[blog] Junior Year #12 - Bitty & I
★ Notes on Year 3, Comic 12 - Bitty & I ★
✓ Hey, how are you? That was--ARE. YOU. READY. FFFFFFOR COOOOOOOMMUNICATION????? *SUPLEXES YOU THROUGH A FOLDING TABLE* HOCKEY GUYS TALKING ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS??? *SLAMS TWO BEER CANS TOGETHER* COUPLES FIGURING SHIT OUT TOGETHER??? *POURS BEER OVER FACE???* WORDS?????
✓ Jack wants to tell Alicia and Bob!! Bitty is supremely touched. (The wave of uncontrollable nervousness will hit him later.) But, honestly, that Jack waited even this long is a major accomplishment in itself.
Jack at post-graduation lunch with his Boss and his Parents.
Bob: Ah! I remember that co-ed match-up they did for juniors. Now, that was an exhibition game. People want to see that!
George: Exactly. And that was actually the first time I met Thirdy? Coach had us on the same line.
Alicia: Wow! Jack, isn't that interesting?
Jack: Haha. Yeah. Wow.
Jack (internally): I'm gonna tell them I kissed Bittle. I'm gonna tell them I kissed Bittle. I'm gonna tell them--I kissed Bittle. I KISSED BITTLE I KISSED BITTLE I KISSSED
✓ Bitty and Jack and the SMH crew? Are figuring this out as they go along! Bitty finally gets to talk about his boyfriend around his team, and the boys will benefit from all the fines collected when things get mad saccharine. See, Chowder isn't bold enough with his PDA—or he's learned to reel it in. PFT, you can't monetize that! Bitty and Jack?? Imagine it—You're in the Haus kitchen, faking your way through a reading response and your friends won’t stop nuzzling their noses together over homemade croissants. You're happy for them but you gotta collect, because SMH needs that new Maytag high-capacity front-loading tumbler dryer, enviro-efficient energy star qualified. All that fine money does not go to baked goods. TL;DR: Bitty's teammates love him dearly and are also awful.
✓ How are Jack and Shitty doing? It looks like they sorted everything out with some roughhousing? Yes, that's what I would say. Jack and Shitty lived next to each other for years--in the same Haus, using the same bathroom, seeing each other practically every day at the same rink. Now, Shitty's at Harvard and Jack's in the NHL. Shitty will maintain that confronting Jack about having a girlfriend was egregious, but he'd argue that he didn't know anything about Jack's new NHL life too. And for Shitty that's a bit jarring. (And he'd admit he was...envious of all of Jack’s new and spectacular hockey teammates.)
After undergrad, long distance friendships take a lot of effort. And especially now that Shitty knows something new about Jack, he wants to be there for his bro. Jack can now expect texts and phone calls from Shitty at all hours. Shitty really cares.
Jack: Morning, Shits. It's 6AM. You're up early.
Shitty: NOPE HAVEN'T SLEPT listen I just wanted to say when I come over this weekend I can bring just a TON of extra pants? Like, to make sure I'm totally pant-ed up? I was thinking--I need to start making up for all my totally platonic yet supremely bare ass infiltration of your room during our junior and senior years. BRAH, I'm sorry if I made you """"uncomfy"""--
Jack: Shitty, I was upset because your JUNK touched my SHEETS. That's gross.
Shitty: No no no no no. Hah. Brah, hygienically I was pristine. Jack, I'm talking about how I never formally surveyed your level of comfort with nudity in non-communal athletic spaces or--hello.
Shitty: Hello, Jacques?
✓ JLZ, mid-morning nap taker. Jack took a nap because he played a regulation NHL game, made the winning goal, sat up on the charter plane brimming with adrenaline, had a serious talk with his boyfriend that ended up with him racing to Samwell, maybe caught a smooth half a REM, and woke up early to make it to Jerry's. HE'S EXHAUSTED. Yes, he had the energy to toss Shitty into some foliage, but Jack is used to fending off Shitty while half-awake.
✓ Did he nap with S.B.? The bun was in the vicinity.
✓ Is Lardo dating Shitty?
✓ I bet if Jack asked, she'd tell him. But Jack wouldn't even be like that though. You see how they talk??? They're chill. Lardo and Jack had their own deets exchange right there at brunch. They've got a deets thread going on via text that Holster would drool over.
✓ Wait, then which SMH member has the most deets on Bitty and Jack's relationship? Bitty talks to Lardo. Holster and Ransom pester Bitty. Jack and Lardo are bros. Chowder lives across from Bitty. Jack and Shitty talk all the time?? Bitty talks about Jack all the time??? That's friend groups for ya!
✓ Hey, well, I'm just glad the team supports ERBJLZ and that's all that matters. Yeah! And some friends really really really want to support Jack and Bitty. In any way possible.
Jack: Hey, Shits! How's it going, man?
Shitty: Shotgunning criminal law.
Jack: Wow, yeah. What is it--1AM over there? We just got to the hotel in Missouri.
Shitty: Hahaha well I actually just woke up so it's fine hey you know I was wondering--you seriously didn't know you had it bad for your current and adorable S.O. until GRADUATION?
Jack: After graduation.
Shitty: That's incredible.
Jack: I guess.
Jack: I dunno. I was preoccupied with a lot of stuff. Samwell...hockey...
Jack: Hm. I thought that list would be longer.
Shitty: Listen, you're my pal--I'm glad you got a partner with a super high emotional IQ but I'm literally here for you 24/7 to yak about relationship stuff.
Jack: Yeah.
Shitty: Like. Anything. Nothing is off limits.
Jack: Thanks.
Shitty:
Shitty: Remember when I tried to give everyone in the Haus that talk on practicing safe sex, well if you have like five min--
Shitty: Hello? Jack.
Shitty:
Shitty: Cool. I'll leave a voicemail.
☆ Up Next: A walk along the Samwell River.
☆ ☆ ☆ NEWS ☆ ☆ ☆
☆ Next batch of comics? I'd look out for a couple of comics in February or more-than-a-few in March. Either way, I'll keep you guys updated! I will be focusing on kickstarter fulfillment in January which will absorb a ton of time. I’m also taking a break during the holiday season and I’m not drawing comics!
☆ Merchandise. We're sold-out again and I apologize for this! I'm really going to try harder to keep the online store stocked for 2017. When merch is back in stock, I'll post about it here!
☆ Kickstarter Progress. The kickstarter fulfillment is going fairly well! The books are close to being sent to the printer and we've already put deposits on shipping and publishing costs! I plan on spending most of January finishing up commissions, posters, and designing the stretch goal items for backers. This means there will be a few weeks where I will not be working on the comic. ;-; But I’ll get right back to it! Hopefully this all means backers will get books sooner.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing! Until tomorrow!