1012 Math.

This page… I tell you, it has been in my head for so many years. The particulars of this moment evolved so many times, but the heart of the moment stayed the same. Nina’s pure and total joy over this was like an anchor point in my head. Always there, like a beacon on the shore. As all the other story elements began to fall into place I realized the time had come. This was the moment.
That’s not to say this was the only possible outcome. There are versions where Thomas revealed the secret, and they were found out in other ways. Test ideas to see what seemed right, but it always came back to the first one.

27 Comments

Love the starry eyes in panel 6. :)

I also like the bullet hole window look of horror from Carol in the previous panel as well. This is going to be very interesting. How much will Carol bribe Nina to keep it hush-hush?

Yeah, panel 5 is ‘deer in the sights’ epic.

Rereading the entire comic, and yeah, this entire page is awesome, but panel 5 definitely takes the cake if you look at panels on their own. =333

Can you say “BUSTED”?

B-U-S-T-E-D
She got busted!
XD

I can hear you spelling out “busted” and saying “ecks-dee” at the end, and it rhymes (of course), so it sounds kinda like cheerleading in my head.
B-U-S! T-E-D!
She got bus-ted! (pause) X D!

Reposting this from the other site!

You guys all may think this is good and stuff, but I’m with Carol; I gots the sinking ship in my stomach.

This is just another huge problem for the store. Not long ago (or maybe it was long ago; I archive binge like weekly), Carol asked Thomas if the store will survive; his answer that things will get worse before they get better.

Now, we’ve got Mike looking for an assistant manager per corporate fiat. He wants Thomas to do it, who won’t do it. So he turns to Carol, who does want the job for some reason.

The way Thomas is talking in the last panel of 997, it sounds like the six month period that it takes for the store’s managers to get sacked is about to end.

And, of course, Nina screamed out in excitement when she did her mathematics, which could draw attention to what they’re talking about.

And when she calms down, she’ll realize that her work that she intended for ONLY Thomas to read has gotten out. Carol doesn’t seem like the type to enjoy the aesthetics of fan fiction; strictly the eroticism. Unlike Thomas.

And then the worries that have been voiced before if Nina will feel slighted that she wasn’t told about what she’s been nagging to happen has come to pass. I used to think she’d be okay with it, but the Nerf war arc made me rethink her character a bit.

… yeah, looking back at all this, it all seems very disjointed and not at all well-reasoned. But I can’t help feeling quite disturbed.

Maybe it’s my own don’t-date-co-workers-EVER bias coming into play.

… and in addition, I love the way Nina looks today.

Meh, most people wind up dating who they’re around, and frequently draw friends from their pool of fellow workers… it’s the same reason a lot of people wind up with their “highschool sweethearts”.

I found the love of my life via net, and five thousand miles away from where I was at the time, for just that sort of reason… but it’s not uncommon, and it’s not bad per se.

Though to be perfectly fair, I’m also the guy who found that co-workers having sex at work was actually a net boon in production, despite less time actually being put into work, as long as everyone thought no one else knew… So I’m sorta for this in the first place.

Oh, I know how it works. It’s just been my experience that it never ends well.

I’m from a small town, and while I can think of people who did go to high school together are involved now years later, there’s zero who dated then and are still together.

And as for the work thing, well… too often have I seen the older employees competing for the attention of new ones, often causing entirely ridiculous and completely avoidable situations if they had remained professional. The end result often being the new people leave to escape, and the training spent for nothing.

I know that my own experiences don’t reflect everyone’s. I just threw out my bias to try and make my thoughts above somewhat cohesive.

Hell, I’m a pretty private person, so the idea of spending my free time with people who I also work with would make me insane. I once lived with a co-worker; I was a complete asshole to him because he was very social ALL the time, and I need to turn off. It was really unfortunate….

I don’t think Thomas and Carol together is bad. The store seems to be a pretty tight knit group.

All I know is that this page gave me a feeling of dread, amongst other things.

I really love the facial expressions in this one, particularly Nina’s happy face in the last panel. That last panel makes me smile in happiness each time I look at it.

Started following BF recently and this is my first time commenting, but I have to say I love the sparkle in Nina’s eyes in the sixth panel.

Oh, Carol… All you had to do was keep your cool. “Oh, Thomas showed me the other day after we mentioned your story to each other.” Something like that.

That said, super excited for how this will impact the story!

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