2018/05/09 - A Life Well-Lived

[D-Rock]

[2018/05/09 - A Life Well-Lived]
Title Text: "you may be saying to yourself 'but don't they have modern conveniences in heaven?' and the answer to that is yes and no, since heaven is experienced subjectively he is not even necessarily aware of the existence of cell phones despite having one. from his perspective he could have been using an old timey telegraph. the other answer is shut up and roll with it."

There's quite a bit of an age gap.

[TheSilverFox51]

Culture shock in 3... 2... 1...

[Saturn381]

I wonder where Breel is gonna live after this? Maybe he'll stay in the mansion.

[GameCobra]

In before we see Breel going all Dick Tracy on us.

[Gbr23]

♫ You bring me back to live
and it's all in the name of love
in the name of lo-o-ooove ♫

[Arvetis]

Excuse me, I would like to register a complaint
*sees alt text*
Never mind.

[GameCobra]

Also - Sabrina would be losing her title as oldest pet in the comic =(

[Bandit1990]

The US Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. So Breel's apparently a bit over 150 years old.

Well, 150 years dead, I don't know how old he was then.

[GameCobra]

Older than i thought, then.

forget Dick Tracy, keep Breel away from Spot comics. Hah.

[zeusdemigod131]

Should we be worried that he's gonna end up turning into an infant and forgetting his memories or something? Most afterlives don't just let the dead return to life.

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

So if he had an old telegraph and not a cell phone, did he have "tangled slinkies" on literal wallpaper somewhere?

[Bandit1990]

Should we be worried that he's gonna end up turning into an infant and forgetting his memories or something? Most afterlives don't just let the dead return to life.

I think it's being implied that won't be a problem, This afterlife seems to be "VERY" lenient.

[Welsh Halfwit]

There’s so many ways that saying is wrong,
and just one way it can possibly be right.
In all the things on Heaven and Earth,
it’s the heart that rules the head tonight.
It’s been years since he really smelled a flower,
years since he really needed to bathe;
years since he needed money or power,
years since he had things he could crave.
But now Breel’s becoming flesh and blood,
now he’s coming down for Keenes’ heart
and, after shovelling through all the gravel,
finding it has made it quite a start.

[GameCobra]

The best i would asume is they return him back to the exact age he sees himself as. the worst he would return as an infant or come back as something completely different - like a ferret.

Could also return as old man Breel, but that would just be heaven being jerks.

[leinglo]

You know, I do believe that second panel is one of the sweetest things Keene has ever said to anybody. These we've seen at least.

[Silly Zealot]

Sometimes, the alt-text in these comics is beautiful. Plain Beautiful.
I wouldn't be surprised if Breel was totally using a cellphone but never bothered to check Earth out to see who made it or how.

Also - Sabrina would be losing her title as oldest pet in the comic =(

What about Lucretia's mother or uncle Deadeye? I was gonna say Rufus, but it would have been the third time in a row I mention Rufus, so it would have looked odd and- ah, man. Too late.

[zeusdemigod131]

The best i would asume is they return him back to the exact age he sees himself as. the worst he would return as an infant or come back as something completely different - like a ferret.

Could also return as old man Breel, but that would just be heaven being jerks.

Whatever happens, I hope Cerberus explains what it means before she does it,

[Welsh Halfwit]

Sometimes, the alt-text in these comics is beautiful. Plain Beautiful.
I wouldn't be surprised if Breel was totally using a cellphone but never bothered to check Earth out to see who made it or how.

Also - Sabrina would be losing her title as oldest pet in the comic =(

What about Lucretia's mother or uncle Deadeye? I was gonna say Rufus, but it would have been the third time in a row I mention Rufus, so it would have looked odd and- ah, man. Too late.

They might be older but she's more regular.

Appears more often, I mean.

[Champion Wallace]

The way he says "I am real" reminds me of Sasha saying she is a girl.
I used to be of the camp that Breel did not die from a train. I don't have any personal experience yet I know If I get hit by a train it would hurt (a lot), but if I was a celestial a train would not have the capacity to hurt me anymore. However, given this new information I think I'll switch sides. We now know trains were prominent when he was alive and that they were important enough in Breel's life to be a reference point, combined with that fact I doubt the comic would spend time on it three times if it wasn't important.

[NHWestoN]

Gotta love that spirit of adventure .......... which might be what got you killed in the first place, Breel.

Oh ... and I guess here's where I join Wallace in tipping my hat to all them what said Breel died by a train. You were right, chums.

[IceKitsune]

So he died sometime between 1863 and 1869 assuming he's talking about the first Transcontinental Railroad and not any of the subsequent ones. I can't wait to see what happens here this is going to be very interesting.

[CHAOKOCartoons]

He knows all he has to do is wait approximately 30-40 years right? And Heaven's timeflow isn't nearly as long feeling as it is on Earth if ya choose it to be so...why? Ya met up twice and only once was it kinda mushy, if that. Really it just seemed like snuggling.

I guess dead people can just skip straight to being meat though so why not. Least he gets to experience video games now, assuming by the logic of the alt text that he was never introduced to them in heaven. Breel meets world could be fun

[anhedral]

What was it that TendoTwo said in a comment on the previous strip? "Deus ex machina-ish?" I think I have to agree; the solution offered does seem a bit too perfect, too convenient, unless Cerberus can offer some convincing back-story as to why Breel deserves to be a special case. If incarnation were a simple choice for everyone, Earth would presumably be full of the once-dead popping up left right and centre, if only to be reunited with the ones they love.

But, know what? I'll happily forget all that, on the promise of some hilarious future arcs in which the uber-cute Breel contends with the best and worst the 21st century has to offer. "A bit of an adjustment period" might be a slight understatement.

[Ryusuta]

I really, REALLY hope the "real boy" thing is a reference to Pinocchio. Otherwise, it raises a few... questionable implications, shall we say.

[Arvetis]

What was it that TendoTwo said in a comment on the previous strip? "Deus ex machina-ish?" I think I have to agree; the solution offered does seem a bit too perfect, too convenient, unless Cerberus can offer some convincing back-story as to why Breel deserves to be a special case. If incarnation were a simple choice for everyone, Earth would presumably be full of the once-dead popping up left right and centre, if only to be reunited with the ones they love.

But, know what? I'll happily forget all that, on the promise of some hilarious future arcs in which the uber-cute Breel contends with the best and worst the 21st century has to offer. "A bit of an adjustment period" might be a slight understatement.

I don't know what makes you think this is going to go without a hitch.

[jonas]

You are now imagining Victorian-era Breel in a dapper, three-piece suit (sans pants) and bowler hat having steampunk adventures and traveling by dirigible.

[leinglo]

What was it that TendoTwo said in a comment on the previous strip? "Deus ex machina-ish?" I think I have to agree; the solution offered does seem a bit too perfect, too convenient, unless Cerberus can offer some convincing back-story as to why Breel deserves to be a special case. If incarnation were a simple choice for everyone, Earth would presumably be full of the once-dead popping up left right and centre, if only to be reunited with the ones they love.

I'm guessing there's a certain level of celestial bureaucracy involved that prevents just anybody from incarnating. For instance, there probably needs to be some kind of incarnation request that needs to be filed, reviewed, and approved by someone in power (maybe Bahamut himself) before such a thing can be done, and considering what Breel has been through, I'd say he probably deserves a certain degree of special consideration in that regard.

[anhedral]

You are now imagining Victorian-era Breel in a dapper, three-piece suit (sans pants) and bowler hat having steampunk adventures and traveling by dirigible.

ALL. THE. YES!

[Famout]

Huh, this raises a question that feels like has an answer, but I just don't know it. Why don't more just come back to life then? I understand most all would wanna stay in the place where things are so perfect it never even becomes boring, but what about those with loved ones and the like left behind like Breel? I kinda figured that victims of accidents and the like might wanna stick around.

Then again, nice to get a happy ending after so much suffering!

[jonas]

In all seriousness, I'm curious to see if/how incarnation changes Breel over time. Aside from 21st-century culture shock (which probably could have some comedic potential), it seems like everyone in Heaven was kind of blissed out, since they all have everything they want and an indefinite period of time to savor it. Breel's going to have to get reacquainted with a world where resources are finite, things can hurt, and there's barely any time to appreciate the good things.

And then there's the whole matter of having to deal with all those constant, pesky biological functions once again...

[Obbl]

It's been/being really heavily implied that earth is a fantastically terrible place to live in comparison to Heaven. No one's asking to be incarnated because no one wants to go back. That is (at least part of) the weight of Breel's choice. He's choosing to spend another chunk of time in the morass of mortality so that Keene won't be lonely for that time. That is heckin' sweet, and don't none of y'all try to ruin that for me with your deus-ex-machina-or-others

[Macsen]

The best i would asume is they return him back to the exact age he sees himself as. the worst he would return as an infant or come back as something completely different - like a ferret.

Could also return as old man Breel, but that would just be heaven being jerks.

If he lived in the 19th century, it’s just as likely he died relatively young.

[Argent]

You are now imagining Victorian-era Breel in a dapper, three-piece suit (sans pants) and bowler hat having steampunk adventures and traveling by dirigible.

I can see Keene BUYING Breel a dirigible, but they didn't have dirigibles yet in 1869, the first practical dirigible was in 1898. Hot air balloons were a thing, though, and they're so much more practical now.

Oh, oh, OH, Keene NEEDS to take Breel to the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. I was crewing there one year and the big simultaneous launch from the field is aMAZing.

[Frank]

"if that's what the cell phones represent, what does the soda represent?"
"It represents 'shut up I'm thirsty'!"

The US Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. So Breel's apparently a bit over 150 years old.

Well, 150 years dead, I don't know how old he was then.

When 200 years you reach, look good, you will not

[TeflonCougar]

I say the incarnation is a reward, not a machina. One of the husky angels indicated being close to the other place was harmful to them, at the very least, it weakened them. Maybe the incarnation was a bribe to get Celestial to sign up for the mission. The chance to once again experience the worldly stimuli.

After being in Heaven so long, no doubt they have all been the scarecrow.

[NHWestoN]

This innocent enthusiasm conjures up all those stories they made me read in the eighth-grade so I would understand and appreciate " EYE-ROW-NEE". I do. It's that haunting feeling there's a razor blade in the candy dish. You just sense there's a tragedy hidden unknown and awaiting....

Wonder if smooching between a spirit and a mortal has different tactile sensations than when the two partners are embodied mortals?

[Bill in OK]

The best i would asume is they return him back to the exact age he sees himself as. the worst he would return as an infant or come back as something completely different - like a ferret.

Could also return as old man Breel, but that would just be heaven being jerks.

I used to know a guy who believed in something called "walk-ins," a spiritual concept where a person's soul is replaced by another soul, or a "walk -in" soul. Particularly if God or some other high-ranking celestial determined that the person's existing soul was doing a bad job with the person's life.

So maybe Cerb will find a Breel lookalike who needs a walk-in.

(And there have been days when I wish I could have a walk-in come and take over.)

[Welsh Halfwit]

What was it that TendoTwo said in a comment on the previous strip? "Deus ex machina-ish?" I think I have to agree; the solution offered does seem a bit too perfect, too convenient, unless Cerberus can offer some convincing back-story as to why Breel deserves to be a special case. If incarnation were a simple choice for everyone, Earth would presumably be full of the once-dead popping up left right and centre, if only to be reunited with the ones they love.

But, know what? I'll happily forget all that, on the promise of some hilarious future arcs in which the uber-cute Breel contends with the best and worst the 21st century has to offer. "A bit of an adjustment period" might be a slight understatement.

I don't know what makes you think this is going to go without a hitch.

Or Breel and Keene getting hitched...

[Mctwisp]

Don't Breel have to BORN first?

[Argent]

Don't Breel have to BORN first?

That's RE-incarnation. He's cuttin' the middleman and goin' straight to incarnation.