I cannot believe that some of that had to be said... Its disturbing to know there are some out there that have issues separating reality from fiction/fantasy.

Great explanation here and thank you artist for making an engaging story.

Yes, it's sad that this stuff have to be explicitly stated so the artist won't be chased with a pitchfork.

I adore this comic very much, and Arh has my everburning love for creating such amazing art and story. I love it, and I hope they love making it just as much as I love reading it.

I enjoy this comic, and I'm sorry people have been harassing the artist over this. Porn is porn. Obviously the plot of porn comics shouldn't be mistaken for things that are good and wholesome in the real world. And even if she's written herself into a little bit of a corner, that's okay. Welcome to the evolving writing process. Besides, it's a very sexy comic, and it's been fun to read.

Even if I don't advocate for any of these actions in the real world (re: selling/buying people), my fantasy life is quite robust, and fantasy is a completely separate thing from what's real. In the kink world, we often operate at a certain level of fantasy during a scene. Whether it's roleplay or whatever else may be involved. The brain is the biggest sex organ of them all, after all.

Is it wrong that I would want to be a slave in this world?

Reminds me of the one scene from Doctor Strange where Strange says "You know, you really should've stolen the whole book because the warns... the warns come after the spells."
As for the story, I understood right off the bat that the story was not supposed to be taken seriously, and it really sucks that this artist has to deal with people harassing them over a work of fiction. Props to them tho, its a nice comic.

people are idiots, keep up the awesome kinky art!

This is a very level-headed and mature response. I've seen so many artists get defensive about questions and criticisms like these, and I'm really glad that Arh instead decided to listen and grow as a creator. I won't continue to read the comic now that I know I'm not the intended audience, but I'll be excited for future projects as she continues to improve as a storyteller.

The amount of pitchforking people will get into over works of fiction is kinda unreal.

On the other hand, you don't see people going up to William Golding's house and yelling at him saying that he condones marooning kids on uninhabited islands.

imercenary said:
Art imitates life.

If you think the amount of pitchforking people will get into over works of fiction is kinda unreal, you need to watch the news more. People will literally get off their asses and pitchfork in the streets with actual guns loaded with live ammunition because of a 4chan post. People pitchforking people will get into over works of fiction over the internet is fucking amateur hour.

Dude, chill out, lol. I didn't say it was the worst/most extreme example of pitchforking out there nor did I mean to imply it was. No need to be so mad.

Im sorry but is this hate I see directed at this comic again even after the explanation by the artist themself?

xoxo love the comics & all your art. I think my biggest concern was, yes, that the themes at the start of the story are different from where they are now. But you explained that super well, and I hope you continue with the comic no matter the direction :3

how do i favorite an artist? i love arhs work so much

What If arh gets hypnotized owo?

summysummy said:
What If arh gets hypnotized owo?

thats a great idea

ghostlion said:
Sounds like an excuse and a bad cover up. After reading the comic to and the last panel pic if Arh liked Adi so much then why did she sell them? "I love ya so much that I want to keep you for a little while, play with you then sell you" Ok then?

Arh's job in-universe is slave training and trade. There's a bunch of talk behind the scenes on the discord about how things work, it's all well thought out overall. No cover-ups or excuses here!

Wait, what? I thought the 'forced enslavement' fetish was 'normal' enough that there'd be no - or at most very few - people getting seriously upset and angry at the artist for it.

Is it just me, or is the furry fandom becoming more and more hostile toward 'more extreme' fetishes and fantasies in general? It's seemed like there's a lot more hate for topics like cub lately, but I thought that was just because, well, cub porn is understandably upsetting for a lot of people. I thought it was just more people being exposed to that side of the fandom than in the past, and reacting.

This.. Doesn't fit what I'm seeing here. Enslavement, mind control, hypnosis... These are all things that are common kinks that reach much further than the fandom. Cub is like a small extension to loli/shota, but even those are relatively niche. The fetishes in this comic aren't. There's even live-action porn of this exact same stuff. Lots of it, in fact.

Note: to anyone upset at me comparing the fetishes in this comic to cub, realize that I already feel cub is something that understandably upsets people. You might say something like, "This is completely different!" and you're right! That's my point. People seem just as upset over this comic as I've seen people get upset over cub stuff... But they're completely different!

So, is this happening across the board? I didn't think it was, but maybe I was wrong!

tynach said:
Wait, what? I thought the 'forced enslavement' fetish was 'normal' enough that there'd be no - or at most very few - people getting seriously upset and angry at the artist for it.

Is it just me, or is the furry fandom becoming more and more hostile toward 'more extreme' fetishes and fantasies in general? It's seemed like there's a lot more hate for topics like cub lately, but I thought that was just because, well, cub porn is understandably upsetting for a lot of people. I thought it was just more people being exposed to that side of the fandom than in the past, and reacting.

This.. Doesn't fit what I'm seeing here. Enslavement, mind control, hypnosis... These are all things that are common kinks that reach much further than the fandom. Cub is like a small extension to loli/shota, but even those are relatively niche. The fetishes in this comic aren't. There's even live-action porn of this exact same stuff. Lots of it, in fact.

Note: to anyone upset at me comparing the fetishes in this comic to cub, realize that I already feel cub is something that understandably upsets people. You might say something like, "This is completely different!" and you're right! That's my point. People seem just as upset over this comic as I've seen people get upset over cub stuff... But they're completely different!

So, is this happening across the board? I didn't think it was, but maybe I was wrong!

That is one reason people like us are judged by those who are not part of the fandom. People who are not a furr will see the cub thing just like they will see a real child in which case stuff like that is illegal even though the cub stuff isnt

Just do your thing if someone doesn't like slavery they shouldn't fucking search for stuff with slave tags
Fax

ichheissehansie said:
Just do your thing if someone doesn't like slavery they shouldn't fucking search for stuff with slave tags
Fax

You do realize that there are there are more then just 1 tag in an art piece meaning several others mixed into that one search will be added

I like slavery, I like hypnosis, I like rape, I like everything on display in this comic under normal circumstances, and I can easily separate fiction from reality, but I have to side with the people complaining. This was a very poorly thought out and written comic, and I can understand how upsetting this must be for the people who don't even like this kinda shit when even I struggled to stomach it due to it's confused writing.

I can only say this comic is bad as both porn, and as a story on it's own. It communicates very awkwardly to it's reader and just feels so all over the place and distracted, so I can easily understand almost every response readers have had to it, and why it upset readers so much.

I'd love to offer detailed criticism to help the author write a better comic next time, or to even understand exactly WHAT was wrong with the comic in the first place and what led to the negative response, but unfortunately I can't. I'm not experienced enough to put it into words. Guess I'm useless huh...

I can at least say that this comic definitely has a problem that most rape/kidnapping/hypno/dubcon/whatever comics don't have, I couldn't put it into words, but that's the best clue I got.

Anyhow, I have nothing against the author as it stands, they do good art, and this post clears shit up decently enough I feel.

In the end, the only people I dislike in this situation are the people saying "use blacklist" or "seperate fiction from reality" cause that wasn't really the main problem here to begin with, and they're only shifting/confusing things more. (and I guess anyone who is still truly harassing the author)

This was a spur of the moment rant... and as calm and neutral as I wanted it to feel and as many paragraphs I chose to cut... it still feels negative so... to balance it out I'll say some positives about the comic...

Shit fucking hot! Nice art! Would pound sheep hole!

anitahegerland said:
I like slavery, I like hypnosis, I like rape, I like everything on display in this comic under normal circumstances, and I can easily separate fiction from reality, but I have to side with the people complaining. This was a very poorly thought out and written comic, and I can understand how upsetting this must be for the people who don't even like this kinda shit when even I struggled to stomach it due to it's confused writing.

I can only say this comic is bad as both porn, and as a story on it's own. It communicates very awkwardly to it's reader and just feels so all over the place and distracted, so I can easily understand almost every response readers have had to it, and why it upset readers so much.

I'd love to offer detailed criticism to help the author write a better comic next time, or to even understand exactly WHAT was wrong with the comic in the first place and what led to the negative response, but unfortunately I can't. I'm not experienced enough to put it into words. Guess I'm useless huh...

I can at least say that this comic definitely has a problem that most rape/kidnapping/hypno/dubcon/whatever comics don't have, I couldn't put it into words, but that's the best clue I got.

Anyhow, I have nothing against the author as it stands, they do good art, and this post clears shit up decently enough I feel.

In the end, the only people I dislike in this situation are the people saying "use blacklist" or "seperate fiction from reality" cause that wasn't really the main problem here to begin with, and they're only shifting/confusing things more. (and I guess anyone who is still truly harassing the author)

This was a spur of the moment rant... and as calm and neutral as I wanted it to feel and as many paragraphs I chose to cut... it still feels negative so... to balance it out I'll say some positives about the comic...

Shit fucking hot! Nice art! Would pound sheep hole!

You hit the nail right on the head and I agree with everything even the cute sheep part XD

anitahegerland said:
Stuff

It's absolutely nobody's place to judge another person's interests and fantasies. This comic is no different from any other slavery/noncon/dubcon comic except for the fact that a point is taken to flesh out the character in this regards and treat him as a character rather than as a fetish, unlike that one hentai that features a virgin girl of some species or another (that may or not be human) of a dubious age, where the character's very blatantly put in a spot to exercise the author's and reader's own fantasies.

There is nothing wrong with that but empathy isn't a reason to condemn a work of art. In fact, the fact that people connect with Addi is a good thing and speaks volumes of Arh's ability to write is actually pretty decent. As Arh says, if you don't like the comic, then leave. All the negativity and condemnation and saying that somehow it's morally/ethically wrong to make fiction of this needs to go away.

So yes. This is fiction, and there is a distinct need to understand and acknowledge this is fiction, and if you don't like it, yes, please, use the damned blacklist. Any argument otherwise is legitimately in breach of the site's code of conduct, and for a good reason.

angelbird said:
It's absolutely nobody's place to judge another person's interests and fantasies. This comic is no different from any other slavery/noncon/dubcon comic except for the fact that a point is taken to flesh out the character in this regards and treat him as a character rather than as a fetish, unlike that one hentai that features a virgin girl of some species or another (that may or not be human) of a dubious age, where the character's very blatantly put in a spot to exercise the author's and reader's own fantasies.

There is nothing wrong with that but empathy isn't a reason to condemn a work of art. In fact, the fact that people connect with Addi is a good thing and speaks volumes of Arh's ability to write is actually pretty decent. As Arh says, if you don't like the comic, then leave. All the negativity and condemnation and saying that somehow it's morally/ethically wrong to make fiction of this needs to go away.

So yes. This is fiction, and there is a distinct need to understand and acknowledge this is fiction, and if you don't like it, yes, please, use the damned blacklist. Any argument otherwise is legitimately in breach of the site's code of conduct, and for a good reason.

The comic started off nice, kinky, fun and cute then went down a extreme dark path. no one saw this coming

ghostlion said:
The comic started off nice, kinky, fun and cute then went down a extreme dark path. no one saw this coming

Except anybody can stop reading at any time. On top of that, pretty much all of Arh's previous work has been indicative of what would happen. The slave options and permanent chastity and extreme focus on D/s, specifically slavery is nothing new.

Edit: Lol, I make a quick edit to my post and it already has two downvites in seconds. Someone's using bots to target specific people.

I... I gotta say, I'm not entirely sure where everyone is getting the "this got way too dark" and "this has heavily conflicting tones" thing. Maybe I'm missing it, or maybe I've just become desensitized. Could be either, really, but it looks like this all started when the explanation pages came out. Prior to those, the main comments I saw seemed to very much enjoy the comic as a whole; then some questions are answered to flesh out the setting(which I understand from above wasn't intended for this comic per se) and suddenly this is just too much or too far. Don't get me wrong, I get it, to a point. I've read through my fair share of comics on here, found them abruptly unappealing, and just stopped keeping up with them. I've also been "rabbit hole'd"(yeah it's a dumb phrase and I'm 90% sure it's not real or 9% sure it is real, but just used for an entirely different purpose, it just fits both for convenience sake and because this is a fur site) by a comic before, where I saw it turning into a vore thing, but decided I'd see how far I could get through it before it was just unpleasant to continue. Ended up finishing that one, enjoyed it too, because yes, it went to vore, which I'm still not into, but the way it was handled felt more tasteful to me.

Bringing it back to topic, though, I didn't notice any particularly extreme shifts that aren't handled much worse elsewhere. Hand-down the most dramatic shift of tone is in the 4th-6th pages, where we go from the speed-dating scene to a car, see the driver is gimped up, then lead right into the hypnosis waiver signing. If anything should have been jarring, it seems like it would have been that, since the rest kind of just goes deeper, steps back to explain, and then hits this sort of wall we see here. Honestly, the gimp driver and hypnosis/kidnapping(man, missed opportunity, that'd be a good pun if Addi were a goat) should have clued most people into this, bare minimum, including a focus on power play, with the binding up page while Addi is still in a trance more or less spelling out that it's going to just build up from there. Not everyone needs to enjoy it, and not everyone should, honestly. But I mean, seriously? Don't consume media that's not good for your health; most artists(though importantly that is Most, not All) don't condone darker subjects they touch on in whatever they produce(take numerous songs that discuss suicide by trying to express how being suicidal feels, they definitely don't want people to be that way).

Also, to set the record straight: This is a comic, that is, a two-dimensional animated story that uses panels as a means of progression, about a fictional world where anthropomorphized creatures exist, are attractive, and have a society sorted out that's just similar enough to ours to minimize required explanation. If the story being dark as hell or twisted bothers you, find something else. If the content isn't up to par and you have actual creative criticism to offer(which does not seem here to be what's primarily being addressed), then, well, that's how artists grow.

Also, please, could someone explain where this "suddenly turned extreme and dark"? I've re-read this comic like ten times now trying to see it, but seriously, even checking the comments it seems like it was fine until Arh started fleshing the setting out, which to me just seems like world-building and I personally enjoy it. I want to help with this discussion in a less general and rambly wall'o'text fashion, please ;-;

chase_cosmicwing said:
Stuff

People are primarily upset that people have zero way out of their lives once they're in; their lives prior to being slaves are gone, including all familial ties; children born from slavery are also slaves by default with zero choice (this last one bothers me a bit but I don't really care because this is, as you said, a work of fiction); and people can be unwilling slaves.

I understand the complaints and the "wow this got dark fast" bit because once the context expands to explain why the start of this comic makes sense people have to deal with the universe of their porn and the consequences it actually has.

That doesn't excuse the amount of hatred directed at the artist for authoring this.

angelbird said:
People are primarily upset that people have zero way out of their lives once they're in; their lives prior to being slaves are gone, including all familial ties; children born from slavery are also slaves by default with zero choice (this last one bothers me a bit but I don't really care because this is, as you said, a work of fiction); and people can be unwilling slaves.

I understand the complaints and the "wow this got dark fast" bit because once the context expands to explain why the start of this comic makes sense people have to deal with the universe of their porn and the consequences it actually has.

That doesn't excuse the amount of hatred directed at the artist for authoring this.

I mean, worded that way it sounds like everyone's problem is that this comic involves slavery; willing or otherwise. Honestly, yeah, it's kinda dark the way it's handled I guess? Y'know, unlike in the real world where people are often violently torn away into it, leaving just a huge, gaping hole in the lives that once existed with no resolution for any of the loose ends left open; in the world of the comic, it's subtle, more like a trap. Yeah, easier to lure people in, but at least there's clear attempts to try and make it a tolerable lot in life, which for the setting, seems to be just that, a lot in life some people will be born into and others will find themselves in eventually, potentially through no fault of their own.

user_582194 said:
You do realize that there are there are more then just 1 tag in an art piece meaning several others mixed into that one search will be added

Psst. "Blacklist".

Straight up, fuck the haters.

Porn like this existed long before crybabies on the internet felt the need to be "triggered" by everything.

If you don't like it, don't fucking look at it, or better yet, use the black list, or don't visit sites with "triggering" content.

If you can't discern works of fantasy/fiction from reality, you probably should not be here.

I mean I read this stuff and put myself in the place of someone like Addi. I can fantasize about stuff this crazy, but if I ever thought of doing it IRL I would take serious precautions. If I had a boy/ girlfriend that was a little too into this I would have to leave before it started to get scary.

You can make anything on the internet and someone will willfully be offended. They won't be appeased, artist wasted time writing this.

user_582194 said:
The comic started off nice, kinky, fun and cute then went down a extreme dark path. no one saw this coming

I don't understand at all how people thought this comic was going anywhere else. Where did they think it was going?

imercenary said:
You think I'm mad because I pointed out that people protest in the art world just like they protest in real life? Seriously?

The aggressive approach certainly did not help your case, mang.

Why even bother responding? You can do whatever you want. If they get offended they can go chew shit.

titanium_skin said:
Why even bother responding? You can do whatever you want. If they get offended they can go chew shit.

THANK YOU. Like why the fuck are people complaining at all just turn it off and fuck off and let us whack off.
I miss this comic and I worry that it's never coming back because a bunch of fucking pussies are gonna whine and pitch a fit and bully the artist if it continues.

Fuck those assholes I hope they all get warts an their rectums.

titanium_skin said:
Why even bother responding? You can do whatever you want. If they get offended they can go chew shit.

Internet virtue points

If (seems ya do?) arh reads this:
Glad see you clarify and elaborate on this comic. Someone showed/led me to it when ya first started it. But, my own nature made me basically snarl at the entire story and events.
I personally honestly cannot help it, I'm a Protector. And the contents of this comic make me growl. Perhaps the most significant issue for me, is the loss/theft of consent.
That aside, I do appreciate the work. If for nothing else? Provoking consideration and thoughtfulness of the situation(s) it entails...

Just want to say Arh that as a casual fan of your work, I could always tell the disconnect between your actual thoughts and the very over the top (and very appealing) content of your kink art. I honestly think having a very grounded mindset of SSC makes you better able to really go to town on the kink side. But it is good to see that clarity put forth and that as an artist you understand/encourage that your art/comics aren't for everyone and not to get so wrapped up in it if it'll cause a negative.

As for the comic, I personally stopped following about a dozen or so pages in as M/M content is an immediate turnoff for me. But I'm eager to see what else you make as time goes on.

user_582194 said:
Sounds like an excuse and a bad cover up. After reading the comic to and the last panel pic if Arh liked Adi so much then why did she sell them? "I love ya so much that I want to keep you for a little while, play with you then sell you" Ok then?

You do realise that the character Arh is being used, in this page in particular, to act as a stand-in for the views of the artist Arh, right? Second paragraph of that last section talks about how the artist grew attached to Addi.

As far as 'an excuse and a bad cover up' go, excuse and bad cover up for what? They explained why the comic had a shift in tone, and took pretty clear blame upon their own inexperience, so the only thing I can imagine you're talking about here is some thought that the artist actually does support IRL slavery?

user_582194 said:
You do realize that there are there are more then just 1 tag in an art piece meaning several others mixed into that one search will be added

You can put a hyphen in front of a tag in your search and anything with that tag will be excluded.

*The more you know*

Hey Arh, I would love to see what your character gets up to on a day to day basis when not at BTP (Bondage Theme Park) or training..." Pets " shall we say for the context of the comment

I love the art you do and the process of the training could be plausible in a real life context, minus the hypnotism of course. Anyway keep up the excellent work

The comic is great, art is 11/10, but the slavery concept is a little off-putting to me. I guess I have no right to tell anyone what to do, but maybe something like a hypnosis-induced subconscious escape clause in case the slave was truly suffering, because the warm and loving doms don’t really fit with the concept of being sold into unwilling and permanent slavery. Just my 2 cents.

I think the people here who are using the word ‘blacklist’ as an argument fail to consider that you can’t unsee something if a story has an unexpected turn in it. You can only preemptively blacklist so much.
That said this post does help

POV: You don't know what the blacklist is for

will there be more

user_1043519 said:
POV: You don't know what the blacklist is for

Facts

it's been three years and I'm still sad and angry about it, it wasn't a big deal while other arts have heavier and more disrespectful content ;–;