No compromise

Greetings from Singapore! I’ll be brief since I’m super tired after walking for the whole day in this blazing heat. I like it so far, the city is very, very green and who doesn’t like tropical flowers, right? Of course, my skin already hates me for being out in the sun for so long. And durians don’t smell all that bad.

Anyway, enjoy the page, this will be a weird week, for the first time in a while I’m few days behind with reading comments. I sincerely hope you still enjoy. We’re slowly coming to an end of this scene.

See you next week and thanks for all the votes! Woohoo!

47 comments on “No compromise”

  2. Joshua Vibah Reply

    There are to much feelings in this page but that’s cool. Keep up the great work

  4. Jarin Reply

    Someone needs to be introduced to the concept of being “aromantic” and stop being a big stupid jerk.

    • Aeldryn Camp dweller Reply

      In Rob’s defense, he was laying off till Ada came back with, roughly, “I love you but not the way you do, but enough to push you to another girl.” Basically making iy seem anything Rob said to this point go in one ear and out the other. I get the whole “aromantic” thing (though I’m not 100% convinced that’s the issue at hand, too many unknowns) but at the same time, taking those comments in stride in spite of everything said the last few panels would be…. difficult to say the least.

  5. bitflipper Camp dweller Reply

    Damnit, Ada, don’t you start in with the self-delusion and convincing yourself that you understand what Rob feels! Here’s a clue: you’re both dead wrong. Start from that premise and see what y’all can work out, okay? I guarantee it can’t be any worse than starting from the premise that you understand each other; that obviously hasn’t been working terribly well.

    • bitflipper Camp dweller Reply

      Wait, never mind; those are Rob’s words in the last panel, not Ada’s. My bad.

      But I still say they should both start from the assumption that neither understands the other.

      • antrik Reply

        That’s generally a good assumption to make… Alas, if people were able to just work from that assumption, how much unnecessary conflict could be avoided, in relationships and otherwise 🙂

      • Rateus Reply

        Like I said last episode I think square boxes are Rob’s unspoken thoughts.

        • antrik Reply

          This is about the last speech bubble, not about the thought box. It doesn’t have a tail, which means that it was said off-frame, i.e. by Robert — however, since it’s so close to Ada’s head, it’s easy to mistake it as being said by her…

  6. Refugnic Reply

    I had a nice comment all nice and ready, and then I figured what bitflipper mentioned already…it’s not Ada speaking in the last panel.

    Not good enough, huh?
    I doubt that’s the reason.

    If I were to wager a guess, it’s more along the lines of ‘All the people I ever cared about are now dead. All, but you.’

    Still, I like to repeat what I said a few pages back.

    If you love something, let it go.
    If it returns, love it forever.
    If it stays away, it never was meant to be.

    Now we know that Ada is ‘ready’ to let Robert go.
    At least that’s what she’s claiming.
    But Robert isn’t going anywhere…so now that both have tried that and both ‘came back’…now what’s left between them?

    • antrik Reply

      Why exactly do you doubt “not good enough” is the reason, I wonder?

      His exact wording is clearly provocative, since it implies that she’s too picky… But in the end, that’s what it boils down to, when he doesn’t have what it takes to create romantic feelings in her…

      I’m not saying that’s necessarily how it is — I still really can’t quite tell either way. But at least it seems a perfectly plausible possibility, unless there is some important aspect I’m overlooking?…

    • JW Reply

      If you love something, let it go.

      Unless it’s glassware and you’re standing on a hard floor. 😛

  7. antrik Reply

    Really Robert, sarcasm? Well, if that’s how you are in an argument, you wouldn’t work as a couple anyway. Congratulations: you just made everything a whole lot simpler.

    • antrik Reply

      Looking closer, it’s actually her who kinda started the sarcasm thing; plus she called him names… Can’t really blame him in particular for responding in kind. They are both hopeless 🙁

  8. antrik Reply

    Wait wait wait, did he say “*stayed* with me”? Does that mean they have been “together” before?…

    • JW Reply

      I think he just means the way they are now. With his love unrequited, but together as friends. As opposed to her letting him go “be happy with someone else”. Because that wouldn’t make him happy.

  10. Alex Reply

    I am confused. And the mouse-over text doesn’t help.
    And I believe that for Ada both of these things are true as well.

    Loving someone enough to let someone go and be happy with another person is a thing that people can do if their love is unrequited or parents who let their children go to lead their own lives, but in this scenario here it doesn’t make sense. Yet, anyway.
    I assume that either she thinks of Rob as a big brother or maybe she had a vision that Rob will die if they get together. Or maybe she is going to get killed at some point and wants to make it easier for him. Buuuut in the latter two cases it doesn’t make sense not to be upfront about it.

    Oh well, I just hope that Rob picks up that sandwich again. Maybe next page Ada turns away from him, walks a few steps and then tells him “Pick up that sandwich again. You’re wasting food.” and nothing gets resolved. 🙂

    • antrik Reply

      The hover text is probably just the author trolling us… 😉

      Actually, I think it’s a jeer on the fact that Robert is leaning in as if he was going to kiss her.

      Other than that, I’ll say it again: I’m pretty certain the demon hijinks — that only started a couple of days ago — have nothing to do with their relationship problems, which clearly have been going on for a long time.

    • EnterTheNameHere Camp dweller Reply

      I didn’t even know there is a mouse over message! Thank you for mentioning it

    • Alex Reply

      @enterthenamehere: You’re welcome. 🙂
      @antrik: Could be, could be. But who knows since when she and Rob started having those visions.

  12. LupoCani Reply

    The image is a lot smaller than usual. Has it been uploaded in the incorrect resolution?

    • NotImportant Reply

      Aaah sorry about that. Will try to fix soon, I didn’t realize it. Thanks!

  13. DKpsyhog Reply

    Woohoo, new page! Honestly guys, it’s the apocalypse. Don’t you have more important thing s to worry about?

  15. Alex Reply

    I just reread the first few dozen pages and Oh My God has the art style improved!!! O_O
    It was good enough to begin with, but now it’s positively stunning.

  16. Archangel Reply

    She’s clearly in as much pain as he is. I’m just hoping they both find a way to the other side of… whatever this is.

  17. Onceller Reply

    It’s a bit wonky how Rob demands that Ada understand how he feel in the given circumstance -a little betrayed and a lottle pushed away- and then when she tries to explain what she was feeling when she made her choice he explodes instead of listening and thinking about how she feels.

    Seems to be a bit of an asymmetric demand…

    • JW Reply

      True. But he’s being a little emotional at the moment, so it makes sense. It doesn’t make it right, but it’s understandable. Maybe he’ll realize it later on and apologize.

  18. KTrimbach Reply

    When I first started following this comic, I saw a lot of people mentioning her as being tsundere, so I had to look it up. Just wonder why nobody has been mentioning that the last few panels.

    • JW Reply

      Well, what’s been happening recently doesn’t really fit the tsundere stereotype anymore. (Though, I never really saw her as one anyway)
      She genuinely doesn’t seem to be interested in him that way. I can’t really imagine a real tsundere trying to set up her love-interest with another girl; they tend to be extremely possessive.

      • antrik Reply

        I don’t think that last part is true? AIUI, part of the Tsundere stereotype is denial — which doesn’t really fit with possessiveness… That would more likely be Yandere.

        • JW Reply

          I’ve watched a lot of anime. More than a few times tsundere exhibit itself literally as “I’m the boss of you”; like Shinku in Rozen maiden or Louise in Zero no Tsukaima.
          Yes, tsundere is part-characterized by denial; denying to themselves and the world that they’re actually in love. But they’re still in love; and (thus) frequently jealous.
          The main thing is that tsundere characters tend to be very insecure. So that makes it hard for them to open up to someone, because it makes them vulnerable, leaves them open for heart-ache. But that same insecurity is also triggered if their love interest suddenly shows too much attention to a rival.

          Yandere is more characterized by psychotic violence. So yeah, their possessiveness is a lot more extreme in that sense. They may kill everyone you know and tie you up their basement.

          • antrik

            Sure, jealousy is likely; and thus (involuntary) attempts to sabotage other love interests… But since the Tsundere wouldn’t admit to it, and on the contrary try to prove the opposite, I don’t think ostensible attempts to hook up the object of affection with someone else are out of the question?…

          • JW

            It feels very unlikely to me. I mean, it’d show they cared at least somewhat for the person, wouldn’t it? Unless they try to set him up in the most horrible kind of train-wreck of a relationship.

          • antrik

            Depends on how you look at it I’d say: an excuse like “I’m setting you up with someone else to prove that I’m not interested”, or “I’m setting you up with someone else so you stop bothering me” seem perfectly in line with the Tsundere character to me… Of course those aren’t very convincing to others — but then again, nothing about the Tsundere’s stance is 😉

          • JW

            Well, what can I say. It doesn’t feel like what a tsundere would do to me. It feels like what a person that interacts with people in a normal way might do.
            To me tsundere is a complex psychological state which is not actually characterized by trying to convince the world in the most efficient and logical way that you’re not in love (when you are).
            I don’t think there are any diagnostic criteria for “tsundere” in the DSM, so all I can really go on is “does this fit with the class of characters composed of all tsundere characters I know”, and the answer for me, based on my experience of the anime I’ve seen, is a clear no. There’s intentionally a lot of “me”s and “I”s in that statement; because we can argue till the cows come home to roost, but I don’t see us aligning our personal meanings of what “tsundere” entails.

          • antrik

            Of course there are no diagnostic criteria — it’s a fictional condition after all 🙂

            The “classic” Tsundere — which gradually transitions from tsuntsun to deredere (assuming the description on TVtropes is valid) — is not actually a character trait, but rather a change of heart. (Denial is a temporary state during the transition period in this case, before she can adapt to the reality of her changed feelings…)

            The “modern” Tsundere on the other hand — permanently alternating between these states — is a deeply paradoxical character, which I don’t believe can actually exist in reality.

            (The disconnect would be typical of schizophrenia I think — but if she was afflicted by that, it would show in a lot of other ways as well…)

            Taken literally, I think the mood swings implied in term are perfectly plausible; however, the other aspects typically associated with this character type — such the mood swings being triggered *only* by the love interest; and especially the denial — do not really add up as far as I can tell.

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