Carpe Diem (webcomic)
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| Carpe Diem | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Graveyard Greg and Redkam |
| Website | http://www.carpediemcomic.com/ |
| Launch date | 2004 |
| Genre | Furry, Drama, Gay |
Carpe Diem is an anthropomorphic webcomic created by Graveyard Greg and Redkam. The story is a gay-themed serialized drama concerning the daily lives of a circle of young adult friends at a gymnasium and at their homes. The title is from Latin carpe diem, which means "seize the day." The comic's primary target audience is the furry fandom. As of the beginning of 2005, the story has completed its third chapter.
Graveyard Greg is the principal writer. Most of the series is illustrated by Redkam, with two-thirds of the second chapter illustrated by Vince Suzukawa, and additional minicomics illustrated by the artists Braford and Albert Temple.
Though the story is gay-themed, it does not contain much adult content, instead focusing mainly on issues of love, friendship and feelings. In this way, the story resembles a soap opera.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
- Josh Gaudaen is a 25-year-old male Masai giraffe morph who works at Burt's gym. He lives in a house with his roommate Rodney. Josh is a weightlifter with good fashion sense, a good-natured friend, and has the unfortunate distinction of tripping everyone's gaydar, despite the fact that he is straight.
- Patrick Kevin Louis is a 24-year-old male Bengal tiger morph who works at Burt's gym. Already an immature character, he is also a narcissistic bodybuilder, to everyone else's annoyance. Kevin has an argumentative foil relationship with Burt, who is also secretly his cohabitant and lover. Kevin has a dysfunctional tendency to do whatever he wants when he wants without considering the consequences of his actions, and this gets him into trouble.
- Burt MacPhearson is a 35-year-old male giant panda morph. An experienced mature man, he runs a successful gymnasium and generally lives a comfortable life. Josh and Kevin are employees of Burt, and he is always considerate of their welfare. He is also secretly in love with Kevin, with whom Burt shares his home, his bed and his heart.
- Rodney Davis is a 24-year-old male cheetah morph. As a teenager, Rodney's parents kicked him out after he confessed that he was gay. But because of good friends, he lives a comfortable life, living in a house with Josh and employed on the Internet. Unlike the others, Rodney does not frequently exercise and is overweight, much to the ridicule of other cheetah morphs.
- Ken Pierce is a 23-year-old male African rhinoceros morph. Employed as a construction worker, he is relatively new in town and frequents Burt's gym. Initially friends with Josh at the gym, Josh introduces Ken to Rodney.
[edit] Other characters
- Mr. Gaudaen is the father of Trent and Josh. A fundamentalist Christian, he is openly hostile to Trent's lifestyle, and expresses open contempt to Josh's roommate Rodney for the same reason. Unhappy with Trent, Mr. Gaudaen puts a great deal of pressure on Josh to ensure that Josh is nothing like Trent.
- Sophia Gaudaen is the mother of Trent and Josh.
- Trent Gaudaen is Josh's gay older brother, and was once Burt's lover. Trent's parents (especially his father) never approved of Trent's sexuality, and have thus condemned him as sinful. Feeling unsatisfied with his life, Trent left Burt years ago to find more fulfilling challenges in life. No one has seen or heard from Trent since.
- Nicole is a female rabbit morph, married to Nick. As her family have been close friends with Burt's family for generations, the two have a close relationship, with Burt regarding Nicole as his little sister. Nicole's marriage with Nick has been gradually deteriorating.
- Nick is a male fox morph, married to Nicole. His marriage with her has been gradually souring.
- Bobby is a male panther morph, and was Ken's high school junior year sweetheart. Ken says he and Bobby graduated together, but have been apart for six years, though Ken is mute on details, saying only that some days hurt more than others.
- Mr. Pierce is a male kangaroo morph, and is Ken's father. (Ken's mother is a rhinoceros morph.) Ken's father is remembered for being instantly accepting of Ken's orientation and of Ken's boyfriend Bobby.
- Duncan Roo is a giant green kangaroo morph who appears in Burt's dream. He is actually the fursona of a friend of Graveyard Greg's. [1]
- Cassie is Nicole's older sister, and was once Burt's fiancée, shortly before Burt came out of the closet with Trent.
- Lanny is a regular at Burt's gym who has never been seen on panel. Lanny's name comes from Lanny Fields, the editor for Carpe Diem and friend of Graveyard Greg. The character Lanny is meant to be a pun-intended homage to Lanny Fields's fursona, Spiritwolf, who is an invisible wolf morph. The character's dialog bubbles always originate from an off panel location, ensuring the character is never seen, and therefore creating a visual gag where Lanny is "invisible".
[edit] Synopses
[edit] Chapter 1: Optimism
We are introduced to Josh and Kevin, who all work for Burt (as well as work out) at Burt's gym. Josh is kind and friendly, Kevin is conceited and arrogant, and Burt likes to tease Kevin.
Josh comes home to his roommate Rodney, who is surprised to hear that Josh has set Rodney up on a date. Rodney is skeptical, because of all the bizarre men he has dated before, mostly online.
Josh and Rodney go to Burt's house for dinner, and find Kevin there as well. In comes hunky Ken, Rodney's date. After dinner, everyone watches Gaming Guardians (based on another comic by Graveyard Greg), during which Ken asks Rodney out on another date. Walking home, Rodney admits to Josh that he likes Ken, and that Ken likes him.
Kevin does not go home, as we discover that he actually has no home to go to, having lived with Burt all this time. Their workplace antagonism aside, the two are actually very much in love, though this is something Kevin prefers not to be public knowledge. Burt offers Kevin a permanent home with him, and the two go to bed.
The chapter ends with Josh watching the nighttime rain outside his window, wondering about the next day.
[edit] Chapter 2: Trials and Trivializations
Josh wakes up in the morning, meeting Rodney (who sleeps in the day) in the kitchen. Rodney tells Josh that while he and Ken still have a date for the weekend, they decided to have a casual dinner date for that very evening at a surprise restaurant of Ken's choosing.
Because it is raining, Josh calls Burt asking for a lift. After the phone call is over, Burt hangs up his phone on the nightstand next to the bed where he slept with Kevin. Grumbling awake, Burt teases Kevin about his lack of stamina the previous night. The two get up, and Kevin makes breakfast, mentioning his plans to immediately move out of Burt's home and to move in with friends Nick and Nicole. Kevin insists that Burt will inevitably get bored of him, which Burt denies. Unable to change Kevin's mind, Burt grudgingly accepts the choice, and they head to work at the gym.
At work, Josh narrates about his feelings for Nicole, with whom he admits having no chance because Nicole is married to Nick. As Nicole leaves, Nick drives by, and they talk about their day. As Nicole comes home, the spouses separately lament at how bad their relationship is lately.
Finding Kevin staying in their house, Nicole promptly invites Kevin to fool around. After it is clear that Nicole and Kevin are regularly sleeping together, we find out that Kevin is not at all happy about it, but doesn't stop the trend nor speak about it either.
At Josh and Rodney's home, Rodney spends some time chatting and flirting with Ken over AOL Instant Messenger, and talking about their dinner date for the evening.
Before the date, Rodney is in a panic, having no idea how properly to dress at this casual dinner date, but Josh helps and reassures him.
Back at Nick's house, Nicole prepares to leave for a seminar while being teased by Kevin. Nicole tells Kevin that Nick will be home that evening, and leaves. As soon as Nicole drives off, we see a sad Kevin who laments to himself about having fallen in love and still loving Burt.
Ken arrives with his red coupe to pick up Rodney, whom Ken blindfolds to keep the destination a secret. Rodney nervously asks whether Ken has disturbing fetishes, but Ken assures Rodney that he does not. After parking, Ken removes the blindfold, revealing a newly-opened eatery that Rodney loves. The two enter the combination restaurant / comic book store, Rodney and Ken browse some comics, Rodney introduces Ken to some of his friends, and the two sit down for pizza, talking mostly about Josh, Josh's heterosexuality, and how Josh and Ken conspired to get Ken and Rodney to meet.
Rodney arrives home, teases Josh about his sneakiness, and thanks Josh with a kiss on the forehead. Rodney returns to his room to have more AIM chats with Ken.
Nick arrives home to find Kevin alone, and Nick promptly flirts with him. As we have never seen Kevin say no to such an invitation, the two walk off together.
The chapter ends with Rodney in his room, as he narrates about his recent experiences and surprises.
[edit] Chapter 3: Hurt
Burt, thinking about Kevin, still wonders how Kevin could think Burt would ever become bored.
Nicole returns home at night from her seminar to find Nick and Kevin asleep in bed together. Without waking them, she panics and desperately calls a friend on the telephone.
Josh awakes at 6:00 in a drowsy state, and Rodney reminds him of his workout appointment with Kevin.
At a restaurant called Lenny's, Nicole meets her friend at a table, and confesses to the friend that both she and her husband have been committing adultery with Kevin. The friend is revealed to be Burt, who is unpleasantly startled by the news.
Almost climbing into bed, Rodney receives an IM from Ken, and the two talk and flirt a bit more.
Burt takes Nicole to the home of Quetza where she is to spend the day. As Nicole is collapsed on Quetza's sofa, Burt leaves to Nick's house. Burt finds Nick alone at home, and Nick invites him in.
At the gym, Josh and Kevin are preparing for their workout. Kevin claims that he prefers to work out in the mornings because it is not an exciting time of day.
Burt explains to Nick that he just finished eating breakfast with Nicole, but Nick doesn't remember her coming home. Burt understands, mentioning how Kevin snores loudly when he sleeps. Nick quickly agrees, before realizing that he has betrayed the secret and that Burt already knows what he and Kevin have been doing. Burt asks if Kevin is home, but he is not, so he and Nick sit down to talk. Burt explains to Nick that Nicole saw them in bed together, and asks how long it has been going on. Nick responds angrily about bedroom privacy, but Burt is quick to mention his temper and his great strength. Once Nick calms down, they begin a frank discussion. Nick explains that he and Kevin have been sleeping together for three weeks because he knew Nicole was committing adultery and he wanted to take vendetta. Burt advises Nick to seek marriage counseling with Nicole, and explains to Nick's surprise that Nicole had been sleeping with Kevin too. Burt explains further that his concern for Nicole is because his family and her family have long been very close, and he regards her as a younger sister. Burt begs forgiveness for threatening to harm Nick, and once again pleads with him to repair his marriage with Nicole. As soon as Burt leaves, Nick grins.
At the gym, Josh and Kevin are working out together. Burt arrives, and offers Josh the weekend off if he can immediately cover for another employee. Josh agrees, and abandons the workout. With Burt and Kevin alone, Burt tells Kevin that he knows about the affairs, and orders Kevin to the main office.
After having Kevin sit down, Burt angrily lays out the facts, much to Kevin's fright. Burt then calms, containing his temper, and tells Kevin to start talking about the situation or the relationship will end. With Kevin surprised that the relationship hasn't already ended, Burt declares his extreme disappointment in Kevin. After a brief silence, Kevin starts narrating the events of the past.
Kevin tells that he and Nicole had been drinking beers together, but that neither of them had a tolerance for alcohol. He goes on to say that Nicole said the marriage was going bad, and that she believed Nick was cheating on her. Kevin condemns Nick's lack of candor, and explains that Nicole and him quickly seduce each other.
On the subject of Nick, Kevin tells that Nick had invited him to a movie. During the climax of that movie, Nick grabs Kevin's crotch, a moment that reveals Nick's attraction to Kevin. Over time after that, Kevin vanely exhibits himself to Nick. Kevin explains that during one night, he was dreaming about sexual intercourse, and woke up to find Nick on top of him. But Burt interrupts Kevin and asks him to stop his story.
In a rarely-seen moment of humility, Kevin confesses that he was wrong, but was too afraid to say no to the couple when they were in pain. He explains further that he likes them, but not as much as he likes Burt. Kevin admits a feeling of cowardice, but also of his love and longing to be with Burt. At this time, Kevin doesn't feel he deserves Burt.
Kevin soon notices that Burt hasn't been talking, and turns around to find Burt desperately grasping his own chest and complaining of shortness of breath. Kevin immediately calls for an ambulance, then runs out to inform Josh to have the doors open and ready. The chapter ends with Josh discovering Burt having what looks to be a heart attack.
