is for certain that one person cannot change things but all of us together being responsible and smart about how to approach each and every day until things become more stabilized is what we can do!

    Also, this story makes me think things could be worse if we had literal demons running around massacring us! Hell just imagine if there was a demon that could get inside people and control them! If anything there is nothing worse than the demon that our imagination can create and we can channel that amazing capability into something good to create miracles. One of my favorite quotes is “Chance favors the prepared mind” – Louis Pasteur. By that we can turn tomorrow into something amazing by using whatever is available if we use today to prepare.

    • NotImportant Reply

      Thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you’re enjoying Replay! 😀 I don’t *really* think that what I do is worthless, those are just random, absurd thoughts that started popping out over the weekend and made me unable to draw. I’m all good now, just a stupid mood that made me waste some time. So no worries! As long as you guys are reading, I’m happy 🙂

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