deviant life

August 2018 Patreon Pin-Up: Turned Upside-Down

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Last year, Deviant Life pin-ups became my way of showing extra appreciation to my handful of Patreon supporters. As the first patron exclusive pin up becomes a year old, I figure that’s a reasonable length of exclusivity and will now start posting pin-ups publicly for everyone to enjoy.  Since some, like August 2018’s above, were particularly not work safe, I’ve opted to censor it here on the main page but you can click through to get to the uncensored version.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #36

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Because of the process involved in making these strips, it’s not uncommon for me to write a script and send it on to D to do the art and lettering only to get the finished strip back a week later to realize I was clearly in a grumpy ass mood when I wrote it.  This is one of those.

I honestly don’t have a problem with monogamy as a conscious choice one makes for themselves, but the monocentric values of our society are so often weaponized against myself and my loved ones. The fact that I’m so open about being ethically non-monogamous, to the point of being a D-list public figure for polyamory, has made it dangerous for people in certain careers or that have children by shitty exes to be openly involved with me. That kind of thing pisses me off and sometime that leads to me taking shots at monogamists I don’t really mean.

I will totally stand by romance as a genre having terrible consent messaging and part of that is its frequent promotion of the toxic possessiveness that less healthy monogamists really lean into. So, I don’t think Bernard is wrong in this strip. I just regret that he didn’t speak his mind more eloquently.

On a side note, I want to thank anyone who contributed to my friend Maddi’s Medical Expense Fundraiser and ask again that any who are able and charitably inclined please contribute. She’s one of the dearest people in the world to me and deeply appreciate anything anyone does to ease her struggle.

Lastly, a plug for the next Stigma Unbound event, Whore Haus on August 23 & 24. If you’re in the NYC area and support sex worker rights, please drop in. There’s a good chance you’ll find me there (though I can’t guarantee it).

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #35

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I’ve had to field this sort of thing a lot, and my response is pretty much the same. I’ll never regret the good times I shared with someone even if a relationship ends before I wanted to. Yes, I always mourn the end of a relationship, but in the same way I mourn the death of a friend. When a friend dies, I don’t bellyache about how I wish I’d never spent all those years putting time and energy into cultivating that friendship. I cherish the memories we created together, however sad it might make me that we won’t be making more. I don’t see why the end of a romantic relationship should be any different. Time wasted being bitter is time that could be being used to form new connections. I want to always more towards where more love is, not stay stuck in an empty space where love used to be.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #32

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If anyone is wondering what Audrey’s response was to one of her boyfriends running it by her that he was thinking of asking out one of her girlfriends on a proper date, she squeeed with delight. She ships Isaac and Joy pretty hard.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #31

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There appears to have been a failure of communication here. Some people just like a well crafted endorphin cocktail and others like to push the limits of endurance. Preferences really should be sorted out before play happens, but during play it’s never a good idea to not let your top know when you’ve reached the point you’re not having fun anymore.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #30

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Being a parent is one of my favorite things in the world, but I completely understand how some people would feel just the opposite.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #29

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I’ll admit this was kind of a long way to go for a King Missile reference.  The song’s been stuck in my head for weeks and I was hoping this would exorcise it.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #28

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The last time Dace appeared, he was being an ass to Audrey and a lot of people suggested she should dump him. I definitely understand why people would feel that way and they’re not necessarily wrong. Of Audrey’s five partners, her relationship with him is the most strained by far.  They do love each other though, and one of the lovely things about polyamory is being able to maintain a loving connection even when you’re not a great fit for each other. Their relationship thrives off their respect for each others boundaries and the parameters those boundaries create for their relationship.  They are outsiders to each other’s core lives, but they have a small but (usually) happy place in the middle that they create together.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life #27

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This one is overdue because I’m a dumbass that writes scripts while half asleep then sends them to my artist without proofreading them, then notices errors while getting ready to post the strip.

Valentine’s Day can be a weird holiday when you’re polyamorous. Personally, I don’t celebrate it if I can at all avoid it, but obviously it’s a big deal for a lot of people and it can be a beautiful and fun thing but also a common catalyst for spikes in jealousy, competitiveness, and leveraging of couple’s privilege.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)

Deviant Life Anniversary #1

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The anniversary of the first Deviant Life strip coming out was actually yesterday, but because Deviant Life artist D. White and I have those nasty things called day jobs, this had to wait until today.

Working on Deviant Life for the last year has been great fun and I really appreciate all the love and support the strip has gotten.

(Discerning Deviant is supported entirely through reader sponsorship via the Discerning Deviant Patreon and can also be followed on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or Instagram.)