14 8285

14 8285

850b Open Your Eyes
Posted on September 27, 2021 by bohemiannightsthecomic
Is this last page of the chapter a bit of a cliche? -A little. Do I have any regrets? -None at all. Today's strip was seven years in the making. Very early on I had a vision that if Emrys and Beth were ever to get together, this is how they would do it. I didn't know when, I didn't quite know how, but I knew this was how it was going to look. A series of panels either searching for or wandering around somewhere after another night of disappointment only to realize what was right in front of them all along. I've kept this last page in my mind since the time Emrys (and the readers) discovered his true feelings for Beth. I even knew the song that played in the background. And although I've been told my musical tastes are a little lacking I still feel like this song fits perfectly. Feel free to play it as you read the page (s). (I think you'll know the moment in the song when they kiss.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SND7aGdl5Fw   This is the end of Chapter/Book 6, but by no means an end. Now I get to focus on seeing what happens with these two, cos as you can guess, they're going to need to figure out just what "us" is for them. Plus everyone returns to Portland and other story lines will open up with some of the other characters as well. We now move into Autumn in the comic. I'm a little tired. This page took a lot out of me. So as always I'm taking a week off between chapters. (But I'll be working on a Midnight Edition as well as Kickstarter stuff so no real rest for the weary.) I WILL have an extra post this Friday though for a little extra something.....

14 thoughts on “850b Open Your Eyes”

  1. Gorbi1985

    Finally ! 😀

  2. Corey C.

    Well, congrats on the two of them finally being honest about their feelings for each other and hooking up. But every good romance story knows that the hookup is only the midpoint- a long lasting relationship has a lot of obstacles to get through, and I’m sure one of them is waiting for Emrys to come back to Portland. While I’m pretty sure Emrys and Beth can get past a post-epiphanied Stephanie, I do wonder if Stephanie will at least be a supporting character to the rest of the gang, since she spent most of her time isolating from everyone and the strip clearly shows that she desperately needs friends, not fuck buddies.

    That being said, I’m hoping the next arcs in the strip feature Emrys and Beth’s relationship a lot less and more on the other characters. Let the couple enjoy their “happy ending” in the background while Dave’s decisions during the Rich arc come back to haunt him, or Emrys getting closer with Shannon as a friend while she deals with mourning Mark, or, best yet, explore Jeff’s new venture into cooking and wondering if he can truly “cut the mustard.” I know Emrys is the protagonist of this series, but after Mark’s death, the series past year and a half has been all about his relationship issues, and I think this strip has FINALLY closed the chapter on the “Will They or Won’t They” you’ve been teasing since Beth was introduced.

    I will say that you matched the length of time it took for the two protagonists of my other favorite webcomic series to hook up (Jason and Becky from “Multiplex,” who hooked up at the end of Book 6 as well, but only after 764 strips…)

    1. bohemiannightsthecomic

      I will absolutely be diving into other characters/ story lines on the next arc. Dave, Shannon, Devon and Annabel in the forefront. Writing those even as I write this. There will still be Emrys and Beth but it will be more equal time with the rest of them. (But the beginning of the next chapter does have to clear the air between them so there is a finishing up of where things left off here.) But yes, other plots besides relationships will arise.

      1. G

        and more of Jeff and Jo Jo as well

        1. bohemiannightsthecomic

          Yes, Jeff and JoJo as well as Mateo and Mia and even Banjo.

  3. Rob

    Great way to bring this story arc to where you wanted. Also, wonderful work on the background lighting – you are a master at that!

    1. bohemiannightsthecomic

      Thank you very much. 🙂

  4. Thracecius

    Bravo, sir!

    I’m glad you stuck with your original idea, even if it can be viewed as cliché. There’s a reason certain situations are repeated over and over in print, film and other media, they reflect real life to some degree or another. The hard part about clichés is using them effectively, which I think you did, particularly because this seems to be about as close to a storybook romance as there ever was going to be for these characters. 😉

    Nice work, Eric. Thanks for all the extra effort, I appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us, especially so consistently and for replying to comments regularly. You’re one of my favorite comic authors and I look forward to every page to see where you’ll take us next. 🙂

    1. Thracecius

      Oh, and not that I’m saying it matches the scene, but I’ve listened to this song several times recently and I think part of it blends with the Beth & Emrys relationship.

      In Your Eyes
      by Peter Gabriel

      Love
      I get so lost sometimes
      Days pass
      And this emptiness fills my heart
      When I want to run away
      I drive off in my car
      But whichever way I go
      I come back to the place you are
      All my instincts, they return
      The grand façade, so soon will burn
      Without a noise, without my pride
      I reach out from the inside

      In your eyes
      The light, the heat (in your eyes)
      I am complete (in your eyes)
      I see the doorway (in your eyes)
      To a thousand churches (in your eyes)
      The resolution (in your eyes)
      Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes)
      Oh, I see the light and the heat (in your eyes)
      Oh, I wanna be that complete
      I wanna touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes

      Love, I don’t like to see so much pain
      So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
      I get so tired working so hard for our survival
      I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
      And all my instincts they return
      And the grand façade, so soon will burn
      Without a noise, without my pride
      i reach out from the inside

      In your eyes (your eyes, your eyes)
      In your eyes
      In your eyes
      The light, the heat (in your eyes)
      I am complete (in your eyes)
      I see the doorway
      To a thousand churches (in your eyes)
      The resolution (in your eyes)
      Of all the fruitless searches
      Oh, I see the light and the heat (in your eyes)
      In your eyes
      In your eyes
      In your eyes
      In your eyes (in your eyes)
      (In your eyes)
      In your eyes (in your eyes)
      In your eyes (in your eyes)

    2. Gorbi1985

      May I subscribe this post too? 🙂

      1. Thracecius

        Sorry, I do tend to be long-winded sometimes. 🙂

  5. SamuraiArtGuy

    ** Applause ** … and well done.

  6. ChrisH

    Both Beth and Emrys will have Las Vegas memories, but what’s ahead will be the real story they will share.

  7. practik

    Your musical tastes are fine 🙂 Congratulations on riding the dragon to #850!

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