5.33

Hyla is the nicest, imo. Also I know it’s been a slowly-posting chapter, but if you’re still reading between the lines, yes~a lot of people are suddenly doing jobs that they are not very well trained to do, and it’s causing some problems. Chapter 6: Luca fires 59 Tomahawk missiles at Caris HAHa

A couple of updates on ye old Patreon since the last time I was here, just to recap: Notes for this page from last week’s preview! and some bonus intro to the new character, which as usual is not necessary for enjoying the comic! If you ever just wanna remind yourself who’s doing what, I’ve got the non-spoilery info ready to go on the Meekipedia as usual, and organized nicely for Chapter 5. Additionally, March contest winners were posted, the Proportion tutorial worksheet was posted, and the poll for the next tutorial remains open until I start work on it so feel free to vote whenever~ I have some more updates to post this weekend including another Legschilla comic, so that’ll be up after I make the PDF.

And a copy paste from the MI page: thanks for waiting for this update. I put the specific reason on the Patreon because although it’s a sort of personal reason to share, my Patrons are the ones I care most about and answer to. To others who are feeling frustrated or have a question, you can either contact me personally at any of the billion links I have to do that, or just wait patiently until the comic updates. I know I’m just some random internet person to most of you, but in real life I’m a one-person business who has been working pretty much nonstop, 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week for 3 years, and my tank occasionally goes dry. My life quality is whatever/who cares, but when the quality of the comic starts to suffer I have to choose to step back even if it is annoying to you. Believe me it is much more annoying to us both to have to make/ read bad comics. Thanks again for your understanding and feel free to bounce without guilt if you feel the wait is not worth it (I try to keep the laffs coming tho so if you haven’t seen my obit floating around, probably better to just keep checking back)

 

56 Comments

  • Android 21 3/7

    Sounds like SOMEONE’S gonna get executed before the end of the chapter! Who will it be? Taking bets!

    • Alan

      Everybody involved!

  • anameer

    I guess Phe was in charge of the assignment of jobs huh. Also “pleasant to see you”??? my god, poor Hyla, looks like it was just her mom who provided most of her emotional nurturing.

    • thebombzen

      While it is probably true that Phe probably spent more time with Hyla than Luca ever did, he did just come back from a long trip, so it would be nice to see her.
      (Although “I missed you” is probably more appropriate.) Keep in mind though that Luca doesn’t really have an relationship with his kids. Recall that Suda didn’t feel he could say anything to his dad about the ship incident because “he’s the emperor.”

  • TorgueRND

    DePuller ain’t wrong tho

    • MikeLinPA

      Telling a young woman she looks matronly is a good way to get belted!

      • Varflock

        His face at the end says “it’s your fault for looking matronly”.

  • Fleece

    Good page, fun to read! Third panel is my favourite. It’s great how this entire story is such a great, natural mix of comic and tragic moments. It makes it seem more realistic than endless dark horror ever could.

  • Eversist

    Tomahawk missles, ha ha… ha… *sob*

  • Considering recent real-world events…. it feels kind of ominous to me that I have always read Luca as having a Russian accent, ever since he was first introduced all those many years ago (been reading this amazing comic since page 10).

    (also that is not meant as anything against the Russian people, only Putin)

    • Pixie

      Yeah… Russian people I’ve met are awesome. Their leader, not so much. The same could be said about… another… country…

      • hkmaly

        Only one? I know at least three other countries like that, but I suppose if I would be paying more attention to politics I would get at least into double digits.

    • It’s not that off-base, I think, to project that accent on Luca.

      Luca strikes me, thus far, with some real Stalin vibes, now that he’s settled into his role as sole decision maker and wielder of power. There are many totalitarian dictators like him and who acted like him, to be sure, but he’s the most well known, and his behavior – in particular his paranoia and ruthlessness – even to his own staff and inner circle – is the most well documented.

      • that guy

        It’s funny, Stalin came to me as a comparison too, mere seconds after reading the update. Luca doesn’t strike me as 100% Stalin, but makes up for the difference with his habit for on-the-spot executions.

        • Jac

          Now I want there to be an online quiz: How Stalin Are You? Find Out Your Percentage Here!

          • that guy

            Saw one once, but it wasn’t a good one.

            Anyways, being a stone-cold sociopath seems to me like an entry-level requirement, and Luca is more sanguine. I mean, a penchant for “ironic” punishment requires a measure of emotion beyond the level nowadays typically associated with Uncle Joe.

      • Fridge_Logik

        Luca/Stalin Similarities:

        * From remote areas that make them not part of the general population culturally. (Stalin was Georgian)
        * Paranoid
        * Served as soldiers before rising to power
        * Autocrats ruling over large empires with a sense that their empires were humiliated or wronged in the last war.

    • Kent

      I’ve imagined he has a mix between a Russian and an Italian accent.

  • Saberbeam

    Luca to himself: “I come home late from a long trip, I just want to grab a cold one from the fridge, kick back, maybe catch up on some shows. But no, as soon as I walk in the door it’s emperor this and “Please help us” that! I swear, it’s like watching a bunch of children, and that’s not even counting the actual children!!!”

  • Pomander

    ‘Godfather’. Those eyes of his, though… Did Phe go extracurricular at some point?

    • lol, no, Hyla gets her eyes from her granddad

      • Andreas

        Hey, who really knows what goes on Every night… even the author must sleep, once in a while…

  • Must be the haircut, ma’am.

    Hyla’s fun, I can just imagine our emperor going all “ACK, KINDNESS AND HAPPY INNOCENCE, MY ONLY WEAKNESS !!”

    • lol, that was the literal ending to the trippy Felix the Cat movie

  • Anonymous

    Ulyer seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t have kids of his own and is never around them to begin with, but gets a kick out of them, anyway.

    • Darcy

      Ooh, I hope you’re right. He does seem very chill.

  • David

    Hyla is just a bucket full of cute!

    Also, a thought:

    If there’s something going on in your life, and you don’t feel comfortable sharing it with the non-payers, then don’t tell us that it exists. It takes the fact that I don’t have money, and rubs it in my face. Making me feel excluded does not motivate me to join up- maybe that works for some people, but not for me. As for me, if I start giving, it will be because I like your art and your story, not because I want to be one of the “cool kids” who get to know things.

    • I’m definitely not incentivizing that info, that is weird, but I have been consistently using the comment box space to communicate with Patrons, and not all Patrons have their notifications turned on. So I will continue to use the space to reshare info redundantly, same as I do on my Twitter… I mean, why else would I even have the comments space there if I couldn’t use it for practical things, haha. Normally I’d share delay news publicly like I did last year when my cousin died, but this time it didn’t feel appropriate.

      Anyways you can rest assured I don’t want anyone to pay to read about my life (stuff I use as incentive is always hyperlinked directly), but the comments box will continue to be a space I use to talk to TM Patrons.

      • David

        I see. It’s a means to reach those patrons who might not otherwise see the announcement. I guess it was just something about the wording that made me feel you were putting down the people who don’t have money.

        Heh, in a somewhat related note- when I went to the movies the other day, they had created a separate, much shorter line to the concession stand, for Premium members. I was not a fan of that either.

        Anyhow, I didn’t notice the delay as being particularly bad. There hadn’t been a Meek update for a while, but Mare was more active than usual. I read 6 webcomics anyway, so I always get my fix from one site or other.

        • Edgar M Lemos

          I believe that what Shing was trying to say is that the details of the reasons why updates have been slow are personal and as such she’d prefer not to share them at all, but she feels that her Patrons are entitled to know since they are, after a fashion, her employers. In other words it is not that non-payers are second-class citizens but rather, that she feels an obligation towards her Patrons. Mentioning it is not intended to be any sort of incentive but to be entirely transparent: if she just said “I couldn’t update because of personal reasons I rather do not disclose” and then you joined Patreon and found that she actually disclosed them there, you’d feel lied to.

          • oh haha I wrote my other reply before reading this, but yeah XD It’s just really awkward trying to maintain a balance between my personal life and my online life because they’re so intertwined nowadays.

        • Yeah, haha, sorry to make it come off that way, it was just sort of sensitive info. If people weren’t paying me to update I certainly wouldn’t be posting anywhere about it, it’s a weird situation where I’m trying to treat my comics (online and offline) as my dayjob and my patrons as my employers, and I figure you tell your employer when you’re taking a small leave, or whatever, regardless of if you want to. Either way I’m relieved you didn’t really notice XD It really helps there’s so many quality comics online, it makes minor gaps in one or two of them less noticeable.

  • Crestlinger

    Time to introduce Mr. depuller to Why he doesn’t want people touching him. A nice facial brand will do as help is hard to come by, especially properly Motivated help.

  • Tabby

    I don’t care how long it takes you to post, I will always loyally return to read your stuff, because it is awesome and you make fabulous things. I read other webcomics too, so there’s always something else out there to tide me by while I wait patiently. Great job as alwa

    • Tabby

      ys. Ugh, don’t comment with a cellphone, worst thing ever.

      My point is, you rock and please take whatever time you might need whenever you need it.

  • Lilacgirl8

    Oh man, I just shotgunned this webcomic. It’s fricken awesome!! Also, I wonder if the tiger is influencing Luca’s mind at all or if his behavior is solely the product of unchecked grief and range?

  • Some Guy

    A specific reason isn’t necessary, but a quick “Sorry, Life is Happening and updates will be sparse for a while” is always appreciated, even if we aren’t Patrons.

    • Yeah, I could probably do better on that front. When this stuff hits I just do not go online or to my sites, so it’s a paradox~

  • zellgato

    ……If you are scared of your ruler…
    why would you just pull a random “motherly looking” [person to watch the child?
    Assuming normal standards.. should be plenty of of former or current ones for raising folks

    • zellgato

      Thanks for the comic as always~

    • Andreas

      Lol, maybe he thinks that he’ll never get executed? Lol ‘couldn’t happen to me’ :p

      I’d hire a bodyguard and poison tester for her…. I would Not die by the crazy emperor’s hands lok

  • Bitchface

    Dvoda looks kind, I’m compelled to trust him.

  • Felis Leo

    Let me guess: This kindly-looking man Uli is Luca’s trusted interior minister/head of the secret police like Lavrenti Beria was for Josef Stalin or Heinrich Himmler was for Adolf Hitler? Probably in charge of the mass arrests and ethnic cleansing of Carissi?

  • David

    Hey, I was re-reading the comic, and I have a question. Around Ch. 1, page 11, I remember seeing a forest sprite or menehune or something- its face and body were hidden by bundles of leaves, and it made a hooting sound. I don’t see him anymore. Did you edit him out, or am I misremembering?

    • You’re probably thinking about these guys from Chapter 4! No hooters in Chapter 1 though, excepting the obvious pun.

      • David

        btw, thank you for completing my book. It came this week, and it is beautiful. The background information about the different countries is also very helpful.
        You’re awesome ^.^

  • Alan

    Tesca tesca bo-besca, banana fana foe fesca, fee-fy-mo-mesca!
    Tesca!

  • zeb

    Might be the wrong place to ask, but when are Europeans about to see what we gave for the Meek kickstarter? Saw others had their reward pop up and just wondering where mine went haha.

    Please take care Shing, try to not overwork yourself as much as you’re able to.

    • Yours is on the way! The fulfillment service is pretty much done with the bulk of US orders, but European orders are being shipped en masse from their Euro warehouse, which adds another 2 weeks or so to the process… you’ll be receiving an email sometime in May with your confirmation of shipment notice :] They’re expecting everything delivered to every country by the 3rd week of May at the latest.

      And, I’m only a day late to reply, but if you want a faster reply feel free to comment directly on the KS page! I get those notifications directly to my email so I can respond right away~

      • zeb

        Thank you fir the reply! I’m very grateful for how much you care about your readers. Keep up the good work <3

  • Ruth

    Honestly, your private life is your business, whether you tell all of us or some of us. I waited through the long hiatus and I’ll wait through this one. I don’t give up on a good comic until I know for sure it’s not coming back, and even then, I hold on to the link somewhere. Your sanity and health are important to the comic, and by association us. Do what you gotta do and take care of yourself. I can’t stress that enough as so many artists seem to get into the mindset that the comic must be up because reasons, and they don’t take care of themselves. Eventually the comic suffers, the artist suffers, and we all lose by it.
    BTW got my book this week, that shipping service you used is really nice. I’ve already recommended them to another webcomic that is thinking about printing.

    • Thank you! This Kickstarter man, haha… people don’t realize that running a KS of a medium size like this takes pretty much an entire year to do. But thank you so much for your patience with my updating, I really am doing my best with the time I have right now. And I’m super glad your book arrived! Coolboxes is freaking amazing, it cost me a bit more to use them, but I thought it was important to pass the value of the overfunding back to you guys to make sure you got the best product that I could possibly make.

  • Krystina

    Am I the only one noticing the similarities between the Dvoda and Hyla? You can see the Phe/Luca resemblance with Rana and Suda. But Hyla only seems to share the hair, even then she looks an awful lot like the Dvoda. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here…

  • Rei Addams

    Suda looks like his mom; Rana looks like her dad; and Hyla…looks like her Dvoda. If Phe did conceive a child with Uli, and told Luca that child #3 is his….oh boy…if that’s true, and if/when Rana marries Uli, does that make Hyla her own stepdaughter?

    Ugh…headache.

    • lol, no worries, that would never happen XD Phe and Ulyer were not at all friends.

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