it actually sucks to see achilles shut off part of his reasoning like this. like, you fuckin idiot. very on-theme though. it makes sense that the inhabitants of composite C’s distraction-mind-palace would also shelter themselves from their issues.
very interesting to see him talk so matter-of-factly about his kink. he’s usually being all quippy about it. I think this is the first time he talked about it in like an objective, self-aware way
yeah it kind of sucks that both Mars and Achilles ended their confrontations with unpleasant truths by stomping away and retreating to their normal dynamic without processing. At least Mars seems to have just been raw and will probably think about it later; Achilles literally just refused to think at all and was like “actually I want to be an ignorant hedonist.” Grim!
Not everything is processed fully in a first pass, especially not when there are valid aversions, distractions and annoyances interrupting it. Mars had every right to be pissed off, and Achilles was processing the uncomfortable stuff for a whole evening before a VERY distracting pleasant event came up.
It won’t be the last time they think on the matter, but the seeds have been planted. Give them chance to breathe, maybe water them now and then, something will come from it yet.
I mean, yeah, but also there is a difference between “I need time to think” and, when asked, saying, “I don’t want to know. I refuse to consider it.” Obviously seeds are planted because this is a story where character development will happen, but the latter is a gaping character flaw and borderline childish lol
also i don’t think it’s necessarily a flaw to not want to know the answer to every question you have. He knows that if he satisfies that urge it could be detrimental to the people he has come to care about. His only options are asking Clair, Pepper, or Ares directly, all of which have the potential to hurt someone else. He could lose his friendship with Clair, he could make Pepper even more paranoid, and we saw what mars did when she thought he’d abandoned her when be went down the staircase. Some people just don’t value knowledge of the world in that kind of way.
and lastly i think it’s a bit hyperbolic to say he is refusing to consider the question at all, i mean he did spend ALL day just looking at the picture. We may not know what he was thinking about but i find it hard to believe it wasn’t Ares.
Achilles is indeed childish, but he’s also observant, and naturally concerned with truth/perception/importance given he processes things differently.
He also spent a long time staring down the picture in contemplation. What we saw was his internal dialogue, his resistance, his processing even when he doesn’t want to. He only diverted fully when a more immediate positive event presented itself, and only fully stopped his first processing of the uncomfortable subject when a much stronger positive presence was placed directly in front of him : Mars. He was considering it right up until something else took the fore. After hyperfocusing on it, the welcomed distraction is normal. More than likely he will return to the subject again, even if he is conflicted or hates that he is questioning it.
Mars on the other hand got pissed at someone being blunt and dressing down her inner workings while also obviously withholding stuff and not willing to meet her in a similarly open state. As good as Pepper can be about helping others, he is also prone to messing up with bouts of insensitivity out of frustration with the person he is addressing, and can be manipulative of others when it comes to subjects he is personally anxious about. The “means well but fucks up” category that Claire falls into too.
As I said, Mars and Achilles need time to process and digest. Of course they are resistant, they’ve only just had their confrontation of the subject. The reason they’re uncomfortable is because they acknowledged the truth it holds, and their resistance orbits that.
Maybe this is an illusion of time dilation. In the comic it has been almost no time at all, but for us it has been longer, making their resistance feel more pronounced, perhaps?
Hmm… not really wrt time dilation; both are clearly a single conversation (or “conversation” for Achilles). My reasons for saying they refused to think about it is because Mars ran off and Achilles, upon presented with question, “Don’t you want to know?” replied, “No.” Not “not now,” or “let me think,” but a straight refusal to grapple with what the scene demonstrates he understands is a very real potential danger to himself and his friends. That’s why I highlighted it as worse in contrast to Mars’ situation, which is just an uncomfortable reaction to a fraught social encounter. These scenes are clearly significant beyond just being “step one to realizing [insert uncomfortable fact that characters haven’t integrated yet]”: they’re explaining what is stopping the characters from doing that.
I think you misunderstand what I mean by character flaw; it does not mean that Achilles or Mars are bad or stupid people, or that I think they are literally incapable of eventually having the epiphanies they need — they are fictional characters whose psychology the story is exploring. Of course their reasons for their behavior is legible and sympathetic to us, because that’s what the comic is about! This does not change the fact that the decisions they made, as understandable and human as they are, are barriers to them achieving a resolution. Mars not being honest about what Achilles means to her is a conflict. Achilles deciding that he does not want to know the truth about Clair is a conflict. Calling them character flaws is not a moral condemnation or an attack, because they’re not real people; it’s just identifying them as something they need to overcome for the conflict to be resolved. As Achilles points out to himself, he could get answers right now, but he won’t. Eventually he will, and the character flaw will resolve and allow the conflict to progress further to its conclusion.
Again, though, Achilles saying a flat, “No” to “Don’t you want to know?” is indeed childish. “I don’t want to think about something hard and scary, I want to have fun and feel good” is an immature thing to think; it is an understandable and sympathetic desire, but acting on it is immature, which is why Head Achilles calls out this behavior as “pure id.” The fact that this is a metaphorical depiction of an internal monologue doesn’t change that; if anything, it makes it a sharper point, because everything Head Achilles said is something Achilles deep down knows and is deliberately denying it. You are correct he doesn’t divert fully until Mars appears, but that’s because he *knows this behavior is wrong*. He literally tries to put this thought process represented by Head Achilles away out of anger but fails and sits alone in the dark trying to ignore it until he finds a good distraction. His grapple with it literally frames the truth he is denying as a force he is trying his best to lock away.
it REALLY. REALLY FITS with the whole thing with Halo Head. Refusing to process the unconformable truth and instead running and hiding away behind your comforts.
Honestly i think this is kinda mature of him. The emotional part of him knows he doesn’t want to put the friendships he’s built and come to value in jeopardy just to give the logical part of his brain some peace of mind. Sure it may not satisfy the questions we all have but it satisfies his id, it makes him happy. If happiness is a choice then this is the decision he has to make.
Last time a character crossed the “dark” threshold outside the lighthouse Pepper found Achilles, leading to the “boys’ night” arc. Maybe this is foreshadowing.
Or it might be contrasting that strip. Pepper was looking for Achilles to satisfy his curiosity (and he was worried about him). Achilles, on the other hand, has stumbled upon a big secret and is trying to shut off his curiosity on purpose.
Achilles really do be like “hey, I’m gonna enjoy my time doing freak stuff”. But part of me hopes that Achilles actually speaks with Mars about this. She’s the only one out of the loop (because I feel like Peachykeen might know about the stairs too).
Ah, well, I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s way too scary for a little guy like that to think such big things. Much easier to just get his head bashed in until they stop.
The thing Metaphor Achilles is trying to say…. he’s kind of right, will the novelty of getting bruised wear off? will he struggle to distract himself, or find himself going to more extremes to feel fulfilled? I hear a proper fetish doesn’t get old for some people but who knows… he clearly can’t stay all-id forever
i feel like its the combination of masochism and an affection for mars that result in his strong emotions. I dont think its possible for something like that to fade unless Mars does something drastic, and even then hes pretty forgiving
I took it the opposite way. It’s not that getting beat up will stop being pleasurable for Achilles, but that there are other, higher pursuits in life that he is neglecting. He should want and strive for more than being Mars’ punching bag.
I mean, if you personally believe there is nothing more important than whatever feels good, then that is certainly your right! But the story clearly does take the angle that thing like truth and honesty and pursuits are important. How do you interpret what little Head Achilles says as he’s cut off if you think there is literally nothing wrong with deliberate ignorance? “Haha, yeah, shut up, brain”?
Like, putting aside the risk that he is ignoring a real risk that there is something going on in the world, we see from Mars’ side of the conflict that the way things are makes her unhappy with herself and Achilles. She wants more from him than sadomasochism. Look at the first punch scene: their actual relationship started with Achilles ignoring Mars crying so he could ask her to hit him! Pepper points out that her anger towards Achilles is that when he zeroes in mostly on her ability to make him feel good, it makes her feel like she “the deeper parts” of herself aren’t even real. During the first dozen or so pages of the masochism arc, he made Mars deeply uncomfortable and ignored her telling him to stop. And Achilles, because he’s all id, missed all of that. If he tries to live off of purely pleasure, eventually that pleasure will stop, because his single-minded pursuit hurts the people who provide it to him, and by ignoring the parts of his brain that think things through, he doesn’t even notice.
I see people making points about the symbolism of crossing over to the darker palette and I think they’re really cool, but I also like to imagine it as like there’s literally a visual indication that its becoming nighttime. Like the night is actually just a clear line that slowly creeps across the island as the sun sets and nobody questions it.
also absolutely love the way these two are drawn in the last panel. been thinking about it for like a few hours now and had to say something. mars and achilles have had my favorite proportional changes over the series and they way their tiny size is conveyed here is just the cutest. just litttle cat people on the beach :achilles-cutesy: :hearts:
I’m really starting to see Achilles as a character in a better way and i love him. The visual design of his split colors really accentuates the parallel between the emotional and rational sides of his personality. Also i love how the notch is on his more colorful side, sort of implying how his emotionally driven mind is seen as a flaw by some of the other characters on halo head. Excellent character design and visual storytelling. Honestly feel like he’s the most emotionally mature character here jjst cuz he knows what he wants and thats to be a little freak and not listen to the voice in his head :achilles-plush::achilles-cutesy::achilles-happy:
Oof. Methinks a big reason Achilles fixates on pain so much now is to dull his superego (since lil’ Archie calls him the id). :achilles-onedge:
Aaand now I’ve caught up on the latest page! Now I must wait for the next one like everyone else. :peachy-aaa: What a lovely and compelling comic so far, amazing work :thesmoocher:
Hope it’s not bad etiquette to cross the streams like this, but I just came back from watching Batty’s Cartoon Cartoon pilot and I’m so excited rn I can barely contain it!! :achilles-happy: She does such incredible work here with this comic, various commissions, and now she’s gotten a full pilot made for her previous webcomic! I really hope it takes off and gets greenlit as a series, Batty deserves to be able to get her ideas out in the world and I wish her all the best!
he fucking killed him
Awwwwwwww, her SMILE. She’s happy to see her boyfriend:clair-cute:
Dang. Both their moods instantly got better😭
That Mars definitely should be a new emote on here. :mars-point:
yes! new mars emote pls hers are the best next to my baby chilles
Look how happy Mars is to see Achilles (holding all her stuff)
Nah. It’s true love. They’re the OTP. Shut up
?????? :clair-what:
The comment about everything on the pile being hers may have been more homest than she wanted to admit
it actually sucks to see achilles shut off part of his reasoning like this. like, you fuckin idiot. very on-theme though. it makes sense that the inhabitants of composite C’s distraction-mind-palace would also shelter themselves from their issues.
very interesting to see him talk so matter-of-factly about his kink. he’s usually being all quippy about it. I think this is the first time he talked about it in like an objective, self-aware way
yeah it kind of sucks that both Mars and Achilles ended their confrontations with unpleasant truths by stomping away and retreating to their normal dynamic without processing. At least Mars seems to have just been raw and will probably think about it later; Achilles literally just refused to think at all and was like “actually I want to be an ignorant hedonist.” Grim!
Not everything is processed fully in a first pass, especially not when there are valid aversions, distractions and annoyances interrupting it. Mars had every right to be pissed off, and Achilles was processing the uncomfortable stuff for a whole evening before a VERY distracting pleasant event came up.
It won’t be the last time they think on the matter, but the seeds have been planted. Give them chance to breathe, maybe water them now and then, something will come from it yet.
I mean, yeah, but also there is a difference between “I need time to think” and, when asked, saying, “I don’t want to know. I refuse to consider it.” Obviously seeds are planted because this is a story where character development will happen, but the latter is a gaping character flaw and borderline childish lol
most of halo head is about character flaws lol :mors:
…yes? Do you think my observing which character flaw Achilles specifically has is, like, a critique of the comic?
also i don’t think it’s necessarily a flaw to not want to know the answer to every question you have. He knows that if he satisfies that urge it could be detrimental to the people he has come to care about. His only options are asking Clair, Pepper, or Ares directly, all of which have the potential to hurt someone else. He could lose his friendship with Clair, he could make Pepper even more paranoid, and we saw what mars did when she thought he’d abandoned her when be went down the staircase. Some people just don’t value knowledge of the world in that kind of way.
and lastly i think it’s a bit hyperbolic to say he is refusing to consider the question at all, i mean he did spend ALL day just looking at the picture. We may not know what he was thinking about but i find it hard to believe it wasn’t Ares.
Achilles is indeed childish, but he’s also observant, and naturally concerned with truth/perception/importance given he processes things differently.
He also spent a long time staring down the picture in contemplation. What we saw was his internal dialogue, his resistance, his processing even when he doesn’t want to. He only diverted fully when a more immediate positive event presented itself, and only fully stopped his first processing of the uncomfortable subject when a much stronger positive presence was placed directly in front of him : Mars. He was considering it right up until something else took the fore. After hyperfocusing on it, the welcomed distraction is normal. More than likely he will return to the subject again, even if he is conflicted or hates that he is questioning it.
Mars on the other hand got pissed at someone being blunt and dressing down her inner workings while also obviously withholding stuff and not willing to meet her in a similarly open state. As good as Pepper can be about helping others, he is also prone to messing up with bouts of insensitivity out of frustration with the person he is addressing, and can be manipulative of others when it comes to subjects he is personally anxious about. The “means well but fucks up” category that Claire falls into too.
As I said, Mars and Achilles need time to process and digest. Of course they are resistant, they’ve only just had their confrontation of the subject. The reason they’re uncomfortable is because they acknowledged the truth it holds, and their resistance orbits that.
Maybe this is an illusion of time dilation. In the comic it has been almost no time at all, but for us it has been longer, making their resistance feel more pronounced, perhaps?
Hmm… not really wrt time dilation; both are clearly a single conversation (or “conversation” for Achilles). My reasons for saying they refused to think about it is because Mars ran off and Achilles, upon presented with question, “Don’t you want to know?” replied, “No.” Not “not now,” or “let me think,” but a straight refusal to grapple with what the scene demonstrates he understands is a very real potential danger to himself and his friends. That’s why I highlighted it as worse in contrast to Mars’ situation, which is just an uncomfortable reaction to a fraught social encounter. These scenes are clearly significant beyond just being “step one to realizing [insert uncomfortable fact that characters haven’t integrated yet]”: they’re explaining what is stopping the characters from doing that.
I think you misunderstand what I mean by character flaw; it does not mean that Achilles or Mars are bad or stupid people, or that I think they are literally incapable of eventually having the epiphanies they need — they are fictional characters whose psychology the story is exploring. Of course their reasons for their behavior is legible and sympathetic to us, because that’s what the comic is about! This does not change the fact that the decisions they made, as understandable and human as they are, are barriers to them achieving a resolution. Mars not being honest about what Achilles means to her is a conflict. Achilles deciding that he does not want to know the truth about Clair is a conflict. Calling them character flaws is not a moral condemnation or an attack, because they’re not real people; it’s just identifying them as something they need to overcome for the conflict to be resolved. As Achilles points out to himself, he could get answers right now, but he won’t. Eventually he will, and the character flaw will resolve and allow the conflict to progress further to its conclusion.
Again, though, Achilles saying a flat, “No” to “Don’t you want to know?” is indeed childish. “I don’t want to think about something hard and scary, I want to have fun and feel good” is an immature thing to think; it is an understandable and sympathetic desire, but acting on it is immature, which is why Head Achilles calls out this behavior as “pure id.” The fact that this is a metaphorical depiction of an internal monologue doesn’t change that; if anything, it makes it a sharper point, because everything Head Achilles said is something Achilles deep down knows and is deliberately denying it. You are correct he doesn’t divert fully until Mars appears, but that’s because he *knows this behavior is wrong*. He literally tries to put this thought process represented by Head Achilles away out of anger but fails and sits alone in the dark trying to ignore it until he finds a good distraction. His grapple with it literally frames the truth he is denying as a force he is trying his best to lock away.
it REALLY. REALLY FITS with the whole thing with Halo Head. Refusing to process the unconformable truth and instead running and hiding away behind your comforts.
Honestly i think this is kinda mature of him. The emotional part of him knows he doesn’t want to put the friendships he’s built and come to value in jeopardy just to give the logical part of his brain some peace of mind. Sure it may not satisfy the questions we all have but it satisfies his id, it makes him happy. If happiness is a choice then this is the decision he has to make.
His speech was so unusually eliquent in this comic.. and then he immediately starts running like a little kid to Mars.,
Back to being a little idiot again ,.,.,,, :pepper-shoot:
Last time a character crossed the “dark” threshold outside the lighthouse Pepper found Achilles, leading to the “boys’ night” arc. Maybe this is foreshadowing.
Or it might be contrasting that strip. Pepper was looking for Achilles to satisfy his curiosity (and he was worried about him). Achilles, on the other hand, has stumbled upon a big secret and is trying to shut off his curiosity on purpose.
oh i am So Normal about her expression in that last panel. my god. my god.
Achilles really do be like “hey, I’m gonna enjoy my time doing freak stuff”. But part of me hopes that Achilles actually speaks with Mars about this. She’s the only one out of the loop (because I feel like Peachykeen might know about the stairs too).
Ares and peachy play backgammon on sundays
Peachy knows all
For all leads to peachy
and off he goes to the dark side to shut off his thinking once more… sigh, its gonna bite him in the ass one day, and not in the way he wants
its very interesting to see this other side of him that we havent seen in a very long time
oh our poor boy… he was so close to thinking :achilles-cutesy:
Oh, Achilles…
Ah, well, I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s way too scary for a little guy like that to think such big things. Much easier to just get his head bashed in until they stop.
Wonder what other stuff he’s willingly ignoring for his own short term highs.
The thing Metaphor Achilles is trying to say…. he’s kind of right, will the novelty of getting bruised wear off? will he struggle to distract himself, or find himself going to more extremes to feel fulfilled? I hear a proper fetish doesn’t get old for some people but who knows… he clearly can’t stay all-id forever
i feel like its the combination of masochism and an affection for mars that result in his strong emotions. I dont think its possible for something like that to fade unless Mars does something drastic, and even then hes pretty forgiving
I took it the opposite way. It’s not that getting beat up will stop being pleasurable for Achilles, but that there are other, higher pursuits in life that he is neglecting. He should want and strive for more than being Mars’ punching bag.
Why should he?
I mean, if you personally believe there is nothing more important than whatever feels good, then that is certainly your right! But the story clearly does take the angle that thing like truth and honesty and pursuits are important. How do you interpret what little Head Achilles says as he’s cut off if you think there is literally nothing wrong with deliberate ignorance? “Haha, yeah, shut up, brain”?
Like, putting aside the risk that he is ignoring a real risk that there is something going on in the world, we see from Mars’ side of the conflict that the way things are makes her unhappy with herself and Achilles. She wants more from him than sadomasochism. Look at the first punch scene: their actual relationship started with Achilles ignoring Mars crying so he could ask her to hit him! Pepper points out that her anger towards Achilles is that when he zeroes in mostly on her ability to make him feel good, it makes her feel like she “the deeper parts” of herself aren’t even real. During the first dozen or so pages of the masochism arc, he made Mars deeply uncomfortable and ignored her telling him to stop. And Achilles, because he’s all id, missed all of that. If he tries to live off of purely pleasure, eventually that pleasure will stop, because his single-minded pursuit hurts the people who provide it to him, and by ignoring the parts of his brain that think things through, he doesn’t even notice.
Cant wait for more kitty time :mars-what: :achilles-wonder:
She’s Vegeta posing
I see people making points about the symbolism of crossing over to the darker palette and I think they’re really cool, but I also like to imagine it as like there’s literally a visual indication that its becoming nighttime. Like the night is actually just a clear line that slowly creeps across the island as the sun sets and nobody questions it.
also absolutely love the way these two are drawn in the last panel. been thinking about it for like a few hours now and had to say something. mars and achilles have had my favorite proportional changes over the series and they way their tiny size is conveyed here is just the cutest. just litttle cat people on the beach :achilles-cutesy: :hearts:
I’m really starting to see Achilles as a character in a better way and i love him. The visual design of his split colors really accentuates the parallel between the emotional and rational sides of his personality. Also i love how the notch is on his more colorful side, sort of implying how his emotionally driven mind is seen as a flaw by some of the other characters on halo head. Excellent character design and visual storytelling. Honestly feel like he’s the most emotionally mature character here jjst cuz he knows what he wants and thats to be a little freak and not listen to the voice in his head :achilles-plush::achilles-cutesy::achilles-happy:
Mars hitting that Vegeta smirk and crossed arms combo
ooouughhh her little smile she likeeees himmmmm :chloe-happy:
I love them so.muchhh
A man cannot live through punishment alone, one day he’ll learn or at least one of them will
Thought Achilles has his long ears again! He’s pretty resistant to change…:achilles-wonder:
Oof. Methinks a big reason Achilles fixates on pain so much now is to dull his superego (since lil’ Archie calls him the id). :achilles-onedge:
Aaand now I’ve caught up on the latest page! Now I must wait for the next one like everyone else. :peachy-aaa: What a lovely and compelling comic so far, amazing work :thesmoocher:
Hope it’s not bad etiquette to cross the streams like this, but I just came back from watching Batty’s Cartoon Cartoon pilot and I’m so excited rn I can barely contain it!! :achilles-happy: She does such incredible work here with this comic, various commissions, and now she’s gotten a full pilot made for her previous webcomic! I really hope it takes off and gets greenlit as a series, Batty deserves to be able to get her ideas out in the world and I wish her all the best!
This is how I found out Batty launched a cartoon pilot :achilles-happy:
What’s it called? I haven’t been able to search it myself.
I just realized, last time Achilles carried boxes for Mars, he had trouble carrying them. (#353) My man’s been working out.