Red's S&S Trivia/Commentary

So I never really just get to talk to you guys about the comic much! Just pages and artwork, pages and artwork, etc. So here’s some fun trivia and overall commentary I thought up, especially while rereading to prepare for the next printed volume :)

1. I think I’ve mentioned before that S&S tries to avoid BL tropes/common grounds as much as possible and one of these is that I never wanted to rely on thought bubbles. Like I wanted to let the characters’ actions/expressions/words show how they feel rather than constant inner dialogue (outside of Ky’s intro narration in the first few pages). And of course knowing that I still wrote the script in first person from Kylee's point of view. So basically all his thoughts. Way to go Red.

2. So many characters’ last names come from horror movies and Kylee’s drug buddies are no exception! Dane Trace (from Upgrade), Javi Velasco (from REC), Cam Creed (Pet Sematary) and Russ Heiter (Human Centipede). Although Scotty’s last name is taken from my dog Hastings :D

3. The only one of the drug buddies Kylee is (was?) friends with is Dane, who he met through Scotty (Scotty and Dane work together). Javi and Cam were acquaintances and Russ (the husky one) he never met prior to the night in the shed. Not that any of this matters much, I just think way too much about the backstory/friendships of these boys 😂

4. To all cat lovers out there: worth mentioning Kim doesn’t and has never hated cats. He just never grew up with them as pets and only sees them as outdoor rodent-catching animals. Kylee bringing one home without permission irked him more than Razor herself did. Also Kylee doesn't hate dogs, he's fine with small ones but big ones intimidate him thanks to a few pets of his mom's white trash boyfriends.

5. Kylee finding the drug buddies was originally different in the script. Kylee was going to be so annoyed with Kimrick after the bj-that-went-nowhere-and-didn’t-fix-anything that he was going to go for a walk at night and end up seeing the guys in the shed. But random plot conveniences are boring haha. You happened to take an outdoor stroll (which you’ve never shown interest in doing prior) and just happened to see them? Nah fam, you left a window open like an idiot, your cat got out, you tried to save her like an idiot and in the process saw a little light in a shed out in the field and went to investigate.. like an idiot. Moral of the story, your characters are your idiots, use them!

6. Kind of a stupid funny thing to mention.. So I redrew and printed my first webcomic Bettencourt Hotel last year, right? In one scene 2 hotel guests check in and in the original webcomic version it was a cameo of 2 of my old characters from a comic I made in high school. When I redrew it for the PRINTED version I changed it to Kimrick and Kylee checking in instead just for funsies. BUT in the beginning of S&S as an easter egg Kylee is laying on the couch watching Bettencourt Hotel on television.. So by that logic Kim and Ky are now.. tv actors? Red this is not how you do shared universe 😂

7. Let's talk about 'original Cassie'! She was originally more of a snarky self-centered only-after-Kimrick type of character in the script so that her finding out Kim was gay was no real loss/sadness in the story (sort of a ‘haha she deserves it, what a meanie’ kind of thing). She changed to being the carefree big sister type cuz after drawing her I realized she was too sweet to make The Bitch.

8. On that note Kylee was originally gonna let it slip to Cassie that Kim was gay after an argument between them (Kylee had a line sort of like ‘whatever and good luck with Kim, he’s not even into girls‘). I changed it to her overhearing KimKy talking and sneaking the news out of Kylee instead. Also they never had an argument cuz again, her Bitch mode got overrided.

9. Talking about all these plot changes made me think of this fun fact: In the 6 years the comic has been going, the plot has never been majorly influenced by the audience! That may sound weird but I’ve read about creators changing up their long-running stories depending on reader reactions/suggestions/outrage/etc over time (I’m looking at you Attack on Titan) and I’ve personally never liked that mentality. The story's changed a lot along the way obviously but it was always my choice so don’t worry, you’re getting exactly what I want the story to be!

10. Not really trivia but worth mentioning the condom/lube debate, maybe cuz we just got out of a sexy scene. I'll admit it's hard (heh) to make a story grounded in reality, meaning real diseases etc apply, and have characters (Kim) who don’t normally partake in the sex to just have condoms and lube lying around. Both boys ARE clean and have macgyvered lube out of lotions and soaps etc and not used condoms.. but never take chances in real life just cuz someone tells you they’re clean, you guys!! Sailor Moon Says! *poses*

Hope some of that was interesting! I tried to think of some trivia about the current camping arc but other than ‘the campsite was based off my childhood Girl Scout campsite’ there’s not much tea to spill, even the script hasn’t changed much. We’re nearing the end so I still have a few things to keep secret but I’m always up for chatting with you all 😊