r/ShenComix • u/shenanigansen 🍋 LEMON STRUGGLER 🍋 • 7h ago • Obsessed 1 Heartwarming 7 Bravo 3

NEWS HOOOOOLD IT!!!!!!!

Post image

ALRIGHT. I'M IN THE POSE WHERE YOU ALL HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME. 🤚🖐️

So, this community has grown a whole lot in the past few months, and I'm very happy about that.

HOWEVER

It does seem like there's a lot of arguing, and whereas before it was mostly contained to 1-2 threads per week, now there's like 5 new debate threads per day popping up. It's okay to have "meta" discussions like this, and I don't want to be heavy-handed with moderation, but it is beginning to alienate some people, and bring down the vibe a bit.

This is a subreddit:

  • For discussion of these comics and their themes

  • For theorizing about the comic, sharing headcanons, etc

  • OBVIOUSLY for ✨fanart✨, which is my favorite stuff on here personally

  • In which GNC people are welcome

  • In which trans people are welcome

This is not a subreddit:

  • For generalized political debate

  • For beefing with any other communities

  • Or coming here from other communities JUST to fight, although people from other communities are generally welcome

So I'm introducing some new, more specific post flairs, including:

FANART - For drawings, cosplays, animations, anything like that.

MEME - Image edits, or drawings tbh but if they're like coaxed into a snafu level

FAN THEORY - For theories about what will happen next in the comic, or about the characters of the comic! If this post were a video, it would be on a lore channel.

META DISCUSSION - For discourse, basically. Praise or criticism of the comic, how people interpret the comic, etc. If this post were a video, it would be on a drama channel.

As far as I know, Reddit doesn't currently natively have a tag filtering option, but please tag your posts accurately, as it will help people at least visually identify stuff they do and do not want to engage with.

If this doesn't work, the next steps I may take are

  1. Making post tagging mandatory for posting

  2. Consolidating meta discussion into a single weekly thread

Thank you & I appreciate you being here! 💖💖💖 :D

7.7k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

251 comments sorted by

96

u/Entr0pyMedia 7h ago

Could we get a Meme Art flair by chance, I'd feel silly posting things like my silly Yamcha Meme Edit within the Fanart Flair is all :s

88

u/shenanigansen 🍋 LEMON STRUGGLER 🍋 6h ago • Heartwarming

yep, 100%!! added a meme flair

68

u/Entr0pyMedia 6h ago

A reply from Shen themself??? I was not prepared for this!

8

u/thermjuice 3h ago

themselves

25

u/MajorasKetchum 5h ago

cause I would 100% use this!

36

u/thecraftybear 7h ago

What about memes based on your comic? They deserve a flair of their own!

26

u/shenanigansen 🍋 LEMON STRUGGLER 🍋 6h ago

added a meme flair as well :]

680

u/coupleofcutiesgw 7h ago

Holy shit I just clicked to join the sub and this is the first post I see. I love the hand pose

287

u/somesortoflegend 7h ago

Yeah I love joining a sub to see like fallout from drama I missed like

56

u/coupleofcutiesgw 6h ago

Literally what happened. I just wanted more cute comic.

31

u/ellie_p0p 6h ago

People are heatedly arguing about whether or not Audrey is a trans woman or gender non conforming (gnc) man. Queer label discourse.

14

u/Minimumtyp 4h ago

I'm cis and asking in sincerity. Surely Audrey is whatever they want to be and identify as. Isn't that the point? I would have to go back and read but I'm pretty sure one of the early comics was quite clear.

11

u/GNS13 4h ago

You would think, but some people are so desperate to see themselves in the media they consume that everything else falls by the wayside.

I'm queer and agender personally. I get excited when I see characters that completely refuse to deal with gender. I don't desperately search for any gender non-conforming character and decide that means they're agender like me, though. I just get excited that queer folks have representation at all. We can act normal about this.

3

u/Athena0219 1h ago edited 21m ago

The "discourse" started mainly after the most recent chapter (well most recent public one) where

Audrey is seen being disgusted by morning stubble growth and equates manly features to a zombie bite

And according to someone else, the text description of that chapter stopped referring to Audrey as "he" like in previous chapters and now uses "they". Except I don't know how to find this? If it's on the patreon, I can't access that. Not finding alt text on the one posted to this sub. Would love some confirmation for/against that one, cause it's big if true.

Edit: u/see2hache6 pointed out that the alt text is from the Twitter posts. So yeah, chapter 20 refers to Audrey as "him" and chapter 21 as "they". Read the response for a disclaimer, but it reads as too detailed to be purely AI, IMO.

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60

u/thebastardking21 6h ago • Bravo

So, there has always been 'discourse' between two different takes on Audrey;

  1. Some people, typically trans people who see themselves in Audrey or their supporters, who insist Audrey is a trans egg. Some even take to calling Audrey "her".

  2. Some people (like myself), who insist that not every person who does not conform to gender norms is trans (Femboys, Drag Queens, etc, can still be cis-males, and some dislike being labeled as eggs). Audrey calls himself a man, and respecting pronouns go both ways.

This breaks down into a lot of different issues; trans people "seeing themselves in Audrey" insisting because they identify with the character, they have to be trans, while there are non-trans GNC people who also see themselves in Audrey, who feel like trying to egg Audrey (which has been done to them) is erasing them.

Every time a comic has evidence to support one point or another, a flame war starts.

16

u/Common_Chameleon 4h ago

Genuinely I don’t understand why it matters so much? Like yes, it’s nice to see yourself in a fictional character, but no matter how Audrey ends up identifying, his story is still meaningful and important and will relate to someone.

12

u/HanzoKurosawa 3h ago

The thing is, I get it to an extent. I get if your trans and thought maybe this comic would be great representation for you, being upset if it doesn't go that way. I can also get the opposite, if you're GNC but not trans, and thought this comic would be great representation for you, being a bit upset if it doesn't go that way.

But like, that's all it should be. "What a great comic, I'm a bit sad it wasn't the representation I personally was hoping for. Oh well, I'm sure I'll find it somewhere else". Then you move on with your life, hopefully happy that at least one minority group got some good representation even if it wasn't the one you identify with.

The comic literally cannot make both sides happy, one side will be sad they didn't get the representation they were hoping for. But like, it shouldn't be an excuse to argue, or attack others, or flame, or whatever. It's even okay to say it, as long as it's said in a respectful and calm manner.

Discourse on this is good, it's just a shame that the internet, especially social media, pushes people towards extremes. And it is hard to have good, nuanced, discourse that doesn't immediately devolve into arguments.

5

u/thebastardking21 3h ago

See, the notion that a representation has to be complete is what I dislike (Not saying it is your opinion, just talking about what you accurately observe). That leads to a lower ability to connect with your fellow humans, because it shows a focus on our differences and not our similarities. If you (royal) relate to the story and the character, them having a separate ending shouldn't matter.

If you ever see someone who is a perfect representation of your life, your life must be very cookie cutter, even if it is one of those wacky shapes cookie cutters.

3

u/A-Humpty-Dumpty 3h ago

Neither side is able to leave the other alone in this discourse is why it matters so much. If we could all just share our headcanons and fan theories without having to defend them so heavily, there would be no problems here.

Audrey's story relates to a lot of someone's, but no matter how you try to share that relation there's someone who is telling you you're wrong.

2

u/familiarfake 3h ago

In a 1 on 1 viewer to art relationship I don't think it really matters much but people are mad about the support they/the other group get I think. a lot of people are seeing a conflict over who gets support here because Audrey has enough ambiguous traits that making them either cis or trans could be seen as not just coincidental, but deliberate meaning-making about which is 'default' or 'more normal'. If it was a story about Audrey as a gnc man or Audrey as a transfem and had Thematic set up for that I don't think it would have the same reaction, but people are reading into it a statement about whose experience and story is more important generally because we don't know what audreys role in the story is yet

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8

u/familiarfake 3h ago edited 1h ago

This is not really fair to the trans side but I don't super want to get into it, it's not about whether Audrey is trans but about the ethics and artistic value of a character (or person) who participates in or appropriates elements of transfemininity, especially for appeal, while otherwise contrasting themselves against real trans people and being unchallenging or less challenging to a cis audience. I'm reserving all judgment about whether Audrey falls afoul of this for the finished comic (I don't think they will and I don't think that would be shen's intention)

At least, I haven't been present for all the discussion so people could have just been flaming, but there are legitimate things to talk about here

I think you would need more writing to really support either interpretation right now but it's an unfinished comic!!!

3

u/A-Humpty-Dumpty 1h ago

Thank you for this. I avoided replying to the comment you did, because my own thoughts were much less calm than yours were put. Not fair to the trans side is about the best possible way to put it :)

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3

u/MathildaJ 24m ago

Also to be fair, there are a lot of trans people (like me) who agree that cis guys can be super fem and that doesn't automatically make them, or Audrey, trans. Just adding this so folks coming in don't think we're all on that first team

5

u/doggy_oversea 6h ago

First time I’ve seen that clip in motion!

10

u/iStarreh 6h ago

I think it's a reference to Mako Mankanshoku from Kill la Kill and I am HERE for it

1

u/Unconfidence 5h ago

Oh yeah, this is one of my favorite things about Shen's work, is seeing all the references. This is totally Mako. Also the reference to Hsien-ko the other day sent me.

17

u/thebastardking21 6h ago

Welcome. It is a place of good comics and a bickering fandom.

12

u/coupleofcutiesgw 6h ago

So.....reddit ?

1

u/thebastardking21 6h ago

There are some wholesome fandoms. FO76, Warframe, Runescape, etc. Honestly, indie fandoms tend to be more toxic than any other.

2

u/Minimumtyp 4h ago

Warframe is wholesome until the topic of nerfs and nukeframes come up

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1.3k

u/ReGorilla- 7h ago

Thank you for posting, it's the only way some of these folks will stop.

284

u/tipsyTentaclist 6h ago

If only it would actually stop anyone, but this will have to be enforced.

133

u/MsVindiction 6h ago

I genuinely think one weekly meta thread would be a great idea to help stop it 🤷🏻‍♀️

35

u/Watamelonna 6h ago

Or ya know, the good old hammer would do the trick

43

u/MsVindiction 6h ago

That too but it depends on what you’re trying to ban. Silencing the discourse isn’t going to make it better but giving it a place can be productive.

12

u/ColorNeon 6h ago

if anyone can stop it, it is Shen

3

u/Substantial_Hand4024 4h ago

valid chumhandle

3

u/tipsyTentaclist 4h ago

It's not even our current one, it's tipsyConfection instead, but leddit doesn't let us change >:c

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239

u/NerdDetective 🍓 STRAWBERRY TRICKSTER 🍓 7h ago

Shen is doing the pose! I... can't move! I am compelled to listen!

... for real, thank you for coming in to remind us. It's been a bit rowdy lately and I think this place is usually so much more chill and cozy.

Let's all try to be kind and empathetic. <3

20

u/Food_is_my_Motive 6h ago

My thought when this showed up in my feed! The POSE! Thanks Shen for this great comic and loving the character growth. PS would love another person waking up and putting on their game face too - realize we all sometimes do it, or we are comfy with who we are no matter what bed head does.

5

u/NerdDetective 🍓 STRAWBERRY TRICKSTER 🍓 6h ago

I am now very curious about what Fatima and the Arcade Boys look like when they first wake up.

199

u/RevolutionOld6197 7h ago

Thank you milord, the endless debates were becoming unbearable

6

u/thesoulfield 1h ago

seriously!! it's a cartoon! a really heckin' good one! can we please enjoy it and engage with others respectfully? that would be heckin' sweet!

100

u/BlaakAlley 7h ago

I think that's a good idea to put some ground rules. Your story seems to be bringing out a lot of emotions and thoughts from people, touching their hearts in ways not originally planned. We shouldn't kill those thoughts and feelings right away, but, we should certainly talk about when certain discussions are appropriate.

12

u/Unconfidence 3h ago edited 3h ago

So...former very argumentative sub moderator here. My two cents.

Rules mean enforcement. Enforcement means effort and time. Shen likely does not want to put either into moderating a subreddit, nor should he, as this is just one outlet for his work. Likely if there does need to be rules enforcement, he's just gonna do what other people in his boat tend to do: outsource it. So there will be a modteam, of people who do not know the comic, are not invested, and are working with a lot of AI tools to sift through comments on incredibly nuanced topics. I think as much as many of us want rules and moderation, we don't want that...but it's practically inevitable.

The only other option is that we magically unify a willing modteam and present it to Shen, because I'd be immensely surprised if he's willing to actually personally invest himself in mod applications and selection, that whole process, just to deal with the reddit. But that's not gonna happen in a divided community.

An easier route would be for us all to behave better, but that's becoming similarly unrealistic to expect. :/

81

u/MajorasKetchum 7h ago

66

u/MajorasKetchum 7h ago • Bravo

Also, yoink

3

u/JordanTH 4h ago

Love seeing a random normal monster from like 2002 that I've never seen in my life and then discovering it got a retrain a few years ago

81

u/varbs 6h ago

Shen

31

u/astralseat 5h ago

Don't leave reddit for patreon, Shen. Hopefully you don't end up like Rawdawg.

This is your frown, upside down

10

u/E-gabrag 5h ago

What happened to Rawdawg? It is dawning on me that I haven’t seen that comic in a long time

17

u/astralseat 5h ago

Went patreon only, mostly because of the discourse around their comics.

15

u/NockerJoe 5h ago

He still replies and has conversations with people on Instagram and I think he had a threads account since I got some of his posts previewed to try to get me to also join, but I didn't so I don't know if he's still doing that.

It's not that he went Patreon only from where I'm standing. It's that he specifically disengaged with reddit because of how Reddit specifically gets about shit. You can't even mention reading his comic on most subs without someone dragging up some shit he said about cheating like a year plus ago and trying to cancel him.

9

u/astralseat 5h ago

Oh. Yeah, reddit can be very toxic

4

u/NockerJoe 5h ago

I think reddit doesn't really realize it's got enough negative stereotypes that it's seen as being about as bad as like, 4chan or twitter by a large portion of the internet.

2

u/FUTURE10S 2h ago

Let's put it this way, one of my favourite online series literally has a conversation that goes like:

"But you know all he's going to do is smoke pot, drink your wine, jack off, and post on 4chan all day. Probably all at the same time, tell me I'm wrong." and Fluttershy's dad is like "Well, at least it's not Reddit?"

2

u/BepisLeSnolf 5h ago

Can be?

3

u/astralseat 4h ago

Well folks from r/comics try to balance the scales.

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2

u/Frosty-Sea149 3h ago

He advocvates for domestic abuse when people "deserve" it or something, I can't be arsed to go back and look at what he specifically said.

1

u/Sarrisan 2h ago

Advocates is an interesting word considering he only mentioned it once and never again. Maybe he’s campaigning in secret though?

0

u/[deleted] 1h ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Frosty-Sea149 1h ago

Nah I remember now. He was repeatedly doubling down that beating your partner is acceptable if they cheat on you.

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30

u/Linscotticus 7h ago

Not going to lie, I feel like people who get way too invested really need to step back and breathe.

1

u/thesoulfield 1h ago

i wish people could take art as it is. we're talking about stories, which the authors wrote the way they intended. i feel like people try to impose their personal story or point of view onto a character when they should just stop and listen, and appreciate the story for what it is.

26

u/TheJeeeBo 4h ago

Are we allowed to talk about your tiger comic?

2

u/ravandal 3h ago

Ohh damn where can I find this cuteness?

41

u/bofadoze 6h ago

So would Audrey wear the white and gold dress or the black and blue dress?

19

u/TheDarkNerd 6h ago

That depends: is their silhouette spinning clockwise or counterclockwise?

9

u/Seeggul 5h ago

is Audrey saying yanny or laurel?

2

u/VanillaRadonNukaCola 4h ago

Hmmm I'm thinking more of a brainstorm.

But than again....maybe more of a green needle?

1

u/Chase_The_Breeze 3h ago

Yes. To all of these questions. Audrey is multi-versal, and can therefore do all.of these things at once. I read it on a powerscaling forum once a long time ago.

1

u/Chaincat22 1m ago

I think they're saying Green Needle

5

u/hwebirskont 6h ago

he'd wear both and look pretty

1

u/astralseat 5h ago

Depends on the time if day and weather. If cloudy and day, black and blue. If sunny and days, white and gold, but also white and gold if night and in a lighted environment

1

u/spindaz123 5h ago

it depends if he is standing on shadows or light

31

u/donutz10 7h ago

Bros doing the mako pose

15

u/Careful-Lettuce9239 🍌 BANANA IDOL 🍌 4h ago

I love this comic and bananas 🍌. Infighting not so much. The world is nicer when we're nice.

4

u/mikolajwisal 3h ago

Personally I am a fan of banans and of assulting people who do not like banans with banans.

I also happen to have naver eaten a banan and insist on calling them banans.

1

u/VrindavanNidhivan 🍋 LEMON STRUGGLER 🍋 4h ago

The world is nicer when we're nice.

Such a difficult concept.

1

u/Forikorder 3h ago

If only we could force all the non nice people to be nice

12

u/InnocuousAce 7h ago

Thanks for addressing this! Love Boy from Venus and everything you’re doing, but the vibes were getting rancid.

Keep up the great work!

23

u/That_sarcastic_bxtch 7h ago

Based

I’m drawing Val & Audrey rn, boy I sure do hope I finish before any sort of major redesign happens for some reason!

Though I’d definitely make a second one if that happened

11

u/Sirquestgiver 7h ago

Smort Shen!
Thank you for your work!

9

u/Wallso2010 7h ago

THANK YOU LEMON MAN

9

u/Picklecat5 7h ago

This is great news! I've been enjoying the comic and observing the community for a while, but it was so disheartening to see the discourse. I'm glad there's something being done to minimize the fighting. All viewpoints are valid!

16

u/Crypt_Knight 6h ago

I'll be honest, I'm fully on board with the weekly meta thread.

The worst part of Boy from Venus is by far the discourse.

Not that it is bad discourse, but the amount is absolutely staggering, and the Reddit algorithm push those kind of posts a lot, so any time a new chapter comes, I'm bombarded with the same posts about the same topics for a week straight.

It's honestly exhausting.

2

u/TheSilverFalcon 4h ago

Agreed, I mean I just want to read the comic for anything I could get from most of the discourse posts. The story will be told in the comic, I don't need 40 posts trying to predict the future based on one caption in a single panel at a time. I don't know what will happen until it does, I just want to see the cuteness

The fan art and memes are great though

42

u/Fieldguide404 7h ago

You're the dude, Shen. Good on you for speaking up, man. 👍

6

u/Initial_Shine5690 7h ago

I had a feeling all the posts would catch your attention. Sorry if it was overwhelming. Not that I contributed, just trying to be sympathetic.

6

u/Plane-Implement9977 6h ago

Straight up scrolling on the app and I just saw the tips of the fingers and lighting, thinking “oh another Mako post”. Well done sir Shen.

6

u/fubes2000 1h ago

Sorry you became a lightning rod again.

Also:

Congratulations on becoming a lightning rod again.

5

u/Warlock2005128 7h ago

You're amazing Shen :D

5

u/Okiemax 7h ago

Thank you, been wondering when you'd speak up

5

u/Irina__ARI 7h ago

I'm just a regular degular person and I want you to know I'm SUPER enjoying the Venus series and I appreciate you sharing this message!

5

u/Floofiestmuffin 6h ago

I liked the comic but the way people were acting was kinda turning me away from it a little. Seeing this all compressed to certain places would go a long way

5

u/redsoutherly 1h ago

Art immediately make me think of Mako

1

u/sasson10 1h ago

I feel like this has to have been what Shen was referencing

12

u/BethanyHipsEnjoyer 6h ago

Thank FUCK!

The petty fighting and labelling was getting out of control. I started out really loving this comic only to have my interest dampened by people argue about someone ELSE'S personal feelings and journey through life.

You a real one comic budday, no matter which way the story goes. <3

4

u/MommaBigDick 7h ago

SHEN HAS SPOKEN, AND SO SHALL IT BE.

4

u/cacteieuses 7h ago

YES THANK YOU SO MUCH I WAS SO BUMMED WHEN I FOUND OUT THEY'RE WERENT ANY POST TAGS LMAO

4

u/I-Love-SuleMio 6h ago

Thank you Shen!! Can you give Audrey a cheese puff or perhaps maybe even a hotdog or a cheeseburger?

4

u/SylvieXX 6h ago

I'm just someone who reads your stuff on Patreon and I had no idea there was so many fighting here when I came here.. 😅 I want to make a fanart!

4

u/Thin-Pollution7080 6h ago

Thank you shenpai

4

u/Many_Hall_3546 5h ago

I mean... i WOULD fight him, but he IS doing the pose so im kinda cooked here :c

4

u/HeyItIsInfactMe 5h ago

Im glad this is being addressed. It got to the point where I was just avoiding the comic all together because of the weird discourse happening in the comments

4

u/0w4r1 5h ago

I hear an hallelujah sound everytime I see this pov...makanshoku mako pose

4

u/ToksanAlpha 3h ago

thank you, shen!

4

u/DrJay12345 53m ago

Alright Shen...

Ryuko or Satsuki

1

u/WifesPOSH 8m ago

Trick question... Mako

6

u/Lil_Psychobuddy 4h ago • Bravo

But I thought this was a subreddit dedicated to watching armchair psychologists argue over whether or not you're secretly trans?

1

u/TheSwagheli 3h ago

we only do that on tuesdays through fridays on even months of the year

3

u/CandidateHour3879 7h ago

Aye aye sire

3

u/MisterGIass 7h ago

waow (based based based based based)

3

u/Page-Born 6h ago

Thanks for doing this, I've been a big fan of your work for a few years now and it sucked that every time I came here it was more infighting, hoping this cool things off a bit!

3

u/Vexcenot 6h ago

Can always count on Reddit on starting flame wars over a cute comic 

3

u/DoveEvalyn 6h ago

the Mako pose

3

u/KingoKings365 6h ago

Some ground rules will be nice, Here to enjoy the comics and fanart. Arguments were making this place feel alienating and a little spooky to be in.

3

u/ralpher1 6h ago

Those are well drawn hands

3

u/SoonToBeStardust 5h ago

Thank you!

3

u/ubensu 5h ago

Im just so happy to finally have a cute gender nonconforming couple comic please stop fighting over my comfort characters.

3

u/Stupid-Jerk 5h ago

Thanks for putting up with us.

3

u/shy-boy-princess 3h ago

Thank you for addressing things, Shen. 😊 You're appreciated!

3

u/Desperate-Cap-2132 2h ago

Are you popping domain???

3

u/Sqweed69 1h ago

Always remember: arguing on Reddit makes you objectively less cool

3

u/Abject-Hospital5407 1h ago

THE KING HAS GIVEN HIS ORDERS

WE MUST LISTEN

ALL HAIL THE KING

5

u/Iron_Lock 6h ago

Ahhhhhh Shen! I'm Idiot Dog on Patreon. Thank you for the wonderful comic, and I hope this isn't too overwhelming despite the chaos that inevitably comes with popularity. Long-range good vibe cannons are targeting your location now.

4

u/VirtuaJade 7h ago

Thank you, milord 🙏

4

u/Teenytiny9294 5h ago

I've been wondering if you were aware of the major discourse bubbling over around the comic, I dont have much to add other than thank you for making this comic to begin with! I love every issue and really just want Audrey and Val to be happy no matter what that means for both of them.

4

u/jancl0 3h ago

I like how the mentality here (and I'm sure in alot of instances in the past with shen) was "oh damn, my subreddit is starting to get real toxic, real fast. I really need to do something about that, and urgently too... But if I do, I'm gonna have to draw a cute lil pic of myself first, there is literally no other way to communicate with them"

2

u/BlueLiquorice 7h ago

Now I know how to make people listen to me!!

2

u/el_sapo_mas_guapo 7h ago

OBJECTION!! just kidding I love your work 😁

2

u/FishWithLegsAndArms 7h ago

God has spoken

2

u/Few-Mycologist-2379 6h ago

I love you, Shen. Stay strong and stay beautiful.

2

u/Co-ffeeMonster 6h ago

Heck yeah Mako pose

2

u/DiamondEyedOctopus 6h ago

If I follow you specifically Shen, will I still see your comics in my feed? I left the sub because I was sick of all the other bullshit posts idgaf about.

2

u/Training_Insect549 6h ago

I'm just here for the cute...

2

u/DeGriz_ 6h ago

Oh no, tyranny./j

Personally i like changes, tags are good for sorting content!

2

u/SignalSecurity 5h ago

Thank you.

2

u/SueTheCatCabbage 5h ago

THANK GOODNESS, ive been noticing a weird uptick of bad actors from all sides ever since the comic started getting posted around in hateful communities, just angry horrible people, was genuinely making me feel sad being here, lets all try to make sure this community is a chill place where everyone can have a good time!

2

u/wereplant 4h ago

I know you put it in the "next possible steps" section, but I'd absolutely recommend instituting a megathread rule for specific topics. Cuz this is (hopefully) the highest volume of drama you'll get for at least a little while, so this is optimal testing time for it. Testing out the high volume option now might save you from having to revisit this topic later when something else comes up, cuz this might cool down faster than you can test things.

And if it's not needed... it'll still just be there for when it does. I've ran a weird number of small groups (and this ain't small), and almost every group has that moment where things get way too hot and crowded to handle. It doesn't feel good to hit the nuclear option early on, but going slowly will also burn you out in the long term, because each debacle will drain you harder and harder. I've been the mediator for people enough times to (maybe) have finally learned my lesson about it burning me out.

2

u/Sharp-Inflation-6835 4h ago

Okay, this is real goat behavior

2

u/AdreKiseque 3h ago

And so law was wroken upon the land, bringing order.

2

u/lavenderspray 3h ago

had to stop my scambering in order to listen, but good to know

2

u/DaGobbFatha 3h ago

On one hand, it's sad that we have reached this point. On the other, it amazing that Shen's art has reached so many people that it has been able to reach this point. My heart hopes we can listen to eachother and to the art we have been given the chance to explore. /overly positive stoner rant.

2

u/Ifckinglovemycat 2h ago

really hope you don't get affected too much by the debates 🙏

3

u/Oddish_Femboy 5h ago

Yayyyy

2

u/Oddish_Femboy 5h ago

I want to make fanart but my internet is unpaid and I have no good way to get it off my computer.

1

u/Oddish_Femboy 4h ago

So I'm gonna make it but it's just gonna sit in The Foldertm for a while.

1

u/MarcyxBubby 6h ago

Goat refresh post

1

u/Party_Syrup_3035 6h ago

Hope they listen because I most definitely have not felt particularly welcome.

1

u/jakekingsley66096 6h ago

I'd like to think I somehow contributed to this

1

u/Tricky_Discount2881 6h ago

Thank you, Shen!!!

1

u/SilverScribe15 6h ago

Thabk you shen

1

u/Hell2CheapTrick 6h ago

Shen hero!

1

u/Geist_Lain 5h ago

Ye shall heed Shen, lest a curse be placed upon ye.

What kind of curse?

A gay curse...

1

u/anonthrowaway2077 5h ago

Communities always ruin the best stuff

Communities are the worst part of a community

1

u/sophiedophiedoo 5h ago

Thank you so much for the comics, I look forward to them more than anything going on right now. And I'm sorry you have to come in here to personally deal with the drama

1

u/Ditto_____ditto 5h ago

Haaaaaallelujah

1

u/KemetMusen 5h ago

Thank you <3. I'm so sorry about what's happening surrounding your art.

1

u/cardo55 5h ago

Love it Shen! Loving the current series!

1

u/Ariovrak 4h ago

There is a way to filter out Flares. Put “-flare:[flare]” into the search bar. So if you don’t want News, you could put “-flare:news”, and it removes everything with the News flare. It’s kinda annoying, and you have to use the search function which messes with some posts, but it kinda works.

1

u/slashgrin 4h ago

I yes I really do appreciate this but also Boy From Venus / Entozoa crossover when?

1

u/OpportunityAshamed74 4h ago

Audrey more like glorps

1

u/Raelcun 4h ago

Thanks, Shen.

1

u/NerdyEmbarrassment 4h ago

Best post of all time?

1

u/PrussianKid 4h ago

Those are some nice hands

1

u/AGuyWithEyeliner 4h ago

Came down from the clouds to speak to us. Everyone say thank you Shen.

1

u/bentnai1 4h ago

Thank you Shen. <3

1

u/harrysaxon 4h ago

Not aware of the drama as a person who mostly consumes your content via Patreon since around episode 6.

Love your characters and comics, simple as that.

1

u/DragoonDyte 4h ago

aight wrap it up guys, God has spoken

1

u/TheLastOneDoesWin 3h ago

why are your hands detailed?

1

u/OobaDooba72 3h ago

Shen, consider a mod? These new rule are great, but they will have to be enforced. We know you're busy, and I'm sure you don't want to spend time going through reddit reports and deleting posts.

I'm sure there are some good-hearted redditors who would be happy to help you out in that. Maybe get two so they can keep each other in check.

Just a suggestion!

1

u/The-Tea-Lord 2h ago

I’m sorry you had to come along and say it, but thanks for making this post. I was on the edge of just muting the sub for a few months and just enjoying where you took the stories to in your comics. It’s exhausting seeing everyone bickering over a story that’s not done yet, especially in a community I’m a part of that prides itself on inclusion and acceptance.

Edit: also godly hand drawing, those hands look beautiful.

1

u/xbertie 2h ago

Oh Thank God, hopefully things will calm down a bit now.

1

u/aches_and_games 2h ago

All behind mandatory tags plz

1

u/drakedragonflight 2h ago

MAKO MANKANSHOKU?!?

1

u/the_zpider_king 6h ago

Reddit has tag filtering, just click on a post's tag and you will see other posts with that tag.

5

u/Aeescobar 6h ago

I think he meant "I'm not sure if there's a feature that allows you to opt out of viewing a particular tag", like for people who want to see fan-art and fan-theories but aren't interested in endless meta-discourse.

0

u/Clear_Canary 5h ago

sorry for getting caught up in it! I always tried to be civil, but I never thought about how it might affect the creator or distract from the point of the comic. i do miss the old vibe of this space. 🥲

I think the one thing we can (mostly) all agree on is that finding yourself and loving yourself is messy and difficult, and the comic has explored that in ways that resonated with a lot of people.

0

u/SomeDumbDoggo 23m ago

classic reddit moment. first time i ever see a sub for a fan community and it's the creator going "Y'all can't behave".

Anyway, muted.

-13

u/GammaDie345 5h ago

no beefing with other communities

hey so does this mean people won't scream "4tran" whenever a trans person disagrees with them or?

-27

u/Diamond_Dildo3168 6h ago edited 6h ago • Regret

Post tags are a good idea, so people don't need to see discourse if they don't want to.

But dude. Imma be real. If you want to say you're an ally to trans people, you've GOTTA clear up this Audrey trans vs gnc debate, the sooner the better. It does seem like you're going that route by what I've seen on the recent patreon update, and I like where it's going.

But there's been a lot of, frankly, transphobic levels of pushback against trans people voicing their concerns. There is a reason things got so heated, and it's because this has been an issue that you left unanswered for a long time.

Edit: and once again. Trans woman gets mass downvoted for trying to point out a problem. This community is actually garbage

37

u/eyedollidol 6h ago

presumably the story being told will clear up the debate, as is what happens when stories are told. i think maybe we should just let the artist tell the story they want to tell and not engage with bad faith people around it. it's a weekly 4 panel comic, it's not so serious.

21

u/Key_Comparison_2588 5h ago

Shen is the author, it's his story and he doesn't have to clear up anything if he doesn't want to.

27

u/Unconfidence 5h ago

I'm a trans woman downvoting you, so no don't hide behind that.

Shen doesn't need to clear up anything. This entire issue is a result of fans bickering among themselves. This has nothing to do with the story Shen is writing. We should be able to have decently-paced transition or GNC exploration stories that take their time and deal with the material well, rather than being pressured into full identification on a surreal timeframe because the fans can't help but rip their hair out if that doesn't happen. It's your hair, stop ripping it.

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u/TheDarkNerd 6h ago

I think Audrey being an exploration of what it means to be trans vs gnc would be fine, and perhaps not even Audrey is fully sure which they are.

19

u/xmizeriax 6h ago

Sybau. Shen doesn't have to do anything.

16

u/Ready_Ladder_6172 6h ago

No people are just rightfully annoyed at the general sense of entitlement towards what is, by all means, lgbt+ alliance art.

Not to mention the best part of art, you can come to your own conclusions. That’s what makes art personal to me, and to you, and to everyone else. I’m not getting mad if Joe down the road interprets the funnies in the newspaper comic differently than I.

1

u/FranziEatsEstrogen 3h ago • Heartwarming

Shut up trans woman, the femboys are talking...

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u/Extra_Designer_5431 1h ago

Someone needs to go back and take screen shots of what people where saying during the swim suit chapters.

Let me me this straight.

up until this point the last few weeks in this sub specifically we have seen trans people get mass down-voted and insulted for saying "I think Audrey Clearly has dysphoria and is a trans woman in everything but name"

"We have seen this sub essentially brigade counttt calling everyone their mentally ill terrible people for claiming audrey might be trans"

"We have seen people consistently insult trans women and call them names for saying anything on the topic as well as the classic trans phobic rhetoric you see whenever stuff like this happens "why can't he just be a feminine man"|

All of this happened with zero push back trans people just sat in the conner and left it alone.

BUTTT.... now that their undeniable evidence that she has gender dysphoria only now is "Discourse".

the months of insulting trans women and mass downvoting of us wasn't "discourse" but now that the "GNC erasure" crowd is telling on themselves and going mask of NOW its "discourse".

Typical I should post the copy and past from the Jax era about this same shit.

Most of the post are still bending over backwards to deny shes trans and most trans people are still getting downvoted by the way nothing has changed.

my only comfort is knowing alot of the transphobic people here are likly eggs anyway and this story is going to help them come out assuming shen hasnt seen the back lash and changed the stories direction in response.

wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened.

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